The healing continues, but so does Kiddo's cuteness. At 3 feet and 28 pounds, he charges around with all the 2 yr old energy and abilities he possesses. Check out some recent highlights.
Showing posts with label movement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movement. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Toddler The Destroyer
"He is all boy."
That's what people say about Kiddo when they see him.
"You are such a toddler."
That's what I say to Kiddo when he's getting into things.
Kiddo has spilled water and Tylenol all over three Roger Hargreaves books. He has ripped up one Ducati book. He has ripped out pages from his Hello Kitty coloring book. He has spilled cat food all over the floor. He has spilled his water all over...well, everything. He has dumped sand everywhere, resulting in diapers and shoes full of sand. He has dumped dirt on his head, leaving a layer of grit on his scalp.
Often when we try to get him clean up, he has a meltdown, or at the very least, fights me.
Kiddo does still like to use brooms, and enjoys helping with the laundry. Unfortunately, his sweeping makes more of a mess. Kiddo's laundry help usually means he crumples Christian's work shirt into a ball, and then puts it in a random drawer.
This is not the most enjoyable part of parenting a toddler. However, I wouldn't get the smiles, giggles, hugs, and kisses if I didn't have these parts too. I remind myself he is learning and exploring the world and that is a marvel.
Even though I sometimes yell, or need a break, I love my little boy. The awesome parts far out number the tough parts...
"I love you Mommy."
That one gets me every time.
That's what people say about Kiddo when they see him.
"You are such a toddler."
That's what I say to Kiddo when he's getting into things.
 |
| A pool of Tylenol |
Kiddo has spilled water and Tylenol all over three Roger Hargreaves books. He has ripped up one Ducati book. He has ripped out pages from his Hello Kitty coloring book. He has spilled cat food all over the floor. He has spilled his water all over...well, everything. He has dumped sand everywhere, resulting in diapers and shoes full of sand. He has dumped dirt on his head, leaving a layer of grit on his scalp.
Often when we try to get him clean up, he has a meltdown, or at the very least, fights me.
Kiddo does still like to use brooms, and enjoys helping with the laundry. Unfortunately, his sweeping makes more of a mess. Kiddo's laundry help usually means he crumples Christian's work shirt into a ball, and then puts it in a random drawer.
Even though I sometimes yell, or need a break, I love my little boy. The awesome parts far out number the tough parts...
"I love you Mommy."
That one gets me every time.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
One Buff Mommy
Maybe moms with kids in the fifth percentile can't say this -I don't know - but having a baby makes you buff. Well, having my baby makes me buff. Specifically, carrying my baby or just making sure he doesn't wriggle off my lap makes me buff.
Holy Toledo does kiddo put me through the paces!
Kiddo, you see, needs to be held - like all the time. He is a cuddle bug. He doesn't need to be held by me all the time (sometimes he wants Daddy or his grandparents) but he does want to be held. You see, he wants to participate in the conversation - be a part of the action. He also likes to move like all the time. It's kind of like having a mixture between a Shake Weight and kettlebell workout. Oh and let's not forget he's not getting any lighter.
I've read babies slow their growth at 6 months. Then again they slow down around 12. Seeing as kiddo is sporting 9 month clothes at this point I'm looking forward to the slow down (Incidentally, if you were thinking of gifting us new or gently used pieces, please only 12 months and up - and of the longer torso variety!).
I mean, he's got socks with non-skid pads on the soles! He can't even crawl!
Anyway the result is mom's arms are more buff than ever. I have an indent when my bicep contracts that is more noticeable (at least to me) than ever before. My legs are boasting significantly more muscle. All this is very exciting because it means my metabolism is speeding up and therefore that extra baby weight (etc) is disappearing.
I'm guessing that when kiddo goes mobile I'll go through my own transformation as I end up chasing him around everywhere. I'm crossing my fingers!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Fire, A Move, and The 7 Week Old
The last few days were crazy. I moved from the Bay with a 7 week old baby back to my parents' house.
On Friday both sets of parents arrived to help us box up our tiny Jingletown loft apartment and load it between a trailer, pick-up, UHaul, and compact. Much of our possessions ended up in boxes in any order - so we'll be experiencing Christmas every day!
What made it even crazier was on Sunday morning we were woken by our fire alarm at 6:50 AM. Confused and concerned, Christian got dressed and went outside to confirm there was a fire in our building and it wasn't just a malfunction of our apartment's alarm. In just a few moments he returned and was picking up things.
Christian: There's a fire in an apartment inside the gate.
Me: Do I have time to pee?
Christian: yeah, but hurry.
I can't believe this was my concern, but it was. I figured once I got the baby out I wouldn't have access to a toilet for hours. Of course, I was thinking of the worst case scenario...
As it was, I got kiddo out and made a beeline to the car where I nursed him. I was so thankful we breastfeed. Trying to get a bottle of formula ready in that situation would have been difficult if not impossible. Kiddo had no idea anything was amiss. He was wrapped in a warm blanket and quite content to nurse as usual.
We sat there in the cold car watching as the firetrucks arrived and the firemen went about their business. Even though adrenaline was pumping through many that morning, the firemen themselves were quite calm. It was sort of reassuring to see the easy purpose that drove their actions. Meanwhile Christian grabbed the few remaining items from our apartment and put them in the trunk. The only thing left was our mattress, which he couldn't possibly carry himself.
About an hour later, the firetrucks left and we were able to return to our loft. A minute later my in-laws arrived with breakfast, and we loaded the mattress. Before we took off Christian checked the apartment that had been on fire. Based on the burnt power strip and debris outside the crispy place, Christian was pretty sure it was an electrical fire. I was just thankful it hadn't spread to the rest of the building (though I had the reassurance that our things were basically all out of our apartment anyway).
Once everything was loaded up, my mother-in-law and I took the car with kiddo, while my father-in-law towed the trailer and Christian drove the UHaul. We were a caravan of varying speeds.
The ride was pleasant, with kiddo quiet when awake, but asleep much of the time. We only stopped twice - once to change and nurse him and a second time for lunch (and of course change and nurse kiddo). At about 3 PM we arrived and everyone started unloading what would be used (leaving the rest in the trailer for storage) while I nursed kiddo.
By the end of the day I was incredibly exhausted...and still couldn't sleep. I'm still sort of in shock from everything, but such is life. I hoping this is will truly be a new beginning for us, but we'll just have to wait and see. Life is unexpected...especially for us.
On Friday both sets of parents arrived to help us box up our tiny Jingletown loft apartment and load it between a trailer, pick-up, UHaul, and compact. Much of our possessions ended up in boxes in any order - so we'll be experiencing Christmas every day!
What made it even crazier was on Sunday morning we were woken by our fire alarm at 6:50 AM. Confused and concerned, Christian got dressed and went outside to confirm there was a fire in our building and it wasn't just a malfunction of our apartment's alarm. In just a few moments he returned and was picking up things.
Christian: There's a fire in an apartment inside the gate.
Me: Do I have time to pee?
Christian: yeah, but hurry.
I can't believe this was my concern, but it was. I figured once I got the baby out I wouldn't have access to a toilet for hours. Of course, I was thinking of the worst case scenario...
As it was, I got kiddo out and made a beeline to the car where I nursed him. I was so thankful we breastfeed. Trying to get a bottle of formula ready in that situation would have been difficult if not impossible. Kiddo had no idea anything was amiss. He was wrapped in a warm blanket and quite content to nurse as usual.
We sat there in the cold car watching as the firetrucks arrived and the firemen went about their business. Even though adrenaline was pumping through many that morning, the firemen themselves were quite calm. It was sort of reassuring to see the easy purpose that drove their actions. Meanwhile Christian grabbed the few remaining items from our apartment and put them in the trunk. The only thing left was our mattress, which he couldn't possibly carry himself.
About an hour later, the firetrucks left and we were able to return to our loft. A minute later my in-laws arrived with breakfast, and we loaded the mattress. Before we took off Christian checked the apartment that had been on fire. Based on the burnt power strip and debris outside the crispy place, Christian was pretty sure it was an electrical fire. I was just thankful it hadn't spread to the rest of the building (though I had the reassurance that our things were basically all out of our apartment anyway).
Once everything was loaded up, my mother-in-law and I took the car with kiddo, while my father-in-law towed the trailer and Christian drove the UHaul. We were a caravan of varying speeds.
The ride was pleasant, with kiddo quiet when awake, but asleep much of the time. We only stopped twice - once to change and nurse him and a second time for lunch (and of course change and nurse kiddo). At about 3 PM we arrived and everyone started unloading what would be used (leaving the rest in the trailer for storage) while I nursed kiddo.
By the end of the day I was incredibly exhausted...and still couldn't sleep. I'm still sort of in shock from everything, but such is life. I hoping this is will truly be a new beginning for us, but we'll just have to wait and see. Life is unexpected...especially for us.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Four Week Movement
Well I survived my first week at home alone with a newborn. Yay! I'm not a complete maternal failure (just kidding - I never thought that)! Now kiddo is 4 weeks old and it seems his systems have started to show a daily rhythm (or at least, I have discovered one). I'm still trying to figure out a routine for everything (not a schedule but a routine). Then again, kiddo changes so much from one week to the next (one minute to the next, more like!) that I really can only wait for a routine to be revealed and hope it lasts for longer than a day.
Who knew motherhood required you to be like Sherlock Holmes? It was a complete surprise to me!
And so while we do this, me trying to solve the puzzle of my son and him innocently teaching me, our family came to another important conclusion.
We're moving.
The money isn't here. The numbers were crunched and it's a go. We turned in our notice to our landlord. I talked to my parents and they've started getting a room ready for us.
A room.
It's a little depressing to go from some measure of independence to absolute dependence again. I'm discovering how to be a parent while my parents are once again coming to my rescue (I should also mention my in-laws volunteered to do the same thing, but our cat was the real kicker - the in-laws' place is not indoor cat friendly.). It's a humbling experience. This whole summer has been a humbling experience.
More than ever I want to have my own situation - pull myself up by my bootstraps so to speak (I mean, I'm American. We do that sort of thing.). And more than ever I'm incapable of being independent. Admittedly, parts of this are okay. I like the idea of family being around to help out with kiddo. Help with a young baby is a real luxury that most people don't have.
Also, I'm excited about being near the ocean, being able to do music with my dad, and feeling comfortable enough to walk around by myself (not something I feel comfortable doing in most places in Oakland). I like the idea of not worrying my things will be stolen from my front stoop (We've had something stolen from us at least 6 times in the 1.5 yrs we've lived in our Jingletown loft.).
Can you tell I'm over Oakland?
I mean, it's clearly time to move. No question. And hopefully new opportunities will abound in this change. At least it will give us the security we need in order to explore options without having to worry about where we'll sleep or what we'll eat. And maybe that's the intention.
In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy learning more about kiddo. I'm not going to worry too much about things. I'm going to keep my mind open to possibilities.
Oh, and I'll pray. Definitely that.
Who knew motherhood required you to be like Sherlock Holmes? It was a complete surprise to me!
And so while we do this, me trying to solve the puzzle of my son and him innocently teaching me, our family came to another important conclusion.
We're moving.
The money isn't here. The numbers were crunched and it's a go. We turned in our notice to our landlord. I talked to my parents and they've started getting a room ready for us.
A room.
It's a little depressing to go from some measure of independence to absolute dependence again. I'm discovering how to be a parent while my parents are once again coming to my rescue (I should also mention my in-laws volunteered to do the same thing, but our cat was the real kicker - the in-laws' place is not indoor cat friendly.). It's a humbling experience. This whole summer has been a humbling experience.
More than ever I want to have my own situation - pull myself up by my bootstraps so to speak (I mean, I'm American. We do that sort of thing.). And more than ever I'm incapable of being independent. Admittedly, parts of this are okay. I like the idea of family being around to help out with kiddo. Help with a young baby is a real luxury that most people don't have.
Also, I'm excited about being near the ocean, being able to do music with my dad, and feeling comfortable enough to walk around by myself (not something I feel comfortable doing in most places in Oakland). I like the idea of not worrying my things will be stolen from my front stoop (We've had something stolen from us at least 6 times in the 1.5 yrs we've lived in our Jingletown loft.).
Can you tell I'm over Oakland?
I mean, it's clearly time to move. No question. And hopefully new opportunities will abound in this change. At least it will give us the security we need in order to explore options without having to worry about where we'll sleep or what we'll eat. And maybe that's the intention.
In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy learning more about kiddo. I'm not going to worry too much about things. I'm going to keep my mind open to possibilities.
Oh, and I'll pray. Definitely that.
Friday, September 13, 2013
My Baby is an Alien Superhero
"This is my son, Kal-El."
That's probably what I should be saying when people meet kiddo. Instead I picked a completely non-superhero name (Yes, it was inspired by a prince of Amber, but still...not a superhero!).
Why should kiddo have a superhero name? Well..because he's a super baby. I say this being completely objective, and not letting my motherly pride taint my description. If anything, his actions in his almost 2 weeks of life scare me.
At 9 days old this kid rolled over. I have 2 additional witnesses to this crazy act. He shouldn't be doing that until 4 months. He's been smiling since about 4 days old. He's been sucking on his hand/fingers since he popped out. Did I mention that he could hold his head up by 5 days old? Yeah...that's something he shouldn't have been able to do until like a month or more old.
This kid is on the fast track.
Last night he not only rolled over, but if his arm hadn't gotten caught under him, I think that kid would have started crawling. Believe me...I wouldn't say this unless it was true. I'm not being hyperbolic here. Christian swears he's trying to copy sounds and faces of other people. I'm not sure on that one, but I know when I copy him, he stops to consider what is happening and tries to change what he does with his mouth and the noises he's making...so maybe that's happening too?
Any way I look at it, it's scary. It's scary because it looks like kiddo is going to need a lot of stimulation as he gets older to stave off boredom. He's going to need challenging toys that allow him to explore his environment and flex his mental muscles. Puzzles are going to be our new best friend. And so are blocks. I'm going to have to try to figure out how to expose him to art and music in age appropriate ways (Can you tell I've been reading about this stuff?). I think chess is very much on the docket (Christian will be so pleased.). School seems so far away at 5 years, but at the same time, if kiddo keeps on this fast track, it's something Christian and I will need to plan for because kiddo may be too advanced for it to work well for him.
Of course, I could be getting ahead of myself. I could be. But my gut says babies don't crawl after a few weeks of life. That's unusual. And of course there's more helpful info out there on delayed milestones than there is for advanced milestone achievement.
So...I'm sort of flying blind here, with my alien super baby in tow. And even though the prospect of trying to keep up with his speedy development is a little scary, it's also an exciting challenge. And I'll just keep his crazy achievement record away from moms who are worried about delayed development...I mean, assuming it continues. But, I expect it will. I mean, I was advanced with language and art, so why not kiddo be advanced physically? Seems just as likely.
I just hope he doesn't start walking by 6 months. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up!
That's probably what I should be saying when people meet kiddo. Instead I picked a completely non-superhero name (Yes, it was inspired by a prince of Amber, but still...not a superhero!).
Why should kiddo have a superhero name? Well..because he's a super baby. I say this being completely objective, and not letting my motherly pride taint my description. If anything, his actions in his almost 2 weeks of life scare me.
At 9 days old this kid rolled over. I have 2 additional witnesses to this crazy act. He shouldn't be doing that until 4 months. He's been smiling since about 4 days old. He's been sucking on his hand/fingers since he popped out. Did I mention that he could hold his head up by 5 days old? Yeah...that's something he shouldn't have been able to do until like a month or more old.
This kid is on the fast track.
Last night he not only rolled over, but if his arm hadn't gotten caught under him, I think that kid would have started crawling. Believe me...I wouldn't say this unless it was true. I'm not being hyperbolic here. Christian swears he's trying to copy sounds and faces of other people. I'm not sure on that one, but I know when I copy him, he stops to consider what is happening and tries to change what he does with his mouth and the noises he's making...so maybe that's happening too?
Any way I look at it, it's scary. It's scary because it looks like kiddo is going to need a lot of stimulation as he gets older to stave off boredom. He's going to need challenging toys that allow him to explore his environment and flex his mental muscles. Puzzles are going to be our new best friend. And so are blocks. I'm going to have to try to figure out how to expose him to art and music in age appropriate ways (Can you tell I've been reading about this stuff?). I think chess is very much on the docket (Christian will be so pleased.). School seems so far away at 5 years, but at the same time, if kiddo keeps on this fast track, it's something Christian and I will need to plan for because kiddo may be too advanced for it to work well for him.
Of course, I could be getting ahead of myself. I could be. But my gut says babies don't crawl after a few weeks of life. That's unusual. And of course there's more helpful info out there on delayed milestones than there is for advanced milestone achievement.
So...I'm sort of flying blind here, with my alien super baby in tow. And even though the prospect of trying to keep up with his speedy development is a little scary, it's also an exciting challenge. And I'll just keep his crazy achievement record away from moms who are worried about delayed development...I mean, assuming it continues. But, I expect it will. I mean, I was advanced with language and art, so why not kiddo be advanced physically? Seems just as likely.
I just hope he doesn't start walking by 6 months. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Gifts, Revelations, and Discoveries
What a busy weekend!
Saturday was my second baby shower (or celebration?). This one was in Santa Barbara and the result was a huge outpouring of love and care. Needless to say, kiddo will definitely be set for the first year.
I should also add, at the shower, Christian wanted me to share kiddo's sex. So I did. Kiddo is a boy, or at least, that's what the ultrasound tech (and my mother) assure me. Yes, we already have a name picked out. However, for the purposes of this blog I think I'll continue to call him kiddo the majority of the time (until his birth...and even then...his blogger name may always be kiddo...with a lower case k for some reason. :-/).
I even got some sweet hand-me-downs in addition to my gifts (including maternity wear which I'll begin modelling tomorrow) that I'm really excited about. Probably the ones I'm the most excited about are the books (come on guys, I'm an academic at heart - of course I love the books!).
This influx of goodies for kiddo led me to satisfy my nesting instinct (which I also used to order my starter cloth diapering stash using a large gift certificate from a friend).
Now I just have to figure out everything else... *sigh*
As part of my quest for security and exploration of things (or at least understanding) I discovered several things since coming to Santa Barbara county:
So, I will relish this calm before the storm. I will continue to enjoy his movements and speak softly to him. I will sing lullabies and dream dreams. These are the quiet times I'll store in my heart. And when he's 25, I'll repeat these things in front of his significant other just to embarrass him because, well, why not?
 |
| my goodies |
I should also add, at the shower, Christian wanted me to share kiddo's sex. So I did. Kiddo is a boy, or at least, that's what the ultrasound tech (and my mother) assure me. Yes, we already have a name picked out. However, for the purposes of this blog I think I'll continue to call him kiddo the majority of the time (until his birth...and even then...his blogger name may always be kiddo...with a lower case k for some reason. :-/).
I even got some sweet hand-me-downs in addition to my gifts (including maternity wear which I'll begin modelling tomorrow) that I'm really excited about. Probably the ones I'm the most excited about are the books (come on guys, I'm an academic at heart - of course I love the books!).This influx of goodies for kiddo led me to satisfy my nesting instinct (which I also used to order my starter cloth diapering stash using a large gift certificate from a friend).
Now I just have to figure out everything else... *sigh*
As part of my quest for security and exploration of things (or at least understanding) I discovered several things since coming to Santa Barbara county:
- Kiddo loves Reiki. My mother does Reiki for her patients and was gracious enough to do that for me one night. He was SUPER active the ENTIRE time (about an hour). It was the most active I'd felt him despite it being a normally active period.
- Kiddo loves my dad's sermons...or my dad's church music. Not sure which. All I know is that he was INCREDIBLY active during the entire sermon and fairly active during the rest of church on Sunday.
- Even a slight decrease in hydration makes a HUGE difference in my
swelling (temperature certainly doesn't help). My feet have been ginormous since I came to SB county, and the heat here has made it difficult to keep up my hydration. I almost have it down...4 days later (I'll let you know if it continues to reach epic proportions.).
lovely swelling! - I am definitely in the home stretch - and my body is letting me know through aches, pains, and belly tiger striping.
So, I will relish this calm before the storm. I will continue to enjoy his movements and speak softly to him. I will sing lullabies and dream dreams. These are the quiet times I'll store in my heart. And when he's 25, I'll repeat these things in front of his significant other just to embarrass him because, well, why not?
Friday, June 14, 2013
Third Trimester Aliens
Not only am I huge (so obviously pregnant - get a load of that belly!), but kiddo is big enough that I can feel every little movement now.
I thought this baby was active before, but now I can't seem to do anything without a kick, jab, or poke from the inside. The hiccups that were once rare and easily ignorable have become unnerving spasms that last minutes and seem to happen several times a day.
The movement is pronounced enough that it can be seen from across the room. My belly actually shakes. There was one movement that was so big it actually shook the entire bed, startling both me and my poor cat.
The other night I put Christian's hand on my belly so he could feel all the little shifts and prods kiddo was giving me. It was so consistent and constant, Christian actually became unnerved.
More than ever I feel like I'm harboring a little alien life.
My body isn't supposed to move like that. I'm not supposed to be out of breath after going up the stairs or have to roll to my side before pushing myself up from a reclined position. I shouldn't be eating every two hours or making my second home in the toilet.
It's weird.
But it's also amazing...and terrifying, kind of like a Ridley Scott movie (just kidding - sort of). I'm just waiting for the last few weeks of pregnancy when kiddo can't move as much from lack of space. Maybe then I'll feel like kiddo is completely human.
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