It was a dark and stormy night...

Zander had a really good time on our hike around the Arboretum this weekend. See:

No, he wasn't crying or anything. But he had this look on his face for the last leg of the hike - the part he was awake for. Awestruck with beauty I guess. Me, I was laughing so hard I could barely walk upright.

In other Zander-news, the bouncer chair is almost ineffectual - no, I daresay it's downright counterproductive. He screams the moment his hiney hits the seat. But on the upside, our big boy would rather spend his time on his belly, checking out the world from that perspective. He so badly wants to move that he's almost forgotten to even bother with rolling over and just worms around. Picture this: his belly is the pivot and the arms and legs float just above the ground, wheeling about, looking for purchase, or maybe something brightly colored to stick in his mouth. Kind of a like a weeble ("weebles wobble but they don't fall down"). Luckily he can only move about six inches in ten minutes. And not in a straight line.

Lastly, Zander would like to thank his Grandma Carol for the Leapfrog noisy arch thing. I set that up for him last week when it became clear he was too sophisticated for his bouncer or playmat. He enjoys listening to the music while he watches TV (I can't stop him except to turn it off altogether!). Of course the adult brains are melting to the tune of "Somewhere out in the world today / little children go out to play / when they see each other they say hello / Bonjour, Hola, Konichiwa / In the land where they live / In the words that they know..." Our sympathizers - other parents of small children - please bow your head in a moment of silence for the death of our sanity. Yes, I understand if you can only find a moment of silence by locking yourself in the bathroom. It still counts.

I have feet

...and they're beautiful.

And tasty.

Toeberry, anyone?

i deny it all

you two are such suckers. need a pacifier? i have dozens! i've been hiding them in the--

More Milestones

He has more hair. The long tuft on top of his head is perhaps a bit longer but there's also definitely a thick fuzz of hair coming in on his scalp. It's still the same indeterminite darkish-lightish color that might someday be similar to my hair color...or Matt's. Heh.

The most amazing thing today - in time for Grandma Terry's birthday - Zander sat up (with a little help from me and a boppy to keep himself steady) and PLAYED with a toy! It's a handheld activity center that Lara gave him - it has a squeaky button, a rumbling lever, a spool of tumbling colored balls, and a bell (like an old firehouse bell). I showed him how to use it and he lept upon it with vigor, focusing mostly on the lever and the button. Go baby! His hand-eye coordination still has room for improvement but it was clear that his movements - and their results - were intentional.

Then he had to have a lie down on the boppy and watch some TV. Like father, like son.

He's solidly into the 3-6 month outfits now, only wearing the largest of his newborn stuff. We're guessing he's about 12 pounds. FYI, Zander has lots of clothes in the 3-6 month and 6-9 month sizes. Lots. As in, his whole dresser is full of 3-6 month clothes and there are two ten gallon bins of 6-9 month clothes. As in, I think he might get to wear it all if he wears two outfits a day. We are all three very grateful to be in this position of glut but he probably doesn't need any more clothes until next spring. Just sayin'.

And to keep everything in balance - the cute and the stinky - Zander has been pooping every day since Saturday. With so much regular, um, relief, one might not think it possible but this morning he exploded up and out the back of his diaper. You haven't lived until you've struggled to get a onesie off a baby that's coated inside with poop (who really is the one with a life, you might argue in all fairness). Yes, onesies, those wonderful articles of baby clothing that go on and off via the head.

So then bathtime - Zander is not really sure he likes his bath. It starts off so great: naked. He looooooves naked. But then he gets put into the water and this is where he starts to get worried. It's impossible to clean his neck because he scrunches up his shoulders. He doesn't cry but he's really not sure why you think this is something worthwhile or why he needs to be involved in the process. I think a lot of his concern stems from pickiness over the water temperature - it's always either too warm or too cold. Oh well. He'll understand the joys of water as soon as he figures out how to combine the playtime above with his bath.

He's so intrigued by being on his belly that he's forgotten to practice rolling over from that position. Instead, he's really working hard on rolling over from his back to his front. He'll start crying and I run in from the other room to find him rolled 3/4 of the way over. Just gotta figure out that shoulder and the rest will follow.

Then: watch out world.

Chilly

It was a bit cold this morning and hasn't really warmed up. I'm not complaining - I'm a sweater-weather gal myself. Zander, however, got dressed this morning in his usual tank romper style. By the first diaper change after breakfast we had added socks. After lunch, I tried to layer him with the gorgeous Aran baby sweater that our Scottish friend Andy's mom made. The arms are still too long but it would have worked if Zander had stopped crying (he was crying before I put the sweater on him - I don't think it was scratchy, I think he was still cold, bare knees and all). So we sadly set the sweater aside and dressed him in a footed sleeper. Now I only have his hot head and cold hands to worry about.

The sleeper is really cute, multi-colored horizontal stripes. I believe it was given to Zander by Dan & Liz Ingraham. I think what's really charming about it, though, is that he looks like an older baby just because he's wearing a different style of clothing than usual, a style that shows off his overall shape.

He's happily chewing on his hands while perched on my knee, watching me type one-handed. Shouldn't you be taking a nap, my little son? You're dressed the part.

I love this part of the day

(Taken 8/12/05 - they're both asleep)

What's up with that finger?

Zander has been holding his own in the realm of nap-dom. We put him down to sleep and he does the rest on his own. There have been a few tears but nothing we can measure by the hour. We've been gradually working on it but this week made it official. I count us as being lucky because I have heard lots of horror stories about babies and kids who won't go to sleep by themselves. I think in part it helps that he's still very young; however, he gains willpower by the day. There are other battles to come, to be sure.

Meanwhile Matt or I enjoy the occassional afternoon nap with the baby in the recliner. There's nothing like it in the world.

Do Re Mi

I discovered last week that Zander really likes the "Do Re Mi" song fom the sound of music. Aunt Amber will be proud to hear that! He likes singing in general, but only cheerful songs. He started crying when I sang the one about the Irish Potato Famine. (It wasn't an appreciative weeping either.)

He's made more progress with sitting up - he's steady now but eventually slumps forward or to the side.

He is also marvelous at holding his head and chest up while laying on his tummy. Very steady.

He loves loves loves! to stick things in his mouth.

He's figuring out that there's lots of cool things to look at around him all the time, consequently he can only fall asleep - no matter how tired he is - if we cover him with a blanket (like a bird).

When he's hungry he will try and undress me. Luckily he's not coordinated enough. Yet.

If you catch him at the right time, he will tell you his life story.

...And this is one of MY favorite things:

He likes him some links

There are new pictures up for July and August.

Zander today!

A picture of Zander taken today. He liked posing (the little ham!) but lacked the ability to hold himself upright or sit still. I hope to put up pics here on the blog more often. We just have to work out a fast way to make it happen. Today's experiment went well.

Ain't he cute? Awww...

The glass teat

Zander has discovered the TV. I don't know that he can see the screen clearly but he notices the color and motion. If I turn him away from the TV, he will twist his head over his shoulder to keep his eyes on the screen. Our days of watching whatever we want with baby in the room are numbered. He also watches me work on the computer and cruise the Internet. Techno-babe.

Other news from this weekend - Zander didn't poop for a week - again! But he finally cut loose on Sunday afternoon. We gave him the ol' apple juice treatment. He seems to be developing quite the taste for it too. The last couple of bottles he sucked down as fast as he could.

What was especially funny was when I was playing with him after his last bottle (only one ounce of watered down baby apple juice!) - he was very bright-eyed and chirpy and laughed at everything I did over and over again. Matt took one look and said the baby was hopped up on the sugar from the apple juice. Or something! He was more excited than any other time I've seen - and I pretty much see them all.

Oh but the best part is his fat little baby thighs - he has a gigantic roll of fat on each upper thigh. I love 'em.

Baby, Thy Name Is Co-Dependent

Zander is becoming more difficult to put down for naps. And did I mention he likes to sleep more right now? He gets tired, he gets fussy, he will only be soothed (I use this term loosely, as in 15 decibels as opposed to 22) while one is standing and doing some kind of New Wave baby cha-cha. Better yet, you should also turn off lights, black out windows, and turn down the tv/radio.

The best part though is that when you think he's finally good and gone to la-la land, you put him down only to discover that he's grabbed your shirt in a baby ninja death grip and in the process of prying him off, you will wake him up. Do you do it? Or do you hover inches above his sweet sleeping face, glad that he's not crying, that he's finally gone to sleep?

I like to live on the edge. I managed to extract my clothing and the "sleeping" baby is laying on the couch next to me while I type. . . . I look over and he's watching me through barely slitted eyes. Next thing I know he'll be reading my email and listening in on my phone calls.

Growing Pains

It is both exhilerating and terrifying to have a little baby going through a growth spurt. Exhilerating to have more than an hour to myself - and fair certainty of that hour plus. Baby goes down to sleep and stays there. For a long time. I knit. I write. I go buy groceries for my sister's birthday dinner. I marvel at all the time I suddenly have.

On the terrifying side, I haven't really worried, until now, about SIDS since the first week of Zander's life and the 6-week growth spurt (we missed the 3-week one since there was really no schedule to our lives at that time). I find myself tiptoeing up to him and staring staring staring to see if his little chest is rising up and down like it should be. Then, if I am not sure, I reach out to touch him, half hoping I will startle him awake. And what do you know! I do startle him awake! And there never was a sorrier sight (or sound) than a very tired baby rudely awakened. Oy.

Sleeeeeep

Three month growth spurt, right? Li'l Zeebob here has been sleeping a lot more than usual. Not at night, no, he still likes to wake up a couple times at night to be soothed or fed or just to be evil to his mama.

Grow, Zander, grow! Twelve weeks on Saturday....

Jockey

Zander's favorite game of the past week is to perch on your knee while said knee jiggles up and down. He grips your knee with his legs, stiffens his spine, and throws his arms up in the air. He never seems to tire of this fun. Matt decided this was his jockey pose and takes him out on races all the time. Has Zander already given up his dream to be an astronaut for the hard luck life of a jockey?

In other news, he's starting to grab at things with more purpose and continues to make progress with learning to sit up on his own. Put on his belly, he doesn't crawl so much as he writhes his way around. Crawling is a ways off but clearly he's unamused with staying in one place for long.

He also babbles a lot and I have obsessed with trying to capture this on video. Seems he's camera shy. Or actually I think he's trying to figure out how to get the camera away from me, which requires a lot of silent concentration.

And the drool! Let me tell you about the drool....