cantaloupe & the kitchen sink.

things seem to be happening too fast this week. sunday night, jude started crawling a bit. by today, he has given up on crawling and started to not only pull himself up on everything but is beginning to "cruise." he hasn't taken any real steps yet in the process of cruising, but he is now able to (for instance) pull up to standing at his activity center and then turn and grab ahold of the couch.

this morning, jude didn't really want to go back to sleep (this is commonplace in the past couple of weeks) and so when i finally coerced him into going back to sleep until almost 8, once he was up at 8 there was no turning back. exhausted, i got him out of the bed and put him in his crib so that i could keep my eyes closed for another ten minutes (homework assignments have been keeping me awake into the wee hours this week) and within the course of those ten minutes jude went from laying on his back playing with toys, to rolled over onto his tummy, to peeping his little face through the bars of his prison (erm, i mean crib), to pulling himself to his knees and yanking on the bars of the crib in order to get my attention, to full fledged standing up in his crib making loud sounds at me. i cracked my eyes open and just had to laugh.
get me out of here!

poor baby. i laid there and talked to him once he calmed down upon seeing that my focus was no longer on the inside of my eyelids but instead on him. then i dragged myself out of bed and took him downstairs for breakfast. luckily i had some quinoa already cooked and waiting in the refrigerator, so minimal effort was required. until i realized it was a day for him to try a new food. excitedly, i scanned the fridge before deciding on cantaloupe.

as i hadn't yet sliced and frozen this particular new food, i got to let him try it fresh. i cut a few chunks to steam before tossing the remaining slices in a vacuum-sealed freezer bag. once steamed, i mashed a portion up with a fork and pureed the rest and added it to his quinoa.


i don't think he managed to get a single bite into his mouth, but he is definitely working on his pinching skills, trying to pick the food up.

most of everything ended up on his face and hands...


i finally gave up and just let him have his bowl and spoon, too...


because he was just a sticky mess after, i decided on a sink bath. his very first! (and quite honestly, probably his last)



i must say, though, that he had an absolute blast, but now that he's an adventurous climber, it was tough to keep him in one side of the sink.

after he was all cleaned up, i let him do a little exploring of his new ability.
this unsteady turtle toy now sits high upon the couch, away from little boys who would topple over with it.

this activity table, however, proved to be a nice toy to practice on when wedged between his toy basket and the couch.


he even utilized it in his first attempt at "cruising"...

but then, while trying to crawl under it, got stuck and dragged it around like a snail shell until frustration and effort won out and he got loose.

and unfortunately, as this was a class day as well as a homework day, this was most of the time i got to spend with him. i didn't even get to nurse him before leaving for class like usual and instead had to pump a bottle due to his biting. little bugger. that tooth is a sharp little razor and now that he's going through what seems to be another teething cycle, he is restless when nursing and very chewy. this does not make for a happy momma. hopefully this trend ends soon.