Squishy Face

Mira thinks Daddy is great fun. He always has new and exciting games to play.

I just love the overalls she's wearing. They're all pink and girly. Why is it that kids look so cute in overalls? Cuz overalls almost invariably look dumb on adults. Perplexing...

Also, I love the look on her face when Brian squishes his own face. Her eyes get all big and concerned like, "Are you ok Daddy? Cuz your face is all messed up..."

Laura HATES Baby powder

So, funny this...

Laura cannot stand the smell of baby powder.  She recently bought some Luv's diapers and tonight began to rant about how stinky the baby was!?!?  I scooped up the baby expecting a dirty diaper (yes I really change a few of those... sometimes) and got only a face full of fresh smelling baby powder!  Yup; the same thing that saved me many a time on the mountain as I freshened the week old hiking shoes is absolutly repulsive to my wife... baby in the name not withstanding.  

I've been sworn on pain of death never EVER to buy Luvs again!  I took it that I shouldn't also ever buy the real deal...

Water water everywhere... wait... that's not water

So tonight I was getting the little darling ready to bathe, running the water into the tub while she sat, naky and grinning on my lap.  And what is going on... but my leg is getting warm... no cold... no wait OMG HAHAH.  Yes I just got peed on.  

It's a nothing event for most parents; and an even *more* nothing event for non-parents... but for me it was the highlight of my evening.  Yup - getting peed on was fun.  

What 

The 

Hell

Have 

I 

Gotten 

Myself

Into!?!?

Talking with a co-worker today; we shared the sentament that it's better to run errands during our lunch break - even the non-savory ones because after work family time is precious.  It truly has become the best part of the day for me.  Those giant smiles and proto-giggles; the wiggling and squirming; the coos and  BIG EYES staring into mine... even getting peed on just before bath time; all conspire to make my day better.  I can cope with anything - coming home to this.  

Teething already???

Could Mira be teething already? Over the last week or so, she's been shoving her hands into her mouth a LOT. Occasionally, she'll grab my finger, bring it to her mouth, and chew on it. And she's been excessively drooly. Brian and I joke that we have a baby fountain. This chewing thing is pretty new. Previously, if a finger made it to her mouth, she would suck on it, not chew. She also has moments where she's a tiny bit fussy (nothing serious, she just seems to be expressing unhappiness rather than screaming or crying... you'll see what I mean toward the end of the video).

I've tried some teethers: frozen, refrigerated, and room-temp. She has absolutely zero interest in doing anything with them. Except that some of them are fun colors and she'll stare at them for a while. But chewing on them? Forget it. That's what Mommie's finger is for. However, sometimes Mommie would like to be doing something else with that hand...

I picked up some baby Oragel. (Actually I got a different brand cuz this one was dye free and sugar free, but it's still just a benzocaine solution so essentially the same thing.) But on the bottle it says for babies 4 months and up. Does anyone know if I can use this for Mira (she's almost 3 months)? I guess I'll have to ask her pediatrician...

This video's kinda cute... I'm not biased at all. I'll have to teach her that ladies don't talk with their mouths full, though.

Mira's first Easter

Yesterday, of course, was Easter Sunday. Brian, Mira, and I spent lunch over at Grams' house (Brian's mom, Janice). The "Easter Bunny" had left Mira a beautiful basket full of gifts and treats.

After lunch we all went over to Papa's house (Brian's dad, Phil). Mira watched her cousin Ryan hunt easter eggs.

She seemed to put up really well with all the people and commotion at Phil's house. (That family is really big, so any gathering can easily amount to over 20 people.) She was passed around to several different family members, and she obligingly cooed and smiled. I know that most kids go through a shy period where they don't want to be held by anyone but Mommie, but I'm sort of hoping that Mira will skip that phase... Wishful thinking, I know, but she's been the perfect baby in so many ways that now I'm starting to get optimistic about how she'll behave. Brian and I joke that we have the "TV baby". You know, the one who patiently sits in their bassinet in the corner of the room, only injecting a coo into the conversation when there is a convenient pause in what the adults are saying. "TV babies" also go to sleep when Mom wants and only wake when Mom is ready to retrieve them. Ok so maybe Mira's not that good, but she constantly surprises me with how easy she is. By the time she turned two months old, she was sleeping one 6 hour stretch followed by one 3 hour stretch at night. Now that she's nearly 3 months, she regularly sleeps from about 10pm to 8am with only one night waking. She's never had a problem eating, whether via breast or bottle. She's happy and easy-going most of the time. She patiently sits in her swing every morning and watches while I do my morning work out. She travels relatively easily... I mean, who gets this lucky??? Don't get me wrong, being Mira's mother is still a LOT of work: there's diapers and nursing and pumping and reading and entertaining and teaching and errand-running and soothing and playing and on and on. What I'm saying is that I'm constantly surprised at how enjoyable she makes it all. Which I guess is a good way to feel about your child.

Bathtime experimentation

I've been taking some videos of bathtime. Brian usually gives Mira her bath. Its a nice way for them to spend time together, especially since Mira seems to enjoy bathing.



One night, Brian was filling her small tub and accidentally stoppered the big tub. So both tubs filled. Rather than drain the big tub, Brian decided that this might be a good time to teach Mira about boating...



The next night he did away with the baby tub all together... I'm not sure they were washing so much as playing. *Shrug.* I think Brian must have gotten bored with bathtime...

Four Generations of Family

Today we had dinner at Chuy's with my parents and my maternal grandparents. We ate out on the patio; the weather is so nice right now in Austin. It's nice to be able to do outside activities. I feel like I have to cram in as much outside time as I can right now because soon it will be over 100 degrees every day and then all the outside time we will get will be to dash between air-conditioned places. That and pool time... but that's another post. Anyway, we were all having dinner and I was thinking how nice it is that Mira is able to meet her great grandparents. Bob and Helen (my mother's parents) are such extraordinary people and the loving and supportive nature of their marriage has been so inspiring for me in my relationship with Brian. I only have a few fleeting memories of my own great grandparents, but I sincerely hope that Mira is able to have lasting memories of hers since they are certainly people worth remembering.

Mira loves ... Calculus?

Tonight we had my parents over for dinner so Mira got to see her Gramma Donna and her Grampa and her Auntie Katelyn. After dinner everyone left and she seemed really into the saying goodbye part. The door shut behind them and she got all excited. Like, "Where'd everyone go??? I was just getting used to them!" So we read a couple of stories to try to settle down for bed. But Mira decided that she would much rather "help" her daddy with his Calculus homework. And by "help" I mean sit on it and coo.

Once the camera got rolling, she got totally distracted by it. So a lot of the video is just her being stupefied by the camera. But there are a few really cute moments, so I'll post it anyway...

We had a good day today...

This morning Mira and I went to a playdate with a couple of other kids and their mommies. It was a beautiful day and we were at the park behind the Arboretum. It was nice to be outside, but we tried to stay out of the direct sun because I didn't want Mira to get sunburned. Mira enjoyed watching the other children do neat things like eat from a spoon and roll over and stand up. I enjoyed two-sided conversation.

Anyway, on our way back home I drove through Sonic for a cherry limeaid (yum). Mira was fascinated with the cup that it came in. It had bright colors on it and when it shook the ice inside made this great sound and the straw could go in and out. It was the coolest cup ever... or so Mira thought.

Later, she was trying out her vocal chords. She is working especially hard on the "G" sound. So lots of goo's and gaa's and ugg's. I tried to get some of our conversation on video...

Milestone: Rolling over

This morning, Mira rolled over for the first time. She and I were laying in bed together. I was a couple feet away from her. She was on her back and lifted her feet in the air and then kicked them over to one side. This turned her onto her side. Then she wriggled about a little more over the next minute or so and ended up on her belly. I'm not sure if it was a sincere attempt to get closer to me or if it was just an accident, but in either case she then got really upset that she was on her tummy. I didn't realize the significance of what had happened right away; it was kind of like, "Oh dear, Mira's upset because she's on her belly... I guess I'll pull her in to nurse... wait a minute... brain processing... Mira rolled over!"