I have no idea if anyone still reads this, since we never update it anymore. If you are reading this, hello! You are nice.
So a lot has happened since I last blogged: Ivy crawls, eats solid food, can almost stand unassisted, etc. But the most important change in her life for me is that she now makes turds. Gone are the days of the messy poo drizzle running down her leg! Gone are the nasty puddles in her diaper and all over her legs, which it was my job to clean up due to our "Kim handles what comes in, Mike handles what comes out" agreement! Gone are the hated green, the cursed brown, and the frightening red! Now it's just happy little turds! A cinch to clean!
Because the turds are so easy to dispose of, I gently asked Kim if she would be interested in reconsidering the aforementioned "in/out" procedure. She politely declined. At this point, I realized that, since Kim no longer cleans up after Poker (due to some cockamamie "I can't touch the cat poop because it might somehow get to Ivy" belief), I am now solely responsible for cleaning up the doody of 3 of the 4 members of our household. About the same time that I realized this, Kim joyfully clogged our toilet and instructed me to plunge it (apparently she is incapable of using our plunger), thus completing the circle and putting me in charge of crap disposal for all 4 Silversteins living in apartment 309.
Oh frabjous day; calloo callay. - Mike
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Just another day in paradise
(Since we've been so bad at updating this thing, I really have no idea if anyone checks this anymore, but I figured I was due to check in with some thoughts.)
I totally had a mommy moment today. Not like "Oh my god, I'm a mom!" (been there, had plenty of those) ... more like "Oh my god, I'm one of THOSE moms!" And that's not a bad thing! I'll explain in a moment.
Ivy and I had quite an adventurous day. We started out a Noa's house for our last IKAR Parent and Me class...the whole gang was there. Ezra, Tal, Abby, Noa, Evyn...these kids know how to throw down a good time. Ivy wasn't too sure what to make of Moses the pugle (she's used to Poker who she gets along with nicely), but enjoyed lots of room to amble about. At home she's mostly confined to exploring the 10'x10' space that is her room, so she relished in the freedom of an actual living room.
Then, we busted out to Pico Robertson (with a detour to drop of Daddy at his pickle thing - don't ask) to celebrate Lula's 1st birthday. We've now been to a couple 1st birthdays of kids in Ivy's class, and it's strange that she'll be 1 before we know it. But I digress... It was also Lula's sister's birthday so most of the guests were of the 3 year old variety. After some pizza and ice cream cake (for me!), Ivy proceeded to wear most of her lunch and dumped out a perfectly good cup of blueberries. It was awesome - she may be a little schmutzy ragamuffin, but she's MY schmutzy ragamuffin! As we headed out for the next agenda item for the day, I felt my life freeze momentarily and I saw myself as if I were outside myself - dark circles under my eyes, peach yogurt splattered on my jeans, pushing a stroller with a cranky baby, and a juice box in hand (for me!)...holy shit. I was one of those moms! It finally happened...or maybe it happened before but this was my first realization of it.
The last social excursion (mind you it wasn't even 2pm, and we're working on a measly 1/2 hour nap) was to a baby Purim and pool party hosted by Ivy's friend Caleb. This party was about 180 degrees from the last one, with catered food for the parents, music for the kiddies, a photographer (huh?), and all sorts of mommies with whom I realized upon entering the party I would have zero in common. And their babies all had trendy names, like Rocco. I think they were all in the same Mommy and Me group. Hmmm...well talk about fish out of water, I got the sense I was one of maybe a couple working moms there. So yeah, our lives were pretty different. And why weren't these kids messy? Mine looked positively atrocious (despite an adorable new outfit making its debut). Ivy didn't mind too much - she's happy chewing on plastic balls and generally being oblivious to her surroundings.
I decided I prefer sitting on the grass, covered in food and juggling juice boxes and whatnot. I guess I'm that kind of mom. I came home exhausted and my mind boggling with this whole parenthood thing, and Ivy, Mike and I all dove into bed for a family snuggle...if you thought a nap was going to come out of that, you'd be wrong.
***
It's okay, it's so nice
Just another day in paradise
Well there's no place I'd rather be
Two hearts, one dream
Wouldn't trade it in for anything
And I ask the lord every night
For just another day in paradise
I totally had a mommy moment today. Not like "Oh my god, I'm a mom!" (been there, had plenty of those) ... more like "Oh my god, I'm one of THOSE moms!" And that's not a bad thing! I'll explain in a moment.
Ivy and I had quite an adventurous day. We started out a Noa's house for our last IKAR Parent and Me class...the whole gang was there. Ezra, Tal, Abby, Noa, Evyn...these kids know how to throw down a good time. Ivy wasn't too sure what to make of Moses the pugle (she's used to Poker who she gets along with nicely), but enjoyed lots of room to amble about. At home she's mostly confined to exploring the 10'x10' space that is her room, so she relished in the freedom of an actual living room.
Then, we busted out to Pico Robertson (with a detour to drop of Daddy at his pickle thing - don't ask) to celebrate Lula's 1st birthday. We've now been to a couple 1st birthdays of kids in Ivy's class, and it's strange that she'll be 1 before we know it. But I digress... It was also Lula's sister's birthday so most of the guests were of the 3 year old variety. After some pizza and ice cream cake (for me!), Ivy proceeded to wear most of her lunch and dumped out a perfectly good cup of blueberries. It was awesome - she may be a little schmutzy ragamuffin, but she's MY schmutzy ragamuffin! As we headed out for the next agenda item for the day, I felt my life freeze momentarily and I saw myself as if I were outside myself - dark circles under my eyes, peach yogurt splattered on my jeans, pushing a stroller with a cranky baby, and a juice box in hand (for me!)...holy shit. I was one of those moms! It finally happened...or maybe it happened before but this was my first realization of it.
The last social excursion (mind you it wasn't even 2pm, and we're working on a measly 1/2 hour nap) was to a baby Purim and pool party hosted by Ivy's friend Caleb. This party was about 180 degrees from the last one, with catered food for the parents, music for the kiddies, a photographer (huh?), and all sorts of mommies with whom I realized upon entering the party I would have zero in common. And their babies all had trendy names, like Rocco. I think they were all in the same Mommy and Me group. Hmmm...well talk about fish out of water, I got the sense I was one of maybe a couple working moms there. So yeah, our lives were pretty different. And why weren't these kids messy? Mine looked positively atrocious (despite an adorable new outfit making its debut). Ivy didn't mind too much - she's happy chewing on plastic balls and generally being oblivious to her surroundings.
I decided I prefer sitting on the grass, covered in food and juggling juice boxes and whatnot. I guess I'm that kind of mom. I came home exhausted and my mind boggling with this whole parenthood thing, and Ivy, Mike and I all dove into bed for a family snuggle...if you thought a nap was going to come out of that, you'd be wrong.
***
It's okay, it's so nice
Just another day in paradise
Well there's no place I'd rather be
Two hearts, one dream
Wouldn't trade it in for anything
And I ask the lord every night
For just another day in paradise
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!
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