What Will He Do Next?

In the last few weeks, we have seen some new developments in our already "very advanced" young son. Unfortunately, I am not the type of Mom who writes down every little thing on the day that it happens. Instead, I tend to recognize new things only after they have piled on top of lots of other new things. So, here's the run down of our ever-changing baby.

One day, a couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on the porch with Canon. I was sifting through websites that my students could use, and I had stopped momentarily on a site that had a pretty steady beat. Basically, it was low-key rave music (if there is such a thing). I looked at Canon (sitting in his own personal rocker) and saw that he was literally dancing to the music. His head bobbed in perfect rythm. I've attached a video to illustrate. Sorry the image is fuzzy. This is what happens when a glass lens moves quickly from a cold house to a warm, muggy porch.

Of course, I laughed hysterically and had him repeat his new trick over and over.

A couple of days later, we were driving to Winfield, and Canon grabbed my hand and stuck it in his mouth. He likes to put anything within reach in his mouth. I've been saying for months now that "he must be teething," but I had recently given up on this idea. Barry didn't cut his first tooth until he was almost one, so I wasn't holding out hope that this mini-Barry would be any different. . . Until, he chomped down on my finger, and something sharp scraped across my skin. After a closer look, I confirmed that there was, indeed, a tiny tooth pushing its way through his lower gum. I tried for a week to get a picture of it and was finally successful. I hate that I had to wait until he was crying to get a good one, but a Mom will do anything for a good photo-op.

Next on the list is the introduction of the sippy cup. This actually only lasted a couple of days because it was so unsuccessful, but we gave it a good shot.

Canon has been eating solids for awhile now, but he's steadily been increasing the amount he eats. I know how thirsty I get when I eat, so I thought he might feel the same. His bottle is just too filling to take with other food, so I asked the doc about juice. Once I got the go ahead, I went ahead. Canon mostly loved to hold it and toss it around. Occasionally, he would accidentally suck on the sipper and get some juice in his mouth. When he didn't automatically spit it out, he'd make a that-was-the-worst-thing-I've-ever-put-in-my-mouth face, then start chewing on the sipper again. We'll try again later.

Another of Canon's new endeavors is expanding his vocabulary. While "da-da" were the first legible sounds he uttered, he now sticks mainly to "ma-ma-ma-ma" and "ba-ba-ba-ba." It's pretty funny to watch him "talk." His lower jaw looks detached from the rest of his mouth as it bobs up and down. Sometimes he'll just make the mouth motions without any sound. Here is a short video of his babbling. The camera is a bit of a distraction for him, so he usually quits talking when I turn it on. There's not too much on here, but still too cute not to share.

Finally, the big one. Though he's probably still weeks away from crawling, Canon is making giant strides toward this feat. While staying with Nonna and Poppa, he began getting up on his knees and rocking once or twice before plopping back down on his stomach. While we were on the dock at the lake, I caught him practicing.

Since then, he's gotten much better. He rocks several times, then falls on his belly while trying to move forward. He at least seems to want to go somewhere. For awhile I was thinking that he was so laid back, he might always be content with just staying where he was. He seems to be growing out of this phase. He's also currently working on going from his tummy to sitting up all by himself. He gets in the right position to make the transition, but he just can't figure out how to move all that weight from horizontal to vertical.

It's amazing how quickly this little guy learns (I know, I know . . . all babies learn quickly). One day, he's not even thinking about doing something, and the next day he seems to be almost an expert. What will he do next?

A Word from Canon

Mom is always hogging the computer, so I never get to write anything. She's watching a Sunday Night Movie Special now, so I thought I could squeeze in a quick word or two.

Just wanted to let you know about my first week in Winfield with Nonna and Poppa. Mom and Dad were coming to the lake two weekends in a row, so Nonna and Poppa convinced them to let me hang out with them in between. I have stayed away from Mom and Dad once before when they went to Mexico, so I really wasn't very nervous. I communicate very clearly for a six-month-old. All I do is open my mouth and whine, and someone will eventually shove a bottle in. How hard can it be, really? Anyway, more about my week in Winfield. What a week it was! There was never a dull moment.
Aunt Leslie and Uncle Grant spent the night with us to practice for my future cousin, Xan. Uncle Grant fed me, and Aunt Leslie bathed me. I tried to make it easy on them by smiling a lot and not peeing on anything. I'm even pretending to be almost asleep here. Man, I'm good!

I had to make Uncle Grant feel good, too!

Look! I'm almost as big as Aunt Leslie!!

I also got to meet lots of Nonna and Poppa's friends. Nonna took me to lunch with all of her lady friends. I can't be sure, but I'm almost positive I'm the only boy that's been to one of these things in quite some time. I tried to make sure Nonna didn't regret taking me. Here I am flirting with the lady across from me.

Nonna also took me to Poppa's office everyday. I loved riding on Poppa's shoulders.

This is me with Mrs. Carol and also with Mr. Robert and Mrs. Camille. I've met them all before, so it was nice to see more familiar faces.


What else? I went for a walk with Mrs. Carol and Nonna in the park. And Poppa wrestled with me on the floor all the time. He would let me lay in bed with him, and I would just crawl all over him. I think he was surprised at how strong I was. It really wore me out, but I tried not to let him see.
Mom & Dad warned me this would happen! But don't I look cute!?!

It was such a fun week. When we met back up with Mom and Dad at the lake, they couldn't stop looking at me. I must have grown a lot. Now, I'm finally back home. I hope Mom and Dad can keep up with Nonna and Poppa's pace - never a dull moment!

Future Collegiate Athlete

After a little bit of begging from Barry, I agreed to take Canon to his first college football game. I had only the worst expectations - a hot, exhausted, squawling baby amongst thousands of hot, exhausted, squealing adults. Not my idea of a great time. As usual with babies, when you say something out loud, they tend to do the exact opposite. You tell someone that your baby finally slept through the night, and the very next night he wakes up three times to be fed. You tell someone your baby is finally on a regular three-hour eating schedule, and he immediately starts eating at random times throughout the day. It's what I like to call, You-Thought-You-Had-A-Baby-But-You-Really-Have-A-Mini-Teenager Syndrome. In this case, however, the reverse psychology worked in my favor. I expressed my hot, exhausted baby theory out loud, and so of course, Canon was the perfect fan!

Because we have friends in high places (thanks, Tony) we were able to get Stadium Club tickets. This means that we could sit in a box to watch the game or watch it from the shaded portion of the stands. We went back and forth from the box to the bleachers, just trying to keep it interesting. Canon loved it. While we were in the stands, he sat on Barry's lap and looked around at all the excitement. At one point, after a big play when everyone was cheering, he started flapping his arms and bouncing up and down, almost as if he were cheering, too. There was another memorable moment when I was holding Canon in the box. I went to stand next to Barry who was watching the game through the window. Canon looked at his dad, then reached up and put his hand on his shoulder, as if to express his gratitude for sharing such an awesome afternoon with him. It was truly the sweetest thing I have ever seen him do. If only we had a professional photographer to follow us around and capture moments like those. It is nice, however, to have some moments that only the three of us will ever see.

He fell asleep about mid-way through the second quarter but was awake again before half-time was over. Barry, Sam, Alicia, and Josh were able to stand on the sidelines, but Canon and I hung out in the stands. There were some kids sitting in front of us, and Canon loved watching them run back and forth. It doesn't take much to entertain this mellow fellow! After the game, we walked back to the car. Again, Canon loved every site. He smiled at every single person - no matter how strange or obnoxious - that walked by us. When we got home, I was eager to give Canon a bath. He'd never felt so sticky! Because Sam and Alicia were borrowing his bathroom for the weekend, Canon got his first Sink Bath. I remember my mom bathing my little brother in the sink when he was a baby, and I always thought it was the cutest thing. Now, doing it as a mom, it's just as cute. No back pain from leaning over, and the faucet makes a fantastic rainshower spray to get off all the soap. This may become a regular thing!

Canon's Half-Birthday

I know this is very "Alice in Wonderland" of me, but I got really excited about Canon's Half-Birthday today. The three-month-marks seem like such a big deal in this first year of his life, but today was probably the most exciting. Canon woke up at 6:00 super hungry. Thankfully, he went back to sleep after a quick bottle, and we both slept for a couple of hours. When I went in to check on him later, I found this happy boy . . .

Barry went to the Troy v. Florida game in Gainesville (sideline passes from Tony got him some TV time on our local CBS station!), so Canon and I hung without him for most of the day. It has become somewhat of a morning routine that, after Canon eats, he sits in our bed and watches us get ready for work. He gets pretty excited when we hang out in there.

The rest of the day was fairly normal. In an effort to save some cash (and because I like it so much) I took Canon's six-month pictures myself instead of going to a studio. I know he's not wearing anything fancy (sorry Nonna and MyGoo), but I thought the overalls fit the Porch Theme. I did put him in a smocked short-all for some pictures, but they didn't turn out as well. Here are a few of my favorites. If you click on Canon's picture at the top of the blog, you can see more of them.

Here are a few of the things Canon is doing at 6 Months:

Measurements: Canon weighs about 19 1/2 pounds. We go to the pediatrician next week for official measurements, but from what I can tell, he's at least this heavy. I think he's about 29 inches - again, we'll check with the pediatrician in a few days. After checking at the peds, Canon is only 18 1/2 pounds and 27 1/2 inches long. He has had a very low appetite and plenty of diarrhea the last few days, so I think he's lost a few ounces. I think the length measurement may have been a little off at the docs, but what do I know?
Tricks: He forgot how to roll over a few weeks ago when he was pretty sick, but he's been picking it back up. I stood several inches away from him while he was laying on his stomach today, and he tried to push himself over to me. He got pretty frustrated about it. I'm guessing he's getting ready to be a little more mobile.

Eating: Canon eats 4-5 bottles each day with 6-7 ounces per bottle. He eats oatmeal and fruit in the morning and veggies in the evening. He's getting less and less interested in his bottle, so we're going to talk to the pediatrician about sippy cups. I hear they can drink diluted juice this early - who knew?!?

Sleeping: He still sleeps through most nights but will occasionally wake up hungry (usually because he didn't eat much during the day). He takes at least a fifteen or twenty minute nap between each feeding and usually one two-hour nap at some point during the day.

Clothes: He's pretty tall for a six-month-old and wears mostly nine-month clothes, especially in clothes that snap under his diaper, which is pretty much everything!

Favorite things to do: Canon's two favorite things to do are play in his Exersaucer and lay in his crib watching his mobile and chewing on his Taggie. He also likes going with me when I run. He's started talking/singing at the things that we pass. Rocking on the porch is still a favorite, and, of course, he loves doing anything that gets him some one-on-one time with Mom and Dad.

Can You Tell What I Ate Today?

The older Canon gets, the more active he gets. While he would once sit calmly in my lap and just look around, he now loves to twist, kick, bounce, and - my favorite - pull hair! He's trying to sit up on his own, but he moves so much that he usually knocks himself over with excitement. He's bumped his head a few times but nothing major. I read in my "Week-by-week" book that babies around this age tend to get more bruises. Hmmmm . . . I hope they didn't do too much research on that phenomenon.

Canon's sitting behavior is not the only thing that has been effected by his new active nature. It has spread to his eating behavior as well. My once calm, clean eater has become a distracted, messy - I guess normal - baby. These pictures illustrate what I am trying to say.

And yes, the white stuff in the second picture is vomit!

Basically, what used to take five minutes to do, now takes at least fifteen. Canon turns in his seat to see the television. His hands end up in his mouth at least once before the meal is over . . . then, of course, into his hair. I spill a couple of spoonfuls on the table, or sometimes in Canon's lap. He grabs the spoon or the bowl, and when I try to pull them away, more spills occur. I've tried giving him another spoon to hold onto (thanks for that tip, Mandy), but he sticks the handle in his mouth, which gags him, which causes a bigger mess.

At least he helps me clean up afterwards!

After this particular meal, I decided a bath was more than necessary. Canon loves Bath Time, and this one was especially fun. I tried to make a bubble bath, but he got so excited kicking and slapping the water that most of the bubbles either dissolved or were splashed out. I wish I had gotten a video of it, but hopefully these pictures will suffice.

This has definitely been an exciting phase in Canon's life and a learning experience for me. I'm not used to dealing with such a hyper child. Canon has always been so laid back, relaxed, and observant. He's still pretty laid back, just with an extra jolt of energy. He's having so much fun, it's hard not to get caught up in all the excitement!

A "Fun" trip to WalMart

Canon and I have taken dozens of trips to Wal-Mart. Each time he has either looked around with interest or fallen asleep with boredom. On this particular day, however, Canon decided he wanted a better view.

We had been in Wal-Mart about 15 minutes or so when Canon decided his carseat just wasn't the place for him. I was trying to develop my newest pictures - you know, the ones from my FREE camera - at this point, so I took him out and held him. I don't know if you've noticed from all the pictures, but my "long and lean" son has slowly grown into somewhat of a monster. He's huge! I can't be exactly sure, but about two weeks ago he weighed 18 pounds, and two weeks before that he weighed slightly less than 16. So odds are, he's pushing 20 pounds at this point! Needless to say, it is quite difficult to carry such weight in your arms while pushing a buggy around the most inconveniently arranged store in the Western Hemisphere. But a mom will do anything to keep her child happy, so I started carrying the Big Lug all over the store.

After several minutes, I passed another mom with a child who was about Canon's size, and he was sitting up in the front part of the buggy. He looked very comfortable there, supporting himself by holding onto the front bar and calmly watching his mom make various decisions about what to buy. I decided to try it. Canon has been working hard on sitting up on his own, and he's getting pretty good - even Mrs. Sharon says so. Why had I not thought of it myself?!? I slid Canon into the seat and half-pushed, half-supported him the rest of the way around the store. Remember how I said Canon is a bit of a monster? And remember how I said that this other child looked about his size? Well, he was probably about two or three months older than Canon - you know, a normal-size baby. Canon did not fair quite as well as the other boy in his buggy. He rolled and leaned and slid all over that seat. He tried to chew on the front bar and on the metal rails on the back of the seat (eeeewww, gross!). But he did show moments of balance, and it was definitely better than carrying him, so I decided I had made a good decision . . .

. . . Until we made it to the check-out counter. I had bought a very large bag of dog food, and I had to let go of Canon to load it into the back of the cart. It was only a few seconds, but as soon as I had walked behind him, I watched Canon slowly start leaning to the right. It really happened in such slow motion, I wondered why I did not simply reach out and catch him before his head hit the side of the cart . . . but I didn't. It wasn't a loud bang or even a hard one, but it really ticked this monster off. He only cried for a few seconds, but at one point his mouth was wide open, eyes closed tight, face beet red, and no air or sound came out of his mouth. I realized this might be the first time he's ever gotten hurt (at least in front of me. Apparently, Barry dropped him one morning after I left for work, and he gave a pretty good show then, too).

Of course, I swooped him up and got out of there as soon as possible. On the way out of the store, I decided it's never too early to teach your child to "get back on the horse," so I put him back in the buggy and headed to the car. I took a couple of pictures there to commemorate the experience.

At the end of the adventure, he was a little bit happy . . .

. . . a little bit frustrated . . .


. . . but mostly just exhausted. Aren't we all after a Wal-Mart experience?

CostCo is giving away free cameras!!!

Several weeks ago, my camera just quit working. It had been holding on to its last bit of life for a few months, but finally in Mexico, it took its last breath . . . I mean picture. Thankfully, Nonna had given me this camera as a Christmas gift. She purchased it at CostCo - you're one-stop-shop-for-everything-sold-more-cheaply-than-anywhere-else. At the time of purchase (November 26, 2006 - I kept the receipt), CostCo had a lifetime warranty policy on all of its merchandise. No matter what, no matter when, anything could be returned with a full refund. Just weeks later, CostCo smartly changed that policy on electronics to a 90-day warranty. Poor saps who used their Christmas money to buy a camera after the New Year!

Anyway, back to my free camera. After several phone calls - and too many weeks without taking pictures of my ridiculously cute son - I finally made it to CostCo. Now, I knew what the policy said, and a CostCo representative had assured Barry that I really could return it for a full refund, but until it actually happened . . . I really didn't believe it.

CostCo is a lot like Sam's Club. You have to have a membership card to enter and to buy anything. So, when I walked up to the Welcome Guy and showed him a camera box and a three-year-old receipt, I thought he would surely turn me away. He, however, directed me kindly to the Returns counter where an even nicer lady waited to help. At this point, I was sure they would say "Good try" and "Better luck next time." But as easily as I had walked in the door, the camera was returned, and I had a very large CostCo money card (thank you, Nonna and Poppa!) in my hand. I quickly found the cameras and waited patiently for someone to unlock the cabinet to hand me the one I wanted. When I approached the check-out counter, I knew this was the moment when they would take it all away. The man behind the register asked for my Membership Card, to which I shyly held up my shiny new CostCo money card. I half expected him to take it, cut it right in front of me, and have me escorted out the front door . . . but, of course, that is not what happened. He motioned to the credit card machine, and I was soon on my way out the door. Oh, crap! The Receipt Checker! Though I only had one item in my hand and one item on the receipt, she checked it over carefully, then that blessed yellow highlighter made its mark on my receipt. I was home free . . . with a free camera! I rushed to the car, hoping to outrun any CostCo Security that might realize how ridiculous it was that this wimpy girl just walked out with a free camera. Luckily, I've been working out (a little), and I beat these invisible predators to my car.

One reason that I did not come to CostCo sooner was because Barry insisted that it was not worth spending the money on a tank of gas to get to Montgomery or Birmingham just to return a camera. I should have stood up to him. I had enough money on my CostCo card to fill up at their gas station, and I still have just over $22 left. I'm thinking of buying Nonna and Poppa something nice for Christmas. That is, if the Welcome Guy will let me back in with just a CostCo money card.

While I was pumping gas, I couldn't help but tear into my new package and take its first picture. Can you guess who got the rights to that sacred first pic?

Over the next few days, I made up for all of the weeks I lost without a camera. Here are a few of my favorites. (Ok, my computer is not letting me download anymore at this time. I'll be sure to post them soon - they're too cute to miss!).

Canon has become super flexible. He loves eating his feet!

This is one of my favorite Canon Classics of all-time . . . or for the last almost-six-months!

This is just hilarious!

Sitting in a highchair at MyGoo & Docs - his first experience in such a contraption.

Just a little "Vogue" shot.

Mrs. Moss Goes Back to School

Summer is over, and the time has finally come. Mrs. Moss must return to her other kids. You know, the "not blood-kin" kind. I have to say that teaching is the perfect profession for me for a number of reasons. Thankfully for you, I'm only going to talk about one of those reasons. I used to imagine myself as a stay-at-home-Mom . . . until the summer after my first year teaching when I realized that I am terrible at staying at home. I eat A LOT! I watch A LOT of television. I bother my husband at work A LOT. I go to Target A LOT. And I'm just generally lazy and obnoxious! It's not my fault. Have you met my mother? (You know I love you, MyGoo!!).

This summer, however - now that I actually had to wake up at a decent hour - I found that I can be somewhat productive when I'm not at work. However, I still feel a real calling to my career. With teaching, I get the best of both of these options: several weeks out of the year to stay at home with my son, but I still feel like I'm contributing to society in some way. This is not to say that stay-at-home-Moms don't contribute to society. My own mother and mother-in-law raised seven children, collectively, who grew up to become an engineer, a banker, a rocket scientist, a teacher, an administrator, a physical therapist, and a plumber. Well done, Ladies! What I mean to say is that Deborah-as-a stay-at-home-Mom would not contribute to society. You read the "lazy and obnoxious" part, right?

So now I must return to the Working World and abandon my all-too-perfect baby. Barry and I are so fortunate to have made the friends that we have here in Dothan. In the spirit of going back to work, I am speaking specifically of Josh and Mary, who have selflessly given up their house so that Colton and Canon can stay there each day to entertain Mrs. Sharon, Josh's Mom. She has so graciously agreed to keep both boys, and we could not be happier with the arrangement. Canon will have someone to socialize with everyday but without having to go to daycare so young. Of course, this only means that we are prolonging all of the diseases he will get, not preventing him from getting them at all! And, of course, Mrs. Sharon is our Dothan-mother, and we are so happy that Canon will get to love Nana as much as we do.

Upon returning to work, I can't help but reminisce about our fabulous summer together. As meat-headish as this sounds, the thing I will probably remember most about our first summer is our work-outs with Mandy & Luke. Not only did Mandy and I get closer to our pre-pregnancy physique, we became better friends, and Luke and Canon got to hang out as well. Mary and Colton joined us for our runs, too, and it was fun to have all the boys together. Also are the memories of all four babies together. Though this didn't happen too often, it was quite an experience when it did. Alicia is definitely the best at keeping all four of them happy at one time!

I will also remember the many "firsts" that happened this summer. Canon experienced his first trip to the lake and the beach. He also went to his first movie and spent his first night away from me and Barry. He rolled over for the first time, ate his feet for the first time, and laughed for the first time. He ate his first solid foods. (As an aside, why do they call it "solid" when it's basically formula in a spoon?) So many experiences for such a young baby. But as Barry says, when you're only weeks old, one day is a big deal!

For most people, there are still a few weeks left in this season, but for us teachers, the summer has come and gone. So now I put on Hat #3 and try to figure out how to balance three hats on my head at once. Though I returned to work in May after Canon was born, somehow the loom of summer made work seem less like "work" and more like a test to see if I could stay away from my brand new baby for eight straight hours. Now, it feels like work . . . not in a bad way, just in a real way. Mrs. Moss goes back to school. It feels different this year.