"Ya ya"

Natalie is 8 months old today. My, how the time flies. She continues to be an adorably social and charming baby, and I must begrudgingly admit that she has been uttering "dada" on a regular basis. (I'm not jealous or anything, but she doesn't really know what she's saying, right?)

This morning, I was struck by what has become another favorite vocalization: "ya ya." Nearly 2 years ago, I posted about a dream I'd had about Julian. In my dream, he was around the same age Natalie is now, and he was clearly saying "ya ya." Given that I've spent next to no time around babies until now, it's interesting to me that my subconscious conjured up an image of Julian that was fairly developmentally accurate. If I let my mind wander over to the supernatural side for a moment, I can almost let myself believe that Natalie was delivering a message from her big brother.

Important new joint project

Please take a moment to check out the new Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss Blog Directory, a collaborative effort by some of us in Blogland. Thanks so much to delphi for getting this going. Please send in any relevant resources you think may be useful to others who have experienced the tragic loss of a child.

Happy Day

A Place to Turn When a Newborn is Fated to Die

Please read this important article in today's New York Times.

There's a library in my closet!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy deciding not to do the PhD and a bunch of other related stuff (long story, but I'd pretty much rather hang out with the sweet, charming, well-dressed, funny, and emotionally intelligent Natalie than, well... draw your own conclusions).

Natalie's doing great. She's eating solids twice a day, sitting up on her own, and developing her own unique sense of humor. We are planning our first trip together to visit the UK relatives, so please send any travel tips you can think of! In the meantime, I'll try to catch up with all my friends in Blogland.

(Thanks to Wondertime magazine for the fun decorating idea!)