Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween from one very serious cat!

Caffeinated

Like most of my family, I am a coffee fiend but have shied away from the caffeinated variety since my pregnancy. Many times in the past months I have been tempted to try real coffee and see the repercussions. I always chickened out figuring why mess with an already delicate napping system. Yesterday I took the plunge. I had the smallest cup of coffee in the morning, not even 6 oz. Matilda was fine all day, napped normal and went to bed with no problem. I was thrilled and made the mistake of staying up too late reading. Then 4 a.m. rolled around and Matilda was ready to go..... she partied all the way until 7 a.m. Coincidence? I think I'd rather not find out. I'll have decaf please.

Seven Months Old

Matilda is seven months old today. We saw a 5 week old this week I could hardly believe my baby girl was ever that small. I feel like I didn't appreciate those days enough, not that I am not completely enjoying the funny little baby she is today. I am afraid I will forget all the little stages she is going through.

This month seemed to be all about action. Matilda is on the move more than ever and was really obsessed with moving these past few weeks: crawling, standing and all sorts of other jungle gym antics. As I type this she is climbing the bookshelf. Some days she would be completely exhausted yet while we were settling down for bed she was still trying to get up and go.

Matilda can really crawl now, the up-on-hands-and-knees traditional baby crawl. This photo is during her first attempt on our Vermont trip, but we didn't actually capture the hands and knees action that day.
It also shows how she used to stop just short of her intended target, stretching out to try and make contact, before commando crawling that last few inches. That behavior seems to have disappeared lately as she goes flying up to her target with new speed. It is hysterical to see her look around and spot something of interest - she the lets out a little squawk or her excited pant and then is off.

Matilda's favorite activity of late is to have Tim or I lay on the floor with her while she climbs on and around us. During this particular episode she also discovered how to pee standing up - she is clearly advanced for her age, and gender. She has also developed the ability to entertain herself for longer with her toys and just looking at her surroundings. Once in a while we will find her like this just laying on her back looking around or studying a toy.













She is full of chatter and makes lots of fun sounds: ba ba ba, blah blah blah, ma ma (we think this may really mean me now), ha ha ha, various squeaks and coos and a large assortment of grunts and groans. We are still trying with the solid foods but in a very laissez faire approach. She is not too interested; maybe next month we will have more news in that department.

Updated to add: I forgot to include Matilda's current weight: 18lb 12oz. After 4 hours last night in the Bjorn I think that nearly 19lb may be pushing the limit of my back. Our days with the Bjorn carrier are numbered and we will be transitioning to the backpack.

What Kinda Momma is You?

This was the question posed to (read yelled at) me by the inebriated homeless gentleman as I walked home from my cloth-diapering, exclusively-breastfeeding, hippie-parenting meeting tonight. He apparently took issue with the temperature and whether a proper mother would have her child out on this chilly 60-degree California evening.

NaBloPoMo

I have joined a mad group of bloggers who have pledged to post every day in November. So, you can look forward to lots and lots of posting next month, although I can't promise quality - just the one a day quantity as required! But hopefully it will spark some creativity. Any suggestions for posts, topics you are dying to hear about, please speak up - I will be sure to need help!

Latte Art

A few months back I heard somewhere (maybe NPR, or maybe my endless blog surfing, I can never remember where I get these bits of information) about the trend for baristas to make designs in the foam of your fancy coffee. I was intrigued, but like everything lately, forgot about it until these fun lattes were brought to our table last week. Our Swiss friends were visiting and we had long discussions about what you would get when ordering a latte vs. a macchiato vs. a latte macchiato here or in Switzerland. This Talk Like a Barista page helped decipher what we meant and my drink of choice lately is a skinny decaf caffe latte with legs. I also found more pretty lattes here.

Tom Bradley

Matilda & I have spent a lot of time in the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX these past few days, chauffeuring friends and visiting with family. Today especially I felt the barista at the cafe would recognize us by the end of the day.
Here she is this morning, wishing Grandma a Happy Birthday. My mom and Chris were passing through on their way back from a fabulous Australian vacation. Mom got 48 hours of birthday this year since they crossed the dateline today coming home!

Here is Matilda this evening, bidding farewell to our Swiss visitors as they head home. Frusl and Christof spent two days with us after a 4 week honeymoon in Hawaii. I am sure two days in LA beat the pants off a month in Hawaii, no?

Drop and Give Me 10

Matilda trains for the Baby Olympics

Disturbing?

I just discovered these crazy crazy infant comforting stuffed hands and felt obligated to share them. I think I know just what to get little Georgia for Christmas.

Refined Taste

So we are slowly plugging away at offering Matilda new foods. All the parenting books say laughter reinforces baby to continue their performance and recommend not laughing at the disgusted faces or raspberries she is blowing with a mouth full of applesauce. Let's just say it is an enormous challenge. Tim and I usually end up turning around from her to hide smiles and smother our laughter -she often holds her mouth open with the offending food inside as if to say "Hey guys, there is this horrible taste in my mouth, please help!"

We also suspect part of the problem is that she is Ms. Independent and wants to do it herself already. She always wants to grab the spoon and is happy to feed herself with it, but will rarely let us put a spoonful of anything in her mouth. We had the brainstorm last night while enjoying our artichokes at dinner to offer her the leaves since she could easily chew/suck on those. They seemed to be a hit and she had more for breakfast. So the only foods she consistently enjoys so far are avocado and artichoke - quite the palate.

Round Two

I just caught her with the Kleenex box and she had already jammed two entire tissues into her mouth. So the score now is Matilda 1, Mama 1.

Getting Quicker

While distracted going through security, Matilda got her grubby fingers on my boarding pass. This was my first finger-digging-in-the-mouth experience and I clearly lost. She had swallowed this bite before I could get to it. So, her third official solid food was boarding pass.

Leaf Peeping

Matilda seemed to really enjoy our trip to Vermont at peak leaf-peeping season. The weather was fantastic and really satisfied all our fall cravings. We went apple picking, to pumpkin farms, wandered through cemeteries with Grammy, and topped the weekend off attending a beautiful wedding.





















M discovered some headstones are the perfect height to practice her standing. She also was really excited to taste this freshly picked apple. She has been not-so-excited about most of the solids we have offered her lately. However, all the fresh air and apple picking really seemed to stimulate her appetite.

Congratulations again to the newlyweds!