A Day at the Fair

Today we took Jack to the State Fair of Texas.  I've got to say, I am a bit of a Fair Snob, growing up with the Del Mar Fair, so I don't get too excited about the State Fair of Texas.  But this time was a little different - I was excited to be taking Jack!
We met our friends Shawn and Amanda there, who had their niece Avery.  It was pretty hot and also very crowded (Saturday at the fair, after all...).

Jack immediately started pointing at everything as soon as he was out of the car.  He points at eveything now, and if he wants to know the word for something, he grunts.  He knows what cars and trucks are, and he likes them, so he was constantly pointing at them as they drove by in the parking lot. 

Here is an example of all that pointing.  Oh - sidenote - this is the first time he has ever spent any amount of time in his stroller.  We figured it was hot and we'd be walking around a lot so we took it out on the town today.  He did like it for awhile.

Anyway, the Fair is full of many wonderful things for a nine-month old to look at!  Animals, rides, the food, the people...

We started out walking through the livestock barns.  Here is where my Fair Snobbery kicks in.  At Del Mar, the barns are neat, orderly, full of educational displays and well-organized!  For example, all of the sheep are in the sheep barn, all of the cows are in the cow barn, etc.  At the Texas Fair, they are all kind of jumbled together and the barn aisles are cluttered and messy, and you can't tell if the animals are with the FFA, 4H, a private farm, etc.  Also, the llamas are mixed in with the cows, the goats are showing next to the pig barn...you get the idea.  But aside from my own issues - Jack loved looking at all of the animals!

Jack loved the piggies - he stared and stared at this one! 

Jack's highlights of the day: staring at the piggy, trying a corn dog, playing with the steering wheel of a truck in the car show, watching the chinese dragon show, staring at the waterfall, trying to pull out Mommy's eyelashes, and pointing at cars and trucks in the parking lot.

He Doesn't Need Me As Much As He Used To!

So it seems like when I actually have some time to write in my blog, I really have nothing to write about.  I mean, I already talked about the cricket infestation and I think I shared that Jack is pointing at everything now, so what else is there?? 

Today I went in to work.  Jack didn't cry the whole time I was gone (except for when Charles dressed him) and when I got home, he didn't even act excited to see me or act like he was starving like he normally does.  Nope.  I used to think, "when will I ever be able to go anywhere for longer than a few hours without him crying?" and now that he does, I am kinda sad.

I mean really, I am happy that my little boy is doing so well and that when I call Charles I don't hear his sad little cries in the background.  I am happy for selfish reasons (I don't have to worry that he is upset or hungry the entire time I am away from him!).  I am happy that he is reaching this new milestone, where he can eat big boy foods and drink a little juice/water mix while I am gone. 

But in my heart...I am also a little sad.  Sad that he is growing so incredibly quickly and that he already needs me less.  Sad that my little baby is turning into a little boy and is no longer content to spend his days cuddled up on my chest.  Sad that these precious moments, seconds really, of his life are blowing by so fast I wonder sometimes if I will even be able to remember them. 

CRICKETS!!

There is a serious cricket infestation around here lately.  Plague-like.  And the worst part is, they have found their way inside.  How, I do not know.  But there is not much worse than waking up at 4 AM to the sound of a cricket chirping in your bedroom.  Do you have any idea how loud they are when they are inside your house? 

OK, actually there is something worse.  Finding said cricket, removing it, getting back into bed and falling back asleep, and then waking up thirty minutes later because there is ANOTHER one. 

Lucky for me, and notsomuch for the crickets, the Bug Man is coming on Friday.  Hopefully his bug spray also gets rid of spiders, since last night Charles felt something crawling around his nether-region and after carefully extracting himself from his shorts (terrified that there was a scorpion in his panties), found a giant spider cruising around down there.  Oh my.

I guess this is another part of living in the country that I either didn't think about or just kinda ignored when we first moved out here.  If I am being honest, ignored is exactly what I did.  I knew there were bugs.  The first time I came to Texas was during a grasshopper plague.  I hated it.  HATED IT.  Said I would never live in Texas (it was also August, and very very hot!).  But I guess when we actually decided to move out here I just pretended to myself that the bugs wouldn't actually be a problem.

But they are.  They really, really are horrible.  I guess I should be thankful I do not live in some South American rainforest with those giant cockroaches the size of a man's hand.

Does Thinking About Jogging Count as Jogging??

I haven't jogged again yet, but I did put Jack in the Ergo today and walk around for a good 40 minutes looking at the trees, puddles, horses, etc.

The other night Charles and I had a big night out and went to a wedding for one of my co-workers.  We even got all snazzied up!

A Little Sore Today and Finger Food Fun

I am pretty sore today. Must be from all that running. I am not actually a little sore, I am a LOT sore. Even my abs hurt! Charles said I went a little gung-ho for basically spending the last year and a half inactive. He is probably right. I had planned on trying to run again today, but I guess I am secretly happy I am sore because I have a very good excuse not to!

And on to Jack news (my favorite topic these days...).

So we have been working on eating finger foods. The other morning I put some puffs in his Exersaucer for him to play with. As you can see, he inspected them thoroughly with one of his new skills, the Finger Point.

As you can see by this picture, he is not lacking in the nutrition department.

And a couple of days later, he actually started to put some in his mouth! Of course, most of them missed the target, as evidenced in this picture. Janga has already learned that the highchair means treats and has started hanging out next to it when Jack is "eating."

Yesterday, I...

Did something out of character (well, at least recently). I'll give you some hints: it hurts, it's not fun, I hate it, it involves special shoes, and it rhymes with hog. You guessed it - I went for a jog.

OK, if I am going to be technical, it barely counts as a jog. I ran (ahem, jogged...) to the cemetery and back. Total running time was probably less than five minutes. But when you realize that the last time I ran was in December of 2007, and if you know how much I hate running, it becomes pretty impressive.

And when I was done, I admit that it felt gooood and I was glad I made myself do it. I might even do it again.

The thing is, I just can't do all the things I used to do. I used to jog, ride horses, scrapbook, read, work lots of hours, drink a bottle of wine each weekend, travel, go to to the movies, and pretty much whatever I felt like doing, when I felt like doing it.

That has of course all changed. I can do some of those things, sometimes, but not all of those things. I suppose I actually could do all of those things. I know that some moms do pick right up where they left off after they have a baby. But to me it doesn't feel right. I have this little person now who needs me. And I want to be with him. Yes, I would love to ride my horse every afternoon, but I work every day (granted, part-time, but still!). So in the afternoon I feel like I should spend my time with Jack. Someday my babies will be all grown up (really thinking ahead here!) and I can read all the books and ride all the horses and drink all the wine I want.

I never want to look back and think, "I wish I had spent more time with my babies."

Labor Day Weekend

Well, today is Saturday, and day one of our three-day weekend. So far the most exciting thing I have done is go to Chili's today for lunch. Charles (who golfed and had drinks with his friends last night, by the way) is at Steven Pyles' (http://stephanpyles.com/index.asp - if someone can tell me how to do that thing where you just type in the description of the link you are referring to and it takes the person to the website let me know) right now enjoing the chef's table or chef's special or something like that. But I'm not complaining!

Oh no. I am sitting in a dark room playing on the internet while Jack sleeps.

But if you know me and you looked at the menu for Steven Pyles' restaurant, you would understand why I really don't mind passing on tonight. At this point it is more important to me to not disrupt Jack's schedule than to have a night out. Not that I don't want a night out. I guess what I mean is, I am going to use my nights out for things that I would really enjoy. Next Saturday, we are going to a wedding at a vineyard in Grapevine and I am very excited about that.

Sometime this weekend I am going to go dress shopping, and hopefully find a dress that can take me through this wedding and the holiday parties that are to come. The fact that I am even thinking about holiday parties makes me realize that my baby is almost one year old. !!!! Crazy.

Nine Months

Jack is now nine months old. How is that even possible? A quick recap of month eight for those who are interested:

Jack started to really enjoy solids, and then decided they are not so tasty after all and pretty much boycotted anything that came near his mouth in a spoon. He has since decided that they might be okay as long as he gets to be involved in putting the spoon in his mouth and also gets to stick his finger in the mush/food first.

Jack started waving. This might be the cutest thing ever, particulary because he generally just sticks his arm in the air and counts that as a wave, or wiggles his fingers around but with this palm facing himself.

Jack is trying to pull up on everything. HE is also trying to figure out how to crawl. He knows that this great world is out there just waiting for him to come explore it. If he could just figure out how to get from his bottom to his hands and knees without taking a nose dive...

His nine month visit at the pediatrician's office went very well. Well, aside from a complete stranger looking at him and saying, "I'm so glad my kid isn't the only one with a huge head!" But Jack does have a huge head, so I can't say I'm too surprised. This was all confirmed after the nurse took his measurements. 22 lbs 13 oz, 27.5 inches tall, and a head circumference that I think was 19 inches. Anyway, it all boils down to this: the kid is a brick! 80th percentile for weight, 30th percentile for height, and his head is in the >97 percentile (for the record, I have never used the ">" key before). His head is off the charts. I was reassured by the nurse and the doctor that this only means he has lots of brains. Yay!

And that is all for now. I'm going to try to keep up with this, even though I think I probably only have about two semi-loyal readers. At the very least I can print this off and put it in the j0urnal I am going to start for Jack (in my spare time...).