Harper and the Hippo.

The irony of this moment is not lost on me. I sit here typing my baby girl's 8 month update from the lobby of the hospital as we all wait for the arrival of my brother and SIL's very first baby, "Rookie."

He and Jill are in the room that will change their life forever. They're Exhausted. Overjoyed. Anxious. The warming table is empty and waiting for our sweet Rookie. Kyle's pacing the floor. Jill is as comfy as she can be in her bed & loving the epidural through the contractions. I'm so proud of them.

I remember that day and those moments before we had Alex. You don't know what you don't know, but all you know is that you want your baby NOW. Or yesterday. You want to just bypass all the crazy and skip right to being a family. It's the worst and best kind of limbo.

And here I sit, five years after my "limbo" with two little munchkins. One who is 5 going on 17 and is kind, funny, loving and sweet. And another who is a bucket full of sugar and sass and is eight months. Time, you are a jerk.

This sweet angel has made quite a bit of progress over the last month. She scooting in an "I can get myself from here to there but it's not exactly crawling" sort of way. She loves her bouncer and exersaucer and her personality is the size of a 3 year old. 

And the girl can EAT. She has a very strong opinion (and lets us know it) about dinner. She knows what we're giving her is flavorless mushy crap, and she is like I WANT RIBS! I WANT TACOS! I keep telling her that as soon as she grows a tooth, I'll be happy to oblige. Girl loves bananas, though.

In summary, she's an absolute delight. Sleeps and eats like a dream, but mighty me she's going to be a HANDFUL. She's a mover, a shaker and a talker. Basically, she's me in a tiny little nugget body and diapers. What's that they say? Karma...

P.S. - Here's Alex at 8 months.

Happy Father's Day!

I spent the better part of last week home on the couch, resting my eyes after Lasek surgery. (More on the later, but the good news is I can sort of see to type this blog post.)

Anyway, all my favorite friends from the Today Show were running a special series called "Modern Dads" in advance of Father's Day. It was all very cool and hip--with Willie, Al, Carson and Matt going fishing and drinking beers, talking all mushy about their dads, what they've done differently and what it's like to be a "Modern Dad."

They reminisced about how their fathers did not change diapers. Or clean. Or do dishes. Or show affection. Or pretty much do ANYTHING other than work and "be the man" of the household.

Let me just say right here and now that I hope this "Modern Dad" thing is a trend and that all women can experience the awesomeness that is a true and equal partner in every sense of the word. I can promise you that if Joe didn't change diapers Harper would be sitting in a lot of pee. And if he didn't do dishes we'd use paper plates. And if he didn't hug and kiss our children, they would not be the happy little clams that they are.

In every sense of the word. Joe is the glue that holds my shit together. That is very real, and although I'm probably not very great at showing it all the time, it is my truth...and I cherish him for it.

I have what some consider that rare gem of a "Modern Dad." He cooks. He cleans. He changes diapers. He romances me. He cuddles our babies. Basically, he does All The Things. In stark contrast, I order pizza, pay someone else to clean and 90% of the time lovingly convince him it's "his turn" for the poopy diapers. I'm chaotic, moody, messy and a little bit crazy, but he doesn't seem to mind.

What I'm trying to say ever so eloquently is that today is Joey Day. He's a wonderful father and husband who is "in it to win it" with me. In every sense of the word, we are partners and I'm so thankful.

I'd also be remiss today to not mention the wonderful man that is my OWN father. In an era where the "Modern Dad" was probably not as prevalent, I had the privilege having a Dad who didn't flinch when I asked him to carry a tampon in his coat jacket for me, or to hug and kiss me goodbye as I went off to school. To this day, he's very much the bar I hold all other men to...and that's a relatively high achievement for anyone!

So, cheers to you, Modern Dads everywhere! Thanks for rolling into the 20th Century. We appreciate you!

Where it all began.

In honor of Throwback Thursday, I thought I'd share a glimpse into how it all began with Alex and Harper's Mommy and Daddy.

We're that couple. We met at work. It was awkward and secret and totally not how any relationship should probably start, but it makes for some great stories and even better memories.

Our first actual conversation was totally staged. And recorded. The company we both worked for was filming and photographing a product for an upcoming ad campaign, and instead of hiring models, they used real employees as "background people."

I knew he was going. He knew I was going. We both knew everyone wanted to set us up. AWKWARD.

Then, to make matters worse (better?), the photographer randomly "posed" us together as a couple chatting in the background "because we looked right together." So there's that. We probably should add him to our Christmas card distribution.

Totally normal first date, right?