Philip Turns One

Yesterday was Philip's first birthday. I made him a banana nut cake with cream cheese frosting, since he loves bananas so much. We couldn't bring ourselves to sacrifice the entire cake to his whims, so we cut him a huge piece and let him go at it.

At first, he was perplexed. What was this thing?


Then he got a taste of the frosting, and became a little more interested.


By the end, he was King of the Cake, and was covered in frosting. Let me tell you, it's not easy to wash cream cheese off of a wiggly baby. And, this picture is before William covered Philip's face in it.



This is one of the new toys he got for his birthday (from my parents):


I think it's a hit.

Our Trip to Illinois

In the beginning of June Philip and I traveled to Illinois to visit my grandfather and attend a family reunion. Taking a very active child on a plane by oneself is really not all that fun.
However, we did enjoy seeing Grandpa (Philip's first time meeting him) and my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, and my cousin's children.

The farmhouse where my father, uncle, brother and sister and I were all born. I lived here until I was about four.


Philip in a cornfield at our family farm. No, he doesn't really have a mohawk, it just looks like that in the picture.


Philip and Teagan (who is a few weeks older than him) hanging out on a blanket on the lawn. Philip isn't a big fan of grass, so this arrangement is great because it creates a playpen area without the walls.
As you can see, Philip and Teagan are *in love* (ha ha ha).

Easter and a Visit from Grandma

Of course, it has taken me nearly a month to make this post.

Over Easter, Grandma (my mother) visited. She spoiled Philip, of course, and he (I'm sure) dazzled her with his antics. She also cultivated in him a love of reading books, rather than just chewing them. He particularly enjoys books in which you feel fuzzy things, and a book with a mirror makes him laugh at his reflection and then kiss himself. We like to start the self-absorption early, here at the M. household.

Philip and Grandma reading.
(And no, our couch does not actually look like that color. )

For Easter dinner we went to the Pirate's Cove with Grandma and Grandpa M., Uncle Chris, and William. Here is Philip's latest look in headwear (we call him Pirate Philip):

Did you know that babies love straws?

Lastly, me and my baby boy. Yes, I have actually posted a picture of myself on this blog. *Ugh* But, we are delightfully color coordinated! I am modeling what some have referred to as my tight-lipped mother smile.

The 9 month doctor visit: Philip was 25lbs and 29inches. He still has a big head. Good!

More soon.

We went to see Philip's orthopedist yesterday for his regular check-up; we haven't been in about 3.5 months. The doctor says he is pleased with the correction of Philip's feet, although his right foot seems to have a small deficiency in ankle movement that the left foot does not have, which forces the midfoot to compensate. Not quite sure that this means much in practical terms (as far as future use of the foot goes), but since there wasn't any modification in treatment, I think things will turn out fine.
Currently P is wearing his boots and bar at night time. Once he began pulling up, we started removing his shoes during the daytime. We're just supposed to keep this up, and we return again in four months.
During the visit Philip made sure to look the doctor (a very nice guy, very talented, and the target of much Philip baby pee back in the early days of treatment) straight in the eye and tap him on the head. Philip's standing balance is reportedly very good. But what can we say. He's an awesome kid.

Developments in Food, Teeth, and Environment

I think we have entered a new stage of eating. Philip is in love with food. He will screech at me when I am eating something and don't offer him some. I usually oblige, but have to draw the line at the ice cream. And I'm still not giving him dairy (or shellfish, honey, meat, non-freerange organic eggs, or sugar). Not only does he enjoy playing and mouthing the food, but he really does eat it. It makes the diaper wait a little more interesting...
There also seem to be more teeth on the way, given the amount of fussiness and drool we still have.
And, I made babyproofing efforts around the house so we could let him out of his baby yard/prison, and he really loves to wander around exploring things. The kitchen linoleum is very perplexing to him, though. When he first saw it, he smacked his hand on it in curiosity. Now he will travel over it, but he won't crawl-- he insists on walking on his hands and feet so that his legs don't touch the floor. Hilarious. I won't let him go into the bathroom, though-- that's just gross.
What is Philip like? Incredibly, incredibly happy, alert, intelligent, smiley, and adorable. He's a downright joy.

Much News From Philip Land

1. Philip has a new tooth. It broke through a few days ago-- his right bicuspid (I think that's what it's called, maybe I'm wrong). This tooth was preceeded by much fussiness and drool. The tooth total is-- five.

2. Today was very sunny and much warmer than the past week, so we decided to take Philip out for his first trip on a bike. The youth helmet we bought him ended up a little too big (surprise!) so we had to take a quick trip out and buy a smaller size. We only rode around the parking lot, but he seems to dig it.

(Don't mind my butt...)

3. Philip also seems to say "Dada" and "Mama" in actual connection with Jon and me. It's so cute when he wakes up in the morning, pulls up on Jon's back, shakes or pats him, and says "Dada, Dada." Exciting!

4. William's birthday was this past Wednesday; he turned eleven. This is the birthday present he chose, over a sleeping bag for his birthday sleepover:


Isn't it obscene?

The Pink Flamingo Day

February 25-March 1 is the Baha'i holiday of Ayyam-i-ha. We opened presents together.

Philip got this cool hat from his grandmother (and the book too).

We decided he should wear his hat, and matching outfit, to the Baltimore Zoo. It was the first day of the season, so admission was free.

We saw flamingos.

But Philip was more interested in the trees than the flamingos.

There were so many people there at the zoo....

that we decided to leave and have lunch in Hampden, at Cafe Hon.

It's a funky place, as evidenced by the large pink flamingo.

Philip enjoyed banging on the table, screaming, and being a high-energy crazyman.

(Here he appears rather mellow, but don't let that fool you.)

I believe that he was recently replaced by the devil. I think this devil's name is likely "Teething." (Again. Yay!)
An alternate explanation: Grandma has told Jon that this high energy kid is really the great karma bus running him over.

'Till next time...

This is Philip's new toy:

Apparently the cheapest toys are always the most fun.

Today Philip met his Uncle Jason for the first time.



They were sufficiently impressed with each other.

Eight Months of Philip Luvin'

Today is Philip's eight month birthday.
He has mastered pulling up (and is very proud of himself).
He is a super duper crawler.
He has four teeth.
He is always happy.
He talks all of the time-- na na na, da da da, ma ma ma.
He dances upon request.
He seems to really like music.
He has a beautiful smile and shows it to everyone.
He is a troublemaker.
He is very strong.
He is curious.
He is easygoing.
He loves kitty cats and bathtime.
And we, his parents, are incredibly in love with him.

I Am Such A Big Boy!

Philip wanted me to tell you that today he learned to pull himself up to standing. And no, his mommy did not help him.

He has provided the following as evidence:



While you may not find this picture sufficient, Philip would like you to keep in mind that his daddy was a little slow with the camera.

Philip thanks you.

It's been a while, so here are the updates.
First, we suffered along with the chair-constructed baby jail a while longer. Here is Philip peering out from the bars of his cell:

We now have a baby "fence" made by Little Tykes (I think) which allows us to gate off part of the living room. It has some toys on it, and I think it's nicer than a playpen because it gives Philip much more space and he can play on our floor. Plus, he still gets access to his game of DVD destruction.

Crawling is a definite success, the little bugger is FAST and motivated. Yesterday I watched him "back it up"-- a perfect, backwards crawl. This is an especially important skill when it comes to his cat-stalking. He will literally follow the cat around the room, trying to grab her, and giggling the entire time. I swear she is teasing him. She'll eventually let him win, and he'll pull her tail, or she'll sniff his face, at which point he giggles even louder.

We can tell that the pulling up stage is upon us. Philip understands there is a world existing above his head and he really wants to be there. He will pull his legs up from a crawl into the downward-facing dog pose, or he will try to pull up with his arms on the couch, me, whatever he can find. He also ignores any roadblocks we create, so if I try to limit his movement on the bed with pillows or my legs, he'll just try to four-wheel drive himself over them.

I recently met a new pediatrician, and have decided to switch to him. He runs a solo practice a few miles from our home, and has been a pediatrician for about 30 years. He's really wonderful and I'm looking forward to going to someone I like.

Of course Philip is still eating food other than milk, but more so than before. Last week I was eating half of an apple with him on my lap and discovered that he loved to chew on it. He would spit out the peel, and when I looked at the underside, I could see little teeth marks (which was incredibly cute). He also ate an avocado (smearing it everywhere), sweet potato, and licked a potato and some cabbage I happened to be eating. He also gnawed on some french bread. A few weeks ago his top teeth broke through, so he now has four.

Now, some new pictures

From above...

Chilling Out on Dad (I have no idea what the purpose of that blurry hand is, though)

One unhappy baby...

Until William cheers him up!

While we were eating on Sunday, Philip kept playing with his favorite (metal) spoon. (Not to be confused with his favorite wooden spoon). Then William had an idea...

Later that night, I was cooking (what was ultimately an unsuccessful batch of vegan brownies) while wearing him on my back in my mei tai. He thinks my hair is hilarious, which is fine and all...
until he pulls it! And when I yell out, he thinks THAT is even FUNNIER!

Troubleshooting

Sometimes the pictures do not seem to show up correctly. If you click on the picture marker a large version of the image will display. This is true even if the picture is appearing properly: so, for instance, if you need some super-huge and up-close Philip for your day to seem a little sunnier, you can make the picture larger.
More later, but this is it for now.

In that Philip is a great crawler, he is always getting into things. It is making Jon very tired. We thus were in need of a playpen.
But, playpens are a little expensive, and I don't particularly like them (for constant use at least). This was my personal playgate design, which we used instead:




It seemed like it was working really well. Philip considered the chairs a curiosity (and isn't that why we have six chairs but only three people who use them?)

Until about six hours later...

"Escape from Baby-traz"

Caught in the act

Philip's new game captured on recently-installed parental surveillance equipment.

Pictures from the last few days

Beginning Cello Lessons

Self-feeding a banana

Last, but not least, William's eggs:

Aren't they absolutely disgusting? I think these are his blue ones... the day before he had green, and used even more food coloring.

Philip Has a Problem

He is always getting himself into binds.

He Crawls

Yep, we have crawling. We have a picture but it's not appropriate for internet posting. We have a video, but I don't know how to upload it.
His crawling is like that of an inchworm-- scoot scoot scoot-- but he is most definitely on his hands and knees, and he's working very hard on cross-crawling. Already electrical cords, carpet fuzz, handweights, and DVDs are no match for the crawling wonder!

We went to the pediatrician recently. Philip weighs 23.6 lbs and is 28.25 inches long. This puts him a little above the 90th percentile for weight and a little under the 90th percentile for height. (Of course, wouldn't he have to stand for it to be height? So, length.)
His head is 47.5cm around. They said they wouldn't bother charting this measurement, it was so far off the top!

Yay, Carrots!

An Ode to Applesauce

Unsure.

Handsome.

Sweet.

All Done.

Bathtime is fun...

Only because I have my frog to keep me entertained.

Philip hogs the bed and he is just a baby.

|------------| |-------| |--|
Jon's Space P's space My space.

Wait, maybe it is JON that is hogging the bed!


Philip is a very mobile child. He does the inchworm scooching forward, and he somehow scoots backwards, and he can turn himself in a full circle on his stomach. He really really wants to crawl, but can't get his big ole baby tummy off of the ground yet. He has started tentatively lifting his hips up.
Even though he can't crawl yet, he has started getting into stuff. He moved twenty feet and managed to get his hands greasy in Jon's bike derailer all in a matter of minutes. If we're not careful, one day he will just roll out the door.
So, it looks like babyproofing is upon us.

Aunt Laurie Visits

Aunt Laurie made a surprise (not to us) visit. She officially declared Philip "less boring" than he was when she first met him, which was shortly after he was born.



The blurriness of this picture really irks me. Someone should photoshop it for me, because it really is great! So, until that happens, THERE IS NO BLURRINESS... THERE IS NO BLURRINESS.

Thank you.