Moon-crawling

How quickly things change.  This is from just a week or so ago, when all I could seem to manage was pushing myself backwards, in this case, right underneath the Pack n Play.  Now, I can crawl forwards!  Though usually only far enough to be able to slump back onto my belly and stretch my hand out to reach whatever I was trying to get to (book, toy, foot).

It's been a big and busy week.  Besides starting to crawl, I also got more proactive about walking when standing up with my hands held.  Akong and Grandma C came to visit, and were thrilled with my growth, cuteness, and conversation.  I got lots of toys from them, too (COOL Mozart Cube!).  I had my first taste of fish (enh).  I had my first French fry (yum, when it's not too hot or crunchy).  It's been a big month, too: I got a bit better at actually chewing and swallowing food which is not totally pureed to death.  I got tons better at pincer grasp and getting most of the puffs or Cheerios or cracker bits or bread pieces into my mouth.  I turn the pages of my books when someone is reading to me.

This week is my first plane trip (and Mommy is SO excited about that, I can tell you!) and also a family reunion - all 3 2009 babies from both sides of the family will meet up for the first time.  Hopefully we will not end up slapping each other silly.  I will, of course, gets tons of attention which will be nice (and only my due, of course).  It will be my very first Christmas!

The many faces of Lyra

Yesterday there were a couple photo shoots, one to try to obtain a usable pic to use as a passport photo. I think I got one, after 30-40 shots.  The hardest thing?  Getting pics with her mouth closed!  Some of the "rejects" are collaged at left. The money shot is below...what a cute mug shot! (remember to click on the collages to see a much bigger version!)


The other photo shoot was for the Xmas card...I'll post those later!

As a sidenote:  yesterday was the first day Lyra managed to push herself all the way up to sitting from lying on her tummy.  Not apparently able, yet, to sit straight up from a supine position.

Bill, Jr.?

Check out the truly uncanny resemblance between Lyra and her daddy as a baby! Since she's a girl, let's hope it doesn't continue to be quite this close a resemblance as she gets older! She's definitely his daughter, though...

Reunited...

Tonight I got to see my first boyfriend, James, again. We have both grown so much since our last visit! Here, I have a visitor in my baby jail for the first time (well, the first BABY visitor). We look pretty ok together here, don't we? Too bad a couple minutes later there was a domino fall effect and both of us ended up crying (briefly). Later, after everyone had dinner, we said goodbye and shared our first kiss (my first kiss ever - I can't speak for James!). What a great night!

Hello...

...and a wonderful upside-down day to you all! I love shuffling around the perimeter of my Pack 'n' Play, especially with a lovely blue anklet on (an accident, but what a lovely one!). Today is a great day, and most definitely a better one than yesterday when I spent several hours puking my guts out. Poor me. Mommy gave me some soy yogurt to see if my guts were mature enough to handle it...apparently not. That really bit. I was so tired in between all the throwing up episodes, I lay in Mommy's arms like a wet noodle and actually fell asleep in her lap like I haven't done since I was a little girl. But as you can see, I'm all better now! Life is awesome! (Oh, and Mommy? Maybe you need to wait a while before trying soy or dairy again, ok? Thanks!)  And by the way, it was Thanksgiving, too...my first one, and I didn't even get any turkey.  Mommy did give thanks that I was only having issues with one end of my GI tract...

9 months old!

Just turned 9 months old this week! And just went to my 9-month checkup. No vaccinations today, cool.  Check out my new sweatshirt....Daddy got me a whole array of NY Yankees stuff including a championship onesie....

Latest Thing: Making this noise from the back of her throat that sounds like roaring.
Newest nickname: Lyra the Lion (sometimes the Lynx)
Stats today: 30.5 inches (>95th percentile), 22.45 lbs.

Kisses and roars!

Life...

...seems to rush on so quickly...Lyra is almost 9 months now. There have been so many changes, so quickly. She's grown more hair, for one thing, though it's still pretty sparse (still too little to clip a bow to!). She's sitting up by herself now. Not quite crawling but able to push herself backwards. Two lower front teeth finally coming in, without any fuss on Lyra's part. Looking back through the posts I think I've covered a lot of the last few months so I guess there won't be a "My life, part 3" installment since we're fairly caught up now. What else has happened in the last few months?

Newest talents: clapping (initially without sound, now actual clapping noises), blowing raspberries for minutes on end (see video below) rather than just occasional ones, going on hands and knees as well as hands and feet (like a yoga bridge, as demonstrated in the picture in the upper right corner), standing up with hands on support when placed that way.

Newest foods: just this past week, spinach and mango, both of which seemed to go across smashingly well. Chunkier apple sauce (courtesy of the food mill) did not, however, go across well, based on the gagging that occurred. Food milled pear was ok, though.

Funniest food-related episodes: eating cake for the first time (Jello cake made with apple sauce by nanny Susan) - lots of funny faces at the texture and strange turtle-like chin-tucking, culminating in finally mashing with gums and doing the bird-mouth to get more. Also, eating those "yummy"-looking teething biscuits which dissolve into cookie cement which covers baby face, hands, bib, highchair, Exersaucer, etc.

Best evidence for awesome babyness: waking up in the morning and entertaining herself for 40-90 minutes before Mommy gets up. Enduring all vaccines with minimal fuss (startled cry for 2 seconds then done), then getting her first H1N1 vaccine yesterday without even noticing it. Not crying much, and when she does, usually very easily soothed. Falling asleep most nights with little fuss, and sleeping through the night. Able to entertain herself in general for long periods of time.

Funniest things she shouldn't be doing: blowing raspberries while eating (not as much now, since being disciplined - "NO, no raspberries while eating!" and a pause before the next spoonful comes). OK, spoke too soon, based on today's lunch - the dining table is spattered with peas with turkey and rice.

Other things we want to remember: lots of "talking"- dadadada, mamamama, gagaga, vavavava (voom, we like to finish for her), dididididi. Screams of joy, or sometimes just conversation, I think. Squealing belly laugh when the finger-eating monster comes to town (or toe-eating...except she then kicked me right in the mouth, so perhaps not the best idea!) or she gets her belly tickled.

Current nicknames: sunshine girl, goo girl, chubbitha, missy messy pants.

By the way, her middle name means "relaxed sunshine" - definitely a case where the name appears to have made the person!

She has her 9 month checkup coming up soon...but I expect her height to still be >99th percentile (as she's currently wearing 12-month clothes which fit great, and 18-month clothes which are just a bit long. The other week while getting her flu shot she weighed over 22 lbs (but with clothes and diaper on).

New hat

All bundled up for a walk...it's a bit nippy out! But I'm happy to get some fresh air...

While you're waiting...

...for another "My life" installment, enjoy my command performance as the Raspberry Monster.

My life, Part Deux

Wow. It has been a long time! I am not happy! Mommy has been slacking. I know you were all waiting breathlessly to hear the rest of my life story...but in the interests of Mommy's short attention span (and I GUESS, her busy schedule) I will try to compress things a bit.

Month 3: I started smiling sometimes, for real (not gas). I took my first real road trip - to Daddy's hometown, Corning. There I was much cooed over and passed around. Also, I spit up all over Auntie Tina. AGAIN. Also, I moved into my very own bedroom and into the big girl crib! I had no trouble with this transition, although I did continue to wake up a few times a night...

Month 4: ...until about 4.5 months, when I started sleeping (inconsistently) through the night (well, from 6-7 pm to about 5-6 am). I was awesome! Also, Mommy weaned me. She cried the last time I breastfed...then the next day she went out and had milk! ice cream! pizza! since she didn't need to avoid dairy for me any more. You're welcome, Mommy! I also continued to grow very well and be quite tall. My drool production appeared to increase...everyone thought I was "teething"...but no teeth appeared. I started to really put lots of things into my mouth...Mr. Red Cardinal. Miss Sunshine. My fingers. Daddy's fingers. Daddy's nose. etc. What also started going into my mouth was "solid food." Rice cereal...very strange to me at first but I gradually got used to it. Eventually more things were offered to me....loved carrots and squash. Hated peas and green beans. Oh yeah - got my first (standing) bouncer, which I am still loving to this day.

OK. Mommy says she needs a break again. So we should post this so SOMETHING new goes on my blog!

Oh frabjous day!

Yes, I really am this happy most of the time! Do Mommy and Daddy even know how lucky they are?

So, today I wanted to divulge my life story up until now. I will admit I am using a ghost writer (primarily because I can't type accurately, although I do love to bang indiscriminately on Mommy's laptop keyboard when being held up to the webcam during Skype sessions), but honestly, the wording is mostly mine. I don't want Mommy and Daddy to forget anything about my first 6 months...although, how could they, me being such a Very Important Person. But it's always good to have a backup...especially since sometimes Mommy acts like she has something "they" call "de-men-tia" when she forgets things.

I was born on February 15, 2009 at 5:55 pm. It was a Sunday. Daddy had gone to work but knew that it might be time for me to come out. Mommy knew it, too, of course, so she logged on to her work from home to try to clean some stuff up (silly, she thought she had another few days!), until she was just too uncomfortable to do that. Finally she called the doctor for the second time. Good thing she did! She had to call 3 people to find someone to drive her to the hospital and by the time Hillary got her there things had moved quickly and Mommy was even more uncomfortable. That's ok, though, because less than 3 and a half hours later I came into the world, AKA The Outside! Screaming, of course, but they put me right up on Mommy's tummy and I looked right back at her and stopped crying. And don't worry, Daddy got there in plenty of time to help Mommy and say hi to me when I hit the air...

My first week was tough for everyone...I was all jaundiced and then had trouble getting enough to eat, so I went from a doughty 7 lbs. 5 oz. to a shriveled-up 6 lbs. 5 oz. in a few days. Then I got to eat some yummy Similac formula and gained weight, but then had a low body temperature. That was bad, because we all went back to the hospital and I had a needle stuck in my arm and things that burned going in (this was AFTER a spinal tap!)...but I was ok. It was nice to have Nainai and Grandma and Grandpa there, too; I know they were great support for Mommy and Daddy. Akong came a little later and also had nice arms in which to fall asleep. Sometime after that Mommy took to calling me the Chubster even though I was hardly that (as a spoiler, I did end up growing into that name). I also made lots of funny faces including the infamous "Old-Man Face." I showed these faces to Aunties Tina and Jess, too, when they had their visits.

THEN, they discovered I couldn't tolerate milk (I won't tell you how, too graphic). So I had to drink this icky soy formula - paugh! Then my tummy couldn't deal with that so it was time for the "Alimentum" formula...which I eventually grew to LOVE, even though Mommy and Daddy always made funny faces after that when I burped in their faces.

Whew. Walking down Memory Lane is pretty intense. I will leave the rest of my full life for another installment or two...see you back here later!

Spitty carrots!

This is from several weeks ago but I had to finally post it. Following a fairly succesful pureed carrot feeding (by the way, I really didn't realize how indelible carrots can be...carrot-stained bibs and burpcloths now abound) out on the porch, Lyra suddenly and inexplicably started chuckling non-stop. For some reason, saying "spitty carrots" instigated continued gales of laughter so of course silly Mommy kept repeating that over and over...it only stopped when Nainai Skyped us...and then of course, once we went inside, the chuckling was all over, sadly. Enjoy!

Sittin'

So...Lyra is continuing to hit various milestones...so much fun to watch her develop. In the past few weeks she has started really trying to sit up when you hold her hands, and she can sit up briefly if she has some support for her hands. Gotta watch closely, though, she wobbles (and yes, unlike a weeble, she falls if you aren't there to catch her). She is now standing happily in her bouncer, too, and loves playing with everything on it. At this point she has eaten rice cereal, peaches, apples, pears, green beans (NOT a favorite), peas, squash, sweet potatos, bananas. Next to try: oatmeal. Yay. Her 6-month visit comes up in a couple week...we are now taking bets as to the weight (I have consistently underguessed....but am going to guess higher, then - 19 lbs).

Below is a video I just finally got around to posting, from the time with Bill's family in New Jersey for his grandmother's funeral. Here, Lyra and Cora get to know each other...not without some friction, but in the end I think it all works out:

I love the idea that they will be able to watch this video when they are older...

Beginning and ending

Today, Lyra's great grandmother Harriet Steinmann passed away after a brief illness. Lyra never had the chance to meet her, and unfortunately, Great-grandma had in any case reached the point where she probably would not have understood who Lyra was to her, nor recalled her later.

I also regret not having met Bill's grandmother earlier when she was more in possession of her faculties. However, I remember passing a pleasant first visit with her the summer after I first met Bill, and being thrilled that she later remembered me and asked Bill's mom about me.

The bright spot (literally, as you can see) today was Lyra wearing her bathing suit (a gift from Grandma P) for the first time...good thing we tried it on now since despite being for "12 months" it will likely be outgrown within the next couple months. Hopefully this picture will provide a little something cheerful for family on this sad day.

We trust that Great-grandma is in a better place now, and look forward to showing Lyra pictures and the memorial video and telling her stories about her great-grandmother...

Changing...

Time to look back...I love looking back through Lyra's pictures and marveling over how she's changed, in appearance and in behavior. Boy, babies sure do grow up fast....I quickly started missing the extreme cuteness of the newborn baby, while at the same time appreciating the increasing fun factor as smiles and interactivity develop.

An overview of Lyra's life, since I didn't post through most of the beginning of her life:

Day #1 of life: Unhappiness Incarnate after First Bath

Day #2: So tiny....so precious...

Day #3: A happiness-inducing burrito.

3 weeks: Delighting Auntie Tina with fake smiles

Nearly 5 weeks: Where did those chubby cheeks and that triple chin come from??


6 weeks: Hangin' with Aunt Jess

2 months: Being sweet with Daddy!

Nearly 3 months: OMG, when did I get so huge?

3+ months: All growed up in jeans and dimples!

4 months: Pretty in brown...and doing well with tummy time, finally.

Which brings us nearly to the present day, at nearly 5 months: happy clean baby (nothing better!)

...and what a journey it's been! Sure, we might have wanted to trade a sleep-deprived night or a hundred, but look what we've got now! A happy smiley baby who sleeps 12 hours a night and smiles and chuckles at her silly parents all day long. Yay! Can't wait for what else she has for us...(well, maybe I can wait a little for the running around on those chubby little legs...)

The Death of a Duck (or Goose, or whatever it is)

What the heck IS this thing???

OK, actually he's fine...kind of cute....I'll pet him






.

Hmmmmm, maybe I'll just hold him up like this....

And like this...

And like this!! Bwahahahahaha!

(Sorry for the poor quality...these were taken in dim lighting (getting ready for bed) with my Palm Treo.)

This picture needs no explanation, really!

Ah, Freud...

Today we see lots of evidence for oral fixation...from the top left, respectively, the Frenetic Musical Flashing Butterfly, the thumb, Mr. Quackster (man, was he soaked - good thing ducks have oily feathers), Mr. Red Cardinal, and last, but not least, the cool purple cover from the formula can. (By the way, click on the collage photo for a much bigger version!)

Thanks, Stefanie, for the blog advice and help with both Blogspot and Picasa stuff - the collage thingee is cool!

OK, it's yet another rice cereal picture, but this one demonstrates that someone is starting to like it and maybe get the hang of eating it (perhaps a smaller percentage of it ended up on the chin and the bib...)!

And here's the latest baby gear/toy! A stationary bouncer...I researched it for ages then decided against it partially because I thought our tall baby would outgrow it too quickly. I saw it at Target today and couldn't resist. Too tall? I had to put the platform on the highest setting! I guess our girl has short legs...hopefully a temporary thing as no girl wants to be shortlegged! Anyways, this is a misleading picture, as Lyra did not understand the concept of standing in this thing, I had to straighten her legs and place her toes on the platform. No bouncing has occurred as yet. However, lots of torso flopping occurred. Something to grow into, apparently. Fun! Oh yeah, and Mommy assembled this herself (except for the stupid snap-in stalks which required a ridiculous amount of force)! Girls can, too, use screwdrivers and such!

Time fugit...

Well, here I am, folks. As you can see, not too excited to have rice cereal tonight (should have seen the faces I was making!)....


In fact, this rubbery spoon is sooooooo much tastier...

Isn't it amazing how big I've gotten?

It seems a good time (says Mommy, now) to reflect back on how our little family's doing nearly 5 months post-birth. I have to repeat the cliche that you just have no idea what you're really getting into having a child until you do it. What you can predict even less well is just how much and how deeply you can possibly love someone. Since having Lyra, I understand all the platitudes about parenthood, how you truly would do anything necessary, include risk your life, for your child. Yes, very melodramatic. But true. Things in books and movies having to do with kids, both good and bad, will often make me tear up now. Yes, that was I crying during the Star Trek movie when Kirk's mom, having just delivered him, is talking to his father who is about to die crashing a starship...how embarassing!

Our lives are totally turned upside down...but we do love it. We are very, very lucky that Lyra is such a good baby! Not perfect, but nearly so! Not colicky ever, finally sleeping through the night (10-11.5 hours recently), generally so good-natured and smiling, able to entertain herself even after just having woken up...the list goes on. She does tend to sometimes spit up rather large-ish portions of formula...especially on Auntie Tina, but hey...a girl's gotta have some faults!

We are also so lucky to have such a great family...we are so happy Grandpa/ma P have gotten to visit several times, and that Akong and Amah will be coming to visit again later this month. We love that we have gotten to share in the joys of parenthood with both Joe and Kim, and Tim and Alicia. Hooray for same-age cousins!

Not much to say!

And a spitty good evening to all from the chubby star of this blog!

8 weeks already! Oops, 5 months already!

Well, I opened this blog weeks ago but am only getting around to actually posting now, on the day that Lyra is 8 weeks old. (Written on 4/12/09, but not published!)
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And now it is months later, Lyra is about to turn 5 months! I really will get this going now as I am eager to have a place for friends and family to get more details, where it's just Lyra, Lyra, Lyra all the time! I promise, this weekend I will post a REAL post on here.