Another Catch-Up of Epic Proportions

SO... a few things have happened over the last few months.

OOoof. Where to even begin...
 

My friends and family threw a seriously awesome baby shower for me in the middle of March, just six weeks before the little guy was due to make his arrival. I was, and still am, floored by the incredibly thoughtful and generous outpouring of love and baby loot that we received from everyone. My friend Marie brought me to and from the location down in Stonnington (she figured having a big vehicle with lots of room to transport stuff would be helpful and she was so right). When we got home and unloaded all the baby gear our entire spare room was full. Jason was even surprised by it all.

I had been reluctant about having a baby shower. I felt weird about telling people "hey, come celebrate the impending addition to our family ...and while you're at it, buy me something nice for the little guy, too."  There was lots of back and forth between the moms, the husband, and me about it. Once the decision was made to have one there was even more dispute over the invite list. Do we invite people we haven't seen in a while, and what about family members I barely know? If it had been up to me, I'd have probably had 10 people there. Apparently, I don't feel comfortable about being fussed over, or something like that. Anyhow, the moms and J handled the majority of the planning and decisions, and it turned out beautifully. I was really touched by the whole thing.

My mom, the shower-thrower. Jen and me in the background opening gifts (Jen volunteered to scribe)

Showing of a cute diaper cake, made by my aunt Michelle.  So much great (and useful) stuff from socks to stuffies and little sunglasses. 

Cake (delicious, wonderful cake), in the theme of the shower invites, surrounded by vegan cupcakes. Made by mom.

Back to the room of stuff.
After washing a fair bit of the newborn and 0-3 clothes, putting together the crib, changer, dresser, bassinet, swing, bouncer, pack and play, activity center, and car seat and stroller, we were ready to go. Whew! Of course, it took a few weeks to get it all done. The Saturday after the last allen wrench was put away we made plans to have a couple friends over for lunch. This was to be the last planned social gathering before d-day. I woke up feeling a little off and stayed in bed for a while, snuggled with Lucy. I finally rallied and got up to get ready and, boom!, water broke.  

Little dude showed up a week early. He and I had lots of talks over the previous weeks about how much we were all looking forward to meeting him, and if he wanted to show up a little early, that'd be awesome. But of course, no rush. Whenever he felt ready was fine with me. 

Such a good little boy, right from the start.

Severin Ryker Kendall, cutest and coolest baby ever, wondering what the heck just happened.

His introduction photo that was texted out to friends and family by proud poppa Jason.

Sev, heading home with Mom and Dad. It's amazing to think how tiny he was. His feet are already almost past the red.

That was back in April. I was very thankful to have 13 weeks home with the little lovebug before returning to work on August 4th.  We scouted out the best possible daycare months before his arrival.  I researched many, looked at a few, and landed on the one that seemed the most responsible, capable, safe, attentive, knowledgeable, and of course, fun and educational.  The place is a three minute drive from work so I can even swing by and see him whenever I can get a few minutes. The infant room has a great security system in place and the women who take care of the wee ones are a fantastic group of professionals who seem to love Sev as much as he loves them. I am so very thankful for this place, and Sev seems pretty psyched about it, too. When we buzz in each morning he starts bouncing and smiling in my arms, excited for a new day of fun and adventure. I'm a little envious. 

We've had an amazing summer and we're looking forward to introducing Sev to autumn and Halloween and all the winter holiday festivities. I've finally sorted through my bazillion emails and now work feels like I never even left. We've also started working with a realtor to get both houses on the market and find a new home for us some time soon.  Lots of work to be done, but we want a great neighborhood and even better schools for Sev. Hopefully sometime in the next year or so we'll get there. These last three months have flown by so fast, and I'm sure it will seem like only days before I'm saying the same about the whole year. I only hope my phone can handle all the photos it's being forced to hold (because I can't bring myself to delete any after they're loaded because what if I want to stare at them all day instead of working?).

First captured sleep smile 

I just love how little he looks here.

Hey, this bath thing isn't so bad after all!

Almost 7 weeks old here already

Testing out pool party outfits.

Pool party at grammy and grampy's

Contemplating napping pups

Jason calls this one 'the interview"

Lots of walks around Blackstone and Swan Point together

Overseeing weed removal in the garden

Teaching Sev how to take selfies. 

A photo sent from Sev's "school" to my work email just the other day. He was talking to the flower.

I Found My Ankles!

This morning I woke up and lifted one leg into the air to see how ridiculous my feet looked. I'm trying to keep a sense of humor about the unpleasant things, like swollen feet and ankles, that have become part of my everyday reality. It still amazes me to see how it looks when the majority of the fluids in my body, which have already increased beyond believable limits, all decide to drop to my feet after only a brief time being upright. Rather than looking up at the thing that usually looks like my foot wearing a fat suit, I saw my leg and foot, the way they used to be! With actual ankles! I was so excited to see an inkling of what I remember myself to have been that I raised up both legs and gushed to J about how my ankles were still there and something about not leaving the bed for the next few weeks to preserve the moment. J, my lovely sweetheart of a husband, remarked that they actually didn't look that much like they used to because my pre-pregnancy ankles were definitely smaller. I fully recognize that it was intended as a compliment as he's so very supportive in every way and he's totally confident that I'll lose the "babyweight" I've gained, but jeez! way to burst my bubble, mister!
I've gained 30 pounds already! The strange, but good, thing is that I still wear the same size clothing that I did at month 3. My clothes feel a little more snug than they did in the begining, but I'm really hopeful that they'll make it through to the end of April with me.

We Saw Him

Today we had an ultrasound scheduled to check our little kiddo-bean's growth progress. He's a wee bit ahead of normal size, but nothing unusual. So far so good...

The truly amazing part was seeing his face. He was snoozing away, with his left hand placed rather dramatically against the left side of his face, blocking our view, but the tech really got in there to get some great images for us. It was so surreal. He looks quite a bit like J from what we saw. He even made the same annoyed snarl face that J makes when you try to drag him out of bed after the tech had rolled around his sleeping quarters one time too many for his liking. He's a feisty little fella who fights back whenever anything presses up on his territory too much. He always jabs back at the monitor mic when the doctor is listening to his heartbeat. He also regularly takes a swing at my kindle, the elastic band on my favorite maternity jeans ("favorite jeans" and "elastic band" in one sentence still weirds me out), the desk at work when I lean into it too much... pretty much anything that gets too close for his liking gets a warning shot or ten. That's our boy.
I can't wait to finally meet him in person! 9 weeks to go (give or take one or two) (hopefully).

Butterfly

I think I've been more social the last couple months than I have been in far too long, especially considering we're in the midst of winter's cold when I'd normally be hibernating away until spring. I feel like I need to get in as many visits, dinner dates, and adventures with friends as I can before the little guy gets here.
I'm under the impression my social life is going to vaporize in late April.

Pride & Pain

There was one last very important business trip to be made.  We were both relieved to have dodged the bullet of me having to deal with any snow while J was away for the two weeks last month.  He left Monday morning for Seattle, and the first snow rolled in about 4 hours after he headed to the airport. 

I left work a little early Monday night to give myself enough time before dark to shovel the front steps, walkway, and sidewalk.  I wasn't even about to attempt to include the driveway and our back parking area, so with no parking ban in the area, I left my car on the street overnight.  I shoveled everything (despite being chastised for shoveling 'in my condition' by the neighbor across the street) and even threw down enough salt so that when I left Tuesday morning, there was nothing but bare stone, wood, and pavement under my feet. The snow was fairly light and fluffy, so when I got home Tuesday, I decided to tackle the back parking area, too.  I got it all done within an hour and was feeling pretty proud of myself (and thankful that our wonderful next door neighbor cleared our driveway with his blower while I was at work). 

Wednesday morning brought a new round of snow. And rain. And sleet. And then more snow.  Wonderful neighbor and J spoke earlier that day and by late morning the driveway, sidewalk and front steps/walkway were cleared.  I owe this guy a lifetime supply of coffee.  I was left with only the back parking area in need of a good shoveling. This same area that I'd completely cleared the night before was now buried in 6-8 inches of slushy, gross, heavy nastiness.  I got about half way through before my back felt like it belonged to someone 50 years older than me.  Ouch.  That snow was no joke. I don't even think it was actually snow, it seemed more like frozen concrete. I admitted defeat, went inside, and baked a batch of oatmeal blueberry muffins while whining to the pups about my aching back.

I vow to, from this point on, take quite seriously the warnings about back strain due to loosened muscles, joints, and tendons during pregnancy.  I am not supergirl.  Not even a little bit.

A Very Special Day

Three years ago I met a guy who seemed just way too good to be true.  I had zero interest in getting into another relationship at the time.  Having just come out of a very trying and difficult one, I wanted nothing more than to have a new friend. 
We had an instant connection, and it didn't take long at all to realize that there was something very special between us.  He renewed my faith in love and relationships when I'd become convinced it was all a sham.  He seemed to be the embodiment of every "I wish ..." I'd ever whispered to myself when daydreaming of my perfect match, my imaginary prince charming.  Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, and sometimes it's so great and life-changing that it knocks you off your feet.   

He's the love of my life and my very best friend, the person who can make me laugh when I'm in my most vile of moods, and my partner through the good times, and the bad times.  He's there with me, by my side, through all those mundane everyday chores that accompany life as an adult, and because he's there, everything is more fun.  He recognizes that what we have is not only wonderful and rare, but so delicate, too. And it is easy for me to see his efforts to protect what is so important to us, which means so much to me.

I'm thankful every day for him and today I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I married him.

Who Needs Toes?

J has an 80s Indy hits station playing on the Sonos as he's going through the vinyl collection in the hopefully soon to be nursery. I was feeling more set on having a quiet night at first, but the relentless onslaught of tunes from my high school days has put me in a happy sort of nostalgic mood. So far we've heard Siouxsie, Minor Threat, the Cure, Bad Brains, PIL, Husker Du, Killing Joke, The Smiths, New Order, ...I'm sort of looking forward to seeing what's next. I'm betting on Fugazi or Echo & the Bunnymen if we're sticking with the "Cora's cassette collection from the 80s" mix.

So fun.

In other important news:

I can't see my toes anymore and putting on socks has become a miserable chore.

We've picked a pediatrician and narrowed down daycare providers.

We were gifted a giant bag filled with an assortment of vegan girlscout cookies last weekend.

We already ate most of them.

We're not proud.

Welcome to America, Kid!

Tonight the pups and I headed up to bed early. My plan was to read for a while and get a good nights sleep. I decided to play some music for the little guy, so I turned on Spotify, picked Vivaldi's Four Seasons and placed the phone over my belly for a bit.

Then it happened.

I forgot I had cancelled my premium account because I didn't use it enough. Baby got his first Home Depot commercial. In utero.

I'm partially horrified and somewhat amused by the absurdity of the whole thing.

Every time this kid picks up a toy tool I'm going to wonder if it's the direct result of me cutting back on frivolous monthly expenses. Awesome, I'm negative three months into parenthood and I'm already experiencing mommy guilt.

Since Last Time

J is on part two of two weeks away while traveling for work. He did get to come home for the weekend, and so far there hasn't been any blizzards to deal with in his absence, so I'm certainly thankful for that. He's cleared to be travel-free for the next few months while we prepare for the little guy and while I become a little more cautious about doing everyday things like pup lifting (Lucy is terrified of going down the stairs on her own) and working the mammoth gate to our city fortress (the only way to get the cars to the street).

The nursery is in its beginning phase of clearing out the old stuff that was in the room, and half the furniture is already here and waiting to be moved in. We've been working with a trainer to get the dogs (and by dogs I mean mainly Ollie) on their best behavior in time for baby. It would never have even been a thought if it weren't for Ollie's minor holiday melt down. After two years of well behaved home alone time while J and I are at work, he suddenly decided December would be a good time to start ransacking the kitchen, dumping garbage, and eating Christmas gifts.

Yes, Ollie ate Christmas.  Luckily, I'd only just started the Amazon ordering onslaught makes up the bulk of my Christmas shopping, so the damage was just under $150.  Not good by any means, but I'm trying to be optimistic, so at least I hadn't ordered any of the big stuff yet, and though I wouldn't have said so at the time, I'm also thankful he didn't actually ingest any of the pieces of the bike helmet he tore into.  The training seems to be helping.  No pup gets anything for free anymore at our house (except Lucy, but she's a sleepy little princess who doesn't eat bike helmets so she can have all the treats her little heart desires).  They have to execute commands (down, stay, paw, leave it, etc) before they get their meals, treats, furniture privileges or the like.  Fingers crossed that we can do right by the big sweet lug and help him attain Awesome Dog/Guard Dog Extraordinaire status before introductions to the new family member.  So far he is doing well with everything.  I really think that having limited playtime this winter is what has caused most of the trouble with him.  Ollie is a big dog with an unlimited supply of energy.  Winter is rough on all of us, but I think the poor boy is just bored to tears (of mischief and trouble).

We secured a day care that I am so excited about and found a pediatrician who comes highly recommended by friends and random online reviews, so there are a few more checks on the long list of to-dos. Getting stuff done, and getting prepared is the theme of most days now.  With J away, I'm taking a night off for this super important update (yes, that was sarcasm), an awesome burrito (no jokes when it comes to burritos), and some kindle time with my furry family.