lulu and ox

friday cute shot

what iconic rock album DO YOU look like?

faces of Oscar (when Lucy is throwing Oddie at him)

friday cute shot

heard on the street

"Mom . . . you know how sometimes you like to call yourself Ned?"

-Lucy, to me at dinner, in a non sequitur that I think had something to do with harpoons and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but which I didn't get total clarity on because Shaggy and I couldn't stop laughing

nine months

Dear Oscar,

At your six month check-up, when you were just maybe possibly balancing in a seated position for up to two seconds if I got your body just right before I took my hands away, Dr. Bluhm predicted that you would start crawling around nine months. And lo and behold, five days before that milestone you did it: wobbly, forward, knee-based movement. Then three days later I heard you saying "Mamamamama" from your crib.

A big week!

You've been a lot fussier lately, wanting to be held often, and I think I can see the start of tooth number five on your top left gum.

The other morning your Daddy went in to get you after your nap, and he came upon you sitting up in your crib, smiling, grabbing a book off the dresser to chew on.

Also this month: your first fall off the bed, head first onto the hard floor on Christmas Eve; your first Christmas. Experimenting with food: applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes, and bean soup are standbys; you've tried pumpkin and zucchini and barley and carrots and chicken and lentils, Indian spiced chickpeas and parsnips and broccoli and cauliflower and cherries and prunes, oranges and avocados and yogurt and sunbutter. With your sister once the novelty of eating wore off we fell into months of sweet potatoes and applesauce, so we're working harder on variety this time around.

I've started enjoying you even more. I feel like I can more intentionally interact with you, do things that I know will make you laugh; you not only smile when I come into a room, but you often cry when I leave it. You giggle when I raise my eyebrows or give you a high five; I look into your eyes when I nurse you and feel relaxed and happy. Sometimes you burrow your head into my shoulder for a snuggle, and I hold you real close and take a big breath of your hair.

All in all, I'd say it's been nine good months.

I love you, kid!

Love,
Mama

friday cute shot

lulu and ox

friday cute shot