Put Me In, Coach

Nicholas learned how to hit this week, and all of a sudden he can't get enough of playing baseball.

He's been doing great all summer hitting off the tee, and his hitting has steadily gotten better. But a few months ago when I tried to have him hit to me pitching, it didn't work. He flailed at the ball, but had no idea really of how to hold the bat on his own or how to use the bat to hit the ball.

What a difference a few months can make. We went out earlier this week to play baseball and soccer (his request), and he ended up hitting off the tee for like half an hour, practicing his swing over and over. He seemed reasonably steady, so I offered to pitch to him. Lo and behold, it worked! He's not perfect, of course, but you can now tell that when he swings he's aiming for the ball. And so we've now played baseball basically every day since.

One evening Sarah was able to come join us for a few minutes, so we have video evidence.

From 2012 August

The Tornadoes game in August also gave him a huge jump in terminology. Mostly this is good. Sometimes it's hilarious (pretty much every hit, whether it goes forward or backward, is a "home run"). And every once in a while I want to throw a brush-back pitch as he explains for the fourteenth time exactly how I'm supposed to pitch ("Daddy, you have to throw it at the same height as my bat!").

In any case, we're very excited for next year, when we can pick up on this late summer improvement and see where he can go.

Big Boy Bed!

The bed was delivered this morning, after Nicholas slept one night in a sleeping bag. He talked about the bed this morning when he woke up, and it was the first thing he mentioned when I arrived at school to pick him up. Needless to say, he was excited to get home:

From 2012 June

Think he likes it?

From 2012 June

He went right to sleep tonight, even with how excited and wired he was.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the full bed just after it was set up:

From 2012 June

Friday Earworm

Since Sarah's post yesterday, I've had this song in my head. And more specifically (embarrassingly?) this scene from Look Who's Talking.



Fortunately, Nicholas isn't growing up quite fast enough to justify a montage ... but sometimes it seems that way.

And If You're Not Happy, This Should Fix It

Watch and enjoy:

From 2011 August

This is Uncle Mike's Legacy

We turn on Sesame Street, we see a song called "It's Raining Cookies," and we think of Uncle Mike. People in the know know why.

Watch for yourself:

Happy Easter

We had a very busy and very fun Easter weekend. Most of Saturday was spent getting ready for Easter. (Well, after Nicholas and I spent an hour and a half playing at the public library in the morning.) Nicholas helped me make the batter for the bunny cake and then learned the wonders of licking beaters.

From 2011 April

The prep was fun, but for some reason the cake completely fell apart when I tried to dump it out of the pans. I have neither the creativity nor the domestic ingenuity to be able to turn this mess into a bunny cake.

From 2011 April

So I did what any desperate woman would do . . . I baked another cake. And this one turned out much better:

From 2011 April

But since I couldn't waste a perfectly good cake, we had two Easter cakes:

From 2011 April

And then, because we are a little bit crazy, we let Nicholas help dye Easter eggs. Here is the video of the first couple minutes of the adventure.

From 2011 April

Nicholas did a really good job overall. There was one egg, however, where we got complacent and didn't remind him "gentle, gentle, gentle" the whole time as he put it in and he started to set it in nicely and then suddenly lifted it up and dropped it in, splashing green dye everywhere. Using the muffin tins instead of the mugs for him worked incredibly well because he could just roll the eggs around in the dye. His hands got pretty gross, but I was able to get all the color off before church this morning, so no harm.

From 2011 April

Today he woke up to discover that the Easter bunny had brought him a basket. And man did that boy dive after the chocolate. In this video I was trying to get him to talk about the Easter bunny and what he got, but as you can see, he only had interest in one thing:

From 2011 April

I never got around to buying Nicholas an Easter outfit and had come to accept that he was going to wear a polo shirt and khaki cargo pants. Then I remembered the box of hand-me-downs that we hadn't broken into yet because it was all 2T stuff and mostly summer wear (hand-me-downs from a cousin who lived in Texas). And sure enough, in that box was this snazzy suit, perfect for Easter:

From 2011 April

Doesn't he look cute? Here he is with his Daddy after church:

From 2011 April

Because we were in the hall for the family mass and Joe was cantoring, after everyone had left Nicholas was allowed to play the piano for a minute.

From 2011 April

Seriously, look at that form!

From 2011 April

Although I personally think it is the shoes that make this picture.

This afternoon Nicholas woke up to a delightful surprise--Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Andrew, and cousin Mary were here! We then went outside to have an Easter egg hunt. And Nicholas got really into it. Holidays are getting so much more fun as he gets older.

From 2011 April

From 2011 April

From 2011 April

From 2011 April

Mommy with her little boy:

From 2011 April

The Easter bunny brought Nicholas some balloons in his basket, so after everyone left we played with balloons for a bit.

From 2011 April

There are a couple videos of our balloon play, as well as a bunch more pictures of the weekend in the April Gallery.

Hail to the Chief

UPDATE: Okay, it's a lie to promise never to post such a video. Post updated to reflect that.

I promise I won't ever [might someday] post a video like this with Nicholas reciting facts about the Presidents. So you shouldn't look for him on the NBC Nightly News anytime soon.

I will, however, soon be taking out our Presidents' place mat (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!).  Because I'm just a little envious of the dad who took that video.

Do Not Wubba Me Or I Will Wubba You

So Sarah and Nicholas have decamped to Louisville for a short visit before the semester starts, which means that I am by myself back in Lutherville. It also means I can do things around the house that I can't usually, like watch TV in the living room after 7 p.m., watch TV while eating dinner, and invite people over to watch TV. I promise I'm working during the day.

And yet it's hard to shake everything kid-oriented. It really gets under your skin! And so I've found myself last night or today walking around the house or at work, and all of a sudden I realize that I'm whistling "Elmo's Song" or "Rubber Ducky." On our trips over Christmas, you see, we've listened a number of times to a CD of classic Sesame Street songs that Sarah found at our local library. We've all enjoyed it (and I learned how to pronounce the alphabet as a single word!) but the songs seem to have gotten under my skin. As you might imagine, I'd like nothing more than to get the songs stuck in your head. Therefore, a few clips that I've pulled together of our (my?) favorites:

"Elmo's Song"


Ernie, "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon"


Grover, "Monster in the Mirror"


Enjoy!

Tattoo

Sometimes we are all bad parents (if you're a parent and you read this blog, it's okay, you can admit it).  This post will prove both that I'm a bad parent and that I was parented poorly ... or quite well, depending on your opinion of useless cultural trivia.

As we've mentioned at various times, Nicholas has become obsessed with any form of mass transit, including planes.  Fortunately, one of the initial approaches to the Baltimore airport from the north runs almost directly over our house.  It's nice actually—the planes are low enough to really see them, but high enough that they don't make a whole lot of noise.  And Nicholas loves it.  In fact, we frequently get him out of the car when we arrive home and he'll immediately start yelling, "airplane! airplane!" and pointing to the sky.

Which brings me to the bad parent portion of the post.  He was doing it last week while standing on the sidewalk, and I couldn't help but think of this video clip:



Yes, thanks to Nicholas's grandparents (okay, Grandpa Richard, so that I can let Grandma Alice off the hook on this one), I look at my son and see Hervé Villechaize.  And now that I think about it, does that make me Ricardo Montalban?  Oh dear.  The questions could go on forever; this blog post, however, must end.

"Mompetitors"

Via Wes, a little humor for your Monday morning on the insanity of raising kids in an Internet age.

One Small and/or Tentative Step (Really a Fall)

Sometimes we just enjoy toying with Nicholas.  Over the past several weeks, he's started showing definite signs of walking under his own power (what we've called in previous posts the "Wile E. Coyote" syndrome ... he's fine until he realizes he's not holding on).

So this weekend we decided to give him a shot and see what he could do.  And right after he did it, Sarah got out the camera to see if we could get a video.  Unfortunately, that means that this wasn't his best few steps.  He was starting to get tired, and he had decided it was a fun game to fall backwards and have Mommy or Daddy catch him.  Anyway, he's starting to get close to being able to walk: take a look!

From Nicholas - Month 5

Parlor Tricks

One more video. Nicholas and I have been working on this little trick/routine/game for a while, and we finally are letting it out for public consumption.

From Nicholas - Month 7

It all started as a way to distract him when he was crying or yelling. He'd get so interested in what was causing the funny sound that he'd forget why he was upset in the first place. Now we just do it for fun. He likes to modulate his sound, which is especially fun to listen to. He'll start very soft and quiet, and then get loud and change the pitch.  And other people find it entertaining, which is really what we're looking for.

The Battle of the Sexes Begins

We went over to our friend Katie and Wes's house last night for some holiday cheer, latkes for the seventh night of Chanukah (Y. U. M. !), and to hang out with friends. And to see what sort of fun we could have taking videos of Nicholas and Alice (Katie and Wes's daughter) playing.

From Nicholas - Month 7

Can you say jackpot? (click above for hilarious video)

I'll also post one other photo (there are more in the galleries, Grandmas of the world!), since Sarah has been trying for months to get both babies to (a) look at the camera and (b) smile while doing so. We finally have success!

From Nicholas - Month 7

A Future Minister of Silly Walks?

Until his balance improves and he gets a little more stable, watching Nicholas walk will remind me of this Monty Python sketch.  Enjoy!



Monty Python Ministry Of Silly Walks - The best video clips are right here

More photos!

It's time for another round of photos in the Peanut Gallery -- click here for the latest, including some very cute videos.

We have playtime on the floor and in his chair, and Nicholas is starting to demonstrate some real strength in holding his head up while on his tummy. Today we had a visit from Uncle Matt, who helped give Nicholas a bath, which brought out some of his first bathtime smiles ever (Nicholas, not Matt. Actually, we have no direct knowledge of whether Matt has ever smiled in the bath. Anyhoo, next topic.)

And those are just the things we remember posting photos of!

Two month update

Nicholas turns two months old today. It seems like he is so much older than that, but then I realize that he is 1/6 of a year (and so once we go through 5 more times equal to that which has passed he will be starting to walk and talk) I am in shock with how quickly it is going. And he has already gotten so big and so grown up (comparatively speaking, of course). A little bit for you, but even more for our sake as a record to look back at, here is a snapshot of Nicholas at 2 months:

• He has smiling and laughing down pat. He smiles in response to smiles or fun "games," when he can make toys move, or when he sees someone he recognizes. He laughs when other people are laughing. Since most of the time we laugh it is at something silly he did, this leads to him laughing at himself, which of course makes us laugh more. He also laughs at all of Daddy's stupid jokes, if only because Daddy laughs at them and he follows suit. He started smiling at Joe first and even once he started smiling at me and other people, saved his biggest grins for Daddy. This is just now starting to even out.


• He is starting to get control of his head. He still needs some backup support because he loses control, but in the past week he has gotten so much stronger. When he is awake and in someone's arms he is moving his head back and forth so rapidly I think he'll get whiplash, but he just wants to use his new skill to see everything.


• He remembers games and will get excited by knowing what is coming. I've mentioned in other posts how he remembers that he can make the toys on his chair move. After I did the "charge" game a few times, he started smiling as soon as I started rather than waiting for the "charge" on his nose. (See the video in the Peanut Gallery.)


• He is freaked out by mirrors. There are mirrors on his playmat and his swing because supposedly babies love them. He didn't take any interest in them until last week, but now he notices them and hates them. But he won't take his eyes off of them. He just stares intently and gets upset. We now have a blanket over the one on the playmat.


• There are still a few 3-month outfits that he can fit into, but for the most part he is wearing all 6-month clothes now. We have been sad to say goodbye to some of his old outfits, which are now overflowing the "Cashew drawer" (so named because it holds the things that are in storage for hypothetical younger sibling, nicknamed Cashew). Since poop now frequently seeps out of his diapers, we think it is time to move him up to size 2 . . . in 3-4 days when we use up the rest of the size 1s.


• He "talks" to us some, but started talking to "his animals" (the animals on his playmat) first and does so more frequently. Probably because unlike us they actually let him get a word in. We're trying to work on this.


• Much to our disappointment, he is not a big fan of being read to. He wants to be moving or doing something all the time, so sitting still (or even rocking) and being read to is not active enough for his taste. We're hoping this will change. Right now the only way I can get him to be happy through a whole board book is if I have Chompy (the beanie baby alligator) read it to him in a funny voice and act it out.


• He does not like to sleep. Or, more accurately, he does not like to fall asleep. He fights sleep with everything he has. We'll watch his eyelids get heavy and close, only to pop back open . . . over and over again. We often have to use some combination of movement, rubbing his back, and a pacifier to overwhelm his defenses and get him to relax enough to let himself fall asleep. I know he comes by it honestly, but we have to find some way to get this kid to relax and take a nap on his own or the toddler years are going to be a nightmare.


• He has recently taken to demanding being walked around, and so we've been doing laps around the living room and apartment complex parking lot. I do not like this development, but when the choices are walk with him or have him screaming, I'll choose the former.


• He is sleeping in his crib in the nursery at night. Some nights he sleeps 9:30-7ish with only waking up once or twice to eat. Other nights he is up every couple hours and needs to be coddled back to sleep. We're trying to only feed him the times when it seems he could reasonably be hungry in hopes that he will stop waking up the other times. I think part of the problem is that his nursery is over the stairwell and some of our neighbors come and go (and close doors loudly) at all hours of the night. He will not sleep in his crib during the day. On good days he sleeps in his chair. Other days he'll only nap in his carseat (i.e. in the stroller in motion) or in our arms. We'd love to enforce naps in his crib, but sometimes you have to live to fight another day.
  
• He in general likes baths, but hasn't yet started to play in them. He likes them enough that he sits patiently through them without crying, but he doesn't smile. A couple times he has kicked around and seemed like he was exploring, but for the most part he just sits there looking stunned. This is great for us, as it makes it much easier to keep ahold of him.

I'm sure there are a ton of other things I can't think of right now, but in summary Nicholas is a happy 2-month old who makes us smile at least as often as he frustrates us. And whether because we have 2 months of experience or because we're getting more sleep, even the frustrating things aren't getting under our skin these days.

Nicholas and Mommy at 2 months old:

All-Star Game

For those of you who aren't baseball fans (frankly, I assume that's most of you), tonight is the All-Star Game. And so, of course, Nicholas has been wearing baseball-themed outfits all day.

Though, as Sarah points out, he also pooped through two other outfits to get to the baseball ones.

Anyway, here's a little preview. We've also posted more new photos and videos in the Peanut Gallery, Month 2 album.

The daytime outfit:

From Nicholas - Month 2

And his pajamas:

From Nicholas - Month 2

Reassurance

I worry. It's just what I do. And, actually, I've been much better with Nicholas than I would have expected. (No frantic late-night calls to the pediatrician or my mom!) But I still sometimes worry. Is he getting enough to eat? Is his food nutritious enough given my frequent diet of saltines? Is he getting enough sleep? Too much since we tend to put him in sleep-inducing places when he gets cranky? Do we talk to him and hold him enough? And millions more.

But you can't look at the child in this video (or the other new ones in The Peanut Gallery) and worry at all about his well-being.

From Nicholas - Month 2

Thanks, buddy, for the reassurance that you are doing just fine.

New Videos

We have posted some new pictures and--even more interesting--videos. Nicholas had a really great day today, sleeping most of 10-4 and then alert from 4 until now. Those 5+ hours of alert time means we had some great play time, as well as a nice long walk. We caught a little of the more expressive alert time I referred to in my last post on video, so that is posted.

In addition, we randomly discovered that Nicholas absolutely loves "Batter Bear," my stuffed Dodgers bear that got its name because Andrew as a toddler called baseball "batter up" and so dubbed the bear "Batter Up Bear," which was eventually shortened. We pulled the bear down randomly to see if it would distract Nicholas during a diaper change (the stuffed animals are in a hammock above the changing table) and he was so completely engrossed by it that he and Joe then had a good half hour of play time with Batter Bear. Some of this is also on video. Joe is crushed that Nicholas is a Dodgers fan. I think he likes the contrasting colors on the uniform.

Nicholas is currently still super alert. So alert in fact that he had trouble eating because he couldn't stop looking around. He is having more playtime with Joe as I type this. (And lifting and turning his head like it is nothing, and just flipped himself over again, although we aren't sure how much that is conscious and how much it is just frustration.) And while the alert time is fun, we're wondering if he will ever go to sleep tonight. It is not looking promising.

Alert Baby

Nicholas has been much more alert recently and for longer periods of time. Today he had a particularly large number of these periods while Uncle Brian and Shayna were here, which was good because I had feared that he would spend the entire afternoon eating and asleep. But Nicholas seems to have decided he doesn't need the long afternoon nap he had developed. Or the first cycle of his nighttime sleep. The not going to bed until midnight thing wouldn't be so frustrating if he hadn't had those 3 days in a row where he went to bed at 8 and we were already on the first feeding at midnight. But right now it is 9pm and he is hanging out with Joe completely alert and looking like sleep is the furthest thing from his mind. I really love the alert periods and have so much fun watching him. Now if only we could combine these with some sleep, for all of us.

On a completely different note, since some of you care about me as well as Nicholas, I've been feeling much better the past few days. The nausea isn't completely gone, but it has decreased dramatically in intensity. Now instead of feeling completely ill for 4-5 hours each morning and then mediocre the rest of the day I feel a little gross for like 30 minutes each morning and then fine the rest of the day. And now that I am suddenly able to eat, I have been famished for periods each day. I never thought I'd be so happy to be starving.

And as another random note, there are some new pictures and videos for you to enjoy.