Pictures

A very busy week ...

Sorry for the blogging silence this week; we three have been busy lately. We had more swimming lessons. We hosted playgroup at our house (which required extensive and long-overdue cleaning). We went to the farmer's market and the county fair. We pressure washed and painted our 600 sq. ft party deck on which we're having a party tomorrow (if the weather cooperates).

Hosting playgroup was both fun and interesting. It was E's first time sharing his toys with other children. He was pretty cool with the other babies playing with the toys but he was not about to share his mommy. His refusal to nap before the event may have contributed to his clingy-ness but he was quite adamant that the other children not touch me.

Most of the playgroups we've been to have been dominated by the older siblings but on Friday we had just the wee ones (all 6 under two, most born in Aug 07 +/- 1 month). It was fun to watching them not play together. They might all go for the same toy or end up in the same area but they were pretty oblivious to the presence of the others. The baby pileup was my favorite: babies just stop moving where and when they want regardless of how many other babies are currently occupying that space.

Little E enjoyed the fair, mostly. We braved the smaller (and more rickety) carousel of the fair, compared to that at the mall, but we sat on the sleigh instead of a horse. E had fun going around, looking at the mechanisms, and waving to Daddy (though not until after we'd gone well past Daddy).

The slide was the big hit though. 3 stories high; I nearly panicked just getting him to the top (I think I have late onset acrophobia). He (and I) were apprehensive going down the slide; it went much faster than I thought. The boy's second trip down the slide, with the Mav, was a triumph. He raised his hands up and grinned from ear to ear. I think he was sad to move on.

He greeted the petting zoo less enthusiastically. E was curious about the animals but not at all a fan of touching them. He seemed to warm up to the baby llama but when her mom came to visit that was quite enough, thank you. Though it had only been about two hours since he woke up from morning nap, the stress and excitement of the fair had the boy asleep before we got home.

I could go on and on about the trivialities of life with our small boy; trivialities that are yet fascinating and all-consuming to his adoring parents. I'll post a couple of pictures instead (look for a web album from the Mav soon).

It turns out the pictures I wanted to post are on the other camera and I would have to get that camera and its cord and upload the pics ... so enjoy this one instead and I'll get the other pictures up in the next day or so. Please forgive the spelling and grammatical errors that are likely all throughout this post; my proof-reader is busy selecting pictures.

A spoon full of sugar

E loves yogurt--provided it comes in a little container. It doesn't matter if he eats it directly from the container or from a bowl as long as we purchased it in a single serve package.

I prefer to buy the larger containers for several reasons. 1.) portion variability-- sometimes E doesn't eat a whole container, sometimes he wants more, 2.) container reuse--the big containers are great for storing leftovers, and 3.) I have a tendency to somehow drop the lid/flap of the small container which then lands yogurt side down on the floor.

It is the same yogurt in the two packages: whole milk, organic, from the great state of New Hampshire. The difference is the additives. The large container holds nothing but yogurt and tiny little happy bacteria. The small containers have fruit mixed in with the yogurt and happy little bacteria.

I stir fresh (local, ripe, very yummy) fruit into the plain yogurt. E eats this fruit hand over fist on its own. I'd eat the fruit and yogurt as a dessert; it's that good.

E disagrees, loudly and messily.

It turns out that the small packages contain sugar.

I cannot stir sugar into his yogurt. I just psychologically can not do it. I credit (or blame) my nearly sugar-free childhood for my strong feelings about where sugar belongs.

I can, however, add maple syrup.

E LOVES his large container yogurt now.



In other news ...
E had learned to give "high fives". He loves, loves, loves to eat toast. And peas. He does not like milk; hopefully this is temporary. He walks his scooter all around the living room and dining room but rarely attempts solo steps. He loves books and magazines; he'll sit on laps for a long time flipping pages. His fondness for tv is waning; he prefers activity. He climbed the stairs yesterday and said "nigh-nigh", all ready for sleep. He has learned a new noise that makes it sound like he is hyperventilating, causing his parents to rush into his room only to find him standing up in his crib grinning widely. That grin ... it's going to get him far in life and probably out of a lot of trouble.

Swimming lessons

The idea of swimming lessons for a baby is somewhat ridiculous but nevertheless this is our third session (though our first in an outdoor pool). I keep signing him up because we all enjoy it and really, it's a pretty inexpensive form of entertainment. In terms of learning to swim, E may actually be regressing in that he's much less cooperative now than a few months ago. No more docilely floating on his back. He loves the water though— for swimming, kicking, and drinking. He loves the pool for watching the other kids, jumping, and eating (he likes to hang out at the edge trying to eat the loose rocks).

We're exhausted. We pick the boy up at 5, get him home, get him a snack, get changed and get out the door. A ten minute walk gets us to the pool just in time for a half hour of playing in the water, pretending to follow the instructions of the teacher. Ten minutes back to the house, a quick shower, dinner and to bed a whole hour later than bedtime. Then dinner for the Mav and myself.

Besides pool rocks, E has other new additions to his culinary repertoire. He likes fajitas (deconstructed, minus the onions), garlic , strawberries (who doesn't like them?), and TOMATOES! I've been curious to discover how E votes on the tomato issue as he comes from a house divided (the Mav purports to be anti-tomato while I count them as my favorite vegetable, even if they are fruit). I am quite happy to have an ally, and a genetic claim on the Mav's mini-me.

Biting, Part 1

We all know that you're not supposed to bite the hand that feeds you but what about the spoon? E's latest game is to clamp his beautiful new teeth onto any spoon that dares enter his mouth. Somehow he can then create an adorably evil grin even with the spoon hanging out of his mouth. Hanging is not really the right word: the spoon is extended firmly in the air like a plank from a pirate ship. "Let go", "open", and "grrr" only get him to smile wider without loosening his bite on the spoon one bit.

Sounds cute right? Well imagine you have a hungry child you are trying to feed before heading out to run some errands. Now consider the fact that each bite now takes about 5 minutes between the proffering of the food-filled spoon and its reluctant parole from the prison-mouth. Add the fact that these errands are small-boy-focused and will most certainly be in vain. The plan looks like this: search as many stores as possible for things you know do not exist in this town. Note that the child has recently reversed his opinion on shopping and will now only tolerate it as long as he is moving. A gentle back-and-forth motion of the stroller is not enough; it has to be full speed ahead. The boy will succumb to the lure of any new object put within reaching distance but removal of the object leads to a very unhappy baby. Have I mentioned that he now has a pretty good throwing arm?

That was our afternoon yesterday. Then we got to feed him dinner.

He did actually bite the hand that feeds him also, but I guess that was my fault because I put my finger in harm's way checking to see if new teeth were on their way. The way he's drooling these days, it seems probable.

Amazingly, the cat has not yet bitten the child. He's not even really growled at him. We are trying to teach E to pat the cat nicely, not pull his tail or grab his fur, but it's a difficult battle. The cat enjoys taunting the child by laying on the coffee table swishing his tail back and forth in E's face. Yesterday, little E gave the cat a great big, full body hug. No reaction from the cat except, and I may have imagined this, an eye roll.

I gave this the title "Biting, Part 1" because I'm sure we've only just begun to experience the fun of having an enthusiastic but untrained owner of teeth around. It seems like there should be a licensing procedure for teeth.

A new movie is up. It's choppy (I don't have the editing skills or patience of the Mav) but it demonstrates our boy's current favorite activity: playing with the cat. It's too humid to think so I can't write more now. A cool down is coming tomorrow; maybe I'll be able to write about E's latest "developments" and how they have contributed to my current state of swiss-cheese brain.

Naps are not negotiable!

Little Mr. E missed two naps in a row though not for lack of trying on the part of the Mav and myself. Our boy is typically a good napper, racking up anywhere from 3 to 5 hours of nap a day split between a morning respite and a mid-afternoon siesta. When he's not ready to rest any attempts to go into his room are met with resistance (at least until he's sure we're not trying to begin our sleep-time approach). When he's ready though, he's ready. "Say night-night" I tell him, gesturing to anyone/anything around. When he is good to go, he enthusiastically waves to any and all and smiles up the stairs and into his room. There may be some resistance to being placed in the crib but that is usually alleviated with the proper amount of pre-rest cuddling.

Yesterday afternoon and again this morning we were all-systems-go for nap. Waving, smiling and cooing up the stairs we went. Not a fuss as I left the room. Ready to get to work, I headed downstairs to my laptop and switched on the monitor. My first mistake. E was singing along with the nocturnes playing in his room. Very cute of course but very hard to concentrate on work.

He continued to sing. We checked on him. Changed a diaper. Returned him to his crib. This morning, in my rush to wash my hands after the diaper change, I did not remove the rattle from his grasp. The rattle aids in diaper changes by distracting his attentions (and his hands) from the work zone. Back downstairs, I expected to really get some work done now that baby was clean, tired and ready to sleep.

He sang. And shook that rattle. For half an hour. Until I took the rattle away. Then he just sang.

He spent over 2 hours in his crib, both times, with no crying but also no sleeping.

But how can you get upset with he does this?


The darling is sleeping soundly tonight (he did finally take an afternoon nap, though not the 4 hour one I expected).

Accomplishments updates: E walks well when supported. He stands alone. He chases bubbles (he used to only really care about the bubble bottle). He recognizes dogs, cats, cows, pigs, Daddy, and Mommy (not, I hope, in that order). He quacks if confronted with a duckie, when he feels like it. He repeats sounds (time to really watch what we say!) and motions. He gives amazing hugs. He thinks blowing kisses is funny. He thinks the cat is hysterical. He can "shake it", whatever "it" is in hand at the time. He puts his bottom in the air and his head on the ground - I'm not sure if this is yoga or a misdirected attempt to get to his feet. He has the Mav and me wrapped around his little fingers and we've never been happier.

Revenge of the Carousel

We hit the mall again on Sunday as the hot and sticky weather has returned. E was having an off day, just out of sorts though no concrete complaints. Thinking that our older and braver baby might actually enjoy a carousel ride this time we bought a token and the wee one and I entered the enclosure with the Mav stationed nearby to record the event.

As before, I put the boy on a horse. This time I knew to fasten the seatbelt myself. E was as happy as he'd been that day; wiggling a bit and chatting to me and the horse. Then the ride started...

The cowboy was not so brave today. By the midpoint of the ride I'd removed him from his steed as his angst was only increasing with the revolutions. Such a baby. For a little while longer.

We went home. His spirits returned a bit. E walked (while holding my fingers) from the car to the front door. Such a big boy. Almost.

11 Months Old?!

Little E is 11 months old. I don't have much to say about that except: really? Where has the time gone?

E demonstrating "touchdown" in preparation for the Patriots coming winning season (gesture also means "so big" and "all done" and "wow that cat is funny".) Having an 11 month old around is infinitely more fun that being 8+ months pregnant, as was the case this time last year.

Happy 4th of July!

Mama!

E says Mama! Well, almost. He says mamamamamamamamama...... and sometimes stops after the second "ma". And he's talking to me. Well, at me. Or at least near me. I'm counting it. He says Mama!

New web album up with pictures from our late night at yet another concert in yet another park. The great prairie turns out to be kind of fun when seeking out mild, early, wholesome entertainment. Anyway, the little girl in the pink hat is Miss M, E's new friend and the daughter of our friend and his babysitter (who also appears in one of the web album photos, along with Miss M's baby brother-to-be).

two teeth forward, one rash back

Little E is the proud owner of 6 teeth! After a week or so of moderate teething issues (nothing like the pain and suffering of the first 2 teeth), 2 new teeth made their debut at the end of last week. If you look really hard in the above picture you can see them there on the top. A new Picasa Web album should be coming out soon which will let you see the picture in its fullsize glory if you really need proof that our little carnivore is on his way to his first steak. (If you do not get the Picasa Web album emails from the Mav and want to, send him or me an email about it).

E has had some serious rash problems in the last several months. In short, a seemingly common diaper rash turned into a full body medical mystery that gave the small boy much discomfort, sent us across the state in search of a more knowledgeable doctor and made us try hundreds of (well maybe 5) rash creams, prescription and otherwise, in addition to a couple of ingested remedies. That rash went away, eventually.

The diaper rash is back. Why? Well, I think it is because E prefers to spend his college tuition on diapers. Nothing but the best for this baby's bottom.

I had high hopes, before actually meeting the small boy, that we would happily buy the cheapest, most generic diapers out there so that I could spend small-boy-allotted money on much cuter items. I won't go into details (in case you've just eaten) but only one premium name-brand diapers could go the distance.

When the rash issues struck, in search of any possible fix, we switched to dye-free diapers. Pricey, hard to find, dye free diapers. The rash eventually went away.

We ran out of these wonder diapers (that do indeed go the distance!) and switched to the old kind while awaiting our next shipment. The rash returned.

Though I'm not completely convinced that the diapers are the root cause (I've got a couple of other hypotheses--I am after all supposedly training to be a "scientist"), we've committed our retirement funds to ensuring that only the best diapers money can buy touch our child's tush.

The diapers arrived today, so fingers crossed that this works please. In the meantime, we pursue our old techniques of airing out the affected area and applying athlete's foot cream nightly.

To air the area we rely on a tried and true technique for turning normal, active small children into googley-eyed zombies. TV. We watch the PBS show Curious George. This show is the best tv show ever for small boys. No joke. E agrees. In picture below, E is about to start his airing ...