6 months

Dear Cassius,

You are 6 months old!  1/2 a year! Holy shit! Your parents survived an entire six months!

You keep getting bigger and better and cuter and more loveable and more squishy and more, more, more! every day!  You are shrinking in your height/weight/head percentiles but Dr. Bean says that's normal. You've gone from being ginormous to being middle of the road.  It's kinda nice not having to explain that you look like a 6 month old when you are only a month.  Now, you just look a 6 month old.  Kinda nice!

Just for posterity... you were 27. 75 inches tall, 17lbs 14oz with a head circumference of 43 at your 6 month checkup.

Let's see what else is new:  You sit up like a champ.  You do fall occasionally but not very often anymore.  You can even kareen your neck around to find either me or your dad (or grandma or the cat) without falling.  You still love to stand on your feet with our support.

You've also started to snuggle.  It's the best.  Just yesterday, you were getting kinda sleepy (read: cranky) so I picked you up and snuggled you.  You just put your little head on my shoulder and settled in while I sang to you.  It was pure heaven for me.  And then last night, you fell asleep on the bottle tucked up into my arms.  You looked so peaceful and content. 

Let's see...what else happened:  You went to a San Francisco Giant's game with your dad while he was on Spring Break (you guys had a blast!).  You went to your first swim class at the Berkeley Pool (you loved it!)  You've expanded your food repetoire 10 fold.  You have now tried the following: bananas, avacados, artichokes, watermelon, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, celery, kale, sorrel, pears, apples, oatmeal, rice cereal, peas, broccoli, papaya, orange, and pineapple.  You definitely prefer the vegetables over the fruit (weird- you must take after your father).  The sorrel is the funniest!  Your dad grows sorrel in our garden.  He was pulling it out the other day and you just grabbed a piece and started to eat it.  It's so sour, but you were just chomping on the stalk.  Apparently, you squealed in delight at the sight of food yesterday.  That was previously reserved for my boobs, so I'm a little sad, but also glad that they are becoming less and less of interest to you.

Alas, I'm typing this as you are napping.  You have become a great napper for the most part and your sleep at night is quite rock star...so Thank You!

I need to get ready for work.  It's your dad's 31st birthday today!  Happy Birthday Daddy!

Love you,

Mama

Drool Bucket

I felt inspired to post a picture of you, but I really don't know what to write...

You drool, a lot. 

Love,
Mama

Visitor...

Aunt Flo arrived this week for a visit.  I hadn't seen her in about a year.  I also hadn't seen her accomplice Tammy in over a year.  Can't say that I really missed them but I guess those are the ropes.  It also means Connie will be always be ready and waiting in our bedroom because we are not ready for another Cassius. 

A Gardner Says...

"If I go at this right now, I think I can desimate this population!"

Matt Peters, at 10:07 on Monday night, with not one by two headlamps on his head.  He's referring to the snails. 

A few fun facts for you, Cassius

* You peed on the potty twice yesterday!  (You've pooped a couple of times in the past, but peed for the first time!)
* I think I saw that you can roll your tongue yesterday.  Your dad and I both can roll our tongues but Mimi Tanner can not.  It's so much cooler to be able to roll your tongue.
* You almost rolled over the bathtub today and got a whole face full of water.  You didn't freak out too bad!
* You are starting to love to eat and look forward to it (new in the last week or so!)

You are so incredibly cool (and cranky on occasion!).  Love you!

Mama

5 months

Dear Cassius,

Five months! Really?  Already?  Yep.  Sure thing.  You are now over 5 months old and you continue to amaze me.  Let's see.. where are you now....

Right now you are sleeping, so we'll start with that.  You are starting to sleep like a champ (atta boy!!!).  You wake up at least once during the night to eat, but that's slowly going away.  You wake up a few other times too and sometimes (but not every time) you can get yourself back to sleep.  Your dad has been playing the part of "HeroDaddy" and going up to check on you.  He's doing a great job.  You are pretty darn consistent with a 6am wake up to feed.  That's one of my favorite times of the day because your dad brings you into our bed, you nurse and then we both fall back to sleep together.  We've been known to sleep past 9am if your dad is really quiet!

You are also starting to nap in your crib.  It all started with the intro of the lovey and it led to 2 long naps today!  You seem to prefer napping in there to the stroller or carseat now, which I think is a good thing.  You still love to be worn but you seem to prefer to look out.  Just today I wore you on my back on our walk and you seemed to dig it, until you fell asleep.

You still love being outside.  It will soothe you almost every time.  You've been hanging out on our newly sodded lawn and with your dad outfront.  You guys check out all the plants together.  Today you watched Sibley play with her ball in the grass and were completely blowing your dad off.  He was trying to sing to you, to tap your toes, anything... but you were fixated watching the dog.

You also love music.  Your Papa Ron loves to sing to you and you love to listen to him.  His newest song is "Shake, Rattle and Roll".  It sent you into giggles and Grandma caught it on video.  I can usually get you to giggle by flying you in the air and twisting you back down.

A couple of weeks ago, your dad was feeding you some solids (sweet potatoes, I think) and he got the giggles because you were trying to put the spoon in your mouth but were getting it everywhere but in your mouth.  He couldn't stop himself and you started to giggle too.  It was so freaking cute!

You kinda stopped rolling over from your belly to your back but you are almost rolling from your back to your belly.  You just haven't figured out how to move that last arm.  You are grabbing anything and everything.  We really have to watch you when you sit in your chair because you'll grab anything within reach (and your reach is bigger than I'd expect).  You are almost sitting.  You can sit for a couple of seconds, but then you topple over.  You do sit for quite awhile but you're all hunched over. 

Your new food faves are sweet potatoes.  We have started to use that to mix with other foods.  We're on to squash now which you seem to like most days. 

Your Mimi came to visit you this past weekend.  She didn't want to put you down.  I'm not sure Vic got a chance to hold you much.  We walked at Top of the World and a reporter took our picture.  I'll let you know if we make the headlines :)

You continue to light up my life everyday.  That first morning smile melts my heart. 

Love you little man,

Your Mama

Job Drama

I stink at writing things as they are/were happening.  I'm always a week behind, after the shit has hit the fan and dried up on the floor.  But I don't want to forget what life was all about for just a short period of time... so here goes the job drama that ensued last week and will continue this week (I think).

My dream job came up in January- the Animal Care and Adoptions Manager at the shelter where I work.  It's a great combo of my loves- supervising, working with animals, working with volunteers and instituting change.

But the drama comes in the timing.  Cash is just 5 months old and I've got a sweet gig going on right now with my dog training business and my work at the shelter.  Combined with watching Cash (and a neighbor baby in trade for daycare), I kinda have the best of both worlds.  I get to work, but I get to spend a lot of time with my kid and my hubby.

Lots of dramatic conversation with mom's group members, with my mom and sister and with Matt ended with my application.  But once the interviews start (if they do), then the drama will continue.

If this was even 1 year in the future, I would snap it up... but what to do, what to do??