"Meesh? Meesh, Mah Mah Mah?" (translates into, "Please? Please Mama? Can I have some Boob?"

First, a big "thank you" to Grandma Wright for her birthday wishes to Patricia. We weathered the Birthday Weekend well. Patricia had a few friends up for the night at camp, and that went smoothly. They enjoyed the lake, the horses, a campfire and general ambiance of camp. Unfortunately, Daddy wasn't feeling 100 percent, having come down with a cold the day before. He's only just getting over it now. I took Patricia's birthday off and the girls and I spent the day in Burlington doing some clothes shopping and generally having a good time together. We returned to Plattsburgh in time to get Daddy at work so he could join us for a birthday dinner for her. The folks at Lums (probably one of the only Lums left in the world) always treat us well and brought out a piece of fudge cake for her with candles in it.

Big news on the Brigid front: I got her to say "Please" on Sunday night (the 26th) Or at least a version of the word as best she can pronounce it. It comes out more like "Meesh?" She was very pleased with herself, but as stubborn as she is she says it on her terms. She's been saying a lot of new words lately, like she's had an explosion of development as she rounds the corner on 18 months. Again, they're her versions of the words, but that counts. Patricia has been watching a lot of "Blues Clues" with her (the same tapes over and over again) but she says, "Blue" and she sings the Elmo's World song when you ask her who Elmo is (La la la la, la la la la , Elmo's World -- but her La la's come out like Ya ya's) She also likes keys. My keys. Which she often wants to hold when I'm driving the car. Needless to say, that's impossible, so she gets upset. We fear she is entering into the 18-month realm of nastiness and frustration -- very independent yet not old enough to do things on her own 100 percent of the time, wanting things she can't have because she's not old enough, throwing herself down or throwing things down when she doesn't get her way. I read a good book when Patricia was a baby that told how it's not so much the terrible Twos but the terrible 18-months, the terrible 2 and a halfs, and so forth. That the development goes in hills and valleys. I've seen it in action with all three of the girls as they reach developmental milestones.

Brigid has become very clingy and whiney lately, and I think this plays into the 18-month milestone as well. She wants to be held very much, which is fine with me because I love holding her, but it's hard when you have to get dinner going. The other girls have been great because I can usually hand the baby off to one of them so I can get something done. But more and more, Brigid is entertaining herself for moments at a time, pulling her books off her bookshelf, playing with stacking boxes, playing in her room. She still asks for her "mah mah mah" (boob) when she's tired and has some boob time at night and in the morning. No sign of giving it up, but that's OK, too. With Patricia and Margaret look at returning to school next week, it makes me appreciate the fact that I still have a baby at home.

We're Waiting for Her Invitation to Hogwart's

Brigid continues to increase her appreciation for the finer things in life, including the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Harry Potter movies and the entire Blues Clues collection. She has not forsaken her love of Shrek, just opened her heart wider to include other favorites. When Margaret and Patricia were her age, they were content to watch Teletubbies or Lion King. Margaret would say, "king, king, king..." over and over again until you put in the Lion King video. Oh, how times have changed. She sits transfixed when Patricia and/or Margaret are watching one of the Harry Potter movies, just like her big sisters. I fear her first clear words may be "Expecto Patronus."

Yesterday, she did indicate she wanted more cookie by saying, "Some? Some?" She has also added "No" to her vocabulary, although doesn't necessarily say it to indicate the negative in response to a question. She just knows how to say it. If she doesn't want something or doesn't want to do something, she's quite capable of expressing that in other ways.

She also knows the letter "S" and says "essss" for it. We have a sign at the lake for the name of our camp, "Hilliker's" and the "S" has come off of it. She picked it up and said, "esss." We all applauded, of course, so now she knows that is an "S."

Brigid is also aware when she's being fabulous. Patricia was playing with her the other day with a strip of fabric and using it like a stole around her shoulders. Last night, Brigid was wearing it around her shoulders and walking around like Heidi Klume on the runway. We were all saying, "Oh, you look beautiful, Brigid you're so lovely," and she was holding her arms out, sashaying around, full of her own self. It was very funny. Wish I had the camera ready because it was very cute. I'll know better next time.

Today Margaret went to the Saratoga Race Track with Grandma and Granddad Downs for their annual visit. Margaret was really looking forward to seeing the horses in action. I hope after the first few races she's not bored stiff, but ever the trooper, she went armed with books to read if that turned out to be the case. She's already read more than 20 books this summer. That girl aways has her nose in a book. Can't complain about that.

B O N U S P H O T O
Brigid at 8590 Sunset Dr. with her cousin, Shannon's, dog, Maggie.


B O N U S
P H O T O
TWO
This is a photo of my Mother's Day present, which came recently. It's a custom-made charm bracelet from WellsWare (www.wellsware.com) You send them photos or anything else you want sandwiched between glass and framed in sterling silver and they create these custom charms. The other side of the charms have baby photos of Jack, myself and my mother, Margaret (behind Margare's baby photo). You can add charms as well.

Naked Time Soothes the Savage Beast and Savaged Breast

Well, Margaret and Patricia fared well in their second horse show on Sunday in Malone. As was the case last month, their classes in equitation and pleasure for their age groups didn't compete until after noon, so we had a cranky, hungry sleep-deprived baby to contend with by the time their classes were called. But Dad was able to be there this time, which was a huge help not only to the girls, who had to do a rider change between Patricia's class and Margaret's class, but to me so I could take photos during the classes without worrying about Brigid all the time. Patricia placed in equitation; Margaret placed in both equitation and pleasure. They were larger classes this time (more riders) and a good group of them were from a stable where they train all year. It was a good if not exhausting experience and both girls walked away satisfied with their performance and looked forward to competing again next year.


Brigid got in on the act and had fun sitting on Curly Sue. She's funny around horses. She gets very excited to see them, but when they swing their big faces her way, she gets all panicky and rears back (Brigid, not the horse). But she doesn't mind patting them on the back, as long as she doesn't see or is near the head. I don't blame her. Horse heads are huge, HUGE. It's amazing something that big has no concept of its own power. A horse could squish you like a bug, but if you raise your arm in front of its face, it backs off in fear. Of course, it could also charge you, so don't raise your arm in front of its face.


The girls looked very cute in their riding habits. And it wasn't as hot Sunday as it was the last time they competed, so they weren't boiling in their jackets. We've been having some cold weather this week, which is depressing considering it's only the middle of August. Some leaves have turned up at the lake, and THAT's depressing. But it's supposed to warm up again mid-week. I hope this was just a fluke brought on by the storm we had the other day.

Brigid's cold is somewhat lingering. Her nose is a little crusty and she's having some running issues, lots of sneezing. But her breathing isn't as labored. She's sleeping OK at night, too, so we've not had to dose her with dimetap. But we think she's given us the sniffles. No wonder, she's always sneezing in our face or rubbing her face in ours. You can't help but let her do it. She's too cute to keep away from you.

She's started saying more recognizable words and phrases. I picked her up to give her the sniff test to see if she needed to be changed the other day and she said, "Stop it." Clear as day. I guess I'd say that to people who gave me the sniff test, too. She also says "Drink," although it takes a few times of getting her to repeat before it clicks with you. Banana, or b'nana, is pretty easily recognizable. It just takes some getting use to and some close listening, but she's getting her points across. She's also getting her temper across when you cross her. You have to be careful because she'll resort to biting if she gets frustrated with you. That, too, will change when she can communicate more effectively, but until then it's a battle. She bit me good and hard last night and I had to take boob away from her for a while. She protested, and covered her eyes and tried kissing me. I accepted her apology only after she let me know she understood "No bites." She kissed me again when I said that, so I assumed that was an apology. She had some naked time and that made all things right with the world. Who wouldn't calm down after a little naked time. Too bad our world leaders don't learn from 17-month-olds. Apologize after biting and take off your clothes. What could be simpler?

Blues Clues is Kid's Stuff

Well, I think Brigid's cold is a little better. She still doesn't seem 100 percent herself; her appetite is off and she's been super clingy and wanting more boob than usual. But her congestion is better. I haven't had to dose her with dimetap in a while.
You'd never know she wasn't feeling well tonight when we went to the mall. She was a wild woman, not just in the stroller, screaming and waving at people; but when I let her out to run around, she did just that. She ran, she waved, she screamed a high-pitch siren wail. It was exhausting just trying to keep up with her. She was tired tonight, and I put her down with just a modicum of complain from her. This was, of course, after much boob time.

Today, Brigid discovered "Blues Clues." We had some videos of Blues Clues that Margaret and Patricia watched when they were little. We lent them to Grandma Wright so she would have some kid videos around when she was watching our niece (her grandchild) Cassandra. Well, Cassandra is going to kindergarten this fall and doesn't need Blues Clues anymore, so we got them back. I popped one in today and Brigid found it entertaining, but not as entertaining as Patricia and Margaret, who I think re-entered their childhood. They were singing along and doing the hand motions of the show while Brigid was trying to climb away, not paying attention. I think Brigid's tastes are more sophisticated. She'd rather watch Shrek 100 times a day, I think. She still likes to hold the boxes.

More indication that Brigid has an understanding of her bodily functions. Yesterday I asked her if she needed her diaper changed (I knew the answer to this already. It was yes). She ran into her room, found a diaper and brought it out to me. She seemed relieved to have been asked.

We watched a big rainstorm today from the dining room window. It was pretty loud with thunder and there was lightening and a lot of wind. She kept saying, "Ooo, ooo." But I guess it's nothing compared to what our neighbors only a mile or so to the north got. Trees and power poles and lines down, houses with trees on the roofs, tractor trailers blown off the Northway. It was a freak storm. Glad we just got to see the "ooo" of it all.

Being Stuffy at 17 Months is Not The Same as it Is at 30

Our little Baby B has a cold. She looked like she had a bit of a runny nose Monday night when I was giving her a bath, but I thought it might just be that her face was wet from the bathwater. But by Tuesday at naptime, Dad was giving her a dose of baby dimetap to help dry her up so she could sleep. When I got home from work, she was doing a lot of breathing out of her mouth and was pretty miserable. She was also very clingy, wanting boob over and over again but not really because she couldn't breathe and nurse at the same time. She was like a drowning man, agonizing as he gets a breath of air only to be pulled back under by the current, in Brigid's case, the lure of the boob. We were on our own for dinner last night because Dad decided to exercise so I took the girls to Applebee's. Brigid was just not herself and although she ate some, she didn't eat much and was whinny and miserable. She cheered up a little at the end so we went to Walmart where I tried to find her some more baby dimetap, but of all places they don't carry it. We passed their banana display rack near the entrance by the pharmacy and she went ape, wanting a 'nana 'nana 'nana! So we got her one -- had to stand in line to pay for it and keep her calm while telling her she'd have it as soon as they weighed it. She ate about two thirds of the thing. Had to go to Kinney Drugs for the dimetap.

When we got home, she was practically falling over her own feet, so I got her in her PJs without giving her a bath and dosed her again with the dimetap. She nursed for a while and the girls and I started watching "Kelly's Heroes" (a great World War II movie with Clint Eastwood, for those of you who have never seen it). But Brigid didn't seem to be getting any sleepier, so I put her in bed where she protested a few minutes before falling asleep. I worried that she'd wake during the night because of her breathing, but it wasn't until just after 6 a.m. that I heard her on the monitor. I went in to get her, and she was once again trying to get her foot up on the railing to climb out. She looked up at me and I just shook my head, "No." She dropped her foot and held out her arms. Gotta love when a baby does that. She didn't go back to sleep very easily and it was fitful when she did snooze. Her fitfulness in the bed means kidney kicks and punches to the head for Daddy and Mommy as she thrashes around. I left her in good spirits this morning with Daddy and the girls. Hope her breathing eases up for her today. And in the meantime, I hope the runniness of my own nose is no indication that she gave me her cold.

Sir Edmund Hillary Had Nothing on Our Little Climber

First I'd like to begin by wishing our Little Baby Brigid a happy 17th-month birthday a day late. Hard to believe it's been 17 months. She's almost a year and a half old. And she's doing all kinds of things that a year-and-a-half kid would do. Like climbing. Or at least attempting to climb. She started a few weeks ago by trying to climb on the couches at home and at camp. These attempts were foiled at the time by either one of us removing her from the object of desire or her own short legs failing to meet the target. However, in the last week or so she has managed to conquer that and can climb up on many objects. I went in to get her up the other morning and found her trying to get her foot up on the bed railing. It's too high for her, but it didn't daunt her. She just kept swinging her chubby little leg up as high as it would go. This past weekend at camp, I was with her on the screened-in porch facing the lake and she was wandering around, poking at things. Then she would grasp the window ledges and try to swing her leg up to this pole that runs around the outside walls, about two feet off the ground. She wanted to get her foot on this pole so she could boost herself up to see out the screened window. What she almost succeeded in doing, however, was putting her foot between the pole and the wall, which would leave her straddling it, subjecting her to a fall. Everytime I managed to get her away, she'd wander back and try it again. Then she managed to get herself into a child-size white plastic lawn chair. She'd sit the right way for a minute, then turn her body so that she could be on her knees on the seat, then she'd stand on the unstable chair, grab the window ledge and try to climb even higher, swinging her leg up even more. I'd have to pull her down over and over again. She gets frustrated and cries. She'll try to put her foot up on just about anything to get a boost up, it's almost instinctual. She's also trying to converse, even if what she's saying isn't clear. But she uses intonations for questions and statements. She'll also repeat, using the same "words" so I know she's trying to get her point across. I'm still trying to get her to say please when she wants something, but she's a stubborn little thing.

This weekend, she started playing a game, so she certainly has a sense of humor. She'll pretend to sneeze. She'll go, "Eh, eh choo!" and cover her nose and mouth with her hands. Then she'll want you to do it, and will even say the "Ah, ah, ah choo" along with you. Then she laughs hysterically, over and over and over and over.

At the lake this weekend, I told her to get her blue socks out of the laundry basket in the living room. I pointed at the basket, across the room, and told her to bring me the blue socks. She went over, didn't quite know what I was saying and headed back to me. I said, "Get your blue socks." She went back, pulled out her blue socks and brought them over to me. She said, "Ocks?" Yes, socks. "Ocks?" yes, they're you're socks. This went on a good couple of minutes while I put them on her feet. "oos?" Yes, your shoes. "Oos?" Yes, shoes. It's so much fun to see things click and develop before your eyes, unless she's actually poking you IN the eyes when you ask, "Where are my eyes?" Then that just hurts.

Making Herself Understood that Lobster is Mmmmmm

Baby B is trying so hard to form words and make herself understood. You can tell she's asking you questions repeating herself with the same words in her attempt to get you to understand her. There's no doubt she understands us. She tries very hard to please us and seems genuinely pleased when that's accomplished. Of course, our round of applause and "Yay, Brigid!" every time she accomplishes something must be a boost for her ego nevertheless. Yesterday, Patricia removed Brigid's socks and told her to give them to Mommy. Brigid walked over to me and handed me the socks. Simple tasks and requests, when she's in the mood, are performed without hesitation. It's when she's not in the mood to listen that you have to repeat yourself and eventually pick her up and remove her from the forbidden object or area. Getting her to say "Please" is a real challenge because she's almost determined not to. She'll ask for something and I'll say, "Please? Say Please," and she glowers at me yet still demands whatever it is I'm requiring the polite request for. I can't recall how long it was before Margaret and Patricia mastered saying, "Peas? Peas, Mommy?" when they were asking for something. They're still mastering it. "Please, Mom? Oh, Please can we go to Borders?"

I'll hand something to Brigid and say, "Say Please. Say please, Brigid." Then I'll give it to her and say, "Thank you, Mommy; you're welcome, Brigid." At this, Brigid snickers, as if she knows she's getting away with something. But my credo is throw something at the wall enough times, it's going to stick. The same is true with teaching manners: Give her the directions enough times, she'll get the point and start responding in kind. I still find myself having to tell Margaret and Patricia, "Thank you," when someone says or does something for them, like a waitress at a restaurant. They will then repeat it. But that doesn't happen too often. The girls are generally well mannered.

Brigid's command of her and our body parts is getting stronger. She knows her hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth and teeth (which she shows by opening her mouth and chomping over and over), her tongue, fingers, hands, toes, feet, belly button. The challenge I'm facing with this recitation is getting her not to poke you in the eye when she points to it.

Something else I've noticed that Brigid is aware of: food. She seems to know what food is no matter where she sees it. There could be a Red Lobster commercial on TV and she'll say, "Mmmmmmm." Photos in books, food on the counter, doesn't matter. She understands it's stuff to eat. Lobster? She's never had lobster in her life, but she knows instinctively that it's "mmmmm." Must be hereditary.

Vacations Were Meant to Be Relaxing, Not Hard Work!

Well, it's been a long time but we're finally back from our whirlwind vacation. It's my first chance to post in all this time, and I'm going to do my best to try to recap. There's been a lot of livin' in these last few weeks.

First, the girls' turn on the theater boards was wonderful. Their "Seussical" performance before we left for vacation was fabulous. Had a wonderful time, they were great, and Michelle, Josh, Jacob and MaryAnn were able to make the evening performance. Ice cream at Friendly's followed and Auntie Shell presented her Baby B with Brigid's own Shrek doll so she doesn't have to take the Shrek movie boxes to bed with her any more. Aside from the fact that the doll says, "Better out than in I always say" it's a wonderful addition to our family. Thank you, Auntie Shell!!

We left on the 27th for Buffalo via Syracuse, trying to break up the trip so it wasn't an all-day marathon for the baby. It worked out well, and we just relaxed at the hotel. Brigid had a great time in the hotel pool. I would hold her on the side and count, "One, two, .... three!" and bring her in the water on three! She laughed and wanted it "'gain! 'gain!" She started counting, "un, ooooo, eeeee!" as she was pulled from the ledge into the water. It was very cute.

We made good time to Buffalo on Saturday and since Grandma Wright had to work that night anyway, it was a good time to meet up with Chet and Marilyn and have dinner. The Residence Inn in Cheektowaga was nice -- we've been there before -- and had a two-bedroom suite. It's the only way to go. Very comfortable and big enough for us all. Dinner at a nice Chinese buffet around the corner with Chet and Mar was lovely. It was nice to come back to the room and be able to relax and chat in the "living room" while the girls went to the pool and Brigid ran around entertaining us.

Sunday we went to Mass at Nativity -- a very different experience from the Nativity of my childhood. It was built in the mid-1960s when churches were modern, but it has been renovated since then and looks awful! The altar area looks like a tag sale of furniture all over the place. The choir sits in these weird raised seats off to the left and the organ and piano are thrown over there as well. Just weird. Had a priest who was very hard to understand -- he was foreign -- so it wasn't a very satisfactory experience for me overall. But we had the afternoon at Grandma's to visit with family and play catch-up with everyone. The kids had fun playing around the yard, with the exception of Patricia who had a nasty fall off a playground merry-go-round when they went to the Harris Hill park. Otherwise, the day was capped off when Connie and Tim brought his mini (horse) over for everyone to see. He had been at a show that day so we didn't get to see them during the afternoon. He did very well at the show, and the kids loved seeing his passion up close and personal.

We made plans to meet Tim and Stephanie at their grandpa's barn so he could show us the rest of the minis and Stephanie could let the girls ride her horse, Tonka. The next morning, we picked up Grandma and went out to the barn, which is quite an impressive operation. Tim was great, answering questions and showing us around like a pro; Stephanie was very gracious, giving the girls rides on Tonka in the ring. Thanks to the cousins for their wonderful hospitality! We then planned a trip to an old 5 and 10 store in East Aurora, Vidler's, to poke around. That was a lot of fun, but there is no such thing as a 5 and 10 anymore, unless you're talking $5 and $10. We had a nice visit with Sandy and Cassandra as well and re-grouped with them later at the Build-a-Bear store in the Galleria Mall, which was conveniently located across from the hotel. Girls got new animals for their collection. When we got back to the hotel, it was nice to be able to tell the girls they can go down to the pool without worrying about us going with them.

We went to the Buffalo Zoo on Tuesday, meeting up with Grandma, Sandy, Cassandra and Emily (another cousin). It was hot, and the animals were a bit lazy in the heat, and the zoo was doing some major renovations so we didn't get to see all the animals we usually like to visit, but it worked out fine. We didn't have to be there all day as a result and were able to go back and relax at the hotel following the trip. We first took the girls to Johnny Rocket's at the mall for lunch, something I promised and something they've come to expect when we go to a mall where there is one. Then girls swam while the baby took her nap and I just relaxed by the pool. The girls watched Brigid that evening for us so we could go to dinner for our anniversary -- 18 years! They watched "Shrek the 3rd" in the room and Brigid was in Shrek heaven. Dinner at a place in Williamsville called Eagle House was OK. It was nice because we were able to eat outdoors. Food was OK, but it was more about being there alone to celebrate our anniversary that made it so special.

We stopped by 8590 Sunset to say goodbye to Grandma before getting back on the road. That day was going to be a marathon trip back home. We stopped for lunch in Syracuse; stopped for dinner in Glens Falls; and made it home in time for everyone to fall exhaused into bed. Thursday, Patricia had an orthodontist appointment, so she, Brigid and I stayed in Plattsburgh and Jack took Margaret up to the lake for the night. Patricia, Brigid and I had a girls' day and night, did a few garage sales on Friday and then headed up to the lake ourselves. Saturday we went to the Franklin County Fair, which was OK -- more to look at than at the Clinton County Fair, but not so much more. I look forward to the fair in Vermont. It's not as large as the New York State Fair, but it's a lot bigger than anything else we have over here. The girls had to serve at Mass at St. Peter's on Sunday, so it was back to Plattsburgh Sunday morning, go to church, then grab a bite to eat before we went back up to the lake for one more night. On Monday, it was raining so we poked around in Chateaugay shopping a bit and after dinner, the girls and I went back to Plattsburgh (Jack stayed one more night at the lake). I had an appointment in Albany on Tuesday, so we all went down and got a jump-start on school shopping on the way home. It was a long day, but it was fun and fruitful as far as clothes shopping goes. I'm back at the grind at work as of today. Whew! What a vacation! I need a vacation from the vacation.

Two new developments on Brigid's part, however, and they both happened yesterday -- at least that I was able to mark definitively. She played real, true Peek-a-Boo with her hands covering her face. She started over the weekend, but yesterday she got it down. Very cute. And, she started nodding "yes." She knows how to shake her head "no" but yesterday she started nodding "yes." Again, very cute.

She turns 17 months on Sunday. Hard to believe where the time has gone. But if you look at the last two weeks, you can see how packed our time really is.