Love, Life, & other quirks

After several months' hiatus, I have decided to try to blog again. so, here are some updates... I am spending some time today looking for other mommy bloggers, working to connect with other women in the Portland area with whom I share common interests and activties...not the easiest thing in absence of common gathering places like churches, workplaces, etc. I am enjoying the women I have met at my mentoring sessions and in playgroups and such, but I am still trying to find my "community" here in PDX. I am confident that will happen soon...no rush, but as is the case with most things, it won't happen unless I take some initiatve. I am also tending a sweet, needy cold-having little guy. At 17 months, Gus is doing fabulously well, but he does get little colds more frequently than I would like. Guess having a toddler is like that. Poor little dude. He doesn't seem to mind, though. Speaking of Gus, well, I could fill pages about Gus. He is talking a lot - mostly unintelligle babble, but several words are consistent. More importantly, he signs a LOT. He signs for almost everything he wants and for all of his favorite things - which are animals. We learn an average of two new signs a day, mostly from http://www.lifeprint.com/. He's a big reader and he likes to watch a couple of videos. He plays with his blocks, his shape sorter, his stuffed animals his Dora chairs, his keyboard, and the pets. And us. I think we are his favorite toys, actually. We play bouncing games 10-20 times a day, and dance all the time. He is obssessed with his ABC's also. And the itsy bitsy spider. I am working on the second or three sections of my comprehensive exams for my MA in American Studies. I took forever to do the first section on Race, Ethnicity and Class Formation - knowing I had to continue through this semester anyway (one semester was not enough time - according to my advisor - who was right! - and one of my committee was on sabbatacal), my procrastination drive kicked in early last semseter and told me to take my time and then rush through these last two sections! That's how I roll! So, now I am working on the Expressive Forms section, which I will be able to finish super fast - cause it's my favorite - about how literature, film, fashion, body image, etc. represent and influence American Culture and various subcultures within it. I will be done with this section at teh end of FEB, then on to Gender and Sexuality - which is my 2nd favorite topic and one I have lots of experience researching and writing about. I will have two months to work through that, then I will be taking my exams the first 4 weekdays in May. Woo hoo!

The Story of Gus’ First Birthday

Gus woke early and excited. This was due in part because JJ was home, when normally he would be at work before Gus wakes. However, early for Gus is not too early, between 7:30 and 8am. JJ had gotten up in the night and placed the camcorder at hand, so Gus’ day started with JJ singing him Happy Birthday and recording it. We got ready, fed Gus and headed out the door around 10am to drive to Enchanted Forest, a fairytale-themed amusement park about 45 minutes away, outside of Salem. The hope was that Gus would nap on the way there, as he usually sleeps well in the car and he was ready for his morning nap by the time we left the house. No such luck – he whined a bit but would not go to sleep – I’ve never seen him so determined to stay awake. After a quick stop for me and JJ to grab some really bad amusement park food, we were off! We visited the Medieval Village where we saw a creepy animatronic Pinocchio, and a water show with music, lights, and water fountains that spray in time with the music and which ultimately made Gus cry (probably because it was dark in the room and the music was really loud). From there we went to a fun and bawdy kids play in the outdoor amphitheatre called Snow White and the Seven Dorks, where Gus was more interested in playing in the dirt between the seats than in the action on stage. It was a good show – JJ and I both liked it! Since we don’t get to see much theatre nowadays – Gus isn’t ready to sit through a show yet – we were excited to see the show and it was actually very funny! Next we all jumped on a little miniature train – including JJ, who had to squeeze in and hunker down in order to fit. Gus was not enjoying it at first, but as soon as the train got rolling he had fun and perked right up. We ended with a walk through Western Town – bought souvenirs at the dry goods store: a magnet, a pennant and a toy flute - and wandered through the actual “Enchanted Forest” part of the place, where all the big fairy tales are represented with little statues and houses and the like. Gus enjoyed this last bit, I think because it was all tucked away in the woods and he loves the forest – he gets all excited about trees. As we expected, Gus conked out immediately in the car on the drive home, and slept the whole way. Good thing, too, ‘cause that was the only nap he took all day! At home, Gus got more presents – Grandma B’s package of birthday goodies! He had fun all afternoon playing with his new stacking cups and chewing on the tags to his new PJ’s. We took it easy in the evening, not wanting to exhaust him, Gus and I stayed home while JJ went to Footy practice. Gus was asleep before Dad even got home! In keeping with the excitement of the day, however, Gus woke us up around 1:00am (he normally sleeps through the night) – he was wide awake and ready to go! So, JJ dragged his Daddy self out of bed and wore him down by rocking him for about a half hour, then we switched off and I got him right back to sleep, thanks be! To be continued....

Here we go. It's the toddler years...oh boy! It's such a tumultuous time watching my little guy's development accelerate so that he is displaying new skills literally every day, and also challenging us more and more each day as he asserts his will and desire for independence. It's a roller coaster - one minute he is my sweet baby, needing Mommy to hold and soothe him, and the next he is a pissed off kid, throwing himself backwards in fury because I will not allow him to chew on the computer cords. Oy! One thing I know - Gus makes me think about my own behavior and the consequences of my actions more than I ever have. And he makes me want to be a better person. Motherhood has a way of exposing cracks in the the armor of self-assurance and competence that many of us have built around us. The challenge of raising a child provides me with lots of opportunities to doubt and question my knowledge and my abilities, something I don't do often in my other roles. It's humbling. But in the end, as often as I am unsure of the proper response to his behavior, or whether I am doing enough to stimulate his imagination and intellect - in the end, when I see Gus cheer, smile and clap in anticipation of a favorite story or video, or because he accomplished a new feat like putting his plastic shapes into the matching slot, or when he gently pets the cat rather than smacking her in the face and yanking her tail - that is when I breathe a sigh of relief and feel a moment of validation, of pride and of joy that I imagine most parents cherish as much as I.

Hot Fun in the City

While the heat outside has been breaking records, Gus and I have been staying cool and having fun indoors this week. We cannot wait to get back outside to the park, the library, the zoo or just take a neighborhood walkabout. Tomorrow will be the day, especially since JJ will be home and we have plans to go here http://www.krugersfarm.com/ for a concert and picnic dinner. How fun! Meanwhile, Gus has been developing new talents on what seems like an hourly basis. I am fairly confident that a lot of this is due to the Baby Einstein First Signs video we watch once or twice a day together. He LOVES it and has begun using his hands a lot more in just the past few days. A few days ago he discovered pointing - now he points at everything he is interested in, including us, which is cute. We have lots of ET moments.

Just yesterday he began to clap his hands - really well, I might add - and now he does that all day, at whatever he thinks is fun, or just to express himself, I suppose. When he does this, he usually yells something like "nine, nine, nine!" or "aaahhhhhh!" Not sure what those mean.

He hasn't actually begun signing yet - but we think we caught him in some attempts - he does a thing with his chest that looks kind of like the sign for "bath" and a couple of times he looked like he was signing "ball" - but he could have been half-heartedly clapping. Either way - I can see the progress, so I am excited to keep signing with him.

Also in the past week - we got him some bubbles in a container that also doubles as a whistle - so he learned to blow the whistle. Then, I thought he needed to apply that skill to other things - so we broke out JJ's harmonica and he started playing that until Big Mama howled too much (because she always howls to the harmonica) and he got scared and cried. Next up - a kazoo - which we will be picking up tomorrow when we are out and about on JJ's day off. Since Gus already plays the keyboard every day and guitar regularly (not to mention listening to Pandora and dancing with Dad and Mom), I think we are meeting our goal of introducing him to music early.

On another note (teehee), everyone who knows Gus knows he loves books...but he's always been content to read a bit and move on. Not anymore. He has begun to demand the repeat read. This is how it goes: 1. He gets out his Rolie Polie Olie book that I got for him at a children's consignment store, 2. We read it to him while he absorbedly watches our fingers track the words, 3. We reach the end and close the book, 4. He cries until we begin reading it over again. This goes on until he is good and ready to be done...about 6-8 read-throughs.

So, that's what our little man is up to these days. We are having a blast. He is just about ready to start walking - which will require it's own post - I believe. In fact, I would argue that he already took his first steps - but JJ insists it was too much of a "shuffle" to count. He did that last night and then again this morning - standing and stepping side to side, then scooting one foot forward and falling on his butt.

Isn't that just like life sometimes?

Weaning on My Mind

Since my breastfeeding baby boy Augustus is almost 11 months old, I have been thinking (and hearing) a lot about weaning lately. I have always intended to nurse for a year, and now that the time is approaching, I have been worrying over how/why/when to wean. One piece I read in my research claimed that the average age babies are weaned worldwide is three years...whereas in the US it is 6 months - and that's only counting the 20% of babies in the US that are breastfed in the first place.

What I have determined is to take it slow and let Gus set the pace for the most part. I have followed that policy with him throughout his babyhood thus far and it has made for a happy baby and mommy. He naps when he is ready, and eats when he is hungry. We've yet to have any problems with that arrangement - he is a great sleeper ( for which I will be eternally thankful) - and a great nurser as well as a big fan of regular food. Of course, I realize I am lucky to be able to stay home with him and provide him all my time and attention. I am thankful for that - and the sacrifices we have made to do so are more than worth it!

So - we will be nursing for a few months more - depending on how quickly Gus is ready to let go. He makes progress every day with is big boy eating - and uses nursing more as a comfort when he falls asleep or just as he wakes. It's good to see him have more independence and actually choose to eat food over nursing. We always give him bites of our food - as long as it is appropriate for his little tummy and baby taste buds! He has quite a developed palate so far - we might have a little chef on our hands! He has eaten gnocchi and various pastas, falafel, hummus, beans of all types, burger, lots of different breads (his favorite is croissant), varieties of cheese and all kinds of fruits and veggies. He hates sippy cups right now, so we got him a regular plastic cup and he loves drinking out of that - tricky for us - cause we have to hold it and make sure he doesn't overdrink! Sippy cups will keep coming back, and when he is ready to hold them himself without the requite toss onto the floor, I think he'll enjoy them more.

So, between research and instinct - I have made peace with our progress.