Tales of a Human Divining Rod: August 2014

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?).