The Carnivore

I suppose my son thinks that he is part dinosaur or something. I can understand not wanting to eat zucchini or....the dreaded carrots, but he eats all the meat off of his plate and leaves his macaroni and cheese tonight. (I'm not even going to bother with the zucchini - it's a lost cause). And, tonight was fish sticks! Then again, slather some ketchup on any meat and it's instantly a fave. He even ate the one extra fish stick from my plate. You'd think I was trying to poison him by shoveling one last forkful of mac & cheese into his mouth. He sits there head in his hands with his cheeks puffed out like a little chipmunk. Just waiting me out. Hoping that I will just say, "Fine, just spit it out in the trash."

I turn the TV off. No more Spongebob. He just eyes me, as if saying, "So, what's it gonna be, mommy? You tough enough to wait me out, or can we just call this a draw and I spit it out?" So, I pull out my trump card - the time out chair. "Gavin," I say in one final warning, "if you don't swallow that food in the next two minutes, you're gonna sit in the time out chair until you do." Two minutes pass. Guess what's still in his mouth. "Did you swallow it?" He shakes his head. "Then you go in time out." "OK.", as nonchalantly as I asked him to go take a walk with me. I put him in the chair and tell him he's not budging until he swallows that food. Who magically appears five minutes later with a mouth wide open, like I'm doing a security check of orifices on where to hide food? Yep. Gavin.

I don't get it he'll scarf down the meat in like 5 minutes, but let the mac & cheese sit in his mouth for half an hour then swallow it within 5 minutes of the time-out chair. Why do I even need to get to the time-out chair - isn't the threat enough? I told him, "Don't you think that would have been easier if you just swallowed that one bite for mommy right away? You coulda watched some Spongebob before bed, but no!"

Maybe if I breaded the mac & cheese or the zucchini, he'll eat it. After all it resembles his most beloved food - the chicken nugget.

No Wanna Nap

As we speak, Gavin is chanting from his crib "NO WANNA NAP!" I have to say that I'm still adjusting to his resistance to naps. Baeleigh always went down for a nap with absolutely no trouble. She napped well into 5 years old. I think I'll be lucky to make it to 3 with Gavin. Though I'm learning that if I time them right after lunch, like 12:30pm, he easily agrees to it. Now at 3:28pm, or really any time after 1:30pm, he fights me. And, by fighting I mean kicking and screaming all the way up the stairs. This is proceeded by 10-30 minutes of crying and if I'm lucky an actual hour of napping, but normally more like 30 minutes.

And, I say that Baeleigh is strong-willed and stubborn.

Bedtime Stories

I've always thought that Baeleigh had my independent streak. And she does, but unfortunately Gavin may have gotten it passed on to him as well along with a dash of attitude from at least one of his parents (pointing at Tommy). If there is a stereotype for a little boy, there's a picture of Gavin underneath of that description. He hits, kicks, smacks, pulls the dogs tail, runs off from me, throws nasty temper tantrums, pinches and will even laugh if you hurt yourself. All that and you can't help but stiffle a laugh when he yells at me: "Bop it, Mommy!" and raises his hand up at me to smack me. Or he squinches up his nose and says, "I no wannit, Mommy!" He'll fit to the bitter end (of the stairs or into this room) when bedtime comes, but once he's changed and I mention that mommy will read him a story, he quiets down and climbs into bed. He prepare his spot with his 10 stuffed buddies encircling him, props his head up on his hands and says, "Story mommy." Just the expression on his face as he readies himself to listen intently to the same two stories that he asks for every night (I have got to expand his book collection - Baeleigh's old ones are long gone) is priceless.

And, for a two year old, he's got quite the opinion on him. For example, lately his requested bedtime reading has been repeatedly Brown Bear, Brown Bear - What Do You See? I try to make this as interactive as possible for two reasons: 1) it distracts him from realizing that he's actually going to bed (prevents the whole tantrum scene) and 2) because he needs some encouragement to remember colors and numbers. (If I ever get this child to recognize colors, it'll be a miracle. Baeleigh knew colors at like 1 1/2.) So, I read, "Red bird, red bird, what do you see? I see a....goldfish looking at me!" Gavin's response: "Mommy, bite you!" "Goldfish won't bite you!", "Yes, BITE-CHOOO MOMMY!" and nodding his head furiously with eyes popped wide open. Not sure where the fascination is with everything biting you came from, but nonetheless. And, it's always the goldfish, the dog and the horse. Go figure! Whoever's telling him that they bite, I have yet to figure out. Meanwhile, as I turn each page, Baeleigh is attempting to interject her daily word minimum on me with some loose tie in to whatever random animal I turned the page too. "Yeah, Gavin, white dog. You know Mr. Guido's white dog, Tinkerbell, yeah, she came over and peed in our yard and G said go home Tinkerbell and kept shooing her away and she just kept barking but Gavin was made because he dropped his popsicle on the ground..." Something like that. You know, the sentences that never end or have a breath of a pause in sight. Mental note: Increase separate Baeleigh-Mommy time so that she can expunge her brainload of thoughts on me in peace, and not during Gavin's bedtime routine.

Neither kid never ceases to amuse or surprise me.

Bee Boy!

Gavin turned 2 on Wednesday. As he would say, "I bee boy!" Indeed! Our little boy has also graduated into his toddler bed, meaning the front rail of his crib has now been taken off. Two weeks before his birthday, he climbed out of said crib and met Daddy in the bathroom to say good morning.

Amazingly, the conversion hasn't been so bad. Gavin, in all his big boy responsibilities, has also given up his binkie. And, thank goodness, because he had practically gnawed through his last one. He didn't really use them to suck on anyway. More like cutting his teeth. The last one's predecessor could have been used as a cheese cloth it had so many holes in it. But, back to sleeping in a big boy bed. He's been really good about it, climbing right in and laying down. Tommy and I are stunned. We're still thinking that he's just enamored with the junior pillow we provided him. There are drool marks all over it.

The last two nights though, he's been a little more reluctant to be put to bed. He climbs in happy enough, but once I tuck him in and hand him his Tigger or Doggie and I get the mega frowny face. Pull the heart strings why don't ya, kid! So, I kneel next to his bed on the couch cushions that we've placed in front of it to act as a safety net for any rolling off the bed and just rub his face or hair. The frown deepens. He almost seems afraid for me to leave him. I offer to read him a story, and he acknowledges with, "uh-huh, story". So I break out a little Goodnight Moon and such and he intently follows along, then I try to tuck him in again. Same pouty lip. At some point though, it me or him that has to cave and so far I've been brave. Ok, not without one last snuggle in my arms before he climbs back into bed the final time. Then, kisses, "mwahs", a flip of the switch to start the fan and walk out and shut the door behind me. Miraculously, not a peep is made and he falls to sleep.

Love you, bee boy!

Things I Remember About You: Gavin

In continuation of my montage of thoughts to not forget about my little ones. I realize Gavin's a lot younger, but there is no shortage of things to remember:

-Jumping as hard as you could in your jumperoo, only to fall asleep in it later on
-Countless walks with mommy while on maternity leave to calm your colic
-Wanting to be on mommy's hip or by my side every second I was near you
-Shoving your arms between mommy's chest and your body when I hold you against me
-Your kitty cat sound with the toss of your head from side to side - Meeeeoooooow
-Wrapping your arms around my leg to give me a hug or just coming over and laying your head in my lap, just because
-Screaming "Ant!" then proceeding to immediately stomp on it
-Pots and pans and tupperware
-Growling or roaring at me
-Your shrill, high-pitched screams
-Chomping holes into your binkies
-You're a sweat ball
-Fascination with your sister's flip flops, and to Daddy's shagrin most especially the pink ones
-Love of dancing and your innate ability to have rhythm (which your sister doesn't have)
-Strong-willed independence (no idea where you get that from)
-Calling your sister "Bae-Bae", but you can't pronounce your own name
-Hatred for being dressed or spending any time on the changer
-Your love of the outdoors
-The way you say "Buh, byyyyyyyye" drawn out
-A bottomless belly, as you never EVER turn down food
-Tinkering with the remote, and your uncanny ability to totally screw up the TV, cable box, etc. taking Mommy or Daddy minutes to fix what you did in a second (e.g., closed captioning on the cable box)
-Walking and swinging your arms and clapping them together
-Constant fascination with daddy's truck (half fear, half intrigue)
-Enthusiasm for all sports, especially cars, to Daddy's excitement ("vroom-vroooooms")
-Looking up to your sister, already being a shadow

Gavin will be 2 in 4 days and I have absolutely no idea where that time went, but I also can't wait to see him grow and develop into a wonderful young man. I have no doubt that Baeleigh and Gavin will both grow up to be productive, successful and loving adults. And, I guess I can say, along with Tommy, "yeah, I did that."

Thud!

No mommy wants to hear that ugly sound. It's never good. Gavin is definitely my little daredevil. But when I'm working only three feet away from him while he's sitting in his chair attached to the island, it pains me to know that I could have prevented it. I had turned my back for just a couple of minutes and heard him wriggling (but he always wriggles). Since it was around dinner time and he had not really taken a good afternoon nap, he was fussy. Then, THUD! Playing it back in my head, I'm not exactly sure of the timing of it all. I just felt my heart skip and my stomach knot up to hear that sound. I peeked around the corner of the island to what seemed like a split second after the fall. And, I recall hearing swwzzzzip kind of sound. The one leg of seat pushed open wide. Gavin was face down on the floor and not crying. It was only a 2 1/2 to 3 foot fall, but it didn't matter. I grabbed him and he wailed, but he quieted quickly. "What had I done to my poor baby" is all I could think. Tommy was bathing Baeleigh and I told him what had happened and then sat down with Gavin in the rocking chair. He rested his head on my chest and began to go to sleep, which worried me after a fall like that. Tommy asked if he had any bruises, but I hadn't seen anything at first and was so wrapped up in comforting him that I didn't really look. But, as I made him sit up, there it was -- about a silver dollar size purple "goose egg" above his right temple, sprinkled with pin-sized blood blisters. So, rash decision or not, overly-protective mommy or not, I decided that we'd have to make an ER visit. Luckily, everything turned out fine, and maybe I over-reacted. A little. But, I would have never slept that night wondering constantly if he was OK, never forgiving myself if it was something worse. We still checked him frequently last night. He's such a shallow-breath sleeper.

I'm just glad that he's fine. And, believe it or not, the ER visit only took an hour! World record!

He Crawls!

From Gavin

From Gavin

From Gavin

After weeks (a couple of months even) of "flying Gavin", downward dog (yoga you neophytes) and the "seal", Gavin finally figured out that his hands served as a integral part to the whole crawling process. Aptly nicknamed Turtle since he first popped his head up to see where Mommy was one morning when he was about 3 months old, he resembles one even more so now. Picking up his hands and dramatically smacking them back down on the floor, plodding along, just like a turtle. Turning that egg-shaped noggin of his to and fro. Of course, as soon as he learns this fantastic new trick, what's next on his agenda? Proceed to pull out all of the DVDs in the bottom shelf of a nearby bookcase.

Nature versus Nurture

Certainly you could argue either way the root causes of personality and behavior being either natural or taught. But having a son now, I might have to say that I lean more towards the nature side of things. I've heard countless times that boys are more aggressive than girls, but until now I tended to believe that it was something that the parents instilled in them. Sort of like the same stereotypical habits that we tend to force on our kids. You know - boys don't play with barbies, but GI Joe's and trucks. Girls are dainty and prissy. Boys are aggressive or rowdy. Up until Gavin, I had the tomboy in Baeleigh. She broke that stereotype and I kind of felt like I helped her express herself in that manner. I didn't want her to conform to the sterotypes and I allowed her explore things that weren't necessarily girly - working on cars with Daddy for instance. Yes, she'll play with dolls but she also loves to watch Daddy race. She's rowdy and boisterous and loves to play outside and get dirty.

Granted Gavin is only 8 months and is a very laid back child, but he has quite the aggressive side in him as well. Take for instance, his baths. He splashes water all over the place and in his face like it's going out of style. Baeleigh maybe kicked her feet, and didn't want the water to get in her face. Gavin will just haul off and smack you, just for the heck of it and giggle when you say "Ow". If he's sleepy, you better bob-and-weave and keep your facial appendages out of reach because he will grab at your nose, ears, lips and just yank as hard as he can. Along with smacking your face. He's not the snuggler. Baeleigh was. He will jump all day in or on whatever he happens to be placed - jumperoo, high chair, floor, table, your lap - and never tires of attempting downward dog or trying to "fly" Super Gavin style to his next location. (Though, insiders tell me that the little bugger has begun crawling, though we have yet to catch him in the act.) He roars at me like a lion daily, heck constantly. Baeleigh was the laugher, the giggler. Gavin isn't. He watches (no make that studies) and strategizes on his next beatdown. (Ok, I exaggerate a little.) And, it's this aggression that I wonder about. I didn't teach him to be this way. I don't treat him differently or condone the hitting or pulling of hair, etc. So, my summation is that it must be nature. He's a boy, that's what boys do right?

Ok, now I can relate. All the times that my girlfriends said boys will be boys, I thought "whatever". Now, I know it's true. Though, this scares me because my friends with toddler boys tell me all about the super-hero acts that I have yet to look forward to - jumping off of the coffee room table for instance. Oh, I'm in for it.

Stop, Or He'll Pop

After feeding Gavin sweet potatoes (it was either that or peas or green beans)Saturday morning, I decided to have a little conversation with my mother-in-law, G, about feeding Gavin only fruits for dinner. Why my mother-in-law, G, finds it weird that I request that Gavin eat a veggie for dinner is beyond me. Don't you eat veggies for dinner?

I broached the subject Monday night, along with he can eat a whole jar if he wants too. Or a half jar of veggie and half a jar of fruit. Mix in a little cereal to fill him up. That does add up to one whole jar, right? Where the disconnect was in that conversation, I'm not sure, but I do know that I was informed by Tommy this morning that he had one heck of a poo. Come to think of it (Tommy said), he was damn near roly-poly last night when he went to bed. Poor kid. Wanna make a bet that poor child, not knowing his own limits, gobbled down a whole jar and a bowl full of cereal. Wouldn't surprise me. And, on top of that, Tommy's feeding him his bedtime bottle two hours later. I'm surprised he didn't pop.

To Rice or Not to Rice

Ok, from day one of weaning over to formula Gavin, he has been a constipated kid. He's gotten so bound up that we had to give him suppositories to make him go after days of not. Yeah, that's fun! So natural to shove a glycerin cone up your child's hiney. (And, why is it that I am so fascinated with how big his little butt hole stretch when I do catch him poo'ing in mid-diaper change? No wonder it's painful!) After switching formulas four (yes, 4!) times, we finally landed on A.R. Lipil. Basically added rice, which although satiated more, it definitely is an ongoing battle to get this child to poo. And, when he does, they come out as ....well, we refer to them as either Play-doh balls or nuggets. Because that's what they look like. Now, A.R. Lipil, in a big can is hard to find. And, on my last outing to Walmart, they didn't have it. So, I got the next best thing - another Lipil but this one called Gentlease Lipil. No rice. The can had 20% more and now I know why. My kid is 20% more hungry without the rice. And, on top of that, not only does he still have Play-doh nuggets but now they wreak to all high heaven. Even his burps. How can a baby produce so much smelliness, I ask?

G (aka Carol, mother-in-law) brought me a box of rice to start giving him. "It's time," she says. Yeah, well, I'm not so sure about that. A - that means I have to come to the realization that my son is growing up and B - that he's ready when you are supposed to usually wait until he's 4 months at least.

Well, I tried a small half tablespoon last night, trying to just fill his tummy a little to stretch him to his bedtime feeding. That boy scarfed that rice down like there was no tomorrow. I thought he'd spit it back out at me but nope. Right down the hatch. So, do I let my little baby keep eating it or wait a little bit longer? Oh, the drama.

What Dr. Spock Doesn't Tell You

Never did I expect during Gavin's morning diaper change to discover that a 10 week old boy can have...ahem..."morning wood". Kinda freaked me out but there it was, plain as day. A little woody. Ewww. Where was that in all those baby books? As if his morning poo wasn't enough in the morning for mommy to deal with. I think I need to hand off the morning diaper changes to daddy.

Mr. Social

Not only did we get an extra special visit from our favorite cuz, Jessica but we've been working hard to make our first sounds and giggles these past couple of weeks. What started as sort of just an "O' shape with his mouth and sort of an "ekk" sound. I caught a little bit on this video, though it's like he knows he's being recorded because he gets much less talkative. The giggles though can melt even the most exasperated mommy after a long trying day. He's been smiling at me for weeks but now he'll sort of giggle. I say sort of because it's more like a nerdy little inhale than a laugh right now, but just too damn cute. Today he even started giggling at the bouncer's activity bar. He seems to find the monkey downright hilarious.

As you can see, Baeleigh is showing off her awesome braid that Jessica put in her hair. She was very proud of it. She still had it in when we went off to Namaw and Pop-pop's house later that afternoon.