Deck the Halls, Y'all

I feel so grown up. You would think that birthing then caring for a child accomplished that, but as any quick scan of daytime talk show television will illustrate, parenthood does not necessarily equal adulthood. No, my new sense of maturity comes courtesy of my very first Christmas tree.

Glenn and I have never had our own tree, and this year we figured it was high time for one. I made a few stops at Garden Ridge and Target, picking up the requisite balls, lights, topper, and these beautiful ceramic acorns and tiny birds. I was so proud of myself, having purchased everything on sale, and felt certain that a nice tree would cost around fifty dollars. We can do this Christmas decorating thing, I tell myself.

Well, I quickly realized that we also needed a stand, a skirt, stockings, and holders. Hm. With those additional items purchased, I returned home, pleased with my haul. Glenn had planned on surprising us with a tree, but with his schedule, it's hard to be stealthy. He left to "run some errands" and within an hour, he returned with a nice six to eight foot Douglas Fir.

As you probably know, trees cost more than fifty dollars. You may also know that they shed like a Husky in the springtime. We were so naïve, we were genuinely surprised at the range in cost of the trees at the lot, and the tree made the longest possible route through the entire house bypassing only the bedrooms and bathrooms on its path to its final resting place. I should mention that it sits no more than ten feet from the front door, which will be how the tree will make its exit.

After watering and sweeping up after the thing constantly, I sort of understand why people buy fake trees. Sort of. The living room smells so wonderful, and even the best fake trees don't come close to the dense loveliness of a good tree. (Rather, I should say a decent tree, as we had to buy the Pinto of the tree lot.) And, I shouldn't forget to mention that Lily is mesmerized by the tree.

As I type, she is on the floor, repeatedly rolling off of her mat and under the tree's branches. It's great, because throughout the day she will forget the tree is there, and I love catching her face when she sees it. Lily even has her own pink tinsel tree that Honey bought her, and she finds it equally interesting. I have more on holiday preparations, but it occurs to me that I need to check the little one for pine needles.

Do the locomotion

Yesterday evening, Lily and I were deadlocked in what was, most likely, my most ridiculous parent moment to date. In the last post, I wrote briefly about her growing coordination. In addition to sitting unsupported for a few minutes at a time, she also enjoys doing backbends during diaper changes. She manages this by anchoring the back of her head and feet to the table and pushing her hips up while her arms flail wildly or grab at her diaper.

I try to encourage her gymnastics, primarily because they are hilarious to watch, but also because I think that somewhere down the line it will pay off for her. During tummy time, I'll place a toy just out of her reach. She will scoot forward for the toy, again using her head to bear weight, while she humps her back up, stretches her arms forward, then straightens out again, minutely closer to her goal. She got smart on me recently and started pulling the blanket toward her rather than moving.

If she's on her back, you can offer her your hands and she will pull up to sitting with very little encouragement. Give her another beat and she will pull up to standing. In fact, as I'm writing, she's standing on the couch with Glenn, shimmying like one of those windsock people in front of a car lot. The girl is talented.

But her fine motor skills are also pretty amazing, which is where our little story picks back up. I had Lily sitting in her vibrating bouncy seat while I made egg salad. She calmly watched while I peeled and chopped my eggs; as soon as the salad was assembled I placed it back in the refrigerator while my bread toasted and I plopped down on the floor to play for a few minutes. Unsnapping the restraint belt, I let her practice sitting up, then realized that every time I brought my face closer, she would giggle madly. So, we did that for a while. This is when she decides it's time to multitask.

I should probably mention that I recently had bangs cut, and they are exactly the wrong length; they don't go behind my ears but they're too long to sit on my forehead either. Anyhow, I'm going in for the umpteenth time, when, with alarming quickness and dexterity for someone so little and generally undeveloped, Lily reaches up and grabs ahold of those stupid bangs. She pulls hair in general, so I thought I could easily release her doughy fists and move on. Not so.

After shaking and tugging my bangs-turned-reins, she started digging her hands in, grasping the most sensitive roots near my temples, and pulled me forward until she could place her forehead against mine. As I attempted to pull away, I realized the little monster was trying to stand up. This is when I lose it. As much as it hurt, the realization that she had thought this out and was so set on her trajectory had me laughing uncontrollably. My sudden outburst startled her, and she removed her forehead from mine for a second to look at my face. Finally gaining a toehold, I took control of the situation.

I pried a finger into each of her fists and slowly extricated them from my aching, and newly tangled, hair. I gently placed her back into her bouncy, unwinding several hairs held hostage by her greedy fingers. Finally, I went back to making my sandwich, equally cursing the stylist who gave me these perfectly wrong bangs and feeling grateful to have had such a laugh with my dexterous little girl.

...and we're back.

Hello all. You may have noticed that we took a brief intermission. I took a general break from the interwebs because my computer attempted hara kiri, which was thwarted by the lovely repairpersons at Apple. So what's new? It seems like a lot and nothing. What's on my mind this morning, as I sip my cup of over-brewed tea? Bathing. This isn't just because I'm thinking that I should go shower myself, but because I realized I have a lot of cute Lily bath time pics that haven't made it out yet.

Is there anything better than a freshly bathed baby? Those five minutes or so right after Lily is bathed and she's slathered in lotion and free of spit up and general grime are so sweet. Okay, I know that it's not half as bad as it will be once the girl is fully functional--eating people food, crawling around-- but still, with the constant drool effected by her teething and her penchant for finger gnawing, her face and hands seem to have this perpetual sheen.

Lily has her bath in the evening. I've tried to do the baby massage thing, but it seems to really amp her up rather than calm. It makes sense, though. She always rallies during her bath, so once she's free of the tub and all covering and Mommy is warming up her little muscles, of course she assumes it means it's time to party.

The bathing itself is becoming more of a chore. In the beginning, I was terrified of bathing her. She was so small and slippery, and I couldn't shake the mental image of a whole raw chicken while I was soaping up her froggy little body. The task was easy enough, but I was so worried that it seemed to be an undertaking. Lily is much more substantial now, and the fear of hurting her has mostly dissipated and been replaced by life-guarding.

Lily is starting to explore cause and effect, and right now her ability to cause water to fly up out of the tub brings her much joy. She can sit unsupported for brief periods, and she uses this new skill to lean over, bring her face very near the water's surface, and slap the bath water repeatedly. Potential for a face plant: high. Funny factor: also high.

Lily also enjoys creating little tidal waves by doing athlete quality leg presses off the end of her tub and shuttling her whole body back and forth. While the potential for her to go too far and dip her head underwater is moderate, the funny factor is high. She will be transitioning out of her infant to toddler tub soon, and I can't wait to see what she does once she gets in the big tub. Stay tuned!

Nature Grrrl

It seems like fall has just about graced the Metroplex with its presence. We have been inundated with squash from the co-op, and I've had that itch to make fudge. Sure, today it was close to 80 degrees and we grilled out, but there have been breaks. Like the other day, when Lily and I met Aunt Julie and Uncle Steven at the River Legacy Nature Center in Arlington.

None of us had been to the nature center before, but it is halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth so we thought it would make a nice meeting place. Lily loves being outdoors. In the midst of a major meltdown, a trip outside will almost always settle her down. Even a short walk to the mailbox works wonders.

While I was looking forward to the opportunity to spend an afternoon in a hidden nature preserve, Julie was looking forward to the opportunity to dress up Diego as a bumble bee and capture him in the wild. The weather was cool and overcast, and even though many of the trails were closed due to flooding, we enjoyed an afternoon walking under the canopy of trees while the Diego Bee trotted alongside us.

We ended our day at a yummy cafe called Potager. The food was great, but the concept is even better--the owner uses local product and small portions. You ask for only what you can eat, getting seconds when you want, then at the end, you pay what you think the food is worth. Okay, it sounds like some wacky hippie place, and sure, it kind of is. The downside to this whole laid back aesthetic--I ended up having to change Lily on top of a low cooler behind the self-serve herbal tea bar. The up side? I didn't get a single raised eyebrow.

The Frank that Tanked.

Okay, Halloween is gone but the fun is definitely not. Yesterday afternoon I gave my final lecture at the Modern Art Museum then Glenn and I had a nice date before trick-or-treating with Lily at a few family members' homes. She didn't dress up in her Halloween costume, though. Why? Because she absolutely hated it.

A couple of weeks ago, Mom and I picked out a hot dog costume for Lily after realizing the flying monkey I wanted was discontinued. We tried it on her in the shop. "Maybe she's just warm" we decided, after she started wailing in discontent. Convincing ourselves that if she only wore a long-sleeved onesie underneath her costume she would be pleased as punch, we bought the costume and congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

I decided earlier that instead of doing Christmas cards I would send Halloween cards. Get people ready for the holiday season, etc. I loved the idea of someone opening a card with Lily's little mug peering out of this ridiculous hot dog. We would go to this great pumpkin patch, snap some photos, then have The Perfect Halloween cards.

The big day rolls around. Julie, Mom and I dress Lily, throw the costume in the car, and head to the pumpkin patch. It's a little cool and drizzly, but I figured this would add ambience. We snapped a few (well, relatively few--a couple dozen) photos in her "First Halloween" onesie then a few in this cute candy corn hat I found at Target. The moment had come--it was time to put on the dog.

Once that padded round frank head touched hers, it was on. She kicked angrily while Aunt Julie helped me coax her arms through the holes. We snapped and zipped her in, and she jerked and arced like a fish out of water. After calming her somewhat, I placed her on some hay bales, but due to some unfortunate positioning on my part (hot dog between two large pumpkins=no bueno), those pictures were not usable. Maybe she sensed my incompetence because by this time she had really lost her patience.

I tried the mom calming thing (pacing, patting, shushing) but none of it seemed to work. My Machiavellian little sister decides to take things into her own hands and blows in Lily's face a couple of times so I can snap some pictures in which Lily is not wailing pitifully. We tried some creative placement--on a fence, in a bin full of tiny pumpkins--but the girl was just not having it.

After removing the costume, we got a couple of cute shots between some straw people and in a baby pumpkin patch. The photo session drew to an end just after Lily proudly grasped a handful of straw and nearly made it to her mouth with her prize. Thankfully, with Mom and Julie's help, I really did get some great pictures (well, I think Julie took at least half of them), and despite Lily's refusal to play along with the costume, we had a great afternoon together. And you know what? Those cards are pretty darn perfect after all.

Flying high

So, Lily wasn't feeling the nap today, but she is happily kicking away in her bouncer so I thought I could write a quick post before she decides it's party time.

We had another first on Sunday--Glenn and Lily went to their first air show. (If you know my dad, you know that I'm an air show veteran.) It was a little overcast and cooler, but with some warm clothes and the protection provided by her well-enclosed jogging stroller, Lily was set for an afternoon of fun. When we arrived at the Alliance airport with my Dad and Judy and pulled the stroller out of the trunk, however, we realized that a tire was flat. So, thanks to some nice military types (see above photo) we aired it up and headed on.

Lily did great with her earplugs. In fact, she didn't even seem to notice them. There were several children in the audience, some even younger than our girl. I felt optimistic. We looked at the planes, watched the Army Golden Knights jump, even saw a Jelly Belly biplane land on top of a moving RV. A jet-powered semi belched flames and zoomed down the runway. Lily caught a nap and Glenn pushed her stroller around while an A-10 Warthog (my favorite plane) had its moment in the spotlight. This was all great and very entertaining, but it was just the appetizer--we were eagerly awaiting the flight of the Blue Angels.

Just prior to the Angels, another solo jet performed. This pilot demonstrated an incredible technique. I don't know the technical term, but I think it would involve the words "manifesting a cone of terror around your wings while you flirt with creating a sonic boom." Thankfully, Glenn had Liliana out of the front lines at the time, while I was nearby taking photos (see above for The Cone.) They found me quickly enough and I hastily took the stroller and high-tailed it to the exit. Lily was furious.

After the jet's performance, Glenn and I enjoyed the most expensive fried food I think I've ever seen (fair included) before he headed back to the show and I headed directly for the car. Lily and I took in the remainder of the show from the parking lot and Glenn rounded off the day by taking over four hundred pictures.

Lily bites.

Okay, it looks like I might have the little one down for a nap so I thought I may as well get cracking with my first post. First of all, Lily is five months old. How did this happen? She has already learned so many things. She started rolling over before she was a month old. She sits with the slightest support (although she lunges forward, mouth first, at anything that catches her eye, such as the dog.) And just a couple of weeks ago, she had her first "bites"--rice cereal.

Why doesn't anyone tell you how difficult it is to feed these little guys? Lily liked the cereal, but she couldn't quite work out how to get it in her mouth. Don't let that second picture fool you; it captures her initial reaction to anything that approaches her face--mouth goes wide open. We struggled over who got to use the spoon, considered whether it was better to just let her push it into her mouth with her fingers after spitting it out all over her chin, and agonized over the gluey mess that the cereal becomes once it dries.

That last point should have clued me in as to the effect the cereal would have on her tummy.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Lily is a very vocal girl, so in between bites, we had several Viking-worthy whoops of impatience, guttural grunts of appreciation, and the general happy chatter that we've come to expect from her. In fact, at points it seemed as if she was more interested in the effect the gooey cereal had on her ability to make noises than in eating the stuff.

Glenn is very patient, so he has the privilege of tackling cereal-feeding, while I take on the small task of cleaning. I haven't noticed the cereal affecting her sleeping pattern, but because she already sleeps so well, that's not much of a concern. (I won't jinx myself by mentioning specifics, but it's good. Really good.) Next up on the agenda--nap scheduling!

Hello, Destiny!

Okay, it was bound to happen sooner or later--I'm blogging. Rather, I should say we are blogging because I intend to get Glenn on here eventually. Cross fingers for me. I wanted to have a way to keep everyone up to date with Lily; she is growing and changing so quickly! I think the inaugural post (after this one, obviously) will be a general catch up so it will involve lots of fun stuff.

Feel the anticipation? No? Well, alright then party pooper.