also called a zerbert

We blow a lot of raspberries both to and on Bumble. It makes her laugh and baby laughs are SO irresistible. Maybe we do it too much. Instead of babbling, she's been really focused on learning to blow raspberries for herself. I have this perfectly irrational fear that she thinks raspberries are how we actually communicate. She'll never learn to speak English. In my mind, it will be the first day of school and some friendly, outgoing little girl with pigtails will approach her and say, "Hi! My name is Supershine! What's your name? Want to be friends?" and my child will respond with a smile and a pppppbbbblllllt!

Delicate aromas

When I was pregnant, I abhorred and despised all hygiene products. Remember? It was awful. Especially for Mike. As the trimesters went by, I tolerated more and more hygiene products, but the one that stayed absolutely awful was deodorant. Even unscented smelled (and smells) atrocious to me. This summer is getting hot, though, and I am tired of being stinky so I have been looking for a deodorant that doesn't make me want to puke. I tried 4 brands before I found one that wasn't sickening.

There's a problem, though. The bjaby hates it. The little parasite who made me showerphobic for 9 months HATES the deodorant. When I apply it, she actually starts coughing. The same little cough she does when I am chopping onions in the kitchen. Dry little "eh eh" retching noises.

Well, that's real charming coming from YOU , Bjaby. Bjaby, the one who befouls our air with toxic farts of death and decay. Bjaby, who seems to mark her territory with spit-up that reeks of bile and soured milk. Bjaby, whose dirty diapers actually make Mike gag. I'm so sorry my rose-petal scented deodorant somehow offends your delicate sensibilities.

I am not buying another stick of deodorant. We shall see who wins this battle of wills. (It will be the bjaby.)

Mirror test

Mirror test at 5 months





FAIL

Guess who can sit up now?

Go on... guess!

Bright Eyes

Bumble and I walk across the street to Mike's work a few times a week and wait outside, playing in the grass until he gets off. People are always coming up to us to meet her and try to make her smile. Yesterday, one of the security officers approached and said, "Is that Bright Eyes I see there?... Oh, sorry-- what is her name? Everybody calls her Bright Eyes." I can't imagine why.

slushiesss

Dinnertime!

Before Mike and Bumble I lived with two good friends, one of whom was a particularly good cook. We ate dinners together regularly in our cozy dining nook. One evening we were enjoying a very lovely dinner when we noticed a squirrel staring in at us from the window. He was perched on the seat of my roommate's bicycle on the back porch, and he was the scrawniest, hungriest looking squirrel. He had his tiny paws up to chest like he was begging for his belly was sore empty. It was absolutely impossible to enjoy our food while the hungriest squirrel was watching us. Eventually we had to close the shade. (Don't give me that look-- there was plenty of food available in Nature and the neighbors' trash cans and bird feeders for that squirrel and besides, when I left him a pile of seeds later he did not even touch them!)

Anyway, when Mike and I eat dinner now and sit the Bumble in her high chair, I get that same feeling of guilt and discomfort as I did the night of the hungriest squirrel. Bumble looks at us eating and pretends to also chew. Why are her eyes so big? She is too young for solid foods, so she can't have them! The AAP says so! Still, it is very tempting to give in to her little pleading face and let her have just a taste... so far, I have resisted the urge.

As a compromise we've been giving her milk slushies, which she adores, and putting ice cubes in her mesh feeder. It's keeping her happy and satisfied for now. Hopefully it will continue to work for another month until she gets her first taste of people food.



As you can see, she is hardly wasting away.

Also, the comics

Today I put Bumble down on her stomach for some tummy time and she quickly and easily rolled over to her back and gave me a look that clearly said, "Foiled AGAIN, Mother! Muahahahaha!" So, who knows how long she's been able to roll over tummy-to-back. That looked far too easy for her first attempt. It took her a month to learn back-to-tummy. Maybe it's just all getting easier for her in general. Tomorrow she'll be sitting up and asking me for a cup of coffee while she reads the editorials and then I'll have to read them, too, so she doesn't roll her eyes at me for only really reading Dear Abby and the gossip columns.

my head should be tilting

I know, I have been slacking. Here's the thing-- I have been functioning with only half a brain. I've only been paying half-attention to what is going on, what I am typing, what I am reading, who is talking, what I'm saying, what I'm eating, what I'm wearing. Sometimes I snap out of it for a second and realize that I am about to step outside wearing only a t-shirt and a pair of my husband's boxers and that is very lucky. Many friends can vouch for me here-- I only half make sense when I talk anymore. I don't even know if I am making sense now.

Here is what it happening with the other half of my brain:

I'm tired. Is it time for sleep? Is the Bee hungry? Is she dirty? Am I dirty? I need a shower. Bumble needs a toy. Is she entertained? I should read to her. She is cute, I should take her picture. She is growing too fast. I miss newborn Bumble, but I also like baby Bumble. I hope nothing bad ever happens to her. I hope she's happy. She spit up, gross! I need to do laundry. I hate the laundry. Why is it $3 for a load of laundry? This is ridiculous. Maybe cloth diapering was a bad idea, but I like the colors and it's so soft and she has such a funny butt when she wears them. Memere cloth diapered her babies... I bet she'd tell me I'm crazy for using cloth. I miss Memere. I wish I lived closer to my family so that Bumble would grow up knowing them better. I wonder how Memere and Pepere are? Did Memere's knee surgery go okay? Oh my gosh, it's nearly 5 and I didn't go to the market! I have to bake the banana bread before those bananas go bad--

I'll stop there. I do apologize for the lack of entries. It's been very hard to concentrate on anything long enough to form a coherent entry. My mind is sieve-like. I have 4 half-started drafts.

Here are some photos of the Bumble to make up for it: