Flashback to November 4, 2011: Busy Legs

When Rhys was about a month old, I was very excited to learn that I could leave him alone in his crib with some toys and his mobile playing while I stepped away to switch the laundry or make a quick snack in the kitchen.  I remember how liberating this discovery felt!  The first time I did this, I went down to the laundry room, carrying the video monitor with me.  I glanced at the monitor while I was switching laundry and he seemed to be doing just fine.  I couldn't have been gone more than 5 minutes.  When I got back to the nursery, this is what I found ...

At first I was really confused.  I could have sworn I'd put his pants back on when I'd just changed him. Then it hit me: he had wriggled his legs right out of his pants. 

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.  Rhys has always liked to move his legs.  In fact, he was breech because he got his feet tangled in the umbilical cord.  (I remember thinking that it felt like he was Irish step dancing in the womb.  I figure he danced a bit too much and then when it was time, realized he couldn't flip.)  Side note: the fact his feet were tangled is why all the acupuncturist, chiropractor, massage, and swimming sessions I did at the end of my pregnancy to flip him didn't help.

Anyway, these days, his busy legs translate into crawling all over the place (particularly into areas that haven't been baby-proofed) and constantly flipping over and trying to stand up on the changing table when we're trying to change his diaper.  We'll just have to wait and see what they will translate into as he gets older ...

Peaches!

Rhys has really taken to solid foods.

From broccoli to spinach to tilapia to lamb, we haven't found anything he doesn't like yet. And with all the great summer fruits available these days, I've been trying to introduce him to new fruits.

Initially I was cutting the fruit into little pieces and either putting them in his mouth or handing them to him.  (The latter method was not as successful since it turns out that tiny pieces of slippery fruit are kind of tricky for a baby to hold on to...)  But then one day a mom friend mentioned to me that when feeding her baby fruits like peaches, she takes a bite herself to start it off, then offers the fruit to her baby, so he can take a bite himself.

Not wanting Rhys to be outdone of course, I thought we could give that technique a try.  So I started a peach and then offered him a bite.  He bit right in, joined me in holding the peach and didn't let go ...

After awhile I realized that my holding of the peach was superfluous; he was holding the peach all by himself and wasn't about to let it go (I tried unsuccessfully to take it back from him at one point to get him to take a break).  

Here are some pics from Rhys's first peach:

When all was said and done, all that was left was...                                    

We're adding peaches (and nectarines and plums) to the list of foods that Rhys likes. 

And he's up ...

I knew it was just a matter of time, but I didn't think that Rhys would learn how to stand up in his crib quite so soon after just getting to kneeling.  He did though!  I think he's pretty pleased about it too.

Not that it's helping him to go to sleep very quickly ...

"Nah, I don't think it's time to go to bed yet ..."

"There's still too much to do!"

And then he's right back up in the morning .... 




He's getting kind of hard to keep up with!

Folding Laundry

Crawling has definitely inspired Rhys towards greater mobility.  He's also now pulling himself to kneeling in his crib, which he definitely enjoys, but is not so conducive to falling asleep!

More and more, he just wants to be in the middle of everything.  So, the other day when I was bringing up clean laundry from the laundry room, I put him in the laundry basket ...  

He hasn't quite gotten the hang of folding yet, but at least for now, he seemed pretty pleased to be hanging out there.  

Crawling!

While visiting Uncle Dwight in West Virginia, Rhys not only went on his first hike, but also reached another milestone: crawling!  Nana and Grandpa Jeff (who you can see in the video) were there to witness it as well.

He's been thinking about crawling for awhile and doing a lot of rocking back and forth on his hands and knees, but he has now put it all together!  It's really a micro-crawl in the video, but he's pretty proud of himself and I think it looks like he's tagging the wall when he's gets there to prove that he did it.  ;-)

Flashback to October 21, 2011: First Dinner Out

(In an effort to catch up on some of the times before I started this blog, I'm going to try to periodically share some glimpses from earlier days.)

When Rhys was almost a month old, Jeremy convinced me that we could take him out to dinner.  He was still sleeping a lot, but I was still really worried that he would wake up and need to be fed.  Jeremy was right though.  I nervously gobbled down my dinner, but it wasn't necessary: we were in and out in under and hour, but Rhys just slept peacefully by the margaritas ...

Hiking in West Virginia

Jeremy and I have always joked that we are splitting the difference between his parents in Maine and my parents in Florida, but particularly since Rhys joined us, it sometimes seems like we are just far from everyone. 

An exciting new development for us though is that my brother Dwight and his girlfriend, Laurie, recently moved to West Virginia (just three hours away!).  It's really nice to now have family within easy driving distance and we decided to try out the drive for Memorial Day weekend.  My parents were visiting too, so Rhys also got to see Nana and Grandpa Jeff too!

Rhys did really well on the drive down. He got fussy for a bit, but was happy again after I moved in the back seat with him.  The drive back wasn't too bad, but he did get tired of being in his carseat after we hit some traffic.  This time, Jeremy and I discovered that singing to him can help his mood as well.  This worked pretty well, but I think we stretched the limits of the number and variety of animals that can fit on Old MacDonald's farm ...

While visiting Uncle Dwight and Laurie, Rhys went hiking in his first state forest: Coopers Rock State Forest in Morgantown, WV.  



Getting ready for the hike!



Exploring the forest - posing on a rock

Laurie, Uncle Dwight, Nana, Mom (Bronwen), Grandpa Jeff, Dad (Jeremy), and Rhys on Coopers Rock

First Trip to Disney World

We went to EPCOT Center with my family at the end of March.  Rhys is not quite old enough to appreciate the fact that he was at Disney World, but we have pictures to prove that he was there!

He also got a chance to go swimming for the first time and had lots of time to hang out with his grandparents, aunts, and uncles!  :-)

After Dinner at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (It was a long day- Rhys was tired out!)

Together at Disney's Wilderness Lodge (l-r: Aunt Galina, Aunt Sara, Uncle Drew, Rhys, Mom (Bronwen), Dad (Jeremy), Nana, Grandpa Jeff, and Great Uncle Steve)

Meeting Uncle Shawn and Aunt Tiff (thanks for the ears!)

Blasses and Workses: Breakfast all Together

Rhys's Photo Shoot - 6 months old

While we were visiting my parents in Florida in March just around Rhys's six month birthday, my mom arranged to have pictures taken of Rhys by a local photographer, Janet Henderson.  Janet did a beautiful job of capturing Rhys and the light we had at the park where we went for his photo shoot.  I love these photos and am so glad we had them taken!  :-)