Weekend Fun

Another weekend, another few playgrounds. On Saturday morning we walked over to Slope Park in Greenwood Heights to pick up our CSA vegetables...you got in some run-around time with Abba while mom weighed tomatoes, onions, and beets. You're wearing a green tie-halter top--it's a good look for you!

On Sunday we were trying to go to Governor's Island, but we had some errands to run and the day got away from us. So we walked around Brooklyn Heights instead..you didn't seem to mind. The above photo was taken at the Brooklyn Heights playground, right next to the Promenade. You were so interested in the slides, stairs and bridges that you didn't even notice the beautiful view of Manhattan behind the playground.

Before we arrived at the playground (which wasn't too far from our subway stop towards home), we stopped in at a cafe for a drink. We knew we had left our neighborhood when we found out that they didn't have high chairs! We figured we'd let you walk around the cafe a bit...you spent the next 10 minutes wandering around and making friends with everyone there. Then, you got tired of that, and started shrieking...sort of disturbed the peace of the cafe. So Abba took you outside while mom scarfed down her salad.

Your walking skills are getting better and better. But walking with you...it's not exactly our normal walk down the street. Strangely enough, we have to teach you NOT to pick up trash...so that in a few years we can teach you TO pick up trash. The problem is that while we take pride in our NYC streets, we would hardly go grabbing small bits of trash from the sidewalk. You, on the other hand, feel the need to pick up the little scraps you see, just like you do when we're at home. I know, you want to hand them to us and help out. But we're teaching you not to do it, at least for now..in a few years you can remind us that you've been wanting to pick up trash all of this time.

Guess if we're writing it all down, we have to acknowledge that you had your first tantrum this weekend. You woke up, mom took you out of the crib and nothing was quite right..you were frustrated but couldn't explain why. So you writhed around for a while, with mom & dad looking on very concerned and feeling bad that there wasn't anything we could do to help. Finally you said, "lamby!" and we got lamby...you calmed down and didn't seem worse for the wear.

The Big Chair

Since you were born, we've been taking pictures of you in the nursing glider that we got especially for your arrival. The top photo is from May 2007, the second one from July 2007, the photo in overalls is from January 2008, then June 2008 and the bottom photo is from this week. You've grown and changed so much! It might look as if you were sitting up in the second photo, but in fact we just propped you up there. Nowadays you're sitting up nicely, walking...and have a lot more hair!

Hap! Hap!

You know a lot of words these days...we stopped counting when we could think of 70 words that you know, and that was a month or two ago. Now, it's probably more than 100; we've lost track. You come out with new ones all the time, which is exciting. Sometime when I have more time I'll put in our list off some of the words you know.

Also recently you started putting two words together to form little phrases. The first one, which I heard a while back, was "Abba bath." (You call your daddy "Abba," Hebrew for dad.) But you really took off with this last week: we were walking over to Lucy's house and you said, "Lulu's house." Now you like talking like this all day long: "Eli's shoes", "Mommy's plate," "Shiloh's bed," etc.

But the exact topic of my post: one of your new words is "help!" which you pronounce "hap!" When you need help with something, you call us, "hap! hap!" One of the things you sometimes need help with is opening the seatbelt of your toy stroller. You called me tonight, "Hap! Hap!" to help you get it open. You were so serious about it and so determined to get the seatbelt open! I asked you if I could take your picture before I opened the seatbelt, and you said no. So I helped you first, then took the picture. I think in another few minutes you wanted help again, to get it shut. That's the way it goes...lots of stuff to do around here.

Happy to help.

Eli's Stroller

I'm going to try to resurrect this blog. It's hard to for me to blog consistently. But when we were on vacation recently in California, I had all these questions for my parents about what they did when I was a toddler, and what I did when I was a toddler..they didn't remember! Well, it was more than 30 years ago, can't quite blame them. But if I can blog, just a little each day, I could create a record for you about what happened now. I think you might like reading it some day.

You are doing so much now. Yesterday you were 16 months old. You started walking about a month before that, around June 29. Now, you're getting more and more stable on your feet. Two days ago, I got you a doll stroller...as you can see, you love it!

Here's the story of the stroller: we went to the toy store on Friday to get you a stroller. At the toy store, we ran into a neighbor and told her that we were shopping for a stroller...turns out she had 4 on her deck that her two daughters couldn't use. She said you could have one if you liked. You were thrilled..you definitely drove it off the lot and didn't want to let it out of your sight. Now you walk around the house with it, strolling around your baby doll, lamby, or your favorite toy of the moment. You call it your "ah-lah" which is how you hear the word "stroller."

Rolling, rolling...

Hey you,

has it really been 10 days since I last wrote? I'm so busy being with you, it's hard to find time to write about it.
You're doing so much these days! The other night, your dad "forgot" to put on your swaddle...I thought you still needed it because you were flailing your arms a bit, although you were definitely trying to break out of it. Anyway, you woke up in the morning with no swaddle, and having slept just fine. So I guess we're done with the swaddles..it's a good thing, anyway, since it's so hot these days.
But the next thing that happened was even more interesting...pretty much the next time we put you down to sleep, we put you on your back and you rolled over onto your stomach. In other words, you're rolling over from your stomach to back--something you're not supposed to be able to do for another month or two or three! Now every time we put you on your stomach, you roll over to sleep on your back. I guess you find it more comfortable. You can roll back onto your stomach too-pretty strong kid.
You've still been chatting a ton. Lots of oohs and coos..and you're saying your name a lot too. You say "eh-li" or "eh-li-ana!" again and again. Okay, maybe it sounds nuts that a 3 month old could say her name...except you're really doing it. Your bampi heard it too this weekend, and agreed that's what's going on.
Speaking of bampi..we spent the weekend with bampi and nini...they had a blast holding you, and you seemed to be having a great time also. Your bampi made you laugh...also a first. I actually didn't see you laugh, but I heard it--you sounded happy.
Okay, I gotta go have dinner. More soon.

-your mom

Vacation tomorrow!

Hey there,

tomorrow you're going on your first vacation! You might be excited, perhaps that's why you fell asleep so early tonight. It was strange..usually you go to bed at around 7:30..but anyway you were tired this afternoon so your dad (who was working at home today) put you down at around 5pm, and you just kept sleeping, completing missing your bath and bedtime. I know never to wake a sleeping baby, so I let you sleep. Okay, I was actually sleeping too part of the time; I was feeling a bit drowsy from going to bed after midnight last night, so took a nap too at around 6. You did wake up at 8:30 for some milk, but got "milk drunk" and went right back into sleep land. So I wonder how tonight will be--will you sleep through the night (mostly) or will you get tired of sleeping at around 5am?
Aargh, it's already 10:20..I try to go to bed earlier (around 10) these days, since I know you're going to wake me up at least once in the middle of the night. It is so difficult to find time to do things! I feed you, play with you, then you take a nap and I try to do something...you have a habit of waking up just when I get into it. That's if I can clear my mind enough to remember and focus on what I want to do. You're precious, but taking care of you is fairly "relentless." That's the word my friend Shana used to describe this time. In fact, it feels a little less relentless than it did a month ago, but still fairly consuming.
I'm starting to look into childcare for you for September. I probably should have started working on this a long time ago, but it was hard to plan so far ahead--how could I research daycare for someone who wasn't born yet? In terms of daycare for infants, there is a shortage here in Brooklyn. The places I've called seem to be full and have a waiting list, and my fellow moms mostly report the same. I also have mixed feelings about leaving you somewhere where you wouldn't be held and attended to as much as you might need--you're just a baby, after all. So once I've looked into daycare a bit more, I will probably look into hiring a nanny on my own, or a nanny share.
Back to vacation (see how I have trouble keeping focused lately?), what I was trying to say is that we're going to Connecticut tomorrow. Well, they say that vacation with a baby isn't quite a vacation, just life at home held in another locale. I do have to say that it will be hard for it to feel like vacation when I'll have to pump milk every morning. (I do this so that we can give you a "dream feed" at around 10, helping you sleep through the night.) So I had to pack all your little clothes, a Pack and Play for you to sleep in, your favorite toy (a mirror!), your diapers..hope I don't forget anything.
Oh, there's a lot more to say, but I'll stop here and get some rest..

Sweet dreams,

your mom

Your Name! and Rolling Over

Hi Sweetie,
okay, you (and everyone else) are going to think I'm crazy, but I swear that you said your name yesterday. Your dad heard it too! I know, I know, you're just 12 weeks today, there's no way that a 12 week old baby could be saying her name. Well, you & I have been doing a lot of talking--all right, it's not exactly talking, more like babbling, but I babble at you and then you babble back--you get pretty excited. Yesterday we were having a little conversation, and I said your name...then you imitated me so well! You did it more than once--it was amazing. Maybe you're the Smartest Baby on the Block!
You've also been rolling over during tummy time. You first did it a few days ago..I think it was June 27. I put you on your stomach, looked away, and when I looked back at you, you were on your back. So I put you back on your stomach, and I saw you rolling over with my own eyes. You did it again yesterday--your dad got it on camera.
Yesterday we went for a walk with you on Fifth Ave in Brooklyn-your dad carried you in the Bjorn. We agreed we'd have dinner at one of the Mexican restaurants in Sunset Park, a few neighborhoods away. When we got there, we found out that it was only men watching soccer in the restaurants..not the most comfortable site for breastfeeding! (Remind me to bring a bottle next time.) So I did feed you behind a blanket, but it wasn't so relaxing. Not to mention it was past your bedtime and you started to get a little cranky. And we realized we couldn't take a car service home since we didn't have your carseat! Fortunately we were able to take the bus, and the loud motor lulled you to sleep.
Well, you're currently taking a nap..I'd better jump into the shower before I lose my window of opportunity.
One more thing.. I just ordered a few boxes of size 2 diapers for you..I think you're outgrowing size 1. Must be the milk!
Love ya,
your mom