The World of Mackay

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