Friday Night Concert

I've been listening to the new Kooks album this week pretty much nonstop. I admit, it had to grow on me a little. It's a little more mellow than their previous efforts, but that's OK because I'm more mellow than I used to be, too.

These two lyric videos are pretty clever. As someone who's always trying to figure out the words to songs, this leaves little room for error. Plus they're fun to watch. See for yourselves:





Also. For fun. Because who doesn't like acoustic Tears for Fears covers?

10 Dollar Bill

You have a $10 bill burning a hold in your pocket. Why don't you ...

Put this cute turquoise ring from Aldo on the knuckle of your middle finger? That way when some a-hole cuts you off on your commute, you can brighten their day by flashing them this bling.

Photoshoot: 8 Months Old

Baby girl turned 8 months old on Sept. 28. Each month on the 28th I plan to take a photoshoot with Miss Alexa and her owl to mark her growth because, as everyone likes to remind me, "they're only little for a short while."

She's still wearing 6-9 month clothing for the most part; we're in that weird in-between seasons stage, where some days are 90 degrees and others are 60 degrees. This means Alexa has been wearing a lot of leg warmers and pants that are easily removable if it turns out to be a scorcher. Her hair is getting so long I've been pulling it back in pigtails or giving her a Pebbles-style ponytail.

Nighttime sleep is great. It's that pesky 5:45 a.m. wake-up time that we need to work on. Mama needs to rest!

She's still eating everything we give her. We continue to feed her purees for breakfast and dinner. She's cut back her milk feedings to four bottles a day. She refuses to drink out of any bottle that is not her normal bottle; she also refuses to drink out of any nipple that is not fast flow. After a brief period of being infatuated with the sippy cup of water, she is once again indifferent. She prefers us to hold her bottle for her.

She's not into crawling or walking yet. She still likes to bounce in her jumperoo and sit with her toys. She's been lunging more toward things out of her reach, and she just started clapping her hands. She has been waving hello and goodbye somewhat consistently.

Baby girl is growing more independent. She will play with things for longer stretches of time without losing interest. Her new favorite toys: remote controls, cellphones. Do we have a high-tech baby on our hands?

Alexa is growing so much I can no longer continue this photoshoot on our bed (I can't fit her in the frame). We're moving to the floor. I need to find a better, less shadowy location for our photoshoots. She was actually pretty accommodating of my photo session, considering she only likes to be on her back for sleeptime nowadays.

Stats: 19 lbs., 8 oz.

1 month  •  2 months  •  3 months  •  4 months  •  5 months  •  6 months  •  7 months

The Past Few Weeks

Some highlights from our recent adventures ...

Photo of the Day: 09.25.11

The days are starting to get shorter. I'm already missing the summer days, when the sun would set closer to 9 p.m. and my commute home was in the twilight. Driving home in the dark makes the workday seem longer. And I stay up later, getting even less sleep. The shorter days are longer. There must be a good joke in there somewhere, but I'm too tired to find it.

Now when I check on Alexa after I return from work, her room is shrouded in darkness. I have to let my eyes adjust as I crane my neck over the side of her crib and look for her chest to rise and fall. When I'm confident I won't wake her, I gently stroke her back and plant a few kisses on her head. Then H walks in with all the stealth of a circus clown and proceeds to talk at full volume till I literally shove him out of her room. Sleep is a delicate thing around here, doesn't he know!

Yawn.

The It List

Five things I'm lovin' right now ...

Colorful resin antlers.


This necklace, a Bleubird Vintage-Modcloth collaboration.


Celestial pumpkins.


This text art DIY by Elisa Blaha.


Lavender + mint + white + brown color combo. [via]

Follow my Pinterest boards to see other things I'm lovin'!

Photo of the Day: 09.24.11

I slept till 11 a.m.

That is not a typo. 11 a.m. I haven't seen a wakeup time like that since January. Can I get a woot-woot! Can I get an amen! Can I get a hells-yeah!

Also, thank you to the supporting players in this minor miracle: H and Alexa. H for taking baby duty and Alexa for being a quiet baby. I'd also like to thank the three beers I drank the night before for knocking me out so deeply. Without this carefully constructed trifecta, the sleep-in would have been a bust like so many before it.

It was also the perfect day after I woke up. Cloudy, cool -- pretty much the only fall-like weather I'll experience here in L.A. We had Thai food for lunch, then browsed Best Buy and a pop-up Halloween store. I made chili when we returned home, and after Alexa's bedtime H and I watched "Twister" on Blu-ray, laughing at the cheesy script and how it was just a vessel to name as much (made-up) tornado lingo as possible. "We've got sisters!" is only slightly less laughable than "We've got cows!"

Photo of the Day: 09.23.11

This was ...
A day of playing piano in the nursery.
A day of keeping baby in her jammies till early afternoon.
A day of spacing out at Target for an hour.
A day of sweating while wearing fall clothes on a 90-degree day.
A day of baking cookie brownies for our friends.
A day of playing card games.
A day of drinking three beers.
A day of laughing uncontrollably.
A day of staying up way too late but loving every minute of it.

Baby Talk

Dear Alexa Bexa,

Thirty-three weeks old. Can you say "Mama" again? Wait, I'm not "Dada!" You're giving me a complex.

Just joking. You've been saying "mama dada oogly googly lalalalalala" over and over and louder and louder. You are really talking. A few times I swear you've said "Hey" when I say "hi." You are waving hello and goodbye somewhat consistently.

When we go out and you are in the baby carrier, you will look all around and smile, then look up to me to make sure I see you smile.

When you are home and resisting sleep, you will yell for us to come check on you and give you your binkie. Never mind that you are holding your binkie and can very well put it back in your own mouth. You want Mama or Dada to do it for you. We are starting to call your bluff on the manipulation yelling. Sometimes if we are talking to each other instead of to you, you will talk gradually louder until you're yelling to get our attention. It is cute. And frustrating. But mostly cute.

You are lunging for things. No crawling yet. No teeth yet. But you want to hold everything and put it in your mouth. You want to eat everything we are eating. French toast = blech. Chicken and rice = yay.

Lately you've been doing this old-man chuckle that makes me want to first laugh and then give you the Heimlich. You are trying really hard to delicately pluck an upright wooden block without knocking it over first. You're thisclose to doing it. I can't wait to see it.

Xoxo,
Mommy

Photo of the Day: 09.22.11

I decided to dress Alexa up in her cute new romper. Usually on daycare days I dress her in a onesie and shorts or leggings because the babysitter will change her out of fancy clothes anyway. I understand. Kids are sleeping, playing on the ground, you know. But at the same time why have all these cute outfits if she never wears them? Let them get dirty, I say.

By the time I finished snapping a few photos she had drooled down the front of this romper.  

On a baby-related note, where are all of the bibs going? Is there a bib convention somewhere? I can never find a clean one. And when we do the laundry, there are never any dirty ones. I'll be damned if I buy new ones, too, because have you priced these suckers?

I've taken to stripping her down before feeding her, and wiping her off with a wet napkin afterward. No muss, no fuss. Also, she tries to eat the wet napkin, which makes food time super adorable. If a naked baby gnawing at a wet napkin doesn't make you grin, you have no soul.

Mondays ARE awesome ...

I'm over at Mandey's blog today sharing some fun stuff about myself. Come join us!

Tune Time: Sing-alongs

A few months ago I posted about how the lyrics of most children's nursery rhymes are completely depressing. I just thought I'd share what I've been singing to Alexa lately.

1) A Bushel and a Peck - By far her favorite song. All I have to do is sing the first three notes and a huge grin spreads across her face. Sometimes she'll giggle uncontrollable when I get to the "doodle doodle doodle doo" part. (Also, I may or may not make nonsensical sounds after a few minutes, including "scooby dooby dooby doooo.")

2) Dance Magic - When she's fussy I whip this one out because it is interactive. There is "dancing" and "jumping," both of which turn her frown upside down. Disclaimer: I do not toss Alexa around like David Bowie does to the baby in "Labyrinth," nor do I wear a disturbing codpiece while singing this song.

3) I Want to Hold Your Hand - This is still an old standby. I usually sing it to her as she's winding down for a nap or bedtime. I sing it slowly and quietly.

4) Good Morning Starshine - I've been singing this song to Alexa since she was in the womb. I would wake up in the morning, put my hand on my belly and sing it. Now I sing the first verse every morning when I pick her up from her crib. It's our morning ritual.

5) My Favorite Things - This was my favorite song when I was a child, mostly because I watched "The Sound of Music" obsessively. We had recorded a holiday airing on commercial TV and I watched it so often that I knew exactly how long to fast-forward the VHS tape during the ad breaks. Anyway, this is an "anytime" song.

What are your favorite songs to sing to kids? Doesn't necessarily have to be a "traditional" song; in fact, the less traditional, the better. Do share.

Photo of the Day: 09.21.11

It was nearing midnight, and I realized I hadn't taken a photo for the day yet. So I whipped out my phone and took a shot of my kitchen. Ambient lighting and all, there was just no way I was going to post it. It's not like there were roaches crawling out of crusty dishes in the sink or anything disgusting like that. It was clean-ish. The kind of superficial clean you do when you wipe crumbs off the countertops. But I have these freakish Mom eyes that see everything. Specks here that need a Magic Eraser. Grime that needs to be toothbrushed-up. When will I find time to do these things again? Who knows.

I can tell you that 11:53 p.m. on a weekday night is not the right time. So I took a photo of this pleasant-looking vignette instead, basking in unnatural lighting. Enjoy.

(And don't you dare mention how the base of that globe needs to be dusted because I did that at 11:54 p.m.)

Photo of the Day: 09.20.11

This is one of those giant peaches from the farmers market I was telling you about. My very first memory of eating fresh not-from-a-can-of-heavy-syrup peaches was when I was probably 8 or so. We were at a lake in East Texas at the annual reunion on my mom's side of the family.

Sidetracking, have you ever been to East Texas in the summer? It's stifling, and I do mean excruciating, humidity. As kids we would bide our time (a) in the water getting sunburned, (b) trekking to the convenience/bait store at the end of the road to get a few precious moments of air conditioning, (c) finding the lucky few relatives who had air-conditioned campers, (d) hitching a ride with an adult (gasp) to a hotel room of one of the more enlightened adults who chose not to camp, or (d) hiding from the sun under a pine tree, praying the fire ants didn't eat us alive.

It was so much fun!

I haven't been to this reunion since I was 17 years old. They've since switched locations. H has never been, even though I tell him all the stories. It's one of those things where I alternate between thinking we should definitely go next summer and thinking I never want to go back. Not because of the unpleasant humidity, mind you. It's because I want to hold on to my nostalgia for the reunions of my childhood, not have them tainted by adult memories. Does that make sense? Anyway, would anyone even recognize me? Would I recognize them? All my second and third cousins, would I remember their names?

Oh, and yes, I have fond memories of eating peaches in the shade of the aforementioned pine trees and getting freaked out when the sticky juices dropped on my toes. Fodder for the fire ants! Argh!

Steppin' Out

What I'm wearing:

Dress: Target

Shoes: Thrifted (similar here)

Headband: Forever 21 (similar here)

Cardi: Torrid (similar here)

What H is wearing:

T-shirt: Purchased by me in New York, 1995 (practically vintage, OMG)

Jeans: Gap, thrifted

What Alexa's wearing:

Shirt and leggings: Carters

Earlier this week, I read a post on Liv's blog about taking time to splurge on herself and it really stuck with me. So when I was running errands at Target, I actually picked up a dress and KEPT it in my cart. Usually I make it about halfway around the store before I start questioning the purchase and turn around to take it back. I still had those thoughts as I was standing next to the deodorant, but I pushed them aside. "No," I thought. "This time I will spend a little of my hard-earned money on myself."

I realize I'm not reinventing the wheel here, but it was nice to treat myself.

Plus, the dress is very colorful and comfortable, my two favorite things.

Another story behind our outfits: H's T-shirt is actually one I bought off the streets of New York when I was 16 years old on a theater trip, back when I thought my future would include the bright lights of a Broadway stage. That was the time I saw my idol, Julie Andrews, on stage in "Victor/Victoria." I also saw Sarah Jessica Parker in "Once Upon a Mattress."

Anyway, I'm just amazed the T-shirt has survived all these years. As I recall it was only $5.

This is what we wore out for Thai food and a trip to Best Buy today. I got a little carried away playing keyboards and remembering how to read music. After successfully playing "Jingle Bells," I was overly cocky, so I tried to play "Imagine." Alexa enjoyed the racket, though. I think.