Tag: babies

Surprise!

My friend was supposed to stay with us only two nights. Then, her child got a rough cough. He’s almost three, so she wasn’t much worried about his recovery. But the one-year-old where they had been staying was a concern. So, in all of about 45 minutes, they were suddenly at our house. The whole evening we’d planned to spend tidying no longer was available, as well as any rollover time in the morning tomorrow. They were here!

Such a silly turn of events, but we are here enjoying them. Thank you, God, for this blessing. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Hmm : /

It was one thing to see former students of mine growing up, being able to drink alcohol, getting jobs (that inevitably paid more than my own teaching salary at any given time). But seeing them engaged and marrying and having babies is just rough on the gut. And the marrying is one thing that’s already a bit rough. But something about the babies part just makes it hurt on the inside, and kind of a lot.

I know it isn’t about doing things in a set order nor about doing them at any set time in life. I know we all have different paths and lives to follow and to lead. I know all that. Somehow, though, that doesn’t make it not hurt right now…

And I guess that’s okay, just to let it hurt for a little while. It only means that I have something that’s really important to me on my life and to which I very much look forward with love and delight… and that I will have immense gratitude whenever I do reach those points in my life and my journey here.

So, for right now, it just kind of hurts.

Post-a-day 2023

Bath time

I was drying clothes at my friend’s house the next neighborhood over tonight. I lived with her and her husband and baby at the start of this year for a few months, and I always love visiting. I have, tonight, been officially dubbed, “Naahh,” or “Nannah” by the baby. She knows who “Hannah” is, and has known for months, but can’t quite say it herself yet.

Nonetheless, I went to hang with her after she finished being bathed by her dad and he just left her to play in the bath a while (seems to be the normal now, as she’s old enough to be left semi-alone for a few minutes in the low bath). She eventually handed me the water gun that had recently been added to her bath toys, and wanted me to shoot it… at her. It was ridiculously adorable. She squealed with delight and giggled and wiped her face off after I stopped. She then proceeded to tell me, “Duck!… Wall!… Beah!” and I obligingly shot each named item in turn. (That last one was a bear pacifier, for those who don’t quite know the two-year-old words. 😛 ) I also added in her feet from time to time, whenever her toes popped up fully from the water.

It was a great bath time.

Post-a-day 2022

Have your cake…

But don’t eat it…?

Twice now, within a few weeks, I have attended a birthday celebration for a child’s first birthday. (To be clear, they were for two different children.) In both cases, when it came time for that special cake smash and devour, the baby was utterly disinterested in the cake. Dads stuck a finger-full of icing into the baby’s mouth. The baby showed no interest in finding more of the sugary stuff to eat, let alone touching it.

And it has me wondering, Are babies already clear that they want the healthy stuff, but we just condition them to like the junk??????????(!!)

A bit scary, I think…

Post-a-day 2022

Bluebonnets, Baby

Today, we drove out to a small town northwest of Houston in search of bluebonnets. We stopped at a large gas station for a bathroom break after about SJ hour, then turned off on a local road and headed away from the highway. Within minutes, we found a lovely spot along the side of the road, and hopped out for some family portrait fun. And, truly, it was a lot of fun.

My friend and I both loved the photos I’d gotten of them, dog solos included, as well as the few photos she’d snapped of me with the baby – they were gorgeous and adorable photos. And I ended up looking like both a goddess and a mom, which was new and, in its lack of surprise, surprising – it just looked natural and right…, which was awesomely bizarre.

When we first hopped out of the car to get things started

Thank you, God, for that unexpected blessing, and for the wonderful ‘family time’ we had today. In your name, I pray with gratitude. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

What’s-his-name

My mom aske me the name of my friend’s most recent child today. I had no idea, but imagined it would be names from the bible, and so I said the first two male Bible names that came to mind, adding that it was something Catholic like that, though I was truly only guessing all of it.

After a brief pause, my mom says, ‘Wait… but isn’t it [first name in Spanish] [second name in Spanish]?’

My eyes merely widened. ‘Seriously???’ I wanted to know. Was my mom really remembering correctly? And had I just pulled two names out of nowhere that were the right names, just in English instead of Spanish? Then my mom adds that it might actually just be the first name in Spanish and the second in English (as the second isn’t spelled any differently in Spanish versus English, but merely pronounced differently).

So, I looked it up on Facebook. I had sent my mom the original post about the baby’s birth, and that was the only time she or I had seen his names, anyway. I kid you not, it was exactly as my mom had guessed, and as I had thrown out randomly. The names were right, just that the first was the Spanish version of itself. My mom nailed it, and I was blown away.

Totally cool yet still bizarre, right? I had completely forgotten everything about that kid’s name in my conscious mind, but my subconscious had held onto it somehow – way cool!

Post-a-day 2022

P.S. N, if you’re reading this, yes, this was about your son. ;P

Timing

I was considering tonight how, even if I had worn my retainers to work, no one would have even known. And that isn’t because they are from Smile Direct Club, and so they are clear solid plastic, and, therefore, practically invisible when on my teeth, but because we wear masks, and so no one even sees my mouth, let alone my teeth at work. At the gym, sure I smile all the time during the tough workouts, but any other time people are nearby, masks are covering our mouths.

Which had it occur to me that this past year would have been the perfect time for people to get braces, both teenagers/pre-teens and adults alike! Think about it. Most people have either been going in to work or school with everyone in masks – teeth not seen – or have done video conferencing in which the video quality is not high enough for people to notice something so small on their screens, especially in group meetings, where even faces are quite small on the screen. 99% of one’s interactions would end without anyone being the wiser regarding the braces.

How cool is that? Same deal with having a baby, I suppose. Work from home, get pregnant, produce a baby, and wait until seeing people in person after it all, and suddenly start showing off this baby that you never mentioned to anyone outside the family. Totally bizarre, sure, but also hilariously reminiscent of high end people formerly sent away on extended visits to aunts or the likes in order to conceal pregnancy. But with a super happy ending instead, of course. Mom keeps baby.

As a note, my cousin actually kind of did that. I, of course, was in favor of her saying nothing about her pregnancy; just announcing the baby itself via a fun-themed party that no one would have guessed was about a baby (especially considering that no one would have known that she was pregnant in the first place). However, she did not do that. Naturally… haha.

Anyway, so, those are my thoughts this evening. Fix teeth. Have a baby. Get super fit! Re-enter society like nothing is new. What a fun way to spend a year of shut-downs…

Post-a-day 2021

“Barnard Thompson”

21:01 on 2/21/21, a baby was born. This was also Santa Anna’s birthday. That shall make it quite easy for me to remember in the future. 🙂

Odd how seventh grade Texas History is proving so valuable in such a unique place in my life. 😛

P.S. That’s just what I’ve been calling the baby. I have no idea what its given name actually will be. In my mind, he shall always be Barnard Thompson, because that’s what he’s been for so long. 😂

Post-a-day 2021