It's time. . .

Or at least it almost is. In true form, I'm leaving much of my packing to the last minute. And also in true form, I thought I'd get a lot more done than I did (i.e. cleaning the house, packing you, preparing some sort of crazed master list for your fully capable daddy to reference). But, laundry's finished, your daddy is fully able to pack and prep you for your part of the weekend journey (up north to cheer daddy on in his marathon! Go daddy, go!!) And now Grandpa's travel changes means he's here to house/pet sit while we're gone and he can pick me up at the airport WITH YOU Monday at 8 am. Sharp.

Please don't change at all while I'm gone. Please remember me when I come back. Please don't be embarassed or judge your freak of a mother until you are a mother yourself!! Love you Emma!!!

Embarking on some great adventures

The Murrays are adventuring it this week. Steve in the magestic Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Katie & Emma in the great unknown of solo parenting for a week. Gulp! Sure, Steve may run across a bear or moose and will be bunking up with family for the week under the stars, but Katie will most certainly face the ferocious clingasaurus with limited back up!

Emma is an absolute gem, the best thing in our lives, and she is also a bit of a force to be reckoned with at times. This week has been host to some epic melt downs - both by mother and child on one day - and we're praying Steve's right when he says she's getting it out of her system before he leaves. There is nothing more beautiful than the sight of your husband when your child has been screaming when just the thought of putting her down happened across your mind and that sight will be a mirage until next Sunday night.

So please pray for the Murrays this week - those in the BWCA to have a safe, healthy, wonderful trip enjoying the beauty of the untouched land and those in the wilds of Lake Nokomis, for patience, strength, and the ability to see the perfect child behind the melt downs (assuming that we may see at least one in the next 7 days).

*Oh, and to all of you life boats who have offered play dates and extra time spent with Em - thank you in advance!*

Accidental CIO?

I came home from work last night to find you sleeping in your crib. This is pretty typical for a Thursday, you and daddy play hard and he puts you down and then he and I go to bed and wait for you to wake to join us. We put on the monitor and chatted a bit before drifting off. At one point, the monitor was beeping and needed charging, so he turned the other on to take over.

Enter 2 am. I woke up and realized you weren't with us. I looked to see if the monitors were on and you had just (miraculously) remained asleep and what do I see? NOTHING! The little green light that indicates that we can hear you is off! Ahh! Enter mama guilt! So daddy hustled upstairs to check on you and found you still asleep. Even after he moved a few things around.

Now, in theory I should capitalized on my time alone and caught some heavy zzzzz's. But this horrible image of you standing in your crib, crying, and finally giving up and crashing kept nagging me so I was up for the better part of an hour. It was probably just as I was about to get to sleep that you actually did wake up for more than a stir and I could scoop you up in my arms (and nurse since I hadn't in almost 10 hrs - eek!) and melt away some of the guilt with some snuggles.

I'm looking forward to the day - night - when you sleep for a solid 8. Or even 6, I'm not that picky, but when that happens, I want it to be because you were ready for that, not because we left you crying and didn't hear you. Guess that's why the ultimate goal is good enough parenting!!

Now I hope you've been enjoying your nap because before too long I'm going to need to wake you up, we've got some fun plans this morning at the Farmer's Market with E & C!!

Let's hear it for the boy!

While Steve is doing what he does best - being an awesome dad - I'm going to steal a quick minute to let the world (or at least the handful of you who read this) know that I think he's doing a wonderful job in his new role.

The actual date of his hire can be debated - some may say this is his 2nd Father's Day, he's leaning towards this being his first. Before Emma was "Emma", he was an awesome dad, preparing the house, patiently nurturing his wife, and eagerly awaiting her arrival. But for his 1st Father's Day of a baby we know in a more intimate way than we did last year, he really rocks. He gets up early to play with her when mama needs some rest, he has dance parties, reads books, shows her off, plans her future sporting endeavors, and is as hands on as a dad can be.

So while last year he may have technically been a "father" in the biological sense if nothing more, this year he shines as a daddy and I know Emma's proud he's hers.

I'll get back to you. . .

I'm averaging 2-4 weeks to respond to emails, 1 week to respond to client messages, a day or two to respond to text, 1 day - 4 weeks to respond to FB posts (totally depends on if I notice it!), but about 30 seconds to the grinning little girl who consumes my life!

We're still here, busy and really good! 9 months is.so.much.FUN! Ask any parent and I think they'll agree. The ones I've spoken to sure do. Emma's bright personality is blooming each day and I am so grateful to bear witness to her precious life. She reminds us to slow down, connect, and most of all smile, laugh, and love.

She's standing with far more confidence and pride these days. She has yet to let go of objects around her to see if she can stand on her own - no doubt she will all too soon. She loves standing at __________ and banging on _______. It's hilarious. As are the dog and cats, especially when she leans back in your arms to look at them upside down. Man is that funny. And when Hank eats, holy cow, the most hilarious thing ever is seeing the dog eat a cheerio! (Or Trader Joe's Os as we frequent TJs and they don't carry cheerios ;o). )

Little girls are fun to befriend, Emma holds special smiles and waves for them. And people who tell her just how cute she is are especially popular with her. (Men with facial hair still leave her a little leery - much like the rest of the population as social psychologists will tell you.) Daddy is the funniest man alive and can put her at ease in a moment and momma's not to shabby either (or is it mama or mamma - I need to decide how to spell my name, but like a gf commented on facebook, what a beautiful dilema to have).

Bubbles are a bit perplexing, swings are full of smiles, walks are great, runs are amusing (seriously, have you seen her mama run!?), and new foods are an adventure. Oh, and did you know, if you drop things, people will repeatedly pick them up, smile, and hand them to you? Trust me, she's tried it. And if you drop food, the dog will gobble it up and sit by you closer with eager anticipation? Man is she powerful.

When people say that parenting is the hardest job you'll ever do, they don't lie. And my bias is that parenting with an attachment focus is even harder because our impulse is to go quickly, set ourselves aside to provide comfort, no matter the time of day or whether we think she "should" be sleeping. It is also true though that it is the most rewarding job you'll ever do. To be blessed with the task of arranging our lives to care for this beautiful girl - what did we ever do to deserve this?

So please forgive my delayed response, call, blog, text, picture, email, video, date. . . I think you'll agree I've got a great reason.