November 28th, 2010

Mom Stuff:
'Tis the season! I think my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is that the day after I get to play Christmas music with abandon (much to G-man's chagrin). This is one of the first years where we aren't getting our Christmas tree the weekend of Thanksgiving since the tree is going to cut off some of LP's play space, and we want to minimize disruption in his life. This relaxing four-day weekend reminded me to be thankful for so much, but espeicially for my two boys. My son is cute, brilliant and amazing, and he makes me so grateful to be a mom every day. My husband is seriously the most amazing person in the world. I really didn't think I could have loved him any more than I did before, but seeing him be a dad just adds a whole new layer. I love my guys tons and I was very thankful to get to enjoy some "quality" time with them for a few days before it's back to the grind on Monday.

LP's Stuff:
Just in time for Thanksgiving LP is getting more teeth! He is up to four now - the two bottom ones and the two top ones. They are hard to see sometimes, except when he is doing one of his huge baby laughs! We put together a Thanksgiving plate for him of roasted butternut squash and mashed potatoes, which he promptly put his hands in and then dumped on the floor. So, while the G-man and I enjoyed our dinner LP had some blueberry mush and cheerios for Thanksgiving. Yesterday we hosted a brunch party for friends and LP was great. He started out by crawling to every person and asking for a bite of their food (but standing up in front of them and opening his mouth). He also played with some of the other kids, and he didn't stop moving the entire time, which is pretty much his m.o. right now. Diaper changing has reverted into a battle of getting him to stay still for thirty whole seconds. Oh well - and active baby is a happy baby!

Pictures:

November 13th, 2010

LP's Stuff:
Things LP has been up to this week:

• Eating a ton of food.
• Going to the children's museum in Boston and loving the little crawler's room!
• Climbing stairs (with supervision)
• Chasing the cat
• Getting a second tooth
• Gaining weight (he is at 17 lbs and change as of today!)
• Just generally being adorable!

Mom' Stuff:
Just getting by. Frankly, at this point that is an accomplishment. I took time to go on a couple outings with my boys, which made me much happier, even if it does mean working for a few hours on Sunday!

Pictures:

November 6th, 2010

Mom's Stuff:
I really, really miss my baby when I'm at work. Maybe this week was especially hard since I had to attend a training on Wednesday night and grade notebooks on Thursday and Friday. Maybe the issue is that he has been particularly cute lately as he keeps trying to stand up and walk. But, whatever it is, I really, really missed my baby this week. It is so wonderful to come home to him and get big hugs and smiles, even though it sometimes he is a bit freaked out when I walk in wearing my bike helmet. I am continuing on my quest to improve my work efficiency so that I can spend more time with my boys, and we will see how all my planning pans out when the new term starts in a week.

LP's Stuff:
LP has started to figure out that plain tofu is just that: plain. He is way more into avocado, fruit and veggie puree and cheerios that he is his tofu cubes. What used to be his favorite finger food now just seems to be a fun mushy toy. I guess I'm going to have to start making big batches of tofu scramble!

LP is also working really hard on standing and walking. He cruises along the couches by walking sideways. The last two days he has also done a great job entertaining himself, which the G-man sure appreciates! Our little guy is a busy dude all the time, which is making taking him out a bit more difficult, but it is still nice to get him out enjoying time with other kids. Now if we could just stop him from grabbing their hair . . .

Food Stuff:
This week one of our dinners was roasted veggies and waffles - one of my personal favorites! We tried roasted delicata squash thanks to Cadry's Kitchen, and I loved it, although the G-man wasn't too excited. Of course, I think anything paired with waffles is a winner!

Pictures:

October 30th, 2010

Mom Stuff:
Well, I'm still working on the work-life balance thing, but I improved a little bit this week by taking my first sick day ever. Don't get me wrong - I have been out of school before, but always in a planned and prepared way, and usually as part of a trip, professional development event, etc. This week I was sick over the weekend, not fully recovered on Monday, so I called in sick on Tuesday. I have to say, it was much easier to justify when it wasn't just about me - I needed to be able to help with baby care, and I couldn't do that if I had a lingering cold for two weeks (which is usually what happens to me when I get sick). So, I stayed home, I rested, and, lo and behold, I felt better. In fact, I am pretty much cold free. The G-man, who has been trying to get me to take an actual sick day for years, has thoroughly enjoyed saying "I told you so."

The G-man is continuing to cook delightful vegan fare, and this week he made some amazing falafel. He used the recipe from The Vegan Table, but he used the food processor to really mash up all of the ingredients, which resulted in falafel that held together much better. Paired with the cucumber/dill yogurt sauce, it was delish!

LP's Stuff:
Our little man is doing very well and still crawling like a maniac. He seems to be way more into talking in the past couple weeks, although his goos and cries sound a bit like he is imitating the cat when she is mewing for her dinner. He can now stand on his own for about 10 seconds, and seems to enjoy pulling himself up on anything he can get a handle on. He also has developed a love of baths. He could play in the water with all of his toys all night, and he is especially cute while he is doing this!! LP continues to sleep well at night, and he still loves his food - especially cheerios (well, Trader Joe's brand) and vanilla soy yogurt. This morning he shared a blueberry muffin with mom, much to his delight.

Pictures:

October 16th, 2010

Mom's Stuff:
Fall is easily my favorite time of year, and I have always loved going for walks on fall afternoons. Now I've decided that fall walks with a baby are even better! It is nice to take LP out on a brisk day in the Ergo carrier since he and I can snuggle on the way to wherever we are going. While the baby carriers made me (and baby) hot and sticky in the summer, they just add to the snuggly nature of fall. To top it off LP has an adorable red and grey hat I made him before he was born (and finished after he was due!) and he is super cute when wearing it. When we were at the store today several people said "that hat is so cute!" and one woman came up and asked me where I got it since she was looking for one just like it. I got a little kick out of saying "I made it." I just hope to get a few more beautiful and rain-free weekends like this before winter sets in.

LP's Stuff:
Food is a huge part of LP's day (and therefore Dad's day). I personally think he is also enjoying the contrast between the way mom handles food and the way dad handles food. Let me give some examples.

How to prepare the baby for feeding:
Dad: make sure the food is all prepared and ready to go, and the baby has his bib on.
Mom: (half-way through) "Oh shit! I forgot the bib! Guess this outfit is done for the day."

How to serve the baby tofu:
Dad: gives him one piece at a time and try and get him to pick it up using the pincher grasp.
Mom: throws 3-5 chunks of tofu on the tray and then eats her own food while she watches LP go at it. If you want I want to know how much he ate, I start with the number of cubes I gave him and subtract the number that ended up on the floor.

How to decide which new foods to introduce:
Dad: "Let's look at the list of what he has eaten. Now, lets consider the nutritional value of the foods we want him to eat and gradually introduce him."
Mom: "Hey, I'm eating something. It doesn't have nuts in it. Let's try mushing it up and giving it to the baby."

How to feed mush (of various sorts) to the baby. Dad: Spoon the food in the baby's mouth. Inevitably some of it will get on his face. When you remove the spoon use it to scrape off this excess food and feed it to the baby. This prevents food build-up on the face.
Mom: "Ha ha!! He got green goop up his nose!"

Its good for a baby to have variety in life, right?

Food and Fitness:
I'm not going to talk about fitness right now, because the lack of it in my life depresses me. However, I have been eating very well thanks to my awesome hubby (the aforementioned "dad"). He is quite the cooking machine, and we have been having some wonderful bean dishes (like Snow Chili and Leek and White Bean Cassoulet) as well as lentils (Red Lentil Artichoke Stew - yum!). And since LP has just started to try and stand on his own I think he is thriving on our vegan diet!

Pictures:

October 11th, 2010

Mom's Stuff:
First off, my sincerest apologies for taking over a month to post. September was a whirlwind of getting back to work while the G-man and LP settled into a routine. This weekend we had grandparents and LP's aunt here to help us, so the G-man and I have gotten a chance to breathe (and sleep!!) This is also the first weekend where I haven't brought oodles of work home, and it is nice to have a chance to just focus on baby and family for a few days. The shift from stay-at-home mom to "working" mom has been easier than I might have thought, mostly thanks to the G-man for taking over the home duties. Dinner's get cooked, baby is taken care of and laundry gets done, all of which throughly impresses me. However, there have been several adjustments I have had to make both to adjust to my mom-away-from-baby role and in the teacher-with-a-child-role. One of the biggest adjustments has been the fact that the school year started the same way it always has - things are crazy, busy and I spend a lot of time at (and on) work. None of this is a total shock, but what is bizzare to me is the fact that school proceeds as normal while my life is completely different than it was just a year ago. Don't get me wrong; every co-worker, student and parent is supportive of the fact that I am a new parent. But it is strange to be in the same enviroment I have always been in as a teacher, but to have totally different home responsiblities. My sense of what it means to be a good teacher has always included building in time for reflection, staying late at work both to help students and to avoid bringing my work home during the week and taking time to talk to and collaborate with collegues, as well as to complete all the other day-to-day responsiblities of a teacher such as lesson planning, grading, calling families, etc. My home life and relationships with my spouse and family has always been important to me, but I am now realizing that I also was able to put those responsibilities in the backseat for the first part of the school year. Well, no longer. LP can't go in the backseat, nor do I want him there. He is growing up too fast for me to miss out on a week with him because I stay at work late. Even if I wanted to stay later, I couldn't because I am still trying to nurse him whenever possible, and that means I have to be home by 5:30 at the absolute latest. Between that and the fact that I have to pump whenever I have spare time and space, I have barely seen some of my closest work friends this year and I certainly haven't had the ability to collaborate with them. I spend at least fifteen minutes a day trying to figure out which work to take home (since I don't want to have to carry too much on my bike) and I save up all my grading for the weekend. Added into this is the fact that, in the back of my mind, I know that I am now providing the sole income for my family. I'm not really worried about it, but it does change my perspective on my job, and it is a bit of an added weight on my shoulders. All of this is not said to complain, but instead to attempt to articulate the sort of bizzare world I find myself in at work, where everyone and everything is just the same as I when I left - it's me who has changed so dramatically.

LP's Stuff:
LP has been doing all kinds of crazy stuff since my last post, and I'm determined to start posting again every week because that is the ONLY way I can keep up with him! He is both crawling and pulling himself up to standing whenever he gets a chance. We recently opened up his "area" and now our living room has been converted to the baby room. He has toys, puzzles and books to play with and he will entertain himself for quite a while on his own, and even longer when he has an auidence in the room. This has really helped the G-man since he is no longer stuck in baby-jail all day! LP is still doing well with naps, all though he has been out of sorts a bit this weekend. But, we think this might because of an exciting new development - LP's first baby tooth! He is a sharp little tooth coming in on the front of his bottom gums, and he is using it to chew on all things, including mom and dad. He still enjoys chewing our apple cores, but now he is able to scrape off some yummy fruit! LP has also expanded his dining repetroie quite a bit. He is enjoying new textures, especially when we put crumbled tofu in with his baby mush. He sometimes gets to eat what mom and dad eat when it can be mushed, like sweet potatoe fries, tofu scramble (his personal favorite) and quinoa. He definitely likes added spices to things, like tofu scramble with cumin and allspice in his sweet potatoes. He also drinks water from a cup and he lets you know when he is done by blowing bubbles. We are all enjoying him developing his palate, and we are really looking forward to the day when most of the tofu we put on his plate ends up in his mouth instead in his hair.

Pictures:
LP and his cousin
It doesn't get cuter than a baby in a hat and pants!
Giddy-up!
Baby Paparazzi
Yummy apple!

August 29th, 2010

Mom's Stuff:
Well, tomorrow I'm officially back to work. I'm incredibly lucky to be leaving L-P with the best daycare imaginable - his Dad-extraordinaire! I think my two dudes are going to have a great time together, and I already am looking forward to getting home to them every day. While I am totally going to miss my little guy during the day, I am also looking forward to going back to work. Since I started working a bit last week I have realized how much I really, truly missed the intellectual rigor of my job as a teacher. I loved the time I got to sit around and lesson plan last week, and I had a couple meetings with colleagues that were both enjoyable and useful. I keep saying that I have missed grown-ups while staying home with LP, but really that's not the whole story. I got to see a lot of friends (and even made some new ones) when I was a full-time mom but I'm realizing I need a bit more than that. My job as a teacher gives me lots of problems to solve, time to play with language and some purpose to life that I really value. Its not a comparison with the purpose my son gives to my life - the two are so different that you really can't compare or rate them. But my work is part of my life, just as my son is, and, though society might sometimes expect otherwise, I'm O.K. with that.

LP's Stuff:
This baby can really haul! LP is a crawling, standing, jail-breaking, sweet-potato eating machine!! He continues to enjoy pulling himself up to standing, as well as playing with his myriad of toys in his baby pen. Lately he has been pulling himself up in his crib, so when we go in there after naps or in the morning, he is standing up with his arms over the sides, looking expectantly at the door. Time for dad to lower the crib mattress as low as it can go!! LP has also now fully mastered the sippy-cup, which is a good thing because it is how he is going to get his mom milk three times a day now!! He is also fully into his solid food - so much so that he actually keeps his hands down and lets us feed him without getting in the way too much. He still ends up messy (and so do we sometimes) but at least its not a battle!

Food and Fitness:
We are all eating healthier now that dad is in charge. The G-man is an amazing cook - much better than me and also more detail-oriented. Last night he made a wonderful dinner of jerk-spiced portabello mushrooms and sauteed spinach and tomatoes. We have also been making homemade food for LP. By far his favorite is sweet potatoes, but he also likes apples and pears. About a year ago the G-man decided it was worth it for us to get a Vita-mix - the same kind of blender that they have in smoothie places. It was ridiculously expensive for a blender, but we use it everyday for smoothies, and we use it to make our own hummus, soups, and now baby food!! Two sweet potatoes costs $1.40, and we can very easily get the equivalent of 14 baby food jars (at 60 cents a piece) using our Vita-mix to puree it. So, LP will continue to get homemade organic baby food, often from the farmer's market, which should make him quite a happy vegan baby!

Pictures:
LP and mom at Wright's Pond after a little swim
LP - playing with is toys
I can feed myself (the Levey side rears its ugly head!)