life with a new baby
Archive for February, 2010
What’s so Funny?
Feb 6th
Every so often, something I say or do will trigger a laughing fit from Nathan. Once, it was every time I said the word happy. For hours, every time I would say the word happy, he would erupt into a laughing fit. Another time, it was puffing my cheeks up with air. And yet another time, it was making croaking noises. (Yes, I admit it… I croaked at my son a few times. Hey, ya do what ya gotta do, right? Whatever makes the little guy laugh. Or helps him eat his sweet peas.) Well, this time, he likes the “Z” sound, like “zipper” or just simply “zzzzz!” And for hours, every time I would say the zzz sound, he would laugh.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOhMSr4T66Y
Now, not so much. I think I said “zzz” one too many times in an attempt to get him to laugh when he was in the middle of telling me in no uncertain terms that he did NOT WANT GREEN BEANS TODAY, THANKYOUVERYMUCH. He would protest whatever I was feeding him for dinner, and I would “zzzzz” enough to elicit an open-mouthed laugh and whoosh! In would swoop the spoon of sweet potatoes or carrots or whatever his persnickety little taste buds were boycotting that day.
I’m always looking for ways to make Nathan laugh. There is just something about the way his eyes light up that keeps me on a constant quest for laugh-inducing antics.
Plus, it makes great entertainment. Admit it. It’s freaking hilarious to watch a baby crack up over the littlest things.
The Swiveling Head
Feb 3rd
Well, guess what Nathan did today?
No, it wasn’t a Mega Poop. And no, he didn’t fall asleep standing up again.
Ok, since the possibilities are endless, I’ll just tell you.
He was on his belly, scooting around the living room floor. Drool was flying everywhere and his hands and feet were spinning and whacking the air so feverishly that they became a blur. I could practically hear the air whistle as his limbs sliced through it. All of a sudden, he stopped, raised himself up to all fours and after rocking back and forth a couple times, he pushed himself up into the sitting position!
For the first time in his life, my little boy didn’t need my assistance to go from laying down to sitting up!
I’m so happy right now!!
See, he’s not started actually crawling with his tummy off the floor just yet. He crawls backwards though. And he rolls around from front to back all over the place. He also does the Army Crawl, and recently, he started doing half Army Crawl, half Lurch. And he’ll get up on all fours and rock back and forth. But no crawling.
If you’re a parent, then I’m sure you can understand when I say that his lack of mobility had me worried. When he was nine months old and still not crawling, I started obsessing over it. After all, I thought ALL babies crawled by nine months.
So I got on the Internet and worried myself to death by researching what other nine-month-olds were doing. I watched You Tube Videos. I cried. I wrung my hands. I obsessed over why he wasn’t like other babies, and I worried ceaselessly.
I worried so much that I lost sleep at night.
But then his pediatrician said that some babies completely skip crawling and go straight to walking. But he thinks that Nathan is simply choosing not to crawl. Because, get this, he would rather Mommy pick him up and CARRY HIM AROUND. So I quit carrying him around whenever Nathan cried for me to. Now, Nathan plays on the floor and if he wants a toy that’s out of his reach, I gently encourage him to go get it himself. If he cries when I walk away, I tell him to come to me.
And he tries.
He may not be crawling yet, but he is zipping around all over the place.
And he loves to stand. He can’t stand on his own yet or pull himself up, but he can hold onto furniture and keep his balance. And it’s precious watching him because he just looks so proud of himself. He’s all smiles and his head swivels around like that of an owl, trying to take in every single new detail he can obtain from this new height.
Sometimes he looks around so much that it seems like his head is going to just SWIVEL RIGHT OFF.
But his head is still attached. Miraculously, considering the amount of swiveling it does on a daily basis…
More Snow Fun
Feb 2nd
Remember how we had a “big” snow here in Tennessee on Saturday? (The word big is in quotes because our 5-6 inches of snow we got here is nothing compared to what those of you who live up north deal with every winter. But here in the south, 5-6 inches is something that happens quite rarely.) Well, we just couldn’t help ourselves. Even though the snow started to melt the next day, Sunday, we had to go sledding just one more time.
Because who knows? It could be another ZILLION YEARS before we get that much accumulation again.
So here’s some more pictures for you all to enjoy. This time, I actually sledded with Nathan. When we went sledding on Saturday, I was too scared to have him with me. I had images of the both of us careening off our ramp, flying through the air, and getting STUCK WITH THORNBUSHES.
So Paul’s the one that took Nathan down the hill on Saturday.
But Sunday was a new beginning, and I had done some deep-breathing exercises and was feeling confident enough to take my precious cargo on the sled with me.
I am so glad I did.
We were fine. We didn’t go flying through the air or land in any trees. We didn’t fall off and break our necks or decapitate ourselves. No face-plants or terrified shrieks.
I’m pretty sure Nathan liked it.
Next, it was Paul’s turn to sled with Nathan.
All in all, Nathan had more fun the second day than he did the first day, even though he had to wear a few pairs of socks on his hands since we didn’t have mittens. I think the first day, he was a little overwhelmed with being cold and the blinding whiteness that was everywhere.
He was a good sport about it all, though, and dealt with his mommy and daddy’s child-like excitement like a champ. And now we have these wonderful memories.
Recent Comments
Aww thanks, Tina, it was good to see you too! I wish I could have talked to you more... I ...
I'm sorry you all had a rough go yesterday, but it was good to see you both :) I have ...
Thank you, I appreciate that. It's so cool to hear people say that we look alike... I've been told there ...
Awww... what really nice photos! You two look so alike, especially with the way you smile.