Lima Beans Are Delightful

Yes, I'm officially smitten with my daughter. Watching two and half minutes of lima bean goobling footage makes me grin ear to ear. Care to share the joy?

>>Video

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

Waa! Waa!

I groan and squint at the glowing numbers on our digital clock.

3:30 a.m.

Zora is up, again. Crap. Maybe she'll go back to sleep.

Waa! Waa!

I imagine her standing in her crib in her little Sweetpea sleepsack bellowing at the door, "Hello? Hello! I'm ________ in here!"

I insert the blank, because we can't figure out why on earth she gets up every night. I've consulted books, friends, other parents, and I'm ready to try the Magic 8 ball. Answers range from separation anxiety to hunger to teething.

Since she IS getting her top two canines in (yes, she's baby Dracula), I at first settled on teething. But after giving her children's Tylenol for almost a week straight, I started worrying about pickling her little liver with the cherry flavored stuff. Besides, she still woke up.

I know, I know: once a night isn't really bad compared to some other children who keep their parents zombified for years at a time. But Rodney and I have tasted the sweetness of a full night's sleep, and it's HARD to go back.

For now, we take turns getting up with her in the night, and thankfully she's a sweet little thing when she does get up. One night while we were snuggled on the couch together, a coy grin crept across her face, and she offered me her bottle, as if to say, "Here, Mommy. You need this more than I do."

Yes, baby girl. I do.

Dehring/Young Weekend Extravaganza

It's All Happening at the Zoo

They promised me monkeys at the zoo. Where the heck are they?

Harper thinks she spots an orangutan, but it's just her cousin Zora.

Danger Is My Middle Name

I know a lot of people nest before they have their babies, but we -- ever up for a challenge -- decided to turn our condo inside out 10 months into this parent thing.

Hey: let's buy new bookcases.
Hey: let's get an electrician to install recessed lighting.
Hey: let's test paint samples in the kitchen and bathroom...
All at the same time.

Delusional from lack of sleep? Perhaps.

We have books in our microwave, 60 watt lightbulbs between the sheets, and a pacifier hanging out next to the plunger (don't worry: we sterilized it).

While Rodney and I find the self-created disaster ennervating, Zora finds her new "landscape" thrilling.

Piles of IKEA boxes on the floor? Her chubby little jaw drops, and she pants in anticipation. A mountain to conquer! she thinks.

Box cutters lying on the floor? Better investigate.

Ooo, pliers. A perfect way to test the pinscer grasp.

It's as if the child has a little danger homing device embedded in her brain. Why, she reasons, would I play with my squishy, crinkly, parent-approved toy or wooden blocks when there are exacto knives lying around?