13 months old

* This is the silly baby climbing into my lap to eat all my beans and rice and guacamole. He is absolutely delighted.

I forgot to write down a 12 month update!  My bad.  Benny will be 13 months on Friday!  13^th months.

·         Yes, we still do call him Benny.

·         Movement:  he can crawl on hands and knees now as well as army crawl.  He will walk around (mostly lurch around) when take his hand and help him walk.  But he really isn’t interested in walking at all.  He isn’t cruising the furniture yet at all either (take your time much, kid?).  He does pull up to knees on various objects.  I’m kind of ready for the walking stage so he can wear shorts, not wear through so many pairs of pants, and to give his little wrists and knees a break.  Even through clothing they look red and irritated.  I don’t think he will be walking for at least another month. 

·         Cute stuff:  He loves to lay on the ground, turn the pages in books, and “read” them aloud.  So adorable.  He also still loves to hit down block towers that I create.  He also loves to swing like his sister, and voices his displeasure and arches his back  when I pull him out of the swing.  Hitting down block towers is still a delight for him.  He likes Daddy now.  He likes to pull himself up to his knees at the end of Daddy's chair and wave at him.  He is a good waver.

·         Eating:  We went for the evaluation with the eating therapist.  She definitely thought he had some delays.  He wouldn’t eat mixed texture things for us, nor use a sippy cup nor feed himself.  He eats stage three foods now and anything I feed him!! YAY!  He still will NOT feed himself – which is crazy, or drink from a sippy.  It will be a cold day in hell before I get him to give up those bottles.  The eating therapist wanted to send him to occupational therapy for poor fine motor and I am still considering this.

Reflection

Being a parent can be tough. Often.  More than I anticipated.    Sometimes I leave work and think how nice it would be to go to the gym right after or go out with coworkers or go home and take a nap or make a gourmet dinner and hang out with my husband.   But those little faces are depending on me.  The school age popularity I yearned for all my life has come true.  I’m very popular with them.  They need me.  They need me to clothe them, bathe them, feed them, entertain them, reassure them, hug and kiss them, discipline them and love them.  But it isn’t an easy job.  I’d love to sleep all morning on a weekend or eat a meal in peace at the table without someone needing me multiple times  To spend a weekend doing all fun things instead of massive amounts of laundry.    Parenthood changes you.  I never feel like I’m doing a good enough job.  Time and patience are short.   I miss the all the attention and time my husband and I used to have for each other. 

But times change.  They grow up quickly.  When I’m an old lady I’ll miss wiping their faces and their hugs when I pick them up.  I’ll miss their snuggles and soft hair, laughs and complete dependence on me. 

Friday Night Leftovers

• Friday night, Friday night. Where has the Spring went? The weather has been so crazy here. Alternating hot and cold, downpours. We haven’t been playing outside much in the evenings. Our backyard is smaller and more wooded so there are more bugs, which totally freak out V and she adamantly refuses. The dog freak out has moved to bug freak out. Seriously. It is interfering with my enjoyment of the yard and definitely her enjoyment.


• Speaking of V, she has been having many “stressed” behaviors again. Tantrums out of nowhere, wetting her pants, wetting the bed, waking up really early and coming into our bed at 6:00 in the morning. It’s pretty rough. My heart aches for her and I really hope we can find out soon the best way to help her.

• The B man has finally started eating table food. Plus holding his own bottle!!!! Yay! He doesn’t feed himself though. Nope. Nor use a sippy cup. Baby steps people, Baby steps.

• P has been cooking up some delicacies lately. Pan seared copper river salmon. Filet Mignon. Chicken Enchiladas. Superb burgers. So good.

• Have some milestones coming up. P and I are married 13 years on Monday. My mom turns 70 on the 6th. I have a milestone birthday coming up as well. Soon.

• Every time I hear a news item about the baby in China whose mother let him go down the toilet drain I get so teary. Give him to me. Or another one of us yearning for a child. We will love him and squeeze and feed him.

IPhone Pics

It's been crazy.  Isn't that what I always say?  Still unpacking, day-to-day chores.  Feeling ill, MD appointments, visitors, a 1st birthday, dealing with behavior issues, fixing landscaping and planting flowers, Laundry!!!!!, and of course work.

Sitting in the Little Tykes Car

Here are some pics of the kiddos:

Having a Tubby.

Blowing Bubbles

11 months old

*Army crawls like a flash.  Likes to complete a loop around the house stopping to look at things along with the way.

*Loves to play with the “boing, boing” door stoppers that look like springs

* loves to stand on your lap and get pulled back and forth with his arms.

* Follows mama around the house and waits outside the door to the garage, the bathroom, and the shower.  You have to check carefully when you open doors.

* Has only pulled up to a stand once.  Not sure why he hasn’t done more of that.

* Not interested in walking behind the walk with help.

* Will not self feed, or East Stage 3 foods, or cheerios or puffs.  Will gag and throw up. (bit worried about this….)

* Will not put a sippy cup spout or straw past his lips

* Very, very clingy to mama when she is around.  Regards new people suspiciously before he decides he likes them or not.

* LOVES knocking down block towers that mama builds.

* Doing better sleeping (shhh), but still wakes up in the night or early in the morning (too early)

* Likes to squeal back and forth at his sister when she screetches at him.

* Does not really like riding in the jogging stroller

*Finally gave up the morning nap

* Has two bottom teeth and two front silly looking teeth coming in.

* Does not like to chew on toys (BIG surprise).  Does not put much in his mouth.

* Been out of the baby carrier carseat for around a month (thank goodness, my arm was shot).

Soapbox

Can I get on my soapbox for a little bit?  There are quite a few things annoying or bothering me or are things that I want to say.

1.        “Hipster glasses” – what is up with these big clunky plastic frames from the 1980’s.  They didn’t look so great then, and I think they are only marginally more fashionable now. 

2.       Cirumcision – oops. Biggie.   Since the birth of my son and the research I’ve done, I developed an anti-circumcism view.  I just don’t think it is necessary to electively operate on an itty bitty baby so soon after birth for in most cases, non-religious or purely cosmetic reasons.  I don’t judge those that do it, I just don’t believe it myself and I don’t like my tax dollars going to pay for it for patients born on Medicaid and I don’t think insurance companies should pay for it either.  That will decrease the practice in this country quickly.

3.       Gluten-free.   This does not pertain to the people that have gluten intolerance, or celiac.  It’s the people that think it is the “cool” “healthy” thing to do.  It is not a fun way of eating, it is highly inconvenient and socially crippling at times, especially for children.  It requires a lot of advance planning and feeling left out.  It angers me to no end that people say they are trying it because it “sounds interesting”.  GAH!

4.       Bright white tennis shoes.  With dress pants.  And bright white socks.  Especially on senior ladies.  It looks so silly.  Buy A colored pair of sneakers or one good pair of all around leather shoes like the Europeans do.  You will look so much better.  I even got my mom wearing black or gray shoes with black or gray socks.  It looks so much better.

5.       Other moms – We are our own worst enemies.  People thinking my baby should be walking by now or talking more by now or reading out loud or something.  He is a baby.  That the woman at daycare with the very chubby baby is doing something wrong.  She’s not.  He’s just a chubby baby.  He’ll probably outgrow it.  All kids are different.  Mind your own business. Don’t judge so much.

Had to be said.  Whew…..

House update

How are you?

Things again are crazy.  We are still trying to unpack from moving houses.  It’s difficult to get ahead without taking time off because there are all the normal things to do – laundry, baths, dishes, cooking, shopping, sweeping.  It leaves little time to cut into the bulk of moving chores.

We did finally sell out new house.  It wasn’t on the market very long, but we had to lower the price quite a bit.  We are supposed to close in a few weeks.  We’re really not making any money on the sale, but not losing any either, so I should be glad about that.  Oh and even though they new buyers don’t actually own the house yet – the tested paint samples in the kitchen.  Can you believe that? 

 I don’t quite feel like I belong at the new neighborhood yet.   I miss the schoolyard to walk down to with the kids or the park.  I miss chatting with neighbors in the evenings when we are outside and P works late.  Those are things about the neighborhood I miss, rather than the house.  I liked my old dishwasher better.  The front door is faded purple and I need to take care of that ASAP. 

The new house is very nice.  Laundry is so easy with the laundry room off of the garage.  No more racing up and down two flights of stairs.  The pantry is great – I can see what we have and keep the counters less uncluttered.  There are so many windows and we get so much more natural light.  The kids having their own bathroom with their bath toys is wonderful.  No more slipping on toys in the shower.  The linen closet is huge and I don’t have to stuff towels and sheet in there haphazardly to make them fit.  It’s great to have a kitchen island.  I don’t have to make a left turn at a crazy no-light intersection to get to daycare. 

Things are coming along.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to live in such a nice house.  This summer I hope I can meet some little friends for V.  IT’s difficult to break into established social groups.