life with a new baby
Archive for February, 2010
Nathan’s First Birthday!
Feb 28th
Well, we celebrated Nathan’s birthday this weekend! I still can’t believe my baby is no longer considered an infant. He’s a officially a KID now. With opinions. And attitudes to go with those opinions. But it’s funny because when I look at him, I still see my little baby. Never mind he’s not 100% dependant and no longer drinking out of a bottle. I mean, how can he not still be a baby? It’s only been a year. It was only a short year ago that he inhaled his first breath. So how can he have possibly grown so much in such a short period of time? He’s still my baby and I have a funny feeling HE ALWAYS WILL BE. I’m afraid to blink. Time is passing me by.
Speaking of growing up, guess what Nathan did on his birthday!
HE PULLED HIMSELF UP. ALL THE WAY!
Before now, he would attempt to pull himself up but would only make it halfway before plopping back down with a thud. But he did it, he pulled himself up into the standing position!
He only just started crawling not even two weeks ago. I wonder how soon it will be before he takes his first steps and starts cruising on the furniture.
So here’s some super cute pictures of his very first birthday for you to enjoy.
About to unwrap one of his gifts
Look at what I did!
I don’t know what this is, Mommy, but it looks fun!
(It’s a ride-on and walk-behind dump truck toy)
Not sure what to think about his miniature birthday cake and the well-out-of-reach candle
But he definitely didn’t like when we blew it out
Paul gave Nathan a bite, hoping he would like it enough to eat it
But Nathan did not like the cake.
So Nathan still isn’t big on “people food” yet. He still likes his food pureed, so we weren’t all that surprised when he didn’t like his birthday cake. Which is why we gave him a small bite to start off with. But Nathan still let us know in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t happy with our trickery.
NOT ONE BIT.
But even with a few tears here and there, his first birthday was a lot of fun. Well, Nathan had no idea what all the fuss was about, but all the adults really enjoyed it.
There’s always next year for the Messy Cake Picture, right?
Mommy Brain
Feb 25th
They call it Mommy Brain.
It happens once you have a baby. Something happens to your brain. I don’t know if the lack of sleep mixed with raging hormones causes the brain to… oh I don’t know, EAT ITSELF… or what, but something happens and you start to do things.
Weird things.
Nonsensical things.
BIZARRE things.
Like leaving the house with mascara on only one eye. (ONE EYE!) Or losing your keys and later discovering them in the freezer. Or putting the milk in the cabinet instead of the refrigerator.
Yes, I have done all of those.
Well, I totally have a case of Mommy Brain since Nathan was born. Have you ever heard the saying so-and-so would forget her head if it wasn’t attached?
Well, guys. I AM SO-AND-SO.
I am THAT person who would totally forget her head. Thank GOD they aren’t detachable, right?
I mentioned before that my OCD has malfunctioned. Yes, I used to be that person who always had everything all nice and neat and perfect. Everything was exactly where it should be. Things didn’t get misplaced all too often.
But now, Mommy Brain has taken over. Ever since Nathan was born, I’ve been so very forgetful and… I think you could even say SCATTERBRAINED.
Just the other day, my husband made a pot of coffee. Now, I love coffee even though I rarely drink it. Paul makes a his own blend at the store, and let me tell you, it is FABULOUS with some whipped cream and chocolate syrup. WATCH OUT, STARBUCKS.
So anyway, Paul made coffee the other day and it smelled so good that I could have eaten the AIR. I raced to the kitchen and poured myself a generous cup of coffee, complete with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. I retreated into the living room to enjoy my treat when Paul was all like, baby, what’d you do with the pot of coffee? And I was like, it’s right there in the COFFEE MAKER, duh (complete with a know-it-all lilt.) He was like, no it’s not- oh wait. There it is, on the stove eye. THE STOVE EYE. You put the coffee on the STOVE EYE.
I’m sure, my friends, I will have many more of these stories to come.
Determination Gets You Everything
Feb 23rd
Here, my friends, is a video of Nathan getting better at his crawling. He’s crawling much faster and is becoming more and more coordinated. I have been like his shadow the past few days… following him around, camera poised and ready to shoot some video of him crawling. But, like I said in another post, every time he saw me turn on the camera, he would stop crawling and plop down, smiling as he waited for the inevitable flash and all the oooh’s and aaah’s that I say while reviewing the pictures.
He loves all the attention. He knows that the camera equals lots of fawning over him and lot (and I do mean lots) of praise for those super adorable poses that he’s getting really good at.
So get this. In order to get video of him crawling, I had to be a little crafty. You know how much he loves his laptop, right? Well, I placed Nathan at one end of the room… the laptop and I sat at the other end. I pressed one of the little musical buttons, and as soon as Nathan heard the familiar jingles, he was on his way!
I love how he slams his hands down on the floor with such determination. He’s all like, LAPTOP, I WILL GET YOU. You and your LITTLE DOG, TOO.
Jumper!
Feb 21st
For the past few days, I have been trying unsuccessfully to get video of Nathan finally crawling. As soon as I break out the camera, he stops, sits up, and grins… I think because he likes to have his picture taken. But I am persistant… and sooner or later, I’m going to get that video of him crawling, hopefully within the next few days.
In the meantime, I have a super-cute video of him in his new door bouncer we got him this weekend. I think the exersaucer has met its match. As soon as I put Nathan in the new bouncer, he immediately started bouncing around like a totally ecstatic little frog.
Life With a One Year Old
Feb 20th
As of next week, my little baby will no longer be considered an infant. Now, it’s life with a ONE YEAR OLD.
And it can be really frustrating, I think mostly because Nathan has all these emotions and feelings but he has no way to communicate them. One minute, he’s my sweet little guy… all smiles and dripping drool. The very next minute, he’s like an animal… howling, screeching, pinching, smacking, and simply being defiant.
And it can be over something as simple as feeding him something like pears.
It doesn’t matter that yesterday, pears were his favorite food. Because today, they are NOT his favorite food. And I’m his mother, so apparently, I’m supposed to be his personal mind-reader, because he acts like he simply CANNOT believe that I would have the utter audacity to GIVE HIM PEARS.
And don’t even get me started on diaper changes.
He used to be fine with them. Then one day, out of the clear blue, he suddenly turned into this wriggling snake-like being who defied the changing-table restraint straps like a force to be reckoned with. What used to take only a couple of minutes has now turned into a battle of wills.
Nathan does not want his diaper changed.
I do.
So he twists and contorts and screams, and I coax and cajole and try to be as fast as I can.
And when Nathan and I are just hanging out and playing, sometimes he’ll push me away when I try to hug him. I try not to take it personally because, hell, he’s only a year old and has no concept of other people’s feelings. But when I bend over to hug him or pick him up and he pushes me away, I can’t help but feel like little pang of sadness.
My baby wants to be independent.
And when he’s in the floor playing with the toys that surround him, he’ll suddenly get upset for whatever reason. And he will slap his toys away, throw his arm dramatically over his eyes, and cry while intermittently peeking out from under his arm to make sure I’m watching this spectacle.
But he also has his really sweet moments… moments that make my heart swell up with so much love that it feels like I’m about to float away on a wispy cloud of pure bliss. Like when we wake up from a nap and he rubs my cheek every so gently.
With a hand coated in slobber.
But then he forgets he’s supposed to be gentle when touching my face and will smack me out of sheer… love. Can you believe it? He loves me so much that he gets super excited and starts smacking my face. I tried explaining that domestic violence isn’t how you show love, but of course he doesn’t quite get that concept.
Sometimes he even tries to yank off my lips. AS IF THEY ARE DETACHABLE.
It’s absolutely amazing watching him grow. A year ago, he was 100% dependant on me for every single thing. Now? Now, he’s becoming a little more independent each day. I’ve watched him grow from this helpless little being into someone with his own personality and his own wants and needs. I’ve watched him learn how to roll over, how to sit up, how to crawl… and I cry a little (JUST A LITTLE) each time he masters a new skill.
And nothing beats when he wraps his little arms around my neck and gives me a hug or nestles into my hair.
Ah, living life with a one-year old. It’s never, ever dull. Or boring.
Recent Comments
It's so cute how he finds the littlest things hilarious!
I'd say he gets pretty tickled, adorable!!!! .-= SuziCate´s last blog ..The Great Outdoors Of Virginia =-.
Yes! A personal maid would be perfect! Oh, that would free up SO much of my time!!
I'll take a double-layer chocolate one!!