Black eyes and Messes

At least once a week I am asked if I am old enough to have a baby, or if David is really my child.  Usually this is merely irritating but, this week David fell against a couch and got a blackeye.  As we strolled through the grocery store I felt the leers of other shoppers as they thought, "hmph-underage and abusive".

It is finally getting warmer here (yay for mid 40's!) but for a while we had to get pretty bundled up for our walks. 

David's activity level has gone way up.  He is now into everything and wants to do whatever I am doing.   I am no longer allowed to talk on the phone or work in the kitchen without his "assistance".  The bottom two pantry shelves are now his.

My favorite moment this week was when the cashier gave him a balloon at Trader Joe's.  He stared at it the whole way home.  However, when he discovered it was impossible to keep a balloon within his grasp he became very agitated.  Every time the balloon floated back up to the ceiling his face crumpled and his hand shot up in frustration.  Eventually the balloon had to be taken away so he could calm down. 

8 months old!

David has a deep fear of and facination with the vaccuum.  I am not allowed to use it unless I am holding him on my hip.  When he is safely perched in the crook of my arm he likes to watch it roar back and forth and has a limitless attention span for that activity.  However, his fascinated stare makes him go curiously limp so that he loses all power to hold on to me.  This means that vaccuuming is also a weight lifting activity as I hold the "no bones" boy in one arm and roll the vaccuum with the other.  My favorite part is that when the vaccuum is turned off (even temporarily), he is perfectly able to hold on and his balance is restored.

Good news is that he now tolerates the carrier--however, I am too short to use it.  Davy's head ends up hitting my nose so only Stephen can wear it.

He has a new carpenter's bench that he loves to play with...however some of the fun phrases are a little peculiar, "I see a circle, a circle red and round,  I'm going to POUND IT DOWN!" Yikes!

What should you do if your baby is cold and you are too lazy to change his clothes?

Sock-boy! 

Indoctrinating him young...

Christmas Break

We had a lovely time visiting in Scottsdale for Christmas.  After three weeks of shirtsleeves it was hard to step off the plane in St. Louis to snow.  David was very interested in the cousins Jason and Madeleine--he watched them constantly and is now sad that the cast of the show has been reduced back to Stephen and me.   Here he is with Jason who is a very busy boy. 

Jason with Grandpa's glasses (my favorite Christmas pic)

David has started to chat with us while he plays or rides in the car. His new little noises make a nice change from his ooohh sound, which usually signals displeasure and increases in frequency and volume if his demands are not met. If we manage to preform the intricate nightly ritual correctly David chats himself to sleep.  He makes a pretty good sidekick during the day and it has been fun to see him learn new skills every day. 

We miss the calming influence of the backyard chimes. 

He is a pretty cheerful little boy and is happy to be back at his post by the window, watching the snow and the neighbors. 

Six Months Old!

David is becoming more and more fun every day. He is getting very good at sitting up which has made everyone happier. He seems content to help me with various chores and to play with whatever is nearest.

We do the laundry together-he rides in the basket up and down the stairs.

Cook together--this big spoon and a top ramen package are his favorite toys right now.


Mailing packages, and babies.
Going to the store.

Tracking the neighbors' activities.

Playing with my shoesHanging with the Dad.

Big thumbs up for sitting up!

Adventures in Cooking

This week we learned that sleep deprivation and cooking do not mix. On Thursday I thought I would try a new recipe: "pineapple chicken". It was the first time all week I had a dinner fixed before Stevie came home from studying. After congratulating myself on a job well done I turned on the burner for some rice and left the kitchen to tend to the boy. About forty seconds later "CRASH"! The pyrex full of dinner exploded in a sizzling, drippy mess. In my sleepy haze I turned on the wrong burner and caused culinary mayhem. We decided that shards of glass do not make a good garnish--dinner once again became cereal.


Later that night I decided to make some Ovaltine before heading back to bed for the third time. I poured a tall mug of cold milk and set the microwave for 2:30 (the perfect ovaltine setting). When the timer went off I opened the door to find nothing inside and a mug of cold milk still on the counter. Yikes! I put the cold milk into the microwave and two minutes and thirty seconds later pulled out a still chilly mug. Farewell 40$ microwave.

Despite kitchen disasters things are great--the weather has warmed up again and we have spent some fun days at the park:

What is with this crazy weather?

Also, on Halloween we finally figured out how to keep him occupied and happy.

Ladybugs attack!

For the past several weeks ladybugs have been everywhere and on everything. They adhere to us when we walk outside and sneak into the house--perhaps they are attracted to the green walls. Stephen escorted several out yesterday only to have them cling to the back of his shirt and come back in. This morning I went to kiss him to find a ladybug crawling up his neck! I don't know what happens to ladybugs--but I hope they fly south for the winter.

He doesn't seem to fazed by his close encounter of the speckled kind.

He loves to watch them walk around the windows

This tree was covered with hundreds.

Also, thanks to Claire for the awesome coat jacket, he has just grown into it!

We had a great time with mom here. We went to the art museum, the botanical gardens, and took some nice walks in the park--all with a small disgruntled baby. David has been in a "nothing you do pleases me" stage, but since we have tried to make him take better naps he has done better. We also took some fun family photos when mom was here and the baby wasn't crabby.

Large stolen borrowed leaf!

Stephen calls this the "baby vogue" picture.

I am not sure what he is worried about in this one.