i just can't get enough of this outfit

stars

we really like stars. josh and i both have star tattoos. (i have a picture somewhere of them next to each other but can't find it to post...)

this is the image i drew for bebe's birth announcement:



many of those who know and love us know about our thing for stars, and bebe got some great starry gifts from family and friends.

nolan and andrew made her this amazing shirt which i tried to show from several angles so you can truly appreciate how cool it is:

gina and katie brought these adorable star PJs to my baby shower:

and mems gave her a six-pack of brightly colored star socks:

thanks guys!

_

the baby in the mirror

today beatrix was hanging out in her crib when she spotted another baby! this baby, like bebe, is very cute and very talkative. they had lots to say to each other:

public service announcement

if you give a baby her awful tasting medicine while she is completely naked, she might just pee all over you, her other parent, and the floor in protest.

_

wherein i use my baby as a billboard for my own political beliefs

the thought of raising my daughter in the world that george w bush has fractured and damaged is bad enough. the thought of having to raise her in a world that continues to go down the bridge to nowhere of the past eight years, a world in which her rights are eroded further and her country is hated more and more by the rest of the world upon whom her life depends, is downright terrifying.

bebe and little mouse

when she's nursing and/or falling asleep, bebe grabs at the sides of her face and her ears with her hands. it's adorable, but sometimes she scratches herself and other times she wakes herself up. so i've started giving little mouse to her to hold in her hands. little mouse is a hand-me-down toy from our friends lucy and vito in italy, and he's really adorable. i'd like bebe to have a lovey that she can sleep with (once we release her from the swaddle), and i like the idea of using something small that won't be a suffocation hazard.

so, i've been giving her little mouse more and more often. you may have noticed LM in some recent pictures. bebe likes to chew on him and today, for the first time, she snuggled him while she slept on my lap.

lounging

face goes to college

i had a couple quick meetings on campus today so i brought beatrix with me. she was excited about going to college!

she wore a cool hat to try to blend in with the big kids. she also brought Little Mouse to snuggle, though, because the ivy league is kinda intimidating.

more bumbo pictures

because she looks so darn cute sitting up like a big kid!

separation

today i left bebe for the first time. i've gone out for a quick run to the grocery store twice while she's stayed home with her dad, but those didn't really count. today i had a seminar i had to attend at school, so i dropped her off with my friend jamie, who took the beebs back to her house with her two daughters. i left her at 11:30 and picked her up at 2. it wasn't that bad! i knew she was in good hands, and she apparently had a fun time watching jamie's two daughters, who are 4 and 2, play. when i got there to pick her up she was taking a nap!!!!

and she doesn't seem the worse for some time away from mom.

bumbo: a tragedy in four acts

the bumbo again, mommy? really?

*sigh* ok, i'll give it a shot.

hum dee dum...

LEMME OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!!

visiting

today bebe and i went to visit some special people: two more of "my kids" (as i like to call the kids i've cared for over my years as a nanny), ariel and jonathan, and their mom sue. ariel was 10 and jonathan was 5 when i first met them, and although i was only their full-time nanny for one year we have stayed in touch and become better and better friends over the years. i spent quite a bit of time with them this spring while i was out-to-here pregnant (jonathan never let me carry anything or open any doors while he was around -- how many eleven-year-olds do you know who are so gentlemanly?) so they were all quite interested to see the end result.

bebe got in some good snuggles with both kids and with sue as well.

i really love introducing bebe to the families i have worked for. i got a lot of practice for parenthood with all the wonderful kids i've cared for.

so how come it's still so hard?

in sleep news, bebe slept fine last night. well, fine for her, meaning that she was up three times to eat but went right back to sleep each time. and today i decided to accept the fact that, at two months old, she just isn't ready to nap independently. trying to force that issue was making me crazy and her exhausted. so late this morning i wrapped her into the moby and she snoozed for almost three hours. sure, i didn't get much done, but i don't get much done when she's screaming from lack of sleep either. at least this way i got to watch some 'house' in peace. then she took another almost 2-hour nap in the car once we left ariel and jonathan's.

and, we continue to try out the bumbo. i think she's actually starting to like it!

it's amazing...

...what a little sleep can do for a baby. beatrix took two short cat naps this morning, as has been her habit for the past couple weeks. she sleeps for twenty to thirty minutes, and then wakes up and doesn't go back down for an hour or two. needless to say, this is not enough sleep for a baby. babies her age, according to her pediatrician, should be sleeping 16-18 hours out of every 24. bebe averages 12.

today we had plans to go up to visit her grammy and grampa glen's house, to celebrate "the september birthdays" (grammy, auntie jamie, auntie ashley and uncle seth all have birthdays in september). we wanted her to be well-rested so the family could enjoy her, rather than having to listen to her scream, so we left very early and stretched a one-hour drive into two, since a moving car is the only place the beebs will reliably sleep and she certainly hadn't gotten enough in the morning. she ended up sleeping for 2 1/2 hours and then was a total cutie, smiling at everyone and happily being passed around from auntie to auntie to grammy to grampy and back again.

then, on the way home, she fell asleep again and slept for another 2 1/2 hours. she woke up at 6:30, had a bottle with dad, took her medicine like a champ (did i mention we're trying zantac to see if she's got reflux?), took a bath, and throughout it all was calm, relaxed, and happy. a real change from our usual baby-of-the-evening, who is decidedly more redfaced and screamy than her well-rested doppelganger. here is beebs, hanging out in her chair and playing, at 7:15 pm:

now, i just hope she sleeps ok tonight...

hooray for massachusetts

today bebe and i went to visit her aunties kate and alden, who live just down the road apiece. kate is my dear dear friend from college and alden is her fantastic girlfriend. we checked out their new place and then they shared some great news: they're engaged!

bebe was pretty happy for them.

then i told her that massachusetts is one of only two states in which kate and alden could legally get married.

in all seriousness, i don't look forward to having to explain prejudice and bigotry to bebe. but i am so glad to be living, at least for now, in one of the most progressive areas of one of the most progressive states. hooray for massachusetts!

twelve pounder

today bebe had her two-month doctor's appointment. she weighs exactly 12 pounds and is 23 1/2 inches tall. that's almost two feet!

she also got her first shot. poor thing, and poor mama too. watching my baby turn bright red and scream like she's never screamed before was one of the worst things so far about this whole mommy gig. we are vaccinating on a delayed schedule, though, so at least she didn't get all FOUR that are recommended at two months. we go back next month for a couple more.

here she is before it all went down. trust me, you wouldn't want to see a picture of afterward. the rest of the day was pretty unhappy here at chez bebe.

waking up from a late-afternoon snooze