Happy Birthday, Poppy!

Poppy's Birthday at John's Pizza--
Christian's first "blow out the candles" experience


Meredith gives Christian his first Party Hat

He's not too sure it's his style...

Pretending to share his crust with Lance

Forget the hat... I just want my Uncle!

Poppy's Truck

This afternoon we went to Gramsy and Poppy's to wait for the arrival of Uncle Lance and Cousin Lance. Christian got to ride in Poppy's 'vrooooooooooom'. It was a Big Vroom Vroom with Wood Chips in the back of it. He got to steer it and beep the horn. Then we got to watch Poppy dump some big tree trunks from the back of his dump truck, and Christian watched in amazement. It was a dream come true (for all the time he's had to dream in this little life...).

Then he got to push his new little bike/walker alllll the way down the driveway. It was the cutest little thing to watch-- all duck-footed and confident-- strutting his addidas warm-up suit all the way. We're looking forward to playing with Lance and Lance tomorrow, in between time at the hospital with Gramma Bernie ... who is still struggling to get well. It's nice to have some new faces in town for the little guy to get to know!

Step One...

Yesterday was pretty monumental in the scheme of Christian's little life. He took his first steps! Quite by accident, but then again, I'm sure that's how it happens for a lot of us. I was sitting in the playroom with him and somehow he ended up standing next to me with a toy and without thinking about it, tried to walk toward me (a foot away). I said, "Are you gonna walk to Mommy???" And with that he took a couple of steps and fell into my arms. At my excitement and encouragement ("You Walked! You Walked!") he was thrilled to do it again, this time taking 3 or 4 steps before plunging into my arms-- laughing all the way. It was a rush of beautiful "in the moment"-ness. And after practicing a few more times, he went back to crawling around with his new Lego's. . . . And of course today he is suddenly self conscious, and won't walk without being able to reach my fingertips in some way. But i did catch him standing on his own several times this morning, clapping... i guess, for himself!
To my surprise it actually warmed up enough yesterday afternoon to go for a walk in the park. It was Christian's first time actually taking everything in tangibly. Discovering the wood chips, and how they fall between your fingers when you pick up a handful. . . . observing every person and dog that walked by, barking at them to come over and play (which one actually did, and of course it happened to be a massive Mastiff with a whip for a tail...slightly overwhelming). He went on the swing, the slide, and climbed the steps of the jungle-gym. He "vroomed" at every car, truck and bus that went by (the park is surrounded by streets on all 4 sides, so this was what most of our time was spent observing). And finally, the most fabulous part of it all-- maybe even some kind of rite of passage-- i introduced him to his first stick. it was a little longer than he is, and he twirled it, banged it on the ground, the jungle-gym, and me. We sat in the dirt and played tug-of-war with it, and i only had to say "be careful or you'll poke your eye out" a couple of times. It was a sweet time of being a Mom of a boy... watching my little boy be a boy-- enjoying the adventures of the world outdoors. Needless to say he fell asleep as soon as we started the stroll home. I let him sleep in the stroller on the back porch for a good 40 minutes to get some fresh air into him-- and he woke up with a look of wonder as to how he got there.
As I was making dinner I turned on some music, and a few minutes later I turned around in time to see him bouncing up and down on his knees to the beat. I guess that counts as his first dance, too! What a day!!

it's been a while...

i just realized it's been a whole week since i've posted... and i'm not sure if there's really a reason. it's not like i've been too busy... or my baby's gotten less cute(r) ... or the routine's become mundane. it's more likely because i've been spending more of my computer time on Facebook (i knew it was a bad idea to join!)... and less time taking pictures, as i am quickly running out of hard drive space to store them... something that definitely needs to be remedied.
we've been spending time visiting Great Grandparents-- Christian is adoring Gramma Peg's Piano and Grampy's 'growls'.
Yesterday my dear, sweet Grandma Bernie was admitted to the hospital with Pneumonia and a UTI. She's having a rough time and it's hard to think of her suffering and not in her right mind. Lately she's been having trouble remembering names, so she's been referring to Christian as "Bang Bang", since that's his favorite thing to do whenever we go to visit (bang on the coffee table). So that's what we call him now when we call to say hi and give a "What's new" report. She's such a sweet and precious Gramma... and it is becoming an increasingly difficult road for her and her caregivers. Saying a prayer for her and those closest to her (Grampy and My Mom) tonight...
Bang Bang's latest cute-isms:
he is officially obsessed with the ceiling fan (or "nan"), the sound of trucks and cars going by outside ('vrooming' when he hears them, even when i'm oblivious), and his Da Da. today i showed him a picture of Dave and me and told him that it was Dadda and Mama-- to which he replied, excitedly, "Da Da!" When i pointed out again that I, too, was in the picture, he whimsically gazed at the photo and said, "Da Da!" Once in a while he'll say "Mama"-- usually when he's fussing... or when i ask him if he wants a mango.
Just now as i was reading a new book to him (that i snagged at one of those rad recent Children's Sales) i pointed to 2 turtles on opposing pages and said "turtle... turtle". Like it was an everyday thing, he took his little index finger, pointed to the first turtle, then the second, and said, "Tuh Tuh". he's never pointed to anything before, let alone labeled it. so now he's a pointer. and a labeler. pure genius :).

he's also getting pretty good at saying (in his own way): trees, truck, car, cheese (tho he suddenly won't eat it), banana (nana), shoes, socks, bike, water (wawa), HOT (to the fireplace), and bottle (referring mainly to my water bottles). Oh and of course his favorite: POP! --in reference now to the salad spinner, Poppy, and his little popping truck.

in other terribly unexciting news, our basement carpet seems to have dried up just in time for a leaky pipe to damage the basement ceiling (right thru the fresh coat of paint), and just in time for our appraisal. fortunately dave was able to temporarily stop the leak until our plumber returns from his vacation in florida! and paint over the water damage until we can get the dry wall replaced. the joys of homeowning~~

must go replace the binkies, which sound as if they've been flung from the crib, by the wailing that is coming from the nursery. Apparently SOMEONE doesn't think 8pm is a suitable bedtime for a tired baby boy.

New News

Our hot water heater busted last night -- and by this morning our brand new carpeted basement was soaked (not all of it, but a good section of the hall, including the bookshelves we JUST got and filled w/dave's HEAVY books.... which i had the job of unstacking and moving today, along with cleanup duty...)
I am once again so thankful for my mom's proximity and flexible schedule, as she was able to come over and help watch Bubby while I sopped up the wetness with the loads of beach towels she brought with her. . . 1 dehumidifier, 2 shop vacs, 4 fans, and a million towels later, we are hoping that the pad underneath will dry out too!
The upside is that the plumber was here before 8am and we had hot water again before 10am! Now that's service! $1475 worth... but still... it's remarkable that we live in a country where clean, hot water is available on demand. We take it for granted like so many other things. And the heater was apparently 13 years old-- which is a pretty long life for its kind. So really, we are counting our blessings...
The greatest of which is our little Energizer Bubby-- who has decided that more than a 30 minute nap is really just a waste of a good afternoon.
His big news of the day is his new-found ability to balance on his own two feet for many seconds at a time. he's been letting go of furniture steadily for the past week or so, but today i actually watched him find his center of balance (unbenounced to him), and remain standing while focussing on whatever toy he was holding,... until he realized he wanted to go somewhere, at which time he would slowly lower himself to the floor and take off down the hall. Every time he did this, he stood for longer periods of time without realizing he was 'on his own'. It's so neat to see him actually growing in a skill over a 12 hour period. I predict those first steps will come before May.
He also decided today to take a liking to his giant stuffed horse from Gia. He keeps charging at it, tackling it, biting it's fur, banging on its head, and laughing hysterically. I am hoping to get it on video... it's very amusing (to him especially). He also delights in going for a 'cowboy ride'-- jumping up and down on the horsey, with assistance, to the William Tell Overture.
We tried to get his musings on video last evening when he thought it very funny to hear us say, "Dance! Dance! Cha-Cha-Cha!" while making him (and us) dance in place. But of course as soon as we turned the camera on, he no longer found it funny. In fact he was rather annoyed.
So i guess that just goes to show-- you can bite a horse like crazy, but you can't make him dance. -- or something like that.
:)

New Toys

Let the Spring Sales begin--
I went to a Mothers of Multiples Children's Sale on Saturday and Christian went to Gramsy's to play...
He was thrilled when I returned with a new 'walker', which suits him much better than the old person's one! He is so busy all the time now-- and this $3 item is sure to be worth every penny!
And because of his fascination with the Salad Spinner, I got him a couple of toys that "pop" just as excitingly, only they're real toys! And one happens to also be a truck, which elicits a hearty "vroooom" and a hushed/whispered "pop" from his ever-expanding vocabulary. He was a riot to watch-- trying to decide which toy to play with, where to play with it, and to whom he could look for applause after making it vroom or pop or walk about. He's my busy little beaver...

tree in the wind

yesterday was super windy... christian noticed right away that something was going on outside the windows. the blowing branches kept catching his eye-- and when i told him it was the wind, he looked at me curiously as if to say, "explain, please." i told him that the wind goes "woooooooo" (in a breathy sort of way), and it makes the trees blow (with hand motions). he caught on faster than i anticipated and the rest of the day (and even today he remembered when i repeated the statement) he would look out the window and wave his hand(s) around. sooooooo cute!
we went to Longwood again to get out in the sunshine (and windyness) with Amy and Isaiah and even got to climb in some treehouses. i was surprised at my sudden "awareness" of heights, which i can only assume was brought on by my maternal instincts. i have never had that fear -- have climbed many trees and been fine-- but suddenly i felt a deep sense of respect for the 20 or so feet between us and the ground. i clutched my baby a little more tightly than i probably needed to. . . but not without reason-- he headed straight for the edge, grabbed the wire fencing and shook it like you would prison bars, as hard as he could!
ahh, the beginning of raising a boy...
today i pulled a little something in my back-- and thankfully we were at Gramsy's so i could lie down for a bit. i'm hoping a little rest and heat tonight will help. but i thought i'd blog about it just for the record. does this mean i'm getting old??
as long as i don't start creaking like a tree in the wind...

Happy Push-the-Presents-Around Day

Christian had a fabulous time helping Gramsy celebrate her last birthday as a Quinquagenarian (yes, i had to look that up)! He preferred to push her presents around the livingroom -- he didn't know you could rip the paper off-- but once he was shown how to do so, he took the job very seriously.
Grampy did the daffodils and i did the Almond Joy Trifle (with chocolate-coconut pudding, coconut cake, and diced almonds)-- and together, it all made for a celebratory table! We gave her her favorite-- Vernors, and a double date to go see a concert at Longwood the week of their anniversary. We also got to Skype with Willa, so in a way we were all together in one room, even if only for a few minutes. Happy Happy Birthday, Mom! We loved sharing the afternoon with you...

(this is his Uncle Seth-as-a-baby Face)

SPRING Ahead!!!

Today's forecast (after starting the week with frigid temps and snow) is partly sunny and a high of 66 degrees. NOT BAD at all-- i thought...
But i just returned from the store at 10:30am and it's already 73!!!
Woooo-hooooooooo! Quick! Open all the windows...!
As soon as Sleepyhead wakes up from his nap-- we're OUTTA here-- not sure where...but not sure it matters...as long as we're soaking up the Spring!!!!
And tonight we set our clocks forward-- just in time for the sun to shine it's way into our windows! And LIFE to shine its way back into our shriveled up souls-- 0k...a little dramatic... but that's how it feels to breathe in the beautiful air now flowing through my house.
Thank you Lord!!!

A Grand Day

Today we did some Grand Visits... starting at Great Gramma Peg's house, where Christian pushed her walker, cruised round and round her coffee table, and tickled the ivories (well, really he banged on them as hard as he could, with much glee)... i was so sad that i had left my camera in the car-- it was quite a precious sight-- we'll have to go back and recreate it soon!
Then we went out to lunch with Gramsy and Great Grampy (we surprised him) and Christian tasted his first Pickles! Actually, he devoured them like they were candy! Not sure where THOSE taste buds came from!! It was so funny to watch him delight in his food. I think he's in a growth spurt this week...
THEN we had a much needed nap before Great Gramma Bernie came over for a visit... and Christian showed off his cruising skills again-- using every piece of furniture he could to zoom around the room... he has also become quite adept this week at making the little lego 'car' vroom, vroom on the hardwood floor. he's very proud of himself--
THEN Great Grampy took him out for a ride in his sled around the yard. It was a bright and sunny day (and actually warm enough to forego a jacket!) -- so Christian needed to wear his Phillies hat to ward off the sun glare! It was so adorable watching the two of them out in the snow!
THEN Poppy came home and he and Christian sat on the bed and had Zipper lessons. Poppy was showing him how a zipper goes "up" and "down" on his sweater. Poppy would pull the zipper up and say "zipper UP!" And then Christian would pull it down and Poppy would say "zipper DOWN". He absolutely loved this, and it went on for a good 15 -20 minutes.
Needless to say, he fell asleep on the car ride home, and is hopefully down for the WHOLE night tonight-- he's not the only one who's wiped out! :)

Mother/Sun Bonding

Today, our wintry (is it really March?) trip to Longwood with Isaiah and Amy was a much needed escape from the house... and the 19 degree windchill!

the boys had a blast exploring the Childrens' Garden, and Christian especially loved all of the hands-on (and IN) fountains! He found one in particular very amusing-- every time the stream of water shot out from it's source, he laughed as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever seen! i wish i'd had a video camera... i'd watch it everyday!

it will be fun to go back as the boys grow, and take photos of them exploring as 'big boys' do...