My pumpkin on her walk this morning

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These are actually dogs I know!

How cute are Frank (left) and Bob (right)?

Um, precious.

Happy Birthday to my little sister!

Dear little sister,

I cannot even express to you how glad I am that you were born. I remember your birth day like it was yesterday; sitting in the hospital holding my very own baby sister! I was so excited to have you. You were perfect... very pink, but perfect.

You were my happy little hot pocket and I loved you so much. I still do today.
What a gift you've been to me.

You've grown into a strong, beautiful, hilarious, sweet, thoughtful and intelligent woman.
I absolutely love laughing with you.
If you weren't my sister, I'd want to be your friend.

And, you do great hair and are amazing with eye shadow.

I love you and I'm so glad you were born.
Happy Birthday, my 84-year-old-baby sister

Love,
Your Facebook Stalker

Random great things.

1. Email. For without it, I wouldn't be able to communicate as frequently as I do with a collection of astoundingly phenomenal and supportive friends.

2. The warmth of sunshine. Whether you take in a sliver of it while driving, or it peeks out over the clouds, the sun is a welcomed friend in my facebook.

3. Miniature things. I love doll-house-sized items. I think teeny-weeny things are just far too much fun. I believe fate (ok, God...) gave me Lila so that I can finally have the dollhouse I've been dreaming of. (Have fun with AllThingsMini.com.)

4. Plants and seedlings. I adore watching things grow. I enjoy religiously watering and measuring, watering and measuring new growth. (I'm currently growing basil, cilantro, daisies and lavender.)

5. Modern Life, Glee and Say Yes to the Dress. Now thems are some good tee vee shows.

6. Bon Jovi's, "Livin' on a Prayer".

7. Ferg. I have the finest little fur-ball in the world. I do.

8. Eggs. I love eggs.

Life's good.
What's great in your life today?

We've all been there.

We've all been there.

I fear for the kids.

I read these facebook status updates and text messages from the "kids" and I'm so very nervous that punctuation is slowly going the way of the cassette tape and manners.

Dear Kids,

Please remember that punctuation offers a formality that is sometimes quite necessary. A text of, "Sorry 4 yr loss," just doesn't cut it, you know?

While you can definitely communicate with someone in all lowercase with no punctuation, it's altogether sad and confusing. Not to mention, it makes you look half-witted and dense.

In fact, folks may start to wonder, "Did she really graduate from high school without learning the proper usage of a comma?" Or, "Really, did he fill out that job application using "u" for "you" or "r" for "are"?

Also, please remember that contractions require an apostrophe. "Didnt," isn't spelled like that. Neither is, "cant." You kill me.

And then, when did it become ok for you to start shortening words? Are you really in that big of a hurry?

If you're at work and you're updating your facebook status, do you have to type: "@wrk"? That makes me crazy.

The "@" sign is annoying enough, but was it really too difficult to type one more letter? The "o" in work? Come on.

Other ones that kill me:

"abt2" = "about to"
"ppl" = "people"

Ridiculous. This is precisely what makes this generation look lazy. (Gasp. I said it.) I know it's only facebook or it's only a text message - but the thing is, if you make it a habit not to use punctuation correctly, you lose it. You forget it. Then you end up living in a van down by the river.

TTYL.
kab

Hey C. - chp.

There are exactly THREE things that I'm particular about.

I am the least obsessive person I know.

I don't have rituals for anything. (I wish I did, actually. I might more effectively shave BOTH of my legs, as opposed to getting out of the shower with one smooth leg and one not-so-smooth leg.) Routine is a struggle for me.

However...

There are three things that are a MUST in my life (Insofar as anything can be a must for me.):

1. I find it insurmountably difficult to fall asleep at night if I know that my kitchen is dirty.

Dishes need to be washed.
Counters need to be anti-bacterial-ed.
Dish towel needs to be folded.
Sink needs to be clean.

Next:

2. I must have clean bed sheets. Those sheets MUST be perfectly placed on the bed. Tight, hospital corners. And, the bed must be made everyday.

3. I must have a dessert following each dinner. I can't explain it. It's just necessary.

That's all. Everything else is pretty much kosher with me all the time.

What do you obsess over?

Lila Lunes: She's a quarter of a year old.

My little Lila Ross is growing up.

Q. How's she doing?
A. The Cupcake is attempting to become more and more independent everyday. (Already!?! I know.) I want to cuddle with her and smoosh her into me... she wants to turn around and look outward. I sit her on my lap and she wants to stand up. We want her to nap or fall asleep, she wants to scream. This child definitely has her own personality. (Imagine that.)

Note the, "I'm-not-happy-with-you" frown.

Here's a short video illustrating Lila's annoyance with the morning nap.
She's conflicted. She loves me and wants to smile at me - but hates the idea of napping.
It ends in a stare down.

Q. Any current challenges with the wee one?
A. Yep. Sleeping. Our little angel was far too good to us for approximately 3.5 months. We would simply swaddle her and wah-lah - she fell asleep within minutes. Now, even though she's exhausted she doesn't fall asleep. Nope. She screams. And, even though our goal is to put her down, "drowsy but awake" - she's just not agreeing with our vision for her bed time. And so it begins...


Q. So what else is going on?
A. The weather in Los Cabos is becoming cooler (80's), so we've been able to go outside more, hang out in the courtyard and look at nature and swim. FINALLY - we're not stuck in the house 24/7. Just this past weekend we went down to Cabo to walk around. Lila clearly enjoyed herself.


Ultimately, all's well here. We have our good days and our not-so-good minutes.

Those know-it-all parent friends were not kidding when they warned us that this is both the most rewarding and challenging journey we'd ever go on. You literally want to cry out in frustration some minutes, but then - within 3 seconds - you're smiling again because that little lady just smiled at you.


Here's my sweetie pie in her sunglasses. Um. Too much fun.

Happy girl, almost napping in the courtyard.

Lila seriously loves to watch football. (Ask C. It's odd.) Here's the little lady with her puppy.

(I love this one. Ferg: the perfect foot stool.)

More swimming at Aunt T's house. :)
This week: the little mermaid swimsuit from our friend B's mom. (So cute.)

I love this float. So does Lila.
(Please notice the right elbow propped up... just chillin'.)

Our little dual citizen.


Super exciting!


She's standing!

Sleeping after her swim. It was exhausting, I'm sure.

Last one for the week:
I totally got a quirky kid.
Totally.

Have a great week, ya'll.
kb & lb

A mere six years ago...

My dear, C. -- we look like babies! ;)
Look how young we were...
--
h a p p y a n n i v e r s a r y
You're my one true love.
Fo sho.
If you ask me, you are the standard by which all husbands should be measured.
I love you now, more than e v e r.
Love,
Me

Sure, I'll tell you what's wrong with America.

Americans are far too much of a litigious people.

If I slip and fall outside of your home on your cracked sidewalk, it's not YOUR fault. It's mine.
A.) I should have seen the crack.
B.) I risked falling when I made the decision to walk that day.

Not everything in the world can be the fault of others.

Take for example the story of the midwife in, "The Business of Being Born", who is being sued by a New York couple. The story is here.

Unfortunately, the couple experienced the heart-wrenching and tragic stillbirth of their first and only child, Noah, during their home birth. The attending midwife, Cara Muhlhahn, and her team are being sued for not referring the expectant mother to a doctor/hospital during the the woman's 3-day labor. The extended labor apparently is what ultimately contributed to the tragic loss of the newborn.

Friends.

I may not be popular with this answer, but I'll say it:

HOME BIRTHS are tricky. You are essentially removing any and all access to emergency services and monitoring technology in the hopes that everything just goes alright.

Yes I know, "women have been having medically-unattended births for centuries... blah, blah, blah." Ok, fine. If that's how you feel, I refuse to allow you to enjoy any of today's technologies that convenience your life since you refuse to allow your unborn child to have access to any technologies that would convenience her/his life.

No fridge for you.
No DVR.
No microwave.

Nope, not if you choose to disallow your unborn child access to a fetal heart monitor or an ultrasound.

Moving on.

If you chose to have a home birth: FINE. I personally think it's ridiculously ignorant given today's technology. Truly. (This coming from someone who gave birth in a hospital in second-world Mexico...) However, if you choose this path you must understand that tragedies can happen. (You don't need to tell me that tragedies also happen in hospitals; I know that. However, I'm willing to say far fewer happen there.)

And, if you're in intense and active labor for 3 days - get your ass to the hospital. No human (or infant) can handle that much stress.

The injustice of losing a child is unfathomable to me. There truly are no words. I feel for this couple.

And, I suppose that in order for closure to occur, maybe blame is necessary for this couple. However, I'm not in agreement. Suing the midwife that you chose to monitor your home birth? You chose this route. You chose her. You knew what could happen.

--

Ok - let the flaming begin.

You can thank me later.

Dear friends who do not have immediate access to Reese's peanut butter cups/eggs and/or pumpkins
-or-
Dear friends who like nutella,

Go the store.
Buy some nutella.
Then buy some JIF peanut butter.
Then get a spoon out of your kitchen drawer. (A tablespoon; not a teaspoon.)
Dip your spoon into the peanut butter so that when the spoon leaves the jar it has about 1/4 of the spoon covered in PB.
Now, dip your spoon into the nutella and cover the remaining 3/4.
Eat.

TELL ME THAT doesn't taste JUST like a buckeye?!?!

It's a little bit of heaven on earth.

You're welcome.

Ferg Friday: The highest point in the family room.

Ferg must always sit at the highest point in the family room.
It's merely the way she is.
And, we love The Ferginator just the way she is.

Someone loved her walk.

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Contentment.

All of my life-goals are relationship-based. I've never wanted to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or to discover the next oxi-clean. Instead, I want to sleep well at night. Peacefully. Contentedly.

I grew up knowing that I was God's child and there was a definite path for my life. And, I'm on board with that line of thinking. Some think that spirituality and the Bible are for the weak - but I couldn't disagree more. For me - I like words. I like words that have meaning. If I can find a kernel of meaning in a great verse - I'm set.

Here's my current fave:

"I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."(PHILIPPIANS 4:12-13)

What's wrong with this picture?

I'll tell you.
Tori Spelling's up-top.
Eek.

A four-month old cupcake.

Lila Ross is four months old today.
My BFF and I have been someone's parents for four months.
Holy Toledo.

Dear sweetie pie, Lila. You are an absolute pleasure.
I don't even mind that last night you screamed from 8:30 p.m. until 9:45 p.m. for no apparent reason, other than that you wanted to be held.
No worries, cutie pie.
Just keep smiling at me and dancing and we'll be as right as rain.

The one thing I like about Halloween:Candy corn

As a rule, I don't care for Halloween. It's my least-favorite holiday.

I've never been good at the whole costume-thing. (Iris Took - I will forever give you props in the costume arena. You rock some good ones.)

Anyway - scary Halloween things are well, scary.

I prefer more of a Thanksgiving, "bountiful-harvest-type" of autumnal decor.

Skeletons and ghosts aren't my thing.

End of story.

--

That said - are you dressing up for Halloween? How about your pets? Your children?

10,000 points to the most original costume idea. 15,000 points if you provide photos.

Tropical Storm Rick Schroeder sure brought about a pretty rainbow.

Who doesn't enjoy seeing a beautiful rainbow in the midst of a rainy, gray day?

Kiddos - God.is.good.

That Rick Springfield is one indecisive fella.

As it turns out our Category Five hurricane has weakened and now is a mere tropical storm.

The sky is already blue over the ocean my sister says. (She's got a great view.)

What a bummer. We were at least hoping for a thunderstorm-y day. I've got my fingers crossed...

Measurement by means of Possession.Alternate title: I don't think I'm alone on this one.

I keep older clothes that I secretly have no intention of ever wearing again.

Why?

Solely so that I can check on a semi-regular basis to see if I can still fit into said garments.

Case in point: I have a pair of jeans (semi-high-waisted) that are circa 1996-1997. I would NEVER wear them out. However, I keep them to randomly try them on to see how they fit. I also have a pair of jeans that I wore around the time of my wedding (10-2003). And of course, my pre-pregnancy jeans.

Women don't relinquish old clothes for one reason: we want to know, if three to fifteen years from now, we might still fit into our once beloved article of clothing.

Am I alone here?

--

Note: I really don't think men do this.

Dancin', Dancin', DANCIN".She's a dancin' machine...

Lila LunesWe ♥ Lila. A lot.

Devious Lila.

Bottom line, Lila's fun.

She smiles all the time.

However, let's not kid ourselves -she does her fair share of crying, too.

Q. So what's new this week?
A. Little miss Lila is now officially done with the swaddling miracle burrito blanket. (Note: We couldn't have gotten through LIFE without these blankets. I strongly encourage the purchasing of these blankets for newborns.) Apparently, you stop using them when your baby can roll on to her side. So, on to the sleep sacks we go...

Q. Speaking of sleeping, how's it going?
A. Well... Lila is either an angel or a non-angel at night. Meaning, she either falls asleep quickly with no crying... or of course, she screams. I mean, really screams.

Q. Do I realize that even though my child screams it is no reflection on my skills as a parent?
A. Yes. Still, sometimes it's hard. Sometimes you get a headache and your necks hurts because hearing your baby scream is stressful. I think we all go through this, though. Yep, we all go through, "Are-you-kidding-me?!?!" moments. The best thing? Those moments don't last forever.

Q. Did Lila do anything special this week?
A. Yes. She went swimming at Aunt T.'s house!

And here is Cousin Bella taking a quick break from an important phone call to watch "Baby Eye-ya" from the sidelines. (How GREAT are those glasses?)

And here's Lila wearing her cover-up warmly in Daddy's arms.

Ok - short update this week.

On to the pictures!

I love when she puts her arms like this. It just cracks me up.

Lila tested Ferg this week. See that fist-full of fur in Lila's hand?

Yep. It got tighter. Ferg turned quickly, LOOKED at Lila, then jumped (quickly) away from her.
We were SO proud of Ferg for responding well.
She promptly got a treat. (Rightly so.)

Dress from Tia Trophy Life and hair accessory from Aunt T.

This child sucks on her lips all the time.

When she's not sucking on her lips, her tongue is out.


At the gym.


The Cupcake's eyes are still dark, steel blue.
(Mine are brown. C.'s are hazel. Lila's Grandma's eyes are blue.)

And, my favorite picture of the week.

Farewell! We are awaiting our first hurricane this week... we shall let you know how it goes.

kb & lb