sweet (potato) smiles
6.29.2011
It's pretty mind-blowing the changes that happen in a mere six months. At this point I can (thankfully) remember every little detail and I much prefer it that way. I realize over time I may lose some of the little moments -- the feeling of H on my chest when he first entered the world (ok, I better not lose that one), the snorts he makes when you play airplane with him, the crazy heights he reaches in his Jumperoo -- but continue to remember the milestones. And, that's ok. Just as I change his picture on my laptop background near weekly, I realize it's not possible to store every bit of every moment forever, just important to make sure we cherish every moment as its happeneing. On to another type of mush...
H has begun the journey into eating 'real' food. That's right, solids. We waited until he was 5 1/2 months -- the non-interest coupled with my own 'I'm not ready for him to make this next big step yet' (yes, I'm being selfish) made for a perfect transition, though. He was already becoming interested in what we were eating by this point and boy did he ever love that spoon. The cereal on the spoon...well, every once in a while he'd take a swallow. It only took a couple tries for him to get the drift. Trying to feed him after he'd already eaten as suggested and making sure he wasn't 'way hungry' -- not ideal for us. More like: 'I only want this stuff when I'm hungry otherwise you enjoy wiping it off of anything and everything I can drool it on'. Please and thank you (he's polite in his defiance already, what can I say?). We've now moved on to sweet potatoes and let's just say, our assumption that he'd like something that even remotely has some taste was an accurate one. He sure loves him some sweet potatoes. Every tiny bite.
Here are just a few more of H's favorite things to do these days:
- Talk -- my, oh my, is he a talker. Most talkative in his class say the ladies from school.
- Play with balloons -- (supervised, of course) um, cheap and never-ending entertainment?
- Try to crawl -- emphasis on the 'try'. He's got the leg part down...the arms not so much. If there were an award for most graceful face plant, though, my little munchkin would have it in his clammy little lint-filled hands in a heartbeat.
- Speaking of handling an award -- boy, does he every like to (insist on) turning the pages during story time. Let's just say more than a few books don't make a whole lot of sense anymore around the bottom right corner of the page. Grab, pull, turn (rip?), and repeat. It's a science, really.
- Jumping -- I can distinctly remember the dinner table conversations between Husband and I even before we found out we'd be adding a little peanut to the equation and the wholehearted declarations that we refused to 'junk' our house with 'plastic things'. All I can say for myself is: watch your step when you come over and I should probably buy stock in Fisher Price. The kid loves to jump. He uses a couple college textbooks for an extra boost -- hello, 5-10th percentile on the height chart, you aren't doing much for my bouncing abilities...International Business and Economics have him covered, though. And bounce, and bounce...
- He loves playing with toys, his tootsies, and anything else he can get his hands on -- and he's discovered his 'parts'...enough said...
- Smiling, hugging -- I mean, what kind of mother would I be without adding in here that he has to be the sweetest baby ever in existence, right?
- Sitting up all by himself -- where did my little bobble-head go so quickly?
- Sleeping through the night -- Hallelujah! And, I have to input my two cents about this one, too, since what kind of mother would I be without doling out my parenting opinion when it isn't asked for? They figure it out and do it when they want to. Short and simple. Forget the books, the training, and everything else that worked for your co-worker's aunt's brother's cousin's wife. What teenager do you know that doesn't know how to sleep through the night? Kidding. Sort of. Really, though, contrary to the (sometimes irrational and not-so-nice) thoughts running through you head at 3 or 4am, your child is not going to be 'that child' that never slept a good night until he was 2. He's young. And, telling you he needs something. And, at some point he'll stop needing those somethings, start sleeping well, and then start needing new somethings. Revel in the fact that we are all going through it. At some point, they figure it out.
Every day is an adventure. One we enjoy so much, we've hopped back on (never got off?) the baby train. Our new addition will officially be joining the clan in January. And, Husband and I officially must be physically separated one specific weekend for -- well, ever...
