Baby on the Move

So, I wouldn't say Ben is crawling because his movements aren't exactly on his hands and knees, but he has mobilized to another level in the last few days and now drags himself all over the place.  He is able to follow me around and get to items that he wants by doing kind of an inch worm like dragging motion.  It is really funny and cute but also annoying because he is most interested in things that are not toys.  Specifically, he is in love with cords, magazines, my ipad case, the TV remote and Allan's toys and pretty much anything that is in his path.  It scares me becaues now, when I have stopped worrying about SIDS, I now get to worry about choking hazards.  Sigh...

He is truly all over the place!  When I was eating yesterday at the kitchen table he crawled over to me and whacked at my feet and legs for a few minutes then he went all around under the table and then over to the wine rack in the corner and, if I hadn't been watching, he would have pulled down a bottle.  He is in love my my computer cord above all other cords.  I have a video of him going for it but videos take forever to upload and I keep getting errors.  Baby videos are pretty boring anyway...unless the featured baby is your child or grandchild!

Here he is messing with the cords behind the TV...I put a stop to that pretty quick!

Hmmm...a plant with little rocks on top of the soil...perfect plaything for a baby!

Oh, wonderful!  Allan's cardboard scratching toy that I pour catnip all over!  Excellent!  Poor Al...he looks a bit violated to have a baby messing with his belongings...

 

Yesterday I was sitting on my bed talking on the phone while Ben was on a blanket in the hallway playing with some toys.  Soon I heard  slapping sound of skin on wood and he came creeping around the corner grinning...then he went over to my duffel bag which is never completely unpacked it seems and started making a mess of the clothes laying on top of it.  Those are the waste of money nursing shirts I bought before he was born that I only ever wore to sleep in.  I keep meaning to put them with the maternity clothes but that box is barricaded behind a wall of other crap and I have been too lazy to do anything about it so I just move the stack around the room to get it out of the way.  Seriously, I wish I had bought maybe one of those shirts for the early days.  I haven't worn one in months. 

 

 

Ben has been getting bored more quickly with toys so I find things around the house to give him to change it up.  He loves this spatula. 

 

 

Kind of unrelated, but I thought it was cute...Ben's new sleeping sack so he can be cozy when the weather gets colder! 

 

In other Ben news, I have been relentlessly trying to feed him baby food and cereal twice a day and it is the biggest waste of time!  I first tried cereal when he was 4 months but never really took it too seriously but the pediatrition said to keep trying and add the pureed fruits and vegetables.  I honestly loathe this whole process right now.  The main reason is that he hardly eats any of it.  Sometimes I think he actually ingests some but I don't think he has because his...uhhh...eliminations have not changed.  This is how it works...I put him in the high chair and get the food ready.  Then I make a big scene about pretending to eat it (gag!) and acting like it is awesome.  Then I start putting the spoon in his mouth.  Most of the what was on the spoon seems to dribble out.  Meanwhile, Ben is lunging at the dishes and trying to grab them (a sign of solid eating readiness, apparently) and clenching at the spoon and shoving it into his mouth to chew on it (he has 2 teeth now!) often gagging himself.  The I extricate the spoon from his very strong grip  and get the food all over my hands.  I think it would be more effective to just smear food all over his hands and the bib because he would much rather shove those in his mouth than the spoon. 

 

I also have to admit that the food itself is disgusting.  Purees are pretty nauseating to me, although they do smell just like the real vegetables (I have only tired peas and sweet potatoes so far, in addition to apples and pears).  I wish he could just go from milk to actual chewable foods but I know that isn't happening!

 

Finally, Ben is very gross at the end of a "meal".  Everything ends up in his neck rolls and all over his face and hands and even in his hair sometimes.  The high chair straps are already stained various orange and green shades.  I am really trying to avoid feeding him any orange or green items while he wears nice clothes and at night I try to do it just before his bath so he can just be in his diaper.  And, inveitably, I end up with crustiness all over my hands and arms and feel like I should take a shower afterwards. 

 

Don't I sound like mother of the year right now?! Hahaha...