lunch break

...i love his hair

The end. Not much else to say. :)

...on compliments

...there was a day in my life when a compliment would be, "I like your outfit" or "You look really skinny" or "God, you are so smart, Laura!"

But today I realized how much my life has changed. We took Charlie to the doctor for some congestion and had him weighed for the first time in a month. He has gained THREE pounds. And the compliment the doctor gave me?

"You're a good cow!"

Moo.

...by all accounts

...it was a HOT date:

Charlie and Madeline June 24, 2009 - you guys didn't know it, but this was your first date. You looked at each other briefly and at one point Charlie put his hand on your arm, Madeline. (His first flirtation! Write it down in the baby book!)

You both fell asleep while your mommas ate lunch and we tip-toed out of the room to let the two of you have some alone time. Charlie woke up crying, a little scared of that thing dressed in pink next to him, which promptly started Madeline crying when Charlie's mean mommy took him away.

...the exchange went something like this:

...this is what our life has come to. And it couldn't be any better. :)

Here is the patient. We have set up an apartment for her in the corner of our family room. The hardest thing for her so far has been the inability to beg for food. Her personality is intact, just minus the use of a rear leg.

Pet owners: we got this collar at Petco to use instead of that damn Elizabethan collar. It works like a charm, can be used also as a Boppy for Charlie, or a headrest thingy for long flights. Added bonus? If the house floods, Charmer will float!

...happy father's day

...to the love of my life. Thank you for giving me Charlie.

...she is awake

...in recovery. The damage was just what the surgeon had expected and should be completely repaired. She is coming home tomorrow morning with lots of medicine, and to a house that has been completely adjusted for her comfort. Thanks for all your thoughts for our sweet girl. Dog people are good people indeed. :)

Nice butt shot of Charlie, right?

...a dog

..."A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can  you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?" Marley & Me

...Will keep you posted on how things go tomorrow.

...big brother

...We finally hooked up Charlie's video monitor last weekend. If you switch the "channel" on the monitor we are picking up someone else's crib signal (like the old days of cordless phones where you would hear another conversation).

And now every time I reach for Charlie, or when I am re-swaddling him in the middle of the night, I feel the strange sense that someone is watching me. Big Brother. I half expect the swaddling police (led by Dr. Harvey Karp) to show up some morning to tell me I'm not doing something right.

...friday

...On Friday, our first-born will undergo TPLO surgery for her ACL. We hope it will make her life better in the long run. We hope she knows how much we love her. We hope we sleep on Thursday night and are not full of worry. We hope she heals well and doesn't hurt her other leg in the meantime. We hope she is back to chasing rabbits (and eventually a little boy) come fall.

If you can think about her on Friday morning, that would mean a lot.
 

...the big guy

...I look at pictures of Charlie and become painfully aware of how BIG he is getting. This was the position he assumed this afternoon when un-swaddled (and now we know why babies sleep swaddled. He must have wacked himself in the face a dozen times, waking himself up with a face that said, "Hey, who just hit me?"):

I remind myself that he's only six weeks old and he's still itty-bitty, even if the pictures make him look big. I am so hyper-aware of how fleeting everything is (maybe it's the scrapbooker in me?) - he doesn't sleep in the bassinet anymore and I just realized that I can't remember the last time he did and that makes me sad. I might just make Ken go get it out of the attic so Charlie can sleep in it again tonight. And I can take a picture of it.

But then I remember that I don't want to be that mom.

So here's what I think is a more proportional picture of Charlie. Sitting in our chair after lunch. Or mid-morning snack. Or mid-afternoon snack. Or some other time when we are up there together:

And for the record: I had no idea how much I would love him. No idea at all.