Remi and the Baby Dolls

wow. what kind of a pathetic mother am i. here remi is 15 months old, and not only did i post nothing about her birthday party (a pink pirate theme, by the way), but i've posted nothing at all for the start of her second year. jeesh.

but she is a font of fascinating development. currently she's way into dancing to toddler tunes and chasing the dog around with her baby stroller. she runs after him and just laughs and laughs. thank god the dog is good for something more than just cleaning up after toddler eating.

beyond being used as a torture device for the dog, she just loves dolls, which i find kind of interesting. she cuddles the dolls, feeds them, bathes them, and, on one occasion, even attempted breastfeeding. i guess, really, it's just all about imitation, and childcare is something she sees a lot of right now.

First Teeth

There have been a lot of firsts for Remi recently.

First it was the teeth. Then, one day, she slipped and hit her chin. Those teeth hit her tongue and voila! Remi discovered she had a tongue. For days she went around experimenting with her tongue. Before discovering her tongue she discovered her head, which she occasionally holds with both hands. Does she think it will fly off? Perhaps. It's hard to say.
She can go up stairs now. The first time that happened, I was working in the front yard, and off she crawls to the stairs. I redirected her a couple of times, and then I just let her go. That first day she climbed to the top of the steps three times before she pooped out. Now she'll climb the stairs any chance she gets: We're no longer allowed to carry her up to the front door -- she practically flies out my arms whenever we approach.

And she's discovered doors. That they open and close. Over and over. And that she can stand on one side of the french doors and look in at us. And make faces. And smash her face against the glass. And then she just giggles and giggles and giggles...

The Sacred Coffee Hour

Before we had Remi, Drake and I used to sit in bed for the Sacred Coffee Hour. We sipped the sacred beverage, read the paper, and shared tidbits of news. We made lists and planned our day. And oftentimes, we crawled back under the covers and went back to sleep.

Such decadence is no more.

Now we're lucky if we sleep till 6:30. We wake to a bouncing baby, a girl on the go. She grabs for coffee, steals the paper, and crawls for the edge of the bed. Protecting yourself, your elixir, your reading material, and the baby takes fast hands and a quick eye: The Sacred Coffee Hour has become a precision sport.

But we hold out hope.

Someday, calm will be restored. Hot coffee will be safe again, the news will be read and absorbed, our ninja reflexes will be tucked away, unused. If only we could instill into a 9 month old the glory of the sacred hour.

Remi Eats Manhattan

I never thought I would raise a carnivore. In the baby food section I buy a wide variety of jarred fruits and vegetables, but NONE of the meats. And all was fine. Until Remi got hold of a chicken bone.

She loved it. In all fairness, though, she loves all food. At times, it really is kind of like a Godzilla movie in which the protagonist -- in this case a giant baby in diapers -- lumbers through the streets of New York putting anything and everything into her mouth. To date, she has attempted to eat

• the letter Q
  the number 7
• our wine saver wine stoppers
• wood chips
• corn cobs (sans the corn)
  

and pretty much anything she can get hold of. A list of her more conventional diet at her current age of 9 months includes

• peas
• carrots
• squash
• hummus
• guac (and any form in which avocado comes)
• potatoes
• yams
• mashed fruit (apples, blueberries, pears, mango, apricot, bananas)
• Annie's organic bunny crackers
• cheese (cream cheese, cheese sticks, monterey jack cubes)
• cottage cheese and yogurt

And most recently we have discovered that she loves steamed artichoke hearts.

Keep in mind that the child still has no teeth. They are coming in now and making our lives h--l. It feels like these teeth will never make it through, but when they finally do... look out, Manhattan!

The Big "D"

Awhile back, Remi-roo took a trip to Disneyland. That girl keeps me running, and it's taken some time for me to post about the trip, but better late than never.

Now, you'd think a 7 month old (at that time) wouldn't have much use for a trip to Disneyland. And that's where you'd be wrong. Who knew she'd be so thrilled? First, it was a big family trip, and Remi LOVES to see her cousins. So that was exciting enough. But it got better.

When we got to the park she just stared and stared at all the color and activity. It really is a child's wonderland. First, we took her on Pirates of the Carribean. We'd been singing the song to her for a month, trying to get her excited. She was fine on the ride, but I can't say it did a lot for her (though the adults loved it). Then it was on to the Haunted House. Again, not too exciting for her. It wasn't until we got to It's A Small World that we saw how excited she could be by a ride. She and Emlyn both were just in absolute awe. It was a wonder to behold.

We took her on the Pooh ride, which she liked, and the Carousel. But nothing compared to the Small World. I have a feeling that song is to be embedded into my future trips to Disneyland for many a years to come.

Water Baby

Remi's had a lot of experience with the water lately. First swim class, and yesterday... her first trip on a boat! She thought it was great (and so did we).

First, swim class. She's been twice now, and has decided she loves it. What's not to love? A giant bathtub (it's the Berkeley warm pool, heated to 92 degrees) filled with other babies and, at the end, a million zillion bath toys! Of course, there are the songs, too--designed for the repetition that babies love and that parents can never get out of their heads.

Then yesterday, out at Debbie and Tamara's for dinner, we took a boat ride around Discovery Bay. When Remi got tired of looking at the scenery, there was a lot of exploring to be done on the floor of the boat. And then there was her pint-sized companion, Rocco the dog. Just the right size for a baby.

All in all, a pretty great expansion on her already solid love of bath water.

(Photos: Pictured at the Berkeley Warm Pool on Chris' shoulders; Pictured on the boat with Tamara; Rocco the dog)

Baby on the Go

Okay, it's not really crawling yet. More like rolling with some backwards action. But man, can she get around. That is, until she needs to go forward. Then it's "Waa, waa! Hey, Mama, come get me out of this corner I've backed myself into." And, being the responsible servant that I am, I naturally oblige.

So baby proofing is in our future. Next time we have a free moment or two.