Baby Lap Shit

So I’m trying to do the mom things that might help me and might help Lyra. This means I get out of the house when glenn is here and do things by myself, we’ve gotten his parents to watch Lyra while we went on a date, and I try to do activities as much as possible with the wee beastie when she’s awake and kicking.

This week Lyra and I found out what the hell “Baby Lap Sit” means. It is listed on the library website…I have a lap, she’s a baby. She sits there a lot. So we went to see. It was in a room hung with decorations from the sleepover the 9-12 year olds had the night before as they read Harry Potter.

Everyone stopped and looked at me when I came in slightly late. They were sitting in a circle, babies indeed on their laps. I introduced us and sat down. There were two bumbling leaders looking up lyrics as they played patty cake and different songs that involved the parents bobbling the bald babies in different ways.

I bounced Lyra around some and tried really hard to suppress the un-PC nine year-old inside me from yelling, “Oh my god, this is SO GAY.” Lyra just stared fascinated at the concept of multiple people chanting and singing together. A couple people stared at me with her. She was too young, she has way more hair, and I was supposed to have removed my shoes. I slipped off my shoes and then I got several looks when I sang “kum ba ya, Lyra, kum ba ya.” (instead of “Lord”) I don’t think we’ll go back real soon. We make up better games at home.

Speaking of my Blasphemy Ericson experiences, I didn't know until one of these mom groups that people who get baptized are supposed to have the names of saints. A woman told me she had to go to a different church to do it or because hers would not baptize her kid and that she had been told "What kind of a name is Piper?!" She nodded as I raised my eyebrows to ask, "That’s right. They'd be FINE if I'd named her "Peter Piper!”

Lyra travels well and likes being outside. We had a good time in Maine this weekend and on the Cape yesterday. She jogs with dad in the morning and shouts happily. We went to the movies the other day and she looked upset when we left but when I ran us across the street at a Walk sign she suddenly yelled “Wheee!” rather distinctly.

Lyra is very happy and strong in crawl position, and understands the concept of the combat crawl on her forearms already at 2.5 months. She has managed to put one arm in front of the other and as a result wriggled partway out of her pants, though did not achieve any measurable distance. I did my part and wrote Calvin Klein on the top of her diapers with a Sharpie.