Merry Christmas!

Christian-isms and his first prayer

If you spoke Christian, you'd say

watey for water
corney for corner (he LOVES the corners of his blankey - he strokes his face with them when falling asleep)
buttah for peanut butter
dahk for dark
eintine for little einsteins...

which brings me to his first prayer. Every night after we sing and rock together we pray thanking the Lord for what happened that day. Last week I was mentioning the people he interacted with and toys he played with - he perked up during this, looked at me and said, "eintine" with a few head nods. I tried to stop from laughing but then thanked God for the Little Einsteins show that brings Christian such joy.

Road trip with a 20 month old!

I don't know how many of you have traveled long distance via automobile with a toddler, but I'd appreciate any tips you have! We don't currently own a portable DVD player but are looking into the investment. In 12 days we will be driving to my sister's in GA stopping first at a friend's house in Indy. We are excited for the vacation opportunity but are a bit anxious about how CPK will handle the 10 hours or so in his car seat and then also sleeping in another house, etc. etc.

Prayers and tips people! I beg of you:)

I'm a mommy slacker! - Let's catch up...

Sorry about the silence! Wow months have flown by!
So what to say?
1st 'real' phone conversation: Dan and I were checking in with one another over the telephone. Dan asked Christian if he'd like to say 'hi to mamma'? Normally when he gets on the phone I either hear breathing or beeping. This time, he said, 'ello momma' So then I said, 'Hello Christian,' so then he said, 'ello' and then I said, 'Hello!' and on and on for a few more seconds. SO CUTE! I definitely wanted to jump through the phone and give him a big hug:)
So that's today's catch up. I'll try to keep them coming:) Happy Weekend!

gooo-geee!

Yesterday was the first time that I (Dan) heard Christian use the word "cookie," and it was also the first time that I was forced to buy him something that I didn't really want to have around the house. A coincidence? No, but it is a great story. After running some errands, Christianchen and I had to stop by Jewel to pick up some fish and beef, neither of which, interestingly, he seemed to care about in the least. I made the mistake of walking through the bakery to get to the meat counter, and there Christian spied a small box of sugar cookies with bright yellow and purple icing. When he turned into a Christian-booger, crying and wrestling in arms, I assumed that it was just standard toddler crankiness; that is, until I heard the two syllables: gooo-geeee? gooo-geeee? For a couple of minutes, apparently, Christian could think of nothing else, and the cries for cookie satisfaction got louder and louder. You can guess how the story ends: I bought the box with the yellow and purple icing, and ten minutes later, Christian was falling asleep in his car-seat with sugary goo smeared on his cheeks. Now the question is: will I ever be able to say 'no' to the demand for goo-gees again?

His first diversion...

Our little man has been entertaining us lately. Here are just a few lines in which we find joy:

Christian runs to the TV and shouts, " Momo!" (Elmo)...

When he drinks something cold or stands on the vents spouting air conditioning his cheeks raise squinting his eyes, his mouth forms an 'O' and he breathes air in as if through a straw...

He knows that most mornings he and Dan drive me to work. He picks up a pair of shoes and brings both shoes of the same set to me and turns his body around in order to plop in my lap so I can put them on his feet...

On the not so funny side, he has started to take off his pants and diaper during his afternoon naps. The other day, he ended up peeing on the bedding. LOVELY!

The cake topper: I was feeding him lunch the other day. When he isn't too interested in the cuisine, he likes to throw it on the floor or otherwise get it off his tray. I warned him to stop. He then looked to the side toward our front windows as if he wanted me to see something. I looked and when I did, he dropped the food on the floor! He created a diversion!! Stinker:)

17 months - that sounds too close to 18 months...

Hi people!
Some news to flash: Christian is getting so big! He survived our move - the first few weeks were hard but I think he's become acclimated to our new digs. We too are a bit more relaxed now - we know where to shop, where to walk and are learning where to eat! This part of our life has improved - more variety - and also become worse - more variety = more temptation = more giving in, spending money, more calories! Argh! :)

Christian is becoming his own little person, little boy. He understands way more than we think and challenges us a lot! We are still grappling with the whole discipline how's and when's and why's. I think it'll be endless...

He says a lot of words now: boat, train, elmo, eye, nose, no (his favorite), momma (but not when I want him to say it), daden (daddy), meow (another favorite:)...

He's a joy and also not so much sometimes - like when he tips over the garbage on purpose.

I can't believe he'll be 17 months on August 8 - that's almost 11/2, almost 18 months! That sounds totally old! No longer a baby...

But I have to admit I don't think I'm ready for another. Well, the Lord's timing on that one!

Ciao.

We're moving

We are moving in two days! I haven't blogged about it - but here's a synopsis. Our current place is a but too big to manage - the rent and just the house work. With both of us working full time (Dan full time PhD AND parent), the apartment just looks like a train wreck all the time. More, the rent is climbing every year, but nothing is improved - no modernizations and really minimal upkeep by the landlord. Emergencies only it seems. So we figured we should take the opportunity to move into a place easier to manage with our current schedules, a bit less expensive, and the big plus, closer to my work, our church, friends, and the city's transportation system (Hyde Park is a closed-off community it seems). We are excited about moving to the northside - to the Ravenswood neighborhood. It's not too north, not too west, still has tall trees and is still diverse, especially with age.

We will miss Hyde Park. It is where we met, fell in love, lived for forever it seems, had Christian, etc. It's the place that's made us in a way.

Anyway, we really won't know what we'll miss the most until we've been gone awhile. I won't miss A LOT but I won't dwell on those things right now.

I hope that Christian adjusts well. He's very sensitive to his surroundings and has the place all checked out. I hope that his exploratory nature will suppress the crazy where am I feeling.

Catch up

It's been over a month! So sorry I've been delinquent. So much has happened but nothing has happened. How to remember the moments?

Christian is a darling. He's certainly a little personality. I fall deeper in love with him daily it seems, which makes it harder and harder to go to work. I try not to think about having only 17 more years before he's out of my hands...I know - silliness! But seriously, if this year has flown by what's to change about the future ones?

He loves the outdoors and other kids. He would rather be at the play ground adjacent to our apartment building than anywhere else. He's into the sand box now. He doesn't play with the other kids but watches how they play. He usually grabs onto one of the cars and then holds it while he walks around.

One thing we are focusing on now is eating. He prefers not to eat the food we provide sometimes. He is a slow eater but also willful in that he refuses even when hungry! Because he knows we have other things that he likes. Stinker! But we tell him our will is stronger than his - at least for now:)

Discipline is still a subject to study. We are adopting some of the SuperNanny techniques - looking him in the eye, telling him what the expectations are, trying to be consistent.

I wish I had a cute story to tell - maybe if one comes to mind in the next few moments...

Nope! Until next time...

He's WALKING!

I TOTALLY FORGOT TO POST THIS! DUH!

He's walking!!!

Christian finally let go last week. He's been what Dan calls a bi-ped for over a week now. He's so cute! My dad calls him little Frankenstein - the way he holds out his arms. I think he looks more like Mr. Smithers.

He's pretty good on his feet. In the morning when he's cranky he cries when he falls or trips or isn't as agile. But then as he gets going, he is more confident.

Last night when I came home, he walked himself to the door to greet me. (Even Dan doesn't always do that:)!)

He's also saying hello (especially when he plays with our cell phones) and shoes.

OH - and he's covering his mouth with the back of his hand and doing a sort of intermittent call (kinda like Indians in old movies). Super cute!

Discipline - define that please

So just a quick update on the weaning...Christian decided himself that he was done! I was nursing him one night last week. While he was nursing, he bit me. I yelled; he got scared and cried. From that point on, he refused to nurse. I tried the next morning and then the next evening just to see if it was indeed a cold turkey move. The last time I got situated, he hid his face under his blankey!! Talk about rejection! :) But in a way, I'm glad it wasn't a longer process than that. He seems fine, though I have noticed that he snuggles a lot more with me - he does the mom's apron strings hug where he comes up behind me and hugs my legs while I'm standing. Very cute!

So weaning is weaned! Now on to the next big learning curve - discipline! He is a spirited boy who has a quick temper and frustration limit. Yesterday, his sippy cup was upside down and because he couldn't get the milk out he got angry and bit down hard on it! Tantrum!

Dan and I are discussing our discipline strategies - the whole gamut: time outs, removal techniques, spanking, etc. I'm looking into the evangelical press books as well as some secular (specifically the Supernanny). It's definitely a topic that begs prayer!

One of our current challenges is throwing food from his chair. I tell him not to; he looks at me and does it again! Stinker!!

Will keep you updated...

Conversationally, he is gathering more and more words and sounds. At the moment I'm forgetting some new ones. I'll have to start a list when I'm around him at home...

I still miss him while at work and hope that more time will be portioned in the future. The time goes by so fast! Dan was gone in DC from Wednesday to Sunday and he even said that Christian is a whole new person!

Last item: his molars are finally coming through. The first couple broke through last week. I just pray that he has some relief. It's been a rough, long episode.

Temper temper...

Christian has a temper! We played tug of war over my Better Homes and Gardens magazine earlier today and he was MAD that I won. I think he paid me back for not taking a morning nap. Instead, he talked and kicked the side of the crib, and knocked over boxes filled with clothes, which were stacked adjacent to the crib. He showed me!

(He's sleeping now...)

He's talking a lot more. Dan and I may possibly agree that his first word is dog, but don't know if dada was supposed to count. He's great with words that start with D, e.g. dog = da; dad = dada; down = ddaaao; done = dun. No mama yet. One day!

When he wants some more or something he sticks out his arm and waves it as if he's saying 'do my bidding.' His fingers are down and he waves away from himself. It's pretty funny. I'm trying to get him to say m's, for obvious reasons, and so try to have him mimic 'more please.' He said mm mmm once but it sounded like his yum yum that he hums.

At any rate - I think I can say that the kid is talking!

Back to the temper - when we don't go to the swings during our walk - arching of back and screaming; when I don't hand him my cell phone to chew and drop - crying like I've put him in a straight jacket.

And also defiance! When I say no to his dumping of food on the floor - a smile! The imp! So we've started to choose our 'no's' wisely.

He's already playing us!

I see the moon...

Last night we left our meeting at church around 8:15 pm. Christian had been having a ball with some other kids in the nursery. He loves other kids AND loves to be the center of attention among adults. Needless to say, he wasn't very sleepy - indeed he was on a people-high! So we left the church, crossed LaSalle and turned back east walking toward our car in the church parking lot. Christian looked up and locked his eyes on something. So I gazed upward too. We saw the moon. He stared and then pointed with his whole arms and said, 'dhis!' and again, 'dhis!' He was captivated by the silvery orb that I used to pay attention to years ago. The clouds swirled around it while it reflected the sun's distant light. We got into the car and drove the ten miles south. After parking on our street, I got him out of his car seat and again we faced east walking up to our apartment building. Again, 'dhis! dhis!' his whole arm raised and eyes glowing.

Can your heart melt so much? And joy exude from everywhere? AND feel young again and refreshed, at least for the moment?

like the song...

I see the moon, the moon sees me
The moon sees somebody I want to see
God bless the moon and God bless me
And God bless the somebody I want to see.

...

And just an update: Christian's weight is fine - the doctor weighed him yesterday and just adjusted his growth curve to reflect his new proportions. He gained 10 oz in one month! (Lots of ice cream among other things:)). So he's pretty healthy. Now just waiting to hear if his lead level is too high. Beware of old books and other lead-laden things, including paint in old apartments! (We will probably be moving and hope to find a more modern abode...)

Road trip, family reunion & nutrition - plus photos from bday party!

Here are some pictures from the birthday party:
This card sings the 'eensy weensy spider.' He loves it! He rocks and bops to the music.
This is one of the gifts...clothes and a shape sorter.
Mmmm...banana cake with cream cheese frosting...
Lovely cake a la Amy (not Martha Stewart that's for sure!)

***

This week my family will have a reunion of sorts - my paternal grandmother passed away on Friday night. Grandma Jean had been declining for over a year and a half and so her passing was both a welcome and a sad event. She had recently turned 90! But really the past few years were not of great quality. She had dementia, had an eye excised and other issues. It is an end of an era and passing of the torch. I have no grandparents left, I realized! Now my parents are the main trunk of the family tree. It will be something to process over the next weeks...

On Wednesday we will pick up my brother from the airport, pack up our car and make our way up to Michigan. It will be Christian's longest car ride so far. I'm kind of anxious about it - he doesn't like to be strapped in for very long. We hope to time it with his afternoon snooze. If not, his uncle can maybe entertain him for the 2.5 hours.

I am excited that he will get to see and play with his cousins and second cousins. Catching up with the cousins is always a good time. And this will be his third time with my sister's kids. We will see everyone at the wake and dinner following and then also at the funeral services and lunch. We will also be going to a waterpark for a couple of hours (not really a reverent outing but sounds fun! our hotel doesn't have a pool or anything).

So we'll see how he relates to the family at large and then also to swimming. He loved it when he was 4.5 months. We'll see if it stuck!

As for the weaning process - I packed up my pumping materials! However, I will continue to nurse in the morning and evening for awhile. It seems like we have been feeding Christian constantly. He's always got a snack or something. I noticed that he is definitely taller; my mom said he looks a little chubbier on his face. We will see what the doctor says in three weeks.

When he likes something, he bops up and down with his upper body and hums a 'yum' of sorts. SO CUTE:)

More later...

1st Birthday

We celebrated Christian's first birthday this past Saturday. Both sets of grandparents were able to come witness him eat cake and ice cream (though my parents have sneaked him ice cream and Dan's parents have sneaked him frosting). But he enjoyed being the center of attention - having the birthday song sung a couple of times. The night's winners included the balloons we gave him, blocks my mom gifted, and a card that sung the eensy weensy spider when opened. He loved the ice cream and cake. One funny highlight - the onesie he was wearing was a bit too big around the chest area so when we stripped him and put him in the tub we found a ton of cake in his diaper!

We can't believe he's one, in some ways. We visited the doctor this morning for his 12 month appointment. He's a bit underweight, so we will have to work on his table food ingestion!! Moving toward full weaning as well - whole milk, no bottles. I'm relieved that I'll be weaning myself from the breast pump, but there's also a sadness too that comes with weaning. Still, we are proud to have survived and to have him survive:) We are not experts by any means - just survivors. We have so much to learn. I guess maybe having another kid would allow us more confidence in some ways. But I cannot even think about that right now!

Well- on to toddler hood. If any of you have advice, we'd love to hear it!

Nap, will you?

The napping struggle is still on. Turns out the ear infection didn't help train him to fall asleep for naps. It was just feeling poopy. He does fine with 1 nap and at night, so my guess is that the second nap is going the way of the dodo. However, most babies give up the morning nap, right? Not the afternoon nap! Oi! So Dan is struggling with figuring this out. Weissbluth, Ferber, anyone - help!

Other than that we are looking forward to his first birthday. Cake! It may be because we are dieting and would like cake ourselves, but I think it will be fun to see him try to figure out why frosting is so good yet too rich. Maybe a fruit cake would be better. I'd appreciate ideas if you have them.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Remember the best way to celebrate is to show affection every day BUT V-tine's!! (Shh. Don't tell Hallmark or DaySpring!)

Ciao for now!

ear infection & 3rd chapter

Monday Christian was droopy and scalding hot. Dan took him in to the doctor and found him to have an ear infection. He's been on amoxicillan all week, as well as infant motrin. Overall he's been a real trooper, but it's been difficult to keep him happy the whole day. To make it worse Dan and I were both sick. But on the plus side, I was able to stay home with Christian 1 1/2 days. I actually felt like a mom! We hung out and watched PBS Kids. Christian was very cuddly and clingy - kind of sweet. He's definitely on the mend though not 100%. Now his skin is a little blotchy, which we are watching.

On the plus plus side, Dan finished his 3rd chapter! So we are rejoicing that we've reached this milestone:)

Another one to look for - this Sunday Christian will be 11 months. We are already looking forward to presenting him with his first birthday cake in a month. I'm looking forward to him drinking cow's milk, which will encourage further weaning (pumping at work is a little old by now).

OH I almost forgot. Christian's 'talking' is getting exciting. He now stands at the gate in the doorway and says 'dad, dada?' almost like he's saying 'hello? are you there?' It's SO cute.

dogsitting and other adventures

we are in the 'burbs dogsitting for my parents. it's a nice respite - well in a way. christian doesn't sleep nearl as well and he wakes up earlier than usual (4:50am today). and we are tied to the house in order to feed the dog every 12 hours - he's diabetic. but there is more than 2000 square feet, cable, and laundry services:)

christian has made some strides in the last week - literally cruising along the furniture, squatting to pick up something then standing up again. he now waves - well he bends his fingers down in a goodbye type of wave. he does it when he's laying down, waking up, when he's in the high chair waiting for his sippy cup... it's very cute. i

what isn't so cute is his inability to fall asleep on his own for his naps. well, it probably isn't an inability but a willful determination not to sleep. we go through the nap routine, place him in the crib - he immediately stomps his feet, says 'no, no, no, no, no,' gets up screams, etc. we've tried various sleep philosophies. they all stink! we are hoping that our wills are stronger, but it's hard to listen to crying for so many hours a day.

to end - i just can't believe he's almost 1! we are looking forward to his continual development, especially talking. but trying to enjoy where's he's at as well (though seriously, fall asleep and stay that way for at least an hour!)

pray for us! and for some sleep...

Christian's leeps and bounds

Christian is growing up! :) I mean it seems like everyday he is learning something new. Last Friday he clapped and hid behind his blanket to peek a boo at me. In one day! And other the weekend he signed 'all done' when he was done eating. He's pulling up and almost cruising. I love to watch him discover the room he plays in and the toys I set up around it. He hits his little cars and chases after them. He's pretty content to play by himself - well that is if you are still in the same room. Otherwise it's freak out time. He's definitely going through some separation anxiety issues, to his father's frustration. I like that he needs me - I just wish I was there more for him!! Such is life right now. Another milestone - he's exerting his will! He's testing boundaries. He smiles when we say no! Already! Only 10 months. Egad!

Happy New Year!

Joy to you as this new year begins!