(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!

What the boys do when I am not home.

 

For most effective viewing, turn the volume up.

Happy New Year!

The big D has suddenly started turning into a real little boy. Eating real food (sweet potatoes and peas are the hot number around here,) singing and yammering constantly and able to entertain himself with his toys or feet so that Mama can sneak in an extra 20 minutes of blessed sleep.

Four top teeth are coming in and the boy should be quite toothsome in another few days. He has two on the bottom already, and though I know this is 100% normal I have become so used to his gummy smile the teeth look odd and fake, like teeth on a chicken.

The boy made out like a bandit this holiday and there is nothing else we need until he is at least 10. For someone this small he sure has a lot of stuff. There is no reason to ever purchase baby stuff from a store- almost everything we have is a hand-me-down and he is growing out of it all so quickly we are already planning on filling up the car and taking it to friends who are expecting.  They are getting all of it. All. Of. It.

Bath time is immensely popular, as are dogs, the cats, daddy's sideburns, the bouncer, removing his own socks and placing his pacifier into his mouth alone.

Desmond loves anything that I pour myself to drink- he always gets the first sip of seltzer water and has had the delicious good fortune of tasting Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon  (just a bit of gravy off my spoon). After wholly rejecting rice cereal but grabbing at my stew dish I hope that my son has a discerning palate. Now we just have to keep him from crying with fear at the noise the food processor makes when I make his baby food.

Desmond also curls his toes very tightly into what Rob calls 'foot fist' which to me sounds like a badly translated Kung-Fu movie title. 

Butternut Squash Goatee.

 

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"

SIX MONTHS!

Yeah, I know this is a little out of focus. Looks like our pictures with Santa Circa 1976.

   

We marked Desmond's half- birthday today with a trip to see Santa Claus, who very conveniently stopped by the elementary school in the neighborhood. This Santa was good too: real beard, rosy cheeks and twinkle in his eye and everything. The big D did great, just hung out on the gentleman's lap while pictures were taken.  Again: this is a 6 month old in the picture above. We have a Big Baby. He looks like a bald two-year old.

It's hard to believe that an entire 6 months have passed, I can hardly remember when he wasn't here.  Sure, it takes me 30 minutes to get out of the house, even if I just need to run to the bank or the store, and every time I do leave the house I am laden like a pack mule with every possible item that I or the baby might need in the 15 minutes we spend at the grocery store. Diaper bag, handbag, car seat, jackets, hats, sometimes my briefcase and lunch bags all hanging from my arms. Rob once remarked that when I leave for work I look like a refugee. 

Desmond is well on his way to sitting up all alone, he is making sounds that are starting to sound like words- I suspect that 'kitty' may be among his first words. Two teeth on the bottom and more are on the way and with any luck, some hair. Poor boy has a head like a peach and it makes me worry that he's cold all the time.  

Six months? Too fast, already.

Every week I have to delete Barney from the Netflix queue.

Funny Over Here

Desmond Tutu. 

One day he's going to bring this up in therapy.  Mea Culpa.

Baby Talk

I spend a lot of time with Desmond. A LOT of TIME. In fact, the only time I am truly alone, no baby, no husband or co-workers is about two hours on Thursday where I am in the car rushing either to or from work. This is not a complaint at all, just a fact, and truth be told I would rather spend my time talking to the cute baby rather than many of the adults I talk to who merely think they are cute.

Here is a list of a few things I have caught myself, or been caught by somone else, saying to the baby, and if you know me well enough you will know just the sound of my voice when I make these pronouncements:

• Are there tickles in there? Are there any tickles in there? Where do the tickles live? (as I repeatedly poke an annoyed baby in the armpits)
•  Who has potato feet? Are these your little round potato feet? Can I eat your potatoes?
• Is there a burp/fart/poop inside of you? Is it coming out?

Post your favorites (mine, yours or otherwise) in the comments. I can't be the only one talking gibberish most of the time.  We will be here, working on sitting up, making more teeth, hopefully some hair and striking terror into the cats.