I Am Large, I Contain Multitudes

arisia is happening right now. And I am not at it, obviously, but reading the posts of everyone who is, and feeling a little bit of the echo of what it would have been to be there. So, thank you all for that.

But the new Lois McMaster Bujold book is out today (e-book version only; hardcover will be released Feb. 2). So I bought that this morning, and will try to read some of it this afternoon while sitting on the nursery floor watching Babykins play. Right now she is napping and we are making a token effort at cleaning/tidying.

(This also means no MuffinButtons at the con this year, again, obviously. Someday soon, I need to figure out how to sell off the approximately 1000 already-made buttons I have in my inventory.)

[Copied out of Aria's baby book in an effort to bridge a ~4-month posting gap.]

November 28 was Daddy's 46th birthday, and we went out to Kelsey's Steak House in Valpo with Grandma Elsie and [cousin] Jacob for dinner. Aria's first Chanukah was December 7-14 (the nights of the 6th-13th). Grandma Bobbie sent her a "My First Hanukkah" bib and onesie, plus a black-and-white stripey dress and pretty socks. On December 24th [since Mommy had off work] we drove out to Plainfield, IL (about an hour away) to have Christmas Eve dinner with Mommy's cousin Tracy and her family. Everyone was so excited to meet Aria and said how adorable and quiet and attentive she was! And Friday, Dec. 25th was Aria's first Christmas. We watched Star Wars (baby's first), and then on the 26th The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi [in preparation for seeing The Force Awakens the next night].

Aria at 5 months is able to sit up (supported) in the high chair for short periods of time, but she's much better at "standing" in her little car or bouncer chair. She is starting to take an interest in the dogs and cats and will reach to pet them -- then grab their fur and pull! She pulls our hair too, and will clutch the skin on your neck and dig her little nails in -- not fun. She's starting to laugh [really more like crowing] when she sees one of us come in the room, or when we play "Where's Aria?" with the blanket -- that IS fun!

[Copied out of Aria's baby book in an effort to bridge a ~4-month posting gap.]

October 5th was Aria's first Simchat Torah, at [Congregation Beth Israel in Munster]. The third aliyah was a group one for all the kids, and someone carried Aria up so she could go up to the Torah for the first time! Tuesday, October 6th was Mommy's 43rd birthday; Grandpa came over and took us all out for Beggar's Pizza. On October 24th, we went to buy pumpkins so Aria got to see her first pumpkin patch.

Aria is a very smiley, happy baby and likes to "talk" at various times during the day -- still mostly vowel sounds but a few consonants are starting to creep in there. She can almost roll onto one side from her back, but not all the way onto her front yet. We finally got her a crib mobile and she likes to watch that. She is just starting to grip things (fingers, blankets, Mommy's shirt or hair) and to chew on anything that comes near her mouth (fingers!), although she's not yet really reaching out to grab things or bring them to her mouth. She's gone back to waking up twice in the middle of the night -- around 3am and 7am -- but otherwise sleeps from about 11pm to 11am. She gets a bath every couple of days before bed, and likes to kick around in the water -- then screams when I take her out (it's COLD!).

Every time we give Aria a bottle, we've been using a flannel receiving blanket as a combination bib and burp cloth. Tuck it all the way around her neck and use it to catch any drips or wipe her face.

After four or five weeks of this, we discovered something. Once she starts raging with hunger ("she's a starver!" as my brother said), when trying to buy a precious few minutes of bottle prep time, we can set her in her bassinet or bouncy chair and tuck the same blanket around her neck, and most of the time she will immediately stop screaming. If we then offer her a pacifier, she will settle down to suck contentedly, sometimes for a whole three or four minutes (until it occurs to her she's not actually getting fed yet).

Which is to say, we have accidentally conditioned her to a security blanket. I may need a new Linus icon. :-}

***

In other news, she's eight weeks old today. And I am going back to work full-time starting tomorrow (Daddy will continue to work from home while taking care of her during the day). I'm sure it's going to be an adjustment for everyone, not least me, as I get reacquainted with holding thoughts in the front of my mind beyond "when was babykins last fed?"...

(Oh, poor neglected LiveJournal. I still love you best, but that siren Facebook makes lazyposting so easy. I am backdating this by 3 weeks for ease of reference in future.)

Aria Grace was born Sunday, July 26 (Tisha B'Av observed) at 3:50 a.m., healthy and strong.

( Photos )

Just for fun (and in time for Rosh Hashanah), we'll be sending out birth announcements the last week of August. If you've moved since you last received postal mail from me, please PM me with your current mailing address. :-)