The Science of Sleeping & Bouncing

The Last 3 Days in Photos

I'm not sure if Atticus is a Ninja or an oak tree, but he's having fun.

We tend to hide in the dark whenever the Steelers lose.


Yep, that's the dog's toy.

Loch Ness? Bigfoot? Everyday stuff. Zane asleep in his crib? Had to take a picture.

Somebody & Somebody Else (I feel like Family Circus) found some ice cream.

Filling Up the Bandwagon

Anthony came over to join me and Atticus in cheering on the Steelers. Everything was going swimmingly until Pittsburgh self-destructed.

Now they are 1-2. They have a bye next week. The season starts fresh then. It better.

Things Boys Do While Waiting For Momma

Standing Room Only

Atticus & The Great Pumpkin

Atticus was a good boy, as usual, in Target the other day so he got a treat. Two treats actually.

The one that isn't important to this story was a scoop of ice cream at 31 Flavors, although this one was more like 8 Flavors. He chose some brightly colored play-dough looking stuff. I asked him what it tasted like, and he replied, "Colors."

The treat that is the basis of this post was a Mr. Potato Head Pirate kit for pumpkins. We thought that there was a toy pumpkin, ala the potato, in the box. There wasn't. It required a real pumpkin. It was late and we were in for the night, so I promised him that I would get a pumpkin on my way home from work the next day. I did.

I placed the pumpkin in the flower bed, yes I have a flower bed, so what? I then had Atticus find the newly grown pumpkin. He did, and we "picked" it and took it inside and the rest as they say is history.

Just Another Morning

Is it wrong that I let Zane sleep standing upright in his bouncer? It's not that I get any sort of satisfaction from it, other than the bliss of 20 minutes of quiet. It's just that the kid won't sleep and I figure a power nap standing up is better than no nap at all. Hell, I'd take it.

We have a routine that starts shortly after 6am (every other day, we rotate our getting up in the night and sleeping-in shifts) where I spend about 40 minutes trying to convince him that he should go back to sleep. Then I give up and let him play on the floor with various toys, dogs, and empty beer bottles from the night before. At some point he eats. At some point he poops.

About the time that I decide I can no longer put off my morning coffee (I wait in hopes he might actually heed my pleas and return to bed) I put him in the bouncer and declare myself awake for the day. He usually goes to sleep shortly after that.

He'll bounce and laugh and I'll be reading blogs and the various sport sites when I'll notice that he has done it again. That is where the dilemma kicks in. He needs to sleep. It is obvious to all but him. Common sense would suggest that I take his little sleeping body and put him back in his crib. Common sense does not know Zane very well. If he is so much as touched while sleeping in his bouncer (or carseat for that matter) he is up and at it. No holds barred. He does not like to be disturbed.

Which brings me back to my original question. Is it wrong to let him sleep there? Probably, but I'm okay with it. And I'm awake.

I felt guilty after writing this and actually managed to successfully pull "the switch" and take him from bouncer to crib sans incident. It happens. Sometimes.

7 Months

Today Zane turns 7 months. It seems like just yesterday he was turning 6 months. The day before that it was 5.

Time has a funny way of running away from you like that. Other times it stands still. I spend 8 hours a day pouring drinks and it feels like sixteen, then I wake up in the morning to find my son is another month older. I have a cup of coffee and he's older still.

Time has a funny way of running away from you, hope you're up for the race. I know I am.

A Fun Afternoon & The Bath That Followed

The Many Moods of Poop

According to Atticus there is a new mood ring in town. Unlike the rings of days gone by, this new monitor of feeling is kept not on your finger (hopefully), but rather in a bowl of water. Black, white, brown, green and yellow, these are the hues that radiate our temperament, and thanks to the sun (so I'm told) they can fade and blend amongst themselves. The downside of course, is that regardless of the shade, your mood is pretty much guaranteed to be crappy. I just didn't have the heart to explain that one.