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.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation- an essay by Gwendy Fitz

What can I say about this summer? It was fun, but pretty uneventful...


I brushed up on my chess game...

And tried out some pretty unorthodox moves.

I was kind to my parents...

...and somehow grew to resemble both of them more and more!

A minor incident occurred when I was caught committing petty larceny in August...

I had to do some hard jail time with some pretty hardened characters.

Ultimately, we were released on good behaviour.

I explored nature:

And became a better listener.

I retained my sense of glamour at all times. Summer is no excuse to let yourself go.

I decided walking was better than crawling...

...And that making music is better than just listening to it.

Groooovy man.

I contemplated life's mysteries...

...And found solace in literature.

I worked on my relationships...

...And tried new cuisines:

I was physically active...

...And met some.....er....interesting people.

All in all, summer's denouement was lovely and full. I look forward to what fall has to offer!!