video tuesday: lil gets down

It feels like Lil is learning new things all the time, and every new week brings a new skill. Last week it was using a spoon to feed herself, this week it's climbing down off the couch—the right way! It is very reassuring to see Lil practicing safe maneuvers, but I fear that it won't belong before she forgets, and dives headfirst onto the floor.

With Papa spotting, Lil demonstrates her ability to wiggle her way off the couch, onto the floor, where she attempts a quick getaway. This time, however, Papa puts the kabosh on her moves, which ends quite happily for everyone. Hooray. 

Lil is quite comfortable in her all-natural active wear. On top, she's doing her part to Keep Santa Cruz Green in an organic tee from Aunt Sarah, and on bottom she's bulky but quite absorbent in her organic bamboo/ cotton diaper from Green Sprouts, and a pair of knit wool longies from Llamajamas. Good thing that bum is fluffy— she may be taking some hard landings on that backside in the future.

the first noel

ode to joy!

Lil spent her first Christmas at her grandparents' house in Princeton. Needless to say Lil was not the most excited person in the house. Mostly she had no clue as to what was happening, but she did notice the very very very big tree, and picked up on grandma's frenetic energy. Things were definitely abuzz on Linden Lane. No detail was missed in preparing for the big day. Lil even had two special pairs of pajamas waiting for her to wear on Christmas morning. How many babies get wardrobe changes before all the presents are even opened?

Lil says "daw" for the first time

Once we arrived on the morning of the 24th, the first order of business was to introduce Lil to Sidney, the esteemed family dog. Lil hasn't had much face time with doggies, and Sidney hasn't had much face time with babies. All things considered, they got off to a smashing start. No tails or ears were pulled, and no fingers went missing. Sidney even snuck into our family bed Christmas Eve and kindled some warmth and good will. Lil made her appearance in a special outfit from BabyGap– a pair of tights with shorts sewn on (or shorts with tights sewn on), with a ruffled "body double" top, which is like a onesie with a shirt that goes over the waistband of your bottoms. I like it, especially for winter. You don't want any kind of chilly drafts going up her shirt. And since Princeton was freezing (and just because they're cute), I added a pair of limited edition BabyLegs that I scored off of babysteals.com.

Lil swings (foreground), Sidney poops (rear-ground, off to the right).

After that, we all got bundled up and went for a short walk to a playground so that Lil could swing and Sidney could poop. Everyone was happy, until none of us could feel our noses, so we headed back to the house, which was just around the corner. Lil was stunned that a playground could exist so close to a residence! Back home in Brooklyn, only the 1% are allowed to live near parks with playgrounds (unless you are the opposite 1%, and reside in public housing).

f-f-f-freezing

The question of "naughty, or nice?" may have been weighing heavily on a lot of young minds this Christmas morning, but not Lil's. It's not that there was no doubt in her mind about her niceness, it's just that it had not yet occurred to her to ponder such a thing. No matter how many times I sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," she just didn't get it. You wouldn't know that from watching her on Christmas morning, though. Happiness danced on that cherubic little face of hers from the time she spilled her stocking, through the waffle intermission, until the last bit of wrapping paper was pried from her jaws.

so very, very nice

Although she was mostly oblivious to what it all meant, there was something pretty special about watching Lil soak it all in.  I am somewhat worried about what she'll think on her next visit to Princeton, when there's no tree, no special pajamas, and no mountain of presents.

"When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer..."

with Papa, in her new knit hooded cardigan

the "morning after," Boxing Day, sporting her new Patagonia snowsuit

video Tuesday: lil loves her papa

Poor Papa. He's feeling lousy, overworked, over-tired, and just plain sick. He's coughing, runny, drippy, and rundown. And if you weren't feeling enough pity for him yet, you should know it's his birthday. Yup. What did the man do to deserve this?! 

There was, however, one bright spot in this sore, sorry story. His little bird swooped in and saved the day with hugs, smiles, and laughter. Such a sunny, silly girl. I think he was beginning to perk up just a little after her pre-bedtime visit.

She's just so darling when she's not wearing pants, isn't she?

video explosion

Since we are a little late with today's video, here are a few shorts of Lil that were found on Mama's phone (this phone has a habit of hiding photos and videos). Maybe it's a good thing these little snippets were lost, because now it's like a Lil treasure trove. Yay!

Here's Lil on October 20th on the way home from her doctor's appointment...

... and here Lil feeds herself with a spoon, and I chat with our neighbor Erin and then we cheer for Lil...

... and this is Lil making a mess of her food (I know, a lot of videos of her eating, right?)...

... and finally here is a very jittery video of Lil and Papa chasing Mama before bedtime. This is one of Lil's all-time favorite activities. I will warn that the quality is shoddy, so if you are easily nauseated or prone to seizures, you may want to skip this one.

what the fluff?

Oh HAI there!

So you've been asking, "Lil, where have you been?" We are sorry. The truth is, we've been around, here and there, but we've just been a little busy.  We promise to try to be more Everyday rather than Occasional!

not very animated

Yesterday, Lil went to visit Papa at work.  But she looked so sweet in a little fuchsia plaid dress with matching footie tights and a brown velour jacket that we forgot to take a picture!  That's ok, though, because all of our PSYOP readers got to meet Lil in person.  Proud Papa toted her from one floor to the next so she could meet all her admirers, and secretly, to make some of the other papas jealous.  The only photo Mama snapped was this embarrassing little image of Lil sound asleep with a cracker in her mouth... but look how nicely the polka dot ribbon trim on her jacket compliments that bold plaid.

§  §  §  §  §

baby got back

Since Lil crawls around so much, it means two basic things: 1- it's near impossible to get a good shot of her from the front, 2- her bum is in need of some flare.  Mama found these little ruffle bottom knickers for Lil to wear under her fancy occasion dresses, but with this little vintage baby doll top it makes a casual but super girlie crawler's outfit.  Lil may be a long way from Apple Bottom jeans (thank goodness), but her backside is quickly becoming her best side.

everything is up for grabs

She won't slow down for much, but Mama still manages to grab her attention once in a while.

taking a minute to catch up with Mama

weekend update #8- papa's lil darling

There's not much time for this post.  Mama got busy in the kitchen this weekend with all the farm-fresh fruits and veggies, and spent the morning cleaning up.  Now Lil's morning nap is coming to an end.  So here is our wonderful weekend rundown, complete with perfect end-of-summer apparel.

After spending last weekend on the road, and with a pending road trip this weekend as well, Lil was happy to stay close to home with Mama and Papa.  Lil needed some good Papa time, especially after missing him while on her mission to heal GranMary.  Lil and Papa, played and played, and cuddled and laughed so much that it was hard to get any pictures at all.  Lil did manage to get some playclothes put on for a Saturday stroll that kept her looking cool, comfortable, and ready for anything.  "Anything" included a visit to Tuffet, and a long stroller nap for Lil Miss.  In her denim petal pushers and embroidered owl tank (both from Baby Gap), Lil woke up all ready for the next destination.  The next destination for Lil, though, was the bath tub.

Sunday brought Lil's swim class, and after an hour in the pool, she was good and tuckered out.  Later in the afternoon, she awoke bright-eyed and spikey-headed, and slipped on a seersucker shift dress with grosgrain and rosette details.  This frock was a cousin Josie hand-me-down that Mama just adores.  What's not to love? As soon as it's slipped over her head, Lil Flower-face appears.

eye of the tiger cub

the PSYOP onesie

Ever other week or so, Papa asks me, "Where is Lil's PSYOP onesie?  Does it fit her yet?"  You've never seen a papa so excited about corporate swag.  Papa works at this place called PSYOP where a large number of talented individuals have had babies in the past year or two.  While we anticipate the PSYOP version of a baby knowledge bowl, talent showcase, art show, or whatever expo that is sure to come, I have a sneaking feeling that Papa wants to show off some of Lil's talents to his colleagues.  She has been working on her 3D skills, mastering spacial relations, tracking, and she is building a texture library (by mouth, mostly), but until she has the fine motor skills to work a keyboard and mouse, her cuteness is pretty much the only thing she can show off.

I suppose this should be a warning to those other PSYOP babies: the competition (if there is one) is definitely fierce.  Not only does Lil have good genes, she's got some really good jeans.  If you don't believe me, you should meet her cousin Josie.

Lil demonstrates her intimate knowledge of 3D shapes

with her trainer, Kitty