Busy Bee

Molly's been very busy recently...


laying a patio in the back yard:



chasing bubbles in our living room:



and entertaining visiting babies with her dad:

A Day Out and About

we had a long (but lovely day) today: we drove out to a coastal town to find the seeds for the grass I want to plant in the backyard. Things to notice about the first photo: Molly is now facing forward in her car seat, and she's asking (demanding?) "more" of the yummy chips we were feeding her to keep her happy on the long drive.
The rest of the photos are her examining the flowers at the garden where I bought the seeds, and enjoying a little more reading time with her daddy.

Stick your finger in the air, in the air

Molly is over the pukes, her poops are solid, the spots are fading, and there's just a lingering hint of a cough. This can't last long. :)

Or could it? It has stopped raining, after all. Which means all the other projects around the house can get started. Finishing touches on our front stair were underway this afternoon, and next week it looks like something might get started in the backyard. Which means we'll soon be in the market for a tricycle.



Molly has reached a wonderfully inquisitive stage: she's interested in how things work, where things go, what you do with things (she quickly imitates us when we show her things, like how to stick your finger through a plastic ring), and, most of all, she's interested in books. Until recently she wasn't really all that into books. At first she hardly noticed when we read them and I worried (of course) that it was our fault for not reading to her enough while I was pregnant. Just a few weeks ago I was talking with a co-worker about kids and he commented on how neat it is when they're Molly's age and get so engrossed in books. I really thought we must have missed the boat on this one.

The first time I noticed her get into a book was when she was about 9 months old: we were reading "Mimi's Toes" in the bath (thanks Evy!) and she started pointing at the pictures of Mimi. After that, she would usually sit through most of a book and sometimes examine the pictures, particularly if there was something compelling about them to her (like distinct faces, eyes, mouths, etc.).

But now, oh boy, now she's all about books. She drags books over to us to be read, she insists we read certain books over and over again (like "The Foot Book"), and she even will sit and look through books on her own. It's fun watching her pick through a pile of books and find the one she wants, or see a book and start signing "book" (it took us a while to catch on to her version of "book" - she faces her palms to each other and rotates her right palm, similar to the "change" sign) to get us to read it to her.

However, I find it most charming when I catch her with a book in her lap, usually upside down, turning the pages and pointing at the pictures, all on her own. I don't know if it's more charming that she's looking at the book, or that she's doing something all on her own.

Pukeroni

Molly's got the throwups. And she's been "slidin' into third" (as Zach would say*). Oh, and she's developed mystery spots as well. The funny thing is, other than those symptoms, she's actually in pretty good spirits. Yes, she's had a little trouble sleeping this weekend. Ok, a lot of trouble. But that can easily be attributed to traveling (we went down to the grandparents' place) and over stimulation. Until tonight, I actually hadn't witnessed any of the throwups, so I just took it on good authority that they were happening (since Molly didn't seem any worse for the wear). But she let loose on me this evening, which was both alarming and reassuring at the same time. Alarming, because there was a lot of puke. Reassuring because she is clearly not disturbed by the puking. Same with the diarrhea. She poops. It stinks. We clean it up. She continues to play. (and we give her gatorade, since all the studies we read indicate that gatorade does just as good a job as pedialyte and she'll actually drink it since it tastes much better). And those spots, they really don't seem that bad. Our best guess is that they're a reaction to the Chickenpox vaccination. As a parent it feels kind of odd to have your kid appear to get the disease you were trying to vaccinate against, but they say it's not really the The sleep issue is more troublesome for us. She's clearly tired, clearly overstimulated, but stubbornly refuses to let herself fall asleep. We tricked her into napping on the way home this afternoon by driving for 2 hours. But as soon as we got home she popped up to attention. Her Nana likes to point out that she takes after her: as a child, Susie's mom used to ask her: "What are you worried about? You think you're going to miss something?" when she wouldn't go to sleep. Apparently, the answer was (and still is) yes. What'saparenttodo? * This is from a nice little ditty that Zach likes to sing: "If you're slidin' into third, and you feel a little turd, diarrhea, diarrhea..." Pictures: A break in the rain: a sunny afternoon at Middle Harbor, watchin' the planes fly by with Dad; Silly faces with Dad; Takin' a walk with Dad; Dancing with Dad; and a windy walk with Dad.

more babies!

Molly took her family to go see her new friend Lucy at the hospital!

Dandilion Gardens

My friends in New York had their baby this week. Welcome Baby Charlie.

I spoke with them this evening and was reminded of how chaotic and intense those first days with a baby are. Everything is scary and overwhelming, and each moment feels so critical. On top of all the regular scary things that happen in those first days, little Charlie has given them some very real scares. They are all doing fine, but it's a reminder that even though we sometimes scoff at the over-medicalization of life, we are quite fortunate to have access to good medical care when we need it.

I remember speaking with other moms last spring when I was having a rough time about how no one tells you, really, how difficult those first days (weeks? months?) can be. But really, would any of us have listened? I think some people tried to tell me, but I honestly didn't really get it. It's only once you're there, with a tiny little human entirely dependent on your every move and demanding every ounce of your love, compassion, patience, energy, and strength, 24 hours a day, that you get the intensity of it all.

This reminder of the early days with Molly comes as our little girl is in the throes of another sickness. This time its a pretty high fever - the nurse recorded it at 104.1F when we went in this afternoon, which is enough to send them scurrying for Tylenol, pronto. I knew something was up when I got home yesterday and was greeted by quiet indifference rather than her typical jumping out of Zach or Paz's arms to say hello to me.

She's going to be fine. The NP gave us one of four diagnoses to pick from: The Flu, Roseola (another Viral infection), a reaction to last weeks MMR vaccine, or a reaction to last weeks Chickenpox vaccine. It may become clear in the next few days which it is (depending on the presence, or lack of presence, of a rash), but the treatment in all cases remains the same: treat the fever when it's over 102F, keep her comfortable, and keep pushing fluids on her.

Photos: a day at the Rose Garden

Let the sun shine in

More pictures to share from Rhea's visit last week. We saw BIG trees, funny farm animals, and generally had a good time.

It's been a while since I've gotten to spend much time with Rhea, which is a shame. As far as I can tell, she's my oldest friend that I keep in regular touch with. We tried to figure out just how old we were when we met, but the closest we could get was "about 8", since that was when you could start riding. We met at the barn and were "barn brats" for many years. We always laugh about how she was actually taller than me when we first met. We even have a photo (somewhere) to prove it. Notice how I politely try not to tower over her too much in pictures. ;)

Molly had a great time with Rhea when she was here, and Rhea did a really great job of helping her feel comfortable - she spent the first hour or so here just hanging out with me and letting Molly observe.

In other exciting news, I talked to my east coast pregnant friend today, and, well, by the time you read this she may no longer be pregnant! As of mid-day today she was well into labor and seemed to be doing fantastically. Of course, her partner was a little perturbed by my enthusiasm, but soon enough they'll be parents and I'm so so excited for them. Here's some positive thinking for the DeBoyd's!


above: Rhea teaches Molly about picking other's noses ("You can pick your nose, and you can pick your friends, but best of all, you can pick your bear's nose!); the Terrific Trio pose in front of a big tree, not doing justice to our height differences; Rhea & Molly make silly faces; Molly makes a sneak attack on an unsuspecting goat; Baa, baa black sheep have you any wool? (random sheep shot).