Thursday, December 6, 2012

Bunches of Stuff



What about Halloween?  What about Thanksgiving?  What about life in general?  Why have I not documented these things?  I'll just throw some pictures up now from my phone and again later from my real camera.

Here's some new sayings and doings from the boy.

One of my favorite things he does lately is when I ask him if he wants something he'll say "NO WAY Scary Witch"  If it wasn't so silly and cute I might get mad. Say he said that when he was 10 rather than 2, Whew, he would be in trouble.

It goes like this:
me: Hey, would you like some water?
him: NO WAY Scary Witch.

It does have a context.  He used to watch this video which says GO Away Scary Witch GO AWAY.  So he modified it to meet his needs. Clever boy.

I often say: " Oh Crap!"   Well he will often say "Oh Crab".  The other day I was in the kitchen, he was in the living room and I hear:
"Oh Crab! My astronaut is on the sofa.  Oh, now on the the floor"

When we were in Florida for Thanksgiving, my Mom taught him about privacy when you are using the bathroom.  Sometimes when he is using the bathroom he will say "Go, I need p'ricy".

He calls Santa: Santa Closet. He loves space and anything related to spaceships, astronauts and zero gravity.

He wanted to be a Snowman for Halloween. His idea.

On Halloween, after eating some candy, he said "Mom, I like Halloween"

Bean Face

Wen he opens his eyes in the morning, sometimes the fist thing he sas is "trains" or "go play?"

We went into a hardware store and he didn't want to leave. We just sat on big buckets of paint, for a looong time.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Back in October, He Turned 2

Birthday Cake Face


He's two.  But if you ask him he will still say four.  Yesterday he must have overheard me telling someone his birthday was two weeks ago, because later when I asked him when his birthday was (fishing for the "October" answer he usually gives, he said "oh two weeks ago".  He acts older, like a two year old I suppose. Not terrible by any means - I heard that really starts at 3. Although I can't imagine how TERRIBLE a toddler could be. Ok, I take that back, I can imagine it, but don't foresee it happening with him.

We flew down to Florida for this birthday and spent a few days enjoying time with Grandma and Bapa (his word for Grandpa), their dogs, the sunshine and even a special visit from my sister for his birthday.  We hyped up his birthday for weeks before hand.  We asked him what presents he wanted and reminded him what they were for a week, saying things like "well on your birthday, you might get your own backpack".

We threw him a little party and aside from my parents, sister, brother-in-law and us, a couple of my most favorite friends in Florida made it to the party with their kids.   It was nice and mellow and I think everyone had a nice time.  Sonny doesn't like fire and didn't want any candles (no matter how many times I asked - his eyes widened and he shook his head no) so there was nothing to blow out and he sort of hates the Happy Birthday song so he looked a little terrified until the song was over and the he clapped his hands and said "Yay!"




"Say what?"



He wanted to (and did) put his pants on by himself. That's why they are backwards.



Just a few things I want to remember about him now:

*Like I said he does not like the birthday song. He will react differently depending on how many people are singing. From frightful eyes to full on tears and the shakes.  For real.
*He is into trains
*His favorite toys lately are his Thomas Train, his Spaceship (thank you Sabrina) and his Schleich animal toys (thank you Corinne for the recommendation)
(He is finally at the age where his imagination is starting to form and he can play with his toys by himself for a long time by making them talk to and interact with each other. I love to sit back, watch and listen as he figures out their next move)
*He eats anything (with the exception of meat - but he does he seafood on occasion)
*His favorite vegetable is okra
*He really like watching The Wonder Pets and we watch one episode together right before he goes to bed
*He can eat a whole slice of NYC pizza (+plus some of ours if he is really hungry)
*Knows the letters T, C, S, A, M by sight (but calls T&C  P sometimes like this: "P for Thomas!  P for Cookie!")  If he sees an S he says Spaceship!  If he sees an A he says Apple! If he sees a M he says Monkey!
*He is like a parrot - repeating everything he hears
*He talks and talks and talks and talks. There isn't a thought or need he can't express.
*He asks a lot of questions. Mostly "Momma, what happened?" or "What happened?"  Mostly when we are watching something on the TV.

Funny side story - We don't have cable, and we only watch TV when we are eating dinner (some may call this backwards), we only get a handful of channels but TBS is one of them. TBS plays a lot of Family Guy.  When June was younger we could get away with watching it - he wanted to watch it, we would be flipping and if it was on he would say "This one, this one!"  It's a cartoon, flashy, music everything a kid wants. A few weeks ago he started saying he wanted to watch Family Guy (obviously this isn't what you would want your 2 year old to watch), we would say it wasn't on and we would find something else. Then he started saying he wanted to watch it on the computer if it wasn't on TV.  The other day I came home from a late work night and Josh told me the following story - it went something like this:
S: Dada, watch Family Guy
J: No, not tonight  (repeat these first two a couple times)

J: Let's watch Animals (meaning Planet Earth)
S: Great Dada, Great idea, Animals. Brian.  (Brian is the dog on Family Guy)

*He loves to cuddle and get cozy when I put him to sleep
*He has a sweet tooth - and one filling (we go to the dentist tomorrow and he'll probably get another)
*He's just fantastic. I love him.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

GM ohNO

Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m. 
                                   -- John Lennon


All this election hoopla gives me a headache.  Red, Blue, White, Black, Rich, Poor, Left, Right, Right, Wrong, Winner, Loser... Over it.  I didn't even really care who won. I don't say that as someone who doesn't care about politics or our once great nation.  I'm the opposite, I do care about politics and our once great nation (don't get me wrong --we are still a good place to live, and I am fortunate to be born here that is for sure).  To me there was little difference between the two when you get down to nitty gritty.  I was once a huge fan of Obama, back in 2008.  I volunteered at call centers, wore buttons, had stickers, watched the election results and cheered with friends down at Rockefeller Center.  Not this time though.  I didn't even know who won until I heard yelling and car horns outsideI did vote, didn't get a sticker, but I did vote.  BUT I'm not going to make this about the Presidential Election.  

He was over the hour wait.


This is about Prop 37 in California.  Have you heard about it?  Have you been following it?  I have.  I find it very interesting, important and potentially life changing.  Not just in California, but the theory behind it.  I am a big supporter of buying and eating organic (when possible), avoiding GMOs (when possible) and supporting smaller family owned and operated businesses. 

In a nut shell (preferably organic) Prop 37 was an amendment that if passed (it was defeated 53%-47%) would require food companies to label all foods containing GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). You might ask yourself "Wait, are GMOs bad for you?"  Well the answer is: Probably - most definitely.  But you won't hear that from our government.  Why?  Because the results they go off of are from tests conducted by the same corporations that make them and profit from them (read and learn more here). Smells fishy if you ask me.  Countries like Australia (yes it is a country), Japan and the EU have many rules, regulations and bans on GMOs-- but not the good ole USofA.  

Prop 37 was challenging that.  There is so much to share on this!!  I am really passionate about it.  But I know no one wants to read a super long blog post...  So here are some facts and figure and a list of Happy (GMO labeling supporters) and Ugly (Anti-labelers) companies.  Also if you want to sign the petition going to the FDA click here. It takes 30 secondsDon't you want to know what you eat? What goes INTO your body?  What can make you sick, infertile, crazy, depressed, have three eyes, glow green?  To me its not just a battle against GMOs but also pesticides and other hazardous chemicals we have been exposed to.  Shop wisely if you can and look for more on the No GMO movement.



 



http://www.cornucopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/prop37-poster3.jpeg
Needless to say Monsanto is the worst.  I classify them as people going to hell.

http://www.nongmoproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Non-GMO-Right-to-Know-We-are-WINNING-copy1.jpg
We can make a difference and give ourselves and children a chance of being a little healthier.  

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Chatter Box



My parents always came home from Parent Teacher Conferences with the same old story.  Every teacher I had from Mrs. Sorensen in 1st grade to ALL of my teachers in 8th grade had the same thing to report: Carly is great, if she would just stop talking.

I liked to talk. I still like to talk. You know the 'ole "let's see who could be quiet the longest" game parents would encourage their kids to play?  I remember playing (and lossing) that a lot. I'd been labled a chatterbox early on. My Mom and Dad both remind me that I could "never shut-up" when I was a kid. Well guess what? Sonny got that honest from his Mama.

Now that he is weaned (went very very well), rather than nurse to sleep, he likes to talk himself to sleep. For that past week, once we lay down to go to sleep, his mouth opens and doesn't close until I insit he stop talking, close his eyes and fall alseep. I think the longest has been 45 minutes.

I've been wanting to record it, but always forget my phone in the other room.  Last night I brought it in with me and once I turned off the lights and laid back down with him, I sneaked the voice memo on and recorded our conversation.  We talked for about 20 minutes and then Josh got home and joined us in bed, at which point he talked an additioanl 15 minutes until I said no more.  Here are a couple clips. 

Cookies

Cupcakes

Dentist

At Mimi's House







Monday, September 17, 2012

Weaning Par-tay





*If you're not into reading about breast milk, boobs or nursing, then this post isn't for you.  Come back next time though!

It was time.  I feel very luck that I was able to nurse Sonny for as long as we did (22 3/4 months).  I never really had a cut off time in my head, just figured we would go until he was ready or until I was.  To me, two years seemed like a perfect amount of time.  Once he turned 18 months we cut out night nursing and  he was down to only nursing when I would get home from work, before bed and once in the morning around 6am when he would wake up just to nurse and fall right back to sleep.  Eventually, we had a rule that when the sun was out and it was daytime (minus the 6am nurse/cuddle) the milk was away.  So he knew that he could only nurse before bed and then once when it was till kinda dark out.

He was OK with all of this.  Once in a while he would ask for milk or "boobies" during the day and make a cute face (scrunchy eye smile) knowing what the answer would be but just taking the chance (no harm in asking) anyway.  He would be fine as long as he could touch them. "Mama, touch boobies?"  But most of the time he didn't ask and most certainly if I was holding him, he would have one hand down my shirt. 

A cousin of mine has two sons and the younger one has a blanky that he can not be without.  Last year, I asked her if the older one went through the same thing- she gave me a funny look and said "No, I was his security blanket".  I didn't get it then as much as I get it now.  My boobs are his security blanket.  He has no animal he loves more than others, no toy he HAS to bring with him when we leave the house, he has a blanky but he isn't attached to it the way I was with mine (slept with it every night until I lost it at 24), there is nothing he asks to sleep with at night, except for me and my boobs.

Last week I decided to cut out the morning nursing and for two days I explained to him that the milk was going away and that when he wakes up he wouldn't be able to nurse.  He was ok the first night.  Woke up, asked for milk cried for about 45 seconds, put both hands down my shirt and fell asleep.  The second night - TERRIBLE.  He woke up at 530 asked for milk over and over.  Would not be satisfied with his Xylitol spiked water, and did not fall back to sleep until 715 (which at that point he just whimpered himself to sleep).  The third night he moaned at 630 and fell right back to sleep.  Fourth night was like he never nursed at all, slept soundly until 930.

After that I felt like it was time to end it all. He is old enough now that he gets things (simple things) when you explain them.  His memory is ridiculous and he is surprisingly good at reasoning (for a near 2 year old).  I wanted him to associate his weaning with something positive.  I didn't think it would be fair to him to just not let him nurse at all with no explanation or prep.  I wanted to mark it with an event that he could remember and that I could reference.

We've been talking a lot about birthday parties lately and I thought it would be good to have a going away party for the milk.  Again for two days prior I kept repeating that we would be having a going away milk party and after the party it there would be no milk.  He was cool with it. 

Friday night before going to bed, I let him know that that was the last night he was ever going to get to nurse and I let him nurse for as long as he wanted (I may or may not have shed a tear or two as we cuddled in bed).

Saturday we kept reminding him that we were having a Going away party for the milk that night and he seemed excited. He would say "Bye Bye Boobies!! Bye Bye Milk!!".  The party was small, again just an event to mark the occasion in his mind.  A friend brought her two daughters over, we had cake (a boob ice-cream cake), balloons, dancing and running around in circles.  It was a success.




That night when we went to bed, he asked once and didn't moan or whine one bit when I reminded him of the party.  As long as he could fall sleep cuddling and with his hands down my shirt he was golden.

I thought tonight might have been harder for him, but again he was fine.  Instead of nursing, he just talked and talked and talked until he eventually got really close to my face, put one around around my neck and the other down my shirt and fell asleep.

He is not a baby any more.



I'm doing ok too. It isn't as hard for me as I thought it would be.  I think the party was closure for the both of us.


Thursday, August 23, 2012

22 Months - Can't Get Much Better Than This.



I haven't done a proper Sonny update in a while. I don't keep a journal or a baby book and I know when I am old and/or he is old he will want to know some of this stuff at least his life partner or kids would. You can stop reading here if you don't want to read a laundry list of his newest accomplishments.

I was just home visiting my parents and came across a lot of my old things, it's nice to have the memories and my mom is always telling me what I said or did as a kid - I like hearing the stories.   For instance, my parents would always ask me if I wanted to something to drink- then when they would ask me what I wanted to drink i would say "something to drink" because that's what I thought it was called.

He is growing up so so fast and I know I will forget all of this stuff.  Even though he is growing so fast, just tonight as I was laying in bed with him until he fell asleep, he said "mama's hand"' and reached for my hand and just wanted to hold it until he slept. I will let him do that forever.

At 22 months, he is still non stop.  Jumping, climbing, running, galloping like a horse, scooting, twiring, spinning, jumping, jumping and jumping. He jumps off of everything- stairs, chairs, tables, sofa, pool (ONLY if we are there to catch him of course), curbs - really anything he can jump off of he does.  And Hangs!  He loves to hang from anything - scaffolding, counters, rails, bars, anything with a lip or ledge he will try to hang from. And when he is hanging he is most definitely swinging.

He says hi and bye and good morning to most anything he sees.  Some favorites from our Florida vacation: "Hi Sunshine" "Good Morning Beach" "Hi Pool"  "Hi Car"  "Bye house" "Bye Beach"  "Hi Duke (parents dog)" "Good Morning chair" "Bye Ferbie (other dog)" "Good Morning Iguana (lizards on the sidewalk).  Pretty much anything he sees he will either greet or say bye to - he is just a nice little man.   He calls my Dad, Bapa and my Mom Gama and I hope that is what he calls them forever. 

He talks A LOT.  His sentences are short about three words, but puts those three words with another two or three and will point to things he can't express.  You can almost have a full conversation with him, what he doesn't know he will ask, and he can get his point across to you of his needs and wants really easily (makes life so much easier).  He will tell me what he wants for breakfast - ranging from oatmeal, eggs, waffles, pancakes or cereal and when he says it - that IS what he wants.  He has a one track mind.  When he wants one of us he says pretty loudly "Coooooooomme heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrreeeeeee  Peeeeeeeeeeassssssssseeeeee!" I love it.   He is very good with please and thank you and 75% of the time we don't need to remind him to say either. He says "wook" for look and "ginnky" for stinky.

When he goes to the bathroom he likes to read "The Little Engine that Could", by read, I mean look at the pictures over and over and count everything on the page. "One, Two Bears." "One Eldapint". and so on.  We read this book over and over and over and over... When he poops in the potty he gets ice-cream- he'll poop and say "Pooped in Potty!! I-Teen Cone!!!" If he sees someone else eating an ice-cream cone, he'll point and ask "Pooped in potty?"  Even when he see's a dog poop outside, he says "Yay! I-Teen Cone!!"



best way to wash off the ice-cream


When he counts to 10, it usually goes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 7, 8.  He knows his colors and gets them right 90% of the time (with the exception of black - he most always calls white, gray and brown are also tricky for him).  He says "yay-yo" for yellow and "geen" for green.  But my favorite word he mispronounces is "Ought-potits" for opposites. My favorite word he says is Hippopotamus.

He can identify and call out circles, squares, triangles, hearts and stars and likes to say the word octagon.

If you ask him how old he is, he will tell you he is four and if you ask him how old he is going to be, he will tell you five.  I have tried time and time again to set him straight, but he really wants to be 4.

His favorite songs to sing are "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode, "Day 'N' Night" by Kid Cudi, "Carmenista" by Devendra Banhart (this is his dance party song), "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John, "Come, Thou Fount", "Now the Day is Over", "I Need Thee Every Hour" By the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,  "It's Time to Go to Bed" by Fancy Nancy and any rendition of B-I-N-G-O he can find on YouTube.

We don't watch much TV, but we will tune into Wipe Out if it's on while we are eating dinner.  He'll watch it closely and when someone falls, he'll say "Oops, he missed" and smile.

Sometimes, if he is in the right mood he will stop all activity and ask to sit by the window and watch what is happening five floors below.


There are so many other little things he does and silly things he picks up along the way, that make me laugh and smile every day. We are so lucky to have such amazing people in his life, that have helped us raise him to be who is already.  To our families, friends and most importantly his sitters - THANK YOU.  He is who he is - 100% delightful - because of your influence. We are very very lucky.




Monday, August 13, 2012

North Carolina - 1 Month Later

North Carolina is always a good time.  Josh has 4 siblings of the 5, 4 are married and 3 have children. There are 6 grandkids in total and they are all under 9. 4 of them are 3 and under.  We spend every Christmas together and aim to get together once during the summer.  We are the only ones living outside of North Carolina so the time with cousins is important for Sonny.

Josh's sister rented a beach house for a week, we all crammed in and had a blast.  We ate a lot of icecream and the normal Southern cusine which I am so fond of.   Here are my favorite pics in a random dump.

you can't get much cooler than this.

"Heh-copter!!"




iPhones are hours of entertainment





He had such a good time with his cousins








He loves malts too.


One of my favorite families live in NC and it is a treat each time we get to spend time with them. 


this is their rad little man.


5 of the 6


"Too Pokey!!"  Didn't like the grass on his bare legs. City kid.



Sleep with One Eye Open