School Picture Day!

Not exactly, but doesn't it look like she's all dressed up in her white shirt and black vest, smiling her nicest school-picture smile?

A Free Toy

I don't know what's normal, but ever since Smacky's birth, her belly button has stuck out. It makes a crackling sound when I push it in, which amuses me, but I'm a responsible grownup and I don't play with it very often. (Not more than 2-3 times a day, that is.)

Recently, upon the advice of my mom and a nurse I queried, we visited our doctor, who said that her belly button is, indeed, herniated.

Most of them right themselves within a couple of years, she said, and the crackling sound you hear is her intestines poking into her belly button.

Ew, I thought, and vowed to stop playing with my baby's intestines, even if they were a fun and accessible toy.


Above is a photograph of Smacky's protruding belly button, and, by proxy, her crying face. She's not crying because she's in pain, gentle reader; she's simply overly tired (it being 11am, and past time for her morning nap) and she's fighting it as valiantly as she fights any injustice that she takes up as her cause.

Polio, Pertussis and Tetanus, oh my!

Yesterday was the day that lives in moms' minds for a long time: baby's first vaccinations. (dun dun duhhhh)

Smacky has two little scabs on her soft left thigh where the nurse jabbed her. I held her hands to keep them from flailing and the nurse surprised me by getting her leg up on the table and sitting on Smacky's feet. Then two shots, about 10 seconds of screaming, and it was over. Phew! I wasn't sure if she would have a very bad reaction, but this fits with what I've seen so far of her personality- pain tolerant and easy going. What a great baby.

We went downtown to have lunch with Gary today and afterwards she was a little sad and fussy, so I put her down for another nap when we got home. Hopefully she's not feeling too sick because Gary's sister Laurie is in town this weekend and we're planning to spend some time with his family.

Zzzzzzzzz

It's another sleepy morning here at the Raymond Street house.

Smacky and I were up three times in the night, at 12:30, 3:30, and 5, so she's catching up now.

10:17am and counting.

Uneventful Monday

Not much happened today, but in the spirit of updating every day, here is a post.

Smacky is currently making her taking-corners-too-fast squeals, arms splayed on the bed, panting like a dog and sleeping, albeit lightly. Hopefully she'll continue to sleep so I can finish this and slip in beside her, since it's my bedtime, now. (9:30)

Granny came over for a short visit today and then we had a 40-minute nap during which I fed Smacky so inadequately that she finally forced me to awaken and do it correctly. She finds it unacceptable when I fall asleep with the bottle in her mouth because my hand pulls the bottle down and it ends up on the pillow or the bed and that doesn't help her eat, does it! So I wake up, resituate the bottle and fall asleep again, only to be awakened (again!) by her sounds of protest.

Ah, families. We torture each other, yet we can't help loving each other.

Too Much Grog

Don't ask me why, but Portland has a thing for pirates. It may be due to the high amount of creative (and eccentric) people who live here, but then again it may just be due to the high popularity of the Disney movie from a few years ago.

Whatever the reason, we not only have pirate bands in Portland but an actual Pirate Festival. Gary and I thought it would be fun to take Arlo to it, so after Smacky's and my 3 hour nap, we put on our pirate garb and headed out.
Unfortunately, it started sprinkling as soon as we arrived. When Arlo finished getting his skull and flames tattoo, the rain turned into a downpour and we had to eat our ice cream cones under a tree. (Yes, we Oregonians enjoy ice cream even in cold, wet weather!) We finally decided our efforts were better spent elsewhere so we walked through puddles with the rest of the land lubbers and went to visit a bookstore that one of Gary's friends owns.

Please note the before and after photos of Aurora. Before and after grog, that is.

Woohoo, the Zoo!

Smacky slept for the first part of our visit to the zoo on Friday, enjoying her stroller and cozy fleece outfit. Then the sun came out and so did Smacky.

Here she is with my mom, riding frontwards in the bjorn for the first time. Lucky girl gets to see something other than her mount's chest!







The line to see the new baby elephant was way too long so we went to Africa instead. The meerkats were almost cuter than the baby (certainly fluffier), but I had a hard time getting a good photo of them. The one you see here was the lookout, keeping watch against predators while the other kats rummaged around their cage and dug in their holes.

If you haven't been to the Oregon Zoo lately, I highly recommend you go, especially if you have a child. Lots of the exhibits are interactive and the zoo is very kid friendly. Plus they have elephant ears, in case you missed them at the fair this year. No vomit-inducing rides, though.