Oh Happy Day...

My birthday. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I love it. I know it's a bit egocentric, but I love the celebration of it. One day a year when I can really stop and say, "Hey, this is the day I was born. I'm sure glad I was. I have a pretty great life and live in a pretty great world. It needs a little work, but I'm ALIVE and can help make it even better!"

This year was even better, because I had one more person to celebrate with (I love you Kiki-boo). Since my birthday fell on a weekday, I was in my usual 5:00am schedule. Get up to make bottles and prep for the start of baby's day before she decides to start it. When I got to the kitchen, on the counter to greet me was a shirt I really wanted and a card from my dearest husband. What a GREAT start to my day!!

When I got to work, there were doughnuts to celebrate my birthday, as well as a co-worker's. Yum!! Later that day, cake and ice cream and a card to celebrate our birthdays AGAIN!!! I was allowed to depart from work a few hours early, which was great because Ray and I planned to take our little family to the baseball game that night.

Kiki was an angel at the game. She slept through much of it. When she woke up, she was happy to watch all the colors around her (it was Red Hat Society day at the stadium). Tons of fun.

Lots of cards to open from the mail that night, and they continued to trickle in for a few days.

Then the crowning event for the birthday. As you may remember from my birthday post last year, there is a birthday club in my office. I know I am perhaps bias here, but I think the team that does the June birthdays is the most creative and imaginative team. This year's theme was baseball. The food was cotton candy, little hot dogs, a baseball cookie, popcorn, pretzels, and root beer floats. The room was decorated with baseball themed decorations, and a package of baseball temporary tattoos circulated the room (I AM an MVP!) Then on the table for the birthday girls, Cracker Jacks and, get this, a real baseball signed by everyone on the birthday team and each of our respective bosses. IT WAS AWESOME!!!

So a big thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special for another year. And thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving me birthdays in the first place!!!!

News I can use...

While browsing one of my favorite blogs, 43 folders, I became aware of a Boston Globe article that may revolutionize my life. And thanks to 43 folders, I am so organized, I have time to take a nap!!

Giving Aunt Sue A Run For Her Money...

Kiki went to the doctor for her 6 month well-baby checkup on Monday. According to her pediatrician, she is basically awesome, which of course, we already knew. All areas of growth are on course. Kiki put on quite a show of being an active baby for the doctor, who was very pleased to see how she is progressing.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 16lb. 11oz (52nd percentile)
Length: 27in. (89%, watch out, Aunt Sue. She might be taller than YOU!!)
Head Circumference: 43.25in. (74%)

Kiki has been experiencing all sorts of new foods. Peaches, barley cereal and apple juice are the latest additions to her repertoire.

She is also making progress on her sitting up and mobilization. She can sit up unassisted, just needs a hand behind her for the occasional backward slip. She is also making more use of her rolling abilities. Now that she can roll front-to-back and back-to-front, she is starting to roll a short distance to a destination.

No teeth new yet, although the drool is flowing freely enough to imply that more are not too far away.

Pool Party

Kiki's Aunt Rachael has been concerned. She knows how Kiki likes to splash in the tub and felt that Kiki needed a pool. So after about a week of urging from Aunt Rachael, Kiki got a pool.

After considering several models, we decided on the whale pool. It's a blow up pool that is large enough for Kiki and either Ray or I (we could probably all fit on a hot day if we squeezed.) The whale's tail inflates to create a shaded portion of the pool, and there is a working blowhole.

Ray was a trooper and inflated the pool himself. The weather has been so hot lately, it only took about 20 minutes for the inch and a half of water to heat up to an acceptable temperature for Kiki.

We changed Kiki into the bathing suit that her Grandma R bought her. When we put her in the pool, she happily started splashing and playing. I got in the pool with her while Ray took pictures, and then we switched places. About 15 minutes after she got in, the wind picked up, so pool time ended for the day.

We got the pool on sale for $10.00, so I would say that it was a pretty good deal. A few pictures of Kiki's pool experience are below.

A Trip Down Memory Lane...or Street

The other day a friend and I were reminiscing about PBS programs from our childhood. It made me start thinking about some of the segments I used to love. I remembered specifics skits and got a little teary thinking about how I'd never see them again. And I thought about how my friend and my husband look at me like I'm crazy as I describe the skits in my memory (it was the late 70s/early 80's, they were a little weird). And then I got to thinking about how great the Internet is, and how you can find just about anything, so I started looking. The following are some of my all time favorites from Sesame Street and the Muppets. Enjoy!!

A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butta...


Geefle and Gonk (let's get some cooperation going!)


The Ladybug Picnic (1,2,3..4,5,6...7,8,9...10,11,12)


The Lost Boy and the Yo-Yo Guy (this one is a bit trippy...)


Rainy Day (I sing this to Elena in the car on rainy days)


Baby Eating Chocolate Cookie (I see Elena's future here)


Orange Opera


Robot Breakfast (I was never a big Muppets fan, but always thought this one was AWESOME!!)