ghostie

Sam was a ghost. He and J. went trick-or-treating with a friend of Sam's from kindergarten (as well as said friend's older brother). Frida and I stayed home; she fussed all evening while I handed out candy, until she finally took a humongous poop and since then she's been quite calm. It's all about poop, until it's all about teething.





Also, please take vaccination seriously: . It's one thing to make a principled decision not to, but another entirely to not to do based on misinformation. (Note: that link corrects some misinformation that's being spread; I am not linking to more misinformation.)

Sam designed this one:

pumpkins

Sam, Frida and I finally found a pumpkin patch at the 3rd farm we drove to-- outdated website on the first and incorrect recommendation on the second. It was beautiful, though, and we had just enough time to wander unhurriedly through the fields and find two pumpkins, schlep them back up the hill-- no small feat w/Frida in the sling, once Sam announced that the smaller pumpkin he'd chosen for F. was too heavy for him-- and pay for them before zipping back home to meet Sam's babysitter so J. and I could go on a date. With Frida. But she mostly slept through it, and the rest of the time she didn't mind that we were talking over her head.

Frida's stats, as of Friday's 2-month checkup:

10 lbs 11 oz (tracking at 50th percentile, and also nearly 5 lbs less than Sam weighed at this age!!)

23" (at about the 75th percentile; I can't remember Sam's length at this age)

five pics of Beanie

From today. The place is a mess-- we had some painting done over the weekend to cover up woodwork that had lead in underlying paint layers. I've since come to the conclusion that de-leading certification is bunk, but I don't feel like posting about it now. We spent the weekend in Vermont, but it was sort of eh (cold, rainy, then sleeting/snowy on the way home; leaves mostly already off the trees). But at least we don't have to worry about any previously-flaking lead-positive paint, and that's something (and we'll go ahead with the certification for resale purposes).







Sam has been exceedingly obstreporous lately. It takes every ounce of patience and diplomacy either J or I have to deal with him sometimes, and then some. Four-and-a-half phase? Jealousy of the Bean coming out in unpredicted ways? Anyway... and then he will turn around and be so amazingly sweet and funny and charming, and somehow the reserves of patience are restored.

(Edited to add: In support of the jealousy idea, Sam said a couple of times today and yesterday that he likes it when Frida cries. Really? Why? I asked him, and he replied that he just likes it. I don't buy it for a second, though: when she starts to whimper in the car he sing-songs sweetly to her: "It's ok, baby, it's ok, Mommy's right there, and I'm right here, and we'll be home soon, it's ok". So... yeah. Jealous. And it's tough, because as she gets cuter, people coo over her more, and pay proportionally less attention to him-- and if they think to talk to him too, they mostly just ask his opinion about her and about being a big brother. And he just doesn't have the reserves of grace for that.)

yum

One nice thing about being on leave is that I've had the time (and general wherewithal) to cook more. Our veg. and meat farm shares have been inspiring, as have a couple of food blogs spun off of mom blogs that I follow. And it's gotten cooler, so roasting is appealing again. This past weekend (tonight included):

- corn, potato, red pepper and ham soup
(also made and froze kale and beef soup)

- roast pork (shoulder) glazed with this awesome yuzu & honey jelly that my mom gave us, with roasted brussels sprouts and baked sweet potatoes (it is pretty amazingly nice to hear one's four-year-old ask for "more brussels sprouts, please"-- and in fact, to like them oneself. I'd thought they were my last holdover of detested foods from my childhood, until I had some roasted while out to eat on Thursday evening, and was instantly converted)

- granola bars (with Sam)

- skillet roasted chicken on top of sliced bread, with roasted broccoli

And *all* the meat and veggies were from the shares.

I promise not to turn this into a food blog... but it's been fun. I really like that Sam knows where food comes from, both the growing and the preparation. We visited the farm where our meat comes from mid-summer, and sometimes talk about the various ingredients in our dinner and where they came from (Trader Joe's!) Sam also loves to help cook: shucking corn, peeling carrots, measuring oats and nuts and other granola ingredients. Tonight, unprompted, he asked who made the food. I asked him to guess, and he guessed, Daddy? (somewhat mystifyingly, given that J. had just gotten home and I'd been cooking for some time). When he learned that I'd made it, he thanked me (again, unprompted, though he'd heard both J. and me thank each other on multiple previous occasions I guess) and then asked J. to do the same. Heh.

monster bonanza continues

(Note the fist grip. Sam's teacher pointed out that he hasn't yet settled into a reliable grip. He is definitely right-handed, but holds the pen differently every time he grabs it. Something to work on in kindergarten...)

Philly, and monsters

This past weekend Frida and I went to Philadelphia. The center where I did my (first) postdoc was having a 10-year anniversary celebration and reunion, with a lot of the former postdocs, grad students, and residents gathering with the current faculty etc. for a day of talks and panels, followed by specific lab reunion dinners. I was hesitant to take her on a plane this young, but realized Amtrak is only marginally slower (and MUCH more comfortable, and also doesn't require a Saturday night stay). So we left Thursday afternoon on the train. Frida slept most of the way there in the sling, while I napped, analyzed some data, and read; she was awake for the last hour and smiled at the nice lady sitting next to me, who coo'd at her. That evening, I had a lovely, long, chatty dinner with a friend whom I hadn't seen in years (which Frida, again, slept through). At this point I'm thinking travel with a young infant is SO much easier than travel with, say, a toddler... she is portable, mostly sleeps, and has neither a drive to locomote on her own nor the sudden, unpredictable need for a bathroom. That night F. was a bit fussy (though not loud) so I didn't get to sleep until 3:30, and consequently was a bit tired at the meeting the next day. Still, it was good to see people and hear about what they're working on, and I only had to duck out of talks a couple of times that morning when Frida woke up or wanted to nurse. I did miss most of the afternoon panels (including the one I was most interested in), but then went out for a very nice beer/snack/chat with three of the postdocs with whom I overlapped at the Center-- at our old favorite happy hour hangout. We then went to a fantastic restaurant for dinner with my former mentor and other out-of-town alums of her lab. A friend/fellow-former-postdoc was there with her partner, and they took turns holding F. all night, so that I could enjoy my dinner-- it was great! (and lovely to catch up with them, too). All day long, Frida got a lot of "what an easy baby" comments, as she alternated between napping, nursing, and gazing around at all the faces/lights/movement with calm interest. I should have known I was being jinxed...

...because that night all hell broke loose: something I ate apparently didn't agree with Frida, and she screamed on and off for most of the night. She didn't have a fever but was obviously very uncomfortable, and I paced and shushed and rocked her all night, with just a couple of one-ish hour intervals of sleep. I was worried about her, but also concerned about the people in the next room over (I'd requested an isolated room, but who knows? there was a stairwell on one side, at least). Finally called the ped. shortly after 8AM, and she asked if there was someone in town who could check F. out... and fortunately, my friend's partner is a pediatrician. So they came over, Beth did an exam-- during which Frida of course lay there kicking and smiling beatifically-- and pronounced her just fine. Frida did begin to scream while they were there, and due to the sudden transition between calm and pained screaming, Beth thought that it was likely due to GI cramps of some sort-- painful but not dangerous, provided the rest of her outlook didn't change. Beth and Lesley then took F. to the park nearby so I could collect myself and have a shower. Of course, F. slept for the entire hour at the park with them. I was too tired to imagine meeting the lab for dim sum, so we caught an earlier train (during which, thankfully, F. slept the whole time-- I'd had nightmare visions of her screaming for hours and clearing out the train car). Whew! I remember going to a meeting with J., an hour's drive from Philly when Sam was a couple of months old. Then, I could never have imagined doing that alone; now, one infant feels easy most of the time. But I was definitely sweating Friday night in the hotel...

Meanwhile, Sam's prolific painting and drawing continues. A gallery of recent monsters:


and a close-up of one. They all have traits, too (e.g. the one who eats all of the candy in the house while you're sleeping). I can't remember this one's, but I like it. Its name is Toovil. Does anyone recognize this from a book? I can't tell if he's making it up all on his own or if it's inspired by a book he read at school...