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!