The World of Mackay

Mackay can hug. And she can give the most awesome, heartfelt hugs you could ever imagine. With me, it's a mini death grip around my neck, where she hangs on and doesn't let go. With her dad, she holds him tightly, and simultaneously pats him on the back (as he does her). Talk about making your heart melt... But if she throws my hairbrush in the toilet one more time, I swear I'm going to sell her to the gypsies.

Fellow moms, you let me down. I was critically misinformed about the amount of sticky mess that a 1 year old can produce. How is it possible that one baby can cover 500+ square feet with drool, food scraps, and general gunk in less than 30 minutes? The combined effort of vacuum, Swiffer, broom and sponge cannot hope to keep up. If you don't hear from me for a day or two, please send help. I may be stuck to the kitchen floor.

Mackay has learned to stamp her feet. At first, it was part of her dancing. Any time she hears music (radio, tv commercials, even her dad's off key ditties), she gets this look of absolute joy. She sort of hunches her shoulders, bounces up and down, and begins to randomly stamp one foot. Sadly, she lacks any sense of rhythm, and would not look out of place in the backwoods of the Ozarks. (No offense to any of you Ozarkians out there.)  She also seems to stamp when she's excited, or she discovers a new surface (a towel on the floor, a manhole cover, a rug...) She gets both feet going really fast - frankly doing a passable impression of Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. More recently, she has started stamping when she's mad. If you take something away from her, she lets out an ear-piercing screech, balls her hands up into furious little fists, and stamps her foot for emphasis. I have to turn away when she does it, because if I laugh at her, it only makes her madder. I thought the

A note to my beautiful daughter on her first birthday.  I can't believe it has been a year since you fought your way into this world. We knew you would be strong based on the odds you overcame just to get here. In addition to strength, you bring focused determination (can't imagine where you got that), feisty humor, and pure joy to everything that you do. Words can't describe the happiness that you bring to everyone around you.  For your birthday, we had a celebration, mostly to thank everyone who has supported you in your first year (and us, before you were born). You had friends and family here to give you kisses, and you received birthday wishes from many who live too far to travel, including family, friends, and the nurses who cared for us in the hospital. We are so very, very lucky.  As one might expect, your birthday was not without its ups and downs. We had lots of laughs with the fantastic Pinata your  Godmother Rosi brought for you. We had a few tears when partygoe

Just a few pics of miss Mack from Halloween. She refused to wear her costume for more than a few minutes, so she was mostly 'sans bee.' 

Mackay is finally approaching opposable teeth. After 3+ months with just her bottom two, her copious drool is paying off. She finally has a tooth on top. Appropriate for halloween - it's not a top center tooth, but one of the ones a vampire would use... But it looks like the top center ones are not far behind.  Other novelties: She says 'hi' pretty regularly. She sort of whispers it, like its some kind of secret. She also points out 'eyes' on every creature she comes across. Glad I didn't teach her 'balls.'

Mackay is definitely fascinated with Halloween. She loves the pumpkins, but even more, she loves the witches. These are the witches... Mackay calls them "hhthhhhh", which generally coincides with a large volume of drool escaping her mouth. But she loves for us to hold her up to the fireplace mantle and show them to her.

For those of you familiar with Half Moon Bay, you know that October is the busiest month of the year. Some 350,000 people come to the 'Pumpkin Capital of the World' to eat, drink, ride ponies, enjoy the Pumpkin Festival, and of course, select those strangely compelling orange gourds. Mackay was in her element among the crowds at Arata Farms, and she discovered her very own Pumpkin Throne. And with our friends Jen, Lawrence and Sophie, we're proud to say we managed to complete the hay maze. Mostly by accident. And don't ask us how long we were in there.

Mackay is going to be a bee for Halloween this year - though I'm going to have to drug her to get her to wear her antennae.

She started this week with a few wobbly steps. Now, she's taking 10-12 at a time, usually while trying to carry something heavy and awkward. Here's a picture on the day of her first Cal football game in the outfit my mom bought her -- and no, she will NEVER be a cheerleader.

So belated... we just returned from 9 days in Kauai. Mackay frolicked in the sea, the pool, and spent many wonderful hours with her cousins. Like a fern, she apparently thrives in warm, humid conditions. She's now standing on her own and trying desperately to take her first steps. She's climbing the stairs (up, not down...eek), and her favorite foods are bananas, cheerios, and anything we're eating. Oh, and paper. 

This is Puffin. Puffin is Mackay's absolute favorite toy. We almost lost Puffin this week. Mackay must not have been clutching him with her usual ferocity, because, were it not for a kind soul who saw her drop him on the streets of San Francisco, he'd already be gone. This led to a search for Puffin II, who will serve the role of backup Puffin should we not be so lucky next time. It turns out Puffin is shockingly hard to find. We found him for 10 British pounds on a UK website (plus 5 more pounds for local shipping). With today's favorable exchange rate, that's what, $750.00? Anyway, if anyone comes across one a little closer to home, I (and Mackay) would appreciate a heads up.

Big milestones this week. Mackay said her first word (we think), and she has figured out to sit down on her own from a stand (generally without scaring the bejesus out of herself or me). Her first word is 'Up!', or more often, 'UpUpUpUpUpUp!' She seems to be using it in context: sometimes when she wants to be picked up, or kind of like a mantra if she's trying to scale a particularly daunting obstacle. And she can now sit down from a standing position. She looks like a miniature version of Elvis - her knees sort of shudder in all different directions, and her hips wiggle all over the place until she finally gets the right alignment and plunks her bum down on the floor. I have to get this on video... does anyone have a tiny Elvis costume I could borrow?

I remember my friend Janet using the term 'freakishly strong' to describe her oldest daughter's kung fu grip. I'm not sure if this bizarre feature exists in all babies, but I swear Mackay could break some weightlifting records for her weight class. At almost 9 months old and 16 pounds, she is literally walking up the side of her pack-n-play, hanging on furiously to the top with her little arms and hands. The day will soon be here where she can no longer be contained...Shudder. On the other hand, she's finally discovered the joys of food. Her favorites are yogurt, mozzarella cheese, wheat bread, fruit of any kind, and whatever we are eating - the spicier the better. As long as it's not baby food, she'll eat it. Go figure.

I was going to write 'Girlfriend tip of the week', but I realized that I don't have very many, so a more accurate statement would be ...Girlfriend tip of the year? of the decade? Anyway, I came across an eyelash conditioner that is too good not to pass on. As most of you know, I'm not a big make-up girl, but this stuff is amazing. It's called Revitalash . The spa I go to (or rather, used to go to before I had a baby), was promoting it. I started using it a few months ago, and I noticed a HUGE difference in the length and thickness of my eyelashes. It's not cheap ($150, but you can find it for less online). But I would think this tube will last me a year. You put it on like liquid eyeliner - just once a day before you go to bed. It took about a month before I noticed a difference, but I am going to have to buy new sunglasses because my lashes now hit the inside of the lenses. Whodathunk? While we're on the topic of beauty products, another of my faves is Bare

I guess the media is not the only group fascinated with anniversaries. July 26th was the anniversary of my 'induction' into the hospital bedrest hall of fame. This year, instead of fearing for the safety of our unborn baby, we were able to celebrate -- and we did it in a huge way. We hosted 'JennyBillooza' - oh-so-cleverly named for the joint birthdays of my husband Bill, and our good friend and adopted family, Jenny. The stars aligned to give us great weather (75 degrees and sunny, when the days before and after were cold and foggy), great friends (over 150 of them), and no major damage to our new house. As our friend from Spain said of the party, "What a great way to break your house." We think he might have meant 'break in' your house, but either meaning is appropriate. We had a keg; we had glow sticks, we had a Cuban band; we had a taco truck; and most of all, we had a great time celebrating all those who have been, are, or will someday be 40. Than

Hi all - here's a perspective from my husband Bill on the joys of parenting. "I sure hope I'm not doing permanent damage to little Mackay. We all have heard the jokes about being dropped on our heads when we were babies. It turns out that in many cases, this probably isn't a joke - and it is definitely not funny when you see it happen. Given that Michele is mostly a stay-at-home Mom for the moment, my "mister mom" days have been limited to just a few. The first time I cared for Mackay on my own everything went fine - at least from her perspective. From my perspective, that large backside blowout she had was quite frightening. So much so, that I was compelled to take a picture to document it. As Michele is the keeper of this blog, I presume that picture will not show up to the right. The second time I got to care for Mackay on my own was when Michele went to Las Vegas for a Bachelorette Party. This left me in control for over 2 full days. Well, at least I

Mackay can crawl. But now it's all about standing. She'll pull herself up on anything -- my leg, a chair, her crib, a box in the garage... (I don't think it's child abuse, but she fits perfectly in these large plastic storage containers from Costco -- she can stand up, but not fall out, and walk herself around the edges, giving us a few minutes to try to eke some sort of organization in our garage.) Anyway - she bonks her head about 4 times a day as she tries to scale every object in our house. We just returned from a visit to my grandparents in Minnesota (both in their 90's), where she spent most of the week trying to climb a chair in their living room. I'm hoping her little fuzzy head will survive this phase. Her determination is impressive, though. I would not have thought it would be visible so early. On the positive side - she was an angel on the plane. Though I discovered a new reaction to the other inconsolable children seated nearby... "Oh - poor b

My father recently noticed a strong resemblance between me at 6 months old (middle picture. I swear I had no control of my outfit) and my daughter (far right). My husband, looking at the two photos, made the dubious connection that we both resembled the frog in that Warner Brothers cartoon (you know the one, with the frog in the top hat singing 'hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal...'). Despite the somewhat less than ideal photographs, I'll leave it to you to decide.

Ok - so Mackay's dad, who finds an inordinate number of opportunities to quote Jack Nicholson in 'A Few Good Men,' insisted on the title of this post. But it's official. Mackay has two tiny teeth. She chews on everything... fingers, toys, her toes. When I was in the kitchen the other day, I heard this odd scraping noise. I peeked over the counter, and discovered the baby gnawing on the metal leg of a barstool. It's kind of like having a pet piranha.

I have been fascinated to discover that there is a secret society that comes with motherhood. Because I spent most of my visibly pregnant time in the hospital, I didn't get to (or have to, depending on your perspective) deal with strangers touching my stomach, or telling me that their uncle's mother's daughter's child was going to share the same birthday as my baby. But I have to say that I truly enjoy the little smiles and friendly nods that are shared when I come across another mom with a child of roughly the same age. It's a kinship to which I was oblivious before I had a baby - but I'm pleased to be a part of it now. On a completely unrelated topic - Mackay cut her first tooth. It seems the drool has a purpose. I'd like to record for posterity the lyrics to her father's favorite lullaby. You are drooly, truly drooly You are drooly, yes you are You are drooly, truly drooly We should put it in a jar. You are drooly, truly drooly You are drooly, yes y

All hail the baby gate. Mackay is on the move. I wouldn't call it crawling, exactly. She looks sort of like an inchworm. She gets on her hands and knees, and then stretches her hands out in front until she's flat on the ground again. Then she pulls her knees in again (she'd be great at Pilates) and gets ready to move another 3 inches. She's not going to set any land-speed records, but she is getting where she wants to go. She also stood up on her own for the first time. With a death grip on the edge of her pack and play, and a lot of grunting, she was able to haul herself up to standing. Despite swaying like a drunken sailor, she looked pretty pleased with herself. I'm open for any good tips on babyproofing. :-)

As I was wiping banana off my clothes and my daughter's face this morning (she has discovered the art of blowing raspberries, and is determined to practice it while she is eating,) I was struck by how 'normal' everything seems. And I was reminded of how amazing the journey was to get her here. Mackay was a twin. While I was standing in the kitchen one morning last July, my water broke. I was about 18 1/2 weeks along. I'd like to say that I handled this crisis with some sort of control and dignity, but I was an absolute blubbering wreck. A dear friend drove me to the hospital, picking up my husband, who had just stepped onto a BART train, on the way. The perinatal doctor on call determined that my water had only broken for one twin (our son), but that the other baby's amniotic sac was still intact. They gave us 0% chance of survival for the boy, and less than 5% for the girl. In fact, one doctor told us that our best chance of a successful delivery was to terminate a

Fathers' Day took on new meaning for us this year, and we celebrated with a party! We had 19 people, including 7 dads, for a barbecue. The dust continues to settle in the new house, but everything actually came together pretty well. Now if we could just get some barstools...

Drum roll please. Mackay sat up today. By herself! For several minutes. She even picked up a couple toys without falling over. It's very exciting. My, has my definition of excitement changed since I had a baby.

We are hoping that the screaming that has begun to emanate from our 'perfect' child is a result of the time change as we traveled to Kauai (or possibly, teething.) We are certain that it is not, for instance, that she has been taken over by some evil force. However, Bill is wondering if insurance will cover the deafness he is experiencing in his left ear. All that aside, Kauai is as beautiful as always, and maybe our hearing will recover in time to hear the roosters in the morning.

We moved. And I don't think I will ever do it again. It turns out that after 11 years in the same house, you accumulate a huge amount of crap. And the even more amazing thing is, I packed more boxes of clothing for my 6 month-old daughter than I did for myself. Anyway, after two days in the new house, I think we have uncovered most of what we need to live comfortably. We have a few dishes, wine glasses, the coffeemaker, some clothing (except Mackay - who has A LOT), a toothbrush... What do you suppose is in the 75 boxes that are still in the garage? But after a day of putting her new crib together (kudos to Pottery Barn for having decent instructions), Mackay's room is now the only clean and tidy spot in the house. Maybe I'll sleep in her crib tonight.

Big news. Guess what....Mackay loved having her sore gums soothed with little dabs of bourbon...she thought about it, liked it, and she calmed down...mostly. This is Rosi, Mackay's godmother...not fairy...letting you all know that teething babies like a little bourbon. And no, this doesn't make them alcoholics for life.

My child has been (mostly) sleeping through the night since she was six weeks old. Why is it that I am still waking up like clockwork at 4am? Wide awake. For hours. If I do manage to get back to sleep somewhere around 6, I feel like I've been run over by a truck when the baby wakes at 7. Is this just me, or is it yet another strange attribute of motherhood that people don't tell you about until after you have a kid? On the other hand, if the answer is simply 'welcome to middle age', then - in the immortal words of Gilda Radner - nevermind .

Mackay is a rolling machine. A few weeks ago, she decided she had had enough tummy time and rolled on her back. After doing this five times in a row, she decided enough was enough and didn't roll over for a few weeks. Now she has learned to roll from back to front and she is rolling all over the place. Seems kind of funny that this is even notable, but as all parents know this is actually a critical part of child development. Now if we can teach her to vacuum or do the dishes....

Finding someone you trust to take care of your child when you go back to work is, in a word, grueling. You worry about the petri dish of daycare. You read the articles about nanny cams and the horrible acts they record. You try to figure out a work schedule that meet the needs of your family. And honestly, even though you may be working 'part time', you are probably still a full time mom, cook, and everything else that comes with the territory. When you're ready (or partially ready) to return to work, how do you find the right person to care for your little one? Here are a few suggestions that worked for me: 1) Place an ad in your local paper (I live in a small town, so our local paper is a pretty good resource). I've heard from other moms that Craigslist is a good second option. 2) Is there a mothers' club in your area? Mom's club websites and lists are great resources for posting ads or asking for help. 3) When you are ready to interview, Babycenter ( http://

2007 was a year of miracles. 2008 is going to be a year of changes. New baby, new house, new work... We hope that this site will help keep those near and far just a little closer.