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!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Bubbles in the Bathwater
Ahh, 14 months, what a charming age! Carter has been signing up a storm lately: pumpkin, rooster, elephant, papa, and even signing along to favorite songs! He has incorporated sign language into his sleep, signing "again" in the middle of a dream, no doubt.
But, my favorite? He's using sign language to express humour. He was sitting in the tub just playing and having a great time. Suddenly, quite a few bubbles started appearing in the tub and some tooting noises. Well, that set him off laughing and he continued, tooting and laughing.
Then the tooting stopped, Carter signed "more" and when I asked him "more what?"......he paused, smiled, and started grunting and bearing down to get a few more toots out! We were both howling by that point!
What a charmer!
But, my favorite? He's using sign language to express humour. He was sitting in the tub just playing and having a great time. Suddenly, quite a few bubbles started appearing in the tub and some tooting noises. Well, that set him off laughing and he continued, tooting and laughing.
Then the tooting stopped, Carter signed "more" and when I asked him "more what?"......he paused, smiled, and started grunting and bearing down to get a few more toots out! We were both howling by that point!
What a charmer!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Ceramic Bison
We were visiting with my mother-in-law this weekend. She was cleaning out her dad's house and giving us all kinds of stuff; some really very cool stuff and some things that I really didn't think I could find a spot for in my house.
The ceramic bison was one of those things. Not awful, just not my taste. Small, about 9 inches tall, and heavy. Something that belonged to my husband's Aunt Edie. Did we want it? Ummmm, no. Don't really have a spot for it.
And then Carter saw it and you could practically hear the music playing in his head (you know, the music they play during Summer's Eve commercials with the girl dancing in the grass? Happy, carefree music.). He stared and then crawled full-speed ahead. Stopped in front of it, laughed, pointed, and signed "dog". Over and over and over again. "Dog". Then he turned around and smiled at me.
Yes! Dog! Good job, Carter!
We now have a ceramic bison....on the kitchen counter. Off to find a spot for it.
The ceramic bison was one of those things. Not awful, just not my taste. Small, about 9 inches tall, and heavy. Something that belonged to my husband's Aunt Edie. Did we want it? Ummmm, no. Don't really have a spot for it.
And then Carter saw it and you could practically hear the music playing in his head (you know, the music they play during Summer's Eve commercials with the girl dancing in the grass? Happy, carefree music.). He stared and then crawled full-speed ahead. Stopped in front of it, laughed, pointed, and signed "dog". Over and over and over again. "Dog". Then he turned around and smiled at me.
Yes! Dog! Good job, Carter!
We now have a ceramic bison....on the kitchen counter. Off to find a spot for it.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Carter's Sign Language
Fan. Fan. Fan. Another fan.
12 weeks of sign language classes and our small genius signs "fan"...when he sees one, when he doesn't see one and sometimes just because. He even wakes up from a long night of sleep and starts maniacally waving his hand. Fan!
Actually, he has picked up quite a few signs. In no time at all he was signing dog, water, milk, more, and recognizing many more.
Then nothing. Even his signing for milk stopped. I think he realized he got the same results by slapping me in the chest or peering down my shirt and giggling.
A few weeks ago he kept signing fan every time we stepped outside. We were sad, maybe he wasn't so smart after all. We just smiled and said sadly, yes buddy, fan. And then it dawned on me. He is a genius! He was signing fan for wind! And in a way he was right...the wind is like the world's fan. Yay Carter!
And just this week we had a signing explosion.....song, light, hairbrush, and toothbrush are all part of our repertoire. They don't really look like they should, but he's consistent. He signs hairbrush to me every morning and I give it to him as reinforcement......I really hope he doesn't start signing steak knife any time soon.
12 weeks of sign language classes and our small genius signs "fan"...when he sees one, when he doesn't see one and sometimes just because. He even wakes up from a long night of sleep and starts maniacally waving his hand. Fan!
Actually, he has picked up quite a few signs. In no time at all he was signing dog, water, milk, more, and recognizing many more.
Then nothing. Even his signing for milk stopped. I think he realized he got the same results by slapping me in the chest or peering down my shirt and giggling.
A few weeks ago he kept signing fan every time we stepped outside. We were sad, maybe he wasn't so smart after all. We just smiled and said sadly, yes buddy, fan. And then it dawned on me. He is a genius! He was signing fan for wind! And in a way he was right...the wind is like the world's fan. Yay Carter!
And just this week we had a signing explosion.....song, light, hairbrush, and toothbrush are all part of our repertoire. They don't really look like they should, but he's consistent. He signs hairbrush to me every morning and I give it to him as reinforcement......I really hope he doesn't start signing steak knife any time soon.
Lactating at Work
So I had to share how my existence is shaking things up at work.
By way of background, I work in federal law enforcement, which has atendency to be fairly conservative and male dominated (to say theleast).
Well, every day I do what I jokingly refer to as the Walk of Shame,and drag my breastpump and its accompanying cooler bag down one levelto the nurse's office. Along the way people glance over, sometimesstop and talk to me and inevitably see the words on my bag: "Pleasereturn my mommy's milk to....". It makes them a bit nervous.Sometimes their sandwich is hidden behind the cooler full of Carter'smommy's milk and they always ask permission before moving it.So a few months ago I get to the nurse's office and there are two newemployees standing there, in their suits, ready to report forservice. The nurse turns to them says "oh, this is Wendy...she is oneof our lactating agents". I almost peed in my pants. That's what I'veworked my whole life for, the opportunity to be described as not astellar employee, but a lactating one.
And then today the email went out. An email sent to all of our swatteam medics (you know those big burly guys who really do look kindahot) and to me reminding us to have our vaccinations up to date incase we have to deploy somewhere. And at the bottom a note from thenurse: Wendy can't have any vaccinations because she isstill "breasting".Yup, breasting...not breastfeeding (cause that would make sense andcause me even less embarrassment).I am sure you can imagine the emails that were forwarded my way by the swat guys.
Maybe the next time the Director comes to town he will say, oh yes,you are that lactating agent! Keep up the good work.
By way of background, I work in federal law enforcement, which has atendency to be fairly conservative and male dominated (to say theleast).
Well, every day I do what I jokingly refer to as the Walk of Shame,and drag my breastpump and its accompanying cooler bag down one levelto the nurse's office. Along the way people glance over, sometimesstop and talk to me and inevitably see the words on my bag: "Pleasereturn my mommy's milk to....". It makes them a bit nervous.Sometimes their sandwich is hidden behind the cooler full of Carter'smommy's milk and they always ask permission before moving it.So a few months ago I get to the nurse's office and there are two newemployees standing there, in their suits, ready to report forservice. The nurse turns to them says "oh, this is Wendy...she is oneof our lactating agents". I almost peed in my pants. That's what I'veworked my whole life for, the opportunity to be described as not astellar employee, but a lactating one.
And then today the email went out. An email sent to all of our swatteam medics (you know those big burly guys who really do look kindahot) and to me reminding us to have our vaccinations up to date incase we have to deploy somewhere. And at the bottom a note from thenurse: Wendy can't have any vaccinations because she isstill "breasting".Yup, breasting...not breastfeeding (cause that would make sense andcause me even less embarrassment).I am sure you can imagine the emails that were forwarded my way by the swat guys.
Maybe the next time the Director comes to town he will say, oh yes,you are that lactating agent! Keep up the good work.
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