Adventures in Babysitting

I got the following email from my brother the other day:

Title: The Callegaris!
Body: "I hope my babysitting escapades make the blog. You can do an interview if need be."

So, as back story, at the end of July we went to a wedding in Houston.  Rob was the best man, and both my parents and Vicki were invited.  Which meant all of our babysitters were going to be in the same place at the same time and my son was not going to be there.  Enter Uncle Travis, who did a great job watching the boy, but not without some issues.  His interview is below.

1. When I arrived and my nephew began to cry, I thought: Well the smile for a moment when I walked in the door was nice, then the crying told me that it might be a long night.

2. Baby clothes are: To small for babies heads

3. I am convinced that stay-at-home moms are able to take a second to pee by: Inviting friends over

4. I wish my sister had told me: That this kid gets into every precarious position possible.

5. I had no idea that: This kid is exhausting and so much fun

6. The funniest story from the night was: The way Drew got so fed up with me trying to fit his head through a tshirt and started trying to pull it down himself (also unsuccessful btw, it's not just me)
 
Thanks, Uncle T- Drew had a great time with you once he remembered he liked you.

10 Months!

Time is still flying- and now, Drew, you are 10 months old!  So hard to imagine that in two short months you will be a year old!

You are still a champion eater.  One memorable lunch this month had you eating an entire hot dog, and entire string cheese and 15 blueberries.  And I think you would have eaten more if I would have given it to you, but I was afraid you might pop.  You very rarely eat baby food anymore- you much prefer to feed yourself.  Your favorites depend on what you have for options at each meal.  You definitely eat your "favorite" first, your second favorite next, and then dabble at whatever else you have to eat.  I can't tell if you don't like carbs, or you just prefer the sweetness of fruit, but I'm sort of baffled that you prefer your blueberries to your waffle in the morning.  You still take two bottles- on first thing in the morning, and one right before bed.  We will be moving you away from those slowly over the next couple of months.

Eating is usually a naked activity these days!

Can't remember what this food was, but you were really enjoying throwing it on the floor.

You still sleep pretty good- about 11.5 hours at night (from 7PM to 6:30AM).  Recently you have been taking a LONG (2+ hour) morning nap, and then a really short (30 minute) afternoon nap.  I wish we could switch that- you become a bear as it gets closer to bedtime.

You are standing up on everything and cruising a lot more this month.  I watch you walk to the end of a piece of furniture or a wall and I can see in your eyes that you are considering just letting go.  You haven't done it yet, but you are certainly thinking about it.  Your balance has gotten SO MUCH better this month. You will stand and balance for about 10 seconds now, but as soon as I start making a fuss you fall over.  You also crawl into the strangest places now.

You got in and out of this one!

Cali said if you were going to get into the cabinets, I need to teach you to use Lysol.  I agree!

We spent some time in Houston earlier this month while your dad was in Taiwan, and you had a great time with your grandparents and great-grandmother.  You impressed everyone with your mad appetite! :)

Matching bellies?

You now recognize family in pictures, which is quite funny.  Whenever you see the home screen of my iphone (this picture), you laugh at yourself.  And you will sit in the middle of my bed and wave at the bridal portrait.  Cracks me up every time.

You LOVE you some animals.  Sophie continues to be your BFF, but really, any animal will work.

Sophie looks a little scary here....

"Hi Duck!"

Drew, you are a doll.  We love you so much!

Toys

Things that make good toys:

Nasal aspirator(s), gauze, socket covers, socks.

Bad Toys:

Actual Toys.

Another first!

Can you figure out what it is?

Here, let me give you some more context.

That help?

No??

What if I give you a hint-  not pictured is a 70 year old man.

Nothing?

Ok fine- I'll tell you.  It was on this blessed day that a 70 year old man, on the way to pay his check, stopped by our table to tell us how well behaved our son is at restaurants. 

I'm going to revel in this one, because I know that in not too long other restaurant patrons are going to be glaring at us as our son just behaves like a boy.  So I'm taking this compliment.

Quick Update

This post has nothing to do with my family (which will so disappoint my mom and my husband, who I think are the only two who read this anyway), but the sweet family that I posted about here who lost their baby girl a few weeks ago.

Well, as of noon today the couple walked out of the hospital with their baby boy.  He is out of the NICU and home with mama and dad.  It has  been such a long road for them, I can't even imagine what they are feeling today.

I'll get back to blogging soon, I promise.

An Update on my Athletic Pursuits

Well, I made it from the Couch to the 5k. In a fit of feeling awesome, I went and researched 1/2 marathon training schedules. I put the start date on my calendar.

And then I went back to the couch and stayed put.

Until July 16, when my google calendar buzzed to alert me that it was time to start training. Grr. So I printed off the schedule, stuck it to my fridge and mapped my 3 mile run for Tuesday (Note: I left the map on the counter in case Rob or EMS needed to find me).

Tuesday's run wasn't too bad, but I felt it that night. Today was a shorter 2-miler, but added on to yesterday's run it was hard. I thought I had a streching/strengthening day, but it turns out I was wrong and I need to do 3 miles tomorrow. I am not sure if I will be able to walk tomorrow afternoon.

The good news was I found a 51% discount on my 1/2 marathon registration, so if I can't make it, I will feel 51% less guilty.

Wish me luck!

9 Months!

(Required comments: It is going so fast! This month has been so much fun!  Each month gets better than the last!)

Drew,

Holy moly, this month has been great.  Let's take it by some big categories, shall we?

Food- you are eating more and more big kid food.  It's probably a little late to start, but I'm just now getting confident enough that I'm not going to have to do the Heimlich with every goldfish.  You are eating lots of Gerber baby finger foods ("junk food"), Cheerios, gold fish, cut up fruit, veggies, string cheese, and even some chicken.  You have really started "chewing" (even though you still have just the two bottom teeth).  You seem to be phasing out of baby food--you just aren't interested if you can't put it in your mouth yourself.  You can do the "pincher" grasp, but sometimes you get so eager to get the food in your mouth you will just grab entire handfuls at once.

Movement- You LOVE being mobile!  If anyone picks you up it takes about 15 seconds before you start squirming to be put down.  You can pull up on everything, and have started to cruise some.  Doors and drawers are your most favorite, though you smash your fingers in both pretty frequently.  You will push anything that is on wheels, including your high chair.  And I feel for the person who helps you walk by holding your hands- you can do that for hours and throw MASSIVE fits whenever someone stops.

Sleep- You still sleep quite a bit, but you keep waking up way too early.  I'm not sure what you think you should do at 5:30AM, but apparently you feel like you need to get up and be productive.  I think it has something to do with being mobile and thinking that sounds more fun than going back to sleep.

Bath time- You are now a bath-a-day type of guy, mostly because the crawling allows you to get in the dirtiest of places in our house and you end up covered in dog hair.  You do seem to really like the bath these days, especially since you can pull up on the side of the tub. 
Favorite toys- You are very into toy cars and balls right now- I think because both move and give you something to crawl after.  I finally put in your ball pit for the time being, but I know it will make a return visit soon.  You have also really gotten into looking for things that go away.  I can often find you face down, searching for a missing ball or car under a piece of furniture.

And Sophie continues to be the very best thing you could ever have asked for.  As your dad said earlier this month, "they truly act like siblings."  Sometimes we will watch Sophie walk past you and very deliberately knock into you with her hip.  And you've been known to pull on her ears.  But you guys are just as likely to share a bone or a toy for a game of tug.  Sophie is always in your room when you go to bed and usually has her head over the tub during bath time.

Personality- You have the cutest little personality.  You are 100% independent.  You have never had any problem going to/staying with other people.  You will play quietly in your room for quite a while (although we are now getting to a spot where too much silence means you are probably chewing on electrical cables or something).  You have NO FEAR in the least as evidenced by the way you pull up on things and then just let go or crawl off the stairs.  If you don't like something, you don't hesitate to throw a fit to tell us that.  You talk and sing at volumes that increase daily.  Your dad and I like to congratulate each other on what a cute kid we made.  We love you.

Drew, you are the sunshine in our world.  Happy 9 months, buddy.

Love,
Mom and Dad