A Mouthful

Baby Z is working on some molars. Man, it looks painful to see all that tooth pushing through. I like to think that some crabbiness lately could be due to those molars. That feels better than the alternative and probably more likely reason that he is just becoming a toddler. He is finding his own way and you are going to take him there, or else.

An upside to Baby Z's toddler-ness is a new ability to eat real food. I mentioned previously that I couldn't get him to eat fruit. Little bits of apple and pear practically made him shiver in disgust. And then, this weekend, we were at my in-law's and Obaachan gave him a big hunk of apple (about half an apple with the skin off). He chowed down on that chunk like he had never tasted anything so good. I am so pleased that his fruit reportoire has now doubled - bananas and apples - that I didn't even mind that it was his grandmother and not me who figured it out. It takes a village, right?

Martha Stewart Craps

Oh, I mean Martha Stewart Crafts....
But, jeesh, I'm frustrated. I bought this little kit for making a cloth baby book with little iron-on animal decals. It was going to be a precious hand-made gift for a friend having a baby. It is now not good enough to give to my Mom's dog.

First, the instructions were less than clear. It talked all about putting the iron on for 30 seconds and said absolutely nothing about pulling the clear plastic backing off after doing so! So, perhaps this is such an obvious thing that anyone with the remotest crafting ability would have figured it out. My husband apparently has more crafting ability than I. He figured out you were supposed to remove the plastic backing after I commented that the plastic seemed to be coming up and that didn't seem very safe for a baby. (Duh. I know.) But, come on, Martha, cut us mere mortals a break! Give us some detailed instructions!

Besides the minimal instructions, the animals are made up of delicate, adorable parts such as chicken feet, doggy noses, curly pig tales. These were the equivalent of open-heart surgery in the iron-on world. And not a word of advice or admonishment on the instructions, such as "Peel back the plastic backing from the largest area of the animal first, leaving the delicate bits for last..."

Okay, I feel better after venting. For your pity or entertainment, here are the saddest 4 little puppies - one without hind legs and one without a nose. My Mom's dog is a dachsund, which is why I can't even give it to her. Sigh. Maybe I can use it with Baby Z and teach him in a sensitive manner about those who are physically disabled.

This Is What I've Become

Last night I had a moment of self realization. I was trying to clean up dinner quickly while Baby Z was alternating between getting into things he's not supposed to and grabbing onto my pant legs so I will help him walk. (John was still at work.) While I was getting something from the cupboard, a box of Raisin Bran fell out onto the floor. Baby Z was immediately interested and I was happy to let him play to get my work done.

I was washing dishes in the sink with my back turned to Baby Z and I heard the unmistakable sound of cereal pouring onto the floor. When I turned, Baby Z was sitting there with a satisfied grin and raisin bran all around him. I calmly turned off the faucet, dried my hands and walked over to Baby Z. I carefully removed the raisins from the pile (choking hazard), took away the rest of the bag of cereal and returned to my dish washing.

Naturally, Baby Z helped himself to the little brown treasures scattered around him like wrapping paper on Christmas day. And I got plenty of time to finish my work. We had a good time cleaning it up, too. I giggled at the little bran goatee on Baby Z's chin and he giggled at the flying flakes scampering across the floor every time I tried to sweep them up.

Perhaps this is another badge of motherhood (see previous badge earned): the "Willfully Letting Your Kid Eat Off the Floor" badge. I'm all grows up!

Back to Baby Things

I mentioned previously that all my friends are getting pregnant at the same time. To be more accurate, most of my friends are getting or will be trying to get pregnant about the same time. John and I are pondering when to start trying for kid #2 also, so I've been thinking about what it will be like to be pregnant again.

The first time we started trying, I started taking prenatal vitamins, cutting back on caffeine, and tried to walk more often than I had been. (The theory was that I had to be used to the exercise so I could keep doing it when I got pregnant - you know how they say don't start any exercising that you haven't already been doing.)

This time, knowing better what I'm getting into (and what I'll have to give up), I'm using the time before I get pregnant to really enjoy some things:
* coffee - I will enjoy my strong espresso in the morning and allow myself the occasional afternoon coffee. Rather than wean myself off, I'm going to take the indulgent approach.
* alcohol - I will have a beer with dinner if I feel like it. I will make my husband be the designated driver so I can have one and a HALF drinks at a party (seriously I'm a major light weight).
* dessert - I will have dessert every night and maybe in the afternoon sometimes. My pregnancy body tends to grab onto fat and store it away a lot more than non-pregnancy body, so last time I had to cut out the dessert.
* sex - I better savor it while I can. And once we pull the goalie, enjoy the carefree-ness. (Don't panic, friends who are trying. Sex during pregnancy is different for everyone. For me, I'm anticipating the post partum phase where sex becomes a chore equal to dusting.)
* sleep - I will be thankful for the ability to sleep on my side/stomach- that perfect angle that will eventually get disturbed by the protruding belly. I will also enjoy the nights I sleep all the way through without getting up to go pee (which still doesn't happen that often for me, but that's okay).
* special athletic activities - I need to schedule as many sessions of surfing, because the fun stops after 3 months of pregnancy. I can add to the list flying trapeze lessons also, because I'm guessing my doctor will put the kibosh on that too. Ba Humbug.

All right, that is probably enough. Sometime soon I'll write on the things about being pregnant that I'm looking forward to (they do exist!)

Ready, Set, Hup

It turns out they say Ready, Set, Hup instead of One, Two, Three.
And I say... AWESOME!!!

I can't even describe how much fun I had at Flying Trapeze lessons. I was grinning and jumping up and down I was so excited after my first "flight."

So, rather than trying to describe the experience right now, while I'm still floating on euphoria, I'll let you see for yourselves:

One of the tricks we learned:


And the grand finale:

One, Two, Three

Flying Trapeze lessons. Today. In two hours.

I'm flitting around the house cleaning, trying to expend nervous energy. It's kind of working. I will report back soon on how it went. Gah!

I'm going to go clean the bathroom.

To Do List

Has anyone seen this blog? To Do List Blog. It's pretty entertaining. I thought I'd publish my own to do list for today/this weekend, since it's a little more interesting/ambitious than most. You don't get to see it scribbled on my tiny white board, so you'll have to imagine that part:

• sewing project (I really don't sew, and am slightly scared of sewing machines)
  
• bathtub faceplate (this involves a screw driver, also not a favorite of mine)
  
• plan packing (going on a trip next week)
  
• weed front yard
  
• bath- Baby Z
  
• invite for baby shower (the 2nd one I am currently involved in planning- my friends all got pregnant at once)
  
• curry (chicken curry for book club tomorrow)

I generally love to-do lists, but, dang, this one is good! Perhaps I'll get one of the to-do's done today!

World of Hurt

From the moment Baby Z was born, his Papa and I have spent countless hours thinking about how to protect him from world. Although our new parent paranoia has settled down a little, we still spend a lot of time worrying and working to keep Baby Z from getting hurt. Since Baby Z really started moving around, I have come to terms with the fact that Baby Z will knock his head, cut his lip, smash his fingers, etc. Of course, I try my hardest to prevent these bumps and bruises, but I am not alarmed when something happens like this morning, when Baby Z finally reached into the bathtub far enough to fall in. The good thing was that there was water in it, so he splashed and sputtered more than bumped and bruised. The better thing was that I was right there, watching closely, so I got to him before he inhaled water or worse. (Didn't our grandparents' generation do that kind of training on purpose?)

Like I said, I have come to terms with the physical risks of childhood. But I am not yet ready for the emotional dangers. Baby Z is fairly secluded from other kids (not by choice, necessarily). He goes to the nursery every Sunday (with only 1 other kid at most) and the young kids room at my Moms' group every other week. Besides that we only have the occasional meeting at the park. The few times we have gone, I have to say we've run into some not so nice kids. Nothing major with no harm done (Baby Z is either easy going or too young to figure it out yet), but it's given me a hint of what is in store when Baby Z does play with other kids.

Before you think I am naive or dumb, or both, I should say that I understand intellectually that the world is a fallen place full of sinful people, myself included. Kids can be the cream of the crop in brutish behavior because not even social norms have polished their rough edges, let alone any sense of moral obligation. But. All it takes is one kid who snags the swing just as Baby Z is heading for it and I am no longer philosophical. I'm just pissed. And ready to kick some 9-year-old-who-should-know-better butt!

Okay, so I'm sure it will get easier. How many times did Baby Z eat something on the floor before I stopped freaking out about it? So I'll just have to be a Mom about it and help Baby Z through the emotional hurts just like the physical ones. And I'm sure I'll really enjoy the day I get to be a Mom when old-enough-to-know-better Baby Z tries to take a swing from a toddler.

Eat Your Veggies

On the eating front, we have confirmed our victory in the Sippy Cup realm:

So, of course, now I have to focus on something else to work on. Well, it's been a challenge for a while. I'm trying to figure out what to feed a toddler transitioning from baby food to real table food. Some days, Baby Z will eat almost anything I have in front of me. Other days he won't eat the thing he liked the day before. So far, the only fruit he will eat is banana (and he won't even do that all of the time). I put zucchini and broccoli into other things and he'll eat it, but if a chunk is too big or too hard to mush, it comes popping out of his highly discriminate mouth.

I've read that up to the age of two, the more foods you give your child, the more flexible he will be in trying new things later. I've also read that you have to give a child something new to try ten times or more before they'll start to like it. I've seen in the past where one week Baby Z wouldn't touch something and then a few weeks later it's his favorite. So, I've gotta bear down and persevere. Cut up apple and pear every day, try new vegetables for dinner to give Baby Z leftovers the next day. The hard part for me is going through the work knowing that the likelihood of success is slim. Perhaps I need to focus on the goal as exposure- letting Baby Z TRY new things. The result doesn't have to be that he eats a ton or that he loves it.... at least yet.

And one final comment on the karma of child-bearing... you know how your parents always said, just wait until you have a kid who does [fill in the annoying behavior here] to you! Well, my Mom is a just a little bit satisfied that her picky-picky-peanut-butter-and-jelly-only-until-the age-of-19 daughter has a finicky little toddler on her hands.

Scheduling Appointments

So this morning I'm catching up on making appointments for things. I made a doctor appointment for Baby Z (follow-up flu shot) and a dental appointment for me. Oh, and I scheduled my Flying Trapeze Lessons!

GAAAAHHH! I'm so excited and nervous. It's a few weeks away, so I now have a countdown to do some exercises in preparation (they give you a list of them). This could be the occasion that gets me to purchase a new sports bra also, since the one I use is circa 1996.

Off to do my exercises!

What Did You Do Over Christmas Break?

The holidays just flew by! This Christmas was so much fun! (Especially compared to my semi-conscious state last year one month after Baby Z was born.) Both John's and my family enjoyed Baby Z so much; it is really true that kids bring a lot of joy and wonder to the holiday season. John had the whole week off between Christmas and New Year's, so we packed in fun activities and plenty of nap times.

Baby Z played with new toys, learned how to open the doors in our house (Nooo!), and worked on his walking (still not flying solo yet):


I enjoyed a reunion with the ocean, thanks to my wonderful husband who orchestrated it. That's Baby Z in front about to eat a handful of sand:

And a gourmet brunch with friends, thanks to best friends and one of best friend's talented chef husband. That's a savory bread pudding type dish and pancetta-mmmm- on the left:


John and I even squeezed in a couple of date nights and ate our favorite- sushi. Thanks to Auntie S and Uncle T for that! Baby Z enjoyed spending time with you even though he still thinks Uncle T stole the silverware. :)