One Big Blur of Fun

My mom went with Nick and Henry and me this Saturday to the DuPage Children's Museum for their Family Fun Night. For Nick, it should've been called "One Big Blur of Fun" because he didn't stop moving the entire time.

Most of my pictures are blurry, but that's okay. Here is Nick playing in the music room.

Nick loved banging with those drumsticks, though I'm not sure if we can call the sounds he made "music." Notice how fast those drumsticks were moving.  :)

For a child as active as Nick, this museum is paradise because there is so much to see and do. It is loud, colorful, and filled with toys. His favorite part was the train. I was proud of how he waited his turn to drive the train. However, once he was sitting in the conductor's seat, my boy was not moving. He kept shouting, "All Aboard" and "Choo-Choo!"

Don't think that Henry missed out on the fun. He tried all kinds of things, including climbing up a squishy, wavy ramp. Henry loved people-watching most of all, though.

I noticed after I put Henry in these pants that they look like skinny jeans 'cause his legs are so chubby. Oh well, skinny jeans are in style now, even for guys.

One of the coolest things I saw for babies was this bar. It is set up almost like a ballet bar, but for babies. It had textured semicircles for them to feel with their baby fingers.

I'm so glad I took the boys. They had an excellent time, and slept like, well, like babies after all the commotion.

Pulling Up to Stand

Henry is fed up with the whole crawling thing. He is ready to walk. In the last week or so, he has figured out how to hold on to furniture and pull himself up to a stand.

Henry can even hold on with one hand. . . usually while he's trying to reach one of Nick's toys.

He's really pleased with himself, too. Henry knows he is showing off when he stands up, so he always grins at me as if to say, "Check out what I can do!" He is even starting to scoot sideways a bit, especially when he wants to reach something forbidden. I believe he was trying to climb the stairs in the picture below.

Here is some more video. I don't want to forget this stage in Henry's life, because I'm pretty sure he'll be walking (and running) very soon.

I looked up a video of Nick when he started to pull up, and I was amazed. Nick was several months older than Henry. But I see such a resemblance between them. I think Henry's starting to get chubby like Nick was during his late babyhood.

The baby cage is BACK. . .

. . . and, strangely enough, both boys seem pretty excited about this "new" development in the living room.  Henry doesn't seem to mind at all being behind bars.

I bought the baby cage when Nick was a baby, and it was a very smart purchase. Once a child starts crawling, it is impossible to relax even for a second. With the safety of the baby cage, I can visit the bathroom or even (gasp) start dinner without worrying that my child will immediately find and swallow the most dangerous object in the vicinity.





Nick can get into and out of the baby cage in much the same way as I can remember climbing chain link fences as a child. It's not graceful, but it works.

Thus far, I haven't heard many complaints from Henry about being caged. That will change soon enough, I'm sure, as soon as the novelty wears off.

Park-Hopping

Lately, when Nick gets bored, I've been taking him park-hopping. Novelty is the name of the game, and new parks are always exciting. We have mastered the art of park-hopping.

So here is our strategy. I always pick up lunch (usually Panera) and drive around a nearby subdivision. I tell Nick to "Look for a park!" I may pass up one that doesn't look fun or that is mostly for older kids, but generally I let him pick.

See, the brilliant part of this strategy is that the newness of the park enthralls Nick, and he runs around excitedly for at least twenty minutes. That is long enough for me to eat my salad and relax. A relaxing meal is rare around here, and if park-hopping buys a few minutes of peace, so be it.

Henry usually just chills in his carseat, but sometimes he sits with me on the bench and we get in some snuggle time while Nick runs.

New slides, new creatures to climb, and new woodchips to throw means that Nick plays until exhaustion hits. He has a very good nap after a park-hop. This helps Nick get his exercise quota in, and helps me maintain sanity. Plus, it's fun to watch him run around the park. I wonder if I burn more calories watching him run around while I sit on a bench?

Wordless Wednesday

Daredevil in the Making

Lately Nick has been standing on his toys-even the ones with wheels. The first time he tried standing on his zebra, he fell on his head. The second time, his daddy saw him do it and went to stand behind him. We're not entirely sure how to get him to stop.  Check out how crazy his hair is getting. We need to get it cut soon, but the curls are so cute we keep putting it off.

 

His balance is actually not too bad, but he falls more when he tries this on toys with wheels. (!) It's pretty cute if we're around to spot him, but he tends to try it when we are looking the other way. He doesn't seem to understand that it's okay to play with the zebra, but not okay to stand on it.

New Baby Skills and the Babyproofing Necessary to Counteract Said Skills

Nick has been displaying some new baby skills lately. Like slapping daddy five, when he's in the right mood. He hasn't figured out "Up high" yet, but he's working on it. As you can see, Nick easily pulls up to our cocktail table and walks around it. He can hold on with one hand and grab his bottle. Then he leans his head back to try to drink, and falls and bumps his head. At least he understands gravity; he knows that he has to lean either his head or the bottle back to get the milk.

Nicholas also climbs stairs. Yesterday he climbed up five stairs, with me behind him, of course. We've been trying to prevent him from going up, but he makes a beeline for the stairs every chance he gets. Molly (one of our cats) sleeps on the stairs, and he likes to chase her as she retreats backwards up one stair at a time. She does not like his "gentle" caresses, his hair pulling, or his face slapping.

He's been teething lately, poor guy. I think it's the upper two that are coming in now. I'd probably be ticked off if my gums were swollen, too.

This afternoon I realized that Nick can strip the wallpaper off of the walls. Then he eats the strips. I'm not sure how to stop him from doing this. (I immediately got the wallpaper from him, but still.) The cats have already started the job, and now he's finishing the wallpaper stripping job. Sigh. He's pretty cute, though, I'll give him that.

We've been using the baby cage to block Nick from all sorts of things lately. We're blocking the stairs, the entertainment center, and the dining room.

Before my eyes, Nick is changing from a baby to a little boy. Even his pout is adorable, although it's also infuriating. It's hard to believe that Nick is 10 1/2 months old. Wow. The difference is astonishing. See him today? Well, below is his picture as a newborn. Huge difference. He's no longer a 6 lb. weakling. Today Nick weighed in at 21 pounds. Carrying him in the carseat is quite a load. I guess we've certainly been feeding him enough. :)

To your right: Nicholas on November 23, 2008. This was only three days after we left the hospital.