Something Old, Something New

Do you like Wiggle's cool blue shoes? Notice something different about them? They have laces instead of velcro. That's because they are C's from when he was a babe in arms, courtesy of Grandma R. Thanks, Grandma!

This was his first wearing of them. They are still a little big, and he has a little trouble maneuvering in them because they are a little heavier than newer shoes. Also, he hardly ever wears shoes since kids are supposed to learn to walk better with bare feet, so they sometimes take some getting used to. Now that the weather has turned cooler here though, I wanted the shoes as an added layer when we go out, plus they are super cute. I think I'm going to knit him some, not so little, wool socks for the winter too. I just love the shoes, and he loves them too, although mostly to eat. You gotta love a nice rubber sole to chew on.

He's also sporting a new sweater from my mom. I like it so much, I kind of want one for myself. He has received several compliments on it already. It is also cute because it has a hood, and when I put the hood up, he tries to take it off by pulling it forward as hard as he can. He reminds me of a kitten trying to get out of a bag that's over its head by backing up. We help him as soon as he gets too frustrated, but I have to stifle my giggles at the huffing and puffing that goes on during the attempt.


We went to our second music class this week. Only a few people showed up - our first encounter with the effects of childhood sickness and how quickly it spreads, but it was still a lot of fun. Now that we have the CD's and we listen to them everyday, he recognizes the songs and gets excited for certain parts. We also bought some musical instruments from Land of Nod this weekend. They turned out to be bigger than we orginally realized , so he can't play with all of them by himself (the triangle's metal rod was immediately confiscated), but he loves the cymbals and the tambourine and can maneuver them both fairly well. He also shakes the maracas and the clapper, but he is not allowed to walk around with those due to the slight chance of impalement.

He has also started dancing a little. He sways to music, but if you draw any attention to it, he immediately stops. I will try to get some video of it, but even grabbing the camera generally makes him stop, so it will take some doing.

In food news, his favorite now is cheese, by far. Cheddar, muenster, swiss, he likes it all. He even had a piece of heavily-flavored sage cheese from the supermarket sample bin and loved it. He also eats organic, no-preservative hot dogs without the skin, peas, steamed carrots, and avocado. He isn't really taking a spoon these days, so his diet has become slightly more limited. If he can't feed it to himself, he isn't interested. Another interesting food he tried and liked, balsalmic vinegar. Another supermarket sample, I put some on some bread thinking he wouldn't like it, but what the hey, right? He took it and ate it like he wasn't at all tasting something new and unusual. He's pretty awesome.

His newest trick is alternately feeding himself and and his dad his food. Does he ever try to feed me? No, never, just Dad. I think it's cute that it's special between them. Plus, I get my fair share of half-eaten, smushed things to eat just picking up after him, so I don't really feel cheated.

That's the week so far. This weekend we are going to a cool toy store in Oak Park, and Wiggle is having his first official playdate. Well, that's only technically true, as the kids will not be able to play together at all - his date is only two months old. But it's still the first time we are getting together with another set of parents intentionally that isn't part of a group thing. I'm looking forward to it.