Ten Month Update

Demonstrative of Hippo's stubborn personality, he refuses to give an update on himself. Hence, completed in my voice.

Hippo is now pushing 25 pounds which means he has outgrown his infant car seat/carrier. Despite the very expensive price tag of the next stage (convertible) car seat I am actually happy to be done with the old one. It has become quite awkward and cumbersome.  He refuses to sit in the infant carrier quietly and happily anywhere which means we have already begun taking him out of it at the car and carrying him into the store, church, library, babysitter's, etc. 

He continues to be tall; 12 month clothes barely fit at this point.  

We can now report his eyes are permanently blue, which isn't too much of a surprise since both parents sport blue ones.  (Did you hear? They changed blue eyes to a dominant gene.)  As you can see, he has blonde hair which still hasn't grown in thickly.

Hippo has now mastered rolling around the room (and crib, unfortunately) like an Olympic athlete.  He is definitely interested in attempting to crawl but he struggles with a few main crawling ingredients:  patience, persistence, and forward motion.  Moreover, we are happy to report he can scoot backwards.  Child development books and websites (and friends, therapists/development experts, stages timelines I dug up from work's file cabinet, and the pediatrician) say this is often the precurser to forward motion!  In addition, he can balance himself while in the standing position for several seconds.  He loves to use the walker he got for Christmas.  And he still loves his Johnny Jump Up, a lot.  He indicates to us he would like to Johnny Jump in two steps:  1. Throw a Temper Tantrum (throwing self on floor and yelling) 2. Jumping up and down when you pick him up.  His new thing is to walk around in the jumper and fiddle around with things I don't want him to fiddle with or spin around on one foot (sort of like a figure skater, which does not make L very enthusiastic about Hippo's emerging aptitudes).  

Despite his lack of physical achievement, Hippo is quite a talker.  He is now saying several things including:  mama, dada, ba (for food/hunger), bu (for peek-a-boo), hi (which comes out more like, "ha"), and dee (for something that is neat or cool).  I am trying to teach him animal sounds but he hasn't done any yet.  When I sing to him, "Jesus Wants Me For A Suuuuuuuuuuuu--" he will yell "BI" which in turn I yell, "BEAM!"

He is able to point, imitate, clap, kiss, play peak-a-boo with his own hands and eyes, point out mama and dada, nose, lips, teeth, and ear.  

Things he likes in order of importance:  daddy, other kids (today at the store he was leaning out, almost falling out, of the cart to get this other kid's attention), spit rag, Johnny Jump Upping, food (especially Cheerios and any fruit--new fav are grapes), mommy, books/nighttime reading (new fav book is a baby animal book where the animals pop out), going outside, brushing his teeth/his toothbrush, bathing, Damnit, riding in the shopping cart, cars, and making friends with strangers in public, helping Mom fold laundry, and The Simpson's (no joke).

Things he does not like in no particular order:  cooperating, respecting "NO", playing alone, feeding himself a bottle, using a sip cup, quiet time, church, and being loved and hugged.

Of course, he still loves music and dancing.  His current favorites are Beyonce's "If I Was a Boy", Akon's "Make up", Killers' "Human", Toby Keith's "God Love Her", and Mommy's rendition of "Jesus Wants me for a Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun BEAM!".  Oh, and of course U2's "Put Your Boots On."

Simplify and Minimize

...is our family's theme for 2009.  Many areas of our lives are being affected:

Work:

I've cut down to 16-18 hours per week at work.  It feels like I am doing the same amount of work as I was in 40 hours a week just a month and a half ago, however, even though I have cut more than 40 clients from my caseload.  At last count I have 30 clients; ideally I will have between 20 and 25.

BTW, I am working toward private practice which is anti-simplify and minimize...not sure what I'm thinking or doing at this point in time but I've just dropped a large sum of money on software to make this possible.  Next stop, liability insurance...  

L decided not to take Organic Chemistry, for which he was originally registered, because he's just plain worn out.  And he only has two jobs now.

Home and Family:

Even though we wish we could amputate a few choice members of the family (just kidding, geez) we are instead deep cleaning every nook and cranny of the house and amputating items we no longer use/need.  No drawer will go unopened and no box un-emptied.  Out of the office alone, 7 bags of trash (which is just shameful).  It took us two weeks to get through the top level of the house; the DI pile for that 1000 square feet of the house filled up the entire upstairs hallway.  Next in line is the middle level.

I've been cooking nearly every night of the week, which makes my heart sing.  After reviewing our budget L suggests we are actually saving money (minimizing) in the food department now that we eat out much less.  This is despite buying pricey formula.  

Lifestyle:

We are minimizing our BMIs by working out.  Let's just say I haven't been this sore in more than a decade, and I've learned how to snowboard and trained for a marathon in that time. Holy smokes, I can barely move let alone carry a 25 LB immobile infant up two flights of stairs 1,000,000 times daily.  

In addition to the weight and health benefits of working out I am rediscovering how simple life challenges seem when my muscles feel as if a cat has used them as a scratch surface.  Moreover, my mind and personal challenges are calm and my priorities appear more clear.

Social:

Social situations are challenging for me.  In my attempts to simplify this area of my life my goal is to not over think and just do.  Instead of worrying about what others are thinking and feeling I am just going to do.  Just do it.  Just do it.  Just invite them, just call her, just ignore it, just overlook it, just forgive it. 

Spiritual:

In an attempt to minimize my sinful nature I have given up further ink.  

Quirks, Winter Ed.

This is the best picture I have of Hippo's favorite person on the planet, his cousin Buddy.  Hippo was enamored by Buddy anytime he was near.

Hippo and his cousin Sambo.  Hippo loved Sambo but Sambo was somewhat indifferent to Hippo.  Even though Sambo is three months older than Hippo, they weigh the same.  On the other hand, even though Sambo is only three months older, he is light years ahead on physical development since he can crawl at the speed of light, stand up, walk a few steps, etc. while Hippo is just now learning to roll to get places.

Hippo with Grandma Debi and Sambo.  

L:

-He would rather ski than do anything else in the world (other than eat free food)

-He talks about skiing, in the winter time, more than he talks about anything else

-He won't stop talking about skiing

-Last Christmas when I bought him new skis he retrieved them from the UPS man and went skiing with them before I even knew they had come.  Weeks later when I thought they had not yet been delivered I asked him slyly if he had seen anything delivered in long boxes.  He said, "Oh, you mean my skis?  They're in my car, I used them last week."

-All he got for Christmas this year was a ski helmet

-Even though he has to get up at 5:00 am to make it work on time he fiddles with his IPhone for hours in bed at night

-He loves it when it snows

-He has special "vacation rules" which are basically he can eat whatever he wants and however much he wants without regard to money, calories, fat grams, or convenience.  If I act annoyed he says, "Hey, I'm on vacation."

-He considers shoveling the driveway (of snow) a workout and justification for not working out

Hippo:

-He gets more excited to see his five year-old cousin than he has ever gotten to see me

-He can move his legs in a walking motion but he cannot move them in a crawling motion

-He does not know how to crawl but he knows how to turn on the music of his mobile

-He will cry for two hours straight if he is not in the mood to sleep, even if he is extremely tired

-He refuses to feed himself a bottle, he would rather go hungry

-He loves the doctor and is a really good boy when being examined

-His smile resembles Elvis's

-He will Johnny Jump Up for hours and hours

-He gets annoyed when people, including his parents, snuggle him

-He has never liked laying in bed with us

-He dances to hymns at church

-He loves it when we read to him.  He recognizes a book after one reading

-He will stop crying if taken outside

-He loves cars--watching them drive by, playing with toy cars, riding in the car, etc.

-He likes to be out and about, despite the cold

Me:

-I hate the winter

-I hate the cold

-I hate being cold

-I hate the snow

-I hate being wet (due to snow getting on me)

-I hate skiing/snowboarding, even the mention of it

-I hate driving in snow or on ice, or even if it is cold and there might be ice

-I hate brushing snow off my car (I've tried driving without brushing the snow off and I regretted it because driving in snow or on ice is much worse without visibility)

-I hate being woken up to the sound of a snow plow on my street--it is loud

-I hate trying to get the mail in the snow

-I hate trying to get the garbage to the street in the snow, or back to the house

-I love snow boots, however