Well, she turned 7 months this week. 7 months old! And I have to say, her reading level has really advanced. Here she is doing some light reading:
And now she’s eating The Business Writer’s Companion, which just shows how committed she is to learning this stuff.– you know, writing memos, proposals and abstracts.
After some careful consideration, Nora decided that That’s Not My Bunny was a little bit more engaging.
It’s my birthday. Yup. 33 years old.
We’re all a little under the weather this week. The common cold: sore throat, runny nose, sneezing and coughing. It breaks your heart to hear a little baby cough. This is her first cold. And you can’t explain it to her – you feel yucky because you have a virus and your immune system is fighting it off. She seems to be on the other side of the thing — at least, I sure hope so.
Okay, I’m about to have a pity party for myself. A small one. It’ll be over soon, I promise.
Feel free to skip this paragraph entirely, or get out your tiny violins. I feel blarg (which is my word for tired, achy, hot and cold at the same time, runny, sore-of-nose, etc, etc, etc.) I did something weird to my back so that it hurts every time I cough and it’s kind of hard to pick Nora up. Oh, and it’s raining. Oh, and I wrote one whole draft of this post but somehow, it got erased when I hit “Save Draft” and I had to start over.
Whew. Glad that’s over.
Here’s the upside. If I take a good look at my life on this birthday, I have so much to be grateful for. I’m a mom now, and Nora is the cutest, silliest, sweetest little person I know. I’m married to a wonderful man and we have kickass family and friends. We live in a down to earth, beautiful place with great restaurants, mountains and the Hudson all around.
This morning, I ran the shower and Nora and I steamed ourselves in the bathroom to clear our sinuses. She squeaked and grunted at me on the changing table. We’re taking it easy, watching a little TV, taking lots of naps. So, even though Nora and I feel blargy, I certainly have a lot to celebrate on this rainy birthday.
Namaste. (It felt appropriate to say this. I don’t know why, but I don’t question these things.) 🙂
Filed under Baby talk, Nyack, Parenting, Rockland County
Have you ever noticed that we use certain lingo when talking about babies that we’d never use in reference to adults? Here are some examples of how it might sound if we did:
1) I know a guy I could set you up with. He’s got the cutest chubby thighs, an adorable round belly and a double chin to die for.
2) Why don’t you toddle over to Subway and grab me a turkey sandwich?
3) Hey, nice burp, Larry. That was a good one.
4) I apologize for my husband’s behavior – he’s a little bit fussy today.
5) You have insomnia? Have you considered swaddling yourself with your arms in?
6) Wow Betty, look at how you hold up your own head. Nice going.
7) You might be depressed, but it’s also possible you are just colicky.
8) Hey, honey, how was work? And what color and consistency was your poop today?
9) You seem cranky, Martha. Perhaps this is because you are tired or just a little bit gassy? Or perhaps you are teething?
10) At my last doctor’s appointment, he measured me 6 feet long and said my head circumference was in the seventy fifth percentile.
11) You want to grab some coffee and catch up – maybe chat, coo and babble about old times?
12) You’ve got something on your chin. Oh, it’s okay, it’s just spit up. Can I get you a burp cloth?
13) I thought I’d take mother out for her birthday, maybe sign us up for a Mommy and Me yoga class.
14) I use Head & Shoulders because I have cradle cap.
15) Those socks are so cute, Evelyn. I love how they’re designed to look like shoes.
16) The agenda for today? Two meetings in the morning, a nap, a feeding and some tummy time in the afternoon.
I might just adopt some of these phrases. I particularly love the idea of referring to people as “fussy.” Can you think of any other baby talk that would sound silly in reference to adults?
Oh joy! It really starts to get fun now. Over the past two weeks, I’ve heard Nora make a few laugh-like sounds, but never a full on giggle like this one. Kevin got right on it and swooped in with the video camera.
Even if she’s only been asleep for three minutes, Nora sure enjoys the luxurious process of waking up. A yawn, reach the arms overhead and streeeetch. And repeat. Just watching her makes me want to crawl in bed, fall asleep, and then wake up rested — like I’ve slept for ten hours on a fluffy pillow rested — vacation rested. I’d stretch like that if I knew there was a cappuccino, some OJ, french toast and bacon waiting for me downstairs. I’d stretch like that if I knew the only things on my agenda for the day were to sit on a beach with a good book and take a dip in the ocean. Maybe put a margarita in my hand too.
I love that Nora seems to enjoy waking up so much to whatever the day has in store for her. It might be my sleep deprivation talking here, but doesn’t this look delicious?
A wee 9 week Nora would pump her arms and legs and look at us with bright eyes. She’d sometimes open her mouth but no sound would come out. Eventually, she’d come out with a “glllgg” or an adorable high pitched sigh.
At ten weeks, Nora has found her voice. She has started opening her mouth wide and letting out a mighty squeal or exclaiming, “Ahhhh! Ahhhh!” Her cries have become much squeakier lately, which seems to me to be a complaint rather than a full on cry. “Olga!” Nora says to which we reply, “You keep asking for her, but we’ve told you we can’t afford a maid.” When she’s upset, she cries out “Abu!” which we assume is in reference to the sassy but kindhearted monkey from Aladdin. “Hooah!” she says sometimes, to quote one of her favorite actors, sir Al Pacino. And she’s so close to laughing — can’t wait for that one!
shmooples 