More miles of Myles

Myles in a spiffy guitar shirt that Monica bought him. If he ends up being a guitarist, this picture will be iconic! Remember, during my last band rehearsal at the house, he was hypnotized by the guitarist, so it's a possibility. It could also be the fact that he'd probably never seen an adult white man before then! LOL.

Totally knocked out!

In his new commander styled car seat. It's not installed yet, he's still got a pound of two of life left in his bucket styled baby seat, but we're prepared for the changeover. With the retirement of the bucket, his old stroller frame retires as well, so luckily we've received a nice full-sized stroller from a nice perfect stranger. It's a godsend and it's so much smoother to push than the little snap and go frame. I'm also receiving a much coveted jogging stroller from another friend, so there's not much to buy at the big upcoming LA Kids Consigment sale that takes place in a hangar near Van Nuys airport soon. It's a big deal event where you can get tons of quality-controlled used baby swag for good prices. The most popular stuff is reportedly jogging strollers and the plastic Little Tikes toys. I tried to wait it out for a high chair there, but I couldn't do it. Myles is too messy when I'm feeding him and I got 20% off the high chair at Babies R Us, so we broke down and got one on Sunday.

Luau

Me, Mark and Myles went to a luau party. It was fun - only our 2nd or 3rd social outing as a family since Myles was born. It was at the house of my friend Kelly from our baby meetup group. We tried poi - best described as 'dirt pudding' by a Hawaiian guy there. Pretty vile, although I didn't mind the consistency. The host grabbed his camera as I tried it and the Hawaiian told me to get a heaping spoonful and I swear, as it bloomed it my mouth it got viler by the second. I couldn't compel myself to swallow it.

Mark had a great time and tried jello shooters for the first time. Myles knew the babies at the party, so they did their usual lay-out on the floor. I always want to call it a haul-out, like with the whales on the beach (learned during my time captioning wildlife photos at Discovery - thank for the useless knowledge) but nobody'd ever get what I'm talking about.

It was really relaxing being someplace where other people had babies too so you didn't freak out if your kid cried or anything - not that Myles cried. He's so mellow that when he does cry, I get all freaked out trying to figure out what's wrong. Babies cry. I know that. But Myles is pretty good about that. That said, we tried the crying it out method of putting him to bed yesterday and he kept crying these fake warning cries. He wasn't really upset, he was just trying to communicate to us to come get him. So instead of continuous crying, he'd let out little yells, like "excuse me" or "hey." He won the battle eventually, but we'll try it again with some different tactics.

Myles wore shoes for the first time! The family all went in Hawaiian themed outfits: Mark and I in hibicus prints and Myles in his Big Kahuna shirt that Monica gave him (the last time he can wear it unless I buy him onesie crotch extenders) his flowered matching beach hat and sandals that Chantal and Francoise Grayson bought him. Size 3T. We assumed they'd be WAY big, but they fit very well. He, however, learned how to kick off one of the shoes within 10 minutes. We gave up and let him off the hook for the day.

From 0 to 60 - the many moods of Myles

Here's Myles in his new big boy stroller, with his Nuby sippy cup. He hates bottles, so we're trying sippy cups and he likes the soft silicone spout on this one - that's why it gets a name shout-out so that other mommies can try it too. These pictures span about 1 to 2 minutes and he went from crying to happy back to crying again. Kids are hilarious.

Myles Latest speech thing

This is Myles trying to speak. Lately, he's discovered how to click his tongue while vocalizing. Sounds like a cross between Chinese and the African Xhosa language to me! He'll probably move on in a week, so I wanted to get it on tape before he stops.

Myles Sitting Up

HAPPY 6 Month Birthday

Myles turned 6 months today. What a big boy! His first tooth came in last weekend and the one next to it is coming in still as well. Blessings and good luck continue to flow. Today at church, a lady gave us 2 bags of baby clothes, a diaper genie, a new boppy cover, some shoes and a newish rocking horse.

She had been carrying it around in her car for a bit, unable to meet up with the girl she last gave stuff away to. I'd met her once before when I was 7 months pregnant and her son was little. I went on bedrest and never saw her again until today. Now her son was 16 months and when I mentioned that Myles wears 9 to 12 month clothing, she brightened up and said, I've got stuff in my car for you. Her son's always dapper, so I knew it'd be good stuff. Sure enough, Myles got some great swag. I took it home and Mark was confused that going to church looked like a shopping spree. He separated out stuff that was too small and that we didn't like and there was such cute stuff. A lot Gap and Children's Place cuties. About 5 hoodies and cardigans, 7 pairs of overalls (that we liked enough to keep), several footed sleepers, 2 pair of jeans, several onesies, etc. But the rocking horse was great. Myles is too small for it, but he's going to love it. The dogs sniffed it furiously.

Here are Myles' current stats. He's 20 lbs, 28" (my measurements, not official pediatric), 9 to 12 month clothing, size 4 diapers and 2 bottom teeth. He can sit up fairly well but still sways and falls over after a bit. He seems like he's just a week away from being able to sit unassisted. He can roll over to his side, and has gone from his back to belly once, and has done the reverse more often, but he still doesn't roll over often. He's said mamamamamamama and now moved on to dada last week. Today he was doing some type of click talking like some southern African language. He also might be finished with reflux and milk allergy. His digestive system seems much more mature. He puts up with rice cereal, actually likes oatmeal cereal, loves bananas, is just okay with apples. We're going to try some light colored vegetables next, although his first go 'round with sweet potatoes was not good. Now that he's used to food, I'm going to retry it. But there is a very funny video of me trying to feed him sweet potatoes at 4 or 5 months. He was too young and uninterested so I ceased and desisted until a couple of days before his 6month birthday, per the World Health Org's recommendations anyhow. Timing worked out well. Just as his system's getting strong enough to handle protein in my milk, he's finally interested in eating food. He ditched the pacifier at 3 months and got a little stinky with the bottle as well, but he's learning to take the bottle again from Mark, and then only if we use the cheap, basic bottles we used for baby shower games. The special Playtex ones we'd been using, he refuses outright. He'll also just drink from a cup, but that take forever! He's not figured out the sippy cup yet, either.

End of the summer, hanging out

Myles has a new ball he likes a lot. Gave it to him in Target to quiet him down (with no intention of buying it) buy he put it between his feet and started kicking it and I figured, the boy's got talent!

One the way to a pool party with Tracye, Jude and the family.

In the water with Makenzie, aka Chocolate Chip, Myles wasn't thrilled. This was the day he cut his first tooth. We didn't know why he was so fussy until I felt the sharp ridge in his gums the next morning after a rough day and night at the party. People were making excuses for him, saying that he didn't know them, etc. Myles doesn't need to know you. So far, he likes EVERYONE. So when he doesn't, we know something is wrong. He's currently working on the 2nd tooth on the bottom as well. Maybe one day we'll get some sleep around here...

Playdate as of late

Fashions, courtesy of Monica.

This is Myles at his baby studygroup. Don't these boys look awfully serious with those toys? As usual, there was only one or two girls there...

Recreational Coughing

Myles fakes a cough. Often and well. Okay, he doesn't anymore, but he went through a 3 week phase of nonstop coughing. It started off real. He had a bad bout of teething-drool-aggravated reflux and it was making him cough until we upped the dosage. However, he became quite enamored with his ability to make this sound. He performed for Pam when she came. We all paused for the cause - everyone was concerned for his health, but it became apparent quickly that these cough were purely recreational. Like this, "ahem, aheh, aheh, aheh."

I didn't realize this is a common developmental phenomena until Pam and I were on the phone a couple of days ago when it popped up in a March birth month forum. Then Pam googled it and we found tons of hilarious posts about babies and fake coughs. I met a baby today that fake hiccups too!

Time to up my game!

Yesterday, Myles escaped out of his bouncy/kicker chair. I had removed the arch with the kick toys, as I often do, when I use the chair as a vibrating bouncer to put him to sleep and don't want the clacking of bouncing toys overhead to stimulate him. I put the arch on the floor behind the chair.

He's slid out of the chair before - in the early days just because he didn't want to be in it. Recently he slides down halfway (if the arch is up) so that the kick toys can become hand toys. He slides until he can reach the toys with his hands, since he's finally getting good with his hands, leaving half of his body dangling out of the seat.

So when we leave the room, we strap him in. Yesterday was the first day that he tried anything while I was sitting in the same room. He didn't fuss and silent slipped out of the chair onto the floor - fait accompli #1.

Then he rolled over from his back to his belly! First time! He HATES being on his belly, so he's only ever rolled off his belly to his back. Then he grabbed the kick toys on the floor and was just having a good old time quietly playing with the toys and kicking his feet out on his belly (can't crawl yet)!

And so it begins..

I started looking for table bumpers for our glass table and we're going to have to childproof the floor in 30 days or sooner. He still can't get anywhere. Yesterday in his crib on his belly he was kicking like a sea turtle, but hasn't figured out that he's got to dig in with elbows and knees and not just flail.

THEN IT GETS FUNNIER TODAY...

It's morning - he's awakened early. I put him in his crib and go into the living room to lie down. I hear him changing the music on the mobile with his feet. Sometimes he figures it out, sometimes he doesn't. I'm impressed with his acumen. Then Mark walks past, not 15 minutes later and says, "did you take his diaper off?" And I'm confused like, why would I ever NOT put a diaper on him and walk away. He announces that Myles is diaper-free. Not just diaper-open, but diaper missing.

I come in and sure enough Myles has removed his poopy diaper (that he's just pooped -we've only been up 15 minutes maximum) and put it behind him and is not bare-bottomed, having a ball hanging in his crib! I'd left the feet out of his footy pj's since they were getting a little short (brand new 6 month pj's I bought 2 months ago - not knowing my 6 month old would be in 9mo or year old sized clothing) and so he had access to the diaper. So no more third world naked baby with a diaper. He's got to be pantsed-up at all times so that he can't reach the diaper. He had before pulled a tab open on the changing table, but never would we have guessed that he could remove both tabs and then move himself away from the diaper!

The baby's becoming a big boy - we've got to watch out! The fun begins.

We're preparing in bits and pieces. I'm meeting moms at meetups and he's starting to have regular playmates. One lady and I are going to do babysitting trades so that we can go on date-night with our husbands. I'm building infrastructure. We don't have family close by and the few friends who have kids have much older kids. So no free babysitting. I'd love to continue classes this fall, but I don't have a free-sitter and it's just not worth paying for daycare at this point for a couple days a week for a community college class - the sitter will outprice the class in a month. But I'm building a support team and a social life for him bit by bit.

We went to a meetup last weekend that finally had some people of color. Having grown up as the sole minority in an all-white neighborhood ('til jr. high), I know how important it is for him to see minorities. Around here, Latinos aren't minorities - they are near majority, so that doesn't really help much. I mainly want him to meet some black girls so that he realizes that little girls come in the mocha variety as well. So far, all his female friends are blonde, much less African-American! So this weekend he met a brunette Indian baby as well a black 2 yr old girl. Also at the meetup were a little mixed boy with a natural faux-hawk head full of hair, some Mexican-African-American twins and two white-blatino boys. Rainbow tribe indeed. He had a great time. The Indian girl and the mixed boy were VERY close in age to him, so it was a different level of interaction than usual. And when the older black-white-latino boy came over and spun the toys fast in front of Myles (in the exersaucer he was standing in) Myles caught on instantly and started furiously spinning the wheel too! He learns quicker from other children than he does me. I'm already 'irrelevant mom'! Somehow they know the difference between kids and adults, even when the kids are a year or two older and they emulate stuff, so this is really good for his development.

I'd originally started going to meetups to meet other moms and secondly find him friends, but when I noticed that he liked tummy time better when there is a live show of kids running around, I kept it up. At the rate of tummy time we WERE doing at home, he was never going to crawl. Now he'll watch other kids for about 30 minutes before uttering a peep of discontentment. And the fact that he gets knocked out from the excitement and the car is only a plus!

Baby machismo already:

"You let go." "No, you first." "No, YOU let go!"