8 months

I have to say, time just flies. I cannot believe that Micah is 8 months old today!! We were originally planning to go get his pictures done today, but I decided to postpone it until Monday. Usually, I post a general update about Micah for my monthly post. Today, however, I'm feeling a touch sentimental, so I think I will focus this post more on the things I do not want to forget about this precious time with Micah.

I love how Micah squeals with delight each time he sees the dog, and especially when she gets close enough to touch or comes over to nuzzle him, plant one on him, or just burrow into him. I also think he is adorable when he taps on the floor to call for the dog to come over. She looks at him with this wary expression . . . kind of saying "yeah, right, so you can yank my hair out? I'll think about it - you are cute, you taste yummy, but we'll do this when I say so!"

I love how he lights up with a big smile and starts furiously waving hello when he sees me, and as I get close enough to him, he reaches up to touch my face. Micah puts both hands on my face and just spreads love and joy as he smiles at me, announcing how happy he is to see me and have me so close to him.

I love that every once in a while, Micah still likes to nap on me. I stretch out on the couch and he just nuzzles on top of me with his thumb in his mouth and crashes. Even when he won't take a real nap on me, I love that he gets especially cuddly when he is tired. He rests his head on my chest and sucks his thumb while sighing quietly, and I get the opportunity to wrap my arms around him, snuggle him close to me, and rub his back. I think that might just be heaven.

It makes me chuckle every time he poops - he now grunts and scrunches up his face, so I always know when he is pooping. If it is during a mealtime, you cannot put a spoon anywhere near him - he needs his full concentration while pooping, and he will not let food disturb him.

Speaking of food, I love how he works so hard to feed himself. He very carefully picks up the puffs or pasta, and does his best to aim for his mouth and get the food in there. He is able to connect properly about 80-90% of the time now, and I'm so proud of him! He does much better with big items, like the Baby Mum Mums. He also loves to grab the spoon while I'm feeding him. Unfortunately, he usually grabs the spoon at the feeding end, sending sweet potatoes and other wonderful things squirting everywhere. And don't get me started about the raspberries! He has a thing about blowing raspberries when his mouth is full - especially once you put something colorful (like cherries, or blueberries) in there. The greater the potential for staining, the bigger the raspberries! He just loves to do that.

I love how he chats right now - he talks to his animals, he talks to us. Sometimes, I think he is saying "mama," "hi" and "dada" but I'm just not sure yet. He does seem to recognize words now - I love that when you ask him where Daddy is he turns to Elliot, and he'll do the same for me and for Nugget.

I love watching him think. He surveys the situation - deciding where his toys are, what things he wants to grab, locating Nugget - and then he devises a plan. He decides to lean forward and grab, or try to stand up, or attempt to crawl. He is going to be one devious little boy! He finds things amusing and just laughs sometimes. He interacts with toys and people. He has this joyous smile, and I love to watch how happy he is.

I love that he is in love with Elmo. After the tempertantrum this weekend, last night Elliot & I went to Target and picked up the Chatters Elmo Micah loves. We gave it to him this morning, and he lit up. He has been hugging it, talking to it, and smiling all morning! I'm amazed how something so simple can bring such joy. If this keeps up, we may have to pick Elmo as the theme for his first birthday party.

I love his crazy hair. It seems like Micah's hair is part of his identity now - and perhaps why I've been leery about cutting it. He is the baby with the hair, and people stop and recognize him and notice him because of the crazy hair do and the winning smile. Somehow, it feels like chopping off that lovely mop into a controlled cut will stifle part of his identity and his freedom.

I love how he grabs everything and pulls it out to shred it or eat it - the papers and baskets under the new coffee table or on his nightstand, his toys, and labels. I love how he rolls all over creating a path of destruction, and how he tries to push up to all fours and gets a stubborn expression on his face when he insists on trying to stand.

Happy 8 months, baby boy! I love you with all of my heart. I never knew what joy you would bring into my life, and I am thankful for every second I have with you.

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!