Mostly Pics

We had a great day in the park yesterday and we got a lot of good pictures. So I'll skip the editorial today, except to say that his new sign and word is "clock."

Seriously, a soccer star in the making. He loves dribbling the ball around the field. Can't say I blame him.

Signing "car" because a car just drove by. His hands should be fists, but he's keepin' it real, yo.

Tickle wars with Mommy.

Come this way, Daddy!

Signing "ball" for the camera since we'd just put it in the wagon.

Listening to the water. Daddy got this pic of LR at his most peaceful. He's totally content to rest his head on my hand this way with his ear submerged. I've blogged about it before and thought you might want to see it. It's really adorable.

It's a big world out there, my friend!

Bigger Steps

LR had a great morning with the nanny yesterday and when I got home we packed up and headed out for lunch with his friend R and R's mom. LR gets restless in restaurant highchairs. I can't keep him entertained with food or toys. R on the other hand could sit in his seat endlessly. R's mom, much more prepared than I, handed out toy cars to both boys. LR decided he wanted the bigger car, so traded with R. R didn't seem to mind.

After lunch we hit Old Navy and picked up a few rugby shirts for LR. It's not just that we love the sport, he just looks adorable in them. While shopping I realized I was starting a migraine. It was mild, so we took our time checking out and getting back to the cars. I let LR walk in the parking lot a bit, but he found a shopping cart he wanted to push and when I finally had to pick him up, he had a hissy fit. By the time we got to the car he had recovered. At home I took some migraine meds and we played for awhile. The headache intensified, so I turned on the TV and asked LR to play by himself. He kindly obliged. Then I tried to get him down for a nap 3 times. He finally went to sleep and I took more meds. He woke up an hour later and when I went to get him, the head rush was intense. I brought him back to the couch where he fell back asleep in my arms. I called Daddy and asked him to come home to help me. After hanging up, I put LR on a blanket that had been sitting on the floor and ran to the bathroom. Luckily LR stayed asleep and Daddy arrived ten minutes later and sent me to bed where I passed out while they had dinner. This is the first migraine (with the exception of the spinal fluid leak post delivery of LR) that made me throw up.

While being sick in the bathroom I couldn't stop thinking of what I would have done if he had been awake. What do you do if you physically can't take care of your child? It makes the prospect of having another baby even scarier. My doctors have given me the go-ahead despite higher than normal counts in some of my Lupus blood work. If I flare while pregnant, how can I take care of LR? When I talked to R's mother later in the day she said I should have called her and she's probably right. I have a lovely woman downstairs with her 3 kids and plenty of nice neighbors. I realize that I don't have much of an emergency plan in place and that we should probably think of one.

On a lighter note, LR is still impressing us with more signs and words each day. He's signing "phone" and "train" now. He touches his cheek for phone and he wrings his hands for train. Our phones can also act as walkie-talkies, so I've been calling LR and chatting with him from a room away. He doesn't talk back much, but he does listen.

In the bath this evening, he put his head on my hand on the surface of the water again. He stayed there for awhile and then moved on to something else. A few minutes later he did it again, but all by himself. He got on all fours and put the side of his head in the water. Daddy and I watched in amazement as he turned his head and blew bubbles for the first time and then put his ear back in the water. I'm going to look into swimming lessons this weekend. I don't want to miss this opportunity, this small window in time when he's not afraid of the water.

He amazed me this evening during book time before bed. I showed him a book I had been saving until he's older a few days ago. It's a Dr. Seuss pop-up book. It goes through 7 different Dr. Seuss books and is beautiful, but he's too aggressive with the delicate pop-ups, so I let him touch just a few of the sturdier pieces. He loves it to death and has wanted to see it every time he spies it in the bookshelf the past few days. I put it away this morning hoping he'd forget about it for a little while. At bedtime I read him "Each Peach Pear Plum" and then "Jamberries." Then I pulled out "Hop on Pop." Halfway through the book he turned toward his bookshelf, signed and said "book, book." I assured him I was reading him a book and finished it. He turned to his bookshelf and signed again while whining. I let him off my lap and he toddled over to the shelf. I realized he wanted the pop-up book, but it wasn't until I sat down that I realized he had recognized the drawings from "Hop on Pop" as Dr. Seuss which reminded him of the pop-up book. Cool, no? Or is it more amazing that Dr. Seuss drawings are that recognizable. Either or, it was a neat moment and both Daddy and I have seen big leaps in cognitive development recently. In other words, he's wicked smaht!

Sick But Happy

LR napped for a total of an hour on Monday, a half hour in the morning and another half hour in the afternoon. It certainly wasn't enough, but despite the runny nose and (I suspect) sore throat, he was pretty happy. Tuesday was better, but he still didn't sleep much during the night. I slept even less. Last night was great. He actually slept through and seemed to be recovering today. It was a mild cold and all 3 of us got it, so it was virulent but not vicious.

LR has picked up a few new signs in the last few days. He seems to have a handle on zebra, giraffe, and book. He says "ba" for bath, bottle, ball, and book, so the signs help me differentiate. Today he stayed underfoot while I tried to make a pasty (meat, carrot, potato pie). If I'm anywhere else in the house he's fine playing by himself, but as soon as I try to do the dishes or cook, he's grabbing at my legs and - this is new - biting my jeans. Biting has gone from a game to a more serious call for attention. Not sure what to do about it, but hoping it's just a phase and will go away soon.

About a week ago he started picking up the books next to our bed and thumbing through them. They're my "Chronicles of Narnia" paperbacks and he's generally very gentle with them. He runs his thumb across the pages of the first one he picks up and then tries each one in the series in turn. A born reader? We hope so.

It's Samba Time

LR's latest obsession is the samba CD we got as a gift during our one year baby group reunion gift swap. Actually, it was a music set which came with a maraca, a tambourine, castanets, and a whistle. He loves track 2 on the samba CD so much that he signs "again" just as the song finishes so that I'll play it again. I put it on repeat and must have heard it a dozen times today. Usually he likes to dance by himself, but apparently the samba is a partner dance and he insists on being held while wiggling and squiggling in our arms. He also kicks. Makes the dance extra fun.

Speaking of his love of music and dancing, last night we walked with our friends D&H and their son King J to a pub in Davis Sq where we listened to a bluegrass band play for an hour. We got there early to have some food and were definitely given the stink-eye by a few patrons. I felt out of place bringing a stroller into the pub and was afraid I had the wrong night or misunderstood my friend who had told me about the band. Luckily other families started to appear within twenty minutes. The band was wonderful and LR spent most of the time standing and dancing in front of them. The lead singer tried to give him a high five, but he ran away. It was very cute. We sat next to a dad who leaned over and asked Daddy what our son's name was. Turns out the six year old sitting next to him had the same name. We thought our name choice was pretty unique and since this is the first boy I've met with the same name since LR was born, I feel pretty secure in our decision.

Today we had a play date with our friend and her son R. R was having a rough day so he was a little fussy which rubbed off on LR a bit. They had a little spat over the walker, but once R's mom put it in the bedroom it became a non-issue. The boys sat and shared Cheerios, sippy cups, and toys. They're just doing parallel play, but it's still fun to watch them interact when they have to. We found out that they both like to hang out in the laundry room. Not sure what it is about that room that draws them. Anyway, toward the end of the visit, both boys were starting to get tired, so R's mom sat them down to read. They were totally engaged and I managed to snap a quick picture of them enjoying Pat the Bunny.

After his afternoon nap, LR was super cranky. Inspired by his friend maybe? We don't know, but he spent some quality time by himself behind the rocker in his room. Don't know why he decided to hide, but Daddy and I thought it best not to disturb him. He was rediscovering all the noises his walker makes. (I've had the sound turned off on it for a month now.) He watched me come in and take the picture, but didn't seem phased and didn't come after the camera for once. Not sure what was going on this evening, but the bedtime routine was tough. He cried when Daddy put him down, but then all of a sudden the crying got super intense. I was afraid he had hurt himself, so I went in to see what was wrong and I found the problem immediately. I opened the door and stumbled into his blankey on the floor. If there were any lingering questions about his attachment to the blankey Gigi made him, they're gone now.

Listening to the water

LR has been so much better this week. Last week the Roseola really bowled him over. This week he was a gem. Today we went to a play group after I got home from work. He enjoyed the new toys more than the company of the other kids, but it was good to see how he interacts when he has to. For example, if another toddler was standing between him and the toy he wanted, did he gently push the child aside, or did he just try to march through. So many choices... He and his friend R ran around stealing push carts from each other. He also found a great egg maraca. He also discovered the hostess' broom! It wasn't anywhere near the other toys. Is it a family thing? His cousin Bud is obsessed with mops and brooms.

At the playgroup I asked other moms about switching from bottle to cup. Some said it was easy, others have yet to try it. I got my opportunity to try as soon as we got home. He took most of a bottle and I thought he was tired, but he perked right up and played for another hour. Finally he seemed tired enough to nap, so we read in the glider in his room for awhile and then I rocked him. He struggled to sit up, so I turned him away from me, but kept him in my lap. He leaned back and within a few minutes was asleep. I put him in the crib and he slept for an hour and a half. Hoping we can cut out at least 1 bottle a day to start with.

After his nap he was a little cranky, but recovered quickly and played with his cars which he always accompanies with car noises now. He's trying to figure out the difference between cars, trains, planes, trucks, bikes, and boats. He was hungry well before I got dinner on the table, so I handed him crackers while I was working in the kitchen. His pronunciation of cracker isn't bad. Sometimes it's "crack" and sometimes we get a second syllable out of him. He kept signing and saying more, so I hurried along his veggie corndog which he meticulously dipped in ketchup with every bite. Ketchup dipping is new this week. We started with some home fries last week and he sort of got the concept, but often ended up sticking his whole hand in the ketchup and then licking it off. Tonight he demonstrated mastery of the condiment skill. It's one of those gateway skills, I'm sure.

At the end of dinner LR saw the ice in my water glass and signed "cold." He picked that sign up in the grocery store yesterday when I handed him a bag of frozen peas, corn, and carrots. So now he uses the "cold" sign for ice. I gave him a small piece of ice and he chewed on it. I don't mean he gummed it like babies do. He used his front 4 teeth and bit through the pieces of ice. It was gruesome to listen to. Once he finished that piece he asked for more. I gave him two more pieces before I offered him a mango popsicle. He tried it but wasn't so interested in it. He'd like to stick to his unflavored popsicles, thank you very much.

After dinner I asked what time it was and he signed "bath!" Bath time is more interesting now because he wants to rest his head on my hand in the water. He puts one ear to my hand and I put my hand just under the surface of the water. I'm guessing that he likes the sound of the water in his ear. He keeps his mouth open so that water comes in a bit, but he doesn't put his nose or eyes in, just chin, cheek, and chin on one side. Then he'll pick his head up and switch sides. Not sure what made him start doing it, but I'm fascinated by his fascination with the sound of water.

He seemed wide awake at 8, so Daddy started the bedtime routine at 8:15. He still wasn't sleepy, but Daddy put him in the crib anyway. I think he just crabbed himself out (20 minutes later). Not a great end to the day, but the day itself was great.

Ice Tomatoes

Eeek, I keep forgetting to blog in the evening. Sorry, family!

Daddy was nice enough to get up with LR on Sunday. I got up a little later and Daddy made us awesome blueberry pancakes. We bought a 3 pound bag of blueberries at Costco and they've been really handy since he has them in yogurt during the week and pancakes on the weekend. Hope you can't OD on blueberries! Unfortunately they really stain, so LR's fingernails are often dark blue. It looks like I have a very unclean kid, but whatever. Pretty sure a clean kid wasn't in the cards for me anyway.

Later in the morning I made a classic mommy blunder. When he wanted to go out on the deck, I thought, "Sure! He's walking now, so I don't have to worry about the splinters in his knees." It was only 40 degrees, so I figured he'd turn around and come back in as soon as he felt the wind. He had on his fleece, footed pjs, so I opened the door and out he toddled. Hands waving in the air "I'm free! I'm free!" Quickly I realized he does not have an ounce of my delicate southern California blood in him. He turned the corner on the deck and headed for the tomatoes. I couldn't see him anymore, so I stepped out in my t-shirt and shorts. Damn, it was really cold. "Get back here, kiddo!" As I came around the corner I saw he had picked up one of the last tomatoes off the ground which had already been gnawed on by a squirrel. To avoid a baby with rabies, I took the tomato and tossed it while bringing LR back into the house. Boy did that irritate him. He was so mad that I opened the door again, took him to the plants, and picked an orange looking, almost frozen tomato. I held LR for warmth back in the house as he happily ate what must have been an icy, thick-skinned, underripe tomato. Daddy nicely explained to me that cold doesn't bother New England babies. Brrrr... message received.

Yesterday LR was up at 5am due to the time change. We had a little substitute nanny snafu and neither of my Monday nannies showed up. I called and woke one of them up and she agreed to swing by for the day which was really nice of her considering it wasn't her turn. LR was already down for his morning nap when she arrived which allowed me to run out the door. Daddy had an earlier ride to work because his car broke down during the weekend.

When I got home, LR was just getting out of the highchair after a long and messy lunch. Nanny A did an awesome job with him and he was happy and playful. She told me they hit the park after his two hour nap and had a great time. Hope there weren't too many woodchips involved. LR and I played lots of peek-a-boo around the couches in the afternoon and then he took another long nap. Actually, he woke up after a half hour, so I rocked him back to sleep, but he didn't want to go back in the crib, so I held him while he slept for 2 more hours. Not very productive hours for me, but I did have the phone nearby, so I got a few calls made to the realtor and to Daddy. (We're really trying to get everything in order to make a bid on a plot of land in Winchester.)

I finally woke him from his nap and he was bright eyed. We read a few books and watched a little Sesame Street. He was hungry, so he had a snack. For dinner I tried spaghetti. He loved the noodles when I pulled them out of the pot while they were cooking and he loved the sauce when I spoon-fed him some out of the jar, but when I put them together, it was a no-go. He sucked some of the sauce off and then threw the noodles on the floor. I tried plums, pineapple, leftover mac n' cheese, and some potatoes, but he just wasn't that hungry. Daddy walked him to the bathroom after dinner and while LR was standing in the doorframe, he signed "bath" for the very first time. Daddy called me over and sure enough, LR was signing. He was so proud of himself that he signed "bath" and said "ba" every few minutes for the entirety of the bath, watching both of us to make sure we did the same. It was very cute to see how enthusiastic he was about communicating with us.

He was up until 8:30pm in my attempt to get him to adjust to the new schedule. He woke up at 5:30 this morning which I guess is an improvement, but it sure didn't feel like it. 9 hours isn't enough sleep for him, so he'll probably make up for it with naps today.

Roseola Blues

Came home to a much recovered LR today. He didn't have a fever, but refused to take decent naps. When I put him in the bath this evening, I discovered a light pink rash up his back and a little around his tummy. The pediatrician had given me pamphlets on Roseola just in case. It starts with 2-4 days of fever with no other symptoms and then the fever disappears with the appearance of a light rash around the trunk. It's a relief to finally know. It's super contagious while he has the rash, so we'll be indoors the next day or two. By Sunday he should be completely in the clear. Can't think of what kid he came in contact with since the incubation time is 12 days.

In other news, LR has learned how to give us "5." I usually accompany the hand slap with a fun sound effect like "Wahkaaa!" Daddy has a different sound effect, but it has the same result, big smiles from LR.

I pulled out all the toys to try to keep an overtired LR entertained today. He's at the age where he doesn't look down to see where he's walking now that he's learned how to stay on his feet. He just tries to walk through or over toys with mixed results. Sometimes the paper or blanket slips out from under him and sometimes it flies across the room. Last night he was thrilled with a small, bright orange DHL box. It was an inch or two high, so he climbed on it and sat down. Then he got to his feet and pretended he was surfing. It must remind him of the rucking pad he liked to climb at practice. Speaking of, no more practices! Season is over and I think LR will miss the time we spent outside every day.

Better, but Still Crabby with a Capital 'C'

LR was definitely better today despite a rough night. He slept with me from 3-5am and Daddy took him from 5-6am. He was okay with the nanny except that he didn't nap for very long. Then I got home and he had a small lunch followed by lots of playtime. He fussed on and off most of the day. If I didn't go the direction he wanted or get something for him right away, he melted down. Still must not feel good, but the fever stayed down longer and was lower today in general.

Somehow in the past month we've gone from supporting him by holding his hands while he walked to him holding our hand to bring us wherever he wants to go.

He tried to say "Kix" today and "cup." Working on the 'K' sound I guess.

Our Little Ox Found Kryptonite

Poor LR had a really rough day. Woke with almost no fever because of the Motrin dose I gave him at 2:30am. Took him (and the nanny) to the doctor anyway b/c of the fever with a lack of any other symptoms. My family knows how I feel about those! The doctors agreed and did a throat swab, drew blood from his finger, and took a urine sample. LR cried off and on the whole visit - even when they took his temp under his arm - and then the rest of the day. Even when he walked and sat down hard, which he does a dozen times a day, he'd start crying. He must be feeling just miserable.

Got the news this evening that the blood work was fine and the throat swab was negative. Took the urine sample to Winchester Hospital tonight and I imagine we'll get the results tomorrow. They're pretty sure it's a viral thing and that it will just take time to work itself out. Sure hope so. He went to bed at 7:15 and has whimpered 3 or 4 times in the last hour. He had a fever of 102 when he went to bed. Hope it's broken by now.

To end on a lighter note, here's a set of pictures from this past weekend. They was taken by the father of the player who gave him the elephant suit. There are a bunch of pictures in here of LR.

Obviously I didn't knock on wood loud enough

Just two weeks ago I was saying how healthy LR has been. I don't think I've seen him sick for months. Yesterday he started a fever early afternoon. Although the night went smoothly, today did not. His fever got as high as 103.6 even after a dose of Motrin and one of Tylenol in the late afternoon. I called the pediatrician and made Daddy come home from work just in case it went higher. He didn't eat much all day, but when Daddy came home, he found he had a small appetite. It was just enough to make it pretty gross when it came back up minutes later. Daddy put him straight in the bath and I ran a load of laundry (inadvertantly with a diaper in it *sigh*) . So after the bath and another dose of Motrin, the fever finally started to go down. He found his energy when it dipped below 100 and decided that instead of bedtime, it was playtime. I didn't mind. I was just so thrilled he was feeling okay.

Despite his awful day, LR is really ramping up with his signs and words. He mastered the sign for "more" today when asking for goldfish crackers. Then he made kissy sounds with Daddy while reading "Daddy Kisses." He also started using the baby sign for "dog" of panting although "doggie" is his absolute favorite word to say. That and "ball." Oh, and he finally started using his "Whack-a-mole" hammer on the coffee table. We were wondering how long that would take...

Saturday is a Rugby Day

LR has had a great rugby filled couple of days. On the last day of practice he once again spent some quality fun time on the scrum sled. The metal bars were nice and cold, so he sucked on them for awhile. It's hard to blame him with those 4 teeth coming through. One of my players, the team mom, showed up with an elephant suit for LR saying that she couldn't resist it when she saw it. Since I haven't gotten around to sewing his Halloween costume, I took it as a sign that I wasn't meant to make the clown costume this year. Next year though...

Saturday was brisk and windy, so after I left for game warm-ups, Daddy waited for LR to wake up from his nap and then got him ready to go. I imagine it involved feeding him, getting him into 2 layers plus the elephant suit, wrangling him into socks and shoes, and getting everything into the car. What a trooper Daddy is! They missed most of the A-side game, but arrived just in time to see us score our only points in the last few seconds. (Must have been the elephant suit inspiring them.) As soon as Daddy arrived on the pitch with LR they were mobbed by admirers. It was parents weekend, so there were lots of people there. The crowd is actually behind him in the picture of him walking down the sideline. I have the feeling a lot of pictures of LR will be popping up on rugby websites. He also got into the team picture somehow. I'm lucky that the team is so good with him. They've really made it easy for me to coach this year. I know that they're always looking out for him.

LR even kept the elephant hood on for awhile. I started to worry about him overheating though, so I pulled it off. The ears flopped around his face a bit too and since he wanted to walk around a bunch I figured it was just as well.

After the game we headed home and LR showed us how well he can sign. He picked up "lion," "cow," and "seal," and started making the "ba-a-a-a" sound when I showed him a sheep. He loved the sign for seal. It was easy since it's basically clapping. The accompanying barking was what made that sign really fun.

Another quick post

Here is LR climbing chairs that he purposely pushed together and against a wall. A climber... *sigh* I almost thought he was going to make it, but he gave up thankfully.

And then he looks back at me as if to say, "Who, me? I'm just stretching my legs, ma." What a character. He was wonderful today though. He and I went to one of my doctor appointments downtown and we watched all the trucks and ambulances go by. He says "truck" with a lot of authority now, but often it sounds more like "duck." He's definitely trying different sounds though. He's signing "hot," "home," and I think he's doing "phone," but it sounds and looks a lot like "home."

When the nurse showed us into a room, I let LR out of the stroller thinking there was very little besides the biohazards trash can for him to get into. (What?) He explored a little, but deciding there wasn't enough there, he went to the closed door, reached up to the handle, pulled it down and opened the door. Then he wandered merrily into the hall. I couldn't believe it. I brought him back into the room, closed the door and he did it again. I think I can hear the grandparents laughing from here...

Quick Note

Have to get to bed, but I wanted to write about how great my rugby players are with LR. I had two or three of them watching him today during practice and he stayed completely entertained. When I arrived at practice, one of them had bought him a Jumbo costume for Halloween. He'll wear it for their game this weekend and then probably again for Halloween since I still haven't gotten around to making one for him. Next year...

As for today he played a lot, napped a bunch, and worked on his walking again. He looks drunk, but he stays on his feet most of the time. It's making the chase game a little scarier, but he's taking the bumps and bruises in stride.

Vocabulary Blooming

I should have a guest blogger for yesterday. Daddy spent most of the day with LR while I coached a rugby game at Wesleyan. (We tied 12-12!) He was up nice and late - 7:15. Hooray for sleeping in! When I got home I heard about the two hours they spent playing at the park and the good naps he took. After a hearty dinner of lasagna and a nice bath, LR went to sleep without a problem. He was up at 6:30 this morning and I thought he might be hungry. Sure enough, he took 6 oz of milk right away. Then he had 2 blueberry pancakes for breakfast a little while later. To give some perspective, I ate 3 pancakes. He's 1/8th my size! How could he possibly eat that much?

He took an early nap, but it didn't last long enough. We went to the local school playground to run around a bit before lunch and got some great pictures while we were there. This park
has squishy ground underneath the jungle-gym and more importantly, NO woodchips for him to put in his mouth. LR had a pretty good time, but got fussy and I realized it was definitely time for lunch. We hustled home and he had tofu, cantaloupe, and cheese. Then we played, but I could tell he was walking that line between idle and cranky, so I put him down for an early nap hoping he would sleep a good long time. He woke up after a half hour, but Daddy was a trooper and got him to go back down for another hour.

Friends arrived and he woke up. I had to read him 'Hop on Pop' a few times before he was ready for company. Then he kept them entertained for the rest of the visit. He seems to learn more signs and words each day. Today I figured out that the sign he's been making for a few days is 'cat.' Then while our friends watched, he picked up the word 'bubble' which sounds like 'bubba' when he says it. He's making a sign where he covers both ears, but I have no idea what he's trying to say. He's ramping up his communications skills like crazy and he's looking like an honest-to-god toddler now. He walks most of the time and eats most of the stuff we do. Daddy is definitely loving the games of catch, kicking the ball around with him outside, and reading him books. LR clears his bookshelf for us once a day now. He especially likes 'Mommy Hugs' which we were given by my Aunt E. We have signs for all the animals and I tickle, nuzzle, and squeeze him with each page. The best part is the last page which says, "My mommy hugs me with a snuggle like this!" He knows even before I turn the last page to start running. I have to tackle him to give him a giant cuddle/tickle/kiss-fest. He loves it.

Stolen Corndog

Made myself a veggie corndog for lunch yesterday. Guess who stole it. He looks innocent, but check out the fish hook he gives Daddy. Uncles Corbin and Keeper must've taught him that one. Don't trust this guy as far as you can throw him (which isn't that far now that he's 25 lbs). He's suddenly getting much longer too. Pants finally fit him without being rolled up. At his year appointment he was 70th percentile in length, 75th in weight, and 50th in head circumference. (Can't remember if I blogged about that before.)

Today we stayed busy. He was up just in time to see me out the door. He doesn't mind though because Daddy is the best playmate evah! When I got home he was happy but had only napped an hour. He had a big lunch and then helped me fold laundry. He started his Linus impression a little while later, so I knew it was time for an afternoon nap. He drags that blanket all over the house now. Gonna have to wash it more often. He took an hour nap and then it was time for rugby practice.

Although he woke up happy from that nap, he was pretty fussy during practice. He really has an agenda when he gets on the field and if I don't walk him the direction he wants to go, I'm gonna hear about it. The scrum sled looks a lot like playground equipment, so he spent a good 20 minutes on it. Unfortunately it rained all last night making our field pretty muddy. He played in the mud and then ate some of the mud. All the players know to watch for him putting grass, dirt and rocks in his mouth. Today I caught him scraping his teeth against a big rock. Eek! Just like nails on a chalkboard. I washed his hands as best I could when we got home, but the black didn't come out from under his nails until his bath. Daddy arrived while he was eating dinner.

Last picture is of LR sitting in one of his favorite spots, the threshold between the kitchen and the laundry room. It's a small step down which makes it perfect for him. He often pushes his walker over it and then follows after the path is clear. Then he turns the walker around and tries to come up the step with much less success. He yells until I come lift the walker up the step. Then it's "wash, rinse, repeat."

2 Signs in 2 Days

LR suddenly picked up two new signs yesterday and today. Yesterday he started signing "home" each time we pulled into the driveway. He touches his right hand index finger to his cheek which is close enough for me to understand. Today he learned how to sign (and almost say) "again." I was bouncing him on my knee in front of a mirror and when I stopped I asked "again?" He confirmed by touching his right hand to his left palm, "again." He also says something that sounds like "again" when he signs it. We were even able to show Daddy the new skill this evening when he got home.

Otherwise LR had a nice day. Long nap in the morning and a quick afternoon one. He woke up a little cranky from the second nap and had a hard time at practice. It may be because it's starting to get cool here in the evenings. We ended practice early because we lost light anyway.

LR seemed to like the pumpkin muffins I made this afternoon and had a baby one with his dinner. He has really started to enjoy feeding us his leftovers when he's full after dinner.
It's becoming part of his routine.

We used the last of the formula this morning, so we've been on straight milk ever since. He doesn't seem to notice a difference luckily. I gave him the bottle at bedtime and he took more than half of it. Then I bounced him to sleep and put him in the crib. I've gotten in the habit of bouncing him again and I really should try just putting him in the crib after the bottle. It used to work, but with all the developmental milestones, he's been a bit more restless at night. Got a video monitor a few days ago, so checking him when I go to bed is a breeze. No more waking him up with creaky doors!

Ice!

Q: What do you do when you drop a piece of ice and can't pick it up off the floor?
A: You lick it off the floor, silly goose.

Today started at the normal time. I was out the door just before he woke up, but I made it back at the end of his morning nap. Apparently he was ravenous at breakfast and ate a ton of yogurt. Then he took a long morning nap. After lunch we went to the big grocery store where he was pretty good, but I had to feed him grapes most of the time to keep him from launching himself out of the cart seat. After two aisles of the security lock on the wheel locking up sporadically (Look, I'm fast! Now I'm slow. I'm fast again! D'oh), I had to do a full equipment change. I dragged the cart to the door, ran through the sliding doors, grabbed a new cart, and returned to LR hoping that I hadn't looked like a woman abandoning her child. I transferred the goods and re-seated LR. Grocery shopping is more than an adventure in planning and time management. It's almost a full contact sport! (And it would have been too if I hadn't made it to the last cantaloupe before the spry-looking 80 year old did.)

At home we played chase for awhile and then he was content to pull out the majority of his toys and books while I worked on the practice plan. At practice he was entertained by an injured player for the first half and then joined us for team discussions between drills. It was tough for them to stay focused on what I was talking about while he was being adorable. He loves to tumble around on the rucking pads, using them like gymnastics equipment. And he showed them how he can force a laugh if they're going to laugh too.

Daddy was home soon after practice and helped me feed LR a huge dinner or avocado, kidney beans, waffle and milk. When he was full he stayed very entertained by feeding us sections of waffle. Mmmm... milk soaked waffle. Yum.

Apple Picking

LR is officially a New Englander. We went apple picking today in Harvard, Ma (not the school, the town). LR sat in his stroller and gnawed on a big Cameo while we walked through the orchard picking those as well as Red Delicious, Macoun, and Cortland apples. It was unseasonably warm which made it a really pleasant day. We went with our friends and their son King J. King J was a little young to enjoy the apples, but I'm sure he'll get some cooked and mushy ones later this week.

LR was up at 5 again this morning, took a full bottle, then joined us for another hour and a half of sleep. I'm pretty sure he's hit a growth spurt which is why he's waking up early and hungry. We discovered that he has 2, not 1 tooth coming through, one on the bottom left and one on the top left. He's going to be a little lopsided for awhile. After apple picking we had a large and early dinner of leftover pot roast. Then he had a nice bath until he lightly banged his eyebrow on the side of the tub after trying to stand up. It hurt enough to end the bath. Tried to put Boo-boo Bunny (a washcloth Gigi cleverly tied into the shape of a bunny with a pocket big enough to hold an ice-cube in it) on it, but he was more interested in chewing on Boo-boo Bunny. I'll have to upload a picture of the bunny soon.

After bath we played chase Daddy and then a little of chase Mommy. Still seems to be his favorite game. Then he grabbed Daddy's hand, walked him into his nursery, grabbed his blanket, and laid down on the floor with it. Guess that was a sign. I made a bottle and he indicated he wanted to skip the books and go straight to the bottle tonight. Went to sleep right as he finished it. Tonight I get a chance to try out my new video monitor. I know it's overkill, but with the way his door squeaks, it's going to come in handy.

Walking Tall

LR is really on the move now. He's walking by himself much more often during the day and staying on his feet for longer periods of time. This morning started out oddly. He woke at 5am and was hungry enough to take the majority of a bottle. Then Daddy sung him to sleep while holding him between us in bed. We all slept for another hour thankfully. Then he had a nice big breakfast of blueberry pancakes which Daddy expertly made us. LR topped off his meal with half a Kiwi fruit. Boy can he eat!

During the morning we did some housework while LR napped. Then Daddy fed him a lunch of fresh raspberries and cheese and took him off to the park while I got some general chores done. After that some friends came over and brought their son King J. King J and LR are finally starting to interact socially a bit. They passed a ball back and forth a few times with both Daddies' supervision. With the Patriots game on, the basketball wasn't the best choice, but it was the right size.

After they left, it was dinner, bath, and family play time. LR was content to walk around his room and yell at the exercise ball. The sound reveberates off the ball which he thinks is pretty cool. He's also starting to mimic words with the right number of syllables. "Bottle" comes out like "goggle." Oh and Daddy taught him a new trick! Daddy has been humming a song to LR which has a tick-tock sound in the middle of it. Daddy imitates the tick-tock with his tongue. He's only been singing it to him the last day or two, but today when Daddy absent mindedly hummed the first bar, LR chimmed in with the tongue clicking. He recognized the song in less than 5 notes. We tried other songs, but he only clicks his tongue to the tune of Orbital's "The Box." We really enjoy watching our little sponge learn.

Daddy Day

LR spent the majority of today with Daddy. I had to go to an away rugby game and we decided it would be better for the boys to stay at home. Since Daddy had so many late nights this week, he was looking forward to some quality time with LR. They started with an early morning walk to the grocery store. Then LR took a quick nap (read: not long enough). Daddy tried giving him green beans for lunch which were reportedly "smushed around." I guess the grilled cheese went over better. Then they played for the better part of two hours. When I got home mid-afternoon, Daddy said that LR was happy and whiny which made me think another nap was in order. I gave him his afternoon bottle and rocked him to sleep. He took another hour nap and woke up pretty cranky. A few minutes of Sesame Street and all was well.

We went out to dinner and LR made friends with the six year old boy sitting at the table behind us. The boy introduced himself as Zelmo. I was quietly stunned. Zelmo? Elmo with a Z? Seriously? Hope he grows up to be a baseball player...

Bath time was fun and he seemed to be trying to say "duck" while in the tub. The faucet cover is a duck and he has a rubber duck to play with. At one point it was pretty clear, so I think we can safely say "duck" is his second word. Oh, and his fifth tooth is coming through on the bottom left. Hasn't made him too fussy so far, but maybe all those fussy moments from the past few days were tooth related. It's so hard to tell.

Bye-bye Gigi

This past weekend was our last with Gigi. She had some quality time with LR on Sat and then left Sunday morning. It hasn't been the same without her and I obviously can't put into words how much having her this year has meant to us as a family. LR has already adjusted to the new nanny, but I know every time he says "doggie" (officially his first word), he is talking about going to see Gigi downstairs. Wonder when he'll figure out that there's a new family downstairs and he's not allowed to go into their apartment any old time he wants.

After Gigi left we ran some errands and then Daddy had a friend over to watch the Patriots game. They were merrily chomping on some Tostitos when our little monster decided to join in the fun. While we all were looking at the TV, LR grabbed the bag off the coffee table and dumped the entire thing on the floor. Then he did what can only be described as "Tostitos angels." He tried eating a few, but kicking them around was more fun. *sigh* It was a weird coincidence that I had just picked up a Black&Decker Dust Buster. Whoo-hoo! One of my very own. I happily dust busted the crumbs after picking up the majority of the chips. LR was very helpful in getting them back into the bag.

LR is really getting the hang of walking now. He'll walk without holding onto furniture even if it's within reach. 10 or 12 steps isn't unusual. And as I said before, he's saying "doggie" consistently. Well, for dogs and for everything else. We've also been doing a lot more dancing around the house. When Daddy puts on the XM techno channel (DirecTv channel 860 - The System), LR bounces and dances around. He just can't get enough techno. It makes for a very fun day.

Monday and Tuesday, LR had a substitute nanny since Nanny M was sick. The sub was wonderful and LR had a great time with her. Monday LR and I went to look at a house in Winchester that Daddy saw over the weekend. LR like the gas fireplace very much. Then we came home and played and went to rugby practice. He got lots of attention there, but now that we're past Homecoming, our practice field is covered in shattered glass. It appalling that the school continues to allow tailgating alums to bring glass bottles onto the field, but it happens every year. This year it's worse than most and we obviously can't do any more drills which would require the players to go to the ground. Come on... it's rugby! Anyway, LR continues to keep the players entertained with his antics. He pushes his stroller around the field and I can't keep him off the scrum sled.

Daddy took LR this evening while I ran off to a doctor appointment. Daddy fed him a good dinner and then plunked him in the bath. No hair washing though. I guess he missed the part of the day when LR smeared cheese in his hair. Oh well.

Uh-oh!

Last night LR distinctly started saying "Uh-oh" while reading his What Does Baby Say? book. It's not the first time he's mimicked sounds we make, but it's the first time he's done it repeatedly on cue. After we read last night he went down fairly easily, but woke up screaming at 1am. Must have had a nightmare. I rocked him back to sleep and he stayed asleep despite the fact that Daddy's phone rang at 4:30am. It was London calling. He got up and hopped on a conference call. I was afraid LR would wake up, but he stayed asleep until Daddy and I started our shower routines around 6.

I guess he had a good time with Nanny M, but around 10:30 the house alarm went off. Really not sure how it went off, but it spooked LR (and the nanny), so they wandered around outside for awhile. Luckily Gigi was here and called Daddy who instructed her how to turn off the alarm. I came home soon after to find none of them worse for wear. LR had a big lunch of lasagna and avocado. Then LR and I played while I tried to get some chores done around the house. He went down for an afternoon nap for the fifth day in a row. A trend!

In the late afternoon D & H and their son King J came over. King J and LR were keenly interested in one another for the first time. LR tried to chew on King J's feet. Side note: LR has a serious foot fettish. He also tried to bite one of my player's feet yesterday and got his gums on the calf of another player who was laying on her stomach while I gave instructions for a drill. I had to watch him like a hawk to keep him from... well, from being an ankle biter. Anyway, they got to see LR in action. He and I played a game where he pulled my hair and I wriggled my head against his tummy. Hys-terical. I haven't heard him laugh that hard in a few days. Made all the hair pulling worth it. He may make me bald now, but my genes will make him bald later. It's only fair.

Over the past few days I've seen a huge leap in LR's confidence while walking. He doesn't stutter step that first step anymore and he takes 5 or 6 consecutive steps regularly now. He still likes to jet if he gets both my hands for support, but he's obviously learning that he can do it by himself. Looking forward to taking him to homecoming tomorrow. The weather looks sunshiny but cool. Should be perfect rugby weather. He's going to stay at home for the game and nap while Gigi looks after him. After the game we'll come get him and take him to tailgating and then our new mom's 1 year reunion.

Rough Night

Note: The pics in this post are from yesterday, but don't really go with the text at all. LR loves to play ball, so we spend a lot of time passing the variety of balls that he has back and forth. It's also one of Daddy's favorite games.

Don't know if LR is responding to his MMR and Chickenpox shots from last week or not, but he was up often last night. I soothed him back to sleep just after midnight and Daddy tried from 4-5. I took over at 5:30 and brought him into bed. I was up a half hour later, but he and Daddy slept until 7:30. The nanny arrived to find the house quiet and both boys still in bed.

I dragged all day. When I got home from work, LR was asleep, but woke up within 20 minutes or so. He caught up on his sleep and I tried not to pass out on the play mats while we played. Going outside just wasn't appealing despite the nice weather. The past two days, LR has taken an afternoon siesta which is odd for him, so either it's the shots, a growth spurt, or he's picking up that afternoon nap again just for kicks. Either way, I was banking on him napping so that I could as well. I called off an afternoon play date, let the other coaches know I wasn't going to be at practice, and thought about not attending my book club meeting. Close to 3 I gave LR a bottle and luckily he started to get sleepy. A few bounces on the exercise ball and he was out. So was I. We both napped for an hour and a half and woke up happier.

With enough light still left, we headed off to the park. I pulled him in the wagon and he happily slurped from our shared water bottle. He especially enjoyed watching the cars and the kids practicing soccer. We played at the park until I got tired of smacking wood chips out of his hands and digging stray ones out of his mouth. I got him to push his stroller, but he lost his grip at one point, lost his balance and landed face first on one of the big plastic wheels. Boy did he scream. I probably got a lot of looks from other parents at the park. He stopped crying pretty quickly and I decided we should get some ice on his lip which was red and was already showing some bruising. No cuts, but it probably hurt a ton. After the redness went down LR was left with the wheel tread marks from his cheek to his lip. Very tough looking. All he needs is a sneer and a tattoo now.

At home we ordered pizza. I put him in his highchair and when he saw the piping-hot pizza he started to yell and reach for it. I cut up small pieces, but it took a little while for it to cool. Boy is he impatient! He ate a bunch of pizza, some avocado for balance, and a frozen banana on a stick for desert. I thought the banana might help with any swelling to his lip. He didn't seem to have any discomfort while he ate, so I think we're in the clear. After dinner he took a bath and I've solved the problem of him standing while in the bath. He thinks it's pretty funny, but all I have to do is sign and ask, "Finished?" He immediately sits down to indicate that no, the bath is not finished. Hope that works for a little while. Gave his bath seat to a friend to use, so that won't be an option.

Bedtime was pretty easy. He's been going to bed a little later because of the re-introduced afternoon nap, so I let him stay up until he took my hands and walked me into his room. We read a few of his favorite books: Doggies, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and What Does Baby Say? Then he took most of his bottle and I put him in the crib. He was pretty awake, so he cried for a few minutes, but soon he was fast asleep. I dressed him in warmer PJs just in case he was waking up last night due to the drop in temperatures at night. We still have the air conditioner kicking on during the days, but not the heat yet at night which means the house is noticeably cooler every morning. Crossing my fingers for a good night sleep... right now. Night night!

I just looked over my last post and was happy to see that we'd taken a few pictures which show how he likes to hold his tongue on the left side of his mouth. Strange, but consistent.

One of the things I brought back with me from our trip to Denver was a set of 6 Sesame Street figures that a friend gave me in high school. He loves them and can pick out Big Bird and Cookie Monster from the group which also includes Grover, Ernie, Bert, and Oscar. More than anything he likes the plastic container I brought them home in. He places the figures in the container and shakes it vigorously until the figures fly out. He closes his eyes for most of the shaking. Good thinking since you never know where those monsters will land. In the picture you can see Cookie Monster heading for adventures unknown.

He also seems to like the snail rocker we bought him for his birthday. In the picture I can't tell if he's giving it a hug, or rucking over it. It was definitely worth a picture though. It also has a secret compartment in the back of his shell where we hide, and then quickly find and throw out, the Sesame Street characters.

This past week was my first as a part-time employee. It was wonderful. LR and I went grocery shopping on Wed, to the park on Thur, and to a new park in Arlington with his friend on Fri. His friend just started walking, but looks like he's been riding a horse for 18 hours. It is terribly cute to see a baby cowboy. LR can walk, but doesn't seem to be very inspired to do it. He'll take a few steps here and a few steps there. He is happier just walking while holding our hands. While playing on the slides with his friend, LR discovered he could scoot forward by himself to initiate the slide. It was pretty cool. I'd set him up at the top of the slide and he'd wiggle forward holding the sides until he was ready. Every few slides he'd roll to his side at the start of the slide and grab onto the side, halting the slide. Not sure if he was scared or just trying out something new. I'd help him back to the top and he'd come down again.

Friday we celebrated his birthday again. Gigi baked him carrot cake cupcakes and after dinner we let him at one. To explain the photos, he had already smeared his face with mashed potatoes, so the cupcake icing was just an accent color really.





Seriously guys, who took my icing?







A real birthday boy smashes cake into his mouth with both hands.








Today we went to Jasper White's Summer Shack in Cambridge. LR loved the cornbread they set on the table before the meals came. Much like his cousin Bud, LR left a pile of cornbread crumbs beneath his high chair. Then his shells and cheese arrived. Whenever LR eats, his face gets itchy. It must since every meal he rubs his eyes and nose, but only after they're covered in food. He started the meal with just a pomade-like streak of cheese over his ear, but within minutes his eyebrows were white with cheese and his eyelashes were dotted with cornbread crumbs. The wipes they provided were nowhere near the hosing that was required to clean him off. When we got home we immediately went to the park thinking that we'd get all the dirty stuff done first. Sure enough he went straight to the sand pit where he dug around for a few minutes. Then he played a game with Daddy. It's called "I'll bet I can get the sand into my mouth faster than you can bat it away." Pretty funny game.

Happy First Birthday!

Today is LR's first birthday. I marked the occasion by starting my part-time hours today. It was wonderful. I didn't get to see LR in the morning, but Daddy says that the Nanny M showed up right on time. LR woke up right after she arrived and they did the breakfast routine together. Then Daddy got ready for work and left. Nanny M and LR played, got changed, played some more and then napped for the last hour and a half. She said LR was happy and an easy baby. He woke up right after I walked in. I fed him lunch and then he mistook my pulling his hands away from his mouth for a game, so he gagged himself until he threw up. That was a first, but I guess bound to happen at some point. After getting changed, we headed to the park using the new Radio Flyer wagon that Gigi bought him for his birthday. LR seemed to enjoy the ride and then really loved pushing it around the soccer fields. Eventually he got tired and we headed home. At home he rocked on his new snail rocker that Daddy and I bought him for his birthday. He took a bottle, played some more, and then Gigi took over while I headed to rugby practice. When I got home I fed him dinner, bathed him, and put him to bed. All-in-all a good day. Sorry for the quick rundown of the day's events, but there's so much to say about the past week!

Last Thur, we packed up and headed to the airport. We went to Denver to stay with Grandma and Grandpa H for a few days. On Sunday we had a wedding in Boulder to attend, but we spent most of the time visiting. He was okay on the flight out. He took a bottle right as we took off and slept for an hour and a half. We had 2 and a half more hours to kill when he woke up and half way through that I realized I hadn't brought enough toys to keep him entertained. By the end of the flight our arms and backs were tired from trying to keep him from crawling down the aisle, kicking the chair in front of him, or pulling the phone out of the cradle in the middle seat. Daddy made a number of laps up and down the aisle with him.

Grandma picked us up at the airport and Grandpa was there when we got home. LR quickly found all the toys they had set out for him and then went about pointing out all the non-baby-proofed items in the house. He's so helpful! Grandma was one outlet plug short, so, of course, he pulled the flashlight plug right out and tried to stick his fingers in the holes. *sigh* They had the greatest cubbys too which were just LR sized. He spent a fair amount of time crawling into and out of them. He also bumped his head a bunch, but nothing Little Rugger can't handle. He also adored the "Whack-a-mole" toy they bought. Noisy AND a hammer. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa! He also loved the small red wagon that he could push around the house. LR bonded easily with both grandparents. He's so friendly and doesn't seem to mind new people very much. Although they weren't really new since they took care of him the first week of his life! Grandpa rough-housed with him and Grandma was a little more cuddly. She even helped me bake him his first birthday cake. He didn't like it very much, but he enthusiastically squished the cake and icing between his fingers. Gooey!

On Friday we made a quick visit to LR's great grandmother. He loved her walker. It ran along in front of him just like his stroller. We knew he was days away from walking, but instead of walking for Gigi who has spent an entire year with him, or for the Grandma and Grandpa we were visiting, he took his first steps at our friends' rehearsal dinner in Boulder on Sat. Sept 16th. I saw him take the first two to get to some potted flowers on the driveway. Daddy came out and saw the third step. LR had his own cheering section just inside the front door.

The next day LR took 4 steps toward me first thing in the morning. I headed off to the wedding in the afternoon. (Daddy had spent the night in Boulder.) The ceremony was lovely and the band at the reception was awesome. LR had a great time with his grandparents, but that didn't change the fact that we got a fourth night of restless sleep. We had him in a pack-n-play in the room and he could see us whenever he woke up in the night. He ended up cosleeping with us most of the time. It's been 6 months since the last time we coslept and I don't remember him being nearly so much of a thrasher. When we got back home (after a great flight back where he slept for 2 hours and 15 minutes), LR went to bed at 8pm and got up this morning at 7am. I didn't hear a peep from him all night. He must have been as exhausted as we were.

Oh and he babbles constantly now. His favority word from the past week is "golly." His variations are "doggie" and "cookie." We're not sure if he's saying the words intentionally or if they just sound similar to "golly." The grandparents got a kick out of it, so they bought him a bunny which we decided should be named "Golly the Bunny." I'll try to load a picture of him soon.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Yesterday LR was an angel at practice. He played with one of my retired players on the sidelines for most of the 2 hours. He ate his grapes and cookies which Gigi had lovingly packed for him and was content to hang out on the new blanket we got this weekend. Love the blanket so far. He happily chatted with me in the car. He was saying "Da da da da" and "Ey ey eye." I started saying "ma ma ma ma" from the drivers seat. He was quiet for a minute and then said loud a clear, "Mom!" So he can mimic now. He's been doing it for a few weeks, and I still think it's fun to get him to say "Mom."

After we got home he had a small dinner and then enjoyed his bath very much. He has made a game of standing up and me signing and saying to him "Sit down, please." Then he sits and smiles and I say "Thank you" or "Good boy!" I try to distract him, but sometimes I just have to take him out of the bath. The bedtime routine was uneventful. Daddy got home in time to put LR to bed and he was quiet right away. Must've been tired.

Around 1:30 he woke crying. I was at a weird point in my sleep cycle, so I was completely disoriented when I woke up. I thought it was 6am, so I got up and went and picked him up. I looked at his clock as I lifted him an it was then that I realized my mistake. 1:30... Crap! Usually I would've left him there to fuss back to sleep, but too late now. I tried bouncing him, but he seemed wide awake. He nuzzled in to my arms as I bounced him, but he wasn't too interested in sleeping. He just wanted to cuddle. Finally, after 25 minutes of bouncing, my back and arms exhausted, I put him back in the crib and walked out. He started to really scream. I listened for 8 minutes and as I asked Daddy to go in and give it a try we heard a loud crash. I ran into LR's room to find him sitting on the floor in front of the crib. He was screaming and scared and we were shocked. Somehow he had launched himself over the crib railing. We've seen him try to scale the gate, but I never imagined he could climb the crib railing. It was at least chest high! We checked for injuries and when we didn't find any, I took him to the living room to soothe him. I turned on Sesame Street and he quieted down to the occasional post-crying hiccup and sniffle. Feeling worried and guilty, I held him while he watched. It didn't help that 3 nights ago I had a nightmare about him having brain damage and an oddly dilating eye. As he watched TV, I checked his pupils, but didn't see any sign of concussion.

Daddy went to the basement and found the Allen wrenches. He came up and lowered LR's mattress to the lowest setting. By 3:15, I was falling back asleep, but LR was still wide awake. Daddy took him at 3:15 and ended up doing a mini bedtime routine to get him back to sleep by 4. I expected LR to sleep in, but he was awake at 6:30 like clockwork. I just called Gigi and she said he's a little grumpy this morning. I told her to expect a long nap.

So Close!

Last night LR woke just as we were going to bed and started sobbing. I went in and picked him up, but it took a good five minutes to soothe him. I tried reading, bouncing, talking to him, but nothing worked. Finally I started singing to him and that cured him. I bounced him back to sleep and he went right into the crib. I was grateful since I had to get up early today, but I think it triggered a nasty nightmare I had about LR having some sort of traumatic injury. It made me extra happy to hear him babble to himself first thing in the morning. He's such a happy little guy.

LR is just so close to walking he can taste it! Today he stood for Gigi and squatted down, then stood up over and over. She thought he might take a step, but eventually he sat down instead. I came home and took him to practice this afternoon. He stood for the crowd of rookie and vets and did the same thing for them. They cheered as he stood back up and he clapped for himself as well - very proud of himself. Again, he didn't take a step, but every day he gains confidence in standing alone. He doesn't cry immediately if you let go of his hands anymore and he's stood still for about 20 seconds now.

He was fine during practice when one of my players distracted him, but he had to be far enough away from me for that to work. As soon as I was in his sights he was whining to be with me. It was a little chilly out - fall is definitely setting in - and his little nose turned red and dribbled. I felt bad, but he was dressed in a long-sleeved, heavy cotton jumpsuit, so I wasn't too worried. His hands were cold when we got in the car though. He fell asleep for the last two minutes of the ride and then woke up when we got home. He ate a good sized dinner of tofu, string cheese, cantaloupe, and corn on the cob. Gigi was nice enough to put an ear in the microwave for him and he gnawed on the end of it for awhile. I helped him out too. :)

Because of practice, I got him into the high chair late for dinner. That threw off the evening schedule and I didn't notice when I missed his bedtime by twenty minutes. Daddy asked if I was waiting for him to get tired. I said no, and he told me it was 8:20. Eek! I fixed a bottle and put the little guy right to bed. He didn't object. What an angel.

Birthday party

Sat we went to LR's friend's birthday party. His friend is just 5 days older and his mom and I met while taking prenatal yoga together. The weather was beautiful and it was a great party. LR had corn on the cob for the very first time. I'm pretty sure he thought it was the best food ever. We had a vegetarian BBQ in their backyard and the birthday boy tore into the cake with enthusiasm. I got some pictures of the two in the sandbox together. It was LR's first sandbox experience and he ate a good 4 handfuls of sand. Not sure why the first one wasn't good enough, but whatever. Unfortunately, he had eaten a whole tomato slice and a poured a glass of water down his shirt just before climbing into the sandbox. We should've used the hose on him afterwards. What a mess!

He also had a ball pushing around his friend's new Radio Flyer pushcart. It was awesome. He pushed in up and down the grassy hill of their backyard. At one point a 2 and a half year old girl (named Arwen - parents must be LOTR fans, right?) climbed into the cart. She must have been about 30 lbs. Hudson didn't flinch, he just put his back into it and started pushing again. It took a little help from Daddy from a stopped position to get going, but once it was rolling, he could continue to push it. Another dad asked us if that was how we were training him for rugby. He's such a little ox! We were so proud.

Today we walked to the grocery store in the morning and LR helped by pushing his stroller around the store while we shopped. Then it was back into the stroller for the ride home. He barely stayed awake, but when we got home he got a second wind and played for another half hour. He didn't seem too sleepy, but I offered him milk by signing it to him. He broke into a big smile and crawled to me. I took him to his room and he fell asleep on the bottle without a problem. We grabbed a short nap while he did. Then we all got up, had lunch and headed off to the mall to get Gigi her going away present. We're sure going to miss her around here! Just a few more weeks of quality time before she goes back to Florida. We'll have to get a lot of pictures before she leaves.

Note: Added some pics to the last post as well.

Perfect Day

LR had an absolutely perfect day yesterday. He woke up chipper around 6:30. Already an improvement on Wed where he napped all of one hour the entire day. What a basket case he was! Yesterday I was out the door early since it was the first day of rugby practice. Daddy had LR for about an hour before Gigi came upstairs. Daddy reported that they had a great time and a good sized breakfast. Gigi came up and took over a little early to help out with the new schedule. She said that LR went to sleep around 11:15 and woke up at 2:30. With such a nice long nap, he was in a good mood the rest of the day.

I left work around 4, picked up LR where he was waiting for me with a packed diaper bag, snack, and water bottle courtesy of Gigi, and went to rugby practice. When we got there I put a blanket on the ground for LR and gave him his yellow ball to play with. He was more interested in the rugby balls. He walked while holding my hands for awhile and watched the players run drills. He also yelled encouragement during one drill. I held him part of the time and let him crawl around part of the time. I did run back to him a couple of times to dig grass out of his mouth.

Luckily, he didn't fuss once while we were out and really seemed to enjoy himself. I got him home just in time for dinner. He ate pineapple, strawberries, avocado, and cheese. Then it was off to the bath. I had to drain the water with him sitting in the tub. His grasp of the sign "finish" is so strong now that he crawls away from me in the tub when I sign it to him. When in the highchair he knows he'll get picked up, so he frantically signs "finished!" when he's done. The bath, he runs away. Such a cutie.

After the bath I left him in just a diaper for a little while. While Gigi and I stood and talked, he crawled around his room, opened the drawer underneath his crib, and crawled in. I ran and got the camera and he obliged by staying in the drawer for a good long time. Got some nice shots which I'll try to post tonight. After getting him into PJs and playing a little more, it was bedtime. He didn't look one bit sleepy, but he drifted off to sleep quickly on the bottle and I put him down for the night. Everyone agreed it was one of LR's best days yet!

Standing On His Own

We took so many good pictures that it's tough to pick ones to post!

Monday was fun. We went to the park and played under the trees. Daddy held LR's hands while he walked around and kicked a ball. I took a turn walking him and then let go of his hands so that he could practice standing on his own. He stood for a second before realizing I had let go. Then he started to sink down. When I brought my hands close to his, he stood up again. I moved my hands away and down he went. We tried it a few more times with similar results. He's my yo-yo with an invisible string. After exhausting his parents, LR decided to push the stroller around some. It was a little tough to move it in the grass, so he really had to put his back into it. No problem for our Little Rugger though. Grrrrrr...

There were so many kids playing in the park that LR felt we needed to go explore. We went over and spent some quality time on the swings and then moved onto the tunnel and the slides. He's really starting to get the hang of the slides and I don't have to hold his hands the whole way down anymore. I'm looking forward to when he can climb the stairs back up to the slide on his own. He could probably crawl over to the steps at the base of the slide, but he'd want to eat all the wood chips on the way there. Seriously, who thinks wood chips are going to cushion a child's fall. As Daddy pointed out while we were there, it's just a lot of splinters waiting to happen. Guess we're still used to having LR barefoot. Actually, we put him in shoes over the weekend for the first time. Went a bought a pair of size 5s at the nearest StrideRite. He's stylin' now! Not sure that he loves them, but he really hasn't put up much of a fight either. As soon as he's outside, he really doesn't care about anything else.

After the park LR helped me with the laundry, which means he pulled all the clothes out of the basket while I was trying to fold them. When he pulls out what looks like a particularly fun(ny) piece of clothing, he whirls it around as fast as he can. After helping me with that he hit a cranky spell. If we don't take him over the gate to go downstairs he'll cry and throw a baby tantrum. I say "baby" because I assume they'll get worse as he gets older. Often we give in and walk him down the stairs or take him to go see Gigi's dog Maggie. We keep him from grabbing her face hair and he giggles when she nuzzles into his stomach while she's looking to be pet.

His appetite has decreased the last two days. He was ravenous for about a week, but he seems to be slowing down. Dinner tonight was just tofu and sweet potatoes. He wasn't really that interested in anything else we put in front of him. His lunches yesterday and today were small, but he's drinking all 8 oz of the bottles we've been giving him before naps. His naps also haven't been quite as long and he woke up this morning at 6:15 instead of 7.

Last pic is for my mom. Love those OshKosh!

One nap down, one to go

(Note: I had a longer post, but blogger decided to wig out on me when I uploaded a photo and I lost the posting. So this is an abridged version.)

Looks like LR has settled into a brand new routine. With the new teeth came a growth spurt and a change in his wakeup and nap times. (You might be able to see the new top teeth in the first photo.) He has slept in until 7am each morning for the last week and then takes a long late morning nap. They range from 2-3 hours. Then he skips his second afternoon nap, although I have caught him taking a siesta around 5pm if we happen to be in the car. He gets a little cranky in the evenings because of the missed nap, but each day seems to reinforce the new schedule and he's getting accustomed to it.

The long weekend has been nice, but Saturday was overcast and misty and it rained all Sunday. Saturday we went to Costco and picked up a couple mag flashlights, one for each car. Each flashlight came with a small, LR-sized flashlight which he had a ton of fun playing with when we got home. This is the only picture that came out at all, and yes, he's eating the flashlight. Daddy had a hard time with the sound of his new teeth against the metal. This weekend he discovered he could click his top teeth together with his bottom teeth. So much fun!

Sunday we had a pre-season meeting with the rugby staff. We took LR and he was very well behaved. He kept them all entertained (and sometimes distracted). Then he took some time to explore their apartment and even wanted to be put in the bath when he found it. And by the way, college housing is the opposite of baby-proofed. Our friends without kids have nice things that we have to keep him away from so that he doesn't break them, but in college housing, we have to keep him away from the dirty and the sharp things. There is no 5 second rule in their apartments. LR dropped string cheese he had been working on and that was the end of that.

This morning we took a nice long walk using the large backpack our last tenants left us. It's perfect for carrying him in the Fells, the large reservation that abuts our neighborhood. He started out humming since the bounce of Daddy's step felt like how we sometimes bounce him to sleep. The hum turned into a song that lasted about 30 minutes out of our 40 minute walk. He's been experimenting with volume, but not by screaming. He hits a loud note "Ahhhhh" and holds it for a very long time. Daddy and I had to almost yell to talk to eachother, but it was so funny that we didn't mind. Hopefully we get to spend the rest of the day out on the deck or at the park.