The Celebrating Begins

On Friday I went in for my ultrasound and to find out the gender of our baby. I guess I should say we went in for my ultrasound; Peter, Amelia and I. It was a family affair. But this time around I wanted things to be a bit different. Instead of lying on the table and having the ultrasound technician say, “It’s a _______,” which I felt was a little anticlimactic for an announcement that changes my entire life, I wanted to make a bigger deal of the whole experience. In fact, I wanted to turn it into a celebration.

So Pete and I decided not to have the tech tell us the baby’s gender. Instead, we had her write it down on a card and seal it in an envelope. (She warned us when to close our eyes during the ultrasound so as to maintain the surprise.) Then we took the envelope to a local baby boutique and Pete chose out a pair of baby boy shoes and I chose a pair of girl shoes. We made sure the boxes were the same size and shape. We then took the shoes and the envelope up to the girl at the register and asked her to open the envelope and ring up the appropriate pair of shoes and giftwrap them for us without us seeing which shoes won.

That evening, Pete and I had our parents and my brother and sister come over for an announcement party. They were all there as we opened the gift and found out whom to expect to arrive in October (aside from Moms, sisters and Relief Society ladies).

Here’s the video (please pardon the squealing. It’s a McKinlay thing):

BIg News from Charlotte Tidwell on Vimeo.

I am excited to have another girl. I simply couldn't be happier. Because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true. Isn't it?

But even though most of my heart is rejoicing for this new little girl to come into our lives, there is a small but very real part of my heart that is mourning for the loss of the baby boy of my dreams. (Not my literal dreams--I haven't had any visitations in my sleep. Just to clarify).

I just mean that I was the teensiest bit hoping for a boy. Maybe just to have a completely new experience. Maybe because I know how badly Pete wants a son. Maybe because I come from a family of mostly girls and part of me wanted assurance that I will have a son on this side of the grave. I don't know.

But I do know I'll get over it long before this girl is here and that I'll feel nothing but adoration when I see her. It's part of my plan. You know, my plan for a more emotionally connected and conscientious birth experience. The one that will make me a calmer, more loving and in control mom during those first postpartum weeks. Probably.

So.

Thus begins the shopping. There's nothing like shopping baby girl clothes to eradicate any wistful thoughts of baby boys that can wait their turn!

Thursdays

Thursdays are a big day at our house.

Why are they such a big day? Because Thursday is Garbage Day.

That's right. We (Amelia and I, but mostly Amelia) wait patiently all week for Thursday to come so we can eat our lunch sitting on the front porch waiting for the garbage truck to roll down the street. It's a clear highlight of the week. The little doll loves watching the garbage truck with it's mechanical arm reaching out to lift our bin, empty its smelly contents into the back of the truck, place the bin back on the street and move on. Then she waves and calls "'Bye Babage truck," until it is well out of sight.

She even had me make up a song for her about the garbage truck. It's to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

I guess the reason I'm writing about this is because today I found out that a good friend and previous mission companion's two-year-old daughter has just been diagnosed with Leukemia. She's in surgery today. I don't know the prognosis.

When I heard the news I gasped. How could a beautiful two-year-old, practically a baby, have to deal with a life threatening disease? How could my friend who is my age be expected to know how to handle having a child with cancer?

It hit really close to home. I have a two-year-old daughter. She is precious. She is happy and active and loves to watch the garbage truck.

I picked her up and held her as tight as I could and wouldn't let her go until she wriggled free saying, "Mama, I have to go tinkles."

My heart is full. Full for my friend and the challenge her family has been given. Full for my daughter and all the little things that make her such a funny, joyful, absolutely essential part of my life.

Good luck to the Briggs family. God bless you.

And in a small way, thank you. For reminding me that my life is bigger than shopping lists, potty training and researching details for our big move. I still get to watch the garbage truck every Thursday with my girl.

Pretending it's Spring at the Tulip Festival

For the past four or five years I've wanted to check out the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point and for some reason or other have never made it. I figured this year was my last opportunity, 'cause they don't have tulips or gorgeous gardens or anything in NYC.

Just kidding.

But I really wanted to make sure I caught it this year (especially since Pete's parents have a pass and could get us in for free) so we made a date and we went. Amelia was much more delighted to be with her grandparents and cousin Paisley than she was about the flowers. In fact I didn't get a single photo of her interacting with the flowers because every time she paid any attention to them at all she beheaded a pansy.

Did I mention I had to get a new camera? My trusty old DMC-TZ3 ended his sojourn in this life a week before Pete graduated--an event I intended to document. I was forced to buy a new camera, and since neither timing nor finances allowed for the purchase of the DSLR that I have been lusting after for months and months, I got another point and shoot. I decided the Tulip Fest was a great time and place to break it in.

Here we are at what Thanksgiving Point has named "Monet's Pond"--though having been to visit Monet's home in France and seen his pond, this one isn't quite as impressive.





After looking at my photos, I think we (the camera and I) need to get to know one another a bit better. The camera is a touchscreen model with all the settings hidden somewhere in it's digital insides, so I couldn't control the images as much as I wanted to. It's going to take some practice, (and possibly even reading the owner's manual) to get the photos I want.

I'm having trouble cropping images without losing clarity and I just don't feel that the pics are as sharp as they should be. Anyway, we had a great time and I'm learning to use my new camera.

And it's finally spring. Took long enough this year . . .