Time to Meet the Family!

      My little, family is just that right now: Little. By industry standards we have almost reached the "average" family size: Husband, Wife, 2.5 kids.  Right now we have Robert-Husband, Corinne(ME!!!)-Wife, Andrew-Kid#1 and Aubrey-Kid#2. I haven't yet figured out how they figure the .5 child. How do you arrange to have, half a kid? I guess if it was a really, really, short kid, or a little person, or an actual 1/2 of a kid, which might look kind of funny, and detract from the "Average-ness" of the family...... Anyways, I don't want to end up with 2.5 kids anyhow. I personally, came from a big family with the five of us kids, and plan to give my children the same opportunities to have a few siblings to choose from when they declare a rivalry. Bottom line: We aren't through having kids.
  Since they will be referenced many times throughout this blog I think you all should be formally introduced to each member of my little family so that when I mention Andrew's fondness
for Marvin Gaye, or Roberts rants in pilot jargon, you won't spend so much time leaning your head to the side, eyebrows furrowed.

This is Robert.

Rob is a Pilot!

Rob is a dress-uppy nerd like me! YAY!!!

Rob is a good daddy!

Robert and I met 3 months after I turned 18 at the institute (our church's student center on the university campus) Rob was 25 at the time. We became friends right away but both of us were concerned that the OTHER person would have an issue with the age difference, though neither of us actually had an issue with it. As soon as we cleared all that up we started dating. Eight months later we were engaged. Eleven Months after that we were married. As of this posting we have been married for 5 1/2 years and are still together/happy/spending lots of time critiquing popular movies.

                       After 2 years of marriage Robert and I decided there were too few of us.

Andy, Born Juy 23, 2008

                         We promptly got working on our first child: Andrew Robert Attaya!

 Andy (as we affectionately refer to him) is a seriously, awesome little guy! As adorable as he was squishy, his little personality was, from the start, super cool! Some of Andy's favorite activities include: watching sesame street, building super high block towers, running laps around an armchair in our living room, and singing along to some of his favorite tunes; 'I am a Child of God', 'Up Up in the sky',  and 'Ain't no Mountain High Enough'. There is nothing that warms me as a mother more than to hear my son walking around the house singing "Ain' no mowta, high nuff'!!!"

He poses for pictures!

               

Younger sibling, on the way!

When Andy got to be about 18 months old, we decided the time was right to give him a sibling, that he may know for himself, the joy that is, teasing a younger sibling.
Thus we got to work on Baby #2.

                                                                                

                                                                              Baby Aubrey Noelle Attaya

Aubrey, born December 14, 2010

Happy baby

Really happy baby!!

beautiful baby!

Aubrey is pretty much an all around, super, precious and awesome person to have around. Having her in our little family creates the BEST dynamic!

So this is my family! watch for them as they play the most important roles in all my future blogs!

Ruffles, Frills and Pink, OH MY!

 Since entering the magical world of Mommyhood, I have discovered a few things about myself:

• No matter how tired or sleep deprived I am, the sound of my baby's soft rhythmic sleep-breathing on my shoulder can always makes me bliss out.
• I can breastfeed, and facebook-stalk simultaneously.
• I can watch "Winnie the Pooh" five times in a row, and remain sane
• I  still get excited each morning, at the prospect of dressing my children

  When I discovered I was pregnant with my first child I was, needless to say ecstatic. We began planning and getting excited about having a little genetic mash-up of the two of us. We found out we were having a little boy and became even more excited. At my baby shower I received a plethora of awesome baby boy goodies, including some super cute little boy clothes. I hadn't realized before I found out I was having a boy that it was possible to find cute baby boy clothes. However, you were ultimately limited to pants and shorts. Even in those days my eyes would wander longingly towards the little girl's sections of clothing stores. I could see from a distance the pink skirts, and eyelet laces, and a sea of frills and ruffles that was just out of reach. I would distract myself with funny, little cutenesses of rough, and tumble overalls, and onesies that declared "I'm mommy's little man".  

     However last year when we discovered we were expecting again (and when I say 'we' I of course mean myself, although I guess it could be said that Robert was "expecting" to take orders from his pregnant wife) I carefully did not allow myself to 'hope' for one gender over another. "how would it feel," I asked myself "to find out that you were not what your parents wanted you to be?" When someone would ask the inevitable question:  "so do you want it to be a boy or a girl?" I would smile and answer, "yes." and watch the blank looks on their faces as I turned around and finished steaming the milk for a latte (did I mention that I worked at a coffee shop, in a bookstore?) 

     Finally the day came that we were to discover the gender of our baby! I lay there on the table with warm goo on my belly and watched as the doctor tried to decipher the gender of my overly-modest fetus.  We waited with baited breath to finally learn that IT was a SHE!!!  I could hardly contain my delight. That elusive section of the store that was filled with pink and ruffles was opening up to me! 

The closer I got to my due date the more I wandered that department, often with my reluctant and bored-out-of-his-mind husband. This is an example of a typical excursion to the baby department:

Corinne- *skipping merrily towards a rack of pink rompers at target* Ohhh, baby! Isn't this adorable!!

Robert- Oh, yeah

Corinne-*hurt at lack of interest* Can't you just see our tiny little girl wearing something like this? She will look BEYOND precious!

Robert- uh huh

Corinne-*more determined* But see, it has ruffles on the butt!!!

Robert- *rolling eyes* Oooooookay......

Corinne- RUFFLES!!

Robert- yes

Corinne- ON THE BUTT!

Robert- I see that

Corinne- DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS??!?!?!?

Robert-*sigh* what....

Corinne- Our baby girl, would have all the innate beauty that is sure to inhabit her tiny body, AND RUFFLES on her little, baby BUTT!!!

Robert-........................

Corinne-.....................I think we need to get it!

Robert-*snarkily smirking* Okay then, get it.

And thus I have discovered for myself, the absolute joy that is dressing my baby daughter in the morning. Putting together ensemble's like Clinton Kelly and Staci London on "What not to wear". Coordinating outfit, and socks, and headband to create just the perfect look for that day. I cannot fully describe the glee I felt when I discovered the socks that look like mary jane's! I know my daughter does not care one tiny little bit what she is wearing at this point in her life,(proven to me by the fact that she drools on every thing I put her in) but I feel confident that someday....She will look back at what a well dressed baby she was, and be grateful for all the thought I put into her attire.....or she will roll her eyes, looking scarily like her father as she looks at picture after picture of herself in outfits with distinctly, ruffly, butts!

      

So I guess, I blog now?

Blog is a strange word. I remember as a little kid I would frequently kill  time quietly thinking about words that sounded strange, saying them over and over again in my head until they sounded even weirder. (Chicken, Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicken, Chickeeeeeeeeeeeeen, Chiiiiiiiickeeeeeen, Chi----cken). The word, 'Blog' makes me think of  the sound my daughter makes as she spits up on my shoulder.( BLOG! ewwwwww! burp rag somebody!!!)  Really its kind of an ugly LOOKING word (BLOOOOOOOG!!) BUT, it seems EVERYONE is doing it.....
......Wait a second! I am no social conformist! I don't do things just because it is the popular thing to do! I am an independent thinker!
....I mean yeah, I have a facebook, but that is ONLY to keep in touch with old friends and stuff, right?
And, okay, I do sort of follow SOME fashion trends....but ,you know, but just the good ones!
....And I guess that I too, have things to say that people might potentially want to read about.......
Wow I guess I am not the cool, independently minded person I thought I was...wow I am gonna have to come to terms with that somehow.... I guess I could BLOG about it!
 I suppose then, that the time has come for me to officially, enter the 'blogosphere'.
Here goes.....

       This is me. My name is Corinne,
      

        ......I am a wife, to an incredible husband        

                











    ......I am a mommy of the two most awesome,         adorable,  perfect and wonderful children (Okay, I am a TEENSY bit biased)







 I am also a lot of other things when I need to be as  well:











    
                                         .....A sultry backup singer for my sister's music video
                                          

                            
 ....A super, awesome nerd, who dresses in character costume, for midnight releases of my favorite books

              
 
                                                   .....A great place to take a nap on

    So here I go, feet first into this world of 'blogging', and watch out, I will blog the blog out of all you bloggers, and be the best blogging, blogger in the entire blogosphere!!! :)