Tastes Like Fun

Max has almost a dozen Lamaze toys. Most were gifts from his Grandma Jean, heck she's given him 2 peacocks and 2 monkeys (the extras were sent back to her to do with what she will).

The really funny thing is that he's still a baby. I mean, he's no newborn, but he doesn't have mad play time skills or anything. Most of these toys have squeakers and stuff that he doesn't know how to manipulate yet, and if you do it for him it just scares him. The butterfly and peacock have crinkle wings that he loves to wrinkle up and stuff in his mouth. He also likes grabbing the moose by his big purple horns. Other than that he plays with all of the toys in one of two ways.

The first mode of play is to whack them with his hand, and try to get any dangling legs into his mouth if I hang them from the activity gym. The second mode is ... well, you can see for yourself.



I'm also curious if there are any children's organizations that will take donations of toys that are like new, but not new in boxes. He already has too much and Christmas is still headed toward us. If nothing else I know I can donate them to Goodwill, but if they can go directly to cheering up some kid in need that would make me even happier.

In Knitting News

Socktober Mystery Socks are completed. These were a lot of fun to knit, and the pattern repeat was easily memorized. It's hard to get large chunks of knitting time in nowadays, so having a pattern that I could start and stop really quickly was awesome. I love patterns like this that look so crazy complicated, and in reality it's pretty straight forward. I'm not saying that I'd make it someone's first knitting pattern, but maybe first sock pattern. It's that easy. Did I mention it's also beautiful?

Knit in Lorna's Laces Shephard Sock, Georgetown Colorway (152).

The pattern is by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops. I love it even more than the pattern she wrote last Socktober. I only just finished the 2008 pair a month ago. Between holidays, pregnancy, moving, and whatever else happened they sat on the needles a long time. Still they are pretty.

Knit in Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Socks, colorway 1518.The monster stirs, so I've got to run. Happy Friday!

4 Months Old

We took Max in for his four month checkup on Wednesday, and he's doing great. The doctor said he's still considered skinny (looks chubby to us) but that since he continues to gain length well, there is no reason to be concerned. He's pretty much stayed in the same percentiles since he regained his initial weight loss.

Weight: 14 lbs, 2 oz (25th percentile)
Length: 26 in (75th percentile)
Head: 42.3 cm (50th percentile)

The doctor encouraged us to try him on solid foods now. So we picked up the customary rice cereal and gave him his first nibbles yesterday. On the one had Max was quite excited to be able to put new things in his mouth. I mean, putting things in his mouth is his favorite past time at the moment.On the other hand, he wasn't sure why we were trying to poison him. Despite the cereal being mixed with 4 parts breast milk to 1 part cereal and certainly not resembling any solid that Jeff and I had ever seen before, Max knew something was off. Something had contaminated his milk, and he was unimpressed.The look he gave Jeff was awesome. He knew I was mean, I make him take naps all the time and won't let him wear roller blades. But why was Daddy letting this happen?Mostly he's a happy little guy. He continues to smile and laugh and is learning all sorts of new sounds. He's even starting to realize that maybe tummy time isn't as bad as he used to think.
Of course having some friends to keep you company always helps.

Henrietta Hen

Jeff and I really want to see Where the Wild Things Are. After hearing a piece on the movie on NPR we were even more itching to go. Several months ago we started to hatch a plan. Alamo Drafthouse is a nice theater, and they actually have "baby days". On Tuesdays at the South Lamar location or Tuesdays and Fridays at The Village, not only are you allowed to bring in a baby to the movie but they "keep the lights up a bit, and the sound down a bit".

The plan started as thinking we'd take Max to see this as his first movie. He wouldn't watch it or remember it, but it'd be cool for us. The more we thought about it, and the closer it came to the movie's release, the more it seemed like a good gathering thing to do with some of the other people at home with little ones. We could get a group together, take up a whole row with our wee ones. Who knows, maybe with the improved lighting/sound mix the toddlers might have fun and not get too freaked out.

Well, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. It seems like every day I hear something more about the flu here in town. I'm not really easily scared and try not to buy into hype from the news, but of all the places in town to take Max a movie theater just seems like a bad idea. I mean, I know that they don't clean all that well between shows, because I was once covered in ketchup from a big mess that was left behind. So I can't justify the risk that I might be exposing Max to a flu bug just so that we can see this movie together on the big screen.

If it weren't flu season, or even if Max were just older, I know that we'd be there. For now I'll just add it to ye ole Netflix queue, and try to be the first to grab it when the DVD is available. Meanwhile, you can call me chicken.

The Fur Babies

The cats already fight over who gets to sleep in the stroller. Both the storage basket underneath and the seat are viable nap spots. Spooky likes to hop up into the high chair sometimes. It seems really uncomfortable. I think he does it because he likes to get up high and so far none of the other cats desire that spot. They all love playing and lounging on the activity mat. Bullet even stole one of the toys and covered it in so much cat hair that I let him keep it.

Today Cabbit discovered the bouncer. He just climbed on in as if deciding that it must be a cat chair after all. Who knows why that strange giggle/drool/scream creature sits in it, you can tell it was meant for a cat, can't you? I mean look how it cradles his fat just so.

I wonder who will be the first to brave the swing, and what will happen when I turn it on?

Ashley is Right

The other day @themagicash declared that everyone should eat Greek yogurt. I expressed hesitance and was told not to be scared, that it was tasty. I'd always been a little curious so it didn't take much convincing for me to pick some up at the store. I still wasn't sure if I'd eat it or not, but I'd taken the first step of at least getting some into my home fridge. It didn't last too long in there though, I ended up grabbing it last night when my sweet tooth had me digging around looking for a snack.

I concur with Ashley that it is good stuff. I don't know if all Greek yogurt is created equal, but the stuff I picked up rocked my world. The texture reminded me of mascarpone cheese. It was thick, rich, dense and creamy. The cherry stuff on the side was superbly sweet like the best cherry pie; it paired very well with the tangy yogurt.

I picked it up at HEB and it was not cheap. $2 for a single serving of yogurt is a bit steep in my opinion, but I think it's good enough to warrant buying again. I just can't afford to make this my go to yogurt every day. It was extremely satisfying last night as a dessert. So now I will investigate other options, maybe I'll find something more economical. Even if I stick with this brand it may be less expensive to get it without the added toppings, one of the options was honey and a honey bear is cheap. My comparison to mascarpone also has me thinking that it might be tasty with some brown sugar and nutmeg, which then led me to perhaps adding some cinnamon to the honey...

Thus begins my new infatuation with Greek yogurt. Ashley was right, it is good stuff.

The Mothers Room

I am grateful that my job has created a space for mothers to be able to breastfeed, or express breast milk in private. There is no way that I could go an entire work day without pumping, and my office has neither a door, nor even walls that go to the ceiling. Without this area that has been set aside I would be forced to make use of a bathroom stall, or something. I don't even normally have a car that I could go hide in.

It would be nice if it were a bit less scary though. Yesterday I almost jumped out of my skin when a spider skittered across the table. It was a small skittle sized skitterer, but too close for comfort especially with exposed breasts. The obvious wear on the used office furniture and clinical tiles on the floor don't lend themselves to a cozy atmosphere either.

The room is really just a decent sized chunk of an existing bathroom that has been walled off with Herman Miller walls. The walls almost go to the ceiling; it has no windows, and a door that locks. You have to sign out a key from security to be able to get in. One of my coworkers voiced a bit of envy that there is a mini-fridge in there. I had to explain that it's not full of snacks & beer (or even bottled water) it's just for people to store expressed milk in. All of a sudden the fridge was much less exciting.

I don't think anyone keeps their milk in that fridge though. I know I don't. I didn't know if there would be a non-public place for me to put milk while at work, so I brought a cooler with me. Seeing as how I keep almost forgetting my purse in my office I have a small phobia that if I actually did put milk in that mini-fridge I would make it home without it. That would be the suck.

The room at least has a normal sink in it. The main bathroom sinks are strange round jobs. You press a pedal with your foot and the water comes out like a sprinkler. I dreaded having to wash my pump bits with that sort of sink. Having a hot water tap is nice too, the round sinks don't have that since they don't have regular taps.

So I'll give the company a point in it's favor for creating a room for moms to use, but I take a half a point back because it's in a bathroom and is kind of creepy. Any of you other moms out there that have had to deal with expressing breast milk at work or school, what facilities did you have to use?