When we were kids, my dad used to tell us he picked us in a cabbage patch. Good try, Dad. Then why do my knees pop just like yours? And how do you explain my inability to throw away a jar of peanut butter before scraping the ever-loving marrow out of it, thereby slashing my family’s monthly
Mary Virginia is eight months old. It seems unbelievable to me because when she was a newborn, I assumed that by now I’d have my act together. Floors vacuumed, regular showers, dinner on the table at a reasonable time. And all I can think about is that most working moms get 12 weeks of maternity
Lately Mary Virginia has been a bit fussier than normal, a bit droolier than normal, and waking a few more times at night than normal. I think — and I say this with all caution — I think she might be teething. She might not be. Any book about babies and development will say that you can
All day every day I walk around the house humming “Blue Eyes” by Elton John. Because I can’t help but think that when he wrote the song, this is what he had in mind.
Don’t take this the wrong way, Month Seven, but you were not our favorite. You were supposed to be festive and fun, but you were rude, vindictive and selfish. Sure, there were bright spots. There were Christmas dresses and family sleepovers and eight loaves of cinnamon bread; but it was all enjoyed through the grey
When we put Mary Virginia in her bear coat it’s impossible to call her anything besides Mary Beary. Go ahead, try it. [Remember when David wore the bear suit?]
I recently mentioned that Mary Virginia is squarely in grabbing-mouthing stage. Holding her is like holding an octopus; the moment you break her grip on those tiny hairs at the nape of your neck, she grabs your ear and the next thing you know she’s sucking on your chin. (Until we try to give her
Mary Virginia turned 6 months old over a week ago. In this case, it’s a good thing this post is late because if I wrote it on time I wouldn’t have been able to include that, just a few days after her 6-month birthday, Mary Virginia started crawling. Her crawling is slow and deliberate. She
After snapping this photo, I decided to Google, “Is it ok to let a baby chew on Christmas lights?” And that’s exactly when I realized the effect of 24/7, unrestricted access to the world wide web: loss of even a modicum of common sense. The answer? No. No, it’s not ok. Not even a little
The other day I thought, “Mary Virginia’s five and a half months old. Wonder if she can sit up on her own.” So I plopped her on the ground. And guess what? She totally can.