1-800-222-1222

We're back from a brief, unplanned hiatus. The LCD screen on my laptop decided to die, so I decided to give Dell far too much money to replace it. As a bonus, though, they replaced my A/C adapter even though there was nothing wrong with the old one. Thanks Dell! It's like a parting kiss after being schtoomped in the rear.

Last week we had our first (of many, I'm sure) dealings with poison control. Melita ate? consumed? licked? digested? almost half a jar of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. I was at work in a court hearing which I could not be gotten out of, and did not find out until almost 3 hours later. Reagan said when he walked into Melita's room to wake her after her nap, he thought it was funny to see her, her crib, and most of her stuffed animals covered in the sticky paste. AND THEN he decided to read the Butt Paste label JUST IN CASE and low and behold it said "if ingested, call Poison Control immediately."

It was at this point that all hell broke loose. Reagan couldn't find the phone book and didn't think to call 411, so he grabbed Melita and ran out the door to our nearest neighbor's house and asked for help. I can only imagine what she thought seeing a giggling baby covered in a putty-like substance from head to toe. I guess at this point, Melita started to vomit what Reagan described as large fur balls consisting of Butt Paste. Once he got connected to Poison Control and the operator figured out that Butt Paste was a diaper rash cream and not some kinky sex lotion, he said to expect vomiting and also diarrhea, but as long as she continued to drink her formula and stay hydrated she would be fine. I'm a little glad Reagan got this one as I was a wreck once I found out what had happened.

Other than the Butt Paste adventure, life has been pretty good. It seems like time is flying by and I can't believe it has taken almost 8 months to get into the swing of being a parent. What happened to it just being instinct?

Melita has moved on from eating almost all baby food and now eats a modified version of whatever Reagan and I eat. It has made meal time not only easier but also a little more interesting. I love watching her try new foods. She has discovered the joy of feeding Bungy, so he is often banished from the kitchen until she is done eating as he will end up eating more than her.

She's not walking yet, but she is thisclose. She's cruising using the furniture and on occasion lets go of whatever she is holding onto and balances for a couple of seconds before crashing to her bottom. She is a pro, though, at falling into a squat/sit position now rather than falling over onto her side or head. The kid is learning to balance!

Everyone around here is looking forward to warmer weather so we can get out of the house and enjoy swimming and bike riding. Here's hoping this is a short winter!

There's No Place Like Home

My real job has been a little challenging lately and I find myself considering working at the wine bar full time more and more. Luckily, Melita and Reagan are both angels, so when I get home I literally can forget what stupid thing happened during the day and just enjoy my two favorite people.

Melita is almost walking. After successfully crawling and then pulling up on everything, she is now using the furniture (or whatever else she can find) to cruise around. She is getting more and more adventurous about testing her limits (read: boundaries) and everyday I fear she will figure out how to 'climb' out of the crib rather than just fall out.

We hit a snag the last week or so in what I thought was such a perfectly smooth routine. Melita hasn't been eating as easily (she would rather feed herself) and getting her to drink her formula has been next to impossible unless she was headed off to sleep (again she wants to do it herself but she lacks the understanding about tipping her head back to get the milk from the bottle). For the last month or so we have been indulging her in 'snack time' with Baby Mum Mums and juice in her sippy cup. Which is probably why she wants to do everything herself now.

Tonight it all paid off! She had her first 'table food' for dinner: semi-smashed sweet potatoes and steamed carrots and broccoli. She had fun feeding herself and for the first time I felt like a real family with the three of us sitting down to dinner together. As an end to a great dining experience, Melita figured out how to drink from her bottle while sitting up!

Heartbreaker

A few weekends ago, while I was working at the wine bar, Reagan and some friends played Rock Band. Melita made a guest appearance as Pat Benatar.

Who's Your Daddy?

Month Seven

Yesterday, Melita celebrated her 7th month by be extra good and letting Reagan and I have some much needed alone time. As reported earlier, Melita has learned to pull herself up and now spends most of her time practicing her new move. Because she now pulls up on everything, we had to lower her mattress in her crib and start raising the railing to the highest position. Something I forgot to do when she went for a nap today. When I heard the loud thud, I knew what I had done. She's OK and only cried for a minute but she did get a little goose egg above her eye. Her new nickname is bruiser!

Happy Seven Months, Melita!