Makayla - Halloween 2006

Makayla went trick-or-treating at a local mall. She was dressed as a monkey ballerina. She complained every time I took the camera out.

Makayla's Halloween Costumes - Past & Present

Makayla's first Halloween costume (2005): an angel. This photo was featured on boston.com both last year and this year. I love how her halo hangs crookedly to the side. She kept pulling at the thing and nothing will keep that halo on top of her head. She was 8 months old in this photo.

Makayla's costume this year: a monkey. Here, she is modelling her monkey costume for Mommy and Daddy. I couldn't resist hugging and squeezing her while she was in this costume; I felt like she was my real-life stuffed monkey. So cute!
Makayla was getting tired of me running around after her for a picture.

The Wiggles in Concert: October 25, 2006 in Boston

Makayla watches, mouth wide open, as her beloved Wiggles perform on stage. Her initial response of shock gradually changed to excitement and finally, she started dancing and waving her arms around like the Wiggles & Co.

The Wiggles arrive onstage in their Big Red Car

The view from our seats left front section: the Wiggles, Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog sing and dance onstage.

Video: Makayla asleep in her carseat with her sunglasses on

Lost: The Glass Ballerina

I've been so busy perusing the message boards on various Lost fan websites that I completely forgot to comment on the second episode of Season Three.

I was hoping that Sun wasn't an adulteress but we found out she was. And to top it all off, she has shown herself to be a compulsive liar and now, a murderer, too. However, she could make a good case for self-defense (I didn't like Colleen anyway).

This episode posed more questions: What is the significance, if any, of Palla Ferry? What's going on between Ben and Juliet? Where are the children the Others abducted from the Tailies? How do the Others maintain contact with the outside world?

We received a few answers: Yes, the Others do have contact with the outside world. And Ben's last name is Linus.

A fellow Lost fan and former co-worker of mine found a few interesting links when he googled "Ben Linus." Give it a try and you'll be led through a strange Hanso adoption site. Venture to the bottom of the home page and click on "Clients." More mysteries await you there.

Baby thoughts

I have a couple of friends who are currently expecting their first child. I remember the excitement and anticipation of my little gift and the overwhelming sense of how life will change for myself and my husband. I remember loving being pregnant - feeling her moving inside me, kicking me, watching my belly move of its own volition. While I didn't love the stretch marks and the 40 lbs weight gain, I loved my belly and what it contained. Having been there myself, I am so happy for my friends, knowing how the whole process of pregnanacy and motherhood will profoundly change their lives for the better.

I want another child but my husband does not. He has his own reasons and I understand them. I refuse to force this issue on him because parenthood - even the second time around - is something one should take on willingly and wholeheartedly. But respecting his wishes does not diminish my desire for another baby. I still want to feel that tiny baby growing inside me again. I still want to hold that fresh new life in my arms, unblemished and full of possibilities. I still want to smell that special baby scent, which is strongest at the top of the head, and touch those tiny fingers and toes.

I have accepted that we will never have another child but the heart wants what it wants. I guess I will have to be satisfied with holding other people's newborn babes. I'm hoping my sister reads this. :)*wink wink*

Harvard Square Business Association Oktoberfest 2006

Makayla with Daddy Makayla at 20 months outside Harvest at Harvard Square - Oktoberfest 2006

20 months

Playing with Mommy's lip gloss

Looking cool in Mommy's sunglasses

Still Lost

Like many Lost fans, I was extremely excited about Season 3's pilot episode. After many months of Lost withdrawal, finally, a new episode! It was nice to get a few answers: Fake Henry's real name is Ben and he IS the leader of the Others; Desmond's tardiness in punching in those mysterious numbers into the computer DID cause the plane to crash, with no help from the Others who didn't seem to have known before-hand that that plane was going to crash on their island. But, true to form, the episode raised even more questions: Are the Others the remnants of the Dharma Initiative or do they represent an ongoing branch of that organization? Who is Juliet and why does she seem so unhappy? Who is Carl and why was he caged up? Who is Jack's wife's boyfriend and why did the writers refuse to give us his name? Is this significant? And how did the Others get all that information on Jack? Did Juliet really have Jack's father's autopsy report or was she bluffing?

Like all Lost fans, I wait for these and a multitude of other questions to be answered. Hopefully, they will be; otherwise, the show will find many fans "getting lost" for good.