First Bee Sting and First "I love yous"...

or "Wuv you Mommy" is more like! Chou-chou told me his first "I love you" yesterday, all of his own freewill and inspiration. We weren't doing anything in particular, just playing together with blocks I think. It was so sweet!! Chou-chou is currently very into his blocks, building "garages" or "maison house" for his "personne". The thing he's realized recently is that it's much more fun for Mommy or Daddy to play, too, so independent play feels a little out-the-window right now. He spouts off a lot of "jouer Mommy" and "play Daddy", or "playdough Mommy/Daddy". Great that we're his favorite playmates, and I admit to getting into the blocks from time to time, but a little less great that this affords less "me" time or Mommy and Daddy "conversation" time. So far it's working okay to give a little, take a little, and although he's disappointed that we don't want to play 100% of the time, as long as he doesn't feel cheated it seems to work alright.

Our other "first" is a bee sting. Thankfully, we now know that Chou-chou is not allergic. Bee stings are like peanuts and all the other firsts your child probably won't be affected by but you're kind of worried about anyway. We were sitting on the deck eating dinner, barbeque bee-magnet type food, and Chou-chou was sporting only his bright yellow monkey underwear. A bee came up and was at first attracted to his underwear, then made his way up his tempting back, avoiding Jarod's shoos and waving around, until it reached his neck, at which time Chou-chou squeezed it between his shoulder and the side-back of his neck. Ouch!! Of course it stung and of course he wailed. For about five minutes. And we forced some ice on it for a minute or two, before Chou-chou and I retired to the rocker under a blanket, with a tettine, for a good ten minutes. He's now understandably a little paranoid about whether something is a "mouche" (fly) or "abeille" (bee)!

A favorite that I should mention from the last several weeks are the "mures" (blackberries) all over the corner of our lot and vacated Idaho street. This morning the first thing Chou-chou said to me was "mures??", as if I wanted to go pick blackberries while still in bed! Who needs "chachos" (cherrios)?! We've had a lot of fun and a lot of stain removal in the last several weeks!

Gummy Bear at 17.5 weeks

I realized yesterday that we hadn't taken any belly pictures of Gummy Bear! Poor, neglected second child! He or she might carry the same grudge I do about having half the baby photo albums as my older brother. Oh well, I see how it happens now... Anyway, I've got a journal in which I've documented some of the differences between this pregnancy and my first, but overall I guess I could say they are just very different. Obviously, I "popped" out sooner this time, but I think I've gained about the same amount of weight and the baby measures exactly on target. Although I haven't had throwing up nausea with this or the last, I've definitely had more queasiness and general disinterest with food this time, and it's persisted longer. Nothing sounds good, if that makes sense. I had worse IBS this time, which actually caused a little bleeding around 8 weeks. I've been feeling rolling baby movement for the last week or so (from about 16.5 weeks), which is easily three weeks earlier than the first time, so that's really special. The biggest challenge for me, though, is dealing with my anxiety, which didn't really surface until postpartum with Chou-chou (I was ignorantly blissful about the new responsibilities of motherhood!). The insomnia has set back in, scary daydreams, and worry about how I'm going to juggle two kids and a new job, with no maternity leave. And still say semi-sane, or survive at least. We've just had a lot on our plate this summer as well, with Jarod's mom's death and all the mess that's still going on in that department. And the never-ending house remodel. Well, anyway, this is starting to sound awfully down! I'm taking care of things, and have seen multiple medical professionals in addition to my normal psychologist. Prayer and church community are also very helpful, and my exercise routine can't hurt either. All in all, I feel hopeful and so thankful for this baby. Just trying to take one day at a time, and soak up all the sweet fetal movement and celebrate this miracle.

First Haircut

Okay, so these pictures are in the wrong order. These are the "after" shots:

And these are the "before" shots:

Although we'd been putting it off for some time, both Daddy and I are quite happy with our big boy's new do. Not too short, not too long. I definitely saved some of his whispy baby waves as keepsakes. He sat sort-of still on my lap while the Supercuts lady snipped away sort-of evenly. Luckily Chou-chou's hair is fine enough that any uneveness should go unnoticed!

Does anyone know what's wrong with my blog??

Hi bloggers,
I can't figure out how to get my column width back to normal and I've wasted entirely too much time messing with it. I even deleted everything in the right-hand column trying to make enough room, but nothing works. I tried reverting back to my old background, but apparently I permanently screwed it up by downloading a background from webfitti (notice the icon at top right). Does anyone know how to get it off, because I think that's the problem. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks,
Dory

Weaned: passed up for a banana!

That's right, my super nurser that I thought would never wean gave up the lolo all on his own about a week and a half ago. I can't believe I wasted so much emotional energy for so long wondering if and when he'd do it on his own, and caring about what I thought other people thought about nursing my toddler. Well, this just reinforces my biggest parenting lesson: do things the way they work and come naturally to you. If you try to do things based on advice or someone else's plan, it won't stick and it will drive you nuts!

So, basically my friend Karla was right-- get pregnant and your child will wean. I pretty much had no milk left by a couple weeks ago, and since we were starting a big new bedtime routine that involved a snack, over the course of two or three days he opted for less and less lolo and more banana! So it's kind of funny since our bedtime nursing was replaced by a banana, but kinda cute too. And of course the first night I was sad after he went to bed, thinking about how I didn't realize that the last time would be the last time. But mainly I'm just happy that I didn't have to push it, that he was good and ready, and that since my boobs are painful from the pregnancy I don't have to endure extra pain anymore:) Chou-chou is such a big boy, "ripened" and ready to face his third year!

Almost 22 months, which means almost 2 years!

Where has the time gone? My little baby has turned into a walking, talking, negotiating, thoughtful, mischieveous, talented nearly two year old! Was it overnight? Not exactly, although I still do have moments of realization that come on like a lightbulb, where it seems that he's overnight outgrown something, whether a toy or an outfit. The feeling that, all-of-a-sudden, he's "too old" for this or that. But for all these bittersweet realizations, there's also the excitement that with each day or month that passses, Chou-chou is now old or big or capable enough to try something new, and these firsts are truly worth celebrating. Yes, in retrospect Chou-chou's babyhood is starting to blur and feel like it happened in the "blink of an eye", but honestly I assume that's why we thought it was okay to have another baby! As precious and squeezable as he was in his earlier months, and as fondly as I look back at the thousands of pictures, we worked darn hard to survive through that first year or so, and I've been so amazed at how much he has transformed over his second year. He's a real boy now!:) Our parenting challenges are no less perplexing these days, and they definitely require a whole new type of energy and thought, but maybe we're more seasoned and less obsessive about them, or maybe we just prefer them to the babyhood challenges for now because he makes us laugh so much. Sometimes I see a little one content on a blanket or in a stroller and I wish to have those days back when Chou-chou would just CHILL for a minute on a blanket (and stop tearing my house apart for the 30th time in the day)... but then I'm brought back to reality and remember that Chou-chou never was that content baby!!:) When we put in our order for baby #2, we made sure to check the "sleeper" box, the "happy baby" box, and the "no reflux" box... wish us luck.

Anyway, onto Chou-chou at 22 months! Chou-chou's current faves are, in no particular order:

• buckles, as in fastening them and then asking to get "down" so he can refasten them (think grocery carts, carseat, booster seat, belts, etc.;


• torchons/dish towels... we don't quite understand the fascination, but it started at my cousin's house last week, where he starting carrying around a blue dish towel, and now he wants to sleep with one and wear them around like capes;


• going "vroom vroom" in a real vehicle, which he asks to do and moves his hand as if on a steering wheel. If he finds a set of keys on the table and the front door is unlocked, he takes it upon himself to walk out to the car and try to go "vroom vroom" by himself. If Daddy's in the mood when he gets home from work, they'll sit in his truck for a half hour playing "vroom vroom";


• getting into the refrigerator and/or freezer and scattering condiments around the yard, frozen corn in our bed, lemons and half-eaten fruit all over (I went to get my haircut last night for less than an hour and returned to a house with crayon on the front door, smooshed plum on the floor, fridge door open, tiling spacers sitting in pee in his potty, and crayon all over the bathroom walls... Daddy was busy grouting the shower it would seem!) BTW, if anyone knows of a babylock for a fridge with vertical doors, I'd love to know where to purchase one. So far the ones we've found (and mistakenly bought) don't work on our fridge;


• pulling Zoe's tail, even though he's been scratched multiple times;


• his best friend Odessa... when we left Odessa last week for like 30 minutes, he cried "Odessa" the whole time they were apart. The funny thing is that, once they're together, they usually take a little while to warm up to each other. They have so much fun laughing and making a mess together, though;


• This last one isn't a favorite, but it's the absolute most hilarious thing that Chou-chou does: Chou-chou thinks he should be able to get "dede" (dedans... inside) anything he wants, and especially with toy cars lately, he'll try to get his foot inside the door (envision him trying to get inside a hotwheel) and then get frustrated that he doesn't fit! I wish I had the picture my cousin took of him doing this last weekend! This is similar to how he'll see a picture of something in a book, such as ice cream, and grab at it in frustration that he can't have it! He does this with everything, from airplanes in the sky he wants to touch, to doll shoes that are too small for his feet. SOOO funny!!!

Those are all the favorites I can think of right this minute. In other news, Chou-chou has been repeating everything for about a month now and is spewing out all sorts of funny stuff, such as "Hey Mom", "I dunno", "Coming" (as in "I'm coming"), and still my favorite "Donald Duck & Goofy". He also came out with a "maison house" a couple times the other day, which is interesting because he said both the French and English at the same time. He's doing better with separation anxiety finally, and had no problem when I left him with my dad for the day last week (of course it helps that it's Gampa and Gampa has lots of vroom vroom stuff at his house), and did fine when I left him at the gym daycare this morning. Now I have no excuse to not go! He's doing awesome on his potty progress, and we upped the ante to an M&M for successful pottying the other day because I thought that might help with poop (see below).

I'm really looking forward to all the fun crafts Chou-chou and I can do together come holiday time, as he loves coloring and having someone write his name (he says "Onan" for his name), and thoroughly enjoys creating with playdough and cookie cutters too. I'm thinking sugar cookies at Christmas will be fun!

Okay, naptime is nearly over now. I think this update was long overdue, though. Our Chou-chou is the light of our lives and he is more fun with each passing day. We love you, Chou-chou!!

Caca!

Chou-chou hit a big milestone yesterday... caca in the toilet!! We were so excited for him, because he's been peeing like a champ for some time and couldn't seem to get the timing right on the caca business (we've had caca pretty much everywhere in the last two weeks... the yard, the wood floor... luckily we have wood floors and can clean it up easily... FUN!!). So here he is, proud of his first big boy caca, and especially happy about the TWO M&Ms he got for it!

Baby #2 is on his or her way!

11 weeks, 2 days

We had our second ultrasound yesterday (the first was just to make sure that bleeding wasn't a sign of a problem at 8 weeks), and it's so amazing how much our gummy bear has changed in three weeks! The ultrasound tech at the last one said she thinks babies look like gummy bears around then, and I thought that was quite fitting. Although I must say the gummy bear-ness has all but disappeared, with real legs and arms having replaced the stubs of last month. This little boy or girl was apparently sleeping when we first turned on the camera, but once the tech got to pushing and prodding, he or she responded with turns, kicks, punches and all. It was quite impressive. My mom came along to help with Chou-chou and to see the baby, but unfortunately they were running so late that she only got to see a little bit of the show. She was still awed, though, since she had never seen an ultrasound of a baby. It actually ended up working out for the best that they were running so late, because by the time the radiologist showed up to go over the results, Jarod had arrived and got to see a sneak peek with the radiologist at the wheel. That was extra special since Jarod couldn't take any more time off work just right now. I didn't anticipate Chou-chou freaking out so badly at a medical professional having a look at his mama (he must have thought they were hurting me), so it was lucky that my mom was there to help calm him. For our big ultrasound at 18 weeks, I'll have to find a sitter. When I made the appointment for the 18 week ultrasound this morning, they assured me that they wouldn't be so late next time, and they said I could look forward to a 4-D show! What is 4-D?? I guess we'll find out! I'm sure it will be very impressive! I don't think we'll have any extras along for the next ultrasound, though, as I don't trust either of my parents to not peek at the gender!! My dad seems to think we won't be able to wait til the big day to find out (honestly it's he that can't wait!!), which is of course, all the more motivation to hold out. Obviously I would love to know whether we're having a boy or girl, but it's a once in a lifetime experience that I'd love to have to push the baby out and find out then. And you really can't have it both ways, how I see it anyway. With Chou-chou it was great to know he was a boy, because I so wanted a girl and knowing he was a boy allowed me to get over that disappointment and be happy for him when he came. This time, I think either a boy or a girl would be great, so what's the rush? Anyway, I've heard from others who haven't found out the gender that it's other family members who have the hardest time with not knowing. I'd have to agree:) Our friends Caroline, Clint and Hannah are expecting a boy or girl any day now, and I can't wait to get the call to know whether Maxime or Margot has joined their family!

Okay, enough rambling. Here's our gummy bear, in all his or her 11 week, 2 day-old glory!

Broken nose, four days out

Turning green...

Broken nose, two days out

Broken/Fractured/Severly bruised nose... and big boy underwear!!

Okay, no real correlation between the hurt nose and the potty-training, but they have both occurred in the last 24 hours or so, so they're going on the same post. Yes, that's right, Chou-chou may have broken his nose. This one's sort of my fault, since I was the (ir)responsible parent with Chou-chou at the time of the incident. Yesterday we went to The Pita Pit with Mama Megan and Odessa. I was holding Chou-chou in line with me while I ordered and slowly made my way up to the register to pay. I looked over and saw that Odessa was sitting patiently at the table and thought to myself "Chou-chou can go sit with her". Never mind that Odessa will be three next month and is a good head taller than Chou-chou, never mind that she's a much more patient, much less of a climber girl than Chou-chou. It just seemed like a smart idea to have him go sit and wait with her, since he was pulling all the chips off of the rack under the register, and all I had to do was whip out my card and pay. And Chou-chou gladly agreed to go sit with Odessa, of course! Just as I open my wallet to pay, I hear a bang and a scurry and a freaked out Megan... the I turn and see that Chou-chou has managed to pull an entire table over onto the bridge of his nose! I didn't see the execution, but I'm assuming he pulled on the table to try and climb into the chair. I'm not sure what kind of f#$-ed up tables they have there, but apparently a 26-lb. toddler can easily pull a whole heavy, two-person pedestal table on his face. Anyway, you can imagine the panick, the screaming, the instant swelling an bleeding, and the ensuing trip to the ER. It looked bad yesterday, and it looks worse today. Luckily, everything is okay. There was no bleeding inside his ears, and apparently bones regenerate easily at this age. They didn't want to do an x-ray at this point because of exposure to radiation, and we'll have to see next week if it looks crooked, in which case we'll go back for an x-ray. Otherwise, there's nothing you can do except try to ice it (yeah, right, like that's happening) and give tylenol or motrin for pain. Jarod says we're even now, since he was the (ir)responsible parent with him when he permanently dented his forehead (aka granuloma) at the McDonald's playland last fall, and while I agree because this looks way worse than his bruised forehead did, I'm hopeful this won't leave any permanent disfigurement. Keep your fingers crossed! I'll attach pictures, but the camera really didn't capture the discoloration very well. It looks bad, and his whole profile is different right now.

Okay, so the potty thing is sort of minor in comparison, but worth writing about. I don't know if we're actually potty training now or not, but Chou-chou has been going on his potty of his own accord for two days now! I think it has to do with his increased verbal understanding and communication, though I can't be sure. Anyway, he's peed on his potty like 10 times this morning (he doesn't seem to get that he can empty his whole bladder at once, and he loves dumping it in the big toilet). I decided to get him big boy underwear because it seems more sanitary than letting him run around comando and wiping his butt, etc. on everything. Comando is okay if he hasn't been in a diaper at all, but if he gets the hang of the underwear thing, I think it would be even better. Anyway, congrats to Chou-chou on this new accomplishment!

Colorado blues and family time

We just returned a couple days ago from almost two weeks spent in Fort Collins with Jarod's family, following the death of his beloved mother Jennifer. The two weeks were crazy busy, with planning the funeral and internment for the first part, then dealing with Jennifer's house, belongings, dividing up stuff for the second part. I wouldn't say Chou-chou was real wild about caravaning all over the place every day, nor did he have the most balanced diet while we were there, but he was a champ through it all, and had a blast with his cousins Parker (3 yrs) and Leah (18 mos.). Leah and Chou-chou may as well be twins, with their same hair and coloring and almost identical size (though not weight! Leah's a good five pounds lighter). They were darn cute in the Target cart together, at the funeral in their Sunday best, and running all over Tatie Anna and Tonton Brandon's house. Chou-chou got rather bold with Leah (flirting, maybe?), as he thoroughly enjoyed stealing her lovey blanket and running away repeatedly, laughing. It was the way Chou-chou played with Parker, though, that was truly transforming for Chou-chou over the two weeks. Chou-chou looks up to big kids, and his cousin Parker was no exception. The two boys had fun doing all sorts of things together, and since Chou-chou wouldn't go to sleep in the basement by himself (where the three of us were sleeping), he and Parker consequently had lots of late night time together to play with toys and "talk". Speaking of talking, Chou-chou has had a verbal explosion!! I think maybe we have Parker to thank, or maybe just being around so many people for the two weeks, or maybe it was just his time... anyway, he'll pretty much repeat anything now ("Donald Duck" is my favorite) and has loads of two-word phrases. Jarod and I couldn't believe, on our long drive home to Portland, just how much Chou-chou seemed to mature during out trip. Chou-chou is still one of the shyest and most clingy guys around, though, so I have a feeling his newly acquired language will mainly be kept for Jarod and me for some time to come. Oh well, he is who he is!!

All in all, our trip was healing for everyone. The service was a beautiful tribute to Jennifer's life, and the boys put on a tearful but heartfelt show for everyone when they read one of their mom's favorite books, Love You Forever. A family favorite for many years, she also gave each married son a copy with a message on the day of their wedding. I've never seen so many flowers at a funeral, so many people at a funeral (over 300, the funeral home said it was their biggest ever), heard so many grieving sobs, and witnessed such an outpouring of love. Jennifer truly touched so many people, and her life was an inspiration to us all in many ways. I only wish I could say the grieving were over, but unfortunately the "messy" details following an unexpected death will be on the boys' minds and hearts for some time to come. I'm praying they will all experience God's peace and love as they deal in the days and months to come.

Chou-chou loses his Granny JJ

Yesterday we were shocked by the news of the sudden passing of Jarod's mom. We are still blown away and are little-by-little realizing the ways we will miss her every day, and at every milestone in Chou-chou's and our lives.

Jennifer Evaline (Longmore) Hobbs was such a strong woman at just barely 50 years of age. She was "hearty country stock" and wouldn't flinch at anything really. She knew who she was, knew what she liked and did not like, and made sure we all knew it. You knew where you stood with Jennifer, and I admired that about her, even if we didn't always agree. What seems saddest about this tragic event is that we can't help but feel like she got jipped, that her life was cut short. Jennifer had just completed her first semester of nursing school, a lifelong dream that she pursued after her divorce from Jarod's dad three and a half years ago. She'd taken two years of prerequisites and was proud of the B she earned on her final a couple weeks ago. For a "non-trad" who'd never been to college, her story was truly inspiring.

And yet, Jennifer did live a life more complete in many ways than some who live into their 90s. She raised five boys, now grown men, a lot of the time all on her own in northern Colorado. Her boys... she loved her boys so much. They were her life for so many years, and though she recounted many a time being disappointed that #4 was another boy (poor Justin:)), by the time baby Cameron came around she was relieved: she knew how to "do" boys. And yet, even though she had all boys and you might think life could get predictable, she treated each one differently and specially and could tell you all about each of their strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes... like only a mother could. Jennifer lived a life rich in family and love and was already blessed with three grandchildren (and two more on the way that she was very excited about). And she got her granddaughter.

In the last couple years, we all understood that Jennifer was beginning to put herself first for once in her life, and it was clear that she was on a path to a new kind of fulfillment that many women of her day didn't get to experience. I'm happy that she got to start that path, that she saw she could be successful as a mother and as whatever else she put her mind to. Jennifer was a very bright woman.

Most of all, from my account, I know she raised a wonderful loving man that I am so lucky to spend my life with. She raised Jarod to be as strong and steadfast as she herself was, to show compassion to others, and to always keep one's priorities straight. She wasn't much into etiquette and fanciness... no thank you notes or formal to-do events for birthdays and other occasions. But that's something I actually admire about her. You always knew she appreciated your sentiment, and there was no wastefulness in her household on frivolous material things. She was a penny-pincher, as you might imagine one would have to be with five kids to raise. But maybe that's a good thing. Jarod's as easy to please as they come, and I have her to thank for that- I only wish I could say the same about myself:)

I will miss big family dinners at Jennifers, where tacos, taco salad or spaghetti were always the fare to feed the army. I will miss playing demon with her- she was quick! I will miss going up to the cabin with her. I will miss her spontaneous sense of fun, her childlike energy, and her singsongy country drawl of a voice- it was one of a kind.

And of course, I am tremendously saddened that Chou-chou won't get to know his granny, and that Jarod won't get to see the bond between his son and his mother that I know he looked forward to. She will be missed.

Favorite pics of my favorite little guy at the beach

We just got back from a week spent in Lincoln City, on the coast. It was a great vacation, and Chou-chou had many first experiences... bowling, mussel "hunting', kite flying, visit to the aquarium, and of course lots of time playing in the sand and talking to resident seagulls. Chou-chou has quite the seagull impersonation! I am going to try to add to snippets of video footage to this, or a separate entry. One is of Chou-chou talking to the seagulls that hung out on our beachfront porch, and the other is of him bowling for the first time. His ball got stuck halfway down the lane, and had to be retrieved!

Although we took a ton of pictures, these are my favorites because they show Chou-chou as his true, goofy, smiley self. Chou-chou is rarely a performer and won't smile for the camera when I ask him to. He marches to his own drummer, for sure. So, I came up with a new trick to capture these smiles, combining a new skill he's proud of and impeccable timing with our subpar camera. Basically, Chou-chou now knows how to chime in on the song "J'aime la galette", and I have to get the camera ready to click as he gets excited about singing his part. It goes like this: Me- "J'aime la galette, savez-vous comment? Quand elle est bien faite, avec du..." Chou-chou- "BEURRE!" (Click) Me- "Dedans, trala lala lalalalalere, etc." So, to translate, Chou-chou says the word "Butter" very loudly when it's his turn (and he does love butter:)).

"Hae-mow": Chou-chou speak for "hammer"

Some little boys are obsessed with tv characters. Others are obsessed with trains or trucks. Maybe cars, airplanes, or balls even. This here Chou-chou, however, loves his hammers. There will be no hammer in sight, and all of a sudden he'll break into hammering elbow animation with an accompanying "hae-mow, hae-mow". Or even better is when we're in the check-out line at the grocery store and he points down to the plastic divider stick things on the conveyor belt and asks for the "hae-mow"! Apparently any kind of mallet-type object will suffice.

I'm assuming this all-out obsession has been partly brought on by the handiwork we're constantly doing around the house. Chou-chou now has multiple hammers, a chainsaw (kinda freaky!!), and a tool box full of other nifty tools. Whenever he can get his hands on the 'real deal' we've left accessible, that's even better! Oh, and I can't forget to mention that when he hammers something in, he says "tap, tap, tap".... so cute.

Jarod got a new miter saw a couple weeks ago, and so now whenever Chou-chou notices the picture of the man on the box sawing, he says "Dada". Oh, and since Daddy also got a new (old) truck awhile ago, all trucks are also "Dada". Basically, we've got a construction worker wannabe son here. Whatever floats his boat, I guess:)