The Thighs Have It

Can someone tell Blogger to install a smart function to automatically rotate photos???

Allow me to obsess a moment over Sylvia's thighs.

She's got the fatrolls-upon-fatrolls, chunky-monkey thighs of the breastfed baby. She uses them quite vigorously, and really enjoys kicking while on the changing table, providing me with a moving target to diaper. She loves splashing with them in the tub. She got poked in them four times yesterday for her second round of vaccinations (which made her hysterical for a few minutes, then she nursed, then she napped, then she woke up happy...good job!). She uses them to arc her back from a back-lying position, in an effort to see what's happening behind her. And she used them to roll over from her back to her belly for the first time last week.

I don't think babies are put in a percentile category for thigh circumference, but if they were Sylvia would be in the 120th.

It's a Wrap!

Here is Sylvia, swaddled in a blankie and sleeping soundly.

Sometimes a good swaddling is all she needs, especially when she's super tired to the point where she doesn't know what to do. To me it seems simple to go to sleep when I'm exhausted, but I think Syl is so delighted to be awake, and there's so much to look at and do, that she hates to let go and fall into slumberland.

Lakin' It

Yesterday Sylvia had her first (of countless more to come) journey to Long Lake outside Chelsea, where our friend Linda Diane owns a log cabin, and where we spend many many afternoons and weekend hours during the warm months.

I got into my kayak and paddled for half an hour while Linda Diane held and sang to Sylvia. It was sweet to see and hear them looking back to shore from the middle of the lake.

Sorry no photo - I even took the camera, but was too exhausted to remember to take any pictures! Syl is going through her 4-month growth spurt, and was awake most of the previous night...and so was I.

Your Mama's Crazy...

...or, the Evolution of a Nickname

Sylvia is called Peanut, which morphed into Peanut Butter, which became Peanut Butter Baby, which changed to Nut Butters, which got cute-o-fied into Nutty Butter, which has now been shortened to Nutty B.

There's even a song for this nickname:
Nutty B, Nutty B
Nutty B, Nutty B
Nutty B, Nutty B, Nutty B
Nutty B, Nutty B (Nutty B!)
Nutty B, Nutty B (Nutty B!)
The Nutty Butter Baby is the one for me, Nutty B!

Not much without the melody. Not much with the melody, either. Just another example of how parenting can make you nutty. Ha!

Who Are You?

Who is this little person who has come to join us? What is she thinking? Whom will she become? What will she do with her potential? Does she have any idea how much we love her? Does she wonder who we are, why we stick around, why we make all the fuss over her?

On the Move

I think we've adjusted to the new baby lifestyle, planning far fewer activities per day and planning outings around Sylvia's rhythms rather than trying to adhere to a schedule. It's amazing how tiring producing breastmilk can be, and I find that accomplishing just one "extra" errand, project or task on a given day (aside from caring for Sylvia) is a sustainable practice that doesn't leave me completely exhausted come seven p.m.

Spring seems to have finally arrived, and we've gone so far as to unzip the top of the fleece car seat lining (shown in photo) and leave it in the car just in case; a couple of weeks ago we wouldn't have left the house without her bundled completely.

Late April in Ann Arbor heralds the end of the college semester, the exodus of the undergrads, the return of townie rule, the beginning of the street fair season and the impulse to go-go-go...we'll see how much going we're actually up for doing this year!

Anthony Family Pics

These were taken after a delicious brunch at Grandpa & Grandma's. Happy grandparents all around!

I Love Grammy & Granddaddy!

This is their second meeting ever, the morning after the grandparents' late arrival from Florida after Syl's bedtime. As you can see, it's a mutual love-fest.

More Visitors

Now we're waiting for a visit on Tuesday (for a week) from my parents, Granddaddy and Grammy/Nanny.

Grammy/Nanny hasn't settled on a name yet, and is perhaps waiting for Sylvia to come up with one of her own.

This will be their first visit since Sylvia's birth; they had to go home when Syl was only two days old. My mom says it was the hardest thing she's ever done, getting into the car and leaving her new granddaughter behind.

I'm sure we'll have a fun visit, especially now that spring looks like it'll stick around!

Oh Yeah...the Job!

After four years of looking Dan finally has a new job that he's very excited about!

He'll be working for the Ann Arbor Business Review covering real estate and development in the area. The Review's offices are in Livonia (20-25 minutes east by freeway) and there is a small office in the newsroom of the Ann Arbor News that he'll also use. He starts next Monday.

At the very least we'll be able to have lunch together every so often, and perhaps he'll be able to do a lot of work in town with not too much commuting.

I'm excited to hear positive stories about work at the end of his day!

Lull

Not much to report, in between the hustle and bustle of the Meisler family visit and my parents' visit next week.

We had a nice visit with buddies Sheryl & Brian from Indiana. And Dan got a new job (which is a big deal and really deserves its own post!) which he starts Monday.

Laundry, cooking, diapers, feeding, naps, sleeping...nice routine going on.