What's That Bowel?
My son is trying to communicate. He says things that sound like words all the time, but mostly it's just coincidence. He's trying to communicate more than he has words in which to do so. We're working on understanding his pointing and babbling and we're guessing what he means or what he's asking.
It seems like he's pointing at things, mostly things in an up and on the ceiling direction, and making questioning sounds. We've started naming nouns in the direction he's pointing. I realized today that I was saying back to him, "what's that?" and then adding the noun, such as "What's that? That's a light. Light."
During his bath, it sounded like he was even saying, "what's that" when he'd point to things in the bathroom. He also seems to know the word "ball." Although, when he says it it sounds like "bowel." He's most definitely understanding much more than he can speak or communicate, but it looks like the months ahead are going to be interesting, not to mention funny to listen to.
The Big Boy Update: He's figuring out he can take off his shoes if he pulls on the Velcro. He's not been interested in taking shoes or socks off until recently. For the most part, it's okay. Sometimes we need him to keep his shoes or socks on so that he won't scratch his ankles raw.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She's still trying to get her hands into her mouth, and she's succeeding. But she's not regular at it, and she doesn't do it through the night because we keep mittens on her during the night. But she does need to be soothed sometimes and she's also not great at a pacifier either. Sometimes it takes a bit to get her to settle down as a result when she's tired.
Right-size Countdown: 13.1 pounds to go
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Unpack It Now, Not Later
One of the organizational things I do, without fail, is to always unpack a thing when I bring it into the house, instead of doing it later. For example, baby food bottles come in four can packs. We would but six at a time. It's work up front, but if you unpack them when you put them up, you have a more organized pantry or cabinet and you don't have to fuss with getting into an item later, when you need it.
I do this with everything. I take the tags off clothes and put them on hangers, I take the wrapping diapers out of the box and put them on the shelf, I break down the cardboard from the new toy and put it in the recycle bin. Sometimes it seems like it takes longer to get everything in the house and put up from a shopping trip than it does to make the trip in the first place.
The benefit is everything is ready to go when you need it. I've found I'm more likely to do everything at once like this than bits at a time as I need an item. It also seems many food or kitchen items take up less space once unpacked than they do in their packaging.
The Big Boy Update: Ghost Balloon. It's been almost three months since he turned one and we still have one Mylar balloon that hasn't died yet. It's finally losing enough air to drop to the ground. Yesterday though it was in an almost perfectly buoyant state, It magically appeared upstairs from the basement and then floated up to the second floor. When it was in hot air, it would rise and when it found cool air it would sink. He had fun playing with it, hugging and squeezing it.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Not so tiny anymore. She's getting little leg fat rolls. She's still tiny in comparison to her brother, but she's twice as big as she was when she was born. It doesn't seem like she's much bigger when I hold her, but when I see someone else holding her, I realize how much bigger she is in their arms. The baby fat rolls are definitely cute. She's not gotten enough chub to merit the name "fatty" like my son did though.
Right-size countdown: 13 pounds to go
One of the organizational things I do, without fail, is to always unpack a thing when I bring it into the house, instead of doing it later. For example, baby food bottles come in four can packs. We would but six at a time. It's work up front, but if you unpack them when you put them up, you have a more organized pantry or cabinet and you don't have to fuss with getting into an item later, when you need it.
I do this with everything. I take the tags off clothes and put them on hangers, I take the wrapping diapers out of the box and put them on the shelf, I break down the cardboard from the new toy and put it in the recycle bin. Sometimes it seems like it takes longer to get everything in the house and put up from a shopping trip than it does to make the trip in the first place.
The benefit is everything is ready to go when you need it. I've found I'm more likely to do everything at once like this than bits at a time as I need an item. It also seems many food or kitchen items take up less space once unpacked than they do in their packaging.
The Big Boy Update: Ghost Balloon. It's been almost three months since he turned one and we still have one Mylar balloon that hasn't died yet. It's finally losing enough air to drop to the ground. Yesterday though it was in an almost perfectly buoyant state, It magically appeared upstairs from the basement and then floated up to the second floor. When it was in hot air, it would rise and when it found cool air it would sink. He had fun playing with it, hugging and squeezing it.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Not so tiny anymore. She's getting little leg fat rolls. She's still tiny in comparison to her brother, but she's twice as big as she was when she was born. It doesn't seem like she's much bigger when I hold her, but when I see someone else holding her, I realize how much bigger she is in their arms. The baby fat rolls are definitely cute. She's not gotten enough chub to merit the name "fatty" like my son did though.
Right-size countdown: 13 pounds to go
Monday, March 5, 2012
Just Because You Have Room, it Doesn't Mean You Want Stuff
I like stuff, don't get me wrong. I buy stuff all the time, stuff I want, stuff I don't want, stuff I want to eat (damn diet making me think about food again.) But just because we have room to store stuff, it doesn't mean we want people to give us stuff all the time.
Do you know someone who loves a bargain? Or maybe they know "high-quality." It might even be "unique" or "one of a kind." They love to get you things. Things you might not want just because it's a one-of-a-kind, high-quality bargain.
I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to complain here. And I do appreciate the gifts. Giving something to someone is a way to say how much you care about them or are thinking about them. So I always try to keep that in mind when I get another item I wasn't expecting.
Sometimes I wonder though, what if I lived in a one-room apartment and had wall to wall bookshelves and furniture. There was just no room for more stuff, instead of the nice attic we have that can easily store scores more Christmas decorations than we'd ever get around to putting out. Would we get gifts of as much stuff as we do now?
Just because we have the space, doesn't mean we want the stuff. My sister-in-law and I agree on this. Her post on Unwanted Gifts and a surprise present of some Christmas caroler dolls the other day got me thinking about this.
The Big Boy Update: Climbing down the stairs backwards. He wants to go down the stairs, and it's scary watching him do so. But if you stay two steps below him, he'll face forward, asses the situation, turn around and back down a stair or two and then repeat the process. So far, he's only crashed badly once. It's going to be a while before we trust him to go down alone though.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Crinkle Crinkle. She is trying to grasp things. She grasps her other hand more often than anything else, but she also likes the baby toys that have the crinkle sound. She is very alert after eating and likes to try and see everything around her as well as touch it.
Right-size Countdown: 13.7 pounds to go. Weigh-in week two and we're both doing well.
I like stuff, don't get me wrong. I buy stuff all the time, stuff I want, stuff I don't want, stuff I want to eat (damn diet making me think about food again.) But just because we have room to store stuff, it doesn't mean we want people to give us stuff all the time.
Do you know someone who loves a bargain? Or maybe they know "high-quality." It might even be "unique" or "one of a kind." They love to get you things. Things you might not want just because it's a one-of-a-kind, high-quality bargain.
I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to complain here. And I do appreciate the gifts. Giving something to someone is a way to say how much you care about them or are thinking about them. So I always try to keep that in mind when I get another item I wasn't expecting.
Sometimes I wonder though, what if I lived in a one-room apartment and had wall to wall bookshelves and furniture. There was just no room for more stuff, instead of the nice attic we have that can easily store scores more Christmas decorations than we'd ever get around to putting out. Would we get gifts of as much stuff as we do now?
Just because we have the space, doesn't mean we want the stuff. My sister-in-law and I agree on this. Her post on Unwanted Gifts and a surprise present of some Christmas caroler dolls the other day got me thinking about this.
The Big Boy Update: Climbing down the stairs backwards. He wants to go down the stairs, and it's scary watching him do so. But if you stay two steps below him, he'll face forward, asses the situation, turn around and back down a stair or two and then repeat the process. So far, he's only crashed badly once. It's going to be a while before we trust him to go down alone though.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Crinkle Crinkle. She is trying to grasp things. She grasps her other hand more often than anything else, but she also likes the baby toys that have the crinkle sound. She is very alert after eating and likes to try and see everything around her as well as touch it.
Right-size Countdown: 13.7 pounds to go. Weigh-in week two and we're both doing well.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
3500 Calories
There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. I shouldn't have, but I looked it up. I knew that losing one pound per week was a reasonable way to lose weight. But it's always nice to think you can be an over-achiever and lose more than that. You think other people dieting aren't as serious as you are and surely you can lose weight faster. Dieting isn't fun, we all want it to be over, so losing faster will be better, right?
Now I understand why it's only a pound a week. First, in order to lose weight, you have to eat less calories than your body metabolizes each day. In my case, I probably only need 1800 calories a day to maintain my weight. That's 12,600 calories per week. To lose a pound of excess body fat, I'd have to cut that by 3500 calories each week. So to lose a pound per week I have to stick to 9100 total calories, or 1300 calories per day.
To lose two pounds each week, I'd have to cut my daily caloric intake to 800 calories, and that's not enough to be a healthy mom of two. So a pound a week looks to be the way it's going to be.
So, reality check... check. Looks like this diet, in order to be reasonable and something I can maintain after I stop dieting, is going to take a while longer than I'd like. The good news is, I'll reach the weight I was before I got pregnant with my son before I hit my final target weight and I have plenty of clothes I can fit into then. But it looks like it's going to be the beginning of summer before I make it all the way.
The Big Boy Update: Climbing, climbing, everywhere. When he wants to get into something or over something he lifts his leg up really high. He does this even if he has no chance of getting in or out of his target. It's starting to pay off though. For example, two nights ago he had a painful diaper rash and was suddenly terrified of the bath. Sheer willpower helped him climb out of the tub, twice. He managed to climb on and off the coffee table today and last night he climbed out of his pen. It looks like it's going to be hard to contain him soon. I am just glad he can't work door knobs yet.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My husband and I swapped "primary children" today. I don't think he realized just how much she smiles and laughs when you play with her. She is very adorable. So much so, you have to be careful not to distract her when she has a bottle because she'll stop eating, get distracted and smile at you if she thinks you're trying to communicate.
Right-size countdown: 14.2 pounds to go
There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. I shouldn't have, but I looked it up. I knew that losing one pound per week was a reasonable way to lose weight. But it's always nice to think you can be an over-achiever and lose more than that. You think other people dieting aren't as serious as you are and surely you can lose weight faster. Dieting isn't fun, we all want it to be over, so losing faster will be better, right?
Now I understand why it's only a pound a week. First, in order to lose weight, you have to eat less calories than your body metabolizes each day. In my case, I probably only need 1800 calories a day to maintain my weight. That's 12,600 calories per week. To lose a pound of excess body fat, I'd have to cut that by 3500 calories each week. So to lose a pound per week I have to stick to 9100 total calories, or 1300 calories per day.
To lose two pounds each week, I'd have to cut my daily caloric intake to 800 calories, and that's not enough to be a healthy mom of two. So a pound a week looks to be the way it's going to be.
So, reality check... check. Looks like this diet, in order to be reasonable and something I can maintain after I stop dieting, is going to take a while longer than I'd like. The good news is, I'll reach the weight I was before I got pregnant with my son before I hit my final target weight and I have plenty of clothes I can fit into then. But it looks like it's going to be the beginning of summer before I make it all the way.
The Big Boy Update: Climbing, climbing, everywhere. When he wants to get into something or over something he lifts his leg up really high. He does this even if he has no chance of getting in or out of his target. It's starting to pay off though. For example, two nights ago he had a painful diaper rash and was suddenly terrified of the bath. Sheer willpower helped him climb out of the tub, twice. He managed to climb on and off the coffee table today and last night he climbed out of his pen. It looks like it's going to be hard to contain him soon. I am just glad he can't work door knobs yet.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My husband and I swapped "primary children" today. I don't think he realized just how much she smiles and laughs when you play with her. She is very adorable. So much so, you have to be careful not to distract her when she has a bottle because she'll stop eating, get distracted and smile at you if she thinks you're trying to communicate.
Right-size countdown: 14.2 pounds to go
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Crying is Tiring
Or so you hope. It is very uncomfortable to hear a baby cry and not move to do something to sooth the baby. It bothers you in a strange mental way that's hard to describe if you haven't experienced it before.
I've heard babies crying at restaurants all my life and it's never bothered me until I had my own child. I think if I did a lot of baby sitting I would have understood before, but not until you hear a baby crying and it's your responsibility to help the baby through it, do you really experience the keening urge to "just make it stop."
But crying can be useful. A baby who is over-tired and needs to go to sleep, a tantrum that has to work itself out, or a hungry baby that's not serious about eating dinner. In these cases, crying is not only tiring, but it produces a good result (napping, understanding no, or eating a full meal.)
So, while our children are good kids, sometimes they cry and sometimes we have to let them cry for a while, and that's okay. But crying is definitely tiring, it's tiring on the baby and it's tiring on the parents. It's why I love bedtime. Bedtime is quiet.
The Big Boy Update: Ministry of Silly Walks. My son is a member, or wants to be a member of the Ministry of Silly Walks when he grows up. He does the craziest high-stepping, trouncing, bouncing walking that makes us laugh on a daily basis. It's sporadic though, and hard to catch on video. We'll just have to tell him how amusing he was when he gets older.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Frozen foods. I'm done breastfeeding, so now she gets a supplement of breast milk that's thawed from my stockpile every day. I worry that the frozen milk isn't as good as the fresh version and I worry that she prefers formula in taste to it. I'm a mother, I'm suppose to worry. I think I get worried when it seems she's not interested in that particular bottle. I've done tests with two bottles at the same time comparing formula with milk. She just gets picky sometimes. I've come to the conclusion that she doesn't really care what's in the bottle.
Right-size Countdown: 14.3 pounds to go
Or so you hope. It is very uncomfortable to hear a baby cry and not move to do something to sooth the baby. It bothers you in a strange mental way that's hard to describe if you haven't experienced it before.
I've heard babies crying at restaurants all my life and it's never bothered me until I had my own child. I think if I did a lot of baby sitting I would have understood before, but not until you hear a baby crying and it's your responsibility to help the baby through it, do you really experience the keening urge to "just make it stop."
But crying can be useful. A baby who is over-tired and needs to go to sleep, a tantrum that has to work itself out, or a hungry baby that's not serious about eating dinner. In these cases, crying is not only tiring, but it produces a good result (napping, understanding no, or eating a full meal.)
So, while our children are good kids, sometimes they cry and sometimes we have to let them cry for a while, and that's okay. But crying is definitely tiring, it's tiring on the baby and it's tiring on the parents. It's why I love bedtime. Bedtime is quiet.
The Big Boy Update: Ministry of Silly Walks. My son is a member, or wants to be a member of the Ministry of Silly Walks when he grows up. He does the craziest high-stepping, trouncing, bouncing walking that makes us laugh on a daily basis. It's sporadic though, and hard to catch on video. We'll just have to tell him how amusing he was when he gets older.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Frozen foods. I'm done breastfeeding, so now she gets a supplement of breast milk that's thawed from my stockpile every day. I worry that the frozen milk isn't as good as the fresh version and I worry that she prefers formula in taste to it. I'm a mother, I'm suppose to worry. I think I get worried when it seems she's not interested in that particular bottle. I've done tests with two bottles at the same time comparing formula with milk. She just gets picky sometimes. I've come to the conclusion that she doesn't really care what's in the bottle.
Right-size Countdown: 14.3 pounds to go
Friday, March 2, 2012
Privacy Expectations and Information Sharing
We're in a new neighborhood that's largely empty. We have builders start homes from time to time, but they're usually pre-sales as this economy has made banks unwilling to loan money to builders for spec-houses.
Since there are so few of us, we try to keep in touch and look out for each other the best we can. Most of the time this is through emails to a list of emails that's gotten more out of date as time has gone on. My husband and I also realized we had no idea who's name went with which email and even who some of the new neighbors were.
I decided to build a spreadsheet and send it out to everyone asking if they'd like to be part of a neighborhood members list. I contacted the agent on site and he kindly helped me out with not only names and spellings of people I'd only talked to, but many missing emails as well.
I created a spreadsheet with basic information filled in (address, lot number, owners names and emails) and then added columns for additional things like phone numbers, children, etc. But I didn't want to fill in more than I should. Some people value their privacy. I wanted to make sure I didn't share information with anyone who didn't want it shared.
I included all of our information though. I asked for people to let me know what information they'd like to share, and I'd update the spreadsheet. I also said that if people wanted to be excluded, to please let me know. I hoped I handled the fine line of being friendly, and sharing information appropriately.
Aside from the emails, everything else is available in tax records. And without the emails, there isn't much communication going on unless you want to go old-school paper mail—and I didn't. So far, so good. I've had some good responses and one person asking if the file could be marked confidential or some such so that people know this isn't to be shared outside of the neighborhood members. Hopefully the rest of the responses will be as positive.
The Big Boy Update: Spooning. He's working on using utensils. We've let him have utensils before, and until recently it's been a novelty—a fun device that he plays with until he's ready to get down and eat by sticking his hand in the bowl. Now he seems interested in how you get the food on the spoon and get it into your mouth without dropping it all in your lap. He's been trying different spoons, including the one I had when I was a baby and so far, he's not starving.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: The car stopped moving! She's great in the car, unless she's not. Most of the time she's fine but every now and then she's just ready to be there or to get out of the seat or she needs to fall asleep. When this happens, she's quiet as long as the car is moving. The minute you stop at a red light... WAAAAAH... Yeah, no fun. And red lights take twice as long when you have a crying baby. It's a fact.
Right-size Countdown: 13.8 pounds to go
We're in a new neighborhood that's largely empty. We have builders start homes from time to time, but they're usually pre-sales as this economy has made banks unwilling to loan money to builders for spec-houses.
Since there are so few of us, we try to keep in touch and look out for each other the best we can. Most of the time this is through emails to a list of emails that's gotten more out of date as time has gone on. My husband and I also realized we had no idea who's name went with which email and even who some of the new neighbors were.
I decided to build a spreadsheet and send it out to everyone asking if they'd like to be part of a neighborhood members list. I contacted the agent on site and he kindly helped me out with not only names and spellings of people I'd only talked to, but many missing emails as well.
I created a spreadsheet with basic information filled in (address, lot number, owners names and emails) and then added columns for additional things like phone numbers, children, etc. But I didn't want to fill in more than I should. Some people value their privacy. I wanted to make sure I didn't share information with anyone who didn't want it shared.
I included all of our information though. I asked for people to let me know what information they'd like to share, and I'd update the spreadsheet. I also said that if people wanted to be excluded, to please let me know. I hoped I handled the fine line of being friendly, and sharing information appropriately.
Aside from the emails, everything else is available in tax records. And without the emails, there isn't much communication going on unless you want to go old-school paper mail—and I didn't. So far, so good. I've had some good responses and one person asking if the file could be marked confidential or some such so that people know this isn't to be shared outside of the neighborhood members. Hopefully the rest of the responses will be as positive.
The Big Boy Update: Spooning. He's working on using utensils. We've let him have utensils before, and until recently it's been a novelty—a fun device that he plays with until he's ready to get down and eat by sticking his hand in the bowl. Now he seems interested in how you get the food on the spoon and get it into your mouth without dropping it all in your lap. He's been trying different spoons, including the one I had when I was a baby and so far, he's not starving.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: The car stopped moving! She's great in the car, unless she's not. Most of the time she's fine but every now and then she's just ready to be there or to get out of the seat or she needs to fall asleep. When this happens, she's quiet as long as the car is moving. The minute you stop at a red light... WAAAAAH... Yeah, no fun. And red lights take twice as long when you have a crying baby. It's a fact.
Right-size Countdown: 13.8 pounds to go
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Gifts You Didn't Want But Love
Have you ever opened a gift and thought, "why would they send me this?" or "this isn't something I'd ever use." But you feel like you should give it a try, because someone who cared about you took the time to pick the gift out, buy it, wrap it and give it to you.
Then, you discover the item is something you really love, something you couldn't do without, something you're going to go on the internet and make sure you can get another one for when you run out of, or break the current one.
My Keurig coffee machine is one of those things. I really didn't want one, but my mother-in-law insisted we go to the store just after Christmas and get one because we were going to love it. I do like hot drinks, even in summer. I'm not a big coffee person, but it makes tea, cider, hot chocolate, as well as coffee for the people who like coffee, so I gave in and she got us one.
Now the cabinet below it is filled with the K-Cup options for beverages, the cabinet above has the mugs and that little corner of the kitchen is dedicated to the Keurig. I even love the little blue lights in it that tells me it's ready to make me a cup of something hot and tasty.
Recently, we've gotten lots of baby clothes I thought I'd never like, only to find out I'm wrong. Babies look cute in everything and it's fun to try new things on them. For instance, I would have never bought my daughter an outfit with bell bottoms. She can't even sit up, much less stand in them and look sassy. But oh how cute she looks in them.
I don't always succeed, but I try to give gifts a chance. I don't want to miss out on something I can't do without.
The Big Boy Update: He's starting to pronounce more words, or at least trying to. We're not surprised that most of his word attempts relate to food. He's just over one and he's already becoming a "foody" too. He likes to create his own taste sensations too, such as croutons dipped in salad dressing, then dipped in yogurt. Or fajita chicken dipped in apple sauce. He's a regular gourmand.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She is growing hair, I swear. Well, it looks like it to me. I look at her head a lot because she's laying in my lap eating for good bits of time each day and it looks to me like her hair is getting long enough to stand up and move around. It was about this time when her brother starting growing more hair it seems too. We'll find out if it's going to stay white in a few months I suppose.
Right-size Countdown: 14.2 pounds
Have you ever opened a gift and thought, "why would they send me this?" or "this isn't something I'd ever use." But you feel like you should give it a try, because someone who cared about you took the time to pick the gift out, buy it, wrap it and give it to you.
Then, you discover the item is something you really love, something you couldn't do without, something you're going to go on the internet and make sure you can get another one for when you run out of, or break the current one.
My Keurig coffee machine is one of those things. I really didn't want one, but my mother-in-law insisted we go to the store just after Christmas and get one because we were going to love it. I do like hot drinks, even in summer. I'm not a big coffee person, but it makes tea, cider, hot chocolate, as well as coffee for the people who like coffee, so I gave in and she got us one.
Now the cabinet below it is filled with the K-Cup options for beverages, the cabinet above has the mugs and that little corner of the kitchen is dedicated to the Keurig. I even love the little blue lights in it that tells me it's ready to make me a cup of something hot and tasty.
Recently, we've gotten lots of baby clothes I thought I'd never like, only to find out I'm wrong. Babies look cute in everything and it's fun to try new things on them. For instance, I would have never bought my daughter an outfit with bell bottoms. She can't even sit up, much less stand in them and look sassy. But oh how cute she looks in them.
I don't always succeed, but I try to give gifts a chance. I don't want to miss out on something I can't do without.
The Big Boy Update: He's starting to pronounce more words, or at least trying to. We're not surprised that most of his word attempts relate to food. He's just over one and he's already becoming a "foody" too. He likes to create his own taste sensations too, such as croutons dipped in salad dressing, then dipped in yogurt. Or fajita chicken dipped in apple sauce. He's a regular gourmand.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She is growing hair, I swear. Well, it looks like it to me. I look at her head a lot because she's laying in my lap eating for good bits of time each day and it looks to me like her hair is getting long enough to stand up and move around. It was about this time when her brother starting growing more hair it seems too. We'll find out if it's going to stay white in a few months I suppose.
Right-size Countdown: 14.2 pounds
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