Bits and Pieces of March and April

I'm at that point where it's been so long since I've blogged that it's a negative feedback loop - something neat happens, or I take a great picture, and I think "I should blog this!" but then the thoughts of all the other things I haven't blogged crowd in and the whole task just seems overwhelming. So I'll just jump in with some this-n-that and pictures of late March and the first bit of April.

Malcolm got an ear infection (preceded by about a month of daycare colds) and spend more time than usual napping on us.He was back to his normal self after the first dose of antibiotics, thankfully. And we have now learned that the best way to get said antibiotics into him is to lay him down, have Mommy perform a manic rendition of the Itsy Bitsy Spider while dancing about, and have Daddy squirt the stuff in a bit at a time any time he opens his mouth to grin.

KT had her baby boy, and we sent him a knitted, stuffed bass drum (KT and I met in the marching band in college). Malcolm test-drove it and pronounced it yummy. I did wash before sending :)

Malcolm turned 7 months! And he now pulls Bo the Bear completely in front of him, which makes the picture not so great for showing his growth...Bo knows babies...

Sans Bo.

In early April we got new carpet in the family room - the old was in pretty nasty shape by the walls where, well, the cats (ours and probably previous owners' too) had had their way with it. We figured something new before Malcolm got mobile would be ideal.

Here's a before, in the process of clearing out the room:

And Malcolm, having a last roll on the old carpet:This is all I have time for tonight - new carpet in the next post!

Half a year old!

As of almost 2 weeks ago (I plead illness for the delay in blogging- the first daycare cold, of course, hitting me worse than Malcolm, but hitting Malcolm enough that his sleep has been a bit rocky some nights) - Malcolm is half a year old! He's experienced the end of summer, all of fall, and most of winter. We took him out in the stroller today during a brief "sunshower" amidst the rain, and he squealed with joy to see the sun and be out and about. He's loving daycare - "wow! They have babies here!" - and his teachers love him, and always rave about his smiley and observant disposition. And he's rolling all over the place!

Let's see, what else has he been up to recently? The 6 month bear photoshoot pictures aren't that great, mainly because he would grab the bear and wrestle with it before I could get set to take the picture. So we have the great half-yearly bear-chair wrestling tournament:

ding ding! The match begins!

Bo is off to an early lead. Where's the baby?

Malcolm recovers (with some help from Mommy) and goes on the offensive...

Malcolm for the win! 6 month olds always beat stuffed bears :)

What else has he been up to lately?


Video-chatting with Grandma and Grampa in Wayland. Pixelated area is a knit gift-in-progress which I don't want to spoil for the recipient('s mother). Grandma's on TV and plays peekaboo!

Snoozing in the carseat... (note the lovely hat, and the corner of a knitted blanket from KT!)

Sitting in the box in which two pairs of baby shoes arrived. We were proving the ridiculousness of the size of the box, which could contain both pairs of shoes (in their fancy cases no less!) plus the baby!
Attempting to eat banana pieces (with Mommy and Daddy keeping a close eye!) - making this face ("what the heck was that? Eeew! or, mmmm?!?" - then squishing pieces back into his mouth - lather, rinse, repeat... He does seem to like the idea of finger foods, though of course we're only letting him try a few very soft things. But he also likes one puree in particular:

Sweet potatoes!

We can't believe that in less than 6 months he'll be eating off the table with us (well, with modifications, of course)!

Things Malcolm has been up to...

since turning 5 months... (i.e. Mommy doesn't have time for a lot of text...)

Attending his first non-relative dinner party.

Learning to sit (pants and sweater by a knitting friend of mine).

Sitting in the bath.


Chewing his toes.

Helping me prune the roses.

Turning 5 and a half months!

and, after all that tires him out...

Napping without a swaddle*!
(doesn't the cuteness just slay you? :)

* we put him to sleep initially on his back, but since he can roll over (oh yeah, add that to the things he's been up to, though he does it inconsistently), the AAP says he can sleep on his side or his tummy now. He seems to prefer the side or 3/4-rolled positions. This is just for naps, right now, but we will be attempting un-swaddled night sleep soon!

5 months!

Wow, time sure flies. I'm pretty sure it was just the other day that I was posting that Malcolm was two months old...

This 5-month picture is late because a) my Mom was in town and we spent time with her rather than blogging, and b) I went back to work last week so wanted to spend time with Malcolm rather than blogging. b) will always be the case from now on, but I should manage to sneak in the odd blog after he goes to bed (but there goes the knitting time!) or during naps (if only they'd become > half an hour). Or, you know, during my breaks at work. Heh. Work was pretty quiet since my boss was out sick for the first couple of days, so I still got to come home early; and Andy and I availed ourselves of the free babysitting which Grandma offered, and went into Portland to our favorite restaurant (though, I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much as previously, I think they're trying a little too hard). Of course we mostly talked about Malcolm, but it was nice to go to a grownup restaurant and have time to order appetizers and desserts!

Anyway, the best bear-chair picture this month shows a somewhat grumpy Malcolm - I think he was getting sick of being posed in the chair. He has taken to whining sometimes - kind of a sheeplike bleating - which is better than all-out wailing but still kind of annoying. But annoying in a cute way, of course. We still get the all-out wailing on occasion, most often when overtired - like the other night in the bath where we had the gall to take away the washcloth he was chewing! Looks like we'll need more washcloths per bath since he has decided they're toys - I'd better get knitting!
Lots and lots of developmental stuff going on recently - not so much rolling (he's only done back-to-front a couple more times), but he's gotten very interested in sitting unsupported. He can do this for a couple of minutes, or more if we gently place a leg or pillow behind and around him. It's a whole new way to play with toys! Here he is sitting (highly supervised by Daddy!) on the kitchen counter and playing with a nearly empty plastic cookie box:


He also grins a ton and giggles a lot, especially for Daddy. One of his favorite games is to be carried by Andy, feet out, and be rushed over to me so I can kiss or raspberry those chubby feet. Here's a blurry action shot - I love this picture for the wide grin!

And one final pic - he is not hating tummy time as much now, though it still becomes crank-worthy after a few minutes. He has figured out that he can grab at toys from that position, which keeps him occupied a bit. Somehow I managed to take a really great picture of him - not sure how, but I got the camera to do that "fuzzy background" thing. As opposed to the fuzzy foreground in many others :D. Just a bit of demon-baby redeye, but that's not a big deal...


I have also done knitting (huzzah!) and will blog about it in another post... As a matter of preview, matching baby-daddy hats are very cute!

4.5 months and on a roll

Sometime around now, Malcolm is 4 and a half months old! So we went back to the bear chair.

Playing with Bo the bear is old hat by now:
look at those chubby feet! Compare this picture to his 4-week chair picture :)

He likes to have dinner with us when his naps allow (though if he's napping during dinner, we honestly don't mind eating just the two of us either), sitting in the Bumbo, trying to chew on Sophie le Giraffe. He's started watching us eat, but not with any particular longing to join in yet, we think. We have a (belated) pediatrician appointment on Friday (his doctor had surgery and so his 4-month appt was delayed) and will ask about her philosophy on starting solids. Even if we wait til 6 months, that's not too long now! Andy is excited to cook baby food and introduce Malcolm to new tastes.

He has also started enjoying his new Exersaucer - though mostly it is a venue for him to practice standing (he LOVES to stand, though not so much to sit or be on his tummy) without Mommy or Daddy holding him, and chew on his hands or the towels we sometimes use to prop him up. But he has discovered one of the toys on it, and will sometimes play with an intense look of concentration:

Finally, today Malcolm and I watched the inauguration (well, it was interrupted by a diaper change right at the beginning of the inaugural address, unfortunately, but we caught most of it). I was glad to be able to watch history being made, but Malcolm was not so interested, so spent most of the time on his playmat. I guess he wanted to get my attention, because towards the end of the ceremony his playing got especially thrashy and he rolled over onto his tummy! He looked surprised and pleased for a few moments and then began the "I hate tummy time" crankies. Now, we'll have to see if that was a fluke or if we really have a roller on our hands! It hasn't happened again so far...

4 months!

Since I can't remember how many weeks old Malcolm is any more (er, 18? 19?), I guess it's time to go to monthly pictures. I'll still try to put something up weekly, though, since his skills are developing faster than ever. And I'm even getting back into knitting a bit (we'll see how long this lasts since I'm going back to work in a few weeks too) so maybe there will be actual knitting-related posts as well.

Malcolm turned 4 months old (on January 3) while we were in Boston at my folks'. So for this picture, he's in a different chair, and the part of Bo the Bear will be played by "Rexer", my childhood stuffed T-rex.


His pants were made by Grandma ("Loisknits" on Ravelry), from the "Pimp My Longies" pattern (Mom, let me know if that isn't the right link). See how she pimped 'em? This way we know which side the short rows (in the bum) are on.

They are super soft and comfy - she also made Andy a sweater from the same yarn. I'll have to get a picture of "the boys" in their matching wear.

We had a great time: made it to the airport (had to put chains on the car to get out of the neighborhood, but the highways were OK), did OK on the plane (only 3 meltdowns), and on the return trip (also 3 meltdowns, but shorter in duration). Vacation was nice and relaxing, and Malcolm(and us!) really enjoyed hanging out with his uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins, and various kinds of 2nd cousins with a great aunt and other friends thrown in there too.

Well, someone's nap is ending so I will wrap this up, but will try to make another entry later this weekend.

16 weeks and Christmas Eve

Malcolm says...


Happy Holidays everyone! And tomorrow I'm taking my first plane ride to see my Grandma, Grandpas, Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins! P.S. - I love this bear! (and Daddy making faces at me behind the camera...)

(fingers crossed that the melt that started this afternoon continues - it would be nice not to have to drive to the airport in chains...)

15 weeks

Whoops, well, we skipped 14 weeks... but Malcolm is getting big enough that weekly pictures aren't a necessity. See how Malcolm is admiring the bear (or maybe the thought of his cute self) here!At 15 weeks (yikes, 3 and a half months!) Malcolm is definitely reaching for things, studying things intently, and even will tolerate having a book read to him if it is interesting looking. He didn't used to like to sit on laps! We've had some laughs/giggles which sound more like "heh heh heh", particularly in response to the "Daddy far away.... DADDY UP CLOSE!" game, which in the right mood will result in Malcolm chortling, opening his mouth, and attempting to shove both fists in :)He's also gotten into standing, and will suddenly go straight and stiff in our arms, our cue to prop him up on his feet to look around (especially at whoever is not holding him) or even try to reach for things. I wanted to add a picture here, but we don't have any great ones... will try for one later.

In the right mood, he'll take to tummy time like a seal... for short periods, anyway. No rolling yet except the occasional accidental front-to-back.

He's still got an odd schedule - during the day, he can only be awake for an hour and a half before needing a nap, which might last between 30 minutes and 3 hours (though the 3 hour naps have gotten rarer, sadly). He can nap in the baby carrier or the carseat, though often not as well as in the bouncy chair. I'm not going to mention nightime sleep since I have now learned that to do so invites smiting by the Sleep Gods... ;)

More posts tomorrow, probably - we're having a blizzard and an ice storm, and so there should be more time for the internets...

taking advantage of a nap for 12-week pic

I promise, he had socks earlier, but baby feet and most socks don't seem to be compatible! Malcolm was 12 weeks on the day before Thanksgiving. He's been working on slow, deliberate arm and leg movements, and also more frequently finding his hands. When you give him a pacifier, he will often reach up his hand and either hold it in or pull it out depending on the luck of the draw!
I'm sure eventually he will notice the bear, but so far it's still "Mom, why am I propped in the chair"?

And since these far-away pictures never show off his gorgeous blue eyes (they're darker than mine or Andy's, but may still be lightening), here's a feature picture from today, en route to lunch. The sweater his Grandma knit him sure enhances his big blues! (more on this sweater in another post). He did remarkably well at lunch (just a local place in Hillsboro here), staying awake as we ordered, then starting to crank, taking the pacifier, and drifting to dreamland as we ate.

Too bad the carseat has that giant warning sticker - otherwise this would make a lovely wall hanging. Maybe I'll have to try my Gimp (free photo-editor a la photoshop) skillz...

11 weeks!

Hey, a more-or-less-on-time post!

Malcolm turned 11 weeks yesterday! He's still a cranky baby if things are not going right to his specifications, but he has really turned on the smiles lately. His whole face just lights up, and he sticks his tongue partly out... it's so cute! He must think I'm some kind of crazed clown since I'm always just grinning at him trying to elicit a grin from him.

Of course he won't smile on cue in the chair for his weekly picture - maybe one of these weeks. Instead I get the "mommy, what are we doing here" expression again :). But I will post smiles in a different entry!

He seems to be starting to grasp at things, too - we made a mall expedition on Sunday, and at the food court he was awake in his carseat/stroller, with his little hands just grabbing at his blanket edge and the little toy we have attached there. And while I was trying things on and Andy was doing mall laps with him, Andy report that he grabbed his pacifier and waved it around. I don't think these grabbings are too intentional yet, but the hands are opening up and grasping. I can't wait til he is really reaching for toys instead of just batting around. Fun stuff!

I, of course, am getting pretty much nothing done except baby care and the occasional blog entry. But I guess that is to be expected. If only I had a nap predictor which could tell me which would be 2 hours and which would be 30 minutes! I expect he will get on a more routine schedule in the next couple of months, though that will be interrupted by Christmas travel (lookout fellow passengers on the PDX-BOS flight, cranky!Malcolm is onboard!). At least our sleep is decent (knock on wood) - he usually wakes up to eat just once at night. On the other hand, it's been months and months since I've had a complete night of sleep, since my whole 3rd trimester of pregnancy was plagued by back pain when lying down, and of course the whole pressure-on-the-bladder-causing-multiple-bathroom-trips issue. Well, I assume he'll sleep through the night sometime in the next few years!

Enough rambling, time to watch Andy make dinner :)

10 weeks, very belatedly

I am more likely to get these up if I don't do much commentary... will try for more on tomorrow's 11 week update. Here is Malcolm last week at 10 weeks. I could have done a longer post during his 2-hour nap this afternoon, but a) I didn't know it was going to be 2 hours! and b) I was actually doing some knitting. BSJ is finished except for buttons! (oh, and I was having lunch, too, always important when free time comes in small and irregular chunks)


Malcolm says "ah-loooo" to the loyal readers of this blog. It's his favorite thing to say. He finds it amusing when I counter with other types of Indian food: "aloo gobi, chicken korma, zaag paneer..."

9 weeks, belatedly

It seems that I'm getting later and later in posting these weekly pictures. Now it's Saturday, and I need to think back on what we did during Malcolm's 9th week - since he turned 9 weeks this past Wednesday (and 2 months on Monday). He was pretty zoned out for the bear picture this week - not cranking, but not really that interested either (I think he went down for a nap pretty soon after). He also looks remarkably "chinny" - I think due to his posture. He's not actually too chinny yet!


He had his 2-month pediatrician appointment on Monday and was pronounced perfect - long and lean, 90th percentile for length and 50th for weight (and 70th for head circumference!). He got 3 immunizations (2 shots plus an oral) and will go back in 2 weeks for the other two. He seemed super-cranky for a couple of days afterwards, but no fever or other bad reactions, phew.

A couple of shots from Halloween, when he was 8 weeks 2 days old. He had a nice happy window where he let us pose him in his orange and black striped romper:(orange dudes)

(gourd dude)

But he melted down when we tried to put him in a chili pepper bunting. Too much costume!
(we've noticed he tends to get overtired really easily, and if he's melting down it's probably time for a nap! It's hard to try to catch him before he "melts", though. Hopefully this will ease up as we get closer to the end of the "4th trimester", but I'm not holding my breath at this point since that's only 2.5 weeks away!)

Happy Halloween! (and 8 week picture)

Malcolm turned 8 weeks on Wednesday. There is starting to be less difference week-to-week now, though he continues to grow, and we'll get his official weight on Monday (2 month appointment and - oh no! - shots! I'm hoping the shots in conjunction with Daylight Savings time falling back the day before don't wreak too much havoc on our sleep...). He was almost 11 pounds on Tuesday at the mom's group, though. That's, like, 57% more baby than 8 weeks ago!

This week he's been working more on head control, and more on smiles (he likes to smile at Mommy after eating sometimes, usually in the middle of the night when she would rather he actually be sleepy and not social. He also gives very good smiles on his changing mat, and randomly while enjoying his mobile or looking at his parents), and more on noticing things around him and tracking with his eyes. Also on unexplained yelling and getting worse at napping. Silly boy, doesn't he know that in 30 years he'll kill for a good 2 hour nap?

Here he is wearing a halloween outfit we were given. Boo! Too cute! Unfortunately it (and my shirt, and the couch...) got majorly spit up upon later in the day, but we have a couple of alternate options for Halloween itself. I'll post a picture of him in his official costume later. I'm hoping he'll put up with being dressed up for a little photo session, even though we're obviously not taking him trick-or-treating... (He doesn't do candy yet, and also I'm avoiding dairy for 10 days to see if it improves either his temperament or his poops - doesn't seem to be doing much, so I'll restart cheese, then yogurt, then milk starting in a couple of days - but for now most candy is verboten to me...).

"Ho hum, the bear again..."

"Whoa, there's a new toy in my Pack'n'play! Can I hit it with random flailing?"

Smile!

Hmm, blogger's picture sizing is still wonky, apologies if these are huge!

7 weeks!

Week 7 was much like week 6 - plenty of crankiness and discussion of the finer points of baby's poop (who knew it could become such a mainstay of conversation...). But we're finding that, when he's in a good mood, he's become more interested in looking around at things in close view, like the toys on his playmat, or Mommy or Daddy making funny faces. His random arm flailings sometimes hit the playmat toys and make them move, but I don't think he's got cause and effect down yet.

And at 7 weeks he hasn't really noticed the bear in the picture yet :).

(apologies for the huge in-blog picture, it seems that something has changed about how Blogger scales things)

He's wearing the same blue suit, with the addition of some supercute babylegs and red socks. Even Andy, who is anti-baby-fashion, admits that the babylegs are functional because they don't get in the way of diaper changes the way pants do. And I'm maintaining a long sleeves and legs dressing rule, now that it's colder out and we're keeping the house a bit cooler. I may have to splurge on a couple more pairs.

I'll do another post later showing some tummy time adventures. Right now I'm going to try to do a couple of rows of BSJ before he wakes up!

6 weeks - height of crankiness?

I read in some book or webpage that 6 weeks (or 6-8, but I'm hoping for 6) is the height of crankiness and crying. Let's hope so! We think we have the 6-week growth spurt going on here - lots of eating and fussing. Hence I have not much time to post this (I think... maybe he'll sleep longer than expected!)

6 week picture: (not sure what kind of sign he's making with his right hand!)

Representative crank:
No knitting update today - I'm hoping to get to a knitting meetup this afternoon, but I am reluctant to disturb baby's sleep, so I'm going to be late.

Oh, OK, one more picture. We met my work friends and their babies yesterday - here's Malcolm catnapping in his buddy's fancy cradle swing. Doesn't he look angelic? He was supposed to be wearing the same blue suit as in the bear/chair pictures yesterday, but soon after we arrived he had a major poop-blowout and I had to go to the backup outfit... (luckily some soaking rescued the blue suit and it will feature in future weeks's pictures)