Playing nice

Today when Mommy dropped me off at daycare, she sat me down next to Tyler. As she was putting my bottles and food in the fridge, she noticed that I was taking Tyler's toy. She took my hand off Tyler's toy, handed me three new ones, and continued what she'd been doing. As soon as her back was turned, I reached over and took his toy. Mommy was not happy. Usually Tyler whines when he doesn't like something (not being fed, someone not paying attention to him, the wrong person looking at him), but he didn't do anything today. He just let me take the toy without putting up a fight. Sucker.

Dirty hobo baby

Life is so hard for me right now. Not only do I look like a dirty hobo, but I'm forced to eat cell phones for nourishment.

Bad hair day, or Harper family curse?

Mommy's maternal grandpa was nicknamed "Curly." Half of his kids had curly hair (including Grandma), and half didn't. The straight-haired kids had straight-haired kids, who in turn had straight-haired kids. Of the curly-haired kids, about half of their kids were curly-haired, and the other half were straight-haired (Mommy has curly hair; Uncle Kyle doesn't). So, Mommy knows there's a 50-50 chance of me going either way. My hair is kinda curly when it's wet, so Mommy's holding out hope. This is what my hair looked like today.

And this is Mommy at about the same age.

So, will I get the Harper family curse as well????

Sitting up

When Mommy came in to get me this morning, I was sitting up in my crib, pacifier in my mouth, grinning at her. This is the first time she's seen me sit up by myself, and she and Daddy were so proud!

We knew this day would come.

Mommy knew this day would come. She told people about it, but they wouldn't believe her. Well, it's happened.
I'd just like to say, in my defense, that the cats eat my Cheerios, so why shouldn't I eat their food? It's all about reciprocity, baby. Reciprocity.

L'il' playa

Let me preface this entry by saying that Mommy and Daddy are really confused by my taste in music, as neither of them are big on the whole pop culture thing. Anyway.

Mommy and I both like fish but Daddy doesn't, so since he was out with his geeks last night Mommy decided to make that delicious gormet staple, tuna and noodle casserole. We went to the grocery store to get the ingredients (tuna, noodles, and cream of mushroom soup), as well as a few other things. While there, I flirted like I normally do: with older or pretty women. Seriously. If you're male or unattractive, I will ignore you as if you're not even there (unless you're male and with your wife, or unless you start playing with me). I grinned and smiled and cooed and generally had a good time, until this kinda scary looking old woman came over and said hi. I started crying! I have NEVER cried when someone said hi. Mommy told her that I needed a nap, but I didn't! I needed to get away from her!

On the way home, Mommy turned on the radio for me to listen to, and I heard the song "Pon de Relay" by Rihanna. I started singing (screeching) along, so when we got home Mommy got the song off iTunes for me to listen to again. Here's a video of me dancing (sorry the sound's so bad, but you don't really want to hear that song anyways).

I also really like Shakira's Spanish cd, which Liliana-at-daycare's dad listens to in the morning sometimes. And the fiddle music played on NPR's Back Porch Music show. Go figure. I'll also dance if Mommy or Daddy sings something catchy enough. I can't wait till I'm a few years older and can go clubbin'!

I feel like croup

I just had my first experience with croup, and it was nasty! I woke up Monday night (Tuesday morning?) at 2:00 AM coughing and crying and barking like a seal. Daddy sat with me in the steam-filled bathroom while Mommy called the doctor. The triage nurse said to use the humidifier, elevate my head, and call back if I got worse. We went back to sleep but were back up at 5:00 when I was coughing and wheezing again. Mommy and Daddy were really scared because I was arching my back, gasping for breath, making the stridor sound, and unable to focus my dilated eyes on anything. Fortunately, right as we were about to leave for the ER, I snapped out of it. We went to the doctors' office as soon as it opened, and the nice doctor said that it was a virus going around that caused it. They used the nebulizer on me again, which I HATED. The doctor said that since I had RSV when I was so little, I'd probably wheeze every time I have a respiratory infection. (And since Daddy had nasty asthma as a kid, I probably would too.) He gave me steroids to keep my throat open and instructed Mommy and Daddy that I was to be spoiled rotten while I was sick! I was supposed to watch TV all day, eat ice cream and popsicles, and do whatever I wanted. My wheezing got worse whenever I was upset, so they were supposed to do whatever it took to keep me calm and happy. Yesterday was so much fun! Fortunately today I'm pretty much back to normal - no wheezing or even snoring overnight - so I'm back to daycare.

Mommy thinks it's her fault that I got sick, because she was talking to one of her coworkers and told her that I probably wouldn't get sick again until cold and flu season this fall. Mommy needs to remember what the gods do to people with too much hubris!

First school pictures!

A couple weeks ago, some guy came to daycare and took our pictures. Aren't I a cutie?

Mood swings

I'm generally a happy baby. I like being silly.But watch out, because I can throw tantrums with the best of them, especially if I'm forced to do something I don't want to do!

Six little babies, sitting in a row

We went on another playdate Saturday, at Tiffany and Rosco's house. There were lots of people there! I was a little hesitant to play at first, what with all the strangers and noise, but my desire to play with different toys won out and I was okay. Shortly before we left all the babies were piled on the couch for a picture. From left to right, it's Devin, Dylan, me, Nathan, Rosco, and Jaekob. (Click on the picture to see it fullsize.) Aren't we cute!

Banishment, part II

You may remember that a couple months ago I was banished from bathing in the kitchen sink. Well, I've been banished from my baby tub now as well. I'm too big for it, plus I squirm around and try to get out of it. And, quite frankly, Mommy and Daddy are concerned about how much bath water I drink while in it. So, no more baby tub. I tried being in the big tub, but I was still all wiggly (trying to catch my ducks and climb out of the tub), and I kept falling over and bumping my head or getting a faceful of water. Obviously I'm too little for the big tub, but too big for the little tub. What to do? A laundry basket! David at daycare gets baths like this, so Mommy and Daddy decided to try it. It works pretty well, and it's cheaper than getting a baby bath seat that I'll probably only use for a month or two. I can easily grab my ducks, eat bubbles, and squirm around without bumping my head. I can even try to climb out!Now, if I could just figure out a way to drink the water...

Independence!

I'm eating just about everything these days, including whatever Mommy and Daddy are having (I had my first real meal on the Fourth of July at Dale's Indian Restaurant - chicken masala with rice!). So now I've decided that if I'm going to eat the same food, I'm going to eat it the same way - myself! Last weekend at lunch, I grabbed the spoon from Mommy, and the food off the spoon (Mommy's Greek leftovers - rice and lamb with tzatziki sauce), and fed myself. Mommy tried to get the spoon back but soon realized the futility of her efforts, so she gave in and let me feed myself. Boy did I make a mess! Saucy rice is not something that should be eaten with your hands.
Mommy couldn't stop laughing at the rice stuck to my nose, which made me laugh, which made Mommy laugh more, which made me laugh more.... All meals should be this fun!
We learned our lesson by dinner though, and so I fed myself cooked carrots and potatoes while wearing only a bib and diaper. Mommy has been letting me feed myself at dinner from now on, as well as giving me whatever her and Daddy are eating. I'll stick to spoonfed baby food at daycare as long as that will last.
And here's one last picture of me eating. This time it's a breadstick. I have a feeling this is the last time I'll be eating on a carpeted area for a long, long time.

Response to "Motion!" comments

Mommy and Daddy have changed their plans and now have to babyproof the whole house pretty much immediately because I:

1. rolled/squirmed my way under my crib and played with my diapers and the bag they came in before mean Mommy took them away.
2. tried to eat seasons 1, 2, and 3 of the Father Ted DVDs after mean Mommy took away Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
3. started eyeing stuff foolishly left on the living room coffee table.
4. tried to climb out of the bathtub (but ended up just licking the side instead), just to show that I'm ready to move!

Look out, trouble, because here I come!

Motion!

I crawled tonight, but I didn't like it. I fussed and tantrummed the whole time. For some silly reason that she'll regret later, Mommy wants me to crawl. I can do it, but I don't want to. So tonight, Mommy kept moving my Cheerios away from me so I'd have to crawl to get them. I like Cheerios, so I did it. Not too far, just a couple inches. But it's still crawling!

Monkey pox

As you may remember, I had a really bad fever on Wednesday - 103 degrees! The pool cooled me off a little bit, but I was still hot all night, so Mommy and I went to the doctor Thursday morning (our doctors' office is really nice and has sick baby walk-in visits every morning from 8-9). We sang our "Going to the Doctors'" song on the way there:

Goin' to the doctors and they're gonna make me better.
Goin' to the doctors and they're gonna make me better.
Goin' to the doctors, for Jax.

(Mommy likes changing the words to songs so they're about me.)

I was 100.2 degrees when I got to the doctors' office, so the nice guy we saw said that it was most likely just a virus and I was fine to go to daycare. When Mommy dropped us off, my teacher told her that two of the three other babies also had high fevers, so it was probably something going around.
Today when Mommy and Daddy dropped me off, they noticed that I was covered in red spots and thought that I had the chicken pox! They knew I couldn't stay at daycare if I was contagious, so Mommy went in to let them know what was going on. My teacher pointed to another little baby who was covered in a red rash and spots just like me but worse, and told Mommy that I have roseola. Apparently when you have it you get a really high, unexplained fever (which is when you're contagious). After it goes down, you get lots of pretty spots and rashes and you say, "Oh, looks like it was roseola." It doesn't hurt at all, and all the spots will go away without leaving a mark.

Despite that, Daddy had to get me early from daycare because I was running a slight fever, and then he had to get Mommy from work too because that's what you need to feel better when you're a sick baby. I've been a bit of a fussbutt tonight, but Mommy and Daddy are trying to overlook it because I'm sick. The rash (and fussiness!) should be gone in a day or two.

Hide-and-seek

Roll, roll, roll your Jax
All across the floor!

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Then we roll some more.

Here I am playing hide-and-seek with Daddy in my bedroom. Under the bed is the best place to hide.

Shhhh! Don't tell him where I am!
Give up? Here I am! I win!

Pool party!

I was running a bit of a fever today, so Mommy and Daddy decided the best way for me to cool off quickly was to go swimming in my baby pool. They set it up on our new screened-in deck (which is almost done; it just needs to be painted) so I was in the shade.

My duckies came out and swam with me. The cool water felt so nice! I can't wait to do this again this weekend. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by then!

Stand in the place where you are

Look what I can do!

Mommy and Daddy finally convinced me to stand. I don't really like it - I prefer sitting down or curling into a ball - and I can't do it for very long, but with all the practice they're forcing on me, I know I'll get better quickly! And then I'll start pulling up and getting into everything (I'm trying to reach the TV remote in the picture) and making huge messes, and they'll wish I never started. I like being the baby.