Reflections on the Season

The Prince started walking last week. He's been taking one or two steps, but it seems as though he thinks "Wait, I don't do this," then drops to his knees and crawls. But, he took ten baby shuffle steps to hand the dog her ball. It was sort of a strange moment. Hubs and I looked at each other and squealed, then clapped, but it seemed like there should have been fanfare and crowd applause.

I can think of other recent moments that should have had extra fanfare. Maybe not the moment of The Prince's birth; it seems that there was plenty of noise then, but a parenthetical moment for Hubs and myself might have been nice. We didn't really get that until later in the day. But, certainly, when I went into labor, fanfare would have been great. The moment that we'd been waiting almost ten months for, that would start everything, had finally arrived. Graduations have fanfare, and weddings have fanfare-type music. How about the triumph of waking up and having the strength to get out of bed some mornings? Or thinking of something to make for dinner? Or having all the dishes done and all the laundry baskets empty (if only for a few moments)?

Mary didn't have fanfare in the manger. She did get a lot of strangers visiting (can't imagine having just given birth and entertaining such a wide variety of people), and she'd had angelic visions and such, but it seems like our Saviour should have had fanfare at His arrival. At least an epic soundtrack.

But that's all an integral part of the story, isn't it? How He humbled himself, and did without all the normal king-ley things. Having my own child makes so many things look different to me, not the least of which is the whole Christmas story. Seriously? Jesus became so helpless, dependent on others for everything? How many times did the Lord of All pee in his mom's face? Did she have trouble nursing him? Did he cry when a forbidden or dangerous item was taken away from him for his safety? Did he wake his mom up many times at night?

I'm proud to call Jesus my Lord, all the much more so for all these things. And when I think of the story, I have special fanfare going on in my head. Hallelujah, Lord Jesus.

It was going to be a busy day, so I was hurrying around during The Prince's nap to get ready.

Now, what is one of the worst things Mommy can hear during Baby's nap? The doorbell. And the fearsome guard dog reacting to the doorbell.

I got the dog quieted and edged around her to open the door. The new neighbor was standing there, holding jumper cables (Our interactions with this neighbor have been limited to introductions and silent grumbling at their dog's "packages" left on the shared front lawn).

She says "Our battery's dead, can you help us?" I think "No. I don't want to. I'm in a terrible hurry, and I don't want to leave my sleeping baby alone in the house. Arg, really? Lord, do you want me to do this? Well, how many times have I needed jumped, and I was at the mercy of coworkers and a rescuing hubby? Answer: too many. Sigh. OK." Out loud, I say "All right, give me a few minutes."

I finished applying my mascara, threw on jeans and a sweatshirt, and tried to sneak out without disturbing the guard dog.

The neighbor's mysterious grandson appeared briefly, then disappeared, leaving the lady and myself. That's ok, I've got lots of practice with this.

I wedged my car in next to the handicapped spot, and she very carefully popped her hood. Her dog helped. I searched for the hooky to undo her hood. For future reference, in mid-decadeish grey Ford Explorer-types, it's in the front grille.

Popped the hood ("Red to red, black to black!" Really? Thanks. Got it.), attached the cables, instructed her what to do, turned on my car. Her engine roared to life. I told her to keep the car running to recharge, and swiftly unhooked the cables and drove my car back to it's spot. Ran into the house, and The Prince is still sleeping soundly.

I'm sort of repulsed at myself for hesitating, not only because of the holiday season, and my beliefs, but because I actually prayed a few days ago for God to use me. As I was praying, I hesitated. Did I really want to ask for this? This was bound to bring challenges my way, calls to step outside my comfort zone. So, when my prayer was answered, why did I not jump at the chance?

So, I'm learning. And trying to embrace the challenges.

Taste Test

The Prince is beginning to be a picky eater. When he feels like it. I've heard that a toddler won't starve himself, and I don't want to start the habit of making a new meal when he doesn't like what I'm serving, but I worry that he's getting enough to eat.

Today for lunch The Prince had mashed potatoes with acorn squash and a couple handfuls of small bits of baked sweet potatoes and apples, bananas, and cheerios. But, they didn't really make him happy (until today, sweet potatoes and bananas have been his favorites).

I made myself some scrambeled eggs and potatoes, and sat down to eat while The Prince started his finger foods. Really, just started throwing, squishing, and feeding the dog. He eyed my plate, and said he'd rather have some of that (until today, he has absolutely detested scrambeled eggs).

So, I gave him a bite of eggs. He thought it was great! I decided to use the "every other bite" method, offering him eggs, then sneaking in his lunch. After the third or so bite, he stuck his tongue out to taste it before he accepted it.

Sigh. He has caught on to one of my eating tricks. Isn't he smart?

Baby Life #5

Laundry Math

Dryer sheets will multiply, tiny socks will be subtracted.

Snapshot of the Prince

Here are a few tidbits of what The Prince is up to these days. He's 10 months and 25 days old.

Today, he learned how to shake his head. Like to say "no." I don't think he knows what it means, but it makes for some pretty entertaining moments. Me: Let's put your diaper on. The Prince: Shakes his head. Me: Let's get out of the bathtub. The Prince: Shakes his head.

He takes two naps a day. Typically, he's a speed napper, usually doing two 45 minute stretches at 8:30 and 1:30. This week, though, he's slept for a least an hour each time.

He's gone back to waking up two times a night. For a blissful few weeks, it was just once, but just in time for our trip, he started on the two times again. I go back and forth between enjoying the time and wishing we could move on.

He seems thisclose to walking. He's been cruising for awhile, and in OK he pushed a doll's buggy around and around at Granny A and Papa Bear's house.

If he's really enjoying himself, like playing with dishes or toys, he can play independently for quite awhile. He just drags whatever's currently interesting him around. Sometimes he sits and turns little circles on his bottom, moving his toy around and around.

Hungry, hungry, hungry! He eats three meals, two snacks, and nurses around six times each day. He loves finger food, and prefers to feed himself. His favorites are sweet potatoes (baked fries or mashed), yogurt, cheese, and most fruits. If I'm feeding him his veggies first, he often won't eat until I give him some finger food or alternate bites of veggies and fruits. Sometimes I give him his own spoon to hold and practice with.

He enjoys sucking his big toe.

He can click with his tongue.

He has a great smile and laugh, but he also smiles with his eyes. They kind of crinkle up and he does just a small smile with his mouth.

Since it's hard to get him to sit still for any length of time, we read to him in the bathtub. Right now, we read Goodnight Moon every night, and he gets very excited when it's time. Sometimes he yells and looks over to where the book is if he thinks its time to start reading.

He is fast. Always moving, always wanting to get into things and discover. It's so cool to watch him learning.

My goodness, I could go on and on. I won't tonight. More for later!