Today, after we got our wild man down to take a much needed nap, I sat down and tried to catch up on Cruz's baby book. And while I attempted to count back the weeks on my calendar to the many milestones I keep forgetting to write down, I found myself filling up the little boxes on almost every day of the month. What a month it's been. Cruz is developing quite the little sense of humor, and I'm starting to understand the way Beau's Grandma J always described her little Beau. Super sweet when he wants to turn up the charm, but turn your back, and you never know what you'll find. It sounds like little Beau kept his family on their toes, and I'm starting to see glimpses of the same in our Cruz Man. And poor Jade...
A few things to remember about this stage...
1. It's so interesting to watch Cruz interact with his cat. At daycare and Kindermusik, I usually don't see Cruz interact much with other littles. In fact, when I do pick him up from daycare, he's typically enthralled with a toy, in his own little world, contentedly playing by himself. This reminds me of myself when I was little---willing to play and share with my friends, but secretly happier in my own imaginary world. At home, though, Cruz is different. He plays by himself, but gets bored fast if we aren't playing with him. And Jade, well, Cruz looks to her as this friend who is playing a vicious game of hard-to-get. Cruz will chase her all over the house, sweetly screeching, 'Hi Kitty' in this high pitched voice, usually clenching a kitty brush in his hand. Poor Jade tries to befriend him, but he usually ends up scaring her away with his playful and rather rough pets. He is determined, however, and keeps on chasing after her. It's definitely a love-hate relationship, and I'm not sure which mammal I feel sorry for more.
For some reason, this picture reminds me of Toy Story's, "You've Got a Friend in Me."
This is right before Jade gently pawed Cruz in the head as a warning sign. Did Cruz listen?
2. Clothes. I am having the best time dressing Cruz right now. My favorite items are his gray jeans from the Gap, his cream hooded sweater with wooden buttons, and his navy blue leggings! I definitely spend more time planning his outfits than my own. While I do miss easy shorts and t-shirts in the summertime, I'm loving the layers of Fall on my little man.
3. Cruz's 'cheese face' is priceless. I'm not exactly sure where he picked up this new little trick, but every time a camera is pointed near his direction, he scrunches up his face, points his nose to their air, and sucks air through his front teeth. Tonight at Kindermusik, the kiddos wore their Halloween costumes. Several mamas were snapping pictures of costumed littles, and Cruz was looking every which way, holding his picture pose as if he was Kim Kardashian on the red carpet.
4. Temper tantrums. I'm not exactly sure where my little devil is picking up this habit, but I'm amazed at how early it's starting. It usually happens when Cruz is tired, and is usually escalated when we remove him from a situation that is not in his best interest--- like taking a Sharpie Pen away from him, or a bottle of Soft Scrub, or closing the dishwasher door as he's trying to climb it. Cruz immediately gets upset, and proceeds to throw himself to the ground and bang his head on the floor. Sometimes, if he drops a pot lid on his hand, or tries to bite the shower ledge, he gets mad and smacks the object that did him wrong. The 'mad' look on his face makes it really hard not to laugh or smile at him, and I do my best to try and talk with him about his actions. After all, if he's old enough to blame, he's old enough to reason, right?
5. Cruz 'talks' nonstop. His jabber jabber voice is so cute, and I could literally listen to it all day long. With every 'dah?,' and 'oh,' and, 'oh god,' my heart seriously smiles.
Life keeps chugging along, and I'm doing my best to keep a handle on it. Whether it's the baby book, this blog, or a stick note stuck to the side of my refrigerator, it's important to remember the stages, the moments, the milestones that change so quickly.
Speaking of milestones, tonight we will be attending Cruz's debut performance! His daycare center is putting on a production of Noah's Ark. Keeping my fingers crossed that our little caterpillar stays on the ark tonight :)
I loved it!!!! Precious pictures!
ReplyDelete