How to blow a toddler's mind.

Show him pictures of himself as a baby and tell him it's him, not his baby brother, in the pictures.

Will. not. comprehend.

(We actually gave in and said, "Yes, it's baby Milo," because he wouldn't drop it and was getting very, very upset by the disconnection.)

Then, introduce him to a webcam.

The President and the Patriarch

I'll be back with some updates later today, but for now, I wanted to post a link to Dave's interview on a local TV station about his upcoming trip to D.C. for the inauguration. Political differences aside, I'm proud of Dave for the hard work he's put into organizing this trip for himself, a coworker, and 24 of his students! It's such a great opportunity. Good job, honey!

A Conversation with Milo

The Scoop

Moses' current obsession involves anything spoon-like. He'll take the average dinner or wooden spoon, slotted server, or shovel (of any variety) and attempt to scoop up and carry anything he can with his selected utensil/tool. Yesterday he carried blocks; today, balls. It's pretty cute, except that he frequently gets frustrated when the object falls off while he's walking around, and he has to scoop it up again and again. I was very close to taping a ball to his wooden spoon tonight out of sheer desperation for quiet, but that would make me a bad mom. A mom who makes things too easy and turns out a son who expects the world to fall at his feet. Right? Right.

Here he is "cleaning up" with me before bed:

These other pictures are from this morning when it dawned on me that I dressed him for a fictional government holiday. It's not evident in these shots really, but you should have seen the rest of the outfit--complete with a red, white, and blue jacket and pair of shoes. Isn't his mountain of curls fabulous?




Here's a belly shot from tonight, too, at 22 weeks 4 days. I know I haven't posted these for a couple weeks, but this house is absent a full-length mirror so I have to enlist Dave, and I simply forget to ask.


-Lindsey

No Diego, No!

A teacher at Moses' PDO was sweet enough to give Moses a pair of size 5 shoes (more like hiking boots) with Diego on them that her son never wore. Compared to his Pedipeds, the new shoes are enormously heavy and bulky, but I think they'll be great for his treks outdoors since he's really rough on his shoes. I was excited for him to try on the new shoes to see what he'd think of the different style, but I wasn't prepared for the hilarity and freak out that ensued.

Moses wasn't sure what to think of the different shoes and was between crying and laughing the whole time. He walked around, awkwardly stepping, and would start to whine, but then I'd start laughing from the awkwardness of his gait, and he'd start a half whine/giggle. I couldn't help but think of this Monty Python skit while watching him walk.

We'll keep trying the shoes out and see if he can't learn to love them. They really would be excellent for his outdoor explorations!

-Lindsey

Father and Son Fun

Yesterday, Dave and Moses went out into the blustery weather for some good ol' fun. Rain or shine, Moses would prefer to be outside rather than inside, and luckily for me, Dave would too.






Worn out, Moses came inside and took a cat nap on the couch. He seems so grown up now, especially when he snores.

Later, they danced to the theme song for The Boondocks. We both love to watch Moses move--those arms, those legs...

(my lens cap didn't open completely)

-Lindsey

Backtracking

I've missed some bloggable moments lately because of school so I thought I'd backtrack a little bit.

The first weekend in November Moses and I went to visit my Mom, Kelly and sisters (Raychel and Paige). We stayed one night in Wichita Falls (where they live) and then we all drove to Dallas the next day as part of Raychel's 18th birthday celebration at the Gaylord Texan. From that little time on the road and without Dave, I've learned that a) Moses needs about 18 hours to adjust to a new situation (so don't count on holding him anytime before that) b) I could never be a single mom c) I shouldn't let Moses out of the stroller because he'll just want to push it, slowly, around the store d) Moses loves Mylar balloons.

We had a really good time visiting family and look forward to an even longer visit around Christmas time.

(not really a piano man)

(the birthday girl!)


Moses with my Mom (Gram Gram)

Me with (L-R) sisters (Raychel and Paige) and cousin (Alyssa)

I also taught Moses the sport of pillow diving, which has made for some hilarious afternoons.

Dave and I've been hard at work in the front yard trying to get shrubs planted before winter sets in. Moses is a huge help with the equipment.

(yes, I'm holding the shovel handle!)

We've also learned that Moses is a big fan of The Arcade Fire. PBS played one of their Austin City Limits concerts the other afternoon and Moses went nuts. It's really the first time Moses has had a response to any sort of music so we are pleased he has good taste.

-Lindsey

Hallo-what?

Halloween wasn't all that spectacular for us. Both Dave and I had class so we couldn't show Moses off to our neighborhood friends, and Moses had a big case of mommy-clinger-itis that made the night a bit of a challenge.

However, this afternoon Moses attended a little Halloween party at his Parent's Day Out. I didn't get pictures of him in his Yoda costume because I was too busy steering him opposite the sugar cookies and mini-blinds, but hopefully, someone there got some pictures that I can share with you soon.

Even without the Halloween hoopla, we've had some fun moments this week (and thoroughly trashed the house in the process).

Anyone up for hide n' seek? Or bacon?

His feet are stepping on a scale.
I wish I was that satisfied with my weight.

I'm pretty sure he hit me up
for some money after this picture was taken.

Ladies and gentlemen,
step right up and see the amazing Tinkertoy eater.

He's taking his nightly laps around the living room
(in new shoes, which make him walk faster).

Bobby Darin would be proud.

Our day in a walnut shell.

-Lindsey

T-minus 31

Today Moses is 11 months! I can't believe that we'll be celebrating his first birthday in only 1 month. Yes, he is walking, talking (almost), and solving complicated algebraic equations, but he's still my baby.

Today was yet another freakishly warm fall day so we spent the morning outside.





We also took some more videos of Moses to celebrate his 11 month-self and to make up for the dark (okay, black) video in my last post.

-Lindsey

On turning pro

I'm so impressed with speed Moses has learned to walk: I mean really walk. Of course, he spends a large part of the day practicing--walking to the bedroom, beelining to the bathroom (his favorite place unless I have the mind to close the door), circling the sofa, and hunting for doggy Bella. His endless determination to explore his surroundings and learn new things is admirable. It's so amazing to watch him study an object that was once out of his immediate view and reach: he'll talk under his breath and turn it around in his hands, figuring it all out. He's also started to carry his finds around as inanimate companions while he scouts the house for fun (and sometimes trouble--see bathroom reference above).

Tonight, I took some videos to show the progress he's made in the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to adjust the exposure or turn on the overhead light so one of the videos is impossibly dark.

-Lindsey

Go Moses Go!

Moses is walking better and better each day. Today, Dave captured Moses taking an unprecedented amount of steps, for him at least.

-Lindsey

Figuring it all out

Last night Moses started to stand solo, and he even took some steps by himself--several times! He's been practicing all this for awhile by cruising then falling towards furniture that is too far away. It's hard to capture his successful moments, but we got a snippet on camera. Do these count as first steps? He's 10 months old today!

-Lindsey

Catching Cooties

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, but the nasty virus that Moses battled last weekend came knocking down my door on Monday. It was relentless, but I'm at the tail end of it now.
While I was imagining my imminent death from the stomach flu, Dave took care of Moses. He took time off from student teaching in order that I could get some sleep (plus, in my weakened febrile condition, I was not physically able to care for a child). And maybe, just maybe, he thinks Moses is cooler to hang out with that high school kids.

Dave discovered that Mos adores our curtains. Now, he spends tens of minutes a day just cruising through them, laughing hysterically.

-Lindsey

Walk-ish

Moses has gotten really good at cruising along our furniture and walls, and with help, can walk decently. We've been trying to catch him on video while he does these things, but once the camera is out, he forgets what he's doing and tries to get the camera. But, this morning I caught him briefly...

-Lindsey

Fun Footage

These video aren't the best, but they make me happy. Isn't that the sign of something great?

1. Moses' laugh at the end of this one brings me great joy.

2. Here, Moses is trying to pull up on some furniture and hold on to his blue tube**. He'd been doing this for awhile before I taped it so his interest is beginning to wane. But, his frustration is still very obvious.

** A component of my exercise ball pump, he's grown attached to that blue tube so much and plays with it A TON. Why is it that he must enjoy non-toys more than toys?

3. Our camera ran out of memory on this one, but even in its brevity--it's precious.

-Lindsey

Hydrophilic

Dave and I've been working hard trying fix up our yard. We've planted bushes, flowers, and trees--all of which need a lot of watering right now.
Dave started taking Moses outside each evening while he watered, and boy, that kid loves water. He loves putting various body parts in the path of the spray or splash in the puddles that form on the concrete.
I don't think we'll have to worry about any water-related phobias. If anything, I'll worry that he's too comfortable!

And here's a fun video of him in action!

Walker, Texas Danger

Here's a very short video of him using his Bumbo as a walker. He would've kept going if it weren't for the chair in his way. We're in for trouble very soon.


-Lindsey

Crawl-ish.

Moses hadn't shown much interest in mobility until the Journeys catalog arrived. Is it his well-known love for paper that lit his auto-mobility fire? Or does yet another member of this household have a shoe fetish? You decide.


-Lindsey

Jump around, jump around...

When Moses becomes a pro athlete, we’ll be sure to have his jumperoo bronzed. Here’s video of our future athlete exercising his legs and smile. And despite the way it looks, Moses is actually jumping that much on his own! The video is long ( 2 minutes 40 seconds) but well worth the time spent.



If anyone's unfamiliar with youtube.com videos: press play, then pause, and the video will load (the red line indicates how much is loaded). Once the video is loaded you can play the video without stop/start troubles.

-Lindsey

Like Night and Day

Drumroll please.......

Moses spent his first full night in his crib lastnight. Can I get a hallelujah? Sigh.

The night was relatively uneventful. He went down at 9:30 and woke at 10:30, 1:00 and 6:00 to eat, but he wasn't completely awake for those and went back to sleep immediately. There were only a few times during the night that he need a shush/pat. It was marvelous! I'm only hoping the nights to come will get better and better, and Dave and I can reclaim our space without the fear of finding wayward dirty diapers, spittle-soaked sheets, or worse, a larger ring of wetness.

In all his independent glory:



As I promised yesterday, here's more video of Moses' morning chat, with himself. This is 1 minute of video. Imagine this for 40 minutes at a time in the morning. It's downright hilarious. Those high-pitched pipes could give Maria Callas a run for her money. I'm sure deep down inside Dave's masculinity he's concerned that we'll have to enroll Mos in The Vienna Boys' Choir. I'm game as long as they throw in some of those sausages...

-Lindsey