When We Thought you Were a Boy :)

Found this today while "cleaning" out our computer....

June 4, 2007

To my darling unborn baby:

Daddy and I felt you moving around in my belly for the first time Friday night (June 1, 2007). We had shared some chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and were laying in our hotel room in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (we were on our honeymoon). I had thought I had been feeling you all day Thursday….little flutters….you seemed to move most when I was sitting still by the pool, and had the sun shining on my belly…

I told Daddy about it and he was sooooooooo excited!!! It means to us, that you are a real person in there,…growing faster than we ever imagined …and it means we are getting closer to meeting you here on earth!!! So we were lying in bed, watching TV, and I felt you moving again. I didn’t say anything to Daddy, b/c sometimes the movement is so quick, and then goes away. But you kept going, so I told him..he put his hand on my belly and felt you too!!! It was the most exciting, special moment, besides when we were saying our wedding vows, that I think Daddy and I shared…It’s funny, because that day I told him that I thought for sure you were a boy, even though I have been thinking you were a girl this whole time. Ironically, Daddy had been thinking you are a girl now!! All this time thinking you were a boy…..We are going to have an ultrasound on in a week and a half…and hopefully, we will know for sure, what you are !!!!!!

We came up with another name we both like…..if you’re a girl…Paige…Payge…not sure how we would spell it. We met a little girl on our honeymoon named Paige, from England, and just fell in love with the name….We have been set on naming you Julia Patricia (Patricia is after your grandma) but we so like this name too…..Patricia doesn’t go as a middle name, so we thought about Susan or Dorothy, if we were in fact, to name you Paige. Just some ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m flying to Dallas, Texas tonight…at the airport now as I am writing this…for work. Wish I could be home all week with Daddy , but gotta keep working!!!!!

Love you!!!

Mommy

Women Should Stay Home, Men Should Work

NEVER did those sentiments make so much sense as when I had children. And anyone that knows me also knows, 3 years ago, I would have taken major offense to that statement. I find it hard to sympathize with stay at home moms who complain about the mundane of child-rearing, of which I find, so pleasingly refreshing and natural. I can imagine it does get a little crazy being home with kids all day, but my moments with these girls are more amazing and inspiring than anything I have ever encountered at work. And my work is pretty intense! So maybe work does give me something...in that on days like today, that I consider extras 'cause I normally would not be here, I can appreciate every little thing we experience with one another, including daddy's acrylic paints all over the computer keyboard!

A baby doll and some water kept this two year old loving life for almost an hour this morning, while her little sister drank in everything her big sister did. And a first for Rosie Posie...she rolled over onto her belly and proceeded to let out the loudest cry I ever have heard on this little lady....milestones rock. So do these kids.


Happy Friday!

Listen to juliarosies Playlist

From the mouth of babes

The tulips on my front step are starting to sag, and they remind me that this ephemeral time of spring goes quickly...as does the minutes, days and months of my children's lives. Every day, someone or something reminds me that life goes by so fast, in in a moment, it can change. I'm living each moment to it's max, especially with these two precious baby girls. So at the expense of a super clean house, or an organized closet, or even a tidy clean car, we are enjoying our togetherness as much as we can. That means having kitty-cat birthday parties for Frida, and celebrating with cake and party hats. And tea parties that include REAL hazelnut coffee creamer in itty bitty tea cups. And playing baby and mommy and letting Julia take "care of me". And dancing around the house in our bare feet, with my 5 month old's little piggy toes curled up against me, and a 2 year olds little piggy toes jumping up and down to Laurie berkner Band's jams (and, instead of traveling to see some funky jam band music this summer, we are road tripping to Philly with the girls to see Laurie Berkner live and CANNOT wait!) It means laying on my bed, with every book from the bookcase on board, reading through each one, and listening for Julia to finish the sentences. It's about learning the ABC's, and finding letters everywhere we look, and getting SOO incredibly excited when we recognize the letter L in the trees!!! It also means having conversations about dragons, and bears, and special Bunny Scouts. Julia is one of those and more, every day of the week. It means preparing and providing Julia's first ice cream cone experience at our dining room table, a table at which her daddy sat as a little boy, and experienced many of his firsts at, as well. It means making baby food that satisfies my growing Rosie Posies hunger, and letting Julia taste each first spoonful, "just to make sure it's OK". It means we pretend to make baby food A LOT...and pretend..well, that's what we're into these days. Imagination has taken over, and this wild ride is getting more and more fun each day.

Julia was playing and I asked her what she was doing, and she said, "I'm just being Julia Rawcliffe, mommy".

She then went on to say, and "You mommy, you play with laundry. And Daddy plays outside with wood".

She summed us us beautifully.

Tea Pots and Lollipops

The first of many, I presume, tea parties on the lawn.

Balancing Act

I said to my girlfriend Amy, that I feel like I'm in a never ending race: a race to wake up, to eat, to get out of the house to work. Then, to get to the girls, to feed them, bathe them, PLAY WITH THEM! and then bed. and it starts all over again...in the middle, there's the every day life "stuff" that is so damn time consuming: cleaning (a housekeeper I'm not but at the very least I like clean), laundry, blah blah blah. I'm trying to take better advantage of our time...so last night, after getting home from work, I got the girls in their pj's and took them to the library. It was the PERFECT time of day..no other kids..we had the place to ourselves. Rosie fell asleep, as if on cue, so my 2 year old princess and I could savor every precious moment. I am in awe of her sweetness, her character, her intensity and love. I was literally brought to tears watching her complete a puzzle last night, under her breath as she put it away, "I love my mommy".

Rosie is pure bliss, and her big round eyes are fixated on her wacky sister , all day long. She gives out these great big belly laughs that are contagious, and Julia is becoming lots more interactive with her...reading lots to her, and more recently, trying to reason with her! "Don't cry Rosie, Mommy will help us. She will, Really!!!" These little girls are so amazing, so beautiful. I really could go on for days...

Jason and I are finding little time with each other, and for that , things must change. Our schedules are totally opposite, so we see each other at the crack of dawn, mostly. Looking forward to some roll around and the RVC St. Pattys Day parade today....together!

New firsts: We had a huge Nor'Easter here that knocked out power for a few days, and took down hundreds of tress in the area..quite sad actually to see all these huge oaks and pines laying across the road. But Jason is cashing in, and in the midst of turning our backyard into wood kingdom, all in anticipation of heating season next year. He's having a whole lotta fun with his chainsaw! Rosie is eating applesauce and cereal..loves it!! Julia discovered sleigh riding and her shadow, who she calls her friend. And has decided that the moon is really named Mrs. Moon, and has boobs!

Our New Now

So much now, to reflect on, as the last few months have brought with them big changes. Our most precious gift, our baby girl, Rose Annmarie, entered our world on November 16, 2009 at 10:13 in the morning. The days leading up to her arrival were chaotic, and today, I'm glad to say, they are a distant past. Packing, moving, pregnancy, birth. All in a week. WHEW! Glad for it to be over. We are in our new home, and life feels complete. As I bear witness to this new life, and observe my 27 month old babe don her big sister aura, I feel humbled by the beauty of it all. My girls are perfect. Our life is complete. Nothing could be better.

Rosie is a beautiful, sensitive, adoring baby girl. Upon seeing her eyes for the first time, I was brought back centuries: she has an old soul. Her immediate need to nestle and nurse, burrow and cuddle, connected us in a way that only a mama and her babe know how. At 11 weeks old, we have started to figure one another out....she really makes it simple. She wants us, all of us. She watches her big sister Julia, run around the room, scream and laugh, giggle and dance. She takes it all in, and most recently awards Jules with toothless grins and discerning baby giggles. We are all so totally smitten with Rosie Posie..we all fall down!

Julia's personality is, as it always was, inquisitive, empathic, care-free and genuine. She has welcomed her baby sister into our world, sharing her mama's lap, allowing her daddy to have eyes for a new little button. Her sweet blue eyes watch us, watch Rosie. She is learning patience, and embracing the new us.

There were days in the first 6 weeks that we all cried...Rosie, me and Jules. I wondered how I could be all to them both...where is the time going to come from? How will I provide for them? Will I be able to be their everything, when I feel like I know nothing! And, in recognizing this, I realize it's about being present: being in the moment, that matters most. Gotta let the rest go. We, their parents, are the everything and anything that matters to these two little people, and we, are so blessed, to be able to witness their understanding of this world.

Julia's talking about anything and everything, and her expressions and understanding of language is so much fun to be a part of. She is polite ("Thank you Mommy!" "Thank you Daddy"- we heard this over and over again after Christmas this year..thank you for my toys!!!") she is a parrot ("Ill be RIGHT back! Gimme a second...Are you hungry, Mommy?") and she is a dreamer. She loves her baby dolls, endearingly named Sascha, and then the rest, those are just the babies....She nurses them (Rosie eats boob, Sascha eats boob!), rocks them, feeds them, burps them. Loves them enough. She is a good mommy. She watches her baby sister intently: she reads to her and sings to her, and talks to her all day. She asks about her (eyes wide open Mommy? in a questioning voice) and is trying to understand her. I think about their life together, as young girls, as teenagers, as women starting their own lives. I can't wait to have grown-up conversations with them both, but, am so enjoying our little girl lives.

And a little girl life it is- we are a dress-up, nail painting, baby doll wearing family. Jason is surely outnumbered, but he is so desperately in love with his baby girls, he reckons this is perfection.

I certainly think it is.