1 yr of Phoebe!

Life has a different hue when you’re under the siege of a newborn’s whims and wants, but the good moments are really good, and we mostly don't miss the things we used to do. It's funny, because our weekends used to be action-packed - these days, when asked what we did the past weekend, the response is silence: we usually have a hard time remembering, and the interludes between naps and mealtime which yield a quick errand or trip to the park are hardly noteworthy.  I recall with irony my frustration at friends when they had their infants around - it was so difficult to carry on a conversation with attention shifting to their little creatures! Ha.     

Anyway, today Phoebe is 1 year old! A big milestone, and a good excuse to recap and prognosticate. She's showing a lot of personality - already displaying remarkable level of indifference (boredom) at papa's antics. Despite my best efforts a entertaining her, making all manner of animal noises, pretending to sniff her like a puppy, tickling her, using hand puppets, her usual reaction is to look bored, and search around the room for momma. Or just to plain ignore me. Ocassionally, she'll even give me a slighly offended look as if to say 'how childish. stop that'. She's wise (a wise something or other) beyond her years!

in terms of physical developments, she's crawling, standing up on things (her favorite target / support post is Rebecca's pant legs while she's cooking in the kitchen), and getting into things she's not supposed to (e.g. the recycling bin). She's an avid reader, in the sense that she will rapidly flip through magazines and tear pages out and throw them on the floor. If the pages are already separate (and placed in the aforementioned recycling bin), she will comb through them all, carefully examining each piece for texture, color, and shakeability before tasting it and/or tossing it on the floor.

She's a goodish eater, and is eager to try new foods, but arrives on her favorites (cheese, avocado, hummus, bread) rather quickly, and her food hierarchy remains firmly entrenched until she runs out of the good stuff. Feeding her carrots, peas, or broccoli is tiresome and a good portion of it does not make it into her mouth. She learned very quickly that when good stuff (hummus, for example) is mixed with not-so-good stuff (bread), it is a simple matter to remove the good stuff and spit out the bad stuff. She has a special knack for this and figured it out the first time we tried it. She has applied this skill to many different combinations, even removing the skin of a black bean from the bean insides, and spitting out the skin. I was super impressed that she did that without hands!

She's able to communicate well, and has recently taken to pointing to things that she's interested in using a very decisive index finger. When asked if she's "all done" or "wants more" at dinner, she will also grunt in the affirmative once we've identified the thing that she wants more of. She typically will first grasp and points with her left hand, so we think that she might be left-handed, just like her grandpa Carl. This makes me happy to observe and think about.

She's been a joy to us the past year, and we're excited to see what happens next! Below are a few recent photos!

Nomads

there's a lot to catch up, but I'm so far behind I'll just hit the highlights... In the last 2 months, I quit one job, started another, dragged Rebecca and P across the country, we sold our house, and we have moved apartments twice. For those keeping score, P will have lived in 4 different places in her first year. So, basically, we're nomads. Or we were (fingers crossed we won't be moving again for a little while). 

I'm spending my days trying to make Amazon more money, and Rebecca is trying to help WWF get more money, and P is trying to figure out how to put her mouth on every fun looking object in her vicinity. Yesterday we hosted an afternoon tea, complete with 5 kiddos and 8 adults, and it was a fun, if slightly hectic, success. Now that we're in our new apartment, we're trying to return to the social world a little bit more to connect with people and make new friends. But house-related chores seem to continually crop up. Sigh..

In the cross-country trip, Phoebe was a superstar. She wasn't crawling yet, thank goodness, so she was very patient looking out the back window of the car for hours on end, snacking, and napping. We were so grateful that she was such a good traveler. Our route took us to Cincinatti, Peoria, Mitchell South Dakota, Giletta Wyoming, then a couple days with Joe and Judy in Montana, then a day in Chelan, then to Seattle!! Sister-in-law Sabrina flew in the day after we arrived to help take care of Phoebe, then I started work a day later and the rest has been a whirlwind. 
In stats: 

Number of weeks in town: 7

Number of visitors hosted: 5

Number of babysitters tried: 4

Number of apartments lived in: 2

Number of meals consisting of take-out or frozen pizza: countless

But hopefully things will start to settle down now. The new job is intense, but exciting in its newness. We're looking forward to a (long, dark, rainy) productive winter.

P's first swing - just after arriving in Seattle

Celebrating on rooftop of apartment

A very familiar location during our trip

P on a saddle in front of plains backdrop, South Dakota tourist trap stop ( can't remember which one)

Jet Setter

We just returned from a nice, long, two week vacation to Washington. It was the longest trip with P so far, and to be honest, it was a little trying at times. She did very well flying. She was excited by all the noises and lights and new people. Unfortunately, as a consequence, she didn't take many naps on planes (and when she did, the not so helpful announcements by the crew always woke her up). That meant she was overtired when we arrived in Tucson (our first leg), or when we arrived up in Washington. Those nights were rough. because we were traveling 'light' by not bringing a separate crib, it also meant that she would have to sleep between us on a bed, which meant we didn't sleep much. After getting past those little bumps, though, things were great!

We went to cousin Annie's wedding in Tucson, which was really enjoyable despite the 115-degree weather. Copious AC and pools had a lot do with that.  Although missing our flight out of Tucson (our fault) we befriended some nice crewmembers from Delta and Alaska who were able to rebook us on another fllght, free of charge. We roadtripped around Washington state, seeing Sequim and Port Townsend and driving through Mt. Ranier (and staying at a few unsavory motels with unsavory characters). 

And, of course, we enjoyed being full-time parents again. It was also really great to be able to spend the days with her rather than heading off to work. I'm going to make Rebecca do the driving next time so that I can get more backseat time sitting next to Pheobe.

Highlights from the trip: cousin Annie's wedding in Tucson was great, despite the heat. Spending a week in Stehekin with Grandma Bucky, as usual, was wonderful. Eric and sister-in-law Kristin and her family were up there this time too, which made it fun.  No long hikes, fishing trips, or other strenuous adventures, just slow-paced relaxation with family. Which was just fine with us.

We spent a few days downlake in Manson, where we mixed it up with all of the extended family and spend afternoons and the lake or at the pool. It seemed like the first time in a long time, we were able to enjoy eating dinner with others while Phoebe was entertained and held by loving aunties. Perfect! How nice it was to be surrounded by family!

We're looking forward to our next chance to head west and see family, particularly those that like to babysit!!

And now the photos...

Phoebe all dressed up for the wedding. Sure, her dress was short, but it was 100+ degrees

 Lunch at the harbor at Port Townsend. Tremendously pretty

An all-too rare sight: Phoebe sleeping peacefully on the road (usually she should be crammed into bed between us)

 Phoebe and her favorite hangout spot in Grandma's living room

 Enjoying the great outdoors!

 Me with two of my favorite ladies in the whole world!

catching up

I can't believe it's been February since I put anything up here. Shame on me. It seems that any spare moments nowdays are filled with home chores (cleaning gutters, planting a garden), or out running errands (today's was going to the burbs to find a jogging stroller), or hanging out with little Phoebe.

Who, it turns out, is not so little anymore. She's turned into a little lady, and has started to show some personality. She's calm enough that people have been calling her 'zen baby', but that impression changes which she opens her mouth and roars out her dragon impression. We're not really sure what prompts this, or what it means, but it sure is funny. When she's not hungry, tired, or bored, she does seem to enjoy sitting there quietly and looking around. This is good because I really enjoy it too. The two of us sometime camp out in a chair in the kitchen and watch mom cook, or head out on the porch and watch people pass by. Of course, these sessions last for maybe 10 minutes, but they're nice nevertheless :)

Sleep has been a challenge (surprise, surprise). When she was younger, probably in the 2-3 month range, she slept really well. A couple nights she even slept like 6 or 7 hours straight. But then, slowly but surely, she started to regress. We were a bit lazy about giving her the pacifier, so she got used to it, and when she woke up without it in her mouth, there would be tears. Sometime in late April, she woke up literally every half hour crying for her pacifier. We decided that was unsustainable, so away went the pacifier....with mixed results. She's learned to soothe herself (sort-of), but often times will have trouble going to sleep, so will cry and cry in the hopes of getting a parent to go up and rock her or cradle her until she'll go back down. Then she learned to flip over, which is supposed to help to sleep better. Except that she hasn't learned to flip the other way... so it's pretty much a one-way street, and if she doesn't want to be on her stomach, but flips that way and wakes up, well... more tears. So the path between our room and hers is pretty well tread these days, but life has been made easier by the addition of a baby monitor (thanks Eric and Kristin!) so we can do things like watch a movie in the basement while keeping an ear out.

All in all, though, she's a good kid. Our nanny Sara is fantastic with her, and she is starting to notice and laugh at other kids (and at papa). She enjoys bath-time and has starting splashing a lot, although does not like it when water goes into her mouth (and hasn't made the connection with the excessive splashing). She went for her first jog today. Normally, she faces backwards in the stroller, but today it was forward facing, and I think it overwhelmed her. She kept craning her neck around to look back and see me, which was kind of funny. Then, it started raining and splashed on her face. I stopped under a road crossing and took her out of the stroller - her face was covered with a mix of tears and rain water, and she was most definitely NOT happy. So, we'll have to ease into the whole running thing, but I'm excited because I can (theoretically) take her out on a nice long run and get her out of Rebecca's hair and get exercise at the same time.

 She is grasping at things (toys, books, parents' hair) and putting them into her mouth. It has been neat to watch the progression. Even toys and things that she has had all along but used to ignore she is now enthralled by. A crinkly fabric carrot is her favorite of the moment. She will play with that thing for like 30 minutes, enthralled by the sound and the texture. It's really funny to watch her try to figure it out.

She doesn't like bright sun or loud noises. When the sun hits her face in the stroller, she convulses and gets upset. Likewise, when there is a sudden loud noise (traffic, cough, door slam) she gets startled. She  has a mixed record on meeting new people. Sometimes she is shy and turns her head into mom or dad's chest, or even cries if a new person holds her, but other times she is a total ham. She has a lot of hair still, and it's hard to tame, which I think makes her look older than she is (6 months on Wednesday). When I have bedhead and wake up, or it's the weekend and I forgo the brush, I've been told that there is an uncanny resemblance between us.  I'll let you be the judge...

morning wakeup routine (before breakfast)

 I read stories while she eats pages

 birthday present: matching hats!

 She doesn't typically sit still for photos

 Porch sitting, same hair stylist

 Morning routine before mom goes to work

 Sara the nanny reads to the ladies (baby December on the left, P on the right)

Ski cation!

Last weekend the family bundled into the Volkswagen, drove across two states, and arrived in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, for Phoebes first winter adventure. We stayed in a large cabin with 10 others, friends from DC (John & Carrie, George & Maggie) along with Carries mom and grand mom, sister and brother-in-law, and some other friends of theirs.

It was a big house with a hot tub and pool table, so space wasn't really an issue. Plus everybody took turns cooking a meal (and there were some good cooks) so it made a lighter load and lots of delicious food.

We drive up Thursday afternoon, so we had all day Friday and Saturday to play. This being a leisurely crowd, 'all day' typically meant leaving the house at 11 or so, and returning by around 6. The first day we went cross country skiing! We were thinking that we'd have to take turns sitting in the lodge with P, but as luck would have it, the car seat shoehorned into the Pulk (just barely) and we took our 11 week old munchkin on the trials. As an added bonus, the weight and bulkiness of the sled was just the right amount to equalize Rebecca and I. We skied with John and Carrie, who had never gone before, so it was a leisurely pace, but all had fun. The rhythmic pulling of the sled, along with the sound of the sled over the snow, meant P slept about 4 hrs!! She only woke up for lunch.

The next day we went tubing (P didn't go on that, but we took turns pulling her around in a circle at the bottom of the hill and she seemed satisfied)

Anyway, it was a great success! We are super excited to take our next family ski adventure.

Photos: the ski setup, close up of P in situ, cute ski bunny clothes, view from inside cabin, John and I skiing

2 months old!

And, happy year of the snake!
Phoebe just turned 2 months old this week, and she's getting more and more interactive every day. We had a visit from Rebecca's parents last weekend, our good friend Meredith on Monday and Tuesday, and another good friend and DC expatriate Jesse on Friday. So, we didn't get much unpacking done ;)

We are getting prepared now for the arrival of Eric and Kristin, coming to meet their niece for the first time this weekend. It will be really great to have them here.

In baby news, we had our 2 month checkup on Tuesday, and Phoebe was right at the median: height, weight, head size... So all good. She's now 11 lbs 2 ozs and steadily outgrowing clothes. The sound of her crying has really changed too: she went from a little baby cry to know a wild kitten cry. Hard to describe in words, but very cute.

So, we're continuing to juggle things here. Some days winning, some days losing.but mostly, we're just enjoying .

Photos: sleeping with mommy, sporting new stripy shirt, hanging out with daddy, visiting with Grandpa, video chatting with Aunt Sabrina

last few days of dungeon!

Our little  one is growing before our very eyes. It seems that between the time I leave for work and come home in the evening, she has gained some essential new wisdom. She's now seeing us from a few feet away. I like to think that she's recognizing me, although she doesn't outwardly show it (unless one counts bodily functions). Rebecca is still mostly nursing her, which means that I don't have a whole lot to offer apart from diaper changes and comforting her. She's on the road to bottledom, though, as we've introduced a pacifier and I've taken a few tries at bottle feeding her. This tends to work for a little while, until she figures out that I'm not mom, and that the plastic nipple is not the real deal, and then she fusses. Last night, funnily enough, she actually pouted when I tried to feed her! She stuck our her lower lip and let out a half-hearted cry. I thought that it was the cutest thing ever, of course. I just hope that this picky eater thing doesn't last too long.

One of the new tricks that I've learned recently, though, is that I can prop her on my leg at the dinner table, bounce her up and down while holding her with one hand, and she seems to enjoy it. She takes in a lot of air when she's gulping down milk, so she gets pretty gassy as a result, and is really uncomfortable if she doesn't get burped. The knee bouncing seems to help move things around, and it lets Rebecca and I enjoy a few minutes of sanity too. It's a regular family dinner!

Other than new baby developments, the big news is moving into a new place this weekend! Yippee (once it's over)! It will be nice to get out of a basement and into the wonderful world of daylight. Our pediatrician counseled Rebecca that it was important to get Phoebe on a day/night schedule by putting her in the light during the day so that she would sleep better at night... she clearly hadn't seen our apartment :)

And now for the all-important baby photos!

Yook at da cute widdle feet!

In a good mood after snacktime.  

 Catching some z's at dinner on daddy's lap.

 Her famous 'furrowed brow' look.

 Phoebe the couch cushion!

 I think that she has a rather Mona Lisa-ish quality in this photo.

 More furrowed brow. "Whatchu talkin bout?!" 

Ill-fated diaper excursion

Last week, Rebecca and I decided to embark on an adventure into the wonderful world of cloth diapering. There is a large philosophical and cultural divide between those who use conventional ("paper") diapers, and those who use cloth diapers. Paper diapers (actually usually a mix of paper and plastic) are very convenient, both because they're single use, but also because they wick moisture away from the baby's skin so they are more comfortable for longer (you don't have to change the diaper as often). This also means that you generate a lot of diaper-related waste, and that you don't change the baby as often because they don't fuss - leading to a higher likelihood of diaper rash, and longer periods of time in diapers (cloth diaper kids tend to potty train earlier).

For these reasons we decided that we want to use the cloth diapers. We inherited a bunch of inserts 'prefolds', as their known in the jargon to use. The basic process is to take the cloth, put it on with a 'snappi' - a modern safety pin - and wrap the outside with a waterproof cover so the baby's clothes don't get wet when she pees. Which, it turns out, she does very often. Our first foray was challenging. We were going through about 15 diapers a day, including as many as 4 at one time! In that instance, I changed her, and she immediately peed, then I changed her, and she immediately poo'd, then change, then pee, then change again. As an added bonus, she wasn't use to the feeling of wet cloth against her skin, so she wasn't sleeping very well at all (neither were we). Last night, we made the decision to strategically retreat, and try again with the cloth diapers when she's using the loo a bit more regularly. On the plus side, we now know how to administer the cloth diapers, and we not grossed out very easily by the handling of soiled fabric. I'll save the across-the-room blowout story for later.

Now for some photos!

One month old!

Phoebe was born one month ago today! Hard to believe that it's been that long, but she has already changed so much. She has been packing on the pounds of late. Literally. She's up to 9lbs 5oz (yesterday), and the folks in the know reckon she's adding a pound a week at this point. Imagine what she could do with a little toffee! In other news, we are doing some renovations on the new house, and hope to be moved in by the middle of January (or thereabouts). It will be nice to be living in a location with some sunlight again. I think that it will do wonders for my disposition, and will help Phoebe get on a day/night schedule too. 

Babies are fascinating to be around. Lying next to one, trying to sleep at night, it sounds like you are sharing a room with an asthmatic old man who is hyperventilating and has some gunk in his lungs. Turn the lights on, however, and you realize it's a cute little growing baby girl, trying to swallow a big batch of mom's milk. All the squirms and dinosaur cries make her seem so fragile - it boggles the mind to think that every person on the planet started out as a fragile little package like this one.

So, things are going well and we are enjoying our time with the little miss. Less so in the middle of the night, but still.  Rebecca has been handling the night shift, and seems much better able to cope with 3am feedings, diaper changes, and spitups than I do.  After a night fussing and fitfully sleeping, it is difficult to not be a total zombie at work the next day. A few times, I've retreated to the living room in the middle of the night to try to get a few hours of sleep, but that hasn't always worked.  I've unplugged the alarm clock on my side of the bed because I didn't like seeing times of the morning that I had no business being awake to see. I think that has helped. In any event, a few minutes of holding Phoebe makes all of those troubles go away.

We've had a few visitors in the past few weeks, mom over Christmas, followed by Rebecca's brother Gabe, who left just yesterday. It was nice to have all the help and company, notwithstanding a few episodes of sickness. All folks are better now, and we're looking forward to more visitors (after we move, but that's another story for another time).

And now, ze photos....

On dad's lap while he tries to get a little work done.

 Deep asleep. Those are her toes up there next to her face. I tried moving here, but she was sound asleep

 On Grandma Debi's lap

 Wearing her cute new sweater with mom

 Matching stripes with dad

 On Uncle Gabe's lap