The Big 4-0

Dear Shrike,
Okay, now I am blabbing to the whole world about your birthday.

(Although it's still your fault that your Facebook friends know.)

As I type this, you are in the next room, changing Peeper's diaper. I can hear you talking to her, and her squealing back at you (and at her panda mobile, I'm sure) and there is nothing that makes me happier.

You girls are everything to me, and I can't imagine life without the two of you.

Thank you so much for being with me, and for making her with me.

Have a wonderful birthay.

I love you,
Whozat

Movin' On Up

This evening, we switched out much of Peeper's wardrobe from 0-3 month to 3-6 month sizes!

Many (most?) of her 0-3s still fit, but the footie-things are getting too short, and the couple of 3-6 outfits I've tried on her seem to fit, so we figured she'd better start wearing them.

We washed up all the 3-6s and put them away in her dresser and closet, but first we packed away most of the 0-3s - everything with feet, all the onesies (because we have a zillion might-as-well-be-identical 3-6 onesies to replace them with) and a few other things that are too small.

Included in the things that we retired were several really cute outfits that we never got around to putting on her.

But, of course, not the one that you gave her. She's worn that one hundreds of times! It's one of our favorites!

Splish Splash, Peeper's Takin' a Bath

Daily Peep: Sunny Day

Daily Peep: Tickley-Boo

Daily Peep: Literary Genius

Peeper is starting to be more interested in her books these days.

Of course, we doubt that she realizes there's any connection between those sounds coming out of our faces and the things she's chewing on, or that those pretty colors represent real-life things (Or not-so-real-life things, in the case of Dr. Seuss.), but just playing with books and knowing they are fun toys, and figuring out how they work really is the first tiny baby-step toward literacy.



Speaking of "how they work," she's very interested in turning pages, and actually does it pretty well (in board books - or laminated restaurant menus) although, of course, she's got no idea which direction to go, or when . . .

. . . or which appendages to use.

Footnote:
I mentioned a while back that Peeper's feet had discovered each other, and that they play with each other alot.

Her hands still haven't found her feet yet, but she has, just in the past few days, started trying to use her feet to do things that she's previously been doing with her hands.

One assumes that she'll eventually realize that the hands do a better job of it, and will decide to stick with them, but in the meantime, it is just fascinating to watch, as her awareness of her self, and the world around her, unfolds, step by step.

Daily Peep: Take Your Baby to Work Day

Daily Peep: Mama is a Blockhead

On our recent playdate, I noticed that GirlW has a set of really cool soft blocks that looked familiar to me.

When I described them to Shrike, she thought they sounded familiar, too, so we decided that we'd seen them in one of the many mommy-magazines that we get.

I still think that we may have seen them there, but the other reason they look so familiar?

We. Own. Them.

In our defense, they were in a box in the basement, with several other "big girl" toys that Peeper's received as gifts and hand-me-downs, but isn't ready for yet.

I knew that there were some 6-month things in there, so I poked around in it last night, and that's when I discovered the blocks.

I brought them up for her to play with, and she finds them pretty intriguing . . .

. . . but is having some trouble handling them.

GirlW was just picking hers up and gnawing on them like nobody's business, so I'm sure Peeper will have them tamed pretty soon.

Oh, and GirlCat likes them, too.

BoyCat is less impressed.

Nurse The Earth

Just when I was thinking that I'm a big old loser for not doing something special to save the Earth today, I found out that I already am!

Happy Earth Day, everybody - from me and my goodies!

Daily Peep: Biiiiig Girl!

Peeper got her final Synagis shot today, and was weighed on the scale that we trust, for the first time since her March shot.

On March 25, she weighed 10 lb 7 oz.

Today, she weighs 12 lb 7 oz!

That is a gain of two pounds (32 oz) in 27 days - or almost 1.2 ounces per day!

(Even as a newborn, they were only asking her to gain 0.5 - 1 ounce per day.)

I suspect she's making up for lost time, now that she's not spending so many calories to breathe.

Here she is today, sleeping on the mattress from the nest.

(Note that the nest still lives in the bed. It's blocking off the area where some slats are missing from the headboard. We really need to fix that.)


And here she is in the nest five months ago, on November 20, weighing around 5.25 pounds.