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? :)