The Guilty Culprit

It is fascinating to see what entertains Dash. One of his recent adventures has been into Mr. Incredible's sock drawer. He hangs onto the drawer and takes out each pair, one at a time, usually trying to eat them on the way down. Thus, Mr. Incredible comes home to find the floor so thoughtfully littered with socks. When questioned by Mr. Incredible, Dash assumes an air of innocence and Mommy gets the blame. Therefore, I saw fit to take pictures of the real guilty culprit.

Watch Out!!!!

There's a dinosaur on the loose! We could probably catch him if only he didn't have jedi powers!

Extolling the Bumbo

As a first-time mom, with two sets of first-time grandparents, we have accumulated a lot of stuff in a very short period of time. Some things have proved unnecessary, others indispensable. One of our best investments in baby gear has been the Bumbo baby seat. Dash was able to use it as early as 6 weeks old (see picture), when he could start holding up his head. We would put it right in the middle of the kitchen table so that he could "eat dinner" with us. He was much happier being at our eye level, rather than stranded on the floor. At a recent play group, I realized that not everyone knows about this fabulous baby seat. Our pediatrician told us about the Bumbo when Dash was 6 weeks old, because one side of his head was flat. The bumbo lets him sit up like a big boy and, I am happy to report, his head is no longer misshapen, which is good, because Dash is still struggling in the hair department, so it would be quite obvious. We have used it outside while gardening and in the bathroom while getting ready for the day. Dash even liked to read in his bumbo at 3 months old. We love our Bumbo and highly recommend it!

Happy Birthday Aunt Katrina

Wailing and Gnashing of Tooth

We live in a wonderful suburb and have a wonderful parish. There are so many young families, who seem to be making a concerted effort to raise the national population growth rate. Our priest is fond of saying that the average age of our parish is 2. He often makes a point to saying how grateful parishoners should be to have children around, because this is precisely where kids should be and applauds moms who are willing to make sacrifices to bring them.

I read this post at six in the city about taking her children to mass and not exactly being welcomed with opened arms because of some noise. It broke my heart, but also makes me much more aware that I am so abundantly blessed.

Dash is cutting his second tooth today. Yikes! He was not a happy camper as we headed to mass, and by the homily was screaming his head off. We actually went outside, not just to the back, but outside the entire building. As I was trying to determine just how I was going to quell the shrieking for a few precious seconds to receive commumion, a mom (with 3 kids of her own) came outside and asked to hold Dash so that I could go in for communion. Overwhelmed with gratitude, I accepted. While we did not exactly make a quiet exit, I was surprised and thrilled that someone had remembered that we were outside and came to our aid. Perhaps others have shown her the same generosity when her children were little. And hopefully I can do the same when my little ones are older.

It is good for children to be at mass, to be around priests, to visit the Blessed Sacrament. If we the parents don't take them, who will? And we should do what can to lend a hand to those who could use it!

Another big step (this time for Mommy)

I have committed to doing the one thing which I am quite certain all first-time mothers greatly fear...getting a babysitter. For eight months, we have done without, thanks in part to constantly visiting grandparents and a good-natured baby. With MUCH prompting from Mr. Incredible I made the call and Dash will have his first baby sitter in 2 weeks. She is a lovely homeschooled girl who attends daily mass, has 5 younger siblings (not to mention the older ones) and, quite frankly, probably knows more about babies than I do. So I probably should not have a panic attack everytime I think about it. Come to think of it, I should probably be more worried about leaving Dash alone
with Mr. Incredible, who is easily distracted by golf and Sportscenter.

Dash likes to help plant flowers

Is 8 months too young to start doing nature studies?

It's Official...

Dash is crawling. But I am at a loss as to what date to put in his baby book for the achievement of this milestone. One may say he has been "crawling" for weeks. He would rock on hands and knees and take one lunge before collapsing on his belly and flailing like a little froggy. Then he learned to lunge, fall, push himself up to a sitting position, get back on his hand and knees and lunge again. Inefficient, admittedly, but Dash could make his way to whatever he was trying to retrieve, be it ball, book or electrical cord. Now he will crawl on hands and knees across the room with remarkable speed, undaunted by any obstacle.

Which brings us to the challenge: How does one determine what is the "official" date of this milestone? As six in the city noted recently, one wants to record in print these special occasions. Is "during the Octave of Easter" specific enough to record as the date at which he began to crawl? I know it's not crucial, but the grandparents are keeping track!

Diving in...

As Dash went completely under the water for the very first time today at Waterbabies, I thought it would be appropriate to plunge into my blog as well. I am excited to share our life with friends and family. Welcome to The Chronicles of Mommyhood.