Great day

Had a little realization this afternoon that we were having a really nice day, so here's why.  We got organized and headed down to Costco/Target/Petsmart. They are all next door to each other; and while some people think all we do is shop, we were only there 2 hours max, including an early lunch and home by noon.  We might do this once a week, or less.  But now I want to go to Target again and get more $3.50 knit shorts for Bobby since they are great for throwing on after he trashes his first outfit or two. And no one told me target has great underwear and I found workout tops I like there too until I can justify Nike big bucks.

After his nap, we washed the car (like 3 times) then watered the sidewalk and washed out the trash can. Fascinating stuff, huh? We took a watermelon break, then went to the now-even-hotter kiddie pool. We blew bubbles forever and then continued to play and hit balls.  We were in the playroom and he jumped to a new toy, so I said, are you done with these blocks? we need to put them away before we play with something else - and then I shoved the bucket towards the pile of blocks - thinking I/we'd do it later, but HE DID IT.  on his own, put the blocks away.  Amen for progress!  He also makes me lie on the floor in the playroom, and then he says, ahhhhhhh.

So with all the swimming and sprinkling, and me being lazy, he's spent a lot of time out of a diaper. And he holds it.  No accidents at all.  And I know he has to go, but won't on the potty.  So when I put a diaper on him, he saturates it so fast.  We're quite far from potty training still.

I sort of love that our house is turning into a beachy/outdoorsy one.  Or maybe this is normal toddler house, but our back door has sandy sun hats and shoes and sunscreen by it.  We have towels on the kitchen chairs and run around in tank tops (me) and shirtless (him) all the time.  It's going to be a fun summer and we are so pumped for this long weekend. Rick has lots of time off and Elizabeth is coming, then it's Ricks birthday so we'll probably pilgrimage to Outback, unless I can talk him into Fondue.

Flickr doesn't like ipod videos

Nuggets

Our kiddie pool is about 85 degrees. it's gross.  and i don't want to dump it out without being able to get that water onto my dried out grass.  Also, when I turn on my hose, I have to wait a LONG time for scalding hot water to turn into cold.  Can I make sun tea with that?

We went to the beach yesterday, It was great, sort of.  Bobby went straight for the water and had a great time frolicing.  I even took him out deeper and he loved getting crashed into by the waves.  Of course, one wave hit him hard and knocked him on his ass; and I just waited to see what would happen. It was about nose high when he was sitting, but sloshy and receded fast, but I had to swoop in b/c I think it was a bit scary for a bit.  Then he got sort of pissy and annoyed when he had sand on his hands.  He had to get over that.

We got this book that was Ricks growing up, The Monster at the End of this Book, 39 cents.  Not my favorite, but glad to have it since a lot of people like it and I didn't have to buy it to see what it was all about.  Well, it also comes in free iPad form, where Grover actually talks and such and Bobby LOVES it.  Like, giggles out loud.  It's really freakin cute.

Whenever Bobby had a scrape or little strawberry or cut, (i.e often) I am nutso about putting neosporin on his head.  When I, however, have a deep, inch long gap in my very visible forehead, it doesn't even cross my mind until today - 10 days later.

I refuse to label and get into talk of Terrible Twos, but my god, if he doesn't get his way or you try to help him with something, watch out.

Looking forward to a long weekend and playing lots, hopefully with some visitors.

So proud

I went out of town this weekend to visit some girlfriends in Virginia.  Rick and Bobby are both alive, well rested and well fed.  Yay.  Except for Bobby getting up at 5:30am, there were no problems at all.  First time alone with Daddy - piece of cake!

So I probably should work on teaching/helping Bobby learn how to talk properly, but we've got it for now.  His one sentence is "hold that" - refering to many things, but often to the plastic tarp that goes over the sandbox.  He has also added, "better" to his vocabulary.  He closes the doors to the playroom - better.  He takes our shoes off outside - better.  He will throw nouns at you like nobodies business.  Farmer, tractor, drive, horse, hay. And that's his dialogue on farms. the end.

We were sitting on the front steps chalking tonight, and a car flew by in the 35mph zone, going about 60. And I said, damn.  Guess who else did too?

Sleep begets sleep.  Got him back on track, for 2 nights last week he woke up randomly and was up from10:30-11pm and then started sleeping close to 12 hours again and today he took a 3.5 hour nap in his crib.  I was getting worried.

We have this train puzzle that when all the pieces are together, it makes a train choo choo sound.  Well this thing goes off, with the pieces all over the floor, BY ITSELF. It scares the crap out of me every time. It also doesn't help it's always at night.

And b/c I have to brag, he can put it together by himself - which is an upgrade from one piece into one hole puzzle that we had been doing.

Headbut

Headbut, a photo by sld78 on Flickr.

(typing a second time...)
So we were jumping around on the couch and somehow we conked heads. Hard. I was sure Bobby would come up screaming and have bitten his tongue or lip. But nothing. I said, show me your owie and he pushed me away. Then I touched my head, saw a little pink on my fingers, thought nothing of it, until it dripped on my hand!

It's not that big of a deal and I'm sure not getting any sympathy around here, but right after it happened every step I took made my head throb so hard. So no run tonight, but it was a moot point since Rick didn't get home until 7. Tomorrow is another day!

Another sleep post

We are having a real aversion to sleep here.  Yes again.  He's been fairly good for several months with a few hiccups here and there, but in the last week he has not wanted to go to bed easily.  And then Thursday and Friday, he didn't take a nap, Saturdays was in the stroller and Sundays was in the car at Ricks game. He is really fighting sleep and no tricks work.  There are a lot of tears, not mine - yet.  He won't cry himself to sleep, he is just too stubborn.

He was sitting playing and I kept trying to get him in his room to read just now, but he kept screaming so I let him play and went to put on my running clothes. In that time, he climbed upstairs and is now hitting baseballs to himself. I'm tempted to let him go and do my thing (which today is probably lay down too) but I know he needs sleep.  We're also failing at bedtime because Rick gets home late and I don't enforce 7 or 7:30 bedtime anymore and we all play and are happy. But then does he sleep in if he goes to bed at 8? no. of course not.

I think I can

Bobby must forgot the word for caboose sometimes, so he just says moose when he points to his train.  Then i correct him so he says, boose.  no Cs here.

He loves to sing too, nunny days (sweeping the clouds away) which is weird b/c he doesn't watch the Sesame Street credits with me at all.  I always fast forward. guess not though.

The best thing he'll do is sit down with his Little Engine that Could book at read it to himself.  "Pease, pease" "hepa, hepa"  Help us, help us - then the other trains say no, so he says "Byee" to them, then the little blue engine says yes and it goes "up, up, up"  over the hill, to which he then proclaims "hooray"

Another train-ism

In one book and one of his toys, the steam engine is followed by a coal car.  So ask Bobby what that is and he'll hug himself and say Brrrr.  Cold Car.

Not quite cute enough for facebook

I tried to post this to flickr but failed twice. Enjoy.

note to self

• wheelbarrow
• chairs/table  (like this or ikea or kid kraft) chairs really, since we use our coffeetable
• chair (like this)
• water table (he would love, i dunno though)

i have to go to Toys R Us to see what they have, although I have to go alone.  Even then, I buy too much unneeded stuff.  I wonder if he'd like a slip and slide.  who wouldn't!

Bobby is so funny and fun to be around these days.  I can't believe he's almost 2.  so bizarre. he is a constant blabber mouth, but still won't string words together, but will totally communicate whatever he wants/sees.

May 1

Bobbys cough is back; don't know how or why.  it's just a day old, but it was bad falling asleep - which thank god he did w/o getting up and slept until 7 this morning, but as soon as we went into his room for his nap it started up again.  Is he just too busy playing to cough? Or, is his room toxic!

I had wanted to do this for a while, but finally got around to stealing the idea from Carolyn and setting up a sandbox.  He loves it, for now.  Thankfully, we had a lot of beach toys to put in it and only some of the cars got in it.

There is a dead deer in my neighbors front yard, I think from a car crash, but it's gross.  And has drawn a lot of hawks or vultures- whatever they are, they're HUGE.

He's not sleeping

I really want to get a sewing machine to make a proper table tent for Bobby.  I could do this. Thank goodness, I have many many tablecloths. 

And finally, how the hell is it May already?

Right?

I gave Bobby a high five this morning after he hit the ball really hard and half way through going to get the ball, he ran back to me and asked for 'nuckle' with his fist up

His hair got seriously wavy this morning after running in the humidity.

22 Months

22 months.  how did that happen?  And why don't I have another baby yet? :(  Bobby is a trip as always.  He took a monster nap today 1-4:30 so I don't have the heart to enforce 7pm bedtime.  Soon though!  He loves his daddy and loves playing baseball with him.  He is a maniac hitting and throwing the ball hard!
I am trying to discipline him more if he bites or wants to play with scissors etc, but it doesn't really work.
Rick has his first baseball game tomorrow.  I'm trying to decide if Bobby can sit through the circus.  The Azalea festival is going on - street fairs, parade, air show, etc.
I do believe it's strawberry picking season.  This is why I'm glad Bobby is growing up.  Lots of fun things to do with him now.
We are super excited for our west coast trip.  Looking forward to seeing almost everyone, and getting out to California for some time alone - Thanks to all in advance!
I am a total slack at parenting and home duties during the weekend.  Rick is such a champ as I shirk all responsibility.

Look what I did!

Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  Wet the hair this time.  I was really timid with the front, but then had to go back and get it after all since it was too long.  Around the ears is really short and crisp, but i like it.  I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Bobby was diagnosed with croup.  He definitely had a croup cough, but I was also told he would have 2-3 bad nights and it would last up to a week.  He had one really bad night, then I took him to the doctor, then he was a little more wheezy the next day, but never had extended coughing and I never had to give him the medicine (steroids) that I picked up just in case.  He slept good 8 hour chunks even with the cough (until 5 am) which was at that point an improvement.  Then it sort of faded and he's just a bit snotty now, but has slept 11 and 12 hours the last two nights and is currently napping, so whatever it all was, I think we're past it and back to our routine.  Just in time to travel in two weeks!

It is hot and super windy right now, but I think we're going to get on the bike this afternoon because I found some horses a few miles away!

Books

So we go to the library every week and get 5-7 new, seemingly interesting books (you know on trucks probably), Roseann has sent us a lot of old ones,  I bought 20 or so from a library sale (50 cents each or less).  And yet, Bobby makes me read the same 10 over and over and over.  I can read them with my eyes closed.  I hate curious george, froggy and dora's eggs right now. I don't know what his aversion is to new stories, I can get a couple pages in and then he chucks them on the floor.

Also, note to self, don't buy used books in bulk. There's a reason the library discards them, they are beat up or just stupid stories.  I thought I did well considering the selection and the pressure of Bobby being with me, but upon closer inspection, they're not all great stories. oh well.  I will stick to Ed McKay and consignment sales though. $2-3 is the max one should pay for a kids book with 15 pages.

Aside: Ugh, it's raining buckets and i just turned up the heat. phooey.

Wahhhhhhhh

One size fits all does not fit me!!!  I want a big floppy beach hat.  Poop.

That was a cruel joke, body

File under TMI, but for the last two weeks my boobs were really tender and i was secretly crossing my fingers, but alas I am still not pregnant.  And I'm really sad because this 99% means I won't have a 2011 baby and that sucks.  Frowny face emoticon.

Oh yah

Right, in case you were curious.  I gave up canned diet coke when I moved here and only had fountain cokes when we went out to eat (which is never)  But the Exxon does sell about 300 ounces for 44 cents, so I still indulged.  But then we all went cold turkey on everything but water for Lent.  Rick is really suffering iced tea withdrawal.  I also think Bobby drinks a lot of juice, so I tried to cut back, and he will drink water from a bottle directly, but now we're back on the juice for him.

Lord, I can ramble.  I need friends.

Sunday night

So, Bobby is not sleeping and it stresses me out.  Like stayed up through a 45 minute run at noon on Friday,  then chatted to himself for an hour in his crib before he cried a ton and I got him up.  The last 3 nights have been lousy too.  Waking at 3am or so.  I can put him down again easily, but he won't fall asleep and ends up crying out after 10 minutes. I've let him cry then for 20minutes and it only gets worse.  I wish I knew what was going on.  He had a few naps last week where I heard him talking to himself for a long time before conking out.  And tonight he never went down at 7pm - a first, although he had a good nap at naptime. He got a little sniffle, so I think that's it, but it started before that.  And he always dupes me, as soon as I get him, he says "eat" so  I get him milk and sometimes a snack, which he never touches.  He just wants to get out of his room.  I wonder if he's not had enough activity (probably not) Like we did Lowes and more inside play today...Or is is teething? who knows.  What's also funny is that I'm the mean one, totally cold and serious about getting back to sleep, yet he wants only me and nothing to do with Rick.  He does seem to want to cuddle a lot, (Bobby, not Rick) so I indulge, but at 5am, my patience is thin.  So I would totally plop him down in front of Elmo and be up for the day, except we really had gotten up at 2:30am.  And oddest of all, he never seems phased by sleeping 8 hours instead of 12.  And totally selfishly, it totally ruins my plans for the day.  He may go back to sleep 6-8am, but I planned on running at 8 and leaving the house to be somehwere at 10.  But then breakfast gets pushed back, blah blah blah.  Whine. There, that helped.  Not really. sigh.

So, you see that I've joined twitter.  Not sure if it's here to stay though.  Probably because I don't get to talk to adults during the day, I have all these thoughts that I want to share.  Yet, I don't think I'm special enough to broadcast them through Facebook and subject everyone to them.  But I can subject you all to them.  And even then, all the stuff I want to say, I can usually discount it by the time I actually get to the phone or computer.  And even if I were witty and all that, I only have like 5 followers, most of who I don't even know,  (not you, Emily) just some strangers who like the same things I do.  Or who knows how they found me.  I am supposedly following all these other people/companies, but basically this is a one way push for me so far.  Every time I want to read other tweets, it's packed full of play by play Giants tweets, so I get nowhere.  Does that help, Elizabeth? (Not at all I'm sure)  It's a good outlet, as this has been tonight as I deal with my new life in cheery Hampstead, NC.

090 a photo by sld78 on Flickr.

He's my kid!

So we were making grilled cheese for lunch and Bobby had a little bit of cheese and then he pointed to the counter, saying "eat, eat"  then he reached for the other piece of bread and put 2 pats of butter in his mouth.  And didn't spit them out.  Hungry, or starting his love of butter early?

So you want a blog

I haven't been blogging much because my life is boring. And I think I could use a twitter account and pass on little snippets of Bobbys funniness throughout the day, but then I'd have to be glued to my phone or something and not with my kid.  We did have a good weekend though.  It was super warm, high 70s here, so we went out to lunch then drove to Wrightsville Beach, but Bobby didn't manage to stay awake to enjoy the sand - another day perhaps.  It was pretty crowded, even in February, so I can only see how bad it would be in summer.  Its location is so prime that it would be all college kids anyway.  So we went to Toys R Us and got a sweet new t ball stand.  Bobby became obsessed with baseball after finding Grammys wiffleball bat before we left. You can't really pitch to him, and he got fustrated at a swinging ball, but he does love to pitch to you, then field the ball.  He will shag the ball so fast, even if I miss the ball, he'll run behind me to get it.  The set up we got actually has a swinging ball off a stick, but once he saw the ball on the tee, he didn't use it anymore.  The bat is a slightly better size too, but still probably too heavy for a 1 year old. So, with no beach time, we headed to Harris Teeter.  The Food Lion is really close and this is like 6 miles past that, so it's a treat.  And it's a nice new one.  Didn't get much, it was more the principal of it, just big fat blueberries, yum - even at $5 a pint. ouch.  But the Food Lion does have mini Chobani yogurt cups, which the Teeter doesn't.  (now you see why I don't blog; no one's paying to advertise on here!)

Bobby is quite the chatter bug, noisy without really saying much,  Rick is worried, but I'm waiting until he's 2.   He really doesn't put even simple 2 word sentences together (I want, Bobby eat)  I think it's because he's so good at communicating with his grunts and signs....

When he gets hurt, even a fake hurt, he wants a kiss and rub on his ow-ee.  But I also see him kissing his own finger where he has a cut.  It's pretty cute.

Tuesday

Sweet new shovel

My one reservation about this house was that it's on a busier road.  It really isn't a main road, or even that busy, but it's sort of on the way to a lot more houses, so people go too fast. But, it finally stopped raining enough to go outside and play, so of course we did and what I figured out is that if we go out back, we can run across the fairway, cut through someones yard (or walk to the opening) and get to another quieter street.  We also found a sand bunker 4 or 5 houses down, which is practically a huge sandbox. Woohoo.  So we took our new awesome shovel out ($3 or 4 at Target) and had a nice afternoon. Also very nice from Target, the California Chicken Salad.  TONS of dried cherry, goat cheese, walnuts on top of salad with a good poppyseed dressing.  You wouldn't think I'd like eating at a snack bar, but it's perfect to kill time after a shopping trip and make sure Bobby gets fed before he inevitably falls asleep in the car on the way home.  It's about a bit of a hike to Target so we combine all our shopping together and won't go very often at all.

Now when Bobby sees Cookie Monster, he puts his hand to his mouth and waves it about and goes arghh.

We made a flower out of playdough today and he sniffed it.

exhausted

phew! unloading, unpacking and chasing a toddler.  and it's barely 6pm.   we're settling in now to watch some football and wind down.  tomorrow will be interesting w/o daddy, i doubt I'll get much unpacking done. got the important things out, plates and such, my slippers! and my great long underwear.  i hope it gets really cold and snowy again b/c now i have my boots and parkas and warm clothes, but of course it probably won't. we moved about a month too late for all that.  The excitement of getting my stuff back was quickly tempered by the realization that all the clothes are two sizes too small, but I also have tons of great workout clothes and new adidas in there, so one will motivate for the other.  POD is leaving tomorrow morning and our washer/dryer better come soon (as soon as i buy them)  And I am rescinding my invitations and reissuing them as a cleaning party invitation. So much dust in wrapped items, how does that happen?

Made it

We moved down to Hampstead today (15 miles north of Wilmington) Since the computer is our only source of entertainment, I won't blog too long.  The house is great, way more than we need and were we to stay longer, it would be tempting to really decorate and furnish it (entry way, mud hallway off garage etc) I hope everyone can come visit us. The closets are huge and there's a sink in the laundry room.  Aah, little joys.  Bobby had a great time running the empty rooms.  Unfortunately, the handles are all latches (not knobs) which he can reach and loves to, so the doors will have to be locked.  We got a mattress and a few things out of the POD and besides my jackets, I'm really excited to have my alarm clock back.  It's the best.

First thing we unpacked (a giant puzzle too)

Too tall to hang from, much to his dismay

Misses his Grammy :(

Moving

I hope this move isn't too traumatic for Bobby, he has slept just under 12 hours for the last two nights.  (usually it's 11-11.5)  We'll see, he's a trooper, but when we moved to Michigan, I thought he was teething the way he was waking up, then no teeth ever showed up.  (when they did, he doesn't bat an eye).  We will drive down tomorrow, then come back to Greensboro to get the big stuff in a few weeks.

I am excited to move, but not excited to leave Loch Ridge ct or Grammy.  We just have such a good thing going.  But I am so pumped to get my jackets and shoes out of storage! And who knows what else will be waiting for me that I have forgotten about, hopefully no bugs or animals though!

We had two nice days (over 60) here and we spend all afternoon outside, he loves to "pick up" leaves and break sticks.  We'll have to have a fire tonight just to use all the kindling up.

And, Auntie Elizabeth, thank you for Goodnight Gorilla, Bobby and Grammy read it all the time, sometimes twice a night!

And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLYN!

Hard Work

This kid, like all toddlers I'm sure, is hard work.  This has been a long week for some reason.  Trying to keep busy inside I guess.  I look forward to and create errands.  Storytime was moved up a day b/c Tuesday was so boring, but it did get above 45 for a bit so we went for a walk and to the playground.  Wednesday, we went to a bouncey house while it rained, which he loves. Today, I tried to go to Walmart at 10am and he fell asleep about 2 minutes away from the house.  It was a rough night last night, waking at 2, 3, and finally up for the day at 4am.  Inexplicably too.  So that's why he's in bed now already.

We did get outside and run around today.  He's been asking for snow, but I can't produce.  There was a cement truck in the neighborhood which we had to stare at forever.  He's really regimented now and makes sure I put a hat on him when we have to go out.  He also love his gloves, not mittens though. His new obsession is scissors, I'm mean seriously, he's not even 2.  He is a sponge I guess. Still likes to cook and clean.  Also obsessed with Elbo.  If you sit near the computer or tv, he tries to make you turn it on.  And today, when we tried to have some quiet time, he wasn't even interested in the rest of Sesame street, just wanted Elbo.  But he does love his 6 inch, 5 dollar grover doll.  He is really into Elmo and I guess it's from our books and coloring books, and he's just put it all together, that now he talks and is on tv. woohoo.

He will, however, drop everything and have you read to him.  but he is picky about books and knows which ones he wants to hear.  He has been doing this strange thing, where it seems like he wants to pick up things in the books.  He is also quite the chatterbox and still running everywhere.  And he can jump like a frog, it's the cutest.

His real obsession though, is Grammy.  He runs around the house looking for her, throwing his palms up in the air when she isn't home.  When he hears a cough or sneeze or the door open, he bolts to her.  He will push me away and tell me no if I try to get near him.  He will only jump to her.  He cuddles with her like I never get.  I wonder if it stemmed from me leaving last week and them having a good 24 hours alone together where he didn't miss me then either.

We are moving so soon, and hope to really shore up a lease tomorrow finally.  Then we'll get our stuff down in the next two weeks, so plan your weekends at the beach with us!  Then I will really have a rude awakening, having Grammy here as a backup and Rick home has made me spoiled; it will be even harder with no breather until after bedtime.  I'd like to think I didn't rely on Grammy to do that much, but when I wanted to read the paper or make a meal or just put away clothes, it was so great to have her be able to play with him. I know I was so lucky these last 18 months!

First Haircut

Don't have good before/after pics, but Bobby got his first haircut in Greenville from Aunt Mary Beth.  He was perfect.  Minimal squirming and no crying.  and he looks so much better than his long baby hair shag.

2010 Holidays

We had a super great Christmas.  I loved having everyone here and all the chaos it brought.  Bobby liked all his presents and all the events, baking, playing and decorations that came with the holidays.  We went to Memphis for six days and had a nice, relaxing time there.  We went to the zoo and the childrens museum, and some playgrounds.  We weren't really used to so much downtime and watched a lot of tv, but Bobby really took to his Grandpa (after a few days of warm up) and it was a good visit.  He slept on a matress on the floor in his own room and bedtime wasn't a nightmare.  It is hard to have a toddler in your lap, even for that short of a flight. Next week, Grandma Roseann comes and then shortly after that we move down to Camp LeJeune, so it will be a busy busy month.

19 months

Bobby can jump! Two feet off at the same time.  Very thrilling stuff.

He can also answer in the affirmative.  It is a vigorous nod, with "da" for yes.

It was bound to happen

I was getting food out of the freezer for dinner, I said, chicken, and Bobby said, bok bok.

Crafting

So this is what I was working on, which everyone saw, but I wanted to document.

I was glad to have some real oohs and aahs, as it took me a long time and it was very tedious, cutting all those ornaments and gluing all that ric rack. And famous last words, "Well if you're going to make one, you may as well make two or three" That's 75 ornaments! (including the star) The burlap was the hardest to work with actually. The sewing machine couldn't handle it, and we had to do something to stop the fraying so it all got glued hems. thanks Grammy, that was her boring job. I didn't finish the string, but I figure everyone can make a bow of the best length that works for them. (I have more string available!) And of course, AFTER we finished, we finally found red and green velcro (preferred for the ornament 'hooks') at Lowe's of all places. I guess I still owe Emily one, so maybe that one will be perfect. It was fun and not that bad all in all. We did most of it after bedtime, but Rick also got Bobby out of my hair so I could do some cutting.

18 Months

Busted

24 pounds, 4 ounces (25% percentile)
33 3/4 inches (75%)
Developing well.. says about 15-20 words, plus more signs and animals sounds

Santa skyped me today

I was hoping to embed this as a video, but no such luck.

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/guest/8TZc2SJeFIbaQqddBq93SA

Worst mother ever, Part I

Add caption

Look closely and you will see his new chipped teeth. Tripped over the mini rocking chair onto the plastic tub of toys, while I think he was trying to pull out the fire engine from the corner. I was sitting right next to him. Thought he had just cut his lip. He cried for a long time, which I get because all of us has been head butted in the lip and think how much that hurts.

I hope his tooth gets bigger and you can't notice that it's now triangle shaped, because they don't fall out for a while.  Sorry kiddo.

Just a few glue gun burns later

It started with a simple trip to Michaels to get a frame.  Then we got some pom poms, some felt and some glue and voila (which I originally typed wah-la). We made a few wreath photo ornaments, did a lot of finger painting, a lot more scribbling,  a hand print ornament, a cardboard angel and a thread spool elephant (from the church group at Santas sitting) and a lot of cookies and baked goods.  It has been a good holiday season so far. I think I'll wait until after bedtime to wrap presents though.

This is what I've been working on...

The whole gang  (Go Bruins)

And Elmo had to sneak in there too

Bobby enjoys them, especially if you hide behind a chair or something.  He probably doesn't like them as much as he should for my effort...They were fairly easy to do, but now it's really easy for me to pick on their flaws.  The gingerbread man still needs a nose, and the snowman might get a hat, but they might be done too.  Next up, cookie monster!  Put in your requests kids!

Help

Somebody come and eat all these cookies! I only really like pizzelles. but of course,  I eat all of them anyway.  Does York need fudge? You can guess the content of my January 1st post...

We had that kid

After 45 minutes of waiting, Bobby screamed his head off when he got near Santa. Up to that point, it was ho ho ho, fire, tree - all good. They had cat adoptions which kept him interested and cookies and craft/ornament making afterward. Good day, except for not actually sitting on Santas lap. We'll try again next weekend somewhere else, but I don't expect different results. oh well. (and how good is that Santa)

It's that time of year!

It was a little too quiet

It was one of those times, he started with the cookie sheet cabinet, so I was on the other side of the room (crafting) and then knew he up was to no good when it was so quiet! At least he wasn't eating it, or the sprinkles.

He is so funny, He says Ho Ho Ho, to the Santas. The house looks really nice and he hasn't broken too many ornaments - no nice ones.Every morning he goes and turns on the tree lights. We are really excited for everyone to be together finally.

I am daily stunned by how smart (I think) he is. The things he knows baffles me, He must pay attention really well, and I don't know that I knew a 1.5 year old would know all those things. His language is coming along too. Nothing too big, but he copies a lot more of what we say and is trying a few more sounds. He says Happy (appi really) and we heard belly the other day. Those are good two syllable words to start with. And it took 18 months, but he finally says NO. He has shaken head before, mostly when he doesn't want to eat something, but now it's accompanied with a really sweet light no.

And, best of all, he gives hugs and kisses better, even to animals on book pages.

What a trip

6:50 am gardening

Bobby is so funny.  I don't have a bunch of cute stories, but day to day, he cracks us up.  If he hears the door open, he'll drop what he's doing (or a pot) and run to the door.  He's obsessed with the neighbors cat and the moon and gets upset if he can't find either one.  His "huh" move is palms up and mayve even shrugging his shoulders a bit.  He loves his bath, i have more video to post, I didn't want to get his hair wet, so I told his to do it and he willingly dumped a cup of water over his head.  He also shampooed his own hair and likes to rub moisturizer everywhere.

Good thing it's been warm, he loves sprinklers

He has been getting up early.  6:15 is super, but we have more 5:30s and had a couple days of 4:15 - something had to be going on.  But he has bundles of energy and never stops moving.  He runs everywhere and pumps his arm even when walking to show he's determined. He loves running through piles of leaves so luckily we have lots of those.  He's become a really good hugger, all to grammy and the dog.  not me.

Actually

Seeing as how the other easels are 0 for 2 on being used, I guess we'll stick to pencil and paper or chalk.  I would like a table for him (coffee table height) but I'll have to see how much space we have and where it would go.

Seriously, Don't buy us anything.

Bobby Christmas list

• ipad/ipod touch
• puzzles
• bike - maybe not til spring
• train set with tracks (not electric, not Thomas)
• costco catepillar dump truck/bulldozer
• easel (M&D?)
• picture story books
• toy tool set 
• ONE ornament

Really, this kid has played with 3 different trash cans in the last several days.  Please don't go crazy, we don't have room and he has so much stuff already. He doesn't need clothes or toys - I could probably wrap up library books and pots and pans and he'd be great.  

Yep

Jinxed that. Put him down before 7pm, up at 5:10am.

He cannot see a pad of paper without wanting it.  Better that than the furniture.  Also, I didn't mention that he know puts sound effects with everything.  Usually an explosion sound, and not just when cars are running into each other.  When he jumped into my arms, he did it.  thank Rick and Angry Birds for that.

I know the latest videos are a little boring but they give you a glimpse of what he's up to.

17 Months

Bobby is a real character.  It is fascinating to watch him and pretty funny usually.  He is pretty smart and picks up on everything.  Whenever a phone rings, he runs to kitchen land line and picks it up. He found a calculator the other day and put it to his ear.

Today, I was filling up his sippy cup from the fridge dispenser, I put it down on the fridge shelf to get the lid and he reached up and pulled it down - all over himself.  He was totally doused, hair all matted, so funny.

He is getting better at eating, I don't know how he's not starving, since he runs nonstop and poops a lot!  He is getting pretty good with utensils though and pretty much wants to be a part of anything you are doing.  He baked bread with us and put in ingredients and stirred the batter.  He topped his own pizza.

He is sleeping fairly well,  he was getting up at 5:50 for 3 mornings in a row, then made it 5:15, so that day I put him to bed at 6:50, instead of 7:30pm and he slept until 6am.  He goes down really fast at night, but hates naptime.  He usually ends up sleeping in the car.  Even at 11am, instead of his 1pm time at home. It makes running errands pretty hard.

He loves to read, but really it's just flipping pages really fast.  He is obsessed with his animal books, which Grammy and I both hate by now.

He also has discovered the TV. He points to it and the remote and wants you to turn it on.

He has started drawing circles and spirals, not just lines.  He also wants to draw all the time, whenever he finds a pen. And he can take on and off lids, which he loves to do.

HAlloween was pretty dull but still fun.  We went to the neighborhood party, where he pretty much played alone but in their playset and the bouncey house.  They had a hay ride and he is just a people watcher right now so he just played out front instead of trick or treating himself.

He loves being outside, even now that it's gotten cold.  He loves running through the leave piles and was quite a help planting flowers.

This Kid Loves Outside

And all the other mommy blogs I read are 90% photos, so I'm trying to make this more interesting, although the new template formats really screw me up.

Sounds

While reading a book tonight, I pointed out a seahorse and without pause, Bobby promptly brayed (like a horse)

End radio silence

Bobby got two more teeth broken through, the cuspids linking his 4 front teeth to the molars.
He really enjoys running and jumping and flopping on the bed endlessly.  We need a king bed in padded room.
I thought I had more to relate, but can't think of anything.

16 Months

Bedtime is (knock on wood) a breeze.  He sometimes drinks some milk (but not warmed up) read a bunch of books, sing a song in the dark, drop him in the crib.  He's been sleeping through the night (mostly) but still prefers a 6:30am wake up time.  We'll see what impact daylight savings has if any.

He is really smart, says I.  Of course, such a sponge at this age, he doesn't miss a thing.  Knows what utensils and cleaning supplies and kitchen gadgets do. Same with bathroom and garden tools.  Complete copy cat and has to be involved in everything. Loves being outside still. Will throw the ball forever with Rick. Obessed with the dog, won't leave her alone at all.  Often snuggles up in the dog bed.  Sophie gets better hugs than we do.

He knows signs for bird, fish, gorilla, elephant, alligator, cat, rabbit and sounds for a few more animals (chicken).  He says dog.  He identifies anything with a beak as a bird, which is pretty true, but penguins are a little more distinct e.g.  He thinks deer and goats are dogs, but i'll take it.  He understands most everything directed at him.  Says bye really clearly with a wave.  Signs bath, bed, done, more and everything else he just reaches, points and grunts/whines for.  Signs for ball with a dribbling motion.  Identifies your mouth, nose, eyes and sometimes ears.  Same on pictures of animals.

Three nights in a row.  No nursing, no tears, sleeping through the night. Woo hoo.

This Kid

Generally, I think Bobby has really good body control and balance, but I guess that doesn't mean he's coordinated.  And he's only been walking for 2 months, and now he's running, so he was bound to fall.  The matching horns on his head are fading slowly, but then he took his first real dive on the sidewalk at the playground and skinned his knee.  In his defense, the sidewalk was at least an inch unlevel at the seam.  I put a band aid on it to keep the neosporin from getting wiped off and every time he even saw the band-aid, he would get the most pathetic look on his face and whine - pretty funny stuff.

He is loving being outside as much as we can and we even went swimming today since it was 90.  I think it helps him sleep.  Every day is different, today he woke at 7 after waking at 3am; he took a two hour nap.  he goes down without a fuss, and it's about 50/50 if he stays down until morning.

15 Months

2 vaccines + flu shot.
22 pounds, 14 ounces weight (25%)
32.75" height (90%)

Long weekend

We had a good time at the zoo, can't say we did much animal watching, but it was fun for us all.  I pointed out the big bears and gorillas, but that's about it. He liked the geyser thing and walking the railings and throwing mulch.

He literally waves hi at everyone and everything that he sees - including me when he sat up while being rocked to sleep.

We dropped his morning nap,  I would have liked to hold onto it a little longer, but I think this was a good decision.  He still gets a little tired early (11ish) but can usually hang on until after lunch (12:30 or 1) and then sleep 1-1.5 hours.  I hope this gets longer.  I am sure I will jinx it, but he is super easy to put down to sleep again.  He goes down totally awake.  I sort of just hold him and explain it's time and then put him down and walk away.  Less than 10 minutes after we finish bathing and books etc.

We went to the corn maze today and had a lot of fun.  It was way hot, but still a good day.  Not crowded at all. I sort of hated the maze itself though.  I hate being disoriented and having all those turn choices!  But they also had a jumping pillow, which we stayed on forever since no one else was really on it. and a dinosaur fossil sand pit. and a tractor ride.  They also had a gem sifter thing and lots of rocks in the gift shop - perfect for a 4 year old I know.  Their zipline and pumpkin patch open next month.  Maybe we'll go back!

Update

After Bobby conked out in the car on the way home from A2, we tried to get him up for dinner and play before a later bedtime, but he would not engage, so he went to bed in his day clothes with no dinner :(  And he slept until almost 4am.  Then we played until 6am when he went down again for a good bit.  The spots were much less pronounced today - like a bite fading.  Still there, but not red or barely pink and not raised.  He was in a good mood, but not eating.

But as the day progressed, his mood got a little worse and he was pretty testy and overall blah. We ran some errands and went for a bike ride and walked around, but he was up and down until dinner time then it was all down.  We went out in the neighborhood again and it was fine, but he just started wailing after his bath.  Not hurt or wanting something or getting in the carseat or not liking getting dressed (-all why he usually cries).  It was so sad.  And it seems the bumps are back.  Not as many, but there are definitely some new ones - other side of his chest, some more on his legs.  Face and chest are clear though.  Back is much better.

So I'm a little worried,  Rick and I aren't totally convinced it is a drug rash.  But who knows.  I don't think it's bed bugs because I haven't seen any (bugs, blood, skin or bugpoop) on his white crib sheet, but you bet I'll be looking for them anyway in the morning. And Rick and I don't have anything like that and I don't think they would come from Rosannes pack and play or through our walls somehow.  The proximity to taking the antibiotic is just too close.  I'm doing a lot of web research and looking at a lot of nasty rash photos.

Little milestones

Bobby is now working on putting his stroller and carseat buckles together

He spent a lot of time on the swing and slide yesterday.  Previously he wasn't that into it, but now he's an adrenaline junkie.  He also did the more sign to stay on the swing.  First time ever.  (and not since)

He also blew bubbles in the bathtub. It was apparently an accident because every subsequent time, he swallowed half the tub water.

He can point to his belly when asked, and can blow raspberries on your belly. But he will also then stick his finger in your belly button and press as hard as possible.

Growing up

Bobbys cough is pretty much gone, but still lingers a tiny bit.  Day 5 of medicine.  The antibiotics gave him a nasty diaper rash.

He slept 8-8 last night after about 20 minutes of crying.  Skipped the morning nap and put him down at 1 - he only slept 35 minutes.  Crap.  No crying tonight, down at 7pm.  I am not excited about throwing a wrench in his sleeping routine just as he's getting back to it.

He is really a fun little kid.  Very mild mannered and has a pleasant disposition.  He loves saying hi to people, especially other kids at the library.  Anyone actually, but rarely are they close enough to hear him and say hi back.  He is crazy though.  He loves to jump off the couch, arms raised.  Or leap off the top step of the stairs.  Really keeps us on our toes.

Back in Michigan

We are back after our vacation out west.  It was great to get out of here for 9 days.  Usually, even though you don't want to leave the vacation spot, you're excited to come home - we didn't have any of that.  Flying back to Detroit was lousy and driving back to our crappy little town was even worse.  It was a good day of travel, but being home wasn't worth anything.  No mail, nothing in the fridge, blah.  The only good thing is that Bobby finally is back in a crib!  He did really well today, slept on both flights and was totally charming the rest of the time.

He had so much fun seeing his cousins.  He was pretty into Cooper - and treated Coop like Archer treats him, but he had a good afternoon or two with Cash.  It would be fantastic to have a family place where we could all use together, or separately.  It was a really good week, lots of playing outside, didn't venture out much around the lake - only on the boat once, more kayaking and golf carting.

We were then totally spoiled in San Mateo.  Bobby didn't sleep well there at all. don't know why, but he loved the pool, or actually hot tub.  With his turtle suit and floaties, he was totally buoyant and would just walk off the steps under the water.  We got some nice weather as we were leaving and spent a lot of time relaxing and playing.

Now, we are to pack up and find jobs.  We're trying to get to Memphis, but if we have to rent a trailer to get out of here (just big stroller and glider and suitcases) then it wouldn't make sense to drive that around for a week.  And I'm not excited to drive two days twice.  Bobby's hardest day was coming down the mountain back to the coast.

He finally got his fourth bottom tooth.  Also got at least 3 molars next to his canines.  And, he is on antibiotics for a microinfection that probably got irritated when we went on the airplane.  He had this little morning cough forever, then it got worst last week, since they have small sinuses etc...  We took him to a pediatric after hours place, didn't have to wait and saw a nice doctor who was super chatty.  150 bucks, but hopefully we can recoup that from the insurance company.

14 months

Bobby has figured out how to squeal really loudly.    Also how to squeeze a juice box and make it go everywhere.  I bought him some size 5 shoes.  Now that I look at them, they might be water shoes.  But the soul is really thick.  He curls his toes really bad when I try to put shoes on him so that makes it hard. He does have some velcro sandals that he'll sit still for - probably because he knows that means we're going outside.  I bought him this little garage sale battery operated train and he gets furious when it drives away from him.

We left him with a non-relative babysitter last night for the first time ever.  Of course, he was asleep at 7 and she came over at 7:30pm and didn't wake up so it wasn't really traumatic for anyone.

So Rooney lost.  badly.  don't know why. Michigan voters are idiots basically.  we'll see how November goes from afar, but other than that it's anyones guess what he'll do in two years.  Or what we'll do it in two weeks.  We have no back up plan.  We'd like to go to Tahoe with Carolyn this weekend but plane tickets are $7-800 each right now,  we'll see if they miraculously drop so we can get the heck away from stinkin Tecumsee for a while.

August 2

So Election Day is finally here. This time tomorrow night we'll know finally.  I'm pretty nervous. Just b/c it's so close.  I don't know if he can overcome this other guy.  The support is there, but they have to get to the polls.  It's sort of an uphill battle and he has a lot going for him, but a lot against him too and there's a lot of blog chatter and what not, but it could mean nothing.  We'll just have to see.  We don't really have a back up plan at all.  There's a job in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, but that would just be another 1 year stop.  But I guess we could drop anchor and we'd find something there after.  I just don't want to be out there.  oops.

Bobby is doing pretty well.  He loves walking and being outside.  He goes to the front door all the time and reaches for the handle.  He will walk to the playground and ignore my hand if I offer it.

One of his favorite things to do is turn over the laundry basket, climb up on it and bounce.  He has no fear, which can work against him, but if I'm close, he'll walk right off the side of the bed or the stairs.  We went back to the Splash Pad today and he loved it .  Went right through all the sprays and fountains and stuff.  And that water is cold!

Michigan Sweet Corn - so good, 30 - 50 cents each, available everywhere. yum.

I'm definitely having some "live in the middle of nowhere, stay at home mom malaise"  I am sort of desperate to work , but have put myself in a field where that's hard and it's super competitive. Sigh.  I think with 2-3 kids, it would be different, but I don't have that much to do to fill up the days. And I don't mind run/nap/play/eat/play/nap/bike but you know.  Such is life I guess.

When I went to change the bag in the diaper pail, I opened the lid to find Bobby's pajamas on top of all the diapers.  I knew he liked tilting that thing, but I didn't know he really knew how to work it.

When we ride the bike, he tries to take my hands off the handlebar so he can do it.

He really likes to identify birds we see - by making a beak of his hands. Does it whenever he sees, or even hears them.  Also into spotting airplanes when he hears them, he looks up. (sometimes identifies the sound of mack trucks though)

I got him to eat a bite of chicken.  He chewed it for probably 15 minutes.

We are going to the Ann Arbor Art Fair tomorrow.  http://www.artfair.org/

well i was going to blog but Bobby just woke up after about a 30 minute nap.  he's sort of a pain these days.

but when he's not a pain, he's pretty fun.  quite the mimic.   he wants to put the lids on everything.  sippy cup, apple juice, medicine.  that's where they go.

if you dunk your chip in guacamole or stir something up with a utensil, he wants to too.

wants you to wear the shoes that are on the floor, knows where they go.

weatherman: "it's going to be very warm today! 88. "

so i have more, but if this kid doesn't sleep, you'll never get to hear it.

Home alone - therefore I ramble

Tonight, we went to Light up the Night, in downtown Tecumseh.  It was underwhelming to say the least.  It was an antique car show, music in the park, and downtown business something.  Basically some cars in a bank parking lot,  a (good) band on the side patio of a store and one flower booth.  I guess I expected a little more.  But we (Bobby and I) took some dinner and listened to the music until they took a break, walked through the cars and then home.  There was a baseball game across the street from us so we watch an inning there too - just missing the ice cream truck.  On reconsideration, the cute little downtown is generously three blocks and nothing useful.  Everything is rather expensive too.

They were also fighting the Manchester Chicken Broil up the road, 4x 100 foot grills,  19,000 pounds of chicken   14,000 rolls.  This is why I need my own car.  Would have loved to gone.   There is 2-3 more festivals this weekend, don't know what Ricks schedule is though.  

Statistics say the population of 8,600 is evenly distributed, but there seems to be a dearth of 20 somethings.  Which is totally understandable, but it's weird to not see the attractive, fun, young people (that are older than high school)  I would also say I don't see young families, but I have walked/biked about 80 percent of the streets and see a lot of bikes and sandboxes and playsets in yards and garages.  Just can't find the families.  Seriously,  I have been to 3 elementary schools, the middle school and 3 parks - morning, noon and night - and I have seen noone else on the playgrounds.  Same with the library and pool and the lake - no one for me to play with.

Bobby is almost a walker.  He's pretty good at it, but just doesn't do it that often.  Mostly while playing in the basement.  He likes shoes. Tries to put them on, etc, but can't walk in them.  He's not eating well, which drives me crazy.  I think it's his teeth, but he's also really picky.  At this age, he should be eating a lot more than grilled cheese, yogurt and dry cereal.  I want to throw some asparagus tips, black beans and chicken cubes on his plate but that would be wasted.  And I've tried to mix it in different sauces and soups, but then I have to feed him and he doesn't want that either.  Oh well.

What's new

Slow week here.  Lots and lots of walking and biking.  There are tons of playgrounds and parks here.  We went to the community (indoor) pool today.  Nice facility, only have open swim 1.5 hrs/week and the water was cold but we had a nice time anyway.  Tomorrow, we try "the Pit" - some sort of lake and park recreation area.

Bobby hates his high chair,  even his new fancy booster seat hybrid thing.  Even if we all sit with him and eat. No tricks work.  He eats on the move if he is distracted.  I do not like this pattern but otherwise it's 3 bites and done.

After I wrote how well he was sleeping, I totally jinxed it.  He woke up twice the next night and up for the day at 6am.  Last night was better, slept through the night and today napped twice for 2.5 hours.  He's been sucking his fingers a lot so I keep expecting teeth, but nothing.  Occasionally I give him ibuprofen for them.  Hope that's not bad!

He also is biting a bit, but totally grabbing free skin and swiping at our faces.  He thinks it's pretty funny.  Ricks open scratch says otherwise.

Tour de Tecumseh

Tour de Tecumseh
Originally uploaded by sld78

We are up and running! (or biking at least).  He has been doing really well for long periods in the stroller and even getting in it himself in the mornings, but now we can go even further faster!  I got a new six speed bike at Meijer on sale and then the iBert bike seat from BabiesRUs online.  All for under $200.  $6 helmet used too. I think he likes it, but the jury is still out.   I got a mens bike so Rick will ride too but it would be more helpful to have the cross bar lower.  I have to ride with my knees just a tiny bit wide so if you have longer legs, you can put the seat up higher and it wouldn't be a problem.  Also tilted handle bars would help lots, but Bobby likes to hold onto them either way.

I think he is finally adjusted as he is sleeping better and whining less.  He slept about 11.5 hours last night and then took a two and a half hour morning nap, and was still ready right on time for his afternoon nap.  I am hoping to get the truck up and running for Rick next week and then Bobby and I will start our daytrips.

Notes

Obvious, but, there are very few foreign cars on the road.

At this rate, Cooper will be weaned before Bobby and Archer

You can get a lot of ice cream for $2 here.

We have hard water.  I don't really notice a difference (no dingy hair or clothes yet) Maybe Bobby is a little slimy in the bath.  Not as bubbly lathers.

Bobby has a "summer cough" He's had it for a while.  No fever, irritability or other symptoms, but either in the middle of the night or morning, he hacks pretty bad.  Nurse said to give him honey, or warm juice, plus use the humidifier etc, but nothing works.  Any ideas anyone?  When should I worry?

Happy Birthday Emily

13 months

I can't believe I've been here a week.  It feels like a month at least.  I've walked the whole town.  Mostly in 90 degree heat.  Nothing left to explore.  Except for the nail salons I guess.  Maybe we should get a babysitter and actually go out, but I don't even think there's places to eat, just ice cream.  And I don't think Rick will see Twilight.

I put Bobby to bed a little later tonight, in hopes that he will sleep past 5:30am.  He is sleeping through the night, going down super easily, but only sleeping about 10.5 hours.  He's not walking too much yet.  Standing up and down lots but not taking the steps.

He is crazy exhausted.  We play all day in rocks, mulch, grass, pebbles, swing, slide and in heat.  He's not eating that much which I hate, but I keep trying.  We're on a pasta kick now.  Probably since we don't have access to Harris Teeter mac and cheese.

I'm enjoying all the new pics and news when it comes.  I realized today I have no interaction with anyone but Bobby and Rick.  Small town yes, but not southern friendly.  Maybe they know I'm an outsider.  We'll try the library again tomorrow, haven't seen too many moms of little ones.

http://nymag.com/news/features/67024/    Okay, I haven't actually read this whole thing yet, so can't really push it as a recommended read, but here it is nonetheless.

Michigan (out of order)

The day had come and we sadly had to leave.  I wanted to be with Rick and I am more than ready to settle down, but not into a temporary place, and we loved our situation; so I had a lot of trepidation. We got packed up slowly. I had to send about 4 boxes of clothes and miscellany ahead of time.  Then packed two 60 pounds suitcases, so mom will be sending another box along.  So I had one 47 pound bag, a 49 pound bag, the giant car seat, my giant jogging stroller and the umbrella stroller. But we got it all checked along for free, thank god.

I've never spent more than a few days up here, so it is interesting already.  Flying into Detroit over some great lake was cool. There are a bunch of islands in the middle of it.  Also, it is soooo flat up here.  We are about 45 minutes SW of the airport, through a couple small towns.  So I was viewing this trip as a big adventure and actually got excited in the last couple days. I want to go to Canada, and go kayaking, and boating, and biking and explore things I don't know about, now that Bobby is a little older.  So all that was a positive thing, but then I realize Rick is working 6 days a week and often nights and weekends.  So I'll probably have to do it alone.  If anyone wants to come visit me, I want to rent an RV!

I can't even describe this town b/c I've never been anywhere like it, but I'm sure there are thousands of them around.  Lots of Victorian homes, with sidings, lots of lattice and colors etc.  There is a couple blocks of "Main Street" then the more commercial end with the Family Dollar store (yuck), grocery, Walgreens and CVS and fast food.  It will do.  Also, the Rooneys are lending us a truck that we'll pay insurance on and then I'll have my car to use for aforementioned adventures.  There are lots of people walking around  the neighborhood.  And there are those walk up ice cream stores all over this area and they're packed at night.

Also it's light here until at least 9:30, close to 10pm.  A little disorientating at first.  I'll be in touch and document it all as we hit up all the parades, pig roasts, festivals and whatnot in the next month!  And if you have any rich friends, tell them to donate to Rooney!

The House

Ok, I'll try to keep this short.  Here is the condo! It is in a little community of 13 condos.  We have a stand alone garage and there is a swing set and slide in an open area.  So I posted photos on flickr, but it is a good find.  The Rooneys lent us a changing table and crib.  But they couldn't find the screws, so Rick called Pottery Barn looking for some info and they freaked out it was a drop side crib, so are replacing it for free.  Bobbys room originally had twin beds in it, so now one is on the floor and one is in the basement.  There are two sinks upstairs and lots of cupboards and two linen closets, plus lots of hanging space. 

So there is one for sale across from us for $110K (which now that I think about it, it may be over priced)

First Day

Still so many thought to share, guess I just need to start typing!  And since the boys have both been asleep since before 7pm, I might as well get to it!  I guess they wore each other out. 

So the place is great.  It's small but for our needs, it's good.  It's about 30-45 minutes from everything which is the worst part, but for a no lease, no security deposit, month to month, fully furnished, all utilities and cable included, we got lucky.  And everything is here, collander, can opener, oven mitts, trash cans, hangers, cleaning supplies, ironing board, etc. And lots of closets and cupboards, and they provided several dressers and shelves.  So having done this before, I appreciate this set up.   Rick had totally been living like a bachelor.  One plate, one fork, one pot, precooked food etc.  So he's glad to have it.  It is quickly becoming a home.  Anyway,

Rick had the day off, so he wanted to show me around, go shopping, go to the park etc, but we really needed to get settled and get our bearings.  So we hund out here in the morning, Bobby napped, we activated Ricks new Blackberry (woo hoo), had lunch, then got our act together.  We drove up to Ann Arbor to pick up a $35 rocking chair - which made bedtime a heck of a lot easier.  Then while there, we found a kid consignment store! And found some toys and a diaper champ ($13) which saved our trip out tonight to get the craigslist one. 

I realize I'm rambling, so I'll try to edit myself in the future!!  But oh yah =  we saw a BEAVER in the front yard when we were playing!!!  Just walking across the front like a cat or something, then scampered away before I could click it with my phone!

We made it

Lots to share, but I'm pretty tired. Bobby is still a good traveler, but oh boy,  is he (hyper)active!  Did not stay still, let alone nap, for 5+ hours.  We are settled in for the night, busy day tomorrow.  It is good to be with dad, but we miss Grammy lots and lots.   Hope I can find some time to recap all the thoughts about the new place, and getting four big pieces of luggage checked!  We are here though and the adventures begin!  Photos will be forthcoming so don't overanalyze this one ;)

Lean Little Guy

Weight:  21 pounds, 13 oz. (25%)
Height: 30.5 inches (75%)

Another reason, this isn't my kid:  he's tall and skinny.  Height measurements are pretty inaccurate however.  I guess he's doing fine. Motor skills are good, communication is probably average. He blabbers lots but says few words.  Doc says he's on track and nothing to worry about.  Not worried that he's a picky eater.  He got 4 shots and a finger prick for an iron blood test.  Iron is fine.  The shots were right leg, left leg, right tricept, left tricept.  OUCH.  First prick- nothing.  Second - a cry. Recover from that and she got him right in the fleshy arm.  Then again.  But he was a champ.  Then we walked home and he fell asleep right as we got to our street.  It was about an hour past naptime.

Karma

Okay, last post of the day, promise.

We went to Walmart this afternoon, breaking my "don't go on a weekend, or after noon in general" rule.  But I got zen and went for it.  So Walmart has the diagonal parking spots, meaning they also have one way rows in the lot.  I am slowly driving down my lane, and in zooms a car going against the arrow  (and me) and takes a hard left into a spot.  This is a good spot, about 3 from the store, and one that I hadn't even seen yet. But since the rows are one way, the spots are angled meaning she had to take about a 120 degree turn.  So she flies into it hard, obviously since I was 1. in the middle of the driving lane and 2. probably going to take it.  Totally cuts in front of me, you get the picture.  Point is: she hit the car in the space next to her.  HAHA.  Of course, I honked when she cut me off (it was sort of close, but very rude) but then she stops the car and I see her start to get out ("Oh shit") thinking she would yell at me but she was looking at the car she had just hit.  I guess there was a noise (or my horn)  b/c everyone was looking.  But then the lot security geezer came over and I went and calmly parked. With a big ol' smile on my face.

Weaning

So I guess when I'm alone, literally and with my thoughts,  my dear readers get a lot of entries.

So in his missing his father mode, Bobby bit me last week while going down to a nap.  He thought it was very funny, but now I have a lot of pain when nursing.  We were playing in my room today since it is so very hot out, and I have some bottles in a bin.  He seemed very interested in them and started sucking one.  Since it was approaching nap time, we ran down to the kitchen, nuked some whole milk and went to the rocking chair in his dark room (just like naptime)  He drank up almost 4 oz (in about the same time he would use to nurse) and then I put him in his crib.  3-4 minutes of crying later, he's sleeping.  He held the bottle himself and was wide awake the whole time, so I think this is good.  I didn't want to wean to a bottle, since he isn't on them currently, but we have to start somewhere.

I wasn't actively trying to do that (and 1 day does not a habit make)  but I think I'll continue to cut out that 2pm feeding.  We'll do this very slowly since he's a picky eater and I don't know where his calories are coming from otherwise.  I'm going to follow a "Don't offer, Don't Refuse" methodology.

He Walked!

Not just me propping him up a few steps away and having him fall at me.  Bobby planted his feet, planted his hands, stuck his butt up in the air and stood up.  Then I saw he was thinking about it, so I held out my arms and he came a good 6-7 steps towards me before buckling.   He is a lot more secure walking with help and will do it with one hand.  Guess I need to keep the video camera close.

Bobby is feeling better and acting like it too for the most part.  We went to the Little Gym and he had a lot of fun, but was still clingy toward the end.  Might have been hungry.  He napped for 1.5 hours.  I thought he banged his head really bad yesterday because he had a big red bump, but he never cried and I was on top of him all morning yesterday so had no idea how he did it.  But today it isn't bruised and looks more like two bug bites.  Guess he didn't need the ice on his forehead.  We do have his check up on Monday which is good in case his ears are bothering him (which today he has yet to touch so far)

I put Bobby on the scale at the vets and it said he was only 22.2 pounds.

Mother ... Nature

So Elizabeth noticed last weekend that we had some baby birds living in a potted fern on the deck and since then Mom and I have been keeping an eye out for them.  This is hard because of the hawks that live next door.  Their nest was out front, but our backyard seems to be their new hunting ground.  Often I see one sitting in the grass right out the back door, and 2 on the fences, and this morning there was one in the tree that Wiley always climbs! (very close to the nest)  Plus Sophie had sniffed around there once or twice and Lacey was supposed to visit, so these birds had the odds stacked against them.  But today, I just saw them hopping around the glass table in back.  They were pretty fuzzy still and more jumping between the railings and ground, instead of flying.  So I just hope they were practicing and will go back since the sprinklers had been on.  They seem to be hanging out under a bush behind the grill, which is a little safer from hawks, but not great being at ground level.  I'll keep you posted.

Bobby is standing a ton now

If this is separation anxiety, we didn't time it well.  First Rick leaves.  Then Grammy goes away today for a weekend trip. Then we take Sophie to the vet.  My normally independent laid back kid is gone.  He wants to be held and picked up all the time and is super cranky and needy.  Plus, he's pulling his ears a bit and has a snotty nose and woke up at 5:30am and his morning nap was only 45 minutes, so he's been a handful today.

ONE!

Bobby is going through something this week. It may be a cold, but it's more likely that he misses Rick.  He is super clingy and wants to be held all the time.

He is super good at standing on his own and squats down to get stuff and back up etc, but he hasn't really tried to walk on his on.  We can sometimes prop him up and he will take 2-3 steps/fall to get the thing in front of him, but if he's not in the right mood he will fall to his knees and crawl.

Rick left on Monday and has started working.  He moved into a little house in an Ann Arbor suburb.  I think it will be really nice and seems like Main Street, USA and all that small town goodness.  It will do for a couple months.  Then I want Target, a gym, a Little Gym and all that back.

Best place to live  93/100  Tecumseh, MI:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/snapshots/PL2679120.html
We can get a four bedroom house for $103 K or less.