Teeth.

Gage has 5 teeth now.

He bites. He bit my breast over the weekend---yes, apparently they are still large enough to get in his way, and apparently at some point were hanging in the path of his mouth (yes, hanging).

So, I have a dime-sized bite mark on my body. Thanks Gage.

He also bites other people, so I dont feel so bad. My husband does like to laugh about the fact that Gage just seems to open his mouth & head for my skin. Biter....

He routinely sharpens his teeth here:

...on the rail of his crib.

They make these plastic things that you can put there & the kids chew on that instead. To me--what's the difference? He's going to chew on either one of them...it's not like he's getting splinters in his lips or anything....
(oh sh*t, I better go check his lips & gums now....what if he is getting splinters???)

Oh...here's another fun thing...
We put these baby cabinet lock things on the cabinet doors in the kitchens. They go on the outside of the handles & link the two pulls together like a u-lock. Well...Gage has one cabinet that happens to be his favoriet. MomMom (that's me) will let him play in there quite a bit b/c it's just tupperware & mostly plastic stuff in there. But, alas, we've now locked the cabinet. Gage wouldnt stand for it. He jacked with the lock, jacked with it, & jacked with it some more. Until---he broke it. He wasnt able to open the cabinet...but then neither were Mommy & Daddy. Daddy FINALLY was able to get the broken lock off his cabinet.
For now Gage, you win. The cabinet & its contents are all yours.
:)

Some Firsts...

Looking over some things...making a list of some of Gage's "Firsts"...

This is really a list of "random firsts"....

09/29/5 1st stroller ride
12/04/5 1st sat in Santa's lap
12/24/5 1st held his own bottle
12/25/5 1st time he rolled over on his own
01/22/6 1st felt raindrops
01/24/6 1st ate jarred baby food
01/31/6 1st found & grabbed his feet
03/16/6 1st crawled
03/20/6 1st tooth popped through
04/02/6 1st trip to the Dallas zoo
05/01/6 Said his 1st word, "No!"
05/13/6 1st said "DaDa"
05/22/6 1st said "MaMa"
05/27/6 Licked the floor for the 1st time
06/23/6 1st trip to the park
06/24/6 Attended a wedding for the 1st time
06/25/6 Ate cake for the 1st time
07/05/6 Got his 1st black eye
07/26/6 Ate Chinese food for the 1st time & got his 1st Fortune Cookie!

:)
Okay...so there are some RANDOM Baby Gage Firsts!

The Singing Pig...

Every boy needs a singing pig. (didnt you get the memo?)

So I got Gage one.
His name is Percy, and he sings "My Girl" (which isnt really fitting for my son, but whatever...he loves singing & dancing dolls/animals)

Meet Percy.


Baby Gage giving Percy hugs & kisses...

Adult Conversation...

Setting: our bed, 2-3 nights ago....Sleepy-time.

D: Your leg is in the middle of the bed.
Me: No it isn't.
D: Yes it is.
Me: So?
D: So, move it please.
Me: Make Me.

I can be such a brat sometimes.
But, my husband loves me & puts up with it.

"MomMom"

Gage was in his crib this morning...whining & sighing. He was sitting, not standing (which is unusual). He wasnt crying---there were no tears. He was sitting there, making this sound that was a cross between mimicking a cry, and a small cough---if that even makes sense. He had his little arms reaching up...his hands were opening & closing in that "pick me up" motion....his little nose was scrunched, and he had his little mouth open so you could see all 4+ of his teeth. And then, he called me a new name...."MomMom"

It was so cute & pathetic at the same time!
He was probably saying to Monkey (his crib-mate): "Hey watch this. I dont even have to cry for her to pick me up!"

His little face was similar to this....

Damon Sucks...

Well, Johnny Damon, that is.
Apparently, there's a baseball player named Johnny Damon who has pissed off some people....and now....they've come up with this.

In light of the fact that I'm married to a "Damon", I think this is hilarious!

It's a Girl !!!!!!

Jeremy & Summer are having a GIRL!

Summer said that she even got to see the baby stick her tongue out on the sonogram. How cute is that????

:)

Baby Boom....

So, on my mom's side of the family...there's a baby boom!

Let's see if I can list them all...without forgetting anyone!

Cousin Chad & LeeAnn had Baby Ethan
Cousin Kory & Holly had Baby Nora
Damon & I had Baby Gage
2nd Cousin Leighton & Summer had Baby Avery
2nd Cousin Elisa & husband had Baby Chloe
(Leighton & Elisa are brother & sister, and their
baby girls are just a few days apart...and they all
live out of state, so I cant really remember if Avery
goes with Elisa or Leighton, and the same about Chloe.
I know--I'm terrible! But they are both precious!)
2nd Cousin Andy & Nicole had Baby Andi Nicole
2nd Cousin Clifton & Summer had Baby Garrett
2nd Cousin Kyle & wife had Baby Rush (or maybe it
was his twin, Kevin, that has Baby Rush...again, they
live far away, and I havent kept up too much...I'm
terrible....)
Cousin Karl & Nicole are having Baby Lane
2nd Cousin Shane & Victoria are having Baby Aiden
2nd Cousin Jeremy & Summer are having a baby...& I
find out today if it's a boy or a girl! (Waiting on
an email from Summer!)

So...within the past year, here are the new members of the family:
Ethan
Nora
Gage
Avery
Chloe
Andi
Garrett
Rush

Coming Soon....
Lane
Aiden
..and...Jeremy & Summer's Baby!

On my dad's side...this side is much smaller...
Over the past year & a half...
Audrey
Carly
Gage
...and Steve & Natasha have Audrey's little sister on the way!
I think her name will be Ava.

:)

The Swing of Things...

So, Damon started a new job on Monday...yesterday.

Sunday night, Baby Gage spent the night at Linda's, so yesterday morning was a breeze.

This morning---well, we're getting into the swing of things...



Baby Gage often wakes around 5 or 5:30 in the morning. Usually gets a bottle, and goes right back to sleep.

This morning---Gage woke at 5:45, and was offered a bottle...didnt want it. Had Cheerios for breakfast while Mama got dressed, and then watched The Wiggles. He was sweet, but you could tell he was sleepy... Then, we loaded up & headed out to Rockwall. He was dropped off with Memaw & Papa, and then Mama headed to work.

That's our new morning routine.

Would have been fine, except....I woke up at 3:36 this morning, and was WIDE-AWAKE until 4:15. Well, 4:15 was the last time I looked at the clock.... So, when the alarm went off at 5:30 this morning---I did NOT want to get up!

Time For: Movie Reviews!
"End Game": Loved it. Actiony. It was good.
"Bee Season": Weird. Cant say that I liked or disliked it. It was just weird.

Time For: Random Things About Me!
1. My toenails & fingernails are painted red.
2. I live in Dallas.
3. I have never taken the Dart-Rail.
4. I am a Gemini.
5. I can be superstitious.
6. Total Body Piercings: 5
7. I used to LOVE going shopping for school supplies.
8. I love dill pickles.
9. I like my coffee very sweet.
10. I love tank tops with built-in bras.

:)

Baby Lane's Shower...

So, my cousin Karl & his wife Nicole, are expecting a new baby! His name will be Lane. (I like to pretend that they are naming the baby after me....) He is due on Gage's birthday!

We had the baby shower this weekend at Mema's house...













:)

Size 4.

I just read a post of mine from October 26, 2004.
A size 4 was too big then.

here comes Cher.........."If I could turn back time..."

okay, really...I wouldnt turn back time to fit into a smaller size...b/c then I wouldnt have Baby Gage! But, I would like to return to my clothes! My pre-pregnancy, pre-baby clothes!

Damon always says that my closet is soooooooooo full. That's b/c I have clothes of all different sizes. At any given time, about a third of the clothes in my closet fit.

Allergic Reaction & Mama's...OVER-Reaction...

So...last Thursday night, we picked up Subway sandwiches for dinner. Baby Gage was appropriately snuggled into his highchair & pulled up to the dining room table to eat with Daddy & Mama.
Baby Gage ate sandwich bites....pickles, tomatoes, chicken, mayo, wheet bread, and black olives.

So....within just a few minutes, Mama notices Baby Gage's chin turning red...and his cheek...and his upper lip below his nose...and then his other cheek....and then a spot on the inside of his arm...and then three spots on his thigh....it was a RASH!

So of course...I give him 3 ml of Benadryl. And, we call the doctor on call. (hey--that's what I do.) So, then the nurse on call calls me back. She tells me to give him 2 ml more of Benadryl, so we do that. I snapped a couple of pictures of the rash going away....





...and within 10 minutes, he was asleep.

Rough Case.

Without saying too much...let's just say I worked a case that was personally rough for me. We all bring our own baggage to the table when we deal with things...and I KNEW that this type of case would come in eventually....(I've seen it before but not since 9/6/5). So, today I had to work a case that breaks my heart all over again.

And it just makes me mad more than anything. Just so f*cking mad.

Today's Compliment...

Today, someone told me that I have "cute feet".

:)

And today, I drove next to a Ford Probe like Melissa's old one. Thought about her & visiting her in STL, and riding around in her Probe. She took me shopping at some place called Frontenac, (sp???) I think was what it was called.

Oh, and once I was there for 4th of July & we watched fireworks at the Arch. It was awesome.

And once, in her old house...it was big & Victorian & had a library with those ladders that are on rollers (love those)---I slipped & fell down her stairs. Oh, and she had a basement. ******CREEEEEEPY!******* And we jumped on her trampoline at night....

Okay...that's all for now.

Today...

Today...I wasnt super-productive work-wise. Oh well....some days are like that I guess.

Here's what I did get accomplished...
balanced the check book.
paid the electric bill.
ironed out a transcript issue (had to get Tulane to release my transcript b/c they showed an outstanding balance from years ago...had to fax proof that my balance was paid in full when I consolidated my student loan through another company....)
registered for Grad school classes. Woohoo!

Yes, that's right. I am going back to school.
I will be going 2 nights a week starting in the Fall.

So, yesterday I had Grad School Orientation.
Please tell me how the specific area of study & it's school can have my current address, but the school of graduate studies somehow REFUSES to update my address in their system. I mean, I applied THROUGH them, so I put my address on the application, as well as on the mailer I sent the application in. They sent my "official" acceptance letter to an address that I lived at FIVE years ago. And here's something else that baffles me---when they are requesting $$$ from alumni--they have my correct address & phone number.

Ugh.
So anyway...it's the end of my day, and I've gotta run. Got to get home!

All Signs Point to Baby...

So...if you come to my house, there is NO mistaking that the King of the Castle is an infant.

From walking through the front door...


...to the living room....
...toys, toys, & more toys!








Diaper changes sometimes happen in the living room....


...sweeeeeet little socks on the coffee table b/c his parents (read: servants) havent gotten around to putting them away yet...

(nor have I gotten around to windexing those little finger prints off the glass coffee table either...)

...to the kitchen...





(Hey...the King's got to eat!)

...and even outside...


...but we wouldnt have it any other way!!!!!

Gage's new thing...

So, Damon put Gage down for a nap today, and then a few minutes later heard a giggle coming from the nursery....

So, he quietly opens the door to the nursery...to find Gage, giggling. He pulled the sheet off the mattress & pushed it to one end of the crib. Then, he found the mattress tags (those that say do not remove).

So...Gage likes to unmake his bed...and then chew on the tags....

:)

Dinner.

So....trying to cook with Baby Gage in the kitchen...what a circus!


You cant open the fridge without Gage making a mad dash across the kitchen floor to explore the contents, and "let all the cool out." (flashbacks to Mema's house when she ALWAYS said that to us kids!)


I've officially lost almost all right to criticize Britney Spears & her parenting. Here's my child....trying to reach the top of the stove...Damon's standing right there cooking---but what do I do? I take a picture.


Stirring the pasta....


Once your baby gets to be this age...it marks the end of EVER having your own drink until they move out of the house. If you get a glass of ice-water...be fully prepared to share.


"Ahhhh...that was good!"---Baby Gage


Gage & Spaghetti...
Well, to my dear husband, I say this: if you are going to feed the baby spaghetti, cut the noodles up first. Gage would get a noodle, put part of it in his mouth, start chewing, start swallowing, and then pull the WHOLE thing back out. I couldnt watch it. It was soooooo gag-a-rific. So, I cut up the noodles. He didnt WANT spaghetti with no sauce, so he ate off Mama & Dadddy's plates during dinner.

And let me make a brief statement about the Gerber suction bowl you see in the picture above. That was great for about...the first 15 minutes. Now, he just pulls as hard as he can until it comes up or the top green rim pops off...Either way---food goes flying. For now, I think we're going to forget the bowls.

:)

Just say "NO!"......

......to the Sippy Cup.


"Here's to all of the Nipple-Sucking-Bottle-Loving Babies out there! Just say 'No' to the Sippy Cup!" ---Baby Gage




Okay, so we were going to take Baby Gage off the bottle slowly, and introduce milk/formula in the orthodontic-approved soft spout sippy cup.

Well....after 20 minutes of trying at a time...Gage can just outlast Mom & Dad.
We're trying...but he's just not having any of it.

He's pretty set on the bottle....

I can understand. It's what he's known for the past...9 1/2 months. I mean, in the beginning, there was nursing. But, he was done with that completely by 6 months.

And, even when he was nursing--he'd still get a bottle at times...the contents were just different! Clearly---my child is a big fan of the nipple. Sippy cup=no nipple. That's a spout, and he's not liking the difference.

Now, the pediatrician says he should be off the bottle by 12 months...and he's not gung-ho about this whole thing...

The bottle has been there for him!

Like the Kenny Rogers song....
Here's "Through This Year" by Baby Gage to his bottle...
(to the tune of Kenny Rogers' "Through The Years")


I cant remember when you werent there
When I didnt care for anything but you
I swear weve been through everything there is
Cant imagine anything weve missed
Cant imagine anything the two of us cant do


Through the year, youve never let me down
Even when I turn you upside-down, the sweetest days Ive found
Ive found with you ... through this year...
Ive never been ashamed, Ive loved the life weve made
And Im so glad Ive stayed, right here with you
Through this year...


Dont know what they want me to do
Trying to separate me from you, You know that this is war
I swear I love your fast flow
Cant imagine needing a bottle so
But through this year, it seems to me
I need you more and more


Through the year, through all the good and bad
I knew how much we had, Ive always been so glad
To be with you ... through this year
Its better everyday, youve kissed my tears away
As long as its okay, Ill stay with you
Through the years!


Through this year, when everything went wrong
You bottle, were so strong, I know that I belonged
Right here with you ... through this year
I never had a doubt, the milk would always flow out
Ive learned what loves about, by loving you
Through this year...


Through the year, youve never let me down
Even when I tossed you all around, the sweetest milk Ive found
Sucking on you... through this year
Its better everyday, youve kissed my tears away
As long as its okay, Ill stay with you
Through the years!

This is why we cant have anything nice!

Remember that phrase when you were a kid???... "This is why we cant have anything nice; because you tear it up!"

Anyway...we had a touch of that this weekend with Baby Gage.

He has...or had...an inflatable pool on the back patio.

Daddy filled it up Sunday morning...and Sunday evening we took Baby Gage swimming on the patio. He LOVED it!
It wasnt too cold...it wasnt too deep.
He could sit, crawl, stand & walk in the pool.





And then...Gage bit a hole in the inflatable pool.


And then...the side deflated.
And Gage leaned over the side...& water poured out all OVER the patio!




...that's why we cant have anything nice!!!

Willie Water...

Heeeheeeheeee heeeheeeee.

I've got a bottle of water from "Willis-Knighton Fitness & Wellness Center". It's called "Willie Water."

It made me giggle.

Sweet Feet...

Baby Gage's feet are so sweet!


So...last night, I snapped a picture of his little foot...and I started thinking about his feet...

These are the feet that will pedal his tricycle...

These are the feet that will carry him into his first day of kindergarten...

These are the feet that will get him in trouble when/if he kicks somebody!

These are the feet that will run & kick when he plays sports....

These are the feet that will carry him into his first school dance...

These are the feet that will push the pedals when he learns to drive!

These are the feet that will carry him across a stage when he graduates...

These are the feet that will step onto his college campus & carry him into his first dorm room...

These are the feet that I better not hear about stumbling home from a bar at weeeeee hours of the morning....(again...college days)

These are the feet that will carry him into his first job interview....

These are the feet that may carry him down the aisle someday....

These are the feet that may carry him into a delivery room where his first child will be born....

Oh! I dont want him to grow up!!! I want him to just stay little!!!

Song of the Day...

The song of the day is "Dolphin" by Poe.
It's #6 on the "Hello" CD.
I listened to this CD on my way to work this morning...
*******************************************************

Dolphin
(From the album "HELLO")

There's a broken beam inside of the big big bridge
I guess that whole thing is caving in
Maybe it is time I learn how to swim
I'll be a dolphin, I'll be a dolphin

Sometimes I think I'm breaking down
And other times I think that I'm fine
But something got into my engine
It slowed me down
Now I gotta turn this whole thing around

I'm gonna be a dolphin
Gonna be a dolphin
I'm gonna be a dolphin
Gonna be a dolphin

There's not a lot I believe anymore
I mistrust everything I had been longing for
There's not a lot that I know anymore
But I know if good bridge is burning

You gotta be a dolphin...You gotta be a dolphin
You gotta be a dolphin...You gotta be a dolphin

Sometimes I think you're crazy and sick
And other time I think you're so fine
But I know I'm in dange 'cause you feel like a stranger
And I know that something's going give

When I dive into that ocean
God I hope I don't sink like a stone -- no
I'm gonna move like a dolphin
There may be a lot I don't know about you
But I know if I don't swim
I'm already drowning
'Cause a broken bridge
Is a broken bridge
So I swim to you now
Here I come...Here I come
Here I come...Here I come
I'll be a dolphin

There's a broken beam inside of the big big bridge
I guess that this time I'll have swim (I'll swim...)

Another Trip to the Park!

Tuesday we took Baby Gage back to the park.

Slide Time!!!

Look Right....

Look Left....

Look Down....

And then he decided...Daddy better go with him....

But...Daddy didnt really fit...

They made it down anyway...

I have to say...I hadnt laughed so hard in a long time.
Seeing Damon up there trying to fit through the hole to go down the slide...oh, my, goodness. So funny!