Catching Up
I apologize profusely for leaving you all hanging the past two weeks. Life has been busy and hopefully all my friends and followers understand. I’ve also been hoping the tingly fingers caused by...
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Care and feeding of baby … and mom
Shortly after Lyla was born I tried to breast feed her but it wasn’t successful. During the first 24 hours of her life I tried repeatedly to nurse in the hospital but she just couldn’t seem to latch...
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Eating and sleeping
Giving birth was much easier than I thought it would be while breast feeding my daughter has been an epic challenge which I wasn’t expecting. After having Lyla’s tongue tie fixed last Monday by Dr....
View ArticlePretty in pink
Way back in July when I first found out we were having a girl, I expressed my distaste for pink and my hope to keep the cotton candy color to a minimum, which was like hoping for a money tree to spring...
View ArticleObsessive behavior
Long ago I discovered “A Baby Story” on TLC. I was in my early 20s, not remotely ready for children and barely married, but I loved the show. Since then, TLC and its parent network Discovery have added...
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Old (and new) habits die hard
First, let me tackle old habits. Hi, my name is Kris and I have a potty mouth. There are a fair number of you reading this who are surprised by this revelation. I make every effort, especially when I’m...
View ArticleSix week visit
It’s been nearly eight months since I first met my obstetrician at Valley Women’s Clinic. I had been a patient there for a few years but my annual exam had been done by a nurse practitioner, Barb, whom...
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Back to the grind
Yesterday morning I rolled into the office to work for a living for the first time since the middle of November. It was a little weird to be going work after more than six weeks away from the place but...
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Ink
Many people say tattoos are addicting, once you get one, you’ll want more. For me, this has been quite true. My first tattoo was one I thought about for a long time. When I was 16, a junior in high...
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Visions of Lyla’s future?
On Monday I was at Lake Wilderness Elementary School in Tina Newberry’s fifth grade social studies class. I was there to witness students using netbooks for the first time in the classroom. It is part...
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Change
For months people would say to me, “Just wait, your whole life is going to change.” Duh. Can you hear me rolling my eyes? Isn’t that the point? To change your life, start or expand your family, and so...
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It takes a village, right?
OK, so, I must profess that I don’t actually know anything about the book, “It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us” by Hillary Rodham Clinton that I referenced in my blog post title. I...
View ArticleBusy day for baby
There is probably nothing more startling for a baby to wake up to than a needle being jabbed into her thigh. And that is exactly what happened to Lyla this morning after she got the once over by our...
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The question of the week
It’s been almost three weeks since I came back from maternity leave and whenever I talk to one of my regular sources, I get the same question: “How does it feel to be back at work?” Every morning I...
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Bits and pieces
I promise all is well in the land of Lyla, I’ve just been crazy busy recently, so I apologize for not writing a blog post in almost two weeks. My mom and husband’s birthdays are just four days apart so...
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Busy weekend
Lyla and I had a busy weekend. On Friday, she spent some time with her grandparents, Art and Gale. She hadn’t seen them in a couple of weeks and she cried a bit when Gale held her so I guess she’s at a...
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Who does Lyla look like?
Since she was born, friends, family and co-workers have looked at me, looked at Jason, then looked at Lyla and pronounced whom she looks like. Jason’s grandmother, Ellie, says simply, “She looks like...
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Sleep is a precious commodity
Everyone has heard the horror stories, er, the tales from parents about the joys of the early days that are defined by sleep deprivation, lack of time for hygiene or food, and a renewed appreciation...
View ArticleAn ounce of prevention
During the crazy whirlwind that was the first 24 hours of Lyla’s life at Valley Medical Center, one of the bajillion people that came through to check on us, talk to us about things we needed before...
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Milestones
Part of my job requires me interviewing high schools students fairly frequently and it’s interesting talking to teenagers now because when I first started out in this profession I was barely 22 years...
View ArticleWhere we’re going
A few weeks ago I spent a couple of hours talking with Ron and Colleen Starr, who manage Vine Maple Place here in Maple Valley. What they do at Vine Maple amazes me. They take in homeless families and...
View ArticleFinding her voice
In recent weeks, Lyla has had more and more to say, that is she is really becoming more vocal. It started with little coos and now she’s added squeals as well as giggles and other noises to her...
View ArticleDaddy’s girl
Today is my dad’s birthday. I think fondly of him on this day. Our birthdays are exactly six months apart, his on March 8, mine on Sept. 8. For some reason I always thought it was special. My dad was...
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growing like a weed
Lyla is getting bigger all the time, as any baby would. It’s funny, though, because she seems so big to me now compared to how big she was at birth — just 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 20 inches long — yet...
View ArticleAnother eventful weekend
Lyla and I were quite busy this weekend while my husband was working. On Saturday, we went to Ginger Passarelli’s soup class at her restaurant in Black Diamond, Mama’s Steak & Pasta where we...
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Four months and counting
Wow, where has the time gone? Today, Lyla is four months old. And, naturally, we took her for her four month well child check this morning. She was weighed, measured, looked over and got her shots. At...
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So, funny story …
First, I have to apologize for not blogging in nearly three weeks. Everything has been crazy busy here at work and crazy busy at home. Being a working mom has taught me the true meaning of “busy.” I do...
View ArticleDid I mention it’s awesome?
I remember reading an article covering Steve Sarkisian’s first press conference as coach of the University of Washington football team. As a graduate of UW, I was keenly interested in what this guy was...
View Articlemy love/hate relationship with doctors
Note: I wrote this post about a month ago, not aware of the swirling controversy regarding the impending vote in Congress on health care reform. I wrote another blog more specifically about Lyla and...
View ArticleIt might be a little ambitious
Lyla will be five months old this Sunday which means solid food is just a month away. I am a planner. I like structure. I am organized. Therefore, this weekend I am hoping Jason and I can make some...
View ArticleParenthood has …
Something I’ve recently noticed is that being a parent has brought out two things in me: my inner crafter and my inner coupon clipper. Allow me to explain. The inner crafter During the holidays shortly...
View ArticleMomma in a Mustang
Up until a few days ago I hadn’t thought much about Mother’s Day as how it pertains to me as a mom. Then I realized no one had asked me what I wanted to do, if anything, for Mother’s Day. And I...
View ArticleWhen I think of Mother’s Day I…
So, this is part two of my Mother’s Day themed posts this week. Up until about two weeks ago I hadn’t been thinking too much about Mother’s Day. As I mentioned in my previous post this week, I realized...
View ArticleLet’s catch up a little bit
Man, I’ve been slacking lately and I apologize. The end of the high school sports season (I spent a lot of time covering softball games) was kind of crazy and took up a lot of my time. I’ve got a few...
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Getting mushy
Solid food has begun! Well, in truth, baby’s first foods are not solid… they’re just less liquidy. As I mentioned in a previous post, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the transition to Lyla’s...
View ArticleFather’s Day column
I am putting this on my blog for those of you who may not read the paper regularly, either because you don’t live in our circulation area or because you don’t pop onto the website, because I wanted to...
View ArticleDental Work
This morning I was laying in the dentist’s chair — actually, he’s a specialist of some kind but let’s say dentist for now — waiting to have my aching upper right teeth looked at in order to figure out...
View ArticleExplosives, teeth and more
Not surprisingly, the past two weeks with Lyla have been eventful and busy. On Monday, June 28, she cut her first tooth. The whole weekend before she was fussier than usual, crying in spurts of two...
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Uh oh
Last night I was looking at the blog and I realized I hadn’t posted in nearly a month. Uh oh. My bad. During the past five or so years July has become one of the busiest months of the year for me....
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No needles… this time
Since our family doctor is basically taking the next three weeks off we got Lyla in for her nine month well child check up today. It was one of those moments where I can really see how she’s changed...
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mobility
On Aug. 20, I came home from work and in the nine or so hours I was gone, she had started to crawl. Since she was born people have been cruelly stating things like, “I can’t wait until she’s crawling.”...
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Made for me
Last summer while I was wandering around at the Maple Valley Farmers Market one Saturday morning I came across Jennifer Orchard’s booth. She had all these great items she could personalize for baby and...
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Almost the big day
Tomorrow is Lyla’s first birthday. I have been wondering to myself where this past year went. I remember so clearly the early morning drive to Valley Medical Center, parking, walking nervously to the...
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cake and turkey
It is mind boggling to me that Lyla is a year old now. I was keenly aware of the day’s approach from the time she hit six months of age… back in May. We scheduled her 12 month well child check on her...
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Finding mom community
During this past summer I was at the Maple Valley Farmers Market on a lovely Saturday morning with Lyla. I believe it was Kids Day in July. There were booths for groups like Kinderswimmer and a local...
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I need a personal trainer
Or something. I need to start exercising again. I was doing pretty well before the pregnancy and up to the third trimester. But, eating right and exercising has gotten increasingly harder. In all...
View ArticleHurricane Lyla
As Lyla approached her first birthday, she began experimenting with a little skill we all call walking. Within a month, she had definitely moved into the ‘toddler’ category, as she was toddling all...
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Lyla travels well
We already knew Lyla did well on road trips thanks to the drive we took to Portland over Labor Day weekend. When I found out I’d be going to Las Vegas Jan. 6-9 for the Consumer Electronics Show (hi, my...
View ArticleMore?
People ask me often, almost daily in fact, if we’re planning on adding to our little family. When we were in Portland, we visited Rob Kugler, a former professor of mine from Gonzaga who is now at Lewis...
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Those pearly whites
Today Ellie and I took Lyla for her first dental appointment. I filled out some paperwork then we were called back. The dentist started out with some questions about pacifier use and bottles and some...
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