lavender

On vacation, we went to the health store today. I had baby-j in the sling, close to me, and he’s usually pretty protected that way. Unfortunately, I was too absorbed in looking at the various vials and bottles, and the aisle was a bit too close. baby-j started swinging his hand out and I caught his arm as he knocked some bottles over on a shelf. It happened too quickly but also in slow-motion-an-accident-is-about-to-happen mode: my noticing that he had knocked over some bottles, checking immediately to see what they cost, realizing that in the sea of $7 herbs, one had a $30 price tag. Not sure what would resolve the situation—stopping baby-j or stopping the bottles from rolling—I froze, doing neither. The lavender vial—yes, the $30 one—fell to the floor. Glass and scent all over.

The woman in charge of the place was understanding, and despite my and P’s protests, she didn’t charge us for it. But my canvas tennis shoes smell like lavender now.

writing and scooting

The writing here has been a bit sparse the last few days because I am desperately trying to write for school... If I can get a draft of my dissertation proposal in to my advisor by tomorrow, I will feel so much relief on our Michigan vacation. (And then I can focus on prepping for school while on vacation. I know, that's sort of cheating on the "vacation" part, but the summer is slipping away from me.) I am almost there: just a little bit more tweaking and it will be ready for my advisor to rip it apart. :)

In other news, baby-j can understand some of what we say! Well, ok, he understands "scoot-scoot," which is what we say when he's on the bed that serves as his changing table (more like the changing gym, since trying to put a diaper on him while he crawls around requires strong arms and a lot of space). We're trying to get him to back down off of the bed rather than plunging head-first.

"Scoot, scoot!" And he stops moving for a second before he wiggles around to back down off the bed.

Of course, this isn't quite as effective when he's diaper-free, as he's starting to enjoy hanging off of the bed, giggling, with a naked tush in the air.

heeding smokey bear's call

Seen recently on a trip back from my parent's house: a billboard for the Smokey Bear Campaign...

"Only _________ (your name here) can prevent wildfires."

Some industrious kid with spraypaint filled in the blank.

Now, apparently, only Josh can prevent wildfires.

first steps

Ok, so it's official now: baby-j has taken his first steps.

He's been getting ready to do it for a while, tentatively reaching out with one foot to take a step and then falling. I was actually a bit concerned he'd do it when P was gone this past week. But he decided to begin to walk tonight, at a Holistic Moms Network meeting, in the middle of a circle of about 20 sitting adults (and children of assorted ages). We were trying to let him explore enough so that he could learn from the experience (but not to the point of gnawing the faces of other children, which seems to be his current impulse). I was holding his hand, letting him walk forward in the circle, expecting him to drop down and crawl to the nearest child (before thwarting the face-gnawing impulse). But he let go... and this time he stepped forward on his own, for about 5 or 6 wobbly steps before he fell. Someone asked if it was his first time walking, probably because my face showed it.

He hasn't done more walking yet at home, but I'm sure the steps will come again soon. This childhood stuff goes way too freakin' fast.

up north

P, baby-j, and I are getting ready for the yearly trip to Northern Michigan, which is always a huge treat... I would say "for us," but it's baby-j's first trip there. P and I actually haven't been in two years, as last year I was very very pregnant with baby-j. So we're looking forward to what we envision will be the first of many Northern Michigan trips *with* baby-j.

And it's got to be cooler than here. We've had, like most of the Northeast, record heat this week topping the 100s. baby-j loves the fan: his Gram has taught him that one should go "AHHHHHHH!" and lean back with one outstretched arm every time one sees a ceiling fan. He now does this "AHHHHHHH!" every time he sees a ceiling fan. And he's started doing it elsewhere as well. The latest has been after nursing. Sip, sip, sip... lean back with outstreched arm and "AHHHHHHHHH!" That kid is pretty damn funny.

england

P headed out today for England, leaving me and baby-j to fend for ourselves at gram's.

It's sad, this leaving. On the other hand, I'm so excited for P--such a big presentation for him, and he hasn't been overseas in a long time. Come to think of it, neither have I... not since my illustrious Switzerland trip of 2001. I still remember coming home to P in the airport. He'd made up a sign as if he were my driver, with my last name scrawled in all capital letters on it.

baby-j is happily playing as I type. Many, many toys are here in the family room, but what is he playing with? A fly-swatter and a yoga mat.

swimmy fish

We’re spending some time at the shore with pardeepantsmom and pardeepantsdad. Happily, our friends D and N have visited us (twice in a week!) to spend a couple days.

baby-j went in the ocean for the first time yesterday, and he wasn’t scared. The first time he went to the pool he wasn’t scared either. pardeepantsmom took baby-j in at the pool near her condo, and there was a woman who asked how old baby-j was. “10 months,” I said. “Mine loved the water at that age,” she said. “The next year, he hated it.”

Do people realize how they sound, I wonder? That she’s just implied that baby-j will also soon learn to hate water?

As usual, perhaps I am simply being too sensitive. Water and swimming are a big part of my (good) childhood memories, and baby-j’s uncle and great-aunt are both competitive swimmers, so it’s a big deal to me that baby-j enjoy water. And of course, P will jump into any body of water, no matter how cold. That man is an animal. :)

bucket singin'

Our boy is brilliant, truly. Check out his vocal stylings in this short video clip.

According to P, he was doing this for several minutes before P got to the camera.

anti-magnet

This site is way too funny.


Go and at least read the FAQs if you don't buy a sticker and put it on your car.

nobody puts baby in the corner...

...except baby.

This is a shot of baby-j, in the corner of his room, where I've unwittingly interrupted him. He's taken to playing on the floor (translation: pulling crap out of floor-high cabinets in his room)... then suddenly crawling to this corner, where he gets quiet. Too quiet. Took me a while before I realized he was takin' care of business there. Sorry, man. Didn't mean to interrupt.

happy fourth

I'm sitting here trying to recall memorable July 4ths of my childhood, and I can't. I do recall setting off sparklers in my grandmother's driveway in Jersey, but no such action after my tenth year (once we moved to Michigan). It may be a state law thing. I know that Pennsylvania permits them... there are makeshift booths and signs for them all over the place. People seem to love their fireworks here in PA. That, and seasonal flags.

Anyway, we had a lovely day with our dear friends D and N, as well as our new neighbors--L, S, and B. However, I did go for a morning walk around the neighborhood with N and got a bee sting on my toe... the same damn foot that had/has the bite. I mean, what the hell? As D said, I'm in a war with nature lately, and "nature's winning."

attic

ever have that
feeling
you're moving around the same
old
shit?

Now off to clean up the office.