July 2005

07/29/05

Tommy is 18 months old today!  Happy half-birthday little guy.

Captain Pajamas at 6:15 this morning.  He'd been up since 5:00 and woke David by pounding the paper towel roll on the counter.  Yeah, I could have stopped him.  Misery loves company!

So yesterday, Tommy was wandering around Target looking at stuff.  It was hot and I figured it would entertain him for a while.  He really enjoyed touching all the fuzzy pillows, etc.  He found the doll aisle and lay down on his tummy in front of the row of baby dolls.  "Baby!" he said.  Then he squat-walked down the row, stopping to kiss each baby doll.  Somebody needs to buy that boy a doll!  (I didn't because I'd promised myself we could only wander around Target if I didn't buy anything.)  I recounted this story to David last night and when I said we should buy him a doll he rolled his eyes and said, "sure" in that non-committal way of his.  I immediately launched into crazed fishwife mode, burning glares of death and everything.  He did say yes, just not enthusiastically enough for me at 10 pm.  I made the requisite "you wouldn't refuse to buy a girl a dump truck" argument and threatened to make him read William's Doll.  Poor David.  

07/27/05

TV as a teaching tool. (see yesterday's post)

After dinner playtime with Daddy.

My exceptionally intelligent husband has been teaching Tommy how to climb into his crib.  Yeah.  That's smart.  Can you believe he has a Ph.D. and does research at the national labs?  Luckily, Tommy can't quite get his leg over the top by himself.  He also still sleeps in a sleep sack so he can't even begin to try climbing out.  He's currently wearing the biggest size they make though, so we'll have to consider moving him out of the crib soon.

07/26/05

Tidbits...

• Tommy is feeling somewhat better today.  He's still moving kind of slow, but I think he's about over whatever it was that made him sick.
• I was in the other room yesterday when Tommy started calling out for "help!"  He does this anytime he can't quite do something and needs some help.  I'm so proud that asks for help instead of just getting really frustrated and melting down.  I went to him and discovered that he had figured out how to release one tab on his diaper.  He'd managed to get his diaper down around one ankle and wanted help getting it all the way off.  He was so disappointed when I "helped" by putting it back on instead of taking it off.  "No, no, no...", he muttered.
• He's almost ready to use his own name for himself.   He frequently hides among the shirts hanging on a low bar in my closet.  We usually call out "Where's Tommy?" and pretend we can't find him when he does this.  He's started calling out "Tommy!" in response to our question.
• He's decided he doesn't like it when I sing.  I guess I've done it too much when I want him to calm down or go to sleep.  As soon as I start humming or singing he tells me, "No no!"  He just did it to the checkout clerk at the grocery store this morning too.  This clerk always hums while he's checking us out and Tommy wanted him to stop.  Luckily, I don't think the man figured out what Tommy was trying to tell him.
• The other night, it started to rain while Tommy was in the bathtub.  We have a skylight in that bathroom, so the rain patter was quite loud.  Tommy loved it.  He sat very still during his entire bath listening to the rain.  He frequently goes into that bathroom now looking for the rain.  
• He's really starting to pick up on phrases and expressions, especially from TV shows.  (As an aside, one of David's co-workers thinks we're bad parents for letting Tommy watch TV, and thinks he's going to grow up to be a bully because of it.  Sigh.  It's really hard to stay confident as a parent when so many people who don't even really know us openly criticize like that!)  His latest are all from an episode of Little Bear that I taped for him.  He crawls around growling like a bear.  He marches around the room playing his wooden recorder.  He puts one finger to the side of his face and asks, "Be?" (his version of "What could it be?").  He's picked up on the words "dragon" and "kingdom", and says them frequently.

07/25/05

Poor Tommy.  He has his first stomach bug.  We've been really lucky so far -- 18 months without vomiting or diarrhea.  We've still managed to avoid the vomiting, but we've changed LOTS of diapers in the last 36 hours.  I may even have to buy a new tube of Desitin soon.  We're still using the tube we bought before he was born, but it's almost gone in this current battle against diaper rash.  Poor baby.

07/23/05

Jury Duty Update (This is about breastfeeding, so consider yourself forewarned.)

My jury duty service begins August 17th.  This is problematic for me since I'm still breastfeeding and Tommy is very Mommy-oriented.  He doesn't nurse all that often now that he's done teething, but if I were to be away 9-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, it would be a huge shock to him.  Plus, I'd be very uncomfortable going that long without nursing -- seriously painful engorgement, possible mastitis, plummeting hormone levels leading to uncontrollable sobbing.  I just hadn't been able to decide what I should do.  Should I absolutely try to get excused because that would be the least traumatic for Tommy?  Should I give it a try because it sounds interesting to get out of the house and do something different?  Should I trust the letter that tells me that jurors often only serve 1/2 days, which would alleviate almost all the potential problems?  Should I take this as an opportunity to  daytime wean him (not bedtime or first thing in the morning), and purposefully stay away all day leaving David to deal with the fallout?

 I've been stewing and worrying and obsessing about this for over a month now.  I guess that's pretty typical for me.  Do I make an absolute decision?  No.  Do I stop waffling and worrying about the options I don't pick?  No.  Do I stop thinking and actually do something?  No.  It's so strange that I'm like this now that I'm a parent.  I've always thought of myself as a pretty decisive person.  Sure, I've always been a worrier, but I've also had strong opinions that helped me make a decision and stick to it.  Parenting is so different because there are usually multiple paths you can take and all the options are equally valid depending on your perspective.  I guess there is such a thing as a mind that's too open.  I can see the point behind all the parenting choices and then become paralyzed because I can't decide which one is best for me and David and Tommy.  I have a friend who was always very decisive as a parent, and the fact that I can't be like her frustrates me to no end.  Almost any choice I make is going to be OK, because I'm a loving, thoughtful parent.  It's not like I'm going to decide that he's only going to drink Coke and eat Doritos from now on.  It's just a decision between committing to Extended Nursing, with its well-documented physical and emotional benefits for toddlers, or deciding to wean him now so that I can have a bit more freedom and move onto the next stage of parenting, something the majority of American mothers do long before 18 months.  Simple right?  No.  

So I finally decided to call and ask them to excuse me.  I hate confrontation, but I also hate being pushed into doing something before I'm ready (like weaning...or sleep training).  Turns out, the lady I talked to was really nice.  She said I could decide to be excused at any time, especially since I have a letter from our pediatrician outlining all the benefits of Extended Nursing.  Then we started chatting about jury duty in general and she assured me that I will not ever need to serve longer than 1/2 a day.  All that worrying was totally pointless.  They'll work with me to make it possible for me to serve without over-stressing Tommy or myself.  I get the fun of doing something different and can completely ignore the weaning decision.  Yay!  I know, avoiding a decision isn't the same as making a decision, but at least I can stop worrying about it for now.  There will probably be a time when it just makes sense to wean Tommy.  He'll naturally stop needing the comfort of nursing so much, or I'll have a strong, positive incentive to do it before a trip or something like that, and the rest will follow naturally.  I don't really expect to still be nursing him when he's 3 or 4, but then again I didn't plan to nurse him much longer than a year and look where I am now.   

07/21/05

Note to self -- Don't let Tommy eat unlimited amounts of dried cherries ever again. The results cannot be contained by one wimpy diaper.

***********

I'd just vacuumed.

07/20/05

The claim that Tommy is doing representational art has been confirmed.  He was scribbling with a black crayon yesterday and I asked him what it was.  His answer was "Baa Baa" ...as in Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Toga! Toga!

07/19/05

Here are two stories that I'll tie together by saying that manipulation is highly underrated.

It was so hot yesterday that we really didn't feel like doing anything.  The monsoon season has started, but it's still too early for the temperature to have dropped much.  This means that we have cooling rains for 15 minutes or so most evenings, but the highs during the day are still in the upper 90s and the slightly increased humidity makes the swamp cooler less efficient.  I really needed to put away the laundry that was piled on our bed, but both David and I were too hot to move.  Tommy, however was whizzing around like a maniac, excited that Daddy was home and begging to be tossed onto the bed over and over.  We decided to re-direct that energy.  I sat in my closet and David lounged on the bed.  Tommy would run over to David to get a piece of my clothing and then would carry it over to me as fast as he could run.  We did this until all my clothes were put away, and then moved onto David's closet.  Tommy was so disappointed when we finished that I moved into his bedroom.  Tommy ran back and forth between the two bedrooms until all of his clothes were put away too.  By that time, he was so tired he was stumbling and bumping into walls, but all the clothes were put away and Tommy seemed to have lots of fun. 

We were reading Joseph Had a Little Overcoat last week when Tommy accidentally tore one of the pages.  He likes to put his fingers in the cut-outs on each page, and it's easy to tear them.  He was quite upset by the tear, and kept saying "Oh no!" so I decided to fix it right then instead of waiting.  I got out my library book tape (once a librarian, always a librarian), and he watched intently as I repaired the tear.  Ever since then, he's asked for "Tape!" whenever we read the book.  Yesterday we were reading the book and he was going on and on about "Tape!" throughout the whole story.  I kept saying "no" and continued reading.  Then he reached for a cut-out and deliberately pulled too hard so that the page started ripping.  He immediately stopped so that there was just a very small tear, jumped up, ran into the office, grabbed the book tape, and ran back to the room in triumph.  "Tape!"  He got what he wanted.  He watched while I repaired the book, commenting "Ooo!" and "Yay!" and "Tape!" continuously.  I've hidden the book tape, and I think we'll wait a couple of weeks before we read the book again.

I was flossing my teeth and Tommy wanted to try too.  He "flossed" for at least an hour.  How's that for oral hygiene!  I panicked a little when I couldn't find the floss an hour later, but I'm pretty sure he didn't swallow it.  At least I hope he didn't.

07/18/05

What we hope Tommy was thinking:  "My parents are so cool!  They let me crunch and stomp and throw and run through these styrofoam thingies." 

What he was probably thinking:  "My evil plan is working!  They actually believe it's OK for me to make a big mess as long as I'm having fun!"

07/17/05

David and I went to a movie TOGETHER yesterday.  We've always loved going out to movies, and see about 2-3 a month.  Since Tommy was born, though, we've always taken turns going out and staying home with Tommy.  It was really nice to do one of our favorite mindless summer activities together again.  Our friends Dan & Cindy brought their daughter Claudia over to play with Tommy while we went out.  We're going to try doing a babysitting exchange.  Of course, I forgot to ask them to take pictures of the kiddos playing together.  I'll take some when we do our turn babysitting next month. 

Captain Pajamas is so happy now that he's finished the latest round of teething.  Three hour afternoon naps also contribute to his happiness.

Getting the pajamas and diaper off is easy.  Putting a new diaper and clothes on?  Not so much.  It's a miracle that I ever get any pictures of him wearing clothes.

07/15/05

Tommy's Phrases-of-Cuteness (Yes, I know my use of commas in this is probably all wrong.  I thought about looking up the rules on commas but decided it wasn't important enough.  Try not to cringe too much, Lori. J )

• I walk into his dark room after he's been sleeping and he says, "See me?"
• For emphasis, but without real meaning, he'll cry out "I know!"  I'm pretty sure he picked this up from me.
• When looking at the fish tank he says, "Fish swimming."  Then he does a fish lips face and makes the mop-mop fish sound.
• Counting is now "Two. Two. Two." instead of "Nee Nee Nee."
• Running into the house, naked and wet from playing in his pool, he slows down marginally as he steps on the tile and says "Slippery!"
• I say "I'm gonna get you!" when chasing him around the house.  After he collapses, worn out and giggling, he very seriously says, "Got me."

This picture is a tribute to David.  Tommy's dropping rocks into the pool.  It must be an innate activity passed down from father to son.  When David was a small boy in the Philippines, he and his friend Jigger got into big trouble for ruining a well by dropping rocks and fruit pits into it.

07/14/05

I broke out the markers for the first time today.  As expected, Tommy loves them.  He's doing really well at following all the rules necessary to keep our household surfaces marker-free.  After about 20 minutes of drawing, he was scribbling quite intently with the orange.  He looked up at me and said, "Dino!" and went back to scribbling.  I asked him if he was drawing a dinosaur, and he said "yep!" quite emphatically.  Then he picked up the red and started scribbling on another area of the paper.  I asked him if  it was another dinosaur and he said, "No.  Apple."  I'm so proud!  Representational art before 18 months!  Everything he's drawn since then has been a dinosaur so he must be stuck on that idea.  Neither David or I have ever drawn a dinosaur for him, although we do draw lots of other things on demand.  Mine usually look a bit wonky, but Tommy doesn't care.

He looks a lot like David in this picture.

07/12/05

Lessons of the day... 

  Even if you don't like finger painting, you should ask to do it frequently.  Why?  Because if you put your feet in the paint you'll get to sit in the sink and play.  Five minutes of finger painting gets you thirty minutes of play in the sink.  Water is fun!

  Cotton balls are also fun.  I have a bag of my own.  If you empty a big bag of cotton balls on your table you get a nice place to lie down.  It's soft and you can pretend to sleep.  Mommy won't lie on the table with you though.  She's doesn't fit.

07/11/05 -- later

Here are just a few of the official pictures from Ben's wedding.  They were taken by their wedding photographer and are copyrighted.  Ben said it was OK for me to post them.

07/11/05

Tommy was pointing at the fruit bowl saying all the names of the fruits.  I set him on the counter so he could choose what he wanted.  Unfortunately, toddlers are not so good at making definitive choices.  He took bites out of almost every piece of fruit in the bowl, even the avocado and tomato.  Luckily we're towards the end of a grocery week so there wasn't as much for him to destroy as there could have been.  He certainly had lots of fun and I have a nice big bowl of fruit salad in the fridge from all the bits he didn't eat.  So was this a good idea or a bad idea?

07/07/05

We seem to be moving into the home stretch with the current round of teething.  Three of the four canines are through the gum and his mood has noticeably improved.  There has been a 90% reduction in screaming and a 50% increase in independent play the last couple of days. (All numbers approximate!)  His Mr. Potato Head creations look a little strange -- eyes in the arm holes, etc -- but at least he's playing intently on his own again.  I did have to step in when he insisted the feet should fit into Mr. Potato Head's Butt Compartment.  Toddler spatial skills and Cartwright/Epp stubbornness can lead to frustration... which can lead to screaming if not properly managed.  

07/05/05

We spent a lovely Independence Day with our friends at Eric & Karen's house last night.  Tommy sat in the middle of the patio eating meat sticks (gack), strawberries, carrots and cantaloupe, while we sat in chairs and ate some great kabobs and other grown up food.  Tommy had lots of fun playing with all the "big kids," rolling around in the grass (no chiggers here!), kicking his soccer ball around, and hamming it up for the attentive audience.   

Karen and I took Tommy to the aquarium and botanic gardens today (yes, again, we go there a lot).  It was kind of a random outing -- a celebration of Tommy's 6:30 wake up time this morning as opposed to the 4:30-5:00 wake up time he's had since the Kansas trip. 

We didn't spend much time at all in the gardens since it was already hot, but we did take him into the butterfly enclosure.  He didn't really pay attention to the butterflies this time, but he examined all the running water, smelled all the flowers and sat on all the benches.

  Yes, he's wearing red socks.  It's laundry day.

As usual, he loved the aquarium.  It's small enough that he can run back and forth through the whole thing a few times in less than an hour.  His favorite parts this time were the clown fish (Nemo of course), the sharks and the sea turtles.  

One very small boy and some very large fish.   

 After the aquarium, we sat by his favorite fountain for a banana bread snack.

07/03/05

Resting after a hot day. (Yes, the TV is on.)

Finger painting.  He didn't really like it, and kept wanting us to wipe his hands clean with paper towels.  This was our first attempt though, so maybe he'll like it once he becomes more accustomed to the idea.  

He was much happier after we washed his hands and got the crayons and colored pencils out.

Can I hold that pencil in my toes?  Yes I can! 

07/01/05

Important questions...

Couscous.  Why do they always love the messy foods?

Why read books when you can stack them?

What does an owl say?

Stomping on this stuff is fun, but where are the bubbles?

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