Jeffries Top 11 for '11

11: New Mommy Friends - I became a part of two wonderful groups that helped me keep my sanity during my 4 months as a stay at home mom of a coliky baby. These groups changed my life and made me a better, more confident mommy - every hospital should offer them!
 

10: Ventura County Fair - It was a year of  "lasts" as we were leaving Ventura. the last time for the 4th of July street fair. The last Hokuloa Outrigger race. But the biggie may have been the last Ventura County Fair. Brian and I are geeks that love the fair. We have pictures from every year at the same gate, from dating, to engaged, married to baby. I love those pictures and we now have them up in our living room


Family Pic from 2011 VC Fair - Aug 2011

9: My sister visits California: I have never felt as close to her as I did the week she came to Ventura 3 mos after Mary was born. She is such a fantastic mom – she helped me in so many ways

 
 8: Brian gets Roasted - C'mon we all knew it was coming! Well, he had it coming anyway :) At our Going away party the paddle friends all did fantastic impressions of Brian's rants.  My favorite is still Roy's "I will not be responsible for demolishing a thousand years of Hawaiian tradition in this boat!"

7: Brynn Gets Transferred - This was the first of the "long shots" for 2011. My company lost the Amgen Account while I was on maternity leave and I was basically out of a job - but I was able to work out a transfer to my hometown Chicago. I work for a fantastic, very "human" company.

6: Caylin the Nanny - My first day back at work was traumatic leaving Mary - what made it TONS easier was knowing she was still getting one-on-one care and attention from Sweet Caylin...She is family.



5: Brian finds Paddle Friends – Long shot #2. We are at the "Woody Meet" in Crystal Lake when a guy see's Brian's outrigger shirt. Turns out he is on the "Windy City Dragon Boat" Team and, whaddaya know, they just bought an outrigger and need some advice on how to use it...I could see the light go on in Brian - he will like living in the mid-west afterall!



Brian Paddles on Crystal Lake - Thanksgiving Day 2011

4: Brian Leaves his job: This was a major event because Brian had worked for John and Janette for 14 years. They were family (albeit sometimes a bickering family) to him and this was monumental for him. 

Brian at work

3: Bought a House - Another "Long Shot". And, we owe this one to my parents for pushing this through and allowing us to buy our sweet little house with them. I am never moving again and Brian is getting used to the little nuances of living in an old home...soon it will all be chronicled on his own blog about the house.



The Banner for Brian's Blog

 2: Moved across the country! This is another reason I am never moving again. it's a pain to move, but it is triple the pain to move across the county with a 7 month old. I'm not sure I could have done it if it weren't for the support and help of Brian's brother Mark and of all our friends in Ventura and Crystal Lake

 1: Mary Leilani - Our greatest creation ever. The light of my life. The sweetest creature on Earth. Long may she reign. Or as Mary would say "Ee-dee - momomomom - Pbthththththth"





 

 






Merry Merry Mary

(My Aunt Lisa wrote that on the card for a present for Mary and I just think it is the cutest thing so I have been using it ever since :)  ) Here is a little more in depth review of our December, complete with pictures from my awesome new camera!


Hale Jeffries donned in its holiday best

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!:
Mary has been in love with Christmas lights since about October. Brian has made special trips during the day to Menard's because they have a forest of trees with blinking lights. When we put the little tree up in our living room it was as if she were in heaven to see lights in our very own HOUSE! It became part of the bedtime ritual to go over to the tree and touch the lights...

Usually I take one day in December off from work to bake cookies and wrap presents to ship - This year, I took a day off and Brian and I went down to Chicago for the day (so, sorry, cookies, this year folks). It was the first long day Brian and I had spent away from Mary. I was nervous, but I knew she was in good hands at Marmee and Grampy's - it didn't take long for her to understand she gets whatever she wants over there.

Brian and I took the train downtown and it was in the 40s so not too chilly to wander around - we walked to Marshall Field's (sorry, I just can't call it Macy's) to see the windows - Outside was a large group of retired Chicago Fireman with a Salvation Army bucket - Perfect for a photo opp!

Then we went over to Millenium Park, to see the new landmark "Bean"

THEN we went all the way down to the American Girl store....and my blood pressure shot through the roof. Not because of stress, but because of excitement! Mary got the Girl of the Year (or the GOTY for all you die-hards) from my parents when she was born - for 2011 it just happen to be a Hawaiian Girl named Kanani.  Since she is the girl of the year, that means that at the end of the month she is GONE, and you can't buy any of her stuff. It was as if I was 10 and just wanted to play with all the pretty, pretty things. It also turns out that I know a lot more about American Girl than I gave myself credit and wound up helping people find the appropriate accessories that they needed ("no, that's Barksey, that's Kanani's dog - I think you're looking for Coconut, that's Kit's dog"). I also took Brian up to the Cafe to show him where he and Mary will take Kanani to have tea someday. We walked out of there without much damage and another fantastic photo opp.

 AUNTIE NA-NA and BRUDDAH LANDON:

Our first California visitors! Dear friends Nadean and Landon flew in on their way to Minnesota to visit Landon's family for Christmas. They flew in late Friday night and I couldn't have ordered a more picture perfect setting for them to wake up to Saturday morning.

Just a few inches of perfect, glittery snow to welcome them to the Midwest. I didn't make any huge plans while they were here, because I just wanted to hang out with them. I was so happy that Mary seemed to remember them right away - she saw Nadean that morning and had a big smile for her.

CHRISTMAS EVE:
Pretty low key, just went over to my parents for "Christmas Soup". Really it's Chicken Florentine Soup, but it's Christmas Colors so we have always called it that.  My Dad got to read her "Twas the night before Christmas" from my mom's old book.

She sat still at first, but then got very bored. As my Dad said "Okay, well we got that Photo Opp"

And so we did...and pretty cute too! :)

MARY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS!

Our living room after Santa left

 

This year Brian was a much better gift giver than I was...I scored with a new Kindle Fire, new Oakleys and a pretty scarf while Brian got cross country skis. Now I thought cross country skis were a killer gift - a new sport that we can do together in the winter time, but two days before Christmas (not enough time to find another "killer" gift) Brian commented that he had "zero" interest in snowshoeing or cross country skiing...harumph.  So, once again, he has the right attitude and is willing to give it a try - so I still have hope that he will like it.

I made stockings for both of my nieces and for Cortney - and while I had 10 months to get Mary's stocking done...I finished it on Christmas Eve just in time for Santa. You can't really see it in the pic, but it has a metallic "M" emroidered on Navy blue with a beautiful white velvet cuff. I am quite proud of myself. Mary had a great Christmas - lots of fun toys, but the best gift I got for her was the $1.89 I spent on a bag a pre-made sticky bows - I put them in a box and she played with it for days.

Just a few days after Christmas, Mary started becoming super mobile - her new trick is climbing the stairs...I have a super cute video of her doing it, but I'm having issues with trying to upload it so you'll just have to take my word for it.

New Year's cards should be in the mail...eventually. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and I wish you nothing but fantastic opportunities for 2012.

Cheers!
Much love,
Brynn, Brian and Mary

December Speed Blog

I will post pictures as soon as I can – lots of cute things happening this month.

Mary pulls herself up on furniture and “surfs” from couch to tables to walls to cabinets to pulling everything out of the cabinets – Mary Crawls and is getting rather speedy at it – likes to attempt going down stairs head-first (hey it works for the furry four-legged brother and sister.

Brian and I take a full day and go to Chicago – the first full day we have spent alone together since Mary is born – HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!  - Wandered all over Chicago, shopped, ate, drank – Happiness.

Dear friends Nadean and Landon visit from California! – Arrived late Friday night and got to wake up Saturday morning to 2” of fresh snow – warm and fuzzy feelings ensue – Kept pinching myself that friends from California were in our little house in Illinois. Now that they are gone, I feel like Christmas is over.

Had the first annual “Holiday Open House” and it was a HIT – had over neighbors and old friends. House definitely has a new homey warmth to it when it is full of friends and family.

Christmas in less than a week – YIKES! – I have to finish this stocking for Mary so Santa has a place to put her puffs. Brian getting a great gift…I can’t wait for him to see it!!!

A Serious Case of "The Mondays"

I used to be a gung-ho worker. I liked Mondays because I relaxed all weekend, organized my house and was looking forward to going to work to socialize again (I usually spent my weekends alone because I’m such a winner).

Ever since Brian came into my life and especially since Mary was born and I went back to work – Monday mornings are little tough. To be quite frank, they suck. I just spent wonderful time with my little family, and now I have to leave them to drive an hour and sit in a grey cube where I stare at spreadsheets all day. Please don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate having a job and I work for a fantastic company, but I miss my baby.

The photo above is on my sun visor. It’s when she was two months old and was just starting to smile. It breaks and strengthens my heart at the same time when I see it on my way to work. I hate it because I’m leaving her, but I realize why I need to go and do my best at work; so she can have food in her little belly, shoes to pull off her little feet and see a great example of a hard-working parent.

It still sucks though.

Mother's Poem

The cooking and cleaning will wait until tomorrow

For babies grow up, I've learned with great sorrow

So settle down cobwebs - and the dust can just sleep

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep

I heard that poem through one of my mommy groups. As I have posted earlier, I don't get to see Mary a lot during the week so bedtime is a time I cherish. There is nothing so close and intimate as rocking and nursing my baby girl to sleep. Her entire body used to be as long as I am wide, and now she wraps around me and reaches her soft, little hand up to touch my cheek. I stay rocking her for several minutes after she falls asleep. I take as many mental pictures as I can and I breathe in her baby-smell because I know someday I will wish I could hold her like this again.

For 9.5 months, I put Mary to sleep every night. While Brian puts her down for naps during the day, one night last week, he put her down for the night. I was so proud and happy because I may need to travel for business soon and to know Mary will let her daddy put her to sleep at night gives me peace of mind...At the same time, it hurt a little. As if it was just one little step for my baby girl not needing her mommy any more.

It is a time when everyone is talking about what they are thankful for and for me, it is this time I rock Mary to sleep. I know of too many mommies whose babies were called to heaven and it seems the one thing they wish for is to rock their babies again. I am so thankful to have a healthy little family. Until there was Mary, I didn't know how important family was and I realize now I was concerned with all the wrong things. We may need a new roof, new chimney, new kitchen, new garage...it's just stuff, it's only money. Family is the big picture.

What would Andy say...?

I work in a long row of Cubes with some mildly obnoxious people who like to talk over the walls. The thing is they don’t usually stand up to face one another to talk over the walls, they just sit in their chairs and yell at one another over the walls. Their conversations are usually not funny, but they find themselves hilarious.

Thankfully, and I wear headphones to drown out their conversations.

A few weeks ago when Andy Rooney died there were some poor impersonations of him being bantered about. When one of the younger (and really loud) women proudly stated that she had no idea who Andy Rooney was. This caught my attention and I took my headphones off.

How can you not know who Andy Rooney is? Did your parents never watch 60 minutes as you grew up? Did you just gloss over and dismiss any Saturday Night Live impression as unique character with big eyebrows? And I suppose it’s not so much that she didn’t know who Andy Rooney is/was, but that she was a little cocky about it. However I’m sure she could name all the idiots on Jersey Shore or in the Kardashian Klan…

The more I’ve been thinking about it, the more frustrated I get. What do I have to do so that my daughter grows up knowing who Andy Rooney is. How do I make her aware of things that came before her, aware of things outside her immediate world…I want her to know that Jimmy Stewart was in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I want her to know that the movie “Footloose” was not made in 2011. To let her know that she had two great-grandfathers who were a part of history in WWII.

What do I need to do so that when she is the young lady in the office, no one thinks of her as the young ego-centric one. Funny thing is, I bet Andy Rooney would have something profound to say about this…

Mary Swings