All About the Grandpas

Wesley has added another new word to his ever increasing vocabulary. He now says "Pa" for grandpa. Wesley spent yesterday with Grandma and Grandpa P. When it was time for a nap, Grandma laid down with Wesley and left the door open a crack. After a while, Grandpa peeked in to see if the boy was sleeping. Wesley saw him, sat up and said "Pa!"

What is impressive to me is that fact that Wesley seems to recognize that he has two grandpas. He pointed at Grandpa H. the other day and said "Pa" as well. Today as we were walking up the drive to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s, I told Wesley that Grandma would be waiting inside. Wesley stopped in his tracks, looked at me and said "Pa." He only started moving again when I told him Grandpa would also be there. Too cute!

Baby OCD

Is 16 months too young to start exhibiting signs of OCD? Wesley gets onto something and becomes obsessed with it. Lately it has been a new game that we play called "Round He Goes." Basically, I sit in the middle of the floor and chant "Round and round and round he goes. Where he stops nobody knows" while clapping the beat. Wesley runs around me in a circle giggling the whole time. He will play this game for a good 20 minutes before it starts to get old. But if I stop clapping, he'll stop running, grab my hands and force them apart and together in a clapping motion. If I'm not clapping, he's not running. A little OCD?

Wesley has another motion he had to repeat tonight. Wesley got to watch a Dora DVD while Duane started dinner. When the DVD was over, Wesley grabbed Duane by the finger and led to the television chanting "dee dee dee" (Wesley speak for DVD). He must have done it ten times before giving up and seeing if Mommy was an easier touch. I wasn't. After about a dozen more tries, Wesley took me to the television one more time. He pointed to the television and said "No." It finally sunk in and Mommy and Daddy are both still sane.

Just Eat!

How come parents have so many hang-ups about food? We worry about what our kids are eating, if they are eating enough, if they are eating the right food. We try almost everything under the sun to get them to eat and freak out if they don't. Don't worry. I'm no exception. I have freaked out when Duane gave Wesley an entirely orange snack (orange cheese, mandarin oranges, cheese flavored crackers and, tangerine juice.) Which brings me to my bad mommy confession - part 2.

I keep saying I'm not going to fight with Wesley about food. Yeah, right. Wesley has not been eating very well the last few days (she says after he ate a ton of pita and hummus yesterday.) Breakfast has been particularly trying, so this morning I gave him something completely different - cornbread with butter and honey. He really enjoyed about 3/4 of it, then crumbled the rest on the floor. He didn't want his banana and barely touched his yogurt. Lunch was the same - not interested in his spaghetti, cottage cheese,veggies or fruit.

All he wants is juice. I try to give him milk, but he says "No, no, no. Juice." I'm trying not to give him more than one juice/water combo a day, but Duane just says "Juice is good for you too." Wesley used to only want milk and now I can barely get him to drink it! Oh, there is something he wants as much as juice - his hands. He's been chewing on them and sucking on them something terrible. He has two bottom teeth coming in and I think they are really bothering him, but he's going to end up with hickeys on his hands if he isn't careful.

Dinner was no better. Wesley did pretty well eating fish when we were on vacation this summer. I gave him some fish, black beans and peaches for supper. He tried a black bean and spit it out (twice,) tried the fish and then scraped it off his tongue (twice,) and dropped his peaches on the floor. He jammed his hands in his mouth and starting crying for juice and a cheese sandwich. I didn't relent on the juice, but I did go into the kitchen to make a sandwich for him (bad mommy). The only problem was that we didn't have bread. So Wesley got a cheese quesadilla, which was not what he wanted. He ate a little bit of bit, then began munching on his hands again.

I wanted something in his tummy and I wanted to relieve the (perceived) pain from teething. Duane and I wanted to hold off on the medicine until bedtime, so for the second time in his life, Wesley had ice cream for dinner (bad mommy). Please don't tell our pediatrician!

Bad Mommy

Duane went to play cards with the guys tonight, leaving me and Wesley to have a night on our own. Did I embrace this for the wonderful thing it is? No. I took this as an opportunity to get some things done and I feel bad about it. I did the grocery list and menus for next week, which is no small feat when you have a toddler pulling on your hand saying "Mama. Mama. Mama." When I did get up and walk with him, he'd take me to the computer, push me towards the chair and demand "Nanoo." Toddlers don't grasp the concept of "later." I didn't feel bad about putting off his computer time, but I did feel a little guilty about doing the grocery list. Apparently he felt bad about that too because he finally quit pulling on my hand - at least long enough to bite it!

We played for awhile and then I did something else to make me feel guilty. I popped a train DVD in for him so I could stretch out on the couch and finish reading a book that is overdue (double guilt.) It was a great book, but I knew he had watched a lot of TV, and I did it anyway.

Why do I feel guilty for taking a little time for me when Wesley is awake? That can't be a completely bad thing, can it?

He DOES Love Me

I'm sooooo happy!!! Wesley cried when I left him at Aunt Melissa's today! I know, that sounds like a really warped thing to say, but he never cries when I leave. When Duane leaves the house, Wesley has a full blown melt down, but when I leave it's more like, "OK. Bye Mom!" Not today. Today he followed me to the door, started whining and then the tears began to fall. I practically skipped down the stairs. How warped does that sound?

The icing on the cake was the report from Duane that while at Aunt Melissa's house, Wesley looked out the door, pointed and said "No Mama." He missed me! I'm on cloud nine!

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

Playtime with Gus!

What's That Smell?

Don't worry, it's not Wesley's diaper - it's his teddy bear (AKA Stinky Bear.) Duane and I managed to avoid the whole pacifier thing; Wesley never would take one. We don't have to have blankie with us at every moment; it's helpful but not needed. But look out if we don't have his teddy bear!

Wesley has always been a "tag" kid. He loves to chew on the tags of animals, clothes, towel, whatever. It used to be that one tag was as good as another, but no more. Now it has to be the tag on his Stinky Bear. I couldn't find SB on Sunday when it was time to go to church. We tried subsituting a different stuffed toy, but Wesley pitched a fit! I ended up tearing apart his room to find SB so we could go.

Why do we call Wesley's favorite comfort object "Stinky Bear?" Well, Wesley sucks on the tag pretty much from the time he gets up to the time he goes to bed. SB can't be in the crib because Wesley gags himself on the tag in his sleep. Frank is the bedtime buddy. Anyhow, the teddy bear ends up with drool, food, dirt, snot and who knows what else on it, leaving a nice smelly, crust around the tag. We wash bear a couple times a week, but he really needs washed a couple times a day. Trust me, SB has a very distinct odor.

Lately I've had this panic that SB will fall apart in the wash. He's in great shape still, but I'm so tempted to go buy several of them - just in case! Is that a bad thing?

ARGH!!!!

I can't believe I lost sleep for the National Championship football game last night. Wesley stayed overnight with Grandma and Grandpa H. since we had friends coming over. I wish he had been here, because then I would have had a real reason to go hide - you know "taking care of the kid." What can I say, the game was painful to watch, put me in a rotten mood and the party broke up before the game was actually over. Just frustrating.

Oh well, I get my little boy back this evening and that ought to perk me right up. Add in our standing Tuesday Lunch Date (me and Wesley) and I'm sure I'll forget all about that game (I hope)

Someone Card This Kid

Wesley is lying about his age already! This morning Grandma and Grandpa P. and I were trying to get Wesley to put one finger up in the air for "Buckeyes are number one!" He wasn't in the mood to play our games though. Sometimes he'll show you the number one if you ask how old he is. So I held up one finger and asked him, "Wesley, how old are you? Are you one?" Wesley looked at me and promptly replied "Two." A few hours later, Grandpa P. sent me the following picture. I guess we need to start checking his baby wallet for a fake ID.

Vocabulary Explosion

I cannot believe how Wesley's vocabulary has taken off in the last week! It's not uncommon for him to have several new words a day now and he parrots everything we say. He's also getting to the point where you don't have to be fluent in toddler to understand what he is saying. We were at the store today and Wesley was saying "a-pool" in the produce section. The guy stocking the produce, grabbed an apple, gave it to Wesley and said "You want an apple? Here you go little buddy!"

Contrary to the way the picture below looks, Wesley has not added the word "Mine" to his vocabulary -yet!

A Me Day

I owe my wonderful hubby lots for allowing me to have a total "me" day! While he stayed home with the boy, I went with my mom, and Susan to a fund-raiser called "ChickLit and Chocolate." You know you are in for a good afternoon when you walk in the very first thing people want to do is give you brownies, a chair massage and sign you up for a drawing for a cruise! We drank chocolate martinis, ate chocolate fondue, hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, baked brie and rumaki. We shopped at a couple artists booths, we listened to Clare Cook (author of Must Love Dogs) talk, and listed to the author of "Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight." We bought books, got autographs, laughed and ate more chocolate. It was WONDERFUL!!!!

After gorging myself on chocolate and girl time, Duane and I went to Shadowbox with several of our friends. I was exhausted, but it was a very fun evening. I barely saw the boy, but sometimes I need to be "Heather" instead of "Mommy." I can be Mommy again tomorrow.

Just Say No

It's official! We have a toddler! Wesley discovered the word "No" this week. So far, we've been lucky and he hasn't really used it in defiance, but we know that time is fast approaching.

On Wednesday Wesley spent the day with Grandma H. Grandma has a tall skinny lamp that Wesley loves to shake. He has been told no numerous times by Mommy, Grandma and Daddy. Wesley knows he isn't allowed to shake the lamp. On Wednesday, he went over to the lamp and ran his hand up and down it. He checked to see if Grandma was watching him. She was and Wesley immediately said "No". "That's right, no" replied Grandma. "No," Wesley repeated - then viciously shook the lamp.

Yesterday, Wesley was standing in front of our video shelves. We have been trying very hard to keep Wesley from pulling all the videos off the shelves. Every time we see him in that corner we tell him "No" and move him away. When I saw Wesley standing in front of the shelves, I asked him "Wesley, are you supposed to be over there?" He looked at me and said "No," before moving away! Definite progress!

There is such a thing as too much progress though. This morning I asked Wesley if we should change his diaper. It was meant as a hypothetical question, but Wesley promptly replied - "No."

Stains Your Teeth

Wesley is currently a little crayon challenged. Oh he can say "crayon" and "color" and even manages to turn out a few scribbled masterpieces. The problem is that crayons look so delicious to him. He's content to color or take the crayons in and out of the box for awhile but then he gets this overwhelming urge to taste them. First he'll bring the crayon to his mouth a few times and check to see if I'm watching. "Yucky!" I'll say, and he'll lower the crayon for a few minutes before trying again. Sooner or later he'll get the crayon into his mouth. Then comes the moment when he discovers that crayons don't taste as good as they look. Yesterday he burst into tears and threw the yellow crayon across the room when the taste disappointed him. I just hope we don't have to sample all the colors before learning not to eat the Crayolas!

Computer Virus

Wesley seems to have come down with a computer virus that is making the rounds among toddlers in our area. It's called Nogginitis. Whenever the computer is on, Wesley believes it should be showing Noggin videos and nothing else. Sometimes the computer doesn't even have to be on. He'll walk over to it, grab the mouse and say "Na-noo," which is Wesley speak for Noggin. Ah, the power of Moose and Zee, Dora, Jack's Big Music Show and Move to the Music.

Where to Librarians Go on Their Day Off?

To the library, of course!!! I didn't intend to go to the main library today. Grandma H. and I planned to go to COSI, but because their levy didn't pass they are only open Weds - Sun. and we forgot that important bit of info. Oh well. We had a great time at the library. They have a ton of stuff for Wesley to do!

Our first stop was the fish tank. Wesley had a great time looking at all the fish. He even tried to kiss them. Um...YUCK!!!!

Then we checked out the hidey holes in the tree.

It's much cooler to hide in the tree without Mommy!

We checked out the decor too. Who's been stepping on my rug?

Wesley is suddenly very into "choo choos" so the train table was a big hit!

Wesley was sure to give all the little girls a peek at his domesticated side as he fed the baby doll pretend baby food. What a good little daddy!

You can't go to the library without finding a cozy spot to read. What a great afternoon!

Happy New Year

Man, that was some party last night! That's the last time we celebrate New Years at my crib!

Out With the Old

Time to close out 2006. We spent yesterday putting all the Christmas things away. My January decorations were brought up from the basement and I'll probably put them up today - even though snowmen in 60 degree weather just seems wrong. I think we're going to move the furniture today too. Duane has some master plan of how the front room should work, so we're going to give it a try.

No huge plans for New Years Eve. We were invited to a party, but no babysitter means a night at home. I have grand plans to cook a gourmet dinner for me and Duane. I'm really excited about it, but it would have been cheaper to go out!!! Oh well, I think we deserve a heck of a celebration!!

See you in the new year!!

16 Months!

The big news in Wesley's part of the world today is a new word - "apple", or as Wesley says, "a-pool." The other day Grandma H. and I were saying "apple" while Wesley ate some chunks of cooked apple. Once he started saying "apple," Grandma showed him a yellow apple. OK, fine. He can say apple. But today he brought me a red plastic apple and said "a-pool!" What a smart kid if I do say so myself. I'm not going to declare him a genius quite yet. He was eating brie and kept calling it cottage cheese, so I guess we still have some work to do.

Stay at Home Mom (for a Day)

I have a comp. day from work today, so I'm pretending to be a stay at home mom. Except for the meltdown first thing this morning, we've had a great day! We went to Target to pick up some things and checked out the after Christmas sales. I didn't buy too much, but did pick up some Sesame Street ornaments for Wesley's tree and a couple pairs of pants for him. It was so nice to just look around and know I didn't have to buy more Christmas gifts (at least for another year!)

I bought Wesley some crayons and a pad of paper, so after lunch we had some quality coloring time. This is the first time Wesley and I have really colored together (I know - slacker!) He was so cute! He'd take each crayon and barely touch it to the paper before picking up a different color and repeating the process. I plan on saving our jointly created art work from today.

We've spent a lot of time putting Christmas gifts away and rediscovering our goodies from that day. Wesley has been playing with everything on and off, but right now he is focusing his attention on TMX Elmo. Wesley still isn't real sure about the laughing, but he's currently dragging it around by it's arm and trying to make Elmo sit in his truck. Looks like Wesley and Elmo are going to be buddies one way or another.

Merry Christmas Achoo!

Never mind what the songs say. I don't want a hippopotamus, my two front teeth or even snow for Christmas. I wish my guys felt better. Duane has spent today sounding like a frog and poor Wesley has had boogers running down his face and a big ol' cough all day long. Not exactly the recipe for the merriest of Christmases.

It was a fairly sleepless night for all of us. We rolled out of bed at 7:00 - probably the standard time Christmas morning begins for families with young children. I popped the traditional Christmas casserole in the oven and we staggered into the living room to find goodies from Santa pouring out of our stockings. Wesley perked up considerably when he discovered his dog ornament that barks "Jingle Bells." The maracas were also a big hit. I was so glad to see him smiling and not looking miserable for a few minutes! Other hits included a car sent by his cousins in Seattle and the dark chocolate candy bars that Santa left for Daddy. At least we know the kid has good taste!

Duane and I enjoyed a breakfast of casserole and scones while Wesley refused to eat anything except a banana, then we got ready to go to Grandma W.'s. Wesley was stuffy and sleepy by the time we arrived, and Grandma wasn't feeling too hot herself. Uncle Doug, Aunt Melissa, Aunt Judy and I got the food and table ready while Duane held Wesley (who refused to be put down). Wesley did manage to eat some lunch - mostly mashed potatoes and "cracks" (crackers) but as long as he was eating, I didn't care if it wasn't a balanced meal.

Wesley's mood quickly deteriorated after we ate. No one could hold him except Duane or he screamed. Every time I tried to take him so Duane could help with the dishes or unwrap a gift or put together a toy for Mark Robert, Wesley would go limp and scream. By the time we left Wesley was doing nothing but whining and crying. I felt pretty much the same way. I had a very large headache from the boy's cries and the fact that he had been on a search and destroy mission. Add in the extreme rejection I faced from Wesley all day and I was on the verge of tears. I just don't understand why I don't exist to him if Duane is around. Everyone tells me it's a phase, but it's been a phase for 16 months now and it's starting to pierce my heart.

Wesley fell asleep in the car on the way to Grandma and Grandpa P.'s. We managed to get him into his pack and play for a nap and I soothed my bruised ego with a couple glasses of Lambrusco and the delicious nibbles Grandma had prepared. By the time Wesley woke up I was feeling a little less sorry for myself, even if he did still want Daddy and only Daddy. Wesley nibbled some cheese and "cracks" and fudge until it was time to open gifts.

Wesley is quite possibly the luckiest boy around. Not only does he have tons of family in town that love him, but apparently they see it as their personal mission in life to spoil him. Wesley might have held onto his little Dora the Explorer figurines all evening, but I was stunned by two of his presents. Grandpa has been on a mission to get Wesley a TMX Elmo since about September. He has had people in other cities looking for them. He and Grandma went to separate stores at 5:00 AM the day after Thanksgiving looking for one. He even had Wesley's 16 year old cousin Aaron on the lookout. Well, all that perseverance (and some time on e-bay) paid off and Wesley now has a TMX Elmo. I think he's a little apprehensive of it when it's laughing, but when it was standing still, Wesley hugged it and gave it a kiss.

I was completely blown away by another gift Wesley received. Grandpa MADE Wesley a beautiful rocking horse. I mean, it is gorgeous!! I know my jaw hit the floor when the cover was pulled off it. I know Wesley doesn't understand yet, but it's something that his children and grandchildren will love too. My eyes tear up just thinking about all the work and love that toy represents. I pray Wesley will always know how much he means to his Grandpa. Wesley didn't want to sit on the horse, but he petted it a few times and said "Nice" so I think he likes it!

Wesley spent the rest of the evening watching the "choo choo" around the tree and dragging Mommy up and down the stairs about 17 times. Apparently I am not good enough to hold him, but stair climbing is in my job description. It was a terrific evening and by the time we got home, Wesley was fast asleep.

I can't believe Christmas is over. I can't believe how incredibly blessed our family is and how much love we receive. Thank you all for being the wonderful people you all and I hope your Christmas was as happy and merry as could be!