Music Appreciation 101 part B

Another important part of music training for children is songs, nursery rhymes and poems such as the one Jane is singing with Cheetah in the above video. These are important activities that prepare children for reading. We'll have to buy a Mother Goose treasury at some point. Now I'm worried at all the musical pre-literacy activities Cheetah won't be exposed to because we can't remember them all.

Music Apreciation 101

So Jane and I are starting to introduce Cheetah to the wonderful world of Music. We have different channels on Pandora set to different genres. Aside from never knowing what comes next the sheer variety that Pandora offers is very welcome. We are also discovering that there are a lot of pieces that we can't identify but are familiar with. One of Cheetah great aunts gave him a electronic music box that plays 5-6 famous classical pieces. The only one Jane and I recognize is the William Tell Overture. I wonder if there is an app to help identify famous pieces? Now I know what Lehi was faced with. There is just too much for one or two people to remember when it comes to raising a child without external reference sources.

Presenting Sitting Up!

 



So over the weekend Cheetah decided that he was going to sit up now. On Thursday he couldn't, but on Friday he could balance himself once we got him in position. This has opened up a lot of possibilities for him.  Now that he can sit up he can see much more of the world around him. Here is a picture I snapped of him at Primary on Sunday.

 

Have I mentioned what a piercing gaze he has? When he looks at you its like he looks right through you.

Now that he can sit up he can interact with the books that Jane reads to him. 

I can only imagine the connections he is now making in his brain. 

Being able to sit up also means that we can use shopping carts at the store and that Cheetah can use the high chair we bought him on Monday. My, things are changing fast!

Cheetah seemed to enjoy being able to sit at the table with us and it was interesting putting the chair together. Some assembly required with baby furniture is interesting. 

Thrashing Bundle of Happiness

It is so refreshing to see how positive Cheetah is about life. He default setting is happy which is frankly wonderful to behold. His smile lights up the room and now that he is gradually gaining control of his body (we just noticed him playing with his tongue yesterday) he has started using his extremities to express his joy. He gets so animated sometimes that he starts pushing himself self with his feet while lying on his back.

Daily Dose of Cheetah

As I spend so much time away from home, Jane very thoughtfully takes and sends pictures of Cheetah to me throughout the day. I enjoy these little messages of happiness very much:

I am so glad she is so good at taking pictures and that Cheetah is so photogenic. I look at these pictures whenever I'm feeling sad and its almost as good as being home.
(He's mastered 99% of rolling from back to front. He just has to get over that shoulder and he'll have it.)

Giggle Giggle Snort

I know this is not what you were hoping I'd post but it made me laugh out loud like I haven't in a while, generally because the baby is sleeping and I am hoping it lasts for more than 40 minutes:

This is me and sometimes Facebook is worth the (free) membership.

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

Since Tarzan got his new phone he has totally taken to the blog thing and - as I did once upon a time - when he has some free time at work, he posts. I appreciate his interest because I do not have the free time I used to have.
Some of that is Cheetah of course.
Some Most of it is the lack of a complete sleep cycle I'm experiencing. And much as I would love to, I can't blame that on the baby. Not completely at least.
It isn't that I'm not sleeping, now that Cheetah is here. It's that I'm not sleeping the same as I did before he arrived.
I used to be a really good sleeper.
It took me only a few minutes to snuggle down into my pillow and I was asleep. And once I was out, I slept for the whole night. Tarzan could snore, the neighbors could party and play loud music, the cats could fight, sirens, man hunts, none of it bothered me. I didn't nap unless I was sick and I would feel loopy after having one. I couldn't understand my mother who would fall asleep seconds after sitting in a chair, particularly during movies or TV or conversations.
I apologize very sincerely to my mother.
These days I still fall asleep easily. In fact, I'm dropping off nearly every time I sit down.
Naps are a blessed gift and I take them whenever possible. But I also wake up at the slightest noise. If Cheetah coughs in the middle of the night, I'm halfway across the room before I'm conscious.
I wake up if the neighbors turn on a light in their room.
I'm pretty sure I'm missing my REM sleep or something equally as vital.
The other night I woke up convinced I had fallen asleep with Cheetah on my chest, so I carried him carefully across the room and straight into a wall. Turned out, it was my pillow I was handling so gingerly and I was disoriented enough to mistake the mirror on the closet door for the door of the bedroom.
Despite the fact Cheetah has never slept in our bed, I frequently wake up convinced I've dropped him on the floor - it's always my pillow - or sure that I'm smothering him and end up frantically digging Tarzan's shoulder out from under the blankets.
I'm not sure what the surge of adrenaline is supposed to accomplish at 2am but I've got some to spare.

This is me and I don't dream like I used to either.

Early Morning Sunshine

So as I mentioned before the best thing about me morning is waking up and seeing Cheetah. Often he will be awake and lying quietly in be until he sees me and then he stats smiling, laughing and dancing in his crib. It is soooo precious and I filmed him the other day.

I'm still very new to this whole parent filming thing. Its too dark and the orientation is off. But these are the things I see that I know we'll treasure in the years to come.