We got a walker

Posted on April 30, 2013 by theogeo

Holden technically took his first steps back in early March but he pretty much decided that that business was for chumps and he’d rather scoot and crawl around for travel purposes. We’d try to encourage him to walk but he would crumple into a ball every dang time, for about a month and a half.

One day Ray was brushing his teeth and Holden was in the bathroom watching, clinging to his legs, when he took off walking out of the bathroom, turned the corner and toddled down the hall. Then he went back to not walking again for a while. It’s been a little frustrating, especially when people start giving you the stink-eye for having an 18-month-old who isn’t a biped yet. “Y’all must hold him all the time!” my aunt said. Nope. Not even close. He just likes to crawl, because he is fast. And when he walks, he is slow and wobbly.

Anyway! For a week or so now, he’s been totally game any time we stand him up and tell him to go walk somewhere. To each other, to a chair, to the changing table — he seems to not mind the destination and gets pretty freaking excited when he gets there. Which is pretty cool, considering I was getting convinced he was NEVER GOING TO WALK AGAIN and was working on my back muscles so I could carry a 15-year-old around.

He still isn’t too keen on just standing up and walking from Point A to Point B, but that’s coming. I’ve seen him do it a couple of times over short distances and once he figures out he can move AND transport lots of things at the same time, he is going to be all over it.

We got a walker from Lindsey Turner on Vimeo.

3.5.13: Sixteen months old

Posted on March 21, 2013 by theogeo

Holden:

You are pure energy! This month was all about exploration and expression. You are scooting and crawling and cruising all over the house, including up the stairs. Your curiosity is growing and you don’t like being steered away from something that has piqued your interest. You even walked a little bit for a few days! I realize that is probably no big whoop to parents of your contemporaries, who have had walkers for months now, but this is a big deal to us. You are very conservative with your walking efforts. There for a couple of days, you would take six or so steps between daddy and me, unassisted. We cheered and made such a big celebration every time. So naturally you have decided you are not into that, and now you won’t do your parlor tricks for us anymore. Simpletons.

You are still absolutely obsessed with Mr. Kitty. He can’t sit anywhere near you without you being up in his business. I am bracing for him to get annoyed and pop you, at which point your daddy will send him into orbit, but he hasn’t quite yet. He has very firmly stretched out his arm and placed his paw on you, as if to say, “That is close enough.” But you don’t seem to pick up on his subtle hints. You just squint tight, smile wide, shake with excitement, and go at him with a big open mouth anyway. You loooove kissing that kitty.

Your expressions are so funny when you really get excited. Your little balled-up shake move tickles me. And you put on a real show after your baths. Like in this video, when you were just out of the tub and feeling feisty. Your grandmother was in the next room trying to sleep, but you decided it was time for some mirror yellin’.

Little yeller from Lindsey Turner on Vimeo.

You really enjoy having your expressions mirrored, either by the baby in the mirror or by mama and daddy. And one of your favorite games is being surprised. You make the funniest “OOOOOOH!!!” face and sound and run away. You love playing with a ball and chasing it around or rolling and tossing it back and forth. You like inspecting your toys on all sides and considering how they work. And then throwing them. Lately you’ve really enjoyed throwing every toy and soaked wash cloth out of the bathtub during the entire bath. You are also really into throwing all your toys down into the office/cat room, including steering your little 4-wheeler over the cliff and making it crash into the floor below. And then you look at me, like, Why did you let that happen?!

You go to sleep at night and take naps with your Cookie Monster that Daphne, Coco, and Dustin gave you. Do you remember when you first saw Cookie Monster at your birthday party, and you were SO SCARED? Who would have ever thought you’d become best friends with him? Sometimes we will hear Cookie Monster say, “Let’s sing … together!” over the monitor at night, and it sounds both precious and terrifying, because Cookie Monster sounds like an actual monster when whisper-growling via a baby monitor. Seriously.

As the weather is warming up, you’re getting to go outside more and more, which you love. You are content to sit on mine or daddy’s lap on the porch and watch the trees and the cars. I take you onto the front lawn and we sit out in the sun and you tug at the grass and smell the wind. You are so chill. But you do get upset when it’s time to come inside.

We traveled back to Memphis for a split second and you got to see some old friends and a brand new baby! I wish we got to see our old friends more often but I40 is longer than it should be sometimes.

You sprouted a bunch of new teeth this month, including a molar. So you’re eating more complicated food when you’re not busy throwing it on the floor to test gravity. You’re always interested in what mama and daddy are eating (and still cannot wait to get your hands on our coffee), but it’s more often than not in theory, because you get a taste of some new things and get really weirded out at the effort required to chew and swallow some of the stuff we eat. And then you’ll go and eat a bunch of lima beans. Are you sure you’re my kid?

Daddy has been sneaking you haircuts all month, and I finally got him to save a lock of hair for me. I guess you’re happier now without all that wispy stuff in your eyes all the time, but it was a milestone your mama wasn’t quite ready for you to hit.

You’re a really happy kiddo, kiddo. And that makes us happy.

1.5.13 and 2.5.13: Fourteen and fifteen months old

Posted on February 12, 2013 by theogeo

Sugar Booger:

What a wild and crazy couple of months we had!

Christmas descended upon us like a load of bricks, but I think you took it in stride.

We went to the Opryland Hotel to see the lights and walk around a bit, and you thought that was a pretty good time, especially when Daddy held your hand and let you take the lead for a while. You didn’t care that there was a line of people behind us who couldn’t get by; you were struttin’ your stuff! And besides, those people behind us were totally cheering you on.

And what about the giant cat wearing a big hat and boots and carrying a sword, hanging around the hotel? And you thought Mr. Kitty was cool.

Christmas Eve, your aunt Danielle and uncle Brandon brought your cousin Shannon by to visit when they passed through Nashville. You had never met Shannon before and thought it was totally weird how she was just standing up and sitting down and crawling around and walking a little bit. Like, who is this kid in my house showing me up? So you reached over and tried to pluck out her eye, but she was pretty cool about it. Then you guys crawled around together and it was pretty heart-warming, I have to say.

We got up Christmas morning and woke Daddy up to open presents. You got me some very pretty jewelry and Santa brought you a silly laughing Elmo that you kind of thought was weird and tried to choke.

We went down to Grammy and Paw’s to celebrate Christmas Day with them. You got to hang out with cousin Levi and everyone passed you around for snuggles and tickles. You hardly slept on the drive there so by the time we got around to opening presents, you were pretty tired and on the verge of major grumps. (Relatedly, any chance we could go back to the days of you conking out the instant you got in the car seat? No?)

We set down present after present in front of you (too many!!!) but once you realized you weren’t going to get yelled at for ripping paper, you kind of got into the action.

You got to have another Christmas at your Grandma’s house in East Tennessee. It took a really long time to get there since it snowed and we crawled along the interstate for a few hours, but we finally got there and you had a big time with your other cousins. And you tried to take your Grandma’s tree down for her a few times. That was very sweet of you but you should ask first!

All in all it was a very nice month, December.

You have been working on walking and talking and can now very clearly identify a kitty when one walks into the room. “KEEEEE!” you will squeal. And while you still are very apprehensive about standing up and letting go — you break down into tears when we let go of you and you are standing there alone — you have nearly mastered walking alongside us with just one hand being held. You’re still a little stiff and it would probably be easier if you’d just relax, but I realize it’s a Very Big Deal for you. So we’ll keep at it without applying TOO much pressure.

You do this thing now where we’ll be walking around the house and you’ll steer us toward the staircase because you like to walk up the stairs. You take them one at a time, each leg extended fully, one at a time, to get you up there. It looks sort of like you are goose-stepping, which is terrible and hilarious. You also figured out how to climb up the stairs — all of ‘em! — the other day. Just out of nowhere. Going back down is not so easy, though.

You speak in full sentences, although they are garbled and we have no idea what you are saying. But your tone is very clear! You seem to have very strong opinions about things. I have no idea where you could have gotten that from.

You’ve been a little on the grumpy side here and there, which makes us think you might have some more teeth coming in. Or maybe you’re just a human being with actual emotions, whatever! We went to a Super Bowl party and you got very ornery and I nearly threw in the towel and came home, but Uncle Nick graciously bounced you on his knee until you were placated.

One thing we have really got to get you to learn is that hitting is not hilarious. Granted, it is when it’s done in a Stooge-like manner for an audience. But not as an everyday interaction. And I’m sure the expression on my face when you smack the glasses off of it is pretty funny. BUT. You are going to be that kid if we don’t get you to learn the no-hitting rule before you get into a daycare situation. See also: Head butting. No joke, every morning you greet your reflection in the mirror with a head butt and a cackle. You cray.

Your last checkup at the doctor’s office a couple of weeks ago showed that you were 22 pounds and 33 inches long, which put you in the 97th percentile for height. You are tall and skinny like your dad. Lucky you! And you have sprouted a very tiny freckle just above your upper lip. We noticed it a month or so ago. Is it weird if I think of it as a beauty mark? I promise I will not go Hawthorne on you.

You’re still crawling your silly little army crawl, and you can BOOGIE, son. You can cruise around a whole room as long as you don’t have to take any steps without something to hold on to. Jack is very patient with you and lets you pull at him and “pet” him (smack him over and over) but Sally sees you coming for her with that crazed look in your eye and she scoots on outta the room. You gotta work on your approach, my boy. Ladies need subtlety.

I gave you your first bubble bath the other day (not sure what took me so long) and you were seriously weirded out by the bubbles. Like, you didn’t really even want to touch them. I hope that with time you will come to appreciate the whimsy of a good bubble bath, for I am excellent at making crowns out of bubbles. You’ll see.

I’m looking forward to spring so we can let you loose in the yard and let you eat a little dirt and grass and get that gut good and immune to the germs of the world. Or something. Science!

Oh to be the age again…

Posted on January 22, 2013 by theogeo

… when the mirror brought you joy, not anxiety.

This is the only family picture we have

Posted on December 27, 2012 by theogeo

Big ups to the total stranger at the Opryland Hotel who offered to take it for us when he saw me running back and forth from the makeshift, brick-column perch I had made for my camera, which was snapping one picture every 10 seconds while people wandered into the shot without knowing.

I hope everyone has had a nice run of the holidays. I know I sure have. I am a lucky, lucky gal.

A lucky gal who is still not done Christmas shopping.

12.5.12: Thirteen months old

Posted on December 13, 2012 by theogeo

Mr. Scooter Booter Butt:

Here is one thing I have learned about myself as a mother: I have absolutely no rock bottom when it comes to ridiculous nicknames for you. I’m sorry but I’m not sorry at all. And you should be warned that it’s probably only going to get more disgusting as you get older and start doing more new stuff and I start making dumb rhymes and puns and … I feel for ya, kid.

ANYWAY!

This month has been all about mobility. You sort of flipped a switch in your head and figured out that you didn’t have to just hang out wherever we sat you down; you could go from point A to point B without our blessing or input. And even though you’re not crawling per se, you are still getting around in a manner that is more or less equivalent. You do this truly hilarious/adorable commando crawl thingie, sort of like the lady half-body zombie from season one of The Walking Dead. What’s really funny is that you always seem to propel yourself with your left foot, your right leg sort of suspended in midair as you boogie your way down the hall.

You get a big kick out of opening and closing doors and of lunging at the kitties, who are completely horrified that you have finally figured out how to move around and come after them. Especially Ms. Kitty — she cannot HANDLE the fact that you can come after her.

You have a few new, weird little things you like to do that are endearing but that drive me crazy. For one, you are grinding your teeth like a madman lately. Your daddy texts me sometimes when you won’t stop and he’s contemplating yanking your teeth out with pliers and needs me to talk him down. You will grind them rapid-fire style, opening and closing your mouth like a nutcracker and making this insane staccato grinding noise. Stop doing that! You just got those teeth! Be nice to them!

You also have this crazy, insatiable desire to taste the bricks of the fireplace mantle. You scoot over to them and lower your head very carefully and either just place your tongue on the bricks or, sometimes, try to chew on them. As you might imagine, we really do not want you to do that. Nor do we want you to continue to taste the air conditioning vent in the kitchen. But you love putting your mouth on it. You are so weird sometimes. I say that a lot but I mean it!

(Somewhere out there in internet land, someone is gearing up to concern troll me to tell me you have pica because of an iron deficiency or something. Oh, internet.)

We have been getting ready for the crazy onslaught of the holidays.

Thanksgiving was nice; we stayed home and had dinner and you decided to nap right through it. Even though I was looking forward to putting your turkey bib on you, I didn’t mind. It let daddy and me have a nice, quiet dinner where we didn’t have to make sure you weren’t flinging food across the kitchen.

We debated over where to put the Christmas tree since the living room is small and putting the tree in there would be very confusing for you, as the only place for it would be smack in the middle of your play space and you might wonder why we had placed a giant, glittering toy in your area and then spent a good chunk of time telling you to leave it alone. So we put it in the bedroom and so far you haven’t tried to bring it down.

We went to Grammy and Paw’s one weekend early in December to put up their tree since Grammy wasn’t feeling very well. It was a surprise and Grammy was so happy to see you! You really lifted her spirits and had fun playing with your cousin Levi’s toys.

You and daddy have been having lots of fun adventures, too. He took you to the mall and you got to meet Santa! Even though you’re usually a big fan of facial hair, you weren’t really sure how to react to the man in the big red suit. Maybe next year you’ll decide to be good friends.

My little Swiffer

Posted on December 1, 2012 by theogeo

Gotta figure out a way to get him to do windows, too.

11.5.12: ONE YEAR OLD!

Posted on November 22, 2012 by theogeo

My Buds:

We made it! We survived that mythical and all-important first year! And I think we did a bang-up job.

Look how far you’ve come:

Can you believe it? It is surreal to think that a year ago, you came into this world and I got my first good look at you, and you were so new and unfamiliar to me. I had to learn how you looked; you were a wonderful combination of features from your Daddy and me and with every new movement and expression you made, I saw something new in you, something new to the world. Now I have every curve of your sweet face memorized even though you are changing and growing so quickly.

photo by Lesley Lassiter

You have eight teeth now — four on top, four on bottom — and you are a mobile little machine. You’re not quite crawling, but you are scooting and rolling and can get around a room. You will get up on all fours but you haven’t figured out the forward momentum thing yet. You looooove Mr. Kitty and pet him and pull at his whiskers. He is still unsure of you, though.

You are obsessed with trying to get my eyeball. That is, if you get past my glasses. (You like to get Daddy’s glasses too.) You think it is SO FUNNY when I close my eyes and you grab at my lashes and I open my eye. It surprises you every time and you craaaack up. You also think it is so funny when you’re taking a bath and I have to thwack the shower curtain out of the way. You have a very sophisticated sense of humor.

We had a big party for you on the 4th, and lots of family and friends came to wish you happy birthday. You got to meet your other grandmother and your aunt and cousins for the first time. We put you in your finest three-piece suit (complete with tie!) and you had a cupcake for the first time. You weren’t quite sure about it until Daddy helpfully smeared some icing on your face. Then you decided to demolish it.

That was a lot of fun, and we were so happy to see everyone. I hope you realize some day just how much you are loved, and I hope you pay that love forward, Buds. (And yes, I AM going to mail that stack of thank-you cards some day.)

In October we took you to Walden Farm to see the animals and pick out some pumpkins. You and the animals seemed equally impressed with one another, and you did not care for being placed on a tractor. Your grandpa will be very disappointed to hear that.

It’s been a really nice fall. We’ve gone for lots of walks and enjoyed the beautiful leaves and big blue sky. Passersby always give you big smiles.

Christmas is coming up fast. I think you’ve already got the right idea.

I want to take you to see the lights at Opryland Hotel. I am so excited to really start making our own family traditions for the holidays. I hope you hold the same sense of warmth and wonder I had around the holidays when I was young. That is a gift my parents gave to me and I want to give you the same.

What a wonderful year we’ve had, little man. You have made life so much sweeter for us.

10.5.12: Eleven months old

Posted on October 20, 2012 by theogeo

Mr. Pooper:

I don’t actually call you “Mr. Pooper.” I just like the idea of being able to say I was “hanging with Mr. Pooper.” Heh. You won’t get that reference but maybe if Google is still around, you can Google it.

So somewhere around month nine or ten, you went from being this laid-back, never-fusses-ever baby to being a little boy with big, vocal wants. That has been an interesting transition for mama and daddy. Watching you exert your will and get upset when you don’t get what you want is very interesting. I can see the little wheels in your head turning when you figure out that something is out of your reach or that I’m hiding something from you or I outright won’t let you have something you’ve got your heart set on. You used to just grunt when you were disgruntled but now you can shriek with the best of them.

It’s kind of funny; you are such a ham at home but become very serious when we go out in public. You like to watch, to take stock of the situation before you will allow yourself to have much fun. I took you to River Day in Saltillo and you were a little weirded out by all the new people and new noises. Everyone was coming to say hi to you and there were rednecks revving their engines around us and you were just unsure of the whole thing.

You also have finally started that good ol’ separation anxiety, so that if you notice us leaving the room, you let us know how much you don’t like that idea. Which means that peek-a-boo is, like, SUPER entertaining for you.

You really love animals. From puppies to kitties to your stuffed animals, to the animals at the zoo. You are very curious about them and I am trying to teach you gentle touch, because you like to grab handfuls of whatever you can and one of these days that is going to get you swatted.

You got sick this month. A head cold, really, just a bunch of snot and sneezing and coughing. You were pretty pitiful, up every hour wailing for a couple of nights. We felt so helpless and then we got sick too. We were all pretty green there for a while. You finally surrendered yourself to the supreme command of the bulb syringe and we buckled and took you to the pediatrician when we thought you had an ear infection. Turns out you were A-OK, you had just discovered how much fun it was to try to pull your ear off!

Your favorite food now is the remote and all other things you aren’t supposed to put in your mouth. Just today I came into the living room and you had a big canister of maple poofs turned up and the entire contents of the can were scattered around your head. You were having an awesome time.

You like drinking out of cups so much that more than once you have dumped the cup all over you. You like to try to drink from the cup in the bath tub. You are kind of weird!

We have really enjoyed living so near the lake and all the parks around here. I take you for strolls pretty regularly on the weekends and Daddy goes running with you. We also like to take you to the mall so you can go to the kiddie play area and watch all those other tiny babies who climb all over everything. How do they do that?! Just the other day I took you and this one tiny girl couldn’t have been more than eight months old, but she was motoring around and climbing on everything like a pro. She came over to you and started grabbing at your shoes, as if to say “Get those things off and move around!” You just looked at her like she was some kind of freak. To be fair, seeing something that small move that fast IS pretty freaky.

Daddy and I are hoping that the peer pressure might get to you and you might start to crawl a little bit. But for now you’re content reaching as far as you can to get something and then pitching a fit when you can’t. You will roll, you will scoot, you will hump the floor. But you just are not feeling the crawling thing yet.

Can you believe it’s almost been a year? Boy oh boy, little man. I sure can’t.

8.5.12 and 9.5.12: Nine and Ten Months Old

Posted on September 17, 2012 by theogeo

Baby Bear: The clock is spinning out of control and I’m trying to catch up. I apologize for my lapse in posting about your milestones but I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the craziest life has ever been and there just seems to be a lack of time every single day of the week. I am so, so happy your daddy and you are finally here in Nashville with me. Those first few weeks when I was without you were really, really hard and very lonely. When you first moved, before we got your room set up, all three of us slept in the bedroom and that was a CRAZY week or two. But you are here and we are learning all about our new life in Nashville. And you? You are learning so fast and really leaping from baby to boy at a pace that floors me.

These days you are still up early, anywhere between 5:30 and 7 a.m. but most often right at 6, and you take a bottle and play in the floor for a good two hours while I snooze (if I worked late the night before) or hang out nearby. You really dig those stackable rings (especially when I put them on your head) and your little salt shaker. And there is this toy with four big wheels on it and bells inside. You love to shake that thing really hard. I feed you some breakfast (you really like banana raspberry oatmeal or any kind of fruit) and then you’re ready for a nap. You nap in your crib now (and lately you really love your mobile and you get so excited when we wind it up for you) for an hour or two and then you’re up and ready for lunch and more playtime. It’s around this time during the week that I have to get ready for work so Daddy takes over.

You’re sitting strong now (we graduated from the Bumbo for meals to the high chair!) and you even have finally started realizing how much fun it is to roll around. I was so surprised when I saw you do it for the first time. Sure, your dad had seen you flip over a few times over the past few months, but you never did it in front of me. And then one day you just went BLOOP and I did a doubletake. Now I go upstairs during your nap to check on you (yes, I still do that) and see that you’re snoozing on your tummy when I left you on your back.

Your newfound mobility is showing itself in other ways, too. I see you sitting and reaching as far as you can. You are just on the verge of figuring out that you can actually make your whole body move forward. You are really into standing up and walking, although we have to hold your hands. You like to bounce your way from point to point and the cats like to give you some motivation to get moving by staying just out of your reach.

We play a lot of games. You like when we lie on the bed under the covers and we play like we’re in a tent. Then we play peek-a-boo and you think that is pretty funny. One of the best things you do is your little wiggle hug. Daddy or I will be holding you and you will see something that tickles you and you’ll throw your arms around our neck and wiggle your body because you are just so excited. You also like to try to grab our glasses and the remote and many things we are eating. You take your Exersaucer bouncing time very seriously. Very.

You’re eating three meals a day now plus snacks. You mastered that pincher grasp everyone is so nutty about a month and a half ago and now you are a puffs-eating machine. OK, a dropping-puffs-everywhere machine. We got a little blender thing for you so Daddy can make you fresh food. I don’t bother because I don’t even make food for our iron adult stomachs. You love peas and green beans and sweet potatoes and all fruit and some meat, but you always gag when the food has little chunks in it. You’re starting to get the hang of your sippy cup and at dinner time, I let you drink out of a big boy cup and you make a huge mess but you LOVE IT. However, you could bite the cup a little less. Not criticizing, just saying!

Our new house has horses across the street and your daddy takes you down there sometimes to look at them. They run up to you and look at you sideways but you usually are more interested in watching passing cars. You love going to the park and going to the mall. Just as long as it’s light out and you have something to look at, you are totally cool. Daddy texts me pictures of you having adventures while I am at work, sort of like you are the gnome in Amelie. You’re saying Dada and Mama more and more with a purpose and my favorite word of yours is when you purse your lips and puff out your cheeks and blow as hard as you can. I have no idea what you are trying to say but you do that a lot when I’m changing your diaper and it cracks me up. Seeing you get surprised by the power of your own voice is still very amusing to me.

You have grown this lovely crop of silky brown hair that is getting so wonderfully long in front. You’ve come a long way from your little rattail, Buds. You’re no longer bathing in your whale tub; you’re in the big-boy tub now, although you really hate getting water on your face and the sounds you make when I rinse your hair out and water gets near your nose makes me feel like I am waterboarding you. You like to grab objects and turn them over and over, back and forth, examining them closely. Your eyes have started to show threads of brown woven in the blue. You’ve now got four teeth — two up, two down — and that fourth one was a real bear.

Lately you’ve had a few grumpy days but I think it’s been part teething/part not getting enough sleep/part just you starting to show your independence and your will. As you start to realize how big and interesting the world is, you’re starting to want access to more and more of it. It’s scary but wonderful all at the same time for your ol’ Mama.