The beloved puppy blanket

Nathan has this puppy blanket that he absolutely adores. It is a soft little stuffed puppy attached to a really soft little blanket with a wide satin trim. Whoever designed this knew children. If it were up to Nathan, the puppy blanket would go everywhere with him. If he's ever sad, give him his puppy and life is much, much better.

The problem with this situation is that he sucks on it frequently and has been seen to throw up peas and other tasty items on it. It gets pretty stinky and crusty between washings. So, last night I decided it was time to wash it. I had the washer all set up, and all I needed was the puppy. The problem was that he always hangs on to it in his sleep. When I went in to extract the item, it woke him up, and it turns out that he can't sleep without his puppy. He cried and screamed for the better part of two hours unless we were in his room, holding him or leaning over his crib. He was soooo tired, rubbing both his eyes with his fists at the same time, yawning up a storm, but he absolutely refused to sleep without his puppy.

Finally, at 11:45 last night, the puppy was mostly dry enough to give him. It was really cute - I gave him his puppy, and he immediately curled up on his side, started sucking his thumb, and I didn't hear a peep out of him until 7 this morning. So one of my first tasks the morning is to purchase a backup puppy to avoid this crisis in the future. Heaven help us if he lost the puppy. Who knew seven-month-olds could be so attached to their toys. So the morals of this story are don't wake during extraction and always have a backup.

Silly baby

So when most babies are introduced to solid foods, they love the fruits, right? Applesauce, peaches, bananas = yum, right? Not Nathan. He'll only eat applesauce and peaches if he's tricked into it. Now, carrots, peas, and squash are like candy to him. He can go through a whole tub of them in one sitting. The first time he had carrots he ate a whole tub. He thinks vegetables are delicious and hasn't met one yet he didn't like. The only fruit he genuinely likes, though, is bananas. He thinks they're scrumptious, but he'll pass on the rest. Though he's odd, I guess it's a good thing he likes his vegetables.


And still no crawling from Monkeybaby. He rolls around like a champ and can do some wiggling, but no true crawling. I suppose I get to postpone babyproofing for a little longer, although he's currently munching on the internet cable. Hmmm... Maybe I should do something about that...

Doggies

So Nathan and I were just looking at the pictures of his cousin Kathleen from her recent exploits when we came across the pictures of her and Sirius Black, a big black dog at her grandparents' house. When we got to the dog pictures, I barked for Nathan, since that's what dogs do, and Nathan thought it was hysterical. He was laughing and laughing. And not his polite, nice giggle. No, this was a full-belly laugh. We went and read his Doggie book, and again, riotous laughter. We sang Old MacDonald had a farm, and when we got to the dog verse, again, great peals of laughter. The cow, duck, pig, and sheep did not get the same reception. The dog parts were the only ones to be thought so funny. I had always hoped that we would get a cat and not a dog, but I might lose that vote now...

Pictures :)

I've uploaded new pictures - enjoy!

Back again!

Chad, Nathan, and I have taken the somewhat ginormous and very overwhelming step of moving to North Carolina! There was a moving truck, some great friends in Boston who helped us load it and some great family and friends in North Carolina who helped us unload it. There was a not-so-fun thirteenish hour drive down in our car, spread out over two days after Monkeybaby decided that he was officially done driving on 495 around Washington, DC (try calling to make a reservation at a hotel with a screaming child strapped in next to you - that was a blast). We stayed with my parents for a few days until our lease here started.

Three days after moving in, we went to the beach for a week with my family. Now, going to the beach has always involved plane tickets and lots of planning and coordinating. Not so much anymore. We now live forty minutes from the beach. It was a nice, easy drive, and doesn't involve missed naps for babies who make their displeasure known. Overall, it was a good week at the beach - really hot and humid, but at least we were at the beach and not in Jacksonville. Nathan thought sand was a totally tasty treat. He was a happy, mellow kid the entire time we were there, and he was well-liked by all there. He is happy to be back home in his crib and not have so much disruption going on.

We're almost settled into our house. I feel like we live like kings on nothing a month here, as compared to Boston. I've graduated to a full-size dishwasher, a full-size fridge, our very own washer and dryer, which have temperature settings, four whole bedrooms, and a GARAGE!!! It turns out becoming an adult has some benefits. We're adjusting to not being the city. I really did love Brookline where we lived, and Jacksonville is a Marine city in the middle of nowhere. Once you get past the Target and Sam's Club, there's just not much here. I also really, really, really miss our friends in Boston. It always takes awhile to make new friends, and the downtime until that happens can be rather lonely. But, we'll eventually get there, and until then, at least I moved with my best friend. And the cutest, happiest baby ever. I'll post some pictures of our latest adventures later. Nathan AKA monkeybaby is ready for more bananas and carrots. Yum.