Yankee Doodle

Beatrice is one step closer to being an American citizen - we went to the Embassy yesterday to get her passport and social security number. Technically right now I believe she is still a citizen (not a stateless person as we first thought), she just needs to get all her paperwork in order. So we went and applied for her passport - photos and application documents and all. According to her documentation she has blue eyes and is one foot, nine inches tall (actually she has already grown since we sent in the paperwork - now she's a half inch shy of 2 feet tall!)

Daddy had fun "measuring" her - knee height!

So after we get her US passport we can apply for her UK visa, so she too can live here with us. Most people (Brits included) think she has dual citizenship because she was born here. Not so. To have a British citizenship (or to become a subject of the Queen, as one friend put it), you must be born to a British citizen or long term resident. In short, neither Zack nor I qualify, so...Beatrice is 100% American! We were also happy to learn that she can still be President of the United States, if she so desires, given that she was an American citizen from birth. Not that I would wish that job on her.

So what else is new? We have discovered the "natural" mobile that the plant makes when Mommy shakes it vigorously (poor plant)

Also we had a great visit with Diego and Karina at their place on Sunday afternoon. Amazing views, and Beatrice LOVED being held by Karina.

Also Beatrice and I have been getting out lots more these days. She even made it all the way up the High Street and back without falling asleep the other day! A real accomplishment for the girl who falls asleep the minute we step outside.

I did have to make a tough decision recently though - I am no longer taking a picture of every activity...now that she's 2 months old people are starting to look at me funny, and I do feel a bit stupid whipping the camera out when she is always wrapped up in the stroller. So...photo ops will mostly consist of inside activities.

2 months old!

Saturday, 27 January

Beatrice celebrated her 2 month "birthday" today in typical Beatrice-style: 4 outfit changes, lots of spit-up, a few good naps, time with Flat Bear, lots of cooing at the mobile and some sweet smiles for her parents. John and Jasandra came over for dinner to help celebrate too. It seemed very fitting given that we had spent the evening with them the night before she was born. Back then we ate lots of leftover Thanksgiving turkey. (Tonight was beef stew only, as I'm still not 100% positive lots of turkey doesn't induce labor...and I'm still way too scared to go through that again anytime soon.)

So at two months, where is little Beatrice? Well, she's growing by leaps and bounds. I can't weigh her until Wednesday, but she's definitely over 11 lbs, possible even 12, given that she was 10lb 15oz a week and a half ago. And we are very quickly moving up to 3-6 month size clothes. Luckily she has tons of outfits from her cousin Eleanor to choose from! Also the "wee" one has moved up another diaper size already. I suppose it is fitting given that she is no longer considered a newborn now that she is 2 months old.

She's talking up a storm these days too. Mostly to her mobile, although she and her Daddy have started a Chewbacca/Wookiee-style talking lately. They moan and coo and Wookiee-it-up for a good 15 minutes or so when Zack gets home from work. It is very cute.

And she a superstar spitter-upper. So far she's hit almost everything in our apartment with scary accuracy: the wall, bookcases, the beds, one of the radiators, the back of the couch, every bit of me, all of her clothes (usually within 10 seconds of them going on), and Zack's shoes. Don't worry though, she helped him clean those (see photo below). But, then again, as her bib says, she does love him.

Beatrice has also been making the rounds at work. She and I went to lunch with some of my colleagues and stopped by my office for a quick visit. Here Beatrice is with Julie - both pretty in pink!

And she is starting to notice more of her toys - gumming them, batting at them, staring at them, etc. Which is good of course as she has tons of toys...

Best of all - Grandma Elizabeth is coming back for another visit!! When Beatrice found out the news she was so excited she spit-up EVERYWHERE. We are counting down the days...9 to go!

Snow Day!

A few days ago Beatrice got her first taste of snow. Unfortunately it was all gone by the afternoon, but we did manage to get in a good walk in the morning. The three of us bundled up (except for Zack, who is, I am convinced, actually a polar bear or Swedish or something of that ilk) and walked Zack to work through the park. Beatrice enjoyed it. Or at least she didn't cry...

...which was nice because the day before poor Bea had to have her first immunization shots. I think I cried more than she did, though she definitely cried louder. Like a trooper though, she got through it. Just a bit cranky and uncomfortable that afternoon, poor girl. She did sleep a lot afterwards - so cute.

Finally, I had to share a couple of other random photos. I love this one of Bea and her Daddy talking to Ari on the phone.

And Beatrice and I were trying to get out of the house one day (such a production! - but I can't forget anything as once I'm down those 4 flights of stairs I AM NOT GOING BACK UP), and anyway, she was super cranky all morning and really needed a nap. Usually she conks out in the stroller, so I thought getting out would be good. Well, I put her down for a second at the top of the stairs (which is not nearly as precarious as it looks in this photo) to put on my coat and she fell straight asleep. So I left her for 15 minutes while I did a few things. Bad Mothering Skills 101, I suppose!

My favorite things

Now that Beatrice is a big girl (all of 8 weeks old!), she has some definite preferences. She is a little less clear on what she dislikes, as even her favorites (the mobile) can lose their charm after a while. Anyway, I started wondering (after 10 full minutes bouncing her in front of the bookcase), just what is it about the few things that so capture her attention? So I thought I would take pictures of some of her favorite things, from her point of view.

There is the mirror (or wall or light or contrast between the three),

the bookcases,

the windows,

the lights on the ceiling,

and of course, the mobile (which is surprising less interesting from her vantage point)

Another clear favorite in the past few days has been the adorable baby in the mirror. She likes to smile at Mommy too, but usually only with the aid of the mirror. Daddy is lucky - he gets big smiles when he gets home from work (without the mirror).

Of course there is one favorite of Beatrice's which hasn't yet lost its appeal (it dawned on me as I sat here nursing her). No pictures of that though!

Weekend visiting

This weekend we spent a great long weekend with Alexis, Amy & Adrien. They flew in from France late Friday night and stayed till Monday (Beatrice got tired waiting up for them on Friday, so she took a little nap with monkey and then Daddy danced with her a bit to calm her).

It was wonderful to see them and be able to spend a lot of time with them. Adrien is almost 8 months old, so he and Beatrice are still on very similar schedules. Perfect for visiting! We "slept in" most mornings and then ventured out in the cold and did a very little bit of touring around London. Given it was Amy's (and Adrien's I suppose) first visit to London, they'll definitely have to come back so we can do some more sightseeing!

We did do some fun things. Adrien started eating (and liking) banana. Beatrice wore overalls and pretended to be a tulip. And we made it out to the Natural History Museum and the V&A a bit.

On Sunday afternoon we Skyped with Adrien's Grandmother Erika (to sing her Happy Birthday). Grandma Elizabeth and some of Amy's family was on Skype too, so we spent a while showing off the two little ones to various family members - and boy, are they cute! And perhaps it was all the cameras, but Beatrice has really started to smile at you and coo since yesterday. Maybe she's learning from Adrien!

Snorty McSnort

Unfortunately Beatrice has been very sick with a cold this week. She was out of sorts most of the week and very, very stuffy - thus the new nickname from Daddy, Snorty McSnort. He is quite prolific with the nicknames. Milk Dud is another favorite for right after she nurses and becomes completely limp and curled up into a ball. Luckily she is still growing (and starting to feel better!), so the Winston Churchill nickname is falling out of favor as she loses the double chin.

Given Beatrice's cold and the absolutely rotten weather, we have stayed very close to home all week. On Sunday we did venture out to visit Burak at our old place in Pimlico (Lale was in Istanbul). Not sure if Beatrice recognized it or not, but we certainly had a fun visit with him. And Beatrice made herself right at home...getting a diaper change in the kitchen and passing out on the couch with Daddy.

Zack had off on Monday for MLK day, so we went for a nice walk and stopped in at a local pub. After that is was a great afternoon at home playing on the floor. Beatrice and her monkey hung out for a while. Not sure she noticed him though...

The rest of the week was uneventful, with lots of sleeping and crying (on Beatrice's part). That and standing in the bathroom with the shower on full blast for the sauna effect. I even missed a day of taking pictures of her (gasp). I did manage to get some adorable pictures, most taken while she was talking to her mobile. That mobile seemed to be the only thing that could take her mind off of her cold and stuffy nose all week! She even started yelling at it today - GAAAA! Lots of ah-goo's and ayyyyyyiiiieeee's. Then she'll smile, followed quickly by spit-up. She's quite a kid. Very entertaining. I'll have to figure out how to get sound on the blog.

Other than that...Beatrice is still growing - I weighed her at the clinic on Wednesday - 10lb 15oz. So the midwife said not to worry too much about the cold, as it certainly hasn't affected her appetite! And Beatrice is getting accustomed to the Baby Bjorn so I've been carrying her around like that instead of taking the stroller everywhere (it is easier without the stroller on the stairs!) She's still not a fan of tummy time, but does enjoy some time alone in the mornings in her crib. And her latest trick is projectile spit-up and peeing out a good 2 foot radius whenever she gets the chance (she got Zack good one day!)

But by far my most favorite new trick is all the smiling (again mostly at the mobile), but wow...

Today we had lunch with friends in London - Jane, Cristina & Sofia. Cristina was in the prenatal class with us, and Sofia was born a week after Beatrice. The girls enjoyed meeting each other. And the older girls enjoyed a lunch out and adult conversation!

Now we're getting ready for a visit with Alexis, Amy and Adrien - they're coming in from France for a long weekend!