Foto Friday

Watch out Bobby Flay, we've got a chef in the making.  He insisted on helping cook (and yes, he was totally supervised in front of the stove at all times!).

I hope you had a wonderfully happy Thanksgiving!  We had a relaxing day and shared a lovely meal with some great friends.  Happy Holidays!

Baby, it's cold outside!

So long fall, I hardly knew ya!  We had our first snow this weekend, and while it wasn't much, and all it's almost all melted already, and it's supposed to be in the high 40s by the end of the week, I feel like this is the unofficial end of fall.  I'm already in early winter hibernation mode - I desperately need to get to the store today to get some things for dinner and for my contributions to the Thanksgiving dinner we'll be attending (quickly, before all the fresh sage in our little town is sold out!), and yet I can't bring myself to leave the house.  It's cold, and overcast, and, did I mention cold?

I'm a Florida girl born and bred, and for 24 years I would get excited if it got cold enough to wear long pants on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I always watched the Macy's parade with envy, wondering what it would be like to live somewhere where there was often snow on the ground in time for Thanksgiving.  If nothing else, they always had on scarves and mittens.  Gotta love the cold weather accessories! 

Well, I take it back!  And it's not even like I'm living in Alaska or Siberia.  It's just northern Nevada.  But to me it's cold.  Cold weather means potentially scary driving conditions (this from a girl who once drove through a tropical storm) it means extra clothes (that part's not so bad - at least it's an excuse to not worry about the extra fat around my middle!) and mostly it means that it takes 10 times as long to do things.  Cold weather + extra clothes + a toddler = nightmare!  Even the dog doesn't want to go out in this weather!

On the upside, it also means some exciting things are on the horizon.  December is a busy month for us - our anniversary, little dude's birthday, and Christmas.  But most exciting of all is how jazzed the little dude is about the prospect of snow this year.  Last year we couldn't get him near it - it was all about hysterical screaming and crying.  This year he can't wait to play in it - to his dismay, by the time he got up this morning, almost all of the weekend's snow had melted.  He's already counting down to the next snow, whenever that may be.




Our first snow last year - Little Dude was not happy!



What a difference a year makes!





Foto Friday

Fun with a friend on a Friday!

Fight for Preemies - our story

December 12, 2007 was supposed to be a normal and uneventful day.  My mom was in town to visit, staying with me for the last week of my husband's 6 month deployment.  I was nearly 36 weeks pregnant, and while my pregnancy was healthy, normal and low risk (my biggest problem was the morning sickness that showed up at 6 weeks and never went away), I asked my mom to visit anyway.  Something in the recesses of my mind told me it would be a good idea to have her there for the last week before Pilot Pete returned home.  "Just in case" I said.

Funny how "just in case" turned out to be a "thank goodness you were here".  At about 12:30 AM on December 12, 4 weeks and 1 day before my estimated due date, I felt three painful kicks and something else.  As a first timer, I was no expert on anything pregnancy related, but I had no doubt that my water had broken.  Without a bag, a camera, or any clue what was happening, my mom and I set off for the hospital, where they confirmed my suspicions - I was having a baby.  That morning.

And so, at 5:43 AM on December 12, 2007, my little boy was born.  A breech baby, he was delivered by c-section and, after an all to brief first meeting with me, was whisked away to observation, which later turned to the NICU.  After 16 days of antibiotics and oxygen for pneumonia and breathing issues, as well as feeding tubes for eating issues, we were finally able to bring our little bundle of joy home.  Nearly three years later, my big boisterous boy shows no signs of his preemie beginnings.

Four days old

Heading home from the hospital at 16 days old

We were lucky.  Very lucky.  The little dude was born at a very healthy 6 lbs. 3.4 oz.  That's quite a big preemie.  His health issues were minor compared to most of the other little babies alongside him in the NICU.  Each year 1 in 8 babies in the United States are born prematurely.  Premature birth is the number 1 killer of newborn babies, and premature babies cost 10 times more than healthy babies.  The rate of premature births in the United States has risen nearly 30 percent since 1980.

In 2003, the March of Dimes launched the Prematurity Campaign to raise public awareness of prematurity and to decrease the rate of preterm births in the United States.  The campaign is already having an impact - the premature birth rate recently declined by 3 percent.  But there is still work to be done on behalf of premature babies not just in this country, but all over the world.  To create awareness for the campaign, the March of Dimes has designated November as Prematurity Awareness Month, and November 17 as Prematurity Awareness Day.  Prematurity can affect anyone, and while there are steps every expectant mother can take to lower their risk for preterm birth, there is still much to be learned as to the causes of preterm birth.

We will be forever grateful to the amazing NICU doctors and nurses who helped us through one of the most challenging and difficult times we have ever faced.  Go to www.marchofdimes.com to learn more about prematurity and what you can do to join the fight for premature babies.

Foto Friday

Some of the blogs I regularly visit (okay okay - stalk) post a picture on Fridays.  I wanted to get in on the fun, so here is my first Foto Friday:

It's Friday, and I'm in love.

(Thanks to Andrea for the great idea - hope you don't mind that I am totally co-opting it!)