Farmers market & friends

Sure enough, this morning we went to the farmers market. It turned out to be quite the to-do. We arrived a little after 11, when the fountain-turning-on ceremonies were going on. Through the myriad people, you can see the latent fountain; in the foreground, Madeline's wondering what all the fuss is about.

The fountain still wasn't on -- people were still giving speeches -- by the time we'd picked out some goodies from Wishing Stone Farm, the one we bought a share in and whose station happened to be nearest the fountain. But as soon as we moved away we heard applause and turned to see the fountain gurgling for the first time in many years. Later, after some other purchases (cider, coffee, chicken, scallops!) and after running into friends Heiða, Bjorn, and little Alexander, we checked out the fountain up close.

And then ran into friend Annika and her little one, too!

On the walk back, Madeline got tired of the Ergo carrier so I carted her down Cole Ave.

Back at home, though, Madeline was all smiles and crazy hair.

She babbled at everyone she could find, including some of her plush friends.

And later, when we had a visit from friend Julia (who very kindly made dinner for us), Madeline kept up her babbling. In fact, she was generally quite full of energy, and showed off her desperately-wanting-to-crawl, assisted walking, person climbing, foot grabbing, and other such skills. As we tried to get a grinning, flailing Madeline to sleep tonight we wondered whether either of us might have been so full of energy as a baby. Parents?

A day of progress

As Summer suggested yesterday, naptime achieved a new degree of success today. This morning Madeline already showed signs of sleepiness at 8:30 and fell asleep in her crib without assistance at 8:45. When she woke up an hour later, she was downright cheery.

After only a meal, Madeline already seemed sleepy again. We tried a few activities, but none seemed as enticing to her as sleep. So by 11:15 she was napping in the crib again.

Unfortunately, the nursery emitted emotive wails at only 11:45. Madeline was awake and had decided that she was still quite sleepy but no longer enamored of her crib. The result was another nap-on-dad in the rocker from noon to one. Still, that means the 9 o'clock nap and the noon nap both happened, and there was an hour and a half of crib napping this morning -- we'll chalk this morning up as a success.

Summer appeared early today, as we had plans this afternoon to attend a party at her advisor's house, a beautiful place in posh Barrington. Madeline, lying with her legs propped up against the back of the futon, seemed surprised to see her mama.

She was even more surprised at first -- or maybe confused or overwhelmed -- to see a bunch of people from various points on the familiarity continuum at a place that was totally new to her. But she was happy to be passed around a bit and to check out her new companions (by the end of the evening, though, the trees swaying and shimmying in the wind seemed to capture a greater share of her attention than did her more immediate anthropic surrounds -- perhaps a result of overwhelm). She also seemed unfazed by the couple of foot baths the ebullient dog gave her. In fact she did quite admirably overall, never making a peep beyond her inquisitive coos and gurgles despite a stay of almost four hours! And as we were serenaded by accordion after dinner, Madeline fell asleep in my lap.

Today marked another milestone: first this morning and then over and over again tonight, Madeline grabbed her feet without the slightest assistance. As she repeated the performance tonight, she appeared delighted and surprised at her new ability.

But the routine soon became old hat. Madeline moved on from excited thrashes and giddy smiles to a cool, calm look as she nonchalantly held onto her foot.

And so it was a day of progress.

Tomorrow's the first outdoor farmer's market of the year. We signed up for our first direct CSA share this year (the past few years we've received pre-selected fruits from an amalgam of farms coordinated by Brown), so the market will be extra-exciting. Also, there will be a ceremony at the park marking the restoration of its fountain, set to be turned on for the first time in 29 years! Excitement!

Nap time!

After dropping Max off at work, Madeline and I continued with Operation Nap Time. Despite being quite sleepy at 9, Madeline was not initially interested in napping in her crib. After about an hour and a few different attempts, Madeline successfully fell asleep in the crib around 10. Tweaks I tried: sleep giraffe, putting her the 'wrong way' in the crib, tucking her beloved turtle blanket around her, rubbing her belly until she fell asleep.

Evidence of success(!):

And then the biggest surprise of all, she slept for 2 hours! I had to come in at one point and comfort her and turn on sleep giraffe again, but she seems to sleep more soundly in the crib than in other places.

After the nap, we did some tummy time and read some books, and Madeline sucked on various things.

I tried nap number 2 around 2. It was much easier than nap 1. Again, she slept for 2 hours!

And when I went to check on her at 4:15, she was smiling and kicking her blanket.

So yesterday Max successfully got her to nap at the right time (same time as her daycare) and I got her to nap in the right place (crib). Maybe tomorrow we can try to combine the two!

Mixed bag

Today was a mixed bag. The day began with big smiles.

Summer took off around 9 as I was trying to coax Madeline to sleep in her crib. I half-succeeded: Madeline took an hour-long nap, but she'd only sleep on me as I rocked in the corner of her nursery. So at least we're getting the schedule down, if not the precise venue.

After the nap, she was full of energy! In fact, all day was high energy. We're trying to figure out where the energy comes from: Summer and I tend to think of ourselves as bookworms, but maybe we were feisty babies?

She even tried to crawl commando-style, though she's not quite up to the task yet.

Bottle-feeding went well again today, though sometimes Madeline seemed too distracted by teething to even acknowledge the bottle's proximity to her face. More commonly, Madeline wanted to take an active hand in eating. I obliged (in small doses).

The noon nap went the same as the 9 AM nap: we're getting the schedule down but not the locale. Madeline vehemently rejected the crib and ended up on me in the corner. Happily, for the noon nap I'd planned ahead and planted a book near the rocker.

The rocker-nap ritual recurred at 2:45, after Madeline's protestations cut short my attempts at a walk, at outside time, at reading, at singing, at playing, and at tummy time. Teething strikes again. Alas, neither Sophie nor a frozen washcloth nor my fingers nor Madeline's could soothe her aching gums.

After the 2:45 nap, Madeline was significantly happier!

But still somewhat sleepy: both afternoon naps had been on the short side. Between insufficient sleep and teething pains, Madeline's temper curdled. Yet another nap was necessary around 4:30.

Thankfully, a package arrived at 5:30. What could it be?

It's Madeline's very most absolute favorite thing ever: a silver teether engraved with her initials that makes noise, too! She smiled as soon as I closed her fingers around the handle. She got even more excited when she realized she could control the noise -- she began each shake with a kick, putting her whole body into it! And she just about went bananas when she realized it felt good against her gums.

Perhaps that good feeling carried over to bedtime, which was as smooth as butter today. Or maybe it was the schedule, or the naps. In any event, our mixed bag of a day ended on a positive note: hooray!