Five Months (and Four Months too)

So I've been a bit of a slacker. Annika turned five months a couple of weeks ago. Oh, and she turned four months a month before that. On her five-month birthday she turned into a banana and went to my school's Monster Mash:

And here she is at four months:

It is amazing how much she has changed since the three-month-mark, but it's also bittersweet, since she's growing and developing so rapidly. There have been changes in our family, too -- since kids came back to school in September, I've been really busy and definitely have been feeling the working mom guilt. Sometimes I feel that I'm not doing the principal thing or the mom thing very well. Both Scott and I have days where we try so hard and do so much and it still feels like it's not enough. I am SO relieved that we found a good babysitter for Annika. I can't imagine how much harder it would be if she didn't have such a loving caregiver. 


During Annika's four month checkup we found out that she hadn't gained nearly enough weight -- only 7 ounces in nearly two months! I think her small size made it easier for her to move, because she became proficient at rolling forward, back, and over and over. This caused problems in September, when she learned how to roll to her tummy while sleeping, but would get her arms crossed and couldn't figure out how to roll back. She would wake up multiple times per night, leading to many nights like this:

To our relief, since then she's figured out how to sleep on her stomach.

 

She now wriggles around her crib like crazy. She kicks her feet and arches her back to get out of her bouncy chair or carseat when she doesn't feel like sitting. She loves to try to sit up when she's on my lap or in the bath. She's also reaching and grasping, and even figured out how to pet the dog. She loves her toys, but is equally happy to just observe the world around her. I love how much she's learning, but hate that time only goes one direction...

Sometimes she plays until she is worn out.

She especially enjoys looking at lights, including the television. 

Good thing we're not big cartoon watchers.

For the past month, we've engaged in operation fatten-up-baby. We discovered a milk protein allergy and also found out that she'll eat a lot more food than we originally thought, so we had to make some changes. I'm glad to say it's been a success -- at five months, she weighed almost two pounds more! She's now closing in on 13 pounds. 


The best change over the past two months is her emerging personality. Unlike the first three months, when we focused on meeting her basic needs (food, diaper, sleep) to keep her from being upset, she now is generally entertaining and easily entertained. She laughs when she's tickled, when she's thrown in the air, when she's playing hand games, and sometimes just when people around her laugh. She also LOVES the baby in the mirror, and gets a kick out of punching the mirror. Here's what happened when we went shopping in early October:

Marathon Sunday

The NYC Marathon is perhaps my favorite New York event. I've either watched it or run it for the past decade. It was invigorating to be a spectator in 2001, when it seemed to signal that the city would recover. I loved running it in 2003 until I passed out at mile 25, but then felt so loved when my friends met me after I slowly made it to the finish line. The course goes a block away from our apartment, which was exciting in 2004, when Scott and I ran together just a few days after our bid on our apartment was accepted. In 2006, Lucky, who was then a new addition to our home, licked my face when I ran by. In 2008, I celebrated the opening of my school by doing something for myself and running. 

Last year I was newly pregnant and cheered on the runners, 

and this year Scott, Annika and I watched together. 

I hope Annika will be cheering for her mom next year!

 Here's a video of the lead men as they ran by.

After we got home, Annika worked out in her exersaucer.

In other news, Annika has a new favorite song: Chantilly Lace by the Big Bopper. 

After all, there ain't nothing in the world like a big-eyed girl to make me act so funny, 

make me spend my money...

Puppy Love

 

Little Voter!

I was pretty excited to take Annika with me to vote on Tuesday. My parents talked about voting a lot when I was young. I remember them voting in 1984 and refusing to tell each other who they voted for, which made voting seem secretive and fun. Scott and I -- and much of NYC -- have similar political beliefs, which can make voting feel less exciting, but it's important to me nonetheless. 

On Tuesday, Annika and I went from work/daycare to our polling place. This year NYC had scanned ballots for the first time. Here's Annika lying down in the privacy booth where I filled out the ballot.

Scott met us there, too!

Afterwards we went out to dinner to celebrate Scott's birthday. Annika is getting much easier to have at restaurants now that she can sit on our laps. Unfortunately, she can also grab glasses, knives, plates, etc., so we have to keep an eye on her...

 Not sure how restaurants feel about us using their napkins as burp rags.

 I love these pictures -- I think they show how much these two adore each other.

Ready for Halloween!

A few weeks ago we realized that we should get Annika a costume for her first Halloween! Because we are lazy busy, we ordered some online so that we wouldn't have to deal with shopping. What do you think she should be? (Full disclosure: we actually already decided, but let us know what you think anyway!)

Giant hot dog costume

Too-big bumblebee

Annika Banannika

 Sweet Pea

 We also got her a pumpkin at the farmers' market yesterday. She seems pretty curious about it, and laughs hysterically when I throw it in the air and catch it.

Annika's Favorite Song

Annika and I spend a lot of time together in the car going to and from work/daycare and home. She's a pretty good traveler, but sometimes she cries and/or screams when we're in stop-and-go traffic. There's usually not much I can do about it except keep going, so I just turn up the music a bit to drown out the noise. It seems that she might have a favorite song -- this one almost always stops her crying:



I'm so glad my kid has good taste in music. 


(Random side note: you can create a personalized music video using your address. I tried it with my childhood address, 919 N. Hill Blvd., Layton UT, and it was pretty cool.)


Someone gave me the advice to keep listening to my music for as long as possible, since at some point I'll have to venture into the somewhat frightening world of children's music and then try to keep my sanity. I'm sure at some point the soundtrack to my life will consist of Raffi tunes, and I don't need that day to come any too soon. 


While we haven't exposed Annika to a lot of kids' music, I have created cheesy songs lyrics to familiar tunes. We sing these to her (it's a real treat -- if you've ever heard Scott or me sing, you'll know what I mean):


(to the tune of Frere Jacques)
Noodleriffic, Noodleriffic, 
Noodle Nu, Noodle Nu.
You are so fantastic, you are so amazing
I love you, I love you.


(to the tune of 99 bottles of beer on the wall)
Annika Annika Joan
Annika Annika Joan
We love you so much
You're the best of the bunch
You're our dear sweet Annika Joan
(for variety's sake, and to keep her ego in check, I sometimes substitute her cousin's name, Ha Jyn Son)


(to the tune of some random song I sang in church as a child)
Mommy (Daddy/Lucky/Grandma/Dee Dee/etc.) loves her fussy-bus
You're the best of all of us
It's ok, cry if you must
'Cause mommy loves you fussy bus.


I also tried "my baby's too Noodle-licious" instead of Beyonce's "my body's too bootylicious," but I'm proud to say I didn't know that one well enough to make a whole song.

Story Time

Annika and her father have begun a nightly story time. 

She is captivated by her dad's reading.

They're reading Hop on Pop, a book I used to read with my dad.

Score One for Daddy!

Since before Annika was born, Scott had hoped his baby would have blonde hair. 

I, on the other hand, was hoping for something a bit darker.

When she was born, I thought I'd won. Her hair was dark brown.

I heard all of the stories about newborn babies' hair falling out and/or getting lighter. About a month later, her hair had lightened a bit, but was still brown.

However, I now must concede defeat. 

Nearly four months later, our daughter is definitely a blondie.

She also now insists on being held outward so she can observe the world.

More "talking"...

...and a big smile!

Three months!

Annika turned three months old last weekend!

I remember waking up in the hospital on the day we took her home and thinking that this was the beginning of the second chapter of my life. I then laughed at the ridiculousness of that thought, since chapter one would therefore include my own birth, growing up, coming to New York, graduating college, starting a school, getting married, etc. I have to say, though, that so far it has felt like a totally new chapter. Sometimes it's hard for Scott and me to remember much about our pre-Annika lives. While it does seem like she's growing fast, it's also mind-boggling that we've only had her in our lives for three months.

At three months, she is now old enough to sit on the couch in the nude.

We put her in her "home from the hospital" outfit -- I'm guessing this is the last month it will fit -- and went to a picnic in the park.

One of my favorite developments over the last month is Annika's "talking." She has become quite noisy, although she seems to quiet down anytime we try to catch it on camera. Here are two recent attempts:

The Namesake

We've been very happy with the name we chose for our daughter. We liked it because it reminds us of many of important people in our lives. Annika has now met all of the people she was named after!

Annika Joan, Catherine Joan

(This is near where I grew up in Utah. Isn't it beautiful?)

Annika Joan, Granny Joan (who, despite her youth, insists on being called Granny)

Carlyannika!

Jennifer Ann, Annika

Anne, Annika

BianCA, AnniKA