Happy Birthday Cutie Pie!

Testing the limits of the carpet cleaner

Cutie Pie has started a new battle of wills. It's anybodies guess when he will abruptly end a meal by throwing his tray across the room.

As you can see, Cutie Pie has discovered an interesting quirk of our otherwise perfect highchair. It has a clear plastic tray that nests on top of the pretty wooden tray. This way the baby eats off the plastic, washable part but the chair still looks nice and matches the dining room furniture. This feature was important to me when we bought the chair because our house is small and there was no where to store a high chair. The baby's chair was going to be right out there 24/7 and I wanted it to blend in with the rest of the decor. I have since given up on such illusions, as you can probably tell if you look back at the pictures of my living room covered with a garish baby mat and littered with toys.

I am open to suggestions on how to manage this messy dilemma. We bought one of those booster seats that pull right up to the table but he throws his little baby plates and bowls around the room with reckless abandon so I prefer to use the highchair where he can eat off the tray. At least the tray is big and easy to catch before it hits the floor.

This whole thing started as a protest by Cutie Pie when we didn't feed him fast enough. Cutie Pie prefers to scoop all his food up in one handful and shove it in his mouth, often choking in the process. To avoid having to use CPR at every meal, we had to be more careful about giving him small bites and pacing him through the meal. However, sometimes Cutie Pie eats those bites in a matter of seconds. If you mistakenly turn your attention to your own plate, you are in trouble. I've had to learn to eat with one hand holding down Cutie Pie's tray and the other hand cutting up Cutie Pie sized bites. If only I had three hands so I could feed myself!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Another Abandoned Blog

Blogging has fallen to the bottom of the priority list lately as I try to juggle being the mother of an active, walking, falling, whining, running, babbling, nose running, coughing, door opening toddler and managing the "busy season" at work. Life has become a never ending exercise in organization. That pile of paperwork never seems to get any smaller. And since they pay me to work, it must come before blogging.

I have really missed the creative outlet blogging gives me. Each day, when Cutie Pie does something unbelievably cute, I think to myself, "That would make a great blog."

For instance, when Cutie Pie and Da Da invented the "I'm going to get you!" game. I have never heard a sound so beautiful as the giggles and laughs coming from my husband and son playing together. It makes tears come to my eyes just thinking about it.

Cutie Pie has also been discovering new and exciting things around the house. No matter where he is and what he is doing, he keeps one eye on the bathroom door. And if someone should absent mindedly leave it open, Cutie Pie makes a beeline for the toilet, which he thinks is the Best Toy Ever! The best part is that Mommy immediately picks him up when he touches the toilet and washes his hands, another treat. Cutie Pie has begun to associate the toilet with water play. Lucky me!

The most exciting thing to happen lately was when Cutie Pie learned how to open the screen door to the backyard. He loves swinging that door wide open and walking out into the yard all by himself. He's such a big boy now. Unfortunately, he's not always sure on his feet and the other day he tumbled head first into a pile of dirt one of the dogs had just created. Cutie Pie was covered, he even had dirt in his eyes. I resisted the urge to immediately wash him off because it was the first time my baby boy had ever really gotten dirty! Not to worry though, he got a bath soon enough. Which of course, just made his day. Let's hope he doesn't realize that getting filthy gets him a trip to the bathtub or he'll be getting 8 baths a day!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

10 Months and Counting

Cutie Pie reached the all-important milestone of double digits: 10 months. Since I have been breastfeeding him this whole time, I now consider myself an expert breastfeeder.

We had our share of problems in the beginning. I remember reading about different personality traits babies have that can contribute to difficulty feeding. Cutie Pie had all of them. Excited Ineffective: when he sees that it's time to eat, he gets so excited that he can't eat correctly. The Rester: likes to eat a little, then sleep a little, then eat a little more, then sleep a little more... The Gourmet: likes to taste the milk first and will not be rushed into eating. The Baracuda: digs right in and eats enthusiastically, sometimes painfully. And finally, The Procrastinator: gets upset if the milk is not there NOW!

Somehow we made it through those painful and emotional early days and got to the point where nursing part of our routine. We love to cuddle in our rocking chair at feeding time. Cutie Pie is just as much an expert as I am.

As Cutie Pie approaches his first birthday, I know my breastfeeding time is coming to a close. It really makes me sad that my baby is growing up so fast. The kid is eating solid food like a line backer. He's going to have no use for milk very soon. This next phase in our lives is going to be a hard one for Mommy.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

Is This How You Catch A Cold?

Well, Cutie Pie did it again. He caught another cold.

This time Cutie Pie got his germs from me. I was absolutely miserable over the weekend. We were supposed to go meet a friend's new baby but the evil cold put a halt to our plans. We know all too well that new babies shouldn't be around sick people. When Cutie Pie was born, our Doctor all but drilled that into our heads. I had to do the responsible thing. I stayed home and sniffled. I was devastated that day, not because I felt sick, but because I couldn't stand to be trapped in the house for another day. I love spending more time at home with Cutie Pie but I also love going out. Unfortunately, there are only so many places I can take a nine month old. I get excited every time I get to leave the house.

I was quite proud of myself for keeping Cutie Pie germ free during my cold. I kept my hands washed and avoided sneezing and coughing when I held him. I did everything those Swine Flu people have been telling us to do. I guess I didn't do as good a job as I thought, Cutie Pie woke up this morning with a drippy nose and no appetite. It's amazing to me that Cutie Pie can be so sick but keep smiling. I wish I could be more like him.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Ouch! Teething hurts everyone.

More teeth! Cutie Pie thinks he is a dinosaur. His new favorite game is to screech, grab my neck in a bear hug and bite my shoulder as hard as he can.

It makes me so sad that he bites when he hugs me. I love hugging my baby boy. I don't love it when he sharpens his new chompers on my shoulder blade. Now, when he hugs me, I have to play defense. I can only relax when his mouth is already full.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to not scream and scare him to death. I have been passing out teething rings for so long now that I don't know where they are anymore. It doesn't matter anyway. He doesn't want to bite those boring, tasteless teething rings. He wants to bite Mommy. I've got black and blue spots on my shoulders as proof.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

These Shoes are Made for Walking

We have a walker! Cutie Pie is getting to be quite good at walking. I am so excited that he is moving around. He is growing up so fast. He's pretty pleased with himself too. Now he can reach all kinds of new things. I even saw him standing on his tippy toes trying to reach the door handle. Who taught him how to open a door?

So after we finished jumping for joy at seeing Cutie Pie take his first steps, we got down to the very important business of buying Cutie Pie his first shoes. He had a couple of pairs in size five that I picked up a month ago. I figured he would grow into them. I crammed them onto his feet a couple of times over the past month. I had a hard time getting them on but I figured it was because Cutie Pie is always curling his toes. The shoe seemed a little big so I guessed that Cutie Pie was a size four. So I went out and bought my Cutie Pie the cutest little size four Reebok you ever did see. I couldn't even get them past his toes.

It became apparant to me that my baby was one of the unlucky children with extra wide feet. I was going to have to buy his shoes from a specialty store. And not just his first shoes. Every shoe I buy him. Forever. Great.

We made a trip to Stride Rite, where they quickly fitted Cutie Pie with size 5 1/2 Wide. After spending more money that I would on my own shoes, Cutie Pie walked out of the store officially a big boy. He cried a little on the way home because he didn't know what those giant things on his feet were. But Cutie Pie has gotten used to wearing shoes over the past few days and now they don't seem to slow him down one bit.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Three Scary Words: Working From Home

In this month's American Baby Magazine, there was an article about how hard it is to work from home. Yeah, no kidding. I work part time at the office and part time at home to keep my full time job. While I'm at the office, I feel overwhelmingly guilty about leaving my child with other people. He loves it. When I'm at home, I put Cutie Pie and playtime first but I'm always thinking in the back of my mind about what files I need to finish next. I can never snap out of my work mode. It's hard to relax and just enjoy being a Mommy when there's a soul-crushing pile of paperwork sitting in the next room.

The article gave tips for carving out time to work but it basically recommended that you find someone else to watch your kid because you can't work and be Mommy at the same time. Thanks for the tip. I make time for work when Cutie Pie is sleeping. The problem is that I bring home about 20 hours of work a week but Cutie Pie does not quite sleep enough for me to complete my work, housework and sleep myself. This is how I end up like I was last week: an exhausted mess, buried under mounds of paperwork. I might actually be happier if I worked from WORK!

But no matter how I look at it, I just can't give up my extra time with Cutie Pie. Working from home is hard but missing Cutie Pie all day is harder.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

Let's Play!

"Yeah! Da! Ba! Da!" Cutie Pie loves to play.

It is so cool to watch him play and discover new things. Cutie Pie seems to learn something new every day. Yesterday he learned how to climb on top of a box and fall off. It's enough to make a mother beam with pride!

I've been trying to keep the house stocked with educational toys. This isn't exactly an easy thing to do. When you walk down the aisles at Target, everything has a sound chip in it. This is great for capturing Cutie Pie's attention for the first few seconds of play but he honestly prefers to discover new things without lights flashing and annoying nursery rhymes blaring. I am so glad because I enjoy every quiet moment I can get.

Recently, I noticed that Target is carrying a new line of Circo wooden toys. I picked up an inexpensive hammer and peg set for Cutie Pie to try. The hammer went straight to his mouth, of course. Within minutes, his new little teeth scraped the paint off the handle on the hammer. So much for that

Cutie Pie plays longer and more intently with wooden toys and just objects from around the house. Lately I have noticed that Cutie Pie seems to have a preference for round objects. He likes to put balls inside rings and fit cups together. It's absolutely fascinating to watch him. He looks at everything very closely and his breathing gets faster. He finally fits his circles together then tosses them aside and crawls away laughing. Next!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

A New 'Do

My baby is a real boy.

Da Da took one look at Cutie Pie's wavy locks in his nine month pictures and said Cutie Pie is getting a hair cut. And he wasn't kidding. Before I knew what was going on, Da Da was checking the guard on his clippers and bribing Cutie Pie with Gerber Graduate lil' crunchies to keep him happy in his high chair.

I hid in the other room because I just couldn't stand to see the tears I knew would be coming. But, surprisingly Cutie Pie's haircut went fairly well. He was all smiles after a few reassuring kisses. He hardly noticed his missing hair. Even more surprising, I didn't cry one bit.

He looks like a real little boy now, without his little baby curls. I think his new 'do makes his teeth look bigger. How about you?

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

Whine about Whining

I can handle teething, gas, cold and flu, but separation anxiety drives me nuts.

Cutie Pie is going through another stage. He must be touching Mommy, or Da Da, but preferably Mommy, at all times. This means I can't go anywhere or do anything in the house if he is awake. Want to clean up Cutie Pie's highchair after breakfast? Cutie Pie clings to my leg and whines until I pick him up. Cutie Pie actually prefers to help do dishes instead of playing with his toys. I've got to remember to tell Cutie Pie this interesting fact in say, ten years.

I've gotten very good at multitasking with Cutie Pie balanced on my hip. My only problem is when Cutie Pie decides he wants to touch a dirty pan in the sink or a boiling pot of water on the stove and he unexpectedly throws all his body weight to the side. So far I've been very lucky to catch him.

Cutie Pie used to like to practice walking and play with his toys. Now he just wants to be held most of the time. He also prefers to be walked around the house or danced with, thank you very much.

The most difficult aspect of Cutie Pie's fear is that he cries every time he realizes that I am not with him. This means that his naps do not last long and nights last forever. As long as I'm holding him, he sleeps. But when I put him down, he screams the second he wakes up. Poor Cutie Pie gets lonely sleeping in his crib. Never fear, Mommy is here!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Let's Eat!

Yum Yum Yum! Cutie Pie loves to eat. He's making the transition from baby food to big boy food. Today he stole my sandwich right off the table. I'm not kidding. I put my plate in the middle of the coffee table thinking I could nibble on it in between building giant block towers for Cutie Pie to knock down. The next thing I knew, his little paws were pulling the bread up to his mouth. I laughed so loudly it made him jump. But it didn't slow him down from shoving the whole piece of bread into his mouth.

I think Cutie Pie might be part chipmunk. At mealtime, I hand him his little bite sized soft foods a few bites at a time. He puts them in his mouth and makes chewing motions. Everything appears normal. Next thing I know, he's coughing and choking, he opens his mouth and spits out a huge glob of food that he had been hoarding in his cheeks. Da Da is on to him. He started squeezing Cutie Pie's cheeks to make sure they were empty before dispensing Cutie Pie's next bite. That Da Da is so smart.

Meals have become adventures lately. Sometimes they are great. Sometimes they end in disaster. Cutie Pie is teaching us that he has difficulty eating chunky foods. No matter how thin the baby food is. If there is any type of solid mixed in, even if it's just rice, he will choke on it and make himself sick. Cutie Pie has been trying to teach us this lesson for several weeks now but Mommy has been very slow to catch on!

Sometimes, especially after a particularly horrifying coughing episode, I think that Cutie Pie is just not yet ready to eat big boy food. Then I go his school and see him eating chicken or green beans with no problem at all. Maybe Cutie Pie just chokes on MY food; already a critic.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Big Baby

Cutie Pie is a big baby. No, really. He is huge. He weighed in at 10 lbs 6 oz when he was born and he hasn't stopped growing. He is nine months old and today he is wearing 24 month clothes! We go through clothes faster than we go through baby wipes!

I liked having a big baby when he was first born. Big babies just seem less fragile. The risk of SIDS decreases. It made him special. He was the enormous baby that people talked about with amazement in their voice. Everywhere I went, I heard "Oh! You're the one with the big baby! I can't believe he was so big!" Then I could say, with pride in my voice "Yes, he was very big. He is amazing."

So here he is at nine months old. He outgrew his infant carrier months ago. Trying to change his diaper is like wrestling a real bear. He is trying to walk and has taken as many as four steps at a time. His teachers at school said he walked across the room but I don't believe it. He wouldn't dare do something so momentous at school where Mommy and Daddy couldn't videotape him so it doesn't count. My Cutie Pie is trying to walk but just hasn't mastered it yet. This means that anywhere we go, he gets carried. Have I mentioned that my baby is HUGE?

My left arm is becoming ridiculously muscular. I'm starting to resemble one of those crabs with one big claw and one tiny one. My lopsided arms are the least of my problems. Cutie Pie is a typical nine month old. He doesn't stay still while you hold him. Cutie Pie loves to wriggle around, challenging whoever is holding him to a battle of wills and balance.

We practice walking every chance we get. I just can't wait to put him down. Just for a minute.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Cutie Pie Bites

It's official, my child is a biter. Ever since he got his top teeth, he loves to bite everything he can put in his mouth. This includes Mommy's arms, face, fingers and just about anything he can get.

The mosquitos can get pretty bad in the summer so the other day, I was not surprised to find little red marks on my arm. I thought they were just mosquito bites but they didn't itch. They felt a little sore. Upon closer inspection, they were Cutie Pie Bites.

A few months ago, he started giving kisses. It was the sweetest thing when he'd wrap his little arms around my neck and put his open slobbery mouth on my cheek, covering my face with baby goo. When he gave me a kiss the other day, I thought nothing of it until "CHOMP!" his teeth closed in on my cheek.

He's still a little person and doesn't understand "No biting." His teacher at school told me to keep plenty of alternative teething rings nearby. She said that every time he bites someone, I should give him a teething toy to redirect his need to bite. Her instructions made perfect sense but have proven to be difficult to follow. When a child is biting you on the face and will not let go, you're just not thinking about where you left that darn teething ring. When you are trying to nurse your child to sleep and he bites you like he's sinking his teeth into a Big Mac, you don't care about any teething rings. When your arms are full of bags and you're trying to load up the car and you're worried about being late to an appointment and your little Vampire suddenly tries to suck the blood out of your arm, teething rings are the last thing you're going to think of. Just in case though, I've got an arsenal of teething rings hidden all over the house and the car.

I love my baby's new, shiny, little white teeth. I just wish Cutie Pie could keep them to himself.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Taking It To A Whole New Level

I am taking this motherhood thing to a whole new level... of exhaustion. Cutie Pie hasn't slept through the night in two weeks. Every night while I stumble around in the dark with my wiggly little nine month old, I reach for that silver lining and think about how grateful I am for the opportunity to spend extra time with my Cutie Pie.

I used to be one of those people who needed nine hours of sleep each night to function. Heaven help the person who kept me from my sleep! When I'm tired, I fall behind on my work and the Neverending To-Do List spirals out of control. For the past week, in between midnight visits from Mr. Crankypants, I have been in grown-up-time-out in front of my desk full of paperwork.

It's amazing though. No matter how much sleep I lose, when Cutie Pie wakes up in the morning, I am right there with him. Somehow I manage to find this amazing mothering energy that keeps me up and moving all day. My husband says there must be some sort of caffeinated Mom Hormone that is released when I see Cutie Pie that allows me to chase my wild, crawling little Cutie Pie despite a lack of sleep. I don't know where I find the energy, but I'm glad to have it. Heaven help ME if I were to doze off, leaving him unsupervised.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

The Party is Over

"Ehh!" Cutie Pie rubs his eyes.

"Just try to keep him up another hour."

"Ehh! Ehh!" More eye rubbing.

Cutie Pie is giving us all the classic signs that he is exhausted. If we ignore him, he is sure to let us know his displeasure. He obviously needs to go to bed. The only problem is that this scene played out at a wedding, shortly after dinner was served. I never got to dance with my husband. I didn't even get to see the cake. My night was over. The boss said so.

Da Da and I had to leave our friends and family. While they celebrated, we slowly trudged back to our room with Cutie Pie. When people tell you having a baby is like being grounded 24/7, they aren't kidding.

Cutie Pie was asleep within minutes. The only high point of the evening was when Cutie Pie's Uncle took pity on us and delivered a slice of wedding cake.

I felt incredible guilt for leaving early with little Cutie Pie. I am one of those people who always stays to the end of the reception, sending off my loved ones in a shower of birdseed or rose petals or bubbles or whatever. I didn't want to be perceived as rude for leaving so early but I didn't want anyone to get upset with me for ruining the reception with my screaming baby. Cutie Pie didn't care if Mommy felt guilty, he was sleepy and making sure he got to bed was all that mattered. Being a responsible parent is no fun.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

Nine Months!?

Cutie Pie reached another milestone yesterday. He is nine months old. I don't know how it is possible to love him any more than I did on the day he was born but I do.

Da Da and I are reminded all the time just how lucky we are to have such an easy baby. I like to hold my Cutie Pie and think about how "easy" he is at one in the morning when I am sitting in the rocking chair, pretending to be patient and trying not to fall asleep.

Happy 9 months Cutie Pie!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

RV to the Rescue!

Last weekend, we traveled to a destination wedding in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. As we prepared for our trip, Cutie Pie tried to sabotage our plans by developing yet another nasty cold. The night before we were set to leave on our marathon car ride, Cutie was stayed up coughing and crying. It soon became apparent that traveling was not in the cards.

At eight months of age it is not developmentally appropriate to take an eight hour car trip. Any parent who disagrees with me is crazy. That's right, I said it. Cutie Pie is an active little guy. He wants to be crawling and practicing his walking skills at every waking moment. He can hardly sit still to eat! We knew that trying to strap him in a car seat for a long period of time was going to be hell on wheels. When Cutie Pie added the illness to the equation, we decided the trip just wasn't meant to be.

Then Cutie Pie's Papa offered to let us use his RV for the trip. Sure gas would be expensive, but seeing our friend get married in the mountains would be priceless. Taking the RV was the perfect solution. Cutie Pie was able to interact with everyone during the trip, which meant he stayed entertained and happy, mostly.

Cutie Pie seemed to enjoy his first big road trip. It was really neat to watch him stare out at the mountains for the first time and play in the creek where I once played as a child. The wedding was great and the bride was beautiful. What a great weekend!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

All Done!

"Alright Cutie Pie are you ready to eat? "

"All Done!"

"What? You're all done?"

"All Done!"

"OK. If you say so." I put the spoon and bowl away.

"Aaah!" Cutie Pie reaches for the food. "All Done!"

I'm starting to think that Cutie Pie doesn't know what "All Done" means. We were so proud of him when he started signing. "All Done" isn't a real sign but the kids in our family are taught to put their arms in the air to express that they are through eating. It seemed like a good idea to me so we began teaching Cutie Pie this easy sign.

After just a few weeks, he seemed to show us his sign for "All Done" at the end of his meals. I was so proud when I told his Teachers at school about my super intelligent baby and I asked them to please reinforce his signing when he eats in the classroom. We really thought we were getting somewhere. But in the last few days, Cutie Pie has been signing "All Done" and saying "Ah Duh!" right away when he sits down to eat. Then when we stop feeding him, he gets upset! Oh well. At least he knows to say "All Done" at meals.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Not so fast, Mommy!

Every now and then I feel a glimmer of hope that I just might be OK at this whole Mom thing. Just when I start to gain a little confidence and walk a little straighter, Cutie Pie says "Not so fast, Mommy!" BAM! He reminds me who is really in charge of our household.

This morning, Cutie Pie woke up earlier than usual. No worries. That just gave me more time to spend with him before school. He played while I got ready for work and I enjoyed playing peek a boo in between brushing my teeth and looking for my shoes. It was so easy, I felt like I had conquered motherhood.

In my blissfully confident state, I left Cutie Pie to play with his toys in the living room while I quickly ran to the other room to pack my files into my bag. I heard some banging but I figured he was just playing with his favorite stacking toys again. I walked back into the living room after leaving him alone for maybe thirty seconds. In that short time, he had made a bee-line for the dog bowls. In my unrealistic and downright cocky state, I had neglected to remove them from reach. Cutie Pie had poured water all over the kitchen and was in the process of sprinkling dog food into the puddle he had created. I grabbed the broom and swept up the soggy dog food while Cutie Pie splashed on the kitchen floor. When he saw me pick up the food in the dust pan, he cried like I had ruined his day.

Cutie Pie became Mr. Crankypants when I changed him into dry clothes and I realized that my early riser was already in need of a nap. He fell asleep five minutes before it was time to walk out the door. I decided it was better to be a little late than to awaken the Master of the House so I let him rest for a bit while I enjoyed the great luxury of packing the car in peace.

Just when I thought I was getting control over my life again, Cutie Pie let me know who's boss.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com