Saturday in review

We had a lovely day visiting our friends Joe and Elyse and their two sons Ben and Eli today as well as Grandpa, Kathy and Tyler. Addie slept in a bit later than usual which started the day off right for Justin and I. We played a bit at home then headed to Maryland where we enjoyed an amazing meal of takeout Chinese with our favorite family of four! The boys are so adorable. Eli is getting so big and strong. His cheeks begged for kisses, I had to resist. Addie hammed it up in her diaper for everyone. We all talked a little about our move to Manila and I admit I felt the first pang of sadness thinking about how hard it will be to say goodbye to our friends and family for two years. Sigh. Probably the first of many pangs I'll get in the next few months. We traipsed over to Grandpa's house and had so much fun playing over there. Addie loves seeing everyone. She is such a sweetheart. I love our weekends together so much. Why oh why are they so brief?

Saturday in Pictures

More puppy love

Look at those cheeks!!! Precious!

Ben the broccoli lover. Such a cool little boy!

Addie clowning around with her Dad. Love those rolls!

Addie with her Grandpa. What a sweet moment.

love for lucy

As Addie has grown so has her fascination and love for our dog Lucy. Every time she sees Lucy a giant smile spreads across her face. Lucy likes to play with us on the floor (check out that gorgeous quilt Addie's Great Aunt Mary made for her). Addie loves to grab Lucy's fur and tries to get her ball. Lucy is such a sweet gentle dog. She isn't bothered by the tugs and little fists pounding her, she just rolls over and accepts it. When Addie is old enought to throw the ball Lucy will have a new favorite person! For now Lucy sneaks in a few licks of Addie's face after mealtime and seems satisfied with the arrangement. There are a few negative side effects to Addie loving the dog so much. Tonight Justin caught Addie on the floor, having positioned herself just right to reach, Lucy's bone. Right as he caught her the bone went in her mouth, along with a huge smile. I guess she sees Lucy chewing on it so you can't blame her for being curious. I have to chuckle at those things. In a few years Addie is going to have her first best friend in Lucy. Such a sweet relationship is budding before our eyes.

3.7 gallons

I was feeling really good about donating all my frozen breastmilk to a milk bank where milk is collected for premature infants or infants with medical problems. I love the idea of giving the milk to someone who can use it and at the same time I was getting the second half of my freezer back. My plan busted during the screening questions when the kind lady over the phone said "I'm so sorry, we can't accept your milk." What?! If you're husband's traveled to Africa since 1977 you can't donate. My eyes welled up. I felt so rejected! The sad part is that I know my family and I are healthy and it's the tiny newborns who could have received the milk are the ones loosing out.

What a bummer...

So all the milk...all 475 ounces of it, that's 3.7 gallons, was thrown out tonight. I regretted it almost immediately. I guess all that milk I painstakingly pumped was my back-up plan in case I wasn't here for Addie. I know she won't drink the milk much longer. It's silly to be regretful. All those late night pumping and Medela freezer bags, I put a lot of love in all that milk. If I feel this sad about throwing out the freezer stock, I can't imagine how I'm going to feel when I wean her and stop pumping completely. One step at a time Sara...one step at a time.

Randomness

Lots of random thoughts have been floating around my brain lately that I am going to share in a typical consultant's method of conveying information: A bulleted list!

• I am so glad that college football is done and can't wait for NFL football to be done as well.


• I finally got that scent, Sugar Lychee I've been drooling over from fresh and it is way more complex than I thought. I feel gorgeous wearing it.


• My New Years resolution is to keep the house cleaner. Yesterday I "mopped" the kitchen floor on my hands and knees with a roll of paper towels and household cleaner-don't tell my Mother!


• I drink at least 70 ounces of water every day. (Hey-I said it was random)


• Yesterday, at an office Baby Shower I ate 5 Rice Krispie treats and didn't feel guilty.


• My daughter, by far, is the cutest kid at her day care.
  
• I have not slept for more than 6 uninterupted hours since May 28th 2007.
  
• During a recent meeting with my colleagues we argued the "realness" of the word projectize. In the words of my dear friend Kathleen "I wanted to cut my arm off and beat myself with it".
  
• I blow dry my hair on the way to work in my car by blasting the heater and directing the vents at my head.


• I plan on voting D in the election whomever gets nominated.

Something less random is my desire for a project. I decided that once we move to the Philippines I am going to start a sewing project. I sewed minimally when I was younger with my Mom but I will need to re-teach myself and get a sewing machine. I think it will be a fun way to keep myself busy since I don't plan on working when we are in Manila. I haven't completely decided what the project will be. I want to do something simple that I can perfect and give as gifts. I have some inspiration and a vision in my head. One thing I have decided is a brand! So when my product becomes mildly famous or popular you will see my label all over. Those of you who know me will understand the cleverness of it.

71 degrees

Today was unusually warm for this time of year! I have to admit that it was so refreshing. After I picked Addie up from day care we put a beach towel on the grass outside and played for a while. Over the summer Addie was too young to be fully aware of her surroundings so this afternoon was the first time she felt grass on her toes and leaves in her hands. She went crazy for the feeling of grass. She rubbed her feet in the soft dirt and grabbed at the leaves and blades of grass. Of course everything went in her mouth so I had to snap a few pictures quickly and then grab nature out of her hands before she ate it. I got to try out my new Nikon D40 camera. Wow, it takes clear photos.

winter sunshine

It's funny how in September I wish away all the last hot summer days and pray for the cold weather to roll in quickly. Then during the winter I long for just one warm sunny day to come relieve us from the dry windy bitter cold. Today was warm and sunny just in time to pick my spirits up. Addie, Lucy, and I took a walk in the neighborhood to soak up the vitamin D. It was wonderful.

before our eyes

Addie has grown before our eyes these past two weeks. While we were in Washington her second front bottom tooth surfaced. It's taken no time to sprout as tall as the first and they are visible when she opens her mouth. It's so adorable. She likes to push her tongue down on her teeth to test out how they feel. She has also started to scoot herself on the floor a little bit and moves from a sitting position to a tummy position easily. Her foot gets caught often but she's trying so hard to crawl and move. Tonight she got on her knees and was bouncing up and down a bit while pulling herself up on her Dad. She's reaching her arms out for who she wants between her Mom or Dad, it's so sweet that she's able to express that she wants me. Addie has also started to say dadadada. She said it once as Justin walked by so I think she might grasp dada is Daddy. No luck with Mama yet. Just within the last three days Addie has started scrunching up her nose and sniffing loudly. It's hilarious. Her personality is definitely coming through. It's so fun watching my baby grow!