Bug Bites

My computer died on me after I had it hooked up at the new place for, what? Two weeks? Time for another motherboard and more phone updating.

This holiday weekend, we got to take the bug to my Uncle Blackbeard's swamp camp to introduce her and wifey to some east coast family. Over the course of the weekend, all nine blood relatives and four significant others from my mother's side were present. Big intro.

Yes. There was heat. Humidity. Pests. Rain. Napping challenges. And a nearly ten-hour round-trip car ride with an eleven-month old passenger.

But more importantly, there were good people. S'mores. Food. A/C. Dogs. A boat tour. One of Painted Cousin's sons, Stretch, caught a prehistoric leviathan. Guitar. Fire. Laughs. And the bug had a blast being a dirty swamp baby.

We had put a blanket down under her play area. It seemed to be perpetually in the way of her getting to the ground where she could pull up little fistfuls of nature. At least she loves bath time.

Somehow, the bug made it back without the itchy afflictions of her parents. I'm thankful for that, but taking note to use her insect repellent next time.

The irony is that the bug has entered an adorable biting phase. Especially big toes. The going-to-market piggies. She still only has the two lower teeth (though I swear I'm seeing uppers starting to show), which I find closely related to how there are really only two teeth one needs worry about with vampires.

Matryoshka Bug

The bug abhors finding the star-shaped nesting blocks stacked properly.  She must immediately pull them out of one another until no two are touching.  Sometimes, her dad (namely, me) cannot even finish restacking them before she has dismantled his vain attempt at order.  Given enough such back and forths, the bug will not only separate the blocks, but also scatter them to opposing quadrants of the Universe after beating them into submission against each other.

Oh, how quickly the hours pass...

Less cute, but along the same vein, if the bug loses interest in a toy, that toy will be banished from her presence.  The subsequent whining shall not be misconstrued as a request to have the aforementioned toy returned to the bug (issuing no such command from her highchair, carseat, or stroller) and doing so will only result in jettisoning said rejected toy forthwith.  Rather, attending adjutants are expected to offer a fresh, more captivating toy.  Peace prevails.  The system works.

All in all, wifey and I keep coming across new games, faces, and sounds to add to the repertoire of ways of keeping the bug smiling, happy, and exercising.  And... as the saying goes - what goes around comes around.

Beep-Beep. Beep-Bug. Yeah!

I'm finally back to updating with my computer.  And just in time for an important development in the bug's world.  We got her her first car!

I call it a bumper car, but apparently it's official title is an "activity walker."

Bumper car.  That's what it does.  Chairs.  Cabinets.  Trashcans.  Refrigerator.  The Wonderbug.  Cats.  Ankles.  All with impressive speed, accuracy, and attitude of that one kid at the fair that always guns for T-boning unsuspecting prey.

As far as the activity portion...  Distracted driving at best.  She will pull over to smack Pooh down into his honey pot enough times to find some cruisin' music on the "radio."  Otherwise, the dashboard clutter is well on its way to becoming a pull-over-able offense.

The bug likes to make her own engine noise.  I can only spell it like: mpbaht; and explain that the sound is rather like striking a tennis ball.  She mpbahts all over the navigable areas of the house and has become rather adept at backing up when in a tight spot.  However, I have to add the backing-up beeps.  Afterall, she's not quite eleven months.  Beeps take time.

All in all, Wifey, bug, and Panda Cat have adapted well in the last week to this new life.  Woolly Rhino still hides under the bed for most of the day and anything with a shock value equal or greater than a rustling curtain makes him jump.  Wifey has come to know the major roads of our new burg faster than I did (I still tend to use my navigation system.  You never know...).

Improvements abound.  I may even get back to finishing the first draft of my novel.  Only about thirty more pages to go... for the last four months.

One more thing on the bug.  She's always enjoyed a good face plant into a pillow, bed, blanket, toy, or adult.  But now, she's taking it up a couple notches -- face plowing across the carpet.  By "face" I really mean forehead, not that it makes it much better.  How she avoids carpet burns I cannot say, but it looks like enough fun that I am taking notes.

On the teeth front, still holding out with just the two lowers.  The two upper incisors haven't poked through yet, but the two beside them (#5 and #6, I think) are starting to show.  I'm having concerns about goat-like first birthday pictures.  We'll see...

East Coast Buggin'

Wifey and the bug flew into the east coast this morning. Feels like a few days ago. I haven't had this full of a day in a long time.

Shortly after arriving, wifey caught up on some sleep. The bug and I played in her well stocked baby jail. Thankfully, we were far enough away from wifey that she could sleep, because the bug does not play quiet.

She's developed a new happy dance that involves throwing her hands up in the air, waving them around like she just don't care, and sustaining some sort of shout out that could be taken as a means for all the party people to come on over to this side of the club. When it's really off the hook, she bounces on her knees during this dance.

She's taking assisted steps now, but with only one successful observed free-standing moment, we're still probably a good ways away from walking. Not to mention she only seems interested in going fast.

Before speed crawling across her new room, she makes a special lunge motion that looks as if she's popping a wheelie or building up momentum to shave a few tenths of a second off her 0 to 60 time.

Wifey is still adjusting to being on the east coast. She's doing very well actually considering how positive she is on the first day. It sure is incredible having her around again.

Stinky Monkey Cat has elected to stay on the west coast with grandma, so Woolly Rhino and Panda Cat are finding a new rhythm and staking claims on secret spots.

Normalcy, or something like it, comes closer to focus.

40 Again...

So I missed a few posts. It's been a busy time of getting the new place fairly well set up prior to the big flight west.

Grandma, wifey, and the bug greeted me at the baggage claim. After I said hi to wifey, the bug gave her mom a very sad face that could have meant, "who is this freak and is he going to suck my face, too?" She just kinda spied on me the rest of the way to grandma's and I didn't press my luck with trying to carry her.

If she remembered me at all she may have assumed I was some imaginary friend and her hallucinations were starting back up. Over the last few days, we've reclaimed our normalcy. Normalcy with the delightful additions of her new skill sets. Quite the little climber.

The way mirrors work: a ten-month old girl puts her face right beside the mirror and sees her mom. Her mom. Not her dad. Quickest way to make the bug cry is for the mirror to show her dad. Think Twin Peaks. It's that brand of terror.

As I write this she's busy having a one-girl cage match in her crib. She's winning, laughing, and ready for the next challenger.

Speaking of next challenges, tomorrow morning, I will drive our very packed V70 across the country with our bearded dragon as my copilot.