I just got back from Ada's second Hallowe'en party - she's a busy girl. This one was with the Moms & Babies group in my building. This was my third time going to the group. It consists of a collection of lovely mothers of young children that live in the CityPlace buildings. There have been anywhere from 8 to about 15 mothers in attendance, and they are a wide variety of ages, ethnicities, lifestyles, etc., so it is really interesting and a lot of fun. It is actually called "Moms and Tots", but Jonathan and I don't enjoy referring to our child as a "Tot" because it reminds us of Tater Tots. Ada is not a deep fried potato. She is, however, the cutest Little Red Riding Hood that ever was. I have pictures to prove it.



And here is a picture of a select group of the mothers at the party with their children all dressed up for Hallowe'en. And the great part was, since they are all too young to eat sugar, the energy in the room was created totally on babies having fun with each other. How fun is that?

While I was pregnant I would often wonder about the little nicknames I would end up giving our baby. They are never planned - they just happen. I am not a person to regularly hand out nicknames to people, in fact I don't even have a pet name for Jonathan. But I have a good collection for Calvin and Max (Calvinator, Maxwellian, Little Man, Fuzz Face, just to name a few), but I think that is because they are dependent on me. In these past 8 weeks we have a small collection for Ada, usually dependent on her mood or clothing attire. Here are a few of her Adanames:

Milk Monster: This one comes about when Ada is demanding milk NOW, in fact, 10 seconds ago would have been better. It is usually used in the form of "Uh, oh. The Milk Monser is here!"

Hiccup Queen: Ada is an expert at hiccups. She used to get the about 3-4 times a day, but now it is only about 1-2 times a day. They usually start up after a more vigorous feed, and she's usually okay with them unless they last a longer than usual time, then she may get frustrated with them.

Orange Ada: A play on the drink orangeade. This name only appears while Ada is dressed in orange attire, which she looks very dashing in.

Sneezy Face: Usually after a collection of the cutest sneezes a baby could produce.

Smiley Face: This is a new name to the collection, due to the more recent appearances of HUGE SMILES!!! I have been anxiously awaiting these smiles, quite aware that they usually don't appear until the 6th week or so. Right on schedule, but only at certain times of the day, Ada will make the whole world light up and cause my heart to burst with a multitude of glorious smiles. But as soon as the camera comes out, Ada tucks her smiles away for safe keeping. She prefers to save her smiles for live performances. I managed to get a couple of pictures this morning, but they don't do the live performance justice, as Ada is fully aware. Enjoy!



For those of you looking for the Little Red Riding Hood pictures that I promised, I will put them up tomorrow. She wasn't in the mood for photos on Saturday, so I'm hoping to get some good ones tomorrow for her Hallowe'en Party.

I have discovered the Number One Rule of being a Mother To An Infant. Once the realization of this Number One Rule struck me, life became a million times easier. I have accepted this rule, and I believe it allows me to be a much calmer, sane woman. The Number One Rule is: Everything Takes Longer. Hot food will be eaten cold. My walk to Kensington Market may take an extra 20 minutes because Ada wants to eat. Getting dressed to go out can take up to an hour. Getting anywhere with a stroller can sometimes double in time by the constant need to find a stroller-accessible route. The list can go on and on.

I no longer wear I watch since time doesn't matter any more. I know this is a mother thing because I was recently at a mother and baby group I joined and someone asked for the time. We all just looked at each other until we realized - it's a mother and baby group! No one wears a watch! And I made a point of changing the message on my voicemail to point out that I am likely not answering the phone because I am with Ada, that way I'm not rushing to the phone every time it rings. Although, I have to admit, this has been a difficult habit to break. It's amazing how much power a ringing phone has over a person! Must..... answer.... ring.....

The wonderful part about this rule (other than the zen-like ability to ignore the power of the clock), is that it is worth losing my watch tan-line for the opportunity to be the mother of Ada. If the laundry still isn't done because Ada is hungry again, it's okay because I get to watch her one arm stretch out behind her and relax as she enjoys her milk. If writing an email is taking ten times longer due to typing with one hand because Ada requires a cuddle, that's fine with me if it means that Ada is content. Ada makes being a mother the best job in the world.

For Hallowe'en Ada is dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood. I will be the wolf dressed as Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother. The pictures will likely be posted at some point this weekend since we are going to a Hallowe'en party tomorrow. I must warn you - Ada will be the cutest Little Red Riding Hood in history.

And now I am going to attempt to put some more pictures on Flickr. Once I get some more help from the Fabulous Heather Ann, I will have a link on this site to go straight to our Flickr pictures. Wish me luck!

As promised, I am going to keep this blog for all of our wonderful family and friends, so you can keep updated on the life and times of Ada Helen Fuerth. My plan is to write stories about Ada, motherhood, and life in general, as well as to post updated pictures of our new family. I want to use this as an opportunity to share my experiences and images of my new life with Ada, and so that our families and friends that live too far away to see regularly can follow along.

Special thanks to Heather Ann who designed this page and has been helping me (and will continue to help!) with creating this blog.

Enjoy!