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It’s All About the “Bye Bye”

Filed Under: Big People Stuff, Holidays, Liam
Feb.19, 2010

For ages it seems like we never got a wave and a bye bye from Liam.  He would wave to strangers in a parking lot, but not to us.  The last week or two it’s all about the wave and the bye-bye.  He’ll say/do it to us when we leave him at daycare in the morning, and to Bobbie and Rosemary when we go home in the evening.

We laughed our butts off one day last week when he was a crank butt as I was holding him, getting ready to walk out daycare’s door.  Bobbie had said there was less than 15 min of sleeping during that day (he just doesn’t want to miss anything and she says he’s always on the go).  I was holding him on one hip – or rather trying to hold him – when he flung himself backwards trying to get away and squawking like a parrot.  Jonathan asked him if he was ready to go home and suggested he say goodbye to the ladies.  What came out of his mouth was something like, “Raarrrrrr  waaaaaahhhhhhhh bye bye <wave>”   all run together.

When we leave in the morning if he’s not right there at the door ready to go, we step into the garage and ask “Are you ready to go bye-bye?”  And he comes running, arms wide, and dives off the top step, trusting we’ll be there to catch him.

For our wedding anniversary last October, Jonathan and I took off a half day from work for lunch and a movie – using our already paid for daycare as babysitters.  We did the same thing this afternoon, sort of as a late Valentine’s day.  The weekend after Christmas we saw Avatar, but people were raving at the 3D experience.  The cinema on the plaza had a 3D showing at 1 pm.  We were going to grab a quick bite at the McDonald’s on the bottom floor (the theatre is on the 2nd floor), only to find out there is no more McDonald’s there.  There a “Noodles & Co” instead, which we were going to try, until we discovered it’s not yet open and still under construction.  So “lunch” was hotdogs from concessions as I needed protein, and he can’t skip meals anymore either.  I’d noticed a little cafe at the end of the block and thought we might try it after the movie.

The movie was awesome – of course – though my jury is out on the 3D experience.  The technology and glasses you wear are a drastic improvement over the red/blue cardboard type.  And this was a first for both of us – seeing a 3D movie in a theatre (as opposed to wearing the glasses at home for your own TV viewing).  But maybe all the action that’s inherent in this movie was just too much for me.  AND we both think next time we should sit in the back of the theatre instead of our usual closer seats.   I watched 5-10 minutes of the movie without the glasses and sometimes just closed my eyes.

After the movie we walked to Brio Tuscan cafe.  They have a happy hour starters menu from 3-6 and 9-midnight, each $2.95.  We went upstairs and sat on a couch with a coffee table in front of us.  A dining experience like I’ve never had before.  We had the Brio burger, margarita flatbread, roast red pepper and mozzarella bruschetta, and primi meatballs.  I did not care for the meatballs, but Jonathan loved them.  The burger was fantastic, the flatbread pretty darned good, and the bruschetta was, to be honest, orgasmic.  Crostini with fresh mozz, fresh basil, roasted red bell pepper, and a drizzle of balsamic.  OMG I could have eaten 3 plates of the stuff and died happy.  It was SOOOOO good.  As we were leaving I happened to glance at the gentleman at the brick oven – he was getting ready to chiffonade some basil leaves – leaves that were larger than my entire hand.  I want that plant!  We asked for their regular menu just to look and saw so many things we’d love to come back for.  The place has been there over 3 years, but we’re rarely on the plaza.  We’ve been talking about doing  the date thing once a month and it will probably consist of a movie and trip to Brio.   Yummy.

Picked up Liam and headed home.  But the stress to my eyes and brain started to get to me and I really did not feel to hot.  Liam fell asleep in his carseat and once we got into the garage, I slipped out of the car, stripped down and retreated to the dark and quiet of the bedroom, only the see the 2D backs of my eyelids.  It took a good hour and a half or so before I felt able to get up and be social.  Our next 3D movie needs to be a bit “tamer”.

PS . . . so far, no more biting episodes at daycare.   Phew.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  At home he will still run up to us, mouth and arms open, but when I feel teeth, I caution him not to bite.  Working so far.

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The Power of Momma’s Voice

Filed Under: Liam
Feb.16, 2010

I’m not against saying no to my toddler.   He needs to know what no means – it is after all 50% of all yes/no type questions, but I didn’t want to bombard him with it.  He also hears “No hitting”, or “Don’t bite”, or “Leave the dog alone”.  He already knows the word and for awhile now, the answer to every question . . . I repeat, EVERY question . . . you ask him is “no”. Or sometimes “NO!!!”  We agreed that we’d use a louder “STOP” for those emergency-you’re-in-danger type situations.

When he first started walking well, we’d use stop when the garage door was open and he was about to tumble down the two steps to the concrete.   And he ”got it”, never taking a tumble there and would stop at the door threshhold.  The issue is he’s not often in that type of situation and “stop” is not always the first thing that comes to my brain.

Jonathan was home sick today and there were several empty soda cans on the dining table.  And both chairs were not fastened.  After nursing he got down and wandered and I was still sitting on the couch.   I heard the clink of a can, as one was close enough he didn’t need to be up on a chair.  I was up immediately and since I moved, he took off running into the kitchen.  We routinely chase after him and yes, adults must actually RUN in the house to be able to keep up with him (it’s amazing how those short little legs of his can propel him around the house).  I have seen pictures and heard stories of baby fingers left to their own devises with soda cans and did not want to experience that first hand.  I yelled no at him, and then corrected with a loud “Liam STOP!”.   I honestly don’t know if it was the stop, or the different sense of urgency in my voice (tinged with worry and fear), but just passed the gate, he stopped in his tracks, turned to face me, and started crying – very upset.  I took the can from him, explained that it was OK and I just didn’t want him to get hurt.  We cuddled a few minutes and he calmed down.  I must learn to intentionally put that edge on my voice in times like this.  Very useful when dealing with a toddler.

Speaking of that “Don’t bite” , we’re now the ashamed parents of a biter.  He’s bitten us more than once.  Never broken the skin or drawn blood, but at least once it was bad enough to require ice (my wrist – which left a raised bruise).   He bit Bobbie today.  Oh, the shame.  With the increase in biting at home I’d wondered if/when it was going to happen at daycare.  I’m actually surprised it took this long.  He’s an opportunistic, run by biter.  He’ll run to you, arms outstretched as if to give you a hug, clamp down on whatever is available and then continue running.   Or . . . come up to you with arms wide and fling himself against you, hugging whatever body part is closest and clamping down.  It’s sad that after a couple of bites, you start to cringe when you see him coming at you.  I took the same tact I did the one time he bit me while nursing, since that worked so well (as in he hasn’t bitten me again while nursing – I think that was around 9 months?).  Yelp Ouch loudly, tell him that really hurts, and plop his butt down on whatever portion of floor is handiest, to let the crying ensue.  And after the last couple of bites to us, we’re starting with the “Go tell Da you’re sorry”, which at this point consists of a hug – and I’m good with that.

I can’t help but wonder how many more daycare pickups will involve “The Bite Report”.

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Brains Ain’t Cheap – But Could Be Worse

Filed Under: Big People Stuff
Feb.11, 2010

So . . . Tuesday night we get home I notice the house is on the chilly side.  Our programmable thermostat is supposed to start raising the temp about 4:30, so it’s warmer when we get home.  It was about 2 degrees colder than the preset.  Odd, but I dismissed it after double checking the program.  It seemed to fine that evening and throughout the night.  I chalked it up to being colder outside and it was just taking longer to warm up the inside.

Wednesday night we get home and it’s even colder than it was Tuesday – 66 deg.  Nothing I do is getting the furnace to kick on and stay on.  I checked the batteries in the thermostat – I can tell by brand they are the original ones from when it was installed (over 3 years ago).  However, fresh batteries don’t get any better results.  Jonathan finishes shower and goes downstairs to look at breaker.  He can get the furnace to turn on for a few seconds, but not stay on.

We start making calls.  Bill gives us a number retrieved from his dad, along with an offer to come bunk at their house for the night if it gets too cold.   Jonathan calls a facilities guy from work, Tony (the trades supervisor).  I THOUGHT he was just going to ask for names of reputable companies, but some of the folks have their own private companies to bring in some extra money (not that I blame them).  Jim H is teaching class, so he gives Jonathan a number for Terrence.   (Learned later, Tony had called Terrance in advance to say Jonathan would be calling and and FYI we have a baby in the house).  Terrence got directions and was at our door around 7:30 pm.  I was irrational and upset as I thought we were just fishing for numbers and did not want to impose on anyone from work.  But Terrence was awesome and has a 15 month old baby boy at home himself.  It took him about 45 min (?) of downstairs, up, and down again – thermostat is fine (but needed to be disconnected).  The computer brain controls of the furnace are kaput.  I felt a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach (which was directly linked to our checking account) envisioning at least 4 figures (i.e. over $1000).  Depending on which supply company has the right part, he estimates between $150 and $250.  PHEW.  I guess computer brains for furnaces aren’t TOO complicated.  If we wanted it fixed immediately he was willing, but the supply places usually charge an extra $75 “opening fee” for opening the shop.  So we settle in with 2 space heaters in the bedroom and close all other doors.  I actually woke up several times because I was hot.   How unexpected!

Thursday morning the kitchen is 52 degrees.  We moved Jedi’s stuff into the bedroom and left her in there since it was still toasty warm.  I tossed extra blankets on the bed and am thankful she’s a dog that is capable of covering herself up.  Terrence let us know the part would be $219 and he’d be there right after picking it up after work.  We left a half hour early to make sure we were there when he arrived.  I think it was 57 degrees.  We kept doors closed after letting Jedi out and moved the space heaters to the living room.  Extra socks on everyone and we cuddled as much as possible.  It took Terrence about an hour and half to get everything in.  He also gave it a good cleaning (and says that works 98% of the time, but the fuel rod thingy may end up needed to be replace too.  He discovered it needs an overheating switch (as in to prevent overheating).  It’s OK to run now, for one night, but he would not run it long without that switch.  It’s an easy replacement that Jonathan can do, and he will call in the part for pickup in the morning.

I asked how long furnace brains usually lived – wondering if this one had short changed us.  The furnace was installed new, a Lennox, in 2003, so this brain survived seven years.  Turns out they’re usually warrented for just five years, so we’re good!  It took until about 10 pm for the house to come up to a comfy temp – just in time for it to cool off on its night-time program.  We added a degree or two and we were all chilled from the lower temps.  We’ll pick up the limiter switch tomorrow – only supposed to be about $20.

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Li’ika: 17 months

Filed Under: Li'ika
Feb.09, 2010

My darling son . . .

I did not realize I was taking your eating habits for granted.  You have always been a fantastic eater, be it breastmilk or solid foods.  But the last few weeks you have been “off your feed” so to speak.  Not just for us but for the daycare ladies as well.  You’ve been having a problem getting these canine teeth to come through and you’ve been sick with a pretty good cough, so I’m chalking it up to that combined.  Bobbie says you get plenty of fluids at daycare, so I’m not worried about you getting dehydrated.  You’re also NOT losing interest in nursing.  But we offer the foods you have inhaled for months and they get squished in your fist or discarded to the floor.  Sweet potatoes – you have forsaken your favorite sweet potatoes.   My dear boy you simply cannot thrive on breastmilk, string cheese, and graham crackers.  I hope this is a phase that comes to an end soon.

You’re picking up new words all the time and Da and I have noticed you’re just starting to put two words together here and there.  “Sock off” was one you uttered a few days ago.  It always surprises us when you do this.  You still talk to us in long sentences sometimes and we are so wishing we knew what you were saying.  About a week ago when Da was gaming with the boys, you were trying to tell me something and I just could not understand you.  I even offered my hand and asked you to show me, take me where whatever it was, was.  But you only got frustrated and it made me sad because I just didn’t know.  The growing communication is exciting (except when there’s a wall like that – that was not fun).

You are my little climber monkey.  We packed the small footstool out of your reach as you were getting into things on the dining table.  I was concerned you were going to try the kitchen counters next and end up getting hurt (cut or burned most likely).  But that hasn’t stopped you – you’ve discovered Jedi’s toybox is easily dumped and has just enough support to turn upside down and stand on it.  So far you only try this at the dining table, but I’m sure it won’t be long before you carry it into the kitchen.  We’ll have to figure something else out for the dog’s toys at that point.

Love you monkey.

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One More Down, Just Four to Go

Filed Under: Liam, Milestones
Feb.05, 2010

Liam’s last canine, the left bottom, came through yesterday.  And this one was accompanied by raw butt poo.  I am so very thankful for Super Duper Diaper Doo.  That stuff fixes a baby butt literally overnight.  He was very red and raw last night before bed and this morning has just 2-3 spots of irritation – not perfect but a vast improvement.   So he has only 4 more baby teeth to go – the 2 year molars.  But I doubt he waits till he’s 2 to get them.

His cold has been worse the last couple of days, but if I have my count correct, Wed/Thu was days 4 and 5 (fever and coughing started last Sunday).  With his first 2-3 colds (when we were newbie parents and took him to the pedi for everything) they told us usually days 4 and 5 of a cold are the worst.  And more than a dozen colds later, we’ve really found that to be true in his case.    His nose is not incredibly slimy but this one seems to have more cough and be in his chest more than before.  And though it’s not a croupy cough, he does have some congestion in there.  Poor little guy, he gets frustrated with it too cause it will interfere with what he wants to do.  It’s hard to eat or drink or stack blocks or play  tug with your sister when you’re busy coughing.

His appetite is seriously off this past week.  I’m trying not to worry too much and am thinking . . . hoping . . . that it’s just the combination of teething canines and the cold.  Even daycare has noticed he’s been off his usual pace of food consumption, though Bobbie did say he’s drinking plenty of fluids.  And he’s nursing a little more when we’re together, so I’m not too concerned about him getting dehydrated.  I just hope that now that last tooth is here, and we should be on the uphill swing of this cold, it might bet better.

If the cold ISN’T better by this evening/morning, we’ll take him to the pedi.  They have Saturday morning walk-in sick hours.

Snow most of the day today.  Big fat flakes.  But it stopped about 3:30 pm.  The rain tree outside my office window was just beautiful with snow laden branches.  But by 4 pm it had all melted.  Roads don’t look to bad from the window.  Hopefully we won’t have a long drive home.

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Weekend Happenings

Filed Under: Liam, Milestones
Feb.01, 2010

Liam is still transitioning between one nap and two in a day.  Saturday he napped earlier than I would have wanted for a one nap day, and was not as long as it should have been.  We tried to get him to nap again about 5 pm, but he hadn’t been up long enough to be ready to nap – even for a short 30 min or hour.  So Saturday evening Jonathan and I were cuddling on the couch watching something on TV together.  Liam was using us as a climbing gym, and would periodically sit down on my left arm  and lean against Jonathan.  This went on for 20 minutes or so.  About 9 pm he curled up between us again and started zoning watching the TV.  Five minutes later I noticed he was still quiet, I look down, and he’s sound asleep.  Poor little boy.  He’s not been feeling well and I guess the short and too early nap finally caught up with him.

Sunday almost the same thing happened for his nap.  About 1230 or so he fell asleep curled up on the couch between Jonathan and I.  We let him get into a deeper sleep for about 10 min and then all moved to the bedroom to nap more comfortably.  When he woke up he was running a low fever, which was just confirmation of him not feeling well.

Other Sunday activities included pulling the small little plastic step stool out of his room.  He carried it out to the living room yesterday and I remember thinking we were in big  trouble – but all he did was sit on it in the middle of the room, and carry it from one room to another.  This time he set it between the dining table chairs, hopped up on it, and attempted to reach something further back on the table.  Uh oh.  The real problem would come with taking it out to the kitchen.  We’re trying to get into the habit of keeping the knives towards the back of the counter (when they’re not on their strip).  But there isn’t a way to really keep him away from the stove when it’s on.  If I can’t shield it with my own body, I have to have Jonathan come forcibly remove him. He also used his first sign – “all done”.  We looked it up on line and started using it Saturday for when he was finished eating and ready to get down.

He had built up a fever last night and had one again this morning so we decided to keep him home from daycare.  He’s been coughing more, though it’s not croupy, and some sneezing.  Not too much glazed donut action this time around.  He’s actually been in a pretty good mood and the ibuprofen brought the fever down in less than 30 minutes.

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The Past Summarized

Filed Under: Big People Stuff, Liam, Milestones
Jan.29, 2010

So many things I’ve wanted to write about and just haven’t been able to.  So this is a lump it all together kind of post.

  • Teeth – we have 2 more.  Sunday, 25 Jan the bottom right canine came through and a few days later, Tuesday, 27 Jan the top left canine came through.  Only one more canine to go.
  • Tuesday night Liam walked around the corner of the couch where I was sitting and I immediately asked Jonathan “Did you take his pants off?”  No.  Uh, oh.  He’s now able to take off his socks, his pants, and at least one shirt he can get his arm up out of the neck hole and wear like a toga (which he did at daycare last week).
  • Exercise is painful.  The last session of Jonathan’s Diabetes Management class was Tuesday night.  Sunday I assembled the lightweight stroller and we took it along.  We stopped at home quickly to change clothes then were out again to grab dinner and get to the hospital.  Once Liam got fed up with the room, we went out and I walked their “loop”.  Four times actually, so about 1.33 miles (in 22 min 30 sec).  Problem – I did not take the time to change socks.  Just took off work shoes and slipped on crocs.  By the time I got home, had a major hot spot on one foot and blister that had popped on the other.  The walking part was good – just not the blister part.
  • Liam practiced stair technique while we’re there.  And just before we left, was starting to come DOWN steps not holding my hand.  Standing up and using the handrail.  Such a little adult.
  • Wednesday, 28 Jan, Jonathan had a surplus meeting in Columbia.  He is both scared and excited at the information revealed there.
  • Friday night, 22 Jan, Jonathan did a sleep study at the hospital.  Horrible experience and he had to take a nap Saturday afternoon (3.5 hours!!).  I shall keep nagging him to write his own post about the experience, because I cannot do it justice.
  • Steve Prime gave me a box of clothes last summer (she’d gotten them from a momma’s group, but they ended up being the wrong season for Luke).  They were mostly 24 mo/2T and a few larger.  At the beginning of cold weather I discovered 80% of the onesies, 24 mo, were too big for Liam.  Too long in the  torso, and more problematic, sleeves were too long and fell over his hands.  We ended up buying a bunch of clothes new from BRU (luckily a lot of BOGO  and a coupon for 30% off entire clothing purchase) that were 18 mo long sleeved.  Well, it seems like I’m constantly washing Liam’s clothes (he usually comes home from daycare in different clothes then he went in – messy eater).  I washed the 24 mo stuff and thought I’d try them again, not really expecting them to fit.  I was seriously shocked when I put one on him this morning and it fit perfectly.  O.O  I guess he’s had a recent growth spurt.
  • Liam randomly gets in affectionate periods, alternating sloppy kisses and hugs, often also alternating between Jonathan and I if we’re all cuddled on the couch, like we were last night.  I love him tremendously, really I do.  But sometimes I don’t know whether that open mouth coming at me is going to result in a slobbery kiss or he’s going to bite me.  I’ll be glad when he starts to kiss with a somewhat closed gob.  Of course I’m not turning down kisses in the meantime.  That’s just crazy talk.  So far about 20% of kisses involve pressing teeth against me, but not biting.
  • My application and resume were submitted Tuesday afternoon (19 Jan).  Not sent to “hiring manager” until Thursday.  I still have not been contacted to schedule an interview.  Everyone else in the office has already interviewed.  I’m trying to be patient but it’s hard.  And I KNOW the two people who are going to be interviewing me.  I don’t know whether that will make it harder or easier.  And they are probably the two busiest people in Procurement right now, so trying to coordinate THEIR schedules to do interviews is probably mind-boggling.
  • Liam’s vocabulary of single words is expanding almost daily.  He’ll repeat a word you’re not expecting, that he picks up out of a sentence.  “Jonathan, do you know where my shoes are?”   Liam says “shoe?”  If I had to write down all the words he can say, I probably couldn’t.
  • Just me and Liam this evening as Jonathan has gaming tonight.  He wandered into the kitchen and came back  . . . without pants on.  I guess he’s practicing.  Makes me wonder when I’ll need to make duct tape suspenders.
  • Liam is working on skipping naps at daycare.  There was one day last week he refused to nap on the cot, in the PNP, or even in the swing.  Too many things to do.  It made for a rough night.  He’s been falling asleep in the car on the drive home, and we let him sleep – sometimes close to an hour.  But I’m thinking we need to bump up the nap cutoff again.  It used to be 7 pm.  Now it’s 6:30 pm.  I think we need to go to 6 pm.  If he sleeps too late for a nap, he doesn’t actually go to sleep until 10:30-11 pm (though he will roll around on the crib for upwards of an hour before that, after sucking booby juice down.  I just hate waking him up when he’s so soundly asleep and clearly needing sleep.  He still sleeps great for us on the weekend, but it’s usually in his own bed with one or both of us next to him (or in the car in the middle of errands).
  • Work this week has been super stressful.  Some in the office are quite pissy and on edge.  Apparently yesterday two of them had several loud arguments, almost screaming matches, and there were multiple slammed doors.  I only heard the door slams, as where my office is in reference to the action, I didn’t hear it (or was busy on the phone and just wasn’t paying attention.  I will be glad when decisions have been made and announced.  And of course that my name is on the list of keepers, obviously.  Hopefully the tension in the office will reduce at that point.
  • Insomnia has been worse the last 2 weeks.  Cause of job stress, I suppose.  Usually I get to sleep fine after getting him to sleep – but I wake up about 2 am.  Or 3 am.   And just as I start to fall asleep, Liam wakes up for boobage.  I get him topped off and rolled back into his crib and I have to start over.  Get sleepy again, usually about 15 min before the alarm goes off.  It’s got to be a form of torture, right?
  • Of course tonight is different.  First, he did NOT fall asleep on the way home.  And he’s still acting like he’s not feeling well.  Second, I got him in bed a good hour earlier than I usual tonight.  We read just one book and he was pretty much out before finishing second boob.  Last, I’m awake.  Hence the blogging after 11 pm.

And on that note, I suppose I should go to bed.  Oh yeah – got a letter from mother in the mail today.  She emailed it was coming, but I still have to giggle when reading it.  Jefferson County courts are telling me I’m going to have to report for jury duty in March or April.  Seriously?  I haven’t been a full time resident of Jefferson County since 1993 after graduating from Jefferson College and transferring to SMSU.  Osik, that’s 17 years!!!   You’d think records would have been updated by now.  I even just did jury stuff within the last 3 years here in Jackson County.  I can’t wait to fill out the summons with “Hey, stupids!!!”

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The Duck of DOOOOM

Filed Under: Liam
Jan.24, 2010

I don’t remember playing a lot of Munchkin during my pregnancy.  In fact, I don’t remember playing any.  Little of my pregnancy was time spent with our Munchkin playing friends, after all.

So why then did my dear son apparently draw the Curse card and get an evil duck on his head?

The Bradshaw’s gifted us with an inflatable ducky tub at our baby shower (hmm, ironically, the thing is made my Munchkin.  Yes, that’s really the brand name).  Mina absolutely loved her duck tub.   Luke got one too, but I never asked what he thought of it.  I know he preferred showers to baths.

Liam loved baths in the hard-shell baby tub in the kitchen.  When he got to be too big for that (and too splashy), I started taking baths with him on my lap and he loved that.  Later we continued together, even when he was standing up on his own.  We had a previous episode, not a good one with duck tub – see Ducks are Scary from August 2009.  The Duck has been living on dry dock on various piles of clutter in Liam’s bedroom since then.  We’re using the bedroom much more as his clothes and the changing table are in there.  More than once we’ve noticed the duck getting wary glances.

Earlier this evening I was working in the kitchen and Jonathan was trying to pick up floor clutter in Liam’s room, at least to give us more walking room.  Piles had fallen and various toys scattered about made getting to the dresser look like an obstacle course.   In the course of cleaning, The Duck was shifted several times and Liam really started to show some apprehension.  I finished in the kitchen and went and looked at Jonathan’s progress – which was great!

He explained some of the nervousness he’d seem on little man’s face and suggested we just retire The Duck – as in deflating and storing out of sight.  I agreed and picked up The Duck (which got a freak out and whimper from Liam).  Flipped it over and attempted to pry up the little inflation tube – promptly bending my thumbnail back on itself.  I yelped, restrained myself from cursing like a sailor in pain (as Liam is really picking up words now), dropped The Duck and scooted into the bedroom to lick my wounds.  This was NOT a good happening in front of him, because what did he just see?  “OH NO DAD!!!  THE DUCK JUST BIT MOMMA AND SHE’S HURT AND CRYING!!!”

He came crying after me – we have learned that just as Jonathan and I are affected by each others’ moods, so is Liam.  Anytime I cry he gets upset too.  I can hear JOnathan, trying not laugh, follow him.  And that made me want to laugh.  We oohed and ahed and my thumbnail got kissed by both boys, and I got hugs and kisses.  Jonathan went back in and commenced Duck Deflation.  Liam followed but stayed in the hallway and just watched through the door.  When air started rushing out of The Duck, Jonathan said his eyes got huge, and I saw him take a few steps backwards.  Then he came to tell me the duck was hissing at dad.  I picked him up and we went to check it out – with my body between Liam and The Duck, of course.  When we got it flat, we made a show of taking it out of the bedroom.  We took it all the way out to the garage and chucked it on a pile of clutter, well out of sight.

Little duckies are not supposed to be scary.  They are supposed to be cute and fluffy.  I have a set of ducks mother gave me – tub toys.  I wonder what kind of reception those would get.  They are small, so it’s not like he would be surrounded by duck body, and they don’t make noise.  Maybe after some time.

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K-9? Canine? We Have One!

Filed Under: Liam, Milestones
Jan.20, 2010

I noticed last night when we got home from part of the makeup Diabetes Management class that Liam has FINALLY had a canine break through.  Tuesday, 19 Jan, his top right one is just poking through.  Both bottom ones look VERY close, too, so I’m going to start checking every day – assuming he let’s me.  Sometimes it’s a fight to get a finger in there to feel.

It was an interesting time at the class.  We were registered for two Saturday classes in December (from 8-12 am).  The second one we arrived a bit late, went up to the classroom where it had been held the previous week, and found a dark empty room.  Checked the schedule at the front – yup, same room.  People walking through asked if they could help us – but they had no idea where the class was.  After 15-20 minutes we just left.  Turns out the first presenter just didn’t pay attention to what room she was supposed to go to and went to the room where the Tuesday night classes are usually held.  Of course we had no idea where that was and no signs were posted.  So we have 2 make-up classes to attend last night and next Tuesday  night, 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

The first half of class was with a pharmacist, going over types of meds (both oral and injectible) and how they actually work.  This is what I was interested in, so when Liam got loud and bored, Jonathan took him out of the room.  There is a walking loop there that’s one third mile and Jonathan ended up walking it, mostly carrying Liam.  They also rode the escalators, and Liam decided it was time to “solo” on the stairs, there being  a three section carpeted staircase right outside the classroom.  Jonathan said they went up and down about 10 times.  Then Liam worked on up and down by himself, just holding onto hand rail, on the bottom four steps.  On the last go round, he missed and thumped his head a good one on the floor.  That was right as the pharmacist was done and we were taking a break, so I left the room and gave some momma love.

Part two of class was with a social worker – setting goals, staying positive.  I didn’t stay in this one long as after nursing Liam he decided he did NOT want to be contained.  So I left Jonathan to listen and set his own goals and swept the munchkin out to the lobby.  I went potty, we both got a drink from a drinking fountain (oh yeah, he does just find from a fountain – the boy loves his water!).  I wasn’t up for stair climbing, but there are often people walking the loop – one end is right outside the classroom we were in.  There was a loop map on the coffee table at the bottom of the stairs.  And one of those fake wheelchair things at the door.  So I plopped Liam into the chair, draped the map across the handlebars and off we went at a leisurely pace.  It weaves through the first floor and ends up near the entrance we use to see the pediatrician.  Made it back to the origin point and I thought, OK, let’s do that again and not as a stroll.  So I left the map, started the timer, and off we went.  Liam thought it was great and had a ball.  He only started to get restless on about the last third of the last lap and finished standing up on the chair.  Little daredevil. I didn’t think I was going to get a third lap in (each is 1/3 mile).  We did some stair climbing (holding at least one of my fingers – one bump on the head is enough for a night).  We walked to the halfway point in the lap (with him walking behind me, beside me, or running head) to the escalators.  Went up and down those twice (me holding him).

Advantage:  He was very tired and ready for bed by the time we got home.  Jonathan had to tickle him on the drive home to keep him awake.    I think this weekend we’ll assemble the lightweight stroller we got and take that next Tuesday.  Maybe I’ll walk a mile or so at a brisk pace.

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Li’ika: 16 Months

Filed Under: Li'ika
Jan.09, 2010

Dear Little Man,

Brief update this month as there is much going on in your parents’ lives to stress them out right now.  My hope at the moment is that our stress does not adversely affect you, little one.

You are perfecting your climbing skills.  I have watched you go from the  puppy bench in front of the window, across the top of your domed climber, and over the back of the recliner to flop down in the seat with a  smile of triumph on your face.  You are also climbing the silly thing from the opposite side – something I did not expect you to do until closer to 2 years.  Silly momma, I know.  And not having the dining table behind the couch does not discourage you from climbing to the top of it.   You just hang and drop off the back side when the desire strikes you.

You toss in a new word here and there at random.  You’re using a few more of your existing words to start asking for things, which just makes my heart puff up and be proud of you.  So far these are usually for crackers or cheese when you are hungry, or cup when you want something to drink.

I think you really like it when I wear you as you’ve started asking for it.  I would sometimes ask you if you want to be worn and you shake your head yes and stomp your feet (which can indicate excitement about something).  Just to see what would happen, I once asked you to go get the carrier when you said you wanted to be worn and you did!  You surprised me so much!  It was just habit to leave the buckle tai on the floor whereever I last took it off.  That’s probably a good thing as you usually can find it and get it – so now when you want to be worn, you bring it to me and say “This?”.

You are, just in the last month, showing an active interest in where the milk comes from.  You’ve not asked me yet, with words, for yai’yai, but you do let your desire be known.  At first it was pulling at my shirt, or stuffing your fist down the neck of my shirt and into my cleavage.  You’ve also recently taken to going and getting the boppy and bringing it to me.  I guess I use it consistently enough for nursing that you know just what it’s for.

About 2:30 today I was sitting on the end of the chaise watching something on TV and you came up to me to yank at my shirt.  I asked “Do you want yai’yai?”  You said no, nodded yes, and walked away.  (The answer to every question the last few weeks is No, which has been quite frustrating.  But in the last few days you are starting to answer “accurately” with a shake or nod of your head, so I knew you wanted to nurse.)  You went into the bedroom for a few minutes and I wondered what was up.  I guess you missed the boppy under the other throw pillows.  You came around the corner of the bedroom with my king sized pillow (that we occasionally use to nurse in the mornings before work), and put it on my lap.

It made me laugh and filled my heart with happiness, small one.  And oh how I needed that today.  I picked you up, and you nursed right to sleep.  Da took you from me and we all settled on the bed for a nap together (including an icebag for my own headache).  If only little boy inspired laughter was a cure for migraines.

Love you little man.

Momma

p.s. I have been able to see all 4 points of your canine teeth under your gums for weeks now, but they don’t seem to want to break through.  I wish I could take away your teething pain . . .

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I’m Not Impressed So Far

Filed Under: Big People Stuff
Jan.09, 2010

with 2010.  Really.  So far it mostly really sucks ass.  Damon commented it’s really just 2009 trying to get a few last frak you’s in.  I hope that’s it.  I hope it’s not just an omen for what the rest of 2010 is going to be like.  Here’s a sampling of the first week plus:

Friday, 1 Jan

  • Continued day 3 of Doggie Diarrhea.  And why must she choose to go on the big area rug?  And Jonathan says we’re out of RD pet stain for cleaning.  Great.
  • Also, Doggie Vomit.  Though she at least had the courtesy of doing this on the hardwood floor.  So much easier to clean.
  • Oh, and Doggie Hallucinations.  She’s snapping at invisible flies in the air above her head.  Started about the same time as the diarrhea.
  • 4 am period gushing.  Blood on white undies . . . on pillow case . . . and on pillow.  Grrrrrrr
  • Cranky baby – apparently working on all 4 canine teeth at the same time – also with diarrhea.

Saturday, 2 Jan

  • More Doggie Diarrhea.  And we put the gate up to keep her off the area rug.  She went the long way round the house, through the kitchen, and pooped on the rug anyway. Called and got an appt at the vet for 10:20 am.
  • Jonathan ran to the post office to mail off a trade.  Forgot to pick up our accumulated mail that was being held and did not request resumption of mail services at the house.
  • Pulling the car into the garage, I think he ran a tire up on the small lawnmower (having already hit it previously and ripping the tire off), and hit an apparently very sharp spot.  From the kitchen, with the door closed, I hear a loud pop and hiss and can hear the air rushing out of the tire.  That was 9:30.  Commence tire change.
  • Temp that morning 4 deg . . . with a windchill of -9 degrees.  Even partway in the garage it was cold and I worried about Jonathan changing the tire.  And of course it’s one of those that’s bolted to the bottom of the car.  He didn’t have too much trouble loosening lugnuts, but the jack that came with the van was causing fits.
  • I called the vet and rescheduled for Monday after work, as I knew we weren’t going to make our 10:20 am appt.  They gave me the dosage for OTC pepto for Jedi (for a 15 lb dog, it’s half to 1 tsp every 12 hours).  I had been giving her some, but was underdosing her.

Sunday, 3 Jan

  • Doggie poo everywhere.  The pepto is not helping, even when giving the max dosage.  The vet appt cannot come soon enough – fingers crossed they actually find something and it’s not a “mystery”.
  • Take the car to NTB (where we get tires and get the tire protection plan always),  driving no more than 45 mph the entire way there (the spare is looking pretty low and I didn’t want to make a detour to  try to find an air compressor).I was stressed with it being the same tire that got replaced right before Christmas, not knowing if there’s some fine print loophole on the number of tires you can get replaced in a certain time frame.  No, the tire is not fixable.  Jonathan literally sliced open the sidewall.  Yes, the tire protection plan covers it.  We just have to buy another tire protection plan for the new tire.  So instead of $140 for a new tire, it costs $33.
  • Almost fall on my ass on the snowpack with ice layer at the gas station, as the gas light came on during the trip to NTB.
  • Liam would not nap for Jonathan, so he has a later than usual, and shorter than usual nap.  Where are those teeth?!?!?!

Monday, 4 Jan

  • Suck ass day at work.  Car accident traffic on the way in, we ended up doing a U turn as they just completely shut down Cleaver II, both directions, under the Hwy 71 overpass.
  • Took lunch to drive all the way to our post office to pick up mail and resume delivery.  I guess traffic was crappier than usual, as we were 10 min late back to work.  And we can no longer make it up in other ways and are forced to take vacation time to cover it.
  • Jonathan had to be out and about in the frigid temps moving crap by himself.
  • Get home and rush rush rush to get the dog into the car and to the vet after cleaning up 3 (or was it 4?) blobs of yuckiness on the kitchen and guest room floor (didn’t want to leave it for Jonathan to try to clean while he stayed home with Liam).  Appt is not with our bestest vet Dr Chirpich, but now I’ve found second bestest, Dr Carpenter.  Like Chirpich, she has great pet owner skills to go with her great doggie bedside manner.  She complimented me on my holding technique for the temp taking and poo sampling.  Nothing pisses me off more with a vet, and gets them blacklisted to never never land, than insisting a vet tech hold my pet instead of me.  I digress.  Jedi has a fever, and is slightly dehydrated.  Spinning and floating the poo tell us YES , there is a reason.  She has a bacterial infection raging out of control (Clostridium I believe it was).  Has she been stressed recently?  Oh hell yes.  So we get 5 days of Amoxicillin and 3 cans of expensive and  uber bland dog food.  Dr Carpenter says we should see some improvement in her poo production within 24-48 hours.
  • The biting at invisible bugs is a separate issue.  They are usually small focal seizures, at least that’s what they sound like.  Dr Carpenter said it would be great if we could catch it on video to show to her.  If that’s what it is, and it gets bad, she can be put on anti-seizure medication.   It will be hard to catch on video as it’s very sporadic and short lived – which is good, I suppose.  Some dogs with “fly biting seizures” (which is how it’s commonly referred to even in the veterinary community) can be severe enough to interfere with eating, walking and living a doggie life.

Tuesday, 5 Jan

  • I think I’ve blocked out the suckage of the day.
  • One bright spot is the antibiotic and special food are doing the trick.  There was no poop on the floor when we got home, so  yay!

Wednesday, 6 Jan

  • Jonathan getting harped on at work shortly before we left (an hour early because of snowfall all day) stressed him out seriously on the drive home.

Thursday, 7 Jan

  • Delayed start for work (I guess because of snow cover and because of frigid temps), not that we really got to take advantage of it.
  • Jonathan throwing up several times, tightness in chest (part asthma and part not), had me taking him to the emergency room.  Many hours, 5, and many tests, 5, later they decided it was NOT a heart attack and likely an anxiety attack (which is what we suspected but wanted to rule out anything more serious).
  • Jonathan got some lunch while there as I asked for it.  He’d eaten at 6 am or so, but tossed cookies about 8 am, and was hours in the ER.  When his food arrived, I headed to the cafeteria to try to get something for myself.  Only the cafeteria was not currently taking credit/debit cards.  So no food for me.
  • Shortly after getting my boys home, boss calls from work.  The reorganization of Procurement is moving forward and should be announced tomorrow.  She gave me a rundown of what’s going to be available and the position that’s possibly mine is one I’m not sure I want.
  • Commence my own anxiety outlet, which as usual, consists of loads and loads of crying.
  • Followed by almost no sleeping

Friday, 8 Jan

  • “The Announcement” comes at 10:17 am.  Indeed the position I have been hoping for, and dreaming of (i.e. just working with purchasing cards and nothing else), is to be a Columbia only location.  Frak.  The position that is “open location” consists of training (all campuses), testing, security, and communication.
  • More “Coping with Stress by Bawling” commences, and I barely get lunch in me cause my stomach is flipping out.
  • I’m feeling a bit better after calling Jennifer in the afternoon and talking about, though still very concerned at what the travel is going to be like.  Not to mention general stress of OMG what if they don’t hire me!!!
  • All the stress and crying throws me into one doozie of a migraine, complete with overwhelming nausea.
  • Cathy decides she wants to talk about the job stuff at 4:45.  Conversion took place in my office with the lights off and my eyes closed.  I am quite amused that I got immediate answers to a few questions from Jennifer and when she asked those same questions of Steve, got the answer “We don’t know yet”.  HA!
  • I don’t know how I made it home without throwing up in the car.  It’s only times like this I actually wish I had compazine suppositories at home in the fridge.  Spent 2 hours in a dark room with an icebag, and Liam was not at all happy that momma was not being social.

Saturday, 9 Jan

  • More migraine.  Looks like I’m headed for another 3 day migraine, though I was really hoping it was just a one day thing.  Will I ever again have just a 1 day headache?
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For Adoption

Filed Under: Big People Stuff, Canines
Dec.18, 2009

Shared by one of the forum ladies, this was posted on Craigslist (as a joke).  I just had to share in turn. . . .

Please help! After two long years of being on a waiting list for a dog, we have been notified by breed rescue that, at long last, our number has come up and WE ARE HAVING A PUPPY! We must get rid of our children IMMEDIATELY because we just know how time consuming our new little puppy is going to be and it just wouldn’t be fair to the children. Since our little puppy will be
arriving on Monday we MUST place the children up for adoption this weekend!

They are described as:

  • One male — his name is Tommy, Caucasian (English/Irish mix), light blonde hair, blue eyes. Four years old. Excellent disposition. He doesn’t bite. Temperament tested. Does have problems with peeing directly in the toilet. Has had chicken Pox and is current on all shots. Tonsils have already been removed. Tommy eats everything, is very clean, house trained and gets along well with others. Does not run with scissors and with a little training he should be able to read soon.
  • One female — her name is Lexie, Caucasian (English/Irish mix),strawberry blonde hair, green eyes quite freckled. Two years old. Can be surly at times. Non-biter, thumb sucker. Has been temperament tested but needs a little attitude adjusting occasionally. She is current on all shots, tonsils out, and is very healthy and can be affectionate. Gets along well with other little girls and little boys but does not like to share her toys and therefore would do best in a one child household. She is a very quick learner and is currently working on her house training. Shouldn’t take long at all.

We really do LOVE our children so much and want to do what’s right for them. That is why we contacted a rescue group. But we simply can no longer keep them. Also, we are afraid that they may hurt our new puppy.

I hope you understand that ours is a UNIQUE situation and we have a real emergency here! They MUST be placed into your rescue by Sunday night at the latest or we will be forced to drop them off at the orphanage or along some dark, country road. Our priority now has to be our new puppy.

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A Complete Set

Filed Under: Liam, Milestones
Dec.17, 2009

Liam now has a complete set of first premolars.  The last one came in yesterday.

And I’m amazed at how close together they came in.  He cut FOUR molars in 28 DAYS!   And for the last 3 they were marked by horrible diarrhea.  That’s actually how I knew to feel for one last night – because of his final diaper before bed.  Poor kid.  As if cutting a tooth wasn’t bad enough, he has to deal with a sore butt, too.

So . . . first premolars . . .  bottom left arrived appx 18 Nov, bottom right was 26 Nov (Thanksgiving Day), top left was 13 Dec, and top right was 16 Dec (yes, only 3 days between those last two).

No wonder he’s been really cranky the past week.  He is generally a very happy kid.  I must remember that when he’s fussing and cranky, there IS ALWAYS an underlying reason.  We had a really rough night with  sleeping Tuesday night.  I didn’t look at the clock the first two times, but around 2 am he was awake for the third time and needed help getting back to sleep.  Then again at 3 am . . . 4 am . . . . and at 5 am I decided to go ahead and nurse him.  It was the fact that his nursing was “off” that made me wake up enough to hear that he wasn’t getting ANY air through his nose, he was just so congested.  I flipped the light on to see if I could pull out boogies (oh the things we when it’s our child), but the congestion was deeper in his sinuses.   He would suck once, for milk then fuss and whimper cause he couldn’t breathe.  Definitely a failed nursing session.  But having him propped up on my arm was helping and he did fall back to sleep.  Poor little man was exhausted, I’m sure.  I put him back in his crib, but elevated on one of our extra pillows, which seemed to help tremendously.  He got 2 good solid hours of sleep from about 5-7 am.  At 5 am I was feeling really stupid though – I should have known something was off with that waking up once an hour.  That’s just not like him at this point.   Last night was much better, I think between cutting that tooth and with having the humidifier on in the bedroom.  I turned it on about 8 pm and closed the door to the bedroom.  He slept well until we nursed about 5:40 am.

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The 5 lb in 24 hr Diet

Filed Under: Big People Stuff, Milestones
Dec.14, 2009

I can’t recommend it, but just eating a few saltines and drinking sprite – then offering it to the porcelain god shortly after – will allow you to lose 5 pounds in about 24 hours.

Sunday I woke up feeling so-so, hopped on the fit board to get a weight.  Jonathan, bless him, fixed breakfast and Liam wandered between the living room floor playing, and into the kitchen to make Jonathan’s job more challenging.  I got one bite of omelet du fromage into me and was hit with a big wave of nausea.  I drank a little milk and that was about all I got into me.  Tried some “digestive biscuit”  later (what the people across the pond call graham crackers), but that didn’t make me feel any better.  Didn’t take long to realize I’d contracted some sort of stomach virus.  I resorted to small sips of ice cold sprite and some saltines.  But it wasn’t long before I ran to the bathroom.  I was in there for various reasons all day long.  Frequently.

Jonathan wasn’t feeling good either, but he wasn’t having quite my symptoms – yet.  And because I’d been laying down for so long with Liam (i.e nighttime between Sat and Sun), and laying down so much Sunday (being flat reduces the ookees), my back was absolutely killing me.  Jonathan got himself and Liam some dinner and I tried not to moan too loudly from the couch, or the ball, or the floor, or the recliner.  I finally found some back relief on the couch, legs on a mound of pillows, with the heating pad on my lower back.

Short times throughout the day I was suddenly hot, stripped down to sweats and a sleeveless t-shirt.  But most of the day I had the t-shirt, sweats, thick socks, and a heavy hooded sweatshirt on (with the hood up on my head), as well as a blanket spread over me.  We’re normally fine with the furnace set about 71 or 72, but Jonathan was cold too, so he upped it to 74.  I was STILL freezing.  Confirmation I had a virus, I guess.

Tried to reproduce the pillows and such in bed last night, but just could not get comfortable.  I got Liam nursed and to sleep and in his crib – seriously concerned that being dehydrated was going to affect my milk supply.  I think I rapidly sipped 2 glasses of water 30 min before nursing him that night, and we didn’t get him into bed till after 11 pm (in our defense, he napped late and probably wouldn’t have slept at his usual time anyway).  I aborted the pillows and heating pad in bed, and just struggled to find some position that worked.

This morning at 2 am I was bundled up and outside.  The cooler air actually felt good, as I’d been really overheated in bed.  The trash and recycling gets picked up Monday mornings, and about 2 months ago they moved their pickup time on our street up by an hour – so it needs to be put out Sunday nights.  I figured the bit of exercise might do my back good.  I didn’t want to keep Jonathan awake when I came in, so I set up shop on the couch again and attempted to nest – that was about 3 am.  Didn’t work.  I heard Liam fuss twice and put himself back to sleep.  At 5:30 am he woke up more and I went in and cuddled him back to sleep.  Up again at 6:30 and we nursed.

Called in sick to work and called daycare to let them know Liam would be home.  He was not acting like he felt very good either, but he may be getting a cold, and he cut his third molar either late Saturday or early Sunday.  At dinner last night he let me poke around and the one on the top left is through.  It must have felt good to have my finger against it as he just let me press my finger against it for a good 2-3 minutes, with a big ole smile on his face.

Today was more trips to the bathroom (oh am I thankful for Super Duper Diaper Doo – it’s not just for baby butts!), but no kissing of the gods.  I got a little more food into me, many more liquids, and did some light housework and ballwork to ease my back.  Unfortunately the lack of food of any kind yesterday threw me into a migraine this afternoon.  I went through 3 rounds of icebags, and late afternoon chanced a vicodin (which I thankfully kept INSIDE my stomach).  This morning my morbid curiosity got to me and I weighed on the fit board again.  I lost 5.3 pounds in appx 24 hours.  O.O  Once I get rid of this headache and the nausea subsides long term, I’m sure I can gain it back.  !@#$^#!@#$^&*$#@!

You know, I really would have thought that 9 months of morning sickness would have desensitized me to nausea, but that’s just not the case.  I was miserable.  How in hell did I EVER make through 9 months of that on a daily basis?????

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Well Baby Appt: 15 months

Filed Under: Liam
Dec.11, 2009

Today’s appt was with Dr A (not G).  She seemed to ask more developmental progress questions at the 6 month appt than Dr G did at the 9 month or a year.  So I thought we’d try her again for this one.  And I got the same impressions this time too.  Wondering if we need to do anything formal to switch primary pediatricians officially, or if I just keep making appts with Dr A and list her as primary on paperwork when asked.

I was solo for this one as Jonathan is running short on  time and we wanted to make sure he has enough for the Christmas break.  We didn’t wait long in the waiting room and were taken back to an exam room.  Nurse took measurements.  I would have put money that he was over 25 pounds but turned out to be 24-4 (still 50th percentile), and length was 32 7/8 (94th percentile).  It surprised me that they measure to an eighth of an inch – frankly I don’t think the measuring technique can get that accurate.  They still measure him laying down on the table paper, marking head and toe and then using a tape measure between marks.  Wonder when they’ll start having him stand up to get his height?

I wasn’t too sure how I was going to keep him occupied by myself, as he’s usually a holy terror, but this particular room had a small magnadoodle in it and he was enthralled with it.  I remember Luke or Mina getting one some months ago that was bigger and had little magnetic stamps that came with it (momma-mode of course identified them as choking hazards for my beastie and was on alert), but this one had just the tethered writing pen and the little slider that clears the board.   It only had to keep him occupied less than 10 min though as Dr A did not keep us waiting long (we’ve known to hang out in an exam room for Dr G for 45 minutes – at least on Friday afternoons which is when I try to schedule appts).

When she walked in he’d been cruising the room and her first comment was  “Well here’s a boy that’s been walking more than a couple of months!”  I told her oh yes, since about 9.5 months.  At this point he’s perfecting his running and climbing techniques.  She did all the standard checking (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hips, boy-parts, etc) and everything is good.  We discussed appetite (how healthy it was), and she asked if he was on whole milk – at daycare,  yes, but at home he gets breastmilk.  Really?  “Why that’s fantastic!” she says.  A big kudos to me for continuing to nurse.  Yay!

She reviewed our alternate vax schedule and said it looks fine.  She asked what we’d decided on for flu shots and I explained how I was sort of on the fence about it and not sure.  I told her Jonathan and I had both gotten the seasonal one.  She told me not to stress over it and feels that he’s got enough protection at this point because 1) I had the vax and 2) I’m still breastfeeding – that he’ll get some antibodies from the vax through my milk.  Yay!  Again, even.

Took at look at the splinter/bump/thing on his foot.  At least, I think it started as a splinter.  Dr G told us at the 12 mo appt that I should try to pry it out with a needle after it had soaked in the tub and/or he was asleep.  Riiiiiiight.  He’s ticklish and would wake up if I tried to do that, and there’s no way I’m trying to restrain him to dig at it while  he’s awake.  Dr A, on the other hand, said if it was a splinter, it looks like his skin has encapsulated it for protection and would eventually absorb it.  Alternatively, it could be a small wart which he could have picked up from a cut or puncture and then gotten from daycare (not that he usually runs around barefoot there).  She said it often takes several months for the encapsulation to dissolve and she’d rather take a wait and see approach – and not treat it with wart freezy stuff.  So we’re waiting until his 18 mo checkup.  If it’s still there, she’ll use wart stuff on it.

She asked if I had any other questions and I joking said just one – why do his fingernails grow so fast?!?!?!
LOL  the answer?   Because I’m still breastfeeding!  Who knew!

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Li’ika: 15 months

Filed Under: Li'ika
Dec.09, 2009

Happy 15 months old, little man!

Mother Nature has gifted you with a lovely blanket of snow for your day.  We could do without the sleety stuff underneath it, but the snow is pretty cool.  I scooped some off the back porch railing last night and you were fascinated.  I put you on the changing table to get you ready for bed and you had a quickly melting snowball in each hand.  You made me chuckle as your little hand would get really cold and you’d fuss and I’d take it away from you – then after a few seconds you fussed cause you wanted them back!  I finally put them in with the diaper pail, and you had a fit – once I got you in your PJ’s you tried to dive into the diapers and retrieve it.  Too cold to hold for long, but you didn’t want to give them up.  I retrieved one more small one for you and when it broke into pieces I fed them to you.  You are a strange child – you don’t make faces at things like pickles, but snow and ice cream gets a face cause it’s so cold.

I think the biggest “leap” I notice in  you this past month is you are interested in helping to dress yourself.  Our typical morning activity involves laying down to get the PJ’s off and a clean diaper on.  Then I put a onesie on you and snap up the crotch.  (I’ve been avoiding the shirts we have because you like to pull them up around your armpits and it’s too cold for that now!)  Then you stand up and lean against me, I open the waistband of your pants  – you lift a little leg and stick it down the leg-sleeve by yourself.  You shift your weight and we do the same on the other side.  You’d done randomly before, but the last few days you are getting really coordinated with it.  We put socks on almost the same way – I open up the sock and hold it in front of you, you lift your foot and stick your little toes inside.  You are much happier getting dressed that way than me trying to do it with you laying down.  It’s hard enough to get you to lay down long enough for a diaper change.  You also slip your arms into armholes when asked (usually for your sleep sack and your coat).

You and Da play a neat little game while you’re on the changing table too.  Must try to get a video and add it.  He gets all goofy and tells you to straighten your legs and put your arms behind your head.  You lay there for 5-10 seconds looking like my little GQ man, then giggle and curl up in a ball – then he does it again.  I’d not seen the two of you do that, but he came in one night when you were particularly wiggly on the table and it just amazed me.

I think you’re starting to say book, but honestly everything sounds like ball.  I’ve heard you say “bow wow” just before we read “Doggies”.  And last weekend while you were babbling as we were getting out of bed in the morning, you said a textbook perfect “meow”.  Of course you don’t say anything when I ask you what a cat says.  But I can almost  always get you to smile when I ask you what a rabbit says and then twitch my nose at you.  We’ve been singing Old MacDonald in the car (especially when you get really fussy and hate being in your seat), and the noise momma makes for bats makes you squeal in delight.

You’re almost exclusively feeding yourself now, and about a third of the time using a utensil.  You like forks better than spoons, but seem to do equally well in getting the food to your mouth.  It’s hard for momma to give this part up – I know you have to learn to feed yourself – but meals are long and messy when Liam do it and I always wonder if you’re getting enough food in your little body.  There’s definitely more than lands on the floor (to be sucked up by your sister) or is mashed into the table.  You seem to be growing steadily, so I guess you’re getting enough.  The daycare ladies rave about your fantastic appetite, and we have yet to discover a food (other than corn) that you turn your nose up at.

Speaking of corn, if it’s JUST corn, you toss it on the floor.  You loved the corn casserole I made for Thanksgiving, and you had your first corn-on-the-cob over the weekend.  I think I’ll cut the next one in half for you, but you were fascinated with this thing we handed you and encouraged you to gnaw on.

You’re slowly getting the idea of brushing your teeth.  When first introduced, you let me run the toothbrush over your front teeth, but that didn’t last long and devolved into you screeching and yanking your head away.  Now toothbrushing is a family affair – Da and I go into the  bathroom to brush our teeth, I put water on yours and hand it to you.  Mostly you just chew on it, but at least the  bristles are coming into contact with your teeth.  I have to watch you closely so you don’t clean the tub, toilet, or dog with it, and you’re never happy to give it up so it can be put away.  On a side note, part of this drives your Da crazy.  He likes his bathroom space and if the three humans are in there, of course Jedi must be too.  So we get the whole family in the smallest room in the house.

Earlier this evening you made up a game of lacrosse for yourself, and just amazed your Da.  Using the long handled metal measuring cup, you scoop up one of your playballs and chuck it a couple of feet using the cup.  He also caught you dropping the ball in front of you and using the cup to bat it out of the air.  It doesn’t really surprise me, but that doesn’t keep me from thinking you’re a smart and wonderful little boy.

Love you little man.

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Location Is Irrelevant

Filed Under: Big People Stuff, Liam
Dec.07, 2009

Liam is a climber. Period.

He will climb steps, the couch, a step stool, dining room chairs, puppy steps onto big bed, coffee tables, etc.  Yesterday afternoon he discovered my bucket of bread flour under the shelf in the kitchen, pulled it out, and checked out what was on the higher shelves he previously could not reach.

Since moving into our house, we’ve had the long couch part of the sectional butted up against the dining room table.  This has always worked well, as it gives a place to sit your drink while on the couch.  Plus we actually use our table to EAT at more, while watching TV.  And since we’ve shifted to laptops instead of desktops, it’s common to find us on the computer (possibly AND watching TV).

Once our climber monkey conquered the couch, however, having the table there has more a source of stress (especially for Jonathan).  He has no problem getting from the couch to the table.  Sometimes I think he gets up there just cause he can, and table sitting is fun, but other motivations include: unplugging laptop cables, playing with the mice, trying to hit the keyboard (cause of course kneebouncers MUST be on the computer, right?), some food he wants, or if his sippy is on the table.

We’d been discussing and tossing around ideas for how to rearrange the living room. We retired the PNP and are using the dresser/changing table in Liam’s room, so his sports climber and slide have been in the living room this last week.  We rearranged last night – the table is now where the PNP was, and the climber is now behind the couch where the table was, along with playmats on the floor for a bit of padding.  We’ve configured that half of the superyard to “protect” the shelves and the wall outlet/power supply where the laptops are now plugged in.  It flows much better, as now you don’t have to leap superyard (or go the long way round through the guestroom and kitchen.

Last night I was getting dinner ready and Jonathan had come into the kitchen for a moment to refill his glass.   I peek around the corner and there Liam is – sitting on top of the dining table. It is utterly amazing how fast he can get up on a dining room chair.  They’re slick wood – no fabric – and you’d think he’s slide off before getting a good grip.  But he can almost get up onto a chair faster than he can the couch.    If it continues, I have a backup plan (thanks to one of the moms of twins from the forum).  Clearly the table location doesn’t make a damned bit of difference to it’s status of “goal that must be conquered”.

I still haven’t figured out what we’re going to do with beverages while we’re on the couch.  Just this morning I tried to reach back and put a spare binky on the table that was no longer there.  Liam likes the floor plan though.  He and Da played “ring around the house” last night, taking turns chasing each other.

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The End

Filed Under: Big People Stuff
Dec.04, 2009

. . . of my freezer stash.   Today was the last day of sending frozen booby juice to day care.

I guess we’ll put his Booty Bag to the side, cause it will no longer be needed to transport milk to daycare.

I’m think I’m a little sad about the end of my stash.  Though he’s nursing great still, and loves his moo juice, too. Really, there isn’t much he doesn’t like to eat or drink.

Corn.  He’s not too big on eating corn.

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Thanksgiving 2009

Filed Under: Holidays, Milestones
Nov.30, 2009

Random notes and thoughts throughout Turkey weekend . . .

  • I feel no guilt for driving across the median Wednesday evening to get to the outer road.  Hwy 71 was completely closed on our way down due to an accident.  After 50 minutes sitting there, we followed a few other cars and trucks to make our own detour.  I have no idea how long it was closed.
  • Jonathan set up Grind to play with RJ and Nathan.  Liam crawled up on the chair at the end of the table, resting his chin on the table watching them and working the bink.  By the time I’d retrieved the camera to capture it, he was off and running.
  • Purple cauliflower tastes only slightly different and sure makes a pretty veggie tray.  Mom’s homemade ranch dressing was orders of magnitude better than out of a bottle.  I could have eaten it with a spoon it was so good.
  • The neighbor’s rooster has no circadian rhythm.  He crows round the clock, as evidenced by various trips to pee in the middle of the night.  I don’t know how mom and dad get any sleep, as neither of them sleep with anything white-noisy.  We didn’t hear the rooster cause we had a box fan going in the bedroom.
  • We must be used to our Select Comfort bed  . . . the king used to be really comfy, but not so much this time.  And though I’m not meant for bedsharing all the time, in some ways it was kinda cool having Liam curled up at the head of the bed between us.
  • Liam slept very well two nights, pretty good one night, and just OK one night.  That first night of a road trip is always a challenge because he sleeps a couple of hours after nap cutoff (6:30 pm) on the road.
  • Liam really liked dressing and even cranberry sauce (and he didn’t even make a face at the tartness!).
  • Becca’s new pup, Daisy, is absolutely adorable.  A fawn lab mixed with something smaller.  She weighs 26 pounds now and I don’t think is going to be huge (based on paw size).  Liam had a ball playing with her.   And for some reason Jedi didn’t get all Napoleon with her, either.
  • Liam cut another molar (1st premolar, right, bottom).  His poor little system was so stressed that he had killer diarrhea.   His butt was absolutely raw.  And after a day, it even had blisters on it.
  • It’s almost impossible to find Super Duper Diaper Doo in stores any more.  Walmart/Target never seem to have it, nor does Walgreens.  I had some at home (KC) but that did us no good for the long weekend.
  • Liam does NOT like to take baths when his little butt is raw.  But running around without a diaper on was a great new novelty – long sleeve shirt and babylegs to keep him warm.  First night no puddles, but second night mom and dad learned he shoots for distance.  And also, stealth (when a puddle under the coffee table was discovered).  I had to remind them that he peed on the wall of the OR room when he was just  minutes old.
  • FitPlus Golf is just ridiculously hard.  This is why my golf will forever be limited to the putt-putt variety.
  • Mom tried a new pecan pie recipe THAT I MUST HAVE!  It was by far the absolute BEST pecan pie I have ever eaten.  She was telling me about the process, which is not as intensive as I thought it was, so I have just got to try making one myself sometime.  Maybe for Christmas.
  • It’s been more than 10 years since I’ve been to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield.  We used Jason & Amy’s FOZ passes and all went Saturday afternoon.  I’d forgotten how small a zoo it is.  However – it was a really nice walk (you can walk the entire zoo in a few hours, unlike KC’s zoo) and the weather was just beautiful.  We rented a stroller and Liam was asleep sitting up by the time we were ready to leave.  Poor little man.  He walked for more than a third of the trip.
  • Liam likes feeding goats.
  • Barney Fife, Galena’s finest, pulled us over on the way home from Jason and Amy’s.  We got a warning that we had a headlight out.   What made me wonder was he also warned us that we’d probably be pulled over AGAIN if we didn’t get it fixed.  Not likely Barney – but we didn’t tell him that.
  • Traffic on the way home was thankfully light.  Having to do laundry to have clothes for work was not.  Maybe someday we’ll actually have all the clothes for the following week ready BEFORE we leave.  And the dishes done.  And the living room free of floor toys.
  • Right.  Reality Check.  We have a toddler.  Not gonna happen.
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A Hole in Our Hearts

Filed Under: Canines
Nov.24, 2009

Today marks one year that we lost the smallest member of our family.

J’s Freya Fangbreaker, born 20 January 2006, lost 24 November 2008

It was love at first sight for Jonathan, with an immediate attraction to her out of the 3 puppies left in the litter.  She was the only female, had unique markings, and was the runt of the litter, with attitude to match.  She lived for tug, and her best K-9 buddy was a black and tan coonhound that weighed 10 times what she did.  But it didn’t matter – she drew first blood at their first meeting and worked kept him in line with her sharp little teeth.  He taught her to howl like a hound, which always made us laugh to hear that come out of a 13 pound rat terrier body.  In turn, she taught Jedi how to howl – though hers always came out like a coyote yipping.  We learned to have howlings, with Jonathan and I starting and the girls joining in later.  It always made us laugh and give her a big hug.

You will submit to my Terrier-ness!!!

You will submit to my Terrier-ness!!!

At just a year and a half of age, she became one of the rare cases to show signs of canine GME.  Six months of chemotherapy whipped it’s butt and put it into remission.  Her prognosis was very good after therapy and the vet neurologist said she should have close to a normal terrier lifespan – counting her among the close to 0% survivors.  In fact he decided it probably wasn’t GME because no dog lives that long with it – it must have been an autoimmune disease that mimicked most of the GME symptoms (the only 100% sure way to know is by brain biopsy after passing).

She was our “special puppy” from that point on.  Though much more herself than she had been, she still wasn’t 100%.  We treasured those months.  And didn’t know how short they’d be.

We don’t know what caused the relapse.  Possibly stress of us being gone and her being in the house for 4 days by herself.  It might not have been related and just been coincidental timing.  But she headed downhill fast.  We added doses of prednisone again, but this time her body couldn’t cope with it and it caused internal bleeding.  We made the hard decision.  As I remember Jonathan saying, we knew from looking at her that she had already checked out.  And the vets were not giving very good odds.  She rests on the edge of the orchard in Sandy Valley, among the very loved pets.

Jonathan and I both cried today.  We started watching Bolt yesterday and finished it at lunch.  It’s a very good movie – but it made us realize how much we loved our little girl and how much we miss her.  On one hand I thought it silly to be crying about a dog a year later.  But we’re sensitive folk, she was family, and as Jason said, bless him, “she wasn’t lost so much as she was taken”.

Just hanging out

Just hanging out

Curled up in the sun with her sister

Curled up in the sun with her sister

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