half a year

Is it possible, baby girl, that you have been here for six whole months? Is it possible that you have not been with us forever?
You were born in the middle of summertime. We dressed you in a onesie and not much else those first weeks. Half a year later, you're bundled every day in long sleeves, sweaters, legwarmers, booties, and hats. In the middle of summertime you were a little caterpillar, curled up on my shoulder, sleeping the days (and nights) away.

Now you are well out of your newborn cocoon, speeding through the world on your hands and knees, with a smile to light up the dark winter days.

Your eyes follow your brothers as they race in circles around you. Milo picks you up and carries you around, singing and making silly faces to make you laugh. Liam holds your hand or your foot when you cry, tells you it's gonna be ok.

You are a social butterfly baby. You look around with those big disney eyes of yours, and you're learning something new every minute. You laugh easily and smile at everyone. Lately you have been occasionally possessed by a tiger - growling low in your throat and cracking yourself up about it. Your tiny fingers grab at everything that passes by.

You are our sweet girl, Lucy May. You still like to curl up on our shoulders and suck your thumb. Your favorite way to fall asleep is in the bjorn or the ergo - your head on my chest or your dad's, your thumb in your mouth.

You are hard work too. You wake up numerous times each night, sometimes wanting to nurse, sometimes wanting your dad to walk you around the house, endlessly. You are constantly on the move - no longer trustworthy on your changing table. You're demanding! You bore easily, wanting something new to look at or someone new to hold you.

But I wouldn't trade you in my dear, even though sometimes at 3am I am tempted. I love your energy and your determination. You are my third and last baby and I savor every stage and developmental milestone. You're six months old now - time to start feeding you some real food here pretty soon. Soon you'll be reaching for the floor when you're in my arms, wanting to crawl, and soon run, away from me. I'm in no rush for those days. I'm sure that'll be a theme throughout your childhood, but I'll try to give you your freedom too.

I'm so glad you're here.

crawling

We bought a package of socket plugs the other day and ordered a baby gate for the stairs. After many weeks of rocking around on her hands and knees and ending up high-centered on her belly, the girl is mobile. Lucy is very proud of herself, and also very determined.
Her pediatrician, Dr. Marks, was impressed last week during her 6 month checkup. He all but said she is a genius. OK, maybe not, but he did marvel at her two teeth, her strong legs, and her mad crawling skills. He also said he thinks we'll have our hands full with this one, and wasn't surprised that she's not sleeping well at night what with crossing all these developmental hurdles at record speed.

One week shy of six months, Lucy weighed in at 17.4 pounds and measures 26 inches long, hovering just above the 50th percentile for size.

Wii

I thought this new member of our household deserved its own post. I have never seen my boys so ecstatic as when they opened this package on christmas morning.


They were actually sore the next morning from boxing. Milo has a particularly hilarious boxing style that involves running in place and manic arm movements. But he's good, I will give him that.

Padma had at least one victory, but I think Kavi beat her in the end using some of Milo's tricks.

I'm not sure what I think of the Wii yet. We've had two evenings where groups of adult men have invaded our livingroom, mesmerized by their Miis on the screen. So the kids and the men clearly love it. I'll get back to you after I get Wii yoga...

out of order: christmas 08

Santa put a camera in my stocking, but something is not quite right with the flash so I have to send it back to the elves to fix. So I am blaming the tardy christmas post on Rohanna because I had to wait for her to send me pix from her camera and she took her sweet time. So here they are - better late than never, just like our holiday cards.

13 stockings hung by the fire with care.

They were hung too soon, it turned out, and lots of chocolate melted...

We spent christmas eve with Joel's family as usual, then my family gathered late night in my livingroom to watch Love Actually and stuff stockings for each other. Everyone came over christmas morning for coffee, dutch babies and presents.

Puzzling
Padma and Jordan

Sweet boys

Gramma G. and Lucy May

Unbenownst to each other, Rohanna and I made each other gifts out of the same fabric. Roh got an apron (that fit), and I got a skirt (that fit Joel).

Liam gave a christmas recital.

Nathan and Lucy snuggled up and fell asleep while we made dinner.

We had pot pies in honor of my mom.

It's a new day

In the words of will.i.am. It's a new day.

We weren't watching from the National Mall in Washington DC (like Rohanna!) but we felt like we were a part of something this morning. The boys and I watched the CNN coverage of the inauguration from the gathering room at their school, together with their teachers, classmates, and other parents.

No matter what changes, or doesn't change, over the next four (eight!) years, we will remember this morning for the rest of our lives. We will remember where we were this cold January morning. We'll remember the little flags we waved, and we'll remember feeling proud to wave those flags. Finally. Sixty years ago, Obama pointed out, his father would not have been served in a restaurant in Washington DC. I hope that sixty years from now my children will look back on this day and similarly marvel at how far our world has come - how much better it is for people of color, for gay people, for women, for families, for people in Iraq, India, and Sudan. Not just because a black man became president today, but because that event marks progress. Today is a milestone, and we'll keep marching forward.