Saturday, January 19, 2008

Cara Mama - That's So Funny

Cara Mama,

Did you know how funny everything is? I'm really enjoying things lately. And I love to laugh! Not just when you tickle my neck or when you give zerberts (zrbtts) on my belly or play peek-a-boo, but when you sing songs or when I start walking or sometime for just no reason at all. I just find things funny and laugh about it.

Being 10 months old is pretty fun. And you and Dady are pretty fun, too. I've been laughing a lot lately, but I haven't floated up to any ceilings, even though you sign to me that laughing song! Now that would be REALLY funny!

Ti amo,
Pumpkin

Friday, January 18, 2008

Cara Bambina - My Supergenius

Cara bambina,

You are a supergenius.* We've known this about you for a while, and we are not biased in any way. But this time, you have really amazed me.

You are walking.

That's right, my little 10-month-old baby, you did not take just one step, but multiple steps multiple times. I'm both incredibly impressed and very wary. Afterall, I have seen many toddlers recently be told to stay put, and the first thing they do is hurry off in the direction their parents don't want them to go. You are too young to understand instructions, and yet you will soon be toddling around... How am I going to keep track of you and keep you out of trouble? I am very nervous about this and all the extra work that will be involved.

But how can I not be impressed? You have developed all your gross motor skills early. I try to never brag, because every baby is different and it's just a fluke that you are an early roller/crawler/walker. Your daddy and I didn't do anything to make you this way, and you didn't really do anything either. However, I still am in awe of your growing and developing. You are indeed a supergenius.

That is not to say that you are ahead of every developmental milestone, nor would I want you to be. You are just a baby, and I'm in no hurry for you to grow up too quickly. Besides, you've still got a way to go with the talking and sign language.

I have no idea what the time frame for talking is, and I'm not really concerned because you are still so young. One of your cousins had a bunch of words by 10 months, another didn't start talking until sometime after a year, and another still isn't talking at 20 months. I have not looked up what the so-called experts say is "normal," but all of your cousins are supergeniuses. You are doing a lot of babbling and have definitely said cat ("cah") and dog ("ogah"). No "mama" or "dada," mind you, but the cat and dog. I'm sure they are much more interesting to you, but trust me when I say you should not start taking your parents for granted.

As for signing, I know your early communicating cousin already had a bunch of signs by 10 months, but I've heard from someone else that their kids started signing at 11 months and 13 months. (They are also supergeniuses.) You have actually done the sign for "All Done" and "More" when we say those words, but I don't know if you understand what they mean. One time, you signed All Done and then More, which just doesn't make sense. On a number of occasions, you have signed All Done when we ask you if you are done at the end of your meal. Then when we move your highchair back, you will start eating again. Maybe you really mean that you wanted a shift in the lighting or a slightly different view with which to continue your meal. I'll have to look up the signs for those words.

Also, the sign for milk/nursing is squeezing your fist, not opening your mouth and diving head first into my boobs while my shirt still covers them. Although your sign for milk/nursing is pretty clear to me, I have been showing you the ASL sign for months now. I'm sure you will pick them all up in time, and I can be patient (sometimes).

Afterall, your Grandma reminded me of a saying recently: You spend the first 18 months of your children's lives trying to get them to walk and talk, and you spend the next 18 years of their lives trying to get them to sit down and be quiet.**

Ti amo,
Mama

*When I read the linked-to Moxie post, I loved how all these peole called their babies supergeniuses no matter when they reached developmental milestones. They were all correct! Although I say it a bit tongue-in-cheek, I really do feel like all babies are amazing supergeniuses, considering how much they learn to do in such a short time overall. Since reading that Moxie post, I call all babies supergeniuses when parents say something new that their babies have done. And Londo and I really do say it to the Pumpkin all the time, too. Here's slightly related post by the lovely Mom-101, in which her mom sounds a lot like my mother-in-law (and I mean that in a good way).

**The saying is actually "and shut up" but my mom was uncomfortable saying that so she changed it to "be quiet." Isn't she cute?

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Daddy's Take: Things That Suck About Being the Grownup

I know there are a lot of other people out there just like me. You enjoyed your childhood and young adulthood and, even though you enjoy being a parent, you don't enjoy being the adult in the relationship. Here is a non-comprehensive list of things that suck about being the grownup:

1. Being the one that has to clean up the mess. Many times I wish I could simply hose off the Pumpkin (hmmm, maybe when Summer rolls back around...)

2. Being the one who has to hold the baby for her shots. I hate needles too, man, why should I have to hold my screaming infant down for this? Isn't this what I am paying the doctor/nurse for?

3. Just in general, having to be the responsible one. I want to play with the power outlets and eat things I find on the floor (well, not really, but I like to keep my entertainment options open).

4. Saying NO. Like, all the time. For example, "No Pumpkin, don't put that in your mouth" has become a fairly common utterance in my household.

5. Did I mention having to be the one to clean up the mess.

Now, there are a ton of awesome things about being the grownup. I like to drive, (sometimes); I like to watch whatever TV shows I want; and I like to spoil my appetite and eat absolute junk once in a while.

None of these things is a good trade for having to pay taxes, buy insurance, go to work, and pay the bills.

Feel free to chime in and tell me what you like or dislike about being the grownup.

-Londo

XXX

Other People's Cute Kids

Remember how I said I was going to share good posts by other bloggers? Well, I'm going with a theme this time: Kids are cute.

Check out these bloggers cute kids:
Moxie's commenters tell some funny stories about kids and naming "private parts."

Burgh Baby gets her annual assessment, and I love everything about this post! (When I steal this idea, you all will know where I got it from.)

Here's a cute game played in the mothergoosemouse household.

Dutch tells how sweet Juniper isn't really into picking blueberries, but she is a ray of sunshine in the hospital.

Jezer's boy searching for the cat makes me think of how the Pumpkin will probably be doing the same before we know it.

So, just five this time. But five excellent ones. It's taking me entirely too long to go back and find the posts that I want to link to, and some I can't find, which is frustrating. I really need to just bookmark them when I read them.

BTW, did you know that PBS is showing Jane Austen movies on Sunday nights? I'm very excited and have already recorded last Sunday's Persuasion, and I'm looking forward to watching it and then reading the review by Moxie. Maybe I'll have time this weekend.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

And a Very Good Morning to You!

Well, I couldn't be in a much better mood. The sun is shining. Work is going pretty well, although super busy. And best of all--yes, you guessed it--the Pumpkin slept! Not just slept, but slept ALL NIGHT LONG in her very own crib. That does in fact mean that I slept all night long in my own bed without having to get up for any reason!

The details, cause I know you all want to know, are that I nursed her to bed starting around 7:30 and put her in her crib about 8:00. She stirred every now and then through the night, but stayed asleep or fell back asleep with nothing more than a whine or two with no help from Londo or me. She didn't wake up until just after 6:00!! I had gone to bed at 9:30, so that was about 8.5 hours of sleep for me! (Minus the times Londo's alarm kept going off. Goodness, that's annoying for it to go off every 10 minutes for almost an hour. I'm never in the room at that point, so I didn't realize how annoying that can be!)

I'm not worried that I jinxed the good nights of sleep, because I don't expect it again... at least for a while. But this was a shining beacon of what life could be--nay, WILL be at some point. She really will sleep through the night some day, and I'll have normal nights and good mornings once again. I'm just giddy at the thought!

Oh, and here's a cute Pumpkin story for you. I set the Pumpkin down to stand in front of the clean laundry basket. She loves to pull stuff out and throw it over her shoulder, and it keeps her occupied so I can get dressed. Well, I went into the bathroom for just a sec to get something, and I come back out and she is sitting IN the laundry basket, looking happy as can be. Just sitting on top of everything, still throwing stuff out of it. She's climbed on stuff before, but this is really the first time she's climbed IN something. She also climbed out by herself. When she was teetering with her stomach on the edge of the basket, I totally thought she was going to fall on her face and had my hands poised to catch her, but she got her hands on the ground and slid her legs over the edge and then sat up on the ground.

She's a super genius! Future Olympic gymnast! (Although, she's probably going to be too tall, considering she's always in the 95% for height...)

I hope all you interneters have had as good a morning. :-)

Monday, January 14, 2008

Question of the Week - Dream Job

If you could do anything, what would your dream job be and why?

Me? I'd be a romance writer--a successful romance writer who writes good plots and characters. I would prefer romance as the genre because I tend to get caught up in what I write when I'm writing fiction, and I love romance novels because they always have a happy ending. I don't need to be caught up in the world of murder mysteries or dark dramas. Maybe I'd write sci-fi/fantasy or chic lit, but I would really love to write well-written, interesting, historically accurate historical romances or paranormal romances.

And you?

Sunday, January 13, 2008

This Isn't Really a Post

I hope you weren't expecting much today. I've started another book, so I'm not online as much as usual. I did go with a romance because I forgot that I had a book in a series I enjoy, and I just had to know what happens next. Besides, it's not even halfway through the month, so I have plenty of time to read Jane Eyre. Also, we go to Water Babies today, so I have to get ready soon. Plus, I've been feeling pretty down lately and don't have it in me to write much.

I hope everyone out there is having a good day!

Learning I Have Hypertension

This past winter, I discovered I have developed high blood pressure. This came as a surprise for me, since I generally had always had blood ...