2 years ago
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Littlest Seahawks Fan
These pictures are in honor of Uncle Steve, the biggest Seattle Seahawks fan I've ever met. I believe it is now official that his little nephew Jacob has joined the fan club.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Mmm Mmm Good
It cracks me up how Jake takes pleasure in so many different things. I guess that's only natural when you're discovering something new every day. We caught him on video the other day as he was vocalizing just how much he was enjoying his dinner (applesauce with blueberries...yum yum...actually, they do taste good. I tried 'em.)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Watermelon, Questions, and Accountability
There have been many times in my life when a questioning thought has passed through my head but never vocalized. It wasn't important. It wasn't my business. I forgot. It wasn't appropriate. Whatever the reason, the question wasn't asked. I remember some counsel shared by a youth leader many years ago, warning us against asking a particular question of any woman unless you knew for certain that the response would not bring with it embarrassment for both parties involved in the conversation. I'm sure most of the women reading this blog (and I'd hope the men, too) know which particular question I'm referring to..."When is your baby due?"
When my mom was pregnant with my older brother, she had her picture taken with her dad, my Papa, holding a watermelon in front of his belly. Cute and pregnant, the picture is a classic. I love it. I tried to duplicate the picture with myself and Brian at the end of my pregnancy. Huge and swollen as I was, the picture is not worth wasting your eye sight on. So I'll spare you.
The whole pregnancy/postpartum experience has been a first for me, and naively, I assumed that within a few months of giving birth I would be looking, well, at least more normal. And nursing your child is supposed to melt the pounds away, right? Lucky for you if that's the case. I haven't been one of the blessed few, my waistline shrinking by microscopic fractions of an inch every now and again. So, I suppose it was bound to happen at one time or another. The innocent question that, in my case, incites feelings of sadness and a renewed resolve to do better. The girl at the checkout counter, merely trying to make light conversation, asks me, "When is your baby due?" Sigh. "He's six months old." Embarrassed pause. "Oh...well, congratulations!?" On to the real point of this post.
I could wish to be the moms I see who don't even look like they had a baby. I could wish that nursing would suck every nasty fat cell off my body. I would even settle for wishing that I didn't look like I'm still six months pregnant. But wishing isn't any more than that: wishful thinking. And since I have to work for the changes that I want to see, and I don't hold myself accountable to myself as often as I should, I hereby make my journey public. I won't bore you with the day to day, but I will keep a log of my progress. And when I run that race this spring, I'll let you know how I felt as I crossed the finish line. So, here's to the absence of my watermelon and not giving anyone a reason to ask the unthinkable question.
When my mom was pregnant with my older brother, she had her picture taken with her dad, my Papa, holding a watermelon in front of his belly. Cute and pregnant, the picture is a classic. I love it. I tried to duplicate the picture with myself and Brian at the end of my pregnancy. Huge and swollen as I was, the picture is not worth wasting your eye sight on. So I'll spare you.
The whole pregnancy/postpartum experience has been a first for me, and naively, I assumed that within a few months of giving birth I would be looking, well, at least more normal. And nursing your child is supposed to melt the pounds away, right? Lucky for you if that's the case. I haven't been one of the blessed few, my waistline shrinking by microscopic fractions of an inch every now and again. So, I suppose it was bound to happen at one time or another. The innocent question that, in my case, incites feelings of sadness and a renewed resolve to do better. The girl at the checkout counter, merely trying to make light conversation, asks me, "When is your baby due?" Sigh. "He's six months old." Embarrassed pause. "Oh...well, congratulations!?" On to the real point of this post.
I could wish to be the moms I see who don't even look like they had a baby. I could wish that nursing would suck every nasty fat cell off my body. I would even settle for wishing that I didn't look like I'm still six months pregnant. But wishing isn't any more than that: wishful thinking. And since I have to work for the changes that I want to see, and I don't hold myself accountable to myself as often as I should, I hereby make my journey public. I won't bore you with the day to day, but I will keep a log of my progress. And when I run that race this spring, I'll let you know how I felt as I crossed the finish line. So, here's to the absence of my watermelon and not giving anyone a reason to ask the unthinkable question.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
A Season of Firsts
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and many other belated greetings from the Miller home to yours. The month of December completely flew by, filled to the brim with many fun and some not-so-fun firsts for our little family. Our theme song for this season should have been "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." Shortly after we returned from our Thanksgiving ventures in VA, Jake began the arduous process of cutting his first two bottom teeth. Gnawing on fingers, a favorite pasttime of our sweet little (monster?), turned into a quest for relief from the pain by biting fingers and any other body part that we dared allow Jake to shove in his mouth. I know, he's trying to soothe an aching mouth, but it hurts!
The snow accumulation and winter storms we've had here in NY don't even begin to measure up to that experienced by friends and family on the West Coast, so I won't make the comparison. It was, however, the first time Jake saw, tasted, and felt snow. The flakes were gigantic the day we took him outside and it was coming down so heavily that you could hardly see the sky.
This was, of course, Baby's First Christmas. Being only 5 1/2 months old, the bigger people in the family most surely enjoyed the special first much more than the Baby did. The Grandparents on both sides expressed their spoiling rights/privileges, as said grandchild surely cleaned up in the toy/book/clothes department! Jacob was surrounded by both sets of doting grandparents on Christmas, as Nana and Papa (my parents) flew out from Washington to join us for a week and spend the holiday here in NY. We took the train into Manhattan to see the grandeur of the City Lights and the spectacular Christmas displays, and I think we were all tuckered out from the hustle and bustle of walking through New York City. We are so glad to have been surrounded by both our loving families and our friends this season and are grateful for the memories associated with the photographs that we're sharing from our Christmas Season in 2008.
The snow accumulation and winter storms we've had here in NY don't even begin to measure up to that experienced by friends and family on the West Coast, so I won't make the comparison. It was, however, the first time Jake saw, tasted, and felt snow. The flakes were gigantic the day we took him outside and it was coming down so heavily that you could hardly see the sky.
This was, of course, Baby's First Christmas. Being only 5 1/2 months old, the bigger people in the family most surely enjoyed the special first much more than the Baby did. The Grandparents on both sides expressed their spoiling rights/privileges, as said grandchild surely cleaned up in the toy/book/clothes department! Jacob was surrounded by both sets of doting grandparents on Christmas, as Nana and Papa (my parents) flew out from Washington to join us for a week and spend the holiday here in NY. We took the train into Manhattan to see the grandeur of the City Lights and the spectacular Christmas displays, and I think we were all tuckered out from the hustle and bustle of walking through New York City. We are so glad to have been surrounded by both our loving families and our friends this season and are grateful for the memories associated with the photographs that we're sharing from our Christmas Season in 2008.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Thanksgiving in Irvington
We spent our first Thanksgiving with baby in Irvington, VA with my grandparents, uncles, aunt, & cousins. It was wonderful to see loved ones that I don't see often enough, and to introduce everyone to the newest member of the family. As always, the vacation came to an end way too quickly.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Gratitude
Recession. Economic downturn. The current financial state of our country. There's no doubt that most everyone reading this is experiencing economic hardship in some form or another. My guess is that with such a rain cloud hanging over our heads, its easy to focus on the negative; it's what is right in the forefront. We can't do this...How are we going to afford that?... Somebody I know recently said that it's hard to be thankful when there's so much suffering in the world. I can understand the sentiment, but at the same time all I have to do is look around me to see how truly blessed I am. Thanksgiving is a reminder me to be grateful for my blessings, to "live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon [me]."
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