Happy Easter

Journeyman

I have packed my big green duffel bag and headed off to dozens of places. Sometimes only a few days and more often for much longer. It has never really phased me much. It's something I have always accepted as a part of who I want to be. This time however is very different. It weighs heavier then the worn bag on my shoulders. This is not the most dangerous trip nor is it the longest or furthest away, but it already feels like the hardest.

The obvious reason stares up at me with big shiny eyes and innocence unmatched. The little M. has been here for only 5 months and she does something new everyday. She looks at the big wide world now as if someone flipped on the computer switch in her brain and it constantly hums, embedding countless bits of information on a clean slate.

I can only imagine what she will be doing in another three months? I know there will be nothing monumental. No missed words or walking no analyzing War and Peace. It's always the little things that matter most though. One good thing I suppose is that she has the memory of an earthworm. She won't remember that daddy was gone. I am sure I will anticipate everyday --the first smile I get from her when I return. That will help.

I have a chance to be the kind of person my daughter can look up to and be proud of. That will help.

Let us not overlook mommy! She has to be a single mother for three months. To be honest I think her mission will be harder then mine in every other sense. The juggling of work baby home and all the mess that is contained therein. I know she will be amazing and that of course will help.

There are worst things in the world, so it is what it is.

Fear not dear reader we will still keep you informed via remote locations or from the well versed Trixie herself.

So, thanks to all who are pitching in and who have offered. Again your generosity is loved and accepted graciously.

She continues to do well and is growing ferociously. We are expecting to meet our good friends The Duffs with their new baby Annabelle and start their life long friendship and then off I go.

See you from the road!

Jackpot

BOB* is out today and we are basking in it. Turns out the Little M. is a Cash Cow! She has earned the family her first payday. 300 smackers straight from the commander and chief and his merry band of do-righters. She is contempleting all the ways she can help stimulate the economy. A shiny toy, a sucky thing or some of the fanciest rice cereal. I told her to make sure whatever it is, it's American. It's only right. I don't have the heart to tell her she is probably going to have to pay it back with interest. When she sheds the "Little" to become a Big M that is. Untill then, we will have our day in the sun.

*Bright Orange Ball

Such a girl

As a parent you can't possibly expect us to be impartial about our baby or even reasonable when it comes to our expectations. For instance sane people wouldn't swear that their little girl was already developing a personality at 4 months and less than 15 pounds. The little M. has already shown her quirkiness by breaking ties with Chico and the B. Once her only friends and confidants, she now shuns them and refuses to make even eye contact. Was it somthing they said?

She has found new and exciting was to communicate, which of course is a great relief to mommy and daddy. The crying is great and all but we prefer the babbling and motor boating. Yes, motor boating. Think thhhhhhhbbbbbbbtttttttttttttttt with a wet ring to it aka. the rasberry.

The first few months were less about entertaining and more distracting. As of late though we are happy to report giggling smiling and what would seem rapture to be watching her loving parents! Your darn right it's rapture, see I can be very sane and impartial.


Now, as for the loving part we are doing a ton of that. To be honest it's the only thing we are sure we are doing right. Some may say we are spoiling her and to those I give you a motor boat of my own TTTHHHHHHBBBBBBTTTTTTTTTT!!!!


Lastly on a sad note daddy has to go away and play G'I. Joseph for three months. Nothing inheirintly risky just a school, a school I have no choice but go to and a great oppurtunity. However, three months away from my new family. I should get a stipen for that, hazerdous duty pay at the very least sick call for my broken heart. No worries dear reader mommy will keep you updated and may be begging you all for help. Stay tuned for more tales from the crib.

Who me?

Oh my goodness, what a cutie pop! Here are those eyes I was telling you about.

Tales of a House Husband

So, here we are. This post will be a bit lengthy so I warn the casual reader. I have been slow in the updates lately and for those eager for them I apologize. I hadn't known so many people were checking in until they started reminding me that I had not posted anything about the Little M. in quite some time.

My goodness what a person she is becoming. At just over three months she is quite a sight. Right now she is babbling on about who knows what to her elephant Chico. Both of them have grins on their faces but neither of them are telling why. She is constantly eating her hand, and here I thought it would be some time before we started her on solids. Her best friend next to Chico is a bee. His name is B. Hey, we are a creative bunch. She is definitely interacting now with her toys which is to say she spends hours trying to get them in her mouth. And of course she is a beauty. She is starting to look like a baby and she has Trixies dramatic eyes. We haven't gotten a weight recently but the guess (and I am always wrong) would be about 15lbs probably less. Last night she slept a remakable 8 hours stretch, although my guess tonight she will be back down to her average of 4 or 5.

As for Trixie she is suffering her way back to work and hates being away from the babe. Having recently been promoted to House husband I can tell you that the years I thought house wives had it easy are years that I was severely misinformed. It is a joy and great privilege to watch our daughter do all the fantastic things she does it is also a blessing to be able to share all of the magic she is observing and life she is taking in. That being said it is work to keep up, keep entertained keep clean, keep fed and keep fascinated in said world. Wow, couple with that a terror of screwing it up or damaging the kid for life. I don't know how anyone does it much less a single parent. My diapers off to them.

I am a bad blogger to have kept you waiting for over a month when everyday there is something wonderful to report. My New Years Resolution is to keep you the dear reader captivated with many flax golden tales of the Little M. Till then gagga googoo

Punk Rock Prom Queen

There is more to update you on and that will all come very soon. The little M. is doing wonderful and doing all the little baby things she can. The holidays have been very busy for us so expect more just as soon as I get a free moment. Just a little pic. to tide you over for now.





Ah, the twin cousins. Aren't they cute? Avery and Mia! The little M. looks great in her dress from annah and SAM-AH. We know it was more annah! Trixie likes it because it's cute. I like it because it looks PUNK ROCK!! Stay tuned friends more of the lovely little m. very soon!

Annabelle

Duff, is a very good friend of mine. We stood up at each others wedding. I have known him since grade school, boy scouts, high school etc. I count him and his wife as two of the true friends you should be able to count on one hand. Eight weeks after little m. was born we help welcome the very lovely baby Annabell. So starts a new generation of Duff and Mo friendships. I certainly hope they won't have exactly the same adventures as we have but I do hope they have some adventures together. I will try my best to not project my own idea of how good a friends they should be. We all know how well pre-planned things like that work. As a daughter of Duff I assume if she found out there was a schedule or plan she would do the opposite. However, if mommy Stellie has contributed baby Annabelle is probably already organizing her toys. So, another girl in this growing field of babies in our lives. Time to get started on a boy? Probably not quite yet.

Christmas Kick off

So here for your pleasure is one of the Christmas card rejects.

Growth Spurt

"Growth Spurt, Growth Spurt" Trixie and I joke with each other whenever there is a feeding that is ahead of "schedule" or completely random, and there are many. Well little did we know that for the little m, growth spurts are equivocal to a little baby earthquake! With diminished sleep and feedings ever more frequent than every two hours our little one has hit this particular spurt with a vengeance. Coupled with a little gas we have learned a great deal more about being parents then the book implies. That this requires a lot of Patience and love. It is wondrous to see each new stage and new thing that each second of baby life brings, even if it brings screeching and crying and helplessness on both our parts. We have to remind each other as we quiver with doubt and fear to trust our instinct and just keep doing what we do. It appears to be working and screams abating. Seven weeks old and she is such a wonder. Her weight is in double digits my guess would be right around 11 or 12 lbs. Head control is better and she has found her hands her tongue and of course our hearts. (image "borrowed from web")

Twin cousin

I am remiss for having not mentioned this earlier. Trixie's younger brother J.Laugh and her Sister in law D.Laugh had a baby as well! Wouldn't you know another baby girl. Here however is the fun part, Mia was born on October 16th at 09:54 a.m. Their daughter little Avery was born on October 16th at 08:56!! A little less than one hour apart! So, twin cousins it is. It will be fun to see how her side of the family contributes to these two little girls genetically. As of right now both girls are said to look like their fathers, but we shall see how that works out in the long run. Here they are on their birthdays!

Smiles

The first documented smile. Well more of a grin here but you will have to trust us. Hopefully one of many. You can't see her cute little dimple here but she has one. As of right now it's only on her right cheek?

Raggedy Ann

The Raggedy Ann and Andy Dolls. How cool are they? It's something I haven't thought about in so long but such a big part of being kids around our age and earlier. It's like the fisher price record player with the little plastic records but so much more iconic.

As I said I haven't thought about the dolls probably since I was a kid. So I was floored when Mia was presented the Ann doll from Mrs.Duff. We made a short stop in on thanksgiving, so some of the Duff clan could meet little m. I am ecstatic that she now has that doll. Moreover when we arrived home I was checking the doll out and I had some vague memory of the heart of the doll. I couldn't remember definitively so I pulled up the shirt to find a hand sewn heart that inside reads I love Mia. Well golly, this deserves a very special mention.

People like the entire Duff family constantly move me. They are so wonderful that I almost feel undeserved. I am so thankful that Mia will have people like the Duffs, Prendiss, and LaFives in our life. There are more but just naming a few. So, in the spirit of thanksgiving we are thankful for Raggedy Ann dolls and the people who represent that type of childhood magic.

Thanksgiving

We have a lot to be thankful for obviously.

Just a few points on our first big holiday with the little M. The day went well. We are so happy to spread the cute new baby wealth and again focus on family.

We headed south early to Trixies parents. Mia's great grandmother was there so we took the opportunity to get a picture of four generations of women on the Trixie line. How cool is that? I am going to touch on lineage again because I think it's such a neat thing. something I haven't seen a whole lot of it so it's another great aspect of having a baby. It's a little group or team that shares something wonderful, even in the picture they all look so proud of one another.

Our good friends SAM-AH and annah were home. This is always a treat for us, again the whole importance of friends and family. A little background on our friend is that he is huge, like see him in the street and get nervous, the really cool part is that the biggest person I know and the smallest person I know were instant friends. Coincidence or not the cooing started upon the Arrival of SAM-AH.

Later in the Day saw us at my parents house where there was more introductions to aunts and cousins. Thankfully our very wonderful cousin Marta took care of the babe during the meal so we were able to relax with the family. So again a big thank you to cousin M. Now auntie M. for Mia's sake.

All in all we had a wonderful holiday and look forward to more interactive ones in the future.

Sorry for the delay on the blog more today.

Discovery and breast feeding

Everyone must know that parents are biased and probably a little crazed about their little ones. Rightfully so we say. Just the other day I heard myself saying "Oh look she has the cutest little pimples!" Pimples...? Yes, they were pretty damn cute! So, as you can imagine every little trait or moment of discovery is going to get a lot of ooohs and ahhhs. I mention this one because it's the first sign of her picking up on the outside world and I was very excited.

I sit watching the little M. like I always do as if it were the 10th inning of a Sox's Yankees game and David Ortiz has just come to bat. I notice her little hand in front of her face and her following it with her eyes. She is sitting in her car/carrier with the little frog and duck hanging down in front of her. Accidental i assume, she hits froggie with her hand and it makes a little ding. Froggie has a bell in his belly. She then proceeded to hit the frog with wide eyes over and over again. Do I assume a lot? Yes. Could it be like her smiles and mean something else like gas? Maybe. Am I any less amazed and filled with happiness? No.

OK, a brief note on breast feeding and some cold hard truth. For all the good it is, all it's magic, wonderful bonding, and plain old greatness it's just plain hard. It can be stressful and depressing. I know this is a touchy subject, and some opinion is quite adamant that you must breastfeed! Well, we say good luck to them we (by we I mean she) did a very wonderful job of trying it for as long as she possible could, we did our very best tried every angle, talked to many a nurse, lactation specialist and mom on the street. Alas, it's time for formula. May the lactation gods forgive.