Gus did not sleep last night.

But he did play, and he continues to crawl around, even as I type, like he's in training for a baby marathon.

That is all.

When the Pilot's away...

Five of Gus's teeth decide they all want to arrive at the party TOGETHER.

Gus stays up all night crying right after I find out that my boss will be observing me Thursday (tomorrow) night.

I get two hours of sleep.

My students turn in rough drafts that I have to return on Thursday. [Shit! that really is tomorrow. They are finished, but hell...]

I begin wondering if seven hours of childcare, hours that cover my commute and classroom time but not lesson planning and grading, is enough. 

Gus decides to get his very first cold, one that could or could not be related to teething. He has an appetite and energy to spare despite sleeping only six hours last night, but he is a snot machine. It's clear, but I don't like the way he breathes when he sleeps.

Even if Gus sleeps tonight, I will not.

Routine

Last week I was washing a pot lid when the Pilot started telling me about work.

"Well, I'm only flying once instead of twice next week."

He paused.

"And..."

He paused again.

I set down the pot lid, turned from the sink, and leaned against the counter. 

"Where are you going and for how long?"

He smiled.

"How did you know?"

-----

Whenever a particular promo on PBS World comes on, Gus stops everything and just stares at the TV. 

For months he has done this. He just stares at people turning flips in the air in front of a skyscraper to "One Day Like This" by Elbow.

I finally purchased the song on iTunes. Sadly, I cannot find the commercial on YouTube.

Let's hope it makes our nighttime routine a little easier.

The Pilot will be gone for a couple of days; he's the best at getting Gus to sleep.

-----

Gus is ten months old today.

More Christmas Photos (the last of them, I promise)

We've mastered this unwrapping thing. I'm going to be a pro at it by my first birthday. Oooh, a shop-vac.

I have a school bus, and I look very serious in my turtleneck and sweater.

The best presents are ones I can pull up on.

Yes, that is a Daisy BB gun. Don't hate us; we're Texan. Grandma wrapped it in paper inspired by A Christmas Story. Sadly, I'm not able to play with it for many, many years.

I got the chair. All I need is a game. I am tailgate ready.

Grandpa, Kelby-Cat (Simon's long-lost cousin?), and myself. We like the recliner.

A big red barn and a ball popper are all a guy really needs.

Christmas in Lockney

The child is sleeping. 

Going to the mechanics to get a new battery for my car, which died last night after work and on the wrong side of Tucson, wore Gus plum out.

He climbed all over me and the couch since I wouldn't let him on the slimy, muddy floor.

So I take the opportunity afforded by my child's noisy slumber (he snores in his car seat) to post yet more pictures of Christmas. 

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In Texas we had a White Christmas. 

On the drive there, the snow followed us down from Muleshoe. We made it to Lockney just in time, and the next morning this was the view from my in-law's driveway.

We drove to Allsup's that morning because nothing stops my husband when it comes to getting a burrito. Plus, we needed ingredients for a fudge cook-off between the Pilot and his mother that never materialized because he was too busy battling the plague.

Main Street, Lockney, Texas:

Our hometown. The view from Allsup's where we bought our burritos. 

Anyone ever had an Allsup's burrito? It is gloriously awful. Awful, as in bad for you, but glorious in its deep-fried goodness. 

Yes, it does snow in Texas, but the Natives do not like it and tend to stay home. Those who have lived in colder climes and know how to drive in the weather hit the roads confidently while others find that too much caution can leave them stuck in front of the post office. 

Oopsy.

----

Gus shows off his skills.

Then tries to eat the paper.

Then he wrastles with his mama.

A big wad of paper remains stuck to the top of his mouth.

His dad finally manages to fish the offending paper out.

Eventually, we got better at keeping the paper away from Gus and out of his mouth.

Bad, parent, bad!

Image from amazon.com

Okay, I heard about this on the Diane Rehm show this morning and was simultaneously amused and horrified when I looked at the cover, especially considering the previous post's pictures of Gus posed with a rubber duck I purchased at Target.

Seriously? 

Okay. I get it. And I do think that we need to be aware of the bad shit out there and make the necessary adjustments when we have new information based on the strongest of evidence. I can't say anything good or bad about Smith and Lourie's book because I have not read it; however, I'm more interested in how parents will use it and other information like it. So, yes, I'm kinda judging a book by its cover here, but this cover, as I would tell my students, has its own persuasive effects as visual rhetoric.

Sometimes I wonder if all our knowledge and our access to it make us more alarmist than informed. Or, if access to this new knowledge just gives parents additional ammunition to judge one another. 

A friend of mine once gave a pregnant friend of hers a box full of baby clothes, a generous gift that parents are fond of giving. I have benefited from this generosity myself and am always touched when people give away clothes that carry such precious memories. 

This friendship ended when my friend visited the pregnant friend's house and found the baby clothes her daughter had once worn dumped in a box marked, "Throw away. Made in China." 

Besides the fact that the friend's actions were incredibly rude and ungracious--a neat little lie always works in this instance, such as, "Thank you. But we have plenty of clothes in that age range," her actions were a kind of judgment of my friend's parenting choices. No one wants to be judged by other parents; advice is usually tolerated, but judgment.... My friend, who had an understandable emotional attachment to the clothes her daughter had worn as an infant, was incredibly hurt and angry. 

Two years later, the two friends still are not speaking despite maintaining relationships with mutual friends.

Gus loves his "Chinese" duck, and he loves the toys he received from Christmas. I'm not wild about the fact that many of his toys are Made in China, but I'm not going to fight that fight. I do tend to prefer handmade, wooden toys and I think it is sad that there are very few independent toy makers out there, but I'm not going to dump toys in the trash just because they are made in China. I follow the recalls. I take out the trash when I need to.

Maybe Gus will play with a healthier duck one day, but it will likely keep his chain-smoking Chinese duck company. 

First Christmas #1

Gus had multiple Christmas celebrations, and by the end of the holiday season, not only did Gus master the art of unwrapping a present, his parents also learned how to keep their darling baby boy from swallowing wrapping paper and scotch tape.

Before we left Tucson for Christmas, we had a week to decorate and celebrate.

Our very humble Christmas tree.... (I kick myself for failing to take a picture of the palm tree decked out, southwest style, in lights and bright turquoise and pink ornaments--all courtesy of my mother-in-law.)

Gus opening his first stocking.

He discovers the greatest toy ever...

No, really, the greatest toy ever...

Then Gus tries to eat the wrapping paper and becomes quite perturbed to learn that we will not let him.
But all is set mostly to rights....

The Pilot got up early in the morning to assemble a red wagon.

Gus takes his trusty duck with him.

And smiles.
We shared a savory, wintery Christmas dinner of pork loin brined in something wonderful and molassesy and served with apple butter and whiskey sauce as well as some green beans with toasted almonds and chipotle mashed sweet potatoes. 

For dessert, we had hot chocolate and watched Christmas Vacation. 

The Pilot woke up the next day, our anniversary (#1), with what became walking pneumonia. 

But let's not dwell on that.

We were all together, and it was a good day.

(Let's see if I can get First Christmas #s 2, 3, and 4 posted before February.)