Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

It's Hunter! In anticipation of participating in the Thanksgiving meal, Hunter snacked on cereal mixed with breast milk. Man, did she ever know what to do! She has been watching us eat with rapt attention lately and mom's little mimic was pretty darn civilized at her first meal. Papa thought feeding her was a hoot and is encouraging me to get a life outside the home now that he can feed our mini boo.

Stay tuned! Tomorrow we will try a green vegetable in St.Paul, MN where we will be spending the holiday with Jason's family.

The Twins and Other Such Foppery

People randomly ask me what Hunter's sign is, which I find highly bizarre because I always thought people only ever followed horoscopes to explain away bad behavior in their romantic partners. A sweet lady in the grocery store let us know that Hunter is in fact, a Gemini. The twins. Well, we have seen signs of that. Exhibit A:

And a moment later, Exhibit B (note the coveted Missoni for Target suit compliments of Aunt Angel):

A glimpse of the adorableness that Hunter employs to sneak into our bed at unreasonable hours:

And finally, a snap of her fooling around in her own bed (in a vintage Gymboree sweater):

Our girl has been making a vociferous effort at language. Words or no, she is making her feelings known. She is absolutely present at all times, and while we may not yet be debating the impact of such hot topics as increased "media screen time" on social behavior, we are definitely communicating, which I think is just dandy.

A Sharper Image, Imagine

I was pretty impressed with the camera on my phone until we got our hands on a real (borrowed) camera. Behold! The child is three dimensional. I guess we should get a camera that shoots photos that can be enlarged beyond wallet size.


Yup, that is milk dribbling down her chin. She just finished her first meal of the day and is in a sort of waking food coma in this pic. I love the stunned wobbliness, the gentle sway, the gaseous garbling just after a meal. In general, Hunter is a delight to feed. These days she holds my shirt with her hand and pedals against my arm with her bare feet. I couldn't have guessed how I would feel about it, but it turns out I am comfortable breastfeeding just about anywhere, which makes traveling about a breeze. We have a nice nighttime rhythm. She still gets up at least once each night to eat. She makes a few squeaks and I get to her before any crying is necessary. We have a cozy chair under a bay of windows and she nurses under the stars and clouds with a view of the Sears (won't call it Willis) Tower. The whole thing is over in ten minutes and we are both back to dreamland in our respective beds. Please do not ask me about her sleep schedule. I won't speak of it. As soon as I say a thing it changes.


When was the last time you felt as happy as Hunter looks in this picture? Jason says it makes him want to cry.

Gnome Man's Land

Fall Rollin'

We've been thinking about our Fall look over here. We want it to be practical, comfortable and chic. We also want to be able to change diapers without employing a costume dresser (as we already employ a chef, a dishwasher, a laundress, a nap nanny, lol, just kidding, just day dreaming). We found these adorable leg warmers at Target on-line, in the baby boutique section. They are pants without having to remove the pants every time the Bee is wet! We've decided on a uniform of long sleeve onesies, leg warmers, and knit caps. Fortunately, we are all set on the hat front thanks to the loving hands of Great Aunt Grace and Great Aunt Marie.



Hunter has also been diligently practicing tummy time. She makes fantastic grunting sounds.


Her work has not gone unrewarded. Last Friday morning we were busy composing a letter to Great Grandma Sally. Hunter was grunting away. I put a book in front of her to encourage her education and next thing I knew she had rolled over. Anything to get out of doing her homework! She seemed surprised and impressed with herself. I snapped the pic above.

All that Jazz

We are officially "those parents". We stare at our baby all day, noting the new way she bent her elbow or raised her eyebrow and pridefully acknowledging her every poop. The other night we caught ourselves looking at pictures and video of her just after we put her to bed. Yikes, we are doomed. It is something to watch her grow though. She will have a few chubby days like in the pic above, and then she must get longer because she thins right out, and her features become more pronounced, like in the pic below. It reminds me of that Michael Jackson video for Black or White with all the faces morphing into one another. Creepy cool.

Dig?

Here's to Health

Friday Hunter saw the doctor. She is now 9lbs 12 oz! Big fun. She also received her second round of shots. I missed the first round which they administered around three a.m. the second morning after she was born, and I was fast asleep. She came back to me a little red faced and I cooed to her and fed and snuggled her and all was well. This time, they made me hold her hands while two nurses simultaneously stuck each of her thighs. Innocently, she curled her fingers around my thumbs. I couldn't watch. And she yowled! The nurses must have known that even the most rational mother, fully comprehending the health benefit, could not feel many warm regards for the needle poking culprits! They cleared right out, I wiped a few tears, composed myself, and in no time we were heading into the loop to meet papa at a block party.

Hunter getting her craft beer culture on at Craft Burger and Beer in Lincoln Park after an afternoon of shopping across the street at the Carters store. Ladies who lunch, you know.

Lost and Found

Found. One thumb. Long and slender. Opposable. Been searching for it for seven weeks and two days. Highly desirable for stressful situations and naptimes. 100% natural and organic. Replaces flimsy rubber imitation and other such soothies as sock dog Marcel DuChamp. See below.

Baby's First Salsa Lesson

Thursday night we brought Hunter to Millenium Park for her first concert. Music Without Borders featured the Cuban (from Cuba) band Sierra Maestra. They were loud, but as always, Hunter was chill and relaxed in her neat little travel bed. It folds up into itself, about the size of a laptop bag. She got into the international spirit by donning Nana's scarf. Note the pattern of accessory nabbing. Everything now belongs to Hunter, or so it seems. We're fine with that.

Already Raiding Mama's Closet

Vintage Cazal frames, Deliciously Vintage, Chicago

London Calling

Cheerio lovie.

Hail My Successor

Mani-Pedi. The glory that was once mine.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Here we are! We've been working on this post all week (by working I mean hoping to get five consecutive minutes with two free hands :). Life has been great. Last Friday Hunter saw her doctor where she weighed in at 7lbs! She gained nearly a pound in two weeks, which made me an irrationally proud mama. Look at that bulging belly!
This is also a good shot of the adorable Gdiapers. We love them and Hunter seems to too. Jason has made a habit of washing a load and hanging them to dry in the middle of the night. We do them on the speed wash setting so they only take 15 minutes, and dry on the line in a few hours, but even still, the other night I told Jase, 3 am laundry is not a priority for me. As he is light years beyond me in routine household efficiency, he calmly explained that hanging wash is something he and Hunter do together after I feed her and before she gets back to sleep. I was like, oh, okay.
We started putting her to bed in her crib last week, and she is doing great sleeping alone. Check out the sweet quilts my girl pals made! The one beneath her is by Sara and the one with owls hanging over the rail is by Erin. I am able to put her down while she is still awake and she entertains herself looking at the fun quilt patterns. We have all been getting enough sleep. Isn't she lovely?

Ch Ch Ch Changes

Sometimes bringing a little awareness to a situation can help it mend itself. Since I posted about Hunter turning her nose up to the PBR left tap, she has since made peace and learned what we all already know, sometimes on a hot day a PBR, or Genny, or Miller High Life (what have you) is a decent choice. Maybe it happened because we are trying to teach her to be discerning without being a snob, or maybe she identified with the proles because we keep her wardrobe simple, jeans and white tees. More likely, she just didn't want to be labeled and as with everything else so far, as soon as we thought we figured her out-she threw us a change-up.

It's cool. We're excited to watch her change. One major change-our girl is getting chubby. We are so looking forward to Friday when she goes back to the doc to weigh in. I tried to capture her big kissable cheeks in the pic below.



This one is after her first real bath. She was a natural! She loved her Puj tub and would have chilled in there as long as I let her. I think this will be a great bedtime routine. Afterward, she was super relaxed and nodded off snuggled up in her towel.

Fight the Power!

We are convinced. Our little girl has a mind of her own and she won't be kept under wraps. Hunter has yet to meet a swaddle she can't break. Even the most militant nurse at UIC couldn't contain her mighty arms. I will work on getting a pic of her defined biceps posted. I can testify that she exercised regularly in the womb. In other news, her bit of gnarly umbilical cord fell off yesterday (hooray!), she spit up for the second time in her life after royally pigging out, and she has a decided preference for the right breast. One would think I was serving a Czech Pilsner on the right tap and PBR on the left. We are struggling through it, but I will admit to being stumped and easily defeated by the Bee weeping at the left breast when I know she is quickly soothed by the right. I tried telling her the left was chocolate milk, but nothing doing. Thoughts?

Dig Papa's Styles

Bubble Tea in University Village










Scoping out Pilsen Architecture












Coffee on the veranda.









Asleep with the Bee

A Conversation with Hunter

I think she trusts us, but already she questions everything.

Pondering Obscura

So today was pretty big time. Hunter went to the Mexican Fine Arts Museum and then to Simones where mom and papa split the vegan burger and PBR special ($7). All in all, very Chicago Neighborhoodly, very cultural. When we got home home she was still mulling it all over.

Oh Oh Here She Comes

Hello family and friends. I thought I would keep a little blog roll of Hunter's biz for those who might want to know everything. It seems nicer than sending rambling e-mails to all, and this way you can check in on her whenever you like. Here is the scoop so far:

Hunter was born at 11:58 p.m. June 12, 2011 at the University of Illinois Chicago Hospital. So many people were involved in helping her to arrive safely! Labor started at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning and ended with an unplanned but ultra successful c-section Sunday evening. Jason was a dreamboat, a gentle soldier, and I felt safe and calm through the process because of him. I can't imagine going through anything more intense with someone, nor coming away with a more exquisite prize. We didn't choose to take any photos the first night, greedily the memory is ours. She nursed immediately, throwing back her head and opening her tiny mouth wide, I felt every feeling in the moment it took her to reach my breast, already she was teaching me.

They kept us in the Hospital until Wednesday (ugh). Since I have been advised not to do stairs more than once a day for a while, Hunter hasn't been able to enjoy her nursery yet. We are all sleeping on the first floor in a cluster of cushions and blankets. It is amazing how the week has passed. We have done little else than study her movements. Sometimes Jason and I sit beside her and wait for her to wake up, attacking her with kisses and coos when she does. She is rather quiet and only cries out when she needs a thing (which is a diaper, a burp, or a feed). I think she feels safe and happy.

She has a tremendous energy for sucking, and I have seen her get four fingers into her mouth. We have offered her the pacifier when we know she is stuffed full of milk but remains with the urge to suck. So far I think her favorite things are her sleep sheep, her aden and anais swaddle blankets, and her baby ka'tan sling carrier. I'm afraid, she hasn't much use for clothes in this weather.

I guess I have a lot to say. I have been sort of blogging in my head all week, so hopefully now that we have covered the backlog, and as it goes along, I can share the fun and unexpected things and not just dribble on about the basics. And if the text is too boring you can always just peek at the pics!