There's no place like home

Dorothy sure knew what she was talking about.  After a great trip to Texas where everything is bigger (and hotter), it feels great to be home with unlimited access to Brady.  Eric went home for backup this weekend, so Brady got to spend some quality time with his grandparents and his Aunt Claire and Uncle Dave.  Of course, he got a long just fine without me, although part of me likes to think that deep down in that 3 month old soul, he missed his mommy.  I do think he's happy to be drinking straight from the tap again, so he missed part of me at least.  Back to my trip.  Below are some highlights and lowlights of my trip to Austin.

Lowlights:

-Pumping:  I am actually one of those people that enjoys nursing....with one small caveat.  I prefer to nurse a baby and not a piece of plastic.  On both my trips through Dallas, I spent some time in the handicapped stall of the bathroom.  Unfortunately, I ran into some trouble on my return trip.  See, I paid extra for a pump that had both the plug-in and battery option.  The battery option comes in handy when you're say, in the Dallas airport trying to pump.  For reasons still unknown to me, the pump was operating at about 50% of its power with the battery and it just wasn't cutting it.  So off to the sinks where I could find a plug-in.  I imagine some passing travelers who were washing their hands wondered what disease I was treating that required me to stick tubes up my shirt.  Anyway, that was one way to pass time during a layover.

-Freezing flight: I'm not sure which is worse...being cold on a flight or being hungry.  Doesn't really matter, because I was both.  Like, my feet were numb kind of cold.  Any thoughts I had of sleeping went out the window.  Before takeoff, a baby on my flight was SCREAMING (although who could blame him, he probably couldn't feel his feet either).  I saw and heard some eyeball rolls and heavy sighs from the guy next to me and I could tell he wanted me to join his pity party.  What he didn't know was that my sympathies lay with the mom.  At least after the flight, he could get off the plane and never hear that baby again.  That mom didn't have such a luxury.

-Late night + early flight:  We stayed out late Saturday night and a 3 am bedtime and 6 am wake up equals 3 hours of sleep (for all you non math majors out there).  Suprisingly, I actually felt pretty good and after a cup of coffee, I can't say I felt anymore tired than usual.  Apparently, my body has adjusted to lack of sleep and was like, "Eh, no biggie."

-High heels: I have a cute pair of particularly high heels that have been gathering dust on my shoe rack.  I thought Saturday night out would be a fitting occasion to add a few inches to my height.  The cuteness factor was not proportional to the pain factor...not even close.  After a night of standing and walking, my dogs were barking...like louder than the baby on the plane.  I was reminded of why they were gathering dust in the first place.  Back to the rack they go.

-Missing Brady: No need to expound.

Hightlights:

-Sleep:  As a contrast to Saturday night, Friday night was fabulous.  I did wake up at 5:30 to nurse my plastic baby, but after pumping, I went back to sleep until 9.  When I did wake up, it was to the small of bacon...yum.  I had a breakfast taco and a mimosa and thought I died and went to heaven.

-Old friends and new friends: There were 9 other girls at the party this weekend and prior to the party, I only knew 2 of them.  9 minus 2 equals 7 (again, you're welcome) and that is how many new friends I made.  As a bonus, there was a Trinity wedding Saturday night and I met up with some old friends who ended up at a bar nearby post-wedding.  Catching up with them took my mind off my feet for a few minutes.

-On time flights: I can't say enough about how awesome on time flights are, especially in the wake of Irene.  I'll take an on time cold flight 10 times out of 10.  I was so thankful to get home to my boys on schedule.

Obviously, the biggest highlight was seeing Brady again (um, and Eric), but since that is obvious and not technically part of the trip, I will omit it from my official list.  As a huge sleep fan and coming off a short night's sleep, you can figure how much I love my little guy when I actually looked forward to his 1st late-night feeding.  Now his 2nd one was a different story....

Cautious optimism

Last week at the beach, we celebrated my nephew's first birthday.  While his true birthday is today, we had an early celebration which involved Leo's first cupcake.  At first, he seemed suspicious of the sugary treat, but I think the pictures do a good job of revealing his true feelings.

Wanna know how old I am?  Check the finger

Happy birthday, Leo!

Texasbound

I'm flying to Austin tomorrow for my best friend Erin's bachelorette party.  I am very excited about my trip (I'm obligated to say that...she reads this), but a little apprehensive to leave my baby for the whole weekend.  Of course, he is in the great and responsible hands of his dad and Eric insists that although he's usually immune to Brady's middle-of-the-night wake-up calls, he will be attuned to them this weekend.  If anyone out there wants to call Eric around 1am and 4am on Friday and Saturday, I'm sure he wouldn't mind...he'll probably be up anyway. 

I downloaded this video for your enjoyment.  There is a possibility that I might need to sneak away from the party this weekend to check my blog and make sure everything is still up and running.  And I guess I'll have to make sure the video still works.  I do this for you.  You just can't trust technology these days.

About the 15 second mark, you may hear a toot.  I don't like to call people out, but let's just say it doesn't come from the camerawoman.

Color me impressed

When it comes in a box, has as a tracking number, and has postage that costs as much as a Starbucks coffee...that's when you know you have the crème de la crème of wedding invitations.

Yes, this invitation is engraved in a tree and is surrounded by leaves.  Try to hang that on your fridge.

Letters to Brady: 3 months

Dear Brady,

You've made it through a whole season and what a summer it has been!  I guess it shouldn't suprise you that it has been the best summer of my life...and it's not even close.  A quarter of a year isn't so long, but I feel like we've been through a lot.  I've loved you every bit of your short life, but I'm enjoying you so much now and loving this stage between newborn and toddler.  You are becoming generous with your smiles and your personality is starting to shine through.  We spent the week at the beach with your older cousins and as I watched them, I couldn't help but imagine you at their ages.  Part of me is excited to see you walk and talk and do things that kids do, but part of me fears that independence and where it will inevitably lead (ie college).  I swear I am not going to be the dramatic mom who needs to join a support group when their kids go off to school and always talks about "their baby growing up," but I'm certainly more empathatic to those crazy moms.  Enough of the dramatics: the point is, I love you so much now and I'm trying to savor and remember each day.

 

I have had a wonderful life and consider myself especially blessed.  I had a great childhood: I survived junior high, enjoyed high school, loved college and suprisingly, even loved having an 8-5 job.  Every stage of my life seems to get better and better and I can't think of a better blessing than to constantly feel like your life is improving.  I recently read, "The Happiness Project" and in one study, people were asked whether they would prefer a job that started at $30,000 per year and increased by $10,000 each year or a job that started at $60,000 and decreased by $10,000 each year for a period of three years. Interestingly, most

people preferred the latter, even though they ended up with less money.  Most people understand that the feeling of growth is important to overall happiness.  I feel I have gotten the best of both worlds:  I started with a high salary and have seen a pay raise every year! (If only this literally translated....)  My hope for you is that you enjoy each stage of your life and look back with happiness, but not longing.  I hope that you appreciate each day you are given, but that you always have something to look forward to.  With you in my life, I know I do.

Love,

Mom

Cousins

Cousins form a special bond

sometimes it involves a bite

They'll share their food and all their toys

 And will help you stay upright

Cousins will keep you cool and styled

And will keep a watchful eye

They'll point out all of your good deeds

You'll never want to say good-bye !

Brady spent this week with his cousins at the Outer Banks and it was a wonderful meeting and a sad good-bye!  We will miss Emma's sweet "hi's" and Leo's contagious laughter.  Children add an element of fun to family gatherings and we look forward to Christmas in Iowa when the kids will be reunited!

Letters to Inanimate Objects

Nursery facelift

Back when I had nothing to post about except how I was still pregnant, I posted pictures of Brady's nursery.  My mom recently made a valance and a book sling to finish off the room.  For you crafty folks out there who want to know how to make the book sling, the tutorial is here.  Supposedly, it is easy to make, although I question the ease of anything involving a sewing machine.  The valence laid in the room for a few weeks before Eric's brother came to visit and we could elicit his installation services.  I'm not so crafty and Eric isn't the handiest man, so we just surround ourselves with people who are.  Thanks Mom...and thanks Dave!

Nursery is complete, now I'm just waiting on Brady's first complete night of sleep!

Kan Jam

Eric, Brady, and I got back last night from a trip to Wilmington for Wes and Ashley's wedding. We drove in Wednesday night and shared a house with Tyler, Bobby, Marcus, and Preston.  They were great sports about sharing a house with a baby (and a girl).  The weekend was spent playing Kan Jam, a new outdoor game that is all the rage.  It involves two frisbees and two plastic "cans" that serve as the goals.  One person throws a frisbee towards the can and his partner located 50 feet away.  The partner scores points by 1) deflecting the frisbee into the can (3 points) 2) hitting the can in the air with the frisbee (2 points) or 3) deflecting the frisbee to hit the side of the can (1 point).  This is how I envision the game's conception: two college guys are hanging out outside their fraternity house, tossing a frisbee around.  One accidentally knocks the frisbee into a stray trash can.  Game created.  Enter the nerdy math major who watches the guys enviously from across the quad, goes all Mark Zuckerberg on them, and is now charging $40 for two plastic cans that cost $3.50 to manufacture.  

Eric and I were Kan Jam rookies, so we felt good about ourselves after winning the first game we played on Thursday.  Unfortunately, our team dynamic suffered a hit as the next games had very different outcomes.  At one point, Eric chastised me for a less than ideal throw, and I commented that perhaps some positive reinforcement on a good play might go a long way.  His response, "I expect excellence."  Oh jeez.  Brady, I apologize in advance for your father.  A partner change seemed to be a good solution to my losing streak.  Bobby and I were losing 3-0 in a 7 game series and made the biggest comeback in Kan Jam history winning game 7 21-20.  Eric may or may not have been on the losing team.

We took the game from the backyard to the beach.  Brady needs to improve on his disc throwing before he's allowed to Kam Jam, but thanks to his dad, he did take a dip in the ocean.

Brady spent some quality time with his grandparents who were kind enough drive down to babysit while we had a few free nights out.  The wedding was a beautiful outdoor affair.  Storms all day threatened to spoil the day, but the sky was clear and beautiful when Ashley walked down the aisle.  The band that played was incredible.  They performed at the Obama Inauguration and anytime a band has back up dancers, you know they're the real deal.  Ashley and Wes - congratulations, have fun in Cabo, and thanks for an amazing weekend!

Fun with dad

A man of many moods

Brady is growing up, but he is still little enough to enjoy a nice nap on our chests. What he doesn't like, however, is when we put him on our chests when he's wide awake. For that reason, I don't do it. This does not stop Eric.

We often get the same result when we put him on the floor for "tummy time." Guess which parent is the first to pick him up?

We're not always so cruel. Brady likes us, I swear! As proof, here is a video from this morning when Brady is most generous with his smiles.