Our Christmas

Christmas as a mom is awesome.  While I rarely have the kind of fun I used to have before Clara, the fun that I have seeing the world with the wonder of a kid is much more satisfying.  I think it's the best of all worlds ... Aaron and I get to experience the wonder through Clara's eyes, but with the perspective of knowing how precious it is ... and with the privilege of helping make it so special.

This Christmas was especially fun, because Clara gets it (kind of). She learned all about Santa Claus and was particularly excited by the idea of reindeer visiting her house.  She also learned about Baby Jesus ("He wasn't borned in the hospital like Baby Audrey.  He was borned at the farm!") and had her whole class singing "Happy Birthday" to Him.  

Clara savored her gifts and especially enjoyed her "Doggy Doctor" kit and her ladybug sleeping bag (aka her "ladybag") from Gigi and Gramps.  

Audrey slept through the whole thing, which allowed us to focus on Clara, which was nice.  Next year will be awesome, though, with two little girls squealing in delight.  

We did miss the family and the snow, though.  Maybe Christmas in Pennsylvania next year?  

Things Remembered, Things Learned

This "having two kids" thing is pretty intense, but we're hanging in there!  People say you forget what it's like to have a baby (or everyone would stop at one), but it's all coming back to me.

Things I Remember

• Taking care of a newborn is totally aweso--oh wait...it kinda sucks sometimes. But the sweet times more than make up for it.
• Our friends and family are so very thoughtful and generous.
• The best way to wake up a sleepy nurser is not to tickle or undress her, but to try to take a shower, or try to nap yourself.
• "A Baby Story" on TLC is a half-hour formula commercial.
• No one in my building seems to go to work during the day.  What?
• A baby dressed in head-to-toe pink, in a pink carseat, with a pink blanket, still looks like a boy to the people on the elevator.

Things I've Learned

• My husband is more amazing than I ever realized.
• Clara consistently wakes up more at night than Audrey.  And I actually miss those nighttime opportunities to parent her. 
• My iphone is the most valuable item of baby gear I own (contractions, breastfeeding, diaper counts, appointments, shopping, sending cute pics to daddy...there's an app for that).
• "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" is really good television.  Seriously.
• Despite my intentions to do some things differently, I'm the same mama this time around.  Hopefully Audrey will turn out just as sweet and well-behaved...with none of Clara's bad habits...

Audrey's Story

She's Here!
She's arrived, and she's beautiful!  Audrey May Bowden entered the world at 9:03 p.m. on Friday, November 26.  She weighed 8 lb 11 oz and was 20 in long.  Against all odds, she has lots of dark brown hair.  A gorgeous baby, if I do say so myself.

Her Birth Story
For those who've asked, I want to share her birth story.  I started contracting around 12:30 p.m. but thought maybe the Thanksgiving leftovers were to blame for the tummy trouble.  When things weren't getting better, even after a nap with Clara, I sent Aaron and Clara to the bookstore so I could get some peace to time the contractions.  When I saw they were 4-6 minutes apart, I called Aaron and told him we needed to head to the hospital. We finished packing, got Clara settled at our cousins' house, and parked the car at 7 :00 p.m

Well, when I told Audrey not to keep me waiting, she listened!  Things progressed very quickly, and I went from 1 cm to holding a baby in less than 2 totally surreal hours. I got a last-minute epidural but had to push before it kicked in.  Everything I learned in Lamaze class went out the window.  If you were in Torrance on Friday night (like anyone is) and heard a crazy woman alternately begging the Lord for mercy and cursing an anesthesiologist ("HE LIED!"), that was me.  Sorry if I scared you.

Her Name
As many of you know, I wasn't completely sure of a name the entire pregnancy.  We just knew Clara Anya was "Clara Anya" before we even knew we were having a girl.  With Audrey, I knew I loved the name, but wasn't sure it was her name until about a week and a half before her birthday.

Aaron and I agreed when we had kids that we would choose a first name that we simply loved, and we would choose a middle name that "means something to us."  I knew that this baby's first name should convey a peacefulness, and I had it narrowed down to Audrey and Eve, both of which sound so serene to me.  Aaron loved Audrey more, so that was the working title most of the pregnancy.

The middle name was tougher, because "means something" could mean anything!  The obvious choice is to choose a family member's name, so we picked Genevieve, my only non-living grandparent (and it had that "Eve" sound I like).  But, in the final weeks, I kept feeling like we should name her after me or Aaron somehow.  We considered Audrey Keane (her daddy's middle name) or Audrey Elizabeth (at a friend's suggestion), but decided to name her after both of us.  May is the month of both mine and Aaron's birthdays (see "Lovefest" post below).  And we were married in May, in Riviera Maya.


I love it.  It is absolutely perfect on her.  And when things get hairy here in this new stage of our family, I'll say Audrey's name and think of peace and my love for my daughters' daddy.

And so concludes the first of many one-handed blog posts.

I'm Back, Baby!

So, yeah, it's been a while.  I've spent the past six months being a kick-ass full time working pregnant mother of a 2 year old.  I visited family in Illinois, Nashville, and Pennsylvania with a toddler in tow (one who thinks she is the expert on making her way through LAX).  I cowgirled up when my husband was given five hours notice that he was to spend 20 of the next 30 days traveling with the rodeo while I was 7.5 months pregnant.  I conquered a severe flea infestation.  I made and froze our Thanksgiving dinner.  I gained 36 pounds and may have done a little shopping.

But now.  Now, I am on maternity leave.  Today is my first day to myself since my 30th birthday in May 2009.  A leisurely shower, a movie on the couch, a little more shopping, and here I am!

When Clara was on the way, I figured she would be late like most first babies, but she came a bit early and I had to start my maternity leave early (i.e.,  I worked late then 22 hours of labor, no break).  I expected the same this time around, since I'm finding it next to impossible to imagine my new little girl as anything other than Clara Part II.  But maybe not...maybe this one is a little more cooperative.  She hardly ever wakes me up with kicks, she stayed inside until Daddy met his big deadline, and she is letting Mommy have at least one day of restful alone time.  Bless your heart, baby girl.

But keep it short.  First of all, Nesting + Maternity Leave + Pre-Black Friday Coupons Pouring in my Inbox + Christmas Spirit = Recipe for Overspending While I Still Can (But Shouldn't).  Not to mention the more serious equation of  Sweet Tooth + Holiday Treats + Nobody Looking = Abnormal Glucose Test Results.

Anyway, I'm happy to be here at home over the next 11 weeks and plan to keep you all posted on the fascinating goings-on of the Bowden family as it grows to include, as Clara would say, "Three Princesses ... and Aaron."

I Like Girls

In honor of Maybe, Possibly, Small Chance that We Might Find Out the Sex of the Baby Week, I thought I'd get something off my chest.  This has been bothering me ever since my peers and I entered the babymaking phase of life.  I guess I noticed it before becoming pregnant the first time, but that's when it really starting to get under my skin.  It seems that when the subject of "boy or girl" comes up (approximately 15 minutes after conception), the prevailing sentiment is "I would be fine if I had all boys.  Girls are trouble!"

Now, it's always women saying this.  (I don't think men could get away with that these days.)  What the heck is that all about?  What country are we in?  What decade is this?  As far as I can figure out, here are the common arguments:

• Girls Are Moody - Otherwise  known as sensitive, expressive, emotionally intelligent?  Aren't these qualities we love about women, once they learn (i.e., we teach them) healthy ways to channel these qualities?  
• Girls Have All Sorts of Social Issues - Otherwise known as I'm not confident enough in my parenting skills to help my daughter develop positive self-esteem, individuality, and kindness.
• Girls Are Wild -  Otherwise known as they may become pregnant before they and you are ready. This is my personal favorite.  Sounds like someone made some bad decisions in their teens and twenties that they still feel a little guilty about.  And, don't boys play a role in this equation?  No one seems to worry about that. 

When I found out Clara was girl, I felt like I had been given a wonderful gift and challenge from God.  I felt honored that I was being trusted to guide a soul through the challenges that our society puts on girls and women, with the goal of helping her become a strong, sensitive, independent-minded, gracious, smart, successful woman - the total package.  I value myself enough to know that Aaron and I are up to the challenge.  

Now, boys are wonderful, and raising a boy would be a gift as well.  I am hoping for a boy this time around for Aaron's sake.  He always imagined having a boy for whom he could be a role model, and I would love for that to happen for him.  But, I can totally picture a sister for Clara to be close with, and if that's what happens, I will view our family as complete and perfect.

Finally, Disney Pics and a Bumpdate

Ok, something’s got to give.  I can’t have a blog that I only update once a month.  The readers deserve and demand more!  My excuse thus far has been sickness (traditional and morning), and now it’s my body’s new sleep schedule.  I swear, some nights I literally fall asleep before my 22 month old. 

Since becoming a (working) mom, I’ve already given up cooking, cleaning, baths, reading, watching tv, exercising, looking nice, booze (mostly), and adult company and conversation.  What else is there?  Lunch hour.  That’s when I’ll blog.  And maybe it will keep me out of Target, at least from 12 – 1 pm on weekdays, which is a start.

So, as you’ve heard, Disneyland was a huge success.  So much, in fact, that Clara is now dissatisfied with her previous favorite weekend activities of the going to the beach and the park.  We’ll arrive at those very fun destinations, only to hear ten minutes in, “See more castles?  Go to Minnie Mouse’s house more?”  We’ve told her Disney is for birthdays only, and we’ll take her in July when she turns two.  Here are some pics of the magical day (taken with my new, compact, and simple to use camera, thank you, Aaron!):

1

And now for the bumpdate (update on the bump, get it?):  This week I entered my second trimester. The morning sickness for the most part is gone, except on Mondays, when it randomly rears its ugly head.  I can’t stomach the thought of pizza, and yet when presented with one, I somehow manage to eat the whole thing.  This time in the pregnancy is uncomfortable for me emotionally, because it’s a month between each appointment, and I am not yet feeling the baby move, so I just have to have faith that everything is progressing smoothly.  I have an appointment on June 3, so I’ll get to hear the heartbeat again, and I’ll also get authorization for my “big ultrasound” during which we get to find out the sex, which should be in about four to six weeks.  Think blue (hence the new blog layout)!

Happy Here!

Lovefest 2010

I am sure that all my dedicated followers (hey, Mark!) have been eagerly awaiting a Happy Here update. Well, the past five weeks or so have been a little less than happy here, due to the relentless string of colds and ear infections in our house, with the accompanying pain, guilt, helplessness, discouragement and exhaustion. Does that sound a little dramatic? Well, then you’ve never been a working mom with a toddler who has bum ears. But that’s a whole other ball of wax.

Thankfully, we are emerging from the muck and into the best month of the year. May = Lovefest in our house, which is a month-long celebration of love and Bowdens. On May 8, we celebrate the birth of yours truly, followed by the newly-instituted celebration of me being a mommy, and then later in the month we celebrate our wedding anniversary, and Aaron’s birthday is the cherry on top!

May means flowers, jewelry, fancy dinners, hand-written love letters, days at the spa, weekend vacations, and lot of cake.  And that’s just for me. Aaron is actually a tremendous gift-giver. This surprised me, because Aaron isn’t really into “stuff.” But, man-oh-man does he spoil me. Last year, when Lovefest encompassed my 30th birthday, first mother’s day, and our 5th wedding anniversary, well, let’s just say I really made out.

This is really sweet, but there is a downside, because I’m usually left scrambling to come up with a good plan to celebrate Aaron, when I thought we were just going to be “low key this year.” This is further compounded by Aaron always returning everything I ever buy him. Once, we were shopping and Aaron pointed to a mannequin and said, “I would look awesome in that.” Yes, he said that. So I bought what the mannequin was wearing. Aaron returned it. Another time, Aaron wanted a corduroy blazer. I bought one (for Christmas, not Lovefest), and it looked great on him. Yet he wasn’t convinced there wasn’t something better out there. So we trudged through every men’s store in Santa Monica. I was ready to sign divorce papers by the end of the day. Guess what we ended up buying? The same damn blazer I had put under the tree. About three years ago, Aaron decided he wanted a new Eagles tee shirt. Well, his dad bought him a couple, which he wears, but they weren’t “the one.” So he’s been shopping, and shopping, and shopping. Finally, three weeks ago, he found his Eagles shirt. (I have to admit, it is pretty sweet.) Maybe there is some deeply-rooted hunting instinct thing going on?  Just shoot a damn deer and get it over with.

Anyway, this year we are kicking off the celebration with a mini-vacay. One of the best things about California is the wide variety of accessible weekend destinations that make you feel like you’ve had a real vacation (which I swear, we’ll never have). San Francisco is an hour plane ride, then there’s San Diego, Vegas, a number of national parks, wine country, Tahoe, Santa Barbara, Catalina, et cetera. We have settled on Disneyland, with a two-night stay at a hip boutique hotel in Anaheim (get me out of my sick house!). Planning the vacation is almost as much fun for me as the actual vacation, so I’ve got lists out the wazoo. What a treat! Stay tuned next week-ish for an update, with lots of cute Clara pics at “Mickey Mouse’s House.”

Cheers to Lovefest!