Time Will Not Delay

Benjamin Franklin said it best: "You may delay, but time will not."

I am a champion procrastinator. In college, my best papers were written the night before (or sometimes the morning of) their due date. In my world, there is always more time. But even my best procrastination skills are lost on C. She just keeps getting bigger. No matter how much I try to slow it down, time will not delay.

We now have a busy busy little SEVEN month old! This seems unreal to me. She is weighing in at a whopping 15 pounds, 8 ounces, is wearing a size 9 month in most clothes, and is squeezing into size 2 diapers. She is sitting up completely on her own, is learning to use a sippy cup, has grown her first two teeth, and is dying to crawl. Her favorite foods so far are peas, bananas, and butternut squash. She is eager to do things her way. I love watching her mind work as she tries to figure out how her breakfast bowl and spoon function or exactly how she can maneuver herself to reach the shiny remote.

Baby proofing is in our very near future. This girl is on the move!

I recently started working the nursery of a local church one day a week. I thought it would be a great way for C to work on her social skills and for me to meet some other moms. The first week was iffy. She clung to me the entire time. But this week was great! She sat and played with the other girls and was perfectly content.

We also had a play date with our friend Ben. Ben is almost 11 months old and walking, cruising, and crawling all over the place, so I thought some play time might help C figure out this whole crawling thing.

They were adorable. C just wanted to do everything Ben was doing and Ben just wanted to touch her headband or her clothes. He was fascinated by all the pink! If Ben's Mommy and I have anything to do with it, these two will be spending a lot more time together over the years...

Blurry Ben in action with C at his side

So time marches on and, although folding and boxing up each tiny outfit she outgrows makes me realize how painfully fast she's growing up, all I can think is how much fun it's all going to be.

Unnecessary Self Awareness Announcement

Yesterday, while at my sister's apartment, something urged me to step onto the bathroom scale. Long gone are the days when we kept a scale in our house, beneath a thin layer of dust, under the pile of laundry. I hate scales. They make me feel inferior, as if they know I just polished off the last of Ben and Jerry's Late Nite Snack (of which I am positive Husband had none).

So, imagine my surprise when the evil scale told me I was only 4 pounds away from my pre baby weight! Four measly little pounds.

Tonight, to celebrate (well, after taking care of the ice cream), I slipped (squeezed) into my old jeans and pranced around my bedroom. They might not be what some would deem "public appropriate" yet, but they zipped! Winning.

Adventures in Sewing

Today is Bid Day at BSC. Since I am one of the alumni advisers for my chapter, and a little Pi Phi obsessed in general, I decided that C must have a "Pi Phi Legacy" dress for her very first bid day. Did I mention I started it last night? I may have overextended myself a bit...


Fact #1: Attempting to sew a dress when you have absolutely no training in (a) how to sew or (b) how to thread your sewing machine will make you feel like an idiot.

Fact #2: Having a machine make you feel inadequate will urge you to retaliate by watching Youtube how-to videos at midnight and refusing to go to sleep until the pillowcase dress is complete.


Fact #3: Monogramming is harder than it seems.

Fact #4: Thank God the tiny person who will be wearing the dress is cute enough to distract from the mess underneath...

Fact #5: I think I  might actually enjoy sewing if I knew what I was doing.


Finished product after much much more time than I should have allotted:

I think this is how Vera started out...

Splish Splash...

... C's taking a big girl bath! 

We have graduated to a big girl bath tub (with a handy little baby holder so C can sit up and play without sliding around). It is the cutest thing I've ever seen. She loves it!

Time to get some bath toys!

Reflection

Where were you?

As the years go by, my generation will always be able to recall where we were on 9-11-01. It is chiseled into our memory. One of my best childhood friends remembers that day of our senior year vividly. As I reflect back to ten years ago, to my senior year in high school, I now see how little I understood. I was political, involved, dynamic. I quoted President Bush under my senior yearbook photo. I talked a big game, but I was so young, so immature, so blind. I believed that all people were inherently good. War was a foreign concept I studied in history books. It was stories from my grandfathers. It wasn't real to me.

Then, in one instant, on a normal morning, my comfort level changed. People were no longer good. In that year, war became real. My memory is fuzzy. I remember being in homeroom (Ms. McConnell's), but I don't honestly recall what I was doing that morning or what I was wearing. More than likely, my hair was still wet and I was putting on makeup at my desk. I was probably downing coffee or a diet coke. I'm sure I was preoccupied by Junior Miss or Homecoming or yearbook deadlines or something else I had deemed more important than my classes. But I do remember watching the second plane hit and suddenly, time stood still.

I remember wanting to check on my sister in the middle school to make sure she was okay. I wanted to get her and leave, to be in the comfort of family. I remember being genuinely scared, living in a town with an Air Force base. I remember the weeks that followed. There were prayer rallies and memorial services and moments of silence. It was all so strange. How could something so horrible have actually happened? 

But it wasn't until I visited NYC in the summer of 2005, pressed my face against the chain link fencing, and stared into the gaping hole where two towers once stood that it became strikingly real. I realized that this place would forever be a part of my life's history. C will come home from school one day and ask me where I was that day, the way I asked my grandfather and great uncle about Vietnam. To her, it will be a story in her history book that I will have to explain to her. I will have to make her realize that it isn't just a story in her text book, but was a day that altered Americans forever. It was a day that made us anxious and fearful, but it was also a day that made us unified and proud.


I may not remember each detail, but I will never forget that feeling. We constantly hear, "never forget" and some may think that means living in the past. Where does that get you? But, perhaps in remembering, we can reflect upon the feeling of a unified nation. In remembering, we can appreciate and honor those who died that day. In remembering, we can move forward as a strong community and ensure a future of freedom for our children and our children's children. This country really is the home of the brave.

A Very Happy Half Birthday!

6 months old. Has C really been here for half of a year already?! I'm baffled by this.

We spent her official half birthday lounging on the beautiful beaches of the gulf coast. Not bad at all. We then returned to a week of doctor's appointments. It was certainly a reality check.

Her first appointment was with her dermatologist to discuss the progress of her hemangioma. We found out we were turned down for laser treatment by our insurance company. Because C's hemangioma is strictly cosmetic, there was no reason for them to cover the procedure. Dr. Theos did tell me that treatments are relatively affordable even without insurance ($250/procedure with complete treatment taking 4-5 procedures). Still, I left a little disappointed. On a positive note, the clobetasol (steroid cream) is obviously working as the redness in the center is gone and the bump is beginning to somewhat flatten. We still only use it at night (2 weeks on, 1 week off) because it is so strong that it can thin her already delicate skin. We are also continuing the 0.8 mL dose of propranalol (blood pressure medication) every 8 hours. Our next appointment is October 12th and we will reevaluate the situation then. 

8-11-11 (left) and 9-11-11 (right)

A couple days later, we ventured to the pediatrician for the six month check up. Our big girl weighed in at 15 pounds (30th percentile) and measured 26.5" long (75th percentile). Long and lean like Mommy and Daddy (well, like Mommy and Daddy were). She is right on target developmentally and we got the official go ahead to start solids (even though we technically started a couple weeks prior). We also discussed the hemangioma and laser treatment. I was surprised to learn that C's pediatrician was against it. He was happy with the way it was progressing and was genuinely concerned about scarring from the procedure. I was certainly confused. Which doctor do I trust more?


Then came the dreaded vaccines. Poor baby. It really is so terrible to watch. She got four shots (two in each leg), one of which was a flu vaccine. The flu vaccine always makes me feel terrible the day I get it, so I assumed C would not fair too well. I was right. She seemed fine after we wiped the tears away and made our way home for a crying and car ride induced nap; but that afternoon was filled with unrelenting screaming and crying for what seemed like hours. We then marked another milestone that evening: the babysitter.


Husband had made reservations to celebrate my birthday. Had we realized her check up was that day, we would have picked another night to celebrate. But, the babysitter was booked, the reservation was made, and she seemed to be content enough by the time the sitter arrived. Even though I knew the sitter well and knew she was completely capable, the feeling of leaving her with someone other than close friends or family for the very first time was odd. There was an inexplicable sense of abandonment paired with guilt. I then reminded myself that we were allowed to do this. We were allowed a few hours of grown up time and she would be just fine.


And once I allowed myself to relax and enjoy the evening (with my cell phone in my lap just in case), it was wonderful. We had dinner at Bottega and then, realizing we had precious babysitter time to spare, drinks at a place closer to home. It was refreshing to reconnect with Husband and enjoy a couple glasses of wine interrupted only by the server asking if I would like more. It's so easy to become so consumed in parenthood that you forget about the relationship that existed before. But after a few hours, I missed C and was ready to kiss her sweet cheek.


So now, we are in the midst of six months and it is so busy and so much fun. C is very aware of everything now. She wants to touch things, hold things, grab things and will scoot, climb, and roll until she reached those things. She actually pays attention to the tv now (goodbye Grey's Anatomy reruns, hello Sesame Street), and is mesmerized by music. She sits up tall all by herself.

Watching Baby Einstein in Mommy and Daddy's bed

She is trying so very hard to cut those first teeth. They'll be here any day now. She laughs out loud. She "talks" all the time. Most of the time, she sounds like a pterodactyl screeching and sometimes she sounds like she is almost growling. It's so funny to hear her try out new sounds. She smiles constantly. She is sleeping through the night (occasionally) and is still taking three naps each day (although they are usually only 20-30 minute cat naps). She is eating her first round of purees (peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, bananas) and we have made a couple batches of homemade food so far (peaches and avocado). She LOVES peas! 

Overall, we have a happy, healthy, busy six month old. I have a feeling it only gets better from here.

Through the Eyes of a Babe

I am winding down from a sand and sun induced high, the euphoric result of a full week spent on the beach with our little family of three. For an entire week, my days consisted of sandy toes, sunscreen, naps, and pool floats and ended with dinner that I was in no way responsible for preparing. Not a bad itinerary. 


Our last trip to the beach was for the wedding of close friends two years ago. We tacked on a couple extra days with some of the wedding party and were able to swing a long weekend. We were also celebrating my 25th birthday as well as the birthday of a friend. Needless to say, we had a good time. That trip included late nights out and late mornings in before making our way to the beach. The most important thing we carried to the beach each day was a cooler.


Fast forward almost two years to the date and we are carrying bags of items to the beach, the most important being the diaper bag and the flower float. We spent our days under the safe shade of an umbrella. We applied and reapplied sunscreen religiously. Our mornings started early and our evenings ended by 8:00. We spent the heat of the day cooling off inside. We took naps. It was certainly different.


But nothing in the world compares to watching your child feel sand for the very first time. Or watching her eyes widen with wonder as the tide washes over her tiny toes. I wouldn't trade our new beach experience for anything in the world. Our little beach baby turned 6 months old and had a blast splashing in her float or napping on her beach towel. At the end of our trip, we were tan, rested, and already planning our next getaway.

Life's little changes are often life's best rewards.