9 Month Letter

Dear Zain,

Nine months old already! I can't believe you have now been in my life as long as I carried you. In a few short months you will be celebrating your first birthday, and I don't know where the time has gone!

You want to stand all the time and you crawl and lunge your way over us (or any perceived obstacle) at any given oppurtunity. You can't sit still and have become a tornado of destruction. Once you have got your eye on something there is no stopping you! You can stand almost completely unassisted and practice your wobbly walk with help.

You gave me quite the heart attack a few days ago when I left you sitting on your floor in your room and turned around to put something in your closet. I turned back around and you were standing at the ottomon. Since then you have tried or succeeded in pulling yourself up on all kinds of ottoman's and sofa's! The best is when you fall backwards from sitting or standing and look at Mama and start laughing. You are not a complainer about a little bump here and there at all!

You get on all fours easily now and rock back and forth, but you still prefer a strong army crawl or rolling for locomotion. You get where you need to go quite efficiently with zero regard for your safety. Just this week you have figured out how to go from lying down to sitting up and on to all fours to sitting, and back again. This means that soon enough there will be no more obstacles to pulling yourself up on the nearest piece of furniture. At least before I was safe if I put you down lying down!

You are the most vocal and happy baby.

You 'talk' instead of babble now (but still no words) and shriek your frustration when things don't go your way. You have a very clear idea of how that is. You have two lower teeth now, and you think the plethora of kisses you give now should include a love bite along with it. You are also putting your new teeth to good use trying all kinds of new foods! You are a bottomless pit! However, if you don't like something you will open your mouth and push it out with your tongue to the front while making a face like, 'how dare you feed me that!' I sense some food wars ahead! You also hold your bottle like a champ with one hand and hand it back to me when you are done drinking.

You have tried Masala Dosa for the first time, gone to the park with Papa (you love the swing and watch with interest when Papa pushes mama on the swing), grown like a weed and wearing all kinds of sized clothes, gone to see your first circus, and still love going off with anyone who will smile at you and tell you 'you're cute.'

You are still a great sleeper and have a new blue teddy bear as a companion now! You calm yourself to sleep by cuddling him as you chew on his ears. Its adorable to see you two asleep together. You sleep wedged into the corner, perpendicular to the length of the crib, regardless of how we put you down. Now you like to sleep on your side in the fetal position and sometimes with your legs up the crib rails perpendicular to your body. It makes it easier to kick the rails in frustration when I have the audacity to make you take a nap or take to long coming to get you after one. I cannot go to sleep until I sneak in and look at you. My mom used to do that, and now I understand the compulsion. You are so beautiful when you are sleeping. It melts my heart!

And you love mangoes as much as mama. Win for me! Bath time with your duckies is your favourite, but now I spend more time looking at your cute bottom as you get on your knees and go lunging over the edge to look at things or try to stand up.

Slowly, I see the baby melt away from you and a toddler emerging. I am so excited to see you grow into a active little boy, but there is that little bit of an ache watching your infant days in the rearview mirror. I want you to grown and experience everything this big world has to offer, but I still look at old pictures and wonder why it already feels like such a distant memory. I don't even remember how you fit into those teeny tiny onsies anymore!

Sweet baby boy, you are the apple of my eye. You are just the most beautiful soul I ever had the pleasure of knowing, and you are all mine!

I love you in every way possible...

Love,

Mama

XOXO

DumDaDum

Last Sunday I had a brunch date with the girls. Baby Zain came along due to DM's call schedule, and ended up eating a lot of Manda's oatmeal and Princess S.' gluten free toast dipped in dairy free hot chocolate. Princess S. and her bikini competition training are coming along nicely and her waist has nipped in and her arms are incredibly toned.

I didn't get home from dinner at my parents till 4:00 a.m. the night before so by the time I got to 9:15 brunch I was exhausted, but it was well worth it. We went early because we were trying a new Dutch pancake restaurant down town that didn't take reservations. Good thing we did because when we left people were waiting outside to get in!

Monday hot yoga showed I was improving. I have always been ridiculously flexible, so yoga and pilates comes easy to me, but I am starting to do some more advanced moves I couldn't before. My balance is improving!

On Wednesday I went to have drinks at a restaurant with some women from my Mommy Connection group to say farewell to a mom who was moving to Virginia. She doesn't sound very happy about her husband uprooting her from her home and family with a 9 month old for work, but she is trying to make the most of it. I feel for her. They are such like minded mom's with no judgement or mommy guilt, and it was great for my soul to talk about things like going back to work, childcare, breast feeding, mommy guilt, etc.

I left feeling invigorated.

I went to my first spin class in a long time on Wednesday. Lets just say I am paying for it with the sore muscles and bruises. I fell in love all over again, even if the instructor was nuts and in love with high gears!

Life is good. My baby turned 9 months on Tuesday, and I cannot believe it. He has been in my life for as long as I carried him now. That means school is just around the corner for me, and I am starting to feel the panic!

How is everyone doing?

Best Date Ever!

Its been a somewhat uneventful month, which is good because June promises to be busy.

Had a physical. Still severely anemic. Surprise, surprise. She asked me if I rather have her send me for IV iron in a tone that implied as if it was a better option and she was doing me a favor. Uh, no thanks, I'll take my pills. Scouts honor (I have yet to take them...)

I had a meeting with the admission adviser for law school. We explored some options and  I opted not to go part-time. My confirmation deposit is paid and I am officially starting law school in September 2013. In-laws have yet to mention it or even congratulate me. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

The Saturday before last I headed to a lovely brunch with the girls and Manda's cousin also came along. She is a year ahead of me at our law school, and at Manda's high tea birthday celebration I picked her brain about law school. She was a big push for me deciding to do it (although my mind was pretty much made up by then!) I guess with GA living in Berlin that fourth seat was getting pretty empty. I am glad we found a compatible and old friend to fill it- not that we could or want to replace GA!

Then I rushed home and got into some practical jeans to drive almost three hours in to the deep country, a place where real cowboys reside, to go to a transplant fundraiser trail ride. We came after the ride for food as DM was asked to speak by one of his old patients. It was a room packed at the community center of this charming little community. If one wasn't a real cowboy it seemed he/she was in construction. DM was like a celebrity with all his past transplant recipients coming to say hello and offer to buy him a drink (for the man who doesn't drink.) I was so proud and it really gave me a glimpse into how truly important what he does is.

One of the speeches was from the mother of a transplant donor. There was barely a dry eye in the room and I had to struggle to hold back my tears. Up on the stage with her was the woman who had gotten her daughters heart at 17 when she died in a car accident, and also her own daughter who had later received a heart transplant as well. She talked about how her daughter's heart going to this woman, someone she happened to know, and enabling her to grow up and have her own two beautiful daughters was the one light in the whole tragedy. And how those two children were their angels and treasures. I am getting choked up just remembering it. In transplant we sometimes forget that to every success story or life changed there is the counterpart of a tragedy. Well, I never get to forget. Each time DM gets a donor offer I get to hear about how the person died on the other end and how old they were. Often too young...

The point of the fundraiser was to encourage everyone to donated their organs if, god forbid, anything should happen to you. I would like to echo that sentiment right now. You will save a life, change a family, and give someone a fighting chance.

The fundraiser raised enough money to purchase another recovery apartment across from the hospital by the charity chosen that year. They keep apartments to help people from out of town deal with the financial cost of transplant and recovery.

Zain also participated in his first country dance with people who actually knew what they were doing!

Despite many a cowboys at bars in my youth trying to teach me, Mama still is a terrible country dancer. I use to be able to drop it like it was hot to compensate, but now I think I would just throw out my back ;)!

Zain is hilarious. This room was packed to the brim and he went off with the daughter of one of the transplant recipients without a backwards glance. I had no idea where he was in the crowd, and when I finally got a glimpse or two he was being handed around like it was nothing and smiling at random women. He didn't even look for me once!

My first mothers days was pretty laid back. Zain greeted me in the morning with the perfect card and mini eggs (my favorite chocolate.) DM and I did engaged in a fight, as couples are wont do at the worst times, but it got sorted. Honestly, I hate fighting, but it is so rare and I am just so much more in love with and in tune to DM after. It also reminds me what a good person he is- he doesn't fight dirty like I sometimes do! We did manage to go and buy Zain some cool Fisher Price Zookeeper toys- since he can sit an play now- and DM went to see his mother. We just recently found out the oncologist has cleared her for surgery on June 17th, which was the goal of chemo. DM didn't think it was going to happen and we are all so happy and optimistic now.

Last Tuesday after my lawn got done for summer I headed for a much needed massage. I have been having some running pain in the middle of my right buttock and she sorted me right out! I showered and walked a couple blocks to meet a sorority sister at a local coffee shop where we had delicious gelato and shared life tidbits. She is now the owner of a new home and will be moving into my neighborhood! I couldn't be more excited.

The next morning DM left for a conference/meetings in Philadelphia and I was flying solo with Zain. This time it was different, since Zain is at an age where he is more a companion than just a lump, so I wasn't quite as lonely. I still slept terribly (when I finally did drag myself off to bed!)

The next day I passed the day with my girlfriend Mandy whom I met for lunch. She loves Zain and he was the star of the show.

Yes, my son is adorable. Be jealous.

However, he does not have the same respect for shoes that I do. The mini-Porsche he treats quite well! I think he is trying to prove to his dad he should inherit his some day!

I then dropped Zain off to visit with my in-laws and went to the mall with Mandy. Whenever we are together we spend way too much on MAC makeup and in Sephora. This time it was no different!

That Friday we went to visit my girlfriend K who recently had a baby girl. I cuddled this sweet little baby while Zain looked on mildly alarmed, but he managed to get over it and continue playing. In the evening we went for one of my best friends Andrea's birthday dinner. Zain stole the show again and Andrea was thrilled to have him there.

 He hung out with his Aunty A all night

and met some cool guys who showed him their snowboard app- something he loved and had him giggling non-stop.

 And allowed us silly girls to pose for some pictures with him

 Happy birthday Andrea. Two decades of friendship later I love you more like a sister!

On Saturday my cousin Shabz came over to visit Zain and spent a few hours hanging out. She took these adorable pictures of Zain during lunch.

(Zain's new frustrated face)

A few of the old friends came in from out of town and we did dinner. Aunty A was excited to see Zain two nights in a row. He was well behaved as always and loving being out on the patio in the sun! A lot of the group couldn't make it, including Andrea and my sister who is in the Dominican with my family, but we had a blast nonetheless!

I'll have my people call your people

Zain had his first taste of Perrier

It didn't go well

 And he went straight for Aunty A's wine

Later we headed out onto the patio after the two hour wait to get a table there!

It was packed with good looking ladies, one of them being my girlfriend Sabrina who also came over and gave Zain several cuddles.

 (with the ladies)

My little guy is the best date ever!

I don't know what it is, but the ladies just love me!

As much as Zain and I wanted to hang out it was way past his bedtime, and his Papa had said that he had to be in bed at 9:30 at the latest, so we rushed home! 

Entertaining his ladies his hard work for my little man...

I managed to get him from his car seat, change his diaper, put him in a onesie and his sleep sack, and into bed without him bothering to wake up. He did crack his eyes open once or twice and then decided opening them was too much work.

DM got back from Philadelphia on Sunday night. It was supposed to be at 11:00 p.m., but a lot of flights got delayed and he ended up landing around 1:00 a.m. Luckily a colleague was on his flight and had his car at the airport so I didn't have to wake up the poor guy and take him to the airport. A poor guy who had a absolute meltdown at 5:00 p.m. and fell asleep on my chest, had a second melt down when I tried to put him in his crib, and was successfully put to sleep after a warm bath at 6:30 p.m. He didn't wake up until 8:00 a.m. the next morning and was all smiles when he saw his Papa! 

He has two teeth now and its hard to know if he is in pain or just over tired most days. Not fun for either of us. 

My husband is home (bearing many Kate Spade goodies) and I couldn't be happier. I missed him so much and am in absolute bliss having him next to me in bed again. When he slipped in at around 2:00 a.m. and cuddled me I finally slept well for the first time in days. 

It's the little things.

Montreal & ISHLT Reunions

Montreal was a ton of fun and a great break. Mostly for me, considering DM left early each morning to head to the conference center. I had some old friends to linger with and this fabulous city to explore!

Montreal, especially Old Montreal, is a must see. It is this amazing juxtaposition of life. The old buildings next to the new, bikes intermingling with Ferrari's, people effortlessly moving from French to English-and back again- in one conversation. And the people are so incredibly nice!

Zain was wonderful on the plane again and got a lot of smiles from surrounding people.

(all ready to head to the airport)

We got a cab from the airport and chatted with the cab driver about his two adorable children, hockey, etc. When we finally arrived at our hotel we were pretty pleased with how helpful everyone was. We were staying at Hotel Gault and, especially with the stairs, the fact someone would rush out to help with the stroller, open doors, and press the elevator button for you before you even got there were small, but much appreciated, luxuries. The staff was unfailingly polite and helpful as well. Everything was within walking distance and it was amazing weather!

The evening we got there we met up with DM's colleague who had recently moved away, his partner J, and their beautiful adopted baby boy C. We went to a nice restaurant where the staff was so kind to the boys despite the ruckus they caused, more C with his toddler ways, and made the effort to be friendly to them. Even the food was delicious!

Then we parted ways (tired toddlers who don't do strollers have stricter bed times) and DM and I strolled over the Montreal's Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The next day with all the doctors off at the conference I met up with J and C for a walk around the waterfront after a lovely breakfast of almond croissant and chai at Olive + Gourmando. It became our morning spot!

How cute is this guy?!?! Always well dressed of course! That is what happens when you have super classy, gay fathers!

I kept thinking here, 'two looks good on me!' I can so see this being my life!

 But for now I love this guy and our time together. We are best friends!

 And of course I got the requisite Delta Gamma sailor salute pose with the anchor! Anchored for life!

J was like, 'oh there is like a pose and everything!'

We met up with DM and his old pulmonary fellow K- the one doing a year of transplant training and whose wife works for a big firm in the city- at the Cathedral. We had lunch at a family run place that had apparently been around for 30 years. We are talking lasagna and salad servings as big as my face. Totally kid friendly (the guy who cleaned up after a toddler water spill said he had five boys! Most efficient clean up I have ever seen!)

That evening we met up with R&J at Les Pyrenees, where Zain and C proceeded to play together extremely well. Zain is not at all intimidated by older children. He thrives on it!

Even though they had to get C home to sleep we were afforded some time for dessert thanks to this...

... and we opted for the delicious Creme de Catalonia, which took us right back to our second honeymoon in Barcelona. This stuff is heaven!

(What? You only share one dessert?!?)

The next day DM and I walked around McGill campus and headed to Schwartz's deli for a Montreal smoke beef sandwich and some poutine, which of course is a must try in Montreal! The walls were lined with pictures of famous people who had eaten there.

And then headed back to the hotel area while taking in many sights!

In the evening we all met up L'Autre Version where I ordered the cauliflower gnocchi and shared a sugar pie with DM

J's Mexican dessert looked pretty good too! R had to take C home so he missed out!

The next day I tried O+G's yogurt & fruit for breakfast and it was amazing. I should eat this more at home!

Of course the chocolate brioche was also quite delectable! In the evening we had a big dinner with R&J, Baby C, DM's fellow and his lawyer wife (who had just come into Montreal the night before to join us all). It was such a nice reunion and we went to Chez L'Epicier for dinner.

Now I am a big believer in taking children nice places to eat, even if I know some people aren't. From a young age we were encouraged to join our parents everywhere, and it taught us how to behave accordingly and be comfortable in these establishments. Even Baby C is quite use to fine dining (considering who his parents are) and is as lovely and well behaved as a two year old can be expected to be. We are sure to come early for dinner and at the first sign of any Baby C issues he is take outside and disciplined. Zain is always just mellow and great (for now!)

So we were thoroughly disappointed when we found the service here was terrible. It was almost like they were required to serve us, but were clearly trying to get rid of us as quickly as possible. They just plugged their nose and did it. Our waiter showed up twice. Once to take our order and once to drop off our food. I was parched through the entire meal. A couple next to us kept looking at Baby C and Zain as if they were rats and then asked to be moved (even though nothing but them quietly sitting there had transpired!) We, including our childless friends, were flabbergasted by the outward show of disgust towards the fact that we decided to pro-create AND THEN inflict the abomination that are children unto people at *gasp* a restaurant.

And we collectively spent quite a great deal of money there.

The long and short of it is I have been to nicer restaurant, with better food (I was starving after), with children- and the staff have been much more gracious. These are the restaurants we will recommend to all our friends (most whom enjoy fine dining and travelling) and return to on date night!

The reunion part of it was wonderful though! However, what sucks about being in a big firm is offices all around the world. Jen managed to go into work even in a different city and never got to hang out with us during the day. Yuck!

DM and I were pretty hungry after and we wandered to check out Simons and the other stores, at which point we decided on some late night crepes. Best decision ever!

(Nutella and strawberry- there is nothing better!)

The weather was lovely for walking, but by the time we trekked back to the hotel I was so tired and not up to packing.

So we ended up doing it that morning. Luckily we had a later flight. This is my husband's idea of packing, and sadly Zain did not protest one bit!

('Hi Mommy! I am going on a airplane!')

We met up with R&J for one last breakfast/lunch and said our goodbyes. 

I told R about law school and he was very happy for me! Its nice to have such genuine friends who, when they say are happy for you, you know without a shred of doubt they mean it!

Also, I love this little guy! Ever bit of him!

Zain was fabulous on the flight back and, as always, it was wonderful to be home. I watched Django on the second leg of the flight. It was pretty good!