ex(PR)essed

It was almost a year ago that Adele and I first got acquainted. I know, I know…she was born in August and that’s a whole five months away. But, it was March 19, 2009 when I felt like I met and first started to fall in love with my sweet baby.

March 19 was the date of our ultrasound. We were among the few who decided not to find out the baby’s gender in advance, so for us, the ultrasound was all about just knowing that the baby was developing properly.

I laid on the examination table in the doctor’s office that morning with my ankles crossed, one hand holding Jeff’s hand, and the other hand clenched in a fist. When we first saw the baby on the ultrasound screen, it too had its ankles crossed and its fists clenched. I was overcome with such a strong sense that the baby was a girl…a little me. And, I started falling in love with her right on the spot.

Now, it’s a year later, and this beautiful, delightful, sweet baby girl has entered our lives and brought us nothing but pure joy! She is a 14-pound bundle of independence and curiousity. She smiles easily and often and brightens up a room. She is fun and feisty. 

I’m not in a hurry for her to grow up (quite the opposite actually), but I am excited to see what kind of young woman she will grow to be. Just like a year ago when she was nothing but a blurry little image on a screen, I can hardly wait to know and love her even more!

The purpose of this post is to do nothing more than wish you a happy weekend and give me a good excuse to gaze upon my sweet girl for a few minutes. Enjoy!

I have missed blogging. I wasn’t sure that I would ever return to this blog, but I think about it almost every day and wish that I could find the time. Today I’m finding the time because the same thought has been nagging me since yesterday morning.

I like to linger in the mornings when I drop Adele off at daycare. I like to talk to her teacher and the other kids. I like to see Adele settle in and play. I like to blow her kisses from the doorway and walk away feeling confident that she’s going to be very well taken care of.

Yesterday,  Adele’s teacher Patti was excited to show me how adorably Adele reacted to this stuffed duck that plays music and kicks its feet. Adele was sitting on the floor with the duck directly in front of her, and she was holding on to a little toy with both hands. She was so funny: she was kicking her feet, squealing, and shouting, and generally just getting a big charge out of this silly duck. Well, the duck and her reaction drew one of the other kids — Jackson — right over, and then Patti sat another little boy, Alex, down beside Adele to enjoy the duck too. Alex, however, wasn’t very interested in the duck, but he was interested in Adele’s toy, and he reached over and grabbed it. She didn’t let go, but she did start to cry. And, as ridiculous as it sounds, this mama’s heart started to break right in two. How dare that little boy make my sweet baby girl cry? I couldn’t stand it. I joked (only half-heartedly) that I wanted to pummel Alex, to put him in his place.

My dear friend (and twin!) Becky had written me a very sweet note after Adele was born in which she recalled how surprised she was by how instantly and fiercely protective she felt of her daughter. I could relate. But, not until yesterday did I really feel the depths of how very protective I do feel of Adele.

I know that lots of boys (and girls and probably even her mommy) are going to make Adele cry in the years to come. I know it in my head, but I’m not ready for it in my heart. I so want to protect her from having her feelings hurt and getting her heart broken. It’s not rational, I know, but it’s the instinct of this new mother’s heart.

(Alex is unharmed by the way! Patti moved his hand away from Adele and nicely reminded him that it’s not nice to steal other people’s toys.)

I felt a little cranky this year when it came time to send Christmas cards. I usually like this part of the holiday preparations, but this year it just felt like one more thing to do. A responsibility of sorts that was compounded by wanting to enclose the perfect picture of my sweet baby girl so that people who had not yet met her could gaze upon her smiling, sweet self.

So, I trudged through and mailed about 60 Christmas cards to friends and family all across the country. I tried trimming the list back this year, but when it came right down to it, I could only bear to remove two or three names. I contemplated removing Jim Dewey from my list — he’s Jeff’s great uncle and he lives in California — because I’ve never met him and probably never will, and it seemed silly to keep sending this perfect stranger a card. (Jeff also hasn’t seen him in many, many years.) But, in the end, I decided to send one anyway since he’s family and all.

I’m so glad that I did. Yesterday, we got a card back from him with the sweetest note in it.

“Lorow Family: Adele Elizabeth’s charming picture arrived on a dark and rainy day, and it brought sunshine into my life. Congratulations! I should like to welcome her into the extended Dewey/Lorow family. Use the enclosed (a check for $25) in return for the pleasure her picture gave me.”

Seriously, this note totally made my day. The very thought of my sweet girl bringing sunshine into the life of a dear man all the way across the country warms my little heart.

Do you know what I learned last weekend? You can totally have Christmas-cookie-baking-and-crafting-extravaganza-weekend with two kids, and you can rock it!

Yep…a couple hundred cookies later and Adele and Silas have officially been indoctrinated into my favorite holiday tradition. They were both so good and so much fun. And, don’t even get me started on how nice it was to see Jamie. We’ve been wonderful friends for nearly 15 years, but there’s something especially sweet about walking this journey of motherhood with her.

From previous posts, you may know that our Extravaganza weekend is usually jam-packed with cookie baking and all other things Christmas. Usually we’re exhausted by the end of the weekend. This year, we just went with the flow and adopted the word “simplify” as our mantra. So, we eased into making cookies, lingered over coffee, played with our cute kids, watched a little “White Christmas,” and still made four types of cookies, including rolling and decorate 120+ sugar cookies. It’s ok if you’re impressed. We were too!

So, here a few photos from the festivities, and the last is a photo of my sweet baby girl taking her first taste of cereal last night!

Adele was a huge help…of course!

Enjoy this picture of the sweetest baby girl taken about two weeks ago.

When I married Jeff, our promise to love each other “in sickness and in health” was just one of several important promises that we made that day. And, three years later, we have loved each other through bouts with strep throat, the flu, and a cold or two. Easy.

When Adele came into our lives, there was no formal ceremony in which we promised to love her. But we do, in an overwhelming sort of way. It really only took an instance. So, when she started to come down with a nasty cold on Saturday, we didn’t have to remind ourselves of a promise we made nearly four months ago. Instead, we just started loving on her even more than usual. It felt easy and natural.

But, this fierce, unwavering love has been messy the past few days. Our sweet little girl is battling a cold, complete with a terrible cough that causes her to throw up. Jeff and I both have been on the receiving end of this misfortune several times, but, thankfully, our love doesn’t decrease with each change of clothes.

Seeing Adele so sick and miserable has been totally heartbreaking. Even though her eyes are glassy and ringed by dark circles, her nose is running like crazy, and her cough is “juicy,” I couldn’t love her any more. Her little body is still my favorite sight all day long. For better or for worse.

Apparently my 14-week leave from work also amounted to a lenghty absence from blogging. It’s not that I didn’t have anything to say, but it’s a bit difficult to type a blog entry with one hand while holding a baby with the other. And, when my baby girl was sleeping, blogging wasn’t high on my priority list. So, hence the hiatus.

But, now I’m back at work (day #4!), and as I reacquaint myself with some of my favorite student and faculty blogs, I’m feeling inspired again!

Mostly what I’m thinking about today is how my plans to do our grocery shopping got totally foiled last night. One thing that motherhood is teaching me is flexibility! All weekend I was working on my grocery list for the week (and a bit for Thanksgiving dinner) with the intention of sneaking out on Sunday night after Adele went to bed. I didn’t want to sacrifice a single moment of snuggle time with her since we spend our days apart now, and now that she’s been going to bed around 8 p.m., I figured I would be in good shape to do some shopping without her being any wiser to my absence. Well, she pulled a fast one by taking a three-hour nap from shortly before 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.! By the time she woke up, nursed, changed into her sleeper, and snuggled with us, it was after 10 p.m. No way was I venturing out then for an hour of shopping and then all the unloading and unpacking. So, I determined what essentials we need right away, and Jeff will stop on his way home from bowling tonight. I’ll revise the list and make a trip on Wednesday, the next free evening that we have.

I just chuckle a bit to myself about how complicated even a trip to the store can be with the addition of one new little person to the family. I’ve been avoiding taking Adele to the grocery store with me because I’m just not sure how that will work. It doesn’t seem to me like her car seat will safely fit in the seat of the cart, and she’s too small to sit in the cart seat. Plus, visions of a crying fit in the middle of a busy aisle swarm in my head, and I don’t know if I can deal. Also, I’m feeling like a big of a germ-phobe and don’t want to expose her to the petri dish of bacterias that is a supermarket. So, when it comes time to get groceries, I usually sneak off later in the evening while Adele enjoys some daddy-time.

Mind you, I’m not complaining. I can’t think of a single better reason to skip a trip to the store than snuggling with the sweetest baby girl you ever did see. It’s just one more reminder of what a change parenthood really is. A blissful, wonderful change.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a month since our sweet Adele joined our family! What a wonderful, exhausting addition she has been. We’re still not tired of staring at her…although we prefer to do it during daylight hours! We still love introducing her to people and beam with pride when people tell us how adorable she is. We are smitten!

So, some of Adele’s major milestones this past month:
–Mastered breastfeeding and successfully took a bottle!
–Went to Sunday morning church twice and even wore a dress once!
–Got her first cold at only two and a half weeks old.
–Met and charmed many, many people.
–Went to the doctor’s and had an ultrasound on her hips (all is well).
–Cried every single time mom and dad tried to take her for a walk in her stroller.
–Gained around two pounds (we’re guessing…based on how her clothes are fitting).
–Attended the kick-off of Messiah College’s Centennial.
–Slept, slept, and slept.
–Decided that napping was best done only in the arms of someone who loves her!

For more than 25 years my dad has owned his own appliance repair business. He worked out of our house — with his office in our utility room and his shop in the garage. Last Friday, he closed his toolbox, took the signs off his work van, changed the message on his answering machine, and officially closed up shop to enter the blissful (so I’m told!) world of retirement.

My parents live in a relatively small town, and, after 25 years of traveling all over the county to fix people’s major appliances, my dad got to know a lot of people. It’s no exaggeration to say that he is THE beloved repairman in Meadville. He’s known for being fair and honest, polite and well dressed. He’s gifted at making conversation with people. These qualities (and many others!) earned him the respect and business of many through the years.

Because of dad’s extensive network of contacts, I grew up simply being known as “Dave’s daughter” in many circles. I had few teachers or friends whose homes he had not visited. He knew nearly everyone it seemed! I never minded simply being associated with him — for all the reasons mentioned above. As a matter of fact, if people in my hometown still only know me as “Dave’s daughter,” that’s perfectly fine. More than fine really. An honor.

Happy retirement, dad. You’ve earned many happy years of rest and relaxation, puttering around the house and traveling with your cute wife. Thanks for being such a wonderful example…for approaching life and business with such integrity. I have learned much from you. I hope your retirement includes many visits to central Pennsylvania — Adele, Jeff, and I look forward to making many more memories with you and mom.