Chris and the Ladies

I think our son is a flirt. I mean, for the past two days he has had play dates with two adorable little girls, and he's keeping his mom so busy that she doesn't always have time to update the blog! Yesterday, we walked twice with Jaime and Olivia and toward the end of our afternoon play date, the two of them were staring at each other in that way that little babies do. Chris was smiling at Olivia and Jaime. When it comes to flirting, age is not an issue for our little man. Today, we went over to our new friend Randa's house and hung out with her little girl, Maddy. Maddy and Christopher were laying next to each other on the floor kicking their legs and staring at the ceiling fan. While they were doing this, it kept appearing that Christopher was trying to hold Maddy's hand! Of course, I don't think he realized he was holding her hand--that's how smooth he is. Hopefully we will have a picture of that soon to put up on the blog. So cute! Anyway, with all this playing our boy has little interest in napping until it is too late and he's so tired he can't fall asleep. So even with all the fun, Mama gets to experience the overtired crying fits in the car. I wish babies could have a adult's perspective on sleeping, i.e.-- sleeping is awesome, we should do it more often!

Lazy Days

You know, I work hard. I mean, forget what you've heard about dogs and all their sleeping, eating, and more sleeping. I genuinely work my tail off protecting this house from intruders and people who walk by the house (how dare they!). I have to constantly pick up food from the floor too. I'm like a 24/7 vacuum cleaner, for dog's sake! And now I have to serve as constant entertainment for this little baby Christopher. He always stares at me as I walk by and because of that, Mom is always calling me over and making me sit next to him so he can pretend to pet me. It really gets old after awhile. That's why I enjoy curling up in this Pottery Barn chair my humans bought me and taking naps while I have the opportunity. So leave me now and let me rest. Goodness knows how long it will be before I have to get to work again. ZZZzzzzz...

A Perfect Pumpkin

Today our neighborhood had a Halloween party so we dressed up our little pumpkin and headed over to check out the other kiddos and parents in their costumes. There were kids everywhere! Christopher was very interested in watching the older boys who were dressed as Star Wars characters and pirates (I'm sure these costumes are in our future!). We visited with some of our neighbors as well as the ladies we had a play date with the other day (and their babies). Chris got to see Kay, our neighbor behind us who watched him Tuesday while Mama got to go out for a while. Our pumpkin was all smiles for most of the party despite the cold and crazy hurricane force wind (yes the party was outside and in the garage if you could fit in there). He got to meet one of my former students from Manchester Park and not long after that, Christopher's eyes started getting heavier...and heavier...and heavier until finally our party animal couldn't take all the excitement anymore. He fell asleep in Daddy's arms without a struggle. I think we need all those people to stand in his bedroom at night so he'll fall asleep like that when we need him to! Chris thoroughly enjoyed his first big Halloween party but was excited to come home because Grandma was cooking a yummy meal for his parents. Here is Christopher after all his partying plus other fun pics from the weekend...

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit

This weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Woglom came all the way from New York to visit Christopher--yes he is that popular that people travel from all over the country to see him. When he wasn't busy charming his grandparents, little Christopher was working out his arms and legs on his changing table. You see, it seems as though our little boy thoroughly enjoys hanging out in the buff (no, there will be no pictures of this on the blog) and he is so thrilled that he rapidly moves his arms and legs in a non-stop fashion. He did this today for a good ten minutes while we all watched and cracked up. After this workout, he did some tummy time downstairs and then was so exhausted that he took a two and a half hour nap. This nap came at the most opportune time as we were all able to have lunch out at Barley's and make a trip to Garry Gribble's Running Sports, where Grandpa bought a nice new pair of kicks. Anyway, we are all enjoying our visit and are looking forward to having some of Jan's chocolate cake tonight... Here are some more pictures of Chris wearing his only piece of Yankee apparel and only piece of Michigan apparel.

Kasey Laughs

Just a quick story about something funny that happened last night... Brian had just gotten home from work so we went in the bedroom with him while he put some of his things away. Kasey, Christopher and I were all sitting there listening to Brian talk about his day when all of the sudden, Kasey decided it was "crazy time." She pounced onto the bed and started going insane! She was tossing pillows around and burrowing underneath the comforter. As she burrowed, she was barking and making funny growling noises. Now, this is pretty typical Kasey behavior in the evening when she is excited about her dad being home. But Christopher has not really witnessed this firsthand yet. Well, he was watching her and just laughing out loud. He was genuinely cracking up, more than we have ever seen before. He thought Kasey's behavior was hilarious! If I constantly walked around with a video camera, I could have gotten that on tape. Hopefully it will happen again in the near future!

C.J. Houdini

For months now we've had to swaddle our dear little Christopher due to his flailing arm situation. I can't imagine which side of the family he gets his crazy intensity from, but it seems to carry over to his sleep. Since Brian and I have remedial swaddling abilities with a regular blanket, we decided to buy these blankets that use velcro to keep your baby in the swaddle. People have remarked that they kind of look like straight jackets... anything for a good night's sleep. Well, these blankets have worked since the beginning even though Chris would get his legs out of them occasionally. For the most part, they would keep him snug as a bug in a rug. Recently, however, Christopher has been drawing his hands up so forcefully that no matter how tightly you secure him, he is able to escape from the swaddle multiple times throughout the night. It seems that although he has arms strong enough to get out, he then does not know what to do with his arms/hands. I tried teaching him how to suck his thumb to no avail. Eventually, his arms move and flail and wake him up. I've also noticed that during the day he has been especially active with his arms and legs. Like when I change his diaper it looks like he is making rapid snow angels on the table! On his stomach he is reaching around more with his arms and it almost looks like he wants to rotate his body to turn around. Does this sort of thing happen when a baby is about to do something like rolling over? Any experienced motherly advice out there? Anyway, if this is any indication of the future, we are going to have our hands full when this little boy starts to walk.

And what do I do with this?

This weekend, Uncle Peter came to visit Christopher for the first time and as you can see, they hit it off great! As soon as Pete walked in the door he exclaimed, "Where's the changing table and how long before I can get to work?" In fact all weekend, he just wanted to change Christopher's diapers, especially the dirty ones. He wasn't even interested in watching football or checking in on his fantasy team! It was great! All kidding aside, it was great for Chris to meet his Uncle Peter (who enjoyed his Z-man sandwich very much) and he is very excited to see Aunt Dabney and of course cousins Otis and Mattie in New York over the holidays. Here are some more pics to enjoy...

The Bumbo Seat

So our friends Dan and Mary recommended this Bumbo seat when they had Tristan. Essentially it's a little baby chair that Chris can sit in and it makes him feel like he's sitting up. I've had it in his closet for a while and decided yesterday to give it a try. Because he holds his head up so well, he seemed to be pretty comfortable in it. He actually fits perfectly! Of course, if he continues growing like he is I'm not sure how long he actually will fit in it. The only problem with this seat is that you really have to entertain him while he's in it since there's no little gadgets for him to play with but that's okay with me. He is just as thoroughly entertained watching me eat breakfast! Here's another picture of him hangin' OUT and also hangin' with Kasey...

Our Big Boy

Does this kid know how to pose for pictures or what? We're coming up on Christopher's three month birthday so I thought I would make a short list of things he has been doing recently that are exciting...

• Although it doesn't always happen, Chris is sleeping longer stretches and is eating at less frequent intervals. Obviously, he doesn't need to eat every hour!
• He's holding his head up higher every time we put him on his tummy. I know it's taboo now to have your child sleep on his stomach but the few times I've tried it for naps (because babies really do tend to sleep better this way--at least ours does), he thinks it is tummy time and he holds his head up high, ready for action.
• Chris is becoming more and more observant. Yesterday, we had to go to the tire store to bring the CR-V in for a repair and he was just staring at all the display tires. The mechanic who came in to tell me about the car was amazed at how much he was looking around!
• His hands are actually starting to grasp things. He doesn't really have hand control but he does realize that they can grab onto certain things. (Oh how we can't wait for arm control so we don't have to swaddle him at night!!!)
• Christopher makes the most fun sounds and smiles a ton at people. Yesterday we had a babysitter come over and when I got home, they were having a grand old time! He was cooing and laughing out loud at her. She remarked how expressive he is and what a fun baby he was. (Want to come back every day?)
• He has just started to belly laugh and will do it sometimes when I tickle him during diaper changes.
  

Even though being a parent to such an active, determined young man can be hard sometimes, it is so rewarding to have such a wonderful interactive little baby. He is getting more and more interesting every day and we can't wait to see what will happen next! (Can you say, sleep through the night...or at least until 7?)

A Halloween Tradition

Now that we are back in business, let me share with you a growing tradition in the great state of Kansas started by our dear friends Dan and Mary. This past Saturday was the third annual pumpkin carving extravaganza, where folks get together and create jack-o-lanterns in celebration of Halloween. We have attended this event for the past two years and have to say that we usually have the most boring pumpkin because so many of the people who go work for Hallmark and are super creative. This year instead of carving our own pumpkin, we brought one with us. He is a little rolly-polly pumpkin who is cute as pie...

Anyway, we enjoyed spending time with all our friends there and Christopher, as you can see from the picture at the very top, was very busy plotting something of great significance with Tristan. Perhaps they were working on debate prep since Chris is running for president! Matt and Jaime brought Olivia with them and Christopher was totally trying to flirt with her. He was trying to impress her with his best goos and gaas but she was playing hard to get, choosing to stare at her dad instead. Here are the two fathers hard at work...
All in all, the event was a success and Christopher did a fabulous job socializing with all the party-goers despite having missed his good afternoon nap. And speaking of sleep, although it has only been several nights, we have been trying something new to see if Christopher will sleep a little better and therefore give Mom and Dad some much needed rest. Instead of trying to continue living our normal lives (go to bed whenever, watch TV when we want, schedule appointments when we want...basically do what we want and fit him into our schedule) we decided it was time to implement a bedtime routine. I apologize in advance to those of you coming to visit soon because you'll have to live with us going through this routine from 7PM to about 8ish every night. I'll spare you the details but now instead of Chris getting up every two hours, he's only gotten up once or twice a night. There have been nights also when he has slept as much as 6 1/2 hours straight! It is still a work in progress but we now have a baby who eats and naps better and who is sooooo much happier during the day. Thank you Baby Whisperer! I can't recommend that book enough. Here are some more fabulous pics of our little guy...


Oh, and by the way, yesterday morning while Christopher was sitting in his bouncy seat I was in the kitchen making breakfast and all of the sudden I heard the song that plays when you pull the little lever. I look over and Chris has his hand grasped around it and he was just staring in amazement! He pulled it two more times after that. It was very exciting!

And we're back!

So sorry about the delay, folks, but Time Warner Cable is...well...this is a family show so I won't say anything I'll regret. The important thing is our internet is now working again and I will be updating the blog tomorrow. I hope we didn't lose any of our valuable audience! There is so much to talk about and fill you in on! Boo Rangers.

Election 2008

Tired of the same old political parties? Fed up with partisan politics in Washington? Bored with the usual presidential candidates? There's hope! If you can't go directly to the link by clicking it, just copy the link below, paste it into the address line, click enter and then watch the video that comes up to see that there is hope for America. (Sorry if the direct link was not working!)

http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=370743&altf=Disjtupqifs1&altl=Xphmpn

Finally!!!

O....M....G!!! My humans have finally remembered that I exist and need a lot more exercise! Today, Mom took Chris and I to the dog park on 119th Street for the first time in I don't know how long. I think Mom was a little disturbed when Cary remarked yesterday that I've put on a few pounds so she was moved to do something about it. All morning since that crazy baby woke up, I could tell that Mom had something up her sleeve. I think it was like 8AM when I heard her say, "Blah, blah, blah, dog park, blah, blah." My ears perked up and I headed for the door. But each time I saw her move in my direction, she then changed direction because that baby needed something. Well, I need something too! Exercise! This slow running with Mom just isn't cutting it. She's going to have to get a little faster if either of us are going to drop a few pounds. I waited and waited and we finally got in the car to go. I think Chris fell asleep once we got to the park because I didn't hear a peep out of him the whole time. Of course, I was a bit distracted, what with all my squirrel chasing. I also met a little terrier friend who was a beagle/terrier mix, really, and we wrestled in the dirt. I have to say I have lost a little speed over the months, but I am determined to get it back. Mom and I had a conversation on the way back while Chris continued to sleep. She and I made a pact to get back into shape together. Right now, though, I prefer running with Dad because he is way faster than Mom. But don't worry, we're working on it.

Quite the social calendar

So our little boy has been quite the social man this weekend! After our outing in the neighborhood Friday night, Christopher requested more gatherings. He wanted to make an impression on the Johnson County party scene. Yesterday, he made an appearance at our Bradley class reunion. It was so fun to see all the little babies from the families in our class! For a while, Chris was the only boy there so of course he was working his magic and getting digits. But then Zachary showed up! He was way cute too and Chris was in for some competition. Anyway, the two boys worked out a truce and all was well. One of the other fathers there was remarking that Christopher was quite the ham because he was bubbling and "gooing" up a storm. He was also smiling at everyone there...Christopher would not settle for a lazy Sunday so we took a trip down to Pizza 51 by UMKC to hang out with some of our friends from the old downtown dog park. Kasey made the trip with us and got to see her good friend Cary (pictured below getting kissed by Kasey). We had some good pizza and hung out outside on this beautiful fall day. It was a busy weekend and the family now needs a week to recover!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Thank you Aunt Bernadette for this onesie! Last night our neighborhood had a happy hour in the cul-de-sac behind us. Chris made his grand debut for the neighbors and he was a success, smiling and charming everyone in sight. We also met two other babies (both boys) who live up the street from us whose moms stay home with them. We talked about getting together with our boys sometime soon. Chris was very interested in all the kids riding their big wheels and motorized jeeps. Anyway he was so excited to be there that he fell asleep on Daddy's chest without a fuss. All that flirting makes a boy tired! We want to say congrats to Ian an Melissa who are getting married today. We're sorry we couldn't make it out there! Here are some tummy time pics...

Hand eye coordination

One of the only places in the house where I can place Christopher for a few minutes while I do things is his bouncy/rocker seat. This is the seat we bought so we could have one bouncy seat upstairs and one downstairs. Anyway, this chair has two little animals that hang down for Christopher to check out while he sits there. So far, he has discovered his toes but his hands are another matter--they still kind of flail all over the place. Well recently, Chris has discovered that if he moves his hands a certain way and they hit the animal toys hanging down, those toys make a sound. One plays a song and one is a rattle. The first couple of times he did this were definitely by accident, but now he seems to be more intentional about it. The rattle one is easier for him because he just has to hit it to make a sound. The other one you have to actually pull to make the song play. He has seen me do it lots of times and he smiles when the song plays, but he's only made it go twice and it was more because his finger got stuck on the pulley! Anyway, yesterday we went for a nice walk on the trail with Jaime and Olivia. Olivia is getting so big and she is a beautiful little girl! I can't wait until they start playing together. When we got home, we visited with Kay, our neighbor behind our house. Chris also had an appointment at the gym yesterday while Mama worked out. Rumor has it, he was content in one of the swings they have there for most of the time. I was in shock because he really does not like our swing here at the house. Anyway, he got fussy at the end of his time there, but then again so did I because I'm still not in my best shape yet. I know, Mom, be patient it will come, right?

Oh We're Half Way There

Just proof that my son is, in fact, my son... I was playing a little Bon Jovi for him yesterday. First we were listening to "Livin' on a Prayer" and I had him on his back while singing to him. As he was listening, I was moving his legs to the beat of the music and he was just laughing and cracking up. Very cute! The next song he listened to (or was forced to listen to some of you might say) was "Raise Your Hands." Every time they sang the chorus, I would lift Christopher in the air (no easy feat by the way!). The first time I did it, he seemed a little surprised that he was up that high. But after that he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. For those of you who are not fortunate enough to be familiar with this song, there is a part in the chorus that says "Raise your hands, from New Jersey to Tokyo." When they say New Jersey, I would say it in a really animated way and he would just laugh and laugh. Of course, he probably would have done that for anything I said in an animated way but I will take it as an indication that he is actually excited about the Garden State.