Family vacation

We're on our first official family vacation with Bean: a week at the lake. I love being a mom. I love my family. Life is good.

Ode to my....Swiffer WetJet

Need I say more? I never realized how DISGUSTING my hard wood and linoleum floors were until my Bean started crawling. Granted, we have a very hairy dog, and keeping up with her shedding is a never-ending struggle. But I thought vacuuming twice a week would do the trick. Nope. It seems like no matter how hard we try to keep the floors vacced and scrubbed, the baby's knees are dirty and she's covered in those DAMN fine black hairs.


So I've attacked the problem with my Swiffer WetJet. I feel guilty using it because it's such a waste - the bottles of liquid and batteries that need frequent replacing, the disposable pads that only last for on use, and on and on. But it's just so easy. Grab it, squirt squirt, clean clean. I've become a bit obsessed with the thing, using it whenever I have a spare moment. And you know what? That pad is always dirty when I'm done. Where does it COME from?

We're moving soon to a house with (incidentally) more carpet and less hardwood. Though I prefer the look of wood, I'm hoping the carpet is easier to keep clean. Or maybe the hairs and dust will cling to the rug instead of my Bean.

Ew.

Joy and zest

Bean is 11 months old now: crawling, babbling, screeching, and generally loving life. Everything she does is with utter joy and zest - whether it's exploring a new toy with her hands, feet, and mouth, making it to the other side of the room, splashing in the tub, or trying a new vegetable. I love to just sit and watch her. There is never a dull moment, and every second holds something new to be learned. What must it be like when EVERYTHING is new? My Bean is re-opening my eyes to things I see everyday but take for granted. I wish my memory was strong enough to remember every second.....every moment of her every day.

Mother's Day

I got an unexpected surprise when I picked the Bean off at daycare today: a Mother's Day gift in a pretty blue bag! The tag said, "Happy Momma's Day, Love Bean."

Mother's Day is 3 days away, but I couldn't resist taking a peek. Inside the bag was a flower pot with soil and seeds in a baggie. It was painted pink and covered in Bean's handprints in yellow paint. Along the top were the words "Watch Me Grow."

I cried when I saw it... I think it's the best gift I've ever received!

How time flies, and other cliches of parenting

Oh MAN have I been neglecting my blog! Sorry, dear readers (readers? are you out there?). Time seems to have gotten the better of me.

As for Bean updates, baby girl is 9 1/2 months old now, and more incredible every day. She's ALMOST crawling: creeping and rolling, getting on all fours....just hasn't quite put it all together yet. I'm in no hurry for her to turn over this milestone, I assure you - my house is anything but baby proofed. Even now I have all I can do to keep her from rolling face first into the dog's bum or getting covered in dust when she sneaks a leg under the entertainment center.

She is an old pro at eating solids, and nary a morsel has passed her lips that she hasn't devoured with unbridled curiosity and relish. What it must be like to taste beets for the first time, and peas, and peaches. (If only I could get my husband to eat his veggies the way his daughter does...)

Anyway, it seems like an eternity has passed since my last post, even though it's been less than a month. When you have a baby, other parents always tell you, "It goes fast." More accurate would be, "The days pass like minutes - and then she's one."

But nine months is a perfect age! She's happy most of the time, and when she's not, it's fairly easy to discover what's making her cranky and remedy it. She's not really mobile. She sleeps. She SLEEPS! I just want to freeze her where she is now and relish it, drink it in for a couple years, and then let her move on to 10, 11, and 12 months.

I suppose this is one reason why parents decide to have another baby - to relive those precious moments that fly so quickly past - if only for another brief moment.

...and five months ago I couldn't imagine EVER wanting to have another one...

Transcripts 3 and 4

Transcript 3:

4 AM.

Me: Ah, shit. She's awake.
Hubby: Give it a minute; she'll go back to sleep.
Me: It's been 5 minutes....she's wide awake.
Hubby, still half asleep: Febreeze.
Me, wide awake now: WHAT?
Hubby: Febreeze. Febreeze her.
Me: WHAT are you talking about?
Hubby: You know what I mean - do the Febreeze Method.
Me: Do you mean the FERBER method?
Hubby: Yeah, yeah. Whatever.

Transcript 4:

Bean pulls a new diaper from her diaper bag and starts gnawing on it.

Hubby: No, honey. Don't chew on that. You'll get dry mouth.

Previous transcripts

Spit stop

Oh, the spit up! I have blogged about it before in a light hearted way. I am no longer laughing. The volume and sheer force of the spit up have increased. It's every where. It's projectile. It's all over me/Bean/hubby/floor/car/Exersaucer/dog/my hair. It's constant. I can't take it any more!

OK, venting complete. *sigh*

I love my spitty Bean.

Bean's latest trick

Bean has always used a pacifier to fall asleep. Her preferred model is the green Soothie. We were all hoping she would eventually find her thumb as a method of self-soothing that didn't have to be replaced...at 12, 2, and 4 AM. That never happened. These days, though, she's adept at finding her Soothie when she needs it (and at falling back to sleep without it).

Interestingly enough, her latest trick combines the pacifier with thumb sucking: she puts her thumb inside the Soothie and sucks away. When she takes her thumb out, the pacifier stays stuck on there, for convenient access. It's too darn cute.

So as I was looking up the Soothie to include a link with this post, I discovered the Wannanub. How cute are those? I wish I knew about them before! I might have to order one now anyway... (What did moms do before the Internet?)