Snowbound Herpetologist

The end of the semester has been brutal, but I'm sneaking in 20 minutes on this crisp Easter morning to provide a super fast update before we head off to the neighborhood egg hunt. Annika at 13 months is equal parts super fun and super cranky.  We've had a series of daycare illnesses (both conveniently - and horribly - timed to mostly affect weekends, which means she hasn't missed any daycare but has also been in rare form for the time we have her most), her molars are trying to emerge and her gums are super swollen, and she's been going through a very clingy phase in which mama can't go anywhere or do anything without screaming.  That said, when she's rested and Tylenoled, she is so, so much fun.  She is doing a lot more exploring of toys (putting things in and out of baskets, hauling dolls everywhere and burping them, wearing everyone's clothes all the time), and she and Maya wrestle like you wouldn't believe (to a continuous chorus of "Be gentl...

Happy birthday, baby boo!  She is so, so big :)  Walking, talking, the works!  I'll try to update this later with some actual text, but in the meantime, here are some photos!  She demolished her cupcake :)

Belated, again, but not by as much!  No, we're not walking yet even though she's been standing for two months, but she's maybe close?  She sure does a LOT of free standing, and the woodpecker walker has made its reappearance.  She's finally cutting her top lateral incisors this week, after like two weeks of crank, drool, and poor (like, poorer than normal, which is saying something) sleep.  However, just today was the the first day she skipped her morning nap (do I see a light at the end of the nap jail tunnel?), and all week she let me lay her down *awake* in her crib after nursing her and she drifted off to sleep peacefully, quietly, and by herself.  Will it last...? Mostly, we're just keepin' on keepin' on.  Teaching (well, the writing lectures part) is totally kicking my ass.  I've written 8 lectures, I have 19 more to go (:::scream emoticon:::).  I'm also trying to write a new grant proposal, 3 manuscripts, finish a masters student this se...

So actually, Annika is now closer to 11 months, but this will simply have to do!  Our semester started last week, and I'm teaching a new (to me) course and writing like 30 lectures, sooooo...I will update the best I can, but I promise nothing! Annika at 10 months is, except for nighttime sleep, a joy to be around.  She is free-standing everywhere (e.g., she can stand up in the middle of the room and even clap for herself, or "dance" by doing knee bends, without falling over), can cruise with only a single hand on the couch, and is really trying to walk unassisted.  She tries a lot harder at skills than Maya did at this age, practicing them with impressive determination.  She eats very well, and we haven't had a choking incident in about a month!  She's a little picky about what she'll eat, but when she's excited about what I've given her, she goes to town!  She's even quite interested in the mechanics of spoons and forks. Her language is doing...

Maya is such a big girl!  She's learning to read, can do simple addition, and is quite the social butterfly. I don't have a lot of time to write this, so it's going to be really short, but I wanted something here - with photos - to mark the occasion :) Maya's favorite things (as she identified them while I wrote this): - watching trailers on youtube - her friends Iris and Jamie - all pets - play dress up at school - fav food: PB&J - fav color: pink and yellow and purple - fav holiday: Halloween and Christmas - fav bird: meadowlark Things Maya doesn't like: - being bored - talking to people she doesn't know (sometimes, like the doctor when she asks if Maya knows her last name even though we PRACTICED so that she would feel comfortable ::eye roll emoticon::) - Annika slobbering on her toys - least favorite food: things that are spicy, squash ravioli - least fav bird: house sparrow (good girl :)) At her school party, December 19th! ...

I thought for a long time about whether or not to post this, but I decided that if I don't, I won't remember - or I'll minimize - things when babyhood is all a distant memory.  This is what it looks like to solo parent, people, and it isn't very pretty!  I also wrote it a few days ago, and Annika's slept better since (although not in her crib!), so my outlook is more rosy :)  If you are worried about us, rest assured that we are fine! Husband's trip to Peru has been ill-timed in terms of coinciding with Annika's discovery of separation anxiety.  The past week especially, she screams like the wolves have come unless she is directly in contact with my body - whether it's day or night, if we are both in same place at the same time, there's either panicked screaming or I am carrying the baby.  Independent sleep is limited to about 20 minutes (if I'm lucky) per day, and then she wakes me up all night long.  If I spend too much time thinking about ho...

From the pediatrician this morning: 22lbs 1oz (10 kilos!!! - plus, final confirmation that my home scale overestimates weight by 1-1.5lbs) and 29.75 inches long! My parents successfully left this morning to head back to California - it was a FANTASTIC visit (and SO helpful!!), and we're sure going to miss them! Some recent photos: She's still not thrilled with the car seat - and she's outgrowing it this month!  I bought a new one that arrives tomorrow.... Maya's written language is (literally, ha) exploding! I had to set up a "puke pad" in my bed this week - awesome.