Fall Rush

August (and September so far) have been slightly more crazy than usual around here. We had family in to visit, hosted and helped host two baby showers, had friends in to visit, and, most importantly, attended Sidewalk and Artwalk, two of our favorite Birmingham events. Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival is where James and I met, and we both volunteer every year (him since the beginning), so it's a major event for us. This year was a little trickier, as you can imagine, since we had to figure out how to manage our former rock (film) star lifestyles with a baby in tow.

Mali came with us to the opening night reception and had a blast, I think. She loves to be carried around in her sling, so we walked her, fed her, and even let her nap while we met filmmakers and enjoyed the rooftop sunset view of the Alabama theater. My mom babysat while we saw the opening night film the next night, and Mali came with me to see our friend Heidi's film on Saturday morning. Things were a little rougher from there. I spent the rest of Saturday at home with her while James worked (he's pretty much owned by the festival the entire weekend), and then I dropped her off at mom's that afternoon for her first night away from home. I cried when I dropped her off. I tried not to cry when I got downtown. And I really, really cried when I got home from that night's after party and she wasn't there. It didn't help that James had elected to stay on for a bit, so I was home entirely alone, and even though if she had been here she definitely would have been asleep, I still missed her. Part of the problem was that attending the festival gave me a weird identity crisis. Who am I now anyways? I can't be my former carefree self, staying up late just for fun and not seeing home for more than a few hours for three days, but neither do I want to be a stuck-at-home mom who never sees anyone or does anything. I wanted to be two people - one to party it up like old times and one to play and cuddle with Mali. Instead, it felt like I got the worst of both worlds. I couldn't fully enjoy the freedom because I missed the baby and worried she'd miss me, but neither could I 100% enjoy the time I did spend with her because I felt like I was missing out on what I consider James' and my annual event. Honestly, I'm not sure why I was so surprised and upset, because this is what being a parent is, finding that balance. I guess things just came to a head because of the intensity of the weekend and the fact that I didn't have James here to help me sort through it all.

But, I'm happy to report that tomorrow night we're going to attempt the night away again. A friend is hosting a cookout karaoke party, and rather than make mom wait up for us to get home to pick up a sleeping baby, we're just going to pick Mali up the next morning. Wish us luck!

Other than that, I've been seeing a lot of fun developments in Mali. She's getting very good at rolling from her tummy to her back as well as reaching for and grabbing things. She likes to chatter and giggle, a lot (I never could get my video to load). AND, we started her on rice cereal last week. So far she seems to like it. We have her official 6-month checkup today, so I'll report back after that.

Slacking

So much has been changing with Mali lately, so I've definitely been slacking on the updates. The good news is that work has been keeping me quite busy, but not too busy for plenty of Mali time. Recently she's discovered the dog, the cat, her toes, how to grab and shake things, and possibly even how to roll over!

Maeby and Talula are much more interesting than they were just a few weeks ago. One day last week Maeby was tossing one of her toys around after dinner and Mali couldn't take her eyes off her and even burst out into giggles. And she loves it when Maeby kisses her feet and ears. The cat is just fun to watch and occasionally touch, since her fur is so soft. Luckily the cat's antidepressants seem to be making her a much mellower and nicer kitty these days!

When we have playtime on her mat, Mali has been getting more and more rolly. She grabs her toes and wobbles from side to side. And now she grabs for the toys and rattles hanging from the overhead arches, and of course immediately puts them in her mouth. But she loves the sound of the chimes and rattles and all the bright colors.

Yesterday James was down on the floor with her for some tummy time and as we watched she wobbled over to her back. It was so slow motion it almost didn't seem real. We tried to get her to do it again, since I thought the tummy bolster under her chest and chin might have been helping out, but we haven't seen her repeat it yet.

My mommy anxiety comes and goes, which I assume is normal. I feel guilty when I have too much work, but she gets to play beside me if I have to finish up while she's awake, and she seems to be doing great. Just now, for instance, I was finishing up writing this post while she played on her mat after her bath and I look over to this sight. Just put herself to sleep!

Too Cute Not to Share

This was too cute not to share. Mali has been super talkative all day today, so thankfully I finally got her to cooperate for the camera as well :) She definitely sounds smarter than me!

Mali's Baptism

Yesterday was Mali's baptism. We were lucky enough to be able to borrow my niece Natalie's dress and bonnet, so little Margaret Alice looked like a sweet doll in white and lace.

When my nephew Hudson got baptized a few months ago I was an emotional wreck. I cried from almost the moment the minister started talking until the ceremony was over. We're sprinklers in the Methodist church, and I don't know if they do this everywhere or not, but our minister blesses each baby's head, feet and hands. So sweet. I was able to hold it together a little better for Mali, luckily. And a good thing too because when we were asked her given name I remembered not to say just "Mali" and James didn't blurt out Emily Margaret, which he almost did :) We were given her first bible and a baptism certificate that I'll put in her baby book. She squeaked a little bit, as you can see in the video, when the water hit her head, but she slept through the rest of the church service like the angel she is.

Afterward, my family came over for brunch to celebrate. We wished James's family could have been here too!

Not much else has been going on here, just lots of work, baby giggles, and getting ready for a few baby showers for several friends. Mali's going to have a lot of babies to play with before too long.

Mali and Maeby

Mali and I are settling back into a routine. In the mornings we read books, she naps while I work, and we try and get some tummy time in the afternoon. Its amazing to see her grow and change though.

This week she had her 4-month checkup at the pediatrician's office (with shots, boo). She's now 25 inches long with a 16-inch circumference head and weighs 12 lbs 2.5 oz. She did really well with the shots, just a quick cry before I picked her up to comfort her, and just like last time she ran a low-grade fever for about a day and was puny and wanted to be held/comforted a lot, plus lots of napping. The doctor said she's doing great.

Last Saturday was Mali and Maeby's first car ride together. We took my car in for an oil change and decided to take Maeby with us. Mali was fine -- she never seems to mind much when Maeby licks her, and Maeby was surprisingly well behaved. She didn't try to get in Mali's face too much, and she didn't try to sit on her either. Look how happy she was!

Our other big first was sitting in the Bumbo seat. Cousin Hudson had been borrowing it (since he's 3 1/2 months older), but he's grown out of it just in time for Mali to be ready to use it. She looks so grown up sitting up like that. But she really seems to like the seat, especially when there are rattles to shake, monkeys to dance in front of her, and hands to investigate. We're very lucky to have such a good girl.

ProMali

Isn't our little nugget adorable? I am in love. The photo today is one from our photo shoot last month with Alison Carpenter (http://allisoncarpenterphotography.com/). She did such an amazing job.

This has been my first full week working from home, and I am loving it. Mali's smiles and coos make the financial sacrifices all worth it.

She's been sucking on her thumb lately, rather than just her whole hand. It's funny because once she figures out how to get just her thumb in her mouth she has a hard time figuring out what to do with her other fingers. Sometimes they end up in her eye, or squeezing her own cheeks, and at least once she's given herself a gash on the nose with her little fingernails. Time to trim them! Now that I'm home we've been getting in some serious tummy time, and she's getting much happier in that position. She loves her playmat and looking at all the animal toys hanging from it. Yesterday she even grabbed the rabbit rattle.

James has a link to more of Allison's photos on his Picasa site: https://picasaweb.google.com/jamesbrownjr/ProMalishots

Guh Gah

I've been sort of impatient about Mali cooing and gooing, but in the past week or so she's been trying to verbalize a lot more. It's really the cutest sound. Most of the time she's smiling while she's gurgling, so the combined effect is enough to make my already mushy heart melt completely.

This past weekend we took Mali on her first trip to Hiawassee, Georgia to see her grandparents and meet a gaggle of aunts, uncles, and cousins. To say she was a hit would be an understatement. I'm not sure James and I got to hold her for more than a few minutes at a time all weekend, and she loved the entertainment. We had a big family/neighborhood reunion/picnic on Sunday to celebrate the 4th of July weekend, and Mali was dressed in festive red, white, and blue stars.

The cousins shot off amazing fireworks on the dam that evening, and Mali was a trooper. Even though it was near bedtime she was happy in her baby carrier, alternating between looking at the pretty lights and dozing. The loud booms didn't even make her flinch. I guess she figured fireworks were passe after that, since the next night when we watched Thunder On The Mountain from right underneath Vulcan, she slept through the entire thing. She's a really good baby :)

Hopefully you'll be able to hear her talk in the attached video, but either way, here she is in action!