Because I couldn't resist

I continue to be amazed at how well a sink works as a bathtub....this really should be somewhere in a manual for new mothers.

A tisket, a tasket, a little boy in a basket

Apparently I have a love of putting my child in a laundry basket. It is true, for some reason the sight of him trapped in those walls just makes me giddy! This time it was for his safety - or my sanity, maybe both. He is not crawling yet, but likes to sit up and then reeeaaaccchhh for things, topple over and roll around the floor. That is all fine and good when he has my undivided attention in the back room, but what about when I need to be in the kitchen? I mean, I have meals to prepare, emails to return and mail to be checked. I am very busy here people. So I got the idea to stick him in a laundry basket with some Gladware. He loved it. He was the one who got giddy over drumming on the containers and trying to eat the lids. At least for the time being it will work. Until he starts trying to pull up and tump himself over thereby giving me a heart attack. Which will most likely be next week.

Hotel Lover

We realized as we pulled into New Orleans last week, that Zach had not stayed in a hotel before. Not really odd obviously, as the kid is only 7 months old. But what we found funny was how much he LOVED it. I just tossed him down on the bed and his legs started kicking and he got a huge smile on his face.

That could be because what he really loves right now are ceilings. If you are carrying him (and trying to hug him, kiss him or generally eat his face like me) he will arch his back away from you to stare open mouthed at the ceiling. And ceilings in hotel rooms have many different lights, fans, vents - Oh the excitement! He finds it fascinating.

View of New Orleans

All over my past

Zach has almost outgrown the travel swing that he sits in in the bathroom while Alex and I get ready in the morning. He still fits in the swing, but there is not as much room to wiggle, kick his feet, grab for things, etc. like he likes. So I put down a pallet and some toys at the foot of our bed, looking into the bathroom. The quilt I used is the one I made the year I graduated from college and is made up of T-shirts from my college years. I started to get semi-weepy as I gazed at my beautiful boy sitting on the quilt I made and thought, "That is my past, my present and future..."

About that time my present pooped all over my past. And that is my future.

I hate it when my mother is right

I am not sure how many of you were aware that I had signed myself and my 7 month old up for swimming lessons at our local YMCA. No, that was not a typo; swimming lessons for a 7 month old. I blame my mother really. I have pictures of me doing the mommy and me swim lessons TWICE before I was a year old. Though she told me that I screamed the entire time, I naturally chose to not hear that part and only think of all the fun Zach and I would have in the water. If she could do it, of course I could! Surely my angel and I would be the stars of the show and as he loves our above ground pool this would totally be a breeze. I really should have listed more closely. It was not good, not good at all. Zach was the youngest child there - the others at least knew their name - and all he wanted to do was eat the rubber duck he was supposed to be "reaching and pulling for". He did not want to float on his back, the second you put him there he would slap me and grab for my sunglasses and don't even get me started on blowing bubbles. Again, he does not know his name, how could I tell him to blow bubbles??

Luckily, my father in law took him one day, and it was fun to sit on the sidelines and watch. Especially when he was going the wrong way in the circles of mommies during the hokey-pokey. Thank you Vince!

Zach has "reached and pulled" for the duck and refuses to stop chewing it

Vince is singing "Humpty Dumpty" and Zach is supposed to fall into the water - sure.

Florida, Baby

We had a successful first trip to Destin, Florida. I say "successful" rather than "exciting", "relaxing" or "eventful" as really it was none of those - and with an infant, that is a good, good thing. Zach did great on the drive. He just got fussy near the end of each day, and who could blame him? We were all ready to be out of the car too. Once we got there though, he really did not like the beach one bit. I kept saying we tried at the wrong time, or he doesn't like the sun, blah, blah, blah. The kid was just not a fan of the water hitting him over and over again. So we spent a lot of time at the pool. Yes, the same thing that we do here in our trashy above ground - but we were in FLORIDA, so it was much better and we didn't have the dog running circles around the pool either.

By the last day though, when we were in the water at 7:45 am he started to like it. The water was crystal clear and totally calm. Alex was so happy to see Zach enjoying it, it really made everyone's day.

Zach's "Beach Face" - eyes and nose squished up with a look of mock horror, usually his mouth was open as well.

First time in the water, waiting for the surf to roll in

A Natural

Zach is really loving our the trashy above ground pool in the backyard. After a timid start, he now likes to kick around in his float, stand (with help) in the pool, and splash a bit with his hands. He also sticks his face in on accident and laughs. We go in at least once or twice a week and on the weekends his dad takes him swimming which is more fun that me, as he makes noises and spins him around in the float. It is so horribly hot right now, it is nice to cool off and it gives us something else to do while I wait for him to go to bed at night. Below are some pictures and video from June:

I can't have too many

Bathtubs for my child that is. As evident on this blog, I have more than one, 3 to be exact. I have a plastic one with a sling for when he was tiny. Then the sling was removed and he reclined until he could sit up. Then there is the one that is a cylinder. I am still not sure what stage this one is for, as he was too big by the time I started using it, but still sort of love it. And now we have a blow up duck tub since he is a "confident sitter" (and actual baby term I promise). This one is my favorite as I don't worry about him falling over and conking his head on the actual tub (did you know houses come with tubs attached?) as the puffy sides of the duck are there to catch him.

Now I was 100% confident in my views that I needed ALL these tubs. Naysayers were all around (ahem, Granny Marsh), but I stood firm. I needed these tubs, I had to have all three, they were completely vital to my child's life. How could I bathe him otherwise? Simply impossible I say!

Turns out all I needed was a kitchen sink.

Zach in the kitchen sink in Destin - no duck tub to be found

On the Way

We are in Destin this week for our first family vacation. So far - so good. Zach did great on the 2 days of driving, we stopped in New Orleans the first night and were on Bourbon street at 10:00 am. A first for all of us, for sure.

Zach's first trip to Bourbon Street

Finally made it to the Whataburger in Winnie after 8 miles of screaming