Boob Tube

Right now I am letting Jr. watch Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS so I can post this. I know you aren't supposed to let your kids watch TV until they are two, but it is only 30 minutes.

Anyway, in order to better serve our Baby Coleman reading public, I have returned to Youtube. The Flickr videos are slow or just won't play on some computers. Plus Youtube has cleaned up their act a little bit, and made uploading videos easier.

So TAAADAAA! FOUR NEW VIDEOS!

GI Junior

On Tuesday Jr. turned 10 months old. 10 months is great. He is a funny little person and man is he starting to get in to everything. Plus he is on the move. Although it isn't a textbook crawl, Jr. has begun to army crawl like a regular old Army Ranger. He takes off out of his room and makes it to the kitchen in no time flat.

He is working on pulling himself up. I read an article about 10 month olds and the article said that one day you will turn around and you will see your kid has pulled himself up onto some furniture and then they won't know how to get down. That is exactly what happened. I set him on the bathroom floor, went into his room to get his towel and wash cloth and when I came back around the corner, he had pulled himself up on the side of the bathtub. Now it is constant, he pulls himself up on his toybox, the side of his crib, me, chairs, dogs, the toilet. Next step walking.

He has also begun to turn off the lights for us, unplug appliances for us, unpack laundry baskets for us and help us file paperwork. He is so helpful! The finger for pointing is also SUPER effective at popping out those pesky outlet covers to protect babies from sticking things in electrical outlets. One small flick with THE FINGER and those suckers go flying.

As for a tooth update, it appears after just about three months of working on the top ones, the two front teeth have officially poked through. I feel bad for him, they look REALLY painful, but I also kind of feel bad for us.

We really need to spend this weekend childproofing. Although, I imagine that no childproofing we do will slow this kid down.

Swimmie McSwimmer

Over the valentines day Auntie Liesel came to town with her beagles. We had so much fun and Ed Sr. even took care of Jr. on Saturday night so that Liesel and I could have a special night out on the town. How did we spend our v-day date? At a fundraiser for the Lewis and Clark Humane Society. The spay-ghetti dinner and auction was a hilarious treat! Liesel lost out on an amazing ring to some H-town vest wearing short haircut sporting man lady. Boy was Liesel hot. I thought she was going to rough someone up or at least kick a tree or car. The ring was beautiful and the bullish woman hadn't bid on it ALL night only to come out in the last seconds to edge Liesel out. THE INJUSTICE! Other than the devastating loss, we had a great time and daddy and baby managed without us.

Then, on Sunday it was off to Fairmont to hang with the Moogs. It was the first time swimming for Jr. and Adrienne. Adrienne took to the water like, well, a fish to water. Jr. was not so charmed at first. He cried and cried and wouldn't make eye contact with Ed and I. He was MAD MAD MAD. So we let him chill out on the side of the pool until he was ready to come on in. Then he had a blast.

Wonder of all wonders, the two little lumpkins behaved like little angles at dinner that night. Note to self, poop them out, then take them to eat. Seriously, Jr. was quiet, played with spoons and ate potatoes, bread and grapes like such a big boy. Adrienne sacked out in her momma's arms. Then the next morning at breakfast, the same thing. The two of them both receive the BABY MVP awards for how great they were!

The second day in the pool, Jr. was a champ. He loved swimming with his daddy and let his mom get away to sit in the hot hot hot adult pool for a few minutes. Ahhhh.

It was funny because I said to Kim, gee, I bet these two get ear infections after this weekend. Well, neither of them got ear infections, but Jr. did get a little cold. Not too bad, but he does sound like a pug when he breathes out of his nose. Adrienne is fine, other than keeping her momma up all night to eat. . .

We were so excited by Jr.'s excitement of the pool, I rushed back to make reservations to get him into Aquatots at the YWCA. Keep that swimming momentum going.

Mr. Sweetness

Junior is a very busy boy. He is also a very focused and determined little man. All day long it is go go go play play play. Getting him to fall asleep is usually a wrestling match. He kicks, punches, scratches, pulls, pushes, jerks and howls to try to stay awake and when he sleeps, oh lordy he is so dreamy. Maybe that is why I love co-sleeping so much, he is so sweet and snuggly.

100 Percent

Our big boy keeps getting bigger. We took him in for his 9-month appointment today - no shots - thank GOD!

He is 24 lbs 14 oz. He is 31 1/4 inches tall. We can't remember his head circumference, but it is big. He is off the charts in height, weight and head circumference. He is in 18 month old clothes and about to jump into some of his 24 month old clothes. I keep putting away his old clothes and it makes me really sad. Some of them I just am not ready to be done with, I pass along to Adrienne or Carter. The rest will go to some of the other babies that are currently cooking away. . . No, not us.

I would say that the best thing about being 9 months is all of the fun we have. He is like a little buddy now, we have little games that we play together and he is for the most part a fun little man. He still LOVES his books. All morning long, books, books, books. He is also starting to pull himself up on things. Plus, just this week we ditched the baby bathtub.

The siege of the terrible teeth seems to be over even though they haven't broken the skin, he is much much better. In turn, Ed, Cissie and I are all breathing a sigh of relief. It is weird, you can see and feel these perfectly formed teeth just under a thin layer of skin, but they just won't poke through.

And I can't believe how long it has taken me to post this. Not too long ago I came home from work to a giant box in the living room. Not remembering anything about being an online shopper, I was worried, but NO it was the coolest baby gift of all, a rocking chair from MIL and FIL! This is not any old rocking chair, it is a rocking chair made for Marcella Schneider (1915 - 1993), Ed Jr.'s great grandmother by her father, Julius Kinatius Schneider (1889 - 1929). Apparently FIL enjoyed a little rocking when he was a young boy.

Well, Jr. already loves it! I put him in it and he rocks rocks rocks away, and frequently bangs his head on it. I love that MIL and FIL save all of these great family heirlooms and pass them down to us. It goes well with FIL's baby cup and teething ring that we have and Marcella's little handkerchief. I look forward to you telling Ed Jr. all about his great grandparents.

Thanks MIL and FIL!

Date Night

Since Ed Jr. was born people have been extolling the virtues of Date Night to me. How important it is for our marriage. How important it is for our sanity. So we finally got one in last night. Thanks to my dad and Strega Nona for babysitting!

Ed's dating skills are a little rusty. Before we even left the house, he told Ryan over the phone that yeah, he thought he could get away after a little while to watch some UFC over at his house. Strike 1.

When we got to the restaurant, I needed to adjust my initial parking job. Ed would not have it, he insisted that I had done a fine job in the first place and badgered me until I turned the car off and he got out, only to discover, that indeed it was a terrible job and I needed to re-park. Strike 2.

There was at least two checking of the voice mails and one long conversation with Artie about ice fishing. Strike Strike Strike.

It was at this point that I told him that if this was a date, it probably would have been our last.

To top off the whole evening, as we left the restaurant and got into the car, he farted. After he did it he laughed hysterically about how he had to do that for SO long. Keep in mind the walk from the restaurant to the car is at least 2-3 minutes. I was like, so you couldn't do it on the walk, you waited until you got into an enclosed space? More laughter. Strike 6.

I told him that at this point, he wouldn't even have gotten a good night kiss, that I would have jumped from a moving vehicle to get off of this date.

It is a good thing he is so handsome and the most amazing father ever. . . I will go out with him again.

He is going to be mad at me for posting this. He might not go out with me again.

Dear God The Teeth

There are at least 4 teeth pushing their way through poor baby boy's gums.

Last night he had a terrible fever, I had to strip him naked to cool him down. All night I had this fireball snuggled tight against me mummmmming in his sleep. Poor baby boy.

Today wasn't much better, he wanted to enjoy his books and toys, but nothing could make the pain to away. He would just wimper and cry. Until his bath it seemed nothing could make him happy.

He has started dancing. He rocks out to his little toys that play music and his dads singing. He wiggles and claps his hands, it is pretty much to die for.

9-Months

Happy 9 month birthday Jr.

Amazing Eliza took some beautiful photos of Jr. Here is a sample.

Our CD drive is broken on our computer, so they aren't on flickr. I am using Doo and Sheree's computer just to post these. It is a bummer. I was hoping that computer would last a bit longer. . .

So, what happens at 9 months? Still no crawling. He is army crawling, rolling and skidding across the floor. Ed is seriously worried, but I am not. He is just about to push a tooth through. You can see the bulge of a tooth. He is pretty surly.

The biggest thing is the point. He points all of the time. The finger can also be used to smash foods. He loves to point out the window at cars headlights. He also waves at his daddy, but it is way after his dad has left and can't see him wave.

6 A freaking M

Up at 6 AM. Tossing and turning all night, nursing every hour. I am running on like 45 minutes of sleep. Every time I would try to put him in his crib, he would wake from a dead sleep the second his head hit the sheets! Damn it!

Normally he is not like this, asleep around 8, awake around 8 with one or two minor wake ups in the middle of the night to check in, but something is going on this week that makes him flop around, cry and demand to nurse every hour.

Teething? Maybe. Who knows. I ask him and all he says is ma ma ma ma ma. Or uh uh uh walala.

At least his naps are back to normal. Two one hour + naps during the day. Lordy, how I wish I could join him.
Yeah, I know, this photo has nothing to do with the above post, but I love it. Here is another one that is totally irrelevant, but oh so cute. Jr. LOVES his auntie Liesel.

Gear Junkies

Today while I was dropping Jr. off to hang with Adrienne I had a moment to read Pregnancy Magazine, it reminded me of simpler times. While I was prego I read every pregnancy book, magazine, website, scrawl on bathroom walls. . . While I want to say that I was looking for enlightenment on the path to motherhood, I am going to be brutally honest I was looking for that magic gear that would make baby rearing practically the easiest thing I have ever done. Those magazines are full of those product promises.

Today I was laughing at my pre-baby self, pouring over those magazines, thinking about my upcoming bundle of joy and just waiting for my super gear to kick in and make it good.

There is no such gear, but there are some things that we couldn't have lived without. The first is nursing. I love nursing that baby. It is the best thing I could have ever done for him or me. No bottles to heat up, no hauling formula around, all of the nutrition he needs, I dropped weight like crazy and best of all, it is free. It is our time to be close, snuggle and love eachother. I love it and no I don't know how long it will go on. I get sad thinking about the day we no longer nurse.

Ed cut the top off of our changing table and mounted it to the top of the dresser. That gave me an extra foot of height so I don't have to bend over to change Jr. This was the most fabulous move Ed has made. My back was completely messed up from after birth, and the changing table height was completely what the Dr. ordered.

That brings me to another piece of gear I couldn't live without, the orthopedic Dr. that diagnosed my back issues and the physical therapist who got me back into shape. Every time I would leave the PT office, I would want to hug the physical therapist I felt so good and after a little over a month, I am pain free. Plus once she fixed an almost migraine.

Bob. We live for the Bob. Ed Sr. is particularly fond of Bob. It makes short work of the 2 hours he babysits in the afternoon. Bob to the Moogs, Bob to Doos, Bob to pick up mom from work. Bob is a noun and a verb.

The exercauser or The Office. Although I feel like spending time in there may be holding him back from crawling. I think I am the only person that isn't anxious for him to crawl, but it is not like I sticking him in the office him to keep him from crawling, but to take care of him just long enough to do the dishes, or put my shoes on.

Books. That kid LOVES books. His favorite book is Brown Bear. He loves to read books, play with books and chew on his books. Even if you don't have the book and you recite "brown bear brown bear what do you see? I see a red bird looking at me" he chills out instantly and looks around for his beloved novel.

Finally, there is Cissie. Ed and I work and fight incredibly hard to keep Jr. out of daycare. We are mostly broke and Ed has to get up ungodly early, and we need babysitting coverage for about 2.5 hours a day and that is where Cissie comes in. We knew how awesome she is, but being without her for a month has made us appreciate her aven more. Hurry back Cissie we miss you. It is so great to have her show up and Jr. smiles and yells for her to pick him up. He loves her and she him. She is awesome and we adore her.