This is one of Molly's favorite places lately. I bring her here to the landing on our stairs to give her a chance to practice climbing steps. Well, ever since she noticed the screen door here that looks out on the neighborhood, this is all she wants to do. Usually she holds onto the white bar, which is the perfect height, and stands there in the breeze. Tonight she watched a little boy go back and forth in front of our house on a bicycle with training wheels. Each time he passed by she made little coos of delight. It's kind of like baby TV, except the people she's watching can hear her. I think the little boy was pretty self-conscious after a while. :)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Watching the world go by...
This is one of Molly's favorite places lately. I bring her here to the landing on our stairs to give her a chance to practice climbing steps. Well, ever since she noticed the screen door here that looks out on the neighborhood, this is all she wants to do. Usually she holds onto the white bar, which is the perfect height, and stands there in the breeze. Tonight she watched a little boy go back and forth in front of our house on a bicycle with training wheels. Each time he passed by she made little coos of delight. It's kind of like baby TV, except the people she's watching can hear her. I think the little boy was pretty self-conscious after a while. :)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Daddy's girl
Molly's always been smitten with her daddy, but this week it has reached to new levels. Perhaps it's because he's been taking more of the night wakings and rocking/singing her to sleep when I don't have the patience (which is most of the time).
This weekend she was so overtired and unwilling to sleep that he had to rock her and sing to her to try to get her to take an afternoon nap. He was in her room for a LONG time and when I checked on them, at first I couldn't find him. Then I saw that he had slipped out of the rocker and laid down on the floor in a very awkward position with his head on a mattress on the floor and Molly sprawled across his chest, sleeping. It was the only way she would sleep -- on his body. He stayed that way, kind of dozing but mostly awake, for more than an hour.
So Monday morning rolls around and she gets very excited when he gives her the usual hug and kiss goodbye as he leaves for work. Then he tries to put her down and she won't let go. Every time he tries to release her, she turns to him, grips him around the neck and gives him a ferocious hug.
This morning she tried to detain him by not letting him tie his shoes. She follows him around the bedroom as he's getting dressed and pulls herself up on his legs and stands there, hugging his knees so he can't move.
Here's a shot of them together last week. He's feeding her a peach off a tree at Oma and Grandpa's house. The picture doesn't fully capture the intensity of her grip -- two hands on his hand! She really liked that peach. She sat there with her face on the thing for a long time.
This weekend she was so overtired and unwilling to sleep that he had to rock her and sing to her to try to get her to take an afternoon nap. He was in her room for a LONG time and when I checked on them, at first I couldn't find him. Then I saw that he had slipped out of the rocker and laid down on the floor in a very awkward position with his head on a mattress on the floor and Molly sprawled across his chest, sleeping. It was the only way she would sleep -- on his body. He stayed that way, kind of dozing but mostly awake, for more than an hour.
So Monday morning rolls around and she gets very excited when he gives her the usual hug and kiss goodbye as he leaves for work. Then he tries to put her down and she won't let go. Every time he tries to release her, she turns to him, grips him around the neck and gives him a ferocious hug.
This morning she tried to detain him by not letting him tie his shoes. She follows him around the bedroom as he's getting dressed and pulls herself up on his legs and stands there, hugging his knees so he can't move.
Here's a shot of them together last week. He's feeding her a peach off a tree at Oma and Grandpa's house. The picture doesn't fully capture the intensity of her grip -- two hands on his hand! She really liked that peach. She sat there with her face on the thing for a long time.
Monday, August 25, 2008
"What are you eating?"
This is the new phrase that I'm constantly saying to Molly these days. About two weeks ago I noticed she was getting pretty good at using her thumb and forefinger to pick up crud off the floor. I decided it was time to try finger foods. Within a day or two she learned how put Cheerios in her mouth, mush them with her gums and (most of the time) not gag herself on them. At 8 months old she still has no teeth, but she can chew just fine.
This new skill seems to have only heightened her interest in pick up crud off the floor, however, and now she can chew up little bits of fuzz or paper and swallow them if I don't catch her first. I've had to sweep my finger in her mouth a few times to fish out stuff. The worst is when I just see her chewing and I can't find anything in there. She ate a Cheerio off the floor at Bertucci's Saturday because I wasn't quick enough to stop her.
Here she is at a rest stop last week eating her sleeve. (That's the closest I've got to a picture of her eating weird stuff. Usually I'm too busy chasing her to snap a photo).
This new skill seems to have only heightened her interest in pick up crud off the floor, however, and now she can chew up little bits of fuzz or paper and swallow them if I don't catch her first. I've had to sweep my finger in her mouth a few times to fish out stuff. The worst is when I just see her chewing and I can't find anything in there. She ate a Cheerio off the floor at Bertucci's Saturday because I wasn't quick enough to stop her.
Here she is at a rest stop last week eating her sleeve. (That's the closest I've got to a picture of her eating weird stuff. Usually I'm too busy chasing her to snap a photo).
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Chocolate
It's been a while since I tried eating chocolate to see if it still bothered the baby. Wednesday seemed as good a day as any, so I devoured a bunch of chocolate brownies and chocolate chip cookies. The baby was fine!
So chocolate is back. Yay!!!!
I celebrated last night by buying a half gallon of some gratuitous ice cream that has chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cups, chocolate-covered peanuts and chocolate-peanut butter fudge. Ice cream has never tasted so good.
So chocolate is back. Yay!!!!
I celebrated last night by buying a half gallon of some gratuitous ice cream that has chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cups, chocolate-covered peanuts and chocolate-peanut butter fudge. Ice cream has never tasted so good.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Sadness
I'm sorry I haven't posted much lately. My 12-year-old cousin Kendall died of brain cancer this week and we just got back from traveling for the funeral. Molly's sleep is even worse than before and I'm not sure how any of us is making it through the day. She's crying right now (as she has been pretty much all day) and her dad is trying to rock her to sleep.
The priest at Kendall's funeral reminded everybody how Kendall kept her spirits up no matter what happened with the cancer. It reminded me of one of my favorite Kendall moments, back when she was only 5 or 6 and going through the first round of treatments in Boston. We did some sight seeing and had fun, but the mood was somber when it was time to say good-bye at Children's Hospital because the serious stuff was about to start. Everyone was somber, that is, except for Kendall. She was singing and skipping into the lobby of the hospital.
I'm looking at another pink sunset (thank you, Kendall) and trying to remember that there's happiness to be found everywhere, even when things seem miserable.
The priest at Kendall's funeral reminded everybody how Kendall kept her spirits up no matter what happened with the cancer. It reminded me of one of my favorite Kendall moments, back when she was only 5 or 6 and going through the first round of treatments in Boston. We did some sight seeing and had fun, but the mood was somber when it was time to say good-bye at Children's Hospital because the serious stuff was about to start. Everyone was somber, that is, except for Kendall. She was singing and skipping into the lobby of the hospital.
I'm looking at another pink sunset (thank you, Kendall) and trying to remember that there's happiness to be found everywhere, even when things seem miserable.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Beach baby
Molly's dad had karate camp last weekend just over the bridge from Cape Cod, so Molly and I tagged along for a mini vacation. We got up early Friday morning and went to Craigville Beach right as it opened. I was paranoid about sunburn and put on sunblock over and over again. Molly thought this was funny and kept taking off her hat (I didn't know she could do that!!) and crawling out of the little shady area I made for her with her little zebra tent.
The only thing she didn't like was the water. She cried when I put her toes in (it was quite cold) and then she fussed and wiggled whenever I got her near the water, even just to look, after that.
What she did like were the people. I prefer the beach like when there's hardly anybody out and the sun isn't hot yet. She got fired up later as it got crowded and there were people to flirt with and kids running around and conversations in every direction. At least, thanks to the tent, I could nurse her in the middle of everything without calling much attention to us.
The second day of the trip was a little rougher and I had a bit of a melt-down. I was really tired and frustrated because I had planned a bunch of vacation activities to do silently in the hotel room while she napped. I should have known better than to think she would be taking naps, or even being well rested enough to play independently in the hotel room. Instead she was whiny and overtired all morning. She knocked a (lukewarm decaf) coffee out of my hands and onto the floor. She covered my shirt with greenbeans, leaving me with nothing to wear but dirty clothes from the previous day. (I didn't have a seat to feed her in so I tried to feed her while she sat on the floor -- not the best planning there!) The only way I could get her to nap was to drive around in the car, which meant I couldn't even sleep while she slept. I had to drive and then sit in parking lots. At least I had a few books to pass the time and a beach towel to use as a pillow. Ugh! So that's what vacation is like with a baby.
Fortunately she slept like a hibernating bear after we got home and now my mom is visiting so I've been catching up on sleep. Yay!
Molly is a little goofball lately. She likes climbing over things and she's started using her toys as steps, so I've been letting her play on the real steps a little bit to practice climbing.
She's also making friends wherever we go. She met two little boys at an ice cream stand yesterday who picked up her toy for her when she through it on the ground, asked her name and shook her hand.
She's got some new sounds in her babble, too. She says "Abba" a lot and I think sometimes she calls me Bob. Oh, and we think she's picking up the sign for milk (nursing). It's hard to tell if it's just random or not -- it's just squeezing her hand into a fist and releasing, as if she's milking a cow -- but she's done it a few times when I didn't think she would want to nurse and I latched her on anyway just to strengthen the association, and it turned out she really did want to eat. Very cool.
The only thing she didn't like was the water. She cried when I put her toes in (it was quite cold) and then she fussed and wiggled whenever I got her near the water, even just to look, after that.
What she did like were the people. I prefer the beach like when there's hardly anybody out and the sun isn't hot yet. She got fired up later as it got crowded and there were people to flirt with and kids running around and conversations in every direction. At least, thanks to the tent, I could nurse her in the middle of everything without calling much attention to us.The second day of the trip was a little rougher and I had a bit of a melt-down. I was really tired and frustrated because I had planned a bunch of vacation activities to do silently in the hotel room while she napped. I should have known better than to think she would be taking naps, or even being well rested enough to play independently in the hotel room. Instead she was whiny and overtired all morning. She knocked a (lukewarm decaf) coffee out of my hands and onto the floor. She covered my shirt with greenbeans, leaving me with nothing to wear but dirty clothes from the previous day. (I didn't have a seat to feed her in so I tried to feed her while she sat on the floor -- not the best planning there!) The only way I could get her to nap was to drive around in the car, which meant I couldn't even sleep while she slept. I had to drive and then sit in parking lots. At least I had a few books to pass the time and a beach towel to use as a pillow. Ugh! So that's what vacation is like with a baby.
Fortunately she slept like a hibernating bear after we got home and now my mom is visiting so I've been catching up on sleep. Yay!
Molly is a little goofball lately. She likes climbing over things and she's started using her toys as steps, so I've been letting her play on the real steps a little bit to practice climbing.
She's also making friends wherever we go. She met two little boys at an ice cream stand yesterday who picked up her toy for her when she through it on the ground, asked her name and shook her hand.
She's got some new sounds in her babble, too. She says "Abba" a lot and I think sometimes she calls me Bob. Oh, and we think she's picking up the sign for milk (nursing). It's hard to tell if it's just random or not -- it's just squeezing her hand into a fist and releasing, as if she's milking a cow -- but she's done it a few times when I didn't think she would want to nurse and I latched her on anyway just to strengthen the association, and it turned out she really did want to eat. Very cool.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Things that keep me going
It's been more than a month since I've had a full night's sleep. This morning I've been thinking about all the reasons I'm not completely insane. Here's a top 5 list.
5. Stumbling in the dark to Molly's crib for the fourth time last night and realizing that she's just as disoriented as I am. She's pulling herself up to standing as usual and crying for help, but this time she's got her back to me and is grasping the bars at the back of her crib and facing the wall.
4. The cute noises she makes when she's playing.
3. The face she made this morning when she accidentally activated her vibrating teething toy with her butt.
2. The way she bounces and grins when her daddy walks in the room.
1. "Mama" (or in this case "baba" ... close enough).
5. Stumbling in the dark to Molly's crib for the fourth time last night and realizing that she's just as disoriented as I am. She's pulling herself up to standing as usual and crying for help, but this time she's got her back to me and is grasping the bars at the back of her crib and facing the wall.
4. The cute noises she makes when she's playing.
3. The face she made this morning when she accidentally activated her vibrating teething toy with her butt.
2. The way she bounces and grins when her daddy walks in the room.
1. "Mama" (or in this case "baba" ... close enough).
Monday, August 4, 2008
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