baby fort

Ally sits pretty well on her own now, but she still dives to either side or backwards on occasion, which has led to the building of "baby forts" when we take her places. Here's Ally on Christmas morning in her baby fort: And on Christmas day: A few pillows seem to do the trick. We spent a good amount of time away from home for Christmas, visiting with Rob's family on Christmas Eve and Beth's family on Christmas day. We really enjoyed seeing our family and Ally seemed beside herself with excitement over all her playmates. Unfortunately she slept poorly while we were away from home so we hope that today will be restful for us all.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! We ran out of cards this year, so if we missed you...

RIP tutti frutti

A few months ago Ally discovered her first favorite stuffed animal. Its name is "Tutti Frutti" (according to the tag) and it is a little soft red puppy that plays music (Pop Goes the Weasel) when it is squeezed. It was nicknamed "Mr. Puppy" and took up residence at her changing table where it provided entertainment during diaper and clothing changes. Ally would generally squeeze and chew on Mr. Puppy and all was well. This morning she had a rather large poop and while we were wiping (and wiping and wiping) Ally flung Mr. Puppy into the poop. We contemplated how to handle the now-poopy Mr. Puppy. He isn't machine washable, and since Ally chews on him we were afraid of spraying him with some sort of disinfectant. Surface cleaning with water didn't seem strong enough to handle poop. So for now Mr. Puppy has been retired. If anyone has any cleaning recommendations, let us know.

like a weed

It has been nearly two months since Ally's last check-up with her pediatrician, so we're not sure of her weight or length right now. We can see however that she is growing out of her infant car seat, and it has become very heavy when we carry it. Her head is at the top of the seat and her feet are starting to extend past the end. For comparison, here is Ally in her car seat in late June: And here she is this past week: Since Rob drops Ally off at daycare and Beth picks her up, we have had to buy two convertible car seats. Ouch. I have to say though that the new carseats are really plush and nice. To continue the buying spree (sigh) we realized that the departure of the infant car seat means that we will no longer be able to use our ultra-convenient car seat stroller frame, so we've picked up a lightweight umbrella stroller. So... the buying never quite ends, does it?

live entertainment

The last time one of us was invited to a party with "live entertainment," the connotation was quite different. But today one of Ally's daycare buddies turned three and all of the parents and children congregated for a party, which I understand is a frequent event (this past summer when things became dull, they had a party to celebrate the cat). As you can see, Spiderman made an appearance to help us celebrate. Note for the future: Spiderman exploding from a bathroom with silly string makes young children cry. Much to my surprise, Ally had a blast (no cries about Spiderman!) and laughed as we danced to "YMCA."

wash, wash, wash

I always heard that after a baby, you do a lot more laundry. That is true... before Ally, we washed one load of laundry a week, and now we do two or three loads. It is a change, but it is dwarfed by a much bigger change in our dishwasher habits. By the end of the day, the top rack (and often the bottom, too) is filled with bottles, sippy cups, food bowls, and pump parts, plus often the food processor if I've been making a new batch of Peach Pear Bananarama*. Here's the counter top after Rob unloaded the dishwasher one morning: And by the end of the day, here we go again: * Peach Pear Bananarama: Simmer 1 peeled, cubed pear and 2 peeled, cubed peaches in a little water for 20 minutes. Puree with a peeled banana with as little cooking water as possible.

delicious

Yesterday evening we decorated the Christmas tree and played with Ally. She has been in an extraordinary mood the past few days. Her runny nose is gone, the teething pain must have subsided, and she seems to think that life is super-fantastic-cool and that Rob and I are the funniest, most charming, and most entertaining people on earth. Everything we do seems to amuse her. We clap? She smiles. We sing? She laughs. We wave to her? She squeals happily. She even likes homemade avocado puree. We're just smitten with her even more than usual right now, which makes the trip back to work tomorrow harder.

a present

Ally opened her first Christmas present a few days ago from Aunt Anne, Uncle Kevin, and cousins Ryan, Katy and Olivia. It is awesome! It arrived in a cool decorated box. And here is the beautiful result. What a cool gift. Thanks!