Briana's Brain Dump

One Year Old!

2011-08-23T20:40:00.001-07:00

Indigo turned one last week. She is such a big girl! She started walking just a few days before her birthday. Today we bought her first pair of shoes. I didn't feel weepy about her turning one, but the shoes have me tearing up a bit. Here are some photos of Ms. Personality. Dress by Grammy.

Unfortunately, I have no photos from her birthday party, as I was wielding the cake. Granna will have to fill in the photo documentation. I made a kitty-cake from an Applesauce Cake recipe, but had a near-disaster with the icing. I was rescued by Jeff who begged new icing bags from the Alberston's bakery. As I said, photos of the Thoroughly Iced Kitty Cake will be here soon!

Almost One and summer stuff

2011-08-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

So many things are happening for my kids this summer, and there is never time to blog about it. I'm getting lots of photos (thank you iPhone) and frequently posting to facebook, so the fam can stay up to speed. Although we haven't had much summer weather, we are still out and having fun whenever possible. So what if we have to wear long sleeves to the beach, less sunscreen used, and less chance of burning our alabaster skin- I say!

Indigo-she will turn one this month. The past year has been a whirlwind!

1. Almost walking. Will turn anything into her personal mode of transportation. Easel, trash cans, etc.

2. Has the cutest bent pointer finger thingy. Will try to photograph again tomorrow. Her finger is straight, the bend is at the wrist. She points at EVERYTHING!

3. Her loves: Birds, cats, babies, dolls, Nordy (a stuffed shoe horn toy from Nordstrom), giving kisses.

4. She enjoys finding her reflection in things: the trash can, the dishwasher, the mirror. Such a smiley happy girl most of the time.

Ryan

1. Transitioning to the big potty for poops. This has taken a lot of work on my part. He is not a fan of the noise it makes hitting the bottom of the pot.

2. Playing soccer. We had a major meltdown at one of the practices. But he came to enjoy his time running and playing with some new kids.

3. Creative play is starting to get interesting. He is making up stories about things, and is great at rhyming and making up songs. Gets that one from me. :)

Indigo's Affections

2011-06-19T22:21:00.001-07:00

At 10 months, Indigo has developed a myriad of kissing techniques.

We have:

1) The nose kiss. She basically gives a raspberry using her nose. Sometimes there is an inhale with the nostrils attached to your cheek, and almost always, there is an exhale. With her current cold, I am enjoying this display of affection less and less. And my throat is starting to hurt. Darn petri dish children!

2) The real deal: This kiss is so sweet, she is trying to pucker her lips. So there is a suction sound as she makes an O shape with her mouth and touches it to my cheek.

3) The Lick: This kiss was an early form for her, and is becoming more rare as she gains skills. I'm starting to miss it. (weird I know)

4) The Head Butt. Just today I noticed her attempting to bonk people and things with her head. She mostly uses her forehead, but there was a reverse throwing-herself-backwards maneuver today that was a backwards head butt for sure.

Other milestone updates: She has FINALLY managed to say Mama. It's good to hear it. :) She is trying to walk. Using laundry baskets and toys for support, she is beginning the cruising stage. She will walk with me for a few steps with hands held.

Today also marks Ryan's Half Birthday. His big news is that the #2 training is going VERY WELL. It has been more than a week since his last party foul. He will be rewarded soon with a date to the new Cars 2 movie. My dad made him a fabulous potty chart to keep track of it all. We filled in spot 9 of 15 today!

Ryan's Questions

2011-06-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

Let the Big Questions begin!

Ryan: Mommy, where was Indi when I was in your tummy?

Me: In heaven.

R: Was Daddy with her?

Me: No.

R: Who was with her?

Me: Angels.

R: Oh.

10 second pause.

Ryan: How do babies grow in your tummy?

Me: When I eat food, then they can grow bigger.

R: Oh.

No, there aren't any babies in my tummy. But Ryan has been expecting his baby to come ever since I announced my pregnancy with Indigo. When I ask him now about it, I getting varying answers such as "in 5 weeks" or "in 3 days". His labor is imminent. :)

Other cuteness from my oldest: "Mommy, I want Indi to enjoy us." (he meant join)

Where Have I Been?

2011-06-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering. Too busy to blog would be the obvious answer. The literal answer, Hawaii, Georgia, Tennessee, renovating my house, and hosting grandparents are the more exclusive responses. Here are photos of the beginning of demolition, and a portion of reconstruction. Soon, I will have completed project photos.

The project: kill the ugly pink tile, replace with beautiful vertical cut carbonized bamboo. We did some demo and hired out the construction part. The plastic sheeting a la Dexter, is to prevent major dust from infiltrating the entire house. It did not work. I returned from a 10 day Hawaiian vacation to a beautiful floor, but had to vacuum my couch before sitting on it. Oh, and clean a 1/4 inch layer of dust off of EVERYTHING. Good times.

FInding my Grace

2011-03-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

Alone with the kids for 3 days, I feel like my world is crumbling. I've scheduled a house warming party for Saturday (yes, I'm insane) and am trying to prepare one room per day this week, with the big rush when Jeff gets back on the main traffic areas. I'm going to focus on the positive things since so much has gone wrong.

1. Ryan has had no potty accidents YET today (it's 2:34 PM)

2. The downstairs bathroom is completely sanitized and all that was brown is now sparkling white. (Don't ask about the S&*^storm that caused the cleaning).

3. Indigo is no longer constipated :)

As I determined in school, the entire world DOES revolve around poop!

Photos from my phone

2011-03-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

Since joining the current tech age, I have been taking photos with my phone. Most of them make their way to Facebook, but my mom complained, so here are a few gems from my collection.

Today's Quote-Ryan Style

2011-03-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, you got to get some more milk in your boobies 'cause it's almost all gone. You gotta use your milking machine to get some more milk in there." (referring to my breast pump, which also serves as a gas station for one indoor push car). As frustrating as this kid is for potty training, he sure is cute when developing his own ideas.

6 Month Old!

2011-02-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

Indigo is just a sweetie. Her personality blossoms more everyday. The clip below shows her temper, but she has that sense of humor with it. I can't help but laugh at the raspberries when she gets really upset!

She is sporting one tooth and a swollen spot for #2 on the bottom middle already! I haven't been bitten...yet. She has several nicknames: Tiddle Widdle, Baby Bird and Baby Buh-lee (sp?) bestowed by her brother, and Milk Breath, from Mommy Dearest. She flaps her arms like wings when she gets excited, the more excited, the faster they flap.

She rolled over a couple of times for her Granna this week, she gets really mad when on her tummy-still.

Indi has started reaching for me when someone else is holding her. We will be dealing with separation anxiety soon. She squirms with excitement for Daddy too and kicks her little legs very fast.

The bald spot is disappearing from the back of her head, but I've also found that all of her long hair is centered like a faux hawk down the middle of her skull. It's long enough to get in her eyes, so barrettes are becoming more of a necessity than just a fashion statement.

She's up from Nap #2, time to wrap it up!

Almost 6 Months

2011-02-09T20:19:00.001-08:00

With Ryan, I was somewhat diligent about monthly updates on his doings. Poor poor second child, here's what's up with Indigo. She will be 6 months on the 19th.

LIKES:

Spoons, preferably large and metal for mouth exploration

Crazy dancing by Mom results in instant laughter

Loves her big brother, will watch him do ANYTHING

Tags on blankets, clothing, whatever. She is the baby that those Taggie toys got their marketing idea on. It's weird b/c her brother HATES tags.

Jumping on the bed and pouncing on Ryan. See above about sibling love.

HATES:

Riding in the car in the dark while awake (I have a theory that all rear-facing children go through this--mom inspired invention in my mind to remedy..)

Tummy time. Little Miss Thing has rolled over all of 5 times, and went on to sitting up. She really prefers to stand, but must have an adult assist in this maneuver. Will she skip the crawling? Only time will tell...

Celebrity Impersonations by Indigo

2011-02-07T10:46:00.001-08:00

Maggie J Simpson and Cindy Lou Who. I found the camera, cord, and batteries, so you WILL be seeing some of what the Pavey family has been up to since November very soon. However, a shower takes priority today.

Snowballing Home Projects

2011-01-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

Every homeowner knows that the list of home improvement projects is never ending. Here at Chez Pavey, the moving in has gone VERY slowly, and the problems/malfunctions seem to be multiplying. A quick summary: Prior to move in, water heater flooded daylight basement/family room. Extreme La Nina storms pummel master suite and sunroom, causing under door flooding in both rooms. Cost to clean carpets: nearly $400. First refrigerator water feature malfunctions, Home Depot provides free replacement with upgraded fridge. Cost savings: $1000 for fancier fridge than I need. (Scored Black Friday Deal!) Drain failure under kitchen sink after draining dish water. Immediately fixed by handy husband. Cost: free. Rodent invasion through unsealed surfaces. Lousy cat does not do her job. Cost: 2 cans of spray foam and dirty husband to crawlspace, plus 2 mouse traps set for any stragglers-no captures or further evidence of rodentia.

Now for my current Everest. The smallest room in our house is a full bath in the daylight basement. It is the "guest" bath, but also the main potty stop for those using the family room/playspace. Therefore it is seeing a lot of traffic from one little boy who loves to get potty prizes. The toilet paper holder thingy broke (replacement cost:$1.98), however, this has started the first major renovation in our new home. We discovered that the toilet was running too much so we bought a new flapper for the flusher. This did not help, the flapper could not freely swing to close. So Jeff got more of the mechanism yesterday. As he was installing it, he discovered that one of the bolts that holds the tank to the toilet was leaking. Now the back is totally off of the toilet, enabling me to paint the wainscoting a lovely shade of white (called Lamb).

Since the toilet paper holder broke, we decided to should replace all hardware in that bathroom. The builders of this house had TERRIBLE taste and installed GOLD HARDWARE everywhere! Hello 1980 (but the house was built in 2003, hence the taste issue). All walls/ceilings in this house are either boring beige or tan. So what better place to bring in some character that the guest bath, right? So, I've been painting.

When done, this bathroom will have a fully functioning toilet, beautiful paint (dark green above white wainscoting) and SILVER fixtures! If you visit Chez Pavey, please take a moment to notice this handiwork. I feel like we are rebuilding that bathroom!

Our first guests (Jeff's parents) are scheduled to arrive Feb 13. So I need to get back to paint prep while my family is still sleeping!

We Moved!

2010-12-30T20:25:00.001-08:00

We finally moved on Dec 27, and I still haven't found the camera cord to update new photos. We almost lost Claudia (the cat) in our move. She chose to hide in the dark/rain while I was packing up the last of the car. I found her at the last minute!

Christmas was weird this year, a tiny tree amidst boxes and a flurry of packing. Santa should be coming to the new house to do stockings THIS weekend instead. I've also lost my phone cord- I have one battery bar left, and am still searching through the piles. Soon there will be photos from our lovely new digs!

Happy 2011, I hope to emerge from this chaos intact and with all family members accounted for!

3 Month Rolling Baby

2010-11-22T21:51:00.000-08:00

Don't these smiles just KILL YOU?? My favorite is the one where Ryan is asleep and Indi looks like she heard the funniest joke. She is the cutest little hand/finger sucker with thigh rolls Ever!

Indigo rolled from her belly to back three times tonight, and I realized that she is 3 months old, it's time to blog! Ryan cheered for her as she pushed herself over again and again. It is so sweet to see their relationship blossoming. He is truly proud of his baby sister, and she is always watching his every move, and beams at him. It is heart melting.

Ryan is starting to show some initiative with potty training. If he keeps up at the current pace, he will be fully trained by his birthday! We're running out of room for all of his potty prizes. I switched to gummy lifesavers two days ago, as long as he uses the potty when it is light out, he gets candy. After dark, matchbox cars. He hasn't quite figured out the distinction yet, he just knows that he can't have sugar at nighttime. :)

In other news, our house has sold! In this market, it is a real blessing that we were only on the market for a month. Now, we have to get our new house situation ready to roll for a just before Christmas move in. I've already started saying goodbye to this house, our first home. I get all sentimental about all of the hard work that has gone into making this a home for our family. But I know the next one will be even bigger and better.

Coming out of the Fog

2010-11-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

My daughter has colic. What does this really mean? It means she screams for no apparent reason for hours every evening. It means my husband and I are at our wits end--emotionally and physically drained. It is so hard to hear your baby cry and not be able to help her. Both of us have backaches from holding Her Majesty in the appropriate position (on her side, bouncing non-stop-oh and you can't sit down, or she freaks out)

This has been going on for 3 weeks now. I removed all dairy from my diet, it has helped to decrease the LENGTH of her freak outs, but not stop them all together. Theories abound on why babies get this--the latest I'm believing has to do with immature digestion.

We have informed Indigo that once she is 3 months old that she must cease and desist all of these shenanigans. I'm so tired that the other night I made chicken for dinner and forgot to make any side dishes (noodles and veggies). Dare I say it, the last two nights haven't been too bad- are we emerging from this fog? Or have I just jinxed tonight's rest? Gotta run, she's screaming again.

Our Halloween

2010-11-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here we are: Baby Tiger/Pumpkin, Dragon, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Big Bad Wolf. Ryan dictated everyone's costumes this year. He likes to sing the Hey there little red riding hood song. We taught him this one as the "Nursery Rhyme" to go with a puzzle. His howl is quite cute.

I'm a little late, as usual. We celebrated Halloween on the ACTUAL night, not anything fancy surrounding it. This year was Ryan's first Trick or Treating from door to door. We went with some friends up in Everett. Ryan and Hazel had trouble with the concept of knocking on a door but not going inside...a new idea for both of them. We only hit a few houses, so there isn't enough candy for Mom and Dad to yoink. That's ok, since I had to give up dairy for Indigo, chocolate included, this Halloween was a bit of a drag for me. Those of you that know me well understand the sacrifice I am making for this child by giving up chocolate. I will have to find some weirdo-hippie version without dairy to keep my wits about me!

How to soothe a colicky baby- Daddy Style

2010-11-04T09:58:00.001-07:00

Her nickname du jour: Sack of potatoes

Two Months Old!

2010-10-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Indigo is pudging up nicely. It's weird to have a "normal" sized baby after one who was so tiny. She is moving quickly through her brother's gender neutral hand me downs. I've been putting 3 month onesies on her because the looser fit results in less screaming than the tighter fitting 0-3 month size. She is cooing and squawking more each day. We've also been blessed with a colic diagnosis for her screaming fits. The record stands at 6 hours straight. We have a barrage of remedies that we throw at her when she starts up-usually around the time it gets dark outside. Luckily, she wears herself out and gets a good 5-6 hours of sleep afterward.

The picture of Ryan and Grandpa is from Granna's birthday celebration at our house. Unfortunately, I only have a photo of the partially eaten cake. I put 100 on the top with red licorice. She took it all in stride-Thanks for being a good sport Granna.

All of our family visiting is over for the year. We are hoping to manage a trip back to Indiana over Christmas, but it will be very pricey.

Random Ryan

2010-09-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ryan and I were playing Birthday Party by making cakes out of legos and singing to each other. I asked him how old he would be for his next birthday. His response: "Becember". I think he means that his birthday is in December, which I have only told him a couple of times! He does not respond with a number to this question ever.

Today Ryan was playing with "Nugget" his baby doll. He was trying to nurse the baby, but said that his boobies were too small, and asked if I would feed the doll. I attempted a through the shirt fake out, but the little guy was on to me, and told me to lift my shirt. I said that he needed Ryan to feed him. We ended up getting the baby a bottle from my stash, and now Nugget is a strictly fake formula fed doll. I've got enough on my hands with little Miss Indi eating all the time, I don't need to pretend to nurse anybody else! Ryan is always very diligent about burping Nugget after each feeding, and replacing his binkie in his mouth. I love watching Ryan's creativity develop!

In Indigo news, she is getting chubby. Today while perched on a shopping cart, the roughness of the ride made her little cheeks jiggle like a basset hound. It was disturbing and cute all at once. Oh, and the mid-thigh roll has made it's appearance. Hooray for baby fat!

One Month Old

2010-09-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a few days late with my post, but some people count 4 weeks as a month, and others wait until the day of, so whatever: my baby is a month old.

She weighed 8 lbs 6 1/4 oz at her check up, and was 20 inches tall. I don't think this counts as 1 1/2 inches of growth since birth, I just think the nurses are more able to get her legs to stretch our for a more accurate measurement. The lovely outfit was provided by Grammy and promptly scarred with a mega diaper blowout following this photo shoot.

3 weeks old and Grammy's visit

2010-09-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Claudia does not like to share her Grammy. She slept with my mom through the entire visit.

Mama Bear Moment

2010-09-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows that you don't corner a mother bear with her cubs. I got cornered today, and my instincts definitely took the fight path at full force. After dropping my mom off at the airport after an amazing 10 day visit, I stopped at the cell phone parking lot to nurse Indigo, who had starting squalling at top volume. I moved from the driver's seat to the front passenger seat to allow myself more space, but left the keys in the ignition to allow Ryan to continue listening to his music. All of a sudden, an older man opened my driver's door and started to get into my car! I had my left boob in my daughter's mouth, and was mostly uncovered. I screamed at him in my most authoritative tone, "What are you doing? Get out of my car!!!". He was obviously as flustered as me, simply getting into the wrong car. His car was next to mine, and he drove away in embarrassment. I then broke down in tears, since I was so scared and startled. I thought I was about to be car jacked by a 70-something man in broad daylight!

Lesson learned- ALWAYS lock the car, even when you are in it! I was nervous of locking the kids in the car, since I was shuffling myself around, but maybe next time Ryan will have to wait for more music. :)

Boys Versus Girls

2010-09-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Nobody warned me about the mess. This cute little baby generated the above pile of laundry in a mere twenty minutes! We were alone for a bit, and she came at me with a barrage of bodily fluids, taking out the bouncy seat and my clothing on the way. Ryan was never THIS bad. At least when he peed on me, it was a nice stream that I could dodge, Indi is more of a soak and submerge pee-er.

Due Date- 40 weeks

2010-09-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken on Sunday, August 29, Nugget's real due date. Yes, I'm behind on posts, but I have 2 kids now, so computer time is much less than it used to be. Give me time to adjust, we'll see if we can avoid second child syndrome with the photos.

Introducing Indigo Joy

2010-08-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

The following post contains details of labor and delivery. Do not read if you will be put off by details, but I know many of you are interested in this stuff.

It all started at 5:30 AM on Thursday, August 19.

I went in Ryan's room to "tuck up" his covers which he had removed so he could go back to sleep. He has been asking for the baby's crib for the past few nights, and we have been accommodating. Maybe he knew that Indi was on her way. As I bent to cover him, I felt a flush of amniotic fluid, not a gush, just enough to get my attention. I woke Jeff, took a shower, and called the triage nurse. She said to head on into the hospital, even though my contractions were very light and more than 10 minutes apart. We took our time going, stopping for coffee and a scone from Starbucks on the way. Ryan does not like to get up in the morning, so we packed him up in PJ's and managed to forget his shoes at home.

We arrived at triage at 8:15 AM, my contractions were a bit heavier, but still not very painful. I just took some deep breaths and focused on whatever inanimate object caught my attention at the time to get through them. After assessment, I was declared "admitted" at 5-6 cm of cervical dilation (you have to be 10 to have the baby). We were escorted by soft spoken nurse Shirley to our room on the next floor. I had a few more contractions, and sat up in the bed as my midwife, Rebecca, came into the room. I felt a "pop" which I thought was audible to others, and the rest of my water broke. It was 10 AM. I went to the restroom and had a huge contraction. When I returned to my bed, nurse Shirley put an IV access into my arm-just in case. Nothing was hooked up to it, and she noted the time on the bandage, 10:15. I then had the worst contraction, which caused me to yell and cuss and ask for medication. I had another contraction and was yelling for meds. Rebecca said, "We need to check you first". Well, I had dilated to 10, and was ready to deliver the baby, so no pain meds for me!! Just yelling (enough that my throat was sore later) and crazy amounts of pushing. I delivered my daughter while laying on my left side. Poor Jeff was contorted onto the bed in front of me, supporting my top leg and helping my pelvis to maximize the stretch for Indigo to pass through. Rebecca placed my hand on Indi's head, and I pushed into my hand. It was surreal. Indigo was born at 11:01 AM. Our birth team was amazing. They followed my birth plan to the letter without question--no lights, no meds for baby, no bath, skin to skin contact as much as possible, and Indigo stayed with me the entire time.

Indigo has beautiful dark straight hair, and cloudy blue eyes. Her head is perfectly round, and her petite body is perfect in every way. We came home on Friday afternoon, and have been blissfully snuggling, bathing, and learning to eat since then.

Thank you to all our well-wishers and friends. We are a very blessed family of FOUR.

Name Clue

2010-08-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

And yes, they are swollen.

Eviction Notice

2010-08-02T05:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Tenant (Nugget of Joy),

Please consider this an official eviction notice. Don't take it personally, you have been a lovely boarder here at Chez Momma, but it is time to start thinking about moving out. You have 28 days to move out, or we will have to resort to drastic measures. You are outgrowing your space here and will be much more comfortable in alternative surroundings. We have many other options available for you: co-sleeper, swing, bouncy seat, sling, Moby, etc. We also offer round the clock feedings of fresh, warm, sweet milk, and a big brother who is anxious to snuggle you on the couch, pat you gently for burping, and has even volunteered for diaper assistance (I don't believe him on the last one either).

I am not known for my patience. You brother was already home from the NICU at this point in gestation, not to start the sibling comparisons off negatively... You have been a much quieter fetus than your brother. He always kicked at the doppler, you tend to ignore it. You have also been kind to my ribs and lungs, even though your feet have been tucked against my right side for more than 3 weeks now. You are not so nice to my down lower parts, but I get it- you are running out of room. I am not a large person, so growing a baby isn't exactly my forte. I'll do much better when you come out, okay?

We are all excited to meet you- your brother thinks you will have blue eyes. For some reason, I think you will have dark curly hair. Daddy has predicted that you will be more docile than your brother. I hope you will sleep better than he does.

I look forward to helping you make the move into your new accommodations soon!

Love, Mommy (The Management)

Nesting?

2010-08-02T05:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is now 5:41 AM and I have to write on my blog. I have been awake since 2:30- (Ryan was up then), but have not been able to sleep. Things I MUST do now- write on blog, charge up video camera, download still photos, thaw turkey for meatloaf, and possibly polish stainless steel fridge. Could I BE ANYMORE STEREOTYPICAL????

Yesterday I hit 36 weeks, an unprecedented stretching of my body has taken place. I am anxious and excited to meet my daughter, but would really prefer her attached to the outside of me at this point. More on that later. The real reason you are all here: belly photos.

Also, we had Family Bonding Time this weekend. Ryan is a real cowboy. He loves pony/horse rides (his lingo). We picked (Ryan ate) blueberries at a blueberry farm. We came home with 6.47 pounds! This is my official prediction on Nugget's weight. According to Google, that converts to 6 pounds, 7.52 ounces. (I think I was 6 lb, 7oz, but I don't remember back that far-Mom, fact checking needed please).

Photo captions: Red dress, 35 weeks, Blue dress, 36 weeks (note the not so subtle change in demeanor) Ryan in robe= he loves how soft mine is compared to his, the kid is a texture freak!

Sleep, the Elusive Mistress

2010-07-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have lamented before about Ryan's sleep issues. They come and go, as phases are know to do, but we are now in the midst of another level of trouble. Summertime in the NW means that it does not get dark outside until after 9:30. This means all neighborhood children are still galavanting freely in the street, screaming and playing with all their might. You can't blame them, but when you tell a 2-year old that it's time for bed around 8:30, you are met with some mighty resistance. We have given up on early bedtimes for now. I haven't been working since late May, so we usually don't need to be up early in the morning. Today, we both slept until 9:30. (more on my troubles later).

We begin the bedtime process for Ry just before 8 PM, with a bath and teeth brushing. Then we move to the couch for a book or two, then into the bedroom for 2 more books, and talking about our day. Singing seems to be out for now, I'm okay with it. The problem comes when the parental unit attempts to detach from our leech of a boy and exit his bedroom. Ryan wants us to lay down with him (double bed, so totally happens). Last night, this was at 9:15. He screamed and cried about "Mommy holding his hand so he won't be scared" until after 10:15. Last night we let him go on, with check ups at 5, 10, and 15 minute increments to hopefully wear him down. It's really wearing us down. It's horribly unnerving to know that your child is scared of some unknown. I have told him that we are just down the hall, and that I will look in on him before I go to bed, all to no avail. Jeff gave in last night and retired with Ryan at 10:15. I stayed up until 11, then went to tug on his foot to signal that he could escape to our bedroom. The poor guy (Jeff) is getting up at 5AM to make the ferry commute and bank some time up for when Nugget gets here, and doesn't need to be fighting this sleep battle with the Boy. I don't have the energy either. So we are back to no adult alone time. :( How will we fit a newborn into this crazy dance? EEK.

Now my troubles. Temperature regulation, itching feet and hands (yes, I moisturize several times a night), bladder emptying, and a fetus who just loves to grind her head into my pelvic floor are just a sampling of the joys that I am currently experiencing. These are all pregnancy related and I have to wonder if it will be easier to deal with the baby than deal with all of this stuff! I will find out in 6 weeks.

I was WIDE awake from 3-6 AM today. I got up at 3 for Ryan's crying fit and lay with him for about 30 minutes. Then I was hungry, so I had Breakfast #1. Then I went back to my own bed and lay there. When I was finally dozing at 5, Jeff's alarm clock went off. So I got up again and made his lunch, and lay back down. Ryan called me in at 8 AM for a snuggle and we fell asleep together until 9:30.

What do you do for insane toddler sleep issues?

Swim Photo

2010-07-17T17:21:00.001-07:00

I forgot to post this.

Chronicles of Ryan

2010-07-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Photo captions for above: crafts of the week, making a mockery of my body's condition 1 and 2, and 33 week photo (I'm at 34 weeks tomorrow, but this shows the hugeness of the situation well)

In these last few weeks of Ryan's fleeting only-childness, I need to document some of his sayings/doings so we don't lose it all in the fog of newborness that is about to descend. For the uber-pregnant me, the next six weeks will drag, but I know each moment alone with my little man must be cherished, even though some can border on the mind-numbingly repetitive.

Quote of the week: "Mommy, did you SAW that?" (said after doing just about anything)
There must have been some unseen growth spurt of 1/8 inch or something. Clothing still fits, but all of a sudden, Ryan can reach and use the pedals of the trike much better, and can reach the bathroom faucet with ease.
Independent hand washing has ensued.
Pulling down his own pants when time to change clothes. (assuming the Dictator has approved of the wardrobe selection and timing of change- translation- This has happened twice Ever).
Previous two items are tell-tale signs of readiness to potty train!!!!
Requested to "sit and make toots" last night before bed. Although this is just a new tactic in his repertoire of bedtime procrastination techniques, we are being indulgent, as maybe someday he might produce Something while on the potty. He sat for so long last night that the cushioned toilet seat was stuck to his bum when he arose.
Bedtime is still a challenge, but got a little bit easier last night. Last parental entry into bedroom at 10:15 PM, and no one had to sleep over! (he's been having bad dreams, and wants someone to stay so he doesn't get scared). It's 8:20 AM, and he's still asleep. The only joy of a night-owl child is that he sleeps in. However, this puts a big damper on morning appointments, work schedule, etc.
Ryan started swim lessons with Daddy last week. See photo. Gymnastics ended at the beginning of June, which I participated in, and I'm glad it ended when it did. Bending is not my current forte.
Last weekend, Ryan pounced on his Dad post-Daddy nap and proclaimed, "Daddy, you're my Best Friend!". We both melted.
Daddy worship is in full effect. Any exciting thing during the day is met with, "I'm gonna show My Daddy after-fore he gets home from work."
We've become crafting fools, this week we produced two caterpillars, a snake, and a chicken. See photo.

Mama Bear Syndrome AKA Hormonal Overdrive?-32 weeks

2010-07-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

I've reached a certain point in this pregnancy where I feel like an adult that has the ability (and uses it) to strike fear in the hearts of other people's children. I'm not doing it to be malicious, but being feared/respected?/and minded by other's is an empowering feeling, especially when my own offspring can be such a dictator. I call this feeling Mama Bear Syndrome. I've had two incidences in the last week, and am becoming fearful of waddling my wide load out into public, as I will act upon my thoughts immediately. Public be warned!

It first struck me at the Fourth of July celebration we attended, where children were playing on a huge playground waiting for darkness to fall and the sky to light up. Three girls, (ages 9-11?) were hanging out at the top of the tunnel slide and talking. One girl was hanging off of the outside of the slide and dangling her body dangerously over the ground. I heard another mother voice her concerns to her friends about the girl falling, but I'm the one who acted on it.

I'm sure the girl felt perfectly safe doing this and proud of her strength. However, I have a highly impressionable two-year old, (and there were MANY kids of ALL ages out there) who might think that he could do that move too. So, I approached the girl and asked her to please come down, as she was setting a bad example for the little kids on the playground. Her friends gave me a pre-teen sneer, but she came down. Triumph for Mama Bear!

The second occurred at my house at 11:30 last night. It has finally reached 90 degrees in Seattle, and most homes are not air-conditioned. Therefore, we were sleeping (not insomniac me) with our windows open to catch the night breeze. My neighbors (the good ones) have two kids: one boy age 10, and one girl age 17. These are good kids, we even hire the girl to watch our cat when we are out of town. Last night, the kids were playing basketball in the street at 11:30 PM. Mama Bear came out to tell them that it was time to put the ball away and go inside. I'm not sure if their parents were home or not, but they have air-conditioning, so I'm sure the repetitive sound of a basketball on asphalt was muffled by the closed windows and air compressor. I told the kids that I had a sleeping baby next door, and if he were to wake up from their antics, I would be VERY unhappy. I said that they could stay outside, but the ball needed to stop, and if they were setting off fireworks (someone in a mile vicinity was) that should stop too. I tried to be polite, but was up until 2 AM feeling like a mean old lady who yells at other people's children. I need some blogging love to know that my hormones have not driven me over the edge of socially acceptable behavior.

I am trying to raise my child(ren) to be respectful of others and conscious of their actions in public. So far, I hear that my little tyrant is very well behaved (for others) after two overnight visits with grandparents etc.

In other news, I've hit a milestone. With Ryan, I was in the hospital at this point, so I didn't have a chance to yell at other people's children! My biggest complaint is that in the photos, my body is growing and it seems that my head is shrinking! The bones in my feet hurt too, but since last pregnancy I was off of them at 28 weeks, it is a new feeling. I've only gained 20 pounds so far (with Ryan at 34 weeks, I hit 40- but water was to blame for the last 10).

Some Ryan updates:

Ryan had his first solo camping trip with his dad at the end of June. See photos. Very fun for both.

Yesterday, I took Ry to McDonald's for a "biggar" (hamburger) (very rare treat for him). He scooted into the booth after we had washed our hands. I said we needed to go order our food. He said, "No Mommy, the lady is coming." (the waitress?) I think we might take him out to eat a bit much if he is expecting a waitress to take his order at McDeath! So funny.

We've been crafting more. See the dinosaur to the top of this post. A fellow blogger suggested this website, which has been very helpful for finding age appropriate, learning type crafts. No Time for Flash Cards.

That's all for now, I'm off to take a nap! Only about 7 more weeks of baby cooking to go!

30 weeks

2010-06-20T21:45:00.001-07:00

I got my belly henna-ed at Father's Day beer festival yesterday. It should darken a bit more tomorrow, but I'm too excited to share it. It's the closest thing I'll likely ever have to a tattoo. I'm feeling big, getting up and down is harder, and I'm not sleeping very well. Jeff is going to have to take over the laundry next week. I washed a bunch of baby stuff tonight and could barely reach the back of the washer to get it all moved to the dryer. Luckily, Ryan is more into helping lately and enjoys moving the laundry along with me!

Some of Ryan's latest sayings:

"When I was a little boy...."

"Don't talk to me" (used to avoid direct questioning, such as did you poop in your diaper?)

"I don't want to"

"Don't talk at the table" (I think this is a morph of don't talk with food in your mouth, but am not sure)

We're still on yesterweek for things in the past, and he thinks that all the days of the week are Tuesday for some reason. I started talking to him about time on his digital clock, like that 8 is his bedtime, and 8 is when he can get up in the morning. Tonight he was jumping on the couch and reading the thermostat clock and told me it was 9 o'clock (at about 7), so something with that must be sticking-at least he was looking at a clock.

Ryan told me last night that his baby was kicking in his tummy, so I put my ear up to it like he does to mine. He said, "did you hear it?"

He has really taken to his doll, also named Nugget, and shushes him and pats his back. They

sleep together, and Nugget rides in his lap in the carseat.

Ryan hit the Terrible Twos last week. Getting dressed in the morning is a challenge, everything needs to be his idea, and he never likes the clothes I have picked out. Even today, as we were going to see Toy Story 3 for Father's Day, he fought us on leaving-even though he knew we would see a movie and have popcorn! Some days you just can't reason with The Dictator.

Good Times

2010-06-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

I'm past 28 weeks now, and lots is happening around here. Ryan got his first taste of carnie rides, the big slide was fine the first time, but the second time, he had to be rescued by Daddy. He LOVED the pony ride, note the look of glee on his face.

I had an ultrasound yesterday, and when I showed Ryan the face of his little sister, he told me it looked like a gorilla! I guess I might think that too if I had never seen one before.

He's growing so big, and understands and communicates very well for a 2 1/2 year old.

27 weeks

2010-06-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Getting big.

A Series of Unfortunate Events-Part 2

2010-05-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Where were we? Or yes, crying and driving. If you are just tuning in, go to the Previous Post to get the Whole Story.

Ryan was very quiet during this part of the day. And he actually ATE the wadded up cereal bar. We got back to the car dealership at 5:45 PM. I get the keys and begin moving back in to my now super clean car. All is forgiven. Ryan is again "driving" and I hit the lock on y remote so he doesn't fall out (such a safety conscience mother) (it does not lock, since a back door is open) while I go inside to get some help with getting my car seat out of the loaner. The middle seatbelt had taken it hostage. The nice salesman came to help me, and even picked up my keys off the ground when I dropped them. I stuck them in the seat pocket while I began the maneuvers that are involved in car seat installation all over again. I can't find the receiver for a seat belt that was replaced during this service visit, so I get out and shut the door. The car locks. With Ryan and my keys inside. BAD THING #8. I rush back inside and calmly explain that I have 2 more problems. A missing seat belt half and a locked car with child inside! All three salesmen came out to assist me. One guy was really animated and got Ryan all excited to hit buttons so he could unlock the car. After many of the wrong button, he finally hit it and the guy jerked the door open. I caught Ryan as he tumbled out (my fear all along) and the car alarm started going off! We all cheered and Ryan was happy to have helped. (don't think he had a CLUE what was happening).

It took 2 salesmen in the back seat of my car to find the missing seat belt receiver, but they did, phew. After that, we packed up, met Daddy for dinner in Poulsbo (I made him order FOR me as I was driving the 20 minutes north again- remember my lunch portion?) and made Jeff drive us up to Port Townsend. We survived and had a nice weekend away. I am exhausted again after this retelling of my Series of Unfortunate Events.

I had a Bad Day- A Series of Unfortunate Events

2010-05-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was so horrifically bad, I am just now able to break it down enough to write about it. The day was made of many small items which led to big problems, which led to tears, but ended in triumph. Just like a movie. Maybe made for TV movie, as Ryan and I both tend toward dramatics when the going gets tough. Here is our story.

Last Friday, we were planning to have a lovely family get away weekend to the Peninsula. Our friends Nick and Lacey were hosting a joint birthday party for Nick and Jeff at their "family compound" in Port Townsend. Our plan included Ryan and me going to get the car serviced in Bremerton then meeting Jeff at the ferry terminal (he would walk on from Seattle) then driving north together to Port Townsend. I would love to include a map here, as it is helpful to the story, but Google the Washington Peninsula, and you will get the idea.

Our car drop off time was scheduled for 10:30 AM, I don't schedule anything where I am responsible for getting other people ready before 10 AM. However, due to poor sleep the night before, neither Ryan nor Mommy woke up before 8:40 AM. Oops. (bad thing #1) We didn't leave the house until 9:45- no big deal, I call the dealership and say that we are running behind. But the car guy says they may not be able to do the interior detail (a service they owed me due to a missing part last time) if I don't get there quickly. (the back leather seats were covered with a fine mist of rotten milk- If anybody needed a detail, it was ME) While on the phone, the milk that I have placed in a sippy cup/cooler/cloth grocery bag begins forming a puddle in the hallway. (bad thing #2) This is immediately AFTER the phone call to my husband to say that we were leaving, where he reminded me how nice it is to come home to a clean house after being away all weekend. Virtual middle finger went his way, as I ran through the house trying to find something absorbent enough to hand Milk Pond that won't matter if it has to be pitched due to rotten mild smell. After repackaging our food bag and leaving things in the sink that would haunt me Sunday afternoon, we BARELY made the 10:10 Kingston ferry. I achieved a relative state of Zen after some paper bag type breathing once our car was loaded onto the ferry. We arrived at the car dealership at 11:30 AM.

At the dealership, they provide a loaner car while my car is serviced. I love this. However, I have an entire weekend packed into the back of my Forester. And they give me an Outback. Which has a much smaller cargo space. Also, I am 23 weeks pregnant. An elderly woman and her deaf teenager had pity on me ferrying my carload of crap and helped me move some of it over. I placed Ryan in the front seat and let him "drive" while we moved stuff around. Installing a car seat is never a picnic, as you have to use your body weight to work it into the seat and keep tightening everything around it until it is snug. This is fine if you are a slim, and realitively limber individual. Not so great with Nugget in the way and me unable to get my knees up so high.
During the Car Swap Olympics, Ryan pooped in his diaper. This is something that unfortunately still happens at least once a day, and is usually when we have walked into an establishment that does not have a suitable area for changing and when we leave the diaper bag in the car. Luckily, I had the diaper bag, but had to balance him on the edge of the sink while doing the change and got poop on the changing pad that I would be using all weekend long. (Bad thing #3).

My big plan for the time the car will be at the dealership involves driving north about 20 minutes to a town called Poulsbo for some lunch, and to look around at the real estate in the area to get a feel for neighborhoods and housing options. Ryan and I head straight to lunch. He passed out for his nap just as I was ordering our turkey sandwich at a quaint little bakery. Unfortunately, this bakery was SO quaint, they were cash or check only. I had $6+ change in my wallet. A whole sandwich was more like $7+, not to mention the pies, cookies, and other yummy things that were SPEAKING to me as I walked in the door. Ryan and I SPLIT a HALF sandwich, I ate all the chips (he was asleep anyway) and I bought 3/$1 cookies for a treat. Bad thing #4- eating 1/4 of a sandwich for lunch and being out of $. After wandering the downtown for a little bit with my sleeping charge, I headed up the hill again to our parking spot (only 1 hour parking was open) and who should wake up upon our return to the car? Mr. I Don't Need Much a Nap Today! So, I get him into the car and feed him his 1/4 of the sandwich and some black olives (he loves these) and his cookie. We are then on our way to explore the town. I found the Chamber of Commerce and we inquire about our bank (I thought it was a national bank, but could not find an ATM). The kind lady sent me to the nearby grocery store to the ATM (my backup plan was to buy something there and get cashback anyway, so not a bad thing). I have never seen such a tiny ATM as the one I used at Albertson's. It was straight out of the 80's. It actually made that dial-up squealing modem noise while accessing my funds! I had to laugh out loud.
We spent the next couple of hours playing in a park, sharing an apple, and touring a track house (never done it before, wanted to see what all the hype is about- not my style. I need a house with Personality). Jeff was to board the 3:00 ferry from Seattle, which would put him in Bremerton at 4. He called to say that he made the ferry, but then called again at 3:45 to say that he had arrived. So we start back south and I tell him to find a good meeting spot and I will be there in about 20 minutes. On our way to Bremerton, my phone rings again. It is Ryan's pediatrician. They have test results on a urinalysis we ran earlier in the week. Ryan had been complaining, "Something is wrong to my pee pee," so I took him to the doctor to see if there was a real issue or not. Collecting pee from a diapered boy is no picnic. It involved gluing a baggie to his body for a while then REMOVING it (oh the horror) and taking the pee to the Dr. The immediate results were negative, but the culture grew some bacteria. Granted, this is normal skin type bacteria, but since he was still complaining about it, they wanted to give antibiotics just in case. I am in an unknown area here- my kid is complaining, when he had surgery last fall, they said to always believe it if your kid says they are in pain, so we went with it. Anyway, this all resulted in me having to find a foreign pharmacy during my weekend getaway so my kid can have his meds. The Dr. decides to call it in to Bremerton, so I can get it on my way. No big deal, right? wrong.
I go to meet my husband first. While I am headed that way, the dealership calls and says that my car is ready for pick up. My plan of attack-- get husband, pick up med, go swap cars, go to Port Townsend. Easy, right? Wrong. After numerous phone exchanges and loops driven through the ferry terminal area in Bremerton, we discover that Jeff has walked on the the WRONG FERRY!! He is in Bainbridge Island--no where near Bremerton. This is why he arrived so quickly! I yell at him that he is an A-hole, tell him to get on a bus to a central meeting location and head out to find this mysterious pharmacy to get my kid some drugs. Bad thing #5. I am not all that familiar with the geography of Bremerton, but I had the address of the pharmacy, and knew from the in-car compass that I was heading north (away from car dealership). I ended up at a Safeway nearly all the way in Silverdale. I must have passed 5 other pharmacies along the way that would have worked just fine, but it's 5 on a Friday, do you think I can get a hold of the Dr.'s office again. No way. Bad thing #6. I rush into the pharmacy and ask for a phone book map so I can figure out how far I am from where I need to be- it looks like a 30 minute trip back down to the car dealership. So I call them. They are closing. But they will leave my keys with the salesmen who will still be there when I arrive. Phew. In the course of providing my information and waiting for the medicine to be mixed up, Ryan poops AGAIN. (see previous history of pooping while diaper bag is in the car). I burst into tears in the pharmacy in front of the entire staff. (bad thing #7/straw that broke me) I scoop him up and head out to change since we are still waiting for medicine. A turd falls out of the car while I'm changing. I just kick it away. We go back in, get the medicine, and directions to get back to the car dealership.
At the car, Ryan asks for a cereal bar snack. He has his weird toddler things, like any kid, and will throw a FIT if it is broken. Guess what? It broke. He screams, and I screamed right back at him. I wadded the bar in my hand to make it whole again and left it in his cupholder. I got in the front and started sobbing as I drove back to the dealership. At this point Jeff calls and says that he will meet me at a restaurant in Poulsbo. He has taken a bus from Bainbridge Island to Poulsbo to be on the path to Port Townsend. I start to breathe again. But it is too soon.... I will have to continue my story later, as this is the World's Longest Post.

Water Heater Hell

2010-04-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

We have been living on borrowed time with our water heater since moving into this house 4 years ago!! Replacing it was a top item for the pre-Nugget arrival list. Well, we've been without hot water now for 2 days, while Jeff fights the beast. We thought there would be victory last night, but when he got up this morning to shower, water was leaking from the thermostat of our defective water heater!! He had a big ski trip planned for the day, since it just FINALLY snowed in the mountains this week. So, Ryan and I went to a friend's house for me to shower for church this AM, and he took his skanky bootie to the mountains! Now it's 10 PM, and he just discovered why we are having such trouble. 1) there is air in the pipes, 2) the water valve feeding the water heater was not all the way open!!!! NO WONDER IT TOOK THE THING 3 HOURS TO FILL UP!!!

I hate home projects, I would TOTALLY hire someone for everything, but my husband loves to learn by doing.

If we don't get hot water in the next hour, I'm moving to a hotel. I do not enjoy camping in my own home, and the dirty dishes are really piling up. I had to boil pans of water to give my baby a Little House on the Prairie bath tonight, and it was not fun.

The plus side:

1-Jeff redid the floor under the water heater, since the old one was sitting on soggy particle board (classy).

2-We also replaced the old with a "lowboy" version that will get us 1/2 a closet in the office. (our office houses a water heater in one closet and the furnace in another- good use of space? I think not)

3- Ryan got a swanky clubhouse box to hang out in and color. He should be busy for the next week decorating it. (minus- getting green marker out of his EARS during his pioneer bath)

In other news, today marks the 20 week point for my pregnancy. I'm half way there!!

Nugget's Big Photo Shoot

2010-03-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

We had our main ultrasound this week at the hospital. Nugget has all of her/his parts, but we are not 100% sure on the gender. The little bugger was not the most cooperative baby at showing even the simplest of parts (like the left arm) to the poor technician, so as we moved south, the legs were crossed for a while. We kept coming back to see if positioning had changed, but the best we got was a glance of a tight-legged baby. We think Nugget is a girl, but are not sure enough to make any major clothing/gear/room painting decisions. Most of the gear and some clothes will be hand me downs from Ryan anyway, even if we have a girl, don't expect to see many pink fluffy things purchased by her parents.

Nugget's foot measured 2 cm in length. So tiny and sweet!

We think that in light of the new non-information about Nugget, the spelling should be modified to Nugg-IT. :) After the great Naming Summit, we are down to 5 girl names, and 6 boy names, with 2-3 lead contenders in both categories. A later summit shall be held when we enter the third trimester. No more ultrasounds are presently scheduled, they shall be reserved unless deemed "medically necessary". (Ryan slept through a stress test once in utereo, and this was considered reason enough for a peek, so we might get another look)

Yesterweek

2010-03-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

This is Ryan's new concept for time. He has two tenses yesterweek for past or later for future. It's really fun trying to work out what will happen in the next few days with him and watch him figure it all out. We are gearing up for about a month of family visits. My parents will arrive late tomorrow night, and Jeff's parents will come at the end of the month.

It is fortuitous for the boy that his grandparents are coming for several reasons:

1) Today's lovely battle over a nap. He simply WOULD NOT go to sleep! I even left him there for a while and only came back in when he got rowdy in the crib. His response of late is "I can't!" WHICH I LOATHE. I don't know where he learned it, I make a conscience effort NOT to say things like that in front of him, but it a standard excuse for EVERYTHING lately. I finally won the nap war after a 30 minute drive to nowhere, which resulted in my going to Costco for more gas wearing my slippers :)

2) Ryan seems to think that it is nearly his birthday. Not sure why, but the g-parents ALWAYS have gifts, so I doubt I can convince him otherwise.

3) I need to take more breaks. With the impending arrival of Nugget, I am craving every second of free time, knowing that very soon we will be re-set to zero on how much time I can run away from it all. I am trying to make all my alone time with Ryan count for something too, as he has NO IDEA what it will do to his domain in sharing his Mommy time.

In other news, our family will once again walk in the March of Dimes Walk for Babies in April. This is a cause near and dear to our hearts, since Ryan was a preemie. Please consider supporting Team Zamboni. (this was Ryan's fetal nickname). You can make a tax deductible contribution to our team by using this link: http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1325586

We still don't have the video done from Hawaii. I had to take the computer in for some service to the disc drive, and update iLife, so things may be moving along soon. In the meantime, I will make you all jealous with some scenery photos from Hawaii.

Nugget of Joy

2010-02-28T16:40:00.001-08:00

I have been rather tightlipped on the internet of late, as I have had a BIG secret since Christmas Day. A new member of our family, Nugget, will be joining us at the end of August (30th official due date). I wanted to wait until all family and work associates were informed of my condition, so no googling gave up any surprises. We're doing a journal, including weekly photos to minimize the second child syndrome of no photos or pregnancy memories that many people experience. Below are a few of my favorites. The first is six weeks, the second is 10, and the last is 12 weeks (blurry Hawaii shot). Today marks the beginning of week 14, but my photographer and assistant are both taking a late nap, so we will take that photo tonight.

As you can see, Ryan is getting into showing off his belly too. He informed my yesterday that there is a baby in his tummy too, and that his name is Baby Emmett. (our close friends have a 5 month old son with this SAME name, coincidence?)

We're not hung up on the gender of this kid, we just want a full-term and healthy pregnancy.

Hawaiian Hiatus

2010-02-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

While you all were digging out from "SNOWMAGGEDON" (headline in HI newspaper) my family and our close friends the Burghdoffs were soaking up some sun in Hawaii, the ONLY state that did not have snow last week. HUGE SMILE.

Best part of trip: seeing several endangered species including: An albino humpback whale, green sea turtles, and a Hawaiian Monk seal.

Worst part of trip: Two hours of screaming overtired children (Ryan age 2 and Hazel, age 18mths) on the red-eye plane ride home. I gave up my seat so my son could stretch out and sleep and sat by total strangers two hours into the long flight who gave me a real stink eye for moving into an empty seat! I ignored them and tried to nap. Boo to the airline for NEVER Turning off the stupid TVs!

Lessons learned: I love boogie boarding. However, a pedicure was a waste of money, as the sand destroyed it. Also, spray tanning looks good, if you can keep it off of your feet. I'm still sanding some of the orange bits away a week and a half later. Also, video taping dolphins that are leading your boat at over 30 MPH will not turn out well, it will be very blurry, and 12 minutes is too long to tape anything!

We took lots of photos, but I think the best parts were captured on video. Hopefully my editing department (jeff) can sort through the footage and we can get a video montage up soon. In the meantime, here are a few photos.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

We've been too busy doing to get busy documenting. Ryan has been ice skating and downhill skiing in the past few weeks. He and Daddy are out playing in the mud now, so I have a chance to catch up on the blog.

I don't have any photos of the skiing, as it took both parents to hold him up. But he sure had fun. There were stuffed bunnies stationed down the bunny slope to give beginning skiiers targets. Ryan enjoyed touching each one.

We are getting sick of the rain. At least it isn't any colder than 40 at night, but that is making the mud all the more goopy. The landslides are starting around here. Luckily not in our neighborhood. Only 2 weeks and 6 days until we leave for our Hawaiian get away! I cannot wait.

Ryan's First Movie

2009-12-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

Jeff has spent a LOT of time making this special movie about Ryan--from the VERY beginning through his first moments home from the hospital. I hope you enjoy it.

Apple Picking

2009-12-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

We shot this back in October. I'm learning more advanced technological maneuvers with the computer. It's a longer clip, but quite funny.

More Indiana Photos

2009-12-25T22:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! We spent a leisurely day in our PJ's opening gifts and eating at will. We had a fire in the fireplace and I played with dinosaurs, a fire truck, an airplane, and took a nap. A highly successful day overall.

Here are more photos from our Indiana trip. Enjoy!

Happy Hippy Christmas!

2009-12-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

We are renting a tree this year from the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation. It is a living tree that will be planting on a streambank after the Christmas holiday. Small trees work best for restoration work, so there weren't any big ones from which to choose. We got this little gal and gave her an ego boost with a table underneath and a fancy tree skirt to hide her ugly 5 gallon-bucket-bottom. We're also more green in terms of energy use this year, as the tiny tree can only handle one strand of lights. Only the lightest and most special ornaments made it on the tree. Here's to a greener, more simple Christmas!

Christmas Trip

2009-12-21T14:04:00.000-08:00

We're back! We survived the flights, cold weather, and bad tempers to visit our family for an early birthday/holiday celebration last week. Here are some highlights.

Ryan loves riding horses and tractors. Grammy and Grampy have two horses, Sabi and Jewel. He just had to ride BOTH of them! The tractor would not start due to the cold, but the horn still worked, much to his delight. The bottom two photos are Great Grandad getting "nosies" and Great Grandma holding Ryan.

I just downloaded 93 photos from the last two weeks, so more posting to come!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-30T17:17:00.001-08:00

Our family was very thankful this year to get away from it all at Mount Hood. Some friends of the family have a house there that we used to rendezvous with our Burghdoff friends for some fun in the snow. We attempted a snowshoeing expedition, but do not have photographic evidence. It was tough, as Ryan could not ride in the backpack due to his recent surgery, so we had to haul him along on a sled. The trail was not groomed, so there was more child carrying than riding. But this little guy LOVES the snow!

Slacker Blogger

2009-11-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

Maybe I should claim that life as an Undead Prom Queen has led to less blogging of late, but that's not really it. I've just been lurking on so many other blogs lately, that I don't really have time left for writing on my own. I find myself composing ideas while laying in bed at night, with clever titles and stories to share, but never put them into the computer, and they flit away in the night.

New photos should appease the angry blog readers!

Male Prima Donna

2009-10-29T21:51:00.001-07:00

So funny!!!

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Jeff did the carving, I did the dinner preparation and seed cleaning for roasting. Photos of the completed pumpkins will be done later, as the largest pumpkin is not quite finished. The maestro got tired....

Photo catch up

2009-10-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

We visited a local farm this past weekend to see some animals and pick out our pumpkins. Ryan really liked the goats the best. Photos of pumpkin carving coming soon.

What I made today

2009-10-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm hosting a playdate tomorrow, what other reason could I have to make these spooky cupcakes? They are Spiderweb Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes, and better taste as good as they look! They actually came out looking somewhat like the picture on the recipe. Yeah!

Do you know what this vegetable is called?

2009-10-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Please answer the poll with your best guess. No googling the answer either!

It appeared on my doorstep last week as part of my farm delivery. I steamed some today and put it through the food processor to add some veggie lovin' to the macaroni and cheese. Yum.

Testing Two

2009-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ryan won't be 2 years old until 2 months from now, but he is trying out some two-year old moves already, and they aren't all pleasant.

1. We have a new game where he likes to make Mommy sad by taking away her blankie, and waiting for the pouty lip to come out. He then gives it back and says, "feel better, nice". It's sweet that he is starting to tune in to the emotions of people around him.

2. Tantrums. We've had two this week. One was over moose jammies, there is a general aversion to jammies lately, but it is too cold to allow him to sleep in a diaper only. This is a battle we have to fight.

3. Language, vocabulary, words! We started at a new daycare this month, and they are blown away with the vast knowledge of our boy and his grasp of language and meaning. Of course, Jeff and I think that he is advanced with language, but validation that your child is a boy genius ALWAYS feels good. :)

4. Ryan is excited at the idea of playing and watching hockey. We went to a WHL game last week, and he got his debut on the Jumbotron doing the chicken dance! Whenever he sees hockey on TV, he says, "play 'ockey". His daddy is very proud and excited to get him on the ice soon.

I'll get some new photos up here when I find the stupid cord to download them! Grr.

New Favorites

2009-09-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Ryan is developing his own sense of taste. His latest phrase is: "I no yike it." Even when he does. Go figure. Here are some of his favorite things of late.

Firetrucks. He gets to visit the firehouse when he potties like a big boy. We've been twice :)

Dinosaurs. We bought a Halloween costume of an alligator that looks rather Dinosaur-esque.

Fave movie: Monsters Inc. - A recent replacement to Finding Nemo. What a relief. And he's not scared by any of it.

Fave character: Roz. Go figure. He calls Randall a snake.

Food: Edamame. (so glad it's a vegetable- he calls it beans)

Book: Everyone Poops (hidden due to repetitive readings) or Where's the Poop? - the latest book purchase by mom. Also How Do I Love You? (this is a book that Granna bought a LONG time ago, but Ryan has only recently started wanting to read it.) He's really into most books lately.

Song: to sing- Twinkle Twinkle. I tried to capture it on video, but my performer is not well versed in the art of staying away from the camera. We'll try again soon.

To listen to- Hey Hippopotamus by Justin Roberts.

Color: Green-everything is green when you ask what color something is. Ryan really has no clue what color anything is. Jeff asked me if he could be colorblind. I really don't know how to figure this one out without him having a baseline knowledge of colors to work with. I remember in Jr. High we did a test for color blindness where we had to read a word hidden with pointillism within a picture. No hope for that one soon. :)

With Ryan being so advanced on saying ABC's and counting to 10, I feel like he is behind on colors. I know this is silly, but I'm admitting it publicly here.

Level 2- Potty Training

2009-09-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

Failed at this one.

Tomato Bandit

2009-08-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

We're having great success in the garden this year-probably because it is the hottest summer on record in Washington, therefore the tomatoes are maturing now instead of in October, like the did last year.

I'm having a hard time getting the tomatoes into the house. A bandit has been eating them. This is what they look like when I get to them. And here he is in action. This is two days worth of action-note the different shirts.

I'm so glad he is getting good food that I grew. And the dirt that comes with the tomato is supposed to be good for preventing allergies. Apparently kids today are too clean and don't ingest enough dirt to help their immune systems. Not so around here. It's not a pig farm, but we do have dirty veggies-almost all you can eat!

Interview with Ryan

2009-08-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight Ryan picked up his keys (the valet set to our car) and announced "go bye bye Mommy".

Me: Where are you going?

Ryan: Go uh store.

Me: What are you going to buy at the store?

Ryan: Snackies!!

Me: What kind of snackies are you going to get?

Ryan: (running toward door) Um Um Um.....

Favorite snacks: raisins, carrots, blueberries, bears (crunchy cereal) and graham crackers (cookies to him)

Potty Time

2009-08-13T21:23:00.001-07:00

We are GRADUALLY starting potty training. Ryan is very interested in cheering for me, getting stickers to put on his knees, wearing "unners" and flushing. It's getting the stuff into the potty that is the trouble. He's great at telling me "poopie mommy" AS he is filling his pants. Tonight we practiced wiping on the potty. He likes to wipe the front too. :)

Last night we found the perfect stool for Ryan at Target. When we brought it home, he cried until we brought it inside. He's never latched onto a "thing" so quickly before.

I've read that it is easier for kids to push if they have their feet grounded. His stool has a little flip lid where we stash his flushing wipes, and I am sure it will be filled with toys soon. He LOVES to stand on this stool. Here are photos of what I went through this evening. He turned a velcro curler and tube of mascara into a trumpet of sorts, tooting around the house.

Injury Photos

2009-08-13T21:18:00.001-07:00

For all you far away folks, here are the best shots I could get of the stitches. Look above his right eye. Ryan kept coming toward me when I had the camera out! The stitches are out now, and he's down to a small scratch on his forehead-like it never happened. I still think he should be a model. Just look at these photos!!

Favorite Commercial

2009-08-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Every time the new Prius commercial comes on TV, Ryan drops what he is doing to watch it. So I downloaded the song for him from the Toyota website, and he LOVES it! It is one of the coolest commercials I have ever seen.

Here's the link to it on You Tube if you haven't seen the commercial yet.

Adrenaline Junkie

2009-07-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

I've had a heck of a week. Jeff's parents are visiting from Indiana, so we have spent lots of time with them, at our house and at a vacation rental on Whidbey Island. We're at the end of a record heat wave for western Washington, where homes do not typically have air-conditioning, as it is not NEEDED--except this week.
I scurried Ryan from place to place with A/C, we did the library, several trips to Baskin & Robbins, "shopping" in the toy aisle of Wal-Mart for an hour, etc. But I've had a big round of three bad things happen to cause my adrenaline to rush and stress me out for a bit.

1. A nice old man scraped the bumper of my 2009 Forester while I was parked at Trader Joe's. An alert lady let me know what happened. I waited for the man in 98 degree heat, with frozen foods and milk and Ryan in the parking lot to discuss it (not fun). I also called the police to file an official report. Luckily, the man was honest, and my car will be repaired soon.

2. The next night, I was attempted to bed down in my 85 degree house at 11PM. Jeff was doing laundry (not a common occurrence) in the garage. All of a sudden, there was a POUNDING at the front door. My first thought was, "why did he go outside, and why is he pounding on the door? He knows that Ryan is asleep!" Then the door knocker yelled "Open the effing door! (he said the word though). I yelled back through the screen near the door--WHO ARE YOU? He replied "Jeff" and I said, "NO---you're not." (not MY Jeff anyway). I was dialing 911 during this exchange. I said, "Go away, I'm calling the police." He mumbled something about Christine, which I think is my trashy neighbor's name. He then started begging me to NOT contact the police. I told the would-be intruder to go away and the police would not come. He complied with my request, however; I was left with a serious case of the shakes, and it took me a good long while to fall asleep that night. We think he meant to go next door, but I haven't found out, and I'm not sure how to ask my trashy neighbor about it, since we have suspicions about activities at that house, and this theory would support it. Too bad you can't choose your neighbors.

3. Ryan spent a nice day at the Children's Museum with his Granna and Grampa on Thursday. It is just two blocks from my office, so I met them for lunch at a cafe. All was going well until I received a dreadful phone call at about 2:30 from my MIL saying that Ryan had hit his head and she thought he needed stitches. They came to my office, we loaded up and went to the doctor. My little guy now has 2 stitches in his forehead. No photos yet, it's under a bandaid until it can stop being all gross and weepy. In the course of this experience, I was asked by the nurse to pin my baby down in a sheet swaddle. Besides his writhing body and blood curdling screams (supposedly his wound was numbed, but I don't think the stuff worked) he stopped asking for me and started asking for his Grampa. I got woosy and had to lie down. Basically, the nurse pinned me on top of Ryan, which wasn't helping my woosyness. I eventually flipped over and laid him on my chest, making it MUCH easier to breathe. After 10 minutes of laying there, another nurse took my blood pressure, which was only 94/70. I felt like such a wuss, but I think the week's events culminated there on the treatment table. Seeing and feeling my baby hurt was the last straw.

You will be glad to know now, faithful blog followers (all 4 of you) that I am now home ALONE for the night. It is my first night away from Ryan, he and Jeff went back to Whidbey to stay with Granna and Grampa. I will join them tomorrow, but I'm taking tonight for ME. I don't have a car, so I'm not going anywhere. So far, I've laid in the hammock, while sipping a cocktail and reading a book, cleaned the kitchen uninterrupted, cooked zucchini bread from homegrown squash, and am now writing a very long blog post. Oh, I also did one load of laundry. So much for a glamorous evening alone! I plan to get a FULL NIGHT OF SLEEP for the first time in a LONG time. Woo-hoo!

From Baby to Little Boy

2009-07-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

We finally did it. We had Ryan's first haircut last weekend. The curls had become too matted, and he had hair in his eyes at all times. Below is a before and after shot. We also have the BEST CURL PRODUCT EVER!! It's called Ring around the Curlies, and it is an all organic leave in conditioner/styling product and we LOVE it. No more matted back of the head baby. Just sweet, lovely locks of curls. Just because we got his hair cut, doesn't mean we went SHORT. He could still be considered a hippy baby when caught in his tie dye shirt. :) (for some reason blogger is putting his AFTER photo first, but you get the idea)

Why I Love Crocs

2009-07-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

Because when you release your child out the back door wearing nothing but their Crocs and they poop down their leg to fill the shoes with poo and undigested raisins, you can just flick the shoes off the patio and spray them down with the hose.

Not that this happened to me today or anything.....

Colorado Pics

2009-07-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos from our trip.

Colorado Cruising

2009-07-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a week long roadtrip through southern Colorado with my parents. We had a fabulous time and saw some amazing bits of the country. We went to the top of Pike's Peak, visited 3 different natural hot springs, toured ancient Anazasi ruins at Mesa Verde National Park, and saw lots of farm animals and tractors along the roadside--all of which were pointed out by Ryan. Ryan can now say "Grammy" and "Gym" (grampy?) My parents were positively basking in the glow from their time with Ryan. Here's a sampling of the photos.

Lessons Learned

2009-06-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

Things I learned today about my son:

1) The space between Ryan's front top teeth is exactly the same as the width of a penny. He lodged one there this morning. :)

2) He can sing! He started to sing the ABC's today, except he says C B and then hums a bit. I think H and I are in there too, but I was so impressed with the singing, I forgot to listen for real letters.

3) He recognized broccoli as such, without a prompt. He hasn't eaten as much broccoli as other veggies, so it is worth mentioning. This is also a word that someone not used to translating could understand. Hooray for English!

4) He started asking for T.V.--specifically Elmo DVDs. Except he pronounces it D.B.

We had an awesome Father's Day, celebrated on Saturday. We went to the Washington Brewer's Festival in Kenmore . We got several tastes of yummy beer, ate good carny food, and soaked up some sun and tunes. Ryan got to hang out with us, and figured out how to climb in and out of his stroller on his own. He also experienced his first bounce house. Good times all around. Jeff has requested the Beer Fest again next year.

Our Hard Work

2009-06-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging because I've been out DOING! We've had AMAZING weather for Seattle in May/June, and it's showing in my gardens. We have lived in this house for 3 years now, and this is the BEST the gardens have looked! We were blessed with a good base of plants and bushes that came with the house, but have been inundated with weeds and grass between the plants each summer. We attacked early this year with 1 1/2 cubic yards of mulch.
The veggie garden at the south side of our house is new this year. And it's grown twice as big since I took these photos a week ago! (I counted three baby yellow squashes tonight on one plant) The raised bed garden is in its 3rd year also, Ryan is in charge of the watering there- and he does a great job.

We went camping on Orcas Island for the weekend. Ryan did great! The only way I could get him to wake up on Sunday morning, was to make Blueberry pancakes and tease him out of the tent with them! He enjoyed every bite.

Book Review

2009-05-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5258692.Real_Food_for_Mother_and_Baby_The_Fertility_Diet_Eating_for_Two_and_Baby_s_First_Food" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"> Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby's First Food by Nina Planck

My review

While interesting in theory, I found the detail of this book overwhelming. I can't say that I agree with some of the food choices made by the author either. I am putting this one aside for now, and may pick it up again later, but I am currently feeling a bit self conscious reading about how to eat when you are pregnant. I'm not currently pregnant, but was 2 years ago, and I feel like I'm analyzing all of my food decisions from 2 years ago! My son is healthy and happy, why should a book make me feel weird about that?

View all my reviews.

San Diego 2009

2009-05-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

We're back from a fun filled week of sand, sun, and lots of animals. We went to the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Sea World. We also ventured out to Coronado Island for the beach and conquered the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) by taking a train to the Mexican border and buses and trains and taxis all over town. We also walked our little legs off.

When I was a kid, my sister, brother and I would marvel at how our pets had "grown" when we were away on vacation. I don't think Claudia changed much, but I am amazed at how much Ryan has changed in a week. Yes, we were together that whole time, but getting him back into his environment at home and seeing these changes is amazing. New words this week (phonetically spelled for fun): anmals, big bus, choo choo, jam-gees, cream (includes lotion, sunscreen, and diaper cream), sham boo (Shamu).

I took over 170 photos of the trip, and will not bore you with all of them. Many of the pics I took are for Ryan to see all of the animals again. I think his favorite parts of the trip (photos of all) included: wrestling with blocks in the pit at Sea World, wrestling the bolster pillow at the Omni (see blurred photo of action), getting wet at the wild animal park, eating ice cream at the zoo, and digging in the sand at the beach.

This was our first real vacation with air travel etc, and we had a blast! Too bad I have to deal with unpacking and laundry now. :(

Green is Good

2009-04-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

My blogger friend, Angi, has inspired me to write a list of the greener things that my family has adopted recently.

We downsized to ONE family car. Yes, it is an SUV, but the hybrid couldn't hold us all and our stuff. We get between 20-26 miles per gallon, and usually have more than one person in the car at a time. It takes more communication and motivation to get things scheduled, and I walk to the store when I only need a few things. BOB stroller saves my butt on this, it doubles as my shopping cart!

Most days, Jeff rides a bus to work and back. He walks 8 blocks to the park and ride, but sometimes if the weather is horrible or he has slept too late, Ryan and I drive him there.

We subscribe to a local organic farm for home delivered produce. What we put in our bodies is mainly my responsibility and I take it very seriously. I also made the majority of Ryan's baby food myself (it was so easy!) so I know exactly what's going in to keep him running around. We have a small raised bed garden for the past 3 years and have had homegrown tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, and apples. This spring, we dug up the south side yard and expanded our efforts. If all goes well we will have plums, leeks, shallots, parsnips, butternut squash, zucchini, and yellow squash to add to the usual. The lettuce already died :(

We've started eating only 100% grass fed beef-when we buy it. Cows are ruminants, and aren't meant to eat corn. I can taste a difference. It is pretty expensive, so we don't do it often. We've also discovered the joy of buffalo. It has less calories and fat than beef and is making a comeback.

Our daycare provider (Jenn) is a close friend who opened her own business this year. While interviewing other agencies (before Jenn was set up) who would be caring for Ryan 2 days a week, I reviewed their menus. I was offended by the choices offered for foods. When I read hot dogs and teriyaki chicken, I almost ran out the door! Jenn is committed to provided organic foods when available and organic milk for my little guy. He LOVES going to play at her house and feels at home there. I never worry about him when he's with her.

All paint that we have used in this house has been no VOC. We've redone 3 rooms and will possibly be changing a 4th in the next year. We also replaced a wall to wall nasty carpet with wool carpeting and a no VOC carpet pad. It is the best feeling stuff ever on bare feet!

Ryan wears lots of hand me downs from Jenn's son, Andrew. So our clothing footprint in the infant sizes is pretty small. We sell some things at the consignment store, and always end up with a new toy or outfit when we go in.

I line dry clothes when the weather is cooperative. Hopefully, it will be more cooperative soon! Our washer and dryer are not exactly new, so if we were to win more than $500 in the lottery, they would be replaced with a more efficient pair. (hear that lottery people, I don't NEED the mega millions, just a little off the top!)

So there's my Green sheet for the day. See if you can make a difference in your little part of the world too.

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T11:39:00.001-07:00

Spring is Finally here!

2009-04-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

A lot of things are happening around here. Here are some recent photos. We had two messy birch trees removed from our backyard just in time for the sunshine to start pouring in!

Ryan's curls are killing me! They are so sweet right from the bath, but are getting a bit matted in the back between brushings. I can't bring myself to cut his hair yet though. Neither Jeff nor I had this much body in our hair as babies. I'm blaming my mother. :)

With the weather looking better, I am bombarded with constant

requests for "Side?" (Ryanese for "May we go outside now, Mother dear?") So we have been out in the yard quite a bit. Today I was presented with my first bouquet. My lovely son do

es not real

ize that you need stems to keep the flowers, but he's mighty good weed whacker!

His favorite outdoor toy is a flat river rock. It is his constant companion, and serves as: a cell phone (see photo), a ball to throw, and something to put into nooks and crannies. He also enjoys digging in the dirt, which is great, since we have a garden, but we may have to leave a portion of it plant free to provide a chance for daily digging.

Otherwise, we may come up with bare dirt and no veggies at the end of the summer.

Team Zamboni- March of Dimes Walk

2009-03-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

I formed Team Zamboni to walk in the March of Dimes Walk for Babies on April 25 in Everett, Washington. Most of my blog readers know his story of an early arrival. For newcomers, here it is. Please consider supporting Team Zamboni. Follow this link and click on the donate button. March of Dimes

I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia on November 9, 2007. My baby boy (nicknamed Zamboni) was not due until January 28, 2008. I was placed on bed rest at home until December 3. On that day, my tests showed that my blood pressure was getting higher and my kidneys were not keeping up, so I was admitted to the hospital for closer observation and more restrictions on getting out of bed. I am a very active, hyper person, so staying in bed was not easy for me. The only treatment for pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby, so it is a waiting game where the doctors take daily tests to determine the point where it is too dangerous to the mother to continue the pregnancy. The risks to the mother include seizures and strokes.

On December 18, 2007, I hit the critical point, and the doctors decided to induce labor. I was given the usual labor starting medication, plus magnesium sulfate to prevent a seizure. Ryan Jeffrey was born at 10:23 AM on December 19. He weighed just 4 pounds, 15 ounces. I was only allowed to hold him for a moment before he was whisked away to the NICU. Luckily, I was in a good hospital, with Children's Hospital staff in the NICU. Ryan suffered from the effects of the medication that I had to take, and had to have an intubation tube for the first 2 days. He spent a total of 2 weeks in the NICU. During this time, he was on so many machines, I didn't know how to hold him. He had to be fed by a tube through his nose, which he quickly learned to remove himself. I remember his first feeding was 1 ml of my breast milk shot up his nose! We didn't master the art of nursing until after he came home from the hospital. He had a terrific case of jaundice, and laid under those lights for several days.

Through it all, the nurses were supportive of us and gave us a two week parenting course so that we had none of the new parents at home type anxiety. Someday soon, I want to take Ryan back to the NICU and let the nurses see how he turned out. I'm sure the mothers of all premature babies would love to do this too. To show our appreciation, my family will be participating in the March of Dimes walk. Ryan will be in the stroller, he can't go 3.5 miles at once.

If I used Twitter...

2009-03-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

I'm a non-texting cell phone user. It would take me sooo much longer to type out what I need to say than to just freaking use the phone, so there is no point to it. Also, last time I checked, twit was a derogatory term for an insignificant or bothersome person.

However, if I did use Twitter, here are some thoughts I would have posted today.

1) Toddlers are so amazing! Ryan is doing/saying/figuring out new stuff every day now!

2) There should be an award for bathing with a toddler AND managing to shave my legs. Even with him trying to help "wash" the shave cream from my legs.

3) Ryan eats dirt when we play outside. According to the latest studies, he should have a great resistance to allergies.

I would love to post new photos, but I can't find the stupid cord to do it. Maybe next time I post...

Vampires

2009-02-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

I'm getting a taste of the single mother lifestyle for the next two nights. CJ has gone off to the bustling metropolis of Forks, WA for work. I'm guessing it has something to do with teenage vampires:)

Usually, the whole family loads up for these overnight adventures around our great state, but this time, Mommy has to work. I took time off last week for a quick adventure to the Midwest, to take Ryan to see his grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. So I NEED to work this week. Here is a cute photo of Ryan and his cousin Addilynn (2yrs old) playing together. They are "cooking" oatmeal according to Addi. Yes, I am aware that they look enough alike to be siblings!! It was great to go back and see my family, if even for a brief visit. Flying alone with a 14 month old is a true test of character and upper body strength. I won't be doing that again any time soon.

I saw this in the paper..

2009-02-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

And it made me laugh out loud.

We live in a small city north of Seattle, known for the abundance of elderly residents. The local weekly paper tends to be a bit "granny-ish" in its reporting of police news. This report is just skirting on gossipy. It is so exacting in standards, calling the cars "units", but instead of mentioning that the people involved were spouses, it HAD to say the passenger in one vehicle was the wife, which implies some sort of affair. Too funny! The following is directly from the paper.

"Accident. 23000 block of Highway 99. Unit #1 was traveling southbound in the center turn lane of Highway 99, and Unit #2 was traveling southbound in the left turn lane of the same. Unit #1 intentionally steered to the left and impacted Unit #2. Unit #2 came to rest partially in the center turn lane and the left southbound lane. Both drivers are known to each other, and the passenger in Unit #1 is the wife of the driver in Unit #2."

In other news, CJ and I celebrated our 3rd wedding Anniversary last week, we had a night out over the weekend. And Ryan took 3 steps on our anniversary, his gift to us. He's still wobbly as heck, and reluctant to go more than 13 steps at a time (yes, I counted) but he will be running around next week for sure.

Cute, But Gross

2009-01-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Little boys are cute, but gross. Here are the latest skills my son has acquired.

Nose picking-followed by, you guessed it, sticking his finger into his mouth. Lovely.

Today, he has a diaper rash that has been around for a few days, so post-poop, I decided to give him a little nakey time to air it out. What better chance to let him sit on the potty, right? Well, he didn't pee-IN the potty. Instead, approximately 5 seconds after I lifted him off and placed him back on the floor, Ryan squatted like one of those pot-bellied third world children, and peed a nice stream on the bathroom floor!

Oh the joys of motherhood!

12 Months, 18 Days

2009-01-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Ryan's 1 year check up the doctor. He weighs 19 pounds, is 29 1/2 inches tall, and his head was 46 (cm? not sure there). Anyway, this means he is holding steady at the 5-10 % point. No need to worry, because Jeff and I are petite people, therefore it would be worrisome if our son was some sort of BABY GIANT. Ryan took his shot like a man (crying, no screaming, and the binky helped), and the appointment was over!

The weirdest new thing about my almost-toddler is that he LOVES cooked onions. I had some on my plate that I cooked with chicken to give it flavor, but I was not planning to eat. He started pointing at them and signing for more. He had just eaten a whole banana, so I gave him a small bite of onion just waiting for the look of disgust at the mingling of those flavors. It did not happen. He gobbled up the onion and began signing for more. So now I won't waste my cooked onions in the compost bin, they are going through my baby bin instead. :)

Ryan's vocabulary is changing everyday too. Here is a list of current words-phonetically spelled : Claw (Claudia-our cat), key (kitty), momma, daddy, tay-too (thank you), zam (Shazam!- while pointing drink stirrer/imaginary magic wand), boo (moo-means cow, or what it says, not sure there), guh (grandma or pa-works for either), and Ahhh (noise made whenever someone is enjoying a refreshing beverage). For other communication he signs "more" by clapping his hands really hard and grunts and points to get his ideas across. He is also really good at pushing away his tray when finished eating.

Ryan's favorite things: Claudia, playing with the cat with a "kitty stick" (fishing pole type cat toy), moving all of one object to an area (animals from farm into silo or puzzle pieces into his easy chair), and taking a bath.

Due to my insane diligence of the past week, the boy has done both #1 and #2 in his potty chair. I was very excited but I don't think poor Ryan had a clue what was happening. I don't think cleaning poop out of a training potty is any less disgusting than changing a diaper, so we won't be pursuing that one again for a while. For now he is content to sit on the potty fully clothed while I do other mommy related bathroom business.

Picture catch up

2009-01-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Here is Ryan's Moose Cake, made with chocolate cake with frosting for the adults, and applesauce cake with no frosting for the birthday boy. He loved it! He ate/dropped almost 1/2 an antler on himself at the party. We got 6 inches of snow on his b-day, so the festivities/guests were downsized. He still had a good time.

Also pictured, is Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa P were visiting for both occasions, so the little man has been plenty spoiled!

New Year's Quiz

2009-01-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Worked as a stay at home mom harder than I 've worked at any paying job.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No. I don't make them, they are meant to be broken.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Lora, Jenni, Marisa. And those are the ones I can name right now, I'm sure there are more.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Great Aunt Margaret, and my cat Lily.
5. What countries did you visit?
No out of country travel this year, but I did take an infant on 4 different airplane trips, does that count?
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
More sleep.
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Election Day. It was a HUGE deal, and I'm the type who doesn't give a poo about politics.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being a mom.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not standing up for myself more in my professional life.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, thank goodness. All illnesses ended at the end of my pregnancy at the end of 2007!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A new car. 2009 Subaru Forester.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Not sure.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Britney Spears
14. Where did most of your money go?
The mortgage, daycare, and groceries.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Southern California.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
That Coldplay Viva la Vida song.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Happier, because I now have a grasp on this mothering thing b) thinner or fatter? Thinner c) richer or poorer? Poorer monitarily, however, we are learning to do more and live more with less. (except the new car)
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Getting out to do "my thing" whatever that might be at the moment.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being mean to Jeff when I'm tired and the baby is crying, and I just want to rest.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Snowed in, with in laws visiting.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Yes, Ryan came home from the hospital one year ago today. That was when we really started to bond. All the tubes and machines were gone and we had a real live baby!
22. What was your favorite TV program?
The Office and Weeds
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
T-mobile at home. It's not a person, but it hardly ever works!
24. What was the best book you read?
Love in the Time of Cholera
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
That you can get free songs from Starbucks once a week.
26. What did you want and get?
A new and bigger car.
27. What did you want and not get?
Paid for staying home with my baby, and free health insurance.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Australia. Does it count that it is the only film I've seen in a theater in 6 months?
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went out for Mexican with my husband, son and mother in law. 32.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A baby that sleeps through the night more than once a week.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Can you say I found a pair of jeans that actually fit my no ass self?
32. What kept you sane? Sleeping pills, mommy blogs, and naptime.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Fancy, as in want to sleep with? Edward Norton, except I have NO DESIRE to see the Incredible Hulk.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The idoicy perpetuated by educated people via the forward and reply to all buttons on email.
35. Who did you miss?
My son when I'm at work, my husband when he's at work, my parents and siblings 95% of the time.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
I've gotten to know a lot of cool moms along the way.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
I can do this mommy thing.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Plant your love and let it grow - Eric Clapton.

One Year Ago

2008-12-15T11:06:00.001-08:00

I was lying in a hospital bed, not sure what I was getting into. I had pre-eclampsia during my third trimester, which lead to one month of bedrest at home, and 3 weeks in the hospital. My hospital days consisted of: awakening to a phlebotomist poking my arm at 5 AM daily, measuring my pee and saving it in a jug, fetal stress tests, constant blood pressure checks, drooling while waiting for my meals to come, napping, computer time, lots of movies, magazines, and online Christmas shopping. Oh, and lots of visitors! I had a calendar in my room, and for every visitor, (and everyone who called) I asked them to pick my due date. My original due date was January 28, 2008, but once I was hospitalized, we knew Ryan would be early. Of all the guesses, I picked the winner --December 19. Basically, it was a waiting game. The constant monitoring of my kidney functioning made it so the doctors could wait as long as possible to allow Ryan to "cook". Every day he spent inside took 2 days off of the time he had to spend in the NICU. He ended up spending 2 weeks in the NICU, which was considered awesome by the doctors and nurses, Jeff and I were basketcases the entire time. But now, a year later, our little preemie (4lbs 15 oz at birth) is a whopping 20 lb crazy fast crawling, almost walking one year old! We are so blessed and love him to bits.

New Skills

2008-11-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

So, some hardcore bloggers out there are doing one post a day for the month of November. My underachiever arse will be lucky to get 2 posts done the whole month!

Ryan is in a metamorphosis as the calendar trudges onward toward his first birthday and toddlerdom awaits! Here is a summary of new skills and ways to manipulate Mommy.

Say momma momma momma momma over and over again, even when prompted to say dadda.
Says Clau? (with a lilting questioning tone) which means Claudia (our cat). I use the same tone to call her. He's a freaking genius!
Has 8 teeth in various stages of growth and sharp jaggedness. I just noticed teeth marks on the remote control! GA!
Stood up like a phoenix amongst the rubble of toys and family members all by himself the other night! Stood for a whole 5 seconds before returning to the rubble.
Eats Cheerios like they are going out of style.
Mooches food like a starving pet. Especially when it is something that he CANNOT have yet. (chocolate, ice cream, salty chips)
He claps his hands! So sweet. He does this after simple things, or when he enjoyed what just happened to him. When blow-drying my hair, I give him a little bit of air too, and he clapped to show his appreciation!

He will be 11 months old in just a few days. I'm not ready to have a one-year old yet. Can someone please stop time so I can enjoy his babyness just a little bit longer?

More for Monday

2008-10-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

yes, I stole this from the Five for Friday idea...

We went cold turkey on the baby swing at 1 AM Sunday morning. So far, so good. I returned it to our neighbors, so the temptation has left the building!
My darling son took a bite out of a bar of soap over the weekend-ON PURPOSE. So I guess the old idea of washing his mouth out with soap as punishment is out the window...
My husband asked me out on a date for tonight. I heart brinner. He's going to woo me over waffles. :)
My kid is Charlie Brown for Halloween. What's yours?
Here are pictures, for those of you who have been so patient...

Macy's Rant

2008-10-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Macy's,
I am very disappointed in you. I'm not sure how to retaliate against a corporate giant such as yourself, so I will post a rant that all 5 of my readers will take to heart, and possibly boycott you for a day or two. Probably won't break your bank, but I'm pissed off --so there.
Here's the situation: Last week, I received an ad for your men's sale. I found The Perfect Blazer for my husband amongst its pages, but had to wait until today for the sale to begin. My whole day today revolved around getting to Macy's to buy The Perfect Blazer.
I know that my husband's small stature sometimes requires calling other stores, and extra looking to find the right size, but your employees are always more than happy to help me, especially when they learn that I have the "black card". (Higher in status than platnum, I didn't know you could top that!)
Anyway, I walked into my local large Macy's, with the boy happily in his stroller to find The Perfect Blazer. I had a nice young man help me trying to locate it in several stores. This kid called all the way to CALIFORNIA and never found a Macy's store that CARRIES THE EFFING BLAZER THAT IS SHOWN IN THE AD!!!!!! (Meantime, my son plops the stinkiest poop of his LIFE while I'm waiting at the counter. Nasty little baby!)
Why advertise something that you DON'T EVEN HAVE!! After coming home, I checked online at macys.com, and they don't even carry this brand. Somebody in marketing needs to lose their job over this!! I'm furious!
Even though I couldn't find The Perfect Blazer in the store, I looked around to see if I could find one that is similar. No such luck. So, I went to the ladies shoe department to lick my wounds. I'm in the market for some sexy black boots, my current pair are older than my entire relationship with my husband, and need to be replaced. I found The Perfect Boots quickly, and after deciding that with the sale, my coupon, and my credit card, they would be BARELY three digits in cost, I tried them on. The Perfect Boots also let me down, as they were scraping the bottoms of my knee caps with each step. I asked the sales girl if I had short lower legs, or is this how they were supposed to fit? She said they are very tall boots. Now I've never had a blister on my lower knee cap, but if I tried to wear these for more than a few minutes, that is where I would be. So I looked at all the other boots to find equal or similar perfection. The only pair that came close cost $548, and were not eligible for ANY discounts. Didn't even try those puppies on.
Now I'm home, didn't buy a darn thing at the big Macy's sale, and I want to beat them up.
The End.
To my readers: call your local Macy's for me and see if they carry Andrew Fezza sportcoats. Then call me if they do. I will give you a treat if we can find The Perfect Blazer.

Hiatus

2008-10-18T09:49:00.001-07:00

Yes, I've been gone for a while. I'm spending less time on the computer these days, therefore there will be fewer posts for a bit. Some things that have happened since I last posted.

1. Huge visit from my parents. We are separated by 2,500 miles, so visits are treasured. They were here for a wonderful week and got to know RJ, who can now respond to them when they talk to him on the phone, like he has a clue who they are.

2. The boy is even more mobile, hence less computer time for me. He loves to bang on the keyboard, which is making for some interesting spellings for spellcheck! He is fast approaching the walking stage, can pull up and push objects while walking behind them. He is also spectacular at the face plant and landing on the back of his head. This week, he is sporting a forehead bruise. Seriously though, he is getting good at SLOWLY lowering himself in a squat onto his padded tushie as a dismount from standing. He looks so serious when concentrating.

3. Fall has arrived in the Pacific NW. We've been to see the spawning salmon and to a pumpkin patch--both annual events for our clan. Our apple trees have a bumper crop this year, so I'm also busy in the kitchen figuring out what else I can do with apples. We planted an Italian Plum in the front yard and will be expecting a few plums next year.

4. We are officially a one-car family. Bruce, our 1998 Honda Accord, needed repairs beyond our current means. We had a good run with old Bruce, and will miss the convenience of a second vehicle. CJ is getting a little morning and evening walk in now, as he jaunts to the park and ride, 8 blocks away. I have looked into busing to my office, however it would take an extra HOUR over my current driving, because I do a reverse commute. That means no fast, express-like bus is heading north when all the "real traffic" is headed south. We're up for some new challenges here, but I am looking forward to purchasing only one car seat when Ryan graduates from his infant seat in about 4 more pounds.

That's all for now--I'm on the wrong computer to post photos, but I will when I get to the right one.

I'm not buying new toys anytime soon

2008-09-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

My boy has reached the stage where all non-toys are more fun than real toys. I've posted photos of the most recent discoveries below. Before anyone freaks about the plastic bags, please note--they are tied tightly inside one large bag, he can't fit it into his mouth, and I was there the whole time, so he did not suffocate. He is also obsessed with the computer and camera--see the last photo for evidence.

Happy Hump day everyone!

Celeb-utards

2008-09-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings virtual and real friends! We have just returned from an extended sunny weekend in Santa Monica. We were there under the pretense of attending a family wedding, however, I was really on the hunt for a real live celebrity! One would think that with the daytime Emmy awards on Sunday night that a celeb or two might just drift on over into Santa Monica for a bit, but NO!!

We came up a big fat goose egg on sightings.

My cousin-in-law's husband Josh claims to have seen a semi-famous man from the back, but could not produce the name of said famous one, and not even his wife could verify the sighting.

We even dined at the famous Ivy by the Shore, where everyone who is anyone goes to be seen. Apparently not for Sunday brunch though. The wedding family had a private room in the back, so scoping out who was coming in and out of the restaurant was not easy. I had to pick a certain seat, with a peripheral view of the bar/front of restaurant. The place was EMPTY when we arrived, and only half hopping when we left. NO CELEBS WERE PRESENT, or if they were, they were not famous enough to be recognized by me or my family.

In baby news...The Boy is standing! He even pushed a toy for a few steps in the living room today! He is also finally wearing 9 month sized clothing. No confirmation from the Dr. yet, but I think he might be catching up to "full term" babies in terms of size.

I've been trying to teach him how to fall. B/c we all know that babies love to stand up, but they don't know how to get down. I show him that his rump is a nicely padded landing pad, but NO, he prefers to dismount using the full twist with a face plant method. Thankfully we will not be posing for portraits anytime too soon.

Hey all you Lurkers!!

2008-09-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia: Lurker: In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, or chat room, but rarely participates.

I'm in desperate need of a shout out. Who is reading this blog? My family only? A smattering of friends? Complete strangers? I have 3 consistent commenters, but I want to hear from ALL of you out there.

In Defense of Food

2008-09-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

At last, a non-baby post!! I've been writing this one in my head for about a week, and need to get it out!!

I mentioned that I finished this book (IN Defense of Food, Michael Pollan) last week. I really liked it b/c it provided affirmation for many of my eating habits, and gave me some new fodder to think about. I'll leave out all the stuff about the government conspiring to change our eating habits...for that, you'll have to read the book yourself!

Michael Pollan thinks that our Western Diet is to blame for the problems of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. I think he's pretty much right. So I summarized some key points for you, to help all my friends and family be healthier people.

1) Eat more plants, leafy ones. This is a basic premise of the book, and I do this a lot. It all started when I dated/married a vegetarian. (I've converted him to meat, most recently beef-read on)

2) When you eat meat, it should be GRASS fed. God made cows with 4 stomachs b/c they are supposed to eat grass, not CORN. Yes, I realize that corn is a grass, however, the beef you see at most markets is PROUDLY corn fattened b/c it is cheap and easy to mass produce. This meat is nutritionally inferior to grass fed. Same goes for chickens and eggs. It has to do with a ratio of fats, Omega 6 and Omega 3. Short story, grass fed animals are better for you to eat.

My husband used to get a sick tummy if he ate beef. He claimed it was something about not eating it for 15+ years. Two nights ago, we had stir fry with grass fed beef. He barely even burped afterwards!

3) When you grocery shop, don't buy anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize. (any pre-WWII relative will do). Processing food and adding weird things to make it less food-like started at the end of WWII. READ THE LABELS OF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BUY AND PUT INTO YOUR BODY!!

Ways to do this:

a) Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store. Most "raw materials" eggs, milk, cheese, bread, produce, and meat are at the edges. You don't "need" the stuff in the middle of the store.

b) Don't eat stuff with unrecognizable ingredients. I have a guilty pleasure to confess: Pop Tarts. They contain: xanthan gum. Does anybody know what that is? Also, avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup--a sweetener that is getting a bad rap lately for good reason.

c) Don't buy anything with more than 5 ingredients in it. The Pop Tarts have more than 30 ingredients!!

4) You may have to pay a little more and spend a little more time preparing your food to eat this way, but the savings in healthcare costs, and long-term health benefits should be worth it to you. Also, you will spend less time in front of the TV, which we all need. Last night, I spent more than an hour cooking a yummy vegetable curry with dahl from scratch. It was delicious!

Here's to happy healthy eating! Now I need to return this overdue library book.

Sleep crawling

2008-09-09T10:37:00.001-07:00

The reason that Ryan keeps waking up has to do with his new skill, crawling. He is crawling in his sleep! I think he gets into position and starts moving, then wakes up, freaks out, and goes into the corner in aforementioned sad baby gorilla pose, and cries until he is rescued! I figured it all out at about midnight last night.

My solution? First choice would be some sort of anti-crawl restraining device, fashioned of duct tape, however, this would likely be frowned upon in most parenting circles. Instead, the boy has a free pass into Mom and Dad's bed until the phase has passed. Sleep is too important for ALL of us to try and tough it out. So we took on kidney kicks, and wiggling baby instead. Much better. I was still having insomnia and weird middle of the night hunger issues, but I got more sleep than the night before, and that's what really matters.

To go along with the crawling, Mr. Mohawk has also taken to sleeping on his tummy in the butt-up fashion of yesteryear. He prefers to start sleeping on his side, then roll up to bottoms up, with his face so smushed, you wonder how he is breathing. I keep checking, he can do it! I think this is what is leading into the sleep crawling.

Time Machine

2008-09-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Ryan,

Please crawl your cute little butt into a time machine and go back about one week! Last week, you couldn't crawl or get into things. You went to bed without a fight. I WANT THAT BABY BACK!!

Last night, you would not go to bed willingly. Ever time I went into your room you were sitting in the corner of your bed, looking like the saddest baby gorilla at the zoo, crying your eyes out.
You woke up at 9:15, 10:15, 11:15, and 12:15. Then I put you in the swing, and you slept until 2:15. Then I brought you to bed with me, where you slept until 5:15. Then we kicked Daddy out for work and slept until 8.

I was just reading a lament from Sundry about pre-child life. I have to admit that I was having the same thoughts this morning.

Mommy's tired honey, can I have a break? I love you endlessly, however, I'm getting too tired to be nice anymore.

(As I write this, he has entered the 2nd hour of nap in the swing, but I've had to deal with my "working job" crisies and cleaning the kitchen--which does not constitute a break)

Thank you,
Love,
Your Momma

Mohawk Baby

2008-09-06T20:05:00.001-07:00

We have a crawler!

2008-09-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

Forward motion was accomplished last evening. He has to REALLY want something to do it, but he is officially mobile. In realted news, I finally off-loaded the baby head banging coffee table on Craigslist! Woo-hoo.
I hate how I can never post enough stuff. I have great posts in my head, but no time or energy to type them out. I just finished reading the Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, and even wrote a post of a bood report in my head to share with you all. Keep watching for that. I might do it someday.

Poor Baby

2008-08-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

RJ is sick for the first time ever. It's so dis-empowering to have him feel bad and not be able to help. We went to the Dr. today, and it's a viral thing that COULD lead to an ear infection later on, but it's NOT AN EAR INFECTION. (bolded for my sister, queen of ear infections :))

Instead, we are using allergy medicine to keep fluid from building in his ear, and treating the fever aggressively. I had to buy a rectal thermometer today, but the new design is so much better than the one I remember my mother wielding, that RJ had no issues with it- and I didn't have issues using it.

He is sleeping a lot more than usual, which is the best part, since I have a touch of a cold too, I'm getting to rest. The hard part will be later in the week, if he has not recovered, he cannot go to daycare. I've activated PLAN B, which involves a couple of hours of help from a friend while I run to work for the essential meetings, then work from home for the rest of the day. We won't know until tomorrow if I have to use this plan, or have a normal week. We shall see...

Butt-Update

2008-08-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

I know you are all anxiously awaiting the results of the butt Olympics, right? (RJ's diaper rash)
Well, it is 97% cured, thanks to the baby bidet technique.
We perfected it this morning, as the little man stood spread-eagle against the edge of the tub, holding on for dear life with a huge grin on his face as I sprayed his tushie clean. I've never seem such a happy little criminal, even on COPS. Thank goodness that during our bathroom remodel I requested a detachable spray head on the shower. I'm also glad that he never pooped while we were out and about during the past few days.
In short, wipes flare up even the slighest diaper rash, but a warm spray of water and a soft washcloth can go a long way toward a happier baby.

Shameless baby photos

2008-08-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

So, I mentioned that we went to Indiana for my brother's wedding, right? Well I just downloaded the pictures, and there is NOT a.single.one of my brother and his wife. They all star, you-guessed-it- my baby! Some were not even taken by me or CJ, as evidenced by the ones of us dancing with RJ at the wedding! If you look closely in the background, you MIGHT catch a glimpse of the bride and/or groom. SHAMELESS.

Also pictured, my sister and niece and my parents with RJ. We had a lot of fun with them, and after these trips, it is really hard to live so far away from them. :(

My favorite subject-poop

2008-08-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I suck at consistent blogging. Sue me. I've been on vacation. I'm all caught up on reading EVERYONE else's blogs and being annoyed when THEY don't update. I'm such a hypocrite. :)

We went to Indiana and my brother got married to a lovely lady. It was a good time. We spent a whole week catching up with friends and family. We've been back almost a week now and only have one more suitcase to unpack. CJ and I both detest unpacking and we have a standoff a la Ray Ramone after every trip.

RJ has made amazing progress since my last post. Tomorrow he will be 8 months old! He now has two lower teeth, and can get into a crawling position and bounce! He will be crawling any day now. I've caught him scooting backwards, but he doesn't realize that he can do that yet, it's all accidental. In other news, he has his first real diaper rash.

The "expert" advice on butt rash is to:
1) Air it out. We did this for over an hour yesterday with a nudist baby on a blanket in the backyard. I was prepared to wash all fabrics involved expecting a shower of urine. He was dry the entire nudy-hour! Good boy!
2) Don't use baby wipes. I am going to partially blame Huggies super chemically, overly perfumed butt wipes for the rash to begin with. This morning, I handed the young lad to his father in the shower for a "crack rinse"-post tiny poop. This was the hardest worked-for tiny- poop EVER. I would LOVE to send a video of my son's crapping face to America's Funniest Home Videos, as he tries REALLY HARD every time he makes, even if the result is less than a rabbit would produce.
The shower power spray was great, except the boy immediately pooped again after being creamed and re-diapered. So I had to make a baby bidet by holding his tushie under the faucet of the tub.
3)Hold off on the new foods. We also tried yogurt for the first time yesterday, so that could be a secondary factor in the butt rash. I have an issue for "The Man-like" big corporations, so I'm mad at Huggies. Jen- add them to the list!
I'm using Aveeno baby butt stuff, it seems like all brands are variations of 16% zinc oxide. Bloggers, what is your favorite butt covering for treating the rash?