Spagetti Night!

Before

After.

I can't find the baby.

17 Months

In another week the Big D will be 17 months old. Certainly not a baby any longer (thought we all still call him 'Baby Desmond') as he's nearly three feet tall and weighs about 30 pounds. Sometimes I come into a room to find him sitting on top of the coffee table. Sometimes he tries to surf the rocking chair in his room. Sometimes we have to call the pediatrician as Baby D has fallen off the sofa, run into a wall or otherwise stricken terror into my heart. Mostly, though he is crazy cute and loves to read books, dance and play hide and seek. 

Fall Festival

Buckethead; Movie at 11

Baby D will not wear hats. Not on the beach, not in the snow, not when its cold outside or if the sun is beating down on his wee blonde head. I acquired this pink plastic bucket when I bought some paper-white bulbs to force this fall and my first inclination was to toss it in the recycling bin; on second thought I decided it would be a perfect garage for matchbox cars. Boy, was I wrong:

Shoes and socks are a battle a fight most days. Maybe I should just put some Kleenex boxes and zipper baggies on the child's feet and call it day.

15 Months

14 Months! The two-handed noodle monster.

Desmond Facts:
Big D says the following:

• Yeah!
• Nooooo.
• Kitty! 
• Meow
• Wooooo
• Daddy
• Nisha! (Short for Tanisha, D's caregiver)
• WhoIsThat?
• YumYumYumYumYum
• Peep-a-pooh 

You will take note that 'Mama' is not on the list. Sigh.

Big D is sleeping through the night, steadily gaining more beautiful blonde curls, running, climbing and almost blowing kisses. There is constant yammering, singing and even dancing.  Joy, all day long. I cannot get enough of his toothy smile and though the child can't yet find his own nose, he can find everyone's belly button, and pokes me in the armpit to tickle me.

Also, one day we will move out of our house, and only after all the furniture and rugs and stuff is removed will we find all the cheerios hidden by tiny toddler hands.

Beach Baby

Baby D took his first vacation spending some time in the Outer Banks of North Carolina this week. It is hard work being the baby, and everyone needs a break now and then.

I just hope to get all that sand out of the baby business before he starts kindergarten.

13 Months: Making Noise

I see what you did there!

Now that the Big D is One Year Old he has some new tricks to share:

and as you can imagine, this makes him very tired:

It is hard work being the baby.

The stats from our last doctor appointment:

Date		Visit		Weight		Length
6/17/2011		Birth		9 pounds 4.8 oz		21 1/4"
21-Jun		First Dr. Visit		9 pounds 2 oz
7/6/2011		Second Dr. Visit		9 pounds 12 oz		22"
29-Jul		Visit to midwives		10 pounds 11 oz
8/24/2011		Two Month Visit		14 pounds 7 oz		23 1/4"
10/24/2011		Four Month Visit		18 pounds 5 oz		26 1/2"
19-Dec		Six Month Visit		21 pounds 3 oz		27 1/2"
3/19/2012		Nine Month Visit		24 pounds 8 oz		29 1/2"
6/25/2012		One Year Visit		25 pounds 14 oz		30 1/4"

ONE!

Happy Birthday, Baby Desmond!

Cake face.

I cannot fathom that a year has already gone by. This tiny man showed up, stole our hearts and made me fall in love with the whole world again. I get to see everything though my son's eyes and it is wondrous. What did I do with my time before? Every day is so long, but the year has gone by in a flash.

We celebrated today with a group of close friends, Including Adam R. who christened Baby D 'ClayWanda' and all the honorary uncles: Uncle Toothpick, Uncle Handfart, Uncle Beardo and Uncle Hot Pockets. We also have a friend named Lunchbox. I would list the ladies that were here too, their names are not as interesting as the fellas, but they are no less loved.

Desmond ate cake today. Those who know me will report that I am very strict about what my family eats. The big D ate an iced cupcake, licked his fingers clean and then attempted to crawl around and eat the crumbs off the floor. Its going to be tough going back to yogurt, quinoa and lentils tomorrow. The little man had a huge day and fell asleep an hour before his usual bedtime.

Happy Birthday my heart. You are so loved by so many people. I am so happy you turned up.

Spoonfulls.

Recently I was paid a complement by a reader of this blog who very much likes the straightforwardness of what he reads. There is no, "my baby is the best baby and compared to your stinky baby my baby is Einstein and Gandhi and your babies are dumb."  I appreciate him noticing. My life, and Desmond's are not a contest. Before I was a Mom I have been a storyteller, a professional artist, an employee of a multinational public company, friend to many, family to some, a good cook, a reader, I used to like cats. I'm still those things. I hope to never measure my life by the successes of my child. I am here to help him succeed, to learn, to love him unconditionally. I hope I can give him the tools and help him identify the goals by which he measures his success. I'm here to love him. My job is to love him and teach him to learn from and be kind to everyone he meets. He is a tiny man in a big world. Right now the challenges are small. Spoons are a good place to start:

Eleven Months. Really? Can't be.

Phhhbt. Eleven months.

I suppose its true. 11 months have passed like the blink of a eye. Yikes.

• Baby D can say the following: Achoo! He mimics us when we sneeze and this is the funniest thing, ever. Also, when he feels like it: Mama, Dada, Kitty, Doggie, Uh-oh and Ball. And the occasional nom nom nom.
• There are perfect blonde curls appearing at the back of D's head. They are perfect after a bath, and smooshy after a nap.
• Popeye arms. Hammy legs. 
• D can pull up on the furniture and toys and then let go and stand on his own until he realizes that he is standing on his own and promptly sits.
• The kitties are learning to run away.
• Blueberry yogurt is the most delicious food in the world. 

Black Berries Are Awesome

TEN MONTHS!

Ten Months. For Real, Though.
Desmond-y Facts:

• Every evening. after his bath D enjoys what we call 'nekkid monkey hinie jumping time' before we wrestle him into a diaper and pajamas, and hope like hell he doesn't pee on our bed.
• We are days, if not hours from watching baby D take his first steps.
• Eight teeth, four above, four below.
• Strawberries are a new favorite.
• Dinnertime almost always includes music, and Harry Belafonte makes noodles taste better.
• Since the weather has been so mild we try to take a daily trip to the park for a ride on the swings- a smile and giggle filled ride that is as much fun for me as it is for D.
• Lots of kids have nicknames, and the one that seems to have stuck is 'Baby Desmond'.  I call him this, Rob call him this, the sitter, the little boys at daycare, and I have a vision that one day, when D is six-foot-five and 225 pounds we will still be calling him 'Baby Desmond'; the perfect name for a dude that large. BD for short.

CLEAN!

Nine Months! Or, almost as much time on the outside as on the inside.

Nap time was the only time I could get a photo while the big D kept still.

 

 

 

• Chicken noodle soup and butternut squash are favorites.
• Desmond can crawl, pull up on the furniture, cruise and give me sassy looks*.
• Oatmeal used to be exciting, but now, now, there is toast, rice crackers and self feeding!
• The kitties asked to be put in a Full Nelson, and all I can do is count to three**.
• Seven teeth, four up top, three below.
• Feet are still too round and fat to fit into any shoes.

*

**

The Stats:

Date		Visit		Weight		Length
6/17/2011		Birth		9 pounds 4.8 oz		21 1/4"
21-Jun		First Dr. Visit		9 pounds 2 oz
7/6/2011		Second Dr. Visit		9 pounds 12 oz		22"
29-Jul		Visit to midwives		10 pounds 11 oz
8/24/2011		Two Month Visit		14 pounds 7 oz		23 1/4"
10/24/2011		Four Month Visit		18 pounds 5 oz		26 1/2"
19-Dec		Six Month Visit		21 pounds 3 oz		27 1/2"
3/19/2012		Nine Month Visit		24 pounds 8 oz		29 1/2"

I am compelled to put stuff on the baby's head, or, Target dress up.

What did you just do?

What the boys do when I am not home part deux: The Squealing.

EIGHT MONTHS!

Eight Months? Oh, too fast.

 Can you even stand the fattieness of the legs? 

The toothiness of the smile? The pokiness of the tummy? 

Can you stand how we make up words around here?

Desmond keeps the kitty warm.

Never in the history of the world has anyone been this happy about oatmeal.

And now, as requested,

Desmond on the move:

(almost) EIGHT MONTHS!

I would have posted a seven month set of pictures and videos but I lost the camera cable under the sofa, and every time I tried to capture the big D showing off all his new tricks he refused to cooperate.
A few Desmond facts:

• Six teeth! Four up top, two below
• Clapping is a new fun activity
• Eating: Bananas, Avocado, Oatmeal, Prunes, Sweet Potato, Squash, Broccoli, Peas, Brown Rice, Green Beans, Carrots, Spinach and that one french fry.
• Crawling is going to be the next new fun game around here; Des is up on all fours and can rock back and forth. Rob has already wall-anchored most of the larger bits of furniture to the walls in anticipation.
• We are up to 18 month size clothes.

And so, ladies and gents, I bring you month 7.5:

Trouble and me, we're old buddies you see...

I knocked over the toy basket.

I'm Sorry.

I'm not sorry!