Toys are Becoming More Interesting...

He's actually managing to grasp things other than our fingers - and here he is trying to chew on the star toy. 

Anya, the demon cat is waiting to pounce

on my desk. Earlier she pulled out all of the papers in the cubby holes and knocked them on the floor. Along with some unpaid bills, my netflix DVDs, and my planner. And the article Jamiss sent (thank you! haven't finished reading it yet). Unfortunately it's hard to remove a demon cat from the desk while feeding a baby. It can be done, however, the demon cat is quite persistent. Occasionally I call her Anyanka, which I think is quite appropriate to her nature (well, Anyanka is a vengeance demon - I think Anya just likes to get into trouble). During the day Anya prefers to sleep on some of the still-packed boxes, perhaps dreaming about what she is going to get into next.

Tyger, on the other hand, has spent the last week sleeping on our couch. It is rare to see him elsewhere. In fact, I've had trouble when I sit down with the baby - Tyger will try to sit on both of us. Rather uncomfortable for all.

So, Boy Friday and I get to sit (or lay, in his case) on the floor. I don't think he minds much. We had a good Wednesday - there was no screaming in the car at all! So I managed to run a couple of errands, make dinner, do some laundry, AND even took a shower. Now, he also took an afternoon nap, which caused him to not want to sleep until at least 11:30pm. But, I figured that was a small price to pay for a relatively happy baby all evening.

Of course, it also led to an early rise of oh... 5am, then 6:30, then 7:30 (when he insisted he was hungry). Bummer. And today - not so into getting in the car again (how dare you strap me into this evil carseat!). So, we went for a walk instead. Not what I'd planned - but really, my plans are only suggestions these days. We never managed to get a pumpkin - maybe tomorrow? Who knows? At least I have some mums to make the house feel more autumnal...

Chewing on Toys...

Boy Friday has been sucking on his hands quite a bit lately. Sunday was a rough day for us - he was rather cranky for most of the afternoon and evening, and I had some trouble getting him to sleep soundly. Perhaps he's teething already?! He's beginning to be able to hold things, too - although it takes some persuading. I've also noticed Friday moving around quite a bit more than he was only a week or two ago. He'll often get himself into a position at least 90 degrees from where I put him down - but I don't have any video of that (he seems to do this when I walk away). Here's a playful baby, Sunday morning:

Three Months Old Already!

Boy Friday is actually 3 months old! And he's already getting close to doubling his weight. He smiles, makes all sorts of fun noises, and is doing a great job holding his head up. It looks like he's about 14.6 lbs now (according to my scale - yes, that's with diaper and all). As you can see, he's been enjoying sitting on the couch.

Although he had trouble with all the driving on Wednesday and Thursday (he decided he needed to scream all the way home during rush hour traffic. awesome), he did just fine Saturday when we took a little jaunt down Milwaukee Avenue to the Wicker Park neighborhood. It's been very chilly here - and it's supposed to freeze Monday morning - so we had Friday all bundled up.

Well, I'm off to sleep now - it's late and Friday's been asleep for three hours already...

So Halloween is Coming...

And there are some amazing decorations out there... I think someone actually spray painted a high chair in that last photo. Some serious thought and effort has gone into this!

And the weekend has come to an end...

It's been a rather long week. Ok, I guess it just feels long, since I'm sure it's the same length as all weeks. Boy Friday, despite having several days in a row of sleeping 7-9 hours a night, decided he was finished with that, thank you very much, and he'd much prefer to wake up every hour or two again. You know, like old times (a couple of months ago...). Well, mommy isn't super excited about that turn of events. Several days were spent in a bit of a stupor. So, sorry for the lack of photos this past week. You know, there are only so many poses I can get on the little guy before he moves around on his own! Friday really doesn't like to smile for the camera, either. It concerns him to have the weird device aimed at his face - especially when the flash is on (as it always is indoors).

I am fairly certain that Friday wants to sit on his own. He gets quite frustrated on his belly, and is not interested much in rolling over or pushing his head up. Mostly, he just drools and sticks his hands in his mouth. In fact, you can see some drool on that photo of him sitting! He's become quite the little slobber-fountain. I wonder how long we've got until teeth start appearing?

Baby Friday is looking at his daddy in this photo - otherwise he'd just be giving me that concerned look. See? He does actually smile!

To the Loop and Back

That's our train station - and the train we got on this morning to go visit Mu and Papa at Union Station. We used our new carrier which worked out ok. It's still a bit difficult when you have nowhere to put the baby down. Since its rather warm today, we both got rather sweaty, too!

Mu spent a long time holding Boy Friday and trying to convince him to holler. But for the most part he just wanted to chat. Which is fine by me, really, because I prefer a happy baby. The one thing he really didn't like was the crazy Dyson hand drier in the bathroom. Looks cool, but its way too LOUD. 

We made it home just fine and now we're relaxing and slobbering on our fingers. Oh ok, that's just the baby. You know, I really think he'd love it if he could sit upright already. 

On Saturday, we relax..

Ok, the park photo is from yesterday - but we did go there today also. This afternoon we drove around Mayfair, Albany Park, Bucktown, and Lincoln Square neighborhoods - just to see what's over there. We also checked out the Chicago Public Library - didn't check anything out this time, but at least I know it's there!

Yesterday's Mail...

From Boy Friday's Great Aunt Chris - a stuffed sheep rattle. He's quite cute and cuddly.  There was also a crocheted hat and jacket (not yet photographed...).

Cranky Day

Yep. Friday was cranky today. Still is, in fact. Not sure what his deal is, but he also woke up several times last night. And he wasn't quite as smiley as usual this morning. Who knows? He seems a bit tired, actually.

After changing him (in an attempt to see if a wet diaper was the problem...), I noticed... 

a cat's tail! Anya has discovered a new sleeping spot underneath the changing table of the Pack N' Play. Hopefully she will tire of this spot quickly, since I'm not sure there is any way to keep her out.

This morning, in Chicago

A baby slept almost eight hours for the third night in a row! Ok, yesterday he slept for almost nine hours - which had me a bit worried (and, in theory, fairly well rested).  We had a bit of an adventure yesterday when we went to Ikea by ourselves to pick up a bookshelf. Easier said than done - especially with baby. Of course, I couldn't manage to bring the camera (and I forgot the Hooter-Hider...).  Made it home with the bookshelf (still in the car), as well as a few items that weren't on my list.

Yes, I should be sleeping.

But I wanted to see how this uploading of video works. It takes a while. This video is Baby Friday kicking about and talking while waiting for the doctor. He's quite squirmy!

Friday's Adventure: Doctor's Appointment!

Baby Friday was not at all concerned about being at the doctor's office the other day... I suspect, however, that after the shots he had he will not be interested in going back. He stopped crying fairly quickly after the last shot, though. All in all, things went well. He's huge! Eightieth percentile for both height and weight. He's almost 14 lbs already! I guess that means it'll be time to remove the basinet portion of the pack n' play in a couple of weeks. 

Today we went for a long walk in the chilly October air. It isn't too cold yet - seems rather nice still - but I think we'll get to see the leaves change color soon. I think Friday enjoyed the stroll.

Welcome to October

Home of post-season baseball. Our American flag was replaced last week with this Chicago Cubs flag - the day they clinched the National League Central Division title.  The first game is today, here in Chicago, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is so much team loyalty here! It's definitely a "culture," even. I'm not even sure that I can root for the Dodgers in this atmosphere... 

But, here it is October and I was expecting the leaves to have changed color... Still green, but the air is quite chilly today. Baby Friday's hands are cold, and I'm a bit cool in the house, too.

And, just for fun - a happy baby with kitty guard from two days ago: