Bath Time with Bebe and Gogo

I have not posted anything for a while... lots going on with the change of seasons and prepping for the newest Thomas family member. But tonight's conversation with Shilo was too precious, too classic and too hysterical to not share. Of course being her mother, I do think she has a great sense of humor and a one of a kind imagination and tonight's bath time conversation proves just that.

I must explain that during this entire conversation Shilo would interject requesting various "hair products" for Bebe and Gog's (IE her Barbies) hair. She would soak, massage, blow dry (with her invisible blow dryer) and then rinse and repeat. This conversation and Barbie Spa Treatment lasted about 30 minutes.



Here is how it went:

Shilo: Um we need to wash Bebe's hair, she has some glue in it, um can you please hand me some of that "Breve" (pointing to the shampoo) so I can soak her hair?

Mama: Breve, now what exactly is breve?

Shilo: Well um we use this to get the glue out of her hair. See all the glue (showing me barbie or excuse me Bebe's hair)in her hair? We need to massage in the breve to get the glue out.

Mama: So this breve, how much is a bottle of that? I mean I am asking because sometimes I get glue in my hair and I hadn't realized that there was such a product to get glue out of your hair.

Shilo: Um well it's like, $40 dollars for one bottle.

Mama: Wow $40 dollars and how long does something like that last? I mean $40 is a lot of money and I want to make sure that it will last a long time if I am going to spend that kind of money.

Shilo: Well it should last you like 40 weeks.

Shilo now moves onto rinsing out Bebe'e hair.

Mama: So you are doing a great job on her hair, is this part of a spa package that you offer because it seems to me that you are doing more than just getting the glue out with the massaging and now the soaking.

Shilo: Um yes, it's part of the spa package that I have. It's really great for your hair.

Mama: And how much does the spa package cost?

Shilo: Oh it's just like $40, its not very much

Mama: So the Breve shampoo cost the same as the spa package?

Shilo: Um yeah, it's just like $40 for both.

Mama: And how long is the spa treatment?

Shilo: Um it's about 27 minutes long.

Mama: 27 minutes for the entire spa treatment?

Shilo: Yes 27 minutes but you have to come back three times.

Mama: Oh really, 3 different times, how come?

Shilo: Well, because you can't really do this all at once. I mean, Bebe is gonna soak here for a week while I do Gogo's hair now. She has to let the "Leve" (the conditioner that she put in Bebe's hair while we have been having our conversation) soak in to really make sure her hair is nice and beautiful.

Mama: So um, the three day treatment is only $40?

Shilo: Yes it's $40.

Mama: Do you pay that up front or when you are done with the treatment?

Shilo: Oh um, you pay before the treatment.

Mama: Does that include a tip?

Shilo: Um no, the tip is not included, you pay that at the end. And that is like $500.

Mama: $500 for a tip.

Shilo: Well yeah, I mean it takes three times! (with hands waving in the air)

Mama: Well, I don't know, I might have to think about that I mean $500 is a lot for tip.

Shilo: Well yeah but its totally worth it.

We then moved on to provide the same spa treatment for Gogo who also had glue in her hair.

I honestly wish I could document and write down every thing that Shilo says and does. She constantly has us laughing, keeping us on our toes and realizing what life truly is about...its the little moments. I can try and put these moments into words, though the words can't truly express the moment that we may have had but, at least we can remember these moments as she continues to grow bigger and bigger every day keeping us entertained and amazing us with her beautiful mind.

In Shilo's Own Words

Well as my belly continues to grow bigger the question of how and when the baby will come out has come up. Those of you that know Shilo know she is just like her mama, likes to know EVERY detail, asks a lot of questions until she is satisified with the answers given and does not miss one single little detail.

So, based on our numerous conversations about the day "her baby" will come, here is her story, in her own words:


Dada will take mama to the hospital. Mama will put on some cozies so she is cozy (she interjects with, hey that's the same word) and then she will lay in a bed. Dada will put on a cozy outfit too so him and mama are matchy match. Dada and mama both have to wear special hats so their hair is not in their face. Mamas baby doctor, Dr. Zimmer (yes she knows his name) will come in to see mama and ask mama if she is ready to see the baby. Mama will say yes. Dada will take mama into a special baby room and they will put a big blanket over mama's tummy. I will not be in the baby room, its just for mama's and dada's. I will wait patiently outside. Next, Dr. Zimmer will come in and with special baby tools he will take the baby out of mama's tummy. Dada will clean off my baby and will wrap her (cause she insists its a girl) in a blanket and then dada will come and get me and will give me my baby so I can hold her.

And there you have it, the story of how Shilo's baby will enter the world! Sounds simple enough right?

Tiny Dancer

I remember when I was a little girl, I loved the staples: barbies, babies and princesses. Seems to me that those are just the staples in the life of growing up "girl". Its kind of funny too because having a daughter of my own, I have watched her fall in love with these same things and I can honestly say, it has not been because of anything that Ian or I have pushed on her. We never even guided her in that direction, it just seems to naturally happen. So we have approx 7 barbies (both princess and non princess), 8 babies, and some princess attire to get us through our day to day love of the girl necessities.

Well in addition to these favorites, Shilo has another love, dancing or shall I say ballet. Last year we took a mommy and me ballet class together for 8 weeks. It was every Sunday for 30 minutes and it basically taught the little ones about balance, body awareness, movement, and following instructions. It was a lot of fun and Shilo loved that she got to wear a tutu and ballet slippers. Although it was hilarious at the same time because a year ago she was still so little and I could tell not really ready for anything more advanced than the basics that a mommy and me class provided. So, the class ended, and we decided we would wait a while before we re-enrolled to see if it was something she would want to do again or if that was all she would be interested in. We moved on to swimming.

Well, it seemed ballet was something that she really attached to. She would mention it all the time and would even call herself a "ballerina" when she was doing some of her moves or singing her cute "Cris Cross Apple Sauce" song. For me, I was happy to know she enjoyed it and that it was a positive and fun memory she held onto but honestly didn't really think it would go much further than that. I mean I had planned on signing her up again at some point but we had so many other things to try out in the meantime. However, Shilo had other plans. As her birthday started approaching and we started talking about what she wanted for her birthday she was consistent about one thing, "ballet". It was all she could talk about... ballet, ballet, ballet.

I started to look into the ballet options for her age group and there weren't really any more mommy and me classes, it would be a full blown dance class with an instructor and a recital at the end and everything. And more important, it was a class that the mamas were not allowed to stay and even watch (uh oh) it was a drop off and I will be back situation. I was a bit hesitant with this scenario as standardly Shilo is pretty shy and needs some time to adjust to new people and places. But, the girl kept talking about BALLET. So, after several consistent weeks of the Cris Cross Apple Sauce song, the tutu's just because and the question of "mama can I do ballet" I figured it was probably worth a shot. So when Uncle John and Auntie Randa called to see what Shilo wanted for her birthday I told Auntie Randa all about ballet, it didn't take much convincing for Auntie Randa and Uncle John to set it all up and get Shilo signed up for her first "official" big girl ballet class.

You can imagine her excitement when we told her that Auntie Randa and Uncle John got her ballet for her birthday. It was all she could think about, it was all she could talk about and to make it all even more exciting, grandpa and grandma sent her a brand new tutu and a ballet case for ballet slippers! It was all a dream come true! The only problem... her birthday was in March and ballet didn't start until June. I can only imagine how long those three months must have seemed for Shilo cause they seemed like a lifetime to me - ha!

But, the time finally came, it was "ballet week" and the anticipation and excitement were unforgettable. I will say, watching your children love something so much and knowing that you helped make what they love so much become possible (either directly or indirectly) is truly one of the best gifts a parent can ever receive.

On Wednesday morning Shilo woke up at 5:30 AM SO excited to get ready for ballet and to put her new leather ballet slippers on with her pink ballet tights and her new leotard. She could not wait to spin in her new tutu and put her hair up like a "real ballerina", it was literally all she could stand to wait until... 10 AM!!! Poor girl had to wait 4 1/2 hours before she could actually go to her class. But she did. She waited patiently, and she waited patiently the entire time in her beautiful ballet outfit.

On the way to her class I reminded Shilo that mama would drop her off and she would be with Miss Sue and all the other little girls but that mama would be right outside and then when the class was over, Miss Sue would open the door and then mama would come in and get her. I kept watching her from the rear view mirror her eyes fixed on her new leather ballet shoes not listening to a word I was saying and I will admit, I was a bit nervous about how all this might go because the instructions explicitly say, we are to drop our children off and then pick them up, they do not want parent distractions, and I so did not want to be the mom with the kid who decides to completely flip out at the thought of me leaving her ballet class.

So, we get to the class, we get out of the car and walk into a room filled with other little tiny dancers all dressed and ready to go and one teacher, Miss Sue who is responsible for my little girl for the next 45 minutes. So I walk Shilo up to the stage where they all sit and wait for class to begin and I point out who Miss Sue is and then I begin to remind her of where I will be and before I can even finish my thought, Shilo grabs my hand and looks at me with those beautiful big brown eyes and says, "its okay mama, you can go, I will be brave." And with that, my little girl has officially become a big girl and more importantly a beautiful ballerina.

Dear Pull Up Fairy...

"Dear Pull Up Fairy, hi, my name is Shilo Valentine Thomas and I am 3 years old. I love you. I am such a big girl, I wanted to tell you that I don't wear pull ups anymore. I stay dry all night long and use the potty every day like a big girl. I also wanted to tell you that I am going to be a big sister soon and I will teach my baby brother or sister how to go potty too. Thank you, Shilo Thomas"

This was left next to Lil Miss Shilo's bed on Friday night. We have been talking about the pull up fairy for some time now. She is magical you know. She comes in the middle of the night, when girls and boys are all done with pull ups and she takes all your pull ups away since you don't need them anymore, and sometimes she will leave a special gift in their place. But, she will only come when you tell her you are all done with pull ups and you are ready for her to take them away kind of like the tooth fairy will only come if you have a tooth under your pillow, no pressure, just when you are ready.

So the day finally came and Shilo said she was ready to write her letter to the pull up fairy and so we did. She was so proud and excited to finally be able to write this note, almost as excited as when she sent her letter to Santa this last year. She asked all the same questions too as we put her to bed on Friday night, will we see the pull up fairy, how will she get in the house, will Dori see her?

When Shilo woke up on Saturday morning she was elated to see that magic really did happen. Next to her bed was a special note from the pull up fairy and a little gift just for her.

Her note read, "Dear Shilo, congratulations! What a big girl you are. No more pull ups... terrific! I'm so happy to hear you're going to be a big sister too. I kjnow you will be a super helper and teach your baby many things. I've left behind a couple of your favorite things for doing such a great job staying dry at night. Keep up the good work Shilo! Love, the pull up fairy."

With this very special note was some new princess undies, pink nailpolish and some new sparkle jelly shoes! With a huge smile on her face and a look of wonder and surprise, she ran into our room and yelled, "the pull up fairy came, she saw my note, she left me some new jellies and princess undies and pink nailpolish, how did she know?" The answer was simple, Because she is magical!

And Baby Makes 4!

13 weeks along and so far, everything looks good! Our lil bean has a very strong heart beat and according to the ultra sound today the little bean is also quiet active. Not a big shock, as I do remember Shilo being the exact same way. Never staying still and well, here she is, 3 years old and what do you know, the girl still does not stay still! But I would not have it any other way.

So most of you already know but for those that don't this little baby is an actual miracle for us. In September of 2008 I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure or POF. What exactly is that you may ask, cause I asked myself the same thing well, a simple explanation is menopause at 30 - AHHH!!! This, was not something that I was prepared for. I mean, I was only 30 and its usually hereditary. But, I was one of the few (the 10% few to be exact) that happened to just be a carrier and so despite the fact that my mom had never had this problem didn't matter, I did. I was told that I would only have a 6% chance of getting pregnant naturally or otherwise and that if it didn't happen, I would need to consider egg donation, adoption or well, the simple fact that we would only have our lil miss.

Needless to say, we were devastated, shocked, and heartbroken, never in a million years did I ever expect to be hit with something like that. I thought maybe my hormones were out of wack or something, they would give me some clomid and we could call it could but menopause, are you kidding me! But the icing on the cake of it all was after several blood tests and ultra sounds the news that I actually only had a few eggs left and of those eggs left, they were not certain how many were even viable eggs AND I only had one good ovary! So at this point I was thinking, anything else?!

So once we digested all of this info, and it was a lot to digest, we decided that we would explore all options. I will never forget the fertility specialist asking me what it was that I wanted out of all of this and I clearly remember saying, "I just can't imagine that I will never have another baby." He looked at me and smiled and said we will try all of our options, stay positive and see what happens.

So we did just that... we tried two rounds of fertility treatments. I felt like a human pin prick - blood draws twice a week, ultra sounds twice a week and injections once a week. Then you wait. You buy a pregnancy test, you pee on a stick and you start all over. After two times I was already exhausted and thought to myself can I really do this. But we decided yes, let’s try one more time. But this time we were going to do a daily injection to stimulate ovulation and hope that that would work. We spent everything we had on this little box of injections and I remember sitting at the doctor’s office right before Christmas talking about when we would start the injections and how the whole process would work, and I asked him, "what are the chances of me getting pregnant this way?" He looked at me, and I was crying, and I can only imagine how hard his job must be sometimes and he said, "its in the single digits, its not good. And if it doesn't work, then most likely it won't ever work and we will need to explore the egg donation option. But let’s stay positive." I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest, It (for me) was the most devastating news I had ever heard. I felt so discouraged and sad. Ian and I went home that night and I remember telling him that I was not giving up and that we were going to have a baby, but that I did not think it was going to happen through fertility treatments, I told him I wanted to try it on our own for a while, get through the holidays and then explore acupuncture.

Well we got through the holidays and nothing was happening. But I was in such a different space, I think I had finally accepted that maybe I was only meant to have one. I wasn't crying anymore when I had heard of other people getting pregnant or having babies. I didn't cry when I saw commercials on TV for babies or about babies. I had Shilo, and she is an amazing, beautiful perfect little girl and if that was all I was going to get then it was okay by me. That I can tell you was not an easy place to get to, but after 5 months, eventually I made it there.

I did however still want to explore acupuncture if for no other reason to help with my hormone balance since clearly things were not working well on their own and I did not want to necessarily have to take some sort of medication every day in order for it all to work. Plus deep down, I had accepted our fate, but still was hopeful about that 6% chance that it may happen someday, miraculously. So, on Feb 12th I had my first acupuncture treatment. It was amazing, she was so positive and it was all so relaxing. I was given a bunch of Chinese herbs to take, a moxa stick and a short list of instructions. I followed everything to a T, I was a very good student and I felt great, no stress, no pressure, just relaxed. After 3 weeks worth of treatments I remember laying on the bed getting a treatment from Kathy and we were discussing how I was feeling and what was going on and she said to me that in eastern medicine, the people believe that your body regulates to a new moon and so getting pregnant during a new moon is a good thing. And she also said to me, and if you get pregnant during this new moon, you will have a Christmas baby. I remember lying there thinking that would be so neat but also kind of thinking, I have a 6% chance… what are the chances? Well it turns out she was right! Our little bean was conceived one week after that conversation, during the new moon in March, the same month our little miss turned 3! Amazing!

We did not find out about it until Monday April 6th. I decided to take a pregnancy test. I had been working out like crazy, eating super healthy and was not losing a pound. Plus I was tracking my temperature and it had been above 98 for 13 days so, much like when I found out I was pregnant with Shilo… I went upstairs, didn’t say a thing to Ian, took a test, and there it was, a pink plus sign! I took another one, and there it was, another pink plus sign! All I could think was OMG, this is not real, no way, wait OMG, its positive! I walked downstairs with the test and Ian was talking to Shilo and with complete Shock I looked at him and said, “I think I am pregnant” - he looked at me shocked, the same way he did when I told him I was pregnant with Shilo and we have all three been on cloud 9 ever since! We are truly a lucky family and this baby, truly is a miracle that Ian, Shilo and I will love, treasure and cherish every single day!

The sun has come for a visit!

Ahhh the beautiful Pacific NW, the Evergreen State... well its also a state where we get lots and lots and lots and lots of rain! But, the sun does come for a visit a few months out of the year and when it does, it makes that very long winter well worth the wait! And a long winter it was. We had a very cold, snowy, rainy winter this year, it felt like it lasted forever. Just a few weeks ago we were still down in the low 40's during the day, and it was May so needless to say, the last few weekends of 70 degree weather has been absolutely amazing and very much appreciated! Us being true Southern Californians, when the sun is out, the bathing suits are on, the sunblock is lathered on and the mini pool and the beers (plus O'Douls) are flowing. Like the song says, "I wanna soak up the sun, I want my forty-five on so I can rock on!"



The sun also wakes up all of our gardens and it truly is a beautiful site to see your yard transform from brown and bare to truly lush and filled with the brightest pinks, purples, yellows, and greens I have ever seen. In April Shilo and I planted our veggie garden in preparation for the spring/summer season and we are starting to see all of our little veggies sprout through. This year we have sugar snap peas, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, chives, cucumber, rosemary and Shilo's favorite, Sunflowers. In addition to that we are able to benefit from what has already been here for years past: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mint, pears, Plums and the best for last, cherries! We are looking forward to watching our garden continue to grow and as the weeks pass, the afternoons when we are growing hungry for a little sweet snack we can simply pick something fresh from our very own backyard!

Plum Tree



Sugar Snap Peas


Strawberries


Shilo's Sunflowers

Dori makes it all better

For most of you Dori is a name you hear almost as often as you hear Shilo when we talk about our family and that is because Dori is just that, family. We got Dori girl 6 months before Shilo was born and despite the "fear" many had, we never questioned it one bit. Dori may be a "Pitbull" to most but to us she has always been our Dori Girl, our pitiful pittbull. I knew from the start Dori would be an amazing dog. For one, I knew my big brother would have never given me a dog that would not have been a great dog for my family but there was something about Dori and her curious, cute little head tilt that just told me she would be the best dog for our family. Well that has turned out to be truer than true, 3 1/2 years later, she not only is the greatest dog you could ever have, but she is Shilo's best friend. Her side kick, her playmate, her comfort, her everything. There isn't a momentous (or even minimal) occasion that Dori girl has not been a part of spanning from bringing Shilo home when she was first born, her first birthday, first steps, to making the 24 hour drive to Seattle keeping Shilo company in the backseat and the newest attraction, watching Shilo brush her teeth nightly She is more than a dog, to us, she is another person in our home. Like most family members, we have many names for her too: Dori Girl, Stinky, Dori T, D, Doris and most recently added, Claude for her ever so graceful trips and falls up and down the stairs. But tonight was one of those moments when I realized just how amazing the relationship between Shilo and Dori really is. Ian had soccer tonight but unusual to most Monday nights, he came home before his game so we could all have dinner together, and he could give Shilo a bath. It was a nice surprise for Shilo (and I) and we enjoyed the hour or so we had with Ian before he left. When he left, Shilo raced downstairs to say goodbye and close the door and then we raced immediately upstairs to our bedroom, pulled up the blinds and watched and waved as "daddy" drove away. Suddenly, Shilo looked at me with tears in her eyes and says, "mama, I didn't give daddy a big smoocheroo!" She was instantly upset and just kept explaining that she wanted daddy to come home so she could give him a smoocheroo. I picked her up and sat her on my lap, I hugged her and explained to her that daddy would be home soon and that when he got home he would give her a big smoocheroo. She just kept crying, tears streaming down her face, so sad that she didn't give daddy a kiss. I made one last attempt and asked her, "what about if you give daddy two kisses tomorrow morning when you wake up?" To which the reply sobbing was still, "no mama, I want him to come home." Finally I realized my ideas were not making it better so I said, "Honey I know you are very sad. I am so sorry you are sad. But daddy loves you and he will give you big kisses when he gets home. But, I know that does not make it better now so what will make it better now?" Shilo looked at me with those big brown eyes and calmly said, "Dori will. Can you call her mama?" So of course I did and Dori, as usual came bouncing up the stairs, tail wagging happy to oblige. I explained to Dori that Shilo was sad over not being able to give daddy a kiss and that she needed some love. To this, Dori, on her own accord, nudged over to Shilo, gave her a huge kiss on her face to which Shilo smiled and then wrapped her arms around her furry friends neck with a huge smile. Dori sat accomodating Shilo's needs and it was back to business as usual. Dori girl makes it all better!

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