I Like Big Buns!

At least on the sandwiches I refuse to eat!

Doggies, Swings and Puddles

Bet you can guess how we wound our weekend! Yep, we headed to the park after dinner tonight for some doggies, some swing time and more extra special fun. Wesley veered off down the path that led to the pond. He had a great time standing way too close to the water and looking at the fish. There was a family next to us feeding bread to the fish and the dad gave Wesley a piece to give the fish. Now that was pretty big stuff for a toddler! We're talking super cool fun. Wesley kept saying "Fish. Bread. Eat." I'll have to remember to take bread with us from now on - and a leash to keep Wesley from falling in!

After feeding the fish and visiting some of the many dogs in the park, we headed for the main attraction - the swings! Wesley would be content to swing all day and all night. He was in the swing for 20 minutes and even then we had to pry him out of it. We took him over to the slide and climbing equipment for a while. He finally stopped fussing about it when a little girl (who appeared to be around 6) showed up. Then Wesley had to toughen up and show her what a manly man he was. He even went down the big slide!

But the highlight of the evening was definitely when Duane and I let Wesley splash in the puddle. Let me show you....






Oh yeah, nine kinds of fun right there!

What puddle??

I'm king of the world!!!!!

Toe Tickles

Mommy Down for the Count

To think I was bragging the other day that I didn't get sick when Duane and Wesley were. Let's just say that crow has now been consumed! Then there's the big news of the day - Wesley has his first semi-shiner. Duane was in the shower this morning when I had to bolt for the upstairs bathroom. I could hear Wesley calling "Momma? Daddy? Momma! Momma!" followed by a thump thump thump thump, scream! Wesley had tried to follow me and he fell down the stairs. He's normally really good on the stairs, but I think he was in a hurry. Duane and I checked him over, and thankfully, the only damage done was a little bit of a bruise near his eye. That's some kind of boy badge of honor, right?

New Graduate

Wesley is already a graduate of the Ohio State University! Well, sorta. He participated in a study at the Cognitive Development Lab today and received this nifty diploma. I'm so proud!! I think I'll hang it next to my diploma.

Toddler Buzz

Duane and I are both pretty big caffeine addicts. Duane is all about diet soda (especially diet Mt. Dew) and I indulge in all things caffeinated. I adore coffee, but I've stopped making it at home. Not because I am trying to limit my caffeine intake, but because I am a coffee snob. I like Starbucks and the stuff I make at home doesn't taste nearly as good. Since I can't seem to make myself a decent cup of coffee at home and I can't afford Starbucks every day, I have started drinking a mug of tea (with sweetener) in the mornings.

Wesley has been pretty interested in drinking out of a cup the last couple of days. This morning he saw my mug of tea sitting there and was intensely interested in it. Since it had cooled off considerably, I decided to let him have a taste. I figured that he'd sample it, be disgusted and that would be that. WRONG! Wesley took a sip and said "mmmm...Good!" and proceeded to take many sips and finish the mug! I felt pretty guilty for a minute, but my dad used to let me sip off his coffee (with lots of milk and sugar) when I was pretty young too. Drinking coffee that way always makes me think of my dad, maybe Wesley will grow up to associate the taste of tea with his mommy.

All About Me

Today it's going to be all about me. I found a link to this on another blog I read and thought it was really cool.

Introducing my visual DNA

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Easy As 1,2,3

Wesley does a pretty good job counting to ten. We count when we go down the stairs, we count out crackers for a snack, we count Weebles. No problem. However, Wesley is starting to add "duck" to his counting repertoire. We have some foam numbers (0-9) that Wesley plays with in the bath. Included in this set of numbers is a duck shape. I don't know what that has to do with counting, but it's there. Every night Wesley gets a bath, Duane drops the numbers in and says "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, duck." Guess what Wesley now thinks comes after nine?

Whole Lot of Shaking Going On

I thought I'd start this post with a few cute pictures of Wesley from the park last evening. Here's proof that he really is good-natured most of the time.

Now I can tell you about the earthquake that shook our house last night. Wesley has been spending a lot of time in our bed since he's been sick, but we decided last night was the last night for that. When bedtime came for Wesley, he climbed straight into his bed and said goodnight. Okay, that's a good start. We locked the door from his room to the bathroom and put the baby gate up in the doorway from his room to the hall.

About two minutes later all heck broke loose! Wesley got out of bed and began shaking the doors trying to open them. He screamed "OUT!! WANT OUT!! OPEN!!" over and over, followed by ear-splitting cries of "MOMMA! DADDY! OUT!!!" After about 20 minutes, I went in to check on him. I picked him up, put him in bed and covered him with his blanket. Wesley's face turned some awful shade of red that I could even detect by the dim light of the night light. "NO BED! NO BLANKET! NO SLEEP!" He even pushed at me! I left him alone in his room and the noise finally died down about 25 minutes later. When we checked on him again, he was curled up on the floor by one of his doors, fast asleep. I managed to transfer him to his bed without disturbing him - thank goodness.

The earthquake hit again at 4:00 this morning. At that point I was ready to go get him, but Duane wisely reminded me that if we got him out then, we'd end up with him in our bed every night. Wesley wore out in only 20 minutes this time and was curled up asleep in his bed when I checked on him this morning. Here's hoping tonight is a bit smoother.

Good News and Bad News

Sorry I didn't post anything over the weekend. Wesley was still pretty sick so there was nothing to report - unless you count the fact that he added his own special "decoration" to two parties (one at our house, one at Grandma & Grandpa H.'s). But I do finally have some good news.

The Good News: After a week of illness - runny nose, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and other pains a toddler cannot yet name - Wesley seems to have turned the corner. He is talking and laughing and playing and eating and being his normal stubborn sweet self.

The Bad News: His miracle recovery came at 3:00 this morning when he began to demand juice and applesauce (which he doesn't even like). At 4:00 Wesley and Duane came downstairs and Wesley feasted on cheese and pears and more juice.

And now, a few words from the former sicky. 555555555555555555555555555555oi ip[;,kj jh6666665534211`wsxcvedwwwwwwwza2qqqq11111111111111111111111gggggggggggggggggggg.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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Diaper Check

I have never in my life been so happy to see a wet diaper. Never! At 8:30 last night we ended up calling the doctor (after hours) because Wesley was still having diarrhea and had not had a wet diaper in nearly 10 hours. We were so worried he was going to get dehydrated. The doctor said that if he didn't have a wet diaper by midnight, we were to take him to the emergency room. The midnight diaper check brought mixed opinions - Duane thought it was slightly wet, but I was sure it was dry. Since we couldn't agree (and Wesley was chugging pedialyte) we decided to wait until 6:00 when we got up. We decided that if Wesley's diaper wasn't noticeably wet, we'd go to Children's.

That sweet sweet boy woke up smiling and talking and with a squishy, wet diaper!!!!!!!! Everybody say YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Silver Lining

There is one semi-good thing about Wesley being sick. I am the parent he wants to hold him and take care of him. He crawled out of Duane's arms and toddled over to me tonight. That NEVER happens!

If the Baby Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy

ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!! I am so tired and frustrated right now, all I want to do is cry. Wesley is still sick - the sickest he has been in a very long time, and Duane is sick and I am tired and the doctor's office doesn't want to see Wesley because what he is going through is "normal," and ARGHHHHH!!!!

I'm staying home to be the mommy-nurse today. That means I get to change the million of diarrhea diapers, clean up vomit, offer pedialyte when all he wants is chocolate milk, give medicine and take his temperature every few hours. I hate that he feels like this and I hate being so helpless!!!!

Bedtime

I had nightmares about Wesley having a horrible transition to his toddler bed, but it hasn't happened that way at all. He loves his bed! Last night Wesley hopped down off of Duane's lap in the middle of a book, walked over to his bed and climbed in. Duane and I exchanged amazed glances, but quickly followed Wesley's lead. We barely got the words "Good night" out before Wesley said "Night!" and rolled over. The best part? He slept all night!! Wesley didn't want to get out of his bed this morning either. He sat in it and talked and visited with the cats and (most importantly) refused any offers of help getting out. What a big boy!

He's obviously feeling quite a bit better too. His runny nose has almost stopped so we are just dealing with sneezes, coughs and that lump. But if the boy is happy, I'm happy.

Not Another Cold!!!!

Wesley has yet another cold!!! I swear, I cannot keep this kid healthy lately. Last night was a nightmare. I thought he was going to go great in his new bed. He snuggled down under the blankets and with his head on the pillow like a pro, but he was whining and needed attention at 11:30, 2:30, 4:00 and we got up for the day at 4:30. UGH!!!!!

Even worse than the lack of sleep was how pathetic Wesley acted as Duane and I got ready for work this morning. Duane got Wesley dressed as I primped. When Duane put his coat on to leave, Wesley dissolved into tears and said "No Daddy work!" but Daddy had to work, which left Mommy with a teary, boogery toddler to pack up. As I was packing the diaper bag to take to Grandpa P., Wesley went into the laundry room and dug a pair of pajamas out of the laundry basket. "Want jammies," he cried, as he wiped his nose on my cardigan. The worst though was when he sat on the floor, crying and stammered "Tough baby!" See, whenever Wesley is upset or hurt or sick, I told him and tell him "I know, it's tough to be the baby." Little did I know it was really sinking in!

I left work at lunch took the afternoon as sick leave to be home with the boy. The doctor doesn't want to see him unless the lump on his neck (swollen gland) gets red or hot to the touch or if he spikes a fever. Wesley wouldn't let go of me - even though he said "Want Daddy" several times. We snuggled and slept on the couch all afternoon. Poor little boy. I hate this!! Anyone figure out a cure for the common cold yet?

Big Boy Room

We spent today transforming Wesley's room into a big boy room! Uncle Kirk and Aunt Susan came over and we spent the afternoon converting the crib to a toddler bed, putting down a new rug, adding new bedding, new valances, new switch plate, and all that junk. Wesley now has a jungle themed room. He loves to point at the animals on the rug and make all the appropriate animal noises for it.

Wesley was in love with Kirk and Susan being here. You know, I never thought I'd see that day my big brother was sitting on the floor playing Weebles with my little boy, but there it was! Wesley also loves that Uncle Kirk isn't afraid to toss him around like Daddy does - extra bonus! In fact, when Duane and Kirk ran to the grocery store, Wesley asked "Kirk? Kirk?"

Aunt Susan is the unofficial Wesley photographer and spoiler. She loves him to death and he loves showing off for her. Aunt Susan was introduced to Wesley's new favorite game - Blanket! Wesley likes to be covered up with a blanket while you "search" for him, then whip the blanket off and tickle him. I did the searching, while Aunt Susan hid with Wesley. Who would have known that Blanket is even more fun with two! Aunt Susan - that's who!

Need further proof that Wesley loved having his Aunt and Uncle around? We walked out to the front porch as they let and Wesley wouldn't take his eyes off them or the car until they had turned the corner and were out of sight. How sweet is that?

Give That Boy Some Prunes

In case you can't tell by the title of today's post, it contains potty humor and talk of bodily functions. Consider yourself warned!!

Poor Wesley was a little constipated yesterday. Unfortunately it became apparent while we were out to lunch with Grandma H. Wesley was sitting in his high chair and began grunting with his face turning bright red. I figured I'd just have a yucky diaper to change and it was not big deal, but then he started crying and saying "Poop! Poop!" over and over. I whisked him off to the bathroom to change him, but there was nothing in the diaper. Poor little guy. I dried his tears and we went back to the table to finish lunch.

Foolish Mommy assumed that our little episode was over then. Not even close! Since it was bright and sunny out, we decided to leave from the rear door of the restaurant and walk along the sidewalk in the sun. Of course, the wall we were walking along was entirely made of glass and was packed with people enjoying their lunch. I don't think we had taken more than 10 steps when Wesley turns bright red again and starts howling "Pooooooop! Poooooooooop!" right in front of two tables of ladies who were trying to eat! It was so embarrassing, but really funny too. Thank goodness the ladies found it humorous as well.

After we finished our errands I left Wesley at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s so Duane and I could go to a party. Grandma assured me that she'd give Wesley a snack of prunes to help him feel better. Sure enough, a few hours later Wesley told Grandma "Sit potty," so off they went to the bathroom and Wesley's potty. Too late! The prunes had already worked their magic and Wesley was covered with poop! Grandma and Grandpa cleaned him up, and put new pants on him. Before they could diaper him though,Wesley said he wanted to sit on the potty, so Grandma started walking him to the bathroom. Too late - they had a Wesley sprinkler in the kitchen! Isn't potty training great!?

Hungy Catpurr

Wesley received lots of new books from the Easter Bunny, but he has an obvious favorite - The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Wesley calls it "Hungy Catpurr" and he loves to read it! Actually, what he loves it for me to put his new caterpillar puppet on my hand and pretend to eat the food in the book. I have to be sure the caterpillar makes a satisfied "ahhhh" after each item though, or else Wesley will give me a look to let me know I'm not playing the game correctly. His favorite part of the book/game is to turn to the page that shows all the different food the caterpillar ate on Saturday. I usually say "How about a pickle?" and have the puppet eat the pickle picture. Wesley will reply "H'bout cheese?" so I'll have the caterpillar eat the cheese. Then I say "How about chocolate cake?" to which Wesley replies "H'bout cheese?" In Wesley's world the caterpillar's favorite food is cheese and he believes it should be eaten at every available opportunity. Sounds like a hungry Wesley-pillar to me!

Can You Hear Me Now?

Wesley called me at work yesterday! OK, not really, but close enough. He was playing with his kitchen phone and just jabbering away, talking a mile a minute. Grandma H. asked him who he was talking to and he replied "Mama work." Oh how I wish that little phone actually made calls. That would have brightened even the darkest day!

My Apologies

I want to apologize for my rather terse post yesterday. I was feeling completely overwhelmed with work, home and everything else on the planet. See, my day went something like this:

7:20 - leave the house to take Wesley to Grandma and Grandpa P.

8:00 - arrive at Grandma and Grandpa P.'s and try to coax Wesley inside

8:15 - leave and drive to a different library (further away to do interviews)

9:00 - first interview rather unimpressive

10:30 - second interview much better

12:15 - arrive back at work for several mini crisies

12:50 - leave for dr. appointment (why oh why did I schedule an appointment in which I would be weighed the day after a holiday?)

2:30 - return to work after my appointment and another meal in the Cafe Hyundai

2:30 - 4:00 continue with lots of little crisies that have to do with the schedule, various programs, training and everything else under the sun.

4:00 - meet with teen librarian (and very dear friend) which allows me to blow off some steam and feel like sanity really is within reach

4:50 - return to department to find director waiting for me to ask me a bunch of questions about the redesign that I don't have the immediate answers too.

5:10 - leave work late feeling totally and completely frustrated about conversation with director. Eat several cookies while sitting in traffic.

6:45 - eat a below average dinner from a box

7:15 - run to Target (which Wesley can now say) and speed shop

8:00 - veg in front of the TV, stewing about a comment that Duane made that I know I am blowing out of proportion and taking the wrong way, but can't help doing anyhow.

9:30 - go to bed in a foul mood.

So that explains my yucky mood yesterday without going into too many details. To make it up to you, here's a video of Wesley with a toy bunny on Easter. Wesley had been kissing it, but when I tried to do it for the camera, he left. I guess it didn't want me showing it to his date for the senior prom some day!

Hoppy Easter

I'm posting a day late and I'm in an extra cranky mood. I'm just going to say that yesterday was wonderful and we had a very happy holiday. Enjoy the pictures.

Let's Go Visiting

The W. family headed north today to visit Aunt Carol, cousin Al and another aunt and some cousins visiting from California. I almost feel sorry for them - you run a pretty big weather risk by visiting Ohio in April. As any Ohioan can tell you, April means it might be 80 degrees one day and snowing the next. That is exactly what happened this past week. My cousin Debbie said she packed her long underwear and her bathing suit because she wasn't sure what she'd need. Smart woman!!! On the bright side of things, she hadn't seen snow before, so that was kind of cool. She even managed a shovelful for a photo op (trust me it took all the snow in the drive to even look like a partial shovelful.)

Visiting with my aunts is always a treat. Aunt Carol has pretty much decided that Wesley is not only her great-nephew, he's also her honorary grandson. It's the only explanation I can come up with for how much she loves the little guy. She is always willing to chase him around, read a book to him, or shower him with gifts. She was prepared for Wesley's visit with a football, a light up toy, and some new books. Wesley was quite alright with that!

The women on the M. side of my family are talented in many things. They all played various instruments growing up, they danced, they all taught (or were certified to teach). These are some pretty impressive women. But let me tell you, NO ONE can shop like these women and we really really enjoy eating. If you can combine the two activities, well, you have some happy ladies on hand. So that's what we did!

Our first stop was Malabar Farm. They weren't running tours, so we spent a fair amount of time in the visitor's center and gift shop. Wesley was especially impressed with the large cow statue and bestowed many a kiss upon it. Aunt Carol bought Wesley a little stuffed bunny and the gift shop. He loved so much, that he dropped OSB for a few minutes to play with it! When we left, he put it on his lap and talked to it the entire drive to our next destination.

Kiss A Cow

Is some bunny following me?

As I said, shopping and eating makes us pretty darn happy, so we headed to the Dutch Heritage restaurant (excellent Amish style food and a kick butt gift shop upstairs). Unfortunately, Wesley was not as enthralled with the place as the rest of us. He ate a few peas, and then refused anything except bread and butter. Then he pretty much wandered the restaurant with one of the grownups in tow.

Chowing down with the family.

After dinner the ladies shopped while the guys went home and Wesley had a meltdown. Oh well, we can't all be perfect.

Okay

Wesley's new favorite word is "okay." He uses it in place of "yes," which is cute, but starting to drive me up a wall. Here's an example. Wesley is currently watching Dora on tv. Dora said something like "Will you help me find the (whatever)?" Wesley looked at the screen and very earnestly replied "Okay!"

How do I change this habit? I know he picked it up from us - although he did start saying it after spending the day with Grandma H. - so I'm trying to use "yes" in my conversations with him rather than saying "okay" all the time. Here's hoping he parrots it back to us.

Complicated Climb

Ever since Wesley climbed out of his pack and play on Monday, he is bound and determined to climb out of his crib. Much to his chagrin, he can get his foot up on the first rail, but not the second - which means he's stuck! At this point, he will start to yell "Up please! Up please! Up please!" as if asking nicely will somehow stretch his little body just a couple more inches. If I offer to help him, he'll sit down in a corner of his crib and flat out scowl at me while shaking his head.

I'm ready for the big move to the toddler bed before Wesley manages to climb out and bonks his head on his wood floor. I just wish the timing was better. We are heading out of town tomorrow, I work all day Saturday and we're going out Saturday night (which means Wesley will be getting to bed late anyhow) and Sunday is Easter. Maybe we'll make the move on Monday. But that means we have to get to Target and get rails for the bed (he rolls way too much not to have them) and doorknob covers so he can't escape his room in the night.

Then there is the decision as to which bed Wesley should have. Cathy has given up a super cute car shaped toddler bed, but Wesley's crib will also convert to a toddler day bed. We are debating whether or not Wesley will continue to be an only child. If we decide to have another child, we'd need the crib and have to switch him to the car bed. But if we start him in the car bed and decide NOT to have another child, what are we going to do with the convertible crib? I guess we could use it as stuffed animal storage until he's ready for a full size bed. Or we could convert it now and make it a guest bed?

This is just a small side trip into my slightly obsessive compulsive, type-A mind. I won't even begin to bore you with my internal debate on which room we should have Wesley in and whether his current room should stay his, stay a nursery in case we have another, or become a play room. The agony of being anal retentive!!!!

Toddler Triple Play (plus 1)

1) The Potty - Wesley is doing well with his "introduction" to the potty. As long as we sing songs and read books, he'd be fairly content to sit there all day. This morning, I had to pick him up off it so we could leave on time. Way to go Wesley! (No pun intended)

2) The Meltdown - I thought Wesley was pretty good at these before, but he has perfected them over the last few days. According to Grandma and Grandpa P., Wesley achieved an unprecedented four meltdowns today. What a record! Of course, one of those was when I was leaving for work. Wesley went limp and started screaming "Mama!" while tears ran from his eyes and snot ran from his nose. That's what I get for being home on vacation for nine days.

3) The Climb - One of the meltdowns today prompted Grandpa P. to place Wesley in his pack and play in hopes he would take a nap. Grandpa left a screaming Wesley in the bedroom and walked out to the kitchen to get a drink of water. A minute later, Wesley walked into the kitchen too. Grandma and Grandpa figured that Wesley had only climbed out because the pack and play was next to the bed. The next time they put him down for a nap, they moved the pack and play away from the bed - it didn't help. Wesley still climbed out.

(+1) The Door - Wesley really wanted to go outside today. He even opened Grandma and Grandpa's front door so they would take the hint.

Who would of thought this innocent little guy could cause so much trouble!?

Denied

How is it that kids learn how to withhold their affection when they want to make a point? I wiped Wesley's yucky nose and asked for a hug a minute later. Wesley HATES having his nose wiped and to make sure I got the message he looked at me, wrinkled his brow and said "No hug!" Ouch! Point taken.