Growth Spurt

First of all, this is NOT our house in the background. It's the Yeats Mill - a small working corn mill turned museum close by. I took Mom there on her visit. The mill is a working one, as I said and they do grind and sell corn throughout the summer. We went on a tour the other day - very interesting!

Mark is almost 7 months old now and is growing super-fast. This has been a very eventful month for him. First, he grew 2 teeth. Then - he learned to roll all the way onto his tummy. And now, just last week, he learned how to sit on his own!

I thought it was supposed to be gradual: one day he'd try to sit up with support; then - he'd sit up on his own, but leaning forward onto his arms; then - sit up without any support; and finally, in due time, sit up, lean over to reach and grab a toy, then straighten himself up again. Well, well, well... that was a nice theory. Up until last week Mark simply refused to sit, even supported. He would either object loudly or slouch into an almost-horizontal position. More often than not he did both. I started getting a bit worried - a 6-month old baby was supposed to WANT to learn how to sit. And then it happened: last Monday Mark was slouching and crying when sitted. And last Tuesday he all of a sudden decided not only to sit up, but to lean over, grab a toy, and straighten back up WITH the toy!

So here are the pictures - Mark is sitting on his own - no trickery, no Mom and Dad supporting him, no pillows to prop him.

He loves reaching for everything that is out of his range - a toy, a plate, a phone, a napkin. No crawling yet, but he's trying really hard. This reach-and-grab thing replaced all his other games, even the jumper doesn't interest him much right now. Mark's favorite toys this month are Alphabooks by Baby Einstein. Foods - anything, but green vegetables or cottage cheese. I bought him a feeder (like a small pouch made out of mesh fabric and with a handle on one side) and feed him bananas and peaches. Big plastic bibs are out, ever since the whole made-in-China recall debacle. So we're back to small fabric bibs - a HUGE mess every time Mark eats solids. Lots of clean-up, but perfect picture opp!

Mom's Visit - Part 2

It's great having Mom here and not only because of all the help cooking, cleaning, watching Mark. Actually, I tried, rather successfully, to limit her volunteering efforts. Instead, I took 3 days off to relax and spend more quality time as a family. It was a bit different since we had no car in the morning to go anywhere and it was insanely hot in the afternoon. But we did go to the pool once more. We actually walked there and back!

We also went to the Oak View Plantation here, in Raleigh. It's a nice old plantation not far from us that was turned into a park and a sort of museum. All the buildings are restored and open for visitors (free). There's an old barn, a cotton gin (there's a very nice hands-on exhibit there about cotton growing), the main house, a kitchen with all the period tools and cooking utensils. I also took Mom to the Yeats Mill and, lucky us, they were having one of the corn griding demos. We didn't go on a tour since Mark was getting cranky. But we got to watch from the outside how the miller opened the water gate and how the water rushed into the huge wheel and how it started slowly turning... It probably sounds very boring, but I guess you just gotta be there to appreciate. Besides, the entire place - the mill, the pond, the park around it - is very beautiful and makes you want to linger in one of the rocking chairs.

And we went on a big road trip - to Charleston, SC. Ok, so it's only 4 hours away. But making this trip with a 6-months old that is full of energy and never sleeps - 4 hours seem like 24. I packed so many toys that I could've passed for a Santa's little helper. We actually had to get a bigger car to fit all Mark's gear in it (a stroller, a bag with diapers, food, spare outfits, etc). We got to North Charleston (a very ugly place, by the way, and chocked with traffic day and night) around 5pm, checked in at a La Quinta Inn, soaked our stiff joints in the pool for a little bit and then drove to Hanahan to see my cousin Olga and her parents, Sam and Lydia (Olga's husband, Noah, had to work evening shift). Unfortunately, it was a very short visit and I spent most of it taking care of Mark - feeding, pacifying, rocking him to sleep, etc. So I barely got to chat with my relatives.

The next morning we got up early and drove to the Isle of Palms. What a nice place! We decided that next time we're in Charleston, we'll get a hotel room there. The water was nice and warm, with just small waves. There were no huge hotels to uglify the scenery. Instead, there was plenty of parking, beach access, restrooms, well-preserved dunes, picturesque sea-side cottages, shops selling Isle of Palms branded souveniers and all the nice things that one might want at a sea-side resort town. And I even got stung by a jelly-fish!

Later that morning we drove to the historic Charleston and walked around a bit. What a nice place! We decided that next time we're in Charleston, we'll get a hotel room there. Wait... I think I am repeating myself. Ok, so next time we're in Charleston, we'll have to stay there for 2-3 nights - both at the Isle of Palms and in the historic district. It was getting hot and Mark was getting tired. We were all gettign tired and hungry and all. So we grabbed some Arby's and headed to my cousin's house once more for the final goodbyes. Besides, it was a convenient refueling and diaper-changing stop for Mark.

6 Months and Mom's Visit

Mark turned 6 months last Thursday. Thank you for all the phone calls and e-mails that we received. He's doing great! We had our first graduation - from a swimming class. Ok, so he's not a very accomplished swimmer yet; but he's not afraid of water and enjoys kicking and splashing and chasing a toy duck around the big pool. Once in a while I dunk him and he takes it very matter-of-factly - doesn't cry or look surprised, but quickly gets back to whatever he was doing such as chasing a duck or sucking on his thumb.

Another thing that happened last Thursday was THE TOOTH! Yes, Mark got his first tooth (bottom left, just as we suspected). I was going to name this lonely tooth, something like Chompy or whatnot. But alas, there's another one coming out already! Of course, Mark is chewing on everything now and is a bit cranky. He also bites now pretty hard!

The day after Mark's birthday, last Friday, we went to meet Mom at the airport. She flew in for a week of vacation time. I couldn't believe it - Mom was flying UNACCOMPANIED! And judging by her big smile, it was a good experience. And she brought several pounds of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from her garden. (check out this holla to Mom and the tomatoes that was published on Barbara Kingslover's website). Back home, she assured us that she was not tired at all from the trip after which she fell sound asleep in the guest room.

Also on Friday, Mark learned turning all the way from his back to his belly. He really loves it now and uses his new skill at the first opportunity, creating new diaper-change challenges.

It is very hot here, in Raleigh, and we stay in-doors during the day (plus I work). But on Saturday we all went to the beach. It was just a day trip. We drove 2 hours to get there; spent 20 minutes setting up the site; 20 minutes - changing and feeding Mark; 10 minutes in the water with Mark, jumping over the waves; 40 minutes - eating lunch; and another 2 hours - driving back home. But such is life with the little one.

Size 3 Diapers

Mark now wears size 3 diapers. Yes, he is getting bigger and bigger every day! We went to the doctor last week for his 6-month check-up (time flies) - Mark weights 16.24lbs and is 26in long. No teeth yet, but we're thinking it won't take long now.

Of course, moving up in the world of diapers was not the only thing we did last week. We also celebrated my birthday. Yeah, again... time flies... Anyway, not to make a big secret out of it, I turned 29. Chris got me a ginormous chocolate cake with enough sugar in it to OD an elephant. And then he proceeded to put 29 candles on it and almost ran out of space. One more candle and he would have to put it on the side of the cake. Not a bad idea for next year though - a cake covered with candles all over, like a hedgehog. We waited until Mark fell asleep in the evening so we could have that cake and eat it too. Once Mark fell asleep, Chris started lighting the candles. By the time he finished with the last one, Mark woke up and we had to rush through the whole candle-blowing and cake-eating thing. That's how I learned that the older you get, the less fun you get to have.

We continue going to the pool every day. Mark is doing well, I think. He seems to like most of it, except putting on a life-saver jacket. Actually, he threw a fit today when we tried to get him into one. Oh well, he'll really have to learn how to swim on his own then. Funny - he hates the life-jacket, but doesn't mind diving at all. What else... Oh, Mark started trying to sit up. If he's in a good mood, he would lean forward and rest on his hands while sitting, just for a few seconds. He also learns rolling over. Most of the time he needs a bit of help, but only a very tiny bit. The rest of the rolling over from back to front he does on his own. And he loves it too, smiles big and immediately tries to crawl.

Oh, Chris got me excellent gifts for my birthday. He baked a huge pizza. Also, he got me three books from my Amazon wish-list which, at present, runs to 95 titles. All three books were fantastic and I would highly recommend them:

1. Justinian Flea - goes over diverse subjects such as Roman emperors, Christianity, geography, bacteria, evolution, military science, etc, etc that all contributed to the decline and fall of Roman empire.

2. Living in Foreign Language - a memoir by Michael Tucker about how he and his wife bought a house in Umbria and moved to Italy. This book is a light read, but its value lies in very thorough and mouthwatering descriptions of Italian dishes. It's very inspirations - I'm going to learn Italian cooking now.

3. Banvard's Folly - this book is absolutely fascinating if a bit depressing. It's about "13 people who did not change the world". It starts with an American artist, Banvard, that was famous for painting a 3-mile long diorama of Mississippi river. I'm reading about Martin Tupper who, contrary to what you might think did not create Tupperware, but was a poet. Oh, if only he lived in the age of Hallmark cards!

Swimming Lesson

Today was Mark's first swimming lesson. As I already said many times, we are really centrally located and close to everything. This everything includes 2 swimming pools - an outdoor one at Lake Johnson and an indoor one at Pullen Park. These are public pools and better yet, they host all sorts of swim programs, including a program for very little kids. Last week Melanie and I signed our little ones up for an 8-session Parent & Child class. This class is for kids 6-18 months.

Today's lesson almost didn't happen since it was raining. But fortunately, strong rain passed quickly leaving just some sprinkles behind. So the pool stayed open. Oh, when getting Mark ready for the pool, we realized that the swimming diapers that we bought for him were girl diapers, the pink Dora the Explorer creation. Oops! Didn't matter much anyway since he was wearing cool sports trunks over the diaper. Other than Olivia and Mark, there were 3 more kids there - a 6-month old girl, a 10-month old boy Justin, and another boy that looked like he was about a year old. Chris was taking pictures and I got to go into the water and swim with Mark.

Of course, the entire lesson was held at the shallow end of the pool. We all got into the water and played some games with kids - twirling them around, jumping up and down, letting them swim a bit on their backs, and even practicing some passes. It was great fun, at least for me. I don't think that Mark was enjoying it all that much - usually very smily and giggly, he stayed dead-serious and pouty. But then he never likes anything on the first try. And he wasn't crying or trying to get out either. 30 minutes was plenty because the day was not very warm and the sun was hidden behind the dark heavy clouds all the time.

Tomorrow is the 2nd lesson, weather permitting. Hopefully it'll be warmer and Mark will enjoy the whole experience a bit more.

Two Weeks

What can happen in just two short weeks? It seems that today is very much the same as yesterday, yet so many things happen... We're continuing renovating our house. This time it's Mark's room and the living room that are being taken care of. Mark's room had a window that was overlooking the living room, actually, mostly just the popcorn on the living room ceiling. Very stupid idea... Well, the window is no longer there, replaced with a wall. And by the way, there's no popcorn on the ceilings either. Good riddance! Also, the living room is painted, including the fireplace. It's a lot brighter now. I'll post the pictures as soon as the furniture is put in proper places. For now, there's still some minor painting to do, also - hanging ceiling fans, updating furniture, getting some kind of rug, etc, etc.

Last weekend we went to the Yates Mill. It's a historic mill about 15-minute drive from our house. There used to be dozens of mills in the area just like this one, water-powered, milling corn and wheat. But this one is the only one left. So now they have a small park and an excellent museum. And you can go on a very interesting tour of the mill. Better yet, once in a while they actually get the water-wheel cranking and mill some corn! That's what we went to see. I wish I didn't forget to take my camera - the day was excellent and I would had snapped plenty of pix of the mill and the water-snakes.

What else? Of course, Mark is doing a lot of growing up. He's 5 and 1/2 months old already! Last week he learned a lot of new things. For example, when Chris or I hold him with one hand and try to get a drink of water or juice with another, he reaches for a cup, grabs it, and tries to drink out of it. Same thing with food - gotta watch him now. He also rolls from his back to his side, pulls his feet to his mouth, and does tons of other little adorable things. When laying on his tummy, Mark now doesn't just look straight, but turns his head sideway to look at me and Chris. I think, he also started noticing Xander. Also, Mark is really getting a hang of this jumper toy - he can stay in it for quite a while and jumps up and down. When we go out, look out all you girls and old ladies. Mark is a horrible flirt! He can be hungry, tired, cranky, but the moment he catches you paying attention to him, he'll give you the most charming big smile! Oh, all the cooing and admiring he gets from everyone! If I only had a dollar for each time he was caled cute and adorable or complemented on his eyes (still blue) or his smile (still toothless)! Finally, today we had the most exciting thing happen - when I pulled Mark to sitting, he continued sitting for several seconds practically with no help from me! And he seems to like it! Next thing we know, he'll be sitting by himself.

Oh, and also two more things. I bought and read the last Harry Potter book. It was great; too bad there will be no more of HP. And Xander is going through is annual craze - he walks around the house, mewing and trying to escape. He actually ran out a couple of times, but then came back. When he escapes, he stays in the yard. We tried to lure him back once or twice, but he hisses, yells, and even tries to attack us - very scary! So we just let him get over it and then he comes to the front door quite subdued and waits to be let in. Can someone explain this cat to me? It's not even spring-time!

Mark is 5 Months Old!

To celebrate, Mom and Dad had some ice-cream and then took the birthday boy to the beach. The ride was longer than we expected which meant a lot of crying and screaming from Mark. So many firsts - touching the sand, washing off little tootsies in the warm ocean, flying over the beach like a seagull... Mom and Dad stuffed their faces (don't they always?...) on BBQ, shrimp sandwich, hush puppies, and fresh fried zuccinies. Yumm!

And on the way home, taking the long road, we saw lots of farms, corn and tobacco fields, and big cows.

4th of July

This 4th of July we stayed home and celebrated 1 year anniversary of discovering that I was pregnant. Yes, the Independence Day 2006 was very memorable indeed!

We do not have a grill and our yard is a mess this year. So instead of a traditional hamburgers and hotdogs, we decided to get a bit sophisticated. Ok, so it was my decision and Chris had to once again get over his dream of a big juicy steak... Instead, I made a seafood boil. It sounded very Cape Cod and fancy, but turned out to be simple and quick and absolutely delicious. Here it is on the picture. For seafood I used shrimp and clams, but all kinds of seafood and fish can be used in it. The more, the merrier (also, more expensive).

I also made cole-slaw (with a mix of napa, red, and savoy cabbage and red onion and dressing made with Italian dressing, pickled jalapenos, and Dijon mustard). It was lots better than gooey mayo-bloated cole-slaw and it got even better after chilling in the fridge overnight. Then I made a Key Lime pie and an upside-down peach pie. And to round up a meal, I made real lemonade, squeezing lemons and adding slices of orange and some cherries (that's how they make it at our Farmers' Market).

In the afternoon we went to the State Fairgrounds for the 4th of July celebration. We got there early and just walked around. NC State Agricultural Commission was giving out slices of cold, juicy and perfectly ripe watermelons (free, while supplies last). Watermelon and soft-served ice-cream! Later that night we (and the rest of Raleigh citizens) drove to the fireworks which were very good.

Duke Gardens

Saturday was uneventful - shopping, shopping, house chores, some more shopping. The bright spot was going to the Farmers' Market and to the Quail Ridge bookstore. Today we decided to get outside and explore. And so we went to Durham to see Duke Gardens.

It is a very beautiful place (not Durham, which is mostly a dump). The university campus looks very dignified, stately, expensive. I suspect that all the buildings there are actually pretty new. Or maybe the new buildings are carefully matched to the old architecture. Either way, it is very impressive. But back to the gardens. They are very large, with plenty of twisting paths and walkways running in all directions. We actually got a bit lost there after a while. Parking is free on Sundays and there are a lot of children, dogs, and adults that looks prosperous, well-educated, and happy. But the gardens are big enough and have enough benches, lawns, and secret little benches here and there that even with all the picnicking-running-playing-picture-snapping-sunning activity there is a sense of privacy, if not detachment.

We strolled through the rose garden, under the gazebo at the entrance to the terrace garden, up and down the terrace garden itself, around its beautiful water-lilly covered pond. Then we walked around the big lawn and found a nice wooden bench in the shade of a still-blooming magnolia tree. There we sat quietly, people watching while listening to the music and bells from the Duke Cathedral. Then we walked slowly out of the gardens and to the cathedral itself. Returning to the gardens, we got a bit lost. Some of the smaller paths, the most intriguing-looking ones, we could not take - they are not stroller-friendly. But we passed by many such detours, past a small pond and a creek, and into the Asian Collection. Finally we walked through a small wooden gate and found ourselves back in the Rose Garden. It was unexpected - passing by a Japanese stone lantern hidden in a grove of bamboo, past a pagoda-like wooden pavilion, and emerging almost in the center of a fragrant rose circle. It was a bit like Alice-in-Wonderland.

The rest of the day was a lot less exciting - just cooking, cleaning, laundry, diapers, getting last-minute groceries, a couple of new toys for Mark, looking for a high-chair... And tomorrow is Monday again - back to work. What a shame, really!!! Where's my winning lottery ticket?!

New Things that Mark Can Do

1. Mark LOVES carrots. Here he is, enjoying a big mouthful of sweet carrots. So now he eats rice cereal, peas, carrots and drinks milk and water (out of a sippy cup).

2. Mark can TOUCH HIS TOES. Hooray, he's noticing his feet now and grabs and holds his toes. He doesn't chew on them yet. I guess it's because he's so busy with carrots, peas and other foodstuff.

3. Mark learned to MANIPULATE his parents. In the evenings we sometimes go on a walk, all three of us. He knows exactly how to cry to make us take him out of the stroller and carry just the way he likes it.

Little Cousins

Last weekend we had tons of guests over -my brother, my cousin Pavel, and his daughter Alisa. So Pavel and Alisa saw Mark for the first time. I think we all had good time here. Too bad it was only for two days - Sunday and Monday - and I worked on Monday.

On Sunday Alisa played with Mark and generally ran around the house looking at things. She is tons of fun - talks a lot, asks A LOT of questions, bounces around like a little Energizer bunny, and it seems like she never ever gets tired. Well, maybe if you take her on a long-long walk. We did just that when we all went to Lake Lynn in the afternoon. And on Monday Chris made a big pizza! And we also had cake!! And that's why I still can't loose weight!!! (Plus I have like no will-power).

I think we all had a lot of fun. The only casualty of the visit was our cat, Xander. For some reason he really hates guests, especially children. He doesn't mind Mark and seems to like my parents. But he took a deep dislike of my brother almost from the moment they met and tried to sneakily attack him a couple of times. As for Alisa (and other small children), Xan gets scared, mews, growls like a dog, makes all sorts of threatening noises, and eventually tries to attack their feet. Alisa is a very generous girl and she seemed to like Xan even after all his rudeness. But for her safety and for Xan's sanity and life protection, we locked him up in a spare room for most of the time.

In other news, I feed Mark some sweet peas now. Gotta make sure that he likes the veggies, right? He is puzzled by the texture since it's a lot more "solid" than milk or liquid-y rice cereal. I don't know if he likes the tast that much or if he just likes chewing on the spoon, but he eats 2-3 baby spoons of this stuff and then licks his fingers and bib. I eat the rest so it doesn't spoil - very fresh and yummy! Xan got a hold of one of Mark's spoons and chewed the heck out of it. Maybe he's hinting that he wants some peas?

Mark

This has been a pretty exciting week. Mark has learned a great deal. He communicates now mostly through grunts and squeals. Crying is reserved only for extreme situations - when he's hungry, frustrated, or scared. He makes two different kinds of grunts. One is a good ol' "pooping" grunt - haha. The other one sounds like a low humming sound and he uses it sometimes when he's trying to fall asleep. His squeals are very loud now and serve not just to express delight and joy, but also to attract attention. If not properly attended to, these squeals degenerate into a loud protesting cry.

Yesterday we fed him new food - sweet peas. He was mostly surprised and didn't seem to like it too much. But at the same time he kept opening his mouth for another spoonful. We'll see if he likes it more today.

Also, he started expressing mild interest in his legs and toes. Sometimes he straightens his leg and grabs his knee. Other times he just watches his toes wiggle.

Most exciting of all, for half the night he sleeps in his basinet. Yes, we brought the basinet back into our room since I feel very uneasy about letting him sleep in a separate room yet. So after he goes to sleep, Chris moves him to the basinet. Mark is really big now so he touches the sides of the basinet with his feet and hands. But he seems to like the snuggness. Anyway, he sleeps there until about 2:30am when he wakes up to eat. After he eats, I just let him sleep in our bed for the rest of the night since both Chris and I are totally exhausted.

Father's Day Weekend

It felt like a long and very fun weekend. My parents visited. They got here on Friday afternoon, just as we finished all the preparation work - baking healthy organic muffins and very unhealthy cookies, cleaning up, etc. As usual, when parents arrived, they brought so much stuff with them, that it looked like they were moving in. And of course, they brought tons of food stuff, enough to award their Toyota Corolla an "official hunger-relief car" status. After unpacking and settling down, they got busy spoiling Mark. And Chris and I were just too happy to have 4 more hands to cary Mark around all the time; so we didn't mind. On Friday evening we made a big pizza from scratch. Chris made dough and I - toppings. It turned out so great that we decided to make pizza every week now.

On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market. When I say "we" I really mean Mom, myself, Chris, and Mark. Dad stayed in the house, smoked, browsed Internet, and tried to get over his back-pain. Mom was really impressed by our Farmer's Market. Now it really boasts a huge variety of fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, flowers, cheeses and all that stuff. Originally we didn't plan on buying anything. But how could we resist all the sights and the smells and the sounds. And so we bought some goat cheese, tomatoes, cukes, and freshly picked bluberries. Mom even bought some flowers, included a small rose plant, to plant in NY.

Back at the house we set to cooking - yummy cold beet soup, leftover pizza, and a very-berry layered dessert. And we had so much sweet stuff - Chris's oatmeal-raising cookies, muffins, chocolate-dipped apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and of course all the apricots, cherries, grapes, and peaches that Mom could haul from NY. Then we waited until it cooled off a bit outside and drove to Pullen Park for a little stroll. We chose Pullen Park mostly because we wanted plenty of benches for Dad to sit on since his leg was bothering him. But the evening was so nice and the park - so lovely! There were plenty of children there, as usual, but most of the BBQ shelters were empty. Carousel and other rides were open and paddleboats were gliding all around the little lake. We simply walked around snapping pictures of each other.

After eating dinner, we decided that it would be a good idea to feed Mark his first solid food in front of his grandparents. And so I quickly made some water-based Gerber Organic Rice cereal; we put Mark in his swing (haven't gotten him a high-chair yet); put a huge bib on him; and I approached him with a little spoon bought just for the occassion. Chris was at the ready with the camera and Dad - aiming at us with a camcoder. I was almost sure with all this commotion, Mark would simply ignore the food. But he was such a good boy - opened his mouth wide for the spoon, made cute surprised cooing noises, and covered his face and his bib with cereal in the most darling way. And after eating ONE WHOLE TEASPOON of cereal, I took him upstairs for some regular food. Then later on he even drew a picture for his grandparents under Chris's and Grandma's supervision.

So after the grandparents left early on Sunday, Chris and I went to the stores to get Chris his Father's Day gift. Since Chris didn't know what he wanted and I didn't want to get him a pair of socks, we went to a couple of stores and got him several bars of gourmet dark chocolate. And later in the evening we drove to yet another park - Lake Lynn - for a nice leisurely 2.2-mile stroll. Going back to work on Mondays is getting ever more difficult!!!