Holiday Roundup

It was definitely a wonderful first Christmas, even if SA didn't really get the significance of the stocking and the tree and all the presents he got to open. He even went down for a nap right in the middle of present-opening. But he loved the wrapping paper and the tree and the cats, and tried to stay up all night partying with the adults.

Before we left for Montana, we gave him his main gift from his parents. Clearly SA is skeptical that his new Exersaucer is all that. He warmed up to it eventually, though I don't think it's as good for getting rid of excess energy as the Jumperoo is.

Here he is opening one of his 4,000 presents (not even counting the ones that Santa didn't wrap!)


Grandma found a high chair that looks like it's the dawning of the Age of Aquarius...

I worried how SA would do without his little inflatable tub... turns out he does just fine. And Grandma and Grandpa taught him to splash! Now if only I could get him to stop splashing occasionally.

After a busy day of celebrating, it's good to take a quiet moment and finally get some rest.

Olympian

SA has decided his allegiance in the upcoming Olympics in Turin:

Not that there's anything wrong with the American team, of course. It's just that his favorite sport is curling - during the recent Olympic trials, he yelled "Hurry harrrrrrd!" with great vigor. (It may have sounded more like "Aaaayaaaaaa" but the intent was unmistakable.)

If it were an Olympic event, SA would probably like to compete in paper-eating. (Seriously - the Sunday paper is the cheapest toy ever.)

He has achieved a lifetime goal several times in the last few days - the cat was less excited, of course. But no injuries to boy or cat.

Enjoy the winter holiday of your choice!

Deck the halls

We're making the holiday-prep list... we'll probably skip checking it twice due to time constraints.

Cheerful holiday vest:

New bathtub with strategically placed duck (it's essential to check the bathroom acoustics in case you feel a sudden need to carol):

An early present or two:

And a visit to a right jolly old elf:

Yep, SA is ready for Christmas. Now, if only his mom could finish some shopping, and convince the airlines to transport our 18 suitcases of stuff to Montana, we'd be set.

Rolling

SA learned a whole new skill today, while Grandpa and I were watching him. He has been rolling from back to front for quite a while, but he (finally!) rolled from front to back. I think it might have been an accident the first time, but for the last hour or two he has rolled with gusto - the scrap of carpet we have in the living room is no longer sufficient to contain him.

Bruiser

Well the day had to come. Eventually my little guy would wiggle hard enough to get away from us and get himself hurt. Up to now, his only actual owies (a technical term) were from vaccinations, and they don't even count, really. But yesterday he lurched in an unexpected direction and bumped his forhead on the coffee table, just a light tap (I thought), and the screaming fit was cut short by a nursing session. But he must have inherited easily-bruised skin from me, because there's a bit of a shiner there on his right eyebrow.

If anyone asks, we'll tell them the other guy looks much worse.

The other development of the weekend isn't particularly fun either. We tried formula for the first time on Saturday night - I was planning on trying to breastfeed in the mornings and evenings, and move to formula the rest of the time. So I thought that it would be good to start the transition with some cereal, made with formula rather than breastmilk.

Usually when we feed him something he didn't like he makes faces and, if he is really dead set against the food (green beans are the only thing he has really hated) he'll swallow the first bite and refuse to take any more. However, rather than risking being poisoned by that first bite of cereal-with-formula, he retched, coughed, and tried in any way possible to get the wretched stuff as far from him as possible. I eventually coaxed him into eating 3 or 4 bites total, but none of them stayed in his mouth, and after my betrayal I had to smooth over the relationship with some old-fashioned nursing.

Of course, he hated bananas at first too, (and really, most of the other food we've given has been suspect initially). So we'll try again. But maybe not until next weekend.

The good news - which I'm almost afraid to say for fear of jinxing it - is that he has been sleeping through the night pretty consistently.

Below, apparently SA's mother didn't wipe his face properly after an enjoyable repast of sweet potatoes.

Playing

SA is spending more and more time playing on the floor, learning to move himself and his toys around. It's hard work, figuring out this whole new body.

He loves it when we whistle, for some reason. He has been buzzing his lips quite often; as brass players in a previous life, RB and I would like to believe that he's getting ready to take on a trumpet, but I actually suspect he's trying to figure out how we produce that whistling noise.