Mr. Serious

I was a day late and a dollar short with taking pictures of Dexter on his eight month birthday (which I always try to do, because I am insane). So I was romping around the house with camera in hand today, tying to capture a smiling, giggling boy. Apparently today was not a smiley, giggly kind of day...

Gee, Mom, I don't know why I am not more giggly today. I mean, my day started out so AWESOME! (Hey! It was cold out this morning!)

This is about the best that Dex could muster this morning. Most of the photos looked more this:

half-heartedly showing interest

Or this:
Dude, back off...

Post-afternoon nap was not much better...

Dex was too busy playing to want to stop and smile for Mom

Also, he looks about 27 years old...

So, this is the best we can do. Sorry! Eight months old is apparently a grumpy time, as this one has been a whiny pain in the ass all week. Cute, though. Good thing!

Timber!

This makes us laugh. A lot. Does that make us bad bad parents?




Video editing, cheesy 80's background music and all, courtesy of Corel VideoStudio. Wicked easy and fun - even little blonde me didn't need to read the directions! Thanks, Christy Norman, for the cool birthday gift!

Snippits

Yesterday CoCo went for a walk with Dexter and I, to the playground. Which, really, is news in and of itself. Believe me, it was FAR from her idea - she'd have rather stayed home and napped. When we got home, she did her usual "yay, we're finally home!" dash in to the house. And met... a closed baby gate at the top of the stairs. So instead of waiting the 1.7 seconds for me to open it, she slid between the banister railings. She was halfway through, and I was looking at her wondering how I'd get her butt un-stuck, because it certainly looked like she was going to be stuck. Then she wiggled a bit and she was free, and galloping around the house. All of which, of course, made Dexter very happy. Oh, how he shrieks with glee when CoCo runs around the house!

This child. Has, like, an OPINION and stuff. It kind of amazes me. I took him out of the swing at the playground yesterday, and he apparently wasn't done swinging because he cried. Like the WHOLE. WAY. HOME. He tried eighty bajillion times to grab CoCo's dog food bowl, and eighty bajillion times I told him he couldn't touch it. After the eighty bajillionth time he finally laid down on the floor and screamed. This one's gonna be a fun one when he's two!

Dexter spends the first half hour of most naps standing in the corner of his crib, playing with the window blinds and looking out the window. He eventually falls down, cries, falls asleep. And inevitably wakes up early and is off again - corner, blinds, must play. When you lay him down for a nap you can't even get out of the room before he's up and in the corner. Need duct tape, I think.

Since July, I have worked about 75 hours for work. Not exactly what I would call taxing. But 45 of those hours came in the last week, working for Maryland Million Day. It was fun for a week, being a working person again, and leaving the house without a baby to worry about. It was fun driving a golf cart around a pretty golf course, chatting with nice folks while they played golf. It was fun getting dressed up in a little black dress and some flip flops (my $20 Payless shoes finally died after 8 years of service, but I had flip flops in reserve) so I could wander around a fancy party and eat raw oysters. And it was even fun escorting people to the winner's circle to present trophies, and running around the grandstand of the race track doing whatever little tasks needed to be done. It was entertaining for a week. But... I am happy to be home. I am happy to be done. That whole going to work thing - it's a lot of work.

Fall has fallen in Maryland. I turned the heat on for the first time last night. I'm not sure if it actually kicked on, but I figured I'd better be safe. The baby slept in cute footie pj's for the first time in forever. I slept with socks on. And for morning walks, Dexter is seriously pissed off that I am making him wear mittens. Because, really, Mom, how am I supposed to grab and touch stuff during our walk when I have these THINGS on my hands?

Yesterday Dex and I went to the last Two Dollar Tuesday at Bomboy's. It's the last week they will be open on week days, and they are only open on weekends til the end of October. Maybe they will have a gigantic ice cream sale at the end of the month, and we can stock up enough to last us a while. Ah, who am I kidding. A pint of Bomboy's will last a day in this house, tops.

Dexter tried bread for the first time on Sunday. Actually, he really tried it on Thursday, when he grabbed my hamburger roll off my burger and shoved it in his mouth. But Sunday, first intentional time with bread. And while he LOVED it, it did not so much love him. He reverted to a spitting machine for about 24 hours, and he hasn't been spitting at all recently. So... I guess we wait a bit on the bread?

ME: (while eating a corn bread muffin that I made from scratch. Yes, read that again. I MADE CORN MUFFINS FROM SCRATCH. Am insane.) This muffin needs... something
JOHN: Like what kind of something?
ME: I don't know. That's why I'm not a chef.
JOHN: Oh, is that why?
ME: (flips John the bird and gives him a look of death, because, DUDE! You are eating dinner that I made! Steak! That... well, you made that. And sweet potato fries! That... hmmm, you made those, too. MUFFINS! I made the damn muffins!)

Eight months. Two thirds of a year. My how time flies. My, how huge this child is. And how fun. And how cute. Eight months. Happy birthday, Dex!

Dex practices his Hokie football skills. Which means all defense, baby. Offense, be damned!

Dex went hiking with his friends Kevin (left) and Jacob (middle, and who could quite possibly be Dexter's long lost brother)

Oh, Dexter didn't go hiking BY HIMSELF. No, no. Someone had to carry his ass.

Peek-a-boo!

Seemed Like Such a Good Idea at the Time...

These were all taken within a span of about 90 seconds. Dex is ON THE MOVE! Also, damn this underline crap. Where is the option to turn the underline OFF?

Hi, Mom! Let me come see you!

No, wait. Never mind, Mom. Found something cooler to do.

I am a gymnast! Must practice my splits!

You watching this, Mom? Check me out!

First you do this...

Then I think you can do this...

Ooops! Guess not! Can't do that after all. Damn. You saw that, Mom?

So Much To Say. So Little Time.

This whole working thing is for the birds. I mean, I've worked an entire, like, 20 HOURS already this week. And it's only Wednesday! Unacceptable. It's severely cutting in to my play with crawling baby time. And also my napping time. And my internet surfing time. And my laundry time. I'd say it's cutting in to my clean the house time but, really, who am I kidding?

So this baby is RIDICULOUS. Crawling. With purpose. Pulling himself up on anything and everything. Squealing with delight at anything that strikes his fancy. Shoving peas in to his mouth with reckless abandon. PEAS! The kid eats PEAS! And PEARS! Gross! Whose kid is this?

However, since I am tired right now, and have a one-year-old birthday party to attend tomorrow, for which I will surely need any and all of my energy, I am going to cop out and show you all the Dexter growth via photos. Which, really, is the only reason you come here, anyway. Right?

I do have video of the mobile child, I just haven't had time to upload it. And edit it with my cool new fancy editing software. Next week. I'll get to it next week.

So this is what Dex is up to. Crawling. High-stepping with his arms. Shuffling his legs along. And making these inexplicable faces...
Thwarted by dog bed
Blah. PEAS! Mom thinks all peas should just be discretely fed to dogs.
Mom made me try on this funny hat. Verdict? I hate its guts.
Holy S, Grandma. Look at all the clothes I have...
Grandma and Mom went shopping at the Wee-Cycle and brought back ALL THIS COOL STUFF! (Mom is most excited about the sooper-dooper cheap winter coats and snow suit she found!)
I got a new cute little table! That I can pull myself up on!
Also got one of these thingies that you usually only find in doctor's offices. Which, Mom is thinking, might be a mistake. Because NOW what will we play with at the doctor's office, when this toy is old hat?
We went swinging in the park. LOVE THIS. Also - this is the ONLY decent shot of Dex with no fingers in his mouth. Most looked like this:
Mmmmm. Tasty fingers...
Poor CoCo. She isn't safe on the floor any more.
All this crawling will tire a boy out. Also. Holy Jesus. Look at how big this child is! Remember this?

Caught on Film Part 2

OK, one more round of photos for today. It's been an exciting one!

Eating Cheerios and pieces of banana for the first time. I'm not sure why his eyes are bugging out of his head. He liked the Cheerios. Which is good, because they come in a HUGE box, and I am not a big fan of them. He also managed to self-feed a good two Cheerios or so. It's hard work getting those tiny suckers in your mouth...
Caught red-handed
What, Mama? You mean I am supposed to be SLEEPING? When I can do all this cool stuff? No way!
Just before he broke down in to hysterical crying. He's a tired pup, this one. Lack of sleeping and tons of standing will do that to a boy. He, unfortunately, doesn't know what's best for him, as I think he's working on his standing skills AGAIN in the crib, as I type.

Caught on Film

I posted too soon this afternoon. Here's a shot of Dexter on his knees (he hasn't made it back up to his feet yet, that I am aware of) during his afternoon nap. Which was an hour shorter, because Dex was in this position for about an hour. Trying to figure out how to get down, I'd imagine. One would think he'd look down and think "wow, that's a really long way down. What should I do?" What Dexter did was cry. But I'm not going to rescue his butt. He can work it out. He's fine. Currently asleep. All that kneeling tired the boy out! :-)
Sorry about photo quality. This was through the crack in the door, and his room was dark.