Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Strides forward

Major advances in baby development are brewing, y'all!

For one thing, Annika's reach is like eight feet, more or less; she upset a bowl of salsa all over herself and her mom at Celia's this weekend, a bowl mom thought was out of reach ... Also, she's doing a lot of downward dog (a sort of pike position, like a pushup but with her rear in the air to form an upside-down V) and rocking on her hands and knees, which we think will be a crawl very soon. And just today, down for a nap in her crib (having broken herself of both the swaddle and the need to fall asleep in someone's arms before being transferred into the crib in just the past couple of weeks), she got herself into a sitting position from (I think) her back; she's been doing sitting-to-stomach for a couple of months, but this is new. Finally, she can stand almost unassisted; she pulls herself up on your hand (or, ah, the crib railing) and surveys her domain, just about bursting with pride. She's taken to walking, holding onto both of mom's or dad's hands, with big moonwalking steps -- she couldn't do it on her own yet, but she enjoys the hell out of practicing. And I mean, if you put your hands out, she'll grab them, pull herself up, and take a big step faster than you could imagine -- so you best be ready for that! Foodwise, she's been eating the Stage 2 Gerber dealios, which are a coarser puree and come in LOTS more flavors, with more than one thing in many of them (e.g. one of her favorites is Harvest Vegetables with Grain -- she gets so mad when that one's done that we have to feed her another serving, which is usually a fruit blend, such as her pear & pineapple or apple & sweet potato varieties). And we're trying to introduce her to the sippy cup, which she doesn't really get -- the only BPA-free one we have right now has a rubber sippy bit, which she loves to gum but hasn't figured out how to tilt up to get the water from. Real People Food ahoy ...

And in other news, my good friend Amanda, from back home, has just had her first baby! Beautiful little Audrey was born May 22, weighing in at 7 lbs 11 oz and 20 inches in length. Congratulations to the C. family, and welcome to the world, Audrey! We can't wait to meet her.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

R.'s 35th birthday was Saturday, the same day as our friend Aaron's wedding. We did have cake for dessert at lunch (and of course at the wedding!) but the presents and fuss (and more cake) are still to come.

Happy Birthday! Love you lots and lots and lots and lots.

--L. and Annika

Champion baby!

This baby, this is the Best Baby Ever. You know what she did this weekend? She went to Massachusetts with us, and except for a touch-and-go period three hours into our six-hour flight home, she totally held her stuff together. Here’s what she did and how it all went down:

--Went to daycare on Thursday, always a draining experience.
--Got packed into the carseat and hauled to the airport that evening.
--Was delayed 1.5 hours.
--Got on the red-red-eye to Newark airport. Slept the whole time, even through some really unconscionably loud announcements from the pilot in re: such fascinating and important topics as the weather.
--Was hauled all around Newark airport and into a rental car, then driven almost four hours to eventual destination, which was way out in the Berkshires.
--Took a monster nap in a very loud crib while we napped in our bed.
--Put on her party clothes (a super cute dress given to her by Grandmother Hilton) and charmed the everlovin socks off a very crowded and spirited roomful of people at the rehearsal dinner.
--Slept allll night long, waking at about 8:00, then went back to sleep for three more hours while we did same.
--Hung out with us while we ate at a cute lunch place in the boonies.
--Toured the town of Great Barrington, Mass., in her stroller.
--Made the trip back (another 20 mins. in the carseat!), then took another good nap.
--Hung out happily while we got dressed up for the wedding.
--Charmed the socks off of the babysitter hired for the occasion by the bride & groom.
--Met us, still awake at 1:00 a.m., when we came home; ate, then slept like a log till we got up at 11:30 a.m.
--Went to brunch (which we missed, but that was our fault) and charmed the socks off a bunch more people whom she hadn’t met yet, then lunched with us at a brewpub and took dessert at an ice cream place. More time in the carseat, for all of these events.
--Long nap.
--Dinner out at a pizza place.
--Took a header off the very high bed and onto the hardwood floor. Much crying (her) and panicked, guilty freaking out (us), but not a mark on her and she was fine after awhile.
--Excellent sleeping, sunny demeanor for the trip back to Newark the next morning – another four hours in the car, including the Cross-Bronx Expressway and the George Washington Bridge.
--Planned two-hour wait at airport became three and a half, plus another 45 minutes once we were on the plane and fifteen or so waiting for a gate at SFO (for a total delay of 2.5 hours added to the six-hour flight), then took a taxi home. Too tired even to eat her vegetables at 9:30 p.m., she went to bed and slept till 6:00 this morning, then went down again for nearly two more hours.

She is the best baby ever. We are rewarding her extraordinary patience and sweet behavior with a promise not to make her go anywhere for the next little while!