Back in the swing

Uh! We finally got out into the world again today! Christopher is feeling so much better and we went to Kindermusik today for our make-up class. We got there a bit early and went into the room to move around before the other kiddos got there. Well, it has been two weeks since Christopher saw his teacher, Miss Heather, who he absolutely adores. When I put him down on the floor, he must have forgotten who she was because he did his first "stranger danger" cry when she came up to him to say hello. I mean there was no denying that he was screaming for me because he did not recognize her. It was actually kind of funny. Of course, once he remembered her, he was flirting the rest of the class. Speaking of that, CJ was having a lovely conversation with the little girl Emily sitting next to him. She was so cute and was trying to share her shaker with him. He must have felt so comfortable after a while because he started crawling all over and visiting the other children in the class. I think he was very happy to be back in his music class! We are going back again tomorrow for our regular class... It's official! This little baby has seven teeth. Seven teeth! Are you kidding me? The top two middle teeth have officially poked through. Soon our little man will be eating filet mignon and, more importantly, cookies.

Early Spring in Kansas

Over the past month or so, I have posted pictures of Christopher and I outside in the sun, soaking up the beautiful weather in our backyard. Well, as is often the case in Kansas, one day it can be sunny and 70, while the next day it is snowing. In the picture above, Christopher is watching the rain turn to ice and snow as we spent the whole day inside with him yesterday. He got some serious crawling time in, which was good. But as I looked out in the back this morning, I longed for those warm afternoons watching our little man pick the grass while Kasey would bark at the kids in the cul-de-sac. Aaaaahhhh. We didn't really get too much snow, maybe a couple inches. I mean, you can still see the grass poking up above the white stuff. I wonder if all the people I saw at Price Chopper the other day regret the multiple loaves of bread they stocked up on... Anyway, here are some pictures from the great storm, just in case any of you actually miss winter (and I know there is at least one of you out there).

"I'm a hyper-hypo!"

In case you don't remember, or are not familiar, with the reference above, it has to do with an "old" Saturday Night Live skit with Mike Myers and Nicole Kidman from the early '90s. Myers and Kidman play little kids on a playground and Myers' character would these days be classified as ADHD. Anyway, Kidman asks him why he wears a helmet and why his mom makes him wear a leash. She also offers him chocolate but he has to turn her down. When she questions him on why he wears a helmet and a harness, he says, "I'm hypoglycemic and hyperactive. I'm a hyper-hypo!" Myers ends up taking the chocolate anyway and then goes crazy, laughing and jumping all over the place only to be restrained by the leash and harness his mother attached to him. You might be wondering what this has to do with Christopher. Well, when Myers is acting all crazy and jumping around, he reminds us of Christopher when he is crawling across the room. I think our little man is so excited to be moving that he just wants to laugh and laugh as he's making his way from one area of the house to another. This morning he was all over the place! It's amazing to see. Grandpa Woglom will also be proud of this next fact--CJ enjoys wrestling Mommy to the floor. That's right, he crawls over to me and litereally jumps on my stomach, pinning me to the mat. And he's laughing the whole time he does it. I think it's pretty funny too. Kasey did not find it as funny when he attempted to pin her, however... Since we are getting blasted by a winter storm (no snow yet!) we had a little fashion show this morning in an adorable outfit given to Chris by Grandma. Here are some pics. Look closely because you can really see his teeth in one of the pictures:


In other news, I've been trying to get in touch with my creative side recently. Usually, when I go to the craft store, Michael's, I get agita. Seriously. I used to love being creative in my classroom but for some reason all those artificial flowers and scrapbooks really freak me out. The other day I was in the store for an Easter Basket and I took a look at the woodworking section. I enjoyed woodworking in middle school and my mom has a lovely clock to show for it (it's no "B" Lamp but it's nice just the same). I decided to pick up some paints, letters and an oar to go along with the sailing theme in CJ's room, and created the decoration seen below. I'm definitely better at painting and working with this medium rather than needles and thread...
Hopefully Christopher will appreciate this work of "art" at some point in his life... Brian was supposed to do a half marathon this morning but they postponed it until next week due to the weather. When I let Kasey out this morning and felt the temperature and 30 mile per hour winds I told him that if I was supposed to run this race and they didn't cancel it, I would have canceled it for myself. Yes, I am a wuss. But it is just, for lack of a better term, poopy out today. We are going to just run errands later but I think some hot soup from Panera, curling up on the couch with a warm puppy and watching basketball is what is called for later. We will leave you with a smile...

Crawling

No, we did not go anywhere on vacation, I just have not written on the blog this week because Mr. Fussy Pants was being, well, fussy. Everyone always comments on how he's always smiling in his pictures and seems so happy. I really didn't want to put pictures of him crying and grabbing at his two top teeth that never seem to fully come in. He has been a crawling machine, however, and I hope that this video makes up for our absence. Enjoy!

On the move!

Well, it's official! Our little man in crawling. So much for thinking he is going to walk before he crawls... A lot of people will tell you that at this age, babies start doing things in an "all of the sudden" way; they literally change overnight. Even though CJ is still suffering from a nasty cough, he did not let it stop him in the crawling department. On Saturday, he just moved his arms (which he as been doing for a while) and for the first time, his legs followed. It was so exciting! The first time he moved about three feet, Daddy and I were cheering like crazy and Christopher stopped, looked at us as though we had lost our minds, and wondered what the fuss was all about. We're trying to encourage him to go the distance by putting his favorite toys a little bit farther away each time. When he is motivated to get them, he's off and there's no stopping him! He is also pulling up to standing and now he is releasing one hand and balancing by just holding on with the other. Of course, this practice has led to several head bumps which is why we decided to bust out the following safety device:
While we have not officially signed him up for hockey yet, we wanted to introduce Chris to my old equipment, little by little so that he will be comfortable when the time comes. (Brian and I were talking about how this was my one and only helmet that I ever used the entire time I played hockey. While the face mask has changed multiple times, the helmet has been used since I was 8 years old. So sorry, CJ. That helmet is pretty gross at this point!) Anyway, I think he looks like a natural and now that he is crawling, I can't wait to teach him the logical next step in the sequence of gross motor skills--ice skating!

Outdoor Fun

Today was a pretty nice day, so when little man woke up from his nap, we spread out the blanket in the back yard and relaxed in the March sun. Here are some pics from our afternoon:

Hey ladies...

Hey ladies... call me, I'm available. Seriously.

Just like old times...

Well, little man's fever has broken and he seemed to be in a much better mood after his nap today, but he is still coughing up a storm and has a nose that just will not stop running. Poor guy! Speaking of his nap, in the afternoon I put him down to sleep in his car seat. After my last entry (right after it) he woke up coughing and fussing. After two more attempts to get him back to sleep, I picked Chris up, plopped him down on my chest and let him sleep on me. I can't remember the last time I did this and little man isn't so little anymore! It was really nice though. In our haste to follow all the parenting "rules" of not letting your child fall asleep on you, I forgot how wonderful it is to watch you little guy sleeping within five inches of your face. He just snuggled up right on top of me as I relaxed in the rocker. There is definitely something to sleeping on Mommy because he was out for over two hours and I literally felt his fever break as he was resting. The whole thing was great. We'll see how tonight goes (bedtime took a very long time this evening)...

Dr. Moe

I love my dog. Christopher, as mentioned in yesterday's blog, has not been feeling well. Today he's doing a little worse including running a slight fever, throwing up, and other pleasant things. He's been fussing for obvious reasons and Kasey has been so sweet to him. She has been sticking close to the two of us and looks at Chris with utter concern when he fusses and coughs. She even came over and licked his face, making him laugh. It took me over an hour to put him down for a nap and she just came in the nursery and laid down behind the rocker the whole time. Kasey is truly a great support for both of us... Little man is sleeping in his car seat right now and hopefully he will rest for a while so he can help himself get better. The nurse I talked to on the doctor's line is so wonderful and told me all kinds of things I can do to make him feel more comfortable, including "babying him." We'll keep you updated as to his status soon.

Eight months

Christopher is celebrating his eight month birthday with a double ear infection. (Boo hoo!). At first we thought he was just super fussy because he feared getting older, but after a trip to the doctor, we found out the real cause of his blues. Poor guy. The doc doesn't think it is bad enough to give him antibiotics, which is a good thing but we'll be tending to him the best we can. (Ugh! And Kasey just puked on the rug... Fun times!) The funny thing was when the doctor asked us if his appetite has decreased at all-- we just laughed. I said, then we would really know something was wrong! While we were at our appointment, we at least found out that "little" CJ weighs 22.4 pounds with clothes on. Just as I suspected.

Made ya look!

Foodie

Okay, so I'm not really sure what the exact definition of a "foodie" is (perhaps those more hip than I could enlighten me) but Christopher fits my definition of a foodie. For example... he eats everything I put in front of him. I am having an absolute blast cooking for this little one and I'm pretty sure it's because he eats whatever I give him. The other day it was green beans with mint, this morning it was pureed prunes, and later on it was pureed cherries. He is a growing boy, what can I say... Speaking of our growing boy, he is doing so many cool things lately. When we are at Kindermusik, I always look at the older babies who actually shake the instruments we use and wonder when CJ is going to do that instead of simply putting the instruments in his mouth. Well, yesterday he picked up his maraca and started shaking it back and forth! Today, he became more proficient at this skill as he took his little teddy bear rattle and was shaking it almost to the beat of a song we were listening to (almost!). He is also making really fun sounds including one that he has discovered and likes so much that he makes it non-stop (except when I bust out the video camera, of course). There are a couple ways to describe the sound, one of which is a relaxed raspberry. At times, it also sounds like the sputtering engine of a lawn mower. Finally, Christopher is pulling up to standing as much as he can. I really think he will walk before he crawls. Below are some pics of our little mover and shaker...



Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!!!

Spring!

Today is absolutely gorgeous! Of course, being the typical Kansas winter that this was, we have been tempted with spring-like days only to be brought back to reality with sub-zero temperatures. I'm really hoping, however, that this warm spell is here to stay. We started out the morning with a lovely run on the trail. It has been a while since we have been able to get out for a morning run because it has been so cold in the AM, but as soon as the sun was up, we were out the door. Even though I bundled CJ up a bit, we didn't need to use the all-weather shield on the jogging stroller. Kasey especially enjoyed the run and requested another tomorrow (we'll see). Christopher and I later walked to Price Chopper to pick up some groceries and now I'm just waiting for him to wake up so we can go play outside!

Dear Ally,

Thank you for sending me this fabulous box of girl scout cookies! Now that I am eating solids, I'm glad you recognized that the next food in my progression of foods to try should be cookies. Mommy thinks it should be asparagus, but I'm glad you and I are on the same wavelength. Mommy does not know that I opened the box you sent and I would like to keep it that way. By the way, when is the next time you will be selling these yummy treats? I'll give you my cell phone number so you can call me directly for my order when the time comes. That way we can just bypass the middle man (and woman). Talk to you soon!

Love,
CJ

Slainte!

Today, in addition to celebrating Grandpa Woglom's birthday, we had a BBQ in honor of St. Patrick's Day coming up this week. Mommy decorated the house, cooked a traditional potato dish, picked up soda bread and Guiness at the store, and had a good crowd over for the event. The usual suspects were there (Dan, Mary, Tristan, and puppies, Matt, Jaime, and Olivia) as well as Chad and Matt from New Jersey. It turned out to be a fabulous day weather-wise and everyone was in good spirits. As the host family, we all attempted to dress in green (even Kasey had on her shamrock bandana) and Daddy even busted out his Irish soccer jersey that he purchased on the Emerald Isle six years ago. And yes, this was the first time he has ever worn it. Christopher also busted out an Irish rugby jersey (seen above). Those readers who live in West Caldwell may recognize it well--it is the shirt I got for Ally when she was two years old and I went to Ireland for student teaching. It is still slightly large on our eight month-old boy but he doesn't have far to go. Mary was getting her baby fix now that Tristan is two years old, and the babies were having a great time hanging with her...
The rest of our day was nice, even after everyone left. When Chris woke up from his nap, we all went out and hung outside on the blanket, soaking in the sun. Later, Kasey requested a walk around the block and we complied quite happily. Christopher got to be in the mei tai on my back so he was happy, but I don't think he was quite as thrilled about the hat we made him wear. He did, however, like my dangling earrings (I should know better!) and was doing his utmost to reach them:
In other news, I do believe that Christopher is going to stand up and walk (or run) before he crawls. Recently, he has been pushing up onto his hands and feet rather than just his hands and knees. Plus, he is constantly looking for things to pull up on, although at the moment he needs those things to be somewhat lower than the coffee table and the ottoman. He has discovered our yoga block, however, and was attempting to get into downward facing dog the other day:

Fred's

So our boy and our dog are now famous.... well, at least in the quaint upstate New York town of Stamford that is. Apparently there is a restaurant there called Fred's that puts up pictures of dogs over their bar. Recently, G.G. (aka Nanny), my dad and Nancy went to Fred's for dinner and brought along several pictures of Christopher with Kasey. Out of the ones they brought, I believe two were accepted for the wall of fame. I'm not sure, but I think this was one of them:
And who wouldn't put such a picture up for all to marvel at? What a pair!

Sharing

I would just like everyone to know how good our dog and our child are at sharing with one another. As usual, Kasey is helping us teach Christopher some valuable life lessons... For example, here are the two "kids" this morning. Kasey loves playing with this colorful ball (thank you Grandma and Grandpa Woglom!) and Christopher has not noticed that she has it yet.
Oh wait! Now he sees that she is playing with his favorite ball. Must get over and join in the fun!
Kasey, upon seeing that little CJ was making his way over, rolled the ball to him so he could sit on it. Seriously, that was her plan all along...
"Why of course you can share the ball with me," says Kasey. "I would be delighted to let you have it. I was done chewing on it anyway. Feel free to use it as long as you would like."
And a generous dog makes for a very happy baby. (Note exhibit A).

Exhibit A

Teeeeeettthhhhhh!!!!

Can you see how red my cheeks are? I am so determined to get all my baby teeth by the time I'm nine months old that I must be sprouting another chomper right this very moment. Come on number 6, come on through! I'll be waiting!

Ruff, ruff

You know, they really bought this alphabet mat for me. Funny thing is, I already know my alphabet... Yes, I'm that good...

Sunday Best

Today we celebrated the christening of Christopher's dear friend, Olivia! Our little man dressed in his spiffiest clothes in honor of the occasion and Olivia looked like a princess in her beautiful christening gown, made by her grandmother. Here are our two kiddos. Look at how big they are both getting!

The ceremony was great and we were so honored to spend the day with Olivia and her entire family. Our friends, Dan and Mary, were there as well with their big guy, Tristan, seen below:
Now that all the kids are getting older, they are far more interested in playing with toys so it is difficult to get a good picture where they are actually looking at the lens. Chris had a great time back at Matt and Jaime's new house where there were lots of big boys for him to play with. Matt's little brothers (Anders and Asher) were so great with Christopher and kept him occupied while Mommy and Daddy's arms got a much needed rest. CJ was extremely interested in playing with the ball you see him holding in the picture above so it looks like we may have to find him a beach ball of his own. After Olivia made the rounds visiting with her family, she and Chris hung out for a while and chatted. The best was when she reached out in what looked like an invitation for a hug for Chris. Olivia's dad told Chris that she is not old enough yet but I pointed out that she put the moves on him! Anyway, a good time was had by all and we want to congratulate Olivia on her big day.

Daddy Day, Science City and Food!

D is for Daddy... Christopher had a great time today playing with his Daddy while Mommy and Sierra went out for the afternoon. As you can see from the above picture, Daddy taught Christopher all of his letters while I was gone. When I got back, all I had to do was say, "CJ, which letter does Daddy start with?" and he showed me, just like that! Looks like Brian is in the wrong profession. He should have been a teacher! Anyway, the boys had fun together--I didn't ask if they got into any trouble (because I think I know the answer). Little man took a good nap in the afternoon and everything seemed in order upon my return... Speaking of my afternoon, I was out with another one of my "kids"--my little sister, Sierra. We went to Science City, a very cool hands on museum that is in Union Station in downtown KC. This was our third time there and we even got to the planetarium today. Here is a picture of Sierra riding a bike that is being balanced by a load of bricks along a tightrope...
The museum was great and Sierra and I reminisced on all the fun things we have done together over the years and were amazed that we are coming up on our third "sister" anniversary next month. Crazy! In other news today, Aunt Dabney would be very proud to know that we are using the baby food maker and cookbook to the max these days. After CJ went to bed tonight, I pureed some asparagus (which did not come out so well and therefore made a trip to the garbage can) and saved myself with pear puree and millet cereal. We will mix these two together tomorrow morning and see how little man likes it. I'm really having a blast making this food now for Christopher. It smells so much better than the jarred food and there are a lot of flavors that he can try that you can't get in the grocery store. Next up on the menu, pureed lamb chop with prune sauce, barley cereal, blueberries and cherries!