Archive for August, 2009

Goodbye, Burrito

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Maddox has recently decided that he’d rather not be swaddled. He’s got arms, and he’d prefer to have them free to grab things, whack things and munch on. Miss Jeanne (our completely awesome childcare provider) took this picture of him in his blue swaddler:

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You can see he’s already beginning to question the idea of being wrapped up and tied down.

Here he is at home, making his wishes more clearly known:

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And here he is today, after a long morning out, eschewing his swaddler for a fluffy blue puppy companion:

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Oh god, he’s adorable.

My First Tooth

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Maddox has started teething. You can actually SEE tiny little tooth points on his lower and upper gums. It’s pretty early – he was just three months old on this past Sunday.

He’s not thrilled about it, but Jon explained to him about the delights of calzones and the larger world of noms in general. (We call his food “noms,” as in NomNomNom!). Since Maddox is a big fan of noms, he’s coming around.

He also seems to be adjusting to the discomfort. Sometimes he’s pretty unhappy, and our wonderful daycare provider (who spotted the fact he was teething in the first place) suggested using Orajel. At home, we usually soothe him and rub his gums, and I let him chomp on my fingers.

I’m a little concerned about what happens when he can actually chomp holes through things. Namely, things like me. Doing bottles full time would be so much less convenient, especially at night. I’m back at work now, so it wouldn’t be awful to switch, but I’d miss the bonding time – my pump is a whole lot less adorable to hold, and although I appreciate it, I’m not looking to spend more time with it.

I’m torn between being proud of Mads, being concerned about his discomfort and the possible change to bottles, and being just plain excited that he’s growing fast and is healthy. Overall, I’m savoring the experience – you never get to go through the same phase with the same kid twice, and Maddox is a constant source of amazement.

Mad’s First Vacation

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

The first week of August, Maddox, Leanne and I drove up to Maine with my family (who drove up from Ohio) to spend a week vacationing near Acadia National Park in Maine. It was a really wonderful vacation, especially for me as I haven’t had a full week with Mads since my paternity leave. He also got to spend quite a lot of time with his grandparents and aunts, who hadn’t seen him since he was a few days old. Below are a few of my favorite pictures, but you can view the full set here.

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By the way, we did get a few laughs pushing Mads around Bar Harbor in that outfit.

We’ve been back at home since then, with Leanne adjusting to her first week back at work and Mads at daycare. The situation has worked out wonderfully, and we were very lucky to find the daycare arrangements that we did. This is Leanne’s first weekend with him as well, and I don’t think he’s been put down for more than thirty minutes!

He’s really into testing out his legs recently, so I thought I’d give them a good work out to some music this morning.

Look, Ma, Hands!

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Mads has recently discovered how to coordinate his hands and arms. He is great at fist bumps (solid, man) and is starting to grasp things and hold them.

He used to use his knees to activate his Rainforest Bouncer, but is starting to use his right hand as well:

Back From Vacation

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

While we were on vacation, Maddox learned how to drive:

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Here he is enjoying a good book after a long day:

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He’s also getting better with coordinating his limbs – he can grasp objects now, and is starting to use his hands to push or pull things. Here he is with his ankles crossed, staring at some questionable wall art:

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And here we are, back at home, with Maddox’s new favorite toy. We weren’t sure what the heck it was at first, but eventually, we figured out that it was a frog. Mads doesn’t care – it rattles, squeaks, crackles and he can grab its feet. To ask for more would be just plain ridiculous.

When he was playing with his froggie with Auntie Cass, Maddox laughed for the first time. It was so wonderful to hear. I didn’t get the giggle in the video, but there are lots of smiles. =)