Merry Christmas!

What's that saying...

About trying to clean with a toddler in the house? 

Sorry it's been forever since I posted, there are just a million things that need to get done when baby girl's asleep, and blogging does not rank very highly. She's walking for the most part, still getting the hang of starting and stopping but it's one of her favorite things to do these days. That and go outside. Our current record is three walks is one day. She's communicating more now, she does a few signs and is great at pointing and shrieking if we don't understand what she means. Definitely a real toddler all of a sudden.

Happy birthday, baby girl!

What a day

At about 10:15 this morning I realized I was a living stereotype. I had sweet potatoes on my shorts (from dinner last night, no less) and oatmeal in my hair. Breakfast dishes were still on the table. Tabby's high chair and tray were coated in a nice even layer of oatmeal. There was a half folded load of laundry in the living room. The kid had refused to take a morning nap. Instead she was in her bedroom, systematically pulling all of the toys and books she could reach off of her shelf and flinging them around the room. And I wasn't stopping her, because at least she was quiet.

Things did eventually get cleaned up, including me (luckily Robyn came for her weekly visit today and distracted the babe for awhile.) Tabby continued to fight naps like a champ the rest of the day. She finally passed out from sheer exhaustion just after 5, then woke up crabbier than ever 40 minutes later. She's been having tummy issues and a fever for the past few days, so on top of not sleeping she's been cranky and clingy. She's also been extra wired, which may be a side effect from her antibiotic.  Awesome! She fought bedtime valiantly, but I have emerged as the victor. I need a drink. Or some ice cream.

She's crafty

I'm in full on arts and crafts mode lately. It started because I bought a couple of new diapers (we use cloth diapers for Tabby, in case anyone reading this doesn't know that) and I decided I really liked that style of diaper. In my internet roamings I came across a tutorial for converting some diapers I already had into this new style. So I went for it. And it was awesome! I was a little intimidated by having to sew elastic, but it was actually pretty easy. That has now led me to other projects, and the benefit is that this is stuff I'll totally use. That and I already have the majority of the materials I'm using.

In this picture, in case you're interested, are two of my projects. The blue patterned fabric is a couple of bags for storing dirty diapers when we're out and about. I've been using plastic grocery bags, but these I can just dump in the wash with the diapers. Plus they're way cuter. The white diaper looking things in the picture are diapers. They started out as flat diapers that you have to fold onto the kid, and now they're shaped and have elastic so they're easier and faster to put on. They also keep poop on better so it's slightly less gross to change. It's kind of ridiculous how excited I am about this.

summer, summer, summer time!

Well, now I'm going to have Will Smith stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

Summer is here!  The weather is hot, my kid's getting huge (to me, at least, but she's still on the smaller side for her age), and I don't have a tan yet.  Tabby has experienced her first 2 tropical storms already.  She's crawling, in her own way.  She drags herself along with her arms and pushed off with her toes.  It kind of looks like she's doing the worm. It gets her where she needs to go, though.

This is what my days look and sound like right now.  Lots of shrieking, finding specks of dirt and fuzz to eat off of the floor, playing with things that aren't her toys.  One of her current favorites is a silicone basting brush.  That's what she's holding in the picture of her sleeping in her car seat.  She's doing really well with eating actual food, too.  We went blueberry picking (as per our yearly tradition) and it turns out Tabitha loves blueberries.  I, however, do not love the diapers afterwards. 

Tabby and I just finished up swim lessons today.  We definitely have a water lover on our hands.  She knows when I'm about to dip her under water and closes her eyes, then grins when she comes back up.  It's pretty funny.  Oh, and I think we officially have a first word: Dada!  She's been saying it for a couple of months now, but for the past week or so she seems to be saying it specifically to Alfred.  She's becoming quite a little chatterbox.  I wonder who she gets that from. 

My mom was just here visiting for a week, which was fun. It's always nice to have an extra set of hands around during the day.  She stayed home with Tabby a couple of nights so that Alfred and I could go out alone.  (Alfred's parents have watched her a couple of times too, it's so great to be able to get out once in awhile!)  The three of us girls went to the zoo while Mom was here.  Tabby liked the elephants and the giraffes especially, probably because they were the easiest to spot. 

How long until I post again?  Only time will tell!

Quote of the day

Alfred: Who wants to get naked and eat some faces? It sounds awesome!

the pool is open!

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted last.  I thought it had been maybe 2 weeks.  I'm not sure how that happens.  Anyway, summer's here!  In the olden days, I'd be working 50+ hour work weeks this time of year, sweating my butt off in multiple layer period costumes, chasing after bus drivers, and corralling hundreds of fourth graders,  but not anymore!  Now we get a few nice hot days in a row to warm up the pool, and we're swimming!  Alfred recently got the filter and vacuum systems all working, and also just built a new, extra tall fence at the front of the yard.  So now the pool is nice and clean (with minimal effort from us) and  no one can see in when we're skinny dipping.  Score!

Today, though, we wore bathing suits.  Lucy, Ellie, and Marly all came over for a play date in the pool.  It was a little chilly, but we're a tough bunch of gals!  Ellie was not so into swimming for some reason, which is funny because last summer she was swimming like a fish, but the littler girls both loved it.  Marly loved it so much she decided to hop in on her own!  I guess she just wanted to jump in like her mom (and test Lucy's reflexes, and my heart function, all at the same time). Hopefully all three little ones take nice long naps this afternoon.

April was a busy, fun month.  Tabby and I have been having all sorts of adventures, meeting new people, and learning a lot.  She absolutely loves playing with other kids, which is great.  She's pretty laid back around other kids too, so far at least.  We recently joined a new baby/toddler play group, and she made friends with a couple of other little girls her age.  Both of them kept grabbing whatever someone else was playing with, but Tabby was happy with whatever was left over for her.  She had more fun grabbing the other girls' toes anyway.  The newest development is separation anxiety.  Looks like that's going to be fun to deal with!  She's getting closer and closer to crawling too.  Then I'm really in trouble.

drinking with a baby

Not as in enjoying a beer while your baby enjoys one as well. I mean drinking while you have and are in charge of a baby. Cause if you have a baby, chances are there are times when you just really need a drink.

So, I have a baby whom I feed with my body. I also like to enjoy an alcoholic beverage every once in awhile. (If you didn't already know that, hi, my name is Tracy, it's nice to meet you.) My goal is to breastfeed Tabitha until she's a year old. Having already abstained from alcohol for the nearly 42 weeks I was pregnant (ok, I had the occasional sip of beer, and half a glass of wine once while pregnant) I was certainly not looking forward to being the constant designated driver for another year. So yes, I drink alcohol. Exhibit A:

This was my first power hour after giving birth; Tabitha was about a month old. And I only did half of it, actually. Man, I miss the days when all you had to do was hold her and she'd sleep like a champion. We were pretty damn loud that day, and she was right in the middle of it, passed out cold. She's become a bit of a light sleeper. She also used to go to sleep for the night around 8 and not wake up, even to eat, until 3 or 4am. Now it's a total crap shoot, some nights she's only up to eat once, other nights (ahem, like last night) she's up half a dozen times. Regardless, we've still managed to do some drinking lately.

A few weekends ago (because I've been working on this post for about a week) my mom was here to visit. Unfortunately she couldn't babysit for very long during the day (that whole boob thing), but she certainly could at night! We went out with Ilya and Mercedes and hit up a couple of local breweries. I had some delicious dark beers, Alfred hopped on a moving train, and we gorged ourselves at McDonalds on the way home. Then the following weekend we went over to Lucy and Phil's house, along with Gara and Kevin, for oysters. Oh, and some booze. No babysitter that night, so Tabby came with us and went to sleep there. Good thing Alfred stayed sober enough to drive. Hangovers are so, so much worse when you have a baby. Definitely a fun couple of weekends though, we needed a little break from our typical evening routine!

practicing

The video is a little dark, so I hope you can see it. Tabitha's been practicing a very important movement for the past few days.

clarification

The emails I posted yesterday were actually written back in November. Tabby has been a 35-40 minute napper since she was about 6 weeks old. The book I was reading at the time was based on the assumption that your baby was taking naps at least an hour and a half long, and the things I tried were all suggestions from the book. They never worked. However, I have read since that short naps are common until 6 months old, and are common if your baby sleeps well at night (which Tabitha always has). So I haven't worried about it in a long time, Alfred just wanted me to post it because he thought it was funny.

Coincidentally, for the past 4 or 5 days Tabitha has taken at least 1 long nap (at least an hour and a half) every day. She's currently in the middle of her second long nap for today. I don't know if this will become a regular occurrence, but I'm certainly enjoying it while it lasts!

operation: longer baby naps

The following was recorded for posterity and is submitted at the repeated urging (some might say nagging) of the recipient of these reports, whose identity shall be kept confidential

Captain's log, nap 1: subject started to nurse at 9:05, was asleep by 9:30, popped off the boob at 9:46, woke up at 9:55. Jiggling to keep her asleep was unsuccessful. Subject was brought into bedroom and wrapped up; white noise activated. Subject was asleep again and in crib by 10:05. Captain remained and observed behavior to determine time of premature wake up. First stirrings at 10:46, eyes open at 10:48. Analysis: sleep cycle lasts between 40 and 45 minutes. Plan of action: initiate phase 2, aka "hands on belly" at minute 35 of next nap. Will report back with progress at that time.

Captain's log, nap 2: subject exhibited fussiness so nap sequence was executed (swaddle, white noise, rocking). Subject was asleep at 12:24 and placed in crib. Captain reentered sleeping chamber at 12:57 to find subject already stirring. Hands on belly was immediately initiated. Subject opened eyes at 12:59. Hands on belly deemed a failure at 1:03. Captain regrets forgetting what time subject initially fell asleep and mistiming the intervention.

Captain's log, nap 3: subject struggled valiantly, but succumbed to sleep at 2:40 once singing was added to standard nap protocol. Captain reentered sleeping chamber and began "hands on belly" at 3:00. Subject first stirred at 3:05. Eyes opened at 3:08. Hands on belly was abandoned as unsuccessful at 3:20. Subject did not fall back asleep, though Captain's arm and lower legs/feet did due to position during mission.

Captain's log, nap 4: nap protocol initiated, subject asleep at 4:10. Captain made executive decision to place subject in swing instead of crib, due to continuing fussiness on the part of the subject. Subject woke upon being placed in swing, but fell back asleep at 4:15. Subject was still asleep at 4:25, but was awake and crying at 4:35 when captain got out of shower. Alas.

Captain's log, nap 5: nap protocol was initiated, as the nap window was closing for the day. Subject fell asleep at 5:50. Stirring began at 6:21, eyes open at 6:23. Hands on belly was not executed due to proximity of bedtime.