The Shrinking Chair

The other day, Baby Nora came over for a visit and I got out Mae's bouncy seat that had been in "retirement." I, of course, decided to put Mae in the chair that she had spent so much time in. I turned on the vibrating feature and it was like old times, she started yawning and sat back and relaxed. Then she turned over and got herself out. Now, it is new times.

Mae - Under One Month

Mae - Ten Months

Standing and Waving

A devleopement update:

• Mae can go from sitting to standing without pulling up on anything and she can stand for a very, very long time. She started doing it last week and I thought that it meant that walking was going to happen immediately. But it hasn't, which is a-ok by me. Sometimes she takes a really wide stance. Some times she stands, then squats, then stands again. It is pretty awesome.
• Mae now also waves. Today at the grocery store she was a huge hit with all the shoppers.

These photos are from today at Madrona Beach (a little fuzzy because taken with my Iphone).

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

Enough said for today.

The Pool Seattle Style

Summer got a false start (or we can only hope since it is already mid-July) a couple of weeks ago. Today the temperatures and clear blue skies was a much needed welcome to the season that I have been longing for, for some time. I put Mae in her swimsuit and headed out to meet our good friends Erin and Hadley at the local wading pool.

I don't know if other cities have something similar but here in Seattle we have "wading pools." The pools are in the bigger parks throughout the city, are about 2 feet deep and get filled and drained everyday for children's swimming pleasure. Due to budget cuts, the city is only filling two wading pools this summer. One is in Volunteer Park about a mile or so from our house. It was my first time ever going to visit one of these treasures. Prior to this year I had no real reason to go, but now Mae and I look forward to making it part of our summer fun.

"Mom, are you ready?"

"Because if you aren't ready, I am heading towards the water."

(This photo is a little misleading, Mae doesn't dislike the water but I wouldn't say she LOVES it enough to barrel in head first by herself."

Erin and Hadley

"She wore a teeny, weeny, yellow striped bathing suit.."

Friends

Hadley is telling Mae a funny story and Mae is listening intently.

Flashback Friday

I had the best intentions this year of doing Cummings Christmas cards. My vision was a card showcasing my cute baby in black and white wishing our friends and families good tidings for the holiday season and new year.

The key words are best intentions.

I actually got as far as getting Mae dressed in the Christmas card outfit, putting a white towel over the bouncy seat, and taking all the photos. I didn't get it together enough to get them printed and sent out. Here's to a resolution of getting them done for 2010. In the meantime, enjoy the photos that were supposed to be the 2009 Cummings Christmas card.

Sunday Mornings

I am sure there is some song about Sunday mornings, but I cannot remember it right now. There is one about Monday mornings, by Neil Young, but that's not really "on topic".

Anyway, I'm often criticized for many things around my house--lack of cleaning, general laziness, bad language, and not posting on this blog. Since I'm incapable or just unwilling to deal with the first three issues, let me try and address the forth by posting here.

Specifically, I wanted to post about an emerging Sunday ritual I have going with Mae. Each weekend morning, Alison and I trade off on getting up early with Mae. Sundays are generally my day. It's a "win" to be spending early morning time with Mae, but it's a "win win" (as they say in the biz) when it's me, Mae, and a golf tournament. This past weekend was the British Open, which started at 6am or something ungodly like that.

So, there I was, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, giving Mae her breakfast and watching the best in the world try to navigate St. Andrews. And this leads us to another criticism leveled against me--that I turn on the TV with Mae. I plead guilty to this, but only when the programming is one of three things: 1) Golf, 2) Chicago's lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs or 3) "So You Thought You Could Be A Chippendales Dancer"--great show.

The way I figure it, golf is pretty harmless. To her, it's just a big green screen with dudes speaking in hushed tones. Right? No violence, no sex, and, unfortunately for us all, no rock n' roll. I mean, in our family full of voluble characters, whispering British guys are probably a welcome relief for her.

If you watched the British Open, you know it was dreadfully boring. Some S. African guy who reminded me of Opi Taylor/Richie Cunningham won the tournament. Dude was ugly. However, as he walked up the 18th fairway, the Scots, Brits, and the other generally docile beings of the northerly British Isles stood and clapped. We watched.

And then my daughter decided to join in. Clapping is her new favorite thing, so it was only natural that she would join her friends in GB and give this new Open Champion a round of applause.

Plays well with others: Check.

Next stop--a baseball game.

Costco is Good for One Thing

Over the years, it has been an ongoing joke in our family about the amount of toilet paper we go through, especially Heather, Julie, and I. If you were wondering out of the three of us, Julie definitely goes through quite a bit. She does not know how to conserve.

The other day Mae decided to play in the bathroom and looks like she too does not know how to conserve. A lesson we are going to have to teach her, until then, looks like our Costco membership is getting some good use.

Beauty and the Beast

From the title of this post, you might have thought that this was about Pearson and I (just joking). It is about the true beauty of our house, Mae and our actual beast, Ditka. As I have mentioned previously, our dog, Ditka, is my problem "child." I don't mean this in a half joking light hearted type of way either. When I say "problem," I don't mean that my dog has the occasional accident in the house, freaks out when it is thundering, or barks at the mailman (which she does do). Ditka has bona fide behavioral issues that manifest itself in aggression to folks that enter our house, as well as, the occasion passerby on the street. We have had one incident in our house but I don't care to talk about that now.

Pearson and I were faced with a hard decision a couple of years ago whether to put Ditka down or continue working with her. We obviously chose the latter. I don't say this to make it sound like we deserve a medal from PETA. I say this because I think Pearson and I are under the Marine's philosophy of never leaving anyone behind. After hiring a behavioral specialist and spending countless hours training, Ditka is somewhat more manageable and a little less unpredictable. Also, she is on a lifetime of doggie prozac.

I bring up the topic of the beast not only because I have been meaning to write about her for some time but I was recounting a story to Pearson about the dog and my dad. Without fail, about every other time, I talk to my dad on the phone he asks me the exact same question. Our conversation goes like this:

Dad/Grandpa: How is that dog with Mae?

Me: Good. They both really like each other.

(I think it goes without saying that Pearson and I would never jeopardize Mae or anyone else's safety. If we feared that Ditka was at all aggressive around Mae we would immediately get rid of her, no questions asked.)

I, of course, appreciate that my dad cares first and foremost about Mae's safety and that he wonders how the two interact and to make sure it is safe, friendly, and loving. So far, so good. Ditka has been very gentle and tolerant of Mae. I think that she is just happy someone is paying attention to her.

Patty Cake, Patty Cake

Mae has a new skill and it is absolutely adorable. She claps!

El Meridor

El Meridor*came to visit Mae at our house the other day. I thought she was going to cry and freak out, surprisingly, she was intrigued.

Mae doesn't know what to make of El Meridor.

She is excited because he wants a high five. (Something Mae loves to do now).

Let me see your eyes.

Mae wondering if she can unmask him.

*El Meridor is Pearson's Mexican wrestling name. He made it up and I don't believe it means anything.

See you in the morning.

I am generally the one to put Mae to bed at night, not because I have any skill that Pearson, or any other reading adult doesn't, but it makes sense since I am still breast feeding. (Although I am starting to wean, which will be a topic for another post. Although, I am very aware that no one wants to read about that but me in 25 years). Mae's bedtime routine is pretty much the exact same every night. There are always exceptions to the rule but on most mundane nights, which are most, we stick to the script. The routine is as followed: bath time, naked time (Mae gets to crawl around in her birthday suit, which she loves), food, books, lights out.

Every night, after turning out the lights and before laying her in her crib, I whisper while kissing her forehead, Good night Mae. I love you. Sweet dreams. See you in the morning.

When she is nodding off to dream land, me getting a chance to say those words to her is one of my favorite moments of being Mae's mom. I know I won't be able to utter those words to her every night before bed, but you better believe I am going to do it as often as I possibly can before she is too old to tell me, "Mom, I just want to go to bed" or she goes to college.

Sunday Bliss

Today was a Sunday like how all Sundays should be spent. Mae and I went for a run this morning, then Mae took an almost two hour nap (unheard of) while I did some house cleaning, Grandma Cummings came over for lunch, and we ended the day at the beach with friends. Things just felt right and perfect in the world.

This photo is from last Monday but I love it so much, I had to share it. I came home from boot camp and this is how I found Mae and Pearson.

Flashback Friday

I have been meaning to start Flashback Friday for the last couple of months. This would be a time for me to write about things that I hadn't documented prior to beginning the blog again in earnest. (Read between the lines: So I don't feel so guilty for not recording the beginning of Mae's life). It would also be a buildup to the big one (Mae's one year old birthday).

Since it is hot here today (in the 90's), it makes me recall last summer when I was pregnant with Baby Cummings. (We didn't know whether Mae was going to be a girl or boy). The summer of 2009 brought record setting temperatures to the Pacific Northwest. At the end of July, one month from my due date (August 28th), it was 103 degrees. 103 degrees is hot anywhere, but with no air conditioning and being 8 months pregnant it was pretty unbearable.

I was very fortunate and had a very easy and relatively stress free pregnancy. I gained the correct amount of weight, ran until 6 months, had no feet swelling, had no early contractions, didn't waddle, wore heels, never had the feeling that I wanted the baby out, and didn't have severe mood swings. However, during the heat wave of 2009, I was pretty miserable. Miserable.

I would sit on the couch and sweat and sweat. To escape the heat, I would take a dip in Lake Washington at 8:00 pm. There were so many people at the beach you would have thought, it was mid-day on a Saturday. I would go to the car at night and turn the engine on and blast the AC. I would open the fridge and get a blast of cool air.

About a month before, I came to the realization that I might never be pregnant again (it isn't a given that it will happen again) so I might as well embrace it and love every minute of the baby and life I was growing inside of me. Every kick, every jab, and every minute was to be a moment that might not happen to me again. So despite it being 103 degrees, no AC, and me carrying around an extra 30 pounds, I never complained about being pregnant, just why did we live somewhere with no air conditioning.

Photos of me at 37 weeks.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child???

They [baby sleep "experts"] say that your baby is supposed to wake up from a nap smiling, happy, and well rested. This is how Mae wakes up from a nap.