All Scratched Up

When I went to get Emrick out of his crib this morning, he was very happy to see me. And that’s how it always is, of course. This is what the waking up process looks like most mornings: Marcus has gone for work, and I am still lying in bed half-awake when I hear Pookie making noise on the monitor — not crying usually, just noises. I get out of bed and use the bathroom and put in my contacts. By this time he is starting to wimper, just a little. When I open the door to the nursery he is usually standing in his crib, and gives me a big grin when I walk in. His eyes are always slightly puffy, which for some reason makes him extra-cute in the mornings. I say, “Good morning, sweet boy!” And his grin gets bigger and he starts panting excitedly as I bend down to kiss the top of his head.

This morning played out exactly like that, except… when I got closer to him and was about to kiss him, I realized he had a bloody scratch across his nose! And then several more, lighter scratches across his forehead. I instinctively frowned at these red marks on my darling baby’s face, but when I noticed that Emrick was frowning at my frown (Frowns are NOT a part of our morning routine, Mom!) I stopped and smiled again. As I changed his diaper, I studied the scratches and tried to think how he got them. Now, Emrick is QUITE the scratch-inflicter himself, and both Marcus and I have the facial wounds to prove it. So my first thought, of course, was that he scratched his own face. I do try to keep his nails short, but he manages to scratch up things and people anyway.

But the weird thing about these scratches is that they were all on a diagonal, and pretty much the same diagonal. I wouldn’t expect that kind of consistency if he had been randomly scratching himself. So I wondered if maybe he was standing in the crib, fell, and hit is face on the railing on his way down, leaving all those scratches behind in one movement. But the rails are smooth, polished wood, so I don’t know how they could make those kinds of marks. And if Pookie did scratch himself with his own hands, WHY? Wouldn’t it HURT?

Anyway, I tried to take some pics. The close up ones came out blurry, but I will post the best ones I have.

All these frowns are not because of the scratches; they are because I would not let him grab the camera and smash it to the floor! I am so mean!

You have probably also noticed Emrick’s interesting outfit. A sleeveless guitar-themed onesie, and a pair of pants with monsters on them. Lemme ‘splain. Despite the fact that Emrick is on the verge of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, he decided a few days ago that he was interested in crawling after all. If you recall, he never did a true crawl before taking his first steps. He did a very proficient “army crawl” instead, where he got around by scooting on his belly and pushing off with his left foot. Then he was pulling himself up on furniture, then he was “cruising”, then he was taking steps independently (which he does more of now, though walking free-handed is still not his primary means of getting around; cruising is). But a couple of weeks ago he perfected the art of bending over while standing to pick something up from the ground. Then he learned to drop to his knees from a walk, and then one day he just started crawling on his knees. And now anytime he is on the floor, that’s what he does.

But what this means is that his shins look terrible. There is a red, rashy burn down the front of each one. So this morning I dressed him in pants to protect them, and since it’s hot around here, I had to balance out the pants with a sleeveless onesie, to keep my baby cool. And that, my friends, is why Emrick is so stylin’ today. Feel free to copy his look.

Early walker and a late crawler? That's my boy! See that torn cover on the floor? That's because Emrick LOVES books. Just not for reading.