Getting better at rolling over

Nikki adds:
The first picture above is from this afternoon when she was watching the cats for a long time today (Aslan was playing with a string not too far in front of her).

The other pictures are from doing tummy time, rolling over time (besides her rolling by herself, Aaron helps her roll around quickly on the bed ... hard to describe), and play time with papa, like she does every night. She used to get kind of frustrated when she rolled over, couldn't figure out what to do with the arm underneath her. Now she just pops right over to her belly from her stomach, arms moving baby-swiftly, and pushes up so she can see all around. Oh, and she's started to push up a little so her hips are in the air to get into crawling position. And she tries to push with her feet but hasn't quite figured that out yet.

She's getting better at sitting by herself, too. She was sitting up pretty tall with her arms supporting her but then fell over (gently) when I went to take a picture....

Georgie says Good Morning!

New toy

Mama got Georgie a new cow toy today. She loves it. Although if there is a camera to look at it's not quite as interesting.

Georgie loves Aslan

Aslan's not so sure.

Montana update

The preparations continue:

• We have so much to do. Mostly around the apartment. We have very little packed up at this point. We are going to mail a bunch of stuff and sell/give away a bunch. At the moment that translates to having several half full boxes scattered around the living room.
• I sent in my order form this weekend for a quarter of beef. It will be about 80-100 pounds. Nikki's parents are graciously loaning us a freezer that they aren't using. The beef is from a ranch that raises cattle and sheep on grass without hormones or antibiotics. The ground beef that will be part of the purchases is 95% lean. We can feel very good about this purchase. And the ranch is within 20 miles of Nikki's parents'.
• I plan on getting a MT driver's license and plates for the car. I think I am due for new stickers in November anyway. Also, most places have a law that you have a certain amount of days to get local plates if you move somewhere. I begrudgingly got a DC driver's license last year so I could register our new car. They spelled my name wrong on it. That's the DC DMV for you. I still haven't gotten that fixed and I think I'd better before we leave so I don't have to take the driving test in MT.
• Becoming a Montana resident also means I won't be paying DC 'state' tax. While I enjoy contributing to the millions this city spends on graffiti removal and needle exchange programs, I think I've done my share. DC can continue to have the best-funded, worst-performing schools in the country without me. I was initially excited to be ridding myself of DC's 'state' income tax because I thought my paychecks would see a bump. Then I realized that by declaring MT my state of residence, I was losing out on this region's cost-of-living adjustment. So I think I'll break even, though as I said, I'd rather help fund Montana's programs than DC's. It's unfair to other states that so much tax revenue from federal jobs goes to the state governments of Maryland and Virginia and the 'state' government of DC. I guess I've found a way to beat the system for a little while.
• Being a Montana resident also means I will get to vote in the presidential election. Because I was forced to give up my Texas residency but don't currently live in a state, I wouldn't normally be able to vote. Or rather I could vote and it wouldn't count, which is worse in my opinion. Nikki and I are both getting excited again for the election. It got really boring for a while there. It'll be exciting to see who picks whom for VP. My guess is that McCain picks a young guy and Obama picks an old guy. Beyond that I have no idea.
• I am toying with the idea of starting a Montana Beer Blog. I really want to try as many MT microbrews as possible and it would be fun to document them. I think I'll also try to brew beer while I'm there but I'll have to see. I'm not bringing any equipment other that my wort chiller. Copper has gotten too expensive to replace that cheaply. But I think with some plastic buckets I can make do. It'd be a nice way to warm up the house once it starts to get cold. Update: I did start a MT Beer Blog after all.
  
• I don't think I've mentioned our new car seat yet. Actually we have two new car seats -- one my dad bought for their car that we are using in our second vehicle for the time being. It's a Graco SafeSeat identical to the one we were borrowing but in another color. The one that we got for our car is the Britax Diplomat. This seat should last Georgie until she's ready for a booster only. And while we picked it for its excellent safety specs, we do take some pleasure in the fact that it's in cow print. Georgie now has a diaper, a pair of babylegs, and a car seat in cow print. It's getting to be a signature pattern, though Nikki scoffed at the idea of making 'Cowgirl' Georgie's theme.

Weekend wrap-up

First of all the sailor suit pictured in the previous post is no longer red and white. It's red and bluish gray. Oops. Because of the red I didn't want to wash it with the whites. So I put it in with darks. I guess I should have just washed it alone. It's soaking in bleach now so we'll see if it can be recovered. It was only 6 dollars so we can get a new one if need be.

Well our plan to try bottle feeding again today was seemingly interrupted by the fact that I ended up sleeping all day. I went to bed between 11-12 but didn't sleep great because Georgie was right next to me. So I slept the sleep of a parent whose infant daughter is right next to them. Then around 2 Nikki came to bed (she's been frantically editing to meet a deadline for some freelance work she has). Then I couldn't sleep anymore so I was up listening to music on last.fm and doing trivia games on sporcle.com (I can now name all 100 senators -- a dubious accomplishment). By the time Georgie was ready for her first nap of the day Sunday I was too so we all took a nap. Only I woke up at 6pm. That's a little over 8 hours of sleep but it hardly makes up for the sleep I didn't get the rest of the weekend. It's been especially rough lately with my work/sleep schedule but a respite is upon us.

Shortly after I got up Georgie fell asleep on Nikki. We gingerly transferred her to me and Nikki took off for the grocery store. When Georgie woke up, we played a little and then I decided to see if she was hungry. She was and took the bottle (and Adiri one this time) without complaint. So hope is restored. Nikki was very relieved and I have my confidence back.

Georgie ended her evening by laughing riotously at her mother's nonsense words. It was a fun day, even if I slept through most of it.

Sailor suit (see previous post)

Saturday

Well Nikki has already covered the first half of the day below. Once she got here on Georgine was settled we decided to go to town. We've been wanting to go to H&M one last time before we left. H&M is a Swedish clothing store and they have cute baby clothes at bargain prices. We took the Metro (subway) because we thought it would be more fun for Georgie. It was for her but for us it was yet another experience making us more excited for Montana. Too many people and all of them surly. But they don't have H&M in Montana so we had to go here.

It was a telling trip, too, because Georgie was too big for all the stuff in the baby sections. It's easy not to realize just how big she's gotten but moments like that show us. We still managed to get a couple of things in the 12-18 month category. I'll have to post pictures. One of them is a red and white striped sailor suit for the cruise. I also got my self a new pajama set, which Nikki won't let me wear until Montana.

We came back to Columbia Heights and I stopped at the good beer store by the station. I decided to get two going-away sort of beers -- one from a Belgian cafe in Philadelphia (a flemish sour ale) and one from a brewpub in Baltimore called Brewer's Art (beer is called Ozzy).

Solo Parenting and Bottle Feedings

Aaron's home with Georgie now and I'm at a cafe, working. But now taking a break for blogging. As we wrote about before, we were going to do bottles earlier, asked the lactation consultant who visited our apartment about it, but she convinced us that it was more "natural" not to do bottles. That fathers weren't involved in feedings for centuries, and babies turned out just fine; that fathers had their own special ways of bonding with babies, etc. We were new to parenting and wanted to do things as "naturally" as possible (whatever that means). Plus, I was a little complacent (i.e, lazy) and didn't want to deal with figuring out pumping. We're now irritated with the LC -- rather, with ourselves, for listening to her. All that she said may be true, from one perspective, and there is something nice about exclusively breastfeeding, and I did feel a little sad the first time I saw her attempt to take a bottle, but.....

Aaron's having a good, special time with Georgie, and (as he just told me over chat), it's different than when I'm around and he's taking care of her. It's good for Aaron, it's good for Georgie, and (I suppose) it's good for me. This is the first time I will be gone from home for more than about 1.5 hours (although we've been out, with him shopping or whatever with her for longer, with feeding breaks where he brings her to me while I work.) Aaron could have done this much earlier if we'd done bottles at 5-6 weeks, when it's recommended you introduce them. He could have helped more with night-time parenting when he's home on the weekends (not that I have any complaints about how much he's helped ... he'd get up just to change her diaper even when I was already awake). And, also important, I could have gotten more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep at a time in the first 3 months.

So that's the rant. And I miss my daughter.

Update: I was gone for only about 1.5 hours again today, when Aaron sent me a chat saying, "Please come home. Tears in eyes." Bottle feeding still isn't going that great. The problem was that Georgie wasn't so much hungry as she wanted to nurse to sleep ... something that's much harder to do with a bottle. We're gonna keep at it -- trying different methods (wrapping the bottle in my shirt), different nipples, etc. We may also have another LC (making sure she's bottle friendly, beforehand) come by to help us. The bottle struggles are not very fun.

Bedtime Fun

So some of the parenting books say you should keep lights low and kinda let your baby know it's night before you try to get them to bed. That doesn't really work for us because Aaron gets up at night, makes coffee, etc. And maybe that's not Georgie's style anyway. Tonight she had a quick nap and woke up and wants play time! She's currently screaming, sounding upset, but then with a big smile on her face. We think she's practicing her screams, practicing using her voice. It's weird and funny.

One more for friday

Friday picture of Georgie

We just went down to a nice part of Rock Creek Park. I forgot the camera though so here's a picture of Georgie from earlier today.

A few updates (Georgie; food)

A couple unrelated things:

Food....
My mom picked up a brochure about a Valier-area ranch that raises grass-fed sheep and beef without antibiotics or hormones (thanks, Mom!). Aaron e-mailed them last night, and we got a very nice e-mail back today. We're going to buy a quarter of a beef from them; we're very excited. The beef is also 2/3 the cost per pound of what we paid at Whole Foods yesterday for some stew meat, and we'll be getting a mix of steaks, hamburger, and roasts. AND we're going to take a tour of their ranch, too. Honestly it feels a little funny to take a tour of a ranch that is probably within 30 miles of the farm/ranch I grew up on ... but my parents haven't had livestock for years, and it will be fun to see a different kind of operation. And I haven't been to a farm with livestock for a really long time.

Georgie.....
She's been getting so almost-mobile! Today I found out that she can almost wriggle out of her car seat if she's not buckled in. Luckily I didn't find this out the hard way ... Georgie is safe and sound. We never buckle her in when she's in her stroller, but now I think we're going to have to.

She also is enjoying watching the cats more. Sometimes we follow them around the apartment and play with them (as much as they'll tolerate) when they're sitting in the window. Today she grabbed Nino's ear; he froze and then patiently waited for her to let go before running off. Then about an hour later she grabbed a fistful of Aslan's hair and Aslan screeched and ran away.

Finally, today I took her on the metro for the first time in at least a month; we've been driving almost everywhere. But she had a rough day in the car seat yesterday, so I thought the metro would be a nice break. And it was only about 84 degrees out, so the metro wouldn't be as hot (and, therefore, as smelly). She loved riding it! I held her the whole time (rather than having her sit in the stroller), and she laughed at one point (I think because of a flashing light) and looked all around, at the people and out the windows.

She took a brief nap in her stroller when we were out. Here's a picture, with her giraffe she likes to always have with her:


Also, her hair is pretty much blond. Not red like I once thought. I think the birth hair and blond were mixing to look reddish. But nope. Blond.

Montana

So we are off to Montana in a few weeks. I can't wait.

Nikki and Georgie will be flying. Georgie's grandpapa and I will be driving. He is going to fly out here to DC and then go as far as Great Falls with me. It's going to be really fun.

We've settled on an itinerary of DC-South Bend, IN-Sioux Falls, SD-Billings. On that third day we are going to drive through Badlands National Park. They have a scenic by-way that veers off the interstate and doesn't backtrack.

Speaking of national parks, I just realized that we should really make a priority of going to Yellowstone NP. Maybe for my birthday, thanks to the Columbus Day holiday. Not sure I want to be on an Indian reservation on Columbus Day anyway.

My other priorities for Montana are to go to all of the cities I had heard of in Montana prior to meeting Nikki. That would be Helena, Bozeman, Billings, and Butte. I've already been to the other one I had heard of -- Missoula -- which was nothing like I pictured.

I also want to go to as many brewpubs as possible. We definitely will go back to Flathead Lake Brewing Co., which will always be my favorite brewpub.

I want to do something related to Lewis & Clark. Not sure what that is yet. Maybe the museum in Great Falls, maybe just read Undaunted Courage while on the Blackfeet Rez.

I want to get to know some locals. If we live in Heart Butte, I want to take Georgie down to the community center on a regular basis and talk to the older Indians.

I want to take lots of nice long walk in the quiet, 2500 miles away from all of this city.

I want to get to know my in-laws better.

I want for anyone reading this (well, if I know you that is) to come visit us while we're there. If you can that is, no pressure. :)

Just a birthmark!

If you've met Georgie, or you have been very observant of our photographs, you know that she was born with some white spots over her right eyebrow. On one of our first visits to her, our pediatrician referred us to a specialist in pediatric dermatology. Because he's a specialist, it took four months to get in to see him. Well, the appointed day finally came and I am happy to report that Georgie is A-OK. He said immediately that it was a birthmark and then further diagnosed it as Nevus Sebaceous. Because it was at a teaching hospital (Georgetown Univ. Hospital) we also had several residents look at. The doctor said that we don't need to do anything and it will fade away. He also said that at the advent of puberty it may flare up a little bit again and that at that point we may wish to have it removed by a plastic surgeon. We never really were too worried but we're glad to have confirmation that it's just another little unique part of Georgie.

Telework approved!

I just got word that my proposed arrangement for this fall -- that I work 20 hrs. a week remotely -- was approved. I thought it was going to be a much bigger battle than that. We were pretty much going whether they approved it or not but this way is a lot more financially solvent. More about our Montana trip coming soon. Just wanted to announce this to friends and family.

First bug bite

A combination of a long, cool spring and a hot, swampy summer seems to have made DC the ideal home for millions of mosquitos. Nikki and I have been eaten alive but somehow Georgie has avoided the wrath. Until now. Sorry Georgie.

A few more

A few pics

Wouldn't want to let the weekend go by with some new pictures of Georgie. Here she is playing in her gym.

A weekend somewhere between boring and crappy

Our weekend was so uneventful that we don't even have pictures to post. Though I guess I could post a picture of the damage to the front of our car -- more on that in a bit.

Nikki has editing work right now so on the weekends Georgie and I hang out and try to only bother mama for feedings. This is much easier to do in a place like a museum or the big Whole Foods in Fairfax. Yesterday we decided to go to Pentagon City mall so Nikki could work and G and I would have our choice of entertainment. We've taken Georgie to a lot of museums and a lot of outdoor stuff but it turns out that her favorite thing is retail. This is worrisome. She absolutely loved looking around in stores, especially Borders and Costco. For a while she was bursting out laughing every 20 seconds just looking around. People in the stores were really smiling at her.

Nikki was working at Starbucks and we were hungry and right next door is Chevy's Fresh-Mex. Has anyone been to one of these? I have not had the pleasure. Actually I have to say that this place is an insult to authentic Fresh-Mexican cuisine. If I was from Fresh-Mexico I'd be embarrassed and angry. It took forever to find something recognizable on the menu. Or rather everything was familiar but had something wrong with it. Like crab, or mushrooms, or sherry chipotle sauce. In the end I tried to order a burrito with verde sauce but had to settle for green sauce because the waitress hadn't heard of verde. Nikki had fajitas. About 90 seconds after we ordered our food appeared. Wow, Chevy, that is Fresh! (Guess they are not even pretending that their 13 dollar platters aren't microwaved.) Georgie has our best interest in mind though and as soon as we got our food she started crying but refused to eat at Chevy's. Good girl. She has better taste than us.



Today I slept a lot because I hadn't really yet this weekend. Nikki took Georgie to the P Street Whole Foods. They have a tricky, cramped basement parking garage. Apparently on of the concrete poles down there jumped out at her at the last minute and she lost the fight. The pole didn't have insurance so it looks like we are footing the bill. The damage isn't bad at all, actually. She sort of nicked the pole by the front corner of the car and it popped part of the body loose. You never know with custom molded plastic, but it should be cheap to repair. In other car damage news, someone keyed the rear door on the other side. Can't wait to get out of this city.

Brought to You by Lockheed Martin

This morning I was talking with Aaron about where I'd go with Georgie today. He suggested that we go someplace I "normally wouldn't go, like the air and space museum." So that's what we did. This museum is so different from the art galleries. For instance: A huge food court that features only McDonald's. There were tons of people there, too, more than at other museums when I've been there. Georgie really enjoyed watching the crowds, though, which I think she's doing in the picture below.

We stayed only for about 45 minutes. I made the mistake of leaving too late after Georgie's morning nap -- so she fell asleep as soon as I strolled her from the car to the museum. She woke up inside soon after, but she was kind of tired. Not fussing though. So we left after she first ate and she slept all the way home.

Quite a parenting day

We had a couple of very nice parenting milestones Wednesday. First, Nikki left the house for a while and I gave Georgie a bottle. That might not sound like a big deal but it's one of the first times I've gotten her to take a bottle. We didn't introduce a bottle at all until very recently. A lactation consultant we hired discouraged us from doing it without having a very good reason. And until our Montana trip became a reality, we didn't have a very good reason. Plus Nikki doesn't exactly list pumping as one of her favorite activities.

Well, anyway, we've been trying to prepare Georgie both for taking a bottle and for mom simply not being around at times. So Nikki went down to a cafe and Georgie and I just hung out and then she started to get hungry. We've tried this before and it hasn't really taken. As in -- screaming baby, frantic return of mother. But last night it went beautifully. Georgie didn't get much out of the bottle (I think she needs faster flow nipples), but she didn't cry at all and seemed to know what to do. It gave me a lot of confidence that things are going to go well in Montana.

Later, as I was about to leave for work, Nikki was holding Georgie and Georgie was sort holding out her clenched fist in a funny way. Nikki started imitating it and Georgie just started laughing. Then we started laughing at that and Georgie started laughing even more. She's laughed at tickling before but never at something that wasn't physical. More and more, she seems like she's developing a lot of personality.

From Nikki: It was such a huge relief that she would take the bottle! I've been pretty worried about it. I'm not looking forward to being away from Georgie this fall, but it feels a little better after Aaron's success yesterday. So, that plus the fact that she's attached to and bonded with Aaron, plus the fact that I want Aaron to be able to spend a lot of time with her ... all make me feel better about being away during part of the day this fall. I do need to keep reminding myself of these things, though. Also, I've been leaving Georgie with Aaron when I ran out to do something ever since I was able to drive again after having her, but only for about an hour and a half at a time. Now I can leave her for longer and Aaron can give her a bottle, as practice for all of us for this fall, and just because.

Thirsties stash

Our favorite diapers, Thirsties Pocket All-in-ones, were recently re-designed. As a result, all of the diaper sites were selling the old-style ones at massive discounts. So we decided to stock up on some larger sizes for when the little one is a bit bigger. We now have quite the color spectrum!

July 13th

Late this afternoon Georgie and I headed to the Mall to the National Gallery of Art, which is right across from the Native American Museum. I didn't know about it, but there was a celebration of the Longest Walk going on the Mall between the 2 museums. We caught the end of Keith Secola's concert, which was great. I heard the song "NDN Kars" and there was a pow-wow.

Keith Secola and Wild Band of Indians -- You can't see him very well, but I liked that both the tipi and U.S. Capitol were in the picture.


Pow-wow, complete with requistie hippies:


It was hot out, so Georgie and I then moved on to the National Gallery. We went to the Modern Art wing. Someone was nice enough to take our picture in front of two paintings.

Me, Georgie, & Derain's "View of the Thames, 1906"

Me, Georgie, & Picasso's "Le Gourmet."


I wanted to get our picture in front of "The Tragedy," but I thought a picture of a little girl was more appropriate.