Infant Ages, Mashed Potatoes, and Facebook

According to a journal I purchased to keep track of Sydney's developmental stages, to obtain tips on food, exercise, growth, sleep, and to simply have a daily place to record such wonders as stories we've read together, etc., Sydney is now 191 days old. According to this calculation in the journal, this means he is 7 months old.

However, last week he just had his 6 month check up. If you go by the monthly date, September 16th, he has just recently turned 6 months.

I am very confused by these warring dates. Is he 7 months, or 6 months and 10 days? Is this why everyone says babies develop at their own pace, because no one can tell how old they really are? And boy, does this explain why we have our birthday on a specific date rather than a calculation of time!! It is just as confusing as the dates in pregnancy - depending on whether you go by the date of your last cycle or the date of conception, it can vary what should be expected at each of your prenatal visits. That was a headache, too - one visit, I was 30 weeks when I thought I was 32...the next visit, I was 36 weeks when I thought I was 34. PICK AN OPTION AND STICK WITH IT!!

On further Sydney news, we tried mashed potatoes last night. He finally got to the point where, even if he doesn't eagerly anticipate peas, he will eat them. I serve them first, now, and use the carrots for dessert. However, the mashed potatoes failed as poorly as the peas did the first time around. He really doesn't like the texture, I think. I even mashed them with breast milk. That didn't help, initially, but just like with the peas, we'll take a break from potatoes and return to them in a few days. I can't imagine him being my son and not liking potatoes...

Last, I have more school fun related to Facebook - apparently, one of my juniors is so tickled by my laugh (yes - I still have it.) that he created a 'Fans of Mrs. Nichols laugh' page. I am tickled by the fact that he took the time to do this. And, a tremendous number of my students (mostly freshmen) are on there. I've got former students who are members, too. Most interesting, though, are the students I've never taught before, or even seen (I don't know if all are even students at this school...). I have to wonder how many kids joined just to because their friends joined.

In the end, I equate having a fan page dedicated just to my laugh to being an actor who finally gets invited to join the cast of Saturday Night Live. You know you've made it when SNL asks you to host. I appreciate the fact that I've made a name for myself (or, rather, my laugh) enough that it builds rapport with the students, even if that is merely through reputation. One of the hardest parts about teaching is trying to assert yourself and your authority before everyone recognized who you are and the fact that you can, indeed, hand out detentions. All I have to do now is tell them to check out my Facebook page!! :-)

I promise, though, not to let it go to my head. In the end, I'm not that important and I am fully cognizant of that fact. I may laugh about it, though...