Well, I did it. I indulged in the purest form of female masochism: swim-suit shopping.

I do believe that this activity can make me feel more ancient at 26 years old than any other practice known to man.

Of course, there’s the post-baby body problem and the fact that there just isn’t anything in the form of a swimsuit that can overcome those areas. Enough said.

In addition, are you aware that there is no longer any such thing as a 1-piece swimsuit? Nada, zip, zero, zilch. (more…)

I made a mistake yesterday that even the newest parents would raise an eyebrow at. While changing her in a restaurant bathroom, I allowed Kaelin the chance to pee on the changing table.

And she seized the opportunity like a dog who finds the leftover fish in the trashcan.

Actually, she was very casual about it. It never ceases to amaze me the way babies can be laying there, playing with an article of clothing, and peeing all over the place without even noticing.

The thing that gets me is that I was totally unprepared. I had one diaper, one outfit, a couple of baby wipes and no pad under her on the table. So the mess immediately went everywhere and soaked everything. What was I thinking?

Truth is, I’ve been spoiled. Kaelin is generally very good for me on the changing table and I have gotten used to it. In over 7 months, she has NEVER peed while I was changing her – with the exception of ONE TIME, when I already had the new diaper under her so there was no mess.

So naturally, she chooses to terminate this winning streak in a public setting when I am completely unprepared to deal with the consequences.

Sometimes I think babies are born with psychic powers. THEY KNOW…they know…

Kaelin is with the grandparents for the night, which means I have time to…um…fake that I didn’t completely neglect the Month 7 newsletter.

This isn’t really a newsletter. It’s basically a chronical for my own records so I can look back and see when things happen.

She’s SO ABOUT TO CRAWL. In the last week she has learned how to get from a laying to a sitting position, and how to pull herself up into a standing position in her crib without any help.

Which, of course, means that she’s also ready and eager to try all sorts of other things she’s just not ready for yet…like standing up without holding on to anything for support, and launching herself after certain objects – both of which result in the rather unpleasant face plant. (more…)

“Why did they decide to make it shaped like that? The Pentagon is the ony building in the world actually named after its shape.”

“Pyramids.”

“No, the shape pyramid was named after the Pyramids. It’d be like, ‘Let’s go out to the Sphere today.”

“I have an appointment over at the Parallelogram.”

“Meet me at the Quadrilateral Triangle.”

“…What’s a quadrilateral triangle?”

“…Good question. Call the Rhombus and ask. They’ll know.”

See the picture at the top of this blog? I liked the image because of the woman reading to her little girl and I figured it was close enough to be a representation – as headers go – because she has brown hair.

But that isn’t me. That woman is probably 5’11″, and weighs approximately 27 pounds. I, on the other hand, am 5’2″ in shoes, and though I doubt anybody would consider me overweight, I could use some exercise for those post-baby problem areas. (more…)

Egad. I can feel the walls about to crumble around me.

Kaelin is going to crawl any day now.

Yesterday she learned to get herself from a laying to a sitting position, and how to pull herself into a standing position in her crib.

With no assistance whatsoever.

While I can’t resist the budding pride, I can feel the swell of panic starting to take over as I picture her in the not-so-distant future…completely MOBILE.

Did I mention that she has inherited her father’s curiosity and even though she’s not mobile yet, she somehow manages to get her fingers into EVERYTHING???

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I needed yesterday.

I came in to work this morning more vibrant and happy than I have been for a long time. I guess I just needed a break, and a weekday with my daughter seems to have done the trick.

We went for a walk. We played games. We had lots and lots of raspberry wars (she is an admirable foe, and while I barely have a lead for the “longest” raspberry, she always wins in the “juiciest” category).

She babbled. She tried (so hard) to crawl. She got her fingers on everything within reach. She fussed at nap time. OK, she screamed for like an hour. But eventually, she had to give in. And I survived.

I didn’t get any work done, save responding to a few emails.

I didn’t get to work on the slide show DVD I’m putting together for my boss’ son’s wedding.

I didn’t get to write her 7-Month newsletter that I’m already a week behind on.

I didn’t get to scrapbook or clean or do any of the things I assumed stay-at-home moms have the time to do.

But I had fun. All day. It was thoroughly enjoyable. And J works from home so I got to see him periodically, including for lunch.

It was a much-needed and refreshing reprieve from the ordinaire.

She’s SO ABOUT TO CRAWL. In the last week she has learned how to get from a laying to a sitting position, and how to pull herself up into a standing position in her crib without any help.

Which, of course, means that she’s also ready and eager to try all sorts of other things she’s just not ready for yet…like standing up without holding on to anything for support, and launching herself after certain objects – both of which result in the rather unpleasant face plant.

She moves now. I don’t really know how, since she’s not crawling yet. But I can put her down and five minutes later, she’s several feet from where I put her. Her Teleporting skills are making me nervous.

Nap times as we know them are over. She now thinks that cribs and Pack-n-Plays are for standing, not for sleeping in. I have resorted to strapping her into her car seat for naps, as that seems to be the only way to overcome the zealousness of her determination to stand.

She has no interest whatsoever in holding her own bottle. She would much rather let us hold it for her so she can devote her hands to much more important tasks…like playing with her hair. Or mine.

I hear a lot of babies develop a security dependency on certain objects – a blanket, toy or passy for instance.  For Kaelin, it’s my hair. Everything is OK, as long as she has a fist-full of hair.

She shows definite responses to our verbal cues – she knows that “good girl” etc. is a positive thing and it makes her so happy to be rewarded that way. Likewise, I’ve started our first training lesson by using “OW” and “NO” when she yanks on my hair. She seems to make the connection (after testing the cause/effect several times…ow) and eventually quits yanking…but it seems we have to re-learn the lesson each day.

She has become quite the chatterbox recently. Bah-Bah-Bob is a frequently heard phrase. We have no idea what it means. She’s especially articulate when she’s standing up or when she’s really annoyed at something (like being forced to take a nap).

She has said Ma-Ma twice…unfortunately, she only says it when she’s really, really pissed. Somehow, I don’t think that’s a good sign.

Despite J’s efforts, there have been no attempts at “Da-Da” yet. She knows the word “Puppy” but hasn’t tried to say it, that we’re aware of. She and Puppy are becoming fast friends and their greatest joys revolve around him “kissing” her face and hands repeatedly.

She didn’t cry this morning when we dropped her off at the church nursery…but when we went to pick her up, we could hear her screaming all the way down the hall. They said she had been happy until that point, so that is an improvement over previous nursery visits.

She’s developed a curious attachment to me that, frankly, baffles me. An example was when we picked her up from the nursery. J was holding her and she screamed all the way down the hall, but the second he handed her over to me, she stopped. When she’s really upset about something, no one else in the world can calm her. But as soon as I pick her up, she’s OK. It’s odd, and I can’t explain it. It’s cute, but at the same time frustrating that she doesn’t respond to J or Grandmommy or anyone else when she’s in that state.

Must be the hair.

Tomorrow she goes swimming for the first time. As excited as she gets about Bath Time, we’re expecting that she’ll have the time of her life.

Unfortunately, it means that I have to get in the water as well, which requires (insert ominous music here) A SWIM SUIT. The only one I have was the one I bought for my honeymoon. Not happening.

Will be making the emergency shopping trip tomorrow morning.

Click here to view the last month in photos.

She’s SO ABOUT TO CRAWL. In the last week she has learned how to get from a laying to a sitting position, and how to pull herself up into a standing position in her crib without any help.

Which, of course, means that she’s also ready and eager to try all sorts of other things she’s just not ready for yet…like standing up without holding on to anything for support, and launching herself after certain objects – both of which result in the rather unpleasant face plant.

She moves now. I don’t really know how, since she’s not crawling yet. But I can put her down and five minutes later, she’s several feet from where I put her. Her Teleporting skills are making me nervous.

Nap times as we know them are over. She now thinks that cribs and Pack-n-Plays are for standing, not for sleeping in. I have resorted to strapping her into her car seat for naps, as that seems to be the only way to overcome the zealousness of her determination to stand.

She has no interest whatsoever in holding her own bottle. She would much rather let us hold it for her so she can devote her hands to much more important tasks…like playing with her hair. Or mine.

I hear a lot of babies develop a security dependency on certain objects – a blanket, toy or passy for instance.  For Kaelin, it’s my hair. Everything is OK, as long as she has a fist-full of hair.

She shows definite responses to our verbal cues – she knows that “good girl” etc. is a positive thing and it makes her so happy to be rewarded that way. Likewise, I’ve started our first training lesson by using “OW” and “NO” when she yanks on my hair. She seems to make the connection (after testing the cause/effect several times…ow) and eventually quits yanking…but it seems we have to re-learn the lesson each day.

She has become quite the chatterbox recently. Bah-Bah-Bob is a frequently heard phrase. We have no idea what it means. She’s especially articulate when she’s standing up or when she’s really annoyed at something (like being forced to take a nap).

She has said Ma-Ma twice…unfortunately, she only says it when she’s really, really pissed. Somehow, I don’t think that’s a good sign.

Despite J’s efforts, there have been no attempts at “Da-Da” yet. She knows the word “Puppy” but hasn’t tried to say it, that we’re aware of. She and Puppy are becoming fast friends and their greatest joys revolve around him “kissing” her face and hands repeatedly.

She didn’t cry this morning when we dropped her off at the church nursery…but when we went to pick her up, we could hear her screaming all the way down the hall. They said she had been happy until that point, so that is an improvement over previous nursery visits.

She’s developed a curious attachment to me that, frankly, baffles me. An example was when we picked her up from the nursery. J was holding her and she screamed all the way down the hall, but the second he handed her over to me, she stopped. When she’s really upset about something, no one else in the world can calm her. But as soon as I pick her up, she’s OK. It’s odd, and I can’t explain it. It’s cute, but at the same time frustrating that she doesn’t respond to J or Grandmommy or anyone else when she’s in that state.

Must be the hair.

Tomorrow she goes swimming for the first time. As excited as she gets about Bath Time, we’re expecting that she’ll have the time of her life.

Unfortunately, it means that I have to get in the water as well, which requires (insert ominous music here) A SWIM SUIT. The only one I have was the one I bought for my honeymoon. Not happening.

Will be making the emergency shopping trip tomorrow morning.

Click here to view the last month in photos.