"Growin' and growin'"

Rick and I took Maisy to the City Clerk's Office the other day to apply for her passport.  We get to go on a family vacation to Mexico this summer, since my youngest brother decided to have a destination wedding.  We're thrilled to have an excuse to spend time at a resort on the beach!

Anyway, it came time for Rick to go to work and Maisy and I to go off and do a few other errands.  

Maisy: "No, Daddy.  You not go to work.  You come home with me!"

Daddy: I want to come home with you, but I have to go to work.  I'll see you at home after your nap.

Maisy: (screams, because yes, she is two, then says:) "This is so frustrating.  I am so upset right now."

Seriously.  She used those exact words.  She isn't quite 27 months old yet.  

The big news in our house is that Maisy is potty training.  We started a couple of weeks ago, right after we got back from a long road trip to North Dakota.  Maisy had been trying on the potty quite a bit for several months, and she had success here and there, but we hadn't really put any focus on it and we were still using diapers 100% of the time.  "U" was the letter of the week for Library Storytime on that Monday, so I thought, "Why not?  U is for Undies, after all!"  

After Storytime, we spontaneously checked out the book "Ian's Potty" from the library (highly recommended, though as Rick reminded me, you can't really spend time thinking about how many potties that book has been near).  Then it was off to Target, where I carefully diverted Maisy's attention away from the thin-as-tissue-paper princess-and-Dora undies to the practical-and-absorbent Gerber training pants (highly recommended as well!).  It took very little convincing to convince her of how cool the flowers, butterflies, and pink Big Girl Undies were - she had them out of the package before we got to the checkout lanes.  

That was a Monday.  We had a few accidents here and there ("like Ian") between that Monday and Thursday.  It's been two full weeks since we got the Big Girl Undies, and she hasn't had an accident since that Thursday!  She still wears a diaper overnight, but almost always wakes up "clean and dry," as she puts it, and she's starting to refuse a diaper during naps.  As she says, "I'm a big girl.  I'm growin' and growin'!"

Maisy's First Kiss

Who would guess we would pick Maisy up from the church nursery tonight and hear about her first kiss???  Not even 14 months old yet!

His name is Joel.  He looks like he's about 3 years old (an older boy!), but I can't be sure since Maisy didn't introduce us to him.

The nursery volunteers say it happened something like this:

Joel and Maisy were playing near each other, when Joel (struck by Maisy's sweetness, I'm sure) puckered up for a kiss.  Maisy spotted her opportunity, puckered up right back, and SMOOCH!  Right on the lips! Apparently, Joel was very excited about his big moment and even did a little dance.

Maisy's reaction?  I'm not sure, but I do know that she only had eyes for mama when I came to pick her up.

Memories to Keep

Maisy is 13 and a half months old now - is it possible that the second year can go faster than the first?  It seems like it.  I know that the first 6 weeks of Maisy's second year of life has disappeared much more quickly than the same weeks last year.

When I think back to those weeks, I can remember waking up many times each night, and the feeling of victory I felt if she made it three hours between feedings instead of two, four hours instead of three.  The week she began sleeping until 4 am was monumental!  Now she's drinking whole milk from a sippy cup, and the rare nights that she wakes up in the middle feel in some ways harder... I think.  :)  

I remember thinking she slept ALL DAY LONG - and she pretty much did!  Now I cross my fingers that Maisy will take two naps in a day, or at least one long afternoon nap so I can clear away the clutter for round two.

I remember her sweet newborn noises and the adorable kissy face she used to make unconsciously.  Now she's trying out new sounds and words nearly every day, and her breathless "hi hi hiiii" is a greeting I will always treasure.  Her "kissy face" has been replaced by real kisses, with a big upper-lip-to-the-bottom-of-her-nose pucker up that is irresistible.

Our family will grow again someday, maybe soon.  Judging from my mother-of-4 sister's blog, my cluttered house will get clutterier and my mornings will become hectic.  The days will fly by one faster than the other, yet there will always be memories to keep (even if there is seemingly no time or place to keep them).

I love being a mom, even when I'm greeted at 4:45 am with a poopy diaper, a diaper rash, and a rarin'-to-go 1-year-old.  When she's proud of her first crayon scribbles, taking those first few steps into my open arms, or crawling toward me all puckered up for a kiss and a snuggle, it's worth every blowout she ever had.

And that's a whole lot.

Happy First

I remember holding her for the first time, and how her tiny, perfect features erased all of the chaos and pain and fear of the hours before.  She was just right - pink and crying and beautiful.  My sweet baby.

The first night in that dim hospital room, Rick and I hardly slept.  Every hiccup, every sigh, every whimper was cause to shift and stare, stand and hold our precious girl.

My mom helped me with her first bath at home, a sponge bath on our kitchen table.  We assembled everything - towels, washcloths, baby wash, lotion, diaper, clothes.  I was so careful.  The temperature of the water was triple-checked, each tiny finger given individual attention, her head kept covered and warm as soon as it had been washed.

So many firsts have followed.  The first time we brought her to church.  The first night she slept in her crib.  Her first taste of solid food, first tooth, first walk to the park, first word, first pair of baby jeans, first dip in the lake, first babysitter, first ear infection, first snow, first Christmas, first birthday cake...

I think there must be something special about the first-year firsts.  A year ago this very night, we drove slowly home through dark snowy streets.  We slid her tiny arms into the sleeves of a big yellow blanket sleeper and laid her down to sleep in a bassinet that made her look so very small (and she was!).  First night in her first home.

And here we are: the first year is over.  Maisy is one.  Our little sweetheart is pointing at everything in sight, flipping madly through the pages of books, saying "dada" when she hears the garage door open, voicing her disapproval at being removed from the dog's water dish, bringing a spoon to the same lips that used to make the "kissy face" that we so loved.

I'm not sad, though.  How can I be sad when I think of all the firsts and seconds and thirds yet to come in Maisy's life?  She's growing.  Transforming.  Becoming more independent and vibrant with each passing day.  I'm blessed to be her mommy, to be given this precious baby-girl life with all its incredible, every day firsts.

Happy First, My Maisy.

Love,
Mommy

Great 8: Mommy Moments

I've been such a slacker-blogger lately!  I can try to blame my lack of posts on a more-mobile Maisy and a new tutoring client, but that's probably an excuse.  In any case, here are some top Mommy Moments from the past week, in no particular order (ordering takes time, and I have laundry to switch over and a 9-month-old due to awaken at any moment):

Mommy Moment #1: Snow Baby
First snow of the season last Saturday, so we bundled Maisy up in snow pants, winter jacket, mittens, hat, and shoes (don't own boots yet) to check out the heavy wet flakes. She looked just like the little boy from A Christmas Story. When we tried to set her down in the snow for a photo op we had to push snow up behind her to keep her from falling backwards.

Mommy Moment #2: We Dance
Maisy and I were playing on the floor and listening to some jazzy kiddie tunes the other day.  I found myself bobbing my head side to side in time to the music, and looked over to find Maisy doing the same thing.  Does Maisy dance like Mommy? Or, does Mommy dance like Maisy?

Mommy Moment #3: I Whistle
I dropped Maisy off at a friend's house today and took off for my new 1.5 hour a week position teaching Orton-Gillingham reading.  I suddenly realized I was contentedly whistling along to the Raffi song streaming from the speakers.  No baby in the car, no Raffi, right?  I flipped on the radio, but I'll be the first to admit that the whistling stopped when the Raffi stopped.

Mommy Moment #4: Perfect Timing
Maisy and I were due to be right on time to a doctor's appointment as I buckled her into her car seat.  Just as I clicked the last buckle into place, I sniffed.  Definitely poopy.  Needless to say, we didn't make it to our appointment on time.

Mommy Moment #5: Mega Playdate
Somewhere in the stay-at-home-mom bi-laws, I believe there is a requirement to host playdates for your children, no matter their ages. Of course, for the six moms and as many babies at the playdate I hosted on Wednesday, the moms did a lot more socializing than the babes.  Here's what I learned from hosting my first mega playdate: Six+ babies generate six times the toy mess.

Mommy Moment #6: And Then There Were Three
Teefers that is.  Maisy's third pearly white appeared early Tuesday morning.  So far, no intense teething fussiness.  Now I've probably jinxed myself.

Mommy Moment #7: Maisy's First Babysitter
Other than family and close adult friends.  Maisy's first "real" babysitter was a high school girl from church who knows Maisy from the church nursery.  Rick and I ate at the new Cadillac Ranch restaurant at the Mall of America and shopped a little before heading home to a sleeping baby.  Success!  For the record, neither of us rode the Cadillac Ranch's mechanical bull.

Mommy Moment #8: Double-Digit Woes
Maisy turns 10 months old in less than two weeks.  Double digits are approaching with shocking speed.  I know I'm lame, but how did she get so big so fast?  It really wasn't that long ago that I was waking up every 2 hours to feed her by night, and letting my tiny newborn take naps curled up on my chest by day.  Now here I am, counting her teeth, closing the basement door to keep her from toppling down, and realizing that my little baby is really not so little anymore.  When she was first born, we kept track of her age by hours, then by weeks, and now by months.  Even as I cheer on every new stage of development, I can't help but feel a little sadness with the passing of the time.

Mommy Moment #9: Holiday Cheer
To avoid going out on a melancholy note, I'll add a nine to my great eight.  I am SUPER excited for Christmas.  My Sunday School kiddos are preparing for their Advent Christmas program, my Awana kiddos are practicing Christmas songs for some in-church caroling next month, and I am loving it!  I think I'm as excited for Maisy's first Christmas as I used to get circling the toys I wanted in the JCPenney Christmas catalog each year.  Hopefully I'll sleep better as a mom than I did as a little girl, waiting wide awake at the top of the stairs in the pitch-black early morning of Christmas Day.

The Music of Babies

A faint, racing heartbeat.

The first sound I heard from my baby was nothing short of miraculous. A matter of weeks after I held the positive pregnancy test heralding newly created life, I heard the life-changing music of my baby's tiny beating heart. I marched to the drumbeat of that first sound for months while I waited for the next song.

Months later, after hours of shocking contractions and desperate pushing, I heard the most beautiful, relief-filled, pain-erasing notes. I heard my brand new baby, out in the big world, crying loudly: "I'm here! I'm yours! Cuddle me! Feed me! Love me!" And I did. I wrapped my arms around her as she wailed, and I communicated silently back: "I'm here. I'm yours. I'll always love you."

The first night, in spite of being awake for over two days, my husband and I stayed awake listening to the music of our baby. We were held captive by every sigh, every suck, every whimper. Her hiccups had us whispering to each other across the dark hospital room: "She's so sweet. She's so perfect." 

Over the first two months, she spoke to us in grunts and dolphin noises. Grunting may not sound very musical, but to me it was. My baby's grunts were at once funny and beautiful. They murmured: "I'm here. I'm yours. Cuddle me, feed me, love me." And I did.

In no time, the grunting ceased, and my baby began to coo. Cooing meant contentment, and she was a very contented baby. The little vowel sounds never ceased to make me smile. 

Quickly, it seemed, the vowels attached to consonants, and my daughter began to speak the babbling language of babies. Her cries began with an adorable "Boooo-waaaaaa" that, accompanied by an amazing pouty lip, had me hiding a smile as I comforted her baby woes. Around this time, she looked me in the eye and chattered, and I chattered back. She woke us early in the morning as she lay in bed, chatting happily to the stars and moon that hung above her crib. She was truly the world's cutest alarm clock.

Along with the babbling stream of ma's and ba's and ga's came other sounds. She pushed air out of her lips to make little raspberry noises. Scritching and scratching became common sounds in our home as she discovered the interesting textures all around her.

One early morning at the family cabin she woke us up with "THUMP -rattlerattlerattle... THUMP -rattlerattlerattle." She was having a grand time kicking the hollow-sounding bottom of the Pack-n-Play and hearing her baby doll rattle away in response. (When my husband took the doll away, she communicated with a truly pitiful "Booooo-waaaaa" that she didn't appreciate having Daddy stop the fun just because it was 5 in the morning. Daddy gave the dolly back.)

And she laughed. The first time she laughed, her daddy was holding her while I danced a ridiculous version of the Hokey Pokey. My older brother got a bigger laugh when he spoke to her with his high-pitched chipmunky baby voice. One quick laugh turned into a giggle. Giggles turned into belly laughs. Belly laughs became squeals of delight. Baby laughter is the sweetest music. 

I know what's coming, and I look forward to it greedily. I watch and listen for her mamamama's to become that first crystal-clear, no-doubt-about-it Mama. I can only imagine the flow of words that will follow. Soon enough, too, she'll be off the floor, pattering around the house in barefoot beats of percussion.

Baby music fills our house from the first happy babbles of awake to the soft rhythmic breathing of asleep. It ripples around our house, singing: "I'm here! I'm yours! Cuddle me, feed me, love me!" And we do.

A Week of Baby Book Moments

What a week for Maisy!  I don't think she's had so many "firsts" occur in one week since the day she was born!

Maisy's First Wave

Last Wednesday, we were in the middle of a 9-day vacation that started with a night at the North Shore and continued at my family's lake cabin near Bemidji.  Maisy was a little sparkler all week long - smiling, giggling, squealing, babbling, and otherwise dazzling my parents and grandparents (and Rick and I are not immune to her charms either).

That Wednesday, Maisy went with my mom, grandma, and me to Summerhill Farms, a collection of cute shops with a yummy cafe.  We were eating lunch, Maisy in a borrowed high chair, when a tour bus pulled up and dozens of seniors made their way down the hill towards the patio where we sat.  Clearly, Maisy thought that the tourists had arrived for the sole purpose of smiling at her, so she beamed at all of them as they went by, flapping her arms excitedly.  But that wasn't her first wave.

A family with two cutie pie kiddos had settled in at a table across the way from us, and Maisy caught their eye.  The girl peekabooed like crazy, the boy giggled, and their mom waved... and Maisy waved back!  Really!  It was a whole arm wave, a definite eye-contact, grinning arm flap that could only be interpreted as a 6-month-old's wave.  Soooo adorable.  A baby book moment for sure.

Maisy Makes a Splash

A picture is worth a thousand words, so as soon as my mom sends me a picture of Maisy swimming in the lake in her bright pink, inflatable Sunshade Buggy, I'll post it.  Maisy had seen it before, and even floated in it briefly over the 4th, but she was pretty confused about what was all going on.  This time, as soon as her daddy started blowing it up, she got SUPER excited, literally squealing with delight.  

The water was chilly for most of the week, so she played in it on the floor and on the dock (supervised, of course).  She thought it was one awesome on-shore toy.  The baby boat only got launched on Saturday when the water finally warmed up to a comfortable temp.  I'm happy to report that she's a water baby - she smiled, she splashed, and she kicked her little feet in the water.  Next up, the Snoopy skis!

Maisy Rolls Over

All week long, while vacationing, my family and I could tell that Maisy was getting so much closer to rolling over.  Of course, she waited until Sunday when we had been home for all of 20 minutes to put on a show.  Thanks, Maisy, for rolling over for the first time (twice!) when both Daddy and I could watch you!  (And sorry for spooking you with our excited cheering!)

Maisy Discovers That Cheerios are Food

Rick and I had fed Maisy a Cheerio or two in the past just to see what she'd do with them (she reluctantly made a chewing motion, but mostly seemed very confused).  For a while, I think she just thought Cheerios were fun little toys.  She would chase them around her tray, picking them up, inspecting them, and eventually dropping them in her lap.  Sure, she would put everything else in her mouth EXCEPT the Cheerio.  

Then, on Monday, she took a Cheerio, brought it up to her lips, and popped her thumb in (Cheerio falls into lap).  Repeat - pick up O, bring to lips, pop goes the thumb, no O.  Again.  Then, miracle of miracles, she brought that tasty little O up to her lips and popped it in - victory for Maisy!  Now she's already a Cheerio eating champ.  She seems to like this new finger food business, but I must say that I think our pup Houdini loves it even more.   

Maisy Cuts a Tooth

It's just a sharp little white nothing protruding from Maisy's lower gums, but I know what it is: Maisy's first tooth, at last!  Her buddy down the street (just 7 hours older) has four already, and now Maisy has one itsy bitsy pearly white.  I know I am one lucky mommy, because she has just been as sparkly and happy as can be in spite of the teething that has apparently been going on behind the scenes.  

Between the waving, the splashing, the rolling, the Cheering, the teething, and some mighty intense babbling, I have to say that almost-7-months is a pretty exciting time to be a baby.

'Fraidy Cat

Maisy's closing in on 6 and a half months old, and she still doesn't roll over. This isn't anything I lose sleep over. I know all babies are different. Maisy supported her head from a super early age; she can pick up a Cheerio with a pincer grasp; she's been imitating sounds and facial expressions since she was 4 months old; and she's been sitting since right before 5 months. So she doesn't roll over? Big deal.

Here's my theory about the rolling: She's a 'fraidy cat. Or should I say 'fraidy kitty? I have some evidence to back this up. First, though, here are a few reasons I've ruled out:

Ruled-Out Reason #1: Not enough tummy time
Like many babies who sleep on their backs, Maisy wasn't a huge fan of tummy time. We were persistent, though. We started early. We figured out the times of day that work best. We let her fuss a little as long as she wasn't all-out crying. We let her be when she was content. We gave her a variety of toys, mirrors, colorful blankets. We got down on her level. Really, we did tummy time.

The result was a baby who could do an awesome, long-lasting, straight-armed push-up since four months. However, she hated the feeling of flailing around on her tummy "swimming" with her arms and legs. She'll do a little more of that now, reaching after toys and using a leg for leverage, but mostly she's just a push-up rock star.

Ruled-Out Reason #2: She's not strong enough
This is like reason #1. And like I said above, she has some seriously great upper body and back strength. It's just that she doesn't let herself go. If she gets tired of her everlasting push-up, she carefully lets herself down. When she's ready, she pops back up again. Plenty strong.

Ruled-Out Reason #3: She's not motivated enough
Okay, I can't completely rule this one out. Maisy is a pretty contented baby, so sometimes on her tummy she'll just chill out or suck her thumb happily. But she likes playing with toys, and she reaches for them when she sits, when she's in her exersaucer, when she's in her car seat. And finally, more frequently now, on her tummy.

Evidence for a 'Fraidy Kitty
This morning, Maisy was happily and noisily sitting up and playing with some toys. I was washing dishes nearby. Apparently, she decided she wanted her little lion rattle toy which was just out of reach. Bam! Baby down! (Flat on her face.) And baby screaming! I swooped her into my lap and calmed her down.

Soon, I tried to tempt her with the lion rattle again. She really seemed to want that toy, but just the sight of it set her to sniffling again. Finally, she cautiously reached for it - and pulled back. Reach - pull back. Reach - pull back. When she felt safe enough, she reached for it and got it, happily shaking it. When she dropped it, I attempted to tempt her again, but no such luck. It was just too scary. My little cry-baby-'fraidy-kitty would not go after that mean old lion again.

This isn't the first time Maisy has landed sprawled out when reaching for a toy from a seated position. (It's really pretty funny, even though she rarely thinks so.) What I've noticed is that she does it less and less, in part because she's a bit more coordinated. Mostly, though, I think she's learned from her mistakes and figured out what her limit is. She just figures, "Whatever, Toy, I don't need you," and moves on to a different form of entertainment.

I think I have a cautious baby. She definitely doesn't get that from Daddy. And you know what? I'm okay with having a little 'fraidy kitty. Fewer ER visits are fine by me. As for the rolling, she'll roll if she needs to, and I don't doubt that she'll crawl, walk, and run eventually anyway. Probably not too much climbing, though, but I guess time will tell.