I have always wanted to stay home with my baby, but I never thought I'd have the choice. My wonderful wife has made this possible for me with her success and her selflessness. (thank you) Now, I've spent the last 6 months at home with my daughter. She is the most amazing human being in the entire world. As any parent knows.
I didn't really know how this lifestyle would be or how I would feel about my decision. I miss being a teacher and a coach. I miss being known as Mr. D or Coach D or just...D. I miss my friends and I miss my family. But when I wake up in the morning and my day begins, I couldn't be happier. Right now Mazie is learning how to sit, crawl, stand, grab, eat, communicate and even how to absorb a face lick from her "big dogs." I get to help with some of these milestones, but mostly I just get to witness these minor miracles. Fortunately, Katie's job allows her to work from home quite a bit, so she rarely misses an event. I don't wish I were somewhere else. I don't wish I were doing something else. I'm totally satisfied with my day and my purpose.
Mazie is so calm, so sweet. She makes my life very easy. I realize that I am very lucky to be able to spend my day with such a sweet human being and have no other responsibilities. Recently she has been taking 2 hour naps on my back in an Ergo, twice a day. While this limits what I can do while she sleeps, it is a wonderful connection between us.
There are so many more wonderful moments to come and I am so excited to be there for all of them. It is strange and wonderful to be responsible for another human being's life.
More to come...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Happy Half-Birthday, Mazie James!
Believe it or not, Mazie has been in the world for 6 whole months. Here are a few reflections on this amazing little being....
Mazie is an incredibly sweet, good natured baby. She cries very little, and if she's fussy it invariably means she's either tired or hungry. Easy to please. She actually doesn't laugh a lot, either, although we're getting better at figuring out her sense of humor. I have the most luck when I call her a "little monster" and growl at her. Raspberries on her tummy are also funny, and Caleb has gotten some great giggles when he "wrestles" with her, rolling and flopping her around on the bed. But mostly she's just smiley and content.
She has a strong little body and a curious mind. At a brunch this morning someone who hadn't met her before remarked on her "independence" as she rolled around and babbled to herself (a beautiful mix of da-das, squeaks, and raspberries) on the carpet while we ate. She loves new faces, maybe due to the constant stream of admirers that surrounded her during her first few weeks of life. We keep watching for signs of "stranger anxiety," but for now she still goes happily to any new person.
If there's one "issue" we have it's her sleeping. Her naps are pretty inconsistent, and her night sleeping has been pretty variable, too. We had a good stretch a few weeks ago where she was consistently sleeping up to 10 hours at night in her crib before coming in to bed with us and sleeping a few more hours. This past week I've had more trouble getting her to go down in her crib, and instead of going down at 7 or 8 it's more like 9 or 10. But even with this, we can't really complain, and I've been really reluctant to do any "sleep training" for a few reasons. She's so good natured otherwise, and since I'm not with her as much during the day I want to give her as much time as she needs with me at night. Even now (literally, actually -- she's sleeping in my arms downstairs as I write this), not going down in her crib at 7 just means that she comes downstairs and hangs out with us in this quiet, sleepy, sweet state for a while before drifting off. Pretty wonderful, really, even if it's not exactly "sleeping through the night." Overrated.
In brief, she's amazing and we love her so, so much. Hard to believe she's 6 months old, but also hard to believe she was ever missing from our lives. How did we get by without her? The feeling I've had since the moment she was born is still with me. I can't wait to see what she does next, to watch all of the unfolding moments and changes, but at the same time I want her to stay exactly like she is forever. Perfect little angel.
-Katie
Mazie is an incredibly sweet, good natured baby. She cries very little, and if she's fussy it invariably means she's either tired or hungry. Easy to please. She actually doesn't laugh a lot, either, although we're getting better at figuring out her sense of humor. I have the most luck when I call her a "little monster" and growl at her. Raspberries on her tummy are also funny, and Caleb has gotten some great giggles when he "wrestles" with her, rolling and flopping her around on the bed. But mostly she's just smiley and content.
She has a strong little body and a curious mind. At a brunch this morning someone who hadn't met her before remarked on her "independence" as she rolled around and babbled to herself (a beautiful mix of da-das, squeaks, and raspberries) on the carpet while we ate. She loves new faces, maybe due to the constant stream of admirers that surrounded her during her first few weeks of life. We keep watching for signs of "stranger anxiety," but for now she still goes happily to any new person.
If there's one "issue" we have it's her sleeping. Her naps are pretty inconsistent, and her night sleeping has been pretty variable, too. We had a good stretch a few weeks ago where she was consistently sleeping up to 10 hours at night in her crib before coming in to bed with us and sleeping a few more hours. This past week I've had more trouble getting her to go down in her crib, and instead of going down at 7 or 8 it's more like 9 or 10. But even with this, we can't really complain, and I've been really reluctant to do any "sleep training" for a few reasons. She's so good natured otherwise, and since I'm not with her as much during the day I want to give her as much time as she needs with me at night. Even now (literally, actually -- she's sleeping in my arms downstairs as I write this), not going down in her crib at 7 just means that she comes downstairs and hangs out with us in this quiet, sleepy, sweet state for a while before drifting off. Pretty wonderful, really, even if it's not exactly "sleeping through the night." Overrated.
In brief, she's amazing and we love her so, so much. Hard to believe she's 6 months old, but also hard to believe she was ever missing from our lives. How did we get by without her? The feeling I've had since the moment she was born is still with me. I can't wait to see what she does next, to watch all of the unfolding moments and changes, but at the same time I want her to stay exactly like she is forever. Perfect little angel.
-Katie
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Good Times with Great Friends
We went back to Durham last week and had a great time catching up with the old crew! First we went on a plane and I helped the pilot get ready for the flight.
I especially enjoyed spending some quality time with my boyfriends, Jacob, Miles, and Tobin.
Miles wasn't that in to me last time we saw each other, but this time he couldn't resist my charms. He gave me some nice kisses, and we even took a bath together! There are more pictures here.
In other news, I am getting really close to being able to crawl. I can get up on my hands and knees and today I even managed to sort of flop myself forward from there. I'm waiting to put all my moves together until next week, when I'll have a bigger audience -- we're going to visit Nanny and Papa in Washington, and Avia and Uncle Logan will be there, too! We're even going to see the whole Smith family, so I'll have plenty of people to cheer me on. Can't wait!
I especially enjoyed spending some quality time with my boyfriends, Jacob, Miles, and Tobin.
Miles wasn't that in to me last time we saw each other, but this time he couldn't resist my charms. He gave me some nice kisses, and we even took a bath together! There are more pictures here.
In other news, I am getting really close to being able to crawl. I can get up on my hands and knees and today I even managed to sort of flop myself forward from there. I'm waiting to put all my moves together until next week, when I'll have a bigger audience -- we're going to visit Nanny and Papa in Washington, and Avia and Uncle Logan will be there, too! We're even going to see the whole Smith family, so I'll have plenty of people to cheer me on. Can't wait!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Happy Parents, (Mostly) Happy Baby
Apparently some exciting things happened in America this week. Barack Obama will be the first president I will remember. I don't know what all the fuss is about a black president. Why is that special? Seems completely normal to me. Shouldn't we always just pick the best person for the job?
Dad and I did quite a bit of work last weekend for the Obama campaign in Madison. I was the office mascot, and met lots of very nice people. Here are some pictures, and there are more here.
Meanwhile, I'm also working on some new tricks. Apparently my cousin Eaton (who's a month younger than me) can stand holding on to the side of his crib. Well, we tried it out and I can stand with a little support, too! I've also started pulling up to standing and am getting some pretty strong little legs.
(This outfit belonged to my uncle Logan!)
I'm still pretty happy most of the time. But I do get sad sometimes, and another one of my new tricks is blowing raspberries when I cry. It's annoying because every time I try to tell Mom and Dad how sad I am, they just laugh at me! I mean, look at this face -- can't you tell how upset I am???
This week we're going to North Carolina. I'm pretty excited to see my boyfriends, Tobin, Miles, and Jacob. Hope they're ready for me!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Obama! Obama!
Here we go. This is the Obama office getting ready to send out volunteers. It's pretty exciting right now.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!
Before I was even born, Dad decided he wanted to be a Denver Bronco for Halloween, with me as his football. Luckily, my Avia is a master seamstress and made me a pretty amazing costume! We went trick-or-treating with my friend, Julia, and her mom, Carmen. I didn't get any candy, but Mom did let me chew on a crinkly Whoppers wrapper, which was even better!
Happy Halloween, everyone!!
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