Last Days and Birthday(s)

I've had a draft of this post sitting around for about a year now because I wanted to document the last few days before Boo Boo was born.  Luckily I made some notes, otherwise I would have forgotten it all since then.  Anyway, it is funny to think back to that time when Babycakes was such a presence but even visible yet.  At this point we knew he was breech and we were scheduled for a version/possible c-section/possible induction on Tuesday so there was certainly a sense of finality this last weekend.  

The Friday before he was born, May 17th, was my last day of work before leave (and ever).  I used my remaining vacation hours and went home early, bidding the workplace an unceremonious adieu.  But first I took this picture of my tummy because it was all lopsided:

(Yep, I took it in the bathroom.)

That night we saw the new Star Trek movie.  Now, I should mention that up until this point I had always said Baby could be born anytime after that movie because I was so looking forward to it.  In fact, I always said in half-jest that that movie would put me into labor.  BUT since we knew Baby was breech now I said to the movie, "Please don't put me in labor."  The movie obliged.  Also, to make sure I knew he was breech, Babycakes stuck his head up in my ribs the WHOLE movie.  I mean, he did this a lot but usually I could just give him a poke and he'd move.  Not this time.  So let's just say that while I liked it, I liked Star Trek better when we watched it on DVD months later.

ANYway, then I got my hair cut at the mall by a tiny teenage girl with pink hair:

Saturday dawned with a breechy baby so we joined the new rec center and I sat in the chilly lazy river in hopes that he would turn (SPOILER: he didn't).  Meanwhile Drewbles went down the slides like non-pregnant people do.  I don't remember what we did that night but I can guess it involved me laying on the couch and possibly mac and cheese.

Sunday was a usual day of churching and British Sundaying with an old version of Jude the Obscure that I cannot recommend.  I did this art of Voldemort shaving:

Oh those days I used to sit and do arts for hours at a time during the day!  Or, you know, those days when I would sit and do anything for hours at a time during the day, ha.

Monday was my birthday!  I woke up early because I thought I was having a baby so we went to the hospital and were told I was not having a baby.

The faces of people who don't know they are experiencing a false alarm of impending babyness.

So instead we got breakfast burritos from McDonalds because I love them and I went back to bed.  Mostly I felt gross all day after the hospital did their poking and prodding.  But I rallied enough for exciting evening times of...a Redbox of Jack Reacher and Bombay House.  I also made myself a cherry birthday pie.  (I wanted to make a pie.)

I wanted a low key birthday and just a night to chillax with Drewbles and that's what I got.  I found my presents throughout the house and throughout the day, including books to read with Boo Boo and some Battlestar earrings.  

So, all in all it was a pretty typical weekend for us, pre-baby.  Now here we are a year later and things are very different and very good but it's still fun to look back.  Maybe it's time for some more Bombay House.

Pretember: Ornaments for the Hanging

Another Christmas, another craft spree.  Here's a confession: I have always secretly turned my nose up a bit at the notion of "homemade Christmas."  Not that I didn't appreciate or like getting homemade gifts, but as far as my own gift giving philosophies go, I always balked at the idea, snoot that I am.  Apparently I have changed my tune these last few years because now I think it is really fun to make things and foist them upon people.

This year, I made my family these gingerbread men ornaments:

I looked at a few ideas online but mostly made them up myself.  Looking back, there are some things I wish I'd done a little differently, but for the most part I think they are pretty cute.  I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: Hobby Lobby is a magical place.

Not satisfied with one kind of ornament, I made some hand print ornaments for Boo Boo's grandparents.  I found lots of tutorials online for salt dough ornaments, but then I had the epiphany of using the Crayola model magic stuff, like I did for the snowflakes last year.  It's easy to use, requires no effort on my part and it's light when it dries.  Ideal for an ornament, yes?

I think it will be fun to compare it to his hand next Christmas.  It's not super visible, but I stamped his name and the date at the bottom, using metal stamps.  I could have just written it in with a toothpick, but I guess my nose is still a little turned up after all.

(Pretember: Explanation, Part 2, Part 3)

Pretend December

Sometimes, when one goes away for Christmas, one does not blog at all.  Which is fine, except I have so many Christmasy blog posts to blog and to post!  My solution to this very serious problem is to pretend it is still December--hence, Pretend December.  It could also be called "I Made Stuff for Christmas So Look at It!"

But before I delve too greedily into the crafts of this past Christmas, here are just a few fun things to get into the Christmas spirit.  First off, I took pictures of Boo Boo playing with some Christmas lights.  Yes, Pinterest gets to me sometimes, even when I am not actually on it.  So, here:

Cute, right?  He was torn between eating the lights and unplugging them, but only succeeded at one of them.  

And lastly, our Christmas card this year.  For once we actually underordered so cards didn't make it to all our peeps, but it's okay because apparently we have more friends than we thought!  That's never a bad thing.  Anyway, Drew's sister Cami took the picture for us on Thanksgiving and we did the rest ourselves.  Look at that baby!

Look at that baby some more:

Happy Christmas!

(Also: no, I'm still not using Babycakes's name on the blog, but I'll make an exception for this picture.  Did you see his face?  DID YOU?)

Halloween H'Activities

I have always enjoyed Halloween, and I wanted Babycakes to have a good first Halloween too.  He won't remember it, but I will!  Being five months old and all, it's hard to get him into the spirit of things.  He's really only interested in things he can grab and/or put in his mouth.  So how does one get a baby involved in Halloween fun?  Here are some ways:

1) Buy a baby friendly pumpkin:
 

See?  Baby friendly.

2) Dress the baby up like a skeleton:

(I love those side-looking eyes.)

3) Dress the baby up like a skeleton AND a tiger simultaneously:

4) Take the baby to a pumpkin patch for a nice nap: 

5) Take the baby through a corn maze and only cheat a little because that baby is kind of heavy to carry around in circles:

 6) Take the baby to a different pumpkin patch.  He will LOVE it:

7) Take the baby on a hayride:

8) Carve a pumpkin with the baby's assistance:

8) Dress up for real!  We have been waiting and waiting to have a baby so we could be James, Lily and Harry Potter for Halloween.  Would this have happened if we'd had a girl?  Um.............yes.  These were especially appropriate costumes considering the fact that Harry got his scar on Halloween.

(This was what we were going for.)

Happy Halloween, little Harry!  I hope you had fun trying to eat all those pumpkins.

Regarding the Speck

I wrote a whole post about this yesterday and then decided it sounded too whiny (probably because I was whiny yesterday).  Ohhhh, growing a human is hard?  Who knew??  Oh yeah, everyone.  Boo hoo hoo for me.  

But seriously...it IS hard.  In some ways I expected, some ways not (though expecting a thing doesn't always make it easier to deal with).  Overall, I'm probably in the middle of the pack as far as symptoms go--not as bad as some, worse than others.  But since my discomfort means more to me than those some and others, that perspective was only helpful sometimes.

I have long had this secret belief/hope/expectation that all that (Irma-related) throwing up I did earlier in life meant that I would be exempt from it when it came to growing babies.  This...was not true at all.  Probably I should have assumed that because I threw up so much from Irma, I was even more likely to throw up now.  Apparently it's some kind of talent?  Go me?

But as uncomfortable and frustrating as the process can be, it is really amazing that this how new creatures are made.  And I mean that very generally (hence "creatures"), for all mammals.  I can sit here, twiddling my thumbs and my body will be, like, putting genes together and building kidneys with absolutely no conscious thought on my part.  Isn't that wild?  But it's also a good thing because my knowledge of genes can be summed up with "genes exist and are important."

It does make me wonder if there are mama bunnies out there with swollen ankles and food aversions. 

Of course, not every body can do this as readily or easily as others do.  Sometimes you have to get tennis balls and endometriosis and cysts taken out first.  Sometimes you have to do a lot more.  So, you, my friends who are still working on growing your own babies, I haven't forgotten you and I think of you often.  Success (and babies) will be yours one day--I really, truly have no doubt about that.
 
But back to this particular human I'm subconsciously growing.  I have been feeling him squirm around for a few weeks now, and yesterday I even SAW his pokes and prods.  So strange!  It's weird to me, still, that there's a person in there and one day in the future they'll be asking me if dinner is ready YET.  (And then, since the Speck is a boy, he will proceed to eat my share of dinner too and ask when there will be second dinner)

The whole boy thing makes me a *little* nervous.  But then I remember that I build awesome train tracks, and I already know the theme song to Thomas the Train, and I think dinosaurs are rad.  So we should be set.  One day, after he eats all my dinner, we'll watch Jurassic Park together. 

I also have to admit that one of my first thoughts was that I'm going to peed on!  I know, a terrible thought--after all there's NO bodily fluid worse than pee, right? (...)  I think I'm latching on to this fear because it's easier to deal with than my fear that I HAVE NO IDEA OF HOW TO CARE FOR A NEWLING INFANT.  (Or an oldling infant for that matter)  Luckily Drewbles has plenty of experience because I'm pretty sure I will resort to standing over yonder and just poking the thing with a stick.  

Eep.

(I also worry that I'm going to lose my bum. D:)

It seems unfair to write all this about the Speck and not show a single picture of him.  Here he is, hungry as always!  (Always, always, always hungry.  Oh wait, that's me.)

Well.  Here's to just over the halfway point!  I can only hope it's all downhill from here...hah!  I'll settle for less vomity.