Life's Still a Stage

Life Is A Stage

so far has been difficult day with precious child ... ok this morning but became non-stop screaming megaphone after morning nap (her, not me)... would not let me put her down and followed me around hollering while I poured her a sippy cup of juice (yes, she finally mastered the use of one)... ripped off her bib during lunch and threw it to the floor (no exaggeration) and continued to cry off and on until she big fat honking fell asleep in her highchair ... all signs point to a teething baby, at least all signs we've seen before but wish she could say for sure ... given that EVERYTHING lately goes into her mouth and the fact that she's drooling like a water fountain, we're expecting a pearly tooth sometime soon ... (she has, have mercy, 16 more to go)
otherwise, all is well ... lovely, isn't it? expect to start IVF bloodwork with the vampires this week, although a day like this one makes me think more than twice about entire situation ... do we really need another megaphone in the family? especially one who seems to have my dramatic disposition ... reminds me of a saying: if life is a stage, where's the audience?

That Sweet Mary and That Sweet Annie

The Return

And so it would appear (for the moment) that we have conquered the world of computer malfunction. I definitely have a wait and see sort of attitude about the whole situation ...

Precious Annie has changed so very much in such a short amount of time since I last wrote, but there's no way I can even begin to describe it without taking up about 75 pages, so I'll spare you, most faithful readers! The pictures are, of course, of her continuing fascination with Mary and Hope's doggie door, and then the rest are of her just being herself! She still LOVES to drop her toys, dolls, books (mine included), etc. out the doggie door onto the deck and then stretch out and get them. She does this over and over and over and over, but I say, hey, it keeps her occupied. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to figure out it's just a matter of time before Annie herself is the thing going out the doggie door!

Annie's still so very, very close to walking, but in the meantime can reach higher and higher every single day. All surfaces of all furniture even remotely within her grasp are bare (not a bad thing since clutter seems to have taken over our house), and we won't discuss how many things she had to pull down before this hard-headed mother realized it was time to clear the decks. She continues to be so very happy and fun to be around, and I'm so grateful for that, especially as we get closer and closer to Planet IVF. But that's another day ...

Houston, we still have computer problems

Laurie asked that I let everyone know that we are still having trouble with our computer. She will post pictures of Annie when we get the computer back. Speaking of Annie, she is doing great. Not walking yet, but cruising along the sofa and other furniture. She's enjoying adult food, and ate an entire grilled cheeze sandwich last night for dinner. She topped off the sandwich with goldfish and milk. Not bad....

A Blast From the Past (in so many ways!)

All went well at the doctor yesterday ... from this point we wait about 2 weeks, then have an IVF "class" scheduled. This is basically an instruction seminar that we could probably teach to others by now ( not to mean that in an arrogant way.) It just basically covers the meds used, how to give yourself an injection, and what to expect from the whole process.

We liked the doctor but of course we miss our old friends at the IVF Center in Mobile. However, we have great faith in our new doctor, and he was impressed that it only took us one cycle to conceive Annie. Again, we have great faith in him and no doubt that this will be as successful as last time.

I'm attaching pictures from this time about a year ago ...

Return of the Tiny One

and so we have our tiny one back home with us, and it is wonderful! feels like all is well with the world ... as you can see (as usual) these pictures were made with her in her high chair where she is confined and (relatively) still ...
must go as aforementioned tiny one is waking up but will report back later after doctor's appointment this afternoon ...

Parenthood

Happy birthday, Anthony! (and Bubba) Anthony and I've had a lovely day sleeping late (7:30, which is late for our household,) reading the paper in bed and then just basically spending the day how we liked. Anthony worked on painting the living room, I worked on filling out our forms for Monday's appointment (with Hopie's help,) we had a fabulous lunch at a little Irish pub in downtown Nashville and then of course we had a typical parent afternoon.
We made a trip to Wal-Mart (thanks for the giftcard, Aunt Mar and Uncle Lar) for baby food (Graduates now,) basic stuff, and a really cool bird feeder that Anthony wanted; then it was onward to Babies R Us for a new car seat for Anthony's car (again, something he wanted and again, thank you for the donations that rolled in and thanks to Matt and Mandi for the giftcard) and some cute little shoes for Annie. And oh, I almost forgot, we did make a stop at Best Buy (thanks for the giftcard, Kel and Michael) for a Playstation game. Like I said, it's been such a nice day!
Of course, on this his birthday, I can't neglect to mention how wonderful Anthony is ... for those who don't me well, I tend to be a little dramatic. Take the very recently mentioned babyproofing hoopla ... perhaps I will go to the garbage can in the kitchen, attempt several times to open the cabinet containing the garbage container, and then storm through where poor Anthony is innocently sitting and pronounce that it has taken me half of an hour to throw away something. He will very calmly say, "a half hour or a few extra seconds?" He is a calm and wonderful soul with such a caring heart who loves his daughter more than life itself and is such an amazing father. I have always loved him, but once we had a baby together, I find that I love him even more, although I didn't know that was possible.
Speaking of the tiny one, funny thing about today: I had looked forward to a day when it was just Anthony and I and we could have all the freedom we wanted. Sleep late? Sure thing. Go out to eat without 57 diaper bags, 16 bottles, 28 toys, 2 extra outfits, 15 bibs and a pre-prepared excuse for your child's inevitable meltdown? You got it. And so we had all that freedom today, but I kept hearing Annie. Not in a ghostly, scary way, just in a way that reminded me how much I love being a mom. I know I've written about this before but still ... it's just so profound sometimes. Don't get me wrong, we've had such a fun day together, but make no mistake, either: parenthood is just the most life-altering experience ever.

Babyproof or Bust

ok, self would like name and number of person who devised babyproof stuff ... should be some way to keep tiny children out of cabinets, etc. but still let grown-ups in ... JUST WANT TO THROW A PIECE OF PAPER AWAY!! is like act of Congress because self can't work the apparatus required to keep Annie out, so getting to garbage is like asking self to locate Istanbul on a map ... is sad state of things ... sometimes just sit in kitchen by used-to be-able-to-open-them-in-a-flash cabinets and cry ...

Here We Go Again

These are pictures from a short visit with my parents Easter weekend ... if Annie doesn't quite look like her usual self, it's because she's teething. Honestly, do they ever stop? I suppose with 20 chompers to get, the fun just keeps coming ...
Other than the complete unpredictability of the teething hoopla, Annie is doing great ... her aunt Kelly and uncle Michael (the very latest parents in the pregnant cousin circus) sent her an awesome Bee-Bop Band toy for her birthday complete with cute little plastic drumsticks, and we have such fun with that. (For anyone who didn't know, I played drums in the band in high school.) Anyway, Annie now likes to bang on Mary or Hope (whoever's closest) with the drumsticks and then furiously crawl after them in a one-sided game of chase when they try to vacate the area. I'm trying to teach her that's not appropriate behavior when it comes to dealing with her sisters ... and yes, I play with the drumsticks whenever I can because it's just so much fun!
Ok, with all the computer crashes I have no idea what I've written and what I haven't, but our first appointment with our new fertility doctor is Monday afternoon. (I'm thinking I mentioned that baby #2 will HAVE to come from IVF, and the whole process has to begin much sooner than later.) Even though we've been through the IVF thing already, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about this time. Annie was conceived on our very first cycle with embryos that were graded almost as good as you could possibly want. Anthony and I were just so extremely fortunate the first time that I'm scared this time can't possibly be as amazingly perfect. I don't mean that in a pessimistic way as much as a "I've been turning this whole process over in my head at night" kind of way. As I will do many times (and did many times before), I ask for your prayers!! Luckily, Anthony and I have gotten really, really good at operating as a team, and that's what it takes to get through IVF. Of course it doesn't hurt that he's an unbelievably supportive husband and ALWAYS there for me, so that's reassuring beyond description. So now we'll just see how things unfold ...
Anthony's birthday (and my cousin, Matt's, another cousin who is part of the brand new parent chaos) is Saturday, so Annie is going to stay in Columbus with her grandparents for the weekend. Anthony's off tomorrow, so we'll drive down together to meet his parents halfway, and after dropping her off we'll have a chance to just talk for 2 hours (miracle of miracles) with conversations that actually have beginnings and ends. We may go out to eat or grill out or nap a LOT, but we're looking forward to a weekend when we can spend time together just us ... not that we don't love Annie, but we're kind of getting ready to launch ourselves back into the crazy world of infertility, so we need some time to get ready ...

The Art of Sharing

still birthday party pictures ... this is my best friend since we were about 3, Teri, and her beautiful little girls, Kinsey and Abby ... Teri drove all the way up from Mobile just to be at the party and because we were long overdue for a visit, and we had a wonderful time because they were here for several days ...
the next picture is Annie with her Grandpa Leder (my dad) and the last picture is of Annie just a few days ago ...
now here is latest morsel of motherhood: have decided self will never eat all of own food again ... since Annie is eating "big people" food now, she's decided whatever I have she should have, too ... never mind sitting down with a bagel with her while she's eating her own breakfast ... she also wants bits of self's bagel ... am currently starving because most of breakfast (mine) went to her but will have to eat lunch in some area she can't see, which of course will only make her wail ... what to do, what to do ...(also out the window: self's romantic notion of lovely shared breakfasts with precious child, but not actually sharing food as am only child after all so mostly just shared talking)

Spencer James Day

have finally received computer back after second hard-drive crash so shall be returning to blogging and picture-posting tomorrow ... in the meantime: pregnant cousin count at 0, so here's a couple of pictures of Spencer James Day, born April 5 to my cousin, Kelly, and her husband, Michael:

The Big First Birthday

and so Annie Barclay turned 1 year old on March 27 ... absolutely unbelievable to her parents, but her daddy is already working on her application for the convent, so there you go ... heaven help us!
these are the beginning of the pictures from her little birthday shindig on the 24th (no offense, but it wasn't like she knew that wasn't her actual birthday)
in the meantime, she has grown two new teeth and continues to eat big people food ... LOVES macaroni and cheese ... still throws her sippy cup to the ground and laughs while doing so ... maybe she'll still be taking a bottle to high school with her ... nah, the sane part of me (HA!) knows she'll take that sippy cup when she's good and ready ... our wonderful pediatrician wasn't concerned about it at all ... no need to begin teaching Annie how to speak Russian and Portuguese, which is super because I don't know them!

Columbus, Continued

still more pictures from Columbus ... the second is Annie after having her face wiped,and the last one is of Annie with my dad and our friend, Todd ...

Visiting With the Barclays

continuing Columbus trip pictures ... these are pictures made by Anthony's mom while Annie was visiting ... think I've mentioned this, but our parents live about 10 minutes apart, so whenever Annie's there, she is wonderfully lucky to be able to see both sets of grandparents!!

The Magic of Old Friends

hardly know what to say about these pictures because old friends (not age-wise, Miss Debbie!) are almost beyond description ... the adult people (Molly and her mom -- her dad's out of town) are friends we've had for 30 years and cherish beyond words ... Miss Debbie and a group of friends (including my mom) have breakfast every week, and even though I don't see Molly as often as I wish, when we get together it's as if not a minute has passed ... I suppose that's how it goes when you're lucky enough to have a friend you've had since you were about 3 years old! The precious children are hers and her husband, Stewart's, and they all came over to the house to visit Annie while we were in Columbus ...