A look back

I don't remember ever seeing this picture before... but there it was in the archives. Doesn't Ian look full of thought? He was 7 days old.

Tangerine Snitch

Ian has a special interest in tangerines. Over Christmas, Ian pulverized more than one innocent citrus fruit with his bare hands. Today, he stole a half-peeled tangerine from my bedside table while I walked across the room. He managed to stuff several sections into his mouth and was clenching several more in each fist. He was so focused on the deed that he didn't even realize that he was standing unassisted for several milliseconds. I know he's not supposed to have citrus for another few months, but it was obviously very important to him. So I took pictures instead of taking the fruit away.

"I'm really eating it mom.... aren't you going to stop me?"

"Ah! What IS this stuff? Is this a trick?!"

"Hmmmm. Maybe it's not so bad."

"Are you going to eat yours?"

"Are you sure it's really all gone? Darn."

Here is the Cutie

I am going to stop moping about losing all my links now. So, we are back to our regularly scheduled update on the Cutest Kid Alive.

Ian really, really, really likes blueberries. And we have a stockpile of them in our freezer. Remember this? It is getting close enough to blueberry-picking season once more, so now I don't feel the need to be so stingy with what we have. Looks like we will have lots of purple stained faces in the weeks to come.

These pictures were really fun to take, because Ian suddenly seemed to catch on to smiling when I said "one, two, three!" I don't know when he figured it out, but Ian is smiling and looking at the camera in every single picture I took at bath time tonight!

Ian's eyes are an interesting color. Friends and strangers frequently comment on how Ian's eyes aren't quite blue, but aren't quite green or brown either. They are beautiful.

Scott made this German pancake last Saturday. It baked up above the sides of the pan like castle walls, and then promptly collapsed when we went to get the camera. Really cool looking and incredibly tasty.

Part of the fun of homeownership is the ability to burn stuff in your own back yard, even if it just your nasty old leaves.

Sad Day

I decided it was time to upgrade our blog template after seeing my mom's hot new blog. However, in doing so, all my blog links and sidebar pictures were erased. I guess that is what I get for chasing beauty.

Fortunately, I had followed this advice earlier that morning, so I didn't "lose" all the links.

Does anyone know how to keep the links and pictures next time I change our template?

Our Little Tarzan

This is what Ian's PJs looked like when I got him up this morning. Silly kid. I bet he was chilly!

These cute snowman PJs came from my cousin Tara who lives near by us. Cute, huh?

Thanks, Pookie!

I have the best sister ever. On Monday, a surprise package from Allison arrived with nice sisterly messages scrawled all over the box, and with my most favorite Trader Joe's treats inside. And just in time! We had been rationing the Joe Joes remaining from our stockings and were nearly out! I gave Ian the package of delicious CA almonds while I slathered myself in the BEST product, Kiss My Face peaches n' cream lotion. Oooohhhh. I love it. And look at all the other stuff she sent! Hurray! This will tide me over until TJ's finally honors my written request to built a store in my neighborhood. Or at least until my next trip to CA. Thanks, Pook!

The Goods

Ian scoping out The Goods.
The green soap she sent is Lemon Verbena. The very kind of soap we enjoyed while staying a night Chez Browns!

A second package also arrived on Monday. My sweet Mom sent me a cell phone to replace my current phone, which is commonly considered possessed. It is SO nice to have a phone that doesn't go all snowy and unpredictable whenever I adjust the volume. Thanks, Mom!

Ewww

I expected that motherhood would instantly come with a higher tolerance for nasty things--like spit-up, exploding diapers, oozy green boogers... but my new theory is that moms can handle nasty stuff better than non-moms because they have been subjected to it all that many more times... I guess it takes a while to build up that kind of tolerance.

So when Ian tossed his cookies (green bean and oatmeal, actually) yesterday at church, ALL over my adorable Sunday clothes (Merry Christmas to me from Scott), I nearly tossed mine too. This was no infant reflux / immature esophagus problem. It was all-out adult-like barf. And all over every article of my clothing as well as his. It was so loud that heads turned in our direction from across the room, and so pervasive people near us leaned out of the way. And in the middle of a reverent meeting. It really is too bad that motherhood doesn't come with that instant tolerance for nasty things, because in the aftermath of the barf, instead of springing to action to clean it up, I was trying not to gag.

But you know what does come instantly with motherhood? The Mom Sorority. You get instant admittance just by giving birth. And from that moment on, women around the world will jump to your aid in moments like the one I just described. So while the novice mom that I am attempted not to gag, another women took Ian from me, another rounded up baby wipes, another gathered Ian's toys into my diaper bag so we could make a quick escape, and yet another met me in the hall with a fist-full of wet paper towels. And this gal, ever coming to my aid in moments of peril, wiped Ian down and held him while I assessed the damage in the ladies' restroom mirror. Thank goodness for the Mom Sorority.

We sat in the car (with the windows rolled down mind you) until church ended 10 minutes later.

These pictures were taken after a less exciting day at church last summer.

Toffee Overload

Before Christmas, Scott and I decided to make toffee for all of his co-workers and for an excuse to go around and meet the families in our neighborhood. 24 batches of toffee later... I looked less enthusiastic than I did while making this first batch.

Fortunately subsequent batches set up better than this one did. Using a candy thermometer made a world of difference. We finally bought THE LAST THERMOMETER ON EARTH after searching 7 different stores one Saturday. It was worth it.

That silly raffia stained my hands.

And when we stacked all the boxes, we realized it also left two large red stains on the carpet where I was assembling the boxes. That was much worse than silly. Even that old standby, Spot Shot, won't get it out.

Weight Limits?

Scott will always be the "fun" one because of stunts like this.
And this.

The Importance of Socks

Ian was climbing up the wall while I was doing the dishes. He had a sock stuffed in his mouth and would climb down and replace it whenever it fell out of his mouth.

9 Months (almost)

Ian already had his 9-month well check, so we will just pretend he has reached the 9-month milestone, though it isn't for a few more days...

Here are the stats:
Weight: 19 lbs. 9 oz., 25% (how did this happen?!)
Height: 28 1/4", 50%
Head: 17 3/4, 45%

So, our chubby baby is no longer off the charts. And actually, he lost weight since his last appointment. He also hasn't gained more than a pound or so in the last 5 months, and babies typically gain steadily during that period of time. Therefore the Dr. wants Ian to come in next month for a "weight check" to make sure he's doing Okay. She did say Ian looks incredibly healthy, so this is just a precaution. Often larger babies turn into their "actual selves" about 6-9 months, which is probably what Ian is doing. It is very strange to see him below the 50th percentile though.

The pediatrician kept remarking that Ian could do all kinds of things that he "wasn't old enough" to be doing. What a little show-off he is. :) Many of these skill emmerged while we were on our CA trip.

About a month ago, Ian starting giving "high fives". He will do it for strangers and friends alike, and he seems to get a pretty big kick out of it. While in CA, Ian started clapping! When we say "clap, clap, clap" he'll perform his talent. He also likes to clap while he's nursing. I appreciate knowing he likes the meal. He also began to use crawling to explore his surroundings, not just to chase after cell phones. And once he figured that out, he hasn't sat still. Ian also seemed to figure out what "dad" is. While eating dinner with friends one night, he looked at Scott and suddenly began stammering "dad!" with extra staccato on the last "d". Scott and I were thrilled. Ian is also mastering turning off light switches, and can locate and point to switches in the room. He often points to things that he wants, and grunts. (His "pointing" looks like the ASL sign for "k", but with the fingers curled in a little. He always does it like that.) Ian also mimics some of the phrases we say regularly. We think he is brilliant. :)


A few days ago I left Ian in his room while I walked down the hall to put a load of laundry in. I returned no more than 60 seconds later to find he had pulled nearly half his baby wipes out, one at a time. He pulled the rest out while I went and got my camera. :)

Holidays in California

Even though we were sick, and managed to get everyone else sick, we had a great time at the Ogden house in CA. Santa sure rewarded Ian for being such a good boy this year. Scott and I must have been good too because we were sure spoiled on Christmas day! Most of all, it was just nice to be around family and loved ones back in the Bay Area, including my grandparents who were visiting from Lake Havasu, AZ. We sure wish we could have seen the Larsons as well this year. We miss you guys!

Actual Christmas pictures are on a CD someplace, and will be coming soon. Until then, here are some pictures of daily life at my parents place. We had so much fun hanging out with everyone, and everyone offered lots of help taking care of Ian. I uploaded so many pictures for this post that I don't want to bother organizing them in any kind of sequence... but here they are, at long last nonetheless.

On New Year's eve, we took a drive with my parents to China Camp, a former fishing village that has expanded into a lush and wooded campground. It was green and gorgeous!

This picture is at the San Francisco Bay, where Chinese immigrants fished shrimp in the late 1800's. The fisherman would sell some shrimp locally, then dry and send about 90% of the catch to China. At the time, the Chinese faced discrimination there and across the nation and were not allowed to vote. Locals were uncomfortable with the quickly growing population of Chinese immigrants, and environmentalists were concerned that the shrimping methods were damaging the environment. Eventually the community passed laws making it nearly impossible for the Chinese to continue life there, and without the ability to vote, the immigrants were powerless to stop them. Some of these laws included making it a crime to dry shrimp(how they justified that is a mystery), which left the Chinese without the ability to export shrimp as well as to eat they way they were accustomed to. Today the land is maintained by descendants of the original shrimp fisherman. A neat museum is set up in one of the old buildings.

The campground and trails were farther inland, and were fun to explore.

My mom waving from the inside of a giant tree.

Ian and grandpa
New PJs

One morning Ian kept gagging and making odd gurggly noises. Ian was safely in his carseat in the hallway, and I figured he couldn't be getting into anything, and we were racing around on our way to meet Allison and Jason for breakfast, so I kept my eye on him and didn't think much else about it.

On the way to the restaurant however, Ian yawned and revealed an entire leaf, including a stem, sitting on his tongue! How he got it while in his carseat and indoors is uncertain, but it sure explained all the gagging! See how fondly Ian is looking at the leaf?

Breakfast with the gang. I ate the best turkey and bacon sandwich ever.

Ian is just starting to sit in a restaurant high chair. He loves it!

Bath time. He really liked splashing in my parents baby tub. He didn't like having his crusty, green nose whipped, however. Yes, it was green and yucky the whole time we were there.

One of my favorite pictures from the whole trip.

It seemed like everyone fought for a chance to feed Ian. I guess it is rewarding to feed such an eager eater! Ian especially liked it when auntie Allison sang him "Slippery Fish" at mealtimes.

Too much yellow squash?

My loyal friend, Connor. He slept through most of my visit, but we did our share of catching up as well.

Scott and I went on a DATE! Without Ian! Other than Scott's work Christmas party (which we got our first teenage babysitter for), this was the first time Scott and I went on a date without Ian since Ian's birth. I never would have guessed it would take almost 9 months for that to happen. My parents watched Ian all afternoon and evening one Saturday, and Scott and I enjoyed some romantic adult time out on the town. We road the trolley and wandered around swanky downtown Walnut Creek, went ice skating, dined next to a warm fire at the fancy Il Fornaio, window shopped (he really loves me!) and held hands and made lovey eyes at each other all night long, without ever needing to hurry home before Ian's bedtime. It was glorious to spend some time with my sweet Scott.