Fingers Crossed

What a January we had! After Henry got over his double ear infection and RSV, we got through Christmas, New Years, and we all headed back to work/daycare/life. Or so we thought. First it was the flu (and for those of you that use the term flu when connected with throwing up, that's not the flu -- The flu is a respiratory virus that makes you feel like death for days and never wants to go away, and this years flu was especially bad), but we didn't know it was that until it landed on Ryan's and my doorstep. Henry got over it quickly (and therefore didn't think it was the flu)-- most likely because he's the only one in our house that got the flu vaccine this year. He had a high fever for 2 days, it broke, and then a runny nose and cough. The humidifier hummed in his room and he was again happy as a clam. Ryan and I on the other hand felt like death. Death that had to take care of a 16 month old. And just as Ryan and I were starting to feel normal again, the stomach virus hit. It was a sneak attack -- crept up on us in the middle of the night and the bombs kept falling for days. Henry went down first, but like most kids, he didn't act very ill, and really just needed a lot of cuddling, being read to, and an watchful eye of fluid intake to make sure he didn't get dehydrated. Ryan fell next, landing in bed for a day. And me? I thought I escaped it all being that my hands were raw from all the hand washing and the bleach that I had used on every surface imaginable. I wasn't so lucky, I woke up two days later and stayed all day in bed not remembering the last time I had felt so awful (or the last time I was in bed past 6:30am!). Thankfully it wasn't the whole family at once and we didn't have to call in for reinforcements. Charlie was a big help and snuggled with each family member at the appropriate times. Thankfully we are all healthy once again and back on track.

Henry finally feeling like himself again :) 

Henry is 17 months -- he has 12 teeth, he's growing like a weed, and has become so obsessed with whales. It's usually one of the first things out of his mouth in the morning. "Mama, milk? Whales?" I'm not sure where the whale obsession came from, but it's pretty darn cute. And just if anyone wants to know -- there aren't a ton of books dedicated to only whales for young children. You need a shark book? Sure, you can find boat loads of those, but whales? Not so much. I thought I would try to support some local business and find some books close to home. No such luck. Good thing this Mama is an amazon.com regular (okay, daily) user and clicked away and in no time had some whale books that made Mr. Henry's face light up like the Christmas tree we took down last month. And please don't get me started on the fact that my husband, bless his heart, thought it would be a great idea to show his obsessive son some kid-friendly whale videos on the computer. (Henry doesn't watch TV - the few times he's seen a TV on, he's been so still I thought he had fallen asleep standing up... nope, just the magic box at work making your brain slow down...). So on top of Henry talking about whales, he now runs into the office, points to the computer says, "Dada, whale", followed by a pleading scream as if to say "TURN IT ON, NOW!!!" Awesome.

So, we have a  healthy* 17 month old with 12 teeth who loves whales/monkeys/(insert any animal here)/snowmen/snow in general/bubble baths/his frog pillow pet/ his dog Charlie/yogurt and yam loving baby toddler who is on the go-go-go.

Henry - 17 months!!

Another thing Henry loves? Snow!! He loves loves loves it - loves putting his boots on and heading out into the snow with Charlie. We recently got Henry a sled and loves being pulled around the neighborhood, fast! 

Snow, snow, snow!

*At time of posting, Henry is sleeping and we never know what the morning will bring, but crossing our fingers that the past month of illness buys us some sort of reprieve from the rest of this flu/cold season? Okay, I'll take a common cold/runny nose thing... just no more throwing up!

We hope everyone else is dodging the flu/stomach virus and that cold/flu season is over very very soon!

Love,

The Beach Family 

Lists

I miss reading. Scratch that. I read a lot, but I miss reading literature suited for adults. And I miss being able to read for long periods of time... in the middle of the day... on a beach. Okay okay, I'm getting greedy now, but it's hard fit in any reading these days with a job and a toddler running full steam ahead. At the end of the day when I crawl into bed, I eagerly open my kindle, but I usually give into the heavy eyelids and drift off to sleep hoping that tomorrow might be different and I might have enough energy to get to the next chapter. I belong to a book club. I use the word "belong" very loosely in the last sentence, because in the past 18 months I attended book club twice. I think I should say this: there is a book club with amazing women who are smart, beautiful, and funny and they talk about books, drink wine, and laugh for a few hours on a Thursday night once a month. I used to go and I need to go back to that book club. This need is on my 2013 list.

Yes, yes, I'm one of those that has a list, but don't we all? We may not actually take pen to paper with these lists, but we all have them. Running marathons, writing books, reading books, losing the last 10 pounds, save for retirement, be a better person, go to culinary school, have a better relationship with your parents... all those "what I want to accomplish before it's too late things". And so, sandwiched between my Trader Joe's and Costco lists on my iphone is my 2013 list. I can't share it in its entirety with you, but it's a good list. A list that I can accomplish or I am hoping I can. In no particular order is:

- Run another half marathon and/or The 5/3 River Bank Run
- Go to Book Club More (see! on my list)
- Write more. Blog, write letters to Henry, to my future self, a book, anything other than legal writing.
- Learn how to use my DSLR camera Ryan got me for my birthday. (In non-auto settings!)
- Take a vacation with my husband (we haven't been on vacation alone since our honeymoon. We're due)
- And to follow up with the vacation is to go on a date night 1x/month (Mom, Mother-in-law, Aunt Lindsey, are you reading this? We need babysitters!!)
- More patience. It seems simple, but not so simple for a Type-A personality who likes things just so. If you notice I put "more patience", I added the more because I think I have patience, I just need a little more. But who doesn't.
- And then there are a few more items that I will leave off, because, well, you don't need to know everything.

The great thing about lists -- you can add to them and crossing things off is fun and motivating.  And so, today, I'm knocking off a few things on my list. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill, I'm writing a blog, and I'm about to download the next book for book club that I will try really hard to attend later this month. Oh, and tomorrow? Henry is going to Grandma and Grandpa's so Ryan and I can have a day for us. Another list item. 2013 is off to a great start!

And because I'm a proud Mama-here are a few photos from yesterday

I asked Henry what was on his shirt and he started making airplane sounds :) 

Oh, and Mr. Rosy Cheeks here? Getting his 12th tooth right now. 6 teeth in the past 8 weeks!

And we headed out in the snow yesterday for some fresh air... I also used the outdoor non-auto setting for this photo. Yep, another list item :) 

Lots of love and list-making,

Mama Beach

Holiday.... Celebrate....

The Christmas tree is finally down, our house has been reclaimed, yet is now storing a few more items that we acquired this holiday season. We had a great Christmas, but it started out a bit rough as Henry came down with a cold that turned into a double ear infection and RSV (nasty respiratory virus.)  When Henry's fever was finally gone, and his runny nose was getting under control, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Beach's house for Christmas Eve and enjoyed the entire day there. Henry arrived in his pjs, enjoyed blueberry waffles and then opened gifts. We had a great day with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Lindsey. We loaded our sleigh and went home, put Henry to bed on Christmas eve, set the scene for Christmas morning and went to bed with smiles on our face, ready to enjoy Christmas morning at our house! Henry's face was pure joy when he walked into the living room and saw the tower of blocks Daddy had built, his new dump truck, new puzzles and his Christmas tree all lit up.  After a yummy breakfast, we packed up and headed to the west side of the mitten for Christmas #3 with the Sobczak family. More gifts, more hugs, more celebration, and lots of fun. The Christmas tree may be down, but we are still enjoying the spirit of Christmas at our house. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with love and light!

A few pics to start off the new year... 

LOVED the Christmas tree!

Lion chair from Aunt Lindsey!

New pjs, new slippers, and we read Henry's new book "Llama llama red pajama."

Mommy and Henry Christmas morning

Daddy helping open a new gift

Taking it all in...

Enjoying Christmas morning in his pjs and slippers

Grandma Sobczak's house: Henry's new kitchen -- checking it out!

"Hmmmm, what should I cook today?"

"Awesome, Thanks Grandma Sobczak!"

Baby from Aunt Katie

Henry in Momma's rocking chair from when she was a baby

Family Photo take 1

A little better, take 2

Momma and Henry -- end of Christmas day and Christmas #3... a little tuckered out!

Grandma, Aunt Katie, and Henry cooking up a storm

"What would you like, Momma?"

Henry's first time playing in the snow! Loved it -- so did Charlie!

Henry and Grandma

Making tracks... 

Happy New Year!!

Love,

The Beach Family 

Growing up isn't easy.... for Momma.

My Dearest Henry, 

I knew the time would come when when you would no longer breastfeed, I just didn't think it would come so soon. Soon you say? Yes, soon. You are only approaching 16 months, and although I didn't have a specific amount of time in mind, I just became accustomed to my very enthusiastic nursing baby, err, I mean toddler. Yes, you are walking, talking, running, jumping, but you are still, and always will be, my baby boy. 

I'm amazed at how fast the past 16 months have gone. In the blink of an eye you became a little boy with a smile for days, laughter that fills my entire heart, and energy that could fuel an army. But when I look back at our first moments -- after a long, long labor, when you made your grand entrance, and there you were -- baby boy Beach was lying on my stomach looking at me (so alert!) ready for action. Within moments, you were able to latch on. I couldn't have been happier. The first few days were tough, and by tough, I mean ouch! It hurt every time you latched on -- my nipples cracked and bled, but I was nursing and you were growing! At your first pediatricians visit 2 days after leaving the hospital, you had gained back the 4 oz lost at the hospital, and gained an additional 3/4 of a pound. I felt like a mom with super milk! It was all the motivation I needed to keep going!

And then came your reflux at 4 weeks old, which caused so much pain to all of us. All you wanted to do was eat, and then cried after eating because your stomach was all in knots, and then wanted to eat more because the milk made your stomach feel better, and round and round we went. Figuring out dairy was our problem, I eliminated all dairy and all milk protein from my diet. A tough undertaking for a vegetarian, but we didn't want meds in your pristine baby system, so if it meant Momma had to eat upside down and "jam" the entire 1993 Phish summer tour, so be it. I would do it. And I did. Once again: happy baby. (Okay, I didn't have to "jam" to Phish, but that would have made for a happy Daddy too!) 

We've had some ups and downs over the past 16 months, haven't we? I thought you were weening at 9 months, but it was just you being you and by "you" I mean being busy by standing and learning to walk and not wanting to take time out of your busyness to stop and nurse. But we got back on track, as we always had and continued on our journey. You grew fast -- always in the 90th percentile in height and 55th in weight. (Let's not talk about the head, because that just goes back to whole "it took a long time for you to enter this world" story). You started to walk, run, jump, talk and could communicate when you wanted to nurse. Sure sure, it took you awhile to sleep through the night -- maybe a bit of my own fault because as tired as I was, I didn't mind nursing you at 5am. I loved those moments, all our moments. And the fact that you didn't get sick until you were 13 months was even more motivation to keep going. And just as we have settled into a morning and night routine, you look up at me with those big blue eyes with lashes for days and simply say, "no no Mama", jump off my lap and speed off to your next adventure. My heart ached as my tiny baby was no longer a baby anymore. 

To put it simply: I am amazed at the human body and all it does to bring a child into this world and then feed that child for so many months. I'm not going to fool  you or anyone into thinking that it was picturesque, because it wasn't. The picture perfect woman with that glow (hot flashes!) in a rocking chair with perfectly curled hair and baby nursing so sweetly in her arms. Nope, not me. I was a hot mess after giving birth, but I will cherish those first pictures of us nursing forever. Nursing isn't easy, your breasts leak and hurt, and it takes awhile to get in the groove. But once you do: it's great and I wouldn't trade it in for anything. 

I'm proud of you darling little man -- that you were ready to stop on your own, because I don't think I would have ever pushed it. When people asked how long I would nurse you, my reply was always "until Henry wants to stop", and that's exactly what happened -- I just didn't think it would be this soon. If you are truly ready, then I will try to be too. If you ask for more, I will do my best to provide.  I'm trying to be okay with this big step. I'm trying to hide my tears, but after 16 months there's an emptiness that will be very hard to fill. But if you would rather me hold you and rock you before bed, I'm going to cherish those moments the same as I have cherished all the others. I'm looking forward to all the milestones that are waiting for us on this amazing journey, I just hope I can keep up with you. 

I love you, Henrypie. 

Love,

Mama

Roar!

Although the Tigers didn't win the world series, Henry still sported his super cute (err, I mean scary!) Tiger costume! He had lots of fun trick or treating on our street and enjoyed looking at all of our neighbors decorations. Henry has been obsessed with pumpkins since his first glance a few months ago. One of his first words was "ball," so appropriately he has been calling pumpkins "balls" and pointed to every pumpkin on the block saying "ball!!!!" I'm not sure what will happen next week when all the balls have been tossed in the trash and are gone until next year, but until then we will have our plastic pumpkin available for backup!

We picked out pumpkins ....

Henry LOVED his pumpkins!

Practiced putting on the costume the day before...

Carving the pumpkins!

Our 3 pumpkins.

Getting ready to head out..

Happy Halloween! 

Roar!!!

Our house for Halloween

Ready to Trick or Treat!

Cruising down the sidewalk with Daddy

"Trick or Treat!!!"

Heading home... what a fun time we had!

Checking out his loot!!!

(and no, he did not eat any candy -- not this year!)

We hope everyone had a great Halloween! 

xo,

The Beach Family

I feel like I'm forgetting something...

Before I had Henry and lost part (okay, more than 50%) of my brain, I never had to write a grocery list,  never needed multiple reminders to do anything, I was very (very) organized, and never missed appointments, bills were also sent in weeks before their due date, and my car was also serviced at the appropriate time. When I was pregnant, I was given advice to keep a journal and/or write the baby letters to memorialize all our experiences. I laughed internally at these suggestions. Who were these people talking to? Didn't they know me? Had they not seen my office at work -- my calendar system, all synced with my iphone/google calendar/ical at home so I would never, not ever, miss a thing. All my paperwork was always in order - labeled and filed.  But in reality, I didn't need this crazy advanced  system, because it was all in.my.brain.

Fast forward to today. That calendar system? All those notes for deadlines, appointments, and reminders set on my iphone? It's my lifeline. Vitamins, dog's heart worm pill, court appearances, and reminders when leaf pick up day is...all in my calendar, and it is an absolute must that they are in my calendar, because there is no way this side of hell that I would remember otherwise. Henry must have hit some internal switch on his way out that turned off part of my brain. No worries, though, I have my backup system full of all the awesome technology... I'm just not quite sure what will happen if the network ever flatlines. That's a thought I don't want to tackle right now.

And that whole "write to your kid idea?" I tried to embrace it early on. I bought a beautiful new journal, and I wrote in it religiously the first few months (before Henry started rolling over/moving...) I wrote a lot, I even remembered to write the entire birth story down before I forgot it forever. But now? There are some dates, number of teeth, and milestones jotted down -- things I want to make sure I remember, but there are no complete thoughts. Even this blog was supposed to help me write things down, keep others updated, but well, you can see how the entries have been a bit more spread out? Sigh. So, to all those Moms out there that I silently judged, I apologize. I now know why you have stacks of papers in your house, baskets of unfolded laundry, stacks of "to-read" books, and bins full of pictures that never found a place in photo albums. If we are going to be honest, it has taken me two full days to complete this blog entry.

The bottom line is that at the end of the day when your child is finally asleep, you (well, I do at least) do a little victory dance saying "I did it, I made it through the day!" And then like a first responder, you tackle the most dire tasks first: Dishes, laundry (diapers and clothing essentials for the next day), important emails, online bill pay, etc. And then you look at the clock, you see how much time you have until it is essential you shut your eyes for the night and you decide: Do I work out to get rid of the last 10 Henry pounds? Do I spend time with my husband? Write in said journal you promised yourself you would do once a week, or read the next book for the book club you want to go to, but so often fail to attend (as it starts at 8:30 and you're just plain exhausted by then), or do I just go to bed?

But enough about me -- my brain will catch up someday. Right?

Henry!
14 months old!

Favorite Book: "Good Night Gorilla" -- Loves to read and be read to -- a lot!
Number of teeth: 8
Favorite songs: Itsy bitsy Spider, ABC's.
Loves to: Dance!
Best Friend: Charlie
He's a talking machine! My favorite part of the day is listening to Ryan and Henry's morning conversation when Ryan gets Henry up and changes his diaper. Melts my heart to hear Henry's sing songy voice discuss the morning events with Ryan!

I'm getting so big!

Roar, I'm a Tiger!

Loves to read

"Vroom Vroom!"

Daddy and Henry

"Mom, I would really like to go outside with Charlie"

"Cruising around the hood"

"Dad, pick me up!"

We needed a picture of Charlie in the mix :) 

Super cool guy!