Quite nice

Today was gray and rainy. But when the Sprout woke up, there was enough natural light (finally) to get some video of her gradually coming to terms with awakeness.

We find this routine pretty adorable. And there's not too much morning that goes by before the Sprout is ready to start trying out new sounds and faces.

Today the Sprout seemed particularly full of energy, tumbling around on and between her parents. She was all but asking for some tummy time. And she got it.

The Sprout seems to like exercise.

She lets us know how she's doing -- "This is kind of fun!" -- "Ok, this is getting frustrating ..." -- "Why can't I just crawl already?!"

By the end, she was tuckered out. Summer rocked her to sleep, and we tried a crib nap for the first time. She woke up and yelled just a few minutes in, but after a bit of soothing her second go-round went smoothly.

Maybe an hour later she called out and I pulled her over to the rocker to finish the nap with me, but both her willingness to sleep in the crib and the length of her nap seem like good signs.

Then tonight the Sprout got another bath. She rather liked it and was a bit sad when we finally pulled her out of the water and toweled her off.

And finally we lowered the lights and retired to bed. But the Sprout wasn't ready to go down just yet. Rather than yell and fuss, she made a variety of noises and treated us to high-energy smiles.

So here we are, hoping her long afternoon nap doesn't lead to a too-late night. However it ends, though, the day's been quite nice.

And then we were three

Today the Allen grandparents returned to Oregon. Sensing the gravity of the event, baby was serious this morning.

Perhaps her seriousness was partially caused by tiredness; last night she wouldn't go down 'til 1, and then she kept Summer up from 3-4 and me from 5-6. So in addition to looking serious, she spent some quality time napping on grandma this morning -- froglet-style.

And then the time for the drive to Logan drew near. Pictures remained to be taken. Among them, grandma and baby with quilt (whose provenance you can read if you expand the following image to 100%).

On the way out for more poses, I caught glowing mama with hair blowing in the wind, holding smiling baby. The image is already a great favorite.

First pose: grandparents/parents, daughter/mama, and (squirmy) daughter/granddaughter.

Second pose: three generations of Allen (or Pederson/Allen/Greene) women.

Third pose: the nuclear family.

And with that, it was off to Boston with us. We had an airport meal and a tearful farewell. Sadly, baby wasn't able to stretch "agoo" into a proper farewell. And then we were three.

Or, perhaps in baby's mind, four. After the grandparents were through security and out of sight, we three tucked ourselves away in Logan's Special Baby-Room to feed and change baby. The room is a cozy closet with a perch for feeding moms, a counter for soiled babies, and a sink for washing one's hands after wiping down soiled babies. Dads must stand or squat (or choose to wait outside, I suppose). Back to there being four of us in baby's mind, though: the Special Baby-Room included a very large, very clean mirror. Baby was very interested in her doppelgänger.

Also, she was shockingly unharried by her extensive time in Massachusetts. The trips to and from the airport included only a very few shouts. Once we were home, however, baby was not so content. Having just the two of us parents around after time with grandparents, neuroscientists, and extended family must have been deeply disappointing. She's made her way to sleep now after much fussing. Hopefully tomorrow she'll be happier again.

Agoo

I'll start this post off with a sight we often see but rarely think to capture. Madeline tends not to be fond of waking up in the morning even though it's a process she instigates herself; hence, the following:

But that grumpy a.m. phase disappears in an instant, as her shock at being awake gives way to interest in the world around her. This particular morning she saw Nathan and Brenna again. All these people are certainly interesting. And, for our part, we were able to make it to brunch at Olga's Cup + Saucer.

Madeline was awake for the ride over, but once there seemed to say, "This is too much!" and therefore promptly fell asleep.

After a while, though, she woke up. She still appeared overwhelmed, but her mama is good at making everything better.

Back at home, a simpler place, she recuperated from her overwhelmedness with a good nap on her mama ...

... followed by a good nap on grandma.

All this napping would seem to suggest that Madeline's most recent growth spurt has passed. Naps aren't the only sign: she's eating a bit less frequently and seeming to focus more on other sorts of development, examining her surroundings more closely and expanding her range of coos and gurgles. Or, as she'd say, "Agoo." And, finally, tears are beginning to appear in her eyes when she cries, but they haven't yet begun to stream, thank goodness.

Returning to the narrative: to top off the day, we had a low-light photo shoot with a happy grandpa.

Tomorrow the grandparents return to Oregon, and the day-to-day cast of supporting characters in Madeline's life will again be reduced to two. It's probably too much to ask of a six-week-old (well, soon to be seven), but perhaps Madeline will be able to expand her babbling repertoire a step beyond "agoo" and muster a "goodbye" or, even better, "see you again soon!"

Many meetings

Last night Madeline was still waking up somewhat frequently for feedings, so this morning it took quite a while for us to get out of bed. And before we knew it, Summer was off to Brown to attend her lab-mate's thesis defense.

With Summer gone, grandma gave Madeline a bottle; Madeline ate happily but in the end didn't seem quite sated. A little bounce-walk solved the insatiety issue by lulling baby nicely to sleep.

The sleep wouldn't last: soon it was time for a great adventure. We all -- grandma, grandpa, Madeline, and I -- made our own way over to Brown so Madeline could meet the neuroscience crew.

Grandma and grandpa explored Thayer Street while Madeline and I accompanied Summer to the Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences. Madeline had never seen a building quite like it before.

We ate, appropriately, in the atrium -- some friends found us there, too -- and then visited lab. Pictures were taken there, but sadly not by me. Madeline seemed to enjoy meeting folks (and seeing some of them again). She flashed her most winning smile.

Next stop was the upper atrium to await Summer's advisor and her lab-mate after the closed portion of the thesis defense. When they appeared, lab-mate looked dapper and ecstatically happy to now be a Doctor; advisor, too, had big grins and hugs, and seemed enamored of Madeline. After an unfortunately short introduction we had to take our leave. At some point in the proceedings, though, I snapped Madeline in front of (barely visible through the window) Brown's Pembroke campus, which was once its women's college.

(Yes, somehow I managed to get a finger in the lower right-hand corner of both the last two pictures. It's like my seven-year-old self with a Kodak 110 all over again.)

We met up with the grandparents at the Brown Bookstore, where we also ran into another friend. Friends abound around Brown! But we had to get back home because more family was due to visit.

Soon after our cramped car trip home, family duly arrived: first, cousin Nathan and his wife Brenna, who drove in from Albany, and then Uncle David, who made the trek from Cape Cod. All, importantly, also hail the maize and blue.

Wine and cheese and pizza and tasty goods from an Albany bakery flowed freely, though Madeline (a bit overwhelmed by now) treated family to more feedings and dirty diapers than big smiles. She was still largely in good spirits, though, and tomorrow morning she'll have a chance to show her happiest colors to Nathan and Brenna; if all goes well, we'll get brunch.