Nick's Sixth Month

One of the sweetest sounds is Brandi singing Nick to sleep at night. A few weeks ago I was rocking him to sleep and he was just staring at me, when Brandi reminded me I had to sing something. All I could think of was "Enter Sandman," by Metallica. Not exactly a lullably, but it worked.

Another round of vaccinations for the little man, and barely a peep. He gave the nurse a piece of his mind, but no crying. I'm starting to think he might even be tougher than I am.

He will be crawling by the next blog. He's figured out how to get his knees under him. When he got up on all fours for the first time and lifted his head, you could read in his face, "Whoa, what did I just do!" He's already mobile via the rolling technique. Brandi left him alone in the TV room last week, and she returned to him throwing a little chew-fest on the DVDs. He had several out on the floor, and was sizing one up for taste. By the way, "The Little Mermaid" has a nice flavor. (Hey there gutter-people, none of that. This is a family blog!)

For those of you benchmarking your kids against mine (come on, we all do it!) Nick is 26 inches, and just shy of 18 pounds at 6 months. The next round of clothes have arrived, courtesy of his cousin Seth, who left alot of wear on his 6-12 month wardrobe.

New videos at right. He's got a true laugh now, which he can't hold back when his mom makes her uber-happy face. (I can't seem to get it down. The only other person who can do it is his Grandba.) I've watched the video of him laughing at Brandi more than any video to date. The smile of a child brings joy like no other. So true. He's also got the arms moving now, but not yet under control. He's swinging them most of the time, and they are like little weapons, so watch out. If he grabs something heavy or hard, steer clear.

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We're heavy into Rice and Peaches now (not together - yuck!) as the solid food is settling well with him. It's getting harder to eat in front of him as he stares at every bite you take like you're chowing down a juicy steak while he's relegated to lousy mo, and he knows what you've got is better. ("Mo" is our word for his formula, another hand-me-down from Seth, who couldn't pronounce Milk when he first started talking.) You can tell from some of the pictures he does "baby bird mouth" where he props open the target and follows the food in the air until it lands between the gums. If you sneak him a little grape jelly on your finger, you've made a friend.

He spent the weekend catching up with his Grandmoose and Grandba in town from Atlanta. Of course, that included a trip to Cabela's to rummage through the hunting gear. We picked the perfect day - every hunting nut in the midwest was there for a tent (the size of a football field) sale. So, dressed in his camouflage, we wandered for over 4 hours looking at the animals, while munching on a venison brat (me, not Nick.) He was amazingly entertained for hours and never complained being out and about that long. Something about all those guns and fishing tackle soothed him.

It's late, and I'm tired, so off to never-never land!
- Jason

Nick's Baptism

There are a ton of pictures this time from his Baptism and having guests this past week for a Retirement Party for our friend Earl. The picture in this poster reminds me of Rocky Balboa, with the yellow cover. The cover was a gift from Nick's dentist (no teeth yet and he's already in great favor with the dentist!)

I was out of town for a week earlier in the month and he grew like a weed - in size, and in the way he's processing the world around him. He used to look through me alot, but now I get the feeling he's psychoanalyzing me as he lifts his head and looks right at me. I can point to specific pictures or animals and he follows along rather intently. He's absorbing everything. We've started the $1 jar to stop his father from swearing so much. If the funds are available, his mother should be a millionaire by Christmas. He and his mother had alot of fun while I was away - croup at 3AM, infected circumcision, house plumbing backed up, attacked by an ant army. I'll be staying home for awhile.

In the past two weeks he has learned to sit up on his own, and now flips himself over at will. Doesn't always flip back so easy, especially when he's asleep.

He found his feet, but the thrill of those only lasted about a week. I never realized the "limited attention span of a teenager" really starts at about 4 months old. When he discovered his first toys, I got several weeks of mileage out of those: "Look, Nick, it's Phunt!" and he'd smile. Now I say, "Look, your feet!" and he looks at me like, "That was so yesterday's news. I've moved onto this book of Roman architecture, Dad. Get with the program." (If you think I'm being sarcastic, there are pictures of him reading somewhere in these blogs, and it's hard to believe he's not actually reading when you watch him.)

This past weekend was his Baptism, and he was a pro. He never cried for the Pastor, and fortunately didn't spit, drool, or secrete any other unwelcomely timed fluids during the ceremony. We had a little party in his honor at the house afterward. His mother made holy cupcakes (crosses on them) and we pitched a tent on the porch to entertain.

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I've always bit or chewed on my bottom lip, and supposedly it's a nervous habit that's hereditary, as my grandfather did the same, although not as severe as I do. Well, Nick is proof of nature's trend, as he's carried the bad habit a step further - he chews on both lips at once. Kinda hard to explain - I can't figure out how he does it. But I suppose he has fewer teeth to get in the way, as well.

He's just about allergic to everything. I accidentally grabbed him after mowing the lawn a few weeks ago, and he turned rash from head to toe. Another instance of being just like his father.

For those of you who said there aren't very many pictures of me, I posted one with my nephew Seth Fayling to the right of this site.
Thank you for all the continued notes of well wishes and advice. We're starting to get the hang of this parent-thing.

- Jason

Nick's Fifth Month

Nick and Brandi went out for a day to have lunch with the girls and meet a new addition to her friend Jessica's family. He's in the middle of this kid pack with a 3-year old girl and 2 year-old boy ahead of him, and a new-born girl behind him. He spent the afternoon cooing at the 3 year-old girl, poking at her, giggling at her, and enjoying her company. Supposedly he had no interest at all in the little boy, not even eye contact. It appears he has mastered the art of flirting already. Don't know where he got that from.

Looking forward to getting the swimming pool open in a few weeks as he seems to love the water. Nothing soothes him like a warm tubby. (Of course, nothing angers him like pulling him out of his warm tubby.) Brandi squirts him with the rinse bottle, and he loves to open his mouth for a fountain drink. He splashes water all over like she's bathing a live salmon in the sink. It takes 3 towels to bathe him - one to wrap him up and two to mop up the water from the floor.

While I've tried to keep him on a steady exposure to sports highlights and playoff basketball, his mother lets him watch Baby Einstein videos. His favorite character is Bard the Dragon. Although I hear he likes The Sopranos, too. That was Brandi's show of choice during pregnancy to relax her, so he must recognize the sound. I think we'll be reducing his exposure to that show soon, though.

He has graduated from the floor play mat to the bouncy play seat. The folks who invented these contraptions really did their research - a rubber smiley-face sun to chew on, a plastic frog to flip, and dials, and knobs, and buttons to distract the child long enough for the parents to get a cup of anything with caffiene. I'm convinced these people are in cahoots with the alkaline battery
manufacturers. I've already spent more money on batteries for these noisy getups than the boyscouts spend on their flashlights for a full year.

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More vidoes posted at right. As much as it's cool that he looks alot like me, I was hoping he would inherit his mother's skin which doesn't burn from the mere reflection off the television set. No such luck. Enjoy new pictures of the world's whitest baby.

- Jason

Nick's First Vacation

This month was Nick's first big vacation, visiting family in Atlanta for a week. He worked harder than his parents: entertaining relatives, being passed around and coo'ed at, and generally having his routine interrupted and space invaded, all in the name of love. It was a week of firsts - his first hunting cap, first camoflage, first explosive poo at a gas station in Tennessee, first time sleeping in a huge crib. Nick was perfectly content and quiet on the 12 hour drive to Georgia. The drive back was a different adventure. His mom started the trip giving him Gatorade because she thought he was dehydrated. Memo to parents: there's enough sugar in an ounce of sports drink to keep a 4-month old child wired for approximately one hour. If he wasn't talking at the highest possible decible to his toys, he was just laughing out loud for self entertainment. We planned to extend the trip to Florida to visit my family, but there was no chance any of us would make it that far.

I had one great awakening on a trip in the car where I was juggling an ice cream cone for Seth and a bottle for Nick at the same time. Hats off to you moms with more than one kid. You're the reason I'm going to buy stock in the companies that make clothing stain remover.

He's now rolling over, heads-up much of the time, and grabbing everything within reach. Funny how he knows to gently touch his mother on the face to get her attention, but he grabs me by the beard like he's practicing a WrestleMania move. And watch out for hair - he's figured out it's cool to yank.

He also did some gardening this month, uprooting hundreds of bulbs and planting several new plants for his Mother's Day gift to Brandi. Well, he did supervise much of the work, but someone else did most of the digging.

He loves chewing on his towel a la "Jerry Tarkanian." There's pictures to prove it all.

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And on a last note, in the previous blog, I mentioned a date for Nick's Baptism. That has been RESCHEDULED for Saturday, June 23 at 4:00 PM, still at Regina Coeli Church in Toledo. I don't anticipate the date moving again. If you plan to attend, give us a call so we'll be sure to connect with you.

- Jason

Nick's Fourth Month

For the first time this month, I gave some thought to how much longer I'll be able to swing him around and carry him every-which-way. Why does 13+ pounds seem so heavy all of a sudden? Kids aren't born at 25 pounds because you wouldn't be able to lift them (I'm sure Brandi can come up with a second reason) - gotta build up my strength.

We've finally mastered Nick's plumbing. The right mix of formula and prune juice (thank you for the advice, Miranda!) did the trick. Every poo continues to ignite a victory party. And I'm getting the routine down set forth by his mother (which diapers are daytime, which are nighttime, where heavy onesies go versus light onesies, etc.)

I continue to collect the marks of a true Dad - slobber spots on the shoulder of every shirt (he loves to lick the starch off my dress shirts, so if anyone knows if starch is dangerous to an infant, please drop me a note), bags under the eyes, and the urge to celebrate whenever I hear someone burp. I'm going to accidentally congratulate a coworker for belching one of these days, but I doubt anyone will be surprised.

Nick's Baptism has been scheduled for Sunday, May 27th at Regina Coeli Parish in Toledo, after the 11:00 AM mass. Call us if you want more info. If you're taking the time to check on this blog, then you're probably one of the parties who is interested.

He officially moved into his own room this month, with tears of separation from his mother. We're all sleeping better with him tucked away in his own quiet space.

It's too early to cut teeth, but he has begun to chew on everything in site. His knuckles are the favorite chew toy, but his shirt, my finger, the closest toy, or anything not nailed down will suffice.

Now fully able to read at 4 months, he spends an hour each evening reading the warning label in his bassinet and laughing out loud. Who woulda thought the risk of injury could be so hilarious? He actually talks to the label in his carseat.

And he can push himself up with both arms, and look you in the eye now, so no looking down on him.

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He does own outfits that are not blue, just for some reason, every picture this month is a blue outfit.And there's more videos at right, so enjoy!

- Jason