Happy Halloween! (33 weeks, 1 day)

Happy Halloween! This year, Maggie was spared the indignity of celebrating Halloween in Casa Sprout. This year, we had Zeke!

We had a big Halloween weekend that involved dressing up for Little Gym on Friday, a children's parade on Saturday, pumpkin carving, visiting neighbors on Halloween, and a great Halloween party on Sunday with our Bradley class friends.

Most of our activities involved in dressing our baby as a koala bear (though we also got in some Halloween themed onesies and the bumblebee romper). We decided that because this might be the one year that Sprout might not be able to express his opinion on his costume that we should pick whatever outrageous costume we wanted and take so many pictures that we would have to buy more memory for my computer. Said costume was warm, immobilizing, difficult to find and sure to cause permanent psychological damage when we show photos to some future prom date of Zeke's years from now. It was well worth it.


As always we enjoyed getting together with the other Bradley families. The highlight of the day was lining up the boys for the group shot. As you can see, the animal theme was a popular one at the party. From left to right we have Ewan the lion, Parker the giraffe, Zeke the koala, and Patrick the monkey.


You can see so much of the boys' personalities in the photos! What you can't see in the pictures are the flocks of parents and grandparents working cameras (video and still), calling to babies, pulling costumes back on, rolling pumpkins back in place. You also can't see the magic of getting all four babies awake, fed and in relatively pleasant moods all at once -- no simple task! Poor Zeke conked out for a nap just as soon as the cameras stopped and we got the costume off of him. It is a miracle he didn't have a meltdown as tired as he was.


I love Halloween and it was great fun to share it with my baby this year. Sharing something I enjoy with my child made it all the more enjoyable. I loved all of the smiles he got from other people, and I loved opening myself up to the pleasures available to children and the childlike. (Really, why haven't we carved pumpkins every year?) I'm already looking forward to next year! Maybe Maggie could be a koala next year?


Do we have more pictures? What a silly question. More Halloween related postings to follow.

About Sprout Anniversary

Dear Readers: Thank you for all your comments and bloghits for the last 129 postings in the past year. About Sprout has been so important to me in recording this experience for friends and family near and far, as well as recording this for me and for the Sprout. I never got a baby book, so what you see is what Zeke will have in the future. Because of About Sprout, I've reconnected with old friends who visit here, I've hopefully kept grandparents feeling a little closer, and I've gotten lots of behind the scenes emails with great advice and stories. We've had such great feedback, and we have had somewhere to go with all these photos we have.

What has been most surprising to me is how the blog has kept me close to those that are near. For example, I have spent a good part of the past five years with my coworkers. Let's roughly assume that I have spent 40-50 hours a week for 50 weeks a year for 5 years with the same group of people -- that's well over 10,000 hours with the same small group of people. I don't know that I ever would have shared some of my personal experiences the way I have and that I would have made as many personal connections with them. Same with the folks living just yards from me -- even if they had binoculars trained on the front door, I don't know if they would have ever learned some of these things about us and this time of tremendous transition, change, anxiety, and joy. I've also enjoyed sharing the MomBlog habit with some new friends (see updated links at right).

Zeke weighed 19 pounds on the button today. When I wrote one year ago today, the technician estimated his weight at 11 ounces. What is there to say about this difference that captures how extraordinary the past year has been? As I wrote in that very first post, I'm still trying to be conscious every day about remembering to appreciate how special each day is. Changes come so quickly it feels that it is some how easy to overlook the moment that we are in now. I still can't wrap my reasoning about how today is one more unique day that adds to the cumulative experiences of the person that my baby will become.

To be honest, it is really bittersweet for Zeke to be seven months old now. Now, he is closer to being a one year old than he is to being an infant. Six months? You still have a new baby and get some allowances for that. At seven months, a good part of his life as a baby has passed. I'm not saying he's old -- I'm just saying that I'm already having a hard time letting go of what we have now. What a sweet baby.

Lots of great things coming and we hope that you will still be here for the second year.

What is Zeke doing at seven months:

* We've got some serious proto-crawling going on. Zeke has coordinated left-right movement of his arms and legs when he is on his belly. When he is on the bed or in the crib or cosleeper, he does pull his knees under him. He can spin himself around and he is highly motivated to pull himself along when he wants something in front of him whether his pacifier or today my shoe! I don't think it will be long before we see honest to goodness crawling. What this has helped me learn is that there is a gravitational pull between that big head and the edge of the coffee table shelf -- no matter where we put him on the quilt on the floor, he inevitably ends up with his forehead inches from the coffee table!

* Speaking of his pacifier, Zeke is starting to outgrow his. He really doesn't seem to "need" it as much and I think it just might be getting too small for him. He enjoys playing with it, though, and sometimes it will still get him back to sleep. A few nights ago, though, when I was holding him in my lap, he put it my mouth!

* Zeke is his own thinking being and he wants to make contact. I'm just so convinced that Zeke is talking with us, but that we just haven't figured it out yet. He seems to have a speech consisting of blowing raspberries, shouting, and now sticking out his tongue. (He must spend half of his waking time with his tongue out of his mouth. A woman behind me in line at the grocery store said, "He doesn't smile? He just sticks out his tongue?") I'm hoping to start teaching him some "baby signs" soon.

Well Baby Visit

We took Sprout into the good doctor's today. It was all of Zeke's least favorite things: getting in and out of the baby bucket, geting in and out of his clothes, lying down when he wants to sit up, getting up early, having a stranger poke and prod and him and then stick him with a needle three times. Yeah, Zeke loves his well baby visits. He never smiles at all at the doctor, which makes me wince because I get so nervous about what the pediatrician thinks about us!

But despite my silly worries, the good doctor verified that Zeke was perfect. He is now 19 pounds and 28 inches long. Wow! That is a good 3 1/2 pounds he's gained and 1 inch that he has grown since the last visit. For those that are charting this, that means that he remains around the 50th percentile for weight and around the 75th percentile for height. (That height really gets us -- we got a winter outfit for him last year and now that the weather has turned cool we tried to put it on him, but it is too short. Darn it! We'll still put him in the jacket, though.) His head has also gotten one inch rounder.

The doctor said to start feeding him orange and yellow vegetables (oops, I guess he's not reading the blog) and then to start adding green vegetables in a few weeks. He also said to start a feeding at lunch and drop the cereal at dinner. He also gave the go ahead to let Zeke try teething biscuits, mini bagels and diluted juice. He said he'll recommend Cheerios in two months to practice his pincer grasp (again, not reading the blog).

Zeke also got his next round of shots. The ped didn't ask about giving him a flu shot and I was glad for that. I was feeling very ambivalent about a flu shot for Zeke and a little concerned that I should be researching the safety of vaccinations a little more. (In general, I think families who don't vaccinate benefit from the overwhelming majority of those that do and that generally benefits outweigh risks, but I still get a little antsy when my friends forward me articles about links between autism and vaccinations.) We presume the doctor didn't recommend the shot when we told him that Zeke isn't in daycare.

The doctor said that even though you can see indentations in Zeke's gums, it might still be another five months before we see any teeth come through.

Really, I don't know why going to the pediatrician makes me so antsy! I guess it is the same old compulsion to want to give the right answers, even about my child's development. Also, I want to make sure that we are doing everything to help Zeke develop appropriately. Worries never cease -- that's the saying, right?

More on Food (32 weeks, 2 days)

I forgot details from the posting below on food. Now that Zeke is well on his way to eating solids, I have been starting to eat more dairy. It has been an interesting five-six months going without dairy and I just would've never guessed that I could do it. On the whole, I really didn't miss some things like ice cream, a real shock. However, it has been pure heaven to be able to start eating cheese again. I haven't gone too crazy with it and have been trying to pace myself, but I did enjoy a cheese enchilada from the neighborhood taqueria last night. I was practically singing! I have not been drinking any milk, but I have been consuming a little in other foods. Breakfast tastes so much better when your scrambled eggs are made with milk instead of water and your toast has butter! Zeke seems to be okay with all of it, though we have it under watch. Here are some photos of him from a Japanese restaurant we went to with our family our last night in Florida. Zeke was very enthusiastic about learning how to use the chopsticks.

Where is Zeke? Follow the link (32 weeks, 1 day)

Can you find us on the photo page of Karma Baby? The photo is of the three of us (we hardly have any of those) and Aaron's favorite sling from the recent Baby Expo where My Karma Baby had a booth.

Also--check me out! I think I have finally figured out how to add links to my postings!

Bonus Photos (Yippee-i-ay!)

Zeke and Maggie

Zeke is absolutely fascinated by the cats and dog. The cats, however, are generally not interested in Zeke, so he doesn't have a chance to interact with them. For that reason he has spent more time with Maggie and he absolutely LOVES her. Granted, she is pretty lovable, but I think we see a special boy-and-his-dog relationship growing here.

One of the big milestones that Zeke has hit is that he knows his name. You can say "Zeke" and he will look over. Of course, the only time that he does not look is if Maggie is around. Then he is just busy looking at her. I would almost put money on "Maggie" being one of Zeke's first words. He does say "gee gee gee" around her, but he says that all the time.

How does Maggie feel? I'm not sure, but she is really excited at all of the benefits of Zeke being around: we're home more often, we go on more walks, Cheerios get thrown on the floor, we sit on the floor at her eye level. She is certainly well behaved around Zeke and remarkably has not chewed on any of Zeke's toys. In these photos, you can also see that Zeke enjoys pinching her -- he neither gets the idea of petting the dog nor does he have the coordination. Of course, you can see that Maggie gets her "licks" in as well.

In these photos, Maggie is trying to be dignified enough for both her and Zeke. The weather has turned a little cool and I've been taking out Zeke's cooler weather clothes: socks, footed rompers, long-sleeved shirts and rompers, jackets, hats. I've also been putting Zeke into this bee romper. After all, it's just a long-sleeved romper with a hood -- it just happens to have mesh wings, too. I figure I can get away wth it as long it is almost Halloween.

On the Menu (31 weeks, 5 days)

My baby loves to eat. Here are the things that he has eaten so far: rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, butternut squash, acorn squash, pears, plums, apples, bananas, and sweet potatoes. For motor skill practice, I let Zeke play with Cheerios, but none have made them into his mouth yet. (Obviously, though, the bag of Cheerios has made it into his mouth a few times.) He eats twice a day and at each meal gets a portion of cereal and two portions of food.

I've been making all of his baby food (except cereals) so far. I cook all the fruits and vegetables, puree them with the blender stick, and then put the purees in some covered ice cube trays. I store the frozen cubes in Ziploc bags which are slowly taking over the freezer. I really like making all of his food -- it tastes good, it doesn't take much time, and it is pretty satisfying. Zeke eats better food than we do, in fact. I would say it is economical, but I'm not sure given how many trips I've made to Whole Foods for organic produce....Next up are peaches, carrots, green beans and zucchini.

Trip to Florida: Zeke, Zach & the Manatee

(I wasn't going to post more pictures tonight, but I feel like I need to after posting my fundraising plea -- I told you I dislike fundraising!)

Last Sunday, we went to Homosassa Springs with the entire family. Homosassa Springs is a state run wildlife park that I had not been to since I was seven. The boys got to see all sorts of Florida wildlife: alligators, snakes, birds, cougars, and manatees. (And, for reasons obscure a hippo who was made an official citizen of Florida so that he could live at the park.) The manatees are being rehabilitated for return to the wild and you can get great views of them in their lagoon and from an underwater observatory.

Overall, I think the park was pretty darn cool. Here are some pictures of the boys' encounter with a manatee and then their turns at being a manatee. That is my brother in law Tony with Zach. Zach's waving at the manatee which was just a foot away. As you can tell from the last photo, I'm not sure that Zeke really noticed the poor manatee.

Fundraiser

A lot of people have been asking me how I like the stay-at-home-mom lifestyle. To be honest, I am still trying to figure it out. I am keeping pretty busy trying to adjust to be a caretaker, doing contract work and catch up on things I haven't done over the past 6 months. It's all quite a transition, really. I don't think I'll be able to answer the question for a few months. I think the trip to Florida helped me as it gave me a break and opportunity to clear my head for a moment.

As I've mentioned before, though, I am also participating in a local United Way program every week. It's a great program and it keeps me off the streets. Well, the new thing to keep me busy is that I'm trying to raise $300 for this program. I HATE fundraising. As a kid, I hated school fundraisers and usually was the kid who sold the least in magazines/jewelry/giftwrap/candy. Oooh, I also hated those events like the walkathon or jump-a-thon where you had to get people to pledge you doing something. Fundamentally, I dislike fundraising because I don't like asking people for things. I'm breaking out of my comfort zone, though, fans of About Sprout and using my new mommy skills. After all, it's been a year of breaking out of comfort zones and doing new things. That's right -- I'm trading baby care for donations to the program. Friends of About Sprout, please consider this passing on or giving. (I'll also do petsitting -- just sub "pet" anywhere it says "baby" below!) I'll update you on my progress soon.

Here is the letter that I sent to local friends and neighbors with babies:

Hi, friends & neighbors:

Do you need a babysitter for an evening out or just some down time? A mother's helper to get some housework done? Maybe a pet sitter? What could you do if you had just three free hours? Let me help while you feel good about giving to a good cause and taking a tax deduction all at the same time. Consider it practice in parental multitasking.

As most of you already know, I have been participating in a training program offered by the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. The Volunteer Involvement Program (VIP) develops and places diverse and underrepresented populations into leadership roles with local nonprofit agencies in order to create a more open and caring community. By bringing diverse individuals into leadership positions, agencies enhance their understanding of the diverse needs of their clients - and become better able to meet those needs. After 15 years, VIP will soon graduate its 1000th participant. VIP alumni give at least one year of service as a nonprofit board member in exchange for their training.

While I have spent my professional life working with nonprofits, I am learning new things about leadership, service, and nonprofit management and know the program is extremely valuable. Through 40 hours of training over 10 weeks, my VIP classmates and I are learning about the inner workings of nonprofit board leadership including board roles and responsibilities, legal and financial decision-making, strategic planning, communications and community building. Through its investment in volunteers, VIP creates sustainable social change in Atlanta.

You can now assist VIP in continuing its important work by making a financial contribution. Your tax deductible contributions will ensure that there are well trained leaders who will make sure that Atlanta nonprofits are effective in responding to Atlanta people and problems. I hate asking for money without doing anything in return, so here is my offer: I will babysit for donations! I tried to think of things to trade for donations and realized most of my friends are new parents like me -- sometimes I would pay anything for some help. Depending on what you need, I am suggesting a donation of $15 an hour. Help the United Way and your family.

My goal is to raise $300 for VIP and the United Way in the next four weeks. You do not need to use my services by November 6, but I would request you give me your donations by then -- I will provide services when you need anytime in the future. No amount is too small, no task too big, no diaper too yucky. Checks should be made payable to the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta and can be given to me. You will be given a receipt from the United Way for tax purposes. You may of course also choose to give a donation or to share this with others who might be interested.

Thanks for considering my offer!

Best,
Jamie

(To learn more about VIP and other initiatives of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, visit http://www.unitedwayatlanta.org/vip.)

Trip to Florida: Zeke and Zach (30 weeks)

We got back from Florida late last Wednesday night. We had a great trip and (barring two days of driving) had a lot of fun. It was great to be able to introduce Zeke to his family and all the people who love him in Florida. We stayed with my grandmother and my sister in their new house and they were very gracious hosts. We also got to spend time with my mom, nephew, brother-in-law and another one of my mothers, Diane.

The best part was getting to see the two boys together, Zeke and his two year old cousin Zach. (As a note, no one went the whole week without mixing up those two names at least a couple of times. I called my own child by Zach's name a number of times. They will undoubtedly spend the rest of their lives being called by the wrong name when they are together! This was not a consideration in picking out names, but maybe it should have been....)

Zach was thrilled to meet Zeke and kept saying "Babybabybabybabybaby". Everytime Zach woke up or came in from being out, he was looking for Zeke. He kept bring Zeke toys and wanting to play with Zeke. He would take out the Boppy and set it on the floor waiting for me to set Zeke in it. (You can see this arrangement in the photos). If Zeke was rolling on the floor, Zach wanted to roll on the floor with him! Zach also wanted to pick up the baby and carry him different places, but I don't think either one of them was quite ready for this: Zach wanted to pick Zeke up by his neck! Learning how to play with the baby might take some more practice. Zeke did spent a lot of time giving Zeke hugs, too -- how cute! We are all really looking forward to them growing a little older and getting to know each other better. It should be a lot of fun.

We took lots of cute pictures of them together. Both seem like total hams in front of the camera. Here is the first set of photos. More updates and photos from the trip to come.