My math teacher was right

My high school math teacher, Mrs. Hampton, always told us that no matter what we'd end up doing in life, we would use math. And particularly, algebra. She was right.

Real life example, from today:

I get a call: "If I have $10,000 to buy insurance and I know the rate is 55 cents per $1,000 of coverage, how much insurance can I buy?"

Oh you know I flashed back to a room full of chalkboards and flying erasers (she occasionally threw things at us if we started doing things wrong). And you bet I set up that equation and solved it in about thirty seconds flat. (With the assistance of a calculator, of course. After all, I'm a lawyer, not an accountant). It felt good. :)

Can you solve it?

The world just got prettier

Welcome to the world, Sweet Caroline Grace.

Oh how I wish you lived here in Boston. My heart is in Texas this week with you, your rockstar mama, your sweet daddy, and your precious brother.

Fascinating

Are there any happy lawyers?

I stumbled across this post at Corporette over my Chex this afternoon (yes, cereal for lunch - whatever, I love it!). I skimmed a few comments and it's really fascinating to see people's take on what they enjoy about their jobs. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, so it's very timely for me.

Anyone else have ideas? What do you love about your job?

Too many kids?

Twice, today, when I told someone that I went to a Thanksgiving full of 40 of my friends and probably 1/3 of those were kids, the response was, "Wow. That's way too many kids." The first time was a middle-aged, single secretary. I laughed it off, even while I was slightly hurt, because those are my friends' kids - I would even say those kids are my friends. I love them all like they are nieces and nephews, and I can't imagine a holiday without them.

The second time was an associate at the client at The Deal, at the bar where we were all having drinks celebrating the closing of The Deal. (Yes, The Deal closed and I am so happy!) I responded with, "Well, two of them were mine, so that helps." He obviously had no idea that I had children and then asked a million questions, including the Big One: "How do you possibly juggle a demanding job with two small children?" (This is a question that on the one hand I appreciate because it recognizes the reality that This.Is.Hard - but on the other hand resent a little bit because he would never have asked it if I were a man...) He then went on to describe his Thanksgiving weekend, which involved an impromptu trip to Florida for the weekend, with "Because I don't have kids" thrown in.

I left feeling a little bit defeated, wondering how I can live in this BigLaw world with BigLaw clients and also be the wife and mother and PERSON I want to be. The interaction bothered me the whole commute home.

And then I came home to a sweet-smelling baby just out of the bath, snuggled her in the rocking chair and sang her a thousand songs, kissed her cheeks and made her giggle, got some sweet slobbery kisses, and laid her in her crib, happy and snug. And then I played Play-Doh with a very excited preschooler who decided to tell me all about her day while serving me green Play-Doh "beans" and trading colors with me every time I made something she liked. And then I gave that preschooler a bath, put her hair in rag curls, snuggled her while I massaged her hands, read her Amelia Bedelia (for the ten millionth time this month), had a long conversation about preschool while she sat on the potty, watched her tackle her Daddy, and snuggled her in her bed and sang HER a thousand songs and prayed with her about her curtains and her stuffed turtle (you know, the important things).

And all of that other stuff didn't matter. And I felt sorry for that secretary and that associate who don't know just how precious THIS stuff is.

Green Pastures and Still Waters

Work has been insane. August started crazy, and it only got busier and busier, culminating in a week of barely seeing my kids awake and thinking about nothing but The Deal. Or The Other Deal. Or That Other Thing I Don't Physically Have Time To Do Because of The Deal and The Other Deal. In the three years I've been practicing, I've never been that busy. Thankfully, The Deal is almost finished, and the lawyers' role has wound down significantly (this is good, both for our client and for my own sanity - it's a good deal, and I've learned a ton, but WOW it's been stressful).

At one point I emailed Psalm 23 to myself, just to remind myself that this will.not.last.forever. I have prayed so often over the past three months for some green pastures and still waters.

I left work on Wednesday at 5:00, and didn't take a shred of work home. Thought about it, but decided if I brought something home I'd probably do it, and I know everything can sit until Monday and be just fine. And I have had exactly ZERO work-free weekends since the middle of August. I needed to chill out.

And chill, I have. I don't want a huge journal-like post here, because that's interesting to nobody, but here's my long weekend so far in bullets (yes, it's been just as relaxing and perfect as it sounds!) If I feel like it later, I'll post a few pictures. :) Stay tuned.

• Wednesday night I sat on my couch for three hours watching sitcoms and crocheting. Didn't think about work at all, other than to notice I wasn't thinking about it. :)
  
• Thursday morning we slept in (until 8:00 or so... but still...)
• I took a nap on Thursday BEFORE eating any turkey.
• We had our Thanksgiving meal with a large group of our good friends (40 people in one house - it was crowded but so, so joyful. I come from a big family, I love crowded.)
• Thursday night I got to sew for the first time in 6 months or something. I made crib rail covers for Leah's crib - she's started chewing on the sides.
• Friday - one of my FAVORITE days of the year - we picked out our Christmas tree and put up our decorations. We do this every year on Black Friday afternoon and I hope we do it forever.
• Last night Bryan surprised me on the way home from the tree place by swinging by the store to buy some nice wine and stinky cheese - I've been craving a nice, relaxing night at home with him for a looooong time. I literally almost cried when he told me he was taking the night off and we could just hang out together and put up all of the Christmas stuff and talk about our plans for the girls' Christmas (we are way behind on that last one).
  
• This morning we went to the Children's Museum. This was only our second time going there, and I don't know why we waited so long to start. We are thinking about getting a membership there. It's an AWESOME place. Eden and Leah both loved it. Plus, we ran into one of her friends from school, so that was cute.
• Now I'm headed to the couch for a nap, then some more play time with my girls, and then probably some more crafting tonight - I have a number of projects now on my list.

Oh how I needed this. I am so incredibly thankful for the gift of green pastures and still waters, populated with my sweet little family and very little else.

Poetry

I'm thankful for the poetry in my heart. It no longer makes its way to a pen and paper very often, and usually it is snippets of ideas - thoughts, images, feelings. Mostly it's moments of realization that, broken as this world is, there is real good here - God is present. It makes my heart so happy that it's there.

Today - walking through Porter Square on a warm autumn day, surrounded by Canterbrigians at their finest (local elections are today) and feeling the bright sun on my face.

This past weekend - sitting cross-legged in my favorite chair, holding my squishy, sweet baby and feeding her a bottle, watching Bryan and Eden laugh in the dining room as they bake cookies together.

That's what poetry is to me - everything falls together and it's all so perfect I want to freeze it. Details of the simple joys in my experience. Oh how blessed I feel!!

Nine Months - wow.

Leah,

How did it happen that all of a sudden, you're nine months old? All of a sudden, you're fitting into the clothes you'll fit into on your first birthday. You're solid. You don't feel breakable anymore. There's not much about you that seems tiny!

You've got two bottom teeth, and you're working on one on the top. You still have very little hair, and what you do have is very short and very light. You're still quite tall. We haven't had your nine month well visit, but I think you're still going to be above average for height. Aside from that, you're built like Daddy. My little skinny minny with the energy to burn as many calories as we can stuff into you. Last time we checked you were 97th percentile for height, 45th for weight. I bet that's close to accurate now too.

One reason you're thin is, babygirl, you Never.Stop.Moving. From the time you wake up until the time you crash in your bed, you're going somewhere, you're doing something. Even when you eat, you do it acrobatically, and when you're done, you want to get down and explore. I can barely remember a time you didn't do this - you started crawling and it was GO TIME.

Last week Uncle John and Aunt Kelli were in town and we moved the furniture so that you and Eden and Quinn could play. You LOVED pushing your walker back and forth, back and forth, smiling so big and so determined. Twice this month you also stood for a few seconds on your own... but once you realized what was happening you plopped down on your bottom.

You've started to pick up on the tone of our voices. If Mommy or Daddy (or your beloved nanny, Angela) says your name in a "warning" tone, you look up so sad, stick your bottom lip out, and start to cry. You get upset if Eden is upset (this is new - you used to laugh at her when she cried). But it doesn't matter what we say to you if we say it in a happy, upbeat way - you're all smiles. And oh, how precious your smiles are. I love that you got your Daddy's sweet dimples!

I say it every time, but girl, you LOVE your sister. You hug her and kiss her and if she's around, you want to be ON her. She can make you laugh so easily, and she loves doing it. It just makes my heart so, so happy when we're in the car and you and Eden hold hands, and she talks to you or makes faces at you and you just laugh, laugh, laugh. There is nothing in this world like having a sister, and I am so happy for both of you that you get to experience that.

You are still such an easy baby. Daddy and I are so thankful for your sweet, easygoing personality. We comment at least once a day about how easy you are. We know the day may come when you become difficult, but we are just so thankful that, right now, you're so happy and content.

One very sad thing happened for me this month, Leah, though it didn't really seem to bother you. I ran out of frozen milk, and my production basically cut itself in half. This, I confess, is largely because I have been very busy at work and I have not been taking very good care of myself, and I feel guilty about that to no end. I'm still producing enough to keep nursing you twice a day, usually, and you don't mind formula one bit. But it still makes me sad to know that I'm not making enough milk for you. I feel like I let you down. You're fine, of course, and it's not as if formula is BAD for you. It's just not what I had planned for you and I'm disappointed. Other than getting a little impatient when the milk comes slowly in the evening, though, you really don't seem to care (a bottle is still a bottle, I suppose, even if the contents are different).

Mostly I think I'm sad about the production issue because it shows me very clearly that the day is coming, soon, when you will be completely weaned, and that means another change in our relationship, which is so precious to me right now, as it is. But, honestly, I know we're going somewhere great, Leah, because every stage is the greatest, and I love you more every day.

Love,
Mommy

Grumpy Grump

Tired.
Billing.
Pumping in my office (not even in the Wellness Room, because it's four floors up and I barely have time to stop and pee).
Saw my kids for about twenty minutes today. Plus nursing Leah this morning (thankful for that time).
Have only eaten one meal today. And one Diet Coke. And a questionable peach from the 5:30 snack tray.
Still so, so much to do I want to cry.

The end.

Considering law school?

Consider this:

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_school_grads_take_this_six-question_survey_on_finding_that_first_job/

The ABA Journal asks six questions of lawyers:
1) How long did it take you to get a job in the legal field?
2) Did you get the position you wanted, or did you compromise?
3) How many interviews did you go on?
4) What was your salary range for that first job?
5) Would you recommend attending law school to a recent graduate?
6) What year did you graduate from law school?

The comments on this article are so. incredibly. eye-opening. And I only read through five or six before I said a little thank you prayer for my job. For the record:

1) How long did it take you to get a job in the legal field?
- I had a job before graduating. In fact I sat on my offer for months (without worrying about its security) while I tried - unsuccessfully - to get a job at a firm in Portland, OR.

2) Did you get the position you wanted, or did you compromise?
- Aside from thinking we wanted to be in Portland, I got the job I wanted, in the group I wanted, at the firm I wanted.

3) How many interviews did you go on?
- I think I did about 18 or so on campus my 2L year, and then whittled it down to 5 or 6 callbacks. Then I did 5 or 6 on campus (I think) 3L year, plus 2 or 3 callbacks in Portland.

4) What was your salary range for that first job?
- Market. (You either know what "market" was in Boston in 2008 or not, but I'm not going to put it up here)

5) Would you recommend attending law school to a recent graduate?
- I think if you know you really want to be a lawyer, then yes. But go in with open eyes. Do everything you can to go to the best school you can afford, taking into account that student loans must.be.repaid. (We call our loan payments our "second mortgage" - actually, they total more than our mortgage. We live in Boston. Housing is not cheap. This should tell you something.) If you're looking to catapult yourself into wealth, or even moderate wealth, BWAHAHAHAHA. Do not go for this reason. I'd say even if you're just looking for a career that is intellectually challenging (and law is), look long and hard for something else; make sure that law is what you want. Talk to lawyers about what their lives are like, about what they do every day. Think about what you want from your life, long term. And if you're still interested, do it.

6) What year did you graduate from law school?
- 2008.

My baby brother is married...

So, my baby brother got married last month.

Crazy, I know.

He used to be smaller than me.
For a long time he was smaller than me.

He's pretty much always been stronger than me, since he was about 3 years old and I was 9. Yep, he was a strong kid.

Now he's bigger than me, and he's a marine, and he's all grown up and muscle-y, and he's a very, very good man, with a great head on his shoulders.



And now, too, he's head over heels for a good woman, and he's married to her.

Crazy.
I couldn't be more proud of this guy. Love him. :)

Here's where I would put a picture of me and him on his wedding day - wouldn't that be great? But because I was toting around a baby I didn't really ever get the chance. :( It's OK, I know I was there, and I got to give him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. And there are lots of pictures of these two, who were in the wedding party:


These landmarks in the lives of people I love, people I've known their whole lives, make me so sentimental. Time slips by so quickly. That sounds trite and cliche. Whatever, cliches are only cliches because they are so true.

Anyway. Happy wedding Tyler, and welcome to the insanity Tara. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and cliches. :)

First Conversation

The girls had their first "conversation" on the way to church on Sunday morning:

Eden: Leah, we're going to church!
Leah: ba, ba, ba, ba
Eden: No, not "ba, ba.." - CHURCH!
Leah: ba, ba, ba, ba
Eden: No, Leah, [which almost comes out as one word - NoLeah] CHURCH. Say CHURCH
Leah: ba, ba, ba, ba
Eden: MOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE! Leah just keeps saying "ba, ba"! She won't say "church"!

I'm going to count it.

She's a hurricane

Three year olds are (well, at least my three year old is) exhausting - passionately emotional about everything with no real editing mechanism (<-- yes, that's in my head from the judges' comments about Josh on Project Runway - the whole time they were speaking I thought of Eden!). BUT. As frustrating and difficult as she can be, she's also so, so, so much fun. Especially when you just throw up your arms, give in, and become 3 again yourself.

Like today. After church. For the first time in a long time, Eden and I had a dance party. She dances with such abandon, she doesn't give a flip about what anyone thinks - she just throws her hands up and spins around and does what she loves. I learn so much from that kid. She's crazy, and I love her so much. This is her song - and if it doesn't make you want to dance, there is something wrong with you. No, really:



The best part, and it describes Eden so perfectly:

My girl's name is Senora
I tell you friends, I adore her
And when she dances, oh brother!
She's a hurricane in all kinds of weather

(Ever tried to get a non-blurry picture of a hurricane?) :)

Edited to add, by popular request (or one comment, whatever...):



Note that Leah is pretty into it as well - won't it be fun when they're both spinning around so crazy? :) And also typical Eden is the break in the middle for a sister hug... Love it!!

Eight Months

Little Leah,

You're not so little, actually. You're the littlest Thomason, but you're getting to be so big. You're eight months old - that's 2/3 of a year!!

You are about to walk, Love. You can pull up, cruise on furniture, and this month you figured out how to push a walker, all by yourself! You can cruise across the condo, and it's so funny to see you do it because you're still so small (even though you're big for your age - still hanging out at the 95th percentile for height, wherever that came from)!

You just learned how to wave goodbye, and if we wave and say "bye bye" you'll start saying "buh buh buh" - it's so sweet watching you try to communicate! You babble a lot now - muh muh buh buh dah dah. But your favorite method of communication is still a high pitched squeal!

My favorite thing you do right now is this: when you're being held by someone else and you see me, sometimes you'll start kicking your legs - your whole legs - and your whole body will be shaking, your big gummy smile lighting up your face, your dimples showing. Oh, you're such a Mommy's girl, and I love it.

Speaking of gummy smile, you have a tooth. :) It's slowly coming in, and it's barely visible right now, but you got it. And it didn't seem to bother you at all. Which, really, is typical Leah. You're an easygoing baby!

You continue to sleep really, really well - you sleep from about 7:30 or 8:00 pm to 7:15 am or so. And then you're back down at 9:30 or 10:00 am until 11-11:30, and then again at 1:30 or so to 3-3:30. You rock the sleep routine, too. Read a book, sing a song, put you down with your Lucy, and you're done. You might cry for a second or two, but you're very soon out. Love it!

You continue to be totally awesome, sweet Leah, and your Mommy and Daddy and big sister love you so very, very much!

Love,
Mommy


(yes, this post is back-dated, because I had it mostly drafted and just forgot to publish!)

Tipping the balance

Tuesday: Closing. Foreclosure sale*.

Wednesday: Closing*.

Friday: Closing*.

All week: preparing for (i.e. drafting ridiculously complicated documents in preparation for) potential settlement discussions on a deal I've lived in since six months after I started at The Firm. This would probably keep me almost-fully utilized in itself.

Also, Leah is getting sick (actually, is sick. She's just "getting" to the point at which we will schlep her to the pediatrician, two towns away from our house, which is two towns away from work).

Also, slightly less worrisome (OK much less worrisome): I have two "good" suits and three suitable days this week. Thankfully one suit has three pieces - I'm going to have to count the skirt and the pants as separate suits. I need to buy some work clothes.

Back to it.

*Handling these on my own, and actually attending (this is unusual, at least for closings, given my billing rate)...

Confessions

Taking a quick break before I start working to let you in on a few secrets:

1. You know how sometimes you are around someone a lot but never introduce yourself and then you're both so recognizable to each other and it's been so long it's way too weird to do it? Yeah, there's a woman at work like that. And I secretly envy her sense of style - she's one of those people who can pull off comfortable but polished and totally professional. She dresses way better than me. She's not in my department, not even a lawyer, but I don't know her name and now I feel awkward starting up a conversation. But in my head we could be great friends!

2. I thought I hated my job. I think I actually don't hate it, I just wish some things were different about it. That's not the same thing at all, it turns out, when you really think about it. I have a half-written post about this I might publish later. When I have more time. That one needs to be very carefully drafted.

3. Some of my friends are going to kill me for this, but I think I might be leaning left. As in, turning more liberal. As in, politically. I have a lot of thoughts on this but they're not really coherent enough to put into a post just yet. Stay tuned.

4. A friend of mine just pointed me to this blog. Check it out. Funniest. Blog. Ever. No kidding. This isn't really a secret, but it's pretty awesome and you should be a big fan. Especially if you have kids. Or know kids. Or have heard of kids. :)

5. I really do believe I have the cutest kids ever. Case in point:

(ignore the food all over Eden's face. Just get absorbed in the cuteness...) This is also not a secret, I guess, but I couldn't resist.

OK, off to work. Peace.

Stolen time

On Friday Angela came over to watch the girls, and I worked from home in the morning, and then I ran errands for a couple of hours in the afternoon. It was eerie, being out and about on a weekday afternoon, no kids, no worries about work (I'd told everyone weeks ago I was taking the afternoon off to get ready to leave for my brother's wedding). I largely ignored by emails, and I just did what I wanted. I ran to Panera and brought a sick friend some soup, and then delivered it to her (and ate an awesome panini myself. PLUS a cookie, thankyouverymuch). I went to the hardware store and had a key made for Angela (finally). I dropped off my way-overdue drycleaning. I went to Target and went shopping. With NO DEADLINE. People, it was CRAZY. I could TAKE MY TIME. I made an unexpected stop at Best Buy to grab some ink for our printer (it's been out for months).

I almost felt guilty taking so much time to do this by myself. It felt good, though, to have some time to be the master of my own agenda, and not worry about anything because everything was taken care of. Bryan was teaching, the girls were being well cared for (and actually were napping half the time anyway), and my colleagues were handling things at the office. There were no fires to put out. So satisfying. I must do this more often.

Like now. I'm at the hotel in New York (next door to the venue at which my baby brother is getting married this evening - wow, I'm old). Bryan took Eden to the park to burn some energy, and Leah is napping. I'm just here. I don't have work to do (well, technically, I probably have work I *could* do, but nothing is too pressing right now and it can wait until tomorrow). Nobody needs me right now. So... I read blogs. I blog. I Facebook. And now, as soon as I sign off, I work on the sweet blanket I'm making for little Lafonda Besancon.

I love my family, and I really love being needed, but sometimes it is nice to have nothing pulling on me for an hour. :)

Two years, and where we are now

So. It's been two years since Eden's burns.

I blogged on the anniversary without comment, not because I didn't think of it (often), because I did, but more because it was ... a bit unremarkable. It was a normal crazy Saturday for us. Maybe that, in itself, is remarkable.

The truth is, we've all come a long way in two years. Even last year I was still grieving the incident. Now I think my attitude about it is, yes, it sucked, and yes, it will always suck, but it happened and she is totally fine and we are so thankful for our little family that it almost seems insignificant. Like a broken arm or something. I know it was more than a broken arm, it was scarier than that, and we were much more traumatized than that, but it doesn't feel as big anymore.

On difference between this year and last year is that Eden knows what happened now. Just this morning she was talking about being burned. She said, "Daddy picked me right up. He saved me from the fire." Which is partly true and partly exaggeration, but the point is, she's getting it all straight in her little mind. She will often say when something is hot, "Don't touch that or you might get burned. Like me." and point to the scars on her arms. Sometimes that breaks my heart, but I don't think she's feeling sorry for herself at all - it's just a part of her. It's all she's ever really known.

Bryan is doing SO much better. For a long time he would bring it up at random times when things weren't going well with Eden (and even Leah) as Exhibit A to his failures as a parent. THAT breaks my heart. These things happen. Could it have been avoided? Sure. But we can't avoid every possible injury; we do the best we can and that's all we can do. And we can't live in what-ifs. We just can't. It could have happened a million other ways, and it could have been when I was watching her or any of our friends, or even both of us. I think the guilt will stick for a while, maybe even forever, but I think he's getting that now on a head-level.

When I think about these things, when I think about where we are now, I am just so thankful. Eden is a happy, fully-functioning kid. It could have been so much worse. We saw how bad it could have been while we were at Shriner's. The girl in the room next door was 16 and barely lived through a firey car accident. Her parents were just glad she was alive. The kid down the hall, only a week younger than Eden, had scalding burns over 85% of his body. His mother couldn't even hold him for a month, and when she could, he was still so heavily sedated he was limp. The thought of those kids, the looks on their parents' faces, will forever make me thankful that I have a happy, healthy, boisterous, and beautiful preschooler.

And now, looking at where we are, I can believe that someday, I will wake up on September 11, or 12, or 23, and realize that the anniversary passed and I didn't even notice. God is good, people. GOOD.

Things I'm Not Doing Right Now

The girls and I just got back from watching the first half of Bryan's soccer game. He's still there, obviously, playing the second half. Eden is "resting" upstairs (supposed to be napping, but I told her she didn't have to sleep, just rest in her bed - she's actually in the bathroom right now, but I'm ignoring that because she's fine). Leah fell asleep in the car on the way home and so is sitting in her carseat right next to me, snoozing (I don't dare move her for fear of waking her).

There are a million things I could be doing, but instead I'm going to take a little "me" time and blog. And to catch you up, here's a list of the things I could be doing:

1. Cleaning the house. Our condo rocks. I promise to put up pictures soon - I've been working on assembing them when the pictures get up on the wall and the room is relatively clean... it's a process... We probably never would have considered buying here, but it really is a phenomenal setup. It's a large, well-established complex that is leanly managed by long-time trustees, so the place runs very well. I was worried at first that the space would be too small for us, but actually it works perfectly, and we even have a little room to expand (we want to put a bathroom downstairs in our basement bedroom). We spent a lot of time this summer getting Eden used to the pool in our backyard, which went surprisingly well. Once she got comfortable, she did really great. We're going to have to get her lessons soon, but at least she's not totally foreign to the idea anymore.

2. Changing the water in the goldfish bowl. We are no longer cat owners, but we are the proud caretakers of two goldfish as of 6 days ago. Eden "won" them last weekend at a birthday party (it was a setup, I know it). These things are a lot of work! Sheesh! (This is why I'm not a pet person). Eden refused to name them for several days, and now they're apparently both named "Flippy," which is the name of the goldfish Oswald gets in one episode. Incidentally, I'm not sure if I blogged this yet or not, but Mr. Nino had to go to a new family when we moved - the condo association doesn't allow pets, and he was requiring way more attention than we could give anyway - I honestly think he was not super satisfied with us. So the day we moved, we gave him to a woman I found online through the neighboring town's parents listserv. She already has 2 cats and 2 sons who love cats, so he went to a good home. I have to say, I liked him OK, but it is SO NICE to not have to lint roll my pants fifteen times a day!

3. Setting up a spreadsheet for withholding taxes for the new nanny. (Oh this stuff is so complicated!) You know Bryan got a new job (and it's going extremely well, by the way. He LOVES it. But we are noticing that working-mommy-guilt also plagues fathers who used to be SAHDs. He misses them a lot - it's sweet, and at the same time I find myself saying, "YES! NOW you get it!" because all the things he's saying, I've said a million times.) Anyway, through a series of coincidences (you know I don't actually believe in coincidence, right?) we ended up being able to re-hire the woman who watched Eden when she was a baby. She "officially" started yesterday, and she's here 5 days/week, all day, with Leah. She keeps Eden on Mondays and Fridays too. WE LOVE HER. If we can't do it, there is no one we'd rather have with our kids all day!

And, Leah just woke up and needs a new diaper, so I'm off. But here's a little cuteness for now:

August Pictures

Hey - this is what happens when Bryan's new job gives him a computer so I'm free to have ours at night (and yes, I should be working but I think redrafting documents will probably put me to sleep right now and I'd much rather look at these sweet faces):

Best. Cookies. Ever.

A few weeks ago, I was craving something sweet. We had frozen bananas in the fridge, and a ton of peanut butter, and so I was looking for a cookie recipe that would use those two ingredients. My friend Google led me to this recipe, and we have since become obsessed. And made a few of our friends obsessed.

Even better? No butter. No oil. No eggs. No flour. They're gluten-free, vegan cookies, and they last about five seconds in our house. Somehow thinking they're "healthier" makes us feel free to eat five at a time...

I'm putting the recipe up here because I am terrified the website I found it on will delete it. Plus I've tweaked the execution a bit...

Oatmeal Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup peanut butter (sometimes we use crunchy, sometimes creamy. I think I actually like creamy better, because the peanut chunks seem to add a little bit too much texture; there's already plenty from the oatmeal)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 bananas, mashed (or if they're frozen, pop them in the microwave for about 15 seconds, flip, and then 15 seconds, and then just squeeze the banana out of the skin!)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk chocolate chips (a generous cup... we like chocolate in these...)

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine all the ingredients in a big mixing bowl. Make golf ball sized rounds and place evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before removing from the sheet - they are pretty brownie-like and will fall apart if you don't! Pour a big glass of milk and enjoy, and try to keep some until the next day. Just try...

This makes approximately one dozen generously-sized cookies.

(Give credit where credit is due...)

Some of our favorite Edenisms

Eden's verbal skills are very good. Other people understand her quite well, and she is very talkative and expressive. That said, she's still three, and has some sweet little expressions that are adorably mispronounced. I don't want to forget these, and this blog tends to be my archive for life... so here they are for your enjoyment as well (I may update this post as I remember more):

"baby soup" = bathing suit. She's figured it out now, but this remains my all time favorite.
"handchiladas" = enchiladas (to be fair, she gets this from her father, who for some reason calls them "anchiladas")
"hippo-uh-pah-mus" = hippopotamus
"pwates with strawberries" = Special K red berries ("flakes with strawberries")
"prinstass" = princess (can be any girl in a formal dress)
"eaw-meaw" = oatmeal (it is incredibly hard to figure out how to spell this - it's basically all vowels).

Five things I never thought I'd do as a lawyer...

1. Draft complex loan documents while bouncing and rocking a baby in a front carrier
2. Talk on the phone to a partner while feeding a baby oatmeal and bananas
3. Negotiate complex loan documents at 4:00 in the afternoon in my snot-covered pajamas while, ten feet away, a baby entertains herself by banging a phone-shaped rattle on the hardwood floor
4. Review redlines of complex loan documents on my iPhone while nursing a baby
5. Prioritize tasks for the day based on which ones involve phone time and when the baby will be napping

Leah is sick (she has an ear infection and it is the most upset I've ever seen her), Bryan's orientation is this week, and, due to our own apparent inability to know ourselves, we are between nannies, so I am home with her. Plus, I have a deal closing this week...

(Written as I lean on the countertop with Leah in the Ergo, rocking my hips back and forth like I did when I was in labor with her... it's a little weird for me, but it works for her...)

Seven.

Little Leah Bear,

You're growing up so fast. Can you slow down a little please?

As of yesterday, you're 16 lbs, 13 oz. (It was a sick visit, so I didn't get your height). You are no longer way above average for weight (this isn't what I meant by slow down, by the way).

But in every other way it seems, you're just growing up as fast as you can. You're crawling like crazy (which may explain why you're no longer as high on the percentile charts...). You have started pulling up on furniture; you can't quite get yourself to standing on furniture, but you pull yourself up to your knees quite well and if we hold your hands you can pull up to standing.

You're actually pretty strong on your feet. You LOVE to stand, and if we hold your hands, you will walk. It's crooked and you're still a little pigeon-toed, but you put one foot in front of the other and bear your weight.

You've slowed down with the babbling, but every now and then you bust out a "mmmmmmmuh" and it makes my heart goo. :)

You're still going strong on solid foods. We've introduced many more fruits and veggies, and you're now eating three meals of solids on top of your four meals of breastmilk. You've also started mastering the pincer grasp, so we got you some puffs, which you love. (Your sister loves them too...)

You are sick right now, battling another ear infection following a cold. You've been a trooper, though; your fever has topped 102 a few times and that's when you get a little fussy, but anything below that and you're pretty much your normal, happy self. Even last night, in the midst of 102.4, you were smiling and giggling in the bathtub.

I can't say it enough: you are SUCH a happy girl. You are easygoing, non-demanding, and your smiles light up the room; lucky for us, you smile a lot. Those dimples kill me! I can predictably get you to smile if I make a "boogaboogabooga" noise or blow in your face, but of course, your biggest smiles are reserved for Eden. You love each other so, so much. Yesterday at the doctor's office after the doctor tried to look in your ears, you were very upset, your face all red and pinched and screaming. Eden came over to you, gently rubbed your head, and said, "It's OK, Leah. It's OK." She kissed your head and hugged you, and you calmed down. It blesses my heart so much to see the two of you loving on each other!

Sweet Leah, I love you so much. I pray you remain the sweet, happy girl you are. I've said it before and I will say it forever - you are the best surprise I ever had and I am so glad you're in our family.

I love you to the moon and back.

Love,
Mommy

Irene...

So - I suppose I need to mention the fact that my city is about to be hit by a hurricane.

We have food, water, flashlights, and each other. The MBTA is shutting down tomorrow, church is cancelled. We're planning to stay in all day and pray our basement doesn't flood.

Maybe I'm a little crazy, but I'm honestly not all that freaked out. It must be a result of growing up in Oklahoma, where tornadoes happen all the time and people are just used to it. You watch the weather, you hit the cellar if they tell you to, but it's not a huge deal and you're almost never affected.

We'll see how this goes. I'm honestly excited to have a day of nothing to do but hang out with my family - let's hope that's all it turns out to be!

Laughter is the best medicine

I'm actually working at home right now, but I wanted to take a quick moment to share with you possibly the best 1.5 minutes of my day:



(Eden was singing "Come Thou Fount" in a very "Eden" manner and Leah thought it was HILARIOUS!)

Also, there's this:
I'm sorry - is that my sweet little baby STANDING UP? Um, can someone please slow this kid down?????

OK, back to opinion drafting...

Yet more changes ahead...

I don't need to tell most of you this, but having two kids and a demanding job is hard. What makes it work? Having a supportive spouse willing to shoulder the domestic burden.

I leave my house (running to catch the bus) at 8:10 and get home on a normal day at 7:15 (after running to catch the bus). At least once every few weeks I work at the office until 10 or 11. More often than that, I bring work home and work for a few hours after the kids go to bed. I could not do what I do without the support of my amazing husband. He cooks, cleans, makes sure our girls are fed and properly clothed, manages our finances, and stocks the toilet paper. Plus, he works a fair amount himself on top of that. I often hear at work (usually from a secretary) "I have no idea how you do what you do" and my reply is always "I have an awesome husband". To be honest, I have no idea how he does what HE does.

(I'm so thankful to be married to this man. For SO many reasons.)

Things are about to shake up in the Thomason house. Starting in September, he's going to be employed full time - part time at his current job and part time teaching Bible classes at a local private high school. This is a BIG answer to a LOT of prayer. He's been substitute teaching here for 3 semesters, and has declined to apply for a job anywhere else because this is THE job for him. He's just been waiting for an opening.

This is great - in so many ways - for our family, but it will definitely shake up our system. I will do what I can to help (this will involve me getting a car so I can cut my commuting time in half) but unfortunately BigLaw is not conducive to leaving at 5:00 every day (oh, that it were...). So unfortunately the lion's share of the work is going to continue to fall on my sweet husband. It's going to be an adjustment for us. I know we will be fine, and I know my amazing husband will continue to be amazing... I just have no idea how he's going to do it all.

Pray for us!

June & July 2011

I (think I) just figured out how to embed a slideshow into a blog post. Watch out!!

I've been terrible about uploading and sending out pictures of the girls (and, you know, blogging...) since, well, much before Leah was born!

Here's what we've been up to this summer. The captions explain the photos... they're enjoyable without explanation but so much more fun with Leah's commentary. More to come later if this works!

(Note a few of these are videos - I think if you click on the slideshow you can see all of the pictures and then play the videos. There's one of my man showing off his muskles, one of the girls playing on the swings, and one of Eden singing a sweet little song).




P.S. Yesterday my baby girl CRAWLED. Can you hear my sobbing? :)

6 months???!?

Leah,

How can you POSSIBLY be half a year old already? Where did the time go? Yesterday you were a squishy little ball of sleepy newborn, and now you're a somewhat squishy full-on baby. Yesterday you sighed everytime you exhaled in your sleep; now you roll around in your crib, and usually sleep face down, bottom up in the air. (Oh so cute). I can't believe my eyes, but I LOVE who you are right now.

You continue to be the best sleeper I've ever met; you consistently sleep 11 hours at night, and this week I just stopped waking you for a dream feeding before I go to bed. I admit, I don't think you really needed it for quite a while. The very first night, you slept right through, didn't even make a peep. It was easy for you, but hard for me to give that up. You were so warm and cuddly, and you snuggled right up to me, eyes closed, mouth wide, moving your head around until you found what you're looking for. And then you would just relax and eat. It was such a sweet time. Never fear, though; you are still getting lots of opportunities to snuggle mama, and even breastfeed. You eat milk four times a day (6:00 or so, 11:00 or so, 3:00 or so, and 7:00 or so). During the week two of those times each day are bottles but you seem to be fine with that!

You've also been going strong with solids. Besides cereal, you have now tried green beans (which took getting used to, but now you're sort of ok with); peas (which you eat heartily); carrots (which you gag on every time - you HATE carrots); bananas (which you LOVE); yams (which you tolerate); and apricots (which you initially thought were no good but now you eat very well). We have been making your food; it is so easy and cheap I'm not sure what stopped us doing this for Eden!

Developmentally you are amazing. You are about to crawl. Like, any day. You sit on hands and knees and rock back and forth excitedly; you can pick up your hands (one at a time) and balance on three limbs; and you do this very adorable inchworm move - you pull your knees forward (together) and then flatten out to your stomach. This slowly but surely moves you forward. Who needs an army crawl anyway? This is a better workout!

You've figured out how to get from all fours to sitting and vice versa. It doesn't matter how we put you down now; you will get into the position you want! One of the sweetest things is when you have been working on your hands and knees for a while, you will flatten to your tummy and rest your head and suck that left thumb. You just watch what's going on so peacefully.

You're a pretty quiet baby most of the time. You squeal when you're really happy or when w are not paying you a much attention as you'd like, and you coo gently at times, and you giggle very well, but most of the time you are content to watch the world and explore your space wide-eyed and silent. We were a little worried that you don't really babble, and then two days ago you made the most beautiful sound a mama can hear from her babe: "mmmmmmuh mmmmmmmuh". I take this to be "mama" and of course encourage it as much as possible. It's so sweet to hear your little voice making new sounds!!

Speaking of laughter, here's a list of a few things almost guaranteed to make you laugh out loud:
1. Sneezing (by other people). It was the first thing you giggled at, an for some reason it is still hilarious!
2. Peek-a-boo. Particularly if it is your eyes that get covered, and particularly I'd there is a good "boo!" involved.
3. Tickling your ribs and/or thighs. You crack UP at this.
4. Eden twirling around and dancing. (this makes me giggle too...)
5. Eden playing this xylophone toy we have. It must be the musical tones, I'm not sure.

You are such a good, sweet, precious baby and while I can't believe it's been half a year since you joined our family, you're so integrated into our fabric, we wouldn't be us without you. You've really completed our family. I might have said this before and it's so cliche, but I had no idea how my heart could love another person as much as it loves your daddy and your sister without bursting. Luckily for me God made our hearts expandable. It's surprising and joyful and all so good.

I love you so much my sweet Munchie.

Love,
Mommy

The Other Mother

My mother is in jail. The "other" side of her showed up, left its mark on her youngest child, and someone noticed. And now she's facing charges that could potentially (but almost certainly won't) land her in the state prison for the rest of her life.

My heart is breaking for her other children, the ones I don't know but am forever connected to. I'm thankful that, for now, they are in a stable home filled with lots of love. I pray that they don't ever return to her care, as much as I know they probably want to. I know they can be OK, that they can turn out just fine as my sister and brother and I did, but I know the terrible things they've faced (and to be honest, they probably have faced much more terrible things than I did, given the differences in our situations) and I know the hard road it is to get to a place of "OK".

I'm angry at her for not changing as I had hoped she would.

I am stubbornly determined to do anything I can to help those three children. Whatever that means.

But most of all, my heart is breaking.

Two wiggly girls

Eden, Leah, and I were sitting on the deck (oh how I love our deck) while Bryan was grilling our dinner a few nights ago and Eden asked to hold Leah. I of course obliged and tried to get a picture, because they're so cute together. Here's how it went:

Eden: Look at me Mommy! I am holding Leah! So coooooooooool!

Leah: Hair! I found hair!

Eden: Hi, Leah! I'm holding you!

Leah: HAIR! Watch this!

Eden: OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW Leah!

Leah: Haha. Hair!! Death Grip!!

Mommy: Girls, look at me!! (Sing-song voice)

Eden: CH (eese)

Leah: I want to eat you Mommy. :)

Leah: OK I'm done now. Let me down.

Eden: WOOOOAH Leah! Be careful!

Daddy: Hey girls be careful!

Eden: Daddy! What you doin?

Leah: Daddy! What you doin?

Mommy: Eden, say cheese! Smile! Look at me!

Eden: CHEEEEEEEEEEEEESE.

Leah: Hmm. (ponders quantum physics or something. She's a genius, you know)

Mommy: Hey girls! Boogaboogabooga!

Eden: CHEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!

Leah: Hey Mommy! I love that noise!

So, not really a good picture of both of them together (although the one looking at Daddy isn't so bad, I just wish they were looking at the camera!), but a good glimpse into our lives. :)

5 Months

Hey Little Munchie,

You're five months old and even though time is flying by, I am doing my best to hang on to each moment with you as you are now. You are such a sweet, sweet baby. Our friends have commented on how perfect you are, so it's clearly not just me. :) Really, though, you sleep well (last night from 7:15-6:30), you rarely cry, and you are quick to smile. You smile with your whole face - a big, gummy, open mouth smile I LOVE!

You started solids this month, and probably could have started sooner but we were getting settled in our new place. We're taking it slow, but so far you've had rice cereal and oatmeal and you are a CHAMP. You know how to lean in for the spoon (and try to grab it from our hands, of course) and you can down some serious cereal. The first day you tried it you ate almost three tablespoons!

We started doing a bedtime routine for you (read a book, pray together, sing a song, and put you down awake) and you do so great with it. You pretty much always go to sleep with minimal fussing (maybe 1-2 minutes) and you're out for the night! You suck on your left thumb and roll over to your tummy to sleep. I still feed you one last time before I go to bed, but I think it's getting to be more about me than you; I don't think you really need it because you don't usually nurse very long. But I am not ready to stop, especially because I am hyper protective of my milk supply (you're still on breastmilk only (no formula), and I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible!).

Developmentally, you're doing great. You roll both ways, changing position and rolling across the floor; you can pick up toys and bring them to your mouth or shake them; you can babble some sounds ("ba ba" this morning - I'm trying to get a "Mamamamama" out of you but Daddy is of course sabatoging my efforts by flooding you with "Dadadadada"). Best of all, you can sit up! Unassisted! For significant periods of time! You still have to concentrate really hard to play with a toy and sit up, but you can do it. And when we lay you on your tummy, you've started pulling yourself all the way up to hands and knees.

Your favorite person is still Eden, by a long shot. If she is anywhere near, you are smiling and squealing and trying to get her to pay attention to you. And then grabbing a fistful of her hair and trying to eat it. Thankfully she's being very patient so far!

You're such an easygoing baby. This month you've been fighting a slight fever and the only way we can tell is that you're hot - you are just perfectly content. Turns out you have a UTI, poor baby, and you're not even really bothered by it! (Except the medicine - you like to spit it out. You have to stop that, seriously.)

All in all, you're pretty awesome and Daddy and I (and Eden) love you so much! We are so, so happy you've joined our family and made it complete.

Love,

Mommy

Three. Years. Old.

Sweet Eden,

You've been blessing our lives in amazing ways for three whole years (plus nine months in my belly...). I can't believe what a big girl you are. You're a little person - with opinions, ideas, problem solving capabilities, an imagination (oh, an imagination!), and the sweetest little voice I've ever heard (even when you're saying things like "thay-at" - as I tell you daily, "that" is only one syllable, and I have no idea how you've gotten a southern twang when you've spent your entire life in New England!)

You love life. You bring such joy and laughter to our home! You love to run and play, kick your soccer ball with your Daddy, jump as high as you can, ride on your tricycle and scooter, and DANCE. Oh, how you love to DANCE. Just last week Daddy downloaded "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte (which Daddy and I know as the song from the end of Beetlejuice) for you, and you go crazy when that is on. You love Pete Yorn and Jack Johnson, too. You jump and spin and wave your arms, and smile so big it's completely infectious. Before you know it we are all jumping and spinning and acting crazy. And loving every minute!

You also love art. You love to sit at your little table and do a "project" (aka a "pwojack") together. Paper, crayons, glue, scissors, paint - you love it all (and you're a girl after my own heart). One thing you and I do together a lot is sit and make cards for friends or family. You get a big kick out of it. You also recently got an easel with a chalkboard, white board, and place for paper to paint, and you've been going to town on that. You've made some pretty pieces of art we are thinking of framing. :) You can draw a very good circle, and a nearly-recognizable face (the mouth always ends up being a straight line across the chin, but hey, whatever). You can trace things really well, and you're learning to cut with scissors.

You talk like a grownup. I'm always amazed at how big you sound. You say things like "I don't think that's a very good idea" and "We have to be careful with paint, Mommy." You understand that there are degrees to things - you get that "a little bit" means something different that "a lot." Two words you are still working on understanding are "because" and "otherwise"; right now, sometimes you get them right, but more often you use them both to mean "but" or "and". Your running stream-of-consciousness commentary is often strung together with these words: "We have to be quiet because Leah is sleeping; otherwise the tree is really tall." Um, what?

You're becoming very independent too, and it would be sad except it is so sweet. You are 100% potty trained, and are getting to the point where you can almost go all by yourself. You can dress yourself a little bit, and you're pretty good at undressing. You get yourself in and out of bed, though at night you still want us to tuck you in after you wake up. You feel secure though; you understand that if you need us we're close by (we have a new video monitor and you say "If I need you I have to talk to the camera" ("cram-a")).


You are an amazing big sister. You LOVE Leah. You want to hug her and kiss her all the time, and often ask to burp her or hold her. You always cover her with a blanket when she is lying down, you let us know when she's upset and you try to comfort her. This week she had to go to the doctor's office and you kept telling her the doctor was nice, and when they had to put in a cathider to get a urine sample you gently rubbed her head and told her "it's ok." You still mostly call her "Weah" but you can get out "Leah" - though when you think too hard about it, it comes out "Wa-Leah". That's my favorite. :)

You're very sweet a lot of the time, but you are also three, and all that comes with being three. You have a major meltdown probably once a day, which involves going to time out and staying there (usually for at least 15-20 minutes, which seems WAY longer to EVERYONE) until you can calm down and stop crying and apologize for whatever it was that sent you there.

Your favorite things right now:
1. Color: ORANGE
2. Song (to sing): Jesus Loves Me (or any other words to that tune; you make up songs every day)
3. Breakfast: cereal. usually Special K Red Berries ("pwakes [flakes] with strawberries")
4. Food: crackers. (Triscuts)
5. TV show: Oswald and Yo Gabba Gabba. Probably Yo Gabba Gabba wins a head-to-head, but it would be close. (Daddy puts his thumb on the side of Yo Gabba Gabba because of the music...)
6. Game: Hide and Seek (though you still tell us where you are if we say, "Eeeeedennnn, where aaaaaarrrrre yoooooooouuuu?"). We are thankful you appear to be over the "It's raining on our heads" game, in which we constantly had to very quickly hide underneath covers or toys or in the closet, or otherwise cover our hair. It was fun while it lasted. :)

I love you sweet girl. Someone once told me that at 3 all of a sudden our babies become little people, and he was right - I can't believe what a little lady you're becoming, so quickly. I look at your sister and remember you being that little and it seems like yesterday. But I don't want to go back - I want you just as you are. Maybe sans a tantrum here or there, admittedly, but definitely who you are. I honestly wish I could record every little thing you do, so I can forever remember this moment in your life, because it is so, so, so precious.

Stay sweet my love, and keep growing so big and strong. Hugs and kisses and love all around you! Know you are deeply treasured by your Mama.

Love,
Mommy

WE ARE HOMEOWNERS!

Just a quick post to say the deal closed today, and we are now the proud owners of a slice of Massachusetts, including 4 shiny new keys and a big ol'e mortgage (which I drafted... :) How many people get to draft their own mortgages??).

We are so excited, but my anxiety about moving has just ramped up to a ridiculous fever pitch since (1) work has been getting pretty crazy; (2) my first baby is turning 3 tomorrow and her sweet birthday party is this weekend, along with the second-in-a-row busy weekend for Bryan; (3) our landlord has found tenants to move into our apartment, but they want to move in on Tuesday (a week from today (!)) so we are going to try to move and semi-unpack BEFORE Eden's party on Saturday (in 4 days (!)); (4) we have done basically no packing; and (5) we have a bunch of stuff (especially painting) to do at the condo before we can move in. Yikes!!

But.

We are homeowners. We no longer pay rent. That makes me smile every time.

(The deflated balloons are gone now. More pictures to follow when I have a second to breathe).

Tidbits

Some VERY RANDOM thoughts somewhat related to this weekend:

1. We have a contract on the house! AHHHH! It's official: we're closing July 1, but we are moving in 3 weeks!!

2. I haven't had time to pack because I've been (a) enjoying my family and (b) working this weekend!! AHHHH!!! We're moving in 3 weeks!!

3. We need to find a home for our little Nino. Condo association has a no-pet policy. Anyone looking to adopt a cat?? AHHH!!! We're moving in 3 weeks!

4. Eden started singing a new (to us) song this weekend (to the tune of that B-I-N-G-O song about the dog): "I have a friend that we all know, and "We-ah" is her na-ame. Jump! Jump! We-ah! Jump! Jump! We-ah! Jump! Jump! We-ah! We're glad you came today!" She clearly learned it at daycare, because at first all the names were her friends from there. But it expanded to include our family, and I got a video on my phone of her singing it about Leah. It is incredibly cute and so grown up I can hardly stand it. My baby is almost three. (Actually, she turns three on the 15th, and then we're having her birthday party in just under 2 weeks, which will be awesome but takes out another day of packing - and did I mention we're moving in 3 weeks? AHHH!!)

5. We bought our first large appliances this weekend (washer and dryer). For some reason this freaks me out a little bit. (Maybe because? We're moving in 3 weeks! AHHHH!!!!)

6. I'm getting a cold. Actually I have a cold. Thought it was allergies (which I have been battling this spring but, weirdly, I did not have problems with until Miss Leah came along...?) but now I'm pretty convinced that cute little toddler brought home more than just songs from daycare. This is a TERRIBLE week to have a cold: an important meeting, a very important hearing, a deal closing, and about five or six other work-related things that are going to make sure I see very little of my bed. :( (Plus, you know, I need to start PACKING). Oh, such is life.

7. Despite having to work this weekend, still managed to spend a lot of time together with my 3 favorite people, including dinner tonight at my favorite restaurant in Harvard Square (oh, how I love Border Cafe... even if I do smell like it for forever afterwards...). Eden wanted to stop for ice cream too but somehow convinced herself that the scoop of sour cream on Daddy's plate was ice cream, and he gave her a couple of bites and she was happy. Weird kid. :)

That is all. :) Going to feed a baby and go to bed now. :)

4-month stats

Leah's 4-month checkup by the numbers:

26.5: inches in length (99th percentile - WHAT?)
14 lb 13 oz: weight (75th percentile)
41: centimeters of head circumference (50th percentile)
2: number of shots given (plus one oral vaccine)
40: approximate number of seconds she cried after said shots.

Also the doc said we can start solids at any time because she's developmentally ready (she's eating around 30 ounces of breastmilk a day, she can hold her head up and sit supported very well, etc). We will probably still wait at least a few weeks before starting though. She doesn't always empty her bottles so I'm not sure she needs it quite yet. But we might use solids as a way to control her poop a little bit.

The end of the appointment is always reserved for the "here's what you can expect from her between now and the next time I see her" talk. But this time, she was baffled, because our little lady is already doing almost all of the 6 month developmental things (she rolls well both ways, giggles, sits unsupported momentarily, "swims" on her belly, grabs toys and brings them to her mouth, does a "raking" motion with her hands, etc). So she said be on the lookout for better sitting, possibly crawling (WHAT??), maybe even pulling up a little bit. Um, seriously? I'm really not ready to have a crawler yet! But wouldn't you know, two days later and she's starting to pull her knees underneath her. She's not pushing up yet from that position, but still. Yikes!

But. We're so happy she's happy and healthy and trucking right along! :) If that means crawling in a couple of months, so be it.

Little Mommy

This is how Eden loves on her little sister (be still my heart...):

FOUR MONTHS!

Leah,

You are officially an infant. Nothing about you is "newborn" anymore. You are a full-on baby, and you're so perfect right now I can barely stand it! Your daddy and I keep knocking on wood that you stay so easy.

You so rarely cry. You occasionally get upset if it's past time to eat, or if you're tired and not in your bed, but you mostly just go with the flow, and smile and squeal and - lately - GIGGLE your way through the day! You love to sit in your exersaucer or your Bumbo seat, if you've got toys to keep you busy. You love to lie on your play mat, either on your tummy or on your back, and chew on anything you can reach.

You're consistently able to roll from your tummy to your back AND from your back to your tummy (just like your sister, you learned back to tummy first, and it would upset you when you'd find yourself on your tummy!). Over the last few days, you have started being able to sit for a few seconds by yourself, or "tripod" yourself for a few seconds (before you topple over head first!).

You think (other people) sneezing is HILARIOUS. You think fake sneezing is sort of funny, but real sneezing is HILARIOUS.

You love to be tickled, and you love it when we kiss your cheeks and neck and belly. I love to pretend to eat your jellyroll legs. Sometimes I can get some chuckles out of you for that. :)

Your FAVORITE thing, though, by far... is your sister. You always smile when you see her; you squeal when she looks at you; and you just love it when she gets down on the floor with you and plays. Just so you know, she loves you very much too. She loves helping Mommy and Daddy take care of you, she loves playing with you, she loves talking to you and telling you all about things she knows. It melts my heart to see that. I wanted so badly for you both to love each other, and I hope you continue to be close and loving sisters. There is no relationship in the world like between sisters.

You're the perfect baby. I want to freeze you here, but I know it keeps getting better. I'm just trying to be in every moment I have with this sweet baby-you. I love you so much, Leah, and I hope you always know just how cherished you are.

Love,
Mommy

Leaving Home

Some days it's just so hard to leave my house for work. Today, for instance. I had a dentist appointment for fillings at 8:45 so I had to go in late and my family had fully started their day by the time I was actually leaving for work.

As I was standing at the top of the stairs that lead down to our front door, Eden asked for an extra hug and a kiss. I complied, of course, and then she ran back into the living room and
I stood there surveying the scene. Bryan had started some music (Eden's favorite, according to him: Pete Yorn). Eden was twirling and dancing in a sweet purple gauzy summer dress. Bryan was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with Leah sitting on his lap, and they were both watching Eden twirl and smiling with their whole faces, dimples and everything (I couldn't see Bryan's, of course, because of the facial hair, but I knew they were in full force!) The windows were open, a soft breeze and sweet sunshine flowing in with the warm, 72-degree air.

It was such a perfect scene. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to freeze time, or to pretend it was Saturday and join the dance party with these three people I love more than i think my heart can even stand. My eyes filled up and it broke my heart but I turned around, choked out an "I love you guys! Be good!" and walked out.

Training Update

Training. Oh yeah. :)

My goal was to hit the gym 4 days/week, but with our crazy schedule, it just isn't happening. I am managing to make it at least once a week, and I'm doing well when I'm there, but it's difficult. Anyway, here's where things stand right now:

1. Running: I'm slacking on running because I hate it so much. I've gotten up to 2 miles but I'm really not motivated to do it again. Next time I hit the gym, though, I'm hitting the treadmill. And I'm going to try for 2.5.

2. Biking: Ever since I got my anniversary present, I refuse to work out on a stationary bike at the gym. It is SO much better riding outside. This past week was Bike to Work week or something and there was a convoy from the local bike shop to City Hall, and I joined in. Yep, I biked to work. I couldn't get Google Maps to cooperate to get the exact mileage, but my best educated guess is somewhere around 8-8.5 miles. So on Friday I biked 16-17 miles. And SURVIVED! :) I think I might start biking to work 1-2 days a week. Today I went to the bike shop and had the bike "fitted" and I bought clip-in pedals and cleats. I've only ridden home from the bike shop (about a mile or so) but I love them so far, and I think it's going to make commuting MUCH easier.

3. Swimming: last week I managed to swim the entire distance!! I didn't wear contacts so I couldn't see the clock and I think it made a huge difference. I wasn't pushing as hard, I was concentrating on getting breathing down, and I swam a whole 1/4 mile! ;) I know it's not that far, but I was excited to see that I can at least do the distance, and now I just have to build speed and endurance. And practice swimming in open water a bit.

The Big News

I've not said anything here because I am terrified of jinxing it, but I can't keep it in anymore. I'm too excited.

It was unexpected (as some of the best things in life are; see photo below for proof):
But it's exciting, nonetheless.

Folks, we're about to be homeowners. Yep. Team Thomason is moving its home base about a mile west. We're buying a townhouse-style condo here in our town. We got an amazing deal and managed to make the financing work with nothing down (it's complicated and the result of (1) a half-hour long conversation with one of my contacts at a local community bank full of "what if we..." and some really awesome creative legal thinking - it was so fun and (2) an awesome seller who was/is willing to work with us).

OK, so, we're scheduled to close on July 1, but we're probably moving before that so our landlord can get our apartment rented. I'm sad to be leaving this apartment. We've lived here for three years, we have amazing neighbors and an awesome commute, and BOTH OF MY BABIES CAME HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL TO THIS PLACE - BWAHAHAHA! - but we are so excited to be paying "rent" to ourselves. AND it won't be much more expensive than our current rent, even with taxes, condo fees, etc. Score. AND I'm saving a ton of money on attorney's fees by doing most of the work myself (rock on!).

Plus, the new place has a pool. :)

It's a two bedroom with a finished basement we'll be using as a third bedroom, and it's perfect for us. It's move-in ready, but we can still make some changes to make it ours. It's only got one major flaw (we'll need to replace the 50-year-old furnace) but given that we're getting such a great deal, we'll take it.

All that said, especially in my line of work, I understand that it's not done until it's done. So we're cautious. But we're SO EXCITED!!!!

So - want to come for a visit??

Our daily schedule

I always find these posts interesting on other people's blogs, and I love looking back on them on my own, so here's a summary of what my day looks like with a toddler, a baby, and a Biglaw job:

5:30 am - I wake up, feed babygirl (lying in bed, snoozing)

6:00 am - Leah sleeping peacefully in my bed, I nudge Bryan to keep a hand on her and I get up and shower, etc.

6:30-7:00 am - Eden gets up. We eat breakfast together (I stop what I'm doing getting ready and eat with her. I eat breakfast every day and she eats breakfast every day, and we both eat cereal 99% of the time, so I have made a priority to eat with her at the table. It's our girl time together and we often have our best conversations at this time.)

7:00-7:30 am - Eden watches a little TV, does her morning routine (hand massage, getting dressed, hair, teeth-brushing, etc.) Sometimes Bryan handles this, sometimes I handle it; it just depends on who has more time at the moment. (Usually it's Bryan).

7:30 am - I try to pump.* Sometimes I'm running late and end up missing this (which means that the first time I pump at work it's a little ridiculous...)

8:00 am - Out the door. Walk to bus, take bus to train, train to downtown, walk to work.

9:00 am - At work. [Yes, I get up at 5:30 am to make it to work at 9. This is crazy.] Bill as much as I can until

11:00 am - Pump. Sometimes I try to get some work done while pumping hands-free, but it's difficult because the room I use is on a different floor, there's setup and takedown time, and it doesn't actually take that long to physically pump. So I end up billing maybe .3 hours.

11:30 am - Back to work, eat lunch at my desk. Bill as much as I can until

3:00 pm - Pump again.

3:30 pm - Back to work, eat a snack. Bill as much as I can until

5:30-6:00 pm - Leave work. (I know, I am really blessed to be at a firm/in a group in which this is totally acceptable. And I'm not the only one doing it. In fact, if I'm there until 6:30 I'm often the last one to leave).

6:30-7:00 pm - Arrive home. Grab Leah from Bryan and feed her while Bryan and Eden have dinner (usually - sometimes Leah's schedule works out so that I can eat with them and then feed her).

7:30 pm - Eden takes a bath, Leah's playing. Then Eden's bedtime routine (hand massage, jammies, hair, teeth-brushing, etc). This is when I get some quality time with one or both kids. I either do Eden's routine or play with Leah (or both!), depending on the night. Bryan and I rotate who puts Eden to bed, based on the sleep consultant's recommendation, and it's kind of nice to have scheduled individual time. Usually at least once a week Bryan has something going on in the evenings so I end up putting them both to bed, but that hasn't been too much of a problem so far...

8:00 pm - Whoever is putting Eden to bed reads her 2 books, then we all read her Bible together and then pray as a family. (Eden always wants to pray for the same 4 people. So we do.) Usually at some point during this timeframe Leah goes to sleep as well. Her bedtime routine involves laying her in her bed. Much faster. She doesn't even really need a pacifier anymore except to show her she's tired. She spits it out and gets her thumb when she starts to get cozy in her bed.

8:30 pm - Both girls asleep. Hopefully. Time for relaxing, catching up with Bryan, etc.

9:00 pm - If both girls are really asleep, either log back in and work or watch DVR. Or Modern Family on DVD. (Why haven't we been watching that show all along? It is awesome.) Or just hang out and talk to my husband. You know, that guy that I had these two beautiful babies with? :)

(Love this picture so much - it's the background on my phone right now...)

It's a crazy crazy day, but it's also so amazing in almost every way and I wouldn't change it. Except maybe I'd spend more time at home and less time working, but who wouldn't? And, while I'm not married to my job for forever, for now it works for us and allows me to provide for my family in a way that pretty much no other job can. (That's my working mom mantra of the week).

Unsure...

I'm not sure how I feel about Osama bin Laden's death. Actually, I know I feel a little conflicted.

Mostly I feel shocked, stunned that someone who has had so much power over the psyche of this world for so long is no longer in it. I'm not sure what a post-bin Laden world looks like. Am I happy? That's complicated.

I feel relieved because his reign of terror is over.
I feel cynical because his followers will most likely just pick up the torch. And even more so because it is a reminder of the human condition apart from God - we are capable of terrible, terrible things.
I feel worried that this very event will spark backlash.

I feel glad because he was finally captured and is no longer capable of the mass destruction he caused, and hopeful that it will end even a little bit of the terror in the world today, even just in people's hearts, healing the victims of 9/11.
I feel sad that his life is over, because I believe all life is sacred and created by God (he was also knit together by God in his mother's womb), and knowing where he is now makes me uncomfortable rejoicing at his misery. I know that he caused misery for millions, but I'm not sure that makes me happy that he is in hell. Plus, as so many have pointed out, God does not rejoice in the death of anyone.

But part of me also is happy he's in hell. But I think that might be a tiny manifestation of the same part of me that makes humans capable of those terrible things he did.

I think I would have been a lot less conflicted, and almost entirely rejoicing, if he'd been captured alive. Out of the picture but not killed by human hands.

I know this is rambling but so is my brain. I've been having these conversations with myself for 36 hours now...