Strads 365, Entry #8: Sawyer Develops a Love/Hate Relationship with Helium

Strads 365, Entry #7: Monk and Lyla

Strads 365, Entry #6: GRAMMY!!

Strads 365, Entry #5: Shillig's + Strad's

Strads 365, Entry #4: Late Night Road Trip

Strads 365, Entry #3: Playtime (plus two bonus scenes)

Strads 365, Entry #2: Smooth Like A Baby's Face

Sawyer learning the delicate art of the close shave.

Happy 2013!

Woa.  2012 was intense.  Here's what happened (in chronological order).  Feel free to skip this part, I'm just writing the list so I can remember one of the most eventful years our our lives:

1. Jonathan joined the Romney campaign as a legal intern.
2. We bought a new car.
3. We found out we were pregnant with #2.
4. Jonathan spent Spring Break in Japan, while Sawyer and I visited family.  We had really wonderful birthday parties for him in both PA with my Mom and Va with my Dad and Clara.
5. Sawyer turned 1!
6. I spent the month in San Antonio with my best friend Charlotte as she was recovering from surgery.
7. Roommate Reunion! 
8. Sawyer said his first words: "hot," "car," and "bus."
9. Jonathan graduated from law school.
10. Sawyer learned to walk.
11. Jonathan studied for and took the Bar exam.
12. We apartment hunted in NYC all summer, and finally found a place.
13. Packed up our apartment!
14. Spent 2 weeks in New Mexico with Jonathan's family.
15. Moved into our new place in NY and have made lots of new friends.
16. Spent tons of money buying carpets so our grumpy neighbor downstairs would be less bothered by Sawyer's playing.
17. Jonathan started work.
18. I turned 31!
19. Lyla was born 2 weeks late and within 4 hours of the first sign of labor!
20. My Dad and Clara came to visit and brought "It's a Baby Girl!" signs.
21. Jon's mom stayed with us for two weeks to help with the new baby.
22. My apartment building started renovations on the elevator which means that we walk up five flights of stair every time we leave our house.
23. Jonathan turned 31!
24. We found out that Jonathan PASSED the bar exam.  Wahoo!
25. We hosted Thanksgiving at our new place.
26. We all caught the stomach flu.  Sawyer threw up in Jonathan's mouth.
27. My mom came out for five days to help with the new baby and caught our stomach flu.  Sad.
28. Jonathan was sent on a week long business, leaving me alone with the kids.
29. We caught the stomach flu again.
30. Katie, my sister, came for a week long visit.
31. Lyla caught the flu and she and I spent three days in the hospital until she got better.
32. I crashed our car (see #2 on the list) on the way to the doctor and sprained my wrist.  I caused around $4000 worth of damage.
33. Christmas!  I got an iPad!
34. We celebrated New Year's Day with a visit from Jonathan's dad and youngest brother Edward.

What did I forget? Probably a lot.

Anyway, 2012 was full of exciting times, but since I didn't chronicle them, my memories of the year will soon be reduced to the short sentences listed above.  That makes me sad. It's a shame really that so many important changes happened in our lives, and we won't really remember how they made us think and feel.  I've decided to never allow this to happen again by once again renewing my commitment to writing them down here.  It's a New Year's resolution.  

The Goals:

• Make a written post at least once per week.
• Post a photo of some family "happening" each day.

So today's photo is (in line with our family's new year tradition) a photo of the first cold and cloudy sunrise of the year:

Strads 365, Entry #1:  The First Sunrise

Sawyer Turns 1!

So way back on March 22, Sawyer, our little baby turned one-year-old.  I could go into a whole spiel about how time flies and how we miss our sweet little newborn, but honestly, for me, time with Sawyer has become a weird vortex where hours, days, months, and years don't really exist.  To me, he's a newborn and a toddler at the same time.  It's hard to explain, but I feel like he's always been here and yet he's still a brand new addition to my life.  Sometimes days go by slow but weeks go by fast.  And this year may have been simultaneously the longest and shortest 365 days of my life.

One thing is for sure, this year has brought more love and joy to our lives than we ever imagined possible.  Sometimes, when I think about how worried I was about taking the plunge and having a kid, I seriously want to kick myself.  Having Sawyer in our lives has been the single most uplifting, happiness-making thing that we have done.  He has strengthened every aspect of our lives.  I'm not saying that this "strengthening" has been painless; it hasn't always been easy evolving into a mom and dad, but, to be cliche, it has been more than worth it.

I want to write an update email about him now (at 15 months), but I think I should save it for later, because his 1st birthday celebrations were so epic they deserve their own post.

Sawyer celebrated his birthday over a two week period.  Because Jonathan traveled with a school club to Japan over his spring break, which was the week before Sawyer's birthday, Sawyer and I decided that we would also take a trip to visit my parents.

Our first stop was Grammy's House in Pennsylvania.  As per usual, Sawyer was ecstatic to see grammy and the adventures that await at her house.  From spending time with Aunts and Uncles, to playing with cousin Olivia, and petting/slapping around the dogs, Grammy's house is everything that a little boy baby could want. This time was especially special since Grammy threw Sawyer a birthday party and showered him with so many toys that we hardly had room in our car to take them all back to Boston.  He got lots of great new toys, but the best part of his party was when Grammy served Sawyer cake!  He looked at it with his nose turned up, but when Grammy shoveled a finger-full of icing into his mouth, Sawyer really expressed his disgust.  This kid was so grossed out that he crumbled in to a bath of tears at the horror of sugary goop in him mouth!  I'm happy to say, that since this time Sawyer has developed quite the sweet tooth, and we expect his second birthday cake to make a bigger, I mean, happier impression on him.

As you can see, Sawyer really enjoyed his cake!  Yuck!

This was Sawyer's big birthday gift from Grammy.  He loves it! Olivia is playing her role of older cousin and showing him how to work it.

After the successful celebration at Grammy's, we made the trip southward to Virginia to visit Grandma and Grandpa Barden.  We stayed a little longer with them because they live so far away and we see them less often.  Again, Sawyer and Grandma and Grandpa were a match made in heaven.  Between chasing chickens around the yard to torturing the little shitzu Bella, Sawyer lived like a Little Prince for the week.  Sawyer found himself in a paradise of attention and delicious food!  Grandma and Grandpa also showered him with gifts, including a brand new tree swing that Sawyer could not get enough of.  The big event of our week in Virginia was Sawyer's second 1st birthday party hosted by Aunt Jenny.  Let's just say that Jenny is the kind of girl that every mother aspires to be like.  She loves kids, all kids.  She knows kids.  She's confident with them.  She's a natural mother.  So, it's no surprise that she has made a career successfully mothering children while their parents are at work.  If I ever go back to work, I pray that I can find a nanny that is half as good as Jenny. Aunt Jenny threw Sawyer an Elmo themed birthday party, complete with Elmo cake, poster, and cookies.  This kid is spoiled!  Sawyer continued to be unimpressed with sweets (even an Elmo cake), but he discovered a passion for cheese puffs!

                               
                           

Thank you Aunt Jenny for such a wonderful party!

Sawyer and Scruff were constantly fighting over this toy during our trip! 

Sawyer loves his tree swing!

Also, Clara celebrated her birthday during our visit!  She wore this crown all day in celebration.

True Love.

In true princely fashion, Sawyer was carried from room to room in this wagon made especially for him.

When Sawyer's actual birthday rolled around, we were partied out!  Sawyer had received so many gifts there wasn't a thing in the world that we could get him.  So, we didn't have a party.  We didn't have a cake.  We didn't even sing him happy birthday.  We decided instead to take him to the beach.  We met up with his cousins and played around in the sand for a while.  Then we headed home for a bath and a good night's sleep.  Happy Birthday Little Baby!

"Shut Up!:" An Announcement

In March, just before spring break, I started experiencing a lot of acid reflux.  I would wake up with pain in my chest.  Sometimes I would even feel sick.  This is not unheard of for me.  I was diagnosed with a hernia in 2008, and so this will be a life-long problem for me.  Sometimes it gets out of control, and I go to the doctor to get some medication for it.  It's no big deal.  This time, though, I was also feeling really tired.  I was taking two naps a day for a few weeks. When I am tired, etc., I also usually go through an "I hate Jonathan" spell.  Again, this comes once every so often and is usually a result of stress and hormones.  All in all I was not feeling myself, so I decided to go to see the doctor.

My doctor is pretty awesome. She's a really funny, really smart, really Jewish, and overall really caring lady.  I met with her and told her how I was feeling.  She listened and then asked the usual list of questions..."Do you take drugs?" "How often do you drink?" "When was your last period?" "Etc.?" I couldn't really remember my last period.  I'm nursing and have fertility problems so...there's no real point of keeping track of that sort of thing.  But, it had been a while, I thought.  I had considered taking a pregnancy test earlier, but had forgotten about it, since I knew it was impossible that it would be positive.  As for the drinking and drugs, I said, "I'm not a drinker. I'm Mormon."  I've gotten used to giving this answer since college. In my early twenties, when I told doctors that I don't drink they just gave me a look that said, "Come on, I'm not stupid".  However, when I explain that I'm Mormon, well, they believe anything I tell them.

After throwing out the Mormon card, we went on to have a comical discussion about why Mormons don't drink coffee and tea. She used to live in Utah and was always confused and annoyed about how Mormons will drink tons of Coke or energy drinks but not coffee or tea.  She even went on to say recent literature actually says that coffee and alcohol are good for you in correct doses.  Blah, blah, blah.  I told her I agree.  It is an annoying part of our religion, especially with all the contradictory behaviors and explanations that Mormons display.  I told her that for me, it's an obedience thing.  I made a commitment not to use those substances, so I don't.  I also explained that free-agency (the ability to choose how to live your life) is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. We have the ability to make mistakes, to learn, to be forgiven, and then to go on to make good choices.  When we take part in substances that cause addiction or that impair our ability to make decisions, it might seem like we are taking advantage of that gift. And plus, she's Jewish right? She has her own set of quirky eating restrictions!  It was a light-hearted, jocular conversation mostly.

Once we got back on track she said that there was a medicine she wanted to prescribe, but she wasn't sure I could take it if I was breastfeeding, and I definitely couldn't take it if I was pregnant.  So, while she checked about breastfeeding, why don't I go down to the lab to pee in a cup so they could run a pregnancy test?  I am always willing to take a pregnancy test.  I mean, even though I know that it's impossible, the suspense is still fun, right?  However, to be honest, at the time I didn't even give it a second thought.  There was no way I was pregnant, and I knew that.  I was busy with Sawyer and stressed about my hernia.  I wasn't even thinking about being pregnant, AT ALL.

So, I went down to the lab and then returned to my little exam room to play on my phone.  I waited there for a while until finally my doctor returned to the room with a little slip of paper and a mischievous smile on her face.  She looked at me and said, "What would you do if I told you, you are pregnant!"  I just looked at her and a deep resentment filled me heart, "Shut Up!  That's not funny."  We had been joking so much earlier, prodding each other, and the news was so impossible, that I assumed she was messing around with me.  Her face suddenly turned serious and she nervously said, "No, really, see here are the results," and she showed me the paper.  And then I bawled.  She patted my back and with true concern she quietly whispered, "This is a good thing, you know? Right?"  And through my tears I yelled, "Of course this is a good thing!!  My doctors told me that this could never ever happen!"  She stood up, gave me this look like she was so proud of me, and with the fierce attitude of a woman and a mother she said, "I guess they weren't right about YOU, were they?!"  I dried my eyes and we happily chatted for a little while longer.  We decided that my symptoms were probably explained by my pregnancy and that I needed a blood test to figure out exactly how far along I was.  I called Jonathan as I was heading back down to the lab and his reaction was exactly the same as mine, "Shut Up!"  Which was followed by, "No wonder you've been such a [witch] lately."  I love Jonathan.  Ahh....  It was one of the happiest moments of our lives!

So the blood test and then the ultrasound revealed I was like 8 weeks along!  Currently I am almost 22 weeks pregnant with a little GIRL.  Here are a few previews of miracle Baby Girl Strads due on October 31st, 2012.

Lady Strad's Profile

Provincetown

Now that we have a car and the perceived freedom that comes with it, we can take trips! (I say perceived freedom, because although we can go places that are far away at a moments notice, we are also wrapped in the oppressive chains of a car payment and the rising price of fuel...eek. It was a sacrifice worth making, obviously.) Our first trip was to the Cape!  Here are some maps to help you see where it is:

This is Massachusetts, of course...

And here is a map of the Cape Cod area:

We spent the day driving all the way up the Cape to Provincetown, where we got out to walk around.  We didn't do any research before we left.  We just thought that we would head up and check it out.  We weren't disappointed!!  It was absolutely beautiful, and since we were there during the off season, we didn't have to fight crowds of vacationers!  Here are some pics from our day.

So, you know all that talk about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock? Well, the truth is that they first landed here at Provincetown.  The Pilgrim Monument, pictured here, is a memorial to their long journey and landing at this Bay.  The Pilgrims also signed the Mayflower Compact at Provincetown, before they sailed across the Bay to settle at Plymouth Rock.  

Here was our lovely lunch: Turkey sandwich on homemade bread, fresh squash soup, and Cape Cod Kettle Chips.  See the lighthouse on the bag....

As pictured on the famous Cap Cod Kettle Cooked Chips, the Cape Cod Lighthouse.

Besides being a very beautiful place, there was also a certain theme, besides ocean living, fishing, and boating, that seemed to pervade this quaint New England town.  As we were walking through the streets I was impressed with how many well-dressed, handsome men there were!  Then I took notice of how many of these men were out together walking around.  It was like...guys day out! But when I took note of how many rainbows were stickered to windows and bumpers and how many rainbow flags proudly blew in the Cape's pleasant ocean breeze, I realized that there was something more going on here.  Was it just my imagination?  Or were Jonathan and I the only straight couple out for a walk that day?  When we got home, I looked it up and discovered that I wasn't just being overly observant.  This is the first sentence that I read about Provincetown online:  "Sometimes called "P-town", the town is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and its status as a vacation destination of gays and lesbians."  Ahah!


Here's what I learned about how Provincetown became a haven for the LGBT community.  After the American Revolution, Provincetown, became a booming fishing and whaling center, but it's beauty also made it a popular summer tourist destination.  Such a beautiful and peaceful destination also attracted many artists who began to open shops and settle in the town year round.  In 1898 a devastating hurricane blew in literally killing the maritime industry in the area, and so the artists took over many of the fishermen's buildings turning them into theaters, studios, etc.  By the 1960's Provincetown was known as an artist colony of sorts, and so many of the "hippies" of the day found themselves settling in area, attracted by the cheap rents, beautiful surroundings, and more "free-thinking," artistic culture.   By the mid-1970's a substantial population of the LGBT community began calling Provincetown home, although the community had a long-time presents in Provincetown's artist colony.  In 1978 a guild was formed to promote gay tourism in Provincetown.  Today more than 200 businesses belong to the guild and Provincetown is the best-known LGBT summer resort on the east coast. The 2010 US Census revealed Provincetown to have the highest rate of same-sex couples in the country, at 163.1 per 1000 couples.  Fascinating!