For a Kid Who's Always Been Generous, Patricia is a Real Scrooge

Well, the Downs girls are anything if not theatrical. Patricia came home from school yesterday all excited and wanted to tell me something "in private." I shooed Margaret away and stood, waiting. "Well," she says, "I was sitting in my classroom and Mr. Fortin tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to go out in the hall. I worried, 'Oh, no, what did I do?' We went in the hall and he shut the door and said, 'Would you mind playing Scrooge in the play?' I said, 'You couldn't find a boy?' He said, 'Not one who can sing solo.'" She is SO excited, and so are we, and proud, too. But the drama with which she told the story is so cute. The other thing that's cute is the way Margaret came bounding out of the school yesterday afternoon after having gone to her first drama club meeting. She was also very excited and said she really likes the advisers and what they did (some warm-up exercises and other theatrical exercises). She said they weren't going to do a big play this year but a series of 10-minute readings, which Margaret is happy with. She said the advisers said there are opportunities for acting, directing and other behind-the-scenes work, but she said to me, "I'm interested in acting." That's a far cry from St. Peter's, when she first said she didn't want to act, she wanted to work on sets. She then moved on to be the narrator in the same Christmas Carol adaptation that Patricia is doing with Mr. Fortin's class this year. Things have a way of coming full circle.

And as for our Baby B, she had a great nap yesterday afternoon and was in fine form throughout the rest of the night. She sat in her exer-saucer for a while and really (I mean REALLY) enjoyed some mac and cheese (cooked very plump and soft). Daddy worries I'm introducing too much too soon, but I am, afterall, the Mom, and it's pasta. She's had pasta. She LOVES pasta. But you don't want them getting too much too soon. Next, I'm going to give her raisins, un-cut grapes, hot dog nickels and popcorn.

All Our World's A Stage (and All the Girls are Players)

Well, I've been reading Ferber again in anticipation of Ferberizing Baby Brigid into submission or at least into a good night's sleep. As much as I will regret not having that downy head next to me every night, she really needs to be sleeping in her own crib and sleeping through the night. It's for all our own good because it just prolongs the inevitable. She'll need to sleep in her own bed in college.
(Bonus picture of Baby B. Can you imagine making this cutie sleep in her own bed??)
We were so tired last night, both of us fell asleep before Jack even got home from work. I was tired this morning, too, but Brigid had a restless night last night (another reason for her to be in her own bed). But she woke up in a good mood.

Yesterday she took a two-hour nap for Daddy, which might account for the extreme tiredness at night because she missed her afternoon nap. But her constant standing, sitting, standing, sitting, standing exercises might also account for it. Yesterday throughout the day I caught her standing on her own, sometimes for several seconds. She's getting her sea legs and soon I fear those legs are going to start moving independently of furniture. She'll be nine months old on Dec. 12, and we may have an early walker to chase after.

Last night when we were in bed, Brigid was patting herself on the chest and I said, "Brigid. You're Brigid." She laughed, and I said, "Where's Mommy?" and she smiled and put her head on my chest, looking me in the eyes. How cute is that? I think she's also starting to exhibit and understand a sense of humor. She was playing with her bootie and I took it and put it on my nose, saying, "does this go on Mommy's nose?" She laughed and laughed and took it off my nose. Then I put it on my head and said, "Does this go on my head?" Again she laughed and laughed. Then I said, "Does it go on your foot?" and she reached down and touched her foot. She's such a crack-up.

Patricia and Margaret, meanwhile, are getting into the mood for theater. Margaret has a meeting today after school for the drama club, something she became interested in at St. Peter's (thank you Suzanne Lacombe). We'll see what she has to say when she gets home this afternoon. And Patricia's class is getting ready to perform a musical adapation of "A Christmas Carol," the same version that Suzanne staged last year at St. Peter's. She already knows the libretto and much of the dialogue so she's hoping to get the part of the narrator, the same part Margaret had last year. Too bad I didn't keep the costumes I made; Mr. Fortin could probably use them. So we'll have two thespiens in the family (three if we count Brigid's constant theatrics).

That's Using the Old Noodle

Three cheers for Granddad's turkey noodle soup! Thanksgiving is over but the turkey noodle soup lives on, and on and on because he makes it so thick, all you have to do is add more water and it magically fills the pan again. He deserves a cheer not just because he's one of the best soup-makers on the planet, but because Brigid has discovered how much she loves real-people food. At dinner last night, I cooled some carrots and beans from the soup for her and put them on her high-chair tray, which she managed to get into her mouth through her pudgy fisted grabs. Then I decided to try some of the noodles, which were the big, fat cork-screw pasta. She loved them and ate and ate and ate. When I tried to spoon some Gerber sweet potatoes in, she ate them but not with the gusto she directed at the soup fare. We've turned another page in the chapter of Brigid's life. Of course, not long after dinner, she turned her attention to the boob for the remainder of the evening. Mom's Country Cookin' can still trump Granddad's Special Soup.

We had a girls' day of shopping on Sunday, having successfully avoided Black Friday like the Black Plague. I took the girls to Burlington and we had a fund day of it. We actually got a little real shopping done, which surprised me. They learned the joy of being able to cross a name off the list. And Brigid held up very well, enjoying some of the Christmas lights and decorations of Church Street. It certainly put me in the Christmas mood, although I'm of the old guard when it comes to deocrating at home. The girls and Jack are all clammoring to put the tree up. I say it's to early. We never put the tree up until the week before Christmas. And it stayed up until Epiphany. Maybe it's because that's when we were getting out of school, but it never went up so early. There are homes in our neighborhood where trees have been up since before Thanksgiving. That's going too far! So, as a compromise, I might say the tree can go up the second weekend in December. We'll see. In the meantime, I'm humming Christmas music and making lists and considering cookie-decorating parties and it's not even December yet. Let the holidays begin.

Giving Thanks for our Blessings

The day after Turkey Day and Brigid did very well. She even ate squash, although it was Gerber's version of the real thing. She and I had a lazy morning together, waking up and hanging out in bed while Daddy and Margaret and Patricia went on a hike. It was actually a glorious Thanksgiving Day weather-wise, sunny, highs in the 40s, so it was a good day to go outside. But Baby B and I hung out inside. Once we decided to rise, I gave her some Cheerios in the high chair while I read the paper and looked at the fliers announcing the insane 4 a.m. sales. We laughed together at the thought of someone camping out for a Playstation. We then watched some of the soggy Macys Parade and cuddled together, being thankful it wasn't like that in Plattsburgh. BB then fell asleep for an hour nap, which gave me the chance to do some dishes and make the bed. When she woke up, we watched some of the dog show. Brigid gets very excited when she sees dogs or cats, even on TV or in print. She jumps up and down, does her growly noises and laughs (squeals, actually), so we had lots of growls, squeals and laughs at the dogs on screen.

We were playing on the floor when Daddy and the big girls came home. Brigid was cruising along the outside of the playpen. When we heard the door open out in the dining room, she looked at me, then out toward the sound and started squealing and jumping up and down. She knew they were home and was very excited. When the girls came in she started her usual excited routine, but when Daddy came in she just about burst she was so happy. She sure knows her family.

She also knows a lot of other things, too, and I'm finding out all the time how smart this baby is. She was in the playpen the other night and I was working on the computer. I had given her a bottle of juice -- you can put the nipple can cap right on the Gerber juice bottles -- and she had some of it in the playpen but eventually just dropped the bottle. I looked at her and said, "Where's your juice?" She considered it a moment, looked around the playpen and crawled over and picked up the juice. A few minutes later, I asked it again, and she did the same thing. She is definitely aware of her things.

We went over to Grandma and Granddad Downs' house for dinner about 4 p.m. and Brigid was excited to see them (or at least to see Uncle Tom's dog, Zoe). We visited and Brigid chatted away, delighting Grandma with her squealy sounds. Uncle Tom and Uncle Matt showed up, and Uncle Matt, with his booming voice and huge presence, scared our Baby B and she turned her lip up and cried. I held her and she started at him, with suspicious red-rimmed eyes. But it didn't last too long. Soon she was herself again, squealing and laughing. She grew accustomed to his loud voice and only occasionally was startled. (He's been my brother-in-law for 17 years and he can still startle me, so Brigid did pretty well). She hunkered down and feasted on her squash and peaches and I treated her to some banana in the fruit salad. We all played a game after dinner and Brigid let us know with some fussiness that it was time to end early. We got home about 8 p.m. and she took a nap for a short time, but slept on me the rest of the evening. Not a bad way to end Turkey Day. Jenny comes today (first time in a long time, so it will be interesting to see how BB does). Margaret and Patricia are looking forward to a day with Jenny, even if they have to share it with Brigid.

But Can She Open the Peels With Her Ape Toes?

I left for work this morning with Brigid strapped into the high chair and Daddy feeding her veggie puffs and bits of REAL banana. She's getting to big too fast. I gave her a bite of banana the other day and she loved it. So we've passed another milestone -- real food from real food. She wolfed down her pears and squash last night at dinner, so I'm beginning to think she needs something else beside that and boob. Those five teeth need some exercise, besides the exercise she gives them grinding them back and forth. It's a sad, sad day when you come to realize the boob isn't all there is in the life of your child. That's not to say she's ready to relinquish it, however. She latches on greedily every chance she gets, especially between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. She flip-flopped all over the place last night, nursing on and off practically every two hours. But she woke up with a smile on her face this morning, that's for sure. (Probably anticipating that banana).

Brigid is getting more steady on her feet. She'll pull herself up and let go to stand on her own, ever so brieflly, then either grab onto the crib rail, the playpen side or whoever is nearby again to steady herself, or she'll plop herself down on her well-padded bottom, only to pull up again, and again, and again. Last night, she was crying, standing in the crib. I stood at the other end and held my hands out to her and kept say, "Come on, come on honey," and she cruised herself on down to me, half crying, half laughing. In one breath I'm com plaining it's too soon, in the other I'm encouraging her to walk to me.

Brigid has also started doing this very high-pitched whale sound when she "talks." She delights in her squeals and eeeeeeeee's (very high-pitched), especially if you do them back to her. But she continues to grunt and growl in consort with her simian brethren. That would explain the bananas. Hmmm.

Margaret and Patricia are off today through Sunday for Thanksgiving. We'll be spending the holiday it with Grandma and Granddad Downs (yummy. Granddad's cooking). But otherwise, we'll just be hanging out. Jack's schedule wouldn't easily permit us to travel to Buffalo to see Grandma Wright :( (We're missing you, Grandma!) But I hope we can figure out a way to visit soon. You have three granddaughters who are dying for some Grandma hugs.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to take stock in all you have. So for the moment, I'd like to take stock and say thank you to all my family and friends for their love and support. We are truly blessed. And may you all have a blessed, wonderful and wonder-filled Thanksgiving.

Schedules and Babies Don't Mix

Baby Brigid's schedule yesterday was thrown when Daddy had to go to work early. He brought her to me at my office about 11 a.m. and then she and I went to have lunch with Auntie Shell at Applebee's. Brigid was very well behaved, considering she had missed her morning nap and was hungry. She sat very well with Michelle, played with spoons and various toys I had in the diaper bag, but she was very interested in what Michelle had on her plate, including a big hunk of Texas toast. It's a big leap from Cheerios and veggie puffs to Texas toast, so we pushed the plate farther from her reach. Brigid fell asleep in the car on our way back to my office, so she slept in the carrier for a while, which gave me a few minutes to finish up work. We got home in time for the girls (Patricia and Nicole) to come home from school. I then ran out to pick up Margaret. They all had tap last night, and Nicole comes home with Patricia on Mondays and Wednesdays before dance. The last couple of days, Brigid and I have enjoyed long afternoon naps together, and yesterday was no exception. The girls played out in the living room on the computer (which we moved from the computer/sewing room in our mission to turn it into Brigid's room) while Brigid and I napped. I got up to make dinner and then we headed over to tap class. Brigid was happy to sit and look at Kim (Nicole's mom) while she and I chatted. Brigid has been showing a little interest in what goes on in the tap class while the girls are all in there tap-tap-tapping away. She cocks her head to look through the door and bounces a little. I think we have a hula baby in the making.

One of the nice things about having older girls is that they can keep an eye on Brigid when I need to do something. Last night, I had to run to the drug store quickly, so I put Baby B in the play pen near the computer and the girls entertained her for the 10 minutes I was gone. Margaret is particularly helpful because she is old enough to have taken the babysitter's class offered by the Red Cross. She really wants to start babysitting for other people; I just don't know any. People with children who need a sitter, that is. I do in fact know other people.

Bed time was a little trying. She kept falling asleep in my arms but didn't want to be transferred (big surprise) so she stayed attached to me while I watched some television. Daddy came home and he got some Brigid time while we watched "House" on tape from the night before. We spent the rest of the night passing Baby B back and forth when she got too cranky. Crying babies make it hard to hear the television.She did have a little better night, though, and wasn't attached me to all night like she has in the recent nights. Woke up in a cranky mood, however, and I had to nurse her into submission. May be a phase; may be new teeth. We'll have to wait and see.

Could She Be Part Bear?

Brigid has this habit of growling when she's excited. She growls and jumps up and down, and it sounds an awful lot like a bear, which is pretty funny since we actually think she's part monkey if her monkey toes are any indication. When she sees Daddy walk in the door, she jumps and growls in a happy way (ever see a happy bear?). When she sees the cats or a dog, she does this happy growl sound. I mentioned it to Paula at work, and Paula said she knows what I'm talking about; she's seen it in action. When you're holding her, Brigid bounces up and down, growling at whatever she sees that makes her happy. If it's just a curiosity, she'll still growl but you may not get the bounce. It's a true indicator of her mood.

We have a stray black kitten, I'll call it "Blackie," that has camped outside our back door. We've been feeding it for the last couple of days in the hopes of finding it a home and keeping it from being tire fodder. When Brigid sees Blackie, she does her bouncing growl greeting. We'd take it in if we could a) get rid of one of the other cats in the household (Grey, we're talking about you) and b) keep the thing from ripping flesh off our bones. It is a kitten, afterall, and is prone to kittenish behavior. So, in the meantime, we hope to find the little thing a home. Anybody want a cute, friendly black kitten? If you do, just growl and bounce. We'll send it your way.

Some Were Born to Be Great, Others Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them

Brigid seems to be in a hurry to qualify for dental benefits. She only just finished cutting the second top front tooth when a third top tooth emerged, left of center. So she's working on five so far. Believe me, when she's in a mood not to concentrate on nursing, I feel every one of them.

I think our Baby B is going through a growth spurt because all she really wants to do is nurse. The last few days nothing but the boob has seemed to satisfy her. Her dinner-time feeding of cereal, squash-or-sweet potatoes-or-peas-or-carrots and peaches-or-pears-or-bananas has been going very well, and she seems very happy to sit with us and open her mouth on cue when the spoon comes by. She is also getting very adept at picking up Cheerios or these new things, Veggie Puffs, and putting them in her mouth. But it doesn't seem to make a difference to her otherwise. She's just as happy to drink her meals all day. Last night, she nursed through most of the evening, snoozing as she did so. We're still not having much luck in the crib department, but soon, soon we'll be able to move the crib to the next room.

I may have posted this before, but I'm so proud of our Baby B I have to boast. Yesterday we were running errands in the car and she had pulled her Padder shoe off one foot, exposing her chubby, monkey toes. I was sitting at a red light and looked back at her. I said, "Where are your toes? Where are Brigid's toes?" She looked at her foot, lifted it up and grabbed her toes. And, last night, she once again demonstrated that she knows her cow, which is different from having a cow, although she's had those, too. We were playing on the living room floor and she had an array of toys splayed out and I told her to go get her cow. She crawled over to the Busy Box and I thought, "Oh well, good try." But she turned left and grabbed the little Fisher Price cow that was there and almost held it out for me to see before shoving the hoove into her mouth. It's mindboggling how a brain that young can process information. They're not just little blobs of cuteness that only know when they're hungry, tired or wet. She's soaking up information and processing it in her brain and in turn is able to communicate her knowledge when she makes the connection between what we're asking or talking about and what's in her frame of reference. It's amazing, the leaps her education takes.

Meanwhile, Patricia and Margaret continue to take leaps in their own education, with Margaret's straight-A performances in middle school and Patricia's performance in the Odyssey program in fourth grade. Odyssey is what they used to call "gifted and talented." But I guess that bothered the parents of students were were less-than-gifted and not-so-talented. The kids are taken out of their regular classroom and are given enrichment in math and language arts. Some are invited to participate in one, the other or both. Patricia is in both and truly enjoys the challenge and exchange of information. It also means that any classwork missed in her regular class has to be made up, so some days she has more homework than usual, but she doesn't mind and it seems that homework on Oak Street's worse day is nothing compared to work sent home when they were in St. Peter's. More and more we're finding that the curriculum at St. Peter's was so much more advanced and difficult. Margaret has been asked by teachers how she knew something and she said she had already had it in fifth with Miss Bleeker; Patricia's class just started a math series that the students are struggling with and it's the math series they had been using at St. Peter's since Patricia started first grade (and Margaret in third). There's a writing across the curriculum component that they all would groan about, but now, in Mr. Fortin's class, Patricia is the only one who consistently knows what to do because it's what she's used to. So much for the old adage about parochial school being second-rate compared to the city schools. We done right by the girls, sending them to St. Pete's. I just wish Brigid had the same opportunity in her future.

The Days of Speaking Openly Are Waning

Well, Brigid officially crossed that line: She's had Cheerios. She is still eating rice cereal and we've introduced Gerber first-foods carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peaches and bananas. She's doing well on them at dinner, which is the only time we're feeding her solids at this point. But the other day, I tossed a few Cheerios on her tray and in her awkward, whole-handed grab managed to get one in her mouth. She gummed it and swallowed it and then went for another. More of them landed on the floor or her lap than in her mouth, but it was an official moment. She's had them since and her "chewing" technique is getting better. What's next? Hamburger? My little girl is getting too big. Her three teeth quickly turned into four as I noticed a second top front tooth erupting on the tail of the first, so she's got two chompers on top and bottom to bite with. And her grin is changing, too, to accommodate the funny-feeling hard things in the front of her mouth.

She is still very congested and it's gooey snotty stuff, too, which makes it hard for her to nurse comfortably. It's waking her up at night, too. She'll fall alseep and be breathing through her mouth, but when she closes her mouth, she wakes herself up and she starts to cry. It think last night was one first I've had very few wakings from her in a long time. We're still gearing up for the day when her crib is moved into the other room and we begin her Ferberization in earnest. I'm not looking forward to that torture.

Her cruising has gotten better and she's enjoying being on her feet more and more. She's also started bouncing on her feet. Last night I was holding her up and her feet were on my lap. She started bouncing and laughing very hard, like she was doing something very clever. Speaking of clever, yesterday I was asking her where her toes were and she raised her foot. I tried it again, to make sure it wasn't just a fluke, like some kind of reflex from her being in a reclining position. But I was talking about her toes again, and again she raised her foot. We played the game a few times, so I'm convinced she can comprehend words. She knows "kitty" and will look for or at one of the cats when you ask her where is the kitty. She knows Daddy, because I'll say, "Where is Daddy?" and she'll look for him to come into the room. She understands more than we think she does, which means watching what we say. It's a wonderful beginning to the world of words, and I look forward to discovering just what she understands at this point.

Her Response Had Some Bite to It

Well, Baby B explained the reason for some of her crankiness and out-of-sorts behavior: the top right tooth has come through and the one next to it looks like it's coming through, too. I noticed the tooth yesterday when she was chewing on my chin. Being bigger than the bottom teeth, I think babies have a harder time with the top ones -- more gum surface area to erupt through. But now that she has the bottom two pretty much out all the way, she's doing something funny with her grin, jutting her jaw out and moving it around so you can see the teeth. It's hysterically funny to see. Her cold is still bothersome, but the teething may answer why her ears were bothering her. It might just have been residual pain from the gums.

Last night was a banner one on the life of Baby Brigid and the crib. She started her night there and slept nearly two and a half hours there, waking up about 2 a.m. only to drift off again for 20 minutes more. At that point, she had had enough and was starting to stand up and wail. About 4 a.m. she woke up screaming, like she was either in tremendous pain or had had a bad, very bad dream. I scooped her up and comforted her and she calmed down pretty well, drifting off again. Her mornings have been kind of fitful, but she stays asleep until about 8:30 regularly. That's not bad.

Margaret and Patricia go today for their flu shots after school. I'm hoping for a trauma-free afternoon. But because Patricia has to finish her book report this afternoon/evening, it probably will be far from traumatic. She's going to be a maniac, I'm sure.

Pumpkins and Queens Ruled the Streets on All Hallows' Eve

Well, once again the Downs girls' Halloween costumes were the best on the street, if I do say so myself. From Margaret as the evil queen from Snow White and Patricia as Cleopatra to our little Baby Brigid as a pumpkin, they raked in the compliments as they raked in the candy. Only one misinformed and misguided soul made the mistake of thinking Patricia was a king (?). I suggested we egg his house. The girls did the usual route: Up and down Grace Avenue before stopping in to visit with Grandma and Granddad Downs. Then we went up to Kennedy Avenue to visit with Michelle, Eric and the boys before heading over to Lois' house for the annual festivities there. Great fun was had by all and we managed to get home in time for the girls to go to bed by 9:30, not bad for a Halloween. The weather wasn't bad -- a little drizzle but mild temps. The girls didn't have to bundle up in their coats.

Brigid has had a few very weird, fitful nights where she sits up and bobbles all over the place, crying or whining. Even her nursing is disturbed, but I think it's because of her congestion. It's hard for her to nurse with a stuffed-up nose, and I think her head is probably clogged so she's out of sorts all night. I know what it feels like to have a stuffy nose when you're trying to sleep. I woke up today with a massive headache and worried that I was getting sick, but it dissipated by mid-morning. I still have a bit of a head cold, so I can commiserate with Baby B. Tomorrow, Patricia and Margaret get their flu shots. Wish us luck.