Making Food

Aoife is now full steam ahead with eating food which means that i get to practice cooking baby food for her. So, one of the first things I have learned to make is sweet potato (yams). After trying different varieties of sweet potato, I have found that she loves yams.First I boil the yams, and then put them in the food mill to mash them up.

Then, after they are mashed, I store a few in baby jars and the rest I freeze in ice cube containers so that I can thaw them out and feed them to her when I need to. It's so simple, easy, and fun to do!

Aoife playing the piano

Visit to Dorries house

Dorrie invited us to brunch at her house today. Dave had not seen Aoife since she was a few weeks old. It was an exquisit lunch of french toast, melons, almond butter, apple sauce, sausage, potatoes, and for the grand desert, a tart cherry crumble. The meal was delicious and we also celebrated Tims birthday again.

It was Grammas second time at Dorrie's house, and the green thumb that she is she wanted a tour of Dorries garden. Dorrie has a very interesting back yard. She has a couple bee hives which she harvests honey from yearly. She gave us some a while back that was attacked by ants, but Tim managed to eat most of it before that had happened. She has a lot of herbs that she rescued and also an aloe plant nursery. Her front yard mostly contains native california plants.

After the tour of the garden, I opened up the piano for Aoife to explore. She LOVED the piano and new just what to do. She pounded on those notes like an old pro. I think we have a little musician on our hands. Aoife even inspired Dorrie to play a tune for us which Aoife gladly joined. She then played a tune on her recorder that Aoife liked. Then out came a handmade banjo belonging to Dave, and a thumb piano that were played together in a nightmarish melody that sent Tim into tears of laughter. It was a wonderful day.

Today was Gramma's last day, so for dinner we ordered some delicous Thai food and had some wine. We talked all night and went to bed early enough for Gramma to wake up for 4:30am!

The water world!

Happy 6 months Aoife

Aoife is half way done being a baby and has six more months of exploration, development, food tasting, nature watching, growing out of clothes, learning more about her crazy old parents until she hits the one year mark. Every month feels like a year, and I'm glad things are going slow rather than fast right now.

One month old Sparrow

Two Month Old Tiger

Three month old Angel

Four Month old delight

Five month old monkey

To celebrate Aoife's birthday, we rented a car and went to Muir beach for the first time. It was a very warm day with blue skies, but as we twisted our way down the mountain into the gulch, we noticed that the fog had drifted in. It made the beach somewhat surreal because the sand was warm and the air pleasant, yet it looked cold a dreary. Still the fog added a mystical ambiance to the setting. We ate our lunch which we got at ranch 99 while Aoife watched the seagulls and dogs running around.

Aoife was captivated by the waves, and she looked like a wise old woman staring out at sea in her silence. Gramma and I went out to dip our toes in the water and got a little too wet.
After the beach, we headed up the mountain toward the warm climate and attempted to take a hike, but Aoife would have none of it, and we could tell perhaps it was time to go home. we listened to the presidential debate on the way back, and spent the rest of the night talking and listening about it.

Mommy-baby time

Aoife and I had a lot of fun this week. We went to baby bounce at our local library on Tuesday. Aoife was a little upset at first and let out a couple of whimpers every now and then, but eventually she got used to the place and really enjoyed it. We sang a lot of nursery rhymes and finger songs, and stories. She enjoyed being with the other babies a lot. We spent a long time afterward playing with them. We also went to another baby bounce at the central library in Berkeley, but there were over thirty babies and toddlers which made it crowded, noisy, and just plain not fun. We'll probably not go back to that one again.

Aoife has been trying new foods again. I introduced her to squash and sweet potato. She didn't like the squash a whole lot, but thouroughly enjoyed the sweet potato. The next day I went and bought some sweet potatos so that I could make a whole bunch for her rather than buying it all the time. It didn't turn out the way I would have liked, but Aoife didn't mind it too much. I need to get a mill so that I can puree it properly.
Aoife and I have wonderful afternoons together. After her afternoon nap, we go for a stroll in the neighborhood and I take a book so that I can get some reading done at a little bench along the way. We took a different path one day and came across this tree which seems to be a mix between an evergreen and a willow. Aoife and I stopped there and admired the tree for a long time. I have never seen such a tree before. We then go home and play a little before her bathtime. She takes a bath and then I dry her off in her duck towel while she looks at herself in the mirror and then we get ready for bed and eat and sleep. She seems to like this schedule a lot, so I'm hoping I'll be able to keep it up until she is an older kid.
Dorrie graciously offered to babysit for us, so we took her up on the offer. It was Dorrie's first time babysitting Aoife at night since Aoife was a couple months old. Tim and I went on our first real date since Aoife was born. We went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant in Elmwood. We had a great time reconnecting with each other again. We had a delicious meal and walked down college to buy pie and ice-cream for dessert. It was a beautiful night and we enojyed being in each others arms as we walked back home. Dorrie enjoyed her night with Aoife and had no problems. We spent a while talking with Dorrie before her sleepy eyes begged her to go home.

hippo fun

Last week of work

This was my last week of work. I'm taking a month off because I have many things to do. I'm glad that I don't have to teach for a while. I was getting very tired and barely had time to catch my breath. Sometimes the students can be quite demanding and I'm wondering why I need to put so much effort into motivating them all the time. They need to step up to line without me pushing them so much. I guess this is typical of summer time students, and it is really rewarding to see them improving.

It was Dorrie's last Wednesday of taking care of Aoife in the morning. Aoife is going to miss those mornings with Dorrie. This time Dorrie had taught Aoife some new songs such as the leaf song which is quite appropriate for this time of year.
Tim and I went to an old time music fest this weekend. It was a beautiful day again, and Aoife seemed to enjoy the music. We then took Aoife to the swing so that daddy could see her swinging in it. She seemed to enjoy it, but was more interested in the other babies on the playground. Aoife has picked up a new skill this week. She has learned to rotate her wrists and can become quiet captivated looking at them doing this. It's a riot to watch her; it makes her arm look like a machine or robot arm: funny girl!

Swing Aoife Swing

I'm so happy!

Aoife on the Potty

Aoife and I are no longer sick. I decided that it was time to feed Aoife more food; twice a day. She seems to be hungry all the time and the milk just isn't cutting it for her. So now I make her banana rice cereal. I mash up the bananas and mix up the rice cereal. then, I combine the mixtures and heat them up. She LOVES to eat. She is now able to sit in her high chair. On Saturday, Tim made pancakes and all three of us had our breakfast together. We pulled Aoife's chair over to the table with us, and I fed her a few times while Tim and I ate the blueberry pancakes up. It was a momentous occasion that filled us with love. Eating together as a family is such a comforting experience and one we hope Aoife will enjoy with us every single day of her childhood.
Aoife is sitting up with more strength this week and for longer periods of time. She has also found her tongue. There were a couple of days where she kept her tongue hanging out most of the time. It was so cute. She doesn't seem to use it for anything; she just lets it hang out and wiggles it around. Maybe it grew last week. Aoife also enjoys bath-time a lot more now. I had to take off the infant sling because she is way too big for it now. She can now sit up in her tub all by herself. She loves to splash and kick and doesn't even mind it when water gets into her eyes. She splashes and looks at me with a huge smile. She has a little hipppo bath toy that she loves to try and catch, but it's too difficult because it's so slippery. Potty training stopped while she was sick, but now I'm doing it again. She really loves not being in a diaper, and I really enjoy doing this with her. We have had many mistakes, but we're getting the hang of it. I have her timed pretty well as to when she needs to go, and she also goes when I cue her. I'm glad the weather is nice here; otherwise, I don't think I could stick with it.
Dorrie came by again and had a good time with Aoife playing all sorts of games with her. I enjoyed talking to Dorrie afterwards about her experience at the Interplay retreat. She also talked about slow food nation which she attended on Labor day. I'm taking off a month in a week so Dorrie will not have to care for Aoife. I'm sure Aoife will miss her so hopefully we can do things with Dorrie. Tims mom is coming in a couple of weeks which we're so excited for. It's always fun when Gramma comes to visit. Aoife is at a fun age right now to be around.
Last weekend, we went to a BBQ with Tim's co-workers. It was lovely to get out of the city and into nature again. Aoife was pretty good. She's a shy little baby and would get upset when too many people were paying attention to her, so I'd have to take her away for some quiet time. The one thing that she loved at the picnic was a dog named Foster. She watched him for a long time playing with a Frisbee. She laughed and giggled and just couldn't take her eyes off of him. I think we have an animal lover in our presence.

I love my Daddy

Sick

Aoife went to the doctor on her 5th month old birthday for a check up. Liz, her usual doctor, was not there today, so instead we got a different pediatrician who used to work with Liz. First of all, she got weighed and to our surprise she's only 14lbs. We were betting on 17-18lbs. She just seems heavier I guess. She is a lot longer though; 26 inches. She a lean little thing. The doctor gave her a thorough physical and said she was in tip top shape! After the doctor saw her, the dreaded nurse came in with shots. She only got half the dose this time because I said that she got a fever last time. Aoife took them pretty well. She mostly seemed a little bit shocked but got over them easy-brave little sparrow.
Aoife is now sitting up all by herself which is so much fun for her. She likes playtime on Tim's baby blanket. Dorrie came over again on Wednesday to take care of Aoife. Dorrie wanted to try leaving Aoife diaper free. She had one success at catching her pee; Dorrie said it was a funny experience. But, Aoife surprised her later with a little accident. Dorrie said that Aoife was a little unsatisfied with life today and was making a high pitched whine every now and then. I guessed that it was probably from her shots. Later that night, Aoife got a fever and Tim went to buy her some infant Tylenol which Aoife didn't enjoy tasting. I was also getting sick. About half the students in my class have been sick and I picked it up which of course Aoife then picked up.
Still, Aoife and I took time to watch the democratic convention. Obama's speech was eloquent and uplifting. There were times when I got goose bumps and even a few tears. What a great speaker. We don't really watch TV much so Aoife enjoyed watching it with me. Tim went to Wisconsin this weekend to our friends wedding. I really wish I could have gone, but Aoife and I were sick anyway. It was Tim's first time away from Aoife and even though he enjoyed the break, he missed her. Aoife and I enjoyed our time together coughing and sneezing upon each other. We took it pretty slow this weekend and just went on a lot of walks. Tim came back on Monday, and we celebrated our 6th year anniversary together. We went to a Thai restaurant and had the most delicious dishes. We got the chicken satay for an appitizer and for the entree Tim got a lamb red curry with squash and I got the roast duck red curry with pineapple. I was so satisfied. We also took a walk down by the Bay. The weather here is gorgeous and we ejoyed staring out across the bay at San Francisco and the Golden gate bridge.