happiness is two kinds of ice cream.

last week was our vacation time as a family. i know what you're thinking - every day is a vacation since i'm at home with the boys, right? ha. it's more of a vacation when chris is around.

we took a day to go to a local amusement park. it was literally the perfect day - plenty of sunshine, a packed picnic lunch, a toddler willing to ride the rides....

why do i have to get off the ride?, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

in fact, so willing that he didn't want to get off the rides. this was the face we saw most of the day. crying as we led him off the ride because he wanted to stay on. this park has a water park area so thankfully we tempted him away from the rides with promises of swimming and splashing because, frankly, i couldn't take any more rides.

mama and christian on the train, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

my favorite ride is the train. you get the wonderful breeze, some shade, and yes, my favorite - sitting down - and its something we can all go on. (what, you are surprised i didn't bring a 9 week old baby on the pirate boat ride?)

daddy and drew on the train, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

all in all, we had a great day. even christian slept. although, he looks like he's making an obscene gesture here.

thank goodness he slept for a while, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

maybe that's because i didn't let him on the pirate ride.

stay with me baby, i've got plans for you.

6 years ago, i woke up on august 16th after only about an hour-and-a-half of sleep. it wasn't nerves, or, maybe it was. i drank peppermint tea at the recommendation of my sister and sat on my couch doing fill-in puzzles. my house was full with shiny new things.

my sisters arrived and helped me into the white dress. hair curled. make-up applied.

we drive in a big white limousine to the church. as i wait for my big walk i lean back because i think they can see me. my daddy thinks i am going to faint.

i cry because i forgot my mom's handkerchief from when she married my dad. my sisters overwhelm me with "it's ok, don't worry" so i forget that i was starting to tear up.

i walk down the aisle and my life is changed with a vow and a kiss.

i wake up on sunday, august 16th, 6 years later. it is early. my wee baby needs some milkies and i am at his call. i am able to go back to sleep shortly before the sounds of my house wake me up.

i don't get into a white dress and i don't walk down a big aisle. i do, however, look around me and see the smiles of the ones i love.

6 years means ups and downs; happy times and sad times; big purchases; vacations; new jobs; disappointments; joyful days; sick days; surgeries; births; laughter.

6 years means 6 autumns, 6 winters, 6 springs, 6 summers. 6 birthdays (oh, how i love birthdays.) 6 chances to experience each year and all that it holds over, and over again.

6 years spent with the one i love.

and it all began with a kiss.

we're taking off, we're dancing now.

2+ years old., originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

andrew, you are now over two years old. you had a great birthday, by the way. you attacked your cake and the cupcakes early in the morning. that was my fault, because i kept telling you that your birthday was coming and that you would get to eat cake. you assumed that the cake on the counter was for you to automatically eat. with your bare hands. in my clean kitchen.

anyhow, you have grown to be what i like to call a spazz. i tell my grandma that you are mischievous and she tells me that no, you are busy. i actually really like that word, busy, because it describes you to a T. you are not bad, but you are so curious that you get yourself into trouble.

you are all for trying new things with climbing and swimming and all the things little boys like to do. when we go to a new park, you climb to the highest point. but then you show yourself to be a little two-year-old and ask for mama to get you down. you're not too big a fan of slides, just yet.

your vocabulary exploded just about the time your brother was born. you started saying words all over the place, and now we can't get you to shut up. in fact, we like your ability to tell us what you want. we're not too big a fan of you shouting POOP when we are out in public. although, shouting ice cream! ME! at friendly's the other day was pure genius. anything to get our food faster.

you can count to ten and you are learning your colors. you give us a hard time eating your food, but hey, who doesn't? you can put your faux-crocs on yourself with a little help as to which shoe goes on which foot. you tried to pick up your brother and you actually succeeded until mama had a heart attack, recovered, and took him from your arms.

needless to say, you are growing up. and i'm excited for all that is to come.

slip and slide on subway grates.

last weekend i headed to brooklyn to meet up with some friends. bringing a baby along is not the easiest thing, but when you are the only food supply for the wee one you can't be separated for long.

traveling man, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

thankfully he behaved and didn't give me a hard time at all. and i now can say that i nursed my baby in a donut factory. which is pretty awesome.

brooklyn bridge. , originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

it was hot, and i was sweaty and tired from all the walking, but it was a really great day. i can say i'm so glad that i did go - there were times when i thought that i was crazy for even attempting it and that i should just stay home - but then i thought to myself that i would regret not going.

and if christian ends up at all like his big brother, this is the only time he'll be able to go into a big city until he's in his mid-teens. and by then i won't want him to be around me anyway.

sit back and wave through the daylight.

most days, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

my sister and i have a saying that i stole from someone's blog a while back - at the park by 11. when i first became a stay-at-home mom, the stay at home part hit me hard. i was tired and would go back to sleep after hubby was up with the baby. i just was overwhelmed. and so, that saying means, get yourself together and get out of the house. don't get caught up in cleaning, tv, internet - whatever. get yourself showered, dressed, and out the door. do something.

i've had to remind myself of that lately. with a little wee one and a toddler, my mornings are busy and i was finding myself showered at 2pm. one day it was at 8:30pm that i finally showered and it was then that i said that's it. that could not happen again.

so i've been in the shower in the morning, and dressed and ready for the day by 11. i don't go out every day although i try to at least go in the backyard the other days.

and most days, even though my hair air dries and my shirt is too tight and it usually has a stain on it, i feel better. i need that, just to get through each day.

at last.

i've driven past a sign for the past 9 months. starting out at once a month, then every other week, and at the end of those long months, once a week. i tried to take a picture today with my camera phone, but alas, driving and picture taking isn't cool and so, we are picture-less.

this drive was to a neighboring town where my midwives office is located. at first, i found myself annoyed at the drive - further than my previous doctor's office. then as my pregnancy continued, we found out that we were expecting a boy, and my belly grew, and my excitement along with it.

this sign barely hit my radar at first. i had a name i'd picked out with hubby, but was beginning to think that i wanted to choose something else. i'd chosen another name, and kept it in my head, not sharing it at first. waiting for that perfect moment to ask him to consider this name.

then one day, as i drove home from a visit, i suddenly paid attention to this street sign and saw the name of the road i was driving under. Christian Rd. it was at that moment that i just knew that this was the right name. and so for weeks i passed this sign, knowing that what i was doing - the effort i was putting into something that, seemingly unimportant to others - was important to me. my baby's name was right there, every time, reminding me - you can hold out. you don't want to regret anything.

and so, on june 17, early on a wednesday morning, i drove by that sign for the last time with my baby still inside. i was excited, anxious, nervous, feeling the contractions that told me that it was happening.

i had put a lot of work into this - eating a special diet, exercise, and researchresearchresearch. my work did pay off, just not in the way i had expected or hoped for. i held my baby in my arms later on that day. i saw his sweet face, his beautiful eyes, his orlowski nose, and i knew that it was right. that this is what my work was for.

i made a difficult decision to depart from what my plans had intended, because, well, plans don't always work out.

life is that way. but one plan did work out - my little sweet baby.


christian hewitt-richard orlowski
june 17, 2009
9 lbs. 4oz. 22 inches

Mommy and Christian, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.