Sweet Baby – Week 21

This was an exciting week chez cheesevarkbone. (That sounds nasty but I’m leaving it. Moving forward.) First, there were the 5 days of extended bedtime – I honestly can’t say which I prefer; the previous week’s I-need-2-extra-awake-hours-for-kicking-practise-bedtime or this week’s OK-I’ll-sleep-when-you-tell-me-but-will-wake-up-anywhere-from-2 – 5-times-after-that. Actually, what I prefer, which is not a listed choice, is going to sleep on time, sleeping till you’re done and waking up smiling. That’s what I prefer.

Because nothing says love like a baby that has slept enough, chatters to himself while he’s waking and kicks his feet and grins when you come in the room. Nothing. Not cell phones that flip, not truffles and champagne, not Willem Dafoe, not Air Supply. Nothing.

Second: Someone finally got his toes in his mouth and is now officially kicking my hiney at yoga. We have daily yoga-battles and he always wins. Well what else are we going to do all day?

Third: Someone also really enjoys lying on his front. Sometimes he drools a small lake and then looks down and admires himself in the reflection.

Fourth: Yesterday morning, the baby was different, looking at everything like he was seeing it for the first time. I carried him around the house and he held on the nape of my neck with one hand and held his other hand straight out, wanting to grab and lick everything we passed. It’s so neat to watch all the little bits of his brain fuse together. I like to imagine a little welder in there, working 9 – 5 every day, getting all the bits attached in all the right places, making things happen like “Hey, it’s a CAT!” “Hey, it’s that CAT AGAIN!” (At that point he’s already ahead of the catt, brain-wise. The catt discovers the baby for the first time roughly every three days.) It almost makes the weird sleeping worth it.

Of course, today was the baby’s first exposure to snow. It confused him, which made us so proud! Our baby is a real west-coaster! Then we went to Tim Hortons and stuffed him full of crullers and hot chocolate so his eastern grandparents don’t disown him.

We went to the western grandparents’ house for lunch today and Trombone tried his first carrot. Actually, he licked his first carrot. When it was taken away from him, the hot, blue pokers of death descended and he reacted accordingly.

The kid likes: butter, chewing on your finger, being addressed in a slightly condescending tone (if you say: “awwww, poooor baybeee!” he will laugh) and being upright.

The kid doesn’t like: when you take your finger away, the left boob sometimes, the right boob sometimes, sitting in an infant seat.

Luckily, we just inherited a non-Jolly Jumper thingmadooby. Many splendid photos of an upright, happy baby will surely follow.