The cutest baby ever!

posing for mommy

First time on a swing

I cheer, you cheer, we all cheer...

Pi turned 10. He has joined his older sister in double digit birth years and is quite proud of it. We had a small family festivity… dinner out, cake, presents and cheerleading. Yes, Cheerleading - what every boy dreams of - the whole family taking turns giving cheers. My heart melted a little as Amy got up and did a cheer – (I have always had suspicions there was a peppy girl living under that even exterior – and now I have the proof).

Cheerleading…family cheerleading…It was…I don’t know what it was – it defies description by me – The cheering was a mishap – it should have never been– but on the designated party supply day, about 5 minutes after Amy backed out of our driveway – hail began falling from the sky – so it was decided, all shopping must be done at one location – one location that happened to be out of orange gift paper, but was not out of orange pom poms…which created a nice effect hanging over the gift bag like long plastic streamers…creating not only the perfect decoration – but memories of giggling cheers as well…

In other news –

Kahlo is teething, officially, which means she is officially fussy. I thought (wrongly) teething would be a breeze – after all she got her first two teeth without symptom – apparently I suffer from delusional ideology. Apparently when hard sharp objects begin protruding from babies very soft gum line, the only rational thing for baby to do is scream herself into hysterics , creating the need to suck her thumb for comfort – promptly causing baby to bite her thumb with one of the said hard, sharp objects that protrudes from her soft gum line, which leads directly to more screaming, which prevents baby from sleeping, sleepiness is unbearable – the only way to deal with such an unbearable state is to scream, louder –longer –more meaningful screams means it’s time for a warm bottle and gentle rocking of the chair – this leads to baby [FINALLY] sleeping, which leads to two happy moms that gently put beautiful, sweet baby into crib – which causes instant screams… it’s a cycle – a vicious – long – exhausting – cycle…

- I am sorry beautiful stay at home wife, your job is no doubt harder than mine. [love]

the world stopped last night

Amy is sick – or she was – she could still be – I am just not sure. But yesterday – she was sick, she said she was not – but she was. She always says she is not sick – right up to the moment she has a 104 fever and can’t lift her head more than 2 inches off the pillow – then she exclaims with shock “I think I’m sick!” Yesterday she was able to lift her head off the pillow – but not for long – the smile was drained from her face, her voice was dull and flat, and she spoke only when spoken to – Amy is sick.

When Amy is sick, our world stops, then it spins out of control – we don’t really know what to do… she does so much – I walk around in circles, knowing I need to do something, but not sure what.

After work I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some items to make one of Amy’s top 5 favorite meals – [which she hardly ate – Amy is sick] I got home, checked in on Amy [who told me she was not sick] and started my culinary masterpiece, we ate [she hardly ate] everyone was happy, except the “not sick” woman.

A typical after-dinner conversation goes like this:

Me: I’ll clean up

Her: no, you cook, I clean

Me: you had a hard day, I don’t mind

Her: Vada, you had to work all day, I’ll do it

Our conversation goes on and on like this until I either give in OR we both clean up…

Last night our after-dinner conversation went like this:

Me: I’ll clean up

Her: ok

Amy is sick.

After dinner/cleaning we [Pi, Kahlo and I] were off to basketball practice, where I spent the entire hour dodging flying basketballs. Leaving, we were all proud – Pi had made most of his baskets and I had managed to evade any flying objects…that is until we were mere feet from the door, when a ball came out of nowhere and smacked me right on the nose [about ½ an inch from Kahlo’s face] we all survived…

Back home…

I checked on Amy who was still “not sick” and still in the same position in bed – she did not need anything…

Kahlo fell out instantly – lucky for me. I quickly washed bottles, boiled water, stitched Spot (the stuffed toy dog) back together and began preparing homemade baby-food for the first time. That is a whole story in and of it self – needless to say the squash ended up in the trash can – but the pears made it to the baby cubes.

I checked in on Amy again before going to sleep myself, at that point she was not speaking, only grunting – if I interpreted the grunts correctly she said she is not sick and does not need anything… my interpretation could be wrong – she could have been begging for water – grunts can be hard to decipher…

This morning she said again in her meek , sleepy voice – that she was not sick – she then turned to Kahlo who was stirring and told her it was NOT time to wake up yet … Amy is sick

Election Day

Yesterday was election day - an exciting day in our family - Amy even made election day rice krispie treats!

This is the first year our older kids (10&12) have shown much interest, making it even more fun for the two of us...last month we took the kids to the Obama rally, surprising to us, they had a great time (Kahlo slept through the entire event). On the way home they recited many of his points and added what they liked about his ideas.

At school yesterday Pi's 4th grade class voted for president. The tally:
Obama 17
Clinton 3
McCain 0
Huckabee 0

This is what I love about The Heights...there is a noticeable lack of a republican vote... just the thought of all the mini-democrats running about is enough to make me smile, even on this very busy-stress filled day.

Amy early voted, I voted before work yesterday morning. We went together as a family to caucus last night. There was a wonderful and exciting feeling in the air - until we got home and realized Clinton would not only take Ohio but Texas as well...

Pi and BT

Kahlo - Birth to 6 months

6 month Dr Appointment

Kahlo had her 6 month appointment on Monday (I know, today is Wednesday – I am behind). I was not able to go with her, probably for the best – last time she got shots I cried more than she did and her pediatrician had to stop to make sure I was ok… Amy of course, handled it like a pro, keeping steady nerves, cooing at Kahlo when needed and gently swooping her up to console her afterwards - I guess the whole gentle-reassurance-steady-loving-hand is one way to go about it, but personally I prefer the stooping-in-the-corner-bawling-like-a-baby method…

On to the stats… at 6 months she is 18lbs 12oz and 27.5 inches long. She is in the 95% with height and 92% with weight… all and all a big healthy girl!

The Pediatricians Topics for Discussion:

• Teeth (Kahlo already has 2)

• Sitting up (A skill she has long mastered – well, not really long, more like a few weeks…)

• Rolling over (the task is getting her NOT to roll over, rolling over is something she does at will)

She has already made all the milestones that should be expected! Yep, I am good at this baby-thing!

We both love that her pediatrician not only supports our positions on sustainable/organic/environmentally responsible living, but also raises her own children with the same beliefs. She gave us some more advice on making our own baby food and the importance of organics as well as some good brands to use for organic/natural toys.

We ordered some organic seeds and plan to try and raise our own veggies for her baby food. Amy and I both kill all things plant-like – so there are mild concerns about the eat-a-bility of said veggies BUT it will be fun trying.