A Fig in Sweden Portland

don't take my mommy card away

I finally got through a stack of papers that was sitting in the "mail bowl." It included a bunch of handouts that the pediatrician had given me about vaccinations. Knowing that Mathis is about to get like 100 of them at his 2-month appointment next week, I wanted to familiarize myself with the U.S. vaccination schedule. Check. Problem is, there was also a flyer about how you should give your baby vitamin D drops for the first two months of life.

Oh great.

Enter feelings of incompetent mommyism.

The only thing that reassures me about this is that if it was truly important, the pediatrician would have UTTERED A SINGLE WORD about it.

Right?

In Sweden, they hand you a bottle of drops. With zero chance of absorbing even an iota of sunshine during the Swedish winter, I didn't miss a single dose with Sophie.

I'm hoping that all Mathis' outside time in sunny Portland has given him enough vitamin D to avoid rickets and all the other god awful stuff that happens when your mommy fails to give you vitamin D drops.

Mathis turns 2 months old in 5 days. Good thing it'll be sunny this week!

P.S. He looks pretty happy and healthy, doesn't he?

filed under 'adorable!'

I dropped Sophie off at school and cleaned up around the house when I returned. First, I see she has tucked in her miniature mermaid under one of Mathis' cloth diaper wipes. Then I walk into the office to find more of her friends sleeping.

And, yes, I vacuumed around them.

 

stage mom-in-training

I have never done anything involving a stage (um, playing oboe in the band doesn't really count) ... or dancing shoes.

But somehow, somewhere, Sophie got the drama gene. And I'm not talking about being a drama queen, which she is also quite skilled at. She performs dancing/singing routines on the sidewalk for the neighbors and in the basement for us. She dazzles guests with her living room moves. 

Not only does she not get this from me, but I would also not call her an extravert. However, when it comes to putting on a show, she is a complete ham.

And, as fate would have it, the Laurelhurst Dance Studio is right in our backyard.

All summer I was waiting to pounce on fall ballet class registration. I got one of the first slots. And today was the big day. I held my breath as we entered, thinking this could go down like those disastrous Mommy and Me dance classes last fall when she ran out screaming. But what a difference a year makes. As soon as I slipped on her little ballet shoes, she was off dancing in front of the mirrors. An adult ballerina with the studio asked if she was my girl, adding that she has never seen such a natural performer before. She said she can't wait to see Sophie dancing somewhere in 10 years and say that she saw her in her first ballet class.

Will this be her "thing" like track and soccer were my "things?" Who knows. But I sure loved watching her do her thing today.

lazy fair

This is where Sunday ends and Monday begins. One of those long holiday weekends where I would have been perfectly content staying at home doing yard work or home decorating. One of those weekends where having a kid forces you to get out, because gosh darnit, the state fair is in town.

So, as you can see, we drove an hour south to Salem to get our cowtown on. $57 dollars later we had bellies full of fair food and a spiderman balloon toy. And we saw LOADS of cows, sheep, ducks, bunnies, chickens, pigs, goats, horses and llamas. Not worth it, and so worth it at the same time. I'm sure in Sophie's mind, we totally got our money's worth.

And, I would agree, because I realized this weekend that being closer as a family is getting out and doing stuff as a family.

Which leads me to yesterday, when Lewis spent most of the morning trimming tree branches and installing storm windows. It was too late for any big labor day event. So, instead we drove into Willamette Valley wine country to have lunch in the small cutesy town of McMinnville. My meal was mediocre and most of the shops were closed. But the company and the new surroundings made up for that.

Bottom line: It's so good to get away, even if away is just a tricycle ride around the block.