The "baby" mile

It really amazes me how Junior can be so peaceful and happy and in the blink of an eye, BAM, crying and fussy.  I mean, I have even seen a smile turn into an all out screaming cry before!  What in the world happened in .1 seconds that made him so fussy?  I wished I could remember what made me do that when I was a baby.  I definitely can't complain, however, because he's a GREAT kid!  His crying is almost always because of a few things....hungry, sleepy, dirty diaper, or gassy. 

I gotta tell you, he made me laugh out loud this morning, HA!  First thing this morning he started getting a little fussy and grunting a bit, so I scooped him up and got his bottle out to feed him.  I'm sitting with my legs crossed and have him laid on his back with his head on my knee.  He spit that bottle out telling me he didn't want it and just stared at me with this serious look on his face.  After a few seconds I hear this massive blowout of a toot/poop.  Perfect timing....a couple seconds later my boy just griiiiinnnns and kackles a bit!  BAAAHAHAHA  Awesome...THEN, he does it again!  He calms down...stares at me with a serious face and then...tooooot!!.....slight pause and a huge grin!  Gotta love starting the morning out that way!  HA!

Junior is now only 10 weeks old and has already started learning the power of manipulation.  When it's time for nap or bedtime, we'll go lay him down in his bed and he does what all baby's do...he'll cry because he wants us to hold him, or he's not ready for bed.  I'll go in there to try to calm him down, or put his passy in his mouth, sooth him, whatever and when I walk in the room and lean over the crib, that's when he works his magic!  As soon as I lean over to sooth him, he sees me and stops crying and immediately puts on that smile!  WOW, I'm thinking, this kid is impressive!  "Junior, I'm not gonna pick you up, no matter how much you smile at daddy."  He cooos...translation, "Yes you will".  So I put the passy in his mouth and walk back away, and the crying starts again....I go back in and lean over the crib, and yes, the crying stops and the smiles come back with a bigger cooo, translation, "Thanks for coming back daddy...now pick me up and walk me."  Me, "Junior...you're not gonna get me to pick you up, its bedtime...go to sleep."  I walk away again and a few minutes later, the crying starts yet again.  I walk in there the third time and this time when I lean over the bed he doesn't stop crying and he's staring me in the face with a furrowed brow and a look that translates into, "Why haven't you picked me up, you are so mean to me and I can't trust you!"  Me...yep, I pick him up and instantly he stops crying and gives out one last stabbing cooo....translation, "Finally!  What's a kid gotta do to go to sleep the way I WANT TO!" 

So, now starts the "baby" mile...you see, Hot Mamma can rock him to sleep, but Big Daddy can't, I've got to walk him to get him to stop fussing.  So, those of you familiar with my house....I've got a track.  Starting at the kitchen bar, pass the lamp in the living room, around the couch, into the dining room, back into the kitchen and around the bar....one lap.  I've got the Nike + thingy that you pair with your ipod that calculates time and distance for walkers and runners, so I have calculated that 4.5 laps equals .01 miles which means, if accurate, approximately 450 laps is one mile.  Obviously it doesn't take a "mile" to get him to fall asleep, but I have no doubts that I have walked a couple of miles already...and I'm guessing that little stinker will get me to walk him some more "baby" miles in the future.  It's not so bad...at least he stops crying and goes to sleep that way, and I get a little exercise....win win right?

2 month shots

Took Junior in yesterday for his 2 month shots...just so happened to be on Hot Mamma's birthday and she sure wasn't happy about that!  Happy Birthday Hot Mamma!  ;-)

Let me tell ya...we were NOT looking forward to Junior getting his shots, even though we know that its definitely in his best interest.  The even better thing is Hot Mamma is back in school to finish up the school year and that leaves Big Daddy (muah) to take the kiddo to get his first shots!  Thanks Hot Mamma!  HA

I have to admit, the doctor was pleased with his growing and was 90 percentile on height and weight and 50 percentile on his head size.  Not bad for a 2 month old!  He was just as happy and smiling and cooing pretty much the whole time he was in there....then walks in the nurse with the THREE different shots...count them again...THREE!  Geeze, I mean they should really come up with some MORE shots to give baby's....

BTW...congrats to the Seal team for finally getting Osama Bin Laden....the world is less one major terrorist...(my way of putting history in the blog)

So, Junior is still all happy until the nurse pins down his legs...he didn't like that and started fussing...then she started in on the shots, and Junior looked up at me (with the face of why are you letting her do this to me daddy) and started screaming!  After a extremely long 20 seconds, she was done with the shots and I picked Junior up and loved on him some and he almost stopped crying instantly....2 minutes later as we were walking out he was asleep in my arms...HA.  I gotta admit, I'm proud of my little man for taking them shots like a man!  ;-)

I can see where parents get defensive of their kids when things aren't going the kids way.  I knew the shots are a necessity, but when he looked up at me with that face, the first thing that came to mind was...ok, I can smack this nurse...but reality came back to me quickly.  Ultimately, I love that kid, and he's already made me proud...at 2 months old...maybe I can learn from my own kid and take things like a man!

What I think about snaps

Here's to you Mr. "lets put snaps the size of a nerd candy on baby clothes maker"  Since velcro wasn't good enough, you decided to invent a "simpler" way to put on baby clothes.  Thanks to your ingenious invention, new mommy's all over the world are watching and giggling as the new daddy who's never changed a diaper, struggle to unsnap and resnap these snappadiculous buttons.  So punch open a nice cold capri-sun, have a baby, and see how you like unsnapping and snapping these buttons at 4 am. Mr. "lets put snaps the size of a nerd candy on baby clothes maker."

For REAL, I stand by my statement...GOWNS (without snaps) are THE way to go.  Hot Mamma put Junior in one of these pajamas the other night...12 snaps...TWELVE snaps!  So at 4 am, I'm up changing the diaper the second time for the night in these snapdiculous pajamas.  I'm basically getting so frustrated and durn near starting to curse Mr. snap maker mentioned above.  I look over at Hot Mamma in the bed and she's not making a sound, but I see her shaking a little, trying to constrain her laughter, so I said, "Honey, really?  12 snaps?".  She said, "Well you don't have to unsnap them all to change the diaper."  Me, "Honey, you are RIGHT!  I only have to unsnap 8, then snap them all back, so thats 16 snapadiculous buttons...back to gowns!"

Now I gotta tell you about what my mom would do to me when I was a teen for this next conversation to make sense.  I had this hat that I bought and wore everywhere...everyday...I mean, LOVED this hat!  Yall know what I mean right guys?  Anyways, the hat was beginning to get a little grungy, I admit, but still to this day, it was the best fitting hat I have ever owned.  So one day, I go to put on my hat...can't find it..."Hey mom, wheres my hat?"  "What hat?", she says.  "Oh, I dunno mom, maybe the one I wear EVERYDAY?"  "Haven't seen it," she says.  Come to find out later in life, mom decided she didn't like that hat anymore and tossed it...along with various other hats and t-shirts in my teen years....

Ok, back to current time....several days after the snap conversation.  Hot Mamma, "Hey Honey, where is Juniors cute pajamas with the animals?"  Me, "What pajamas?"  Hot Mamma, "You know, the ones that have the snaps on it?  Me, "Ohhhhh yeah...Haven't seen em."