Year: 2008

Last Wednesday, Sophie, Nini and I made a trip to my Grandma Mangan’s house to visit with the Capista’s, who flew in from Pennsylvania. It was so good to see them.

Sophie’s second cousin, Jessica, enjoyed holding Sophie … until Sophie filled her diaper.

Sophie’s second cousins, David and John, decided to hold Sophie for the first time together.

Great Uncle Tom clearly has had lots of practice soothing babies. Sophie always stopped crying when he held or talked to her.

Great Aunt Alise brought Sophie clothes that Jessica never wore. I can’t wait until she fits in them!

I have a love/hate relationship with the Gap Clearance Center, about 20 minutes from my house. Jam-packed with damaged and returned goods from Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy, you can find some real treasures at this place but you have to dig. And often, you don’t discover why the item was damaged until you’re home—and they don’t accept returns.

On a recent trip I found this cute onesie for Sophie—it only cost $1.99. The small, red stain on it (I’m guessing lipstick) easily came out in the wash.

I also found this pair of pants I wanted to buy at Baby Gap but deemed too expensive. I carefully searched for rips, tears and stains. Delighted at finding nothing I bought it for a mere $.49. Once home, I showed Andy my find. He burst out laughing. Clearly I didn’t notice one leg was considerably shorter than the other (hence the low price).

“A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist.” —Franklin P. Jones

Saturday we attended Megan and Javan’s wedding. Two of Sophie’s favorite people, Angel and Marty, babysat for us. The wedding was a beautiful, formal affair. During the cocktail hour I munched on appetizers passed around by waiters in white gloves and sipped an apple martini (Megan’s favorite drink). During dinner I was reminded of how much I get to teach Sophie—what to do when there are three forks and three knives at her place setting, the art of toasting, and wedding traditions and rituals, such as the cake cutting, and the bride and groom’s first dance.

And while I can’t wait for Sophie to experience the pleasure of an ice cream cone in a park on a hot and sticky day, I also hope she can someday experience eating mint sorbet with a chilled silver spoon between courses of a delicious meal.

And then, while dancing to “Unchained Melody” with my love, I hoped she someday experiences the joy of being held close on a dance floor, too.

“Dance till the stars come down from the rafters
Dance, Dance, Dance till you drop.”
—W.H. Auden

Last week we celebrated my mom’s birthday.

Her mom joined us for dinner that evening.

Sophie was quite comfortable perched on her Boppy on the ottoman, so Nini simply rolled the ottoman into the dining room for dinner.

My dad cooked a fantastic meal—roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. And for dessert—an opera cream cake from The BonBonerie.

“How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?” —Paul Sweeney

Mom and Dad are forever trying to get me to burp.

Often I just sit there, refusing. Don’t they know burping is unladylike?

“When birds burp, it must taste like bugs.” —Bill Watterson

I don’t know why Mom didn’t figure this out before.

But our Boppy isn’t just for nursing.

I also love sitting in it.

Especially when Tucker sits with me.

“Dogs love company. They place it first in their short list of needs.” —J.R. Ackerley

Many good friends from Chicago, New York and Michigan (yes, Andy has friends in Michigan) came for Dave and Danielle’s wedding. Sunday they stopped by our house to meet Sophie.

Sophie was quite content on Alan’s lap. We told her if she was good Alan might someday take her on a behind-the-scenes tour of the American Museum of Natural History where he works so she can see the warehouse of dinosaur bones, just like her parents did!

Carrie held her next. As part of a group present Carrie brought Sophie a DVD and a stuffed animal from the show Wonder Pets! where she works. We have a feeling Sophie’s going to love that show.

Andy’s college roommate, Todd, also held her. We keep telling Todd and Olivia that we’re going to drive up to Chicago and visit, soon. Maybe sometime this summer!

We had already told Sophie what a nice person—and good friend—John is so she was quite excited to finally meet him.

And she just kept being passed around the circle … Joe is another friend from Chicago who we hope to visit soon. He’s also a doctor so we knew she was in good hands.

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive.” —Anäis Nin

Saturday we attended Dave and Danielle’s wedding. Nini and Grandpa watched Sophie. I love weddings and I always stay at least long enough to wave goodbye to the bride and groom. But on this night Andy and I ate a piece of cake, danced to one song and bid an early farewell to Dave and Danielle.

All week I had been looking forward to the wedding, a chance to talk with old friends, a night out—a break. But as we hit the fourth hour, I begin to miss Sophie terribly. And this, honestly, surprised me. I feel silly quoting a commercial but it’s true—having a baby changes everything.

Arthur’s in Hyde Park has long been a favorite of mine. There I’ve met many a friends for Thursday happy hours, celebrated a birthday, rejuvenated after a move and talked with girlfriends after a loss.

For some unknown reason those happy hours have become a thing of the past and nights out at Arthur’s have become rare events. So I was quite excited to meet with friends there Friday. Although this time, sitting among the empty glasses and pitchers of Blue Moon were burp clothes and a bottle of milk.

Sophie hasn’t been taking a bottle very well lately. But on this night, she was a champ.

Sophie spent a lot of time on Mandy’s lap.

Christine held her next. Marty still hasn’t held her, but I did catch him smiling at her.

Here Nick is holding Sophie for the first time.

Followed by Ryan.

Now that Angel’s a close neighbor, she holds Sophie a lot. Jenna loves baby feet.

After a long night out, Sophie fell asleep in Greg’s lap.

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.” —Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo

I love this picture of Andy and Sophie, taken minutes after Sophie was born. As most new fathers (and mothers) do, he worried about his parenting abilities. Today, 11 weeks into it, I know Sophie couldn’t be luckier to call him Dad. And I know how lucky I am, too.

To thank Dad for all his good work, Sophie finally took a pacifier today, which made her surprisingly calm.

My parents visited and we ordered Indian food. I’m grateful to have been able to celebrate the day with my dad. I’m lucky in my roles of wife and mother—as a daughter, I’m incredibly lucky, too.

“There’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.” —John Gregory Brown