For awhile the baby has been waving hello and goodbye, but not saying much. Now there is a farewell soundtrack. It goes like this.
Me: Goodbye! Wave goodbye, Lex. See? Waving. Bye-bye! See you later! Bye, I’ll probably see you again soon, ok? Bye-bye.
Lex: Buh-paw! Buh-paw buh-paw buh-paw! Buh-paw! Buh-paw buh-paw!
Clearly the most adorable thing I have heard in awhile. Buh-paw. I love being his momma so much.
We have had a little baby potty chair in the bathroom for a few months now but have not been pushing the toilet training agenda at all. He wasn’t walking yet, but he would crawl over and show interest from time to time, mainly by putting the bowl on his head like a hat, or dropping cat toys in it.
Recently he has been walking and climbing on chairs. So when he started sitting on this particular chair I whipped his diaper off quick as a flash and put him on the bowl. He laughed the first time, but now we have a morning routine. When he first wakes up we go in, take off his wet diaper and set him on the pot. He usually sits for a minute, pleased with himself, then squirms to get down. But thus morning he started to pee and we popped him back into position. His first time going pee-pee in the potty.
My little man is growing up. We dressed him in his new shoes and when we got to school I took him out of the carseat and set him down. He held my hand and we walked across the parking lot, through the outer door, punch in the code, the inner door, different code to log him in, another door to his classroom. Through it all he held my finger and walked beside me. In his classroom he let go and toddled to the back door where the other kids were getting a buggy ride outside. He made a small fuss when I kissed him goodbye and I was a little disappointed he wasn’t more upset.
Don’t outgrow your Momma quite yet, little bug.
We hosted a couples shower for our friends Melanie and Shane, who will be tying the knot in just two weeks. We borrowed china, silver and a tent. Rented chairs. Made quiche and key lime cupcakes. Bought croissants from Can Can, buttered, almond and chocolate. Steamed asparagus, hollandaise, watermelon balls, fresh fruit, home fries. Coffee, mimosas, bloody marys.
Baby went down for a nap before guests arrived, woke up in time for dessert, toddled around, shared his toys, charmed everyone.
Every other Friday we get a CSA delivery from Dominion Harvest. This week included eggs, goat cheese, blackberries, zinnias. Vegetables: new red potatoes, turnips, green peppers, cabbage, lettuce and parsley.
Bug adores blackberries. We have one very stained and happy baby.
We celebrated Father’s Day by getting up at dawn. Baby and I had a card for Dada. We headed out before lunch for the long drive back to NYC and arrived around dinnertime. We ended up in Brooklyn, walked to the nearest subway stop, waited for a train while watching a rat scurry around down on the tracks. Our suitcase started to come apart around the handle.
On the first train the bug made friends with a young woman on her way back to England and an older gentleman with a grandson almost exactly his age. We switched to the air train and Lex stared at a bald, heavily tattooed guy with big earrings who was speaking Spanish with his friends. When he saw Lex staring, I piped up, “do you like my hairdo?” showing him Lex’s baldie head. “Yeah, buddy, I like your hairdo.” By the end of the ride they were fast friends, Lex rubbing the man’s shaved skull, waving goodbye as he reached the stop for his terminal.
We were through security and early to the gate. The flight was delayed and delayed again. We had pizza and Chinese food for dinner and then the bug walked all around the gate and headed out to explore the rest of the airport.
Eventually he went to sleep on my lap, and stayed sacked out through boarding, takeoff (midnight) and our one a.m. arrival in Richmond. We collected luggage, reclaimed the car in the parking garage, wrangled him into the carseat and out again as we arrived at home. He slept like a champ.
Happy Father’s Day, Dada. Love you.
We wake up early. The house is quiet and there are cows lowing in the pasture outside. Zac says, “This place is ridiculously awesome.” I agree, “I love it here so much.”
Lex claps his hands, blows kisses, toddles around, plays peekaboo. There is a spiral staircase to the second floor of the kids’ wing, more bathrooms, more beds and sunlight everywhere.
Hewitt Hill Farm, North Pomfret
Early morning. Flight leaving at 6, need to be to the airport by 5, need to leave the house by 4:30, need to be up at 3:30.
Baby travels like a champ, charming the gate agents. He has so many wings from JetBlue I am starting to think he really is junior crew.
At JFK. Seven am. We decide to take a bus to Grand Central and change for Penn Station, then Amtrak to White River Junction. Baby walks all around Penn Station, makes friends with Finn who is a week younger and also walking, takes a long nap on the train. Seven pm. We pull in to North Pomfret, Vermont.
The children’s wing has beds for 10 and room for more. We have it all to ourselves. Baby has a shower and sleeps hard. Long day. Tired bug.
Five steps. Five steps. Seven steps. Fourteen steps. And suddenly he squirms to be let down in Target and walks from housewares to checkout. All by himself.
Week 46. June 17. Ten months, two weeks and four days. Walking.
Completely. Totally. Walking.
Woke up at 5:30 to be at the JCC when they opened. I was the first one in the pool.
While I was pregnant I swam a mile every weekday morning. I think the baby really liked going for a slow Australian crawl, rocking back and forth in the warm water. When I was overdue and still swimming, ladies in the locker room looked faintly alarmed when they asked my due date and I replied, “The twentieth. Last week.” By the end I was huge and had developed PUPPPS. The pool was the only place I could get any relief.
After the baby was born I expected to be back to a daily swim in six weeks. I thought I would have plenty of time and energy the last month of my 10-week leave. My incision reopened and instead I had home health care nurses packing me with gauze until I had surgery again at nine weeks to close it up.
So, with one thing and another, I have only been to the pool once or twice in 10 months. A mile is 70 lengths. The first 20 were hard. I was splashing and lifting my head out to far. My new bathing suit is lovely for the beach, but ridiculous for swimming. I had to tug my bottoms back up at every turn. By 35 lengths I had relaxed into the water, was streamlined. Feeling good now. 50 and I was getting faster. Mostly thinking about how different it was when I was swimming with the baby. How excited I was to finally meet him. 65 and I was sprinting. At 70 I was sorry the mile was over and I had to get out.
This weekend we should take the Bug to the kiddy pool again.
Alexander is about a minute away from walking and the ladies at daycare are under strict instructions NOT to tell me if he walks there first.
He has been cruising for months now. He can just trail a hand along a wall for support. He stands alone and lets go of everything and sways a bit before sitting down or grabbing hold. If he is going between handholds he will take a step or two unassisted. He will even let go and launch himself towards me if I am down on the floor. But he is not yet truly walking.
And today when I picked him up he was barefoot. Ms. Brenda told me she knows a secret that she isn’t telling. Part of me is proud that he is so advanced. Part of me knows that his first time walking at home will be just as exciting. Part of me is heartbroken.
Baby woke up way too early this morning. I tried to snuggle him back to sleep, but he fought to sit up. “Ball.”
“Ball?” Poor sleepy momma asked.
“Ball. Ball ball ball ball ball.”
So I got his beach ball and climbed back in bed. We played for a long time, rolling, patting, balancing, throwing it into the ceiling fan and almost knocking over the water glass on the bedside table. “Ball!” meaning “Watch out poor sleepy dada!” He retrieved it and climbed back in bed.
Dada, momma, all done, toy, there, ball. One day we will wake up and he will know 200 words.
