Shoes

pat pat pat, bonk, bonk
amazing how freaking cute
on tiny feetsies!

phantom baby

I know this is going to sound weird, or morbid (it sounds very morbid in my head)...

Here I am, pumping my lunch away, as usual. I have been told that to help let the milk down, I can look at pics of the Pumpkin. My office is small, with all the shades drawn for privacy, an old desk (mostly empty) a dusty phone, a green work table, some bookshelves with notebooks and boardgames, a counter full of drying dishes and red plastic cups for the kids, the constant "mm-mm mmwwOOo" of the pump.

Normal, teachery, middle-schooly stuff. So the overly-dramatic feeling is pretty much out of place.

But my arms are tingling. Looking at the image on my screensaver of the Hubby in the kitchen, holding the Pumpkin in his candy-cane pj's, is giving me this tingly feeling like there is a phantom baby in my arms. Kinda like (I can only imagine, thank goodness) they say that when you lose a limb, you still feel it there.

My baby is at home, but I still feel him here. Don't know if it's cool, or creepy, or just strange.

check out the sweety at 11 o'clock

Reality, or
prejudice? He's way cuter
than other babies.

fingers

Hey! These here things move

individually! Way cool!

Watch me do the gun...

more development

I find myself amazed at the cheesy delight of me whenever he decides to do something new,

roll over: He did this at thanksgiving, then stopped for a while, we think because he hates being on his tummy and was getting pissed that he kept ending up there. Cue the evil giggles from mommy.

Pick up a rattle: Pumpkin did this the first time in my classroom during prep - I squealed like one of my students meeting fricking Edward from Twilight. Ooooh! He PICKED it UP!!!!!!!!!! He SHOOK it! Honey, did you see that??!!??

drink from a bottle: Yeah, this one has been an ongoing quest. All the baby books say to introduce the bottle at 5 weeks - so they won't get nipple confusion, but aren't too stubborn to take it yet. My fluffy white ass. From week 5 to week 17, he took a total of 4 bottles. I went back to work at week 14, so for 3 weeks now he has been screaming and hungry all frickity frackity day while I am gone. If you think it is hard enough to leave the baby in the am, try doing it with the certain knowledge that said bundle of beauty is going to starve himself all day for missing you. But this week we finally had the breakthrough - suddenly he will take any bottle, any nipple, he's hungry as a horse. Never thought I'd be so proud of someone sucking on a piece of plastic.

notice the cats: We have been wondering when this would happen. The cats pretty well ignore him, except of course for bolting when he cries. But this past week or so, he has started watching them walk by and jump and get petted. I took his hand and had him pet Aki yesterday, and he had the biggest smile! He also, for the first time, noticed that the other babies at Birth to 3 are cute and interesting:














new sounds: Pumkin has recently discovered that he can make wet ghgghghghg noises, and that I cannot resist doing it back. Also now with the pttbpppttb's. And the other day he said "ga." So I naturally repeated it back a few times. Apparently, in baby talk, "Ga, gaga, ga, ga!" is the absolute hight of hilariousness. It was like Chris Rock was in the room. And since it is a rare occasion when I amuse anyone but myself, I have spent the last few days saying "gaghghgg" and "pppthbp" to the point that it has entered my dreams...

Forgot something at work

Fog softens the night

Walking to the school you fall

asleep in your sling

Back, again

My leave was up on the 18th of December.  So I had to go back to work for Thursday, but Friday (thank you, mother nature!) was a snow day!  A one day trial run, and then two more weeks off, during which Pre

1) reverted to NOT sleeping thru the night (why, pumpkin, why?)

2)refused any and all bottles offered him

3)charmed the pants of his grandma

4)fell in love with our exchange student, and

5)was given a  beartato.

Today, I had to go back again.  I was a wreck the first time, just emotional and a big baby, wanting to stay with my little baby.

This time, no big whoop.  I had so much to take care of, so much to do that I didn't think twice about it.  I had to pump a couple extra times so I could leave milk.  I had to organize the first week's worth of lesson plans.  I had to help my exchange student find an apartment and get moved.  I had laundry, dishes, a needy hubby, two needy cats, a baby that apparently feels abandoned if I am not holding him at any given time, christmas lights to take down, doopity doop de doo.  So I got up, got ready, no fuss no muss.

Until I pulled into the parking lot, and my heart said 'you know you have to leave him in the car with his dad now, right?'

And suddenly, I was fighting back tears...

So yeah, still a big ass baby, wanting to stay with my little baby.