Tooth Fairy, you're on notice

As you can't see here, Oliver has cut a tooth. Two really. He refuses however, to show me OR the camera. His new favorite chew toy? His bottom lip. Poor kid, doesn't have that much lip to spare! And no, thank you for asking, he hasn't bitten me yet. To figure out why babies biting their moms isn't all that common, next time you stick a straw in your box of wine, try biting down on the straw. Yep, pretty hard to get that buzz you crave so much isn't it? Babies are smart! I am not saying it doesn't happen, but it happens less often than one would imagine. Especially if that 'one' is all hopped up on boxed wine. You know who you are...

Not everything is bad photo shoots and raw bite marks though, with this new development comes new skills! Such as: shrieking at the top of his lungs, pooping with the vigor of a prune farmer, and saving us money by watering our plants...with drool. He has been experimenting with the upper registers of his voice, so if you see me in public and I don't turn around at first, I am not ignoring you, I just can't hear you.

Oh and one more thing...with teeth, we decided to let him try something new at Blues on the Green this week:

CSI: Suburbia

This week, I am sad to report, we have suffered a great loss. He was part of the family, a life long friend to Oliver, and though he did get rattled from time to time, he always was a comfort. We are still reeling from the shock of this tragedy, having not only lost him, but to come home to the crime scene, well, you can imagine... The description that follows was the official report and is graphic and may not be suitable for younger readers. This blog is dedicated to our friend, Harold G. Frog. Rest in peace oh you of suckable hands, rest in peace, ye Baby Whisperer. [Whoooooo are you? Who who who who?] The victim was found at approximately 8:32pm and was pronounced dead at the scene. It appeared as though he suffered a blunt force trauma to the back of the head but at closer investigation it appeared that the injury was made by a serrated edge. His brain matter was scattered about the family home, willy nilly. The victim was found covered in short, black hair that was identified as canine. Later, DNA tests would stump investigators. Luckily, Teddy Cam video would not only reveal the culprit, it would catch them in the act:The perpitrator is being kept in the backyard pending a trial of her peers. [Law and Order Sound Effect]

Win a babywearing stash!!

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

...but first!!

Great news! Or bad news, depending on what side of the nursing bra you are standing...Oliver has cut his first tooth! Left side, bottom front tooth. Oh my, my little guy has toofers!! Every day, he does something new and amazing. Yesterday he finally rolled back to front. I don't know this little person at all it turns out, he PREFERS his tummy to his back. And who wouldn't when there are so many things to do. Pulling the cat's hair, screaming at the rings to COME HERE, turning a full 360 on what I call his "diaper axis". There are too many things to do to waste time on your back! (or so they told me in college...)

All of these firsts got me thinking. When do we stop celebrating firsts? At a year? Two? Twenty? It seems that Oliver is continually changing, evolving and learning. He has started "kissing" - really more of a slime slide down your face, but he uses both hands to hold your face, which is heartbreakingly cute. He flirts with strangers, squeals with joy and has started paying attention to my sign language and our "conversations" (really me talking to myself in front of strangers). We want to record all of these events in our child's life, but when do we decide our lives aren't important enough to record?

Oh sure, the big things we get. First days of school, dances, prom, graduation, and in my case, first marriages. But what about the smaller stuff? First really good bottle of wine, first R rated movie, first adult job, first massage. Sometimes the last one is filmed, but those are the really shoddy massage places...not recommended. In the spirit of this, I wish to submit a very important first not everyone thinks of recording, but everyone...at least in Texas, should.

Are. You. Serious?

Yesterday, we went over to a neighbor's house to have dinner. Actually, we kinda crashed their family dinner by just dropping in on them rudely. While I was chatting with my neighbor Gean and her daughter, Emily, the patriarch of this family decided it would be cute to give my baby an animal cookie. Not his fault, he had no idea that Oliver had never had solids before. Luckily CT was there to correct him gently and remove the cookie from our son's pudgy hand right? WRONG. CT giggled and let my child eat it. Well, at least we got video and pictures of this momentous event. WRONG AGAIN. It was a totally spontaneous happening and there was no documentation. It is a good thing I got to see it happen so I can remember it always...oh, whats that you say? Oh yea, thats right, I didn't get to see it. Thats right! His first solids and I didn't even get to see it.

I could cry.

Babies love beaches!

It started with a road trip. Not sure if any of you have been on a road trip with an infant but it takes everything you have to get through one in one piece. Patience, strength of will, resolve, and about three hundred toys. If possible, position the baby with all 300 toys at once, plus a burp rag for those messy times. Let's listen into what happens when the rubber ducky hits the road during a 6 hour drive, shall we?


[To get in the mood, imagine continuous wailing in the background]

Me: Hush little baby don't say a word...where's the rattle, rattle RATTLE!? Oh, I'm sitting on it. Here! HERE!! [rattle rattle] Froggy? Want the frogg...you don't want the %&@# frog. CT, CT? HEY! PACI STAT! What do you mean you PACKED the paci. [Mumbles] Packing a paci, stupid man. Luckily the frog's eye will have to do. Here are some rings, you like the rings, ooooo riiiiings! You look sleepy, here is night night bear. Yes, sleepy weepy time.

Once there, we unpacked, got settled. We chose, as usual, a little motel a short walk from the beach. It is all we care to afford and since everything is sandy anyway, there really is no point in paying for something classier. What, do they have classy sand at those hotels? Excited to see how Oliver would like the water, we stuffed him unceremoniously into his stroller and pushed him out to sea, ahem, to see the sea... humors didn't improve...
The nice thing about the ocean is that it sounds oddly like that peaceful nature sound setting on Oliver's bouncy seat. So soon, we were having a grand old time playing in the waves while the child slept. Don't worry, we hired a babysitter.

We had a blast at the coast all in all. CT made some buffalo wings for 8 hours one night and if I hadn't of fallen asleep, I am sure they would have been delicious. It was so much fun seeing the baby's first reaction to sand, and playing with him in the pool.

We go schwimmin' in da poo

Oliver has mixed feelings about pools. At first feel, they are shocking cold and a little scary. But, give him some time and he eases into it, finds it even a little, dare I say, fun!? On Friday morning, CT and I took Oliver to the pool for the first time! It was a nice day, not too hot, not too cool. Oliver would have preferred the water to be a bit more warm, and so would have mommy, but thems the facts. CT of course was there with the camera, dry, and warm. Story of my life. He is sitting pretty and I am left holding the baby, completely soaked. Anyway, we started slowly, dipping his feet in and then a little more until full immersion was accomplished. Being our child, Oliver was humiliated by my insistence that he wear a long sleeved shirt during his first swimming lesson. He was relieved that he was not forced to wear the silly hat and sunglasses that has yet to fit his tiny 25 percentile pin head.

He cried a few times, but I like to think that was his reaction to me in a swimsuit and not the water itself. By the time he had overcome his shock at my fleshy wake, and started enjoying himself...the video camera had run out of batteries. Wow, sure am glad we got that thing, makes a nice paperweight on a breezy day at the pool. Anyway, enjoy the video...and know that the apparent torture the child was experiencing did end up in him kicking, splashing and having a good time!