A Different Type of Sunbeam

Do any of you watch Big Love? I tell you, I love that show, but there was a scene in Monday's eposide (which I saw tonight) that, well, DAMN. It creeped my shit out. I get that the show is supposed to be shocking, but making love to the wife - ok, 2nd wife - while serenading her with . . . "Jesus Wants You for a Sunbeam"??!!?!?!!? That's just fucked up, that is.

Little Man, Little Miss

My children are being really fun right now. The younger, she just learned within the last week to:

• Sit up for 30+ minutes at a time


• Transfer items from one hand to another


• Eat graham crackers (good starter food, grandma!)


• Put EVERYTHING into her mouth
  
• Say "da da da da da", every time in a whisper
  

She's had an eventful week! In addition, she went to the local minor-league baseball game with me and her grandmother and was an angel, even through the fireworks after the game. She was also recently given a completely clean bill of health from her cardiologist and surgeon. She's just been a lovely Little Miss.

Her brother is becoming a big boy right in front of my eyes. He is very close to being completely potty trained - diapers only at night! He carries on a decent conversation, has a crazy, well-used imagination, and has been a pretty good boy in general for the last couple of weeks. He even said 'Thank you for the dinner, mom!' before he trotted off to wash his hands after his meal. Polite every now and again, too!

The Little Man has recently become very interested in mufflers. Every time we're near the car I find him crouched behind it, trying to peer up the tailpipe. He asked me what comes from the tailpipe, so I explained that when the engine runs it makes exhaust and that's what comes out the muffler. He now will tell anyone who will listen - including perfect strangers! - all about this.

Little Man, Little Miss, how did we ever get on without you?

Mysterious Ways

I just learned that my cousin's baby died. She was less than 24 hours old. I don't even know how to react to this.

This was her second child. She found out late in her pregnancy that the baby's heart was not developing properly. She and her boyfriend were dealing with the news well, and made plans to deliver in a hospital with a great pediatric department on site. She had a c-section as scheduled yesterday, and they rushed the baby straight into heart surgery. Surgery went well, but the baby started to bleed out in recovery, and they couldn't get it stopped.

My cousin never got to see her daughter alive.

My heart breaks for her. She went through nine months of the hormone roller coaster, the physical pain and exhaustion, the excitement, the worry, and the expectation of pregnancy. She dealt with the blow of finding out about the baby's physical problems, and had started to make plans like not going back to work so she could take care of the baby's special needs. She went through major surgery to deliver the baby. Now she's planning a funeral, and explaining to her 7-year-old why the baby isn't coming home.

Her situation echoes so much of what we went through with the Little Miss that it scares the shit out of me. I have no idea why I have a lovely, perfectly healthy pink-cheeked bundle of giggles and my cousin has to pick out caskets while she recovers from major surgery. There but by the grace of God go I. And there, for some reason, goes she.

Farewell, Jada. We will miss welcoming you into our family.