family snuggle

Andrew likes to "play cars" lying on his side on the floor, and he often commands us to lie down with him. I walked into his bedroom this morning to find DH lying on the floor while Andrew had wandered off to play with something else for a moment or two. I lay down behind DH and slung an arm over his shoulder. Andrew, of course, immediately came over to put a stop to that.

"Open," he commanded, as he wedged his little body between us.

"You want turn around," he told DH, who obliged, so now we were facing each other with Andrew in the middle. Andrew lay down, spooning against me, and he said, "You want close it, Daddy." So DH moved closer and we had one big family snuggle.

I wish I had my camera handy. I surely would have tried to snap a shot to preserve that moment.

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Ch-ch-ch-changes

You know, we're getting by just fine, my husband and I. If we could be happy with the status quo we would be, well, fine. But I want a bit more out of life. I want to own a home someday. I want to be able to go on an occasional vacation. I want to have another child. And I have decided that it's time to work for these things.

So, I am looking to make a career change. I'm not expecting to find my dream job — heck, I have no idea what my dream job might look like. I want something practical, something that wouldn't require a great deal of re-education, something with good earning potential, something that gives us the possibility of leaving the big city. I have a couple of ideas, but I'm still in the information-gathering stage.

I'm also encouraging my husband to make a career change. It's easier for him. He's often said he wishes he had taken computer programming in school (instead of English!), and for the past two years he has been teaching himself some "programming lite" for his job and really enjoying it, so I want him to try to move in that direction. He seems to be receptive to the idea.

This is all very exciting. Or it will be, assuming we actually act on these ideas. Any ideas/advice/experience/encouragement you want to share, dear readers, would be very welcome!

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Bleep my kid says :)

I want to record some of the things my kiddo is saying these days. I'll probably add to this list over the next few days as I think of more.

"You want _____." As in, "You want play cars, Mommy." A statement, not a question.
"I do?" I ask. "YES!" Okay, then.

"Can I ____?" As in, "Can I do it?" "Can I sit down over here?" "Can I have some water?" Once, "Can I dump it?" while shaking a box of Cheerios. Um, no! But thanks for asking first! And my personal favourite, "Can I snuggle?" LOVE!

"Huh?" about a million times a day. Trying to get him to say "Pardon?" instead, but he's not getting it.

"See you next week!" So random.

"Where other one nipple?" He's fascinated with nipples. He likes to grab one (his own, thankfully) and pretend he can't find the other one. I say "right here," and point to his knee, his forehead, his belly button, and he thinks that's just hilarious.

"Mommy, you have penis?" We've had this discussion several times. He won't believe me when I tell him that girls don't have penises.

"My mommy!" says he sweetly while giving me a snuggle. There's my heart in a puddle on the floor.

"It's in the diming room." That's where all lost items go, apparently. Or sometimes "in the car ride."

"Can we fix it together?" He's said this several times recently, about a couple of toys and about a balloon (sorry, buddy, we can't fix the balloon). Super adorable, but I have no idea where it came from.

"I not ____. I just a little guy." He's not a baby, he's not a big boy, he's not silly, he's not stinky, he's just a little guy. Of course.

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Fun weekend

Andrew and I had a busy, fun, extremely hot weekend visiting family in my hometown. We spent most of three whole days at my dad's, hanging out with my stepsisters and their kids. At my dad's house, there is little need to go indoors. The backyard is awesome, and it's usually where the party's at. Needless to say, Andrew was in heaven. He adores his cousin, M, who (usually) enjoys playing with him and making him laugh. Saturday was M's eighth birthday party!



Digging... just digging. ~ Watching M open his gifts.


New friends.


Bin full of vehicles = heaven. ~ Playing with big cousin M.


More digging.


Oh, and a crib-climbing update: It lasted only a weekend. Last Monday night he fell while trying to get out. He wasn't hurt, but it must have scared him pretty good, because he hasn't climbed out ever since! I am so relieved. With any luck we can get another six months or more of crib use.

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Uh oh update

So far bedtimes are fine, but I can see that naptimes are going to be a huge battle. Today I put him back in his crib four times within 10 minutes, with him getting increasingly upset, until I gave up and cuddled him in the glider. No nap until much later, when he passed out in his stroller during our walk and continued to snooze there for half an hour after we got home. He was grouchy all evening.

I got out my Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book, and Dr. Weissbluth says to just keep on putting him back in the crib, without speaking and without making eye contact, however many times it takes until he stays put and goes to sleep. He gave an example of a family that had to do this 145 times over two hours. (OMG, what a determined kid! And wow, I don't think I could do that. I would get worked up myself and give up out of pity for my child or simply pure frustration.) Weissbluth also says not to rush into a toddler bed, as many toddlers feel more secure and sleep better in the crib, even when they can easily climb out.

I just can't get over the 145 times thing. What do you, dear readers, think about that?

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Uh oh!

This afternoon I put Andrew in his crib for his nap, and he was resisting and crying like he almost always does. I closed his door (doesn't shut all the way; we just kind of pull it against the frame and it sticks closed), went out to the living room, and sat listening, waiting for him to settle down.

He stopped crying after a couple of minutes, and a moment later he said "Uh oh!" Then his door made a cracking sound, and I thought maybe it was because his window was open, but no — he strolled into the living room! He was all casual about it, too, like this was nothing unusual. I tried to grill him on how he got out but got nothing more than "Huh?" LOL

Is there a toddler bed in our near future? God, I hope not. How will we ever get him to sleep without being able to confine him to his bed? I'm afraid it would be the end of napping as we know it, and I'm so not ready for that!

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