Reunited, and it feels so 1985

Your mom was bursting with the news about her high school reunion. June 5, 2010. 25 years! I did a little digging and found out that mine is in October 2010. 25 years! 1985 seems so far away and high school is a but a faded, distant memory. We went to two of her class reunions but none of mine. Today I actually registered on an alumni site to keep up with mine because I think I finally want to go to one. The website was pretty interesting. It had our senior pictures online for all the world to see along with a bit of information about what everyone has been doing since then. The pictures of my classmates seemed like some kind of time capsule, everyone trapped just the way I remember them in a mid-1980's cool pose. Then I read some of my classmates current bios and screeched forward to the present time. Some of the people we graduated with have kids in college! Some are even grandparents! Here we are with you not even having cut your first tooth yet. We probably have the youngest child of our classmates. I think we can count on you to keep us young while the rest of the class of 1985, how shall I say it, ahem, matures and grows old gracefully. We will grow old kicking and screaming while hauling you off to music lessons, swim practice, birthday parties, church stuff, and anything else your little heart desires. Nothing graceful about that but the reward will be worth the cost and effort, no matter how undignified we appear in the process.

Thrill Jockey

I hope that you don't become too much of an adrenaline junkie. If you do it is entirely our fault. It will probably lead to a lifetime mantra of Faster, Daddy! Faster! We like to keep you in motion. It seems to help you settle down. I guess all that walking your mom did when she was carrying you is where it really all began. You have always liked to be moving. A baby on the go. When it is time for a nap we put you in your swing in the living room. You just move your little head around to the side in your cozy spot, rub those eyes, get in tune to the back and forth motion of the swing, and go to sleep. When we put you in the swing I count down silently from five to zero. By the time I get to one the motion of the swing has usually carried you away off to dreamtime. Now could this be the start of jumping out of airplanes, snowboarding, surfing, race car driving, bungee-jumping, rollercoaster riding or any thrill seeking activity to get your adrenaline rushing? If it is, and you become some kind of thrill jockey later in life, we can always say that you started young.

SuperGirl!

We caught you trying to become an infant superhero this week. You had your bib going behind your back like a cape. I guess you were becoming SuperGirl! Well, you did move up to the next class in your school this week and that required some amazing baby superpowers, didn't it? And you are going to be sitting up on your own very soon too. And you also have great natural musical abilities. You are starting to try and sing and your mom let you play some notes on the piano already. And you are a pretty great giggler, although I am not sure if this constitutes a baby superpower or not. Let's not forget about strength...and the all times you socked me in the nose and pulled my hair. You must have been just practicing for fighting bad guys. Now we just have to wait and see you spring into action in the event of an emergency. We don't have phone booths anymore so you will have to do your costume changes on the bed or on a changing pad. All that's left to do is to find the perfect Infant Superhero Theme Song. Then the bib becomes a cape and you become SUPERGIRL!

Cereal Killer

You started eating rice cereal this week and love it! Your teacher said she thought you were getting ready for it. You have also been watching how your mom and I eat with much interest lately. Your doctor said we could go ahead and try to start feeding you a little rice cereal so that is what we did. You were ready. Afterall, baby can't live by bottle alone! It wasn't exactly snap, crackle, and pop, but you seemed to enjoy it all the same. We fed you that first bite with a purple coated spoon. First you tentatively stuck out your tongue to taste it, and then decided to just go for it. Bon Appetit, baby! We gave you a few bites and then some bottle to chase it down with. You ate with gusto. You had pretty good manners too, not making too much of a mess; but then again how much of a mess can you make with just 2tablespoons worth! Just keep those manners up. We don't want you talking with your mouth full or putting your elbows on the highchair or anything like that.

4 Glow Worms Glowing

Who would have thought that Glow Worms would have made such a comeback? I never had one as a child but they were popular once upon a time. Our friends and family must have had lots of nosalgia for them because you got 4 of them for Christmas this year. The good thing is that they are all different. Two seahorses and two glow worm babies. The even better thing is that you seem to really like themand with 4 of them around, there is always one at hand whenever you need one. We have a seahorse glow worm in your bassinet in our room, a glow worm baby in your bed, a glow worm baby downstairs, and a seahorse glow worm in your room reserved for take-a-longs. You like the lullabies that they play, and your face just lights up when they start glowing. Your favorite is the one downstairs that has big blue eyes. I like the seahorse that is in your bassinet. I'm going to incorporate them in the Twelve Days Of Christmas next year. I'll sing "4 Glow Worms Glowing!" Glow worms are such soothing, happy relaxing things. I could just push the button on one and chill myself.

Days and Nights

You have been doing so well at sleeping through the night that I hate to brag on you for fear of jinxing this. You haven't been sleeping as much at school either but I don't think that has anything to do with it. I think you are just growing up and settling down. This little pattern has also kept you in a really good mood too. So pleasant to be around. Most mornings you get really cozy as I take you to school and try to fall asleep. It has been really, really cold so my truck has warmed up to a nice and toasty temperature by the time we are ready to leave. I try to keep you from falling asleep until we get to school so getting out of the warmth won't be such a shock to a sleeping baby. Then after we get there you stay awake about an hour and then nap for an hour or so. Then cat naps through the day but nothing like your power naps you took when you were younger. After mom picks you up in the late afternoon and we all get home you go to sleep until the time your mom and I eat dinner. Then you wake up for a while and we play. Then you falling asleep again around 8:30p.m. or so. You are so sleepy that you don't usually wake up when I change your diaper before we go to bed. Then it's lights out until around 5:30 a.m. Then it's tomorrow. And we do this all over again. Mommy appreciates the sleep. Daddy does too.

Razzberries

I am pretty sure you are growing a tooth or two. At least you are happy about it so I won't complain. Slobbery drool is pretty much a constant thing with you now and anything article of clothing directly below your chin is usually wet with it. Bringing Shakespear down to your level, "To bib, or not to bib; that is the question!" If we have you covered with a blanket, it is certain to become a wet blanket. Blame it on teething and slobbering. Your cheeks have a rosy hue to them because they are getting a little chapped from us constantly wiping off this stream of saliva. The phrase "Finger Lickin' Good" has taken on an entirely new meaning. It doesn't just apply to KFC anymore, at least not when you are teething. If we aren't careful you even go for our fingers and knuckles, trying to get them into your mouth! Just wait until you discover dipping sauce or catsup! We even got you a special raspberry teething pacifier. It is really cute. The outside end is green and has leafy designs on it. The business end (the end that you put in your mouth) is red and really does look like an actual raspberry. It has bumpy texture that is supposed to help you with teething. That is what the packaging says anyway. It is a perfectly cute thing for naive, well-wishing, good-intending parents (like us) to buy. The only problem is that you aren't exactly crazy about it. I think you like to improvise and come up with your own teething tools. I have even caught you chewing on your lip and tongue sometimes when nothing else is available and all clothing, bibs, blankets, and fingers are out of reach. This morning as we were playing I caught you sticking your tongue out at me. This wasn't merely an accident or a just a fluke because you did it several times. In adults and older children they call sticking out your tongue at someone 'giving them a razzberry.' You were probably just teething, but if I didn't know better I'd say you were giving me a razzberry!

Happy New Year

We celebrated the New Year low-key this year. Usually I am up until midnight to see the old year out and usher the new one in. This year it didn't happen. No fireworks, confetti, or Times Square ball-drops for me. No Dick Clark or champagne toasts or party horns either. I was actually sleeping at midnight when it all transpired. People asked me if you were going to be up to help see the new year come in. I told them I hoped not. You were sleeping, thank goodness. The big debate is what to call this new year. 2010 can be called Twenty-Ten or Two Thousand and Ten. I'm with the first group. Afterall, it wasn't the One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twelve Overture. It was the Eighteen-Twelve Overture. We didn't party like it was One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine, we partied like it was Nineteen Ninety-Nine. They called this past decade the decade from hell. It started out with Y2K and ended with financial meltdowns. We encountered terrorism in the U.S., natural disasters, bailout programs, number one albums from the Beatles, the latest Elvis 'comeback', and wars inbetween. Still there were plenty of good times to be found if you simply looked for them. You were born in this decade afterall, so it wasn't all bad.