Our Big Boy!

Charlie's 1st Thanksgiving

Our Dairy Free Thanksgiving at Home

Playing on his mat while his parents eat...we had to move it right next to the table because SOMEONE was feeling lonely :-)

Thanksgiving

Stay tuned for thanksgiving pics tomorrow!

I am so thankful for so many things this year

1. A Healthy Family

2. A husband and baby boy I love more than anything

3. Jose's good job with Factset and health insurance

4. The ability to stay home with Charlie and give him the best care I can.

5.Food on the thanksgiving table (dairy free for my little guy :-)

6. A comfortable living space in our rented condo (dreaming/planning for a home continues but    I am so thankful nonetheless.

7. Great friends who give my family the support it needs to thrive.

8. My education - it helps me creatively cope!

9. A reliable car to adventure out (when no one is congested!)

10. Did I already say the love of Jose Cuevas? :-)

Trip to Tia Ryn's

I went to visit my sister this past weekend while Jose helped our friends Jeff & Heather move to LA.  Traveling that far alone definitely wears on my nerves. On the way there Charlie scratched himself so badly on his check that it started to bleed :-( and on the way home, he started screaming near some podunk turn off the 5 near walnut grove....needless to say I was feeding him and changing him in a tiny turn off into a grapevine field. On Sunday night Charlie developed a fever so we've been on lock down since! Jose is now sick too and worked from home today. I escaped to whole paycheck (whole foods) through the rain while Charlie napped. I was working on a dairy free meal plan so we had to get creative. I did find a dairy free pumpkin pie which is in the oven right now...we shall see how it turns out. (I got Jose his own individual pie!) We're having tri-tip, corn, mushrooms and green beans with shallots tomorrow....along with a little apple cider with mulling spice.

Charlie's 1st Trip to SF

The day that we had our family photos taken Charlie had fallen asleep in the car and Jose and I were all dressed up with no where to go...don't cha just hate that? We made an old school move and headed for the city.  We did well in our first family outting - no major blunders, blow outs or scream sessions.  Upon arriving (after a feeding and change in the garage... of course...it's not easy!) we walked no more than 3 blocks before we stumbled on the Prop 8 protest.  I was so overcome with emotion.  The protest marched right down market and tons of cars were stuck as the protesters filled the street.  Supporters honked and  climbed out the windows of their cars to join in.  Of all the times to not have my camera! Jose ran all the way back to the parking garage to get it for me so I could snap some photos of this moment.  What better protest for Charlie's first SF experience?

After all the excitement with Daddy at the Skaggs favorite...Kuletto's

Just inside the cheesecake factory away from the protest

Union Square

New Family Photos

This weekend we went out to a local park to have some family photos taken - the first "official" shots.  My two favorite photographers were charging $500/session for the base price (you still have to pay for prints etc.)  If photographs are as important to you as they are to me - how else do you document your life (?) you may want to stash that money away BEFORE you give birth :-)  With the given economy there was no way we were spending 500 bones. I also don't like most mall portraits and their campy backgrounds and carpets...not to mention trying to wrangle Charlie into poses.  I asked my dear friend Erin to take some photos as a favor - many of you have been impressed with her photos of our elopement!  Here is a teaser :-)

Charlie's Xmas List

I've been getting a lot of requests for a Christmas list for Charlie - since this is my first Christmas with a baby I didn't really know what to do/say.  Here are my (newly) collected thoughts:

Contributions to the college fund:

Charlie has a 529 educational savings plan so that he can attend the college of his choice. This plan allows the money to also be designated to sibling in the event of a scholarship. We would strongly prefer that if you were going to buy Charlie a $20 gift that you give us the $20 to  invest for his future.

Gift Cards:

While it may seem impersonal, I'm convinced that gift cards are the best gift for new parents. Babies are expensive to raise and it's a nice little bonus in the tight monthly budget.  Target and Baby Gap are the top choices as target gives occassional free shipping on diapers/wipes/etc. and Baby Gap, while expensive (we shop the $4.99 sales) has the best quality clothing. (Some baby clothes get one stain and they're shot...no hope of getting it out).

Family Memberships: Local museums and the zoo:

Charlie will be entering a great stage next year in learning more about the world :-)

California Academy of Sciences Family Membership

Fine Arts Museums of SF Family Membership

SF ZOO Family Membership

Educational Books & DVDs

We have books and dvds on our registry that we know  Charlie will enjoy and learn from in the near future.

PLEASE NO: stuffed animals or toys we have really limited storage space - they will be donated promptly after Christmas to children who need them.

Happy Friday

Charlie is having a really fussy day after I must have eaten something with dairy inadvertantly...all the dairy allergy signs are back. I started to feel really frustrated and I knew he was tired - I also knew he could probably feel my frustration so I put him in his car seat and took him for a walk around the parking lot.  Here he is - always sleeping with his hands up by his face.

Yesterday on the changing table :--)

Getting the Hang of this "Mom Thing"

I remember our first appointment the day after we got out of the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit with a nurse practitioner. I was exhausted from the labor / excitement of the birth of our son / 31 hours of having our newborn in the NICU. One of the only things I remember from that appointment - besides the fact that I was soooo grateful that our boy was healthy and we didn't have to go back to the hospital for a 3rd time was this...

Our NP said "yep, you're in the tunnel, I promise you it does get better". I was still running on adrenaline then and didn't know what that meant.  I think we're coming out of the tunnel now and I'm beginning to understand what she meant.

Our pre & post-natal fitness instructor is also a doula.  She continually tells the story of when her son was born and how she wanted to give him back. "I kept thinking to myself - I was wrong! This is a mistake!"

I love when I call Ann and ask what she's doing - my favorite response is "oh you know...Livin' the dream!" (I'm chuckling even as I write that)

The truth is that being a mom is the hardest job I have ever had. There have definitely been days (more than not in the tunnel) that I have thought to myself "THIS is NOT what I signed up for". The truth is that no childless person has ANY idea what they are signing up for. G.P. (my dad) and I were just talking about this last night when he asked me "could you have imagined how he would change your life?"  I said "no - and if someone would have told me, I wouldn't have believed them".

Everyone says "no one is ever ready to have kids" - that is funny to me now. What they mean is - no one is ever ready because life as you know it is over. That may sound bad to some of you but it's not at all how I mean it. Your perspective changes and the way you live with an infant is a delicate dance.

No - eating out without the fear of him waking up/screaming his ass off/needing to eat/finding a place to breastfeed (if you bottle feed - sweet! but a TON more dishes), romantic evenings out with your spouse without wondering whether or not your baby is okay, rated R time without the baby inevitably waking up and crying in the middle of your "romance", eating/drinking what you want (again!), traveling without packing half your house, going to the movies, long showers, a pedicure, disposable income, sleeping 6+ hours in a row.

Yes to - this tiny miracle that shockingly looks like he belongs to you and your husband, nights full of tiny snores on your chest, smiles from total strangers because you have a baby in the world, tiny toes, bath time complete with splashing, response smiles...not just gas, "talking back", most importantly a new perspective that I could not have imagined.  All I really want in this world is my child to be provided for: clothed, fed, diapered :-) , educated and loved.

Since I've been on this crazy no dairy diet Charlie is doing so much better. He has some predictable "sleeping times" (no regimented naps yet) and we're getting better at nursing on the fly. My only wish for the moment is for him to accept a bottle so we could be even more mobile and I could get off this crazy no ice cream no chocolate no pizza plan. In the mean time the side bonus is that I'm dropping L-Bs (as MMM would say) and my baby feels better. Charlie's needs have become more predictable and it makes me feel like a better parent - or at least I feel like I want to pull my hair out a lot less. His smile, even at 4am can make me cry and I know this is the most precious gift in life - in this new life and new love.

Visiting the Grandparents...

First time on my new play mat!

Trip to Nona's

Soy Coffee with Alaina

Alaina and I met up last week for a little cafecito at my favorite coffee shop. Alaina is my girlfriend from high school who moved out to the bay area with her b.f. (now fiance!) Matt. It's great to have a friend in the area who knows where you come from...who knew you when...

Alaina has gone from baby fearing to baby lovin' in the past year. Charlie slept through our whole visit so she didn't get to hold him.  Here are the photos from our visit :-)

Oh Charlie - why won't you wake up? This is so unfair!

Cutie Head

Big Boy Bath

Yesterday I tried putting Charlie's tub in the big tub as we had ant traps on our sink. While he enjoyed his bath I think I got more wet than he did!

Heartbroken...

I can't help it - I thought I would be walking on water with an Obama win and yet I'm heartbroken today. As beautiful as this election has been with all of it's historical significance and the real progress that our country has shown in electing a (half) black man in what was quite frankly and electoral college landslide...I'm so happy this happened and yet I feel like we're also going backwards.

In California the passage of Prop 8 denies gay couples the fundamental right to marry. I keep thinking about all of my friends, my former students, the children who are yet to be born who are sent the message "something is wrong with you", "you're not good enough". I wonder what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would say about this. I'm reminded of his "I have a dream" speech that I used to teach. ...I have a dream that some day my children will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

To all those in my community - I'll work to fight it, you can count on me.

2 month appointment

We saw Dr. Chan today and I was so relieved to have Jose with us for the big vaccines day.  Charlie was scheduled to have 5 vaccines today but we decided against the ROTA vaccine which is for a certain stomach flu most common in 3rd world countries.  The remaining vaccines we got down to two shots with one shot as a triple combo (Thanks for telling me about this Pill). Dr. Chan and our nurse Alicia made me feel a lot better about the whole situation. Nurse Alicia has two babies of her own which makes me feel like she'll be gentle with our little man. She gave the shots quickly and yes, he did have that "I'm in pain" scream but he quieted quickly in Jose's arms. No, we didn't cry this time, I think having two parents in the room is definitely easier as you leverage off each other's strength and you don't feel like you're the only one making decisions that will affect your child's future.

Charlie is sleeping pretty peacefully right now. I like to schedule appointments in his morning nap window so that he will hopefully nap after his exam. (Plus it's usually easier for Jose in the morning)  I'm going to sign off to try to eat some fabulous non-dairy creation before he wakes up.

Winter Wonderland

While I LOVE fall fashion where I don't have to worry about wearing shorts or tank tops, it's not so fun with a small baby. It's been quite cold here in the bay so we've been bundling up. I took Charlie to fitness class yesterday and on the way there it was pouring rain. I called ahead just to make sure the class wouldn't be cancelled and to my surprise it was packed! All the moms needed to get out of the house :-)

 For those of you who have kids you know how fast they grow out of clothes. I had to change over Charlie's drawers and I hated packing some of his cute things away - especially those from the first few days in the hospital. I've been putting him mostly in warm pj's with the rain storms. Yesterday I tried on his snow hat and mittens and....he looked at me like "silly mommy - this is wayyy to big" :-)  It's hard to tell sometimes!


I LOVE this winter bunting from JJ Cole - it's so easy, the straps from the car seat come through the back to you can just leave it in the car seat. It zips up like a sleeping bag and is soooo warm. (So warm in fact that we zip it right down once inside). It's a must have for new moms, you never have to worry about dropping the baby blankets in a puddle!
In our new favorite pj's from the Kandas! We'll have to make an old navy trip :-)

Watching Soccer with Daddy

Daddy's Boy