So I made this huge photo book, then I actually read about how they charge (I hate reading instructions!) and had to make some revisions due to the cost prohibitiveness of the original. This is the huge version that didn't make it to print:). I'm happy to have it hosted on Shutterfly, and the printed copy came out really nice. I'll be making more in the future, for sure, though I may check out how Kodak does it in the next time (keeping it in the family, Eastman!;)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I Have A Headache This Big, And It Has Stefan Written All Over It!
I spent most of this snow day in bed...slightly maddening. I didn't have anything to do, we've had so many snow days that I've caught up on everything pertinent. I'm slightly sick of having pain (yesterday my back/shoulder, today my head). After downing all the asprin/Excedrin I deemed safe, I hopped back into bed with a baby raring to go for the morning.
"How can I meaningfully entertain him and manage a migraine that had me in tears?" I wondered.
We started slow, working with resources at hand...blankets for "peek-a-boo", pillows to fall into, tissues to rip and "snow" (yes, we've all been battling colds on top of everything, two boxes of Kleenex ready to tear!). This was all great until he started exploring and crawling to the edge of the bed. Tortoises know when to stop, so as to not plummet, Stefan does not.
Into bed came the bath toys: foamy things and balls. The toys from their bright red lady bug container, taken out, put back in, taken out, back in, out, in, out...all over the bed...it never ends with "in", does it? I decorated him, he decorated me, we laughed and giggled. His giggle is way too contagious, so I started giggling more. Some baby rough housing thrown in for good measure. A few moments into our play, and I was feeling better already. Maybe it was the drugs, but honestly, they hadn't been digested. Some good old fashioned silliness took the edge off my searing headache.
It didn't cure anything, Stefan had a 2 hour nap buddy later in the afternoon, and only now at 5:00 pm (with taking more drugs and having a PB and Tahini sammich) am I able to comfortably sit in front of this lit computer, or in any light at all. The whole day could have been a bust, but it wasn't. I am so happy I've gotten to do what I've intended by not returning to work full time: Spend lots of time with my cool little guy.
PS Last night's/today's cool things included telling Stefan where the cat's ears were and having him point to his ears without prompting, knocking on Dad's door for visits at work, "calling" the birds to come get bread crumbs: he was copying my inflection saying "here birdies" and doing a "kissing" sound like I was using to call them; feeding himself soup and apple sauce!
"How can I meaningfully entertain him and manage a migraine that had me in tears?" I wondered.
We started slow, working with resources at hand...blankets for "peek-a-boo", pillows to fall into, tissues to rip and "snow" (yes, we've all been battling colds on top of everything, two boxes of Kleenex ready to tear!). This was all great until he started exploring and crawling to the edge of the bed. Tortoises know when to stop, so as to not plummet, Stefan does not.
Into bed came the bath toys: foamy things and balls. The toys from their bright red lady bug container, taken out, put back in, taken out, back in, out, in, out...all over the bed...it never ends with "in", does it? I decorated him, he decorated me, we laughed and giggled. His giggle is way too contagious, so I started giggling more. Some baby rough housing thrown in for good measure. A few moments into our play, and I was feeling better already. Maybe it was the drugs, but honestly, they hadn't been digested. Some good old fashioned silliness took the edge off my searing headache.
It didn't cure anything, Stefan had a 2 hour nap buddy later in the afternoon, and only now at 5:00 pm (with taking more drugs and having a PB and Tahini sammich) am I able to comfortably sit in front of this lit computer, or in any light at all. The whole day could have been a bust, but it wasn't. I am so happy I've gotten to do what I've intended by not returning to work full time: Spend lots of time with my cool little guy.
PS Last night's/today's cool things included telling Stefan where the cat's ears were and having him point to his ears without prompting, knocking on Dad's door for visits at work, "calling" the birds to come get bread crumbs: he was copying my inflection saying "here birdies" and doing a "kissing" sound like I was using to call them; feeding himself soup and apple sauce!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
STTN
Sleep Through The Night. Dirty little words. A coveted goal, if unreached by a certain age (usually at only a couple months old parents start this brag), your a Parent Fail. I used to fess up how he didn't STTN, and how he took hours to put down some nights, and yes, I am a firm believer in parenting to sleep. Then I'd receive a litany of advice focusing around letting him cry, ignoring xyz, etc. Now, especially at a year, I just lie... "he sleeps soundly. All the way, every night."
The truth is that he wakes, usually 1-2 times now, and half the time, he has fallen back asleep before I poke my head in to see why he's crying. That is a fabulous transition from waking every two hours, not much more than two months ago. Once we moved away from co-sleeping, we were both able to get more solid hours of sleep. I'll brag about how that transition occurred in a future post. Some nights, he doesn't wake at all until the early morning. Most mornings, if it's light out when he's up, I coax him into bed with me for the feeding and squeeze an hour or two more sleep out of him: it's beautiful! The best part, even better than STTN, is that for about 3 nights in a row, plus a few more prior, but not consecutively, he has gone to bed with NO, I repeat NO fussing. Please don't let that jinx me!
A wise friend, who happens to be a colleague and my boss says, "It's not who they are, it's where they are." It's so amazing that where they are changes over night. I'll never get over that!
The truth is that he wakes, usually 1-2 times now, and half the time, he has fallen back asleep before I poke my head in to see why he's crying. That is a fabulous transition from waking every two hours, not much more than two months ago. Once we moved away from co-sleeping, we were both able to get more solid hours of sleep. I'll brag about how that transition occurred in a future post. Some nights, he doesn't wake at all until the early morning. Most mornings, if it's light out when he's up, I coax him into bed with me for the feeding and squeeze an hour or two more sleep out of him: it's beautiful! The best part, even better than STTN, is that for about 3 nights in a row, plus a few more prior, but not consecutively, he has gone to bed with NO, I repeat NO fussing. Please don't let that jinx me!
A wise friend, who happens to be a colleague and my boss says, "It's not who they are, it's where they are." It's so amazing that where they are changes over night. I'll never get over that!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Hurray for snow days!
We've officially had enough snow days for me to catch up on work (I have had my current lessons prepared for a couple of weeks now), house (I'm ahead of the dishes!), and paying attention to baby (instead of fighting him to occupy himself while I accomplished the aforementioned). Even cooler, tomorrow is a snow day that I won't have to wake up at 6 am to decide if it is safe to drive, or fret over being down on the shore while snow accumulates, and I actually get to have it be a snow day without all that other stuff hanging over my head. I have 2 goals: write a work blog entry and chill with the baby. Oh yeah, and recuperate from this stupid cold. I actually got Stefan to nap with me today, it was beautiful, and restful. Enough about my accomplishments. I'm so psyched I am in front of a computer in a timely fashion to record Stefan's accomplishments.
Recently, I think he's either been signing "milk" or waving. The jury is still out as he doesn't do the hand motions enough to attribute to either. Which ever it is, it's a new development and either would be cool.
Today he started voluntarily walking while only holding one of our hands. Another step toward independence, and cleaner hands.
Today when I asked if he was hungry and wanted food in his belly, he pointed to his stomach. I did it a couple of times, same result:). Then while we read the 12 days of Christmas (illustrated with Anne Gedes babys) we found a baby putting a mallet in his mouth. I drew Stefan's attention to it and he too pointed to his mouth.
He's started trying to put socks and shoes on by himself. OK that only means touching them to his feet, but I'm excited he knows where the clothing goes.
That is all I can remember for now. Time to have a snow night!
Recently, I think he's either been signing "milk" or waving. The jury is still out as he doesn't do the hand motions enough to attribute to either. Which ever it is, it's a new development and either would be cool.
Today he started voluntarily walking while only holding one of our hands. Another step toward independence, and cleaner hands.
Today when I asked if he was hungry and wanted food in his belly, he pointed to his stomach. I did it a couple of times, same result:). Then while we read the 12 days of Christmas (illustrated with Anne Gedes babys) we found a baby putting a mallet in his mouth. I drew Stefan's attention to it and he too pointed to his mouth.
He's started trying to put socks and shoes on by himself. OK that only means touching them to his feet, but I'm excited he knows where the clothing goes.
That is all I can remember for now. Time to have a snow night!
Sick Day
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| How could this sweet face be so loud?! |
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Flu Shot Failure
When I received the card urging me to get a flu shot for Stefan, I weighed the pros and cons, and though I didn't want him to get it necessarily, I ended up making an appointment. I never get them, work with children daily and have never had the flu, but insurance was covering it, and I really wouldn't want my son to be sick, right? As it turned out, I had to cancel the appointment for some reason, and in the meantime had opted not to reschedule. I didn't give the whole thing much of a thought until our Pedi visit yesterday. It came up with the nurse that he hadn't had one, and she was strongly urging me to give him one, since she has them yearly (who knows how that is justification, but whatever). I still didn't want him to have it really. After a very brief discussion with the Doc, it turns out we were very lucky to not have given him one.
For all of you out there managing an egg allergy: Flu shots contain egg!
Despite how I felt the day I realized he was allergic to certain egg proteins when prepared a certain way, I'm so glad I didn't find it out through the flu shot.
As for the 1 year check up, a month late, Stefan is 19lb (I can't remember the ounces) and 29.5 inches. Otherwise healthy. Woot. Well, except for a cold and the allergies :(. On the bright side, I've been having lots of cuddle time with the little booger and fortunately a ton of snow days and not much repair to be able to accommodate all the snuggles.
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