a study in contrasts

before the two shots:

after the two shots:

poor bebe marie. because we are vaccinating on a delayed/selective schedule, i had to bring her back to her pediatrician for two shots today. the recommended schedule gives five shots at 2 months -- we did two at 2 months and two at 3 months and skipped the last one, at least for now. i'm not sure if it was worse for her or for me. at least she got to nurse as soon as it was over... i had nothing to comfort me, just a knot in my stomach from watching my poor baby scream in fear and pain.

beatrix weighed in at 13 pounds 5 ounces and measured 25 inches, which puts her in the 75th and 90th percentiles, respectively. 90th percentile for height? where did this kid come from? i guess she's got some of her aunt marge's genes in there. maybe daddy's dream of a WNBA player will come true.

ps. have i mentioned how much i LOVE her pediatrician, dr. bastian? he is amazing. tells her she's beautiful, talks to her in a baby voice, holds her while we're talking and bounces her around, and spends so.much.time answering all my new mom questions. apart from the shots, i actually look forward to our visits with him. oh and he and bebe have the same birthday, so it was clearly meant to be.

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cutest chick on the block

despite having had the second-worst night's sleep of her young life (she was up at 11 and 12 and 1 and 2 and 4:30 and then up at 6 for the day), bebe marie is all smiles and bright eyes.

mommy, on the other hand, is a small puddle of exhaustion. luckily though i have this to keep me entertained:

this one's for the aunties

aunt marge, auntie jamie, and auntie ashley are the best!!! and today, auntie jamie started being bebe's babysitter. she is going to come over two days a week so that i can get back to work on my dissertation. i hate that i won't get to spend every minute with the beebs, but i am so grateful to have someone i love and trust, who loves her, to help take care of her. and bebe is a lucky baby to get lots of playtime with her auntie!

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three months old!

today we met bebe's birthday buddy nora jane and her mom jill for a walk at the pond. jill and i can't believe that our girls are three months old! now we are just waiting for them to magically get easier, like everyone told us would happen once they hit the 3-month-mark...

although jill and i get together with the babies a LOT, this was the first time they have actually encountered each other. usually we are out for a walk or a meal and they stay in their car seats/strollers the whole time.

they were each so interested in what was going on around them that they refused to look at each other. so, we tried to force the issue:

although they seem unfazed by the presence of another baby right now, it will only be a matter of time before they are snatching toys out of each other's hands and swapping germs. should be fun!


today i also put bebe in a shirt that my mom made for me when i was a baby. i am nowhere near this crafty, though, so if bebe has a daughter of her own someday you can be damn well sure that baby won't get to wear a hand-embroidered shirt that says "beatrix."

ps. beebs did great sleeping in her crib in her own room all night last night. she didn't even seem to notice the difference. i did, though -- i am glad to have our room to ourselves again but i did get a little sad thinking about how the separations will just keep on coming. i'm sure that in time i will be ready for each of them but right now i am glad that she's still a little baby who needs her mom for everything... everything except sleep!

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watching basketball with daddy

happy to be home

we had a great weekend at mems' and teed's house -- but, once again, i didn't even take my camera out of my bag. so you'll have to check josh's blog for photos of our time with mems, teed, aunt marge and uncle ben. bebe was delightful and we were so glad that everyone got to see just how freaking cute she is these days.

even though she had a lot of fun, once we got back and got settled bebe realized that there's no place like home.

tonight she is sleeping in her own room for the first time... i hope i can sleep without having her right next to me!

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apples

today we took bebe on one of my favorite fall excursions: to bartlett's apple orchard in richmond, ma. we used to go in the fall when i was a kid to watch the cider being pressed through big windows and to buy pecks of apples. when bebe's bigger, we might actually take her on a hayride or go out to the orchard to pick our own... but today we just popped into the store quickly and got some cider and a half-peck of macintosh apples. it wouldn't be fall in new england without some crips macs to munch on!

10/11/12

today is the 96th anniversary of the birth of my paternal grandmother, who died when i was eleven. (as a kid i thought it was so cool that her birthdate was 10/11/12.) her given name was elizabeth and she was called bebe. i just recently got a picture of her at age 3, and i could be wrong but i think i see some similarity between my gammy bebe and my daughter bebe -- around the nose and mouth.

can you see it?

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warning: baby nudity!

we have started a new evening routine.

daddy gives bebe a bath right before her bedtime. she loves her bath, even when she's fussy (which she is much less these days, thankfully), so she and dad get to spend some fun time together every day. since most of her evening comfort comes from nursing, it's nice for her and for josh to have something special that they share. and it's nice for mom to get a little break around 7:30... to make dinner or post a blog entry!

going visiting

today beatrix and i drove down to connecticut to visit her great-grandmother. i was nervous about driving two hours each way but bebe was very cooperative and slept almost the whole time.

she got all dressed up for the special visit,

and she and great-nana were very happy to see each other.

well, duh

while i really like carter's baby clothing, something about it has always struck me as sort of silly. the quality is good and the colors and patterns are cute, but the ubiquitous words and phrases appliqued, embroidered, or screen-printed on every shirt, jacket, and pair of pajamas seem a bit unnecessary. i'm pretty sure i would still think bebe is ADORABLE or SO PRETTY or is a SWEETIE and a CUTIE even if her clothes didn't tell me so.

and really, do i need to be reminded to hug this baby? hardly...

growing up online

i wonder what this generation of kids will think, once they're grown, about the fact that their parents chronicled their every move (and burp and poop and smile and cry) online for the virtual world to see.

will they feel that their privacy was violated? will they be embarrassed? will they even care?

luckily, right now, bebe marie finds it just as amusing as i do.

(thanks for the shirt, rob and laura!!!)

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let's go red sox, take two

so, no sweep. but beatrix has high hopes for when lester takes the mound tonight.

let's go red sox!

bebe is hoping for a sweep...

ears

the first of many

beatrix's first pair of jeans!

handmade love

yesterday a package arrived for bebe. inside was a blanket made for her by jack, maggie and ben's mam (aka my best friend kate's mom jane). it's orange (my favorite color!!!) and really soft and snuggly.

it inspired me to take a picture of bebe surrounded by all the other blankets she's received -- each one beautiful and cuddly and most important, made by hand by friends and family! (from left to right: josh's cousin lisa; family friend carolyn; my dear friend jessie; and knitter extraordinaire grammy).

it seems fitting to me that bebe has so many wonderful knitted blankets. my grandmother, whose given name was elizabeth but who was called bebe, was a busy knitter and crocheter who filled our home with brightly colored blankets when i was a kid. thank you all for sharing your talents and love with my bebe!

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breaking news!

MY BABY JUST LAUGHED!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm sure it will be a while before i can get it on video to share with you. but, wow. that was one of the best moments of my life. it made me cry.

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funny fussing

bebe has been making the most hilarious noises recently when she's tired and starting to fuss. am i a bad mom because it cracks me up?