What's in a Cry? {All Parents are Bi-Lingual}

It's 5:34 a.m. and the cry peels through the monitor. After nearly two years of the midnight call, I don't exactly startle out of bed. I slowly blink away sleep, but my body weighs heavy on my mattress. I lay there for a moment listening to the sound of my crying son and then whisper, "Baby? What do I do?"
It's decision making time.
You see, my son has essentially two different midnight cries. One sounds like, "WAAAAaaa..AAAaaaahh.... WAaaahh...... waaah.... wa......," which translates roughly to, "HEY! I woke up alone! I guess that's normal, but I don't really like it.... Mom?... Hello?... ZZzzzzzzzzzzzz." The second type of cry sounds more like, "WaaaaEEEHHHH! WaEH! WA! WA! WaaaaaEEEHHHH!" and means essentially, "Something is wrong! (Examples: "My teeth hurt!" or "I'm cold!") And I'm not going back to sleep until it's fixed!"
It is up to us, The Toddler Translation Division - otherwise known as "parents" - to decipher the sounds and proceed accordingly. Is he in pain or just protesting? Should we give it a moment or go check on him? He may fall back asleep... Should we try a bottle? Does he need medicine?
And then there are nights like last night, which present their own unique challenge. Our toddler may choose to practice his range of expressive abilities, resulting in something like this: "WAAAAaaaa....... WaEH!... WAAaaaaa... WAAaaaa... WaEH! WaEH!" Our best intelligence at this point understands this to mean, "I woke up alone! Oh, and my teeth hurt, now that I think about it. OWIE! But I am really tired... maybe I'll go back to sleep... NO! This hurts!! I don't like it! FIX. IT. NOW!! But I am really tired...."
In such a case, choosing the proper course of action becomes a matter of blind chance. Was that "tired"...? or "wired"...? If you take the time to fumble around for your pajamas, stumble upstairs and prepare a bottle, he very well may have chosen sleep by the time you reach his door. If, on the other hand, you choose to let him sort it out on his own, this could last all night. In which case, no one is getting any sleep. It's roulette. 50/50. Red or black. Dumb luck.
Last night, I chose to fumble and stumble. I bet a trip upstairs and ten minutes in the rocking chair that my son really did want to sleep. I won. The payout: me and my bed for three more hours.
Being bi-lingual is good, but being lucky is awesome.
That was two nights ago. In the small hours of this morning, my husband was not so lucky. Sorry, honey.

these are the moments...

Our poor, sweet boy woke up sad this morning. He's been teething again, and I think the discomfort woke him up before he was actually ready to be done sleeping. Sleepy and sad, he needed some cuddles. I was, of course, happy to oblige. I scooped him up with his blanket and his Lovey and joined Daddy on the couch. Daddy wrapped his arm around us both and said, "Good morning, family."
There it was, Emily. The moment to hold on to. Moments that will be gone before I know it. Moments with a sweet, chubby little boy in a diaper. Moments in the quiet morning with just Mommy and Daddy and Drake. Moments when life feels complete and perfect.
Five minutes later, his diaper rode up without me realizing and he peed all over me and the couch.

Like I've already won

I know I haven't blogged in, well - forever - and I should really be telling you about my son's incredible development (he is seconds away from crawling! video to come) or maybe about the awesome progress that is being made on our first home. But, instead, the thing that has motivated to write my first post in weeks is a prize giveaway.
I know, I know. Silly of me.
But it's a freaking Ergobaby Bundle of Joy carrier! And I have wanted one so badly since I saw my beautiful friend Katie carrying her gorgeous little girl Scarlett in one. They are great for people with bad backs (me) and can be used all the way until your child is a toddler (or your infant is huge, like mine). I have a very pathetic excuse for a carrier (a department store knock off of an Ergobaby) that kills my shoulders and back so you can understand why I was so excited to see that Mandy at She Breathes Deeply was hosting a prize giveaway. 
I'm so excited right now, you'd think I'd already won. Somehow, it just feels like it's meant for me.

It's a.....!!!

Despite a pounding headache and dizziness that day, the moment of our gender reveal was one of the most fun and exciting in a long time! The thrill of finally getting to know the gender of this amazing little baby growing inside of me was amplified by the joy of sharing it with my wonderful family and friends.
As tempting as it was, we did not let our ultrasound tech tell us the sex of the baby. After all the measurements were taken and each organ, bone and appendage accounted for (what a glorious sense of relief each time she listed off something else as normal, good, healthy, beautiful!) she shut off the monitors and went searching for the gender answer without us. She printed a couple pictures to prove her observation, sealed them in an envelope and we drove straight to this great little bakery here in town, Park Ave, to order their delicious White Chocolate and Lemon Delight... except for one small modification. We entrusted them with our envelope and asked them to dye the inside of the cake accordingly: blue for a boy, pink for a girl. (I got this fun idea from my gorgeous friend Emily Haire.Thanks Em!) That way, we could all find out together when we cut the cake.
As for the rest, well, the video pretty much speaks for itself.

(P.S. - I just joined an awesome site called Bloggy Moms. All you other Mommy Bloggers out there should check it out!)