While visiting the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo New Mexico, Ashton enjoyed pressing buttons on the exhibits. He and Daddy played in a Mercury capsule and in a mock space station. After the museum, we walked across the parking lot to the adjacent IMAX theater and Ashton wen’t to his first movie. He sat still for about two-thirds of the 40 minute movie about the space shuttle and our solar system, before getting fidgety.

We pulled over by this historical marker quite be accident in order to rig up the dvd player for a rather cranky passenger. This is as close as the public can get to the actual Trinity bomb site except for special tours that are offered only two days a year. I can certainly see why this location was chosen – these are some of the most desolate roads I’ve ever seen.

BTW – the DVD player was the only thing that saved us on some of the rather long drives that were part of this vacation. Ashton was fixated.

Also in Alberquerque, we visited the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and enjoyed a performance by some Navajo dancers. Ashton paid close attention, most likely enamored with the drumming and the bells that were part of the native clothing. He had a chance to meet the dancers at the end, but got shy. We enjoyed a yummy lunch in the cafe where we had the most baby friendly dining experience to date, and where mommy became a fan of Native American frybread. Ashton got some free kids storybooks about preventing diabetes (written for a native american audience), as the book’s illustrator had a special exhibit at the center.  Fortunately when Ashton eats the pages, he’ll be ingesting a product high in natural fibers and low carbs! 🙂

While visiting Albequerque, we all took a ride on the world’s longest tramway to the top of the Sandia Mountains. The tram was standing room only and though Ashton seemed mildly interested in looking out the windows, he was altogether unimpressed by our height or the view below. At the top of the mountain, he enjoyed crawling around the observation deck and showed no lack of energy or difficulty breathing due to the elevation (unlike me who was a bit winded).

Today we began our first family vacation with a trip to New Mexico. Daniel and I have wanted to explore this region for some time, and it was the perfect opportunity to find out how Ashton travels without committing to a long flight or drastic time changes. We flew to Albequerque from San Jose.

We flew Southwest, and were lucky with most of our flights to have extra seats available so that Ashton could sit in his own car seat. Ashton was very interested in the inside of the airplane, especially loving the overhead lights and air. It was all perhaps too interesting because Ashton wanted to climb around rather than sit still and nap (which was desperately needed). The second flight was harder because we couldn’t use the carseat and he didn’t want to stay on our laps. And apparently FAA regulations prohibit wearing your baby in a front carrier during take-off and landing because if there’s a crash they believe you will crush your baby. Personally I think it’s much less risky than a small child flying loose around the cabin when a crash causes you to drop them. But whatever…

Ashton enjoyed exploring the airport waiting areas as well and showed no fear in cruising out into the steady flow of pedestrian traffic or climbing up and engaging with other waiting passengers. He also enjoyed the big walls of windows looking out towards the run-way, though seemed more interested in the baggage handling trucks than the airplanes.

Ashton was becoming a little piggy when it came to formula consumption, at upwards of 40 ounces a day.  He wanted little to do with solid food and meal-times were becoming an ordeal as we’d try to cajole him into eating something besides milk. So, I’ve cut way back on the amount of milk we give him, and offering him water and solid food snacks more frequently. Now he gets about 24 ounces per day. He does still whine a lot, esp in the afternoons when he wants more milk than I’ll give him, but the result is a baby that is eating a lot better (though still highly finicky).

His absolute favorite is scrambled eggs. Occasionally he likes grilled cheese sandwiches, or cheese quesadillas, but this is hit and miss. Sourdough bread or toast is always a winner, as is string cheese and waffles. Pancakes and muffins suffice on occasion. And today he voluntarily ate turkey lunch meat and really liked it (previously I’ve had to sneak meat into grilled cheese sandwiches). He also likes rice, but still not pasta or potatoes. And he’ll eat almost any type of babyfood fruit or orange vegetable (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes), but will accept only bananas in solid form and spits out anything green.  And of course there’s still all the snacky stuff like crackers, rice cakes, cheerios, veggie puffs, dehydrated fruits.

He seems to be tolerating cows milk just fine as an ingredient in baked goods and in cheese. But I’m holding off switching him over to it for drinking until he’s taking in a more balanced diet – since formula is fortified with all the vitamins he needs and regular milk is not. Though I guess I could put him on a vitamin supplement… something to ask the doctor.

The reign of bah bah bah bah bah bah…. etc. has ended. Ashton has finally moved on to some different sounds. Now we have a mixture of ma, ja, gay, ya,  yay, da, and still some bah thrown in. There’s also something that sounds like “hi ya” and a certain British swear word, although nobody in our family uses it. Honest. The chatter is constant and sounds very conversational, though still unintelligible.

In other news, Ashton is now getting into trash cans and toilets, so baby latches had to be added there too. Especially since one of his favorite new pastimes is putting things inside other things. We are certainly happy when he picks up toys and puts them in his toy box or picks up the puzzle pieces off the patio and puts them in his portacrib. Unfortunately, he puts toys, clothes (both clean and dirty),  and shoes into the diaper pail in his bedroom, so I’m guessing it would only be a matter of time before we’d find these things in the trash or toilet as well.

Though not Ashton’s first trip to the Boardwalk (see February Chowder Cookoff), this was his first Boardwalk Spring Break experience (crowds!). Mainly we went to hang out with Cara and her clan, not expecting to go on any rides. Well, it turns out that little tikes under 36″ high can ride about 8 different rides with an adult chaperone, and they only charge for one rider. Cool. We went on some kind of flying dragons, some Pepsi trucks connected together like a train going around a track, and the Cave Train. I think mommy was more excited than Ashton was about the rides, but he enjoyed the people watching and behaved remarkably well for a long afternoon.

This week

– is signing something that we think is “milk”

– makes a new sound that we think is mimicking a roar

– tries to help me buckle the car seat

Last week

– opened door to patio and fell flat on his face

– fell into his toy box (turns out he’s just the right length to lay horizontally in it)

– showed systematic problem solving, as he tried each cabinet door in consecutive order until he found one without a baby lock

I never thought I’d be the kind of mom that used television to pacify my kid. Of course I also never thought I’d be a stay at home mom for this long either. As cute and fun as Ashton is, I get bored and want to work on projects, job search, etc. during the day. Or just be able to lay down and shut my eyes.

Anyhow, I first discovered BabyTV during a free preview weekend. I recorded several shows, which Ashton took an immediate interest in. No harm, right? Well then I found out that it only cost $5 per month to subscribe. Cool.

At first we’d just watch shows at bed time. They were guaranteed to put him to sleep in a half hour or so. Well, as the shows became more familiar, they became more stimulating. They no longer put him to sleep, but are useful for getting him to sit still and wind down. I often find myself using this prior to naps, as well as bed time.

I think we’re now averaging 60-90 minutes a day of kid TV, and the repertoire has expanded to include Sesame Street.

On the one had I feel very guilty about this. All the parenting guides advise NO television for children under 2. The claims are that it makes kids ADD. I personally believe that most cases of “ADD” are really just kids whose personalities/learning styles don’t conform to societal norms – in fact the kids are often gifted and just bored. Still, no parent wants to do something that might cause harm. On the other hand, the television keeps me sane, he loves it, and I realize that my kid is going to grow up in a media obsessed generation whether I like it or not. Ashton still enjoys playing with toys, reading books, and flirting with anyone and everyone, so I don’t feel like it’s interfering with his attention or sociability.

I guess all I can do is keep some level of balance. And I’m sure he’ll continue to throw tantrums when I turn the TV off, but maybe in time he’ll learn that there are limits to all things.