Well, I survived my baby turning 1 yesterday. We had a nice little celebration. I was able to leave work early, so we ate dinner with my parents (had spaghetti since it's one of Jake's favorites) and then opened all of his gifts. Andy jokes that it looks like a daycare threw up in our sunroom (well, once sunroom...now playroom). Honestly, we have more crap than Jake's daycare! His favorite birthday gifts? 1. His fisher price chair (great recommendation rach!) 2. the cool tunnel and grandma and grandpa got him and 3. a toy phone from Leslie and Coen. He was fascinated with the phone and rushed over to play with it as soon as he got dressed this morning.
Tomorrow brings the "formal" party. I'm so thankful that I opted for basically paying someone else to host it. We're expecting nearly 40+ people and I'm glad to not have the stress of hosting such a large group at my house.
My realization? Birthdays really are a celebration of life. Sure, the birthday boy or girl gets lots of attention and gifts, but the day isn't really just about that person. I realized yesterday that it's more about the people who experienced and celebrated in the actual birth. Okay, so really I think it's about the mother...seriously. Yesterday I was transported not just back to the hospital and delivery room, but reminded of the entire pregnancy (and all of its trials and tribulations!). This is going to sound terribly selfish, but I don't care....Jake gets all of the praise and fuss, but I'm the one that did all of the work and experienced all of the PAIN a year ago! LOL On that note...I publicly apologize to my mom. From now on, she'll be getting a gift and/or card every February 10th. I was born that day and that's it...she did all the work. And, yes, we do celebrate Mother's Day every year....but that's not enough b/c we also celebrate Father's Day. Father's don't carry the child in their womb while their body is ravaged for 9+ months and they do not experience child birth and the weeks/months of pain afterward (not to mention the fat that never goes away and the stretch marks!).
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
New Year Reflections
Screw resolutions. Who realistically follows through? This year I’ve decided to reflect on 2007 instead. Plus, if you highlight your amazing accomplishments from the year past, surely it will help motivate to do better/be better in the coming year, right? Seems to be sound logic.
2007 was nothing short of an amazing year. In fact, 2007 has been the most significant of my life to date, bringing both the greatest challenges and rewards. So, what did I do?
· Stayed overnight (well, week) in the hospital for the first time in my life
· Got to meet Jake!
· Survived having a child in the NICU for 58 days
· Got to bring Jake home and introduce him to his “brothers” and the rest of the world
· Learned how to care for a baby…and became pretty darn good at it I think (or hope for Jake’s sake! LOL)
· Made lots of new friends (among them—Rachel, Arlene & Jen)
· Learned that I really don’t need 9 hours of sleep a night…or 8…or even 7!
· Began to understand my mom and some places in our history much better
· Kept my son on breast milk for the entire year. This is a big one and probably my proudest accomplishment of the year. It was hard…really, really hard…one of the most difficult things I’ve done…but I did it. He turns 1 today (another post entirely) and he is still on breast milk! I’d hate to count the hours I spent over the past year with a breast pump attached to myself!
· Learned to be a working mom…also one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but also so very worth it! I think I’m a great lawyer and also think I’m a great mom and think that I’m better at each now because of the other. I’m sure I will always wish I had more time to devote to each thing, but for now I think I’ve been able to find a very nice balance.
· Traveled successfully to several states via both vehicle and plane with baby (and all of baby’s crap!)
· Successfully dined out (nearly weekly) with baby. This seems a bit insignificant, but one that I’m really happy about b/c it was a big concern. Andy and I eat out (or take out) A LOT…I’m so happy that Jake also enjoys it!
· Lost baby weight.
· Lost more than baby weight…got to w/in 10 lbs. of college weight! Also very proud of this one…and feel terrific!
· Learned that I’m still a kick-ass cook. With the help of a great recipe…I made a 6 layer (yes, 6!) carrot cake.
· Oh yeah…turned 30…and realized that I do love my 30’s!
· Finally, and I’m sure I’m leaving lots out, I continued to realize what an amazing marriage I have. We’ve now been married for over 8 years…and have been together for nearly 14 years (nearly ½ of my life!). Wow! Life with Andy continues to be full of such wonderful surprises and I can’t wait to see what 2008 brings.
2007 was nothing short of an amazing year. In fact, 2007 has been the most significant of my life to date, bringing both the greatest challenges and rewards. So, what did I do?
· Stayed overnight (well, week) in the hospital for the first time in my life
· Got to meet Jake!
· Survived having a child in the NICU for 58 days
· Got to bring Jake home and introduce him to his “brothers” and the rest of the world
· Learned how to care for a baby…and became pretty darn good at it I think (or hope for Jake’s sake! LOL)
· Made lots of new friends (among them—Rachel, Arlene & Jen)
· Learned that I really don’t need 9 hours of sleep a night…or 8…or even 7!
· Began to understand my mom and some places in our history much better
· Kept my son on breast milk for the entire year. This is a big one and probably my proudest accomplishment of the year. It was hard…really, really hard…one of the most difficult things I’ve done…but I did it. He turns 1 today (another post entirely) and he is still on breast milk! I’d hate to count the hours I spent over the past year with a breast pump attached to myself!
· Learned to be a working mom…also one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but also so very worth it! I think I’m a great lawyer and also think I’m a great mom and think that I’m better at each now because of the other. I’m sure I will always wish I had more time to devote to each thing, but for now I think I’ve been able to find a very nice balance.
· Traveled successfully to several states via both vehicle and plane with baby (and all of baby’s crap!)
· Successfully dined out (nearly weekly) with baby. This seems a bit insignificant, but one that I’m really happy about b/c it was a big concern. Andy and I eat out (or take out) A LOT…I’m so happy that Jake also enjoys it!
· Lost baby weight.
· Lost more than baby weight…got to w/in 10 lbs. of college weight! Also very proud of this one…and feel terrific!
· Learned that I’m still a kick-ass cook. With the help of a great recipe…I made a 6 layer (yes, 6!) carrot cake.
· Oh yeah…turned 30…and realized that I do love my 30’s!
· Finally, and I’m sure I’m leaving lots out, I continued to realize what an amazing marriage I have. We’ve now been married for over 8 years…and have been together for nearly 14 years (nearly ½ of my life!). Wow! Life with Andy continues to be full of such wonderful surprises and I can’t wait to see what 2008 brings.
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