Ivy
is so awesome. She is the most fun little baby ever. We love to come
home from school, change into our play clothes, and hit the warm and
sunny streets for a walk. (Even though we've had some rain, every day
is sunny with Ives.)
I've
spent a lot of time this week thinking about how great it is that she's
come to us. We never knew a baby could be so fun. And we are so lucky
-- she is so darn good! (And so darn cute -- we each took tons of
pictures this week, so there are lots here, and they're not all related
to the text.)
It was HOT this week (but it will get hotter).
Good thing Auntie Heidi sent lots of pretty things from India for tiny Ivy to wear.
You can see how her hair is wispy in the heat and humidity -- I hope it's the beginning of her curls.
I
didn't feel like I got enough time with Ivy this week (and I have to
share her with her daddy). Because I had the wing-ding with
"Tony-Award Winner John Rando" on Thursday, we had to have Brittany
over that night. She put Ivy to bed all by herself, which was really
tough for both me and Josh. She came over on Tuesday to see our
nighttime ritual. I was holding Ivy when she walked in, and we started
talking at the door. Ivy began her excited grunting and clapped her
little feet and lunged toward Brittany. I had to hand her over -- it
was not my happiest moment. She did want to come back to me, of course,
and I'm glad that she is so comfortable with her nanny, but still!!!
Brittany put her to bed that night, and 
I
listened to her singing to my baby. On Wednesday, both Josh and I had
important meetings and didn't come home until after 5, so Brittany
stayed late. And then on Thursday she was with Ivy while Josh and I
went to dinner and the talk and a dessert reception afterward. The talk
was a success, and dinner was delicious (there are about 4 good
restaurants in the area, and this was one of them), but I really missed
tiny Ivy. She was pretty happy all week, even though she had more
Brittany (and less Mommy and Daddy) than usual.
She's been getting better and better maneuvering herself around
the world. Now when she leans forward she gets herself happily onto her
belly (and then often flips herself happily onto her back). About 10
days ago, she would cry in pain and frustration when falling forward,
but now she's doing it on purpose. She's also rolling onto her belly
from her back pretty consistently (and without our help).
Grammy sent her a surprise package this week. Most of the clothes are still too big, but this green seersucker suit is perfect (and perfectly cute). It has a hat, but she wouldn't keep it on, even though I threatened to staple it to her head.
She saw the doctor this week, who is less impressed with her physical prowess than we are. She's in danger of missing a few milestones, so she's in her environmentally disastrous diaper
s
(Brittany will be so psyched!) for the next 10 days or so as we try to
get her up to speed. It's thanks to the diapers and the focussed work
that she's been rolling over so successfully. Her next big challenge is
pulling herself up to standing. She's great when she uses our fingers,
but hasn't ever done it on furniture (though she still LOVES to stand
when she gets there). We're also working on bye-bye waves, patty-cake,
and "mama" and "dada." The diapers probably won't help with those.
She
was SO BRAVE at the doctor (and it was her birthday, too!). She had a
Hepatitis B shot because they don't usually give them in Canada. I was
raspberrying her cheeks when the needle went in, and she switched from
sunny smiles to fat, wet tears. And then she had to have blood drawn.
It was the hardest thing ever, for both of us I think. They looked and
looked for a vein in her right arm, but couldn't find one. They
switched to the left, and massaged and thumped and tightened the strap
and finally found
a vein. She was screaming and crying, and her little arm was so red! I
sang "Boots of Spanish Leather" in her ear as they drew the blood. And
then that vein collapsed, and we had to do it all over again. They
bandaged her up and I rocked and kissed her and sang some more until
she stopped crying. I felt so guilty; she's clearly inherited my bad
veins rather than her daddy's blood-giving beauties. And then we went
home, and as you can see, she's none the worse for wear!
She's
quite the giant tiny Ivy. She is 27" (nearly ten inches longer than she
was just nine months ago). And she weighs 18lbs, 14oz! She is at the
25th percentile for height, and has jumped to the
50th percentile for weight. Fatty Fatannah, you're our girl. The doctor
says it's fine, as she's not anywhere near overweight, but I wonder if
she should REALLY eat an entire avocado at one sitting three times a
week. (I also wonder if the switch to formula played a part.)All in all, it was a pretty busy week. I don't know how we had time to get all the cute pictures taken. We hope she's not developmentally delayed, but I wonder if she knows you have to read the books rather than eat them.
