My Son, The Wrecking Ball

Everything is packed up - the big move will be in 8 days, if all goes according to plan.
This means that Dub is consistently confined to his room for playtime.
...Which would be fine, except our OCDs are at odds. He can be across the room embroiled in squishy crayons and pacifiers and I'll start putting things back in the box. He'll immediately come over to investigate, find that things aren't strewn about to his liking, and upend whatever I was tidying. I want to put things up in their proper place. He thinks the proper place is on the floor in no particular order. On this, I assure you, we will butt heads continually. :)

He likes to get into everything. He recently learned how to unplug the monitoring camera - because that will likely get a parental response ASAP. His crib now resides in the center of the room where he can't get his little monkey paws on anything.

In this photo, he has just figured out how to twist and turn to get out of his bouncy seat. I guess we will be packing that up soon since it's pretty much ineffective now. And what a precarious perch!

Here he is helping me pack up a few things. And by "pack up", I mean take things out of the box that I just finished up with.


He likes the changing table as a place to crawl in and out of. He will push off and tip over all of the baskets, then crawl up onto the table and hang out. Notice, also, the grace in the dismount.




But, he's still a sweet boy. Just a few minutes ago he conked out in my lap. That's the sweetest time - because I can get everything back where it belongs before we ring the bell for Round 2. :)

January is already over? What?

Eating a green pepper!


Swimming lessons have kept us busy this month. We've just completed week 3, and Dub can now flip over and float on his own...but he sure doesn't like it. :) We have one more week of structured lessons and then the instructor will decide if he's ready to move on to other things, or if he needs more rescue practice!

And swimming has given our boy a huge appetite. He eats like a horse when he comes home from lessons: cheese, green beans, applesauce or a banana, bread with hummus, watermelon, yogurt, 4 oz of water/juice and 4 oz of milk...and that is every single day!
What are his teenage years going to look like?
(All of that eating, and he's still only 20 lbs, which is 46% for boys.)

He is also moving around like a mad man. Diaper changing has become quite a feat - trying to find something to distract him while I one-handedly change a diaper is difficult. He has no sense of danger and has decided that diving, head long, off of the changing table would be a blast.
He will no longer be confined to the quilt - he wants to crawl all over the house and stick his chubby-dub fingers in every single light socket. He even thinks the covers I've put on the sockets are a personal challenge to him - "how can I get these out of my way?".

He's a real people pleaser, though (unless the "people" is mom). This makes him a pretty good little kid who always likes to laugh and smile and, now, blab. We'll probably keep him.


With Da-da (yes, he said it first...) at Bass Pro. Both Jas & Dub enjoyed watching the fish!

Danger? I laugh at danger...

Godzilla stomping Japan. And yes, I do put legwarmers on my boy - but that's because his little knees get all chapped up with his constant movement. He's a maniac, man-iac, on tha flo-or.

Swimming Lesson #1

Today Dub started his first swimming lesson. We're taking a swim-rescue class through Texas Infant Aquatics so that if W were ever to fall in the pool, he would "know" to roll onto his back and float until help came.

Before W's lesson started, the kid in the lesson before us was throwing an awful tantrum & I think it freaked W out a little - as seen on his face in this picture.


I handed him right into the pool, they put him right under the water, and for 10 minutes, he worked on not being so freaked out. Then the lesson was done. We repeat this Monday-Thursday for ten minutes a day - four weeks. If Dub gets it, then he graduates on to swimming lessons, not just rescue.
Very proud of my little swimmer!

Mr. Giant Head - taking it all in

You want me to do WHAT???

In the pool - where's my mom?

Live Action Shot!

On the Doorstep of a New Year

2011 is rushing to greet us! W turns 9 months! Things are going WAY too quickly, in my opinion.
Our holiday season was filled with untold amounts of joy. I don't think there could have been a better Christmas, with all of the family and friends and cooking and laughing. Wyatt wasn't into presents, but he was into ripping paper like a mad man. He was so good - dealing with being passed around and kissed to death. I couldn't have asked for a better boy.


Aunt Kitties and Dub after the family hayride (where he cried the whole time...)

Hanging out with his Birthday Twin!
Christmas Day - again, with the paper!
Laughing it up with Gabby

Spending some quiet time with dad - they're having a raspberry blowing contest

Happy Holidays!

A Leg to Stand On

Have you seen this dear?

This week, Wyatt has been working on some party tricks.

He crawls over to whatever appeals, then figures out a way to pull himself up (mind you, I haven't baby proofed anything yet). He stands up, grins, then usually tips over. This guys has more head bumps than the whole Dallas Stars defense. Geez!




And if the only thing to pull up on is you...well then, he'll make due with that. He especially likes my hair as a rope to hang on to. Nice. Take a look at W using Jas as a rock climbing wall.





Santa, after reading about Heidi Klum's favorite toys, brought W the Leap Frog learning table. This thing is crazy and exhausting with all of it's lights and sounds; he likes to move around and hit all of the bells and whistles.


Today he took his trick on the road and applied standing to his crib. Clearly, it's time to lower the mattress to the last setting.

But look at that little face! He is so proud of himself! Love that.

Ring the Dinner Bell - This Kid Loves to Eat

Little man has been trying lots of new foods, thanks to his new tooth and a consult with cousin Lindsay. I totally know that W is a boy set to destroy because I always present him with a well constructed tray of food, beautifully plated: Meat, Cheese, Vegetable, and Fruit. The first thing he does is drag his hand through the piles, thoroughly smearing everything together. He then crushes it in his fist or works to jam a ridiculous amount in his mouth. I imagine that if I had a little girl, she would daintily be using a spoon by now. Not so with my son.

And lets say that I don't get stuff to him in a timely manner- he makes sure to let me know of his discontent by banging his open palm on his high chair tray several times in a row. Sheesh! Reminds me of someone else I frequently dine with...

This picture makes me shudder...icky!

He hates the sippy cup, but he loves to drink his "milk" from a straw. Or perhaps he just loves drinking the milk, then blowing bubble to create a lovely formula mess. Hard to say.

Regardless, after reading a great deal on the matter, I decided to put my OCD in a box and let him have fun while eating. This week hummus, turkey, chicken, cheese, pear chunks, blueberries, raspberries, and squash were on the menu. He's a good eater, so here are some pics of him enjoying lunch.



Also, the tooth wanted its own picture - such a diva - so here is W at the Jingle Bell Run in Ft. Worth. I made sure to highlight the tooth in all its glory. It has pushed its way up more now, but this was the tooth as of last week. He's been drooling buckets, so I fully expect a tiny toothy friend to emerge any time!

Christmas Hat from Southern Woolies

I love the idea of Etsy and one of my favorite new shops is Southern Woolies.
Aside from being super kind, the shop owner does a fantastic job with creating her product. She is prompt about answering questions and was very patient with my list of "can you do this...".
We received the hat today and immediately ordered another. It is precious, incredibly soft, and well made. I couldn't be happier...and neither could this guy (he wore the hat on our walk this afternoon and was very cozy):