Blowing Bubbles

(New photos added below.)
Woke up early this morning. 5:15 and I heard him call out. Daddy made a bottle and I tried to get him to go back to sleep, but it was a no-go. So we went out to the living room to play. He cruised around the coffee table and made sure to grab hold of my hands a few times to do some walking laps around the house. He has almost no stability, so he leans forward enough to go at a run. I'm terrified that I'll step on his feet while trying to hold him up.

Handed him off to Daddy while I grabbed a shower and then Gigi took over. Today they went to the mommy-movie at the Arlington theater. Unfortunately, he was a wiggle worm and mid-movie she had to take a break just to let him walk around in the lobby. She held him every which way, including upside-down, while trying to watch. Guess that's the last movie for awhile. He slept a bit on the walk home but woke up when she tried to transfer him to the crib.

When I got home I found a very happy LR. He was holding Gigi's hands and walked up to the gate at the top of the stairs to greet me. He was smiling and giggling. The past few days he's been imitating our laughs and makes a "hya-hya-hya" sound every few minutes. It keeps us laughing. After a dinner of broccoli, green beans, carrots, cheese, and watermelon (boy does he love watermelon) I got him into the bath. His favorite game in the bath now is to blow bubbles in a big cup of water that I use to dump water over his head. First I blow bubbles and then he takes the cup from me and he blows bubbles. When we first started the game a week ago he had a hard time figuring out when to take his mouth away from the cup so that he wouldn't inhale water. Now he's got it down. He blows bubbles, moves his mouth away and takes a breath. It's amazing how fast they learn. He thinks the game is a riot. I should really get him into swimming lessons especially since we looked at a house this weekend that has a pool!

Cruising along

LR and I got up early again yesterday. We played and ate breakfast and then woke Daddy up at 8am. Then I got in a quick nap. LR is trying to clap now, but it's more like pounding his fists together. He's been spending the mornings crawling in and out of his tunnel system. His newest activity is walking while holding our hands. Sometimes it's at a run and other times he's so wobbly that he has to sit down. He likes to walk into the kitchen where we've given him access to the cabinet with all the recipe books and take out menus. He pulls them out and chews on them daily. In actuality, he has access to all the cabinets. I'm still waiting for the baby proofing magnets I ordered last week. They come with magnet keys and as long as we don't lose them, everything will be okay. Magnets will also keep him from opening the cabinets just wide enough to pinch his fingers.

After playing in the kitchen he usually heads to the laundry room where there is a very small step down. We're working on negotiating the step. I want him to go over the step backward, but he disagrees with my theory on gravity and wants to go head first. We made a game of it yesterday where he would climb halfway up the stair and then sit back down. I would say "bump!" and clap for him. He did that a few times and then he lifted himself up, but didn't step up at all and sat back down. I clapped again. After that he just leaned forward and sat back down, testing how little he had to do to receive clapping. It was very cute.

He had a nice long nap in the morning and then we went out and ran some errands. He didn't nap again until later in the afternoon and only slept for 30 minutes or so. Definitely not enough and he woke up pretty cranky. We tried the pool outside which was fun, but after 10 minutes or so he got chilly and wanted to come out. At dinner we noticed a rash on his forearms and we don't know if it's eczema or if it's irritation from all the crawling and cruising. It seems to come and go with the use of a moisturizer, so I think it's eczema. Too bad we just had our 9 month appointment. I might call Dr. Nick if it gets any worse.

Dinner consisted of steamed french green beans, carrots and broccoli, oatmeal cereal, and cherries for dessert. I like that we don't have to do jarred food much anymore. It makes eating out easier since he wants to feed himself. He hated jarred green beans, but he seems to love the steamed ones. Carrots were always a favorite, but the baby ones that he can grab a hold of are much easier to clean up and don't stain as much. We ran a quick bath for him after dinner and Gigi took care of him while Daddy and I tried to clean up the kitchen. I finally washed his highchair cover which had gotten super gross. I also wiped down the plastic of the chair and it looks like new again. Then it was bedtime and Daddy put him to sleep easily with a bottle.

Back to the new routine

Gigi is home finally and boy was LR happy to see her. He gave her a nice hug when she came up this morning. He was hiding under the Jumperoo when she first came up, but he crawled out and into her lap as soon as he saw her.

I guess she spent the rest of the day running after him. In the short time she's been gone, he's started really moving. He motors around all day when he's not eating. So the schedule was like this:
8-9am Chase the baby
9-10:30 Nap time
10:30-11:30 Chase the baby and see him try to open cabinets and then pinch his fingers. Ouch!
11:30-noon Feeding time at the zoo
noon-2pm Chase the baby (Are you kidding me with all the moving? Hold still!)
2-3pm Nap time
3-3:15pm Fight the urge to leave LR diaper-less instead of fighting with him on the changing table.
3:15-5:30 Strap him into the stroller and take him for a walk the park. Then, Chase the baby.

When I got home Gigi said no more family can come until she leaves. Apparently she couldn't leave him for a minute. Guess he got used to lots of playmates this past weekend! I opened one of the big boxes that goes with the tunnels and she played a hysterical game of hide-n-seek with LR. He laughed so much that I turned on the video camera and got some footage of it. Daddy came home soon after so that I could hit the gym. Daddy says that bedtime is getting later. LR wasn't tired until closer to 8pm. If that means he sleeps until 6am, I'm all for it!

Holiday Weekend

Sorry for the delay in posting. We had a very busy weekend. Grandparents and Aunt K came into town for the holiday and had a ball playing with and spoiling LR. Let's see, what do I remember about this weekend...

LR made his first conscious sign. Sunday morning Daddy, LR and I were hanging out in our bedroom looking up at the fan spinning. We've showed him the sign before and when I signed it this time, I watched LR point the index finger on both hands and look at them. Then he raised one hand and made circles with it. It was an obvious sign and the first I've seen since he learned "milk." I'm calling "fan" his first sign since he did it consciously instead of reflexively. It was very cool to watch. Daddy opened his eyes just in time to see it. I saw him sign it this morning as well. It's exciting to think that our days of no communication are coming to an end (and the days of frustrating partial communication stretch out before me for the next, oh, 50 years or so).

Sunday we had a small BBQ and had some friends over with their 5 month old King J. It was a toasty day so we couldn't go outside until later in the afternoon. Daddy and Grandad cooked up some oak-smoked salmon on the grill. LR consumed half an avocado and a jar of sweet potatoes for dinner. The heat overwhelmed him a little and with all the excitement, he was way off schedule. Two 45 minute naps does not a happy LR make. He felt better after we got him into the bath. While Aunt K watched him in the tub, cries of joy turned to cries of anguish on the deck as King J defiled his father's second shirt of the day (the first one suffered from a minor bout of upset stomach). King J's parents came in asking for a safe space to set the leaking child and a torch for his dad's shirt. Everyone dissolved into hysterics and Daddy gave J's dad a(nother) new shirt. After everyone was cleaned up, the babies decided it was time to call it a day. Otherwise it was a lovely day.

Monday Daddy went to work and the rest of us went to Toys R Us for LR's early birthday presents. Since he loves crawling under the table and into small spaces, they bought him a tunnel system (probably the same his cousin Bud has), some foam blocks, and a small inflatable pool for the deck. He has thoroughly tested and loves them all. Not sure how to keep him in the pool yet, but we're working on it. The tunnel system was a huge hit. He's very content to play inside just small portions of the tunnels and he likes the balls that came with it - soccer, basketball, and golf.

Tuesday everyone was together again, but the best time for the family to leave, to avoid the worst weather, was in the morning. Daddy stayed home with LR and put him down for his first nap while I took them to the airport.

What else... he's cruising pretty well now, but is still not terribly stable which has lead to a lot of head bumping. He's taken a few nasty spills, but seems to be able to recover quickly. We tell him to rub some dirt on it and get back out there which he generally does after a good hug. Oh and he's a terrible ham. Every time we pulled out a camera he would turn and smile his two-tooth grin and then squint his eyes in anticipation of the flash. It was almost impossible to get a candid shot.

Mile Marker

Oops, forgot in the last post to say that he weighed 21 lbs and 13 oz at the visit. He's also 28 inches long. He's 50th percentile in length, 60th in weight, and 70th in head circumference. Doc says he looks like a healthy baby boy!

Bumps and Bruises

LR had a rough day today. It started out well. He woke at 5:20, but took a bottle and coslept with me until 6:30. Hooray for sleeping in! We did our normal morning routine even though I was staying home for the day. Daddy fed him yogurt and cottage cheese for breakfast and then left for work. By 9 he was showing signs of being tired, so I tried to get him to nap. He was too wriggly, so finally I had to set him down in the crib wide awake. He cried for 4 minutes and then fell asleep. He slept from 9:40 until 12:10. Guess he was tired.

After he woke from his long nap, we had lunch and played for awhile. At 1:30 I gathered his gear and my purse and loaded him into the car. Time for his 9 month visit to the doctor. I was a little nervous because they were taking blood today for a lead test. It was a finger prick, but they had a student nurse do it and it took longer for that reason. Then they had me hold gauze on his finger to get it to clot. A minute later they rushed back into the room and said they needed another vile. Luckily his finger hadn't clotted yet, but he didn't love the additional finger pinching. For the second vile I was prepared with stars which he ate using his other hand. That kept him pretty distracted.

He fell asleep for the last 5 mites of the car ride, but woke up when I tried to carry him into the house. I knew that wasn't a good thing... He was cruising around the coffee table a little later and slipped so that his chin hit the edge. He broke into tears for the second time today. When I lifted him up, I saw his bottom teeth had cut his top gum. He didn't seem to mind too much and the tears disappeared quickly. After that we were back to playing and crawling around the house. One of his games is to crawl under the seat of his jumperoo and play peak-a-boo around the stand. The seat is suspended by springs to the stand, so when he was trying to stand using the seat as support, it swung out from under him, he did a 180, and smacked the back of his head on the ground. It's probably the hardest I've seen him hit it. He was pretty fussy after that. Really, how much can one little person take in a day? I took him out on the deck to distract him and then pulled out the bubbles.

When Daddy came home, LR decided to try clapping for the first time. He was just pounding his fists together, but for a first try, it wasn't bad. Daddy was so impressed that he threw LR into the laundry hamper. LR cheered up considerably after Daddy arrived, so the rest of the evening was pretty fun. He spit up on his PJs and had to be changed again right before bed, but other than that, it was a good evening.

Bigger and bigger

I swear he grew another inch while I was at work today. I came home and it seemed like he was just spilling out of my arms. It may have been because he's a wiggler, but I think he's also just gone through a growth spurt. He ate like mad at dinner! Stars, then some Gouda, half an avocado, very little jarred corn and squash, and then many mouths full of watermelon. At one point he had packed watermelon into every corner of his mouth. I had to hold his hands to keep him from shoveling more in! Funny kid.

Tonight while playing in his room he discovered the drawers in his room. Guess it's time to baby proof those too! He's exploring more and more each day and doesn't often want to be in our arms anymore. The best is the chase game now. If we crawl behind him while he's crawling, he thinks we're coming to get him. He giggles and tries to crawl faster. Then he'll turn and sit - probably thinking he has to wait for us slow-pokes to catch up. Then we rush up and tickle him. He loves it. What a fun game.

Sleepy Day for Mommy

So I'm trying to catch up on sleep from when he was born, I guess. LR woke at 5 this morning and I stayed with him until 7. Daddy thought he might be coming down with a cold, so I wanted to make sure he got enough sleep. Then Daddy took him while I caught another hour of sleep. When I got up again they had just finished a cup of yogurt and a good helping of cottage cheese. We played for another hour and then he went down for his morning nap. I figured we had time for an episode of Firefly and then we could get some housework done. Just as the episode ended, LR was up again. Usually he naps longer in the morning, but I'm not really complaining about skipping the housework. ;)

So after he got up we played for a little longer and then had a lunch of cereal, pears, and stars. I also gave him 4 oz of formula to wash it down. He was crawling all over the place afterward. The radiator covers are a new favorite. I'm slowly starting to clean them off as he finds new things to pull down. I'm finally becoming a neat(er) person! No more clutter! I'm tired of fishing paper out of his mouth, so the magazines went away today. The pictures will probably go away tomorrow.

He went down for his second nap at 1 and so did I. Unfortunately, after a half hour he woke up crying. I went in and picked him up knowing he didn't really want to be awake and rocked him back to sleep. After that we slept for another hour and a half! It was awesome. We both woke up refreshed. We took a walk around the neighborhood with LR straining against his stroller straps to get a better look at the world. It was drizzling, but still pleasant outside. After our walk we had a dinner of avocado, acorn squash, and stars. Boy does he love avocado! Makes for a messy dinner though, so afterwards it was into the bath. Luckily he doesn't mind when I dump a big cup of water right over his head, so washing him is super easy now. After that it was time for bed and Daddy gave him his evening bottle. Hoping for a late morning wake up.

Good Naps

LR started the day at 5:30 which puts him back on schedule. Unfortunately, I had a migraine, so Daddy took LR for me and they played all morning. I came out at 7 feeling much improved and tried to wake up while Daddy fed him yogurt mixed with cottage cheese. Then I took LR and we played until 9 when he went down for his first nap. LR and I napped from 9-11 while Daddy ran some errands. When we woke, we met Daddy at Home Depot and then came back home for some lunch. He ate a large helping of cereal, pears, watermelon, and stars. He really enjoyed the watermelon. It's messy, but totally worth it.

After lunch it was time to play again. He's just started enjoying being chased by either one of us. If I get down level with him, he laughs and then heads across the room. I crawl or slide along beside him with him giggling the whole way. He also loves to hide under things. The dining room table is a recent favorite. So after playing for awhile we put LR in the stroller and headed to the grocery store. Picked up some food for him and a couple of vegetables to try. He really wants to feed himself, so I'm trying to get creative with the finger foods. The other night he ate cooked broccoli which I broke into small trees for him. I picked up some acorn squash, but I'm pretty sure he can't feed that one to himself. I assumed he would fall asleep during our walk, but he didn't. He hummed to himself a couple of times, but that was it.

When we got home, I gave him a bottle and just as he was getting to the last ounce, he fell asleep. He was out for an hour and then I woke him to go look at a 2 family house in Winchester. I don't know that I've ever purposely woken him from a nap, so I was pleasantly surprised by how happy he was afterward. He kicked and played in our arms as we walked around the house and the property. We came back home and ate our dinner while he had a little bit of a bunch of different things: some Gouda cheese, stars, pasta, Pirate's Booty, and corn and butternut squash from a jar. He drank some water, but he tends to throw the sippy cup over the side of the high chair and because I don't want that to turn into a game, he doesn't drink a lot during dinner. I make sure to give it back to him at the end though.

Daddy and I got a chance to play on the mats with him for a half hour or so after dinner. Daddy tried chasing LR around the living room which LR loved. He's also still enjoying the Mylar balloon. We picked up the play mat a bit and then it was off to bed. He wasn't terribly hungry for the formula, so I ended up bouncing him for 10 minutes before he was completely out.

Early Mornings

This morning made the third morning in a row that LR has woken up at 4:50am. Last night we even tried to put him to bed late (suffering a meltdown in the process) and put up dark sheets over the window blinds. No luck. I heard him at 4:50 again, but let him talk to himself until 5:20. Then Daddy got up and tended to him.

We've had a beautiful couple of days, so Gigi has tried to take advantage of it by taking LR on long walks. Yesterday he slept from 9:30am to 1:30pm. It was so unusual for him that she kept checking on him to make sure he was still breathing. Not sure if it was because he's been missing some sleep or because he's hitting a growth spurt. He's more than made up for his lack of appetite during the cold. He's ravenous at every meal and because he insists on feeding himself now, meal durations have more than doubled. He's eating yogurt and cottage cheese for breakfast, fruit and cereal for lunch, and assortments of finger foods for dinner.

He's also increased his activity level during the day. He's exploring the house and testing the boundaries. I'll have to hide the magazine box since I've already fished paper out of his mouth twice. I need to keep the coffee table clean of anything. The kitchen cabinets need baby locks on them and the bathroom and bedroom doors stay shut now. Oh, and every time we accidentally leave the gate open, he heads straight for it. It's like a sixth sense. He could be on the other side of the house, but when that gate opens, he knows it.

Back on Schedule

LR finally slept through the night on Monday night after a week of being off schedule. Each time he woke up, I would go see if he needed more Tylenol. Then he was expecting me to come in, so it was a relief when he slept through to his normal 5:30 wakeup. The worst/best part is that when he wakes up and pulls himself up at the side of the crib, he calls out, "Ma ma ma ma!" Not sure why that's his first concrete syllable. Thought it was supposed to be "da da," but I'm not complaining. He's always hummed when being put to sleep, so he's been making the "mmmm" sound forever. Guess that's where it comes from. Anyway, it's tough to listen to him call for me and actually use "Ma ma." As if listening to him cry wasn't bad enough.

Yesterday I came home to a happy baby. Gigi said he had a big eating day. Glad his appetite is back. He had Pirate's Booty by the handful in the afternoon. None of us can figure out why he likes it. Spinach and kale flavored... yum! When I walked in the door he was having a dinner of shredded mozzarella, plain noodles, peas, and carrots. Once I came in he was too distracted to eat. (He wanted a hug.) After our hug I put him down to play on the floor and he proceeded to eat all the food he had dropped onto his high chair mat. (We put a clear plastic mat underneath the high chair because of the increasing amount of mess he was creating.) So he chomped on some stars from lunch and noodles from dinner. Daddy came home and questioned this new parenting style. I think he's still wary of when I tied the Mylar balloon to LR's leg and called it "creative parenting."

This morning he was up at 4:50! Gigi said today is the longest day of the year which may be one of the reasons he was up so early. Talked to SwingDaddy last night who said that he's going to look at some blackout blinds soon. We're probably going to do the same thing. Can't keep getting up before 5am. That's just brutal.

LR was content when I left, but probably going down for a nap soon. He's sleeping a little more during the day, so I think he's either growth spurting or just adjusting to his new found mobility. He crawls all over the house now and even shows signs that he wants to walk when we hold his hands. I don't expect he'll be an early walker, but who knows.

Father's Day

First day in 5 without a fever! He was up at 4:50 and we played until 6. Then we coslept until almost 8. It threw off his naps, but it was nice having our little man back to normal. Gave Daddy his presents when he woke up. Then we got ready and went to our last Sunday class where LR played with friends. He fell asleep on the way to BestBuy after class and managed to stay asleep despite a transfer into the stroller and another back into the car. He almost made it into his crib when we got home, but he had already been asleep for an hour, so it wasn't a big deal that he woke up.

He had some lunch and it seems that his appetite is back. He ate some cereal and pears. We played for the rest of the afternoon and Daddy has started teaching him all the best wrestling moves by throwing him onto our bed and then falling down next to him. LR loves it. We ran out to scout some two family houses in Winchester and LR fell asleep on the way home. I did manage to transfer him to the crib, but he was only out for another 20 minutes. Just long enough for us to fall asleep for what we were hoping would be an hour nap. Oh well.

We played again until dinnertime. He loves the mylar balloon that came with some birthday flowers I received. Dinner consisted of carrots, stars, pasta and some pieces of multigrain toast. He even tried a bite of broccoli and liked it. Then we put him back into the highchair while we ate a father's day dinner that Daddy picked out and Gigi prepared: chicken marsala, broccoli, and fruit soup for dessert. While we ate, he picked up his sippy cup and drank fast enough to cough and sputter a few times. Eventually the coughing slowed down and Gigi asked him if he were faking it. Then he coughed again and we all laughed. He continued coughing and looking from person to person. He would smile in between and watch us react with laughter. The game went on long enough that we decided we better stop before he got a sore throat. Manipulating parents for the first time: June 18th, 2006. It was adorable though.

Temperature Spike

I went to get him at 4am this morning. He had a temp of 102. I gave him Tylenol and walked around with him for a half hour. Finally gave him to Daddy at 5am. He went back to sleep from 5:45-6:30 and then I coslept with him until 8am. I worked from home so that I could keep an eye on him and help out when needed. He's super clingy because he just doesn't feel great. His appetite is still not what it usually is.

Gigi ran out during my lunch break to get groceries for dinner. LR and I hung out for awhile and I realized that he's been waving for the past few days. When I sing him the "Hello" song, he tries to mimic my hand waving. He also loves to watch how his hand can articulate on the wrist while nodding off to sleep in our arms. Managed to snap a picture of him waving to me.

After some playtime on the mat he got cranky, so I put him down for a nap. He woke up within 40 minutes and was fairly upset. Gigi took him off my hands and I went back upstairs to work. Came down early evening to find him in an okay mood, but Gigi reported that he screamed when she tried to sit down on the couch. No sitting for Gigi apparently. I played with him for awhile and when Daddy came home we all went outside for a dinner of Halibut, asparagus, and risotto. LR stuck to stars, pears, and rice cereal. He also seems to really like the mozzarella cheese slices I've been giving him. Going to try some provolone this weekend.

Sleepless Night

LR went down at the normal time last night, but his meds wore off around 11pm and that's when he started crying. It only lasted a few minutes and I debated going to get him the whole time. I heard him again just after midnight and then at 1:30. When he cried at 2am I went to get him and he was burning up. I felt so guilty for letting it go that long. I gave him Tylenol and walked him around until the fever started going down. At 3am I finally was able to put him back down. He woke up at 5am and Daddy took him so that I could get some sleep. Unfortunately the alarm went off at 6:30 and then I heard LR wake up from a short nap at 7:30. Oh well, it was time to get ready for work anyway.

While going thru the morning routine we decided we should hit the walk-in hour (8:30-9:30am) at our pediatrician's office. Daddy went to work while Gigi and I packed LR into the car. Dr Nick said it just sounded like a stomach bug and that he should be on the mend soon.

I came home to find a relatively happy baby, but he was super clingy and obviously wasn't feeling good by the end of the evening. He managed some rice cereal and pears, stars, and cheese. Daddy came home just in time to put LR to bed with a bottle. A half hour later LR was standing up in his crib screaming. I went in, picked him up, and found that he had wet thru his PJs. Daddy changed the crib saver, we changed his PJs, and I gave him the rest of his unfinished bedtime bottle. He was out again within 10 minutes. Really hoping he has a better night. I had forgotten how tough it is to go to work without much sleep.

Sick Day

LR woke up at 5am with a fever of 100. When I picked him up, he was radiating heat from his whole body, but especially his hands, feet, and head. I gave him meds and some formula right away and the fever came down to 99.3 in an hour, but it took close to 3 hours for his fever to break. He was cranky off and on during the day and wouldn't let Gigi put him down for a nap. He would fall asleep in her arms, but them wake up and cry whenever she tried to put him down. She ended up holding him for 2 hours while he slept in the early afternoon.

When I got home, I put him in a box that arrived from amazon and pulled him around the house which he loved until I dumped him backwards when I tried to pull him along too fast. He was not thrilled with me at that point, but he signaled his forgiveness with a big open mouthed kiss/bite on my cheek. We read a new Baby Einstein book called Violet's House which is a giant touch and feel book. He loved it and I'm sure will be more enthused when he's feeling better.

Gave him dinner, but he didn't have a huge appetite. He perked up a bit in the bath after dinner and I think it helped to bring the fever down a bit. Got him into PJs and had no trouble putting him to bed. He was tuckered out from the day with a fever. Hoping the fever is gone by tomorrow so that he can get back to his normal bubbly self.

Oh, Gigi also set up a tent (using a sheet and his Jumperoo) for him today since he's really gotten into hiding under things: the coffee table, his Jumperoo, and any blankets I hold up for him. He crawled under it a number of times and seemed to like it.

Catch up

Ok, playing a little catch up here. We had a relaxing weekend for the most part. LR was content to accompany us to Costco on Sunday and didn't mind when I left for a massage on Saturday. Sunday we had our Social Butterflies class where LR showed off his jumping skills (again) and then crawled around greeting all the other babies. He stole toys from them, they stole them back, and a good time was had by all. The youngest one there wasn't thrilled when LR took his rattle, so we gave it back and distracted LR with a gummy ball with rivets all over it. Such fun stuff they have now... I would buy it if he wasn't so incredibly thrilled when I came home today and put him in a box that had arrived in the mail. Hours of fun!

He's dancing more often now when he hears music, especially when he's standing at his incrediblock and activating the music. He wiggles and smiles and I sit nearby waiting for him to bail over sideways, but he hasn't actually done that for awhile. He pulls himself up regularly on the coffee table and incrediblock and is significantly more stable than he was a few weeks ago. When we got home from the Social Butterflies class, Daddy and I watched him pull himself up on the coffee table and remarked that we were glad he wasn't cruising yet like his classmate who is 2 weeks older. As if he understood that we were comfortable in our current expectations of him, he began to casually cruise down the coffee table toward Daddy. What a comedian.

Today I came home to find a grumpy baby and after playing for a few minutes with a fair amount of whimpering, I leaned down to give him a hug and realized he was running a fever. Grabbed the thermometer and, sure enough, it was 100.5. No wonder. So I gave him meds and watched Sesame Street with him until he felt better. Then he ate a small dinner of stars, a biter biscuit, and half a banana. I cleaned him up and put him to bed with no resistance. Poor little guy.

(Will try to be better at blogging. Just been a little busy.)

Nap adjustment

LR was standing in his crib to greet me again yesterday morning. Really glad I lowered the crib last month. It was 6am which is late for him so I don't know if it was because they had a busy day and he didn't have a long nap in the afternoon or if it was because my book club was particularly noisy. Gigi decided to experiment by keeping him up in the afternoon instead of putting him down for his normal nap. Unfortunately for her he got over tired and incredibly cranky, so she finally put him down for a nap at 4:30 and he slept until 5. When I got home he seemed a little out of sorts and cranky, but no worse for wear.

Fed him a little on the early side. Gave him spinach and kale flavored Pirate's Booty - it's puffed corn and rice. I like their Cheese flavored stuff, but kale? Ewwww. LR loves it though. That was his appetizer. For dinner he had carrots mixed with vegetables. Because of the lack of sleep I had to feed and entertain him, so it was dinner and a show. After that I still had a fair amount of time to kill before bed time, so I plunked him into the bath where he is always content. Let him soak for awhile as he played with his foam letters and numbers. I can now dump a full cup of water over his head which makes shampooing him much easier. We've made a splashing game out of it, so he no longer minds.

After the bath I got him into PJs and we went out to the mats to play a little more. At 7:30 I gave him most of an 8 oz. bottle, but then he decided to play with the nipple. Even though he looked wide awake, I knew he was tired, so I bounced him for 5 minutes and he was out. This morning he didn't wake up until 6:20. Guess Gigi's experiment worked and I got close to 8 hours sleep! Felt bad telling her that it worked because he wasn't much fun for her yesterday. Not sure whether we should let him nap and wake up super early or disturb his afternoon nap so that he sleeps more at night. We'll see how today goes.

Standing to greet me

Yesterday morning was the first time I've opened the door to his room to find him standing in his crib waiting for me. He picked the corner of the crib where he has the best view of the door. He was waiting with a big grin on his face. Even though it was 5:10am, I smiled back. Not sure why he keeps getting up so early. Our morning routine was a little backwards. I showered before Daddy so that I could get out the door early. Lots of quality Daddy and LR time. They invented a new game where Daddy stuffs the O-ball into a plastic cup. LR pulls out the ball and Daddy makes the sound "Boi-oi-oi-oi-oing!" LR thinks it's hoo-larious.

Came home to a very happy LR. Gigi, her friend C, and LR had spent the day exploring Boston. They took the train to Faneuil Hall, walked through the Commons and the Garden, and had lunch in a cafe. Gigi said he was wonderful the whole time. Usually he's not a huge fan of being in the stroller for too long, but I guess there was a lot to look at. It was a beautiful day, so it was a perfect opportunity to go out. Apparently he also was good while having his diaper changed while on a park bench. She said he didn't squirm at all. Guess I'm going to be changing him out on the deck for awhile.

When I got home he was rambunctious and happy. Got a little cranky after a small dinner of carrots, stars, and toast and was certainly tired. I guess his afternoon nap wasn't very long. Daddy put him to bed at 7:30 while I got ready to host my New Moms Book Club. We stayed out on the deck until the mosquitoes drove us indoors. Then I was surprised that he stayed asleep despite the amount of noise we made as we laughed about the funny things the kids are doing now.

Second Tooth

Had trouble posting this last night, so here it is now.

Man was he up early this morning. I heard him making some noise somewhere in the 3:45 area and then he was up at 5:10 for good. Thought I could rock him back to sleep, but as soon as I brought him to bed with me (thinking I could sneak in an extra half hour or so) he was up and trying to climb Mt. Snoring Daddy. Took him out to the play mats to play. At 6 Daddy got up and let me sleep another half hour. For breakfast he ate the entire cup of yogurt - 4 oz. He was exhausted by the time Gigi came upstairs.

When I got home she reported that she was pretty sure that second tooth broke through. He won't really let me poke around too much in his mouth, but I'm guessing she's right. He seems less cranky even though he didn't nap too much today. Gave him another new awful flavor of jarred food for dinner: lentils and rice. Gag city. Me, not him. He seemed to like it well enough, especially with some carrots mixed in.

Gigi picked up a friend from the airport and LR warmed up to her right away. Unfortunately it was bedtime and Daddy wisked him away before he got too attached. He took half his bottle and was out like a light. Maybe now that his tooth is through he'll sleep a little longer...

Wedding Day

Yesterday was a blur. It was cold and raining outside, so we spent most of the time indoors. We went to a friend's wedding and left LR with Gigi for the second half of the day. Got home around 11pm and then was up extra early this morning. Heard LR around 5:10 talking to himself. Let him do that for 20 mins and finally decided to get up. As soon as he hears me get out of bed, his babbling instantly becomes more insistent as if he's saying, "hello? I hear you. Come get me... Seriously, I hear you peeing. Get in here." Our next house will have a master bath far from the baby's room.

Fed him yogurt and stayed up with him until 7:30. Then woke up Daddy and I went back to sleep until 9:30. By the time I woke up, he was down for his first nap, but woke up just in time for us to go to our Sunday Social Butterflies class. LR was pretty cranky. His nap should have been longer. Then we got home, fed him cereal and pears, and headed out to our friends' house a few blocks away. LR fell asleep again on the way, woke up 15 minutes after we arrived, and was on his best behavior the rest of the time. He fell asleep again on the way home and I managed to transfer him to the crib where he stayed for almost an hour.

He woke up incredibly upset and I'm pretty sure that second tooth is ready to pop through. I'll bet we see it tomorrow or the next day. Gave him some Motrin and he was fine within an hour. Before that though we played a game where I'd yawn then smile and he would smile and drop his head onto my shoulder and hug me. I could have played ALL day. He's not usually cuddly like that, so I knew he wasn't feeling particularly well. Watched an episode of the Muppet Show, had some unbelievably nasty tasting baby food called "Vegetable Dinner." So gross. Daddy mixed it with carrots and it was better. We put him in the Jumperoo and Daddy played a hysterical game of peak-a-boo while we ate dinner that Gigi made. Gave him a quick bath and hustled him into bed.

Sign Class

LR was up at 5:30 on the dot this morning. He nursed and then played on his mats. We read through his favorite books and signed all the animals. Then I watched him explore the living room a bit. Now that he's crawling more, he's finding more things to pull himself up on. We put him in his jumperoo while we got ready for work. He never seems to tire of jumping.

Gigi took him to sign class today where he showed off his new crawling skills by making a B-line for the toys in the center of the room. They sang their old songs and picked up a new one about making tea or something like that. She reported that he had nice naps today, one for an hour and a half and one for an hour. He also put himself to sleep in his crib for the afternoon one after 10 minutes of fussing. Hopefully we can start to put him in the crib without having to rock him too much.

I came home to find a happy baby. Gave him carrots, green beans, stars, and Zweiback toast for dinner. He loves that toast! It's nice because it keeps him entertained while I make the rest of his dinner. Then it was into the bath to get rid of the green bean styling gel he tried out during dinner. Put him in a new set of summer pjs with short sleeves and no feet. Gigi bought them for him this week. Daddy came home in time to put LR to bed. He took 8 ounces of formula and then Daddy had to bounce him to sleep.

Good naps

LR was up this morning at 6am which was a nice change. Usually he's up earlier. I think we're going to work on some blackout curtains this weekend. Right now I have a blanket over the shades, but it doesn't cover the whole thing.

LR took 4 ounces of formula and then played for almost 2 hours. Then he had yogurt and Gigi came upstairs for the day. From what I hear he went down for a long nap at 9 and then they went for a nice walk. It was a pretty hot day, so Gigi took lots of water with her and lathered him up with sunblock. He made friends at the grocery store with a young woman there. His new smile is very shy. He tucks his chin into his chest and puts his hands in his lap, then he puts on a big grin and bats his long eyelashes. Very cute.

Gigi found when she took him out of the stroller that he was soaked. I'm looking into what to do with the back of the stroller. It's fleece and it's too hot for the weather right now. 9 months of the year, it's perfect, but during the summer, it's going to be too warm. He napped again for over an hour in the afternoon and then played happily until I came home. He had a giggle fit when I got down on all fours to play with him. It was infectious and Gigi and I joined right in. For dinner he had green beans and rice along with some Zweiback toast which he loves. I'm on choking alert whenever he eats one though. (I have flashbacks of Aunt K being flipped upside down on a regular basis.) Then I cleaned him up, spent a few minutes relaxing out on the porch with him, and put him to bed with a bottle. Pretty easy day, all in all.

Summer PJs

Yesterday LR was up at the normal time and had a nice morning playing and eating yogurt. He is definitely getting the hang of crawling and pulling himself up. He uses the incrediblock when he's on his play mat and the coffee table in the middle of the living room. The coffee table makes me nervous since it has some metal edges. We all tend to keep hands on him if he decides he wants to play near the coffee table. Unfortunately, he's at the stage where he loses interest after standing for a minute and then - look what's over there - and lets go. On the crawling front, he is not only going after toys now. Yesterday morning he crawled to Daddy's and when I got home from work he crawled to me while we were playing. It's terribly cute.

He and Gigi hit the Carter's store yesterday to pick up some summer PJs. It's too warm now for his heavy cotton PJs. She got some light weight ones and couldn't help picking up a few cute outfits along the way. LR was fine most of the time, but he doesn't love being in the car seat and then stroller for too long. He really prefers to be out and moving around. Gigi said she always had to park the cart far from anything he could reach out and grab and by the time they stopped at the grocery store on the way home, he had had enough. It's always been a question whether or not his personality would be more like Pooh (Daddy) or Tigger (me). Looks like he's a Tigger. His favorite game is to bounce and jump and he can't stand being restrained for any long period of time. With this knowledge my only new strategy is not to buy a geodesic dome for the backyard. Right, Mom?

The other new development this week is that he's now dancing when he hears music. He wiggles and smiles and shakes his fists in front of him. Not sure where he picked that up, but I love watching it.

Really crawling this time

Had a rough night with LR. He sat up at midnight and didn't go back to sleep until 2:30am. He slept in a bit because of it though. Started the day by playing with his aunt and uncle before they left to go home to NJ. LR couldn't resist his uncle's glasses and had to go after them every time they sat down to play. His aunt had an easier time as LR always had a giant smile for her. Had vanilla Yo-Baby yogurt for breakfast and then followed it with a very long nap. It was 2+ hours. Then Daddy tried to give him a second breakfast of mashed bananas and cereal, but he balked at it. We assumed he wasn't hungry and took him out for some lunch with friends and their 4 month old. Stopped at the grocery store and helped mommy carry boxes of baby food and Ziplock baggies. Some boxes may have arrived home with soggy corners, but we're not pointing fingers.

Got home and had some formula and another nice nap. Woke with creases across his face, but was happy to play until dinner time. Started a new game of knocking down the tower of stacking blocks, but this time he crawled to each new tower. I started on one side of the mat and then switched sides. Daddy got it on video and as soon as I figure out how to edit it, I'll post a clip of it. He spent the rest of the evening exploring the living room as he knocked a cup around in front of him. He also spent some quality time practicing pulling himself up on the coffee table.

Took a little bouncing on the big ball to get him to sleep tonight. I think it was because of the long naps today, but I'm not complaining. He's out for the count and hopefully won't wake himself up by sitting up tonight.

Family Gathering

So the second tooth has yet to break through. I thought it would have by now.

Friday was an off day for him. He took a nap from noon to one and then refused to sleep after that. When I got home he was so tired he kept putting his head down on his high chair tray while we fed him dinner. Put him to bed at 7 instead of 7:30 that night. I was afraid he'd be up super early, but he was up 15 minutes later on Sat. Same thing happened yesterday. Daddy's brothers are here for the weekend, so we grilled outside and he had his nap interrupted when the doorbell rang and people went up and down the stairs. He woke up at 1:30 and refused another afternoon nap. This time I had to put him to bed at 7 and (as I feared) he was up at 4:30 this morning, wide awake. *sigh*

I nursed him and took him back to bed where he played with sleeping Daddy's nose. He finally got sleepy again and I got him back into his crib by 5:45. He was up again at 6:20 and Daddy took him out to play. He's getting better at crawling to toys that aren't too far away, but if they go outside of a 2 foot radius, he thinks about going to get it, and then finds another toy closer. It's funny, he has the mechanics to crawl and we've seen him do it, but he just doesn't want to.

First Tooth!

LR has finally cut his first tooth. His lower right front tooth broke through today and the left one isn't far behind. He's been pretty grumpy for Gigi the past two days, but I think it's going to get better now. (Well, that is until the next teeth start moving in.)

This morning he woke up at 4:50am. Dear God, 4:50am! I kept hoping he'd go back to sleep, but he'd gotten a leg caught in the crib slats and I had to go in to free the beast. So I nursed him thinking he would go right back to sleep, but no dice. He was up for the long haul and me with a migraine. I woke Daddy at 5:30 and he graciously took LR to the living room to play. When I woke an hour later I found them still playing, but within 20 minutes he was ready to go back to sleep. He napped for a half hour and then was up again. Not sure if it was the teeth or us getting ready for work that disturbed his sleep. Gigi reports that he was fine this morning, but was really unhappy when he woke up from his afternoon nap.

By the time I got home from work he was happy and giggly and when I put my finger in his mouth I felt the brand new tooth edge. He had bananas, stars, carrots, and water for dinner. Then Daddy gave him a bath which he loves. He has so much hair! We're not just shampooing scalp anymore. I gave him some Motrin before bed since the other tooth is just under the surface and may break through before tomorrow morning. Hopefully he sleeps through the night!

Gigi and Daddy have both discovered today that if they read and sign the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" book to him, they better be prepared to read it 2 or 3 times.

Bears and Night Terrors

Had a weird night last night. Daddy put him down at the normal time and then we went to bed around 10. An hour later I woke up to him screaming. I rushed in, picked him up, and he immediately settled down. Took only 5 minutes or so of rocking to get him back into his crib. Usually I'll hear him wind up and then fuss a little bit, but this was definitely the screaming of a scared baby. Must've been a nightmare. I heard him again in the 4am region and then he was up for good at 5:30.

He nursed a bit and then we played on the mat until Daddy finished his shower and could take over. Daddy discovered the secret word to making him smile. All he has to do is say, "Picata" softly near his ear and he grins his big open mouthed, gummy smile. If you keep doing it, he'll start to giggle. It's the darndest thing. You have to say it like Beavis (of Beavis and Butthead). We're obviously only teaching him the sophisticated stuff.

I came home to a very happy boy this evening. He was playing in his exersaucer in the kitchen while Gigi was starting dinner. I picked him up and took him to the play mats where I showed him the Brown Bear book which he has decided is the BEST book ever. And he's not just chewing on it! He waits for me to open the first page where he sees the brown bear and then I read, make the sign for bear, and then growl like a bear. First he looks at the page and then he watches my sign and then looks back down to turn the page. His favorite is the duck (with the quacking), but the bird and cat are close seconds. It's amazing to see him actually interested in the pages of the book instead of just how much of the binding he can slobber on. The past few days he's been insisting that I read it at least twice and sometimes 3 times before we can move onto the next activity.

After a dinner of pasta, stars, a biter biscuit, and winter squash, LR (Little Rugger) took a bath. It's really the best way to get off the quarter inch layer of food caked around his mouth... and eyebrows... and ears. Apparently the tendency to miss the mouth with food won't go away soon. We had brunch with friends yesterday whose 15 month old daughter combed her hair with a slice of bacon during the meal. mmmm... bacon.

Trip Photos

I just posted some photos from our NY trip down in the Mother's Day post, so take a look at those. Here are a few more from that trip.
Hugs for Grandma

Not sure about Uncle Dave

Right back at ya!

Rollerblading

Had a great day yesterday. Up at 5:45 and played until around 8. He went down for his first nap while Daddy was still sleeping after a friend's late night birthday party. Managed to get most of the housework done before everyone woke up. Then it was off to the sporting good store to buy Gigi some rollerblades. She picked out a nice pair of K2s. We also stopped at a Gymboree to pick up the ultimate bubbles. They float more than normal bubbles and don't necessarily pop when they land. They're pretty fabulous and the little guy loves them.

He fell asleep in the car on the way home and I was easily able to transfer him from the car to the crib without waking him up. He was completely out! When he woke up, we all strapped on our rollerblades and went for a spin. Gigi pushed the stoller until she got her balance. I took over for her and sped down a small hill until the front wheels started to vibrate. Guess we'll need a jogging stroller if we want to go any faster. He seemed to stay entertained while we skated, so I'm sure we'll be doing it more often.

Gigi babysat for us while we went out for dinner. Apparently he went to sleep without a fuss after getting into PJs, reading a book, and having some formula. Today we're off to our social butterflies class and then onto the Cheesecake Factory for a friend's 30th birthday bash. Need to put him down for a nap before we go!

Little Flirt

Last night was a little different. He went down a little early, but then woke up crying at least 3 times after that. Then I heard him again before 5am and finally he woke up a little after 6. I nursed him and he stayed awake until 10am or so. Then he napped until noon. Gigi took him to sign and song class where he amazed everyone with his enthusiasm for an aluminum pie tin. I'm told he went absolutely nuts for it. Started banging it around and squealing. None of the other kids were quite so into it as he was. Gigi said it made her and the other moms laugh.

He seems to really enjoy signing while we sing. The Bear Went Over the Mountain is his new favorite, but we're still doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and others. He breaks into a big grin whenever we start. After sign class they went to the store where he flirted with two women in the checkout line. He seems super wary of men though. He cried when one said hi to him in the post office yesterday and looked very seriously at a man at the grocery store right after giggling and smiling at the women. Not sure what that's all about other than he spends most of his time with women during the day.

He still hasn't quite gotten into the crawling thing. Tonight I watched him struggle to grab a plastic Easter egg just out of reach. He squirmed to it, but then pulled his knees under him so that he could sit up. After a little play time, I took him to the high chair where he had stars, carrots, and a little of some homemade baby food that we froze a few weeks ago. We were half way through it before he remembered that he didn't like it.

After I cleaned him up from dinner, he played in his exersaucer while Gigi and I cleaned up the kitchen a bit. Then we talked and played for a little while until Daddy came home. Soon after it was time for bed. I guess he missed his afternoon nap today because he went to bed really easily. It was the first time I've been able to get him to go to sleep while on the bottle. Daddy and Gigi have both done it. I was the only one who had yet to have a successful bedtime with the bottle. Hope he doesn't have quite so screamy a night.

Bad Night

He has started thrashing on the changing table. As soon as I put him down, he flips over. The good news is that I'm getting better at putting on a diaper from the back side. Getting pants on him is a little trickier. As soon as he flips, he goes for the wipe warmer, lifts the lid, and starts ripping wipes out. It's better now than a few days ago before I reorganized the changing table. Before when he flipped over, he would pull himself to the end of the table and then invariably attempt to do a header into the laundry basket. He likes being upside down more than any baby I've met. He's a thrill seeker, that's for sure.

We got him to bed last night after some coaxing. He sucks down his bottle too quickly for it to put him to sleep so then I end up bouncing on the exercise ball with him in my arms. It takes about 10 minutes of bouncing, but then he goes down. Last night he woke up screaming at midnight. I should have left him in there, but I went in to soothe him and then didn't get back to sleep for another 4 hours. Needless to say, we slept in a little this morning.

Tonight when I came home he had woken up from a nap just minutes before, so he was apple-cheeked and smiley. We read his Brown Bear book. He looked at the pictures while I signed and made noises for all the animals. He loves that. Big smiles. He did a little more commando crawling and then had a small dinner of stars and sweet potatoes. At bedtime I once again struggled to get him into his PJs. He's crazy strong and hates to be pinned down, but if I don't he's all over the changing table. He sucked down 7 ounces of formula and didn't quite make it to sleep. I bounced him until he did then sat in the rocker with him for a few minutes to make sure he was out. Not looking forward to letting him cry it out again tonight. *sigh*

Mother's Day Weekend

Well it was a big weekend. We did our normal routine Sat morning. He woke up at 5:30 and by 8am we were on the road. He was ready for his morning nap by the time we got to the Dunkin Donuts at the corner. Two and a half hours later he woke up just in time to see a bit of CT. Soon after we were in NY. By the time we pulled up to his Uncle Kevin's place, he was ready to get out of the car seat. Kevin put a big comforter down on the floor for Hudson to roll around on. He spent most of the afternoon there and finally got a chance to meet Aunt Alexa. (She prefers to be called "Steppie.") After a beautiful NY afternoon (it was the first sun we'd seen for a week), we got back into the car and headed north toward Hastings-on-Hudson.

Just north of Great Aunt Ellen and Great Uncle Terry's place we stopped at a motel. Unfortunately he was completely thrown off by all the travel and didn't get to bed until close to 10pm. At midnight a car alarm went off right outside our door. Hudson startled awake and started screaming. Daddy and I took turns walking him, but he would not go back into the Pack N Play. After a couple of failed attempts I brought him to bed with us and a few hours later got him back into his own bed. Then he was up at 6am on the dot. We went through our normal morning routine and wound up at Terry and Ellen's almost before anyone was up. (We were so excited to start our visit, we just couldn't wait.)

Grandma and Uncle David had flown in from Denver on Sat to see Uncle Terry sing at Carnegie. They said is was spectacular. We spent the morning and early afternoon visiting and showing off. Hudson rolled from one end of the carpeted room to the other. Aunt Ellen fed him pears like a pro. Grandma gave him his morning and afternoon bottles. We took lots of pictures, so I'll be sure to add those soon. The visit was over much too soon and at 4:30 we had to leave. We made it back to Boston at 8pm. Since his normal bedtime is 7:30, we knew he was going to be off schedule.

He ended up falling asleep around 9pm and was up wailing at 2am because he managed to sit up again and didn't know how to lay back down. We ran into the same problem as the night before and just couldn't seem to get him to go back into the crib. I brought him to bed after 2 hours of trying to rock him back to sleep. We all slept until 7am when we had to get up to go to work. Gigi still isn't back from Florida yet, so the new baby sitter arrived at 8. She was wonderful with Hudson and he seemed to really like her. When Daddy came home this evening the first thing Hudson did was to show him how good he was at commando crawling. Crawling! All of a sudden he was going halfway across the mats to get at a toy. We were really surprised and then a little stunned to see the first thing he found was the (covered) outlet. Then on to the stuffed animal box and next the cubby boxes. Luckily it was bedtime! Life is about to change again...

Babysitter Day

Little Rugger had a terrible night. He was up from midnight to 4am every half hour. I walked in once at around 2am and he was sitting up holding onto the side of the crib sobbing. He hadn't done that before. It was a little spooky.

Today he was okay with the babysitter. I worked in another room while they played in the living room most of the day. I came out every so often to help with food or putting him down for a nap. Luckily he still hasn't hit that stranger fear. Even sick he was happy to entertain a new friend.

Hoping for a better night's sleep tonight!

Sick

Woke up to find a sick Little Rugger this morning. He cried out a couple of times during the night, but always went back to sleep. When I picked him up from the crib I could feel that he was running a temp and he obvioulsy had a drippy nose. Poor little guy. I gave him Motrin to bring down the fever and then nursed him. He seemed to feel a little better. Then I gave him some cold medicine before his morning nap. He's with Gigi now and Daddy is coming home later today so that Gigi can head to the airport. I may try to leave work early to help out.

I'm hoping that he feels better by Saturday so that we can go on our trip to NY!

Teething

The Little Rugger is definitely teething. It's been pretty awful for him (and not much more fun for us). He'll be fine one minute and then screaming the next. He's usually okay in the morning, but by the end of the day, he's a basket case. I'm really hoping the tooth / teeth break through before our trip to NY this weekend, otherwise I can't imagine what the car ride is going to be like.

This morning he woke up at 5:50am instead of 5:30. Of course, I was up at 5:30 waiting for him. I was so uncomfortable from trying to go cold turkey on Monday that I almost couldn't wait for him to wake up. He nursed a good long time, but I'm still pretty sore. I'm going to keep the morning feeding for this week to see him through the teething. We'll try to stop nursing again next week.

Came home tonight to find Daddy and Gigi both entertaining the little guy. Or was it vice versa? His nose was running and he was pulling at his ears, both signs of teething. He didn't seem very happy, but soon after I arrived the Motrin kicked in and he was able to spend some quality time with the baby in the mirror in the dining room. Then Daddy fed him sweet potatoes, pasta, and water for dinner. I went to the gym and Daddy wrestled him first into his PJs and then into the crib.

It was in the forties and raining all day, so Gigi couldn't take him out for their normal walk. Maybe tomorrow, but it looks like it won't be until Thursday.

Coming Soon

Sorry for the delay between posts. It's been a busy couple of days. We think Hudson is starting to teethe. :( Poor little guy has been pretty fussy. We've given him cold apple slices and his teething ring to help, but it seems that the Motrin is doing the best job.

Looks like 5:30am has become his standard wake up time. It's a little early for me, but I don't expect it to last forever. Starting this week Daddy will be able to give him his morning bottle, so then it really won't bother me. Tonight was our last nursing session *crossing fingers*, but I might run home from work tomorrow in agony.

This week Hudson started a couple of new foods: raisin bread, watermelon, and pasta. I think the watermelon was his favorite. He likes the pasta, but without teeth, there's only so much he can do!

He was exhausted when I put him to bed tonight and we are too, so G'night! Hope to post something more thoughtful tomorrow.

Cranky Pants

Hudson was up yesterday morning at 5:15 for some reason. Thought he would go back to sleep after nursing, but he decided he was up for the long haul. We tag teamed him until we were both ready for work. Then he decided to go back to sleep just before 8. I arrived home at 5:30 to find him asleep in Gigi's arms. She looked up at me and I saw she had aged 5 years. She said, "I would have put him down in his crib, but then he'd wake up and neither of us want that." Apparently he hadn't slept since his 8-9:30am nap. He spent the rest of the day crying and screaming whenever she took more than a few steps away from him. When he woke at 6pm he still had his cranky pants on. I haven't seen him this way before, so I'm guessing that he may start teething soon, but Gigi thinks he may have just "had a bad day." Could be.

After I put him to bed (early), I took off for the gym. Came home and went to bed myself. Heard Hudson at 5, 5:15, and 5:30, but he didn't wake up. He finally woke at 6:25am which is much more reasonable. Hoping he has a better day today!

Daddy's Home

After a very long week, Daddy arrived home Sat night just after Hudson went to sleep. Daddy was terribly jet-lagged on Sunday, but Hudson quickly readjusted to having his playmate home. He showed Daddy all his new skills: he fed himself, made forward progress while on his stomach, and blew raspberries. It's amazing to think about the changes that take place in one week!

Sunday morning the three of us went to our Social Butterflies class. Hudson has a friend in the class who was born on the same day, so it's fun to see how they're both developing. We sang and signed a few songs, read a book, and stood fascinated while the teacher blew bubbles. We also showed everyone how much Hudson likes having stuff almost hit him in the face. Another mom tried it while we were sitting there, but her son wasn't nearly as amused. Daddy assured her that it was only because we'd been doing it with him for 6 months. In retrospect, a weird little conversation.

We took a stroll down the Minute Man Trail in Arlington and he promptly fell asleep, so we stopped for sandwiches and had a nice lunch while we waited for him to wake up. When he didn't wake up, we walked back to the car and put him in. Still asleep. Drove home and took him out of the car. He finally woke up when I got to the top of the stairs. I was ready for a nap, so Daddy took one for both of us while Hudson and I played for the next few hours.

Gigi joined us for a dinner of sushi and edamame and we all went to bed pretty early. Hudson was up bright and early on Monday and we played for 2 hours. His schedule is such that he almost always goes back to sleep just before Gigi comes upstairs for the day. Gigi reports that they went for a long walk yesterday to get to the "baby movie" where they saw Transamerica. I guess he was soaked by the time they got home because he drank a full bottle while in the theater and then followed it with a full sippy cup of water. Unfortunatley, the sippy cup tends to spill a bit so he was wet from that and then flooded the diaper as well.

I asked Gigi not to wait for me to feed him when I got home last night. I wanted to cut out that feeding. She gave him a bottle at 4pm so when I got home he was happy to play instead of expecting to be fed right away. He had a dinner of sweet potatoes and vegetable puffs then took a nice long bath since he stuck the spoon in his hair at dinner. Dinner is an exercise in speed spooning. We don't feed him quickly, but when we do go in with the spoon, we have to try to pull it back fast enough so that he won't grab it. Most of the time we just come to the table with 2 spoons. One for him and one for us.

Sleep & Raspberries

Another early morning! Gigi put him to sleep last night while I ran out to the gym. He was restless during the night. I heard him multiple times before I went to bed and then he woke up at 4:25am and wouldn't go back to sleep. I think he was hungry, but it's hard to tell. By 5am, I was pretty tired of it, so I went and got him and nursed him back to sleep. Tried to put him in his crib, but he wasn't having any of it. So I scooped him up and took him to bed with me. I laid down with him resting on my arm. We were face to face and when I saw his eyes were closed, I closed mine. That's when I heard "pptththhh, ppttthhhpth." I opened my eyes to find him half asleep, practicing his latest skill of blowing raspberries. They were the softest little raspberries I've ever seen.

We slept another half hour maybe before he decided he wanted to be up for the day. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted now.

Last night he was able to feed himself fruit puffs while Gigi and I ate dinner. We started him on these puffs last Saturday, I think, and within 5 days he has picked up the necessary skill. It was fun to watch the progression. He still doesn't really pinch the puffs in his fingers. He tends to get it in his palm and then shove half his hand into his mouth. Whatever works!

Song Bird

He was up early again this morning. I think it was 5:50am. By 7:45 he was ready to go back to sleep, so I bounced him using the yoga ball. He went to sleep, but only after singing himself to sleep. When he's fussy before a nap he usually stuffs something in his mouth, his clothes, my clothes, or a blanket, and hums as we bounce. It's hard not to laugh. "Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh *breath* Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh"

I lowered his crib mattress a level since he was starting to pull himself up on the sides. He especially likes to use his crib aquarium as an anchor. I noticed that if he stood up, the top bar of the crib just came up to his waist. I knew it wouldn't be long before he pitched over. It's tougher to get him in and out now, but before long, he'll be standing and waiting for me to get him out.

Early Riser

So the little guy was up extra early this morning. I heard him wake up around 5:20am and kept hoping he'd go back to sleep. He played until 5:40 and then I went in and got him. He was happy to see me, but didn't chew on my cheek like he normally does. Guess making him wait in the morning earns me a refusal of kisses. We watched a good chunk of Sesame Street and he was riveted. We won't be making TV part of our normal morning routine since he's still so young, but it's helping me while Daddy is out of town.

Last night we worked on crawling when I got home. I took off his socks and he's starting to plant his toes and push off. It was rough going and he wasn't making as much progress as he wanted, so he got frustrated. I helped by putting my hands behind his feet each time he bent his knees, then he could plant he entire foot and push off instead of just his big toe. After trying that for a little while he went back to spinning in place and rolling over. Once he gets what he's after in his mouth, he rolls over so that he can spend time chewing on it. It's like watching an otter feed.

I threw the football over his face for awhile which he finds hysterical. Nothing is funnier than a ball about to hit you in the face. It's been his favorite game for months now. Then we had dinner and he stuck with cereal, sweet potatoes, and fruit puffs. He was really into the puffs and wanted to focus on those more than anything else. They make him thirsty though, so he's also working on using his sippy cup. He's got the sucking down, but doesn't understand the need to tip the cup. Unfortunately, he keeps gagging on the puffs when he gets them to the back of his tongue before they've dissolved. It freaks me out every time. I'm not sure whether he's too young for them or if he needs the practice so that he will stop gagging.

Elmo!

Last night I came home to an enthusiastic kid. He'd been working on his crawling but was getting frustrated at how fast things got farther away as he pushed backwards across the floor. So even though the temps have been down, I took off his socks and encouraged him to push off his toes. He quickly got the hang of it and started scooting forward just slightly. Then a few minutes later I watched him tent with his butt up in the air, feet and hands on the floor. Crawling is probably less than 2 weeks away at this point. Once he's in shorts it shouldn't be a problem for him, but it's just too cold right now.

Dinner consisted of oat cereal, sweet potatoes, and Gerber fruit puffs. Hudson is working on his pincher skills, but doesn't quite have it yet. He grabbed a few of the star shaped fruit puffs, but even if he initially had them between his thumb and index finger, he worked them down into the palm of his hand by the time he had them to his mouth. So Gigi and I helped him get a few into his mouth and watched him gum them extremely tentatively. He liked them enough to eat a dozen of them or more. Half of them popped back out of his mouth as he used his tongue to push the way he would if he were taking a bottle. The stars would slide onto his chin and he would open his mouth wide and tuck his chin back into his chest thinking that he could find it again. Very cute to watch. Then it was bedtime and he settled down easily, waking a few times during the night to cry out, but going right back to sleep.

The alarm went off at 6:30 this morning and I still hadn't heard from him. I waited 10 minutes and then heard scratching. I went into his room and found him wide awake, playing with his crib bumper. So after we got through most of our morning routine, I put him in his jumperoo and turned on Sesame Street for him while I made my lunch. We caught the last 15 minutes of the show which, lucky for Hudson, was mostly Elmo's World. Every time Elmo came on the screen, Hudson called out to him. It's amazing that he'd react so strongly to a character on TV, but I know they've done their market research when it comes to Elmo. Hudson could have watched him all day. After Elmo's World we spent a few minutes playing on the mats until Gigi came upstairs for the day.

New morning routine

So with Daddy gone, I've got to adjust my morning routine a little. Luckily Hudson decided to help out this morning by getting up at 5:45am. I fed him and then dragged his exersaucer into the bathroom. Of course, it didn't fit horizontally, so I had to set Hudson down and wrestle the thing in sideways. Then I plunked him into it and made sure it was far enough away from the radiator. (Our heat is back on now that the weather has turned cold again.) He was pretty fascinated by my morning shower routine and I was grateful that we have a clear shower curtain. By the time I was out and dried off, I was starting to worry about how long he'd been craning his neck. He really didn't seem to mind. I'm sure by the end of the week it'll be old hat for him and he'll be back to chewing on all the toys on his exersaucer.

He's just started showing signs of separation anxiety. He called out a little bit this morning when I left for work and yesterday he didn't want to be left alone on his play mat. Yesterday we had our friends Isola and Reid over to play, so we sat behind the boys while they played and we chatted. Every few minutes Hudson turned around to give me a hug. He would then turn back to his toys. He was just spot checking to make sure I hadn't run off.

This week we're going to start using a bottle to put him to sleep. I'm sure he won't be thrilled, but the night time routine has been so easy that I'm most optimistic about eliminating that nursing session next. By the time Daddy gets back, I won't have to be the one putting him to bed anymore! Actually, Daddy has put him to bed more than a few times and it works, but it's easier for me and Hudson falls asleep faster.

Entertaining the crowd

Hudson was up a little early this morning because Daddy jumped in the shower at 6am. I wish Hudson's crib wasn't up against the same wall as the plumbing to the bathroom, but the only other place for his crib would give him a clear line of sight to our room and the hallway. Anyway, Hudson woke and had breakfast while Daddy got ready for his business trip to Europe. He's off to London first, then Lisbon and Oslo. Hudson and I will be on our own for a week. Luckily Gigi is close by.

In the meantime, we won't have any new pictures because Daddy took the camera. I'm going to take the opportunity to switch to my good 35mm Canon. Hoping to get some better shots of Hudson in the house. Most of the digital photos inside need the flash which tends to wash people out.

Yesterday Hudson started out strong. We had our friends from Boulder spending the night before going to a wedding. Hudson was at his cutest, but soon after they left he got cranky. (Guess he wanted to take them up on the offer of going back to Boulder with them.) I think he's getting irritated on the weekends when he wants to nap and I won't nurse him. Gigi took him for a long walk while Derek and I went to get haircuts. She said he slept the whole time they walked. Then I ran out with Han for a pedicure and we left the kids with the Dads. When we returned everyone was enjoying the Portsmouth soccer game on TV. Afterwards Hudson had his dinner of cereal and sweet potatoes, enjoyed a nice long bath, and went to bed quickly.

Hudson is doing well playing independently on his mats. He wants to get from a sitting position to a crawling one, but can't seem to go over his feet without face planting. If he goes over to the side a bit, he's more successful. The toughest part is that he often has soft cotton or fleece clothes on and can't get any traction. When I start him off on his hands and knees he usually pancakes out and starts rolling instead. We've baby proofed half the room with a fence around the electronics and a gate in front of the stairs. Daddy put them both up last weekend. When he actually starts crawling, we'll have to make another pass at it, I'm sure.

Exploring Medford and Somerville

Yesterday Gigi, Han, and King James walked to Davis Sq and back. It was a beautiful day here and they took full advantage of it. Hudson napped half the time and was awake for the rest of the trip. They hit the grocery store on the way back and Hudson made friends with a man that he wouldn't stop staring at. Gigi reports that he doesn't seem to have hit stranger fear yet. He flirted with the ladies at the mall and can't get enough of watching kids in the park.
This is how much Hudson enjoyed the swing. I took a bunch of pictures of him as he swung toward me. He just loved it. Unfortunately it's supposed to rain all weekend here so we probably won't be out on the swings again until next week. Derek leaves for a business trip to Portugal, London, and Norway on Sunday so we'll be spending tomorrow getting him packed and ready to go. Hudson won't know what to do without his morning and evening play times with Daddy. I'm going to have to pick up the slack and throw blocks, stuffed animals, and blankets at him.

Oh and he's started to enjoy his stacking cups. He has one set of five which make great sounds when he bangs them on the hardwood floor. His most recent new skill he picked up yesterday. Two cups banged together make a fantastic sound. He practiced with a ring and a cup this morning. When he kicks in with the yelling, I can see he's got the makings of a great one man band.

Signing Fun

Last night Hudson went to bed at 7:30pm. He's finally recalibrated from the daylight savings shift, but now he's getting up earlier. This morning I heard him at 5:15am, but he went back to sleep. Then I heard him again at 5:40 and he started playing with his crib aquarium. I knew he was up for good at that point, so I went in and got him. I changed him and he ate. Then Derek and I took turns playing with him while we got ready for work. By 7:30 he was tired, so I nursed him back to sleep and snuck out the door when Gigi came upstairs for the day.

Like his cousin Hudson is definitely starting to pick up on signs. He's completely familiar with the sign for milk and looks for the bottle each time we sign it. He also has the hang of 'food,' 'mommy,' and 'daddy' and breaks into a huge grin whenever he understands a sign. He just started signing milk a few days ago although he hasn't used it to ask for milk yet. He just signs it in response to our sign. Because of his new skill, we've ramped up the use of sign. I try to sign 'more' and 'finished' during dinner. I also try to sign his sign name when I say it. We made his sign name from a cross of the letter H and the sign for cute. Gigi and Hudson are starting a sign and song class at the end of April which should be a ton of fun and very helpful.

Volume Up!

Hudson had a generally good day today. He's waking up before me now and just playing in his crib until I get up anywhere between 6 and 6:30am. Then he chews on my cheek until I feed him. He may have hit a growth spurt because he seems to want to eat more often. I tried not to pump today at work but because I had an afternoon doctor appointment, I rushed home and nursed him at 4pm. Tomorrow I hope I make it longer.

He seems to have discovered his volume control. He's yelling a lot now. I bounced him on my knee this afternoon and he kept a steady yell going the whole time. Derek got home in time to play with him a bit and then put him to bed while I ran off to the gym. I met with one of my players who is going to be my personal trainer for awhile. She has a ton of great exercises and stretches that I hope to incorporate into next rugby season's practices.

Gigi took Hudson to the park today where he tried the swing again. She reported that he was more interested in all the other kids than the swing this time. It's April break here, so most kids are out of school right now.

Bedtime Breeze

Another cranky day for Hudson. He just didn't seem to want to nap as long as he usually does. Not sure if it's that I'm trying not to nurse him during the day. He's eating more solids, but gagged on the little Gerber fruit puffs we gave him today. Guess he's still a little young for them.

Luckily night time is getting to be a breeze. I nurse him to sleep and then set him down in the crib. He tends to wake up, but he waits for me to cover him with his blanket. When I do, he grabs hold of it, turns on his side, and is out like a light. I hope he continues doing this. It makes it easier for someone to give him a bottle and put him to bed as well.

Started baby proofing today. Bought a fence to either pen in his play area or keep him out of the electronics. We're debating which to do. In the meantime Derek put up a gate at the top of the stairs this afternoon which required using the power drill. Hudson was unsure about the sound from a distance, but he was positive that he hated it up close. It made him cry twice when we went to visit Daddy while he was working on it. I haven't seen him react to a noise that way before.

Here's another photo from Easter. Uncle Kevin and Claudia were fairly entertained by his antics, especially the silent spit up. Claudia never knew what hit her... twice. Note the shirt he's wearing. It says, "I TCP/IP but mostly IP." Bwah-ha-ha. I know, I know... the kid has no chance.

Easter

We celebrated Easter yesterday with one of Hudson's NY relatives. Uncle Kevin and his girlfriend Claudia came to town and watched Hudson show off his mad skills: rolling, sitting up, putting everything in his mouth. Hudson has added scooting on his butt to his methods of locomotion. He's doing everything but crawling. We're in no rush since we keep putting off baby proofing. Dan, Han, and King James came over as well. Gigi made a wonderful meal with traditional Easter lamb, Italian wedding soup, and cheese pie.

Today Hudson went on the swing for the very first time and loved it. It was a little chilly outside, but he didn't seem to mind. We took tons of photos and some video. He was fine for awhile, but got hungry so we walked home. I'm trying to avoid nursing him during the day to slow down my production which means he's on formula and solids most of the time. During the week that's not a problem, but when he's in my arms on the weekend and wants to nap, he looks to nurse. Unfortunately that's made him a little cranky today.

We had a video conference with one set of grandparents and Hudson promptly ripped the 'V' key off my laptop. Not sure how to explain that to IT this week.

Squirmy Child

Another successful night of sleep. He goes to bed between 7:45 and 8:00pm and sleeps until 6:30am when we get up. It's getting deceptively easy to put him down at night. I keep expecting the other shoe to drop. Or maybe he's making up for the first 6 months. Either way, I'm sleeping in this weekend!

It's staying light out until after Derek and I get home from work, so we were able to take a quick walk yesterday. Hudson loves it although he seems happiest when we take him out of the stroller so that he can look around in 360 degrees of wonderment. Seriously, it's like we have an excorcist child... happiest upside down and always, always, ALWAYS facing away from the person holding him. If you try to hold him facing you, he digs his feet into your stomach and pushes away (hard). I know, Mom and Dad, you're thinking I deserve this. ;)

Still figuring out the whole food thing...

Got home from work last night and nursed Hudson the way I always do. He fell asleep in my arms (just like usual), but this time he woke up 20 mintes later, sat up, a threw up all over both of us. Then he laughed and jumped. So Gigi changed him and I changed myself. Then he did it again. Another change and with the next 2 episodes the volume was low enough that it wasn't much of a problem. He started to get upset when he was gagging but his stomach was empty. Poor little guy. I think he just over ate as he fell asleep, but I pumped and dumped the other side just in case it was a reaction to whatever I had in my system. Adventures in mommyhood.


On a nicer note, his grandparents sent us nice pictures from Hudson's first time in a pool at their house in Florida. The air was a little chilly, but they heated the pool for us and it was bathtub warm. Hudson wasn't really sure about all of it, but Derek and I stayed nearby.

Rolling Rolling Rolling

Hudson is unbelievable in the way he rolls around the room now. He works his way off the mats and then explores the room. Last night he spent some time in front of the big wall mirror in the dining room (saying hello to the baby in the other dining room) and then rolled over to the radiator where he scratched at the metal grate covering. Next it was onto the wine fridge and then back to the mirror. We tried getting it on video but ran out of battery. No worries, I don't think we've seen the last of his rolling. I never thought I'd have a kid who did this although I had heard about it. It cracks me up.

Sharp little nails

When I picked Hudson up out of his crib this morning he had dried blood smeared from his cheek to his ear. I cut the nails on his left hand yesterday, but didn't get a chance to get his right hand. I thought, "eh, what's one more day." Lesson learned. Luckily, he didn't seem to care.

Looks like Hudson's going to start crawling soon. He's pushing himself backwards and loves rolling from the mat onto the hardwood floor. Once on the hardwood he slaps the floor and pushes himself around. I watched him spin around yesterday while trying to grab at the underside of the coffee table.

Peas!

Hudson had peas for the first time. It reminds me of his uncles. Oh, and me. I hate peas.

Yesterday we had a play date with Reid who is just a few days older than Hudson. It's the first time we've seen Hudson really interact with another baby. We sat them facing each other and then let them have at it.

Weighing in at 19 pounds in the blue t-shirt with traces of drool and applesauce is Hudson. Weighing in at 20 pounds in the baggy, green drawers is Reid. Across the room their eyes, glittering with anticipation, lock. They come out poking at the eyes. Both moms thwart the first round of attacks as the dads cheer them on. Then Hudson goes for Reid's shirt pocket, drawing him closer when Reid suddenly dives for Hudson's toes. Hudson reels and tries to get a handful of hair. They're holding each other up, so the moms step in and separate the two. They dive at each other again, but are no longer in poking range. They settle for grabbing hands and each try to pull the other off balance. It's like watching a game of seated Indian wrestling. The moms, exhausted from laughing, finally pull the two apart.

The boys settled for stealing each other's toys for the rest of the afternoon.

New cell phone!

Hudson has a new toy! Gigi took him to Toys R Us and picked up a toy phone. He nearly ripped it out of the packaging in the store and she had to wrestle it away from him to pay for it. Apparently, it was nice a soggy for the cashier. It plays a ton of tunes, counts, flashes different colored lights, etc. He loves it. Whenever I'm on the phone, I can now hand him the toy phone instead of playing a game of keep away with the real one. (It's right up there with his favorite game, "Ouch, that's mommy's hair.")

Hudson has two types of kisses. One I'm still convinced is his sign for "I'm hungry." The first time he sees me in the morning or when I get home from work, he greets me with a giant open mouth slobber on my cheek. If he's particularly hungry, I get them until half my face is wet. The other one he does over and over during the day. He presses his lips together until they're thin and then smacks. We all smack back at him.

He now recognizes a handful of songs. Every morning I greet him with Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. During the day we sing and sign the Itsy Bitsy Spider. At night I put him to bed with Hush Little Baby. Each time he hears one of the songs he breaks into a great big grin. Derek sings Weak and Powerless (by A Perfect Circle) at bedtime and he seems to know that one too. I've tried the Disney Sing Along video tapes with him, but he's not that interested yet. Soon though!

Poor Web Development

Big disappointment today. Gigi and Hudson were signed up for a singing and signing class at the local Isis Maternity store. It lasts for 10 weeks and Hudson's at the perfect age for it. I signed them up online last week and received a confirmation number. Today Gigi and Hudson braved this morning's spring snow only to be turned away because they weren't registered. I called the shop and they said that unless you receive a phone call or letter after you register online, you aren't actually registered. So my confirmation number wasn't really confirming anything then, right? It's such a shame since Hudson lights up when we sing and sign the itsy bitsy spider. We're all really disappointed, but we're going to look into the yoga class for them instead and get them into the next sign class in June.

Spring Forward

The time change has thrown us off a little. Hudson didn't go to sleep until 9pm last night and it was only after I nursed him, Derek rocked him, and then 10 minutes of crying by himself in his crib. He's still waking up early, but going to bed an hour later than normal. I think it's that the sun is still up at his normal bedtime. We should probably get some heavy curtains for his room since that's only going to get worse.

Luckily he's still chipper during the day. He's learned how to roll over and over to get something. He does it especially well when everyone leaves the room. We've come back a number of times to find him well off the mats and on the hardwood floor. I think he senses there's a remote control somewhere nearby and if he can just find it...

Sleeping through the night

The little guy is finally sleeping through the night. We let him cry it out the weekend before last. We started on Friday just in case he cried often during the night. I didn't want to have to work after a night like that. So I put him to bed normally and then the first time he woke up, we left him in there. He cried for 18 minutes, fell back asleep and then I didn't hear from him again until 3am. He whimpered a bit and fell back asleep. Same thing at 4am and 5am. Then I woke him up at 7am to start the day. Saturday night he cried for 12 minutes, slept for an hour, cried for 5 more minutes, then slept through the night. Sunday night he cried for 5 minutes and then vomited all over himself. Little setback. Derek rocked him back to sleep and he slept through the night.

As a result, he's been great all week. Gigi reports that he's less fussy during the day and napping more consistently. I've yet to see it since this weekend he was recovering from his six month shots. He had a fever on Saturday and felt generally crummy on Sunday. Today he seems to have recovered completely. He's been waking up somewhere between 5 and 6am, but I'm not complaining. I haven't had this much sleep since he was born. Derek and I even got in a nice bike ride through the Fells on Sunday while Gigi looked after him. The weather was beautiful this weekend and we wanted to take advantage of it.

Discovered that Hudson wasn't as big as we thought. His six month visit revealed that he's 18 pounds and 12 ounces. Guess we didn't have to run out and get that new car seat. *doh* He's 27 inches long and has a good size noggin. 50th percentile for length, 55th for weight, and 70th for head circumference.

His sleeping through the night allowed me to eliminate the night feeding last week. Today is the first day that I will only pump once instead if twice at work. So far, so good. Now that everything is settling into place, I'm sure he'll throw us a curve ball, but in the meantime, I'm pretty content.