40 days!

Me telling Mommy about the play date

Here in Jordan, there's a tradition that babies need to stay at home for the first 40 days of their lives. Obviously I've been a bit . . . unconventional shall we say? in regards to that tradition. However, it seemed like a good time to celebrate, so on Monday I had my first "play date."

Jenna, me, and Laila

Mom met Jenna and Laila's moms during her prenatal class, before I was even born. Both Jenna and Laila are older than me: Laila is already 10 weeks old, and Jenna is 9 weeks old--but she was supposed to be born on my birthday! Anyway: we had a great time: we played together on Laila's toy mat, we had snack time, and Jenna and I even got to check out Laila's changing table: it's an antique dresser, so it's definitely fancier than mine, but I've got the window view, so I guess I'll stick with it!

Other than that, life is continuing on as normal, I suppose. I'm getting to meet more people (Mom & Dad say they're getting "braver" about taking me out . . . whatever that means!), and I'm still getting to take baths!  Oh, and the trench coat outfits are starting to fit a little better :)

Pictures

Ever feel like you're the "dog and pony show"? If not, you're probably older than one month. I'm serious: here I am, happily going on with my life, and suddenly Mom whips out the camera and that darn flash starts going off again. What's up with that?

Anyway, not a lot to say this week: I'll let the pictures (and their captions) speak for themselves.

Yes, Mom: I do have hair!
(she wants me to point out
the little fringe at my neckline . . .
can you say "over the top"?)

This was when I was helping Mom & Dad
outside again--it's starting to get cooler,
so Dad wanted to put up tarps
to protect all the wood . . .

OK, so I was just hanging out,
looking around, when all of the
sudden this thing (Mom called it
my hand? )showed up
right in front of my mouth.
So I sucked on it: why not?
(What's the big deal, Mom?)

And this really got Mom all excited:
all I was trying to do was to make sense
of my world that suddenly got turned upside-down
(Mom called it "tummy time"??)

Birthdays and Barbecues

I wasn't kidding when I said that Mom & Dad love hosting barbecues: I turned one month today, so Mom decided that, of course, we must have a barbecue in celebration. She was in charge of the guest list and the food; I provided entertainment.

And I have to admit, I was entertained as well: lots of people were willing to hold me, talk with me, and even bring me toys to play with (thanks, Hannah!). And I had a new chair to sit in, so I was able to join in with the adults as they sat outside around the barbecue.

Sarah has been waiting
to hold me for a long time:
before I was born, she used
to ask Mom to "open it up"
so that she could meet me!

Well, OK, so the boys didn't
actually do much talking
directly with me, but they were
definitely entertaining!

Hannah was willing to get  right
down there with me! She's one of the
people who helped pick out (and give)
my play mat to me.

Today (my actual one-month birthday) I got to talk with Grandma Ginna and Gran-Tom, since it is his real birthday today, and I again spent some time practicing my smiling and playing on my play-mat. Overall, a great birthday--and a great month!


The video below is terrible quality (I have a pinkish purple streak across my face throughout most of it!), but Mom insisted that I include it because it's her evidence that I've been smiling (like I said, it's been fun to watch her reaction!). Hopefully she'll figure out better video quality soon!

Alien Babies and Barbecues

OK, Mom may have lived in Japan when she was younger, but she definitely missed out on the tech-savvy side of life: it's taken her five days to figure out how to get a photo off of her phone and on to her computer. I mean, come on, Mom: Grandma could do this ages ago!

Like I said: straight out of science-fiction!

So, anyway, that's why it's taken me so long to get my next post up: I was waiting for the photo. Yes, I know I look like something straight out of The Matrix (just like my Uncle Dave?) or some other science-fiction film, but that's not really what's going on. All that was happening is that I was getting my hearing tested . . . of course, it might have helped if I weren't hollering to get out of there the whole time, but they said my hearing is fine, so something must have worked!

But that was just a one-time thing: I don't normally spend my time dressed up as some sort of alien baby. These days, I spend a lot more of my time, well, sleeping of course. And eating, taking baths, etc. But I've added some new things to my repertoire! I got a bit tired of the "one cry fits all," so I've been trying out new sounds: Mom calls them "cooing," but I'm just trying out my range of tones. I've also been smiling a lot more--still practicing when and for what reason, but it's been fun to watch Mom & Dad's reaction when I try it out! 

Consulting for Daddy

Cutting wood in Amman:
Daddy-Daughter Time

A more important task, though, has been helping Daddy. We have a great barbecue outside in our garden, and Mom & Dad love hosting barbecues for people, but that does mean that sometimes Daddy has to cut wood. I figure that, even though he's been doing this for a while, he might need someone to just keep an eye out, make sure he doesn't miss anything. So far I haven't needed to point anything out, but I figure I had better stay close just in case! 

An American Baby in Amman

I finally got my passport yesterday. I guess that makes me official, right? Doesn't really change my life much, though. At least not yet. Mom and Dad are already talking about a trip to see Grandma Ginna & GranTom, Grandma Ruth, and all of my aunts & uncles & cousins . . . I guess the passport will come in handy then.
Other things that have been keeping me busy, though, include sleeping (Mom and Dad are pretty happy that I like this), playing with Dad, getting dressed up by Mom (yeah, she still does this!), and meeting a lot of people. Oh, and baths!!!

Bath Time

OK, my parents have definitely been holding out on me. See, there's this thing called a "bath," and it has got to be one of the best things in the world!  Basically, it's just this pool of nice warm water that I get to relax in--and I can't believe I've had to wait until now to experience one. I mean, I'm 18 days old today: just think of how many baths I could have had by now!
Of course, Mom says we can't do this every day since we live in Jordan, which is a "water-scarce" country, but I might try negotiating with her. After all, I am still pretty small: how much water can it take?

Other good things have been going on as well, though. Now that I'm getting a bit older, Mom and Dad are taking me out a bit more. True, Saturday's trip to the doctor was not one of those "good things"--needles are not on my list of favorite things!  But we've walked downtown a few times, and I highly recommend the Ergo Baby Carrier: talk about comfortable! I'm out cold (yes, sleeping) within a block once they get me out in that! Once in a while I might open my eyes to try to have a look around (Mom and Dad say there are some pretty good views), but I still think sleeping is the best way to go.

Dressing Up

And they label this for newborns?
TWO of me could fit in those legs!!

Three cheers for the cuteness factor!

OK, what's up with Moms and "dressing up." No, not her dressing up--dressing me up. And it doesn't stop with my mom: it seems like every auntie, cousin, female friend, and even some random female acquaintances of Mom wants to dress me up in some cute little outfit--or at least coo over me in another cute little outfit.

But I'm with Dad on this one: once you find something comfortable, stay in it. I try to let Mom know how I feel about this: crying on the changing table, fussing when she changes my clothes . . . I even tried spitting up a number of times, but nothing seems to work! The weather cools down, she dresses me in some oversized pink pantsuit thing; it warms up, and out come the cute little dresses. I mean--come on, Mom, I spend most of my time wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping, anyway!

But she insists that it's worth it--and of course, out comes the camera. And I guess I do have to admit: I am pretty darn cute . . .