the mother of all inventions

there is definitely a lot of useless junk for babies out there but i have to say this mesh feeder is one of the best products we've come across [thanks heather!!].



zack and i fondly refer to it as nuggie's 'chew bag' and we give her a couple pieces of fresh fruit [mango and honeydew melon are her favorites, she doesn't like kiwi] every night without the risk of her choking. plus, it allows us to have dinner in peace as she'll sit at the table and suck on it contentedly for quite awhile, only yelling when she finishes and wants MORE! MORE NOW! I THINK I MIGHT DIE IF I DON'T GET ANOTHER PIECE OF FRUIT!

when i open up the chew bag to clean it out, all that remains are a few soggy strands and i always think how it looks like a piranha attacked it. the package says you can put meat in the bag but something about sucking chicken in this manner doesn't seem nearly as appealing.

thea comes from a long line of popsicle lovers on my side of the family so it's not surprising that she's obsessed.





ps: munchkin makes great spoons too!

seven months old

miss nugs exploded developmentally this month. not only has she learned to crawl, but two days ago she pulled herself up to a standing position and this afternoon she did a full-on sit up, moving from a lying down position to seated using only her stomach muscles. she is one determined little bugger.

i was on the computer saturday morning when i heard her huffing and puffing in her crib only to turn around and find her standing up. it was clear that she was extremely proud of herself with a huge grin on her face and sighing with such a sense of accomplishment. what happened next is one of those moments i hope i never forget. she fell, completely back-flopping in her crib, and ended up flat on her back staring up at the ceiling. it was a big, dramatic, over-the-top fall. she was silent for a few seconds with her eyes open wider than i've ever seen them, and then we looked at each other and both started laughing really hard. i called my mom to tell her what a funny kid we have but neither talking about it nor writing about it does it justice. the problem now is thea thinks her crib is a jungle gym and doesn't want to sleep when she's in it.

some other cool things that changed this month: she started turning pages when i read her stories and is much more interested in books now, especially pat the bunny and anything by karen katz, where she can participate in the action. she also loves to play pattycake. truth be told, she just loves banging on things. so whether it's my hands, the top of our water cooler, or her new piano, she's happy. i'm convinced she's going to be the next lars ulrich but really i'd settle for any type of musician. hell, i'd be happy if she could carry a tune. i keep apologizing to her for my horrible renditions of 'you are my sunshine' and 'the itsy bitsy spider,' which we sing over and over and over. i'm quite certain i've caught her giving me a look that says, "mom, you sound like a dying cat. please stop."

thea has developed a love of yelling this month which drives me a little bit nuts. she has a really loud voice [a few of the nurses in the hospital commented on this fact] and while most of the time it doesn't bother me, when she lets loose during a baptism ceremony in a quiet church [sorry veronica!], i wish it wasn't so.

on another more serious note, we found the one thing that always makes nuggie cry: the cuisinart. her reaction is so immediate and hysterical that we can't use it when she's anywhere downstairs or even outside. one of us is forced to take her upstairs and sequester her in her room with the door shut. sadly, this has put a damper on all the five star meals i could be preparing.

we're looking forward to our trip to martha's vineyard tomorrow!!! can't wait to see my family and zack's family while we're there. what a treat!









thanks to dj and nancy for the adorable dress!

tooth watch 2009

the lookout for the arrival of thea's teeth began in earnest this past week. i thought surely they were coming as she had been overly sensitive since the weekend, crying when she woke up from her naps and such, which isn't like her.

then on wednesday morning she came down with a fever and the threat level was raised to orange. i gave her some tylenol and she laid low for most of the day. however, when she woke up from her afternoon nap, she was burning up with a temp of 101.8 degrees so zack called the doctor and he said her fever was too high to be caused by teething, rather it appears that she contracted a virus. i feel pretty good that we made it just shy of seven months without any sickness...it must be all that purell. oh, how i love the purell ;)

thea was a pretty sad camper on thursday with barely any energy. she's also been very clingy and hasn't wanted to be put down, so we've been holding her a lot this week. i realized what it would be like to have a mellow baby that sits peacefully still in my arms and while i can't deny that it was a nice change, i wouldn't trade nuggie's boundless energy for anything. friday she was 75% better and today, as zack said, the sparkle returned to her face. we missed that devilish little glint in her eye!

i still think teeth are coming soon. i hope we make it through our trip back east without them [red eye, here we come] but in the meantime i'm trying to capture as many toothless grins as possible. we'll keep you posted!

one trick pony

it's still father's day week, so i feel like this is particularly fitting. the outfit choice was just a coincidence.

what was once my favorite chore

i used to love [or strongly like, and never mind] doing the laundry. in the last six months however it's become one of my least favorite activities. i think i'm just burned out. we do about six loads a week and unfortunately none of it is frivolous washing.

thea is still spitting up quite a bit [to put it mildly] which is the main factor contributing to all the laundry. our pediatrician changed his tune at our last appointment...up until then he had said the spitting up would stop by six months but now he's saying, "it begins to slow down at six months." while i have noticed that the frequency may be lessening, the consistency has gotten much worse. we went from clear, odorless milk to carrots and yams and berries, oh my. i'll leave the rest to your imagination.

in the meantime, zack has been helping me fold the endless loads of laundry because otherwise the clean clothes end up sitting in a pile until i have a minute and get wrinkled. this weekend even miss nugs pitched in and offered some help, though she was often distracted by the yummy taste of the basket.



don't worry kid, as soon as you're walking the laundry is all yours.

and to my own dad

you are still #1 in my book. you taught and continue to teach me many things but above all else, thank you for your endless patience when we were growing up. now that i have a child of my own, i see what a gift it truly is and how it's not always the easiest of virtues.

i love you lil peepers.



photo of me and my dad, december 1977.

dada and his girl

and two of my all-time favorite photos:





happy father's day boo. you are an amazing papa and we love you!

on the move

here are a couple videos of thea that i took yesterday. our days of leaving her unattended, even for a few seconds, are looooong gone.

i can't say it enough: please excuse my annoying voice. i'd tell you to watch with the sound off but then you'd miss nuggie's cute voice. and try to look past our yucky rug...we're getting really soft new carpet installed [thanks amy and zack!] while we're away. yippee!!




ps: happy three month birthday little william!