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How Humiliating

I’ve seen a lot of lame parents in my day. You know the ones. They say things like “widdle” and “wuv” and “tinkle.” They have discussions about baby poop, and they imitate their kid’s squeals for friends. In all of my daydreams of parenthood and what it would be like, I never once thought that Mike and I would fall into that mortifying category.

However, after viewing the following video, we immediately sat down and had a serious discussion about our current level of lameness. Because it’s damn-near orange. We’ve decided that this weekend we’ll be making a concentrated effort to do something edgy and cool. Maybe we’ll slap some earmuffs on Eva and take her to a jazz concert. Because we are riding the line, Mister. We’re riding the lame line. Ha! Wait. That’s lame. We’re just riding the line.

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Shoot.

So Kim and I have decided our children are destined to never meet. As you may remember, little Gideon and his parents were planning to come for a visit this past Saturday. It was going to be great! Pictures were going to be taken! Cute kid stories were going to be shared! Battle wounds were going to be compared! There was going to be lunch! And snacks!

Except nobody told the weather guy. He predicted snow. And do you know what happened? We got snowed out. Stupid weather guy.

Just Call Me Milton Bradley

As Eva becomes more and more interested in the world around her, I’m  having to be more and more creative in keeping her entertained. So lately we’ve been playing games like “What’s in Mommy’s Cupboard?”—an intriguing game of fascinating new objects. Like cans of tomato paste and bags of rice. Truly thrilling.

And also “Giant Bucket”—a captivating game of mystery in which old toys find new life as Mama fills the bucket again and again. What will be in it this time?? …except that Eva’s in love with the giant bucket itself and has quickly learned to simply tip the bucket over and dump out the stuff inside so she can get on with playing with her beloved friend. I suppose this is just the beginning of the whole “rather play with the box the toy came in” phenomenon.

Do any seasoned parents out there have suggestions for keeping a 7-month-old entertained?

Eat More Milk

So we’ve been planning, since about thirty seconds after we found out I was pregnant, to attempt to teach our kid sign language. For Christmas last year (2005) Mike gave me a whole Sign With Your Baby package, and we eagerly ripped it open and watched the accompanying DVD. Sadly, we discovered that we’d have to wait, not only until the baby was born but until she was 6! Months! Old!, to begin teaching her how to sign. Sigh.

But guess what! My baby’s 6 months old, yes she is, and it’s time. It is time.

Mike and I studied up (rewatched the DVD) and decided that we would start with three basic signs: Eat, More, and Milk. It will take a couple months of Mike and I signing like frantic idiots before Eva will (hopefully) be able to do the signs herself. So until then she’ll be doing a lot of EEEEAAAT-ing, and checking to see if she wants MMMMOOOOORRRRRE of stuff, and also she’ll be offered a lot of MMMMMIIIIILLLLLLLLK.

Be glad you don’t live at our house. It’s not pretty right now. I caught the cats packing their bags last night.

New Threads

Hey! Daddy here with a question for ya...what's funnier than a cute little kid wearing a new winter coat that is so puffy it makes her arms stick straight out sideways?

Nothing. Look at this girl.

Eva's been sporting her brand new, swanky little winter jacket whilst shopping and running errands about town. And guess what? It's not pink! I've got no problems with pink (god knows I can't escape it nowadays) but once you put on her pink shirts, pants, socks, shoes, and blankets...you might as well just dip her in pink cupcake frosting and call it a day.

Her new jacket is blue-ish and it's got all kinds of buttons. The fleecy lining keeps her nice and toasty while out in the colder weather we've been having. And the puffy sleeves keep Mommy and Daddy giggling all the way to the grocery store. In short, money well spent.

Gideon All Over the Place!

I know I just posted a Gideon update a few days ago, but Kim got such a wonderful birthday gift from her babe…I had to share! (Plus he’s so adorable that I thought you should all see this picture.)
 
Apparently, if I may paraphrase Kim’s story, Gideon and his Mama and Daddy were at a family party. You know how those go: everyone wants to see the baby, hold the baby, talk to the baby, kiss the baby, and the poor little munchkin can get overwhelmed. This particular party was no exception, and baby Gideon decided he’d had enough. So he filled his baby lungs and yelled out “MAMA!”

Right there in front of her entire family, Kim received the best gift a Mommy can get—her little one said "Mama" for the first time. And he meant it!

On Saturday we’ll be meeting Gideon in person for the first time, because…he’s coming to visit! I’m hoping to hear a “Mama” or two out of him—maybe he’ll give Eva some ideas. At any rate, I’m sure there will be lots of pictures taken, so I’ll probably be able to find a few to share with you all. Maybe one or two.

She Gets It! She Totally Gets It!

Buckle up everybody. From here on out we’ll be cramming double the cuteness into Eva’s photos…she’s learned how to smile for the camera!

A-ha!

Evidently, Miss Eva prefers her carrots over rice. I don't know why she didn't just say so. The whole spitting them out thing was totally unnecessary.

Eva Hearts Socks

Apparently, this is the funniest thing Eva's seen in her entire life:

The other day I was taking Eva's socks off and, on a whim, pulled them off by the toes. She cracked up. Like couldn't-contain-herself-peed-in-her-diaper cracked up. And evidently, it never gets old, because every time Mike or I pull a sock, any sock, she goes nuts. You can imagine how funny Daddy looks with his giant sock hanging off his toes.

Happy Birthday, Kim!

You all remember my friend Kim, right? Gideon’s mom? Yeah. It’s her birthday today (unless my calendar is horribly, embarrassingly inaccurate), so what better day to post a Gideon update?

It seems little Gideon has gotten his mama a very special present (two, actually) for her birthday. From a recent email…

Well, it happened. He has two teeth. I need a beer. There are two little razor blades poking out of his lower gums. Apparently they come by two’s. On the 27th he had one, and on the 28th he had two. One would have been fine. I would have been happy to have my child be the freaky kid who only had one tooth when he started school…looks like someone else will get that honor.

So, “they” have said that if he bites you to stop feeding him immediately, tell him “no” and pass him off…no one has mentioned what to do when he sinks his little blades into the bony part of my hand and groans. I know it feels good for him but not for Mommy. I can’t remember what it was like to go from soft, gummy bliss to the terrible pain and itchiness of foreign objects protruding into my mouth, and thankfully he won’t remember either. 

My little poop-shooter has been fighting these teeth like a champ. He is putting up with a fever, a runny nose, drool, loss of appetite, all the stuff the book says, but he is losing the battle. The teeth are here and there is no going back.

Now, our family is still in that “soft, gummy bliss” stage, but I think Eva’s teeth will be making an appearance soon…so it’s good to know we have such fun times to look forward to. Really. Very encouraging, thank you.

Happy Birthday, Kim! Thanks for the update!