Project 52: TWENTY-SIX

This week, G has connected in a special way with his Great Grandma Jo. He FINALLY started waving (we've been waiting for this milestone for awhile now), but he waves mostly at GGJo. He is cruising more. He loves loves loves his Great Grandma. It is precious. I am so glad we made this trip this summer. Seeing these two together warms my heart. Here are some more precious pictures of the two.

and the one that needs to be framed:

embrace the camera

California style!

What would it be like to have five children?

10am

 noon

 1pm

 3pm

 4pm

 5pm

 6pm

 7:30pm

Project 52: TWENTY-FIVE

...better late than never!

Thank you all for your encouragement about my last post. It has been an emotional week. ...especially when G looks up at me and says, "Mama!" with tears in his eyes as I try to give him his formula out of a sippy cup. Here's where we ended up a couple days ago. We went through two sippy cups before he would take it.

I know my last post may have been a bit too personal for some people to read about (sorry, Dad), but I like to think that maybe my stories and struggles might help another new mom out there. I know that this choice, although not ideal, is the best for our situation right now. I just have to keep reminding myself that when I get discouraged.

Sacrifice

Good news and bad news.

The good (great!) news is that I get to go back to Africa this summer! Eric and I went to the Village of Hope in 2009 and 2010 (and here, here, here, here, and here...obviously a memorable trip). Last year, since I was pregnant, I didn't get to go. This year (because of some unexpected funds from our tax return), I get to go back! Eric doesn't get to come, however. We can only send one. Don't worry - he's going to take G to Mamo and Pop's house for the week while I'm gone. He'll still work, and the grandparents get more time with the baby!

The bad news. Malaria.

My original plan was to forego the malaria pills so I could still nurse G. My goal was to nurse him for at least a year. Since I had a bit of trouble at the beginning, this goal was very important to me. I was going to pump and dump on the plane (I did that on the Florida trip) and in Africa using batteries to not fry my pump. I had it all figured out.

But I was being irresponsible.

You know the safety guidelines on airplanes about putting your breathing mask on first and taking care of the child second? That has always bothered me, but I get it. You can't help others unless you're okay.

Back to malaria. Kind of a big deal. Just a year ago, there was an article in the Christian Chronicle about Dallas folks who contracted the disease while in Ghana.

It would be really irresponsible of me as a mother to not take malaria pills.

It would also be very difficult to continue nursing if I do take the pills. I would not want them getting into G's system since they are very powerful. I would have to pump for weeks after the trip since I would still have to take the pills upon returning. Also, it would be a pain to pump in Ghana. Really. Even if I did (and I was willing to until yesterday), it is so hard to stay hydrated as it is. We drink like 5 liters of water daily over there and still have trouble peeing. It's just so different from here.

So, my goal of nursing him for a year has been cut two months short. I have three weeks to wean. Aaaaand, go.

Yesterday, I was an emotional wreck. I just hadn't planned on even thinking about weaning until he had turned a year. But I knew it was time. While we were in Florida, I wasn't pumping as much as G was consuming, so I knew my supply wasn't the best. It explains why he has wanted to nurse for longer lately...he's trying to get more. It's just not there. Also, G takes so much solid food now, that the nutrition from my milk is negligible. He's gotten the good stuff and all of the antibodies for nearly 10 months. This is still an emotional decision for me, but I know it's the right one for my family.

Sacrifices. Choosing the responsible choice over my personal goal. This will probably be my Project 52 this week, too. This sacrifice is definitely intentional.

Project 52:TWENTY-FOUR

Last week, I dropped G off with Mamo and Pops and flew to Orlando for a little vacation with my husband. :) He was in training during the day with Microsoft, and at night, we got to do fun Orlando-y things.

The first night, Tuesday, we ate at a yummy sushi restaurant (which claims they are in the top 20 sushi restaurants of the world!). We got some cooked rolls, but I ventured out and tried the volcano roll (which has raw fish in it). It was delectable! Eric let me finish it off, too.

We were too stuffed to get dessert, so we walked around Downtown Disney Marketplace instead. Eric insisted that I go in a boutique and try on clothes. What a man! I found a dress I really liked, but when I put it on, I seriously looked like Pocahontas. That look may be in right now, but I wasn't brave enough to spend an exorbitant amount of cash on a dress I just wasn't digging.

 Cheese!

The next day while Eric was at training, I went shopping by myself. I went to Celebration, FL, which had a couple cute boutiques and no crowds. I bought a really fun dress that you can tie in several ways. You'll see it in the next couple pictures.

Wednesday night, we went to dinner at a fancy schmancy restaurant (which is completely out of our comfort zones!). I told the waiter I had never had oysters before, so he took care of us. We each tried three: one au naturale, one with a fancy French sauce on it, and one with the house cocktail sauce. The third was our favorite.

I also told the waiter I had never had scallops before. What I didn't tell him was that I had always wanted them because of watching Hell's Kitchen (Grandma Jo, it's a reality show about which chef will become Chef Ramsey's head chef in one of his restaurants) on hulu (an online place to watch TV since we don't have cable).

They were fantastic! The waiter recommended they be "Black and Bleu," blackened seasoning with bleu cheese in the middle. Yum.

Thursday night was spent at Universal Studios! The Microsoft conference shut down the park and had it opened for just the conference attendees and their guests. Here we are on the escalator SO EXCITED! (well, I am...Eric thought it was absurd that I was taking this picture...)

It was raining, so we were each issued ponchos. My Toms got soaked, but I didn't care. Everything was free! The restaurants served us FREE food, the artists drew FREE caricatures. I couldn't believe it!

We spent a little time in Seuss Land, but this was taken as we were elbowing our way through to get to....

Harry Potter World!!!! Ohmygoodness, I was so excited! Eric and I listened to all the books on CD during our road trips of 2009 and 2010. J K Rowling is an exceptional author, and the storyline is classic good vs. evil. I'm so glad I got to experience some of the fantasy world last week!

Here are some of the items in the jokeshop.

In the candy store, we got to see Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Fizzing Whizbees (chocolate covered pop rocks), and chocolate frogs. Too bad everything was SUPER expensive...

Butterbeer! Think: butterscotch root beer with butterscotch foam on top that keeps growing as you drink it. This was...you guessed it... FREE, too! We helped ourselves to seconds and then had upset tummies. :)

We decided to have dinner at the Three Broomsticks.

I had Fish and Chips, and Eric had Shepherd's Pie. We finished our butterbeer and had pumpkin juice as well. Sugar high!

The ride at Potter World was amazing. I highly recommend it. We felt like we were actually playing Quidditch at one point!

Classic posing with Fleur de la Coeur and the girls and Victor Krum and the boys. "Hermione" (I think) is supposed to be in the middle.

Then, we headed back to Seuss Land.

...and then over to Marvel Comics Land. Ahh, Captain America. He's so dreamy!

There were cute signs like this everywhere. :)

Friday was Eric's day off. Originally, we were going to pay to go to Universal Studios, so when that was taken care of, we decided to drive an hour and a half to the beach.

The waves were great and we had fun playing in the sand. We drove back to the hotel to rinse off in the pool (ha!), and change in the bathroom. After a frustrating time with Spirit Airlines (6 hour delay...getting home at 3:30am, if you didn't see my facebook status), we finally made it home! We slept a few hours, got up, and drove to Austin to pick up the little guy.

Jenny is house-sitting in Austin, and it was a great place to reunite with the little one. ...however, I think he was more interested in seeing the dogs again.