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...

One Big Caffeine Headache

The Mother of All Coffee Houses can really suck the big one sometimes.

Recently, they put a new policy into place that required the work schedule to be posted at least two weeks in advance, which was major progress considering that I had previously been getting only a few days notice and it was becoming unbelievably difficult to plan ahead for ANYTHING. And this short notice wasn't just a problem for me - it also affected my husband and my mother, who watch Rory when I'm at work. None of us could have a LIFE. So, when I got my schedule for the next THREE WEEKS, I was thrilled. I passed the information on, and all of us were able to make appointments, and actually make plans in advance for a change. How refreshing.

Yesterday, however, I happened to notice that the schedule posted for this week looked slightly different from the one I had at home, and I was told that yes, some changes had been made. Was anyone planning on telling us that? Good thing I happened to look at the schedule! I orginally was supposed to work on Monday from 6pm-10:30pm, and it had been changed to 4:30pm-8:30pm instead. Not a huge deal, thankfully, since Hoby was available to watch Rory either way. But shame on them for changing the schedule and not telling anyone!

Well, tonight I received a phone call at 8pm telling me that the schedule had been re-done AGAIN this afternoon, and I was now required to come in tomorrow morning 7:15am -1:45pm. SAY WHAT? That's less than a twelve hour notice! So I told them that I couldn't work that shift because I had no one to watch Rory. And guess what they told me? That it was my responsibility to find someone to cover the shift! My answer to that was ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You can't go and change the schedule at the last minute and then expect me to drop everything and accomodate you. I have a son to take care of. I have A LIFE OUTSIDE WORK. And so I told them that I would NOT be there in the morning, and they would just have to deal with it. I'd be happy to come in during the evening shift like the past TWO schedule revisions had me down for, but that was the best I could do.

Who the heck do they think they are anyway?

To Hell With The Dell

Wondering why I haven't been blogging a lot lately? Well, for once I have a really good excuse. Our Dell laptop is having issues AGAIN and needs to be repaired for the third time in just over a year. Is that RIDUCULOUS or what? Our space bar only works when it wants to so most of my typing lookslikethis unless I smack the space bar several times between each word. And that is BEYOND ANNOYING. My train of thought gets completely interrupted before I can even finish a sentence. Soooooo, our lemon of a laptop will be packed up and shipped back to Dell for awhile and my blogging will be spotty at best. But don't give up on me... I will be back with more coffee house stories and Rory adventures as soon as I can type like a normal person again and not look like I've turned my laptop into a drum set.

Until then, I will leave you with this adorable picture of my son, the handsome devil...

My Son May Be Scarred Psychologically From This Later But....

I just had to post this picture!



Does he look stoked or what?

Ten Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,
Yesterday you turned ten months old and I’m pretty shocked that I now have a child whose age is in DOUBLE DIGITS. I mean, in just two short months you’ll be A WHOLE YEAR OLD, and I’m not sure I’m ready to handle that just yet.

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity for you. The most exciting achievement of course is the fact that you began crawling, and now it’s like we suddenly have a completely different child with a whole new set of challenges. The house has become a playground for you and you’re into absolutely EVERYTHING. If I’m in the bathroom, you’re in the bathroom yanking miles of toilet paper off the roll. If I’m in the kitchen, you’re in the kitchen knocking over the garbage can. If I’m trying to get dressed, you are right there in the closet with me, gleefully pulling clothes down off their hangers. Ah yes, people, now that our little man is mobile, the fun at our house never stops.

Of course, crawling also brings with it the added responsibility of baby-proofing the house. Who ever designed the things to supposedly make our house “safer” for our child obviously never had to deal with the likes of you! Our DVD player has been under attack ever since you figured out that you could push the buttons and make a cool clicking noise – over and over again. So we bought this handy little plastic shield at Babies R Us to put over the buttons. You went right over to the DVD player after we had attached the shield, and your Dad and I stood by thinking to ourselves, “The fun is over, buddy” and we went about our business. But within two minutes, a distinct clicking sound could be heard from the other room and there you were, pushing the buttons and smiling, with the shield off and tossed to the side. You looked up at us with this gleem in your eye and it's like you was saying, “Ha, people, is THIS the best you can do?”

To add to the excitement in our household the past few weeks, we have also been dealing with a bout of the baby runs. Son, you have produced more poopy diapers than I ever thought you could be capable of, and oh what a joy it has been changing them! We have been up to our ears in shit around here, and I mean that quite literally. As a matter of fact, last Wednesday at the Ventura Mall, I went to change your diaper, not realizing yet that you had the runs, so I had no idea what I was in for. I went to pull your pants off quickly like I always do because it makes you laugh, and as I flicked them off, poop went flying EVERYWHERE. And by everywhere I mean all over you, all over my hair, all over my clothes and all over the bathroom walls. It took me a second to realize what had happened, and then naturally, I was totally and completely grossed out. I ended up having to give both of us a makeshift sponge bath in the bathroom sink using paper towels and hand soap from the dispenser. Luckily, I had a full change of clothes for you, but as for myself, well, I wasn’t wearing anything under my sweatshirt, so I had to walk through the mall and then drive home covered in crap. Ah, the joys of motherhood - they are truly endless.

But honestly, Rory, the joys of being your mother ARE endless. Even if you are covered in poop and crawling up the walls. I love watching you discover new things every day and your adorable smile lights up my life. I can’t wait to see what adventures we’ll have next.

Love,
Mama