Smarter than a T-rex

Pippa is 7 months now, can you believe it?! I certainly can't. She has come so far in those short months. She is sitting like a champ for indefinite amounts of time. She has perfected the barrel roll to wherever she wants to go. She has started to do the army crawl and even gotten up on her knees once or twice. No teeth yet but eating solids is coming along. She's had rice cereal, banana, acorn squash, yam, avocado, and her favorite, peas. Definitely still partial to the boob, though. She's very verbal and likes to say ma-ma-ma, ba-ba-ba, etc., as well has a whole range of squeals and growls. And sometimes she sings, even squinting her eyes at the important parts for emphasis. Very cute.

But I think the accomplishment that says the most about her development is that she has finally come to realize there is a world outside of her crib that she can peer into if she pulls down the bumper. So much for being able to stay in the room after I put her down. I always put her to sleep while dancing with her to Bubbly by Colbie Caillat and sometimes I put her down before the song is over, so I let it finish and turn the iPod off as I leave the room. Well, today she caught me standing in the corner. I thought that maybe if I stood really still she wouldn't be able to see me, like a T-rex. That would have worked a month ago! But, I guess, I'm glad to report that my daughter is smarter than a T-rex. I might need to rethink the nap time routine now.

I know I've said it before and I don't want to come across as bragging (actually, I don't care a bit) but Pippa is such a great kid! She has such a great temperament and is super cute. I try not to compare her to other kids but obviously it happens sometimes. She's not as mobile as Elizabeth. Connor already has a tooth. Ect. But there are so many special things about my daughter. Mostly, she's good for the soul, you know what I mean? I think thats a little bit of a gift that she has. She brings a lightness into people's lives, just looking at her or playing with her. And its not just me! Even strangers in the super market walk away glowing a little brighter. It will be interesting to see how that manifests itself throughout her life. People feel good around her and the world needs a little more of that.

Daddy's Day

Today was Sto's first Father's Day! Its actually been a great Father's Day weekend all together. Yesterday we spent most of the day at home just being home. Wow. What a nice change of pace. We are essentially home bodies who don't get the chance to be home together very often, so that was really nice.

This morning we went to Mercer County Park for the 'Run for Dads' to raise support for prostate cancer research. Sto walked with Pippa and I ran the 5k. The start of a new tradition, I have a feeling. Besides it being far to hot for a run like that and needing to pee from the start, it went really well. The last 5k I ran was on my 30 birthday and I have to say that I felt just about as good today as I did then! (I did nearly pass out at the end, but surely that was from the heat and not a reflection of my cardiovascular state).

This afternoon Pippa and I got dressed up in our pretty summer dresses and gave Sto his father's day present: the proverbial shirt and tie. But this is a gift that Pippa knew her daddy would truly like and she was right. She has excellent taste. Then we headed out to a late lunch with his mom, brother, and cousin to a new sushi place near us. It turned out to be delicious food and we all had a great time. Especially Pippa who sat in a big girl high chair (thank you sanitary wipes) and drank some water out of a big girl glass (a great way to cool her down on this hot day since most of it ended up on her dress). What more can anyone want, really, than a lazy weekend at home with those we love all around us.

Childhood Magic

I've been thinking lately about all those things that we experience as children that seem so special. There are so many simple things in life that have so much magic in them. A bubble bath, for instance. With TONS of bubbles. I did that the other day for myself. I put so much soap in the bath that the bubbles were nearly running over the tub. And then I played with them. I blew them into the air and made a beard. Fun stuff. Pippa will love that some day.

We have a glass door that has a covering on it to diffuse the light and provide privacy. In the morning, when the sun is shining through it, it casts hundreds of tiny rainbows all over the room! Beautiful!

My yard has all sorts of fun flowers popping up. The newest thing to bloom are blue hydrangeas. They are so blue they look like they've been artificially dyed. It reminds me of when I was little and we would pick queen ann's lace from a field and add food coloring to the water. I love that.

I also have the kind of back yard that kids love. At least I would have loved it when I was a kid. A line of trees in the the very back perfect for climbing or making forts. All sorts of great nooks and kranies to explore and hunt for fairies. And best of all, tons of fireflies! I tried to capture it on video for you but it doesn't do it justice. I felt like a kid all over again, sitting in the middle of my yard watching what seamed like a hundred sparkling lights floating all around me. It was exciting and peaceful at the same time. You are welcome to come over to see it for yourself if you'd like. It will definitely make you smile.

What are some of your favorite magical moments?

Big Apple Adventure

I took Pippa to Manhattan today for a Big Apple adventure. I thought I might be crazy for doing this, but what the heck. I was just going to try it and see what happened. (This is a good motto, I think. It will either work, or we'll both be miserable and we won't do it again. We won't know until we try. Its seems like parenthood shouldn't be such a crap shoot, but it is. I've accepted that.) Well, I'm happy to say we both had a really great time! I was surprised by how exited she was the whole time. She really knew we were doing something special and was totally into it! What a fun loving girl!

I packed as light as possible since I was taking the train and hoofing it most of the time. I got a very lightweight stroller that folds up and has a carrying strap. (Love it, by the way. Very happy with my purchase.) I packed the bare necessities in a diaper bag and grabbed my sling for the train and cabs. My system worked perfectly. She was mellow on the train ride in and even dozed off on my lap for a spell. We jumped on the subway from Penn Station and headed to Central Park. She loved riding the subway! There was a light up sign announcing the next stop that she couldn't take her eyes off of. She probably thought she was getting away with something since I don't let her watch the TV. Ha!

She happily played in her new stroller and we moseyed through the park. We looked at some sculpture. Saw plenty of other kids playing. Stopping to check out the free parts of the zoo. Sat on a blanket in the grass to nurse and even listened to a jazz band for a while. We got all sorts of wonderful attention from strangers, too. People kept saying how cute she is and they loved her cow print leg warmers. That's so good for a mama's ego!

Then we headed up to Cornell for lunch with the girls from my old job. So good to see them! They knew Pippa before she was born so they were thrilled to meet her now. And she was a peach, as usual. After lunch she napped in her stroller while I walked us up to visiter her Tita Lindsay who was as gorgeous and full of life as usual. We are looking forward to hanging out with our cool Tita Lindsay much more often this summer!

To end our trip, we hailed a cab and headed back to Penn Station. Pippa truly blew me away with how much she enjoyed the whole adventure. She sat on my lap and played on the ride home without a fuss at all. Everything delighted her. There is nothing like seeing that sparkle in your child's eyes! I just love that girl so much and am looking forward to showing her the world!

Weebles Wobble but...

Pippa is getting good at sitting all by herself. I'm very proud, obviously. She would be a champ at it if she would stop diving for everything around her! So far we've managed to avoid any major face-plants but I'm sure its just a matter of time. She spent some time with her friend Olive the other day and learned a lot from her 9 month old antics. I think it really does her good to hang out with more advanced kids. It inspires her or something. Either that or she's really competitive. She's really fascinated with watching other kids. The other day we were at the park and she was staring down a couple of 5ish year old girls. I tried to let her watch without coming across too creepy just standing there staring at some little girls. I guess having a baby with you helps but still. Anyways, sitting? Check. Crawling? Well, not quite yet but its only a matter of time.

Man, I really need to start thinking about childproofing...

Baby Boogers

I am constantly amazed by my baby. Or, more specifically, I am amazed by my babies bodily functions. The very first thing she did (literally) when she was born was poop on me. Aww, sweet. And her finger nails were longer than mine! I cut them the day we got home from the hospital and have cut them every couple of days since. I pick the ear wax out of her ears at least once a day while I'm nursing her. But what amazes me most are the boogers. Sometimes they are so big I wonder how she can breath at all. Yesterday, I got one out that I think might have been attached to her brain, it was so long! It just kept coming! She doesn't particularly enjoy all my fussing over her, but she has learned to just let me do it and get it over with. Poor girl. I promise I won't still be doing this when she's a teenager. Maybe.

My First Daughter

This post is about my other daughter, Ting. She's such a doll, as everyone who has met her knows. She's very mild tempered, almost never barks, is able to walk off leash, and loves to bask in the sun like a cat. One quirky thing about her, though, is that she is easily scared. Until now she's always been forced to brave the scary city streets during walks. It was especially dangerous in the dark when she would need to be on high alert for killer garbage bags or when the wind was blowing around those deadly pieces of newspaper! She is quite happy now that she lives in the suburbs, though she still manages to find things to be afraid of. Most of the time we have no idea what spooks her on our walks. The latest threat she is staring down is a new set of metal dog bowls. Very scary stuff here! When she eats out of them, her collar knocks agains them and the noise makes her jump! Sad and cute at the same time. This morning when I was putting her food in her dish, she was actually shaking! I'm hoping she'll get over it. Otherwise, does anyone want a new set of dog bowls?