Peanut Butter and Giraffe's Tails.

So tonight we crossed another big milestone.  The introduction to....*drumroll* peanut butter! PB is one of those things that you spend the entire first year of parenthood simultaneously wondering about and dreading.  Will he have an allergic reaction? Will it get stuck in his hair, be impossible to clean, thus forcing an impromptu 'first' haircut? Will he hate it? Will his baby lips get sealed shut from the stickiness? OR...will he squeal with delight, and smack his lips in anticipation of the next bite, followed by a decent swig of milk?

Suffice to say, the event was rather anticlimatic, which was actually ok because it meant that he was not heading into anaphylactic shock.  He actually did smack his lips a little as he was chewing which was rather adorable.

Meanwhile, bedtime has become a bittersweet event. Garrett is at the age where he should be developing interest in a 'lovey'.  You know, that blankie, toy, animal, or, as my oldest niece calls her blanket, "Beedus", that little ones get attached to and you need to make sure you always have one in circulation when the other is in the wash or in the car, etc.   He hasn't become really attached to anything,(or he's just attached to everything!) that is, except for this one giraffe we call Geoffrey.  It's not just the giraffe that he loves, it's the tail. Every single night he holds that giraffe by its itty bitty tail, sometimes sucks on it, and clutches it as he drifts off into slumber. Strange.  He also does this with a tiger he has that we call Bumpkins.  Goes straight for the tail. 

It's odd what babies are drawn and latch on to.  But the reason why this is the highlight of my day isn't because of his giraffe or tiger.  It's because he's at the age where when he's really tired, and I'm reading him bedtime stories, and we're snuggling in the rocker, he really does snuggle. Unlike when he was the baby-blob and every time I held him was snuggling, this is different because he's old enough to know I'm momma, and he tucks his head under my chin, his arms clutched close to his chest, and he just relaxes completely.  I love it.  When we're done with stories, he always flops his head on my shoulder, thumb in his mouth and that's when I know it's sleepytime.  While it's hard to be away from him all day, those precious moments at bedtime are my most favorite and what I look forward to all day.