pumpkin patch

Everyone loves a trip to the pumpkin patch before Halloween. When we lived in Michigan, we went to an amazing pumpkin/apple farm with homemade doughnuts that still make us sigh. In Maryland we visited Larriland Farm with friends who just made the trip a few weeks ago with their children. This year it was a bit hard to fit in a trip to a real pumpkin farm and we doubted Ally would appreciate it despite the top-notch baby picture-taking opportunities, so instead we drove about a mile to a local church advertising a "pumpkin patch" supporting their youth group. We're not sure what kind of new-fangled pumpkin grows on wood pallets, but hey, it worked. We have a few pumpkins and a picture. 

a surprise bath; or, why Moms deserve brunch every Sunday

Today I planned to blog about how sweet and delicious and cuddly Ally has become. She has reached the point when every sweet bakery item serves as an appropriate nickname: dumpling, sugar lump, sweet bun. She is soft and cuddly and kissable. Just look! So what could have changed? Ah. People joke about how new parents are tiresome and boring because they love to trade stories about things like spit-up and poop. So if you find such stories tiresome, or if you have a weak stomach, STOP READING. Seriously. Just focus on cute sugar-lump baby above and don't read any farther. Ok, I've warned you. Today Ms. Sugar Lump produced the largest, stinkiest, most rank and noxious puddle of poo to ever escape the bum of a little baby. I heard the sound across the room (not unusual) and thought, hmm. I'm going to let that settle for just a minute so it will soak into the diaper and not run all over the place when I change her. A moment later, another sound. A few minutes passed and it was time for the inevitable trek up the stairs to the cozy changing table (lovingly selected before I was pregnant, I should note). Ally was jolly and kicking, and when I pulled off her pants there were no signs of blow out. "Yea!" I thought. "Go Pampers!" I unsnapped her onesie and pulled up her legs and then... oh. Now I've seen poo on her back before, that's not unusual. But this time as I lifted her legs poo oozed out the top of the diaper to spread into a half-inch thick pool between her back and the onesie. It coated up to her neck and in both directions on the side. Poo, poo, poo. Stinky thick caramel-looking poo. I would guess a good 3/4-cup worth of poo. Now of course I couldn't leave Allison half-suspended in the air (recall her legs and bum are lifted at this point), so I had to put her back down into the poo pool and contemplate the situation. There was no way to lift the onesie above her head, so I pulled her arms out and above the neck line. I removed the diaper (also rather full) and attempted to mop up the pool between her back and the onesie. The onesie is now around her stomach, tube-top style, and she is kicking. She has poo on her elbows. I slide the onesie down past her legs, using it to wipe her back, and wrap the changing table's waterproof pad (also covered in poo) around the onesie into a ball of ick that promptly lands in Mr. Diaper Champ. Naked, poopy Sugar Lump continues to kick. I strap her onto the changing table pad and run a bath to begin the clean-up. When I return to take her to the bath, the terrycloth cover for the changing table pad is soaked. (Ok, parents, what happened there?) I loosen the edges of the cover and wrap my baby in the wet terrycloth, carry her to the bathroom, and plop her in the tub. I was asked by a friend during my maternity leave how I spent the day. My friend doesn't have children, and I had a hard time explaining how my time was occupied. But above, please note how a diaper change can take about 40 minutes.

mmmmm

So today Beth was eating an apple at the end of lunch and amusing Ally by saying "mmmmmm!" We've discovered that if you want to eat a meal in peace, sometimes the best thing to do is to let Ally "eat" with us since she is so entertained by food and eating in general; of course the meal is most successful if the eating is accompanied by happy eating noises (hence the "mmmm!") and showing Ally the different foods. As you can see, Ally likes to lick and gum apples. Video coming soon. (Yep, we took a video. Yep, we're first time parents.) 

fascination street

As Ally approaches her 6 month birthday (how did that happen?) she has become fasinated with two new things: food and our cats. As the cats walk by she reaches for them and we have practiced carefully petting them, which goes something like, "nice kitty. Nice kitty! Pet the nice kitty. Gentle, gentle. Nice kitty!" We have joked in the past that our command of the English language decreases as we become more proficient programmers, and having a baby has put us over the edge. Meanwhile, Ally seems very ready to begin solid foods next week. She watches us eat with great excitement and will try to drink water in the bath tub. On Tuesday she began sucking on an apple slice Beth held close to her face. So we'll be armed with a spoon, rice cereal, bumbo seat and a camera soon! 

outsourcing

We like to save money as much as anyone else. Maybe more. But we also are starting to learn our limits when it comes to both time and capability. For example, we aren't able to clean our own gutters. We bought a 28-foot ladder to try to do the job rather than paying a local company $65 to clean them for us, only to learn we were barely able to maneuver the ladder much less lift it to the roof edge. Painting our cathedral-ceiling stairwell is another task beyond us, so this past Friday we hired a paint company that did a fantastic job. It is pretty exciting to not do this stuff yourself.

Before:

After:

envy

Ok, so I know I said we didn't have time to take pictures of the cats anymore, but this one we couldn't resist. At least someone in the house is getting enough sleep.

cool weather

This past Sunday was a beautiful, crisp autumn day. Since Ally was feeling jolly and we were hungry (and out of eggs) we decided to go out to breakfast at a local restaurant called "Daily Diner," recommended to us by one of our labor and delivery nurses who lives in the area. They had, hands down, the best breakfast potatoes I've ever had and some excellent omelets. But of course the best part was seeing Ally all cozy in her car seat with her hat. Awww. When we returned home she went down for her morning nap, our bellies were filled with syrup and eggs and coffee, and all was right with the world.

Mr. Mom

About a month ago we watched 15 minutes or so of the 1983 film Mr. Mom. We loved it in the 80s, but as we watched it now we both were frustrated and annoyed by the once-funny Dad character played by Michael Keaton. Rob by contrast demonstrated extraordinary Dad skills today. Since we're without child care for the next couple weeks, Rob is using a couple vacation days so Beth can go to the office, and today was the first day. He masterfully napped, fed, and entertained Ally. He even took her shopping for some new clothes (sleepers, his favorite). He reports that more than a few ladies at the Carter's store chatted with him. Hmmm.

our baby is chubbier than your baby

Today Ally had such a montrous blow-out that clean up required wiping her down neck to foot, then rolling her over onto her belly to wipe her entire back. It's been awhile since we've seen our baby naked lying on her belly, and today we discovered that her little bum (Rob calls it her "boot") has *dimples*. Not a couple dimples, but golf ball texture dimples. We know our little peanut is getting chubby. She has generous rolls on her legs, big chubby cheeks, and a belly that falls over the waist band of her pants. But bum dimples? Oh my. We would post a picture but that's kind of weird.

DHS investigates

I know all parents think their babies are special. But from her first month of life, we've suspected that Allison has super powers the extent of which we can only imagine. As time has passed, we have noticed an increase in her abilities, which are detected solely through the use of our camera. To prevent the inevitable cover-up once the authorities learn of her powers, we document here our daughter's amazing "laser eyes". Here, she burns holes in her swing toy. After warming the tray, she tried to eat it. We are not sure what this behavior may suggest.

running man

Last year, Beth took this picture as Rob began to run the Baltimore half-marathon. She was about 10 weeks pregnant, so she played spectator while Rob finished the 13-mile course and lived to tell the tale. (Quick! Can you spot Rob in this picture?) This year he planned to run the half-marathon again, but wouldn't you know baby care, work, and school got in the way. He instead ran the 5K this morning at an awesome pace of a little over an 8-minute mile, stunning Beth and Ally with his superhuman speed. Well, actually, they were home because it was reeaally cold outside and he left at 6:30 AM while they were sleeping, but they cheered for him remotely. Goooooooo, Rob!

gratitude

We have always tried to be self-sufficient (moving excluded). But having a baby has changed our capacity to manage our schedule, and now we depend on a network of people and especially each other to force the jagged pieces of our life together. As we try to navigate this period of abbreviated child care while also working and attending school, my parents have filled in the gaps with grace and good cheer, watching Allison on more than a few days so I could go to work and class. They have braved cat allergies, dinners with imitation meat products, the dreaded Harbor Tunnel, and massive blow-outs yet always seem to be ready to play, laugh, and most of all love our Ally. We are beside ourselves with thanks.

this baby can sleep.

We could have predicted Ally's sleep habits in the hospital. Of the 36 hours or so we were there after her birth, she slept for probably 32. Maybe 32 and a half. In fact, we were very concerned because she wouldn't eat, so we couldn't fill out our chart of feedings and diaper changes and such. She just slept. But did we sleep? Nope. Five months later, the pattern continues. Ally sleeps an average of 16-17 hours a day. No kidding. Here's an average day of Allison's sleep habits: 5:00 AM: Wake to eat, back to sleep in 20 minutes. 7:30/8:00: Awake for the day. 9:00 - 10:30: morning nap. 12:30 - 2:30: early afternoon nap. 4:00 - 5:00 : late afternoon nap. 6:30/7:00: in bed for the night. How much do we sleep? 6-7 hours, I'd say, on a work day... maybe 8-9 on the weekend. We can't really take credit for Ally's sleep patterns though we did read a book on sleep habits that helped a lot. She just seems to be a college student in training.

cost of a baby, part 2

Today Beth's supervisor told her she could attend a 4-day conference at the Venetian in Las Vegas at the end of October. The content would have been very interesting and the location... well. And for many reasons, including lack of full time daycare, school, and serving as Ally's only source of food, she declined.

turn, turn, turn

The weather is turning cooler and Ally is getting bigger, so we're packing up the cute 3-6 mo. size summer dresses and swapping them for long sleeve 6-9 mo. outfits. She's technically too small for 6-9 mo. clothing, but hand-me-downs are starting to fit now since they have been washed a few times. Ally inherited a lot of cute clothing from her cousins Olivia and Katie, including multiple holiday outfits. We'll have to find a lot of Christmas parties to attend to use them all. Packing Ally's summer clothes away is bittersweet, of course. She will never be so small again, and these were the outfits she wore while I was home with her during maternity leave. Though the summer wasn't easy-- taking care of a baby alone full time isn't a vacation-- it was a simple time that will never happen again.

good kids music

This album seems to have become the soundtrack of our life right now. It features kids songs by artists like Billy Bragg, Sarah McLachlan, Sixpence None The Richer and Barenaked Ladies. Ally's favorite by far is the Hoppity Song, which we sing to her while bouncing and making silly faces. And we get kind of weepy at the rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which just proves how parenthood can turn you into an emotional wuss. 

procrastination

It's amazing the things that get done around the house when there is school work to avoid. Here are the articles Rob is reading. Here is Rob brushing the cat instead of reading. And brushing the other cat.