Kari Weaver

Lily is Five months old today!

2009-10-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Today Lily turns five months old!! She is such a sweet and happy baby. She loves to be tickled on her ribs and on her neck...she lets out a huge laugh. She loves to watch her older sister (Audrey) and older brother (Jack) run around the house...she laughs at that too. There is rarely a time when she is not happy! (I need to take a moment to say Thanks to God for that)

A bit about Lily's name. Dave and I had four names chosen prior to heading to the hospital. Well actually I had four names, Dave had two, maybe three. They were Emma, Lily, Brooke, and Charlotte. Dave's favorites were, in order, Emma and Lily....and maybe (a big maybe) Brooke. My favorites were, in order, Emma, Brooke, Lily, and Charlotte. Right before we had her we decided Emma was too popular, it had been since the early 2000's, and so we took that off the table. We then decided we would wait until we met her to decide on her name. We wanted to see her and find out if a name jumped out at us.

So when she was first born I spent my time looking at her, saying all of the names out loud, seeing if she reacted. Nothing really HAPPENED...she sort of responded to Brooke, but she could have just as easily been responding to her new surroundings. Day two...she was looking like a Brooke to me. I was about 80% sure we were going to name her Brooke (we even said as much to our family). When I told Dave that I thought she was a Brooke, he didn't say no, but he didn't say, "OK, that sounds great!!!". He was very...I can't even think of how to put it...just non-attached to the name. So, with his response, I thought we should wait another day to see if she still looked like a Brooke to me. Day three...I still thought she looked like a Brooke, but I was now only 40% sure it was the right name...Dave still hadn't responded with a resounding, "Yes, that's a great name for her", like I was waiting for him to do. Had he eagerly jumped on board with the name, she would be Brooke today.

Day four...we left the hospital WITHOUT naming her. The woman who manages collecting the information for the birth certificate and social security card told us we had until Friday, three more days, to decide and get back to her. Otherwise we would have to file the paperwork ourselves.

We got home and on day five Dave said, "I'm tired of calling her Baby Girl", we need to name her. But still, we couldn't decide. Finally somewhere between day five and day six, we were leaning towards Lily. That was Dave's second choice. I did like the name, but I still was waiting for some ah-ha moment when something spoke to me and said. "her name should be XYZ". That never really happened, so on day seven we (or should I say me, Dave was sold on Lily by then), chose Lily.

You might ask, why didn't we name her Lily Brooke or Brooke Lily? Well the answer is, I gave Audrey my middle name, which is Yvette, and I wanted Lily to have the same middle name. No favorites in my house! Plus, it's something the girl's share with me...aside from something little like GENETICS. Ha-Ha!

So after sharing the story of how we named Lily, I have a confession. Recently I have been thinking more and more that Lily she be named Brooke. I told Dave my thought and I also mentioned changing her name. He completely thought I was nuts and said, "no way"! But I still can't stop thinking that I should have gone with the first name that came to me after meeting her, Brooke. Oh well, without Dave's support I won't do a thing. But, I did write about it in the journal I am keeping for her (I keep one for all of the kids) and if SHE chooses to change her name, I will support her.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2009-10-15T09:25:00.001-07:00

Ahhh, sweet relief! It's been so long since we have had rain in Los Angeles. I want to say that the last time we had rain was in January or February of this year. And even then, it was a short rainy season. We have been desperate for rain. The entire state actually. So desperate in fact that we are on a mandated water conservation.

But finally, after suffering through several major fires, we received rain for two straight days. I LOVE rain. I love the way it sounds when it hits various objects (roofs, windows, metal, etc.). I love the way it smells. And I especially love that it nourishes life. Including our life, from drinking water to watering the crops so we have food!

I think my kids love rain too. It was a new experience for Jack. Now that he's older and understands more and takes in more of his surroundings...this was something new to his senses. He wanted to touch anything that was rained on...including our dirty car. Ha-Ha.

Audrey, who has remembered her earlier rain experiences, was taking this current rainy visit from a completely different point of view...more from a Fashionista position. She wanted a rain coat, rain boots and umbrella. So on the evening of the first rainy day, we went shopping. Both Audrey and Jack fell in love with their Hello Kitty and Thomas the Train (respectively) rain gear. So much in fact that they wore the entire outfit, open umbrella and all, through the entire length of the mall and out to our car. Ha-Ha. Kids are cute!

Now all Audrey wants to do is wear her rain boots and carry her umbrella in the house. Jack on the other hand would much prefer to use his umbrella as a weapon.

No rain today...and it looks like we may not see rain any time soon (January and February are our normal rainy months), but when we do I will be in heaven and the kids will be ready!!

Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

So here I stand on my soapbox sharing my opinion...

I am so tired of the media. All I have heard since yesterday's announcement that President Obama recieved the Nobel Peace Prize is that he was undeserving, that it's a "controversial honor for a leader just nine months in office". The media (LA Times, Cable talk shows such as FOX, etc.) know that the only way to sell themselves is if they sell the story, which is most often negative, fear based, or down right untruthful.

I am pleased that President Obama recieved this award. Has he done everything that he has set out to do as President? Surely not, he has only been in office for "nine months". But has he changed the course of our country from a fear based group of peoples who see the external (and sometimes internal) world as Terrorists who are out to get us Americans? Yes! Has he worked to mend relationships around the world? Yes! Has he worked to close Guantanamo Bay and therefore raise our opinion in the world? Yes! Does he have more to do as President? Yes!

But I look to you, fellow Americans, to read directly from the Norwegian Nobel Committe (http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/home/announce-2009/ or see below) why they chose President Obama and in turn the Americans who elected him (and even those that did not, but that support the reason for him being awareded the prize) and make up your own mind as to whether he (and we) deserves this award.

As President Obama stated, it is "a call to all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. This award must be shard with eveyone who strives for justice and dignity."

So YOU decide, don't let the media decide for you....

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges." Oslo, October 9, 2009

Mommy, I'm Pregnant

2009-10-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my four year old daughter and I were taking a potty break together at home. I happened to be in the middle of a visit from my monthly "friend" and before I had a chance to think about it my daughter looked up at me with a horrified look on her face. Oh my, what have I done..I tried to come up with an explanation as quickly as I could. Given that I never thought I would be having this conversation when my daughter was so young I decided to explain it like this, "Honey, Mommies' bodies do this so that they can get pregnant with a little baby." OK, not the best explanation, but hello I only had seconds.

She then looked at me with an even more horrified face, as if to say, "Are you pregnant AGAIN?" Realizing that she was worried that she might be getting yet one more sibling that would take away even more time from her time with Mommy and Daddy I quickly came up with, "But Honey, Mommies' bodies only do this when they are NOT pregnant, when we are pregnant, we don't do this anymore."

Ah, a sigh of relief, I feel as if I did a decent job explaining it given that, a) my daughter is only four and, b) I came up with this explanation on the spot.

The very next day I am in the bathroom while my daughter is going to the potty and when she steps down from the potty she looks at me and says, "Mommy, I'm pregnant!!!" I stared at her blankly for a split second, then realized that she thought she was pregnant because her body was not getting a visit from her monthly "friend". I couldn't believe that it was still on her mind and she was making the connection. So once again I had some explaining to do.

"Oh Sweetie, you are too young to have that happen. It is only for women. You will not have that happen to your body for a long time."

I walked away from this situation with these lessons, that my daughter is very observant and I need to get up to speed on how I'm going to explain all of life's "mysteries". ; )

Welcome to my Blog

2009-10-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking of blogging for a year or more. Not because I'm a talented writer like my friend Jenny Rough (who turned me on to blogging), but because I like to jot down my thoughts and on occasion share it with the world (or at least my family and friends).

Most often I will write about my children, Audrey (4), Jack (2) and Lily (4 months) as they are the loves of my life...oh, and they occupy almost every minute of my life since I am a stay-at-home Mom. HA-HA! But I will also share my thoughts related to a variety of other topics as well.

So to be clear this will be an unfiltered, first draft form...grammar errors an all! If I had to take the time to make my posts perfect...well, there wouldn't be any posts.

Hope you enjoy!