Here we are now, entertain us

Air-spoon tribute to 20 years of Nirvana

Galoshes

3!

As Sela asked us to borrow the car keys the other day to go out on the town, prefaced with, "I'm in the 3 year-old room," and an all-knowing raise of the eyebrows that indicated, "need I say more?", we knew that she indeed was growing big and mature. Mature enough to get her own water when she feels "drinky", and mature enough to put on her own tutu over her shorts before going on a jog with mom, and certainly mature enough to find the best hide-and-go-seek hiding places in the middle of an empty floor by laying face down with her eyes covered. Need I say more? Happy birthday, big girl.


OK, so this is grandma's birthday, but she is also a big girl.

As I am forced to listen to an online lecture about preventing fires in the operating room and how to properly clean your colonoscope (in any way relevant to me?), I will write about our vacation last month to Southern Colorado. I remember sitting on a big rock with Mika up a canyon in college looking at a "cool swoop" in the pattern in the rock wall and discussing, in the very profound way that you discuss things in college, the hope to find people to share life with who have the approximate same definition, or at least an unspoken understanding of the meaning of the word "cool" that we already knew to be true. When he is not leaving me for adventures in more exotic places of the world (not cool), then I'm lucky enough to be able to convey complex intricacies and details of a situation to Dan with the simple few words of "it was so cool!". I also know that I can still tell Mika and Mark, when we visit, that we need to have good tacos, a great hike, or the perfect camping spot, and not much more needs be said. Raise up your glass of Minute Maid orange juice to cool friends and cool places.

4th of July

The days of matching dresses begins...

Somewhere along the way, I started to think that you aren't truly a good mother unless you can make matching dresses for your girls, and so it begins. Dan is just dying to get a matching vest.

Italy and India

This summer was crazy. It seems like I was never in the same place for two weeks in a row. Work took over life and all I have is a few pictures for Sela. I did get lucky enough to catch up with family on one of the many trips and saw Rome while catching a conference.

Incognito

I have recently been able to walk around the produce section at the grocery without engaging in conversations about people's health or the welfare of their various body parts or fluids. This is nice, but sometimes, my own father and grandfather aren't sure that it is me when they see me. This weekend, I walked into a wedding of a good friend and went to sit down among some other friends. Luckily, they also did not want to engage in conversation about people's health or the welfare of their various body parts or fluids. In fact it took them a bit to even realize it was me now that the girl with long, straight, blond hair is only a closet identity. Also, I didn't trip once during the whole event, so they probably wondered at my grace. Of course, I couldn't claim too much grace as I boogied on the dance floor with a sleeping baby in my arms, wandered around after a two year old with chocolate milk down her dress who periodically likes to lay down on the floor and yell for effect (luckily not at the event), and today, toured FDR's sophisticated home with a diaper on the baby's head since I left her hat in the car. The look is suprisingly like an old fashioned baby bonnet, so maybe it was actually appropriate.

I was reminded, though, that there are many friends that you can go long periods without seeing, go through a few changes, but still easily connect.

Adirondaks

From our recent attempt to crash Dan's work trip in the Adirondaks...
Nana is getting her diaper expertly changed here.

While the two of us are just messing around, Sela and Grandma are very serious about making sand birthday cakes for every member of the extended family. If anyone reading this wonders if you were included, don't worry, you probably were. (Each cake was also accompanied by song.)

What is not readily apparent here is that half of our flesh is missing due to being consumed by ravenous insects.

Plotting to destroy ravenous insects.

Happy Girl

We thought it would be a good idea to not have the last pictures be of Skye in the hospital since that is now just a dark memory. Our present image of her is a very happy one that makes me smile just to think of it.

Off O2!

Skye has decided to kick her oxygen habit. The squinty grins are back. We said goodbye to the oxygen bar and chest massage spa today and headed home after 8 long days.

Happy birthday to me! Happy first day of Spring.

Tired of here

(she looks better than this now, but this is the only picture that I have)

I know that Skye must be getting better and we are now both trying hard to entertain ourselves in this small ICU room. This afternoon, she was trying her darndest to suck her elbow. I decided to try to lick mine, too. Here we are, trying to suck our elbows together while one of us can get enough oxygen despite the stale hospital air, and one of us can't quite do it on her own, yet.

This has been a new experience in figuring out how many hats you can wear and which one trumps out if you are talking about the doctor mom conflict. While I was worrying at home about how sick my little girl was getting, I was not good about being objective - the worried mom part was overpowering. When trying to know when she needed to go to the hospital, I don't know what got in the way more - the doctor role or the mom role as they were swirling together. Dan apparently had a little trouble, too. He gave the wrong name to the admissions person when we first got to the ER and told them that the baby is 2 years old instead of two months. I'm getting tearful now thinking about the stress of those couple of days at home when she kept getting sicker and sicker - when she should have turned the corner and started to improve. Tearful because it was horrible, and also because I'm very tired and I can't lick my elbow.

I decided in the end, that this week, although in a hospital, I am just the mom (with a doctor perspective).

The amazing things are that I have complete faith in her full recovery and that we have had so much support that put our minds at ease about so many things. To name a few, two friends to give me the objectivity that I needed when they met us at the hospital/clinic, and the friends that have taken on the older sister this week so that we don't have to worry about her well being. "Blessings in adversity" I think is how the lesson goes.

I have to admit being excited when this was done, even if Sela could care less....

Enjoying Snow