stolen moments

Standing baby!, originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

In between teething and squealing with delight, I finally find some time to write. He's almost eight months old - can you believe it?!
No major milestones to report although he is sitting up with confidence these days and trying to crawl. And trying desperately to get things that are out of reach. Childproofing is on the horizon. He's amazingly quick with those little hands.
The best thing is that he is starting to understand us - when he is upset I'll distract him with "Where's the CAT?" and he looks around to find old Phoebe. And when he finds her he stares and smiles with joy. Too bad she hates him.
He also knows the word "kisses!". Say "kisses" to him and he'll open his mouth and plant his wet tongue on your face. If you're really lucky he suck your chin or cheek. He even kisses the baby faces in his books.
He still loves books much to my great pleasure. Another thing to do when he is in a fuss: open a book.
Sadly he is fussing a lot lately - which really isn't a lot if you consider he's a baby. It is likely due to teething - for about two weeks now there have been two little bumps on his lower gums. They seem to be getting closer to the surface all time. Must be excruciating. I hope the pain stops once they come through.
He can also pull up to a kneeling position from sitting - I caught him teetering on the edge of his crib today - can't trust him alone in there anymore until we get that missing screw replaced...
He is nowhere near crawling - he seems to get frustrated too quickly when he is on his tummy. It's likely due to immense head (I hope that means he's big brained!). On the doctor's charts his length and weight are right in the middle (50th percentile) but his head is completely off the chart. So he struggles to keep his heavy noggin up, it looks exhausting. He's so confident on his feet - I wouldn't be surprised if he skipped crawling and went straight to walking. Crawling is for babies anyways.

We are also planning a big trip for the fall - yes, we are finally going to make it to Europe! We are looking at Northern Italy and maybe Slovenia. I have to try to not be so ambitious with the ground we cover - travelling with a baby means slowing down. Actually life with baby is about slowing down. We are looking into the possibility of doing a housing swap in Tuscany and using that as a home base. With the money we save we could rent a car which would give us so much freedom. We'll see. It's hard to imagine someone wanting to stay in Vancouver if they already live in paradise. It would be a definate possibility in 2010. It's exciting to be planning a trip again. I am eager to experience travel in a whole new way - Italians love babies. There is no such thing as a baby friendly restaurant - because they ALL are baby friendly. Unlike here where you get a snicker from the next table if your little one even makes a peep. I am betting we'll get invited into people's homes for dinner because of our charming boy. I think travel with Gus will be such a different experience, we'll meet more locals, have unique opportunities and learn to SLOW DOWN and enjoy the moment. Providing we can keep our sense of humour. Remember, it's the process not the product. Enjoy where you are right now instead of always waiting for what's next - that is the lesson of having a kid. I spent too many years thinking "life will start when...(I finish school, I pay off my debt, I get through this traffic jam...etc)" Nope life is now. Enjoy it. Like my bro-in-law said once: "You gotta be the happiest guy in traffic" or something like that. Yes, having a child not only makes you wax philosophical - you kind of live philosophical. Or maybe that's just because of my lack of regular adult contact.

We have been blessed with a happy, easygoing baby. We brought him to our friend's birthday party on Saturday and he was the hit of the night. Passed from arm to arm he was so thrilled to get so much attention. He stayed up way past his bedtime and didn't have a meltdown. He's real crack up - people love him. even Braineater loved him. and Braineater hates babies.