ford notes

two days ago, ford did exactly what michael and I had been anticipating.  He was standing in that funny bear position: legs straight, hands spread apart on the ground, and then all of a sudden, he just stood up.  and he stood there and looked at us like it was no big deal.  that is, until i started squealing in a really high-pitched excited voice which then scared him and he sat back down. 
he is also learning very quickly how to push the little noisy walker-do-hickey thing.  i love to see his proud face when he turns a corner. 

i do suspect that ford is farsighted.  i have no proof of this.  It is just a suspicion - and my suspicions are frequently wrong.  i was verbalizing my concern the other night, and then michael reminded me that if he does need glasses, ford will have the coolest little baby glasses, and he will be adorable.  Then i sighed in relief.  I am thankful to be married to someone who won't let us walk around dorky. 

the killer whale is almost done.  ford's thighs are too big for the cow costume I had planned on him wearing.  so much for my black and white halloween. 

plans for today: make pizza, make owl cookies, spray paint whale, wait for cable guy. 
how would butternut squash taste on pizza?  i'm thinking it will be tasty.

hodge podge

More frankish: (i.e. frank's interpretation of the English language)

Shampoo = Shamu the killer whale - frank believes that this is how you say Shamu in Germany talk

Sewtment plant = water treatment facility near our house that gets a little stinky sometimes

Seat belk = seat belt (not that funny, be we don't correct him, and we all just call them seat belks.)

Fat Grande  = Nonfat Grande cappuccino (i.e. mama, do you like your fat coffee granday today?)

He also can never remember the number 15 when counting to 20.  and when counting backwards from 10 he says, "10, 9, 8, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF!"

Note here that Frank is tied to the desk.  I had tied angus to the desk for a while while the plumbers were here (after he tried to bite one).  Frank figured out a way to attach himself to the desk and LOVED it.  Until he had to go to the bathroom and couldn't get out.  I believe he said, "mama, you have to get this thing off of me or I am going to have an accident. HaHaHaHa!" 


Frank had a red rake and a little Noah that he loved as a baby/toddler.  ford has some favorite toys too: a spatula, a box of floss, and a hospital sized bottle of Johnson's and Johnson's shampoo.  He puts forth one of those rare cries if you take them away.

Michael got dressed up this week for an opening of one of his projects.  I like it when he gets dressed up, so i made him take pictures.  This brooding one is for GoGo on her birthday...isn't he handsome?

My house is still standing

We are back. We are always relieved to see our home intact and car in the driveway. I am refreshed and ready to write....except there is no time at this moment and my internet is spotty. Why do i make doctor's appointments the day after we return from being out of town? I must stop doing that.

Anyway, I just wanted all 12 of you to know that you rule. Thanks for either taking care of my children last week, or for encouraging me, or for missing us while we were gone. We are blessed by all of you. I am ready to cook and bake again, so i guess that means I better get ready to exercise again, too. Off to Ford's 9 month checkup...let's guess how much he will weigh. I guess 24 pounds.

Fordy

That's what Frank and I call him.
He is preciously amazing. Sometimes I feel like sweet Ford gets the shaft in ol' mama's blog.
I feel bad about that. So today I want to tell you about this 8 month old baby that rocks my world.
Forgive me in advance, for going on as I do.

He is heavy, over 22 pounds. He is squishy when you squeeze him...deliciously squishy. He always smells good, and i don't bathe him very much. I like to smooch his big soft cheeks. His belly is ticklish. He will eat anything you give him, even if he doesn't like it.

He crawls all over this house - fast - but he prefers to be in the same room as me. He puts every piece of trash on the floor (which ashamedly there seems to be too much of) in his mouth. Daily, I use the finger sweep to scoop out a piece of paper or plastic wrapper from a fruit snack bag out of his mouth.

He likes it when Frank plays rough with him. I worry - he laughs. He is fascinated with everything he sees. He doesn't cry. You will not see him get upset unless he is pretty seriously hurt, exhausted, or starving.

When you change his diaper on the floor, he loves to flip over, naked and get away as fast as he can. He laughs when you catch him. He does not babble all the time, like some babies i have known, but when he does - it is loud, loud, loud. He will be heard.

here he is making a daring escape across the kitchen floor

Today, he sat in front of my full length mirror for about 15 minutes, fascinated. He would laugh at himself, wave his arms and bounce up and down. He crawled into that mirror, head-on, full force at least 3 times trying to get that other baby. He then spent the rest of the time looking behind the mirror and crawling into the bathroom next to the mirror to see if he could find that baby. It was awesome. He would then just come back to the mirror and be so excited to find himself again. Ford is always full of joy.


I read this post thinking, "wow. that sounds like every baby, you boring lady," but I promise that he is something special. If you want proof, come on over and babysit (after you are put through my security screening of course). You can check these boys out for a night, or a weekend. They will be happy to entertain you, and then we can finally go see a movie. I heard that Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie.... Just kidding... but not really.... we don't get out much, people.

Ha look at me! Holding my head way up and to the right! I'll make a liar out of my mama every time.

Random stuff

Ford says, "thanks Aunt Stephanie, for this gift that keeps on giving."

Here are the reasons I hate my hair:

1. I trimmed my bangs myself a few weeks ago...i did okay across the board, except in one key spot that should be longer on the side, creating a "frame" of my face if you will. In order for Joseph to fix it, he must have had to cut them all really short. To sum up: current bangs=mousy, librarian look..

2. All of those pregnancy induced, hair-shining hormones are leaving me, and my hair is falling out in unbearable clumps that make me gag.

3. I have more gray hair than any 31 year old that I know. It is dry and crispy.

4. Due to the weird bangs, I can't wear my hair curly anymore because I look like I am that blond girlfriend in Spinal Tap, and that is worse than mousy librarian.

5. I, therefore, don't wash my hair often because it takes so long to wash, dry, straighten. So in the mornings and evenings, it is just pitiful. To quote my husband upon looking at me at the end of the day last week: "Are you just giving up?"

***
On a different note, Ford will go for a physical therapy evaluation next Wednesday. Though he is the perfect baby in every way, I am afraid that his neck muscles just don't seem right to me. I have compared pictures of him to Frank at this age and it is too big a difference in neck strength for me not to be concerned. He is regularly looking down and still fights looking to the right. So, after many hours of calling to work out the facility and insurance, we will go next week. I am very excited for him.

***
I have many ideas for future entries -- which is the most appealing to you? my battle with laundry - part 2? My new and improved attitude that is going to help me win the fight against my sweet tooth?
or maybe, we should discuss clothing and style for a stay at home mom of 2? What the heck is cool, but practical when you get spit up on 4 times a day? If you know it, tell it to me.

Driving, brushing, rolling

Have you ever tried to put three carseats in the back of a sedan? If you can avoid it, I recommend doing so. Yesterday, we picked up our friends to go to the zoo. It was very fun and totally worth the labor, but man it is hard to wrangle all of those latches and buckles. Mini vans were invented for a reason. Perhaps someday my dream for the Odyssey will come true. (I can't believe I dream for a minivan.)

Two days ago, Frank was brushing his teeth. (sorry if this is too much information) As his supervisor, I was watching him and decided to go to the bathroom. I got the toilet paper off the roll and he just stared at me in shock.
"How do you not fall in?" he asked in amazement that I had taken my hands off the commode. "Well, I guess my bottom is big enough that I don't fall in," I said.
Frank says, "someday I will be big enough not to fall in, too."

I am struggling now with which stories are blogworthy. So much of my day is truly mundane that I don't think you really want to hear all of the gory details. e.g.: Ford crying before he falls asleep, frank throwing tantrums on the floor, the ongoing saga of how i can't stand my hair...do you really want to know all that? I think not.

I don't know how to make captions on here, but the picture of Ford looks identical to one of frank at the same age. He is growing too fast. Has rolled twice from tummy to back, and almost one time from back to tummy.