10 Months Old!! (Actually, more like 10.5 months old.)
And I keep rounding up in my head. I basically see myself as the mother of a 1-year-old. But I shouldn't rush his birthday! I need to savor these last weeks of infanthood. Soon, I'm going to have a toddler!!!
We started our long-awaited weekend with a walk to the complex. I have spoken of this "walk" on many a blog post. I have walked this path over and over since Sage's birth. So here is shot of one part of the walk. Once we leave the neighborhood, we take a short paved path up to the shopping complex. The path leads us through a wide open flat field.
Sage and I walked to Sprouts to buy some baby snacks. They have a great selection! He loves HappyCreamies and HappyYogis. The former made with coconut milk, and the latter made with yogurt. Sage is currently boycotting his organic "O's", so I pay top dollar for alternate crunchy transportable snack choices.
After returning from the walk (on which Sage took an hour nap), we packed up and headed to the Lee Martinez Farm, a hands-on experience-based farm just north of Old Town designed to teach kids, and the general public, about our agricultural roots.
Sage offered to drive us to the Farm. But we kindly declined.
The back of the Vibe is perfect for quick diaper changes!
Our first animal sighting! Even before walking through the front gates, we were able to get a good look at the cows.
Matt took these candid shots of Sage while I was in the "general store" buying some feed for the animals. Twenty five cents a scoop. One dollar resulted in an afternoon of fun-filled animal feeding and petting!
Turkeys!
Sheep!
At first I didn't want Sage touching the animals. They neither looked nor smelled clean. However, I quickly decided that the sensory experience was more valuable than clean hands. And so I let him indulge. Thousands of American kids have grown up on farms, and they are all doing just fine, I'm sure!
The goats were my favorite!
Sage is apparently ready for the next exhibit. The floor has become more entertaining that the pack of goats directly in front of him. Silly Sage!
Sage and Matt in the chicken coop!
Here is Matt demonstrating how to lift a hay barrel using a system of pulleys. This museum portion of the farm displayed old antique equipment that our ancestors would have used. Very interesting!
The classic red farm tractor.
A little pony.
A garden with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Ducks!
A big grain silo.
Back to the cows!
By the way...cows have huge tongues. And trying to feed them was terrifying! However, I escaped without any injuries.
And the last animal of the day...the horse! Beginning at age 2, Sage can take pony rides for $5. We will be back for sure!
We had so much fun at the farm. The day began hot and sunny, but clouds slowly rolled in. While I was very concerned about sunburn, we all manged to escape without any major skin damage. So far I have done a great job of protecting Sage's skin this summer. He is starting to develop a light tan (that others have actually commented on.) But, he has not suffered any burns. He has gradually accumulated his color from our many outdoor activities this season.
We tried several new foods this week. Black beans were a huge hit!!! He loves beans!
Black beans create quite the mess! Look at his face! This might be a good time to announce that we are bathing him every night. With all the solid foods and the sunscreen, he is incredibly sticky by the end of the day.
Sage also tried corn for the first time. He ate it. But, he didn't really love it. And, I quickly discovered the next day when changing his diaper, that corn is not easily digested by the body. It looked pretty much the same coming out as it did going in.
"Here ma.....for you!"
I cannot express in words how much I love this kid! His personality continues to blossom. He is the happiest in the mornings. Full of energy and so playful. An absolute joy. I love watching him romp around in nothing but a diaper, crawling from room to room and leaving a trail of chaos everywhere he goes. But once the afternoon arrives, he gets a wee bit more fussy. He become mores opinionated and more stubborn and more demanding. He knows what he wants and if he doesn't get it, he will express his frustration with you. He actually bit me on the arm the other day, and I reacted by smacking him on the hand. I then paused, felt incredibly terrible, and realized....I don't know the first thing about discipline!! (After thinking about it, I plan to adopt a no-hitting /no-spanking approach, so hopefully that was both the first and last swat on the hand.) Just as I put one baby book down, I am picking up another. He is a moving target. An adorable and exhausting moving target. My most recent obstacle with him has been his lack of deep uninterrupted sleep. I need my sleep! Sage was fighting his bedtime, pushing it close to 10pm, and then waking up on average 4 times each night to nurse. Back and forth, back and forth I go all night. Eventually just leaving him in my bed because it's much quicker to just roll over than to fetch him from the crib across the hall. After doing my research and implementing some changes, I have been successful in pushing Sage's bedtime to 8pm. The trick is ROUTINE. He eats dinner at 6:30pm. Followed immediately by a bath. Followed immediately by nursing and rocking in a dark room to the sound of Hawaiian lullabies. He is then put in his crib to sleep, with a white noise-producing fan circulating on his dresser. But typically around 11pm or midnight, the late night awakenings begin. I have yet to solve this part of the problem. Some tricks I plan to try include: helping him self-soothe with a lovey, rather than a mama, having Matt feed him a bottle (milk or water) rather than nursing, and spending more time during the day playing in his room and crib. I have also put a twin sized mattress on the floor of his room, so that he is no longer eating, sleeping, or waking up in our master bedroom. I go and nurse him in the middle of the night on the mattress in his nursery, then leave him there alone. I come back to my adult bed and wait for the next calling. This method eliminates carrying a giant baby back and forth all night. Much easier on my back!
