Fall Videos

Here are two short videos...

In the first, 11-month-old Michael crawls to get his bat, while his daddy tries to get him to put it in the "correct" hand.

And in the second video, Megan sings "Jingle Bells" while doing some very important work.

11 Months Old and Thanksgiving

Michael turned 11 months old today. Hard to believe he is almost a year old!

Today was also Thanksgiving. We celebrated with family and friends. And Megan made decorations for the front door!

Megan liked the food much more this year...

...and Michael got to hold the drumstick!

We have much to be thankful for!

Uh-Oh, It's School Picture Time Again...

Last year, the entry was called Why Daycare and Photo Day Don't Mix. And, once again, it was an interesting year.

Michael looks like a little man who is wondering why some guy with a camera is looking at him...

Poor Megan. In the words of one of my coworkers, it looks like they shot a puppy in front of her and then took her picture. So sweet and so sad.

Here's to next year!

Message for My 39th Birthday

I started writing birthday messages for myself four years ago, when I turned 35. I had an interaction with a homeless man that morning that moved me, and I wanted to share the experience with some of my friends. That led to a message for my 36th, 37th and 38th birthdays. So, what to write this year?

I really do love my birthday. It is an opportunity to say thanks for the previous year (and to my mom for having me in the first place) and a chance to reflect on my life in general.

Since I’m entering my 40th year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my 30s. What an amazing ride. Since I turned 30, I’ve completed three marathons, mainly to prove to myself that I could. I tried scuba diving. I got to sing with a band onstage (granted, the stage was in a hotel in Winchester, Virginia, but still…). I dated a few men who were wrong for me and one or two who might have been right for me at a different time in my life. I was honored to become friends with a bunch of amazing ladies who continue to inspire me, even cross-country! I packed up my life and moved to Los Angeles, got to watch my nice Miri grow up (still under construction!), meet P.C. and be blessed with Megan and Michael after what seemed like an endless journey of trying to have a baby. I’ve been so happy I wanted to jump for joy and so sad that I couldn’t get my head off the couch. I’ve held friends’ new babies and had to say goodbye to friends and family members.

This year has been particularly interesting. The addition of Michael to our family has made things exponentially busier, but I had no idea that my heart was capable of feeling any more love than it already had. The passing of my beloved grandmother, something I’d been dreading for decades, was very difficult, but I feel so lucky that I had the chance to see her before she passed away and tell her how much she meant to me.

And there have been many fun times this year, too! From watching Megan see Michael for the first time to a chaotic trip to Vegas with the kids that only lasted 24 hours, from out-of-town visitors to in-town Easter egg hunting and pumpkin decorating, it has been a terrific ride.

Here are some things I’ve learned in the last year:

o Nothing is as energizing (or rare) as a good night’s sleep. Or a really good nap.

o Despite taking lots of red-eye flights over the years, I’m just not able to do them anymore without burning out at the other end.

o Motherhood has proven to me, time and time again, that my own mother has been right about 95% of the time. I admit it.

o For those who are worried about their male newborn babies peeing on them, you just might find that your firstborn daughter can pee on you many more times in the first year.

o I am so lucky to have a job that I really, really like at an amazing school with amazing people.

o My girlfriends mean the world to me.

o So does my sister. I am unendingly grateful for her.

o My husband, despite working the crazy hours he does, truly puts his family before anything else.

o Being a mother means that you will never stop worrying.

o Being a mother also means that you will never stop feeling guilty about something every day of your life.

o I am so lucky to be part of a family of women on my mom’s side—especially Mom, Marilyn, Jenn, Stephanie, Nancy and Kate—who are strong and smart and funny and committed to themselves, their families and one another.

o Nothing stops a toddler temper tantrum as quickly as a tickle-fest.

o I didn’t know the expression “that just melts my heart” until I had children.

o Music will always be one of the loves of my life. Nothing cheers me up or calms me down quite as well.

o Sometimes, it really does take a village to help raise kids…and keep mommies sane.

As I’ve done over the past few years, I am trying to regularly count my blessings and be grateful for them. And I hope you’ll join me—because if you have gotten this far in my essay, you are surely one of mine!

Here’s to another year of “blessed days.”

This Date in History: November 4, 2009

I awoke to the sounds of Michael giggling in his room. When I walked in, he was standing up in his crib for the first time, so proud of himself. And when I praised him and picked him up, he kept trying to look me in the eye, as if to say, "Didja see it? Didja?" And away we go!

Michael, I Might As Well Apologize to You Now...

Michael, I am the second-born child as well. And I swore I would never treat my second child any differently than the first--I'd take the same amount of pictures, I'd still post regularly to the blog, blah, blah, blah. I'm sorry, but I just can't always keep that up! So I apologize for the lack of official nine-month and 10-month pictures. I love you to pieces...and that's probably why I haven't had time to update this darn blog!

Okay, guilt trip over...I'm sure there are many more in my future, anyway...

Yesterday was Halloween. On Friday, they had the annual parade at daycare/preschool.

Michael's class dressed up as frogs and princesses...

and Megan's class dressed up as Mickey and Minnie Mouses (Mice?).

Yesterday, we went to two parties. Megan was dressed as Abby Cadaby from Sesame Street.

And, while lots of people dress their babies as pumpkins or ducks for Halloween, we dressed ours up as a Vegas lounge singer. My dad had given us a tuxedo for Michael, and it just seemed to make the funniest Halloween costume. (We left off the white button-down shirt. It was very hot in L.A.!

We also gave out some candy at home and went trick-or-treating. Megan really enjoyed both, and it was so wonderful to take our kids out for the first time and especially see Megan's face as people opened doors and dropped candy into her bag.

Michael at Eight Months

Here's Michael's eight-month picture. Better late than never, right?

Things here have been totally crazy. Michael is finally getting over a stomach virus after six days. Daycare was closed last week for start-of-school-year preparations, and this coincided with my opening faculty meetings. Throw in a stomach virus and it has been totally crazy!

Other than the craziness, the kids are great. Megan is now speaking in complete sentences, which makes it so much easier to understand what she is saying. Michael is napping and going down much better at night. We are still struggling with middle-of-the-night wakings--a few nights ago he really was just tired and not sick, so we let him cry it out. One hour and thirty-five minutes later, he finally fell asleep. Other nights, P.C. and I have split shifts driving him all over the San Fernando Valley. We're working on it, though. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.

Tonight when I was putting Megan into bed, she looked at me and said, "Thank you, mama." Somehow that makes it all okay.