Saturday, April 30, 2011

Wristing

Ever since I blogged about your new pointing skills, you've basically stopped doing it!

Now, you prefer to "wrist", by which I mean you stick out your arm straight out and point with your wrist. It kind of looks like you're stretching out your hand for someone to kiss. Or like a retarded fist-bump.


You wrist toward people you like. You wrist in the direction you want to go in. You wrist toward toys that you want to touch. You wrist in general just to indicate moments of excitement or joy.

Your dad and I wonder if and when you'll ever return to the normal act of pointing!

In other news, you've gotten lots of awesome new toys from the McArthurs, which you love. Mommy especially loves the soft building blocks near you in this pic--so colorful and adorable. Thanks McArthurs!


We've also gotten you a rug to encourage you to crawl. So far, I don't see much happening on that front, which doesn't surprise me. You've always been a really slow developer when it comes to moving your big booty!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Oldies but Goodies

Recently I found old blog entries from my LiveJournal days. Remember LiveJournal? Probably not since that was a million years ago when dinosaurs like MySpace and AOL roamed cyberspace.

I just had to repost this because it made me chuckle:

Our Bathroom, Ourselves

Every morning I use the second to last stall on the left. It's my old faithful because it's always clean whereas other ones have waste and toilet paper floating in them and driplets on the seat. I use that stall so often that I think I should dedicate my first CD album to it, Second to Last Stall on the Left.

That's all we ask for in a public bathroom. No repelling odors and a clean bowl and seat. Is that so hard? All too often, the answer is yes. We do very well in our own homes (most of us), but somehow, cleanliness and courtesy goes to pot as soon as anonymity is offered up.

Indeed, it takes real integrity to clean up after yourself (or even after someone else) instead of conveniently leaving things a mess in there for the next person. They say integrity is measured by what you do when no one else is looking. Well then, do we need more evidence for total depravity than the average filthy public restroom?

One of the best measures I've employed in charting my own Christian growth is my private public bathroom behavior.

When I was a child, my mother taught me to stand on the toilet seat and squat, thereby minimizing skin contact with the seat. Sometimes after traipsing in muddy fields, my shoes left discouraging wet brown marks on the seat. I was not taught to wipe them off. Pity the patron who was next.

But soon, when I got older and my mother stopped accompanying me into the stall, my conscience got the best of me and I thought it was rather rude to leave dirty shoe marks on the seat. Instead, I half-squatted and because I was short, mostly missed the seat, thereby usually leaving driplets on the seat. That wasn't very polite and I felt badly too, but I often found the seat to be wet and dirty already, so I rationalized that I wasn't really doing anything rude. The next person would just find it in about the same condition whether I went there or not.

But that gradually started to bother me too. I remember thinking to myself when I was around 8, if I loved my neighbor as myself, I would leave the stall as clean as possible. But since I couldn't bear the thought of wiping up urine and flushing down pre-existing waste left by the patron before me, I realized then and there that I was still a sinner in need of grace. I wondered one day if I would be sanctified enough to live up to such shining moral integrity.

Well...it's been a slow but upward journey and being married has helped a lot. When you're married you do have to think of the other person's comfort and touch other people's funkiness.

So next time you are in a public bathroom, just remember, you are only as good as your public bathroom behavior. Will you return an eye-sore for an eye-sore? Or will you stoop to wash another's dirtiness? Will you ignore the empty paper-roll and seat cover box? Or will you care for your fellow anonymous man?

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Friday, April 15, 2011

Clapping, Pointing, and Altoids, Oh My!

I've been sick these last few days, but you are in fine form.

Lately you've just learned to clap! Here's a video of you joyfully displaying your new-found skill.



And then next day you learned to point.



And the day after that we discovered the joy of Melissa and Doug wooden toys. We got you a little wooden train set pulling cows, milk, and veggies.

And the day after that you discovered the joy of Altoid gum tins!


Can life possibly get any more exciting?!

Friday, April 08, 2011

Bedtime Stories

Recently, you've begun to "ask" for a story right before bedtime.


After I nurse you, you'll lunge your body toward a pile of books nearby and grunt until I pick up a book and read it to you.


I guess this is the beginning of a nice bedtime tradition for you.

Monday, April 04, 2011

Good Hair

One thing I absolutely love about you is your hair--it's light and fluffy, brown (not black), and slightly wavy--you have my hair! Lately you've sprouted a whole bunch so you have a penumbra of downy little hairs all around your head.


You often look like you spent a lot of time on a salon-perfect blowout. Look at that amazing lift and volume!


I love your cute little duck-tail, which is quickly turning into a mullet. I know I'll have to cut it soon, but how can I chop off something so cute?

Tongue Action

Your new thing now is sticking out your tongue. I love this pic capturing your new "skill", taken by your auntie.


Sometimes you even blow air while you do it. Other times, you just lick stuff (like my arm), as if it's a giant lollipop.

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Ridin' in Style

We finally installed your new big boy car seat last week. No more Graco Snugride infant carrier for you. Your new seat is so wide and plush, we call it your Cadillac seat.


You love resting your arms on the sides, like a king on his throne.

Friday, April 01, 2011

Help! 911!

My baby's gone!


I turned around one day and found my baby disappeared. And in his place was this odd looking man-child!


Your transformation from baby to less-baby happened so gradually that I didn't realize, until yesterday, that you look so grown up. I had a moment yesterday, holding my breath, feeling verklempt, and mourned quietly the passing of your babyhood.


It doesn't even make sense why I would be nostalgic for your earlier months, when you were so fussy and high-maintenance! I would be insane to want to live through that again. And yet...

(You at 11 weeks. I miss my little peanut.)

And yet I find myself wishing I could hold your smaller, fatter version again. Mommy is sad. She misses her baby and knows he's gone forever.