Whatta Great Eight!

8

BB reaches for us to pick him up, eats off of our plates, (sometimes) gives high-fives, got his first real bump on the head (from the couch corner), and wants to do everything he sees us doing, from using the cell phone to typing on the computer to playing the guitar.
He has responded to his name for a couple months now, and has learned the word "no" mainly because of the guitar that lives on a stand in our living room - he will crawl towards the kitchen and get distracted and stop to pound his hands on the hollow guitar base.
This month has shown us that BB does not have any sense of caution; he thinks that he is an adult and not a little baby. The little daredevil crawls to the edge of the couch and I have to grab a leg to keep him from going overboard. He will pull himself up to standing and then just let go and balance there for a few moments like, "I'm just going to stand here Mama, just like you and Daddy do, and maybe I will walk over ther-Oh, I'm not physically capable of that yet? Oh okay, I'll just plop on the floor instead" and I'm like, "Baby! You're a baby!"

He is all activity, all the time.
Well, most of the time. Now and then I wrestle him into my lap to cuddle and read (half) a book. And he still gets in the big bed to eat an early breakfast curled up on Mama and sometimes even falls back asleep instead of romping around.

And just so you know, getting BB to sit still for the above no-flash photos was no small feat - the photo below is much more demonstrative of our active little joy-flurry.

Happy 8 Months BB!

Z is for Zoo

I love the zoo! In everyday life I tend to think animals generally look the same: 4 legs, body, head, maybe a tail - not that exciting, but a trip to the zoo straightens me out pretty quick. I always leave amazed at the variety in God's creation. I like to think that God was giggling when He decided to give the giraffe that long, muscular neck or the ostrich that round feathery body perched between that skinny neck and stick-legs. I have even fantasized about quitting nursing to become a zookeeper! (Too much Life of Pi for me-or maybe not enough...) So of course I have been looking forward to taking my favorite creation to the zoo pretty much since he was in utero. Cousin K joined in the fun day too!

J, BB, and I got a family membership to the zoo this trip, thanks to a generous gift for BB from his Great Grandmother Claire, so now we can take BB to watch the polar bear swim or the tiger pace the habitat anytime we want for the next year. BB really focused on the polar bear this trip, following each of the bear's laps in the water with his baby blues, and BB's Cousin K was all about the otters. This trip, I just couldn't take enough pictures of the peacocks - there was even an albino peacock! Their iridescent and jewel-toned feathers are true testaments of God's artistry.

Mr. Tiger restlessly paced his habitat, coming right up to the glass, the entire time we were there - I wondered if I would see any self-preservation instincts surface in BB in the form of fear, but there were none. He just observed the big cat.

Look at those smiles!

Yes, this is what January in Tucson looks like. You know you want to live here.

And, the end

Two kids passed out in the backseat (Pssst...you can see BB in the mirror) = a successful day!

Never Too Early

BB has jumped right on the "save the planet" bandwagon and it couldn't be any cuter:

And BB thinks the bandwagon tastes delicious, by the way

Thanks for the tasty footwear, GG!

A Haven

So the coffee table is gone. A small thing, but to me it feels like the beginning of the end of the pleasing aesthetic in our living room. My living room was the room in our house that was "done" being decorated, that I didn't want to change. So I pouted for a few days, and now I am accepting the change and moving on. Watching BB spot me sitting on the couch and crawling over to my feet with a huge smile, unimpeded by the table, definitely makes it easier.

Thankfully, the timing of this has coincided with the completion of decorating our bedroom. After several rearranges and seemingly endless searches for inspiration, we finally have our bedroom the way we want it, and we think it is lovely - peaceful and reflective of us. So while the living room is being deconstructed and overtaken with toys and board books (and we hope there are even more toys and books in our future), we have a peaceful haven just for J and I as our family grows.

The view from our door:

Daddywise

I wanted to share with you some um, *cough* creative solutions my baby daddy has come up with when watching our little Barking Baby:

Yes, that is my child sitting in a cardboard box on the living room floor. I mean, who needs a pack-and-play?

And I walked into BB's room to find this:

Daddy said that the blanket keeps BB from seeing when he sneaks out of the room when BB's falling asleep.

Two days ago I jumped out of my skin when I heard this staccato, gutteral noise from the living room - J has decided to train BB not to touch electrical cords by uttering this negative sound anytime BB goes near them. (Apparently, the barking is a family trait - who knew?) He claims it's a classic conditioning tool - I can already imagine the hours BB will spend in therapy trying to uncover the origins of his fear of lamp cords.

So what do you think? Should I never go to work again? Are you dialing CPS? (Rosa? :) ) Well, before you do, you should know that while J's approach may be a little unconventional at times, his creativity is only one of many traits I hope BB learns from his dad. In all seriousness, there is no better person to teach BB how to be a man, a husband, and a father.

BB Proofing

BB just gets more and more active - here he is standing up with the help of his Christmas toy from Auntie Jen and family.

J put this together last night, and BB loves it already - he spins the bugs on the back when sitting and of course, it assists with the beloved standing. And in the background you can peek our plush new rug, part of our half-hearted baby-proofing efforts. I am procrastinating the baby-proofing, as we are pretty sure it means saying goodbye to our coffee table, but we were happy to get this beautiful wool rug - it's very cushy, so now when BB loses his balance and bumps his head on the floor, we don't have to worry that he has a concussion, and it didn't disrupt the already-existing decor. Baby-proofing is tricky - we are trying to decide what we should just teach BB limits with and what actually isn't safe or appropriate for him. J has big plans to head to Home Depot on Saturday for cabinet locks and toilet-securers and other such stuff, and I am hoping to scour Craigs List for an upholstered storage ottoman (to become a ottoman-slash-coffee-table-slash-toy-or-blanket-storage) today. We have to keep this little bug safe!

All Because Two People Fell In Love

Happy Anniversary to us!

5 years of wedded bliss
I am so thankful for the man that made me believe in soulmates
(because how could God not have designed us specifically for one another? We're just too complementary and are too happy together for it not to be true)
And I am thankful to the Lord as I remember all that God taught me on my way to marriage - He did a work in me, bringing me from a place of fear and doubt to a place of peace and joy, and I have been so blessed because of it.
And I am also thankful for the supernatural patience God gave J while He was so busy working in me. God is so, so good to me.

And because this day happened


So did this one

And for that, there are no words to express my gratitude. My heart simply overflows.
Praise be to the one who made us and rescued us and gives us good, good gifts.

Uh Oh

Yup, that's BB, STANDING UP IN HIS CRIB.....AT 7 MONTHS OLD.
Squeals of pride and delight from BB.

Don't worry, J lowered the mattress tonight, so now the only real concern is how a 5'2 3/4" mama is going to reach in to pick up or lay down her baby.

More Equations

Blueberries = Bluebabies

+ favorite blueberry-stained sweater-onesies soaking in the sink