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!