November 26, 2011 ~ I'm Not GrumpyPants... I Have No Pants!

This morning started with a trip to the doctor. I knew Wednesday night that Billy's ear infection wasn't gone. I could just tell. The office was closed Thursday and Friday so I either had to wait until today or take him to emergent care or the ER. I opted to wait- it's an ear infection and I'd rather not have my baby in a hospital with sick people.

Unfortunately, there was a back up at the doctor's office (apparently, an overload of ear infections) so we had to wait for an hour to be seen, even with an appointment. Let me tell you, hanging out with a one year old in a waiting room is not a good time. He was surrounded by other little boys, though. Of course, all of the other Moms with boys Billy's age appear to be pregnant. I can't even imagine showing and having a baby Billy's age. With the exhaustion that comes with pregnancy I don't know how they chase after toddlers.

Anyway, the doctor confirmed that the ear is still infected. On to Round 2 antibiotics.

By the time we got through with the doctor Billy was exhausted and went straight to his nap. Of course, the ear is really bothering him so he didn't sleep very long. This meant that he was GrumpyPants all afternoon.

Grandma stopped by for a little and we had some yogurt and he played well enough while she was here. He showed her some of his dance moves and tried to get her to play with Evil Airplane.

After she left he went downhill with the mood. Every little thing made him cry. He wanted to sit in my lap or lay in it and have me sing to him. If I got up, to say- let the dog in- he would cry. I tried to get him to nap again, but he pitched a fit in his crib. When he ran out of toys and blankets to toss out of the crib he ripped off his pants and threw them too. Just Grumpy, not GrumpyPants apparently.

But I know why he's so unhappy. It's not the ear. It's not that Daddy wasn't here. Nope. It's a tooth. A painful, bothersome, bottom molar that decided to arrive today. This makes number eleven. It explains all of the unhappiness, the lack of appetite, the trouble sleeping. I have heard that teething is more painful that anything a person will experience in adulthood. Yikes. I would be a GrumpyPants too.

I'm hoping that since the tooth is in and he's gotten some medicine in him for the ear that tomorrow will be a better day for him.

Cousin MoMo

Novermber 25, 2011 ~ Give Me an "M"

I would have posted some pictures from today, but I'm having an issue on the big computer. "M" isn't working. It's hard to write a Mommy blog without an "M". It's even harder to talk about cousin MoMo meeting Billy for the first time if I can't type "M". Cousin oo cae to eet Billy for the first tie today... yeah, no.

Billy has a new phrase that he just started using. Clearly, the progression from "Nein!" is to "oh, nein!" He uses it when he drops something. It's really cute, but I promise I'm not teaching him German. We have been listening to some German opera, but I haven't heard "nein" in the lyrics (not that I have a clue what they are saying). We did watch Raiders of the Lost Ark today, but the German he heard in that movie can't account for using "nein" over the past week.

He also has a new motion that he just started today. You know how you wipe your hands together when you're done with a task? That. Only, he seems to think it's a dance move. He presses the button on a musical toy, starts to wiggle and wipes his hands. It's really funny.

Speaking of dancing... for the first time today Billy danced on command. He loves the music Evil Airplane plays and I had it singing. So, I said, "Billy, can you dance? Can you show Mommy that you can dance?" He started to wiggle and turn around. I also noticed that he's picking up ballet (from me). He tried to do a pirouette today and I saw him trying to point his toes with his arms in Second. So funny. He gets his little toys singing and starts to dance. At one point today he had his arms over his head and was spinning around. Maybe I should sign him up for a ballet class... nah!

This afternoon Billy got to meet my cousin MoMo for the first time. She LOVES babies. I've been trying to get her to meet him since he was born, but she lives out of town and keeps a tight schedule. So, now that he's 14 months old, she finally got to meet him. He was very shy at first, but soon warmed up to all of her all-over-smooches. If only she lived in town I would usurp her for a babysitter. They were fast friends. Billy cried when she left- no really. He waved byebye and after she and her Mom drove away he cried. Poor little guy.

Sign Billy up for the Ravens roster. We have an inflatable football, and since the weather was so nice today, we took it out into the court. I would throw the ball to him. Then he would pick it up, and at my request he would run away from me. I would chase him and "tackle" him, meaning that I would scoop him up in a Mommy embrace with lots of kisses- almost like being tackled! Sometimes I would let him get away and then I would tell him that he scored a touchdown. He thought this was a ton of fun. Billy 14. Mommy 0. Well, I might have let him win...this time. He is only one, after all.

November 24, 2011 ~ Gobble, Gobble!

Billy started my day super early. He got me up before my work alarm, which is way too early for a holiday. But, poor fella, he has another ear infection. Back to the doctor when they open up again. Until then, I guess we'll be getting up early.

I needed to get the meal prep under way so I put Daddy in charge of watching Billy. The result of Daddy daycare?

Some how, in the twenty minutes of Daddy care, Billy managed to lose his pants, a sock and be put to work sweeping the floor. But the turkey made it into the oven and Billy was no worse for wear, so I guess it all worked out.

When Billy woke up after his nap Grandpop, Grammy (or Nana- still working on that name) and Alex were here. Billy had a quick bath and then ran around the house buck naked investigating who was here. Fortunately, he realized he was cold, so he let me put clothes on him. 

Turkey Time!

The family came over and we had a nice visit before dinner. Billy was very shy. For the energetic little thing that he is, he was in a very quiet mood. It's a lot to process, with the table all set and extra furniture in the living room and dining room to accommodate the meal and the people, and all of the people. He did start to get a little fussy so we appeased him with crackers. I think by the time dinner was served he had eaten his weight in crackers.

Billy liked everything that he ate and ate plenty of it. He got to try out his silver set, a gift from Grandpop (it was Grandpop's silver). He especially loved the turkey and the cranberry sauce- it is the best part!

By the time we served the pie Billy was rubbing his eyes and falling asleep on his tray. It was a long and tasty day for him. Looking forward to leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2011 ~ What Did the Great Pumpkin Leave Under Your Turkey Tree?

Do you feel like the holidays are confused? Everyone was in the grocery store today buying cartfuls of feasts with Christmas music playing in the background. I still have bowls of Halloween candy floating around, table dressed for Thanksgiving and a baby incessantly playing Christmas carols. Welcome to Hallowthankmas.

Normally I try to avoid stores at all costs the day before and after Thanksgiving, but the need for a birthday cake drove me to the store. So Billy and I were mixed in with all of the last minute holiday cooks trying to pick up a cake. Such is life.

We got in to the box of old baby toys today. When I say old, I mean old to him. They are the smaller toys, the rattles, the teething rings that he used to play with so much before he was mobile. They long ago became boring and I tucked them away. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, so we played the whole afternoon away with the old toys. I wonder if he even remembers them.

For dinner we had mac'n'cheese. He decided that squeezing his hand in the bowl of pasta was much more fun than actually eating it. I'm sure it's got a pretty cool texture. Makes a great mess. What little boy wouldn't want that?

He had another tantrum at Going-To-Bed-Time. I'm wondering if we are starting a new behavior trend- and not one that I want. He screams and calls and if I go in he is standing up in the crib, usually throwing toys and blankets onto the floor. The binky, of course, is the first victim of the tantrum, which only sends him into further screams. He wants me to rock him to sleep until he is so deep asleep that he doesn't notice me put him down. Often that is more than an hour. That's just not going to happen. Every night I rock him for 15 minutes, but I don't want to establish a routine of longer bedtime rituals. That would impact my dinnertime and the short amount of time for chores in the evening. I am contemplating, however, of moving his bedtime to a little later so he is more tired by the time he gets to his crib. Then again, I don't want a tired, cranky baby either. It's a quandary.

Billy and I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and hope your table is plentiful and tasty. Until next time...Go Ravens!

November 22, 2011 ~ Not My German Baby

Every parent dreads when their child finally learns the word "no". After that there's no turning back. The most common word you'll hear from your child is "no". Well, Billy has learned "no"... sort of.

"Nein!"

Yeah, that's right. My little baby has decided he's German. And his favorite word is "nein!" I have NO idea where he picked that up. I don't speak German. Daddy doesn't speak German. The daycare ladies are from India so I don't think they speak German. My baby isn't German... but apparently he can speak it!

Today was an icky horribly rainy day. For some reason in this town whenever it rains everyone forgets how to drive. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to get from work to daycare. To all the drivers that clogged the highways today- daycare charges for being late. Thanks for costing me money. Thanks for costing me an hour of time I could have spent with my son instead of in my car. Thanks for nothing.

So since an hour of time was lost driving, there was only time for story time an dinner before bed.

After dinner I gave Billy a piece of pumpkin pie. I would post a pic but Daddy is running a work program on the main computer. SO I Will have to describe it. I put the whole piece on his tray. Next thing I know he picks up the whole piece of pie and chomps down right on the center of it. He went for the thicker part of the wedge first. Then he decided to be civilized and put it down and try to use his spoon. After stabbing it a few times to no avail, he went back to picking up the whole piece and devouring fat side first. Nothing was left when he was done. Pie=yum.

At bed time we played with his night light. It is a projector that displays and image of the solar system on the ceiling. He has discovered that if he waves his hand in front of the projector, his shadow appears on the ceiling. He makes shadow puppets with his hands in the light. He thinks this is the coolest thing.

After the night light Billy wanted to cuddle. I tried to do the normal bedtime routine, but he definitely needed some Mommy time. There was a bit of a tantrum, but given that he was good for the rest of the day I relented and rocked him for a long time until he was sleeping in my arms. You know, it's not bad to be loved like that. It's ok with me.

November 21, 2011 ~ Total Toddler Meltdown

This morning began with Billy throwing his strawberries on the floor. He thinks it's funny to watch Buddy clean up the mess. Mommy and Daddy don't think it's funny, although we do appreciate that Buddy cleans up the toddler food messes around here.

Daddy witnessed the initial event and me verbally punishing Billy followed by a rap on the back of the hand. (We use a light smack to the back of the hand when he is being really bad. It only hurts his feelings.) In defiance Billy picked up more berries and tossed them. No! Then Billy got mad and threw his sippy and tried to toss the entire contents of his tray. Daddy picked up the cup and held it in place so he couldn't throw it. Initiate Total Toddler Meltdown.

You would have thought we removed his hand or something with the screaming that went on, face red, vocal chords reaching epic heights. He wailed for 20 minutes over not being able to throw food on the floor. Even the binky didn't appease him. He had to just calm down on his own. Eventually, he realized he was hungry and decided to eat the strawberries that weren't sacrificed to the dog.

Dinner was a repeat. He wanted to throw baked beans around the kitchen. While I don't mind him making a dinner mess, I'm trying to keep things clean for Thanksgiving. I wouldn't let him hold the beans- he could use a spoon, but no hands. When he tried to use his hands anyway and I took the bowl away... initiate Toddler Meltdown (take two).

And what happened at bedtime? Take Three! Yeah, he threw every animal and blanket out of his crib in a tantrum. Binky two- to his dismay after he realized he wanted that. Luckily, he wore himself out with all that screaming, so it wasn't hard to get him to sleep after that last tantrum.

Let's hope tomorrow brings a happier, better-behaved Billy.

November 20, 2011 ~ Touchdowns and Baked Beans

Billy has discovered that toys with strings can be pulled behind him. This is new an exciting. He has three pull toys, but his current favorite is a lamb on wheels from my cousin.



Here is Billy pulling his lamb. You might notice the Wii remote on the floor. Billy decided that, since it comes with a string, it must be a pull toy. After a few tries it was not as fun as the lamb, so he pulled the lamb in circles around the Wiimote.

Since it was morning I was drinking my coffee. He watched me carefully as I stirred my mug. He thought this was highly interesting. So he tried to sneak the spoon from me and stir my coffee for me when I wasn't looking. Best way to resolve this situation?

He spent twenty minutes stirring his own mug. Is that an original Care Bears mug you might be asking? Yes, it's from my youth. He loves it. He even put his binky in the mug and carried the mug around with him.

When it came time for lunch he still wanted to have the mug and spoon with him. So, I let him keep them in his hand. The result?

I'm not sure how he managed this, but I eventually had to untangle the spoon and binky for him.

After naptime it was time to watch the Ravens game. Billy had on his purple and so did I. He doesn't freak out anymore when I cheer, which is good. I think he's just learned that Mommy is silly when it comes to football. Daddy isn't a big fan, so he's usually not watching the game. When the Ravens got a touchdown I did the arms up move in celebration. A few moments later the Ravens had the ball again and had a really good play. I clapped and cheered. Billy threw his arms in the air into the "touchdown" pose and looked at me, "now?" It was too cute to tell him there wasn't a score.

After watching some football Billy wanted to go help Daddy.

Billy is helping Daddy rake the leaves, although in the photo it looks like he's directing Daddy to the leaves. Billy got tired of it quick. He fell and rolled a little down the hill. He didn't like that one bit. He didn't cry, but he didn't want to go down the hill anymore.

For dinner Billy got to try a new food. Baked beans! Not only that, but I made baked bean casserole. He was super excited about it and refused to eat anything else he thought it was so good. Lucky for him, there's plenty left over.

After Billy went to bed I was going through an old box and I found something. A little silver cup. A baby cup. The man it belonged to was born in 1855. Unfortunately, his old daughter died young so I guess that's how his cup ended up with my family line. Last summer Billy and I stood on his grave. We were out looking for family records in cemeteries. I don't have a morbid cemetery thing, I just think sometimes the best records are the ones written in stone. I've been working on the family tree. I wonder how this man would feel that a baby cousin born 160 years after him could use his little cup? Maybe someday some distant posterity will find Billy's little silver cup. What will they think?