All about Bear

I've noticed that my blogging is becoming more and more sporadic with each passing week. I don't know where the time goes and apparently my mind is shot, because I don't have any really good blogging ideas lately! I don't want to give up the blog entirely, as it's a good release for me when I can find the time. Bear and I have gotten so much busier, though! We've made some friends through our moms club and the activities get us out of the house at least twice a week. Also, Bear is taking shorter naps (which is fine, because he's sleeping through the night most of the time) and it's just harder to find the time. I used to be able to plop him down and write a post while he was playing, and that's nearly impossible at this point. He requires just about ALL of my attention just about ALL of the time. It's not that he can't play by himself, because he totally can and does. It's more about the fact that he's so mobile and into everything that I have to be pretty close by to make sure he doesn't hurt himself crawling onto something or fall over when he pulls up on furniture.

One of my favorite times of day is becoming the time when I wash his bottles. I know, sounds weird, right? But I can put him in his high chair and give him a sippy cup of water and a snack and he's as happy as can be watching me clean the kitchen. I talk to him and he babbles back at the appropriate time, so that it almost seems like we're having a conversation. He has just started babbling a "guh" sound and he'll say it over and over again and then laugh. I have no idea what he's talking about, but it's definitely the beginning of language development. It's so exciting to think about the day when he will communicate something to me! I do some sign language with him, but he hasn't signed anything back to me yet. He's still a little young, according to the books that I have, but that doesn't mean he doesn't understand when I sign.

He has also started understanding what I mean when I say "no", which is great! He likes to play in our gas fireplace, which is just not a good idea. Unfortunately, it's not very high up off the floor and is just at his eye level when he's crawling. It has lots of little heat conducting rocks in the bottom and I don't want him to choke on them, but also, I just don't want him to think that the fireplace is a toy. When he first started crawling, I put a piece of cardboard in front of it, because he would just smile and keep on going when I told him "no". Now, though, he turns around and looks at me, sometimes still smiling, but he stops. Sometimes he'll try again, but I just repeat "no" and he moves on to something else. Every once in a while, he'll cry when I tell him not to do something, but that's usually only when he's pretty tired already. I use "no" sparingly, too, because from what I understand, if you say it all the time, babies tend to tune it out. I only say it when he's going for the fireplace or the dog food bowls or when he pulls my hair or bites me. It's just so neat to watch him processing the fact that he's not allowed to do something.

We have to go shopping later today, because one of Bear's playgroup friends is turning 2 soon. We have a playgroup meeting tomorrow and we are going to be celebrating her birthday by dressing up in Halloween costumes. I'm glad for Bear to get to wear his costume because, honestly, there aren't very many opportunities for little ones to put them on. It's not as if I'll be taking him trick-or-treating or anything! There are lots of fun activities around here at the zoo, at parks and at churches, but most are in the evening and Bear would just be too cranky to attend. The moms club is going to visit a nursing home with all the kids in costume, but Bear and I will be out of town for my friend's wedding. Oh well, I'll dress him up on Halloween so we can greet all the older kids in the neighborhood when they come by for candy.

Speaking of my friend's wedding, we are getting ready to head to Nashville for a long weekend to attend it. We decided it would be best for Max to stay home and for Bear and I to go by ourselves. That saves us money by not having to get our dogs boarded, but it also will make it a more pleasurable trip. Don't get me wrong, I would love to spend time with Max, but it would have to be a rushed trip if he went, so that he could get back to work. This way, I can spend time with my mom and some friends that I haven't seen in a while. I have one friend who has 5 month old twins that I would love to meet and another friend that I just miss a lot. I lived in the Nashville area for most of my life, so I still know lots of people there and enjoy spending time with everyone. I do not, however, enjoy the traffic! I have gotten used to the not-so-crowded ways of Mississippi. I can brave it for one weekend, though. It's worth it to get to spend time with everyone.