I Want a Bouncy Seat Too, Please.

Declan's "doorway jumper" - known affectionately around our house as the "bouncy seat," "bouncy," or "bounce-a-baby" - arrived this Tuesday. The UPS truck showed up at 9:50 and I had to babysit at 10, so for two long hours I was left itching to open that package and show Declan his new toy! When we got home, Aaron had already set the bouncy up (Sidenote: For some reason Aaron setting up Declan's toys and gear makes me go all mushy inside. It's like the quintessential "daddy" task.) Declan is still a little young for it, as he doesn't yet grasp the concept of jumping, but he does like hanging out in it. And it has a little tray on the front, so we load it up with some rattles and plastic keys, and he's good to go (AKA, throws them all over the kitchen floor in a rousing game of Make-Mommy-Fetch-My-Toys!)

Aaron had an interview at the Omni today. He gets nervous before interviews, and didn't know where the Omni was, so I went with him and waited in the car, parked at a meter on San Jacinto. Declan screamed pretty much the entire time that Aaron was gone. He really did not want to take a nap. I got some weird looks from the pedestrians walking by, partially because I had the window down so they got to hear Declan's wail in full force, and partially because they probably thought that we were homeless and living in my truck or something. I felt like posting a sign on the window that said "We have a house, and the baby is fine. Please don't call CPS."

I've started doing 30 minutes of pilates every day. Pilates is great. It's like combining yoga and mom's old exercise videos. I found a good 20 minute intermediate routine, which is just right for me except when they do sit ups, which I cannot do at the moment because my abs are still SHOT TO HELL. They do not work. I am working up to sit ups. Then on top of that routine I add a 10 minute "focus" routine, either concentrating on belly, thighs, or butt (My upper body gets plenty of workout carrying my 17-pound chunky monkey around all day, I think.) I think these are beginner routines, because even the belly-focused one doesn't ask me to do a sit up. Which is good. Because I can't.

I wish that they made grown-up sized bouncy seats. It looks like a pretty good workout. Maybe I will invent that. And take it on Shark Week to get investors.

Talent Show

Things that I am an expert at:

- Putting a cloth diaper on a squirmy baby
- Buckling complicated car seat buckles
- Picking out baby shower gifts
- Typing with one hand
- Sticking my boob in baby's mouth, in the dark, with no hands

Things I am NOT an expert at:

- Cleaning the house
- Giving baby vitamin drops without him spitting them out or choking on them
- Remembering to put the dirty diapers out for diaper service pickup day
- Rinsing baby's hair without getting water all over his face

Three Months

Things that Declan can do that he couldn't do before:

- Throw things off of the changing table
- Scoot around on the floor by arching his back and pushing with his legs
- Laugh! Today he actually giggled when I blew a raspberry on his tummy
- Grab his toy keys and shake them
- Projectile spit on purpose - this happened today with the yucky vitamin drops
- Splash hard enough in the bath to get me soaking wet

It's the dawn of a new era... Baby is no longer a newborn, but a little person, who is learning things so fast it's mind boggling. Such as, "When I drop my toys on the floor while sitting in the high chair, Mommy will put them right back on the tray! So I can drop them over and over again to keep Mommy playing with me instead of cleaning the kitchen!"

I had so hoped we could hold off a little on learning that lesson.

Pics

Tumultuous

A million apologies for slacking off on my blog... and returning phone calls... and being a cognizant person in general.

As many of you know, Aaron lost his job. In the past week and a half, he's put out almost 200 applications and resumes, and not a single interview. With a degree and years of experience, you'd think it would be easier than this. But it's not, and we're all pretty stressed out.

He's still applying, but we're also formulating a back up plan. His friend Ralph owns a landscaping company in Grinnell, and has offered to make Aaron his manager. This would mean moving back to Iowa, which would make me sad, but our measly savings aren't going to last us much longer down here.

Anyway, enough with the depressing news. Declan is great! He smiles so much now, and loves to babble. Aaron swears that he can say "Iowa." Which is kind of true, but it's more like "ow-ow-ahh," and he has no idea what he's saying. I've been coaching him on "mama," but it's still very early for that.

He loves riding around in the baby backpack, especially because he can use my hair as reins. He's also a big fan of the mobile hanging above the changing table. He smiles and smiles at his friends the whale, the lion, the alligator, and the polar bear.

Anyway, I apologize again for leaving you all hanging. I'm going to post a whole bunch of pictures later today, but first I have to Picnik them. And put together Declan's three-month movie, because today is someone's three month birthday! My little guy is one fourth of a year old!