I love you to the Moon and back!

Happy 2nd Birthday Moon Pie!

2009-12-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

December 8, 2009 Dear Zoe: Wow! Mommy cannot believe it has been a year since I wrote my last Birthday letter to you. Today you turn 2 years old. This past year has flown by. It seems like just yesterday you were still in mommy’s belly. So many things have happened in all of our lives throughout the year. Baby Kendall was born to Aunt Caryn and Uncle Danny in February, baby Emma was born to “Aunt” Kari and David, you met your cousins Connor, Candace and Celine and your Aunt Lori and Uncle Kelly for the first time, you went to your first amusement park (Hershey Park) and immediately decided that you liked “chochit”, you took swimming lessons and swam like a fish in Grammies and Granddaddy’s pool all summer, and you are sleeping in a “big girl” bed. Plenty else has happened as well. Sadly, you also lost your two best buddies; Finnegan and Jackson. But you know that they are safe up on the moon and you now have a new best buddy – Brody (aka Buddy). Mommy and daddy are so proud of our little girl. You have exceeded any expectations that we have had for you this year. You are talking up a storm and mommy and daddy really have to be careful what we say. You are also beginning to go potty on the big girl potty and before you know it you will be wearing your princess panties. Mommy thinks you are growing up way too fast. Next thing you know, you will be headed to school on that school bus we watch the kids get on in the morning when I am home from work. But no matter how old you are, you will always be mommy’s little girl and my love for you gets stronger and stronger each passing day. I love you Moon. I hope you have a very Happy Birthday and that all your wishes and dreams come true this next year and for the years to come. Love, Mommy

No denying she belongs to me.

2009-07-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Playing with Moon in her playroom before a run last night.

“Purse mommy”

So she grabs her purse.

“Keys”

Puts her keys in her purse

“Cards”

Makes sure her "cards" (an old credit card and some pictures) are in the purse she choose are in there.

I then ask her where she’s going

“Shopping”

Oh lord.....

Please don't grow up to be Samantha Ronson

2009-02-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

I mean you can be a DJ or even a lesbian, I don't care. Just don't date anyone that even remotely resembles Lindsay Lohan. And at least be the pretty lesbian not the butchy one if you choose that route.

Dear Moon

2009-02-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

While I think you are stinkin’ adorable and cute and cuddly I do not find you so stinkin’ adorable and cute and cuddly at 1:30 AM when you decide you want to get up and watch TV and read books until 4:00 AM.

I knew it was going to be a rough night when I took you out to the living room and the first thing I saw when I turned on the TV was Billy Mays. You know mommy despises him. So we flipped through the channels until mommy decided it would be the perfect time to catch up on Intervention episodes she has missed on On Demand. Well once you and mommy got about 10 minutes into the show mommy wised up and thought better of letting you watch Brittany shoot crushed up pain killers into her arm so we turned on the E True Hollywood Story. That wasn’t much better than Intervention as it was also about drugs and drinking and Rock Star Wives. Oh and it certainly wasn’t putting you to sleep either, it was just holding your attention since there were kids on the show. I will admit that it was kind of cute when the one little boy said “daddy” and you took your paci out of your mouth and said it back. At that point I almost went and got your “daddy” since you wanted him but mommy was nice and decided to let him sleep this time.

So we changed the channel again to what was one of the only “safe” things on to watch in the middle of the night.

HGTV.

I guess after you got your fill of House Hunters International, Property Virgins and The Property Store or whatever that Canadian show is called you had enough and wanted to read. Mommy had to draw the line there. While I admire your desire to read and look at your books 3:30 in the morning is not the right time.

Moon, as mommy explained to you last night; you get to sleep and take naps during the day. Mommy has to function and work to make money to keep clothes on your back, food on the table and a roof over your head. Please please please I am begging you to sleep through the night for at least a week straight so mommy can get caught up on her sleeping through the night.

If you do it again tonight, its “daddy’s” turn.

Love,

Mommy

Jail Break

2009-01-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

4:10 PM yesterday –message from voicemail....

J: “Hey P, give me a call when you get a chance on my cell phone.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4:38 PM when I finally got around to returning the call.

S: “Hey, what’s wrong?”

J: “Well, nothing is really wrong…er yet. Something could be wrong on the future or soon.”

S: “What is that supposed to mean?”

J: “Well, when I got home Moon was half asleep so like I always do I went to put her in her crib so I could let the dogs out and do some stuff. She was NOT happy. She started screaming and making that mad grunting noise. Well when I came back inside I heard this thump and I thought to myself, she did not just do what I think she did. Sure enough two seconds later I hear her door handle jiggle.”

S: “Shit.”

J: “Yep. So I put her back in there again and kept the door cracked so I could watch her. She did it again!”

S: “What are we going to do?”

J: “I don’t know?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4:52 PM - I get this email with this picture attached.

Subject: Zoe....

Is now escaping from her crib!

John G.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6:13 PM

S: “Hey, I just got off the bus. What’s going on?”

J: “Your mom just called laughing hysterically at that picture.”

S: “Yeah I know, I just got off the phone with her too. She said I did the same thing when I was a little over a year old.”

J: “Fuck. Hold on.”

giggle giggle, squeal squeal

J: “Ok, I’m back.”

S: “What happened?”

J: “She just jumped out of her Pack N’ Play”

S: “Dear god. I will talk to you soon so you can go take care of the escape artist.”

My life as I knew it will never be the same. All forms of baby jail have been broken out of. How am I ever going to get anything done anymore? Oy.....

Happy 1st Birthday Moon!

2008-12-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

December 8, 2008

Dear Moon:

Today you are a year old. Mommy cannot believe how quickly this year has passed. So much has happened in both of our lives. I have grown into this person I never thought I could be. I love like I never thought I could love (besides your daddy) and I now realize how precious life truly is. You have grown too. You went from being dependant on mommy and daddy for everything to becoming more and more independent each day. Moon, you have learned so much. You learned how to sit up on your own, crawl, stand and even walk; all within a year. You even know how to eat big people food with all the teeth that appeared out of nowhere. Your hair is longer and you are a bit heavier and taller as well. You even have your own little personality which makes me and your daddy laugh every day.

Moon, you have accomplished so much this year. When I look at you I see determination and a bright future ahead of you. You are so curious. You love books, your blankies, "Dora Dora" and your dogs.

I love you more and more each day and I look forward to watching you grow.

Love,

Mommy

Newborn

1 Month

2 Months

]

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months

Some emails I found.....

2008-10-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

So Proud

April 13, 2007

Friends -

Not quite sure how to start this but to first let everyone know how
important our group and the TEAM is to both Sarah and I. We look
forward every weekend to getting out on the trail not necessarily so much to run
but to talk and socialize amongst friends. You may be asking yourself,
"what this is about, why such an ambiguous" Well it's nothing bad,
we're not leaving, just a small surprise we wanted to share. We are going to
be adding another head to the trail. Sarah's pregnant. See you guys soon.

John

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I THINK I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A BOY. Ha!

From: Sarah
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 12:01 PM
Owen
Palmer
Reece
Trenton
Trevor
Isaiah
Keagan
Keiran
Kesler
Channing
Cooper
Brady
Braeden
Brennan
Breckin
Cole
Parker
Bailey
Camdyn

From: John
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 3:22 PM
To: Sarah

I think that I really like Cole and Braeden.
John
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
From: John G
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 2:50 PM
To: Sarah
Subject: how are
My girls??? Is my Zoe kickIn? I am bored I am waiting for a customer to show up and then leave

John

From: Sarah
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 2:54 PM
To: John
Subject: RE: how are

She's kicking. I found that hot banana peppers really gets the girl worked up too!

The Fam - a little background.

2008-10-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Sarah – 31, works full time as a Senior Administrative Assistant/Legal Assistant
John - DH, 33, works full time in lumber sales
Zoe aka Moon – born 12/8/07

I was born in Warren, Michigan on a cold January afternoon in 1977. We moved to Maryland the day after Christmas in 1982 and I have lived here ever since. I grew up in Laurel and attending PG County Schools (shh...don’t tell anyone). I graduated from HS in 1995 and went on the Catonsville Community College. I attended classes there for a year, made the dean’s list and transferred across the street to UMBC.

I was working as a lifeguard one summer when one of my friends from CCC asked me if I wanted to move out. I moved to Baltimore when I was 19, got a job at a BMW dealership and was going to school full-time. Needless to say, I also got into a bad situation. My roommate turned into a drug addict.

So 6 months later I moved back home with my mom and dad. I stopped working at the car dealership when one of the salesmen offered me a nanny position for his two kid’s ages 4 and newborn. I loved those kids! Out of every child I have ever babysat these two were by far my favorite. I was also working at Express at the time PT. I worked both jobs from the time I was 19-21.

Shortly after my 21st birthday I was promoted to PT Manager at Express, I was working there in the morning and watching Jimmy and Kristen in the afternoon.

On April 11, 1998 I met John at the Greene Turtle in Laurel. I wasn’t even supposed to go out that night being that I was still hung-over from the night before at the Turtle. It was the day before Easter and when I got home that night I let my sleeping parents know I was home and said “hey guys, I met the guy I am going to marry tonight” my mom’s response “shut the hell up Sarah, you’re drunk.”

In June I was promoted to FT Manager at Express and had to leave my nanny job. It was one of the hardest things I had to do, but at the same time I also flunked out of UMBC and was told by my mom and dad I would no longer have insurance. I had to take the FT job.

In December 1998 John and I moved into our own place in Odenton (his first time ever living away from home) and I also found out that Keith, Jimmy and Kristen’s dad died. His heart exploded from a drug overdose. My heart broke. I had no idea.

On March 27, 1999, John proposed to me at our apartment. It went something like this:

J – I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore.
S – What?!?!?! The hell if you are breaking up with me, we just signed a lease.
J – I want to be your husband.

He’s so romantic.

In December of 1999 we bought our first home in North Beach, where we ended up spending almost every Sunday at Thursdays and how I know Meghan.

We were married on July 8, 2000 in Savage, Maryland at the Savage Mill. I was only 23 and he was turning 25 on July 12th.

A year or so later we TTC but had no luck, I finally went back on the pill after months and months of frustration, testing and no answers as to why. In 2004 after John had reconstructive ankle surgery, he started running with Team in Training. I also started working out like crazy and stopped getting my period. So I stopped taking the pill. What was the point, I wasn’t getting it, why take it. This went on for 8 months when I finally decided, “ya know, something is probably not right” so I went in for another round of tests, I was ovulating but in order to get everything back to where it was supposed to be I had to go back on the pill. In early 2007 I went off the pill because we decided we were going to not try (so I could remain sane) yet not prevent. On April 11, 2007 I found out I was pregnant with Moon. This was exactly 9 years to the date of John and I meeting.

And Moon graced up with her presence on December 8, 2007 – exactly 7 years, 5 months after John and I were married.

Torticollis Clinic at Children’s Hospital

2008-10-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Zoe had another Children’s visit. She was seen by her therapist and a nurse practitioner. They went through the ranges of motion and said she looks wonderful. We no longer have to wear the neck brace or the kinesic tape and we can slowly start tapering off her exercises and stretches. They also said we never have to come back again! (Unless we notice it starting to slip back) Woo hoo!!!

This made me so happy. It was hard for me to watch her scream and cry in pain as they twisted her neck and did exercises with her. Yesterday she cried to hard she soaked the sheet around her head and was whimpering for 15 minutes afterwards while she was trying to catch her breath.

I am happy that we are through with this. And I know she will be too.

After her appointment we went to Stride Rite and got her first pair of walking shoes! She loved them and didn’t try to take them off at all. She was toddling all over the house yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday was a good day!

Now, we get to prepare for her first airplane right this Friday!

10 month check up!

2008-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Zoe went to her 10 month check up today, a day after her 10 month b-day! She is weighing in at 20lbs, 5ozs. and is 30.4 inches long! My baby is getting big. She got 1 of 2 flu shots today.

Dr. Hawit said she is looking good and the next time she will see her is at her 1 year visit on December 11th.

Here is her growth tracker:

Day------ Date--- --- Weight------ Height
0------ Dec 8, 2007--- 7 lbs, 0 oz--- 20 inches

6------ Dec 14, 2007--- 7 lbs, 0 oz--- 20 inches

13------ Dec 21, 2007--- 7 lbs, 10 oz--- 20 inches

37------ Jan 14, 2008--- 9 lbs, 4 oz--- 21 inches

66------ Feb 12, 2008--- 11 lbs, 0 oz--- 22 inches

83------ Feb 29, 2008--- 12 lbs, 12 oz--- 23 inches

143------ Apr 29, 2008--- 15 lbs, 11 oz--- 26.3 inches

185------ Jun 10, 2008--- 17 lbs, 2 oz--- 27 inches

248------ Aug 12, 2008--- 18 lbs, 13 oz--- 28 inches

306------ Oct 9, 2008--- 20 lbs, 5 oz--- 30.4 inches

A great day!

2008-10-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today we have had a super busy day. This morning we went to my parents house for a bit and hung out. Then Moon and I kidnapped Grandma and took her to Wal-Mart and Giant with us. My mom decided Zoe needs her own suitcase for our trip to Detroit in two weeks so she purchased her one (I think I am going to steal it....) When we were done there we headed to McDonalds and grandma insisted on buying Zoe her first happy meal. Well, we created a monster. We headed over to Dunkirk Park and sat at a picnic table and ate. Zoe ate her hamburger like a big girl and a few fries too. My mom kept commenting on how grown up she acts. She said "you and your brother were never this easy!" Of course we weren't she was our mom.

After lunch we played on the playground. I am not sure who had more fun, Moon or my mom with her broken foot.It was a great morning!! Tonight we head to Outback for John's mom and my SIL's husband birthday dinner. I am seriously going to need a drink before we go though and I am praying I can keep my mouth shut. That's a topic for a whole other post though.

Unexpected delivery!

2007-12-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Bear with me, it's long....

Zoe Katelyn decided to make her entrance into the world Saturday night, December 8, 2007 at 7:33 PM. She weighed 7.0 oz and was 20 inches long.

My mom and I were at Target and BJ's Wholesale Club getting some last minute stuff for my parent's party that evening when I had some "leaking". It was not like the normal pregnancy leaking that usually occurs, but nothing is ever normal with pregnancy so I just thought nothing of it; besides I felt fine.

It started around 2:30 or so and I kind of just brushed it off a nothing. I never said anything to my mom because the last thing I needed was for her to get worked up about nothing, which is exactly what I thought it was. After all I had just been to the doctor Friday afternoon and from the discussion John and I had with her it did not sound like I would deliver on my due date anyhow, which was December 16th. She did the normal check and I had still not dilated. We discussed how long before they would induce and she said it would not be longer than a week, especially since I was uncomfortable and my swelling and carpal tunnel was becoming unbearable as well. During the vaginal exam she told us she felt her head so that was a good sign. Also a sign to me at the time that any chance I had of getting John to have sex with me to move this labor thing along was out the door.

My mom and I got back to their house and I was going to head home to get ready for the party. I went to the bathroom before I left and decided at that point that I would mention it to my mom and see what she thought I should do about calling the doctor. She told me to call, so I got in my car and did. Before I even got out of their driveway the doctor's office had called me back and told me to come in just so they could check to see if my water had broken and be on the safe side. Since John and I live about 35-40 minutes from the hospital (I had her at Arundel Medical Center), the nurse said there did not seem to be any reason to rush and not to be worried, just come on in and head to labor and delivery. I got home, told John what was up and by 4:30 PM we were on our way to Annapolis.

The whole ride there we kept joking with each other that this would just be our trial run for the real thing; obviously after yesterdays doctor's appointment this would turn out to be nothing. We joked about how a lot of first time mothers who are friends of ours ended up getting sent home from the hospital and we would now have a story of our own. We pulled up and I would not even let him bring our bags in, that's how sure I was that nothing was happening.

We headed to labor and delivery and checked in for my exam, headed back to the room and the nurse did the first of a series of tests. The first one was indecipherable because it could have either read yes or no based on the color of the test strip, so she had the doctor come in. Once Dr. Ballard got there they did a vaginal exam and as she was I heard her say "that's interesting". As she was doing it I knew that it was the most uncomfortable one I have had. Dr. Ballard decided that there was in fact a puddle but she wanted to do a sonogram also. She comes back in and starts the sonogram. She is moving the wand around and says "do you know your baby is breech?"

I looked at John, John looked at me and we said "but Vicki felt her head yesterday.

Dr. B says, well, she's breech. The nurse looks at John and asks if he has a camera and he tells her it is in the car with our bags which I would not let him bring in. The nurse's reply was "you better go get it; you are going to have a baby in a couple hours."

At this point I am in shock, thrilled, nervous and scared all at the same time. I definitely did not come in expecting this.

So John runs out to the parking garage and gathers our bags. Mine had been packed for weeks just in case and his had been packed approximately 40 minutes before….. Typical man.

He comes back to the room, gets our recovery room assignment and puts the bags down. By the time they return it is not too much longer before I head into the OR. While he is gone, though I do want to mention that they asked me a series of questions. Most in which husbands or significant others should not be present for. My favorite two were; are you sure this is "his" baby and are you safe at home? My responses were "are you serious – people come in here and they don't know who the father is even if they are married (this is my naïve side showing through – which later I found out is more common than not – I watched a lot of Maury Pouvich while I was on maternity leave) and my answer to the latter was…."yes I am safe, he is the one that is NOT safe at home. I beat him." The nurses just laughed at me.

John came back shortly thereafter, his parents showed up and he and I headed to the OR. Once we got there Dr. Lee got me ready with the epidural and the next thing I knew I could not feel my legs (and wondering if I would ever be able to run again), was being laid on the table and cut open. The whole thing happened so quickly I barely remember it. The OR team was great. They had us laughing the whole time, if I hadn't known better it was like we were hanging out with friends. The entire experience could not have gone any better. When they were transferring me to the recovery bed, I told them if they were going to drop me to drop me legs first. The nurse responded with "Sweetie, I have been doing this for a long time and we are not going to drop you, it's too much paperwork."

I was wheeled into recovery to see my precious bundle of joy again. There she was, in the flesh, our baby. She finished up with the warmer as her body temperature was stabilized not to long after I got there. The nurse then handed her to me for her first feeding. She latched right on right away and at that moment I knew I would breast feed.

This whole experience has humbled me. I am not the same girl I was a little over a week ago. I am a mother. A mother to a beautiful little girl with big blue eyes that I hope stay that way, but if they don't I will still love her the same, if not more. Whenever I wake up several times a night and in the morning the first thing I do is kiss her. I never knew it was so easy to fall in love in such a short period of time. Don't get me wrong, I loved her the entire time I carried her, but this is different. She is here now. I would not change this for anything.

My recovery is going extremely well. I stopped taking the pain meds shortly after I got home and have been up and about ever since. I am chalking my speedy recovery up to my being in shape beforehand. I have talked to other mothers who have had c-sections recently and they have told me recovery stories you would not believe. Everyone heals differently. I am glad I am able to be up and about.

I am obviously going to cut back on blogging. I am going to shoot for two to three days a week. Who knows though, Moon may get herself into more of a pattern and offer up more of my free time. We'll see. Thanks again to everyone who has been there throughout. Every thing each and every one of you has said to me has meant a lot and got me through the longest 9 months of my life! The pregnancy itself was not bad, it was the anticipation.