We Got a Dog!!!

OK - now that I have more than a few of our readers really excited for a picture of our new little pup, here ya go:

Yes, our son is a little doggy. He's completely mastered crawling, standing and cruising. He can even climb the two stairs from our den to our breakfast nook all on his own. With his new mobility comes one slight problem, how does he go about bringing his favorite toys along for the ride? Well, he figured that out over the last few days - it's easy - carry the toys in his mouth and he's got both hands free for crawling and climbing. It's rare for us actually to be able to catch this in a picture but we managed the above picture this morning. His toy of choice was the wrapper from Richard's breakfast bar. He was having a great time with it and wanted to make sure it made the trip up the stairs from the den to the kitchen.

As for an actual dog - despite my original idea that Rich could get one for his 30th birthday (which came and went this past September), its still a good bit in the future before that happens. I have one wild soon-to-be toddler to chase around, a dog is not needed at this time.

My Name is Joseph...I like to Dance!!!

Joseph loves to dance. Anytime music or any sort of beat comes on he starts doing a little bounce. Today Richard was tapping on a box and Joseph just started bouncing along to the beat. I think all babies start doing this at some point, but I'm going to pretend Joseph is just really musically inclined. I mostly want to believe this because I can also pretend that my enrolling him in Music Together classes is the reason for his great sense of rhythm. Wow, I'm an awesome mom (see how that works?)

Joseph gets especially excited to dance along with his Brobee doll.

Video Note: Rich is going to kill me, but I had to point out his super HOT, short short running shorts. One big advantage to marrying a competitive runner....he's got a complete wardrobe of sexy running shorts.

On another note, I apologize for my lack of recently blogging. Our house went on the market last week and we had an open house this past weekend. We have been busy cleaning and finishing up those last little projects to get everything looking spiffy. We also have been looking at other houses to potentially buy. I have found the house I want. A gorgeous traditional brick in a great neighborhood. 5 bedrooms (including 2 master suites - one up, one down), 3 baths, a living room, a dining room, a den, a library, a renovated kitchen, a big pantry and not one, but TWO staircases going upstairs. Oh yeah, and its on a cul-de-sac! It needs some updating inside but I am in love. Now we just have to sell our house. Seriously, this is my dream house....the one I always imagined raising my children in. Thanks to a crappy housing market its actually affordable these days. So now we need to sell ours...which is where things think a little tricky. The same crappy housing market that makes my dream house affordable, also makes selling our house difficult. So we wait...

But here is a pic of my new love...

Stand Up! Stand Up!

Joseph's development seems to be accelerating at a rapid pace. Today, he is officially pulling himself up to standing. This was the scene in his crib this morning:

This afternoon, he was trying to step on the bumper to get an extra boost - the bumper has now been removed. We also have a video monitor hanging behind the crib. During his nap, I turned it on and there he was standing and trying to take out the monitor. Good thing it is out of his reach...for now.

He is also obsessed with the steps from our kitchen/breakfast nook into our den. We'll be in one side of the den and then all of the sudden he'll take off at full speed towards the stairs. He attempts to climb the stairs, but hasn't quite mastered getting his legs up the top step. Video of his attempt:

I sense walking is not far away...

"He has trouble all over him"

We had Joseph's 9 month doctor appointment today. The highlights include:

* He is weighing in at 20 lbs 1 oz, down to the 25-50th percentile. He had been 50-75th since 2 months, but apparently all this activity associated with crawling is thinning him out. Head circumference and length remain in the 50-75th percentile.

* The doctor agreed with just ignoring him or putting him in his crib when he throws a tantrum (and yes, 9 month olds can throw tantrums). Giving him a lot of attention when he does it, just reinforces the behavior.

* Apparently, I am giving him too much formula. He should be down to 16-20 ounces and he's still getting nearly 30 ounces. She thinks this is part of the problem with his refusing to eat lately. Although, I am convinced it has more to do with crawling and not wanting to sit still. He was eating 3 hefty meals a day before this crawling and tantrum throwing started. Tomorrow he's down to 20 ounces and hopefully makes up for it in purees.

Joseph was his vocal, wild self during the appointment. It started with Richard, the doctor and I having a discussion. Joseph did not like not being the center of attention. He grunted and made lots of noise until the doctor talked to him. She then checked his heart, lungs, ears, eyes...the normal procedure. He did not like that her instruments were not handed over for him to play with. He then was attempting to crawl off the exam table and gave us all a charming grin while he was attempting to do it. This made the pediatrician laugh and she said "Oh, he has trouble all over him. He just has that look like he is looking for something to get into." She wished us luck and told us she was looking forward to the 12 month appt to see what new havoc he was wreaking.

Speaking of getting into things. Joseph has discovered how to open drawers. His particularly favorite is the bottom drawer of his dresser in his nursery. He tackles it in various ways (sitting, standing, kneeling). Today he took it straight on while sitting. The problem with pulling open drawers while sitting is that it makes it more difficult to get at the stuff inside....as this video shows.

He also almost knocked down an entire bucket of dirty water I was using to wash the floors and ripped off 1/2 a roll of tape from the dispenser.

I can't wait to see what he gets into tomorrow.

Terrible 9 months?

Can a child go through the terrible two's at 9 months? Joseph has recently started crawling and unfortunately, mobility is not agreeing with him. It's not that he doesn't like to crawl, he loves it and it has opened up a whole new world for him to discover. All of the sudden in the last week or so, its like he is seeing the world for the first time. EVERYTHING fascinates him. I love the look of wonderment on his face when he discovers a knob on a door he's never been able to get to before and the pure joy when he gets to touch it! He has to touch everything, feel everything, look at everything. And by EVERYTHING...I mean EVERYTHING...things babies shouldn't be touching. This is where the problem comes in.

Joseph has toys upon toys upon toys at our house...they are spilling out of every storage space available, but they are not interesting. Power cords, my food, sharp objects, glass...that is the really interesting stuff. When Joseph makes a beeline for these things, we remove them or him from their vicinity. That's when the screaming, crying, kicking and pure out tantrum starts. Today's tantrums were induced by the following (but are not limited to the following):

* Taking my laptop away so that he can't destroy the screen and keypad.

* Coming home from the grocery store - we have a lot of fun and Joseph gets a lot of attention at the grocery store and he does not really like coming home where its just me and his toys.

* My food. Despite the fact that even Puffs make him gag and vomit, he wants to try to eat my food. If I put the plate where he can't get to it, we have a tantrum. Below is video from yesterday's tantrum during lunch.

* Me talking on the phone. Joseph wants the phone if I have it and he doesn't appreciate me talking to someone and not devoting my full attention to him.

* Being removed from any activity he is enjoying.

* Diaper changes - he has to stop moving for 3 minutes - this is a HUGE problem in his opinion.

This goes on ALL day. The worst tantrum today was when he was eating his yogurt for lunch and watching a great Noggin show. Everything was going fine and then he noticed I was drinking a Coke. He HAD to have the Coke. When I took the Coke away, he had an epic meltdown. I removed him from the situation and tried to preoccupy him with his little ride-on car. This was the reward I got for my efforts.

This is clearly a temper tantrum. Note how several times he quickly stops crying, looks at me out of the side of his eyes, sees I am still paying attention, and continues the tantrum.

We have consulted several online sources and parenting books and the general rule seems to be to remove the child from the situation and try to calm them down. If they won't calm down, put them in their crib, close the door and give them a few minutes to calm themselves down. He's way too young to understand why he's being "punished", but he needs to be able to calm himself down. We had a few trips to the crib today....

One book has a section on "challenging babies" and even breaks them down into different types of challenging babies. The following perfectly describes Joseph, an active baby.

"Active babies are a constant challenge (they sleep less than most, become restless when feeding, can be extremely frustrated until they are able to be independently mobile, and are always at risk of hurting themselves), but they can also be a joy (they are usually very alert, interesting, interested and quick to accomplish)."

So our active baby is giving us a run for our money these days. I am exhausted...mentally and physically at the end of the day. I am trying hard to maintain my patience but I would be lying if there aren't moments throughout the day when I think I just can't take the screaming anymore. Luckily, Rich is trying to go in a little later and come home a little early until we get through this stage. This is a stage, right???? We are going to the pediatrician for his 9 month check up on Thursday so I am hoping for some professional advice.

Dumb & Dumber

I can only hope that Joseph has better judgement in life...enjoy!