Double Digits!

Woohoo! I've finally broken through into double digit territory on my "follower" count. But only because I nagged the Hubs into finally becoming one. Actually, if you must know, I bribed him with the promise of sexual favours. Hey, I figured he does read the blog regularly, why not make it official? I could use the ego boost, and he could use the action. (Haha, the trick is to promise the favours and then take as long as you possibly can to make good on the offer.)

10 whole followers. I'm drunk on the power!

There are a few people who have admitted to reading my blog at least semi-regularly but have yet to jump out of the shadows and onto the bandwagon. If that mixed metaphor applies to you, all you have to do is sign up as a follower and all will be forgiven. Hmmm... it just occurred to me that maybe it's the term "follower" that's holding you back? It does have a certain derogatory ring to it. Well, I can't do anything about the official Blogger terminology, but we can go with the more PC term "reader" if that makes you feel better.

I looked for a "feed my ego" gadget to spruce up my sidebar, but all I could find was "feed my fish," which, although fun, wasn't quite as apropos. So you'll just have to click "follow" instead. My ego thanks you in advance.

In!

Lilah has finally mastered the concept of "in!" Up until now, the only "container" she put stuff into was her mouth. She was always quite good at taking things out, however. Too good, in fact. She would (and still does) make a bee-line for any container full of stuff - laundry baskets, baby wipes containers, my purse, etc. - and take great pleasure in pulling the contents out, piece by piece. Set Lilah loose in an orderly room, and within five minutes, it will look as though it has been hit by a tornado.

As someone who works with young children and has a general understanding of the stages of play and their relationship to cognitive development, I have been watching closely and waiting for her to start putting things in. So I was quite delighted on Friday when she started putting the balls in while playing with her Busy Ball train toy. Next, she started putting the shapes into her shape sorter. (Of course, she's not yet matching the shapes to their specific holes, but Rome wasn't built in a day, people!)

A few weeks ago, when I lamented Lilah's fixation on dumping/pulling things out and never putting them back in, my friend Celina cautioned that "in" wasn't necessarily all it was cracked up to be. Celina's ten-month-old, Juju, quickly graduated from transfering toys from one bowl to another to hiding Celina's cell phone in various random containers around the house. Then she realized she could carry things around with her in her onesie. How totally smart and adorable, right? Until the "things" she chose to fill her onesie with started to include food items. Yuck! I'd take Lilah's tornado-like mess over that one any day!

Well, Lilah is not yet shoving pasta noodles and cheesy toast down her own shirt, and I'm going to cross my fingers that she doesn't figure that one out for a while, but she did take manage to (very deliberately) drop a few teddy puffs into my cleavage this morning. Looks like the concept of "in" has opened up a whole new world of possibilities to be discovered and messes to be made!

*Question for Been There Done That Moms: how long do I have before she discovers that her ears and nostrils are also fair game for the "in" game???

Good for a Laugh

I can't help myself. I just have to post this link. Trust me, it's worth the click.

Spice Dad

It seems I failed to mortify the Hubs by revealing his Spice Girls fandom. So this is attempt number two. Here was his reaction to my last post (and I quote):

Not too embarassing. You didn't mention the following facts:

-I knew all the words to all their songs
-I knew the dance moves to "Thank You Very Much" (To which I responded, "Ooh, ooh! Teach me!")
-I convinced 3 other teenage/20-something males to join me
-I spent a good portion of my cook's tips on spicy paraphernalia
-Yes, I did pre-drink
-We were exactly the medium age between the pre-teens and their coug' moms

And most importantly ... ... ...

-I'd do it again in a HEART BEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Hubs, it's a good thing we had a girl. By the way, I still think you're as hot as Beckham.

Spice Girl

I have a very talented friend named Sarah who has a business called Sew Inspired*. She makes cool stuff for babies and toddlers, and she is currently working on a backpack for Lilah's first birthday! Here's a sample:

So when I told her she could just run with fabric and design (Lilah has yet to voice an opinion on such matters), she just had one question: "If Lilah were a Spice Girl, which one would she be?" I have to admit, this question threw me for a loop. My very first thought was, "Baby Spice, of course! Duh." But then I realized that was too obvious. And Lilah isn't really the happy-go-lucky type.

Next, I ruled out Posh. (Incidentally, during doppelganger week on FB, I was told I look like Posh,which is flattering, of course, and I should just take the complement. But I feel the need to qualify the statement - the only similarity I have ever had to Posh is during her Spice Girls days. The resemblance ended when she started looking like a stick-thin alien with implants. Oh, and since I know he will read this post, I should say that my Hubs is as hot as Beckham. That ought to butter him up and mitigate some of the damage I'm about to do with comments below.)

That left Ginger, Sporty, and Scary. Lilah does have a little strawberry tinge to her hair in certain lights, but other than that, I don't think she has much in common with Ginger. After mulling it over all day yesterday, I consulted the Hubs. Afterall, he did go to a Spice Girls concert in their hayday, which makes him more of an expert on the Spice Girls than I am. (He'll kill me for putting that out there on the blogosphere, but apparently my blog is all about oversharing, as witnessed by my last entry on poop inspection. Full disclosure - that's just how I roll.)

Together, the Hubs and I decided that Lilah is probably most like Scary, with her intense personality and loud voice. She can be pretty aggressive in her attempts to communicate with other babies and kids. But we also think she has a little Sporty in her. She's an extremely busy baby, and I like to think she's going to follow in her parents' footsteps and be quite athletic. At the moment I dress her in girly dresses, heavy on the pink, because I have a feeling she's going to be something of a tomboy and won't let me get away with the frilliness forever.

Is it weird that I think my baby is most like Scary Spice? She doesn't wear leopard print or have big hair, but she's got the big voice and adventurous attitude. Can't wait to see what to see what backpack design Sarah comes up with for a 3/4 Scary 1/4 Sporty baby - that should present some interesting challenges!

*If you're interested in a backpack or other cool custom product for a kid you know (think quilts, playmats, taggie blankets, Tooth Fairy pillows, etc.), you can get in touch with Sarah at inspired_sew@yahoo.ca

Poop Inspector

Since the day Lilah was born, I have relied on her poops as the best measuring stick of her digestive health. And if you're just tuning in, or have somehow managed to miss my near-constant griping about reflux and constipation, Lilah has had a whole host of digestive issues. So is it really all that surprising that I feel compelled to inspect every poop? I hold her dirty diapers up under the light, examining each specimen for colour, shape, size, and consistency. The Hubs seems to think this behaviour is quite abnormal, but ten bucks says there are other mommies out there who do the same.

Despite the teasing and face-making, the Hubs indulges this proclivity of mine by calling me over to examine a fresh dump, and sometimes even saving a dirty diaper for me if I'm not immediately available to perform the inspection. At the very least, I expect a full, detailed report on poops I am not witness to. Occasionally, differences in poop terminology result in heated debates. The Hubs recently included the word "foliage" in a poop report, causing much confusion on my part. I'm still puzzling over that one - what do leaves have to do with my daughter's faecal matter?

I know that I can't possibly be the only Poop Inspector out there because, at a recent visit to the pediatrician, I was shown an entire chart dedicated to describing the shape and consistency of baby poop. Whoever came up with the chart was almost as thorough an inspector as I am! So, c'mon, fess up, who's with me?

Blueberries Unplugged

(a.k.a. Blueberrian Rhapsody)

Miss Independent

Miss Independent has decided she will no longer allow anyone else to feed her. She turns her head away from any spoon or finger that approaches her mouth and purses her lips stubbornly. Holding her own spoons and/or finger food doesn't seem to help. She knows what's up!

I really wasn't ready for the spoon-feeding phase to be over. It's MUCH more difficult to come up with ideas for finger foods that are high in fibre (the constipation monster is always lurking in the shadows, ready to rear its ugly head should I neglect to balance her fibre and water consumption perfectly), full of vitamins and not sugar, and do not present a choking hazard.

And then there's the mess. I'm going to have to silence my inner control freak and just go with it, much as it pains me to do so. She loves smearing her food all over the highchair, her arms and legs, her clothes, and her hair. And if I get close enough, she will smear it all over me too.



Any suggestions for early finger foods? Bonus points for ideas that relatively mess-free!

The Bath is a Magical Place...

Take a fussy, irrational, teething, impossible-to-please baby and dump them in the bath and presto!

Your devil baby is magically transformed into a sweet, happy, chirping, adorable little critter. You know, the one you asked the stork to bring you.