Area mom reports child to have psychic powers, possibly Devil-given

SOMEWHERE UPSTATE, New York - Local mother Sarah W., mother to Graham, 7 months, has reported her child to have previously undiscovered psychic abilities, prominent especially during the sleeping hours. Sarah confirms that "as soon as [she] even think[s] his name, he wakes up and cries. It's freakish."

Independent corroboration of said abilities comes from Graham's father, Joe, who adds "The boy can read my mind, and is determined to kill me." Both parents suffer from teething-induced sleep deprivation.

the mad dash

I guess not so much a mad dash as it is a slow(ish) scoot.

Graham is getting more and more mobile every day. And now every few minutes he'll pop his knees up underneath him and very wobbly-style, push his head and chest up. Of course, that lasts about a second and a half, and PLOOF! The belly flops back on the floor and the legs shoot out behind him. He's VERY proud of himself.

He's also been super flirty upon waking up from his naps. I'll come in to his room, and he'll smile wide, shove his head down, and do, essentially, a downward facing dog that obviously he can't sustain, so it turns into a roll into his crib bumper. And then this sly smile of "I am soooooo cute, Mama!" erupts. It's ridonkulously adorable.

the proof is in the photo

Remember how I said we were committed to family outings every weekend? Look, we did it again! We stopped off at the fish hatchery to let Graham gaze at the lovely trout. However, about 3 hot (literally) seconds into our family outing, this conversation took place:

sarah

Wow. It's like, super humid and muggy. 

joe

Yeah, this is horrible. Let's go.

sarah

Umm, well....uh? family? outing? 

Yeah, let's go.

It was short, but hey, we got out. And there were fish. And Graham was mystified by said fish. So I count it as a successful trip.

p.s. I just realized that blogger broke every single one of the old pictures in the blog. Foops! That is a serious rainy day project to fix them (it looks like blogger thinks they all came from the web instead of mah very own computer, thank you very much) but I will try to get to it soon. Because who knows when you will be jonesing for early March Graham? He was cute! Oh, and don't even get me started on mid-June Graham. To die for.

does every parent have a picture like this?

I mean, I think it's some universal urge, to make your kid into Alfalfa at least once. Right? And then we die laughing from The Cuteness.

Graham's doing really well. He has figured out that The Lady That Gives Me Milk and I are the same person, which is ridiculously cute to see. Although it has been affecting his feedings before bedtime, because now in the middle of feeding, he will break off, study my face for a moment, and then break into this huge grin as if to say "You!!! I didn't think YOU would be here! SWEET." And it's adorable, and awesomely gratifying, but it's hard to get him to go back to eating and be all calm and chill after this great realization has occurred.

family outing

Joe and I have been struggling with weekends lately. Or, you know, since we had a baby. It feels like we are constantly just trading Graham back and forth while we get errands done that didn't get did during the week, or what have you. We almost never get around to doing something together, all three of us, that isn't an errand or a chore. So! We committed to doing that this weekend and took a drive today up to the shore of our very own Great Lake. The G-ster loved it. He sat in the sand, he ate the sand, he smooshed the sand in his diaper. Then to wash off the sand, he got popped in the lake, which he...uhh...tolerated, I guess. Photo evidence of said family fun below!                                                                                       

oh my goodness oh my goodness

Friends! I am SORRY! It has been forEVER, no? Honestly, there's no good reason why I haven't updated recently. Graham is good, life is fine, Joe and I are just trying to grow up. And man, that's exhausting, isn't it? Our nights have been taken up with, you know, remembering to take the trash out (and even the recycling!), or playing around with a budget, or laundry. Never-ending laundry. And dishes! Did I mention dishes? We're doing them! It's new! I know!

Anyway, Graham is lovely. He's launched himself over some sort of developmental milestone in which the whining (thanks be) has stopped, and he's just so happy, aware, and communicative all the time. And yesterday, I had my first "oh boy, I can't just put you down and walk away anymore, can I?" moment. I put him down on his playmat, turned to do a few dishes, and when I turned back, he was OFF THE RESERVATION, i.e. in the living room. Ha ha! Perhaps it is time for what they call the babyproofing. Is that in the budget?

oye

You know those weeks that just feel like a rock you cannot crawl out from underneath? Or, like, a giant log...or, OR! maybe, you know, like a really heavy wool blanket that you can't kick off that's all itchy and smelly and, I dunno, maybe wet? Yeah, this week has been like that.

First, we were sick. And luckily Joe escaped it, but G and I have been trading snotties back and forth. Then, it was all just minor stuff, like trying to get rid of the fruit fly infestation in our kitchen, or wading through lots of bills and mail we hadn't thought about recently. Then, this morning, as I was starting to put Graham in his bouncy chair, I heard a string of cursing coming from the porch. And lo, someone stole Joe's bike. Again.

Let me just say for as much as Joe makes fun of my (lack of) powers of observation, neither one of us is cut out for the private detecting business. Because while we spent ten minutes this morning figuring out that you could push really hard on the porch door and make it pop open even when locked (a useful observation, probably one that we will want to correct), I did not notice the holes cut in the window screen until the nice police officer pointed them out. So some tool put a chair up under our window, cut the screen, opened the window, jumped in, and then let himself out with the bike, helpfully leaving the door propped open. When I called Joe at work to tell him about the window, he said "God! That's a lot of effort! Didn't he realize you can just pop the door open?" I married the man for the funny, and I have yet to be disappointed.

Anyway, we're pissed about the bike, but what can you do? There's a lot of people in our neighborhood who really need a bike, and clearly, they really needed a bike. There's no point in trying to make a homeowner's insurance claim (the deductible is almost the same amount we paid for the bike), and really, would we press charges if the fingerprints actually matched a guy? (They actually came and fingerprinted the place! It was like the world's most tame version of CSI: Upstate New York. Wait, is that redundant?) So, no bikes for us, I guess.

There have been some bright and shiny moments this week, though. Graham turned seven months old on Monday. Seven! Somehow that feels really old to me, like he is closer to being a toddler than a baby. He can now do the following:

• Sit up by himself (mostly. I'm going to give it to him, even though he falls a lot. He usually falls because he is reaching for the very very exciting toy that is a leeetle too far in front of him.)
  
• Skooch on his belly all over the darn place (he figured out how to dig in his toes this week)
  
• Eat lots of exciting things like peaches and pears and peas and sweet potatoes and avocado and oatmeal and apples and the peaches, he is very excited about the peaches
  
• Scream really loud when he's happy
  
• Scream really loud when he's mad
  
• Blow lots of spit bubbles
  
• Play with his guitar

And lots of other cool stuff. I think, as I have been assured by many moms, that we are turning the corner into more and more fun. Bikeless fun, but fun nonetheless.

Blech

My mom is sending me photos of the weekend sometime soon, and so again there will be Graham photos. And weekend away details. But for now, I am sick with the little cold that G had. At least, it was little when he had it. I feel like stinky poops warmed over.

The word on the street is that Graham was an absolute delight for the village of caretakers this weekend. He had great-aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpa, and even great-grandma and great-grandpa, all looking out for his every need. Kind of a letdown to come back to a mommy who is having a hard time launching herself off the couch and is trying (not always successfully) to not sneeze in your face, eh, bubba? I know, I know. 

Allllllllllllll BYYYYYYYYYYYYYY my-sellll-el-el-fff

Apologies for the lack of posting yesterday. My parents are in the area this weekend, and they took my baby. (pause for the dramatic effect)

In point of fact, they heard the desperation in my voice and very nicely offered to take Graham for the weekend. So G is living the high life with his grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-aunt and uncle, and Joe and I are trying to relax and maybe even re-connect. Since we are, you know, married. There's a piece of paper with MCat's name on it that says so.

Anyway, back with more baby hijinks on Monday!