Spring Break 2009 - San Diego, CA

Scene 1: Take Gavin to G&G Robinson’s house for a six day stay. So strong while inside. Said goodbye. Not so strong when we got in the car. I wept. Brian kept driving.

Day 1: Flew to San Diego. Drive to sister Anne’s house two hours away. Listened to Wicked. Sang loudly to Ipod. Got carsick in a wretched canyon. Arrived and hugged cute nephew Cohen.


Day 2: Easter Sunday. Went with sis Anne to brother Dave’s (and Rachelle) house in Indio. Ate yummy food. Took pictures of more nephews. Forgot to take one of Anne and Paul. Shoot.

Day 3: Drove to Escondido. Wild Animal Park.

Beautiful sunny day. Free tickets from Brian’s friend. Saw elephants, parrots, vultures, gorillas, snakes, butterflies, tiger, etc.


Decided I’m not in shape - a very hilly park – lots of huffing and puffing. Will work out when I get home. Brian fed birds (lorikeet?) – Natalie just took pictures.

Brian swam in the ocean. It was freezing – he didn’t seem to mind that he was the only one out there. He was like a little kid.

Day 4: Took it easy. Chilly day. Old Town. Best Mexican Café I’ve ever been to – homemade corn tortillas. Speak to my soul – I haven’t had a tortilla that good in six years! (allergy…) Drove by the temple and to La Jolla. Freezing by now. Went to hotel and flipped between American Idol and Biggest Loser.

Day 5: Sea World! Atlantis rollercoaster – 2x – first thing in the am. Still to cold for everyone else, so line was so short. Saw polar bears, beluga whales, penguins, sea otters, flamingos, sea lions, dolphins, and killer whales. Felt like we were alone in the park – not crowded.

Best part: Brian’s friend from work has a cousin who is a killer whale trainer. Met with her. She let us in training facility – behind those locked gates! Personal chat – answered all our questions. “Do you know how cool/totally unusual your job is?” She does. Watched her in the next show. She was the main swimmer – very talented (and brave!) Afterwards she got us a free table at “Dine with Shamu” dinner. Yummy food. Whale up close. And again, free. So fun. Went home for two hours to rest.


Came back for nighttime dolphin then Shamu show. Way cool. Perfect ending to a sweet day with Bri.

Day 6: Beach. Getting warmer outside, but still chilly. Brian boogy boards. Comes and tells me it’s my turn. So scared. I don’t love the ocean. Fun to look at, awesome to listen to, but NOT fun to be in. Big waves, salty taste, possible sharks. Bri dragged me in. I cried. Later told me he thought I wasn’t going to make it. I calmed down. Boogied three waves and called it day. Scary, but fun 10 minutes. Walked down pier. Got minimal sun. Checked out of hotel and drove to Seaport Village. Ate at a BBQ place across the street. “Great Balls of Fire” scene from Top Gun was filmed there. (Came home and watched movie – confirmed – it was indeed filmed there.) Flew home.

Final scene: Gavin asleep at G&G’s house. Woke him up and he smiled. He remembers! Happy to be home. So happy to see my baby. Sad to feel like I forgot his face (not too much, but just a tiny.)


Best part: Reconnecting with Brian. Nothing else to worry about for six days – no obligations or interruptions—just us. He is still my very favorite person to be around. We have a lot of fun together. Happy five years to us!

Sun

It's been away from us here in UT for a very long time now. I was just about to get violent about it when all of a sudden, (I think it's safe to say) Spring arrived.

My tulips are about ready to show their color, the chapstick in my car is melty, and flipflops and capris are all over the place. It does my heart good.

Oprah

I am a loyal watcher. Wondering if any of you saw the show yesterday on moms... What did you think?

I know I've only got one kid and don't know a whole lot about the whole mommy thing, but I still related to a lot (minus the lady who shared that she peed in a diaper mid drive so she wouldn't wake up the kids...I didn't relate to that at all). I'm can be one who totally overdoes it and sometimes has beyond unrealistic expectations of myself. I think I have to be perfect at EVERYTHING. Turns out I don't.

I'm thinking I'm feeling better about saying no sometimes. Also, it's nice to know that my house doesn't have to be perfectly clean with a gourmet meal on the table every day - because let's be honest - that just is not true of me or my house. And I'm allowed to be tired after work. And that being a mom is hard and takes up a lot of brain time and physical and emotional energy. And that I'm not the only one! Yes, I indeed feel good about all of this.

I'll still working on making my house clean because it isn't a gift of mine - and the truth is that it's nicer when one doesn't live in filth. I just won't think that I'm the lowliest person on the planet anymore. :) I think they were right when they said you have to redefine yourself after a child. I want to be a mom more than anything, but I think the definition of me will always be a work in progress as I continue to learn and grow.

Nine Months

I love this boy more and more every day. Lately I've been feeling a little overwhelmed being a working mom. I know people do it all the time, but sometimes it's hard to me to feel like I'm really doing okay at something if I've got fifty somethings to do. I'm working on being patient about that. Luckily I get to go 1/2 time next year. I'm so excited to have more time with my little buddy.

I love picking Gavin up at the end of the day and have him reach out his arms for me to pick him up. If he's on the ground, he'll pull at my pant legs and want to get up to his mama. Melts my heart.

At nine months, Gavin army crawls with the best of them. I turn around and he's under the table or eating the pedals on the piano or investigating the garbages. He still likes to test the taste of things in his mouth. As you can tell, he's eating just fine. Last week he weighed in at 23 lbs 14 ozs. Chubba lub! (I still feel like my arms should look like Jillan Michaels, but they don't.) He's experimenting with all sorts of less-pureed foods. We're also testing out gluten, which I'm allergic to. Hopefully the breads and pastas and all things yummy sit well with him. He can feed himself and bottle and other foods. Sometimes I take away his independence because I just want to hold him while he drinks, but other times it's nice. He's got four teeth - two fangs on top and the two middle teeth on the bottom. I'm still getting used to his new smile!

He waves and babbles and laughs and jumps. Squeals and copies us and runs away. He's working on clapping and making his little fingers work how he wants them to. He's been watching Baby Signing Time and laughs and laughs. I know he understands "all done" but he hasn't done anything on his own yet. But at least I can blow dry my hair or get dinner ready and not worry that he's getting into trouble.



This is a happy, pleasant kid. He is usually sitting in his crib peering out the slats waiting for me to come and get him. He is pretty consistent at his schedule. He sleeps from 7-7 and then takes two good naps a day. I need the predictability - good for an OCD mom.

Yesterday Gavin looked at Brian and I and screamed at us - lots of times. He grabbed the side of his highchair and his face got red and he started shaking his head at us. He's got things to say and I can't wait to hear all about it. It's fun to see his little personality come out - pleasant or mad.



I look at this picture and cannot believe how fast the time has gone. He'll be one before I know it! But for now, we enjoy the moments. There are so many good things and we are learning so much along the way.

Just thankful, thankful for my sweet Gavin!

It's been awhile

So long, in fact, that I can announce Gavin's crawling and three teeth. And the big bathtub. And screaming. And some real food. I think I've taken five pictures this month (sad for me!) because I've been chasing him around picking up dangerous objects in his path. I've never babyproofed before, but we're learning quickly.
We're all currently sick but handling that. Brian's shoulder is doing well and he's back to work and able to help with Gavin again.
I wish I had something exciting to report - we're just hanging out. Loving a cute baby. We're getting excited for our trip to CA for Spring Break. And that's all I've got.

Pure Joy

Brian update

Brian had another successful shoulder surgery last week. In the past three years he has had both shoulders and hips resurfaced or replaced. The steroids he took during his chemo treatments have deteriorated his joints, causing Avascular Necrosis. He is a rock star - the bravest person I know. We spent last week in the hospital and now he is at home recooping while I'm at work and Gavin is being watched by Grandma R. and other sweet neighbors.
His shoulder was replaced entirely, because the bone was completely dead. The doctor described it as a crouton. Yuck. This joint is supposed to be completely round. Brian's...not so much. It's no wonder this guy has been in pain for the past three years.

Brian's been reading and sleeping and memorizing poems and finishing the West Wing (finally to season 7!) and wiping counters and making beds and folding laundry one-armed. I come home to hook up his ice pack - a serious contraption - and say hello during lunch. Tomorrow for my day off, he'll be home with me. Yeah!

So today I'm grateful for modern medicine. What a miracle all of this stuff is.