Just thought you all should know...

That I can't breathe through my nose. AT ALL.

I am truly miserable.

Tagged

Okay, okay - I usually don't do this sort of thing, but I was "tagged" by my friend Amanda, who I don't think usually does this sort of thing either...so why the heck not?!

My 3 Things...

3 Things that scare me:
* Fire
* Heights (I'm only 5'1", so obviously God didn't intend for me to be far off the ground!)
* The idea of my son Rory getting hurt

3 People who make me laugh:
* My husband, Hoby - have you met him? He's a total dork :)
* Rory - especially when he dances. It's TOO funny!
* My friend Allison who lives on the east coast. We have some terrific inside jokes from our college days at Humboldt State ("Say it with me now - MIATA!" Ha ha ha!). We don't talk as often as I'd like, but when we do, her sarcastic sense of humor makes me roll on the floor and cry with laughter. Boy, do I miss her...

3 Things I love:
* My family and friends
* Singing to the radio in my car with the windows down
* Reading a good book

3 Things I hate:
* People who talk on their cell phones while you are trying to take their order at Starbucks. Hang up your damn phone, people!
* Saying "No" all day long to my son. (The terrible twos have started early!)
* Getting up in the morning. I am NOT, and will NEVER BE a morning person!

3 Things I do not understand:
* How to get Rory to listen to me more often
* Why religion is the cause of so many wars
* why food that tastes good is bad for you and why healthy food costs more

3 Things on my desk:
* Wow! For the first time in my life, I can actually say that I don't have a desk!

3 Things I am doing right now:
* Blogging
* Trying to get over the Flu and a cold :(
* Craving chocolate and peanut butter (even thought I probably couldn't taste it right now anyways!)

3 Things I want to do before I die:
* Go to Israel
* Write a book
* Get this parenting thing under control!

3 Things I can do:
* Play the cello (really!)
* Stand up for what I believe in (and trust me, it can get me in trouble)
* Pack a suitcase really well. (Think "Optimum Space Value")

3 Things I can not do:
* Throw a Frisbee (really, it's ridiculous but true)
* wrap a present (thank goodness for bags!)
* Do math in my head on the fly

3 Things I think you should listen to:
* John Mayor's Continuum CD - I'm hopelessly addicted
* The Garden State Sound Track
* Anything by Sarah Mclaughlin or Dave Matthews Band

3 Things you should never listen to:
* BARNEY!!!!
* The B-52's
* Did I mention BARNEY? Ugh!

3 Things I'd like to learn:
* to speak Spanish fluently (I Do live in California, after all!)
* to sew with a sewing machine
* To drive a stick shift

3 Favorite foods:
* Gyros
* Sushi (Dynamite rolls rock my world!)
* Lobster

3 Beverages I drink regularly:
* Iced Chai Lattes from the 'Bucks
* Iced Chai Lattes from the 'Bucks
* Iced Chai Lattes from the 'Bucks (see a trend here?)

3 Shows I watched as a kid:
* Growing Pains
* Smurfs
* Fame

3 People I'm tagging:
* Sara
* Cherylynn
* Kristie

Dreidal Ornaments?

Found this item in the Crate and Barrel catalog and couldn't help but laugh at the irony... most people who play with dreidals would not have a use for Christmas tree ornaments!

But I'll be buying some, of course. :)

20 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory -

Recently you turned twenty months old - that's TWO ZERO, people! - and it's such a BIG number that I've been considering just calling you a year and a half when people ask because saying that you're "twenty months" just sounds awkward (doesn't it?). Although it's kinda sad to think that you're so old now that I'm actually going to stop referring to your age in terms of months. WOW.

You've become such a little PERSON this past month, Ro, and you're so full of personality that you little body can barely contain it all. You're talking up a storm - I swear you say at least three new words a day - and you're even starting to put together some short sentences and sing bits of songs, which never fails to surprise me. When I realized that I could begin humming something and you would chime in with the words (like "RO RO RO BOOOOAT" or "SHINKLE SHINKLE ITTLE STARRR"), well, my mouth just dropped open in amazement. And you totally looked at me like, "Geez - I've known these songs for AGES! Duh, Mom!" I guess I slightly underestimated how much information that brain of yours could hold. And if your off-the-charts head circumference is any indication, I'm sure you'll keep on wowing me with your brain powers for years to come.

I've also noticed lately that not only are you smart, but sometimes you're actually TOO smart for your own good. For instance, you can now open every child safety latch in the house, you've figured out how to use our car keys to get into and START our cars, and most recently, you've realized that you can open and close the automatic windows in the car from your car seat with your toes. And these are just the highlights of a long list of things that keep your father and I busy 24/7. I realize that the word "NO" has taken over my vocabulary lately and I apologize for that, but try to understand that I love you and I want you to be safe. I hate being the "Mean Mama" and giving you time-outs, so give me a break every once in awhile and surprise me by actually listening the FIRST time I tell you to do something. Let me feel like I'm the boss sometimes, okay?

But even though there has been a battle of wills going on at our house lately, you've still had plenty of time to indulge in your obsession with Elmo. I have a hard time denying you your furry red monster because I think your rapidly expanding vocabulary is in large part due to him. And it's the only time of day that you sit still for longer than five minutes. You've now figured out how to work the TiVo remote so you can turn on the T.V., find an episode of Sesame Street, and then fast forward to the part with Elmo in it. It's a little scary, actually. And yes, I know how bad T.V. is supposed to be for kids and all, but you've learned so much from Sesame Street and there are definitely worse things you could be watching. (Like BARNEY! Ugh!)

There are other things you love besides Elmo, like:
- Eating Pirates Booty from Trader Joes
- Doing ollies on Dada's skateboard (on carpet, of course!)
- Pushing down sprinkler heads (it's a long story...)
- Drinking vanilla milks at Starbucks
- Sipping Dada's beer and coffee
- Removing your socks - you LOVE to be barefoot just like your hippie mama
- Scrubbing the blinds with your tooth brush (don't ask.)
- Shoving whole bananas in your mouth
- Dancing to almost any music (your favorite right now is the "Fruit Dance" from Sesame Street
- and last but not least, washing your hands after pretending to use your training potty

I know that we butt heads a lot lately, Buddy, but I want you to know that no matter how exasperated I may seem to get, I love you unconditionally. You are my baby boy and you make me so proud of you EVERY DAY. I'll get the hang of this toddler parenting thing eventually - I promise. Just hang in there with me until then, okay?

Love,
Mama

Yes, You ARE at Starbucks

Yesterday, this woman came into Starbucks with the kind of attitude where she thinks that people who work behind counters are obviously beneath her and she orders a Caramel Ice Blended. Okay, at Starbucks we call them Caramel Frappucinos (Ice Blendeds are a Coffee Bean thing) but no biggie, we baristas are used to this. So I called out "Caramel Frappucino" to the person making the drinks, which caused the following ridiculous conversation to take place between me and the Lady with a 'Tude:

Her: Excuse me, but I ordered a CARAMEL ICE BLENDED. I don't know what you just said, but that's not what I ordered.

Me: Yes, I know you want a Caramel Ice Blended. But we call them Caramel Frappucinos here.

She just glares at me and hands me her card. Her COFFEE BEAN card.

Me: Um, sorry, but I think you gave me the wrong card.

Her: So? It's for Coffee Bean. Same thing.

Me: Actually, it's not. Coffee Bean is our competitor.

Her: So you won't take it.

Me: Uh, NO.

Her: How ridiculous! I'm taking my business elsewhere!

ME: Super! Coffee Bean is just down the street...

Okay, so I didn't actually say that last line, but it sure was tempting.

Why are people who drink coffee such idiots?

Halloween 2006

Rory absolutely loved Halloween this year! He was a puppy dog (for no other reason than it was the last costume left at Target that would fit him the night before Halloween) and he looked adorable. I just kept wanting to squeeze his little cheeks! Even Avery couldn't keep her hands off of him:



This was the first year he went trick or treating and I just kept wondering what was going on inside that little head of his. I mean, if you had no idea what Halloween was and then suddenly one night all these random people start ringing your doorbell dressed in weird costumes, and then your parents dress you up in funny clothes and send you out to knock on people's doors after dark. Just think about how confused you'd be! You could tell that he was like, "I have NO idea what's going on here, but you know what? I sorta LIKE it!" He was even able to manage saying trick or treat (which sounded more like "Too Twee Tweet!") and I was so proud of him. What a long way he's come from last year when he fell asleep before the first kid ever rang the door bell...

Lalalala - Elmo's world!

Please excuse my obnoxious singing, the fact that Hoby is bribing Rory with ice cream and that my child obviously watches too much tv - just focus on how damn cute my kid is!

18 and 19 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,
Today you turn 19 months old. Somehow you’re 19th month managed to sneak up on me so fast that I never even had a chance to write your 18 month newsletter. We’ve had a busy couple of months, you and I, so you’ll have to forgive me for not being on top of things like writing in my blog or having time for little things, like BREATHING.

You’ve always been a handful, son, but now that you’ve begun to process what goes on around you and you’re able to somewhat verbally express what you want, you’ve become a bossy little dictator. You walk around the house barking orders at us like “UP!”, “DOWN!”, “OFF!”, and “ON!”. And when all else fails, you point at things and grunt things that sound like commands, and amazingly, your father and I always seem to end up doing whatever it is you want us to. There’s no question that you’ve got us wrapped around your little finger.

Luckily this past month has seen the “Daddy” phase begin to disappear and as your Mommy, I have to say that I am unbelievably relieved. You still put up a fuss when Dada leaves in the morning, but it’s nothing like it was before and I can usually distract you with a book or by letting you pick out your own shirt to wear for the day. All I can say is THANK YOU for finally getting through this phase. Instead of feeling like your babysitter, I’m starting to feel like your MAMA again.

These past two months have also come with an explosion of words. At the very least, your vocabulary has quadrupled. I don’t think I can continue to keep a list of all your new words because there are just too many. But here are a couple of my favorites:

- Aubrey, Autumn, Avery, Amy, and Julia (names of your friends that you love to repeat over and over!)
- Suitcase (pronounced “Boot- Case”)
- Apple (used for EVERY piece of fruit, not just apples”)
- Outside (heard ALL THE TIME! You love to be outdoors!)
- Drive (pronounced “DWIVE” and used to describe one of your favorite activities, which is pretending to drive Dada’s car in the driveway)
- Whoa (used to point out spiders and spider webs outside)
- NanaPapaMamaDaddaRoro – (a verbal run down of the people you know are eating out of the palm of your hand)
- Tutu – (our word for your, um, wee wee, right next to the “BOYS”)

Speaking of your “Tutu”, we were watching a baseball game the other day and you heard the announcer say “and it’s 2-2” and you immediately grabbed your crotch and yelled “TUTU!” I could see that you were thinking, “Hey, how cool that they talk about THAT on T.V., Mama!” There’s no question about it, Rory, you are a boy, through and through!

I also could not write about these past couple of months without mentioning your love of music. Your Papa Stan gave you a set of small conga drums and along with a couple of wooden spoons, you go at them with wild abandon. And while it may not have been my first choice for you (a nice quiet acoustic guitar, perhaps?), there is no doubt that you love drumming and that you’re actually pretty darn good at it. I mean, how many other 19 month olds can actually keep a beat? So I plan to foster your talent in whatever way I can, even if that means that I will be eating aspirin like candy for the rest of my life. You also love to go crazy on the ukulele that we got you in Hawaii, you even sing like a little rock star. Rock on, Roro.




And while I may be busy running after you as you see how fast your little legs can carry you, or trying to get you to eat something that I swear you loved just yesterday, I want you to know that although I can seem frustrated sometimes, I’m truly enjoying the fact that you are becoming your own person. Someone said to me today that you no longer look like a baby, that you’ve suddenly become a little boy and I realized that it’s more than just looks. You’re growing up, Rory, and I’m so glad that I’m able to be home with you as much as I am so that I don’t miss a step.



I love you, little man.

Love,
Mama

Finally... The Hawaii Trip Run Down

I felt it rather appropriate to begin my blog about our trip to Hawaii with a picture of King Rory - because really, when you get right down to it, this vacation totally revolved around him.

The plane ride there (including getting through airport security) was definitely not fun. We were seated at the very back of the airplane, and since we didn't know any better, we hadn't gotten Rory his own seat and it was a very full plane. As people were taking their seats, I could see them eyeing my feisty toddler with a wary eye, and who could blame them? But then Ro fell asleep the minute the plane took off and I could feel all the passengers around us sigh in collective relief - and no one was sighing louder than ME. But an hour later, the peace was shattered when Rory suddenly popped his head up, looked around wildly at the tight quarters and then proceeded to kick the seat in front of him in an effort to be "released" from my lap. (To the people in seats 40C and D - I'm SOOOOO SORRY!) And then the marathon of running up and down the aisles began...

We arrived in Hawaii feeling unbelievably travel weary, only to have to wait outside in the withering heat for our bus to come and take us to the Hilton Hawaiian Village for two nights before the cruise. And so started the endless waiting in lines... lines to get to the bus, lines to check in, lines for the elevator - just what you want to be doing after having sat on a plane with a toddler for 5 hours. Ugh. But once we got to our room and saw our beautiful view of the ocean, we finally started to feel like we were on vacation.



Fast forward two days later when we were herded in large groups to wait in more lines in the burning sun in order to board buses to take us to the port terminal. Tempers were about as hot as the temperature and people were really pissed off about how un-organized this whole supposedly "seamless" process was. Don't they do this several times a week? Never did being stuffed into a bus - an AIR CONDITIONED BUS - sound so good! But once we got to the port terminal, there were even MORE lines and poor Rory was so tired of being either in his stroller or in someone's lap - and who can blame him? By the time we actually got on the ship, we were one grouchy bunch.

The ship itself was interesting - there were 12 restaurants onboard, a large pool with a slide, a basketball court, and an enormous Broadway style theater. Our stateroom was a little larger than we expected it to be, which was good considering that we ended up spending quite a bit of time in there with Rory while he napped. But it was an all American crew that was totally burned out and a brand new ship that still had a lot of kinks to be worked out, and the service onboard was not what it should have been. They were trying this new type of dining called "Freestyle Cruising", which is advertised as meaning that you can just walk into any restaurant you want on the ship whenever you want - no specific seating times and no specific table that you have to sit at. What it really was: long, long lines of people waiting to get into restaurants that were under staffed. Thank goodness my Dad had the foresight to make us reservations - most people didn't know to do that, and so they had to wait to eat, sometimes for hours, every night. Not cool.

But enough about that.

We were in port every day, so each morning we would get up, have breakfast in the buffet, and then prepare Rory for a day of fun in the sun by gooping him up with tons of sunscreen.



Then we would head off the ship to see the sights or in search of a decent beach to hang out at. Rory spent a lot of time riding around the Hawaiian islands in his stroller looking like this:



The beach was interesting with our little man since he seems to have a slight aversion to sand. At first, we'd have to lay out towels and various other items like surf boards so that he could maneuver around without his feet touching the beach. Hoby and I would just look at each other and think, "Where on Earth did this kid come from?" Who ever heard of a kid not liking sand? Oye!



Here he is after a long day of avoiding getting sandy:



Luckily, by the end of the trip he started getting the hang of things and he would even sit on the sand with a shovel and bucket, just like a normal child (thank god!).

Sometimes we could get Rory to nap during the day at some point, but many times he was just too riled up to try and close his eyes. So you can imagine what would happen when it came time to sit down for a two hour dinner. TOTAL MELT DOWN. Nope, it was not a pretty sight. Not pretty at all. But what toddler could sit through that long of a dinner after being cooped up in a stroller all day? After all, my kid isn't super human.

So basically, after dinner, Hoby and I would be so exhausted that we'd just take Rory and we'd all go to sleep in our nice, dark room. That doesn't leave a whole lot of night life to speak of, which is actually kind of okay, because the couple of shows that I did catch were so bad that they were painful to watch. Just a little example for you: They had a crew talent show one night and one of the performers read a poem that she had written. I was politely tuning out her monotone voice when I heard her say "like a bomb in Hiroshima with flesh eating bacteria melting their faces..." Um, WHAT???? Did I really just hear that? This is ENTERTAINMENT??? And there was this magic show with a magician who's only trick for his ENTIRE HOUR LONG SHOW was to make plastic flowers appear. WOOHOO. Definitely two thumbs down.

But even though the onboard entertainment sucked, we were entertained in other ways, like when Rory would play at the pool on the ship and go down the big slide with his Dada:



And the fact that Rory got to spend quality time with his Nana, Papa and Uncle Jer for nine days - PRICELESS.



And this look on his face - well, this made it ALL WORTH IT:



Thanks to Grandma Jo and Grandpa Al for Rory's first vacation paid for by NBD (National Bank of Dad).

We love you!

Summing The Past Week Up In A Handy Diagram

We're Back!

Until I get out from under our mountain of laundry and get a chance to write about our trip, here's some photos to tide you over...enjoy!

Rory, Papa and the Ship


Me and my bro, Jeremy


Rory and his Nana


Surfin' with Dada


Ro and his ride

Fear of Flying

As some of you may know, we will be leaving tomorrow on our very first vacation with Rory - a 7 day cruise of the Hawaiian Islands, which includes a 5 hour plane flight there and back. And while this may sound like a FABULOUS vacation (and I'm sure it WILL be once we actually get there), the idea of flying with my EXTREMELY ACTIVE 17 month old absolutely terrifies me.

Unfortunately, since we've never done this before, we didn't realize that it would be a good idea to get him his own seat and take his car seat (which would be familiar and more calming), so instead, he will be sitting on our laps for the entire flight. And for those of you who know Rory, have you EVER seen him sitting on our laps for five minutes let alone five hours? My God, we must be crazy.

Yes, we thought about trying to "knock him out", but we followed the advice of our pediatrician and did a trial run with Benadryl, and of course our Rory is one of the 10% of kids in which Benadryl has the OPPOSITE effect. So instead of falling asleep, he was running all over the house like he was on speed for 2 hours. Good thing we tried it out first, eh?

Yup, we're just THAT lucky.

So Plan B is to try and keep him entertained with a bunch of new little gifts, all beautifully wrapped for maximum attention grabbing potential, and perhaps we'll just save the Benedryl to take ourselves. Haha.

Well, if all else fails, at least we'll have some fabulous blog stories for when we get back!

Wish us luck...

17 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,

Summers have always gone by quickly, but this year August snuck up on me out of no where. I'd swear that I just wrote your last newsletter a week ago - where DOES the time go?

But as fast as the days have been speeding by, you are unfortunately still stuck in this mind-numbing phase of "ALL DADDY, ALL THE TIME." Everything is "Dada this" and "Dada that", and when he's home, you cling to him like a little monkey on a tree. He can't be out of your sight for even a minute or all hell breaks loose. And heaven forbid that your father should try and hug or kiss me! You get ridiculously jeolous and squeal like a little pig. It's like you're shouting "He's MY DADA! HANDS OFF, LADY!" I must say, child, this is getting REALLY OLD. Everyone keeps telling me that this is just a phase so GET ON WITH IT ALREADY! Just once I'd like you to call for ME when you first wake up in the morning, and it would be nice if you'd show just a teensy bit of interest when I leave for work, especially since I have usually just spent an hour consoling you over the fact that your Dada has left for the day. So, just in case I haven't made myself clear before, ANYTIME you want to move out of this phase would be just fine by me.

But amazingly, even though it may seem like almost every word out of your mouth is Dada, I am starting to hear a lot of new words creep into your vocabulary this month. I'm sure this isn't a complete list, but here are some of the latest:

- Pool
- Cheese
- Pita (Pronounced "PEE TAA")
- Boys (unfortunately used in reference to what we are cleaning when we are changing your diaper!Oops!)
- Off (Pronounced "AWWWFFFFF" and used most often when you want out of something, like a stroller, car seat, etc.)
- Papa and Nana
- Slide (pronounced "IDE")
- I Do (pronounced "EYE DEEEWWWWW, which is your way of saying YES and my personal favorite!)

This month has also seen you get excited about reading, and although I've read you "Knuffle Bunny" approximately 5 million times, I'm still overjoyed that you'll finally sit still long enough for a story. And it's pretty damn cute when you wake us up by carrying your book into our room and saying "PEEEEZ". Luckily, your obsession with the Teletubbies has died down considerably (THANK GOD!), but you've now found Barney, that ridiculous purple dinasour, and I'm beginning to think that maybe the Tubbies weren't ALL that bad. When you get older, you'll understand how painful it is to sit through an episode featuring child actors who are exaggerating every word they say. It is THE WORST ACTING EVER. Truly. But because your eyes light up when you watch it and you dance when they sing songs, I'll sit through it. I'll even Tivo it. Just for you.

Now, I couldn't report on this month's activities without mentioning the whole sleep issue. In my last blog entry, we were doing the bedtime routine and it was going amazingly well... for a while. Apparently the world has become just too interesting of a place for you to close your eyes and miss a minute of it. So while we are still sticking to the rountine, it's certainly not working like it did. Most nights it takes at least a half an hour to get you down to sleep, and then you don't stay asleep all night. You don't make things easy on us, kid. It's a good thing that you're DAMN cute.



But as much as you may drive me crazy, Rory, you still manage to do something every day that makes me melt into a pool of mommy-jello. Like when you come over and play with my hair. Or the way you love to hold my hand in the car. Or how you've FINALLY started to give me little hugs and you always pat me on the back while you're doing it like you're saying, "It's okay, Mommy. It's okay." And you're right, Ro, it IS okay. It's better than okay.

It's WONDERFUL.

Love,
Mama

Sweet Success

There are a lot of things I've approached the wrong way with Rory, especially when it comes to getting him to sleep. I always held him in my arms and rocked him, and I never had the heart to let him cry things out - but hey, he's my first baby, so truly I didn't know any better. But finally - FINALLY - I did something RIGHT!

After almost 17 months of bending over backwards to get Rory to bed at night, we finally realized that what we were doing wasn't working anymore. His bedtime was getting later and later and it was always a fight to get him to sleep. So after talking it over with a friend (THANK YOU, ERIN!!!), she made me see that we had a choice here. We could either nip this in the bud now (with maybe a week or two of crying), or we were going to be dealing with this problem for years to come. And I knew she was right.

So I took a deep breath and went right home to tell Hoby that we were starting a bed time routine that very night which something looks like this:

1.Bath and Jammies
2.Bottle
3.Brush Teeth
4.Read 2 Books
5.Kisses/Hugs and off to Bed!

As we were going through the new routine that first night, I braced myself for the worst - I know that my child has a temper that can make our house rattle - and I expected hours of angry crying once we tried to put him to bed. We had already decided that our best "cry it out" approach would be to have one of us sit in the room with him while he cried until he fell asleep because we know he can climb out of his crib and we didn't want any cuncussions. And although it was HARD listening to my little man cry his heart out that first night (along with several upset sounding "Dada, OUT! OUT! OUTs!"), he fell asleep after only 40 minutes. Then, the second night, it was only 15 minutes. The third night was even less.

Tonight was our fourth night (and the first night minus Dada, who is on a business trip), and I'm thrilled to report that it took less than FIVE MINUTES to get him to go down with only a few prostests and almost NO crying. And after I heard him begin to snore, I did the happy dance all through the house (quietly, of course!)

So here's to finally doing something right!!! I may get this parenting thing under control after all...

Rory's Skateboarding Debut

Look Ma, no hands!!!

16 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory -
Well, I know that I'm a little overdo with this newsletter, but I've had a hard time figuring out what to say. Honestly, it's been a rough month for me, kid. You've been going through this new phase where the only person you want is your Daddy, and if he even steps out of your sight for a nano-second, you launch yourself into a full blown fit, complete with endless wailing and a river of tears. Apparently, I, your mother, the woman who carried you for nine long months in her belly, the one who comforts you when you wake up in the middle of the night and makes sure that you are well taken care of in every way... well, I just don't really count for much in your eyes right now. And that kinda hurts. I know this is just a phase, but it's still a bit hard to take sometimes. I'm really hoping that you move through this quickly and start being "my" little boy again soon.

But even though you've been throwing a lot of Daddy-oriented tantrums lately, you're still finding plenty of time to learn new things. You've got quite the handful of new words and signs this month, including:

• On
• Off (pronounced AWWWFFFFF)
• Tree
• Dog (pronounced DAAWG)
• Elmo
• Please (pronounced PEEEZ)
• Cheese (accompanied but an exaggerated smile and squished-up face for the camera that totally ruins the picture!)
• Water (pronounced WAWA)
• Yuck (pronounced ACHHHHH with a good phlem sound in the back of your throat - it almost like you're speaking Hebrew!)
• Sun (signed)
• Book (signed)
• Open and Close (signed)
• And of course, LALA and POE from the Teletubbies (which you are totally obsessed with and we watch at least 10 times a day! But look how much you love it!)

You've also started to learn the parts of the body, ( a total surprise to me because I don't remember ever teaching them to you!), and you love it when I ask you to point to something, like your belly or your nose - you point with such glee and then you are SO darn proud of yourself. And I have to admit that I like to show off your new basic anatomy knowledge when we're out and about because I just can't get over how smart you are. Hey, a mom's allowed to brag a little, right?

And how can I possibly write this month's newsletter without mentioning your obesession with water? If you even hear water running somewhere, you won't rest until you've found out where it is and then of course you must play with it! You love to work the faucet handles and turn the water on and off over and over again. We made the mistake of letting you play in the kitchen sink the other night while we got dinner ready, and then when it came time to get you out - WHOA! The screams of your displeasure could be heard around the block and you were inconsolable for at least a half hour.

But lucky for us, your neighborhood harem of girls came by and distracted you. On any given night, we'll have at least two or three little girls knocking on our door to come and play with you, which you LOVE (and what boy wouldn't love a whole gaggle of girls cooing over him?). Anytime you hear our doorbell ring, you get a big smile on your face and then you rush your way over to the door to see which of your "girlfriends" will be there to visit you. And thank goodness for them! It's like having a bunch of little babysitters-in-training!

I know I probably write this all the time, but every month, it never fails to amaze me how much you grow and change. I was folding some of your laundry tonight and I realized how big your shirts have gotten and how you're so beyond being a baby now - and it made me a little sad to think of how quickly you are growing up right before my eyes. Now I understand why my father always used to say that he wanted to bottle me up in a hermetically sealed mayonaise jar and keep me his little girl forever...

Happy 15 months to my favorite tempermental butterball,

Love,

Mama

The Discipline Survey

Hello from a frustrated Mama. Rory is what you might call a very "spirited child" and we're having a bit of trouble figuring out how to discipline him. He thinks the word NO is funny and loves to return over and over again to the things we try to keep him away from. So I thought I'd take a survey and see what methods other people are using. I'm VERY open to advice, so feel free to leave any suggestions/ideas you might have in the comments. Any help is appreciated!

How do you discipline your child?

Spanking Talking to firmly Time Out I think my child is too young for discipline at this age.

Web Polls by Vizu

Dancin' With Ducky

Make sure and notice the fancy foot work! Can my kid shake it, or what?

15 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,

A few days ago, you turned 15 months old, but you've already developed the defiant attitude of a 15 year old. You want so badly to be you're own little independent person right now and you just love to push at the boundries we've tried to set up for you. (Notice the key word there is TRIED.)

I hate the fact that I'm constantly having to say NO NO NO to you all day long, but unfortunately, you haven't learned to distinguish between what is just fun to bug Mama with and what is actually dangerous. And being the total dare devil that you are, most of the things you find to get into these days have danger written all of over them. Like trying to climb up onto the oven door so you can turn on the stove (which is "child-proofed" by the way, but it's not like that actually STOPS you). Or trying to pull wires out of the wall and chew on them with your new mouthful of teeth. Or trying to "walk" down the stairs by yourself like a big person when your chunky little legs just aren't long enough yet so you go tumbling down head first. Or getting into our dishwasher and shoving knives in your mouth (see charming video of evidence below.)



Rory, you should know that there is only so much of this a mother can take in one day (one hour, one minute...) without wanting to tie you down to a chair to keep you safe from yourself. But since we obviously can't do that (can we????), then we should talk about trying to channel your abundant energy towards something else, like maybe putting you on a treadmill and having you provide the electricity for the entire city of Camarillo. Ha ha.

But on a positive note, you're ability to communicate has absolutely exploded this month. It's amazing to be able to say to you, "Hey Rory, let's go upstairs and get in the bath" and then actually have you get up and go! When that happens I feel like running out the door and shouting your praises to the neighborhood. You are also signing like a maniac (your latest signs are "milk", "thank you" and a Rory-version of "Where is it?"). You also have a bunch of new words that you say this month, including:
- Tree (pronounced "Tee")
- Please (pronounced "Peeeez" and only when prompted)
- Ball (or "A Ball" as you say it)
- Keys
- Fish (pronounced "FSHHHHH")

Besides trying to talk to us, your newest obsession this month is the Teletubbies. We Tivo it for you (thank God for Tivo!) and as soon as you hear the music come on, you run right over to TV, get as close to it as you can, and then smile and giggle as each Teletubbie pops up on the screen. You get so excited that you dance around in a circle and clap your hands. It's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen you do. (And it's the only way we can get you to sit still for longer than 2 minutes these days.)

So, you're a handfull. Okay, a BIG HANDFULL. But when you grab my face and give me a big slobbery kiss, or walk around the house wearing your Daddy's shoes, or chuckle a fake little laugh just because you hear us laughing and you don't want to be left out...well, I can't imagine loving you any more than I do right now.

Happy 15 months to my Busy Bee.

Love,
Mama

Just for Fun...

You Are a Cappuccino

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new. However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like. You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation. You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

What do you think? Is this me? Hmmmm...

Puke Girl

So, I did a really stupid thing and ate a sandwich from work that I KNEW wasn't that fresh. And then six hours later I got sick. REALLY, REALLY SICK. Take me to the hospital, I want to die sick.



So sick, in fact, that my husband and child were afraid to come anywhere near me for a full 24 hours. So sick that I can't even TYPE the name of what I ate because just the thought of it will make me start hurling over again. So sick that I may never be able to eat chicken again. Yup, THAT EFFING SICK.

And it's my own fault...

What's worse than that?

What Is This World Coming To?

This past week, I have run into some pretty strange people. Actually, maybe I really just mean RUDE people. The streak started on Wednesday when I was shopping at a thrift store. I was trying to manuever Rory's stroller down a small aisle of clothing and there was a woman in the way. I politely asked her if she could move over a bit so that we could get through and without even looking at me she says, "You'll just have to figure out a way around me, honey." Thanks, lady. How about if we just wheel OVER you instead?

Then, later that day, Rory and I were at the mall in the children's play area when a woman rolled up with a stroller that not only had her daughter in it, but also a small dog in the basket. The fact that the dog was wearing a diaper should have been my first clue that something was weird, but hey, hind sight is twenty-twenty, right? Anyway, Rory saw the dog right away and started running towards it going "Whoof Whoof!" so I went over to ask the lady if it was okay for him to pet it. I was a little hesitant because the dog seemed sorta high strung, but the Dog Lady says, "Oh, she's just great with kids, here let me show you." So she grabs Rory's hand and brings it over to pet the dog, when all of a sudden, the dog jumps up, snarls, and bites Rory's finger! The damn thing BIT MY SON!!!!

It wasn't a bad bite, but it was bleeding a bit and Rory was totally hysterical. And as my baby was sobbing in my arms, all the Dog Lady says is, "I wouldn't really worry about it, it's not like the dog hasn't had it's shots." EXCUSE ME? Shouldn't you be saying something more along the lines of SORRY?! Can you believe that bitch never even apologized? She just went on acting like nothing had even happened, and here's my son, practically hyperventilating because he's crying so hard. He could be traumatized for life, for God's sake! I grabbed Rory and got as far away from Dog Lady and her little monster in a diaper as I could. Then I made a panicky call to Rory's pediatrician to see if I needed to bring him in, which thankfully the bite turned out to be so minor that it didn't require medical attention. But my poor guy spent the rest of the day clinging to me and repeating "Mama, Whoof Whoof" and then crying uncontrollably. Shame on you, Dog Lady. Shame, shame, shame!

And as if that wasn't enough, today this guy came into The Mother of All Coffee Houses while I was working and rudely demanded a free drink just because both of our bathrooms had been occupied when he wanted to use them. Yes, Sir, you're right -it's totally our fault that other customers needed to relieve themselves at the same time as you. We obviously planned it that way just to spite you...

What is this world coming to???

Luckily, my day ended with this, and everything was better:

My 100th Post! - Memorial Day Weekend 2006

Grandma Judy and Aunt Gwen came down from the mountains of Mariposa this weekend to visit with us, and of course our little Rory fish wanted to spend the day in the pool with his cousins, Marin and Joaquin. I'm so excited that he loves to swim! Here's a short video of him livin' it up in the water and some cute pictures from the day:

Joaquin
Marin

Hoby and His Mama


Rory's New Choo Choo


Rory and Marin
(Don't they look alike?)


Rory and His Grandmas

Poppi - This One's For You!

Rory's catwalk debut as he models his "Doctor in Training" hospital scrubs:

14 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,
Yesterday you turned 14 months old. FOURTEEN MONTHS. I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that the day you were born, time suddenly started to move at warp speed. Months pass in the blink of an eye, and you are rapidly changing from a helpless baby into this amazing little boy, who can walk, talk and think for himself. Ah yes, the WALKING. Did I mention that you are now totally mobile, so mobile that you NEVER SIT DOWN? Those chunky little legs have always been busy moving, but now they can actually take you somewhere - and strangely enough, it's not usually in the direction that I had in mind. Go figure. If I thought you were a handful before, well, I obviously had no idea what I was in for. You love to assert your new independence, and the result is me chasing after you ALL THE TIME. (I should mention here that it might be nice to give Mama a break every once in awhile!)

Along with the gift of mobility, you have also finally started learning to communicate with us. That Baby Sign I've been working on with you has started to pay off, and now you know how to use your hands to tell us "all done", "airplane", and of course, your favorites "eat" and "more". Your verbal vocabulary is also growing, and although I can't always understand what you're trying to tell me with your cute little grunts and babbling, I know for sure that you can say the following:

Light (Pronounced "LIEEEE TTTTTT"
Hot (Pronounced "HAAA TTTTT"
Icky
Kitty (Pronounced "KEE KEE")
Banana (Pronounced "NA NANA")
Dada
Wee! (when he's going down a slide)
Mama (finally!)

I know that you understand a lot more than you let on and sometimes it freaks me out when you actually do what I tell you to. Like today when I told you that it was time to eat, so you walked into the kitchen and tried to climb into your high chair. Moments like that make me so proud of you that I'm afraid I'm going to burst.

I know I haven't been as diligent as I'd like to be about writing down this adventure that we're on together, and though I'd like to swear that I'll be better about it, you keep me too busy these days to promise anything (not to mention the fact that you like to try and "help" me type on the computer.) I may not get down every milestone or monthly newsletter (notice that Month 13 is missing), but that doesn't mean that I love you any less, it only means that I'd rather spend my time playing with you than with my nose in the computer. And if you had known me as the computer geek that I was before you were born, you would know that's a pretty BIG DEAL...

Happy 14 months, Bubba.

Love,
Mama

Why Write Something When I Can Just Post This Adorable Video?

Boogie Down, Boys!



(By the way, Rory gets all his dance moves from his Mama.)

12 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,
Well, it's official. I am now the mother of a ONE YEAR OLD. That means that you have been alive for 12 whole months, 52 weeks, 365 days and 525,948 minutes. With numbers that big, I can't understand how it went so quickly, but it did and now the day has come. You had your first birthday party luau, blew out your first candle in front of a ton of cameras, and then smashed the cake in your face like all good birthday boys should.



And then, of course, you had a sugar meltdown and cried for the rest of your party, but hey, it was YOUR party, dude, so you can cry if you want to - right?

This last month leading up to your birthday has been filled with a frenzy of activity from you. You've been trying to assert your new independence as a toddler, and now I fully understand why mothers of toddlers always looked so wild-eyed and frazzled - because THEY ARE. Every item in our house is becoming locked, latched or tied down in some way, and just when we think we've baby proofed EVERYTHING possible, you get into something else. This week it's the dishwasher, the oven, and the garbage can. Next week, who knows?

You are also starting the phase where you have to have everything we have, so trying to use the television clicker, our cell phones, or the camera has become a constant power struggle. You are constantly grabbing at some gadget we have in our hands - and my God, are you persistant! It looks a little something like this:



But as much as a handful as you are these days, you've really started to become your own little person, and it's so amazing to watch. I love watching you figure out how to do something for the first time, like when you learned to drink through a straw or when you were able to put the circle shape through the circle hole all by yourself. I can see the wheels turning in your head and then the light goes on in your eyes and it makes it all worth it.



I know that you'll be walking anytime now (yikes!), since you love to grab onto anything that moves and use it to get around, including your cousin Marin's baby doll stroller, which nearly gave your father a heart attack, so of course I'm posting a picture of it just to rub it in! You look so proud of yourself when you're able to get where you want to go - and as scary as it is to think of you being that mobile, I know that you're going to love it.





Everyday is an adventure with you, Rory Bear - I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...

Love,
Mama

Rory and the Rotovirus

We have been fairly lucky with Rory during his first year in terms of illnesses - a sniffle here and there, a minor case of the runs, a chicken pox scare that turned out to be nothing.

Until now.

Rory has been diagnosed with Rotovirus, which apparently is a very common illness in children under the age of two. It's so common that our doctor was able to diagnose him over the phone without even seeing him simply by having us describing the symptoms. And oh, what fun symptoms they are! (You may want to pass over this next paragraph if don't want the somewhat graphic details.)

Rory has diahrea so badly that he literally explodes each time he goes to the bathroom, and then proceeds to leak through every diaper and every article of clothing we put on him. He also is having trouble keeping food down and had projectile vomited on several occasions (mostly when his father was watching him, thank God!). As you can probably imagine, our house has trash bags full of dirty diapers and piles of soiled laundry all over the place. Definitely not the most delightful place to be. And the best part about it? There's absolutely nothing you can do for Rotovirus - no medicine or magic pill. It just has to run it's course, which can last anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks. THREE WEEKS, people. Just shoot me now.

And to top it all off, the poor kid is TEETHING, which is traumatizing enough for a baby as it is. So basically we've got a pretty miserable little dude on our hands (and trust me, his parents aren't the most thrilled, either.)

I think that if I have one more sleepless night, or have to change one more totally disgusting diaper while my child screams in pain from diaper rash, I may have to throw myself out a window.

Okay, maybe not really throw myself. Perhaps I'll just bang my head against it for awhile...

11 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,

As you can probably see, I'm at little late at writing your 11 month newsletter, and I have to admit that there's a bit of a psychological reason for this. Now that you're eleven months old, that means that you are that much closer to being twelve months old, and honey, I'm just not ready for that yet. I am not prepared to be the mother of a one year old, a TODDLER, if you will, and so I decided that if I didn't write this month's newsletter, than perhaps I could hold back time for just a bit, and keep you my baby just a little bit longer.

Well, it didn't work. Go figure.

You are hurtling your way into toddler-hood at warp speed, and nothing short of the world ending could possibly slow you down. I couldn’t possibly list all of the things you learned to do this month without writing a small novel, because you do something new EVERY SINGLE DAY. So instead I’ve decided to just list some of the highlights:

• Playing hide and seek. It’s the extended version of your favorite game Peek-A-Boo and it just keeps getting better and better.

•Talking – This month’s words are hot (pronounced “HoTTTTTTT”), ducky (pronounced “DeeDee”), kitty (pronounced “KeeKee”) and Woof Woof (pronounced as two grunts), Daddy and of course, the favorite from last month, light. (Notice there is still no Mama anywhere in this mix.)

•Singing and Dancing – Almost too cute for words! You’ve started tapping your feet and swinging your arms from side to side when you hear music that you like (I dance around you all the time, so we knew it was only a matter of time before it rubbed off on you!) You also “sing” – only one note, but boy, can you hold it! And you look so serious when you do it, like a tiny little opera singer. I melt every time you do it.

•Eating, Eating, Eating – My God, child, can you put it away! You only have two bottom teeth still, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping you in the least. Your favorites right now are Nutrigrain bars, teriyaki tofu, and Craisins, but really you will eat almost anything that fits in your mouth. People wonder why I’m losing so much weight… it’s because you’re eating all my food!

•Creeping around – okay, so you’re not walking yet, but I’m okay with that because I have a feeling that you won’t walk, you’ll RUN. But you are starting to get around by holding onto the furniture and that in itself gives us enough to worry about without you being totally mobile on your feet. Sorry to say it, kid, but I see leashes in your future.

•Riding on the bike with Daddy – This month you were finally big enough to go in a bike seat, a moment your Dad has been waiting for since you were born. He immediately went out and bought you your first bike helmet, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t the cutest thing on earth!



•Giving the High Five – Hitting things is a favorite pastime of yours anyways, so it seemed only right to teach you how to give people five. Of course, we taught you in Spanish (since we’re so multi-cultural and all, haha), so you only respond to “Dame cinco”, but hey, it’s still pretty cool.

•Getting Your First Haircut - Quite the adventure! At first, you sat still because you were interested in what was going on, but after a minute or two, you were like, GET ME OUTTA HERE! It's a wonder there's any hair left on your head at all considering how much you squirmed!



And last but not least - TEMPER TANTRUMS! Yup, your temper has reared it's ugly head and you're determined to show us who's boss. You throw your arms up over your head so we can't hold you and then arch your back until your head slams on the ground behind you. Kinda graceful, actually, but I can imagine that your head is getting a bit sore. I realize it's because you are frustrated that you can't communicate what you want, but couldn't you find a more gentle way to assert yourself? Like Baby Sign Language? Just something for you to consider...

Don't worry though, little man, I still love you, temper tantrums and all.

Happy eleventh month...
Love,
Mama

Our Television Debut

Last night Rory and I were on the KTLA 10 o'clock news!

Here's how it happened:
We having dinner at this whole in the wall pizza place in Calabasas with our good friend Holley when a KTLA news van suddenly drives up and this reporter and his cameraman pop out and start heading our way. This first thing he says to us is "Hey, are you smokers?" and we all sort of look at him like he's crazy so he's says, "Well, have you heard about the new law that they are trying to pass tonight in Calabasas that would ban smoking public? So even if you were just walking down the street and you wanted to light up, you couldn't. What do you think of that?" and then the camera light shined in my eyes and the guy stuck a microphone in my face and I was like, oh shit, think of something interesting to say, QUICK!

So here's what I said:
"Well, I would like to think that we still live in a society where people are courteous enough to each other that we wouldn't need a strict law like that. If someone is smoking near my child, I would hope that I could ask them to move and they would. I think this law is going a bit overboard. It would certainly be a different world, but I think it's too strict. Definitely too strict."

Not bad for having to think on my feet, eh? I was pretty proud of myself!

Now here's what they actually put on the news:
"It would certainly be a different world, but I think it's too strict. Definitely too strict."

Oh well, at least Rory and I LOOKED good!

Happy 11 Months, Rory!

Thanks to Sara Cameron and her early birthday present to Rory, we have new pictures!





And, right in the middle of the photo shoot, Rory stood by himself without holding onto to anything for the first time!

Look at the concentration on his face...