Sunday, June 26, 2011

a standing ovation

my parents just came for a visit, and on the day they were to leave, my mom and i were sitting at the dining room table drinking tea and eating breakfast while milo played in his pack n' play right next to us.

simultaneously, my mom let out a squeal as i heard a thump. worried that he had fallen onto one of the not-so-soft-and-squishy toys, i looked up from my cereal as my mom exclaimed with great delight - "he was standing!"

now, i should clarify, milo the mountaineer-wannabe has been trying to scale anything and everything. granted, all he does is pull himself up to a standing position, but it means i have to keep even closer vigilance on the little fella. he has yet to figure out "cruising" - whereby he starts walking along anything he can hold onto. so when she said he was standing, i didn't think it was anything new. he stands all the time at his pack in play, his crib, chewing, babbling, trying to figure out how he can get higher, how he can escape.

then she added the exciting part, that he was standing on his own, with a bewildered look of "hey..... i'm up in the air and nothing's holding me. wow!" albeit, he was only up for maybe 5-10 seconds, tops, and soon fell back into sitting position, but this boy is determined.

at the rate he's going, i'm pretty convinced he'll be walking by 10 months.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

icky-pooh.

so far the baby foods have been surprisingly appetizing. although up until most recently, they've consisted of only fruits and vegetables (granted, very watered down fruits and vegetables, but fruits and veggies none the less). if a drop of it spilled onto the tray of his high chair, i would take the opportunity to wipe it up with my finger and see how it compares to whatever it is that it claimed to be. for the most part, they've all tasted like they should, without all the added chemicals, fats and sugars; fresh, healthy, like nature intended.

and then we added meats. milo managed to finish off the chicken and apples with some reservation, but he still finished it. however, when the contents of the jar started to smell more like canned dog food than jarred baby-food (i'm looking at you, beef with beef gravy), milo's interest in solids decreased rapidly, while his stubborn refusal of the pink puréed pulp only increased.

he's also not a huge fan of peaches, which is very surprising, but ben thinks it's because of the citric acid used as a preservative which gives it a bit of a sour tang.

he has, however, gotten better at picking up the peach flavored baby puffs and putting them in his mouth. he pushes them back out of his mouth almost immediately after getting them in, but it's still progress in the right direction. (after he uses his tongue to push the puff past his lips, i put it back in his mouth instructing him that "no, we keep it.")

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

what happens when you fall behind...

ben finally got the crib mattress lowered yesterday (i tried to figure it out myself, but i didn't know where ben had squirreled away all his tools, specifically, the allen wrench).

and yet we were still a little late on the matter.

milo and his piranha teeth had a wild time chewing up the crib-rail at the foot of his bed. yesterday morning. of the day ben finally got the mattress lowered.

woulda, coulda, shoulda.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

eep...

milo's been waking up a little too early lately.

yesterday it was 5:15; today was at 5:30. i hear him on the monitor, and as long as he's just babbling to himself, i stay in bed. i wait until he starts to sound upset and the squawking turns into sobbing. (okay, it doesn't get that bad before i go in to get him, but i figure there's no need for me to be up and moving that early, as long as he's content.)

sometimes this contented talk-and-play-solo time lasts only a few minutes, but today he almost made it to 6 (which is my goal for when he should wake up every morning, but obviously i haven't fully figured out how to get there just yet).

even at 6 am, he was just barely on the verge of getting upset, but i was awake and ready to get up, so i went into his room to get him, and lo and behold, he was standing at the foot of his crib, holding onto the rail and waiting for me. i've been telling ben for days now that we should lower his crib mattress. i think that "should" just turned into a "must".

Friday, June 10, 2011

can you tell me how to get, how to get to.... ?

i've started letting milo watch sesame street. (it's one of the many tv shows streaming on netflix, although they start with season #35, which is from 2004. hard to believe it's been on that long... i would have loved to start from the beginning with him, but as we don't even get regularly broadcast television, we'll take what we can get.)

he can't even make it through half an episode most days, but of the few minutes here and there that he is paying attention, he seems pretty enthralled.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

quick updates:

milo's front two bottom and front two top teeth have all cut through, and now his left eye tooth has started to show. he's definitely been a little more irritable than lately, but he's still a very happy baby, and i'm still counting my blessings, even when he's fussy.

crawling forward is in full swing. watching him move, i'm often reminded of the sea-witch ursula from the little mermaid, right after she turns back into an octopus-monster-villain-lady and starts propelling herself across the deck of the ship to grab ariel. except that milo is cute and sweet, not hideous and evil. but the way he uses those strong little arms and legs of his to get from one edge of the room to the other.... it's surprisingly quick and agile for only just getting the hang of it last week.

he especially loves to go for our flip-flops and chase the cat.

we also had to change out his carseat for the bigger one that can also face forward and eventually serve as a booster seat as well. ben refers to it as the baby lazy-boy, as it has a cup holder and moveable armrests. we also had to move our seats forward, as it's so big, it wouldn't fit properly with our seats pushed back.... we're thinking it's time to invest in a minivan.

and with milo now mobile, the pack and play has newfound purpose. milo's usually not content to be so confined for long, but i can get maybe fifteen or even twenty minutes of only kind of paying attention to milo while i get stuff done around the house. when he's out on the floor, movin' and a groovin', i'm right there with him, because even when i'm with him, this boy gets into way too much... i suppose it's time to "babyproof" after all.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

taking a break

my parents have had milo for almost a full week now. i got to see him and take care of him for a short while on monday after the girls left and ben was still driving out, and we ran into them again as ben and i were walking down a main road, and they pulled up - milo smiled so wide and big. his bottom teeth seem to be completely out - i can't imagine them getting any bigger (although i'm sure they will, they're still so tiny.) his top center tooth started cutting through that sunday night into monday, and my mom tells me that the top tooth just to the right of the one that's already out is starting to break free as well.

i have moments of wondering what milo is doing, wanting to hold him and cuddle him, even moments of wanting to be silly, and realizing that the majority of the time i'm with milo - especially if he is playing and i'm getting stuff done - is being silly and doing things in an exaggerated, playful, goofy character, so that milo stays entertained, but i can finish putting away the dishes or sweeping the floor.

and there's definitely been times where i start to feel guilty that we don't have milo with us - we're parents, we chose this responsibility; it feels a little lazy and free-loader-ish to simply say "here mom, have fun!" .... and i know that's not it, though - she offered to take him, and i know she's loving every minute of it.

anyhow, all this to say, i have been so very grateful for this time to catch up on sleep, to think through an entire thought without getting interrupted by a sweet little boy who just needs me to take care of him, to discuss in depth with ben our plans and desires for life, to read a book!

i look forward to going back to the every day, with renewed energy and enthusiasm, i'm actually excited to keep working through cleaning out the garage, organizing, simplifying, and getting ready for a garage sale, for continuing to work with milo to eat more solids throughout the day and establishing a better nap schedule for every day.

it was a hard point to get to, but forcing myself to rest, to not worry, to let go..... what a difference it makes. i think this has been our best vacation yet. maybe next year i can tackle truly resting AND having milo with us all the while. ;P