Easter, baby

You pick up the egg out of the basket...

Open the egg...
And eat the Cheerios inside!

And you manage to do all this while wearing a big, puffy and pink dress. Now that's talent!

Thanks for the dress, Granny. And thanks to Aunt Phyllis and Grandma Sallie for the Easter bunnies.

Dumped

Yesterday our daycare provider unceremoniously and without warning dumped us. She said Sophie had been having trouble taking naps due to the all the commotion of the other kids and had therefore been pretty fussy and unhappy for the past couple of weeks. She then "let us go". She gave us no warning and no time to find another daycare provider. This announcement came completely out of the blue (especially since she has without fail told me how great Sophie's been from day one) and felt pretty much like being dumped by my boyfriend in the eighth grade. I went the following stages:

1) Shock. I had no idea she'd been unhappy in the relationship.
2) Sadness. I really thought we had a good thing going.
3) Anger. It is really unprofessional to withdraw services without due notice, after all.
4) If only. If only I had known sooner, I could have helpfully suggested ways to help Sophie nap at daycare. She naps very well at home, you know.
5) The other woman. Apparently, the daycare provider had another older, easier child waiting in the wings to replace Sophie.
6) And back to anger.

It took me about a week to get over my eighth grade boyfriend. I'm hoping to get over this one in a weekend and move on to someone better by Tuesday. Cause anybody who can reject this:

Clearly doesn't know a good thing when she's got it!

11 Months

Dear Sophie,

The past two months have all been about greater mobility for you. You've gone from sitting in place for the majority of time, occasionally rolling towards an interesting flash of color that has captured your eye, to constant on-the-go movement. You are a master crawler and climber, and you scamper out of your room whenever we leave your door open. You are very interested in the bathroom, perhaps because we don't let you explore that territory very often. You're also very keen on the piles of electrical cords coiled underneath the computer desk. You seem to think there is no greater pleasure than picking up an extension cord with your grubby little hands, placing it in your mouth and biting down.

Speaking of biting, you have sprouted a mouthful of teeth almost overnight. Eight new teeth to be exact. Teething has been a little painful but you haven't let it slow you down. In fact, you've grown into a champion eater, which is pretty funny because you remain in the tenth percentile on the baby growth chart. You have been known on occasion to down two pancakes, half a banana, peas and corn puffs all in one sitting. If your speedy metabolism keeps up, you will be one lucky girl indeed!

You are beginning to communicate and interact with people with a little more intention. You love to pull Daddy's glasses off of his face, then return them to him when he asks. You pause whenever Mommy says "no" sternly, although you generally return to the forbidden activity immediately afterwards. You're starting to lift your arms upwards when you want to be picked up, which isn't very often, because you'd much rather be off exploring the world by yourself.

Your favorite thing to do at the moment is to pull yourself upright into a standing position. You do this on the porch.

On the bookshelf in your room.

On the window ledge.

You'll stand there as long as you can, grinning our way whenever we come near, so proud of yourself.
And although babies have been pulling themselves up since the dawn of time, we're pretty darn proud of you too.

Talk to the Bib.

I don't know about you, but I have very wonderful memories of Valentine's Day through the years; however, they have nothing to do with boyfriends or even my husband (whose gifts tend to run along the lines of supporting my writing come hell or high water, even if it means taking care of Sophie alone while he has the flu, rather than say, roses and candy). My memories of Valentine's Day are so lovely because of my mother, who used to hand-craft Valentines with us the night before and wake us up to heart shaped waffles and little piles of red wrapped presents in the morning; and my father, who one year when I was away at college sent me a dozen red roses. As result, I've never felt any of the requisite loneliness associated with the holiday. It's just an excuse to throw a little party with your loved ones, whoever they be.

So here's a special thank you to Grandmothers Donno and Sallie who started Sophie off right with sweet Valentine care packages. Whether single, married, or broken-hearted, she will always know she's loved on February 14th.

Got any friends in Dallas?

Then send 'em to this:

http://www.dallastheatrecenter.org/Page.aspx?WP_ID=1340

I'll report on my first week away from baby when I get back, and maybe I'll convince Carl to do a "what baby and Dad did while Mom was away" post.

That would be most excellent and a touch frightening, n'est pas?

On the playwriting front, this same play is getting a reading at Ars Nova in NYC on March 10, so mark your calendars friends! Would love to see you there. Should be a good time. This play is, by far, the funniest and dirtiest thing I've ever written.

Nine Months

Sweet baby Sophie,

At nine months, you are an avid oral explorer, expertly grasping any new object within reach to insert in your mouth and inspect its contours with your tongue. You love round balls, paper tags, wooden puzzle pieces, small blocks and plastic cups. You covet Mommy's cell phone and coffee mug, but more than anything, you want to give the screen of Mommy's laptop a sloppy wet kiss and tap on the keyboard with your thumbs.

You're a little more cautious when it comes to crawling. You're happy to lunge for objects just out of reach, but you're a little hesitant to walk on all fours. You get in position, then scoot backwards till you're back on your bottom and sitting on the floor once more.

Your moods are like clockwork: all smiles in the morning but a little bit fussy before naps and at night. You're eating solid foods now and love cheerios more than anything else. You really want to feed yourself, even though you can't get the spoon in your mouth with much precision.

You're not one for cuddles unless you're very, very tired or sick. You like new places and new faces; you don't cling to Mom and Dad even a bit. You'll sit still in your car seat or a high chair, although you won't in sit still in our laps. But even though you're stretching your independence, you like for us to stay near and watch.

And so we do.

The Loot

Sophie's relatives in Georgia and North Carolina sure know how to spoil a girl:

Two piggy banks
One toy dog
Two teddy bears
One blue stuffed reindeer
One bunting
Seventeen books
One stuffed octopus
One jogging suit
One red corduroy jumper
One Christmas stocking with sundries inside
Two hats
One pair of mittens
One yellow scarf
and

One red convertible

So Donno says the red convertible is for ALL the grandchildren, but let's be honest: Anna Catherine's gonna wear it out before Sophie and Lulu turn two. Note: observe how frightened James is of his sister's driving. This is called foreshadowing for all you Biology majors.

We also got to digest the rewards of Donno's cooking marathon all season long: crabcakes with a red pepper sauce and homemade, deep fried hush-puppies; standing prime rib roast with Yorkshire pudding and French onion soup; pork tenderloin with a yummy cranberry chutney; black-eyed peas with Great Grandmother Maud's chili relish; some egg and creamed spinach breakfast concoction that I don't have a name for but is soooooo good on Christmas morning with sausage and biscuits and sliced citrus fruits. Ah, culinary heaven. Thanks Mom!

Oh yes, I forgot. One pair of fur trimmed boots.
My baby is far more stylish than I will ever be.