Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I did it!

I made it a month of blogging every day! And I didn't go crazy!

NaBloPoMo is officially over by the end of today. I have to say that I'm more than a little excited that I don't have to blog every evening, when what I really want to do - after the babe goes to bed and I finish any homework and I work on some grading and lesson planning - is lay down with the hubs and watch some good ol' TV.

I love me some TV. It's the ultimate easy into nighttime transition for me. Plus, I get to watch all the adult stuff that I don't let the little one see. (No, not that adult, perv.)

How did my month go? Here's a recap of my 30 days:

1: introduction
2: my nasty halloween of everything-went-wrong
3: more pics of G the dragon
4: celebrating 17-months-old with nekkid pictures
5: the scary card from gramma
6: the day we took G to the emergency room aka the day I almost died from worry
7: CANDY!
8: 5 icky things
9: some person evaluates my kid's speech
10: yeeeaaahhhhhh!
11: I still hope I'll one day be a good mama
12: impatiently waiting for Christmas
13: a wish on 11/11/11
14: the hubs guest-blogs on being a working father!
15: a silly toddler laugh
16: the day spaghetti went everywhere
17: the kiddo poses
18: me when I was preggo (and huge)
19: a weird list of what I'm thankful for
20: teething makes me want to pull my hair out and LOVE ME
21: oh how I miss the ocean
22: a video of G as a newborn - more cuteness than I can handle
23: the eve of Thanksgiving and G with his great-grand'rents
24: happy thanksgiving!
25: a few recipes that we enjoy to try
26: stressing about money but looking toward Christmastime hope
27: when we painted our kitchen
28: the hubs guest-blogs on (hopefully) raising a future geek
29: the best baby kisses of my life

I'll of course still be blogging, but it'll dwindle back down to the usual twice a week levels. I've got a lot to post coming up as we head into the holidays.

Goodbye, NaBloPoMo! I sorta kinda mostly won't miss you.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

baby kisses

Grayson saw Santa today!!!!

I was way more excited than he was.

It went pretty much like last year. He didn't even look at Santa when Dave sat him on the man's lap. We danced around behind the photographer like idiots, G flashed a smile, a couple pictures were taken, and then we left.

Easy-peasy.

We hung around for a while to listen to the Christmas concert at my university. While we were waiting, I had G sitting on a ledge in front of me. He started playing with my hair. He would grab two fistfuls on either side of my face and hold them over my eyes. Peek-a-boo and hide-n-seek are two of his favorite games right now. I would say, "Where's Mommy?" and he would jerk his hands to reveal my face and cackle gleefully at the apparent joke.


He did this forever, probably ten minutes, which is forever in toddler time. Then, all of a sudden, he leaned forward and kissed me right on the lips, a quick and intentional peck.

It was an honest-to-God, closed-mouthed kiss.

So far, G's kisses were open mouthed and not very enthusiastic (and very rare). I was just stunned. So was Dave. I held my breath. G, with his little hands still fisted in my hair, leaned forward and kissed me again. If I could have melted in a puddle of mommy goo, I would have.

I turned my head to look at Dave, feeling tears behind my eyes. His expression was as delighted as mine.

A chubby hand reached up, pressed against my cheek, and turned my face back toward his. He leaned forward and kissed me a third time. No, mama, one more kiss!

I really did cry then. I was so touched. My kid is very affectionate and always has been. He loves hugs and cuddles, complains when we ask him to drink his milk alone because he'd rather drink it on our laps, and leans in for kisses all of the time. But these kisses were so random, so prompted by him, that they literally took my breath away.

I truly felt my son's love. I'll just never forget that moment.

Monday, November 28, 2011

guest post: future geek

The hubs guest-blogged for me again since I had class. Enjoy! - Alicia



It’s the hubs again, here to talk about all of our hopes and dreams for the future. Nothing important, right?

I have very few true hopes for my child. In general, I’ll be happy if he’s happy. Well… happy and productive. None of this “but I’m happy living in your basement and playing video games!” stuff. Other than that: doctor, dancer, weatherman, athlete, poet, actor, garbage man, factory worker… whatever. All good. Sure, we’d like him to avoid the more injury-prone pursuits, like football or car racing..


One thing I truly hope about my child (all my children, however many there may end up being) is that he is a geek.

Hello, my name is Dave, and I’m a geek.

Sure, these days being a “geek” is some new kind of cool. Like “hipsterism” and “emo” or something. I might be a little out of touch. You find them all over the TV with Big Bang Theory, Chuck, or Professional Wrestling. Though really, that’s all not really geek to me. Geekiness has nothing to do with intelligence (just ask my friends), but rather is defined by a great love of something(s) that seems silly or unsocial to others. Trekkies, Star Warsians, Harry Potterites (those are the right terms, right?)… all geeks.


To clarify, I’m a D&D geek. I would have accepted being called a Star Wars geek as well, before Lucas went and DESTROYED MY CHILDHOOD WITH THOSE GOD-AWFUL PREQUELS AND… AND JAR-JAR… AND…
…breathe… 
I’m ok now.


I hope that Grayson grows up with a love of a good story, whether that be through books, anime, movies, TV shows… wherever he can get it. To me, though, the best stories are those you get to be a part of. That’s what kept me playing for the last… 28 years. Great. Now I feel old. Thanks, blog.

I love to tell stories for my friends, and let them live them, change them, inject their own stories into them. It’s a true interaction that you can’t get from a movie or video game (though they try).

I bought Grayson his first set of dice last Christmas. I love the idea that he’ll always have a set of dice as old as he is. The first time Grayson left the house without us was when we started playing again nearly a year ago. It’s a big thing for me, and I love the fact that the wife was keen enough on it to try it out way back in the day, and we’ve played together ever since.

I spend time thinking about the kid-friendly adventures I can take him on. How to simplify the system so that he can learn it when he’s 7. I’m sure I’ll tear up the first time he asks me to run a session for him. I like to think that in 15 years he’ll sit at the adult table with us, and in 20 years he’ll come over a few times a month to play.


Is it wrong that my dream for him is that he share my hobby? Is that selfish? Sometimes I ask myself that, but in the long run it’s me wanting to share something with my child, something that has given me a lifetime of enjoyment and some of my best friends.

(And yes, blogging is just an excuse to paste my kid's head on random other pictures.)

-Dave

Sunday, November 27, 2011

begone, kitchen remodel!

We're painting our kitchen right now. It's the last phase of our slip of a remodel, which involved painting the walls and ceiling of our two-story living room, replacing our nasty kitchen countertops, and sprucing up the kitchen with some new hardware and backsplash.

The backsplash will now have to wait due to G's emergency room bill, but at least we're getting the painting done. The first coat went on tonight. The god-awful light yellow color is now officially GONE! Picture me dancing a jig right now.

Or not.

My father-in-law and his fiancee came over to watch the kiddo for us while we painted. At one point, G was getting fussy, so we turned on a Yo Gabba Gabba episode to keep him entertained. Immediately, he went into zombie baby mode, as YGG typically drains him of his ability to look away from the TV. The old folks? Yeah, they totally fell asleep on the couch. We peeped in to check on them, and there they both were with their heads thrown back, sleeping upright.

Maybe YGG has that effect on anyone over 3?

Keeping a toddler happy is hard work. It's no wonder I'm ready to crash at 8:30 every night. I can't imagine have two or more of those things running around the house at the same time. When do people of more than one child go to bed? 5pm?

Saturday, November 26, 2011

when life happens

Thanksgiving was fantastic. My mom was in full g-mama mode, running around with my kid all day, every day while I got to do a bit of lounging about the house. It was heaven.

Then we get home and check our mailbox, and bam, we're back to reality. A notice that our health insurance won't be covering yet another thing from G's emergency room visit. This time? $600 for his xrays. That's on top of the $200-300 we've already received.

Oh hi. Merry Christmas.

It's just one more big charge we've gotten slammed with in the past two months. I need life to seriously take a chill pill for a moment.

Our cat needed teeth pulled. $130 to figure that out. $230 to pull them. Oh, and maybe you should lower his thyroid meds since his levels are a little off. $40 to retest. Oops, now they're off in the other direction. Next month? Another $40 to retest.

I go to the dentist for a routine check up. Oh, by the way, your fillings are over 15 years old and need to be replaced. Bam, $880.

My car's thermometer goes bad. $120.

At this point, I'm just praying that nothing else goes wrong until next year. Come on, life, give us a break, okay?

We did set up our tree this evening while playing Christmas music - that at least calmed me down. And I snapped this pic to cheer me up.


We got these little salt n pepper shakers from Target a few weeks ago. I love them so hard. Every time I see them, I try to refocus my mind on the upcoming holidays. The money will take care of itself, and I need to give G the best Christmas possible by focusing on him and not on what's stressing me out.

Christmas is about love and family. And little cheek kisses. I love little cheek kisses.

Especially when they come from my little cheeky toddler.

Friday, November 25, 2011

just kill me now, m'kay?

I know I only have five blog entries to go, but I've got serious blogging fatigue. Five! I can make it five more entries, right? But with the holidays happening, and finals approaching, I'm about to lose my mind with trying to come up with new things to talk about of any kind of significance.

Gah, I've got to come up with something. It'd be so sad to bow out now when the finish line is in sight.

So, here are a few of my favorite recipes.

When I feel like not being lazy and actually making my own sauce, this crockpot recipe for shredded bbq pork is awesome. I usually make it with beef.

These wheat pancakes (without the blueberry) are awesome!

I was never a fan of meatloaf as a kid, but this Paula Dean recipe for bbq meatloaf turns out fantastic every time I make it.

These peanut butter buckeyes were nummy.

Oh man, this blog post is booorrring. I hope to post something with pictures in the few couple of days, but I make no promises for tomorrow as we're traveling back to Nashville that day.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

woo, turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(from mine to yours)

And now I shall pass out with a belly full of turkey, dressing, pound cake, and ice cream.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

on the eve of Thanksgiving

We headed down to Florence, Alabama this morning, where my parents and most of my mom's family lives. These next three days will be eagerly packed with food and family - the best possible aspects of the holidays, in my opinion.

Of course, it'll be difficult for this Thanksgiving - or any Thanksgiving, for that matter - to surpass last year's family smorgasbord of craziness where my parents' house was filled to the top with family.

But still, it's the first step of the holidays, which makes me see twinkling lights in my head wherever I go or hum Christmas carols. I have a Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer CD waiting for me when we get back home. I'm going to play it on repeat as we decorate the house. And no, I won't feel sorry for my husband, one bit.

Today, we drove the 2 hours and 15 minutes to Flo-town. Our first stop was my grandparents' house to hang out for the rest of the day until my mom got off work. Having to work the day before Thanksgiving? A tragedy. (Though I suppose it's way worse to have to work on Thanksgiving or the dreaded day of death Black Friday after Thanksgiving.)

These are my mom's parents, the grandparents I spent most of my childhood living next to. I literally had the steps memorized that took me to their front porch from my front porch, and I could leap the distance in about 10 seconds. They really were my second parents growing up, and I'm so thrilled that G loves them as much as I do.


How cute are they, right?

Pa-Paw (or as I like to call him now - The Great Pa-Paw) has been dying to get G on his lawnmower - blades turned off, of course. He's driven every child and grandchild on the thing. I knew it wouldn't go over well, G having an aversion to loud noises and such. But we went with it.

I don't think G cried. But he certainly wanted off and fast. This is the best pic I took where he didn't have a oh HELL no face.


G is literally standing in what was my back yard as a kid. Our trailer is no longer there, but this still blows my mind.


G doesn't really like to hold hands unless he's unsure about a situation. But he held Pa-Paw's hand from here and back to the house. So stinkin' cute.




Tomorrow, Thanksgiving.

Saturday, I turn toward Christmas. I guess that means I should start some shopping. Though you won't catch me in a mall for at least another week or so!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

video: newborn G!



It's enough to make my ovaries hurt. Yeowch!

Monday, November 21, 2011

ocean shot

I'm working on finishing up my Miami posts, as I still haven't posted part 4. (Whoops.) I was digging through the photos and found this one:


It's a shot of Key Biscayne from the water at Crandon Park. The water is very shallow there, so we were several yards out and not even up to G's waist. Since winter was approaching, the ocean was starting to get kind of chilly, but the shallow water wasn't too bad.

Oh, how I miss you, little island!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

hi

I've noticed that the # of people who visit this blog has jumped up considerably lately. I wanted to give a shout out welcome to all of you, especially those who are new!

Check it to the right of your screen.

~~~~~~~~~~~>

See all that stuff over there? If you like MCM and want to, please click Join This Site and become a follower!

You can also click those icons at the top to follow me on Pinterest.

Or Twitter.

I love me some Pinterest and Twitter.

~~~~~~~~~~~>

If you really love MCM, you can click to vote for me on Top Baby Blogs.

Or grab my button to link to me on your own site.

Also don't be afraid to leave a comment saying hi. I do love me some conversation. Oh wow, I sound so country in my head right now. It's gotta be those Alabama roots.

And with that, I'm off.

teething crazies


You know, it's a good thing that we go through this horrible stage called teething when we're young enough to have no long-term memory. Otherwise, how would we live the memories of such pain or the looks of horror on our parents' faces?

G has been an utter bear this weekend. He hasn't wanted to eat much or sleep his normal hours. He breaks down crying at every little thing that doesn't go perfectly his way. Though it doesn't exactly help me deal, I know exactly why he's acting like this - besides just being a normal toddler. His fourth and final molar, of the first set, is trying to break through his bottom right gum.

As I can see from the other side, where the other bottom tooth has broken through all the way, these molars are huge. I'm really kinda taken aback by how big they are compared to his other teeth, especially by the way they cover the entire gum. And when you look at the other side, at the one that's currently plaguing him, you can pretty much see the bulge of the entire tooth just under the gum. Man, that has to hurt. Can I really blame the little guy for breaking down at the drop of a hat?

This will make tooth #twelve for him. He has the front four on the bottom and top, and now has the four molars. No fangs so far, which I've heard can be deadly to cut as well. He's been teething these molars since our Miami trip, which was a month ago now.

Maybe we'll finish with the first molars and fangs just in time to start the second molars around age 2.

Yay.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

5 things I'm thankful for today

1. Ice cream. Specifically, Menchi's in south Nashville.

2. Internet shopping. We spent two hours in the mall today, and it was already a madhouse. I hope I don't have to step into another one until sometime AFTER Christmas.

3. Puffs. How else are we supposed to get through a shopping trip with a toddler who now hates the stroller? Bribery works wonders at this age.

4. Caffeine. G went down late last night, was up for almost an hour in the middle of the night, and got up early. Caffeine kept me going.

5. Toddler cuddles. He was full of hugs and kisses and cuddles today. A toddler hug can make you forget that just a second ago he was screaming because you put him off the couch after he smacked you in the face.

... a longer post coming tomorrow, I promise!

Friday, November 18, 2011

flashback friday

Oh my gosh, I was huge! I forget how pregnant I was with G during this photoshoot with the uber talented Adrienne of Chris and Adrienne Scott, Photographers. 32 weeks, maybe? I was already very uncomfortable, too, as I had swelling start up kinda early.

My boobs were freakin' huge too. Thank GOD those went back down some.





Aww, looking at these pics, and those of G as a newborn, make me kinda miss being pregnant. Kinda, sort, anyway.

Of course, then I remember the throwing up, aches, swelling, pre-eclampsia, and all of the other horrible ickiness from my first pregnancy. And then I'm kinda happy with our family of three for the time being!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

strike a pose


Aww, my son is going to be a bodybuilder!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

baby's first spaghetti night

The hubs and I aren't super neat freaks, but we certainly try to keep our kid clean. I really hate to see a baby or toddler running around with a dirty face. I mean, come on. It's just lazy parenting. But it's fun stuff when you let them get messy deliberately, which is what we decided to do last night.

Yeah, spaghetti night!

G'd had spaghetti once before at a restaurant, and since that went over well, we decided to put a pile in front of him and let him go at it.

He was pretty cautious at first, looking at us to make sure this was all okay.


He did quickly try to stuff some in his mouth.


When some strands dropped on him, he started whining about it. The kiddo does not like to get dirty. The hubs rescued him by picking off the spaghetti.


yesssss, I shall eat you.





I love the next picture, especially his face and crossed feet. My kid has seriously big feet. Click on it to make it bigger and you can better see his adorable expression. Everyone keeps bugging me to cut his hair, but if I did, he would lose those curls. I can't bear the thought right now!


Add a fork into the mix, and suddenly it's play time!


Oh, the joys of messiness when you're a kid. Next time, we'll wipe him down before plopping him into the bath. Spaghetti sauce in bath water kinda looks like barf. So not pleasant.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

laughter

Okay, so it's difficult to follow up the hubs's post last night. For now, here's a phone pic of G in the throws of laughter. He has a weird cackling laugh that he does when he's laughing on purpose, and not just because something caused him to laugh.


His eyes crinkle up, and he makes such a goofy, delighted face. I love it.

Tomorrow, pictures from G's first spaghetti night! Oh boy oh boy.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Guest Blog: on being a working father

The hubs was kind enough to take over NaBloPoMo blogging today for me! ~Alicia

 

Hi there!
  
I’m Dave. Also known as “the husband,” “the hubs,” and this guy:


I’m taking over the blogging duty today. Gotta keep up that “one blog every day” goal running, and Lis is off at a class all night.

I figured I’d throw out a little Daddy perspective. Words of wisdom from a somewhat new father… ready? Here we go:

Dude, this is HARD.

Ok, so I’ve always said that I’d love to be a stay at home father. I’ve always said I wanted to go skydiving too. I think both would hold an equal chance of killing me.

I love my wife, and I admire her for being able to handle the kid all day. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kid. LOVE. But you can never be prepared. Not nearly enough people warn you beforehand: “gee, I hope you like building block towers for hours at a time,” or “you’ll sure find it fun when climbing up and down stairs is the awesomest thing in the world to him!”

All that being said, I miss the little booger. I spend every weekday away from him, for a giant chunk of the day. I missed his first crawl, his first unsupported steps, his first pontoon boat race…


I’ll miss more things by childhood’s end, I’m sure.

I’m lucky and get to spend mornings with him, and even take him to work with me for a few hours a week… which coincidently happens to be the same amount of time that absolutely nothing gets done at my office. I’m so thankful for those mornings, because far too often I get home from work, cook dinner for everyone, feed the baby and the cat, and then the day’s over for baby G, and I’ve barely said “boo” to him or played a single hand of poker with him that whole evening (he’s a  master at pulling the inside straight, by the way).


Being a working father sucks, just as I’m sure being a working mother sucks. Sure, some mornings he’s screaming and whining and pitching fits and I’m thinking “yay! I get to go to work!”… but within minutes of leaving I just want to turn around and go back to be with him.

My one biggest reward comes when I get home. Every day when G hears the door and Lis tells him that I’m home he runs… RUNS… to the door and into my arms with the biggest of grins on his face.


Yes, that’s actually a picture of him at the moment that I came in the room. Sometimes the wife is jealous that that’s not how he greets her when she comes home from somewhere… but I say it’s my reward for missing so much so often.

It’s all worth it, and life is good.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

what 11/11/11 means to me

When I was in college, I always went to bed around 11pm (except, of course, on weekends). This meant I was usually pretty focused on the clock around this time, so I often saw when it turned 11:11pm. Often, the mantra was "It's 11:11 - make a wish!" Sometimes I didn't. Usually I did.

Of course, this past Friday was extra awesome, being November 11 of 2011. A friend of mine from college turned 30 that day, so we spent Friday evening at her house partying it up. What a day to turn the big 3-0! My 30th birthday won't be near as cool, since mine this year is on the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Awesome, right?

Anyway.

I've always been big on wishes. When I blow out birthday candles, I still make some kind of wish. I wish on shooting stars and coins in fountains. If I find the wishbone of a turkey or chicken, I make someone break it with me so I can wish if I win. I don't know how much I believe in the power of wishes and how much they might come true, but I do believe that they represent a powerful thought that everyone should have. Everyone should have something to shoot for, something they want so badly. I find that one of the sweetest aspects of life is hoping for the future.

On Friday, we had an hour drive to my friend's and an hour drive back. My mother-in-law was babysitting, but not overnight, so we knew we had 6-7 hours to sleep if we were lucky. Normally, we wouldn't have been awake that late. Usually, we're in bed by 10, especially right now as G hasn't adjusted fully to the time change yet.

We were in the car, almost home. The hubs poked me and pointed at the dashboard.

The clock had turned 11:11pm on 11/11/11.

I made a wish.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

is it Christmas yet?

I'm bursting at the seams to go ahead and start celebrating Christmas this year. Usually, I don't get the itch until Thanksgiving, but I'm eager to put up the decorations and show G what it's all about. He enjoyed it last year, but he was so young - not even 7 months old.

This year, I hope his reaction to all the festivities is more like this:


Than this:


But you just never know with him.

My university's Christmas celebration is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, so we'll be taking G to see Santa again. It's free (a huge bonus!), and last year we didn't have to wait in line for very long. I have no idea how he'll react. Last year, we never let him see whose lap he was sitting on, so we managed to get a pic like this on the first try:


Oh my. I forgot how bald he was back then!

This year, I'm expecting something more like a meltdown. Or maybe he'll give us his infamous deadpan face.

That might make a pretty funny Christmas card, though.

Friday, November 11, 2011

dear g

Dear G,


From the moment they put you in my arms, you looked up at me. You tried your hardest to meet my eyes through the haze of the ointment they had administered (I'm still kinda angry about that). You had been crying so hard, but you stopped as I spoke to you. We were both so tired, so you snuggled in close and closed your eyes, and I did the same.

From that moment, I knew I was had. I knew I'd forever be wrapped around your little finger, pledged to be your Mommy no matter what, and honored to be the one to lead you through your life.

I can't wait to see what kind of adult you'll be. I know you'll do so much good in the world. My life is certainly so much brighter with you in it. I love you so much.

Love,
Mama

Thursday, November 10, 2011

mama, you so cray-zee


I think NaBloPoMo is making me delirious. Please send coffee, stat.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

the want of a child

This morning, we had G evaluated for a speech delay. At the age of 17 months (and 5 days), he has no words. The most he'll say is something that kinda sorta sounds like moo if you ask what a cow says. But he'll turn right around and give the same noise for a monkey or kitty.

Sigh.

We got the answer that we pretty much expected: check back later. His other skills are so high - he tested great for even the 18-24 range - that he wouldn't qualify until later. Basically, we're supposed to check back at 20-22 months if he's still not saying anything.

Anyway, I was amazed at how quickly G took to the evaluator who came to our house. He can be quite poker-faced with people he doesn't know, but he was showing her his dimples in a matter of minutes. I think she was quite charmed by him. As she was leaving, she called him a rather "pleasant" kid, and yes, he is actually very pleasant most of the time. We get comments all the time about how well behaved he is. Sometimes I do want to scoff that they're lucky to see him when he's having a good moment, but really, G's bad moments are really not all that bad.

I've gotten a bit off track, as my main point of this post was that I've come to realize that my kid is an actual kid now. And what I mean is that he has feelings. I don't think babies have much in the way of feelings when they're tiny. You can hurt them in the sense that they won't feel secure where they are - as a small baby, G hated being passed around among people he didn't know - but I wouldn't say you could hurt their feelings like you can that of a child.

Sometime over the past few months, I began to notice G's feelings. And I must say, he's a bit of a sensitive soul.

If anyone ever calls my kid a wuss or makes fun of him (or worse, calls him a girl, because crying =/= girl) for crying about something, I will punch them in the face. Seriously. But that idea isn't even what I mean.

You look at that little face, and you just know there's a whole lot going on in there. He can give that poker face like it ain't nobody's business.


And of course, like any toddler, he's fantastic at the look-how-pitiful-I-am-because-you-can't-pick-me-up-right-this-second face.


I actually feel kind of bad for snapping that picture. But I was replacing the card in my camera, so I had it in my hands anyway, and he was being so absolutely ridiculous that I decided to save the whiny face image for when he's older.

Oh, my grandbaby is giving you a hard time? Well, take a look here, G. See what you put us through when you were tiny? That toddler phase is totally normal.

Ahem.

The evaluator from the state, he took right to her. He tried his hardest to build a tall tower of tiny blocks to show off his skills. When he accidentally knocked them over on the seventh block, he jerked his eyes to look at her reaction. "Uh-oh!" she said, meaning it in a nice way. But his little face just crumpled up and his lower lip trembled. He wanted her approval so badly, and I really think he got upset that he'd failed her. He didn't cry, but he did later when she had to quickly take some raisins away from him. I saw it coming, that he'd try to eat them instead of put them in the little container like she wanted. And his crying wasn't a pissed off because you took something away cry. It was much more of a you hurt my feelings cry.

A few days ago, another toddler pushed G down at the playground. The other toddler couldn't have been more than a few months older than G. Definitely under two. G was a little taller than him, but he seems to have a bit more skills. The kid took two steps toward G, lifted both arms, and shoved G right in the chest. G fell backward but didn't hit his head. I was too stunned to do anything but pick my kid off the floor and comfort him. If I'd had more of my wits about me, I would have said something. The toddler's parent was right there and never said a word.

Grayson was just stunned. You could see the shock all over his face. He looked at the toddler with a clear question on his face - why would you do that to me? Then that lower lip came out. It doesn't very often, and it's almost always tied to G's feelings. I can't ever get a shot of the pouting lip because I'm always much more focused on the comforting. If the lip is out, G needs it. You could literally see him pull himself together. He cried for a few seconds, a heart-breaking wail, and then he straightened himself up, brushed me off, and went on his way.

For the rest of the time on the playground, whenever the kid came close, G would stop and watch him. He always wanted to know where the other toddler was. The trust was broken.

I'm not sure if this is even justified, but I hate that even more than when my kid gets physically hurt. A bump on the forehead because he fell into the coffee table is one thing. Those mend. A few seconds later, he's forgotten about it. But he remembers how he felt about something. The hubs says the next day, when G went to another park, he was watching the other kids more closely.

G rarely pays attention to other kids unless they physically get in his way. Then he might point to where he wants to go. He did that when I was watching him at the same playground where he was pushed down. A girl was blocking some stairs. He stood, he paced, he pointed and grunted at her. She just stared at him. I didn't press the issue since there were other stairs to explore, and he eventually gave up and left. That's G for you. He won't push you out of his way. He'll try to squeeze past you, in more of a oh hey, can I get over there? way.

Mom told me that later I might have to deal with G getting stepped on by other kids. You know, the "stand up for yourself, kiddo!" conversation. And I say, I'd rather have that conversation than the "stop punching other kids, kiddo!" one. I mean, really.

Besides, G has plenty of opinions of what he wants and doesn't want in life. He has a pretty clear idea of those and lets you know about them when he chooses to. But with other people, at least for now, politeness seems to come first.

And I admit it, that thought just makes me all puffed up with pride.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

a list of 5 ickies

Well, it took only just over a week until I got stumped for NaBloPoMo blog entry ideas. Alas! So I'm going back to my listing roots. Here's a list of things that have happened in the past week.

1. My car broke down on Halloween. Except it wasn't really broken down, just had a broken thermostat. And I thought I had forgotten my phone but I hadn't. That day sucked.

2. G almost broke his leg on the slide and had his first emergency room visit.

3. I had to put on my big-girl panties about a situation when really I just want to get angry. Again. But the anger just isn't worth it.

4. Another toddler pushed G down on the playground. I was so stunned, all I could do was help my kid back up and brush away his tears. I wanted to punch the other toddler in the face, but that would have caused more problems, I think. I should have at least punched the dad in the face for not saying anything to his kid.

5. I have yet another dentist appointment today about those old fillings I had replaced A MONTH ago. Looks like a crown might be in my future because the pain won't go away. I'm so upset about it, but what can you do?

Eh, that's it. I'm just drained from work and school and motherhood, and wanted to rant.

I'll return you to your regularly scheduled baby-ness tomorrow.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

baby's first emergency room visit

Yesterday, we went to the zoo.

We go to the zoo a lot. We usually let G walk around at his leisure, and he usually heads straight toward the playground. Nashville's zoo has the largest community-built playground in the country. And it's definitely large.

I'm kinda in love with it.

G is just getting to the point where he can explore the area. He can even walk up some of the steps by himself as long as he has something to hold onto.

Toward the end of our visit, he indicated that he wanted to go down one of their many curly tube slides. It looked like this:
I had gone down many slides with G. I knew to watch out for his feet so they didn't get stuck. But the confines of the tube slide were tighter than I expected. We curved to the right, but G's left foot stuck to the side of the tube.

I swear his leg didn't even move that much, but he cried out. Then he started crying the way he does when something hurts or when he's scared. However, by the time we got out of the slide and I picked him up, he had stopped crying. In fact, rather quickly, he wanted back down to run around. I put him down, but he almost immediately cried out, stumbled, and collapsed to the ground.

We took off his shoe and sock, check out his ankle. It looked fine with no immediate swelling. We decided to take him to a more level type of ground to test out his walking again. So we did. But again he pretty much wouldn't put any weight on that foot.

At this point, I was trying very hard not to completely freak out.

Being a Saturday, we couldn't take him to our pediatrician, but we did call the after-hours triage nurse, who directed our concerns to the on-call doc. He told us to just go ahead and go to the children's hospital.

I really did lose it then. In the back seat behind me, G was babbling up a storm like nothing had happened.

We didn't have to wait long at the hospital to be seen. I basically had time to pee and that was it. G still couldn't walk on his left leg. He hated everything they did to him - taking his heart rate and blood pressure, looking at his leg, taking xrays. He was on high alert, so anything even remotely off made him cry. The whole experience just broke my heart. All in all, it took about three hours to get there, have xrays done, and get the results.

NO FRACTURES. Thank God!

They said he likely tweaked something a bit. They didn't rule out the possibility of a hairline fracture that wouldn't manifest itself until later in the week. If he's not better in a couple of days, we're supposed to take him to our pedi to get reevaluated. Even on pain meds, his sleep last night was awful. This morning, though, he's been in his normal high spirits. He's walking with a limp, but that's expected. As long as he doesn't get worse, we're assuming he's fine and only bruised up.

I feel so bad for what happened, especially because he was sitting on my lap at the time. I'm swearing off slides until he's fifteen! I know this is only the beginning of what we face with our bundle of energy, but I had hoped this stuff wouldn't happen until he was more of a kid than a toddler, you know?

I really hope he continues to heal. He's certainly in much better shape than he was yesterday. There's no swelling or discoloration, so everything points to a full recovery soon.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

grayson says, ooo, it's a card!

Grayson says,

Ooo, Granma sent me a Halloween card! I can't wait to open it.


I really like the cover. Cute! Oh, and it's one of those cards that talks to you.


Um, why are you yelling at me, card?


It's still talking... I think I'm gonna just put this right back in the box...


Why are you still making noise?? You're making me very apprehensive, card.


Sigh.

Friday, November 4, 2011

ahoy thar, 17 months!

My baby is almost a year and a half old. gasp. Okay, I can't even say he's my baby anymore. He's far more toddler in the way he moves and the way he behaves.

Grayson, you are growing up so fast. I know everyone says that about their kids, but you really are. In the past month alone you have grown in the way you move and the way you interact with us.

You laugh so much about every little thing that seems to strike your funny bone. I love the way your eyes crinkle up and the way you stick your arms out when you're really excited. You love if we chase you around the room or play hide-n-seek. You're so generous, giving us things all of the time. You love to push buttons, read your books - with or without us - and climb anything you can.

Speaking of climbing, you're absolutely obsessed with stairs. When we ask if you want to go upstairs, you take off running and wait patiently for us to open the baby gate. You can climb our stairs all by yourself, though you still need help going back down. At playgrounds, all you want to do is go up and down stairs. (You do enjoy the slides if I make you go down one, and of course, you've always loved to swing.) You're close to being able to climb up on the couch by yourself - I'm not looking forward to that! Okay, so since I wrote that part this morning, you climbed up on the couch all by yourself this afternoon! Twice! Oh lordy.

You've stepped more into the tantrum phase of life now. When you're in a really bad mood, you'll scream and pitch yourself to the floor. Usually, your tantrums are over quickly, and you're still easily distracted. You've definitely discovered anger and how to express it - you'll ball up your little hands and yell. Lately, if you don't want to do something, you'll start shaking your head and babbling up a storm. It cracks us up so much, but I do appreciate that you're trying to communicate without making such a fuss.

You're still not saying any words besides "moo." But you understand a lot of what we say. You can point to your nose, head, hair, eyes, tummy, belly button, and feet. You're obsessed with pointing. You point at anything and everything all of the time, usually with a grunt. You know where your milk is kept, where your snacks are, and that you need a bib on first. You're starting to try more foods, though you can still be very picky. You just know what you like and what you don't!

You cut three molars in the past couple of weeks. I'll be happy when that's done, but I guess then we have to get through the fangs and then the second set of molars. Being a toddler is rough stuff.

You're just such a fascinating little person, G. I love you so stinkin' much. The pics below, taken from your bath tonight, show so much of your character.

My name is Grayson, and I have something to say.


Would you like a block?


How about a splash to the face?


Oh, okay. How about I just sit here and look cute?


How can you not want to just squish his cheeks together and kiss his little nose? Gah, I just die of cute.

I can't wait for the upcoming months, G, especially to see your face light up during Christmas. I love you so much!

Love,
Mama
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