My November baby.

 When I learned I was pregnant in mid-March of 2011, I knew I was expecting a November baby. But this knowledge intensified the surreal aspect of the pregnancy. Growing up in western New York, November and its twin, March, are some ugly months. November?? With its palatte of dull browns and faded oranges, with its cold and frost and wind? November? This is not a month for a baby. April and May, the festive summer months, even December made more sense to me than a November due date. This seeming improbability combined with the fact that I'd had a loss before made me feel, rather than strictly joyful, a range of emotions among which the most prominent was strong suspense.

A November baby? Really??

Really. My little embryo survived, flourished, grew, and was fluttering and knocking faintly from the inside by June. When they told me she was a girl, I was again plunged into disbelief. (Look, I'm a six on the Enneagram. Google it). Could I really be the mother of a GIRL? If the angel Gabriel had been my ultrasound tech, I would have come away unable to speak, for sure.

But she was she, and she was VERY solid and real and so it was that one year ago today that I became the mother of a daughter, my November baby. Her birth story is probably fresh in my readers' minds. I felt so mighty that day, so blessed, and returning as we did to the parking lot of the birth center brings it all back, fresh. She blessed me from her first moments.

Dear Daughter,

I know you are here for something important. My dear, you came charging into this world. You delivered yourself, and immediately expressed your urgent hunger. You ate every two hours without fail from the time of your birth, with the dedication of an athlete in training.

Month 1

 Whatever your power truly is, you are subtle in it. You were a calm, observant, sweet newborn. Your Papa and I could hardly believe our good fortune.

Month 2

 I quickly learned to love my tiny clothes horse. Oh how much fun I have had dressing you! I hope that you do not mind the lace, the pink. You will be able to tell us what you really think before long. (Indeed, you have already started to grab items from your drawer and say, "Dis. Dis!")

Month3

 Always you have had that solemn, searching gaze. You conceal your power, or you wear it lightly.

Month 4

 And yet you learned to smile early, and have been bewitching us with your little smirk, your little dimple, ever since you were five weeks old.

Month 5

 You have had your work cut out for you, trying to get some attention with such a powerful personality as your older brother in the family. But you generally do not demand it; you wait, serene, and trust to the gravitational pull of your personal fascination to draw us to you. It never fails.

Month 6

 And we have had so much fun! Seeing you learn new things, with your quiet determination, and watching your brother's devotion to you grow. Concluding after your cradle cap receded that your red hair was here to stay. You were our little ginger pixie. Wherever did you come from??

Month 7

Adele, Adele, I want you to stay small even as I am hugely enjoying seeing your version of every stage. We are such good friends now. There is so much about girlhood and adolescence that threatens a girl's relationship with her mother and I can hardly contemplate us having a conflict. Though with two such strong and yet such DIFFERENT women in the house, we can hardly hope to avoid it.

Month 8

 But I want you to know, my darling girl, that I am in your corner, and I will stay here. As you become a girl and as you storm the gates of womanhood, as the many forces which always buffet a girl's power and confidence and dignity begin to rear up, know that I will be fighting for you and with you, even if I some time appear to be fighting against you. I do not oppose you in anything that leads to your growth, health, and mighty flourishing in this world.

Month 9

 I sometimes want so much to make your life easy, and to prevent any obstacle that I faced from troubling you. But that would not, I know, really be in your best interest. You will win your character and your power from your deeds, and you will win your deeds from struggle.

But darned if I won't be doing everything I can justify doing to help you.

So on your first birthday, Miss Spunk, let the record show that I love you, I am so proud of you, and I am so glad that you totally and forever transformed my concept of November.

Month 10

 You are such a star! Look at you! Your eyelashes! Your russet hair! Your big grin! Today you love your family and climbing and cats best of all. You have just started to dance, to sign, to talk. What have you got for us next?

Love, your devoted audience & fan,
Mummy.

Month 11

Note: So I haven't updated in a record long time. Someone. is. always. sick. And weekends lately have been just as exhausting as weekdays. But the camera's batteries have been replaced and we leave today for Thanksgiving in Maryland and all the pictures that that will bring, as well as Little Miss' first birthday. So, basically... stay tuned.

Carnival of Mirth

A gypsy fire is on the hearth,
Sign of the carnival of mirth;
Through the dun fields and from the glade
Flash merry folk in masquerade,
For this is Hallowe'en!
(Unknown Author)

I haven't always loved Halloween as I do now. Have I become both more imaginative and less fearful?

As I tell Miles, we do not have to fear those that have died. And I do not know if they are more present with us on Halloween than on any other night. But if they are, I tell him, won't they have a laugh at our funny costumes?

Meet: The Owl and the Pussycat. Miles really wanted me to be a Piggywig and Papa, the Turkey who lives on the hill. Alas, I was too tired from fashioning these to make a costume for the adults. Maybe next year I'll start work in August or something. :-)

Miles recites (with help) the first verse. He knows the whole thing, but lacks the self-discipline to stay still to recite all three verses. I particularly love the end of this clip where he asks if we can teach him to play the small guitar.

Adele loved her reflection especially while he was representing her favorite animal, and the second word she learned to say. "Tat! TAT!"

The weather, as many of you know, has been rotten. We are not close enough to the coast to have been more than inconvenienced by Sandy. We did not lose power. Our local public schools were out due to high winds and a bit of snow on Tuesday, but only for the one day. Miles missed one day of preschool and I got my boots and winter coat out of the attic at 6:30 am when I realized the snow was, in fact, sticking. But that's about all. Still, it's not been particularly fun weather to wander in. Temperatures have been in the 30s and 40s; some kind of precipitation has been almost constant and the winds have been uncomfortably strong.

This, then, is the first of our two indoor Halloween events. On Saturday, Boo Do at First & Main:

There was a performance by an a capella group from Tech

Crafts and Games

And a juggler!

The mesmerized audience

This volunteer kid was so brave!

At home this weekend, we did the ritual gourd carving.

Miles was totally into it this year! He scooped and scooped; there was no sign of his daintiness from last year.

We set up the jumparoo outside so Adele could participate and I could make soup in peace. I haven't yet learned the art of cooking and minding a child at the same time; my head would electrocute.

Cold? what cold?

Another masterful job by Papa.

"Hooray! All done!"

Classic.

On Halloween, we were too late for Downtown Trick Or Treating. I had class till 5:15. Besides, it was about 37 degrees, windy, and sleeting. I understand it was an underattended event anyway.
So Miles didn't get to exactly go Trick Or Treating on Halloween, but we did hit up the community kiddy carnival!

Games set up around the room gave kids the chance to earn prizes (small toys). So our candy haul is modest this year, being composed of the little we got at Boo Do and the bag he got at daycare. BUT he got a bucket of plastic toys and, being Miles at age three, he has no regrets.

Look! It's not exactly pea green, but it is a beautiful boat! Owl & Pussycat FTW

The Hokie Bird showed up to the carnival!!....

...And Adele cowers and cries. Look how dejected HB looks. Miles was suspicious of him too, and told him off soundly when he stole our stroller as a joke.

A craft station. We made a monster hand!

They even had a bouncy castle. We were all too exhilarated to take pictures.

The evening ended with a movie party for M. with The Great Pumpkin. The soundtrack is still in my head, which tells me, we did Halloween right.

Autumn: The Setting, The Props, and the Players

Well, once again it's been a long passage between posts. We've been living up a STORM around here, but little of it has been festive and/or photographed. Jon and I had TWO dates in October alone, and have attended a couple of great churchy social gatherings.  Miles has been really warming up to preschool; Adele has started walking (3 steps at a time) and talking (4 words and counting).

The main energy pull in the last couple weeks, though, has been yet ANOTHER daycare change we've had to make (we just have the worst childcare luck). Fortunately, we expect this will probably be the last such transition as we've found a daycare CENTER we love and that we can afford (more's the miracle). One week in and this is the smoothest transition we've made in childcare. Of course, it's still a transition, so... blogging has fallen by the wayside.

So rather than telling too many stories, which will probably just result in a bunch more dramatically and unnecessarily capitalized words, (I'M SO TIRED), I will give you: October. The setting, props, and players. And about 100 pictures (sorry) (I need an editor).

The Setting: Blacksburg in the fall. I took these on my way to work on a couple different mornings last week.

Autumn means pink mornings.

My route to the bus stop:

I nod respectfully to the dead, who are with us and yet not with us... I tell Miles that we don't have to fear dead folks, but we do respect them and refrain from walking on their graves. I tell him we plant folks in the ground like seeds, and that if we are patient, one day, they will grow.

Which is pretty much what I think.

I arrive, off the bus.

Campus glows in the morning.

Smoulders in some places.

Take two, a Thursday:

See what I mean? Pink morning.

Have I said how much I love my commute?

Some props: Pumpkin pancakes (and pumpkin cookies) have been staples in our house int he past few weeks. Saturday morning luxury version:

Further prop: Miles has been feeling very parental lately, loving this baby (whose identity changes daily) as well as he is able. This baby receives bottles, lullabies, rides in the wrap, and long naps in the doll crib I found at a yard sale.

You need to see this video of Adele pushing Miles, you really do.

Further props: pumpkins! Miles' preschool did a field trip to a pumpkin patch.

Papa and Adele came along for the ride! Adele was apparently delighted.

The players! Their current nicknames are Small and Tiny. Small says his parents are "E-NOR-MOUS."

Papa is home with both kids 2 days a week, which gives them some happy afternoons together twice a week.

 Next up: Halloween. Get ready for some cute, that's all.