Wednesday, August 29, 2012

First Steps

 I was folding laundry in the bedroom yesterday and lo and behold, I looked down to find Townes taking a few steps all by himself! As I was wondering if this was a fleeting moment or the real thing, my Mom rang the doorbell (she came over for dinner and a walk).

So we went into the living room, she got out her phone, and I thought, what the heck, let's just try again and see what happens. This is what happened! 

 
 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Apostrophe Catastrophe, volume 973

Why are apostrophes so difficult for the general population to understand and use correctly?  And why oh WHY don't companies have more than one proofreader before they name their establishments and have giant signs and window stickers made? 

The name of this store has always bugged me, as well as their hideous fonts and colors, the fact that it's all lower case, and that it ends with an exclamation point.  But it's the apostrophe usage that ticks me off the most:

 
Seriously?!  All that wear for just one kid?  Ugh.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Giving it a TRI


My beautiful and fabulous sister-in-law Chelsi registered for a women-only triathlon (TRIATHAMOM) back in March and began training. She invited family and friends to join her, and I’ll admit that I was intrigued, but it seemed like there were too many obstacles. I don’t own a bike, for one. And where the heck was I supposed to swim? My mom’s condo pool where you have to swim 49 lengths to equal 50 meters?

Then my friend Drea signed up for the very same race that Chelsi was doing, and what can I say? I was peer pressured into it. Our family trip to Sun Valley in early July definitely helped with the training. There were bike paths alllll over (Chamonix let me borrow her sweet bike), 2 pools begging for us to dive into them, and a whole passel of family members ready and waiting to join me on a morning run, an afternoon bike ride and an evening swim. I discovered the secret to making sure you work out HARD every day. It’s very simple: live your life on a permanent Sun Valley vacation with no job, perfect weather, built in babysitters and workout partners. Easy as pie.

After Sun Valley, I didn’t do much more biking or swimming, but I kept up on the running habit: 3 miles, 3-5 times a week. Just so you know, I am NOT a runner.

 
People who can run long distances boggle my mind and hurt my lungs. Seriously, it’s just as hard for me to run 3 miles today as it ever was. The routine part of it does get easier the more often you do it, but the workout itself is just as challenging for me. In fact, the biggest stress of the triathlon for me was definitely the run, particularly running 3 miles AFTER you have swam and biked. So, when I saw that there was a reverse triathlon in Bountiful 2 weeks before Triathamom, I happily signed up. In a reverse tri, you get the run out of the way first, then bike, and end with a nice refreshing dip in the pool.

The Bountiful Triathlon was awesome. I highly recommend it for anyone who’s curious—it’s a GREAT first tri. The run course is fairly flat, and the bike course takes you all the way out to the Legacy Parkway Trail. It was a super fun ride. The swim was a little hectic, just because I got stuck behind a slow swimmer who would NOT let me pass her. It was actually very frustrating to not be able to swim at my full-out and best pace. It was also painful, as she kicked me a few times. Oy vey. All in all though, it was an excellent race and I felt great at the finish line. The only sketchy part was hopping off the bike and running into the pool. It literally felt like my legs were made of JELL-O, and even though it was only a 100-meter run from the transition area to the pool, I felt super awkward, like I was just learning to walk. All I could think was, “Great, Carly, now try doing the ugly, awkward, stiff-legged JELL-O walk for 3 whole miles! Joy!” Here were my times:

Bountiful Triathlon
3.31 mile run - 32:43
Transition 1 - 02:33
11.35 mile bike ride - 45:58
Transition 2 - 01:15
350 yard swim - 09:28
Total time - 1:31:57

Triathamom was out in Kearns at the Oquirrh Park Fitness Center, right by the Olympic Oval—and it was a TOUGH race. It seemed to be advertised as a tri for beginners, but it was definitely a harder course. The fact that it was in the traditional order (swim, bike, run) made it harder for me, but the bike and run courses were hillier and harder than Bountiful as well. They did a staggered start for the swim, where you rank yourself as a 1-5, and swim with people of your same speed. For the swim times they listed, we probably should’ve been 3’s or 4’s, but Chelsi and I decided to rank ourselves as 2’s. It worked out fine and I think we were in the right group for our ability, we probably would’ve even kept up with the 1’s just fine. But we would’ve been hating life if we had gone with the 3’s or 4’s.


Getting on the bike sopping wet was…interesting. But once I started riding, the built-in AC felt very nice. The bike course was two loops, and the big huge hill on the second loop was…interesting. Chelsi and I found each other on the second loop and it was a lot of fun to have someone to ride with.

 
 
 
We finished the bike course together, and then Chelsi beat me out of the transition area and started on the run. Remember the aforementioned JELL-O legs? Um, yeah. Big time. Holy cow. Ouch. To make matters worse, the run course started uphill, on GRASS. The only thing that made me feel better during that first mile was looking ahead and seeing Chelsi taking tiny little steps, and struggling just as hard as I was. If she had just started sprinting with no apparent ailments, I think I might have collapsed and died right then and there.


After the first mile, it did get easier, but I still don’t feel like I was at my best on the run AT ALL. I was concentrating too hard on staying upright to try to go faster. At long last, I made it back to the grass trail and the finish line was in sight. My cute family was there, cheering for me and holding up their awesome homemade signs.



It felt great to finish in a sea of supportive family, and seeing my smiley baby boy was just icing on the cake.



My times reflected the difficulty of the course for sure, but who gives a bleep about times anyway? All I know is that I had a great time, and I only finished like 40 seconds behind super speedy senorita Chelsi. Not bad!

Triathamom
300 yard swim - 9:06
Transition 1 - 02:00
12.68 mile bike ride - 50:25
Transition 2 - 02:00
3.01 mile run - 34:31
Total time - 1:38:00

The best part of the whole experience, besides the feeling at the finish line, was the fact that it gave me something to work out FOR. I love exercising, but sometimes it is so hard to find the time and motivation to be consistent at it. On those mornings where I really didn’t want to get up and run, it really helped to say “You are training for a triathlon, you’d better get yo butt outta bed, girl!” I’m doing another one in November, so hopefully that will keep me in the groove.


Now that I’m a seasoned triathlete, I thought I’d share my wisdom with the masses (SARCASM). Totally kidding of course, but if you are thinking about trying a tri, here are some things that I learned doing my first two:
-A one-piece tri suit is the way to go. Mine is by Zoot, and I was very happy with the fit, the padding for the bike, the fuel pockets, etc.
-Wait until the morning of the race to get the body markings if you can. When you get marked up the night before, your sheets and your baby will be covered with black ink.
-For a traditional order tri, always put yourself in the faster swimming group, and let people pass you if needed. It’s much better to be polite and let someone pass you than to be stuck behind a slow, stubborn swimmer.
-Goos, gels, sports drinks, etc. are for the birds. I’m sure it’s different in a longer race, but I was fine with a banana beforehand, water during, and a couple of Shot Bloks on the bike ride. I got the strawberry kind and they just taste like a big fruit snack! They also fit very nicely in the fuel pockets in my tri suit, and I didn’t have to worry about opening a pack of goo while riding.


-Get to the transition area earlier than you think you’ll need to. At Triathamom, there wasn’t much space. We got there in the nick of time and barely secured 3 spaces on the very last bar, but there were tons that arrived after us that had to walk around and beg for people to scoot their stuff over to make room. You don’t want to be stressed about getting everything set up 10 minutes before start time.
-Reverse tris are the bomb.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A letter to my Townes

July 2, 2012

Dear Townes,
Writing letters to your babies/children has become all the rage lately.  And, just so you don’t feel like your mom isn’t trendy or cool, I thought I should write you one.  OK the real reason is because I woke up today and realized that you are almost 11 months old.  11 months?!  How can it possibly have already been almost a year since I locked eyes with you for the first time?  It seems like minutes, seconds, nanoseconds.  But simultaneously, it feels like you’ve always been here. 


They say that our personalities are evident and already formed by the time we are two years old.  I think you are an overachiever, because yours was established and growing by the time you were a few hours old.  You have always had this, for lack of a better word, presence.  You are such a Bohdi.  Your eyes sparkle when you smile, you have the most contagious joy that seems to radiate from you--right from your dead center, your heart. 


Then there are your expressions.  I’ve never seen an 11-month-old with the diverse range of faces, mannerisms, and postures that you have. 




Your dad has captured some of these in photos, but it seems that every day, you have a new face or reaction to show to us that makes us sigh, coo, or, like your latest “Monkey Duff Face,” laugh uncontrollably. 
Your “Stinky Face” is another one for the books.  You first made that face after Grandma Marsha gave you a daffodil to smell, and we walked around her office showing you off to all the employees.  You proceeded to hold out the daffodil to everyone you met, and they would smell it.  When we got home that night, you started smelling everything in sight: your food, your toys, and just the air in general.  Now the Stinky Face is usually reserved for when you are too full to eat another bite, or are disgusted with the cuisine.  It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.  You still love to smell the flowers that Dad buys me.  And, you are so clever that you even try to smell the pictures of flowers you see in your books.

You love the cats, even if they don’t love you sometimes.  Whenever you catch a glimpse of one of the cats when I’m feeding you, you stop eating and break out into the most genuinely happy grin.  The first time we ever heard Ripley (a fellow Bohdi) hiss, was when you were a newborn and Dad was holding you on the bed.  She came up and started sniffing your little head, and when that head began to move around, she let out the most hilarious, tiny, and pathetic hiss.  She hasn’t hissed at you since though, and will pretty much tolerate anything that you initiate:  tail pulling, “petting” (with a bit of a heavy hand, we are still working on that), chasing, kicking, etc.  Dad and I have continuously made the Bohdi comparison between you and Ripley.  You both just seem to be content, calm, at one with the universe, and ready to go with the flow in all aspects of life. 
Kiddo is an entirely different story.  That mean old kitty WANTS to love you, but has so many crazy hang-ups, that she just can’t bring herself to really love anyone other than Dad.  She tolerates you and I, but we are just obstacles in the way of Dad spending all day, every day with her, so we MUST be punished.  She seemed to mostly ignore you until you could sit up and be mobile, and then she couldn’t ignore you any longer. 
The first time I remember her hissing at you was when you were sitting on the bed, she jumped up, and you reached out your hand to pet her soft fur.  She swatted at you (like she does) and let out a hiss.  I won’t ever forget the look on your face—you were SO startled and taken aback that this kitty that you LOVED would ever do anything so mean to you.  You!  The sweetest being to ever grace planet Earth! What did you ever do to her? You only tried to love her!  It broke my heart in two.  After you made the startled face, you started to cry the sweetest and saddest little cry and I couldn’t help but scoop you up into my arms and tell you the same thing I tell you today. “Pay no attention to that mean old kitty.  Rrrucifee mean, sneaky, jump at you, hiss at you, hissssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!”  It always makes you laugh, and you even learned how to make a hissing sound and hiss right back at that mean old kitty.  Sometimes, you even preemptively hiss at her, which I can definitely appreciate.  It always helps to be prepared.
I actually think that “kitty” (or your variation of it—“dittay”) was your second word.  It was very different than the regular stuttering and gibberish that you would say, because you said it the second you saw one of the cats.  One would come around the corner, and you would get so excited, smile, and say, “dittay! Dit dit dittay!”  You have also learned to ROAR.  You have a plastic rolling lion toy, a stuffed lion, and a couple of books with pictures of lions.  Grandma Marsha worked on roaring with you and now, whenever you see a lion, you bust out the cutest little ROOOOAAAAAAR that I’ve ever heard.  Yours is doubly adorable because it’s kind of a whisper-roar.  It’s very quiet, but VERY ferocious. 
My favorite was when we were at the library downtown.  We walked into the kids’ area and I was looking around to find where the baby books were.  All of a sudden, you started roaring.  I hadn’t even seen the giant stuffed lion that was lying on top of one of the bookshelves in the corner, but you sure did!  You also roared at the real live tigers that we saw at the zoo.  Man, nothing gets by you.  When we went on our trip back East with Grandma Shari, we could only bring a few toys with us, one of which was your plastic dump truck.  Grandma Shari would push the truck around with you in the hotel room, making the sound of a rumbling engine.  You didn’t imitate her immediately, but now, not a day of play goes by without you pushing around your dump truck or your fire engine, making the best truck noise I ever did hear. 

Your first “Da Da” was uttered right around 8 months and you were SO good at it.  You practiced it all the time, in long strings.  Uncle Asher remembers trying to talk to Dad on the phone about an upcoming fishing trip and not even being able to hear him, due to your “da da da dad a dad  da dad DAD DA DA DA DA DA DA DAAAAA DA DA DAAAAAAAAAAAAA” in the background. 

You finally said “Ma Ma” for the first time – on  Father’s Day.  Atta boy!  More than your speaking of words, it is your understanding and comprehension of words that impresses me.  When you were first learning to clap and wave and do great things with your hands, you could understand verbal commands, even without hand gestures to clue you in.  Sure, any kid can clap once they see Mom and Dad and Aunt Ethel clapping their hands like mad.  We were driving in the car and Dad called from the front seat and said, “Townes, can you clap?”  without any hand gestures.  You immediately started clapping from your seat.  Like a pro.  I also asked you to show Mama your ball, and you picked it right up off the ground and held it out to me.  I’m sure that every parent in the world thinks that their child is gifted and brilliant and basically a prodigy.  So I’m sure I’m not covering any new ground here.  But Townes, you are so smart. 
From the beginning, you have always concentrated so intently on the “task” at hand.  Usually the task is inspecting a toy, turning the pages of a book, or shaking a pill bottle like a rattle, but no matter how trite or how important, you take that task SERIOUSLY.  I love that about you.  Yes of course, you lose interest in the object eventually, I mean come on, you are a baby, but it has always been fascinating to me that you have such a long attention span.  I can almost hear the wheels in your brain turning and cranking away. 


You are great with toys and books and puzzles, but man, you really love non-toy toys.  Mom’s phone, Dad’s phone charger, the remotes, a toothbrush, the dishwasher, and your most favorite, the cat food bowls.  Ever since you’ve been mobile (the army crawl is your specialty), we can count on you making a mad dash for the kitchen (with a huge grin on your face, grunting and giggling, so proud of yourself that you’re moving soooo quickly) and head straight for the kitties’ food and water.  Maybe it’s because they’re at your eye level, maybe it’s because they look very similar to your sweet potato “puffs,” but whatever it is, you are drawn to those cat food bowls like a magnet.  Luckily you haven’t eaten any yet (at least not on my watch). 
Cat food is about the only thing you HAVEN’T eaten.  And whatever it is that we give you, you seem to love it.  I daresay you’re the un-pickiest child to grace the face of the planet. 

Your first food (at about 5 months) was avocados mashed up with a little bit of mama’s milk.  You liked them OK, but didn’t really love solid foods until you found the joy of SCHWEETAPOTATOOOOOES.  Mama and Dad are such dorks, they really say it that way every time you eat some:  SCHWEETAPOTATOOOOOES!!!!!  They were your absolute favorite in those early days.  Whenever we wanted you to try something new like green beans or carrots, all we had to do was mix them up in some sweet potatoes, and you would gobble them all up.  Now, we don’t need to hide anything from you. 

You love trying new things, and one of your favorites is pickles.  Dad gave you a little taste of one when he was having lunch, just to see you make the squinty pickle face, but much to his surprise, you didn’t make a face at all!  You sucked on that pickle like it was a lollipop and now we constantly have a jar of dill pickle spears in the fridge just for you.  (And Dad.) 

One night when you were up late with a teething-ache, I brought you into our bed and put on a cartoon to distract you from the pain.  Dad was just coming to bed after being up working late and had a plate of leftover pizza.  Long after Mama fell asleep, you and Dad stayed up, watching your cartoon and sharing bites of pizza.  Boys will be boys.  We’re still a little limited as to what you can eat because you are still working on your first two teeth, but some of your other favorites are cherry tomatoes, any kind of berry, yogurt, Mama’s homemade spaghetti sauce, eggs, feta cheese, black beans, and much to Mama’s chagrin—olives and mushrooms. I was hesitant in giving you any foods with strong flavors at first, but you quickly broke me of that habit.  Onions, garlic, hot sauce, bring it on, you are NOT afraid.  Maybe it was all that spicy Indian food that I ate when you were in my tummy.
You love to be outside.  We started taking you on walks and fishing outings when you were only a couple of weeks old.  I’m not sure if that helped out or not, but regardless, you are one happy camper when you’re camping, fishing, swimming, hiking, or just on a walk or run with Mama. 


Not that it’s a bad thing, but sometimes it’s hard to find things to keep your little mind happily occupied!  Whenever we’re outside, that does not seem to be a problem at all.  You are happy holding a leaf, sitting in the grass, looking at the birdies, or playing with a stick or a rock.  Whenever Dad takes you fishing, he doesn’t have to take many toys, because he knows that you are very content to play with nature’s toys.  Whenever we go on walks, you are such a good boy in your stroller. 

 I can only remember one time EVER that you have cried in your stroller, and I think it’s because the sun was in your eyes and Mama forgot your hat.  Have you ever seen a kid that doesn’t just rip a hat off of his head as soon as Mama puts it on?  I hadn’t, until you.  You must know their functional nature and know that they are good for you, because you always leave your fishing hat on when you are outside. 

Mama even got you a VERY dapper looking fedora for the Arts Festival, and you don’t mind that one either.  Where did you come from anyway?  Heaven?

Your other crowning achievement as “the best baby ever” came when you were 8 months old and you went on your first plane ride to Florida.  I had to go for a business trip, and it was a big and ugly decision to either leave you at home without Mama’s milk, or to bring you along on such a long trip, and long flight across the country.  With Dad’s help, we somehow packed allllllll of your baby stuff, your stroller, car seat, etc. and boarded the plane.  We were nervous that you would be one of those babies who cries the entire flight and has troubles with the air pressure in your ears. (“Goodbye, Jeffrey!!”)  We were all prepared with bottles for you to suck on and toys to distract you, but we didn’t even need those. You fell asleep before the plane took off, slept through take off, woke up for a bit and played, ate some yummies, and then fell back asleep before we landed. 
 We were pretty much in shock, and so was everyone else on the plane.  “He was such a good baby! I didn’t even hear him!”  We thought that we couldn’t get lucky more than once, but you have proven time and time again that you can handle plane rides.  You love playing with the safety information card, the tray table, the seatbelt, the plastic cups that they serve drinks in, and you love looking out the window at the clouds. 

The best plane trip ever was coming back from Pennsylvania with Grandma Shari.  It was such an early flight that I had to wake you from your peaceful slumber at 4:00 am Eastern time to head to the airport and I was so worried that you’d be super tired and cranky all day.  That was NOT the case. You charmed everyone in the security line, made friends at the Starbucks, slept for most of the flight, and then woke up about an hour before we landed in the BEST mood.  There were two ladies sitting behind us, and you started to play peek-a-boo with them.  Not just any old peek-a-boo, but laugh-hysterically-and-make-the-entire-three-rows-around-you-bust-into-belly-laughs-peek-a-boo.  You were smiling SO much and laughing SO hard that the entire plane couldn’t help but notice this adorable and mood-altering baby boy.  The woman behind us said that she wished she could bottle up your laugh and save it for a rainy day.  Another passenger said that the flight attendants could’ve held you up and entertained the whole plane with you, they didn’t even need a movie.  Townes, it is so much fun being your mom.  Everyone wants to smile at you, touch your beautiful soft skin, play with your light curly hair, and make you giggle.
I kept a log of all the places you’ve been.  You are quite the traveler!
·         November 12 – 14, 2010:  Off roading in Moab, UT with Crumleys, Emeri and Rylan
·         February 9 – 13, 2011:  Work trip to New Jersey and extended weekend in NYC with Emeri
·         February 22 -24:  Work trip to LA with Kevin
·         March 9 – 13:  Work trip to Las Vegas with Mason and extended weekend stay at the ARIA
·         March 15-17: Work trip to Seattle with Serena
·         April 21 – 24:  Camping trip to Gunlock Reservoir with the Crumleys
·         May 1 – 6: Work trip to Salida, Colorado with Mason and an extended stay in Colorado Springs
·         May 20 – 22:  Camping trip to Crack Canyon, UT with Crumleys, Annan & Jared
·         May 27 – 29:  Island Park cabin with Anne, David and Grace
·         June 17-18:  Camping trip with Fullmers and parents to Spruces Campground
·         September 7 -9:  Island Park fishing trip
·         October 4-6:  Snowbird
·         October 7-10: Eden / Pineview with the peeps
·         November 22-25:  Stargazer Ranch with Fetzers
·         March 28 – April 1, 2012:  Las Vegas with Mason for Connections and an extra night at the ARIA, and the Honeymoon Trail Inn in St. George (first cold L)
·         April 9 – 12:  Orlando with Mason and Dennis for work
·         April 21-24: Orlando with Mason and New Friend Kev for work (first beach trip!)
·         June 2:  Camping up Logan canyon with friends for Annan’s birthday
·         June 10-11:  NYC and New Jersey with Dennis and Grandma Shari (Saw Emeri and Dustin in NYC)
·         June 12-15:  Pennsylvania with Grandma Shari and Dennis
·         June 30-July 1:  Camping and fishing in Midway with Crumleys, Annan and Jared, and Barqueros
·         Upcoming:  July 7-15:  Sun Valley with the whole fam damily – Petersons, Fullmers and Grandma Shari!
·         Upcoming:  August 30 – September 4:  Huntington beach with the Fetzer Family!


So even if I don’t count the trips when you were in my tummy, you’ve still been to 7 states and you aren’t even a year old yet!  Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  Add the other states (California, Washington, Colorado) and you’ve been to a total of 10.  Not too shabby.  I don’t think I hit 10 states until I was 25.

It’s been so much fun to watch you grow and grow and grow.  At 11 months, you weigh 23 pounds and you are soooooo tall. All I have to do is stand you up next to Ricky, Max, Sophie, Soren, etc. and it is quite clear that your father is 6’5’’.  I don’t want to jinx anything, but at this rate, you could definitely be some competition for your pops when it comes to height.  Here are your measurements and percentiles at your check-ups:
  • Birth:  8 pounds, 21 inches
  • 4 days old:  7.94 pounds, 21 inches (46th and 84th percentile)
  • 2 weeks old:  8.75 pounds, 22 inches (57th and 93rd percentile)
  • 2 months old:  14.38 pounds, 25 inches  (95th and 97th percentile!)
  • 4 months old:  17.19 pounds, 27.5 inches (86th and 99th percentile)
  • 6 months old:  18.38 pounds, 28.5 inches (68th and 97th percentile)
  • 9 months old: 21.3 pounds, 30 inches (63rd and 94th percentile)
  • 12 months old: 22.44 pounds, 32 inches (43rd and 96th percentile)
We are unhappily dreading the time (any day now) when you reach 25 pounds, because that’s when you can no longer use your door jumper anymore.  That thing has been such a treat.  You are so happy in your jumper, and you’ve never even jumped in it, not once! 

What you DO do in it (not doo doo in it) is run and swing.  You get that thing going sooo high and far that it was pretty scary for Mama and Dad to watch at first, but you quickly learned how to control your movement like a pro.  It only took one or two bumps to the head on the door frame, and you learned to put your arms out to stop yourself when you got too close.  You also love to play soccer in your jumper, and I’m not just being the Mom here, you are REALLY good at it.  We put the little basketball in front of you, and you kick it right back to us with such awesome form.  You even give it a little running approach and send it sailing.  Dad and I always joke that you’re going to be a jock just to spite us, but I of course will be cheering from the sidelines during whatever sporting or non-sporting event that you choose to participate in.  It’s not just your soccer ball that you love, you love ANY kind of round object.  You will often have a death grip on two balls WHILE you’re crawling around the house or pulling yourself up to the table.  Heaven forbid you should drop one!  No, never!  One time when Mama was picking out an onion at the grocery store, you started grunting and fussing and I couldn’t figure out why.  When I set the onion in the basket and you turned around and tried to grab it, I finally figured it out:  you thought the onion was a ball.  For you.  Of course.
In conclusion, I hope this silly letter has made it unequivocally clear that Mama LOVES you.  Having you is definitely the most important, joyous, crazy and wonderful thing I’ve ever done.  Thank you for filling me up with your light each and every day. Thank you for bringing tears to my eyes whenever I catch a glimpse of the pure and simple sweetness that is at your core.  I know there will come a day when you realize that I’m just a big dork, when I embarrass you in front of your friends, when I give you too many rules to obey, and when my love will feel overprotective.  At this moment though, I’m so happy to say that I know you love me as much as I love you.  I know you miss me when I am at work all day, and are so happy to see me when I walk through that door. I know that your smiles and giggles are so genuine.  I know that you are happy.  I know that those quiet moments we have when I’m feeding you at 4:00 am provide just as much sustenance as the milk itself. 

Townes, I’m so happy that you’re mine. Thank you for making me a Mama.
Love,
Carly