Family Weekend

On Friday Daddy's brother K and his wife J drove up from NJ to stay with us for the weekend. It was beautiful and still light out when they arrived, so we headed out to the park where they got to see LR enjoy the slides and swings. He was happy to get out of the house and they got to stretch their legs a bit. Then Daddy's other brother (also K, so we'll call him Uncle Corbin), came in late, so didn't get to see LR in the evening. LR had an awful night that night and we got very little sleep. I gave him Motrin, so I'm not sure what the problem was. Luckily it didn't seem to affect him too much on Sat.

LR got to play with his uncles and aunts all day. We walked to the grocery store and hit a playground on the way. He was well behaved until he woke up from his afternoon nap. Then he was a little whiny until bedtime. The loss of sleep finally caught up with him, but still, he's easy to distract so he was never fussy for long.

LR now points to his teeth and says "tee" every time I open the bathroom door. He loves to brush his teeth and gets irritated when I take it away from him after 5 or 10 minutes. I hate the way he gags himself intermittently with it, but I love his dedication to oral hygiene. I sign "finished" and then we rinse the toothbrush off and I pry it out of his ridiculously strong little fist. So like the bath, I now sign "later" to him each time he asks for it. I let him brush first thing in the morning and then at night after the bath. Today I even gave in and let him brush after lunch.

LR showed off his dribbling skills, both oral and soccer. He says "kick" when he kicks a ball... or toy car... or person. I don't remember the sign for "kick," but he wouldn't be looking at me anyway when he kicks a ball, so I'm not worried about it. He's actually drooling a little less than last week, but I don't think that molar has completely come through yet. I can feel it just under the surface which must still be bothering him since he woke at 4:30 this morning. Hoping for slightly more sleep with fewer interruptions tonight.

Pa-pa! - It's not what you think

I had to go to the cell phone store yesterday because apparently cell phones don't do well when saturated with drool. Who knew? Anyway, LR and I walked into the store and he immediately ran to the kid-friendly height display cabinets and started pulling out all the packaged accessories. As I redistributed his war chest, he started signing "phone" by touching his middle finger to his cheek. So while LR overwhelmed me with his brilliance, Sprint underwhelmed me with their customer service. I was told to wait while one staff member fixed a computer and the other completed a task for another customer who obviously wasn't present since I was the only person in the store. Why do cell phone companies continue to punish customer loyalty? I don't get it. Guess I have a "kick me" sign because I signed up for another 2 years. *sigh*

So the Dr. Seuss pop-up book now has its own word. We don't have "ma ma" or "da da" yet, but this special book gets "pa pa" for "pop-up." He wants to read it all the time now and it's definitely showing some wear-and-tear. I may have to add it to my pile of board books that will need replacing before baby #2 comes along.

After 3 nights of restless sleep for all 3 of us (LR kept waking up for 2 hours on average), we finally figured out that he was in pain. I gave him a dose of Motrin before bed last night, put him to bed at 7:30 and I didn't hear from him again until 6:30 this morning. Awesome! Had a play date with his same-age friend R today and R's mother showed me that he had just broken a molar. I checked LR's mouth and sure enough, his back right gum is super swollen. That accounts for the horrible sleep. More Motrin tonight and fingers crossed.

Mostly Pics

We had a great day in the park yesterday and we got a lot of good pictures. So I'll skip the editorial today, except to say that his new sign and word is "clock."

Seriously, a soccer star in the making. He loves dribbling the ball around the field. Can't say I blame him.

Signing "car" because a car just drove by. His hands should be fists, but he's keepin' it real, yo.

Tickle wars with Mommy.

Come this way, Daddy!

Signing "ball" for the camera since we'd just put it in the wagon.

Listening to the water. Daddy got this pic of LR at his most peaceful. He's totally content to rest his head on my hand this way with his ear submerged. I've blogged about it before and thought you might want to see it. It's really adorable.

It's a big world out there, my friend!

Bigger Steps

LR had a great morning with the nanny yesterday and when I got home we packed up and headed out for lunch with his friend R and R's mom. LR gets restless in restaurant highchairs. I can't keep him entertained with food or toys. R on the other hand could sit in his seat endlessly. R's mom, much more prepared than I, handed out toy cars to both boys. LR decided he wanted the bigger car, so traded with R. R didn't seem to mind.

After lunch we hit Old Navy and picked up a few rugby shirts for LR. It's not just that we love the sport, he just looks adorable in them. While shopping I realized I was starting a migraine. It was mild, so we took our time checking out and getting back to the cars. I let LR walk in the parking lot a bit, but he found a shopping cart he wanted to push and when I finally had to pick him up, he had a hissy fit. By the time we got to the car he had recovered. At home I took some migraine meds and we played for awhile. The headache intensified, so I turned on the TV and asked LR to play by himself. He kindly obliged. Then I tried to get him down for a nap 3 times. He finally went to sleep and I took more meds. He woke up an hour later and when I went to get him, the head rush was intense. I brought him back to the couch where he fell back asleep in my arms. I called Daddy and asked him to come home to help me. After hanging up, I put LR on a blanket that had been sitting on the floor and ran to the bathroom. Luckily LR stayed asleep and Daddy arrived ten minutes later and sent me to bed where I passed out while they had dinner. This is the first migraine (with the exception of the spinal fluid leak post delivery of LR) that made me throw up.

While being sick in the bathroom I couldn't stop thinking of what I would have done if he had been awake. What do you do if you physically can't take care of your child? It makes the prospect of having another baby even scarier. My doctors have given me the go-ahead despite higher than normal counts in some of my Lupus blood work. If I flare while pregnant, how can I take care of LR? When I talked to R's mother later in the day she said I should have called her and she's probably right. I have a lovely woman downstairs with her 3 kids and plenty of nice neighbors. I realize that I don't have much of an emergency plan in place and that we should probably think of one.

On a lighter note, LR is still impressing us with more signs and words each day. He's signing "phone" and "train" now. He touches his cheek for phone and he wrings his hands for train. Our phones can also act as walkie-talkies, so I've been calling LR and chatting with him from a room away. He doesn't talk back much, but he does listen.

In the bath this evening, he put his head on my hand on the surface of the water again. He stayed there for awhile and then moved on to something else. A few minutes later he did it again, but all by himself. He got on all fours and put the side of his head in the water. Daddy and I watched in amazement as he turned his head and blew bubbles for the first time and then put his ear back in the water. I'm going to look into swimming lessons this weekend. I don't want to miss this opportunity, this small window in time when he's not afraid of the water.

He amazed me this evening during book time before bed. I showed him a book I had been saving until he's older a few days ago. It's a Dr. Seuss pop-up book. It goes through 7 different Dr. Seuss books and is beautiful, but he's too aggressive with the delicate pop-ups, so I let him touch just a few of the sturdier pieces. He loves it to death and has wanted to see it every time he spies it in the bookshelf the past few days. I put it away this morning hoping he'd forget about it for a little while. At bedtime I read him "Each Peach Pear Plum" and then "Jamberries." Then I pulled out "Hop on Pop." Halfway through the book he turned toward his bookshelf, signed and said "book, book." I assured him I was reading him a book and finished it. He turned to his bookshelf and signed again while whining. I let him off my lap and he toddled over to the shelf. I realized he wanted the pop-up book, but it wasn't until I sat down that I realized he had recognized the drawings from "Hop on Pop" as Dr. Seuss which reminded him of the pop-up book. Cool, no? Or is it more amazing that Dr. Seuss drawings are that recognizable. Either or, it was a neat moment and both Daddy and I have seen big leaps in cognitive development recently. In other words, he's wicked smaht!

Sick But Happy

LR napped for a total of an hour on Monday, a half hour in the morning and another half hour in the afternoon. It certainly wasn't enough, but despite the runny nose and (I suspect) sore throat, he was pretty happy. Tuesday was better, but he still didn't sleep much during the night. I slept even less. Last night was great. He actually slept through and seemed to be recovering today. It was a mild cold and all 3 of us got it, so it was virulent but not vicious.

LR has picked up a few new signs in the last few days. He seems to have a handle on zebra, giraffe, and book. He says "ba" for bath, bottle, ball, and book, so the signs help me differentiate. Today he stayed underfoot while I tried to make a pasty (meat, carrot, potato pie). If I'm anywhere else in the house he's fine playing by himself, but as soon as I try to do the dishes or cook, he's grabbing at my legs and - this is new - biting my jeans. Biting has gone from a game to a more serious call for attention. Not sure what to do about it, but hoping it's just a phase and will go away soon.

About a week ago he started picking up the books next to our bed and thumbing through them. They're my "Chronicles of Narnia" paperbacks and he's generally very gentle with them. He runs his thumb across the pages of the first one he picks up and then tries each one in the series in turn. A born reader? We hope so.

It's Samba Time

LR's latest obsession is the samba CD we got as a gift during our one year baby group reunion gift swap. Actually, it was a music set which came with a maraca, a tambourine, castanets, and a whistle. He loves track 2 on the samba CD so much that he signs "again" just as the song finishes so that I'll play it again. I put it on repeat and must have heard it a dozen times today. Usually he likes to dance by himself, but apparently the samba is a partner dance and he insists on being held while wiggling and squiggling in our arms. He also kicks. Makes the dance extra fun.

Speaking of his love of music and dancing, last night we walked with our friends D&H and their son King J to a pub in Davis Sq where we listened to a bluegrass band play for an hour. We got there early to have some food and were definitely given the stink-eye by a few patrons. I felt out of place bringing a stroller into the pub and was afraid I had the wrong night or misunderstood my friend who had told me about the band. Luckily other families started to appear within twenty minutes. The band was wonderful and LR spent most of the time standing and dancing in front of them. The lead singer tried to give him a high five, but he ran away. It was very cute. We sat next to a dad who leaned over and asked Daddy what our son's name was. Turns out the six year old sitting next to him had the same name. We thought our name choice was pretty unique and since this is the first boy I've met with the same name since LR was born, I feel pretty secure in our decision.

Today we had a play date with our friend and her son R. R was having a rough day so he was a little fussy which rubbed off on LR a bit. They had a little spat over the walker, but once R's mom put it in the bedroom it became a non-issue. The boys sat and shared Cheerios, sippy cups, and toys. They're just doing parallel play, but it's still fun to watch them interact when they have to. We found out that they both like to hang out in the laundry room. Not sure what it is about that room that draws them. Anyway, toward the end of the visit, both boys were starting to get tired, so R's mom sat them down to read. They were totally engaged and I managed to snap a quick picture of them enjoying Pat the Bunny.

After his afternoon nap, LR was super cranky. Inspired by his friend maybe? We don't know, but he spent some quality time by himself behind the rocker in his room. Don't know why he decided to hide, but Daddy and I thought it best not to disturb him. He was rediscovering all the noises his walker makes. (I've had the sound turned off on it for a month now.) He watched me come in and take the picture, but didn't seem phased and didn't come after the camera for once. Not sure what was going on this evening, but the bedtime routine was tough. He cried when Daddy put him down, but then all of a sudden the crying got super intense. I was afraid he had hurt himself, so I went in to see what was wrong and I found the problem immediately. I opened the door and stumbled into his blankey on the floor. If there were any lingering questions about his attachment to the blankey Gigi made him, they're gone now.

Listening to the water

LR has been so much better this week. Last week the Roseola really bowled him over. This week he was a gem. Today we went to a play group after I got home from work. He enjoyed the new toys more than the company of the other kids, but it was good to see how he interacts when he has to. For example, if another toddler was standing between him and the toy he wanted, did he gently push the child aside, or did he just try to march through. So many choices... He and his friend R ran around stealing push carts from each other. He also found a great egg maraca. He also discovered the hostess' broom! It wasn't anywhere near the other toys. Is it a family thing? His cousin Bud is obsessed with mops and brooms.

At the playgroup I asked other moms about switching from bottle to cup. Some said it was easy, others have yet to try it. I got my opportunity to try as soon as we got home. He took most of a bottle and I thought he was tired, but he perked right up and played for another hour. Finally he seemed tired enough to nap, so we read in the glider in his room for awhile and then I rocked him. He struggled to sit up, so I turned him away from me, but kept him in my lap. He leaned back and within a few minutes was asleep. I put him in the crib and he slept for an hour and a half. Hoping we can cut out at least 1 bottle a day to start with.

After his nap he was a little cranky, but recovered quickly and played with his cars which he always accompanies with car noises now. He's trying to figure out the difference between cars, trains, planes, trucks, bikes, and boats. He was hungry well before I got dinner on the table, so I handed him crackers while I was working in the kitchen. His pronunciation of cracker isn't bad. Sometimes it's "crack" and sometimes we get a second syllable out of him. He kept signing and saying more, so I hurried along his veggie corndog which he meticulously dipped in ketchup with every bite. Ketchup dipping is new this week. We started with some home fries last week and he sort of got the concept, but often ended up sticking his whole hand in the ketchup and then licking it off. Tonight he demonstrated mastery of the condiment skill. It's one of those gateway skills, I'm sure.

At the end of dinner LR saw the ice in my water glass and signed "cold." He picked that sign up in the grocery store yesterday when I handed him a bag of frozen peas, corn, and carrots. So now he uses the "cold" sign for ice. I gave him a small piece of ice and he chewed on it. I don't mean he gummed it like babies do. He used his front 4 teeth and bit through the pieces of ice. It was gruesome to listen to. Once he finished that piece he asked for more. I gave him two more pieces before I offered him a mango popsicle. He tried it but wasn't so interested in it. He'd like to stick to his unflavored popsicles, thank you very much.

After dinner I asked what time it was and he signed "bath!" Bath time is more interesting now because he wants to rest his head on my hand in the water. He puts one ear to my hand and I put my hand just under the surface of the water. I'm guessing that he likes the sound of the water in his ear. He keeps his mouth open so that water comes in a bit, but he doesn't put his nose or eyes in, just chin, cheek, and chin on one side. Then he'll pick his head up and switch sides. Not sure what made him start doing it, but I'm fascinated by his fascination with the sound of water.

He seemed wide awake at 8, so Daddy started the bedtime routine at 8:15. He still wasn't sleepy, but Daddy put him in the crib anyway. I think he just crabbed himself out (20 minutes later). Not a great end to the day, but the day itself was great.

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.