ch-ch-ch-changes

So the new year is going to bring about some major changes. First the diaper situation. After nearly seven months, and before Micah graduates to the next size diaper wrap, we are abandoning the cloth diapers and our faithful diaper service with ABC diapers in favor of the g-diaper system. I'll admit--the two weeks of disposable diapers spoiled us with their ease and at least g-diapers are disposable and biodegradable. This is important given that standard disposable diapers are the #1 waste product filling up our landfills and take over 500 years to biodegrade. I'm looking forward to the switch given that we have had to use disposable diapers at night for a while now and while we receive the smallest amount of cloth diapers a week allowable (50) we don't use all of them. I'm hoping by buying what we only use the increased price of the g-diapers will be offset. These suckers even claim to be flushable AND they have a very cute colorful cloth cover with a little "g" on the butt that we'll just say stands for "grossman"--these details are very important for something you defecate into, really.

Perhaps the biggest change of all is in the motility department. Now I've seen the writing on the wall for a while now, but I feel like we are in this spiral that is gaining momentum quickly. I swear it was just yesterday that Micah pulled himself up to standing, then this morning Zack and I watched (in horror on my part) as Micah sort of crawled--albeit backwards--and his formerly imperceptable movements were as clear as day. The child manuevered a full 3 and half feet from his seated position on the mat, did a 180 and reached longingly at the bookshelf. SH*T! I know I've joked before about binding his feet, but it really is looking more appealing. Am I awful? Say, "no."

Over the bay and through the traffic...

...to Grandmother's house we go! Well, to Nanny and Mister Hawkins' house, that is.

Micah spent his first Christmas surrounded by a whole lotta love. Micah scored big time in the loot department too. A big special thank you to everyone who were so thoughtful with their gifts--though apparently some wrapping paper was all that was necessary to entertain and delight Micah. Nanny and Mr. Hawkins came through with a new digital camera complete with video recording with sound--which bodes well for the blog. Stay tuned. Perhaps my favorite gift of all was a llama that was bought in our name from Heifer International for a family in the altoplano of South America (Thank you Annie!). The idea is you give a man a fish--you feed him for a day, you teach a man to fish--you feed him for life. Expect ruminants in your next stocking. Overall it was a relaxed Christmas day which culminated with my dad's perennial favorite: persimmon pudding with hard sauce for dessert.

G.G. and Micah


Micah savages a present

All I want for Christmas are my 2 bottom teeth...

...So I can wish you Happy Hannukah!

Micah got his first two teeth on the first night of hannukah..and what a gift it has been for me, let me tell you! Technically Josh gets credit for discovering the sharp jaggedy things protruding from Micah's bottom gum...but of course I don't think it really counts since he didn't realize that the sharp jaggedy things were protruding teeth, just, you know... sharp jaggedy things protruding from a baby's gums.

But I suppose before I go any further I owe all of you faithful Micah fans an apology for the severely lapsed entries this month. What can I say...we're a busy family. Sorry.
So, the stats: Micah had his 6 month check up and I am proud to say he weighed in at just shy of 20 lbs (19lbs 7 oz) which corresponds to 90th percentile for weight and he is a whopping 28" long (high?) which corresponds to 97th percentile for height--woo hoo, he'll be on Space Mountain in no time (for the Grossmans who refuse to go to Disneyland, that would be a really fun rollercoaster that requires you to be at least as tall as R2D2 or something to ride). He is finally above the mean for head circumfrence and therefore no longer a pinhead. I have since been scolded by a woman to stop measuring my child and just accept him for who he is--umm, no duh. Geez, it's not like I've signed him up for SAT prep classes already (there's still time, right?).

Micah helps Bernie light the Hannukah candle the first night

Micah oversees the latke preparations ("hey, daddy, more onion...")

But it was Joey who was "Grandma's little latke"

long time no blog

We are enjoying our second week of our two week holiday to New York (hence the silence on the blog-front). Micah brought everyone a very special gift...a cold! The night before we flew out Zack and I spent a fretful, sleepless night on the phone with the after-hours advice nurse while our little one coughed and spluttered. Micah's vomiting necessitated an emergency peds visit the next morning in the hour we had before leaving for the airport. It was a wee bit hectic, but we made it! Micah is all better..but has passed his cold onto other less fortunate Grossmans.

No doubt Micah came out here expecting to show his little cuz what's what and all, but it has been Joey--not Micah--setting the example and teaching Micah some new (and old tricks). Like, why wait til' morning to eat silly? Eating every two hours is much better. Micah has been enjoying his lapse into all-things-not-to-do-according to the baby whisperer. Such as nursing to fall asleep ("He isn't in his own bed," I claim. "He is out of his own element," runs the excuse), eating whenever he pleases around the clock ("...the doctor said to make sure he gets plenty of fluids" I retort. "Look mom, JOEY gets too!" Micah tells me with his cries.) and finally, the one I really can't believe: suck on a pacifier! It would appear that Micah discovered one of Joey's pacies lying around the first night and has taken to it, dispite rejecting it for months when he was younger. Perfectly legit for a two month old--one big old bad habit at 6 months. I must admit, during the three and half hour car ride up to Grandma and Grandpa's the pacey ( lo! )pacified Micah quite nicely.

Here are some photos to chronical the visit thus far (there are more on Joey's blog):

Aunty Lisa and cousin Joey (Is it gas? We'll go with no.)

Grandma reading to Micah (ahhh, how sweet)

Grandpa watching TV with Micah (awww...our little addict)

Max trying to eat Micah, who is playing with his fire engine (the nerve)



Flying babies!
How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the adorable puppy mittens...


And some where in there Micah turned 6 months. We'll use this one to document the half way mark:

Gobble Gobble

Playing with Uncle Justin

Micah's first Thanksgiving 1-2-3: 1) he and the bird weighed almost exactly the same 2) we ate the bird, not Micah and 3) toys that suction onto the high chair tray (read: impossible to be dropped umpteen million times over the course of a meal and therefore saving your parents' back) would have been very useful. Oh--and my bourbon pecan pie rocked.

Into the hangar

Foreshadowing


The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life before the introduction of compli- mentary foods. We made it to 12 days before Micah's 6 month birthday before giving him a little brown rice cereal. So close! We were desperate to try to find a remedy for Micah's poor sleeping patterns of late and his near constant feeding through the night. We were testing the hypothesis that he wasn't having his caloric needs met mama's milk alone and perhaps he was indeed ready for "solid" foods--though I can't say the tablespoon's worth of cereal he has ingested over three days has added significantly to his dietary needs.

I followed the advice in my Super Baby Foods book to a T, mixing the cereal with my milk so it would be sort of familiar, having a towel handy for spills, measuring out 1 teaspoon of dry cereal to 2 tablespoons of milk...but alas Micah ate at most four or five pea sized bites. He seemed to be thinking, " You've done something different with your milk, haven't you?" Despite my best efforts to, "keep my facial expression pleasant" his gagging on the thick grainy liquid, quickly made that impossible. Four more days an dthen we'll introduce something exciting...like enchiladas con mole negro...or sweet potato.