Parenting is hard. (Duh.)
Up until now my days at home with the bean have been mostly manageable due to the fact that when Rob comes home at the end of the day, I can pass Leah off to him. Not only does this give me the chance to do something frivolous like use the bathroom or find something to eat, it makes the girl ever-so-happy to spend time with her daddy.
BUT.
Tonight Rob didn't come home at the regularly-appointed time. In fact, he is still out, mixing sound for a little theater in NYC. Which is fabulous, but I'm starting to get a little panicky at the thought that he won't be coming home again. Ever. I know this is irrational, because he's been out late at night without me before, and has always come home. But now that Leah's in a state of perpetual motion and neediness, the whole rational thought thing is starting to seem like a very distant memory.
Erg. Maybe some dinner would help...
This morning Leah's great-grandmother (and Rob's grandmother) Janet died. Leah never got the chance to meet her, which makes us extra sad. She had just gotten married and was very proud to be both a bride and a great-grandmother in the same year.
We will miss her.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, Leah will sit up on her own! She can't do it from a lying down position, but she can certainly sit from a partially-reclining one in her soon-to-be-retired bouncy seat.
I spent the day running from baby to laptop/phone (the work portion of my day), back to baby because baby needs big-time attention now. She is so active and curious and demands my eyes on her. Constantly. Today was the first day I wanted to quit my job to oblige.
New thing today: huge belly laughs!
Today she was extremely active and extremely un-sleepy, which is great for picture-taking until the picture-taker gives out.
New things we noticed today:
Real focus on everything around her - even from across the room, and recognizing her name.
Guess we should stop calling her Beanerschnitzel.
The girl has her first cold! Today will be a short day at work, and then I'll run home to play Suction The Snot.
Pictures from the lake weekend will come later.
We're off to Lake George for Columbus Day weekend! Time to pack up the bean (pictured here before she woke up this morning) and drive through the mild autumn showers to some real fall weather. Hopefully we'll be able to pick up an internet connection + post some pictures while we're there.
At her checkup earlier this week, Leah was pronounced very healthy + growing well. She's still a pretty big girl, measuring 25 1/2 inches long and weighing in at 15 1/2 pounds!
Holy cow. I just found out that my dear college roommate is pregnant. My sister is pregnant. My good friend Diana is pregnant. And I know at least two other good friends who are considering becoming pregnant... AGAIN! (Can you imagine doing this more than once??) I know - this is what happens when you hit a certain age. A few years ago, there was a rash (though more pleasant, usually, than this sounds) of weddings. Then a few of us got pets. And then - WAMMO - babies! There is something both comforting and frightening about the cycles of life.
All the loud fist-sucking has finally paid off: Leah has found her thumb! Unfortunately there are no glamour shots of this momentous event, but there are some other pictures from yesterday that I'll slap up after I get home from work.
Other new developments:
- Grabbing + shoving things (usually her butterfly toy or a blanket) into her mouth.
- Finding + holding her feet (though I still suspect she isn't aware that they're her feet).
- Real laughs. She's been giggling for a while now, but they've morphed into a much heartier version of that initial giggle. They happen mostly when we change her clothes (?) and when we're playing airplane.
- She's much more social now. She's so much more observant, and really "talks" to us (or whatever exciting thing has her attention). And she's an attention whore. It is no longer acceptable to let her play on her own for very long. There must be interaction with an actual person (usually me, as Amelia is not quite up on her conversation skills during the day)!
- She's starting to pay attention to the pages of the books we read to her.
There are probably other things, but I can't remember what they are at the moment. Oh - she definitely recognizes her babysitter, Xenia. When she came in this morning, Leah squealed. I love it!
This is how we spent part of our Saturday morning, post-breakfast. Apparently cat tail is a more interesting plaything than an actual baby toy, though Amelia probably would not agree!
(Ooh - and check out the hair starting to make an appearance on her head! It looks to be Strawberry Blonde with lots of Scalp mixed in.)
This is a picture of Leah at home with our good friend Annalise, while Rob + I were out recording the band in the foreign land of Pennsyltucky. We finally got to see them play (though he's been around for several happy months) with their fabulous new drummer Justin (a.k.a "J-Ride" or "Charlemagne").
We got to bed around 5am, which was helped muchly by the fact that they were even more amazing than we imagined. And coffee. Lots of coffee.
Last Sunday, Leah was baptized at our wonderful new church, conveniently located a block away from our apartment. (It took us 5 years to find it. Are we lazy, or what?) The ceremony + the bean were beautiful, and there was a sunny reception on our rooftop deck. Unfortunately we forgot to take any pictures, and I have been too lazy (or busy?) to ask anyone to send me some. So if any of y'all have any good pictures, send 'em my way + I'll post for everyone. Otherwise, use your imagination and picture a lovely, sunny day and a long white dress on a happy Leah.
Leah was none too happy to be dressed as a sunflower as we strolled her about town tonight. 
