Fun and games

Perrin is becoming more and more playful the older he gets. He likes some of the classic games like peek-a-boo and patty cake. But his favorite games are the ones he invented himself. Here are a few of the games he loves the most:

• The "throw the toy on the floor over and over to see how many times Mommy will pick it up" game
• The "pull Mommy's hair when she bends down to give me a kiss just to see if she'll say ouch" game
• The "pull the dog's hair" game, or it's sequel, "pull the dog's ears"
• The "make lots of big splashes in the bathtub" game--bonus points for covering the bathroom floor in water
• The "roll across the floor" game--the only problem is Mommy keeps putting me back at the starting point
• The "pull the tissues out of the box and try to eat them" game
• The "try to grab the bowl of food while Mommy is feeding me" game--followed by smearing the food all over my face, clothes, and high chair when I succeed
• The "make lots of weird noises" game--especially fun when Mommy makes weird noises back
• The "try to eat the book while Mommy is reading it to me" game

Next step: Monopoly!

Is that the same baby I had yesterday?

Everyone who's ever had a baby knows that they grow and change quickly. I've noticed a couple of changes in Perrin in just the last week or so.

First off, Perrin has a tooth coming in. I can feel it barely poking through the surface of his bottom gum. My first reaction was, "Yay! A tooth!" My next reaction, in anticipation of his increased fussiness, was "Oh no, a tooth!" My last reaction was a little more surprising: I felt sad. Never again will he smile up at me with his toothless baby grin. I'm sure his one-tooth smile will be just as cute, but it's kind of sad to realize that we're passing through stages that I'll never get to experience with him again. In some cases, that's a good thing. (So long, sleepless nights. I don't miss you in the least.) But I wonder if I'm really appreciating and enjoying each stage as much as I can, knowing that it'll go by all too quickly.

The other change I've noticed is that he's become much more talkative and is making all kinds of new sounds. He can even say Mama! Okay, it's actually more like mamamamamama. And he's never actually said it to me... only to Trey. But still. Is it too early for me to gloat that his first word was Mama? :)

Just this morning I laid him down on the floor with a frog toy just out of his reach. I said, "You can get it, Perrin! Just stretch out and grab it!" He was babbling away, and I swear it sounded like he said, "I can't get it." I cracked up.

As sad as it may be to see my little baby growing up, it's exciting too. Besides, if he weren't growing and changing, what else would I have to blog about? :)

Battle of the wills

Perrin is a nap fighter. He sleeps pretty well through the night, but during the day we're in a constant battle of the wills when it's time for him to take a snooze. Some days are easier than others. Some days (like yesterday), are terrible.

I tried putting him down for his morning nap at 9:00. He almost always goes back to sleep for an hour or so right around that time, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. But I was particularly anxious to get him in bed because I had a couple of work-related things that needed to be done immediately. Wouldn't you know it--on the day that it's most important for him to take that morning nap, he cries on and off for two and a half hours. Two and a half hours!!! Of crying!!! I was ready to poke a pitchfork into my brain after about the first hour of it. I tried rocking him, feeding him, changing him, burping him, etc. All the normal things. Then I wondered if he was having some teething pain, so I swabbed his gums with baby orajel. (Oh, man... he didn't like that. The cries turned into screams). Then I tried some less traditional methods to get him to stop crying. First, I took him into the bathroom and sat him on the sink and let him dip his feet under the running faucet. He liked it. So that stopped him from crying for awhile. Then later I took off his clothes and let him roll around in just his diaper. He liked that too. (On a side note, do all babies like being naked, or is it just mine?)

Finally, finally, glory hallelujah, he fell asleep. I was so relieved that I could finally get some stuff done. Unfortunately, by that point I was really too tired to be productive. ::Sigh::

Perrin's got talent

Looking back

With summer in full swing, I've been thinking a lot lately about what last summer was like for me. I was just starting to spread the news that I was pregnant. My jeans were getting tighter, I was throwing up nearly every morning, and February seemed like such a loooong time to wait for the baby to get here. At times, I actually really enjoyed being pregnant... but last summer was NOT one of those times. I remember one morning, I opened the fridge to find some breakfast and I saw a packet of ranch dressing. Then I turned around and hurled in the sink. Because of a stupid packet of ranch dressing! (By the way, I really like ranch dressing. Why it was so gross to me that morning, I'll never know. Pregnancy makes you weird... that's the only explanation).

Well, February came a lot sooner than I was expecting it to, and as much as pregnancy changed my life, nothing has changed my life as much as having a baby and taking care of him day in and day out. And as tough as morning sickness and first-trimester fatigue are, they are nothing compared to caring for an infant. So I have to say that this summer is even tougher than last summer.

It's strange to think about how much my life has changed in a year. But I'm glad it has. Perrin's sitting on my lap trying to help me type, and he's just so cute and sweet! Yeah, he's a lot of work. And sometimes he's cranky and irritating and won't go to sleep. And he poops a lot and spits up on my clothes and sometimes cries for no reason. But he's the best baby in the whole world. I even forgive him for making me throw up so much last year.

Monkey boy

Now that Perrin is 5 months old, we've decided to start him on a little rice cereal to see how he likes it and to get him used to eating food from a spoon. He tried it for the first time last week and LOVED it. He kept trying to steal the spoon away from me, and when I wouldn't hand it over, he lunged toward the food like he was starving.

Thanks to my mom, who is always trying to sneak him a taste of this or that, we've discovered something he loves even more than rice cereal--bananas. So today as a little treat, instead of giving him rice cereal, I mashed up a bit of banana and thinned it with breast milk. His eyes were wide with excitement after the first bite. If I didn't feed him fast enough, he started whimpering. And oh, the mess... banana paste was everywhere. (How exactly did it wind up on my shoulder??) And when all the banana was gone, he was absolutely livid! He screamed at me as I tried my best to wash him up. I had to go distract him with some toys to get his mind off the banana.

Temper tantrum aside, I'm kind of looking forward to introducing him to some other foods soon. But somehow I don't think he's going to get as excited over green beans.

Dedication Day

Sunday was Perrin's baby dedication at church. It was great--very special and meaningful. Not to mention Perrin looked ADORABLE in his suit and tie. We bought it specifically for his dedication, but now I'm trying to think of other excuses for him to get all dressed up. Babies can wear suits to the grocery store, right? And to the library, and to visit Grandma, and at the park?

On a more serious note, it's kind of starting to hit me just how big of a responsibility we have ahead of us as parents. I feel so blessed to have Perrin, but I feel inadequate too--probably as most parents do. Am I going to be able to do enough to help him grow spiritually, physically, emotionally, and intellectually? I guess the short answer is no--I'll never reach that magical place of "enough." But I just have to trust that God will fill in where I fall short as a parent.