Baby Beckham

Watch out hat hair!

BLT is really getting the hang of kicking the ball now.

Sunday we were out at the local coffee shop and BLT had to get down and run across to the (rather sad) kids area. This gentleman at the next table said to me that he sure was an active one. I thought his next comment would be something about how BLT reminded him of his kids when they were little. No, it turns out he runs a soccer school with classes starting at 18 months and wanted to give me a flyer. He didn't know he was dealing with a child soccer prodigy. Hahaha. It did sound interesting. I might check out the website.

We are recovering from our first stomach virus incident. Poor BLT. Somehow he made it to 17 months without really throwing up. Sure, he spit up every single feeding for the first 4-5 months or so, but he never really, you know, threw up. Well, he made up for it Sunday overnight. Poor kid must have thrown up and just fallen asleep in it because when he woke up he was covered - hair, body, pillow, bed. Fortunately it wasn't too gross because all he had really eaten was kiwi and satsuma. Whoops, getting a little graphic there. Luckily, he's mostly recovered, although he hasn't eaten much yesterday and today.

I don't know

BLT, Where's the ball?
I don't know.

That's right, he talks in complete sentences and even has accompanying hand motions! Okay, sentences is a stretch because this is his only one. To the untrained ear, it may be hard to understand, but it sounds pretty good to us!

I'm also convinced he said "thank you" today. We went to Ikea to check out possible bigger boy bed options (twin beds) and picked up some Swedish ginger cookies on the way out. I thought BLT would be happy with 1 for each hand. "Muh, muh" (more). When I relented and gave him cookie #4, I'm sure he said "thank you." Of course, it sounded more like "Thunk."

We also made a trip this morning to a brand new library branch nearby. We checked out 6 picture books and have already read each one at least 3 times. My favorite was not BLT's favorite. I picked out Old Hat, New Hat, which I remembered from childhood. I think he preferred either The Very Busy Spider or The House the Jack Built.

Big Boy

BLT likes to walk in and out of daycare by himself. Now when I pick him up, he barely even says hi to me or bye to the other kids - just goes in to get his lunch bag and then starts walking to the gate.

I can't believe how old he seems now. How can it be? Wasn't he just a wee baby? We watched his 0-6 month video collection this weekend. I don't remember him crying that much, but apparently he cried a lot. Selective memory. He seems so different now!

BLT's Daddy is gone right now (just 'til tomorrow!). Single parenthood is tough! BLT misses Daddy and did not go to sleep until 9:30 tonight. He also woke up at 5am this morning. Daddy hurry back! Once he finally went to sleep, I still had to fix myself dinner, make his lunch for tomorrow, clean up, etc. Exhausting!

In food news, lunch today was a big hit. All his containers were cleaned out. For today, I sauteed some fresh mushrooms and folded them with some frozen chopped spinach and mozarella in a whole wheat tortilla to make a tasty quesadilla. I thought it might be too bland, but he ate it all! And his applesauce and satsumas. Dinner was pretty good - 2 eggplant cutlets from TJs dipped in pizza sauce. Later on he had some of my dinner (PBnJ) since he still wasn't asleep.

Special Hat

This is from our bike trip yesterday. BLT is not a big fan of the helmet, so we talked it up as a "special hat," since he loves his other hat. It worked surprisingly well! He tried it on and we showed it to him in the mirror.

Tonight, I made sweet potato fries and heated up some turkey burger (left over from last night's dinner) for BLT and even bought him some ketchup to dip. It was a bust. He spit out the first bite of sweet potato fry and wouldn't try another. The turkey burger went over okay. Not as popular as mushroom/cheddar veggie burger dipped in pizza sauce. It's a bit depressing when you spend more effort than usual and he won't even really try it! Oh well! I hope he enjoys his lunch tomorrow! (Applesauce & TLC crackers for AM snack, mushroom english muffin pizza & satusma slices for lunch, more satsuma for PM snack).

Quarterback potential?

BLT showed excellent football form today at out friend's house. We were all surprised when he pulled out some big throws. We rode our bikes over to their house and BLT did quite well in his trailer. On the way back, he relaxed, eating all his crackers and drinking his drink. Much better than previous trips!

I want it!

I was trying for a photo montage of BLT peeling an orange, followed by him eating the orange, but when we got to that last part, he only wanted the camera. That's my boy.

He had trouble sleeping from about 2:30 to 4 last night, so I am too tired to say anything else. Poor baby... he would fall asleep and then wake up 30 seconds later crying and thrashing about. I recited "Brown Bear" to him and that seemed to help. Good thing I have memorized all of his books.

Open & Shut

Doors don't stop our baby. He loves to open and close them. We have to be extra careful now because he can also open the door to the outside.

Adventures in Self-Feeding

Yesterday
Left hand, big spoon

Right hand, small spoon


Today
"This cracker is bigger than my head"

"I look good in applesauce"


BLT tried applesauce for the first time yesterday and it was a HUGE hit. He loved it. Today we actually went out for dinner and he ate at least 3/4 of a carnitas enchilada from Wahoo's, but when we came home, he saw the applesauce and had to have some. (Note to self: put applesauce and graham crackers in the pantry, out of site!)

It's strange because he hasn't been eating much at school, but he sure has been putting it down afterwards! Those pesky two canines are STILL working their way in.

One neat thing I've been noticed is that BLT is really getting better at putting himself back to sleep! He woke up a couple of times between 5AM & 6AM this morning and each time he went back to sleep all by himself! Of course, I know this because he sleeps between us. He's so cute.

Baby Airplane

We're back from our trip to Vegas. We had a good time, but it was tiring for everyone and then our team lost the big game (our football team, that is - the ultimate team made it all the way to the semis!). This is BLT's very best airplane impression in the Vegas airport.

We didn't buy him a seat on the plane, but I think this might be his last trip without a seat. He is just too big. Good thing it was only an hour flight!

Oh, and in case anyone wasn't sure, Vegas is NOT baby friendly. I would definitely not recommend it for travelling with children.

Go Seahawks!

BLT is a Seahaks Superfan (like his daddy). He didn't have an outfit for this year, so here is last years. He will be rooting for the Seahawks in the SuperBowl this weekend, but we won't be watching it live because we'll be on a plane. We're going to Las Vegas for the weekend so Mommy can play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament with her college alumni team - the Muffin Top Bakeshop.

Two nights ago poor BLT woke up at 4AM and was just crying and crying. He didn't want to nurse, he didn't want to be held, nothing! I changed his diaper (which had leaked, oops, although that didn't seem to be the problem), gave him some Motrin and still he was crying. Finally he calmed down after about 3 readings of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and we were back to sleep by 6AM. Of course, mommy had to get up really soon after that to go to work.

Then yesterday evening, I saw the culprit! Yes! We have a new tooth. The bottom eye tooth on the right (his left) has finally broken the gum line. I think the one on the left may also be coming in. Last night, I premedicated with Motrin before bed and he did well, only waking 3 times and going right back to sleep. I know other moms might think this is crazy, but we refuse to just put him in his room and let him cry. I want him to know that I am here for him even in the middle of the night. I know he will get the hang of sleeping all night on his own ... eventually. He sleeps in a toddler bed and when he wakes up he comes running out. It is so cute! He woke up at 11PM (the first waking) last night and we were up packing and he just ran full speed around the corner to us. So funny! The 2nd time he woke it was 2AM and he came running around to my side of the bed. Then he just stayed with us. So precious.

I'm so glad it seems he is feeling better!

Cheese

We visited our friends E & M the other day and E had M say "cheese" to take a picture. Who would have thought? I tried it out on Lucas and it worked like a charm! Didn't even try to steal the camera!

(I know, two posts today! But the eating picture is really from yesterday...)

Mmmm, mmmm good

BLT will eat more if I give him a fork. Sometimes is backfires as evidenced by the saucy nose. That would be 1/2 a pesto gnocchi and a green bean on the fork.

Yesterday was a tough day. He was so sad. I'm almost positive I see a new tooth even though the Dr. couldn't see any on Friday when we were there. I hope that is it and he's back to his usually cheery self.

Today we stopped by Toys R Us after work. BLT is such a serious little guy. He pushed the trains back and forth through the tunnel on the train table, completely ignoring the other two kids that were there.