Playing Ball

It had been awhile since we've posted a music video, so with little further ado...

We present Mia playing her own version of fetch with the dog.

Monday Morning Mia

Every time Monday morning rolls around, I am always stuck with what to do. On the one hand, there is so much to share. Mia changes day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, and this space offers us a chance to document these shifts. We don't keep a baby book or anything like that, so the blog is our way of remembering the moments, good and challenging, of Mia's life, and our life with her. I doubt anyone finds these snippets particularly interesting. I like having the ability to scroll through our archives and see what Mia was doing at various stages, but the small details don't really make for very good reading.

On the other hand, it's difficult to capture the bigger moments, the sweeping landscapes, that also make up Mia's life. Part of me wants to keep them private. Another part of me doesn't know how to commit them to words. It's fun to share the stories, the dramas, the ups and downs that make life with Mia that much more special. So, I struggle with how to tell these stories in a meaningful way to others.

When I turn on the computer on Monday mornings, I never know which way to go. Of course, I recognize that our dwindling readership really just wants photos, which I am happy to oblige.

Bearing that in mind, this Monday's edition will probably be less than exciting. This week, it's really just about documenting the changes. There will be more exciting stories, more meaningful moments, in the future, but for now, it's just a record, a snapshot, of life at sixteen months.

We're currently in a battle of wills with young Mia. It's a bit early to be entering into the "terrible twos," but it really feels like that's where we're going. Up to now, discipline hasn't really been an issue. Mia was always a lap baby, happy to sit in any available set of arms and cuddle. But now that she's walking, it's an entirely different story. She is a highly adventurous person, without much in the way of fear. She has taken to climbing on everything she can, and climbing off, too. The off part is a bigger problem. We're trying to encourage her to sit on her bum when going down stairs, or to get on her belly to get off the couch or bed, but Mia has no use for our parental advice. She's only fallen off the bed once, but I see a lot more spills in the very near future.

The problem isn't that she's into everything, or rather, onto everything. It's that she has no use for the word "No." Perhaps we need to find a way to redirect our pleas, but whatever we are doing just isn't working. If you tell (or probably more accurately, if I tell) Mia "no," she will look at you, smile, and continue doing whatever it was she was doing, typically while repeating "no, no, no." It's kind of funny and it's certainly adorable, but it's not very effective. You can actually see the twinkle in her eyes as she tests the limits of acceptable behavior. I don't care if she falls down now and again, I just don't want her to get electrocuted or crack her skull open. To that end, we really need to find some way of letting her know when things are really dangerous and when we'd really prefer she not be doing whatever it is she's doing. There is no shortage of toddler discipline books out there, I just don't know if a book is really the answer or, if it is, if we're really ready for a disciple strategy for our baby. I mean, please, look how well we disciplined Walter. Can we really handle the gentle disciplining of a toddler?




In addition to taming a toddler, we are also trying to tame the wild that is our backyard. This weekend, we saw two amazing gardens, both inspirational and both most likely out of our reach, financially, time-wise and skill-wise, for a while. But, we still want to make our backyard both more liveable and more beautiful.
So, here's our small veggie patch.





And here's where our shade garden will go. We got some hosta, salvia, impatiens and begonias, and if you come visit soon you'll be able to sip iced coffee on our back porch, watching the cardinals and blue jays, and enjoying the flora and fauna of Backyard Garden, Take One.

Sixteen Months

In addition to being Juneteenth, today is also Mia's sixteen month birthday. Not a particularly significant one in the typical toddler's life, but there are a few changes we'd like to commit to memory before they've passed.

The biggest change, and I suppose this will continue to be the case for a long while, is the growth in Mia's language skills. Every day she learns new words. Her memory is working overtime to keep up with the growth, I'm certain. If you mention that something is purple she will find something else purple and say "purple." She knows blue, yellow, purple and orange as of today, and I'm sure if we post again tomorrow she'll know another.

She's getting quite good with names. Christina, our babysitter, is "Na;" another mom in our coop group gets a fully drawn out "Lau-ra." Last week we had our friend Amy over and Mia called her "Mamy" all night. Today, actually, we went to another friend's house, and Mia called her Mamy, so maybe she thinks that Mom's friends are all called Mamy?

Body parts are a blast for Mia. Her newest acquisition is elbow, which she pronounces quite well. Second favorite is knee, followed by feet and toes and then of course, shoes. She knows nose and eyes, but these aren't as much fun to say. She can identify other parts if you ask her to point to them, but she doesn't have the words to say them yet.

She has also perfected the animal sounds. She knows the sounds for horse, sheep, cow, owl, dog, cat, chicken and rooster. She will run through the whole litany if you ask her nicely.

She knows a lot of food words. Bean, cheese, berry, toast, cracker, pea. One of the characters in a favorite book is eating an ice cream cone, which she calls something along the lines of "gy-gee." She can identify the cone, that's for sure. This same character also eats cake and cookies. Mia definitely knows the word for cake, but that's not surprising giving my own proclivities for baked goods.

There is so much more to say about Mia, but I can hear her stirring in her room after a 2.5 hour nap. She'll greet me with "mama" and "up" and if I'm lucky I'll get a big hug.

Monday Morning Mia

First, a very happy birthday to Ben! Right now his birthday cake is baking in the oven, and his dinner is getting ready to marinate. Hopefully we'll have a relaxing family dinner on our patio--the weather couldn't be better.

We had a great weekend. Mia's grandparents came to visit, and Ben and I got a night out. We saw No Man's Land, a play by Harold Pinter. It was very cryptic but really well acted and interesting. We're still not positive what it was about, but in reading a little more about the play we found out that no one actually knows so we feel better. Before the play we dined here and had an amazing dinner. We're still talking about how good it was.

We got a lot of yardwork done this weekend. We'll take some photos, but Ben really cleaned up our front yard, which has both laurel and holly, and I got some vegetables and herbs planted in the back. Hopefully everything will grow and we'll be able to enjoy a Mediterranean feast at summer's end.

Here's a photo of Mia taken by her grandfather. I think it really captures Mia.

Winding Down

She's always been (comparitively speaking) a great sleeper, save the occasional restless night here and there. These days, after a bath, after getting in her jammies, a quick bottle and brushing her teeth she typically takes a book or two before going down. Then there are those nights where she just has to burn off a little excess energy before giving in.



(for the record, she was on her third lap before I could even get the camera started)

Monday Morning Mia

It's pouring rain here. Our new house has skylights, so the sound of the rain is amplified. It's actually quite relaxing. Mia is at babysitting today--I traded today for Thursday to help out my friend, so I have the day off.

Mia is feeling so much better. All of the tests came back negative, which is good news. Of course, we still don't know what's making her sick, but at least it's not an infection. Her doctor will keep close tabs on her, and we'll just keep our fingers crossed that we don't have any more fevers for a while.

I saw Waitress this weekend, and it has inspired me to bake a pie. I've never baked a pie before and am pretty daunted by the whole crust-making thing, but I've reviewed our extensive collection of cookbooks and feel ready for the challenge. If only good fruit would hurry up and ripen!

A few newish photos taken by our friend Sarah:

on a lighter note

Walking around the West Village last weekend we came across what has to be the most disturbing toy designed for babies. I've bent over backwards to think of the educational benefit of this, but am still drawing a blank.

It's been a rough couple of days around here. Mia wasn't feeling well starting Tuesday afternoon, and by Wednesday she was running a very high fever. I brought her in to see her doctor, who recommended we go to Children's Hospital to get some tests run.

I should really preface this all by saying that Mia's fine, seems to be feeling much better, and will get checked by her pediatrician again this afternoon. She had tests run to see what's causing her fever, and we were able to rule out some big things and are still waiting to get more information on some of the other tests. She's had several very high fevers in the last few months, all seemingly without cause or symptoms, and the doctor thought it best to look inside and see what's going on in her little body. She was treated with antibiotics and seems to be on the mend. As usual, she amazed us with her ability to remain calm and relatively happy, given that we were at the hospital until after 11pm and lots of people kept poking and prodding her. She fell asleep in my arms around 10, and only woke to be given the medications while we waited to be sure she had no reaction.

Children's Hospital here in Boston, or probably any children's hospital in any city, is a terrifying place. When we arrived at the ER, there were several children who were clearly injured, and some who just looked really sick. There were little babies there, just a few weeks old, all the way up to kids who looked to be older teenagers. All of the parents looked frazzled and frightened, holding their children and just waiting for their names to be called so they could be removed from the waiting area and seen by a doctor. The hospital waiting room crosses all sections of life. The mom next to us had a baby a little younger than Mia, whose Bugaboo stroller collapsed on her, resulting in a very bloody face (for those who don't know, it's a $800 stroller). I saw another mom, who looked like a child herself, bringing in a very small baby who looked limp in her arms. Parents with multiple children had to bring all their kids in; there was a woman across from us with 3 children sitting next to her. As we waited, a child was brought in on a stretcher, maybe from school or a sporting event; he didn't seem to have his parents with him and they kept him waiting to be admitted until his parents showed up. While Mia certainly didn't feel well, it truly could have been a lot worse.

The doctors and nurses at the hospital are all great at their jobs. The nurses all have toys with them for babies to play with, and Mia got a sticker for being a good patient. Our doctor did his best to allay our fears while telling us that more tests would be needed. It can't be easy telling parents that their child is ill, and to have to do this all day every day. Doctors in offices get to see the joys of childhood every day; ER doctors only see kids when there's something really wrong. It would take a very strong person to be such a doctor.

While we waited to get the results of the test, we paced the waiting area of the after-hours area of the blood draw center (once you get "upstairs" in the hospital you're sent to the specialized area for treatment). By that point in the evening, it was just us and one other family. As we waited, a father walked by carrying a sleeping small child in his arms. Mia smiled at this father, who used the opportunity to strike up a conversation with us. We asked how old his daughter was, and he said one year, but that she was the size of a 6 month old because she needed both kidneys replaced. He so clearly needed to talk to someone, to validate his fears, to hear it would all be ok. He kept talking to us for twenty minutes, not wanting to let us go because then he'd be all alone again pacing the corridors. We learned about his 2 year old's potty training and his 16 hour work days. If we had not needed to leave we most likely would have heard more. He followed us out. We were discharged for the night; he would be spending yet another one there.

Ben and I aren't religious at all, but I can truly see how having some kind of faith is necessary for parenthood. One wants to believe that someone or something is watching over her family, taking care of the big picture. I did find myself making litle bargains with my own God, whomever that may be, knowing that my lack of faith over the course of my lifetime might make such pleas a second priority to the pleas of those people who are more certain in their beliefs. It's times like these that try a person's faith. What can I do better? Did I do everything I should have? What can I do in the future?

We're so lucky. We're not spending the night. We went home to our own house, our own bed, our own little girl nestled between us under warm and safe covers with a hound dog to watch over her. Our girl will be taken care of by our own doctor, whom we respect and trust, and will be just fine. But sometimes, it's good to be reminded just how lucky we are, to have a minute to be grateful for all that we have, and to know that we're not alone.