Timing

yes. time flies by. and then stands still in the waiting. baby #2 due in 9 days. i thought for sure i'd be in labor by now...not my timing apparently! so no breath holding, just deep breathing and sighs.

since christian turned 2 our lives have gone through roller coaster loops. the month of april was our perfect storm of finishing the dissertation and going through the final stages of some possible job opportunities - which ultimately fell through! we are still recovering from that month. there were positives like being able to shift my work schedule in order to spend mornings with christian. tiring but fun - doing regular 'mom' stuff like going to the park and meeting other moms to chat while we chase our children and save them from each other.

may brought the dissertation defense, which dan passed with distinction! what a praise! and then the actual turning in of the dissertation (which didn't need any revisions!). my family had a mini surprise reunion for my mother's retirement. and then june came with the graduation of dr. koehler. and july a vacation to virginia beach, the retirement city of my parents.

through all of this christian has been growing leaps and bounds and we have been trying to mature right along with him, especially in terms of discipline, reproof - consistency, etc. he's such a personality at times so loving and cuddly and at times so annoying!!!! (his favorite response right now is a whiny 'no.' - awesome.)

we've been coaching him on his duties as older brother as we slowly add more and more infant things to his surroundings. but in speaking with other moms it's just going to take the baby being born for it really to sink in.

and so we continue to wait! i'm not overdue just ready due:)

and then what's next? after baby, my leave for about 12 weeks during which dan will apply again for academic positions around the country. there are actually openings despite the economy looking like a double dip whatever. and then we go through the whole process again - me working full time, dan fathering full time while seeking after the beginning of his career.

so i will try to post here to tell you how it's all going - this crazy season of parenthood.

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:)

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...

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!