6 months

6 months

Anna is six months old, and she is all chub and drool and baby smiles. She is delightful, cuddly, ticklish, and almost always happy. People stop me all the time to tell me she looks like the Gerber baby, a Cabbage Patch doll (I actually agree with that one), or to comment on her rolls

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Mother – daughter time

Mother – daughter time

I told myself I’d never straighten her hair, but today she needed some Mama time. I did her hair and listened as she talked about Pound Puppies, and I told her about my girlfriends in college who used to straighten and curl my hair. When I lifted her onto the counter, I didn’t notice that my compact

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Two parts cornstarch, one part water

Two parts cornstarch, one part water

David is learning about solids and liquids at school, so on a recent snow day I decided to mix up some cornstarch and water. I remember loving this as a kid, and as I mixed it up for my kids, it was equally fascinating. Is it a solid? Is it a liquid? IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO

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4 months

4 months

Even though I still feel like Anna was born yesterday, or maybe even five minutes ago, this month she has transformed. She is no longer my sweet, cuddly newborn, but a babbling baby that chews on her fingers and trills when she smiles. So many of the parts of the newborn stage that were so,

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The butt of their best jokes

The butt of their best jokes

I’m slowly coming out of the general malaise of pregnancy and newborn exhaustion. With that, I’m doing everything I can to run a tighter ship at home, and reverse some bad (lazy) habits we’ve fallen into. No, my kids are not wearing matching clothes. Yes, the pumpkins I put on the porch back in October

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A slow learner, admittedly

A slow learner, admittedly

It started at my very first prenatal appointment. “Do you have any questions?” my doctor asked. “I don’t think so?” I replied. “I guess after your fourth baby you kind of know the drill!” she replied. When you have your fourth baby, everyone assumes the whole shebang is business as usual. You’re on a path

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Postpartum fitness-ish

Postpartum fitness-ish

Since Anna was born my exercise routine has been simple: round-the-clock breastfeeding, and hauling Thomas off high structures. Four pregnancies in six years has changed my schedule, my priorities, and my body. Right now I don’t have room in my life for much more than taking care of my kids and keeping track of who’s

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Hello, world

Hello, world

She’s here! She’s here! We are so pleased to announce the arrival of our baby girl, Anna Leigh Krieger. 8 pounds, 5 ounces, 20 inches. Born Sunday, November 12 at 8:44 p.m., four days before her due date, during a family celebration for Tom’s birthday (In the hospital! We made it to the hospital!) Anna

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This is 37 weeks

This is 37 weeks

Last night Tom was putting some things away in the kitchen and noticed we had tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta, hummus, and pita. He said, “We should have a Greek night for dinner this week.” I looked up from my book and said, “If you would like to participate in family meal planning, you’re welcome to

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Preparing for a precipitous birth

Preparing for a precipitous birth

I once read a birth story by a woman who had seven home births. The first six were by the book, but then there were complications during the seventh. Even though everything — mom and baby — was ultimately fine, she was so shaken by the experience that she elected to have her eighth child

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31 weeks, 2 days

31 weeks, 2 days

This morning at the bus stop, one of the kids looked at me and said, “WHAT is in your belly?” Me and my belly have been at the bus stop every morning and afternoon for two weeks, but for some reason he JUST NOW realized that I’m a dead ringer for Humpty Dumpty. My first

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The next chapter

The next chapter

If you ask David if he likes school, find something to hold onto before he answers — YES! YES! YES! YES! — his excitement might knock you over. He comes home smiling and amiable, talking about his new friends. He hasn’t been hungry, moody, or overly tired — something I worried about in the weeks

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Anything can happen when the two-year old is the only one paying attention

Anything can happen when the two-year old is the only one paying attention

At my most recent prenatal check-up, my doctor was asking me how I’d been feeling, and I told her what I tell everyone — mostly fine but super duper, all-the-time exhausted. We talked about my iron levels and a few other things and then she asked, “Are you getting enough sleep?” Yes. I’m mostly sleeping

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Summer flow

Summer flow

I love summer. It is, by far, my favorite season. I love the long days, bare feet, pool parties. I love Popsicles on the porch and burgers on the grill. I love not having to keep track of my kids’ coats. This summer started out with a giant WHOMP WHOMP otherwise known as orthopedic surgery coupled with

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21 weeks, 2 days

21 weeks, 2 days

Today I’m twenty-one weeks, two days pregnant, meaning (even if the baby is born after my due date) I’m past the pregnancy halfway point. Except that this is my fourth pregnancy and I know that the second twenty weeks packs a very serious wallop. Thirty weeks should be considered the halfway point. At least. Except

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Loquacious, precocious, ferocious

Loquacious, precocious, ferocious

Since she was 15 months old, every time we go to the doctor for a well-check everyone comments on how verbal she is. It’s true, she is, and I take no credit. She could speak in complete, articulate paragraphs by 24 months and by three we were actively trying to discourage her language development. Just kidding. Kind

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On Mother’s Day

On Mother’s Day

It’s Mother’s Day, and I’m going to talk about appreciation. Now that I’m a mom I’ve learned that appreciation something I really crave. My kids are small and we’re still working the word “thank you” into their vocabularies, so it’s an ongoing struggle. But kids have their own way of saying it, right? The way the

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How to wean a toddler (Or, “How to wean a mother,” depending on how you look at it)

How to wean a toddler (Or, “How to wean a mother,” depending on how you look at it)

I never planned to nurse Thomas as long as I did. Actually, I take that back. I never really planned any sort of timeline. David self-weaned abruptly at 12 months. I was eight weeks pregnant and in the throes of first trimester exhaustion when I weaned Mary Virginia at 16 months. Neither of those things happened

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Her nap time song

Her nap time song

When our kids were babies, we always sang the song “Sanctuary” before bedtime. Now that they’re older we’ve switched gears a bit to a version of, “IF YOU ASK FOR ONE MORE THING…” Nap times have always been a little different, especially Mary Virginia’s nap. For her nap I tell a story, then sing a

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At Washington, D. C.

At Washington, D. C.

Two weekends ago Tom took David to Washington, D.C. for a father-son adventure. They rode the train, and the subway. They visited the zoo, the Museum of Natural History, and the National Air and Space Museum. A post shared by Tom Krieger (@thomas_c_krieger) on Feb 26, 2017 at 1:04pm PST If you ask David about the

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Semantics

Semantics

Mary Virginia likes to play house, and whenever she does, she assigns everyone a character. For example, last weekend she was playing house at the beach. She was the mommy, David was the daddy, Tom was the grandpa, and I was the mermaid statue. One morning before playing house we were ironing out the details: Mary

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Semantics

Semantics

If you know Mary Virginia at all you know that she is very, very aware of her wardrobe. She prefers dresses. Skirts are ok. Pants are intolerable. She also loves anytime I wear a dress or a skirt, which actually isn’t very often. The first time she saw me in my bathrobe she exclaimed, “OH MOMMY! I

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A certain kind of lifestyle

This morning, before 8 o’clock, my kids dismantled the playroom. When I say “dismantled” I don’t mean they made a typically giant toddler mess, disproportionate to their small size. What I mean is they took apart their toy bins and moved around furniture. Thomas spent the morning wondering how we fit all of Disney World into our

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Just two girls at the beauty salon

Just two girls at the beauty salon

It’s true. Since I had kids, certain things have fallen to the wayside. Things like trips to the doctor and dentist and shopping for a pair of warm boots for the fall. Of course I’m talking about appointments for me. Don’t worry, my kids are set in the appropriate-shoe department. I’m the cookie-cutter, stereotypical mom you see

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