Grandparent Love

June is so lucky to have grandparents who love her so much! She got to spend some time with all of them during our trip to Indiana/Illinois.

June with Vivi:

4 Generations!

Pop-Pop has obviously been getting a lot of golf in: look how tan June makes him look!

I love seeing these two together because June looks so small in his big ol' bear paw hands.
Look closely! You can see where June spit up on her Granddad. Sorry, Dad, I don't think it'll stain!
Playing with toys with Grammy:
And taking a nap:
Hanging out with Grandpa Fred:

Judy even had June in the Moby while we were out to lunch!
June almost blends in, doesn't she? You can barely tell she's there!

Thank you to all of June's grandparents. Thank you for withstanding spit up to spend time with our little bundle of joy. She's all the more joyful because she has you.

Great Grandparents Are Great

June will never have to wonder where she needs to go to be positively dipped in love and sprinkled with kisses. On our trip to the Midwest, she saw a bunch of Great Grandparents and got some love from them all.


Grandma Pfeifer

Grandpa Pfeifer

(While this picture was taken, another woman wheeled up to our group and wanted to look at June. It was kind of a bad moment because it was a little hectic trying to get everyone in place and everyone looking and not crying [this is mostly about June, but not exclusively]. And then the woman holds out her arms like she wants to hold June. Now, I had already told Michael [who was holding June at the time] that I didn't really want any randoms holding her. I know that babies brighten up the lives of people in homes, but those people also sometimes have contagious things that we can't know about ahead of time. So when the poor lady held up her wobbling arms, not only did Michael quietly say, 'Yeah, I don't think we're going to do that,' but Judy also stepped in to redirect. The trick to any potentially awkward baby-related moment is numbers. Overwhelming numbers.)

Meeting Grandma Mickie over in Danville:
Out to eat with Grandma Helen:
"Mmm! Salad!"

Cuddling with Mimi:
Don't they both look so pleasant?
and Grandpa Tom
And, of course, some lovin' from Mommy.

Traveling with a Baby

We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, despite both of us having worked a full day already and having to pick the Bug up from daycare. We checked the car seat at the counter, popped June in the Moby wrap and headed for security.

Let me tell you, I've waited my whole life for this. You have a baby! You get to go through the Family and People with Medical Liquids line! You get to cut in front of everybody and not feel bad! So what sight did I see upon racing up to security to finally see all the people I would cut?? Nobody. Just a bunch of TSA employees standing around staring at each other. I think a tumbleweed blew past. I didn't even get to cut ANYONE.

So...whatever. There goes my #3 reason for having a kid.

We did board early, which was nice but semi-unnecessary because neither of us had a real carry-on. Just the diaper bag. I changed June back in the bathroom carrying just the changing pad, the pack of wipes and a single diaper. Pretty uneventful.

I was so nervous for the whole thing, truthfully. When I saw people sitting around us glance at June I wanted to shout to them that she was such a good baby, don't worry! But I figured I'd let her show them, or if she was fussy, I wouldn't have her make a liar out of me.

I needn't have worried. She ate on the way up, slept the entire flight and I woke her up to eat on the way down. Basically the same story coming home except for a brief stint in the middle of the flight when she wanted to be bounced, which I did in the aisle.

I wish they always stayed this way. Small and sleepy and sweet. I know they turn into toddlers who need entertainment and who scream and make demands and are irritable. So I'll try my best to appreciate this time, and remember these wonderful days when a 3 year-old June won't stop kicking the seat in front of her.

Three Month Baby

New Day in LA

My oldest friend, Keely, lives in LA. So since we were in the neighborhood, we called her up and arranged to get together for lunch. To kill some time beforehand, and to get some caffeine, Lauren took us to a really cool little coffee shop in Venice Beach called Intelligentsia.

This place was full of hipsters and Michael and I felt decidedly not cool enough to be there (we weren't wearing Fedora hats, artsy glasses OR Toms shoes...the shame!).
As I'm walking back to my seat past the coffee line, I hear my name called. I looked around and...looked right at Keely!
Can you believe it? Of all places to stop for a coffee, they picked the same place that we did! So Keeks finally got to meet June, who adored her.

This next picture is us trying to see what June will look like with hair.
The effect isn't quite...right.

We then all made our way to the BBQ joint we'd originally planned to meet at.
Keely and her boyfriend, Luca. What a genuinely nice guy!
Then Lauren, Michael, June and I headed to Santa Monica for a little wandering and shopping.
We ate with the Perrys again that night. June and Ellison once again slept through most of the meal.
The next morning was the 4th, and was the day of our departure back to Phoenix. We had one last meal with Lauren while June modeled her 4th of July outfit.
Hope you all had a great holiday! We certainly did!

California, Here We Come

We decided semi-last-minutely to drive to California for the 4th of July weekend. We got off work, packed up our baby girl and chased the sun toward the horizon.

I have to say how great June was on the ride. She slept the entire way, only waking up when we pulled her out of the car seat at a stop to grab some dinner.

Through a sweet hookup, we stayed for free in an empty college dorm suite. Free lodging is always a pleasure, and who could have foreseen that the very firm, near-waterproof mattresses (twins we had to push together) would be beneficial in repelling baby projectile spit up/vomit?
Our first morning in the Santa Monica area found us at a really wonderful local farmer's market. We were visiting Michael's sister, Lauren, and she bumped into a bunch of friends at this place.
We grabbed some food and sat at some little tables and watched the people go by. June was having a pretty good time.

We also went to Manhattan Beach. We had fish tacos at a brewery overlooking the ocean.
And then it was time for June to feel the sand in between her toes for the first time.
It's never too early to start protecting your eyes, folks!

We let June plant her feet in the sand before a little wave washed up over her toes. She did not like the cold water. She cried until we picked her up, when she immediately stopped crying. We tried again with the result of more tears. I'm still holding out hope that she will one day be diving into waves, but it might take awhile for us to get there.
That night we met up with some friends for dinner.
The Perrys, who we had over for Thanksgiving a couple years ago, also recently had a baby.
What do you think, folks? Future husband and wife?
Maybe.

Sick Baby Update

The bad news is that she has a double ear infection. We followed Michael's New Father Intuition and went to the doctor.

The other bad news is that it'll be a couple days before it stops affecting her sleep.

The good news is that she doesn't seem too bothered by it. Sure, her snarfling breaths wake her up, but she's still smiley.

It turns out that having a tendency toward ear infections is hereditary, and both Michael and I had them a lot as kids. Poor baby girl and her inherited bad ears!

My Baby is Sick (not in the good way, like people referring to awesome things as totally sick. Even though she is totally sick in the awesome way too)

June is sick for the first time and I’m totally bummed.

A part of me is like, “WTF, breastmilk!?! You were supposed to have magical powers that would keep my baby from getting sick until she’s 47 years old!” The other part is impressed that she doesn’t have the Plague, considering what she’s gone through in the past two weeks. She:

- Went to daycare, where she is the new shiny object of interest for the room at large, and two older twin boys with runny noses in particular.
- Drove to and from California
- Had her daily routine all messed up
- Had her feet dipped in the cold ocean
- Traveled in a festering box of recycled air with 150 other people of questionable health (an airplane)
- Changed time zones – 3 hours ahead, then two, then back to three, then back home
- Hung out in a nursing home

Baby’s got the sniffles. Her congestion is really the worst part of it, because my wonderful, magical, sleeps-through-the-night-every-night baby has been replaced with an entity who sounds like a grunting piglet whose rattling breath wakes herself up every few hours. June and I haven’t slept so well for the past few nights, but she wants to sleep all day (when her congestion isn’t as bad), which terrifies me that we’re on a one-way road to Reverse Cycling. (Baby sleeps all day and wants to play all night.)

She also is sneezing up a storm and gives these little cof cof cofs every once in awhile...after both she gives these sighs/coos that aren't necessarily from displeasure, they sound more like, "What a world!"

We’ve tried a few home remedies, including squirting breast milk up her nose. Fact of the day: it’s not the mucus that makes it hard to breathe, although it certainly doesn’t help. The cold virus inflames the membranes inside of the nostrils, and it’s the swelling that makes you feel like there’s a pinto bean stuck exactly where your nose connects to your face. Also: breast milk is the all-in-one medical fix for many baby problems. Eye or ear infection? Put some BM in it. (Not that BM.) A scratch? Put some BM on it. The problem with trying to get some BM up your baby’s nose is that the nose is so near the mouth. So whenever I try with June, her eyes get all wide and she starts squirming around, and I’m like, “Let me put this in your nostril,” but she’s like, “OMG BOOB!” and tries to get at it with her mouth and we end up wrestling around like a pair of eels. So yeah…that’s still a work in progress.

We’ve also tried getting rid of some of the mucus, which found Michael and me standing over our little snotty darling this morning trying to suck out her mucus with what looks like a tiny turkey baster. “There’s still one up there…” “You’re not doing it right, let me…” “I think this one is plastered to the nostril wall…” “Ooh, that sounded juicy! Nice one!” Who have we become?!?!

Pumping at Work: The Highs and Lows

CON: Everyone knows your bid-ness. Standing up to go take 15 minute breaks, having to grab the key to the designated empty office off the wall, carrying my pumping bag, cleaning the parts in the bathroom or kitchen (if empty), break times on my outlook calendar (to reserve said empty office) mysteriously labeled “Julie.”

PRO: Boss being totally cool about it. Not only does she allow me to take my “breaks,” she defends it righteously. I offered to work while pumping (the empty office has a computer) and she insisted I take the time to really break. “No, that time should be stress-free, ‘you time,’ you can read a magazine or something.” And she made a reference to smokers getting all the breaks they want, which I adore about her because I’ve always noticed that smokers seem to get more breaks than everyone else.

CON: Having to rinse off/wash pump parts over and over again.

PRO: I can now say I’ve been topless in my work place.

CON: When you take a phone call with someone who has a “quick question” even though you were supposed to start pumping a half an hour ago, and the phone call lasts 45 minutes, and oh shoot, my boobs are tingling and I’m leaking now. Great.

PRO: A forced break from work.

CON: Wondering if your male boss’s boss can hear the pump through the walls of the office.

PRO: Observing my coworkers maneuver around my pumping. “So, guys, what time should we meet? Julie…ah… when is your next…when are you next…?” “Doing my thang?” “Yes, when are you…doing your thang?”

CON: Battling oversupply issues. Wanting to pump a lot to get relief, not wanting to pump a lot to regulate your supply.

PRO: Feeling connected to my little one. I can’t be with you right now, June, but I can make sure you’re getting the best.

3 Months Old

Likes:

Waking up
Sitting up
Making a noise that sounds like this: "Ggggkkkkch"
Planting her feet and "standing"
Blowing spit bubbles
Dancing to "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," and its renegade cousin song, "Toes, Knees, Shoulders, Head"
Kisses
Staring at her hands while making them move
Milk
Baths and showers

Dislikes:

Being cold
When her pacifier falls out when she's trying to fall asleep
Getting out of the shower or bath (see Dislikes item #1)
Being held in the classic baby "cradle"position
Dipping her toes in the Pacific Ocean (see Dislikes item #1)

When did my newborn turn into a funny, smiling baby?