Lucky 13 (?)

Why do people celebrate wedding anniversaries instead of first date anniversaries? Why is a wedding date deemed more important? And isn't it sometimes misleading? For example, Bruce and I have been together -- as of last week -- 13 years. But, we've only been married for 2 1/2. Two and 1/2 years suggests honeymooners. Thirteen years suggests . . . finish each others sentences. Hmmm. Surprisingly, we still occasionally learn something new about one another. Recently, I learned that Bruce doesn't like black licorice or goat cheese. He learned that my favorite color isn't blue, but is, in fact, red. Seriously though, this year I learned that Bruce's eyes fill with tears when Claire gets a shot, and that he loves letting her cuddle with us in bed. For now, that's all I need to know.

Cheers Dear Friend

Last Friday marked the 10th Anniversary of the passing of our dear friend Scott. Has it really been that long? I have a picture of him standing in front of the World Trade Center in our hallway. Eerie. I also have a picture of him playing air guitar. Funny. I remember sitting on the floor of his room listening to Queen and singing Bicycle Race at the top of our lungs. I remember seeing a bear with him while camping. I remember playing Indian poker, debating the Cultural funds tax, arguing about Christmas lights. Thankfully, I remember it all, especially the loving sparkle he brought to life, and the warmth that he brought to those around him. Cheers. We miss you.

Rolling Good Time

June has been a month of firsts for lots of things. The main news: Claire is mobile. She's a roller. And, she's fast. The other day, I put her down in the middle of the living room and Shazam! she rolled over to the front door. Today, she almost rolled off the bed. I don't think Oliver is thrilled about this new-found mobility. He can't really hear anymore, so it's somewhat startling to be snoring one minute and then grabbed by a baby lumberjack the next.

At the beginning of the month, Claire was mastering sitting up by herself without the need to surround her with pillows. By the end of the month, she had experienced her first camping trip, first time in a pop-up trailer (same trip), first time "swimming" in a lake, first time swinging in a swing, eating a popsicle, eating corn, peas, green beans, attending swim class, getting dunked under water, and ta da(!). . . her first two teeth. One has actually popped through, and the other one is right on the edge of the ledge. The visible tooth is the littlest thing I've ever seen. It's a miracle it's a tooth.

She's also started talking and laughing more, and sometimes gets hot around the baby collar when you take something away from her. Usually, you can kind of distract her, but not always. Mainly though, she's a fun girl-on-the-go! That's how she rolls.

2:59 p.m. and Counting

Big news. Claire took a 2 hour nap today. In fact, she's still sleeping (I know that she'll wake up any second). The last two hours have been heavenly. Bruce has been out of town and we've both been sick, so this break has been just what the Doctor ordered. I used the past 2 hours to complete some things I need to file for the pro bono case I'm working on (just in the nick of time, as they need to be filed by Thursday). The fact that I was uninterrupted for such a long time was amazing and very different from the Chinese Water Torture that most of Claire's naps feel like. That's one of the things I miss most about my old life -- long stretches of uninterrupted bliss. Horay. Hopefully, tomorrow, I can recreate this situation. I'm so tempted to take a picture of the sweet, sleeping, little monkey, but I wouldn't dare jeopardize the peace.

Dr. Ferber vs. Dr. Sears

The battle rages. Before having a baby, I was completely opposed to the idea of a "family bed." Crazy talk. But, because Claire didn't sleep for the first 4 days she was home, we finally moved her into our bed to get some sleep. Then, she graduated into her cosleeper. We were waiting for her to sleep through the night before kicking her out of our room and into her crib in a separate room down the hall. But, she still doesn't sleep through the night at, at 6 months, she was getting ridiculously big for the cosleeper. In fact, we started worrying that we might be stunting her mobility by keeping her in it.

So, we gradually moved her into her crib. But, there has been a lot of drama. She kept getting her leg stuck between the slats, so we got a breatheable bumper. That didn't solve the problem so we used velcro strips to affix the bumper. Now, she's in the crib, more or less, but she wakes up all the time. Sometimes, with steely resolve, I rock her back to sleep during the night. Other times, I cry "uncle" early and put her into our bed with us. The magical thing: when she's in our bed, she sleeps like Rip Van Winkle. Seriously. For the last few nights, she's been miserable with a low-grade fever that we suspect is teething related. So, finally, last night, wanting her to get a good night sleep, I put her to bed in our bed right from the start. She slept from 8 to 7:30. What! Is this Bizarro Baby? Is it that easy? Or, am I getting completely bamboozled? The other thing: Claire is a bed hog and doesn't leave Bruce or me much room. I'm torn. She's such a mellow little baby that getting up a couple times during the night isn't a big deal (even, if yes, they are completely different issues). Plus, it takes 10 minutes to put her to bed at night and she sleeps until 7:30. Love it. But, when she's in the crib, man, it's rough. Who's going to win this fight? Who knows? Eeny, meeny, miny, mo . . . .

Crazy May

May was a crazy month. Bill and Jim Bolton were in town for a few days so we had a good time visiting with them both, debating politics and talking business. Tried new foods and attended birthday parties with ponies. Then, we flew to Chicago and drove up to Madison for Tim's and Angela's graduations. The whole family was there and it was a fun weekend with lots of silly antics. Hung out with Fletcher, drove around on Tim's scooter, met Scott Kleinhans, and generally enjoyed the quaint, stormy, beauty of Madison. Flying was a bit tricky this time because Claire wanted to grab everything -- the seat, the phone, the hair of the lady next to us. Oyvey. It was easier when the white noise worked it's magic and she fell asleep immediately after getting a full belly. Plus, we felt like professional sherpas with all the stuff we hauled around. All in all a good trip, but it's great to be home.

Mother's Day

Yay! My first Mother's Day. It was the perfect day. Went to brunch with Bruce and Claire . . . drank a few too many mimosas. Headed to Tattered Cover and bought two new books. Watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and had a BBQ on our back deck. A lovely day with my family.