We were so excited to celebrate August's first Christmas this year! Surely, this will be the first of many pictures in front of the tree, though hopefully it's one of the only years the tree will have to be barricaded from a curious baby.
August was very eager to explore his stocking and test the new shaker Daddy found for him.
Though he was none too pleased to be woken up so early. I'll never tire of this classic August expression.
Grandma and Grandpa got August a toy that lights up and plays all sorts
of great sounds, as well as stacking toys that crash to the ground. He loves all of it! He loves the Tigger from Nana and
Poppop, too--especially when it plays music and bounces up and down.
Mommy and Daddy wonder if perhaps they're getting paid back somehow this
Christmas, what with all the loud toys. :)
Mommy and Daddy got August something to keep both hands very busy. He mostly loves to push it across the floor.
Both Aunt Heidi and Aunt Cara saw that Auggie's head will stay nice and warm this winter, even if he's not a huge fan of the outdoors just yet.
Merry First Christmas, August! Thank you for giving us the gift of our beautiful new family this year. We love you!
What a month it's been for our big 11-month-old boy! Happy birthday, August!
After months of waiting, August finally cut his first tooth this month on his Aunt Cara's birthday--December 3rd. Actually, he cut two, both of the front bottom. He has the cutest little toothy smile either of us has ever seen. August's new teeth means that he's able to explore new foods, too. He loves to munch on cucumbers and raisins, the former usually covered in hummus.
August is getting increasingly adept at his unique crawl, but he's also started cruising a lot more. His Nana came to visit us this month, and he loved showing off for her. He makes lap after lap around our living room coffee table, and cruises along every wall in the house. Walking on his own is surely just around the corner. Edit: Walking isn't just around the corner anymore! August took his first solo steps today. He took two wobbly steps in the kitchen. Way to go, buddy!
We're also excited to see how social August is becoming. He loves to wave at strangers in the grocery store, at shopping malls, the aisles at Target...pretty much anywhere. Naturally people love to wave back to him. It helps that he's the cutest baby ever--no bias of course. He's also getting much braver with other new experiences, like playing on the swings.
We've spent the last month getting August ready for his first Christmas, though it obviously means more to us this year than it does to him. Still, I think he senses the excitement and spirit of the Christmas season.
He's becoming such a busy little guy, pulling himself on everything and scooting all over the place. The picture above is the only blur-free one we could get. The rest look something like this:
This one is my favorite. He had just crawled across the floor, and he's lunging at me with a huge smile on his face.
August crawls all over the house, but he crawls very strangely. He tucks his right leg under him and propels himself with his left leg. He looks a bit odd, but the trade-off is that he's super speedy. Who needs to walk when you crawl faster than anyone else in the house can move?
This month we've also seen more signs of how verbal August will likely be someday. He clearly says "Mommy" and "Daddy," and says "Baba" when he looks at Barley. And even though we've always known what a sweet boy our little Auggie is, he's started showing affection. He crawls up to us to cuddle, and he gives the best--albeit also the sloppiest--kisses. He especially loves to kiss his favorite stuffed animals.
We are so proud of our giggly, laughing, extremely happy baby boy. He makes us happier than he can know.
I took August with me to the polls last week. While we stood outside in the cold for nearly two hours, I shared with him why this day is so important.
I pointed to the man in front of us and told August that he didn't have the right to vote until 1870.
But, in reality, not until 1965.
I pointed to the woman behind us and told August she didn't have the right to vote until 1920.
And we talked about all the other people in this world who are still fighting and dying for the right to vote. August promised me this would be his first of many, many trips to the polls.
Happy birthday, August! You're 3/4 of a year old already.
Last month we were a bit apprehensive of the crawling stage, and now we're in the throws of it. Though he still just belly-crawls across the floor, he's becoming quite speedy! We're also in the throws of teething, still waiting for the first tooth to cut through. The belly-crawling coupled with the drooling means that Daddy calls August his little silkworm.
Now that August can move on his own, poor Barley is becoming increasingly nervous. He runs away whenever he sees August coming and looks at us with his sad puppy eyes. "It's moving now? Why?" Unless, of course, August is eating. Then they're best friends. August has started eating meat--chicken, even lamb--so Barley is beginning to warm up to him.
August's new favorite discovery is watching objects drop--from the bathtub, his bed, through railings--the higher the better. Let's just hope he doesn't decide to let himself drop. He's also fascinated with power cords. Daddy has dreams of him being an electrician like Grandpa.
Every month we think we couldn't possibly love our little dude more. I love that we keep proving ourselves wrong.
Happy birthday, August! You turn eight months today.
This month, August officially mastered sitting up on his own. We used to barricade him with pillows and blankets to keep him from falling over and hitting his head, but now he just plays with the pillows and gets tangled in the blankets.
August has becoming increasingly vocal this month, too. He's picking up a lot of consonants, but is still a big fan of "da da." We'll get the hang of "ma ma" someday.
He's continuing to discover and love a wide variety of foods, too. He's still not very carnivorous, which disappoints Daddy, but he's a huge fan of his fruits and vegis.
August is also becoming an increasingly busy little boy. The photo above is the only one where he's sitting still. We love to see how curious he is, but we're a bit nervous for the crawling phase.
August grew by leaps and bounds this month. At last check he was over sixteen pounds, up nearly ten pounds from his birth weight. He also now sits up completely on his own and will try to scoot when he's on his belly. Matt is encouraging the crawling; I'm enjoying these remaining days of a sedentary baby.
Even though he isn't crawling, August is still into everything already. The picture above is the only one we got on the chair before he started squirming and grabbing at Arjun the Monkey:
So we moved to the safer floor...
But that was short-lived, too.
We love watching how curious and inquisitive August is becoming. He's fascinated with the world around him, especially his toys, his books (which usually go in his mouth) and his dog (in whose mouth his fingers usually go).
Last month I posted about the teething without teeth. We're still waiting for that illusive first tooth and are still dealing with the drooling, though the crankiness is improving. Maybe we're just getting used to it. Our saving grace has been his amber teething necklace. Even though it causes strangers to ooh and aah over our "beautiful little girl" when he's wearing gender-neutral clothing, it's been well worth it.
We've also enjoyed some early conversations with August, even though his contribution is still mostly "dadadada" and "babababa." Whatever he's saying, it's already fascinating.
Dresses like a lawyer, acts like a bartender, talks like a trucker.
During one of the numerous commercial breaks from the Olympics last night, I caught the end of one of TBS's new comedy series, Sullivan and Son. In a nutshell, a fancy Manhattan lawyer returns home to run the family business with his bartender father.
In the closing sequence, Fancy Lawyer laments to Bartender Father, "Maybe I should have went to bartending school."
He should have went?
TBS writers, you should have gone to English class.
One of the few items Matt insisted we purchase for our then-unborn baby was a jumper that could be hung in a doorway. He became pretty insistent about it, so we got one.
Now that August is sitting up on his own, we decided to let him give the jumper a go. We realized when we took it out of the box that it had to be hung in a door frame. That meant that the only places it would work were in bedroom doorways, not at all convenient for hanging out with our little dude. And what's the point of having an August in the house if you can't have him around all the time?
I thought the jumper would have to go back. Matt thought otherwise. If a door frame in the kitchen was what we needed, then a door frame in the kitchen was what we would have.
Our little man is now closer to his birthday than to his birth day.
This was a huge month for August! He started eating solid foods, and we haven't found one yet that he doesn't like. His favorites are carrots, beets from our garden and bananas, but he also likes sweet potatoes, yogurt, kale, Swiss chard, avocados, pears...the list goes on. We're so proud of our good eater.
August has also conquered rolling over this month. He first rolled over from his back to his tummy the day we got home from Minnesota. Now goes easily from back to belly and to his back again. This is usually a good thing, until he finds himself on his belly in his bed and doesn't know what to do with himself.
This month, August has also started to sit up on his own and is so close to sitting strongly all the time. We know it's a short trip from sitting strongly to crawling. Matt still thinks that will be nothing but cute.
August has also been teething more than ever this month. We think he still has a while to go before the first tooth cuts, though, so until then we're muddling through the loads of drool, bouts of crankiness and sleepless nights. It's a good thing he's so darned cute.
We're celebrating this birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Minnesota. We've also spent time with Nana and Poppop, and loads of cousins, aunts, uncles and other family, plus some of our close friends.
August took his first cross-country road trip this month--an 18-hour trip from Maryland to Minnesota. He was such a little trooper in the car, only fussing when we were about 15 minutes from our final destination.
This month, we're noticing August using his hands more than ever before. He's grabbing at toys purposefully, and he's starting to use his fingers. While we're happy at this developmental milestone, our glasses and hair have seen better days.
This month, August rolled over from his belly to the back for the first time and started mimicking our noises. His very favorite is to make raspberry zerbets.
August has also started to notice his new friend, Barley, and loves to read lots and lots of books. Our whole family is getting hooked on Augs's favorite music, especially "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "You Are My Sunshine." Not surprisingly, he's already showing a great sense of rhythm.
As Mother's Day approaches, I'm obviously very excited to be celebrating the first of many of such holidays with my family. But I'm also having a hard time forgetting our last two Mother's Days.
Two years ago, I had just experienced the first of our four pregnancy losses. I was devastated and heartbroken, and the sight of happy mothers with their babies or even a passing mention of Mother's Day made me angry.
Last year, I was still recovering from my fourth loss. Because of my medical history, my doctors decided to perform a D&C so they could attempt to determine why we were losing our babies. As I lay in the operating room after the procedure, I felt our daughter wake me up. I saw the surprised faces of the surgeon and nurses as I asked to see what they had taken out of me. They held it up, we said good-bye, and I drifted back to sleep. The next thing I remember was waking up in my hospital room with Matt next to me.
This year, those first two Mother's Days are in the back of my mind. This year, I'm thinking of how hard this day will be for all the other women who want so badly to be mothers for the first time--or the sixth time--but just aren't yet. I'm thinking of all those who said good-bye to a mother this year, or, even worse, those who said good-bye to a child.
And for my dear friends and family who are enduring such losses this year, I share with you a poem that a dear friend shared with me last Mother's Day. I hope it brings you some of the same peace and hope it brought me.
From "Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day" by Delmore Schwartz
Yesterday was rough. August was wearing his wolf suit, roaring his terrible roar and showing his terrible claws.
I secretly wished I could send my Wild Thing to bed without eating.
But at the end of the day, we curled up together to honor a writer gone too soon. And while we were reading, all around us a forest grew. August sighed as we watched the ceiling hang with vines, as we sailed off through night and day and came to the place where the wild things are.
Suddenly, it was as if someone else was in the room, yelling, "Be still!" My king of all wild things relaxed and squealed as the wild rumpus began. And soon he was back in his boat, sailing again through night and day, waving good-bye and traveling back to his very own room.
As Auggie sailed to sleep in my arms, we whispered together, "Oh please don't go! I'll eat you up - I love you so."
Auggie and I have had many great breastfeeding adventures since our first installment in this series.
We took a day trip to Washington, DC to visit the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and some other popular sites. Along the way, we stopped for a little lunch at the FDR Memorial.
Since then, we've also enjoyed a snack while...
Strolling through the National Aquarium. The hardest part there was keeping August from being distracted by all the pretty lights in the fish tanks.
In the stands at a Twins/Orioles game.
Hanging out in the Ergo carrier. Sometimes I'll turn him on his side so he's more comfortable, but he'll often just sit upright. Sitting that way makes him chatty, though, which presents its own interesting problems.
Sitting at home. This wouldn't be so strange if the doorbell hadn't rung. And if there hadn't been a delivery guy on our front steps. And if he hadn't wanted me to sign for something. And if the large package didn't require two hands to get in the house. The poor delivery guy was definitely the most uncomfortable party in this scenario.
We had a lot of big happenings around our house this week. First, Matt celebrated his 30-something-th birthday.
He was taking a class this week, so Auggie and I were able to take him out for a birthday lunch.
And that night we had a much more subdued Cinco de Matto celebration than in years past. Still, it was a much more celebratory birthday than before, complete with candles in a pan of one of Matt's favorite desserts, chocolate cherry bars.
Later in the week, August surprised all of us (himself included) by rolling over for the first time. He tried first to turn from his back to his belly, but he just kept pivoting and ending up in a variation of this position:
But once he started on his belly, he nailed it. This is video of the third time he rolled over; he's done it dozens of times since.
As I wrote in my recent poetry post, Auggie and I share a love of poetry (fine...I've convinced myself that Auggie and I share a love of poetry). And since the poor little guy spends almost all his time with me, he's forced to share the rest of his mama's loves, too. Consequently, he's probably spent more time at Ma Petite Shoe than a boy his age should.
But he's also been introduced to his mama's musical tastes. He's a big fan of Dar Williams and Ani DiFranco, but he's taken a very special fondness to Brandi Carlile. Whenever he hears one song in particular, he freezes and smiles. We've taken to waltzing through the kitchen whenever we hear it, and we often sing it while he falls asleep.
Brandi, Dar and Ani vs. "The Wheels on the Bus." My son has such discriminating taste.
Yesterday was national Poem in Your Pocket Day, a wonderful tribute to an everyday love of (and need for) poetry. It reminded me of the very first poem I ever memorized (thank you 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Weber), one that has been in my pocket since 5th grade and was turning over and over in my head yesterday:
"Keep a Poem in Your Pocket"
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel alone at night when you're in bed.
The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you
a dozen dreams to dance to you at night when you're in bed.
So--
Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel alone at night when you're in bed.
This poem still makes me smile, but, as my Facebook friends can attest, it's not necessarily my favorite. That's the beauty of poetry. Each day brings a different mood and, with it, a different favorite poem. These are just some of the favorites that were rattling around my brain yesterday.
This first poem is for my friend Julia, who loves Emily Dickinson and is the greatest defender of poetry (and Emily Dickinson) that I know. She knows I'm not a huge fan, but this poem is still one of my very favorites:
"Why Do I Love You, Sir?" - #480
Emily Dickinson
"Why do I love" You, Sir? Because--
The Wind does not require the Grass
To answer--Wherefore when He pass
She cannot keep Her place.
Because He knows--and
Do not You--
And We know not--
Enough for Us
The Wisdom it be so--
The Lightning--never asked an Eye
Wherefore it shut--when He was by--
Because He knows it cannot speak--
And reasons not contained--
--Of Talk--
There be--preferred by Daintier Folk--
The Sunrise--Sire--compelleth Me--
Because He's Sunrise--and I see--
Therefore--Then--
I love Thee--
This second poem is one that I would use to introduce persuasion to my students. Inevitably, I would just end up depressed when I was the only one laughing:
"Why I am Not a Vegetarian"
David Oliveira
It's not that I love animals less,
a case could be made I love them more--
and it's not that I love vegetables less,
I love them rare,
nothing more savory than raw celery
clawing and kicking its way down the gullet.
What I find hard to stomach is vegetarians.
If there is a vegetarian at the table, we all
get called to be witnesses at a police lineup.
Cheese, eggs, fish,
each suspect paraded for identification--
pronounced innocent, guilty,
please take two steps forward.
And it's not like there is just one canon
for the good host to worry about.
Each vegetarian comes with a different menu.
Most won't eat anything that had legs,
though many eat fish, a fin nothing like a leg,
And eat shrimp, that have legs
which count as fins since they come from the sea
and taste so good in a Newburg sauce.
Oysters are problematic, without legs and from the sea,
but mostly eaten alive, like carrots.
A few pass on eggs because of the latent leg potential,
though pasta is usually okay,
the potential hard to realize under the marinara.
One friend doesn't drink milk
but asks for extra au jus
for his mashed potatoes. I don't have the heart
to explain what kind of vegetable the "au" is
or how many get squeezed to make a cup of "jus."
Don't misunderstand,
I admire those who stand on principle,
however vague, who doesn't admire
the resolve of, say, a Jerry Falwell,
to bear the weight of so much conviction
he can hardly walk to church.
Praise the Lord for limousines.
As my other would say, "Live and let live--
Just keep the details to yourself,
And pass the ketchup, please."
This final poem is my favorite from the new generation of spoken-word poets/performers. August used to do somersaults in my belly whenever he heard it. He's always had such good taste.
Happy three month birthday, August! Finally, Daddy can start counting your age in months instead of weeks.
This month was filled with all sorts of wonderful milestones. Auggie has started laughing all the time, sometimes out of the blue, but usually with a bit of cajoling:
Though it takes very little convincing to get him to chat with his best friends, our ceiling fans:
He's also discovered his hands and has learned how to use them to play with some of his favorite toys. He's showing signs of early teething, too, so the toys usually go straight to the mouth.
We're most excited to see August's unique personality start to show. He lights up a room with his hilarious facial expressions and fiery temperament. He loves to help Daddy in the garden or play with [read: scream at] Barley, but he's just as happy cuddling with Mommy to read a good book. This line from one of our favorite bedtime books sums up this month's birthday greetings to our little Augman:
"How do I love you? Let me count the ways.
I love you as the sun loves the bright blue days."
I always knew Barley and August would someday conspire against us. I just thought it would be a while. This is how I imagine last night's telepathic conversation:
Barley: Hey! Are you up?
August: Yeah. Are you?
Barley: Yeah. Okay, here's what's going down. Those tall people have made me wear this cone of shame for weeks. Tonight, I'm going to throw up all over it. Maybe I'll get some puke on their bed, too, just for fun.
August: Awesome! I love it. And they've made me wear these awful pants that hold my pee and poop. I'm busting out tonight.
Barley: Good call! But you should wait until they get my puke cleaned off the cone and give me a bath before you do that.
August: Yes! Let's rock and roll.
Barley's plan was executed at approximately 1:00 and was cleaned up by 1:45. August's plan went off without a hitch at approximately 2:00 and was rectified by about 2:30, just in time to get up at 3:00 for a little snack. Well played, boys. Well played.
August is two months old today! Happy birthday, little Aug man!
This month, Auggie showed us his amazing smile for the first time (the traces of which can be seen in this month's birthday photo above) and also started to giggle. Unfortunately, his happiest time is around 4:00 in the morning. We learned quickly that getting up to enjoy it is a really, really (really!) bad idea in the long-run.
August also finally fits into his newborn cloth diapers, which are still pretty bulky on him (also evident in this month's birthday photo). He's still in the 10th percentile for weight, though, so most of his newborn pants still fall down. His mommy remains envious of this "problem."
As August adjusts his sleeping patterns to be awake more and more during the day and asleep longer and longer each night, the rest of us (with the exception of Barley, who remains aloof) are getting used to functioning in the new normal our little cuddler has carved out for us.
My good friend Rebecca posted a wonderful series of blog entries while she was breastfeeding her youngest child. I think of her mantra, "Oh, the Places We'll Breastfeed!" whenever I nurse August in unusual places. Rather, when I nurse him in places that would have seemed unusual two months ago.
Some of my recent favorites include:
The lawn and garden department at Target. Those patio chairs are a wonderful respite for both a weary mama and a hungry baby.
The stands at an ice skating competition. With nothing but parents and children in the stands, this was a surprisingly friendly place to breastfeed, albeit a bit chilly.
Between racks at a weekend baby-product consignment sale. Though a friendly environment to nurse, what with all the moms and babies around, the crazy crowds made for some creative maneuvering.
The lobby of my former office, which happens to be home to several retired nuns. One very dear old sister said, "Oh, everyone, come see the baby!" from across the room, then amended it to, "Nope! Wait! It's lunchtime!" when she got closer.
Before August was born, a successful day was one in which I ran errands to at least four stores, graded a stack of essays, planned my lessons for the upcoming week--or more--and cleaned the house. Now life moves at a different speed--the speed of baby.
It used to take me just twenty minutes to get dressed and presentable, grab some breakfast and head out the door. This morning, I got ready while wearing a baby, made coffee with one hand while balancing Auggie in the other, and spent at least 15 minutes getting my squirrelly little darling snuggled in his car seat before we were finally ready to leave the house.
I used to hit at least four or five stores while running errands on a Saturday morning. Today, it took August and me nearly three hours to visit two stores. As I wore him around Target, he started to get a bit fussy. So we slowed down our pace, and we bounced and swayed through the aisles. When we got back to the car, August was hungry, so we took a few more minutes to sit in the car for a half hour while he ate lunch. And because nursing releases all sorts of happy hormones, we spent our time at the grocery store meandering through the aisles, singing and dancing to the Musac version of "Heaven is a Place on Earth." (Though August much preferred my updated lyrics, "Ooh, August is Heaven on Earth.")
Since the day August was born, I've been amazed at how our bodies take care of us and how nature watches out for us. Being forced to slow down and live life at the Speed of Baby might mean life is less productive, but it sure is more enjoyable.
For those who have met Barley, the title of this post may seem a bit backwards. "Shoudn't Barley be the Tramp?" you ask? In many respects, yes. In one very important one, no.
As a dog lover, much of Lady and the Tramp has always made me very sad. She ends up in the pound, cats gang up on her, and, perhaps most distressing, her human family brings home a baby and forgets all about her.
Oh, sure, her people introduce Lady to the baby and act like nothing has changed, but that's obviously not the case. Poor Lady just isn't as important to the family as she once was.
Throughout my pregnancy, I worried about Barley becoming another after-the-baby forgotten canine. Since August was born, I've done by best to continue to give Barley the attention he's used to, but it's been difficult. It didn't help that when we first brought August home, Barley was deathly afraid of him. After about a week, Barley was just annoyed. In recent days, Barley has finally realized that August is actually a person, though he still doesn't seem to care for him very much.
Now we're finally getting used to Barley's "Why do you now hate me?" or "I hate you now" looks and his following us around to pout while we're taking care of August.
Hopefully, my two babies will eventually grow to be friends. I just fear it won't happen until a high chair and dropped food is involved.
