Ivy on the Move!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
My Big Fat Long Overdue Blog Post
Um, hi.
So it's been about 2 months since we lasted visited the blog. Life is crazy like that, what can I say? Here's the super-quick rundown of what's been going on:
Thanksgiving - Ivy successfully traveled to Redding, CA to meet the Silverstein cousins. Much fun was had...pictures on Facebook.
Half Birthday - Ivy turned 6 months, and we celebrated with the introduction of solid foods. Starting with rice cereal we've had many more misses than hits, even as we tried oatmeal, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, avocados, peas and peaches. Occasionally she opens her mouth and allows the spoon in, but usually she gives a "Hell no!" look and stubbornly purses her lips. Or we get a wee morsel in and she screams but not before spitting it out. This has gone on for nearly 2 months. Will her Silverstein food-loving gene ever kick in? Only time will tell.
Boston trip - Ivy experienced her first snow storm, and subsequently suffered her first cold. We were all miserable, none more than her. The trip however was a lot of fun. Ivy met her friend Ayelet, daughter of Seth and Meg, who is one day older. We celebrated Hanukkah, shopped at the outlet mall, and spent quality time at Brooksby.
New Years - We all fell asleep before 11. Is 2009 yet?
Ivy's first stomach bug - this is one for the ages. It was hell on earth for almost 2 weeks. Poor little one, couldn't eat or drink except for the occasional drop of Pedialyte through a dropper or a short nursing session, only to result in Exorcist-style vomiting. I could not have been happier to have her lively chatty self back.
Inauguration - Ivy and Abby Gabby watching Obama take the oath of office. Hurrah!
So that's what's been keeping us busy, that and watching her trying to master the art of crawling. She's so close! And as Ivy would say, "A-guh." Here' s a sweet picture for you to enjoy until the next blog post, which hopefully will be sooner than this one:
So it's been about 2 months since we lasted visited the blog. Life is crazy like that, what can I say? Here's the super-quick rundown of what's been going on:
Thanksgiving - Ivy successfully traveled to Redding, CA to meet the Silverstein cousins. Much fun was had...pictures on Facebook.
Half Birthday - Ivy turned 6 months, and we celebrated with the introduction of solid foods. Starting with rice cereal we've had many more misses than hits, even as we tried oatmeal, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, avocados, peas and peaches. Occasionally she opens her mouth and allows the spoon in, but usually she gives a "Hell no!" look and stubbornly purses her lips. Or we get a wee morsel in and she screams but not before spitting it out. This has gone on for nearly 2 months. Will her Silverstein food-loving gene ever kick in? Only time will tell.
Boston trip - Ivy experienced her first snow storm, and subsequently suffered her first cold. We were all miserable, none more than her. The trip however was a lot of fun. Ivy met her friend Ayelet, daughter of Seth and Meg, who is one day older. We celebrated Hanukkah, shopped at the outlet mall, and spent quality time at Brooksby.
New Years - We all fell asleep before 11. Is 2009 yet?
Ivy's first stomach bug - this is one for the ages. It was hell on earth for almost 2 weeks. Poor little one, couldn't eat or drink except for the occasional drop of Pedialyte through a dropper or a short nursing session, only to result in Exorcist-style vomiting. I could not have been happier to have her lively chatty self back.
Inauguration - Ivy and Abby Gabby watching Obama take the oath of office. Hurrah!
So that's what's been keeping us busy, that and watching her trying to master the art of crawling. She's so close! And as Ivy would say, "A-guh." Here' s a sweet picture for you to enjoy until the next blog post, which hopefully will be sooner than this one:
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Our little turkey
Just a little video you get you jumpin' for Thanksgiving. Ivy brought home from day care the cutest little hand turkey - it of course went straight to the fridge. Her first artwork! Enjoy this video of Ivy kickin' it in her newest contraption:
Monday, November 10, 2008
Personality Plus
Yo - Now that Ivy is 5 months old, her personality is coming out, and she certainly is one sass-ma-tass like her mama. Since we usually post pics which don't give you a sense of what she's like as a person, and videos which kinda do but don't really, here is a list of Ivy's Likes and Dislikes (hopefully not a precursor to a future Playboy spread):
LIKES: Putting things in her mouth. We're pretty sure she's teething because everything in the world seems to be a potential item which Ivy can put in her mouth. She gums on our arms, the side of her bath, her toys, the mirror, pretty much anything she can get her little paws around and drag into her mouth. Hence, everything in our apartment has the ucky feel of being recently slobbered upon.
DISLIKES: Story time. This upsets me personally because I want Ivy to be a big reader and love books. However, I think the problem here has less to do with our quality storytime together and more to do with the fact that, as mentioned previously, Ivy loves putting things in her mouth, and so whenever I put a book in front of her and start reading from it, her immediate reaction is to grab the book with both hands and start gnawing on the pages. Then I have to pull the book away gently so I can read again, which upsets her, so she starts crying and fidgeting, and that's the end of storytime. Hopefully by the time she hits high school, this will no longer be an issue.
LIKES: TV. We try to avoid having the TV on when she is in the room and awake, unless it's a crucial sporting event (which she needs to witness anyway). Many studies have shown that TV causes babies to have shorter attention spans, smaller brains, increased homocidal tendencies, etc., but by golly, if that TV is on and she can get a tiny glimpse of it, even if she has to spin her head around Exorcist-style to see the screen, she'll do it. Hopefully this will lead to her having a career as a high-powered TV exec and not a career as a couch potato.
LIKES: Trees. The good news is, she is equally fascinated by trees as she is by the TV. Trees are kind of like nature's TV - colors, sound, motion, etc. She loves lying on her tummy on a blanket under a tree and looking up at it. Sounds a little boring, but for a baby this is super good times.
INDIFFERENT: The cat. Slowly but surely, Poker the Cat has begun approaching Ivy, sniffing her, sitting on her clean folded clothes, etc. He has not licked or cuddled with her yet, but considering that for the first 4 months of her life Poker would hide in another room whenever she passed by, this is a major improvement. However, it has yet to be discerned as to whether Ivy has any interest in Poker, as she summarily ignores him whenever he comes around to give her a sniff. I'm sure that some day soon she'll suddenly realize "Oh man there's a cat living here!" and she'll start chasing him all over, but until that day comes, their relationship is icy at best.
DISLIKES: Strangers. It's amazing to see how her little baby brain works. She has figured out that her parents, her grandparents, the daycare people, the other daycare kids, and select other friends and relatives are "safe," and it's okay for them to hold her and be near her. But when she sees a new person arrive in a familiar area, she freaks. Apparently there was a locksmith at the daycare place fixing something, and the usually happy-go-lucky Ivy FREAKED when he was there, because she knew he was a stranger. This apparently also happened when the aunt of one of the daycare kids (as opposed to a parent) picked the kid up - Ivy knew this person was different and a potential threat. Good survival instincts on the kid, though it'll be interesting to see how she responds to Thanksgiving, where she'll be surrounded by new relatives who are very strange indeed.
INDIFFERENT: Other babies. We have lots of friends with little babies around her age, and we try to get them to hang out, but Ivy has no concept that they're around. We could put her down on a blanket next to another kid, and she'll be more interested in trying to put a corner of the blanket into her mouth than in communicating with her peer. Or maybe she just thinks all these other kids are jerks, and who knows, maybe they are. I don't speak baby.
DISLIKES: Daylight Savings Time. Oh, were mom and dad supposed to get a little extra sleep that one night? Yeah, that didn't happen...
LOVES: Music. Ivy LOVES rocking out to music, whether it's dad's rock and roll, mom's lullabies, or Baba's maddeningly annoying Baby Einstein CD that drives me bonkers. She dances by waving her little hands and shaking her little bon bons, which actually is exactly how I dance as well. Apple don't fall far from the tree...
- Mike
LIKES: Putting things in her mouth. We're pretty sure she's teething because everything in the world seems to be a potential item which Ivy can put in her mouth. She gums on our arms, the side of her bath, her toys, the mirror, pretty much anything she can get her little paws around and drag into her mouth. Hence, everything in our apartment has the ucky feel of being recently slobbered upon.
DISLIKES: Story time. This upsets me personally because I want Ivy to be a big reader and love books. However, I think the problem here has less to do with our quality storytime together and more to do with the fact that, as mentioned previously, Ivy loves putting things in her mouth, and so whenever I put a book in front of her and start reading from it, her immediate reaction is to grab the book with both hands and start gnawing on the pages. Then I have to pull the book away gently so I can read again, which upsets her, so she starts crying and fidgeting, and that's the end of storytime. Hopefully by the time she hits high school, this will no longer be an issue.
LIKES: TV. We try to avoid having the TV on when she is in the room and awake, unless it's a crucial sporting event (which she needs to witness anyway). Many studies have shown that TV causes babies to have shorter attention spans, smaller brains, increased homocidal tendencies, etc., but by golly, if that TV is on and she can get a tiny glimpse of it, even if she has to spin her head around Exorcist-style to see the screen, she'll do it. Hopefully this will lead to her having a career as a high-powered TV exec and not a career as a couch potato.
LIKES: Trees. The good news is, she is equally fascinated by trees as she is by the TV. Trees are kind of like nature's TV - colors, sound, motion, etc. She loves lying on her tummy on a blanket under a tree and looking up at it. Sounds a little boring, but for a baby this is super good times.
INDIFFERENT: The cat. Slowly but surely, Poker the Cat has begun approaching Ivy, sniffing her, sitting on her clean folded clothes, etc. He has not licked or cuddled with her yet, but considering that for the first 4 months of her life Poker would hide in another room whenever she passed by, this is a major improvement. However, it has yet to be discerned as to whether Ivy has any interest in Poker, as she summarily ignores him whenever he comes around to give her a sniff. I'm sure that some day soon she'll suddenly realize "Oh man there's a cat living here!" and she'll start chasing him all over, but until that day comes, their relationship is icy at best.
DISLIKES: Strangers. It's amazing to see how her little baby brain works. She has figured out that her parents, her grandparents, the daycare people, the other daycare kids, and select other friends and relatives are "safe," and it's okay for them to hold her and be near her. But when she sees a new person arrive in a familiar area, she freaks. Apparently there was a locksmith at the daycare place fixing something, and the usually happy-go-lucky Ivy FREAKED when he was there, because she knew he was a stranger. This apparently also happened when the aunt of one of the daycare kids (as opposed to a parent) picked the kid up - Ivy knew this person was different and a potential threat. Good survival instincts on the kid, though it'll be interesting to see how she responds to Thanksgiving, where she'll be surrounded by new relatives who are very strange indeed.
INDIFFERENT: Other babies. We have lots of friends with little babies around her age, and we try to get them to hang out, but Ivy has no concept that they're around. We could put her down on a blanket next to another kid, and she'll be more interested in trying to put a corner of the blanket into her mouth than in communicating with her peer. Or maybe she just thinks all these other kids are jerks, and who knows, maybe they are. I don't speak baby.
DISLIKES: Daylight Savings Time. Oh, were mom and dad supposed to get a little extra sleep that one night? Yeah, that didn't happen...
LOVES: Music. Ivy LOVES rocking out to music, whether it's dad's rock and roll, mom's lullabies, or Baba's maddeningly annoying Baby Einstein CD that drives me bonkers. She dances by waving her little hands and shaking her little bon bons, which actually is exactly how I dance as well. Apple don't fall far from the tree...
- Mike
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Yes we DID!
Yesterday morning, we got up early and I loaded Ivy - still in jammies - into the stroller to walk up to the Barrington Rec Center where I would be casting my vote. I have always dreamed, since before the pregnancy, that I would take my kids to the polls so they would always know first hand the importance of participating in our country's democracy. I vowed I would teach them how people fought, even died, to do what I had the privilege to do that morning.
So we waited in line - at 7am there were about 150 people there - and when I got up to voting booth I held Ivy in one arm and voted with the other. Punching Obama's name was a moment of profound joy and pride, and even a little disbelief, and I will always remind Ivy that she was there with me to witness history. It was a vote for her future, and mine. No on Prop 4 - a vote to ensure the safety of teen girls, which Ivy will become one day - and a big HELL NO on Prop 8 - a vote to ensure that, god willing someday, Ivy can marry whomever she chooses when she becomes an adult. So much at stake for my little one, and all people everywhere.
We celebrated that night with other friends and their babies, toasting to a better future for our children and watching with tears in our eyes the beginning of a new day, a new era unfolding before us. I truly believe on this day that the world looks a little brighter, and I'm proud to have shared every moment of this monumental change with Ivy.
Yes we DID!
So we waited in line - at 7am there were about 150 people there - and when I got up to voting booth I held Ivy in one arm and voted with the other. Punching Obama's name was a moment of profound joy and pride, and even a little disbelief, and I will always remind Ivy that she was there with me to witness history. It was a vote for her future, and mine. No on Prop 4 - a vote to ensure the safety of teen girls, which Ivy will become one day - and a big HELL NO on Prop 8 - a vote to ensure that, god willing someday, Ivy can marry whomever she chooses when she becomes an adult. So much at stake for my little one, and all people everywhere.
We celebrated that night with other friends and their babies, toasting to a better future for our children and watching with tears in our eyes the beginning of a new day, a new era unfolding before us. I truly believe on this day that the world looks a little brighter, and I'm proud to have shared every moment of this monumental change with Ivy.
Yes we DID!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Some of the many reasons Ivy Bess rules, caught on video!
I know, I know...we've been bad about blogging, but hey - life is all kinds of hectic over here. Ivy has been rocking out in her usual fashion. At the last pediatrician visit, she weighed in at 15lb, 13oz for her 4 month check up. She continues to rule the school at day care, she partied at Simhat Torah, dancing with the best of 'em, and she's sleeping rather well too. In fact, we have a video to share:
We've also captured some other sweet moments on video, mostly because when she starts smiling and laughing and rolling all over the place we just can't help ourselves!
We've also captured some other sweet moments on video, mostly because when she starts smiling and laughing and rolling all over the place we just can't help ourselves!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
4 months old!
Did you see that?
That was the last 4 months flying by at lightening speed!
So this means I've survived my first month back at work, more or less. It also means Ivy hit 15lbs a couple weeks ago, officially making her too big for the bassinet in the Pack N Play so we've moved her to the crib. She falls asleep in it fine, but when she wakes for an early morning snack, she will NOT go back to sleep in it...that's okay, because I get to snuggle with her in bed. A little extra time spent together.
Ivy enjoyed a wonderful visit from Boston Grandma and Grandpa, as well as Auntie Erica (pics are on Facebook). She experienced her first Rosh Hashanah and tashlich at the beach. And she's getting in to playoff baseball, rooting on the Sox (though she passed out last night in the 7th inning, before it got interesting). All is good in Ivy's world!
Here's a little something to keep you photo-hungry folks satiated (and more on Facebook) until I can get another video up.
We love the Bumbo!
Go Sox! (Bucket hat finally fits!)
That was the last 4 months flying by at lightening speed!
So this means I've survived my first month back at work, more or less. It also means Ivy hit 15lbs a couple weeks ago, officially making her too big for the bassinet in the Pack N Play so we've moved her to the crib. She falls asleep in it fine, but when she wakes for an early morning snack, she will NOT go back to sleep in it...that's okay, because I get to snuggle with her in bed. A little extra time spent together.
Ivy enjoyed a wonderful visit from Boston Grandma and Grandpa, as well as Auntie Erica (pics are on Facebook). She experienced her first Rosh Hashanah and tashlich at the beach. And she's getting in to playoff baseball, rooting on the Sox (though she passed out last night in the 7th inning, before it got interesting). All is good in Ivy's world!
Here's a little something to keep you photo-hungry folks satiated (and more on Facebook) until I can get another video up.
We love the Bumbo!
Go Sox! (Bucket hat finally fits!)
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