Thomas + MoBella = Happy

Jonathan, the Wee Ski, and I had the chance to celebrate Stella's birthday last weekend with her...at Anthony's. Celebrating with Anthony's calamari just makes things right in the world.

She was lucky enough to be born on the same day that the time changed this month...so her birthday was actually just 23 hours long.

She hadn't seen Thomas since he was a few weeks old - when she was the lucky duck who got to take us to the lactation consultant for a little breastfeeding 101. That's a best friend for you...someone who will not only watch you pump (and laugh at the sight) in the hospital, but who will take you in for advice on how to get the Wee Ski to latch on and sit through the whole appointment.

See how Thomas is sleeping contently in her arms? Brace yourself.


Because when he's in my arms, this can ensue:



That's a full-on, bloody murder scream. It's when he hits the major decibels that it's just easier to yell along with him. It usually throws him off his game and makes him forget why he was yelling in the first place.

Wait. This could be why he's upset. He had gone through the whole day with his pants on backwards.

I am definitely not "fashion forward" on this one.

God bless the child that's built to use a fake fly on his backside.


And of course...self portrait!


Happy birthday, MoBella! We ♥ you!

Finished.

I finally finished Thomas's baby scrapbook tonight -- tying it together with the timeline of "conception through his first month". It felt so good to upload the last pages for printing, and to know that it's all done!

I think one of my favorite pages is this one...with Grandma Ski's blanket. The template is from Ali Edwards' Layered Template No. 12. When I opened it, and found the quote that she had used on it -- I knew it was the perfect one to finish his book with.

I changed the quote to match the font throughout the rest of the book...and finished it with papers from the Photo Shoot by Christy Lyle. I used an 8x8 silk Pioneer Album - in the dark sage-y green that complements the pages throughout.



I also loved this page with Mike, Kristine and Avila. The brush is from This is the Day Word Art by Ali as well.


I scrapped four pages from his birth story found here. You can find them and the rest of the book here.

What did I learn from creating this book? How important it is to journal. To be able to process what you're going through, to be able to share the journey with others (especially if you share it on the web), and to be able to recall it later.

I'll be honest - it's only been two and a half months since his week in the NICU, and the details are so much hazier now. Looking back and reading through brought me back to the beginning, to how far he's come, and to exactly what we were feeling at that time.

And I am so grateful for this blog. To scrap many of these memories, just 10 or 11 weeks later, was so much easier since I could pull the journaling from the pages directly from the blog.

I love seeing his first photos in the womb, through the maternity photos, to his birth, and finally to one month old. His development. Our development. How life changes.

And to read through the journey -- with the journaling taken from here -- from my health struggles to our changing world to his birth to coming home -- it pulls everything together.

Finishing the book gives me the chance to find closure on his first rocky moments, to be grateful once again for the incredible angels at Providence St. Peter's, for our family and loved ones who were there for us...and for the incredible little boy who is sleeping in his crib right now.

Onto the next adventure!

The Wee Snowski

Today was a gift. Jonathan gave me a morning of papa/son time, so I was up early. And on my own. For the first time out and about by myself since Thomas was born.

I headed north for Avila's one year shoot...until it began pouring rain halfway through the drive. Seriously...this is the third shoot this week that's been rescheduled because of heavy rain. Didn't March come IN like a lion as well?

I had scheduled a massage at Antidote Spa in Olympia because I had time to myself, so after stopping by Mom and Dad's, I moved my appointment up a bit and headed home to the boys and the pups. It felt good to 'get away', but it was so good to come home.

Jonathan did a great job on his own with Thomas...I wasn't sure what to expect since Thomas, like his mommy, is a morning person...and his Papa is a night owl. The Wee Ski was in one piece, all smiles, and had tired his Papa out.

I was so impressed.

This afternoon, snow began falling. It was still light out. Big, fluffy flakes. And since Thomas hadn't had time yet in the snow, and I hadn't had any photos with him/me yet...my husband came through again. We packed up the 4runner and headed to the ridge above the lower tree fields, and shot for a few minutes. I loved it. :)


Long time blog readers may recognize this awesome fleece hat, handmade by Stella. For Christmas 2004, she made Viper and me matching fleece goodies -- a hat for me, and a sweet little doggy outfit (sized just for her!) with sweatshirt style wristbands for her feet.

Never did I think I would be wearing the hat in a mini shoot with my baby boy on a farm!

Thomas wasn't quite sure what to think of the snow.



Oh, Wee Ski. I ♥ you.





Can't neglect mentioning the pups. They got some time outside. Maggie loves the snow. Loves it.



Viper? Not so much. But she definitely loves her fleece. When she saw me pull it out of the "cold weather bin", she literally jumped up on me to have it on.



Thanks, Jonathan, for giving me a morning on my own, and a shoot in the afternoon.

You are the best.

Just one of those days...

...where life is a little nutty.

It started yesterday, when I woke up sick enough that I considered taking a pregnancy test to see if it was morning sickness. Jonathan took care of me in the early morning, and left me on my own with the Wee Ski around 7:30 a.m., who was a little champ when I needed calm and quiet.

No one slept well last night. We took it easy today.

By the end of the day today, my little champ was ready to rumble. Them's the fightin' face you see above. With a single tear to let you know he means business. Don't let the soft, cuddly teddy bear on his fleece fool you. He is rarin' to go.

So we walked and sang and talked and danced and followed the dogs in the fields and sang. Somehow, in one of the versions of "Itsy Bitsy Spider", I could have sworn that he heard that the "itsy bitsy spider wanted a lemon drop".

Or maybe I did.

And he's now out for the count for the night. Sleeping soundly, with his familiar calm breathing and occasional rustle.

That sounds like a really good idea.

Good night from the farm. ♥

Small Successes • Vol. 7

My seventh weekly edition of Small Successes for moms (hosted over at Faith and Family Live)...as they say, it’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph.

This week's small successes include:

1. Being very consistent with Thomas's nighttime schedule. Each night at 7, we've stopped what we were doing. We go through the routine of preparing for bed - changing his diaper and clothes to a sleeper, swaddling him up, and putting him in the Boppy for a story and prayers before kisses goodnight. Among this week's readings? The Very Hungry Caterpillar (on the 40th anniversary of the story! Did anyone else see the Google logo with the Caterpillar?), Dear God, and Baby Touch & Feel Farm. The reward? He sleeps until about 2 am, nurses, sleeps until 5 or 6, nurses again, and sleeps until 7. Jonathan and I spend time together each night that we haven't found consistently in months. It's heavenly.


2. I am cooking more from scratch again. Sending in healthy choices with Jonathan for work (not just the "I have a newborn, here's some easy convenience food for you" version from months 1 and 2). Eating better at home. My favorites from this week? Steak chili and an incredible corn casserole, and this morning, fresh roasted broccoli for lunch today.


3. I steam cleaned the tile floors in the house. Lots of rain + living on a farm + 2 dogs that love to run outside and back in all day long = exceptionally muddy floors. It felt so good to walk barefoot on them, knowing there was no dirt beneath my toes. For the next five minutes, anyway.

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To celebrate Thomas turning 11 weeks old today...here's my champion thumb sucker! He can finally separate his thumb from his fist -- at least half the time!

Caught in the act

At her papa's 30th birthday party last weekend, Avila was on the hunt for Thomas's pucky. I think she thought if she smiled at the camera, no one would notice that she was busy swiping it right out of his mouth.



Why does he yell when it's snatched?!?


Maybe if I flash you my big baby blues, then you will let me keep it. :)


So hard to believe she's one, and Mike is now 30!

Surprises in the mail

I'm starting to love the journey to the mailbox on the farm. A few hundred feet from the front door. Down the dirt road.

I think I took my 'mailbox right above the doorbell' for granted at the house in Tacoma...since I always knew when James the mailman arrived. Viper would sound the small dog warning alarm that someone was on the sidewalk in front of the house. And I would lean back on the couch, open the door, and grab the mail without getting up.

Before we physically moved the location of the doorbell below the mailbox in Tacoma, that whenever the paper was delivered (at 4:30ish in the morning), the doorbell would ring. Every. Single. Morning. I got used to it, but Viper never did. She sounded the alarm then as well.

On the farm, it's a good break in the day to walk with Thomas and the pups out to the mailbox. It's just before Thomas's afternoon nap, and I settle down with the paper and mail just after he goes to sleep.

In this e-driven world of ours, there's something about physically picking up a newspaper and hand addressed envelopes. Realizing that someone took the time to send something through the snail mail. Knowing that someone loves you by sending you a card, or wants money from you by sending you a bill. :)

Today, I found the sweetest little gift. It came just as I am preparing to finish up my maternity leave - a little surprise from my colleague at the office, Laura. Though I knew it was coming, it was so fun to find it in the mail!

It's a sweet little custom wooden block for the Wee Ski - personalized with all his birth info and a note on the bottom from Laura's family.

It will find a perfect home in the Wee Ski's nursery.

♥ Thanks, Laura, it's beautiful! Can't wait to see you soon! ♥

Just for Liz.

A rare image of seeing our sons playing together. :)


Note the Wii-mote still hanging off his arm.

And his impersonation, albeit slightly larger than life, of Thomas on his jungle mat.

This is the life.

After a full weekend for the 10 week old Wee Ski, he crashed on his jungle mat. He was trying to suck his thumb before he fell asleep, but forgot that he already had his pucky in his mouth...and the thumb wouldn't fit as well.

So his fist just hung there, suspended next to his face while he slept.

To my brother...

...the guy who always knew how to improve a photo.

On the occasion of your 30th birthday...or if you prefer, the day you turn 10,950 days old.

You are a gift to me and to my family. Hope your 31st year is the best yet! Love you, Mike!


With dad back in the day...





...and may your daughter turn out to be much more graceful than we were. :)

Seriously. You should buy this house.

There's a fantastic house in the north end of Tacoma...and it's listed for $249,000. You really should consider buying it.

Here's what you'll get...

• 3 bedrooms, one bath
• Brand new carpets, appliances, new paint throughout
• Move-in ready
• Huge detached garage with area for a shop
• Fenced in backyard, great for pets and people you just don't want to come inside :)
• The world's best neighbors

This is a sweet little house, which is close to everything. 5 minutes to downtown, Proctor, Metropolitan Market, Old Town, 7 minutes to Lowe's and Home Depot, 10 minutes to the Mall and the Narrows Bridge. One mile to Katie Down's and The Ram and the waterfront.

If I hadn't gotten married and moved to Rainier, I never would have moved. I bought the place eight years ago when I was 23, and loved living here. It's the perfect place to start, perfect for a smaller family, or single person. Sparkling condition.

FULL LISTING HERE

Small Successes • Vol. 6

My fifth weekly edition of Small Successes for moms (hosted over at Faith and Family Live)...as they say, it’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph.

Here are my small successes for the week:

1. The aforementioned mountain o'clothes from 3 weeks ago has been reduced by a third...again. It's slowly getting smaller, which is awesome. It used to feel pretty overwhelming. One big box for donations and one box for the trash. Found cloth 12x12 bins that fit perfectly into our quirky closet space, and things are now finding happy order. We actually have one full bin just of American Cancer Society Relay For Life t-shirts. Just t-shirts. I suppose after 8 years, one can amass quite a collection. I think I need to learn how to quilt. Someday.
2. I remained relatively calm when I woke up in the middle of the night to a strange sound coming from either the small dog or the baby...and a huge resulting mess. I didn't beat myself up when after 10 minutes of my investigative skills, I still couldn't figure out which one caused the mess. Jonathan's bet is on the dog.
3. I made a big batch of Crystal's famous salad which has morphed a bit over time since she shared it with me: cucumbers, broccolli, carrots, peanuts, raisins, and cottage cheese. Don't knock it until you try it. I have been munching on that for the last day instead of snacks. It is good.

---

And for the Wee Ski Moment? I call this: Mommy Got All This Stuff Done?!?

My favorite things...

Seeing Jonathan and his son, hanging out.
Thomas kicking him in the face. The smile on Jonathan's face when he does. Sweet fatherly pride.

Our lavender heat pack.
We heat it up at half power, each night before bed and lay it in Thomas's bassinet. It heats the mattress a bit, and lets off the slight lavender fragrance, so Thomas recognizes it each night when he goes to sleep. It was perfect for sleeping in Iowa, giving him the scent of home and removes the 'shock' of being transferred from our warm arms to his cold bed.

Enhanced episodes of Lost.
A little like "Pop Up Video" for Lost. Shows a number of links to earlier connections and stories from earlier seasons. Incredibly helpful for tying together the maze of information being divulged in this season's episodes.

The polarfleece sling.
The secret weapon with Thomas. He sleeps peacefully inside, cozy and warm. And when he's not asleep, he likes to sit up and take a look around. Perfect for nursing when we're out and about, and incredibly comfortable for us to wear...with our hands free. We normally get stopped at Costco 3 or 4 times for questions about it. Best question in the last week? Asked after Mass, in all seriousness... "I saw a little animal hand come out. Do you have a baby tiger in there?"

Getting sweet voice mails from Grandma.
I sent a group of photos from last week over to her, direct from my photofinisher. It was so fun to hear her voice as she was opening them.

Our watchdogs.
Maggie and Viper now follow Thomas around the house, wherever he is. I put Thomas down for bed last night at 7:45, and the dogs didn't leave the bedroom all night. Each time Jonathan or I walked in, they looked up to see who it was, verified we were OK, and went back to sleep.

Top O' the Morning from the Wee Ski

...wishing you the happiest of St. Patrick's Day!

He learned some interesting facts about today and wanted to share them:

• There are close to 10,000 three-leaf clovers for every one lucky four-leaf clover
• Legend says that each leaf of the 4-leaf clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.
• The shamrock is the traditional symbol because St. Patrick used it to explain the connection between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
• There is a cool story here about St. Patrick.
• Today is the feast day of St. Patrick of Ireland. It is believed he died 1548 years ago, today. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.
• The original Guinness Brewery in Dublin has a 9,000 year lease.
• On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout, are consumed around the world.
• On St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints.
• For the record, Thomas is not allowed to drink Guinness.

We're off to find leprechauns in the tree fields!

Sweet Monday Randoms

Lots of good things and sweet finds...

• Friday was a full day with Thomas - lunch with Mike, a signature baby shoot with Finian Road, adoration at St. Charles, and a surprise that night...a night on my own! Jonathan and Thomas headed out to a shindig with the fire department, and they had some father/son bonding time. Everyone loved meeting the Wee Ski, and he was wiped out by the time he got home.
  
  I had three hours all by myself -- which I hadn't truly had since he was born. Of course, that time was spent cleaning the house, organizing the kitchen, and doing laundry...but it was uninterrupted time. I was amazed at how much I could get done! And I actually made a meal for myself and ate it while it was still hot. Sauteed shrimp, broccoli and brown rice (not to be confused with BrownRice) with a glass of riesling.
  
• Saturday morning had me nursing my quadriceps...as it was my first shoot with Thomas in his sling in front, my heavy camera bag on my hip, and a ton of squatting for a 9 month old! That is evidently the way to get back into shape with a newborn!
  
• Organized how I want to scrapbook for the rest of the year.
  
  I finished off Thomas's baby scrapbook (maternity to one month). Decided to pull all of his monthly letters into a separate 8x8 book, and finally to do a 12x12 2009 book of our family. The page above is from the 2009 book. Idea loosely scraplifted from Cathy Zielske's mock up page here.
  
  I was inspired by being back at Grandma's house last week...where she has binders and binders full, classified by years: with photos, mementos, letters and cards that they received, and things to save. Going back over decades. It's an incredible collection. I found things I'd made as a child, photos I'd sent, cards I'd made. Same for my other cousins and family. The most important part of those books? That she'd actually started the process! I knew I just needed to begin, and it would be easier to 'keep up', if there was something to 'work on' instead of 'start'.
  
• Had some incredible downtime with Jonathan and Thomas this weekend. We slept in (a huge accomplishment for me), went to Mass, Costco, and lunch with Mom and Dad (and a few of the Brownrices!), walked in the fields, watched Band of Brothers, and spent time together. I made yummy baked oatmeal, chicken tortellini, and breakfast for the fam.
  
• Made headway on Relay projects - from the fundraising magazine to the Training Task Force guides to our Raffle For Relay from Finian Road (coming soon!). Hard to believe it's already mid-March...details to come soon!
  
• Sweet Finds. Speaking of Finian Road, I was reading through my "Mommy Blogs" (as titled in my Google Reader), and came across this post from Cool Mom Picks: Rick Rack is Back. Recognize the woman behind the company, Jane Edward? Also known as the mom, Holly, in December Sunshine shoot from December 2007!
  
• Lots to work on today. Nursing, baby laundry, tax stuff, nursing, photography, chill time with the Wee Ski, and a bit more nursing. He's sound asleep on his boppy on my lap right now. :)
  
• Hopeful that my side mirror in the Camry gets fixed today. Seriously, this has been a giant pain. I've said very little about it because of my commitment to give up complaining for Lent...so let's just leave it at this. Absent minded people who break other people's side mirrors with a cart in the Target parking lot SHOULD CALL THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY BACK so I (oops, I mean people) can get it fixed. We're down to it hanging on by wires...which is really helpful when trying to merge.

And that's my early Monday morning.

Shark attack

We woke up this morning to snow on the farm. The snow was beginning to fall pretty significantly. Big, giant, beautiful flakes.

First, exasperation. Snow, again?

Then, the thought that we can bundle Thomas up and take him out into the huge, falling flakes. Serious excitement. On my part, not on the part of the husband who wants to stay asleep.

By the time Thomas is ready to go, it's raining through the snow.

Exasperation again.

So I opted for bath time. We're up anyway, right?

After he was all clean, I bundled him up in his shark towel, and took him to his Papa, who was very glad to still be inside, under covers. And the Wee Shark curled up next to the Papa Shark.

12 of 12: The Random Edition

Life does seem random right now, as my day attests. It seems like today was a day that my time was bunched into segments of about 15 minutes before things would change totally...so I felt like I did a lot, but didn't get a lot done.

The 12 of 12 is Chad Darnell's brainchild: 12 snapshots of your day. The rest of the 12 of 12'ers links can be found here on Chad's page.

Without further adieu...and without times because I am, well, just plain lazy now. It's been a long day. Mama Ski needs sleep.

Early morning giggles with the Wee Ski (nine weeks old today!)


Sunrise on the farm


The giant mound o'stuff in the living room. Can't believe I'm putting this on the web. But this is what my day looked like. I worked all day long to try and clear this out, but it never seemed to get done. Thomas's laundry basket, with clothes from the trip to Iowa. Blankets. Stuff for the trash. The Zappos box from the first two pairs of shoes that I've purchased in nearly a year. My feet are finally returning to normal, post-pregnancy! And they look especially cute in these.


Fruit. Yum. The oranges are from one of our clients who lives in the south, and sends us fresh oranges from his tree during the winter. They are heavenly.


Heart attack moment. I received Thomas's hospital bill, and they billed me before he was officially added to my insurance policy. So yes, the number that is listed says that we owe $23,831.95. After calling Blue Cross, the claims are being resubmitted. And then they started a new claim for nearly causing me to pass out.


Welcome to life away from malls. And being at home. They just bring things to you. :) I feel sorry for both drivers because we live so. far. out. there.


Car wash!


The Wee Ski in the car wash. This mirror is brilliant. I can always see how he is doing in the backseat.


This is quite possibly the most boring moment of the meeting that I was at because I pulled my camera out at the wrong time. Which is ironic...because it was the best Relay For Life Team Captain Meeting I have ever been to. In 8 years of meetings, many of which I led myself.

This is Dave, who used to be known as the Executive Director for the American Cancer Society, now known as the Team Development Chair for the Thurston Relay. You may also recognize him as a groomsman from our wedding. The brilliance behind this meeting. It was fun, emotional, personal, and motivating all rolled up into one meeting. He let people know when we went over time, and asked us if we wanted to leave then or stay later. No one moved from their seat -- and they were saying "this is important! We don't want to leave!" We had a mission moment (where he gave out $50 in Relay bucks for each person over 50 who had had their colon checked for cancer -- telling them they could 'swap stories' after the meeting -- which was hilarious), sharings from everyone, people wanting to know when the Paint the Town Purple Day was and nearly demanding it get onto the calendar, and a ton of proactive team-oriented ideas. Needless to say, I loved it. And Thomas did too, it was his first Team Captain Meeting.


Baby Thomas, with our fabulous ACS staff partner Janell. Don't let his innocent angel face fool you - he screamed the whole way home.


Oh, angel eyes. I forgive you for screaming the whole way home. Check out Viper in the back, waiting to pounce. Papa's arm is there to separate them.


And to finish off the night? Just before bed.

Mama said knock you out.


We're beat. Heading to bed now. :)

Small Successes • Vol.5

My fifth weekly edition of Small Successes for moms (hosted over at Faith and Family Live)...as they say, it’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph.

Here are my small successes for the week:

1. I cleaned out the fridge. After being out of town for nearly a week, I wanted a fresh start for spring. Took out each shelf and tossed old stuff, used up stuff 'on the verge of being old', and reorganized things to be easier to access. I love what it looks like now when the door is opened.
2. We took our first walk together in the tree fields with baby Thomas. With Daylight Savings Time, Jonathan finally is home when it's light out. The dogs were thrilled, and the fields has dried out enough from all the rain so that it wasn't completely muddy walking through them.
3. I have found a morning routine that's starting to work well for us. We learn a little more each day, but knowing that I can get things done while he's sleeping - just in the morning - gives me a strong start to the day without taking time away from him.

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And the Wee Ski...from his two month old images taken yesterday...doesn't he look all cuddly?