have 17 mos already passed?!?!

so i'm a blogger slacker, or a slacker blogger....either way, i haven't blogged in ages. i'm inspired again (not that i wasn't inspired before, i just had too many other things i was trying to do or figure out). we went to see music tonite- the punch brothers. the music was good, interesting, different (traditional bluegrass, classical composition, and then a radio head cover- eclectic). anyway...somehow live music always has a way to inspire me. so i got inspired to 'create'...(but not so inspired that i'm back to pottery or sewing or jewelry-no time for that at the moment)...create some written word, and also have something to put in will's baby book (since it's pretty empty at the moment). not to mention, writing is good for the soul, and helping to figure out things, so maybe i'll have some new Revelations as i reflect/ create/ write/ or just blog. so here i am blogging again, at least for the moment.
so i'll re-start with what i've learned in 17 mos
-i was a really good mom before i had kids (yes, i stole this from the title of a book, but it's true)
-sleep deprivation is truly a form of torture
-i can honestly relate to my patients who have trouble with multi-tasking, concentrating, and remembering things
-stomach aches can lead to sleep troubles and can be caused by food---who knew
-gluten-free isn't SO bad, but i've got a the learning curve is killer
-kids are really cute...especially when they are your own
-there is always "something"...so enjoy the moment and be present...life is way too short (easier said than done, but so important).

multi tasking always seems like such a good idea

too bad chad loves science so much, as he'd really make a good house husband.

i, on the other hand, am not turning out to be such a good housewife. on the two days of the week i'm home alone with will, i'm always primed to get all kinds of things done. instead...chad gets home and i have food prepped all over the kitchen, laundry piles all over, a half of an email written on the computer screen, half the floor swept, piles to sort ....you get the picture (maybe i'm exaggerating a little bit...but still).
i'm beginning to wonder if i haven't had a brain injury at some point in my life. my patients who have brain injury commonly complain that they can't get anything completed...they start tasks, and then get side tracked, and then don't end up finishing much at all...i'm always biting my tongue from saying..."hey, me too!!!"--though i guess that's not what they want to hear from their therapist.
...i typically write it off to just being a new parent, trying to juggle a baby all day... then today i get home from work after chad and will have spent the day together. laundry is folded, work articles were read, they hiked, went to rei, went to radio shack, had lunch in the park, and took the dog for a walk. what the heck!? then come to find out will slept...not one...not two...not even three...but OVER three hours. what the heck?! no wonder so much was done.

i not only married a great house husband, but also a baby whisperer.

bye bye red truck

chad's done it. he's said farewell to his toyota truck. the truck that he bought back in college (15 some years ago)...the truck that took him cross country many times...the truck he'd strap his surf boards to and drive up and down the coast at the break of dawn, to find the perfect wave. the toyota that he could take all apart, and actually put back together (though it sometimes took days and we ended up with extra parts on our kitchen table...parts that came out, but somehow didn't get back in). the truck that symbolized freedom and Independence, is now gone. poor chad.

...sorry honey.

at least we didn't trade it in for a mini-van. (not yet at least)

for now, we'll enjoy the suburu...as long as we can find it in the parking lot...with the tens of other subaru's. we are officially boulderites.

"ohhbama"

im convinced...william has said his first word...and it's a good one!
for about a month he's been working on 'bababababa' and then he'll switch it up and work on 'mamamama' ...just recently he'd say 'ohhh'...and im convinced i heard him last nite...sequence it all together...
last nite...a great nite...little town louisville co...and there were people screaming in the streets...fireworks going off...and i'm convinced our son sequenced his first three syllables into one great word...
ohhh....ba....ma...
at least i'm pretty sure that's what he said...
he must be as excited as we are.

i won't quit my day job

in the age of digital photography...there are many of us that aspire toward professional photography. we can snap picture after picture, don't have to adjust for varying iso or shutter speeds, and then can crop, adjust color, and fix red eye with the click of the mouse. simple as can be. but getting the perfect photo is still an effort to behold.

this weekend, chad is in germany and will and i have been having lots of good bonding time. we've been shopping, hiking, playing, and of course doing several photo shoots.

the most memorable one of the weekend was this afternoon.

after a cloud filled day, the sun came out and thus we headed out for a photo shoot with the black eyed susans. i plunked will down in the grass and sprawled out in front of him.

point and shoot. point and shoot.

adjust position.

point and shoot.

roll on the ground in front of him trying for the artistic shot.

point and shoot.

lay out on my back, again trying for another artistic shot.

point and shoot.

will was more interested in pulling up grass than in looking toward me as i made funny faces, preformed my infamous horse lip impersonation, and rolled around on the ground trying to get just the right angle.

...i noticed my back side was damp, and figured all that rain we got was still keeping the ground cover moist. i picked up will, expecting his backside to be moist as well, but it was dry as could be. as we walked inside the moistness carried a stink. i looked over one shoulder to see some mud...no wait...not mud...moist, sticky, smooshed poop....dog poop. all over the ground, and now all over me. we used to get mad at jed for rolling in poop...and now i'm the one who rolled in it. if only the neighbors were watching...me making horse sounds and rolling around the back yard in poop. all in the name of art.

out growing your cranky pants

those first few months were some cranky ones. there were days when we all wore our cranky pants. the days themselves were wonderful in many regards, but there were those damn cranky pants. some people call it 'reflux' some 'colic' some call it 'sleep deprivation' some say 'post partum blues'...but me--- damn those cranky pants.

thank heavens you've grown out of them...we've all grown out of them.

we are now all sleeping at nite---which is really actually what nite is made for. in college, i thought differently, and these past few months, you've thought differently, but sleep---beautiful, wonderful, glorious sleep. ahh. so nice. it is pretty strange to think that sleeping through the nite, sometimes means we're up at 4 or 5 am, but heck, the sun is on the horizon---and we've slept for several continuous hours.

there were some rough sleep spots along the way. i actually kept a sleep log (for all of 2 nites). nite 1 included 13!? night wakings. you should see the actual notes. i was not only tired the next morning, but unbelievably depressed to realized how bad it really was (that is the one good thing about sleep deprivation...not remembering how bad it was). night number 2 looked wonderful when you only woke up 5 times that nite. things become relative.

have i complained enough yet?

now for the good part. you are wonderful, and amazing, and so much fun. i find myself waving at you all day long...and you wave back. you wave to the cute baby that looks just like you in the mirror, and get so excited that he waves back. you drink from a straw, and then blow bubbles in the water, and at times shoot water out of the straw. you say mamamama all day long. you giggle, and i giggle. you are so present in the moment, and are reminding me to be the same.

you may have a sibling after all.

6 mos and counting

i once thought that i'd use this blog to supplement for the baby book i have yet to create...now i realize just how hard it is to get two hands free long enough to type an entry or two.
so, in lieu of blog entries...what have my two hands been doing all these mos you ask?!

they've been holding you and changing you and feeding you. they've been playing the role of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and also the role of "Thumpkin" and any other hand song i can think of...as these truly are your favorite to date. they have been covering both sets of our eyes to the tune of "peek-a-boo" ...another big hit. they have also been tickling your giggle button (currently located in your sternum just above your xiphoid process...see my brain is still working on occasion). Right now, the are tapping the little bottle of lavender essential oil (that you are currently playing with and throwing on the ground...that is between typing). and now they have just switched to nursing you...leaving me here to practice, again, the art of one-hand typing.
so 6 mos have passed ...some of the longest days but the fastest mos. your personality continues to evolve...you're chill at times (taking after your mama :) or maybe your pops), especially when you're in a baby carrier (which we now have 7 of...jeeze)...you're very persistent and if we don't hear you one way, you'll say it louder and louder yet (i think maybe you get this from your dad...or maybe from jed). you are so curious about the world, and thus have given up on sleeping (both at day and at night) with your pursuits of kicking, pulling, babbling, and now sitting up. you have been on three trips out of co, and seemed to dig the plane rides (i have a feeling this is a direct correlate with being in the baby carrier...you sure do like to be held). you now have two teeth (which made their appearance at about 5 mos), and have started to eat food (rice cereal at 5 1/2 mos). your favorite so far seems to be sweet potatos or maybe cooked peaches. we've been trying to make all of your own food so far...to get you used to our cooking at a young age (maybe you won't complain this way :)). we just recently got back from a trip to nc. you got to meet your aunt sue and uncle tim and your cousins savannah and ben, see your grammy and grandpa and meet lots of other friends/ aunties and uncles. you also got to enjoy many other firsts on our trip...first slip and slide, first time at the lake, and first time on karaoke. here are some pictures of our trip.