Happy Mother's Day!

My first mother's day...

Cards and plants and smiles

tasty breakfast and chocolate
and for the first time ever, she grabbed something and put it in her mouth!

Blowing Raspberries

I think that's what it is called when babies blow bubbles through their lips. Caterpillar Girl now spends several minutes at a time blowing raspberries, making that plbbbt sound, until her face is all wet. It's immensely funny to watch. She loves it even more than cooing these days. When I talk to her, she spits at me in response. Then smiles her widest when I laugh at her in return--an interchange that probably says more than all the peace talks in the Middle East.

Future Gardener

My little caterpillar squirmed in the dirt today, helping me plant some flowers and coleus in the yard. She can turn to her side with great ease now, and it seems like it will be only a matter of time before she rolls all the way from her back onto her tummy. On Wednesdays, she stays awake all day, almost as if she realizes that I don't leave for work until 5 pm and she wants to spend as much time with me as possible. Only a few more weeks until I am home with her permanently. What a wonderful time we will have!

Little Lamb

Caterpillar Girl looks so much like her father, but at least there seems to be one thing she gets from me: love of a warm bath. Her very first bath caused a few tears, but ever since she has enjoyed the ritual, complete with silly song composed by me:

Scrubbidy scrubiddy scrubiddy scrub
Who's that baby in the tub?
It's Erin.
It's Erin.

I'm sure I didn't make up the tune, but I have no idea where it comes from. Now her legs are long enough to splash when she kicks, and she loves when I squirt her with one of her bath toys like the frog in the picture above.

After the bath she is wrapped in her lamb hoodie towel to dry.

Daddy's Birthday!

Today is Daddy's birthday. We had a party on Sunday with Gran, Granddad, Ahma, and Ahpa.

Getting out the nice dishes
Helping Mommy bake German chocolate cake--we made it lopsided on purpose!
Singing "Happy Birthday" to Daddy, right after drooling all over his shoulder (giggle.)Don't blow out the pretty lights!

If you can figure out binary code, then you can see how old Daddy is!

Following Her Lead

After Caterpillar Girl was born, we carried her all the time. She enjoyed being close to me or to her father, and we rarely left her alone in her chair or bassinet. She cried, fussed, and refused to sleep when left alone. People chuckled at my "ignorance" and suggested that she needed to learn. But I don't regret those early weeks. Now, only two and a half months later, she wriggles and fusses for me to let her down so she can squirm and push herself--on her back--across the living room. (She hasn't flipped over yet so she uses her heels to slide on the rug.) I didn't have to force her into independence. When she was ready, she began her own forays, and frankly, it's sooner than I expected. Sometimes, I wish she would still let me hold her all day long. But I am content to know that when she is really tired, she still loves to be held against my shoulder, warm and loved until she falls asleep.

Morning at the Park

Ahma has been staying with us since Sunday to watch Caterpillar Girl while Dad and I are at work. With a sunhat to protect her fair Irish skin from the sun, we played on the swings, watched the ducks, and enjoyed Spring. Local trees, somewhat bare a few weeks ago, are now covered in green. Even here in Florida, though brief, we have Spring.