BFFs!

My Babies in Bloom buddy and I are celebrating our third anniversary :-) Three months of weekly (almost) get-togethers to Mommy together on Wednesdays and keep each other company, rejoicing and kvetching in turn over our babies. Vlad is exactly one month younger than Miles, and they were about the same size at birth, so... this can also serve as a comparison piece for the difference a month can make!

Miles and Vlad had some quality time yesterday:

Love in the Time of Swine Flu

So this week has been kind of shadowed by the threat of h1n1, something that, before I had Miles, I used to laugh at. I mean, the hype this thing gets is unbelievable, and there are so many readily available jokes... However, as "caregivers of an infant under six months," we're supposed to be particularly vulnerable and yet we have not yet gotten our shots. Get this: the County's Department of Health is no longer taking appointments! Given all the media coverage, local and state and federal officials encouraging vulnerable groups to get it, and the contingent (mostly paranoid Glen Beck-types, right?) that refuses to get immunized for fear that the government will then own their DNA or something, the fact that the county seems so unprepared that within two weeks it's apparently out of vaccine (or time or volunteers or something) seems outrageous. So here we wait, checking the website for updates, nursing cold symptoms with excessive care, and watching the absentee rate at Jon's school soar... Pray for all vulnerable people that we might have a collective immune-boost, won't you?

In other news, I went a week without work and it was a trying time. Oct. 8 was my last day with that first student, and all last week I had nothing. The poor woman whose email inbox I kept stuffing with queries ("Any students yet? I'm just here, unemployed..."). I think I've said this before: I need to work. I need to work because, to be honest, we need the money, and I need to work because I need the purpose, direction, and structure it gives my life. On Sunday I found myself in prayer FOR THE FIRST TIME that maybe I could have another student (inexcusable that I didn't bother God until a week had passed, right?), or if not, that we would be provided for and that I would have peace and patience waiting. The next day, just before the close of the school day, I was given a new student. It was only after I had finished thanking God and making phone calls to arrange a schedule that I noticed my Bible Verse-a-day Calendar's theme for that day, October 19: Proverbs 14:23; "In all labor there is profit." I laughed. God is a witty fellow. It's so hard in life to just do the tasks that are before you and know that with God's grace, it's good enough.

Anyway. Miles has been growing up so much! He is decidedly not a newborn anymore. No sooner had I determined that newborn clothes DECIDEDLY did not fit him and needed to be packed away, I realized that he was rapidly outgrowing his 0-3 months clothes as well. Well, we've added to our 3-6 month supply (thanks to the Rezendes and Sutter contributions), and now that I understand that the label "3 mos" actually means "0-3 mos" and "6 mos" means "This will fit a 12-18 pound person, that is, 3-6 mos," we're golden. No stats yet on his measurements; next appointment isn't until Nov. 9. I'll fill you all in.

Miles cannot, as yet, roll over. And I'm really, really okay with that :-) He CAN see a LOT better than before, so that looking at picture books (favorites include The Hungry Little Caterpillar and Pat the Bunny) means something to him now, he can see people across the room, and the cats' behavior is starting to register with and amuse him. He loves to look at himself in the mirror, "standing up" (supported by Mum or Papa) and stomping his feet in pleasure. He's also VERY vocal, which I believe means he will be VERY verbal, which is okay with me. Here are some recent videos of his utterances and expressions:

Miles Speaks:

Attack of the Cat:

This made me so happy I just had to share

TESTING...

Some Autumn Adventures

October, though taking a toll on my respiratory comfort, is a serious emotional upswing for me. It does not get less fun until Epiphany, in my opinion. We've HUGELY enjoyed a cooler Fall than we've had in a few years. Here we are breaking in the Warm Bear Suit (please notice the Adorable Tail):


We've also been to D.C. with our small person twice, and concluded that quiet museum trips are much less stressful than large outdoor festivals... though not necessarily always more fun. Miles slept through most of the Smithsonian American History Museum (which we visited in company with Grandma and Grandpa; thanks to Grandma for putting M-dog to sleep!!). However, he woke up in time to thoroughly enjoy the Natural History Museum (Mummy's favorite):



They've re-done the Oceans section, by the way, and it's stunning. I could spend longlonglong hours there... Miles could watch the aquarium fish for a while, too...



Jon and also left with a madcap memory specific to the two of us. When feeding Miles, we took someone's (Leah's?) advice and parked ourselves in one of those little movie shelters showing an educational flick, 7 ms long, about the beginning of Life on Earth. It's called "Enter Life," it's been playing continuously since 1980, it features dancing Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen particles strung out in long, dancing lines (singing: Chon-Chon-Chon Chon-Chon Ch-Chon), and we watched it at least four times. We challenge/encourage you all to endure mean see it and see if you're not doing the Chon-Chon Conga for hours afterwards. Chon!

Camera Fail

So I've been trying for some time to provide some pictures of something other than Miles, at home, and thus prove that Jon and I do other than to admire Miles, at home. Several gatherings have had me smacking my forehead (forgot the camera AGAIN!) and shrugging it off. On Saturday, I came so close to being able to provide evidence of Other Activities when, on the way to the National Book Festival in D.C., the camera made it all the way to the car! and then, didn't get into the diaper bag. It was almost funny. Not quite, though; I take these things personally.

Said festival was AMAZING, though. I wish so much to have been able to absorb more than we did. As it was, I heard Lois Lowry, author of favorites such as The Giver and Number the Stars, tell stories and free-associate about her childhood and her creative process (she's so witty!!). Later, I heard Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran (I enthusiastically recommend that one) speak movingly about the role of literature in allowing people to speak to each other across time and culture. My WORD, she was inspiring. Highlights: Don't pidgeonhole her to Islamic Studies and Women's Studies just because she's an outstanding woman from Iran; she's a literature professor who taught The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice as well as the works of Rumi. Also, don't let Iran be only known to you as the land of Islamic extremism unless you want the U.S. to be only known as the land of slavery and Jim Crow. Finally, I got to hear most of Judy Blume's presentation (imagine children asking her questions about Fudge's character and Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret's content and adults asking about the inspiration for Summer Sisters). It was glorious.

That said, what an effort it is to do anything with a baby! I've given this a lot of thought, lately: we take Miles with us everywhere. We kind of figure that, given the complications associated with breastfeeding and the fact that I sometimes have trouble concentrating when Miles is away from me for long (sounds counter-intuitive, I know), it's easiest and best just to bring him. But... oh my, everything was so much more difficult on Saturday, braving the unprecedented crowds at this event, in the cold-ish rain, with seating nearly impossible to attain and shelter only an occasional luxury! Having to search for changing tables and struggling with the conflict of Miles needs to eat vs. I really want to hear this speaker made this our most challenging outing with him. Still... I am a determined person. We MUST go out, we MUST do at least some of the things we love post-baby, and so far I'm still resolved to bring Miles with us, most of the time. He's just too much fun to leave behind, anyway.

We had a little encounter with a stranger that got me thinking, and I'd appreciate anyone and everyone's comments about this. We had a woman INSIST on covering his stroller with her spare tarp, and she was none too nice about it. "Uh-uh," she said, when she saw how we had him covered with the canopies of the stroller and the jacket he was wearing. "That's not going to work. I'm a scientist," she assured us (??), "and I get kind of upset. This is not safe. How old is he?" and when I answered, I got another, "Uh-uh. That's not safe, honey," and she installed the tarp herself, checking it briskly for air flow and water tightness. I did thank her, though her behavior made this feel a bit forced, and accepted for Miles' sake. This got me thinking, because I was, of course, irritated, BUT.... Miles was drier.

I kind of concluded that, though I am inconvenienced by having a baby on me sometimes, other people are also inconvenienced by his presence in many ways. It occurred to me that this is a hospitality issue. If other people have to wait for me, offer me a seat (one lady finally did, Melissa!), get out of the way for his carriage, and bear with me feeding him in public, standing up, I can probably take people's well-intended, if pushy and rude, ways of trying to help. I mean, many people require hospitality when they go out in public: people with babies, people with dogs, people who weigh three hundred pounds, people in wheelchairs, people with bad breath, people who are old, people who are new drivers, from out of town... it goes on and on. We HAVE to extend hospitality to others, whatever that means, if we want to receive it ourselves.

Thoughts?

Anyway, here are some misc. Miles-at-home pics

Milestones: Month Three

Last Tuesday began the third month in our life with Miles! We cannot believe that we have only known this little chap for going on ten weeks. I'm staggered when I imagine us a few years down the road with a toddler, a preschooler, a kindergardener... and sometimes I am overwhelmed, but most of the time, I can't wait. It will be such a joy to watch his personality emerge. So far, we've made the following observations:

1. Miles has a gorgeous smile and a good attitude. When fed and rested, he is an affable, affectionate, curious and attentive little fellow.

2. Miles has inherited his mother's disinclination to nap, or really to sleep, at all. Not that he doesn't do these things (I wouldn't be writing this right now if I hadn't finally started to get more sleep :-) ). He just is rather disinclined to lose consciousness, a propensity which worsens the more tired he is. Many people have witnessed Miles' valiant struggle against the downward pull of his eyelids. Watching this makes me realize my own pathology... I'd insert some profound insight here, but I'm really too tired :-)

Fortunately, Miles' cousin Abigail has recently come to the rescue and taught Miles how to nap: on his side. He is MUCH more willing to fall asleep in this position. Hallelujah! (Abby has also slyly taught Miles the art of spit-up, but we won't dwell on this).

Miles had his last week appointment. New data: 11 lbs, 4 oz, and 24 inches tall. He is now dead average in head size and weight and in the 75th percentile for height... I must say, not what I expected to come from my short, big-headed stock. He also had his second round of shots (ouch) and spent 24 hours with a mild case of what seemed like everything (double ouch). He recovered speedily, however.

Jon has all but recovered from a nasty cold which hit him hard last weekend. He is now enjoying good health and a fairly good start to the school year. Here he is enjoying some evening quality time with Miles (the Moby Dick readings continue, by the way) while grading at the same time. We are learning the true meaning of multitasking...

I... I am doing rather better for many reasons. One, I have made a new friend, another teacher taking a leave of absence to care for her newborn (just a month younger than Miles!). She and I have had one daytime coffee and stroller-walking date in which we talked ceaselessly. She is a Godsend, who came, from God, by way of Prague. I love learning about the various cultural and social differences between Czech Republic and the U.S. I was bored at home all day, but I was also lonesome, and it's good to start to befriend other homebodies.

I won't call myself a stay at home mom, because as of tomorrow, I am not. I Work tomorrow, home-teaching for a 13-year-old who's had surgery in his feet. We begin with Algebra and Social Studies tomorrow. Miles will be babysat for five-six hour sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays by his grandmother. Once we get used to it, I think we'll all be very, very pleased with the arrangement. It will be REALLY good even to take a little break, even if it is just to do a different kind of work. I think I'll be a better parent for it.

And really, I work hard (and clean up a lot of poo and spitup and cat poo and cat vomit and pee and drool and hairballs and so on), but this little guy has the advantage of being unable to talk back and and being way, way cuter than my students were. Check him out:

The little Captain Shrimp has also endeared himself lately by sleeping more and better at night. It's over a week now that he's slept in his crib without problems, and twice in the past week he's slept the night only waking up ONCE. BIG improvement, little buddy. Bravo!

Smitten with the Holy Spirit

A long awaited day has finally come (and gone): the day of Miles' baptism. At the 9 o'clock service last Sunday Miles became sealed by the Holy Spirit in the presence of a whole CREW of family: His Grandpa and Grandma Grunert, Uncle Ninja (Tim), Tita (Michaela), Grandpa Jim and Morai (Kate), Amma (Eileen) and Cappy (Chris), Mike, Stef, and Godparents Uncle Matthew and Aunt Leah (um.. you figure that one out) and (not to forget) Cousin Abby! Miles marked the occasion by giving his first sponteneous smiles before the service began. That means he just looked at folks (including Pastor, Tita, and Aunt Leah) who were not already smiling and initiated smiles at them! We are sure the Holy Spirit arrived early.

The service went without a hitch, and witnesses can attest that Miles was awake and yet hardly made a peep, even when water was thrice poured upon his head (I suspect that Pastor keeps it warm). Afterwards, most of the family made it to a special brunch prepared by Grandma Grunert and supplemented by various contributions from family, including a couple of vats of coffee that Uncle Matthew and Cappy practically had to wrestle out of the befuddled Dunkin Donuts staff and prepare themselves in order to bring (they advertise these hot and ready gallons of coffee but they don't really seem to expect people to take them up on it. Watch out). This was a REALLY meaningful event for our family. I kept having flashbacks to my wedding, which was the last time so many people have assembled for such an important spiritual event in my life. God was really present. We are so grateful.