Happy 8-month birthday, then first cold :-(

This is a couple days late, but - whew! - I had to take a little break after the flurry of blogging in the last few weeks of trying to catch up to the present. Last Wednesday was Rosa's 8-month birthday! We captured the cupcake and the singing on film this month.

In the past couple days, real crawling has started. But it's now a choice for Rosa, who still exercises her option to do the hand-slapping commando crawl when she feels like it. I put the standard bribe (remote control) on the floor yesterday and tried to get her to crawl to it so I could take a video, but Rosa decided to commando instead, so you'll all have to wait until another day to see her crawl.

The other first that just happened is that Rosa got her first cold on Friday. It had to happen sometime! It seems like it's a fairly mild one, but it's making her snotty enough to have trouble nursing and sleeping.

The cold didn't keep us from going to the playground with the twins from downstairs today. We just kept them from chewing each others' fingers and toys.

SPECIAL INSTALLMENT: The Rosa Report, by guest blogger Zarah

the june 15th show at the box factory

As Katie's bandmates, we were very excited and engaged during her whole pregnancy process. We had a lot invested in what would happen. Would Katie be available to play while pregnant? Would she stay in the band after becoming a mother? Would she have a boy or a girl? (This was important as we have an all-female band, so would her child be allowed to play with us?) And yes, Eva said a big "hello" to the baby every Wednesday at rehearsal by leaning down and talking to Katie's belly.

when katie could still play standing up. red devil lounge show, april 30th

Everything turned out great. We had a show on Father's Day, just two weeks before Katie gave birth to Rosa. With a pillow and a stool, Katie rocked out, with barely enough space on her lap for her bass! Katie is still dedicated to the band and since we saw her belly grow each week at rehearsal, we now wonder where's the belly and/or where's the baby? Did it all really happen? It's great to see Katie have *grown-up time*! And, though we planned an amendment to the all-female band rule (allowing sons up to age 8, then they have to get their own band) it's nice to keep it pure. Now we just debate over which instrument Rosa's going to learn first. She's already got a mini tambourine.

So you can imagine when I got to babysit Rosa and have some special time with her all to myself, I had to share the joy with the band. What follows is an email to Making Dinner about my day with Rosa-Pants.

The Rosa Report, February 5, 2009

hi ladies,
thought i'd let you all know how it went babysitting miss rosa today. it went great!

when i heard her waking up i went and patted her back in her crib then got her up. she had a few minutes of quizzical brow but still fully smiling as she figured out if it was ok to hang with me. maybe like, "i recognize this fun lady, but how'd she get here?!?!"

we played with all her toys on the mat and crinkled the crinkly stuff in the star and butterfly wings. we even played with the lamb handmade by marianka! rosa liked shaking it to make it jingle.

rosa was really good at rolling herself over and twisting about. if i held her hands she could pull herself up to standing then wobble around on her cute toes. she'd smile when daddy jeff came over and sang her a song, but then he'd have to take a work call and left for the office. she helped turned the pages (backwards) when i read her the english/spanish bi-lingual book.

rosa's a beautiful big baby girl full of smiles! she helped me move my car from 2 hour parking, then we met her mama at the park. when we saw katie coming towards us rosa had the biggest smile yet of the day!

then two of us had grilled cheese and soup and one of us had oats and apples.

ltb&b,
z$

Rosa's 8th month - scooting and standing

Tomorrow is Rosa's 8-month birthday! My goal was to get caught up by this date so that after that I could post Rosa's comings and goings as they come and go. Of course we will be having cupcakes for the birthday... Rosa and I will go pick them out tomorrow.

Rosa's eighth month has been all about increasing mobility. She could scoot backwards as of sometime around Christmas, when I once turned around to find her missing... she was under the futon - everything but her head, that is. (I have since purchased under-the-bed boxes to put under the futon - great for storing her little blankets and for keeping her out of there!) But in the first few days of this eighth month, one day she started moving forward, and as every parent knows, the world changes on that day. You can no longer put her on a blanket while you run and get a bib and expect to find her there when you get back. On that day, I started strategizing how to keep her out of the power cables, tight spots, and other hazards, then started ordering gates.

By the end of this month, she still doesn't do an official crawl, although she spends a lot of time on her hands and knees, but when she wants to move, she slaps her palms on the floor as far out as she can reach, then pulls her prone little body up to her hands. She can move pretty fast when she wants to.

The other thing she just started doing 3 days ago is pulling her self up to do furniture standing. Back on February 15, she stood up by herself against Jeff's leg for the first time, but wasn't fully standing straight. A week later, I turned around to find her standing up, holding on to the edge of her toy bin. She wasn't too stable, so I helped her sit back down. But today, when she was standing against the couch, I let her "dismount" all by herself (ready to catch her of course), and found that the butt hit first, followed by the hands, and last the head. So it wasn't too catastrophic. She now regularly pulls herself up on the toy bin and often reaches in to grab a book or toy.

In the language department, Rosa took a couple week break from saying "Mama," but seems to be back at it with a vengeance now. Still no "Dada" (poor Dada!), but there's lots of singing and vocalizing, and even gargling!

Other memorable occasions this month include:

A visit from Grandpa Frank

A trip to the playground with Auntie Dev

Wearing the pretty dress from Uncle Terry for Valentine's Day

Wearing the poncho that Auntie Eva knitted

A visit to Auntie Nicole's house, who will soon be leaving us for New Zealand

A playdate with 3 big boys, including some double-swinging!

Taking time to stop and smell the flowers with Daddy

Rosa's 7th month - sit 'n' swim

During Rosa's seventh month, we didn't take any more trips (thank goodness!), but it was a big month developmentally because this is the month she really mastered sitting up. Imagine going from laying on your back or tummy all the time to being able to sit up. You have a whole new perspective on the world, and you can use your hands in a whole new way to reach out and grab things. Pretty quickly after she started being really stable while sitting, she started transitioning from sitting to hands and knees. She would perch up there, rocking forward and backward, so looking like she wanted to crawl, but forward movement still wasn't happening at least by inauguration day, so that must have come during the eighth month (coming soon!).

There were only a few major topples where she hit her head on the floor... most of the time I had pillows behind her so that wouldn't happen. But the first time it did, I reacted with concern, and she cried for a good 15 minutes. This taught me to react without appearing to show concern, at least until I could figure out if concern was warranted. After the next topple, I pulled her back up and got her interested in a toy, and there were no tears. 

The other big milestone that happened during this month was that Rosa said "Mama!" On January 19th, she started saying "Ma" very emphatically, then on inauguration day, "Mama" turned on. And she even did it in front of Daddy so that there could be a witness other than Mama. Of course, given the date, she may have been trying to say "Obama!" I gotta say, it was pretty amazing to look out the window that morning and see the hipsters across the street carrying signs that said "USA! USA!"

In mid-January, we started swimming lessons with Rosa, which has been really fun! The goal is just to get her used to the pool, and the classes mostly consist of singing songs and splashing. Although the pool is warmer than a typical pool (82 degrees) the first class or two Rosa's chin was quivering after about 15 minutes. But the last few classes she has lasted the whole 30 minutes. Two classes ago, we learned how to go under water with babies, and Rosa did ok with it. The best part of swimming lessons is that it's on Saturday, so Jeff can go - he loves them!

The other activity we're doing more and more of is going to the playground. Rosa is an old pro at the swing now... doesn't need any blankets stuffed around her anymore. And she's loving the sand! She just swipes her fingers through it over and over. Of course she then tries to eat it, which I try to prevent, but one or two grains never hurt anyone. 

And finally, a few pictures from Grandma Lois's visit in early January.

Rosa's sixth month - Thanksgiving to Christmas

Hard to believe how fast the first six months went by. Cliched to say, but true. Rosa went from a floppy, tiny, warm mass that mostly cried to a little person who responds to peek-a-boo and patty-cake, sits up by herself, and laughs when we tickle her belly.

This month started with Rosa and I leaving Cleveland and flying to Philadelphia, where we met Jeff in the airport and drove to his cousins' house for Thanksgiving. We arrived late Wednesday night to find those who were still up in their robes, anxiously awaiting our arrival and their first peek at Rosa, the first family member of her generation. Since Rosa was asleep in her carseat, I kind of whisked her upstairs and begged their patience until the next morning. Everyone got a tiny peek though.

The next day was Thanksgiving. Dinner was huge and fantastic as always. All the cousins and aunts and uncles got their turns holding Rosa, who was very accommodating. After dinner, we took the "4-Generation" photo - these are Rosa's only set of great-grandparents - as well as the full family photo that Peter does ever year. 

Peter and Terri live on Conestoga Creek, a tributary to the Susquehanna River, and we took a nice walk along it with Amanda one sunny afternoon. As the socks on the hands show, we weren't entirely prepared for the cold! The other great thing I discovered at Peter and Terri's was Terri's glider. Back before Rosa was born, I thought I didn't need one of these, but when I rocked Rosa in it, she just melted in my arms, so when we got home, I ran out and bought one as fast as I could! 

We fit in everything we could on this trip, and even got to drop in to see my friend Paul on the way to airport. Poor Paul had sniffles which he claimed were allergies, but I still didn't let him hold Rosa!

When we got back to San Francisco, we had visits from Karen and her son Weston, Rainbow, and Louise, as well as a visit from Uncle Ging and Aunt Alice from across the Bay.

We also had a reunion party with all the couples from the birth preparation class that we took. It was fantastic to see all the babies that we got to know in utero! Rosa was so cute in her Christmas suit from Auntie Kathy (Williams) - thank you! It was at this party (Dec 7) that I think Rosa did her first official sitting up unaided. I let go of her for a good 10 seconds and she balanced. Playing with the other babies was so fun that Rosa sacked out on the way home, holding the one and only Sophie the Giraffe. The bottom left picture is Rosa and Izzy, one of the boys from the class, who came over to visit Rosa another day.

A few days before Christmas, which also happens to be Rosa's 6-month birthday, Rosa ate her first solid food! We chose to start with sweet potato. Rosa did the requisite funny faces and pushing it back out with her tongue... but some of it got in, and thus began the beginning of a new era. I have since learned that solids mean more messes, more outfits in a day, and lots of bibs!

We had a low-key Christmas this year, unlike our usual travels to 3 states that we've always done in the past. For Christmas Eve dinner, we had a vellea of sorts, and although everything we at was from a can or box, the intent was there! Rosa is showing her true Slavic heritage reaching for the pierogies. Then we spent Christmas day with our friends Lenny and Lin, who waited until the end of the day to tell us their big news - that Lin is pregnant with twins! (By the way, we had pumpkin pie and chocolate mousse instead of cupcakes for Rosa's 6-month birthday.)

And finally, some more pictures that I couldn't resist posting. 

Here's Rosa playing peek-a-boo with Judy on Skype.

The big girl holding her own bottle.

Reading with Daddy.

The oh-so-cute eating the toes!

Wow this was a long posting!  Congratulations if you made it to the bottom!

Rosa's fifth month - Halloween, the election, and the baptism

Rosa's fifth month was a big one - full of more events than the first four together!  For her first Halloween, Rosa was a bunny - the cutest bunny ever! Mommy's costume was easy then - a mama bunny. And Daddy? A cowboy. Daddy didn't want to be a bunny. Halloween in the city isn't quite like in the suburbs... kids go around to neighborhood stores trick-or-treating during the afternoon, but they don't go to the apartments in the evening; the evening is more of a crazy grown-up holiday. So I had a costume all ready for her, but didn't really have an event for her to wear it to. So when Jeff got home from work, we went out for burritos in our costumes, and just walking up and down Valencia to the Taqueria was a costume party in and of itself! Rosa stayed out that night a little later than I wanted, but hey, it was her first Halloween, and you've got to live a little.

Just five days later, on the most historic election day our country has ever witnessed, when Jeff got home from work, we all went out to a neighborhood bar where we crowded around the door and peered in to see McCain's and Obama's speeches on a big TV. Unlike the couple with the 2-week old baby next to us, Rosa, ever "the alert baby," did not sleep. Rosa stayed out that night a little later than I wanted, but hey, it was a truly historic event, and we all wanted to be part of it. Hours after Rosa went to bed, the parties in the streets and honkings and celebrating continued. Jeff went out zipping around the neighborhood on his bike; Rosa and I were awakened by a marching band marching and playing down our street.

Six days later it was my birthday, and the three of us had our first dinner out in a nearby restaurant. We timed it so that Jeff ordered for both of us and Rosa and I arrived when the food did. She did great! Rosa stayed out that night a little later... you get the picture.

And then just three days after my birthday, we took the plunge and took our first flight with Rosa, all the way across the country including a layover! I was stressing over this for weeks beforehand. Everyone said to nurse her for takeoff and landing, but what about the 5 hours in the middle, not to mention the layover and the second flight! To make a long story short, Rosa exceeded even my wildest dreams of how good she could be. She nursed and fell asleep instantly on takeoff and slept for THREE HOURS! Then she sat on my lap and smiled at the flight attendants for the next 2 until we landed. I couldn't believe it. There must have been 20 people telling me she was the best baby on a plane they had ever seen. I was so thankful!

But enough about the flight. The reason we were flying was to go to Cleveland for Rosa's baptism at my family's church. The baptism was the very next day after we flew. Again, with the 3 hours time change and sleeping in a new place, I was a little anxious imagining how Rosa would handle being stripped naked and dunked in a big metal tub. But she loved it! I knew she enjoyed her baths at home, and it must have seemed like a big public bath to her because she just blinked and smiled when the (warmed) water was splashed over her head. I think she was the first baby I've ever seen not cry. Auntie Kira was her godmother and Uncle Greg was godfather, and both did a great job keeping her calm through the service. After the baptism, we had a big party, and Rosa was the little star of the show! She got to meet lots of friends and family, including meeting Grandma Judy for the first time.

After the baptism, Jeff headed back to San Francisco, but Rosa and I stayed with Grandma Lois and Grandpa Mike in Ohio until the day before Thanksgiving, when we went to Pennsylvania to have Thanksgiving with the Judy's family (more on that in the next posting!). In Ohio Rosa got to experience snow, sing songs with Auntie Kira, eat breakfast with Grandpa Mike, and celebrate her five month birthday - more cupcakes!