First trip to the playground

We've taken Mary Lawton to many fun places and gone on some great outings, but we've never taken her to a playground. I don't know why. I'm embarrassed to admit it.

Yesterday we went to Stone Mountain to the fabulous playground there. I've passed it a million times on foot and on bike and never noticed that it doesn't have swings. What? A playground without swings? A sort-of wasted trip, but Mary Lawton went down the slide a few times and crawled in the mud/grass.
Today we went to the park near our house that I know has baby swings. She LOVED swinging. She started crying when I took her out, so we stayed and kept swinging.

Higher!

Peace on Earth

December 13, 2009: 9 months, 3 weeks, 6 days old

10 months old

Technically, Mary Lawton is 10 months and 1 week old today. She told me she forgives me for this late update. I think this has been my favorite month with Mary Lawton so far. She is so much fun and has shown us that she's going to be pretty feisty and--what's the acceptable term to use now? Willful?--willful.Food: She eats whatever she wants, as long as it's small and not too chewy or crunchy. In all I think I bought about 30 jars of baby food and made the rest, and now no more baby food! She still loves vegetables, but I have to remember to give them to her first. Otherwise, she'll eat all the chicken or turkey and demand more before eating her veggies. She really likes most everything--including yogurt! The experts told me that babies sometimes have to eat a food 10 times before deciding they like it. They're right. She loves yogurt now.

Party tricks: She claps on command, whenever we say, "yay!," and whenever someone else claps. She waves hello and goodbye. She waves at me when I tell her "no"--I guess to tell me, "no, it's ok, Mom!" She also plays peek-a-boo...sometimes she even initiates it.

She says something that sounds like "bye-bye." She also says "baby," which sounds like "bayeee." To any skeptics out there, I'm convinced she's saying these things in context. She will bring me something when I ask her to (Will you bring me the ball?). She crawls on hands and knees, pulls up on anything she can, and cruises around the furniture.

Love bug: Mary Lawton is such a sweet girl. She loves her mama and is a mama's girl when she's sleepy, and she loves her daddy and is so excited to see him when he comes home and she's tired of her mama.

Dislikes: Whenever we touch her face (wiping runny nose, wiping dirty face). This drives me insane. I can't stand for her to have a dirty face, and she will fight me 'til the bitter end on this.

Another milestone: That tooth. It's still a tiny nub.
First trip to Toys 'R' Us. She was in total disbelief that we'd been keeping this from her and she's been playing with boxes.

Little chicken, we can't believe you're in the dougle digits already. I love every single minute with you and can't wait to find out what each new day will bring. Love you, sweet, darling girl.

The biggest laugh I've had in a long time.

The scene: Daycare this morning. Dropping ML off. Four little girls playing quietly. And in the background I hear the beautiful refrain of "Escape" by Rupert Holmes...you know, The Pina Colada Song. Really, is there a more appropriate song for a bunch of babies? They love pina coladas. And getting caught in the rain. I just called Sweet LJ and told him. We laughed 'til we cried.

It's a Christmas miracle.

On Monday, December 7, at 9 months, 3 weeks old, we finally felt a tooth in Mary Lawton's mouth. It's the left, front tooth on the bottom. She won't let us look at it.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

There was a family in my hometown that decorated their front yard at Christmastime by stringing white lights in the trees. I loved the way it looked--like the lights were suspended in the air, dancing in big loops. (I can't recall who lived there--the Lowders, maybe? St. M people will have to help me. They lived down from the police/fire station.)

The Saturday after Thanksgiving my darling Sweet LJ hung hundreds of white lights in our cherry tree. It looks beautiful. I still need to take a picture.

We also found and decorated our Christmas tree and decorated outside. Mary Lawton hasn't been too impressed with the tree, thank goodness. We'll see what happens over the next month.

Getting Mary Lawton's approval

Back home with my Christmas elf

Looking for mischief (leaves to eat)

Thank you, thank you for my white lights, Sweet LJ! xo

Hands and knees

Mary Lawton has graduated from the army man crawl.



And already is crawling away from her mama.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I'm a little late in wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I've been having some trouble catching up since then.

We had a wonderful day. In the morning Mary Lawton and I went running while Sweet LJ went to the gym. We played, we went for a walk, one of us took a nap, and then we went to dinner at Chateau Elan. We went to Chateau Elan last year, too. This year we didn't go on a thousand-mile bike ride, nor did we spend the night at the inn. We had a lovely meal, though. Mary Lawton ate zucchini and peas from home, and turkey and cheese ravioli from the buffet. She really liked the turkey. I ate a crazy, random assortment of delicious things, including mussels and chocolate mousse (separately). Sweet LJ had a more traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Give me more turkey.

I think next year I will be cooking again. I really like cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Who knows? Maybe I will run a half marathon again.

Wishing everyone a thanks-filled day.

Happy girl

Another aquarium visit

On November 22 we visited the Georgia Aquarium again, and it was our best trip yet. We arrived a few minutes before it opened, and it was so nice and uncrowded. We had an amazing view of the big tank in the Ocean Voyager exhibit, and we got to see them feed the fish. They pump food through pipes into the tank. First the little fish get to eat, then they pump in larger food (baby squid, shrimp) for the bigger fish. Later on, men in rubber rafts guided their rafts along a rope with one hand while scooping food out to the whale sharks with the other hand.

big grouper waiting for breakfast

Watching fish. There appears to be a chubby man in a yellow shirt in the tank, but there wasn't. This was at the tropical reef exhibit.

I always want to watch the otters but never get a chance because the 2 otter exhibits are always so mobbed and no one moves to let other people take a look. This was my day! There were two trainers in the pen with the river otters, each training an otter to do tricks. No one was around, so we got to watch for awhile.

There was a celebrity siting, too: Bernie Marcus was leading some people on a tour.

Mary Lawton was interested this visit. She watched the fish, waved at them, and tapped on the glass.

9 months check-up

Mary Lawton's 9-months well-baby visit was last Wednesday.

Height: 28.5 inches (80th percentile!)
Weight: 17 lbs., 10 oz. (25th percentile)

The nurse went through the long list of developmental questions, including, "does she understand 'no?'" I'm sure I looked at her like she was crazy. She's 9 months old. She does not understand "no." I asked the doctor about this. She said, "well, if you say something like, 'no, don't touch that,' does she understand you?" I said, "she looks at me, she hears me, but I don't think she understands what it means." Doctor: "Ok, that's fine." Whatever.

The pediatrician had received some H1N1 vaccines that day, so we had the option of getting one. Sweet LJ and I had discussed it several times but hadn't come to a decision. So, I called him for one final chat, and we decided to do it. She's in daycare, and I work with filthy college students, so it makes sense in our household. She handled the shot very bravely. The horrible part was the finger prick to test for anemia and lead (since we live in an older home). Please, pediatric workers, don't call it a "finger prick" when after you prick her finger you squeeze and wring her tiny hand as she SCREAMS to fill a vial of blood. Please. Set me up for what is really going to happen. I was so horrified I almost stopped them, but I knew I'd just have to come back another day and start all over again.

Other than that, the visit was boring and Mary Lawton was perfect. Note to self: Always bring a snack to distract her during the wait.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Roald Dahl fans, have you heard that Fantastic Mr. Fox is now a movie? George Clooney is the voice of Mr. Fox. I hope the screenwriter kept in the scene where Farmer Bean sticks a long, bony finger in his ear...

I ran this morning.

I used to run in the morning before work. Then I had a baby and lay in bed as long as possible, wallowing in every minute of sleep I could get. The week I returned to work after maternity leave, I ran once or twice in the morning. I think. I might have dreamed it.

Since then I only run on the weekends and on the odd holiday or furlough day. Mary Lawton is sleeping pretty well, which means I'm sleeping better, but I have no energy ever. About 2 weeks ago, Sweet LJ gave me a pep talk about running in the morning again: That I love running, that I'll have more energy if I run more, that it would make me feel good, etc. He was right. I told him he was right, but there's a big difference between knowing I should do it and actually getting out of bed, putting on my running clothes, and going outside.

But this morning I did it. When Sweet LJ saw me in my running clothes, he gave me the biggest "I'm proud of you and happy for you" smile and hugged me. I was out the door at 5:30. I ran for 30 minutes. It was nice. I had forgotten how peaceful it is that early. So quiet, so peaceful. I love being in the quiet.

Thank you for the encouragement, Sweet LJ.

9 months old

I feel like I just wrote Mary Lawton's 8 months post yesterday. This month has been a blur of activity, eating, and milestones.

She has become a little eating machine in the past week or so. She often eats everything I have prepared for her, and then I have to grab something else to feed her. About 2 weeks ago, I was excited that all of us ate the same dinner: baked Yukon Gold potatoes topped with steamed broccoli and Havarti cheese. Mary Lawton has tried many new things this month:

• Kiwi
  
• Edamame
• Turkey
• Chicken
  
• Puffs
  
• Mozzarella cheese
• Havarti cheese
• Yukon Gold potatoes
  
• Chick peas
• Buckwheat pancakes
  
• Pumpkin pancakes
• Whole wheat pizza crust
• Whole wheat bread
  
• Scrambled eggs
• Bacon

No, not really about the bacon. Maybe next month. We're lucky that mealtime is only a struggle if she's really tired. Otherwise, she eats very well while talking nonstop and spreading food in her hair. She's practicing more and more with a sippy cup, and she likes to "drink" (chew on the edge of) my cup.
Mary Lawton pulled up this month and on Friday afternoon, November 13, pulled up in her crib. We could have done without the pulling up in the crib. Since she learned to climb the stair from the den to the living room, she's always exploring the house. We love that she plays so well by herself, but she doesn't like to be alone. If she's playing nicely and we leave the room, she stops playing and follows us to find out what we're doing. Her favorite toys right now are things that aren't toys--boxes, bowls, cellphones, watches, etc. She still scoots army-man style on her belly, and she's very, very fast. She loves crawling on Coqui, and she really, really wants to be Moe's best friend. Coqui loves her. Moe runs away. I love this picture: Coqui was sitting outside the front door, and Mary Lawton crawled over to see him.
It's crazy exciting to see her growing so fast and what new abilities she has each day, but it's a little sad how quickly her tiny babyness is slipping by. We love you, Mary Lawton. We love your big, sweet smile; your breathless laugh; your cute little butt; your enthusiastic waving; and how you chatter nonstop during dinner. We look forward to what each day brings.

A big weekend trip!

Mary Lawton, Sweet LJ, and I went to visit Biffy and Graddaddy for the weekend. We watched lots of football on Saturday. Mary Lawton shared some snacks with Sweet LJ while they watched the SC-FL game.Mary Lawton played and played. She loved having a big house to explore. She got to try out some of our very old toys, including this horse that was my 1st birthday present.
She got lots of cuddling from Biffy and Granddaddy.
We had a wonderful visit. Thanks for a great time, delicious food, and all the love!

3 things

1. Mary Lawton has been waving for about a month, but since Saturday, she's been waving with great enthusiasm. Whenever anyone says hello or goodbye or waves, she waves back. She gets her whole arm into it--sometimes both arms.

2. For a few weeks, she has been doing this quick breathing thing (much like a panting dog but without the tongue) when she gets excited. She does it when we take out the Baby Bjorn (Time for a walk!), when we take out the BOB (Time for a run! Or maybe a walk!), when we get out of the car at daycare (Yay! School! or maybe I'm free from the carseat!), and sometimes when she's about to get a snack. I love that she recognizes patterns now and reacts to them.

3. She's been getting upset when I leave her at daycare over the past several weeks. I think it was the 8-9 months clingy stage. This week she hasn't cried once, and she's even watched me walk out. Thanks, Mary Lawton. You don't know how much this helps the working mom guilt.

Another race

My friend Sara asked if I wanted to run the Cabbagetown Romp & Stomp 5K with her. I said ok because it was stroller friendly, and because I like Sara. The course was advertised as flat and fast, and it was hilly and on very narrow streets, so really neither flat nor fast. There really isn't a race in the 19-county metro-Atlanta area that is flat.

I met up with Sara and met her friend Molly. Mary Lawton got lots of admiring looks and compliments because of her adorable hat and sweater that Georgia sent her. Thank you, Georgia.

Molly and Sara

I finished in 23:43. It was a 5K. You might be thinking wow--that's REALLY fast for someone like me. Well, it's because the cop escort leading the pack made a wrong turn, so the race was shorter than it was supposed to be. It was more like a 3.4K. Oh well.

Mary Lawton slept through the finish.

I was thrilled to find out Mary Lawton and I won first place in the female stroller division! Here we are accepting our awards: a paperweight and a $25 gift certificate to a bar--because people with babies like to drink heavily. Mary Lawton loved the cool glass paperweight on her toothless gums.

Picking up our prizes.

Good times, good times. Next year, Sara!

Fun with a box

Who needs a wagon when your parents will push you around the house in a box?

She can pull up!

On Wednesday night, at 8 months, 2 weeks, 5 days old, Mary Lawton pulled herself up to standing. Sweet LJ and I cheered so loudly that we scared her and made her cry. Today she's been cruising some down the couch, from the couch to the ottoman to our legs. What fun!

Our Halloween day

A late Halloween report...

We had a busy day that started with me running the Beat the Street for Little Feet 5K. I was really excited about this run a few weeks ago, because 1) it's a stroller-friendly race and 2) coolest Pete the Cat race t-shirt ever. I actually kept the shirt. The day began with Sweet LJ waking me up at 6:30 and telling me I probably wasn't going to run because a storm was coming. In the end, I ran but left everyone else at home. The weather was ok until about 10 minutes before the start. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees, and then it started pouring. It let up at the start, but was cold and rainy the whole way. Probably made me run faster. I finished in under 27 minutes --good for me.

The day continued with a Georgia-Florida football party. Unfortunately, the game started right in the middle of afternoon nap time. Mary Lawton did great, though, and we left around 4:30. Of course, she fell asleep in the car as soon as we left. I was worried she'd sleep through trick-or-treating, but she woke up around 5:40, just in time for us to meet up with all our neighbors for trick-or-treating.
Sweet LJ looked fabulous in his football player costume. Unfortunately for him, everyone thought he was a Dawg because of his red and black jersey. One little girl asked me what my costume was, which is the #1 sign your costume is very lame. When I told her I was a gypsy, she didn't know what a gypsy was, so that made it even more lame. We visited a few neighbors, took some pictures, and went home when it started raining again.

A fun day.

New feat

There's a step down from the kitchen to the den in our house. Last Saturday (October 24) Mary Lawton climbed the step, but it took her about 10 minutes, and she only did it once. This weekend she did it again...and again and again and again and again and now doesn't even think about it--she just climbs. Now we just have to teach her to go down the step, and we'll be good.

Thank you, Biffy and Padaddy.

Dear Biffy and Padaddy,
Thank you for the outfits and books you sent me. Mom was very excited to see her old books, especially the Strawberry Shortcake scratch-and-sniff. She read it to me the other night.

I wore the dots and stripes to school today. I looked very cute, although I was a bit grumpy when Mom was trying to take my picture.


Love you,
Mary Lawton

Happy Halloween!

The Mama Test

My aunt sent me this, and here it is for all the rest of you mamas.

*****
I was out walking with my 4-year-old daughter. She picked up something off of the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.

"'Why?" my daughter asked. "Because it's been on the ground. You don't know where it's been. It's dirty, and probably has germs," I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Mama, how do you know all this stuff ? You are so smart."

I was thinking quickly and replied, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mama Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mama."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information.

"Oh...I get it!," she beamed. "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the dad."

"Exactly," I replied with a big smile on my face.

*****
Happy Friday!

Actual conversation at daycare drop-off this morning

Me to Miss B, daycare teacher: Mary Lawton actually sat and let me read her a story the other night. She didn't try to eat the book. [This was 2 nights ago. I was very excited. She sat in my lap and listened to 1 short book.]

Miss B: That's great!

Dr. C, father of a classmate: E loves books, but I find children's books so insipid. I read her William Faulkner last night. She seemed to like it.

Me, unable to help myself: Wow. That'll give her a complex. So darkly Southern.

*******
This is what I get for leaving my child in a daycare filled with the children of academics. Really, dude? No, really--you read Faulkner to your 13-month-old? That's just creepy.

First Halloween party

Mary Lawton went to her first Halloween party last night. Our friends Carol and Frazier hosted their annual pumpkin carving party. Last year I went to eat. This year I ate and carved a pumpkin.

Mary Lawton debuted her chicken costume.

Carol and Frazier gave her some adorable pumpkin slippers that light up and play a spooky tune.

Me and my little chicken

Mary Lawton played with our little pumpkin until it was time to carve.

I carved a pirate pumpkin. He looks a little more cheerful than what I had in mind.

Some of the other pumpkins.

Fun time, although if we keep Mary Lawton out past her bedtime, she is up half the night, punishing us. This happened last night. We welcome any advice about this. We considered taking the pack and play with us, so she could go to sleep at her regular bedtime, but she was so distracted I doubt she would have gone to sleep. We were home by 8:30. She let us know that was unacceptable.