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    G’s Olympian observation

    February 27th, 2010

    S is a big Olympics fan. He’s especially enamored of the alpine skiing events. I think it brings him back to his college Ski Club days.

    Today while S was watching Women’s Downhill Slalom, G looked up at the TV to see one of the ladies begin the course, and instantly said “Wee!”

    Yeah, kid! I’ll take your word for it.


    Foto Friday

    February 25th, 2010

    Remember this photo?

    G was only a week old. Well, we have an update:

    Taken the afternoon “The Ickies” came to our house. My boys are extra cute snoozing, no?

    Mommy’s little builder

    These were taken by daddy to wish me Happy Valentine’s Day


    Tooth Faerie brought some friends!

    February 22nd, 2010

    Apparently our house is so much fun to visit that the Tooth Faerie brought some friends to party: the Crud! Friend #1 is also known as Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease. Yey! How did we ever get so lucky?

    Yesterday G was just in a crummy mood. His eyes were bulgy, he was in a sour mood all day, and very, very clingy. He drooled like he hasn’t since he was an infant, and spiked a low grade fever to boot. He gnawed on Sofie like there was no tomorrow. I finally saw one of his canines peak through, so I thought: “Teething. Fabulous!” and dosed him up with some Tylenol.

    Then today came. At 5:40am G woke up crying. Not “I’m rolling over and kind of awake” crying, but real “Get in here” crying. He ate early last night, so I knew he was hungry, and with a normal 6:20am wake up, he wasn’t too far off. He sucked down his milk, quieted down and went back to sleep. My morning routine went out the window, but life was still fine.

    Then 10:00am came. Mrs. J called the house to let us know that not one, nor two, but ALL of the kids in G’s class (except for one infant) had Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease and every parent needed to come collect a child: preferably their own. Apparently there was a kid that came down with it last week, and even though the child wasn’t in G’s room, it’s spread through like wildfire.

    Since then life hasn’t been too much fun. The blisters are def. a lot more noticeable now. Where this morning there was nothing, by this evening G was sporting a rash on his knees, bum, and roof of his mouth. There are traces on his feet and hands too. IT SUCKS!!!! He’s crying because he’s in pain. He’s hungry, but can’t eat because his mouth hurts. There’s only so much Tylenol and Motrin we can dish out, and hugs go so far. It’s gonna be a rough night. Tomorrow’s supposed to be worse, since he appears to be on the first of the three bad days (the Internets refer to).

    S meanwhile has had a stomach ache since Friday. He saw a doc today and had his blood taken. It might be appendicitis, but we need some tests to confirm. Tooth Faerie’s friend #2. S is in pain and it hurts to walk… even hold G. He’s just being really brave though this, and I appreciate it. It’s days like today that remind me just how incredibly fortunate I am to have a partner in this parenting ride. Sleepless nights and sick kiddos is where my hat comes off for all the single parents out there.

    OK, whine over… for now.


    Movie Monday: Wee!

    February 21st, 2010

    And when I say “Wee!” I’m really only repeating after G : it seems to be his new expression. S moved the swing from our back yard to inside our house. He rigged it up under our stairs. The man is brilliant, what can I say. G had the saddest expression staring at his swing getting wet on our latest stretch of rainy days, so S moved it in. My contribution to the swing contraption was the addition of a rope so I can sit on the couch and still swing the boy. Sure, you may think “Lazy!”, but I think “Look, I can fold laundry AND keep my kid happy at the same time”

    No, you don’t get the “Wee!” on this video, but you can see the stair/swing in action 🙂

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRTNUGdOMiU]

    Mr. C at daycare has been teaching G to do knuckles. He’s got the “Hi-5!” mastered and has moved on to cooler expressions of male bonding. However, because he knows the camera is for your benefit, and he’s no trained monkey, you don’t get to see it either. ARG!

    Now HERE is a good “Wee!”. But you have to wait ’till the end.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6BkNXsV-fA]

    G can also throw a mean ball (also spoon, piece of chicken, or any object). He has excellent accuracy when hurling things at your head. Here’s G playing catch with my dad… and hitting me square in the cheek-bone with a tennis ball. No, I don’t have a bruise, but I’d be shocked if by the end of this year I don’t have a black eye on account of my kid.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nfa8cYz8-Y]


    Bed sharing? Yep, not for us!

    February 19th, 2010

    G had a really rough night last night. Don’t ask me why: there didn’t seem to be a diagnosable reason. By 3am, S and I had each spent an hour with him in his room. He was quiet, dozing, happy to have us there, but the moment we would transfer him back to his crib, would start crying. Finally, after the God-only-knows what attempt to lay him in his crib, we decided to bring him into bed with us.

    SIDS, suffocation, and rolling-over fears aside, sleeping with our child in our bed has proven to be the worst sleep night yet. G would still wake up every hour, cry because he didn’t like our bed, and proceed to climb over us. I’m convinced he was trying to climb me like Mount Everest at one point. I think I also spent an hour with a kid draped over my face… sideways. Let me tell you: a bony, little elbow shoved in to my trachea is no way to sleep. Those suffocation risks the AMA lists? It should include suffocating the parent, not just the child.

    S and I decided that this was our one and only bed-sharing experiment. Nights like last night will result in us sleeping in his bedroom for the rest of the evening, so we’re investing in a comfy pillow for our glider.

    Me? Tired! G on the other hand ran around this morning as if nothing had happened.

    P.S. The recent lack of photos is not intentional: I’m in between fancy cameras for the time being. I’ve ordered a Canon 5D Mark II (swoon), and have sold my Canon 50D (much faster than I anticipated). At this moment I am DSLR-less. I feel naked. Here’s a recent photo, however, of G’s facial expression when he wants up on my chair.


    Things that make you go “Aw!”

    February 18th, 2010

    I had to go on a business trip this week. I left Tue afternoon and got home today. I dropped off my little guy at daycare in the morning, and S was in charge while I was away.

    I called on Tue evening after G had gone to bed, and S told me this story:

    Tue evening when he brought G home, as part of our routine said that it was time to wash hands. Well, since normally I’m home when S & G get home, G just skipped the bathroom trip and headed for the kitchen, hoping I was there, yelling “Mama? Mama?”

    How does this not break your heart?

    Cute story, but the sort of thing that mommies want to hear when they get home after missing their boys, not while they’re away.


    Shut it, Ma!

    February 11th, 2010

    My mother has this great story of me, when I was but a wee one. At nap time she used to sing to me, until the day I stretched out my little toddler hand, put it over her mouth and said “Muh-ki!”. The Bulgarian word for “Shut-up!” is “Mlukni!”, so I was close enough.

    My mom hasn’t sang to me since.

    I think, just now, G might have done the equivalent to me. Each night I put him down, we sit on the glider, I throw his Lovie Friends over my shoulder, and hold him chest to chest. He puts his hand on my shoulder, buried in the softness of his lovies, and I sing him a song… sometimes twice if it’s a short one.
    Well, tonight, as I started the singing portion of our program, G looked up, took one of his lovies, crunched it up and put it over my mouth as if trying to shove it in the whole in my face. I kind of shook it off thinking he was playing and went on, only for him to do it a second time. Should I be taking a hint kid?

    My singing ability isn’t anything to be proud of. Quite the opposite, really. While I have a good sense of rhytm, singing is by far my worst performance skill. I joke around that the best way to clear a room is to invite me to sing. Yes, I jest, but it’s true. I was curious at what age G would mock me for this. I was thinking at least 2 years. It appears we’ve made it to 17 months.

    I’ve got bad news for you kid, though! I ain’t stopping. HAHA!


    Don’t bite. Push him instead!

    February 11th, 2010

    On our way out the door this morning S had some parting words for G: “Remember! Don’t bite. Push him down instead!”

    No, we’re not trying to raise a bully, but late last week when we went to collect our angel from daycare Miss J told us that he attempted to bite 6 times that day. This made my blood run cold as 1) G’s never done this before (at home or at school); 2) biting is a serious offense; and 3) in some schools cause for expulsion if it can’t be resolved (and I really, REALLY like our school). Miss J said that they would keep an eye on G though and see what could possibly be provoking him to bite. Luckily it seemed to be a one day thing, since we didn’t receive any reports that he kept trying… until yesterday.

    Yesterday, G made chompers contact. So much so, that the school had to write an Ouch Report for the victimized child and we were notified too. However, Miss J, under-breath also said “I don’t blame G! The other kid was pushing G around. G tried everything else, and since he can’t talk yet, finally bit the kid and that did the trick.” So a part of me is relieved that G only bit because he was provoked, but I’m bummed he has to result to this extreme.

    Hence the encouragement from S this morning.

    I did sneak a peak at the Ouch Report file this morning. It’s out in the open, so it wasn’t all that difficult. It said “Z was pestering another child and got bit as a result.” In a way I’m glad that the parents of little Z were told that there was provocation. I’m also relieved that G’s name wasn’t  written down.

    Still, I’m not thrilled for this to keep happening. While talking would hlp, I can’t decide if a rich dictionary of words will be helpful in this case. Sure, G will be able to defend himself better (verbally), but knowing my potty mouth, and what he’ll learn from me, he’ll have some choice words to add.


    Movie Monday

    February 7th, 2010

    Here are the origins of the Baby Movers company G will be founding. It’s also gives ME a great insight in how S actually accomplishes his chores. At this rate, S will have to hand over his allowance to G — only those that do the work get the goodies.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plyIQA-wrnc]

    This is how toddlers get into chairs. Sliding in. Face first. Please observe how proud he is of himself in the end.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIfJcW9S3ro]


    Movie Monday (Aka Brush’em, Brush’em, Brush’em)

    February 1st, 2010

    AKA Miracle of Miracles!!! This is G brushing his teeth. Miraculous for two reasons:

    1. he’s doing it himself (well… sorta)
    2. he’s tolerating a toothbrush in his mouth!!!

    Yeah, this is the child that just spit out any toothbrush offered to him. And yet, here we are with him thinking this is fun. I actually give full credit to my new dentist for this. At my last appointment she gave me an electric toothbrush for the munchkin. Shaped like a fire-truck, thank you very much. So G out of curiosity let it in… and he let it stay. Now we tag team brushing teeth. I go in first w/ the firetruck, and he follows up with his little brush.

    The other day when S and G went up to G’s room for a didy change, they were upstairs for awhile. When I asked what happened, S told me they had to take a detour to the bathroom because G wanted to brush his teeth!

    Ok, ok, in reality he just likes to suck the water of the bristles, but there is some contact with his teeth and it’s a good first step.

    Thank you new DDS!

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6dbUXy4xZg]