Splish-Splashing

I feel as though the theme "Vake in the Bath" is one that we have visited on on plenty of occasions, but believe me when I tell you that he is hilarious in the bathtub. He splashes with both hands extremely enthusiastically, then attempts to sip the bathwater, then sits back up and does it all again. So hard to believe that my little man is such a giant little boy already!

Let's Give a Cheer- Daddy's on his way home!!!

Tonight we are picking Eric up from the airport- his flight is getting in at 10:45 pm- we are really fired up to have Daddy back home. I can safely say that I have no ability to be a single parent and I cannot wait for Eric to be back.

When V heard that Daddy was coming back, he got the flower pompoms out and did a little cheer!

What Time is It? Tooth-Hurty!

That's right, blog followers, Vake Martin has not one but two little teeth that broke through the surface tonight.

In true Vake form, he hasn't been fussy at all, just more drooly than usual. He's being very coy about pictures, though.

I cannot believe the days of the little gummy grin are already behind me!!!

Happy Vacation, Taren...

Dear Taren:

Huff and I got the message today that you are not going to be back until Monday. All we have to say to that is "AAAAAAHHHH". As you know, that's my disappointed/hungry/frustrated shriek.

Maybe I'll just sleep until you come back. Like I am doing in the picture above. If anyone tries to wake me up, I will be grouchy, like in the picture below. At least I still have Raffi.


Don't forget us, Taren. And come back soon. We will miss you!!! Look at how pitiful and sad we are without you.


Love,
Vake

Aunt Courtney

We got back from Baltimore- what a fun weekend with Aunt Courtney. She was so lovely to keep us all weekend while we checked out houses with Anne and Dennis- you'll see that little V is wearing a crab outfit in Maryland's honor!!!

And while I am blogging, big shout out to Uncle Brian who gave me his old laptop! Yay!!! Now I don't have to bug Eric to use his computer anymore!!!!

Pop Quiz

It is 4 a.m. You have been at home with your baby for six weeks basically straight. You wake up and the smoke alarms are going off. You cannot figure out if the fact that your eyes are blurry is due to the fact that you just drove said infant and your mother home from Baltimore in heavy I-95 traffic. You are of course attired in super attractive pajama pants and a t-shirt. You

a) get the baby and the two dogs (and of course you can only find one leash at 4 a.m.) and get out of the house while calling 911;

b) sit on the front porch with the baby in the pouring rain and realize that his diaper is pouring as well;

c) hear from the very nice fireman that the smoke detectors are going off because there is a massive roof leak THROUGH the smoke detector in your guest room;

d) finally get the baby back to sleep so you can unplug the smoke detector, so you are by yourself, on a ladder, struggling with a piece of electrical equipment that is soaking wet because it is going to keep on screaming as long as water is running through it; or

e) all of the above.

Startin' Him Out Young

Thank you Uncle Brian!

Had a great weekend with Anne and Dennis, Courtney and her family, and Jane and her family. So glad to be back in the 23220. Traffic on 95 south was terrible on the drive home today.

Vake was a total trooper- it was a weekend of no schedule but he was so smiley and happy!!! YAY.

I've got good pics of Courtney and little V- will post soon!

Busy Busy Bee

So I've gotten some constructive criticism that the blog always shows Vake dressed in pajamas. And apparently, Vake's blog audience needs more action shots of my busy little bee.

So today, Supertaren (aka Tarenitup) took care of my problem by snapping some action shots. Here's Vake with his current favorite toy. One thing that should be exciting to those tracking developmental milestones (and really, who's not?) is that he now is really good at moving the toy from one hand to another.



Hi there, fans. I am single and like to mingle.

This next toy is probably his second favorite and also the leading candidate for "most likely to drive Mommy and Taren out of their ever-lovin' minds. It is an interactive book! Yikes.

Here he is trying to open it for his buddy Huff.

Now when he likes something or is interested in it, he expresses that interest by shrieking. It is truly hilarious.

I will own you, book!

Halloween Costume?

I have started to think about Vake's Halloween outfit. As a starting point, I agree with everyone who will say that it is too early to contemplate this. But would this be cute?


Your thoughts are appreciated.

Superbaby!

Who is "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound"?

That's right, it is Supervake! For those who are following the saga of the outgrown pajamas, we now have the ones that Martha gave us and that's about it.

Carter's, which actually makes really nice cotton pjs is not very accurate about sizing, because Vake is now wearing a 2t, which moves us firmly into the world of little boy pajamas. These are V's superhero suit.

Too cute. and who helps him but his trusty sidekicks Emma U and Uncle Neil.

Party Animal

Vake's been such a trooper lately- I'm a little overextended and have found myself going in one or two too many different directions- fortunately I have the support of Taren to get me through it but thank goodness little V is such a go-with-the-flow kind of pumpkin.

He's also a Party Animal. He LOVES a big group of people and he loves to flirt. Katie even gave him pajamas that say "Party Animal- he's wearing them.

And everyone knows that a party animal likes to dance- see below- except I don't have a true video camera so it is flipped horizontal and I cannot figure out how to change it.

Talkie Tooter

Someone did not sleep very well last night- so today his morning nap took about 4 hours. He was so funny when he did wake up. This week, he's figured out how to move a toy from one hand to another which he thinks is awesome. *

And he is communicating all the time- little squeaking sounds...our friend Brad always talks about the talkie-tooter- here's Mommy's little talkie tooter...

*Of course, he's also working to secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi as well as solving the climate change problem but I don't want to brag too much...

I Heart Daddy and I Do Not Like Airplanes

Hmmm. Mommy keeps saying he's in Seattle. Where is that? Do you think it is somewhere further away than Huff's house? Somewhere further away than Williamsburg?

Oh, yes. Now I remember. You have to ride on a plane for eight hours to get there. Harrumph. Come home soon Daddy. Mommy and I are NOT doing that again without you any time soon.

Mary Sabra is the Best Ever. Full Stop.

I just went upstairs and Mary Sabra, who watched Vake tonight so I could run a 4miler, had cleaned up my room.

Mary Sabra, I hope I can be half the mother you are.

Please Look After This Pumpkin

Please look after this bear. Little Paddington was headed off to a new life with a sweet hat and a toggle coat.

Vake is going be ready for fall with his pumpkin hat, newly knitted for him by Aunt Sandy from my office and the toggle coat from the Kids Layne sale. I was so happy that Sandy could be talked into knitting a new hat- she gave him a blueberry hat when he was born that was all-too-quickly outgrown.

Day 1 and 2 of E's trial trip are over. Only 14 more to go. But who's counting...

Just like my Pop

Vake loves "reading" the newspaper. He takes whatever section we give him and then he slowly but surely rips it to shreds.

Happy Sixmonthiversary, Vake!

How fast has this last six months FLOWN by- it is just unbelievable- because when I was pregnant, I never thought the last six months would EVER pass...

Vake is the happiest, sunniest little six month old you could ever hope to meet.

At 6 months, he's off the charts for weight and head circumference and in the 95th percentile for height. He's wearing a size 4 diaper and 12-18 months clothes. He outgrew his infant car seat and is now in a convertible carseat that should get him to 65 pounds.

He's gotten to be quite a pro at sitting and he is fantastic about entertaining himself with toys that are in front of him. He seems to really enjoy reading books (or rather, having them read to him...). He likes to laugh and frequently cracks himself up!

He's starting to recognize people. He's never fussy unless he's starving or really tired. He sleeps about 12-13 hours a night and (usually) takes two excellent naps.

He's eating a good variety of solids now. He enjoys apples, zucchini, peas, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots and green beans. He does not seem to enjoy avocado.

He's also figured out cold fusion and is working on plans for world peace and universal health care.*

We went to JC Penney after work today for portraits- how funny he is getting to be...

Hi, there, guys! I am ready to play!

My favorite part of this shot was that the JC Penney portrait studio employee included a
"green fairy" embellishment to make it look like Vake was staring at a green fairy. Like father like son I say.

Hmmm. Universal health care and world peace. How do they work hand-in-hand? I know, I will have an figure-skating summit, and we will all sing the song, "I'd like to teach the world to sing/in perfect harmony./I'd like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company."

Naw, that's a CRAZY idea. It will never work!

So now I am feeling a little shy and embarrassed because no one wanted to sing the song with me.

Little V, Daddy and I are so glad and so happy to have you around. You are super fun and we are having a blast with you!

*Areshini and William, I know this is no match for baby Gabi but Vake's trying to keep up as best he can.

Happy Birdie to Two Cool Chicks

This birthday shout out goes out to two of the best friends you could hope to have. Martha is loyal and brave- she always strives to be a good friend. Here she is with her godson at the hospital.


Liz is smart, sensitive and thoughtful- she's a fantastic listener.

Vake is so lucky to have both Aunt Martha and Aunt Liz as a part of his life. This was his expression when I told him that he slept through his aunts' birthday party last night. He was definitely not a happy camper.

He did recover nicely when I told him I thought the odds of seeing both Martha and Liz at some point either this weekend or next were pretty good. I got him to model both a smile and his new pajamas from Aunt Martha after that. These are an 18-24 months size- and he's got a little (not a lot) bit of growing room in them- I am hoping that these will make it to Christmas. They are a super nice brand- such soft lovely cotton- so much nicer that the Carter's that I am getting for little V.

And just in case you thought the mobile was getting boring, it never fails to entertain...

We are on the Daddy leaving countdown for the week- it is Seattle on Wednesday...thank God for Mary Sabra and Taren...and in exciting news, Aunt Anne, Uncle Dennis and DOMINGO are coming down this weekend! Woo-hoo!!!

New Pajamas and Vake's First Tie

Vake and I have had a busy week together: Eric's gearing up for a big trial so has not been home at all and I've been a little less busy at work so I've been picking up the slack with little V. He is now a master of sitting up on his own.

This week, we've also made the move into bigger pajamas. Vake weighs about 24-25 pounds now and all of his 12 month pjs were, shall we say, a little snug. He sort of looked like he was wearing a bikini. Here he is rocking his new size 2t pajamas.

Aunt Martha just got back from a trip to Nantucket and brought his some of the cutest pjs I've ever seen- they are so sweet- with little castles on them- but my camera ran out of batteries so I will have to take pics of them tomorrow to post.

Doesn't he look like a little boy in these pictures? Where's the baby? He's not even six months old yet!!!

Aaahhh. Mom, stop taking pictures of me in my nightclothes. It is embarrassing!

Today, one of the bibs that super-Taren ordered arrived- too funny. His first tie.

But Mom, I don't want to be a summer associate. I want to sing and dance! And figure skate. In my white sequined pants!!!

So sweet

Alison in 1977...age 3
Anne in 1982...age 5.

My black and white wall and silhouettes have really inspired me...and I remembered that we had silhouettes of my sis, Anne, and me in Mary Sabra's house- so I scanned them to add to the wall. They were done in 77 and 82 respectively- and they are the cutout kind- not the digital images...so wonderful. Mom will know but I think they were done by Pope Gregory...

Anne, let me know if you want a print...