baby-proofing and bubble wrap.

Remember how months ago I was praying every day that Aldon would finally learn how to crawl? 

Well, he did! Well, sort of. He has his own method, kind of a 'kick-stand crawl'. And, since hindsight is 20/20, I realize that life was much simpler before he was scooting all over the place.

Allow me to list the things he's gotten into today (keep in mind, this is just this morning. We've been up since 8, so this is only 2 and a half hours of mastery):
- Emptied the bottom level of the bookshelf in the living room. I had to move everything up and cram it into the top 2 cubbies, but I'm sure once he realizes he can pull himself up on that the bookshelf is gonna go bye-bye. 
-Across the room we keep an area of toys for him. A small toy hamper, a box of toys, and a few free standing large toys. He tipped over both toy bins and took all the toys out. It was HILARIOUS since he was acting like a kid on Christmas finding toys he hasn't played with in, oh, a day.
-Keegan has some welding equipment and other big boy toys shoved in a corner, that got found and is currently looking for a new home.
-He has managed to unplug the computer cord three times. (I'm still trying to find a way to put cords and things up out of his reach, other than taping them down, which I just might have to do anyways.)
-We usually keep a small stack of diapers and wipes out with a little blanket to use as a diaper changing area... the kid loves playing in his own (clean!) diapers. And chewing on baby wipes. And butt paste makes for good finger paint when mom's doing the dishes, just ask Aldon!
-The DVD's have been scattered across the floor, their home is the TV stand in the corner. 
-Next to my rocking chair I keep my knitting basket with all my needles, yarn, patterns, and projects in it. It has one of those latch things where you have to turn the thingy to the side and whatnot. Aldon scooted over to it and I figured it was harmless cause he couldn't get the lock open. He did. And he looooves yarn.
-He's tried to get underneath the computer desk about ten dozen times since it's cord heaven under there, but mean ol' mom has managed to prevent that.
-When he's not getting around and into everything, he discovered that he can pull apart all of the pieces of his playmat. It's a foam tile mat with edging, but each of the tiles is also a puzzle. It's about 6' X 5', and each tile puzzle has about 8 pieces. Needless to say, I'm finding these little foam pieces EVERYWHERE. He chews on some, shoves some under the coach, in corners, in his shorts (I found the missing frog leg piece while doing laundry the other day, apparently he stored it in his clothes for safe keeping.)

Needless to say, this week is gonna bring some major changes for us in the form of multiple baby-proofing kits. We already did the obvious cabinet latches and outlet covers (and Keegan put some doorknob covers on the backdoor; I appreciated his zest but um, I don't think Aldon will be tall enough to reach the knob anyways until he's like 3) but this is whole baby-proof the house thing apparently calls for some heavy duty equipment. 

I keep drifting back to when I lived alone and had my townhouse all set up so cutesy with everything in it's place and little knick knacks here and there; bookshelves full of biographies of inspirational people, the occasional chick-lit good read, my Cosmo magazines.. now: it's stuffed with parenting 'how-to' manuals, the complete line of 'What To Expect...' books, children's books, and of course the only magazines are Parenting, Parents, and American Baby. Ahhhh, what a treasured life I live ;)

Another new development for Aldon- he can stand on his own! For like, four seconds tops, but hey it still counts! He's taken a few accidental steps on his own, but doesn't really realize what he's doing. He gets so excited over skills he masters, and we do, too... but this recent almost walking thing terrifies me. I swear I'm about to wrap him in yards of bubble wrap cause he's bound to fall sometime. And I'm talking the industrial, huge bubbles on this wrap, not those puny little ones. Because obviously that won't make other babies at daycare laugh at him. 

From this little peanut....

...to this almost-toddler in what seems like overnight. Amazing.

 

Baby girlfriends, pictures, and ball pits. All in a day's blog.

My, my, my it's been entirely too long since I've logged on here. 

Unfortunately, it hasn't been all that exciting here since I last blogged.  Mainly, just the boring humdrum of school for me and internship for Keegan, but Aldon gets all the excitement he can manage every day at his daycare!! It feels so good to have a center to take him to that I LOVE. Recently, the infant room got a new ball pit for the babes so he makes sure to kick in that just about every day.  Also, baby man got himself a little girly-friend!! Mmmhm, it's true... they grow up way too fast.  He and this little girl babe like to sit on the play mat together and hold hands, they're still to shy to look at eachother but hey, it's new love. I can't believe he is going to be EIGHT MONTHS soon :( Dear lord, where did my little baby go, and who is this adult in his place?! Ugh.

Even more exciting news- I finally scheduled a time to get Aldon's pictures taken!! I never got hospital pictures since their camera was broken when he was born, and still haven't really found the time to schedule a session with a photographer.  I'd like to say I finally buckled down and just made an appointment, but alas, I didn't.  The photographer (and fellow blogger, check out her sites here and here) actually had to hound me to get me to make the appointment... 

Today is the first day off I've had in forever, and technically it really isn't even a "day off" since I have only a gazillion and five hundred errands to run.  But for now, Aldon just dumped about every toy he owns out of his toy box and onto the play mat, so it's looking like we have some major playing to do :) Have a wonderful weekend!!

In A Nutshell...

Since my last post I have:

MOVED!
 ...and probably remembered why I hate moving so much. I canNOT stand clutter and disorganization (seriously, I organize my fridge and cabinets like every week, obsessive, I know), yet with our schedules half of my house is still in boxes and there's baby stuff everywhere and it's just a mess.  

GOTTEN A NEW RIDE!
...yes, brace yourself, I opted for a sweet, jealousy-inducing.... MINI VAN. Contain the envy, please, while I explain why- we live three hours away from family, and like to visit frequently. In order to do that, that means we need to bring:

-Aldon, whose car seat (aka the "Mercedes") is a monster and takes up a gargantuan amount of space.

-about half of his wardrobe since you never know how many outfit changes the day might bring.

-jumperoo

-his "BMW": aka the walker

-jumperoo

-high chair and tray

-baby bathtub

-baby food

-baby feeding utensils

-baby toys

-depending on the situation, the Pack N Play.

-my pump in case I actually wind up doing something and miss a feeding with Aldon

-clothes for me, again extras because my outfit changes usually equal the number of Aldon's when the day gets "explosive"

-plus, of course, bathroom and shower accessories and yada yada.

-and since grandparents spoil grandbabies like crazy, we usually return home with more clothes and toys for Aldon.

Now, can YOU fit all of that in your little car? I didn't think so. Yes, I have officially became "that" mom. 

AND HUNG OUT WITH MY BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!
Not many people can say they have had the same best friend from kindergarten through college, but I have that privelage! Sanya came down to visit me this past weekend and we had a blast. You can read about all of it here. She's a much better blogger than I am, and detailed it out in her own blog :) 

AND LEARNED HOW TO KNIT!
Sanya friend taught me how to do that, too, while she was here. I'm basically horrible for now, but I did make one sweet washcloth. 

Our plans for this weekend include going back up north, catching the parade in Mackinaw City for Memorial Day, and letting baby man sink his toes into some good ole northern Michigan beaches :) Hope everyone has a great holiday!