LizaWasHere

I keep falling asleep. With Josie in my lap.

Usually not while Noah is awake, but sometimes during the window between dinner and bedtime.

I think it’s the prolactin. That’s the awesome hormone that makes you patient with newborns, relaxes your muscles, and gets triggered by babies nursing. (And apparently is also the hormone in men that makes them roll over and fall asleep after, ahem, getting busy. Allegedly. A factoid that might give you more understanding of just how tired I get.)

While it might also have the bonus of having helped keep my muscles nice and relaxed post car-accident, I would really like to be less sleepy.

It was COLD when we got home from sunny, beautiful Palo Alto!

And it was also 1:30 am. Or so.

The flight from San Francisco was so early that we couldn’t get a gate at Minneapolis/St Paul. Where it was so cold that the little plane tugging cars were skidding on the ice, so they had to run around with the big tuggers to move anyone. So we were on the ground for about 45 minutes before we could disembark.

Then we sprinted to the Milwaukee gate, me aided by 2 nice San Franciscans of midwestern origin. And another nice dad who had been sitting behind us who watched her while I peed.

That sprint turned out to be pointless, as we spent 1 hour and 50 minutes WHILE ONBOARD waiting for the 15 passengers from LAX to arrive.

The flight attendants ran out of water. I think I got the last 2 oz.

When we got off the plane, the loader/unloader dude who brought the stroller and carseat up clearly didn’t have kids and had a terrible time trying to unfold the stroller. While Josie screamed bloody murder in the unheated airway. When it was finally unfolded, I just threw the carseat on it and started racing up the airway. Naturally it fell off.

Josie was screaming.

I yelled “shit!” and almost started to cry.

And fortunately, the funny-face-making dad from the sfo-msp flight appeared and helped us get off the airway, organized, and to baggage claim.

Once things calmed down, we started chatting about why we were in San Fransisco, and he got all excited about 23andMe, and the idea that he could get genetic medical info for his kids. He also does some kind of genetic research and has had himself profiled.

Dear Noah,

In exactly one month, you will be three years old.

This month has continued to keep your life off balance. We’re settling into the new house, which you insist on calling “our NEW house” if someone calls it “our house.” You still coo at and love on Josie, usually in 20-30 second bursts of interest.

The two of you are going to a local day care 3 days per week, which seems to be making you insane. Every morning that I tell you, “Today is a Miss Mary’s school day,” you cry and scream and declare that you don’t like morning time. Of course, the minute we get there, you run off to play, and you don’t want to leave in the evening.

I think you don’t like the uneven routine.

Lucky for all of us, the opportunity unexpectedly arose for that to change. Beginning a week from Tuesday, you will begin a full-time (8 am – 3 pm) Montessori program. The plan is to have you there through kindergarten, which gives us more than 3 years in one place — a place I think you will love.

Yesterday, I was in a car accident in “R Car” or “My friend R Car” as you liked to call it. I don’t know right now whether or not R Car will be repaired or declared a total loss. The rental we are using is black, smallish, and new, so I told you it was an Acura Racecar, like one of your current favorite toys.

I wasn’t trying to lie; I couldn’t remember what kind of car it was, and I thought it might be an Acura. You have to ask This Mommy those car questions. (It’s a Mazda of some kind.)
You keep becoming more articulate, taller, and more fun (most of the time). You memorize books as we read them to you, quote (and misquote) long sections of movie dialog, and amusingly mimic everything you hear. I wish I could capture and remember all the funny and charming things you say.

Your favorite foods du jour are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, oatmeal with raisins and sugar, apple juice, cheese, chocolate ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, meat, and cucumbers. We have no idea where the last one came from, but I’m happy to buy them and feed them to you. Frequently, you will reject anything else, and easily declare segments of food “yucky things” and demand their immediate removal. I mean things like the oregano and basil on pizza.

You’ve also become very sweet and affectionate this month, which is lovely. Thank you.

We love you very, very much.

That Mommy