Too cute

I continue to be a giant sucker for this big smile. Raph is already teaching him to like things with motors.

The slow approach of fall

It's no accident that boys and toys rhyme.

Larry tells me that it is no accident that boys and toys rhyme. (This is really rationalization for buying cars and motorcycles and engines, etc.) Little Makili doesn't have too many toys, but he does love them. He lays under his infant gym and laughs and talks to the toys. Yesterday he talked to this little black and white cow my brother gave him for half an hour in the car. He was happy as a clam. We recently bought him this bumbo seat since he hates tummy time and we're worried he's going to damage his brain by flattening his head. He slouches a little in it still but sometimes he really likes sitting in it.

He's gotten so interactive suddenly. He'll play with me for half an hour or more sometimes. I'll move his legs around and jiggle him and he smiles and almost laughs. And when I lean over to talk to him he talks to me and watches my mouth move and talks back. So cute and so much better than crying.

grandparents

I know my mom will be sad to be missing out on such moments. Damn Pittsburgh and their tough job market. Nonetheless, Makili is getting grandparental love. A lucky boy. Lucky parents. We're fortunate to be able to share these months with them.

Two Months Old

Two months. Wow. It seems like forever ago that we were sitting in Hawaii waiting for a baby to come. It seems like he gets bigger all the time. I carried him around in the front carrier for a few hours today and boy did my shoulders hurt. I went back and read what I wrote at one month and I felt exactly the same way…like we’d had a baby forever already and that he was getting bigger constantly. Those things still hold but I am starting to feel like a real person again. The other night he fell asleep earlier than usual (and slept nine hours) and we put him in his bassinet. We were in the living room surfing the web, watching tv, and it was as though nothing had changed, though I did have the nagging desire to go make sure he was still breathing every half hour.


Makili is getting much more mature. He likes to try to stand, he tries to touch things with his hands occasionally, and he has really happy, smiley spells sometimes. He likes to lay on the floor and look the dangly toys in the gym that Debbie Ochs lent him. Boy does he love that. He gets all worked up and talks to those inanimate objects, laughing and cooing. It’s pretty funny actually. He’ll lay there like that for half and hour or more, happy as a clam. He has also just started to sit quietly on your lap, which is monumental. For a few minutes he’ll just sit there and soak it in. Larry constantly tells us that this is his learning time and that we should be singing the ABC’s to him every time he’s quiet like that. He’s probably right, but I don’t think it would hurt to let the kid learn to love silence too, especially since I’m not always up for singing.



Being a parent is exhausting I’ve learned. Today was Raph’s first day of work and so it was the first time I didn’t have him around, but I did have Ann so it wasn’t too bad, but I can totally imagine how incredibly draining it might be when you don’t get a break here and there throughout the day which is my near future. It might be easier if Makili would nap without being held, but so far he doesn’t go for that. You try to put him down and he wakes up and then is really pissed off that someone isn’t holding him, that he’s been duped in his sleep. Mostly though he’s turned into a pretty happy baby. He has his days where nothing is right and he’s pissed off at the world…but other days he really pleasant and fun, only squaking when there is something wrong. He LOVES to go for walks so when he’s squaking; that is our normal fix. He’ll stay asleep in that carrier forever!



I still think that there is nothing cuter than a sleeping baby. Smiling cooing baby is a close second. I can’t wait to see what comes this month. Maybe a new house? We’ll see. We've been looking but the 12 hour trips in the car are really too much for Makili (and me for that matter). We've found one we like, so we'll see...

yesterday's hike

Classic Poop Face

New Hampshire Sky

Sant Bani's alumni soccer game happened yesterday. Lots of people on what could conceivalby have THE most beautiful day in the history of the world. Crisp air, blue sky with lofty white clouds, new people for Makili to meet (had he been awake.) It was wonderful.

A great trade

Typing with one hand is difficult, though I'm getting pretty good at it. My Aunt Suzanne and I traded - my quilt for her knitted afghan. I'm pretty sure I made out! Makili and I have loved snuggling under it.

A long well-lit road

Our little family went on a road trip. Destined for New Hampshire, we stopped to see dear friends and family along the way. Never have I had a more lovely, loving trip full of beautiful light and laughter. I didn't begin to take the kind of photographs necessary to capture how lovely each of these stops were.




Our friends Cara and Rob in West Philadelphia were our first stop. Cara has always been funny but the interactions between her and Rob make me smile even now. It is really great to have friends we feel so comfortable with even though we see them in person infrequently. We ate delicious Ethiopian food and went for walks withtheir adopted greyhounds, Daisy and Little. Seeing the transformation in their house from the pepto bismol pink celing to its current elegant state has also been really amazing.




After bing stuck on the George Washington bridge for two hours, we finally made it to our next stop at my aunt's house in Branford, Connecticut. Seeing my cousins, young and in the throes of transition (to college, to work, in relationships, etc.), made me realize how old we're getting (I realize that this is relative). It was fun to spend more time with them, cousins I've always liked, hearing Emily talk about getting a new job, Caroline about graduating and Stuart about his final year of high school. Makili was a little cranky while we were there but everybody got some holding time. I really felt good talking to my aunt. Besides being an outrageously good cook, she is a really nice person and I enjoy spending time with her. See the absolutely gorgeous blanket she gave me in a future post.




Finally we stopped in Rhode Island to see Camille before she moved to France (again). Camille seemed so happy and excited. We went and sat on the beach where spent so much time when we were in college. Catherine, Camille's mom, planned a barbeque for the night and so we ate with the Moores and various other friends who were in town. Dinner was a big mix of languages and laughter which followed a dramatic storm which sent water rushing down the window panes as we watched. We even got in a good game of celebrity, the first in a long time. Also the first dip in the Atlantic in a long time.

Old friends

Glass Houses and Boys Meet

Patrice and her baby John and her husband John went to Phipps with us the other day in 99.9% humidity. Not the best day perhaps since we were sweating our guts out. But the boys got to meet. Unfortunately Makili slept through most of the fabulous glass show but he did like meeting John. Patrice is such a hot momma and has helped make parenthood affordable for Raph and I by giving us hand-me-downs from John. Good times.

Fireworks

I told my dad that his eye lashes looked liked fireworks, lit up by the sun. My mom told me yesterday morning that she is in love with him.

He pretty much slept through the night last night. He went to sleep for good at 10:00pm and slept soundly until 5:30 am this morning, when I picked him up because my boobs were about to fall off my chest they were so full of milk.

Maryland

wet bath, no tears

Bath time wasn't Makili's favorite for a while. Maybe because Raph insisted on using cold water. This bath was one of the first that Makili didn't hate. I LOVE cuddling with him after his bath. I pretty much love having his soft warm skin against mine. Sometimes I feel overly sentinmental about how much I like him and other times guilty for not being sentimental enough and wanting a few minutes to update my blog. Parenting has already been a rollercoaster of emotions, though I have to say mostly positive one thus far. I like him. Raph and I like each other still. Raph is putting him to sleep right now, letting him suck on his finger, something he likes a lot.