Words, words, words

I'm beginning to feel a lot like Annie Sullivan around here, as Micah's thirst for language magnifies every day. Pretty much from sun up to sun down, we get quizzed with the words "whas dhat?" He can't always repeat what we say, and there are some very cute alternatives. For example, "shoes" is just "shzzz" and "cat" is "ow" (for meow). Anything round is "apple," which also seems to be a general conversational word, on the order of "how are you doing?" or "I'm in the kitchen." He can now ask to go "up" very clearly, and is very emphatic when he's "ah dun" with a meal. He has his first verb this week, "dance," which is also one of his favorite activities. There are still a lot of words that he's saying that don't mean anything to us, like "ghush."
He's definitely understanding a lot of what we say, and when we say "time for school" or "time for a bath," he knows to grab a hand and toddle in the right direction. He can point to several body parts, including eyes, ears, mouth, hair, and tummy, and just today said "eyes," which sounds a lot like another frequent demand we hear, "ice" (which we give him in restaurants to keep him busy.) It is amazing to see all the language developing, and you never know where a new word will turn up. One day he said "elephant" quite clearly, but hasn't repeated it again; he says "owl" quite a lot too -- we think they may have talked about owls a lot at school during halloween. And this week we had the biggest surprise -- he quite clearly is identifying the Sesame Street character "Elmo" by name despite the fact that we he doesn't watch TV at all at home, and I don't think they watch it at school.
We're looking forward to a visit from my sister and her family this week, and it will be wonderful to have all 5 of my sisters' and my children together for the first time. I think my niece and nephew will be quite surprised that "baby Micah" isn't quite a baby anymore, tho' I hope they'll be less interested in carrying him around like a doll than his cousins who live locally. As the youngest, Micah will have to learn to stand up for himself quickly, but he also seems to be everyone's pet.
Wishing all of my friends around the world a very joyous holiday season!

Happy Hanukkah!

16 months/2 years/49 years

Yes, I admit, I did color-coordinate my outfit to my son's.... does that make me shallow???

Riding the "neigh-neigh"..... we'll break the news about zebras soon!

Helping mommy get ready for Thanksgiving

Mine mine all mine.

Micah is sixteen months old today, and today is the two-year anniversary of his conception -- that crazy day we sat at a beach bungalow in Goa and heard the 36-hour-old news about the terrorist attack in Mumbai, and it slowly dawned on us that our families might be worried..... the start of our crazy, delayed journey back to Mumbai and onward to home, with new security in place and unexpected flight delays, admidst our continued deliberations of whether we were ready to be parents.... what a start you had in this world, Micah Moo!

Today is also my parents 49th anniversary. How much worry we caused them 2 years ago, and what a great present we brought home!

Micah's list of accomplishments keeps growing. We couldn't be more proud of him if he sprouted wings and began to fly. Today he said his first three-syllable word, elephant, loud and clear, and daddy was there so he believes me. He also knows to point at his hair if you ask him "Where's your hair," and asks for his favorite foods, "Ap-pul" and "na-na" every time the refrigerator is open. He got a new little walker toy today, and demonstrated that he can walk backwards nearly as well as he walks forwards. He recognizes so many words now: bath, brush, ball, book, and loves to point and ask for "Dat" or to ask what "Dhis" is. He loves to sit in mommy's lap and read books, particularly Boyton books, the Cat and Dog books with moving tails, Brown bear, Brown Bear. However, he still loves to eat the dry cat food and play in the cats' water bowl, so perhaps he's not as bright as we think.

It's Official

Dear Micah,
You weren't with us today in the courtroom because it was your naptime, and after your recent performance at our favorite Sunday brunch restaurant, we've learned not to mess with the nap. We were there for a very important reason -- to complete the process of making sure I have all the legal rights and responsibilities of being your mother. Of course, it changes nothing. I'll still be the same woman who has been feeding, cuddling, reading, bathing, and shopping for you. But somehow, it was momentous, too, when the judge asked your daddy why I should be your mother and he said "Because she is. Because we wouldn't have a child if it wasn't for her." The judge asked daddy about my moral character, and he vouched for my honesty and integrity." Good thing the judge didn't ask me too many questions, because I started to cry as soon as we got in the courtroom, and all I could muster were simple answers with my voice cracking. "Because he's my heart and soul" is what I would have liked to have answered. We were lucky to have a judge who really "got it" that you came to be my son immediately, that no one else considers you to be her son. In 9 minutes it was over, and the record states, "In the matter of the petition of Stephanie KB for the adoption of a child Micah Gabriel S, it is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that the Final Decree of Adoption for the child is hereby granted, and that the child shall be and is hereby entitled to all rights and privileges and subject to all obligations of a child pursuant to statute."

I wonder if you have any idea of how ridiculously loved you are? It isn't just your daddy and me, though we spend most of our free time these days watching you toddle around with your little gorilla gait, exploring and showing off your newest skills. It isn't just your grandparents, either, who seem watch you with a special sort of pride reserved for the youngest grandchild. It seems like everyone you meet seems a little enthralled by you. You have such a gentle way, such a happy smile, and eyes that lock into connection with others. Kvell, kvell, kvell, we are proud of you beyond measure, for these traits lie within you, not through anything we've done as parents.
What's been most excitely lately is watching the pride you take in your own accomplishments. This week I bought you new "big boy" shoes, not the soft slippery type shoe you'd been wearing up until now. At first, you acted like we had poured concrete around your feet, and that we had played some horrible trick on you, but after one day of wearing them, you're walking so much stronger and you want your shoes on immediately on waking up, even if I have to put them on over your pajama feet. Today, when I brought you home from daycare, I let you walk up the front walkway instead of carrying you, and instead of going inside you walked to your stroller and demanded to be taken on a walk. It was the first time we say you really express an opinion on wanting to do something. It seems like you make a new amazing discovery every day. A few days ago it was the moon, today it was mommy's bubblegum. I guess what really makes me your mother is being so excited to see you learn and grow, becoming a real person in your own right.

Today I am a Boy

Today my little sweet baby became a boy. How do I know it was today? Call it the Three Stoodges Test: he laughed at his own fart noise. 'nuf said.

On the growth and development front, Micah had his 15 month check-up today: he's in the 45th percentile for height and the 10th percentile for weight. He's gonna be a lean boy like his daddy.

More Halloween Cuteness

Dang, why did I make "duck" my first word! This hood is annoying........

Uh-oh, Mom, we have a problem here! (With Marley, our across-the-street neighbor.)

I'll show you my pacifier if you show me yours!

Halloween Warm-up

Just had a nice-sized spider run across my keyboard as I was catching up on other people's blogs.... a sure sign of fall in Colorado. We're getting ready for a balmy Halloween weekend here. Of course, Micah doesn't know what this is about, but we plan to take him out to some daytime costume events to show him off in his adorable duck costume. Photos of that to come, but in the meantime, thought I'd show off what he wore to daycare today, courtesy of Aunt Victoria (cute beret came home with me from France). Little boys aren't nearly as much fun to dress as little girls, but this is pretty darn cute!

Where did you learn THAT????

Micah's 15th month has been one new trick after another. I was away from home for a week on a long-awaited get-away with two dear friends (to France!!! I'm a very lucky mommy!) and came back to find a skinny little boy where my soft baby had been. Adam kindly pretended that Micah hadn't walked his first steps alone while I was gone, but then, the first day I picked him up from daycare, he took a few steps to the teacher. While I felt a twinge of jealousy, I also am happy beyond measure to see him grow and become independent. Walking away from me is what he was born to do.

His walk is like Frankenstein, and he still prefers to have a finger or two supporting him (or to crawl), but every day he gets a little stronger and more sure of himself.

Other new and surprising tricks come every day. A few days ago, I was in the bathroom washing my face and heard him crawl in behind me. I turned off the water to see him, and was confused when I heard water still running. He had gotten into the bathtub and turned on the faucets, and was watching the water hit his shoes. On another day, I was making a quick potty stop before taking him to daycare, and he came in and sat down on the little step-stool we have next to the sink. Where did you learn to sit on a chair like that?? So cute!

Daycare is where a lot of these new tricks come from. Yesterday when I picked him up, he was sitting at the table with two other kids, "coloring," or at least, holding a crayon. He's also learned to get onto a swing and will hold onto the chains while Daddy pushes him (with a hand positioned in front and back just in case his attention waivers.)

My favorite new development is an interest in looking at books. From about the time mobility started, he's had very little interest in sitting to look at books, but now he will pull books off his shelf and turn the pages. His favorites seem to be ones with photos rather than illustrations, particularly of animals and babies. Every day he wants to look at his books called "Cats" and another called "Dogs" that has tabs that move the animals' tails. I'm partial to the page that has 4 dog pictures showing "Bark dog, howl dog, sniff the tree. All dogs poop and all dogs pee" -- the tab lets you move the dog's leg to show it peeing on a tree.

All this learning is tiring, though! By 6 pm on several nights this week, Micah cruised over to his crib to look for his pacifier, by which I decided that he was ready for bed. A few minutes of snuggling and our special song, and I put him in the crib and he happily curls up and settles down within moments.

Life is good and babyhood is fleeting!

Autumn sights and sounds

It has been a lovely, warm fall here and we're trying to take full advantage after August's heat and September's day care/diaper mess. Micah continues to be a gentle, loving, easygoing little boy, as long as he gets enough sleep and lots of food! Within the last 2 weeks, he went from no walking to some tentative steps (only when one of us holds at least one hand); it is only a matter of days before he forgets to plop down to the ground and crawl when he wants to go somewhere.

We're also enjoying Micah's newly learned playfulness. He's starting to find it funny when Adam "wrestles" with him, and will also play peek-a-boo type games. Thankfully, mischieviousness has not yet arrived, though I have no doubt it will, knowing that he's Adam's progeny. A few days ago, he discovered this box full of packing foam, and amused himself for a long time in it.

And words! Words, words, words, a new one appearing every few days. I've noticed that when he gets a new word, a very similar sounding word often appears a few days later. This weekend, it was "apple" (pronounced "ah-puh") one day, then the next, when he heard a low-flying plane overhead, "ah-pun." Sooo cute! He definitely meant different words, and when we were outside at a harvest festival, he turned his head upwards every time a plane flew overhead. I don't remember specifically using that word, but his new daycare has a retired DC-9 in the playground (they use it for a kindergarden classroom), so perhaps he learned it there.

This weekend we went to a little pioneer pumpkin festival held near our house. Micah enjoyed seeing the farm animals up close, though he didn't seem to associate the giane working horses with one of his other recent words, "neigh." (I made up a little song that goes "The duck says 'quack,' and the cow says 'moo,' and the horse says 'neigh neigh neigh neigh neigh" -- even before I get to "quack," he starts singing the neighs.)

He sure looks like a little boy in this picture and not a baby anymore....(do you hear mommy crying just a little?)

Hot Date

After spending some time at dinner tonight talking to a single neighbor about the ups and downs of the (online) dating world, I had to realize that today I had one of the nicest dates I've had in a long time. While Adam was off fishing, Micah and I went to our local farmer's market, where we sampled lots of goodies that daddy probably wouldn't have approved of (pie and waffles at 10 AM -- yum!), followed by a quick prenap shopping trip at America's largest clothing recycling shop (AKA the Goodwill). Then while Micah napped, i enjoyed a lovely salad on the deck and caught up on back issues of Oprah without anyone making fun of me.... After Micah woke up and had some lunch, we met my sister and her family at a free outdoor folk concert. It was a little hot for sitting in the full sun, but lots of fun. Stranger anxiety is not a problem for my little guy.... he was all over the strangers sitting around us, including climbing across the crotch of one fellow, then peering into the guy's sunglasses to see his reflection and tugging at his cap. Micah also enjoyed kissing this enormous dog, who luckily was very goodnatured.

Review for CNS Stores Coming Soon

Following in the footsteps of the Mikes, I am excited to announce an upcoming review for CSN Stores. With a toddler in the house, I anticipate that we'll be needing some new furniture, perhaps even a coffee table. I plan on spending hours looking over the 200 different websites that make up CSN Stores. The products at CSN Stores are endless! Disclosure: I will be receiving an item of my choice valued at $35 or less so that I may conduct an honest review of CSN Stores products and service. You might remember that the Mikes reviewed a very cute play mat for one of the girl's bedrooms.

I'm Faklempt!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Milestones and Frustrations

It has been an interesting, challenging, tiring, and thrilling time here in the Kingdom of Micah. (Stick with me while I vent and I'll reward you with some photos at the end!) We transitioned to a new daycare a few weeks ago -- a big center that comes highly rated by our local quality agency. He's one of the youngest children in his new room -- everyone else is walking and a bit more verbal -- and in the new room (and all toddler rooms) they only offer one nap a day compared to the two and sometimes 3 he was taking at the old daycare. So we probably bit off a bit more than Micah could handle, though, by also trying to transition him to cow's milk from formula at the same time. He had no problem at all getting used to new caregivers and a new room; there was no sign of separation anxiety at all.

BUT.... and this is a big but, he's had some, er, intestinal adjustments ever since all these transitions started.... and each time it happens, daycare calls us to take him home. They have a very very strict policy for sick kids and draw the line at one diarrhea incident, after which he can't return for at least 24 hours. So far they've sent him home I think 3 or 4 times, despite my obtaining notes from our doctor stating that the symptoms in question are being caused by the milk transition, not a contagious disease. I am so lucky to have a job that understands my need to be flexible for my family, and I certainly enjoy spending time with Micah, but after having a very healthy and playful kid home with me for 6 or so days while I'm paying VERY good money to the daycare, I was NOT feeling the love for this new daycare, which is supposed to be inculcating my kid with a values-based education, but was not making me feel kindly towards them.
Today was a nice milestone where he was at the daycare for two continuous days, but only because I took him in late so that he could get the messy business done at home instead of at school. Gross for me, but the rest of the day was phone-call free, at least until they called to tell me that he'd lost his balance and hit his forehead.


No, that does not mean Micah is walking. He stands up well and is balancing without holding onto things for longer and longer stretches, can lower himself down with the grace of a yogi, and has an amazing amount of proprioseption, but is showing no interest at all in walking. That's OK with me -- even though he's heavy, I'm still enjoying carrying him on my hip like a little gorilla baby. Daddy is eager for him to walk, but daddy hasn't the faintest idea of how much trouble that will bring. Even without walking, he's getting into more and more trouble: climbing up onto surfaces not meant to bear his weight, doing pull-ups to reach something on top of our TV cabinet, opening kitchen cabinets to explore what's in. It is going to be a busy time here as we scramble to stay ahead of him!

And below, the promised reward photos from our recent vacation to Massachusetts!

Unimpressed as we take Micah to the spot where we got married a million (I mean 3) years ago...

OK, not a Massachusetts phone..... a trip to our local JCC pool where we met up with a good friend and her newborn baby.

Cute pre-haircut photo that I staged to illustrate the Q page of Micah's ABC book. This is the only photo I had to stage for the purpose of the book!

Micah was not exactly the best company at our long-awaited vacation lobster dinner. Our staging this photo caused quite a few laughs at the surrounding tables.

Ooops I did it again

Remember a few weeks ago when I said that Adam had told me that I was in charge of no haircuts? Well, unfortunately, I just couldn't leave well enough alone. Fresh off a frustrating week in which Micah was banned from daycare not once, but twice due to explosive bodily fluids caused by the transition to milk, I had a little extra time on my hands on Friday afternoon. So Micah and I headed back to Jack and Jill for a little trim. They still had his (adorable) photo on the wall from his last haircut, and I casually mentioned to the new stylist that the last cut had been just a tad too long, and I'd like it just a little shorter this time. Well, before I could realize what was happening, she had the electric clippers out and was sheering my little guy like a helpless lamb, leaving him with what can most generously be described as .......well, there's no generous way to describe it. It's a little 3rd Reich haircut. Waaaah! How's that for a bad attempt at irony, just as he starts off at a Jewish daycare. OK, I know it will grow back, but with a cut this short, it is going to take quite a long time.

And it might seem even longer than it actually is, due to a new development in our house: the arrival of whining. Remember when wine was a beverage you had with dinner, late into the evening? Well, lately we seen to have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not sure why it has developed; I think he might be teething, and perhaps the aforementioned upset tummy isn't helping. Hope the little guy is feeling better soon; we miss our easygoing little guy.

And just so I don't sound ungrateful, I've been so excited this week by the miracle of speech starting to appear. So far we have the words "quack" and "duck" which are hard to tell apart, "hiya" and a little wave that goes with it, and now we also seem to have "gog" which means "frog." It is also so amusing to see new reactions to things. We have a book that has pop-up animals with big, hungry mouths that open up when you turn the page; I've shown it to him a dozen times or more, but this week when I showed it to him there was a little shiver of delighted fear with each turn of the page. He's on the verge of walking too, cruising with a bit more purpose, and realizing that he can reach things that were previously out of reach by climbing on things or stretching even further.

Anyone know where I can get a wig for a 1 year old?

Micah ABC book

Click here to view this photo book larger

I had a lot of fun making this, because I got to use some of the crazier papers and realistic objects in my scrapbooking stash than I usually use (and some slightly girly colors, too, sigh.....) I'm nearly finished with Micah's first-year book, too (just waiting for a friend to give me some photos she took of his birthday party), and waiting for a really big sale at Shutterfly to print it!

For those interested in how-tos, I used an inexpensive program called Scrapbook Max. It does many of the same things that more expensive, difficult programs like Quark do, at a fraction of the cost (about $40) and effort. All of the "papers" and elements were downloaded for free (a great website that compiles a daily digest of freebies is http://www.craftcrave.com/; another one I used when I needed to find specific elements needed for this project (Quill, anyone?) was http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/.) You will need lots of room on your harddrive for these freebies, as it is addictive to download them! Fulfills all of my "hunter-gatherer" and bargain-hunting needs. Once you've downloaded stuff, you just drag it into your layout and re-size, re-color, and re-arrange to your heart's content (or until your baby wakes up from a nap!)

My little fantasy......

Adam and I have this little fantasy idea that when Micah is 10 or 11, we'll take a year off and travel 'round the world together. Of course, we'll be quite ancient by then and perhaps not even up to it; and of course the demands of life might get in the way too. It is something fun to think about, but I know it may never actually happen. But lately, when I look at all the places in the world where my blog is being read, I expand my little fantasy to think that our trip around the world will involve stops to visit our surrogacy friends world-wide. Wouldn't that be fun? Well, this weekend, as part of our week-long trip to Boston, a little piece of my fantasy actually happened: we had a get-together at the home of The Mikes, and included Deenah and Mike, the A Distant Miracle folks Geoff and Sharon, and another couple who are just starting to consider surrogacy in India. It was quite fun meeting some of this little community of ours face-to-face, and comparing our experiences and our babies' development. Will post a few photos when I get home.
Micah's been a great traveller on this trip, happily going down to sleep in 3 different houses in the first three days. By the 4th day, he was crawling up the long stairway in the house we're staying at, going right to the laundryroom where his pack n' play was stationed, finding a paci under the bed, and settled down immediately. We've trucked him around town to show him off to many of our friends, and he's put up with long car rides and uncreative meals with mostly good humor (the expensive and long-awaited lobster shack dinner was another story, however; it was much too long of a day and we just didn't get to enjoy our lobster like we should have.) Lobster incident aside, the only other tough time was the flight: he was pretty inconsolable for 2.5 out of 3.5 hours. I thought the TV would distract him and that having his own seat would assure a long nap, but it didn't seem to work that way. Hoping that the evening flight back tomorrow is less memorable.
Some random things I'm loving about Micah at 13 months:
- the way he talks to himself, with high trills, gurgles, and other sounds that adults can't even imitate
- the way he'll hook his hand around the back of my arm when I'm holding him on my hip, like a little baby gorilla
- the fact that his first word was "uh-oh" followed by "quack-quack" and "duck"
- the way he lets out a little laugh when you put him down to a nap, like he's been looking forward to it for hours
- the way he'll try just about any food, and hasn't had allergic reactions to anything (not liking the fact that he's just as happy shoving dirt or sand in his mouth as any of the healthiest foods we've offered.... and we had a very sand-filled dirty diaper to prove that some of it is actually being swallowed.)
- the look of wonder in his eyes when I poke my head into the back seat and he realizes he's not alone in the car; also, his great interest in all animal sounds, particularly the lion's ROAR.

Thank you!

Hi Everyone, Micah here!

I wanna thank everyone for all the birthday wishes, not to mention the comments on my eyes! I had a great time at my party, and mommy and daddy let me have a big ol' goopy cupcake.... I even tried to eat the paper wrapper! Mommy and Daddy even got into the action!

This week, I'm getting closer to standing all by myself, and when I decide to sit down again I can lower myself with no hands at all. I have very strong legs, if I do say so myself! I think I'll be walking in no time, and then, boy do I have some trouble in mind. I love music, and sway and bounce as soon as I hear music playing. I've also started laughing and giggling more and roughhousing. This morning, I even tried to do push-ups with Daddy!

My mommy said to tell everyone that having this great community has kept her going over the last year!

One

One year ago tonight, we were up late in Mumbai, still adjusting to the time difference, still arguing about what our baby's middle name would be if he were a boy. Waiting for a phone call that didn't come until the next day, I stayed up late googling Indian names starting with a G while Adam slept. Gobi, Ganesh, and Ghandi did not make the cut; the next morning when we learned we had a baby boy, I slipped the original name we had chosen, Gabriel, into the middle name slot on his birth registry.

One year ago, we were blessed with the most extraordinary gift, Micah Gabriel. Every day he continues to amaze and delight us. The sound of his giggles, which are doled out sparingly, make us so happy. We'd do anything for them. The look in his eyes as he is trying to make sense of our words or actions is priceless, and his persistence as he learns new skills amazes us. This week has been sobering as we learned about serious health issues of a friend's two young children, and as we were stunned to hear that one of Adam's daycare classmates, born with serious health issues, had passed away. It made us realize that we can't take one moment of our son's healthy, happy path for granted.

This weekend we'll celebrate Micah's birthday, and our having made it through the first year of his life. It hasn't always been easy, and I've learned previously unknown strengths and skills (like how many things I can do with my non-dominant hand while holding a baby!) but I truly know that every minute has been worth it. We can't wait to see what's on his mind, what his dreams and talents are, and who we become as a result of being Micah's parents.

Justin Bieber is No More and Fun with Food, Part II

So, in my last posting, some people (ahem, you know who you are, Lisa!) suggested that it might be time for Micah's first haircut. Even though the Justin Bieber look (see photo below) is very popular these days among the skateboard set, I've been agreeing with this idea for weeks. I had actually given Micah a little trim about a month ago, which his daddy told me was too much of a bowl haircut and that I was in charge of no haircuts from now on. So I've been patiently waiting for daddy to give him a haircut.

We misplaced the haircutting scissors and daddy got cold feet, so it was off to Jack and Jill Salon. A very cute place just for kids, with racecars and firetrucks for seats and lots of glittery hair accessories for your little princess. As you can see below, Micah was on his best behavior (definitely NOT the case when I tried to get near him with long pointy scissors!) and enjoyed looking at himself in the mirror.

And the result? We have an official big boy now! Daddy is threatening that sometime soon he wants Micah to have an all-over buzz cut, but he has the most gorgous hair, with beautiful copper highlights, why would you want to trim that all off? An argument that I think we'll continue to have for a while!

Adventures with food continued later in the day. We had a family party at a Chinese restaurant, and I brought along a nice container of cubed beets, sweet potatoes, and toful that Micah happily threw on the floor. I was assuming that he wasn't hungry, and passed him off to my sister, at the opposite end of a long table, to hold for a while.

"Why would they bring me to a Chinese restaurant and not feed me Chinese food?" he asked my sister. "I know!" she agreed, and promptly fed him some lo mein, which he ate by the fist-full! He had to have a little bath in the restaurante bathroom before we could bring him home!

This morning, the adventures in food continued: I was making pancakes with ricotta cheese in them, and was trying to cook while also holding Micah. He reached down and grabbed a big handful of ricotta cheese, which he enjoyed a lot. How are we going to teach this guy how to use a fork and spoon when it is so fun to squoosh food into his mouth with his hands?

However, there's one area where Micah still absolutely refuses to use his hands, and that's with drinking his milk. Occasionally he'll pick up a sippy cup on his own, but for love or money, we can't pursuade him to grip his own bottle of formula. I keep waiting for a burst of "I wanna do it myself, but he seems perfectly happy having someone else hold the cup/bottle for him. I know it is time to transition to a cup from the bottle, but I'm not sure if that will even solve the problem. With the amount of solid food he's eating, formula is definitely less interesting to him, but I know he needs to drink at least 24 oz/day and I think he drinks a bit more from the bottle. I'm also debating keeping him on formula for a few more weeks, even though most people are usually overjoyed to end that expense. We'll be travelling for a week in August, and it seems so much easier to travel with powdered formula rather than carrying around fresh milk on a hot summer day.

Whack-a-mole

Can you read his shirt? It clearly spells out what we're in for: trouble!



Mmmmm, spaghetti and meat sauce!

Despite the fact that most of the meal ends up in his lap, and sometimes his hair, Micah's all about self-feeding now!

What an amazing 6 weeks in Micah's life. In early June, he was barely mobile, now he's crawing and exploring everything! His current favorite activity is pulling himself up and starting to cruise, although mostly he's pulling himself up, bobbing back down, and then pulling himself back up, over and over again like the old video game whack-a-mole. We can see the urge to climb isn't far away.... suddenly I'm looking around my house differently, seeing pieces of furniture as ladders; things that used to be set out of his reach are now clearly in his future....

Another big change over the last six weeks has been in the eating department. In early June, he was eating a nice, balanced diet of mushy foods neatly fed to him on a spoon. Now, he's all about self-feeding, and mushy foods are only good if he can pick it up with his fingers. We've introduced lots of new foods, including spaghetti and meat sauce, houmous, pieces of chicken, cantalope, and my favorite, tahini on toast topped with kale (trying to keep getting green veggies in him during this eat-with-the-hands stage is hard!) He is wild about cheerios, and if I need to bribe him to stay quietly in his playpen for half an hour, cheerios is my drug of choice.

Arm Wrestling an Octopus

Micah hits the trails again! We were happiest when he was contained in his backpack.
One of the prettiest short hikes I've been on - White River National Forest, Colorado.

Rifle Falls State Park, CO

I guess this is right on developmental cue as we 'round the bases past 11 months and head straight for one year, but Micah officially became a handful this weekend, on our third camping trip of the season. Whereas only 3 weeks ago, we could leave him safely in "baby Alcatraz" in the camper, fenced in by cushions, on this trip we had to set up the pack-and-play in the camper because he's pulling up on everything in sight and the cushions were no longer enough protection. And only 3 weeks ago, we could put him down on the ground to play, on this trip he made a beeline each time to the rocks and dirt, which he would have happily shoved into his mouth by the fistful. What evolutionary sense does it make that human children act so against their own best interest as toddlers? When they are infants, they have all sorts of reflexes that protect them -- the "falling out of a tree and grabbing onto mama mammal's fur" is the one I best remember -- but as toddlers they go straight for the dangerous.

He had a bit of a cold this weekend (which he spread to me, and I've spread it to Adam), making the long weekend exhausting!!! There were lots of diaper and clothing changes, which have now become an ordeal akin to arm wrestling an octopus. I voilated lots of my own rules this weekend, including unbuckling him in his carseat to change his diaper (we were stuck in a huge, non-moving traffic jam on the highway for over an hour, and he had an explosive diaper) and letting him have his pacifier during the day rather than just at bedtime. I'm thinking that camping, while it will be a great family activity in a few years, is just a bit more trouble than it is worth right now!

Mmmmm, sand!

On the plus side, we saw some beautiful countryside, including a triple waterfall, limestone caves, and probably the prettiest 2 mile hike I've ever been on, through a winding valley with a stream curving through the bottom. But let's just say that mommy and daddy will be VERY happy to see our daycare center here on Tuesday morning!

Summertime

We're keeping our cool!

Happy 4th of July to our US friends and family; Happy Canada Day to our friends up North!

We are in trouble now!

Pulling himself up in his crib, confusing catfood with cherrios, making a beeline for the baby monitor that resides on our bedroom floor, turning cups upside down to see what happens, grabbing mommy's keys at every opportunity, chasing the cats (they're much faster), getting stuck under desks and cabinets, and in general squirming, wiggling, and always in motion. Eleven months. Gosh he's cute. We are so screwed!

Flashback

I'm so excited to see this year's "crop" of surrogacy babies. Perhaps I need to get a real life!

Just the other night, Adam and I were sitting to plan the rest of our summer, and I remembered that this time last year, we were anxiously finishing our packing and planning for our trip to pick up our baby. In fact, I think just about this time last year, I was having my last minute panic, writing tigerlilycat so that she could re-assure me that this pregnancy in India thing wasn't just a huge hoax and that there really would be a baby arriving for us.

Fast forward one year, and we have a real, live, growing, and changing little boy in our lives, splashing in the cat's water dish, crawling after us whenever we leave him in one room and walk into another. "This is our life for the next few years," Adam bemoaned, after Micah upended a glass of water onto the floor for the fifth time in two days. Yes, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

No photos today because Micah's got the snotties, with big puffy eyes and grumpy attitude to match.....poor little boy.

i miss my boys!

I'm away from my boys this week and adam says I'm missing the best week ever, as micah has gone from crawling 2 or 3 steps to circling our whole house. I miss him a lot and know he'll be very happy to see me too. This trip is busy and bittersweet, and I can tell that it isn't going to be as easy to leave home again.

May I now present.....

our own 'lil devil, spawn of Sacks!

This weekend, we graduated to Camping 2.0, featuring our new (17 year old) pop-up camper. Camping 2.0 started off a bit rough, with a long drive to a site I had reserved in advance that ended up being just a parking lot next to a busy road. Luckily, we drove a few more miles down the road and found this lovely (but expensive) site, but not before we also spent another hour stuck on a one-way road from which we couldn't turn around. But, as this photo shows, the story has a happy ending:
Here is camping Alcatraz; Micah's half of the camper. Notice how carefully he's surrounded by cushions to keep him from falling through the cracks? He had so much fun crawling around this big padded space that it was harder than usual to get him to go to sleep, but once asleep he was out until 7 am!
Here's a full view of the camper, with Micah enjoying the little square of astroturf that the previous owners nicely gave us.

And here was his favorite discovery of the weekend:

DIRT!!!!!
Oooh, did he get dirty. Guess I better get used to that with a little boy!

Micah goes camping!

Micah took his first camping trip last weekend to an area in southern Colorado. It was very beautiful, with plenty of lodgepole pine trees, strange gloopy rock formations (including one called Lizard Rock that looked like a giant stegasaurus), and a fast-flowing river nearby. We went with several friends with toddlers, and I for one was glad that Micah wasn't walking yet because I would have been more worried about him wandering off and falling in the river.

This was taken at about 6 am. It was quite cold at night, but got very warm by mid-afternoon -- probably a 50 degree range in temperatures.

Here we are trying to stay warm in our tent. We only stayed one night, because it was so cold and Micah whimpered on and off all night. Not sure if it was because he was cold or teething (tooth #6 is on its way.) We were glad we didn't stay the second night, because apparently it was much colder; our friends reported that their baby wipes froze! After this trip, we purchased a pop-up camper that has real mattresses (so long, air mattress!!) and most importantly, a heater! We're looking forward to many more camping trips this summer!

In other exciting news, there are a lot of new developments this week in Micah-land, although some of them are ones he's come to a bit later than other babies. He's finally crawling for real -- no more going backwards instead of forwards -- and can now seek us out when we put him down and walk away. Watch out, world!!!! He's now figured out how to get from lying down to sitting, and has started thinking about pulling himself up in his crib (but can't quite get there yet.) Another development we're excited about is his ability to hold his own bottle. I know he could do it before, he was just choosing not to. So I finally gave him some tough love and put the bottle down within his reach when he was hungry. How easily babies learn things when they are motivated!
On a final note, a lot of babies are due in India during the next several weeks. I'm overjoyed for each and every one of you, and just want to remind you to document, document, document your tiny bundle. It is hard to imagine, but in just 6 months, you won't be able to remember how tiny they were in their first days, or remember the experience clearly because of the baby brain fog that covers you for a few months. May all the babies wait for their parents to arrive in India, and may all the surrogates have easy deliveries.

10 months/3 years

Yesterday was our 3 year anniversary and coincidentally Micah's 10 month marker... we always take a few minutes to reflect on our gorgous wedding, and discuss the highs and lows of life since we married. This year, of course, we could definitely agree: our proudest accomplishment was our baby boy.
Our anniversary present to each other is going to be a used pop-up camper. We love camping, but Colorado nights are cold in the mountains, so sleeping on the ground isn't that fun. We picture lots of fun family trips ahead, and a camper will make it easier for us to pick up and go.

One slightly worrisome development yesterday: I sent Micah to school with a little egg yolk omlet. He'd had egg yolks once before, hardboiled and mixed with something green, like kale. The reaction he had then was projectile puking, which I chalked up to the weird combination. But no, today there was also projectile puking, so it appears he may be allergic to egg yolks. Hope this isn't the symptom of some bigger allergy issues. He hasn't had any reaction to anything else he's eaten, though of course the choices have been fairly limited. Will have to schedule an appointment to get tested because he's starting to be much more interested in table food and it will be more difficult to control what he eats.

Moving Pieces

Vrooom, vroom! Not sure I'm ready for Micah to drive if he can't keep his feet off the steering wheel!

There's a lot of moving going on around me right now -- literally. My parents, who live nearby, are moving to a smaller place next month, and one of my sisters, currently in Philadelphia, is moving here with her family at the end of June. Oh, and in 3 weeks, I'm selling the condo I owned for 17 years in a town that I still love but no longer live in. I'm also in the midst of planning camping trips, business trips, and vacations, but I'm feeling like I'm not doing enough to help my family in all their moving. I know my life isn't that complicated -- life with twins or even two kids seems infinitely more difficult -- but it is a lot to juggle, along with the important work of making friends and connections in our new home town, maintaining our relationship, starting a new business, and making sure that our child's learning and growth continues.

And of course, there's a lot more movement going on at home with Micah. While he isn't quite crawling, he's spinning, pushing himself backwards on his tummy, and reaching for things slightly out of reach and somehow getting them. Now we really have to watch out! The other day, at a birthday party, I put him down on the grass near where some other kids were playing; when I came back a few minutes later, somehow a bagel piece was in mouth. This just after Adam and I had discussed holding off from introducing wheat products for a while longer.

Note the hand in mouth? That's a piece of bagel that some bigger kid dropped!

Later that day, at another party, an older woman scooped Micah up and exclaimed with glee, "Ooooh, you're just so moist and meaty!" Can you see why?