2 months, already!

I can't help it, this photo is just a little funny don't you think? I mean, when she gets her scream on, oh girl, it's a special thing.

supersocks superhero

Thanks to Jenni from Finland for knitting Oona such surprisingly powerful mitts.

bath time is fun time

Click on video to play.

6 weeks today

I gave my students a midterm this week, and Oona got a test too..

Keely made a bunch of high contrast visual cards for Oona to stare at, so I tested them out. So far so good little girl. You get an A.

All that hard work calls for a nap.

alert

Lately, well actually most of the time since birth, Oona is rarely in the mood to sleep during the day. This keeps Keely from getting much other work done, but does mean lots of quality play time. You can see here that she is a bit tired, but she'd rather hang out with her parents. Ha, we'll see how long that lasts. At least she sleeping more at night, nearly through the night now.

the amazing dexterity

Ok, Oona's not making quick cuts across the soccer field or writing Chinese calligraphy yet, but her new trick holding rattles is nearly making the local papers. I can't say that there is much intentionality here, but Keely keeps putting them in her hand and she waves them around like she knows what she's doing. It's obvious that Oona is progressing developmentally as she now follows our eyes and voices around the room and attempts to talk with her little back and forth of grunts, squeaks and bleeps.

day 1 in the city

Yesterday after my faculty meetings at Columbia, I met up with Keely and Oona in the West Village to try our hand at a day in the city. The weather both today and yesterday has been a little crazy with 50 degrees and sun. Both the feeling of spring and getting out of the house has given us a whole new outlook on baby life.

Breastfeeding and walking down Bedford St. in the Village! Hey, if Charmaine can do it with a 30 lb 17 month old Ava, then so can Keel (of course Oona is only 9 lbs). Way to go girls. Flaunting that breastfeeding all over New York State.

Who would have thought I'd like the image of pushing a baby stroller in the Village? But it suits me just right. Especially when I pushed it into Hercules' Deli and filled it with Belgian beers. Hercules has so much good stuff that I had to test out just how much this big stroller can hold. Answer = a lot.

We had to speed eat at 'ino. I just about finished my glass of wine when Oona woke up wailing. 'ino is a VERY small spot in the Village and they managed to get us room in the back where we could stash our sleeping baby and stroller next to the table (you can see the diaper bag through the wine glass). At least we actually had our first meal out as a family. Freedom!

keeping her warm

On Sunday we met up with our friends Charmaine and Jimmy and their kids Weston (4) and Ava (17 months) to take a walk at Stone Barns. Keely and I got Oona to sleep, put her in the Bugaboo, and met them near the cafe. Of course, as soon as we got there Oona woke up crying. It took a while for us to realize that she was cold (it was freezing and windy that day). We just had her wrapped in blankets which we eventually figured out still let the cold in. Charmaine to the rescue, again. She took us to her car, pulled out an Ergo carrier, a fleece full body suit, and more blankets. Oona fell asleep promptly likely in gratitude for Charmaine's professional mom abilities. We are still learning.

Happy baby happy mama.

The mamas speed talking, not speed walking. And Charmaine proving that breastfeeding is not only an art, but requires brute strength. She trudged at least a mile with Ava fully attached. This mama must be ripped.

4 weeks and counting

do's and don'ts

Well, now that we've survived the shit storm of 2008, we can get back to pretending life is easy and Oona sleeps all night and never fusses or shoots her milk across her just washed clothes. The truth is never so sweet, but we are managing fine. And if the baby bible doesn't answer all of our questions, this website seems to have the important things all figured out.