Quotable: Mad Guys Rescue the Day

LP:  I'm a mad guy. Mad guys rescue the day.

Mama:  Like, save the day?

LP: Yeah.


*        *        *        *        *        *

LP:  Mama, let's go Nowhere today.

Mama:  OK. We will stay home.

LP:  No, let's go Nowhere!

Mama:  Love, we're not going anywhere. We're staying home.

LP: NO! Nowhere is a few streets away.

Mama:  That would be somewhere. Nowhere is not a place - it means not anywhere.

LP: NO!!! Nowhere is down the street!!!

Mama: If we go nowhere, we don't go anywhere.

LP:  Mama, I want to go somewhere. I want to go to NOWHERE!

Sadie's Stats...per the doctor

At last Friday's doctor appointment we got some statistics. I don't put much stock in these things, because, as you will see, I'm not convinced they are always totally accurate. And even if they are, who cares? (Unless, of course, one's baby is failing to thrive.)

So Sadie came in at...

weight: 11 lbs, 1 oz - 58th percentile

height: 22 inches - 36th percentile

head circumference: 15 inches - 33rd percentile (this one I believe!)

Based on her percentiles, she should look like a very fat, round individual...but she doesn't. She looks lanky, even. I don't get it.

She also got her first round of immunizations, bless her heart. She did not feel well for a few days.

Most notably, though, is that we discovered she is lactose intolerant or perhaps has a milk allergy...not uncommon in babies, and likely something she'll outgrow. We are now giving her a soy-based formula and all the funky symptoms are gone!

Now that her tummy has calmed down, she sleeps excellently at night. She even pulls a seven hour sleep stretch once an evening. We're all quite happy about that.

That's the latest on our little Warrior Princess.

** Cool incident: Today at the coffee shop, the guy behind the counter told me she looked like a little warrior. I don't know what prompted him to say that - my guess is the headband/flower thing she was wearing on her head. But it was a flower!  Anyway, she seems to already be giving off that vibe.

Grandma Doro Went to Hawaii

...and sent Little P this fabulous Hawaiian outfit!

When Mama attempted to take cute photos of said outfit, however, Little P attempted to thwart any of such nonsense with cheesy expressions...

silliness...

Napolean poses....

looks of general boredom...

and avoiding looking at the camera.

Mama did get some relatively cute stuff twice:

Except for the poor exposure on that one.

Sadie almost fits in her Hawaiian dress, so we'll post pics when she does!

Gone Fishin'

One day Mama and Little P came across a very cool box. It was just the right size for commencing some sort of adventure. Not far from the box was a plastic contraption for holding bulk ketchup containers. This was the sort of day when no one Mama didn't want to get out of her pajamas. Thus adventures on the interior were most necessary.

Hmm... thought Mama.

And together Mama and Little P turned these items into a boat. With a propeller. And a few fish to catch in the hairpin hook.

Little P was most excited about eating goldfish crackers as his special fisherman's snack.

The Mechanic's Apprentice

Papa needed a helper to put the oil in the Mustang for the first time. Papa rebuilt the engine (with Little P's assistance), and was getting ready to smoke test it.

Little P brought him cans of oil and disposed of the old containers.

He also checked to make sure nothing was leaking. That's an important job, you know.

And the Mustang runs!

Night Sleeper

Sadie slept from 9 PM to 5 AM last night. Yahoo!

The light at the end of the tunnel

Miss Sadie slept from 10:00PM until 6:00 AM last night. That's 8 whole hours!  Was it the lingering effect of Friday's immunizations? Or is it the start of a delicious new era in sleep?  We shall see...

Good Friday Gardening

You see, I needed to prop up the bean plants that were creeping across the garden beds.

They were just looking for trouble.

So my best helper and I scrounged around until we found the old stakes and unused wire that could now be put to good use. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for this sort of undertaking.

My helper, of course, decided the job required additional heavy equipment.

Most of these plants are volunteers. The soil brought in to replenish the beds was given to us by a guy who farms. The story goes that he had a bunch of seed packs that got wet. He dumped them out thinking they were damaged and wouldn't sprout. Well, he was wrong!

And we are pleased with the results - cilantro, kale, radishes, turnips, lots of types of lettuce, and who knows what else is growing in there!

Our first harvest - kale, other greens, and a radish!

Note the pot full of mint behind our excellent helper.

It was a very good Friday.

Sweet Siblings

A spontaneous photo shoot, so they don't have matching outfits, but it's cute nonetheless...

Movie Night

Last week we did something special: we hosted movie night for Benjamin, in our bed, with stove-top popped, buttered popcorn. This was one of many creative attempts we have made to help Benjamin feel special. To help him see the benefits of being older (so that he doesn't feel the need to act like a baby to compete for attention with the baby).

And what did he choose to watch?

Blue's Clues. Yep. Our boy is still pretty innocent. Though he is three, he has only seen a couple of full-length films...Cars, Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang, and...perhaps...some of Monsters Inc.?  I don't know.  So movie night was quite a hit.

More Two-Month Photos

Sadie's Two-Month Milestones

Two months! I can hardly believe it.

Weight: 11.1 pounds

Sadie can...

• smile back at you when you smile at her
• smile with a bottle in her mouth
• hold her head up
• look around the room to find something she hears
• scoot - backwards, mostly
• bat at hanging items
• watch her mobile go round (and smile at it)
• sleep for four hours at a time (yay!)
• hold onto your shoulder when you are carrying her around
• look for me if she hears my voice in a crowded room

Sadie can almost...

• roll over
• coo - she will make gurgling noises when you coo at her - she is clearly trying to copy the sound

She is just the happiest little thing! She smiles so easily and has such a sweet and mellow disposition.  And she's constantly moving when she's awake - squirmy and strong.

We have a doctor appointment tomorrow morning - she's going to get her first round of shots!

Want to see how far she's come?
Here is her One-Month Update.


**Note: I am photographing Sadie each month in this chair. Look at past months to see how she's grown!

The Heavier Things

My Grandpa died two months ago. Benjamin attended the graveside funeral with the family. We talked a bit about death.  A couple weeks later we were driving in the car listening to the following song when we had this conversation...

Music playing: Mumford & Sons
Lyrics: 
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life...

LP:  Mama, Grandpa Jerry's body died.

Mama: Yes, it did.

LP: But not his soul.

Mama: No, not his soul.

LP: And people were sad that his body died.

Mama: Yep. People are always a little sad when a person's body dies.

LP: Oh.

How to Win

Grandma is "driving" a pretend car as Benjamin follows close behind on his new balance bike:

LP: Gwamma, I'm gonna to cwash you.

Gramma: No, don't crash me.

LP: I'm gonna cwash you!

Gramma: Why are you crashing me?

LP:  Because cwashing is winning!  (his arms fly high as if signaling a touchdown)

Eight Weeks of Girlfriend

Her two-month birthday is actually on Thursday, so you will get a blue chair update then, but I couldn't let the day close without acknowledging that GIRLFRIEND HAS BEEN HERE EIGHT WHOLE WEEKS TODAY.

Dude. Where has the time gone?

So here she is. Pics taken tonight...just now...11 P.M. She just finished off 5 ounces of Enfamil newborn formula, and she is as happy as can be. She's a smiley little thing, but I'll save some of the details for Thursday.

I swear her eyelashes just grew extra long in the last 24 hours.

Everything about her just says happiness.

Girlfriend's Got a Fro

Look at this face. Is it not the most precious little wet bathtime face ever?

Well, except for this precious little wet bathtime face.

I think we have a tie in The P-Pod for adorable bath faces.

Mama loves having two adorable kids who look nothing like each other.

But I digress.

The most fun is to be had post bath. For this is when Miss Sadie dons her most fabulous...

HAIRDO!

Curls galore!

Fro-licious fun!

Mama is beyond jealous. But let's just add this as one of the many reasons, shallow as it might be, to adore adoption. For a mama can raise beautiful children with the most fantastic features that her DNA would never produce...such as beautiful, dark, glorious curls.

Papa and His Little Lady

Emma's my birfmother!

Photos courtesy of Emma.

Benjamin got a visit from Emma last week. He's just now starting to get the concept of "birthmother" - being that he doesn't really get human reproduction too well, this is a limited understanding. But he's started down that path. When Emma arrived, Brent asked him who she was. He replied, "Emma is my BIRFMOTHER!!" At least he's not calling her Auntie Bek this time. (Egads!)

Being that most of my existence right now is a sleep-deprived blur, I failed to take my camera out at all while she was here. I did manage some video footage. (Must get on downloading that!) So Emma captured some of the fun moments she spent with Benjamin.

They went to the Wild Animal Park...dang it...the Safari Park (SD Zoo changed the name this year).

A note on this from an open adoption perspective...I LOVE that Benjamin can spend time alone with his birthmama. I do not feel threatened by it in the least. To people who have not experienced open adoption, this is one of these things that sounds nerve-wracking. People tell me all the time, "I don't know how you do it. I would not want to be that gracious."

I am not the most gracious person, let me tell you. I am self-preserving and human just like everyone.

But once a person gets in the open adoption groove, it's not such a big deal. In fact, it becomes a very special time. Benjamin, whether he remembers these early years or not, will be able to look back at the photos and see that we are all in agreement about this adoption arrangement. That his birth mama loves him and made the effort to fly out here and spend time with him. That we have given him the chance to know and love her back. That we respect and love his birthmama. That she approves of us as his parents and supports us. It's just beautiful, is what I say. And it's not nearly as hard as a person might think.

Oh how Benjamin likes to look at this photo of him in an egg! This is probably his favorite shot of the bunch.

Mostly we spent lazy time around the house, but one morning we took a hike at the park. The photo below captures Benjamin in his element. Two walking sticks in hand, even.

We are so grateful for Emma - both for her choice to place Benjamin in our family AND for her friendship and continued presence in our lives!