She Ought to Be In Pictures

At the risk of jinxing ourselves, I'm happy to report that Brigid has been going down to sleep regularly in her crib the last four nights, tonight being New Year's Eve and the fifth night of our Ferberization plan. We've barely had to resort to Ferber, actually, because, again, at the risk of a jinx, she's been pretty amenable. She's cried, but not much; I've gone in a couple times at most. She sleeps through and wakes up about 8:30 the next morning. But as a result of the evening arrangement, she's having a hard time going down in her crib for regular naps. She's suspicious and inconsoleable. So, she's had some naps in the car seat and on me. But I can't complain when the evenings have been going so well.

One thing I've neglected to blog about has been taking Brigid to her first movies. We went to see "Happy Feet" a few weeks ago, and Brigid was very good. She napped through much of it but was very chatty and squealy when she was looking at the screen. She enjoys animation and animals of all kinds, so she was pretty happy to watch the penguin antics.

We then went to see "Charlotte's Web" last weekend and she was very squealy when watching the animals on the screen. She was less-than-enthusiastic when the human actors were on screen, but she loved seeing the pig and all the other farm animals. She wasn't as quiet as she was during "Happy Feet." She got a little loud once or twice; believe me, I am not the kind of person who wants to subject people to a screaming kid at the movies, especially when you pay an arm and a leg to go. But she quieted down immediately after the two cranky sounds she uttered and seemed happy to sit and watch or root around for her own meal as some of the farm animals did. Piggie see, Piggie do. So, all in all, her feature-film-watching debut was a success. Grandpa Wright would have been so pleased, and I'm sure he was smiling from his booth in the sky.

Tonight is New Year's Eve, as I said. Jack is working, so he and I will toast the new year when he comes home tonight after work; the girls and I will have a little party earlier and raise a glass of sparkling grape juice. I'd like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe 2007.

Some Things Are Worth Settling For

Long time no post. A lot has happened since the last post, including Christmas Eve and Christmas itself, among other things. Christmas Eve I finished sewing the girls dresses for Children’s Mass at 6 that night. They looked very pretty in their gold and black; even Baby B was decked out to match her big sisters. Margaret and Patricia did the readings and responses. I was so proud of them. We went to Grandma and Granddad Downs’ house after as is tradition and visited with family. Tracey had her baby there. Molly was born about two and a half months after Brigid and is wearing an 18-month size. She’s barely crawling and looks like she should be running around the house. Meanwhile, Brigid is a peanut.

Christmas morning was wonderful. Very relaxed and warm. We got up not too too early. The girls are great about staying upstairs until a reasonable hour. They came down about 8:30 or so and we opened stockings. Brigid was interested but not too involved. She watched the goings on. We had breakfast then came back out to start on the presents under the tree. Santa brought Brigid a shape sorter and a few other stacking toys. But as expected, she would have been happy with a bunch of paper and boxes. Jack gave me a digital camera, so I expect to be able to post photos with the blog more often. We hung around the house until going back to Grandma and Granddad’s for dinner and more presents.

The days following have been spent enjoying the gifts given and received. But the biggest gift this season is that Brigid has finally made the switch to her own room and the crib. Last night was the first night of her Ferberization and it went better than I could have ever imagined. She went to sleep originally in my arms (I know, not the way Ferber recommends) and I put her down in the crib. She woke about 45 minutes later and I went in after five minutes of her crying; I soothed her for a few minutes but I didn’t pick her up. I left her awake in the crib. She cried for a while, and I went back in after 10 minutes. I didn’t have to go back in after that. She cried a little here and there, but no great screaming. She was asleep. In her own bed. On her own. It worked. But then I went in to check on her before going to bed myself. I couldn’t find her in the crib. I looked where she should have been lying and she wasn’t there. A momentary panic gripped me, and then I saw her: she was asleep, sitting, with her head slouched on her shoulder, in the corner of the crib. It made me laugh and broke my heart at the same time. I got Jack to come in and see for himself. I successfully moved her to a reclining position and covered her up. She slept on her own for the rest of the night. There was nary a peep out of her. She got up at 9 a.m. and came in for a snuggle and a little boob time with me. I worried that it was a fluke, that we were being too optimistic, but she sleeps now as I type this entry. She went down tonight awake but crying. I checked on her once, soothing her but not picking her up. She cried a little but not a lot. I just checked in on her and she’s on her tummy, her little bottom up I the air. She’s clutching her stuffed animals and sleeping. We’re optimistic and hopeful. But to tell you the truth, I missed not having that little lump of love next to me last night where I could lean over any time and kiss that downy head. I’ll have to settle for the boob time tomorrow morning.

Good Boxes Come in Large Packages

Baby Brigid is about to celebrate her first Christmas. Of course, she has no idea what's going on, and I'm sure she'll be more about the paper or boxes than she will about the gifts. But I'm excited nonetheless because her presence means Christmas will continue to live in our hearts and our home for a long time to come. Of course, Margaret is a true believe in all things magical so we also have Margaret to keep things alive.

Brigid and I spent lunch with her Godmother, Michelle (thank you for the gift, Auntie Shell). Brigid is sitting very well in restaurant high chairs and eating more and more adult food. When she's not cribbing on the edge of the table like Sunny from the Series of Unfortunate Events books, she does very well. She was putting green beans away the other night like a pro, two-fisting them faster than I could add them to her high-chair tray. She's so interested in eating, she will look at you with her mouth open like a baby bird, waiting for you to drop something in -- even if it's not something for her. Of course, the boob satisfies when all else fails.

Patricia had a triumphant evening on stage last night. Making her stage debut as Scrooge in a musical adaptation of "Christmas Carol," Patricia carried the show with aplomb. Her voice was strong, her lines were right on. I was so proud I cried. I told her the tears were not because she was painful to hear.

I'm not sure if I posted previously about Margaret and her friend, Logan, who, like Margaret, is crazy about dragons. The two met one of the first days of school and have been friends since. We took Logan and his mom to the movies with us last weekend to see the movie version of the book, "Eragon." I didn't go in; I had Baby B with me so she and I strolled around the mall. The movie looked good but was very loud and had a lot of explosions in it, so I'm sure Baby B's ears would have been hurting. As it was, we braved the explosive nature of the Christmas-shopping crowd, so I don't know if we had the easier time of it. She did get to stroll around the bookshelves of Borders, something I learned from a fellow blogger who brings his daughter to the bookstore for a regular outting. Brigid loves the bookstore.

The house is all decorated (or as decorated as it's going to be) for the holidays. Brigid is nonplussed about the whole thing. Again, it's all about the wrapping.

The Long, Long Goodbye

Well, Baby Brigid has reached another milestone: the Wave. I've been working on waving bye bye with her for a while, and yesterday, while saying goodbye to Auntie Shell, she let loose with a hearty up and down of her arm in response to about five minutes worth of "Bye-bye, Brigid. Bye-bye baby, bye-bye." Of course, Michelle was just closing her door and I was turning around to head to the car when Brigid started her wave. I called out, "She's doing it!" and Michelle opened the door. The arm stopped instantly. "Bye-bye, Brigid! Bye-bye, baby!" She laughed, she smiled, she did her squealy thing. And then, like a light bulb going off above her head, she lit up and started waving. Her entire arm got in on the act, and she waved bye-bye to her Auntie Shell, which I'm sure was also filled with "Thank you for the lovely PJs, silver rattle and picture frame that Mommy promises will hold the annual Downs Girls in Christmas PJs photo." So, the bye-bye milestone has been reached. I hope she hasn't forgotten the move from yesterday because there will be a lot of bye-byes in her life from now on.

And speaking of Christmas PJs, Michelle and gifts, we had a lovely visit with Michelle and the boys yesterday to exchange our Christmas gifts. The other Downs girls (not myself included, however :( ) received red Christmas PJs as well and each received a book that will make the nights less lonely as they read before going to bed. I received a beautiful wall frame collage of sorts -- it's wall art, actually -- iron circles on which you mount 4X6 frames that can swivel for different positions. Hard to describe, and if I ever go digital I could post a picture. I can't wait to find the perfect spot for it. Michelle knows me so well: she also gave me an Americana-looking russet-colored tin mail-and-keys box. Hangs on the wall and you can keep mail, papers, etc., in it and hang keys from below. Will be great in the Americana hall. Could also work in the dining room. Hmmm, have to give this one thought, too.

And yesterday marked another great day... Fr. John came home from his sabbatical to California. He came home on the 15th, actually, but we got to see him at Mass on Sunday. So Baby Brigid got to visit with both of her Godparents yesterday. He was greatly missed, not just by the Downs family but by the whole congregation.

We finally dragged the Christmas decorations down from the attic last night. I haven't pulled my Santas out in two years, so I'm looking forward to putting them around, and hopefully, the girls will be able to help decorate the tree tonight. The tree has been up for a week. It will be nice to see it decorated.

It's Harder to Get a Reaction Out of a 9-month-old

Jack and I finally witnessed what the parents of daughters should not be forced to witness: their oldest daughter on a date with a guy. OK, so it wasn't a real date; more like a meet-a-friend-and-his-mom-at-the-mall-for-a-movie-and-dinner-after-at-Lums kind of thing, with Daddy and little sister Patricia in tow, but still. It's a shadow of things yet to be. Dates. With Boys. This boy, Logan, is a very pleasant and polite sixth-grader who is as nuts for dragons as Margaret is. She has wanted us to figure out a "playdate" for her and Logan since she met the boy at school on one of her first days there. He's new to the district as well and they hit it off. We have just been reinforcing the idea that they are friends. Not boyfriend/girlfriend. His mom seemed to think that was a good idea, too. So, as first non-dates go, this one was a success and we can all breathe a sigh of relief. At least for now.

Meanwhile, Baby Brigid is on the go-go-go. She's standing without holding on to anything for longer periods of time; her furniture cruising is gaining momentum and skill. And her squats are getting more proficient. She's a force to be reckoned with and lets us know when she would rather be down. She has also started some more high-pitched squealing and vocalizations that are so darned cute. She'll say her normal babble words and then add the high-pitched tone to them. She is also starting to say words. We might not know what they are, but she is definitely trying to communicate. One word, which she has consistently uttered for the last two months (I know...the kid is only 9 months) is kitty. I may have already posted this but it's so astonishing that I have to repeat myself. She says, "KeeKee" when the cats come in or walk by. Plain as day. "KeeKee." Of course, I think she also says keekee for dogs, too, but she knows they are different from people. She gets very excited when she sees an animal -- real, stuffed or otherwise animated. It's funny to see. Her eyes light up, her voice gets very excited and she squeals. Keekee is sure to follow, especially if it's feline. And she'll keep at it to make sure you know she's excited.

One thing I'm surprised at is how little attention she's paying to the Christmas tree. It's a pre-lit artifical thing, and the ornaments aren't up yet, but even so, she really hasn't made any kind of move toward it or reaction to it. Maybe when the ornaments are up this weekend (hopefully) she'll be more excited by it. I know the ornaments always put me in the holiday mood, but I'm easy to impress.

Food for Thought

This baby must be going through a growth spurt because she's insatiable. The last few days she's been chowing down on everything and everyone. Daddy fed her huge meals yesterday for breakfast and lunch, and at dinner she even started gnawing on the side of the table in between spoonfuls. She also bit the flower right off the center of my bra the other night when she was going to nurse. This kid is hungry. I'll have to look at the book to see if nine months is a milestone month for growth. Speaking of nine months, today is Brigid's nine-month birthday. It's hard to believe that our Baby B is the same age as the number of months it took to make her. Last night I was playing with her on the floor and she was cruising from the gate to the couch to the pack 'n' play before crouching down and sitting gently on her bottom. Then she'd crawl, and I'd crawl behind her, and she understood that I was following her. She started laughing very hard and started to crawl faster to get away. I took chase and was right behind the whole time. She laughed and laughed. It was very funny.

Brigid continues to make connections between words and objects. We know she knows what her cow is, and she knows what the kitties are, even saying KeeKee for kitty when one of the cats walks by. She knows "shoe" and she knows the shoe doesn't go on Mommy's nose, or head or chin or whatever. This is an unending source of comedy between Mommy and baby. She knows her toes and she continues to know the lines from several of her books. If you recite passages of Barnyard Dance or Horns to Toes, she knows which book they come from.

I've started some basic signs with her to communicate, something I never really did with the other two. I use the sign for drink and ask, "Do you want a drink?" and the sign for more if I ask "Do you want more?" I've signed eat and a few others. The idea, they say, is consistency, so I'm going to give it a try. They say you can also develop your own signs, which I suppose we did with the other two (All Dee was "All Done" for Patricia, and she would hold her palms upwards, so we do that one with Brigid, too).

We're hoping to move the crib into the other room soon (yeah, I've posted this before), so perhaps Brigid's nighttime noshing will also be All Dee. Time will tell.

Would You Like Fries With That?

It's been a long time since I updated the blog. Life has a way of getting in the way. Last night was a hallmark in our lives: Mom and Dad had a date out without the baby. Oh, we've been to work with Jenny at home, and we've been out to dinner with Baby B in tow. But last night was Mom's annual Christmas gathering for work and the College Foundation, so Jenny came over to watch the baby and Margaret and Patricia helped Jenny do that. Other than the fact that I experienced let-down several times throughout the even and had no one to relieve the pressure, it was a good night. We got home and Brigid had fallen asleep on Margaret with the help of Jenny and a bottle. But she was awake not long after Jenny left and Daddy tried transferring her to the crib. Then she managed to wake every hour and a half like clockwork, stressed out and rooting. She managed to get through most of yesterday without a nap, so that might account for her fitful sleep at night. Contrary to popular belief, if you miss a nap in the day, you don't necessarily make up for it at night.

Baby B is also more and more interested in food she can shovel into her own mouth by her own hand. Although she sure likes the boob at night, she shows a real interest in other nourishment throughout the day. I made a grilled-cheese sandwich yesterday and gave her a smidgeon of a piece to see what she thought. Well, hallelujah! She wanted more and shoveled it in faster than I could break off pea-size pieces. But she also found Gerber carrots with mango to be pretty tasty, too. It's a good thing that she's doing so many squats as she stands, squats, stands, squats, stands, etc., because she's burning off those calories. Her legs are solid, Michelin Man-esque from the workouts she's been getting. She'll let go of things for longer and longer periods, feeling out her balance. She'll squat down but not touch down, then stand up again, all the while not holding on to anything. It's amazing to watch but also a little sad because it means she's getting closer all the time to independent mobility.

We put the Christmas tree up yesterday but didn't decorate it yet. It's pre-lit (had to go artificial a couple years ago when Margaret was diagnosed with allergies to pine). I thought Baby B would be transfixed by the lights, but she hasn't shown the least bit of interest, at least not that I've noticed. We'll decorate soon and maybe then I'll be lamenting the time when she didn't show the least bit of interest!

Monkeying Around

Looks like Baby B is breaking through with yet another new chomper, this one right of center on the top, which, when it erupts, will leave her with six all together, the better to bite me with. She's taken to biting me on the shoulder, just getting a smidgeon of skin between her few teeth. It smarts, and my reaction to her, a stern, "No bites," just elicits giggles from her.

Her balance is ever-improving, and she stood unassisted for several seconds at a time last night in the living room before plopping down on her bottom. She takes it in stride, however, and doesn't seem to think it's the least bit special. My fear is that she'll be taking it in stride, in several strides actually, all too soon.

We were at Borders Books yesterday after school. Brigid likes Borders. I often let her crawl around the children's section because it's never very busy and she can crawl unencumbered for quite a ways before I have to re-route her back again. But yesterday, I was pushing her around the stroller and she was doing her high-pitched whale siren sounds and several bypassers stopped and remarked on her, how cute she is, how cute she sounded. One woman said she though she heard a monkey, and I told her she did. I even showed her Brigid's monkey toes. We think she's making these sounds to help re-unite her with her lost tribe. She does like to pull at hair; perhaps it's grooming?