Joshua's one-year pedi appointment was this morning. Here are the facts and figures:

• Weight 21 lbs. 7 oz. 25th percentile
• Height 31" 80th percentile
• Head 18" 25th percentile

He got tested for lead in the blood and got vaccinated for Hep. A, MMA, and his vision. (All is assumed normal and healthy unless otherwise notified.) Of course I was advised to transition Josh from bottle to cup very soon (I already anticipated this battle) and to move him on to cow's milk in the near future. The doc recommended a cold turkey approach to the transition of bottle to cup. I expect Josh to fully retaliate and hate me/us for it, but he needs to move on and I really want to stop washing bottles! The cow's milk issue is different. We can take a gradual approach to it until he realizes it's good and the only option besides water. I think I'll avoid juice until he's got the hang of cow's milk and using cups all the time. Also of note from the appointment- Josh hasn't really spoken a word yet, at least not clearly and repeatedly and in front of his parents. So we'll focus on one or two words until he gets the idea that making words leads to getting stuff he wants. Aside from not talking yet (which is somewhat normal for boys) he's as healthy and active as can be expected.

By the way, new pictures are online from this weekend:www.ringofsaturn.com/joshua We're working on how to upload video to the photo gallery, but that'll happen later once we figure it out.

Joshua had a great time celebrating his first birthday with friends and family. People came over at 1pm bringing gifts and greetings. We mingled and ate for a bit. Rusty made some yummy grilled chicken, fancy dips and bruschetta while I made finger foods for the babies (and grown ups) and a homemade birthday cake*. After eating and letting the babies play a bit, we migrated towards the dining room where I had Josh's high chair set up. We gave him a big piece of cake and waited with anticipation of the cake smashing and smearing. He was a bit slow to figure out it was something yummy to eat and gooey to play with. Rusty helped pick up the pace by spooning in a bite- afterwards the food tray was a mess of cake and frosting! Frosting was smeared ear to ear and cake crumb went all over the edge onto the plastic cover. After maybe ten minutes of cake smashing we cleaned Josh up then opened presents. He got lots of new clothes (yay!), a blocks-on-wires contraption, a cop car, a stuffed donkey, books, a Tiny Teddy Xylophone, and a kiddy pool. Once the toys were all tested (and kid approved) we moved to the backyard to let Josh splash around in the baby pool. He LOVED the baby pool! He splashed, squawked, laughed- had a blast! And it helped clean him up from the cake. He was done about 20 minutes later so I changed him and laid him down for a nap.

After the guests were gone I had a chance to clean, eat more cake and relax. I took my mom to the airport getting home just in time to leave for a church concert/picnic. Our church held a concert in the main sanctuary of Patriotic music. We stayed for most of the performance. Josh really enjoyed the music but he was also squirmy so we left after the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

In all, it was a crazy busy day for us grown ups and a terrifically fun day for the tyke. He slept like, well like a baby- he hardly made a peep all night. Pictures are posted online with video coming soon. Now it's time for me to really relax before starting the week tomorrow.

*The homemade cake was a flop. I followed the recipe and directions to the T with the help of my mom and Emily, and it still wasn't good. The flavor wasn't tasty and the batter was more gooey than cake-like. To add insult to injury, my attempts to make frosting also flopped because one container of heavy cream went bad. So my mom and Emily dashed out to the store to buy a colorful chocolate cake from the bakery. Guests never suspected the cake distress I was in moments before they showed up.

Joshua is 12 months old! Hard to believe it's been a whole year! But just as bad luck would have it, he's sick on his very first birthday. Yesterday evening he came down with something giving him a high fever. He was in good spirits throughout the evening until he through up before his bedtime. He went to sleep 30 minutes earlier than normal and needed to be rocked back to sleep a couple times during the night. He's broke his fever after his morning nap but still didn't feel good this afternoon. He lacked an appetite and wanted to be held all day. Luckily he doesn't have the symptoms of a normal cold (no runny nose, coughing, or sneezing) so maybe whatever it is will be gone by Sunday. Tonight I plan to wash and disinfect all of his toys.

In honor of his first birthday, here is my birth story:

Joshua was due on May 13th by everyone's guess, but that day came and went without incident. It was exactly 11:44pm on May 24th that I felt my first real contraction. Rusty & I had just laid down to go to sleep when I felt it. I wrote down the time on a sheet of paper. About 10 minutes later came another. Then 15 minutes later, another. I was so excited that something was finally happening! During each contraction I would breath hard, tighten up a bit. I relocated myself to the living room sofa so that Rusty could get a good night's rest. I knew I would need all his help the next day. I kept writing down the contraction times off and on all night then finally gave up in the early morning and slept through them. By around sunrise I was certain I would have this baby so I called my midwife to let her know I had contractions all night and that she should be prepared for us later that day. I also called my mom and gave her the good news. Last, I called Emily, my best friend who agreed to attend the birth, and gave her the news. Rusty got up early that day realizing I wasn't in bed with him. After learning that I had had contractions all night, he called in to work to have the day off be with me. We had breakfast (pigs in a blanket), picked up around the house and did a few boring routine things. Around lunch time we decided to watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Since the last George Lucas film had recently come out, we wanted to watch the last three, er, first three, to finish the series.

Part way through the movie, a thunder storm rolled through. Taking a break from the movie, we looked at the weather on the Internet to learn that it was a small storm that would pass soon. We did other things to pass time while I continued to labor: Rusty played piano, we walked around the neighborhood after the rain passed, Rusty massaged my back, I packed the diaper bag and double checked the nursery to welcome our new baby. I remembered that I was scheduled for an appointment to check the amniotic fluid to make sure that was a healthy amount of fluid left. My midwife and I agreed that the appointment was irrelevant at this time. She suggested I soak in a warm bath to help slow things down and relax. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough hot water to fill our tub all the way so I abandoned that idea. We decided instead to go on another walk around the neighborhood and call Emily to catch the next plane out. This walk was cut short though when I felt a lot of pressure on my pelvis and it became uncomfortable to walk. We headed back home and I leaned over the dinning table for a couple of contractions. As the afternoon wore on and the sun began a slow descent, it was time to go to the birth center.

We left home around 5pm but since we were headed on small roads going opposite of rush hour traffic, we made great time getting to the birth center on Lover's Lane near Marsh. My midwife, Dinah, checked me right away to see where we were at: "Well, the good news is you're 100% effaced. The bad news is you're only 3cm dilated." She gave us three choices of what we wanted to do since I still had time- we could go home and come back later then contractions were closer together, we could stay at the birth center while she went home for a bit until we were further along, or we could all go on a walk around the neighborhoods behind the center and evaluated where we were after that. We'd been home all day so going back wasn't an option in our minds, and we didn't like the idea of being alone at the birth center so we went on a walk. A long walk! We played labor games alog the way, such, "Hey Sarah, do you think you'll have another contraction by the time we pass that orange truck?" and "How much do you think that house costs?" During each contraction, I would lean on Rusty or Dinah while the other person rubbed my lower back. When we got back to the birth center, I rested on the bed while Rusty went to the airport nearby to pick up Emily. Although he was gone only 15 minutes, I had three contractions while resting on the bed. When Emily arrived, we decided we still had more time so we walked down two blocks to a restaurant to order a quick dinner. We sat on the patio eating our dinner (I ordered trout and broccoli) and half way through our dinner I was hardly able to sit still. My contractions were increasing and getting stronger. We wrapped up the meal early and walked back to the birth center. I don't think I'll ever forget that two block walk. The weather was perfect, the sun was ripely setting, everyone was excited for what would happen that night.

When we got back, I tried sitting on a birthing ball but it wasn't big enough for my long legs. I sat backwards on the toilet for a long time while Emily massaged my lower back. Rusty ran to the store to get coffee while I sat there. My midwife filled the tub with warm water for me to relax in but it was too hot for me. After several minutes of adding cold water to cool it down, I was able to relax a bit and put in my contacts. I wanted to make sure I could perfectly see my newborn. I wasn't very comfortable in the tub though so I got out and labored on the bed. I didn't realize it at the time but my water broke while I was in the tub. As soon as I got out, things got much more intense and moved along quickly.

At one point, I could see the bump of a tiny little foot pushing on the top of my stomach during a contraction. I said excitedly, "I can see him pushing!" Hearing the word push got everyone's attention but I wasn't quite ready to start pushing yet. It was about 10:30pm when I finally felt the urge to push. Dinah listened to the baby's heartbeat to make sure it was strong and beating normal. I got up on all fours ready for a new position when a particularly strong contraction stopped me. Rusty came around to the side of the bed in front of me while Emily sat on a chair on the corner near us. I held on to his shoulders for support while pushing in an inclined position. Each push was very painful and I could feel the tightened of the cervix more and more. Luckily Mother Nature has completely blocked the sensation of that pain from my memory, but I know I was in pain laboring! I remember saying “O-O-O-O” during my contractions to signal their duration and strength. I also remember I couldn’t hold my breath- I was panting. Dinah held a mirror for me to see the head cresting but I wasn't able to look. I continued pushing a little more taking a mental rest and drinking between each push. During one break Emily spotted what she thought was a grass hopper on the window screen. I clearly remember yelling "I don't give a fuck about any grasshopper! I'm having a baby!" That broke the tension in the room as everyone laughed. That was also my only swear word! Turns out, what she really saw was a praying mantis- which some believe is a sign of good luck! Near the end of my pushing, I had what's called a transition. That's when women have a feeling that they can't labor anymore. Well my transition was a contraction or two before the last push. I remember telling Rusty "I can't do this; it's too hard!" with which he assured me I was almost done. I pushed a little more then out came the head followed very quickly by the rest of the baby! I pushed for only 40 minutes or so.

Whew! Labor pains were OVER! And there was our newborn! He was all purple and slimy and made this tiny little cry. I held him on my chest covered in a tiny blanket for nearly ten minutes just staring at him. I couldn't believe that just moments ago he was inside of me! Everyone paused to take in the moment. He was born May 25th at 11:08pm weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 inches long.

The midwife cut the umbilical cord and I realized at that moment my newborn was no longer physically part of me. He breathed on his own and had all the normal reflexes of a brand new baby. He got a shot of vitamin K but no ointment for his eyes. Rusty and Dinah took the baby to the bathroom sink to clean him off while the midwife's assistant checked my pulse, blood pressure, and vital signs. After I passed the placenta, I was helped into a shower to clean off. I had a small tear that the midwife sutured with three stitches. Next, the midwife weighed and measured the newborn and got blood samples from his heals. We took our first picture of him held by the midwife on the bed- which was also his first pee! Merely three hours after the baby was born, we packed our things and drove home. That night, Rusty and I laid in bed listening to our new baby sleep between us. We were finally a family of three!

Oy! It's hot in Texas! This week is a solid 90+ degrees all week. I took Josh to the park this afternoon but we got overheated- especially me, I was pushing the stroller. Today was a relatively good day. We skipped out on a mommy-baby event at the Plano Art Centre due to Josh napping late. Rusty's mom reminds e that Rusty dropped his second nap right around 12 months, but I don't think that's Josh's style. He's pretty serious about his late morning nap and late afternoon snooze.

I've decided to make Josh's birthday cake entirely by hand. 100%. Cake and frosting. After looking at the ingredients of frosting from Pillsbury, the number two ingredient after sugar is partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil. I realize he's not going to eat a bunch of frosting (he'll probably smear it everywhere), but I just can't seem to bring myself to serve up such an unhealthy treat. So here's what I'm making:

Baby's First Birthday Cake (Carrot Cake)
(Makes 1 double-layer 9-inch cake, adapted from "What to Expect")

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate (you may use slightly less)
1 1/2 cups raisins
Vegetable Spray/Shortening
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbsp low sodium baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
________________________________________
1. Combine the carrots with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15 to 20 mins.
3. Prep oven: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two 9 inch cake pans with waxed paper and spray the paper with vegetable spray/shortening.
4. Puree carrots in a blender or food processor until smooth.
5. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.
6. Combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
7. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 mins. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
________________________________________
1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

In other news, Rusty is planning a business trip to San Diego for several days in early June. I'm considering a short trip to either the panhandle or Austin to keep myself preoccupied. The ugly truth is, I'm terribly co-dependant. Being co-dependant only works out if you're married. This works out great 90% of the time. But then there's the 10% of the time that Rusty leaves for more than a couple nights and I find myself seeking companionship from friends to fill the gaps

Gosh, so much has happened over the week!

This last weekend we celebrated Matt & Sam's wedding. It was beautiful! If one was to look through their photo album today they'd see the wedding party and family laughing it up at Maggiano's after the wedding rehearsal, the classy Perkins Chapel on SMU's campus, seven grooms and bridesmaids, four ushers (Rusty was lead usher), guests all dressed up and having a great time, a charming reception hall in the Melrose Hotel where everyone enjoyed food, wine, dancing and all the traditional wedding events. We lit sparklers as the wedded couple made their escape- it was a picture perfect wedding all around!

Leading up to the wedding events, we welcomed Matt & Oana to stay at our home for a couple nights. They arrived from Vancouver tired but ready to eat as much Mexican and Tex-Mex food as they could possibly muster! Matt had fun playing with Josh and taking pictures. We even went on a couple adventures together: a visit to the Dallas Arboretum and the Cockroach Hall of Fame Museum in Plano.

Over the coarse of the weekend, we lined up four babysitters! Friday, Rachel Clark visited for a few hours taking care of Joshua while we attended the rehearsal dinner. Saturday afternoon Dorothy took care of Josh during the ceremony then friend Rick Caudill watched Josh for the evening during the reception. On Sunday, Josh played at Melissa's house for a couple hours while Rusty & I were social with friends. Josh had such a great time the whole weekend I doubt he noticed we left!

Tuesday we went to Arbor Hills to celebrate Josh's first birthday. One of the moms made a cake for everyone (Josh didn't have any) and about a dozen of us with strollers and babies kept company in the picnic area while I chased Josh around the playground area keeping from getting hurt or too far away.

I bought him a new pair of shoes this week. Sandals from StrideRite. Now that Josh is walking more and more, it's time he gets used to shoes, especially when we go the park. This week also starts the first steps in getting him off the bottle and on to using his sippy cup. I haven't introduced cow's milk yet, but I think that's coming soon too.

I watched as Josh did something new today. Usually he takes things 'off' and 'out' of something like taking toys out of baskets or off the shelf. Today he took his colored plastic blocks and placed them out of the basket then in the container they belong. Perhaps in no time he can start cleaning his own messes!

I've begun the process of weaning him from the bottle to cups. I was waiting for a couple cups to arrive in the mail (I sent away for free cups from Enfamil but they ran out of cups so things got back ordered) but since it'll be another month to get those, I'll have to make do with the Munchkin cups and his favorite Nuby cup. I need to teach him not to shake the cup though. He does this when he's done and wants to play and shaking results in milk splatters everywhere.

I'm reading The DaVinci Code and I'm hooked! I'm making this a short blog so I can read some more. Lots is going on though so here's a quick list of news:

• He's moving closer towards one nap a day. He still favor late mornings to rest.
• He's become less picky with food again- yay!
• I'm getting my hair cut today. I hope Josh is patient during my appointment.
• Josh is walking more than crawling. He still can't get to standing without the support of something.
• I'm making invitations for his birthday party- May 28 is the date we'll celebrate.
• Josh is quickly out growing his "12 months" clothes. He's now closer to fitting "18 months" clothes.
• Josh has one pair of shoes that we recently got him to wear. He walks OK in them but it adds a challenge to his penguin like toddle.
• We have a wedding to attend this weekend. With all the excitement of guests and things going on, we'll be using four babysitters over the weekend!
  

They say life gets busier when the baby learns to walk. For me, it's not so much THAT he can walk (he just started last week but this week he can officially walk across a room and beyond) but because he's sleeping less in the day. What was a roller coaster of nighttime wakings and need for soothing two weeks ago is now a roller coaster of unpredictable naps. Twice this week he cat-napped in the morning opting for a longer snooze in the afternoon, but then flipped on me yesterday by taking a long morning nap and no afternoon nap. Today is also funky: wake at 6am (despite my pleas to go back to sleep), nap from 7:30-10am, then nap again in the afternoon- which is now as I type. So I'm having to go with the flow on this one.

Josh is learning so many things, besides walking- which he does either with arms out for balance like a mini Godzilla or with hands waving because he's so excited that he can walk. Yesterday he surprised me by taking the spoon an inserting it into his mouth with food on it. I was worried he would wave the spoon around or toss it on his head (that's a new thing, stuff on the head is apparently funny) but he didn't. He repeated with varied success. Now the trick is to get him to put food on the spoon then deliver it to his mouth. I think I'll try with yogurt.

Monday I've agreed to show a few moms how to make baby food. I'm still making Josh's food though it's a heck of a lot easier with him eating finger foods. No more puree, yay! His diet lately consists of sweet potato cubes, pear, cheese, toast, yogurt, beans, peas and carrots. The peas and carrots I cheated by buying a mini can on a whim thinking he probably wouldn't be interested so it would only be a $.45 loss. After he ate that up I got a bag from the freezer section. The frozen foods are better because they don't lose their nutrients in the water and probably taste better than canned. And it's cheaper!

Tonight is symphony night. Rusty & I have a date for dinner then Copland's Appalachian Spring Ballet Suite (sounds... soothing) and Elgar's Enigma Variations. Rusty's mom agreed to watch Josh at her house. Grandparents are so great! :-)

This weekend has been eventful. First I'll talk about the March of Dimes on Saturday. We got up early for the walk at White Rock Lake. The walk was supposed to begin at 9:00am and I committed myself to get there before nine to meet up with other people from our group. I was running behind in time and resigned that if we were going to be late, we might as well be comfortably late. So we stopped for pigs-in-a-blanket on the way. Knowing there would probably be almost no parking, we parked at the rail station near by and took the free DART shuttle bus. That worked out great! It left right after we loaded and dropped us off right at the front of the start line. We got ourselves situated for a couple minutes, called a friend to see where she was and then they did the countdown and started the march. So we jumped into the front of the line! We caught up with Kim, Kevin & Kate who were our walking buddies. No one really knew how long the walk was. I guessed horribly at 1.2k. Someone else guessed 5mi. It was actually just over 7 miles. The weather was perfect, having rained all the night before there was a cool breeze, moderate humidity, generous cloud coverage and clean air. The babies were good during the walk. Kate slept part of the way in her backpack-carrier on her dad's back. Josh couldn't nap so we alternated strolling and carrying him. He had a great time! We ended up leaving very shortly after the march due to rain. Rusty compared himself to a Palahniuk character because we just showed up, walked among all these sponsors, volunteers, donators and do-gooders, then left without actually donating or participating with the rest of the event.

In other news, on Thursday evening I got bit by Darwin. He's now in the county animal shelter under quarantine. Here's what happened: Joshua is learning how to be gentle with animals. He no longer grabs at them; now he pats the cats with one hand. Well he crawled up to Darwin who was chilling out on the floor and started patting his back feet. Darwin took this for a few moments then lunged at Josh. He didn't bite him that I could tell but it still startled Josh and it was an aggressive move. I made sure Josh was ok then went after the cat. I was yelling at him telling him he was a bad cat and picked him up in two places- the scruf of his neck and somewhere on his back. Half way through the house on the way to tossing him outside he wiggled out of my grip and after a second of trying to regain my grip he turned around and bit me. But real hard. I yelled again, chased him into the hall and into Josh's room where I closed him in. Then I looked at my hand. It was covered in blood from several deep gashes and punctures. I called Rusty to come home (it was 5:30 so he was near the end of his day anyway) and took Josh to our neighbor's house to hold Josh for a moment so I could clean my hand and regain composure. We ended up going to PrimaCare to clean my fingers where I also got a prescription for antibiotics. My hand was really stiff and painful on Friday and over the course of the weekend my hand swelled up, the gashes throbbed off and on, and I was red around my index and middle finger. Today it's doing much better.

Darwin got the raw end of the deal. Two hours after coming home from PrimaCare, the County Animal Services paid us a visit requesting to see proof of his last vaccinations. I couldn't find my papers so we agreed to quarantine him at home. The next morning we were informed that we were 11 days late on our rabies vaccine for Darwin and that he would need to be quarantined at the vet's office or at the animal shelter. We can't afford the $200+ vet fee so we sent him to the shelter. He's in quarantine until May 7 (10 days of lock up) and then we can pick him up. One of the ladies at the vet's office said she would be interested in adopting Darwin. We both agree (she and I) that Darwin may be one of those cats that's just not good around kids. Some animals are patient and well tempered while others just aren't. Since Darwin's been out of the house, the other cats have been in good spirits and seem more relaxed.

Lastly, today was Rusty's birthday. We spent the afternoon shopping for new shoes for him and spent a little time at Tommy's where Rusty went around a maypole with friends. The wind picked up, tearing some of the paper streamers, but everyone had fun anyway and the bottom portion of the pole looked decent. This evening we went out for dinner while Matt Peck entertained Josh. All three of us have had a good weekend and are now, rightly so, worn-out!

He's not walking... yet. Every so often Josh either forgets to hold on or just lets go for a moment while moving. He's taken a few steps but nothing I'd consider real walking yet. But he's close! He's still on tip-toes most of the time and doesn't have good balance unless he's holding on to something.

Today, Joshua is 11 months old! I can hardly believe this is the last month for his first birthday- which I need to start planning. He still babbles and screeches but hasn't said a single word. He also hasn't mastered saying 'mama' (much less 'gramma'). He has learned a few useless trick though! He can stick his tongue in and out while humming. Sometimes he does this in the high chair, spitting food out. Highly annoying! He's also learned to click his tongue in his mouth and smack his lips. Again, neat tricks but nothing profound in the way of progress towards talking. I'll bet as soon as he learns to talk I'll wish I hadn't pushed him to learn!

We fed Josh tofu this evening. I just cut a few pieces and offered it to him. He ate the first piece with success then spit out the second one. I sprinkled cinnamon and vanilla and he ate a few more, but clearly it's not his favorite. As a backup, I had black beans and cheese (high protein meal!) which he gobbled up. I'll try various ways of serving tofu, perhaps with veggies, before giving up. Tomorrow we'll share a pear for lunch (I eat the skins).

New pictures are available from our vacation, linked on the right under my picture.

Twenty highlights of our trip you should know...

1. Joshua is now a proficient stair climber. He fell once from the second step on the second to last day.
2. My dad has been deemed a Baby Whisperer due to his mad skills at entertaining and putting Joshua to sleep.
3. It is possible to cross New Mexico on Hwy. 87 in an hour and a half.
4. Josh now has a farmer's tan.
5. We caught the beginnings of a grass fire SW of Amarillo. The fire was headed towards a housing development pushed by 50 MPH winds. We drove past the onlookers as the fire trucks, police, and bulldozers arrived.
6. Joshua surprised us one afternoon by crawling out of his play pen after a nap, climbing the basement stairs and greeting us in the dining room. We didn't know he was awake until hewas crawling towards us! (the zipper door must have had a gap that he used to get out)
7. Rusty murdered a rabbit with my car on the way to Wichita Falls.
8. Josh didn't sleep well at all the first two nights so he slept on my chest or between us on the bed the rest of the time. He snores.
   
9. I lost my Best-Mom-of-the-Year award after holding Josh in the back of the car on the way home. The car seat wasn't comfortable causing him to cry, wail, bawl, scream at us- so I took him out and let him sleep on my lap and shoulder. That wasn't exactly safe or legal but he got rest and a soft place to sleep during the long lonely stretches of road.
10. Dorothy, our surrogate grandmother, agreed to watch Josh from 6am to 11am so that we could sleep after coming home. I am forever in her debt for that!
11. We visited the Haystack Goat Cheese farm. Josh loved seeing the goats as much as we did!
12. I took a tour of the Celestial Seasonings factory (no babies allowed so Rusty & Josh hug out in the gift shop) and walked away with a few samples and boxes of tea to remember the experience. If you ever get to go, the Peppermint room is intense!
13. We encountered the back of a storm on our way through the panhandle of Texas. It hailed on us for about 15 minutes but luckily we got no damage from it.
14. My Mom got Joshua a book (Peek-A-Boo Bedtime) which was a hit on the way to Colorado. Later that week, my dad got him another book (Peek-A-Boo Bathtime) which was appreciated on the way home.
15. We used non-baby safe items to somewhat baby proof my aunt's house: rubber bands held the cabinets shut, a heavy metal wedge kept the pantry closed, a rocking chair to block stereo equipment- all implemented two days before we left.
16. Joshua had his first shower with Rusty after we gave up trying to keep him from standing in the bath tub.
17. Rice, coconut milk and mango was a hit for Josh's meal time!
18. Joshua joined us for sushi- all three times! He enjoyed the edamame.
    
19. Rusty managed to douse me with fermented juice during lunch at Whole Foods. (He bought a drink that claimed to boost energy. And it had live cultures in it. But it tasted awful, like the vinegar stuff used to color eggs for Easter. So he decided to add sugar. As soon as he did, it exploded with foam. He tried to stop the foam by cupping his mouth over the bottle which then channeled all the foaming juice directly onto my shirt, lap, lunch, table, and floor behind me. Everyone around us pretended not to notice.)
20. Despite the fashion of Boulderites, Josh refused to wear a hat making it a challenge to avoid direct sun on his face.

I hosted the play date today at our house. I had a decent small turn out of five moms, about half of what RSVP'd. I'm glad all 10 didn't show up though because we had enough room for the babies to crawl around and a have good conversation. Joshua had a great time playing and showing off his toys and tricks. One new trick he's learned this week is he can "play" a penny whistle. I showed him what it was one day and by accident he figured out that blowing made sounds. Rusty will tell you he's also learned how to toss/roll a ball back but I haven't seen this trick yet, so as far as I am concerned it hasn't happened! Anyway, now that the house is returned to "normal" and Josh is napping, I have a list of things to do to prepare for our trip. (Yes, I'll now obsess over every single detail until we leave!) One thing on my list is to clean and move the car seat from rear to forward facing.

-gasp!- But you can't do that until he's one!

Yeah, I know. But Josh is almost 11 months and he's big for his age so I think it'll be ok to switch a little early. That will give us more room in the car in the front passenger seat and I'm hoping the new view will distract him from being fussy in the car. Initially anyway.

In other news, Matt & Sam are getting hitched next month. We're looking forward to this not only as a sweet reminder of our own blissful wedding day but as an opportunity to ditch the kid with babysitters for a few hours. yay!!! Don't get me wrong- I love taking care of Josh but I also love having a good time with friends. There's a three hour gap between wedding and reception so we'll use that time to swap sitters. I'm asking around for shift one (I'll probably ask Dorothy, our surrogate grandmother); we have shift two covered by Rusty's work pal Rick. This is why having friends rock. We look out for each other. I help Dorothy design a website for charity, she plays with Josh a few hours. It's a sweet arrangement!

Most stories are based on some grains of truth some place in the author's life. To the point, there are grains of truth in my April Fools blog though by and large the stories were fabricated for your, err my, amusement. From the bottom up, I described the cat's behaviors as accurately as I could. Merlin actually did catch a bird once and brought it to Rusty's door. And when I was in fourth grade I did find a bird trapped in our garage. I tried to make friends with it but it was not friendly so I showed it how to get out. As for the job promotion, at the time of my entry, there was no promotion or raise. As of today Rusty will receive a raise effective this summer and there is discussion of promotion though I'm not supposed to talk about that. Finally, we are indeed out of room for any more creatures in our house. I often wish we had more closet space even. We have talked about how many kids we eventually want, and yes, we eventually want another. But the timing is all off in my prank. We're thinking of trying again in autumn. I figure we might as well get the baby-proofing, car seats, potty training, baby food, all that stuff out of the way. So there ya have it. The real deal is we're planning for number two and planning to move into a roomier home.

Which brings me to other news today. Rusty's company is planning to open call centers in various cities including a few we've talked about moving to: Seattle, Denver & Austin. To clarify, we would probably go suburban if we decided to move to Colorado since the town has an awful lot of pollution and I could potentially get closer to family. (And I would happen to know two other really cool moms in the area!) I'm not sure what the timing is on us moving, but we're definitely thinking about our options. Good thing about Seattle is proximity to Vancouver and Portland where we can see our friends. Good thing about the Denver area is proximity to my family. Good thing about Austin is it's easier to move to. I'm personally leaning more towards either Seattle or Denver because I really want to be close to good friends or family. We'll see what turns out over the course of the year. Meanwhile I'll be busying myself researching places to live and work for each location to help us decide.

Joshua & I went to the Dallas Arboretum yesterday with a few other moms. The arboretum has a 'Mommy & Me Monday' in March and April for moms and their babies. Lots of fun for little kids and it's a nice place to hang out for a change. Thing is, there were hundreds of people there! Moms from everywhere pushing strollers, holding babies, walking with kids- it was crazy! I was expecting a quiet park, maybe a dozen people there, small paths leading to small patches of plants. I was wrong on all counts. The Dallas Arboretum is large. For this event, it attracted so many people, they were parking us on grass & gravel because the paring spaces were full. I bought my ticket from Tom Thumb ($1 discount) then drove very slowly to let Josh sleep in the car. He got less than an hour of rest on the way there and again on the way back. I stayed well into the afternoon strolling with two other moms, letting the babes play and feeding them. By the end of the day I was exhausted and sunburned. I think I conked out at 9:30.

Tomorrow is a no fun chores and errands day. We have some light shopping to do, groceries, clean out the car & car seat, and a few things to do around the house to prepare for a play date I'm hosting tomorrow. So far about 10 moms have RSVP'd to come over. I have plenty of room in the front of the house. I don't know if I've met everyone who's coming over (I know them through Meetup.com), but I do have a few friend-moms coming to help break ice. And Rusty will be here working from home. After the play date, it'll all be about preparing for the trip to Colorado.

Rusty's had a cold this week and now it looks like I caught his bug. No surprise. I feel like my immune system has dropped since Josh was born. I used to not get sick from Rusty very often but now I'm catching it every time. So far Josh doesn't seem effected.

I met up with several other moms yesterday in Allen at Celebration Park. It was pretty fun being out with so many others (about a dozen or more showed up) and the park was nice. I was having issues though that made my experience less desirable: I had a raging headache, I was running late getting there, it was day-two of my period so I was running for the bathroom every 30 minutes, while using the bathroom with Josh at the park he kept going for the toilet to investigate so I had to spend time washing his hands afterwards, then a diaper change, all of which took at least 15 minutes in the bathroom and when we came out almost all the moms had left. At least he had fun crawling around on the grass when we all sat in a circle chatting. Despite my own problems, I'm glad I got out.

This week I've discovered I have a hard time responding to other people's problems. Not in the sense that I don't have empathy or say the wrong thing. I took Josh to a park in Carrollton earlier this week. (He had a great time though I wasn't crazy about the recycled tire chunks spread out on the playground area.) A lady was sitting on a park bench enjoying the weather and watching Josh play. She started a conversation with me about kids and how fast they grow up. Then, seemingly out of no where she confesses to me that she lost her home in New Orleans, she lives with her daughter who is about to throw her out of the house, and now she has a lump in her breast. All this personal information in about 5 minutes time. I made short reassuring responses like "Sorry to hear about your home, I guess it was time for you to make a change in life" and "The lump is probably from stress" and "We all fall on hard times; Did you hear about the tornados on the East coast this week?" That last comment was a weak tactic to change the topic. Then last night my cousin calls to say Hi and catch up. She tells me about her mother (who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and her grandfather is apparently also dying. I wasn't sure how to respond so I didn't say much. It's problems that seem to be so daunting and so depressing with little to no real solution that seems to stump my ability to converse. I find myself running to quick insincere phrases or searching for a new topic. Or not saying anything at all. The next time I see that lady from the park, I hope she tells me she's doing fine. I can handle fine much better than the truth.

And now for the crusher... that last blog entry I sent you was an April Fools joke. For those who fell for it and congratulated us, thanks for the support, we'll keep it for later. The rest of you caught on and laughed with me.

Based on the reactions I got, I think I'm a better story teller than a liar. Or perhaps I'm a very good liar depending on your view! Either way, here's the scoop: there are no official plans for another baby, no one is going to be on TV, Rusty is not being promoted to his boss's position, nor is anyone going to China (except Gene & Becky), and there was no bird wreaking havoc in our home. Although my stories had grains of loose truth in them, it was all a prank on YOU!

I was going for tall tales that could be plausible, but perhaps these were a little too plausible. I should have taken Rusty's advice on having an alien encounter, Joshua speaking French, or some other stream of consciousness adventure. Maybe next year...

Hope your first weekend of April was full of humor. Or at least pleasant in some way. Cheers!

The first day of April and we have overcast skies with rain. yuck. Just when you think you're bored with the routine of real life, things get a little crazy. As many of you know, I took Joshua to a modeling agency a couple weeks ago to see if I could get him in a magazine or something. I figure a little extra cash would be nice. Call it payment for all those diaper changes and midnight feedings! Anyway, you probably know about the guy stopped me in the parking lot. Well, I called him back a few days later after talking it over with Rusty and we decided "what the heck- let's do it!" The Learning Channeling is creating a new reality show called Real Moms. They want to document moms who are encountering a new page in their life, whether it's bringing home their first baby or moving to a new house or dealing with out of control kids. All sorts of topics. The producer is looking for three moms bringing home a new baby while their first is still in diapers. They want to see how these families deal with the added pressures of a new addition. I spent a lot of time interviewing and being interviewed by their staff. They like the fact that our house doesn't really have room for another baby and that our little guy is only 10 months old. Of course we would get compensated nicely ($7500) for letting a film crew into our homes for 15 months. That more than pays for the cost of another natural birth and helps us buy another crib, clothes, car seat, etc. To make time work for the show, we're going to start conception this month. So we're having another baby!

On a side note, Rusty's job is shifting as of this weekend. His boss's boss got promoted out of the department. That upset several people including Allyn (Rusty's boss) who is leaving the firm for a telephony startup in China. That leaves Rusty with an option to move to China to join in the startup (I said No Way) or to move into his boss's position and clean up the mess from this fall out. Several people are leaving the team from all this so Rusty's job now includes rebuilding the team and bridging the gap that Allyn's boss once held between the various departments. He's asking for a huge raise since he'll be taking on new responsibilities and ultimately more work. If they don't accept his proposal for $220,000 per year he's walking too. That throws a kink into our family-planning. I hope the company doesn't baulk. And if they do, I really hope Rusty can find a new job quick enough.

I almost forgot to mention the bird attack I had earlier this week. I was sweeping out the garage on Wednesday and left the garage open for a few hours afterwards. I lost track of what I was doing after being "paged" by Josh to feed him and change his diaper. After I realized the overhead door was still open, I reached around the corner of the door and pushed the button to close the garage. Moments later I hear all this racket in the garage- stuff falling down, something thumping on the wall- I freaked out thinking someone was in there. I grabbed a kitchen knife and swung the door open to spook whoever was in there. Then I spotted this huge blackbird on my car. I was relieved it was just a bird so I opened the overhead for him to get out. But he freaked and flew past him into the living room. It was all chaos after that. He flew into the ceiling fan, knocked out pictures, banged on the windows trying to fly out. He went from room to room looking for the exit then landed on top of the dining room table. Josh was a little anxious but curious to crawl towards the dining room to see what was going on. Our cats heard the bird and immediately came out to watch. Samson was scared and kept pacing between the front rooms and the hallway. Merlin was intent on hunting so he crouched down and started inching forward. Darwin was spooked too so he side stepped close to me but stayed crouched locked on the bird. I wasn't sure what to do. There's that pause when things settle and everything is peaceful and surreal. I didn't want to scare the bird because I didn't want him to go flying everywhere again. But he was nervous with the cats surrounding him anyway so I slowly moved for the front door. Then he crapped! On my table! The lousy bird crapped on my table! I swung the door open and yelled at him to get out. He flapped his wings and started for the door- but just then Merlin leapt into the air and sort of "tripped" him mid-take off. The bird and Merlin wrestled for a few seconds before breaking free and flying out. Merlin got a scratch so I had to take him to the vet. Darwin and Samson didn't sleep for hours expecting the bird to come around the corner. Josh was pretty much oblivious. I had such a mess to clean up. Oh well. That was definitely more entertaining than television!

Happy April Fools Day!

The forecast calls for rain but we hardly got five drops today. Just as well- I was able to run around town with Josh for a couple hours. Today's project was finding a facility for Lee's wedding reception. I checked out the ArtCentre of Plano first. Although it has a lovely, modern feel with quality wood floors great for dancing, they have strict timing. They allow a maximum of five hours from set up to clean up for a reception. Last time I helped set up for a wedding reception, it took two hours with a cast of volunteers doing everything from stacking dishes on the tables to setting up centerpieces to setting out guest gifts on the tables. If it takes an hour to set up and an hour to clean up, that only leaves 3 hours for the reception. To me that seems rushed. Perhaps the staff can be bribed to let them stay longer. The other place I looked at hardly needs mention as it didn't fit several of the requirements they are looking for. BUT they did serve up some very tasty quiche.

I think I can see two more teeth coming through on Josh's bottom gum. I'll try to get a better look tomorrow when he cries- which he does frequently these days from either bumping into something or frustration from not being able to do something. Tomorrow is supposed to definitely rain (the weather man swears it this time) so I'll take the rugrat to the Gallery to play. He loves the play areas at the mall and it's free entertainment.

Rusty's been on a business trip since Tuesday morning, returning tomorrow afternoon. As usual, I get stir crazy being alone. It's not so bad in the day because it's like every other day. But in the evenings, my routine plays off of Rusty's. And I look forward to his companionship. Luckily it was a short trip and he gets back early in the day.

Serving up finger foods is working well with Josh. I cut up some mango into small bite-size chunks, which he likes. I also offer him small cubes of cheese and pieces of toast. The last few meals went so well with him self-feeding that I think I'll invest in buying green beans, broccoli, and/or carrots to cook and slice. He still likes yogurt so I'll keep that in his breakfast but let the other meals be finger foods. I haven't figured out what to do with the pureed stuff in the freezer. The fruits can be thawed and mixed with rum for a cocktail while some of the veggies can be cooked into soups, stuffed meat, or something. I'm afraid my at batch of chicken will be useless though. I mixed canteloupe with chicken (which is great when mixed in with carrots or sweet potatoes for baby food, but I doubt there's any recipe in the world that calls for canteloupe and chicken. oh well.

There was supposed to be a group of moms meet at a Starbucks as part of a Meetup.com group. Alas, nobody showed up. Two other people RSVP'd Yes and three RSVP'd Maybe. Luckily Rusty joined me in case this happened. We drank our caffeinated concoctions then headed across the street to let Josh play at a park. There was gravel on the ground instead of the squishy foam or cork. He had fun playing with the tiny rocks but it wasn't conducive for cruising or crawling around.

Last night I went with Matt Peck to crash Tommy's party. Actually we didn't crash it, but we weren't really invited either. Rusty got an invite but I think Tommy forgot me or assumed we'd both get the message. Matt didn't get the invite because of past issues that may be slowly dissipating. I'm encouraging the guys to get over their past and make up. It's none of my business if they're ever pals, I just want to play disc golf and mah-jong, and both of them know how to play these well. My motivation for world peace is solely for selfish purposes!

The obsession over the upcoming trip to Colorado has begun. I'm already planning when we'll be on the road, where we'll stay in Lubbock, what time we'll try to meet up with people while there, where Josh will sleep at Laura's (don't have that figured out yet), what foods I'll need to bring, etc. I think my obsessiveness is due in part from my neurosis and in part as the CEO of Joshua. My job is to make traveling with baby as smooth and painless and possible- which means a good deal of thought and preparation is required.

Oh who am I kidding? I am totally neurotic!

Josh is learning to go down from standing. He figured out one technique and has been practicing it all day. He'll pull up to stand, cruise for a moment then go down. I guess we're programmed to learned through repetition starting at infancy. He's also fussy today for some reason. Not sure if he's teething (doesn't appear to be), gassy, frustrated at something... who knows. He slept well last night but napped funny. He went down for a short morning nap at 9:20, which is over an hour earlier than normal then took a short nap this afternoon. Lastly about Joshie, he's been a picky eater the last few days. He usually loves carrots, squash and meat or sweet potatoes, but the last few meals he's taken 3-4 bites then refused the rest. He'll snack on cheese an toast like nobody's business and he really enjoys yogurt. I'm wondering if he's ready for self-feeding finger foods already. This weekend I'll try green beans and something else chopped into cubes.

It's gotten cold here this week. By cold I mean under 50 degrees. Today was 48 with wind. Too cold to stroll or to a park and barely warm enough to get out. If it weren't for Josh's early nap, I probably would have stayed in all day. Instead I went to lunch with Rusty. We had sandwiches from Bakers Bros. Going out to eat with a baby takes careful second thought. First criteria: high chair. Then there's all the secondary stuff like stuff for the tike to munch on, large enough bathroom for a diaper change, customers who probably don't mind a few squeals. Tomorrow is moms group. If he goes down early for a nap again and wake up early again, I'll take him to the mall to play for a little bit.

What a weekend! Went to Kansas Friday night with Joshua. It took 6 hours to get to McPherson. We started late leaving at 8:40 and got to the hotel at 2:35. Unfortunately it took me nearly 3 hours to get Josh back to sleep. He was so excited about his new surroundings that he needed Holsts' The Planets from the hotel clock-radio to finally fall asleep. My mom watched Josh in her room from 8am until about 9:30 giving me a chance to sleep a bit longer and get ready.

At 10am, the family was all gathered at the funeral home for Bonnie's viewing and funeral service. I did not want to look in the casket. Josh was great during the service. I got him to fall asleep on my shoulder for a "short" 30 minute nap. At home 30 minutes is hardly any time for a nap, but when you're holding 20+ pounds of baby, 30 minutes is long enough! We drove to Canton, KS for the burial. I was busy pacifying Josh so I wasn't able to really pay attention to the prayers. The family stopped at the town's cafe diner for lunch. It was the second time the whole family was together- all five children, their spouses and a generous helping of grand-(and greatgrand-)children.

Originally I planned to stay in town visiting with people until the evening. But my mom was leaving at check out (3pm) and everyone else was headed home somewhere in Kansas. I hit the road at 3:30pm hoping Josh would sleep for a while. He slept for nearly 3 hours! I made it almost to Oklahoma City before he woke up and needed a bottle. Mom meet me at a gas station/rest stop while Josh had his bottle and played a bit. She wanted to sleep in Oklahoma City then resume driving to Lubbock the next morning. It takes her about 8-9 hours to drive from Lubbock to McPherson. We hung out in Okla. City for a few hours (checking into a hotel, eating dinner, letting Josh play a bit) before I headed back for Dallas. I got home at 1am this morning. Josh was so tired he didn't even wake up when I transferred him to the crib. Rusty was generous enough to watch Joshua this morning while I slept in. Aaaaaaah!

So what did I learn? Hotel rooms are relatively baby-safe compared to most people's houses. Also, traveling in the day is ok for short trips under 3 hours. Over that, travel at night! Oh yeah, it rained the entire time! From Denton to McPherson, all day Saturday and all the way home, it rained. Driving in rain makes for an entirely exhausting trip.

Funny side note. I tried to feed Josh Gerber jar food while away on the trip. He hated it! I offered him a cheese/broccoli/carrot for lunch and a chicken & vegetable for dinner. I got three bites of the cheese stuff and four of the chicken. I guess I'm stuck making homemade food!

Joshua got another cold this week. I think it started Wednesday night because he woke up a lot and was cranky before bed. By early morning Thursday, I could hear his stuffy nose and knew he was not feeling well. I gave him a little infant Motrin to take the edge off his fever and aches (which bought me a couple more hours of sleep) then cared for him gently all day. We went to my eye appointment and stopped by SAMCO in the afternoon. He slept in the car on the way there and back. He seemed ok by mid-afternoon but by nighttime he was really not well. He had a slight fever, watery eyes, runny nose, a dazed look, general crankiness. He didn't sleep well last night either. Rusty & I took turns soothing him probably a dozen times. By 5:15am or so he was agitated and couldn't get back to sleep so I rocked him for a bit. Having his head propped up on my shoulder helped his nose drain so he could get back to sleep. I laid down on the couch with him resting on my chest instead of putting him back in the crib. We slept for nearly two hours like that.

In lieu of Josh's cold, which is better today, we decided to give away our tickets to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Cameo pounced on the offer. Although we probably could have left him with the in-laws and enjoyed a date, I was worried he'd be extra fussy being sick. He was fine this evening but I think being home helped him feel better too.

I don't send chain mail to people I care about. Unless they are the type of person that might like getting it. And I usually ignore the chain emails I get. You can spot those a mile away. Subject lines filled with [FW:[FW:Fw:[Fw:FW:FW:]]]... Yeah, you know those messages. I guess blogs are the new medium to pass along these chains. I read Matt's and thought, how novel, then dismissed it. Then I got tagged by Tommy. Damn you Tommy wherever you are! In the spirit of letting my friends and a few of you others in on my boring life, here's my list of Fours:

Four jobs I've had
1. restaurant waitress/hostess/cocktail pusher
2. marketing and PR
3. fashion model
4. bank formation partnership

Four movies I can watch over and over
1. Fight Club
2. Elizabeth
3. Snatch
4. O Brother Where Art Thou

Four TV shows I love(d) to watch
1. Scrubs
2. Project Runway (2nd season)
3. Myth Busters
4. Oprah

Four places I've been on vacation
1. London
2. Hawaii
3. Vancouver
4. Spain (while "working" as a model)

Four favorite dishes
1. sushi
2. grilled salmon
3. Penne Rustica from Macaroni Grill
4. steak from Ruth Chris

Four websites I visit daily (er, weekly)
1. wholesomebabyfood.com
2. ringofsaturn.com (email)
3. Google
4. nbc5i.com/weather

Four places I'd rather be
1. on vacation
2. on a beach
3. on a stage
4. on a roller coaster

Four people I'm tagging
I'm not! Ha! You got lucky! :-)

Not a good week for making baby food. I doubled a recipe that called for rice, carrots, peas and turkey. But there was too much rice. It looked more like fried rice without the egg than baby food. Instead, I threw together Josh's favorite standby: peas & apples. On the other hand, I did make one recipe that again wasn't Josh's favorite, but I really liked it. I would be willing to do it again next to a breakfast item like French toast or waffles. Check it out:

Apple Raisin Compote

• Heat 3 tablespoons of fresh orange juice in a saucepan.
• Add 2 eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 15g (0.5oz) of washed raisins, halved
• Cinnamon to taste (optional)
  

Cook gently for about 10 minutes until soft, adding a little water if necessary. Puree or mash to desired consistency. Best served warm.

I skipped out on Moms Group last week to run errands and take care of a few things around the house. It feels like I haven't gone in weeks. This week has been busy and so much has changed with Josh since the last time we went. In two weeks he's moving around more, less cranky in general, fussier at meal time, more talkative, more curl in his hair... and he has a new freckle!! It's on his left arm. Those who know me well understand my obsession of these details. Love it!

The house is 85% baby proofed. We decided to leave the computer room alone and just put up a gate to keep him out. There are a few more cabinets unsecured, a couple drawers he can open, a porcelain swan to move, cat toys to put away, a shower curtain to rehang- but the really dangerous stuff is taken care of. On a side note, Josh is going through the throwing-stuff-on-the-floor-is-fun phase. To accommodate this, I placed toys and baby-safe books on the bookshelf in his room. Occasionally he cruises his way from the window sill along the dresser to the book case to find lots of things to play with and toss on the floor. Another baby proofing change this week, I moved his diaper changing pad to the floor instead of being on the dresser. Though it's a bit of an inconvenience to change him on the floor, it's a heck of a lot safer and he can't rip the wall border off. I can't wait for him to move into pull-ups! I hope those are easier, especially since he hates being held down. I also lowered his crib to the lowest setting. He can still pull up to standing and now there's no way he want fall out. :)

As of last week, breastfeeding officially ended. He was more ready to end it than I was. In the last two weeks of breastfeeding, he would get fussy when he had to lay down or be still. He didn't want to be held for a feeding- he wanted to crawl on the floor, walk around the furniture or be carried across the house. He just lost interest. He'd latch on for a moment then turn away and start babbling or trying to roll off the Boppy. So I moved the rocking chair out of his room (yay! I won't impale my feet on it any more!) and packed the Boppy with other items to store in the attic. Although I wished I could have continued breastfeeding for the whole first year (I thought this before he was born and even several months after) I'm glad that he got what he needed from me for as long as he wanted it. That's the best scenario I could ask for.

Although our little pumpkin head is wonderfully adorable and probably could be in ads or the cover of a magazine, I have not taken him to an agency. The thought has crossed my mind but no such action has happened yet. Read on.

Today was the 9 month check-up.

• Weight is 50th percentile at 20.7 pounds
• Length is 95th percentile at 30.25"
• Head circumference is 45th percentile 17.75"

He's normal and healthy by all standards! The pediatrician recommended we keep places that are off-limits (like the bathroom) behind closed doors or have a gate. He also recommended keeping a close on him while he cruises the room because often babies will take their first steps when no one is looking. On the acquired skills survey, he aced everything from problem solving to communications to mobility to motor movements. He's got four teeth with two more just barely popping through on the top center. No shots today. He gets his next round of immunizations at 12 months, 15 months and 18 months. That made today's appointment quick, easy and cheaper!

We went to a play date at Preethi's apartment today. Josh had a great time playing with new toys and socializing with other babies. He and Vincent had a good time shaking the ladybug ExerSauser (AKA the Play-de-Bug) and cruising along the sofa. Other banies there anged from about 5 months to nearly a year old. The moms were good company too. :)

Our little guy is learning and growing so much! He's crawling every chance he has. No more rolling around to get places. He's also pulling up on anything he can reach: crib rail, couch, chairs, coffee tables, book case, my leg, empty boxes, anything that will support his weight and give some lift. Tomorrow I plan to lower his crib to the lowest setting. Although I'm proud of his accomplishment to go from hands and knees to standing in his crib, I don't want him to fall over the edge. Rusty doubts he would fall out but enough other people seem to think he definitely would in enough time that I'm more inclined to go with the masses on this one. Now that he's crawling, we also need to finish baby proofing. Cabinets are a new fascination. He doesn't go in them- yet- but likes to open and close doors and pull out whatever he can reach or knock over with one hand. Rusty is looking at adhesive cabinet locks as opposed to the screw in type. That's his project.

Josh is still a good eater. Today he had a few bites of nectarine with cereal for breakfast, Brussels sprouts with sweet potatoes for lunch, cheese and veggie puffs for a snack, and chicken in sweet potatoes for dinner. I need to make more food for him. I ran out of fruits and yogurt this week and had to run to the store to cover tomorrow's breakfast. I like Horizon Baby Yogurt better than Yo Baby. Horizon is thicker making it less likely to fall off the spoon on the way to the mouth. We tried cottage cheese last week. He didn't like it. At all. Luckily I didn't buy much. I'll stick with cheddar and yogurt for now and try cottage cheese again later on.

We're planning a road trip to Colorado next month. We narrowed our dates to mid-April for a week. Due to high demands of an excessive workload, Rusty has been working weekends and evenings and his team did not get the green light for additional personnel. Thus management is compensating the extra work time as extra vacation time. So far Rusty's collected about 4 weeks of vacation time. At this rate, we'll be able to make that trip to Portland again and possibly Colorado for Christmas. woot and yay!!

Last, I took Joshua to the mall to play in the indoor play area. He had a blast for about 30 minutes (the he got hungry and fussy). He loved watching the other kids running and jumping everywhere. The "stuff" was all cushiony and just about the right height for him to walk along. Several other malls have the same play area with different themes (I think the Gallery has a hamburger lunch). Now that Josh has some mobility, this is another means of free entertainment. And if you know me, you know I like free!