Wednesday, January 31, 2007

birthday dinner

still hot in glasses at 30. hee hee

baby e is just doing her routine warm up stretches. she always does that at the beginning of parties. just to keep it loose, you know.

i heart anna.

precious trilingual family.

while it may appear that i am helping him clap, this kid can keep a beat better than me any day, i am sure. his mom told me that he was kicking to the beat while still in the womb.

babe a in the middle is within one month and one mile of baby e. sweet potential prom date, eh?


Last night, I celebrated my birthday with some friends at an indian restaurant. Originally, I wanted to have my birthday dinner at a veg*n place in chapel hill. But the owner was unwilling to accommodate us.

The people who run the indian place are so fabulous! They actually thanked us for bringing our children to dinner!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

today is my birthday!

this is what i look like on my birthday, sharing a photo with my favorite babe.

vegan gingerbread cupcakes with lemon icing. with real ginger pieces! and a handmade topper from ezra's boyfriend. her future mother-in-law made the cupcakes. i heart their whole family!

Today is my 29th birthday. It's a good day to be 29. I only wish that I could recall what happened as I was born...or see a video of it, at least. My mom gave birth to me as a single mom, at the tender age of seventeen. She said the epidural hurt so much when they put it in. I have no doubt that my mom is strong and tough but I hate that I caused her pain in labor. My daughter's birth was probably so different from my own. She was born at home with a supportive husband and the few hand-selected people I love in the room. It must have been so hard for my mom from the very beginning. I think that she loved me as a newborn babe though. I think that she may have even liked being pregnant, just a little. I love this one picture of my mom standing on the porch with a quilted maternity shirt on her very pregnant body. I love being a mom and am so thankful for my own mom. Thanks, mom for giving me allow. These days I am really thankful for it!

Friday, January 26, 2007

sliding and her first cake

so good to her.
chocolate cake!
yum. notice how it's all on her shirt sleeve, too.

did i tell you all about the slide? baby e went down the slides at the mall play area all by herself. i helped her climb up and held her hand going down, at first. but a few minutes into it and she was going up and down by herself. she only needed a little bit of redirecting to know not to climb back up the slide once she had gone down it.

there were two other slides and she conquered those, as well! she really enjoyed her sliding times! we went back there after a two year old birthday party and she liked the slides all the more. i made a video of it but do not know how to post it here.

"when i get to the bottom, i go back to the top of the slide, when i get to the top, i go for a ride."

she has returned to nursing like a four week old babe. all day and all night, even when she eats lots of other food and drinks water. my breastfeeding expert friend told me that babes sometimes increase nursing needs around every half year mark. so, if ezra was 18 months old, i may understand the reason. she replied, "well, ez is just advanced, of course!"

we are pursuing some dreams of travel and possibly living abroad for a period. a's contract job will be over come june. there is a super neat program that we have been hoping to do that begins on july 1st. otherwise, we would like to volunteer abroad for at least a few months somewhere in either southeast asia or perhaps eastern africa. we have friends who do maternal health care work in those areas in various countries. it would be nice to already have something established that we could plug right into. we will keep you posted on that!

i am off to try on dresses for the wedding tomorrow. i am trying to save some money for the travel adventure so my friend from social work is lending me one.

thanks for reading! shoot us a comment if you have time!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

what IS happening in the life of a babe?

ee cummings once said, "to be nobody but yourself- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you like everybody else- means to fight the anrdest battle which any human being can fight."

this blog is really supposed to be about how baby e is doing, so here is what she is up to these days.

her favorite word to say over and over is "ball" and her favorite sign to give is a pat to the head which could mean either "lettuce" or "hat". she regularly says: ball, mom, dad, down, this, bye, no, woahhhhh, and mmmmmhhh mmmmmhhh mhhhhhh. we have heard her say on rare occasion a few other words like: sherp, book, dog, bounce, up, boots and ba doop ba doop ba doo.

she regularly signs: milk (for breastfeeding), dad, dog, hat/lettuce, water, eat, color, red, hug/love, signing, want, train, excited, thank you, socks, shoes, boots, and up. occasionally, she has given us the sign for: orange, blue, and play.

she shales her head no a lot and sometimes yes. she responds to many of our signs to her even ones she does not sign back to us. she can identify her body parts such as: head, mouth, nose, belly and milk (aka breasts), feet and eyes. she gives us kisses and hugs pretty often. last week when i was really sick, she rubbed and patted my back. she likes to give us high fives, especially before we fall to sleep together. she thinks it's pretty funny. nothing like a laugh baby giving you high fives to close the day. it's much better than the nights when she screams, wrestles and crawls off the bed over and over!

seneca said, "no man can live happily who regards himself alone, who turns everything to his own advantage. Thou must live for another if thou wishest to live for thyself." here are the casa de sol, we are each struggling to live for each other. it's challenging and like any challenging it si rewarding!

Monday, January 22, 2007

chillin.

today, i am on the mend, for real. feeling a lot better. i can understand a little bit why people who recover from cancer and the like run marathons; they are so grateful to not be sick and to be able to use their bodies! not that i had cancer or will ever run anywhere.

this week is already full and busy before it's even begun. we have some important top secret applications to fill out and mail. a is almost done with our tax prep. tues night we have a church meeting about some of the changes our church is going to have this year. wed night we have a time with our special friends. thurdsay night, i have a doula meeting at the hospital. friday night, we finally get to hang with our long lost friends and i will try on dresses. saturday, the precious ones will get married and we will muster up the strength to party the proper way, hopefully!

during the days, i need to get a TB test done at the hospital and secure a parking pass somehow. i need to read ten books. i need to do some mock interviews (aka the preview) with c. we need to sell our silver VW jetta with heated seats and a 6 disk cd player. anyone want to buy it?

we need to get together with that wonderful woman we ran into at whole foods while buying a cake.

huggy lovey babe needs some special attention after her parents were zombies, esp. her mother! last week.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

"are you who i think you are?"

The day after my last post, hubby love and i came down with a wicked stomach illness. we spent the entire day throwing up. i will spare you the details. i have never felt that sick in my adult life! it's so much harder having a baby love to care for and not being able to care for her as well. if you are a couple planning to have a child, just don't ever get sick at the same time as your partner! that's my wise advice.

on friday, i did get to celebrate my birthday early with k rah at irregarless cafe near downtown raleigh. fun times although i was still trying to feel better. i barely got to eat the yummy vegan platter hubby love devoured. i did enjoy seeing our friends.

with my number one girl

smit and i love us some nancy pants

safe in the arms of love, holding me still, holding me near, in your arms of love.

my fave people.

the gals

thoughtful friends

often, she is my muse.

they are going to the chapel and they're gonna get married.

the next day, i promptly started throwing up, again. baby love took a really long nap, her dad was well on the mend and so i didn't feel too bad about laying around and reading all day. we did make it out to ant knee's birthday party. on the way there, we stopped to pick up a chocolate chambord cake from whole foods. the most wonderful thing of the entire weekend happened then!!! i kept catching eyes with a beautiful and familiar looking face while i was checking out and she was sitting in the cafe. i put my cake down, went to the bathroom, couldn't muster the energy to buy crocs in my size and went back to get my cake and leave. as i was walking out the door, i gave this woman one last glance and she waved to me. i practically ran to her, threw my cake down on the table and was quickly embracing her. at a loss for words, i just whispered into her ear, "are you who i think that you are?"

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

doulaville

love it!

psuedo cousins


In the past weeeeeek, i have gotten so encouraged about being a doula. i attended my first client at durham regional hospital here in my town. the doc was really supportive of using telemetry, which i surely misspelled but it is a remote fetal monitoring unit that allows the mom to walk, move around and even get in water. the mom made use of it ans did the hard work of helping a baby come "down and out". i really want to respect the confidence of the mom and her family so bless me if i refrain from lots of details. if you know this mom, you can ask her if she would like to tell you the birth story of her first son.

on thursday, i traveled to the city where i was born 29 years ago this month. i spent time with the woman who gave birth to me in a hospital with an epidural that she hated getting. she labored with me and put me to her breast where i remained for over a year. i am so proud of her for breastfeeding me for so long and with such limited support. i am SURE it has been extremely helpful to me throughout my life! thank you, again, mom for your commitment and mothering.

i am becoming certified as a labor assistant through ALACE, a midwifery model of care program. i attended a three day workshop as part of that. care to know what else is involved in the certification process? Here is some info from the ALACE website:
* Attendance at the 3 day workshop
* Completion of the required reading list
* Successful completion of the written exam
* Audit a series of childbirth classes
* Written self-evaluations of 6 births you have attended
* Written performance evaluations from 3 people you have attended or worked with

I am just getting started but so happy to be following the call on my life to support women in the childbearing year. Please pray for me in this pursuit. I am beyond excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of me.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

first doula client!

buddies

my best friend from ncsu, but not my doula client...yet


we are both feeling much better bt now. thank you if you prayed for us. i am really glad that we are better, too. in a few short hours, i may get to attend my first doula client!!! it's really an honor to be welcomed into the birth of a new babe. i will share what i can while still respecting their privacy.

as most of you know, i had a doula attending e's birth. this woman inspired me to have my baby at home, naturally and free of interventions. i looked to her for help and guidance, knowing that she had given birth to her two babes before me. one of those babes was even in attendance at e's birth!

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

strugglin"

If you are reading this today, say a little prayer for the female half of the gun tah clan. Baby has a runny, snotty nose and is not happy about it. She's super clingy on me and nursing lots and lots for long amounts of time. She even walked over to the sling and pointed at it today. I asked if she wanted to be in it and she surely did. She's never done that before, if i recall correctly. While I want to nurse her and hug her and wipe her nose and give her extra attention, it's taking a lot out of me right now b/c i am feeling a worn out.
Yesterday, when she woke with a snotty nose, I woke with major hip pain. I am not sure what it is from but it's uncomfortable to sit, walk or lie down in certain positions. I don't usually have aches and pains that keep me down so it's not an easy adjustment for me. I have not had a half way decent night's sleep all week starting with a new year's eve up till 3:30am. As a co-sleeping family, we adjusted well to sharing the bed with a babe. It actually makes night time parenting easier for us both. So, for me to complain about not getting sleep means i am for real not getting a good rest. Thanks for the prayers!

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

happy 30th hubby!!!

finger puppets from uncle don and auntie nancy who visited from seattle.

she is laughing so much with her unca jussy!

poor baby e keeps getting outed by mom-the-camera-hog

indian appetizers


unca jussy!!!

greatest friends ever gifted a speakers!!! it was the only thing he even wanted.

my friend the massage therapist made this quilt for e as a christmas gift, totally surprised us!

yes, everyone did wear matching outfits.

the black sisters

he stopped being a vegetarian and ate turtle ice cream cake.

m.roy really got into the fireworks and she really got into the beer.

they love each other even when there is no red pepper hummus involved.