7

I didn't think life with Alex could get much better, but it seems that seven months is going to give six a run for its money.

Thursday is the dreaded "blood draw" appointment at the pediatric clinic. I'm not sure whether they'll bother to warm him up by getting his vitals or if they'll skip the small talk and go right to stabbing my poor baby with big, pointy needles. Oooooh, my poor, poor baby. Anyway, point being, I have no idea how much he has grown over the course of the last month and would not venture to guess, and Thursday's visit may or may not provide any answers either. If it does, however, I will be sure to let you all know.

Size: Although his precise height and weight are a mystery, I rarely strip him to his skivvies without exclaiming, "Geez, kid! You're humongous!!" As far as pants go, size 6-12 is fitting pretty perfectly in most cases, which means that by the time he's a year old, he should be wearing...let's see...30x34? Shirts vary from 6-9 to 6-12, and there are even a few 12-18's in his regular rotation these days. The size 3 shoe phase seems to be short-lived because a few of his 3's are already out of commission and he just started wearing them after Christmas.

Diapers. Uggghhhh. Who freakin' knows? He generally wears threes during the day, but has been known to pee through them after just a few hours. I tried switching brands from Pampers to Huggies, which seems to have helped a bit, but it still happens. At night I use fours because he pees through threes more than occasionally while he's asleep. Of course, I have to duct tape them to his body because they are still a little too big and have the tendency to leak if there is gappage, which inevitably causes Alex to wake up in the middle of the night and whine 'til I get up and change him. So basically, we are in an awkward diaper phase and I will be glad to move on.

Eating: My big boy has quite the repertoire when it comes to cuisine these days. He is eating three meals a day at typical meal times and a bottle before bed. Breakfast is one serving of either peaches, pears, or applesauce, while lunch and dinner are each comprised of half a green and half an orange, i.e. green beans and sweet potatoes, peas and carrots, green beans and carrots, or peas and taters. He loves it all, but I think I'd put peas and sweet potatoes on the top of his "favorites" list.

Each meal also includes somewhere between 5 and 6 ounces of formula, except for his final bottle before bedtime, which is 8 ounces. At our last doctor's appointment, Doc Silvey suggested that we start to acclimate him to drinking both water and formula from a sippy cup. He wasn't crazy about the cup he had, so we got a new one that he loooves, and he will lay on his Boppy and suck down the whole thing. It's soooo nice because I can hook him up with a cup of formula and he'll feed himself while I attend to other matters (like feeding Timothy).

Sleeping: Consistency still leaves something to be desired, but in general, Alex's sleep schedule is as favorable as it's been thus far. He wakes anywhere from 6:30am to 8 (although I did have to wake him at 8:45am last week when he went to bed late and decided to sleep in), takes a nap sometime between 9 and 10, and then another in the afternoon sometime between 1 and 2. Lately he's been flaking out on his afternoon nap and only sleeps for half an hour - which doesn't even count as a nap in my opinion. But dropping that dreaded third nap from the equation has made a world of difference. Between his second nap and bedtime, A can easily stay awake and happy for three to four hours, which is freakin' awesome and has done wonders for our social life. Now, we can make plans for the afternoon and don't have to worry about whether he's gonna spaz because he needs another nap. His bedtime routine starts around 6 and still includes a bath and bottle. On a typical night, he's in bed and asleep by 7.

Physical/cognitive milestones: So there have been a coupla new and exciting developments in the past month. He has one and a half teeth now, the first of which made its official debut about a month ago (right after he turned six months). A second little tooth is starting to move in right next door to that one and should be bustin' through any day now.

Another achievement as of late is going from belly-to-booty. This has been a recent development - in the past couple of days, in fact. When he gets tired of flopping around on his belly, he pulls his knees up, leans onto one hip, and scoots his hands back until he is in a sitting position.



The next step has got to be crawling. Ooh, my baby is itchin' to crawl and he is oh so close. He spends most of his time on all fours, but he has yet to figure out that he needs to move his arms and not just his knees. He has a rather ungraceful way of getting where he wants to go, one which includes full-blown adult pushups (he can officially do more than his father and I put together) and belly flops. It's inefficient, but it works!

He has, however, mastered the art of backing up. He can cross the room - in reverse - in no time flat. Of course, until I have rearview mirrors installed on the sides of his head, he can't see where he's going and ends up in weird places. Like his toy box.

He is rarely still, whether he is on the floor, in his jumperoo, or in his walker.



The bathtub is no exception. He flops around in that thing like a fish, which creates a lot of work for those of us that would prefer he didn't drown. A couple of nights ago, he discovered that the side of his tub is quite tasty, and that the most effective way to taste it is to lie on his belly and hang his head over the side (to the prudes in the crowd: please pardon the baby booty).

His personality...what a funny little booger. And he knows it. He still loves to hear himself talk and continues to reveal new sounds on a daily basis. Ba-ba's and da-da's are still in the mix, with the occasional (possibly accidental) ma-ma thrown in. Since birth, he has always amused us with his wacky facial expressions, and that certainly hasn't changed.

You've got the usual:

And the unusual:

And the...:

Okay, that's too good. We gotta see that again:

He craves attention and thrives in it. All it takes is a goofy face, a silly sound, a simple glance in his direction and he is elated. He can be precocious at times, but I think he is really just starting to realize that certain behaviors elicit certain responses. Like, if my high-pitched whine is annoying enough, Mom'll get my dinner to me a little faster. He's right, it does work. Smart little booger. He's also showing signs that he is starting to comprehend what we are saying and will try to imitate us when we make funny sounds or gestures. He has started to wave and give high fives, and he's even starting to sing! Sometimes when we sing to him, he will squeal in a high, off-pitched voice that bears a hint of a melody (so I guess it's me he's imitating).



And boy, does he looooove his Murphy pup. If I ask him where Murphy is, he'll whip his head back and forth looking for him. When he finally does spot him, he squeals in delight and calls him "ba-ba". I think Murph relishes the attention, although he is very careful to stay out of petting (aka hair-pulling) range.

He loves to flop around on the floor and play, and he will entertain himself for long periods of time with toys, electrical cords, paper - whatever he can get his hands on. He is finally starting to "get" some of his toys and use them for their intended purpose, which is a really neat process to watch.



He loves "peek-a-boo", aka "Where's alex? There he is!" Again, anything that puts him in the center of attention makes his day.

We still think he is the cutest, smartest kid in the whole world. I guess we could be biased. But we're not.

Reunited and it feels so good

Timothy has been sick with a terrible cold this week, and in the interest of not wanting to break a seven month long sickness-free-baby streak, he was not allowed to come within ten feet of Alex. Not allowed to breathe the same air, occupy the same room, or share the same sippy cup. In the morning, before naps, and before bedtime, I would run by the door of the bedroom with Alex in my arms so Daddy could see him, and he could see Daddy, and they could exchange a quick howdooyado from a safe distance. Timothy was really starting to go bug nuts trying to adhere to the strict "looky, no touchy" policy, so when he woke up this morning feeling...mmm...80% better, we decided it may finally be safe to let him out of quarantine. Kisses were still off limits, but he got some hugs in, and then we went to the mall, as one happy - and mostly bug-free - family.

It was wooooooonderful to get out of the house, especially on a beautiful day like yesterday, and to finally have a second set of hands to help with Alex. In case you didn't know, being a single parent is pretty hard, especially when you've got two babies to take care of and one of them has a terrible cold...

We had dinner plans with our friends Nick and Brandy, so after the mall, Alex got his afternoon nap and then we headed to LouLou's Fish Shack. Nick and Brandy hadn't seen Alex since he was two months old, so they were pretty surprised when they saw how big he'd gotten. Alex is what you might call a "people person", so he was completely content to be tickled and tossed around by what was essentially a couple of strangers.

Dinner was good. Alex was pretty stoked when the calamari came out, and although we didn't let him have any, Timothy and I were excited by the prospect that Alex may turn out to be an adventurous eater. A wannabe foodie myself, I love the idea raising a "real" one. Last night, though, he enjoyed a bottle and a vat of peas while he rest of us feasted on fish and peach cobbler.

For his seven month birthday, I had bought Alex a Taggie blanket which I broke out on the way home from the restaurant. The official intention for said blanket is for the baby to feel the different textures of the tags that hang off of it. In true Alex fashion, however, that wasn't good enough. He chilled in the back seat, all the way home, with this funny expression and a tag hanging out of his mouth.

Yippy Birthday

Happy birthday to our firstborn, Murphy Boudreau Bubba Evans. Murphy is thirty-five today (that's five in human years) and he hardly acts a minute over twenty-eight. The last seven months have rocked Murphy's world, and now that Alex has stolen the spotlight that once belonged to him, I am compelled to give a little of it back today. So here's to you, my first baby, my shadow, my ever-present and ever-loving companion, my precious if sometimes stinky, slobbery, and intolerably yippy puppy dog. We love you as much as ever...

Survivor: Evans Island

I had a little boohoo when I read Leah and Emily's comments from Monday's Superbowl post because lately I have begun to realize how few pictures I have of Alex and I, and it's really starting to bum me out. I spend every waking minute with him and we have so much fun, and I so badly want to capture every second of the time we have together. It is usually just the two of us and I have yet to master the art of the self-portrait (plus, the camera isn't as good at making him smile as I am), so despite having the camera in hand at all times, most of the pictures I take are of him doing things on his own.

When Tim is around, I am still usually the one behind the camera, except on those rare occasions when I hurl it at him and say, "Puh-lease take our picture". (Not that he minds doing it. It's just not natural for him and sometimes it takes some prompting. Like cleaning the toilet.) This was one of those cases:

I did lighten up a bit when the Fed Ex man brought a package for Alex from Auntie L. When Auntie L sends a package, there's a good chance that it contains shoes. And what is a better pick-me-up than a new pair of shoes (even if they are for Alex)? Not much, I say.

I tried to help Alex open the box, but I succeeded in patronizing him and challenging his box-opening skills instead. "Back off, Ma! I got this, I GOT THIS!!"

Ooh, Vans! And not just any Vans. They're flannel Vans in blue and grey and black, and I love them. I mean, Alex loves them, cuz clearly, what he thinks matters.

But first, before he could officially approve of them, he had to administer the mandatory chew test. To check the flavor, I guess.

"Yup," he said, "these'll do just fine."

So yay, new shoes for Alex and some sweet candid pics of him and me. I'm considering contacting some reality TV producers to see if they want to do a show about life with me and Alex. The stipulations, of course, are that they would pay us lots of money, we'd have 100% control of the editing process, and, oh yeah, they would not broadcast the show anywhere in the contiguous United States in case I did something embarrassing. Please email me if you know someone that knows someone that can hook me up...

Go...Green Bay?

Yeah, I know, Green Bay was not a contender in Sunday's Superbowl game. But Alex and I had matching green football shirts so I chose fashion over fan-dom and we arrived at the Primms' Superbowl party in style. A had a good time hanging with the "big boys", Hudson and Oliver. They were very nice to include him in their activities, despite his immaturity. He even got a bear hug from the hug-happy Hudson, who was sharing the love with whomever he could wrap his arms around.

We tried to put Alex to bed in Oliver's pack 'n' play, but he was more interested in watching the end of the game. I think the Giants ended up beating the Patriots at the last minute, or at least that's what I was told. I spent most of the evening in the kitchen stuffing my face with seven layer dip and buffalo wings. Now that's what a Superbowl party is really about.

We left for home around nine o' clock, and yes, Alex was still up, at 'em, and pretty happy about it. He fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep through a successful transfer from car to crib. You'd think he woulda slept in considering he was up two and half hours past his bedtime, but he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 6:30am. Little booger.

Computer Geek in Training

Poppa came up to visit this weekend, and he really outdid himself this time. My child is the official, spoilt rotten owner of a cell phone, a keyboard, and a laptop computer. Sure, none of them actually work. But Alex is easy to please. He is perfectly content to bash his hands against non-functioning keys, and when he does, I like to pretend that he is busy composing poems with such titles as, "Why I Love My Mommy", or maybe beginning a "how to" series like, Quantum Physics for Infants, Volume I: Learn the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle Before Naptime.

When he's not penning best-sellers, he likes to unwind by chewing on the cord to his keyboard, particularly the end that has a yummy metal thing sticking out of it. Now, it has occurred to me that encouraging a child to chew on electrical cords is probably not the wisest course of action, especially if I'd prefer to keep DHS from beating down my front door. So I try to discourage him from chomping on the cord - and all cords in general - which is basically a full time job when you have a teething child who has never met an object that he didn't want to gnaw on.

He chewed on Poppa too, and demonstrated how he loves to squeal and shriek whenever tickled or tossed around.

The boys, minus Alex, went to the Arkansas game, so A got some jumping in.

Then more QT with Poppa.

Poppa left Sunday morning as Alex went down for his nap, to dreams of the fun he had while Poppa was here. Auntie L was thinking about coming next weekend, but we were afraid that Alex might have "fun overload" if he had visitors three weekends in a row. So fun with Auntie L is currently being rescheduled for sometime in the near future.

Mommy's Little B-boy

We've made the difficult decision to postpone our Dallas plans and pursue a new career opportunity that allows us, as a family, to share our true passion.

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We have decided to call ourselves the Pigtown Posse and have plans to try out for Season 2 of America's Best Dance Crew. It may seem like a pipe dream, but we really feel like we have the potential to make it big.

To help achieve that end, we really needed to kick Alex's b-boy style up a notch. We got him this sweet retro hoodie and placed the order for his custom "B-Baby" belt buckle. We also make him practice his moves at least three hours a day. You see, his headspins and munchmills are on point, but his hallow backs and backspins could use some work.

We rewarded A for a productive day of b-boy practice by taking him out to lunch with Seth, Joy, and Oliver.

Us Evans' always have a Plan B, so in case the whole breakdancing thing didn't work out, we were preparing for a future in rock 'n' roll. And what better preparation than some Guitar Hero? We were considering letting the Primms in the band too, so we made them practice. Poor Seth kept getting beat by Joy...

and Oliver...

...so he got desperate and pulled out his "secret weapon", aka a very lame and uncool cape that he fashioned out of Oliver's blanket. Despite his best efforts, Joy continued to prevail as Guitar Hero champion until Seth gave up and went home in tears.