Monday, July 27, 2009

Dory and the Bear

(Hey Fans. This post is a little late in coming, sorry 'bout that. Mama's computer was all crazy and I couldn't get on to blog until tonight. SO here's a post I put together almost two weeks ago.- Baby D)


Hi Y'all! Dory here!


Can you guess where I am...?


The mountains!




Our good friend Candy invited us to come stay. Isn't she nice? It made her so happy I said yes!


There's a lake...


And it's very secluded and quiet...


You can't even hear these guys up at the cabin...


Gram came too...


I have to say, I am a fan of nature. All the fresh air...


Playing outside...


Long walks...




I think I could definitely see myself settling down in a place-


Umm... huh- is that- is that a-


A BEAR?


Wait a second...


Nope, my mistake.


It's a stuffed animal. Phew.


I definitely like the mountains. And the lake. And the woods.

But maybe I don't want to live there...

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Proof Is in the Pasta

All sorts of good news in our house this week, the first of which is (and this is not to be treated lightly)- this is Miss D's birthday week! Our girl will be one on Wednesday and, I promise, crossed heart and all that, there will be lots of posting about that this week. Once I get my mind around the fact that she's been here for a year...

And the second bit of news- my computer is fixed and updated and working bee-yoo-tifully. Ah, thank you very much Mr. Matthew Mac-Genius.

Which means- pictures!

Tonight's quick updates are about that one perfect food- pasta.

Miss D is quite the noodle fan.







And if you've ever wondered if the rumors about pasta and sleepiness are true...

Going...


Going...


Gone...

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Real, Honest-to-Goodness Updates

I've been walking around with potential posts on my mind for almost two weeks now. A wee bit of technical trouble kept me down, however. First, the batteries in our camera died and for the first time in years (possibly) we had no more AA batteries in the house. This, in itself, is shocking. I have random household items that I buy in excess, as in, while at the store, I see a great deal on batteries, shaving cream, Crisco, any kind of spice or seasoning, and think "this is such a great deal! I must get some so we have extra!" Only to bring said item home and discover we already have three to five extra containers of this same product lurking in the cabinet. For once, though, my planning-sense failed me and no batteries meant no picture uploading.

We bought more batteries, but then the second impediment occurred when Matthew, quite kindly, offered to update my computer software. The good old laptop... ran... very... slowly. This was a great offer and one I jumped all over, especially as I didn't have to do anything except hand over my laptop for a night and wait for it to be returned, faster, better and with the ability to transform into a car and get cast in a summer blockbuster. Except when we did said upgrades, saving all my old data, then taking everything off, and uploading the new we skipped a crucial step it would seem- taking the old software off too. At least, that's what we think happened. My laptop now has twice as much memory in use as before, which means, until we get this little... ahem... situation figured out, downloading pictures is impossible. And frankly, what's a post without pictures?

Well, Grandpa Mojo to the rescue tonight! He and Granny S watched little one yesterday, so Matthew and I and my mama, might go see the new Harry Potter. And while watching he took pictures. So run your eyes over these shots, while I update you on the Divine Miss D's progress...

She's crawling everywhere.



And pulling up on everything. Seriously, everything. You can't stand still too long or you'll feel a pair of small, but determined hands climbing up the side of your pants leg.





There's definite conversation going on, particularly on "dada," a little "dog" (which can be the dogs or squirrels) and "hi." The best thing about her "hi" is it's often accompanied with a little wave. Oh, the wave. It melts me. And pretty much anyone who sees it, including Matthew, all grandparents, our friends and random strangers at the store. We almost caused a pile-up in the baby aisle at the grocery store tonight when she and another adorable little one engaged in a wave-off.

Beyond the waving, there's lot of general chatter, but, as she gets older, the chatter is different. Before she entertained herself by making random sounds to us, the walls, the ceiling, her toys. Now she's intentionally conversing, looking intent and thoughtful, with lots of eye contact and smiles, as she yammers. It is amazing to watch and so exciting. Soon we will have another member of the Mojo house competing for talk-time; always a fine, fine thing.



She's definitely into solid foods. How I miss my recent pictures right now! I'll do another food post soon. Pasta is her new fave and frankly deserves a post of its own.

The fact is, as we speed toward her one year birthday, I'm reminded daily that having a child is far, far, far better than I ever expected. And demanding and busy and sometimes exhausting. But those times are so small and insignificant in the face of a talking, standing, wobbling, smiling little person who even, others tell you, bears a slight resemblance to you and your dear significant other.



As my lovely friend Betsy would say, I am kooky about this child.

Monday, June 22, 2009

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Around here, eating has become a spectator sport. As Dory ventures into fine cuisine like Cheerios, banana and any fruit or vegetable you can puree (which is pretty much any fruit or vegetable), I'm paying a lot more attention at mealtime.

Let me stop here and say, sharing the table with someone whose communication skills involve the words "dada" and "dog" and dropping things on the ground, sometimes I am not as present as I might be. I am not in the moment. Sometimes, I'm thinking about other things, I'm mentally making lists, sometimes I'm physically making lists, sometimes I even bring a book to the table. I read out loud, sure, but this could be a year ago and I could be eating lunch by myself.

Then sometimes I look up and realize I am missing absolute gems. Diamond and emerald moments and they're flying right over my head. More specifically they're falling around my feet...

This was Dory today, at lunch, over a delicious meal of pureed winter squash, plain pasta, and, of course, Cheerios. You will observe she's wearing a Hippo pocket bib and all of her meal.



After watching her refuse any real food offered on a spoon, for some reason that I could not explain, I gave her the lid from the jar. VoilĂ ! A baby who eats, drips, drops, and wears food! Ms. Independence gobbles it down.



Because I am sometimes occasionally a clever mama, I finally gave her the spoon.


Whatever method she uses, our furry sharks always circle the boat...


Here, in all her glory, is the full picture...


To think I might have ever read through this...


what a silly mama I can be.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day

I think it's safe to say, few of us ever know how we'll handle a new situation once it's upon us. I know in my experience, I can have great intentions, but the proof doesn't show up until the actual occasion comes.

Parenthood was very much that way. When I was pregnant I had lots of daydreams about Matthew or myself, playing with a baby, bathing a baby, feeding a baby. Always, in these mental vacations, we were laughing, tender, loving- sometimes there might have been a soundtrack from a Hallmark card commercial playing in the background.

Now the baby is here, the reality has manifested itself, and there isn't a soundtrack playing. Besides that one point, most days are not that different from my mental pictures.

I was reminded of this a few nights ago. After Dory's delicious dinner of pureed squash and Cheerios, while I tended to the aftermath of dinner and dishes, Matthew and she played their newest game. Imagine a five foot ten, thirty-two year old man squatting behind a dining room chair while a Little One bobs back and forth, as he asks...

Is she over here...?


Is she over here...?


There she is!


Now picture it over and over and over...







Dory would play this game all night long, but eventually it was bath time. As Matthew hoisted her up into his arms and carried her down the hall, I heard him making up lyrics to his newest baby tune: "We're gonna give you a baby bath/We're gonna give you a baby bath/ Whyyyyy?/ Because you're covered in slime/ Oh, yeah, you're covered in slime." (I think we should trademark that one...)

What a treat for me, when the kitchen looked a little less like the remains of a cereal bomb and a little more like a kitchen, to hurry down the hallway and catch the end of bath time.



What a treat, what a pleasure, when daydreams turn into reality.

Happy Father's Day to that bearded man o' mine.



And Happy Father's Day to my own wonderful Pops, without who I wouldn't know most of the literature I do, feel the need to sketch out a detailed story when I'm explaining it, sing loudly and badly and proudly, or insist on reading funny stories out loud, only to become so overcome with laughter a few sentences in, I have to stop and let someone else finish.



And Happy Father's Day to Aaron, and Dave H, and Dave S, and Brig, and Randy, and Jacob, and John, and Steve, and Bill, and the many, many, many amazing men in this world for whom the title "dada" rests proudly on their shoulders- and sometimes covers their eyes and pulls their hair and shrieks in their ears. I wish a grand day for all you fellas.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Things that Interest Me...

If you're a babywearing mama please check out the great blog about babywearing over here at: Nature's Child Blog. It's so true and that sling sounds wonderful!

And maybe I get entered in a contest for mentioning this...

Doesn't make it any less true. I love Sakura Bloom slings- would love to have this one!

So cross your fingers for me!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Baby at the Beach

Our first trip to the beach took place a few brief weeks ago. Thanks to a very kind friend (Hello Lois!) Gram Mojo, Dory and I managed to slip away for a few days to the grand little island of Hilton Head in the fine state of South Carolina. For the first time Dory saw the ocean, felt the salty breeze in her face, wore sunscreen, played in the water, saw an alligator, swam in an outdoors pool and crawled across real, honest-to-goodness sand.













And somehow, for most of that, we managed to keep a hat on her.

It was a great trip.