A Week of Firsts

Dear Isadora,

Your first week of child care went great!  I think you really enjoy it.  Even after I dropped you off the first day, mommy didn't cry because I knew you would be safe and loved.  Lilis, your babysitter, is a mom herself and knows all the in's and out's of taking care of you.  Her daughters, Julia and Jessica, also like to help take care of you, too.  It's almost like you have older sisters to play with which makes mommy happy.  And though mommy and daddy miss you during the day, we know you are being well cared for.




It was also mommy's first week back at work.  I had to get used to getting up early and staying awake again (no more falling back to sleep after an early morning feeding).  I was tired, but it was nice to see all my coworkers and friends again.  On my first day back, Aunty Angela sent mommy a beautiful bouquet to commemorate the day.  It certainly helped to make the rest of the week go by a lot easier.




On Saturday, you went through your first hurricane -- Hurricane Irene.  Since your Aunty Barbara and Cousin Lennox live at the beach, they decided to come to Raleigh to stay with us during the storm.  I was glad that they came to visit and that we were able to keep them safe.  Lennox really liked spending time with you.  She stroked your head, gave you lots of kisses, and pushed you in your baby swing.  (She is going to be such a good big sister!)  Your Aunty Barbara gave you a bath, helped pick out your clothes, and gave you lots of cuddles and kisses, too.

Since the hurricane wasn't that bad on Saturday, Aunty Barbara took Lennox to Monkey Joe's to jump and play.  Mommy was out helping with a friend's surprise birthday party for most of the day, so you were left home alone with daddy.  Daddy had you all to himself.  Normally, that is good thing and he enjoys that special time with you, but, with everybody gone, that was the first time you decided to poop on daddy.  You didn't do it on purpose, but it really traumatized daddy.  He was holding you in his lap when he noticed a wet feeling.  He lifted you up only to discover that poop was oozing out of your diaper!  It had soaked your onesie and daddy's legs.  As he tried to clean you up, the poop just kept coming out of your diaper.  Poor daddy.  He was able to clean you both up, but daddy just wasn't himself after that. Mommy cut him some slack when she came home that night.

For dinner that night, we decided to go to Seoul Garden to have Korean food.  Your Aunty Barbara and Cousin Lennox never had Korean food before.  It was their first time.  I was worried that Lennox would not like it, but when the bulgogi, Korean pancake, and jap chae came to the table, she ate it all.  She even used chopsticks to eat her food.  I can't wait for you to start trying new flavors and eating with chopsticks, too.








So many firsts and you are only two months old! I look forward to many more firsts with my first baby girl.  Mommy loves you!

Love,

Mommy

Our Last Day

Dear Isadora,

Today is the last day of mommy's maternity leave.  Tomorrow, I have to go back to work.  And though I've missed some of my coworkers and friends while I've been gone, I will miss you even more.

I will miss your sweet ears.



I will miss your sweet nose and lips.



I will miss your tiny toes.



I will miss your sweet hands and chubby legs.



I will miss our time together -- just you and me.



Starting tomorrow, you will be going to a trusted caregiver while mommy goes back to work.  I know you'll be in very capable, loving hands while mommy is gone.  That gives me comfort.  But I guess my fear is that I will miss something.  Every day, it seems, you learn something new (and I learn something new about you).  I know I can't be there with you every moment of every day, but I will always be there for you.  That's what mommies are for.

This week will probably be harder on me than it will be on you.  But I know it will get easier.

You're the best thing I've ever done, Isadora Yume.  I love you.

Love,

Mommy

Our Little Portrait Model

Dear Isadora,

Yesterday, mommy and daddy took you to Portrait Innovations to get some professional portraits made of you. You were already six weeks old (eeeek!), and mommy wanted to capture you as an infant before you grew any more!  To prepare for your photo shoot, mommy packed four outfits for you to wear.  Mommy probably would have packed more, but daddy kept her realistic about it.  Seeing mommy's excitement, daddy tried to remind mommy that you were a baby, after all, and that we'd be lucky to get one good shot of you in a good mood.

We arrived on time for your 1:30 appointment, but all the appointments were behind so we had to wait.  Once we started your photo shoot, we were creeping into your afternoon feeding and sleeping time, so we had to work fast.  After about the second outfit change, you started to lose it.  Who would blame you?  Just when you were comfortable in one outfit, mean old mommy would scoop you up and put you in another.  Luckily, we had your favorite pacifier with us to help calm you down between takes.

After the last shot was made, we fed you, and you happily fell asleep in mommy's arms.  Here are some of our favorite shots from the day.

Jean skirt outfit (daddy picked this out for you)

Daddy's Princess outfit (mommy picked this out for you)

Love Bug outfit from your Grandma Joyce Irene

Flower Dress from your Obaachan Suemi

Once we got home that night, mommy and daddy poured over all of your photos and began dividing them up for family and friends.  We were so excited to share them with everyone.  Mommy may have gone a tiny bit bonkers on the package she ordered because we ended up with plenty of extra photos.  But I told daddy that they wouldn't go to waste.  You would probably need some them one day for something...  I wonder which one you'll choose to submit for your senior yearbook or for your wedding slideshow?  Only time will tell.

Love you bunches,

Mommy

Your First Trip: The Annual Patten Family Summer Vacation

Dear Izzy,

When you were three weeks old, mommy and daddy decided to take you on your first trip.  We were taking you to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to spend time with daddy's family.  Many people advised us not to do it, saying that you were too young to travel and that it would be too difficult to travel with an infant.  But you know what?  It was a piece of cake.  You're an excellent traveler!  You slept through most of the drive to the Smoky Mountains.  In fact, mommy and daddy had to wake you up just to get you to eat and to change your diapers.   Go Izzy!

Your travel companions, Wallace and Wardell

Our family rented a huge cabin at the Sherwood Forest resort community in Pigeon Forge.  Our cabin was on the tippy tippy top of the mountain, and we had a great view of the Smokies from our back deck.  When we arrived, mommy and daddy were afraid that you would get spoiled by all of your relatives... but, to tell you the truth, it was mommy and daddy who got spoiled on the trip.  Your aunties, your uncles, your cousins, and your grandma all helped to take care of you -- rocking you to sleep, playing with you on the floor, feeding and changing you... It was awesome.  They even babysat you for one night so that mommy and daddy could have a date night.  It was so very nice -- and we talked about you the whole time.




Although we were in the Great Smoky Mountains, you were much too young to participate in many of the mountain activities that were planned like zip lining, tubing, and hiking.  But you still had fun!  You got to go to the aquarium with mommy and daddy where we took you through the underwater view of all the fish.  You slept through most of it, but once you woke up in the underwater tube, you looked genuinely frightened intrigued by the sharks swimming over your head.




You also got to go visit the Titanic museum with grandma and your aunties... but you slept through all of that tour as well.  (You did a lot of sleeping, kid.)  Each of us got to be a passenger on the Titanic on the tour, and, at the end of the tour, we found out whether we lived or died.  Your Aunt Meredith and mommy lived.  Whoo hoo!




It was a wonderful week in the mountains.  The week went by way too fast.  You even turned a month old on the trip (a whole month!).  I can't believe how fast you are growing.  A small part of me can't wait for you to grow up a little more so that you can join in on some of the fun things your older cousins get to do on our family vacations.  But for now, I will savor you as the baby that you are.

Love,

Mommy

A Tale of Terror

Dear Isadora,

I knew that it would happen to me one day.  All of my friends who are parents have had it happen to them in one way or another... I just never really thought it would happen to us like this.

The night before we left for our week long family vacation in Tennessee, I took you to your nursery to change a poopy diaper, not unheard of in our household.  I laid you down gently in your diaper changing station and proceeded to do the task that had become second nature to me.  I opened your diaper and announced in a sing songy kind of way, "You did a poopy." As usual, you gave me a surprised look.  "How adorable," I thought as I grabbed your feet in one hand and used my other hand to grab a wipe.

Then IT happened.  As I lifted your feet in the air to wipe your bum, a powerful spray of poop shot out of you, traveled across the diaper changing station, and hit your closet door.  I screamed in surprise... and then I was just speechless.

Your daddy ran up the stairs, scared that I had dropped you.  But when he walked into your nursery, it was like the music from that famous shower scene from Psycho was playing.  He looked at the horror on my face, me holding your feet in shock, and the poop (oh the poop!) that was sprayed all over the closet door, dripping down to the floor.

"Help me..." I said to your daddy.  The words barely escaped from my lips.  "I didn't know whether to let go of her legs and let her get all poopy again, or wait for you to come up and help me," I said, still shaken.

"I'll clean it up.  You can finish changing her and then feed her," your daddy said.  (Bless that man!)

All the while, you still had the same surprised look on your face.

Afterward, we laughed at the whole thing -- in awe of the power and trajectory of your poopy from hell.

Mommy's reenactment using Paint

And although it hasn't happened since, we've been traumatized by the experience.  Even now when we change your diaper, we do it in record speed.  And if you happen to let out a cute little fart while doing it, we jump at the sound, however adorable it may be.

I hope you aren't too embarrassed by this story.  Sh*t happens.  Plus, it was too good not to share.

Love you!

Mommy