I have Found My People

After months of questioning and fruitless googles I finally realized that if you type "baby skis" instead of "toddler skis," the cyber world will answer. This awesome website seems to provide some realistic and useful info for parents who want to teach their tots to ski. At last, I am not crazy! I did not just imagine the toddlers riding ski lifts during my brief career as a snowboard instructor. There are others who have gone before (the baby above is just 7 months and didn't start walking until 12 months!). My role will obviously be very limited since I myself do not ski, but with Heidi's capacity for movement, the more activities she can do outside the better. The nice thing about baby skis is you can just pull your kids around the foothills to get them some practice. It will be great: dog in one hand, skiing baby in the other, pregnant Mama wondering what she was thinking...let it snow!

Newbaby!

Clearly the 1st trimester is over at the rate I am now blogging. The wind is back in my sails and my mind is awake enough to actually think about the new baby that is on the way!

My due date, after much confusion, has been resolved: April 21. So I will expect a baby on May 5. However, from conversation with my midwife, it's doubtful that they will let us hang out for two weeks post-due date, since I'm trying to not have a C-section this time...I forget all the reasons why. Clearly a second child.

Plus, we had an ultra-sound already! It was a bit distracting, since Heidi was scared about all the things they were doing to mommy so the magical moment was a bit muffled with toddler screams. But it was magical, nonetheless--at only 15 weeks, the baby was harder to see, but like her sister, v. active and jumpy. Here we go.

I'm starting to browse baby-gear again, and daydream about fantastical nursery/girls' room innovations--or maybe a boy's room? That thought just occurred to me. We are going to find out, but the tech and I are fairly certain we are having another girl so I haven't even thought about the design possibilities for a boy...whoa, that just brought on the fatigue.

Remind me to have a purpose when I sit down to blog: oh, here's what it was--I am getting really excited about our second baby!! Not that I wasn't, but you know how it goes; it's hard to remember that sometimes in the throes of chasing the one we have.

I'm onto you!

For as long as I can remember, I have been stealing books from my parents, mostly from Dad. Since my dad is like me and tends to hoard rather than actually finish books, he has been all-forgiving of this weakness and only takes them back if he has need of them, and even then, he asks, as if the book was actually mine. If anyone has ever admired my small library, they should thank him.

One of my favorites conquests is an old copy of Tolkien's The Father Christmas Letters, which I was reminded of while reading Kelle's Christmas post over at Enjoying the Small Things, a blog I tend to leave open for long periods of time simply because I like her music. I'm too tired to go into the loveliness that is this book. Just trust me. And I don't have time to go on about my theory that it is really Tolkien's best and most important work, and all that stuff about how important it is to instill imagination in your kids, even if it means spending lots of time creating authentic-looking postage stamps from the North Pole and composing stories about the Polar Bears, Northern Lights, Elves, and Goblins that live there. And I have even less time to expound on the whole magical concept of Northness (Narnia and the North!) that Lewis and Tolkien both refer to constantly in their work and their imaginary and spiritual worlds....

This post is about finding the culprit who stole The Father Christmas letters from me! It seems to be missing from my shelf--I thought that if I could haul it all the way out here to the desert, it would be mine for keeps, but some other Tolkien-junkie snuck off with it. I'm attached to that copy; it has a Wheaton College Bookstore sticker from the 1970s on the back, for crying out loud. It's vintage!

And I have my suspects. namely a certain special one who actually dressed up as an elf for the movie release and spent the day of said release watching Tolkien movies outside in the falling snow with her elf ears on. How northy is that?

Open to confessions.

Let's Salvage What we Can

If you go to this website, there is a petition you can sign that will be sent to Congress, as one of our President Elect's first objectives will be to ensure that there are no limitations on our country's most shameful sin.

Latest Installment of Too Many Photos

Heidi is learning more each day. I don't have the photos yet of her unplugging all the baby proof thingies from the outlets, but we are of course very proud of that skill as well. It's great for our adrenaline, especially when she tries to put them back while telling herself "no!"

She brushes her own hair,

Sight reads almost anything, (from watching all those piano lessons)
Dog whispers,
And teaches Una new tricks like smelling the flowers,
Climbs onto all furniture,
And reorganizes the tupperware on a daily basis!

Also, a brief note on my ambiguous post for husband two posts ago: he was presenting at a conference in Monterey and of course pulled it off fabulously (as always). The paranoid side of me didn't want to mention that he was out of town in hopes that I would sleep better...but anyways, that's what that post was for. I was hoping that he would see it before his presentation, but oh well.

TMI, but it's what memories are made of...right?

Real, Actual Conversation & Events from last night:

Scene: Wife is in bath with book. Husband is in bed with book.

Husband: Come to bed already, please!

Me: I smell smoke! The fireplace must be leaking!

Husband: I don't smell anything.

Me: I swear, the fireplace is leaking!

(Husband jumps out of bed and runs to family room, then returns)

Husband: There is nothing leaking from the fireplace.

Me: But I still smell the smoke! Something is burning!

(Husband takes a sweeping glance at bathroom)

Husband: It's your book. You put it on the candle. Your book is burning up behind your head.

Me: Oh. (removes book, extinguishes flames, gets dressed, opens windows, gets more water, etc.)

Husband: Just go to bed already!

Me (getting into bed): That was kind of funny, right?

Husband (dozing off): Like dumb funny.

Me: Don't you love my little quirks?

Husband: Just please, go to sleep!

(20 minutes later)

Husband: Quirks.

(5 minutes later)

Husband: I love you.

You probably already know what I said back.