Motorin'

by Mike

Our little Sister Christian has figured out how to scoot! She'd been inching around - mostly skilled at pivoting - but now it's full tilt forward and she can't get enough. Literally. It's all she wants to do to the point she doesn't want to sleep or take naps... and then when she does finally sleep she's pushing her bottom into the air getting her practice reps in.

It's been a blast watching her get mobile - we just set her toys around and she picks one and starts making a bee-line for it. On the flip side her diligence has made for a challenging little Maude from time to time this weekend (see the previous reference to not wanting to sleep).

The good news (in a glass-half-full kind of way) is we don't have to worry about baby-proofing for a couple more weeks - since we'll be nomads while we're en route across the country next week and then a few more days as we wait for the movers with all our stuff. Then we'll have to think about how we're going to settle in to make sure those little hands can't get into too much mischief.

What's been the most surprising (to me, at least) is the relentless determination in a little gal who's not even 6 months old. She's been cranking along across hardwood, rugs, shag carpet - and I can already see this Energizer Bunny state of mind isn't a trait that will go away in life (probably to my occasional chagrin) - which is exciting and even inspiring - a reminder in a world of distraction that sometimes you have to point your head at what you want and start scooting.

That's all for this week - the blog may be a little sporadic over the next couple of weeks since the Overmans will be in roaming mode. And now on to the pictures!

It's Maude in a basket!

The tongue.

Just plain happy.

The 'Walter Matthau'.

Indie rock label.

Week 23 - Our baby has teeth!

Special thanks to Mike for filling in last week and for writing a much more interesting blog post than I ever could.  I loved his post so much, I've read it a few times over the past week.  Maybe once we've moved, we'll be hearing from Mike more often.

As Mike mentioned, we've been a bit busy lately. We wrapped up the last of our travel prior to our move last week.  Let me tell you, we went out with a bang.  Maude and I were in Iowa visiting my family and for a business meeting in Davenport, IA on Tuesday.  Our flight back connected through Minneapolis and we were supposed to land in LA at 9:30 PM.  A bit late, but doable.  Well, our flight from the Quad Cities to Minneapolis was delayed (as we sat on the tarmac in the heat for an hour and a half while Maude melted down).  We landed 5 minutes before our flight to LAX and after sprinting through the airport pushing a stroller, then catching an electric cart, we got to the gate as they were closing the door  They wouldn't let us on.  We were then booked on the next flight which was delayed nearly 3 hours.  After trying to sleep on a cot in the airport, then getting on our late flight, we got home and to bed at 4 AM.  It took a few days for Maude to get back to normal, but we're all good now and happy to have another week at home before our move.

On top of the crazy schedule and very very late night, Maude was apparently teething.  She didn't seem herself last week and around Friday evening, it dawned on me that it was probably teething and not just the after effects of her jetsetting lifestyle.  I knew teeth were on the horizon because I noticed some white bumps right before her last doctor's appointment.  The doctor confirmed that teeth were indeed on the way.  Less than two weeks later, Maude's first tooth popped out.  We noticed it yesterday and the second one came up today.  I truly can't believe how quickly she's growing.  I didn't really know when these things started happening and I'm shocked at how quickly she's growing. 

In the whole scheme of parenting, I feel like I'm more the mom that mourns the departure of each stage of my baby's life than the one who's anxiously waiting for the next step.  I do look forward to what's to come and I obviously want Maude to continue to grow and develop, but I get a little sad with each major development, whenever she outgrows her clothes, and as she loses her distinct baby ways.  From now on, my baby has teeth.  I'll never have that all gum baby back.  From now on, she'll continue to become more and more independent.  She'll never again need me to delicately cradle her little head because she can't hold it up.  I absolutely want her to grow up strong and healthy and I desperately want her to be independent, free thinking, and confident.  But is it bad that I wouldn't mind it if my baby wasn't reaching the new stages so darn fast??

As Maude was working on her teeth this past weekend, we spent time enjoying our last days in LA.  We headed to Beverly Hills on Saturday to take in the extravagant shops, beautiful homes, and lovely streets.  The weather was amazing and we leisurely strolled around with our baby girl.  We took a few pictures to show her some day.  I know that as a kid if I knew I was born in LA and lived so close to Beverly Hills, Hollywood and the ocean, I'd want to see pictures of me there!

Beverly Hills!  Beautiful skies and huge palm trees.  Note Maude is sucking her thumb.  She started this in the past few days - not sure if it's just teething related or something she's started permanently.

Rodeo Drive.  We took her into Tiffany's.  No gifts were purchased. Bummer.  =)

She's also been enjoying sticking her tongue out.  I think she likes feeling her new teeth!

Budding artist.  Her technique includes painting with her face.

Maude Overman: Jetsetter

Welcome back good & faithful readers! I'm filling in for the prolific Marnie this week while she's on the road again (she truly can wait to get on the road again - but hasn't had much choice lately, it's been a busy summer). Maude has taken her 24th & 25th flights this week!

Okay, maybe that's a tad high. But she's been in the air a lot for someone under 180 days old - unfortunately they don't spot babies any frequent flyer miles. I think she'd be closing in on silver status (she's been to more fancy Sky Clubs in her life than I have).

For those of you who mostly tune in for the pictures - not to worry - there have been no photo sessions around the house but I've been getting snapshots from life on the road which I can share - Seattle this week for a couple days then back to LA for a couple nights then out to Iowa where she's getting to hang with Nama & Grandpa this weekend.

So, on to the vitals:

Maude had her 5 month doctor's appointment on Monday - everything is good and she hit the 15 pound mark! Of course then Tuesday she woke up with pinkeye - and was due on a flight in 3 hours so I booked it back to the pediatrician then swung by the pharmacy while Marnie got ready and got to the airport - we made the baby handoff with a little time to spare but was quite the adventure.

As for the theoretical, I've spent some time this weekend thinking about the evolution of the female role model. Even as we're continually dunked in a tank of talentless reality stars - the Kardashians, Hiltons, Lohans, Real Housewives - I've spent the past few days taking in the greatness that is out there. I don't know if having a daughter has simply made me more aware of the surroundings or if the surroundings are evolving - I have a feeling it's a little of each - they're both for the better.

This afternoon I watched our US women compete for the World Cup championship - competitive as any men and likely classier in defeat - and it felt like a big event, worthy of national attention - those ladies are stars (and I don't know that any human on the planet can execute a header like Abby Wambach).

I caught a matinee of Harry Potter 7.5 on Friday - a lot of the ass-kicking was doled out by the female characters. Bridesmaids has grossed over $200MM at the box office and received more attention than any other comedy this summer. I've got Michael Jackson's This is It on in the background right now and his lead guitarist was a rockin' female. Michelle Obama is hardly just the wife of the President - she's a figure all her own. Tina Fey runs one of the most successful (and funny) shows on television.

I'm sure there are still ceilings (the White House awaits). I'm sure there are inequalities (I like to think they're fading). But we tell our kids that they can do anything they want and it makes me happy it's becoming easier to point and say "see, there... you want it, go get it".

As Marnie mentioned in her last post we're heading for a shift that's going to have Marnie heading to the office and me staying home to handle the day-to-day around the house - flipping the "traditional roles" on their ear. While I'll try to provide my own example I'll certainly guide Maude to the influence of whoever the Abby Wambach, Hope Solo, Kristin Wiig, Orianthi (MJ's guitarist), Michelle Obama, Tina Fey or Hermione Granger's of the future will be - we can all learn a thing or two.

Now, enough blabbering - on to the photos!

Maude hanging at Pike Place Market

I don't know what was going on here.

They just told me what happens on the road stays on the road.

First class!

Maude & Bailey at Nama & Grandpa's

(Bailey turns out to be a little more tolerant than Stella)

Put object on baby's head. Take picture. Laugh. Repeat.

Week 21 - 5 Months!!

5 months old!  This has been the fastest month yet.  I really have no idea how we went from 4 months to 5 months so quickly.  I love watching Maude get bigger and start to be able to do more, but I also desperately want it all to slow down so I can enjoy it all.  This has been one crazy and hectic summer and I get sad when I think about how it's going by too quickly.

Life now with being back to work is busier than I imagined and we have a little something more going on.  We're moving.  We're leaving California in a little less than a month and moving to Minnesota.  I was promoted within my department which means I'll be working again from our home office in St. Paul.  Taking on a new job, a newborn and a move halfway across the country is a lot.  The past few months have been a blur.  I'm thankful to at least have this blog where I've documented what's going on in Maude's life.  Without it, I think these early months of her life might have been forgotten in the stress that creeps up on us every day.  We have a lot we want to do before we leave LA and friends we want to see - I'm having a much harder time leaving here than I thought I would.  We're in the home stretch, though and I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel.  Soon our lives will be our new normal and I am looking forward to that.

Mike is leaving his job at NBC.  I want to take this opportunity to brag about him a bit.  He received a pretty impressive promotion just a few weeks ago.  The people at NBC recognized what an important member of their team he is and what an amazing job he does.  He's a much bigger big shot than I will be for some time, maybe even ever.  We know, though, that in the end, this move is what's best for our family.  When we move, Mike is planning to stay home with Maude and Stella and work on building his own business.  He's had the opportunity to film friends' weddings and create some pretty impressive wedding videos for them.  Through that, he's realized it's something he really enjoys doing so is going to start his own business doing wedding videography and other video work in Minnesota.  This will hopefully allow him to spend weekdays taking care of Maude and do work on the weekends.  He's excited for the change and Maude and Stella are pretty stoked to have their dad at home with them every day.

In Maude news this week, she turned 5 months old!  The day before the special occasion, she sat up unassisted for the first time!  Just 5 days later, and she's an old pro at that.  She still rolls from her back to her front as soon as you lay her down, but she hasn't again rolled from front to back.  I'm sure she'll master that very soon.  I've also noticed that when she's on her tummy, she is getting herself pretty high with her arms.  I'm sure soon, she'll be able to also get up on her knees...  and then comes crawling...  Yikes!  I'm not ready for all of this.  She continues to be a jabbermouth and is incredibly interested in everything we're doing. 

Our day care situation this summer has been a bit of a hodge podge.  Mike's company has a great back up day care system.  They provide 20 days each year of care at an incredible day care center.  With all of our travels since I've been back to work, we've been able to stretch that 20 days out and our time there had to end on Friday.  It was a sad day for me.  As much as I was anxious about taking Maude to day care at first, I quickly saw how much she loved it there and how much the teachers there loved her.  She was frequently the only baby they'd have each day and got lots and lots of love and attention.  There were some tears shed by me and her teachers on Friday but we promised to come back and visit.  A few of the teachers are even going to come to our house for the rest of this month to watch Maude.  We needed some additional help and since they all adore her, a few agreed to help us out for the next few weeks.

Maude is going on her third trip this week.  I have a business trip to Seattle so my friend Amy is flying in from Austin to meet us and help out with Maude while I'm at meetings.  I haven't' seen Amy in 3-4 years (she and I were trying to remember how long it's been - way too long!!) and I'm beyond excited to see her again and introduce her to Maude. We're gone Tuesday through Thursday, then fly out again Saturday morning to go to Iowa.  I have a meeting in Iowa on Tuesday of next week so Maude and I will be going to my hometown to see family and friends for a few days before my meeting.  Maybe Mike will take the reins of the blog next week. 

Enjoy the many 5 month photos we took.  We have these super clever month stickers we put on the front of a onesie each month when it's Maude's birthday.  She now will only hang out on her tummy so getting a shot of the sticker on her front side is a bit difficult.  We compromised and just propped the sticker up next to her while she played on her tummy.  Once she tired out, we did get a few shots of her lying on her back with the sticker on.

Her daycare also sent home a CD of all the pictures they took of her during her time there.  I posted a few of our favorites.

Lastly, there is a video of Maude and her "scream" I mentioned in last week's post.  I love her little voice!!

Such an adorable expression.

Loving being the center of attention.

Subdued.

Showing love for her future home.  And showing off her new sitting up skills.

Painting with Teacher Zuzi.

Fun at daycare

A daycare friend.

Cuddling with a little bear at daycare.

Maude and Teacher Irma on Maude's last day at daycare.

She's gonna be a reader!

Week 20 - Talkin' and Rollin'

Happy 4th of July!!

20 weeks!  The last week was a busy one and Maude took it all in stride.  I took her to day care on Tuesday morning before my flight and had a very hard time leaving her.  There were tears - and not just from me.  The sweet day care teacher also cried.  Maude, however, was all smiles and laughs as I said goodbye to her.  She and Mike had a great time together and Mike even commented that she exceptionally good and happy while I was away.

Maude has been loving her voice.  She tests it out anywhere she can.  And testing out her voice means screaming the cutest little high pitched scream.  We went out to eat on Friday night and Maude's little screams and babbles brought lots of stares from the other diners.  Thankfully, they all thought it was pretty cute once they realized she wasn't upset and in fact, was all smiles as she let everyone around us know that she was there and ready to party!

Maude is now a very active, rolling little gal.  She has been able to roll from back to front for a few weeks now, but was only able to do it rolling to her right.  She can now roll to her left, and on occasion, roll from her front to her back. This of course means that she's starting to get into things.  Gone are the days of laying her on her little blanket and just staying there.  She inevitably ends up on the floor instead of the blanket.   I therefore spent yesterday scrubbing our floors.  The easy newborn stage is officially over...

Mike and I were just discussing the other night about how everyone tried to tell us how much work it is to have a baby.  This last few months have been a lot easier than we anticipated.  We've been incredibly fortunate to have a happy, easygoing, and decent sleeping baby.  As we were discussing this fact, we realized that it's certainly going to get a lot harder.  As Mike said, "we haven't even gotten into the psychological stuff yet."  I know he's right, but for now I'm going to enjoy the simple thrills of watching Maude grow up.

Enjoy the photos below - all were taken yesterday when Maude had her 4th of July outfit on before going to a barbecue at our neighbors. The video was taken today - Maude got her first piano!  Please enjoy her musical stylings!

Showing off her 4th of July outfit!

Similar expressions, clearly not even looking in the same direction.

Her little expression makes me giggle.