Crib Free Wrapping

I'll start with explaining the "Wrapping" part of the title. My mom's birthday is November 18th and all she wants every year is for me to do the paper part of her present wrapping. To help you understand how that can take three hours for six people I'll say it this way, twelve days. We celebrate the twelve days of Christmas. In my house, we do a present a day up to and including January 6th. We also do two or three stocking stuffers (unwrapped) and two are three Christmas day presents. We started celebrating the twelve days in my parent's house as kids. It is a way to make Christmas about a season, not just a day. That season includes advent which we currently celebrate with saying "what we are thankful for" at dinner. Usually, you are supposed to light one candle for each week closer to Christmas you are in. example, it's week two so we are supposed to light two. To save money, we don't light the candles and reuse them year after year but we do say what we are thankful for which usually amounts to Zach, dinner, and family. In addition to Christmas day gifts for the six of us, my mom does the twelve days for her, my dad, and my brother. They don't celebrate every day though. The kicker is she wraps the stocking stuffers.

Zach was free during the wrapping this morning and did a great job being independent (periodically checked on) and not getting into no-no things. He just played with what he always plays with. We are working on teaching him about being independent while we do basics like me cooking dinner since he'll be out of the crib soon. Until yesterday, we put him in the high chair for part of Mommy's cleaning and cooking time and his crib the rest. Then he went to the doctor.

He's 18 months old now. At 31 1/2 inches and 26 pounds we are talking about a big boy (but growth is perfect and he's perfectly proportioned). He's been trying to crib out of the crib and hits the bars frequently when rolling over. We will be ultra Zach proofing his room soon and having him sleep on the mattress with a comforter on the ground so if he rolls off it's cushioned and the floor won't be so cold. Is my baby really already to be crib free? I remember the joy of being far enough along to buy the crib in the first place!!! Yes it's a drop side crib but he's never had an issue with it.

We didn't want to spend $300 on a cradle and all it's stuff so we decided to put him in the crib width wise at first. When he got big for that at 2 months we started length wise but he even today sometimes tries to go back to width wise.

He has a small code and a deep interest in the top of his frog shaped humidifier so that'll wait until things are reorganized and the humidifier is on the top shelf of the closet. His deepest fascination is standing directly under me while I cook dinner and do the dishes. There is a reason he's nicknamed "underfoot". It's going to be hard to get things done without a place to strap him in while we work. Especially since as I typed that he brought me the plunger (it's not needed he's just curious about it but it's a no touch item).

The things we are going to be trying in the next six months before his next appointment are no crib, potty training, sleeping with a pillow, and cleaning up. He likes to bring us things that need to be put away so that one might goes easier then anticipated. Wish us luck though. A year ago the goal was to get him to crawl. I remember when the upcoming developmental things were eating the same foods as us cut but not pureed, crawling, and babbling.



1 Month old



"Is that me?" at 4 months old



Chillin' out at 7 months old



Sleeping at 15 months old (September)