Faves of 2010

To put a close to 2010, I thought I'd list out my 10 favorite memories of the year (in no particular order)...

1. Our anniversary trip to Archer Mountain Inn on Beech Mountain. We had so much fun, and it was a winter wonderland! Snowboarding and good food and each other.

2. Stella's tail surgery. It wasn't fun seeing her in her E-collar to pitiful, but the results were fanTAStic! She's much less noisy and chaotic without it, and (*bonus*) she doesn't sling blood everywhere. Plus, we're pretty sure she doesn't even know it's gone :)

3. Being bored and taking a pregnancy test, and "surprise!" it's positive. It was during the big snow storm at the end of January. Adam was out doing something, and I called him to bring home some more tests. Sure enough, the next three were positive too!! We were pregnant!

4. Finishing my MA degree. No mo' escuela for me and me likey!! I really enjoyed my program- not so much the education part, but I LOVED my assistantship with Campus Rec and the friends I made.

5. Celebrating my PopPop's 80th birthday at Ocean Isle with the family. We used to take a family beach trip every year with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. for a whole week. Ever since the cousins started going to college, we stopped taking the trips. For PopPop's birthday, we all went to the beach for a week just like old times. Everyone couldn't stay the whole week, but it was still so much fun. PopPop also got emotional at his party, which doesn't happen very often.

6. Pregnancy. My first pregnancy experience was a good one. There were definitely ups and downs, but in general, it was great. Feeling her move for the first time (and every time after that), feeling her hiccup, realizing that there was LIFE inside of me that was not my own. A real creation that God had breathed life into. Incredible. Plus - people were always really nice to me :)

7. After Julia was born (via c-section), my grandmother asked where my scar was. My mom said, "just below the underwear line." Grandma said "Oh okay, so just above the navel?"

8. Driving around in the Jeep with Adam. It was beautiful weather, sun setting behind the trees but still warm and bright. We had the top off the Jeep, Julia in my belly, Stella in the backseat, open country road, killer music, and my hand holding his. Bliss.

9. Giving birth to my daughter. I really struggled with this for a long time because the birth didn't go how I wanted it to. I had planned and prepared for a natural, drug-free birth, but after 33 hours of labor, and 18 hours of being stuck at 5-6 cm, Julia was born via c-section. I wanted so badly to deliver her, but God had other plans. I'm still not totally over it, but its hard to be negative when you have a beautiful, healthy, smiling daughter in your arms.

10. Becoming a family. Adam and I became a family as soon as we got married - God made that happen. But now that the two of us have a beautiful child together, it makes me feel even more like a little family. Seeing him love her is incredible. Seeing her smile at me fills and warms a spot in my soul that I didn't know was there. Life is good.

Looking forward to in 2011...

1. Watching Julia grow and loving her more every day

2. Another year of being married to my Adam

3. Being more financially responsible

4. Keeping a cleaner house

5. Continuing to dream!

"Baby Talk" and "Thanks for your uninvited advice on parenting"

Baby talk. I get it. I'm a new mom! I love talking to my baby, and I will admit that my voice is a little different when I talk to her than when I talk to an adult. HOWEVER, I typically do it in private or in the company of family/friends, not really in the public arena. I also keep my volume at a reasonable level. To my knowledge most babies are not deaf, and if you're yelling to your baby in baby-talk, she's probably wishing she was. There's also a difference in making your voice sound soft and gentle, and making your voice sound like you think you've turned into an actual baby.

This rant is not totally unprovoked. Like the rest of the world, I went to the post office this week to mail a couple packages- not presents, but boring things like insurance claims. The local post office is...we'll call it cozy. Julia was asleep in the infant-carrier, and we were waiting in the back of the line with 3 people in front of us. The woman at the counter looked to be about my age, and she also had a baby girl in an infant carrier along with 2 boys who looked to be about 6 and 8. The post office was silent except for the air conditioning. I remember thinking to myself, "wow, it's quiet in here!" And from the silence bursts forth in an awkwardly deep yet shrill voice, "I'M 'UNNA EAT YO WITTOW TSEEKSIES AN' DEN I'M 'UNNA EAT YO WITTOW BEWEE AN' DEN I'M UNNA COME FO YO WITTOW FEE......(total change of voice and demeanor...unfortunately, the volume remains) BOYS!! IF YOU DON'T STOP PLAYING ON THAT DOOR....YOU - PUT YOUR NOSE ON THE WALL HERE....YOU - PUT YOUR NOSE ON THE WALL HERE. KEEP YOUR MOUTHS SHUT!.......(suddenly back to the deep, shrill baby talk)....DES DO AARE SUTS A PITTY DIR-EL...DES DO AARE....BOYS! NOSES ON THE WALL!. (end scene...until she makes it to the counter and takes 10 whole minutes to ship 2 packages...still loud. Maybe she had hearing problems?)

While this drove me crazy, I'm sure her daughter loved it. To each her own, right? Variety is the spice of life :)

While the doting mother was asking about every possible shipping method for her large packages, the man in front of me turns to me and says (without whispering) "Don't you ever tell your kids to put their noses on the wall. It's demeaning and wrong. What can she expect? The young boys need something to do! She can't expect them to sit still while she's taking forever at the post office. It's not their fault. And that's another thing, don't ever use "you" statements, you need to use "I" statements (ironic?). "I need you to stay quiet" and things like that. I tell ya', she does have her hands full, but my 35 years of experience in child psychology is telling me she's doing it all wrong."

Oh really sir? Did your child psychology experience ever tell you not to talk about strangers to a stranger in front of said stranger? Because that really makes stranger #2 uncomfortable. Also, I need you to save your parenting advice for someone who asks. I'm sure this guy was well intentioned, as is everyone else who tells other people how they should raise their kids. If you ever need some unwanted attention or advice, ask your baby to cry in public. "oh, maybe she has to burp." "does she need a new diaper?" "do you think she needs a nap?" Goodness, how do I make it through taking care of her every day without these people? I'm not saying I know everything about parenting, but when I need help or advice, I'll ask for it. I promise.

End rant.

Mommyhood

Two days ago, Julia celebrated 2 months of life outside the womb. It's amazing how much she has changed and developed in such a short time. Right now she's doing a lot of things that may not be exciting to the average person, but to her parents are incredibly exciting. She is giving LOTS of smiles. It's amazing to see your child smile. I'm not sure what could make me happier than knowing that she's happy. One of her cutest, most hypnotizing behaviors is when she discovers her voice. She lays on her little play mat and kicks her legs and swings her arms and says "ooooohhhhh, uuuuuuuuhhhhhhh, aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh, ooooohhh" changing volume and expression. I could watch her do that for hours. She also likes to use her leg muscles and try and stand up. Obviously at this age, she's nowhere close to being able to stand up on her own, but with some support, she can hold a good bit of her own weight. She loves it! She recognizes me and Adam, and Stella too (I think). One of her favorite things to do is stretch. She loves to reeeeach her arms over her head, throw her head back, close her eyes, arch her back and s-t-r-e-t-c-h. She makes it look so good!

She has certainly made the adjustment into parenthood an easy one. She makes crying cute, sleeplessness bearable, and her poop doesn't even stink. Just kidding, I'm not one of THOSE parents :) I know she's not perfect, and I know that her crying isn't cute to everyone, and I knooow that her poop stinks (and I hear it's only going to get worse!). But the thing is that when it's your own kid, you don't really mind any of it as much. It's not an inconvenience to deal with all these things (and more), it's just what my life is focused on now- taking care of this new creation. God has trusted us with his child, and it's an honor to try our best not to screw things up :)

There have been some tough adjustments into parenthood. It hasn't been seamless. Alone-time with Adam is a little tougher to find, but we find it and we are adjusting. Not only is this my first time being a momma, but it's my first fall not being in school. I've been in school and/or working since I was 5, so it is a bit odd to be doing neither. I was raised to have a good work ethic for school and for jobs, and sometimes I feel guilty that I'm not working and bringing home any money. I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, and I just need to think about motherhood as a job. I'm getting there, but I'm used to having assignments and tasks with deadlines and results and accountability. I just need to learn to take the work ethic and tenacity that I had towards work/school, and channel it into homemaking and parenting. I am going to work part-time a few hours/week starting at the end of this month, and I think it will be a good "me-time" break.

Some of my motherhood favies:

1. seeing her smile

2. being such a comfort to her

3. being able to provide things for her that no one else can

4. hearing her "talk"

5. seeing her make Adam melt

6. using cloth diapers...actually makes diapering FUN!

7. watching her grow & develop day by day

8. bath time

9. when she naps on my chest

10. folding her teeny-tiny clothes