Good Little Vegetarian

I've been telling Linus, "You're such a good little vegetarian." He eats a variety of vegetables now and feeds them to himself. I bought a mix of frozen organic veggies that includes broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and carrots. He can't have the carrots because he's allergic to them, but I boil up the others and tear them into small pieces for him. Tonight he fed himself kidney beans and squash. I pulled off most of the skins on the beans because that is kind of tough. I wasn't sure he'd like it, but he did.

Here's a recent photo of him enjoying asparagus tips. Isn't it cute how his mouth is open before he gets the food to it?

Johnny Jump Up

A friend lent us her Johnny Jump Up for Linus to try out. I was doubtful that he would like it because he likes walking around, but thought it wouldn't hurt to try it out. Perhaps it would give Linus something to occupy him safely while I cook. Linus tolerated it only long enough for me to get some photos. At first he was excited about it because it was something new. Then he tried to walk into the dining room and couldn't get anywhere. That was the end of that. I think this would have been something he really enjoyed when he was 5-7 months old. He loved standing then, but wasn't mobile yet.

Linus licked a sports car yesterday! We were at Saturn for the fourth time in a week and a half and I was walking Linus around and around the showroom. He got excited to see his reflection in the fancy Saturn sportscar called Sky. Next thing I knew, he leaned forward and licked it. Maybe he developed a taste for sports cars when he got to ride in his grandpa's Mustang over Thanksgiving. (Turns out the problem with my car is that a rodent chewed up a bunch of wires.)

Susan's Visit

Susan came up last Friday to celebrate Christmas with us. Matthew came home during his lunch break so we could exchange presents with her. Here are pictures of Linus checking out his gift from her and giving her a big smile to say thank you. He enjoys slapping at the parrot that is on a spring and gets very excited when he pushes the smokestack and music plays. When Matthew was walking Linus around the other day, I set the train to the "go" mode and he walked after it. Stephanie gave Linus the train car with a zebra and parrot, so Linus has two parrots to slap.

Hooray for Ribbons and Bows!

We had an enjoyable Christmas. We all received wonderful presents and have been having fun watching Linus explore his new toys. We can see him thinking hard about them as he works them over. So far, his favorites are the rubber duck from grandma and grandpa and the Little People set from Lyz. He likes chewing these toys a lot. The Little People set has a llama, chicken, fence, and girl. Linus likes the chicken and llama best. He has been going from toy to toy, so it will take a while for him to get to know them all.

Happy Holidays!

We've been rather busy the last few days. My car had a mysterious problem that took three trips to Saturn to correct. In the end, my car got a new engine computer. Thank heavens I have an extended warranty that covered the cost! Linus charmed everyone at Saturn. He especially liked watching the parts guy because he was on the phone a lot and Linus likes the phone. Alex and I took the babies to hear a holiday concert by the Bay Port High School Ensemble at the Brown County Courthouse on Thursday. The singing was beautiful and Linus had fun reaching over and grabbing Johanna's arm. She'd push his hand away and then immediately grab at him. If they were in grade school, the teacher would have had to separate them. Susan visited on Friday. We exchanged presents, sipped hot chocolate, and talked. Linus loves the Amazing Animals train she gave him. He's been playing with it a lot. He even pulled himself forward on the wood floor to get to it yesterday. It took three pulls to get there. I was out of commission with a migraine yesterday evening and into this morning. In addition to being in pain, I was worried I wouldn't finish stitching Linus' ornament in time. The pain has subsided quite a bit and I finished the ornament this afternoon after we got back from taking treats to our neighbors. Two invited us in and we had fun visiting with them. Linus was his cute, charming self, with rosy cheeks and all. He sampled at bit of Christmas cookie and gnawed on a homemade dill pickle.

Merry Christmas everyone. Thank you for the beautiful presents you shipped to us. We can't wait to open them!

(Photo by Alex last weekend)

Snow Suit

BryAnn requested a picture of Linus in the hat she made for him. The reason I didn't have any is that Linus hates being put in his snow suit. I tortured him recently to take this photo. The hat looks really cute on him in real life and we have received many compliments on it.

Usually I get my coat on first, get him into the snow suit, and head out the door really fast so that he is distracted by the cold and outdoors and quits fussing about being bundled up. By the way, this used to be Brandon's snow suit.

Cause and Effect

Developmental toys tout how they help babies learn cause and effect. Who needs 'em?! Linus has been having lessons in this with the toilet and our living room lamp. First he learned how to flush the toilet. He flushes and then looks toward the noise, which is coming from the closed bowl. On Sunday he figured out that by pulling on the lamp chain, the lamp would turn on and off. He likes yanking it over and over again.

We had Linda, Alex, and Johanna over for some holiday cheer on Sunday and Alex took these pictures. This is one of the few photos of all three of us together.

"Must Move, Can't Sit Here"

Now that Linus is doing his assisted walking, he refuses to sit on the floor and play. He insists on getting onto his tummy and trying to crawl. I keep cheering him on, but he hasn't made much progress yet.

We put up our tree last night. When I gave him an ornament to play with, he squealed with excitement. It was a fabric ornament Jean made years ago. This morning when I brought Linus downstairs he walked to the tree and pulled off three of the fabric ornaments. He liked touching the tree and didn't do any damage.

I've been having trouble posting lately and I'm sorry you haven't had anything new to read.

Transitional Objects and Separation Anxiety

Since Linus has started with assisted walking, he clings more to Lovey and needs Bink in his mouth much of the time. If he is standing at the settee and playing with toys on it, I have to make sure he has Lovey or Bink before I can leave the room. If I don't, he gets distressed and cries. When I sit on the floor by him while he plays at the settee, he will turn and step toward me every few minutes just to touch me. Then he returns to playing. Last night he woke up twice in the night and it was hard to get him back to sleep. He wanted us to hold him and he cried rather hard when we put him back in the crib. We tried just leaving him there to cry himself to sleep, but it didn't work. We finally just brought him to bed with us. Needless to say, we are all tired today. He didn't seem to be teething so we wonder if he woke up and had separation anxiety. Raising a kid is a lot of guesswork.

In this picture he is standing by the pants I sewed for him. I'm disappointed in how they turned out. They are too big in one respect and too small in another. I was so proud of making him nice pants, but now I think I'll stick to buying him pants. At least they'll fit and he won't look goofy.

Tall Babies

It looks like Johanna and Linus are saying, "No, we're playing nice. Really we are." When they were standing next to each other, Linda noticed that Johanna is taller than Linus. We also noticed that we'd dressed them the same; both were in overalls, hooded sweatshirts, and the same booties from Target.

This morning Linus scooted around my craft room on his fanny. He leaned forward with his hands and pulled himself along. Pretty cute.

Tick, Tick, Tick

Last week I made brownies while Linus was napping. When I brought him downstairs, he was captivated by the sound of the kitchen timer. I let him play with it on the floor while I got the brownies out of the oven.

Linus still isn't crawling, but whenever I have him sitting, he goes down on his tummy and tries to move. The best he can do is scoot backwards on the wood floors. I cheer him on and tell him he is getting somewhere, but he isn't pleased with it.

Areas in which he is showing marked improvement include feeding himself banana on Sunday and figuring out the sippy cup yesterday. When Matthew gave him the cup last night, he actually sipped and got water, then wiggled around with excitement.

Office Assistant

Here is a picture of Linus reorganizing Matthew's home office. Tee, hee.

Much of my days now consist of me helping Linus walk from room to room, exploring such wonders as the stereo, hat stand, fish tank, high chair, etc. He cruised around the coffee table this weekend and is getting rather confident. Even so, sometimes he forgets and lets go with both hands, landing himself on his fanny.

Big People Tub

Linus took his first bath in the big people tub last Sunday. Immediately after Matthew got him to bend at the hips and sit down, Linus grabbed onto the side of the tub and stood up. That is SO Linus! He enjoyed chewing on his rubber ducky that we bought for the occasion. He enjoyed himself, except for when Matthew had him lie back.

Pals

Here are some photos from last week's play date with Johanna. Alex joined us for a bit, too. The babies hadn't seen each other in two weeks because we were out of town for Thanksgiving. Johanna squealed when she saw Linus. She has cultivated a higher pitched squeal lately and she also growls. Linus usually just looks at her. They pay more attention to each other now.

Linus is sticking his tongue out more and moving it around. I was worried his lower lip was going to get chapped because he licked it so much yesterday, but I haven't had to apply Carmex yet. Is lip balm safe for babies? He'll just lick it off right away, so hopefully he doesn't get chapped lips.

Tummy Time Breakthrough

Now that Linus is walking around the house with our assistance, two new habits have developed: an attachment to his Lovey and a tolerance for tummy time. Yesterday he insisted on having Lovey with him in one hand while I walked him around. His hands are small, so with the Lovey in hand, there wasn't much room for holding onto me. Today he played on his tummy for 45 minutes and as I type this, he is on his tummy, sliding around the wood floor and pushing an empty milk crate. Maybe, just maybe, he'll learn to crawl one day.

Martha Washington?

For a lark I put my Martha Washington hat on Linus. (I got it at Patriots Day in Lexington, Massachussetts a couple of years ago.) I got a good giggle out of seeing Linus in it. For comparison, I'm including a picture of me wearing said hat while enjoying a mocha that chilly April day in 2004.

Linus is a good sport about such silliness. Good thing, because Matthew and I tend to be silly.

First Visit with Santa

We took Linus downtown today to visit with Santa at Beerensten's Candies. He was the lucky first child to sit on his lap. The first thing Linus did was reach for Santa's beard with his chubby little fingers. Santa was on the ball and kept Linus' fingers out of it. Then Matthew helped Linus pet Santa's beard nicely.

Linus is a very good natured baby and people smile and wave to him or stop and talk to us. As I entered Target with Linus the other day, a woman walked up behind me and said, "I love how your baby is holding tightly onto your shoulder." I said, "I love it, too. It's the best feeling." While pushing Linus in the cart, a woman coming from the opposite direction with a cart full of purchases said, "Want to trade carts?" I said, "No way!"

Tomorrow he will be eight months old. He is positively wonderful. And perfect!

Cheerios!

Because I just can't get enough of watching Linus feed himself Cheerios. He is getting quite good at it. This morning I gave him a handful and none landed on the floor.

He was up early this morning; therefore, we were also up early. Eek! He had his flu shot booster this morning and it went very well. He just cried out in a way that said, "Hey! What are you doing to me?" And then he was fine.

What Should I Read Next?

Some days around 4:30, Linus gets fussy. Perhaps he is bored. I try to come up with different things to do, like stroller rides around the downstairs. This day, I sat Linus in front of his books and let him go to town. He had fun pulling down every single book.

New Cousin on the Way

Linus will have a new cousin next July, as Star and John are expecting. They've dubbed the fetus Bean, after what it looks like at 8 weeks. I'm excited to be an aunt again and for Linus to have a cousin close to him in age. Star is suffering from terrible morning sickness, so these pictures are to cheer her up. I went through four months of 24/7 sickness and now I have the joy of my baby Linus. Hang in there!

Linus likes to grab at our noses, put his fingers in our mouths, and also rock his head around while saying something like, "Iiiieeeyiii." I have to move fast to keep him from banging his head into my lip.

Thanksgiving Recap

We all had a wonderful Thanksgiving trip out east to see Matthew's family and I feel confident in saying that Linus had a blast. Some highlights for Linus include: riding on Grandpa's shoulders, "walking" anywhere he could, sitting on lots of laps on Thanksgiving, seeing all the people at the airport who said "Look at that cute baby" as they walked by, getting smiles from Grandma, seeing all the big kids at Matthew's former high school, playing with cousin Wesley's toys at Grandpa's and Grandma's house, and getting to ride front-facing in Wesley's car seat. At Thanksgiving dinner, Linus dined on Cheerios, squash, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.

In the last week Linus has taken to walking. He likes for us to hold his hands to support him while he walks around, all with a gigantic smile on his face. Turns out Johanna is doing the same thing. In other Johanna news, she cut her first tooth on Thanksgiving!

He was rather fussy yesterday. We think he misses all of his adoring fans.

Travel Plans

We fly out tomorrow morning for Thanksgiving out east with Matthew's family. I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to blog before we get back next Friday evening, but I promise I'll post some photos when I get a chance.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Ugly

No, Linus isn't ugly! I'm talking about an Ugly Doll! Linda gave me one for my birthday, but as you can see, Linus has adopted him. Fortunately, I'm good at sharing. The Ugly Doll's name is OX, not as in ox, but as in hug and kiss. Ugly Dolls are all the rage in particular circles and boy is this company raking in the bucks. He is made of fleece and is like a small flat pillow. Linus likes tackling him and chewing on his ears or feet.

Paper Work

We've been discovering how enthusiastic Linus is about helping us with paper work. Last weekend he helped Matthew with preparing envelopes for recycling. Matthew sat on the floor with him to tear out all of the cellophane windows and Linus was more than willing to assist. They worked on this task while I prepared dinner and took photos.

Yesterday's play date was at our house and Johanna's dad even joined us for a bit. The coolest thing happened: the babies "talked" to one another. Linus looked over at Johanna and babbled something and she babbled back. It was so cute. The play date included gentle hair pulling, grabbing at faces, wanting the same toy, napping, sharing pacifiers, and much talking by the moms.

Bubbles

Friday night after dinner I took a bubble bath. Matthew brought Linus in to see me before tucking him into bed. Linus got really excited about the water and bubbles. Matthew let him put his hands in and splash around. He got into quite a splashing frenzy. In the end, Matthew had to put dry pajamas on him. And yes, I had Matthew run get the camera so I could take photos.

Table Food and the Pancake Pig

Last Friday the library celebrated Children's Book Week with pancake-themed story time and visits from the Pancake Pig and Little Critter. I adore the Pancake Pig from If You Give a Pig a Pancake. She's fun. So we went more for me to see the pig than for Linus. On Saturday we were eating dinner and had Linus in his high chair at the table. He was eyeing our food, so I gave him a taste of plain rice. He liked it okay so I put some on his tray. It helped that it was sticky; it made it easier for him to hold onto it and get some in his mouth. We had fun watching him manipulate the rice with his fingers.

I think he is teething, only because he was fussy all weekend and he is usually such a happy baby. My rheumatoid arthritis has moved into my jaw, so I joked that maybe Linus was having sympathy pain. Matthew suggested it was the other way around. In addition to being fussy, he isn't eating as much. Maybe he is working hard to have a tooth in time for Thanksgiving!

Catalog Shopping

Here's Linus from a couple of weeks ago, checking out the Lands' End catalog while I read through the mail.

Fast forward to today, when Linus displayed a new talent: making clicking sounds with his mouth. Another new talent is that he takes his finger and uses it to move his bottom lip while talking. That is the best way to describe it. I don't know what to call it. It is very cute and silly.

Play Date and Election

Linus didn't make it to the polls with us last night because he was worn out from a fun afternoon of playing with Johanna. He also got to hear Alex play music. I'm very tired this morning. I didn't sleep well because I was thinking about the election. In general I'm feeling pretty pleased with the results. I'm in shock that Steve Kagen beat out John Gard for Congress. Wow! That was such an ugly campaign and the Gard supporters don't play nice. They never have. Hee, hee; John Gard will be out of political office for a while. We are really happy that our Democratic governor was reelected, the first Democrat to be reelected for governor in 33 years. I'm sad that Kathleen Falk didn't win the attorney general seat. She'd be a great attorney general. Also sad that the marriage amendment passed. The death penalty one did too, but the governor will veto it. Anyway.... lots about the election and less about Linus, but Linus will be impacted by who is in office, so it is relevant to this blog.

At the moment, he is squealing in his crib. He is supposed to be napping.

In this picture that Alex took, Matthew was excited to see this vintage Fisher-Price toy. He remembers one just like it.