Baby Shower Cake

As promised, here is a picture of the cake I did for my friend's baby shower:


As usual, I was not pleased with how it came out. I think it needed more color. The shoes were looking good, but they were white. They were not *quite* dry (because I did them the same day) and I decided to try and airbrush them yellow, which just made them wet and they started to collapse. I have to buy more airbrush colors - my makeshift coloring technique was not so good.

Ah well, I learn something new each time!

Oh yes we've got Trouble, right here in Bethesda

Another week has passed and once again, I'm way behind on posting! Work has been crazy - a bunch of deadlines and our sitter has been MIA quite a few days. I am so excited to be starting Micah in daycare in a few weeks - the predictability should make my life a bit easier. Let's start off with a cute picture of Micah:


Micah has been working on his troublemaking skills this week. He discovered how to shove his hand out of the crib and throw his pacifier on the floor, or grab things off of his nightstand. He got some paper off the nightstand, so I cleared off most of the odds and ends. One day when I went in to get him after his nap, I noticed that he grabbed the doggy Build-a-Bear from the nightstand that my father made for him. I guess the good news is he loves his Build-a-Bear.

Micah has also recently discovered that he loves power cords. He especially loves to grab hold, yank and chew. It is not a habit I find amusing. He also loves to pull all the paper stuff off the new coffee table. If left on his own, he will shred and/or eat the paper. He gets VERY angry when I keep the papers away from him. We just purchased baskets for under the coffee table - one for papers and another for his toys. I think he will spend most of his days emptying the contents of these baskets. Monday, he could not stop pulling out and playing with all of his toys (and he also decided to claim a few of the dog's as well).

I also think that we may have crossed into "mobile" territory - Micah is rolling and army crawling all over the place. He is not quite crawling, but he does lean forward from a sit to all fours and attempt to crawl before flopping on to his belly and taking off. He is also trying to pull up on things now - if I stand him up, he can hold on and cruise, but even without my help, he is pretty close to pulling himself up to a stand. He manages to get into some interesting spots, and he pulls down any items within his grasp.

He really needs to be watched at all times - he likes to eat everything. Monday, he managed to get his hands on one of those little silica gel bead packets (for keeping things dry). I found him chewing on it - I'm just lucky he didn't choke!



I am amazed how he manages to sneak all this stuff in his mouth WHILE we are monitoring and watching him! He is definitely trouble with a capital T.

Speaking of trouble, this hunger strike has been a real pain in the neck - he just has not been drinking enough milk. It has had me worried, but I've been trying to be patient. In the meantime, Micah does seem to LOVE solid foods. He is a bottomless pit, just like his father. We have been experimenting with pasta, and I finally successfully made some zucchini for Micah. He just loves his veggies! We are slowly eating thicker chunks of food, and he can easily eat pieces of pasta and other soft fruits and veggies. Nevertheless, he still seems to hate the mesh teether - this great contraption for delivering bigger chunks of table food. I think he just hates the texture of the mesh bag, but I wish he would use it! Even without the mesh contraption, he is doing really well with table food. We have tried Cheerios, and he seems to love those. I still think he has an easier time eating the puffs because they melt in his mouth, but it is good that we have a few more options! He also seems to be developing his pincher grasp - he can pick up the puffs, pasta and cheerios and put them in his own mouth! I am amazed everyday by how much he is growing.

Micah is a pooping machine. One day, he managed to make a big pooping mess, and then he peed in his hair while the babysitter was changing him. Twice. Yes, that is right, twice. He was soaked and we had to bathe him. I could not figure out how he managed to get THAT wet.

Last Wednesday was a fun day for us. Our sitter took the day off, so it was a Mommy & Micah day. We spent a few hours at playgroup, and I got a little work done in the morning and afternoon while Micah napped. At 5:00, we went to another one of those concerts - Micah just loves watching all the kids dance and the entertainers singing. Immediately after the concert, we went to a fundraiser for Alzheimer's at a local diner. A friend of mine from high school will be running a marathon, and all the money he is raising will be donated to Alzheimer's research.

On Friday, we went to a potluck at Micah's new daycare center. We had a great time - we were able to meet his new teachers and a few of the other babies in his class. Micah will be a "Minnow" starting August 31, and I already have a good feeling about this center.

On Sunday, we were slightly...overbooked. I have a bad tendency to overcommit. We attended a first birthday party for my friend's daughter at 2:00. We had agreed to go to a "Cousins" BBQ at 4 hosted by one of my cousins, and we had reservations at 6 at a new restaurant to celebrate my father's birthday. We left the house at 12, and went to Target to pick up a present. While walking through the aisles, Micah saw Elmo. He has recently fallen in love with Elmo - he had one in the pack 'n play with him at my friend's house, and he couldn't stop smiling and hugging Elmo. Ever since them, he shrieks with joy when he sees Elmo on Sesame Street. When he spotted Elmo, he smiled and reached for him. I thought it was so cute, so I grabbed Elmo and handed him to Micah. After we were finished in the aisle, I took Elmo and put him back on the shelf. Which led to Micah's first tempertantrum. It started out slowly - first the bottom lip began to curl down in a pout. Then the whimpering started. Then the sobs and tears and back arching followed. I was stunned - I did not think Micah cared enough about any one particular thing right now. He immediately stopped when I handed him Elmo (I needed to test the theory), and then shrieked bloody murder when I promptly returned Elmo to the shelf, told him no, and headed off to the next aisle. I briefly considered just buying him Elmo on the spot, but I decided it would be a bad precedent to set. I will definitely go back and get him that Elmo soon - he really is too cute when he is hugging it! Who knew his love of Elmo would lead to his first tempertantrum? I did not see that one coming.

After Target, we ran a few other errands, then arrived at the party. It was a nice afternoon, and Micah had a great time. He even surprised us by ending his hunger strike - he drank 5 ozs of formula at the birthday party! At 4:00, we left the party to stop by the Cousins BBQ. We had fun hanging out with all the cousins. Elliot offered to do the grilling, and we stayed long enough to taste the marshmallow fluff and ice cream pie. Yes, that is right - graham cracker crust, 2 layers of ice cream, a layer of chocolate, a layer of marshmallow fluff, topped off with mini marshmallows, all lightly broiled to melt the marshmallows. At 6:00, we said our goodbyes and drove to family dinner.

Micah was a trooper - even without getting his afternoon nap! We tried out a new Italian restaurant, and the food was wonderful. We ordered the restaurant week special, and I think we were all stuffed before our entrees even arrived! At dinner, Micah drank another 3 ozs. He ate 2 jars of baby food (rice lentil dinner and banana peach oatmeal), and he spent most of dinner gnawing on a crusty chunk of bread. He was so cute at dinner - smiling and waving at the people sitting next to us and happily munching whatever he could grab.

After dinner, my brother and parents came back to the house for dessert. Naturally, I decided to make a cake. We (my brother, mom and I) decided to buy my father an ipod touch for his present, so I made him an ipod touch cake. Or rather, I attempted to make an ipod touch cake. You see, my edible image printer decided to stop cooperating. It was feeling rather...pink. Yes, I said pink, not blue. Apparently, the printhead is all clogged, and pink is the only color that can get through. Instead of a black screen with colorful icons, the image was...pink. Needless to say, the image did not look so good. Yes, I stuck the horrible image on the cake anyway - I was frustrated, out of town, and figured it was better to have an ugly cake than no cake at all. Clearly, the cake was a bit of a bust - tasted great, but not one of my success stories.

Monday we were without a babysitter (again). We think he might be saying "Hi" in addition to waving, and he might have said "mama" and "dada" today. I also thought he might have said "doggy" but it is pretty hard to tell. I did end up videotaping Micah being adorably cute all afternoon - I just couldn't help it!









Tuesday we had our babysitter back, so I had a productive day - I got some work done and made and decorated a cake for a baby shower. Wednesday (today), we went to see a singer at a local mall with our playgroup, and the kids had fun! Our babysitter came back this afternoon, and I got a bit of work done. Tomorrow we have our babysitter again, and I think Friday we will be trying to get Micah's 8 month photos done!

On another note, my dog is turning pure white. I am not sure if it is the new medicine she is taking, but overnight she seems to have gone from chocolate brown to white. My poor puppy!

Hunger Strike

Apparently, Micah is on a hunger strike. I'm still trying to discern the exact political message he is trying to communicate, but for now, all I know is that he will not eat. He is refusing to nurse, he is refusing the bottle (with both breast milk and formula), and he is refusing the sippy cup. He is even being difficult about eating his meals. I called the doctor, and the nurse told me he must be sick. I explained that he was not sick, but she did not seem to believe me. Then she told me I should bring him in for a weight check to see if he had gained enough weight in the past 2 months. Again, I explained to her that I was certain he had put on at least 2 lbs in the past 2 months, so a weight check would not tell us anything about the past week.

This morning, Micah did nurse a little bit. I called the doctor again, but this time, I was able to speak directly to the doctor (our pediatrician's office has the doctors answer the phone and take questions every morning from 8:30 - 9:00). She said that she would not worry about it as long as he gets some milk every day and continues to pee and poop. She said it could be a phase, it could be teething, or he could just not be needing as much milk right now. So, we'll keep weighing Micah, hope he does not lose weight, and hope for the best!

In the meantime, if you learn about any international hunger strikes to stand up for a cause (maybe for those in Darfur?), let me know - I'd like to better understand my son's political leanings.

Jumperoo

I couldn't resist - here is some video of Micah on his jumperoo - he is a jumping machine!

Catching up

Once again, I am WAY behind on updates. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, and I just cannot seem to find the time to blog. I guess I should pick back up with an update on my brother - he got out of the hospital on Friday, July 24, and immediately drove out of town to go to a Dave Matthews Band concert in Hershey. Paige and Peyton came to stay at my parents' house, and we had a great time. On Friday, we took the girls to a singing story hour and playspace time at Kidville. Kidville is this wonderful play and learning place for children. They offer all kinds of music, gym, education, art and language development classes. All summer, they have been sponsoring free story times and playspace events (almost every week), and Little Maestro Concert, pizza and playspace events. Micah loves going (we are enrolled in a class there this Fall), and it seemed like a perefect thing for Paige and Peyton. They had such a good time!

Saturday was a day at the pool - another fun day with the girls. They pushed Micah around in his floaty, played with toys, and it was a wonderful afternoon! I'm amazed by how much Micah is developing - he now prefers to "walk" around the pool in his floaty - feet on the ground and standing tall. Saturday night, Elliot and I went over to Niki and Eric's house for dinner and hanging out. We picked up Indian food along they way. It was the first time in a few months we tried putting Micah to bed while we were out, and it was a smashing success! He fell asleep in their pack and play, transferred easily to his car seat, and did not wake up when we transferred him into the crib!

On Sunday, my cousin Trenna arrived with her 4 year old son Zander for a week-long visit. We all gathered at my parents' house on Sunday afternoon/evening for dinner and catching up. Micah went to bed in the pack and play, and again transferred easily back home. On Monday, I did not get to spend any time with Trenna and Zander - they went downtown with my father to do a bit of sightseeing. Zander loves the movie Night at the Museum, so they spent the day visiting all the museums and following a map of movie highlights. My babysitter Christin was with us all day, and I tried to get some work done. I had mah jong on Monday night, so Trenna and I made plans to meet on Tuesday. She was hoping to take Zander to the zoo. They were predicting rain most of the week, so she decided to just take him down on the first clear day. Tuesday brought some oppressive heat, and I was totally stressed about work and worried about exposing Micah to the heat. I needed to give a webinar in the afternoon, and I did not think I could go out and get back in sufficient time to do my work. Unfortunately, I bailed on the trip to the zoo, so Trenna and Zander had to go alone. When they returned, Elliot made dinner for us. We ate together and Micah and Zander played. It was so sweet to see the boys hanging out together - Micah was totally enamored of his big cousin! While Trenna was here, I began working on my shoe cake for my friend Jamie's birthday.

On Wednesday, we hosted playgroup at our house. I got a bit of work done in the early morning and in the afternoon, then went off to my parents' house for dinner. Once again, Micah fell asleep in the pack and play and transferred without any difficulty. This new discovery has completely freed us! We now know we can go out a bit more at night and bring Micah along. When we got home Thursday night, I finished making the shoe for my cake.

Thursday, Micah went to Christin's house for the day while I worked and decorated a cake. I got all dressed up and went out for dinner with my friends, and we had a blast! It was our first real girls' night out without babies and husbands, and it was just a fun evening - lots of laughter, a little too much wine, and some good food.

On Friday, Trenna, Zander, Micah and I drove to see Jen, Jeremy and the girls in Baltimore. We went to a pirate story hour in Fells Point, then took a ferry ride across to Tide Point to visit my brother's office and have lunch with him. We got back to our house just in time to attend a Little Maestros concert and playspace event at Kidville. Once again, Zander and Micah had a great time! Zander loved the music, so I bought him a CD so he could remember this trip. After the concert, we went for dinner at my parents' house again, and spent the rest of the evening together.

Saturday was another pool day with the kids. It was a beautiful, fun, relaxing day. We went out for dinner at Noodles & Company, ran a few errands, then called it a night. I spent most of Sunday recuperating from my week.

Monday and Tuesday I was back to the grindstone with work. Christin was out of town, so her friend Lauren came to babysit Micah. She was great, and she will be available in the Fall to cover Tuesdays and Thursdays when Micah is not in daycare.

In the middle of all the insanity the past few weeks, we bought a new coffee table! It is just a basic one from Crate & Barrel, made of wood, two drawers and an open shelf on the bottom. Micah loves to try and crawl onto the shelf, and today he managed to pull the stack of papers off the shelf. He loves to use the shelf for pushing up - it might become his favorite hiding space in the very near future. We did have one emergency bath today - the babysitter was changing Micah's diaper, and he had a double pee explosion, sans diaper. He needed a bath because he managed to pee all over his hair!

What else can I say? Micah turns 8 months old in 10 days!! He is growing every day by leaps and bounds. Sometimes, I think he is saying "hi." He is definitely a crazy waving machine, and he even knows it means "hi." Every time he sees someone new or a familiar face, he breaks into a big grin and starts waving like crazy. Micah uses his entire arm to wave - it kind of looks like he is trying to fly away. I really do need to catch some video of that this week! He is standing all the time now, and getting pretty close to pulling himself up. He is going to be all kinds of trouble as he grows. He definitely has a stubborn streak (wonder where he gets that from?), and he seems to grab and get into everything. He is now sticking his hand out of the crib and stealing stuff off the night table. I either need to clear the night table or move it. Changing his diaper is an exercise in dexterity - he is definitely a moving, rolling target. He loves to eat, and he now enjoys three big meals each day. He also gets a snack in the afternoons - he loves MumMums and cereal or puffs. He is just now starting to get the hang of picking up small pieces of food and putting them in his mouth. We've slowly started to try some chunkier food, and he has been handling it all well. He is slowly learning to play "So Big" and he is army crawling/rolling/pivoting all over the place. He is desperately trying to crawl. He likes to move from a sit to all fours, he usually does one crawl, and then he collapses to his belly.

We just started changing his closet over to the 6-9 months size. My little guy is finally outgrowing his 3-6 month clothing. I have a feeling we won't be in these clothes too long - he'll be ready to move up to 12 months within two months, I would guess.

As for weaning...well, that is not going quite as quickly as I expected (which is totally my fault). Micah is down to nursing about 4 times a day (sometimes 5). I no longer pump at night before bed, but frankly, giving him a bottle and pumping is much more hassle than nursing him when we are both at home. At this rate, I probably won't really commit to weaning him until he is in daycare 3 days a week. I am hoping to be able to quickly drop the pumping session at that point, start using up my freezer stash of milk, then slowly switch over to formula. I'm not sure when/how I will drop the morning and night nursing sessions, but he needs to be willing to take the bottle for all of his meals by mid-September as I am going to be in Atlanta for work for 4 days, and I have decided to leave him behind with my parents (since Elliot will be attending the conference, too). I guess that week will be a good time to begin cutting back on the pumping.

As for my diet - well, let's just say "what diet?" I fell off the wagon, and hard. I think I started to diet prematurely - it was causing issues with my milk supply, and while I was thrilled about that at first, Micah was quite unhappy and dissatisfied, and it made him grumpy and unwilling to take a bottle. I added some carbs back in to help the supply, and Micah finally seemed contented, and he is back to taking his bottle. But once the carbs started sneaking in, it was all downhill!

Okay - I'll have to add some more descriptive pictures and video when I have some free time. I will do my best to stay on top of blogging this week!