It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

So far, Wiggle's first holidays have been pretty lackluster. On the 4th of July we took him to see fireworks, but he was more mesmerized by the taillights on the cars going by. On Halloween, we didn't end up doing a costume because the only age-appropriate activity available was a costume parade, and it ended up being so cold and rainy that day, that everyone would have been wearing coats, thereby canceling out the costumes anyway. Thanksgiving was wonderful because we got to see Uncle M, but for Wiggle the actual meal turned into a big game of keep-away, as he wanted to grab every dish, wine glass, candle, and flower that was on or anywhere near the table.

Of course Christmas is different. It's bigger, louder, longer, and for most kids scarier. Everyone has heard the tales of waiting in line for hours to sit their cherubic tot on Santa's lap for the first time, only to have it end in a flurry of screaming, hair-pulling (or perhaps beard-pulling), and squirming. Or that any child under the age of one is more interested in the wrapping paper a gift comes in than the gift itself. And then there is the ever-present threat of a kid pulling the tree down on himself and in an instant turning hundreds of well-loved heirloom ornaments into a thousand Chinese throwing stars. Don't let any of these comments make you think that I am not looking forward to Christmas, because I am looking forward to it, immensely. We are visiting both families and I can't wait for Wiggle to share in traditions that both C and I have grown-up with. I guess I just thought that while Christmas was happening for me, for Wiggle it would just be a slightly more colorful Thursday.

On Friday night, we took part in a Chicago tradition which makes it clear that this will indeed be Wiggle's First Christmas. We rode the "Holiday Train." This is a regular CTA train decked out with a gajillion lights on the outside, tinsel, bows, and holiday-fabric seats on the inside, and Santa on a flatbed in place of one of the cars. It was awesome!

First of all, Wiggle always loves public transportation, but I think this was the first time we took the train with him because buses are much more stroller friendly. Just waiting on the platform in the cold, Wiggle had a great time trying out his "wave." He is a big flirt and knows how to achieve maximum cuteness, so that I am sure many a young couple has had an awkward conversation about when they will be starting a family after even a brief encounter with him.

Then the emblazoned train pulled into the station, and he was awe-struck. He smiled and giggled the whole way. At the end of the line, we got out and looked at the train from the outside, took a picture with Santa, and C and I switched baby for camera and vice versa. I had a very hard time trying to get pics of Wiggle with C because he kept turning towards the train to look at the lights. Some people nearby said if we took video of him turning away again and again, we could submit it to America's Funniest Home Videos. He kept the whole platform laughing until we boarded again to go back to the IIT stop where we got on. The trip was so exciting that he started to get sleepy on the way back, a full two hours before his normal bedtime.

I have a whole new level of excitement for the rest of the holiday season. Get ready grandparents, here we come!

Here are some pics from the happy excursion.

Posing for Daddy while waiting.

We can hardly contain our excitement!

The train in all of its glory - outside.

And inside.

Do you see how he can't take his eyes off the lights?

Chillin' with Santa, or at least one of his representatives from the Santa Union's local chapter.

Checking out the inside of the train as the doors open.

Wiggle doesn't look too happy that the ride will be over soon.

Yawning.

Fun in a Box

It is officially cold here. It's OK; it is late November, I'll allow it. It is also sunny today which made me think it was warmer outside. Faced with the almost freezing weather, I stayed inside, put on a fuzzy cardigan and thought of warmer days just a few weeks ago when we could play outside.

Here are some pics from Wiggle's first time in the sandbox at the park. He loved playing with the toys, the other kids, picking up and letting go of sand, trying to eat sand, and generally getting dirty. We also have a tiny sandbox in the backyard that he enjoys getting in and out of almost as much as he loves playing with the sand.

When we go back to the sandbox in the spring, he will probably be walking and talking (some). Weird.

Thanksgiving post to follow...

Rub-a-Dub, Dub, Cute Boyo in the Tub

These pics are from the other night, after his time in the sand box at the park. It was the first time I put bubbles in the tub, and aside from his initial confusion as to where his toys kept going, I think he liked them.

His new stacking cups have drainage holes in the bottom, and C kept lifting them up high so Wiggle could see the water draining out.


He also tried eating the bubbles at one point. Although he did not seem to like them as much as the sausage pizza he kept stealing from me tonight, he wasn't as turned off by them as I thought he'd be. The palate of a 9-month-old is truly a mystery.

He also spends a good deal of time splashing the water and singing, as bathroom acoustics are his favorite - just ask any employee at the Target in the South Loop, I'm sure they've heard him.

Out and About

It's been an eventful week, as weeks go. Last Thursday, we went to the doctor where Wiggle received both of his flu shots, and not surprisingly, charmed a number of moms and kids in the waiting room.

This weekend, we made a trip out to a second-hand store to look for some more corduroys, a Bundle Me (stroller muff), and some new shoes. We left with more pants than we should have and a toy piano xylophone, but none of the other things we were looking for. Since we were in the neighborhood, we just had to stop and get a "Will's Special" sandwich from Riviera Italian Foods. This tweaked out Italian sub is so good, it has its own entry in Jane and Michael Stern's Roadfood Sandwiches book. After chowing down in the car and giving Wiggle a few tastes of his first "ham" prosciutto, we stopped at Old Navy and Babies 'R' Us where we got some more two-piece, aka big boy, pajamas for the boyo.

On Monday, Wiggle and I went north to the Lincoln Park zoo for the first time. I don't have any pictures because I was holding him when we were outside and it was too dark inside most of the buildings. We saw the polar bear swim around and show off in the underwater window. We watched big cats pace around in their cages, looking alternately agitated and uber-bored. A pygmy hippo tried to swim through the glass to play with us, monkeys played with a basket on a pulley, and we were summarily ignored by all of the gorillas. At each exhibit, I would point at the animal in question and make the appropriate animal noise or wave to get its attention, and Wiggle would strain to look over my shoulder at the people behind us who were clearly more interesting than any meerkat or penguin could be.

After the zoo, we stopped at the conservatory which is perhaps the only humid place in the world that I like. Wiggle enjoyed the various orchids, and I want to move into the fern room. I had trouble finding a good picture on the web, but there is a little sign as you enter that says a small dinosaur would feel right at home there, and I would agree with that. You really feel like you are someplace exotic. For me the ferns make me think of sleep. They all look soft and cushiony, perfect to rest your head on. You can hear water running someplace, but is soft and murmuring. The light is diffuse, so even though you can see everything just fine, it's not too bright to close your eyes and take a nap. Just thinking about it is making me sleepy.

On our way home, we stopped at another resale shop, where I found a pair of the Robeez boots I had been looking for and a lightweight Bundle Me. I will still need a heavier duty one for winter, but this one will do well for the fall and spring and at resale shop prices, you really can't go wrong.

Yesterday, we went to the Hyde Park Parent Support Network playgroup for the first time. They have a nice room with a ton of cool toys, and a good number of people with kids stopped in during the hour we spent there. There were even two other 9-month-olds in the group, but Wiggle seemed more interested in the kids who were walking. I will definitely go back in the coming weeks, especially as the weather turns cold and we can't go to the park or play in the backyard.

Last week, we received some cool new toys from Grandma R, including a walker which Wiggle has already mastered. He can walk with it like a pro, and can even turn corners some of the time.

Here he is playing with the ubiquitous Fisher-Price Little People Play 'n Go Farm. A born carnivore, he loves eating the both cow and the sheep, but he likes playing with the little farmer and his tractor the most.

He often gets a crawling start with the walker. While holding the handle, he "walks" on his knees until he gets enough momentum, then he stands up and zooms around the house.

Alphabet blocks are good for eating, banging together, and knocking down. Sometimes he knocks a whole stack down at once, but sometimes he takes a stack apart one block at a time.

A Little Time Outside

I think we we still have a few nice days here and there, but we have officially entered "cold" here in Chicago. Yesterday, Wiggle and I played in the backyard during an unusually sunny and warmish hour, and I took advantage of the natural light to take some pics.

Our backyard has a swing set and a variety of communal use cars, balls, and other toys that are kept or have been left in the yard by the many kids who live or have lived here. We haven't ever spent much time in the yard with Wiggle because he really has only recently been able to do much with these types of toys. While he enjoys the baby swings at the park, the ones in our backyard do not have a strap to go through the legs, and if he arches his back he can fall out. And one thing he really likes to do is to arch his back, especially when you are trying to put him into a seat of any kind.

He likes going down the slide, but prefers to stand underneath it or play peek-a-boo with me through the ladder.



We also rolled a ball back and forth for a little while.


He kept taking his hat off, and I kept putting it back on when it got windy. At one point, we had a fairly quick temperature drop and he crawled over and grabbed his hat from me. I put it on him, and he kept it on! Score one for good communication.


We moved to another part of the yard to play with some fallen leaves and I hid behind a tree. This is a shot of him on his way to find me.

Do you see the totally awesome thing about this photo? Look carefully. He's standing on his own! Later in the day, he stood for an entire round of patty-cake and he even clapped along. He has also started doing hand clapping and arm raising at the appropriate cues for a song from music class. He really learns something every day. It's kind of crazy to watch.

Also, an update on the vacuum front - I went into the front hall closet, aka the home of the monster, to grab a coat and he crawled in, stood leaning on the vacuum, and talked to it. No fear.

The Monster in the Closet and Other Terrifying Tales

Happy Halloween!

Spooky cookies from my knitting group Halloween potluck

And now for a scary story -

Up until now, the boy hasn't really phased by anything - loud noises, animals, strange people who stick their fingers in his mouth at Target (yes, that actually happened), but recently he has begun to show that he is vulnerable to more than a lack of food or snuggles.

It turns out we have a monster in the house; it lives in the closet, but sometimes it comes out to terrorize the floor and anything on it, including little boys.

Yes, that's right, I'm talking about the vacuum. Yesterday, I was vacuuming the living room while he was playing in the entryway; I looked over to check on him, and he was sitting, staring at the vacuum with his lower lip jutting way out. Then he tried to crawl to me for comfort, but lo and behold the menacing beast outsmarted him and was even closer than before, resulting in further lip jutting and a few tears. Needless to say I unplugged the beast and picked up my scared little boy.

We had some snuggling and some nursing, and then I took him over to the vacuum for a closer look. He looked at it tentatively from the safety of my arms. I tapped/banged the vacuum a few times in a few different spots and called it "silly vacuum" to show him there was nothing to be afraid of. He followed suit with the banging and smiling, but the minute I turned it on again, the lip returned. I will keep trying to get him used to it in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, I gotta say his sad face was pretty cute. Truthfully, I don't see him sad very often, which makes me realize that I've got one happy little boy on my hands.

We encountered another newly discovered and conquered fear earlier this week at the park. On one of the climbing things, there is a tube made of a metal mesh with large holes. He has crawled through the tube before with no problem, but tonight he sat at the opening, looking at me on the other end with a bewildered look on his face. Then we realized he kept looking at the ground through the mesh. We had him put his hands on it, and he wouldn't put any weight on them. Then I crawled through the tube from his side, and at the other end, I put my hands in and banged the tube to show that it was, well, there. He cautiously put his hands in the tube and then slowly crawled toward me, amazed, I think, that he didn't fall to the ground. It may have also helped that Daddy went underneath and made funny faces from below.

This pic is from a month ago, but it's the only Halloween related one I have

We didn't end up doing anything Halloweeny today, but we did go out to lunch with an old friend where Wiggle ate some french fries and had his first taste of chicken. Tomorrow, C will finally be done with his Darwin festivities, and we will have some time together as a family.

"Imp" - ressive Accomplishments

So, yesterday Wiggle turned 9 months. When he was 8 months, I felt like it couldn't have been that long, he couldn't be 8 months already, yada yada yada. Now, at 9 months, he seems so much like a little boy and not like a baby, that it makes total sense that he's 9 months old.

He has a whole new bag of tricks as of late. He just started playing peek-a-boo by actually holding something over his face, waiting for you to ask where he is, and then pulling the big reveal. He'd been pulling things away from our faces to find us for ages, and he also had hidden by alternately standing and crouching next to the coffee table to play, but holding an object to hide himself is new.

Also, that standing thing I mentioned in the last post, it's not a fluke. He still does it mainly by accident when he's so involved in looking at or eating a toy that two hands seem necessary. When he realizes he standing on his own, he generally gets startled and falls onto his butt, but he keeps on doing it more and more everyday.

Another new thing is that he can get down from the bed on his own. When he crawls to the edge, I say "remember, feet first," and he turns around and slides over the edge on his own. The first few times he would look at me when I was saying it, but now he just goes about his business, and I don't even have to say it every time. I think I will try to see if it works on stairs too.

But how is his mood, you ask? He has been all imp, all the time. Just call him Mr. Wiggle Mischief. He climbs, pulls things down, bangs things around, puts everything in his mouth, and can now evade capture by hiding under the dining room table and escaping out the other side when I move a chair to reach him (I think he learned that one from the cats). All with a big mischievous grin on his face often accompanied by much giggling and snorting. Overall, he's a lot of fun, even if he is a lot of work.

Also, in spite of his impishness, now that he understands things and is more independent, it feels like we can actually work together, even if it means we are doings separate things. When I move around the house during the day, I can wave him into next room, and he will come after me. If I don't call to him, he will just explore on his own. Sometimes when I'm trying to get dinner together before C comes home, I can give Wiggle a bottle, put him in his bouncer in the super-reclined position, and work in the kitchen while he feeds himself. Now, he won't stay there for long, but it generally gives me enough time to drain the hot pasta, cook the shrimp, wash the onions off my hands, etc. On good days, it even allows me to wash a few dishes.

One area I wish we had a little more distance from each other is the bathroom. He is hyper-fascinated by the whole room and everything in it. He goes crazy if I close the door, and I don't want to put him in his crib each time I have to pee because it's very important that he thinks of his crib as a place he likes and not as a prison. Plus, I would prefer, for my own mental health, not to associate relieving myself with crying babies. What I need is a magic toy that only comes out when it's bathroom time and will keep him occupied from pants down to hands washed. Any tips from the moms out there? I will try any and all advice.

I would say that in this picture Wiggle is only about one quarter imp. Full imp is very hard to capture because as you would imagine, an imp doesn't stay still for pictures. Plus he uses the time that Mommy has her face turned toward the camera to cause more mischief. Perhaps a wolf suit is in order?

Impressive