Cousins!

April was a month of visitors for us. Gwen got to meet her Uncle Tim, Aunt Alex, and Cousin William for the very first time. And got to see Grandma and Grandpa, AND got to see (second cousins? Second Aunt?) Becky, Amanda and Lisa!

I would write a whole lovely wit-filled, anecdote-laden summary of the awesome month, but currently Baby Wes is causing me to have horrid acid reflux and hate my life. So I'll let the pictures tell the story:

Cousins meet for the first time and dance with glee:

Hugs!

Art!

Uncle Gavin's Superman costume!

Bath time pics! Useful for embarrassment in years to come...

New York Aquarium:

Momma and Gwen:

Happy Easter!

We had a lovely holiday at our house! Missed Joy, who had to work, and of course our beloved West Coast Fam, who are waaay too far away, but still, a beautiful day. Gwen was a doll all day, and found Easter Egg hunting both fun and...well....kind of weird. I mean, how do you wrap your not quite 2 year old mind around the concept that some creature went around your yard laying neon colored eggs which you are meant to gather?

Gavin made the best Easter dinner I have ever had, and we had way too much dessert. So yeah, perfection. Oh, and tomorrow I'll put up some pics of the Fitzys trip out East!

Getting her basket on:

I know I'm biased, but...

Uncle Go-gee!

Gettin down to bidness:

Mom and Joey:

A Brave New Blog

So, I bit the pricey bullet and got a laptop. Well, to be more accurate, I launched a 6 month campaign to the hubs, about how much work I could get done, how much easier life would be, etc., until he agreed that it would be a great and damn near necessary investment. And then I back-peddled about the money, hemmin' and hawin', until the tables were turned and it was him convincing me. Because in a perverse way, that's how I avoid buyer's remorse ("He MADE me get one!") Yes, I am demented. But I have a lovely new computer! Whee!!

So here's my hope: it will lead to blogging more. Because really, the main reason I don't currently find time to fire off my deep, meaningful missives is simply because by the time I get Gwen to bed, dinner wrapped up, the house cleaned, work-related loose ends snipped off or tied up, the only thing I want is to lounge on my couch and stare into the abyss. Or stare at RuPaul's Drag Race. Sitting on the Purgatorial plastic Ikea office chair at the computer in my makeshift office/guest room does not sound at all appealing. Case in point, I am currently ensconced on aforementioned couch, a cheese danish resting on the arm, a pug snoring at my leg, and typing away.

And why would I like to resume blogging? Because I like to write, and I read once that you should try to write a little every day. While I can't reasonably hope for that, once a week would beat the pants off of the current status quo.

So there you have it. I will try to get some pics and pregnancy status update slapped up here in the very near future. Now don't get all excited and run your cars off the road or nothin.

Little Match-Blog

Cause it's like that Hans Christian Anderson Story? With the little girl selling matches in the cold? And no one cares about her? And she freezes to death and you're like "Thanks, Mr. Anderson. Now I want to shoot myself."? Oh how my blog has been neglected...

Sweet Georgia Brown, where does the time get to? I looked up and lo, I had missed entire seasons in keeping up with this thang. And that's kind of unforgivable, not because my adoring public gives a tin pooh about it, but because I hope to use this as a kind of record for myself and my family. And it's not like things haven't been happening in this ole' life of mine.

First and foremost, I am SO pregnant. I am relatively sure that the only people reading this are my nears and dears and so that is no revelation. I am about 5 months in with a boy, who's gorgeous face I saw for myself on a crazy 3d ultrasound today (why some places call it 4d, I'll never know. Until I'm wearing special glasses that make me feel like I'm in my own womb, I think 3d will suffice).

I am so happy to have the last piece of our little family puzzle falling into place. Cause, yeah kids, I think we're done after this. I love babies, especially my babies, but economically I think 2 will fit just right.

The naming process this time has been a beotch. With Gwendolyn I hit upon her name before I even knew what flavor we were getting and it just stuck. With this little chap we've run the gauntlet and still not 100% on any one name. And no, please don't phone in your suggestions. I promise you that unless you've spent the last 3 years in Kenya working with indigenous peoples we have heard the name you are thinking of and have either put it on the short list or discarded it outright. We have three baby-name books open on our coffee table as I write this, let alone the countless name websites, so yeah, the problem is not lack of choices. Gavin gives the final stamp on this one (as I got final say on Gwendy), and he is taking his job very seriously. With a boy it just seems harder- finding that name that's masculine but not macho, classic but not over-used, current but God forbid trendy. But we'll hit it. And this kid will know his parents sweated bullets over his handle, and so hopefully forgive us if he hates it.

And then there's our Gwen. God, she is simply wonderful. Just so smart and cheerful and funny and the cream in our coffee. I mean, yeah, there are days when she's a whiny ball of toddler-funk, but then she cracks up, or comes up with some crazy new word, or decides her favorite song is "Lookin' Out My Back Door" by CCR, and it's more than worth the work. Just the other night we were reading a book about a bunny named Nicholas. I pointed to him and asked, "What's his name, Gwendy?". "Ma-bo-gus!". Close enough for me.

So yeah, life is good. I miss being Pretty Pregnant Princess this time around- I did not appreciate how sweet it was just to kick back after work and absorb the silence and I have no such luxury this time around- but there is such a lovely rightness to the completion of our little family.

I am vowing to keep up with this blog, at the very least so that the man-cub doesn't end up in therapy bitching about how Mom was so much more into her pregnancy the first time round. That's me, alway prepared. Like a girl scout, sans cookies. Mmmmm.....now I want cookies.
Ok, pictures!


Zis Paint! It eez NO GOOD!






Hello, my name is Gavin. And I shovel this walkway, A LOT.


Get that camera out of my face, or so help me God...

Belly pics soon, I promise!

I solmenly swear...

I will post on this sad, lonesome blog this week. I promise. Really.

Octoberfest

Woah! Where'd October go? It was so incredibly full of all those bright little pieces that round out life- family visits, autumn leaves, pumpkin picking, laughter, tears, and pie. Way too much pie. In fact it was so full that this blog became Red Headed Step Blog, with nary an entry the whole time. But I'm hoping to get more diligent about posting. So you hopefully will no longer have to wait with baited breath followed by crushing disappointment for my next exciting blurb about life's doings. Lucky you.

On the Gwendy front, she is just growing in leaps and bounds in every way. She gets the occasional sentence mixed into her more usual spate of one-word commands (MILK! UP! MORE! AGAIN!). And there is no better greeting in the universe than her chirpy "Hi Momma!" every morning when I get her from her crib. She can pick out many animals and make their sounds, and is currently in love with Fire Trucks (Gire Gucks), guitar ('Tar) and that youtube video where the guy uses Kermit the Frog to lip synch to the song "Pressure".

Her grandpa and grandma came in from California and spoiled her shamelessly, as is their right. In addition to a mountain of lovely clothes she now owns a giant pink car she can ride in. We push her around the house in it as she honks the horn and waves "bye" to Percy and Emmy as they flee in terror. Driving Miss Gwendy.

Gav and I are gearing up for winter. My intrepid husband outfitted himself as though he were preparing for deep space and re-hung all the falling insulation in our attic in the hopes we wont get as well and truly raped by National Grid this year. Oh, the swear words that came from that attic. A sailor would blush, I tells ya. And I am happy and busy and so looking forward to the holidays. Bring on some turkey-bird.

So yeah, nothing crazy, but that be's life as of right this minute. Now here's a ridiculous slew of pictures. Happy Fall, Y'all!

We are big on sitting in wee chairs just made for us.

Freshly Tubbed

Indian Summer

How does she have hair like Mozart?

Getting caught rummaging in cabinets. Again.

Watching Yo Gabba Gabba with Best Good Friend Lulu.

I refurbished my own old Jingle Bear and gave him to her. She seems to lerv him as I did (and do).

Prospect Park

Happy Fitzys!

Coney Island

Oh yeah baby. Pumpkintown, 2010!

Lookin up at birds flying south:

Treak-er-treating in Park Slope w/ Lu and Co

To the victor goes the spoils:

Intense chess battles all week. Gav beat his dad for the First. Time. Ever!

A String Around My Finger

This blog has become a way for me to remember things. Not only things to do with Gwendolyn, but small cross-sections of my life preserved in little mental slides for later perusal. So here are some things I'd like to remember from this past month:

Re: My Husband:
1. He is so incredibly supportive. He has worked the mid-shift (which he hates) and has spent every day off wrangling Gwen by himself at night so I could do a show. And he never complained once.

2. He always tears his shirts in the same place- in the back, slightly to the right, 3/4 of the way down. Science has yet to figure out how or why.

3. Makes me watch The Ultimate Fighter with him. But then he will watch Glee with me. So even-Steven, really.


Re: Gwendolyn
1. Her word for "squirrel" is "curl", her word for "fish" is "gish" and "belly-button" is "Bom bun-bun". "Chicken" is un-typable but sounds vaguely Chinese, sort of like "Jiangchan"

2.When a song comes on she really likes, she does not smile, but looks intense and shakes her hips and butt fervently.

3. When you are settling her down for bed she caresses your arm while you read to her, and reaches up to hold both your ear and her own.

4. Our current top three bedtime songs are "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Tomorrow" (the theme from Annie), followed closely by "Edelweiss" from Sound of Music and "With You" from Pippin. As one might suspect, lots of Musical Theatre...

5. She is OBSESSED with the Wonder Pets. Except she refers to them as "On Our Way", which is a lyric from the theme song. She sings this about 300 times a day, chanting "On Ah Way" over and over like she's an acolyte from the Temple of Doom. I. Hate. Wonder Pets.

6. When someone leaves, she crouches down and looks for them through the crack under the front door.


Re: Myself
1. I love theatre. I had no idea how much I missed it this past year or so until I did a show. Fun fun fun, and I actually feel re-charged rather than fatigued now that it's over.

2. I love my family. They selflessly stepped up to the plate so I never once in 6 weeks had to hire a babysitter. They gave up weekends, evenings, drove their butts off, and made it so I never had to worry about Gwen's well-being while rehearsing/performing, knowing she was with people who love her. Mom, Gavin, Joy, and Joey- Thank you, thank you, thank you.

3. I love life. October will bring some hard days. I can't prevent this and don't even want to. I miss my father every single day and can't help but remember where we were last year with a feeling of having been horribly cheated. But the amount of happiness that is crammed into this crazy life of mine is really an embarrassment of riches, and it helps knowing how happy this would have made Daddy. So...

4. I am thankful. Very, very thankful.