"Binky"

I never used pacifiers for any of the girls. None of them ever seemed to care about them, & as long as they were nursing or had their bottle, they were happy. Well, a few months ago I came across a couple of pacifiers in the house & thought it would be cute to see Cate would do with one. She immediately reached for it & popped it in her mouth. She looked very satisfied with herself. I figured it was because she always saw her friend, Lizzie, from the gym, with one in her mouth, so now it was finally her turn to have the cool toy. ;-) It went from being super cute (come on, she looked like an adorable little Koala with it in her mouth), to then scary. "Mommy? Where Binky go? Binky!!!!" I threw them out (actually I tossed one & Ava tossed another). For a few days Cate randomly asked for Binky, but then she forgot about it. Until Saturday.

While I was at a photo shoot, Conrad loaded the girls in the car to take them to McDonalds. As he was about to strap Cate in, she ducked down, grabbed something from under the passenger seat & popped it in her mouth. He said she looked like a little ninja. She found "Binky". Uh oh!!

Grey's Anatomy in Seattle!

I met Julie 8 years ago at Sandia National Laboratories. She was interviewing for a position within our department (polymer aging at the time) & my boss wanted her to get a "real" perspective from me of what it was like to work at the labs. We laughed a lot & I just remembered thinking, "Wow! This girl is going places." She is. After completing her PhD last summer, she now attends medical school at Columbia University. She happened to be in town for a few days & I couldn't get enough of her. Despite all the years & distance between us, our friendship remains the same.

Highlights of the day:

*Getting lost (even using my Navigation System -I know, I know ;-)) while getting to the fabulous Cafe Ladro

*Watching Cate soak Julie up. Cate is pretty shy around strangers, yet within one minute she was letting Julie hold her, was eating Julie's scone & even danced for her.

*Pulling Bronwen & Ava out of school early so they could spend time with Julie. Bronwen asked me, "Mom, why do you want me to spend time with Julie so much?" Me, "Well, when you & Ava were very little, she was very special to me."

The truth is she was there when I first found out I would have trouble getting pregnant & the subsequent roller-coaster that went along with that & treatments (Who knew I'd have our 2 other babies without any trouble!). She deemed Bronwen with the name, "Skeletor," when I was pregnant. Julie & our other coworker, Tim, "What are you going to name her?" Me, "I don't know. I'll have to see what she looks like, then decide." Julie, "Well, you already have the picture [the ultrasound]. Skeletor!" Hahahaha! She came to my baby shower & gave Bronwen a cherry blanket & the book Guess How Much I Love You (still have both). She visited me in the hospital with both girls. She visited me at home with Ava & brought her the cutest sweater & hat. She was always there for me when I needed her. She is my friend.

Julie, thank you so much for spending time with me. I love you! :'-)