Happy Solstice Eve Everybody!

Yikes, I have been so busy I haven't updated in awhile. Well, my crazy jobsite in DC is finally winding down. It's a good thing, because it was really starting to burn me out; getting up at 4am every day and dealing with DC traffic. We will probably start back there in the Spring sometime. It's almost Christmas, which I can't believe. We have Raley family Christmas on Sunday which should be fun. Olive went to a Christmas Party today for my work and was exceptionally charming. It was nice because there were a lot of people there who had never seen her.

We also had a Mom's group cookie swap that I hosted last weekend which was great. It was nice to see everyone and catch up; Since I've been back at work I haven't seen many of them.

Let's see... what's new with Olive? She has mastered rolling over now, which is good. She's sitting up, but I still keep pillows around her because she still takes a header or two now and then. She's getting better though. We don't have any carpet because of the cats (Rocky pees on them immediately) so the hardwood floor can be a bit unforgiving. She has also been very vocal lately and is using lots of vowel sounds... I have heard her say "Ma Ma Ma Ma" a few times, but it's just the sounds, I don't think it's an actual word; Although Kristin at Daycare swears she's said MaMa. I'm sure it will be any day now. Other than that, not too much beyond the usual hoilday craziness. Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice... The first steps towards summer. -M-

The past few weeks have been busy, but fun. We had a nice Thanksgiving here at our house. Sue, George and Naomi came down, and so did Sue and Al. John and Mary Tyler surprised everyone by driving up for Thanksgiving from Baton Rouge. I cooked am amazing turkey this year; I brined it with Earl Grey and Lapsang Souchong tea for 24 hours first with lots of lemon and it was fantastic. We also had keeve and BEcky and Max join us as well, and it was very fun. The grandparents were in town for the weekend and got to spend time with Olive. She was very impressed with Grandma's exceptional Peek-A-Boo abilities.

Since Thanksgiving, work has been really busy for me. We have a huge project going on now at the Franciscan Monestary in Washington DC that has a very tight deadline and we are working long hours to try to finish it in time. I have been trying to not be too hard on myself lately, but I do feel like I am falling in to a bit of Supermom syndrome. I'm feeling so scattered; I forget things and I can't seem to get anything done. Last week it took me three days to get a gallon of milk. It sounds ridiculous, but I just could not seem to get to the store to get it. I put Marc's cell phone "somewhere safe" two weeks ago and have no idea where it is. I always thought that Supermom syndrome was for moms with ballet practice and science projects... you know, trying to do things above and beyond everyday. For me, its more like I have to try to not be so hard on myself for not getting the basics done, like laundry and dishes. I feel like if I'm making dinner, I'm not spending enough time playing with her. If I put her down to go do laundry, I'm ignoring her. But if I don't, by the time she's in bed around 7:30 or 8:00, I'm starving and exhausted and we have peanut butter and jelly for dinner again. (Which, I know, in the grand scheme of things is not such a big deal.)
However, despite my feelings of nagging maternal inadequacy, she is doing really well. She has been squealing and screeching like crazy the past few days. All of a sudden, Tummy Time is not the torture is was before. In fact, she kind of likes it. She has even been working on her rollover technique and is getting better and better at it every day. She's started eating more and more solid foods too, which she loves. We gaev her oatmeal and the n apples with blueberries and she was thrilled. We're still working on sitting up unaided, but we're getting very close. Maybe by Christmas.

So, that's what we're up to. Mom's group Cookie Swap is Dec.16th; I'm going to have a house FULL of moms and babies. Should be interesting. I'm really looing forward to it. I think I'll make my chocolate mint cookies this year. More later! Mariah

Foods

Foods we have tried so far and reactions:
Squash... Not a big hit
Sweet Potatoes... Moderately better
Carrots... Tolerable
Sweet Potatoes & Corn... Now we're talking
Peas... What are you trying to do to me?!

Olive has been extremely happy all weekend. She has been giggling and squealing and generally being as adorable as possible. This week, all the grandparents will be here for Thanksgiving, which will be nice. We attended Sue and George's 25th Anniversary surprise lunch on Saturday and we all had a good time. I'm always amazed at how good she is out at restaurants. I don't know how long that will last, but I'm enjoying it while it does. We gave her a bath in the sink tonight because she's getting a little big for her bathtub and she really loves to splash around in deeper water. I know this kid is going to be a swimmer. Much like her Dad, she loves the water and is completely at ease in it. This week she has also discovered her ears, and was fascinated to find that she has a tongue. It's a short week for me too, since I am taking off Wednesday to cook and clean the house while she's at daycare. This year I am attempting Tea brined turkey... I am using a combination of Lapsang Souchong and Earl Grey to add a smoky flavor and finishing it off with a ginger plum glaze. Should be pretty yummy. I am also trying to finish up a sweater I started knitting her that I am hoping ot have done for Thanksgiving day. I have one sleeve to go, then to put it together. (What, me? Put unrealistic demands on myself? Never!) So hopefully I'll finish it up. I am really looking forward to a few days off work... but it does make me wish I actually had paid holidays; but that's another gripe. Anyway, so here are some updated pictures. Here's the link to Photobucket where there are many more pictures...
http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa77/mariahgillis/

More later this week!

Halloween

So, Olive's first Halloween! So, my big idea is that she was going to be, what else, an olive. Lesson learned: Don't make the halloween costume too early. I made the green suit part about a month ago, thinking it would come to about her knees, and then I'd stuff it with rags or something. However, when I go ther into it tonight, it barely goes over her fat little belly; She still looked like an Olive, but the Olive to Pimiento ratio was a bit off. Marc thought the original hat I made was too high, but I eventually conceded and made it shorter, and it was much better. (Yes, he was right, I admit it) It was still adorable. She made it for almost an hour before konking out. Grandpa George and Grandma Sue came down to help with Trick-or-Treaters and watch Bean while we went out to dinner for my birthday. I think next year we are going to have to move my birthday festivities to another night so we can take Bean trick or treating. There are so many kids in the neighborhood and they are so cute. There were some great costumes this year.

Olive has learned to grab her feet, which is very helpful when changing diapers. She's definitely grabbing at things more, and her grip is super strong now. She's eating like crazy, so she must be having a growth spurt or something. There are more funny cereal pictures. I love this picture of Marc kissing Olive.

We saw Marc's whole family this weekend and she was a huge hit... Aunt Sue and Uncle Leonard hadn't seen her, and neither had marc's cousins Elyse and Allison. She did great, but she was really wiped out after that for a few days. So many new faces and voices. I am trying to post all the pictures on the photobucket site... I will put up the link to them once I get them up, hopefully in the next day or so. As for me, I am pretty tired tonight. I've had several late nights in a row; I've been up a lot with her because her sleep cycle is still a bit off after traveling this weekend.

Squealing

Today, it seems that Olive has discovered that her voice can make more sounds besides grunting. We have been serenaded by a cacophony of ear-splitting squeals and squeaks. I think she picked this up hanging out with Emika...She is clearly very proud of herself.

Yesterday we went to the Zoo; which was fun, but a little disappointing. It seems like they are trying to make money by making it more theme-parkish... They have had to get rid of many animal exhibits in order to put in a ridiculous tram, for example, so fat people don't actually have to walk to see the animals. How convenient. They have kept all the big ticket items, and the giraffes were very cool and entertaining, but I missed all of the other animals like many of the birds and reptiles. They got rid of the otters, too, which sucks. They were awesome.

On another side note, I was thrilled to find that there was a horse chestnut tree growing in Druid Hill Park near the zoo parking lot. It was a little different from the ones I remember as a kid, the husks were smooth and didn't have any spines like horse chestnuts do... it must have been a slightly different species. I had a moment of nostalgia as I filled my pockets with the shiny mahogany brown chestnuts. I love them. Maybe I'll plant some in the backyard... I can't wait until I can show Olive stuff like that. I wonder if she'll be a collector like me... I think she probably will.

The weather has been beautiful all weekend, one of those lovely fall days with blue skies and it's just warm enough to be pleasant with that great crisp fallen leaf smell in the air. The cats love it too. I have to get her Halloween costume finished... It' s mostly done, I just have to cut the armholes and make the hat. She's going as, big surprise, an Olive! I'll put up pictures when I have them. Grandpa and Grandma are coming down to help with the Trick or Treaters and watch Olive so Marc and I can go out to dinner somewhere. It should be fun.

Piglet!

Busy weekat work, but Tom was in New Orleans for most of it, so it wasn't so bad. I'm adjusting, but I miss my lunches with the Mom's group. I keep getting the e-mails about walks & stuff and I'm sad I can't go too. Daycare is going well, Olive seems to be adjusting and I'm feeling good about it.

Let's see... she has now learned to make razzberries, so it's her new favorite sound. She also finds pig noises hilarious. She has been rather charming all week, really. I am so thankful that we haven't had some of the sleep problems that the other moms are struggling with... I hear horror stories of hours of screaming every night and moms wrenching their hearts out with the cry-it-out method. I don't want to jinx it, but we have been extremely lucky that she's a great sleeper. In the evenings, I just feed feed feed until she zonks out. Some nights I play music for her on the Ipod, but most of the time its 5 or 10 minutes of rocking and singing and she's out. I can't tell any of the other moms this for fear that they will chase me down the street trying to run me down with their strollers. Ha! But seriously, I am so so thankful and not a day goes by that I'm not amazed at how lucky Marc and I are.

That being said, all this week Olive was up twice a night to feed again...(which, in the grand scheme of things, still isn't that bad compared to hours of screaming) she hadn't done that in weeks. Maybe it's another growth spurt. I've started giving her a 50/50 mix of breastmilk and formula in the evenings so she doesn't suck down everything I've pumped all day and leave me with nothing for daycare the next day. She's been going through four 4oz bottles a day at daycare, plus rice cereal. Piglet! She's just getting fatter and fatter. I wonder what she weighs now, I don't know. I'd guess 15 pounds.

Daycare is nice in some ways because it makes the time I do have with her more fun; I'm able to play with her rather than just dragging her around while I try to get stuff done around the house. And I miss her all day, so it's nice to see her, she's always so excited to see me, which makes me feel great.

I think we are going to Jim and Ayu's for a party tomorrow night and Olive can hang out with Emika and they can be charming together. I am still waiting to get beach pictures back... Walgreens is taking FORVER to develop my film. When I get it back, I will put up some beach pictures.

Roll Over!

10/7/07 Today she rolled over on her own! I had been kind of coaching her on this, and then she went ahead and did it on her own. Of course, when she realized that it just put her face down, she was none too happy about it, but that's not the point. She'll appreciate the accomplishment later. She also had some delicious rice cereal this evening, which she wasn't so sure about but ate anyway. This weekend was absolutely gorgeous and we went to Loch Raven reservoir and took a long walk on Saturday. This morning we got up and went to the Farmer's Market downtown. All in all it was a very relaxing and uneventful weekend. I start back to work tomorrow morning... I have mixed feelings about it, but at this point, I will be very happy to have a paycheck again. Marc has off tomorrow for Columbus day, so we are trying another half-day trial at daycare. She seems to be adjusting pretty well; It is hard for her to take naps there because there's so much new and unfamiliar stuff and she tends to get herself overtired. But she'll get used to it I'm sure.

I'm also putting up a picture we took two weeks ago in Ithaca with my grandmother Rosa, my Mom Sue, Olive and me. Rosa was thrilled to see her again since it's been awhile since we were in Ithaca last.

So my child is like the Bennetton Baby...when she was first born, she looked decidedly Korean. I had a hard time believing she was mine. (Some people had a hard time believing she was Marc's!) After a few months, she has taken on a more "latina" appearance. I could easily tell people I'd adopted her from Columbia and no one would be the wiser. But then I dug up this picture my Mom had of me in 1975, and I compared it to one of Olive at the same angle. I couldn't believe how much we looked alike. Very strange how she can look so different yet so alike. Now, I think she does look like me, but there are definitely some distinct Raley characteristics too. It's cool to see how she changes over time... its amazing how much she can change in just one week. She's now just over 14 lbs... between her 2nd and 4th month appointments, she had grown three inches. She has already outgrown some clothes that she hadn't even gotten around to wearing yet.

The nicest thing about daycare that I've found is the look on her face when I show up to pick her up... It's so rewarding when she seems so happy to see me. It's like, "hey, you DO love me!" It is a nice perk.

Olive is 5 Months old

Olive will be 5 months old on Monday... I can't believe it. She just took her first trip to the Beach last weekend and got her feet in the ocean for the first time. She also started daycare this week, so it's been a very busy week for her so far. I start back to work on Monday. I am definitely having a harder time with daycare than she is.

I am trying to start this blog so that family can peiodically check in and see what she's up to; things change so fast around here it's amazing. So check back often...