As If...

As if I could leave well enough alone. I'll drop it when Saturday Night Live drops it (OMG -- Caribou Barbie? Now THAT is funny!). Or when Obama is elected the next President of the United States (or POTUS to those of us inside the Beltway).

Two weeks from Tuesday...


The last time a President was elected, I had a baby. Literally. Lily was born on November 2, 2004, election day, some 4 weeks early. Perhaps that's why she's so interested in politics. Perhaps it's because she thinks that Michelle Obama is pretty. Who knows what sparked this interest, but I love it!

I so totally couldn't resist creating our own set of Obama logos (want one? go to logobama.com). These will go nicely with the hand-made sign (taped to a tin foil post) that now adorns our front gate. Perhaps she wrote in code, but Lily swears that the crayon scribbles spell out "Go Obama!" And if the transition team asks, I think that Lily would make a great Goodwill Ambassador. She can just charm all those foreign heads of state with her rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "My Name is Joe!"

Not a big fan of green

Noah, who is a huge fan of anything green (eco-friendly that is), has a daughter who apparently doesn't care much for things that are green. Green food that is. While I can't remember if I started Lily on food using peas or green beans, I do remember that she loved them. She couldn't get enough. And, some 3 1/2 years later, she's still a big fan of any and all green vegetables including edamame, brussel sprouts, artichokes, you name it.


So when it came time for us to move beyond the Happy Bellies brown rice cereal, I let Lily vote on the green veggie for Anna; sweat peas won, hands down. Only her belly wasn't so happy with the peas. I won't elaborate, but let's just say that daughter #2 has an even more sensitive gag reflex than daughter #1. And her diapers started stinking even more than usual. Since green beans, organic or otherwise, have amazingly vanished from the shelves at Harris Teeter, Safeway, Whole Foods AND Babies R Us, we've moved on to the orange veggies. For now. I'm determined to acclimate Anna to the greens! So, for her second taste of food, sweet potato was on the menu. And boy was it a hit!!

Look closely and you can see the little chompers!

Average Joe

Ok, ok...I'm sure you're starting to get sick of my political interjections. This is a family/mommy blog after all. But with the stakes as high as they are, for not only our immediate future but our long-term one as well (hello, Supreme Court!), I can't leave it alone. My girls' future is staring me in the face.

The fact that I was raised on Capitol Hill, still live in the Metro area, and work within spitting distance of the White House doesn't help.

Nor does my daughter. Lily asks incessant questions about Obama, George Bush and Sarah Palin. She, like many around the country, seems too focused on the #2 GOP draft pick and not focused enough on the guy who is actually running for office.

So let me leave you with this image.



And you wonder why our image overseas is at an all-time low... Personally, I wonder why any other civilized country would take us seriously at all. John McCain is, without a doubt, a war hero. But, presidential?!? I think not!

And just like with Lily's whiny voice, I think I'm going to scream if I have to hear, one more time, about Joe the plumber. You want Joe? I give you Lily... An encore performance.

E-I-E-I-O

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, or talking to me recently, you know how much I LOVE Cox Farm's annual Pumpkin Festival. We go every year. At least once. I'd likely go every weekend if I could. That's how much fun I think it is.

There are others -- many others -- in the DC area that rival Cox's, but none are quite as good. Huge bonus that, while out enjoying the country air, gigantic slides made with hay bales, and (new this year!) CORNundrum, you can also get a slice of the heavenly Mom's Pies. Yes, one family owns all the greatness -- Cox AND Mom's!

Fall Festivals make for happy babies!

Lily got to hang with one of her BFFs; Hank and his family joined us for the fun this year!

Darrin, Hank, Noah & Lily FLEW down the giant slide (the secret is to go down the middle on the blue part, which is greased and extra fast)

Obligatory pony ride -- I mean, don't you love paying $5 for your child to sit on a pony's back for approximately 2 seconds (and who says that discretionary spending is down??)

Not sure if she liked flying down the chute alone...

..perhaps she'd had a premonition that a wipe-out was in her future!

Noah's attempt at face-painting. Or tiny baby torture. The pink should come with a warning that it's, essentially, permanent. Anna had a bright pink smile ghosted on her face for days.

So in spite of our ridiculously over-scheduled weekends this Fall, we were able to sneak in a trip to Cox not that long ago. And while the goats were somewhat of a disappointment this year (they normally attack you trying to get the grain-filled ice cream cone out of your hand) -- we practically had to force-feed them -- the hayride, fast slides, BBQ lunch and corn maze definitely didn't disappoint. Nor did the yummy kettle corn that we bought for the car ride home. Which we ate. And ate. But only after I doused us all in Purell. Not only were this year's goats' appetites a disappointment, but their level of cleanliness totally skeeved me out. Maybe I've been watching too many episodes of Jon & Kate Plus 8...

My attempt to catch a "holiday card candidate" photo. Lily was a most uncooperative participant.

Anna, on the other hand, couldn't be more thrilled to sit pretty and smile with the pumpkins!

Bluegrass and Back

Country roads, take me home,
to the place I belong,
West Virginia Kentucky, mountain mama,
Country Roads, take me home...

- John Denver

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In 2008, we flew the friendly skies to Kentucky to honor his voyage. And what a weekend we had in the Bluegrass State! Of course, the LATE NIGHT flight to Lexington, and the EARLY MORNING (alarm went off yesterday at 4:45 a.m.!) flight home weren't the highlights of our trip. But the glorious 80 degree weather, fun friends, and fantastic family certainly were!!

Anna, with her "Hillary for President" cup, takes a tub in Lois Anne's kitchen sink

Anna in Lois Anne's INCREDIBLE garden

See for yourself -- it's a little oasis!

With all the wedding news of late, Anna wanted to see what the buzz is all about

Anna's first flight -- a happy traveler!

To top it all off, we had Anna's 6 month visit at the pediatrician's not long after we touched down at National Airport. Her stats were IDENTICAL to Lily's at the same age -- 19 pounds, on the nose, and 27 inches. She's the epitome of juicy!

Lily on Bandit -- this sure beat the pony rides at Cox Farms!

City girl meets farm girl

Collecting eggs with Rosilyn

What a haul!

Speckles, one of the hens who obliged us

Feeding the chickens to "thank" them for their eggs!

Half Birthday

Amazingly enough, Anna is six months old today. Half a year. Holy cow! I know that it's incredibly cliché, but where did the time go? She started out life as a quiet little peanut. She's now loud and happy and likely dying to eat peanuts! (Sadly for her, and as lax as I have been this time around, I'm firmly sticking to my "no nuts for 3 years" policy.)

We've officially entered my FAVORITE stage of life. Between about 5 1/2 months, when their little personalities finally come to the surface, and about 8 months (hopefully not before!), when they start crawling, babies couldn't be more delicious. They sit, play, smile and laugh. They're not so delicate anymore, and they're not yet destroying your house. I seriously want to hit the pause button on the TiVo of life!

There have been so many firsts over the past month. Here are but a few...

1. First time in a pool
2. First time rolling from back to belly
3. First time sitting up, unaided
4. First ear infection
5. First (and last) course of Amoxicillin
6. First allergic reaction to Penicillin-like products
7. First two teeth
8. First solid food
9. First religious experiences/First High Holy Days
10. First flight! (we're heading Lexington, KY tonight)

Happy half birthday, my sweet Anna-banana!!

Here Comes the Bride

We couldn't be more thrilled to share our family's latest glorious news -- the engagement of Noah's cousin, Julia, to her wonderful boyfriend (now fiancé!) Andrew Edelstein.

Julia is an assistant editor at Time Out New York (how I wish that Washington, DC had a magazine like this!! Julia, can you convince the managing editors to start one?) and Andrew is in medical school at SUNY-Downstate.

Since Anna's birth sort of got in the way of things and I had to miss Laura (Israel) and Daniel Sinrod's wedding in April (which was completely spectacular by all accounts), I couldn't be more thrilled or excited about Julia and Andrew's future nuptials.

Lots of love, you two. Mazel tov!!

Food for Thought...

...or thoughts about food.

All smiles in spite of the allergic hives that have taken up residence on those juicy cheeks!

Because of my own allergies, I was hyper-conscious about introducing foods to Lily. A spoon didn't touch her lips until the magic age of 6 months (according to the American Academy of Pediatrics); we were SLOW to move from one puree to the next; we waited until after her first birthday before giving her any citrus, egg, dairy or tomato products; and it wasn't that long ago that she got her first taste of a nut. I read every book on the subject. I grilled both our pediatrician AND my allergist before doing anything. I figured out an "introduction" schedule that would not only try to circumvent the allergy thing but that would expose her first to veggies, before fruits, so that she wouldn't ditch the good stuff for the sweet stuff. Thankfully, my tactics paid off because (knock on wood) she doesn't appear to have inherited my allergies. At least not yet. And she hasn't met a vegetable that she hasn't liked. In fact, she now claims that artichokes are her favorite food.

So why didn't I write down a single thing during that entire process? Did I actually think that I would remember ANYTHING between Lily and the next baby? Because I am so good at remembering things...like where I put my keys (5 minutes ago)...not! Even Lily has taken to reminding me to put things back exactly where I got them from so that I'll be able to find them the next time. The only thing that I do remember is that I waited until Lily was 6 month old to introduce rice cereal (can't remember how much I gave her at first, though, or how quickly we upped the amounts) and that her first real food was a vegetable. And it was green. Could have been peas or green beans. Don't remember anything other than the color, though.

Since Anna will -- GASP! -- be 6 months old on Friday, I decided to start her on cereal this weekend. Ok, so I do remember that detail too. I always started on weekend mornings so that I could watch for any possible allergic reaction before sending her back to school on Mondays. And since I'm even more pro-organic that I was with my "Earth's Best" baby 3 1/2 years ago, Anna's first spoonful was organic brown rice baby cereal. I'm just glad that I wasn't the one who had to eat it.

Anna did about as well as Lily did the first time around.

Not sure how she likes the organic brown rice cereal with DHA + probiotic immunity support....

Let's hope that additional "introducing" memories flood my head. Like when we move on to that first green vegetable...

...verdict is back. Happy Bellies makes for happy babies!

In the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that Anna escapes the trap of allergies like Lily did. At least most of them. Sadly we've already made one allergic discovery. Over the course of the last few days, we found out that she's allergic to penicillin...or anything in the penicillin family of products. On day 7 of her course of amoxicillin for her ear infection, the allergy alarm was sounded. God rested on the 7th day. Anna, she broke out in hives.

And even though she hasn't had a drop of that vile, sticky sweet orange goo since Thursday night, she's still covered in them.... I can't tell you how many times we've gotten prescriptions for Lily and been told to call the doctor at the first sign of a rash. We never had to. Until now. At least Anna is still smiling! Me, not so much. You're now looking at an even more hyper-paranoid mama. I wonder if those medic-alert bracelets come in shades of baby pink??

DNA

Lily, 3 months old (give or take)

After 4 years of long Indian Summers, Fall seems to have suddenly sprung in DC earlier than it has in years past. Not that I'm complaining; I couldn't love this weather more. Crisp, clean air gives me a little jolt of extra energy, which is just what I needed. Way better than a venti skinny hazelnut latte from Starbucks, this jolt is calorie free!

That being said, I had prepared clothing-wise for yet another Indian Summer. Since I had to scramble and find warm-weather clothes that would fit Lily well in to her first Fall (her drawers were stocked with sweaters and tights), I made sure to buy plenty of 9 month outfits for Anna that would show off all her juicy skin...and not make her sweat.

Anna, like a deer caught in the headlights

Just goes to show that we can't outsmart Mother Nature, because I now have a ton of short-sleeve dresses and onesies that she can't wear, and I had to dig through bins of Lily's old clothes in an attempt to find things to cover up my freezing baby.

Of course, this recycling of clothes is giving me a major case of deja vu. Although it's a bit unfair to compare these shots because of the age differential (Lily was about 3 months, give or take, and Anna is 5 months old), I'm still stunned by how different my two kids look. DNA sure is a funny thing...something else that you can never predict or try to outsmart!

Anna, happy as always to follow in her big sister's footsteps

Say It Aint So

I'm not sure when it happened. Perhaps I've been too preoccupied with Lily's upcoming milestone -- FOUR YEARS OLD (I REALLY don't know how that happened!) -- but Anna is growing up. At a lightening pace.

In the past week she was diagnosed with her first ear infection. Poor kiddo. Like her big sister, she didn't complain about the pain I'm sure she was in. I took her to the pediatrician for something completely unrelated and, voila, the infection was discovered. So now she's on her very first course of antibiotics. And the only way I can trick her in to actually swallowing the medication is to get her to suck on my finger while I stick the dropper in the side of her cheek. Since I don't normally stick my finger in to her mouth, imagine my surprise when I discovered that MY BABY HAS TWO TEETH!!

Two razor sharp pearly whites have broken through her bottom gums. Which probably is the cause of the ear infection. And the stuffy nose. And the night time wakings of late. How did this happen? No idea. Lily didn't get her first set of chompers until she was 10 months old.

Just as I was reeling from the the thought that my sweet baby...the one that I still NURSE (ouch! I can feel the pain coming)...has teeth, then reality hit me upside the head for a second time. I set her down on the couch to quickly answer the phone and, well, she sat there. By herself. And didn't fall down.

And tonight, before starting our commute home, I tried to create a little shelf (out of my leather jacket no less) to prop up Anna's bottle, AKA homeward bound taste treat (although if you've tasted formula you know it's no treat). While trying to wedge the bottle so that it wouldn't slip, she grabbed it out of my hands and put it in her mouth.

So my no longer toothless baby can sit...and hold her own bottle. I'm stunned!

SIDEBAR THOUGHT:
I totally get that, as a country, we've taken "anti-bacterial" to an extreme for which it was never intended. That being said, I totally don't get people who chose not to give antibiotics to their kids when it is the correct protocol. There must be many of them out there since my pediatrician actually asked me if I wanted an Rx for the antibiotic. Um, hello.....suffering baby? And a little bottle of sweet orange goo is the only thing between her and no pain?? Sign us up!