Behind on blogging...

I've gotten way behind on blogging! Gunnar will be 9 months old Monday already! We've been rather busy the last 2 weeks though. I got a part-time job at a daycare run by the wife of one of Justin's co-workers, and it's exhausting. I never thought looking after toddlers could be so wearing, but boy was I blind. Gunnar is having a blast playing with the other kids though, and it's sort of teaching him how to play with his own toys better. Before going to daycare and watching the little boys roll their cars around on the floor, Gunnar wasn't quite sure what to do with his toy car (besides chew on it), but after going to daycare, I've watched him rolling his car on the floor making almost "vroom vroom" noises. It's absolutely amazing how much faster he picks stuff up from other kids than from us. There are two other babies who are about 3 months older than Gunnar, and he seems to be bigger and a little ahead on milestones as well, which is encouraging for me. It tells me maybe we're doing something right. (Not that those parents are doing anything wrong, just that it makes me feel our efforts are nurturing his physical and mental development.) I initially had some reservations about the job because I wasn't sure how it would affect Gunnar to have to share me with so many other children, but after the first two days, he didn't seem to mind, and we've had plenty of one-on-one time at home after daycare. We'll see how the job continues...

Gunnar had a big week. Besides going to daycare with me three days this week, he also went to visit Nick, April, and Katie. I forgot the camera, but he had so much fun trying to chase Katie around the house and copy her. She even had him playing with her Princess play dresses... wouldn't he make a beautiful princess? His favorite were the sparkly shoes. We really enjoyed spending time with Nick and April, and it's too bad we don't live next door to them anymore because we could have had lots more fun. We try to stop by when we're in town, and Justin never thinks to call ahead, but April says she doesn't mind. Gunnar and Katie really have a lot of fun together.

This week we also had hot wings with Aunt Jessica and Uncle Mike at Buffalo Wild Wings (I think that's what it's called). Justin and Mike have almost the same days off, so we're going to try to get together more often. It's always fun to see them, and Gunnar really likes our time together also. Here are some photos from our outing.

One of our other outings this week was a trip to the zoo with Adam, Denise and Cooper (and Ted E. Bear). It was nice that Adam could come too, and he and Cooper had a "guys day" at the zoo while Denise and I walked and talked. Somewhere along the way, though, Gunnar got fed up with the stroller, Cooper wanted to hold his Mama's hand, and Adam ended up pushing the stroller with "Dog" and "Ted E. Bear" in it. I forgot the camera though, so I didn't get any good photos... even though there were so many great photo ops along the way. Oh well, next time, right?! I value my conversations with Denise, and Justin and I sort of look to them as a parenting model. Cooper is very bright and independent, and very social. We can only hope to raise Gunnar to be as well-rounded. At the zoo, we saw many of the animals that are not usually out in their yards. Gunnar got to see pretty close views of the giraffe, elephants, peacocks, tiger, bats, and many others. He's too young to really appreciate the zoo, but it's a nice walk with a purpose for him, and I think we're going to get an annual zoo pass.

The other photos this week are from a little of the downtime we had at home. The first is Gunnar's first try at ravioli, which he refused to open his mouth for at first. I tried showing him how good it was by eating and "over-YUMMMM"-ing for him, but finally I tricked him into opening up for pureed green beens, and stuck a piece of ravioli in. He sucked it in, rolled it around, spit half out, and proceeded to eat half a container of toddler ravioli. When we started going to daycare, the provider puts the 1 year-olds in a high chair with small pieces of what the other kids are having for lunch. She did this with Gunnar the first day with watermelon and pieces of fish sticks, and he did great with it! Since that, I've tried to be more adventurous in what I offer. I tried pinto beans, chicken sticks, and diced apples. It takes him a moment to warm up to the idea of mushing food, but once he starts, he really gets into it! These photos show how messy mealtime has become. It's quite the clean-up effort after mealtime.

Note the food rubbed in his hair.

Looks very proud of himself, doesn't he?!

Gunnar has also learned how to open our cupboards and drawers without handles. He really enjoys the pots & pans cupboard and his utensil and snack cupboard. This photo shows the first time he got into it, when he found the Frydaddy (full of oil), which I quickly moved to a more secure location (the garage). Now all of his food and utensils are within reach for him, which I think will help him become more self-sufficient with feeding. Of course, hopefully he won't over-snack, but we'll see.

The last photo is of Gunnar right after he stood on his own for quite some time. He was holding this red changing pad cover while he stood without holding on to anything. I couldn't get to the camera in time, so this is the look on his face right after he did it. He wasn't as excited as we were, but I think we helped him feel good about what he could do.

That's it for this week... Monday we're heading to Seattle for the Mariners game with Brandon and Kristy. I'll be sure to take the camera and take lots and lots of photos! It will be Gunnar's first baseball game, and first trip to Seattle. We're really looking forward to it. So, until next time...