No Tricks - Just Treats!

Happy Halloween!

I took half a day of vacation so we could celebrate the spooky day as a family. Grandma and Grandpa P. came down to our house for dinner tonight (and to see Wesley in his costume.) Wesley was a fireman this year - and in the grand tradition of firefighters, he was a cutie! Although he is a little young for trick or treating, we did go to the neighbors on either side of us. Mostly so they could see how cute he looked. One of the neighbors even took pictures of him. I have no doubt that Wesley will really be into trick or treating next year. He loved running around in his costume and dragging his treat bag.

After a creepy dinner of "anti-vampire" soup (cream of garlic) with black cat croutons, and black forest ham and "monster" cheese sandwiches, we all kicked back, ate left over Halloween candy and watched Dancing with the Stars. Wesley managed to get a candy bar semi-opened with his teeth and had chocolate dripping down his face. It's a wonder he actually fell asleep tonight!

CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

T.V. time with Grandpa P.

14 Months Old!

Wesley had a very busy 14 month "birthday."

He spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa H.' s last night while Duane and I went to a play with some of my co-workers. We had a great time and Wesley must have too. He slept for 12 hours and even took a nap today. Guess he and and the grandparents had a party at the crib (ha-ha!)

We had a reception at church today for our pastor. She took a call at another church. It's going to be pretty strange for awhile without her there. She did our pre-marriage counseling; performed our wedding ceremony and baptized Wesley. It's tough to see her go. The reception was very nice though. Wesley wandered around amongst the tables "talking" to everyone and hamming it up. But towards the end he faded and fell asleep on Daddy's shoulder.

We spent this evening making some Halloween preparations. Duane carved a couple of pumpkins for us. One of the little ones Wesley brought back from his trip to the pumpkin patch received a traditional jack-o-lantern face, and the large pumpkin we bought got a master carving job. I'll post pictures of them later this week. Wesley tried to help with the carving.

I tried to get him to play with the goop from the inside of the pumpkin, but it didn't work too well. Wesley did pick a few of the seeds out to give me though, so not all was lost. I can't wait to put him in his costume on Tuesday!

Well, I think the time change and the ear infection are starting to take their toll on the little dude. He's standing here whining, so I'd better get him to bed.

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

I am suffering from insomnia for the first time in my life. I don't think I've had more than 8 hours of sleep over the course of the past three nights. Either I am too tired to feel tired, or I'm wired. I just cried and cried when Duane left this morning, because I want to sleep so badly and I knew that when Wesley woke up any chance of a few minutes sleep would disappear. I have to go pick up a prescription today and I think I'll buy a sleep aid while I'm there. I can't keep this up.

On the plus side, Wesley seems to be doing a lot better. He's sleeping for about 12 hours straight the last few nights and his ear really seems to be bothering him less.

I know, this is a pretty pathetic post, but I'm feeling pretty pathetic today.

Quarantine

I think someone should just hang a big quarantine sign on our house. Now I'm sick again too. Yesterday I ran a fever all day and had absolutely no energy. Grandma H. had to come down to take care of me and Wesley. I'm doing a bit better today. No fever. I'll probably just take it easy today and go to work tonight.

Wesley must have understood that I felt really awful. He brought me a teddy bear to hold and "read" me a book. What a sweet baby!

Sick Again

Well, we can't be annoyed with the little dude for screaming bloody murder this morning. Remember that double ear infection? The good news is that he no longer has a double ear infection. One ear is perfectly clear. The other ear is seriously nasty! The doctor said it is full of thick goopy infection. Oh! And his throat is really red. Oh! And he's developing a sty in his eye. Basically she said he's probably pretty miserable. She asked about his lip too.

Grandma H. went to Target to get his new antibiotic. Apparently what he was on last time wasn't strong enough. Good thing he likes medicine - although it kind of bothers me that they make it taste so good.

Guess he was crying for a good reason.

Long Day Ahead

Right now I would kiss someones toes for a double tall sugar-free vanilla nonfat latte. Instead I am sipping a cup a decaffeinated Irish Breakfast tea and trying to convince my body that it is just as good as the previously mentioned Starbucks indulgence.

Wesley woke up at 5:00 screaming! We changed his diaper, gave him some milk, cuddled him and nothing helped. He had tears streaming down his face and would stiffen and throw himself from our arms onto the bed. I tried getting Sanders for him to cuddle, I sang to him, we got him a teddy bear and he just continued to howl. At 6:00 we finally came downstairs and he kept crying for another 15 minutes. He's now asleep on the couch, but I'll have to wake him up in about 25 minutes to get ready to go.

This is one of those mornings when I really really wish he could talk. I know something was wrong, but we sure couldn't figure it out. All I can do at this point is assume his teeth were bothering him, or he still isn't over his ear infection. Poor little guy.

If any of my co-workers are reading this today, please wake me up if you hear snoring coming from my desk. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Ouch!

I was going to post a lament about working all weekend and barely seeing my boys (the big and little one) the past couple of days. But......

After work I went to the hospital to visit my dad (he's doing much better) and then to a friend/co-worker's house to work on a project. I got home a little after 9:00 and waltzed in to give Duane a kiss. When I leaned over, I noticed a patch of blood on his shirt. Now I am not ususally a queasy person, but my stomach and heart did a little flip. "Oh, it's not mine," Duane said. OK. That did not make me feel better. I am a little ashamed to admit that I immediately started looking around for the cats, almost hoping the blood came from one of them.

Nope! Turns out Wesley managed to split his lip while I was at work. Duane was helping Grandma and Grandpa H. move some furniture. Wesley was running around like he always does. I guess he just fell the wrong way. Duane said he looked like a bad vampire with blood coming from with mouth. Wesley cried for about 5 minutes, then started drinking a sippy of milk, so it didn't bother him too badly.

I dread seeing him in the morning. I'm so afraid his lip is going to be all puffy and that I'm going to cry. I wish I had been there. Not that I think my presence would have changed anything - after all, he did have 3 grown ups with him. I just wish I could have held him and cuddled him when he was hurt. I guess this turned into a working mom lament after all.

Baby Gourmet - or Not

I watch a lot of Food Network. I mean - a LOT of Food Network. When I was pregant with Wesley and went to the hospital for extreame nausea and vomiting so much, I watched the Food Network in the emergancy room. I guess some of it was bound to rub off on Wesley.

Wesley re-discovered hummus this week. I gave some to him when he was just starting to eat baby food and he was very under impressed. He sure likes it now! I gave him some pita and hummus for a snack the other morning and he just devoured it.

We've known for a while that Wesley really enjoys goat cheese on bread. At a party with some of my co-workers he put away a good part of the container all by himself - prompting lots of jokes about how my child probably won't eat grilled American cheese sandwiches. "Mommy! I want brie!!" We had some warm goat cheese with our dinner tonight and he couldn't eat it fast enough.

Want more proof that the boy is a "foodie?" We stopped into a new organic market near our house today. I love to take Wesley there because they have grocery carts that are just his size to push around. Wesley took his cart over to the display of cheese and spreads and promptly filled his little cart with containers of tapenade. Not too shabby considering he tasted his first black olive last week.

I think I'll hold off calling Gourmet Magazine though. Wesley does have a typical toddler food weakness - ketchup. When he wouldn't eat lunch today, all I had to so was add some of the magic red sauce and the bites of food disappeared. Oh well, I guess Emeril has a few more years before Wesley hits the scene.

A Rose By Any Other Name

It may be time to rethink one of Wesley's many nicknames. I have been calling him Stinkerpot lately. It's a wonderful multi-use name. If he has a dirty diaper, he's Stinkerpot. If he's being cute and ornery, he's Stinkerpot. It works so well. However.....

We went out to lunch with Grandma H. today. As we were leaving the restaurant Wesley stopped to jabber to a table of older men. They were getting a big kick out of him, but I didn't want Wesley interrupting their meal so I said, "OK Stinkerpot, let's go." The men laughed and one said, "Stinkerpot? That's going to be rough name in Kindergarten!"

That got me thinking about some of his other names. If I stop calling him Stinkerpot, I'll have to stop calling him Booger and Mr. Peebody too. Hum.....maybe it's time for Mommy for grow up!

What a Pumpkin!

Wesley got to take a special field trip today while Mommy and Daddy were at work. Aunt Susan had the day off, so she, Wesley and Grandma and Grandpa P. went to the pumpkin patch! Apparently Wesley had a great time! He came home with three pumpkins - a tiny orange one, a little green one and a little orange one. I guess he became quite attached to them during his trip.

I'm a little sad that I couldn't go with them, but I'm so glad he had a special day out. Aunt Susan took tons of pictures. She even brought a framed picture and a brag book to work for me so I could see it right away. She thinks of everything. He's a pretty lucky boy!

Peek-a-Boo

Grandpa P. took this picture last week. TOO CUTE!!!

Dancing in the Aisles

Wesley sure kicked up his heels in church today. During the last song of the contemporary worship service Wesley and Regan (19 months) stood on the steps and clapped their hands and stomped their feet almost in time to the music. Johnny thought this was so funny that he kept playing the song after the service ended. He'd play it fast, then slow, then fast again just to see what the kids would do. The look they both gave Johnny when the music was super slow was too funny! I'm so glad people at our church get such a kick out of Wesley and Regan. They are the only 2 babies in our congregation and boy, do they get their share of attention.

Buckeye Babies

We had some friends over this afternoon to watch the Buckeyes pummel Michigan State! Our godson James (who is 4 months younger than Wesley) was also in attendance. Wesley hasn't shown much interest in "babies". He prefers following kids who are a little older around. However, James must have been especially interesting today. Wesley started out by touching James' hair. A while after that, he began following James around in an effort to hand him a toy. Then Wesley started grabbing the back of James' outfit whenever he'd crawl past. Then he started pulling James' hair - which was quickly ended by both mommies.

After all that, Wesley must have decided that James was an acceptable playmate because they sat on the floor together and "shared" a toy. Now, keep in mind that a baby's version of sharing is taking pieces of the same toy away from each other. There weren't any tears though, so it definitely counts as playing!

Does This Child Look Sick To You?

Wesley may have an ear infection in both ears, but it sure doesn't slow him down much! He went to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s today and was quite the busy boy. Grandma and Wesley took a walk around the neighborhood and all three came to visit me at work. That's always a big treat - even if it does mean I'm fairly unproductive while he's there. It was good timing though. We got a new rug in our storytime room and Wesley got to test it. He also got to check out the new puppets we got last week. The old ones were so nasty I wouldn't let him get within five feet of them.

We've had a pretty quiet evening at home. Wesley has gotten almost all his books out and is currently playing with a couple plastic clothes hangers. We watched a couple episodes of Blue's Clues and generally kicked back. He has been so smiley and happy. I wish I was like that when I'm sick!

Poor Baby

Wesley has been a little off this week. He's not been eating as well as normal and has been a bit cranky. We went to the doctor today and it turns out the little dude has a double ear infection. Poor baby. On the plus side, he loves the taste of his medicine, so that's not a problem. I just wish I could be home with him. My jealousy of stay-at-home moms is growing!

He Speaks!

Yesterday Grandma and Grandpa P. told me that Wesley said two new words. Apparently he said "Duck" and pointed to a stuffed duck on Grandpa's computers. Later when Grandma asked if he'd like to go outside, he ran to the door and said "outside."

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical about this. So far Wesley's words have consisted of "es" for yes, "ish" for fish, Mom, Daddy and something that vaguely resembles shoes. I really thought Grandma and Grandpa P. were just having a "very proud grandparent" moment and were hearing what they wanted to hear. I am now a believer!

This morning I dropped Wesley off at Grandma H.'s. When it was time for me to leave I told Wesley I had to go to work. Grandma said "Let's go outside and say bye-bye to Mommy." Wesley headed for the door and said "ou-sigh," which any grandparent or new parent will tell you translates to "outside." Go Wesley!

Nature Walk

Today was so beautiful that I couldn't stand the thought of being inside one second longer than I had to. Translation - I dragged Duane and Wesley on a nature walk. Wesley was more interested in the geese in the parking lot than actually walking, so it took a little while to get moving. He wanted to pet the geese and got way too close for comfort several times. Once we got on the trail, Mr. Outta My Way I Can Walk, proceeded to sit down and examine the gravel.

Things got a bit better as we got moving. Wesley didn't always want to stay on the path, and he didn't always want to walk the direction we were going, but he did pretty well. There was so much for him to look at! He picked up leaves and acorns, saw a bunch of deer (which he also wanted to pet) , flirted with a little girl who was walking with her mom, and checked his vocal cords to see how loud he could holler in the trees. It might not have been your typical nature walk, but I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon!

HELP!!!

How do you get a one year old to stop grinding his teeth? He's driving me nuts and I worry about long term damage. Any ideas?

Happy Birthday to Me

Just in case anyone is wondering, 33 feels an awful lot like 32. :-)

Duane and I began celebrating my birthday yesterday since we usually don't see each other very much on Wednesdays. He picked me up from work with a dozen beautiful roses and we went to dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant. It was such a treat not to have the boy with us and just have a relaxing meal. We absolutely gorged ourselves on the wonderful food and ended up lying in bed groaning over our swelled tummies. YUM!!!

Wesley gave me a terrific present by letting me sleep in until 8:00 this morning. We ate breakfast, got dressed and went to the library for storytime. This was Wesley's first storytime since he became mobile and he was wound! I was probably a bit more self conscious than normal because I did that storytime a couple weeks ago and I could just hear people thinking "Well, the librarian can't control her kid...." Luckily he did pretty well. He loved the songs and bouncing rhymes and didn't get too restless during the books. We're going to try and make that part of our Wednesday routine.

After storytime we did a little shopping with Grandma H. and Auntie Sue (who is visiting from England). Grandma needed to buy a baby gate since Wesley has discovered the stairs at her house and doesn't want to do anything but climb them all day. We all had lunch out and Wesley ate so much that even Auntie Sue, who has two teenage boys, was impressed. What a piggy!!!

I had to work the rest of the day. Four hours of leadership training isn't a normal birthday celebration, but it wasn't too bad. Especially considering that Wesley hid my glasses yesterday and I had to go without all evening. My co-workers showered me with candy and that almost make up for the fact that I was in charge of the building during a tornado warning. We had to herd everyone into the basement of the library for about 40 minutes while the sky got darker and darker and the sirens blared. Did I mention that I have quite the fear of storms? The fact that I remained calm is nothing short of amazing.

When I got home Duane and I ate the remainder of my birthday cake and looked at the proofs of Wesley's one year pictures. They are fantastic!!! Duane gave me a beautiful pair of diamond stud earrings and we called it a night. Do I have an amazing husband or what?! Happy Birthday to me!

Star Trek Invasion

I am not a Trekkie. In fact, I much prefer Star Wars to Star Trek, but even I can tell when our baby has been abducted and replaced by a Klingon baby. Wesley has done nothing but "cling-on" Duane today. The guys had all weekend together since I worked. Wesley loved every moment of it, because you would have thought the world was ending when Duane tried to leave for work. Poor Duane was putting his coat on and Wesley was chasing him around the table screaming with his arms outstretched. It would have been pathetic if it hadn't been so cute.

As soon as Wesley and I got home he turned into a Klingon once again. Duane couldn't even do the dishes because Wesley wanted to be held. The boy also insisted that I hold him while I typed on my blog. We've sacrificed Gus to Wesley for a few moments of peace. Wesley is now chasing the furry fat cat around and giggling like it's the funniest thing he's ever seen. Guess there aren't any cats on his planet.