Underestimating

For some reason I've always been very cognizant of how much adults underestimate kids- babies, specifically. So when I became a mother I was really determined not to underestimate my own kids. However, I quickly discovered how hard that is. Babies grow and change so fast and they each learn things in a different order, so while you're looking for one milestone, they've leap-frogged it and suddenly they know how to do something or understand something you never expected!

Somehow, this has happened a few times in the space of two days.

First, I'm used to being able to lay Gunner down on the blanket I've carefully laid out for him with a few toys for him to play with, and walk away for a moment while make him a bottle or finish my makeup.  If he drops his toy or gets lonely, he'll cry and I'll come get him.  But this morning I went to check on him and he had rolled / belly scooted his way off the blanket by a foot or so, to grab one of NJ's toys (that I would never voluntarily let him play with without washing) and spit up on the carpet! So I guess the blanket thing isn't going to work much longer and I need to start being more careful of what's on the floor.

Next, I was really impressed today that when I sat Gunner up to a sitting position, he could pick up a toy and play with it.  He's been tripodding for a while, but not with much stability and not without both hands on the floor. Honestly, I think it kinda surprised him too because the next thing he did was drop the toy and look at me with both hands waving in the air, laughing, as if to say, "look mom! no hands!"

Last, and this one caught me most off guard,  I like to play a sort of peak-a-boo with him where I lay his taggie on his face and say, "where's baby?" Then I pull it off and say, "There you are!"  He loves this game and it's a sure way to get him to smile.  Well, when I was changing his diaper yesterday I did this a few times with him when I first laid him on the changing table and then turned my attention to the diaper itself.  He grabbed his own taggie and pulled it in front of his face and widely kicked his legs.  So, I played along and said, "Where's baby?" Then he pulled it off and I said, "There you are!" and he laughed and laughed and laughed.  The ability to move the taggie so quickly and precisely impressed me, but what really caught me off guard was how proud he was of himself for moving the taggie all on his own. I'm not sure I've described the scene well enough, but he suddenly seemed so much older and more interactive than I expected. In that moment, I caught a glimpse of the little boy he was growing into.

Ten On Tuesday

I didn't mean to avoid posting for a whole week, but it's Tuesday again and I haven't posted anything in spite of having a lot to post about.  But I can't remember anything that i was going to post about, so I guess I'll do Ten on Tuesday again

1. What is the worst movie you have ever seen?
-Training Day with Denzel Washington

2. Do you have a favorite Disney/Pixar film?
-I guess the Lion King, but I'm not super crazy about it

3. Do you have a favorite movie from the 80′s?
-not really.

4. Are there any movies you saw more than once in the theater?
-What's with all this focus on movies?

5. What is one city/area of the US (or country you live if you do not live in the US) that you have not seen but would like to see?
-Montana

6. What are your favorite toppings on an Ice Cream Sundae?
-something mint

7. How many proms did you go to? What color was your prom dress? If you went to muliple proms, what color was your favorite prom dress?
-Uh, 2 spring proms and 2 winter formals (all 4 were basiclly proms). I think the dresses were dark green, blue, black, and red. The red one was my favorite.

8. Is there a sport or extra-curricular activity that you didn’t get to try as a child that you wish you would have? (e.g. gymnastics, piano lessons, ballet, etc.)
-tennis

9. How many silblings do you have? Are you the oldest, middle, or youngest?
-one, I'm the baby

10. Do you feel like you fit in with your age group? Or do you feel younger/older than your age group?
-what's my group?

Ten On Tuesday

Have you heard of Ten On Tuesday? There seems to be a couple variations on the theme- some people do a top ten somethings, others have ten questions to answer about yourself or life.  I like the idea mostly from a getting-to-know you perspective, but for all those other reasons too.

So, here we go.  This list of questions comes from the Roots and Rings blog:

1. If given the opportunity, would you choose a mediocre job that paid well or your dream job that paid poorly?
-A dream job that paid poorly. I've had a mediocre job that paid well. I cried a lot. As a side note, I wonder where motherhood fits into that spectrum...

2. What is your favorite thing about the 4th of July? (For the foreigners: What is your impression of the 4th of July?)
-I wish it was camping, but we never seem to go on the 4th anymore.  I'm pretty sure my mom's favorite thing is watermelon and my husband's favorite thing is fireworks.

3. What’s the most random fact you know about American history?
-If I bothered to remember it then it wasn't random to me.

4. What is the best fireworks display you’ve ever seen?
-It was a little town near my granny.  I was young and the fireworks were up close!

5. Who taught you how to put on makeup?
-I'm not sure anyone ever taught me- perhaps it's time.

6. Have you ever gone through a financial planning process? Tell us about it.
-Yes, over and over. I love it- I'm sick that way.

7. What was your favorite outfit as a kid? Bonus points for pictures.
-I had this little dress when I was super young (I wonder how old I was). It was the color of orange sherbet and every time I saw it I wanted to wear it. I remember thinking it was soooo pretty!  Unfortunately, it was also very itchy, so I never wanted to wear it for long.

8. Do you prefer a beach, lake, swimming pool, or no water?
-I guess a swimming pool, if it's just for an afternoon.  However, if we're going to be there a few days, a beach.

9. Do you recycle? If not, why?
-Kinda. I've started a compost bin and I try to remember to bring my own bags to the grocery store, but Yuma doesn't offer any sort of recycling service so I guess the rest is just too inconvenient.

10. What are your thoughts and feelings about the Twilight Saga?
-I liked the books but haven't seen the movies for fear of them ruining the books for me.

FYI

Never do what I just did!  Gunner's been horribly fussy all day and I just realized that I switched from nursing to formula (mostly), introduced solids, and changed the brand of formula, all within 48 hours!  It's too much for his little gut to handle! My poor little guy is NOT comfortable.  *sigh* :(

Tripodding

These photos crack me up.  Sometimes Gunner will sit up in a tripod position for a whole minute before falling over, but today, he just couldn't do it!

And... just for fun, I thought I'd include one of my favorite pics of NJ in the same outfit at 9 months old (Gunner's 5 months old now).


 I think Gunner's growth is slowing and he's letting the other kids catch up.  This is actually a very good thing because if he doesn't, my sister and I are going to keep struggling to get clothes mailed after her 2 yr old outgrows them, in time for Gunner to wear them!