42 Weeks

Madeline is becoming such a big girl!  I was watching her play with her toys today, and she almost looked like a real little kid instead of a little baby.

She's getting around like crazy all of a sudden.  We amuse ourselves by watching her roll from one end of the room to another.  She absolutely demolished her bedroom this afternoon rolling around, tearing things off the shelves, getting herself stuck under her crib.

It's amazing watching her problem solve.  Last week she tore all the DVDs off the shelves.  She figured out that if she held on to one of the DVD cases, she could use it to swipe at the ones that she couldn't reach at the back of the shelf.  She's a clever one.

As I write this, she sitting at the table across from me feeding herself Cheerios and drinking from her sippy cup.  Whoa, now.

With all this curiosity and independence, also comes some new challenges.  Bedtime has become difficult again.  Instead of sleeping, she rolls around her crib for hours.

Our girl is quite headstrong.  She does not like to be told no.  If she wants something out of reach, she will wiggle and writhe away from us to get it.  Diaper changing should be an Olympic sport the way we have to wrestle Madeline to hold still.

A second tooth is coming in...right next to the first one.  It's popped the surface, but is still quite tiny.

Her personality is still quite charming.  She's gotten so silly recently.  She'll play little games that she thinks are hilarious...like put the book on my head like a hat.  Isn't that hilarious, Mumma?  She'll play with a handkerchief for an hour.  Who knew a piece of fabric could be so entertaining.

And, she's developed this odd little laugh that's half snort, half hiss.  I don't know where she learned it.  It's completely her own laugh.  A nerdy one...but it's hers.

Madeline's First...

Fourth of July!  

We had a jam-packed weekend of fun, frolicking, and frivolity.  (What is that from?  I know I did not make it up.)   

On Saturday, we introduced Madeline to the wide, wonderful world of public transportation.

 We walked along Mass Ave. in Cambridge.  We went into just about every store along the way to browse, and I drank 1/8 of the world's largest Bloody Mary.

On Sunday evening, we showed America just how much we love her by wearing these outfits...

My hometown has a big Fourth of July celebration on the town common every year.  There's music, food, games and lots and lots of people.  Eric, being king of the band geeks, plays in the band every year, and I go and watch him.  I was very excited to take Madeline this year.  She made it till 8 pm and then decided she'd had enough, thank you very much, Mumma.

 The following morning, we showed America some more love by attending the Fourth of July parade.  People set up lawn chairs along the parade route a full week before the actual parade begins.  That's how seriously parades are taken in these parts.  My hometown loves America.  So does Madeline...obviously.

Of course, the parade was hot and long, (That's what she said!) so Madeline quickly went from this...

 To this...

 To this...

 She spent the first five minutes of the parade waving at all the people and looking very confused as to why everyone was applauding when she hadn't done any tricks. (Obviously all applause is meant for Madeline.)  After that, she slept through the entire thing.

I had been worried that all the guns going off would freak her out.  (It was part of the parade; there wasn't a gang turf war going on or anything like that.)  Every child within a five mile radius seemed absolutely traumatized by the guns.  Not Madeline.  She didn't bat an eyelash.  At one point, she looked at me as if to say, "Mumma, those people are being really loud and annoying, and I'm trying to sleep.  Tell them to be quiet please," and then she went right back to sleep.  Maybe she'll be more freaked out as she gets older...or maybe it's a product of being raised in the ghetto.  I'm not sure.

Either way, she missed Dada going by.  One does not get to be King of the Band Geeks without participating in a few parades, does one?

Can you pick out which one is Eric?

Can you pick out which one is the fake Rod Stewart?

Luckily, she woke up in time to see him after the parade.

We wrapped it all up with a BBQ at Emily's house, where we kicked back in the shade and watched Madeline watch all the doggies.

Happy birthday, America.  You don't look a day over 234.  Thank God for Botox.    

ICA, Here We Come!

This is a sample of Madeline's school work from this week...(She's in the infant room at daycare.)

And this is a sample of mine...(I was in a Graduate Postmodern Literature course.)

Postmodern enough for you?

Madeline's is a worm...I guess.  Mine is supposed to be a map of a city...where monks live...I guess.  The strange thing is we actually did spend a surprising amount of time talking about woodworms this week, so Madeline's picture would have fit right in.

Lessons for Madeline

Dear Madeline,

If I could teach you one lesson today, (besides this one) it would be to always wear sunscreen.  Someday soon, you will get annoyed at my insistence of covering every inch of your skin with a thick layer of greasy white sunblock before I let you do anything fun...like stepping outside.  This is one of those things, dearest girl, where you just have to learn from  your Mumma's mistakes.

You see, Madeline, you are a ginger.  And gingers and the sun are mortal enemies.  I know it's a hard reality to accept, but it's the price we pay for being born without a soul.

Observe the results of today's shenanigans.

-

Years from now you may look at this, roll your eyes, and say, "Ma, come in, it's not even that bad."  Look closer, my love.  See that white horizontal line extending down from my collarbone between my shoulder and my neck?  That's not a white tank top strap.  That's the color of my actual, normal skin color.  Now, compare that "normal" color to the rest of my chest and shoulder.  See the difference?

Don't assume that because it's cloudy you won't get sunburned.  That's a mistake.  You will burn.  Don't assume that you'll be inside all day, so you don't need sunscreen.  That's a mistake.  You will burn.  Don't assume that a little dab of sunscreen on the tips of your shoulders and on your face will be enough.  That's a mistake.  You will burn.  Don't assume that your sunburn will morph into a beautiful tan.  That's a mistake.  You will peel.  

I'm sorry that your mother didn't pass down beautiful, tannable skin to you.  I'm sorry that you too will someday be forced to scramble for the shadiest spot at the picnic table before anyone else gets there.  I'm sorry that when we go to the beach I will make you wait an extra five minutes before returning to the water so I can reapply your coat.  I'm sorry that you'll never be able to wear a yellow bikini because even though yellow is supposed to make you look more tan...on we gingers, it's a giant disaster.

Wear your sunscreen, my Madeline.  Wear your sunscreen.

Je t'aime,

Mumma Bear

41 Weeks

It took three straight hours of grunt work to get Madeline to sleep tonight.  She would not lie still.  She would not take her bottle.  She would not cuddle.  She would not rock.  She would not let me leave the room.  Most of all...she would not sleep.  

In the end, I let her cry herself out.  When I last went in her room, she was curled up on her side whimpering to herself as she fell asleep.

I feel like a terrible Mumma.

Madeline doesn't feel good.  Plus, she has a tooth coming in.  Plus, her schedule has been totally flipped upside down.  Madeline is having a rough week.  

That about sums up week 41.

OMG YUM!

Have you ever eaten something so delicious that you find yourself unconsciously reciting The Hail Mary aloud, and you're not even Catholic?  Well, if not, you've got to try David Lebovitz's salted butter caramel ice cream recipe.  It's so good it could make Lindsay Lohan find Jesus...seriously.

I had a few mishaps along the way...

I burnt my first batch of caramel and had to start over again.   Oops

And at one point I managed to splatter boiling hot caramel sauce all over me.  Luckily, most of it landed on my clothing and not my skin.  Only my fingers and foot got burned.  Double Oops.  

But other than that, the process went pretty smoothly.  

Not burnt caramel....sooo much tastier!

Making the custard 

finished custard

churning the ice cream the following day

finished ice cream

Tip:  Most good ice cream recipes I've seen tell you to chill the custard in the refrigerator for several hours before churning it.  I usually skip that step because....erm....I'm impatient....and...erm...I'm too fat to wait that long for ice cream.  But, this time, I let the custard cool overnight.  The texture of the ice cream turned out much nicer than it usually does.  Lesson learned?  Don't skip this step.  Good ice cream takes patience.  

Tip The Sequel: A little of this goes a long way.  It's so rich and sweet and flavorful that there's no way I could eat a whole bowl.  

Mugshots

We got Madeline's passport photos done yesterday, and these were the leftovers.  Don't they look like mugshots?  Doesn't she look like a little thug?  

Her record includes:

Resisting nap time
Throwing her binky to the floor
Smacking her Mumma in the face
Harboring a fugitive (Mr. Gie-raff)
Pooping in a public place

Warning: baby is known to be armed and dangerous and extremely adorable.