Good News/Bad News

The good news: Our lovely friends tried for ages and ages and ages before having their now-two-year-old daughter. And they've been trying just as hard for a second child. Their last two embryos were implanted last week, so we've all been waiting around with crossed fingers hoping for a good result. And so far so good. Her levels weren't looking great over the weekend but as of Monday they had quadrupled. Two sets of identical twins perhaps?

The bad news: We have some other dear friends who had a baby boy in early May. They found out about halfway through the pregnancy he had a serious heart defect that would require surgery immediately after his birth. They were finally able to bring him home from the hospital mid-June. Then this weekend we learned the devastating news that he didn't make it.

Colin was their second child and I've found myself thinking a lot about the loss of a first child compared to a later one. The death of any baby is so tragic and heart-wrenching, but as I look at Kiddle now I realize how much easier it would be to imagine the growth and potential of a second child, rather than being overwhelmed by the raw in-the-moment newness of your first child. Does that make their loss even harder to bear? Or maybe their daughter is such a vibrant, visceral reminder of happiness that she'll help them get through these sad times. I would imagine it's a little of both, plus a whole lot of other emotions that I hope we never have to experience. My heart just aches for them.

Pool Time

A big part of summer in our town is the pool. I'd never even been before -- not being much of a pool person myself -- but I finally broke down and signed the family up for the summer. I really had no excuse anymore, especially since our house is close enough for us to walk there (and hear all the loudspeaker announcements. "Adult swim. All kids out of the pool!").

I thought I'd put off going until they had regular hours during the week (School doesn't get out here until JUNE 25TH! Can you believe that?!), but when Jack's mom called on Saturday to see if we wanted to go post-nap I realized it would be a good idea to go with a seasoned pro. So we slathered on the block, packed up all our towels and headed out.

One surprise: Living in the Land of No I thought we'd get a dictionary-sized book of rules and regs, but no. Although it would be nice to know for sure when the toddler pool is open. (I think they were simply out of them. And no it's not a manual; just a tri-fold pamphlet, from what I later heard.)

Another surprise: It was actually really great there. The toddler pool is perfect for Kiddle right now. (But I'm so thankful I didn't join last year. What an exhausting experience that would have been with a just-found-his-feet walker.) There is quite a bit of shade. And the pool is ringed by a grassy berm so you aren't stuck on concrete for the entire time. (Note to self: take some pool toys so I don't feel so guilty when my little one picks up every little boat and rubber duck he can get his hands on.)

Maybe I will become a pool person after all.

Oh that? Yeah, that's NYC. Did you want to go?

I spend all my time now in the suburbs on a two-year-old's schedule. Which means we don't go far because, well, he's two. And two-year-olds LOVE their schedule. So when we have out-of-town guests now it's a very different scenario than a few years ago. Pre-kid it was all about shopping and sightseeing and theater. Post-kid I seem to forget that Manhattan is all of 20 minutes away and that my guests might want to do something besides go to the park.

My best friend from high school was just in for a visit. Fortunately she's very laid back and had been well warned that our life is quite boring at the moment. It was so lovely to just be able to hang out with her for days on end and really catch up on each other's lives. Something we never get to do even when I go back home for a visit. We did finally drag ourselves into the city to see "Xanadu." Adorable show. Very campy. And, as it turns out, CJ's first Broadway show. (Maybe we should have seen something more traditional for her first show? Oh well.)

So thanks for hanging out with us in the suburbs, CJ! We miss you already and hope that your visit was relaxing, not boring. See you in July!

Two Words! Two Words!

Yay! I finally heard a two-word combo. We were draining the water from Jack's kiddie pool on Friday and Kiddle said "bye bye waa." Progress! Woo hoo!

In the Dark

Oh, how I love electricity! After 30+ hours of living in the dark (and the hot and the boring) I experienced the blissful sensation of my bedside lamp shining in my face at 5:45 am. Yay lights! Yay air conditioning! Yay computer! Yay TV! (Although I'm devastated I missed the first Top 20 episode of So You Think You Can Dance.) Yesterday felt like Kiddle and I were hanging out in a black hole.

And what caused this void of electronics? A wicked storm that tore through here Tuesday night. It seems our neighborhood caught the brunt of it. Huge old lovely trees are down on every block. Little K's backyard has two trees that didn't fall, but have to come down ASAP. One is partially uprooted and leaning on a massive oak; the other will be too unstable on its own because they were already growing in a terrifying V shape. Fortunately no damage for us but we'd been without power since that night.

Friends and Neighbors

I've never really had neighbors that were also friends. Well, except for the time a friend lived in the apartment across the hall from my roommate and me, but that was totally a Melrose Place phase of our life (oh, how I miss those days!).

Anyway, I've already written about our neighbors with the two-year-old daughter (I'll call her Little K from now on). I haven't mentioned that next door to them is another family with a two-year-old as well (he'll be known as Jack). The kids all just turned two within eight weeks of each other. Technically both families live around the corner from us, but we can see into each others' backyards. Little K's backyard is fenced and they have a big swingset/slide so we spend most of our outdoor time in their yard.

On Friday we had our first neighbors' cookout at Jack's house. The kids played in the kiddie pool until they were blue. And the adults ate lots of yummy barbeque and had some drinks. I love having these kids so close in age; they're adorable together. And I love having other moms/friends so close by. It was relaxing and fun and I can't wait to do it again.

I Slept In Until 10:30!!

Last weekend was heaven. Know why?

Because I was away for three whole days ... BY MYSELF. Well, not really by myself because I was with other people. But none of those other people was a three-foot-tall tornado named Kiddle.

I went to Orlando with some friends and had a good old-fashioned girls' weekend. I got a mani/pedi, had dinner without once saying "use your inside voice, please," saw the "Sex and the City" movie (even though I've seen all of one and a half episodes of the show). But mostly we relaxed by my friend's pool and read and chatted. It was great to not be responsible for anyone other than myself for only the second time in two years.

But I missed Kiddle terribly. He's so funny and interesting right now, it just killed me not to know what was going on with him every second of the day. He and Mr. P spent a couple of days upstate with Mr. P's brother and girlfriend -- a great distraction from the fact I wasn't around, plus Kiddle follows his uncle around like a puppy.

It was a good separation for both of us: I got some great downtime and Kiddle has been much more inclusive of Mr. P this week. Well, until last night ... but more on that later.