And so it begins..

Hello friends,

If you've read all they way from the beginning, or know me personally, you know that we went through two cycles of IVF to have our little Piglet.  I have chronic ovarian cysts - mean ones - that keep coming back time after time, surgery after surgery.  These cysts prevent me from ovulating correctly and they also grow to huge proportions, preventing me from getting pregnant and having what I call a "free baby."  So an expensive baby it is for us!  Haha.  Ironically, the only time I don't grow cysts is when I'm pregnant or on the pill.  Figures.  Anyway, late last fall, we discovered that my cyst had grown back and by January it had doubled in size.  So plans were made for surgery to remove it and possibly the entire ovary which had me very stressed since we would like to have another go of it and have another expensive baby.  

My surgery was yesterday and my amazing OB and RE were able to save my ovary.  And for the first time ever, I woke up from surgery without puking my guts out and being admitted, thanks to my fabulous anesthesiologist.  Holla!  I was most nervous not about the procedure but about Piglet and how he was going to terrorize my mom and dad while I was away.  He hasn't taken a bottle since three months so he is nursed exclusively.  Miraculously he had only a few minor meltdowns and otherwise did fine.  Last night he did cry and cry and cry but seems no worse for the wear this morning.  He is getting suspicious of who is in the guest room (moi!) though.  I haven't revealed myself to him yet because I know Piglet + fresh incisions are NOT a winning combination.  

So I told you all of this because it soon, I'll be writing all about not only Piglet's adventures but about my own adventures to give Piglet a sibling.  Piglet Part Deux. 

Let us begin.

P.S. Thank you for all the well wishes on FB and via text everyone! 

Tag...You're IT.

I was tagged by the friendly dwellers at McMillerPdx so I thought I'd come out to play today.  Here's the tag: look in the fourth picture folder on your computer and grab the fourth picture in the folder.  Here's what I found in ours.  Piglet at a mere two weeks old.  He looks older than that but I double checked and sure enough, he was exactly two weeks old in this picture.  He still makes this "I am so over it" face now.  :)

marketing mama and Joy - TAG YOU'RE IT!

Ten things.

There have been a lot of tags floating around on Facebook and the Blogosphere that are "25 random things about me" or "type your name into the following list of things on Google."  I'm straying from my normal Piglet-focused entries and making this one about moi.  I thought I'd create my own hybrid post - two lists of ten because who has time for TWENTY FIVE? I don't have time to compile them and you don't have time to read them! 

One lists ten things random things about me and one that lists ten things I cannot live without (Piglet and Dh excluded of course).  

Ten random thing about Miss MVK

1. I only eat bananas that are perfectly yellow or even slightly green but one brown spot and it's on its way to the banana bread pile. 
2. I have seen every single episode ever filmed of Felicity and Gilmore Girls.  I loved Noel and Logan not Ben and Dean.
3. I knew what I was going to name Piglet long before he was even conceived.
4. I need to stick one leg out of the covers when I sleep at night.  Piglet does the same thing. ;)
5. I used to be skittish around dogs until I got a dog myself.
6. I only buy Doritos when we're having a party otherwise I will make a meal of them.
7. I love the smell of liquid dishwasher detergent - Cascade is my favorite.  
8. If it were that easy, I would have a lot of kids.  Maybe five.  If it were only that easy.
9. Of all the skills I've learned in my adult life, knitting is my favorite.  
10. I met Pope John Paul II twice before I was 18.  Twice.  Yes, I was really that lucky.
11. I'm adding one IMPORTANT fact that those of you who know me well already know.  I hate mayonnaise.  I will not touch it or eat it and have a hard time even being in the same room with mayo.  I do NOT keep a jar of it in my house.  Macaroni salad is basically my worst nightmare.  Seriously.  HATE.  I'm using the word HATE about a condiment.  That's how strongly I feel about it.

Ten things Miss MVK cannot live without.

1. Jeans.  Now that I'm a SAHM, I literally live in them.  I wear them every single day.  Sevens fit me best after I have about four inches taken off the bottom!
2. Odwalla orange juice.  'Nough said.  If you've never had it, you have never truly had orange juice.
3. TiVo.  I am fortunate that I married a nerd who introduced me to TiVo long before it was common to have a DVR in your home.  That's given me about five extra years to build a relationship with my TiVo.  And I'll tell you this - we are in LUHVE.
4. My debit card.  Cash?  What's that?
5. Slipper socks.  See #1 for explanation.
6. My Apple products - iPhone and MacBook.  I'm a total convert.
7. My Canon G10 camera.  Santa brought it this year and it's fantastic.
8. Milk and cereal.  Many days this is breakfast, lunch and dinner.
9. California Baby Calming Shampoo and Bodywash.  I've used it on Piglet since he was just weeks old and it's now become "his" smell.  It's natural and gentle and smells dreamy.
10. Our $25 Ikea highchair.  Stokke is overrated for messy eaters with no table manners yet!

Manners

Honey, I told you it's not polite to point!  (But it IS pretty darn cute.)  Teehee.

All right, fine. I'll write the caption!

Piglet proves that a preppy can be a homey.  And that a greaser can mesh with a soch.  And on this day, homey was rockin' da house with this hat and his crisp white button down shirt.  :)

Musings on Piglet turning one year old.

Lately when someone asks me how old Piglet is, I have the urge to say " ____ months."  Instead, now I have to say "one year old" and it sort of takes my breath away every time.  Where did the past year go?  Why didn't I take more video of him when he was tiny and just laid there?  Not that the videos of him squealing with delight and copying his dad aren't fantastic, I'm just feeling very wistful about the past twelve months.  Despite being very conscientious about documenting Piglet's first year of life (this blog is case in point) I still find myself wishing I would've taken more pictures or more video, soaked it in a little more.  Don't even talk to me about his baby book...I need to be locked away in a room somewhere for about three days with only that and an acid-free pen.  

As with every year, the past one has been filled with highs and lows but UNLIKE every year, this year's highs have been extraordinary while the lows have been momentary.  A baby changes everything.  As a person who thought she might not ever experience this ultimate joy, I will say I have truly not taken it for granted.  Piglet was not a product of "let's have a baby" and a month later ta-da!!!! We are pregnant!!!  But more like "How many more shots?  How many more surgeries?  Will this ever work?!" And then, after almost 18 months of that conversation...ta-da!!! We are FINALLY pregnant!  I sometimes still cannot believe that it worked.  I got pregnant.  I got to feel Piglet's first movements as he fluttered around inside me and then later, when he would kick me so hard, it showed through my clothes.  I still can't believe, to this day that I got to carry him around for 40 weeks and then push him out of my body.  And yet it all happened.  After months and months of willing it to happen, it actually did.  It dawns on me now that we tried to have Piglet longer than we've actually had Piglet.  Huh.  Crazy.  So while I know that every child is really and truly a miracle, Piglet got a little extra special sprinkle of miracle and I remind myself of that all the time.  We are hoping to have another sprinkle of miracle sometime in the next year, but that's another post.  

For now, for today, we have our ONE YEAR OLD Piglet and we are content and happy and cannot wipe the smug smile from our faces when we think about how lucky we are.  

Here are Piglet's one year stats...

weight: 22.9 40%, 

height: 30.5 inches 50%

head circumference: 60%

clothing sizes: 12-18, 12-24, 2T, shoe size - 3-4

New Party Tricks: nodding his head "yes," doing push-ups (see "resolution" post), signing: bird, book, please, milk, car, daddy, and dog, but not just at his dog, at all dogs - dogs on packaging, dogs on TV, cartoon dogs, dogs in books, you name it, if it has four legs and tail, it's a dog! 

Endearments: Oinker, Piglet, Shrieker, Terrible Little Child, Special, Monkey, Monk, Pumpkin Pie, Lovebug, Bug, 

Piglet LOVES

• sitting in his $25 Ikea highchair 
• feeding himself with a fork 
• salty foods
• savory foods
• cooked carrots (who knew?)
• cheddar and string cheeses
• sleeping in the car
• his dog
• smearing all his food together on the tray - lovely
• his new personalized stuffed animal "Max"
• having playdates
• pulling himself up from the floor and bouncing around
• climbing on things
• sitting in his stuffed chair and then standing up
• grocery carts (no really!)
• cheesy poofs (don't worry, we buy the organic, baked kind, not Cheetos!)
• balloons
• sleeping in until 8:00 a.m.
• to feed his dog while sitting in the highchair, resulting in the dog being sequestered until the meal is over
• books

Piglet is OVER

• being fed with a spoon or even your hands
• yogurt
• applesauce
• closed doors
• climbing up the stairs - hooray!
• elevators - he has suddenly developed an unreasonable fear of these
• Blue's Clues
• taking afternoon naps
• having things taken away from him
• seeing the instrument box at Music Together and not being able to dig into it right away
• getting dressed, being nudie is so much more fun
• laying down for a diaper change
• having the ped use a stethoscope
• immunizations
• getting croup
• waiting for more teeth to come in so he can eat more solid foods

Piglet Eats Cake!

In case you needed directions, the party is HERE.

Today was a big day at our house. We threw Piglet his first birthday party and it was quite a bash if we do say so ourselves. We (read: mom) worked our little bums off to make it memorable, resplendent with color and fun for everyone of every age. I'm really not one to toot my own horn (no really, it bugs me) but I think we pulled it off! We welcomed 40, yes that's right 40 of our closest, dearest friends and family (and a record number of kidlets) into our home for an old-fashioned birthday party complete with homemade cupcakes covered in sticks of butter, I mean buttercream icing, an old-fashioned candy bar for a sweet treat to take home (or eat here!) and a big spread of food. We had three different types of potato chips because that is Piglet's favorite food. I wish I was kidding.

I stayed up until the wee hours putting ribbon on jars and toys in bins and hanging colorful fabric banners. Oh and let us not forget the cupcakes. The doubled Magnolia Bakery cupcakes. Those were an epic story unto themselves. I laid my head on my cool pillow at 2:41 a.m. and my eyes flew open at 6:36 a.m., head spinning with all the tasks still be done. Tasks still to be done with an ankle biter bringing me to my knees. Fortunately, anyone who knows me I am a woman with a plan and I can be very focused when need be. Just ask my poor dh!

After viewing some pictures from the party, a good friend wrote to me remarking about "the standards you set!" I know.

I knooooooooooow.

But here's the thing, I rarely hold other people to my standards when it comes things like this, because - are you ready for a revelation?

I'm CRAZY. Crazy, crazy, crrrrrraaaaaaaaaazeeeee!

I mean, really CRAZY about this kind of this kind of thing. This kind of thing is what I live for. This and Piglet. And dh. Oh and also a really good pedicure.

And now, at the end of the day, I'm happy. Happy because Piglet had a great time riding the train at his birthday and watching all his little friends and cousins play and smearing cake on his dad's pants. A few people wrote down their wishes for our little one on this special day and one was simply stated: "Be happy!" I could not agree more.

More reflections on Piglet turning one year old in my one year update. For now, I leave you with (many, many) pictures from our wonderful day! Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us! We love you and are so glad were a part of this day and especially a part of our lives.

xoxo

Welcome.

There's more than one use for flashcards!

The sweets table. Every single jar is filled with sugary goodness!

Piglet's own little cake. Complete with two layers and tiny cake stand and made with love.

Goodie bags and scoopers to make your own treat bag favor!

An oldie but a goodie.

Cupcake tower. Designed to my specs. Seriously.

Cupcake toppers in action. These got a lot of laughs!

Cupcake toppers up close. Note that dh is a cupcake topper himself.
He turned a year older as well!

One side of the candy bar.

My helpers. :)

The spread.

Even the table cloth got in on the party action. :)

A candle holder painted in Piglet's likeness, sweater vest and all!

Note the argyle. I love this and am planning to use it every year. Too sweet!

The mantle.

My best friend and her cute family. Love them!

My BFD! Love the curls.

Three little ladies. Haven was the peanut of the group but can hold her own!

Some of the girls in my family.

Will and Mary, one of the many mama-babe duos at the party. Definitely one of the cutest.

Getting ready to blow out the candle!

Digging in.

Ooh, this is good and sticky.

"Daddy? Where can I wipe my hand?" One guess...

Our little family.

Me and one of my best friends Shelly. We have bonded over motherhood like two hens clucking in the yard. If you could be fly on the wall!

My nieces. Cute, right?

Classic Piglet face. He's signing "car" with his hands. Car, train, - same diff. :)

The ride-on train was a hit!

Three men and a baby. Who's the cutest? I know who has my vote!

"Uh, dude. You're heavy."
(They are exactly one year apart and cousins!)

Stay tuned!

Tomorrow (technically today) is Piglet's first birthday party!  Stay tuned for copious amounts of pictures, decorations and the verdict about whether Piglet will let them eat cake (and also if he'll eat it himself).  

Me, I'm off at this God forsaken hour to go iron some table runners.  You know, because I'm ME afterall.  :)

Gotta love a resolution.

This year DH decided that one of his new year's resolutions was to do three sets of ten push-ups and sit-ups every night before bed. Last night as we were getting Piglet ready for bed, he thought he'd get a head start on his "exercise." I say that lovingly. No really. Okay, there's a little bit of teasing in there too. But we tease because we love! Piglet got in on the teasing too by putting his copycat skills to work again. Sorry about the messy nursery! It was all tidy before we went to bed, I promise.

If this keeps up, 2009 is going to be a year full of much laughter.  And yes, that is me snapping my fingers at DH like a rickshaw master telling him to do more pushups! (Thank you, Missy for pointing that out).  Ain't love grand?  :)