Life, or something like it..

Our first real word

I am about to insert a gushy, silly, parent type beam below, so you will have to excuse this pause in my normally scheduled blog:

Oh what an exciting moment!  We had our first *real* word today!  I am such a geek - it was so cool!

I do not consider yes, no, mummy, daddy, or ama (grandma) real words.  Every kid says them, and they all usually do so in the same kind of order.  And so, it was no big thing when he started saying da-da to the DH almost a year ago.

But today was definitely a big moment.  We were giving him his bath, and he pointed to his bath toy which had floated away, and said "duh-key".  I was stunned.  I called in the DH to make sure that I heard right (I think I might have posted once or twice about the recent lack of sleep), and after we asked him what his toy was, once again he said "ducky", and much more clearly too..

(grin) My boy is such a genius..

Playing Tag

I have to say I am so lucky to have the DH that I have... now, don't get me wrong, he has his normal husband-like short comings, but he is a great dad.  We have a game that we call "tag", which I thought was pretty normal for parents, but as I talk to the other mom's I am finding out it is rare...

Tag goes something like this: 

"Honey, I feel like crap today"

"So do I dear"

"Okay, you take shift one, and then we'll swap".  And being the great guy that he is, I always get the second shift.  Which means he'll take the little darlin, sometimes out, sometimes in, but always out of earshot so that I can catch up on sleep/read/work/do chores/some or all of the above, and then when I am done, we swap so that he can do the same.

Now I thought this game was pretty universal, but apparently it only comes in the "play at home" version, and is pretty local to just my area.  Silly me for thinking that it was suitable for family play, but apparently the primary players are mom's and grandmom's, not spouses.  Boy do some of those dad's get it easy.  In my world, parenting is a two person activity, in every sense of the world, and thank god my DH feels the same way...

Cute moment

Aww... my heart is going to break. The little darling was just *so* cute. Him and DH were getting out of the house so that I could do some job hunting (blah). After I sat on the floor and put on his shoes, the little darlin' went running to the door (he loves going outside) and was trying to push it open.

I said "Wait sweetie, please come give mum a hug before you go", mostly as a lark since he is only 14 months old. Wouldn't you know it, he turned around, came running up to me, put his arms around my neck, and gave me a great big hug! I just sat there stunned as he turn around and went running out the door.

Isn't it just totally amazing how cute they can be when you least expect it?

Advice from the flip side

So yesterday at a session of sugar therapy after Babytalk (that would be going to the ice cream shack after) a bunch of us were talking about the best advice we wish we had been given earlier on, and I though isn't it a shame that there isn't a full list of "tips" you could give new mom's.

Some of the ones that we came up with were:

• Getting a bumbo seat
• Using Davis diaper rash cream (it really does clear it up overnight)
• Using a soother to stimulate sucking for a few minutes before swapping in to nurse to prevent bad latches when they are first born
• Using baking powder in the bath water to help clear up diaper rash, eczema, bug bites, etc

Anyone else have any?

It's a friggin miracle!

We managed to visit with only one near miss with the little darlin!

He managed to pop the screen out of the front door, but apparently it was one of those that is supposed to be loose at the bottom, so the heart attack that I had thinking about the forty shades of hell my father was going to unleash on me was for not..

At least we got a really nice sunset out of the whir-wind visit... they live right on the island in Belleville, so after the little darlin had gone to bed, we were able to sit out and watch the sun set over Belleville, which was totally beautiful.. and you could actually enjoy it without getting eaten, since the wind off the lake seems to keep most of the mosquitoes at bay.

We also got to find out that the little darlin' *loves* waves. We took him in swimming with us and had him sitting in one of those.. umm, round hoops with leg holes that allows them to kick and splash with their hands but by far and large keeps them out of the water and sun (it has a shade cover). Anyway, every boat came by caused some waves (and let me tell you there seem to be a ton of boats there), making him bob up and down and squeal with delight. The only problem is how do you explain to a 14 month old that its not possible for you to "do again" without doing something so outrageous as to cause the boats to come over to see what was going on? :)

And they're off!!

So this should be interesting... we're off for a visit to my Dad & his wife's for the day in a few minutes for the first time since the little darlin' started to walk. These are the same people who think that a wire mess case, rapped in shiny lights, and secured to absolutely nothing is totally baby safe... gerg. My step mother has no kids, so she has to be forgiven though. Anyone want to make bets on how many second after we arrive it will take for the little darlin' to break the first piece of crystal? Or how many things a single child can break in a single day?

We are totally gastly parents..

Link: MUBAR (Mothered Up Beyond All Recognition): A Pink or Blue World.

Apparently, the DH and I have failed our son miserablly in his formative days, and he may never recover from our social faux pas! Over at Jen's they are having a discussion on where birth announcements can be gotten from.

I didn't even realise that designer announcements even existed, let alone that one could take a second morgage out to finance them.  We only took his picture (I'm a shutter bug), and I had it printed at Cosco on postcard stock..

Oh the indignity of it all for the poor little darlin'.  I can hear it now:

MOTHER! How could you DO this to ME? I will never be able to show my face at playgroup again!

Oh well.  Just another failure on my part that he's going to have to forgive me for.

Ode to a Dad

Yes, I am a little late getting to this, but as you will soon find out, that is pretty much the story of my life!

The little darlin' is lucky - he's got arguably one of the best dad's on the planet. He'll never be one of those 1950's "Do as your father say's", brings home the bacon, runs the house, kinda Father's, but he is the type of Dad who'll be up at 5:30am to play with the little darlin' after walking back and forth with him for hours through the night. The type that firmly believes that when dealing with kids you *must* be on your hands and knees, so that you can give them a horsy ride. That didn't hesitate about being a stay-at-home dad, and brushes off those that mock him for it as being stupid for not wanting to spend as much time as possible with their own children. That doesn't blink about getting sopping wet while fully dressed because the little darlin wants to wade deeper into the water while holding onto Daddy. That reads to him, and teaches him to climb into his lap when he does. That builds a massive fort in the living room with every spare pillow, blanket, and chair in the house on a rainy day for them to climb through.

And I wouldn't want it any other way...

I didn't read the fine print...

Did you ever noticed that they totally lied when they said that you had to babyproof, somehow implying that it was a one time deal?

As far as I can tell, there are 5 stages: the initial babyproofing, when they crawl, when they pull up, when they walk, and when they climb.. there may be more after that, but the little darlin' has not gotten there yet.

... did I miss any?

The T word

Of all the things that gave me pause in my life, I never thought I would be almost reduced to tears by the T word.

I'm just not ready for it. Really. I know that all the signs were there, and that one day it would happen to me too, but really, this is *way* too soon. I am not prepared. At all. You think you are, because it is a reality that most people have to face at some point, but nothing could have prepared me for that moment when the doctor told me it was time.

And again, I must say, I am really, really, really, really, really, really not ready for it. But I guess I will have to face my pain, my anxiety about it. As much as I want to turn back the clock to an earlier, more simpler time, some point soon I am going to have to face facts.

My little darlin' is a Toddler now..