autumn smell

I made pumpkin bread. Our house smells heavenly. That is all.

one-year checkup stats

Mary is one year old (and 17 days).

She weighs 20 pounds, 1 ounce (about 2.5 times what she weighed a year ago).

She is 30 inches tall.

And she knows how to blow kisses to the doctor. I believe she was showing off.

She had four shots today and was really, really pissed about it.

End of report.

things

* Mary is getting really big. Today I think she got six new skills. Seriously, she’s so much more coordinated and less clumsy than she was even a week ago. To give one example, sometimes I point to her and she points back. Well, now she does this whole “E.T. phone home” thing and touches her finger to mine. A week ago, she would have been like a drunk sophomore trying to get his key in his dorm room door. Now, she just reaches out and hits my hand on the first try. And she’s doing the whole “walking with someone holding her hands” thing, just as of today. Conor got her to do it this morning and now she’s a pro.

* You know what sucks? Health insurance. Not in concept–I like it in concept–but in practice. I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on the phone trying to sort out our coverage, which is particularly impossible because it’s also filtered through the administration of a large university. Is it so confusing? I mean, really, if you do this for a living–all insurance, all the time–would someone’s 6-month baby immunizations be an End of the World Event?

* I think it’s almost fall. I’m totally ready for it. Crispy leaves and sweaters are my style. I’m just hoping that I don’t actually have to RAKE leaves now that I’m a homeowner, or at least not more than to make a picturesque pile in which to photograph Mary in her Halloween costume.

why does everything always have to happen at the same time?

Last week everything was under control. Now my list of things I have to do is so long that I’m intimidated and I don’t want to do any of it.

Plus, Mary has learned to hop with both feet when she dances, which is hilarious. I’d rather spend my time watching her do that.

my blog is neglected.

Because I am sewing and knitting Christmas presents, which cannot be shared until after Christmas. It frustrates me. Just wait until December 26.

So, Mary had a birthday! It was exciting. To warm up for the festivities, we visited Luke and Elaine last weekend. I include this photo because I love it–it cracks me up the way M is planning to wreak havoc and just about says so out loud:

My parents (a.k.a. Grandpa Mike the Northerly, and Grandma Cal) were visiting. They arrived on Saturday. We had to scramble about preparing for the party. It’s a little embarrassing to admit how much time Conor and I spent cleaning the house and getting things organized, both before and after my parents arrived–so I won’t. But it was a lot. When my parents arrived, we went outside and played in the grass for a while. Mary wore my dad’s hat for about a tenth of a second:

Then she came over to tell me all about how this weird guy who looked sort of familiar had put his hat on her head. Doesn’t she look a little bit worried?

She got used to them, though, especially when they gave her this–it is her birthday present and she is passionately in love with it. It makes a number of noises. I have mixed feelings about it. I think it is adorable but I am considering removing the batteries, now that Grandma and Grandpa have left the state. Its noises include sayings like, “We’re big and strong!” and “Let’s do some work!”, as well as a little John Deere song, which has been running frantically in my head like a hyperactive squirrel in a wheel for almost a week. Aaaagh. She really loves it, though.

These two pictures crack me up. I think Conor made this face this morning. How much could she possibly look like him?

This is Mary’s favorite birthday-party loot: she asked for, and received, a cardboard box. Sheila and John brought it specially for her. Ribbon included! (They also brought her a DVD, which I will watch and Mary will dance along to at irregular intervals.)

I made a lot of food. Some of our guests are vegans, and there are some wheat and dairy issues, so I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to find enough to eat. In order to head off this possibility, I just cooked. A lot. I just kept cooking. I made veggie dip and veggies. I made hummus. I bought meats and cheeses and rolls to make sandwiches. Someone (I think it was my father) grilled some hot dogs. I cut up fruits for a fruit tray and cheese for a cheese tray. I made salsa. We grilled packets of potatoes and onions. I cooked squash and cauliflower and garlic and cherry tomatoes from the garden. I sauteed mushrooms and onions. Eventually I realized that we had way, WAY too much food.

She had birthday cake–I made a real layer cake, which always makes me feel like a really domestic baker:

There were, in fact, other people at this party.

The next day we all had to relax and wind down, so we went to the park.

Dad swung.

Mary swung. With crazy hair.

I just realized that I personally sewed the green and yellow dress near the top of these pics, the pink dress she wore at the party, and the shirt she’s wearing at the park in the swinging picture. Something odd has happened to my life.

obligatory picture-heavy birthday blog!

Mary is one today! In honor of this event, I bring you:

Seven Dirty Lies about Pregnancy, Birth, and Babies

1. You’ll feel better by the end of the first trimester.

Riiiiight.

2. It won’t hurt in between contractions.

It will so.

3. When you’re in labor, you will be too focused on having a baby to worry about people seeing you with no pants on.

Bullshit.

4. Newborns are beautiful.

Newborns have coneheads.

5. Babies are cuddly.

Some babies are cuddly. My baby wants to climb up to the top of my head and sit there, surveying her domain. She has no interest in being snuggled.

6. Babies will stop spitting up by the time they reach about six months of age.

Still waiting on that one.

7. Once you have a baby, you won’t be able to remember what your life was like before he/she was born.

I remember it. It was more boring but also cleaner. And I could go to the movies or a play whenever I wanted, but I had no good excuse to skip events that sounded boring. Now I just say, “Oh, I’d love to, but I’ll have the baby that day.” (Like I don’t have her every day and go to everything I want to anyhow.)

And now: the Mary Baby Picture Retrospective.

She started out like this:

Conor waited at the hospital for a long time:

When she was born she was not so cute:

But by about 12 hours, she looked like this:

She got tired at the hospital:

By about three days later she looked like this:

And eventually she looked like this:

She did a lot of things:
crawled

saw fireworks

went swinging

went swimming

inspected Conor’s nose

took a bath in the salon sink

grew adorable baby feet

went to the Denver art museum

and grinned

She read a lot of books:

She met Jake:

and Jack

Grandma and Grandpa Swarthout:

and Ama:

and Grandma Moreland:

and Cherie and Jenny:

and Molly:

and Suz:

and Linda:

and the parrot:

and a sheep:

and Eddie

She liked meeting everyone. It makes her happy and she makes this face:

smiley

She wore many hats: