Sneak Preview

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...

Happy, drooling days

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

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.

Puffs and Stuff

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.

"He looks like a meatball"

Why, yes, kind stranger, he does indeed resemble a ball of ground meat. Yes, he certainly does.

Howdy, Stranger

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 the suggested 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?

Two of My Current Favorite Pics