Yay to a kid-free getaway, and yay to grandparents!!!

Toddler adventures

Eli climbs the magazine rack in his Halloween dog costume

Since my last “Eli update” post, we’ve had quite a few toddler adventures, including our first visit to Urgent Care at Children’s Hospital. A few weeks ago, we picked up Eli from daycare and he’d had an ‘incident.’ Apparently, he was climbing a magazine rack and tumbled off of it, hitting his eye. We took one look at his face and figured that he’d earned his first shiner. None of this necessitated a trip to Urgent Care, and Nate wasn’t even concerned enough to show me or bring home the incident report from school. He just told the teacher that it would be fine, and we went on our merry way.

But an hour later, as we were home feeding Eli dinner, Eli started projectile vomiting. Uh-oh! That’s not supposed to happen! Immediately, Nate and I started thinking about a possible concussion. We checked his eyes, we looked up ‘head injuries’ on the Children’s Hospital website, and we called the nurse’s line. As could be expected, the nurse helped us come to the conclusion that you don’t want to take any chances with a possible head injury. Even if the bruise was under Eli’s eye, he may have bumped his head and nobody realized. Better to go into the Children’s and get him checked out. So we did. And Eli was a trooper.

Turns out, we were “lucky” enough to have the onset of a cold/flu bug coincide with a tumble at school. Lucky us! Nate, me, my folks, and our dear friend Marina got to juggle Eli while he stayed home from school, sick and clingy, for the rest of the week. He got better just in time for the snow to fall, so we had even MORE days at home with him. With that much time together, we got a pretty good handle on Eli’s newfound communication skills.

Eli’s verbal words and signs

As I’ve noted before, he says “no” very clearly.

He can also say “up” very clearly, but usually he’ll just stand at your feet, hold up his arms and grunt. We ask him to say “up,” but his vocalization depends on his mood.

He’s gotten into this habit of pointing, grunting with a “ehhh! ehh!” and crying when we say “No,” or “Not now,” or “I don’t understand what you want.” Sometimes, he’ll cry himself into a fit, and it’s funny and annoying at the same time.

Most often, he’s asking for his Lovey or his Binky. Both have achieved proper noun status in our household.

• For whatever reason, Eli’s named his lovey “Rah” for rabbit. It amuses me to no end that Nathan and I and everyone who deals with Eli on a regular basis calls the thing his “Lovey” and he’s decided to call it “Rah.” I guess it’s because he rarely eeks out more than one syllable, and his likes to know that “Rah” goes “hop, hop, hop” like all other rabbits. He does this on occasion—makes Lovey hop around—and it’s totally adorable.
• “Bi” stands for “Binky,” and to this object, Eli’s grown more attached that I would like. He asks for his “Bi” all the time, but he only really uses it for bedtime and sometimes naptime. If we’re not diligent in keeping it out of sight, he’ll insist on having it in his mouth. In the morning (6 a.m.—much earlier than we’d prefer), he’ll wake up crying and asking for it. We’ll hear him wail, “Waaaaa! Ahhhh! Bi?” over and over until one of us decides to get up. He’ll give it up willingly once we sit him down for breakfast, but if he sees it after he’s done eating, he’ll ask for it again.

Sometimes, he’ll ask to be read to by pointing to the pile of books and saying, “book!” This would be hard to decipher without the pointing, because he doesn’t enunciate the “k” very often, but Eli loves to have stories read to him and I’m thankful for that!

Eli’s food vocabulary isn’t very large, but he’s a really good eater. When you ask him if it’s time to eat, he’ll often repeat “eat!” eagerly. And he’ll tell you pretty quickly if we wants something that’s not yet in front of him.

• “Da!” – Eli will point to what he wants and you can hold up items until he agrees… Or you can just place something in front of him. You’ll know quickly enough by his adamant response if he doesn’t want it.
• “Nana” or “Ana” for banana, which he’ll also sign for. (Holds up an index finger and runs his other finger up and down it, as if he’s peeling a banana.)

• “Apple” – but usually what he wants is pineapple. I guess our visit to Hawaii when Eli was 6 months old has a lasting impression on him…
• “Cheese” for, surprise! cheese – but he doesn’t say this too often.
• Cookie – While not spoken, Eli signs for this quite often. Eli holds one hand open and points at his palm with the index finger of his other hand.

• “Mil” for milk – The sign for this is opening and closing one’s fist, like you might be milking a cow.
• “Jue” for juice – We try not to give him this, and if we do, it’s extremely watered down. But my parents give him watered down juice every Wednesday, and if he sees us drinking some, he’ll ask for it.
• “Wa” for water – Eli’s sign for this is a pointed index finger hit against his cheek a couple of times. He asks for water more than he asks for milk.

Favorite foods

This kid eats just about anything (thank goodness we have a good eater!), but here are a few of his favorite things:

Eli tries pistachios... and likes them!

• Greek honey yogurt (or any flavored Greek yogurt). We find the thick consistency of the Greek yogurts more toddler-feeder-friendly than regular yogurt. But he likes those too
• Dry cereal, especially when he can dip the pieces in the yogurt. Cheerios and Puffs work really well.
• Fruit. This kid really loves his fruit, especially bananas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and mandarin oranges (like satsumas or clementines). He’s less a fan of pears and apples, but a lot of that depends on how they’re cut.
• Eggs, especially scrambled. There have been times where Eli’s eaten two scrambled eggs, plus yogurt, plus fruit for breakfast. It’s as if his stomach just expands to fit whatever he puts down!
• Pancakes and waffles. These are special occasion breakfast foods, but over Christmas, we made these more often and even gave Eli some maple syrup to dip. He LOVED it.
• Rice, especially with some sort of gravy. Amusingly enough, he love Thai food with rice.
• Pasta. When I was pregnant with Eli, my favorite thing to eat was Mac’n'Cheese. Even the gross Easy Mac would satisfy my craving. So it should be no surprise that Eli likes pasta… of all kinds!

Recognizing animals and body parts

In my last “Eli update” post, I shared a video of Eli sharing some of his animal sounds. He’s kind of over giving animal sounds on call, but he’ll do it if he’s in the mood. Rather, he really likes pointing at the animals that he knows while you call them out.

He does like to make his Rabbit aka Lovey go “hop! hop! hop!” which can sometimes sound like “hup! hup! hup!” and could easily be confused with “up! up! up!” His hand motions for this are index finger pointed and moving his hand around like he’s hopping. He’s not quite dexterous enough to get two fingers up in the air like bunny ears, but he’s working on it.

We’ve been working with Eli on naming his body parts. He has some of them down pat, but he still gets confused on cheeks, lips, chin and ears. He’s a pro at pointing to his nose, he really knows his teeth (because we brush them every morning and every night), and he knows his head and hair pretty well. He can usually point to his eyes, and he definitely knows his feet and his toes. His where his tummy, arms, elbows and knees are remain a bit fuzzy in his mind, especially when they’re covered in clothes!

Naming body parts will probably be a fun exercise for us for many months to come.

Until next time…

OK, are you tired of reading yet? Are you even still with me? I’m tired of writing, so, until next time!

Ballard didn’t even have a trace of white. But that all changed on Wednesday, early in the wee hours of the morning. Outlaw woke me up around 4:30 in the morning (one thing this pregnancy has plagued me with is insomnia), and after a second of lying in bed wide awake, I realized that there might be something to see outside our window.

Outside the Kaiser home at 5 a.m.

Outside the Kaiser home at 7 a.m.

YAY! SNOW!!!

I sat and watched the snow flurries accumulate while feeling sorry for the all news reporters on the highways and overpasses who were broadcasting with up-to-the-minute, inch-by-inch tallies. And then I went back to bed, strategizing how we might sneak away to go skiing the next day…

I have never in my life played hooky from work to go skiing… until yesterday. And it was SO. WORTH. IT. My legs still ache from all the powder tele-turns. Very rarely does one experience fresh powder at the Summit at Snoqualmie, but we did yesterday. And I’m blissfully dreaming of the terrain at Mission Ridge that we’ll get to experience this weekend. YAYYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! Can you tell I’m stoked?!?!

Even better? Next weekend, we’re going to Whistler with some friends. Thanks, Mom! For a perfectly timed condo reservation, cuz the snow is falling hard, and I can’t wait to take advantage of it! Eli is going to spend the weekend with his Grandpa and Grandma (Nate’s folks), and I’m going to enjoy a kid-free, winter-wonderland weekend to the fullest.

But what of Eli and the snow, you ask?

He LOVES the snow.

"SNOW!"

"Huh. I just slid down, and I liked it."

Wheee!!!

Trying to walk

Wednesday, he walked around all day saying, “SNOW!” which sounds a bit like “no,” except with a very nasally “n.” You can easily tell the difference between “SNOW!” and “no” by his body language: finger pointing outside with joy on his face vs. adamantly shaking his head from side to side. It brings Nate and I never-ending joy to see how much Eli likes playing in the snow.

Today, with the help of my dad (Eli’s Gung Gung), we all walked to the park and did a little sledding. Eli liked sledding on Nate’s lap much more than on my dad’s lap.

Eli does love his dad

"This is gonna be FUN!"

Sledding with Dad: Part 1

Sledding with Dad: Part 2

Sledding with Dad: Part 3

Victory walk

The snow is STILL falling after 2 solid days.

Seattle is getting restless with cabin fever. We never have snow that continues to fall for more than 2 days. Seattle isn’t sure what to do with itself, and the city has literally been reduced to pedestrians, snowmobiles, and cross-country skiers.

We may get a lot of crap for the entire city shutting down, but I’m still enjoying myself.

And who knows, maybe Snopocalypse 2012 will continue a bit longer. It doesn’t matter to us though, we’re off to the cabin tomorrow in our sturdy 4WD truck.

Sledding with GungGung: Part 1

Sledding with GungGung: Part 2

Sledding with GungGung: Part 3

A successful sledding experience

The day after Thanksgiving, the Kaisers ventured to Bellevue Square Mall in order to take pictures with Santa. Thanks to Susie, we’ve done this for as long as I’ve been associated with the Kaisers. This year was especially sweet, because both Hazel and Eli are at an age where they can interact with Santa. As we waited in line, the Kaisers enjoyed each others’ company. (Please forgive the repeat of some pictures, but they’re just too great not to share.)

A glimpse of Santa's workshop

Heralding Hazel and all her candy cane assessories

Eli wonders what all the fuss is all about... he'll find out soon enough

OK, I said “sweet” but maybe I should have said “hilarious.” For the second year in a row, we set the two cousins by Santa, and for the second year in a row they HATED the entire experience. Hazel definitely leads the charge on loathing Santa. See how Hazel’s disdain for Santa has grown from one year to the next? Side-by-side here are 2010 versus 2011.

Her loathing only increases with time.

Fast forward to actual Christmas when we opened presents with Eli on the morning of Christmas Eve. Eli was a little hesitant about ripping off the wrapping paper, but I think he liked the end result.

Mom! Check out my new toy!

Eli and his dad figure out the "microwave" features

And his favorite present by far was his new microwave. He found multiple uses for it… drum set, weights for strength training, and the actual microwave features. (Anything food-related makes this kid happy.)

We reseted up after opening a few more presents, and made our with to Keith and Susie’s house for more Christmas Eve fun. The plan was to celebrate Brian’s birthday, enjoy a light buffet, open more presents and head to church. We made it through all but the last activity.

Now that I look back on it, there’s no wonder Eli put his head down at 6:30 that night completely ready for bed. After starting his day with waffles and presents, and ending with Kaiser family Christmas chaos, I should have seen an early bedtime coming. But I didn’t.

Let the box races BEGIN!

Wheee!!!

We spent Christmas Day with my folks, Eli’s Gung Gung and PoPo as well as his Uncle Josh. It was small, intimate, and lovely. The best part was that we still had some time in the latter evening just for us.

Our New Year’s holiday, errr,  pre-New Year’s since it was the day before NYE, was spent in Lake Joy with Mike, Shannon, and Alison Swift, and Shannon’s folks, Neil and Mary Lou. SO relaxing, and we absolutely adore the Swifts. Going to Lake Joy has always been a bit of a time warp, and this visit was no different. We had a great dinner on Friday night, enjoyed a NYE brunch on Saturday morning, and a lovely crisp walk around the lake. We ended our visit by heading to Woodinville for some wine tasting. Eli and Ali especially had fun, getting all the adults in the room to adore them.

And finally, as a parting note, a picture of “Outlaw,” Eli’s little brother. Outlaw grows, as my belly grows, and I hope he’ll be as sweet and wonderful as his brother!

"Outlaw"

]]> http://kaisertales.com/2012/01/15/2012-begins/feed/ 0 http://kaisertales.com/2011/12/21/eli-kaiser-17-months/ http://kaisertales.com/2011/12/21/eli-kaiser-17-months/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:05:09 +0000 Marissa K. http://kaisertales.com/?p=1784 It occurs to me that I should write down some of Eli’s milestones, before I forget them and let them blur into the nebulous “past.” So, Eli is 17 months old now, and I’m about to list some boring facts that might be relevant to only me and his family. But you can just deal.

Eli in the snow. It's winter time!

Eli started walking at about 14 months, and that was none too soon in my opinion, because he was starting to get awfully heavy. Now, with him walking, at least I don’t have to carry him everywhere. He only asks for “Up! Up!” when he’s cranky or super cuddly or when he wants to ‘help’ cook.

I would say “up” was definitely his first word, but that was quickly followed by “ball” and “dog.” A few cute and memorable (to me) things about Eli’s first few words: He’s been saying “up” for quite some time—long before he started walking, which served him well. But he would draw out the u, so his request would always sound a bit more urgent, “uuuuup!” or maybe even “ahhhhhhup!” So cute. And for awhile there, everything was a “dog.” In early October, Nate took Eli to Portland to play with his cousin Hazel. They went to the zoo and Nate couldn’t convince Eli that other names existed for animals…

Nathan would point out, “Look Eli, an elephant!”

And Eli would reply, “Dog!”

Nathan would ask, “Can you see the giraffe?”

And Eli would reply, “Dog!”

The funny thing about the way Eli says “dog” is it sounds a bit like “daww.” When he learned his next work, “duck,” there was barely a difference between the two. We have these flash cards, and one is of a yellow lab and another is of a mallard duck. When asked, “What is this?” Eli would very definitively say “daww” or “daah” depending on the picture. Go on, try it. Say them out loud. Not much difference, huh? But HE knew the difference, and I guess that’s all that matters

Eli’s also learned what sound a dog makes, “Whoo! Whoo!” And thanks in large part to a marvelous book that his Aunt Ailey gave him, Eli’s learning other animal sounds as well. I highly recommend, “The Little Blue Truck.” We love to read it as much as Eli likes to have it read, which is usually several times a day.

A giraffe, zebra, and horse all go “klop, klop, klop!” (Eli clicks his tongue and trots. SO CUTE.)

An owl says, “Hoo! Hoo!” which sounds only slightly different than the sound a dog makes

A cow says, “Moo!”

A sheep says, “Baa!”

And according to Eli, a duck says, “dahh!”

One of the best right animal sounds right now is for chickens, only because Eli will motion a wing flapping along with his, “Bok! Bok!”

Lest I forget, Eli also knows the word “no” quite well.

“Eli, do you want to go to bed?”

“No.”

“Eli, let’s get you dressed.”

“No.”

“Eli, did you go pee pee in your diaper?”

“No.”

I have to say, his “no” is so incredibly sweet and high pitched. One day soon, I’m sure it will get demanding and insistent, but that day isn’t now. But speaking of demanding, Eli threw his first tantrum last week. A part of me wonders if he learned this from Hazel, because Hazel threw a few tantrums during the long Thanksgiving weekend, which Eli observed. Hazel would fall onto the floor, kick her feet, and say, “No! no! no! Waaaaa-haaaaa!”

Hazel helps Eli with his hat. See how he looks up to her?

And sure enough, the next day as we were preparing Eli for school, he got upset, dropped to the floor, kicked his feet, and said, “Ahhhh-haaaaaa!” Nate and I couldn’t help but turn our heads and laugh. How amusing while it’s still novel.

Some other words (and his vocab grows every day, so this list will expand by tomorrow):

• Ball
• Ma
• Da (for Dad)
• More
• Eat
• Wa-wa (for water)
• Ooo! (for “that’s mind-blowing amazing!”)
• Ah da (for all done)

And signs that he knows and uses frequently:

• Please
• More
• Eat
• Milk
• Water
• Cookie
• Fish

Oh, and Eli’s also a really good eater. Check this out!

Thanksgiving weekend usually marks the start of my ski season, and this year proved no different. If I’d had a bit more forethought, I could have gotten a sitter for Eli for opening weekend, which I heard was gorgeously epic and early as far as opening days go. Nate was out of town for a work retreat, and Eli and I spent a sunny weekend playing around town.

Peek-a-boo!

Saturday morning cartoons!

Toybox/ cartoon-viewing seat

We went to parks, we got up early (ahem, HE got up early and therefore I had to as well) and watched cartoons, and we played and played.

New winter hat and mittens

An order of REI winter gear came in the mail as well, and Eli got really excited for the winter season. He put on all his winter gear and showed off what a good ski-kid he’ll be!

And soon enough, it was Thanksgiving weekend. We spent a wonderful amount of time with both the Ngs and the Kaisers. Bethany and Dan came into town, and we all met up at the Seattle Aquarium—Eli’s new favorite spot.

We had a great time visiting with the extended Mark family at 2nd Thanksgiving Dinner (immediately after 1st Thanksgiving Dinner with the Kaisers), and we ate so much that we literally rolled into a busy weekend of holiday activities.

We went to visit Santa, and Eli got a chance to use all his cold-winter gear cuz (as I mentioned above) we went skiing! Oh, didn’t you realize that Eli and Hazel went skiing as well?  And, in case you didn’t realize this, my niece Hazel ALWAYS skis with a pink tutu.

But before I give you a bunch of pictures of all this fun, check out a video of Eli’s first run in with bubbles, thanks to Bethany and Dan, PoPo (my mom) and GungGung (my dad). I. LOVE. THIS.

And you’ve been so patient, so here’s the pictures of our Thanksgiving Weekend fun!

Turkey Trot champions and cheerers

In anticipation of Santa

Hazel's Christmas dress... and candy cane accessories

Hazel does NOT like Santa, and Eli's not really sure either

Kaiser family Christmas card... Eli's still not sure

Eli in the snow

Eli and Hazel, gettin' ready to shred

Santa? Are you there?

Mrs. MacDonald had a farm. Eli, Eli, Oh! And on that farm we had a cow...

Eli was most thrilled to be a bulldog at school with all the other little kids dressed up. Orrrr not. I think the look on his face speaks, “indifference ” and maybe “boredom.” What do you think?

Our "fierce" bulldog sitting next to his dress-up buddies

Maybe he’s just glad he’s not surrounded by monkeys. I think there were no less than nine monkeys at the Halloween party we attended, which, BTW, was a BLAST! Thanks Pat and Saragh for hosting another great party. These guys know how to get into the Halloween spirit! Check out some of our monkey business (Saragh and Sydney are the witch and the bat):

Leading up to Halloween, we visited the pumpkin farm with Eli’s Grandpa. We picked out a few pumpkins, posed with some cutouts, explored the cornfield and enjoyed the gorgeous, sunny day.

Eli and Grandpa in the corn

Eli, the friendly scarecrow

And then we went home to carve the pumpkins. Eli wasn’t too thrilled with them at first. In fact, he was downright scared! But all’s well that ends well, and in the end, we had a couple of lovely carved pumpkins and a happy kid. I think this is the start of some fun fall traditions, and we’re already thinking about what we’ll be next year. Until then, Happy Halloween!

Eli wasn't thrilled at first.

But after tasting raw pumpkin seeds, he got a little more comfortable. (Was it the taste of raw pumpkin, or was it Mom

Ta da!!!

Oh, and he’s walking like a CHAMP! I’ll have to take some video of his newly acquired strut, but in the meantime, here’s some pictures and stories of our autumn adventures.

Father and son "hike" (Whistler, B.C.)

In early October, Eli and Nate spent a weekend in Portland, and in addition to playing with his cousin Hazel, Eli got to check out the Oregon Zoo. Apparently, everything was a “dog,” since that’s one of the few words Eli can say. Nate would point out the elephants, and Eli would say, “dog!” Nate would point out the lion, and Eli would say, “dog!” You get the picture… and speaking of pictures, I’m sorry to say that I have none Babies and animals are hard to capture together on a iPhone camera.

"I'm having so much fun in Whistler!!!"

"I'll drive, Mom."

I do however, have plenty of pictures and video from our Whistler weekend. We decided that a family weekend away was just the thing, so we packed the truck and headed north. It happened to be Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, which meant nothing to us except Whistler was having an enormous ski swap and sales galore. Yay!

I don’t recall the last time I was in Whistler in the fall, but I think we’ll make a tradition of it. It was GORGEOUS, and we all had so much fun! We even ran into our Vancouver friends, Marc, Ann and their kids Luciano and Nico. As it turned out, we weren’t the only ones with the idea to spend the weekend in Whistler!

Eli really started walking with confidence, and he toddled all around the Whistler playground.

Our hotel comp’d us some tickets to a kids show, and Eli toddled all around the concert hall as well… err, when he wasn’t being bumped by big kids that knocked him down.

He’s gotten so good at walking around, in fact, Eli walked all through the Seattle Aquarium last weekend. It was a rainy day, and rather than staying at home and feeling cooped up (like our chickens), we decided to visit the aquarium. As it turned out, we couldn’t have picked a better way to spend a rainy Saturday morning!

Eli’s just at the right age to take in and absorb the sights. He walked around pointing at various fish tanks and exhibits shouting, “Oooo!” and “Whoa!”

Eli takes it it

"Oooo!"

We’re pretty sure we blew Eli’s mind at the aquarium that day. And we can’t WAIT to go back, which won’t be too difficult, given we bought an annual membership. Seattle Aquarium, anyone?

I can only imagine that shortly, we’ll have memberships to all the kid-friendly places in Seattle: the Aquarium, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Pacific Science Center… What am I missing people? Post your recommendations here!

Well, all I can say is that I’m loving this age. He learns new things every day, and everything is amazing and new.

"Whoa!" (We're pretty sure we blew Eli's mind)

Eli loves spending time in Portland with his cousin, his aunt, and his uncle. Hazel gets a little jealous sometimes, because we all know that she’s a pink princess and therefore deserving of all the attention. I think she might have gotten upset after her mom pushed Eli on the swing instead of her. Eli didn’t seem to notice or care… he was having too much fun!

Why is the pain and suffering of toddlers so funny sometimes?

If the first video hasn’t already convinced you, Eli’s becoming quite the mover and the shaker. He crawls and walks ALL around. I mean ALL AROUND. The playground bark makes it pretty easy to track him…

I thought you might enjoy this as much as I did. As a point of comparison, here’s Eli and Nathan, walking to school:

Soon, we’ll post some video from the past two glorious fall weekends: During first couple of days of October, Eli and Nathan spent some time with the Barkers in Portland. The next weekend, we Kaisers took a field trip up to Whistler. Pictures and video of both weekends are precious. Here’s a preview:

Eli at the Whistler playground.

Eli's perch for the W. Seattle Hi-Yu Parade, july

The days are getting shorter in the Pacific Northwest. I’ll admit it. I’m not ready for fall. Mostly because it’s been an AMAZING summer.

Granted, summer weather only arrived in late-August, but we were lucky enough to travel east of the Cascades a few times to feel the heat (above 80 degrees counts as heat in my mind) and relax at the cabin. And we took a couple plane trips to warm destinations and family reunions… both my side and Nate’s. So, I’ll reiterate, it’s been an AMAZING summer.

We celebrated my grandfather’s 85th birthday in August, even though his actual 85th birthday was yesterday, the 24th of September. It didn’t matter when we celebrated; all the Ngs gathered in Lake Tahoe, and I’ve discovered my new favorite destination. Lake Tahoe is gorgeous, and one of these days soon, I want to see it in the winter.

We're on a boat!

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Happy 85th Birthday, Yeh Yeh!

Our summertime visit wasn’t nearly long enough, but we made the best of it by visiting the beach, eating at an all-you-can-eat buffet (cuz where there’s casinos, there’s buffets), swimming every morning with Eli in the pool, taking nearly the entire fam on a 250 hp pontoon boat around the lake (we could have water skied behind that thing if we hadn’t maxed out on people!), and singing lots of birthday wishes to my grandfather… a month and a half early!

Also in August, Eli had his first camping experience, and I discovered how much my little Pig Pen likes dirt! I had already found out how much he likes sand when we were in Tahoe (playing in it, digging in it, eating it…), but Eli took things to a whole new level at Lake Cushman with the Kaiser sibs and his cousin Hazel. This kid discovered dirt, and dirt + the dog dish + a little bit of water left in the dog’s dish = hours of good times.

Pig Pen aka Eli

dirt + dog dish = good times!

Not to mention Eli absolutely adores his cousin Hazel.

Eli got to spend another 5 whole days with Hazel while at the Kaiser ranch in September. We traveled on the same plane to Texas with Aunt Ailey, but we met up with Aunt Eryn and Hazel at the Houston Airport, and from that point on, we were all travel buddies. Nate’s grandfather turned 80 on September 15th. Unlike my grandfather’s celebration, there are not casinos nor gorgeous lakes in Yoakum, Tx so we spent considerably more time in one place–that would be the ranch, and we at considerably more meat–as in BBQ.

OMG, so much BBQ! And so much cake! And so much happy birthday! We were lucky enough to arrive in Texas just as a cool spell hit and just as the rain drops started to fall. It was the first time in months that Texas saw rain, so everyone was celebrating (not just us, the party-goers)!

Party goers gather, post party

Doesn't this say, "80th birthday"?

Eli and his Great-Grandaddy

Happy 80th, Sydney!

Through all these summertime activities, Eli’s developed into a full-fledged toddler, who can walk (sort of), talks back (mostly in high-pitched squeals and sign language… an odd combination, to say the least), and feeds himself (and his ears, and his hair…) We are really loving having a toddler around the house and watching him grow and change quickly!

So, I guess this is Happy Fall, everyone! To the leaves changing, and to the many changes to come! We’ll try to keep you posted

Eli can "feed" himself!

In a couple of weekends, Eli’s looking forward to spending some time with his cousin, Hazel. They’ve practiced playing together at the cabin and it’s pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Eli doesn’t mind the car ride. He especially likes it when there’s sun coming through the windows. Eastern Washington is good for that.

A happy kid in his carseat

Where's Uncle Clayton among all those robes?

Congratulations, Graduate! (Eli is asleep in the pack)

Enjoy the cuteness. I sure am.

10-month old Eli is starting to feed himself!

Ups

I can sum this up in one word: Eli. The fact that he’s the light of our lives is pretty obvious, but please indulge me as I elaborate with a few stats. Eli is 10-months old now, and he crawls like a maniac. The kid is FAST. And he really loves being mobile. It affords him an element of independence–he can pretty much go where he wants, when he wants–and he’s having fun trying to get there. We’re on higher alert these days, but even if Eli crawls out of our sight, we can hear the ‘smack-smack’ of his hands on the hardwoods and his heavy breathing–he gets a little breathless when he crawls because he’s so excited about it! It’s hilarious! Just trust me.

Eli figured out how to crawl in earnest way back in March, but he’s just now figuring out how to pull himself up to a standing position. We’re really glad he’s not yet ‘furniture walking,’ but I’m sure that will come soon!

He’s also eating more variety of foods–pretty much whatever we’re eating but in a blended up, mushy format. His favorite foods right now are apples, pears, pancakes, and his long-time staple: sweet potato. He’s still evaluating fried rice and tofu stir-fry, but he enjoyed the chow mein. The other day, he insisted on holding his own spoon. It was a little messy, but so worth it. He’s getting his 7th tooth, and we figure we’d better save up now for orthodontics!

Other ups

After two-and-a-half months abroad, Ailey returned home for a couple of weeks before heading back to Liberia. Yeah, it’s dizzying. My sister-in-law has seen more countries and more rural parts of countries that most of us can imagine. She’s doing field work research and advancing land rights in the developing world. I’m so proud of her! So I’m looking forward to kickin’ it with her tomorrow. We’ve got a happy hour and a girls night planned. Fruity alcoholic drinks and a chick flick are in my near future. This is definitely an up!

And we’re headed to Portland this weekend to kick it with our niece. We’ll get to see Nate’s other sister and her hubby briefly, but mostly we’re chillin’ with the kids in P-town. Another up!

One more awesome thing that I can’t believe I forgot to mention before: I got Lasik!!! After more than a decade of not being able to see without my glasses or contacts, I wake up in the morning and open my eyes to… clarity! My old alarm clock used to be hitting Nate and asking for the time. Today, I just lift my head and look for myself! They corrected my vision from a -9, which is a massive correction of near-sightedness. Now I’m a +2! I [heart] Clearly Lasik in Renton. Even if they have had some drama in that office.

Downs

I’ll go in rough chronological order, since it’s easier to list. Throughout this 2011, we’ve lost a number of friends and family members.

November 2010: Uncle Carl (89) and Eli (4 mos)

• Our neighbor, Gerry Heffernan, passed away with Alzheimer’s earlier this year. His memorial was last weekend, but we weren’t able to attend.
• An inspiration to the Seattle startup community, Tom Music, suddenly lost his battle with lymphoma in mid-April. We honored him with an Irish-style wake and drank lots of beer.
• While we were drinking, Susie was returning from a memorial service in Texas for their relative, Carl Chandler. Carl carried the namesake to Nathan’s middle name, representing the branch of Chandlers that first came to this country. He served in WWII, miraculously making it through the D-Day invasion as a medic in the first wave. Later in his military career, he was given the honor of dancing with England’s Princess Elizabeth, now the Queen. He would have been 90 this year.
• Our old friend and ‘parking landlord’ of the past 5 years, Fred Cloonan, passed away from a sudden heart attack. Fred also served in WWII as a merchant marine, and he continued his service in the navy, fighting in the Korean War as well. We celebrated his memory and his 80th birthday on May 1.
• We learned at Easter that Nathan’s former tennis captain passed away of a sudden heart attack.

Most recently and most poignantly for me, my grandmother went on to heaven on May 9. She passed, surrounded by her eight kids and many of her grandkids. I gave a eulogy on Saturday, but I think it’s still sinking in… She was such an awesome woman. I’ll post the eulogy in a separate message. And this is why I’m especially sad these days. It’s a bit cumulative, but I really miss my PoPo.

Eli and his "Tai Po," Christmas 2010

He didn’t eat much of anything at all, and he didn’t keep much of that down. So last night, Nate went out and bought Pedialyte (which I’m calling Gatorade for babies), and we deliberated about what to do next. Eli was banned from daycare, so we called my mother-in-law. (My own folks have helped out and watched a sick Eli on numerous occasions in the past. We just thought we’d see if Susie was available this time.)

… And she WAS! Sort of. So we all agreed that I would take Eli to work with me, and Susie would pick him up after her doctor’s appointment.

In the meantime, Eli had a marvelous time at my office, napping on Amy’s lap.

Now, he’s playing at Grandma’s.

I’m wondering if his “sick day” was just a ploy to play with cute girls…

ZONKED. No really. Another coworker came by to see what all the heavy breathing was about

I don't think Amy minded...

Having fun at Grandma's

I can’t, so I’ll have to leave you with some pictures from the slopes.

Bomber Cliffs are RAD!

Backcountry gals

Fist bump. Blow it up!

Checkin' out the ridge

Yeaahhhh!!!

Oh, and since we didn’t all ski and I don’t have pictures of two of our awesome bad-ass girls, I’ll share a few quotes from the weekend.

• “Follow the Chumstick Highway to Beaver Valley.” (I kid you not, these were part of the directions to get to our lodge. Given that two of our crew are middle school teachers who’s minds will ALWAYS go there, we had endless giggles about these directions.)
• “You MUST try the ramp!”
• “I want a dog named ‘Meat.’”
• “I’ve skinned a moose before.”
• “I have a list for that too.”
• Andreas Keller – Where you can eat a pickle with a knife!

• “Let’s all hike the Ridge!”
• “Are you texting?” “No, I’m writing down all the funny things you say!”

Check out the ramp that Jess and Colleen built!

Jess on the ramp

This is a fabulous German restaurant

Nighttime in fake Bavaria

Eli and his daycare buddy

Sadly, Eli’s week turned sour again when another tooth started to come in. He’s not enjoying this one bit. We’ve taken to keeping teething toys in the fridge, rubbing Baby Ora-gel on Eli’s gums at regular intervals, and giving him Tylenol to ease the pain.

Poor, poor teething kid

Somehow, I managed to avoid the cold last week. I’m popping Airborne and Vitamin C like they’re candy, and I hope that does the trick! I’ve got a big weekend next weekend, and I’ve GOT to be well for it… me and the ladies are off to 2011 Girls Ski Weekend! We’ve rented a house in Leavenworth and there’s 9 of us total. I can’t WAIT!!! And I expect my legs may fall off from all the skiing I’ll be doing

Fingers crossed that I’ll stay well through the week and the weekend!

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some happier pictures of Eli (cuz that’s what you want to see, isn’t it?):

Just hangin' out

Eli's bus commute to daycare

The Kaiser boys say, "Happy New Year!" from the cabin

We celebrated New Year’s Eve along with rest of the East Coast, and were in bed by 10:30 p.m. Then on New Year’s Day we dropped Eli off at mountain daycare and continued a long tradition: we hit the slopes.

It was GORGEOUS!!! The sun was shining, the snow was great, and you could see at least four different mountain peaks in the distance. Did I tell you it was gorgeous?

We love Mission Ridge Ski Resort! And the lines… well, they were nonexistent, which is part of the reason why we love Mission Ridge!

So, HAPPY 2011! Here’s to another great year!

Eli's first Christmas

In the month of December, we went to Hawaii, Eli tried solid foods and made a sometimes-transition to formula, we celebrated Christmas with the Kaisers (a week before real Christmas), we celebrated Christmas Eve at Auntie Terry and Uncle Benson’s house, we hosted Christmas Day at our house, and then we snuck off to the Kaiser cabin to be antisocial for New Years Eve.

Eli's Hawaii outfit

Waikiki Beach is awesome

Our cowboy got a horsey for Christmas

... and a Chariot!

Ready for the snow!

Happy New Year's Eve!

It’s now January, and according to Eli’s 6-month check up (about a week ago), he’s in the 98th percentile for height, the 50th percentile for weight, and the 50th percentile for head circumference. We have a tall kid!

He’s enjoying the new, neat adventure of eating solid foods and drinking from a sippy cup.

And he’s started sitting up (almost) on his own. We didn’t know it, but Eli was days away from cutting his first tooth during the filming of this video. Now looking back, it makes perfect sense.

Is it raising an infant? Is it balancing raising an infant with our responsibility-laden jobs? Is it that we’d rather see folks in person and don’t care to write about the folks we see in person? Maybe it’s all of the above. But we certainly don’t have a good excuse. We’re in front of our computers or our iPhones ALL. THE. TIME.

So here’s my commitment–call it a New Year’s Resolution if you like–I’ll work to share some tidbit at least once a week. Even if it’s small or half-baked or just a picture with a caption. This is just as much for me as it is for you (you three people who might read this). Eli is growing SO QUICKLY that I’m afraid I’ll forget these precious moments. This will be my way of charting our lives.

Eli's a world-class traveler now. (November 2010 on the plane headed home from Texas.)

Now for the gratuitous Eli picture… can you believe that the most recent photo I have on my work computer is from November?!? (I can’t believe it’s the middle of January…)

Our little pumpkin

We’ve just returned from a 1,007 mile trek around Texas–Houston, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Victoria, Yoakum, and back to Houston. It was a tour of filled with family, delicious food, various hotel rooms, gorgeous countryside, and more family.

The weekend before that, we hosted my sister, her hubby, and her in-laws in Seattle for a post-wedding celebration (2-months post wedding). My sis got to don on her wedding dress, and we were surrounded by friends and family as we were served a LOT of Chinese food.

Of course, friends and family were excited to see us, but they were truly there to see and meet baby Eli. We’re fine with that

Eli and Sydney: Husky fans

Eli had a busy day today. He spent most of the day with his friend Sydney. (Eli is going over to Sydney’s house three days out of the week, now that the Kaisers and the Lambs are nanny-sharing.)

Eli in the snuggly; Eli in the jogger

Eli after his bath. (Galt joins to check things out.)

Eli in his chair

Then, when Mommy (aka me) got home, we got Eli all bundled up and took Galt for a run.

Finally, Eli got a bath. Afterward, Eli spent some time rocking in the big person glider.

Usually he sits in someone’s lap while he’s in the glider. Galt noticed the difference and stood guard, making sure Eli was OK.

Sly Grin

Not only does he have entire conversations (with us, with his mobile, with himself), he sucks on his hand (and sometimes his thumb), he’s a big smiler, and he’s an even bigger flirt. He’s 10 weeks old now–that’s 2 1/2 months for those of you who don’t want to do the math–and he’s had quite a few experiences in the past couple of weeks: his first bike ride, his first airplane ride, his first swim, he saw Aunt Bethany and Uncle Dan get married (more on this later), he met the extended Ng family and a few more of the extended Marks, and he’s staying at home with a nanny now that Nate and I have gone back to work full time.

Cranky Face

Before I forget, here’s some of his stats from his 2 month check up:

• Weight: 11 lbs. 10.5 oz. (50th percentile)
• Head circumference: 39.5 cm (50th percentile)
• Height: 24.5 inches (90th percentile!)

I just spent a few moments checking out Hazel’s blog to see how Eli compares with his cousin when she was his age. If Hazel was a Banana Baby at 10 lbs. and 23 inches, then Eli’s been taking note and following in his cousin’s footsteps. What I want to know is, how on earth did two parents of average height create a baby that’s in the 90th percentile?!? Over 11 lbs. and 24.5 inches—where did this come from???

Eli's first bike ride

In case you couldn't see Eli's reaction to his first bike ride, here's a close up

I didn’t really find a chunk of time, but here’s a written account of our first venture out and our first road trip, starting with the road trip. (I know, sounds official, huh?)

—————————————————-

Damn. It’s TOUGH traveling with an infant. Actually, it’s tough to get ready to travel with an infant. Or at least it was tough for me the first time around. I won’t lie; there were tears.

Circa July 30. Eli age: 3 weeks old. We were headed east to introduce Eli to the cabin. His cousin Hazel was nice enough to invite us along to the tail-end of the Barker Family Vacation aka BFVGPS10. I was responsible for getting myself, the kid, and the dog into the truck. Nate had packed up most of the gear already. I just needed to load the final bags and the young ones, then pick up Nate in Pioneer Square before heading out. No big deal, right?

Eli in his snap-in carseat... the easy one.

Eli's not sure what to make of the cabin.

I tried to remain cool as Eli screamed his head off while I ran around loading the last-minute stuff and the dog. I had everything ready to go, and I was only 10-15 minutes behind schedule. Lastly, I grabbed the crying baby and set him into the carseat… where the straps were too tight to go around his little arms. Dammit. As it turned out, the carseat was my doom. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to loosen the straps.

An hour, several phone calls, several curse words, several more curse words, tears, cries (from Eli), and a $30 taxi ride later, Nate came to save the day. He fixed the problem in about 30 seconds, which brought on even more tears of frustration (from me and Eli). Eventually, we got to the cabin just fine.

And we had an awesome time.

Jet ski on the Columbia! Whoo hoo!

—————————————————-

And while that was the worst to date, there have been some comical other firsts in regards to “traveling” with Eli. The first outing we took as a new Kaiser clan (aside from heading home from the hospital) was on July 11, just four days after Eli was born. It was Nate’s birthday, Eli’s actual due date, and we headed to Redmond to join Keith and Susie at church.

Nate aka “Clipboard Kaiser” had a schedule that he wanted to keep and an ideal time to leave the house. Being that Eli was four days old and we had just come home from the hospital two days prior, everything from getting ourselves showered and dressed to getting the diaper bag packed was a challenge. But we were up to the task!

The task included a load of laundry prior to our departure, washing Eli’s intended outfit for the day. We were both certain that everything would dry by the time we had to leave… We were wrong.

• 40 minutes prior to our intended departure, I started feeding Eli, all the while shouting out things like “Don’t forget the _[fill in with random baby item]__” to Nate who was running around getting himself and the diaper bag packed up.
• 20 minutes prior to our intended departure, I decided Eli had had enough to eat and needed to get dressed. Nate took the laundry out of the dryer, only slightly damp.
• 15 minutes prior to our intended departure we changed Eli’s diaper and put him in his outfit for the day.
• 10 minutes prior to our intended departure we assessed that the outfit was still pretty damp and we should attempt to dry it further before heading out into the chilly elements (and sadly, it was fairly chilly and overcast for a mid-summer morning). We turned on the hairdryer and pointed it at our son. Yes. When our son was only four days old, we dried his clothes with a hair dryer while he was wearing them. I’m not proud of it, but he didn’t seem to mind, and the hair dryer did the trick.

You’d think at this point that we’d realize the need for additional layers, but you’d be wrong.

We managed to get out the door 10 minutes behind schedule, which wasn’t bad given our antics prior to intended departure. We snapped in the carseat, started the car, backed out of the garage, and we were off! … So we thought.

As we were backing out of the garage, I noticed that the blanket wasn’t in the carseat. “Nate, did you grab the blanket?”

“No Mars, I thought you did!”

Next, I noticed that we’d forgotten to put socks on Eli. By this time, we were at the streetlight, but with a damp clothed son, no blanket and no socks, we determined the need to turn back around. Needless to say, we were late to church.

Amusingly enough, the sun came out just as we crossed the bridge, and we ended up stripping the kid of all his clothes once we got to Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Go figure.

Eli sans clothing and loving it

In Grandpa's lap, sporting his fly dry outfit

The shirt says "I'm a sloppy kisser." It should say, "I drool in my sleep."

Eli still turns over from his tummy to his back… something he’s done since he was 2 weeks old (aye, yai, yai!), and I’m hoping that any day now he’ll sleep through the night (fingers crossed!!!). He’s a pretty good sleeper when he’s in someone’s arms.

I have all sorts of stories about our first venture out (4 days after Eli was born), our first road trip (to the cabin to hang with Cousin Hazel), and milestones, but they will have to wait until I find a chunk of time or until I see you in person.

We’ve been figuring out our new lives, learning a new sleep schedule (waking up in three-hour intervals), and watching our new addition grow every day! We adore him, and it keeps getting better…

Here’s some pics of Eli’s first few days, all taken at the hospital.

Eli's first day; Asleep at the hospital

My! What big eyes you have!

Of course, we fell in love

Eli Chandler Kaiser

Born July 7, 2010

When Eli finally arrived, Hazel wasn’t too sure about this competition for the Kaiser family’s attention. Check out her perspective on Eli’s birth here. By the way, CUTE ALERT!!!

Hazel eyes Uncle Nate and Eli

@nkaiser and I have been on baby alert for over two weeks now, and it’s been the longest two weeks of our lives. Dim Sum still hasn’t shown up, but there’s been three false alarms, including one trip to the hospital. I have to admit, I’ve been a bit… defeated these past few days. Folks have called, texted and emailed, and in my melancholy state, I’ve let them go unanswered. Sorry, friends. I’m just a little withdrawn, a little tired, and a lot frustrated. Please don’t stop checking in, but please don’t take offense if I don’t answer you right away.

Some, in an effort to comfort me, remind me that I’m not due until July 11. While that’s true, our doctor put us on high alert beginning June 18 saying, “Get that car seat in the car, make sure your pediatrician is lined up, and BE READY.” That was the fateful day I was diagnosed as being 3 cm dilated 3 weeks early. Not that my doc was lying or did the wrong thing… it could have happened any day. But the fact that it’s now July 4 (oh yeah, Happy Independence Day!) means that Nate and I have been waiting with baited breath for a LONG. TIME. We’ve gone to bed at night saying, “Maybe tonight is the night!” and we’ve woken up saying, “I wonder if today is the day?”

As each day draws out, things get more and more frustrating.

Exercise in active surrender. But it’s awfully hard to get two type-A personalities to surrender.

So here’s our new coping mechanism: Get out of the house as often as possible. Go to a coffee shop, visit a bar, eat out, take Galt to the dog park. Distract, distract, distract. A big shout out goes to our friends, Eric and Alli, who kidnapped me at 11 p.m. the other night and took me to a movie. That was awesome. Tonight, we’ll head off to a BBQ at Marina and Damon’s house. More distraction. More awesome.

Until Dim Sum decides to come, exercise in active surrender.

“Childbirth is divided (more loosely by nature, more formally by obstetrical science) into three stages. The first stage is labor, divided into three phases: early (or latent), active, and transactional ending with the full dilation (opening) of the cervix; the second stage is delivery, culminating in the birth of the baby; and the third stage is delivery of the placenta or afterbirth [QUICK! Call Tom Cruise! -- sorry, had to add that]. The whole process averages about fourteen hours for first-time mothers…”

“STAGE ONE: Labor

Phase I: Latent or Early — thinning (effacement) of cervix and dilation to 3 centimeters

Phase II: Active – dilation of cervix to 7 centimeters

Phase II: Transitional — dilation of cervix to 10 centimeters (fully dilated)”

Now that you’re fully versed on the clinical science behind childbirth, let me share with you that I’ve been 3 cm dilated for an entire week. Remember that line about the whole process taking about fourteen hours? Bullshit. Seven full days of waiting, and God knows how much longer this will go on. At the doc’s appointment this past Wednesday, she said I was between 3-4 cm dilated. Shouldn’t that imply that I’m moving from “latent or early” labor to “active” labor? No, apparently this doesn’t apply to me.

Dim Sum, you’re such a tease!

I digress… You’ve probably read my “freak out” post. Despite last Friday, I went on to have a fairly normal, albeit, busy weekend.

Father's Day (with Mom)

Gung Gung (grandpa) and PoPo (grandma)

Nate and I hosted my extended family for Father’s Day, and the whole event went off beautifully for us and the 20+ folks that came over for dinner. Everyone got to see the yard (in progress), the baby’s room, and most hadn’t ever seen the house, so it was nice for my aunts, uncles and cousins to come over.

It was a busy night, but I managed to go to bed early, since I had a 7 a.m. conference call to attend the next morning. But Dim Sum had other plans… I was awakened by some intense contractions at 1 a.m.! I woke Nate up so we could freak out together. We read through “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” (see above) and got a sense for what we could/should do. And then, after an hour… the contraction went away.

And they haven’t returned. This entire week. Seven full days. It’s been a crazy, exhausting, emotional roller coaster of a waiting game. Sigh.

What has happened is that I’ve gotten REALLY tired. Yesterday, I napped for most of the mid-day, and the naps were book-ended by two very full nights of sleep. My abilities to focus suck, and I’ve been taking a lot of walks to fill the time. I guess it’s been a blessing, since we’ve experienced our first 2 days of summer this past week. After a record amount of time, Seattle weather finally reached 75 degrees and above! The last time it was that warm was September 23, 2009. I’ve had a massage, I’ve had friends and family over for dinner… I guess I should be enjoying all of this.

But Nate and I both just want Dim Sum to come. This being said, there’s a Dim Sum for Dim Sum Baby Party this weekend. So I guess I need Dim Sum to wait a few more days… Hang in there Dim Sum. Hang in there Marissa. Hang in there Nate.

… Our lives will change soon enough…

And I’M COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT. Thus the 5 a.m. blogpost. (I’ve been up since before 3. Ugh.) Forgive the following ramble, as it’s mostly a tool for me to put down my feelings… I hope it’s somewhat entertaining.

Nate’s sleeping, and I’ve got enough on the To-Do list that I need him to get his rest, so I’m trying to do “quiet” things… make lists, make more lists, check email, write blogposts… My attempt to make a cup of tea has already woken him up once. (I’ve never been a quiet person.)

I’m experiencing this very odd combination of elation–a slightly early arrival is exactly what I’ve been hoping for–and anxiety–my uber-planner self had estimated at least 2 more weeks of productive work before I’d have to batten down the hatches and really be ready to be a mom (!!!)

Yesterday was my 37-week check up at the doctor’s office. A baby is expected to gestiate for 40 weeks before it’s “due,” but they’re considered full-term around 37 weeks. The final three weeks are spent putting on extra pounds… about 1/2 lb. per week for baby. As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve stayed pretty small throughout this pregnancy. In fact, according to yesterday’s weigh-in, I’ve gained a total of 15 lbs to date. (I don’t know how, but I’ve lost a couple of pounds over the past 2 weeks.) Lately, I’ve been feeling really good. I’ve been energetic but careful not to overdue things. I’ve been active, and Nate and I have had a number of outings with good friends. Heck, I even went sailing last weekend.

Dim Sum will be raised a sailor

And all this, I conveyed to our doctor. As usual, she measured my baby bump and checked the heartbeat. All is tracking well–the bump is measuring just right at 37 weeks, and the heartbeat is appropriately starting to slow down. At this point, the baby is estimated to be about 5 lbs… (but really, they can’t estimate with that much accuracy). My doc seemed pretty happy with things, and then we did a further exam to see if I’m at all dilated. Her words: “OK, don’t freak out, but you’re 3 cm dilated and your cervix has shrunk about 70%.”

I didn’t freak out… (until later)… I did a little happy dance and glanced over at Nate. Nate, who was hoping for a birthday present on his real birthday, was a bit more surprised. Further explanation from the doctor put things into perspective: “I’d be incredibly surprised if you made it to your due date [7/11], and you might get to bring Dim Sum to your dim sum party.”

I still didn’t freak out, but Nate grasped the reality of the situation way before I did. “Awww! I was really hoping to share my birthday with Dim Sum. Can we use duct tape to keep things closed? Duct tape is an amazing product.” –Maybe Nate’s humor doesn’t translate to the blog, but he was hilarious.

I walked out in a daze, booked another appointment for Wednesday (next KaiserTales update: Wednesday afternoon!), and we both headed in to work. I think it was there that everything started to sink in and I started to freak out. In response to my news, one of my co-workers shared with me that she and her family all tend to deliver at 4 cm dilated–forget this 10 cm stuff! She then went on to mention that I could conceivably deliver in the next 72 hours. HOLY SHIT!!! It hadn’t really occurred to me like that.

While highly unlikely, it’s still a possibility. And I NEED the next week or two of non-motherhood status for my sanity and to get shit done. There’s lots to do around the house, but more so, there’s so much at work that I want to finish up before maternity leave! Yet, my brain is mush, my hormones are all over the place, and, forgive me, but I have to get up and pee again. Dammit.

This will all end soon, right? And I’ll forget all this anxiety and worry. And we’ll have a little Dim Sum to dote on. OMG.

But I get the whole preggy picture thing. There’s so many friends and family members that don’t live nearby, haven’t seen me pregnant, and would like to. So here’s a few pics, just for you

The first thing you’ll probably notice is that I’ve stayed pretty tiny. I’m 34 weeks along in a 40 week journey. That means I only have 6 weeks, or about a month-and-a-half to go! According to my last doctor’s visit, I’ve gained a total of 14 lbs, so yeah, my baby bump is tiny. I’m guessing I won’t put on more than 20 lbs throughout the pregnancy… in the final four weeks I’m expected to gain about 1/2-a-pound per week.

I’m pretty lucky on the size front. I thank good genes (thanks Mom & Dad!), being in good shape prior to the pregnancy, staying active throughout the pregnancy, and my general propensity to eat well. I don’t crave chocolates, cake, ice cream, fried foods, or all the saturated fats–but I’m happy to indulge in all of the above when presented with the opportunity

Staying small has afforded me some nice luxuries in keeping with my “normal” life:

• I was able to wear many of my regular work clothes until just a few weeks ago (thanks to an elastic invention called the Bella Band that held up my regular pants even when they weren’t zipped or buttoned).
• I spent the entire ski season in my own ski clothes, and managed to ski over 12 days this year. Even though I was prepared to hold up my ski pants with suspenders, I never had to use them–yay!
• I still wear “regular”-sized yoga pants, tee-shirts and sweatshirts from my pre-pregnancy days.
• I still wear my own underwear and don’t plan on buying any bigger-sized panties. (Despite warnings from friends.)
• I can wash dishes, do laundry and reach the bottom of the top-load laundry machine, and put things away in low or high cupboards just fine. (Again, despite warnings.)
• I still reach down to tie my own shoes, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do

So the question remains, Does size matter? At the very beginning of my pregnancy, a friend shared these wise words from her doctor: “At the end of your pregnancy, you’re baby will have taken 6-10 lbs of whatever you’ve gained. You’ll lose a little more from the weight of the amniotic fluid and the placenta, but the rest is for you!”

I’d rather have the “rest” be as little as possible.