Oh dear...

Well, now I'm really in for it. Although Ethan has been getting up on his hands and knees for quite a while now, this morning he officially mastered moving hands and knees together to crawl. He can still move faster doing the army crawl, but he can now do it the "real" way. He is also easily pushing himself from crawling position to sitting position and back again. This hands and knees thing has been quite the problem at nap time and bed time. Lately, it's been taking him about 20-30 minutes to fall asleep because he keeps crawling around the crib and trying to sit up and then flipping over onto his back. And when he gets onto his back, he's like a turtle and he can't get back over. So then he lays there playing with his hands and talking until I go in and flip him over onto his belly.

Before Ethan was born, everyone used to tell me "Enjoy every moment, because it goes so fast." When he was really little, it felt like time was so slow and I was so anxious to see him do new things. But today, when I was watching him crawl, I realized that time really has gone fast. It's really hard to remember what he was like 7 months ago. And I saw a picture of him this morning at about 2-3 months and realized that he looks so so different now.

Baby Stats

First, the 7-month baby stats...Ethan officially weights 14lbs 7 oz which puts him still in the 25th percentile. He is also 25 1/2 inches long which keeps him in the 5th percentile for height. Poor baby! Stuck with short parents to pass on the shortness!

My pediatrician is awesome. I told him how stressed I have been about the feeding solids experience, and his eyes never even twinkled in amusement as I related my obsession and desire for a manual on feeding solids. He did point out that people don't follow a rule book and that it's normal to feel this way with a first baby. Basically, he told me that I am WAY overthinking how to feed him. His theory (and I know not everyone agrees so I'm sure someone will be horrified) is that baby cereal and baby food are a marketing ploy to make parents spend way more money than they need to to feed their child. He said I can start mashing up whatever Dave and I are eating and feed it to him and that I don't need to do the whole food processor/food cube thing. The goal is to have Ethan integrate into our family's feeding habits and to teach him to eat healthy. He also assured me that feeding him spices will not hurt him (which is a good thing considering that I became immersed into tons of spices when I married into the Spence family!). I have also been stressed about how he's not drinking the 32 oz of breastmilk/formula that the baby books said he should be. The doctor thought that was quite a lot of liquid for a baby his size and informed me that the amount they drink depends on their size. Makes sense...So now it drives me crazy that the baby books state things that make it sound like they should be true for all babies across the board. Well, I guess that when I have my next baby, I will be much more relaxed...hopefully...

Active Baby

I was looking back at my old blog on www.xanga.com/mllepetite and reading some old entries from when I was pregnant with Ethan. I thought this comment was very interesting considering how true it turned out to be:

Even though I "look like I'm ready to bust", I'm still going to the gym and I'm so proud of myself! I can still run on the treadmill! Granted, it's a lot slower than before, but I don't care. I'm very excited that I can run for 20 minutes when I'm 7 months pregnant. I get lots of interesting comments: "Do most pregnant women exercise like you do? Do they recommend exercise nowadays?" (old person); "That baby is going to come out running!"

Ethan didn't come out running, but he is certainly a very very active boy!

Non-photogenic

Well, I guess even babies have bad picture days.

New Foods

In this experience known as Feeding Solids, Ethan and I have tried a variety of foods. True to my personality, we have tried a very balanced and well planned out variety: 2 cereals, 3 fruits, and are on our third vegetable. There is a system to this; I alternate fruits and veggies as the new foods to be introduced. Since his most favorite food is carrots (he will sit there with his mouth perpetually open to be loaded with them), I thought he might like butternut squash. So, I went to Food Lion, bought one, butchered it, cooked it, pureed it, froze it in cubes. His response didn't indicate a great appreciation for the work I put into making it. Do you think he liked it?

Hmmm...this sort of reminds me of my famous "teacher" looks. Too bad, kid, it didn't work! You'll be trying it again tomorrow!

Mobility Mode

Last night, I sat and watched as my 6 month old son pulled himself across the floor to get toys that were rolling away from him. He's been dying to be mobile for a long time, and now that he can, I think we are in serious trouble! Take a look...

A French Dining Experience

Last night, Dave and I went to the French restaurant for my birthday dinner. I'm not sure this is what the French owner would expect me to say, but it was a highly amusing experience. Let me count the ways...

1) The decor begins well with authentic art-covered brick walls, Provencale tablecloths and candles, but deteriorates when you notice the fake pine garland interspersed with blue and white Christmas lights strung along one wall.
2)Floral-scented candles are always a bad idea around food. Were they trying to cover up the musty mildew smell? If so, it didn't work.
3) The most prominent piece of artwork is a painting of the owner's daughter wearing regional French garb that reminds you of a Swiss yodeler. This piece of art is for sale...for $1,360.
4) The owner's daughter is the hostess/waitress who despite having a French father has the absolute WORST French accent. In fact, I'm not really sure she actually speaks French based on her attempts to pronounce the names of the French wines on the wine list. Although, she did compliment my accent when I pronounced it for her. Thanks...
5) When the owner's daughter handed out menus to arriving customers, she addressed the women as "Madam" and the men as "Miss-yer". So grating...
6) Apparently, the owner's mother is also involved in the cooking. On the menu was a "My Grandma's Chicken and Couscous" and "My Grandma's Flounder". We were shown the strawberry tart that "my grandma made". At one point, the owner's daughter went skipping (literally) across the restaurant to pick up a framed picture of "my grandma" to show customers. We also found out that "my grandma was here earlier but she went home sick".
7) Standing around watching us as we ate was the owner, the owner's daughter, a random male waiter who looked somewhat befuddled most of the time, and another man with a long ponytail who we decided was the French mafia since he seemed to have no other purpose other than surveying the diners.
8) The menu had every item labeled in French...WITHOUT ANY ACCENTS!!!!! Seriously, if you are French, how can you not include the accents? Even if you can't figure out how to do it on Microsoft Word, write them in, at the very least! If he was my student, he would have lost many half-points for spelling.
9) Occasionally, various dishwashers/prep cooks/busboys (?) would traipse through the middle of the dining area with containers of ice.
10) The owner's daughter (hostess/waitress) was wearing a very casual babydoll t-shirt, too tight Bermuda shorts and flip flops.
11) There were as many "specials" on the menu, as there were permanent items on the menu.
12) While telling us the specials, she read directly from a piece of scrap paper that she had to flip over at one point because there were so many.
13) The owner is very proud to tell you that he makes his own Merguez sausage...and has made it for embassies and important people for 21 years. We ordered it, and I'm not...sure...it...was...cooked...
14) It's not really a good idea to leave the door to the kitchen open if you're going to handle food with your bare hands. I realize a lot of cooks do that, but we really don't need to see it.
15) My entree came with mashed potatoes and I swear they put them in an empty tuna can and then flipped it out onto the plate. You could almost see the lines from the bottom of the can.

I don't know if I sound like a snob, but it was just very funny. I think they want to go for a fine dining experience, but it's not really up to par if that's their intent. I decided that the next time Jen Richardson is in town, we're going because we would have a blast!