Let Our Voices Be Heard

November 15th will be a nationwide rally for equal rights. Go to this website and find your rally location and SPREAD THE WORD! It's about time we raise our voices as one in this fight.

Jointheimpact

In Other News...

What the California Supreme Court giveth, the fundamental religious bigots of California taketh away. Prop 8 banning same-sex marriage passed. Whereas I am so very happy that Ob@ma won the presidency, my big ol' liberal state let me down on the personal side. What next? I made a video on youtube. Share it, link it with everyone you know.... Tired of this limited rights bullsh!t...

Well....

Hello all... I'm sure most of you have stopped checking in... It has been so long since I've posted and checked other blogs. I feel pretty shitty about that. But life happens and sometimes it is hard to sit down and write much less be introspective when you are a new parent. Cole is beautiful, big and happy. He is four months old already! We've been enjoying him so much.

Our summer was bittersweet though. Around the time I stopped blogging, Jen's mom got sick. It turned out to be stage four breast cancer and she passed away on August 27th. It was sudden, but she was in so much pain the last couple of weeks that it was good she didn't suffer any more than she had. Jen's sister from Australia came a day after she died, but we were able to have a viewing with her there. It was actually good to see her and Jen's brother and family. We all came away from that time with wonderfully fond memories of Jan and the desire to make sure not as much time passes by before we get together again. Jen's dad was in pretty rough shape, but is doing better every day. He keeps busy by playing golf and having dinner with friends. But it is hard for him, they were married for almost 53 years. Jen is doing better too, but it is still painful. She was very close to her mom. We were just so thankful that she got to meet Cole before she passed away.

Anyway, updated photos soon. Hope you all are doing well!

Baby Central

Well, needless to say, we've been busy here at Casa Lightcomingon. Cole is growing, like, exponentially. Last Friday, he weighed in at 10 lbs. 8 oz. We've had to part with some of our newborn outfits and he is now into his hand-me-downs that were worn twice by Jen's business partner's baby whom my nieces and nephew affectionately call 'Monster Baby'. He's adorable and really, really big. At 11 months he's 33 lbs.

Speaking of the kids, they had a great time at their ocean camp. They all surfed, learned ocean safety, jet skied, kayaked.... Definitely going to be signing them up next year. In fact, M, the oldest, did so well they asked her to come back and become an assistant. She'll be coming back down next week to attend camp again. I'm so proud of her. Being 14 and a surly teenager, it is good for her to find something she's passionate about. Not only is she very skilled in the water and at surfing, she's really good with the younger kids. It could very likely turn into a summer job for her too.

I've been absolutely terrible at posting pictures... I know. We've just been sleep deprived, enjoying Cole's rapid movement through little milestones, busy with guests coming in and out and planning a shower. Also, we've been worried about Jen's mother as she's been sick the last couple of weeks. In fact we are going to make the 4 hour trip up the coast later today to be with her and Jen's dad for a few days. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

Oh, and some of you guys have been asking how Scooty and Mackie are coping with the new one. They are doing excellent! Scooter barked at every sound the baby made the first week and then quickly decided it was too much of a hassle and now is fine. They sniff judiciously and come and get us if he's crying and we are in another room. We give lots of attention and they are now very adept at walking with a stroller. Now if only we can get them to make bottles at 2 a.m.

Now, if you look over to the right at the picture link, you'll find some new pictures!

P.S. The Boppy makes a kick-ass laptop stand.

Wow...

Jen and I are getting a taste of what it would be like to have 4 kids.... Yikes! Even with my sister's well-mannered kids, it is hard work! Lots of laundry, noise and sticky things. But they are a big help. It is a challenge dealing with it all on 4-5 hours of sleep. Luckily, the kids are at an ocean camp this week and loving it. So, a little quiet. I actually had to go in to school this week to test some students for a remedial class and it was a little weird. Kinda like being in the swing of things already. Yuck.

Anyway, a pic before I start making dinner. Here's Cole at 3 weeks with Jen and Scooty. He's 9 pounds now!!

Who Needs a Father Figure When You Have a Do-It-Yourself Dyke for a Mom?

As I was changing the spark plug and cleaning the air filter on our lawn mower yesterday, I thought about the future with Cole and how much fun we'll have doing little home improvement projects together. The things I can teach him about fixing and creating things with his own hands. How to solve problems like sick sounding lawn mowers, leaky faucets, broken sprinklers. I just hope he's into that stuff when he gets older, or I might be at a loss! :)

Speaking of the boy, he's sleeping in 2-2.5 hour increments now. He wakes up to eat, and depending on the activity level of the house, will stay up for a bit. He had his second doctor's appointment today and all looks good. Tonight his little umbilical cord fell off too! We almost cried! We are so in love with this little guy!

Tomorrow my sister's kids come for two weeks. I'll let you know later if it was a crazy idea. But, they are so good and helpful, I don't think it will be a problem. The second week they are at an ocean camp too. Madi, the oldest, was already down with mom last weekend. We are going to have a hard time getting our baby back from her! She's only 14, but she's so good with babies. She volunteers in the nursery at her grandmother's church and just loves it.

Anyway, I have lots more pictures, but I've momentarily misplaced the camera cord. I'm sure it is under some baby blanket somewhere. Until then, here's one I've taken over the last week. I can't believe it's been a week since I posted!

More Pictures

Scooter and Mackenzie pose reluctantly for a picture. I love the look Scooter gives Cole. "Who are you?" They are adjusting pretty well. Scooter was barking at every little noise Cole made, but seems he's getting over it. Mackie is pretty indifferent about the whole thing, but does like to sit near him. We are giving the dogs lots of attention too so they don't feel left out. Scooter is still trying to procure a dirty diaper and will not give up until he gets one.
Cole loves his Safari Swing!
"I'm sooo tired.."
Yes, I'm still in my pajamas, yes that is spit up on my shirt and yes, I am looking like I need a little more sleep...


Well, we are at 5 days and things are going well. Cole still has his nights and days mixed up, but Jen and I are taking turns and it works out. Four weeks before he was born, Jen and I were doing a fitness bootcamp that got us up at 4:30 a.m. every week day. I have to say, it was great training. I only need about 5-6 hours of sleep and I'm good to go all day. Same for Jen. So, I take the first shift, bedtime to around 3-4 a.m. and Jen takes the next hours until about 8 a.m. or so. It's working out well so far. We are trying to get him to stay awake for longer periods of time today to see if he can sleep more at night.

Yesterday was his first doctor's appointment with Dr. L. She's great. I know it is very important to have a good pediatrician and she's very thorough and really sweet with him. Everything looks good except for some little ulcers in the back of his throat from being suctioned at birth. They should go away soon. We have another appointment next Friday too.

He's been eating really well the last two days. He has really found his appetite, which is good. Pooping well too. There, I talked about my boy's poo. The transition to motherhood is complete! :)

Early in the evening we went for a walk with the dogs and I used our little baby sack carrier thingy. He looked like a pea in a pod, literally. I'll have to get a picture of it. Our neighbors down the street were all out in their front yard so Cole got to meet everyone. Our two next door neighbors have already been over to see him. We live on a great street. Everyone is so awesome and very happy for us. It's pretty cool.

My teacher friends are all waiting patiently for the greenlight for the Sip and See, which I think will happen in the next couple of weeks. We are so blessed to have so many supportive friends and of course family.

Tonight we will be going to Jen's business partner's for a bbq and to watch the fireworks. Her house is located on a hill that allows us to see fireworks from three different beach cities and it should be really cool!

Home Now

Well, after our two hour drive in surprisingly light traffic we made it home last night. Jen took the first night and got a little sleep. He really is pretty quiet. Now we are waiting on the furniture to come today. Luckily I only have to put together the crib. Here are some more pictures!

Cole and a tired Mama Jen
Cole and Mama Marci
First Feeding
Cole at Home