Max eat play dough.

The hubz picks up Ivan from school and he tells me all kinds of funny stories about the other kids and how they interact with each other. Yesterday, he found Ivan in his classroom completely lost in thought, staring away and intently looking at something. He thought he was just spacing out, so he asked him, "Ivan, what are you thinking about?" Ivan says, "Max. Eat. Play Dough." Just like that. Hubz looks over and sure enough, there was Max, devouring an entire container of play dough. This cracked me up for a good five minutes and also made me proud that this kid is seriously talking in full-on sentences now and with such keen observations like "Dude. That kid is eating an entire jar of play dough."

TWO (!!!)

How is it possible that over TWO years have gone by without another blog post. I am the world's worst blogger.

My son turned two on August 3rd and the past two years have been such a crazy, wild ride. It's hard to believe that in the previous picture my son was a genderless avocado-sized ball of cells and now he's a wild, funny, gigantic BOY. It's cliche for sure, but time does indeed fly.

These days, Ivan is talking up a storm. He thinks everything is funny. "Mama Funny. Dada Funny. Rice Funny. Beans Funny. Molly Funny" and he is as active as ever - running, climbing, jumping, dancing - I thought I was exhausted before. Mama Funny.

I love that he is quick to ask for hugs, "Mama UP. Mama HUG." and how when he says "I love you," it sounds like "I You" which I think is pretty perfect. I you.

At night we say goodnight to all of the things in his room. Goodnight giraffe, goodnight animals, goodnight Guys, goodnight baby Ivan (a framed picture of Ivan's ultrasound), and then he says goodnight to all of his friends at school.

It's not as easy for me to say goodbye to baby Ivan though. I miss his newness, the way he'd fit in the crook of my arm, how we'd sit in his room and I would sing "You are my Sunshine" to him in the middle of the night. I remember how David would get up with me for midnight feedings and we'd watch VH1 Classic videos with sleepy eyes and we'd laugh because it was better than crying. I remember thinking how there was no way we'd make it through those colicky nights where Ivan wouldn't stop crying and David would march around the living room shhh-ing or how we'd turn on the blowdryer for white noise. It's all kind of a funny blur and it seems like forever ago and also like yesterday all at the same time.

But now my two year old is growing up and I'm sad that the baby days seem like one giant blur. I'm afraid I'll forget the wonderful, little things so I'm going to vow to try to not be such a slacker blogger. But let's be real, my track record hasn't been that great.

Hold me closer, tiny avocado.

In the picture to the right you are the size of a tiny olive (9 weeks) and already you are pulling my heartstrings something mighty. I don't know how something so tiny can have such a power over me already, but there you have it. You, my little fetus, have me wrapped around your miniscule little finger.

But you aren't so tiny anymore, you are growing! You are now the size of an avocado. I bet you are the most darling avocado too. In about a week we'll find out if you are a he or a she and I can't begin to tell you how excited we are to see you again!

Food...blegh.

Yes, you've come to the right blog. The blog that is supposed to be about my love of food and drink and yet...blegh. At 11 weeks preggo I am having a hard time loving much of anything these days. Things I once loved, I now detest. The smell of certain foods is enough to make me gag. And the food/drinks I love (sushi, coffee, soft cheese, BOOZE) are strictly off limits! I've actually lost weight! I always imagined pregnacy to be a time of unbridled indulgence - a dream for this food lover! But no, it is a cruel,cruel foodie nightmare. On the bright side of things, it seems that the nausea is diminshing so I'll be happy to finally have an appetite back.

Next week we will be in Costa Rica for the honeymoon we never took. I'm looking forward to the beach, sunshine, and lots of relaxation.

I was lost and now I'm found.

This blog was almost lost in cyberspace forever. Almost.

Someone told me I should start a blog. I kind of laughed because I've been (not) blogging since 2006. Finding this blog was like visiting me four years ago. So much has changed, and so much hasn't. It feels weird to continue posting here - but also the idea of having one's thoughts preserved in this manner, however mundane or trivial, really excites me.

I wish I would have kept my posts about myspace (myspace!) for posterity's sake.