Points for Sharing

Will Maxine crawl? Will she talk? Will she walk? Will she choke on the food we are giving her? And, most importantly, when will she dance?



Ben and I had date night #2 on Friday. Uncle Ted scored us great tickets to the Cowboy Junkies concert. They were great, I had a wonderful mojito, and Ben and I got to ride our bikes downtown. All good things. The lead singer of the band kept going back stage during the concert... just walking off... and I was joking with Ben that she was going back there to throw up (no reason). But, at one point she mentioned that her 5 year old son was back stage and she was watching him sleep on the table back there with his teddy bear under his head for a pillow. Then she said, "All moms wonder if they are doing the right thing." This is the theme of the past several months for me and, from what I am learning, will be the theme of the rest of my life. Good thing to look forward to...



Maxine can push herself up onto her hands and knees. She does a fantastic plank and push up and, for all you yogis, her downward dog is pretty spot on. She scoots backwards, rolls, and climbs... but no crawl. Some predict she will go straight to walking since she spends so much time pulling herself up to a standing position. Many have told me that she can stand unattended for a few seconds but I hardly believe it.



Aside from toast, Maxine hates food. We have fed her bananas, pineapple, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, green beans, kidney beans, rice cereal, pears, peaches, applesauce, yogurt, hummus... you name it, by the way she reacts, you'd think she hates it. However, I think she just wants to feed herself and not have everything mashed up. The most success has resulted from us letting her feed herself and suck on whatever we are eating. She sort of likes bananas sometimes... hummus, too. We were steaming her food and blending it but it became such a hassle for nothing. So, we have jarred baby food that we test on her daily. She likes toast (as you can see) and french fries... We are learning to become more lax about what we feed her. Her main subsistence is her all time favorite - breastmilk.



Maxine threw up for the first time a week ago. this was not any spit up, people. Full-on, Exorcist throw up. She was lying on her back and it came out of her with such force that i swear it shot a foot above her before it fountained all over the bed... yes, my bed. She was napping next to me which means that it also fountained all over me. I was beside myself with worry, she didn't seem phased... once I got past what had happened I realized the awful mess that was all over myself, Maxine and the bed... and then I wondered how such a little creature could release so much fluid... why isn't she all shriveled up like a raisin? She is fine, I am fine, and the bed is fine...

The other night, like every night, I went into her room before I went to bed to make sure she was still breathing, etc (I know, psycho mom). As I stood there with my hand on her chest feeling for the up/down movement that indicates that my child is still alive, I thought to myself, "I can't believe we have managed to keep this child alive for 8 whole months! How are we going to do it for 18 more years?"

Longest Post Ever

Well, this post is WAY overdue. Since my last post, Maxine has met most of her Peace Corps Nepal buddies and many of their babes, traveled to Mexico and met her cousins and Auntie Jeanne and Uncle Adam, started trying to crawl, had a tooth break through on her lower gum (right front), and traveled to Seattle to attend her first comic convention, have her first shared bath and see her very good friends Nicola, Kate, Anthony, Amanda and Tyler... Phew! So, here is the long and short of it ALL..

Peace Corps Nepal Visitors Head to the White Mountains

Amanda and Chris traveled from Brooklyn, the Gurungs traveled from Minnesota, and the Weisses traveled from Ohio. It was a blast. We love everyone and were so happy to see them all. Maxine LOVED the kids.


Auntie Konnie gave Maxine her first pedicure under the careful supervision of her son Shakti.



Auntie Amanda and Uncle Mukhiya have a way with kids. Everyone loved them. Mukhiya would just sweep any crying kid into his arms and they would immediately smile and coo at him. Auntie Amanda turned into the Pied Piper (is that how that is spelled) and always had an entourage of kids following her. She was definitely the "cool" one of the adults!



The men played dramatic games of horseshoes. I am not sure who won or if anyone actually did... but they were awlways perfecting their form. Uncle Adam worked hard to keep his crayon skills up... I think he was a bit intimidated by the in house artist (Maxine's dad, of course!).



The kids all got along so well. It was so much fun to see them play. We can't wait to throw Henry into the mix!



On the last day we all took family photos. I have to say the Brooklyn crew seemed to bring it more than the rest... see, they even have one of the entourage in there (I told you!).



There were also some pretty crazy leg wrestling matches. I, personally, am addicted and can't find anyone to train with... bummer. The moms all hid out in the upstairs closet with a bottle of wine... just like the good old days. On the way back to Tucson we stopped at a slot canyon and gave the crew a nice taste of some of the southwestern beauty. It was a great walk/hike and the scary rope/metal bridge was a perfect addition to our nepal reunion!

We were lucky to have the Weisses come a day early and the Gurungs to stay a few days late. It was so much fun and I can't believe it has already been a month since they left. We love you all!

MEXICO! Ole!

We left for Mexico the same day that the Gurungs left for home... we all packed up and drove away from our house at the same time. It was so nice to head straight for vacation # 2 so I didn't have to be too sad with an empty house. Maxine was fantastic on her first flight.

We stayed at a family-friendly all-inclusive resort south of Cancun. It was so gluttonous, relaxing, and wonderful. The rooms came equipped with cribs, changing tables, bottle sterilizers, baby bath robe (she looked like a little boxer in it), strollers... you name it! They had baby food on ice plus all of the food and drink you can imagine. It was overwhelming and perfect. They even had an included service where they would bathe your child for you - don't worry we did not take advantage... weird.

Maxine's cousins are Ande (10 years), Sophie (6 years), and Joe (1 month younger than Maxine). Joe is absolutely adorable and the girls were so good with both Maxine and Joe. Maxine was able to whip out her new skill of "picking on the youngest" that she learned from the Peace Corps kids. She never hesitated to pull Joe's pacifier out or pull him over. Joe was such a trooper.

We got Maxine a little lobster floaty to swim in. She loved the water. We took her down to the beacha nd the first thing she did was rub sand in her eyes. Awwwww.

We had so many laughs with the family and loved hanging out. It is always too long between our visits with one another.

When we got back from Cancun, I went to get Maxine ready for bed that first night and we noticed something shiny on her little mobile above her bed. As Ben looked closer he saw that there were little nails stuck to the magnets that hold the birds on her mobile. This suspicious find reminded me of the night before we left for Mexico and the Gurungs were still with us. Konnie and I found Shakti and Nayana standing in Maxine's crib. We didn't know what they were doing but Konnie still asked the kids, "Are you helping or hurting?" Nayana responded, "Helping." Shakti responded, "Hurting."

Bog Spring Trail

As you can see from the photo below that "spring" is a bit of a stretch. Luckily we hiked further and found a nice stream to have a picnic. Look closely... ben surprised me with a wine picnic! Yum... made for an interesting hike down.


Maxine Goes to Seattle!

Last weekend the three of us headed to maxine's first comic show in Seattle! We stayed with our good friends Nicola, Kate, and Anthony. Nicola is two weeks younger than Maxine. Her parents used to live next door to us in Tucson... as soon as they moved we all got pregnant... I still tear up when I see their old house (yes, every day!). We were so lucky to spend the whole weekend with Auntie Amanda and Uncle Tyler, too! Amanda and Tyler live 2 blocks from Kate and Anthony! It was so fun to hang out. As ou can see Maxine and Nica hit it off in the bath. Nica is a feisty lady... while Maxine hammed it up for the camera, Nica took Maxine down with the old "pull the back of the hair move" and then stole her pacifier. Luckily, Maxine loves the camera so much she wasn't phased at all. Thank you Kate, Anthony, Nica, Amanda and Tyler... it was so wonderful to see you.