wealhtheow

Dancing and quacking, but not necessarily at the same time

P1010290
Originally uploaded by wealhtheow1

Sam's been starting to talk a little more. New additions to his vocabulary include "quack," "hoot," and "monkey," although of these three, only "quack" (or "kaack, kaack," as Sam would have it) has been making repeat appearances. He can also shriek like a monkey, which is considerable more adorable in theory then in practice. Sam is constantly adding new words to his vocabulary, but he frequently seems to think that once he's mastered a word he need never say it again, leading to a rather limited vocabulary. His favorite word continues to be "dada," which he utters during moments of delight, sorrow, boredom, or what-have-you.

Yesterday we went into DC to see the cherry blossoms, most of which had blown away. Still, it was a gorgeous day; just the perfect temperature and not too crowded. We did some photos at the Jefferson Memorial, and here you can see Sam practicing his ultra-suave moves. He performed an interpretive dance regarding everyone's favorite founding father, focusing mainly on his love of stomping grapes.

friends

friends
Originally uploaded by wealhtheow1

Our dear friends came to the MOMS club Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. Here's a quick shot of Sam and his buddy Oiivia. He loves his big girls. They loaned him a basket for his eggs, and showed him what was what. After the eggs were all picked up there was much trading: Sam gave Olivia a pair of earrings in his egg (well, I was the one who made that call) and her sister Leah gave Sam some Spiderman stickers in her egg.

At the beginning of the morning it was terrifically windy, so much so that I was worried about Sam keeping warm. But the hunt itself was in a sheltered spot on a lawn behind a building, and the wind rather cooperatively died down right as we were starting. It wound up being a perfect day--not too warm, not too cold. Just the right temperature for little kids to run around (and around and around and around ...). All in all, a pretty perfect day.

easter egg hunt

easter egg hunt
Originally uploaded by wealhtheow1

Yesterday we went to our MOMS club Easter Egg Hunt, which was really more like an Easter Egg Rout--within 5 minutes all the eggs were gone. But all the kids got at least a few eggs in their basket, and everyone seemed happy with the little prizes inside. Sam had a ball--he's been very into picking things up and putting them in containers lately, so this was right up his alley. In fact, as the weather continues to get nicer, I may stage some egg hunts of my own in the front yard.

Midweek Lessons

1. When you teach your 17-month-old son to play play, he will run up to you and throw said ball directly at your chest over and over again, even before you've had a single cup of coffee. 
2. If your husband leaves to cloister himself in a hotel for writing purposes, you should go to sleep early instead of staying up to transfer laundry, because the baby will wake up more than early enough for you to get that load dry. 
3. Especially if your husband is gone, you should not take out the oven drawer at 10:30 at night to reach under the stove and retrieve magnets that your little one doesn't even know exist cherishes and misses desperately. 
4. When you try to replace the oven drawer, you will slice your little finger right open.
5. When you succeed in replacing the oven drawer, you will feel enormously competent. Out of all proportion to what you accomplished, in fact. 
6. When you recount item #4, you'll be sure to add in some extraneous details involving so much blood and I almost fainted and I just hope it doesn't get infected.  
7. After all that, you'll stay up even later to take a shower, because although you love your new haircut, it does require that your hair be nicely washed and not lank and limp and greasy. 
8. To reward you for retrieving his precious magnets, baby will wake up at 1:30 and again at 6 am. 
9. You will finally understand why your parents always prep the coffee the night before: on the mornings you really need it, the task of measuring out coffee and water seems hopelessly insurmountable. 
10. You'll finally get around to making coffee after you settle the baby into his highchair with his egg, only to turn around and see the bowl on the floor and the egg all over the tray. You'll pick everything up and beg him to just eat his damn egg, please. 
11. Once the coffee is made, you'll turn around and see the baby shaking his hands madly in his new "all done" sign. You'll obligingly get him down from his highchair and smugly think that your baby is a freaking genius, because how many 17-month-olds can learn a sign in less than 2 weeks? 
12. You won't do any internet research to answer the question above, preferring instead to think your child is unique in his fearsome signing prowess. 

Ugh

That baby has been sick since freaking FEBRUARY. Am officially over and done with corralling a small toddler and swiping at his nose with whatever is close at hand every five minutes. We went back to the doctor this morning and it turns out he still has an ear infection. So he's on another round of antibiotics, and then if it's still around (which I devoutly hope and believe will not be the case) he has to go see an ENT specialist. His father and his cousins all had terrible chronic ear infections, so I'm a little nervous, but I'm still pretty confident we're in the clear. He's almost a year and a half old and he's only had two ear infections. But since both times he's needed two rounds of antibiotics, next time he gets an ear infection I'm definitely making a follow-up appointment for him. 

I'm starting to get antsy about getting into my garden, and think I might pick up some seeds this week. Not sure what I'm going to plant--I'll likely put in some morning glories again, and maybe I'll start up some veggies. People starting "victory gardens" are in the news all the time now, and I would love to do that, but unfortunately I do not have anywhere near enough sun to grow enough produce to feed my family. But I'll do what I can. I think we're going to get one of those upside-down tomato planters, and that should clear up a little bit of space. I might grow some peppers, but I think it's more likely that I'll grow some squash. I've been saving up toilet paper rolls to start my seeds in.

Looking through some old music yesterday I found Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus, and tried to play it for Sam. I could mostly sight-read it, but very very hesitantly. I really miss making music, and think I need to start working on my extremely rusty piano skills again. Before long Sam will be able to help me out by pressing specific keys, and I'd love for us to be able to play the piano together. Next fall I hope to rejoin my choir. R will be finished with school and Sam will be weaned (I think), so there will be nothing holding me back. And I think it's very good for Sam to see his mother having her own interests and activities. I deserve to have parts of my life that are not wholly centered around my child, as hard as it is to remember that at times. 

OH HAI

Spring is in the process of springing, which means I'm getting more energy to do things I love, and I keep forgetting: hey, that includes writing. So here I am again, trying to get back into the swing of things. 

It's been a busy and sickness-filled winter, including a delightful bout of norovirus. Nothing can prepare you for your kid's first major stomach bug. The vomiting wasn't that bad, but at a certain point we were changing diapers every 20 minutes. It was horrific. Even when Sam was a newborn we weren't changing diapers that frequently. The diaper rash was out of control, and every change ended with a screaming, trembling baby and usually a tearful, trembling parent. Or two, since one of us would have to hold him down while the other one cleaned up. We finally solved the issue with a mixture of Dessitin and 1% hydrocortisone cream. I've always used my preshus organic products on my preshus baybee's skin, but it was time to call in the big guns. 

Now we're just hanging out in the land of Endless Snotty Nose, and let me tell you, it is an enchanting land full of many wonders, such as the Mountains of Don't Dare Wear A Shirt You Don't Want Snotted Up and the lovely Bay of Oh My God, He Just Snotted Up the Cat, not to mention my favorite, the charming meadows of Snot-Encrusted Teddy Bears. Estimated time of departure? Oh, about three years. 

Sam's been starting to get more words, though, which is a fascinating process. Right now he has mama, dada, kitty, hot, there, hi, yeehaw, and possibly a few others. We've heard him say up, out and bear, but he hasn't repeated them. He can point out all sorts of animals and objects in his books, and if you start singing a song, he'll run to get the appropriate book (Puff the Magic Dragon, Baby Beluga, I Know an Old Lady, and Wheels on the Bus). He dances. He bangs on his drum. He fetches his stuffed kitty on command. He climbs up on his highchair when he's hungry (although one day I'm not going to get there in time and he's going to pull the whole thing over on himself and crack his head, I'm sure). He picks out what stories he wants at night (he gets up to 3). He helps me weed and pick up pine needles in the garden. He's really starting to develop his own unique personality, and his dad and I are just so excited to be along for the ride. 

The Chairman

Don't bother me
Originally uploaded by wealhtheow1

After a few days of watching Sam turn his rocking horse on its side so he could crawl into it, I decided he needed a chair.* So the same shopping trip that procured the lawnmower also saw us coming home with this little Adirondack chair (which was actually the whole reason for said trip to begin with). I really wanted a nice Pottery Barn Kids anywhere chair, but in addition to being way too expensive, they are indoor-only. This little beauty is indoor/outdoor. Sam loves crawling into his chair for a little rest in the middle of some busy exploring, and inside he also enjoys giving some special stuffed animals a ride as he pushes his chair around the living room. I love that it's light enough that he can move it anywhere he wants on his own, but sturdy enough that he can stand on it to climb up to the couch.

*Sure enough, he no longer does this now that he has his own chair.

Lawnmower Man

P1010079
Originally uploaded by wealhtheow1

We got Sam a little plastic lawnmower not long ago, and by "we" I naturally mean "me," R being busy with the writing of the dissertation. Needless to say, Sam freaking loves his lawnmower. It's been cold and rainy since this photo was taken, but we're supposed to have some nice weather this week, and I look forward to getting my lawn ineffectually mowed by a bladeless plastic mower.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

14 months old!

Dear Baby,

Today you are 14 months old! I am going to continue my tradition of being too goddamned lazy to write you a monthly newsletter, but trust me, you are awesome.

Love, 

Mummy