reverse inchworm.

so i now have a baby who scoots all over the place! two weeks ago mom and i took him on a trip to gatlinburg and before we left he could barely raise hiw lower belly off of the floor. by the time we came back, he could push up onto his knees for about a second, in effect doing a reverse inchworm movement. and now, he can hold himself on his knees for quite awhile before throwing himself down in frustration. beds and couches are no longer a safe place to lay him down for more than 30 seconds. if i take my eyes off of him for a second, he has rolled over to his tummy and immediately starts scooting backward. i don't think he means to... in fact, it seems he would much prefer to move forward toward what he can see, but he is learning. he now rolls back over to his back when he gets too far from what he wants to grab. not that this helps much, but it's funny to see his little brain working out different means of transportation. but he isn't one of those constantly rolling babies as of yet. he likes to be on his belly so that he can reach out and grab his toys and pull them into his mouth. i'm sure laying on your back for most of five months got boring. now he has a new perspective and some new means of exploration. and he is quite the explorer.

he likes different textures, feeling and subsequently tasting anything he finds interesting. the xmas tree didn't taste great... and yet he is still reaching out for anything and everything. he adores faces. he is like a little blind boy touching and prodding and pulling on people's faces as a way of greeting them. and rarely does he meet a stranger. he always looks around for me, to make sure it is safe, and then goes right on with his business. and i am trying to give a little in the germaphobe department. i don't let strangers hold him, and i cringe and immediately wipe him down after a close encounter, but i have been letting him put his toys on the tables at restaurants sometimes. the worst thing now is that he is touching everyone's faces and MOUTHS which drives me nuts. especially when they let him put his hands in their mouths. yuck. there is such a multitude of bacteria in the human mouth, that i would almost rather a dog lick him! but i'm not as quick to wash him off as i used to be, and i find it a little easier to tell people what i don't like when it comes to things like that. no fingers or hands in his mouth (except occasionally mine) and no letting him put his fingers in your mouth. those are my only stipulations. everything else i just clean when i feel the need and i usually wipe his hands off frequently no matter what. but as for toys dropped, and things of that nature, i am more relaxed.

and i have been trying to mix his routine up just a bit, so that he doesn't always have to be home to nap and so that i can have somewhat of a social life. i've taken him to walmart a few times, to the mall a bit, and to visit some friends and family. most of this has mainly been due to the holidays, and i'm glad to settle back into our homebody lifestyle, but still if i need to run errands now i don't hesitate. the bigger, more comfortable carseat makes this much easier, and i feel better about driving 45 minutes with him being able to sit up in it and play with toys. he still isn't crzy about travelling, but at least he is better about sleeping in the carseat. the only downfall is that when he poops while in the carseat, it ALWAYS ends up out of the diaper. i suppose it is the way he is sitting, but it sucks. and when he is on long trips and has to have a bottle, it never fails to happen. i will say i've gotten more comfortable with packing his things and now know usually what i will need, but it is still a hassle if we are going to be gone for long.

let's see... what else? well, for starters, he screams now. long, loud, and piercing. and not because he is mad or anything, moreso just to hear his own loudness. he chuckles from time to time, but i've noticed most of his laughter is silent. he gets a huge, open-mouthed grin going and squeals intermittently, but you can tell the giggles would otherwise be flowing out of him. it's precious. he has the funniest little sense of humor. he chuckles when i stick my tongue out at him, make funny faces, and loves some of my crazy noises. bouncing him or throwing him up in the air usually makes him extremely excited and sometimes he will scream with delight or give me a resounding "HA". he really loves bathtime still, and squirms away from me to get into the water. and he likes mom's dog, belle, always smiling when he notices her. likewise, any moving toy or noisy toy absolutely cracks him up. he thoroughly enjoyed opening xmas presents, even though he only pulled the paper so that he could try to eat it. he was quite overwhelmed by the whole ordeal. he couldn't understand why we were all awake so early and being so chipper. he is used to lounging in bed with mommy until we decide to get up and then being greeted by people as they come and go. but for once his whole little family was there, uncle and all to shower him with attention and kisses. it was such a fun day. and he is such a spoiled boy.

oh, and he had his first cereal yesterday morning. xmas was too busy, and so i waited until his daddy could be home with us yesterday morning. nana and poppy "ooo-ed" and "ahh-ed" appropriately and cracked jokes when he made some pretty awful faces. he was not a fan AT ALL! he shivered away from it after a couple of bites and just kept spitting it out. he wanted the brightly colored spoon, of course, but nothing to do with that pasty, drippy crap on it. i must say i was a little discouraged, but i tried it in his bottle that night and he was fine and then this morning he ate like a pro. it was super cute. i can't wait to start fruits and veggies! i am making his cereal from organically grown rice, and will be continuing with organic fruits next, followed by organic veggies. it's so simple to make the cereal, and actually cheaper, that i wouldn't do it any other way! plus i have plenty of time to dedicate to my sweet boy and it just makes me feel good to be able to do this for him.

i am not looking forward to the upcoming semester. i hate it when i can't revolve my day around my little henryjude. everything is just happening so quickly now that i hate to miss a second!