failures

Anya's latest joy this week is opening and shutting doors and cabinets, and then rifling through contents of said cabinets. This means we really, really needed to get off our butts and put in some cabinet latches. So yesterday, I headed down to the local ACE Hardware and picked some up. There were a few choices: the ones that require a magnetic key to open (expensive), the kind that you squeeze 2 prongs together to open (mid-range), and the cheapest push-down latch ones. I opted for the mid-range choice, thinking they would be better than the cheapest ones, and magnetic ones would be overkill. What a mistake. After installation, once I opened and shut the cabinet doors a dozen times, the prongs became misaligned. The plastic was so flimsy that every time I want to shut the door now I have to wiggle them back into shape so they will fit through the slots and latch. They'll work until I get something better, hopefully this weekend. So if there are any moms and dads reading this who haven't baby proofed, do not buy the "Child Safe Cabinet and Drawer Latch". But on that note, anyone have latches they are really happy with? Do I need to just suck it up and get the magnetic ones?

Another lesson learned yesterday: do not put potatoes and spinach in the food processor. I set out to make Anya some meal cubes of spinach and potatoes, as she is a fan of the combo. I oh-so-lovingly steamed fresh potatoes and a big bunch of spinach, let it cool, and then tossed it all in the food processor to make a semi-smooth consistency. Apparently this was a bad idea. The starch in the potatoes had some reaction with the spinach/steaming liquid and ended up making a perfect glue. The consistency was very similar to mochi. It was incredibly difficult to remove from the food processor bowl, blade, and my hands and Anya certainly would have choked on it. Weird. I don't know if it's because I steamed everything or if it was the type of potatoes I used, or the fact that I used the food processor. Who knows. I'll probably try it again, since a jar of spinach and potato baby food isn't cheap (well, one jar is, but several meals isn't). I ended up steaming some more spinach and served it with some mixed grain baby cereal for dinner, so our precious baby didn't starve last night.

9 months

Anya is 9 months old today! Wow, how time flies. That means there are only 3 months left to plan for her birthday gala. What ever shall we do?!

She had her well baby visit with the pediatrician this morning. All is great, although she developed her first case of diaper rash this morning (need to cut out yogurt for a week to see if that's the culprit). I swear she is her most charming with Dr. Numrych. She was playing a "give and take" game with the tongue depresser with him. I've never seen her do that before. [edit since my mom didn't know what I meant by this: Dr. gives Anya tongue depresser, Anya takes and plays with it for a few seconds and then reaches over and puts it in doctor's hand, Dr. says thank you and gives it back, process repeats]

Weight: 17 lbs, 12 oz (25-50 percentile)
Length: 27.5 inches (50 percentile)

As per tradition, here's the roundup of accomplishments:

Locomotion

• Anya is cruising regularly


• She also crawls a lot -- usually to get to a place to stand and then cruise, or to chase a cat


• Occasionally she can stand freely for a few seconds before plopping down on her butt, but it's not usually her idea to let go...it's her mean, mean parents


• Sometimes she will walk assisted with just one of my hands, but usually wants/needs both


• Anya is quite cautious and seems to have a decent sense of space. She almost never hits her head (she did a month ago a handful of times when first pulling to stand). She tends to only fall over when she misjudges the sturdiness of objects she's using to stand/cruise with

Speech

• Still says "kitty" (although now it sounds more like "kit" or "key").


• I have witnessed her point to a picture of a baby or child and clearly say "baby" on a few occasions.


• Sometimes says "doy" when pointing to the dog


• Recently started imitating our speech, like if we say "bowbowbow" or "yayayaya" or blow raspberries, she imitates. Sometimes she imitates the general sound/inflection of a sentence we say, and a few times she has repeated words right after we've said them ("up" is the only one that comes to mind, but there may have been another word)

Other development

• Very recently started pointing to objects/people she is interested in


• Apparently plays game of "give and take," as witnessed this morning


• Capable of imitating our use of an object (like shaking a maraca/egg rattle, playing drum, etc)


• Looks for objects/toys I hide (simply) from her or objects she drops


• Waves (cute: she waved at the woman on a wall poster we've got in the dining room the other week) and still claps often

Food

• We're down to nursing twice a day and she's on formula other times (solid foods dropped my supply and I didn't try very hard to increase it)
• She is eating lots of different foods now: most vegetables (except tomatoes), most fruits (except citrus, strawberries, pineapple, mango), grains (rice, oatmeal, millet, quinoa, amaranth). Yogurt (although might be causing problems), cheerios, toast strips, noodles/pasta, its of cheese, and a taste of any "safe" thing I'm eating.


• We haven't tried meat or tofu yet, but I'll get around to it. Want to try beans first


• Does not like lentils, no matter how I try to disguise them. Does not particularly like carrots, but will eat them

snapped 2 days ago. I can't tell if she looks more like a Lodwig or Miller in this pic

cold

Fortunately, the big, bad, awful cold Anya got more or less fizzled out quickly. She was just stuffy and coughing for about a day and slept somewhat fitfully one night (but that might be related to having a houseguest, hard to say). Otherwise, it never seemed to bother her. She's still slightly stuffy, but I'd say the cold is pretty much gone. That's a relief. Come this fall, though, when Anya starts infant co-op and another class, I know we won't be so lucky.

gentle

Since we have 2 cats and a dog, it's important for Anya to know how to treat animals.

We've been teaching her the word "gentle" for awhile now, and I'm pretty sure she gets the concept. Teaching proper behavior beyond "gentle" has proven more difficult, though. For instance, Anya spies Zahra (the black cat) and speedily crawls after her, eventually catching up. I remind her to be gentle, and then she pets the cat softly. But sitting there and petting riles Anya up -- she's so excited that the cat is staying put and letting Anya touch her. So of course she loudly screams with delight in the cat's face, and then the cat looks like one of those cartoon animals that is trying to run away so fast that their legs are spinning in place...and then she's gone and the petting session is over. Fortunately, Zahra is very patient with Anya (or a masochist) and always comes back awhile later.

It's one of those things I need to get on video because it's pretty funny to witness.

And that's my story for the day. The end.

milestone

Anya has her first cold :-(

Likes/dislikes

likes:

• Chasing after the cats
• Going to the wading pool and (loudly) greeting other children
• Tasting whatever mom is eating
• Rifling through the DVDs and yelling (loudly) at the covers
• Bathtime
• Using objects for support in standing and then smacking them
• Looking at pictures of grandparents and cousin Mia and yelling (loudly) at them
• Opening and shutting the cat door
• Being the baby in mom & dad's game of "baby toss"*
• Being loud

dislikes:

• Getting face and hands wiped clean after eating
• Getting in the car seat
• Not being allowed to play with the toilet or electrical cords
• Quietly playing with DVDs, kids at the wading pool/park, looking at pictures

* we only pretend to toss her. Really.

sunset

I like how the sun is shining through her little ears.

Random Thoughts

We think Anya will be independent. She doesn't seem to really cling to us at all. She just stomps off (or the crawling equivalent) after what ever she's interested in. Then she'll play alone for some time. I don't think Daddy will be needed much longer. In the future I can clearly hear "Dad, can I have the keys? I'm going out. What do you mean WHERE? I told you--Out. Keys please?"
I'm actively trying to build a nice little community for Anya to grow up in. I posted to the neighborhood list I made that I'd be willing to lend a hand and tools to any project in the neighborhood to help build up our social network. No one replied (not surprised). This weekend Amy and I went and volunteered to help build a play ground up the street at the park were I illegally let Laika roam free every morning. I worked out side and poor Amy got stuck watching all the other little folks left by the working parents. Apparently Anya terrorized children young and old by yelling in their faces and hijacking little cars.
The event was totally fun. I'll have to think up other ways to getting to know the other folks in the hood.

2 minutes in the life of Laika the dog

Alternate title: Anya 1, Laika 0

Anya at work

Every morning (and afternoon, and evening), Anya's job is to systematically take all of her toys out of the basket in the living room and then deposit them randomly (at least to the untrained eye) on the floor. She is quite good at her job. Perhaps even an expert in her field.

In this photo, she is carefully considering where the cup should be placed. One false move, and the feng shui of the entire room will be destroyed.

beach babies

On Sunday, right after Chris and I scooped up Anya from Grandma & Grandpa Lodwig's house, we headed to our PEPS group. This one was special, since 1) we hadn't seen our PEPS friends in awhile since most of them were taking a baby sign language class together that we didn't join and 2) Alicechandra, Jeff, and Liam hosted it at the Laurelhurst Beach Club (which is a nice place and I'm totally envious that we don't have a private beach to play on. I wonder if Alicechandra and Jeff would notice if we secretly moved into their house. Maybe we'd have to do it slowly, leave a baby toy or two. And then the cats).

It was so nice to see everyone. And all of the babies have changed so much! When they were younger, just a few weeks difference in age was apparent. Now I don't think I'd be able to tell who is oldest/youngest if I didn't already know. They all have such distinct personalities now and interact with each other (which mostly involves pawing, taking of toys, or crawling over, but it's something). I do hope we all continue to meet regularly. We have a good group going - its not too often you honestly like everyone in a group that gets arbitrarily thrown together.

PEPS babies. Liam, our host for the evening, is in the blue and white striped outfit.

Anya missed Cora and gives her a greeting hug. Either that, or she's trying to take her down.

Oh Canada

The anniversary celebrations continue!
This past weekend Amy and I drove all the way up to Vancouver BC and left Anya in the capable hands of Grandma and Grandpa Lodwig.
Amy was surprisingly mellow about the vacuum left by the absence of Anya. Though she did worry about other children who were out past their bed time. She kept mumbling things to herself like, "oh he's going to have a rough evening," and "She should really be in bed..."
We hung out with our friend Frank and his charming girlfriend Bernice. They showed us around town the way that only Frank can.
It was a blast.
Thanks for watching the kidlet Mom and Dad!
Chris

signage

I now believe Chris when he said Anya signed "milk" the other night. I witnessed it yesterday evening when she was waiting for dinner in her high chair, being impatient. I don't know if that just meant she was hungry or if she wanted milk instead (we gave her some). But it was unmistakable. How cool!

First Fourth

We spent a lovely 4th of July with friends. First, Erik popped into town from CA and he and Anita came over for a lunchtime visit. It was great seeing them. We need to make a point of seeing them (or at least Anita, as she is local) more often. Some of our favorite people, those two.

Anya, Daniel, and Toly relaxing on the neighbors' swing

And later on in the afternoon, our dear friends (also among our favorites :) )Angelina, Daniel, and Toly came over. Our awesome neighbors let us use their grill and backyard for the afternoon, since they were out of town. Of course, since both babies needed to be in bed around 7, the festivities wrapped up very early. Anya more or less slept through the fireworks (woke up briefly a few times, but fell back to sleep esaily enough). I think Chris and I watched something we rented from Netflix the rest of the evening. This has been the first time in awhile I spent the evening of the 4th indoors...will probably be the norm for the next year or 2.

Chris tells me Anya performed 3 magical feats yesterday evening while I was at soccer. Of course, since I wasn't there to witness them, they didn't actually happen. But I'll post them here for documentation-sake.

1. She stood without support briefly. Chris tells me Anya was standing, holding on to the coffee table. While looking down at her basket of toys (which are next to the table), she let go of the table and stood for 2 seconds, while pondering her next move -- which was to go get toys out of the box.


2. Anya signed "milk". He says it was deliberate and didn't look like her just playing/flexing her fingers. I guess she was kind of fussy and it was at about the time I normally nurse her. Chris said he got her some milk when she signed and she de-fussed. I dunno. I have my doubts.


3. Anya cruised. Chris was lying on the floor and she used him as support to cruise.

What will Anya be like?

One of my favorite things from my childhood is a "report card" I got in preschool that pretty much describes me to a T as an adult. So, I'm trying to see how young I can guess at what Anya will be like.

Anya is an easy-going child. She seldom cries except when she's really tired or falls, and on those occasions she seldom continues for more than a minute or so. This makes her very agreeable.

Anya self-entertains. We can pretty much leave her in the living room with her toys for long stretches at a time and she'll play while we do the dishes or what ever. She's either very independent or focused on projects.

In new situations Anya is very still. She looks around with a furrowed brow of inquisitiveness and doesn't make a sound. When I've got her in the Bjorn I'll often forget she's there. But in familiar situations she's very out going and joyful. So she's either shy or very observant.

Anya tends to be pretty quiet. Unless others are making noise. Anya will always try to make to slightly exceed the volume of the voices around her. This makes listening to the radio in the car sort of frustrating as it becomes an arms race of volume.

She does have a peculiar tendency to make other babies cry. This usually happens by yelling joyfully in their faces. Unlike other babies however, when nearby babies start to cry it seems to have no affect on her. Perhaps she'll be a doctor.

no dna test needed

Chris at 8 months

Anya at 7 months

Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Chris! It's been a wonderful 3 years of marriage.

I'm happier than I ever thought I would be and much of it I can attribute to you. You are an excellent husband, father, and friend. I love you.

peek-a-boo!

...just a quick little clip from before bedtime last night...




Even cuter (unfortunately I didn't get a video of it) was Anya playing peek-a-boo with the dog the other afternoon. Laika wasn't quite sure how to respond.

Cultural Crisis

I'm seriously beginning to have concerns about the society that I'm planning on raising my daughter in.
Contributing factors:

1. The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. This made me realize that Anya will grown up in a very competitive world where no job is secure and anything that Americans have considered entitlements, like jobs and education and infrastructure can not be taken for granted. Do I want Anya to grow up in a culture that is currently reducing funding for the National Science foundation at a time when the world is getting more and more competitive?

2. Sicko, the New Michael Moore "documentary". I know Michael Moore is a crack pot (though he's my kind of crack pot I must admit) But regardless how crazy he spins stuff and how many stupid stunts he pulls, the basic facts are there: we are the only Western Industrialized Nation that doesn't have universal health care. Poor people in this country, and even a lot of middle class folks are pretty much one doctor visit away from bankruptcy. Should Anya learn that the fear of people taking advantage of the system, or having to wait a little longer in line to see a doctor (both unfounded fears mind you) is worth the health and welfare of real people?

3. Affluenza, a book based on a PBS show that [somewhat tongue-in-cheek] likens our current materialist society to a social disease. Do I want Anya to grow up to learn that the major metric of her worth is how much she can buy (not how much she can afford mind you, America now has a NEGATIVE savings rate). Mean while ad agencies are actively trying to undermine my authority as a "gate keeper" so they can teach my child to successfully nag me to buy her stuff she doesn't need that won't ultimately add to her joy in life.

I'm afraid that some of the inner workings of our culture are beginning to eat themselves. I learned the other day that, since 1950 American have consumed more natural resources than all people who lived before 1950 combined. That's just horrifying.
I learned that since 1970 our productivity has increased by something like 70%. So what did we do? Spend more time enjoying life, playing with our kids and golfing? Nope. We now work something like 10% more hours than in the 70s. Do I really want my daughter to grow up in a country that makes that sort of decision en masse?

Jesus said the worth of a tree should be judged by the fruit it bares. Why is our culture producing these realities? Not to mention the wars the pollution and the fact that kids don't trick-or-treat anymore outside of malls. Do I want Anya to grow up trusting the Gap more than our neighbors? And seeing as how we live in a democracy and this is the state of the world, it would seem that the majority of folks in this country think this is okay.

I know other cultures have their problems. But they don't have THESE problems.