Poor pale baby isn't allowed to play outside without sun protection on his little ginger scalp.
I could put him in something cooler, like a Red Sox baseball hat or a little tiny fedora, but without a neckstrap he won't keep it on his head.
Fortunately, he's cute no matter the head gear.
I couldn’t find a good spot for the photo booth so ended up hanging it in front of my china cabinet. The lighting was not the best and I didn’t manage to get everyone but it was still a super cute idea. I would recommend assigning someone to catch all the guests as them come in the door and forcing them to engage in your fun photo opportunity. Including the noses!!
Since our visit with Santa was so adorable, I figured we should add to our collection of overpriced holiday photos with a visit to the Easter Bunny. I bought a cute semi-dressy outfit from The Children’s Place (although little boy Easter clothes are a joke compared to the fiveteenbazillionty spring dresses available for little girls A JOKE I TELL YOU), picked a time when I didn’t think it would be busy, and dragged the baby and myself off to Crystal Mall.
It did not go well.
Maybe I should have picked a day when Baby Evan had a good nap and wasn’t sort of cranky to be in the stroller. Maybe I should have brought E along for back-up crazy arm-waving and clapping to distract the baby. Maybe I should known ahead of time my infant son wasn’t going to be into the giant menacing rabbit whose lap I suddenly thrust him into and then walked away. I mean, do you want to be left with this guy?
NOT THE ACTUAL BUNNY AT THE CRYSTAL MALL
That’s how the Easter Bunny looked through Baby Evan’s eyes.
Besides the fact that the baby hated the whole scenario, I have some real problems with their Easter Bunny set up.
What’s with the paint-spattered drop cloth as a background? Is the Easter Bunny remodeling his…borough? Cave? House? And what’s with the mint-green lifeguard stand in the corner? Why are those extra bunnies wearing do-rags? And the biggest question, why is the Easter Bunny wearing Benjamin Franklin’s glasses and also possibly his overcoat? Did the Easter Bunny kill Ben Franklin? Is that how he became immortal? OMG is the Easter Bunny a VAMPIRE?
Now you can understand why Baby Evan didn’t like him.
I gave up taking pictures with my own camera and tried to comfort my poor traumatized babycakes. He was ok as long as we weren’t in the actual photo area but every time I got anywhere near the Easter Bunny he started crying again. With the help of the very patient photo-taker lady we managed to get ONE photo in which Baby Evan isn’t shaking with anger and fear.
Unfortunately, I am also in the photo, along with my totally makeup free face and the edge of my nursing bra. GORGEOUS. At least you can’t tell my hair is still wet in the back.
Seriously though, what is UP with that bunny’s outfit? And why am I vaguely disturbed that he’s not wearing pants?
Well, I guess the good news is Baby Evan probably won’t grow up to be a furry.
(Dear Mom and Grandma, PLEASE DON’T ASK WHAT THAT IS. And for the love of God don’t Google it.)
I feel like this month’s birthday is going to be mostly overlooked because next month’s is SO HUGE. In just two weeks, when people ask “How old is he?” I’m going to have to start saying “almost a year old.” When you think about a year’s worth of anything it seems like a really long time. No chocolate for a year, no internet for a year, no drinking for a year, no driving for a year, no shopping for a year all sound really really hard, but when you’re actually living that year day by day it passes pretty fast. Not getting a full night’s sleep for a year sounds TERRIBLE, but I’ve almost done it. And I’ll probably do it again. Look at me already writing the 12 month post when this is the 11 month milestone. I’m going to skip right to the BabyCenter chart to save you from any more blubbering about my baby growing up sooooo faaaaaaast.
11 Month Milestones from BabyCenter
Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Says “mama” and “dada” to the correct parent – Uh, no. He says “mama” a LOT more than he used to but he doesn’t say “dada” very often. He does say “ba! ba! ba ba ba ba!!!” all day long.
• Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo – He loves peek-a-boo and will play behind anything: my computer screen, the dog, the chair, a blanket, but he’s not very good with clapping yet so patty-cake is sort of pathetic.
• Stands alone for a couple of seconds – WALKS
• Cruises – WALKS
Emerging skills (half of kids can do)
• Understands “no” and simple instructions – Understands “no”, yes. LISTENS to “no”, not even a little. But he does follow simple instructions, like “bring that toy over here.” When he feels like it.
• Puts objects into a container – Puts them in, takes them out, puts them in. As long as the container is pretty big. This morning he threw his shoe in the trash and put the trash in his toy box.
Advanced skills (a few kids can do)
• Says one word besides “mama” and “dada” – See “babababa”. But he can sign “milk” and I think I saw him sign “more” and “dog”.
• Stoops from standing position – Definitely yes, he can squat without holding on to anything and stand up again. He likes doing it when he’s pooping.
So my kid really excels when it comes to physical development but is a little behind with the talking, which is the kind of thing a more high-strung mom might freak out about. If I start thinking about it too much even I get a little worried, but it’s more of a general annoyance that he doesn’t love me enough to call me Mama than a genuine concern he might be developmentally delayed in some way.
Baby Evan also has seven whole teeth with at least three more lurking just under his gums and yesterday he ate a couple of Beechnut animal crackers and part of a carrot stick. I feel like he’s right on the edge of discovering food is meant to be swallowed and one day he’ll just wake up and demand a cheeseburger and fries something really healthy and nutritious. I’m still loving baby-led weaning and highly recommend it especially if you’re as lazy as I am.
The past 11 months have been more fun, more work, more stressful and more enjoyable than any of my pre-baby life. I can’t wait to see what comes next. I apologize if the following photos hurt your uterus.
Since I discovered the world of blogging was a lot bigger than me, Heather Armstrong and an internet friend I met in the comments section of Jezebel, I’ve begun reading and following a lot of people’s ramblings about their daily lives on the internet. There must be something about blogging that attracts really smart, funny people because I fall in love with new sites every day and my Google Reader has started begging me to please just read the ones I’ve already subscribed to before adding any more because it is full and tired and it’s feet hurt. Jeez, Google Reader, what are you? Pregnant? It would serve me right, since EVERYONE ELSE on the internet is up the stick.
One of the things that gets me every time when I find a new blog is how nice everyone else in the whole world’s pictures are. I feel like the only idiot left on the internet using a (fairly expensive but obviously useless) point-and-shoot camera instead of a fancy DSLR. My blurry, dark photos of the baby climbing over the dog pale in comparison to, say, The Pioneer Woman’s photos of cows grazing or Emily’s photos of her daughter Poppy doing, well, anything. If only I could capture the true essence and beauty of that moment when Baby Evan is perfectly balanced right across Brutus’ spine, the delicate way he smiles, the joy he finds in reaching out and grabbing the poor long suffering dog’s doggy business and yanks. That would be art, my friend. In my head, my terrible photos are the ONLY reason my blog is not incredibly popular, I am not incredibly famous, and no one ever stops me on the street to tell me how gorgeous my hair looks. BAD PHOTOS ARE RUINING MY LIFE.
So I bought a DSLR. A Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
Now if I only knew how to use it, I’d be taking some really fantastic photos.
