D – Page 9 – Jocelyn Rau

December 14, 2011January 4, 2012

That home of which I spoke

So the other weekend I took D down to Peoria to visit my dad and his side of the family. I only make it down there about twice a year max, simply because it’s usually a 3.5+ hour drive and I’m pretty lazy. Not kidding.

But we had a wonderful visit. We spent time with one of my aunts, who absolutely adores D; my grandma, who is also head-over-heels for this little girl; one of my uncles who my dad brought into town to stay the weekend with us; one of my aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mom’s side; and of course my dad and his girlfriend. It was really nice to just sit and be with everyone, and not feel like we had to constantly rush around or worry about gifts, like we do when we visit closer to Christmas. Plus there was no snow – a HUGE bonus when making the drive by myself with a 16 month old passenger.

Here are a couple snapshots from our trip, just because. I haven’t lived in Peoria since I went to college, and the home where I spent half of my formative years was sold when my parents divorced and my mom moved to the Chicagoland area. So it’s always kind of weird going back to my hometown without having an actual home there. Fortunately we are blessed to have family who loves us and always opens their doors.

Because who likes to wear shoes and socks when they travel?

D and her Great-Grandma Ruby, engrossed in a book

p10 — D and Grandpa, reading by the fire

D watching the Bears game w/her Great-Uncle Nate

December 10, 2011December 14, 2011

A birthday wish

May your day be filled with smiles and laughter.

May your cake be sweet and candles bright.

May your dreams be fulfilled and your expectations exceeded. Continue reading “A birthday wish”

December 8, 2011December 8, 2011

Only 2 weeks late {pictures!!}

So here it is, FINALLY. My Thanksgiving recap post. In pictures. Exactly 2 weeks late. Ahem. It was awesome.

tg1 — The table all nicely set and ready for food

We had enough food for a family of 10 and proceeded to eat leftovers until this week. R said we should really have taken some to a shelter, to which I agreed, but unfortunately they have pretty strict rules about donated food and its preparation/handling. So we are still finishing up the pumpkin torte. It was a wonderful day at home, just the 3 of us – our little family. And yes, that is a mini Packers jersey D is wearing. R wouldn’t even let me put a cute little holiday outfit on her. Hmpf.

And since I made you wait so long for some pictures, here are a few bonus shots. Because no day is complete without an abundance of D.

tg11 — D helping Mommy put her ornament on 1st

tg12 — She's now ADDICTED to her chocolate advent calendars

December 6, 2011

Memories Captured

A picture, a word, a memory.

December 1, 2011February 1, 2012

16 month stats

Happy 16 month birthday, Squeaker! And Happy December to the rest of you. December, though? Wow, how did that happen? This whole year up until the fall seemed to go by at just the right pace – neither too fast nor too slow – but these past couple months, man. They’ve FLOWN by. And I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that Christmas will be here in just weeks, since this year I’ll be focused more on getting us all packed and ready to fly across a good chunk of the planet before Santa makes his rounds. It feels kind of weird.

But anyway, back to the star of the show, D. Fortunately we haven’t had to go to the doctor since last month’s well-baby visit, so I would estimate her stats as about 33″ tall and weighing between 23-24 lbs. I read back through her 15 months stats, and honestly, not much has changed at all. These are really about the only 2 things different for this month:

She now has 16 teeth. The top left cuspid is in (it was just starting to poke through in last month’s entry), and the top left first molar is now poking through as well. Fortunately the main symptom of teething for these 2 was just a lot of chewing on her fingers. Totally manageable.
The little booty is growing. She now wears size 4 diapers during the days and size 5s overnight. Thank heavens people told me about the 1-size-bigger-at-night trick, for the morning pee lakes in her crib are now much fewer and farther between than they were for awhile there this summer.

It’s so fun watching D grow into this awesome little kid. For there isn’t much baby left to her anymore – she really is a little girl. Aww…

p.s. I ran again last night for the 1st time in a month. OUTSIDE. I decided to break my no-running-outside-unless-it’s-above-50-degrees rule, because I’ve been feeling like my twice weekly early morning workouts just aren’t cutting it. Plus I figured I’d take advantage of what may have been the last “mild” day of the year (it was 42 degrees when i drove home from work). I ran 2.86 miles in 26:45, for a 9:21 pace. Not very fast, but I knew it wouldn’t be after taking such a long break. It felt pretty good though overall – comfortable pace, my abs didn’t feel as jiggly as they usually do when I run, my lungs didn’t burn from the cold too much (although my hands were pretty cold), and I felt like I could’ve even gone further. Let’s not get crazy, though. It was getting darker and colder by the minute, and I much prefer running in the sunlight than in the moonlight.

p.p.s. I’m taking D down to Peoria to visit my dad and his side of the family tomorrow for a long weekend, so I’ll see you in a few days. Have a great weekend!

November 22, 2011December 6, 2011

Capture the Everyday

Remember Mel from Week in My Life fame? Well she also does a weekly link-up entitled Capture the Everyday. The challenges are to capture images that represent our everyday, with a different “topic” each week. I haven’t linked up before, but this week’s was just too fitting not to participate – capture something for which you are thankful.

I am so incredibly fortunate to have many, many things in my life for which to be thankful – my health, my sanity, my family, my friends, my well-being, my home, my job… But when I think of for what I am most thankful, the answer is pretty obvious. This…

And this…

Head on over to Adventuroo to see more of this week’s Capture the Everyday:

And for what are you most thankful now, in this season of giving, as well as in your own everyday?

November 17, 2011February 10, 2012

A mama in the darkness

Tiny hands explore my face as I rock you with your bottle.

The left one grazes my chin and cheek, searching for a strand of hair to twirl. The right one feels my ear and finds my earring. Usually it twists your own hair, but tonight you want mine.

I hope I always remember their touch, their tiny strokes.

Will there be more someday? Right now it is just me and you, and you have all of me.

Your legs dangle off my lap, not kicking about tonight. Calm, ready for bed. You’re getting so big.

Your warm head, fresh from a bath, nestled in the bend of my left elbow. It fits perfectly.

I rock, you drink. It’s early, but you’re tired already and I can tell it’s time.

The snuffles and grunts as you swallow the last milk of the day soon turn into the slow breaths and little snores of your slumber. Sleep comes easily tonight.

I watch you, breathing in every second and trying to etch the memory in my mind for all time.

I smile down at you in the darkness, your eyelids having fluttered shut for the final time for sleep. Tears well up in my eyes, for I know this era is fleeting.

I don’t want it to go.

They say we have to give this up soon, but not tonight. Not now.

You don’t need to be burped anymore, but I put you on my shoulder when the bottle is done anyway. I love when you sleep up there. You fit.

Your little left hand falls to rest on my left shoulder as you turn yourself around, getting comfortable in your dreams. I kiss it, then your cheek as I lay you in your crib. Face down, knees pulled in underneath you, bottom up in the air. Your favorite position.

I love you. Every piece of you. Every fiber of your being and every sparkle of your soul, wherever it may take you. Hopefully not too far away.

I will always love you like this. Forever.

This was originally intended to only be a little ode to D, but it just so happens to fit in with a couple writing prompts. So I’m linking up at both Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop and Heather’s Just Write.