Farewell sweet birdie

With a brain that’s turned to mush lately, I started an entire entry only to find myself being way too melancholy. But it’s tough to avoid during a time of loss, especially when you are reminded on a regular basis through the absence of a constant presence. Geez, am I babbling already? Then let me just get straight to the point – after months of battling an undiagnosed condition, our little parakeet passed away on Friday.

Sweet Booboo Birdie

Booboo Birdie (yes, that was his name) was always The Woman’s pet, just as the guinea pigs have always been considered mine. And, to be honest, we had a rough relationship early on. For those of you who don’t know the story, she did, in fact, find him on the streets of Hoboken. I wanted to find the original owners or give him to a good home, but The Woman was smitten quickly and I had no chance. When we moved in together it became difficult as he took to screeching anytime I did… well… anything.

But after a few threats about throwing him out a window or something else equally irrational, he finally learned that just warbling along with the world around him was far more endearing. And he certainly endeared himself to me after that.

Booboo was a sweet bird and, I dare say, one of a kind. You might think that a plain white parakeet with a blue streak on it’s back would be more common – but the more parakeets I saw the more I realized that there weren’t many, if any, like him. And any other parakeet owners would look in amazement as Booboo would allow us to reach in and simply pet his little belly. He developed a wonderful disposition, which made his silent suffering these final weeks so much more difficult.

This has been very difficult for Lisa, as she had little time or energy to take care of him with her new found motherly duties. She had saved him once and to let him go this time was very painful. Thankfully Kayleigh distracts us enough to keep our spirits up, but burying another pet dampened the mood of this holiday weekend.

Goodbye Booboo Birdie

Goodbye Booboo, we’ll miss you.

One month

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the actual 1 month mark for my baby girl. Although we are closer to 1 month and 12 hours at this point. Regardless, it’s just an excuse to post another wonderful photo of our bundle of joy.

1 month old

That is probably the best shot out of a group we took featuring an adorable outfit provided by a co-worker. Next time I want to do some of these outside. Normally I am totally opposed to these overly cutesy photo ops, but now that she’s my baby glamor shots may become par for the course.

The swing of things

Tomorrow our little girl turns 1 month old. Wow. On one hand those days in the hospital feel like forever ago. I’ve been back at work for 3 weeks, so even my time at home feels like a distant memory. And yet, on the other, I can’t believe how fast everything has gone. Seriously, she’s a month old already!

1 month old

And you’re probably asking, where the hell have I been that I can’t even update people with wonderful photos of Kayleigh. Actually, anybody who knows me is probably shocked at the few that I’ve already posted. But at the very least I’m sure people have expected more updates. Well, WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?! I’ve got a freakin’ newborn at home. How much time do you think I have to play around on the computer?

Cooing

Like I’ve said, I’m not here to complain. But when I get home from work in the evening, there’s about 2 hours during which I have to eat dinner, take care of any chores, and give The Woman a break from the little bundle before the night time ritual of trying to sleep in shifts begins. In other words, I’m lucky to have time to take photos let alone post them. And, at least for the first month, if I’m not posting about Kayleigh, I’m not posting. So maybe that’ll change tomorrow…

Smiling

Of course the main question everybody has is how is the baby? And my answer is, “She’s great! She’s a baby. She doesn’t care if she’s eating and sleeping on our schedule or pooping in her pants. As long as she’s healthy and comfortable, everything is great for her.” And that’s the truth. Everybody says that it’s just gas or reflexes, but I think the look on her face shows that she really is happy with life.

The Woman as The Mommy

And as for us? The funniest thing happened. I don’t really care about anything else that much. I’ve missed parties, concerts, movies, etc. and it doesn’t bother me in the least. All that matters to me is that our precious little girl is happy and healthy and that I get to spend time with her. Whether it’s a calm evening of watching her curled up on her own or an hour of rocking her to sleep at 3 AM – it’s all worth it. I don’t mean to gush, but it really is the most amazing experience and well worth the “minor” trade-offs in lifestyle.

Giving herself bunny ears

I feel like I’m still getting my “writing legs” back. Not that I haven’t neglected this site even longer in the past, but my mind is all over the place these days. Kayleigh makes it difficult to concentrate on anything else. But that’s okay, she wouldn’t have it any other way…

Kayleigh Sarah