escape from new toys

Here's Jalen escaping from his playpen and trying to make a run for it. He also has a knife with him in case I get in his way. I'm slowly starting to get it. At this age, kids have an attention span of a few minutes. You give them a new toy and it's as good as garbage in five minutes. They also hate confined spaces so putting Jalen into a playpen equals a screaming baby in about seven minutes. Imagine how hard it is to entertain a baby this way, all day and everyday. Unfortunately, there is no wonder toy to be had and most of them are a waste of money. Being creative with playtime helps but it's hard to always come up with new things. I think babies appreciate the effort but all they want to do now is explore and toys just get boring. Our plan with Jalen is simple--easy on the toys, lots of socializing and get out of the house as much as possible.

danger danger

We're at a critical point here because we've entered a bumps-and-bruises stage. Jalen's balance is not that great but he moves around freely and is extremely curious and adventurous. He has no fear at this point because he doesn't have a concept of what getting hurt is. Today was the first time that Jalen got hurt because of his exploring--twice. The first time, while trying to climb over his toy box, he fell back and hit his head onto the corner of a big wooden toy. Second time, he was grabbing at the top of the back of a chair and it toppled back and popped him on the lip. I guess the fun starts here. I'm sad that those lazy and easy infant days when Jalen was this cute little flailing turtle on his back are over. Now he's more like a cuter version of the Energizer Bunny that you chase around until the batteries run out so that you can put him to sleep. But you can't follow a kid everywhere so I'm feeling a little apprehensive about Jalen's potentially painful adventures...many of them...for years to come.

our not so little inuk

Jalen was born on one of the coldest days of last winter. At the hospital we could not get a private room, so I went home at nights. It was about four blocks from the parking lot to the hospital. I'm pretty good with cold weather but I remember how much I dreaded that walk because of the arctic weather conditions (twice a day, I might add). With winter flirting around the corner again, we've got Jalen prepped for the cold. In his gear, Jalen feels twice as big, which makes his car seat and stroller seem way too small. I am really looking forward to seeing Jalen's reaction to his first snowfall (if we get any). But what's giving me major chills is the anticipation of Jalen's one-year birthday, which is just a blink away and we haven't even started planning yet! Oh, the stresses and strains of parenthood.

same old beat

My son is such the cruiser. Sounds a little like a stereotype but cruising is the stage that follows crawling. This is when a baby is able to walk around while holding onto something. This is an important juncture in his development, because walking is a milestone for the baby mentally and physically. What this means is that he's developing more brains and brawn to bring more chaos. Other than that, it's the same old Jalen, still playful and still a good boy. He continues to love his milk and baby food but has recently discovered bread, cheese, yogurt, tofu and rice. It's fun now to go to a restaurant with him because we can just put him in a high chair and feed him his finger foods while we eat. Only negative about him is that he still has his sporadic sleeping problems. But I've come to realize that most parents have to deal with that, even if they're telling you otherwise. He's still got his sense of humor, his health and he's growing (fast). I can continue to live with that.