I just have to say that one of the coolest things I've gotten to see so far in raising this baby is watching him learn to feed himself puffs (which are like little pieces of cereal). I know this seems weird, but it's been really fascinating because I have been able to see the progression of it so clearly. At first, he didn't even understand that he was supposed to pick the things up and put them in his mouth. Which was just goofy because the child insisted on grabbing EVERYTHING else within a 3 foot radius and shoving it in his mouth. He really wanted to eat them, but just sat there with his mouth open like a baby bird waiting for me to feed them to him. Then he started trying to pick them up but was not always successful. Also, he was palming them so that they ended up enclosed in his fist which made it pretty much impossible for him to successfully make the hand to mouth transfer. At one point he was actually holding the side of his fist up to his mouth and trying to suck the puff out of his fist. Inventive. At least I have to give him that much. Finally in the last couple of days he has started to understand that he has to use his fingers instead of his fist and now gets probably 80% of them into his mouth. This was incredibly exciting to Tim and me (keep in mind he's been working on this for like a month now). If you would have told me when I was 20 that I was going to get so excited about a baby being able to put a little piece of cereal into his own mouth I would have laughed in your face, by the way. Then this morning he did the coolest thing. He picked up a puff and tried to put it in his mouth, but it stuck to his hand and didn't make it into his mouth. Now, in the past he would have tried to chew the imaginary puff in his mouth for a second or two, gotten a very confused look on his face trying to understand why there wasn't a puff there, and then simply moved on to picking up another puff. But this morning he actually figured out that the puff was still on his hand and used his other hand to pick it up off of his hand and put it in his mouth.
I know this is excruciatingly boring for all you non-mothers out there, but I thought it was so cool to be able to watch his little brain figure all of this out. And it struck me once again how much he has to learn, especially in his first year or two. It's absolutely amazing that he will go from a tiny little helpless thing who sleeps most of the day and has no real control over his movements to a walking, talking, reasoning being in less than 2 years. And every day he's taking little steps towards getting there. So cool.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Lucky Number 10095?
So the race is a week from tomorrow. Eeeek!!! I'm in the midst of tapering now, which I think is just as much to get your mind in order as it is to let your body rest because I am BURNT OUT. I am so sick of running right now. It really seems like a chore. Before Will was born (and I actually had a workout schedule) I would run 3 days a week and do weight lifting or cross training 3 others and rest one. I was always so excited about running that on my non-running days all I wanted to do was run. I was so bummed that I had to go do something else. Not anymore. I went to the gym the week before last and did a pilates class this week and it was SO nice to be doing some kind of activity that wasn't running. It's just boring to run for 2 hours at at time. I mean, I really enjoy the people I run with, but when you're spending several hours a week running with them there's only so much stuff you can talk about. And a HUGE part of running (in my opinion) is your mindset. If I'm not in the mood to run I just feel like crap while I'm doing it. And ever since that first 11 mile run (we've since done an 11.5 miler) my mind just hasn't been in it. I just don't think it's challenging me. It's hard for me to get it in my head that running 6 miles (like we did this morning in the pouring rain) is going to help me run the race better. I mean, I know it will, but 6 miles is so old hat now (I never would have thought I would say that) that it's hard to get motivated to go out and do it on a Saturday morning in the rain. My ankle and my foot are still bothering me so I don't think I'm going to do a lot of running this week. At this point I think it will be better for my body to get some rest rather than run. Any running I do at this point will not help prepare me. It will just wear me down. Anyway, I'm just hoping I get past this mental block by Pig day. I'm sure going to the Expo on Saturday and going out for pasta the night before with the running crew will get me in the mood and excited. I do have to admit that when I got an email with my registration confirmation and bib number the other day (#10095) it did get me excited. Right now I'm just nervous. I know I'm ready. I know I can do this. I did 11.5 (at a less than 10:00 min per mile pace, might I add) and I felt good. So I know that on the morning of, with all of the adrenaline and the crowds I can do 13.1 no problem. Assuming my foot doesn't really hurt the whole time. The other thing is that we had absolutely PERFECT running weather for our two long runs (high 40's and sunny but not too sunny). Weather for race day: not looking so hot (no pun intended). 60% chance of showers. Not that rain is horrible. I would rather run in a light drizzle than blazing sun and heat. It's just not ideal. And pouring rain is really not fun. It also just complicates wardrobe choices too (which I have ridiculous anxiety about all the time anyway).
On a non-running note, we submitted Will's passport application this week. Two months from today we will have just arrived in England. I can't believe how close it is. Once I get through this race I need to focus on preparing for the trip. I bought a good travel stroller last week, but we still need to get him a new car seat (we have to get a convertible one soon anyway and I think that will be easier to take on the trip) and I have to think through how to handle a lot of things. Very stressful! What's even crazier is that when we get back from the trip it will only be 3 weeks until Will's 1st birthday. And that just makes me want to cry. Not that I'm sad he's getting older just that it's crazy that his first year is going/has gone so fast. Just kind of scary. He'll never be this little again. He's only going to have little rubber-band wrists for so long :-)
I've been starting finger food with Will. He's been eating Gerber Puffs for awhile now and has just now finally started to be able to pick them up and get them in his mouth (although he really only has like a 40% success rate). He's also eating banana chunks and some pieces of american cheese. He seems to thoroughly enjoy both, but does not seem to understand that he is supposed to be picking them up and putting them in his own mouth. He just sits there with his mouth open like a baby bird. Not sure why he gets it with the puffs but not the banana or cheese. Oh well, he'll get there...
Still only one tooth, still no interest in crawling. He actually scoots himself around on his butt a bit now. Also, he is obsessed with shoes. REALLY wants to eat everyone's shoes. I will not be adding that to the "Toys that Aren't Really Toys" list, though, as there has to be a line somewhere and shoes are just disgusting.
On a non-running note, we submitted Will's passport application this week. Two months from today we will have just arrived in England. I can't believe how close it is. Once I get through this race I need to focus on preparing for the trip. I bought a good travel stroller last week, but we still need to get him a new car seat (we have to get a convertible one soon anyway and I think that will be easier to take on the trip) and I have to think through how to handle a lot of things. Very stressful! What's even crazier is that when we get back from the trip it will only be 3 weeks until Will's 1st birthday. And that just makes me want to cry. Not that I'm sad he's getting older just that it's crazy that his first year is going/has gone so fast. Just kind of scary. He'll never be this little again. He's only going to have little rubber-band wrists for so long :-)
I've been starting finger food with Will. He's been eating Gerber Puffs for awhile now and has just now finally started to be able to pick them up and get them in his mouth (although he really only has like a 40% success rate). He's also eating banana chunks and some pieces of american cheese. He seems to thoroughly enjoy both, but does not seem to understand that he is supposed to be picking them up and putting them in his own mouth. He just sits there with his mouth open like a baby bird. Not sure why he gets it with the puffs but not the banana or cheese. Oh well, he'll get there...
Still only one tooth, still no interest in crawling. He actually scoots himself around on his butt a bit now. Also, he is obsessed with shoes. REALLY wants to eat everyone's shoes. I will not be adding that to the "Toys that Aren't Really Toys" list, though, as there has to be a line somewhere and shoes are just disgusting.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Favorite Toys That Aren't Toys
I'm sure Will is not unlike other babies in that he loves to play with anything that that piques his curiosity, whether it is an actual toy or not. In fact, he pretty much just wants to get his hands on anything around him. I was thinking this morning, though, that the list of things that he likes so much that I've just given up and given to him as toys has grown pretty long. I thought it would be fun to document the list. You know, for posterity :-)
empty infant Tylenol bottle
empty wipes box
bulb syringe (this is the weirdest one, I think, but also one of his favs)
empty tube of Carmex
spatula
changing mat
And then, of course, there is my old cell phone which tops his list of most exciting toys. And it goes without saying that if I were to allow him to get his pudgy little hands on the TV remotes or my iPhone he would be in baby heaven.
empty infant Tylenol bottle
empty wipes box
bulb syringe (this is the weirdest one, I think, but also one of his favs)
empty tube of Carmex
spatula
changing mat
And then, of course, there is my old cell phone which tops his list of most exciting toys. And it goes without saying that if I were to allow him to get his pudgy little hands on the TV remotes or my iPhone he would be in baby heaven.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Water Babies, Sock Monkeys, and Trouser Snakes??
Today we went to our first Water Babies class. Will has little swim trunks and everything. It's very cute. We were in such a rush to get out of the house to be on time, though (imagine that!) that I forgot to bring the camera. We learned today that Will is not a fan of Water Babies. He did a really good job and didn't cry or anything, but I got a serious stink-eye when he was forced to float on his back, go under water, or hang onto the pool wall - pretty much during any activity that was required of him. Then he screamed when I took him to the locker room and changed him, I think because he was cold and just overall confused about what the hell we were doing. The class runs for 5 weeks. (At least this session does. We can sign up for more sessions after this if we want.) I think it will be good to get him used to the water and learning to swim early, though, so I won't have to worry about him when he's older and we go to the pool.
I've really been trying to get a picture of his tooth and a video of him clapping. The tooth is pretty far out now and not hard to see when he smiles or chews, but he really won't cooperate when it comes to picture taking so I'm at a loss. This is as close as I've gotten which, as you can see, is a far cry from a tooth picture.
As far as the clapping, he refuses to do it on command. It's more of a random I look over and he happens to be doing it while playing thing. So capturing it on video is not a viable option as of yet.
He got his first haircut the other night. The hair over his ears has gotten really long and kept covering his ears. I resisted for a long time and just kept pushing it back, but then I started noticing that he was getting cuts on his ears from trying to scratch them because the hair was itching him. So Tim trimmed it the other night. Will, of course, would not sit still so it kind of looks like a blind person cut his hair. So attractive. I guess it's no worse than the ridiculous long strands of hair he had before, though, or the bald spot he sported for several months when he was younger...
Aunt Rachel and Uncle Andy got him a new toy. It's a huge stuffed sock monkey. It's so cute! I think it's so funny that sock monkeys are so in vogue now.
We had some when we were little that were from when my mom was little. Those were the only ones I've ever seen or heard of until recently. Now they're all over the place. There's even a commercial on TV with one in it. I love when the sock monkey's riding the bull!
And here he is just looking like a little man.
On the running front, I now have 21 days until the half marathon (as I was reminded by my "Daily Squeal" a.k.a. "Daily Make Me Want to Puke I'm so Nervous" email this morning). Up until last weekend I really wasn't worried about being able to cover the distance from an endurance or mental standpoint. I was really just worried my ankle wasn't going to hold up. Then I did the 8 miler with the group last weekend. I felt like I was going to die. I haven't been so tired during a run since the first few times I ran post-baby while pushing him. I felt horrible the entire time and actually walked the last half mile (which I NEVER do). Luckily my very sweet friend Beth stuck with me while I stopped for water, stopped to stretch, walked at the end, and just generally dragged ass the rest of the time. For the first time I really felt like I couldn't do this. I had a much better run on Wednesday (7 miles) so I'm feeling a bit better about the whole thing, but I'm REALLY nervous about mu run tomorrow. It's 10.9 miles and we're covering most of the race course. That's a long ass run. It's going to take me almost 2 hours. As Tim pointed out, that's longer than it takes to watch a movie. Also, the last few weekends I've just felt so wiped after these long runs. I don't know if I'm just not refueling myself by eating and drinking enough after or I'm not getting enough sleep the night before. Or maybe this is just normal. I just feel like crap and all I want to do is take a nap, which is generally not an option. The ankle is also still a major issue as it takes no less than 2 days to stop hurting after a run even with ice and anti-inflammatories. I'm just crossing my fingers it can hold up for 2 more long runs plus the race.
I have also, this week, finished my latest knitting project. I don't know if I'd even really call it a project. It was really just something to keep me occupied until my next project and to use up some of the leftover yarn from Will's hat. (My next project, by the way, is going to be a top for myself. I got some yarn store gift certificates for my birthday so I just need to measure myself to figure out my size and go get the yarn for it. Yeah!) It is a toy snake for the cats. So this is what the snake is supposed to look like (per the pattern):
Mine does look very similar to this except for one very key (as I found out) thing. There are no stripes. You see, the whole point was to use up yarn I already had. Not to purchase new yarn. And I figured the cats wouldn't care if the thing was striped. So I opted to do it all in one color. What I found, though, is that the stripes are pretty much the only thing keeping this particular toy from looking like male genitalia. That's right. It looks like I set out to knit my cats a giant, catnip-filled penis. It's so bad I am not even going to post a picture of it because it would be x-rated. And every time I look at it I die laughing. But the cats LOVE it so I don't want to take it away. I guess I'll just have to hide it when company comes... So I think next time I set out to make a cat toy I will choose something a little less phallic.
I've really been trying to get a picture of his tooth and a video of him clapping. The tooth is pretty far out now and not hard to see when he smiles or chews, but he really won't cooperate when it comes to picture taking so I'm at a loss. This is as close as I've gotten which, as you can see, is a far cry from a tooth picture.
As far as the clapping, he refuses to do it on command. It's more of a random I look over and he happens to be doing it while playing thing. So capturing it on video is not a viable option as of yet.
He got his first haircut the other night. The hair over his ears has gotten really long and kept covering his ears. I resisted for a long time and just kept pushing it back, but then I started noticing that he was getting cuts on his ears from trying to scratch them because the hair was itching him. So Tim trimmed it the other night. Will, of course, would not sit still so it kind of looks like a blind person cut his hair. So attractive. I guess it's no worse than the ridiculous long strands of hair he had before, though, or the bald spot he sported for several months when he was younger...
Aunt Rachel and Uncle Andy got him a new toy. It's a huge stuffed sock monkey. It's so cute! I think it's so funny that sock monkeys are so in vogue now.
We had some when we were little that were from when my mom was little. Those were the only ones I've ever seen or heard of until recently. Now they're all over the place. There's even a commercial on TV with one in it. I love when the sock monkey's riding the bull!And here he is just looking like a little man.
On the running front, I now have 21 days until the half marathon (as I was reminded by my "Daily Squeal" a.k.a. "Daily Make Me Want to Puke I'm so Nervous" email this morning). Up until last weekend I really wasn't worried about being able to cover the distance from an endurance or mental standpoint. I was really just worried my ankle wasn't going to hold up. Then I did the 8 miler with the group last weekend. I felt like I was going to die. I haven't been so tired during a run since the first few times I ran post-baby while pushing him. I felt horrible the entire time and actually walked the last half mile (which I NEVER do). Luckily my very sweet friend Beth stuck with me while I stopped for water, stopped to stretch, walked at the end, and just generally dragged ass the rest of the time. For the first time I really felt like I couldn't do this. I had a much better run on Wednesday (7 miles) so I'm feeling a bit better about the whole thing, but I'm REALLY nervous about mu run tomorrow. It's 10.9 miles and we're covering most of the race course. That's a long ass run. It's going to take me almost 2 hours. As Tim pointed out, that's longer than it takes to watch a movie. Also, the last few weekends I've just felt so wiped after these long runs. I don't know if I'm just not refueling myself by eating and drinking enough after or I'm not getting enough sleep the night before. Or maybe this is just normal. I just feel like crap and all I want to do is take a nap, which is generally not an option. The ankle is also still a major issue as it takes no less than 2 days to stop hurting after a run even with ice and anti-inflammatories. I'm just crossing my fingers it can hold up for 2 more long runs plus the race.
I have also, this week, finished my latest knitting project. I don't know if I'd even really call it a project. It was really just something to keep me occupied until my next project and to use up some of the leftover yarn from Will's hat. (My next project, by the way, is going to be a top for myself. I got some yarn store gift certificates for my birthday so I just need to measure myself to figure out my size and go get the yarn for it. Yeah!) It is a toy snake for the cats. So this is what the snake is supposed to look like (per the pattern):
Mine does look very similar to this except for one very key (as I found out) thing. There are no stripes. You see, the whole point was to use up yarn I already had. Not to purchase new yarn. And I figured the cats wouldn't care if the thing was striped. So I opted to do it all in one color. What I found, though, is that the stripes are pretty much the only thing keeping this particular toy from looking like male genitalia. That's right. It looks like I set out to knit my cats a giant, catnip-filled penis. It's so bad I am not even going to post a picture of it because it would be x-rated. And every time I look at it I die laughing. But the cats LOVE it so I don't want to take it away. I guess I'll just have to hide it when company comes... So I think next time I set out to make a cat toy I will choose something a little less phallic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)