Well, we called poison control for the second time in maybe 2 months. The first call was to determine whether or not a 2 year old brushing his teeth with Icy Hot would have any cause for concern. Other than the obvious burning mouth, it did not.
The second call was to determine if eating an entire jar of Bottom Balm was cause for concern. It also was not. Thank god for all natural diaper ointments! As it turns out, Carter had eaten the contents of the almost empty jar. I tasted it to see what was the appeal. It tasted bad, really bad. We asked Carter if it tasted good, he said no, not really. Go figure.
Most every morning Carter and I have gone for a walk....since we've moved to San Diego. I used to load him up in a carrier and off we'd go. Now Wyatt is in the carrier and Carter is in the stroller with a bowl of snacks..sometimes O's, sometimes pecans, they never make it too far without being dumped in the street or offered up to the neighbor's dogs. We lost a tomato once in the street. There were a lot of tears until mama convinced him that a hummingbird would come along to eat it. I had to think quick. There were probably more reasonable birds that I could have come up with, but I was under pressure.
I love our morning walks. It gives us a chance to talk about nature and get lots of insight into Carter's fascinating brain. He tried once to reach the moon, just raised his hand up and tried. I asked him if he could reach it? "No, too too far". We've learned that the black birds are crows and they yell "cah cah cah" and that the silly birds that wander through the neighbor's flower beds are peacocks and they yell "help help!". We've seen bees working and snails crawling and have made wishes on a number of dandelions. When noticing that a neighbor's bushes had been toilet papered one morning, Carter exclaimed, "a lot of paper towels".
We usually bring something on our walk, a pinwheel, caulk, a hat, three flashlights, sometimes all of these things come together....they slowly get passed back to mama until Carter's hands are empty and mine are full.
I am so grateful for the walks I've taken with Carter. I've learned a lot.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Carter - The Wonderful Twos
So, having a two year old is like being on a roller coaster. One minute, you are as enchanted as can be with their wily, sweet, funny 2 year old ways and the next minute you are planning your escape.
Carter has wholly embraced being two. And he's good at it. I think we've got it fairly easy for the most part, but boy can he shriek. I don't even know if it's a shriek. It's a shrill, piercing scream. I don't know why he does it. Maybe for attention, maybe for the pure joy of listening to himself. We caught him the other day shrieking at his reflection in the oven. What is so astounding is that this incredibly loud boy can run from the room with his hands over his ears complaining that the vacuum is too too loud.
Carter seems quite taken with Baby Wyatt. He talks to him in the sweetest baby voice using words we've never introduced...like couchy and socky. Overall, he's been quite sweet with his baby brother....we've only had a few head smacks and a couple of hand squeezes. I do think nursing both of them has helped ease the transition.
Wyatt gave me 2 big smiles today. Just after he woke up and I picked him up. Ahh, there's nothing better in the world than a baby smile.
Carter has wholly embraced being two. And he's good at it. I think we've got it fairly easy for the most part, but boy can he shriek. I don't even know if it's a shriek. It's a shrill, piercing scream. I don't know why he does it. Maybe for attention, maybe for the pure joy of listening to himself. We caught him the other day shrieking at his reflection in the oven. What is so astounding is that this incredibly loud boy can run from the room with his hands over his ears complaining that the vacuum is too too loud.
Carter seems quite taken with Baby Wyatt. He talks to him in the sweetest baby voice using words we've never introduced...like couchy and socky. Overall, he's been quite sweet with his baby brother....we've only had a few head smacks and a couple of hand squeezes. I do think nursing both of them has helped ease the transition.
Wyatt gave me 2 big smiles today. Just after he woke up and I picked him up. Ahh, there's nothing better in the world than a baby smile.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Wyatt Grey is here!
Wow, I really need to post more often, but with a 2 year old and a 3 week old, who knows when that will happen. Carter just turned two years old and had a nice party with a Thomas the Train cake. He LOVED it when everyone sang Happy Birthday and asked for more. So cute.
His baby brother, Wyatt Grey, arrived two days before Carter's birthday. They are 2 years minus 2 days apart. Here is Wyatt's birth story.
Wyatt Grey was born on 10/19 at 10/19am.....right around 9lbs. He's cute, a great nurser and hovering right around 10 lbs right now.We had planned a home birth with Vickii. At 32 weeks Wyatt went breech coinciding with, because of,or the other way around, major unprecedented bouts of anxiety and insomnia for me.
I/We tried it all....chiropractor, moxibustion, acupuncture, massages, slant board, heat, cold, music, flashlight, talking, pleading, crying, swimming/diving....ultrasound at 34 weeks to rule out abnormalities, and, at 37 weeks, a version to turn him at the hospital. Nothing, the little turkey wouldn't budge.I researched, discussed, and even spoke with a midwife who had her own vaginal breech homebirth. We decided we were committed to a homebirth, as we couldn't find an ob/gyn willing to do a hospital vaginal breech.
Then at 38 weeks, everyone involved had hesitations. I had a weird feeling that something wasn't right. We all agreed that maybe a c-section was best.I scheduled one at 39 weeks 2 days, as UCSD said they weren't going to allow minors on the maternity ward in the near future due to H1N1. I have a nursing, co-sleeping 2 year old and wanted him to have access to me.
So, we did it...the anticipation sucked (no other word to use). Having a planned c-s was surreal and crappy and all my plans went out the windowBut its done. I took tylenol after surgery for pain (and lots of good vitamins and minerals and arnica prior to and after surgery) and went home 2 days later. The ob/gyn said at the time of surgery that the cord was shorter than average. It took a lot of tugging, pulling, and a very bruised newborn thigh to get Wyatt out. There also went my plans of no vitamin K.
There it was, my second and probably last birth....going totally opposite of what we wanted.
Who knows what would have happened at home....he might have been fine, he may have done nothing and we would have transferred to a hospital safely, or things could have gone totally sideways with a very sad outcome for us.Nobody will ever know....just thought I'd share. But, we're co-sleeping, tandem nursing, cd'ing and loving our crazy Wyatt. Best we can do now, huh?
His baby brother, Wyatt Grey, arrived two days before Carter's birthday. They are 2 years minus 2 days apart. Here is Wyatt's birth story.
Wyatt Grey was born on 10/19 at 10/19am.....right around 9lbs. He's cute, a great nurser and hovering right around 10 lbs right now.We had planned a home birth with Vickii. At 32 weeks Wyatt went breech coinciding with, because of,or the other way around, major unprecedented bouts of anxiety and insomnia for me.
I/We tried it all....chiropractor, moxibustion, acupuncture, massages, slant board, heat, cold, music, flashlight, talking, pleading, crying, swimming/diving....ultrasound at 34 weeks to rule out abnormalities, and, at 37 weeks, a version to turn him at the hospital. Nothing, the little turkey wouldn't budge.I researched, discussed, and even spoke with a midwife who had her own vaginal breech homebirth. We decided we were committed to a homebirth, as we couldn't find an ob/gyn willing to do a hospital vaginal breech.
Then at 38 weeks, everyone involved had hesitations. I had a weird feeling that something wasn't right. We all agreed that maybe a c-section was best.I scheduled one at 39 weeks 2 days, as UCSD said they weren't going to allow minors on the maternity ward in the near future due to H1N1. I have a nursing, co-sleeping 2 year old and wanted him to have access to me.
So, we did it...the anticipation sucked (no other word to use). Having a planned c-s was surreal and crappy and all my plans went out the windowBut its done. I took tylenol after surgery for pain (and lots of good vitamins and minerals and arnica prior to and after surgery) and went home 2 days later. The ob/gyn said at the time of surgery that the cord was shorter than average. It took a lot of tugging, pulling, and a very bruised newborn thigh to get Wyatt out. There also went my plans of no vitamin K.
There it was, my second and probably last birth....going totally opposite of what we wanted.
Who knows what would have happened at home....he might have been fine, he may have done nothing and we would have transferred to a hospital safely, or things could have gone totally sideways with a very sad outcome for us.Nobody will ever know....just thought I'd share. But, we're co-sleeping, tandem nursing, cd'ing and loving our crazy Wyatt. Best we can do now, huh?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Dirt and horse poop.
Dirt and horse poop...the two things that make a boy happy. We went to visit our horse today and took him a carrot. Well, by the time we got to the ranch, there was about half a carrot left and someone in the backseat was mumbling, "num num carrot".
So, we fed the horse his partial carrot and brushed him. And tried to feed him some grass, then dirt, and then a few small rocks. Concerto is too smart though and turned it all down.
We then went into the riding ring and played in the sand. Carter asked for a shovel to dig, but I explained to him that we can't dig holes in riding rings, as the horses might fall down. We then spent about 10 minutes running through the ring whinnying and yelling "slip in hole" and then falling down.
After that we sat down and filled our pant legs with dirt. We also found a nice dry piece of horse poop and practiced our throwing skills. Then fully satisfied with our outing, we pretended to eat the poop in front of mama, laughed, and then buried the manure. "Bye bye poop" were our parting words.
So, we fed the horse his partial carrot and brushed him. And tried to feed him some grass, then dirt, and then a few small rocks. Concerto is too smart though and turned it all down.
We then went into the riding ring and played in the sand. Carter asked for a shovel to dig, but I explained to him that we can't dig holes in riding rings, as the horses might fall down. We then spent about 10 minutes running through the ring whinnying and yelling "slip in hole" and then falling down.
After that we sat down and filled our pant legs with dirt. We also found a nice dry piece of horse poop and practiced our throwing skills. Then fully satisfied with our outing, we pretended to eat the poop in front of mama, laughed, and then buried the manure. "Bye bye poop" were our parting words.
Papa Boom Boom
No, this isn't the title of a disco song, it's what you will hear Carter saying about his papa. "Papa boom boom", "papa vvvvvvv", and "papa loud" all mean the same thing: papa is working around the house. We are still working on our fixer upper, which means that papa is always making noise!
He's either hammering (boom boom), drilling or vacuuming (vvvvv), and sometimes taking walls down (loud). Carter loves to help and although it delays projects, papa always gets Carter a drill to use. Yesterday they were both doing a bit of drywall texturing. Papa was texturing the drywall, while Carter was texturing the bucket and his knees.
While papa works, he listens to really loud music like Metallica or Kiss or some other bands that I don't really know. Carter LOVES it and always pauses in the doorway to violently shake his head up and down to the beat. Makes papa really proud.
He's either hammering (boom boom), drilling or vacuuming (vvvvv), and sometimes taking walls down (loud). Carter loves to help and although it delays projects, papa always gets Carter a drill to use. Yesterday they were both doing a bit of drywall texturing. Papa was texturing the drywall, while Carter was texturing the bucket and his knees.
While papa works, he listens to really loud music like Metallica or Kiss or some other bands that I don't really know. Carter LOVES it and always pauses in the doorway to violently shake his head up and down to the beat. Makes papa really proud.
Not Blue..
I so wished I had blogged about this while it was occurring, because it was just so darn cute! Carter learned the color blue almost immediatey and 99% of the time could tell you when something was blue. If something wasn't blue, it was simply "not blue". He'd smile and confidently nod his head, "not blue". I wish everything were as easy as that.
He's now doing really well with colors and knows a lot of them. We like to name colors when we are out on walks......the only problem is that neither nature nor car manufacturers like to use primary colors, so we end up guessing about a lot of them. It's also not helpful when mama says, yup that flower is sort of blue and pink and purple.
I just think it's too early to introduce fuchsia, cerise, and cerulean blue.
He's now doing really well with colors and knows a lot of them. We like to name colors when we are out on walks......the only problem is that neither nature nor car manufacturers like to use primary colors, so we end up guessing about a lot of them. It's also not helpful when mama says, yup that flower is sort of blue and pink and purple.
I just think it's too early to introduce fuchsia, cerise, and cerulean blue.
Language Explosion
About six weeks ago, Carter transitioned from two word sentences (usually a combination of "more" and whatever he wanted) to 4 and 5 word sentences. It was unbelievable. We went to bed one night with a babbling baby and woke up to a toddler asking for "more tiny strawberries please". He signed the "strawberry" part, but we counted it nonetheless.
Most of our sentences still need a bit of translation. "Mama hold you" means "Hold me mama". "Papa big dip" means "Papa I want a lot of dip on that chip". Although I am sure there will come a day when Carter is big enough to hold mama and to tell his papa that he's acting like a big dip!
Just recently he used a 10 word sentence. It went something like "very very very very very very very very too far". He was explaining why he couldn't reach the moon.
Although my favorite sentence right now is "I love me", said in response to mama or papa telling Carter that they love him. It's still all about Carter.
He wakes up now in the middle of the night and talks quite a bit about very odd and random things. I assume that he's dreaming. Last night there must have been a bad dream about a train, as we woke up very distressed and saying "uh oh choo choo". The bad dreams are usually followed by a command of "up" and "mama walk". I take this time to throw him over my shoulder, go pee, and by the time I get back, he's fast asleep.
Most of our sentences still need a bit of translation. "Mama hold you" means "Hold me mama". "Papa big dip" means "Papa I want a lot of dip on that chip". Although I am sure there will come a day when Carter is big enough to hold mama and to tell his papa that he's acting like a big dip!
Just recently he used a 10 word sentence. It went something like "very very very very very very very very too far". He was explaining why he couldn't reach the moon.
Although my favorite sentence right now is "I love me", said in response to mama or papa telling Carter that they love him. It's still all about Carter.
He wakes up now in the middle of the night and talks quite a bit about very odd and random things. I assume that he's dreaming. Last night there must have been a bad dream about a train, as we woke up very distressed and saying "uh oh choo choo". The bad dreams are usually followed by a command of "up" and "mama walk". I take this time to throw him over my shoulder, go pee, and by the time I get back, he's fast asleep.
Carter loves his tofu!
Carter is a vegetarian.....by default at least. Mama doesn't cook meat, which means Carter doesn't eat any right now. He does just fine so far and loves all kinds of crazy things like kale and corn risotto and cooked leaks. He really enjoys his "topu" and will ask for it while finger spelling it....more of a wild movement of fingers, but we understand him nonetheless.
Rob's a bit worried about the vegetarian gig lasting too long. He's afraid he will have to take his son to a baseball game and order a tofurkey hot dog. I've assured him that won't be the case, but did remind him that nachos, cotton candy, peanuts, and ice cream sundaes all qualify both as vegetarian and righteous baseball game food. He still looked a bit concerned.
We may have to hire a private omnivorous tutor for Carter before he goes to school however, because he does have a bit of a learning delay due to being a vegetarian....the other day I fed the dogs their usual fare of raw chicken and veggies. Carter pointed to Agatha's chicken leg and said "topu?". Oh well, he does recognize chicken in its natural state....clucking with feathers! :)
Rob's a bit worried about the vegetarian gig lasting too long. He's afraid he will have to take his son to a baseball game and order a tofurkey hot dog. I've assured him that won't be the case, but did remind him that nachos, cotton candy, peanuts, and ice cream sundaes all qualify both as vegetarian and righteous baseball game food. He still looked a bit concerned.
We may have to hire a private omnivorous tutor for Carter before he goes to school however, because he does have a bit of a learning delay due to being a vegetarian....the other day I fed the dogs their usual fare of raw chicken and veggies. Carter pointed to Agatha's chicken leg and said "topu?". Oh well, he does recognize chicken in its natural state....clucking with feathers! :)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Worst mama ever!
I haven't updated my blog since February...this must make me the worst mama ever! Carter has just grown up to be such a big boy, or toddler at least. He is talking up a storm and signing at least 100 signs now. He has gone from a baby to a little boy overnight. Makes me a bit sad. We are expecting baby boy #2 just after Carter's 2nd birthday and although I know there is plenty of love to share, I really worry about missing out on all the Carter and me time we have. He is just so much fun to be around and has yet to really test us too much. Most of our meltdowns are around bedtimes and/or when ice cream has been denied.
Carter is obsessed with ice cream. He signs it by holding his index finger up to his mouth and licking it like it were an ice cream cone. He has gone from eating anything resembling ice cream (to include sour cream) to being a bit of an ice cream connoisseur. He gets only soy ice cream, but prefers the "heddy, heddy blue" kind (that's toddler speak for the blue container that's heavy) and always asks for chocolate by signing "brown candy". He has a few bites and then usually moves on to mama's or grandma's because they are "bedda".
He asks for ice cream every morning when I open the refrigerator to get out the milk. I've promised him an ice cream sundae for breakfast when he turns 10. Let's see if we can last that long!
Carter is obsessed with ice cream. He signs it by holding his index finger up to his mouth and licking it like it were an ice cream cone. He has gone from eating anything resembling ice cream (to include sour cream) to being a bit of an ice cream connoisseur. He gets only soy ice cream, but prefers the "heddy, heddy blue" kind (that's toddler speak for the blue container that's heavy) and always asks for chocolate by signing "brown candy". He has a few bites and then usually moves on to mama's or grandma's because they are "bedda".
He asks for ice cream every morning when I open the refrigerator to get out the milk. I've promised him an ice cream sundae for breakfast when he turns 10. Let's see if we can last that long!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Cat's Tail
Poor Memo. He is adored by Carter. Adored by him. Carter kisses him and hugs him and pets him and says "Momo" about 100 times a day. Everything revolves around "Momo". The dog's dish is "Momo's". A random cat litter box? "Momo's". The neighbor's cat? "Momo".
Apparently Memo is number one around here and would no doubt have more success than mommy at getting Carter to change his diaper or wipe his face.
But Memo has a tail and Carter pulls it. Hard. And then stops, signs "hurt" and goes back to pulling Memo's tail. Memo takes it and comes back for more. Sometimes we hear the scraping of cat's claws across the kitchen floor as poor "Momo" gets dragged around by his tail. One of us races over and says the Momo-mantra: Buddy, you have to be gentle. That hurts Memo. We are nice to our animals".
Carter repeats the mantra, sort of, by petting Momo nicely, giving him a kiss, grabbing his tail, tugging hard, letting go, signing "hurt", and then petting him again and saying "Nigh" (toddler-speak for "nice").
Sometimes we give Memo an extra spoonful of kibble as an apology.
Apparently Memo is number one around here and would no doubt have more success than mommy at getting Carter to change his diaper or wipe his face.
But Memo has a tail and Carter pulls it. Hard. And then stops, signs "hurt" and goes back to pulling Memo's tail. Memo takes it and comes back for more. Sometimes we hear the scraping of cat's claws across the kitchen floor as poor "Momo" gets dragged around by his tail. One of us races over and says the Momo-mantra: Buddy, you have to be gentle. That hurts Memo. We are nice to our animals".
Carter repeats the mantra, sort of, by petting Momo nicely, giving him a kiss, grabbing his tail, tugging hard, letting go, signing "hurt", and then petting him again and saying "Nigh" (toddler-speak for "nice").
Sometimes we give Memo an extra spoonful of kibble as an apology.
No no no no no!
Ahhhh, we have entered the terrible two's and only 9 months ahead of schedule! Okay, not really, but a toddler with his very own mind has taken the place of my sweet, sweet baby! He's still sweet and loves to hug, but this new guy can walk and talk and sign so much more that he thinks he can do everything on his own!
No no no no no is our new favorite phrase! Carter, do you want more tofu? No. Do you want to change your diaper? No. Carter, can I wipe your face? No no no no no! And sometimes our little feet stomp when we're really upset. And we've growled at grandma a few times. And the entire family has been at the receiving end of a death stare!
But, the good news is that he's still wonderful and 90 percent of the time he's still my good-natured little monkey.
We have a morning routine that I love. Carter rolls over and says "mama, mama". Yes, Carter? "More more.". More what? Carter signs "nurse". Okay buddy you can nurse. Giggles. "Mama mama." Yes, Carter? Carter signs "helicopter" and looks out the window. Oh buddy, maybe we will see a helicopter later. "Mama mama". Yes, Carter? Carter signs "papa". Papa's right here buddy. "Papa". Giggles. "Mama mama". Yes, buddy? "Momo....." Memo is right here Carter. Giggles.
That is our routine. Every morning before getting out of bed. It never deviates and it never changes. I love it.
No no no no no is our new favorite phrase! Carter, do you want more tofu? No. Do you want to change your diaper? No. Carter, can I wipe your face? No no no no no! And sometimes our little feet stomp when we're really upset. And we've growled at grandma a few times. And the entire family has been at the receiving end of a death stare!
But, the good news is that he's still wonderful and 90 percent of the time he's still my good-natured little monkey.
We have a morning routine that I love. Carter rolls over and says "mama, mama". Yes, Carter? "More more.". More what? Carter signs "nurse". Okay buddy you can nurse. Giggles. "Mama mama." Yes, Carter? Carter signs "helicopter" and looks out the window. Oh buddy, maybe we will see a helicopter later. "Mama mama". Yes, Carter? Carter signs "papa". Papa's right here buddy. "Papa". Giggles. "Mama mama". Yes, buddy? "Momo....." Memo is right here Carter. Giggles.
That is our routine. Every morning before getting out of bed. It never deviates and it never changes. I love it.
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