I slacked off a bit these past few months with the blogging. I hope someday you can forgive me for combining your two and three month update into one blog. Something I have learned about myself since you were born is how bad I am with unstructured time. Seriously. The month of October is kind of a blur in my memory. Through reviewing my Flickr account I see that we hung out with Emily and Keely, celebrated Halloween and went to your dad’s a lot. You also met your Great Grandma when she made the trek up from Grant’s Pass.

Funny story about your Great Grandma: Last year we went down there for Thanksgiving, like we almost always do, and she made some joking comment about how “next year, I want to see a high chair at this table.” Haha…like an obedient granddaughter, I went home and got pregnant. Ask and ye shall receive. Anyway. We went to Eva’s Halloween party the weekend before Halloween and dressed up as Cruella DeVille and a dalmatian. I made your costume and borrowed mine, because my dear, we are BROKE.

Later in the month of October, we traveled to Colorado to meet your dad’s side of the family, and had a great time. You traveled like a champ…no crying at all on the way there. We flew into Denver and were met by your grandma and uncle, who drove us to Fort Collins. We met up with some of your dad’s friends and toured three different breweries…your grandma played with you while your dad and I sampled lots and LOTS of free beer.

Much later that night we traveled down south to Trinidad, where your grandparents live. Over the next few days you met tons of family members, celebrated Halloween, were given many gifts, traveled to New Mexico, watched some football (go Broncos!) and learned the art of crying for no reason. After five days in Colorado we returned to Portland, the trip home not quite as smooth as the trip there. However, overall it went okay, and I was very impressed by your ability to go with the flow.

November I remember a bit better. We supported Barack Obama, and spent election night with your dad watching the results on CNN. I was supposed to go out that night, but it ended up not working out. I was annoyed at first, but ended up being glad that I could be with you on such a historical moment. We took a picture of you right after Obama was called as the winner, and even though you had no idea what was going on at the time, I know that someday you will appreciate it. I am so relieved that you will grow up under an Obama administration, and that all the frustration we have been feeling the past eight years will be foreign to you.

I spent a lot of November being really nervous about returning to work. It felt like 100 years had passed since I had been working, and I doubted my ability to function like a normal human being anymore. However, November 17th eventually came around, and I went back to work. I wanted to cry when I left you at daycare. I felt so much guilt, and was so worried about what would happen to you if you weren’t with me 24 hours a day. Luck for us both, you LOVE daycare, and they love you. You get nothing but glowing reports everyday, and you come home so chatty and happy and worn out. I am enjoying work as much as you are enjoying daycare. I knew it would be good for me, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to LOVE it like I do now. So things are good for both of us: I get to go to work three days a week and use my brain and interact with grown ups, and you get to go to daycare and interact with lots of other babies and learn new things. At some point I will return to work full-time and then you and I will get to move back to Portland and live on our own. I fantasize about this on a daily basis and am hoping I can make it happen for us by February. Keep your fingers crossed.

Yesterday was your first Thanksgiving. We spent Part One at your grandpa’s and Part Two at your dad’s.  Thanksgiving was the day that I heard you laugh for the very first time. It was probably my most favorite sound I have ever heard. You laughed at your Uncle Joe, who you think is the funniest person in the world. He just started talking to you like he always does (he calls you Dancey Pants) and you started LAUGHING. Not just smiling or making little baby noises. Actual laughter. It was amazing. It is like that with everything you have done in the past few months. The first time I put you on your stomach and you lifted your head up I freaked out (you used to seriously HATE it). Now when I pick you up you can support your head all on your own. There are all these little things that you are learning day by day, and every once in a while I look at you and wonder where this Big Girl came from.

October:

November:

Oh yeah, and you have been sleeping through the night since you were six weeks old. Thanks for that.

 Today was the Christmas Tree Lighting in downtown Portland, and we went to it with your dad. I have actually never been before tonight, so it was a first for me too.

We put you in your Bjorn, which I know you hate, but keep putting you in, thinking that maybe you might somehow start liking it. You tolerated it for a while, but eventually it got to be too much, and the crying started. You are so funny. Ninety percent of the time you are the happiest, most smiley and social baby there ever was. If you start to not like something, there is no warning. You go from happy to pissed in about three seconds, and you don’t hold back. You are a DRAMA QUEEN. You have also gotten really good at fake crying. You make this catlike sound, and act like you are really mad, but once we look at you, we get a huge smile. Your desire for attention is enormous, and it cracks me up on a daily basis. You are going to be very entertaining when you are able to walk around and talk. I am only a little scared. Your dad should be more scared though, because you have him wrapped around your finger already.

Today you turned three months old. November 28th is a significant date in your existence for another reason, but I will let those who are good at math figure that one out (wink wink). You are still the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. You do so many funny things, all the time. You have an incredible amount of personality for an infant. I am really, really excited for your first Christmas, and even more excited for the new year. Soon you and I will be back in Portland on our own, and I can’t wait to spend the next year with you, watching you learn and do everything for the first time. You are still the best baby that anyone could ask for (even if you probably could have gotten a better mom…)

Love you,

Mom

This was Thanksgiving 2007. We were in Grant’s Pass at my grandparents house and I can’t remember why we decided to put my parka on Emma, but I think it was a decision made after quite a bit of wine was consumed. Look how well she obeys, standing still like that while I take her picture. The hood fell over her eyes after this and she kept bumping into things as we were trying to take it off of her. Joe watched in horror as we laughed and laughed…(”You guys are mean! Mean!”)