January 28, 2012 ~ Poo On a Shoe (the Buddy story)

Billy had a good day today getting to see lots of family and being a little imp. But today I want to talk about Billy's best friend, Buddy.

When Grandpop was over this evening Buddy pooed on Grandpop's shoe. There was blood. We'll be going to the doctor first thing Monday, since he is acting normal now. He responds this way whenever there is a change in his environment and there was a big change today (furniture went to new homes).

Even though Buddy is now 11, we haven't had him that long. He was Daddy's mother's dog. When God called her away, we took Buddy in and gave him a home. That was before Daddy and I were married, but we were engaged. Buddy joined us living at Grandma's house.

When we first got Buddy he was a walking ottoman. No really. He'd grown fat stealing food from his hetero-housemate Tigger the Cat. Tigger went to live with another relative. But when we got Buddy he was very fat, morbidly obese by veterinary standards and in an unhealthy condition. The first thing we did was switch him to diet food and moderate his eating habits.

Buddy soon became our baby. For Halloween we bought him a costume. At Christmas he had a Christmas sweater. We bought him tons of toys, took him for walks and made him a big part of our life. I groomed him twice weekly and spent a fortune getting him professionally groomed. Then came the wedding.

It started as a joke and blossomed into a reality. We didn't plan on a ring bearer. The pillow was a leftover from work and we jokingly let Buddy carry it around the house to practice. Practice makes perfect, after all.

The fact is that Buddy has been an integral part of our lives. We love him and even though Billy gets priority, Buddy is still always in our minds. For Christmas Buddy went to Grandma's house to visit while we went to see family. Didn't want him alone on Christmas.

But unfortunately, he's old and he's sick. It's not just today. We know he's sick. He has a terminal liver disease and has already exceeded his life expectancy. We love him so dearly and it's hard to imagine life without dog. I know it exists, I just don't see how. How will Billy cope without Budbud? Every morning who does he want to see? Budbud.

So, I hope this is just a glitch and that Buddy will stick around for awhile. He is our second son, even if he is the neglected child.

January 27, 2012 ~ Sniffing Socks

Don't ask me why, but every day Billy has to inspect the socks that go on his feet. It's a morning ritual. I put him in the big brown chair or I choose to put them on him when he's trapped in his high chair. Either way, he has to inspect them before they go on his feet.

First he takes the folded socks and checks them out. Ok, then he hands them back to me to separate. I try to put one on his foot, but he has to hold it first. He looks at it. Then he sniffs it, an affront to my laundry abilities I'm sure. I promise, I have properly laundered all of his socks. But he will sniff them anyway.

Then he lays the sock over his foot as though it will magically jump on. Perhaps he should try some soap, like Peter Pan did when trying to attach his shadow. But no. If he lays the sock on his foot, then it has been approved for Mommy to put the sock on. The the sock is unapproved, then he will try to rip the sock off as soon as I put it on.

Once we've got socks, then we repeat the same procedure with the shoes. Except, he doesn't sniff his shoes. I guess socks get approved via the sniff test.

January 26, 2012 ~ 8 Grapes

The question? How many grapes can Billy shove in his mouth at one time?

The answer? 8 grapes.

I would have taken a picture of this very funny scene with Billy's cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk's, but I was too concerned about choking at the time. Despite the overwhelming amount of food in his mouth, he refused to spit it out. Instead, he struggled to prove that he could eat it all.

This is his new thing. If I give him Cheerios he cries when there aren't enough on his plate. There need to be enough for him to put an entire handful in his mouth. Same with sandwiches, plums, bananas, etc. He will put the entire thing in his mouth and then struggle to chew. It's a game.

So if you were wondering how many grapes can fit in a toddler's mouth without choking... 8 grapes.

Drawn In Thursdays: Hygiene Enforcer #1

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January 25, 2012 ~ Spider Billy (like Spider Pig but cuter)

I was very late getting home from work so I didn't get to spend much time with Billy today. I came in on the tail end of dinner and he was already a cranky baby, tired from yesterday's tropical foray. There was only time for bath and then bed.

For awhile now Billy has been sticking his mouth and the tip of his nose into the bath water for fun. He knows how to hold his breath, although sometimes he tries to drink the water too. Today, he decided to escalate his daring bath antics. He dunked his whole head and came up laughing. I think someone is ready for the swimming pool again.

After bath Daddy tried to teach Billy about streaking. But it's cold out and Billy wanted some pants.

The long hunt for winter sleepwear in Billy's size has come to a close and he got to try out his new jammies today. What little boy wouldn't love Spiderman pjs?

I think they really show off his big Billy belly. In fact, when I asked him where his Billy belly was, he pulled up his shirt and pointed to his belly button. "Bill bell!" he giggled.

January 23, 2012 ~ A Tropical Playground

Tonight after daycare we went out with a friend for dinner to Bahama Breeze. Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was past seven and Billy was tired. He was not in a good mood.

We ordered him a nice meal but all he wanted was fruit. In truth, I don't think he was hungry at all, because it was well past his mealtime and into the range of bedtime. It's hard to go out after work. We're limited by the time we get home and his short amount of time before bed. If we are off by even 15 minutes it can be enough to produce a cranky toddler.

Well, he was not a happy camper. I walked him all over the restaurant. He would not sit still at the table. But the giant palms and the tiki lights and ceiling fans were a big hit. So much more entertaining than letting Mommy eat her dinner.

Of particular favorite was a section of the restaurant not in use today. If you've ever been there it's a huge place. But on a cold Tuesday night there weren't enough patrons to warrant having the side section open. Billy thought this area was a great playground. It was very warm and full of fun decorations. It even has a raised fit pit which he thought was too cool. Best of all, there are many levels that are only two steps up and also have handicap ramps. These make for a great place to run around, especially when there are no patrons to bother. He had the best time playing there.

But when I took him back to the table it was screaming again. So I spent most of the night chasing Billy through the empty rooms of the restaurant and showing him the neat tropical things they have there.

It seemed to work out. Billy fell asleep on the car ride home and no fuss about bed. All I can say is, thank God for the empty sections. I don't know how you're supposed to go out with a grumpy toddler.

January 23, 2012 ~ Rock-a-bye Billy

Billy is a baby that likes to sleep. Normally, I don't have any trouble getting him to go to bed for a nap or for the night. He's tired, he goes straight down. But this past week has been another story altogether.

This past week he stands up in his crib and screams at the top of his lungs, voice cracking, heart-wrenching endless crying. For some reason he just refuses to sleep. Some of the blame has to go to those evil teeth that are plaguing him right now, but something else is obviously going on.

It's not as though Billy never throws a tantrum about going to bed. Sometimes he won't want to go to sleep and I will find all of his stuffed animals and blankets on the floor, binkies too and him crying in his crib. This is the attention getting technique.

But now Billy knows when I pour the milk into his sippy what is coming and starts to whimper. Then when I pick him up he starts screaming. I can rock him and get him to lay down, but as soon as I leave the room he stands up and starts screaming. It's not the normal crying. This past week has been a new level of anxiety in his voice.

I've heard that the human brain has a physical reaction to babies crying. Probably a throwback to when those cries could mean being eaten by a sabertooth. I can feel my stress level shoot through the roof. I just want to get him to quiet down. It's hard when the best thing for him is sleep and he refuses to.

Yesterday we had to let him cry it out. I hate CIO. He went on for more than a half hour before I binkied him up for the bazillionth time and he finally settled down. Today he was on track to do it again. Daddy's method is to just turn off the monitor and let him cry himself to sleep. I just can't take it. So after 20 minutes I had to go back in and get him.

What he wanted was to be fully rocked to sleep, with singing (God help him). But I rocked, shushed and sang just like when he was a teeny little guy. He clung to me and smiled as he drifted off. I would much rather rock him for 20 minutes than listen to him cry during that time. He fell asleep in my arms and no tears when I put him down. So much less painful than CIO for everyone.

January 22, 2012 ~ When Dogs Attack

This day has gone to the dogs... and it hasn't gone well.

First, there's the Ravens. This morning I taught Billy the Ravens' fight song, "Who Let The Dogs Out?" He liked the part where he got to sing, "who, who, who?" He chanted it over and over. But those dogs got leashed thanks to a crap kick.

In truth we didn't watch much of the game. We had some other dogs to deal with.

That's right. Billy was attacked by four mean canines. Don't worry, I'm not talking about canines like Buddy. These would be those four sharp teeth, all of which he cut this morning.

Cutting a tooth is an excruciating process. We're lucky that childhood amnesia prevents us adults from remembering the pain. Now, imagine that times four. Now you probably have an idea of his mood today.

He hurt so much that he couldn't even sleep during his nap, so basically skipped sleeping. That produced an even crankier baby than the morning brought.

Additionally, after the failed nap I noticed that he has hives.Yes, still has them. He didn't receive any food today that should be an allergen, so that left me with three other sources. First, a topical allergy. Second, a virus (he gets hives when he gets super sick with a fever- usually a day or two before). Third, that getting four teeth in 12 hours caused the hives.

In order to deal with the issue I first made sure that the rest of his meals for the day were simple foods that I was sure he had no allergy to. Then, after eating one of those meals, I bathed him and changed all of his clothes and diaper to ensure that those items were not the issue.

We don't know but we think Buddy might be the culprit. He had a hair appointment yesterday and came home smelling sweet and covered in canine chemicals. It's possible that Billy might be reacting to Buddy's hair products.

Dogs really did attack today.

It wasn't all bad, though. We had a real conversation today. He pointed to the chandelier and said, "I see that!" I told him its name. "What's that?" he asked. So I showed him how it worked and he was amazed, giggled and continued to jabber away in undecipherable words. But he's started to speak in short sentences and that's pretty cool.

January 21, 2012 ~ First Snowy Day ('12)

While Billy has seen snow before, he has no memory of it. For us adults, it's just more snow, albeit the first snowfall of the winter. For Billy, it's the first ever that he remembers. Only in photos will he be able to look back at those days.

This was taken exactly one year ago. Billy is so small he is not able to stand yet, or to sit without assistance. It's amazing what a year can mean in a life. Now he's walking talking. And on a different note, this photo shows my favorite coat which has since been ruined (thanks Buddy.)

So this morning when Billy woke up I took him straight to the window to see the white stuff all over the ground. He just stared and pointed, "oh, look!"

He finally got to try out his first snow suit and snow boots today. Daddy suited him up and took him out to shovel the drive. He ran around for awhile and then decided he wanted to help Daddy by using a broom. It was lying in the snow by the drive. He got down on the ground to pick it up, but realized the ground was so cold that he immediately started crying.

I walked him around outside for awhile, but that whole cold ting was just too scary for him. He'd had enough of his world being turned upside down freezing white. He did not like the snow.

Later I took him out again. He wasn't so sure, but I dragged him out. I showed him how to smash bits of ice on the drive, how to climb to the top of a snow pile (and be king of the pile) and how to jump and splash in the slush. Ooooooooooh. Now he gets it! A new toy. Snow is one giant big toy outside.

Unfortunately for Billy, when he wakes up the snow should be all gone. That's the way snow is around here. It comes; it goes. Then it will dump 4 feet in two weeks and stay around until April.

And in all likelihood, he won't remember the snowy fun when he was one. But I have the pictures to prove it.