Video Post

I finally posted video from Mother's Day - scroll down to the Mother's Day Post to see it. Enjoy!

Tatum's Birthday Sand Celebration

Yahoo! TATUM IS ONE! To celebrate her first year of life we invited friends over to play in the sand box, eat yummy "kid friendly" snacks, and enjoy the spring day. We decorated the back yard using First Birthday lanterns that I scored for free at a yard sale (actually the same yard sale is where I got the top I'm wearing at the party). I got sand crazy and purchased sand pails and shovels and decorated them with the kids' names.

We baked a banana birthday cake and presented it to Tatum - who had no idea what to do with it. We helped feed her, and she yummed her way through a bite or too. Next year we'll try carrot cake.



Tatum was presented with lots of generous gifts including a swing for the backyard, a pool, books, a baby doll, puzzles, a puppet, an activity station, building blocks, clothes and lots more. Tatum was so pooped by 3:30 that she crashed out before our last guests arrived. So Tatum missed out on the pinata, but the other tykes sure enjoyed it.

We are so thankful to have such great friends to celebrate with, and only wished that our family could be there as well! A special thanks to Sara for her decorating help and princess bedazzling of the crown; to Rhonda for helping prep all the food and providing an extra set of eyes and hands on Tatum; and finally to my dear husband who put on his bbq best and did a bang up job on the grill.

For more pictures of the party, visit Tatum's Flickr Photos and click on the set First Birthday - or view other sets too.

Sand Box Action

Recently I worked with our duplex neighbors to build a small raised garden bed in our front yard. Seeing the simple design of screwing four boards together to make a box, I knew my next project - a backyard sand box.

Tatum, like all little folks, loves to play in the sand. We have parks close to us, but none within walking distance. We have the beach, but that takes the day and loads of energy to get to. So why not create it at home.

Here's what I started with: 4 4' boards, 8 screws, 8 redwood stakes, blue spray paint, and loads of sand.
In less in over an hour we had this:
Tatum loved it. Immediately she situated herself near the edge so she could begin emptying the sandbox, handful by handful, of its sand. All momma's hard work! The following day we invited Jack and Sadie over to play in the box and test capacity. Three fit fine, and there's room for more. Molly got some great pics which I'll get from her to post. Andrew caught the live action on video, so maybe soon that will post too.

The sand box will be a hit this coming weekend when we host Tatum's first birthday: Sand and Sea Celebration. More to come on that later.

Momma's First Mother's Day

This year was a truly special Mother's Day as it was my first time ever celebrating as a mother myself. Tatum and I started the weekend by climbling Echo Mountian and enjoyed the 6 mile hike that took us above the clouds of LA's morning fog - making it seem like we were all that was in the world. On Saturday afternoon we explored the Huntington Gardens and enjoyed the good Southern California weather.

Andrew was out of town visiting with friends in North Carolina - to his defense, he scheduled the trip long before he or I knew it was mother's day weekend. To make up for it, Andrew crafted a joyous video of Tatum that celebrated me as her mom - what a guy! He re-edited the video to remove the mushy message he had filmed at the beginning, but we have the rest to share with you:

Thank you Tatum for making me a mother.

The above photo was taken at Sara & Mitch's Mother's Day Brunch.

Tatum's Due Date - Last Year

Wow, one year ago this was the day Belly Bean was predicted to make her descent into the world and be named Tatum Bell. One year ago today I was on day three of my sixteen week maternity leave. Forty pounds heavier than I am now, I sat waiting - waiting for some sign that Belly Bean was coming. I consulted the stars, strings, cards and coins, all of which assured me she was coming; but there were no real signs to support my claims. No false labor, no braxton hicks, no bloody signs. Nothing but kicks of contentment from the inside.

Girl, I had my plans... plans of the perfect labor, the early birthday (my original predication was April 25th), the perfect birth. But Belly bean had other plans - like a twelve day extended incubation period. Those final days of pregnancy were filled with wonder (wondering - when is she coming, not wonder awe), deep (as well as shallow) reflection, and prayer. As each day ended I crawled into bed for another good night's sleep (fortunately I was still sleeping well), and I slowly surrendered my expectations of birth.

Those twelve days were precious to me. It allowed reality to settle in to my grandiose expectations of childbirth. As the sun rose each new day, beyond the due date that is, it shed light into my soul and mind that no matter how hard I tried, I was not in complete control of this birth.

When I was eight months pregnant you could not have talked to me about the idea of a cesarean birth - for my choosing was a natural labor, vaginal birth, all with the help and support of my loving husband and caring doula. Oh yes, and the trained doctor.

Looking back, it was my sister who as OB/GYN and mother of twin boys born by cesarean gave me the perspective on cesarean births that I was unwilling to even discuss previously. During an ice cream visit by the Little Family the weekend of my due date (the initial intention being that I would be home with my newborn by now for the boys and Jen and Andy to see), Jen tried to dispel my stubbornness of considering a cesarean birth. She said, "Just ask the boys how they were born." Turning to Drew, then 3 1/2 years old, she asked "Drew, how were you born?" "I was inside my momma's tummy. I unzipped her zipper so I could get a light. It was too dark to read." Jen proudly turned to me and said what would later become my ultimate words of refuge, "Meghan, just let Tatum unzip the zipper." At 41 going on 42 weeks, there was nothing left for Tatum to gain by remaining inside, yet there was everything to loose.

I convinced my doctor to give me the weekend for my body to jump start into labor. She agreed pending a visit to the triage labor and delivery ward to monitor Tatum internally and make sure she was still thriving. And thriving she was. We were released on Friday afternoon to return home and made an appointment to visit the doctor the following Monday. Throughout the weekend I continued my normal routine of doing and trying everything in my power to progress into labor: I walked, received acupuncture, added balsamic vinegar to everything, squatted, and slept. Finally my body began contracting during the evening hours and throughout the night. I was so excited to actually feel something. Timing contractions, I called my doula who said they were good signs, but not THE sign. The contractions stopped in the early morning and then would start again at night.

Finally Monday morning, the contractions stayed through the day. Andrew and I joyfully packed for the hospital and kept our 2pm appointment with Dr. Shaw. During the exam she confirmed that my cervix was at 2cm and admitted us to the hospital (no matter what, we were going to be admitted to the hospital that day for the time had come for Tatum to be born, it was just a matter of how).

So, long (24 hours story) short, we labored naturally through the evening, into the night, into the morning. After watching the full moon pass through the sky of LA and the sun come up again shining it's light on another morning with Tatum still inside I said enough. I took an epidural at 7am at 7cm (that's right, only 5 cm through the night). At 8am my cervix was no bigger, and the doctor gave me my options: 1) pitocin or 2) cesarean. I took a deep breath, looked at the rising sun, and said "unzip the zipper, let's deliver this baby." And so the birth story goes....

Now here we are almost a year later. Tatum doesn't know heads from tales when it comes to how she was born into this world, and I no longer care for the result is the same - a baby is born. And now our baby is weighing in at over 20 lbs and is about to celebrate her first year of life. Wow, how the days and months pass quickly. When you begin witnessing life as a mother it seems that time passes much quicker than before. Yet the days themselves are filled with so much more love, intense joy, and rich laughter.

Tatum, we are so thankful you made it into this world healthy and happy; and we're excited to see you turn one!