It's the Grandma's fault

Kevin's mom is known as Nana to her grandkids. I think I've called her that half a dozen times at the most. I was scolded by the nephews that her name isn't Grandma, it's Nana and she likes it when you call her that. I explained that I just wasn't comfortable using that and Grandma is just as good. The reason I can't call her Nana is because I went to school with a girl named Nana and every time that name is mentioned I think of her. I also think of the mean names they gave her - Nana Banana. Although it doesn't seem so mean when I look at it now. I mean, really, what's so mean about a banana? Unless you happen to slip on a peel... Anyhoo. Grandma B was here for about a week just chilling with her grandson and taking a little vacation. During the entire time JT was sick and is now finally "over it". For the record, I still think it was more than teething but not life threatening so I'll just give it up now. So while the Grandma was in town JT got primo attention and was cuddled, hugged, jostled, bounced, kissed, laughed at, talked to, giggled with, sung to, poked, pinched and loved on all day and all night. He got the privilege of falling asleep in her arms whenever he felt like it, picked up when he squawked and had her wrapped around his littlest finger. Fast forward to Monday night, the first night with Grandma. Guess who didn't want to sleep without being in the lap? Guess who fussed any time you weren't looking at him? Guess who wanted to stay up until midnight? It wasn't until last night that I stopped saying, "I blame your mom". Of course, he was up until eleven but we (okay, me) didn't help matters by talking back to him so I could hear him babble some more. The kid's better now, no more fever and still no teeth. He's eating whatever he can wedge in his mouth and that includes sticking his fingers down his throat until he gags. And then laughs. He pulls out my earrings every night when he grabs my ears and pulls me to him, squeals and then tries to suck on whatever he's landed on. Doesn't matter if it's a cheek, nose, chin or mouth. And like his buddy Jake, given half the chance, he's happy to slip you the tongue. JT discovered that there's life outside the parameters of his little mat and finds himself rolling across the floor in not so graceful rolls until he bonks into something. He makes a pathetic little cry as if to say, "something got in my way - bah!" and then finds himself back at square one under the musical star. I don't have to always have my hand on his back when I carry him as he's getting better control in keeping himself upright. He'll grab on tight to your shoulder (or hair) and put his cheek against yours and turn back and forth. Each morning we play "there's your baby friend" in the two mirrors in the hallway on the way to getting him dressed in the morning. By the time he's done rubbing the sleep out of his eyes on my robe and onto my cheek, he's peeking at the mirror, smiling when he sees the baby and throws his head back into my shoulder (or cheekbone, most days) and looks the other way to see if his friend has moved to the other mirror. Sitting is still a ways off but he'll do it perfectly in my lap. Put him on the floor, though, and he slumps like a pat of butter on the Texas pavement. We'd use the Bumbo more but right now he's got thighs like his mom and they have to be wedged into the seat. On removal, lifting him up from under his arms causes him to slide out just a little bit but the Bumbo is firmly attached to his butt and has to be popped off. Humorous yes, but scary when it takes several tries to pop it off. Speaking of thighs - yours truly is tired of hers and is on the way to separating the two of them. That's right, soon enough they won't be rubbing against each other. I've started logging my food intake each day and discovered that I get plenty of calories, plenty of fat, enough carbs but hardly any protein. I find the chore of logging in to record what I ate a great motivator and makes me aware of just how much I need or don't need. My exercise goals are minimal as I'm just starting out again but will be a great springboard. I figure it's about time to get this program under way since people have been telling me that around 6 months or so post-baby I may start dropping weight. With the continued breastfeeding it may take a little longer since my body seems to like a little extra meat to keep the production up. It's now about making healthy choices, not having ice cream every night and drinking more water. The last couple of days I pretended like I was pregnant again and told myself that I had to drink more water. Sure enough, I down eight 16 ounce cups of water during the day and then sucked down another 24 or so at home. Have you read this far and wonder where the newest pictures of the kid is? Thanks for sticking around but I haven't downloaded any. I'm in trouble, I suppose, for those of you dying to see the kid. He's going to a BBQ this weekend and I promise I'll bring my camera, take pictures of him being passed around or of him sleeping. We'll see how it goes. Until then, my friends, play nice.