When I was 15, a guy who could play guitar was sexy.
When I was 20, a guy who could make me laugh was sexy.
Now that I'm 32...
a guy who can multitask is the sexiest man alive!!!
Happy Father's Day, Jakob.
Happy Father's Day
Ruby Zuzu - One Month Old
Dear Ruby,
You made it through the first month. Congrats to both of us.
You're a healthy gal, but you spit up a lot. You also fart quite a bit, too. We dress you up like a pretty, pretty princess and then witness you puking and barfing on everyone as they talk about how gorgeous you are.
You fooled me. I thought you were quiet. Not so. Three weeks on the planet and you decided to show your true colors. Now I know that the day I pushed you out, I released the Kraken. 
You stick out your tongue. You're very strong. You're already holding your head up. You grab onto my hair and clench your fist with the tenacity of a pit bull with lockjaw. Momma's precious angel.
You're an amazing human being. I'm going to say that to you every day of your life.
I love you, Ruby Zuzu.
Xoxo,
Mom
Birthday Buzz
This past Sunday we had a birthday party for Cooper.
The theme: Toy Story. Of course. 
Since Coop is always running around in his Buzz Lightyear wings, I thought it would be fun to have Jakob come out as Evil Emperor Zurg (Buzz Lightyear's arch nemesis).
To make Zurg's appearance all the more exciting, I filled up 50 water balloons and distributed them among the party guests. This way we could all thwart Zurg together!
NOTE: I constructed Zurg's costume entirely out of whatever I found around the home (file folders, trash bags, tin foil). Having a newborn to care for did not leave a tremendous amount of prep time. 
Check out the video of Cooper and friends defeating Zurg:
I love when Cooper gets the hose. He's a man of action!
I also love my husband. Thanks, Jakob, for participating in my "Parenthood," inspired vision. 
Here's the cake I stayed up way too late making the night before. 
Cooper saw it and said, "Yay! Now I want a Slinky the Dog cake and a Rex the Dinosaur cake and a Mr. Potato Head cake and, and, and..." I kindly said, "This ain't Ace of Cakes, kid. This is what ya got. Eat it. And like it."
I'm not sure who had more fun, Cooper or all us aged hipster thirty-somethingers. Give people water balloons and cake and you will inspire smiles. 
It was a spectacular celebration and a great end to Memere's stay with us.
Happy Birthday, Cooper White!
Cooper Turns 4
Yesterday was Coop's 4th birthday.
He awoke at 6:00am, crawled into my bed and watched 'Follow That Bird' with Ruby and I. Then we all ate blueberry pancakes with whipped cream. Cooper dipped each piece of bacon in the whipped cream before scarfing it down.
Daddy had offered to take Coop to an amusement park or Sea World for his birthday, but he wanted a play date with Violet instead. Jakob joked that Coop has already blown off his old man to spend time with a girlfriend.
We're having an official birthday party on Sunday, but I made a small Woody cake to mark the actual b-day. (What cake will I make on Sunday? HINT--he's a space ranger.)
When Violet arrived, Coop rushed to the front yard and screamed her name through the hedges. "Violet! You're here! I can't wait to see you! I love you!"
Little did he know that Violet was yelling back from her car, "Cooper, I want to hug you!"
He adores her. Just look at this glance across the table.
He got a Super Why costume (pictures to come!) and insisted on getting Violet a Princess Presto costume so they could play Super Why together. I hid tons of letters in the backyard so they could find them. If you don't watch PBS, then you don't know Super Why from Adam and none of this means anything. But if you're in the know, it's freakin' adorable!
Violet gave him an awesome robot making set. They took time building robots, having a tea party, playing store, playing instruments and playing Nintendo Wii. It was a full day.
There were many amazing presents (we WILL be posting Coop modeling the Woody the cowboy towel that Mimi sent. It's hysterical.) and now we're gearing up for Sunday...there are some big surprises ahead! Stay tuned!
Ruby Recap - Week 2
Ruby is a very agreeable baby thus far. 
She hates getting her diaper changed, but other than that she only cries when she's hungry. Her cry is so different from Cooper's when he was an infant. His cry repeated like a schrill stutter over and over again until he was finally appeased. 
Ruby's cry sounds like a bird of prey. She screeches like a hawk. 
If we can get her to cry like a hawk during the day and howl like a wolf at night, we may nickname her Ladyhawk. 
Kate and Sean stopped by before their jaunt to Costa Rica to meet Ruby. 
Sean performed an invaluable service as uncle by wrestling with Cooper while Kate held Ruby Zuzu.
Cooper's taking it all in. This is a tough period of adjustment for him. 
He loves his sister, but does not like when she cries. He's facinated by the whole breastfeeding thing. He really wants to touch her eyes and head. I have to remind him about forty times a day that she is delicate.
There have been some bumps. Yes, he did headbutt a teacher...but she MAY have been asking for it. Law & Order PRESCHOOL UNIT is still looking into it. And he has taken to wearing his old pajamas that do NOT fit anymore:
It's like a Cirque Du Soleil costume. And I'm not sure why he's posing this way, but overall he's been a fantastic kid.
We'll see what next week brings...
Ruby Monday...
We went into the doctor's office on Monday morning thinking to ourselves, "Today could be the day." And it was!
I had the choice of being induced or waiting another week and undergoing a "stress test." NICOLE TRUTH #212: I don't handle "stress" or "tests" well. We opted to get her done that day. GO TEAM WHITE!
We checked into St. Joseph's at 10am. Ruby made her grand entrance into the oxygen breathing world at 7:15pm.
She came out in two pushes. Dr. Han said I made it look easy. That struck me funny since I tend to fret and make things overcomplicated. My daughter's already helping me out.
She came out screaming, but quickly calmed down in Jakob's arms. He's head over heels for her. And he's become a master at swaddling! You've never seen such swaddling. If there was a swaddling team, he'd be captain.
We always liked the name Ruby. It's one of those names that works for both a young girl and an old lady. "Look at cute, little Ruby!" Cut to 80 years later, "That's Old Ruby. She's a firecracker!"
The middle name, Zuzu, is a reference to Frank Capra's classic 1946 film, "It's a Wonderful Life." Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who learns in a time of crisis that one's life touches so many. One of George Bailey's kids in the movie is named Zuzu. I've always loved that name and it happens to be my dad's favorite movie. Since Jakob picked 'Kingsley' for Cooper based on a movie ('The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou') I thought it was only fair that I get to work in Zuzu.
Ruby Zuzu and I were beat. Birthin' be hard. 
She was born with hair. And enormous feet! Seriously, folks, the paws on her are huge. She'll most definitely be an online shoe shopper. 
We made it home late Wednesday. When Cooper met Ruby, he kissed her lightly on the forehead and said, "I love her." I burst into tears. I've never seen siblings meet before. It was the sweetest thing I've ever witnessed. 
Sure, there's ups and downs...but it's a wonderful life.
Hello, Ruby!
Ruby Zuzu White
Born Monday, May 17th 2010 at 7:15am
7 lbs, 11 ounces
20 & 3/4 inches
We're home. We're doing great. We're exhausted. More deets after some sleep...
My Super Cooper
Dear Cooper,
You sister will be arriving any day now. She'll need me a lot. WARNING -- She'll probably fuss and cry and stink. I know you'll love her, but there may be times when she seems like a real pain.
But there will be times when it's awesome! You will be a big brother. That's a lot of responsibility and I know you'll be great at it.
I just wanted to let you know that even if these next few weeks seem nutty and hectic, we'll still play together, paint together, have picnics, blow bubbles, cook pancakes, and sing Yo Gabba Gabba songs. I promise.
You'll always be my #1 son.
Xoxo,
Your mommy.
Girlie Tea Party
On Saturday, we had friends over for a girlie, feathery, glittery, hats on, pinkies out, fancy tea party.
(Not to be confused with the insane people who picket from lawn chairs wearing tricorn hats who call themselves "The Tea Party." Those folks are...well...I haven't used this term since the early 90's, but they're WHACK!)
We just wanted to lounge and tea and tea and lounge...
I laid out some extra hats and accessories in case anyone felt under dressed. We nibbled on gourmet sandwiches with the crusts cut off. We sipped tea and celebrated the upcoming (ANY DAY NOW!!!) arrival of our little girl. 
Thank you so much to everyone who made the day one of the happiest of my life. I mean it. I felt so loved. I felt so happy. That is no small feat when you are THIS PREGNANT. You are all amazing friends. 
I am a little weirded out by the New Improved Rainbow Brite (SO BLONDE!) but I am willing to accept change. That's what being a mom is :)
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