Excitement!

So I know you're all wondering what I did for my workout today. No? Well I'll tell you anyway, but it's going to take a while to get to the actual workout part... I decided that today was nice enough to be a green consumer and walk to the grocery store with little CJ. We both bundled up (little man can be seen on the left), took our hippie grocery bag and began the journey. There is a tanning salon in a strip mall just before you get to the Price Chopper and as we approached, I noticed several police cars parked haphazardly in front. Several men who looked like detectives strolled calmly into the salon so I figured whatever the matter was, it was not urgent. We continued to our destination, got what we needed and exited the store. As we were walking out, I noticed two police cars slowly canvasing the parking lot and a K-9 unit with a big old German Shepard sniffing the back of the tanning salon. Hmmm, I thought, heck of a day to decide to walk to the grocery store! On the other side of the lot is a Scooter's Coffee shop so I made my way over. I figured, people in coffee shops always know what's going on. I ordered my latte and proceded to ask the cashier if he knew what was going on. He didn't but right behind me was a detective (a large man that I would not want to mess with) who asked the cashier if anyone had noticed any "suspicious activity." After this, and then noticing the K-9 unit making their way across the entire lot, I decided it would be best for us to stay put, especially since the owner of Scooter's thought it best to lock the outer doors. So I put down a blanket, took out CJ's keys and let him hang out while I drank my coffee. I called Daddy to let him know that everything was fine, we were just going to stay there, and we visited with the store's owner and the workers. I guess it ended up being a nice thing, because the people were very friendly, enjoyed Christopher, and will definitely see us in there again for business. After 30 minutes or so the cop cars started to leave so we packed up and headed home. I have not run in several weeks due to an achilles injury but decided now would be an excellent time to test it out. Good news! The leg feels fine! Although it was only a mile, we ran home at a blistering pace (for real this time) and got back safely. But not before a nondescript car with government plates was slowly moving through our neighborhood. I still don't know what's going on but I'm beginning to wonder why we sent Kasey to daycare today. Oh well, who says nothing exciting ever happens in Kansas!

And briefly, squash was a success today. Using a spoon... not so much...

Don't Leave Me!!!

It appears that our little guy is going through a little bout of separation anxiety. I started to notice it a bit last week. Many times when I would put him down on the floor to play with some toys and then go into the kitchen, he would fuss the second I started to walk away. This past week, he started to fuss even if I would sit him in front of me to practice rolling the ball back and forth. Last night we started our first round of nighttime separation anxiety. I should have known that the bedtime routine went way too smoothly. Christopher was in bed before Daddy got home from the gym and he went to sleep without a peep. I breathed my usual evening sigh of relief and went out to make dinner. 45 minutes later he was screaming from the nursery. Long story short, after multiple trips in to help him settle down, we realized he would settle down as long as we were there but the second we even took our hand away from him, he would flip out. We read some things about this online and realized that this tends to happen between 6 and 9 months because that is when babies begin to realize that you are a separate person from them and, therefore, you can leave. Their fear of course is that you'll never come back, so the best thing to do is to go in and reassure them you are there and leave quickly. Eventually they will realize that you will come back, even when you are not in the room. So that's what we did until we went to bed. It worked pretty well and our man got a decent night's sleep, although this 5 AM wake up thing has got to go! Knock on wood, he doesn't have stranger anxiety yet but I'm sure that will come down the road eventually.

The Y Chromosome

Ah, teeth... Why do they have to be so uncomfortable for our little man? I feel like he's been teething for at least 2/3 of his life and these two teeth that are emerging from his top gums are literally driving him insane! I have often heard from other mothers about the trials and tribulations of teething and I certainly understand what they are talking about. But it seems like Christopher really has issues dealing with any sort of discomfort. A wise woman told me, not too long ago, that he can't handle the pain because he is a man. (Sorry guys, but it's true. That's why we are the ones who give birth!). I'm beginning to see the validity of this statement. Many of our readers have mentioned how happy Christopher always looks in the pictures I put on the blog and 90% of the time, he is very happy. But I wish I could have taken a picture of him at 3 o'clock this morning when he was screaming from the discomfort of these two teeth. Well, I don't actually wish I could have taken a picture of that, but the poor boy was having a really rough time dealing with those pearly whites. Ah, the Y chromosome!

Batton down the hatches!

Oh boy! We're about to embark on quite an adventure! It seems as though our little boy has begun his attempts at moving on his own. Of course, he's moving in the opposite direction than he really wants to go but he is moving just the same. Christopher has been working very hard over the past few days to push up onto all fours. He can do it for a few seconds but then plops back down on his tummy. Well, just yesterday he began to push himself backwards when he is on his tummy. Occasionally he'll shove his face into the floor, pull up his legs, and scoot forward a couple inches but he has not quite mastered that yet. However, the scooting backwards thing is going pretty well. It's funny because when he does move back I cheer with the utmost enthusiasm. Christopher, on the other hand, becomes extremely frustrated and voices his displeasure that he is moving away from what he wants rather than toward it. Oh well. I suppose he'll figure it out eventually... Our little flirt has begun yet another love affair with a cute creature. We were watching a Baby Einstein video yesterday that has this cute little bumble bee that has a very adorable voice. Every time she appears on the screen, Chris becomes a very happy little man! And speaking of his favorite creatures, here is is with his best pal Kasey. As soon as he starts really moving on his own and getting into stuff, he can start using the excuse on his shirt for real!

Yay Sweet Potatoes!

We have officially moved onto our second solid food with Christopher. I have been told by many experienced mothers that sweet potatoes are a good vegetable to start with so I decided to give it a try. In my efforts to really play up the wonderful quality of vegetables (and to make sure the potatoes were not too hot), I took the first bite of this wonderfully prepared baby food. I then made a huge deal out of how fabulous the sweet potatoes were, comparing them to a steak at Peter Luger's. Once Christopher heard this, he was ready to chow down... and he loved what he tasted! In fact, when we were done with the bowl, he got fussy and reached for the spoon, demanding more grub. Now, this food was out of the jar but now that I know our little man likes sweet potatoes, I might make them the first puree to be concocted in our new baby food maker. We'll see if Mommy can cook like Beechnut... By the way, Kasey has begun to lurk under Christopher's high chair when he is eating. I think she remembers from her experience with Tristan that someday, goodies might drop from above!

Expressions

One of the things that is so fun about this part of Christopher's life is that he has developed so many different facial expressions that make taking pictures of him a lot of fun. He has always been a very expressive baby, smiling at people not just with his mouth but also with his eyes. But there are other ways that his face just talks to us. In the picture above, he was just staring at the camera as he chomped on Daddy's string from his hooded sweatshirt. He also has a distinct look on his face when he communicates with Kasey. Here are some other recent pictures of the many faces of Christopher...

4AM CJ? Really?

The good news... Christopher has now mastered rolling from back to front. The bad news... he has mastered it by practicing at four o'clock in the morning. Our boy went from sleeping the other night for ten and a half hours straight (without a peep, I might add) to sleeping last night for a while until he woke up on his tummy with his head up, not quite sure what to do with himself. We've gone in a couple times to return him to his back where he now is just "chillin'" if that is possible this early in the morning. In addition to this whole flipping thing, he has also rotated completely around in his crib and is just making noises and rolling from side to side. I guess he does have my crazy genes... you know, the ones that used to (emphasis on "used to") get me up at 4:30 to run 8 miles before work. Christopher, too, likes to do his workouts early in the morning. Well, I'm being stubborn and not getting him out of bed yet. Sorry kiddo but it's just too early for you to be up. Mommy is going to read the Times for a little while.

Thursday Thoughts

"Feeeed meeee... Feeeed meeee...." If Christopher could articulate the words running through his head 24-7, I'm pretty sure this is what he would say to us. He literally puts everything in his mouth! Obviously he's not trying to eat all of the things he grabs-- I know he is trying to test them out and also make his teeth feel better. But it sometimes seems like he is Godzilla trying to ingest everything in his path. In the picture to the right, he is gnawing on the base of a toy he likes to play with. I also tried to get a picture of him stretching his sock into his mouth but he kept stopping every time I put the camera up. Later on in the afternoon, Chris was grabbing my whole leg as I laid down next to him and tried to put that in his mouth. Geesh! One reason he may be doing this is that our boy has yet another tooth that has broken through. This one happens to be on the top and it's not quite in the middle. It seems to be more to the right and its partner on the left looks about ready to bust through as well. This boy's got a lot going on... Today was like 60 degrees here so we met Jaime and Olivia at Shawnee Mission Park for a nice walk. We parked by the lake (which is still frozen) and there was this HUGE bird in the middle of it. I couldn't tell what it was from a distance but people kept stopping to look at it with binoculars. As we were staring, a park officer drove by and told us it was a bald eagle that had been at the park for several days. Pretty cool! Anyway, we enjoyed our walk and when we got back, Christopher heard Mommy play her flute for the first time. He tried to play himself, but we're still working on his form and posture...
Oh, and by the way, could anyone look more comfortable than our dog in this picture? You might have to click on the picture to see a close up and understand the true relaxation of this dog...

Little Drummer Boy

Even with the fabulous, colorful toys that come with all the bells and whistles, Christopher is maintaining a children's tradition and playing with stuff that isn't sold at Babies R' Us. Everyone knows that when kids open gifts, the best part is often the box that the gift comes in. The same idea holds true for everyday kitchen items as well. There is nothing like busting out a rhythm on a metal colander with a wooden spoon, as Chris is attempting to do in this picture. This does take a bit of advanced hand-eye coordination which led to some frustration on little man's part. But it doesn't phase him too much and he just then tries to eat the wooden spoon rather than drum with it! I've also been trying to teach Christopher to roll a ball and while he sometimes accidentally does it, he isn't quite sure how to purposely make it happen. He does pick up the ball equally with the left hand and the right hand. Time will tell which hand he is actually going to throw with! Here he is eating the "drumstick" and playing with the ball...

6 Month Doctor Visit

We had Christopher's 6 month appointment today and here are the official numbers:

Height: 27 1/4 inches
Weight: 19.8 lbs.
Head Circumference: 17 1/4 inches

Our little man also got his first round of shots today. Because Mommy is picky about immunizations, Chris had to get four shots instead of just three. (There was a combo shot that had a vaccination that Chris is not going to get that would have made it three shots.) Anyway, I think the nurses were more nervous about giving him the four shots than I was! Each nurse took a leg and gave him two shots in each leg. Meanwhile, I was holding his hands and letting him play with my hair. Well, Christopher cried out for about 10 seconds and then all was well. No tears were shed. What a trooper! Anyway, I think we're all glad that appointment is over and we don't go back now until he is nine months old. Overall, he is in excellent health!

Kindermusik

Today we took Christopher to his first Kindermusik class. It was so much fun! Kindermusik Village is a music and movement class for babies and toddlers. Kindermusik has different programs as the children get older, but this one was great. Usually we'll be going on Tuesdays, but since Chris was sick last week, we went to a make-up class today. And since Daddy was off from work, he got to enjoy the class with us. Christopher just loved his teacher, Miss Heather, and gave her lots of big smiles. (She is the third person in a week to call him "Smiley.") There were five other kiddos there, and Chris was one of the youngest. He was absolutely fascinated by the children who could crawl and walk around. We sang lots of songs, did some fun moving games where he got to sway and bounce and fly, and played with bells, shakers and a ball. Chris even got a chance to learn how to relax. Ha! That's funny, right? Christopher? Relax? We'll keep working on that. All in all we had a great time and we'll actually be going back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled class. Hopefully we'll get to meet some new friends for our little guy!

By the way

Oh, by the way, Christopher is officially 6 months old today. Can you believe it? He's half a year! Daddy wants to know where the cake is.

Lazy Sunday

I can't say that Christopher slept as well last night as he did the night before (figures, since I wrote about how great those ten hours were on yesterday's blog) but he got some decent stretches in just the same. His tummy seemed to be bothering him a bit for whatever reason. Anyway, he made up for it today with a mega, man-size nap that, according to Brian, Grandpa Woglom would be proud of. We usually plan which mass we're going to go to around Christopher's Sunday nap schedule. (Good thing they have multiple masses to choose from!) I figured since he has been napping anywhere from 8 to 10 AM that the 11:30 mass would be perfect. Of course, Christopher had other plans. I put him down at 8 and left Daddy in charge while I went to the gym, thinking little CJ would still be asleep when I got back. Turns out he only slept 30 minutes so it was back to the drawing board. At 11, I put him down again, but this time in his car seat since we were still going to church whether he was sleeping or not. Well, our boy napped through the car ride to church, the entire mass, the car ride home, and Mommy and Daddy unloading dishes, doing laundry and working in the closet. In total the nap lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes! Chris was in a delightful mood when he awoke and was even happier when we watched a little of the football game downstairs. We haven't napped like our man, but Christopher's parents have been pretty lazy too (aside from our workouts today). And the weekend is only half over!

Raspberries on Weekends

It's funny but for some reason, Christopher only likes to make raspberries on weekends. It started the weekend before we came home for the holidays and it continues in full force today. Perhaps he likes to show off only when Daddy is around. Anyway, it's funny that he saves this talent only for Saturdays and Sundays... Way back in the early months of CJ's life, I was very hesitant to talk about any successful sleeping accomplishments by our little guy out of my fear that we would jinx ourselves, but that was many sleepless nights ago and my attitude has now changed. Please sit down if you are reading this standing up. Christopher J. Woglom slept for ten hours last night. No, you don't need to change the prescription in your glasses. I wrote TEN in that last sentence. He went to sleep at seven and got up at five. Yes 5 AM is a tad bit early, but we were all up with smiles after that superb night of sleep. We'll work on extending that 5 AM to a little later as we go. But one step at a time... We are enjoying a somewhat warmer day here in Kansas and we went to Men's Warehouse to have Chris fitted for a suit. Actually Daddy got fitted but Chris was eyeing some slick looking Kenneth Coles that he thought might impress the ladies. Other than that, little man has been hanging with his favorite lady, seen below. Check out Kasey's face in that picture. BTW, Kasey now has a fan club on Facebook. It's the "Kasey Rules" group. Check it out!

Mommy Runs on Dunkin'

It's Friday afternoon. We've hardly been anywhere all week because of Christopher being sick. We're stuck in the house because it's FREEZING. I'm beginning to lose my mind. So what is a mother to do when all of these factors cross paths and little CJ won't nap on top of it? That's right! You pack up the crew (read: Kasey and baby Chris) and drive 20 miles to Lawrence, home of the only Dunkin' Donuts within 400 miles of our humble abode, to get a piping hot cup o' joe. (I know, it's sad that there's only one D and D out here-- hence the picture of the cup. I used to pass about 12 stores on the way to work when we lived in Jersey!). As my mom will tell you (since she spoke to me on the phone before I made this executive decision), I was, let's just say, out of sorts what with my screaming, non-napping child. After ingesting this fabulous liquid of the gods, I drove back to Lenexa contemplating the goodness of life and how much I love my little guy. It's amazing what a little Dunkin' can do for your otherwise bland Friday afternoon... In other news, I want to jump on the bandwagon and say how cool we think that U.S. Airways pilot is that landed the plane in the Hudson River and saved all those people. Of course, we always knew the capabilities of pilots (right Omohundro family?) but this just confirmed it for everyone. Well done!

Ode to bath time

Oh bath time, you are so fun
I do not like when you are done.
When Mommy says "It's time!", I dance
Because I don't have to wear pants!

I Love Puppies!

As if you didn't know that already! I looooooooooooooooooove puppies so much! And remember that little puppy my Mommy told you about that sat above my first bouncy seat? You know, the one that I gave my first smile to? Well, I now hold in my hot little hands the real, life-size version of that puppy. My cousin cousin, Liz, sent it to me for Christophermas, I mean Christmas. I love this puppy so much because she sings to me and tells me the names of different parts of her like her hands and her tummy. Mommy keeps saying that she can't tell if it's a boy or a girl dog because its voice is somewhat androgenous, but I say it's a girl because... well... I love the ladies. Anyway, you would never know it from my expression in this picture but I was up every two hours last night because of my unending nasal congestion, hacking cough and now ear infection. Ugh! We had to go see Dr. Brooks today, but I didn't mind because I just smile at him the whole time he is looking at my eyes and ears and listening to my heart. I like to do this whenever Mommy brings me in for being sick so they think she's crazy. Hehehe... Here's a picture of one other thing I love--when Daddy reads to me before bed. He doesn't realize that I actually can read the words to the story. I just humor him by listening and looking at the pictures.

Happy Birthday Aunt Dabney!

Dear Aunt Dabney,

I hope you are having a happy, snappy, and preppy birthday today! I wish I could be there in Brooklyn with you to celebrate, as I know you will be having a blast and I never like to miss a good party. Eat lots of yummy food, drink lots of those grown-up drinks you enjoy and treat yourself to something fun. I promise to sleep through the night, just because it is your birthday. I love my cool Aunt Dab!

xoxo
CJ

Photo Shoot

This is the face of a baby who has just had a great morning nap!

Rubber duckie, you're the one

So Christopher received this rubber duckie set from Dad and Nancy for Christmas and as you can see, he is enjoying it thoroughly! It's so great now that he can sit up because I don't have to hold him in the tub with one hand and scrub him with the other. And now when we're done with the "business" aspect of the bath, we can then get down to the fun of playing with different toys. The other day, you were all introduced to the fat froggie but it appears that the ducks are now the toy du jour. When he was in the tub last night, he kept picking up the ducks and putting them in his mouth, as he does with just about everything he picks up these days. Then when he would have one in his mouth (see above) he would then try to pick up another and put that one in too. He would wonder why he couldn't fit both of them in at the same time and they would both take a plunge into the water. Anyway, bath time is definitely one of Christopher's favorite times of the day, mostly because he enjoys being naked so much! I hope that doesn't become a problem in the future...

Chillin'

Our little man is never happier than when he is relaxing with his favorite doggie. Here are the two buddies this morning after Daddy left for work. As you can see, Christopher has a pretty good grip on Kasey's fur. We'll have to work on that so there are no "arguments" between these two in the future. But it looks like Kasey doesn't really mind... Little CJ has developed a bit of a cough this morning and is stuffy, possibly as a result of his many outings with other kiddos this week. I think we'll bag any further get-togethers until he feels better. We had a visit from Miss Becky, our Parents as Teachers (PAT) lady this morning. PAT is a free program provided by school districts that sends a person to your home every six weeks or so and talks to you about what you can expect development-wise from your baby. You can also ask any questions you may have too. This is her second visit to our house and it's always very interesting because there's always something for me to learn from her. Of course, Kasey thought Becky was here to observe her so we had to set our puppy straight. Becky said Christopher had very good gross motor and memory skills and she gave us some great ideas of things we can do between now and her next visit... Miss Ruth is coming to babysit this afternoon while Mommy goes out to run some baby-free errands so Christopher is looking forward to play time with his favorite babysitter!

Brrrrrr...

Mommy, why do you dress me in these crazy things? When will I get a say in what I wear? Seriously...

A Moment of Silence

Dearly beloved, we gather here to say good-bye... to my coffee maker. It lasted a good 3 1/2 years (boy they don't make things like they used to) but this morning it would brew no longer. This nearly brought tears to my eyes as this is the only way I am able to get Dunkin' Donuts coffee in Kansas without driving all the way to Lawrence. Since I am trying to avoid the fatty espresso drinks from Starbucks, you'd better believe I will be trekking to Target today to get the next generation of java makers. What happened to my machine you ask? The only thing I can think of is that Brian asked to have a cup yesterday morning to see if he could start drinking it daily. It was all downhill from there.

Mister Activity

Wait, let me catch my breath for just a minute... Ah! Okay, thank you! This little boy of ours does not stop moving. I can't wait (or can I) to see what's going to happen once he starts getting around on his own. The picture to the left shows Christopher in a new contraption that we picked up last week to foster his growing need for jumping and/or squat thrusts. It's a bouncer that you attach to a door frame so he can jump and bounce and stand as much as he wants. Those of you who held Chris over the holidays will remember that he is a big boy and loves to stand on his own two feet while doing crazy squats. This bouncer is great because it gives Mommy's arms a rest! We will keep everyone updated on our latest adventures with this contraption... This morning, we all bundled up and went out for an early morning run on the trail. I say early but it was actually late by Christopher's standards--7:30 in the AM. He'd already been up for two hours (gasp!) along with the rest of us so we decided it would be good to get something accomplished, namely a four mile run. The sun was barely up when we hit the trail and although I couldn't feel my thighs and there was ice in my hair, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Don't worry, Chris was toasty warm and even took a nap as we ran... We topped off our morning with a trip to the local Gymboree to see what that program is all about. We previewed a class for 0 to 6 month-olds but since Chris is kind of on the border of that age level and the next, the instructor suggested we try the second level class for 6 to 10 month-olds. CJ enjoyed the class nonetheless and got to play on some equipment that he'd never seen before. He sat inside a tunnel, did tummy time on an inner tube, watched hundreds of bubbles fall from the sky (very cool!) and played peek-a-boo with a puppet. This last activity he loved and laughed out loud to everyone's delight and enjoyment. It was a very fun morning and now our little one is resting up in his crib for the next round of excitement.

Le Fat Froggie

Bonjour! I am zee Fat Frog. As you can see, I am zee cutest leetle frog this side of zee Mississippi. Je sais that I have played many roles in my life. Par example, I have been zee subject of many a math problem. I have had ice cream bars and boats named after me. But I have grown tired of all zees things. I now reside chez Woglom and my sole purpose is to entertain Monsieur Christopher, especially when he is taking a bath in zee tub. I am very stealth in my abilities as I huddle down under zee water where I cannot be seen. Then, like a crocodile, I leep out and squirt the leetle Monsieur right in his tummy with water. He seems to find this very entertaining and I relish this time with him. Zee only thing I don't like is when he tries to eat me. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Mmmmmmm...

So we finally set up Christopher's new high chair and today we gave him his first taste of the good stuff--well, as good as it gets for a five month old. Chris got to eat rice cereal from a bowl with a spoon. For the past several weeks, he has just been eying everything we've been eating. When I have my breakfast he just stares with this look on his face that says, "And when are you going to share that with me?" He also reaches for my glass if I'm drinking water when I'm holding him. So we decided it was finally time to start solids. Here are some pictures of the whole experience...


In the beginning, more of the cereal ended up on his chin than in his mouth but pretty soon he got the idea of what he was supposed to do. I think he liked it because he kept reaching for the spoon and trying to get it to his mouth faster, but I also think there were times when the texture of the food was a little funky to him. We just started with a little today but as we go I'm hoping to eliminate the bottle for one of his feedings per day. We'll see how it goes. According to Daddy, the next step is going to be cookies, but I'm pretty sure we should wait at least another week or so for that!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009 to everyone in our reading audience! Our little boy partied hard last night at the Titus residence. Actually, he slept pretty well considering we put him down at our house, transported him in the car seat to Matt and Jaime's, set him up in a brand new room that he's never been in, and had a party going on downstairs. Christopher's parents had a blast hanging out with our good friends playing Guitar Hero and Mario Kart. Jaime got this adorable sea horse that you see in the picture above for Chris and he really enjoys it! The front of the sea horse lights up and it plays soothing lullabies. Christopher actually fell asleep in 5 minutes for his nap this morning as we cuddled and held his new friend. Then I put the sea horse in his crib with him and he put his hand on its head and cuddled with it as he slept. He then went on to take a two hour nap. Thank you Jaime for this great addition! This morning, we went for our first full family run on the trail with Chris in the jogger and Kasey leading the way. We did four miles and boy did that feel great with the wind blowing against our faces! I think Christopher keeps putting on weight to make me a stronger runner when I push him up the hills in that stroller. This weekend we will be attempting solid foods with our boy to see how that goes. Stay tuned for updates on that adventure! Here are my two favorite guys getting ready for our run...