Thursday, January 29, 2009

Real Deal Holyfield

We trekked throught the slush today and made it to Will's pediatrician for his four-month checkup.

I would say my predictions were spookily accurate, except that since I spend every waking moment (and some sleeping ones) with the kid, I guess it isn't spooky at all.

Will's just over 16 pounds, just over 25 inches, his head is DaveNoonalicious (=elephantine) and he remains bigger than 75% of babies his age in all three categories. I know, alert the media and all that.

Four months, though...it's a really fantastic age. We were reading Brazelton's "Touchpoints"--an old edition thereof, with children dressed in plaid shirts with wing-tipped collars and bell-bottomed cords--and he describes how smitten parents are with their four-month-olds, how they form a little adoring trifecta in his office. Although Dave wasn't there to make up the third point in the triangle, I can attest that this visit was different from our first two because now that he has an actual personality to speak of, WILL IS JUST SO HAPPY ALL THE TIME.

Whether he's a baby, a teenager, or one of those full-fledged grown-ups, anyone who smiles and laughs and chirps at the mere sight of you is bound to make you ecstatic, in return, at the sight of him. So, as T. Berry could have guessed, Will and I spent all our free time (in between the vaccinating and measuring and stethoscoping) cooing and grinning at each other like a couple of daffy fools in love.

"What a good-natured guy," one nurse said as Will chuckled gutturally while I undressed him.

"Yeah," I agreed. "He's spoiling us for the rest of our kids, I imagine."

"Four months, that's the age," she replied. "Trust me--anywhere from four to nine months, oh man, I'll take it. It's the best."

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Four Months & Toddler Socks


I was hoping to post Will's four-month stats today, but alas, I had to cancel our pediatrician appointment due to the ugly and treacherous snowfall.

Here are my predictions for what tomorrow's rescheduled appointment will reveal:
  • sixteen pounds
  • 25.5 inches
  • he's probably teething (what with all the drool and the chewing)
  • it's time to start him on some rice cereal
  • his feet are reaching toddler proportions, you must buy him some new socks, for the love of Pete, folks, have some compassion for your afflicted offspring, and those Sasquatch feet cannot stay sausaged in socks meant for NORMAL BABIES, are you trying to cut off circulation or something?

In the meantime, happy fifth month, Will! You are a slobbery, chatty, bottle-guzzling, sleep-loving, smile-flashing aficionado of the upright position, and it's a total treat to spend every day with you.

Monday, January 26, 2009

GIST 3



1. Tastefully Simple slushy sangria (thanks, Kerry!).
2. A new HD cable box with DVR for the same price as our old service...so I can record normal-people shows and watch them at my odd hours.
3. Celebrating my grandfather's would-be-100th birthday.
4. Caramel-and-white-striped sheets and duvet cover.
5. Will riding a red Rody. (And, um, alliteration?)
6. Elfa playroom shelves and drawers. So. Organized. Also. Pretty!
7. Taking a very extended break from spending money in order to enjoy what you already have. (See above.)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Tummy Timing


Will does not mind his daily fifteen minutes of tummy time.

His mother, on the other hand, sometimes has to try not to mind when Will spits up all over her bed/sofa/favorite blanket from Restoration Hardware.

It's all about timing. If he's just eaten (which is pretty much all the time, except when he's sleeping and thus exempt from TT), Will is sure to mark his territory with a bit of regurgitated formula wherever you put him.

And if he hasn't just eaten? He'll go easy on you by sticking to good old non-staining drool:

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Big Boy!

Will is three and a half months old; behold the sophistication!


Oh! Hello there!

No, no learner's permit yet, but here's hoping...


Food! Give me food! Can't you see I'm wasting away?!?


Minions, fetch me my sceptre!
(And could you also bring me that blue stuffed seahorse I love so much? Thanks.)


Wait a minute...why is my head bigger than Auntie Erin's?


Monday, January 19, 2009

GIST 2

1. Don, our driver on the Miss Bustonian bachelorette bus this weekend.

2. The way Will sits on my lap and hits the keys on my laptop, just like the true son of a computer engineer.*

3. Essie nail polish in Fiji.

4. Edamame succotash and 365 brand fruit-flavored soda from Whole Foods.

5. The return of Battlestar Galactica, a show that actually answers your questions every couple of episodes (I'm looking at you, Lost).

6. Reading the book Little Hoot to Will while he tries to turn the pages.*

7. Finally conceding defeat to the pro-Facebook contingent, and eagerly awaiting Kerry's FB tutorial.

*I think it's confirmed: Will is a tactile learner. :-)

Friday, January 16, 2009

Thriller

At last week's moms' class, our teacher told me that Will is probably ready for the following steps (or will be by the end of this month):
  • sitting in the high chair;
  • eating some solids (at four months old);
  • losing the snap-in carseat in favor of the infant-to-toddler one, which also means...
  • ...giving up the beloved Snap 'n' Go and using JUST THE REGULAR STROLLER!

I couldn't even imagine how that worked. Honestly, I thought we could use the Snap 'n' Go for as long as we wanted, and lugging him around in his carseat is totally second nature.

"But Joanna," my teacher kindly pointed out, "his legs are almost to the end of that carseat already, and carrying a kid who weighs as much as most nine-month-olds in a seat that's heavy to begin with...well, that's gonna take a toll on your back." I'm pretty sure she wanted to add a surreptitious "cuckoo" hand gesture, but she admirably refrained.

In preparation for these next steps, I hauled out the hand-me-down (but from my sister, so still very well-kept) convertible carseat, Will spends some play time in his high chair every day, I'm researching beginner baby foods (how to buy it cheaply and how to make it yourself)...but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how that stroller works if you're not just clicking the carseat into place. How do you elevate the back?!? And I just carry him out of the car and put him in a stroller? That's crazy talk!

Although I can't master these simple tasks (yet), Will seems to have mastered the moonwalk. Yesterday Dave was holding him on the dining room table in his favorite awake position (standing), and he started to slide his feet backwards, one at a time, in his best Jacko impersonation. (It should go without saying that this is the only Michael Jackson trait I'd like for Will to mimic. OK, and maybe his Jackson-5-era Afro, but with my bald eagle kid, I'm afraid that will remain a pipe dream.)

ANYWAY, I'll try to post the video sometime this weekend. And if my BIL KaiBob gets his updates together in time, there should be a new post over at TNG today where we can monitor his progress. I'm sure he'd love some motivational comments, too!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Weddings Anonymous

I love weddings!

I know, it's not a rare thing to have a passion for weddings, but the reason why I love them is a little more unique: I love all the busywork that goes into planning one. The duller the task, the better; the more checklists, the merrier!

If you too love these bless-ed events, "tune in" to Wedding Wednesdays over at TNG. This week we're talking about the First Five items on the planning checklist, and your perspective is as welcome as ever!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Right Angles

Witness Will's favorite sleeping position:


I swear, whether he's in my arms or his crib, he throws his head back so it's at this insane angle:




Today was our second Next Step class at Isis Maternity. I can't believe we're already talking about solids and standing and high chairs, and we're still (always) talking about sleep.

Will has adjusted beautifully to the crib. I had more trouble with it than he did, that much is clear. The awake time limit holds steady at 90 minutes; any longer than that and he goes directly to CODE RED rock-me-to-sleep-NOW-woman panic mode. Seriously, I've never seen someone go from smiling to bleary-eyed in ten seconds, and while it makes bedtime easier overall, Will's lightning-fast descent into flat-out fatigue can be a little hard to work with. I mean, how am I supposed to train the kid to put himself to sleep if he beats me to it?

I understand how lucky it is to have these problems as opposed to others, but when it's new territory it's all a bit sticky and tentative.

Fourteen weeks

But we get the hang of it after a while:



We've come a long way, baby boy.

Six weeks

Monday, January 12, 2009

Saying Grace

This is a great idea, so I'm aiming for weekly participation with a list of seven.

1. Painting a room with Benjamin Moore's Lavender Blue.

2. Waiting for friends' babies to arrive.

3. Making your own teriyaki sauce.

4. Taking your time at the Container Store.

5. Reading about people's hair quandaries.

6. Eating half the taco dip out of a large Pyrex dish.

7. Planning wedding showers.

Friday, January 9, 2009

KaiBob Fridays!


TGIKBF! Go to the Noon Guide site for the first installment of this fabulous new weekly update. It features a completely anonymous brother-in-law and his weight loss and fitness goals, and it is going to be FUN!

Click here for KaiBob Fridays.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

A New Year's Interview with William

Trying to write a wrap-up post about our trip to New Jersey for the holidays is like trying to pack ten days' worth of luggage for yourself, your husband and your baby and then force it into every corner of your car and driving for five hours. I would know.

(True story: for four hours on Christmas Day, I endured Packapalooza while watching the Duggars on TV. They are the old-school-values family of twenty whose lives are documented on the Discovery Health channel. TWENTY: as in, they have EIGHTEEN CHILDREN. Bless.)

So, instead of a disorganized jumble of holiday memories, I decided to interview Will and illustrate his responses with our photos.

J: Hello, William. That's a dashing onesie you're wearing. Tell me, how are you liking your fifteenth week on earth, and the first week of 2009?

W: I'm liking life quite a lot, thanks. [Drools.] In fact, no one ever seems to want to put me down. [Saliva pools in neck folds, on bib.] And that Christmas thing, that's an event, isn't it? I'll say it right now: I loved it. LOVED IT. Santa, too. I'd like to meet him.

J: OK, let's get to the meat of this interview, shall we?

W: Right-o.*

J: William, what was your favorite activity on vacation?

W: Staring at my teething ring. Final answer.*


J: And what was one of your favorite toys all that you received from your many family members?

W: That's a toughie! Auntie Cindy and her family gave me a steering wheel so I can practice driving and terrorize the town of Newton with the 700 noises it makes. Aunt Jen gave me my new best friend, a musical glowing seahorse that comes with me everywhere now...and she let me drive on her lap.

Uncle John & Aunt Jean gave me a basketball hoop that I'll use when I'm older. I'll have to decide soon, point guard or power forward? And of course my Grandmom and Grandpop filled my stocking with more things than my parents can count! I say my parents because the shameful truth is, I can't count, not at all. Not even to one. Yikes, right?

J: Indeed. Will, your father was born on Halloween. Do you have a propensity toward dressing up in costumes?

W: This being my first Christmas in existence, I thought I'd put on the ritz a little, sure. So I dressed up as Santa's Little Helper.

J: Compelling. Finally, which family member who met you on this vacation would you say you most resemble at this stage in your life?

W: Wow...you caught me unprepared here. I guess if I just focus on the neck-up region, I've gotta say my dad's cousin Patrick:

Although my Uncle Scott's a close second.

* I don't know why I portrayed my son as a British man who makes outdated jokes about Who Wants to be a Millionaire...it just sort of happened.

More photos to come when I can get my act together.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I Don't Know Much

Being a mom has a certain je ne sais quoi* about it.

Je ne sais quoi I'm doing.

Je ne sais quoi works and quoi doesn't work in terms of new toys/tools/strategies.

And most of all, je ne sais quoi exactly to do with myself while the baby naps. Now that Will is three months old and on a quasi-schedule, I get at least a few 45-minute breaks per day. I love these breaks: Will is dozing peacefully nearby, and I am free to get stuff DONE!

Here's what I have been doing: picking up the toys and books we were just using; doing the 30-Day Shred DVD on mute (so I can hear any caws from the other room); pouring myself another cup of coffee and trying to respond to emails from a month ago; finishing my baby shower scrapbook (yes, that was in July of last year).

That's all well and good, but I also need to be exercising my brain on a consistent basis, and that's why I am directing everyone to go have a look-see at The Noon Guide. It is not perfect yet, but Dave's convinced me that I need to start spreading the word even before the finishing touches are there.

Plus, you really, really, really need to vote on Erin's bridal look because she will be here in a week and we have to use your feedback to make a decision! People, please! Je ne sais quoi I will do without your insights!

(Oh, and also there will be some photos of a certain someone's--no, not Dave's--naked male torso over there starting Friday.) So go forth and read, comment, vote, prosper.

*For those who took high school Spanish instead, "je ne sais quoi" means "I don't know what."

Crib Notes

Attention, everyone:

Let it be known that last night, William Paul Noon slept in his crib from 8:30 pm to 7:30 am, stirring a few times before 10:30 when he was out cold for the next nine hours.

No jinxes, please. Thank you.
-The Management