Swapping

While Joshua's mother was visiting, we were looking at recent photos.  When I showed the above photo, she remarked that it looked similar to the photo of Joshua and me in Colorado when we drove cross-country before our wedding four years ago.  We have simply swapped out our backpacks for a cute little babe and a lush forest for a small field in an urban setting.

Grandma Chisholm's Visit

It was great to have Alma's Grandma Chisholm travel all the way to Philly from Oregon for Alma's baptism. Plus, she stayed with us for an extra week so that she could let Alma eat her cheeks (it's the latest trend with babies, honest!),

 feed Alma more avacados, ...

go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, ...

attend CCOP's Annual Fundraiser Breakfast, ...

go to a Phillies baseball game, ...

attend story hour at the local library, ...

... eat cheesesteaks, visit local historic sites, take daily walks with the dog and other adventures.  Another great visit!!  Alma is such a lucky gal to have such wonderful grandparents!

Mid-March Tummy Time

A little late posting this, but better late than never.

Distinguishing Characteristic

Alma's tongue is often a topic of conversation. Not only it is ridiculously long, but she shows it to people often. We love how silly it is and are suspicious that she was inspired by the dog.

Brother Jerry's Garden

The community garden that St. Anthony's of Padua -- as part of an effort by Joshua and CCOP -- created last year is still thriving.  We recently planted our own plot with tomatos, peppers, spices and other vegetables.

Blessed

Sunday was such a special day for all of us.  Family and friends came together with us to celebrate Alma's baptism. 

The biggest lesson I have learned (and keep learning) since becoming a mother is how loved and blessed we are as a family.  The support and kind words of our community, along with my tender feelings towards everyone who has shown their excitement for Alma's arrival, is nearly overwhelming.  I feel like the Grinch (you know, the one who stole Christmas) as my heart has grown five time larger in the last few months. 

Thank you all -- for your attendance, support and silent prayers -- I'm more grateful than you can imagine. 

Ready to Be Baptised

Someone is ready to depart from her rebel ways and be baptised this weekend.

Have we mentioned recently how much we like being parents?

First Meal

To celebrate five months of healthy nursing, Alma enjoyed her first meal of avacados on Saturday morning.  While it was a new experience, she seemed to enjoy it.  After the meal, while cleaning her off, we realized that her pants enjoyed the avacado, too.

Awesome Proposal

Over the weekend, at the end of their last performance of "Romeo and Juliet" with the San Francisco Ballet, my best friend from sixth grade (Vanessa, who was dancing as Juliet) was proposed to by her boyfriend (Davit, who was dancing as Romeo) in front of the 3,000+ people in the audience along with her family and friends who were all secretly waiting backstage.



How perfectly romantic and fairytale, huh? I'm so happy for Vanessa!

Reflection on Mother's Day

As we celebrate my first official Mother's Day, I want to think back to this past month, which has been a bit more difficult than other months.

I'm slowly coming to realize how difficult motherhood is. I'm learning that it isn't a sprint but a long distance race where the rules change all the time. Once you have one part of the process down pat, something else changes. From naps to nursing to sleeping at night, there is something always in flux. It becomes a study of being okay with these changes, having faith that I don't always be sleep deprived or behind on emails, and knowing that Joshua will still love me even if he only sees me when I'm grumpy. So more like a long distance run while sleep deprived and questioning everything ... but it is somehow the best, most wonderful thing you could ever imagine doing. Seriously, being Alma's mother is one of the most exciting and fulfilling roles I have ever filled.  Just looking at her face for a minute realligns any negative thoughts and emotions I might be feeling.

I could not be happier to be on this journey of motherhood.

5 Months

Alma updates:

* Alma is still as intently interested in the world as ever. We receive many comments about how big her eyes are, but we also have many people remark on how observant Alma seems to be.  She loves watching the world go by and is happiest when we are out on long walks with lots to see.
* After many months of Alma enjoying the taste and company of only her fingers, one day I decided to see if she would take a pacifier.  She loved it!  We were shocked.  So now she likes it when we hand her a pacifier and she plays with it -- nibbling on both sides of it and taking it in and out of her mouth repeatedly to look at it.

* This month while her night time sleep schedule was completely wacko, her nap schedule started to take form.  A morning nap and an afternoon nap that each last an hour.  Having the consistency of these naps to look forward to is beyond wonderful.  I've been able to bake in the mornings and have a little down time in the afternoon. 

* Alma does long "tummy times" if she has a good view (usually the dog). She is an accomplished roller -- both ways -- but only if she wants to. The other day at baby yoga class, I was massaging her back and, since she wanted to see what was happening, she kept rolling over.
* She can crawl -- well, make forward movement -- by pushing her legs and smearing her face along the surface.  It doesn't last long, but if she can make her way to a toy and get it in her mouth, she is pretty happy.

* During baths, like most babies, Alma seems to enjoy kicking her legs.  The intensity on her face is comical.  Instead of smiling, she looks like she is in a physically demanding spinning class.

* Alma loves babbling to Simon. When she is crying, just looking at him can calm her down instantly. However, when Simon comes near, Alma blinks like crazy because his visits often result in a big wet kiss on her face.

* Alma isn't especially excited about toys that light up with music. She simply seems to endure it with a look of confusion. She loves watching her sheep-jumping-over-fences mobile as it spins silently (window fan blows it). After naps, she alternates between watching the mobile and looking at her Raggedy Ann doll while eating her toes. I can usually hear her cooing through the monitor.

* Most importantly, we continue to be head-over-heels in love with Alma.  It has been a joy to watch her grow and develop over these last five months.  We are so blessed to call her our daughter.

How We Spent Today

We are still around ... just busy these days with visits, sunny days, the stomach flu (boo!) and getting ready for some summer adventures.

Soon enough, I'll catch up and share more cute photos from my visit with my parents and tons of fun shots from Erica and Kira's great visit from Arizona. Here's two to tide you over ...