M de Curioso

so this week has a been an eventful one. you'd think the week before would stick out in memory more, since we moved from MI to AZ and undertook many other changes in routine: new job, new apartment, etc. but no, M has seen to it that this week is much more exciting, at least for this particular mother. first of all, i must tell you all that M has achieved a few non-funny and real accomplishments, you know like they list in The Parenting Books. these include saying "hi" (about 5 days ago), waving (yesterday--to his dad!), and standing up without holding on to anything (everyday this week). and there's nothing funny about that.

this week, however, M has managed to give me my very first laugh-out-loud moment as a mother. i feel like a real mom! sure, i've smiled and laughed at him before. but this was the first time i ever looked up, saw what was going on, and then almost peed my pants laughing. here's the scenario: i was in the kitchen and so was M. i had been doing laundry and there was an empty laundry basket on the floor nearby. so i'm surfing the internet, etc., checking the email, and i hear him playing with the basket, scooting it around on the floor and things like that. then i hear frantic crying along with the same playing noises. i look over and see quite a sight. there's nothing but an upside down laundry basket hopping around and two chubby little legs poking out from underneath, kicking like crazy. M was stuck. his chubby arms were not long enough to free him, and so he cried out to his laughing mother and she saved him. the end.

later on the same day, i was sitting at the kitchen table and heard similar ruckus over by the base of the stairs. M had, within a couple of hours, managed to get himself into yet another scrape. he had climbed onto the first step and grabbed onto the baby gate. but stepping up is a lot easier than stepping down. so he was holding on for dear life and looking over his shoulder and yelling. also pretty darn funny if you ask me.

the last funny thing is something he technically started doing before this week. but this was Funny Week, so i'll mention it here. every day we try to read a stack of books at some point during that day. M likes to sit there and listen, and even turn the pages by himself. but then his inner cave-baby sets in and when i say the words "the end" it's time for him to hurl the book to the floor with a very manly throw. every time. it's a sweet story about the littlest duck who grows up and then has an egg of his own sitting in the grass, and we've learned something about the circle of life. turn the page, the end, WHAM!, next book please. pretty entertaining.

the weirdest part about this is that M seems so old because of these things. my admiration of him used to be solely cuteness and sweetness based. but now it's growing into more. now my admiration includes his agility and curiosity. and speaking of curiosity: M makes the Curious George face at least 3-5 times per day. you know the face where one pointer finger comes up to the mouth and George seems to think: "it's time to go see what's going on over there"? well, that's the face that i see on my child. it's pretty great :) especially considering the whole thing from start to finish. make the curious face, try something out, get stuck, mom laughs, baby cries, all is well. being a mom. good times.