Transitions

The post in which I speak of two transitions, totally unrelated to each other.

1. Transitions, or changes, in a friendship. This has been on my mind for a while now, and Maggie's post on the matter really brought it to the forefront. I'm not going to get into details here, but suffice it to say that I have a long-term friendship that is on very shaky ground right now and I'm not sure it is salvageable. I've reached out to this person and am pretty sure she would have liked it better if I hadn't. But if you know me at all, you know I am all about Not Letting It Go and Very Good at Hand Wringing. I know that as life goes on, and as time goes by, people change. I know I've changed so it's only fair to think that she has too. And maybe our friendship wasn't ever destined to weather those changes. Some days I hope I'm wrong in that assumption and other days I know it would be best to let it be and close that chapter. It's really up to her at this point as I've requested a "talk" and am waiting for her response. Is that the right thing to do? I don't know.

2. The dreaded Two Nap to One Nap transition. Talk about Hand Wringing, my goodness. (And see? Told you these were not related one bit.) Noah WANTS to nap in the morning and for HOURS. I WANT him to nap in the afternoon and for HOURS. So we want the same length of nap just not at the same time. Yesterday we successfully made it through his usual morning nap time by running errands and handing over gobs of cheerios and had a THREE hour afternoon nap. Success! Today? Today is a different story. Even though he slept a good 12.5 hours last night, he was clawing his eyes out at 10 am (his usual nap time). I waited. And I waited. And I tried to keep him busy, but you know what? The screeching makes my ears bleed. So I put him in his crib at 11. It is now 11:30 and I know I should go get him soon so as not to ruin the afternoon nap. So, I'm going. Here I go. Maybe I need a chocolate reinforcement first. Anyone have any advice? Do I Go With It as he decides it and have a few weeks (MONTHS???!!!) of No Schedule? Gah. I'm not sure about you but that sounds downright awful. Or do I get out of the house every morning and stay out until lunchtime so as to diffuse his need for that morning nap? ADVICE STAT.

Careful. It bites.

And so it goes

And on the heels of his birthday I completely neglected to take him to his 12 month appointment on Tuesday. This is an Epic Fail as a parent. However, I deem it the pediatrician's office's fault as I did not get an appointment confirmation call. Or I may possibly have forgotten to write it down...but this appointment was set three whole months ago and I can't remember last Thursday.

I have piles of laundry, a houseguest (Hi, Mike!), a teething toddler (why did no one tell me that molars SUCK?) who so desperately wants to walk but just cannot get it together therefore spends his time standing up and promptly falling down, who also throws fits, complete with kicking, when it's time to leave the park for lunch, who has decided napping isn't on the day's agenda, and now I have a twitch in my left eye (AGAIN.).

My saving grace? This whole Saturday without baby or husband, spent leisurely browsing the antique market with my friend D and interspersing the day with a glass of wine. Saturday can't get here fast enough.

Twelve Months

Dear Noah,

Happy Birthday sweet boy! Today you turn ONE year old. You made it! WE made it! Noah, you have made this past year the absolute best year of our lives. I cannot believe how far we've come...you from a needy newborn to an independent toddler, your father and I from an independent couple to parents with a constant need for you. You have brought us joy, laughter, and yes, even tears. And I wouldn't trade a single day with you for a day without you.

There is so much you have learned this past month. Your understanding of words and ideas has just exploded. You've taken to watching my mouth when I speak and trying to mimic the sounds to make words. Last week we went to the pool and by the time we got there, you were saying "poo" (as in pool NOT poop) and clapping your hands at the sight of the water. When out on a walk, you point to every dog we see and kick your legs excitedly every time. You can say, in no particular order: dog, ball, pool, more, milk, bottle, night-night, moo (when you see a picture of a cow). You can point out your ears and nose on demand and point to those parts on other people too. My bellybutton is the funniest thing and when I poke your belly you giggle uncontrollably. I love that.





You are such a happy boy with such an inquisitive mind. You father and I may tease about you being so busy and so smart but we secretly hope you become big geek like your Daddy. You love to press buttons and see what kind of reaction you can get. My laptop is your favorite toy but one I don't let you play with often... you also go nuts over the phone, the cell, the remote and any possible gadget that you really shouldn't be playing with. Soon you'll be figuring out how to take them all apart!


You have a smile that lights up the room. And eyes as blue as the sea. I may be a tad partial, but I think you're the most handsome boy I have ever seen. I love the dimples between your fingers where your knuckles will eventually be. I love your chubby legs even though I know that chub will soon be disappearing. I love your little ears that are so very soft. I love your long eyelashes that curl on your cheek when you're asleep. I love your sweet personality and the way you reach for me. I love listening to you quietly babble in your crib when you wake up in the morning. I love how you shake your head no when you I ask if you want something and then say no no no no no when you most likely mean yes. I love you, all of you.

I wish all the happiness in the world for you. I want you to always know love...that you are loved and how to love. May you find joy in all the little things and learn to let any disappointments in life always be a lesson and never a defeat. May you always be healthy and keep your body strong. I want you to always know that you are my baby, my first baby, and I will do anything for you. Anything.

Happy Birthday, my Noah Bagoah Bagoo. My bubba. My heart. My love.

Love,

Mama

Thank you, K, for the wonderful birthday photos! You're the best! And I apologize for the crappy editing I did to your photos. That's what happens when I STILL don't have Photoshop. Ahem, TIM.

Shall I set up an Etsy shop?*

Look!



I MADE THAT. Like, for real. To be completely honest, I bought the shirt, cut out the number and ironed it to the shirt and my friend D did the stitching (truly the hardest part), but I (we) MADE IT WITH MY OWN TWO (four) HANDS. I am just floored. Noah will be wearing this on his birthday to proudly show the world how old he is. Love it.

(*I am NOT setting up an Etsy shop because I am a) not that creative and b) not that motivated. But I can sort of use a sewing machine now and that is freaking awesome.)

Baby wins again

I present to you, for judgment, photographic evidence of my idiocy as a new mother:

I moved this bookcase from Noah's room to our family room because he has been so interested in Books! Books! Books! lately. I figured we would be more apt to read a wider variety if they were downstairs and this was the perfect bookcase to store those books and toys. What I failed to realize is that a child height bookcase meant he could pull every single book out and throw it on the floor in a hapless pile. And throwing the books on the floor is infinitely more exciting than reading them. All this just means my clean up in ten minutes plan is failing miserably. Mama: 0, Baby: 1,638,902.

Toddler-style

I am recording the following because it is what I want, nay, NEED, to remember about my boy. In one short week he has:

1. Mastered the use of the hand signs for "more" and "all done" making meal time that much more inefficient...and why inefficient? Because he's "all done" and two seconds later he wants "more". Make up your mind kid because this is not an all-day buffet.

2. Got his very first pair of big boy shoes! Like with actual soles and not that Robeez-style suede nonsense that does NOTHING to protect his feet from wayward pebbles (but are oh so cute and hard to resist).

3. Learned how to open the cabinet doors in the kitchen (another bad behavior courtesy of Daddy!). I know, I know, we're late to that game but only because I NEVER opened the cabinets in front of him so he had NO idea they were doors! that open and close! Or maybe I never opened them because I don't cook...often.

4. Took two steps! And has not repeated since. He will walk forever behind his push toy thingamajig but refuses to balance on his own. We're working on it.

5. Can recognize and say "ball" and "dog" and "Dada". He can recognize a balloon from a mile away and have a whole body attack of sheer joy. Now, that? Is awesome.

6. Tasted whole milk and LIKED it. Again, awesome. Our days of praying to the (very expensive) formula gods are coming to an end.

He's growing too big, too fast and I love it.

Pick 3, any 3

This website, The 3/50 Project, (courtesy of my friend D) has really struck a cord with me. Maybe it's because I am on foot so much more now with Noah in his stroller, or maybe it's because I have less money to spend and want to spend it wisely, or maybe it's because I am finally understanding what it means to own your own business (do you need any technology services? maybe web design? maybe hosting? maybe cloud computing? maybe software design? come see us here! I can vouch for the CEO, he's pretty awesome and darn cute). I'm not sure but what I do know is that I am trying very hard to keep my money where my home/mouth is. I walk to our local grocery store. We patronize local restaurants/coffee shops/bakeries (and NOT the Starbucks) when we have a few extra dollars to spare. I go to our neighborhood farmer's market twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays, yay!) which means I am buying produce and flowers that were grown within a few hundred miles if not one mile from my home.

So, I am trying. I am trying my hardest to support our local economy. And maybe, just maybe, you can try too. Care to join me?

"Shit" is now "shoot" in our household

So it's totally crazy that my kid can understand me. I mean, he can listen and process and understand the words that come out of my mouth. "Noah, can you put that bowl on your head?" And there goes the bowl on top of his head. "Noah, can you find the ball?" Oh, look! There it is as he points to it. "Noah, can you bring the ball to Mommy?" Throws the ball to me. "Noah, can you give the dog her bone?" Crawls over to the dog and hands her the bone. "Noah, can you blow Mommy a kiss?" Hand to mouth and MWAH! "Noah, what does a cow say?" "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" He's been able to do this for a while but it was only today that I realized just how much he understands. Which means today is the day that the Swear Jar goes into full effect.

Public Notice to my Husband: All bad, nasty swear words cause $1.00 (of YOUR pocket money) to be put in the Swear Jar. If you don't comply with this rule, consider all future meals to consist of cereal and/or instant oatmeal.