Jen Russum

Talitha Joy {seven months}

Talitha Joy {seven months}

Growing // Talitha's growing has slowed way down since she's become mobile. I'm not sure how much she weighs (around 20 pounds?), but she has been holding steady in 12 month size clothes since November! She is finally transitioning to 18 months pajamas, so I know she's getting taller, but she is virtually petite compared to Zianne at this stage. Eating // Talitha loves solids. She eats so well and rarely chokes on her food. I've given her almost all foods, except for meat. I remember being so concerned with Zianne about which foods she should eat at which age, but I pretty much feed Talitha anything off my plate, and she loves it all. Veggies, fruits, potatoes, rice, beans. She's all about solids and definitely wants three real meals a day. She is still mostly nursing five times a day, but I'm pretty sure she will drop a feeding in the next few weeks.  Wearing // T is still in 12 month clothes, and they are getting quite shabby with her crawling and messy eating habits. We just transitioned to 18 month footie pajamas about a week ago. Doing // Sitting, crawling, army crawling, pulling up onto low items like stools and the toy basket. Standing up and leaning on the couch or ottoman as long as we give her a boost into position. Wrestling sissy. Going to daycare twice a week. She just started waving a few days ago, and it's the cutest little open hand, finger wave I've ever seen. Loving // Baths, crawling to the bottom step and beating on it like a drum, chewing on wooden puzzle pieces, ALL food, drinking from a cup.  Loathing // Getting dressed, getting in the car seat, having her face or nose wiped. **Read other monthly updates here. ... Read more

Dear Talitha {seven months}

Dear Talitha {seven months}

Dear Talitha, Most of the time I feel like I know you so well. We spend almost all our days together. You love it when I hold you. You still nurse five times a day. In so many ways, we are as close as can be. But sometimes I feel like there is an air of mystery about you, like there are parts of your personality you haven't disclosed to me yet. Sometimes I sense it in your half-smile as we play or when you grab your solid foods and aggressively stuff them in your mouth. Sometimes I catch the mystery in your whimper when I pick you up from daycare or the nursery at church. Sometimes I notice it when you are standing or army crawling or attempting to wrestle your sister, and I wonder what your physical agility will amount to in the future. I know you are more sensitive to strangers than your sister was, and I wonder if you will an extrovert or an introvert, and what your spiritual gifts will be as you interact with others in the future. I don't know why I sense the mystery. Maybe it's because I don't have endless amounts of time to study you as I did with your older sis. Maybe it's because, as a firstborn myself, I am curious about how children develop when they have an older sibling around them at all times. Maybe it's because I now know all the wonders and joys of having a toddler in the house, and I am eager to know what your affinities and mannerisms will be. Will you be shy? Loud? Will you building with blocks best? Or reading books? What funny phrases will you say? What will your favorite songs be? I love everything I know about you so far, and I am thankful there is even more to discover about your heart, mind, and soul. I am excited to watch the mystery unfold, darling daughter. I know it will be a captivating story. Love, Mama ... Read more

Breathe.

Breathe.

So this is it. Life after grad school. I defended my dissertation last week, and I am happy to announce that I am a doctor! Pending a few formatting changes, I will submit my dissertation in the next few weeks and await graduation in May. {Yes, I will walk. Yes, I will wear the crazy tam hat, probably for days on end. Yes, there will be a party.} The journey is over. You might claim the journey started when I decided as a kid to become a "doctor of books" someday. On a more technical level, the journey has taken up the past five and a half years of my life. I have been in grad school the entire time I've been married, save the wedding day itself, the honeymoon, and about three days' time where we driving a moving truck from Seattle to Phoenix before my first classes began. We got married on July 11th, and I'm pretty sure TA training for my PhD program began on July 29th. I had two babies during grad school. Two humans fully formed and birthed into this world. I took my last course the semester Zianne was born. I missed one class meeting for her birth and returned a week later, leaving my 9 day old daughter at home with her grandparents. I received an email notification that I had reached candidacy (formal speak for "all but dissertation") on Zianne's first birthday. I also happened to get pregnant that same week, and I spent the next nine months growing a baby and a dissertation at the same time. Week by week, month by month, the chapters grew as my stomach swelled. I was halfway done with my last chapter when Talitha was born, and I finished the manuscript with her sleepy, week-old body strapped to my chest. We moved to a new state while I was in grad school. With the end of my program finally in sight and Micah eager for new career opportunities, we took a risk and moved to California this past fall. My final meeting with my dissertation chair happened via Google Hangouts on my phone while sitting in a coffee shop. And now it's over. And I can breathe. You don't notice that your oxygen is diminishing until you finally get a gust of air and inhale deeply all those gases needed to sustain life. It's almost alarming. Was I really living with 20% of my normal air supply? And what does breathing look like? I'm not quite sure yet. Today, it meant taking the girls to the library. In our new neighborhood, there is a park directly across the street from our front door. And the public library is just around the corner. Sadly, though, I haven't taken the girls to these places in months. Every second of life has been devoted to finishing my dissertation and if something wasn't necessary for survival {eating lunch} or my sanity {cleaning the house}, it just didn't get a spot on our agenda. Last Wednesday, I was crying for lack of sleep. This Wednesday, I took the girls to the library. I am still so busy, and in the back of my mind I laughingly wonder how I ever completed my dissertation. Today, I got the bathrooms cleaned, but it made us 15 minutes late for library story time. I let the girls linger afterward and checked out six books for them, which made us late getting to the gym. When we arrived, I had exactly 30 minutes to finish a 28 minute 5K before the childcare closed, but by the time I got the girls situated and made my way to the treadmill, I had to settle for an 18 minute interval run. Then I darted into a taco shop to pick up an easy, inexpensive lunch, which Zianne proceeded to dump all over the floor of TJ Maxx. We got home for a late nap time, and I quickly began addressing envelopes for an upcoming baby shower while the girls slept. I started dinner late, so we didn't eat until 7pm, and as I was cleaning up afterward, I sincerely questioned, "How I ever write a 150 page research manuscript?" But the truth of the matter is God provides... and we paid for a lot of extra childcare. So this is me, just breathing. Life is still busy. I have two young kids and a job, and there is never enough time in the day. But the hugest burden has been lifted. My lungs are filled with oxygen once again, and I am excited to breathe in the fresh air at that park across the street. ... Read more