Alternative to the Alternative Lifestyle

*Note- I started this post over a week ago. It isn't even relevant anymore. I'm not sure why I am finishing it now except for (a) I feel like I need to post SOMETHING because it's been so long, and (b) it contains pictures I never posted. So here goes.

This morning's activities are inspired by, and in stark contrast to, a previous post.
I should be doing laundry, washing the dishes, cleaning the bathrooms, dusting and vacuuming my room, or working on new house stuff, which has become my full time job. Instead I am watching an old episode of Flight of the Conchords, drinking coffee, and eating a piece of apple pie that I baked from scratch using apples we picked on this lovely day:

Sophie of Late

Lately, Sophie has really matured. She is less than three months away from her third birthday and I really see a big difference between two and three. She is more of my clone every day. (In personality. We all know I'm not tall and blond.) Sometimes this makes it difficult for us to coexist. We are both irritatingly stubborn and known to have erratic emotional outbursts. But because I know she is this way in the same way I am, I have a kind of respect for her. Underneath the two-year old irrationality and noncompliance is something deeper. I see a person who is strong-willed, determined, and passionate. And that's a great kind of person to be. I see so much of myself in her that I often pause in the middle of our conversations and try to relate to her in the way I wanted to be related to when I was young. Which is easy, because I know exactly where she's coming from. And I'm confident that I know this because of how she responds. I get her, that difficult child. I hope she always feels understood and respected- at least by me.


Pictures of Sophie of Late:

Lilah of Late

Lilah has been very busy lately. She can sit up unassisted, which is HUGE! She's still a little floppy, but she is getting better every day. I love this stage. It means I don't have to worry about having a piece of baby equipment (play mat, swing, exersaucer, bumbo bouncy seat, etc.) strategically placed throughout the house in case I need to put her down. Now I just plop her down with a couple of toys and she's good to go.

Last week her first lil toofer popped up. It always makes me a little sad to see my babies get their first tooth. It is a tiny speck of white right now, but it is the beginning of the end of that big gummy baby smile.

She is finally getting the hang of eating solids. Her tongue thrust reflex is starting to go away and she can finally swallow a bite without pushing and spitting it out five times first. Today: strained peas. Tomorrow: a turkey sandwich! (Not really tomorrow, but it will be here sooner than you think!)

And here are some pics of Lilah of late:



Lilah has been very busy lately. She can sit up unassisted, which is HUGE! She's still a little floppy, but she is getting better every day. I love this stage. It means I don't have to worry about having a piece of baby equipment (play mat, swing, exersaucer, bumbo bouncy seat, etc.) strategically placed throughout the house in case I need to put her down. Now I just plop her down with a couple of toys and she's good to go.

Last week her first lil toofer popped up. It always makes me a little sad to see my babies get their first tooth. It is a tiny speck of white right now, but it is the beginning of the end of that big gummy baby smile.

She is finally getting the hang of eating solids. Her tongue thrust reflex is starting to go away and she can finally swallow a bite without pushing and spitting it out five times first. Today: strained peas. Tomorrow: a turkey sandwich! (Not really tomorrow, but it will be here sooner than you think!)

And here are some pics of Lilah of late:

October 15

When I picked Sophie up from school today she showed me a picture she had drawn. Her teacher had written her name and the date on the back of it. The date she drew the picture was September 23. Time stood still for just one second as I immediately registered that date. It was my due date for my first baby, who I lost after carrying for 11 weeks 4 days. That doesn't seem like a long time, but it was long enough to fall in love with my tiny child, long enough to feel elated that I was growing a new life in my body, and long enough to have hopes and dreams for my baby. I remember every detail of the nightmare that was my miscarriage. It was the worst time period of my life. It was odd that I should be reminded of it today, because today was in fact Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. While I no longer think about my miscarriage every day, it is still very much a part of me. I always wear a sapphire (September's birth stone) and diamond ring that Shimmy gave me on the Mother's Day after I miscarried, as a symbol that my first baby is always in my heart. And today especially I have been thinking about him. I never got to meet him, to smell his sweet skin, or kiss the soft hair on his head. But I carried him for the short time he was in this world. I am still his Mommy and I will always love him. And I know he, and all of the other precious babies who have flown away too soon, feel the love all of us Mommies will always have for them.