All the cool kids are saying it

"Bah is the new 'dah,'" Mike told me the other day, referring to Andy's language development. He said this as if he were talking about the season's trend in fashion, green is the new black . And he seems to be right: everything is now "bah", not just balls. Toys, cellphones, children on the playground...they are all "bah!" Just like everything became "dah", not just dada.

Andy's party is tomorrow, and I have all this nervous anxiety about it. Parties are hard for me in general; parties that I throw, especially so. Do other people have party anxiety, or this a residue of my shyness? I worry that there will be enough food, that friends and family will mind the long drive, that Andy will be overwhelmed with the attention. That I will be overwhelmed with the attention. Even though we only invited people we love and who love us in return, I still feel anxious. I wish I didn't, because as soon as everyone arrives I will be so happy to see them. Will Andy feel the same way? I hope so.

At times like these, I envy Mike's coolness. Although he is a quiet person, he doesn't have the "party anxiety" that I do. None. He just shows up with a smile and ends up having a good time.

This is just one of the many things I love about him.

I'm frustrated with Karl right now. I called him and asked if he would help watch Andy so I could get ready for the party tomorrow. Fifteen minutes after he arrives, he walks out the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Um, I just have to go. I'll be right back."

I thought he was getting something from the car. No, he drives off. A half hour later, still no Karl....

Not Again Anytime Soon

Andy has a new cousin! Cassandra text-messaged me the news early yesterday morning: Hayley Dutton was born on September 26th, at 11:46 pm. 7 pounds, 12 ounces. I read the news alone in my classroom, and choked back tears. Nothing is more exciting than the announcement of a new life.

Although Katrina destroyed homes and lives, our government failed to respond appropriately, soldiers and innocents continue to die in Iraq.... hope exists with each new baby that's born into the world.

Cayenne, Hayley, Andy--we're counting on you to change things.

Ahhh, and the newborn photos of these girls! Their beautiful, plump, just-been-squeezed-through the birth-canal faces. I reminisce about Andy's newborn days.

Maybe we should have another?

Then...memories of sore nipples, marathon nursing sessions, all night crying jags with the vacuum cleaner as a back-drop....

No, not another one, just yet.

Swinging

at the park with Auntie Jess...

and Uncle Karl...

He barks!

There are a legion of noisy, yippy dogs in our neighborhood. But my son can outbark them.

"What does a doggy say, Andy?"

"Woof! Woof!"

(Imagine an adorable audio clip here.)

He speaks!

"Dada" and "Mama" are old news now, but over the past several days, Andy's begun saying "ball"! It sounds more like "bah". He gets his point across, though, because he'll say it while crawling over and getting the ball. "Ball" was one of Jacob's first words, too.

We're working on playing catch. So far Andy doesn't want to give up his "bah".

In further soon-to-be-one-year-old news, Andy is feeding himself almost all of his meals. His favorite finger foods are sweet potatoes, peaches, bananas, tofu, grapes, tahini and jelly sandwiches, and soy nuggets. Yum! We still spoon feed him yogurt with cereal for breakfast.

He's also perfected the fine art of drinking juice from a sippy.

Signed,
Proud Mommy who's had a much better night's sleep

Mama told me there'd be days like this

Sending a holler out to the universe, and to my readership of three (mom, mom-in-law, and Siobhan in Ireland): time for a change! .

I'd like a shorter commute and more time with the little guy.

Feeling like a bad mommy when I wake in the darkness, and leave his sleepy cries for Daddy to soothe so I can beat rush hour traffic. And back at the end of the day. Exhausted. How do full time working moms do it??

I'd like to take a picture of the house at the end of my short work week, to show how totally incapable I am of lifting a finger to care for anything else but Andy and myself. Picture this: packing peanuts (those styrofoam cockroaches from hell) underfoot, half-eaten crackers scattered about the floor, along with clean and dirty laundry (which is which?), and all contents from shelving heights of two feet and under.

Even now, I'd rather write about it than clean it. Where do I start, with my soon-to-be-one-year-old-tornado moving right behind me?

Yesterday I came home to find Andy dressed in his "I spent the day with Daddy uniform": the onesie he slept in, and his slick black hide-the-dirt adidas sweat pants. My mom dropped by after work at the same time I came home. I noticed she didn't enter the house. "Just came by to say hi," (she glanced behind the door) "well, gotta go home and make dinner."

Mom works a full day and goes home and cooks dinner. What did Mike and I have for dinner last night? Taco Bell.

To Mike and my credit, the house isn't always this disorganized, and we don't always have Taco Bell. Poor Andy has a cold and has been up crying at night. He's been miserable, and so have we. Mike eventually spent the night in the other room so he could get some sleep. Luckily, I don't have to work today.

But this brings me to want a new working situation even more than before. I'd like to start a parent participation preschool in the area. I'd like to be with Andy every day, but still work in a teaching capacity. Andy and I really need to get out of the house, and meet other moms and babies.

Please send good thoughts our way about this! And we'll be pushing the vitamin C, to get over his cold...

Fun with Auntie Shell

Despite the weather being worse here this week than back in Pennsylvania, Michelle might be talked into moving to the west coast. She has an adoring fan here. It took a few days for him to warm up, but now Andy reaches out to his auntie and screams to be rescued by her from diaper changes.

We checked out the Splash Zone at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Friday. Andy enjoyed "fishing" in the baby tank.


But the highlight of Michelle's visit may have been our visit to the local BigFoot Museum.

Goodnight Moon Quiz

Created by Mike....

Goodnight Moon Quiz
1) What animal is in every picture of the room?

2) What are the two visible book titles in the room?

3) How long does it take the bunny to go to sleep?

For answers, email mmatessa @ hotmail.com

Yosemite

Andy's new friend, Cayenne, came into the world on Saturday, September 3rd. Happy birthday, Cayenne! Here is her live journal:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/babycayenne/
(Sunshine and Yung, get some pictures up!)

Andy's other girlfriend, Alexandra, has her own blogsite, too:
http://sarahburkett.blogspot.com/
Sarah posts so much; she puts me to shame.

We had an incredible trip to Yosemite over Labor Day weekend!


Unbelievably, we were able to reserve a tent cabin at Curry Village the week before. Yes, it was hot and crowded. There were lines for meals and showers. On Saturday night, we could hear other campers opening their bear lockers at all hours. Then Mike got the ingenious idea of ear plugs. We slept much better on Sunday!

(The laughter and conversations of our neighbors didn't bother Andy in the slightest. He slept as well, or even better, than he does at home. Which is not very well, but we were prepared for worse! )

On Sunday, we managed to escape the crowds with a strenuous hike up to Inspiration Point. From just one and a half miles up, we had unobstructed views of the whole valley, completely to ourselves.


Our path crossed just one group of four. Andy tried out his new Ergo Baby Carrier, and loved it, for the most part.


His favorite part of the hike was the dirt he found waiting for him at the top. Here he is looking like a chimney sweep:


By Monday morning, the crowds were thinning, and we rented bikes to ride the valley floor. Andy slept most of the ride in his bike trailer.