the adventures of mischa

56. Glimpses of January - April 2010 (not necessarily in order)

2010-04-16T21:23:00.001-07:00

just being his charming self.

Hangin' in the Denver airport during our 5-hour adventure of getting bumped from a flight.

First Mardi Gras celebratin' with Mo, Grant, Heather, Surf, Doug, & Will. Mischa wasn't sure what to make of the buckets of crawfish some people were eating, but he sure did love the beads and the alligator mask.

First real classical music concert, at the Shriners' Temple. Mischa was completely entranced, especially by the violins, although the big drums were of course his favorite. An amazing experience all around.

rock star.

at Sloan's Lake Park (lovely place directly across the street from our new house).

Rock and roll time with friends Milo (on electric guitar)...

and Sylvie (on accordion), while Mischa covered percussion w/ maracas & tambourine.

unsolicited impromptu jam session! it's pretty hard to see him because it's a terrible quality video from my regular camera, but mischa is in the shadows in the very back, on percussion & singing his heart out. milo is in the shadows between mischa & sylvie, on another electric guitar. sylive clearly made herself the leading lady here.

55. mischa is TWO

2009-11-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, folks, it's been two whole years since mister Mischa Ryan Kucher Reid decided to make all our lives just a little bit sunnier with his lovely little presence. Here's my version of a quickie quickie retrospective.

TWO YEARS AGO:

(1 day before I went into labor)

(a few hours old)

ONE YEAR AGO:

PRESENT DAY:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISCH!!

54. mischloween & fall 09

2009-11-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

53. Almost 22 months, ~300 words, several family visits & adventures

2009-09-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

Hello friends --
We've been terrible about updating this page, but Mischa has had a fun few months of racing through toddler development. Things have been very busy with several visits to and from family & friends, as well as a short mini-adventure to San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. Meanwhile, 19-21 months consisted mostly of a verbal explosion -- Mischa went from using only a few common simple words (up, cup, mama, thank you), to suddenly learning the words for almost everything around him, at breakneck speed. He's now at the stage that he repeats almost everything he hears (which means we need to be a little more careful - as evidenced by the day he ran around shouting "dammit!" with unbridled glee). Of course only certain words stick -- but he's been absorbing new words so fast that I figured I should take a few minutes to document where he's at right now, since such a feat would soon become impossible. At first I figured that he was probably using close to 200 words at this point. But when I did a quick brainstorm to count them up, he's actually at closer to 300. Neat. And the new development of just the past few weeks is that he's starting to turn these words into actual basic sentences. (first few were things like: "Mama go to the potty," "Dada's at work," "Foggy open(ed) the door," (when the kitten woke him up from his nap) and "Mama, throw the ball!"

His favorite words at the moment: spatula, crocodile (he's really into 3-syllable words right now), music (which he pronounces "numic!"), thank you (an early one but he says it 100 times a day), 'scuse me, pancakes, yogurt, and vacuum.

I've only counted here words that he says on his own, with clear meaning -- I haven't included words that he repeats only when we say them, or that he seems to use randomly. (I may likely be missing a whole set of words that he says at childcare that we don't witness -- we have no idea how many that would be). His pronunciation skills vary, of course. A few of his words need the trained ear of a parent to recognize them, even though he uses that same funny word very consistently. So those where his pronunciation, while consistent, is rather far off of the real word, I've indicated w/ asterisks (examples are "ninnen" for chicken and "lily" for kitty). The others he says basically right. Here's what we could think of so far.

Words Mischa uses as of 9/19/09 (almost 22 months old):

Food & eating: pancakes, waffles, toast, french toast, chicken* (refers to vegetarian chicken), tofu,* rice, butter, peanut butter*, cream cheese*, cheese, bread, milk, water, juice, yogurt, applesauce, oatmeal, cereal, eggs, pizza, cracker, bar, cookie, cake, cupcake, fruit, raisin, potatoes, tomatoes,* apple, banana, burger (boca burger), ketchup, syrup, broccoli (refuses to eat it but loves to say it), avocado (same, sadly), peas, spoon, knife, fork,* spatula, plate, bowl, cup, napkin, bib, bottle, straw, top (e.g. the top to a sippy cup or a pot), yummy, bite, sip, cooking, cut it up, mix it up.*

Locomotion: airplane*, airport, helicopter, car (mama's car, dada's car), beep beep, seat belt, bus, school bus, train, choo choo, truck, motorcycle, boat, go.

Locations: park, lake, up, down, out, upstairs, downstairs, home, house, potty, outside, inside, store, work, grass.

People & Names: mama, mommy (he's been experimenting with this one after hearing his 8-year old cousin say it a lot. but usually he says mamA, accented as if he were a french kid), dada, Nana, Erin, Sage, Jay, Grandma, Grandpa, Max, Liam, Kelly, Michael, Naima, Oscar, Aiden, Kama, baby, Baby Jack, Doug, John, Lola & Foggy (our cats), Spiderman (tries to sing the song when he wears the shirt), Popeye (just learned the beginning to this song), elmo, grover, bowwow (shane's childhood stuffed dog Sherriff Bowwow), Wall-E, EVE*, big bird, spongebob (has never seen the show but has a spongebob cup he is obsessed with), the possessive form of anyone's name (mama's glasses, dada's car, etc).

Animals & their sounds: kitty,* cat, meow meow, doggy, squirrel, tiger, rrawrr, elephant,* bird, giraffe, bear, chicken, peep peep, cow, moo, monkey, ooh ooh ooh (monkey sounds), goose, duck, quack quack, pig, oink, fish, ant, mouse, crocodile,* dinosaur,* bumble bee.

Recreation & toys: book, music,* piano, video, ball, baseball, bat, mitt, color, crayon, pen, camera, computer*, shovel, box, rocks, blocks, farm, swing, slide.

Adjectives: hot, cold*, big, small, empty, messy, dirty, yucky, broken, windy, wet, red, black, blue, grey, yellow.

Activities: eat, chew, walk, run, brush teeth, brush hair, kiss, hug, open, close, jump, dancing, banging (which he learned by hearing us saying numerous times "no banging"), dropped it, touch it, poop, "throw the ball!", "he's crying."

Body Parts: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, head, forehead, hair, chin, cheek, teeth, toes, butt!, pee-pee, belly, belly button, arms, hands, legs, booboo, owie, snip (refers to cutting finger or toenails).

Clothing & Accessories: shoes, socks,* pants, shirt, pajamas, hoodie, coat, hat, glasses,* snap, button, zip, carrier, bag, tattoo.

Around the house: room, bed, pillow, blanket, kitchen, oven, wash dishes, bath, bubbles, soap, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, diaper, cream, wipes, paper (referring to toilet paper or some to draw on), eyedrops, medicine, mirror, towel, window, door, keys, knock knock, "come in!", "coming!", gate, vacuum, high chair, chair, table, blue chair (booster seat), light, fan, suitcase.

Auxiliary & exclamations: the, a, too (as in "too big"), more, again, thank you!, here you go, please, help please, stuck! excuse me!, bless you, shh, "clean up clean up"*, uh-oh, all gone, all done, oops, hi, bye, bye-bye, ok, no, on, off, again, night night.

Other words: rain, sky

Numbers: 1, 2, 3, 8, 9

Letters (actual recognition): B!

Pieces of the alphabet he sings (but without recognition of these letters): "QRS, TUV," and "now i know my..." (he sings it: "qrs, tuv, qrs, tuv, now i know my know i know," [then insert random lyric here]. last time it was "clean up clean up kelly kelly kelly").

Songs he sings (mostly just pieces at a time -- sometimes w/ a decent attempt at the real lyrics, sometimes w/ his own lyrics about ketchup and kitties or pancakes and airplanes): frere jacques, twinkle twinkle/ABCs, row row row your boat, spiderman theme, popeye theme (only because he has shirts w/ both these characters)

And now, for some photos... I'm just going to post a bunch as a mish-mash now so as not to delay this any further... I'll update them with actual context/explanations later.

52. june

2009-06-22T23:51:00.000-07:00

51. The Passage of Time

2009-05-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Katharine, who has a cute little boy named alex who's just a month or so older than mischa, posted this on her blog. I couldn't help but repost it.

The Passage of Time
(mischa kucher reid & alex hammer)

June 2008: (about 6 & 7 months old)

October 2008:

And present day: (may 9 2009)

Boys!

50. Sunny May day in Dailey Park

2009-05-09T14:56:00.001-07:00

49. Spring update... catching up

2009-04-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

OK - quickie mischa update:

Words he now says all the time: mama, dada, banana, cracker, cheese, yogurt, hi, bye, up, wow, thank you, there you go, all done (accompanied by adorable all-done hand gesture), "where'd daddy go" and "where did it go" (we think he learned these by accident), and Elmo (not our fault - his friend evelyn is in love with elmo).
Other words he knows how to say but doesnt say that often yet: book, box, bag, cookie, Nemo (this one may be our fault), bottle, water. he also tries really hard to say "peanut butter," and he does have a specific word for it, but it's far off enough that i cant really claim he says it (it sounds something like beebeeeeebuh).
Teeth: he now has 11, including 2 giant molars and a couple more on their way.
Newest skills: walking up & down stairs like a Big Kid (face forward, standing up holding the handrail rather than crawling on his knees or sliding down his front - he just learned this yesterday; feeding himself with a spoon or fork; running start bear hugs.
Moment that somewhat freaked me out: seeing mischa walking around the house holding a peanut butter sandwich in one hand, taking big man-bites out of it. like a grown-up.
Loves: PEANUT BUTTER, being chased, when you pretend like you are looking all over for him, when you pretend to sit on him, climbing up and down stairs or on anything he can find, dogs, cats, his babysitter, popping bubble wrap (even a 1-year-old understands how fun this is), music, playing piano or keyboard, especially the crazy 80s sound effects, wearing funny hats or things resembling hats, picking up very large items like laundry baskets and carrying them around the house, running around outside, american cheese, tidal wave baths (he loves to splash), kitchen implements of every shape and size, and Helping with things (dishes, throwing out trash, putting clothes away & then taking it back out again, feeding me his food, brushing my teeth for me).
Not so much: diaper changes, new teeth coming in, getting out of the bath, going home from fun places, vegetables that arent disguised by sweeter things.
Special talent: humming Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, unsolicited and perfectly in tune. we're working on Row Row Row Your Boat and Beat on the Brat next.
Some photos from the last 3 months (what you're really here for):

48. Mischa's new favorite game: Running Start Bear Hug

2009-04-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

ok, i know i'm terribly, TERRIBLY behind in keeping up this blog, as some of you have kindly noted, so there is a lot of catching up to do. but while i gather together some more recent photos (recognizing that the last ones i posted were from DECEMBER -- so sorry), including some from our lovely recent visit to Aunt Vicki, Uncle Casey, and Cousin Charlie, i thought i'd meanwhile treat you to my new favorite video. this is a new fun game shane & mischa discovered today - the Running Start Bear Hug.

47. holidays with misch, part 2 (sneak peek draftola)

2009-01-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

even though this post isnt finished yet, i might as well post these pics while you wait. most are from our holiday trip to new york. many more pictures, and some actual narration/explanations to come...

46. holidays with misch, part 1

2009-01-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

some long overdue pics from our holidays...

Thanksgiving weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Kucher; first ever walk in the snow:

(ready to come inside for a nap)

at our little neighborhood park:

more to follow soon...

45. red trolley, denver

2008-11-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

here are a few photos i have to share that are from a few days before mischa's birthday, when we met up w/ a couple friends (katharine & hillary) and their kiddos (alex & piper), at our favorite local homemade ice cream place, Red Trolley. for some reason these pictures just sum up for me that mischa has somehow become a grown up kid -- no longer a baby.

ok in this one he is still a baby...
but in the next few he reminds me of a teenage rockstar of some sort:

(gazing longingly at the chocolate mousse. inherited mom's (and dad's) sweet tooth, have we?)

my favorite.
(he's not really pigeon-toed. just coy.)

on to Year Two...

44. birthday weekend, part 2

2008-11-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

so here is the rest of mischa's birthday adventure.
you'd think that breakfast w/ mom & dad at a hip vegetarian diner, and a frolic through the children's museum, would be enough, right? a birthday any 1-year-old would write home about. but NOOO, mischa is no ordinary kid. he needs to have everything. so, after Family Day on saturday, we gave in and threw him a little shindig on sunday.

it was nothing fancy -- no decorations, no clowns (god no!), not even funny hats (sorry vicki, i know you're sorely disappointed), but what we did have was a few dear friends, a few fun kiddos (most of whom happened to be uncannily the exact same size as mischa), some delicious fruit salad and tasty cheeses, and some kick-butt made-from-scratch (i know, its shocking) birthday cupcakes. here are some pics:

isaac platt, evelyn garrington, mischa, & max dial.

somehow they allowed us to line them up nicely on the stairs. it was pretty cute that evelyn, the one girl in the mix, could not get off the phone the entire party.

mischa & evelyn are used to pushing each other around.

enough of this sitting, i've got places to GO.

heather helping mischa open a few presents.

we'd asked for no presents (seeing as he didnt really know it was his birthday anyway), but a few renegade gifts made their way in nonetheless (all excellent, i must admit).

then came my, er, i mean mischa's, favorite part -- the cupcakes. seeing as i rarely enter the kitchen, let alone bake something from scratch, i was pretty darn excited about the Snickerdoodle cupcakes i'd decided to make for the party (quite tasty, fun to make, and, totally vegan).

(pre-frosting, so you can see the snickerdoodleness. yes, that is a word).

the finished product. look enticing?

they seemed to be received well.
i started mischa off by just pinching off a couple tiny bites for him to try, considering this was pretty much the first time he's ever had anything made largely of sugar.
however, after feeding him his second little bite, i turned my head away for a split second, and suddenly the entire cupcake was in his paws:

and nanoseconds later, in his mouth:

it was really rather hilarious -- never, ever in his life has he just devoured such a large item (or really, anything) with such unbridled glee and enthusiasm.

Hanging w/ our friends -- here w/ heather kunst & evelyn garrington:

and sara garrington:

and max and jenny & dan. here trying to give max a hug goodbye:

the hug itself being less than successful:

finally, mischa sat sadly at the piano, melancholy that his friends were all leaving:

and tried to lure them back with a heartfelt serenade:

all in all, the gathering was a lot of fun, but also exhausting for someone who'd been a year old for mere hours. by the end of it it was clear that someone was in pretty major need of a birthday nap. and, as expected, the instant our guests all left, mischa crashed, and slept like a log for 3 hours straight. he woke up content and happily played with his fun new toys for a while.
but at the end of the day, what did we find him amusing himself with for minutes in a row?
a pen, a wooden doughnut, and an empty toilet paper roll. reminding us that at heart, he's really just the simplest of kids.

43. birthday weekend, part 1

2008-11-24T19:38:00.000-08:00

well, as far as birthdays go, i think our man misch was pretty well hooked up for Number One.

it started on saturday, his actual birthday (1-1-2-2), with getting to go out to his favorite breakfast joint in denver, Watercourse. he enjoyed nibbling on bits of sweet potato fries, buckwheat pancakes, and of course, bananas.

but i think he enjoyed the wait for the food even more:

After a good meal and a morning nap, it was time to open a few presents from Nana and Papa. he didnt entirely get the concept right away, thinking the wrapping paper was the present:

but eventually he got the hang of it.

Then it was off to the Children's Museum for a little birthday adventure:

which left him pretty well pooped.

Not a bad first day of Birthday Weekend. Stay tuned for photos from his actual birthday party the next day, and his adventures with shoving an entire cupcake in his mouth...

42. a few more halloween pics (and mischa's first girlfriend?)

2008-11-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

taken by my friend matt's blurry cameraphone, but fun nonetheless. mischa is already having to stave off the older women... (and i dont mean me)

41. Halloween 2008

2008-11-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

we always knew he was superhuman...

though sometimes superheros need a toy break too.

waiting for more trick or treaters.

40. and a couple more...

2008-11-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

these are still from his earlier, wobblier days, but i couldnt resist posting them:

39. walker kucher reid

2008-11-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

well, its been about 2 weeks now since little misch took his first few steps, and now he's a walking maniac. he has so much fun walking that sometimes he walks around in circles just for the fun of it. though you'll see he's still a speed-demon crawler despite his new joy in walking)...

38. bit of walking, caught on tape

2008-11-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

37. 11 months: a dozen small steps for mischa, one huge leap for mankind

2008-10-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

Breaking news: mischa ryan kucher reid, the one and only, has taken his first steps -- unsupported, on his own, not holding on to anything.

It's true. and we hadn't even been encouraging him. we just assumed that sometime around 1-year he'd just feel like giving it a shot. we were still getting used to his speed-demon crawling and all his funny attempts at talking. but all of a sudden, this weekend, he just decided it was time. he's got places to go and cute feet to take him there -- why wait?

His first 2 steps were at the house of Chris Wood, Kirk Weinert, and their daughter Vienne, who were generously helping us out this weekend by watching misch while we worked. I'd just run out to the car to grab something i'd forgotten... and when i returned Chris's eyes were wide open with excitement and she was holding Fozzy the dog back and saying "SHHH!" to me and pointing silently at the standing misch. Turned out he'd just stood himself up and started walking - one step, two. I proceeded to stare at him excitedly, showering him with praise and encouraging him to take more, but he just took two more little half steps (which were really more like catching your balance than actually going somewhere), then plopped down & quickly crawled away. I think the pressure was just too much.

This morning, however, he took two more steps, right in front of my very eyes. Real ones, steps with purpose. Since then he's done it half a dozen more times or so -- always just a couple steps at a time, but you can tell he's getting the hang of it. Too soon i think to call it actual "walking," but he's definitely on that path. Perhaps just in time for some election-day canvassing... or some trick-or-treating to bring Mom back the good candy -- it's been way too long.

No pictures of the step-stepping adventures yet, but i thought i'd post these two photos i'd never seen before -- our friend Deirdre took them a while back while she was watching mischa:

36. New Cousin!

2008-10-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

Mischa's very first cousin on the Kucher side was born this morning in Madison Wisconsin: Charles Alexander Liakos, otherwise known as Charlie. (this is mischa's fourth immediate cousin overall, ALL BOYS).
Congratulations Aunt Vicki & Uncle Casey!

35. getting ready to start walking (with a little help)...

2008-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

a bit like a drunken sailor, but he's gettin' there...

34. little schroeder

2008-10-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

33. family

2008-10-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

some pictures from early september when we took a last-minute trip up north to visit Great Grandpa Reid, Nana, Papa, and gang...
(excuse the super-poor-quality cellphone photos)

first plane ride:

mischa, dad, & Great Grandpa Reid:

at thornden park with Aunt Erin and Cousin Sage:

...and cousin Daden:

hangin' with Nana & Papa:

one nice thing about having so many cousins -- whole big box of hand-me-down toys to explore:

we miss it already!

but we know a visit with the kuchers is coming soon...

32. nine months (a few weeks overdue)

2008-09-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

yeah, so i'm posting mischa's 9-month-update when he's just a few days shy of TEN months old, but, better late than never, right? so it's official -- mr. misch has now been on the outside as long as he was on the inside. not quite as cozy out here in this big world, but i'd imagine a bit more fun.

From T-Mobile Pictures

misch had his 9-month appointment about a month ago (it was a week early, as his appointments usually are -- he likes to keep ahead of the curve). even though his weight gain has been slowing down significantly the last couple months and not nearly as dramatic as it used to be, and even though people keep saying his cheeks arent nearly as plump as they once were and his thighs no longer so wonderfully over-the-top sumo-wrestler-like with their many rolls, at least dr. lieber, our beloved pediatrician, assured us that he is still perfectly chubby and extremely healthy. he says he's still the michelin baby and looks delightfully well-fed :) mischa clocked in around the 80th and 85th percentiles for weight and height, at 21 pounds 8 ounces, and 29 1/4 inches tall. the funny thing is that his head circumference is only in the 29th percentile -- so whereas he used to be very tall and chubby with an exactly average head, he's now just _somewhat_ tall and chubby, with a rather small head. i guess his oversized brain is just crammed into a small space, meaning many extra wrinkles, which explains his genius (of course).

From T-Mobile Pictures

so let's see, what else to say about his 9th & 10th month? he's crawling like a champ, now VERY fast and quite elegant - a perfect hand-knee-hand-knee technique, unlike his crawling when he was 7-8 months old which often involved help from other body parts such as his forehead, belly toes, and chest, and resembled more of an army-crawl-crossed-with-inchworm (with a touch of "downward facing dog" for good measure). now he can sprint from the front door of our apartment to the back in 2 seconds flat. he is still very much enjoying pulling up on things to standing position, and has gotten much bolder with it -- now able to balance with only one hand holding on, and has even started cruising (walking along the furniture while holding on). everyone says "he'll be walking by christmas," and so far he seems to be on pace for that, if not sooner.

stay tuned for photos from our last-minute visit to the reid side of the family, where mischa got to meet his Great Grandpa Reid and play with his many lovely cousins.

31. grins

2008-08-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

and his presidential pose...

30. where's my food!

2008-08-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

29. Adventures in Standing (and pulling up)

2008-08-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

here's mischa's favorite new trick -- pulling himself up to standing position. These first few photos are of the first time he ever did it -- we didnt even realize he was doing it -- had just turned our heads and suddenly there he was, leaning up against a moving box, investigating its contents, doing squats and so proud of himself:

(excuse the mess - we were in the middle of moving!)

So as many of you know, we sold our house in the Highlands neighborhood. In 2 days! we give part of the credit for that to ourselves, for really doing a good job cute-ifying the place, and part to our awesome realtor, Jennifer Allan (if anyone needs a great realtor in denver i'd be happy to tell you all about her). We finally made it through to the closing (after several somewhat stressful delays), & came out on the other side, in one piece and ready for our fresh start. while we keep our eyes out for the perfect house & try to save up money so we can actually afford it, we're now renting a cute but small little 1-bedroom apartment in West Wash Park -- a ground floor flat in an old Victorian house from 1890. Its pretty charming but has also been an adventure (from the neighbor pounding on our door at 3am on our second night there, because apparently Mischa had woken them up; to the outside door lock breaking a couple days later, leaving Shane & Mischa stuck outside the house w/ no diapers, no food, no nuthin', unable to get inside (and eventually having to climb through a window); to discovering that it was raining INSIDE the back of the house, all over our printer, shredder, & record player, during the crazy thunderstorms & flash floods on Friday).

But we're hopeful things will start calming down now. Between me, shane, all our records, and the rapidly-growing 8-month-old Mischa, you can imagine its pretty cozy squeezing into about 500 square feet. So I guess mischa has decided to create more space by keeping himself in a vertical position whenever humanly possible. Watch him practice:

28. a million new photos for those who are far away

2008-07-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

Because Nana and Papa Reid havent gotten to see Mischa in quite a while, and wont see him for a little longer than originally planned, and because Grandma & Grandpa Kucher are far off in Europe galavanting about, i thought i'd post enough photos to keep you all busy for quite some time. hope its not too overwhelming. here they are (just hit the play button):
(warning: it really is a LOT of photos. hope you have some time to kill!)

27. First tooth

2008-07-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

two of them, actually!
they're just little crescent-moon slivers of teeth right now, but they are officially through the gums and feelable, in all their little toothy sharpness. and, pretty darn cute.

can you see 'em?

26. his new favorite Thing (not by our doing)

2008-07-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

up until a few weeks ago, every toy & plaything mischa owned could fit into a small, blue 12-inch by 18-inch canvas storage bin. until we got THIS monstrosity...
known in some circles as an "exersaucer," this was one of those words i'd heard at some point when i was pregnant, and, similar to the Bumbo chair, wondered "now what on EARTH could that be, and what kid possibly needs such a thing?" (the answer, of course, is no kid needs it).

but, it was handed down to us for free from another mom in the neighborhood whose kids had outgrown it. and... apparently it seems to be quite a hit...
(excuse the poor quality video)

i still prefer to have him banging on tupperwares with wooden spoons and destroying towers of simple blocks, but, i'll let him enjoy this one for a bit... (perhaps until we move into a small apartment in a couple weeks where the sound of this could just get us thrown out earlier than planned).

25. and the winner is... mushed pears!

2008-06-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

watch him go!

we'd been fairly lazy w/ the introducing misch to solid foods thing, since there's really no big rush at this age (and he's clearly getting enough to eat!), but we had been gradually trying a few things out, little by little, just to get him a little practice & some tastes of new things, since he'd been showing very intense interest in the foods we were eating for weeks. we had assumed that he'd be soooo excited to try new foods (since everything that comes near him goes straight to his mouth, and since he has a rather insatiable appetite), but sadly, he didnt seem to like anything we tried -- not rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, avocado, or even applesauce. sweet potatoes he'd actually done ok with, as well as mushed carrots -- those two were the best, but still after a few bites he'd basically start shaking his head No and making scrunchy faces, like we were feeding him poison.

until... mushed pears!
we've found a winner.

one secret we discovered is that this kid, ever Mister Independent, does not want to be babied through anything -- he want to feed himSELF. so letting him take the spoon and feed himself with it made a big difference. and, being the pig he is, the two-spoon system worked best -- one spoon he got to hold on to (that i would periodically sneakily dip into the food, then he'd stick it back into his mouth), and one that i'd feed him with. and eventually, he wanted to feed himself with both spoons. success!

(we started out only using fresh foods, not jarred, & plan to ultimately make all our baby food ourselves using fresh ingredients rather than buying pre-prepared babyfoods, but the cute little tiny jars of Earth's Best Organic baby food from shane's work were on sale, and just made it easy to try a bunch of different things in small quantities during this initial picky phase).

of course just banging the spoons on the tray is always fun as well.

the other thing that made him turn from snooty picky scrunchy-faced non-eater to sudden devourer of the food in front of him, a week or two ago, was letting him just grab the jar of food with both hands and shove his mouth/tongue into it, lapping up the food like a cat. i'm guessing that is probably not the best way for us to be teaching him to eat. but, if you'd seen the relish with which he lapped up those mushed carrots, you'd want to let him keep doing it too! the turnaround in enthusiasm was striking -- one minute he was turning his head away from the spoon close-mouthed, avoiding it at all costs, the next minute he was panting with glee as he snarfed down half the jar of the remaining carrots in two seconds flat.

sticking his entire head into the bowl of rice cereal did prove a little messier -- the method certainly won't work with everything.

the experimenting continues...

24. more from visit w/ grandma & grandpa kucher

2008-06-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

hit play for a quick little slideshow of the misch hangin' w/ grandma & grandpa kucher (at 6 months)...

23. The Misch at 6 Months, a medley

2008-06-03T20:22:00.002-07:00

sorry that its been a month since we've posted any photos. we have a million to put up, including a lovely visit with grandma & grandpa kucher, but we've been so crazybusy that we just havent had a chance. we will soon, i promise. but in the meanwhile, you get this in the interim -- a random sampling of photos from the last month, w/ no commentary -- enjoy :)

22. Family, Friends, a Million Photos, Roller Derby, and One More Gouged Eye

2008-05-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

First, a few older photos i never posted (these are from a month & a half ago) - i just came across them & they made me chuckle, so i thought i'd share:

Noone ever said he doesn't have enough personality.

Now back to the present day. So much going on this month there has barely been time to post. I know you've all been waiting with bated breath, so here come about a million photos.

First of all let me clarify that the "one more gouged eye" in the title today refers to MY eye, not mischa's. So have no fear, the hero of this little blog is doing just fine, both eyes intact. The tenacious author/creator/editor of this page, however, has been better. Yep -- some of you may remember the eye-gouging incident of a few months ago, when mischa's flailing little arms, over which he had little control at the time, and which sported unusually sharp little fingernails (the trimming of which at the time still made shane & me pretty nervous...) accidentally stabbed me in the left eye, leaving a big jagged scratch right across my cornea. Well, 3 months, much increased limb control, and many MANY diligent nail-trimmings later, he somehow did it again. But this time to the other eye. And worse than before. Enough so that i awoke the next morning w/ my entire eye swollen shut and puffed up from about mid-cheek to eyebrow, and had to get an eye doctor on call to see me on a Sunday. So yeah - i hear you all consistently describing mischa as "cute," "sweet" "adorable," "ridiculously charming," etc etc, and i just have three words for you for the next time you see him: WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES.

Ok. Now that that warning's out of the way, here are the much-promised photos, where he resumes his work convincing the world that he is not in fact a demon-child but rather a sweet and charming individual (my he's crafty):

First, some shots from a lovely visit from his only aunt & uncle on the kucher side of things, Aunt Vicki & Uncle Casey:

taking misch & the wisconsinites to one of our favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurants in denver, Watercourse:

watch out what you put near his mouth...!

they got him that little dinosaur hat. he's trying to decide whether or not he can maintain his dignity while wearing it (since he HAS outgrown the pooh-bear snowsuit with the ears after all..)

misch and uncle casey...

ah, sisters:

A couple days after vicki & casey returned to the land of cheese (by the way, thanks again for the cheese curds guys!), we welcomed my childhood best friend Lizzy, her lovely husband Mars, and their 10-month-old daughter Jane, who had fun showing mischa a thing or two about things like crawling and eating solid foods. it was a blast. we even took Jane & Mischa to their first roller derby bout, to see our friend Deirdre compete. Best part was watching Deirdre make the tie-breaking point with mere milliseconds remaining in the game.

lizzy and jane:

lizzy and the misch:

Deirdre brought over this camoflauge hoodie for mischa earlier in the day, a special purchase for him for this bout, so that he could properly root for her team (the Green Barettes):

he looks so wide-eyed because he was actually getting pretty sleepy... but he did have fun:

Mischa's new favorite activity (i know this is shocking):

just chillin' in the green chair in his green hoodie just like mom's & dad's:

and, he's finally getting better at spending time on his tummy:

(the animals help)

a few sweet sleeping shots - misch in the moby wrap (he can sleep through anything in this cozy carrier - the clanging of dishes, a brisk walk through a windy park, anything).

this next picture is a little deceiving... i mean, it's real, but it makes it appear as if mischa is much closer to crawling than he actually is. but somehow shane caught this moment one day while i was at work, and i just love the determination in his eyes...

and finally, i'll leave you with some classic mischa smiles:

okay, i guess he's still a charmer, even if he IS somewhat vicious. that smile will undoubtedly get him far in life.

coming soon: a visit from grandma & grandpa kucher, and mischa turning 6 months old. stay tuned!

21. Giggles (mischa and mr. duck)

2008-04-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

dear family. i'm sorry it has been two weeks already since we've posted any new mischa pics. i hope to make it up to you by sharing with you this little moment of silly mischa laughter:

this was at the beginning of a string of lovely visitors -- first Aunt Vicki and Uncle Casey, who came all the way from Madison Wisconsin to meet Misch and who will be bringing him a fun Cousin in the pretty near future (hurray!), then my childhood best friend Lizzy, her husband Mars, and their lovely 10-month-old daughter Jane, who flew in from LA and had a lot of fun teaching Misch about all the fun things he'll soon be able to do. photos from their visits coming soon, i promise...

20. it's a jungle out there...

2008-04-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

mischa enjoys hanging out with the animals, both real and stuffed...

that playmat that the animals hang over, seen up close in the first pic and just in the background corner in the 2nd two, is where mischa hit another big milestone yesterday -- ROLLING OVER. he'd been rolling himself from back to side almost nonstop for the last couple days, as if it were his job, (in fact he must have been thinking about this new mobility all night long, since he decided not to really sleep the last couple nights), then finally all of a sudden found himself all the way over on his belly. woo hoo!

of course he didnt quite know what to do with himself once he got there, having never really enjoyed being on his belly in the first place. so the result of all his hard work and two days of all-night strategizing must have resulted in his little baby brain proclaiming disappointedly: "that's IT? THAT'S what rolling over gets me? stuck on my belly with my mouth full of carpet? hm - thanks but no thanks. let's skip ahead to walking."

we'll see if he ever does it again :)

19. 17 pound cheeks watching dad build a fence from scratch

2008-03-29T07:59:00.001-07:00

mischers got to spend a lot of time this week hanging out with Aunt Deirdre while Shane and Uncle Corey ripped an entire fence out of the ground, demolished a big concrete carport, and built a shiny new fence from scratch. unfortunately i dont have any photos of the finished product (tho you can see glimpses in the background). but here are a few of deirdre and misch oh and by the way he now weighs 17 pounds.

18. grandparents' visit redux

2008-03-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

ok, i know these are WEEKS late, months even, but i'm finally posting a few more photos and a few little short videos from the visit from Nana & Papa Reid, back when little misch was 10 or 11 weeks old (almost two months ago).

17. Four Months Old, or "What the heck is a 'Bumbo' anyway?"

2008-03-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

i have some shocking news. yep, it's true. it's not just a vicious rumor. you'd better believe it. little mischa is now a whopping FOUR months old. i know, i know, its pretty crazy. as you can see, he can hardly believe it either:

so let's see, some notes from the past month:

1. Mischa's four-month appointment. Even though he actually went to this appointment a week and a half early, he came in at the 85th percentile for both height and weight, and right smack in the middle for head circumference (good job buddy - your head is exactly average). Dr Lieber delighted in his little fat rolls and called him "the michelin baby," but assured me that we are NOT overfeeding him (hear that Grandpa?).

2. Milestones-wise, lots more Grabbing, Smiling, and Laughing. The grabbing bit is both exciting (for example when he now can see something he wants, grab it himself, and play with it) and painful (for example when the "thing he wants" happens to be a gigantic clump of my hair, and he's decided he'd rather die than let it go. I think i may be sporting a few new bald spots because of him). The smiling of course is delightful. The laughing even more so. A few new things that make him giggle: taking his shirt off, wiping his neck (new ticklish spot), giving him a hi-five, bicycling his legs (he loves this), fake hiccups, and, the new hit, this yellow duck washcloth puppet that our friend Carla gave us. Who would have thunk it - puppets actually work. Oh, he is also very into eating his fist, and in fact is auditioning for the circus right now by attempting to eat both his fists at the same time. i only have photos of the one-fist chomp but i assure you the two-fist feat is even more amusing.
(Grabbing:)

(Smiling:)

(Fist-eating:)

3. His other new trick -- as seen in the previous post -- feeding himself a bottle. He loves it and its pretty darn cute.

4. Just yesterday he discovered how to blow raspberries himself. he always loved it when we did it, but suddenly he realized he had the power himself. it is the funniest thing - he woke up this morning and spent ten minutes just blowing raspberries at himself. And the best is that when you do it he now tries to do it back at you, and he has started sticking his tongue out if you stick it out at him. First signs of communication :)

5. He has a new favorite piece of furniture - the Bumbo chair. Now what, you may ask, on earth is a Bumbo? well, its one of those things that no baby really needs, is probably completely a marketing ploy, and can be roughly described as a very overpriced piece of molded plastic. however, some babies, mischa included, seem to LOVE it, so you find yourself suckered in despite knowing full well that its an overpriced piece of plastic (that he'll probably use for 2 months and then get bored of). But basically it is a little chair that he can sit in that is designed to allow him to sit completely upright, even if he's too young to sit up unsupported still. You see, being a Very Sophisticated Child, as mischa of course is, he has long ago become somewhat bored with the recliny-ness of his bouncy chair. he thinks that reclining is WAY too close to lying down. and lying down, of course, is for babies. meanwhile a sophisticated child like him is ready to sit up like the grownups. you'd often see him doing little baby sit-ups in his bouncy chair, working his abs as hard as he could and leaning way forward, thinking he mught be able to just sit up properly in it and finally enter the realm of the adults. so in comes the Bumbo. (click arrow for slideshow)

as you can see, i think he mosly likes it because it allows him to more easily grab on to his own two feet. But it also gives him a good view of his new friend, Puddy the 105-year-old cat.

6. finally, here are just a couple silly shots of the four-month-old mischa posing for the camera, in the snazzy grown-up looking shirt our friend who owns a vintage clothing store gave him:

16. 3 1/2 months-ish

2008-03-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

a few more photos...

baby yoga?

mischa's new place to sit and think.

shane taught mischa a new trick... he's very proud of himself (mischa, that is. although shane is proud of himself too).

and then, finally some photos of mischa and ME :)
they're pretty dorky but i thought i should post them anyway since i'm always the one behind the camera.

and, a few of misch just chillin':

(that last one is my new absolute favorite).

15. seriously.

2008-03-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

ok, this hand-me-down snowsuit fit him for ONE day, and i'm sure he'll never be able to wear it again. but, i mean, seriously. just look at him.

(on the way to dr. morelli's office)

(waiting patiently for the doc)

14. lots more pics - 3 months

2008-02-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

So, i've realized that just because i havent had time to catch up all the commentary of what's been going on with little mischa in the last few weeks doesn't mean i shouldn't at least post a bunch of photos. i mean, that's really what you all are here for anyway, is it not? so, here are a few shots of the little guy from the past few weeks. you'll notice he's turned into quite a serious little guy, and he loves to look right into the camera.

(10 1/2 weeks. he likes to spend his "tummy time" on Dad's tummy.)

(and this is his "don't interrupt me, i'm scheming" face.)

("watch out, i know tae kwon do.")

(~11 weeks. this play gym taught him how to grab things - a major milestone. of course he then had to learn how to let go...)

(12 weeks. this is his sultry "Kiss me" face.")

Believe it or not, he's now a whopping 3 months old -- officially no longer a "newborn" -- he has entered the ranks of "infant." our not-so-precise bathroom scale says he weighs around 15 pounds or so, and, as grandpa kucher says, he's gotten so chubby that "his cheeks have swallowed up his ears."

Most recent milestones: much more smiling and laughing, interacting with other babies, playing with toys, and grabbing and batting at things. this last one has its dark sides too - last week while nursing he swacked my eye with his fist, and actually gave me a big ol' scratch right across my cornea with his sharp little fingernails. ah, my dear loving son.

Here are a few more:

(those cheeks - seriously!)

(this one kind of cracks me up. i think he just ate a lemon).

(13 weeks)

(he has a lot to say.)

And finally, some SMILES!
Most of the time mischa's been expert at un-smiling the second i point the camera at him, no matter how jolly he's being. but, he has FINALLY allowed me to catch a few:

(his favorite toy. he likes to bat at it like its a pinata.)

("how YOO dooin'?")

(squeezing his cheeks often makes him laugh.)

Stay tuned for more! including mini-videos and more fun grandparents' visit pics...

13. Grandparents!

2008-02-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

Mischa has been very excited to spend the week with his paternal grandparents (also known as "Nana and Papa"), who came down from Syracuse to meet the little fella. In fact, we've all been so excited, we've had no time to post the voluminous mounds of photos we've been eagerly snapping. But those, along w/ additional updates i'm sure you're all waiting for with bated breath (including some mini-videos of mischa playing with his first toys and mischa talking up a storm), will be up soon - so check back often!

a little preview...

goofing around with Papa Reid...

snoozing on Nana...

learning how to play Pitch with Nana and Dad. quite a cardshark already at eleven weeks old.

more to come...

12. ten weeks

2008-01-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

Mischa has decided to celebrate being ten weeks old by becoming a drooler, so i decided perhaps he should start wearing bibs for meals (yes, it took me ten weeks to remember that such a thing as a "bib" exists). of course, the few bibs we own were either gifts or hand-me-downs, and i realized that every one has some cheesy/cutesy message on it, like "god bless little boys" or "cute as can be." not that there's anything wrong with that (especially if anyone reading this is the former owner or gifter of the aforementioned bibs). its just that somehow, mischa doesnt quite seem like the cutesy-message-bib kind of guy. but i could of course be wrong...

Our other new development is that mischa has decided that he LOVES the front-pack carrier. i'd been using the baby sling that dan & jenny lent us (which is great, but getting a little small for Mischa the Giant), so i had never actually tried to use this carrier (the "Snugli comfort vent soft carrier," given to us by both heather & surf and grandma & grandpa kucher), but it turns out that it is GREAT. mischa gets to see more of the world than he could in the sling, his weight is carried by both my shoulders instead of one, and meanwhile he's still bundled up to me so he stays all cozy and warm:

He may not look that happy in these pics, but trust me, he was happy as a clam and behaved himself like an angel for hours. it was pretty amazing.

Finally, a couple silly car-seat photos:

Ready for another adventure.

11. yes, he can do the can-can...

2008-01-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

so, having several friends who had babies in june, whose little ones are therefore already seven months old, helps me especially appreciate those specific little traits that only a newborn possesses, which i know will fade away all too soon. it's nice to have this perspective, so that i can not only notice and enjoy these sweet little moments and qualities, but sometimes even capture them on film. or, more accurately, on microchip.

one of these newborn traits is what i call Kicky Leg Syndrome. this is where, after spending 9+ months in the womb, all scrunched up, babies after birth tend to still keep their legs kind of curled up most of the time, pulled up to their bodies, as if they were little frogs. when they do stretch their legs out, its with these jerky little kicky motions - as if their legs are connected by springs and always have to snap back to their natural, scrunched up state. with mischa this is primarily exhibited at a few times of day -- diaper changing time (see videos below), and, when he's getting sleepy at night, sitting in his bouncy chair. at that point he often chooses to kick just one leg, repeatedly, as if he's kick-starting his invisible motorcycle which will whisk him off to dreamland. i haven't captured that one on video yet (though don't you worry, i will), but here are a few quick clips of the changing-time can-can. sorry the quality is _very_ poor because these were taken with my regular old digital camera, which is not really a video camera (just happens to take 30-second video clips) and is about 6 or 7 years old. but i still thought they were kind of fun. when he's a 6-foot-tall obnoxious teenager, i'm sure we'll enjoy looking back at these cute kicky-legged moments:

yes, that little onesie he has on under his pajamas is a little large...but he's growing out of the little ones already (i told you, he's a giant).

see what i mean? frog child.

in this third one you dont actually get to see much kicking, but you do get to see him playing with his changing-table-elephant, as well as hear a little of his talking to his cartoon girlfriend -- a comic book drawing on the wall that he has lately taken to smiling and cooing at:

10. eight weeks already??!

2008-01-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

mischa celebrated being eight weeks old by donning his new raccoon onesie, made by his dear aunt kelly gray in san francisco:

in other news, mischa had his 2-month appointment on tuesday. despite the fact that he had this appointment a week early, he came in at the 93rd percentile for height among 2-month-olds -- 24.5 inches (4 inches taller than when he was born). he also clocked in at the 78th percentile for weight (a whopping 12.5 pounds), and just about average for head circumference (15.5 inches - 48th percentile). the doc said that mischa appeared to be in perfect health, assured us that the fancy red birthmark under his eye is normal and nothing to worry about, and will fade and disappear by the time he's 2 or 3 years old (at which point he'll lose that intimidating thug look -- hopefully he'll still be able to defend himself), and agreed, not surprisingly of course, that he is an unusually cute child.

9. Happy Six Weeks! (posted late due to technical difficulties)

2008-01-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

Well, folks, mischa's 6-week anniversary of his time here on earth has already come and gone. Crazy how fast time flies. Also amazing how quickly the milestones started appearing. Gone are the days when we stared at him and wondered "when do you start learning things? when do you doing stuff? when do you start understanding english? and when do you stop crying and start sleeping?" Yes, you heard right - those days are now mere dusty memories. He's not tying his own shoes yet, and that pile of dishes he promised to wash still seems to be sitting in the sink, but he's already made enough leaps and bounds in his development that i'm sure the college recruitment reps will be knocking on our door in no time.

Here are a few highlights from the past few weeks... but first, a couple more 6-week-old mischa photos:

(check out those cute lips, and those chubby cheeks!)

And now for some Milestones:

1) he's holding his own head up now, for seconds, sometimes even minutes at a time.

2) he can sit on our laps with some light support, and even sit in a grown-up armchair if surrounded by a few cozy pillows. he also likes to pretend he's standing in our laps - if you hold him up by the armpit, he pushes down with his legs as if they're holding him up.

3) he spends much more time awake and alert but not crying, just hanging out and looking at the world. Things he particularly loves to stare at: Christmas lights, any lights, ceiling fans, mini-blinds, shane, yana.

4) he's recognizing shane & me, and can be caught following us across the room with his eyes, and even craning his neck to a totally weird angle just to keep watching us when we're a ways away.

5) he has finally figured out that day is day and night is night. (you may recall that for at least 2 or 3 weeks he had his days and nights seriously confused still - ready to run marathons or sing opera at 3 am and sleeping sweetly at noon). i cant overemphasize how exciting this one is.

6) he grabs onto things more. his new favorite is grabbing my hair, and holding onto the bottle when he's being fed from one. and still grabs on tightly to my fingers, hands, or arms when i'm breastfeeding him.

7) he no longer cries when he's getting his diaper changed. woo hoo!

8) he is INCREDIBLY vocal and verbose. he's developed a huge vocabulary of coos, gurgles, squawks, squeaks, and words in his own magical language, and he's not afraid to use them. believe it or not, he even says "ga" and "goo." this is almost as cute as when his cry still comes out sometimes as "wah."

9) he is growing out of more clothes. oh, and did i mention the little giant now weighs TWELVE pounds? (this is at 7 weeks now, not six, but still). i met a five-month old the other day who weighed the same as him. i'm sure this is due to his inheriting the healthy appetites of his creators.

A few more photos... sorry a few of them are rather dark, but i couldn't leave them out. (hit Play arrow for slideshow).

Stay tuned for pics of mischa's first smiles, which he's been fleetingly gracing us with more and more all of a sudden!

8. a few more holiday photos

2007-12-30T13:29:00.000-08:00

a few more holiday photos of mischa ryan for your viewing pleasure...

1. taking a break after opening all his presents:

2. hanging out in his throne, and enjoying the christmas tree wrapped snuggly in his swaddle:

3. all dressed up for the wintry outdoors (yeah... a lot of his outfits dont quite fit him yet, but man does he look cute in them):

4. these are my new favorites. even though he looks almost exactly like shane did as a newborn, these sure are some yana-faces...

7. mischa's first christmas

2007-12-25T12:46:00.001-08:00

mischa had a lovely time opening his christmas presents from Nana and Papa (while wearing his new christmas outfit from them)...

6. more visitors for mischa

2007-12-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

christmas 2007 began with some more fun visitors for mischa: meshawn and daisy, yana's dear friends who now live in chicago;

josh and jen, our friends who happen to also now live in chicago;

and then christmas eve we took mischa to his first outing to someone's house. we had a christmas eve potluck with Uncle Corey (actually mischa's 2nd cousin, but calling him uncle makes more sense), Aunt Deirdre (corey's fiance), Micky (deirdre's sister), Aaron (micky's boyfriend), and our friend Joe. all the food was so delicious that we forgot to take any photos. mischa behaved himself unbelievably well, enjoyed watching a bit of "how the grinch stole christmas" and a very little bit of "bad santa," and didnt cry at all until the very very end of the evening.

5. where mischa hangs out

2007-12-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

mischa in a few of his favorite places to hang out:

1. his favorite chair:

2. the changing table:

3. although, sometimes the changing table is a not-so-favorite place...

and finally, 4. on the couch with mom:

4. milestones from mischa's first couple weeks

2007-12-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

here are a few little milestones and events from mischa's first couple weeks in this world...

1. first outside the womb hiccups -- day 3, and pretty much daily thereafter.
2. first manicure -- day 4. grandma kucher had to file all his nails down, because they were so very long when he was born we were worried he'd scratch his eyes out. or someone else's. he behaved himself perfectly through the whole ordeal. this does not mean he will grow up to be effeminate.

3. first visitors: 1) grandma & grandpa kucher, who were here his first week & a half and filled his head with russian songs and reminders not to go outside without a hat on; 2) the entire kissing party clan (band of shane & yana) -- gregg, joe, deirdre, & corey (not really in kissing party but he IS mischa's only official extended family here in denver); 3) a bunch of friends from yana's work: dan dial & his 5-month old max, faye park w/ her 2-year old michael, mo kirk & heather kunst, jenny douglass w/ 5-month old max again, matt & sara garrington w/ their 5-month old evelyn and a delicious honey-glazed tofu & couscous meal, and ben flamm & faye hopper who came all the way from DC to see him; 5) john parks, shane's bandmate from his "real" band, They Will Use Your Bones for Tools. Frequent Visitor Award goes to 5-month old Max who has now been over to hang out w/ Mischa around 4 or 5 times. Hopefully Mischa will grow up to be as well-behaved as this little guy.

4. first outgrowing of an outfit: happened at 3 in the morning as he peed through outfit number 3 for the day. the pajamas i sleepily tried to put on him were actually too small. go mischa!
5. record number of outfits he's had to wear in one day due to peeing through all his layers: four.
6. first sounds: his original cry (which was exactly spelled "wah" and was so dang cute), his new cry (when he decided the original cry was too sweet - this one's more like a fire engine sound), many assorted squeaks, squeals, and grunts, the "hmm hmm hmm" sounds he makes when he's hungry and searching around for food, this funny pterodactyl-like squawk he sometimes makes when hanging out in his bouncy chair in his alert mode (also known as the "nippy nap" in the reid & ryan worlds), and this funny quick "AAH!" sound he makes, also when hanging out in the bouncy chair/nippy nap looking at the world when he suddenly gets excited about something.
7. first time his test scores were almost off the charts: at his 2-week pediatrician's appointment, he measured "unusually tall." the pediatrician actually didnt believe the assistant's measurements, and insisted he be re-measured. but it was no mistake: he had grown TWO inches in two weeks. measuring in now at 22.5 inches, which is the 95th percentile for his age. he had also gained a pound in a week. i guess he inherited his mama's insatiable appetite.
8. first favorite locations (besides yana's or shane's arms, of course): 1) the car (he LOVES car rides), and 2) the bouncy chair/nippynap, when the "vibrate" function is turned on. Least favorite location: his cradle, even though it is so classy looking and was lovingly handmade by our friends John Harris & Dan Dial and kindly handed down by Faye & Doug.

9. first time playing with a stuffed animal: shane brought home from Wild Oats the cute little plush elephant you can see in the "two-week photos" below -- Mischa hung out with it on his changing table for like ten minutes, staring at it and swacking at it with his hands. shane doesnt believe me, but i swear the elephant had him captivated for minutes.

10. first pieces of mail: a few days ago, ALL THREE pieces of mail that appeared at our house were addressed to mischa. 1) his social security card, 2) a survey asking him to rate his experience with kaiser permanente, and 3) a little package from Nana with a very cute christmas outfit in it. here 2 weeks and already he's the head of the household.

3. more photos from weeks one and two

2007-12-12T18:05:00.001-08:00

another little slideshow embedded below, with photos from the rest of mischa's first week and into his 2nd and 3rd weeks. Hit Play if its not running, or you can click on it again to see it full-sized.

2. Birth Report -- Thanksgiving Day

2007-12-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

here's shaner's report of the birth experience, as recounted in an email to our friend alyssa the day after the birth -- hopefully he wont mind my pasting it here. you can tell it was written by him and not me because the "mother's pain level" is reported as "low to moderate"...
but overall despite being very long and somewhat roller-coaster-like (spanning three different days, w/ two sleepless nights in the middle of it, with lots of starts and stops and even having to go home from the hospital in the middle of it), it was a smooth birth and all went well. shane was perfect in helping me make it through a natural labor, even when things were getting to be almost too much, and our doula friend Mia and our last nurse Audrey were awesome as well. The doctors made me feel like i was on the TV show "Scrubs," because they all looked like they were about 21 years old, but at least they didnt burst into song and dance at any point during the delivery...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shane Reid <shanerreid@gmail.com>
Date: Nov 23, 2007 12:29 PM
Subject: transport error, here is full report
To: "alyssa. carver" <alyssa.carver@gmail.com>

ATTN: Aunt Alyssa Carver

DOB: 11/22/07
TIME: 11:13am
WT: 7lb 15oz
LEN: 20.5in
NAME: Mischa Ryan Kucher Reid
MOTHER: Yana Alexandrovna Kucher
FATHER: Shane Robert Reid
PLACE: St. Joseph Hospital, Denver
HRS in LABOR: Like 50 f&@#* hours!
PUSH TIME: <1hr>
PAIN MEDS: None/All Natural
BREAST FEED: Yes
MEAL: Vegetarian/Vegan
ROOM: 247
WINDOW: Yes
CUTENESS LEVEL: High
UBS (Ugly Baby Syndrome): Low
LOOKS LIKE DAD: Yes
TEN FINGERS: Yes
TEN TOES: Yes
MOTHER'S PAIN: Low to Moderate
FEET: Big
PENIS: Huge
FACE: Aaaaaaadorrrrrable
PITCH: High
TONE: Piercing
TOFURKEY: Still thawing in the fridge
DISCHARGE: Saturday morning
PICTURES: Coming soon

REPORT TIME: 11/23/08, 12:00PM
REPORTER: SHANER

1. mischa's first blog thing...

2007-12-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

so we're trying out making a little website for mischa updates, for family & friends.

if i'm doing this right, a slideshow w/ some pics from mischa's first three days should appear below. if it's not playing, click on the "play" symbol and the slideshow will repeat. click on the little album label if you'd like to see larger versions.