Brandon Gilbert

It’s almost Christmas, and I got a couple of early gifts in that Ryne was being happy and didn’t stop to look at the camera and zone out when I tried to capture it all on video. So for your viewing pleasure…4 videos to boost your (at least my) Christmas Spirit.

First is Ryne trying to blow spit with his tongue..

Ryne rolling over…

Ryne Having fun and Talking…

Ryne having more fun and talking…

Ryne continues to be curious about Christmas, and I am doing my best to explain it to him. He’s pretty much got the true reason for Christmas down and realizes Jesus’ Birthday is really important. It’s all the other traditions that he’s having problems with. Last week, I told you about our conversation about Christmas Trees. Little did I know that it was only the beginning…

Son: Dad, why are there Christmas carols that don’t have anything to do with Jesus?
Dad: Well, there are a lot of things that people associate with Christmas that don’t have anything to do with Jesus’ birth, but they’re not necessarily bad things.
Son: But, they’re so confusing and I don’t understand them.
Dad: Like what?
Son: Like “Let it snow,” What is snow?
Dad: You’ve seen snow a couple of times now, and just this past Saturday night. It’s what happens when the weather is really cold and it rains, but the rain freezes into snow flakes and they lay on top of each other.
Son: Yeah…it’s TOO cold. Why is snow so special?
Dad: Well, in the southern United States, snow doesn’t fall as often as it does in the northern half, and also people like to go out and play in it and throw snowball fights.
Son: But no one goes out and plays in the rain like that.
Dad: Well, the snow stays on the ground. Rain doesn’t stack up on top of itself like Snow does. People like to ride sleds and inner tubes and ski on the snow.
Son: Hmm, that’s funny, because I thought rain did lay on top of itself. It’s called a lake. And if I’m not mistaken, people can ride inner tubes and ski on it.
Dad: It’s a fair point, but I think when you’re old enough to go out and enjoy the snow, you’ll appreciate it a little more.

Son: OK, why are all the people associated with Christmas so mean and creepy?
Dad: What do you mean?
Son: Well, Jack Frost nips at your nose. I gotta tell you, if he comes near my nose, he’ll be picking parts of my shoes out of his rear end until next Christmas.
Dad: That’s not very nice, and Jack Frost is not an actual person, he’s the persona given to extreme cold that makes your nose and other things cold when you’re outside.
Son: Dad, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Dad: When in the world did you watch Billy Madison? While that was a funny quote and an oddly appropriate time to use it, if you talk to me like that again, I will reconsider how long I will wait before you learn about spankings.
Son: Sorry Dad, but at least I made you laugh…but I’m still worried about Santa Claus, too.
Dad: We’ve talked about Santa, and you’ve met him. What’s to worry about?
Son: Well, it seems that stalker laws do not apply to him. The songs says “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good, for goodness’ sake.” I have enough things to worry about without having to lose sleep thinking about some old guy watching me while I’m in bed.
Dad: Santa watches so he knows if you’re bad or good so he knows whether or not to bring you presents.
Son: Couldn’t you just tell him?
Dad: Well,  I have some input, but after this conversation, you probably wouldn’t want the decision left up to me.
Son: Well, it’s still so confusing as to why there are so many scary and weird things about Christmas that people seem to be so happy about, when if it happened at any other time of the year, they’d call the police.
Dad: Don’t worry about it buddy, you’ll appreciate all of it more as you get older, and besides…there are waaaay more things to be scared about… like George Michael’s curls and Bono’s mullet:

A few months ago, I wrote about Ryne smiling in his sleep, and guessing what kind of dreams he would be having, given such limited life experience. Apparently he can have nightmares, too. Jamie and I discovered this a few weeks ago, but he seemed to have another one today, so it refreshed my memory.

He was taking a nap and sleeping very soundly when he was jarred awake screaming like, well, someone who’s having a nightmare. I picked him up, and it was hard to console him. He just kept screaming until I made him look into my face so he could realize that Daddy had him and he was safe, that he wasn’t still in the nightmare. It was rough watching him be so scared, and if I never see that look in his eye again, I will be a very happy man.

Once again, I’m left to wonder what his limited life experience has given him to be able to have nightmares about. He’s had five months to gain experience, and it makes me wonder if I’ve allowed some kind of terror to get to him to allow him fodder for nightmares.

I myself have a recurring nightmare. It started during my last year of college. It’s always basically the same: It’s the last day of the semester and I have to take my final in a class and I realize that I haven’t gone to the class all semester. Sometimes it’s bad because I don’t know any of the information for the final exam, and sometimes it would be bad because I had missed all the other assignments to turn in, so no matter how I did, I couldn’t pass the class. Still other times, it would be that I had no chance because I had already missed too many days. I most recently had this dream a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been out of college for six years now.

My recurring nightmare is a result of a last year of college spent helping to plan a wedding, working 40 hours a week and taking 18 hours (6 classes) in school. That’s a lot of stress on a person mentally and emotionally, and I will be honest, I didn’t handle it very well. But still, that’s 23-28 years of life experience going into my nightmares….Ryne has had 5 months on this Earth. So I thought really hard, and came up with a list of things he could possibly have nightmares about.

1. Lack of milk: He’s really hungry and he’s lying in the floor. He sees bottles everywhere he looks, but they’re all empty. And Mommy, his first choice is nowhere to be found either.
2. Falling: Ryne has recently learned to roll over. If you think about it, this act takes a lot of faith. You’re facing one way, and then you decide to roll in another direction. You have to be certain that whichever way you go, there’s going to be something to hold you up. Maybe he’s dreaming that when he rolls over, he falls off the edge of the Earth.

3. Being stuck in a shirt: One of the things Ryne hates is when you put a shirt on over his head. Once it’s on, he has no problem with it, but while it’s going over his head, he looks kinda nervous. Maybe he’s thinking about being trapped in a shirt with no way out.
4. His “friend” is gone: One of Ryne’s best friends is “Jimmy,” a stuffed
giraffe. He loves Jimmy. He gives him hugs, and likes to chew on his
ears. Maybe Ryne is dreaming that he’s searching for Jimmy, but he
can’t find him.
5. Mommy and Daddy are gone: I imagine that the worst source of  a nightmare for Ryne would be that he’s crying in his crib, and no one comes. He can’t get what he needs by himself, so his only way to let us know is to cry. And if he cries and no one is there to answer, I imagine that to be the loneliest, worst feeling in the world.

Now that I think about it, there is quite a bit of stuff for him to have nightmares about. One thing is for sure, though. When he cries, Mommy or Daddy is going to be there. No matter how groggy or how bad our bed head is…we’ll be there.

Do you have any ideas on what babies would have nightmares about or do you have a recurring dream or nightmare? Leave a comment at the top and tell us all about it.

Jamie and I finally got the Christmas Tree up in our apartment. We are not “Day after Thanksgiving” types, but more like “2 weeks ’til Christmas, we need the tree up” type people. The act of putting a tree in the living room and then hanging shiny things on it was a great source of entertainment for Ryne. It only seemed to confirm for him how weird his parents are.

Son: Dad, I’m telling mom you put a tree in our living room.
Dad: Mom already knows…she asked me to put it up for her.
Son: I highly doubt that. An idea this crazy seems like it would be totally your own. What about all the animals and bugs in it?
Dad: It’s not a real tree, it’s plastic, and besides, this is the Christmas tree, and we’re putting it up so you can enjoy Christmas a little better.
Son: I don’t even know what Christmas is, so how could I enjoy it more?
Dad: Well, Christmas has a very deep meaning, and I don’t know if you’re old enough for me to go into it right now.
Son: Why don’t you try me?
Dad: Well, Christmas is the time of year that we celebrate the birthday of Jesus.
Son: I thought that’s what we were doing all those Sundays at Church.
Dad: Well, I’m glad you picked up on that, but it’s a little different. At church, we are celebrating much more about Jesus’s life than just his birthday.
Son: OK, I know I’ve only been here a little while, but you guys sure do strange things. Tell me more about Christmas.
Dad: Well, the things that will interest you are the Christmas tree which has these bright lights and all these ornaments on it. It’s pretty and shiny.
Son: What’s a plastic tree got to do with Jesus?
Dad: I’m not sure, it’s just been that way since I was a little boy, and much longer than that.
Son: Why do you hang shiny things on it?
Dad: I’m not sure about that either, except that many,many years ago, they hung the most precious thing in history on a tree…but we’ll get into that another time. Another thing that’s cool about Christmas is that when Jesus was born, some men traveled a long way to see him and bring him the best gifts they had to offer. That is why on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus travels all over the world bringing presents to the good boys and girls.
Son: Who is this Santa you speak of?
Dad: You had your picture taken with him a few weeks ago.
Son: You mean the old man at the mall?
Dad: Yes, that’s him.
Son: I was meaning to ask you about that. Handing your baby over to an old bearded man in a red velvet track suit hardly seems like appropriate behavior.
Dad: Trust me, Santa is a cool guy. You’ll really appreciate him when you see the gifts he brings.
Son: So this guy who flies all over the world to take toys to all the boys and girls just sits around taking pictures at the mall?
Dad: You’d be amazed at how much Santa actually accomplishes in malls.
Son: That’s a strange story. It might as well be an egg-laying bunny who brings presents to kids.
Dad: Umm, about that…

I can’t believe it’s been 5 months already. December 9th marked that milestone in his life. Every month I try to do a comparison to see how much he’s grown. The picture on the left was taken roughly 30 minutes after he was born. The picture on the right was taken roughly 30 minutes before I started writing this. When he was born, his little hand barely fit around my fingertip, and now it will go all the way around my finger, and it’s width comes up to my second knuckle.

There’s no doctor’s visit until next month, but we’ve been weighing him at home and measuring him as well. For a refresher, when he was born, he weighed 6 lbs, 9 oz. and measured in at 19 1/2 inches. He now weighs 16 lbs, 9 oz and measures in at 28 inches. For perspective, he’s gained a light-sized bowling ball, and gained roughly the length of a business-sized envelope.

He’s gaining 1.8 inches every 5 months. At that rate, he will be as tall as his Nana (my mom) in about 18 months. Ok, so he won’t continue to grow at that rate, but at any rate, I hope he grows taller than me.

New Tricks:
The day after he turned 5 months, he rolled over for the first time.
His crib is now his personal jungle gym. Wherever we lay him down at night is never where he ends up.
He’s scooting on his tummy a little bit….but it’s always backwards.
He hates tummy time, and knows something’s expected of him, but now instead of crying about it, he just falls asleep.
He’s sitting up with a fair amount of authority now.
He’s giggling a lot, and finds the little baby in the mirror to be an interesting companion.