In which Mommy makes panels for the baby carrier because she got bored with the old ones.

Princess hair- it does exist!

If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know that the little princess has had very little hair to go with her diminutive status. This past week, we crossed a milestone; I was able to do something with her hair other than two tiny pigtails! I present, the princess hair:

Ta-da!!

Ok, ok, so it's a variation on the pigtails. But still a step in the direction of all sorts of prettiness!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a day of very different emotions for me. This is my second mother's day, and I'm finding myself viewing it in a mixture of thankful awe and remembered grief. I feel a heightened sense of awareness of those around me at church, women who have had failed infertility treatments, miscarriages, husbands who won't agree to children yet, couples who are going through the homestudy process as they hope to adopt. Infertility is supposed to affect 15-20% of couples, and yet in our small church, there is only 1 couple who hasn't been touched by unfulfilled dreams of expanding their family.

I love being a mom, but I am finding myself wishing this day didn't have to be thrust upon us as a population, and that I had something more to say than just "thank you" when everyone wishes my a happy Mother's Day.  If we could just stay home and "celebrate" it in private, I would be so much more comfortable. I don't like being singled out for some sort of honor seemingly above other women because I now have a child. As you go through this day, don't forget about those on the grief side of the fence, who have maybe lost their mothers, or long for motherhood that seems so far out of reach. And please, don't needle anybody about when their first Mother's Day will be, because each woman is significant for her own sake, and suggesting that motherhood is a task to be accomplished diminishes her intrinsic worth.

That being said, I did have a nice day! In Hannah's Easter Basket, I had put some soap crayons, thinking that they were a brilliant idea. Of course, she loves them. Then I realized that I was teaching her to love coloring on the walls.... maybe that wasn't so brilliant. However, when I got up this morning, I had the following message waiting for me; it seems she is brilliant after all:

And I got breakfast in bed, although I might have to talk to Mr. Myth about letting her play with the stove.

And here's the sweetie herself! Of course, this is before she threw a fit while Sha-Sha was on speaker phone. Who can resist making Mommy look bad in front of Grandma?

Easter 2013

Playing "the little lost sheep" with the Sunday school skit

In which Mommy Loses an Adjective

If you've spent any time with online "motherhood" communities, you may have noticed that we love our adjectives. Forums, especially, are a great place to advertise how many adjectives we have. You may see a short response to someone else's topic (i.e. "me too!"), followed by what's known as a "signature." This signature includes things you want everyone to know about you. We love our signatures to be longer than our "me too" replies, so we make them something like this. Bonus points if there is a graphic "blinky" associated with each adjective:

I am a...

(*ahem*)

Cloth diapering, home-birthing, exclusively breast-feeding, organically clothed, local grass-fed beef eating, non-circing, non-vaxing, home-schooling, vegetable growing, stay-at-home mom.

This is just a sampling of the adjectives that seem to be popular around where I've read, and no, this is not my "signature." After all of the adjectives, it's hard not to compare ourselves as moms against the adjectives preceding it. Does this person think I'm inadequate for choosing differently from her in these areas? Am I still accepted if some of these adjectives apply to me, but not all? Or we take pride in these labels, saying to ourselves, that we are good moms because of them.

So, among the adjectives I could use to build my signature, it is time to admit that one of them will no longer apply. You can take "stay-at-home" off the list. I got a job, and am starting Monday. This has been a big decision, though not as difficult as I would have thought. I am lucky, because I am a nurse, and can work 3 nights a week and call it full time. We have a private sitter whom we know and trust to watch Hannah on the mornings after I work so that I can get some sleep. She is mostly weaned, and is sleeping all night long in her own room now, so she may not even miss me much while I'm at work.

Now, I think I've done an exemplary job of being a stay-at-home mom. I have kept my baby clothed and fed just fine, like here for example:

I do such a good job that she never has to beg for more:

Hehe.

Joking aside, we have taken a hard look at our goals for the future and decided that it will be best if I work and save my salary for a while, at the end of which time, hopefully, we will be ready to welcome home another one of Hannah's siblings (no! This is NOT an announcement!). I am looking forward to the professional development personally, and have started to get out my equipment and uniforms. Hannah has joined in the fun, playing doctor for the first time:

In all of this, I have had to take stock of my adjective comparisons. I used to be very adamant that I would *never* work outside the home with children in the house. Now, I can look at our situation with peace, because "stay at home" or not, I am a mom. I love that title most.

Hair!

Hannah has really, truly crossed the threshold from bald-ish baby to having hair, amongst other significant changes in appearance and behavior in the last month. The most fun thing she has started doing is getting interested in clothes, so she'll bring me things to put on her that she finds lying around (isn't child development a great reason not to pick up laundry 100% of the time?).

This includes shoes:

And coats 15x too big for her:

She has also become quite vain. *Note length of pigtails!*

Fortunately, she can't see herself in the bathtub, right after the pigtails have been removed:

Also, as one of the students we work with so aptly pointed out tonight, she's getting so fat (aka, no more skinny baby)! *Note the double chin... she will kill me for this one in later years, but it's so cute.*

I wonder if this might not be due to her new-found status as a Peanut Butter junkie:

She's on an exercise program though, otherwise known as "learning to walk." Nothing extensive, but one should never start too quickly, right?

I couldn't get pictures of these, but she's started following directions to find her baby doll, then she'll have me rock it, then she'll give it hugs. She's learning and using 2 signs on a regular basis: "more" and "all done." "All done" was taught by Daddy, "more" she seemed to pick up on her own somehow- maybe from the other toddler on campus. No verbal words yet, but signs count, right? She'll be going to the doctor for her next checkup in a couple of weeks, and I'm curious to see where her growth percentages are now- they must be above 5th percentile with that awesome chin!

New Camera for Valentine's Day

There has been a dearth of pictures here lately, mainly due to the fact that I cannot for the life of me get a good shot of Hannah. She sees/ hears/ senses the point-and-shoot, and she's crawling towards it with her hand out to grab it before I can get the shutter to click. Most of my pics for the last month or so have had her as a blur. Case in point:

Ooooh, almost in focus! Better luck next time, mom!

So when a friend of mine was selling an 5 year old Nikon for a fraction of the cost of a new one, we decided we could use some of our Christmas money to invest in it. I think we made the right choice, as it doesn't look like a cell phone, doesn't beep, and has a nice quick shutter speed, even with the flash. Plus, it takes nicer pictures! 

Today, Hannah got presents in the mail from her Sha Sha. We took pictures.

Don't pants go on my head?

The Miracle is One and Gets a Smash Cake

Happy Birthday Hannah!!!

Today, my baby turned one year old. I know every parent says this, but I can't even hardly believe it. We weren't going to have any kind of big deal thing for her, until everyone we work with at the ministry started asking us what "we (them included)" were doing for her birthday. I tell you, this girl is loved.

So, we ordered a cake:

And a smash cake:

 Lots of friend came and stared at Hannah and the cake, so she stared back at them. The Cake was suspicious looking anyway.

Then she found out it was squishy! 

 And fun!

 And delicious! She LOVES cake, Mommy!

Bonus deliciousness:

She got a little cake drunk.

 Hehe... who wants more cake? (Oh, oh, oh, oh... pick me!)

Random pic of the day

Because play saucers are so much more fun when they are not actually being played IN.

Weekend fun with fireworks and Grandpa

We have had fun, fun, and more fun this week!

Wednesday, Hannah wore her outfit white-side-out (I made it reversible) for the 4th of July dinner:

Friday, she wore it blue-side-out for fireworks!

Sam an I decided we like the blue side the best, but they are both quite cute.

Grandpa came to visit, and helped with the fireworks and baby. Hannah is starting to get a little bit of stranger/ separation anxiety, and wasn't quite sure what to think of Grandpa, but she warmed up as the weekend went on!

Saturday was Mr. Myth's and my 5th anniversary! We drove to the "big city" where Grandpa drove around and watched the baby for an hour or so while we ate all by ourselves to celebrate. Hannah has never taken a bottle, and I haven't made any kind of effort to store extra milk for her, so this arrangement worked out perfectly. We found a local fine dining restaurant quite by accident, and then got a family picture before heading home. Haha, Hannah is so tired in this shot. She slept awesome that night!