It's Fall!

Fall is in full swing in Madison now and yesterday we fully embraced the season.

We started our Saturday with a trip to the farmer's market. We love walking around, buying coffee and baked goods, sitting on the capital lawn, and judging everyone as they walk past us. (I'm a Green, I can't help it.) We usually don't even buy any vegetables since we have a CSA membership and struggle to eat the veggies we already have, but it's fun to see all of the interesting vendors and crazy veggies.

"Gangster Yooper"

After the farmer's market, we went home to clean out the garage, put our boats away for the winter and rake the lawn. Luckily, we had some adorable distractions for a while when the Creaghs stopped by.

Brooke, Grace and Charlotte hanging out with the little man

Grace LOVED holding Jay and playing with him, Charlotte got to ride her bike around and both girls managed to step in dog poop. Hopefully they will still come back ;) They met Jay 5 months ago and Grace couldn't stop calling him Baby Sean, which was adorable. This time she was confused about him being a boy or girl. Those girls are such adorable kids. Jay (big Jay) is a friend from camp and we assume all of these kids will go to camp and eventually work on staff just like us, so it is fun to imagine them raising hell like their parents in 16-18 years.

After they left, we got back to raking and found the one thing Jay doesn't laugh at... Every time Sean used the rake, Jay would scream in terror. Lucy hates when he cries, so she started going crazy and tried to climb in my lap along with Jay. Although I offered to abstain from the work and just hold Jay, Sean was having none of that. We showed Jay that raking is okay and he ended up having a blast playing while we raked the gajillion leaves from our one (amazing) oak tree.

 The final cherry on top of our perfect fall day was enjoying steaming mugs of cider (spiked with a hefty dose of whiskey, of course) while Jay slept soundly, probably dreaming of playing with the cute Creagh girls at camp in the years to come.

In other news...Jay has started solids! Although he was ready about two months ago and I got the okay from the pediatrician, I was reluctant to introduce solids until 6 months. So far he likes carrots...and gagged on chicken. If I'm being honest, I also gagged when I smelled the chicken. Gross. We will stick to easy foods for a little more before trying chicken again. I think I am going to try making my own baby food. It sounds pretty easy and kind of fun.

Heidi's Getting Married!

I come from a large family. Not only is it large, but a pretty miraculous family. My grandparents had ten children, 31 grandchildren and 30-something great-grandchildren...and counting.

Many years ago...Mom (far right), her parents, and all nine siblings

The miraculous thing is, even though we span the globe physically, we are pretty close. I am not going to lie, social media has a lot to do with my generation relating to each other. My mom and her siblings seem to talk either on the phone or via email on a daily basis. I have been thinking a lot about family as we prepare to head to Denver next week to celebrate my cousin Heidi's wedding to Tim.


Here is Heidi and Tim in their BRAND new house

Heidi is one of my closest cousins. Heidi, Brenna, and I are closest in age to each other and grew up as three compadres at all of the family gatherings. Whether it was playing with our American Girl dolls, making up games or writing letters (pen pal style), we had some pretty great times.

A little over three years ago, I got married. Heidi and Brenna kept saying, "I can't BELIEVE you are getting married?!?" It just didn't seem possible that little Mali could be married to this seemingly random and very hairy man named Sean. I had known Sean very well, so I didn't quite understand their confusion. Now our roles are reversed and I feel the same amazement over "Little Heidi" tying the knot.

Heidi, Sam, Brenna and I on our grandparent's steps (a common play spot)

I love Tim. He is the kind of guy that everyone feels as if they have known for years after one shared beer. Heidi and Tim make a perfect couple and I couldn't have picked her a more perfect mate, but I still see this little girl who loves her Samantha doll and dances in the high school show choir. How could she be getting married?!?!

Heidi, Brenna and I at a Thanksgiving dinner in Brookfield. (I obviously love food)

As I try on clothes (double-checking to make sure my newly-flabbly-post-baby body still fits my clothes that I used to take a perfect-for-me fit for granted) and I pack James' perfectly planned outfits, I have thought about the family I will see this week. Family has always been so important to me. The importance however, had always lain in my immediate family... until I got pregnant with Jay. 

Being shy kept me from feeling comfortable reaching out to extended family. I assumed aunts, uncles and cousins didn't particularly care about me. Not in a bad way, but I didn't want to assume anybody wanted to spend time with me, as everyone had SO MUCH family of their own. Everything changed when I was first admitted to the hospital with my pregnancy at 20 weeks. Prayers were sent, gifts of magazines, cookies and company were brought swiftly to me, and continued. Calls, visits, thoughts and prayers kept coming for five months! The care and love I continued to receive let me open up and feel more confident and comfortable in this wonderful and loving family. I can't wait to share with my family the little boy that caused this shift in our relationship. He has met a lot of family already, but now he is older and so very interactive. 

He loves life oh so much. Just like a Green. 

Anyways, I wish so much happiness for Heidi and Tim. I can't wait to celebrate with you two, and see everyone else! Good luck to the Langs...the Greens know how to party (and talk)..(and eat)

5 Months

Jay is sooo happy to be 5 months old!

Every month, every week, every day, James seems to grow and explore his surroundings more and more. This month has been so much fun. We have been able to watch him discover his feet and put everything he finds in his mouth. He plays with toys and bounces in his jump-a-roo and excersaucer like a boss. He lights up with excitement when anyone new walks in the room. This is a boy who is not stingy with smiles and belly laughs (just like his dad). He wakes up talking to himself every morning (just like his mom). 

 Just workin' hard; eating flowers, playing music, bouncing and spinning!

His growth and development is so bittersweet as time is moving so swiftly. Sean and I have done a good job of living in the moment and taking the time to simply enjoy our time together as a family. Still, I can't help but reminisce longingly of the days when we first brought him home from the hospital and held him all day and a good part of the night. While he is small now, he was so much smaller just 5 months ago. 

Hanging with Dad on a lazy Sunday

We are moving toward another big milestone tonight...moving Jay to his own room. Although I originally wanted to keep him in our room for the first six months, he seems ready to move out and into a bigger sleep space. The co-sleeper/sidecar we use is not too big and he is stirring more easily when Sean and I talk or get up in the night. 

His room is literally only a wall away from us, but both Sean and I are dreading the move. GOD, how will I send him to college? We made a decision that today would be a good trial for his new location since I don't work any nights this week. In preparation, last night I spent extra time staring at him in his little tuxedo-sleepsack and ridiculous mittens (his hands get ice cold in our room at night). I looked over the side of the bed at him this morning when I heard cooing next to me and I said "Good Morning!" to the biggest, sweetest smile. I know he will still do that in his own room, but how sweet is it to be able to see that smile before I even hit the ground in the morning.

We will see how the transition goes, but hopefully it will be easier in practice then the anticipation has been. Once we get adjusted, we will probably be wondering why we didn't move him earlier!

Grandpa Jay's thermals and hat from almost 60 years ago! Though Lil' Jay modeled them like a champ...we had to change him quickly because the clothes smelled super musty. Blech.

Momo and Grandpa bought Jay a Stormy Kromer to keep him warm AND stylish when we head north in the winter!

4 Months and a trip to the BWCA

We have had another fun-filled month. Jay is developing and growing almost every day. Today we had his 4 month doctor's appointment and he is a whopping 16 pounds 6 ounces! His length is in the 92%. I know what you are thinking...where does THAT come from? At my own 4 month appointment, I was in the 98%. I apparently stopped growing shortly after that since I am only 5 foot 2 inches now.

He is reaching for and playing with toys, putting everything in his mouth, babbling constantly and even rolling over! We are so proud of every achievement and still just sit for hours watching him... for fun.

We have continued to travel at every opportunity. Our big trip replaced our annual canoe trip to the Quetico. We rented a cabin and motor boat in the Boundary Waters in northern MN. We stopped at Sam's house in Duluth for a night.

Sean holding Sam's puppy Brooks and Sam holding our puppy

Sam even made me a delicious cake. He used every candle in the house for me to blow out...

(I'm 5-2-backward 6 years old now)

Sam dog-sat Lucy so that we didn't have to worry about her and we headed north. Betsy and Willie at Vosburgh's Cabins treated us VERY well.  They accidentally double-booked the cabin we tried to rent, so they gave us an upgrade for free. 

This was the view from our cabin. 

I have been trying to breastfeed in all different places with the best views. This screen porch was a great addition to my list.

This trip was pretty different from our normal wilderness expeditions. We had a blast in the motor boat every day. We would load up all of our gear and drive down the road to the dock and load up our rented boat that a handsome young boat-hand gassed up for us. I was about to say that I can't believe I'm already the creepy older woman ogling the young camp hands... but actually, I was always the young lady doing just that, I'm just older now :) We didn't hold back at all. We brought a cooler full of snacks and beer, a full gallon of water to drink, a bouncy chair for Jay to play in, my knitting, books and fishing supplies. While we were driving, Jay wore his life jacket, but when we stopped we would let him hang out in a little boat fort.

We saw some amazing wildlife, including this loon who came within 10 feet of us and fished for a long time.

Another wildlife sighting was much closer to home. Sean was starting a fire in our cast iron stove and he quickly and quietly shut the glass door. A few minutes later he said to me, "I have to tell you something but I don't want you to freak out. There is something in the fireplace, but it's under control." "Whaaaaa?" I replied...freaking out. Apparently, two poor bats died a hot, hot death prior to our arrival. 

Jay dipped his feet in Lake Superior on our way home. His SECOND Great Lake before he turned 4 months!

He liked it a little bit more than his face shows in this picture. 

He is definitely turning into QUITE the outdoorsy boy!

3 Months

Well...I thought it would be easy to post once a month on this blog. Turns out motherhood takes more time than I thought! I write this with baby sound asleep on my shoulder. Feeling his steady breaths on my chest, smelling his baby smell, it is pure bliss. It even outweighs my desire to pee... bad timing there.

We have had a summer of adventure, learning, and fun. I am officially going back to work this Friday. Am I scared? Hells yes. Am I ready? Actually, yes. It has been almost 9 months of time off, and I am excited to get back to it. Tonight I am going in for a few hours to dust off the cobwebs in my post-pregnancy brain, figure out where everything is, what my passwords are and maybe read a few thousand emails. I have been told it will all come back to me, but I have never been away from any job this long, so we shall see.

I am excited to be settling into my new lifestyle and role as a part-time nurse and full-time mom. It still sounds weird to call myself "Mom," but I love it nonetheless.

I am overwhelmed by the idea of explaining all of the adventures we have been on, so here are some pictures.

Camping with a five-week old was a success! His onesie didn't lie, a "Happy Camper" he was!

Our tent (that Sean has had for 20 years) leaked...surprise, surprise. Sean's middle of the night creativity kept us dry!

We visited Aunt Bryn and Uncle Rod. Bryn introduced herself appropriately as his Auntie Mame and he looked up at her and smiled a huge gummy grin. "You just bought yourself a trip to Australia," she replied. We even realized that Jay looks A LOT like Rod's baby picture!

Jay's future lady-friend Annalise came to lunch with us...and her cool Mom Jana too.

Jay and I drove up with Clare to Appleton to visit Babs the week before Andrew arrived.

Momo fed him a bottle or two in Minocqua. Tater Tot was not a fan of a little boy taking away the attention...she was scared of Jay.

I love this.

Tracy and Doc Watson hung out with us one day. We were so happy to catch her on a rare day off from Camp Manito-wish.

Coordinated Fourth of July outfits!

Andrew is here!

Jay finally got to meet his Fairy Godmother, aka Kyla.

Another beautiful day at the beach on Lake Michigan with the Rands and Roes.

Now we will brave the heat for a walk before I go in to work :)

2 Months

We have had a very busy month. One of our adventures was when Jay first turned 1 month and we went for what has become our annual Memorial Day Weekend trip to Door County with some of our very best friends. This is the third year we have gone and stayed at Dave's grandparents' cabin on Lake Michigan. Mary and Andy's daughter was born the first year we went, so it has been such a neat landmark to see how much she has grown every year. Now we get to add Jay to that landmark!

The view from the cabin- gorgeous! Mac and Lucy are enjoying the view with a cup of hot coffee in the morning.

This picture is from our first year. We biked to a cute little festival in the town (I think it was Jacksonport, but might be wrong). We also went on a 30-mile bike ride which ended with beers and cheesecurds at a wonderful townie bar. 

As it was a warm spring, a bunch of us even swam in Lake Michigan. (By "swam" I mean jumped in and ran out as fast as possible)

This is from year two. Here are just us women at a local winery. Sean didn't go with us to Door County as he was busy celebrating at his brother's Bachelor party in Vegas (they went to church and played checkers all weekend I think). Kate was able to join us though! We did another 30-mile bike ride which ended at the same bar with beers and cheese curds...but Sarah and I got in a ridiculous bike accident a 1/4 mile from the bar due to a porcupine sighting. I fell over in slow motion and needed to replace my rear tire...but the porcupine was uninjured! (I've never claimed to be graceful)

This year we played on the beach a lot. Kate and Mac and Caitlin couldn't join us, so there was considerably less exercise. The Roes, Sean and Dave began the traditional 30-mile bike ride...but the Roes had to shorten their ride due to a certain two-year-old (who shall remain nameless) who decided she needed to know what a balled up piece of raisin-box cardboard felt like jammed in her ear. Sean and Dave still finished the ride only to discover that our townie bar is closed! Cherry Pie and ice cream was consumed instead. Sarah and I hiked at Whitefish Dunes State Park then went to buy the pie and ice cream. I was going to stay in the car at the creamery, but decided a photo opportunity was worthy of taking the baby out of his car seat...

Which has begun our collection of pictures with Jay next to large items...but I will save that for another blog post altogether.

Okay. Somebody just peed through his second outfit of the day and needs me to change him (Sean, obviously). Think its time for the next diaper size? 

1 Month of Bliss

Jay is 1 month old today!

I can't believe how fast time has gone. So far he has been a stellar baby. He loves snuggling, hates having a dirty diaper and is completely indifferent to getting bathed. He grunts all day and night and often sounds like he's clearing his throat, but also makes a noise Sean says sounds exactly like a billy goat. Although its early, I swear he has been smiling for real (not just synapses firing, I'm talking a big ol' grin at appropriate times). If anyone's kid would smile early, it would be Sean's though, right?

Being on bed rest gave me a lot of time to think, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. I thought through every item on my registry, even checking Consumer Reports for the best items. The time also allowed me to fully assess all of my fears about pregnancy, delivery and parenthood. It therefore gave me a healthy perspective on what kind of parent I want to be. Sean and I both feel that the most important characteristics to strive for are going with the flow, always appreciating every moment and loving with all our hearts. I thought it was a pipe dream to follow through with that, but have found that in the past month, we have both naturally and intentionally lived by these rules.

Everyone always hears the age old advice that when kids come along, you have to just go with the flow. We have been so lucky that our little guy is an incredibly easy baby. He eats well. He sleeps well. He hangs out like a champ.One aspect of parenting has me stuck in the not-so-easy-going category. I admittedly have been obsessive about germs, and have struggled a lot with deciding who can hold him and where we can take him. I am still very anxious about this and find that I just want to hold him close to me whenever we are in public or around other people. Do not feel offended if I didn't or don't let you hold him, it takes all my willpower just to let anyone except Sean and I hold him. I am working on it. Be patient with me, I'm a first time mom and worked really hard to get this guy, I'm just going to be protective of him.

I despise when people complain about being pregnant. After my first miscarriage, I felt like everyone around me was pregnant, every TV show had pregnant characters and every elevator I stepped onto had a glowing pregnant woman rubbing her beautiful, bulging belly. If I heard any complaints I just fumed. "If ONLY I could complain about those things," I thought. When I finally got pregnant again, I swore I would never complain about the bad parts. Sure I was nauseous, fat and missed drinking tequila, but hell if I was going to say that to anyone. You never know who is struggling or has ever struggled with trying to get pregnant. This thought process was taken to a whole new level after my emergency cerclage at 20 weeks. I joined a support group online for women with an Incompetent Cervix (IC). The amount of women with IC who hadn't been diagnosed from first losing a baby in their second trimester was slim. I knew I was lucky, but quickly realized just how lucky I was to have caught the problem just in time. Every day that I stayed pregnant, I thanked my lucky stars (and God) (and my perinatologist) that I wasn't leaving my baby in the NICU. I am not saying I didn't falter and get angry for my circumstances, but for the most part I tried to stay positive and not only be grateful, but also enjoy being pregnant.

Now that I have my beautiful, healthy, baby boy (currently sleeping in my arms as I type), I strive to always appreciate him and never take him for granted. I don't want to look back on his childhood and wish I had enjoyed it more. I will strive to always live in the moment and savor the snuggles when he wakes me at night. I will cherish his wails because it means his lungs are strong and I will laugh about the time he puked milk all over both of us just after we've both bathed and dressed...and then smiled at me with such satisfaction, because, well, that was just kind of funny. Too many people never get their happily ever after, and Sean and I try not to forget that, at least for right now. we did.

The third aspect of parenting we are attempting is easy. Loving your baby is natural. Even when he's a teenager and I don't like him much, I will still love him with all my heart. Sean rushes to him every night when he gets home from work because 9 hours was too long to be apart. While holding him close one day he said to me, "I'm almost afraid I will squeeze him too hard because I love him sooooo much!" When I look at him for the first time in the morning, I feel excited to see him every day, as if 4 hours was too long not to be staring at his perfect face. I could go on, but you all might vomit. Like I said, it is just easy to love your own baby.

Welcome!

Thanks for coming to my blog! I am using this venue to write about my little family, which includes my husband, Sean, our baby, Jay and Lucy the lab. We both come from large (and in charge) families and long distance friends so this is a great way to let them/you know what we are up to and share pictures. 

I blogged throughout my unique pregnancy with Jay. You can find that blog at:  www.malispregnancy.blogspot.com