Thinkin' it through

Today, curious Casey figured out how to use the couch to pull himself up to a standing position. He has been studying this task for a few days now; conditioning his fingers to gather the strength to pull himself up... calculating the friction coefficients of the couch upholstry, determining the best angle to pull up from. Today, the calculations were done, and the testing began. He had success! But he didnt really think the whole thing through. Once he was upright, how was he supposed to get back down?.. I mean, standing up is cool and all, but he cant sustain that position forever. Luckily, Daddy witnessed this whole sequence, and rescued him, before he fell from a standing position. Oh crap, as I type, he is attempting this 'standup' manuver via the stereo speaker.. Gotta go..

Prunes?

I just got done feeding Casey. I have to say, he's (we're) getting much better. Or at least more efficient. Far more of the food actually goes into his mouth now, and we are much more focused. Instead of take a bite, look around, suck a thumb, play with the food; its now.. take a bite, stare at daddy with a look that says, 'hurry up with the next spoonful, I'm hungry'

While I was feeding him, I got to thinking... Who recommended that we feed toddlers prunes? Why not just add ex-lax as an ingredient in baby formula... It would kind of achieve the same result.

I've been listening to the news lately, and 2 recent topics of discussion have been the 'cash for clunkers' program and the $8000 credit for home buyers... Anytime I come across topics like this, the first thing I do, is find out who is most vocal in support of the proposals... For example, car dealers loved cash for clunkers.. and real estate agent are all for the home buyer credit.... Why?? Simple.. They stand to gain the most.

So, following this logic, I'm betting it isnt some pediatric association that first recommended prunes.. It had to be Pampers, Huggies, Kirkland etc... Makers of diapers!! Think about it, who stand to gain the most from babies constantly pooping...


Here's a photo of a happy Casey being fed. No, it aint prunes.

Teething

My poor little Casey is now teething. As a result, he soothes himself by sucking on things... Lots of things, anything... Seriously, we have bought him 'chew toys'.. I know his nickname is 'Pup Jr.', but chew toys? Whats next, a flea collar?


Casey sucking his thumb. This occurs often, especially in between mouthfuls of food. The pattern usually goes, spoonful of 'solids', thumb... spoonful of 'solids', thumb. Repeat.
Forget the thumb, Casey got ahold of Mommy's chin.
Casey gettin practice for a "Coyote Ugly" girl. You know, 'Do I wake her up, or do I chew an arm off and bail....'
Casey sucking on Daddy's finger. I hope that finger is clean...

Like Father, Like Son

Well, from day one, there was no doubt that Casey was mine. When I first saw his head pop out, it was like I was looking in a mirror. Almost 40 yrs apart, lots of things have changed... Bouncers have improved, rug styles have changed, diaper technology has improved. But check out the photos, one cerca 1969-70, the other 2009!


PSW as a baby cerca 1970. Kinda reminds me of a restraint system that might be found in a mental institution. Hmm, maybe there are some things I dont know about my childhood... Note the color of the carpet.. I wonder if that color was chosen on purpose, if I spit up, or threw up, it likely would have matched the carpet color.

Casey as a baby in Sept, 2009. Much more colorful. I wonder how much money was spent on marketing, focus groups and psychiatrists over the last 40 yrs to come to the conclusion that blue with green accents is a great improvement over the mental institution bland of 1969. And about the carpets, light tan here, not gonna camouflage spit up, throw up or poop stains at all!

Haircut

6.5 months, its about time for a haircut. Especially for our little long-hair Casey. Lucky kid, his Auntie Ana is a professional... But, I figured 'how hard could this be?' I'm just gonna take a rice bowl, turn it upside down on top of his head, and cut around it. Simple huh? Well, the first thing I didnt count on was constant movement. We sat him in a bumbo seat, and broke out the scissors. I quickly learned if we give him something to put in his mouth, his attention would be diverted, giving us a chance to cut. Oh yeah, but first, 'we' put his hair up, in a.. I dont know. Just up.. See the photos.. I cant really explain it. Anyway, about 30 seconds into this endeavor, I was wishing we had the services of Ana the professional. I could just picture poking an eye out with the scissors. That would be bad. Alas, no such disaster.. Just a haircut, maybe a little TOO short, but, hey, it'll grow.
Before


What are those things in your hand?


I'm speechless..

Hey, I can see, there's no hair in my eyes!!

Cousins

Last weekend, Uncle Ed brought Chantal and Elena to SD to meet little Casey. Weekend highlights included a family Wii tournament, beach day with the girls and a sunset family stroll. A great weekend with family.


Tally

Goo
Three cousins


Impromptu family portrait on the stairs

Casey leanin' like a cholo

Grubbing

Greetings to all. Welcome to the my latest blog post. This one will cover my recent experience of feeding Casey. He just turned 6 months old, and according to the research, that means its about time to start feeding him 'solids'. Let me start by clearing up a misnomer. There is nothing solid about 'Solids'. It isnt solid when it goes in, it sure as hell isnt solid when it comes out. Why they call it solids is beyond me. Anyhow, my first experience feeding Casey 'solids' went something like this...

The 'solid' was a small jar of sweet potatoes. Supposedly, they make different sizes of jars, which correspond to the age of the child. As the kid gets older, you buy bigger jars. Why cant adult portions be like that? The older you get, the bigger steak you get served... That could work. Ok, back on track. These sweet potatoes are BRIGHT orange. Its my understanding that part of the reason to introduce 'solids' at this age is to aid the growth of the digestive system. Well, if that part of the goal, I say this first experience failed. About a day after I shoveled this stuff into his face/mouth, Casey blasted out the exact same stuff... Same color, same consistency... but get this... about twice the volume came out! Exactly how does this happen? He ate a couple of ounces, max... and about a pound and a half came out the other end... Amazing.

Anyways, back to the feeding. We sit him in the high chair, put a bib on him, and get a rag ready. I get a small spoon full, and aim for his mouth. Let me just say this was an inefficient process. First off, I'm trying to hit a moving target; he kept moving his mouth. So, sometimes I hit cheek, other times I missed completely. The next challenge is keeping what I do get in his mouth from from oozing out. Let me put it this way, out of that small jar, a portion I completely missed with. This stuff ended up on his face, on the bib, on the high chair tray. Of the portion that got in his mouth, some of it oozed back out, and seeped down his chin. Whatever was left over he presumably actually swallowed.

That wasn't the only inefficiency either. This sloppy process took much longer than I expected. I would try to aim a portion in his mouth. Then he would dodge my efforts for a while. Then he would opt for his thumb, and suck on that for awhile. Then, he would cry. I actually began timing it so when his mouth opened to cry, I'd get the spoon in there! Is that bad???