Merry Christmas, here we come!

Like everyone else, I find it extremely hard to believe that 2010 is almost over. This time last year, I was relearning how to take care of an infant - this time with the added challenge of taking care of a toddler at the same time. Both the Squid and the Monkey have changed a lot in the past year. Mark and I have, too, but the change doesn't seem as dramatic when you're an adult. Since I haven't blogged in a couple weeks, I thought I'd wrap up the year by providing a quick rundown of our Christmas holidays.

The Monkey’s birthday: I know from personal experience that kids born in December get royally jipped this time of year. Not only do people inevitably try to call gifts combination birthday-Christmas gifts, but they’re also really busy with their own families. Mark thought I was nuts for scheduling a birthday party for a one-year-old (thought the same thing w/ her big sister’s party) but I think it’s important to celebrate a child’s milestones. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I had few birthday parties as a child. Having a Christmas Eve birthday will do that to a girl. On the plus side, I get to spend every birthday with family. But on the downside, I get to spend every birthday with family. Rather than completely skip out on celebrating the Monkey’s birthday, we just spread it out a bit. Since her birthday was on Thursday this year, we started celebrating her first birthday on Wednesday the 15th with Mexican food, margaritas (ok, so this was more of a celebration for mom and dad!) and key lime pie (which she LOVED, by the way). Her actual birthday party took place on Saturday. A few other babies came over and we had a great time watching them scoot around on the floor, play in the Squid’s tent and eye the dogs through the door. The cake didn’t look like what I expected, but it tasted amazing – the custard filling was fantastic! Another top score for the Tom Thumb at Coit and Campbell! As exciting as her birthday was, it was also bittersweet as she completely stopped nursing the night before her first birthday. I’ve written before that she had become less and less interested, but that night she flat out refused to nurse. It broke my heart in so many ways. I know it’s better if they wean themselves, but I wasn’t ready. I’m sure it’ll be the first of many disappointments, but hopefully the happy moments will outweigh the sad ones.

Visit with Santa: After several weeks of careful prepping on my part (including a trip to Santa's Village to see him arrive that first night), we all bundled up and headed across the street to meet and greet the man himself. I went and got in line w/ the Monkey about 20 minutes before his arrival, but that wasn't early enough, so we still spent more than an hour in line. The weather was warmer than in past years, though, so the wait wasn't bad. The Monkey, Squid and I wandered around the Village taking pictures while Mark held our place in line. When it was finally her turn, the Squid climbed into Santa's lap and gave him a great big grin. We got some really cute photos and she told him that she wanted a train and a track for Christmas! She had told me several times that she wanted a train and track, but I wasn’t certain that she'd say that to Santa. Until a few days beforehand, she was saying she wanted “big girl toys.” She was never able to tell me what a big girl toy was, but that’s what she wanted. Needless to say, it was both a relief and a holy-cow-guess-I’m-going-shopping-again moment when asked Santa for a choo-choo train and track.

The Monkey’s first visit with Santa Clause was less successful, but the photo is definitely one for the album! She screamed her heart out as soon as Mark plopped her down on his lap and I snapped a photo and had Mark grab her back up before Santa’s elf had a chance to snap the official ‘Santa’s Village’ shot. Thanks to the wonders of Photoshop- and an awesome colleague of mine – we still wound up with a single shot of the girls! Woo hoo!

The end is near

It happened. The Monkey flat-out refused to nurse this morning. I’ve known that the day was coming, but it still broke my heart. After nearly a year of experiencing that sweet bond that only a mother and her child can have, I know now that my days really are numbered. She nursed several other times later in the day, but the early morning shunning was a heart-breaker. I hate pulling out my pump on the weekend, but there was no other way I was going to get any relief this morning. My sweet baby opted for pancakes with homemade mixed berry syrup instead of spending 10 minutes snuggling with mommy.

The thing is that I’ve known this day would come. After she bit me and drew blood a few months ago, I joked that she was only going to get a year – if that. It was pretty much day-by-day for awhile. She has since sprouted 2 more teeth (for a total of 8) but we’ve found a nice equilibrium where I nurse her until she starts acting frantic/exhausted. At that point, I put her to bed, give her a sippy cup of water or juice, or grab a quick snack.

I’m not quite sure why I feel so conflicted. I recently started reducing the frequency of feedings (i.e. pumping sessions). And I was thrilled beyond belief when the Monkey slept through the night five nights in a row. I want my body back and have been looking longingly at the rest of my wardrobe – you know, the dresses and slim-fit shirts that are impractical when you may have to feed or pump every few hours.

But I still love the closeness and the one-on-one time nursing provides. And since I nursed her older sister for 18 months, part of me feels that the Monkey’s getting the short end of the stick yet again. She not only gets second-hand clothes, toys and bedding, but she also gets less – if any - routine alone time with mommy and daddy, and fewer months nursing. I realize (and have told many others) that every child is different and that you can’t treat kids the same, but this is one area where I really hoped I could give each of my girls the same thing. What I didn’t count on, though, was that the Monkey would come out weighing one and a half pounds more than her sister or that she’d have eight teeth by her first birthday! The Squid had less than that when I stopped nursing her at 18 months.

I know this isn’t the end of the world. I was able to nurse the Monkey several times throughout the day. And even if she had flat out refused again, I know that I don’t have to worry about her getting enough to eat. The girl is a mini-eating machine who happens to love and adore me. Deep inside, I know that her refusal to nurse is not a rejection of me – it’s a sign that she’s growing up and starting to assert her independence. Right now, though, it still feels like she rejected me.

How do you update a blog that you've been meaning to update for close to 6 weeks but haven't had time? You just start. So, here goes.

Much has been happening to our growing family since the last post, chiefly that both Savena and the baby have gotten bigger and we've all gotten older. Just kidding.

Savena did have her first dentist appointment. That was fun! Just kidding again. Mark will be taking her to the next appt. The dentist was nice and courteous, but wasn't who we wanted to see - evidently the staff didn't understand that we were going there to see one particular dentist - and only her. The whole reason we went to this place was to see a new pediatric dentist who Mark has been seeing as a patient since she was a teenager. We wanted to support her, but then didn't even get to see her. Savena got a pink balloon and a toothbrush, but I'm going to try to avoid dental offices with McDonald's style play yards on Saturday mornings. It was a bit much.

Savena also celebrated her second birthday on June 26! We had her party at Heights Park just down the street from our house and as luck would have it - it was one of the hottest days of the year. I think it actually topped out around 103 degrees right in the middle of the party. A friend said it sounded like the perfect Jeff Foxworthy joke - you know you live in Texas if the birthday cake icing melts! Yes, the icing melted - but Savena didn't mind. She wolfed down more cake than anyone else - and still had room for dinner about 2 hours later. (I have to credit Tom Thumb here. The one at Coit and Campbell makes the absolute best cakes! Be sure to check them out if you live in Texas.) I swear that she must have a tapeworm: our girl can eat...and eat...and eat some more. So, it was hot - but fun. A bunch of her friends came, as did Mudge, Grandma Beth, Aunt Amy and Uncle Will.

What else is there to say?
I've decided that being pregnant in July is no fun. Should have planned this better, but too late now. Please don't remind me about August. I plan to spend the entire month in the pool. If only, right!?! I had my first sonogram about 3 weeks ago now and our great Dr. D said that everything looks great. It's too early to tell the sex (yes, we're going to find out this time) but the baby is very, very, very active. Dr. D actually had a hard time getting all the measurements because he/she was practically doing backflips. Mark thought it was awesome, but we're both a little worried about what's to come. You know the saying "If we'd had the second one first, we never would have had more?" Well, that may hold true....we'll just have to see. We're still more excited than anything. Savena doesn't really understand, yet, but we're trying to get the message across. She already points to my belly and says "baby." She points to Mark's and her own belly and says the same thing, but it's a start.

Back to the baby: The due date is still Dec. 21, but evidently we have neighbors taking bets that I won't last that long. I'm definitely getting bigger faster this time around, but I haven't gained much weight. And we're not having twins - we made Dr. D double-check that fact.

Ooops, I've rambled on too long and must get back to work. Lunch break's over. More to come...sooner this time.