Why my baby won't sign any time soon

In sign language class yesterday one of the moms asked why her six month old baby wasn't signing back to her yet. And the nice instructor said not to expect any signs til 9 months at the very earliest, and that twelve months was more common. She also said girls usually will sign back sooner, because girls are more interested in communicating with people, while boys are more interested in doing THIS:






Dear Lord, help us - the baby is climbing the stairs...

Things I Want to Remember

Dear Dexter,

My math isn't the greatest (don't tell Grandpa, because he's a MATH TEACHER, although he still counts on his fingers, too) but I do believe, if I counted correctly, that you have officially been outside of my body for longer than you were inside it. And check it out! I can keep you alive in both environments! Go, me!

So inside my body in 9 months you gained 8 pounds, 4 oz and grew 22 inches. Outside my body in nine months you gained 12 pounds, 12 oz (putting you at 21 pounds) and grew 8 inches (putting you at 30 inches). Your relative amount of pounds vs inches grown has resulted in a baby who is no longer a scrawny skinny boy, but rather a child who has a little pot belly. It is round and squishy and very zerbit-able. And yes, I just made up that word.
I want to be sure I remember some things you are doing these days, because I know you'll never again be this cute. Oh, sure, you'll be cute. Maybe more cute. Maybe even less cute. But never again will you be quite this kind of cute. Quite this NINE MONTH cute.

I want to remember how you've started humming while you crawl. It's a nice, sing-song kind of hum.

I want to remember how every time we walk in to the house your head swivels around until you spot CoCo, and then you shriek with delight (at least I hope it's delight, and not a "DAMN, that stinky old dog is still here?" kind of scream).
I want to remember how your face breaks in to the best smile when your Daddy comes home from work in the evening.

I want to remember how you do a little panting kind of breathing when you are trying to crawl really fast. Like when your Daddy is chasing you down the hallway.

I want to remember how you like to kiss the baby in the mirror. And the dishwasher. And the sliding glass door.

I want to remember how you make a little "mmmmmm" sound when you kiss Mama, like the sound I make when I kiss you. Except your kisses aren't so much kisses, but rather open-mouthed gumming, with some drool thrown in. Ah, never mind. That sounds like a kiss.

I want to remember how you have suddenly discovered your volume button. And have cranked it up to 10+++. And now just randomly scream for no good reason. Like when we're in the middle of Wal-Mart on a Friday afternoon.
I want to remember the times that you are in your car seat and I look in the mirror and you have your shoe (still on your foot) in your mouth. Shoes are, apparently, delicious.

I want to remember how you'll just randomly start the "aachk" game when we're in the car. Dad and I, of course, will say "aachk" right back to you. But you somehow always seem to get the last word.

I want to remember how you're always wiggling while nursing. How you'll reach down and grab your foot. Or your sock. And sometimes switch between sucking on a nipple and sucking on your toes. I sometimes wonder which tastes better.

I want to remember how, at the end of a bath when you are laying on your back, you always get a big grin on your face, then start kicking like a madman. And then between kicks, pee. Always entertaining!
I want to remember how you giggle when it's time to blow bubbles in swim class. And then you stick your tongue out and try to drink the water. Not exactly what we had in mind, but at least you're not afraid to get your face wet.

I want to remember how you were under the table playing, fell and bashed your head, started crying, and came crawling up to me to bury your head in my lap. I don't really want to remember how then there was blood on my shirt, from your mouth. But I didn't find any large chunks of tongue laying on the ground anywhere, so I am assuming you are ok.
I want to remember how you've started pulling yourself up on anything - a chair, a table, a gate, CoCo's back, Mama's pant leg. And how you've mastered climbing up a stair. Going back down is a different story.

I want to remember you just like this, at nine months and change, because you are ridiculously cute, and cuddly, and giggly, and smiley, and shriek-y. I love you just like this, and yet I can't wait to love you at ten months, eleven, even TWELVE months. When you'll suddenly be huge, and no longer my baby. Although I think you'll always be my baby.

xoxo,
Mama

Faces and Feet and Hands, Oh My!

Today's assignment for photography class? Well, ok. Really it was last Wednesday's assignment, but I've been busy so I just got to it today. Take flattering close-ups of someone's face. Take interesting pictures of feet and hands that tell a story. Do all this with a nine month old child who will not sit still for longer than three nanoseconds. Show me what you come up with. Try to also come up with entertaining titles and captions for said pictures, so you can keep your blog audience from falling asleep.

Also on the to-do list? Use the baby's pants and fast-moving legs to mop up the puddles of water on the deck (our new stain does WAY too efficient a job of letting water pool on the deck boards). Use a different pair of pants to soak up some of Lake Norman in the back yard. And then use copious amounts of Oxy-Clean to soak aforementioned pants, which are now covered in mud.

FEET:

Still for a second:

Future Soccer Star:
Daddy:

HANDS:

I'm not supposed to be doing this:

Taking over Grandpa's job:

Leaves:

FACE:

Pearly Whites:

Hoodie:

Sense of Wonder:

Stem:

Scowl:

Needs a Scholarship:

Surely VT will accept this boy and give him a full ride. I mean, c'mon. He's OBVIOUSLY brilliant!

All Hallows Eve

Happy Halloween! We had a busy, fun, wet, rainy, gloomy day in Maryland. Went to a make-up swimming class since we missed Thursday's class as I was in Virginia watching the Hokies really suck ass while playing and losing to UNC. Nonna, Grandpa, and Dad came along to watch swimming and of course thought Dexter was the most brilliantly talented kid in class. Which, of course, he is. Except maybe for the guy with the baby about Dexter's age who would pull his kid off the side of the pool, have him fall in the pool while he let go of him, and let the kid kick himself back up to the surface and roll over on his back, unassisted. Would Dex do that? Probably. Would MOM do that? No way in hell, thankyouverymuch.

We may need to have Nonna come down for Halloween every year. She was the official door opener and candy-hander-outer, for the 175 kids who rang the doorbell. She was great.

Anyway, here's Dexter's non-Micky Mouse Halloween costume, which he wore much more happily than the Mickey outfit.

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's...

It's SUPERBABY!

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! With assistance from Dad! (Leaping tall buildings apparently makes your pants fall off)

All that leaping and rescuing people also makes Superbaby tired and hungry - Must. Eat. Hands.

Happy Halloween!

So, um, yeah. This went well...

A photo story from Dexter, Halloween style:

Mom had to take individual portraits for her photography class, and since I am the only cute one in the house, guess who got tapped to be the subject? So, ok. Cool. What's with this orange pumpkin thing, Mom?

Huh. A brush. That's a weird treat. Where'd we go trick-or-treating this year? Claire's at the mall?

Yeah, yeah, Mom. Keep fiddling with your camera over there. I'm doing just fine.

But... Wait. There's this... thing. On my head.

No! Wait! Hold on! TWO THINGS! Did you hear me? TWO THINGS! On my HEAD!

Mom, I'm not sure you heard me properly. How about now. Are you getting that there's TWO THINGS on my head? And that I DON'T LIKE IT?

Maybe if I flap this silly white thing attached to my hand enough times, I can get out of this mess.

Nice try, Dad. I know you're in cahoots with Mom.

Happy *$#@!% Halloween

So, needless to say, if you come trick-or-treating at our house on Saturday night Dexter will NOT be wearing cute little Mickey Mouse. Fortunately, Grandma Cowan bought Dexter an alternative that I think he'll be happy with. We'll do the big reveal this weekend!

PS - am I a bad Mom for just hanging out behind the camera taking these pictures and kind of giggling? While my baby cried? Cuz he was really pretty damn cute. :-)

Perspective

We just started swimming lessons again, at Kids First in Elkton. We did a session over the summer, then skipped a session, and now we're back on. So I was thinking about it today when I was driving home. 12 weeks ago was our first swimming lesson. 12 weeks ago Dexter could not be trusted to sit up on his own. 12 weeks ago I would nurse one side before swimming, then the other side after. 12 weeks ago I could just lay the baby on the ground and not worry about him crawling over to pull a night light out of a socket. Ah, how things have changed!

Now, at the start of this swimming session, I have a crawling baby who pulls himself up on flimsy plastic chairs in the waiting room. I still nurse before our lesson, but then after we go to the Elkton Diner so Dex can throw Cheerios and cheese and bananas on their floor and I can eat a bacon and grilled cheese sandwich (OMG AMAZING! Seriously. I never knew what I was missing all these years!). Now I thank heavens there's not a lot he can get in to in the 3 foot square changing room. Perhaps I can just lock him in there for good?

Regardless, Dex still LOVES swimming. He remembered how to splash (with a bit more vigor, and I think he was surprised when water splashed right in to his face). He remembered how to "blow bubbles" or in his case, just eat water. And he remembered that sitting on the wall and then jumping in the pool is wicked fun. I remembered that the salt water pool makes my skin feel all dried out and gross.

The other thing I just started yesterday is an online class about how to take better pictures of people. So I will be taking lots (more) pictures of people(AKA, Dexter). Here's a few from this morning (we're supposed to just take a few pictures inside and outside, think about the composition of the photo, and discuss how lighting just completely messes up your life).

Completely un-edited. Inside, with flash, and with light coming in through the door behind Dexter. Lighting seems ok. Composition? OK. Could be a little tighter on the baby, I suppose, getting in less of the plastic mat on the ground.

Again, un-edited. I feel like it maybe could be brighter. But I always feel that way with this laptop, so maybe that's the problem. Composition is good, I think. I need to tell myself every photo to NOT center the subject. It's hard to remember to do, though. Centering is so natural.

Also notice the very nice self-feeding Dexter is doing with his spoon. He self-feeds his yogurt right on the the floor, the dog's back, his ear, and his nose before the spoon finally finds its way in to his mouth.

OK, I cheated. This is yesterday, not today. Outside, in the shade. No flash. I think it was in sport mode here, so super fast shutter speed, and it was a dark photo that looked much better after I edited it.

Notice baby who looks like he is up to no good. I do believe this is really him just grinding his teeth. Awesome. Maybe they will stop being so damn sharp.

Same location, but on portrait setting or auto setting. I can't remember which. No editing needed.

Also, sorry, CoCo. You're a trooper. But, you know, you still can move faster than the baby, for now. So I don't feel too sorry for you yet.

More Room to Roam

We still don't have much on the deck, so there's still plenty of room for the baby to romp around, chase a ball, and pull himself up on any and every available railing. Maybe we should keep the deck this way. The newly stained, kind of slippery, fabulous-looking, much darker, almost makes you feel like maybe you should stain the fence again, deck.

Oooh. Pretty deck...

Hey, check out my new bottom tooth! Mom was so focused on my damn top teeth (one has broken through, the other one not so much) that this little old bottom tooth just kind of snuck up on her. Til yesterday when she happened to look in my mouth and wonder what that new pointy thing was...

Also, I have figured out how to use my teeth for actual CHEWING. As well as for teeth grinding, which makes a terrible noise. Ugh. Mom grinds her teeth - surely it doesn't sound this bad?

Perfect, beautiful, amazing fall day.