this bean was made for walkin'

well...she's not quite walkin on her own

but she wants to walk so badly.
she practices every chance she gets.
even when put on her belly
she reaches out and wants to be pulled up to standing.
she rolls places
she scooches on her back
she dives
but she refuses to crawl.
she has started moving along things.
she'll make her way down the table.
i've seen her reach out for things
and then plot how to get from one item to the next.
any day now and she is just gonna take off.
lord help us all.
we are so not baby-proofed.
and boy does this girl like electric cords.

apparently they are delicious.

splishin and a-splashin

grandma and grandpa k visited bringing the requisite ridiculous amount of food.

my mom is the only person i know who comes to visit for the weekend and

brings all the fixins for all the meals with her

down to the oil and salt

and even the pans to cook in.

it's quite impressive.

and of course she knitted.

grandma is awesome!

during the visit we took bean to the pool

she loved it

she stayed in until incredibly pruney.

i actually dont know how much she liked the swimming part.

she was moslty in because of all the other kids who were swimming.

bean loves to people watch

adventures in daycare

bean is in daycare and
it wasn't as traumatic as i thought it would be
for either of us.
she actually loves it
there are kids for her to stare at all day long
she loves other kids
they fa-sci-nate her
and i am way too busy at camp to think of much
bean naps better at daycare than at home
she eats better at daycare than at home
she poops better at daycare than at home

the only "problem" is that bean is afraid of men
apparently anytime a daddy comes to pick up their kid
bean cries hysterically until they leave.
she did this when my friend martha watched her too
she cried as soon as martha's husband walked in the room
bean had met him a few times before with me and been fine
but when away from me and her dad
she doesn't like the men so much

when with us...
she flirts like a fiend.
at the grocery store...
flirting
walking downtown...
flirting
at friend's houses...
flirting
but without mom and dad...
hysterical crying

i read that this is normal
that now is the time for stranger anxiety to rear its ugly head
and more anxiety towards men often occurs
i hope this continues when she is....oooohhhh...
13.

swing low sweet beanie

bean hates swings

she loves her jumpy...
bobbing up and down like a crazy person in the doorway
but swings
not so much

when we were in nj
grandma insisted we walk down to the park
because they have great baby swings
bean screamed
bean wailed
bean cried
we walked back from the park
grandma apologized the whole way
it seemed like such a good idea at the time

we thought....
maybe we put to much pressure on bean
maybe the seat was too hot
why do they make the baby swings black so they absorb the sun anyway
maybe she had just eaten
maybe she was tired
maybe she was teething
(we seem to always blame teething when bean is cranky... and still we have yet to see any semblance of a tooth)
maybe she was wet

but then i took her to the park the other day
we played in the sandbox
we tried to climb the ladder to the slide
we watched other kids run and frolic
and then we headed over to the swing
i managed to take this picture of bean
and then
cue the tears
bean hates swings
it's official
for now

green is our color

we love avocado!
being that it is my fav-or-ite food
i couldnt be happier that bean is a fan as well.
but who wouldnt love eating any kind of food
in their new
super-70s-stylin'
highchair
note the happy orange and brown mice
so cool
and perfect for our family since we tend to eat picnic style
the high highchair wasn't cutting it
and it has one leg that is shorter than the others
(don't ask)
the little chair that latches to the table doesnt fit right
and our table is usually full of drying baby bottles
which leaves little room for food
we usually end up eating everywhere and anywhere
which results in food on the couch
and food on the rug
and food on the chair
a designated eating spot seems like a better plan
and then this bit of gorgeousness called to me from under a table
at the town wide yard sale extravaganza
i thought it folded up
it doesnt
it bounces
or it will when bean's feet can touch the ground
it has no safety strap
they didnt care about that in the 70s
they were all too hopped up on lead paint to care
she seems to like it
she has her mama's sense of style
uh oh

big things a-brewing

big things have been happening around here.
real big things.
so big that they couldn't come out on their own
so big that her whole face turned beet red
so big that IT made bean cry
so big that we had to go to the pharmacy for some help
who knew carrots were constipating?
bean does!
all is well on that end now.

other big things
she rolled over from back to front.
the first full roll.
we were so proud.

big nights too.
napping has improved.
she can now go down on her own
and the milk bar is no longer open all night long.
we are down to one feeding in the middle of the night...
on a good night.
we still have our not-so-good nights.

and standing is still our favorite thing to do
we think we are a far more advanced stander than we really are
we try to bend over and grab things
or stand on one foot
and we always want to let go.
but we shouldn't

and the biggest thing of all...
we think bean is topping off at
20 pounds!

it's all cheek and thigh!

stand in the place where you live

where does the time go?

so...bean is 7 months old.

currently she loves to stand.

she loves it so much that she mostly rejects sitting.

stiff stiff body whenever we try to do anything with her besides standing.

she can pull herself up if you give her your hands...

but hasn't quite realized that she can pull herself up on other things as well.

we don't plan on telling her about this.

i am trying to enjoy and savor these days 

where i can sit her in a room

in the middle of a "crap circle"

with all the things she loves well within reach

and know that when i return to said room

she will still be just about where i left her 

not counting some scooching 

or perhaps a fall onto her face

soon i will enter the days when you return to the room in a panic

playing the "where has bean crawled off to" game.

it's funny

as a parent you become torn

you want to see your baby do new things.

it's mind-blowing as they develop and hone new skills

but you don't want to join the rest of the moms 

that chase their babies all over the play group.

i like solitary bean