Missing My Girls

I've been embedded in bachelorhood for going on five days now. Ellen and Safia have ventured to Baltimore because Ellen was giving a presentation at the American Studies Association Annual Meeting.  Ellen's parents, being pretty darn close to there, made it logical for her to extend her trip just a wee bit longer. 
However, now that Ellen and Safia have been gone for a number of days, now, there is something glaringly obvious: The house has been very quiet for too long.   I miss my girls.  Ellen has been very good at sending pictures to keep me updated on everyone's progress, but I still miss them.  I find myself scrolling through pictures and reminiscing.  The further back I go in our picture album, the more I am amazed at how much has changed through the course of 6 months.  Below is a run-down of the pictures in our album that bring big smiles to my face.  Note: pictures may, or may not be repeats from this blog (they're oldies, but goodies) and they are in reverse chronological order. 

One-day old: getting ready to go home from the hospital

amazement - 1-day old

hours old

Interestingly, after scrolling through those pics, I think I miss my girls more, not less.

How are Things?

Safia at 6 months

Safia checking out a picture of Ellen's family

It's been so long since I've sat down for a blog post that I hardly know where to start.  Safia is getting bigger and bigger and more fun and more fun everyday.  I know Ellen said it previously, but it bears repeating: Safia seems to have turned a major corner, and is soooooo much easier, and I'll go right ahead and say it....fun to be around.  The lion's share of the credit goes to Ellen, as she did the hard work of getting Safia on schedule with naps and eating and bedtime, and it has resulted in a drastic reduction in frustration, confusion, and disgruntled-ness.  Countless friends and supportive advice-givers assured us that 6-months was a "golden age," and although I thought it would never come, here we are, and it's pretty sweet.

Some notables:

1.  Safia grabs at everything.  We now have to clear everything from her radius of reach lest it be thrown on the ground or stuck into her drool-tastic mouth.

2.  Safia is very clingy right now.  Her preference is to be held by Ellen, of course, but she'll tolerate me if Ellen's not around.  Put her down in a swing?  Put her on a playmat to roll around?  How about the bouncy chair with toys?  Nay!  She must be held.  A google search for "clingy 6-month old" turned up a plethora and an abundance of similar quandaries regarding this phenomenon.  Turns out she's at an age where she is developing her sense of object permanence and is grappling with separation anxiety.  Whoa.  Tough to be 6-months old.

3. Safia is an eating machine.  She devours carrots with conviction, eats squash with spirit, ingests green beans with gaiety, and feasts peas with passion.  The quantity of food this little girl can pack away is impressive.

4. Safia has discovered Zoey (the dog) and Zoey has discovered Safia.  Whenever Zoey saunters into the room, Safia goes nuts - laughing, lunging, and flailing around for her.  Zoey, predictably, loves to give Safia kisses during feeding times.  I think this is going to be a wonderful partnership between these two little puppies.

5. Safia went to doctor for her 6 month check up, she's healthy and growing well.  She's 16 pounds, 7 ounces (in the 50th percentile), she's 27 inches long (in the 90th percentile), and her head is 17 and 1/2 inches around (95 percentile).

I often get asked, "How are things?"  I'm really pleased to respond, "Things are great!" and to know that I'm being honest.

Cute Photo Shoot Outtake #1

Cute Photo Shoot #2

Happy Half Birthday to you and to me.

On Saturday, Safia turned six months.  So much has changed in the past six months, it’s hard to get our heads around it.  I think we can officially say we’re on the other end of the longest shortest time.  I never thought we were going to get here, but I’m so glad we’re here.  So much has happened in the past six months and it’s all a blur, I’m not sure I can really get my head around it.  I guess that’s a good thing because I told Rube we weren’t going to have any more kids if the first few months were etched into my brain.  I guess sleep deprivation is good for something!  Safia has come so far in the past six months and so have we.  She’s more comfortable in her skin and we’re more comfortable in our skin.  I thought it was time to celebrate, so I made a cake.  We shared with friends, but Safia didn’t get any, we haven’t reached that milestone yet!

My dad came for a visit.  We had a great time playing and talking.  

It was too short of a visit, hopefully next time will be longer!  

My cousin Anna made Safia an amazing blanket.  

She is throughly enjoying it! 

Safia has now officially discovered Zoey and Zoey has
discovered Safia.  I see the beginnings of a long, fruitful friendship.

Our friends Jesse, Helen, and David came over to play.  

Safia and David don't know it, but we're already planning their wedding. 

Our friend Elizabeth came for a visit, and even gave Rube and me a break, so 

we went out for a delightful breakfast.  It's so nice to have such great friends!