Baby Bananas

Holly's village

Hillary Clinton quoted a Nigerian Igbo proverb "Ora na azu nwa" in her book which was roughly translated as it takes a village to raise a child. Just a few weeks away from Holly's 6 month birthday has me thinking a lot about Holly's village which really spans the globe. We have friends and family in Chiang Mai, Doha, St. Andrews, Hamburg, St. Louis, New York, Springfield, Washington, Anderson and beyond who provide us with tons of support. Here in our (new found) home town we have so much support that it has often brought tears to my eyes. My colleagues who knitted Holly this charming ensemble to the left are just some of the examples. Here are just some of the many things that our village has done for us:

• Chelsea taught (and continues to teach) me tons including how to get Holly to nap during the day.
  
• My mother and sister took care of all the the things we needed while I was still holding Holly in my lap at the hospital---cleaning up our house, shopping for some last minute things at Target and making sure our cats stayed alive.
• Cathi (who cuts our hair) bought and delivered a swing to Tom at his office that kept Holly calm when she was at her fussiest.
  
• In addition to fashionable knitwear, my colleagues also brought us deliveries of food, made Holly a lovely quilt and helped get Holly on our insurance.
  
• Nicole came running over to fill our fridge and make us dinner when she found out I'd lost quite a bit of weight.
  
• Shannon has provided hours upon hours of counseling and support over the telephone and was the first to visit us at home.
  
• Other new mommies who bought or passed on cherished items including a magazine subscription to Brain, Child, books, playpens, clothes, baby tubs and more.
  
• Everyone I've already listed and more who have provided invaluable advice and support.
  

In other news, Holly can now roll front to back meaning that she no longer needs to fuss at me for this. She has taken to unswaddling herself and rolling on to her tummy when she sleeps at Chelsea's. We cashed in my Delta miles for gift cards and bought two new car seats for our cars where our growing babe can now ride in roomy style. Her favorite game now includes "slap-the-cat" and "giggle at strangers". As you can see from her picture, she's rather a happy child. I keep getting asked this so I'll answer it once and for all--- yes, she really is that happy most of the time. If you were her, wouldn't you be?

Loves that camera!

So we discovered that if Holly gets fussy, you can cheer her up by taking her photo. In fact, the camera doesn't even need to be on. But if you put it in front of her she'll smile at it. Particularly if it's a close up.

Good Day - Sunshine!

So we have many things to report today that made today a good day. First off, we took Holly into the hospital this morning for some further testing and we're pleased to report that her kidneys and such are all normal and healthy. The test itself was no fun and involved not just a catheter but her being taped to a board. Um- yeah- let's not do that one again. Second off, we got our tax money today (Hello, first time homebuyer's credit!). For those of you who don't know, that credit came with the requirement that you mail in your taxes and wait. No eFiling for us. Now that we have cash in hand, we can finally decide how (in the name of home improvement) we're going to spend it. Third off, I'm pleased to report that Tom passed his 4th (out of 7) ARE taking steps further down the road to becoming a real architect. Fourth, today is the beginning of the three day weekend. Tomorrow we can head to a local outdoor museum to enjoy the wonderful spring weather with one of Holly's many boy friends (and his lovely Mom). So this weekend we're looking forward to many good days of sunshine. This week's photo is Holly consuming Eeyore's attached teething leaf. She's loving her Eeyore these days!