Orange you glad...

She's 8 months old!

(and while we're celebrating, here's a link to a somewhat disturbing article about materialism and parenting. The last two paragraphs are the best. And we all laugh when a kid plays with the box their presents came in...).

Baby Industrial Complex

What better way to celebrate our return from Los Angeles (and other points south) than with a post about STUFF! Baby Stuff! So much stuff stuff! Or, as Zach likes to call it, the Baby Industrial Complex. (okay, okay. I know we've been bak for a while. But first there was the tooth [yes! a tooth!] and then the cold... we've got excuses for days!) I first encountered The Complex while I was pregnant. Our house was a mess even without the baby stuff and then kindly folks started giving us baby stuff. Luckily (or not) I was able to avoid dealing with it by dropping it off in the guest-room-soon-to-be-baby room. I turned off the light and closed the door. I was in total denial. And when people asked if we were ready for the baby I acted casual and said all we needed was the car seat, diapers, and my boobs & we were good to go. Technically, I was right. But you can rest assured that the room no longer scares me and we only keep the door shut when Molly's sleeping. In the last year, however, I have gotten increasingly drawn in by The Complex. I can spend hours researching the best sling or hip-carrier (no clear winner here yet), reading reviews of bath safety gear (thermometers shaped like duckies, heat-sensitive anti-skid stickers, hippopotomus spout covers, and more!), and following gear-head blogs like daddytypes.com, thingamababy.com, bloggingbaby.com, and urbanbaby.com. My point? There's an amazingly wide selection of things out there that parents simply must have. I mean, what kind of parent wouldn't buy a $1,000 car seat (if it were available in the US)? You want the best for your child, right? Anyhow, I have several friends who are pregnant right now (yay for more babies!) and so I've been thinking about what gear to recommend for them. Mostly, I think my initial thoughts on the matter were mostly correct: so long as you have a car seat (they're all fine), diapers (a very individual choice, with no perfect answer), food (boob or formula, can't go wrong there), and a place for the baby to sleep (parent's bed, bassinette, moses basket, cradle, crib, or mattress on the floor; whatever's comfortable for the family), you're set for the first few weeks. After that you'll know what sort of gadgets might make your life easier. They may not exist, but at least you'll have something to dream about. Later, I’ll post my thoughts on specific baby gear. For now, enjoy the photos of our lovely amazing incredible baby girl. Who, by the way, weathered the cold like a champ and is back to her jolly little self, plus a little extra snot (but with all that drool, it’s hard to notice a little snot). from top: In the swing at Grove Park; With Uncle Seth in a park in LA; Celebrating Pop's "66th" birthday; With Cousin Branda & Cessna; Zonked after a spin with the Great-Aunt; Chillin' with mamamama; Doin' the downward facing dog yoga pose; Scheming on how to keep me from combing her hair; Hard at work.

happy halloween!

The car seat dressed up as a cow... they baby dressed up as a bear... and off they rode to a party!

yollM

That's Molly backwards.

On Vacation

Sorry we missed your call. We're on vacation right now visiting friends and family in southern California. Hope to see you soon!

And now, for something completely different

Well, it's been over a week and I really have no good excuses for not writing, except that I've been thoroughly enjoying time with Molly. Wait. Did I mention that I have loads more time to spend with Molly these days? Oops. I guess that's pretty big news: I quit my job. My last day was while the Nonas were visiting. Call it a second maternity leave, if you will. It's really wonderful. Zach, Molly, and I are starting to get a rhythm going, figuring out how we both can get work done without stepping on each other, and how we can all spend a little more time together.

And Molly is just soooo much fun! Have I mentioned how much fun she is? She's really fun! My favorite move of hers right now is the peek-around-the-corner. See, she sits really well but doesn't go from sitting to belly very well. But she enjoys watching things and so she'll sometimes lean her head and her body to one side to see something just out of view. It's really cute. And, I suppose, rather sophisticated (or just plain silly!).

(Of course, all that fun can be exhausting)

In other news, we're headed down south this weekend. We'll hit San Diego for two days and then up to LA to visit with Zach's family. And we've got tickets to go out east for thanksgiving! We're flying in to JFK and out of Dulles with many many friends and family members to visit. We can't wait!

Picture Journey: Nona & Faux-na visit

6 days; 3 cameras; hundreds of photos; all boiled down to these 12 in a "guest post" with love from Nona.

Our house was filled to the brim with love - Nona and "Faux-na" Ann both visiting from the east coast, Mary P joining the party after a few days, and Nana & Pa stopping by just in time for us all to head out to the Bluegrass festival with Molly in her new backpack (lovin' the view!).