Attachments

Within the last week or so Sailor has really begun to show interest in objects around her. She was fascinated by aunt mimi's necklace and reached out to grab it... again and again. She's smiling when she sees a toy she likes and gets excited when her pacifier is in view. But the sweetest of all is her love for her blankie. We actually have three blankies that we are rotating, hoping to always have a back up ready. She is suddenly calm when given one of the three and loves to have it by her face to snuggle. It's so fun to watch her get it, and it's so sweet to watch her fall in love with something.

Something New

Every day is a new adventure, a new milestone met. Sweet Sailor is easy to smile and the giggles are coming more often. She is showing great interest in certain toys and loves to be kissed (thank goodness because I do it constantly!) Today's big deal was her first real nap un-swaddled. Soon she'll no longer need to be wrapped up like a little burrito, and she'll be sleeping like a big girl. One more thing to say goodbye to on this all too quick journey.

Busy Busy

It was quite a week for this busy 10-week old. She attended (and rockd') baby yoga, participated in stroller boot camp, toured a construction site, had her first trip to Central Park and FAO Shwarz, and oh yeah... met with General McChrystal. She's been uptown, downtown, midtown and she did it all like a pro.

I am amazed at how good this little person is. Often my mommy guilt kicks in and I think we are doing too much. We'll be in the middle of something and I'll suddenly want to rush her home, swaddle her, and sing her to sleep. Then I will look at her and she's sound asleep, or gazing at the world with those big beautiful eyes, and I realize that she's doing better than I am. I am certain that this feeling only grows as a child gets older. I will always want to swoop her up and shield her from the world, and she will always want to explore it.

Enjoying the view from a cab, on my way to somewhere important



Getting zen in yoga class

Baby Yoga




Conducting important business with General McChrystal

Hee Hee

There are simply no words to describe how good it felt to hear Sailor laugh for the first time. It happened the other day and didn't come when I was making a funny face, or shaking a toy for her attention, it came when I was changing her clothes. I thought for sure it was a fluke but almost every time since she's given me the cutest little chuckle I've ever heard. Oh what a sweet sound! Here is a tiny laugh...

Go Navy!

It was a big weekend for us, Sailor's first Navy football game in Annapolis! To say that Sailor was the perfect baby-fan wouldn't do her justice, she was incredible. A four hour car ride, water taxis, tailgating, jet fly overs, cheering fans and cannons booming, she smiled or slept through all of it. Clad in her pink Navy SEAL hat and blankie, she did her daddy proud. And she must be Navy's new good luck charm because they won!

Just One Of Those Days

WHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!

A Dream Realized

When I pictured being a mom it was in snapshots of random moments. I can't say that these moments were the hallmarks of life... birthdays, graduations, weddings. They were much smaller moments like riding Dumbo together at Disneyland, surprising her with ice cream for breakfast, bandaging a scraped knee, and the one reoccurring image... shopping with her at Nordstrom. No need to play therapist here, I know exactly where this vision came from, many a happy moment was spent at the Nordstrom children's department when I was a little one. It only makes sense that I would want to continue the tradition. I am aware of the shallowness this dream of mine holds but now that it has been realized I can let it go and focus on the more meaningful moments... like her first time at Saks. (kidding)

I couldn't have asked for a better shopping buddy. She slept peacefully the entire time except when I was trying something on, she would then open her big blue eyes and give me a little grin, like "your secret is safe with me mom". That day, in the New Jersey Nordstrom shoe department, she became my best pal.

Two Month Check Up

Weighing in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces, and with a height of 23 inches, our little Miss is long and lean. I am sure Dr. Brandis says this to all the new moms but according to her, Sailor is perfect... we already knew that.

The two month visit wasn't just measurements and praise, it was also when the first round of vaccinations began. We've opted to do a delayed schedule which means we waived 3 out of the 5 she was supposed to get according to CDC. The vaccine debate is complicated at best but I believe every parent should do their research and make a determination that makes the most sense for them. A delayed schedule is what we are comfortable with, and like all decisions a parent makes, it's part knowledge, part emotion.

Sailor was a brave little patient and barely cried. She loved looking at the cartoon images painted on the wall and while other babies were wailing in the adjoining rooms, she laughed and cooed through the entire visit. Dr. Brandis' diagnosis was accurate... she's perfect.

Sleeping Beauty

She naps, I write, or shower, or try to squeeze in a small work project. I do the things that need to get done while she visits dreamland. I never thought something as simple as a nap would be such a complicated bag of emotions but I've felt everything from loneliness to jealousy during these brief breaks.

She is such a beautiful little sleeper that I've wasted many a precious nap time on simply looking at her. Knowing in the back of my head that I should be brushing my teeth or making the bed but she's just so amazing it's hard to pull myself away. There is an unknown length of time to get things accomplished so there is always a sense of anxiety. Do I get in the shower? What if she wakes up while I'm mid shampoo? Then there is the feeling I didn't expect... I actually miss her when she's asleep. She's feet from me, resting peacefully, but I have this urge to wake her up and have a one-sided conversation with her, to see that open-mouthed smile she always gives me when she wakes up.

There is nothing more angelic than a sleeping baby... even if she snores...

Intentions

Like every new mom I am in constant awe of every smile and coo. Even a poopy diaper brings a sense of shared accomplishment. The first 8 weeks of Sailor's life have flown by and that has me wishing I could slow down the clock, freeze where we are at this very moment, and keep my little love a baby forever. Despite my panic over the inevitable, I can't wait to see what she wows me with tomorrow; what color her eyes will eventually become; what her voice will sound like; if she'll be a swimmer like her daddy. I know I can't keep her where she is, keep her heavenly baby smell, or her fuzzy newborn hair, but I can lock away some memories. This blog will be a journal of my love story. I'll come back and visit old posts with tearful eyes, missing the baby she was, and at the same time adoring who she has become.

10 hours old