Inevitably Keely

Instead of reading a bedtime story last night with Zoe, I sat with her in her bed with a pen and notebook and asked her what she was thankful for. * Note: Everyone in Zoe's life is very special, but I think it really says something if you were listed individually because it's really hard for a three year old to not want to list every single toy instead of actual people. I know... because I had to suggest after baby dolls that maybe we think of some other things. The following is the list (with some extra commentary) as she told me: "I'm thankful for.... Mommy. Snow White. Daddy. Kitty cats. Cameras. My baby dolls. And I'm thankful for my panda., and... "Let's not just list toys, OK?" Alright. I'm thankful for water. And Max and Bailey Butterflies. And Grammy. Aunt Sadie. My Grandpa. Nana & Baba. Daddy's friend, Sam... he's nice. (She just met him yesterday) Cheryl and Chuck-Chuck. Ellie. Eleanor. MaryEllen. Chelsea. NIki. Noe...write ...

I’d been thinking for a while that it had been too long since I’ve written either of my children a letter. For those of you who have been reading my blog (or my facebook notes) for the past few years, you might remember that this was at least a monthly occurrence with Zoe that dwindled a bit when I was pregnant with Finnegan and then pretty much stopped completely once he was born. At least, the public postings stopped. I’ve continued writing my love letters to my children - notes about how much they’ve grown or changed, letters about significant events in their lives, etc. But the last few months had seemed especially hectic and I had stopped writing even the private ones. I had resolved to start again a few weeks ago. And then TWO weeks ago happened and spinned our world upside down and I could barely think in complete sentences to try to explain to either child what was going on. So on our drive to Texas two weeks ago today, I decided I would write a letter to Zoe and Finn. I’ve pu...

Wowee! How old are you now? Five? No? Alright, you're actually almost 16 months old now - 1 year 3 months 3 weeks and 5 days old - to be exact. Can I just tell you that every single day with you has been an adventure? It has, sweetie. It's been a crazy, roller coaster ride of an adventure. We've had some crazy days. Your mother has had some moments where she's asked herself what the HECK she is doing. There have been some tears between the two of us. There have been some disagreements. But mostly, there's been this clarity that I am doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing and you were meant to be my daughter. But I'm not going to talk about the rough times right now - I'll save that for when you're a teenager and I'm trying to make you feel guilty for being such a wild child. I kid, I kid. Mostly. What I am going to talk about is what an amazingly sweet little girl you are. Words : You are a talker! Big time! Sometimes we have no idea what i...

Dear Zoe, Exactly one year ago your daddy and I were anxiously waiting for your arrival. I was lying on an extremely uncomfortable hospital bed with monitors on my belly to keep track of my contractions and your heartbeat. The contractions were steady and your dad was very helpful in telling me when I was having a contraction since he was watching the tape very, very closely. Your dad, (you’ll learn) has a strong appreciation for graphs and data - the nurses thought he was a hoot and very helpful. I was so glad he was there with me and he knew just what to say to relax me and encourage me. Right about this time a year ago, your Nana K and Grandpa Joe were visiting us in our room. You could tell that they were nervous and excited and anxious for you to make your appearance. Your Nana was also very interested in the season six finale of American Idol and searched our television for her channel so she could see the show. Unfortunately, our remote only had up and down arrows and we had no...

In three days you're going to be ten months old. Do you know what that means? That means your mother skipped the 9 month letter and for that I'm feeling super guilty. It wasn't that the day went unnoticed, baby. Oh, your dad and I noticed and talked about how you have officially been out as long as you were in. I think I skipped it because I was so busy enjoying you. You are quite the personality, little one! Instead of talking about milestones right now, I'm just going to tell you that I adore being your mom. Sometimes I question how good I am at all this. I worry that you got the short end of the stick because I do not knit, or sew, or garden, or all the other things I thought I would know how to do before I became your mom. What I do know how to do is take your picture (as of today I *might* have taken 2019 of you). I also know how to hold you just right so you will fall asleep. I know how to make you laugh that real, belly laugh that sometimes turns into a snort. I ...

Today is not another month milestone. I just needed to write you and tell you how much I love you. Two days ago you had a fever. I changed my appointment for my annual and your Daddy and I took you to see your pediatrician. He told us you had a sore throat and to give you Tylenol to fight the fever. No biggie. I went on to my annual and ended up discussing when we're going to start trying to give you a baby brother or sister. Your dad and I talked a little about it and resolved to talk more about it during the weekend, but we never really got a chance because that evening your fever spiked to 103 and we took you to the Urgent Care that is attached to the hospital where you were born. The docs saw you almost right away and I think they thought your mom and dad were very silly. You sat there in just your diaper and had the sweetest disposition, ever. You did not care when they took your temperature. You were also fairly low key when they took chest X-rays and when they did a urinalys...

Hey, baby girl. Today you are seven months old and oh, my goodness! that is sort of hard to believe. It's funny how time went by so slowly when I was pregnant with you, but now that you are here it seems to go at warp speed. This has been a wonderful month despite me being in poor health. I want to tell you all about it, but for the time being I'm going to put it off. I'm still not feeling fabulous (and either is your daddy) and I've got presents to wrap. In just two days you'll be celebrating your first Christmas with us. I am very excited for this. Your Nana & Grandpa are here now and your Grammy & Grandpa arrive tomorrow. You will be smothered in kisses and hugs and I know you're going to love every minute of it. I promise to take lots of pictures. I love you, monkey. I'll write more after Christmas. Love, Mama

Today you are six months and four days old. Every month that passes I feel like it moves too slow and too fast all at once. On one hand, I am so excited for you to crawl, to walk, to call out for your father and I (and all the other exciting events). On the other hand, I look at you and am amazed at how big you have gotten and how much you have changed. I've loved getting to be Mommy to my sweet little monkey and I can't wait to watch you grow up into a woman. It's hard to believe that just six months and six days ago your dad and I were checking into the hospital so that we could meet you! I thought I'd go ahead and tell you that story now before the details escape me: Your Birth Story Monday, May 21st Twitter post: at 12:13PM (web)- Just finished watching last night’s episode of Brothers & Sisters. Cried like a baby. Damn it. Twitter post at 12:42 PM (text) - On our way to our last pre natal appt.for this pregnancy! 12:45 pm - Your Dad and I were at the doctor’s...

I am so proud of Max and Bailey and how they’ve adjusted to all the change they’ve had in their lives recently. First they had to get used to not being able to pounce on my tummy whenever they wanted because I had a resident. Then, they had to get used to a new little human in their house: a little human who demands a lot of attention and cries. If that wasn’t enough, we relocated our family across town and they had a new house and yard to contend with. To make things even more interesting, they don’t have a doggie door so they have to “ask” to be let outside. They are the awesome and haven't had a single accident (knock on wood). And then? Zoe has recently started to really take notice of her “brother” and “sister”. She "pets" them and watches them and grabs on to their collars and fur without a grumble from them. It's like they're finally getting what they've wanted from her: attention. The dog children have been little angels (aside from stealing burp cloth...

Today you are five months and one day old. You are currently stretched across my lap and sleeping. You’re out cold and obviously exhausted. But I don’t blame you. This has been a very busy month for our family. I think if I had to choose one word to sum up the past month, I would choose change. We (especially you) saw a lot of change this month. You started the month off with a new pediatrician. The old pediatrician was very, um, old. She was obviously very experienced and came recommended and praised, but she was not a good fit for us. I felt like I needed you to have a different doctor and so we took you to see the same doc Ellie sees. The first order of business at your appointments is to strip you down to your diaper and measure and weigh you. I nearly burst into tears when I saw the scale. In the two months since your previous appointment, you’d only gained 4 ounces. You were four months old and only weighed 12 pounds 7 ounces where other baby’s your age were weighing in at 18 or ...

Today you are two months and two days old. I had planned on writing this to you two days ago, but lately time has a way of getting away from me. Something to do with taking care of a baby, I think. It’s funny because from November 2005 to your birthday, time seemed to go a little bit slower. Your dad and I had a wonderful time together, (most definitely) but those nine months of trying to conceive and then those nine and a half months we waited for your arrival seemed to go at a snails pace sometimes. I worried we would never get to have you and then when we were told you were on your way, May 25th (your due date) couldn’t come quick enough. We wanted you to be healthy and happy, and we were so excited to meet you and hold you in our arms. Every day since you were born has been an adventure. Your dad and I were in awe of this little person we’d created. We were shocked when people would say how big you were (8lbs, 5ozs.) because you looked so fragile and tiny to us – our little one. At...