Nom, nom, nom

Hands are tasty!

So apparently she's like her daddy

So the new Yankee stadium is wonderful. Wide, open spaces. Bathrooms not right ON TOP of the beer lines. Really, a pleasant space to enjoy a game! We had seats in the shade, with a beautiful view of the field. And it was great weather. It was a perfect day to take in a game with my little girl.

Too bad Jellybean and I saw exactly 1.5 at bats. Yeah, you read that correctly. 1.5……and then we were done.

Jellybean was great on the subway. She was charming in my lap. She was happy to sit and wonder at the crowd…..until it roared with appreciation at a great play. When the crowd got loud, and the PA system blared, she looked shocked, her lip started trembling, and then she started to cry. No, she started to scream. By the time I was able to walk up to the concourse in search of a quieter spot she looked like JackJack, from The Incredibles, when his face turned bright red and he burst into flames. SCREAMING.

A screaming baby at Yankee Stadium? NO FUN.

A screaming baby at Yankee Stadium when a Yankees Official notices and ushers you into a private elevator so you can sit in a luxurious leather couch in a cool, superbly air conditioned lounge for the private Suite ticketholders? SCORE!!!

Eventually she calmed down. So we tried again. And……….no. Nope. Noparino. No way, man. And plain old HELL NO. She was not happy.

We went home.

I guess she likes the Brewers like her daddy.

Daily reports

Jellybean gets sent home each day with reports. Diaper updates (i.e., how many and of what variety), feeding schedule, nap schedule, and then these adorable checkboxes of things that she did during the day – she rolled over – check! She rocked on her knees – check! She enjoyed music – check! She played with fabric scarves – check!

The best, however, is the “Other Comments” section at the bottom, where the teachers write free form comments about the day….

I think I like these because they are so earnest.

My favorite from this past week: Jellybean “loves to help feeding herself. She grabs the spoon and brings it to her mouth.” (Yup, she sure does; I now feed her with two spoons – one for me, one for her! The tussles over who got to hold the spoon were getting too intense, and food was splattering everywhere.) That part wasn’t what made me smile – what made me giggle was the next sentence: “One of the teachers usually lets her practice her eating skills when Jellybean is almost full, since the food doesn’t usually reach its proper destination when Jellybean does it.”


I beg to differ. I think the floor, ceilings, wall, and her hair are the “proper” destinations! Ha.

A few firsts to list!

1) Monkey got her face painted at a picnic. It was her first time. Perhaps that is why, when the artist asked what she wanted painted on her face, she said "a pigeon."



2) Jellybean crawled forward. Only one little bit, but we all cheered! She has also developed this perplexingly adorable habit of trying to crawl on her hands and toes...not her knees. It is quite silly, and she flops onto the carpet 99% of the time.

3) First Yankee's game for Jellybean! That is, if she ever wakes up from her nap.

Phew.

Bathing beauty

Did I mention Jellybean is REALLY trying to crawl?

Stilly teensy, part II

So, the 'bean had her 7 month check up today. And yes, she's still teensy. But bigger than before!

Now, she's back up to the 5th% weight, at a WHOPPING 14 lbs, and is in the 50th% for height!!!! She was in the 35th, so she's getting tall!!!

Way to go Jellybean!

Feminists march on Manhattan...

As a Manhattanite, Monkey gets an almost daily dose of safety lessons for walking on the sidewalks, across busy streets, etc. This occurs both at home and at school.

Approximately a year ago, when I first started walking with Monkey to school (i.e., walking to the bus stop and not using a stroller), I started a dialogue about the "walking man" and the "red hand that means stop."

By now, Monkey has it down pat. In fact, if you start to cross before the "walk" signal has officially turned on, she'll pull you back and chastise you "no mom!" (cough, not that I've done this....ahem)

However, last week was the best. On the way to school with a very happy insane toddler, I announced "let's go, it's the walking man".....

Monkey immediately whipped around and loudly announced "No, it's the walking GIRL!"

That's my girl!

Elephant in a tree! Lost toy, 2 in a series...

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Best Out of Office Message, ever

We have an awesome babysitter I'll call C. She's not here in NYC this summer, but at home with her family and working with a reptile show. She popped in earlier this summer when visiting NYC and showed us the bite the baby gila monster gave her. I know, right? I trust my kids to someone with a baby gila monster scar on her forearm. Cool.

Anyway, I sent her an email this morning about setting up a recurring babysitting night (gym night for me - huzzah!). And she has her "out of office" message on. I about spit out my coffee laughing at this one:

Greetings! I am nowhere near a computer. I am, in fact, exposing
myself to hantavirus. I will get back to your email on or around July
15, assuming of course that I don't die of any mouse-born diseases.

I would normally say you can text me if necessary, but, I won't have
my phone at all. Try smoke signals! It could work.

Via con dios,
C

How did YOUR Monday start?

(to be sung to the tune of "Camptown Races")

Monday mornings really suck, doo dah, doo dah
Covered in poop that's just my luck, oh doo dah day
Gonna wash all day, gonna wash all night,
But my daughter's gonna poop again, eh it'll be allright....

Both 'Bean and stroller need a bath, doo dah, doo dah
My friends are really gonna laugh, oh doo dah day
Gonna laugh all night, gonna laugh all day
When I tell 'em the poopsplosion, happened as we went on our way....

Bugaboos they really are neat, doo dah, doo dah
But right now I need to wash the seat, oh doo dah day
Disassembly is a snap, I think I need a nap
I just wish it wasn't all covered in crap....

Pig on a Post.....aka a lost toy. 1st in a series...

Pig on a fence

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Rollin', rollin' rollin', keep those doggies rollin'

Jellybean is mobile. She's not even 7 months old, and no she hasn't learned to crawl (yet), but MAN can she roll.

Side to side, over and around obstacles, this way and that. If she wants to go somewhere, she just rolls.

Today she rolled over M's foot. He was busy playing xBox and focused on the task at hand (killing mutant something or others...you know, precisely what you expect a Ph.D. to do with his free time! cough cough FINE I LIKE THAT GAME TOO). So, he didn't flinch and just let her roll over his foot.

I think she wanted some attention. Because when he didn't react to her rolling over his foot, she scooted around to gnaw on it. Yummy.

Requiem for a dinosaur

This past weekend we went to a birthday party for one of Monkey's best friends. His parents put up not one, but TWO kiddie pools in their backyard. Monkey had so much fun I thought we might need to live in their basement, as she was never ever going to want to leave.

But, R's parents made parting such sweet sorrow (instead of teeth-grinding temper-tantrums), by handing out goody bags to the kids as they left. So, you don't wanna leave? OK, no problem, no gifts for you........and lo and behold! Away those kids went! Such smart parents.

Monkey's bag was full of little plastic dinosaurs. Which are now about her most favorite posessions in the world. I think only her books and ABC blankie come first....

This morning she begged to take them to school. She had all of them in a bag, ready to go, and was very sad to be granted permission to only take two. She's such a haggler! I said one, she said "THREE" (while holding up her hand with three fingers....like that unbearably cute demonstration might sway me...oh crap, fine, it worked and she got two. What can I say, it was cute!).

Once we got to school, Monkey wanted to hold the elevator open to "help" out. Of course, her body is in the way so everyone is squeezing in and out and it's chaos. But hey, she's helping! And polite! and OH NOOOOOOOOO one of her little dinosaurs fell into the crack between the elevator and the building floor.

It had plummeted to its death. Tears were streaming down Monkey's cheeks and she was taking little, hitching, breaths as she told me what happened in between these sad little sobs.

I decided not to brush this off. We got to the next floor, and after everyone emptied out of the elevator, I took her hand and said "Monkey, let's take a moment to grieve and say goodbye. Your dinosaur has fallen into the center of the earth and won't be coming back."

Monkey leaned forward, looking down the crack as if she could see that teeny dinosaur at the bottom of the elevator shaft, waved, and said "bye bye dinosaur." It would have been hilarious if it wasn't just so sad!