Mom sleeps in

Jeff let me sleep in this morning but I woke up in time to see this adorable scene. What a big help Julia is!
 

Jeff's trip to Sabrina Basin, Eastern Sierra

Last weekend Jeff went on a backpacking trip with his brother Brad to the Eastern Sierras. Here are a few of pictures from his trip. This picture on top is my absolute favorite. More pictures from this trip can be seen on Jeff's photography website.

Andrew at 10 weeks

Andrew is smiling so much now, and starting to laugh in the last couple of days. He is absolutely delicious and I just want to eat him up. I realize took a set of very similar pictures just 2 weeks ago (see below, in the red shirt, at 2 months old), and these really aren't that different except for the different shirt and background blanket. But he is so adorable I really can't resist taking more shots and showing them off. These pictures were taken this morning, and he is 10 weeks old as of today.

Wearing Mommy's Shoes

Lately Julia has been loving wearing Mommy's shoes. Here she's got my socks and tennies. Wants to put them on herself, of course ("Myself!!") Quite proud of herself, as she should be. What a cutie.

 

Andrew's Baby Book in progress

I loved the photos I took today so much, I was immediately inspired to do a page of Andrew's baby book, which I have been working on a little at a time. I am pleased with how the page turned out, so I'm posting it proudly. I'm using a digital album kit to create these pages. To see the other pages (in progress), click here.

Happy 2nd Month Birthday, Andrew!

Boy, is it hard to get a picture of Andrew smiling without motion blur, when the flash is off. The second he starts smiling he also starts wriggling with happiness, making it almost impossible! But this one is pretty darn cute! Andrew is 2 months old today. 

Getting away with it: Grapes

I set all of the grocery bags down on the kitchen floor and went to take Andrew out of his carseat. When I returned, there was Julia, eating grapes right out of the bag. So much for washing them and cutting them in half. She loves grapes, and so it must have been just too tempting when she saw them peeking out of the grocery bag. I caught her in the act:
 

Andrew with his Grandpa

Jeff took a series of pictures of Andrew with his Grandpa that came out so well. Here are two of my favorites:

 

Julia's Birthday Party

We had such a good time! It was held in the backyard.

We invited lots of family and friends:


We had a slip'n slide:


And of course, cupcakes:


And here is the birthday girl after the party, nearly hidden by the pile of generous gifts brought by her family and friends:


I've posted more party pics on shutterfly. Click here to view.

Maybe I can help

I was reading the San Jose Mercury News the other day, and I saw the article about Ethiopian women suffering from Fitsula. I'd never heard of this, have you? (see below for a description of what it is, and a link to the article.)

Anyway, I'm not usually someone who does a lot of volunteering or fundraising, or even chartitable giving. I want to, but somehow I never seem to know exactly what to do, or what cause to support, etc. But when I read this article, I thought, boy this is something I could get behind, especially having so recently had two healthy children, and benefited from our great medical care, which I totally take for granted. So I started thinking of ways I could help, and wondered if maybe some of my mom's group friends (with whom I have a monthly Girls Night Out at a local restaurant) might interested too. So, next month, instead of going out to a nice restaurant the way we usually do, I suggested and everyone has agreed that we will go for pizza instead, have just as good a time, but spend a quarter of what we usually would. Then we'll put the difference between the cost of the pizza and what we would have spent into a kitty and donate it to the Fitsula Foundation. Apparently it takes only $450 to fund a surgery to heal one woman, so we have made that our goal. Seems pretty achievable between the 6 of us, especially if we use the dinner money we would have spent anyway.

Here are a couple of quotes from the article which describe the condition and it's effects:

Obstetric fistula is an injury caused by long, drawn-out labor, especially in very young women. When blood supply to the vagina and bladder is cut off, tissues die and a hole forms, allowing urine and sometimes feces to leak out uncontrollably. Adding to their misery, their babies usually die..... Many patients had been divorced by their husbands and shunned by their communities. Some had lingered that way for months or years....... A thing of the past in the United States and the rest of the developed world, where caesarean sections are available to end difficult labors, obstetric fistula affects an estimated 2 million women in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Full article: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/15011861.htm

Link to the Fitsula Foundation site: http://www.fistulafoundation.org/

Further, we've decided to aim for two projects per year, one like this one where we choose a cause -- likely benefiting mothers or children -- and make a joint donation, and a second project where we do a group volunteering event. I think it's a great way to balance giving ourselves a treat with benefiting other moms less fortunate. Wish us luck!