When we last left off, Milo was a happy, drooling, crawling baby prepping for his first Halloween...fast-forward to today, and he is a running, climbing, laughing, talking, toddler AND big brother! Pablo Cullen Smith is the latest addition to our family, and at two months old, we couldn't imagine life without him.
Here's a little sneak preview of Milo's homemade Halloween costume. While the possibilities are almost endless with this headpiece, stay tuned to see the whole outfit...
We came pretty late to the whole video baby monitor party. In fact, I was pretty resistant to getting one - what type of over-zealous first-time parent really needed one, I thought? Me, as it turns out. Ed was getting pretty tired of how I was waking up Milo time and time again after sneaking into his room to make sure he was still breathing or that one of the stuffed animals across his room had come alive and sailed over to his crib to smother him. And so, when he found an incredible deal for a video monitor, he ordered despite my protests that it was totally unnecessary (clearly I was still in denial at this point). But before it even arrived, I was already envisioning a better life for all of us, one where I could quietly and shamelessly check on my little dumpling without waking him up. And it has lived up to - no, surpassed- all of my dreams. And Ed's too. I can now endlessly spy on Milo at any time, for as long as I please. Who care if Ed rolls his eyes every time I interrupt the latest episode of "Madmen" to point out that Milo has moved into a new sleeping position or is breathing quite visibly at a nice steady rate? Except now that Milo has learned the super-fun trick of sitting up in bed, which he likes to do at all hours of the night, he can now haul himself over to the appealingly round camera, with it's merry little stars in the side. The other morning, during one his very rare and much treasured naps in his crib, he woke up and was quietly playing. I glanced at the receiver's screen just in time to see a chubby hand, and then flashes of crib, ceiling, and floor, ending with a final thud. Followed, of course, by a happy and hearty giggle from Milo, who now likes to repeat this trick he every chance he gets.
Milo has a fairly serious addiction to puffs. This is a new development around here, seeing as last week he could barely pick one up, and would resort instead to opening his mouth and lunging blindly for my hand when he saw the container make an appearance. His desire for their crunchy bland goodness propelled him to learn how to pinpoint the puff, pick it up and shove into his greedy mouth, over and over again.
Okay, so I wish I had a better excuse for not updating this blog. You know, something along the lines of, “I’m too busy to blog because Milo’s baby modeling career has really taken off,” or better yet, “I’m too busy to blog because I’m flying to New York to discuss the details of my multi-million dollar business venture.” But really, as you have probably already figured out, the reality is far,far less glamorous (and far,far less profitable). My daily activities include trying to convince Milo that his napping in the crib (or just napping) is better for everyone (an excellent cardiovascular activity, if you’re wondering), and convincing Maggie that licking Milo ALL OVER HIS FACE is not okay. And, as of 30 seconds ago, you can add “trying to convince Milo that drinking from the dog’s water bowl is also NOT OKAY.”
Here’s a little slice of my day: it took me 1 1/2 hours to puree Milo's sweet potatoes today. No, this does not include thesuggested one-hour baking time. The lovely Annabel Karpel, author of “100 Baby Purees” (really? 100? Each with a different recipe?) will confidently tell you that the preparation time for this puree is “none.” I can confidently tell you that Ms. Karpel does not have an 8-month-old who just escaped from his gated fortress and is hightailing it down the hallway. Again and again.
Anyway, now that the sweet potatoes have been pureed and are securely nestled in their ice cube trays, I promise to at least think about updating this blog more often.
And in case you’re wondering, Milo did not actually drink from the dog bowl. Of course I scooped him up before his eager little body got to it. Come on, people, even I’m not that lax. Ed, on the other hand…who knows what happens when I’m not around?
So Milo has this new Exersaucer - dubbed "The Office" when my niece and nephew were in theirs - which provides him with minutes of fun at a time, and allows us a window of time to do non-Milo activities. While there are a number of toys that jiggle, shake and sing, he really only has eyes for one of these toys. I've tried positioning him in front of other toys, but it's only a matter of minutes - seconds, really - before he's zipped around to face his beloved, frantically trying to shove it into his mouth for a wet welcome-back kiss. Before long, he'll get himself worked up into quite a frenzy, grunting and wailing at his his little purple friend. I've made the mistake of thinking he's done with that toy and simply wants to be moved to another one - perhaps the school bus that giggles when you hit a button, or the puppy that sings "Pop Goes the Weasel"... but it's zip zip zip back to his fave. I've tried cutting him off cold turkey when he's gotten too keyed up, too, but after feigning interest in another toy for a minute or two, he's clamoring for it again. I guess it is better than that school bus with the creepy laughing, though....
Finally, a break in the eat-sleep-poop-cry cycle! Milo's smiles and coos become much more frequent, and he starts doin' stuff. Hands are discovered and rolls of fat are abundant.
First Giants Game First Muni Ride Visit from Grandma Vivienne Easter Sunday, San Francisco-style Dogs! Dogs! Dogs!
In between all of this action, Milo manages to squeeze in a whole lotta growing, a road trip to Los Angeles to meet his cousins, a horrible case of baby acne, and a few picturesque walks in his fancy new stroller. He enjoys "talking," watching Maggie and screamimg during bath time. Ed licks a bowl of brownie mix during this time.
Good, organized parents immediately start documenting the days and nights of their newborns within hours of their birth, sending out timely announcements and dutifully noting first smiles and laughs in their baby books. Milo's baby books (yes, we actually have two) sit neglected in our living room, patiently waiting for one of us to record the details of our little guy's introduction to this world, or at least the date of his first Giants baseball game. (Which was also the date of his first Muni ride. Both were very noteworthy.). Since we've waited until Milo is well into his fourth month, we have a bit of catching up to do. We'll do our best to recount all the highlights.
After one month of this on endless loop, we are rewarded with a big, happy, gummy smile one morning. Later that day, after some peer pressure and comparisons to another Milo, our Milo shows the pediatrician that he too can roll over.
We're finally doing it - taking our first few tentative steps into blogging about the details of our lives with Milo. Join us as we fumble through parenthood!
