Category: General News

Feb. 21: When Bryan and I went out to Olbrich the other day, I packed my diaper bag/purse with essentials for the first time.  It was quite a mental exercise.  Nursing supplies for me, check; diapers for Andrew, check; diapers for Sylvia, check; extra outfit and blanket for Sylvia in case of a diaper blowout, check; crackers and sippy cup for Andrew, check; camera, check; cell phone – charged, check.
Bryan got Andrew bundled up, and he led him out to the car while I got Sylvia in her seat.  It wasn’t until I was walking out toward the car that I realized that I still had on my slippers – and no socks.
Oops.

Feb. 20: There’s a lunar eclipse going on right now.  It’s really amazing looking.  We showed it to Andrew and told him that people used to think that a dragon was eating the moon.  Afterward, he kept asking where the dragon was:)
We’ve had some nice outings this week.  On Monday, I had a most incredible massage in the afternoon.  I took Sylvia with me, and she got a little fussy a couple times.  I had her sleeping on my chest for the second half of the massage, and it turned out to be a really peaceful and centering experience.  A little life lesson in how to tend to one’s self as well as one’s family.
Yesterday was my first just-for-fun outing.  I put on my contacts and jeans and some makeup and the four of us went to Olbrich Gardens to walk in the conservatory.  It felt good to be out in public.  My body feels nearly back to normal, well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but I do feel mostly like myself other than being pretty sleepy.
Today the four of us went to Mad Town Twisters gymnasium where Andrew had an absolute blast running and jumping and climbing.  Sylvia slept the whole time we were there.  This week is speeding on by.
My friend and co-worker, Pam, had a baby girl on Monday.  Mercy Caroline.  So Clara is a big sister now too.  All these fresh babies.
It’s enough cuteness to make a person turn to ooze.
I stayed up too late last night.  I think my previous bedtime of 8:30 or 9 is much more conducive for an awake day than the 9:30/10:30 bedtime.  Sylvia is having some longer sleeping stretches (2 1/2, even a 3 hour sometimes), but she also often wakes up every hour to nurse.
She sure is cuddly in the bed, my little sweetie.
I’m going to try to upload some pictures, but I have to re-install programs to do so.  Bryan has our computer up and running again, but there’s lots of little things that need tweaking to get them working!
Photos from the last several days are in the gallery.

Feb 19: On Sunday afternoon, I was working on a post about Sylvia’s name.  I noticed that Windows wanted to do an automatic update, so I told it to go ahead.  When I restarted the computer a bit later, all that came up was a blank, black screen telling me that a system file was corrupted and Windows could not start.  Fortunately, my computer-brilliant husband took over.  I don’t think I am emotional centered enough this week to deal with either the loss of our web domain or with the loss of our computer.  Bryan has been able to remove the hard drive from our laptop and back up (what we hope are all) the important files.  Now we’re going to wipe the laptop out and reinstall Windows.  Geesh!

I’m typing now on our old laptop that sometimes does and sometimes does not allow you to use the “enter” and spacebar buttons.  I guess it woke up on the right side of something this morning.

All is well here aside from the computer fiasco:)

Feb. 16: Little Sylvia is sleeping on my lap, and Bryan and Andrew are in the kitchen playing with Play doh.  Granny Lu flew home this afternoon…a very bumpy, exciting trip, I hear…and now we’re on our own.  It was so _very_ nice to have her staying here with us these last couple weeks.  And this last week since Sylvia has been here, it’s been just amazingly wonderful to have a third adult in the house.  She worked really hard on our behalf, and I know that Bryan and I both feel so very grateful.
I got a bit more sleep last night, and I woke up this morning feeling the best I have all week (baring perhaps the euphoric day Sylvia was born).  Sore muscles are improving, and the world feels like a good place:)  Maretta and Kyle drove down from St. Paul yesterday to meet their new little niece.  It’s such fun to introduce Sylvia to the world!
Andrew has been asking to hold and kiss Sylvia a lot, and yesterday when he went down for his nap, he told Bryan that he was “going to dream about baby Sylvia.”  Before Bryan’s mom left today, we had Michael, Lisa, Terry, Maretta, and Kyle over for breakfast.  They brought treats from a new patisserie on the square called Sucre.
Mmmmmmm.
Bryan has all of next week off work, and he is planning on working only mornings the following week.  So now begins a new chapter of our life.  It’s us and our two kids.  Wow.  Such cute kids.  I think my lips are going to get worn out from kissing them both so much.
Pictures from the last couple days are in the gallery.

Feb. 9: We’re getting ready to go to Kids in the Rotunda for some story and songs this morning, but first I thought I’d upload some pictures of Andrew from the last week.  They’re ready for viewing in
the gallery.

Feb. 6: Wow…we got a huge snowfall today.  I’ll be thankful that the little miss stayed quiet today, because it would have been quite a mess to try to get to the hospital through this blizzard.
LuAnn and one of our great neighbors shoveled out much of the driveway.  I bet LuAnn didn’t imagine she’d be shoveling 18″ snow as part of her helping-us-out activities this trip!
I stayed pretty mellow today.  Ended up taking two naps, took a long bath, and just hung out.  Thanks for everyone out there who’s thinking of us!

Feb. 5: It’s been a quiet day here.  I think I’ve done nearly all the planning and preparations I can think of, so I found myself sitting around this morning in a bit of a funk.  Fortunately, I had lunch plans with Karen, so that got me out of the house.  I ran some errands, did some shopping for Andrew and for the little one, and in general enjoyed being out and about on my own.  Andrew took a three-hour nap for his granny today, so she got some quiet time here in the afternoon.
We’re experiencing the start of a major snow event here.  Laura, my doula, called this afternoon to see if we were seeming to be heading toward labor (no) and to remind me to give extra time for her to come over and for us all to get to the hospital since the weather may be pretty difficult.
Baby girl continues to move about, but doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry.  I told her that life out here in the world is pretty good.
Sure, it’s a little bright and a little cold, but there’s good things like milk and snuggling, and my darling dear, there are shoes!

Feb. 4: I wrote a post a couple weeks ago our how my friend Karen’s friend Cindy was at the end of a five year struggle with breast cancer.  This morning, Cindy passed away.  She was at the hospice center where Mom was at the end.  My heart grieves for Karen and for Cindy’s husband and kids and all the people who love her.  It’s five months since Mom died.  It feels so weird to have death be something that I know on a much more intimate basis that I have ever before.  And at the same time to be right in the moment where life is beginning.
There’s a lot more to this rich tapestry of life than I knew three years ago.  I want to take it all in and accept it and make it OK.

Karen made a nice page on her website for Cindy.

Feb. 3: Andrew is on day three of his no-napping game.  Hmmmm.  I don’t think I approve:)
Bryan’s mom came into town yesterday.  Her plane was able to land only after getting diverted to Iowa for more fuel since the runways were covered in snow and it had to circle for a while before getting cleared.
I had my week 39 midwife appointment on Friday.  We got to hear the baby’s heart beat and she measured my belly.  No signs of imminent labor, but I’m sending the baby lots of positive messages that the world is a friendly place and she should go ahead and check it out.  Please proceed to the exit, little one:)
We got together this morning for brunch with Andrew’s little friends Alex and Budgy and their parents, Vicki and Mike and Veronica and Benson.  It was a fun time.  This afternoon, we’re heading to Sarah and Wes’ house to watch the super bowl and eat yummy food.

BabyCenter.com

How your baby’s growing:

Your baby’s waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it’s likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Jan. 31: Our week is going really well.  This period between when I stopped work and the baby arriving is a lot of fun.  Andrew and I have been enjoying outings or visiting with friends in the morning and then napping (or not) and making dinner in the afternoons.  Right now, the little fellow is in his bed reading books out loud.  And today, that’s alright with me as long as he is cheerful this afternoon/evening:)
Bryan’s mom arrives in just two days.  She’ll be here with us until Feb. 16…hopefully the little one will make her entrance on or before her due date so that Andrew can enjoy an extra adult’s loving attentions for a while.  If not, we’ll just roll with that situation too:)
We got together with my neighbor, Kathy, and her daughters, Alivia and Rayna yesterday.  Andrew had a great time and was talking about what we did at their house for the whole rest of the day.  This morning, we met Jessica, Eli, and Celia at the library for some play time, and then we went to Manna Cafe for lunch with my co-workers.  It feels so nice to spend time with friends.  I really miss seeing my Gathering Waters pals every day, and my heart feels a little cozier for having shared a meal with them today.
Hope all is well in your world!