Just a few words, again

Well, it's been a really busy couple months for our family....Xmas week with family, the St. Lucia vacation...busy parents working...I will post a more detailed post later regarding the recent vacations, but for now, before I forget, I just wanted to mention a couple of really endearing things Lyra has been doing: turning the book pages at bedtime (as long as you let the flap loose only when you're done reading the page, you don't have premature page-turning), and swaying in time to various "musical pieces", including off-key singing, drumming on the table, etc.  She is really enjoying the music in the morning and at bedtime from Scout, her green stuffed dog who says things like "Hi Lyra!" and sings a Lyra song that spells out her name (nifty Xmas present from Grandma and Grandpa P!).

Oh, and above - cute (tiny) (first) ponytails!

A quick word from St. Lucia

We are here in the Caribbean - my first trip to another country!  The slog here kind of sucked - we had to get up at 3 am and get to Logan Airport for the 5:45 am flight, and then run through the Atlanta airport 20 minutes before the connecting flight was scheduled to take off.  But we made it, and are enjoying the vacation.  I am loving seeing new people, and also the refreshing breeze off the ocean.  Haven't gone swimming yet, but looking forward to it!  This picture is in Rodney Bay at the end of a long day of eating, napping, and walking around the town of Gros Islet in the hot, hot weather.  Right after this we had dinner and I had my first real meal that was totally table food: curried fish with potatos and carrots, plus plantains, and I LOVED it!  Bring on the ethnic food!

More (and more pictures) later!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from our little vampire (can you see the 2 little fangs coming in up there?)!

           It's been quite a year...time to reflect back on 2009.  Lots of changes in our lives, but obviously, the biggest and best was the arrival of little Lyra and, eventually, her smiles.  Before we had her, I feared how our lives would be altered - how we wouldn't be able to just pick up and go wherever we wanted, for example.  Well, a lot of the things I thought might happen did happen (we in fact can't just pick up and go wherever we want, whenever we want!), but it's really and truly ok because the tradeoff is having this amazing and totally lovable creature in our lives...

I started thinking a couple months back (Lyra's now 10 1/2 months) that oh, she won't change as quickly any more.  Not true!  It has been really fun and so incredible to watch her develop - a nascent skill will go from first hints of her doing it, to fumbling intermittent attempts, to refining, then to advanced placement level, all within a short time span, sometimes within a couple weeks.  For example, watching her "pincer grasp" utilizing index finger and thumb to grasp items was initially sort of painful to watch...within TWO WEEKS she was conveying small crumbs into her mouth and having a nearly 100% success rate at actually getting everything into her mouth.

Some updates on what she's doing these days:

Food: Eating pretty much anything you give her.  Cheerios are a favorite.  She loves bread, too.  She now eats peas and green beans quite happily.

Motor skills: Besides mastering the pincer grasp, she is finally crawling forwards, though still somewhat jerkily.  Just this week she started pulling/pushing herself up to stand, and is cruising around.

Not-so-fun new developments:

• Hating diaper changes or clothing changes that require her to stay on her back; she now usually screams because she is trying to roll onto her tummy, while the diaper-changer continually tries to roll her back over and hopes no pee decides to come out at that moment.  This morning there was no crying due to mommy entertaining her with silly noises and faces...doubt that will hold up for long, though!  
• Wanting to get into the kitty food and water dishes...will be moving those behind the baby gate!
• Needing to childproof.  Two of three gates are up so far (didn't order enough extensions for the third) in order to be able to confine her to one area.  Mommy bought these "nice" magnetic cabinet locks that don't show from the outside...but are a royal PAIN to install, as Daddy can attest to, in part due to our slightly funky cabinet door design in the kitchen.  There are some holes in the cabinets now, oops....

Hmmm, still not done with this post and it's getting out of date over a week later.  For one thing, Lyra now has all 8 of the front teeth (4 top and 4 bottom) coming in.  Better post it now!

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!