Water Baby

On Sunday we went over to Mike and Lisa's for a swim party, and of course Adam loved the water. By the end of the summer I imagine we'll have a little daredevil fish to entertain.

He laughed at me and splashed me when I tried to teach him to blow bubbles. He blew kisses to the ladies on the deck while he was in the pool. He kicked, he laughed, he sat in his duck. He missed a step on the deck and hit his head on a cooler, then recovered like a champ. He showed Sarah his tongue.

He ate three large pieces of watermelon, a cup of peaches, and a cup of mandarin oranges. He watched two older boys run and jump and push each other into the pool - he studied their every move and thought that surely he could do it too... so he tried to join them a few times and was disappointed when I steered him away.

He refused to nap and by the time we finally got him to fall asleep, it was nearly bed time anyway, so he missed out on his cheeseburger. We stayed the night and he woke up at 5:30 am STARVING and ready to play. On Monday we had a wonderful day lounging around the house.

I hope we can make every day of summer feel like it's supposed to - watermelon, the pool, popsicles, the grill, and swimming trucks. Maybe some camping, eventually some fishing, and hopefully the zoo a couple of times. Adam was meant to be a boy of summer.

Trucks are Fun

This was from a few days ago.

Improvisation

The first day off of our Memorial Day weekend Shannon and I cleaned. Again. It increasingly begins to feel like because we are two working adults, all there is really time for is work, cleaning, and sleeping. There is playing, for sure. We spend pretty much every waking moment of the day with Adam when we are not at work, but sometimes I have to remind myself that with a one-year old, maybe more time should be devoted to playing than to my sleeping a full 6 hours a night.

But who can complain when you have this much fun?

Shannon mowed the yard early Saturday morning and by 1:30 it was HOT. So I dressed Adam in his swim trunks (second day in a row!) and we went outside. I filled his pool. The water needed some time to warm up, so I tried to redirect him to his picnic table, his house, or anything else he could focus on. When I felt I was successful, I emptied Caley's water bowl and refilled it with fresh water since I already had the hose out.

I turned my back to roll the hose back up, and guess who has improvised his way into a make-shift pool since he wasn't allowed in the other one?

I was able to get some video too. But I'd like to repeat - this was fresh water directly from the house. It is the dog's water bowl but it wasn't hot grassy water that had been sitting around all day. It was basically the same as if he'd been in the baby pool.

Enjoy the show...
 


After having a laugh in the tiny pool I let him go over to the regular pool.

The only trouble with a freshly mowed yard is that there are tons of grass pieces everywhere. We didn't stay out long, but we had fun while we did. Unfortunately, Adam's seems to have some pretty serious allergies and came in with a runny nose and splotchy face from the grass. Better buy the Zyrtec in bulk too.

We're off to the pool today at Lisa and Mike's house - so I should have more pictures and stories about my little water baby tomorrow.

Splash Day

Our daycare is pretty much brand new - It was built less than a year ago. About 1 month ago, they installed what is basically a miniature baby water park on their grounds. Yesterday they invited the parents out for a Summer Kick Off Party and Splash Day.

Adam enjoyed Splash Day. He would walk fast into the water, splash, get sprayed, then turn around blinking with his arms up in the air and come toddling back to me as fast as he can. It seems he likes splashing as long as he's in control of it. Who can blame him though.

After being in the water he had a tough time - he didn't nap very long that day, we believe he is teething (it's hard to prove when no teeth appear, but that's what we're going with. He still only has his two bottom teeth and no others), AND he was just having a not very good day.

Not many parents showed up except me, two other mothers and a father. The other dad was sitting on the floor beside me with his daughter and he was singing, so Adam went over to check it out. His little girl was okay with that and made her way on over and sat in my lap. Adam was not pleased with that idea... I've actually never seen him be so jealous. He came back over and tried to move her out of the way (gently, he wasn't punching her or anything), and he sat in my lap too. Then I think he glared at her and tried to hatch a plan to get her to leave. She didn't seem to care one way or another - although she has an older sister so she's probably used to it.

I was able to get a few pictures, but this is what happens when you aren't prepared except for your phone camera.

Cupcake face. He had one bite and wasn't interested but wore it the rest of the afternoon.

 

Splash!

 

Not sure how I got this warped look - a couple of them came out like this.

Apparently they will be doing Splash Day once a week. Fun. Fun. Fun. Better buy stock in Coppertone or get it by the barrel.

As a mom of a one-year-old, I've discovered that you are extremely popular with your kid. I love that he loves me and wants to be held or wants me to play with him. When he sees me he stops whatever he's doing, grins his biggest grin, jumps up, comes over to me as fast as he can. Who wouldn't love that? One of the things I've realized though is the lack of time or lack of ability to watch him play and interact. He plays differently with kids his age, with his teachers, and even differently between Shannon and me.

I may find myself sneaking peeks around corners to see what he does when he doesn't think I'm watching.

Professor Chaos Rides Again

Last night Adam and Shannon had a boys night at home, and Professor Chaos appeared in full force. All that he's missing is a cape, I think.

Adam is luckily pretty athletic. He knows that the button on his four wheeler makes it go forward, but it's an alternating effort on his part to either ride it, stand on it, or ride it while standing on it. In the picture below he's showing off by clapping while balancing on it.

From what I hear, after posing for a few pictures he was separated from his four wheeler for a while. Professor Chaos will ride another day.

Charming and Mischief

This is why I fall in love everyday...


This is why I shake my head everyday...


It should be noted that these two videos occurred within 2 minutes of each other.

A Little Mimic

Adam is the perfect little mimic lately. He watches everything we do and will mimic the things we try to teach him. Such as:

1. The "Indian" 

You know, where you make the "ahhhh..." sound and bounce your hand against your mouth. He can do it himself (hand and all), he will do it if you put your hand on his mouth, and he will take turns doing it to himself and then trying to help me do it while I say "ahhhhh...." (and sometimes gets a little too excited and smacks me a little too hard... so we go back to each being in charge of our own "Indian" noises).

2. Blowing kisses. 
This, to Adam, is the same basic thing as the "Indian" except that he puts his hand on his mouth longer. He forgets to throw or blow the kiss away from him, but he tries.

3. The Fake Sneeze.
I guess I didn't realize how much I sneeze (allergies). One day Shannon told me that he thinks that sometimes Adam is saying "yes," but sometimes he's pretending to sneeze. Apparently this was a big hit at my parent's house on Sunday too. Then last night he was acting like he might want a bite of my broccoli, and he toddled up to me (broccoli is something he will eat but is not on the list of "favorites" for him, so sometimes it doesn't pass the highchair test -- and usually he deems it "Caley-food").

He opened his mouth really wide and came in for the fork, and at the last minute, turned his head, threw it back, and "sneezed" with a little whispered "choo!" I laughed.

When I laugh, Adam always looks at me with a big smile and searches my eyes to see if what he did was funny, and then he does it again. He loves to make me laugh, and he's good at it.

After I laughed at his "allergic to broccoli" routine, we played that game for about 5 more minutes as he perfected his sneeze. His grin is so big when he "sneezes" and he throws his head forward so perfectly - if his "a-choo" wasn't such a cute, tiny little whisper, the motion could be mistaken for a real sneeze.

Last week I was feeding Adam with a toddler spoon and he was content to let me work the fork for him. Robin came over so we could go out. When she sat down at the table, Adam grinned his flirty little grin at her, and I brought the fork to his mouth. He stopped me, deftly swept the fork out of my hand, and fed himself as if he did it every day of his life. I didn't realize the desire to show off happened at such an early age -- although with Adam he's been showing off for an audience since he was 4 months old.

This morning I dropped Adam off at daycare and let him down on the rug. All of the other kids were getting some cereal so the teacher was a little busy. He walked up to me and gave me a hug around the legs, I told him good bye and that I loved him, and when I walked to the door he watched me go instead of crying and following. I waved. He waved back and smiled at me. Then he turned to find something to do. How did I end up with such a perfect little guy?

Being One.

This weekend I got to play and rest. I had a much needed girl's night on Friday night - Lisa, Robin, Sarah and I went to have sushi and then back to my house to drink too much. Then on Saturday we all went to a baby shower at the Bryant's, and Adam played and talked to everyone. He got to play on the slide in the backyard and now understands the joy of sliding AND climbing.

Before the party.

Funny little expression.

HA HA - this is how I will escape!

Getting better at walking in his shoes.

The joy of sliding.

Climbing up

Sliding down.

Playing with Bobby, who is one day older than Adam.

Today, Shannon let me sleep in until 11. This afternoon we took Adam to my parent's house, then went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and afterward we ate at Chamberlain's (seafood). It was nice to have the day to ourselves and very relaxing.
-------------------
Now that Adam is one, he is obsessed with nodding his head "yes" and shaking it "no". He will say yes or no randomly or in response to a question. For example, as Adam leaves his snack untouched on his highchair... "Adam, are you going to eat your snack?" He nods his head yes. But he still doesn't eat it.

He can also say both words now too. And it's not "yeah" or "yep" or "uh huh" - it's full on "YES."

Because he is walking pretty much everywhere he gets tired more quickly. Last week I was holding him and he didn't want to be put down, didn't want a snack, didn't want a drink, didn't need a new diaper, and he had his pacifier in his mouth. I said "Adam, what's wrong?" He took his pacifier out of his mouth and yelled, "NY NITE!"; then he stuck the pacifier back in his mouth. It was only 6:45pm, and we ended up putting him down around 7:30 that night. He has no issues with telling us when it's time for bed, so that's a good thing.

His new food obsession is Ritz crackers and cheese. You show him a Ritz and his hand will shoot out faster than you could expect. You have any more, and he'll whine until you hand them over. On the other hand, he has demonstrated a dislike for corn dogs and ravioli. But I guess that's okay.

He has finally decided that milk is okay and maybe even a little better than formula, which is great - formula is expensive. Today he even drank from a straw for the first time. I think he would have continued to do it too if he had liked what was in the cup -- it was one of those Gerber flavored milk toddler drinks, and I don't think Adam was all that impressed.

He is consistently sleeping until at least 6 am - sometimes longer - and THAT IS AWESOME.

He is also throwing everything and is actually getting pretty good at it. I don't mind it - he can't throw that far yet - but I'm sure one day I'll just be minding my own business and get nailed in the head with a block. Countdown until that day begins . . . now.

Overall it's fun to have a one year old. I'm still counting my blessings every day.

Words Not My Own

Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed.
~Linda Wooten

Health is not valued until sickness comes.
~Dr. Thomas Fuller

The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones.
~Gabirol (Solomon ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol), The Choice of Pearls

The phrase "working mother" is redundant.
~Jane Sellman

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.
~Japanese Proverb

Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.
~Aristotle

Make your own recovery the first priority in your life.
~Robin Norwood

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.
~Oprah Winfrey

Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs.
~Joan Didion

There must be millions of people all over the world who never get any love letters... I could be their leader.
~Charlie Brown

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.
~C.S. Lewis

With what price we pay for the glory of motherhood.
~Isadora Duncan

Brightside

Friday after the doctor appointment, Adam ran a high fever and vomited. We had our car keys on standby to make a trip to the ER. He usually can't sit still, but all afternoon, all evening and all night long he had to be attached to me, lying down.

He would fall asleep, we put him in his bed, and he would wake up and cry immediately. This was extremely unusual because he loves his crib. He didn't want to be alone, but doesn't sleep well outside of his crib.

So he slept in our bed and he kicked me and punched me and head-butted me most of the night before he fell asleep, and his fever broke at about 1-2 am. On Saturday he was fever-less, but still not breathing or feeling all that great.

I've cleaned up vomit 6 times over the last 3 days. Adam cringes when he sees the little syringe of medicine come at him now after he constantly sees each steroid, antibiotic, Advil, antibiotic, Tylenol, breathing treatment x 4 or 5 every day. He has just recently gotten his appetite back. But luckily, we haven't been in the hospital.

Our pediatrician told us that we should expect him to feel a million times better by Monday morning and absolutely ready to go to daycare. We were told he shouldn't be contagious anymore by Saturday. So Saturday night he sat in my lap and I pointed at things around the room - "Do you see Caley? Can you say dog? Can you say Dad? Can you say Mom?" Whenever I pointed at myself and said Mom, he squealed, wiggled back and forth, and planted a big kiss on my mouth. Three times in a row. I decided that from that moment on Mr. Charming could have whatever he wanted. Don't judge me, you wouldn't be able to resist him either.

On Saturday some door-to-door sales people came by selling security systems (don't worry, they looked legit). We usually don't answer the door when we see them but Shannon was walking right by it when they knocked, so he was trapped. We had been talking about putting in an alarm system anyway, they offered us a free equipment, and it was lower rates per month than we expected, so we took it. They installed it that night. When the technician came in late that evening, and left at about 10:30 that night, Adam was desperate to talk to someone from the outside world and when we carried him by the guy, Adam shot his arm up in the air and said "hey!"

On Sunday my mom came by with dinner and took Adam for a walk so we can have a break... we spent the time cleaning up his high chair and the floor because he threw up again about 1 minute before she rang the doorbell. But it was nice having an extra pair of hands!

We still heard the chest congestion late last night and decided that he probably needs another day of breathing treatments and rest, so Shannon stayed home with him today. We made an appointment to get him checked out again, and she said that we are out of the woods with the pneumonia and are looking at croup. One more day of steroids, breathing treatments as needed, and Robitussin DM for the cough. He should be healthy enough to go to daycare tomorrow.

That's good. I will miss seeing his adorable little face all day though. My vacation was not the most relaxing or the most carefree that I've ever had, but I did get to see him as much as I wanted and play with him when he was feeling well. I taught him to blow kisses and we worked on the shape ball and his blocks, so I'm trying my best to look on the bright side.

However, he now wants a constant leash to "mom mom mom mom MOM!" so I'm sure dropping him off at daycare will be a real treat tomorrow. Come on, weekend!

Pneumonia

Adam was actually feeling worse this morning, rather than better, and was running a fever - so we went back to the doctor.

Adam has pneumonia (aka community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), aka viral pneumonia, and sometimes walking pneumonia). It's contagious and sometimes resistant to antibiotics, and quick-moving. He started to show signs of being sick on Monday, had Bronchitis on Wednesday, and even with the antibiotics and breathing treatments, has full-blown pneumonia today. And boy, does he have nearly every symptom of pneumonia possible (fever, chills, cough, unusually rapid breathing, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, and exhaustion).

By 11 am he'd had his 3rd breathing treatment of the day, one of which was in the doctor's office, and then he got two shots of antibiotic in his legs - and it looked like it HURT. It was much worse than the normal immunization shots.


They sent us home with yet another antibiotic on top of the one that he's already taking (that makes three different antibiotics all at once), steroids, and more breathing treatment solution. He looks and feels terrible. He came home and immediately crashed and hasn't moved.

She said that we were lucky we brought him back or else it could have gotten way worse really fast, and that he was also lucky that he was responding well to the breathing treatments because he doesn't have to go back again tomorrow (yes, on Saturday!) for two more shots of antibiotics. Hopefully Monday he will be feeling better.

Poor kid can't catch a break.

Professor Chaos

In between Adam's breathing treatments, I took him outside yesterday afternoon for some fresh air - we were both feeling pretty cooped up. I'd been wanting to do a project with him with paint and a canvas, so figured that I might be able to keep him out of the yard if we sat down for 15 minutes to paint. Well, we were out there for 15 minutes, alright, but we didn't put much paint on the canvas.

After painting himself, the patio, the cooler, and the grill, Adam had another bath, so we snuck in an extra round of vapor bath.

All I want for my birthday...

What did Adam get for his first birthday?

Well, he got an outdoor play house, a picnic table that doubles as a sand/water table, a four wheeler, a toy toolbox, a toy guitar, blocks, clothes, bath toys, gift cards, trucks, a soccer ball, singing birthday cards, a huge party, swimming attire, shoes, and...

Bronchitis.

And not just the "early signs of" kind of bronchitis, the full blown kind. He feels like crap, poor kid.

So yesterday we visited the pediatrician (they know us pretty well around there), then came home and broke out the nebulizer, the antibiotics, the cool mist humidifier, the acetaminophen, and the kisses of sympathy.

Our pediatrician told us that we should be looking for him to feel a million times better by the weekend (and if not, to call them immediately because he may need something stronger to kill this one). Sadly, when he woke up this morning, he was feeling worse, not better.

I have my fingers crossed (and my sanity in check) for a healthier kid tomorrow. Pneumonia and the hospital were not on his birthday wish list either.

The Party is Over and Dad's New Office

The Sunday after Adam's first birthday party was Mother's Day, and it was nothing special. We tried to recover from the long day Saturday, I cooked Tuna Helper, which Adam really liked (thankfully, that's a big favorite around here), and we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Since Adam's party, Adam and Shannon both came down with a nasty cough Monday morning. I'm frustrated (no, let's face it, I'm angry). I know exactly where it came from, how it happened, that the cough is so bad and that it easily could have been prevented. He's having trouble sleeping and I know his throat hurts, and there's nothing we can give him to make him feel better.

Today is Shannon's birthday, and because they are both sick there wasn't much we could do. Adam wanted to go out in the backyard, but because of food from the party in the backyard, the fire ants have moved in. Shannon put some ant killer out and we need to wait a few days before we can let him roam it freely. We set Adam up in the front yard with his four wheeler, and he liked motoring all the way to the end of the yard, but then discovered the manhole cover, the mailbox, and finally couldn't be torn away from the street before we moved the activities back inside.

So we went to dinner tonight at Saltgrass for Shannon's birthday, the three of us. Shannon had steak, I had shrimp, and Adam had a cheeseburger. He spent most of the evening waving and talking to the couple sitting at the next table over and flirting with the waitresses . . . and despite being sick, did a good job with his burger.

He's looking at me and saying "come here." Not much further I could go in the truck, though.

After dinner we went to see Shannon's new office and Adam got to explore. He especially enjoyed the Dallas Cowboys helmet, sitting in the chair, and closing the big door. He quickly went for the computer mouse, but was not quick enough, sadly.

this is fun!!

Adam has become a master "waver" and has developed his own sign for "come here" - a wave is arm up by his head and back and forth (away from and towards his head), "come here" is one arm out in front, palm up, and moving his fingers towards his palms (up and down). He picked it up from me - usually he'll walk out of the room, turn to see if you're following, and if not, he'll tell you to "come here." It's hard to resist, albeit exhausting.

Today he was on a roll with his words. So far he has said:
Mom
Dad
Dadda
Adam
"Li" (Eli)
Dog
Cat
"Ny ny" (Night Night)
No
Uh oh
Hi
Hey
(and I think he's saying "Yeah," but it's a little tough to tell).

Today he said (just once, but I'm taking it): "Gus," and "Thank you." (Seriously.) He knows what Gus means.... he was looking right at our fat orange cat when he said it. "Thank you," was because he was mimicking me when I told him thank you. But I like it and just hope I hear it a lot more in the future!

This morning when we were playing he came up and gave me a kiss, right on the mouth (his mouth wide open, of course), THREE times in a row. His new favorite thing is for me to give him eskimo kisses - I'll cup his cheeks and rub my nose against his, 3 times. He loves it, and so do I.

Hopefully the week will be much better than the last couple of days since the party.