Growing up in July

We were in Babies R Us the other day, and I noticed a rack of Halloween stuff. My first thought was that it must be some really old clearance merchandise. Since I always love a bargain, we headed over to look at the "Baby's 1st Halloween" stuff. I was horrified to realize two things: 1)nothing was on sale, they really were putting out Halloween merchandise in mid-July and, 2) it won't be Livia's first Halloween after all. Could October really be around the corner?

I have spent a lot of time with Livia over the past month, after our nanny injured herself and is out for a few months. We have recently found a couple of people to care for Livia here and there so that I can get some work done, because I have been trying to do everything while she naps and at night and I am getting exhausted. But it has been really nice to have the extra time with Livia, especially during this time of development. We have met more babies and mommies in the area, so we are pretty busy most of the time. Livia now has several friends who live within 5-10 minutes of us, and most of them were born in the second half of October as well. We started a playgroup and also go to some of the library storytimes together.

Livia is now crawling well, standing with support, and starting to try to pull up. She can play with a ball by stopping it and rolling it back to you. She does the sign for milk both when she is drinking a bottle and when she is hungry. She says something that sounds like "hi", "hello" and also waves, usually when Cassidy walks into the room. She says "dada" and seems to know what it means some of the time (she often says it to Dan though sometimes she also says it to me or at other times). She loves to play with new things, especially things that aren't really toys or that belong to Cassidy.

Livia eats lots of purees and loves yogurt, but she still has no interest in finger foods (she will pick up cheerios and will swallow one if I put it in her mouth, but she isn't too excited about it). The doctor is not worried and assured me that we will not end up with a 15-year-old who eats purees. We had her 9 month appointment a couple of weeks ago with our new doctor, since Livia's original pediatrician (who we loved more than any other doctor we have ever met) moved out of the area with her husband. Livia is "growing well" according to the doctor (we're not sure how tall she is since they didn't do a great job of measuring her and an inch makes a huge difference at this age). She is still in the 50th percentile for weight at 19 lbs, though she seems to be slimming down a little lately now that she is moving (there is suddenly a lot more room in the waist when you try to put on a diaper). Here are some recent photos.

Livia loves to smile for the camera


It's fun to crawl under things


Cassidy has taught Livia the joys of monitoring the neighborhood


On a journey to the kitchen...


Uh-oh, Cassidy is in trouble. She better eat fast!


Standing at the activity table


Playing with Anyice


Playing with Abby


This is what happens after Livia plays with Daddy and Cassidy (I guess they have less energy than the babies-- or maybe Dan is still tired from carrying that carseat).

A weekend in New Jersey

Last weekend we went to NJ to celebrate Howie's 60th Birthday. Howie is the biggest Yankee fan anyone could possibly be without actually being a Yankee, so the party was appropriately held at the Yogi Berra Museum. Everyone wore their Yankee outfits except for those of us who cannot bear the thought of owning Yankee paraphenalia. It was a great party and we were very happy to celebrate such a festive occasion with Howie.


All 5 grandchildren were needed to blow out the 60 candles-- though Alexey didn't run fast enough to get there in time.


Livia was so excited about celebrating Howie's birthday that she refused to go to sleep. Here she is at around 10pm. We spent the first 2 hours of the party trying to get her to fall asleep by putting her in the Ergo and walking around the party and then the parking lot, then we got really desperate and drove around. Finally we gave up and let her enjoy the last bit of the party. She didn't actually fall asleep until 40 minutes into our drive back.


On Friday afternoon we went to Grandma Mari's for a few hours. Livia got to meet Aunt Jessica, who came in from Arkansas. We also got to see Howie, Bob, Michelle, Alexey, and Gabriella. We didn't get any photos, but there wasn't a point where everyone was awake at the same time so I guess it's not surprising that Howie missed an opportunity for his famous group photo shots.

We spent the rest of the weekend with Grandpa Ron, Grandma Teri, and Uncle Steve. Livia loved seeing them and playing with some new toys. She observed some great meals and even tried gnawing on a watermelon rind, then proceeded to gag and throw up on her father.

The best part of any trip is traveling home. We are always concerned about how Livia will do on the plane after an exhausting weekend... but I also have to contend with Dan. My husband's favorite new appendage is the carseat bag, which can be worn as a backpack. Dan takes care of the carseat and I carry Livia in the Ergo. You would think that carrying a carseat would be the easy job, but Dan revels in how difficult this task is. On this last trip, we had the special privilege of checking in at the wrong terminal (note to readers: US Air has 2 different terminals in the Philly airport) and needing to take a shuttle bus. Here is Dan on the shuttle bus.

He was trying to act mad that I was taking photos of him but he couldn't help cracking a smile.

Here we finally arrived at the right terminal and Dan is trying to get as far away from us as possible.

Lucky for him, Dan did not have to worry about rolling our suitcase back at home while he carried this other stuff because US Air was kind enough to lose our luggage (probably a result of our check-in at the wrong terminal, but they did find it and deliver it later that evening). The moral is to be careful what you wish for when you complain about carrying too much stuff. Since we had the carseat on us and had not checked it, at least we were able to get Livia home. So despite the troubles of carrying a carseat, I stand by my argument that it is necessary to keep it with us.

Note from Dan to Readers - My thoughts on the carseat and Sharyn's message above

Sharyn states that she must "contend" with me. Let me assure you that "contending" with me is much easier than contending with this bag. Sharyn asserts, ASSERTS, that this bag is used by many, many people. We have been to some of the busiest airports in the nation LGA, JFK, Philly, Newark, and not once, ever, have I seen a bag such as this monstrosity ever lugged on the back of an individual. Also, when the personnel at both the baggage claim and security checkpoints ask you what is in the bag, if it will fit through the x-ray machines, and subsequently offer to let you through the handicapped security aisle simply because "you look like you are carrying so much stuff" this is a hint that they have A. Never seen a Bag like this attached to any human before and B. feel very sorry for the man that is carrying it. Flashback to the bus ride between terminals, Sharyn fails to mention that there were at least 40 - 50 people crammed on the bus. In this case, it was impossible for me to move, and Sharyn was only laughing because her lungs actually could hold enough air in the second to allow it. Me, on the other hand, had 30 pounds worth of carseat in my lap, could not turn, breathe, or see the person next to me (which is probably for the best considering we were in the airport). Think of being on a NYC subway in rush hour with a small desk attached to your back. The reason why I cracked a smile was simply because the women sitting next to Sharyn on the shuttle bus began laughing at me when she saw the bag that was on my lap. The reason why I was walking ahead of Sharyn was simply because I was afraid if I made any sudden moves, i would knock her, and Livia over. Finally, let me also mention that Sharyn does not have to deal with trying to get the carseat both in and out of our rental and home-owned cars, rather she waits until I get the carseat out of the car (10 minutes), watches as I try to figure out how to fit the carseat in the bag (10 minutes) then proceeds to fill any empty space left in the bag with various random items left in the car including toys, mirrors, and, if she could, the entire front passenger seat (10 minutes)...She doesn't like to mention these facts.

Fathers of little children everywhere, let me assure you that this bag is from the depths of hell itself. Under no circumstance, NONE, should you purchase this bag or agree to drag it around the airport. I don't care if it an alternative arrangement costs $300 - if you travel often (as we do), do not let your wife's view of you as her sherpa change overwhelm your desire to say "NO" to carrying this thing around....CHECK YOUR CARSEAT IN AT BAGGAGE CLAIM LIKE MOST NORMAL PEOPLE - if this is not an option, I have also seen individuals with carseats that fit into strollers and all of it folds up so you can check it in at plane-side. As your child ages over the course of years, the carseat must still come with you - plan ahead, and invest in something reasonable. I CANNOT STRESS IT ENOUGH, do not get this bag. Save your back and your pride....they're worth the money!

Livia and Cassidy

It is time for an update about Livia and Cassidy. For about 8.5 months, Cassidy and Livia co-existed in peaceful harmony (well, after Cassidy recovered from colitis that was most likely caused by Livia's colic). Livia had no access to Cassidy's toys, and Cassidy (amazingly enough) knew to leave Livia's toys alone (this really was amazing, since anytime we had people with kids visiting before Livia was born, Cassidy was obsessed with trying to get the baby toys). A couple of weeks ago, everything changed when Livia became more adept at crawling. She is using her newfound freedom to access everything previously forbidden-- the kitchen garbage, the outlet covers, and most important... Cassidy's favorite toy, the beloved "blue-thinger". I tried to hide it behind the couch but I couldn't fool Livia. Cassidy has reacted by going after Livia's most tempting toys-- especially a recent gift from Grandma Mari, the red crab. Cassidy figured that if Livia throws the red crab off the highchair, it must be up for grabs. Cassidy also likes checking out the leapfrog table. Her other favorite thing is a tambourine (Cassidy is a pretty good musician for a dog). Livia has a lot more to lose from this recent turn of events since she has so many more toys. In order to avoid a trip to the emergency vet, the red crab and the tambourine have been pulled from the floor for the time being.