I feel like these two pictures epitomize what Anthon's last month has been better than any cute/posed picture will. Actually, when I get to explaining more about these pictures, you'll understand why a cute/posed picture wasn't really possible anyways.
Picture #1 (From Above)
Getting Anthon dressed has turned into a much longer process. Here's a play-by-play for you.
Let's set the scene:
Just outside of the bathtub, where I'm attempting to put lotion on him before putting on a diaper.
Also, let's have you open this song in another tab and have it playing the background.
-I lay Anthon on his towel, handing him a toy I hope will keep him occupied long enough for me to get him lotioned up.
-Anthon is occupied for 2 seconds. Which (remarkably), is long enough for me to get his legs, feet, and bottom lotioned.
-Anthon rolls over and stands up, bouncing up and down as he looks into the tub at the toys he just finished enjoying a bath with
-I lay him back down
-I hand Anthon the toy from before again, which he tosses to the side after another brief moment of being entertained
-Oop--I was too late, Anthon may have the toy in hand, but he's already managed to roll over and sit upright.
-Anthon reaches up, wanting me to hand him the wipes container on the back of the toilet.
-I hand it to him
-He's occupied for Another two seconds, during which I manage to lotion the top half of his body
-'Okay, now for the diaper....'
-I lay Anthon on his back and try to quickly open up the diaper (thinking to myself, as I often do-- 'dangit! why did I not do this before I laid him down?!')
-In the time it took me (maybe 1.3 seconds) to unfold and open up the diaper, Anthon has rolled over and is now analyzing an escape route; he's noticed the bathroom door is just slightly ajar. He's leaning his head past me and starts to make a go for the door
-I put him back on his back
-I latch on one of the diaper straps
-Anthon starts to roll over again.
-I give up on that approach--the rest of this diapers going to be attached in motion. Anthon knows that having a diaper on (latched or not) means freedom is near--this is when it's always hardest to keep him still
-I stretch the second diaper strap as he is rolling over, while trying to hold him still enough to make sure it actually latches on right
-It latches.
-As he crawls away, I straighten out the diaper over his butt (it is caty-whompus due to his last roll mid-diapering).
-He pulls open the door towards him and goes through the cute process of figuring out how to get his little self far enough out of the way for the door to open while still actually opening it
-I pick him up, taking him to the other room to finish dressing him
-I set him down on the floor while I grab his clothes.
-He's off. He's grabbed a book and is turning through it's pages.
-Luckily, slipping his head into the headhole is the easy part; no extra limbs or restraining necessary--I stretch the hold big enough and slide it down onto his neck.
-Book still in hands, I steal away one hand to put through one arm hole. He's always really helpful with this part and puts his arm right through the hole.
-Attention lost. Onto the next activity.
-Anthon crawls over to a bin of toys and pulls out a few, while looking up at me with a huge grin on his face
-I shake my head at his insane cuteness amidst making mom work so hard and take a deep breath
-Anthon gets tired of toys and makes his way to the trash can to try to pull it over
-I pick him up, grab his blanket (which often helps him stay in one place for longer) and sit him down just long enough to pull his other arm through the remaining arm hole
-With an extra second or two, I pull his onesie down over his tummy
-This is another one of those "FREE AT LAST!" Moments. I think it must feel as if he's fully clothed at this point....
He's actually not.
-Anthon sticks his head into his blanket and his head into the air, giving me JUST enough time to snap one of those tricky buttons on the bottom of his onesie. He was only there for a second, but I moved quick, so I managed to get one.
-Anthon crawls away
-I crawl after him, bending over trying to button his remaining two buttons
-I realize the first buttons aren't lined up correctly
-I unbutton them as he crawls
-Anthon sits up and looks at me, after which he pushes on my legs and arm to stand himself up and lean on me
-YES. I have access. I keep him upright as long as I can and manage to button two of his little bum buttons
-Two out of three? I'll take it. (You learn quickly after a few of these experiences that third buttons are really not the most important things in the world)
-Anthon has located his pacifier on the floor across the room.
-He sits back down and sets off crawling, determined.
-He gets to his bink, sits up, takes a deep breath, and looks at me, feeling accomplished as he smiles and fumbles to turn the bink around in his hand and insert it into his mouth.
-Okay. Just his pants left. This is usually the easy part
-I crawl over to Anthon, sit cross-legged, and set him on his bottom in my lap.
-I scrunch up his pant legs and put his feet into the holes
-Again, he's really good at this part and straightens out his legs for me
-He then leans to the right over my right thigh and places his hands on the ground, ready to crawl again
-I pull his pants up over his little bottom
-And breath a sigh of relief.
-Done.
Anyone who thinks being a mom isn't time consuming or a full-time job has never dressed my ten-month old.
If I could post emoticons, I would insert a smiley face laughing so hard it's crying here.
Picture #2 (from Above)
Walks go like this for us these days. Visual stimulators aren't quite cutting it these days. So, we got on walks and veer off paths and roads, letting Anthon feel poles, trees, cars, leaves, and really...anything else that strikes his fancy.
Tell you one thing, homeboy's going to have one heck of an immune system by the time he turns one.
Having a mover for a baby helps you learn to not take a few things for granted:
1. UNblurry pictures (almost never happen anymore)
2. Pictures where Anthon ISNT right up in the lens of whatever you've got, be it a camera or phone
3. Pictures with your babies full face in it. (You've got to hold the phone/camera away; as you'll note from the pictures above, I haven't mastered 'no-look' picture taking)
4. Caring about lighting. haha. Lighting? Yeah...if the picture isn't blurry and you can see Anthon's full face clearly...it's pretty much a winner.
Milestones
-FOUR teeth! His top two side teeth came through!
-Pulling himself up to a standing position
-Crawling (He's converted over to big-kid crawls, rather than his army crawl that he loved so much. Granted, he still does that sometimes)
-Waving bye!
-SAYING bye!
-Turning pages in books
-Playing chase with us!
Likes:
-all things food: especially graham crackers, mango, and the same Gerber snacky things, CHEERIOS
-Having his back drawn on after he's in his crib but before he goes to bed
-Watching Shasta
-Being with people
-Playing with dad (or mom, but especially dad)
-Being with mom after naptimes/waking up (these are the times he's stillest I cherish them! I let him keep his blanket with him for a little bit and he'll just sit on my lap as I talk to him and/or stroke his little head :)
Dislikes:
-being alone
Oh, by the way....
Anthon doesn't do well with
-Dairy
-Soy
-Eggs
ha... So I haven't really been eating those either. Eggs were a recent discovery. He does okay with those if I eat them, but he gets a rash if he eats them.
Poor little man :(
Needless to say, life with little man is a ball of fun. He's lively, smiley, and is just so much fun. Life is busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Part-way through the dressing process..
Stripes on stripes are an 'in' thing now...right? ;P
Graduating to the 'car(t)seat)
Our little trouble-maker
As pictured before...some extra layers beginning to grace the body of our little man on walks..
When dad wakes up late and Anthon wakes up early... :)
We are happy.
I am loving my husband and loving our little man!
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