Ice Tomatoes

Eeek, I keep forgetting to blog in the evening. Sorry, family!

Daddy was nice enough to get up with LR on Sunday. I got up a little later and Daddy made us awesome blueberry pancakes. We bought a 3 pound bag of blueberries at Costco and they've been really handy since he has them in yogurt during the week and pancakes on the weekend. Hope you can't OD on blueberries! Unfortunately they really stain, so LR's fingernails are often dark blue. It looks like I have a very unclean kid, but whatever. Pretty sure a clean kid wasn't in the cards for me anyway.

Later in the morning I made a classic mommy blunder. When he wanted to go out on the deck, I thought, "Sure! He's walking now, so I don't have to worry about the splinters in his knees." It was only 40 degrees, so I figured he'd turn around and come back in as soon as he felt the wind. He had on his fleece, footed pjs, so I opened the door and out he toddled. Hands waving in the air "I'm free! I'm free!" Quickly I realized he does not have an ounce of my delicate southern California blood in him. He turned the corner on the deck and headed for the tomatoes. I couldn't see him anymore, so I stepped out in my t-shirt and shorts. Damn, it was really cold. "Get back here, kiddo!" As I came around the corner I saw he had picked up one of the last tomatoes off the ground which had already been gnawed on by a squirrel. To avoid a baby with rabies, I took the tomato and tossed it while bringing LR back into the house. Boy did that irritate him. He was so mad that I opened the door again, took him to the plants, and picked an orange looking, almost frozen tomato. I held LR for warmth back in the house as he happily ate what must have been an icy, thick-skinned, underripe tomato. Daddy nicely explained to me that cold doesn't bother New England babies. Brrrr... message received.

Yesterday LR was up at 5am due to the time change. We had a little substitute nanny snafu and neither of my Monday nannies showed up. I called and woke one of them up and she agreed to swing by for the day which was really nice of her considering it wasn't her turn. LR was already down for his morning nap when she arrived which allowed me to run out the door. Daddy had an earlier ride to work because his car broke down during the weekend.

When I got home, LR was just getting out of the highchair after a long and messy lunch. Nanny A did an awesome job with him and he was happy and playful. She told me they hit the park after his two hour nap and had a great time. Hope there weren't too many woodchips involved. LR and I played lots of peek-a-boo around the couches in the afternoon and then he took another long nap. Actually, he woke up after a half hour, so I rocked him back to sleep, but he didn't want to go back in the crib, so I held him while he slept for 2 more hours. Not very productive hours for me, but I did have the phone nearby, so I got a few calls made to the realtor and to Daddy. (We're really trying to get everything in order to make a bid on a plot of land in Winchester.)

I finally woke him from his nap and he was bright eyed. We read a few books and watched a little Sesame Street. He was hungry, so he had a snack. For dinner I tried spaghetti. He loved the noodles when I pulled them out of the pot while they were cooking and he loved the sauce when I spoon-fed him some out of the jar, but when I put them together, it was a no-go. He sucked some of the sauce off and then threw the noodles on the floor. I tried plums, pineapple, leftover mac n' cheese, and some potatoes, but he just wasn't that hungry. Daddy walked him to the bathroom after dinner and while LR was standing in the doorframe, he signed "bath" for the very first time. Daddy called me over and sure enough, LR was signing. He was so proud of himself that he signed "bath" and said "ba" every few minutes for the entirety of the bath, watching both of us to make sure we did the same. It was very cute to see how enthusiastic he was about communicating with us.

He was up until 8:30pm in my attempt to get him to adjust to the new schedule. He woke up at 5:30 this morning which I guess is an improvement, but it sure didn't feel like it. 9 hours isn't enough sleep for him, so he'll probably make up for it with naps today.

Roseola Blues

Came home to a much recovered LR today. He didn't have a fever, but refused to take decent naps. When I put him in the bath this evening, I discovered a light pink rash up his back and a little around his tummy. The pediatrician had given me pamphlets on Roseola just in case. It starts with 2-4 days of fever with no other symptoms and then the fever disappears with the appearance of a light rash around the trunk. It's a relief to finally know. It's super contagious while he has the rash, so we'll be indoors the next day or two. By Sunday he should be completely in the clear. Can't think of what kid he came in contact with since the incubation time is 12 days.

In other news, LR has learned how to give us "5." I usually accompany the hand slap with a fun sound effect like "Wahkaaa!" Daddy has a different sound effect, but it has the same result, big smiles from LR.

I pulled out all the toys to try to keep an overtired LR entertained today. He's at the age where he doesn't look down to see where he's walking now that he's learned how to stay on his feet. He just tries to walk through or over toys with mixed results. Sometimes the paper or blanket slips out from under him and sometimes it flies across the room. Last night he was thrilled with a small, bright orange DHL box. It was an inch or two high, so he climbed on it and sat down. Then he got to his feet and pretended he was surfing. It must remind him of the rucking pad he liked to climb at practice. Speaking of, no more practices! Season is over and I think LR will miss the time we spent outside every day.

Better, but Still Crabby with a Capital 'C'

LR was definitely better today despite a rough night. He slept with me from 3-5am and Daddy took him from 5-6am. He was okay with the nanny except that he didn't nap for very long. Then I got home and he had a small lunch followed by lots of playtime. He fussed on and off most of the day. If I didn't go the direction he wanted or get something for him right away, he melted down. Still must not feel good, but the fever stayed down longer and was lower today in general.

Somehow in the past month we've gone from supporting him by holding his hands while he walked to him holding our hand to bring us wherever he wants to go.

He tried to say "Kix" today and "cup." Working on the 'K' sound I guess.

Our Little Ox Found Kryptonite

Poor LR had a really rough day. Woke with almost no fever because of the Motrin dose I gave him at 2:30am. Took him (and the nanny) to the doctor anyway b/c of the fever with a lack of any other symptoms. My family knows how I feel about those! The doctors agreed and did a throat swab, drew blood from his finger, and took a urine sample. LR cried off and on the whole visit - even when they took his temp under his arm - and then the rest of the day. Even when he walked and sat down hard, which he does a dozen times a day, he'd start crying. He must be feeling just miserable.

Got the news this evening that the blood work was fine and the throat swab was negative. Took the urine sample to Winchester Hospital tonight and I imagine we'll get the results tomorrow. They're pretty sure it's a viral thing and that it will just take time to work itself out. Sure hope so. He went to bed at 7:15 and has whimpered 3 or 4 times in the last hour. He had a fever of 102 when he went to bed. Hope it's broken by now.

To end on a lighter note, here's a set of pictures from this past weekend. They was taken by the father of the player who gave him the elephant suit. There are a bunch of pictures in here of LR.

Obviously I didn't knock on wood loud enough

Just two weeks ago I was saying how healthy LR has been. I don't think I've seen him sick for months. Yesterday he started a fever early afternoon. Although the night went smoothly, today did not. His fever got as high as 103.6 even after a dose of Motrin and one of Tylenol in the late afternoon. I called the pediatrician and made Daddy come home from work just in case it went higher. He didn't eat much all day, but when Daddy came home, he found he had a small appetite. It was just enough to make it pretty gross when it came back up minutes later. Daddy put him straight in the bath and I ran a load of laundry (inadvertantly with a diaper in it *sigh*) . So after the bath and another dose of Motrin, the fever finally started to go down. He found his energy when it dipped below 100 and decided that instead of bedtime, it was playtime. I didn't mind. I was just so thrilled he was feeling okay.

Despite his awful day, LR is really ramping up with his signs and words. He mastered the sign for "more" today when asking for goldfish crackers. Then he made kissy sounds with Daddy while reading "Daddy Kisses." He also started using the baby sign for "dog" of panting although "doggie" is his absolute favorite word to say. That and "ball." Oh, and he finally started using his "Whack-a-mole" hammer on the coffee table. We were wondering how long that would take...

Saturday is a Rugby Day

LR has had a great rugby filled couple of days. On the last day of practice he once again spent some quality fun time on the scrum sled. The metal bars were nice and cold, so he sucked on them for awhile. It's hard to blame him with those 4 teeth coming through. One of my players, the team mom, showed up with an elephant suit for LR saying that she couldn't resist it when she saw it. Since I haven't gotten around to sewing his Halloween costume, I took it as a sign that I wasn't meant to make the clown costume this year. Next year though...

Saturday was brisk and windy, so after I left for game warm-ups, Daddy waited for LR to wake up from his nap and then got him ready to go. I imagine it involved feeding him, getting him into 2 layers plus the elephant suit, wrangling him into socks and shoes, and getting everything into the car. What a trooper Daddy is! They missed most of the A-side game, but arrived just in time to see us score our only points in the last few seconds. (Must have been the elephant suit inspiring them.) As soon as Daddy arrived on the pitch with LR they were mobbed by admirers. It was parents weekend, so there were lots of people there. The crowd is actually behind him in the picture of him walking down the sideline. I have the feeling a lot of pictures of LR will be popping up on rugby websites. He also got into the team picture somehow. I'm lucky that the team is so good with him. They've really made it easy for me to coach this year. I know that they're always looking out for him.

LR even kept the elephant hood on for awhile. I started to worry about him overheating though, so I pulled it off. The ears flopped around his face a bit too and since he wanted to walk around a bunch I figured it was just as well.

After the game we headed home and LR showed us how well he can sign. He picked up "lion," "cow," and "seal," and started making the "ba-a-a-a" sound when I showed him a sheep. He loved the sign for seal. It was easy since it's basically clapping. The accompanying barking was what made that sign really fun.

Another quick post

Here is LR climbing chairs that he purposely pushed together and against a wall. A climber... *sigh* I almost thought he was going to make it, but he gave up thankfully.

And then he looks back at me as if to say, "Who, me? I'm just stretching my legs, ma." What a character. He was wonderful today though. He and I went to one of my doctor appointments downtown and we watched all the trucks and ambulances go by. He says "truck" with a lot of authority now, but often it sounds more like "duck." He's definitely trying different sounds though. He's signing "hot," "home," and I think he's doing "phone," but it sounds and looks a lot like "home."

When the nurse showed us into a room, I let LR out of the stroller thinking there was very little besides the biohazards trash can for him to get into. (What?) He explored a little, but deciding there wasn't enough there, he went to the closed door, reached up to the handle, pulled it down and opened the door. Then he wandered merrily into the hall. I couldn't believe it. I brought him back into the room, closed the door and he did it again. I think I can hear the grandparents laughing from here...

Quick Note

Have to get to bed, but I wanted to write about how great my rugby players are with LR. I had two or three of them watching him today during practice and he stayed completely entertained. When I arrived at practice, one of them had bought him a Jumbo costume for Halloween. He'll wear it for their game this weekend and then probably again for Halloween since I still haven't gotten around to making one for him. Next year...

As for today he played a lot, napped a bunch, and worked on his walking again. He looks drunk, but he stays on his feet most of the time. It's making the chase game a little scarier, but he's taking the bumps and bruises in stride.

Vocabulary Blooming

I should have a guest blogger for yesterday. Daddy spent most of the day with LR while I coached a rugby game at Wesleyan. (We tied 12-12!) He was up nice and late - 7:15. Hooray for sleeping in! When I got home I heard about the two hours they spent playing at the park and the good naps he took. After a hearty dinner of lasagna and a nice bath, LR went to sleep without a problem. He was up at 6:30 this morning and I thought he might be hungry. Sure enough, he took 6 oz of milk right away. Then he had 2 blueberry pancakes for breakfast a little while later. To give some perspective, I ate 3 pancakes. He's 1/8th my size! How could he possibly eat that much?

He took an early nap, but it didn't last long enough. We went to the local school playground to run around a bit before lunch and got some great pictures while we were there. This park
has squishy ground underneath the jungle-gym and more importantly, NO woodchips for him to put in his mouth. LR had a pretty good time, but got fussy and I realized it was definitely time for lunch. We hustled home and he had tofu, cantaloupe, and cheese. Then we played, but I could tell he was walking that line between idle and cranky, so I put him down for an early nap hoping he would sleep a good long time. He woke up after a half hour, but Daddy was a trooper and got him to go back down for another hour.

Friends arrived and he woke up. I had to read him 'Hop on Pop' a few times before he was ready for company. Then he kept them entertained for the rest of the visit. He seems to learn more signs and words each day. Today I figured out that the sign he's been making for a few days is 'cat.' Then while our friends watched, he picked up the word 'bubble' which sounds like 'bubba' when he says it. He's making a sign where he covers both ears, but I have no idea what he's trying to say. He's ramping up his communications skills like crazy and he's looking like an honest-to-god toddler now. He walks most of the time and eats most of the stuff we do. Daddy is definitely loving the games of catch, kicking the ball around with him outside, and reading him books. LR clears his bookshelf for us once a day now. He especially likes 'Mommy Hugs' which we were given by my Aunt E. We have signs for all the animals and I tickle, nuzzle, and squeeze him with each page. The best part is the last page which says, "My mommy hugs me with a snuggle like this!" He knows even before I turn the last page to start running. I have to tackle him to give him a giant cuddle/tickle/kiss-fest. He loves it.

Stolen Corndog

Made myself a veggie corndog for lunch yesterday. Guess who stole it. He looks innocent, but check out the fish hook he gives Daddy. Uncles Corbin and Keeper must've taught him that one. Don't trust this guy as far as you can throw him (which isn't that far now that he's 25 lbs). He's suddenly getting much longer too. Pants finally fit him without being rolled up. At his year appointment he was 70th percentile in length, 75th in weight, and 50th in head circumference. (Can't remember if I blogged about that before.)

Today we stayed busy. He was up just in time to see me out the door. He doesn't mind though because Daddy is the best playmate evah! When I got home he was happy but had only napped an hour. He had a big lunch and then helped me fold laundry. He started his Linus impression a little while later, so I knew it was time for an afternoon nap. He drags that blanket all over the house now. Gonna have to wash it more often. He took an hour nap and then it was time for rugby practice.

Although he woke up happy from that nap, he was pretty fussy during practice. He really has an agenda when he gets on the field and if I don't walk him the direction he wants to go, I'm gonna hear about it. The scrum sled looks a lot like playground equipment, so he spent a good 20 minutes on it. Unfortunately it rained all last night making our field pretty muddy. He played in the mud and then ate some of the mud. All the players know to watch for him putting grass, dirt and rocks in his mouth. Today I caught him scraping his teeth against a big rock. Eek! Just like nails on a chalkboard. I washed his hands as best I could when we got home, but the black didn't come out from under his nails until his bath. Daddy arrived while he was eating dinner.

Last picture is of LR sitting in one of his favorite spots, the threshold between the kitchen and the laundry room. It's a small step down which makes it perfect for him. He often pushes his walker over it and then follows after the path is clear. Then he turns the walker around and tries to come up the step with much less success. He yells until I come lift the walker up the step. Then it's "wash, rinse, repeat."

2 Signs in 2 Days

LR suddenly picked up two new signs yesterday and today. Yesterday he started signing "home" each time we pulled into the driveway. He touches his right hand index finger to his cheek which is close enough for me to understand. Today he learned how to sign (and almost say) "again." I was bouncing him on my knee in front of a mirror and when I stopped I asked "again?" He confirmed by touching his right hand to his left palm, "again." He also says something that sounds like "again" when he signs it. We were even able to show Daddy the new skill this evening when he got home.

Otherwise LR had a nice day. Long nap in the morning and a quick afternoon one. He woke up a little cranky from the second nap and had a hard time at practice. It may be because it's starting to get cool here in the evenings. We ended practice early because we lost light anyway.

LR seemed to like the pumpkin muffins I made this afternoon and had a baby one with his dinner. He has really started to enjoy feeding us his leftovers when he's full after dinner.
It's becoming part of his routine.

We used the last of the formula this morning, so we've been on straight milk ever since. He doesn't seem to notice a difference luckily. I gave him the bottle at bedtime and he took more than half of it. Then I bounced him to sleep and put him in the crib. I've gotten in the habit of bouncing him again and I really should try just putting him in the crib after the bottle. It used to work, but with all the developmental milestones, he's been a bit more restless at night. Got a video monitor a few days ago, so checking him when I go to bed is a breeze. No more waking him up with creaky doors!

Ice!

Q: What do you do when you drop a piece of ice and can't pick it up off the floor?
A: You lick it off the floor, silly goose.

Today started at the normal time. I was out the door just before he woke up, but I made it back at the end of his morning nap. Apparently he was ravenous at breakfast and ate a ton of yogurt. Then he took a long morning nap. After lunch we went to the big grocery store where he was pretty good, but I had to feed him grapes most of the time to keep him from launching himself out of the cart seat. After two aisles of the security lock on the wheel locking up sporadically (Look, I'm fast! Now I'm slow. I'm fast again! D'oh), I had to do a full equipment change. I dragged the cart to the door, ran through the sliding doors, grabbed a new cart, and returned to LR hoping that I hadn't looked like a woman abandoning her child. I transferred the goods and re-seated LR. Grocery shopping is more than an adventure in planning and time management. It's almost a full contact sport! (And it would have been too if I hadn't made it to the last cantaloupe before the spry-looking 80 year old did.)

At home we played chase for awhile and then he was content to pull out the majority of his toys and books while I worked on the practice plan. At practice he was entertained by an injured player for the first half and then joined us for team discussions between drills. It was tough for them to stay focused on what I was talking about while he was being adorable. He loves to tumble around on the rucking pads, using them like gymnastics equipment. And he showed them how he can force a laugh if they're going to laugh too.

Daddy was home soon after practice and helped me feed LR a huge dinner or avocado, kidney beans, waffle and milk. When he was full he stayed very entertained by feeding us sections of waffle. Mmmm... milk soaked waffle. Yum.

Apple Picking

LR is officially a New Englander. We went apple picking today in Harvard, Ma (not the school, the town). LR sat in his stroller and gnawed on a big Cameo while we walked through the orchard picking those as well as Red Delicious, Macoun, and Cortland apples. It was unseasonably warm which made it a really pleasant day. We went with our friends and their son King J. King J was a little young to enjoy the apples, but I'm sure he'll get some cooked and mushy ones later this week.

LR was up at 5 again this morning, took a full bottle, then joined us for another hour and a half of sleep. I'm pretty sure he's hit a growth spurt which is why he's waking up early and hungry. We discovered that he has 2, not 1 tooth coming through, one on the bottom left and one on the top left. He's going to be a little lopsided for awhile. After apple picking we had a large and early dinner of leftover pot roast. Then he had a nice bath until he lightly banged his eyebrow on the side of the tub after trying to stand up. It hurt enough to end the bath. Tried to put Boo-boo Bunny (a washcloth Gigi cleverly tied into the shape of a bunny with a pocket big enough to hold an ice-cube in it) on it, but he was more interested in chewing on Boo-boo Bunny. I'll have to upload a picture of the bunny soon.

After bath we played chase Daddy and then a little of chase Mommy. Still seems to be his favorite game. Then he grabbed Daddy's hand, walked him into his nursery, grabbed his blanket, and laid down on the floor with it. Guess that was a sign. I made a bottle and he indicated he wanted to skip the books and go straight to the bottle tonight. Went to sleep right as he finished it. Tonight I get a chance to try out my new video monitor. I know it's overkill, but with the way his door squeaks, it's going to come in handy.

Walking Tall

LR is really on the move now. He's walking by himself much more often during the day and staying on his feet for longer periods of time. This morning started out oddly. He woke at 5am and was hungry enough to take the majority of a bottle. Then Daddy sung him to sleep while holding him between us in bed. We all slept for another hour thankfully. Then he had a nice big breakfast of blueberry pancakes which Daddy expertly made us. LR topped off his meal with half a Kiwi fruit. Boy can he eat!

During the morning we did some housework while LR napped. Then Daddy fed him a lunch of fresh raspberries and cheese and took him off to the park while I got some general chores done. After that some friends came over and brought their son King J. King J and LR are finally starting to interact socially a bit. They passed a ball back and forth a few times with both Daddies' supervision. With the Patriots game on, the basketball wasn't the best choice, but it was the right size.

After they left, it was dinner, bath, and family play time. LR was content to walk around his room and yell at the exercise ball. The sound reveberates off the ball which he thinks is pretty cool. He's also starting to mimic words with the right number of syllables. "Bottle" comes out like "goggle." Oh and Daddy taught him a new trick! Daddy has been humming a song to LR which has a tick-tock sound in the middle of it. Daddy imitates the tick-tock with his tongue. He's only been singing it to him the last day or two, but today when Daddy absent mindedly hummed the first bar, LR chimmed in with the tongue clicking. He recognized the song in less than 5 notes. We tried other songs, but he only clicks his tongue to the tune of Orbital's "The Box." We really enjoy watching our little sponge learn.

Daddy Day

LR spent the majority of today with Daddy. I had to go to an away rugby game and we decided it would be better for the boys to stay at home. Since Daddy had so many late nights this week, he was looking forward to some quality time with LR. They started with an early morning walk to the grocery store. Then LR took a quick nap (read: not long enough). Daddy tried giving him green beans for lunch which were reportedly "smushed around." I guess the grilled cheese went over better. Then they played for the better part of two hours. When I got home mid-afternoon, Daddy said that LR was happy and whiny which made me think another nap was in order. I gave him his afternoon bottle and rocked him to sleep. He took another hour nap and woke up pretty cranky. A few minutes of Sesame Street and all was well.

We went out to dinner and LR made friends with the six year old boy sitting at the table behind us. The boy introduced himself as Zelmo. I was quietly stunned. Zelmo? Elmo with a Z? Seriously? Hope he grows up to be a baseball player...

Bath time was fun and he seemed to be trying to say "duck" while in the tub. The faucet cover is a duck and he has a rubber duck to play with. At one point it was pretty clear, so I think we can safely say "duck" is his second word. Oh, and his fifth tooth is coming through on the bottom left. Hasn't made him too fussy so far, but maybe all those fussy moments from the past few days were tooth related. It's so hard to tell.

Bye-bye Gigi

This past weekend was our last with Gigi. She had some quality time with LR on Sat and then left Sunday morning. It hasn't been the same without her and I obviously can't put into words how much having her this year has meant to us as a family. LR has already adjusted to the new nanny, but I know every time he says "doggie" (officially his first word), he is talking about going to see Gigi downstairs. Wonder when he'll figure out that there's a new family downstairs and he's not allowed to go into their apartment any old time he wants.

After Gigi left we ran some errands and then Daddy had a friend over to watch the Patriots game. They were merrily chomping on some Tostitos when our little monster decided to join in the fun. While we all were looking at the TV, LR grabbed the bag off the coffee table and dumped the entire thing on the floor. Then he did what can only be described as "Tostitos angels." He tried eating a few, but kicking them around was more fun. *sigh* It was a weird coincidence that I had just picked up a Black&Decker Dust Buster. Whoo-hoo! One of my very own. I happily dust busted the crumbs after picking up the majority of the chips. LR was very helpful in getting them back into the bag.

LR is really getting the hang of walking now. He'll walk without holding onto furniture even if it's within reach. 10 or 12 steps isn't unusual. And as I said before, he's saying "doggie" consistently. Well, for dogs and for everything else. We've also been doing a lot more dancing around the house. When Daddy puts on the XM techno channel (DirecTv channel 860 - The System), LR bounces and dances around. He just can't get enough techno. It makes for a very fun day.

Monday and Tuesday, LR had a substitute nanny since Nanny M was sick. The sub was wonderful and LR had a great time with her. Monday LR and I went to look at a house in Winchester that Daddy saw over the weekend. LR like the gas fireplace very much. Then we came home and played and went to rugby practice. He got lots of attention there, but now that we're past Homecoming, our practice field is covered in shattered glass. It appalling that the school continues to allow tailgating alums to bring glass bottles onto the field, but it happens every year. This year it's worse than most and we obviously can't do any more drills which would require the players to go to the ground. Come on... it's rugby! Anyway, LR continues to keep the players entertained with his antics. He pushes his stroller around the field and I can't keep him off the scrum sled.

Daddy took LR this evening while I ran off to a doctor appointment. Daddy fed him a good dinner and then plunked him in the bath. No hair washing though. I guess he missed the part of the day when LR smeared cheese in his hair. Oh well.