Schuyler goes commando

Liz and i were reading "What To Expect The First Year" and reading up on what Schuyler is supposed to be doing so we can begin the process of measuring her against other people's standards and then judging her and ourselves on that basis so that eventually we break her spirit completely and cause ourselves to drink heavily (we really have to stop reading the 'Milestones' section of that book - it is no good for us or her).

Anyway, it said that she should be able to crawl by now and, despite Grampa Flip's classes on the 'commando crawl' ("keep your butt down, this is live ammo!"), Schuyler's attempts at crawling were non-starters - just kicking frantically against nothing. I told Schuyler "you got two days, kid!" and she took it to heart. On New Year's Eve, she finally crawled - commando style, just like Flip taught her. This is mainly an upper body activity for her as she drags her sizeable mass around but she can move!



In case that thrilling video was not enough for you, here is another brief video of her crawling to and subsequently demolishing a toy tower.

the rustico of montpelier

On our last full day in Montpelier, we decided to test everyone's mettle and have lunch in town at a real, live restaurant (an eating venue which is becoming an extremely exotic and magical concept for Schuyler's mom and dad). Well, it turns out that eating in front of the ravenous baby beast now has consequences. Only a couple of months ago, she would have played quietly and/or slept the whole time. This time... the beast was alive... and hungry. So she started fussing and saying things like "Na na na ma na ga ga joo" which i believe is a Star Wars language and loosely translated means "where the heck is MY food!?" So her dad took her across the street to the supermarket where we bought a single jar of green beans (mmm mmm good). I must have looked like a really bad kidnapper with a kid in my arms buying one jar of baby food. Anyway, she ate them voraciously with a vigour which made me question her parentage (liz and i are not fans of the green bean - although Marietta swears she could turn me to the green side). The bear was satisfied. And then we had a Code Brown. Which is exactly what you want in a semi-crowded place where people are trying to eat. But she was great afterward and people watched with Nan before we headed out. p.s. if you are in Montpelier, try the pizza roma at Sarduccis. Mmm mmm good (but not as good for you as green beans).

boxing day

Annie and Flip through a great boxing day party which consisted of a convivial group from the neighbourhood and beyond drinking Dark and Stormies and asking "what's boxing day". We gave a variety of answers... well, actually the one who is a native Bermudian gave a variety of answers while Annie and Liz stuck to researched facts. In any case, i managed to get through the whole party without taking a single picture of an adult (they are less photogenic and less willing subjects than the humans under three feet tall). I love these pictures not only because my mum (granny kim) gave the outfit to Schuyler and i was missing my family a little at Christmas (who were Down Under) but also because there is a picture of me at almost exactly the same age in a similar red tartan outfit and it made me see the little roots growing from the family tree.

flip and his girls and his girls' girl and boy

block island baby and bermy baby

mise en scene

[Above: Schuyler Young wears very cute knit hat from Uncle Justin and Aunt Moe complete with ear flaps. Bib is models own.]

giving a sense of the atmosphere on Christmas Day would be incomplete without Nan's table setting that she threw together with a casual approach that made me set my bar a couple of notches higher (complete with Paper Whites which bloomed right on schedule).

a taste of christmas day

Our gourmet tasters tested every gift in turn: Schuyler thought the green foil wrapping paper had a distinct "metallic taste - like licking a double AA battery only softer"

while she thought the photo book from Santa (complete with imposter family photo) tasted "like chicken - or what i have heard chicken tastes like"

the beautiful spoon from Nan proved that, while she wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she certainly inserted one there as soon as it was given to her.

Cousin Finn preferred the stackable ring tower which he said tasted "like Fisher Price with a hint of Mattel"

christmas eve

Christmas Eve in Montpelier was capped off with a dinner party at the Burgess's home where Schuyler kicked off the evening with a mammoth "code brown" which is always a great way to begin a meal with new people. I might try this method out myself. Still, she was great at crashing out at someone else's pad and didn't wake up at all, leaving mom, dad and the grandparents to eating, drinking and being merry.

The Great One

Schuyler (8 months old) wishes her Pop pop (1068 months old) and Carol (no data available) a merry christmas.

Christmas Cookies

Her highchairness surveys the cookie factory at Merrill Terrace. The trees were a critical success, however, some of the men, women and children shaped cookies did not fare as well and required a separate "infirmary" cookie sheet to repair broken limbs and, in one sad case, a decapitation complete with dripping red icing. Mmm mmm good.

basket case

After a cranky day bored at home with her dull mom and dad, Schuyler's grandpa makes her day with a laundry basket. She loved it. Moreover, she even pulled herself to a (very, very uneasy) standing position for the first time. Now, when i'm feeling bored, i go climb in a nearby basket and suck my thumb and, y'know what? It does kind of make me feel better.

the tower of babble

i get around

Schuyler is not yet crawling but is in pre-crawl training at the moment. As this video shows, she has learned a kind of transportation method which works (sort of) despite being highly inefficient. She looks like someone who has been hypnotized and told to swim on a carpet. I reckon she'll be crawling within a couple of weeks which will be both a blessing and a curse.

born with a plastic spoon in her mouth

It's been a great trip so far. Schuyler has been a bit off schedule and has uncharacteristically awoken a couple of times in the middle of the night. Since it's such an aberration, we flip out and start thinking that something crazy is wrong with her but after a bottle of milk she returns to the land of nod. One of the coolest things we've done since we've been here was see a movie! That's how sheltered we have become... with a normal baby sitter, seeing a movie in a movie theatre would now cost us almost $100 but with blood relatives who are too kind to charge (although we'll see if we get a bill when we check out), we can see a matinee for a tenth of the cost. And it was a good movie to boot (Slumdog Millionaire)... it felt like a date. Maybe this liz chick will go steady with me if i let her wear my letter jacket.

eating + sleeping = vacation

I love feeding my sweet little daughter but, man, is it ever nice to have some relief pitchers out there on the field with you.

montpelier farmers market (warning: baby free post)