Bite Me!

OK – that’s not a nice thing for a Mommy to say to her very precious baby, but it seems appropriate tonight. On Saturday, Connor did something that may be rather ordinary in many families, but in my family it’s nothing short of extraordinary. He got a bottom tooth! True, many babies get their first tooth around 6 months, some babies are even born with a tooth. But I did not accomplish this feat until I was 15 months old – and I never got a whole set of the pearly whites. Instead, my parents forked over enough money to end hunger in a small country so that I could have a full set of teeth. In particular, my family seems to have trouble getting those bottom teeth that are usually the first to come in for most children. In fact, when my dad asked which tooth Connor got I said “you know, the bottom one on the right side of center that comes in first” and he said “I assure you, I don’t know anything about that”. In general, the tooth is a very private thing. He doesn’t just let ANYONE see it! But he has been working on keeping it clean.




I also have an excellent excuse for not blogging this weekend. My friends Kellee and Jim returned from China! They came over on Friday and Saturday night, and it was great to see them. Jim entertained Connor by playing the with giant yoga ball, along with Ed,
and Kellee played a little chess with my little man. It’s going to be a busy few weeks trying to keep up with them as they prepare for their next Foreign Service post. Hopefully we’ll get to spend lots of time with them! One of the bonuses of them coming back from China, is that it is fairly cheap to have clothes tailored there. So, while my little guy may not have the girth needed to hold pants up in the US – Kellee was kind enough to have some pants tailored for him. I can’t wait to take him out in his fancy linen pants with matching shirts. It’ll be a nice way to keep cool and protected from the sun.

And this afternoon, well – it was one of those afternoons you dream about as a parent. Connor woke up from his nap around 4:30 (which meant I had enough time to pick crabs for our crab salad dinner after I arrived home). Then, he nursed a bit and went back to sleep with me for another hour – and then, man was he in a good mood. We walked around the neighborhood playing with other people’s doggies (thank you neighbors) and enjoyed sitting in front of the daisies that are starting to bloom.

Unfortunately, the day did not end on such a high note. The pediatrician’s baby manual says that during this phase, children may have separation anxiety when they go to bed and it could be difficult to get them to go to sleep. Well, Connor, it would be terrible to miss a milestone like this, I suppose, and you did not disappoint. The book warns that you may be getting up several times in the middle of the night to make sure we are still here. We are.

Elaine