Sugar and Spice

It's official, Pumpkin has now crossed the Mason Dixon line and has seen snow! These are just two of the "firsts" that we have celebrated in the past few weeks. We spent Valentine's weekend in the Land of Lincoln so that Aaron's extended family could meet our little Pumpkin, many for the first time. We flew out of Lake Charles' new and improved airport, which is a blog story in and of itself. First, security took this opportunity to test all of their "skills" on us. As they are paging "Passengers Brown" and presumably shutting the airplane door, I have security guards "testing" the water in Aly's bottle. For what, I do not know, but apparently she looked suspicious. We finally get on the plane, only to sit on the runway for half an hour while they de-ice the plane. As we're lifting off, the pilot announces that we are on a non-stop flight to Houston Intergalactic Airport. Just when I think things on this leg of our journey...

We have good news and bad news to report on the Pumpkin front, while she is still sick she is on the mend – Thank God! Of course, this does not come without a story… So, as most of you know, we had the mommys-birthday-ear surgery last week and then woke up with the croup the next day. First, I did not know that “croup” was a real illness. I thought it was just the medical term for “crap” – as in, “she has the croup that’s been going around.” I looked skeptically at the doctor and sort of chuckled when he diagnosed her with croup, but as he went on to explain the steroid treatments and steam baths I realized he wasn’t joking (and he probably thought I was a moron). We spent the weekend doing breathing treatments, sitting in steamy bathrooms, and humidifying the house. Sunday was the last day of the steroid treatment and Aaron and I whispered hopefully about actually getting a full night sleep. We put Pumpkin down and nestled in for our first restful night in weeks. We were almost giddy ...

Another crazy, unforgettable week in the life of Raising Pumpkin. As Pumpkin's fans, you are all well aware of the ear trouble my little angel has suffered from. Well, we finally met with the ENT surgeon to (hopefully) put an end to her pain. I was excited and anxious to hear what the ENT had to say. I wavered between relief that Pumpkin would soon be healed and fear that I was rushing into a surgical procedure that didn't need to be done. It was time to call in the experts and we did. The appointment started easy enough with the nurse asking some basic questions. Age, weight, number of infections, types of medications. I was flying through this process, no problem. Then the questioning took a different turn. "How's her balance?" Well, she can't stand up without support and she falls over a lot (not to mention she is still moving mostly in reverse - see picture above). "How's her speech?" Um, she only says "da-da" and "ba-ba."...

I am using this blog entry as a means of commending Pumpkin's achievements, as I was instructed to do by the letter I received from the daycare yesterday. Apparently she is being "promoted" to the next room up and, according to "the note," this is one of life's "milestones" that she has successfully achieved. I am certainly hoping that she accomplishes many more commendable milestones than simply being one of too many babies in a room, but just in case and as instructed, I commend her. I even gave Pumpkin her first cookie last night to celebrate. But in all seriousness, Pumpkin's promotion is bittersweet for mommy. I can't believe that she is no longer in the Itty Bitty Room. Now, I realize that it's been a long time since she was "itty bitty," but what the promotion really means is that she is (gasp) mobile! That's right - Pumpkin's movin' - rolling, scooting, and bumping along. The two things she isn't doing ...

2011 has been off to one heck of a start. The radio DJs I listen to on the way in have suggested that their listeners pick a single word, rather than a resolution, to define their year. As much as I've wanted to, I've hesitated to do so based on how the first 10 days of this year have turned out. Hopefully, they are no indication of how the remainder of this year...or this decade...are going to go. We rang in the New Year with friends and woke to a day of football and a lunch spread that knocked us all into a food coma. Even Pumpkin took a long nap on New Year's Day that was a treat mom and dad could not have ever even hoped for. Things seemed wonderful, peaceful, hopeful...in other words, too good to be true. That night, Pumpkin didn't sleep so well; the next night, even worse. I was exhausted already and trying to prepare for the year's first jury trial set to begin on Tuesday January 4th. On Monday the 3rd, I kept her home from school and reported immediately to...

A caveat before I get going: this blog entry probably will not be very funny. This morning on my way to work the radio announcers were reflecting back on the year's headlines in preparation for the upcoming new year celebration and it got me reflecting as well. I spent the drive in this morning trying to find a word or phrase to sum up 2010. I tried out several from "hope" to "miracles", but the one that kept popping up was "grace." For obvious reasons, 2010 is a year I will never forget, since it is the year my sweet Pumpkin was born. As any parent can attest, that is a memory I am betting does not fade. Yet, 2010 and her birth were so much more. To fully appreciate my 2010, I had to go back through the pain of the years preceding it. It's fitting that Pumpkin's middle name is Hattie, because the grace that has embodied this year began with her great grandmother, for whom she was named. In 2005, I lost my grandmother. I was by her side for the...

It's your lucky week - call it a Christmas gift - but I am blogging twice in one week. The events of last night (er, this morning) warrant another post so none of us forget (and I remember to pay Matt and Samantha back for their "thoughtful" Christmas gift to Aly). The picture above is from last month, but I had to use it so you could get a good image of the culprit in last nights mystery (and no, not Aly). Read on for the Case of the Ghostly Games. Despite getting her third tooth in, Pumpkin was sleeping relatively peacefully last night. That means Aaron and I were also deep asleep. Suddenly, I am jolted from my slumber by these words: "Peek-A-Boo, I see you!" It wasn't Aaron's voice and Pumpkin doesn't talk. It was a high pitched, sing songy, creepy almost mocking sound, faint but clear. I never thought such childish words could invoke such terror. I sit up, convinced I must have been dreaming when, in that same awful voice I hear in the distance...