The First Thanksgiving

Mabel had a wonderful first Thanksgiving. We went to Bill & Meagan's and she got to hang out with her cousins. We forgot our camera, so we'd love e-mailed pics from those of you who did attend.

The family spent the rest of Thanksgiving weekend chillin' at home. Mabel did a lot of kicking, rolling, cooing, and wobbly-sitting. Daddy played some vids, watched some soccer, and cooked a few delicious meals. Mama scrapped her but off, finally working on some holiday projects.

By the way, the handsome young gentleman in the photo is Jack. He is the son of my good friend, Erin. He did not seem to sure about Mabel, but they ended up have a great time together.

Mama Wins Cutest Baby Contest; Upstaged Baby Refuses Comment

Many milestones have been passed since we last checked in from a local tavern after the three of us had spent a sunny weekend morning drinking Belgian beer.

Late last week, Mabel celebrated her six month birthday. It seems like only yesterday our cleaning people were nervously muttering to themselves in Polish concerning the dramatic cries and groans coming from the pregnant lady in the guest bedroom. But however painful the realization may be to her (she's privately told more than one well-wisher she's four months), Mabel is half way to her first birthday. Mabel marked the occasion at home with a plastic container of lukewarm unsalted green bean puree.



The very next day, Pops' real birthday popped up on the calendar, and the family enjoyed an evening of bulgogi, grilled octopus, and concerned Korean waitresses at a north side Korean barbecue shack. While the fiery tableside coals and boiling hot miso soup proved Mabel no harm, the same cannot be said for the residual effects of the meal on her parents. The mama in particular complained the following morning of being the victim of what she coined a "kimchi hangover".



Saturday brought Mabel's six-month pediatrician appointment, a rudely unexpected round of shots, and a clean bill of health. The stats: 2'2" and 16 lbs, 9 oz.

On the home front, Mabel has really begun to enjoy toys. Her favorite toy remains the nuk, primarily for its versatility, but she also gets a lot of use out of multiple rattles, her cell phone, and the most recent addition to the rotation, the book Quack Says The Duck, a classic in the field of crinkly-sounding literature.

Last, but certainly not least, is the shocking development in Mabel's mouth - the razor-sharp hint of a tooth. Will more of these strange enameled growths pop up? Only time will tell.

A quick response to some reader e-mail. Breleigh F. in Hattiesburg, MS asks if Mabel has her own playlist in the family iTunes library. The short answer is yes, but it's over 800 tunes long and is really more of a fluid collection than anything. Since I'm assuming you're getting more at the question of which tunes Mabel particularly digs or happen to point the listener toward the path of essential Mabel-ness, here are a few that stand out that she has responded to positively in the recent past.

John Coltrane - India, take 2 from The Complete Village Vanguard sessions
Wings - Goodnight Tonight
ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses
Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again
Electrelane - I'm On Fire
Grateful Dead - anything from Watkins Glen '73
Joe Walsh - A Life of Illusion
Billy Swan - I Can Help
B-52s - 6060-842
Trip Shakespeare - Fangs
Lloyd Robinson - Cuss Cuss
Scout Niblett - Dinosaur Egg (aka 'morning music')
Dashboard Saviors - Rand McNally Blues

Brunch at the Hopleaf

Many of you know that our favorite restaurant in our neighborhood is the Hopleaf. It's a Belgian joint with lots of delicious beers on tap and the best mussels you've ever had. The downfall of the Hopleaf is that they don't allow admittance to anyone under 21. We've thought of trying to smuggle Mabel in under a big coat, but have thought better of it. Yesterday, they were holding a benefit brunch for the local public school and, the most exciting part, children were welcome! As you can tell from the pics, Mabel was enjoying herself, but then slipped into a food coma about half way through our visit.

Speaking of slipping into a coma, Nathan and I could slip at any time. We're running on a little less sleep than we're used to due to Mabel's new bad sleeping habits. She is crying much more when we put her to bed and wakes up a few times during the night for no reason. She also has been disinterested in napping. I am on a mission to nip this in the bud. I am off to the bookstore tonight to stock up on baby sleep books; I've gotten recommendations for "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Ferber and "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Weissbluth. We're also getting new batteries for the Ocean Aquarium that was lent to us by the Three Sissies. Any other tips, tricks, books recommendations, or ear plugs are welcome.