I Was Not Expecting This

We had a big day of Growth Chart Moments! And, like always, I wasn't expecting any of them.

The first moment happened after his morning nap. I was listening to the monitor while reading my blogs, waiting for him to wake up from his nap. Recently, he has been very pleasant after his morning nap, not screaming for me to get him as is his tradition after his afternoon nap. I've begun letting him have a little alone time in his crib when he wakes up from his morning naps. It's so adorable to hear him babble to the animals on the wall. After a while, I go in and get him, and it never fails - he cries as soon as I see him. Today, I was bracing myself to see him change from babbling happily to realizing his plight in the world (being in a crib, away from Mommy and his toys). What I found when I opened the door was my little baby boy STANDING there waiting for me! Now, I knew this would happen eventually, but I was not expecting this yet! He didn't cry this time. He just gave me a big grin. *We lowered his crib to the lowest setting tonight.

After his nap, we headed to the grocery store to do our weekly grocery shopping. (I even go through the same lane each time, and the woman is finally recognizing us. She thinks Jack is the cutest baby ever. Do you think she's just saying that?) As we were going down the baking aisle, I did something to make Jack laugh out loud. This was when I noticed a third tooth! I was not expecting this. His bottom two came in almost 2 months ago, and I'd been waiting and watching for the next ones to come in ever since. The thing is, I've been watching the top gums! I didn't even think the next one to come in would be another bottom one. I think it's been up for at least a week.

Recently, Jack's army crawl is getting pretty fast. I can tell he wants to crawl like a 'big-boy', but he just can't figure it out yet. He'll get up on all fours, but then as he starts going forward, he falls down to his belly. This evening, however, for about three 'steps', he crawled on all fours! I wasn't expecting this, because it was getting later in the evening, and he was getting pretty tired. (Which means he was pretty cranky and unable to keep from falling a lot). He is still mostly army crawling for now, but as of tonight, he has actually crawled 'big-boy' style.

Our little Buddy Boozle is getting so big! This 7th month has been a huge Growth Chart month. He sleeps better, cries a little less, eats a ton more, army crawls whenever and wherever he wants, pulls himself up on furniture and toys, and cruises around everything. I'm in the throes of "they grow so fast!"

A Few Missed Moments

***This is my first time ever linking to any blog carnival. This is a learning process for me. To my friends and family who do not know what a blog carnival is, just check out the link and you'll see at the end of that post, a lot of links. Those are other bloggers who are sharing their stories in the same way.

Last week I did NOT turn around and say out loud, “How did you get over there?” to my 7 month old son who just learned how to army crawl. Nope, not me! I was NOT reading through my list of blogs while he was making his longest distance yet with this new army crawl. It seems I may need to schedule a different time to check up on my blogs, and I may need to start baby-proofing a little better.

I did NOT ask my husband, “Did he just cruise around that big toy by himself?” and miss yet another Growth Chart Moment. This time I was not on my computer, but I was texting a friend at the time. I see a trend, do you?

I did NOT almost cry when the internet went out after a lightning bolt struck our house (not really, but it was REALLY close!) and the technician on the phone said it’d be THREE DAYS before someone could come out. I don’t know how to survive without the internet anymore. My husband said “we’ll have to go back to how we used to do things.” I gently reminded him that we didn’t used to share photos and videos of our son online.

My son does NOT scream his head off when we leave him alone with anyone for any amount of time right now. My sister did NOT have to drive him to the park, sit with him, and drive him back to meet me after my dentist appointment all while Jack cried the ENTIRE time.

My husband did NOT take me to the Newport Aquarium in KY for our anniversary last week. We decided it was going to have to be a family anniversary day, since Jack is so little, and we can’t leave him with anyone for any amount of time right now. Jack did NOT cry all the way home. I guess he was sick of being in the car.

And finally, I really did not start a new school year with a new set of students in my newly set up classroom. And because that really didn’t happen, I felt a little sad. It’s been 27 years of gearing up for school to start in August. This year I am staying home with my son. I’m not sure anyone really understands this sadness. I hear a lot of “I wish it were me!” But for me, being a teacher, and being in a classroom with students was where I belonged. I had a place to fit in. I knew my place in the world. Now, as a stay-at-home-mom, I feel like I’m floating in the world without a place to belong. I no longer have a set of friends just down the hall. Though I’m looking forward to the joys of raising my son, I still feel a little sadness about leaving my now ‘past life’ behind.