Totally cute!

Who can resist Greta's yummy toes? Not even the princess herself. They are simply delicious!

LIVESTRONG, indeed

Greta is enamored of the yellow wristband that I wear, nearly two years after they emerged on the pop culture scene. You probably all know the story, but they're meant to show support for the fight against cancer. Lance Armstrong and the marketing geniuses at Nike came up with the idea in 2004. Thanks to widespread visibility from Hollywood types, soon everyone was wearing the yellow rubber.

Greta, of course, doesn't know that back story. She just knows that they feel good when gummed. Still no teeth or signs of them, though.

She's at daycare today, probably spitting up her bottles. She did it twice this morning, at 4 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Both episodes seemed pretty harmless. She just finished her bottle, turned her head, and spit up half of it.

Sick @ home with Jinx

Carey actually took this photo yesterday, but it conveys how we spent our Thursday morning as well. I'm amazed that Jinx tolerates her, frankly. She spends most of her time grabbing his tail or burying her face in his fur. When he gets annoyed, he simply moves about five feet away and waits for her to low crawl over to him again. Cat and mouse? No, cat and baby.

Greta's been fine this morning in my humble medical opinion. Coughed a little upon waking but kept down all 6 oz. at 5 a.m. and 4 more at 7:30. Ate a dozen small chunks of pears as well. I think we erred on keeping her home today, but had she spit up most of a bottle at daycare, we'd be dealing with the same thing Carey dealt with yesterday.

So here I sit, blogging, while The Adorable One sleeps. She's been down since 9:30. A good, long nap. Mommy's coming home around Noon and then I head to work for six hours. Thank God we have understanding employers (for now.)

Home sick (again)

I don't have a photo to post, as I'm at work while I type, but Greta came home sick again today around Noon. After taking her last two bottles, she coughs so hard that she spits up most of it. It's happened before and it's happened on and off since Sunday, when she spit up on Grandpa during his visit. Being prone to dramatic bouts of worrying, my most recent concern is asthma. But her breathing isn't labored except when she's working up to a cough. We'll ask our pediatrician about it during her next check-up. As usual, the Internet is full of doomsayers on the topic.

Anyway, Mommy is home with her. If she checks in later today, she can provide stats on how many times Greta was sent home from daycare in March. This is already #2 in April! :-(

Tuesday Trials

We missed Daddy today. He went to NYC yesterday for work, so it was just the two of us. Not too terrible a Monday night...a couple of coughing jags (one that produce some stringy peach from dinner--yuck!) but Greta slept through from 7:30 pm until 5:50 a.m. Since she woke up crying, I figured she wasn't really ready to get up (she wakes up for the day a very happy baby!). So I gave her 6 oz and she fell asleep immediately. I felt terrible waking her an hour later to take her to day care. Felt even worse when she spit up in the car on the way down, drenching her outfit (it was wear your favorite color day; she was in yellow) and the car seat. Serves me right for not getting a burp out of her! But her bag had two extra outfits in it, so I figured "no worries." And all was well until Mama Dhillon called my office just after 2 p.m. to say that Greta was not well and had thrown up. I asked if it was a wet burp or related to coughing, but she said 'No...it was vomit." So I got to leave work early to pick her up. She was in a great mood, so when we got home I decided to go for a walk to the grocery store. Ended up buying her a rabbit balloon because she was being such a good girl, and I thought it would make her feel better...in our house you get whatever you want when you are sick. Since she wasn't acting ill and didn't have a fever, I fed her bananas and oatmeal for dinner, with her favorite sweet potato puffs. She kept that down and had a fantastic bath playing with her foamy letters. She didn't seem ill, so I fixed her a bottle and she downed 6 oz and went to sleep like an angel. Hopefully she'll keep it down. She wouldn't burp for me, so we'll see. And of course, we'll let you know how the night goes!

Tuckered Out

Playing with Grandma and Grandpa can be so exhausting!

I didn't wake up until 8:15 Monday morning. I can't wait to see them again! Love you, Grandma & Grandpa Merrill!!!

Weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Merrill

Is there anything we didn't do? We walked 4 miles down and back to Old Town on Saturday, we played like crazy on the patio with my new Home Depot town mats, we misaligned Grandpa's vertebrae walking him all around the house, we ate at my favorite bagel shop and an Italian restaurant, and we explored Teddy Roosevelt Island, something my Daddy hadn't done in the 8 years he's lived in D.C. I was a very good eater all weekend, as you can tell from the photo. I was not such a good sleeper. Saturday night, in particular, I woke up Daddy twice to tell him something, but as soon as he picked me up, I forgot what I was going to say and instead pressed my cheek into his chest hair. That always relaxes me. Anyway, here's the link to our slideshow of the weekend. When Daddy's feeling more ambitious, he says he'll add captions and put it in some semblance of an order.

Grandparents!

Grandma & Grandpa Merrill arrived yesterday around dinner time. I saw them for about an hour before taking a bath and going to bed. Here's the first photo Mommy took of me with them. It's not very good, but I'm sure there will be hundreds more.

They brush and brush and brush their teeth

Greta wants to hold her own brush in the morning when Daddy brushes his teeth. Still absolutely no signs of teeth yet, not even a whiteness to the gums. But the girl will be ready to keep 'em clean when they finally show up!

Back to daycare...

The doc signed a note saying she wasn't contagious, so I dropped Greta off this morning. As usual, she fell into Maria's arms. Usually her smile is much bigger. The one on the left is Maria. Sorry it looks like a mugshot. Anyway, she calls Greta, "Gredita," which we've taken to doing ourselves. We do regret that neither of us speak Spanish, so we can't reinforce the words she's learning at daycare. Perhaps one of us will take a basic conversation course.

The woman on the right is Mama Dhillon, who I believe is really named Dhillon Gurpal. Or maybe Gurpal Dhillon. She's been caring for kids out of her home for 20+ years and you can tell she really enjoys it. She has, I think, nine kids at the moment. Greta used to be the youngest, but now there's at least one girl younger than she is. It's really a nice place, albeit out of our way in terms of commuting. But we're willing to sacrifice just about anything to know that Greta is safe and happy during the hours we can't be with her.

And the doctor said...

Your daughter has pink eye. Most likely viral, so no antibiotic eye drops. Ain't nothing but a symptom of the common cold. Wash her hands often, wash your hands often, and fumigate daycare. Greta thought he said A&D ointment would take care of it, so here she is self-medicating.

Sick day

I'm home with Greta today while she recovers from pink eye. Doctor can't see her until 3 p.m., so we're killing time by eating the crumbs on the kitchen floor and playing with Jinx's chew toys. At the moment, she's contemplating a nap, which means she's in her crib, loudly trying to convince herself that sleep would be welcome. Her favorite in-crib exercise these days is bashing the hell out of the vertical wooden slats with her feet. One of these days she'll break the boards in half like a Kung Fu master.

I'll post a photo of pink eye later. Perhaps the camera flash so close to her cornea will frighten away the virus.

12 hours with Greta

Everybody always asks my Mom & Dad: "How was Greta's day?" I tell them they should just say, "fine," but they constantly elaborate. "Oh, she was fussy all day." "She didn't eat well." "All she wanted to do was be walked around the house." Or my favorite: "She was an angel."

Anyway, my Daddy had an idea: What if he took a photo of me every hour, on the hour, from when I woke up to when I went to bed? That's the inspiration behind this pictorial. As with most inspirations, it was greater in the imagination than in reality.

Enjoy!



0600 & 0700: Having fed the cat, we feed ourselves. Daddy was too busy playing with me to take another photo at 0700, so you'll just have to imagine us rolling around on my play mat, discovering each one of my toys as if it was the first time I'd ever seen them.


0800: Hey, neat! Mommy decided to wake up! (OK, she was up with me from 1-3 a.m. when I fussed for an hour and then whispered sweet nothings in her ear while rolling on a fleece blanket on my bedroom floor.)


0900: On our way out the door to the bagel shop. It is sooo weird not being carried around in that infant car seat.


1000: Driving home from the bagel shop. I started to fuss, so they corked me with this pacifier. I'm on to them, though. I just chew on it. Why suck on tasteless plastic?


1100: Nap #1, post-breakfast and after a 4 oz. bottle. I like to cover my face when I sleep. It worries Mommy & Daddy, which is why I do it.


1200: Daddy heard me make a noise in my crib. I wasn't waking up, I just wanted to see what it would feel like to bang my head against the wooden slats. It was nice. Knocked me out for another hour.


1300: Not quite awake from my nap, but Daddy insisted on maintaining our hourly photo schedule.


1400: A late lunch of squash, peaches and bread. Some of which actually got in my mouth.


1500: I fell asleep on the drive to Jay's house, so Mommy & Daddy let me finish my nap in my car seat. (Yes, Mommy waited in the car with me.)


1600: Watching Jay crawl while taking a break from my walking practice.


1700: Holding hands with the little man who shares my birthday, Jay Leonard Humphreys.


1800: Starting to get cranky, and it doesn't help that Jinx is in my bag.

1900: I was sound asleep by 1915, having missed my afternoon nap. Mommy & Daddy were too tired to snap another picture after bath, bottle, books and bed.

GCM wishes AK a happy birthday

Saturday afternoon we made what we think was our final trip to Bowie, Md., where Carey's aunt has lived for 16 years. We have many happy memories there but are glad that she'll soon be on the proper side of the Beltway. We didn't take any photos at lunch, but we ate at one of the best Chinese restaurants in the area, Grace's Fortune. Great fresh food and a cozy atmosphere. None of the vinyl menus with the weird pictures on them that make other Chinese joints infamous. After lunch, we had blueberry pie and ice cream. We did take some photos then, including the one above. For the rest, click here to watch a short slideshow. The last two are videos, so you'll need QuickTime to view them.

Happy Birthday Party Great Grandpa!

Click on the photo to make it bigger so you can read the note.

Sleeping Like An Angel...NOT!

Looking at The Adorable One you would never guess that she had a two-hour coughing jag last night, which had me "Googling" the phrase 'infant nighttime cough treatment' at 3 a.m. Turns out we were doing everything the on-line docs (Sears and Greene) recommended. She finally fell into a deep sleep around 3:45, and we didn't hear a peep until she woke up smiling at 7 a.m.

It's now 9:45 and she is taking her morning nap (having dropped off the Saturn for a service and returned from breakfast at our bagel joint). The plan for the rest of the day is lunch with AK to celebrate her birthday (last Tuesday), and lots and lots of errands. Perhaps I should grab a quick snooze now, too!

Greta Goes BANANAS

Aunt Colleen told Mommy to pick up these Munchkin feeder bags. I am SO glad she did! I just can't get enough of the yummy lollipop-like thing... especially when there is a chunk of banana inside. Thanks Aunt Colleen!

Greta in her new chariot

It's a Graco Comfort Sport, the same used by her cousin Max! She seems indifferent at this point, as you can see in her expression. I think she misses the canopy from the infant car seat, which did a fine job of keeping out the sun and lulling her to sleep during the 25-minute ride to daycare. Now she wakes up when we unstrap her. But hey, she slept through the night last night for the first time in 3 days, so life is good!

Sundry stuff

I'll post that promised photo of Greta in her new Big Girl car seat later tonight, for those of you (Mom, Dad, Vicki) who are looking for it.

Greta had a good day yesterday at daycare, or so we're told. But she had a rough night, waking up twice at 1 & 5 a.m. Drank 4 oz. of formula both times. We hope this is simply her pattern after being sick for a few days. It takes her awhile to settle down and get back into her sleep-through-the-night routine. In the meantime, Carey and I rationalize that she's climbing out of the 10th percentile on the weight chart thanks to those late-night snacks.

Dance Fever

I won't write a better headline all year, so enjoy this video of Greta and her mother dancing despite her 100 degree fever. Click here to watch it. A special shout-out to Jen Winthrop, who knows all the words to the song in the background, "Pump It" by the Black Eyed Peas. :-)

We think the fever broke in the middle of the night. At the very least, she didn't have a temp this morning, so she's at daycare. We hope the phone doesn't ring.

Tomorrow: A photo of Greta's new Big Girl car seat. Still facing backwards, but much more imposing.

Febrile Saturday

Greta maintained a low-grade fever most of the day that continues today. Between 100-102 degrees depending on how much children's Tylenol/ibuprofen is in her system at any given time. Her only symptoms are the oven-like quality of her skin and a general fussiness. It takes a little more work to keep her happy.

So the plan is for a low-key Sunday, maybe a walk in the afternoon sunshine, and lots of NCAA hoops on TV. Both her Mommy & Daddy's office pools are done for the year. I have UConn beating Kansas, who lost in the first round, while Carey has Syracuse beating B.C. (SU lost in round one as well).

Trying something new here: Rather than posting a picture, see if you can click here and view our Kodak slideshow.

Sleeping princess

It's worth noting that our posts on March 7 & 8 about Greta's sleep pattern were just the beginning. Girlfriend slept through every night from March 3-16! Not that we counted... But now she has something viral and is running a low-grade fever. So she sleeps after she settles, but she takes a little longer to get comfortable. And comfortable, as you can see, requires a position that vaguely resembles yoga's downward-facing dog.

OK, we're back...

Apologies for not posting for a few days. Blame our busy lives. Here's another photo of Greta mauling Jinx. Thank God we had his claws removed years ago. Now we're thinking about pulling all his teeth.

We heard from the daycare provider I wrote about in the last post. She didn't want Greta. Well, she wasn't that heartless, but that's what it amounts to. She was concerned that with her 3-year-old and a few other toddlers, she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Greta like she should. I told her this would be the one and only time in her life my daughter would be rejected, so it's nice to get it over with early.

Other stuff... our darling has more fluid in her right ear. Not infected yet, but worrisome. The doctors want to make sure she can hear OK and is on track for language development. A co-worker told me her own story. Their daughter had quite a few ear infections in the first couple years of life, they treated each with antibiotics, and then when she turned 2 1/2 and still wasn't talking, she had some sort of surgery related to her ears and adenoids, and voila, language. It's kind of like the Internet. Google anything and you'll find the negative side of it. People don't talk about their perfect kids.

This weekend we'll post more pictures, promise. Carey is now staying home and not running her half marathon, despite my assurances that sick Greta would be fine in Daddy's care. But she had a good retort: It just wouldn't be as fun driving 3 1/2 hours south to stay at a beach hotel and run 13.1 miles without her family. Awww.

Technical difficulties

Blogspot won't let us publish photos at the moment, so forgive the lack of an image today. I snapped an artsy shot of Greta moments after she first stirred in the morning. At her eye level, peaking through the slats of her crib. But you'll just have to wait and see it. In the meantime, trust me, she's adorable.

We interviewed a new daycare provider today and are hoping she chooses Greta. Demand far outstrips supply in this area, so she's actually able to handpick her candidates. The woman, probably in her late 30s or early 40s, used to work in the corporate daycare world (Kindercare, Tiny Tots, etc.), but now wants to open her own home daycare. She's a heck of a lot more convenient, just miles from Carey's work and on my way from home to work, so we have our fingers crossed. She'll likely take 4 or 5 kids and just one under the age of 1 year. We'll see.

Greta is a Girl!

Today Greta wore her purple April Cornell dress to a BBQ, and she didn't look like an infant cross-dresser!

Weekend @ home

Saturday ... Greta & Mommy helped Aunt Kathy pack up her house for the big move to Arlington! Greta in particular is very excited to have a family member close by. She's convinced it means more opportunities to be baby-sat. While the girls were playing movers' assistants, Rob joined a member of the Air Force Blue Suit Pacers' bicycling team for a 40-mile ride through D.C. and down to George Washington's home, Mt. Vernon. It was good training for the 65-mile charity ride he hopes to finish on April 22 in Chesapeake, Va.

In the afternoon we just admired each other, ate some Fingerpuffs and went shopping at Costco, where Greta scored FOUR containers of Enfamil and Baby Einstein flash cards.

Now it's Sunday and Carey is out for a 10-mile run, getting ready for her half marathon (13.1 miles!!) next weekend in Virginia Beach. Greta went down for her morning nap an hour ago and hasn't stirred since. Sometimes it's not so tough being a Dad. :-)

Here's a photo from Saturday. Not sure who gifted us the hat, but it's great. When you hide her baldness, Greta actually looks like a little girl.

Greta's first floating poop

Sad to say, it happened before I got home from work Thursday night. I only heard the remarkable tale from Carey on the phone. Our lovely daughter was on her tummy, splashing the water when Greta made a funny noise. My intelligent wife thought something was up. But she didn't think soon enough! Out popped a "puff" poop. Carey picked Greta up and tried to get her over the toilet, apparently hoping the bowel movement would neatly drop directly into the bowl. Alas, at 10 months, Greta knows nothing about potty training. I can imagine what she was thinking: "What the hell am I doing suspended over this contraption when I'm usually flat on my back, red-faced, pushing out a poop?"

Anyway, we don't have a photo "flagrante delicto," but I snapped this one in the morning when Carey was making Greta gargle Clorox.

Sleep pattern update

Ding ding ding! Greta did indeed go 4-4 last night. She seems to wake up like clockwork at 6:30. So we get 30 minutes of Imus in the Morning before switching to the first 15 minutes of "Today" for news. By 7:15, she's enjoying 6 oz. of liquid refreshment. At 7:30 we play for 15 minutes, before getting dressed and out the door to daycare at 8.

All seemed perfect this morning, until Mama Dhillon, daycare head honcho, called Carey at 11 a.m. to inform her that Greta vomited. Vomiting and fevers over 100. Those are the two symptoms that the state of Virginia does not want in its sanctioned child care faciliites. So Carey's at home with our precious gift as I type. Who knows if she just choked or if she's feeling ill. Time will tell, and I'll let her update, maybe with a vomit photo if it happens again.

Three's The Charm

I don't want to jinx our good fortune, but thought it blog-worthy to share that Greta has slept through the night for the last three nights!!! Nary a peep out of her after she has settled down with a silky blanket. Mom, of course, can't believe it when she rolls over and sees that it is 0400, and promptly rushes in to make sure said silky is not smothering her. It is so nice to have uninterrupted sleep once again. Fingers crossed for night number four!

Feline friendship

Like all parents, we were worried that our cat, Jinx, would not take well to a new baby. I'm the Worrier-in-Chief in the family and was convinced that Jinx would defecate outside the nursery, urinate on her clothes, maybe even suffocate her while she slept in the crib. So we installed a screen door on the nursery, giving it that barnyard feel. Carey even bought netting for the crib, but it made Greta look like she was trying to avoid mosquitoes in the Amazonian jungle.

Well, as you can see, our fears were completely unfounded. Jinx is, quite possibly, Greta's first friend. He lets her tug on his hair, chase him around the house, and even shares his cat perch. I suspect as Greta gets more mobile he'll run away and hide more often, but for now, he is indeed Baby's Best Friend.

Weekend in Joisey

Greta survived her first semi-long road trip since infancy. Mommy tricked her into sleeping in her car seat all the way from home to Brian & Melissa's house in Englishtown, NJ after work on Friday. The little angel slept the whole way, but woke up for about two hours upon arrival. She didn't pitch a fit about the third-party pack & play though, which we consider a sign of maturity.

She spent the whole weekend doing everything with her girlfriend Joelle, who has a house full of toys! Joelle showed her the jump-a-roo and Dora the Explorer's kitchen (Greta liked the spatula, the rubber cake and the chicken drumstick). Being in New Jersey, the girls also went to the mall, where they rode what I'm told is one of the finest and most lovingly restored carousels in the country.

Saturday ended with a Together Bath, Greta's first with someone who doesn't have hair on their chest. Here's a photo. I'll try to figure out if it's possible to do a slideshow of other images, or maybe just link to our Kodak Gallery.

Greta's New Favorite "Toy"

Clothes baskets are so much fun! They are a great way to travel around the upstairs, and provide a comfy place to kick back, play with board books, and chew on rattles. Wheeee!

Sick day

Like all children, Greta is a veritable Petri dish. She seemed happy and healthy Tuesday morning so we went through our normal routine. Then I got a call from Carey around 11 a.m. saying that she (Carey) was not feeling well and going home to rest. At 2 p.m., daycare calls and says Greta vomited, would you please come pick her up? So Mommy and Greta spent the mid-afternoon vomiting together. At 6 p.m. I started to feel nauseous at work. At 6:30 I blew chunks on the sidewalk walking to my car. We all went to bed at 8 p.m. and took turns visiting the bathroom throughout the night. The good news? It's Wednesday morning now, and we all feel at least 50% better. The photo was taken during the height of the storm. Beautiful family, huh?

What a world

This is me and my buddy Jay. He might be my soulmate. We were born on the same day, May 5, 2005. I'm a little over two hours older, but he spent more time inside his Mom than I did, which makes him a couple pounds heavier and more advanced when it comes to fine motor skills. But as you can see in the photo, I have an inch or two on him, which pleases me. Jay is a crawling fool and he's able to lift himself up, as he did on our windowsill this weekend. Not to be outdone in my own crib, I whined for a little help from Dad, who helped elevate me to Jay's level. We spent at least 5 minutes wondering what's on the other side of that glass.

Wagons away!

Shhh... don't tell Mommy ... I tried my first Wagon Wheel today! The can says I should be able to crawl on my hands and knees (I don't), gum solid, lumpy foods (I've never really tried) and use my jaw to mash food with my gums (I think I can). Basically, Daddy was trying to appease me this morning and the Wagon Wheel did the trick! I gummed it for 30 minutes, easy, swallowing the little pieces as they disintegrated. I finished about half of it before taking 4 oz. of formula. Yum!

Grandma Pandillo's Visit

My Grandma Pandillo is so silly! She made me laugh so hard that I was crying. All it took was an orange tupperware bowl on my head. Who knew a bowl could be so much fun?

She also was very impressed with how well I ate. I tried fresh bananas for the first time. Who needs teeth?!

Presidents Day: Greta and her Super Stroller

Thanks Aunt Sara and Uncle Pete for the fantastic Christmas present! My Burley Solo was the nicest stroller on the Mount Vernon Trail. It took me about 3 minutes to fall asleep, it was so comfy. I can barely wait to ride behind Daddy's bike wearing my new helmet.

OK, so I'm learning photo posting... not as intuitive as it should be. This is Greta with her Great Aunt Kathy, who as you can see, she thinks is pretty great. When this photo was taken, Greta had just finished opening her Christmas presents, which could also explain the big grin. Anyway, it's a second photo, which makes me an expert. The goal is to post an image a day from here on out. Cheers.

Greta & Jinx

He doesn't hate her, yet, because she can't chase him, yet.

And poof! 9 months later...

OK, so I've been inspired by the Chief White House Correspondent of NBC News to continue this so-called blog. Funny how life works. I'd link to David Gregory's blog, but being a public figure he's made it invitation only. You'll just have to trust me that his family is very photogenic and their new Cadillac Escalade, while not exactly environmentally friendly, safely and comfortably transports his 3 young children and their Mom & Dad.

The dateline will tell you, but it's Feb. 25, 2006. We won't bother filling in the 9-month gap. Greta Corleen Merrill is a happy, healthy, skinny, long, funny, sweet baby girl. 16 lbs, 5 oz., 28" at her last checkup on Feb. 14. She spends her days at Happy & Healthy Daycare, which obviously explains the first two adjectives. From what I understand, she spends most of her time watching the other kids, who Mama Dhillon (chief daycare provider) constantly chastises for rubbing their germ-stained hands all over Greta. But it's just a matter of time before Greta starts to walk and from there it's not far to taking over leadership of the entire unruly lot.

OK, enough babble. Pictures. Let me figure out photos, since that's what the grandparents will come to see.