28 pounds of funny

hugh's favorite things to do:

decant the pool

see what's in the cabinets

eat waffles

a couple of guys being dudes

i have now been apart from hugh for thirty-three hours and it is really weird. since i am out of town for work, brent has taken off of work to watch the boy. they are both doing great. part of me thinks "hmm, i must not be necessary for hugh's day-to-day happiness" and another part of me is so proud of my excellent boy product, "wow, he is so adaptable".

i've known this for awhile about hugh, he just rolls with the punches and constantly amazes me with his flexibility. my boy is growing up and starting to figure out how to be his own entity within the world at large.

this is only one small step in his maturation. one day, not too long from now, he'll be off to pre-school and then kindergarten and then grade school, etc. there will come a day when i am not the center of his world and his constant. this is such a weird and disconcerting realization for me and part of my maturation as a mother. these few days are only the start of him cutting the proverbial apron strings.

i want to see him flourish and become his own person, someone whose identity is not contingent on me. but for now, and for the forseable future, i'm going to hold him tight, not so fast schmoopie, it's not time for you to make a break for it.

ten months

you are truly becoming an amazing, sweet and wonderful little personality. every day is filled with little moments that i just want to put in formaldehyde so i can store them away and retrieve in the future. for instance, yesterday evening we were playing in the front yard and you were rolling your ball and then chasing it around, laughing the whole time. after about 10 minutes, you crawled over to me and put your head in my lap and then crawled up in my arms for hugs and cuddles. kissing you repeatedly was the height of hilarity.

so many odd, strange little things throw you into a riot of giggles. what is it exactly about a fake cough that is absolutely, thigh-slapping funny? i haven't quite figured it out, but it's a fail safe way to get you in a good mood. also, saying "up!" and "down!", when did this become an inside joke? i want to think that you have a witty sense of humor, but i really think that it's going to be knock-knock jokes, bathroom humor and slap stick before too long. that or the three stooges.

over the past few weeks, you've taken to waking up at the ungodly hour of 6:15am. why? we really can't complain, however, since you generously let your father and i sleep in until about 6:45am. thank you.i appreciate that i can tell that you are ready to be 'rescued' when i hear your pacifier being tossed overboard and the blind-rattling gets racheted up a notch or two.

i do have to say that my personal favorite moment this month was when you said "momma". at least that's what we think you were saying, it's still a little hazy. don't think i didn't notice, however, that "da da da da" came first.

some days it's "ma ma ma ma ma", other days it's "da da da da da". the past few days it was all about the "ba ba ba ba ba". what's great about this one is that you make this hilarious little face and suck in your bottom lip.

hugh, thank you for a great ten months. and if you want to crawl back in my lap for a cuddle again? you can do that any time, in fact i'm counting on it.

today's good times

methinks somebody enjoys the swing at the park!

we've got him on the 'roids

i took hugh to the pediatrician yesterday for his nine month well-baby visit. the results are in, we have a regulation-sized 15 month old!

24 lbs., 5 ozs.
30.5 in.

he also has four teeth coming in. at the same time. and it is taking forever. poor boy gets so uncomfortable and starts wailing at 5am every day. the upside is that we get four teeth for the price of one teething session and this sounds like a good deal to me.

i am really gald we bought stock in starbucks. the price is surely going to go up with the amount of coffee brent and i have been drinking this week.

nine months

i find myself shocked and amazed that my little boy is already nine months old. it just seems like yesterday that he arrived! it has been an amazing and wonderful (and, occasionally, frustrating) time.

watching him grow and learn about the world around him is a privilege and a daily joy. right now, he's starting to try to stand. the look of accomplishment when he pulls himself up is one i will always remember. he is just so proud of himself.

and then there are days like today when all i can think is "momma drinks because you whine."

my son has onion breath

i have yet to find a food-stuff that phases hugh. so far, he has an affinity for:

• lemons
• pickles
• catsup
• plain yogurt
• garlic cream cheese
• raw onions
• mustard

i think that it may be time to start him on curry.

10 million toys...

...and his favorite things to play with are:

• the spatula, wire whisk and bowl scraper
• my old keys
• a small silicone bowl
• the box that the vanilla abstract came in

...and he lives on

i like to read the death notices in the paper. it’s not because i’m morbid with an overdeveloped interest in death. really. to be honest, some of things that people print there are amazing, particularly the memorial notices commemorating the anniversary of someone’s death. this came from the sunday paper a few years ago, i just had to cut it out.

smith, james (“beave”)

we don’t know the reason why but now we know angels die. it’s been a year and still no one answered for your kill. dogg of all doggs and the lady shorty, we bend our arms, we tilt our 40’s to the “beave”, we give salute.

wow.

he'shellonelectronics

hugh broke the space bar on my laptop yesterday. we sat down at the computer and within 2 seconds he had somehow managed to rip the space bar completely off. i can type a space, but i.have.to.be.very.methodical.when.doing.so.

bad news: i have to buy a new keyboard
good news: itemized business deduction!

he has also waged war on brent's cellphone. due to an unfortunate spit-up incident, b's phone now:

• randomly dials the digits '3' and '6'
• does not allow you to dial the digits '3' or '6' while making a call
• takes anywhere between 20-80 pictures of nothing each day