The skin of our teeth

June was an eventful month for us. We've had first words, first steps (sort of), and also our first ER visit. Not quite 2 weeks ago I made the colossally foolish choice to step over a baby gate while carrying Speck, with the predictable result that I tripped and fell. I am fully aware this is a dumb thing to do and have an official policy against it. I can only say that I do climb over it all the time while not carrying my son. It's actually a dog gate that has been used for years prior to Speck's arrival. At this particular time I was preoccupied and did it w/o thinking. How far I've come since wishing the hospital floors were heavily padded and carpeted because I was so fearful of dropping that little swaddled bundle!

Anyway...

Neither of us were seriously injured. But despite my attempts to shield him, Speck did hit his mouth on the tile kitchen floor. It was a day when DH was home so at least I wasn't trying to deal with it all on my own. Speck's injury bled quite a bit and we really could not tell how serious it might be, so we jumped right in the car to head toward medical assistance. We called the pediatrician's office, who advised us to go on to the ER.

I will skip all the waiting and paperwork and just say that in the end the worst of it was a fat lip and some bruised gums. None of his teeth were chipped or loosened. We were very very lucky to have been spared anything more serious.

Boy, little ones heal fast! The pics above were taken 4 days after the incident and by that time there was really no remaining sign that anything had happened at all. I, on the other hand, still have some creaky joints. Though I may not be able to blame that entirely on falling...

As you can see, Speck very much enjoys crawling through his new toy. Picked this up for 2 bucks at a garage sale. Go me! It has some broken straps and such but those could be easily fixed by a crafty person. Which alas, I am not.
With regard to the first (sort of) steps, several times Speck has let go of whatever he is using to cruise and toddled a couple steps before dropping to all 4's. But days go by in between these attempts and I hesitate to really call them "steps". It's more of a controlled fall. But he is inching closer and we're confident it won't be long till we're chasing him around the backyard!

Sofa Saga and MDO

Yet another example of me trying vainly to capture something with the camera and not quite getting it.

We have a rather unorthodox furniture arrangement where the sofa sits diagonally against a wall, creating a little space behind it. It's the kind of cozy nook I would have loved to play in as a kid. Speck has finally discovered this little spot. Right now there is both a large toy AND (even more compelling), one of DH's guitars stashed back there. I had several minutes of entertainment yesterday watching Speck try his best to squeeze back there. Once he decided that wasn't working, he kept pointing and saying "bah" (his all-purpose word). Loosely translated, this meant "Mother, I would like to play with father's guitar and that big blue toy, so please make it so with all possible haste."

Yesterday was Speck's first day at Mom's Day Out. He did quite well and seemed to be having a good time when I picked him up. I very much enjoyed the free time, but I gotta plan better in the future. There were so many things I wanted and/or needed to do that I just got completely overwhelmed and spent 3 hours wandering somewhat aimlessly around town. I did get a few things accomplished but ended with the feeling I had not made the most of my time.

w00t, part III

I found out this week that I did pass part 3 of the CPA exam, so that ordeal is almost over. I wish I felt more confident about the fourth and final section. I expect to hear back on that one in the next 3 weeks.

In other news, I had a tenosynovectomy on my right wrist this morning. It's too early to tell whether this will well and truly fix my problems with "mommy thumb", but in all other respects everything looks good post-op.

Best Baby Gift

One of the most useful gifts we ever received was this cool hooded towel made by Speck's Aunt A. Like Speck, her 3 babies were all hovering at 20 lbs by 6 months, so she knew those teeny baby towels would not last long. It's basically just an adult towel with a washcloth sewn on for a hood. Simple but very clever. I'm sad because at 13 months he is finally almost too big for these. At least, his giant head may soon not fit into the hood any more.

This just in...Speck's First Word!

Not mama, not dada...Speck's first word is "ball". Well technically "bah", which usually means ball, but can also mean bear, bread, or book. Fortunately DH and I know the First Rule of Bible Interpretation (which can be applied to other subjects): "context, context, context."

DH is now wondering whether this means Speck is destined to be a jock. Being as DH and I are both confirmed geeks that could be a challenge. I was such a dork I lettered in band and scholar's bowl. But if Speck turns out to be a football star I'm sure we'll muddle through somehow.

Finally took my last section of the CPA exam last Friday. I'm not feeling as confident about this one so odds are I will wind up having to re-take it, but at least I have a break from studying for now. Thanks again to all of you who have helped out in various ways.

I got a little good news yesterday. One of my favorite podcasts, Babies and Moms, was running a contest and I won! They asked for listeners to contribute "you know you're a mom if's..." It just so happened that I had written a top 10 list of these a week or so before the contest, so I had some ready to send. My winning submission was: You know you're a mom if your “me time” usually consists of daddy watching the baby for 30 minutes while you clean up the kitchen.
Check out the post from 4/3/08 for my whole list. Anyway, I won a necklace and got to talk on the show for a couple minutes. W00t! My 2 minutes of fame. If you want to hear the show, you can go to their website or get it in iTunes. I think it's going to be the June 5th episode.

For those few in the audience who may not already know, I did manage to lock myself out of the house this morning with Speck inside. I went outside "just for a second" to turn off the sprinkler, and my hands apparently just did their little trick and locked the door. I had to run and borrow the neighbor's cell phone to call in rescue from my FIL. I could see and talk to Speck through the front window, and most of the time he thought we were just playing a new game, but eventually he got bored and wandered up the hall where I couldn't see him. He was AWOL for about 10 minutes and I was seriously considering whether to try and break in a window with my shoe by the time help arrived. As it turns out he was perfectly happy and completely fine. But criminy what a scare! We were lucky. Poor DH didn't even have the heart to lecture me he was so relieved and also he knew I was kicking myself pretty hard already. I have something of a history of locking myself out of places. But the stakes are a bit higher with Speck involved. I guess I need to add "you know you're a mom if you've seriously contemplated breaking a window to rescue a child" to my list...