30 April 2011

The countdown to one...

What a spectacular day! My niece made her First Communion. And my boy? Who turns one year old in a little less than four days, was spectacular.  First, he was up much later than usual last night, not getting to bed til nearly 9:30.  And so I worried about what today would bring. Garrett got up at 7am...we trekked down to Grammie and Grampie's...he had breakfast, we rode with G&G to West Newbury for 10:30 and sat in Church til noon.  Not only did this child sit still for me, but he was smiley, quiet, and ever so charming to the lady sitting behind us. Did I mentioon it was also jam packed and about 10,000 degrees in there?


After church, we headed into Newburyport....took some family photos by the water...a beautiful spring day!



And then...after that, off to lunch! Garrett still in a great mood...happy, smiley...and I thought, uh oh...we now have at least another hour to get through...and no nap yet...he for sure will melt down. But I was so wrong...he had his lunch, we had ours....took tons more photos...and he was adorable and cheerful the whole time.  I keep thinking how he is soon to be a year old...already showing such wonderful signs of maturity. Well ok, maybe that's a stretch, but his easy going self just continues to amaze me, and makes me wonder what I ever did to get so lucky?

This picture is my favorite of the day.  He doesn't get to see his Uncle Asim very often and yet, warmed right up to him.


By the time we left Newburyport, it was around 2:15...this kid had managed to stay awake, cheerful and without incident since 8:30. Ah-mazing.  Of course, nearly the moment we got into the car, he passed out.  A well deserved rest.




22 April 2011

Dada? Dabby? Dawby? What is he trying to say??

So you'd think, as rapidly as Garrett is growing, the things I'd be most concerned about with his development are 'is he trying to walk enough?' 'can he hear me when I call his name?' 'does he KNOW his name?'  'will he have a peanut allergy because I could live on peanut butter if allowed, so if my kid has an allergy what will I do?'

But no. My biggest worry right now is not being able to understand what he is trying to say as he gets more vocal.  I'm always around parents who's child speaks a language only they understand and the parent says "that's right, junior, that's the doggy..." or "oh you'd like a banana?".  And I always am baffled.  How did the parent get banana from 'ranrethaa'?  

Case in point.  Garrett goes to daycare four days a week. By all accounts, he has a great time.  He no longer cries when I leave him.  He grins and giggles when we arrive...he waves bye when we leave.  He's in toy paradise there. He's very busy. But his daycare provider, who I really like and think is good for him, tells me "Oh he said cracker all day today!" Or, "he said tiger today and he loves his tiger and all he says is tiger tiger tiger."

What? I have never heard him say tiger or cracker.   I have never heard him say anything that resembles these things. So now I am paralyzed with fear that I am not going to know what in the world he is trying to convey if I can't understand him. 

Recently, he started saying Dawby...or Dawba or Dahba...so I'm wondering...is he combining 'doggy' and 'gabby'? Doggy and Dada?  How do I know???  The other night as we were commuting home together (the best part of having him in daycare literally two minutes from the college), I spent the whole ride home saying 'Tiiiiiiger.  Say Tiiiiiger.' My commute is about 25 minutes. I have no idea if he fell asleep listening to my one word conversation, but he never said it.  He did mumble "brdrwrnrr"  Was that tiger?   I don't know. I just hope that when the time comes for him to be a little more vocal, that I will finally hear what other parents seem to magically understand.


Stay tuned.

20 April 2011

Catching up on photos...



 On the run...towards the dog bowl.


 Hangin' at Borders
 Legs McGee.



 Trying the stairs at Grammie's
 What's in this box?
 Vrooooooooooooom!

Time is flying~

Ack.  I've gone way too long without an update. So my grand plan of keeping this thing up to date and filled with pictures, anecdotes, cute stories, etc. seems to have gone by the wayside. 

What can I say? We are exactly two weeks away from the boy turning one year old. We are planning his birthday party--a small gathering of family and a few close friends. Meanwhile, he continues to be a rascal. The latest tricks---standing up in his crib, giving what look to be one man show's to his stuffed animals. You know, the soliloquies that all babies do when they realize their own growing independence! He's a mover and a shaker, that's for sure. And a rascal.  His favorite thing to do is a mad-dash crawl to the kitchen, aiming straight for Gabby's water bowl, and tip it over, filled or not. Sometimes I'm quick to catch him, other times...Did I mention he's a rascal?

Last night he made it to the front door, stood up, with one sock in his hand, and the other who knows where, with the food bowl next to him, looking as if he's planning the next great escape. Oh the adventures continue!