1st Day, 1st Grade

Here we go again, it's that time of year! Little man is off to school. He was so excited to get on the bus this morning!

A Moment

"If life were only moments
Then you'd never know you had one"
-Sondheim, from Into the Woods

Joe and I were feeling depressed yesterday about the mess we live in. He does laundry--the clothes get thrown all over the house. I buy a nice new leather chair and piano bench, and the cats scratch them up. He mops, our feet still get black on the floor the next day...

But last night we put the kids to bed together. The four of us on Theo's little bed. We took turn reading stories. Both kids demanded we reread the books, Theo by using his words so nicely, and the baby by shoving books in our faces and babbling (she knew exactly what she was saying).

Then we made up silly songs, as we always do. Joe sang about the rocking cow, and Theo sang that the cow doesn't work because it needs batteries. We started laughing and couldn't stop!

And then they were asleep. We didn't need to discuss it--we both understood. We needed that moment of cuddling and laughter. That affirmation that told us how much we have and what really matters.

What's She Sayin' Now?

More (Mo)
More Milk (Mo ma)(while making the sign for milk)
No More (no mo)(while shaking her head and making "all done" hands)
Juice (joos)
Bruce (boos)
Pasta (baba)

6th Brick Wall photo

The annual brick wall photo

6 Years Old

Theo turned 6 on the 6th..53 pounds and not sure how tall he is, but he's pretty enormous! Just marked his height on a wall in his room..had to start fresh in the new apartment. The sad thing about moving was saying goodbye to their height marks in the old place.

We escaped to Mystic on Wednesday to stay with my old buddy Marcail and her boyfriend, Drew, who have a lovely house in this cute seaport town. Katie joined us, which was a nice birthday present for Theo. The two women spoiled Theo rotten! Katie read Theo to sleep on his birthday.

These are my baking pals, so we baked gluten free bread, brownies and cupcakes.



Theo's favorite part of the vacation was the sailboating! We went out on their sailboat twice. Theo was so calm and peaceful. He was fascinated watching Drew operate the boat. He loved the waves that appeared when a speedboat came by. Drew let Theo steer the boat, and Theo did a nice job! On the second sailboat trip Theo rode with Joe and me on the front of the boat, a real highlight. He got to put his feet in the water and feel the waves. He just loved it!

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM TRIP TO MYSTIC

Big thanks to Marcail for opening her amazing home to us! I'm just about ready for another vacation...

Summer Sweeties

Nights 3, 4, 5

Night 3--Melody fell asleep in 6 minutes
Night 4- 15
Night 5-10

It's so sad--now she starts crying when she hears the lullabyes..she knows what's coming next!
But she's sleeping thru the night, 11 or 12 hours. And that's with another molar coming in!

Pseudo Language

Here's what Melody is saying or has said (sorta)

No
Cat (da)
Dog (da) (You can tell the difference between da's)
Stop (dop)
Ball (baw)
Uh Oh
Mama
Dada
Theo (eeoh)
Grandma (ama)

Here's what she sings:

Lalalalala (From Elmo's World. We sing that every night before bed, and now whenever someone heads toward Theo's bed she sings lalalalala...it's the cutest thing ever! She also sings it when Elmo comes on TV)

e-i-e-i (From Old McDonald)

Animal sounds:
moo
woof (oof)
meow (eeow)

Night Two

She only cried for 11 minutes and then slept through the night. This is too good to be true.

First Tooth Gone!

Last Friday, July 24, Theo lost his first tooth! Actually, he woke up with it missing. We didn't have the actual tooth to put under his pillow. I still haven't found it, so maybe he swallowed it. I'll just pretend the next tooth out is his first tooth when I put it in his baby book. :)

He looks so friggin' cute with the gap in his mouth, I can't take it!

I told him all about the Tooth Fairy, and he was really entranced. It was wonderful to see him grasp the story. We decorated an envelope. He wrote "Tooth Fairy" and we drew a fairy with a wand, and wrote the date. We put it under his pillow.

I had so much fun sneaking into his room and putting a lollipop under his pillow that night. When I asked him what he wanted from the Tooth Fairy, that's what he asked for.

The next morning when I went into his room, I melted at the sight of him. He was lying in his bed, holding the envelope and staring at it. I knew he must have reached under the pillow immediately when he woke up. I remember doing that as a kid, so that made me feel warm and gooey!

He was so excited about the lollipop. He talked about it all day. And he asked me where the Tooth Fairy was. I told him she flew away. He said "but the window's closed!"

Love that boy. The tooth next to it is loose now...here's hoping we can keep this one!

That Awful CIO--Crying it Out

After months of no sleep I decided to try the Dr. Ferber "crying it out" method. I really shouldn't say the Ferber method. I didn't read his book, I just followed the advice of friends who had tried it. I really got to the point of desperation, because Melody at 13.5 months still was sleeping like a newborn. Nursing to go to sleep and waking up every two hours--at least--to nurse. She wasn't rested, I wasn't rested. We've both been so cranky. As much as Joe tried to help, he couldn't. She would only let me put her back to sleep. She wasn't hungry, she just wanted to suck. Plus poor Joe was on the couch most nights since she would take up so much room on our bed.

And so out of desperation I started day one of sleep training. I put her in her crib at 8 and didn't go in at all. After a little while of her screaming Joe said "I'm gonna get her, this is so mean." I asked him to first read a thread of emails between me and some friends who had tried it. After he read it, he agreed to give it a shot.

What made it harder was Theo getting so upset. He kept saying "Mommy, go get her! She's scared!" which broke my heart and made me feel worse than I already did.

But then miraculously at 8:30 she stopped screaming and was asleep. I can't believe it took "only" a half hour. I was expecting at least 2 or 3 hours of crying the first night.

Then over the next hour she kept waking up and giving a cry every five minutes and then going back to sleep. It was so bizarre. But I refused to go in. I stayed in the living room and watched TV on low volume to distract myself.

At 9:30 she was asleep for good, until 1:30--which is a really good stretch for her! Now ordinarly I would go in when she cries, but I decided to wait and see how long it would take for her to fall back asleep. I kept my blackberry next to me to keep track of time. Well, five minutes later I no longer heard her crying! I couldn't believe it. I wondered how many times I've gone in when I didn't need to.

She cried out again at 4 a.m. and again at 6 a.m. and both times fell back asleep right away. She cried again at 7 a.m. and at that point I decided to get her because Theo and Joe were both up and I figured she may be up for real. I wasn't sure how to know which wakeup was the "real" one! Anyway, Joe and I both noted that she seemed particulalry cheery this morning and more well rested than usual.

But I think we may have gotten lucky the first night. Will she cry for less time or longer tonight? Here's hoping that before long, Melody will understand the concept of soothing herself to sleep. In my wildest fantasies I'll put both kids to bed at the same time. Bathtime together, storytime together, sing songs together, cuddle, then shut the lights and leave them both in their bed/crib with no cries.

Wish me luck!!

Walking Videos

From this, on June 27:







to this, July 20:

Update

Melody's 10th tooth is in..another molar!

Theo's tooth is still loose.

Walking is officially Melody's primary mode of transportation. She walks more than she crawls. It was a gradual process over 3 weeks. A few more steps every day..she grew more and more brave. Then over the past few days she suddenly took off! Even at the park, she gained confidence and finally realized that it feels better for her feet to be on the cement than her knees, and her hands don't have to touch the hot floor.

She's looking a little less like a drunk penguin when she walks, which is very sad. I'll miss my drunk penguin.

It's hilarious when she walks around holding something, like a toy (or randomly, a pair of pants, as she did yesterday).

Clothes look even cuter on her now, if that was possible.

Which Parent is Worse, Mommy or Daddy?

Convo this morning:

Elyse: No wonder Melody is cranky. I just realized I forgot to give her breakfast!
Joe: I fed her a hot dog.
Elyse: A hot dog? For breakfast??
Joe: Well, you forgot to feed her!

A burst of laughter from both of us ensued...


(As I type this Melody is eating yogurt and bananas)

Theo's Turn For a Tooth Tale

Theo has his first loose tooth! Way to steal Melody's teethin' thunder, boy!

I'm thrilled that Theo already watched it happen to a friend at school, so not only was he prepared, but he's very excited! So cute to see him wiggling the tooth with his tongue with a big smile--classic.

Someone's gonna turn 6 with a missing tooth!!

Annual 4th of July Coney Island Trip 2009

Tooth Number Nine...

Ain't it fine?

That makes the center four on top and on bottom complete, plus a random molar in the back.

Dancing Theo

As you can see, Theo had a blast at his ballet and tap recital. He had the biggest smile and we just couldn't believe his level of excitement and ease up on stage.


Can you see the love story in this photo between Theo and the pretty girl kneeling on the right?

Walking Girl

Melody took her first steps today!

Last night she began standing up from a sitting position, without using furniture or anything else to pull herself up. Then boom, the next day, she's standing in the living room and takes a few steps! She did it several times, and happily Joe and I were both home to see it.

Tooth Be Told

Tooth number 8! Bottom center, next to the first two.

Beautiful Ballet Boy

Ballerina Flower

Melody Is 1

I was holding Melody this morning and I passed by the mirror. I gasped and did a double-take. She was stunning! My once-goofy baby was beautiful. Of course she was always beautiful, and of course she will continue to be goofy. But there was something about this moment--her transformation became apparent all at once. She was a beautiful toddler.

Only she doesn't toddle yet. She's taking her time, and I don't mind. Theo was 11.5 months when he first walked, but Melody is in no hurry. I think she likes her place as the baby of the family. As long as she has arms to be cuddled in and fingers to hold on to as she walks, she feels safe as content.

Now that she's 1, her personality has really become her own. She makes jokes and understands ours. She thinks it's hilarious when she drops something off the highchair and the cats eat it, so she tries to give them all her food. Actually, she loves to feed everyone. She even tried to feed a waitress recently! Nothing pleases her more than for someone to accept her offer.

She also thinks it's hilarious to bite me while nursing...she knows it gets a reaction out of me! The bigger the show of pain, the funnier it is!

We gave her a set of instruments for her birthday and she instantly knew how to use the cymbals. Her favorite, though, is the triangle!

On her birthday Theo forced me to go out at 8PM and buy party hats and balloons. I had failed him as a mother for not having these things.

Melody slept through the first hour of her birthday party yesterday, which was great because I was still setting up anyway. When she woke up to a room full of 30 adults and toddlers, she took it all in. She didn't cry--just looked around and tried to figure out why everyone she knew in the world was in one spot. After a few minutes, she was smiling away. Mom and dad played songs on the piano and led the toddlers in a singalong as they banged instruments! Truly wonderful.

We sat her in her birthday throne and sang "Happy Birthday" -- she did the appropriate toddler thing and devoured the cupcake, covering her face with frosting! Lots of photographing from guests ensued. (I will update this post with photos and video when I have them.)

Melody's 7th tooth, a molar, came in this morning. Her hair is growing rapidly and is mostly wavy but curly when it rains! 1 year later, her eyes are an icy blue. We've marked her height on the wall in her room in our new apartment, days after wishing Theo's height markings goodbye in our old apt.

She is 21 pounds and switching daily between chubby and slender, depending on growth spurts.

She loves baths so much that for her birthday, I gave her two baths and let her stay in longer! And there is no such thing as one of them taking the bath without the other. And these days they're joined by Theo's baby doll, who he undresses, reads to, and washes.

Melody's doing a great job with pointing and waving bye bye. She even blows kisses! We are still waiting for her babblings of mama and dada to apply to us, though. Her most specific word is cat ("at").

Here's to the next year of first steps, first words, and of course--lots more dresses!

Naked Cowboy

The Naked Cowboy has been playing guitar and singing in his underwear for years. He plays Times Square and has achieved astonishing fame!

Theo, upon seeing the Naked Cowboy:

"He's in his underwear!"

Happy Ten Months Birthday, Melody!

My beautiful blued-eyed baby is losing her babyness.

Melody is fantastic. Just look at her. Charming, graceful--and most of all, Melodic! She likes to sing along with my cell phone when it rings (I have the theme song from E.T. as my ringtone). And when she hears music, she can't help but dance!

Melody loves pasta. Phew!

Melody waves bye-bye--backwards, using both hands.

Melody performs Itsy Bitsy Spider and loves to wash the spider out!

What else can I say in this stream of conscience post...the little Chicklet continues to adore her brother and the cats. I admire her courage and big 'ol heart. She is determined to make nice with the kitties who fear her.

Right now, as I type this, she is dancing to Hugh Jackman singing "I Go To Rio" from The Boy From Oz.

She is about 27 or 28 inches, and not yet 20 pounds. She stood up unsupported for a whole 5 seconds--today, in fact!

Melody's favorite room is the bathroom. Take your eyes off her for one second, and sure enough, she is standing at the tub knocking the bottles in or splashing in the toilet. We can be anywhere, doing anything, and if she hears the water in the tub running she quivers with excitement! There's no such thing as bathing Theo without having to give in and let Melody join him. It's just as well, since he insists on having her in there with him anyway.

My daughter now says "mama mama mama" on a daily basis, but so far I don't think she's talking to me.

She loves toys but has no special one yet; no lovey. And her favorite foods are unfortunately still bits of paper and plastic.

Another favorite activity is to empty my purse and go through my wallet. I think she's after my credit card. Yep, she's a girl all right!

Mamamamama

Melody has really been saying "ma ma ma ma" over the past few days! At first I didn't think she was referring to me at all, but there have been a couple of times when it has seemed like she was talking to me. Patting my leg, looking straight at me and saying "mama" ... It's hard to know for sure. Regardless, though, it sure is a sweet sound to hear!

A Bath Biggie

We have a bath book that comes with a washcloth. On each page is a different animal. You take the washcloth and "scrub the duckies, scrub the cow, scrub the piggy, you know how. Scrub the chickens, that'll do, silly chickens, now wash YOU!"

Theo loves washing the animals and then washing Melody.

This morning while Melody was in the bath I opened the book and handed her the washcloth to see what she'd do. Normally she immediately tries to eat it. But today--sure enough, she started scrubbing the duckies!

What a smartie I've got on my hands. :)

Don't Be Scared, Melody!

We joined the zoo this weekend. Melody and Theo have one thing in common--their mutual fascination with penguins! Melody's eyes grew wide and her body animated when she and the penguins were face to face with just the glass in between them. After a visit Theo's other fave, the polar bears at the Central Park Zoo, we moved on to the Children's Zoo.

It was Melody's first time at the petting zoo. She was taken aback, to say the least, when the sheep ate out of her hand. She was so scared she cried! But soon after watching Theo feed the sheep and the goats, she grew brave. She was a pro by the time we left.

Hello to Bye-Bye!

I got a nice present for the first day of April--no foolin'! Melody waved bye-bye to me from her car seat! Sharon picked her up to take her to playgroup, and I waved as I always do, and boom! She did it back. I'm glad Sharon was there as my witness! Melody did a cute little backwards wave.

And just to show me just how smart she is, she waved for me again at home later.

This weekend at Grandma Popcorn's house, they practiced the "Sooo big" game. She's really getting it down! (And so is Melody).

:)

Aunt Pia and Uncle Gary Visit!

Despite the men's efforts to thwart my video, I still have a cute account of Aunt Pia and Theo reading together. She's a natural teacher and he did very well with her.

Theo Feeds His Baby Sister

This speaks for itself. I have nothing to say except I LOVE this video!!!

A Theo Milestone!

Theo is on the floor reading Melody a book on kittens, so I'm taking a moment to gush! I'm so, so excited! He came home today and for the first time, told me something he did in school! It may not sound like a big deal, but it is to me. He's never told me about his day unprompted before.

He showed me a dance he learned, and then wanted me to do it. Of all things, it was the Macarena! He was so adorable--he even counted to four with each step, which really impressed me. All the while wearing his signature huge smile!

We all know how routine-oriented he is, so I think after enough days of being asked what he did in school today, he finally volunteered the information. Makes me feel like I did something right! Which is a nice feeling, considering all the mom guilt I plague myself with on a daily basis. ;)

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Thanks, Sharon, for making green cupcakes with him! We're so lucky to have you :)

P-I-E

Theo and Melody both love a show called Word World on PBS. Animals put together letters, and once they spell a word, the word turns into the thing. On one recent episode, when the pig spelled P-I-E, the letters became a pie. But he only made one pie, and his friends were sad that they couldn't share. Then he had the brilliant idea to add an S! Once he spelled P-I-E-S, there were pies for everyone! Theo totally got the concept. And all week, he bugged me to make a pie with him.

Saturday we made a three-berry pie, and we even made the crust from scratch! The kitchen was a mess, but it was so worth it. The pie was delicious!


Theo cut out the strips of dough.


Yum! Berry pie with vanilla ice cream a la mode!

Mini Milestones

I say, "How big is Melody?" I lift my arms and say "Soooo big!"
This morning, she lifted one arm! She also took both my hands and lifted my arms!

Incidentally, when Theo hears this he says "How little is my doll? So little!" What a sillybutt.

Yesterday Melody clapped in the bath, but she wouldn't do it again so I figured it was a fluke. But today after Joe practiced with her a bit she clapped a few times again! Yes, I cried. I'm terrible that way. Sigh!

Tappin' Theo

Theo got his tap shoes! Miss Kimberly, the dance teacher, told me I should have seen the look on his face when he first put them on and tried them out. That excitement had built up for three weeks! He was beside himself with joy.

She also told me she was shocked--and she emphasized the word shocked-- that he remembered the correct ballet arm position for boys. She said she even forgot, but he remembered from the week before! He puts his hands on his hips while the girls hold their arms out. My little masculine ballerino. :)

Happy 9 Months Birthday, Melody!

We call her our little chicklet. Because her teeth overwhelm that gorgeous smile of hers!


Gettin' some luvin from Aunt Gloria

Stylin' at Nonny's House.

Ain't she the cutest little frog?

9 months in, 9 months out. Phew! Right now she's trying to eat Theo's underwear, which is on the floor. Hang on....OK, I'm back. Underwear removed, replaced with mini xylophone, gift from Grandma Ice Cream.

I can't report on her measurements yet, but she'll be at the doc tomorrow, so I'll update this. I'm guessing she weighs 19. 5 lbs. We'll see if I'm right. She's a good eater, eating everything from beets to sweet potatoes to whipped cream. All the time and love I put into making her food, forget it. It was her first taste of a McDonald's french fry that had the angels singing. If you could have seen the look on her face! Joe tells me it was the same when he gave her a sample of ice cream. At first she was surprised by the cold, but when the flavor hit her, a smile exploded on her face!

When Melody eats beets, everything turns red. And I do mean EVERYTHING.

Melody knows the words cat, monkey, and glasses. When you say one of these things she looks for it. And she kinda sorta maybe said glasses...well, gass. You can see it in this video.

But she still calls everything and everyone da-da. :)

She loves baths! She practically jumps in when she realizes the water is running. She can't get enough of Theo's toy frog that winds up and spins. Theo always insists that they take their baths together, which is just fine with her! She follows him from room to room. The other day I even caught him reading to his baby sister. He was reading her a lift-the-flap book and lifting the flaps for her and showng her pictures. He told me Melody was his very best friend, and he made a card for her. At the playground this weekend, my friend was holding Melody and took her to the swings, and Theo got very mad when he couldn't find her. "Where's my Melody?" he demanded.He still carries around his Melody doll and mimics with the doll Melody's every move. The doll eats when Melody eats (yes, he does take off his shirt, put the boppy on, and put her to his "boobie") crawls when Melody crawls, and now even bathes with them. He calls it his doll friend. She comes with us on outings and sleeps with him. He wears the doll in the Ergo (my baby carrier) around the house and pushes her in her stroller. Sad to say, but these days she's been replacing Knuffle Bunny.

Melody has taught herself to walk sideways. Holding onto the couch, she can walk from one side to the other! But shen she really wants to get somewhere, speed crawling is her mode of transportation.

Melody adores the cats, but they've finally grown tired of tolerating her baby antics. Bruce took his first swipe at her when she grabbed a handful of fur, and she looked more betrayed than physically hurt. Happily, she forgave him and continues to bounce with excitement when he enters the room.

As you can see from the photos, she looks exactly like Joe. I like seeing my two favorite people share a smile! Besides, my other favorite person, the boy, already looks like me. So fair is fair. :)

The Kids Storm the Children's Museum of Manhattan

It's long, but worth watching!



After the museum, we went to a diner and had our first family dinner out where Melody joined us at the table! She sat in a highchair and ate chicken and crackers. Theo loved having her sit with us. The kids were both so well behaved. Well, except for when Theo mixed his milk with his water. But at least he drank it!

Ultimate Sweetheart

Theo loved making a birthday card for Uncle Elliot on Sunday. Since then, he's been cutting out squares and writing our names and giving them to us! I'm accumulating a collection of "mommy" cards, "daddy" cards, and "Melody" cards. Sometimes he'll staple pieces of paper together to make a card. He's pretty obsessed with stapling lately, too.

But the card thing is indicative of how sweet he is. No one told him to make us cards; he really enjoys the act of giving. Sharon says he makes cards for her at her house, too! And that his "S" is backwards...so cute. :)

And I should also add that he's getting really good at writing his letters!

My Date With My Son

Theo is the most fun when we're out. He's at his cutest, most charming out, probably because he's always so excited to be out with us and not shipped off to school. Joe and I both had one-on-one dates with him. Joe took him to see the Gazillion Bubbles Show--they both wore sportsjackets for this theatrical experience. But that's Joe's story to tell. Here's an account of my date with my boy.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL PHOTO ALBUM OF DATE

We grabbed hot chocolate for the train ride. Or as Theo put it--"I'll have hot chocolate, and you have tea, mommy!" Theo and I headed to Bryant Park for his first ever ice skating attempt. I've never seen anyone have so much fun falling! He never did get the hang of it, but we still had a blast. The next day I was incredibly sore--I didn't even realize how hard I worked my muscles by trying to keep him upright.


After a McDonald's lunch, we headed for the Museum of Natural History. We visited the Butterfly Conservatory. He was in awe! He really was. I didn't expect it. I also didn't expect the butterflies to be as enormous as they were! They were magnificent.



After that, we participated in a planetarium focus group. We had to watch a boring planetarium screening on a tiny TV..he was a good boy during that half hour. After answering questions, we were released with 4 free tickets back to the museum, planetarium, and all the special exhibits! Sweeeet.
A rhino! Or at least he used to be...


We visited all the animals, and he was mildly interested, but by then he was so exhausted he wanted to go home. Even the dinosaur skeletons weren't enough to keep him awake. So, next time we'll start with that.

Before we left, he picked out a cute book on caterpillars and butterflies from the gift shop. It was a truly magical date. I love spending one on one time with my little sweetheart. He's a great kid.

ONCE AGAIN, CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL PHOTO ALBUM OF DATE!

Theo Does Yoga and Dances!

Theo was so beautiful and elegant doing yoga with me, and enjoyed it so much, that I decided to enroll him in dance. (I confess I also had just seen Billy Elliot on Broadway and pictured Theo with his long, lovely body in dance clothes and ballet shoes). He's taking a ballet/tap class once a week. So far he loves it! There is one other boy in his class. He doesn't have his shoes yet, but he's particularly excited to get his tap shoes! And they have a little recital in June--it's going to be so adorable.


The first time I saw him in class, spinning across the floor, arms out with a smile on his face, my heart jumped! And he did kicks across the floor with his characteristic focused face; It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I'm really glad we're doing this. I'm so proud of how well he did; he kept up with most of the girls who had been in the class since September.

Mom's also going to start piano lessons with him Monday, and he begins tee ball in the Spring. The idea is for him to have fun above all, be well rounded and find something he's really good at. I think it's important to develop something, whatever it turns out to be. The worst thing that could happen to Theo is for him to get lost. He works best when engaged. A neurologist told us that a couple of years ago, and it's very true. He needs to go to the zoo, the museum, see shows, do projects--keep his mind active as much as possible. This is true for all kids of course, but Theo really requires the sensory experiences. And he's a very visual learner, so the more he sees, the better.

Happy 8 months birthday, Melody!

This will be a quickie since, um, oops--Melody will be 9 months in 4 days! But I remember she got her 5th tooth on Valentine's Day and the 6th tooth right after. She was 18.5 pounds, and as you can see, standing very nicely!

Theo is Funny

Sharon, Theo's babysitter, just IMed me this and I had to share. (Mariah is Sharon's daughter.)


"the other day i kept sneezing and he says to MAriah "MYRIAH go get mommy a tissue pleeeaseeeee" !! lol we were laughing and Mariah said Theo thats not mommy that's Sharon and he said I know silly girl thats your mommy now get her a tissue!!! "

Tooth Number 4!

OK, this is crazy! They're coming in so quickly!

Tooth Number 3? Already?

What's with the little alien baby getting her first 3 teeth in less than a week? She must know how cute she looks, and just wants to look even cuter. The third to arrive this morning was her other bottom front tooth, the bottom right.

End of a Gummy Era

And so we say goodbye forever to a toothless smile.

This morning, Melody woke up with not one, but two teeth broken through! Her top right and her bottom left are sticking out through her gums like tiny little specks!

Snow Angels

Grandma Ice Cream made this beautiful scarf!



Need I say more?

Happy 7 Months, Melody!

Uh oh, look out, she's mobile!

A friend told me "wait 'til they start going in different directions." That hasn't happened yet. Melody goes in whatever direction her big brother goes. I predict she'll be his shadow for a long time before they start going in different directions. But when that day comes, it's gonna be even crazier than it is now!

As the family saw, Melody was really starting to crawl by Christmas. She has been gradually going from "knee, knee, plop, knee, knee, plop" a la Maggie Simpson, to real crawling.

She's still only about 16 1/2 lbs, and 25 inches. An adorable peewee! Her hair gets higher, though. Those teeth aren't poked through yet, amazingly, given how swollen her gums are. I'm enjoying my toothless baby for as long as I can, since we're still going strong on breastfeeding.

Melody rejects the Mets.

Almost all the mommies in my group are back to work, and in the cold weather, are meetings are fewer and far between, but we're doing our best to stick together and allow the babies to see each other. Melody gets really excited when she sees her little friends. These days, the babies touch each other's faces and pull each other's hair. Good times.

Melody's crankier these days with the teething, but I unleash my secret weapon--Theo. I've taken to saying "Theo, go make Melody laugh." He sticks his face in front of hers and talks to her, he brings her toys, and sure enough, she goes from crying to laughing in seconds. He's funny, too, because if it doesn't work, he gets upset. "Mommy, she's not laughing. I'm not making her laugh," he says with his little scrunched up sad face.

My favorite. Both asleep like angels, the house is quiet...ain't nothing better.

Melody's favorite toy is paper, as Theo's was at her age. But while he safely crumpled it, she eats it, so it's a constant watch with this one.

Clay recently came for a visit, so Melody got a chance to meet her other big brother. She adored him just as much! What is it with her and big brothers?? She couldn't take her eyes off him when he walked in the room. Clay fell in love with her and her baby blues. Who wouldn't?

Theo's such a scootch for pictures these days, this is as close as I could get with a smile--and that was with the bribe of ice cream afterward!

Melody enjoys solid food, but she does get distracted during mealtime. She wants to grab things around her, and if Theo's nearby, forget it. We actually have to get him to come help feed her if we want her to pay any attention at all. Her food is still all homemade--she recently had a cold, so I made chicken soup and pureed it! Only the best for my baby. :)

This girl is big on chit chat. Blahblahblahblahblah all day long! Still mostly "da da," but she did say "ba" once! She's starting to pull herself up to standing. She gets stronger every day. We're holding on, with the recognition that there's not much baby time left.