1DoH: Project Life

When I started this weekly series I call 100 Days of Holidays (1DoH), I explained how I had been inspired by the "Project 365" scrapbooking concept, which encourages you to take a photo every day and journal about it, and there is a whole cool scrapbook kit designed specifically to showcase this photo-diary. That sounded too overwhelming (and they sold out of the super-popular kits anyway), but when fall rolled around, I decided to do something similar with 100 Days of Holidays--a title borrowed from Parents magazine's daily e-mail with ideas for the fall and Christmas holidays.

I've tried to feature holiday-ish things in my 1DoH pics, but (as you've probably noticed) they more often end up just being about ordinary life--all the little moments and memories that make up this season of Kate's first year. It seems like a lot of pressure to keep this up for a year (or to orient the pics toward a holiday theme) but the central goal of all these efforts is just to document memories! In this year's iteration of Project 365, the designer (Becky Higgins) is trying to emphasize the "record-your-life" aspect more than the pressure-filled "365" number, so she's calling it Project Life.

My pics this week aren't all that exciting, or even remotely holiday-oriented, but they do chronicle the little things that make life special. This is my Project Life.

47) Monday 11/9: We returned from New Orleans are were reunited with our sweet girl. (Is there anything cuter than a baby in footie jammies?) This is Kate's toy basket in the family room. I love how she will lean in and dig around to find a toy, and all the motion-activated toys in the basket go off!

48) Tuesday 11/10: Back to work after our nice long weekend, I enjoyed my bridesmaid bouquet on my desk.

49) Wednesday 11/11: This is what I get for moving my warm computer off its usual spot on the kitchen table

50) Thursday 11/12: Until recently, Kate has only messed around in her toy basket and left the rest of the bookcase it's on alone. Now, she likes to take Aunt Alexis and Uncle Andrew's picture down off the shelf (we think it's because she misses them :0) and messes with the Luther book there on the bottom shelf.

51) Friday, 11/13: Matt sent me this cell phone pic midday when he and Kate went on a walk (it was Daddy-Daughter Day). It made me miss her so much and want to teleport home right then to be with her!

52) Saturday 11/14: We celebrated Matt's birthday tonight, even though the actual day isn't til Thursday. Matt's parents came up and we oohed and ahhed at Kate walking (often five or more steps at a time now!) She got really excited whenever we cheered for her, and she got so wound up she didn't want to go to bed!

53) Sunday 11/15: Kate was kind of fussy off and on today. I won't lie--the whiny noise can get a little frustrating when you don't know what's wrong--but her fussy faces are so cute I have to smile. Check out that furrowed brow and outturned lip!

Life is good.

Getting to Know You

Rachel Held Evans had a post yesterday where she lamented the fact that adults never ask the fun questions that kids use to get to know one another:
1. How old are you?
2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
3. What is your favorite animal?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. What is your favorite game to play?

I remember two questions my elementary school classmates and I always asked each other:
1. Are you a Republican or a Democrat? (and since we had no idea what that really meant, the answer was basically whatever our parents were), and
2. Are you for UK or UofL? (This was suburban Louisville, of course, and my dad had to reassure me that yes, in Louisville, many people were for UofL, but in the rest of Kentucky, the noble Wildcats reigned.)

The deeper tragedy, I think, is that we stop asking "get to know you" questions and using cliche conversation starters after we've known someone for a while. I've always loved asking follow-up questions after certain experiences: "What was your favorite part of the movie/concert/vacation?" My mother's response is usually an exasperated, "Jessica, I don't knoooow." Matt usually tries to humor me and sometimes a great analysis or recap of the event will follow. We met playing a "get to know you game," so we'll never discount the significance of such silly exercises! Though it may sound like we're on a first date, I often ask Matt questions like "What is your first childhood memory?" or "What's been your favorite part about this past year/life stage?"

Yes, these questions sometimes seem forced, a way to remedy a lull in conversation, but they can really help you connect in a new way with people you've known a long time. I once heard someone say you should learn something new about your spouse every day. What question could help you learn something new today?

Still Pumping

In case you were wondering...

I'm still going to my little conference room twice during each work day and taping up my sign...Still opening my little cooler and plugging things in... Still getting "track marks" on my arm from holding the shields against my chest...
Still pumping!

It's been nine months since we gave up on Kate nursing and I started pumping 7-8 times a day (then six, then five, and now generally just four). Some people tell me I'm crazy to spend the time and effort (and recently, blood, but I won't get into that) when Kate wasn't into breastfeeding, but I love giving my little girl good, healthy, IQ-and-immunity-boosting milk.

Originally, I considered stopping at nine months, so I wouldn't have to worry with pumping in New Orleans, but I managed just fine (filling most of a gallon cow's milk jug... what? TMI? Sorry...) and I'm determined to keep going until Kate's first birthday. Though I've given away a fair amount of frozen milk through Milkshare to adopted babies and other babies/mommies who can't nurse, I still have a whole chest freezer full, which will last for a couple months beyond the time I stop pumping.

(and I'll spare you more boobie-pumping talk until then!)

1DoH: November Nawlins Nuptuals

This week, with Halloween past and Thanksgiving still a few weeks away, the major holiday was my cousin Lindsay's wedding in New Orleans! But before we get to that, let's scootch back to #40 of the 100 Days of Holidays!

40) Monday 11/2: Unable to wait to see Nala and Popi on Thursday, Kate wanted to Skype with her maternal grandparents. So, she demonstrated her cart-pushing abilities via webcam. Score one for the 21st century.

41) Tuesday 11/3: Kate's new "big girl" car seat arrived today! Her infant carrier was getting pretty heavy with her in it, so it was about time to get a convertible car seat (no, not a car seat that goes in convertibles, but a seat that rides rear-facing for another year or so and then front-facing until she's 65 pounds). We chose The First Years TrueFit, which now stays in Mommy's car, and her infant seat will just stay in Daddy's car until we sell a few more internal organs to buy another convertible seat around Christmastime.

(she's proud!)

42) Wednesday 11/4: Kate had her 9-month checkup (a week late). She weighs 18 lbs., 10 oz., and is 27 inches long (both quite average). Her head is still around the 90th percentile, though, making room for her big brain. She is developing perfectly, but the doctor did find an ear infection, so Kate we now have the challenge of sneaking an antibiotic into her food for ten days!

43) Thursday 11/5: It was Daddy-Daughter Day, which is always fun. Kate found the ceiling fan especially fascinating.

44) Friday 11/6: Matt and I drove to New Orleans with my parents. What a great town! I hadn't been in five years (since before Katrina) and Matt hadn't been in ten! The rehearsal dinner was that night, and I wore a new green dress that I absolutely love, but alas, we forgot our camera and Mom didn't take any pics of us :0(

45) Saturday 11/7: Lindsay's wedding day!! We bridesmaids hung around the hotel suite most of the day, snacking and reading trashy magazines as each girl got her hair and/or makeup done. Lindsay looked beautiful, and the big event that night was terrific, held in the New Orleans Museum of Art and accentuated with New Orleans traditions.

46) Sunday 11/8: A "morning after" brunch was held at the Palace Cafe, and we enjoyed visiting with the happy couple, family, and friends a little more. I love this shot of my parents, letting their hair down over a breakfast of mimosas and eggs benedict.

Coming this week: not much, though I hope Kate gets over her ear infection soon. She's a bit cranky, and I'll assume it's the infection and not the fact that she was spoiled by her other grandparents, who kept her while we were gone to NOLA! (Thanks, Granna and Opa!)

What Do You Think?

“I want to know God’s thoughts. The rest are details.”

This quote from Albert Einstein was a mantra to me during a time of immense spiritual growth my junior year of college. It has recently come to mind again because of a question that I find myself asking all the time these days:

“God, what do you think?”

Sometimes, it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek. Like on Sunday, when I saw the pretty, blond, long-eyelashed Jesus in a portrait at the Catholic school where our church is currently worshiping. “God, what do you think when we portray your son like a Norwegian fairy tale princess from 1890?”

Sometimes, it is a fairly neutral pondering: “God, what do you think of the world and people today? Are we more screwed up than ever before, or pretty much par for the course?”

Often, it’s a bit more despairing. When I hear someone baptizing hatred or violence with religious rhetoric: "God, what do you think about them abusing your name?" When I cynically feel like the institutional church is little more than a social club: “God, what do you think about people worshiping a building/book/tradition more than you?" When I fail again and again to live up to my ideals and be the person I want to be: "God, what do you think of me?"

I can’t say I’ve gotten too many answers to this question. Sure, the Bible or basic morality might provide insight on the godly perspective, but discovering "the answer" is not really the point. Rather, I ask because seeking the mind of God brings me closer to the heart of God. I ask because it feels like one small way I can try to avoid stumbling into that self-righteousness I am so often guilty of when I assume my opinion is God's. Instead of indulging the judgmental reaction that may first pop into my mind, I can try to see things from God’s perspective. I may be pretty convinced of someone's wrongness, and be able to back that conviction up with a biblical commandment, Jesus' example, or the golden rule, but I always sense that God's perspective involves love for whomever I am about to condemn. That sense softens my heart a bit and helps me give them the benefit of the doubt.

I want to know the thoughts of God. I cannot know them fully, but what I know of them is love.

Wordless Wednesday -- Little Pink Hoodie

1DoH: Halloween

This week starts with the 33rd of the "100 Days of Holidays," which means we're one third of the way through the fall-Thanksgiving-Christmas season! It's such a fun time. This week, of course, included Kate's first Halloween. As with all of this year's special events and holidays, she didn't really know what the point was, of course, but we had fun celebrating these milestones and the general joy of the season.

33) Monday 10/26: I have been wanting to make spaghetti and meatballs for a while. I've made spaghetti before, of course (though not in a while) but I've never made meatballs. They turned out pretty well, I think. Matt really liked them, and they even had some diced zucchini in them, so Kate got to have some finger-food zucchini with her dinner.
34) Tuesday 10/27: We did a fun photo shoot of Kate (and Marcel) with the pumpkins on our front porch, and with some bananas for our little monkey.

35) Wednesday, 10/28: Kate turned 9 months old today, so we took her monthly Marcel picture. They are getting harder and harder each month, as she won't just sit there with him anymore--she grabs him and eats his head, or tries to crawl off the chair.

36) Thursday, 10/29: Kate's been eating finger foods for a month or more now, and is always very interested in what we're eating. She even stole my half-eaten apple and started nomming on it. I think she was able to scrape some of the fruit off with her two little bottom teeth, but the whole thing was definitely slobbery enough that I didn't eat any more of it!

37) Friday 10/30: Kate took her first steps!! She took up to three steps all on her own, and it was very exciting. She's still learning how to balance herself, though, and was much more confident when holding even one of our hands. We walked hand in hand across the room at a pretty decent pace.

38) Saturday, 10/31: Halloween! Here's Kate all ready to hand out candy to our trick-or-treaters. I think her favorite part of Halloween was mashing Reese cups (still in the wrapper) in each hand.

39) Sunday 11/1: Most of my fall decorations are season-generic pumpkins, leaves, etc., but I did trade out a few specifically-Halloween items for specifically-Thanksgiving decorations today. I can't believe it's November!

This week, we're off to New Orleans for my cousin's wedding! We'll miss Kate a lot, of course, as she stays home with her grandparents coming up to care for her, but it should be a lot of fun!