Does Anyone Recognize This Man?

Just when we all thought we knew "Mr. Incredible", class of '99, captain of the golf team, he figures out a way to surprise me. I burned two fingers early this week, which was not serious, but was very painful. After soaking them in cold water for the appropriate amount of time, Mr. Incredible informed me that I should wrap them loosely in guaze with ointment (thank you webMD). Realizing that we were lacking in gauze, I wrapped them in a cool washcloth while Mr. Incredible went to see what he could find. He returned with a lanolin treated nursing pad.

GENIUS! BRILLIANT!

This from the man who had never changed a diaper before 15 months ago. And several months ago as we ate our anniversary dinner overlooking a terrace with a wedding reception, he commented that he didn't like the bride's dress very much. I asked him if was because it was too ivory, to which he responded indignantly, "It's way darker than ivory...it's champagne." Oh, well, excuse me!

But then he does have his merely human moments...like last night when he related to me how an analyst he was meeting with had his wife go into labor 6 weeks early when he was supposed to be on a business trip. But the analyst had cancelled it to be on the safe side. No big deal, except he told me this over the phone from New York. And he will be travelling next week, too. I could have probably waited a few weeks to hear that story, sweetie!

Merging Thanksgiving Traditions

Marriage means, among many other things, combining family traditions. In addition to expecting Dash to catch the main course, my family also expects you to work off your Thanksgiving meal before you eat it. This was Mr. Incredible's first chance to relish in the tradition of the early morning Thanksgiving Day 5K. In contrast, his family's preferred method of preparing for the evening Thanksgiving feast is to spend the day eating and watching football (perhaps a more traditional and certainly less painful way to spend the day).

Mr. Incredible declared post-race victory, although he was smoked by both his brother-in-law and almost 60 year old father-in-law. For he had beaten his over 7 month pregnant wife. In my own defense....strollers had to start at the back of the mob, I didn't have a jogging stroller and it was impossible to weave through the masses. (Did I mention I was pushing 40+ pounds and carrying another child in the womb? Can you tell I am a bit competitive?) Dash does prove good motivation to run, because whenever he senses me slowing down he turns around as if to say, "Mom, pick up the pace!"

So as not to totally alienate Mr. Incredible from my side of the family, we promised to be home Thanksgiving afternoon to cheer on the Cowboys!

Catching Thanksgiving Dinner

Dash's first Thanksgiving trip to St. Louis is already proving tough. For starters, his grandparents are making him work for his Thanksgiving dinner. I mean, who makes a 15-month old catch his own turkey?

And this particular turkey who apparently has free reign of the Children's Zoo, did not want to be caught, despite a valiant effort on Dash's part. We got a workout chasing him around, though.

Dash loved his very first trip to the zoo. We petted chinchillas and goats, climbed into a rhino's mouth and watched penguins swim.

Blessings Everywhere

My life has been sprinkled with so many blessings lately, I hardly know where to begin. This should probably be a Thankful Thursdays post, but it is Sunday and I may be too tired to count to 10.

~Not only were Dash and I lucky enough to have a first class seat this week (thanks to some grandparent miles that upgraded us for fear Dash wouldn't fit on my shrinking lap), but, as the flight was not full, we each had our OWN first class seat.

~Momo picked me up a new pair of running shoes, which feel so luxurious...like walking on pillows. This is probably because I am too *frugal* to replace them when I should and because I am carrying around a few extra pounds (at least for 8 more weeks!). As a side note: two days have passed since the fashion show and I am still acutely aware that there is a reason they tell pregnant women not to wear high heels all day!

~Dash's newly manifested separation anxiety was quelled by having not 1 but 2 grandmas around, allowing me to get a much-needed haircut and spend some time in the silent Eucharistic Adoration chapel of a Carmelite monastery.

~The neighbors directly across the street from my parents are doing construction work on their house that has necessitated a parade of trucks parked on the street. You could have knocked Dash over with a feather when he saw the trucks. Cement trucks, like the one in the picture, are his favorite. We just parked our wagon in the street and watched the action. We also saw a big spinning drill bit attached to a bobcat. To top it off, a neighbor's old black lab came trotting up the street and was perfectly content to let Dash pet him.

~Five of my bridesmaids and best college friends have plane tickets to fly from all over the country for a reunion in Texas the first weekend in January. I'm afraid the excitement of seeing my best friends under one roof may put me into labor! But then our baby boy will get to meet his aunties just as soon as he's born.

~Alas! I published without mentioning my parents' refrigerator stocked with my favorite foods and the AMAZING chocolates brought in from Arizona by my mother-in-law. Perhaps I was not actually the intended recipient of said chocolates, but I'll just consider it a blessing that my visit coincided with the arrival of the chocolate.

We Must Really Love Our Momo...

...otherwise how else would a 7 month pregnant mommy and a 15 month old boy agree to fly in to model in a Catholic Children's Hospital Fashion Show?

For those who were denied the pleasure of being there in person to see the spectacle, pictures are provided here for your enjoyment. Dash did great! Until he saw Momo off the side of the runway and tried to leap into her arms, thus forcing Mommy to carry the little guy. And as you can see, purple pacifiers are all the rage this season. I humbly wore the oversized non-maternity clothes that were provided, making me look distinctly cow-ish (nothing like the cute clothes I had tried on a month earlier), but am fairly confident that no one was watching me. I did wear some soft fur that Dash liked petting, and had some type of animal on my head at some point.

The real hero of the whole deal was Grandmom, who flew in just to be Dash's "dresser". How she managed to change the outfits of a 15-month old in rapid fire succession without a total melt-down, I will never know.

Momo took him for a spin down the runway afterwards, which, as every toddler knows, is an opportunity to sprint as quickly as possible.

The Gourmet Baby is Back

One more example of the highly refined palate of a 15 month old....Dash stubbornly refuses to eat chocolate pudding packs, but will settle for pots de creme made with Bissenger's dark chocolate .



In other Dash news...he learned how to blow kisses.







After realizing that we have very few pictures of the three of us (Dash, Mommy and Mr. Incredible) as we put together our Christmas card, we had Momo capture this gem just as we woke up.

Orange Glucose Offering

One of the things I disliked the most about being pregnant with Dash was the glucose test that you have to do early in the third trimester. There were certainly parts of pregnancy far more difficult, painful, emotional and uncomfortable than drinking a bottle of syrupy orange sugar water, but I could barely get it down and keep it down. It was awful to drink that stuff on an empty stomach and to be unable to drink water for hours before the test. This is agony for someone who always has a water bottle within reach. And for someone who doesn't like oranges or orange juice...yikes! Why couldn't they calibrate the test so you could drink something like a Dr. Pepper?

My most recent appointment, and the day of the dreaded glucose test, was yesterday, on All Saint's Day. The moment I held the chilled (yes, they tell you it tastes better cold) bottle in my hand my stomach involuntarily turned over. But running through my mind all day yesterday was the fact that this was the first All Saint's Day for our little saint, Kolbe Francis, in Heaven. And also, despite genuine joy at his being in the presence of Christ, the fact that I would have downed gallons of orange glucose water to hold him in my arms. Suddenly, drinking the bottle seemed like such a tiny sacrifice and so I offered it up for all those moms that I know and do not know who have their own little saints in heaven. Since we live so far away from where our baby will be born, I had to drink it in the car. Whoever was driving next to me must have thought I was drinking the most wonderful substance on earth for the smile on my face. For there are certainly sacrifices in our lives sweeter than glucose.

Dash as Dash

I am long overdue for an update due to spending a week in St. Louis and a very exciting Cardinals World Series win, but I know several grandparents, great aunts, aunts, etc. will have a heart attack if I don't post Halloween pictures right away. It will come as no surprise that Dash went as Dash (despite just telling a young married bible study how wonderful it is to celebrate All Hallow's Eve by dressing your children as saints and making sure to re-Christianize other Halloween traditions!). At first everyone thought he was "Jack-Jack" the Incredibles baby, but as he sprinted at full speed from house to house, reason dictated that this must be a little Dash. He only tried to steal candy from one of his little friends, but then raided the candy bowl once inside.