Where in the World Is Courtney?

Have you missed me? I know, my three readers out there, it's been a long, hard haul to this point. But I am up and running again! I have so much in store for you--stories, updates and photos--but your patience will simply have to kick in a little longer. I am writing this entry from my call room at the hospital, so I have no access to my pictures. And I want pictures to go with my stories. I will, however, give you a sneak peek:

1. Christmas--Remember way back then? Lots of family time and pictures and events. Best of all, didn't get on a plane or take any long road trips.
2. Return to work for me. New school for Molly, new school schedule for Rebecca, new daycare for Amelia.
3. Edamame. One of my new favorite foods. Curious?
4. Pickwick Lake for New Year's Eve.
5. All brain, a little braun. Trivia Nights for the Walshes & Marshes. Winnings galore!
6. Amelia groweth! She rolls! She grabs! She's got chub on those scrawny legs!
7. We now live in Our Dream House! Unpacking is another story....

Stay tuned for details. I know you were worried. Thanks for waiting. I'll be back soon!

Snaggletooth

Yesterday, Molly woke up as usual. She was talking to me about her upcoming "winter party" at school, when I noticed a dark shadowy area in her mouth. The previously mentioned loose tooth was gone! We were all very excited about this, her very first lost tooth. I felt a little sad, because, well, it seems like she JUST got that tooth. Wasn't she 6 months old only last week?? Anyway, we thought perhaps she'd swallowed the tooth in the night (I've heard that this can happen), but I found it in her sheets. The Tooth Fairy visited last night. I was awakened this morning to a squeal of delight. She left Molly a dollar, a pack of sugarless strawberry gum, and a small Tinkerbell decorative pillow hanging on a ribbon, all of which Molly promptly zipped into her High School Musical purse from Aunt Jenny. I asked Molly what she thought the Tooth Fairy did with all those baby teeth. Without hesitation, she answered, "They are for her Tooth Castle. She builds the Tooth Castle with baby teeth. But not the furniture. That would be gross."

Sugar Plum Fairies & Scarlett O'Hara

Our most recent Christmas-themed adventure was the annual performance of the Nutcracker ballet. Again, a childhood memory for me--my very best friend from age 10 and up was Miss. Jessica, and she was a dancer with Memphis Concert Ballet, which is now called Ballet Memphis. Every year, she danced in the Nutcracker. I can remember the week when auditions were held--always a very anxious and tense week--and going to the final dress rehearsal to witness the culmination of all that work. I loved it every time. (To highlight how old we are, Jessica & her husband are expecting a baby in February, and I have three kids. Wow--we are so ancient.) Two years ago, I took Molly to the Nutcracker in Davenport, and she was mesmerized. So the tradition continues. She again loved it. Rebecca was great through the first half, but was pretty restless by Act II and had to be escorted out a few times. Frankly, I think she missed the best parts--I love those Arabian, Chinese and Russian dancers, and I especially like the Polichenelles (spelling?), chldren dressed as clowns who come runnning out from under a lady's big skirt and do cartwheels all over the stage. Before the show, the girls had "mini-manicures" at Sweet n Sassy salon, complete with glitter and a ring for each (see photos above). We went to dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse and got to eat at the table that is shaped like a bed. Aunt Meredith, my cousin Alyson and her daughter Hannah, all joined us for a "girl's night out." We all posed for a picture, except Rebecca, who spent most of the meal hiding under the table, pretending she was asleep.

In the same weekend, the girls were in a Christmas parade in the town of Lakeland (soon to be our home)! Rebecca's school friend Haley (whose mother went to high school with Peter and me) was turning 5, and her parents built an awesome Gone With the Wind-themed float. The kids dressed in period dresses, sang carols and tossed leftover Halloween candy to the crowd. Their float won third prize (and a trophy for the birthday girl!). Oddly, Rebecca fell fast asleep (are you sensing a theme here?) on the float, so her parade memory is of her dad and Sage's dad shoving her onto the float as it pulled out from the staging area, throwing the parasol and white gloves to her as they drove away. By the time it was over, she was awake and peppy as ever! Again, Santa was a highlight. Molly is just so excited that she's finally not scared of Santa, so every opportunity to see the Bearded One is greeted with urgency and delight.

Will the fun never end?! Let's hope so, so Rebecca can get some sleep.

Holiday Happenings

We've been busy little elves this Christmas season. The girls, Peter, Pa and Papa all saw the Zoo Lights on the Friday after Thanksgiving and it's been downhill (or uphill?) from there!

Although Santa was at the mall from the very first day of November (doesn't this get earlier every year?), we waited until after Thanksgiving to see him. We went on a weeknight, which was super-smart, since there was no line. The girls got to chat at length with the Big Guy. Molly asked for a Nutcracker, and Rebecca asked for "an Ariel doll with Sleeping Beauty's head."

Reliving a childhood event for Peter and me, we all went to the Enchanted Forest. When we were little, this was held downtown in the Goldsmith's department store. As we got a little older, it moved to the Agricenter, and I'm pretty sure it was somewhere else before that. Now it's held at the Pink Palace Museum. The Enchanted Forest is held in conjunction with the Festival of Trees, in which local companies sponsor a group or organization so they can decorate themed Christmas trees. The girls truly enjoyed this part, perhaps even more than the EF. The EF has the exact same little moving figures it did 30 years ago--beavers building stuff, foxes sledding, owls in trees, etc. It all sort of smells like cat pee and moth balls, but what says Christmas more than beavers on sleds who smell like an old lady's house? There's a fabulous train village at the end and, of course, Santa. Sage, who goes to school with Rebecca, came, too. She and her parents are recent Memphis imports, so perhaps this will start a tradition for them.

We went to our church's Breakfast with Santa, which may need to become a tradition. The teens did a short play about the real meaning of the season (Jesus, for all you heathens out there!), incorporating the Christian meanings of the secular decorations (wreath is a circle for everlasting life, etc.). Breakfast was served, and since there were cinnamon rolls involved, Molly and Rebecca were all about that part. They made gingerbread man crafts, bookmarks, and saw Mr. Claus yet again.


Next weekend, the girls are in a Christmas pageant. Amelia is the star, as she is Baby Jesus, breaking gender barriers at an early age. Molly is a song (the performance is set to the song "Do You Hear What I Hear?") and Rebecca is a little lamb. We will also get together with the Walsh side of the family for holiday cheer. Then on Christmas Eve, the McKee side, and on Christmas Day, the Marsh side. It sounds busy and crazy, but let me say one more time how THRILLED I am that we are not getting on any airplanes or making long car trips for Christmas this year. Or maybe even ever again! Perhaps this is the best new Christmas tradition of them all!

It's just magical to watch the girls react to all the Christmas wonder. It's wonderful for those of us who are fast becoming grissled adults to see again through a child's eyes, the joys of the seaason.

Chuck Hearts Huckabee

Those of you who know me well will realize that I am not endorsing this particular candidate, but I must give kudos to Mike Huckabee for the Chuck Norris Connection. Are you familiar with the enormous cult following of Chuck Norris, of Walker, Texas Ranger fame? There is a Web site of hilarious Chuck facts:

www.chucknorrisfacts.com

So Chuck endorsed Huck, and the campaign made a clever ad featuring the Governor and the Action Star. It's posted on YouTube. You need sound to enjoy it, but you will:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjQs6Bn3ZVM

A little light-hearted fun in an otherwise long and tedious process is always welcome!

Gobble, gobble!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We gleefully celebrated the fact that we didn't have to travel and still got to be with family! We double-dipped on Turkey Day and spent the afternoon with the McKee & Whitaker families out in Somerville and the evening with the Marsh & Anderson families in Lakeland. We ate too much of everything, played a little football, pet a horse, played card games, enjoyed good conversation, and actually did a little relaxing, too. The McKees sang Happy Birthday to Molly and we shared a big ol' cookie cake (her request--with pink ballet shoes on it).

Amelia is still "a little high maintenance," as I like to say, but the crying episodes seem to be shorter--or maybe we're just learning to cope better with them. But she took all the overstimulation of the holiday in stride! She enjoyed meeting the shoulders of aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas and cousins. Nana bought her a swing for Christmas, insisting she might be happy enough in it to give us some non-crying time. And, in fact, she was right. Amelia loves it, even if it's just for a short time--20 minutes of a Baby At Peace is awesome! You will see a photo above of her, not crying, and sitting in the swing. Yippee!

Molly had her 6th birthday party on the Saturday after T-Day, at a pizza joint near our house. Eight kids came, ranging from 7 weeks (Amelia) to 6 years old. There were crafts and High School Musical songs, pizza, an ice cream cake & basketball cupcakes. I will post more pictures of that separately, but here's one of the "big girl" guests. We even had some long-distance guests: the Berthiaumes drove from Alabama and the Smiths drove up from Jackson, MS and, of course, Aunt Meredith lives in Thailand and she was there. How lucky are we! I just can't believe she's 6. She even has a loose tooth. But I will post about that later, when I can compose myself. I'm so dern emotional these days, I get teary just thinking about the Tooth Fairy....

Here are some photos from the week before (Amelia's little smile!) and the big weekend. Her brown dress was a gift from Aunt Julie & Uncle James in Chicago, and M & R have been trying to get me to put it on her from Day One. She is now big enough for 3-month clothes, just in time to show it off for Fall!

Colic (kah' lick)--from the Greek word for "pulling my hair out!"

As I write this post, my beautiful, cuddly, sweet little baby is screaming her lungs out for no apparent reason. She has been doing this for the last 2 hours, almost non-stop, except for very brief nursing times. She cries whether I hold her or not. She is clean and full, not hot or cold. I have given her three different types of tummy relaxing drops, one over-the-counter, one herbal and one prescription-strength. I have read The Happiest Baby on the Block and tried to channel that "calming reflex." I have changed my diet to attempt to isolate any potential foods that might be upsetting her. We hold her every which way except upside-down. She continues to cry.

I hate colic. I hate that I can't make my baby feel better. It seems like she is in pain, as she pulls her feet against her, clenches her fists, alternately cries rhythmically and then in screaming desperation. And yet I cannot help her. "Colic," I have learned, is more likely to happen to the children of teenage parents, to premature babies, to stressed-out moms--this all seems highly unfair, since these are the people who are already facing challenges; to add colic is just wrong! I am not a teenager, and Amelia was not a preemie, and I do not feel particularly stressed-out (except when she is colicky!). But colic strikes even the full-term babies and the 30-something, not stressed-out moms. So here we are.

Hateful really. This too shall pass...