tag-teaming and teeth

Today was Thursday, the day I go in to work. Jesse and Simon picked me up from the train a little after 6, and he had to be to church by 7 for a meeting. I got home and took care of putting Simon down for an overdue nap while Jesse made dinner. We traded quick stories, wolfed down the fried rice, and Jesse headed off to work. Talk about tag-teaming the parenting!

Simon woke up after a short nap, ate, played a little, smiled a lot, then got tired. He took awhile to get to sleep, mostly because of the two little bottom teeth that are trying to make their way up through his gums. As I sat and rocked him, his little hand reached up and rubbed my neck. Those little teeth might be making life tough for all of us, but that doesn't mean there aren't great moments along the way too.

The latest adventures

Whew! Where have the past few months gone? Into a growing little boy, I think.

I've started back at work! I'm really enjoying the opportunity to get back into things. I have taken over the kitchen table with my laptop, laptop stand, wireless mouse and keyboard (a birthday gift from Jesse) and love my new "home office." I'm doing slightly different things than I was before (as my old role was filled with another full-time employee, who I trained before I left), and I've found the new position to be challenging and rewarding. Jesse and Simon had a great time while I was gone last week, so here's hoping tomorrow and the other Thursdays will be the same :)

Simon is growing by leaps and bounds. He plays peek-a-boo, and has started to do it himself sometimes (pulling a towel/curtain/whatever over his face, then removing it and expecting a reaction). It's clear that he wants to be more mobile than he is, but he breaks into a triumphant grin after rolling/wiggling off my lap after he eats. At my mothers' group today, he and one of the little girls carried on a "conversation" with each other; it was so cute. He's started wanting to gnaw on things, although he's generally disinterested in teething toys (Mom and Dad's knuckles are far more satisfying). We're hoping to get him into swimming lessons soon for Thursdays while I'm at work.

It seems we have one thing or another going on from now until Christmas! In some ways, the lack of Thanksgiving here means that the holiday season sneaks up on me. In others, though, it's surprising because with no Halloween (or very little Halloween) or Thanksgiving, the Christmas stuff is already dominating some of the stores. I've been making use of Amazon.com's Universal Gift List, but I've found that many things on that list are baby-related (Ergo baby carrier, food processor/steamer for baby food, etc.). Guess I'm a real mom now ;)

With that, I'm going to go make a mug cake (go ahead, google it! They're quick and tasty) and have some ice cream. There is a fantastic rain storm, Simon's napping, and Jesse's out. Might as well make use of the ability to eat lots of food before Simon starts solids :)

July, here we are!

Well, June basically didn't happen. Did it?

For those who are unaware, little Simon Richard joined our little family on May 26th at a whopping not-quite-7-pounds after a surprise/emergency c-section. Despite things not going as planned (there's a 10-page birth story for the interested, but I decided not to unleash it to the public domain, partly because of the personal nature, and partly because I barely had time to write it, let alone edit it to the point where I'm happy enough with it), I felt well taken care of for the most part. My parents arrived the day after Simon's birth, and that was such a blessing. They really carried us through the first weeks at home as I recovered and we all got used to each other. Jesse's mom has been with us for a week and a half, and has a few more days here still. Family is wonderful!

I've also had my birthday, which was celebrated in stages; on the day of, Jesse and I went to the mall and made some present-purchases (including a stand for my laptop and wireless keyboard and mouse, so I can set up on a desk like a desktop and not destroy my back all the time, among other things) while Simon hung out with his Grammie at home. Saturday, friends came up from Sydney and we celebrated again with a pinata. Thankfully, their daughter is one year older and was not quite as traumatized by the pinata-hitting activities this year :)

I was realizing the other day that in this coming year of life, I will miss two reunions (college and high school), the birth of my cousin's son, my sister's 21st birthday, and who knows what other events. What's really tough is realizing that friends and family in the US are missing out on life with Simon. But we have much to be thankful for; deepening friendships here, a job I enjoy and look forward to continuing (albeit in a reduced role), a brand new fridge (ok, so that's kind of shallow, but I'm excited about it), and generally a good life where God wants us to be.

While it's difficult to miss those shared moments, when we dedicate our children to the Lord (as my parents did with me, and we did with Simon), we commit to teaching our children to serve God with their whole lives, and the best way to teach that is to live it. There is a certain amount of letting go that must happen, of acknowledging that their gifts and talents might not always lead them close to home. We still cherish the time we have with loved ones (as I write, I'm watching Simon sleep in the lap of his Grammie, who has fallen asleep sitting on the couch :) and do our best to support each other wherever we find ourselves.

In the next year, I know that Simon will continue to grow and change. My hope is that Jesse and I will be able to grow and change too, as we pursue God in our new little family.

is it really April?

Well, March wasn't exactly "in like a lion and out like a lamb" at our house. Weather notwithstanding, it was more like "a lion in a decathalon of some sort" with church events, baby classes, hospital checkups, and work. (Ok, that was lame, but I tried. Moving on.)

We had the opportunity to go to a Newcastle Knights (rugby league) game with tickets from work, which included dinner in the corporate suite and some pretty good seats. That was cool; I've missed going to Amerks and Red Wings games like I used to with Deloitte. Jesse had a decent understanding of the game, and we sorted the rest out together. It wasn't quite as amusing as the time Laura and I went to a Knighthawks (lacrosse) game in Rochester, and affectionately dubbed the sport "baskesocckey" as we attempted to decipher the rules, but it was still a good time. I did get a bit stiff with my ever-heavier body in the plastic chair, but was able to put my feet up for the second half of the game, which we watched from the box.

I'm not sure if it was in March or late February, but we've encountered a previously unanticipated benefit of pastoring a country-ish church: a family in our church "came into some beef" and we have been enjoying some of the most tender steaks I've ever had since then. (Well, steak, and a roast, and some ground beef too :) Our little freezer, at one point, was full of meat. We've been alternating with chicken and experimenting some with marinades to keep things exciting, and Jesse is becoming an expert at grilling the steaks. He also made chicken parmigiana this week when I missed the train coming home from work and we had guests coming over for dinner. That turned out very good; recent experiments of mine (including satay chicken and a peach-chicken dish I didn't fully think through ahead of time) have been less successful. Edible, but less successful.

The last week of February, we attended the National Pastors' Conference in Tweed Heads (on the border of NSW and QLD). It was my first time into Queensland (unless you count the Brisbane airport), as our hotel was technically in NSW but across the street from Queensland. We had a great room with a beautiful view of the water, and I got to catch up with a high school friend who is pastoring a church in Perth with her husband. Who would have thought that Fillmore grads would find each other on the other side of the world? Anyway, that was a good trip. We took our time coming home and spent a couple of days in Port Macquarie, where we had the pleasure of wallabies playing in the backyard of our rented cabin/house.

The conference fun didn't end there, though. The first weekend in March was our District Women's Retreat, in a retreat center on Lake Macquarie. It was fun to get to know some other women from around the state, and hang out with a friend and her two-week-old baby.

I only have 3 weeks left of work (actually, it's only 12 work days, with one holiday and two Fridays off) before it's time to come home and wait for baby! We got a lot done yesterday in preparation for his/her arrival, and there's still more to do. I've been reading up on childhood vaccinations and have been trying to formulate a plan for those. I don't mean to make anyone nervous; we are planning on our child receiving all the recommended vaccines, perhaps slightly delayed from the planned schedule. What I'm struggling with at the moment is why my newborn baby needs a Hepatitis B shot. I haven't found anything that compels me to believe this is critical for a newborn, other than that it was the easiest way to make sure everyone is immunized against it. If anyone has an idea on this, I'm all ears.

And so all of this brings us to nearly the middle of April, with just over 5 weeks to go (give or take) until the baby's room is occupied. Crazy!

just for a moment

I have a few, rare, quiet moments to myself. I'm sitting on the couch, the dishes are done, Jesse's not back yet, and I'm enjoying hanging out with our little baby. S/he's moving around a bit (as usual), and I just sit here and wonder who this person is, who is already so much a part of our lives. Life has been very busy for both Jesse and me lately, and it's nice to slow down and think about what the not-so-distant future holds, and play with (read: poke) the baby a little.

cat = out of bag

Well, my extreme lack of posting for the last few months was not without good reason. We had a wonderful visit back in the US with friends and family around Thanksgiving; it was great to combine a break from work with seeing familiar people and being ourselves with them.

But the main reason I couldn't think to post was that we weren't quite ready to announce my pregnancy to the internet masses ;) I've received a couple of requests for detailed accounts of the pregnancy, but will keep them to the fact that morning sickness found me in a rather violent way around week 7 and didn't leave until week 17, so I didn't want to keep updating with "still sick" and such things. Jesse and my coworkers can all attest to the rough shape I was in during much of that time. But we are very happy to report that I haven't been sick for a few weeks now, and the baby is now using movement to remind us of his/her presence rather than the sickness. It kicked Jesse's arm the other morning, which was cool and the first time he'd felt it move.

For those who are wondering, the due date is May 16th. We're planning on keeping the gender a mystery until the baby's birth, although we think it's a boy based on a combination of old wives' tales and hunches. (And hey, why not make a guess, with a 50/50 chance). We got a peek at the baby around 9 weeks, and have heard its heartbeat twice. In a little under a week, we'll have another look and see how s/he's doing in there.

Aside from the baby, things are going well. We celebrated Christmas on our own in the morning, and then with friends in Sydney in the afternoon/evening and for Boxing Day. It was a great chance to hang out and have fun, and also try out my new Super Mario Bros. Wii game. I had yesterday off work for the Boxing Day holiday, and we rearranged our front rooms in anticipation of the arrival of a friend of Jesse's at the end of this week, and eventually with the idea of a nursery :)

So, thanks to all those who posted excited congrats on facebook today; I really enjoyed hearing from all of you!

October

Two months later. Yikes. Jesse and I had a great trip at the beginning of September to the Barrington Tops. We went on a hike that definitely pushed the boundaries of the shape I was in, but it was fun to get away and relax for a few days. Jesse surprised me by bringing some of our nice clothes to have a candlelight dinner one of the nights; it was a great celebration of our almost-anniversary.

For those who don't know, our visa was approved the first week of October, so a lot of that worry/phone calling/stress has died down. At least we get two more years now until we have to go through it again. It's been nice not having to haggle through another employment extension every month, and to have all of my paperwork now in my married name and new passport (I think health insurance still needs to be changed... and maybe some frequent flier club memberships, but that's it.)

We looked through a house that's closer to the church (essentially in its backyard), but so far it looks like we can't afford to move there. Housing prices are very high over here, particularly in comparison to the Rochester area (where I was once house hunting a couple of years ago), so it's hard to swallow the cost of some of them. The area hasn't been hit by the financial crisis nearly like most places in the US, and it's believed by some that there is still somewhat of a housing bubble to be burst. Combine that with the fact that someone working in the mines could be making upwards of $1,700AUD/week, and ta-da, expensive housing. So we are staying put for the time being, but on the lookout.

I haven't done much reading lately, but I have appropriated Jesse's ipod shuffle for the ride to and from work, which has been nice. It was particularly useful yesterday when some drunk man near the front of the carriage was "singing" very loudly for a good half of the ride. One day when I was NOT listening to the ipod, a very dark-skinned man wearing a heavy Christmassy sweater came an sat next to me at the University stop (most people were wearing a light jacket, at most). Through my scholar-servant powers of reasoning, I deduced that he was likely from Africa. He's originally from Nigeria, spent some time in Ghana, and was hear to do a master's in education. I don't usually strike up conversations with fellow train-goers, but it was nice to have a bit of a cross-cultural experience on the way home.

Jesse and I discovered a new restaurant near where I work, which touts itself as a "pizza and pasta bar". This sounded very good to me. I had a creamy chicken penne with baby spinach and pesto sauce - yum! Jesse had a four-cheese pizza, and we watched a Chicago Bulls game on the HDTV. I think we both prefer college to pro basketball, but a chance to watch familiar sports over here is one we will take. We've started getting reception on a channel that shows basketball and NFL football, and have even watched a couple of NFL games (although the commercial breaks are never timed quite right, and we end up missing parts of the game. We get back from the break and have to figure out what just happened). All in all, the pizza and pasta bar was a success.

(Oh, for those who are wondering, our delusions of garden have been crushed by lack of effort before they even fully materialized. I think we have managed to kill another herb plant, though.)

Today, I am looking forward to a massage and a chiropractor visit. It's been a year since I've gone to either, and I'm feeling it. I actually found this place via tv commercial - not where I would typically look for a doctor - but their clinic offers both and is open 1/2 day on Saturdays, so here's hoping it will be good.