Video Wednesday

Micah is doing a little better - antibiotics are a wonderful thing! His fever broke, he is no longer coughing, he seems to be sleeping better, and he was back to his playful self today. What a relief! I have to bring him back to the doctor in 10 days to get his ears and nose checked again, but we seem to be on the right path.

It has been a while, so I thought I'd post some recent video of Micah. He is getting so big and active! He plays with toys, he crawls, stands, cruises. Unbelievable!

Dog watching:

Reading:

Getting into trouble:

Poor little guy

Micah woke up at 5:00 am coughing and crying. We took his temperature (100.5), brought him into bed and gave him a bottle. By 7:00 am, he was up for the day. I brought him downstairs, gave him breakfast and played with him for a bit. I called the doctor's office and made an appointment for him for the afternoon. Elliot put him down for a nap at 9:30, but he decided to wake back up again at 10:15.

We went to synagogue as planned, but Micah was pretty miserable. We took him to the doctor at 2:00 pm, and we learned that he has a massive ear infection and a sinus infection. I was a bit frustrated, especially since they told us on Thursday and Friday that his ears were clear and it was NOT an ear infection. Anyway, they prescribed antibiotics for Micah, so hopefully he'll be getting better soon.

Oh - and picking up the antibiotics was a nightmare! The pharmacist was sitting doing nothing, and when he finally got off his ass to fill my prescription, he decided the dosage was wrong. After taking 1/2 hour on the phone and talking to the doctor - he ended up dispensing the medicine as prescribed. What a mess!

Break fast was nice - we had a quiet dinner at home with my parents. Bagels, lox, cream cheese, blintzes, tuna fish and egg salad were on the menu! It was a good evening.

Yom Kippur

Today is Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. We fast from sundown on Sunday night until sundown on Monday - no food or water. The purpose of fasting is partially to cleanse, and partially to allow us to focus on atoning. It is the day we seek forgiveness for all the sins we have committed in the past year, and hope for a "good and final sealing" in the Book of Life for the upcoming year.

This time of year, I often find myself reflecting on my life. Have I been a good person? How can I be a better person? Last year, I was 28 weeks pregnant and I was experiencing pre-term contractions. I spent Kol Nidre night in the hospital, and I was running for an ultrasound on Yom Kippur Day. What a difference a year makes! This year, my little man is sick - figures he would continue the trend of causing me stress on Yom Kippur! Perhaps he will be feeling much better tomorrow.

Year in and year out, I resolve to improve and change, but sadly, I suspect I often fail to make progress from one year to the next. It worries me - I've had such good fortune in the past year, and I hope that I have earned it. I wonder if I have been good enough to those I love, and kind enough to strangers. Last year, I promised myself I would stop procrastinating and focus more on improving my business and staying organized. I promised I would work on being kinder to those I care about, and far more considerate. Unfortunately, I think I have probably failed to make sufficient progress on my New Year's vows. As I sit back and reflect on the past year, I find myself wanting to make the same vows again. Perhaps this year I will make more progress.

Speaking of being considerate, here is a bit of a non sequitur. I am constantly amazed by how thoughtful, caring and considerate some people can be. I have a few friends that are like that - they mail thank you cards promptly, always remember to call before important life events, send gifts on time, and send a "thinking of you card" or a little token for good luck. I wish I was more like that. I have to say, I am not spontaneously thoughtful. I have great intentions to call or buy cute little gifts, but I get distracted and forget. I so appreciate when people think of me - perhaps this year I can learn to be more considerate towards others.

To everyone celebrating this high holy day, I hope you have an easy fast.

Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire!

I don't even know where to begin with this post. Micah has been sick and running a high fever, so all kinds of songs with heat/fire in the title were running through my head as I tried to title this post. As you can see, I finally settled on one. I keep thinking I should treat this post like one of my power point presentations at a conference - pick a theme and use the metaphor throughout the post...but I think that would be inappropriate with Bruce Springsteen's lyrics. Perhaps I should have picked a different title - although the other two songs I considered tend to use a sexual meaning for fire as well. (Fire - Pointer Sisters: "Cause when we kiss....ooh, ooh, fire."; Hot, Hot, Hot - Buster Poindexter: "Party people all around me feeling hot hot hot.")

Oh well...perhaps I'll have to skip the song metaphor approach. Maybe I'll just take a dictionary approach instead? I went to dictionary.com and looked up some key definitions for "fire." I think this could work as a theme, so....

Fire away (verb phrase): to begin to talk and continue without slackening.

Another insane week for me. I woke up on Tuesday pretty early with Micah, gave him his bottle, and played with him. I finally bundled him off to his nap while I did my best to pack in a hurry and straighten the house up so the cleaning lady could clean. When Micah woke up, I took him to his class (which he loved) and then ran him over to Laura's house. I hated to leave him like that, but he seemed perfectly content to stay and play. I ran home, grabbed my bags and headed to the airport.

I arrived at the airport in plenty of time, made my plane with no problems, and then landed in Orlando on time. My friend Tammy, who lives in Miami, drove up to meet me, and she picked me up at the airport.

Fire (noun): burning passion; excitement or enthusiasm; ardor

We checked into the hotel, and headed out to a wonderful dinner. At dinner, we had some good discussions - we talked a lot about work, and it made me remember how we were back in college - full of enthusiasm (fire in our bellies) and ready to embrace life and work and what was ahead. I think my enthusiasm and ardor has ebbed over the years - or perhaps it has been redirected. I love what I do for a living, and I love how I help people, but it is no longer my first priority. For more than ten years, my job was my first priority. I cannot imagine living that way ever again. Tammy is still at a point in her life when her job is her top priority. In some ways, I envy that - I did not have that kind of passion to stay on that career path I was on ten years ago, and sometimes I wonder what my life would look like today if I had stayed on that path.

We ate far too much, but it was so nice to relax and catch up with a friend. After dinner, we wandered around Downtown Disney. I dragged her over to my favorite candy shop there, and we each bought a chocolate caramel apple. I LOVE these apples - mine was a green apple, dipped in caramel, chocolate on top of that, rolled in oreo cookie. A little slice of heaven! Did I mention that Tammy is my diet buddy? Yeah, we were NOT such good influences on each other this trip.

Fire (noun): strength, as of an alcoholic beverage.

I called Elliot after dinner to check on my two boys. Unfortunately, the news was not so good - Micah would not go to sleep and he was waking up every 10 minutes and crying. I tried giving Elliot a few tips, and I felt a little guilty that his first night as a "single dad" was so rough. Elliot was trying everything, but nothing seemed to have enough fire to make Micah feel better. He gave him some Tylenol, tried some Mylanta, and lots of good old fashioned cuddling. When I finally said good night to Elliot for the last time at 2:00 am, Micah had just gone back to sleep.

Fire (noun): fever or inflammation.

My biggest fear this trip was that Elliot would fall asleep and not hear Micah cry out during the night. I was very proud of him, though, because he really did manage to tune in (which now just irritates me that he doesn't do that at other times, but I digress). Micah woke up one more time during the night Tuesday, but then he slept until almost 9:00 am. When Micah finally woke up Wednesday morning, Elliot realized he was running a fever. This is when I started to worry - Elliot had planned to have Micah in daycare, and fever meant no daycare. He called the doctor, and the doctor thought it was likely just a reaction to the flu shot he had on Monday. He was told to monitor the temp, give him Tylenol, and bring him in if the fever was not gone in 24 hours.

Fire (verb): to inspire.

Meanwhile, back in Orlando, I had a busy conference day trying to arrange everything. I was in touch with my parents and coordinating help for Elliot with Micah. I attended conference sessions, and visited the exhibit hall, and met with all the different exhibitors. It was actually a productive conference for me - I found a bunch of resources for my client, made some good contacts, and flagged a few issues for my client we had not previously considered. I was kind of excited about the prospects for our project, and all fired up with ideas for my client.

I made it back to the room around 5:30 and checked in with Elliot. Unfortunately, Micah was not doing any better. Despite my worries about my little guy at home, Tammy and I went out for dinner. Dinner was inspiring - we had an INCREDIBLE meal at Portobello in Downtown Disney. I was surprised to have such a delicious dinner there. The meal started off with roasted garlic and bread. We ordered fried risotto croquettes filled with mozzarella cheese to share, and we each had a glass of wine. I ordered a red Italian "drinking" wine - it was subtle and matched my meal perfectly. My main course was a delicious ravioli with perhaps the best marinara sauce I've ever had - rich flavors, tangy, light, not sweetened, and laced with garlic. I ate the entire dish because I wanted more sauce! We topped off our decadent extravaganza with a piece chocolate cake that we shared. From start to finish, dinner was divine!

Fire (noun): A state, process or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame.

We spent the remainder of the evening wandering around the shops, picking up presents for family members, and having a pleasant evening - although I think my credit card was on fire from my purchases. We talked about staying for Disney's nightly fireworks/New Year's celebration on Pleasure Island, but we decided to call it a night earlier. When we got back to the hotel, I had a bit more work to finish before bedtime.

The next morning, Micah's fever was over 102 degrees. Elliot called the doctor and arranged to take him in for an appointment. As I suspected, the doctors had no idea what was wrong, told us to give him Tylenol and come back on Friday or Saturday if he did not improve. In Orlando, I did a bit of work sorting through my contacts from the conference, headed to one last meeting for the trip, and then enjoyed some fun time with Tammy before my flight home. We grabbed breakfast at IHOP, got a manicure/pedicure, then stopped off at the outlets. I had no intention of shopping, but I couldn't resist. I bought a cute sweater from Ann Taylor Loft and I ended up buying two outfits from Michael Kors - a dress and a skirt. I was actually surprised because I usually don't buy labels like that. The clothes were well-made, reasonably priced, and fit well. I really needed the clothes - I am now planning to wear the outfits for Yom Kippur and my upcoming business trips, so I do think it was money well spent. I also bought everything on sale at insanely reasonable prices!

Fire (verb): to hurl, throw.

I got to the airport in plenty of time...unfortunately, my flight was delayed by an hour. I was inflamed - I cannot stand that the flights are always delayed! All I wanted to do was hurl something at the airline attendants, but I figured that would only get me banned from the flight (and possibly placed on the do not fly list), so I buried the urge. Why does that always happen when I'm so anxious to get home? As I sat and steamed at the airport, my mom was spending time with Micah. My plane took off quite late, and I finally landed a little after 7. Try as they might, they just couldn't keep my little man awake. He had another rough night, so I did get to go in around 12 and cuddle him back to sleep. I missed my little man terribly! I brought back a great surprise for Elliot, too - his very own chocolate/caramel/peanut butter cup apple, a chocolate peanut butter pretzel, and a chocolate caramel pretzel! He was kind enough to share, and it was delicious.

On Friday, Micah's fever climbed to 102.5, so we decided to take him back to the doctor. They did a nasal swab, checked his ears and chest, and everything came back negative. By Friday evening, his fever hit 103.5. I called the doctor again, and she suggested I give him motrin in addition to the Tylenol. She said to wait an hour, but if it didn't go down, I should take him to the emergency room. One hour later...his temperature dropped! He finally stopped crying and we were able to put him to sleep. He woke up again at 4:00 am, we gave him more medicine and brought him into bed with us and he slept until 8:00 am.

Fire (noun): severe trial or trouble; ordeal.

Today was a particularly rough day (under fire). Elliot had to work, so he was gone all day. Micah wouldn't eat much, but the motrin and Tylenol kept his fever lower. He had several crying sessions during the day, and he was very clingy/needy. I called the doctor, and she said I could bring him in for a chest xray and blood work. Since he isn't coughing, I decided not to bring him in for the chest xray. She said blood work wouldn't tell her much either, so I decided to hold off on that as well.

Micah did not nap well in the morning, he barely ate anything for lunch, and when he finally fell asleep for his afternoon nap, he woke up one hour later crying. I brought him downstairs and he curled up on my chest and fell back asleep - for three more hours! He woke up crying around 5:00, and I quickly gave him his medicine and a bottle. He finally started to feel better, and he had a few hours happy and smiling before bed time. It is now 11:40, and he has woken up and cried a few times, but he has quickly fallen back to sleep each time. Here is hoping he actually sleeps through the night tonight!

Fire (verb): to dismiss from a job.

I have so much work to do in the upcoming weeks - I have a few conference calls this week to debrief about my last two trips. I have promised people information, and I have work proposals to write. I need to get myself in gear because I'd hate to risk any of my clients.

So - I made the theme work? It was a rough fit, but it was a challenge!

Peek-a-boo

Micah has expanded on his recent bib-removal trick - he now pulls it off and plays peak-a-boo. He is so cute as he pulls it over his eyes, waits for me to say "peek-a-boo," and then he rips it away and gives me a big (but shy) smile. That boy is just too cute for words sometimes.

Daycare Update

I am so thrilled with our daycare situation right now! What a relief to finally have this working out. It still saddens me to take him to daycare - there are times when I wish I could be with him full-time and still manage to get my work finished. But then I think about daycare, and it makes me smile. Micah has constant stimulation there - he has new toys, teachers who truly seem to LOVE him, activities such as music and Spanish every day, he plays outside on their gym equipment, he goes on walks, he interacts with other children, and he has tons of space to crawl, explore and climb. Overall, I think daycare has been a positive experience for him. He seems to love being there - he is happy and smiling when I drop him off, and he remains happy at the end of the day when I come pick him up.

Look, Ma, no bib!

Micah has developed a new trick - he likes to pull off his bib. At times, I think he merely means to inform us that he is done eating. Other times, I think he is pronouncing that he is a big boy, and bibs are for babies. But mostly, I think he has his father's sense of humor and he finds it funny. He grabs on to the bib with two hands and just yanks until he pulls the fastener off. We have slowly been dealing with this challenge - we bought bibs that go over the head instead of fastening, so try as he might, he can't pull it off (and believe me, he tries). I am sure he will figure out how to pull it over his head soon enough.

Edited to add: Sure enough, the day after I wrote this post, Micah figured out how to pull the bib over his head. We are in BIG trouble!!

Speaking of eating, Micah is eating real table food now! And he had his last bottle of breast milk on Saturday morning. I'm still amazed by how "grown up" he is. We give him pureed food, too (especially since he STILL doesn't have any teeth), but he has been eating small pieces of chicken, brisket, potatoes, carrots, mushroom barley soup, squash soup, broccoli stew, lentils, couscous, quinoa, rice, cheerios, bananas, melon, yogurt, macaroni and cheese...pretty much anything we eat, he is eating, too! For good measure, here is a video of him feeding himself scrambled egg yolk and cheerios:

9 month checkup

Yesterday was Micah's 9 month checkup! He is doing really well - he weighed 17 lbs 13 ozs (still a little guy) and he measured around 28.5 inches. That puts him in the 10th percentile for weight (at least he is consistent!) and somewhere between the 40th and 90th percentile for height. Actually, they measured him 3 times and got 3 different heights - 27.5, 28.5 and 29. That little guy can squirm!! Developmentally, he is hitting all of his milestones right on target, and all is well. We talked about food and growth, and then my poor little guy needed a blood test (he didn't mind the prick on his finger, but WOW did he hate the fact that the lady was squeezing his finger to get the blood out) and two vaccinations (flu and his final Hepatitis B shot). He needs to go back in 30 days for another flu vaccination. We also had them culture his nose because it has been dripping for one month. All-in-all, a good checkup!

He went to daycare after the appointment and did just fine all day. I'm off on another business trip - I leave this afternoon and will be back on Thursday. I'm so sad to leave my little guy again, and a bit scared that this is the first time I'm leaving him overnight with his Daddy (alone). My biggest fear is that Elliot won't wake up if Micah cries - he just doesn't hear things at all. I think he would sleep through World War III if it happened while he was sleeping. Wish us luck!

Visit with Grammy and Goppy

With all the traveling I am doing, the holiday, and my computer issues, this is the first chance I've had to blog about our trip to Atlanta (and Micah's visit with my parents). Our flight was last Sunday evening. We went over to my parents' house in the late afternoon. We took some time to unpack all of Micah's things, to run through the routine with my parents, and to get him prepped and ready for dinner. Around 5:45, we took off for National Airport.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, but nearly missed our plane because they changed the gate and we did not realize it. Because we were the last ones on the plane, we were forced to gate check our bags. We arrived in Atlanta, rented a car, then went to check into the hotel. We stayed at the Omni Hotel, and I have to say, that was the MOST incompetent staff we have ever experienced. First, as we arrived the valet was giving car keys to a very drunk woman. We complained to the manager about that, and supposedly, they took her keys back. The woman checking us in could not find our reservations. It took us almost 1 hour to check in, and they did not give us the correct room rate.

When we finally made it to the room, we were exhausted. I called my mom to check on Micah, and apparently he had a great dinner, but it took a little while before he fell asleep. We did our best to leave familiar things with him (his blanket and the mobile). I thanked my mom again, and hoped he slept through the night. We discussed what they needed to do to get him to daycare in the morning, and I said good night.

I woke up early for meetings beginning at 8:00 am, and Elliot was scheduled for an afternoon tour of some of our client's facilities. Apparently, Micah had a good day. He slept until about 7:30, he had his bottle and breakfast, and then my dad and Micah dropped my mom off at work and drove down to daycare. Monday night, Elliot and I had a working dinner, and then I spent the rest of the evening finishing my two presentations for Tuesday. I did call a few times to check on the Micah man, and he did well at daycare. My parents gave him a bath and he went to bed easily.

The conference began bright and early Tuesday morning. My presentations went well, and I think I generated some new business. Micah had a great day, too. He woke up at his normal time, ate breakfast, and hung out with his Grammy in the morning. It was his first day of his story/music class at Kidville, and my parents took him there (I was so sad I missed taking him!). They said he had a great time singing, playing and listening to stories. Apparently, Micah was smiling, clapping, and all over the place - far more interested and active than the other children in the class. My mom went to work after the class, and my dad brought Micah home to their house for lunch and his afternoon nap.

I have to say, I was quite impressed by my father. He was very hands-on as a dad, but so far, as a grandfather, he has been a bit more hands-off. He mostly has seemed uncomfortable with the idea of caring for Micah (or really any of his grandchildren) alone. Much to my surprise, he spent a lot of time alone with Micah last week, and he did a great job! He changed diapers, fed him, put him down for naps, played with him on the floor. Mostly, I was pleased to hear that he was so comfortable with Micah. They seem to have bonded this week, and I love seeing that.

Anyway, back in Atlanta, Elliot and I had a reception Tuesday night, and we were too tired to go out to dinner. Once again, Elliot and I stayed in and worked on our presentations for Wednesday. I have to say, we were in the same building as the CNN Center, right near the Underground, the Coca Cola Museum, and all of downtown Atlanta, and we not only barely left the building the entire trip, we couldn't even explore WITHIN the building.

On Wednesday, I had a third presentation, and Elliot gave two presentations. Another great day for both of us! Micah went back to daycare (after helping my dad drive my mom to work). He had a great time there, my father picked him up around 4:30, and the two of them went and picked my mom up from work. They had a wonderful evening, a good dinner, playtime, and my parents gave him a bath. We called to say goodnight to him - I was having a tough time missing my baby.

After Elliot's presentation Wednesday night, we took our friend Katherine (who was in Atlanta to present at the conference) out to dinner at Flip, the burger restaurant owned by Richard Blaise (from Top Chef last season). I had trouble deciding what to order, so I got both the falafel burger and a mushroom burger to taste. They were delicious (thankfully, Elliot finished the burgers for me). Ellilot and Katherine ordered an organic burger. We ordered a few sides, too - french fries and tempura squash (think squash fries) - and then we topped it all off with a nutella and burnt marshmallow shake. The shake was pretty cool - it came in a glass with liquid nitrogen dumped in it to turn it into a milk shake as we waited. After our fantastic dinner, we headed back to the hotel to crash.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early again. We had a few more meetings, and then we left for the airport. Meanwhile, back in Micah land, my mom spent the morning with Micah, and my dad took Micah to his gym class in the afternoon. The other women from my playgroup were there, and I got a bunch of text messages telling me how much fun Micah (and my dad) were having. On our way to the airport, Elliot received a call from the airlines informing us that our flight was delayed. As we pulled into the airport, we received a second call with bad news - our flight was canceled. When we got to the airport, we stood in line and begged the attendant to let us on a flight. All of the flights were booked, but we managed to get booked on a flight into a different airport near home. Luckily, my father was able to come pick us up, and we made it back home in time to see Micah before he went to bed.

All in all, it was a successful trip. My parents and Micah had a great time. We missed Micah terribly, but it was a good experience for all of us.

Pidyon Ha Ben

There are two ceremonies we have been putting off for quite some time - Micah's pidyon ha ben and our housewarming ceremony. We decided to hold a barbeque on Labor Day weekend and take care of the ceremonies at the same time. We called our party "Two Ceremonies and a BBQ."

Essentially, according to ancient Jewish tradition, the duties of the priesthood were prescribed to the first born son. Following the exodus from Egypt, the duties of the priesthood were taken away from the first born sons and given to the descendants of Aaron (the tribe of Levi). Nevertheless, because there was still some sense of sanctity belonging to the first-born sons, it became necessary to "redeem" these children from their priestly duties. The ceremony is traditionally held at least 30 days after birth. A descendant of Aaron (a "Kohen") performs the ceremony and asks if the parents wish to redeem their son. The parents pay five silver coins to the Kohen and say two blessings:

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His mitzvot, and instructed us regarding the redemption of a son.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.

The Kohen then gives a blessing over the child and a blessing over wine. Everyone sings a congratulatory song, and the ceremony is done. The entire exchange takes about five minutes. Below is the ceremony broken into three parts (I was unable to post the video in its entirety on the blog). The first part is the explanation and the ceremony, the second part is the blessing over the wine (minus the frenzied search for the wine glass we forgot to pour in advance) and the third part is a rousing chorus of Siman Tov u'Mazel Tov (translation: good sign, good fortune for all of us and all Israel).

The off switch is in the tushy

We've had a rough couple of days - Micah woke up a few times this week at 11:00 pm, and has insisted on being cuddled for a little while. Since we missed him, we have humored him a bit. Unfortunately, the minute we separate from him, he wakes up and starts crying again. Rather than pick him back up, we've started "potching his tushy" - lightly patting his bottom while he falls asleep. I cannot for the life of me figure out how this is comforting, or even desirable, but Micah seems to love it. I think I would deck anyone who did that to me. Unfortunately, Micah's "off" switch is apparently in his tush - he only stays asleep and still while someone is patting his bottom! Elliot and I have each taken turns, and the process can go on forever. The minute we stop, his cute little head pops up, he takes a hand and reaches around to his own tush and starts potching it, or he reaches out to our hand to grab it and pull it back or to pat it - clearly indicating that the patting must resume.

Today was particularly harsh - Micah woke up crying at 5:00 am. I guess he must have been hungry. I went in to comfort him, but all he wanted was to crawl into my arms. I tried to take him back into our bed to see if snuggling would put him to sleep, but no such luck. I finally had Elliot make a bottle, and he guzzled all of it right down, but still no sleep (at least for Micah - Elliot fell right back to sleep). Micah stayed awake until 10:30 am before taking a nap! Of course, that messed up our whole schedule. Today was the second day of Rosh Hashana, and we were supposed to go back to synagogue for services. I sent Elliot over while Micah napped, and told him we would join him as soon as we could. Micah slept until after 12, and when he woke up, I quickly gave him a bottle and lunch and we ran over to services. We arrived just in time...for it to end. Oh well - next year we'll try again.

Anyway, Micah took a great nap this afternoon, but he was a bit tough to put to bed. He just woke up a few moments ago, I spent 40 minutes potching his tush, and I hope he is down for the night. Let's hope he sleeps until at least 7:30 tomorrow!

We've actually had a great holiday - we had dinner with my family on Friday night, and Micah got to spend time with his Aunt Jen, Uncle Jeremy and cousins Paige and Peyton. My friends Heather and Brad also joined our celebration. On Saturday, Micah slept late (until 9:00), and he fell asleep in the stroller on our way to synagogue. He was pretty good during services, although he felt the need to sing along - much to the chagrin of some of the people there. Overall, he was very well-behaved, and I was impressed he was able to stay as long as he did. He took another nap for about 30 minutes before we left services, and he drank his bottle on the walk home. He had a big lunch, and then we went back to my parents' house for dinner. We actually took some time that afternoon to visit one of my parents' neighbors, Arleen and Lorin - close family friends who were like second parents to me growing up. Their daughter Rayna was in town, and her grandmother Della was there, too, and everyone was thrilled to spend some time with Micah.

Tomorrow is Micah's 9 month appointment, and we are back to the work/daycare grindstone. What a crazy week! I have to leave for Orlando on Tuesday, and I'll be gone until Thursday. I hope Elliot can handle the time alone with Micah!

Elmo makes it all better

The other day, Micah was very upset (probably because I decided to wipe his nose, or he fell down again), and he was sitting and crying. Those heart-wrenching sobs, the kind that make you wonder who shot his puppy. Try as I might, I could not comfort him...until I grabbed Elmo. One look at his Elmo doll, and he was all smiles. Even better - I put on a Sesame Street Elmo episode. Micah sat, entranced and smiling, for 35 minutes. Any time Elmo left the screen, he would start searching around the room looking for Elmo. Apparently, Elmo makes it all better.

It makes me think about how wonderfully simple life is right now for Micah. I wish Elmo could make everything better when I am having those moments of heart-wrenching sobs. It saddens me to think there will be a time when Elmo can no longer solve all of Micah's problems. Or a kiss from Mommy.

At the same time, however, there are things in life that do always alleviate the bad times. A nuzzle from my puppy, or a glorious smile from Micah. Maybe life always leaves us a little Elmo to make it less bad. Do you have an Elmo that makes it all (or some) better?

L'Shana Tovah

Tonight is the first night of Rosh Hashana - literally translated, it means "Head of the Year" - Jewish New Years. Jewish holidays begin at sundown (the "start" of the day), and it continues for two days. According to tradition, on Rosh Hashana, G-d writes up plans for everyone in the "Book of Life" and on Yom Kippur it is sealed. There is a prayer we say every year that explains this holiday: It begins with the phrase "On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed. How many shall pass away and how many shall be born, who shall live, and who shall die...who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low, who shall become rich and who shall become impoverished."

This is a time of year we think about the past year, seek forgiveness from the sins we have committed against others, and seek forgiveness from G-d for the sins we have committed against G-d. It is a time of self-reflection, and a time to make resolutions and wishes for the New Year. Mostly, it is an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over fresh.

So, to all those out there, I wish you a Shana Tovah Umetukah (a good and sweet New Year). We also say "Shana tovah tikatevu v'gmar chatima tovah," which loosely translates to "May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for a good year."

Climbing

Micah is a climber! For the past month, I've done my best to keep Micah away from our stairs. Mostly, I figured that he did not need to practice crawling up them, because it would require us to install gates. Last weekend, while we were at my niece's birthday party, Micah crawled across the lower half of their deck, pulled himself up to a standing position on the step to the upper deck, then crawled right on up! I was amazed - he acted as if he had practiced the maneuver dozens of times!

This week, while we were out of town in Atlanta on business, Micah stayed at my parents' house. They have a split-level house, with about 6 or 7 stairs going from the family room level to the entrance level, and then another 12 or so stairs from the entry level up to the bedroom level. Apparently, the very first night at my parents' house, my mom plopped him in front of the stairs to see what he would do (something I've avoided for quite some time!). Micah crawled right over and climbed up the stairs. According to my mother, it was "effortless." We're clearly in trouble - I think it is finally time to install those baby gates!

Computer Woes

As you can see, I'm finally back to blogging after my long absence. I actually have a bunch of blogs I've drafted over the past few weeks that are "in the can" and set to auto-publish over the next few days. I have been going through withrdawal, lately, without my regular blog fix!

Just before Labor Day, my computer started to give me a hard time. It was repeatedly crashing and not saving documents properly. Finally, on Friday, my computer froze. I tried rebooting it, and my computer informed me it did not detect a hard drive. My heart STOPPED in that instant. My life (my work, pictures of Micah, videos, music, tax information, emails, writings, everything) are all wrapped up in this tiny little computer. And worst of all, I have been delinquent about backing up my hard drive.

After a few more tries and a restore session, my computer seemed to boot. At least I could see my files. My computer informed me there was a fatal error on my hard drive, and instructed me to backup my files, shut the computer down and get a new hard drive. I desperately tried to do a complete hard drive backup, but it kept failing. I managed to salvage all of my picture files (at least the ones that were not lost the prior three days), my outlook file, my pictures, my music, and most of my work files. It was a holiday weekend, so I could not get Dell to ship the part until Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Dell guy arrived at my house with a new hard drive.

After swapping out my hard drive (and fixing a few other things that were wrong), I was informed I would have to completely re-load all the software onto my computer. Since the move, I have no idea where my disks are. Dell had to send me fresh disks, and I was not able to start re-loading the software on my computer until Saturday. It took me most of Saturday and Sunday to get my computer up and running and restored, and Sunday afternoon I flew off to Atlanta for work.

This has been a very long week so far - meetings all day every day from 8 until 7. I did get to catch up with an old friend, but these weeks take a lot out of me. To top it all off, I'm flying to Orlando Tuesday through Thursday for another conference next week. I'm off to Minnesota and Chicago in October and Kansas in November. I'm dreading all this travel and time away from Micah :(.

Grab Happy

A friend of mine recently said she was told to "grab happy" wherever she could get it. This was said to her in the context of her struggle with infertility, but I have to say, it really resonates with me. Life is so short, and we all spend so much time stressing and worrying. We all need to focus on trying to "grab happy" wherever we get it.

I think I need to renew my efforts to "grab happy." I have so much happiness in my life right now - a wonderful family, a good job, and amazing friends. Sometimes, I wonder if I truly appreciate all that happiness and hold on to it. My goal is to "grab happy" in the small moments - the beautiful Micah smiles, the cute little snuggles from my dog, and the beautiful rose bush Elliot brought home on my birthday.

Today, I am posting from an airplane far above on my way back home from 4 days in Atlanta (isn't technology wonderful?). It was a long week at the conference, and I've been missing the Micah man terribly. As we were going to the airport, we learned our flight home was canceled. I went through the usual emotions, but after standing in a very long line, a wonderful woman re-booked us on a flight home to an alternate airport. We are actually arriving 20 minutes earlier than planned. So, today I am grabbing happy in the thought that soon I will be on solid ground, snuggling my little man andputting him to bed.

Little Mermaid

Sorry for the long hiatus - my computer hard drive died, and I haven't had access in over one week! I've got a ton of blogs I've been writing, but no way to upload them. I'll catch up over the next few days. For now, however, it's cake time....

Here is a cake I made for my niece Paige's birthday this past weekend. She wanted a Little Mermaid cake. I considered a bunch of different styles, but decided to use the Mattel Shimmer Princess doll and decorate around her. The mound was a strawberry cake, and the bottom layer is chocolate. I made the shells from white chocolate (using candy molds). I wanted to make a Flounder and a Sebastian out of either white chocolate or an edible image, but my printer and computer were malfunctioning and I did not have enough time to make them out of chocolate. I sprinkled some brown sugar to make sand. I also had made coral out of royal icing, but it was not dry enough to attach to the cake. So, here is the end result - not quite what I envisioned, but my niece was thrilled! Funny how I always look at these cakes and see the things that did not happen as I planned.

Family Visit, Daycare and Weaning

Elliot's brother Steven, his wife Jodi and our niece Stephanie arrived here on Sunday afternoon. Micah showed off his skills, bonded with the three of them, and Elliot grilled chicken for dinner. Elliot had to work at Wolf Trap on Sunday night, so I hung out with his family while he was gone. Micah did not nap well Sunday afternoon, so he was ready to go to sleep around 7:15. He went down quickly and easily, and we all sat around watching him on the monitor. When Elliot arrived home, we enjoyed dessert with everyone. We then played a boisterous game of cards - Jodi loves the game "May I," so the four of us sat around playing for a few hours.

On Monday morning, Micah woke up bright and early. He had his breakfast, played for a bit, then went down for his nap. When he woke up, he said goodbye to Steven, Jodi and Stephanie, and we bundled him off to his first day at the new daycare around 11:30! Elliot walked him over there, dropped off his stuff, and did the initial check-in process. He then met the rest of us at the Original Pancake House - one of my favorite breakfast/brunch spots! After brunch, Elliot's family packed up their things and left for home. It was a nice visit, although a bit short. I felt terrible that they drove all that way for only a few short hours of Micah time.

We picked Micah up from daycare at 5:30, and he seemed to have a great day. We were pleased with his caretakers, and he was in a good mood. Our only challenge: Micah would not take a nap at daycare. Not really a surprise - there is so much going on there! Hopefully, it will get better with time.

On Monday night, the ladies from my playgroup took me out to celebrate my birthday. It was a nice dinner at Clydes on Tower Oaks, and we had a great time catching up. I cannot believe how the summer has just flown by.

We sent Micah back to daycare again today. This time, I dropped him off. He cried a bit when I put him down, crawled over to me, started whining "Mama" and put his arms up to be held. He was so cute. I think he was just in a clingy mood today. When I finally left, he was smiling and playing with a toy while Carla (his primary caretaker) held him.

As of this weekend, Micah is officially weaned - or at least he is no longer nursing. He actually decided to wean himself on Saturday - he refused to nurse both Saturday and Sunday, so we are all finished. He is still getting 1/2 breast milk and 1/2 formula, and will for the next few weeks until we run out. I am hoping to start playing with sippy cups again - hopefully we can get him to drop the bottle and take his milk by sippy cup.