Germany Bound

Tomorrow we leave for our trip to Germany. We are basically all packed, which I think is a challenge with a baby. Miss O has become even more active in the past couple of weeks. Since she has improved her crawling form considerably, she has become pretty fast. We are making good use of our baby gate so that she doesn't tumble down the stairs she is always so curious about. We are pretty nervous about how we are going to keep Olivia contained and entertained on the plane. Even when we hold her she's all over the place. It can be pretty exhausting. We are still hoping we can get her to sleep some in her little crib provided by the airlines. I'm sure the other passengers hope so too. I've been surprised at how tolerant the cats have been with Livi chasing them around. Cyrus, the black cat, was an adult when I adopted him, which was before I met Yale. As I have mentioned before, he can be kind of a jerk. He has been known to bite and scratch. So when Oli was born, I fully expected having to find him a new home as a result of him hurting her. Both Yale and I have been pleasantly surprised at how patient he has been. Just yesterday Olivia leaned over on top of him, grabbed two fistfuls of fur and gave him a great big hug. I was shocked when he just sat there. This is the kind of thing that would have led to him at least snapping and then running away. I thought it was pretty funny when Olivia was chasing him around the office a few days ago and Cyrus stopped to smell her breath (she thought that was pretty funny). He then proceeded to turn around and put his rear end directly in her face. Now, much to my surprise, this didn't seem to bother her a bit. At first I thought it was a little rude of him, but then I wondered if this was some kind of friendship cat gesture. You let me smell your breath and I'll let you smell my butt. I know, it's kind of weird, but it truly seemed to be a bonding experience for the two of them. I do hope that their friendship can continue to blossom, minus the butt-sniffing. The next entry will be filled with stories of our adventures in Germany. Hopefully most of them will be pleasant ones. Hopefully I won't be describing fellow passengers throwing tomatoes at us on the plane because we couldn't control our screaming child, or about me getting seriously lost walking around Frankfurt with Olivia while Yale is at work. We will soon see.

The Melting Continues

I think we can officially say that Olivia is crawling. Although it's not at top form quite yet, she is on all fours most of the time, and making her way across the room. This means it is time for Yale and I to do some serious baby-proofing. She seems especially interested in electrical cords (scary!), CDs, and anything wobbly that looks like she might be able to pull it over. I suppose this is the norm, but, of course, new to us. Olivia has become quite attached to this little pink bunny. It is actually a bunny head with a very plush balnket for a body. I spotted it at Pottery Barn and thought it would be great to snuggle up to and sleep with. Little O seems to really dig the rabbit's soft ears. When we are rocking her she likes to rub the ears on her cheeks. She will sometimes even reach up and rub the ears on our cheeks, which of course melts our hearts instantly. She will even offer her Nuk to us occasionally. I have to admit, sometimes I will suck on it, which usually elicits a little giggle from her.

It's Like Putting Eyeliner on a Wolverine

It seems like Olivia is making more changes now than she ever has. She recently started do the military crawl, so we have to watch her pretty closely. She is especially interested in chewing on electrical cords and knocking over stacks of CDs. She is also getting on to all fours and rocking back and forth. Lots of people have told me they can do this for weeks, even months, before they actually crawl, but I have a feeling it won't be too much longer before she'll be crawling after our cats trying to grab their tails. I guess it is time to do some serious baby-proofing. Olivia turns 7 months old tomorrow. I don't know if most babies her age are as active as she is, but I am amazed at how wiggly she can be. Yale and I are both challenged by trying to get her dressed and changing her diaper. I say it's like tyring to put eyeliner on a wolverine. Yale says it's like putting lipstick on a trout. My good friend Kristin, who has 3 kids, says they grow out of this stage fairly quickly. I am glad to hear it. Thinking about changing diapers alone for the next year and a half, if not longer, sounds challenging enough, but adding having to wrestle a very squirmy, determined baby with poop flying everywhere could push me over the edge. We are waiting to receive Olivia's first passport. Yale has to go to Germany at the end of March for work, so Liv and I have decided to join him. We will be gone about 10 days. Yale will be working for 4 of those days, so that will give Liv and I time to catch up on some sleep and check out the area around our hotel. We are looking forward to exploring the Frankfurt area, as well as meeting up with Ashley and Jason, Yale's sister and brother-in-law. We have done a little bit of traveling with Olivia, so we know there will be times when it sucks, but we are hoping that overall, we all have a good time.