Bummer

On Saturday night I realized that Hester's dress would be too big, despite my initial gauge swatch. Disappointed, I had to frog the whole effing thing. I started it over in the 3-6 month size, though, and it's coming along nicely now. Still, I was 1/4 done before I had to rip it out. Now I'm not even 1/8 done--boo hoo. Here's hoping Hester doesn't have some crazy growth spurt between now and October!

Baby Daddy

Y'all know Steve Almond, author of Candyfreak? He has a blog about his little girl, Josie. Am I late to the party on this, too?

Random stuff

Here's what's fun: The drive-in. It allows new parents to see movies with their babies in tow. Ours fell asleep during the first few minutes of Harry Potter and let us watch the rest of the movie in peace. Awesome! (Good movie, too.)

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We're part of this little brunch group for queer adoptive parents. Our latest get-together was Saturday. Here's what's really nice: Connecting with other folks in the same boat. Also, the kids are SO EFFING CUTE you just want to eat them up. Seriously, it's a problem.

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Hester had her 6-month check-up today. Petunia took her and both of them got teary for Hester's shots. We'd been a little worried about Hester's weight, but her pediatrician was pleased: Hester's holding steady at the 10th percentile. She's small but mighty at 13 lbs. 11 oz.

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Petunia and I are hoping to take a real vacation next year. If you have a suggestion for a cheap-ish family-friendly vacation destination, I'm all ears.

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I broke down and ordered a used Ergo for our family, and it should be here early this week. I'm wicked excited about it! Hester's still tiny, but she's already putting a strain on our backs when she's in the front carrier or Maya wrap. Here's hoping the Ergo lives up to its reputation.

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I think that's it for now. It's All Hester, All the Time these days. I'm quite enjoying it!

A day to remember

Today began on a great note with news of our dear friends' pregnancy (we were with them at brunch when they got the call from their fertility clinic!) and got even better when my brother called to announce his engagement! That's two times today I got to bust out the joyful tears, folks. TWO! I'm so happy for L&L and for Orca and Beluga! Babies and weddings...does it get any better than that?

What a joyful, wonderful day!

Random things

This whole wireless internet thing rocks. I'm LOVING it, dudes. This morning I listened to NPR downstairs...we can't get it on the house except through the computer, so I've gone 3 years without Morning Edition. I'm v. happy to have it back.

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We started looking at western MA real estate publications over the weekend. We don't want to move anytime soon, but we'd like to be in a more open and accepting school district by the time Hester hits kindergarten. It's funny how much less scary it is to think about buying a house the second time around. Of course, it's terrifying to think of selling this one, but people sell their houses all the time. We'll do our research, talk with our peeps, and we'll be fine. We're lucky that our current house is in an area that's appreciated a lot over the last several years; also, there are always first-time homeowners looking for a good deal. Our house is teeny tiny, but it's in move-in condition. You can't say that about an awful lot of houses in our price range in this area.

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Thanks for your suggestions about transferring files from the old computer to the laptop. We ended up going with a free internet storage site; so far, it's working well. Thanks again for the advice.

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Hester started experimenting with her voice today. She's been squealing and babbling up a storm! It's so nice to hear her sweet little voice.

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We have Baby's First Pride this weekend! It's Boston Pride, and we're so excited to be marching for the first time with our little Hester. I've been dreaming of this day for years, and I can't believe it's almost here.

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I'm feeling much better after a quiet weekend with my little family. We spent Saturday in western Mass and yesterday on the couch...it was heavenly. We made plans for the summer (Tanglewood, anyone?) and watched craploads of Scrubs. Good times, friends, good times.

Weekend update

Just as I was thinking so much about Ariana, it turns out she was thinking a lot about us. We heard from her via email on Saturday! Without going into detail, she and her family are safe and well in Western State. I'm so happy to be in touch with her again. Relieved, too.

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I went to the moms group event on Saturday, but the playground was so swamped I couldn't actually find the folks I was supposed to meet. I was really disappointed! I'll try again on Friday, though--there's another event scheduled for that night. We'll see how it goes.

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In honor of Earth Day, we got another compost bin. Our city sells them on the cheap, so our $70 compost bin was only $25! We've been using those gDiapers that J. first told me about eons ago, and we're planning to compost the pee ones along with our standard yard waste/kitchen scraps mix. Good times there, huh? I'm a wicked nerd to get so excited about composting peepee diapers.

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It is SO BEAUTIFUL here right now. Our weather is gorgeous! The kids and I spent the entire morning outdoors, and Hester is wearing her first-ever sleeveless summer romper. Good lord, this baby is cute. Hester also spent the weekend outdoors with us; she mulched, cleaned out the toolshed, and grilled with her Mumzy. Yay for nice weather and the real start of spring!

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I am so excited for all of our visitors next month. I can't wait to see my brother with his niece and my parents with their granddaughter, and I'm so excited to see our dear friends T&R.

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That's all from here.

Catching up

I've spent the last 2 days cleaning, organizing, and getting ready for some hardcore crafting. Also thrift shopping, but that's beginning to be par for the course. I'm so thankful to have this time away from work!

We had a v. nice time in Charlotte, and it was great to see my family. They all spoiled us; even baby Hester-to-be picked up some choice gifts! It was sort of a whirlwind trip since we left early Saturday morning and returned Monday night. While we were down there, my brother and his GF introduced the rest of us to Jack in the Box milkshakes, and all I can say is that it's a good thing we don't have Jacks in the Box up here in the Northland. I'd be screwed!

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And in other news, we haven't heard a peep from the adoption agency. Today I'm taking that as a good sign.