fresh air

Lately it's been cool enough here to sit outside, in fact cool enough in the mornings to require sweaters and blankets. So we sweater up (right over our pajamas) and head out into the back yard. I really love that Joseph is old enough now to have fun exploring outside. He plays with sticks, eats some dirt and marvels over the magic that is grass, while I cozy up in a chair with some tea and some knitting. Indiana, defying all expectations, seems fonder of the baby every day, and really is glad to have a playmate his size. Freckles, meanwhile, is more than happy to ignore the rest of us and pee in the vegetable garden, hunt lizards, tear through the lawn with the baby's discarded socks, and just take a nap (thank you, Xanax).


This is so peaceful, mellow, and right. Inside, it can be hard to sit still and enjoy the moment, but outside there is no laundry to fold or dinner to make or anything else to distract me from the present. I've decided that I'm just not going to worry about how dirty or dangerous it might be outside: as long as no choking hazards are in his mouth and he isn't too near anything sharp or poky, the baby is fine. Dirt is fine. Six baths a day are fine, too, because he likes baths also.

new teeth and I made a mei tai

Joseph now has six teeth, which I feel is plenty so we can stop teething already. Usually he is all sweetness and light but he has the disposition of a serial killer when he's teething. Last week was devoted to crying, rocking, holding, biting, whimpering, fussing, etc. I really need to remember that when I'm ready to scream and want to start smashing things into the wallI should look inside the baby's mouth and see what's going on there, because that's usually the explanation for a crummy day.

One relatively sweet aspect to this process is that he's regressing a bit into tiny babyhood when he needed to be rocked and held all the time. It is nice to have him fall asleep in my arms, something he hadn't done in a while. However, since it really isn't comfortable for me to carry him all day in our old pouch-style sling, I made a mei tai.


I used the pattern from this site and it came together very quickly and easily. Most of the patterns I stumbled across online made me want to cry. This one was like: print this out, cut here, sew there, enjoy your new baby carrier. I appreciate that. My goal was to make something that Scott could/would use also, so I made it as plain as possible: army green canvas with soft brown corduroy lining for the cuddle factor. I think stylistically it's working, the only problem is that I can't get comfortable in it--it digs into my shoulders and pulls my shirt out of shape. I think my shoulders are a little on the narrow side. I need to spend some more time viewing the many YouTube videos on proper mei tai usage, in which people throw their babies onto their backs with one hand, like circus folk. Very impressive.