where were you

In September 2000, I had just moved to New York City into a high rise in the Financial District, just 5 blocks south of the World Trade Center. I had just graduated from Carleton and was beginning a graduate program at New York University. I returned to Minnesota three times while I was living in New York.  That fall my dad was airlifted to the Mayo Clinic and had emergency surgery. I was home for Christmas and then in the spring of 2001, my mom, who had been battling cancer, became very ill. That summer I decided to move home to be closer to my family because my mom was dying.

I transferred to the University of Minnesota and on September 11, 2001 I was standing in line at the financial aid office trying to straighten out my loans. I watched the plane hit while I was standing in that office. I don't even recall if it was the first or second plane. Watching it televised, I couldn't really grasp the gravity of the situation because I felt so far removed. I called my mom and told her to turn on the TV. David, my brother, was with my mom - trying to get in as much mom time before she was gone.

Later that fall (October 9, 2001), my mom passed away. As my mom, she always watched out for me. Whether she knew it or not, she saved me from being 5 blocks from the World Trade Center on 9/11.

11 months

Dear Baby J,
Not counting the in utero months, I have now been your mom for 11 months. Sometimes I don't feel like I have any business being your mom. I don't know much about babies or toddlers or kids, in general, and there are times I have no idea what I am doing. But all it takes is for you to look over and smile at me and I know that whatever it is I am doing, I must be doing something right. You are the most lovable little girl with the brightest smile and being your mom continues to be my greatest joy and my greatest challenge.

You've completed two sessions of swimming lessons. You can use the steps to crawl out of the pool and know how to hold your breath. You clap when we say "good job" and hand over even your favorite toy when  asked. You continue to eat everything we give you from Thai curry to portabella mushrooms and polenta. You're not so good at sharing and you are a little bit greedy. If there is something you like, you will try to grab all of them even if it means holding some of it in your mouth. For example ...

And I've saved the best for last ... you have been standing up on your own for nearly a month now and your Dad and I have been just waiting for you to take your first steps. A few days ago, I saw you take one step forward. Then today at your baby play class, you were standing around like you usually do, holding a toy in each hand, and all of a sudden you just started going - five steps and even managed to get from the floor onto a yoga mat without falling! Your first steps (of many) in this lifetime. Baby J, you are on you're way to great things and Mommy and Daddy can't wait to see what you will do next!

Until next month, 

Mommy

"You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting ... so get on your way!" - Dr. Suess

once upon a time

There was a little girl who found a watermelon.

She tried to pick it up, but it was too heavy

She tried to eat it, but the rind was too thick.

All that work made her very sleepy and she was ready for a nap.

THE END

make new friends

Over the past month, I've met some great moms through Meetup groups. I left a fantastic group in Duluth and while it took a little while to find some women that I could connect with in the Phoenix area, I think I've finally found some great women. I'm one of the only worker bees, so I don't get to do all the fun stuff during the week, but I've managed to attend a couple mom-only get togethers, as well as several play dates.

Stephanie, one of the moms, invited us to her daughter Madeline's first birthday party on Saturday. For an activity, she had a Kindermusik teacher come and teach a class. While most of the babies sat nicely with their respective moms or dads, Baby J, being the adventurous little one that she is, crawled around taking other children's toys, sat by the teacher, or posed in the middle of the circle and basked in all of the attention. She's really got one heck of a personality on her!

I tried to take Baby J away from some of the action to get some photos, but she's more interested in eating the camera rather than posing for it - so we got some close up shots.

It feels good to finally be making some new friends. Let's just hope they still want to be friends after Baby J steals all the toys.

just another Sunday morning by Baby J

I woke up and took a quick shower

Then I weighed myself. I do it every day. It's a bit obsessive, but it's really fun. I'm trying to hold onto all these adorable little baby rolls. The scale always says 0.00 anyway. 

After I weighed myself, I thought I'd have some Pellegrino. Mom seems to like it, so why not?

By then it was about 10:00 and Mom and I went on our weekly trip to Costco.

That's a typical Sunday morning with the Chunglund ladies! Talk to you next time!

lions & tigers & bears, oh my!

I went on a date to the zoo with the beautiful Baby J. There was a special evening event at the Phoenix zoo and for $6 we got to walk around and look at the animals. There were some activities for older kids like a splash pad and some games and contests. Some of you probably saw me mention on Facebook, that Baby J probably would have been just as happy playing in Carl's water dish at home, but it gave us something to do and I enjoyed. it.

We saw - 

a lion

a giraffe

some very friendly turtles

and an elephant

And then Baby J passed out on the way home and had a good night sleep, making Mommy very happy.

eat your words wednesday

Recently, there have been two occasions where I've felt the need to eat my words.

1) Toaster Ovens - When I moved in with Mr. Chunglund, he had this janky-ass toaster oven. It was discolored, kind of wobbly, and had burned on food inside of it. I hated that toaster oven. I regularly tried to rid our home of it. Finally, when we moved out our Minneapolis condo, he let.it.go. Recently, I caught myself thinking that I really wish I had a toaster oven. It's so hot in Arizona and using the oven just heats up the apartment. I wouldn't mind having a toaster oven to use instead. Of course I don't want a janky-ass toaster oven that Mr. Chunglund used to have - I'd like a nice, bright, brand spanking new one, thank you.

2) Sleeping Babies - There was a day when I could not wait to get Baby J into her crib and NOT sleeping in the bed with us. I lamented endlessly wondering when this would ever happen. In the last couple weeks, she has been great at self-soothing and getting herself to sleep in her crib at night. I find myself laying in bed missing her snuggled up next to me. Plus, when she was next to me I knew she was safe, comfortable, and was still breathing. Now I get up regularly to check on her, rotate her from sleeping crosswise in the crib, and make sure her little chest is going up and down. While I'm happy it has become so much easier to get Baby J to go to bed, I do miss our nights together. All a part of growing up.