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Julia's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 8/25/01 -------------------- 8/17/01 7/28/01 7/22/01 7/17/01 7/10/01 7/7/01 7/5/01 6/23/01 6/15/01 6/4/01 5/14/01 5/12/01 5/2/01 4/24/01 4/21/01 4/8/01 3/29/01 3/22/01 3/13/01 3/3/01 2/20/01 2/14/01 2/6/01 2/3/01 1/21/01 1/15/01 1/7/01 12/27/00 12/18/00 12/11/00 12/6/00 11/29/00 11/21/00 11/15/00 11/7/00 11/1/00 10/24/00 10/18/00 10/10/00 10/3/00 9/26/00 9/20/00 9/13/00 9/5/00 8/30/00 8/22/00 8/14/00 8/8/00 -------------------- Julia's Introduction

December 18, 2000

Kasie will be 21 weeks old tomorrow. She will be exactly 5 months old on Christmas Day. Aside from Kasie's 5-month birthday, I feel like there is so much to celebrate this Christmas. I feel like celebrating about everything ... my stepson and the man he's becoming (more on that, later), my daughter and the little girl she's becoming, myself and the MOM I'm becoming ... so many things to rejoice over. If someone had told me last Christmas that I would be the person I am right now, I would have run from them, screaming. The person who LIKES to get the house spotless, the person who takes pleasure in going to the grocery store, the person who likes to change poopy diapers because she gets to see her daughter's cute little naked butt and the smile that being naked brings to her little toothless face. If I had known that I wouldn't be anywhere close to the person that I was last year at this time, I would have been frightened. I was the person that was desperately pampered, getting pedicures and red painted toenails for Christmas, expensive clothes for our parties, lots of time to rest and play with my hair ... goodness, why would I have wanted a change.

Back then, I suppose I believed that I would just "add" a baby to our lives, and nothing really would change. I would still go to get my toenails painted, my eyebrows waxed and I'd still have time for that massage once a month. I envisioned me rolling Kasie into the salon in her stroller, cleanly dressed in white lace, smelling of baby powder and clean diapers. I think I was severely deluded! Anyway, the person I was last year would have gawked in horror at the person I am now, and I believe I would have looked at Carl and told him, "When we have kids, don't let me get like that," yet, here I am "like that" and happy about it. I'm now happy if I have time to file my toenails, and I'm even more glad if I just have time to shave ONE leg and let's just forget about that mass of forestry that I used to delicately call a bikini line.

Even so, this new me is happy to have made it through those first, terrible three months to Christmas ... one of my favorite times of the year. As a child, I counted the days until Christmas came, as they went by, ever so slowly! I stayed awake in bed all Christmas Eve, dying with anticipation, waiting until 5 a.m. when I knew I could get up and go see what Santa left me. My brother and I would descend on the living room and quickly rifle through our stockings for some chocolate or candy of some sort, and then we would go into the family room and watch MTV (dad didn't let us watch it normally, but since we knew that he was always asleep at this time, we figured we were safe!). 6 a.m. was the time that my parents told us we could wake them up, so we waited patiently until then and then ran into their room, jumping on their bed, no doubt scaring the living daylights out of them ... and they would go get coffee and watch us as we went through all of the loot that Santa brought us. We would all open presents, and after we were lost in a sea of wrapping paper and boxes, we would eat a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls and mimosas (well, that was when we got older!). Now that I have a child, I want to make Christmas just as magical for her as it was for me. And while I hope she'll let me sleep past 6 a.m. in the morning, I want her to enjoy many of the same traditions that I enjoyed as a child. I hope that she will.

OK, enough about Christmas for now ... although I'm sure I could talk about it for pages and pages! Kasie is turning into a little kid. She is no longer the little "jello mold" of a baby that she once was. She has mastered all sorts of new skills that amaze her father and me. First things first, Kasie can now roll over from back to front, and front to back ... in rapid succession. Of course, when Kasie ends up on her tummy and is tired, we all know who she calls for! She's amazing though, and getting stronger every day. There was a time when I was worried that she might be developmentally delayed, but I think my fears are beginning to dissolve with every new skill she masters. The second new skill of the week is that Kasie can now grab her pacifier, pull it out of her mouth, hold it with both hands while examining it, and then put it back in her mouth. Of course, sometimes she puts the handle back in her mouth, but hey, whatever she wants to suck on is fine with me ... well, to an extent! I took Kasie on a trip, just she and I, to see my friend from high school graduate from law school. Kasie was a complete hit with all of my old friends, and she behaved so well, I think half of them left the occasion having duly caught the "baby bug." Of course, they have to go find husbands now!

Kasie is still talking up a storm, although I have no idea what she's saying. She likes to talk the most when I'm driving. I play Paul Simon on the radio for her and she sings along ... it's cute! She also talks to anyone who will pay attention to her, including strangers at the grocery store! She's a hit with everyone who meets her although even if she's dressed in pink and lace from head to toe, people will STILL tell me what an adorable little BOY I have.

Well, I think that's it for now! I could complain a little more about the puppy, but I think that I'll leave this subject alone for a little bit, that way Carl can enjoy his Christmas! Seriously, I frequently get pissed that I'm taking care of a baby and a puppy at the same time, and not by choice, but I just keep trying to remind myself that it's temporary (the dog won't be a puppy forever) and that it makes my sweet husband so happy to have a dog and usually I can get through any homicidal feelings I have toward the dog. I haven't killed it yet anyway! (Kidding!)

Oh, I forgot to mention my stepson. He's on my good side for the next century or two because he had to write a book type thing for one of his classes about his life. Not only did he dedicate it to his mom, dad, stepdad and stepmom (me), he also had a section on who has meant the most to him. He entitled it, "The wind beneath my wings" and wrote about his dad. This had to be the best Christmas gift! Carl has worked SO hard for his kids, and really loves them more than any parent has ever loved a kid in the history of man, so I'm so happy that my stepson realizes that! He and Kasie (and my stepdaughter, for that matter) are so lucky to have such a wonderful dad ... they are really hard to find and I think we got the best one out there!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. Enjoy your families and your little ones and your spouses. I know I will!

Take Care,

Julia and Kasie