the horsey tree

Ever since baby C went down to two naps a day, leaving us a three-hour awake time in the afternoon, he and I have taken to amusing ourselves out in the real world (ie: out of my apartment). Some days, we just make a point to walk to the park for a ride in the swings or go over to a neighbor’s house for a visit.  Other days, we run errands. Today was an errand day.  We went to Wal-mart.  Places like Wal-mart and the grocery store are the baby equivalent of an amusement park….so many fun, bright, new things to look at—all from the front seat of a moving shiny metal cart. The ride is not nearly so much fun for baby when it stops moving.  Only slight pauses are really acceptable.  This is a problem when the cart’s motion is dependent upon a mommy who has spent years perfecting her skills of indecision and who is capable of standing in one aisle for an indefinite amount of time in order to weigh the pros and cons for two almost identical products.

So, today in Wal-mart, while turning into the shampoo aisle, I spotted Cardinals player Scott Spiezio.  Now, I must admit that the only reason I was able to recognize him was by the hideous dyed-red tuft of hair on his chin (a goatee?). I spent most of the last Cards game we watched criticizing this red fuzz and there it was in Wal-mart….in the hair products aisle, no less. I nonchalantly stopped behind Mr. Spiezio to grab my bottle of Aussie and then continued on my way to pick up some dog food for my dog Rolen.

Every now and then, I notice some ordinary thing that is a part of my everyday life but which I typically tend not to notice. Really notice. Like my car. The other day, I looked out the window at my car and my neighbor’s cars and began to ponder how odd are these large metal boxes on wheels that carry us to and fro while we just sit there….and daydream, and eat, and talk on our cell phones, and hardly give a second thought to our journey.  And, lo and behold, fifteen minutes later we’re clear across town. Bizarre. I feel like a Jetson. ("Jane, his wife…..") I mean, how great can the leap really be between a car and one’s own personal little space jet?  Point is: these moments of wonder are rare, for me. I have, for the most part, grown accustomed to the world and now simply expect things from it.  I typically just hop into this amazing metal box on wheels and expect it to carry me to the grocery store…quickly, safely, comfortably.

Over the past few weeks, baby C has become much more curious about the workings of his world.  He is taking it all in. And, it is all a great big discovery. He is fascinated and seems almost overwhelmed by all the new things he is discovering. He is full to the brim with wonder.  It is beautiful.

Not long ago, he noticed the ear. For C, ears are the most fascinating thing on the human face.  He spent much of a church service recently clawing the side of my face in a desperate attempt to turn my head around in order to examine (ie: pinch, scratch, pull) my right ear.

He has discovered, also, those dark dots on one’s skin that we call moles. They must look quite out of place to the uninitiated: C employs his sharp little finger nails in an attempt to scratch my dark dots off of my skin. Belly buttons, too, are fun to grab. Sadly they don’t twist off, despite valiant efforts. Oh, and the tongue. It’s fun to move it around in one’s mouth to test out all its twists and turns.  It’s also fun, apparently, to stick it out so that you can rub it with your finger and see what it feels like on the outside.

And, let us not forget the ceiling fan.  These modern inventions are, if not the most amazing things in the world, definitely the most amazing things in one’s house. C, lucky child, has his very own ceiling fan in his room. And, the one over the dining room table does its best to distract a hungry baby while momma heats up the baby veggie of the day. Which brings us to the baby food jar…

…And here we veer away from the realm of little baby wonder and into the realm of little baby greed…..The baby food jar holds a very special place in my baby’s little heart, the sight of which causes rapid breathing and spontaneous arm flapping. And, if the sight of the baby food jar is not quickly followed by the taste of the jar’s contents, disgruntled baby whines and moans ensue. Needless to say, C is continuing to enjoy his food.

Some high winds came through town this past Sunday evening.  There were tornadoes nearby.  The sirens went off and we scooped C out of his crib and all hung out in the basement watching the lightning flash and the trashcans fly away.

At some point during the storm, the lightbulbs and the news we were watching went out. They stayed out for about a day. And so, we bought ice to chill our perishables and made a run to Wendy’s for dinner.  We left the blinds open until it was black outside, then lit up the house with candles and dug out the flashlights. We chatted with neighbors outside. I read a book by candlelight.

I loved the adventure…and the "back to basics" feel.  If it had lasted for a week, surely I would have grown antsy.  And, I was concerned that our fridge full of food was going to go bad.  But, it was so nice to be rid of our modern day "conveniences" for a brief period of time–nice to have to walk down the street to talk to a neighbor instead of picking up the phone; nice to read a book instead of a blog; nice to look outside and have everything all around be absolutely pitch black.  (Mind you, we still had hot water and the weather was beautiful. My attitude would have been much less positive, I’m sure, without a hot shower.) We used to lose power on a very regular basis when I was growing up.  I don’t know what it was about my neighborhood, but the wind would blow and the lights would flicker on out. It never really stayed off for long, but we would pull out the candles and play a board game until the return of "normalcy." It always seemed like a big adventure.

I began to doubt my new blogging habit during this hiatus from electricity–hence my slowness in broadcasting this week’s events.  I’ve discovered that I very easily get sucked into the whole blog sub-culture as soon as I turn on the computer.  It takes a lot of time to make my rounds into my friend’s online worlds….time that I could spend, I don’t know, going to see them in person? How strange this world is.  I may become a bit more absent from the horsey tree in an attempt to increase my productivity levels in the real world.

As for this week’s events….C is quite the little eater.  He’s conquered squash and green beans and we’re currently working on prunes….hoping that the prunes will do what prunes are supposed to do because all this new stuff can be tough on a baby boy’s digestion.  The baby boy, by the way, just turned a whopping EIGHT MONTHS old.  I’ll here refrain from bursting into the chorus of "Sunrise, Sunset" and simply say that I no longer wonder at weepy mothers watching their little ones grow up.  Yes, I realize eight-months-old is not exactly "grown up" but it’s a mere four months shy of a YEAR  which is a mere 17 years shy of 18 YEARS and, my goodness, what happens then?

C has hit the separation anxiety stage.  He burst into tears twice today when being held by friends. He is not yet crawling. He is becoming more rebellious and "drops" a toy for the fun of it and fusses when momma does not jump to immediately pick it up. He appears to be cutting his upper teeth as there are two large bumps protruding from his gums. He likes to bite things. It’s great when the things he bites are teething toys. He thinks "no" is a very funny word.