August 2009
11 posts
Birthday Boy
Yesterday we celebrated Lex’s first journey around the sun by having cupcakes for breakfast. We have been practicing having him blow out a candle and he finally did it by himself. We were so proud. His Jaja sent birthday cards and we opened three at the breakfast table. One of them plays the music from Charlie Brown’s dance party when you turn a little crank. All through breakfast I...
July 2009
20 posts
“Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear...”
Up with the Larks
Sometimes I am amazed at how big he has gotten in just one year, other times I am overwhelmed by how small he still is. Early morning. Still dark, don’t wake up, baby. He cuddles up, nursing. Tiny soft hand touching my face. Sweet joy.
Sonnet 29:
When in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes
…
Happily I think on thee and then my state
Like to lark at break of day arising
From...
Milestone
Baby woke up at 3:30 in the morning with diarrhea. Dadda cleaned him up, back in bed with a fresh diaper, he slept fitfully. At 6:00 he woke me up by puking on me.
Poor sick baby. His first vomit. We read up on it. The Internet suggests it is a virus and home treatment with rest and fluids is key. He seems to feel much better instantly, and after a morning bath he is acting normal. We let his...
Charlie Chicken
Guess Who Farm is a favorite read. As we discover each animal I ask:
What does Clara Cow say?
Baby obediently says “Vroooo.”
What does Percy Pig say?
Baby snuffles and snorts.
What does Harry Horse say?
Baby half-neighs, half-laughs.
What does Charlie Chicken say?
“BAWK BAWK!”
He loves it. Even when we are nowhere near the book I can ask and he remembers. But I still...
Blueberries
Baby has vocabulary.
Dada, Momma, Jaja, Nana. He looks at a picture of his great-grandfather as a young man on the boat from Estonia to America and makes the sign for Father. When I am on the phone with my mother he distinctly says “Nana.” Of course he also says “nanna” when offered a banana, but I am convinced it is two different words and he understands the...
Architect
He stacks blocks now.
Used to be he would only dump toys out of containers and knock over our towers. But now baby Gojira has stopped stomping our cities and settled down to build.
He has mastered the shape sorter. Puts things into other things. In the bath he stacks cups. In his room he stacks wooden blocks. My little architect is one step away from engineering towers. City planning. Urban...
Liquid Gold
We no longer send bottles into daycare with Lex but I still pump once a day at work to take the pressure off and keep my production up. At home he will drink a little fresh-pumped milk from a glass with his dinner, but not enough to make a dent in my supply. So I started looking into milk donation.
There are several places online who are not accepting new donors. Wake Medical in North Carolina...
Montessori
At CMoR on Friday I met a mother who is speaking only Polish to her 20-month old twins. She is also considering Montessori schools. Most start at age 3, for kids who are potty-trained. She also mentioned a language-immersion summer program in town. We both would like our toddlers to learn Mandarin Chinese.
Had lunch with a Sail Caribbean friend today. He went to Tuckahoe Montessori...
Swingset
Jaja has found a set that is virtually identical to the one I had as a child. It has a fort, slide, two-person glider, picnic table/lemonade stand, monkeybars and of course, swings.
It is made of cedar and comes in three heavy boxes. Lots of assembly required. Now I know what we will be doing next weekend!
Happy first birthday, Bug. Your Jaja loves you.
Sharkbite
He has given up the bottle at daycare and drinks cow’s milk from a cup. But at home, on weekends, he nurses during the day when he goes down for a nap and always at night.
When he latches on he looks like a shark going in for a bite of seal or surfer. As sharks strike their lidless eyes are protected by rolling back under the membranes. As the Bug goes in for his feast his lids go...
Happy Friday
With Jaja and Grandpa Joe in town we abandon the regular schedule in favor of packing in more fun. Friday he gets early release from daycare and we whiz home to pick up the gramps, then zoom to Childrens’ Museum of Richmond.
There is only an hour til closing time, but we have short attention spans. Slide, fishing boat, vegetable patch, egg drop, puzzle table, tunnel, farm truck. We go home...
Firebug
After daycare, more surprises. Jaja was waiting for us at home. Bug gave big hugs to both his Grandpas. He is a really good hugger. He leans in close, snuggles tight and releases with a flourish. Getting a hug from him feels like a million bucks.
We had a little dinner party and Maura brought special lemon cupcakes. After we ate we all sang and presented the baby with a whipped-cream frosted...
Grandpa Joe
Coming home from daycare, Grandpa Joe was waiting for us.
Baby shows off how he likes to swing in his strappy baby swing on the screened-in porch. First thing, Joe starts pushing the baby and pretending he is getting kicked in the face.
Push! Pow! Push! Pow! Push! Pow!
Baby thinks this is very funny. Zac does the exact same thing with him. Like father, like son.
Bon Voyage
The day of the wedding I spent more time away from my baby than ever before. He woke up at 6 and we had family time til 9. Then the bridesmaids gathered for breakfast and headed to the salon.
The woman doing my bridal updo had long fingernails and said “It’s hawt!” quite a bit. I was not entirely sure if she meant my hair or was going through menopause. There was a little...
Bugsitter
This is the last time I will be a bridesmaid. Both because all my friends are pretty much married now, and because I no longer have the energy for all the additional wedding-party activities.
My dear friend Melanie’s parents own a canoe outfitters, so I took off from work and drove to Fredericksburg at dawn for a pre-wedding flotilla. We put 9 canoes in at Blankenbaker’s and had a...
Buh-Paw
For awhile the baby has been waving hello and goodbye, but not saying much. Now there is a farewell soundtrack. It goes like this.
Me: Goodbye! Wave goodbye, Lex. See? Waving. Bye-bye! See you later! Bye, I’ll probably see you again soon, ok? Bye-bye.
Lex: Buh-paw! Buh-paw buh-paw buh-paw! Buh-paw! Buh-paw buh-paw!
Clearly the most adorable thing I have heard in awhile. Buh-paw. I love...