Nuggets of Gold!

TWO MONTHS

Dear Nora,

You know how they say parenting is a roller-coaster ride? Yeah, it is. With barf and everything. 

This month the high point of that roller coaster has undoubtedly been your newfound ability to smile. It doesn't matter how much you've been crying all day or how little sleep we've been able to get or how many diapers we've changed after we JUST put a new one on you. One tiny smile makes our hearts all melty and, as cliched as it sounds, makes everything worth it.

 
 

Maybe this is reading too much into it, but I can't help but think we're starting to get a glimpse into your sense of humor. You smile a little when we coo over you, or when we first wake you up from a long nap. But what really brings on the grins is when we make jokes about you, and how much you seem to hate us sometimes, and how when you ride in your stroller you ball up your fists and glare like you're going to punch the next person who comes close. You also seem to like it when mom and dad make mean jokes at each other's expense. Where you get this sick sense of humor, I surely can't say.

You've been introduced to the bottle this month, mainly because you've developed a habit of screaming in white-hot fury instead of eating when it's time to breastfeed. This was immensely frustrating and scary, but it seems we've started to figure out the problem -- not enough milk, not fast enough. So the bottle fills in the gaps while Mommy works on fixing that. Which she's been advised to do by eating more calories. So the milkshake and Big Mac diet begins this month, Nora, and Mommy is suddenly seeing this problem as not such a bad thing at all.

Other highlights this month included a good report after a checkup with your neurologist, meeting your Uncle Nick while he was home from Iraq and going to the Farmers Market restaurant (your first sit-down meal in public!) with your Aunt Liz, Uncle Josh and cousin Johnny D. I saw you eyeballing my head-sized ham biscuit, which I ate in about 20 seconds, thanks to my training in inhaling food to get a meal in between your fusses. One day you'll be big enough for your own ham biscuit, but until then, keep your mitts off mine. Cute smiles or no, mama ain't giving up her ham biscuit for anyone.

Love,

Mama and Daddy

 

NORA'S PLAYLIST

When she's not sleeping or eating, Nora likes to be on the move. We head out for walks in the park or trips to the store at least once a day, when the weather or mama's appetite for adventure allows. But sometimes we have to or want to stay inside, and then? We like to dance.

Before Nora was born, I started working on an iTunes playlist of songs somehow related to babies, or songs I thought she might like, and I've been adding to the list as ideas strike me ever since. Now I've got a pretty long list I can turn to when it's time for me to dance her around the living room.

I won't bore you with the whole thing, but here are some highlights of the playlist -- the songs that Nora and I like best during our dance parties:

The Littlest Birds -- The Be Good Tanyas
Nashville Cats -- The Del McCoury Band
Pecan Pie -- Golden Smog
Mr. Rabbit -- Paul Westerberg
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk -- Rufus Wainwright
For Jack Tymon -- Scott Miller
World Waits for You -- Son Volt
Must Be Love -- Stacey Earle
Heavy Metal Drummer -- Wilco
Sweet Tooth -- Dave Rawlings Machine
Buckets of Rain -- Bob Dylan (but we rock the Neko Case cover)
Give Your Mama One Smile -- Lillian "Lil" Green (covered by Madeleine Peyroux)
Murder in the City -- The Avett Brothers
I Get a Kick Out of You -- Cole Porter (as covered by Dolly Parton)
If the Stars Were Mine -- Melody Gardot

So ... yeah. These aren't your traditional kids songs. In fact, Nora will probably get to preschool having no idea what this "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" stuff is about. But she'll likely know all about "Maggie's Farm," which is far more important in my book.

GETTING THE HANG OF IT

Nora's been busy lately, entertaining visitors and keeping mom and dad on their toes. It's amazing how quickly things change with her -- which can be both frustrating and rewarding. We congratulate ourselves on finding some new trick (going outside, holding her so her tummy faces the floor, shushing in her ear) that soothes her, only to find that the trick that worked like a charm just yesterday has no effect today. We solve one problem only to encounter a new one. But some quick changes are delightful, like, after weeks of little to no response to her parents, watching her smile when she hears our voices or hearing some new cute noise she's come up with.

Most delightfully, there seems to be far less screaming lately. (Knocking heavily on wood ...). Maybe it's the antacid her doctor put her on -- certainly that has helped cut down on the barfing, which is always a good thing. Or maybe it's my efforts to cut dairy out of my diet for a while. (God, I miss ice cream.) Or maybe it's just that she's a bit older now, and mom and dad are starting to figure her out, anticipating her needs before she has to yell to express herself. Whatever the reason, life here is starting to improve, and everyone seems more relaxed. Maybe this whole baby thing wasn't such a bad idea after all? :)

NOTE: One of our recent visitors was the fabulous Kevin Keister, who came bearing delicious food AND his camera gear. He took some awesome photos of Nora and the rest of the family (even Murray!), so be sure to check them out in the photo album linked on the upper right side of this page. There's just a small sampling of those photos up now, but I'll post more in the next few days.