Grandma Ullman cleans hotels & as a result, finds all sorts of things useful and not-so-useful. All of which she brings home with her to use, share or pass on. T-Bone is one of these things. Evie took a liking to T-Bone... a friend of Clifford the Big Red Dog. The toy is a small hard plastic dog with a big bone in his mouth. When you pull the bone, its attached to an elastic cord that reels the bone back. This both amazes and amuses Evie to no end. After playing with Evie on her mat, I sat back and watched her roll side to side in this spastic rocking motion she likes to do. She eyed T-Bone off to the side and actually rolled onto her belly for him. Granted her arm was folded up under her and I had to help set it free... but it counts! 2 days later update: She has yet to replicate this maneuver and doesn't seem too interested in even trying. Oh well, it will happen. ;-)
Since returning from our long trip to Ohio for the holidays (more on that post, later) we have enjoyed 3 days off before I return to work. We drove home from 5:30PM - 12:40AM Thursday night (don't ask me HOW we made the drive that quickly, even we were amazed albeit tired). We woke up with Evie at 7:30AM the next day. Well, I did, anyway. I spent the day doing laundry, scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands & knees (we had a dog sitter stop by to let the dogs out and I don't think they wiped their paws nearly as thoroughly as I would so the house was horribly muddy... it was truly rather gross), etc etc. On Saturday, I decided to take a break and suggested a lunch out with the family. We went to "Zuppa," a great soup/sandwich place in Shockoe Bottom. This was the first time we decided to carry Evie and put her in the high chair without her car seat. We were excited! Finally, no more lugging around that heavy carseat with a heavy kid in it. Those things are so unyielding its like carrying a bundle of logs away from your body. The first 10 minutes were great. The next 5 were fleeting and then the last 15 were spent on my lap or dad's lap while we took turns eating. I'm realizing at this point, the car seat provided a good napping location for a fussy baby. Oh, well.
And now for the rest of the story... Evie woke up CRYING (not really wailing, but clearly NOT HAPPY) at 9:30PM with a fever of 101.4. She had acted odd all day with low attention spans, non-existant naps and very little appetite. I wasn't sure if it was a cold coming on (either from baby F trying to kiss the baby with two steady streams of snot cascading onto her pouty lips or visiting my sick grandmother in the hospital where the pacifier made multiple spills onto the germ ridden surfaces, who knows. We were surrounded by colds the last few days while in Ohio) or maybe a tooth coming in. We gave her a 4 oz bottle since she hadn't eaten dinner, some tylenol, many hugs & belly rubs while rocking her and a change before going down again. I felt like shit. I now truly understand what my mom always meant when she told me as a little girl, "I wish I could take the pain away for you." *sigh* Sunday, December 30: I am happy to report she is bouncing back after a decent night's sleep and has been fever free.
I bought this bouncey swing off Craigslist.com for $10. Its one of those swings that "hooks" onto the door frame. I've had it hiding under the crib waiting for the day when I felt she had good head control before I brought it out. I may have waited too long. This thing is as tight as it will go and she's bow-legged on the ground. She seems to just spin more so than bounce. Eh, oh well.
We attended the lights a few weeks back but I am just now getting around to posting (Sat, Dec 8th, in fact). We are fortunate to live in very close proximity to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. I haven't been yet, so this was a beautiful way to be introduced. I purchased a 1-year family pass late November. I anticipate attending the Mother's Day picnic and perhaps a few "Groovin' in the Garden" shows next summer. It will be fun to watch a baby roll around repeating "whoa!" (after I teach her this phrase, of course). Enjoy!
Evie fussed throughout 85% of the evening - it was bedtime and I don't think she enjoyed being stuffed into a fleece teddy bear snowsuit. Maybe next year we will have more "oh! and ah's!" and less "wah's!"
I followed Jessica's recipe and tried yams on Evie. She, although initially ate them, hates them. I mean, made-herself-gag-to-the-point-of-vomiting-all-over-herself, hates them. We ceased with the yams after about 5 different tries. We switched to pears. Evie loves pears.
I generally wake up and grab Evie when we hear her "yoo-WHO!" suddenly pipe down the halls. I pick her up and kiss her on the cheek before walking back to the bedroom. We plop down on the bed with dad and coax him from his slumber (if the dogs haven't already started by this time). I then go make coffee and get things ready while Rob preps breakfast-time.
The two of them go through their routine. Rob gets close to Evie's face saying, "Ahhh!" *silence* "AHHH!" Eventually, this will lead to her opening her birdy-mouth and the dance plays out again. "Ahhhh!" I find this both irritating and incredibly wonderful.
After breakfast is complete, I sometimes have time on my hands for Rob to work in a shower before I leave for my job. The two of them then enjoy watching a bit of Today Show before continuing on with however they continue on their mornings. I'm generally heading out-the-door at this time. I wonder if Evie will look back on her early childhood with fond memories of her + daddy time.
So Rob sends me this series while at work last week Friday. I about wet my pants. I then pulled people into my cube to take a look before printing them out and hanging them up near my window. Evie's hilarious. Her dad is awesome.
Last night... ...you slept for 12.5 hours... straight You were a little fussy and wierd during dinner (you passed out in my arms and then rebounded with twice the energy less then 10 minutes later). I then put you down wide awake at 7PM only to find you, again, passed out cold less than 5 minutes later. I told dad I would do midnight feeding last night and awoke to my alarm at 6:30AM. I laid there, in a panic (were you dead?!.) for half an hour before checking on you. At 7:30AM, we heard you gurgling to yourself. Wow-wee! A full night's sleep with no interruptions? I haven't had this in over a year...
Evie with her 2nd or 3rd bite of carrots for the first time last week (Friday). Turns out, she loves 'em. The best face so far is the grimmace after homemade applesauce made from Macintosh apples. I have yet to capture this on film.
I decided to try my hand at making baby food today. Two reasons compelled me to do this: my mother did it (and she claims it was "So easy! I had a food mill and I made you all sorts of stuff!") and store bought baby food is expensive. Off to the store, with baby in tow, I went to buy a parsnip (I have never had one before but I read about how to turn one into baby food online so I figured why not), baby carrots and 2 large Red Delicious apples (I read you are supposed to use Macintosh but there were none to be found). I also bought 4 Bartlett pears but I never got around to preparing those tonight. I managed to fill all my new plastic "1 oz baby food storage canisters" and I reached EXTREME INSANITY after the peeling, cutting, boiling and puree'ing just the 3 kinds of foods. *Sigh*, I thought this was easy? Oh, I forgot, my mother was a full-time stay-at-home mom who's downtime was always been spent DOING SOMETHING! The process: I began by cleaning and peeling the parsnips. I tried a raw bite - not bad! Tastes like a real tough carrot. After boiling it like a potato, I had Rob try it. Positive feedback! Maybe we discovered a new side dish. Excellent! I then hand ground it in the little mill my mom bought me for Christmas and... viola! I fill 5 of the 24 canisters. I then moved on to steaming half the bag of baby carrots which yielded 8 more canisters. Evie decided to wake up from her piss-poor nap at this time (just half an hour?!. What happened to the 2 hour job you performed at Grandma Bob's last week, Eve?). I pull a fussy baby into the kitchen and plop her into the Einstein activity center while I clean, peel, cut and steam the 2 apples. This finished off the 11 canisters plus a recycled Gerber canister. Dry, cracked hands... a little exhaustion from both the grocery shopping trip and all this food preparation... a messy kitchen and 1 fussy baby (from being ignored) later... here's the final $$$ tally: $3.495 for 28 ozs. Organic Gerber baby food at 92¢ a pop would run about $10.40-$12 to equate what I now have stored in the freezer. So, a net savings of $6.90+ ain't too bad (I mean, added up over the course of time). Then again, isn't sanity worth it? And enjoying some downtime? Especially time I could spend playing with baby, or cleaning, or just taking a load off from working all week long?!. Was this worth it? I dunno. I think I'll keep up with this and see if I don't begin to fall into a better routine/pattern that grows increasingly more manageable over time. My mother has already called to tell me that she never did all this. She just bought CANS of unsalted veggies that she then pureed for me. What? A short cut?!. Man, I have a lot to learn... In the meanwhile, here's the chub in all her glory, enjoy!:
Wow, wait - what? Almost half a year? Already?!. I don't know what scares me more ... that you are growing up so fast or that I'm quickly approaching the window of time where I said I'd like to start having another baby. Obviously, in light of how fast time travels, you're future li'l sis or brother is on hold for another half a year. So this past month is the month of first solids! Who-pee! You took to rice cereal like no big deal and then did the same with apples last week. Tonight, it was carrots. I think you really love carrots since this was the first time you actually opened your mouth for each bite and didn't pump your arms continuously while grunting (ungh! ungh! ungh!). No, you were quiet and patiently watched each spoonful. In fact, for dinner tonight you must have had 2T of rice cereal and 2T of carrots followed by 1T of apples and then washed it all down with 4 oz of formula. We don't measure anything. Should we be arrested for over feeding you? Or maybe we can finally get our 15 minutes of fame by putting you on the Maury Povich Show for fat babies. I'm sick, I know. I hope you grow to not only understand but love my twisted, dry sense of humor. Shortly after hitting month four, you began having more control over yourself when we hold you. No longer slamming forward into our chins (clunkers), you started either holding onto our shirt sleeve or pushing off with your hand for balance. I thought the moment you did this was a sign of brilliance. I think I will be an easily impressed mother. You have it much better than I did, Evie. In fact, speaking of Grandma Bob, we went to Greensboro for your first Thanksgiving! The drive down was OK... a few fits and spurts from you as you wrestled with the notion of sleeping before finally succumbing. We had hit the ground running at 6PM on Wednesday, after I came home from work (thanks AGAIN to Kelly and Kelly for entertaining you long enough so we could pack and load up the car to even make such a timely departure possible). Our drive back from GSO, the following Sunday, proved a little more trying as you slept the first half but fussed the second half of the trip. We stopped 3X's for the 3.5hr drive. While at Grandma's house, she desperately wanted you to eat applesauce ('cause, apparently, rice cereal just wasn't enough for her). I managed to talk her into putting the adult applesauce down, much to her sadness, and your dad later went out to buy you the baby food variety. So, to her delight, Grandma Bob does get to claim that she is the first one to feed you apples. Not to be outdone by Grandma Ullman later this year during Christmas, she was later seen shoving you over a few times on your activity mat hoping to get you to roll over for the first time while at her house. Alas, you didn't fall for it and you waited until coming home before doing this for.... Puck. Yes, Puck witnessed your first roll over at our house just today... but I digress. You met Santa Claus for the first time. I knew you wouldn't cry - you really aren't like that (well, not yet, at least). But, I didn't expect the blase calmness you had while Santa shifted you around on his lap 5 or 6 times trying to help us snap a photo of you smiling. I simply love that you just sat there looking blankly into the camera. I also love how you grinned a huge grin when I walked over to pick you up off his lap when all was said and done. My glee was heightened by the fact that you frustrated my mother by smiling AFTER the photos were done. Good girl. Drool, drool, drool. I really do not think you are teething yet. You just drool a lot. In fact, I held you as you konked out for a short milk coma last night before bedtime. I watched silvery streams of drool spill out the side of your mouth as you dreamt quietly. Ah, you did inherit something from me - my salivary glands. You took a brief liking to screeching recently. You really screeched while at Grandma's house. Dad woke up on his birthday morning to you kicking and screaming (with delight) at the sight of his face. He said it was a pretty awesome birthday greeting. I think that's spectacular. You've been less enthusiastic ever since, but you do still belt out some loud sounds. You still have a very horsy, dry laugh. Just today I flung you up in the air and then pretended to drop you again and again while dad got your dinner ready. You LOVED it. I remember testing you at 3 months and you'd steady your arms afraid if I was going to drop you or not. Now you seem to love the brief weightless flight right before I catch you again. You had a huge grin and you chuckled a few times before I realized... you are very heavy and I am very out-of-shape. You simply LOVE baths. We still keep up with our every-other-night routine. You could be half-asleep and cranky before I walk into the bathroom and you just light up in anticipation. You love the freedom of nudity on the bathroom mat before I plunk you down in the warm lavendar bath. I scrub key areas before letting you just sit to kick, kick, kick! Your frog-like belly does wonders for your buoyancy. You float to the top and begin to roll to either side before I need to station your butt down again. You never seem to mind when you begin to slip into the water either... I think you like the weightlessness of the water this much. I can't wait till next summer when we can take you to a pool. You're going to be a fish. You truly have reached that stage where everything goes into your mouth. Last month was just the beginning. You get this feverish look of determination right before your mouth forms a perfect "O" shape sucking in anything it can like a big, wet black hole. Things do come back out—soaked. Last week you sucked all of my fingers on the way home from Greensboro and the saliva just ran down my hand. You enjoy sucking on your fingers and then touching my face to pull open my mouth... where you will then stick your wet fingers. Its funny to think how GROTESQUELY AWFUL I would have found all this to be just one year ago. Your spit tastes like water and it really doesn't bother me in the slightest that I know this. You are getting big. We've already begun retiring 3-6 month wear and we really do need to start dipping into the 6-9 month clothes. Again, it amazes me to think you will never wear some of these things ever again. This makes me both sad and jealous. Why the hell do I have to keep the same clothes year after year? I'd love a new wardrobe every 2-3 months. You've developed new frustrations at sleeping. You are increasingly more difficult to get down for naps (although you slept for hours at Grandma Bob's. She thinks its because her house is so relaxing... I think its because she wears you out). You rub your eyes and fuss endlessly signaling you are tired but you keep POPPING alive trying to stay awake. This makes for long days for dad. I have also noticed this weird left leg "stomp, stomp, stomp" you do when you are overly tired. You pick up your leg and throw it down (hard!) against the mattress almost like a temper tantrum. You bury your face in your hands (everyone who knows you has seen you do this - you have always covered your face when eating a bottle or trying to sleep) and then stomp your leg multiple times before finally wearing out. I'm not quite concerned, hell, I had to sleep on my stomach with my butt in the air when I was a kid. But I do hope this isn't a sign that we let you get too frustrated. I'd hate to think we are causing you to get this upset. Finally notes of interest: We bought a Flip camera and a new digital camera to capture more moments in better quality. Dad's latest nickname for you: Piglet. It was Munchie around 3 months and Birdie at 1 month.
I want two front teeth, Santa We went to visit Santa the day after T'Giving while visiting my parents here in NC*. Turns out, nobody cares about Santa on Black Friday. So, we were the first in line! Added bonus, Santa wasn't jaded from a month long adventure of screaming brats demanding outrageous toys. He was sweet as can be and willing to let us take 6 photos before settling on this one.
*This photo was scanned at my parents house hence the fantastic color quality. In the interest of timely blog entries, I went ahead and posted this. I plan to redo this scan when at home but who knows when that may be...
Grandma Bob (aka, my mother) has been riding my tail about how awful I am for not feeding you solids yet. I dunno, you don't seem desperate to eat (you aren't grabbing at our food and you aren't taking any more bottles than usual). Besides, I'm just not ready for a whole new world of making , storing, and preparing food after finally getting to a place where I feel comfortable. But,... I gave in yesterday. We made you VERY watery rice cereal (like the box said to do) and you took to it no problem. After a few bites you began to get frustrated at how long it was all taking. We all were, frankly. So, you finished off your cereal in a bottle. At dinner I prepared a much thicker recipe. I don't know how much. I didn't measure. It seemed like such a small amount until I sat in front of you. Comparitive to the size of your body, I guess I did make a lot. It didn't stop you. You ate it ALL. You then washed it down with 6 oz of formula. You still woke up at 3AM, starving. Man, you are like me. I was a fat baby who, apparently ate everything no problem. Let's just hope you take to your veggies this well when we try that next week. Good job, baby! You are on your way to the wild world of solids. Both food AND poops, that it. *sigh*
Not the jazz musician. No, the actual LITTLE Miles. T and I used to get together for breakfast when we were pregnant (I think we did this 3 X's before it became too close to her due date. She then had Miles in April). We did meet for breakfast about a month before I had Evie with full intention of keeping up this "ritual" (if you'd call it that) after both babies were here. Finally, after 4.5 months of talk, we met for coffee and breakfast bagels at the coffee shop up the street. I was prepared for fussiness and melt-downs. What we got were 3 hours of conversation and evenly tempered babies. You can see how into each other they were. Who knew? Now we need to plan our next breakfast....
Its been one year since our lives were about to change forever. I remember thinking how far off, in the very distant future, today would be. And, here it is.
I was preparing a bedtime bath for Evie last night when Rob and I caught this on the news, "Voter turn-out has been 245 people today. The outlook was for low turn-out but the numbers are much lower then originally anticipated..." We exchanged glances and, without skipping a beat, got in the car. We can't NOT vote.... geez. The ladies at the church were excited to put the "I voted!" sticker on Evie while dad and mom cast their ballots. We had only 2 positions to vote for: a democrat verses an independent ... and a democrat running against no one. The experience was slightly lame since there was only 1 other couple there (not exactly an exciting voting atmosphere) but these types of situations are optimal when dealing with a 4-month-old during the time right before bed.
Another month conquered. Some days are fast, some are slow. When I reflect on the past month in these blog posts,... I truly see how FAST you are growing up. Major events this past month? You are more VOCAL! And, I don't just mean that you talk more. You are developing a wider range of sounds each day. Grunts are rarely heard anymore. You never make the "gggrrsch, ggcrsh" sound when you wake up anymore. No, instead its all loud sing-song sounds. And, I do mean loud. Dad says that one day you YELLED and scared both yourself and him. Yes, you have found your voice and you love to explore it. You make "Ooo's" and gurgly laughs and "Ahh's!" You repeat sounds again and again (and, again) until you either wear yourself out, are distracted by something in the room or you break into a wide open-mouth grin for those forced to listen. We, in turn, love it and laugh when you "talk" to us. You laughed out loud this past month. This happened about 3 weeks ago. I was so excited to hear it and I have done everything in my power to recreate it. You do laugh outloud more lately. I'm not sure WHAT makes you laugh, though. You certainly laugh when I take off all your clothes at night (to either get in PJs or a bath) and sometimes when I kiss your neck under your ears. Sometimes, you laugh at the wall. You've loved the wall since 1 wk old and you'd blank stare at it for long periods of time. I like to think that the two of you are now exchanging silent jokes. Maybe I'm just in denial that you are borderline crazy... it is a wall afterall. Bathtime has become more fun. You were getting better at it at the end of 3 months but now you don't cry ever (well, you haven't for the last 2-3 weeks at least). I recently figured out that I should loose the newborn hammock from your plastic tub since you are more than large enough to sit up or lean in the tub. This has certainly helped. It hasn't hurt that you now figured out how to KICK and SPLASH me. Lovely. You observe things in an active way. Meaning, you seem to be actually watching things and learning from them. You will sit in a boppy or chair (propped up, of course) and take things in. You are fantastic in restaurants, you'll sit on our laps while we eat. You just watch the people around us while munching on your fists. We went to lunch today, in fact, and I soaked up all the approving/warm faces of adults all around us. I was so proud and kept spinning you around so people could get a full look at your face. You are so damned cute... dad and I still talk about how cute you are. We sometimes hurry up and eat so we can take a turn holding you - this is how cute you are. This is saying alot, Evie. Cause you also weigh alot and do sometimes suddenly bop your head forward or backward. You're nice to hold but it is still a fulltime (arm aching) job. ;-) You are beginning to "enjoy" our kisses. Dad and I must plant one on you every 10-15 minutes (or an equivalent there of). It took you awhile to stop turning your head trying to catch our kiss in your open mouth. Now, you blink your eyes and smile. You are beginning to know what kisses are and what purpose they serve. You are nearly predictable now. We know when you'll wake up in the morning (between 6:30-7AM) and we know when you'll crash at night (bedtime 7-7:30PM). You always have a BURST of energy 20 minutes before and then rub your eyes when ready for a nap. You still only have 1 midnight feeding (dad and I switch off every other night) and only take about 5ozs at that feeding. You wake up silently after your naps and in the morning. You can easily be forgotten if we don't check the clock and then check on you. You will lie awake (covers kicked off) quietly watching your mobile. When you see us looking in your room, you smile real big and are eager for us to pick you up. Its a pretty "Hallmark Moment" to tell you the truth. You have had some lows. You experienced your first constipation this past month. I don't know who it hurt more - you or dad. After an hour of crying and struggling, it all eventually worked out. Dad has now begun giving you 2 ozs of water per 1 teaspoon of Karo syrup. Its been helping and I think you like the sweet taste. Speaking of taste, the pediatrician said you could start rice cereal this month. I think we are going to hold off on this a wee bit longer. No particular reason except you seem too little to me. Yes, yes, my mother fed me SQUASH from the backyard by 1 month old... but still. You're my little baby! I'm not ready for food yet... You suffered a bruise when I accidentally clipped the tip of your finger instead of your nail. Oh my.. tears welled up in your eyes and you wailed. I felt... so... terrible. How the hell could I do this? Would you hate me forever? How badly does it hurt? Will you be traumatized by clippers forever now? I put a cold teething ring on it temporarily and rock, rock, rocked you. You, of course, got over it. I'm now more cautious then ever when trimming your nails. I still haven't ever cut your toenails. Why do toenails grow slower? Mine do, too. Its getting colder outside so we started pulling out the sweaters and cool cord/valour pants you own. I now get why parents go gaa-gaa for kids clothes. Its so funny to see a little person wearing adult clothing shrunk to fit a little human. I put a sweater twin-set on you and about died at the thought that you will outgrow this. Its way too cute to only be worn for such a short period of time. In fact, while packing away your 0-3 month gear this past month, it was strange knowing that you will NEVER WEAR THIS STUFF AGAIN. I pack my seasonal clothes year after year and wear my summer things the following summer.... this thought didn't sadden me as much as it made me realize I would again be wearing the same sweaters I bought 8 years ago (BEFORE I met your father). Dad and I now plan to go shopping before we look like parents who have let themselves go once the kid arrived. Don't worry Evie, you won't suffer the same humiliation of nerd parents like we did as kids. You like pulling things into your mouth. If you can grab our fingers, you'll pull both our fingers and your hands into your mouth. Its funny and odd. You aren't chewing on them (I know you aren't teething yet) and you don't necessarily do it for taste (cause you don't really suck on them either). You just enjoy getting things to your mouth where you can coat liberally with drool and then fling away from your body. Its really great when slimy hands run down our faces or drool strings gently "plop, plop, plop" drops onto our hands/laps when holding you. *sigh* You have successfully overcome acid reflux (I say this after you threw up on dad in the middle of the night last night). Honestly, you rarely toss up anything anymore, so I am happy to report that we no longer give you Axid twice a day. Yeah! Other highlights this past month: you were babysat by A & J in DC while we attended a hockey game. You attended a huge outdoor festival with mom. And you experienced your first Halloween. Looking back on the past month, you really have come a long way. You are shaping up to be more of a person (and less a baby blob) with each passing day. Your personality really shines more and more... and we love what your personality is turning out to be. You are very sweet, not at all demanding and pretty easy-going. You do get overwhelmed in loud, busy places (especially events mom drags you you to. Dad seems to be more sensitive to your gentle nature than what mom is) and you are beginning to cry when strangers hold you (I didn't expect this until you were at least 7-8 months old). You like what you like and, fortunately, what you like isn't all that crazy a compromise on our part. You take bottles easily and rarely scream to be fed (only if you get ignored repeatedly when wah-wah'ing before a feeding time). You smile, you laugh, you WIGGLE and you bounce. You nuzzle when teased and you fall asleep in our arms. This really is a great time to be with you, little Eve. I'm looking forward to month 5. Love, mom
Before and afterStrangely enough, time elapse between these photos is 20 minutes. Our entire party experience last 45 minutes before we headed home for the night. Better luck next year, *wink!*
Dad and you send me an email pic before picking me up Dad & you drove out to my office to pick me up for lunch before seeing the doctor today. I cannot believe its already your 4 month check-up. Time is flying. Today is a crappie rainy day (that we so desperately need) so we ran in and out of doors trying to keep dry & warm. We had Salsarita's Mexican for lunch - tacos for mom and a burrito (of course) for dad. You sat on my lap throughout most of my meal and quietly gazed across the table, the room & out the window. Your head swivels at a pace much like an attendee at a tennis match. I sometimes can't tell if you are overwhelmed or if this is just how you process things. Sometimes, I can catch your darting gaze and get you to lock eyes for a second... then you smile broad and shove a fist in your mouth. It makes me melt. Its all pretty damned fantastic these days. We throw you back in the car to get to the doctor's office (not only on time but very early!). Dad and I both kept you far, far away from some sick boy who insisted on covering every square inch of the waiting room with his open-mouth coughs. *sigh*, if we could only wrap you in Saran wrap. You started to get fussy by the time your room was up (it is naptime, afterall). The fussiness was squelched with the taking off your cothing. Just telling you that you were going to get naked made you light up. I sing the "Takin' off your pants! Takin' off your pants! Doin' the takin' of my pants dance!" song I created a few weeks ago and you just grin wildly. Dad hopes your enthusiam for nudity subsides by the time you are 2. Some stats are recorded: 15 lbs. 24 3/4" long. Holy crap - you're huge! You are now in the 75% percentile (and you've been 50% all along up until today. You seemed to have tripled in size around 3 months... today confirmed it!) *wink* All was fun and games (you peed on the scale and I had to carry your wet,bare butt back to the room) until the needles were finally brought in. I hated watching you wriggle and talk in the moments leading up to the first jab. Holding your arms back makes me feel like some sick form of betrayal.... like I held your hand while I led you into the firing squad. I know, I know - it all sounds so dramatic but watching your face squinch up, turn red, tongue curled and crying.... just makes me feel like all your trust in me is broken. It doesn't help that you didn't even fight. Somehow I wanted you to resist but you just laid there in futile pain... like you gave up and gave up on me. Honestly, in the grand scheme of things, you did fantastic. You calmed down pretty quickly afterward (4 shots in all) and you didn't seem to actually hate me. Dad did whisk you off for a bottle to help soothe you while I grabbed our gear. You later crashed out the moment you got in the car to head home. I decided to leave you alone and chose not to say "good-bye" when I was dropped off at work both in fear of waking you and possibly getting rejected. After work was non-stop fussing. You whimpered and wah-wah'd. Understandable, yes. A result of today's tribulations, yes. Do I feel like a wad of gum on the street, yes. I hope tomorrow is fun again like it was before the doctor. At least we have 2 more months to build back the trust levels again before your 6 month appointment.
So, I woke up this morning to no covers thanks to the husband and the dog, *sigh*. Between this, the cold meals, the being spit-up on, the having to carry everything like I'm preparing for an overnight trip even if it is just out to the grocery store... its official. I'm a mom. I've been having to stay late at work this week. We are in "peak" holiday season at work and I am one of 5 designers responsible for creating that big, colorful ad you will all see in your newspaper for the day after Thanksgiving sale. Yes, that's right, I am helping create the infamous "Black Friday" sales ad. And lemme tell you, its all work-work-work with little-to-no glory! Last night I stayed on until 7:45PM just to get the lay-out on my page done (this ad ships very soon so this its important that I get things done & done correctly now.... not to mention that this is a very critical ad that keeps changing up until the very final moment of shipping). If you don't fully understand the pressures associated with Black Friday advertising, read this. And, no, you couldn't pay to get information out of me so don't try. (Hmmm,... How much are you offering again?) *wink* So, staying late last night wasn't THAT LATE but when you're kid goes to bed at 7:30PM.... it wrecks your whole night if you miss them. Your whole day. My whole week. Ruined. I feel like I completely missed out on a day in my kid's life. Now, granted, it won't be as "big a deal" when she is, say, 5 and she stays overnight somewhere. But, when she isn't quite 4 months old, a whole day gone is like a week. Hell, she started talk, talk, TALKING up a storm today and I almost missed out on that, too, with getting home at 6:30PM. *sigh* I never thought things like this would impact me this way. I never truly 'got it' when other people were so ga-ga over their kids. But, I tell you what, I get it now. My kid's the coolest thing since sliced bread and way more entertaining than the many things I enjoyed before having a baby around. I could watch her and be totally content with just watching her bounce, wiggle, laugh and coo endlessly. I find her so completely fascinating and, the best part is, she is ALL MINE! Just another case-in-point in kid ownership, last weekend I got my haircut and brought Eve with me (poor dad, he needs a break on the weekends!). She was content when everyone was gawking at her but she started fussing the moment I got in the shampoo girl's chair. Many hair dressers ran to her aid but, by this point, she only wanted one thing. To be picked up... and to be held the right way. I had no idea how much we have impacted her preferences (or maybe we've just figured them out) but she CRIED when one girl held her like a baby (cradled) and got even fussier when another woman held her facing over her shoulder. Evie likes to face out and sit up. Period. The only solution? Evie sat on my lap wile I got a haircut. She had chunks of wet hair stuck to her hair and she had little bits stuck to her slobbering fingers. Oh, it was a trip. But the moemnt her ass hit my lap—the crying ceased. And, as ridiculously silly a scene as this was... I secretly (very deep down inside) loved it. Kids always reached out for the moms when I held them and I HATED it (made me feel incompetent). And, here was this kid... my kid... calmed only by me. How feaking cool a feeling is that?
Evie laughed out loud for the first time last weekend. Unfortunately, I couldn't blog about it when it happened because Rob was out-of-town and when you are playing single parent for the weekend... blogging doesn't make the top 20 list of things I'd like to do during baby's downtime. I did try to capture it on video. But, alas, Evie got the dreaded digital camera stage-fright and resorted to her *grunt*, *grunt*, huh-huh-uh sounds when the camera was rolling. Don't get me wrong. The grunting "wiggle-wiggle-wiggle" sessions are also outstandingly entertaining (we grab her belly one-handed and exclaim "wiggle! wiggle! wiggle" which Evie grins over endlessly). I did manage to capture this on video during my feeble attempts to get her to squel and laugh like I now know she can do. but, here too is the rub, my camera won't download this video for some reason. *sigh* There is PLENTY of laughter in the road ahead so I just need to sit back and relax. I'll hear it again. Hearing baby laugh out loud for the first time is electrifying. The absolute delight that hits you both at that moment - is a feeling you do not expect. Sure, everyone knows it will be cool to see/hear/witness baby's firsts yada-yada... but when you've been changing diapers, feeding, burping and carrying around a baby for 3 months (basically, WORKING) and you are suddenly rewarded with a sound that you've never heard before and that baby has never heard herself make before.... WOW. Evie and I both stopped what we were doing (I was changing her and singing a made-up, goofy song while she wiggled) and the room fell silent. I think she scared herself and I was just dumb-struck. I returned the same high pitched sound so she knew it was an OK sound to make (and to, PLEASE, do it again!).... she returned back with an excitement at her new sound. And, ... then that was it. We've been close at hitting this squel again throughout this week but its more a high-pitched coo that sounds like "hi! hi! hello!" Which, is just as cool because this is one more sound that will lead to her saying "mama!" someday. And man, won't THAT be cool?
We are now becoming more proficient at grabbing things in our tight little fists. We have recently switched Evie to the type of pacifiers more commonly used (the brightly colored plastic ones with a loop on the outside and a clear silicone nipple part. Evie loved her Soothies—the ones commonly referred to as "hospital issued"—but she wouldn't take the 3-6 month old size... so we had to switch things up a bit). On Monday morning, Evie grabbed her pacifier by the ring, yanked it out of her mouth and began waving her arm frantically in the air thus taunting herself. Rob called my attention to this new skill telling me, "She's good at the catch, not so much on the release," as she just as suddenly flung the pacifier through the air when her hand decided to let go. Its funny that her hands seem to have a brain of their own. She can put her hands together or bounce her arms when she is happy. But when it comes to the sudden grab reflex, its like she has no idea what her hand is doing. She'll grab a clump of my hair, my shirt collar or my necklace and look all around completely unaware of what her hand is doing. Rob wants to capture this new-found skill and highlight it by dressing Eve as Senator Bob Dole for Halloween. Give her a pen for one hand and a bottle of Viagra for the other... perfect! God we're sick people.
This year was the third and final NFF held here in Richmond. We do plan to continue the Folk Fest event here next year (the point of NFF is to build awareness & to train cities on how to hold their own celebration in the years that follow)... but I fear that it will fizzle out like many things seem to do in this city. I don't mean to be a nay-sayer... I just enjoy this event so much, I fear it will end or will not be as big & as successful as this year's. (We DID break the attendence record with over 175,000 attendees thus taking over the title from Bangor, ME... this is fantastic news so hopefully I am just being a pessimistic worry-wort). I volunteered in 2005 (I helped assist vans driving through people traffic). After the one day of fun and two days of attendence that year, I went on to volunteer for two days in 2006 (I served beer at night and sold CDs the following day). This year, I couldn't volunteer since I had Evie to watch over, but we had a great time without being involved. The event is huge filling both Brown's Isle and part of the "mainland". Six stages with hourly revolving acts keep people constantly migrating from one show to the next while buying food, hand-crafts and CDs. And when you find a place to rest, we just sit and listen (or dance). The weather was great, the people are all friendly (the audience is a wide range of cultures and ages) and the music is inspirational. Best of all? Its all FREE. Honestly, I love this event and I am sad to see that it is already over. Evie hung in like a baby trooper. We went on Saturday with Eric, Kelly and Lisa for roughly 3 hours. Yes, she fussed and I had to hold her most of the time (trying to get her to nap and then take a bottle) but hell, she is only 3 months old. I was still delighted with how well she did (even if it meant I couldn't fully enjoy the shows like last year). We went back for more on Sunday after Rob returned from a comic convention. Sunday was a bit rougher since we were all tired from the weekend's events but at least we tried. We stayed for about 1 1/2 hours with the second half of that time being mostly tears (Evie's, not Rob's). I think its really important to keep Evie out-and-about attending things of this nature. Rob... hates things like this (crowds and the slow moving pace from stage to stage). But, he was also never taken to things like this as a kid. I was dragged to everything. That's the difference between being an only child and 1 of 3, I suppose. Then again, I also traveled to see the Grateful Dead and Phish concerts so this migratory/band following lifestyle is one I have come to enjoy. Rob is more a quiet jam-at-home type. Curious? Here's a sampling of NFF. This is Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (I recorded Doyle's turkey call, too. Yes, he performed turkey calling, but I thought you'd prefer to hear the music. I could be wrong. The call was also very entertaining...)
I was reading a friend's post recently. She was commenting on an article regarding how some women today see value in getting a make-over to "fix" the after effects of having a baby. J, you know who you are, *wink*. I am not in the least bit surprised that people would be participating in "mommy make-overs" (yes, the cutsey name is ridiculous. Its surgery, people. Not a Mary Kay make-up party). I was actually more shocked when I heard about how some women GET c-sections when the baby is full-term (about 36 weeks) to avoid adding on additional & unneccessary weight gain. These women did not want stretch marks. They didn't want the cankles or the additional 5+lbs you pack on your final month. They wanted it all neat and simple and tied with a bow ....cut out the unnessary details, please. I think putting your baby in harm's way just to spare a few stretch marks is absurd. Selfish. And its a horrible statement on our society as a whole. I had a c-section. I didn't want one (I didn't want a natural childbirth for that matter either. I, personally, believe epidurals are a godsend, so send it my way. Evolution has helped some smart people in the medical community to invent these drugs so why not? Many of my gal-pals feel otherwise and went all natural... but I digress). I had a c-section because Evie was breech. Medical advancement has allowed such things to happen for both a healthy mother and baby. Now, I also find this chick's post interesting: Parent Dish Maybe I wouldn't have died. Maybe, in reality, I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO DIE passing a human butt-first... but that's enough for me. Do I feel less of a mother? No. Do I now regret having a C-section? Hell, no. Did I want to sob uncontrollably at the thought of having a C-Section cause I realy didn't want one when my doctor told me I was going to have one? Yes. Would I ever touch-up my scars? Hell. No. The scars... the tears.... the stretch marks... the way your hips never quite look the same again... the less-perky-boobs from breast-feeding... are all signs that I rose to an amazing challenge and the outcome was Evie. Maybe it helps that my husband thinks I'm still the sexiest thing on the planet. Maybe its just my outlook. But we are all here to live life and to use our bodies to their fullest potential. So far, ...I have. Why would I ever want to tweak, nip or tuck that?
Big week for you. You have begun using your hands more - you aren't quite intentionally grabbing things but you do grab my finger more actively, grab my hair or necklace, and wave your arms out away from your body before bringing your hands to center again. You are developing more controlled movements. You also have discovered your toes and actually grabbed my thigh again & again with your long monkey toes while we were laying on the bed. You then tap, tap, tap your toes and commence toe-grabbing again. Its all really funny and this is clearly intentional... which is exciting. You focused all your energy & might on kicking the hanging rattle/block that hangs from your bouncy seat. Dad and I both marvelled at how you are concentrating to make things happen when, before, it was all uncoordinated flailing and wild, jerky movements. Seeing your brain work is pretty fascinating. Its nice to see the human being in you emerge. Your facial expressions are changing, too. The range is growing. You have started to wave your eyebrows (clearly, a trait inherited from your mother). You furrow your brow when I put you in the bathtub (What-the-hell-is-this? expression), you also furrow your brow when I make a confusing/silly face (What-are-you-doing? expression), and then your eyebrows fly up your forehead when you are thrilled (yippee! expression). You are concentrating, thinking and processing... all of which is finally being reflected in your face. Its so nice to begin to see more of what makes Evie, Evie. Who is she and how does she think? What does she like and how does she respond to the things she doesn't like. What does she want and how will she take it. The more and more you do the more I am amazed at human biology. Just 1 year ago you were a zygote and look at you now.
This past weekend Natalie was in town from Chicago. She finally had the chance to meet you face-to-face. It scares me to think that you are closer to the age when Natalie and I met.... than I am! We met in the 3rd grade and that's not too far in your distant future. Yikes! This thought makes me feel old. Old because my mother was old when I was in the 3rd grade. I still feel so immature my ownself. I keep waiting to wake up and have that feeling of confidence, "I know what I am doing today and how to take care of things." And yet everyday is still the clueless adventure it was the day before... I hope I stay "cool" and in-tune with your needs when you are a kid. I hope I always "understand" and "get" you. I hope you make cool lifelong friends when you go to school.
Wow, Evie. Its so exciting how much you have developed and learned since just last month. And, its so sad how quickly time truly does fly. (Its even sadder that this still astounds me). During this past month, you and I said good-bye as I headed back to the office. I have been back for 4 weeks now. And, although it has gotten easier to leave you in the morning, it still makes me sad when I come home and you appear to have grown in just my 8hrs absence. Coming home now has all-new meaning as I hope to catch you in your final awake hour before crashing out at a 7PM bedtime. Once, I left work late and you were in bed before I got home. I felt really, really lost without our new routine (bathtime every other night and storytime every night). I like our routine and hope that you have associated my coming home with these special bonding-time events. I like to think its "our thing" after you and dad spent all day playing together. You learned how to sit up for the first time. Aided, of course. You sat up in your Baby seat designed to hold up 3-12 month olds (and you did so at only 2 1/2 months). You slumped the first time and looked a little confused. But the next time was all joyous smiles and giggles. You like to face things head on. You like to be held looking out with your arms and legs unrestrained. You like your bouncey seat so you can fling your legs out & can kick endlessly. Sitting in a chair was the most freedom you've had so far and you seemed to really enjoy it. You are not one who likes to lay down looking up at a gym or on your belly trying to grasp things. Never one to grasp our fingers (ever!) or to curl up on our chests and snuggle, you do love having us around. And being simply "around", is not enough. You like us to talk to you, to sing, to pull on your legs & arms to rythmn of a made-up song... you do not enjoy self-entertainment at this point. Sometimes, if we leave you in a bouncey seat, you'll allow us enough time to get a cup of coffee... but it better be quick or you fuss. So far, we still fall for all of your fussings. Many times we know they are fake and you can handle it... so we run to your aid but mock your musings while you settle back down again. We think its all so cute. That being said, when you get upset... it breaks our hearts. Only a few times (your 2nd day of life in the hospital, your 2-month-old shots and after friends yelled loudly during a football game) have you become so upset that you became almost inconsolable. When this happens, I feel terrible like I have done you wrong as a mom. My only job is to keep you safe, healthy and happy. To fail on keeping you happy, just tears me up. I am now on the look-out for situations that won't work for you. I'm getting better at seeing things before they happen to avoid a potentially unhappy baby. Of course, I did almost let you get a sunburnt head this past weekend 'cause I didn't think to put a hat on your bald forehead. I did say I was "getting better"...I am still learning... You have mastered the smile and have occasionally a raspy giggle similar to that of Selma on The Simpsons (we might need to work on this). You took your first overnight trip to Washington DC and stayed in your playpen for the first time (well, you did so until 5AM when we pulled you in to bed with us cause you weren't actually SLEEPING in your playpen *sigh*). You slept in between us with your arms up over your head. When we all woke up LATE (7:20AM!), you puffed up your pouty lips and stretched back & forth as far as you could reach.... *grunt!* *grunt!*. You pulled your legs up against your body in a tight indian-style and finally fell back... awake. Rob and I LAUGH at your personality. You really are a little person. Sometimes you act like an adult and not at all what we thought a baby would act like. This never ceases to crack us up. I worry that this little wake-up routine will end and you'll outgrow it.. I never want to forget the little things you do from the soft reply coos, the wet sneezes that make your eyes get red & puffy, the "bleuch" sounds you make when you grunt, the "wah's" you make when you get fussy... I keep worrying when these little trademark Evie things will end. This thought makes me sad. I need to remind myself that we aren't losing you as you get older... you just keep doing more and more funny/cute/endearing things. I need to learn this lesson now or I'll be one hell of a mom when you go off to high school (waving good-bye, sobbing on the street corner). Dear God, I've become MY mother! Its not too late... I can turn that ship around... You and I said good-bye to breast feeding this past month. this was one hard thing to start and one easy thing to end. I tore myself apart questioning why I would end such a good thing tht you & I worked so hard to master. I tormented myself questioning my commitments as a mother. I felt horribly selfish wanting to end the pumping as a convenience factor going back to work. I weened you during the hours I would be at work and didn't pump my first week back. Then I tried to recapture it all and brought the pump to work. Slowly, it all began to fade. I also found it to be too important to spend time with you after work instead of pumping while watching dad feed you. It all quickly became stupid. It was apparent that I needed to let it go. You never seemed bothered at my decision to switch you to formula so why beat myself up? We are both happy now and its great to watch you smile at me with the bottle in your mouth (even though it is 3AM and you really must finish up so I can get back to bed now....) This past month you also had your first head cold. You weathered it very well. Your father, did not. One snotty nose (you breathed like a raging rhino) and slight fever for a few short days. I now understand what my mom meant when she would tell me, "I wish I could take the pain for you." I don't like seeing you not feeling well. This will be hard watching you get sick again and again over the years... So, in closing ('cause this has got to end), I can't believe another month is behind us. They say you will begin to reach for things this month and that you'll be ready to stand up in a play gym. You might be ready for these things to happen. I'm not. I can't believe you far you have come in just the few short months you've been around. You learn and grow so much... its all so amazing. I can see why people do this all over again. I'm exhausted, financially strapped and wondering when our lives will move like a well-oiled machine again. But its all worth it... to watch you learn and to look at the world with fresh eyes. You have no preconceived notions about... anything! You aren't jaded and spoiled like I have become as an adult. Its so refreshing to see things in such a simplified manner all over again. You've tapped into a part of me that I haven't seen for a very long time. You make me so happy. I'm excited for our future. Here's to 3 months. We're ready for month 4...
So, I am JUST NOW getting around to posting about our anniversary dinner last Saturday night. Yes, moms are busy people. An old colleague of mine had offered to sit whenever we needed to get out. I think she was eager to hold the baby. We had met for lunch and Evie slept in her car seat the whole time. I decided to take her up on this offer. She could hold the baby all night if she wanted. I made a reservation for Acacia - a super fabulous restaurant in Richmond. My grandma had given us $75 for Christmas last year and I still had not spent it. She passed away last January and this seemed the right thing to do with her gift. A nice, romantic dinner out for our anniversary. I busted out, yes, are you ready for this?, a little black frilly dress I had bought for a wedding in October 2002. A five year old dress... that fit! Ta-dah! (Might have not been THAT in fashion but who the hell cares? I just had a baby!.... when does that statement expire? Back to the story...) I made Rob wear a tie. Yes, a tie. "I have to wear a tie?" Yes, Rob, you do. Cause who knows WHEN a chance like this will ever happen again. Because, let's be honest here, the next time we go out it will involve a babysitter who charges over $6/hr. At that rate, our night out will be McDonald's. If you wear a tie there, people will ask you for extra ketchup packets. So, L showed up 40 minutes before our reservation. I had everything prepared (the emergency phone numbers, the dogs were fed, baby was half-fed). I never did show her where the bathroom was, how to turn down the blasting TV (which, she tolerated the whole time we were gone!), where the baby monitor was (so she wouldn't have to visually check on her every 15 minutes). Oh well, I'm new at this. All-in-all, she said it went well but she also seemed to run from our house when we got home at 10PM. Our meal was FABULOUS. Rob and I got drinks at the bar (a whiskey sour and a glass of red wine - cheers! To 4 years!). We then dined al fresco (a little warm but otherwise, a very nice night to be outside). We skipped appetizers in order to save room for dessert. I had scallops in a butter cream sauce with gnocci & zuccini. I. Ate. All. Of. It. Rob had roasted chicken with an alfredo-based mac & cheese. He cleaned his plate, too. Another drink later, we had dessert—three different kinds of sorbet. "Phew! *hic-cup* What TIME is it? It must be like, 9:30PM!" Rob checks his cell phone. "Its 8:20." Wow. This is pathetic. Me, "We can't go home at 8:30. We just... CAN'T." Rob and I walk down to the New York Deli (its actually a bar. Its owned by the same peeps who own Cafe Saint. Ex in DC). We belly-up to the bar for a beer and another glass of red wine. This is really a lot of fun. We, sadly, NEVER DID this when we were baby-free. Everyone TELLS you to go out, date, enjoy it before baby. But, when you are baby-free... you really do NOT know what this sentiment means or how to truly appreciate moments like this. Its like when you were a kid and you really wanted to grow up. Parents would tell you, "Slow down! You'll be an adult before you know it - enjoy it!" And, you never got what the heck they were talking about until (fast-forward 20 years) you are married with a mortgage, a car payment, 2 dogs, a stack of bills and a baby! So, we had our drinks and decided we could head home. Home by 10PM. L, leaves and we are alone... tipsy... and the baby's asleep. Fast-forward 20 minutes, *wink*, and we are out like a light. A good night indeed!
I put on my B-cup bra yesterday. Today, accompanied by the trumpet playing "Taps", we put away the wide array of C-Cups and D-Cups that I collected throughout my pregnancy.
I had been bringing the pump to work and trying to keep up with it before/after work. Little by little, it was all TOO much (this being a very busy time at work while we prepare for the Christmas season in retail)... So, Evie and I are all formula now. And you know what? She doesn't care and neither do I. : )
Yes. Yes, we did go to JC Penneys today for baby's first official portrait. Its for the grandparents, really. OK, so I wanted 3 month shots. Its for me, too. However, I feel rather redneck with getting "portraits at Penneys!" And, have we really become THOSE people? Will we send out family Christmas card photos, too? Ok, maybe one day... but I swear it won't be cheesy and done at Penneys. Or Sears. Or Wal-Mart. We'll get a really nice professional portrait done then. With matching jeans and white T-shirts for the entire family. And Rob will be barefoot with a baby on his knee while I look over my family fondly.
JC Penneys allows you the opportunity to share your pictures with friends and family (and they can order prints if they want to, too) for the low additional price of $5. So, in 7-10 business days, I'll post a link to Evie's first glamour shots. They really are rather cute and/or funny. She did pretty well considering she is only 3 months old and having her portrait taken. At the mall. In Penneys. By some chick who had a very strong fondness for making kissy sounds and ringing a cow bell (is it any wondre Eve kept looking away at her and at the wall?).
In the meanwhile, here's a few hits from the other day:
Grandma Ullman cleans hotels & as a result, finds all sorts of things useful and not-so-useful. All of which she brings home with her to use, share or pass on. T-Bone is one of these things.
I want two front teeth, Santa
My name is Chilly-Willy, I'm frozen through and through! My nose is red and my tail is cold. Ah, hee, achoo!
Before and after
I love your vast selection of footie pajamas
Dad and you send me an email pic before picking me up
