Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Nearing Year's End

Well, I guess December hasn't been meant to be a blogging month for me.  I'd chalk it up to holiday craziness, except there really wasn't any.  I guess, like many this year, I just wasn't "feeling it" so much.  Anyhow, hopefully I'll have a more in depth look at the year and my thoughts on it tomorrow.  Today I just want to try and catch up on the goings on since Christmas, and there've been several.
Saturday after dropping Gak off at work, Boo and I traveled down to Ikea to meet up with Cybele.  The roads were kinda ick, it was raining and cold and gray.  But, Ikea was doing a free breakfast, so that's a plus!  The best part was getting to see Cybele for the first time in many years.  I'm not sure exactly when the last time we got together was, which is sad.  We sat and ate and talked and laughed for almost 2 hours.  Boo was a very good, very cute little boy through all of this.  No, I don't have any pictures. *sigh*.  Cybele is doing well and is about to head out on another adventure for work this spring/summer.  I'm sure it'll be interesting and she'll have a lot of fun, but it sounds like a lot of work too.  Hopefully after she gets back, maybe the end of September, we'll take the train down to DC for the day and hang out.  That way Gak will get a chance to meet her too.  Cybele really hasn't changed a whole lot over the years, she's still my speed-talking wonderful friend.
Sunday was a bit of a cranky day for Boo.  I'm not sure why, but he was just a little off.  I'm thinking the events of the past few days were still a bit overwhelming to him, and the lack of nap on Friday and Saturday was still looming.  (He didn't really nap Saturday either, only about 20-30 minutes in the car on the way home from Ikea...)  We eventually got him to nap a bit, which was good for everyone involved.
The best part of the day is the fact that Amma came up in the afternoon to watch Boo, since she was going to be spending the night and watching him all day Monday, so Gak and I could go to the movies and dinner.  My gift to Gak this year was $20 to the Rave movie theater.  We went and saw Avatar in 3D.  It was a wonderful movie.  I've since seen/read some comments saying how it's nothing but a tree-hugging, humans are evil, Bush and the Iraq war is evil plot to take over the minds of the youth.  Yeah, OK, so there were a few jabs at the former President.  Yeah, there's a very strong environmental message.  But seriously?  You can't see beyond the present to the deeper messages?  Like Gak said, and also one of the guys who works next door to him said, it's "Dances with Wolves meets Sci-fi."  The deepest message I got out of it was to know who you're dealing with, and that goes for all parties involved.  Don't assume that what "we" want is what "they" want.  Also, in this case, yeah, humans are the evil ones.  They were the "invaders".  I mean, lets's look at Independence Day or War of the Worlds or any other science fiction flick that involves aliens.  They come to Earth, try and take over and we kick their butts.  In this case, humans go to another world, try to take over and get out butts handed to us.  Does that make humans evil?  No.  Misguided maybe, egotistical, yes, but not evil.  Bah, enough of the soap box, that's not what I'm hear to do this morning.
The effects were spectacular.  The plot captivating.  The characters may have been a bit shallow and one-sided, but that's OK.  I would have loved to see some more "behind the scenes" story, but then the thing would have been about 10 hours long.  I'd love to see the "book" for this that can go into all the background and the inner struggles and flesh out the characters more.  I think movie characters, purely by the time limits placed on them, end up being shallow no matter what.  We don't have the luxury of spending several hundred pages reading their inner thoughts and seeing history through their eyes on the movie screen like we would with a book.  In short, this is one movie I would gladly pay to see in the theater again, and I don't say that very often at all.
Monday Boo played with Amma all day and yesterday he got to go over to Aunt Kat's and play with his cousins Zoe, Mel and Ant.  Kat had to work, but Grammy was there and so was Uncle Andy since his store is closed on Tuesdays.  Today is actually the only day that Boo will be in day care this week, since Gak has off tomorrow (I don't *sigh*).  This means that next week will be really tough for him.  I feel for the ladies, I really do.

Due to some things both at home and work I've been dealing with "I'm a failure" a lot the last several days.  I know you'll say I'm not because I've got a great husband and a terrific son and I've got my job and all that stuff.  But, I'm definitely far from the best I could be.  I mean, there's no such thing as perfect, but there is a lot closer then where I am right now.  I think a lot of it is that I'm feeling very overwhelmed by a lot of things.  I've never been a good house keeper, and I've more than let that get away from me.  We're winding down the year and heading towards annual reviews and I'm just having a hard time seeing the positives of my year at work.  I haven't been the best Momma I can be to my son (or at least I feel that way).  Maybe I'm just saying that because he's going through a "not eating anything" week.  Or at least not eating anything "good" other than fruit and milk.  I realize that I never make enough time for my wonderful and patient husband.  Everyone deserves better from me; work, my mom, my friends and most especially my son and husband... and myself.  I need to treat myself better too.  Will it happen in 2010?  Who knows.  All I know is that I can try and focus on one small thing at a time and not let this thing called life overwhelm me and make me shut down in general. It's going to be tough though, I'm too used to trying to be everything to everyone and failing miserably.

Ok, enough of the downer.  It's time for me to wrap this up, get my butt in gear and out the door.  2 more days this week and a mountain of work to get through before reporting month starts.  I'm so not looking forward to any of this.

Peace to all and may your weekends be good, your family wonderful and your hearts happy.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas to all my friends that celebrate this holiday.  If you don't celebrate this one, or others as well, I hope those have been good as well.  (I've got friends all over the holiday spectrum, so it's easiest to just pick a day and wish everyone well....)
Anyhow, today was a good day.  Last night we went over to Kat's house.  There were only a few people there, including Uncle Joe and Aunt Eileen.  It was nice to have a low-key evening.  Zoe and Boo love each other and love playing together.  That's good, as Boo will be spending the day there on Tuesday since his day care is closed.  Anyhow, we left there pretty late (for me at any rate...) and Boo didn't fall asleep until we were about a block or two from the house, he'd been up and wired and playing hard with Zoe all night.
This means that he actually sleeps in this morning.  Of course, I didn't sleep well and was up by 7:30, but that's OK.  It gave me a little time to piddle around on the computer before Boo woke up.  Boo decided to join the land of the wakeful around 8:30 or so.
I think we got too many things for Boo, he was just so overwhelmed by the sheer number of presents to open.  By the end of the day he was delegating and handing things to people to open for him.  We got him about 6 or 7 different things and he got lots and lots of clothes and some books and toys from the Oklahoma half of the family.  We really love everything they sent us.  Thank you!!
Gak got me a new game for my DS, a small rice cooker we'd looked at and thought about a few times in the past. (We love rice, but it's such a pain to deal with on a week night.... I do wish this one had a delayed start, but it'll be great as it stands.)  Boo got me a book and a back massager thing, which will be nice once I get the batteries in it.  I got Gak a gift certificate to the movies, which we're actually going to use this coming weekend because Amma is coming up to watch Boo all day Monday anyhow.  I can't wait to actually have a date with my husband!  I think the last time was for his birthday..... and that was September and too long ago now.
Anyhow, after presents we had a nice breakfast of gingerbread pancakes (from an Archer Farm's mix I got at Target, super yummy!) and sausage.  Boo surprised the heck out of me and ate almost an entire pancake all by himself!  (He loves spice wafers and I can usually get him to eat a little pancake, so this was a hit.)  Then it was down to my parents' house.
We had a good day with my parents.  Amma and PopPop were thrilled as ever to see their grandson.  And he was very happy to see them as well.  We all exchanged a few more gifts, books from PopPop, book gift cards from Amma and some fun things from Jon and Becca.  I have to say, I think the present to Boo and I from Jon and Becca is my favorite of the season.  It is something I've wanted, but just couldn't afford to do for myself.  They gave me gift certificates to the Upper Bucks YMCA so I can sign Boo and I up for a baby and me swim class.  I only remember mentioning it once or twice as something I'd like to do, but apparently, they agreed it was a wonderful idea and gave me a way to make it happen.  Especially after Monday's fun in the pool, I think Boo is just about at the age to really get a lot out of this.  I have to figure out when the next sessions are and see if there are any openings in the Saturday morning class.  It'll be nice, not only to get some one-on-one time with my son, but to also meet some other parents of kiddos about the same age that are local.  Some days I feel a little adrift, since all my friends have kids that are older than Boo, most of them at least 7 years older (Nik is only 18 months older, but I don't see Ed of Buffie often.)  I really can't begin to thank Jon and Becca enough.  It is really touching.  Especially with the way everything is right now.  I'm so truly lucky to have the brother I do and he's really lucky to have found someone as wonderful as Becca.  I miss them both.
Anyhow, it was a good, low key day at Amma and PopPop's.  There are a few things that are lurking and nagging in the back ground, making their presence known throughout the day.  I don't feel like talking about them yet, but I'm sure I will at some point.  Boo didn't nap, but he fell asleep within a couple of miles of leaving for home.  Hopefully he'll sleep well tonight.
Tomorrow Gak has to head back to work (he had yesterday off, which was wonderful).  It's a normal Saturday, so that's not too bad.  Boo and I get to go on another adventure though.  One of my closest friends from jr/sr high school is back in town.  I haven't seen her since high school, or maybe college graduation.  So, tomorrow morning after dropping Gak off ant work, Boo and I are going to head down to Ikea to meet up with Cybele.  I've missed her and I can't wait to catch up.  It sounds like she's done a lot of amazing things the last several years and I can't wait to hear all about them.  My life has been pretty plain in comparison, but I'm happy with it more days than not.  Anyhow, I'm really looking forward to catching up, I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
You'll have to make do with the one picture at the top of this post for now.  I have others to post to Flickr as well as some video, but the video isn't edited and I'm too tired to do anything with it tonight.  I'll try and get it up tomorrow at some point.

Peace to all and may your holidays be happy and your families (by blood or choice) be awesome.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Snow!


One word can sum up this weekend, and that is snow.  We didn't get any where near the amount that my mom or Philadelphia did, but we got enough that it'll be around for a while.
Saturday by noon time I thought that the forecasters had blown it for this area again.  The 10-12 inches that they had been talking about the night before had yet to materialize, in fact, there was barely a coating down and it had stopped!
Of course, I open my big mouth too soon.  I had called mom and they already had a good 4 inches or more down on the table, and they weren't getting hit as hard as Philly was.  Shortly after talking with Mom, the skies opened up and the snow started falling.  And it fell all through the night and stopped by early morning some time.  I think we ended up somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-8 inches.  That's plenty for me!
Saturday, figuring the snow was going to start early up here like they'd said on the news, Boo and I didn't go anywhere, even though Poppa had to go in to work.  It turns out we could have gone to do the laundry with ease after all, but that's hind-sight for you!  Poppa worked, Boo and I had a 'snow day' in our pajamas.
Sunday, in the middle of the afternoon, we were all getting a little itchy to go somewhere, or at least get the car dug out.  The amazing thing is that we really didn't have to do much to clear off the car.  It had all either blown away or had melted off by the time we got down there.
We ended up going over to Kat's for a bit.  Zoe spent a few minutes trying to teach Boo how to play in the snow and to get him into it.  He went along with it for a little bit, until he slipped and fell in face first.  That was the end of that, so we retreated into the warm house.
Today was another grand adventure.  Boo and I were supposed to head down yesterday evening to Amma's, but PopPop wasn't feeling very good, so we didn't.  Instead, we went down first thing this morning.  I think I hit every red light between here and there and all the drivers were going 25, even though the roads were all clear, some just a little damp.  You see, today was her water exercise group's Christmas breakfast.  Since I had off, Mom invited Boo and I down.  We decided to go swimming as well.  Unfortunately, I only got to take Boo into the water for about 20 minutes.  Which, is probably a good thing anyhow.  After a few minutes of not being happy, Boo quickly warmed up to the idea of the really huge bath tub and started splashing away.  He wouldn't dream of letting go, but that's OK, he doesn't need to yet.  After the pool time, breakfast was good.
The rest of the day was spent going to Trader Joe's and then hanging out with Amma and PopPop for a while.  PopPop was feeling much better by the time we got there around noon.  This is a good thing and the boys enjoyed their time together.
I just wish today had been a good eating day for the boy.  Here's what he ate today.  10 oz of milk, 2 or 3 "adult" sized bites of pancake, a strawberry fruit bar and most of a packet of Teddy Ghrams.  He had some cereal, some tortillia chip strips, a spice wafer, a little more milk some raisins and some mandarin oranges and about 1/12 of a grilled cheese sandwich at Amma's.  Tonight for dinner he had a container of yogurt, 2/3 of a chicken nugget, some more cheerios and  a Gerber chewy granola bar.  So, he got plenty of fruit and milk into him today, and even some grains, but not much other protein.... at all. *sigh*  I wish I could get him to eat something other than "snack" food.... Oh well.  Some days are better than others.

I think I'm done rambling.  I've got to get the trash together and then I'm going to head to bed shortly, after reading a few pages.  Gak has to be in to work by 10 this week, so not much "morning" for the boys.  Oh well.  I've got enough errands and stuff to keep me hopping.  Oh, and I re-learned the lesson that Boo cannot give up naps yet.  We'll just leave it at that.

Peace to all and may your days be fun, the pool be warm and the snow not too inconvenient.

P.S. About Friday's entry... I was feeling bitter and cranky.  I don't begrudge my co-worker her vacation time in the least.  The root of my grumpiness is the unpaid part of FMLA, that whole bill needs a good overhaul.  We don't need to go as overboard as some places like Canada and England, and we shouldn't just limit it to family leave either... there are all kinds of emergencies and very good reasons why a person would need to take 4 or 5 weeks off (or more) without fear of loosing their job or their house for not being able to pay... But that's a whole different soap box which I really don't want to get on right now, I'm too tired to make my argument and have it make any kind of sense.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Disparity

Well, it's been another week and no posting from me.  Yes, it's been a fairly uneventful week at work.  Same stuff, different days.  I should be thankful for that.  But.... *shrug*  Just not motivated.
One thing that bothers me, and I didn't realize how much it bothered me until yesterday is how unfair maternity leave really is in my company.  And believe me, I would never want to be in my coworker's shoes, but....
Let me see if I can explain and have it make sense.  One of the women I work with has been going through some pretty horrible cancer treatment this past year.  This, I wouldn't envy her in the slightest.  She had started on chemo last fall and had surgery in January.  She only returned to work part time the beginning of November and full time just a week or two ago.  But... she got to keep ALL her vacation time and we've been trying to schedule it, as she works in parts.
I so totally don't want to feel bitter about this.  I mean, she's been through hell, she deserves her vacation time.  But, on the same hand, I had to use my vacation time in order to stay home with my son for more than 8 weeks if I wanted to get paid.  Sure, the government "allows" me to take off for up to 12 weeks without fear of the company firing me.  And I'm not saying that we shouldn't stand behind people like my friend who are fighting this beast but.... It's hard for me to be happy about her vacation time when I feel like I got shafted and had to come back to work at 10 weeks or not get paid.  I mean, I don't think she was getting her full pay check this past year, but still.
Am I a bad person to feel this bitter?  Am I a bad person not to be glad that she was able to come back and actually take her vacation?  I feel like I should be happy for her, but I just can't be.  I just get caught up in how unfair it is to new parents.  And I'm a lucky one!  I had vacation time to use.  I had "short term disability" coverage for 8 weeks!  (Only because I had a C-section though, only 6 weeks if he'd been born vaginally...)  I mean, I can understand companies, especially in today's economy, not wanting or able to pay a person leave and have to have a temp cover their position.  Thing is, there wasn't a temp covering my position (or my friend's... actually, that became me in June when I switched to my dual role....).  Of course, the mess that happened with my position and my department while I was on leave is a whole different kettle of fish.  I mean, as much as I'd love to have taken the entire first year of Boo's life off, or working part time, even if it meant getting paid less, I wouldn't have.  I would have liked to have taken 6 months maybe, or at least more than 10.5 weeks!
So, despite the fact that today is my last day of work for the week and I'm on vacation next week, I'm feeling a bit bitter and angered at "the way things work".  Not that I'd want a horrible illness like my friend had to go through, because I know it was much tougher on her than any work week ever will be, but I just can't help feeling cheated in some small way.

Well, I've got to get dressed and get my butt out the door.   Hopefully by 4 I'll be in a better mood.
Peace to all and may your world be "right" from time to time.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Boring Week, Busy Weekend

OK... so it's been almost a week since I posted.  No, nothing tragic has happened to keep me away from the keyboard.  But, other than this weekend, not much great has happened either.  It's been just another ordinary week in this ordinary family.  Well, about as ordinary as ever.
Gak worked full days Thursday and Friday and let me tell you, Thursday when we dropped Boo off at day care in the morning, he so wasn't awake.  The poor boy was standing there with the most confused look on his face, even as the car pulled away.  He was fine later, but you could tell he wasn't awake yet.
Wednesday was a crapo day weather-wise.  It had started out as snow over night and then turned into rain.  When I left, weather.com was saying "light rain".  If that was "light rain" then Katrina was a mild hurricane.  I admit, I was leaving in the dark, and I hate driving in the dark in the rain, but, it was a very crappy drive in.  Other than that, it was a normal work week for both of us.  Gak's beginning to get to the hectic holiday shipping time, but that's a good thing.
This weekend was all the fun stuff.
Friday at lunch I ran down to the mall and ToysRUs and finished up the Christmas shopping for the boy and bought some Lands End pants that were on sale 40% off, or was it 50%?  Anyhow, they were $20 and they fit well enough.  I mean, they're not perfect, but since I'm in desperate need of pants for work and they were only $20, I call it "good enough".  It turns out that I'm going to return the "big" gift we got Boo.  One, he doesn't really need it and, two, it's kinda neat and he'd probably get some good use out of it, but it doesn't seem like it'll be that long-lived for $30.  So, we've spent about $70 on him for Christmas, which is a little more than twice what we've spent on any one else on average.  I have no problems with that, as there are "two" of us buying him gifts.  I've got 3 packages that I need to get ready and get into the mail.  One headed for California, one to Oklahoma and one to Canada!  I really hope they all enjoy their presents when they get there.  It was especially challenging this year with the budget restrictions.  I had fun with it though.  I still need to get Gak's gift(s), but I think I know what I'm going to get him... finally.  And to figure out something nice, but small, for mom and dad.  Yes mom, I know just having us come down for the day is more than enough, but... I don't get you things often, so let me?  Besides, if it really bothers you, think of it as a "thank you" for spending your Monday afternoons with my boy.  (Yes, I know you'd do it no matter what, but that doesn't mean I can't say Thanks!)
Anyhow, that was Friday... and I think I wandered off topic there for a bit, but I'm a little tired.
Last night, Amma came up here to watch Boo for the evening so Gak and I could go to my company's holiday party.  It was quite a bit of fun really.  I like most of the people I work with and most of those who I'm not so fond of weren't coming.  It was a "casino night" with poker, black jack, roulette and craps.  Instead of using real money, you were given $1000.00 Company Dollars to play with and you could turn the chips in for raffle tickets for prizes.  Gak and I managed to win the most without buying more chips, so we got a gift certificate for some free stuff from the business that ran the games at the party.  Overall it was quite an enjoyable weekend and both Gak and I enjoyed ourselves.
Today was a lot of running around.  This morning Boo woke up at 7 of course.  This is because his Momma didn't get to sleep until almost midnight.... and didn't sleep all that well either.  Anyhow, after a morning of fiddling around the house we finally get our act together and go over to the Q-mart for a little shopping and people watching, then to the grocery store.  What was nice at the grocery store is I ran into my Ex's mom.  I really do like her and enjoy catching up with her.  (I still like my Ex as a person, but we never hang out any more, and that's OK.  I miss my friends I had through him and enjoy catching up with them when I can.)  Then we came home and both boys took a nap while I fiddled around on the computer.
The real highlight of today was the fact that we were going down to PopPop and Amma's for Hanukkah tonight.  Tonight was the 3rd night.  I love lighting the candles and listening to the prayers.  Hanukkah is a wonderful holiday.  And Boo got his first present of the season.  He got the Leap Pad AlphaPet Explorer from his PopPop and Amma.  I had shown it to Amma a few weeks ago on a Target trip and had shown it to Boo Thanksgiving week.  He seemed to enjoy it.  He can work all the buttons, but he doesn't quite understand enough to "play" the games.  He loves hitting the buttons and making it do things and he will grow into this toy and it will be entertaining for quite some time, even after he masters the alphabet.
So, it was a normal, almost boring week with a fun filled weekend.
This week looks to be more of the same.  Next week I have vacation time!  I'm so excited about that.
Anyhow, I'd better get to bed if I want to make it in by 7 like I'm supposed to tomorrow.
Peace to all and may your holidays be happy and full of fun and laughter.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Lazy Weekend


OK, so it's been a bit since I posted.  I'd love to say that it's because we've been having grand adventures and I just didn't have time to post anything.  I'd be lying.
Friday was good in the fact that it was the end of the week.  I'm still fighting tooth and nail to find my job interesting and actually pay attention to it.  It is interesting, but there are so many non-work related things I'd rather be doing that I just don't care enough about work.  Oh well.  I've got to get over this and fast though.
Friday evening was the tree lighting at the little triangle "park" right near the house.  This meant traffic was all kinds of blocked off and crazy.  Therefore, instead of picking Gak up and coming home from dinner, I took the sheet of Friendly's coupons that just came in the mail and we went out for dinner.  Boo actually ate very well.  He ate about 3/4 of his grilled cheese sandwich, a few fries and about 1/3 of his ice cream.  Of course, I finished off his ice cream for him..... Gak would have but had a bigger sundae to begin with, one of their lava cake sundaes.  It looked yummy but way too much.
Anyhow, Saturday we got the first snow of the season.  Boo and I didn't leave our PJ's all day.  Nope, we snuggled and played and he napped and I played all day.  He did spend a good bit of time standing on the radiator (with me right behind him) watching the snow and the traffic and the people.  I now really need to wash the windows, I think he left about a quarter inch of boy fingerprints and spit on them.  It is so worth it though.
Friday evening he was feeling a bit off.  He was a little warm, but not a real fever.  I figure he's fighting a bit of a cold from school off, dealing with the H1N1 vaccine and is a little out of sorts due to the teeth coming in.  That's part of why we didn't go anywhere Saturday and made Gak drive himself.  Saturday night was a long night because Boo just didn't sleep well.  Twice in the middle of the night (well, 2 am and 6 am) he woke up not happy.  Both times I pulled him into our bed for a little bit and he spent 45 minutes to an hour just kicking me.  The second time Gak gave up and got up with him.  Luckily Boo took a nap fairly early and (amongst other things) I was able to get the laundry and grocery shopping done while he napped for at least part of the time.  It's kinda sad that going and doing laundry without my boy is seen as a relaxing, enjoyable thing.  Oh well.

So, that's what we've been up to.  Last night I crocheted a "mitten keeper" for Boo's mittens.  I'm more worried about me loosing his mittens than him loosing them!  It's also too cold for him not to have them right now.  I love fleece material.  I had bought him a new hat and mitten set (couldn't find any plain mittens that would be very warm without being too big) that are fleece.  He didn't really need the hat, but I figure having an extra around is never a bad idea.  And it was an ear-flap one that velcros at his chin, another good thing.  I'm sure everyone remembers either those little metal and ribbon clip things that we used to use on our mittens or gloves to keep them attached to our jackets or have seen mittens tied together with a long string.  Well, I decided to crochet one for Boo's mittens.  Because they're fleece, I was able to just make a small slit in the fabric, join my yarn with a couple of single crochets, chain a very long chain, make a few more single crochets at the other end and slip stitch back along the chain to the original end to make the thing a little stronger.  Yes, I made sure to measure before starting and the "rope" is more than long enough.  His jacket is one of those where you can unzip the lining and wear it separately.  So, to prevent getting tangled up with clothes and to avoid being too annoying, I threaded the mittens between the layers.  So now, if he decided to ditch his mittens for whatever reason, they won't go too far.

Well, I've been rambling on long enough.  I've got to start getting my butt ready and out the door.

Peace to all and may your weekends be comfortable and the season be merry.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Healthy Boy!


Well, today was Boo's 18-month doc visit (or as Charlie at work called it, his scheduled PM visit...).  It went fairly well, screaming aside.  It was kind of funny.  We get to the doctor's office and he happily watches the fish in the fish tank for a bit while we wait and is overall happy boy, if a little shy.  Then we get called back to the exam rooms.  As soon as we get to the door between the exam room and the waiting room, he just melts down.  I think he's still a little traumatized by the blood draw last week.  I don't really blame him.  That and almost every time we've been to the doctor in the last 18 months, he's gotten at least one shot.
Anyhow, he more or less screamed through the entire taking of his vital stats.  He's 32.5" tall and 24 lb, 6 oz.  That's a 2 lb gain over the last 3 months!  He's right around the 50% mark for both height and weight.  They measured his head, but I don't remember what the measurement was.  Oh well, it was right on track for him.  They also gave us a sheet of questions about what he is or is not doing to do an initial screen for autism.  Needless to say he does not have any of the "symptoms" of autism and is developing very well.  His doctor gave him a clean bill of health.  He got two shots today, the DTaP booster and the first of the two H1N1 vaccines.  I wasn't sure if we were going to do that one.  There's been so much debate back and forth about it.  But, they had it in stock and I figure with him being in day care, I'd rather be safe than sorry.  He'll have to go again in about a month for the second "dose".  They may or may not have it, but I figure half a dose is better than no protection.  (Of course I say this and I haven't received a flu shot in hmm.... 3 or 4 years now and for 2007 and 2008 I was technically in a "high risk" category being pregnant and caring for someone 6 months and under...)
Anyhow, I also noticed this morning that he's finally getting the next two bottom teeth in.  That could explain some of his general crankiness.
I was quite impressed.  I wasn't asked at all about his eating habits, other than reminded that he only needs 2 cups of milk a day (or else it could cause bowel issues/anemia) and that he doesn't need juice at all and only 4 oz at most.  Both of which I try to go by, but it's hard to limit the milk when it's one of the few protein sources I know I can get in him.... and he loves it.  The juice thing isn't so much of an issue at home, but they do give them juice in the afternoons with snack at this age.  No big deal really, just means I don't give him any at home.  He will drink water, but he prefers it at least partially juice.  At least I don't have a problem getting fruit into the boy.  He loves fruit more than almost anything, other than maybe milk.
But, of course his finickiness at eating is causing problems at day care now.  he's "transitioned" to being a "toddler" now.  Or at least, in the one lady's view he has since he willingly either sleeps or rests on his mat at nap time instead of a crib and can feed himself.  The problem is that he doesn't always like what they're serving.  The other problem is that the director can be a bit sticky on this one and her opinion is that "if he's hungry enough he'll just pick it up with his fingers".  Well, Boo is getting much better about touching slimy things, but overall, would prefer not to.  He eats well with a spoon, as evidenced by the below photo.

I took this today at breakfast.  Doesn't he look way older than 18 months in this picture?  Anyhow, there's a bit of a struggle that's going on and he may or may not eat much lunch some days at school.  I figure it's OK in the long run, maybe it means he'll actually be more willing to eat dinner for me.  That and he's done this to them before and still eats better for them than for me.  For example, he willingly ate macaroni and cheese today, when I can't even think about pasta or rice without him shaking his head and proclaiming "NO!".  I'm sure this will resolve itself in time.  Eventually he'll figure something out that works for him.  I try not to worry, but I do, and all things considered, I'd rather worry about food than have any of the millions of worse things that I could be worrying about.

Well, I think that about does it for the second installment of the 18-month update.  He's growing way too fast, but I'm enjoying every moment.  Well, maybe not every moment, but his cuteness offsets some of the trying things he does.....

I'm off to read a bit before bed.  I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday.

Peace to all and may your checkups go well and life continue to amaze you.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

18 Months!


Where in the world has the time gone??? 18 months ago (yesterday) my beautiful baby boy was born. See that picture over there to the left. Yep. That's when Boo was just hours old, being held by his Poppa. My but he was tiny! At least compared to my running, talking, fun and trouble making little guy I have now. Unfortunately, I didn't get dragon pictures yesterday. (Kat got stuck at work late, so Grammy dropped Zoe off at Gak's work on her way to work and we hung out there and then went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner... and by the time we got home it was bed time...)
There are days I miss the constant snuggling of a newborn. Then I remember that it was just a series of nurse, change, sleep repeat with very little awake time. And none of the fun games and beautiful smiles and heartwarming giggles and belly laughs we have now. These stages come and go so quickly, and I love them all. I wouldn't have missed the newborn stage for anything, nor would I trade this part of toddlerhood away either. (I'll probably say differently as he gets closer to 2 and starts throwing more fits because his language and his needs/wants don't match up and he doesn't want to hear "no" yet again.)
Tomorrow we have his 18-month appointment. It should be a fairly good one. I'm pretty sure he gets more shots, and we'll get the results of his bloodwork back. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that last week. Back at his 12 month appointment they do a standard test for iron and for lead. Well, the led was fine (none), but the iron was low. We were encouraged to get him to eat more high-iron foods and see if that helped. By 14 months he'd stopped eating anything with beef in it and eating much in general if you remember. Since he'd lost weight and wasn't eating well at his 15 month appointment, we were given a new list of things to try and iron containing vitamins for the boy and a script to get bloodwork done before his 18 month appointment. So, last week while I was on vacation we got that done. Back in June it was just a finger prick to get a small vial of blood. Well, this time it was a full blown stick in his arm. Can I tell you how disturbing it was to see a tourniquet around the tiny little arm of my son? He did very well. He screamed when they stuck him, but he didn't try and twist away or anything, but just sat there crying. I was very impressed with him and the two flabotomists doing the draw. (With little ones the more people the faster and easier it goes.) Hopefully they'll say his iron is back where it should be, and he's gained a good chunk of weight, he's up near 25.5 lb or so, maybe closer to 26. He was 23 back in September.
Anyhow, Boo is thriving. I've lost count of the number of words he has, "ball" being a favorite of the moment, as is "mine". "Eat" will suffice for anything having to do with food... as does "mmmmmm" when he's eating something he enjoys. Most of his talk is still babble and a lot of his "words" probably only Gak and I really understand from context and hearing them all the time. But, at this stage it's not that he's speaking words perfectly that matters, but if he's using something approximating a word for something.
My boy can walk and run with ease. He can roll and throw a ball and even try and "kick" it. It's kinda cute, if he connects it's by pure luck, but it appears he understands the concept. He can climb onto the sofa and his rocking chair and has made a "space" for himself in the corner of the living room. He's formed bonds with people other than Gak, myself and the daycare ladies. He's decided that Zoe is great. He can feed himself with a fork or a spoon if he wants to, although we don't do anything too runny with the spoon, especially without a bib right now. He still only eats a handful of different things for me, but he will eat well at day care. As long as he's getting in one, good, solid meal a day, I'm pretty happy. He'll eat fruit until way after it's a problem, but has decided veggies are ick, unless they're in his soup. (I partially blame myself for that for after he went off the pureed baby food, I haven't been good about offering them again and again....) I really need to get him eating a wider variety, if only for my sanity. But, as my brother reminded me, we both survived (and so did Mom) and we weren't exactly the eaters of everything ourselves. I keep reminding myself that I was about 20 before I really had a variety in my diet and that I did just fine. (And it wasn't until around then that my weight really got out of control... I was a skinny mini until puberty hit and then when I went to college, all hell broke loose....)
I know there are a hundred other "developmental milestones" he's met or surpassed, but I can't think of them right now and it's almost time for me to head out the door. So, my boy is thriving and is in such a cute, fun and wonderful stage. I'm so glad I had last week off with him. Even though he gets trying at times, he's such a wonderful little guy and he just melts my heart with that smile of his or that wonderful belly laugh.

So, on that note, I must wrap this up. I do have a couple of belated birthdays, Ed's was on Saturday and Abi's was yesterday. I did remember to tell them happy birthday on the days.

Peace to all and may your life keep growing and changing.