Music Time with Dad
TinyE's Dad has a wonderful self-incenting program he calls "World's Greatest Daddy" -- a list of items that he aims to achieve every day. And of course, on the days that he completes the entire list, he attains the title. I'm totally cheating here, but I'm so thrilled with his concept, I wanted to post a few excerpts from an introduction he wrote about the program:

# 13 Singing/Guitar time
The Early Childhood and Family Education teacher from the school system said singing to our baby is excellent. This is very natural to me and I have yet to miss it. I play "American Tune", "The Obvious Child" and other Paul Simon tunes the most frequently. I use my nylon string acoustic tuned down a whole step, since this is often an early morning activity and I don't feel like singing any higher than I have to. Of course, I frequently use falsetto and sing in a baby voice, which Baby loves.

#14 Motor Development Exercise
This is related to #1 and #2. An example would be holding a small beach ball on a string and letting Baby hit it with her small right hand while I restrain her left arm and her feet. I do this for as long as she will tolerate it, which is anywhere from three to twenty minutes.

Pictured above: Motor development fun that includes a bonus -- noisemaking! Click the picture to enlarge it and you'll see the drumstick in her right hand.

Radiant Baby
I'm just going to say it—she glows. Her hair is coming in lighter and thicker, and when it's squeaky clean after a bath, she looks like sunshine. She is radiant and full of joy, and I adore her.

For a larger view, click on the picture. I think you'll see what I mean.

Blog names that were considered and rejected:

Title: MyRamona
Why not: Well, actually, I still kind of like this one... credit goes to a friend who left this melodic message on our voicemail. And sooner or later, her name's going to end up on these pages anyway.

Title: MonyMony
Why not: Sometimes you just can't stand to hear that song one more time.

Title: MobyGirl
Why not: Yes, her nickname in utero was Moby. But we don't need to be confused with some young female fan of the ultra rock star by the same name.

Title: My Tiny E
Why it made the cut: It's different. And when she wears her little sleepers with the big collars, we call her "Tiny E", as in the "Tiny Elvis" character made famous on Saturday Night Live.

Why a blog at all?
To be more candid.
To talk about being a mom.
To talk about being a mom and a wife.
To talk about being a mom and a wife and someone who loves her job.
To talk about raising a child who was diagnosed with Poland Syndrome at birth, because sooner or later someone else will be looking for support like we were.