Monday, February 25, 2008

Round is good





Gus and I made a discovery Sunday.

As a wide-alert, always-moving, fast-learning 5-month-old, Gus is struggling to get his still small hands around a lot of his toys. Either too small, too big or to intricate, they can be hard to handle and even harder to get to his mouth...where all his grabs inevitably have to go. But grabbing is the skill du-jour and he is anxious to excercise it
We figured out that almost anything can be a toy or better even a tool for learning. A brown paperbag, a plastic spoon, a whisk, his blankie. But the paperbag is soon obliterated by spit and tearing, and Mommie is dubious about leaving Gus alone with either the whisk or the spoon. I'm sure they both pose choking hazards.

Since crawling and sitting up are next up on the physical frontier, we've been looking for a toy that will encourage that and that will be easy and save to endure Gus' rough handling.

A ball, I've been thinking, but one that is soft and can be held and will keep Gus' attention.

So Sunday morning I set out on a search on the Internet and I quickly found a multitude of great knitted and crocheted toys (one of my favorites is kimberlychapman.com, this lady is seriously talented and generous in sharing from her experience) 24 hours later Gus is the proud owner of his first ball a mishapen (Mommie has trouble following exact directions) crocheted creation made from long-forgotten leftover yarns, a bit of quilt batting and a cat toy for rattle-appeal.

He loves it and I do, too.

There is something special about something homemade.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Gus + 5 month = constant motion/emotion



















It's a new skill or sound almost every day. It's exhillerating to watch how hands and mind meet more often. It's amazing to watch the need to move at all waking hours. It's hillarious to hear what comes out of his mouth. He is more boy than baby already. It's best to hang upside down in Daddy's arms and socks are for taking off, naturally. Riding in the car means bellowing along with the engine - no car radio can cover it up.

He still smiles at everyone at even the slightest encouragement - Running errands has become a cake walk as everyone rushes to be nice to us - how could anyone be grim or glum around my little Mr. Gummy Smiles? I'm thinking about becoming a professional henchmen of unpleasant errands for others, because no one can resist this baby!
New favorites? Riding on Mommie's hip in the sling, blowing bubbles, tickling his own toes, singing silly songs and dancing to them. Being out front in the jogging stoller looking searchingly at the horizon. Rolling this way and that - really, and making his way to whatever he wants to lick next that way. Playing Googoos-dada (German Peekaboo) and bouncing up and down with vigor on Daddy's lap.

I'm in awe of our little boy.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Thursday, February 14, 2008

LOVE YOU!





On our first Valentine with Gus, I'm tempted to talk about how cute he is and how he is making me and Jacob grow in our love for each other (and as you can see from the pictures, I Mommie-geek out every once in a while), but what seems more pertinent to this day and what it celebrates, is how Gus loves with abandon and without prejudice. He loves ceiling fans, he loves his Granna, Pap, Groma and Grossbape, he loves the lady at the grocery checkout, he loves me and he loves his daddy, he loves belly time and naked time especially, he loves a good tickle or a backrub and he loves a smile from a kind stranger almost more than anything else, he loves to shower and to sing in the car, he loves a good nursery rhyme - a bad one too, and he loves mornings, rainy or shiny. He loves a fresh diaper and he loves quiet nursing time with his Mom.
I want to love like he does, the small things, the big things, the unexpected and the counted on, the people that matter and the random stranger, too. Gus wakes up every day ready to love it all and everyone.
I love you all and thank you for being there for Jacob and me and Gus. I do believe that love is one of life's true luxuries, the more we love, the richer we are.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Boone is back!



Gus and us have the pleasure of having Boone and his parents, Drew and Leah, visiting for the weekend. While the Dads are working on a weekend project, the four of us have been out and about for shopping, walking and visiting.


The two baby boys are making the most of joint blankie playtime, while we Moms talk about motherhood, babyhood, wifehood and all the other hoods we can think of...we are blessed to have these lovely visitors with us...I think Gus and Boone will be good friends some day.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Neked an' unashamed!

Warning the following feature is rated R for (full frontal) nudity.

If you were at our wedding you'll get the title and the joke behind it - after all Gus IS the product of being naked and unashamed ... and it holds true for his nature too ... he adores being naked and is not the least bit ashamed ...

New this week: Discovery of feet, holding his you-know-what in a death-grip that makes me cringe, really getting the hang of peek-a-boo and loving it repeated a million times, baby downward-facing dog to start a new day in the crib (it's the cutest thing to see his tush hover above the crib rail) Singing and shrieking whenever his heart tells him to, and last but not least (drumroll from Mom) sleeping 12 hours through a night (that one was a fluke, but I hope it's the harbinger of a trend).

Gus is on a roll ... and we love rolling along