My Day with Henry

Henry and I had a whole day to ourselves today, and it was lovely. We had some serious bonding time, and some even more serious napping time. I'm not usually a good (or even decent) photographer, but I love this photo I snapped of Henry while I was chatting with him this afternoon.

I love newborns, because they're so tiny and yet so perfect. For some reason, I didn't take many videos of Nick when he was this tiny. I want to make sure we get plenty of videos of Henry in action. Babies grow and change so fast, and I want to remember him like this. Especially the adorable baby toes.

Greg and Grandma Toni took Nick to the zoo all day, so Henry and I had lots of cuddle time. He is very responsive to touch, and he wants to be against my skin all the time. I've been using my baby sling constantly, because I don't have to put Henry down every time I have to use my hands. Also, he absolutely loves being all snuggled up. After all, this time last week he was squished inside of me. Hard to believe.

I've been loving my new Nook--it was the perfect gift for someone who has to spend a lot of time sitting in a chair nursing and pumping. One of the first books I bought is called Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, by David Eagleman. I heard about this book on NPR a few weeks ago, and was pretty sure I'd enjoy it. It's about neuroscience and human behavior, and how the two are linked in so many ways. (I know, I'm all about the light summer reading.) I've been reading a chapter or so every feeding, and I finished it today. This book was a fascinating read, and I loved using the Nook because I can read with only one hand when the other one is, ahem, occupied by holding a tiny little head.

I found it really cool to think about how much of our behavior is, in many ways, a result of what goes on inside of our brains. I loved his idea of discovering brain exercises to do that might rehabilitate criminals. The author took some very complex stuff and made it understandable. I think I'm going to have to buy more books by this author.

For being less than a week out from surgery, I feel like I've been pretty productive. I'm being careful, but trying to move around and get things done. Besides hanging out with Henry, I also made some whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread in my bread machine (with baby in the sling), and had a two-hour afternoon nap. We sat out on the screened in porch and took in the fresh air for a few hours. I love this weather--it has been warm but not hot, just perfect weather for having the windows open. Henry took a nap with our cat, Molly this evening. She loves Henry so far, because he can't chase her yet!

The Tallest Tower EVER!

Lately Nick and I build a tower nearly every evening. A few nights ago, we built one that was especially tall. I think my son has a future career in middle management, because he sure likes to order us around. He was all, "Put the blue one there!" and "No, not that one. The red one!" Nick added quite a few pieces himself, but he was particular about what went where. This particular tower took at least a half hour to build, because my perfectionist son kept unbuilding it and then building again.

This tower was so big that Nick put his stuffed mouse in it. "Mouse goes in there!" he said. "Mouse house."

I like nights like this, where we can just sit around in our pajamas and play for a good hour. It's these simple moments that I hope to remember with this blog. Nick is growing so fast, and he's very different now even than he was just a few months ago.

Here is Nick's version of "ta-dah!"  Molly the cat was duly impressed with our hard work.

Simple Toys and Simple Joys

One of the best things about having a toddler around is the way they find joy in the simple things. Like a metal mixing bowl from the kitchen. Nick managed to use it to play peekaboo, as a drum, as a hat, as a hat for the cat, as a stool, and as a chair. That is what I call creative play.

Oh, and no worries. . .no animals were harmed in the making of the above video. Ticked off, maybe, but not harmed. Notice that after being accosted with the bowl, Molly didn't go far. She just hid under our cocktail table, watching what Nick was doing.

Since Nick broke his arm, I've been trying to keep an eye on him so he doesn't break anything else. You know what I noticed? My son climbs a lot. Nick climbs on his toys, on the furniture, and on me. Upwards of forty times a day, Nick climbs precariously on something. His cast puts him slightly off balance, and he often falls. My task is immense.

Oh, and some good news. Greg and I bought a new living room set. We are thrilled. :) It's being delivered on Friday. I cannot wait. We also bought slipcovers so that the cats don't claw the new couch. (They'd better not!)  We honestly haven't done much redecorating since we moved in, so this will be the first step in redoing our living room. It's amazing how such a simple thing (like getting new furniture) can make us so happy and excited.

Our current couch has cushions that are constantly sliding down. It's very bad on my back. The new one has cushions that won't slide. The last straw was when I found Nick playing with the stuffing he pulled out of one of the arms of our old couch. "That's it!" I told Greg. "We're getting a new couch." And we did. Do you see what I mean? Note the arm of this couch. Hey, anybody interested in an old couch and chair?  (The cat is not included.)  ;)

Here, Kitty-Kitty. . .

This is Molly. She is a 9-year old mixed-breed cat, and she has a thing for Nick. Our other cats are afraid of him, but she actively seeks him out. The feeling is mutual, as you can see above.

I got Molly in 2001 when she was a tiny little thing. She's always been the most vocal cat, and her personality is more human than cat. Molly makes all kinds of noises, and is especially attached to men, although she tolerates me. With four males in the house (two human and two feline), Molly and I are the only girls around. She genuinely believes she is in charge, and it is seldom that anyone argues with that. Our two other cats know that she's the one in charge, and they accept her dominance.

When Nicholas starts crying, Molly will go to him and yowl at us as if to say, "Do something about it!" I'm not sure if she does this out of love or because she can't stand the sound of his crying. She'll try to comfort him, too, by nuzzling him with her chin. A couple of days ago she sat under his high chair and he threw her pieces of roast beef. I was thinking maybe he didn't like roast beef, but then I fed it to him today and he liked it just fine. Babies are fickle, I guess.

Nick likes to show his affection for Molly with big hugs. Unfortunately, he often tackles her to the ground with these hugs. Other cats would run away, but Molly stands her ground and refuses to leave, even after having her ears pulled or her fur yanked. Molly's patience has increased in recent months, and she mostly just growls until Greg or I come and peel him off of her. It's not surprising that one of his first words is "Kitty." When I gave Nick a bath this morning, Molly sat on the toilet lid and watched, intrigued as to why someone would want to be sitting in all that water.

There was lots of time for cat-human interaction this weekend. Today we stayed home and relaxed, and the cats got plenty of exercise while running from Nick. It must be something about winter, but I never feel like doing much around this time of year. I'd rather just stay inside and dream of warmer days.

Photography frustrations and the joy of junk mail

Nick was thrilled in this picture because I let him keep all of the mail. There wasn't anything important that I needed, so I let him tear it to shreds and chew on it. He was all, "Best toy Ev-er!" Then he spent the next twenty minutes tearing papers and shrieking joyfully. I'm sure that's not what all the politicians figured would happen with their attack ads and fliers.

We get the funniest junk mail. Besides being on every democratic/liberal mailing list in three counties, we get a ton of baby coupons and fliers. When I was pregnant with Nick, I signed up for everything. Plus, Greg is a child and adolescent therapist, so he gets fliers for seminars and such all the time. In a typical week, we receive ads for programs on how to help: adolescents who cut themselves, children with psychopathic tendencies, and video game addiction and its implications. (Yes, really.) Finally, since I'm a teacher, I get union fliers and magazines, educational journals, and fliers for seminars. Oh, and you can't forget the catalogues for prizes and children's books. (Every year I spend hundreds of dollars on prizes for my little friends. The catalogue people have caught on to this.)



The camera saga continues. My camera, a Nikon Coolpix S220, apparently had something wrong with the lens and two other parts. We mailed it in and they agreed. Yup. The pictures it took sucked. They fixed it at no charge, and mailed it back to me. I finally got my camera back this week, and I excitedly snapped about a dozen shots of Nick yesterday and today. However, when I uploaded the pictures today. . . well, you can see what happened. I'm not using any weird mode. These pictures were taken in auto mode in a lighted indoor room. I cannot be that bad of a photographer. So I emailed Nikon again and thus, the saga continues. I swear, if I have to mail it to them again, I'm not going to be a happy camper. We paid for insurance and priority mail shipping, and the darned thing still doesn't work right.

This last picture (below) isn't quite so bad. Still grainy, but not too blurry. I'm not sure why this picture worked and the others are all blurry and spotty. I know the lens is clean because they replaced the lens. Sigh. Anyhow, Nicholas was bringing me a book to read. . . again. Not that I mind. Lately Molly (my female cat) has taken to sitting on the arm of the couch, listening to me read to Nick. I wonder if she understands any of the stories. She sure looks interested. Then again, while she's pretty smart for a cat, she's not smart enough to run away when Nick gives her hugs. Instead she just growls and whines until I come and get him.

Relaxing Places, a Baby with a Squash, and a Walk on the Farm

I really do believe that you can tell a lot from one, badly balanced, poorly shot photo. This is my screened-in porch, and one of my all time favorite places. It is one of Molly's favorite places, too. She loves the view of the bird feeders, which I finally refilled. It's free kitty TV for her to sit out there and watch the feeders, which are now covered with finches and all manner of little birdies. Unfortunately, as soon as I try to photograph them, they fly away.

I just bought myself the cup you see on the table. It was half off at Starbucks on the clearance rack. I've wanted that cup for months now, but refused to pay the exhorbitant regular price. Now it sits happily on my patio table, filled with cafe con leche, with 4 splendas, whipped cream and sprinkles on top. (Hey, a gal's gotta enjoy life.) This is one of my favorite spaces, because I can enjoy the view of the pond and the birds and listen to the sound of the outdoors. I'm pretty decent at making myself relax, and this is my favorite place to do it; I put my feet up, sip my coffee, and just breathe.

The book is Steven Pinker's "The Stuff of Thought," which is a complicated but fascinating treastise on linguistics and the evolution of language. So far I'm loving it, but I'm reading it in small parts, perhaps a chapter a day or so. Now that I'm back to work, my reading has slowed a bit.

Entertaining Nick has become an interesting challenge lately. He quickly becomes bored in the baby cage, so I've been trying to find new things that he can play with. Today it was a pot, a spoon, and a yellow squash from my garden. Not sure why he liked the squash so much, but hey, whatever works.

His latest trick has been to squirt his bottle all over the place. Today he squished it all over the rug and the comforter I have under the baby cage. Then he soaked his onesie. Thus the reason he is nearly naked.

This last place is a very peaceful, quiet wooded setting. It was taken on Saturday, up by Greg's Grandma's farm in Gleason, Wisconsin. The ruins in the back are of the Estonian Church, and Greg told me he thought it was haunted when he was a child. It sure looks spooky.

The property in Gleason is beautiful, and the weather was just lovely. Usually it's pretty cold when we go in September. I wish we would have had more time to enjoy it; we arrived after 2:30 on Saturday and had to leave around 10 a.m. Sunday.

You can see the farmhouse behind the trees. It is small and very quaint, especially compared to the property, which is expansive and wooded. The air smells fresh and clean, and it really is lovely, except for the mosquitoes. They are why we ended up only having a short walk. After one trip up the driveway and back, a few of them started swarming Greg. One was flying around Nick, so he rushed the stroller back towards the house and safety. (Greg is afraid of West Nile Virus. Not that I like mosquitoes much myself.)

Funnel Cakes, Sign Language, and Grandparents Galore

On Sunday, Greg and I took Nick to Septemberfest in Schaumburg. My grandmother lives bordering the park district grounds, and I've gone every year that I can remember. They have a craft show, a carnival, and music. All I bought was a barrette, but it was nice looking around at all of the crafters and artists.

Nick loved crawling around my grandma's super-plush carpeting. Our house has mostly hardwood floors, and Nick absolutely loved the cushiness under his little knees.

Nick got to try his first funnel cake at the fair. No, we didn't give him a whole one. Actually, my mom, my sister, Nick, Greg, my grandma, and I all split one funnel cake. (The thing still enough sugar in it to last a week!)

He seemed to like it. You can see him using the sign for "milk" with his right hand. Nick has only picked up this one sign so far, and he's actually generalized it to mean "I want." He makes that sign when he wants milk, food, or more sugary fried goodness. To make the sign for milk, you just open and close your hand as if you were milking a cow. After munching on a funnel cake, I can see why he wanted a drink of milk!

Nick's grandpa got to play with him while we were all visiting. It's a good thing there were so many adults around, because Nick was bound and determined to crawl into something and cause himself bodily harm.

Nick is in only his diaper because he makes a huge mess when he eats. My grandma doesn't have a high chair, so we put him down on a blanket and stripped him. Finger food is developmentally appropriate, but horribly messy. Nude babies are easier to clean.

My mom has been making these cool hats, and we put one on Nick's head, just to see what he would do. Well, he takes hats off, and then plays with them. My sister, by the way, is responsible for most of today's photographs. She can make a picture look good, whereas I make photos look as if a 5-year-old took them.

It was an incredibly busy weekend, and there wasn't a minute to take a breath. I think I need a vacation day just to recover from this weekend!
Nick sure enjoyed himself, though, especially all of the new foods he got to eat. Here he is with his grandpa, after a bite of a chocolate eclair. Do you think maybe he liked it?

I swear, though, my kid eats very healthy. Special treats only happen on the weekends, and we try not to let him have more than a bite or two. Today he ate vegetable risotto, tuna with peas, green beans and brown rice, and sliced peaches.

Notice him again using the sign for "milk." It's pretty neat how he picked that up. Our babysitter uses that sign, but her two-year-old twins use it all the time, and that's where we think he learned it. We are trying now to teach him more sign.

We've also noticed that Nick signs with his right hand, and uses his left hand to eat and grasp toys. We're not sure yet if that means he'll be left handed, or if he's just ambidextrous now.

Below I'm posting a video of Nick chattering away and eating some finger foods. At the end of the video, he decides he wants his milk. You can see him making the sign for milk furiously. He does it faster and faster until he gets his drink. Molly, the cat you see in the video, has started hanging around Nick's high chair. She's realized that food sometimes spontaneously falls from it, so she watches him eat and lies in wait. No wonder she isn't losing weight on her kitty diet food. :)