listen, mommy!

i think if he could, he would tell me, "listen, mommy!" i was rushing us off to the car this morning, and as we trotted down the sidewalk, mosey stopped in his tracks to point and tell me silently (in sign), "bird, bird, bird." and sure enough, there was a chorus of birds and geese and all kinds of activity in the trees. i was shocked that i didn't hear any of it until he pointed them out. it was nice to stop and listen for a bit.

and you know what? we weren't any later for daycare and work than we normally are.

incidentally, he also signs "bird" when he hears a siren. they must sound similar to him.

i cannot wait for that kid to be able to tell us what's on his mind. he is such a joy!

lovelove,
me

tantrums and pretending

i would like to share with you this hilarious tumblr called reasons my son is crying. i believe it helped me with our own son's tantrum tonight, because if you can't laugh on the inside while it's happening, it's quite possible to injure said-child during his insane meltdowns. tonight it was because he wanted to hold on to his book when it was time to say goodbye to it. i actually would have probably let him keep it, but he started having an attitude about it, which means to me that it was a teaching time. teaching what, you may ask. well, we have a counselor friend who told us that the two most important things we must teach our children are that (1) we love them always and (2) we will always win. i focused on number 2 and then went to number 1. it was as successful as i could have hoped with a 1.5 year old.

after that mini-drama, mo and i read a story together a couple of times. afterward, he flipped through the book quietly on his own for a bit and then started pretend-picking some bees off the page and pretend-eating them. i asked if i could have some too, and he joyfully pretend-picked some more off and pretend-fed them to me. it made my heart so full and proud. this sweet and tender child is going to be a great big brother.  :O) 

also, i'd been meaning to tell you, he's been getting his 7th and 8th molars since a week or so ago. i tried to keep track of when he was getting his teeth, but these molars seriously seemed to all spring up at around the same time! ouch!

lovelove,

helen

mo-neh

mo-neh. this is moses's new best friend's name for him. kavi is just a few months older. kavi's mom and i are old college buds, and in fact, this year, we're coming on the anniversary date where we'll have been friends for more of our lives than we haven't been friends. i don't know if that makes sense, but whatever, it's a significantly long amount of time. :O)

anyway, so moses and kavi had such a good time this weekend. lots of running, toys, eating... and tons and tons of belly laughing. we tried to get them to nap in the same room, but they cracked each other up with peek-a-boo action over the crib bumper for about 5 to 10 minutes. when we split them up, moses cried his little eyes out.

they hugged each other, fed each other, chased each other... i could watch them play all day. great friends.

thanks for visiting, and we miss you!

mo-neh and kavi on a pretend choo choo train, i think

not immunizing your child??

shane and i were out on a date one evening a little while back, and we decided to go get some frozen yogurt. we ran into a friendly couple out with their toddler and struck up a conversation. they told us about how they're unconventional in their approach to parenting, and somehow bridged the way to tell us about how they don't immunize their child.

let me say it again, in case you missed it, they don't immunize their child!! 

they talked about some website and that they knew someone who had had an immunization injury (which, what is that, anyway), and how they have a hard time finding doctors who will work with them, blah blah blah. i was just too stunned to even say a word!

when we left, shane said that we should have told them that they were talking to a nurse and someone who works at the CDC. ha. yeah, were were not about to buy what they were selling. sheesh. 

nevermind the fact that diseases like polio, measles, mumps, whooping cough (all these terrible diseases!) still exist and this child could actually get any of these at any time, really (and essentially is required to call 911 anytime she's ill because it actually could be a [vaccine-preventable] life-threatening and highly-contagious illness)... what on earth is she going to do when she needs to go to school or travel anywhere outside of the United States?? these parents are basically limiting her entire life by believing conspiracy theories about vaccines. i am somehow outraged. at both the parents and the rumors and conspiracy theorists. stunned with outrage.

i told my friend at work, and she told me how she got pertussis in high school, missed a month of classes, and had a really terrible time of it. even a decade later, she actually still reacts viscerally to the notion that someone would avoid getting a vaccine. 

if you're my friend and you're reading this and you are one of those that have avoided vaccines for your child, i'm officially mad at you. call me so we can talk it out.

and then go and vaccinate your child. it's like the very least you can do for her future. 

lovelove,

helen 

agile programming

i'm on a parenting listserv at work, and i get all kinds of random messages about all kinds of not-so-useful things, but last week, i got a real gem. it was about a Ted talk by this person that has applied Agile software programming to his family life. i love when there is overlap between different spheres of life and wisdom. also, i'm guessing this Bruce Feiler guy is a Christian because of some of the other books he's written. i especially love when Christians are smart in this particular way that this guy is smart. i felt inspired and even teared up a little, thinking about our most cherished moments as parents. enjoy.

lovelove,

me

we got a puppy

so, about a week ago, we got a puppy. his name is jude and he's a basset hound mix. he's basically the cutest, floppiest puppy you might ever meet. he's pretty gentle and snuggly and even-tempered, and crate training and potty training, while being a ton of work, have still been relatively easy (he seems to generally like the crate and going potty outside). and you know, as it turns out, raising a puppy is a lot like raising a baby. who knew. i might not make the most amount of sense, but here's a shot at some of the similarities:

• if we keep a schedule, we're saner. we feed him twice a day, so we don't have to guess whether he's hungry. and then we make sure to take him outside a half hour after he eats so he can do his business.
• we take him outside after every nap and about every half hour if he's playing (which, is similar to diaper-changing activity, in that if baby's sleeping we leave him, and then we change him when he's awake)
• we're training him to sleep through the night in the crate (kind of like training a baby to sleep through the night in a crib), and when we take him out to pee at night, we stay quiet and we don't play, which is kind of how one should change a diaper in the middle of the night for newborns. 
• if we eventually don't want him to do it, we make sure to teach him not to do it now (like chewing shoes or clothes or jumping up), which is basically how we've raised mo so far. even as a tiny baby, for example, we never ever let him touch outlets or the stove or the trash (and when he did, we slapped his hand), and now, even as a curious toddler, we haven't had any problems with him messing with those things. 
• puppies need constant supervision, at least at the beginning.
• being strong with consistency and discipline (especially while crate and potty training) is very important.

as for moses, he has been super sweet with the pup. he's gentle and seems to really enjoy petting him. he wants to go see the pup every morning, and he loves to watch him and see what he's up to. also, i've been trying to teach moses not to give his toys to the puppy (since i'm not interested in dog slobber on toys that mosey puts in his own mouth), but that part's really not been easy. it's actually kind of funny because little moses offers the toys and then gets upset if the puppy takes it. he's exercising his "mine!" skills. he also gets afraid when he's sitting on the floor and the puppy licks his face. i'm trying to teach him to say, "no, puppy" and stand up and not cry about it. we may have a little ways to go, but i think they're going to be good friends someday. :O) 

hubby's been a bit busy this weekend with studio week, which is similar to finals. i've stepped in to take care of puppy, and it's been so much work! i think if i just had the puppy, or if i just had mosey, it would be manageable, but having them both is a lot more of a challenge. thankfully, it's been a bit warmer, so i don't have to get moses all bundled up and then back unbundled every half an hour. i've also started to get the hang of holding a puppy with one hand and getting momo's crocs on his feet with the other. we grab a leash, a treat, and a poop bag, and we are out the door pretty quickly!

also, something that made me laugh inside today: i was bringing jude in from a walk and moses was across the yard in a little mulch area. he was playing, and i heard his little voice say, "night night!" as he laid down flat on his back on the mulch. i just ignored it because i didn't want to encourage him to lie down just any old place, plus, i had my hands full so i couldn't actively teach him not to do that. but, man. it was so darn cute; he is just a delight.

also, i watched him retrace his steps today looking for a hairbrush so he could put it back where it belonged. i was truly impressed at that little guy.

also, he might be allergic to melons. yikes!

also, when doggies are sleeping, their feet smell like fritos. seriously, it's a real thing!


lovelove,
me

words, stats, and a story about THE poop

another molar. and a few new words: mine (said "my"), squirrel (said "cool"), moon (which, when has he ever seen one anyway? it's a mystery how he knows what it is--thank you mysterious daycare!) and last week i forgot to write hippo (which he says "bibbo"). he's also been telling me clearly in both sign and word that he wants to eat, just before dinner. wow. i'm just blown away. we have to work on some patience there, but that's another story.

i've been meaning to write down mo's stats from his 18 month well-baby visit:

• weight: 25 lbs, 9.5 oz (70th percentile)
• height: 33 3/4 (90th percentile) 
• head circumference: 19 1/4 (80th percentile)

i was a bit worried for a little while (like the neurotic mom i am) that he was wasting away and had stopped growing because his percentiles had dropped so much at around 12 and 15 months. i'm glad we're back to where we were during his first year, it makes me feel less like he's about to die of starvation and blow away in the wind. i told you, i'm neurotic. anyway, i feel better. :O)

also, something else to share (watch out, this story's kind of gross)--we had the diaper blow-out of our lives this weekend. i mean, it was phenomenal; i'm still not sure what happened! when i went to get him from his crib in the morning, i smelled poop. i looked in his crib and he was trying to wipe his sheet like he does when he has spilled something. turns out, he had had a very large bout of loose stools, and he was trying to wipe away the wetness that had seeped through his pajamas onto his sheets. i picked him up and realized it was bad. then i laid him on the changing table and unzipped his PJs and found it was worse than bad! poop was literally oozing out of the top of the FRONT of his diaper because there was no room for it to go anywhere in the back. it was an incredible amount of poop, especially for a todddler! there was a thick layer pooled all the way up the back of his PJs. wow. we each had to completely bathe after that encounter. which, he seemed just fine with the whole thing until he was standing naked waiting for the water to fill tub. which is why i held that poop-covered child tight to me, poor little guy. we ended up throwing a whole entire load of things-that-had-come-into-contact-with-the-poop in the laundry. wow.

he was a tiny bit fussier that day, but it seemed to pass with no fanfare. his bowel movements have been rather unremarkable since then. so, weird.

lovelove,

smelly tak