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.