First birthday party on Sunday! Endless trips to the dollar store, the grocery store, the party supply stores. Laura's making a caterpillar cake, and our theme is bugs. Because he's a little bug. We've chosen a theme that has absolutely zero merchandizing. So, I guess that's good (?) I'm making bug antennae, a "spot the ladybug" game, and a bunch of kid's food, and also rice and beans. Mom's making green chile.We're planning kid activities: spot the ladybug, squash that bug (pop balloons with gummy worms inside), cocoon your mom/dad, plant a bughouse (a flower) a pinata and of course, cake. There will probably be about fifty people here, and it will be about a hundred degrees.
I bought a slip and slide.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
ALL AT ONCE
Once he started crawling, all the switches got thrown to GO! He's started waving hello and goodbye, and clapping. He's still taking off his socks and shoes the minute he has access to them. Today, his grandma showed him how his socks became puppets, which he immediately tried doing and succeeded, much to his shrieking delight. Yes, shrieks of joy are new, and accompanied by tensing up his entire little body and balling up his fists.
He started what is known as "cruising" today, which is walking while holding on to furniture, or me, or a combination of the two. I started singing "Cruising, it's not Sunday afternoon..."
He's a noble little guy. Shares his food without fail and knows the rules, like don't go in the kitchen, don't play with the stereo, don't crawl off the edge of the bed. When faced with any of those temptations, he'll do a little dance on his belly, pumping his fists and his legs, then shake his head. Do the dance, then shake his head. I generally intervene and praise his virtue at that point. And then there's his looking out for the little guy. In this case, his eight week old cousin, JJ, whom we visited today. His feet were chilly so we put socks on him. Alexander immediately zoomed forth to liberate his cousin from the oppression of socks. Twice.
Meanwhile we started sleep training yesterday, and his dad has sent me out of the house both evenings, for which I'm ever greatful. So far, so good. After protesting for about 45 min last night, he slept most of the night without waking up--from 8.30 to 3.45! Of course at that point I was DYING to nurse him, and he happily obliged. Tonight, he only protested for 20 min. Let's hope tomorrow's easier too. He was so ready for this. We all were so ready for this, in spite of my inital resistance to any approach that involved crying. But, I guess after hearing him cry in the car all the way to Pasadena, I found I could survive the crying. Still, I feel a kind of loss at not cuddling my baby to sleep anymore.
He started what is known as "cruising" today, which is walking while holding on to furniture, or me, or a combination of the two. I started singing "Cruising, it's not Sunday afternoon..."
He's a noble little guy. Shares his food without fail and knows the rules, like don't go in the kitchen, don't play with the stereo, don't crawl off the edge of the bed. When faced with any of those temptations, he'll do a little dance on his belly, pumping his fists and his legs, then shake his head. Do the dance, then shake his head. I generally intervene and praise his virtue at that point. And then there's his looking out for the little guy. In this case, his eight week old cousin, JJ, whom we visited today. His feet were chilly so we put socks on him. Alexander immediately zoomed forth to liberate his cousin from the oppression of socks. Twice.
Meanwhile we started sleep training yesterday, and his dad has sent me out of the house both evenings, for which I'm ever greatful. So far, so good. After protesting for about 45 min last night, he slept most of the night without waking up--from 8.30 to 3.45! Of course at that point I was DYING to nurse him, and he happily obliged. Tonight, he only protested for 20 min. Let's hope tomorrow's easier too. He was so ready for this. We all were so ready for this, in spite of my inital resistance to any approach that involved crying. But, I guess after hearing him cry in the car all the way to Pasadena, I found I could survive the crying. Still, I feel a kind of loss at not cuddling my baby to sleep anymore.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Quick!
This kid is doomed to wear pants that are always either too long or too short. He's growing so fast I can't keep up with what fits. We have two plastic bins: one filled with things that are too small, and one filled with things that are too big. Inevitably, I keep missing the window on the upcoming clothes. Also: he's between shoe sizes: medium pinches his chubby feet and large looks like clown shoes that flop right off.
He's just learned to wave. It's bye bye and its also random. His English grandparents are visiting, Nain and Taid (Welsh for Grandma and Grandpa) and he's having a grand time playing with them and being taken out on very long walks where he gets to see flowers and the world.
I've just put together invitations for his first birthday party at the end of this month, and I cannot believe it's already been so long. This time last year I was very pregnant, and wrecked from not sleeping and anxiety. Against all expectation, I'm more relaxed than I've been in a long, long, time. This time two years ago I was reeling from jetlag in India and being a corporate wife for the summer, and the year before that we had just bought our house and moved in.
It was Baby Day at the hospital where he was born; we got an invitation to come take a group photo, so we went. They had invited all babies and their families born from 2006-2009, and took a group photo for each year. It made me feel almost giddy, happy to be there. As we left I teared up. It snuck up on me, the momentousness of the occasion. This was Alexander's generation, his cohort. And also, this was a thing that was only us, not our families of origin, but something else, new and exciting. The future seems full of the thrill of the unknown for the first time in a long time. Funny, that. I mean going to India was exciting, but in a very different way. I'll have to think more about how.
He's just learned to wave. It's bye bye and its also random. His English grandparents are visiting, Nain and Taid (Welsh for Grandma and Grandpa) and he's having a grand time playing with them and being taken out on very long walks where he gets to see flowers and the world.
I've just put together invitations for his first birthday party at the end of this month, and I cannot believe it's already been so long. This time last year I was very pregnant, and wrecked from not sleeping and anxiety. Against all expectation, I'm more relaxed than I've been in a long, long, time. This time two years ago I was reeling from jetlag in India and being a corporate wife for the summer, and the year before that we had just bought our house and moved in.
It was Baby Day at the hospital where he was born; we got an invitation to come take a group photo, so we went. They had invited all babies and their families born from 2006-2009, and took a group photo for each year. It made me feel almost giddy, happy to be there. As we left I teared up. It snuck up on me, the momentousness of the occasion. This was Alexander's generation, his cohort. And also, this was a thing that was only us, not our families of origin, but something else, new and exciting. The future seems full of the thrill of the unknown for the first time in a long time. Funny, that. I mean going to India was exciting, but in a very different way. I'll have to think more about how.
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