What's in a Name?

3.23.2009

Happy Birthday Little Lovey!!

Isabel is one year old tomorrow. I cannot believe how quickly time has passed and how much she has changed. I am thrilled at every stage of her development, but part of me wants her to just slow down and be my cuddly baby a little longer. However it is hard to be too sad when she is learning new things every day and she is so damn cute about them! She mastered "So Big" a while ago, and says "Mama" and "Mo, mo" for food. She eats anything and everything; curry, guacamole, grilled fish and and even white chili have been her recent favorites. Some of her new tricks are saying "uh-oh", usually after she throws her cup or her food off the tray of her highchair; and clapping, which she loves to do. If someone actually says "Yaayyy" she will clap insistently and many, many times. She's walking with the walker or when she holds our hands (she will even walk with the assistance of Devin and Alex, which is adorable) but isn't confident to take more than a step (usually from the couch to me) on her own.
However, the big one came today. We have gotten in the nap time routine where Isabel cuddles in bed with Alex for a minute before she's off to her crib. After cuddles we always stand at the door and (with my assistance) she blow kisses to Alex before we go. Today as soon as she was in Alex's bed she started patting her mouth and making little 'kiss' noises with her mouth. Alex and I both were so excited!
She is a very lovey and cuddly baby (I can't yet call her a toddler) and she is truly a blessing to our family. Happy Birthday Isabel!!

3.15.2009

catalog of ailments

This winter has been especially brutal in the Blake household. I have tried maintaining a positive attitude about all the illness that we have suffered, thinking it's just because the kids are all little or because we are exposed to new strains of viruses now that we live in a new area...
But this weekend just about broke me. Seriously. I'm done. My right eye is infected and was swollen shut for a day and a half. When I could finally open my eye, I quickly realized that the gelatinous red pus that was supposed to pass for my eyeball was best left unseen, and proceeded to close it much of the day (especially when children were present). This latest ailment got me thinking about how ill we have been since the new year and the results are staggering.

Since January 1, 2009 I have had bronchitis and pneumonia. Alex had a ear infection, bronchitis and a virus that caused him to run a fever for a couple days. Devin and Isabel also shared that virus, each getting ill a few days after the other rallied. Devin also had an ear infection and a stomach virus. Isabel had two ear infections and ear tube surgery, and now I have an eye infection. I am amazed not only at the volume of illness that we have faced, but also at the one name that is not part of this list. With the rest of us fighting various plagues (and looking rather nasty at times, I might add) Andy comes through unscathed. I don't know how he does it, but I am damn jealous.

3.02.2009

three miles

It has been a long time coming, but today I ran three miles. If someone had told me back in the summer of 2007 when I first got pregnant with Isabel that it would be nearly a year after her birth before I was running pretty normally again, I would have been very skeptical. But factor in the schedules and illnesses of three little kids (whose needs always come before mama's), a broken leg and pneumonia, and the timing doesn't seem as unlikely.
I am thrilled. I am finally starting to feel, and look, like myself again. Yippieeee!!