Due to our non-blizzard blizzard, we were snowed in today. Most of the day was spent getting stuff around the house taken care of. Hello, Laundry! (Although our Christmas tree is still not down.)
But we also...
Stayed in bed until nine...
Flew Maddie around the room a few times...
Watched Sports Center...
Took cozy naps in the lamb swing...
Wore the baby around the house...
Drew hearts in the mirror...
Studied charts of Block Island Sound (Just in case Maddie ever gets lost.)...
And played video games with The Dizzy Cat.
I heart being snowed in! If only every day could be a snow day...
Seventeen weeks seems like way too many weeks, and yet, here we are!
Madeline is adjusting well to daycare. She's returned to her normal, joyful self. I'm so thankful for my easy-going little miss.
It's amazing how vocal she has become in the past week. Her little coos have turned into full blown squeals and yells. She has two kinds of squeals. One is happy. It's as if she makes the noise just because she's excited to hear her own voice. Sometimes I feel like she's having a contest with me to see who can squeal the loudest. She'll make the noise, and I'll make it back to her. She'll make the noise louder and higher, and so on, and so on. It's really funny.
Observe Madeline in action. Trust me when I say that this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Maddie's vocal abilities, but capturing it on camera is proving to be a challenge.
We refer to her other squeal as "baby angst." Instead of immediately bursting into tears when she gets upset like she used to, she'll now squeal in disgust. It's a mad, annoyed, and sorrowful sound. She'll do it over and over again until she either gets what she wants, or she melts down into real tears. Pretty soon she'll be standing in the rain while listening to The Cure and crying, "Woe is me!" It's also really funny.
She laughs on a regular basis now. It's a hearty chuckle that emanates from somewhere deep inside her chest. It's a surprising sound for such a little girl. She laughs the most when she gets startled. Does that mean she's going to be a thrill seeker? Eric gets her laughing by jumping up at her from under the changing table, or by shaking his head really fast and making funny noises. She laughs at me when I nibble on her cheek or behind her ear. I think she's starting to get ticklish.
We've started using her high chair while we eat dinner. Last night, she happily chewed on the edge of her seat the entire time we ate. In fact, she's been trying to put everything she can in her mouth lately. She'll grab onto the edge of her blanket and chew on it. She chews on my shoulder. If she's grasping my hand, she'll pull my fingers into her mouth. I'm sure once she figures out how to hold her toys better, those will be making their way to her mouth as well.
I'm so proud of my little baby. She's getting so big and human-ish. She's not only beautiful, but she's pleasant, sweet, smart and funny.
Meanwhile, we're getting blasted with a huge snowstorm tomorrow. Eric has already been given the day off. I'm still waiting to see about my school, but I'm already daydreaming about lounging on the couch with Maddie. Also? I really, really, really need to take down the Christmas tree. Oh! And laundry....there's always laundry.
I don't remember my first trip to Brown's Seafood. Probably because I was about the same age as Madeline is now. My family has been going there for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, summer vacation meant trips to Seabrook Beach and, if you were lucky, dinner at Brown's.
If you want to go to Brown's during the summer months, you have to be prepared for a long wait. There's usually a line going out the door and into the parking lot. It's best if you send a member of your party to the dinning area to try and throw elbows for a decent picnic table while someone else waits in line to order. In fact, Eric and I tried to go a few weeks before Maddie was born, but the line was epic. Under normal circumstances, I would have waited, but since I was a fat, hungry, grumpy pregnant lady at the time...we sadly had to move on.
Today, there were rumors of a snowstorm and it was blistering cold, which meant there was no line at Brown's. We got a picnic table right by the windows, and I didn't even have to throw elbows.
Nothing there has changed much. It's still painted mustard yellow. The gigantic tank of lobsters that I used to watch crawling around as a kid is still there. The bathrooms still read "buoys" and "gulls." It's still BYOB. The old picnic tables have been replaced, but they are still laid out in the same way. And, most importantly, the fried seafood is still delicious!
I love the beach in the winter. It's so quiet and peaceful. Eric and I like to daydream about living in a beach house during the winter months. I'd drink lots of tea, write children's books and learn to paint. Eric would play his trumpet and take our dog for walks on the beach. During the summer months, we'd rent our house out to vacationers and travel up and down the east coast in our boat. It's a nice dream.
We'll continue to dream and go to Brown's. And when Madeline is a big girl, we'll say, "We used to take you here when you were a little baby, and you'd sleep on the table the whole time. Do you remember that?"
This week was both ridiculously hard and surprisingly easy.
Monday morning went very smoothly. We had all our bottles ready to go. I had Madeline's outfits for the next three weeks laid out. (Assuming she still fits in them. Iffy...) I didn't even cry. All I ever hear from new moms is how hard they cried on their child's first day of daycare. Not me. I was fine. This led me to believe that there was something wrong with me. Do I have attachment issues? Are my tear ducts broken? Am I a bad mumma?
And then...Wednesday hit. I cried a bit on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. (Hoo-ray, my heart is not made of granite after all!) By then I was missing my baby like crazy, and I was tired of getting bottles ready every waking moment of the day. Plus, Madeline was not her usual self. This made me miss her even more. I wanted my Maddie Bear back. She wouldn't look or smile at me. I worried she had attachment issues. I worried her smile muscles were broken. I worried that I am a bad mumma.
Meanwhile, Maddie's teachers assure me that she's been a happy, easy baby during the days. Again, apparently she saves all her pent-up aggression for me.
Thursday night was better. It turns out Madeline had been hungry. I wasn't putting enough in her bottles. (Sadly my breasts do not come with ounce measurements, but they should so that I know how much to put in Maddie's bottles.) Anyhow, Madeline was more like her old self on Thursday night. She smiled at me. She sat on my lap and stared at me adoringly. We had some girl talk. It was great. Plus, my parents stopped by to bring me turkey soup and a Snickers. Snickers make everything better.
This afternoon was another good afternoon. Fridays are so much more meaningful now that I'm back to work! She's been talking up a storm all afternoon, and now she's falling asleep for the night as I write this. (At least I'm hoping she's falling asleep.)
As for my job? That part is going surprisingly easy so far. (Knock on wood.) Maybe it's because there's a good curriculum already in place. Maybe it's because I have an awesome coworker who gave me lots of silly drawings of Romeo hiding behind Plymouth Rock to show my children. Maybe it's because I know Romeo and Juliet so well that I might in fact actually be Leonardo DiCaprio. Maybe it's simply because my priorities have changed, and worrying about work is no longer at the top of my list. Who knows? At any rate, I feel like I never left the building. I'm in my groove. I like my students. I like my job. Hoo-Ray!
So here's to week one of many. Let's hope we have a smooth course ahead of us!
Madeline is sixteen weeks old today! That means....it's time for another bunny picture!
There is a bit of a debate over the bunny picture this time. I like this one best...
But, Eric likes this one best....
Madeline is starting to really, really laugh. Eric was making funny faces at her this afternoon, and she was cracking up. Her laugh is the best thing ever! Eric also likes to "fly" her around the apartment by lifting her up in the air on her belly. She kicks her feet up when he does it, and it really does look like she's flying. Super adorable. She's got a good daddy.
The Sleep Monster is continuing to win. Hoo-ray! She's been sleeping like a champ lately. I'm talking like twelve to fourteen hour nights with only two feedings. In fact, the fire alarm in our building just went off AGAIN, and she didn't even wake up. I hope this sleeping streak continues.
She can fit her whole fist into her mouth, and now that's she discovered that she can do this, that's where her fist lives. She's also started drooling....gross.
She continues to love baths. She kicks and splashes the water everywhere. BUT! She HATES getting out of the bath. Tonight she threw a major temper tantrum while I was trying to get her dressed. She was screaming her high-pitched-I'm-so-mad-Mumma-you-better-cuddle-me-right-this-second! cry. So sad.
Her second day of "school" went well. I guess she spent a lot of time sitting in the Boppy Bumbo (too many silly-named baby products starting with the letter "B"), staring at herself in the mirror.
The only problem is that she's been super over-tired and cranky for us when she gets home. I feel really bad that I only see her for about three waking hours a day and that she spends most of that time crying. Hopefully she'll fall into a better routine as she adjusts to her new lifestyle. Poor baby.
Today was my first day back to work, and therefore, Madeline's first day at daycare.
This is what her family communication form said at the end of the day:
"A super day for Madeline today! She was so sweet and snugly! She was always smiling and curious about everything around her! Happy to have her with us!! :)"
When I walked in to pick her up, she was lying in her crib fussing a little while they made her a new bottle. As soon as she saw me, she started smiling and laughing. I was very excited that she was happy to see me.
I guess she was really interested in a toy fastened to the side of her crib. She spun herself around and flipped onto her side so she could see it better, and they said she was even kicking at it and laughing.
What a fantastic kid I've got.
Meanwhile, I feel like I never left work. Nothing there ever changes, and most of the kids even remembered me.
It was sad leaving her this morning, but I'm happy to get back into a routine. Next up on my routine? Early to bed!!
Cold!
Boo-hiss, Maddie Bear has her first cold...and she hasn't even started daycare yet.
Her poor little eyes are all red and watery, her nose is running, and she's drooling like a queen beast. In short, she's a hot mess.
I had a small cold for a few days that had been slowly brewing for weeks, so I think I've passed it on.
Luckily, she's still been quite pleasant today in spite of the streams of tears running down her face and snot dribbling down her chin. What a trooper! She doesn't have a fever or anything either.
We could tell she was uncomfortable this evening though. She was crying, but softly, as if she was just too plain worn out to really put her heart into it. Poor baby.
Everyone always talks about how tough it is to see your child sick, and I'm getting my first taste of it. I can't imagine what it will be like when she gets her first really, really bad case of the sicks. I just wish I could teach her to blow her nose so she could feel more comfortable. Hopefully, she gets a good night's sleep tonight so that she's in tip-top shape for her first day of "school" on Monday.
