Problem "Child" and Happy Baby

I have said time and again that God already gave me my problem "child" with Ditka. So I was destined to have an easy and happy baby. Mae was pretty crabby all day today and wanted to be held for the better part of it. I am pretty sure she is constipated (I know an overshare) but today was the first time that I have ever seen her really strain to use the bathroom. And when she did strain for five minutes a hard little dime came out (again, an over share but come on, it is baby poop!) Despite her being in a pretty bad mood (for her), we found some time today to play and have a good time on our bed with our problem "child." Knock on wood, even though Ditka has a lot of issues, letting Mae pull her hair, ears, and tails is not one of them.

Mae is happy that she finally has no pants on and is chilling in Mom and Dad's bed.

Mae realized Ditka is on the bed and decided to go for her.

Ditka did her obsessive licking to Mae. Mae tried to get away.

Mae chilled while pulling Ditka's hair.

I promise you didn't drown the boat.

What is in the word promise? Hope. Confirmation. Action.

We make promises everyday that we can't keep. To our spouse, "honey, I promise I will take out the trash." To a colleague, "I promise I will send you that document." Or to yourself, "I promise I won't eat a half dozen cookies today." There are times that we in fact do take out the trash, send that document, and not eat half a dozen cookies, but sometimes we don't hold true to our promises. When there are unfulfilled promises, there can be a mixture of emotions we feel, including some level of disappointment.

Now that I am a parent, I can see the potential pitfalls of making a promise to your child. Mae is still too young to hold me for not keeping a promise. But I know this time is short lived. I am sure all my friends who are parents, or my parents, have regretted making a promise to their child. They might have regretted it the second they said it or maybe, a minute, an hour, a day, or a week later. I wonder what I will promise to Mae that I won't be able to fulfill. Will it be that I pick her up from school on time and one day something keeps me from getting there? Or maybe I will promise her if she finishes her dinner that she will get dessert and then I realize we have no dessert in the house? Or maybe I will promise her that when she turn 8 years old that I will take her to Disney Land and then we can't afford it or don't have time off or some other reason?

Will Mae forgive me for my broken promises? Or will she hold me to them? I wonder if children are more or less nagging and forgiving about promises then adults. I hope she realizes that I always have the best intentions and forgives me for not making good on any of my promises.

Why am I waxing all philosphically about promises you might wonder? Pearson promised me for the last five days that he would post on this blog. At least once a day I have nagged him about doing it. He looks at me and says, "Alison I promise I will do it tomorrow."

To Pearson: Honey, I know you have the best intentions and I forgive you. Just don't promise to do it tomorrow. And I promise, that even though you haven't posted, you didn't drown the boat with me. I hope Mae will be as forgiving about your "promises" or at least a little less nagging then me.

The Family Car

At the beginning of Vacation (classic movie of the 80's), the Griswalds get a brand new station wagon for their big summer family vacation trip. Along the way they have many adventures, mishaps, fights, and laughs in the car and with the car. If you ask anyone that has seen that movie they can probably recall the car. So today's post is all about the American Family Car.

When I think back to my childhood, I think about the Kogut family vacations and our great big blue Chevrolet station wagon. That Chevrolet was built like a tank. It had a one row front seat (I don't even think they make cars like that anymore) and it had a special seat, where you could sit facing backwards. I think back to the countless trips that we loaded up the family Chevy and hit the open road. Most of the time the open road took us to Pennsylvania to visit our grandparents. My dad's parents lived in Johnstown (a three and half hour trip) and my mom's parents lived in Warren, PA (a six hour trip). There was also the trip to Disney World, where we actually loaded the Chevy on the Amtrak Auto Train down to Florida and drove it back. And since it wasn't excruciating long the first time, we decided to do it again the following year (and drive both ways). With three girls there were bound to be fights, arguments over space, and lots of "are we there yet?" questions. The pleather (it was plastic leather) stuck to your skin when it got hot. There was never enough space to sprawl out and the car trips were always too long.

Despite all the many miserable experiences (and trust me there were some), I think back to how much I valued those moments with my family. The times that I laid on the door to sleep, Heather laid on me, and Julie laid on her. I remember listening to the Fisher Price tape about Hans Christian Anderson and the Silver Skates and how even though I heard it 20 times before I was in awe that he was able to win each time. I remember driving into Johnstown and the first person who saw the clock "won." I remember playing the letter game (choosing a letter and coming up with as many words with that letter), the license plate game, and car bingo. I remember how my dad would sing "Southern Cross" by Crosby Stills and Nash and then rewind it, to sing it again. I remember feeling cozy and warm in the car while we drove through the darkness. I remember looking out the window on country roads as we drove past homes and wondered who lived there and what their families were like. I remember wondering what it would be like to live in a different city and how my life would be different with different friends, school, and activities. I remember singing songs from the tape We Silly Sings Song at the top of my lungs. I remember how my mom would be working on her latest cross stitch project in the front seat.

I can't believe that all these memories and so many more were formed in one relatively small place. I am sure that my parents and sisters have their own memories about what that Chevy held and how my dad probably wished for a DVD player and my mom probably wished for a Suburban and my sisters probably wished my parents had one less kid so they could have more space.

The Cummings are hoping to create memories of our own. We got ourselves our first family car this weekend. It is a lovely brand spanking new 2010 Toyota Highlander in silver. I can only hope that Mae has as many memories (wonderful and miserable) about the times she is going to spend in that car with us. And maybe one day, she will be singing silly songs, "do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro..,." to her child because she recalls them from all the time she spent in our family car.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I have lots to say (of course!) but not a lot of energy to write it down right now. So here are my thousand words.

Forward Movement

Today (March 25, 2010) marks the day that Mae crawled forward for the first time. This video isn't the first time since I was too busy watching but thankfully she cooperated and did it again and again so I could get some footage of it.

xoxox

Pearson and I have repeated discussions of who kisses Mae more, he or I? Yes, a silly argument but this is what we talk about. As you can guess, I think I win. He thinks he wins. Regardless of who wins, we love to kiss those chubby cheeks.

You can teach a dog new tricks.

Tonight marked the first time that Mae rolled over from her back to her front. It took quite of bit of coaxing and a little trickery from me but she did it!! As I have said, she doesn't roll. She has done front to back but not the other way. I thought she wouldn't do it because it was a dog trick. It happened during naked time, a nightly ritual where Mae gets to spend time just being in her birthday suit. She loves this time of day and I fear we are encouraging her to be a nudist one day, where she will hang out at Doe Bay but that is another topic for another day.

Tonight started like most, Mae did some time on her tummy, stood for a little bit, then I decided to get out the "egg" shakers (thanks Aunt Heather for them). Mae and I shook them while I sang 'Shake your Boottie" and 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' (a little more appropriate for her age). Then I decided to lay her down and take the shaker away from her (I know not very nice). I placed the shaker above her head (right side) just a little out of reach. She went for it but when she realized she couldn't get to it she gave up. Then I started the coaxing. I started shaking it on the floor right above her head encouraging her to "get it." A couple more failed attempts. So I decided to try the left side. Same thing, she went for it, got half on her side, and realized that she still wasn't going to get it. She started to get a little frustrated, turned red, but kept trying and trying. I stuck with it too. I knew that I could help her roll over or easier yet, i could place the shaker so that she could get it. BUT that wouldn't be her doing it on her own. And FINALLY after many more attempts she did it. Success. I am so proud of Mae and despite her frustration, she stuck with it. I think she might be stubborn like her Dad (and Mom :)

Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba

Two weeks ago was Mae's six month checkup. At which time, Dr. Sheridan [pediatrician] asked us, "so you have probably been hearing a bunch of consonants sounds, 'ga, ba, da,' and lots of babble?" Pearson and I looked at each other. We have been hearing babble but not consonants sounds. Oh no, two people who love the gift of gab have a daughter that hasn't hit the "developmental timeline for speech." Many questions arose in my mind, 'Was I talking to her enough?' 'Was I reading enough to her?' 'Were we not letting her get a word in edge wise?'

No fear. Without fail our daughter started talking a week later and has been on a role. She has really only mastered the ba, ba, ba sound for now but I am sure her dad is practicing the da, da, da sound with her.

Here is a little video of her. She is also becoming quite a mover.

I like the way you move it, move it.

Mae is approximately six and half months and it is mind blowing the amount that she has accomplished in such a short window of time. I say this in relation to what I have accomplished in the same amount of time. Yes, yes, I have gone through my own discoveries (learned I can't control everything, found a love that I never knew existed, have been able to let things go, etc..) but watching Mae discover her world and herself has been astounding. Everyday is a new and exciting thing and again I am remiss for not writing it all down (mother's guilt) BUT her latest skill is being able to crawl backgrounds. She doesn't do it all the time and I wouldn't say she necessarily LOVES it (I think she does it out of pure frustration) but she is on the move. I am both thrilled by this and also apprehensive. I am thrilled that she is developing and has a curiosity to want to get places. I am apprehensive because I know once it begins, gone are the days of me ever being able to sit down or putting her in one place and her staying there.

In terms of other movement:

• Mae still doesn't want to roll over. She only has gone front to back to date and has made no sign she wants to roll from back to front. I think she thinks rolling is a dog trick, not fit for babies.
• We started table foods a couple of weeks ago so we go some interesting movement down below the belly button (ick!).
• She loves to stand (has for the last month and half) and she is finally mastering the "jump" in the Johnny Jumperoo.

Gold or Silver

I remember singing as a child, "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold." As I sang that I wondered what that all meant and how I would never, ever have the need to have "silver" friends because I would never move beyond Shelley Street [the street I grewup on] and neither would any of my "gold" friends. Oh, I was so naive. Well as life has it, I grew up, went to college, got a job, moved, moved again, moved again, got married, and had a baby. Needless to say, I am a long way from Shelley Street today and now am a mom and a wife.

As a mom, I have had the fortune to have met and found some truly fantastic women. They are each uniquely intelligent, beautiful, hysterical, and loving. Along with all their many positively wonderful characteristics, they each come with their own little ones, who are equally as unique and amazing. I am thrilled to be able to see all these babies grow up and lay (which they are doing now), then crawl, then walk, then talk alongside Mae. I know she will value friends as much as Pearson and I. She, too, will realize that some days, you feel like wearing gold and other days you feel like wearing silver but being able to wear both is the mark of a great woman.

Photo of Mae last Thursday with her friend Edie at Madrona Playground.