Commando

Not this Commando: 

But this. 
Behold, the debut of "Bunting Adds the Commando Army Crawl to His Repertoire of Locomotion Styles"



When speed is of the essence, Upside Down Inchworm is still the crawling style of choice. I don't have footage of this speedier version of the Inchworm, because I am usually too busy sprinting over to confiscate whatever contraband he is hustling toward to fetch the camcorder. 


The speed of his skills acquisition has reached dizzying, impressive, horrifying levels.  Every 24 hours that elapses brings with it a new accomplishment. Every 24 hours FRK and I must debrief and recalibrate what we can and cannot do with this boy. 

To Wit: 


Places we can safely leave him unsupervised- 
1. His Crib
2. Command Center
3. Changing Table
4. Bumbo
5. The middle of the floor 


In the time it took me to compose this update, several locales were crossed of the list. 


Changing table: He flips over, even when strapped in, and then wiggles out of the belt. This maneuver takes about 9 seconds.

Bunny snuggle time, back before he took to flinging himself off of high surfaces

The Bumbo: Our boy is top heavy, on account of the giant noggin.  He has figured out how to rock back and forth, and then, leading with his head, he flings his body forward, tipping the Bumbo over and crashing onto his face (which does not faze him one bit). He then commando crawls towards freedom (or more often, towards a precipice of some sort), with the Bumbo still attached to his bum. It's a bit Jeff Goldblum from "The Fly". 

Bye bye Bumbo table time

Hello crazy daredevil stuntbaby nonsense

The middle of the floor: No need to explain that one. 

he loves shoes

Bunting trifecta: 1) escaped the living room, 2) shoehorn, 3) Mama's shoe

As children- and to a lesser degree to this day- my sister and I were night and day in terms of personality. I needed, and continue to need, a fair amount of alone time. My sister was/is horrified by the prospect of being alone and without company, without something to do. I enjoyed sitting and quietly reading, with our cat as company; Mepher invented activities such as "I bet I can do 100 cartwheels in a row", "I wonder what it would be like to ride my tricycle off of the carport" and "Hey! Let's spin in circles until we are so dizzy we fall down, then once we recover, let's do it again!"  


Our childhood can be summed up like so: Sue Ann sits in a chair, reading a book. Mepher watches, trying to be as patient and quiet as she can be. After about 3 minutes, she can bear it no longer, and begins to inch over toward her sister. Sue Ann shoots her a "don't you even think about it" look. After about 5 more minutes, Mepher has reached her breaking point: with tears in her throat, she wails "Can we PLEASE dooooooooooo something! This is so boring!" 


If there was a soundtrack of my life as a sister it would be: Can We Please Do Something: Reading is So Boring, Volumes I and II.


From the day he was born, Bunting has resembled Mepher quite a bit, and as it turns out, it is not limited to looks. 

Bunting is just like her as a baby; uber social, always happy, and a non-stop bundle of energy and motion. This is a source of both great joy and consternation to me. 

Let's DO something!!!!

I know that firstborns (especially when sibs are almost 5 years apart) sometimes struggle with the birth of a sibling, resenting the fact that they have been de-throned, and adult attention diverted.  I requested a sibling, a sister very specifically, and was deeply gratified when (in my 4.5 year old opinion) my request was granted. Watching my sister laugh and play with my baby boy is an indescribably magical thing. At the same time, watching the two of them gleefully carry on is exhausting. FRK and I are already plotting activities to channel Bunting's energy in the future. Both Grandpa Tom and Uncle Josh are water polo guys, and have designs on introducing Bunting to the sport. It's a nice rigorous activity- definitely on the list.  Soccer, too. Lots of running. 

FRK and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on July 3rd.  Bunting spent the day with Mepher at her place in San Francisco, and we spent the afternoon in the city.  We visited the California Academy of Sciences for the first time (fantastic), ate 'stinky tofu' at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants (don't knock it 'til you've tried it), walked around North Beach. It was a lovely day...I love that man so much. I worried a lot about how having a baby would change our relationship. We have been a couple for almost 17 years, we have known each other since 1988 (It's very cool that we have known each other far longer than we have not. I know; kinda ridiculous and juvenile, kinda awesome). Introducing another person into our duo was a little scary. 


So the upside of waiting 16 years to have a child is that we were so very ready. We are now a trio. And it is amazing. This man, whom I have known since he was a 13 year-old smart-ass at Fisher Junior High is now the father of my child. And what a father he is. 

I come home from work, and this is what I see. Sweet mercy. 

Our canine friend Herbie (aka Herbert or The Pres) came to stay with us, whilst his human (our friend Jill) was visiting family in Oregon.  The Pres is a very well behaved fellow, and he loves our back yard, it is a terrier wonderland, what with the ubiquity of squirrels and blue jays and things to investigate.  Herbie and Bunting found one another moderately interesting.  It was so nice to have a dog in the house again; we miss having a furry friend in the mix. 

wiped out by a long day of napping on the couch and harassing squirrels

We spent the night at Elkhorn with Grandpa T (Mamaji was in Seattle, visiting Amanda), and he and Bunting got some good bonding time in. 

Bunting tried Grandpa's famous salmon for the first time- two thumbs up

Bunting loved the cows this time 

Fellas hanging out and planning projects with power tools

First hay bale encounter

While Mamaji was in Seattle she purchased this adorable "Wheely Bug" for Bunting, and he just loves it. A bee for our little busy bee. 

He continues to try new foods with gusto. He has added to his repertoire salmon, turkey, parsnips, plums, spinach, avocado, raspberries, blueberries (huge hit), oranges, mango, sticky rice, bean thread noodles, Greek yogurt, Thai green curry (Daddy thought this a great idea, Mommy not so much, but it turned out that he: A) LOVED IT, and B) was no worse for the wear), potatoes. All were given a thumbs up. He loves eating actual little chunks of food, he is definitely wearying of the smooth purees. 


He took his inaugural spin in a shopping cart while at Costco. 

Every time we passed by a table handing out samples of food he would screech and lunge, giving all passerby the impression that he was desperately, ravenously hungry. Indeed, one of our fellow Costco shoppers felt compelled to inform me that "Bless his heart, that child is hongry!" That is not a typo. Pronounced like that, with emphasis. HAWWWWWWN-gree.  Because you know- he looks like a kid that is not fed on a regular basis. Well, suffice it to say that despite that fact that he had just nursed and was so full that I could actually hear milk sloshing in his stomach, in short order he was happily nibbling on bits of Ritz cracker and garbanzo bean, fished out of a tiny cup of soup. Though I did wait for him to be quiet before I offered him his spoils, much to our new friend's confusion. "That baby is WAITIN' for you!". I explained to her that I didn't want to respond to him shrieking, thus reinforcing the yelling thing (Applied Behavior Analysis!), and she of course just looked at me like I was not only the type of person who would starve her kid, but was maybe just plain crazy. Can't win 'em all.


He definitely recognizes individuals now, and when he sees one of his tribe, he rewards them with a big, squinty eyed smile.  He loves his Gigi, and grins when he sees her; the feeling is definitely mutual. 

He has a special smile for his Mama, which has never been captured on camera, for she is far too occupied smothering him with kisses to remember to grab it. 

Every day we declare that we can't imagine loving him more than we do at that very moment, only to be proven wrong the very next day. Becoming parents has opened up a chamber in our hearts that we didn't even know existed. 

Day One