Monday Morning Mia

We're early this morning. Mia has figured out the sleep thing again. Almost too well, in fact. We had quite a whirlwind weekend, and she's sleeping it off. She went to bed at 6 last night, woke up at 9 when Ben came home from New York, and then slept again until 7:30. After 30 minutes of rolling around, she was back down again. I'm learning that sleep is really a luck of the draw thing. We don't do anything special or different from anyone else, we just happen to have a child who loves to sleep. I feel bad talking about how much she sleeps since almost everyone else we know has babies that don't sleep so regularly, but really, it's in no way attributable to anything we do. She just loves to sleep.

Last week was Mia's first trip to Cape Cod. We went to visit friends who were up from New York, and since it's only an hour and a half away we packed up all of our belongings and headed south. Mia did not care for the ocean, but found the sand quite delicious. While we were talking, she shoveled a handful of wet sand into her mouth. She didn't seem to upset about it, so we weren't worried. She seemed to not like the water--whether it was the temperature or the waves we aren't certain. She was quite smitten with our friends' 9 month old son Jake, however. Keep posted here for wedding details.




Friday Ben headed to NY to visit a friend who has been ill for a while, so Grandma came back up from Brooklyn to help out. Helping out really means helping me with Walter. Remarkably, he's more work than the baby. He's the one who gets up early and needs the most attention.

On Saturday we went to Coolidge Corner to get Mia some new toys, books and clothes. Success on all fronts. She now is the proud owner of a jaunty chapeau, 6 pairs of socks that actually fit, a set of car keys, stacking cups, a tambourine, and a few new books.

That afternoon, we all went for a walk around the neighborhood, and Grandma and I tried Mia on the swings. I don't think I've ever seen her quite so excited. She laughed and smiled and ate the rubber swing. I'm so excited, because the playground is very close to our house and is an easy walk to make every day. Plus, it's right down the street from the bakery, so both Mia and I have reasons to smile. On the way home from the park, Mia babbled and babbled. Both my Mom and I swore that Mia said, "I love you Daddy!" but so far Mia hasn't repeated it to Ben.


Yesterday, left to our own devices, Mia and I went back to the bookstore to pick up some more books for her. She befriended everyone in the store, making sure that each and every person there knew that she got three new books. She's quite the little chatterbox these days. We came home and read the books and she was fast asleep by 6pm. I guess all the talking and reading are just too much for her little 6 month old self to handle.


New on the food front: bananas. Not very well received. Which is a shame, because she should really learn to love peanut butter and banana sandwiches. With the special peanut butter Ben brought back.


This week promises to be yet another busy one. We have two days of babysitting coop again, a new moms' group for moms working on dissertations, and, the biggie, a trip to Florida to see Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Aunt Jena, and Great-Grammy. Mia will also get to meet her only cousin for the first time. Photos to follow. We won't be back until Monday afternoon, so Monday Morning Mia may happen on Tuesday. Happy Labor Day!

Already famous

Somebody at the City must have seen our last "Monday Morning Mia" and was so obviously blown away they decided to name a square after her.


(I swear this is a real sign)

Monday Morning Mia

I had typed something all sentimental and important, but for some reason it didn't save. The gist of it was this:

Not without my binky

As a window into the difficulties of being 6 months old, I present to you a drama in one act. For those of us too old to remember how tough these formative years (weeks?) can be, it's good to remember a time when going to sleep took more than just a glass of warm milk and 2 pages of some french deconstructivist.

Happy half birthday

Well we made it to 6 months. Going through some of the "older" photos the other day, I'm struck at how much she's grown. To that end, I thought our loyal and rabid audience might appreciate a short medly of baby pictures.

As we figure out i-movies more these short pieces will get more refined.

Forever young

There comes a point when we start identifying more with Clark Griswald than with Rusty. After which, you know there's just no going back. I don't want our kids following some strange boy out their window to never-never land, especially on a school night. If a greasy headed James Dean showed up to take Mia out for pop and a drive in, I'd run him off our porch. And don't get me started on that Eddie Haskel kid. Nothing but trouble.

All this to say, our girl is growing up, and though she's barely 6 months now, we can look back and say without irony, "remember when she was younger". So for the record, and to be read over and over again when she's 16 and grounded, this is how we will always remember her.



(you may be madam secretary to the UN, but I fed you avocado for the first time missy)

Monday Morning Mia

We are slowly learning that as Mia grows, we take fewer and fewer pictures. I find myself scrambling on Mondays to snap a few photos to post. We've gone from hundreds of photos a week to just a handful. I never would have expected that we'd stop taking pictures every day. I'll need to work on this.




Another great week here. Mia went through a few days and nights of not wanting to sleep so much, but has thankfully decided that sleeping is more fun than being tired. She went to sleep at 8pm last night, woke up at 4 for a snack, and then slept until 9:30 this morning. That's a schedule I can live with.

Our first jog together was slow but successful. It's not as easy as it looks to jog with the stroller. First of all, I haven't run in more than a year and a half. Second, I'm not exactly at marathon weight. Then, it's hard to run without using your arms. If you are holding on to the stroller, you're just using your legs, which is surprisingly difficult. The stroller does have a special strap that you tie around your wrist, which allows you to push the stroller ahead and stay attached while running. But that's not easy either! All in all, we probably ran a mile and walked a mile or so. A good start, but a long road ahead to getting back in shape. At least we can do it together.

Ben and I went to our first post-baby movie on Saturday night. Grandma babysat and we saw "Little Miss Sunshine," which we can both heartily recommend. There was a lot of pressure to enjoy the movie, since we haven't been in so long, but we both laughed out loud, and the whole movie theater applauded at the end. The movie is kind of "Vacation" redone, in that it's about a wacky family's long-distance car trip, but it's even funnier in a lot of ways. A good movie, if you get a chance.

Mia continues to be more fun each day. She has become interested in her toys, as has the dog. I see a struggle in the near future.




We're off for a stroll. The weather is lovely, and we could use some fresh air.

Lets Roll

It's time to hit the road, and start getting back in shape.

(Note the stylish New Balance Sneakers. Lady's got to look the part if she's going jogging after all.)

Corrie is already out running right now, and I'll try to work in a lap or two in the morning. Just need to get Walter on board with the plan.

"Not until I've had my coffee"

Is this the face of a baby who misses her mama?

Photo, taken during babysitting coop when I ran out to do an errand. Mia was left with two other Moms. Their babies were napping, so she got lots of extra attention. I don't think she even knew I was gone.

rice cereal

It's time to introduce her to the wonderful world of eating. With some trepidation, we mixed up some breast milk and rice cereal into what can only be described as watery sludge, and presented it to her. "Here, this is what eating is like". I suppose we could have put a sprig of parsley on it, or maybe dressed it up on the plate somehow, but she seemed to take to it either way.

A lifetime of sucking however is not an ideal set up for chewing and swallowing, but all things considered, I think she did just fine.

Monday Morning Mia

As I type this post, Mia is napping happily in her crib and I am working dilligently on my dissertation proposal. OK, I'm not working right now, but I have been good all morning. For those keeping score, I plan to turn in a draft of my proposal next week, and I'm shooting for a proposal hearing at the beginning of September, assuming my advisor thinks my proposal is good enough to go forward. Wish me luck!

Last week was ridiculously hot here, but Mia survived it like a champ. To be fair, we spent most of the week in the AC, but still. Tuesday we had a mom and baby group at a friend's house, which was a huge hit. Mia got to roll around on the floor with her friends, and I got to hang out with a lovely group of moms. We had baked goods and coffee and chatted about such fun topics as sleep and rice cereal. Best of all, the home was air-conditioned, so we stayed from about 10 am through 4 pm.

Over the weekend we went to the grandparents' in CT, and Mia took her first real swim in the town lake. She wasn't sure if she loved it or hated it. In the water she cried a little, but she cried more when taken out. It looked like she was having a pretty good time overall. Maybe now that the ocean has warmed we can take her to the beach sometime in the next few weeks.

Project De-Bink was a huge parental failure. We made it 2 days without much of a problem, but then Mia began to exhibit signs of uncomfortable teething, and the binky seemed to soothe her. She seems to get such great pleasure from the binky as she drifts off to sleep, and she doesn't really wake up needing it in the night, so it just seemed cruel to deny her. I'm not sure when we'll revisit Project DB. Maybe next month?

This week we plan to begin rice cereal. We have a brand-new box on the counter in the kitchen, new rubbery spoons, bibs and a booster seat. We plan to try to feed her on Wednesday when Ben is home, as this stage marks a huge transition for us. Mia seems eager to try food--she'll grab any food in sight, and she loves to pretend to drink from cups and mugs. Hopefully she'll enjoy eating the rice cereal and then we can move her on to more exciting foods such as avocado and peach. She'll be eating guacamole in no time.

It's so hard to believe that Mia is almost six months old. She is a happy, smily, chubby girl now--so different from the tiny little baby she was at first. I just can't believe how quickly the time has passed. It sounds cliche, but it really is true how time flies. While I look forward to her crawling and walking and talking and growing hair, I want so much to cling to these baby days. Before we know it she'll be driving and going to college.