Time Flies

A year has gone by since I first joined this club of parenthood.  A day that I will never forget as one of the most amazing, terrifying, and the brink of a life forever changed.  Looking back on moments where I thought they were lasting an eternity; as those long late afternoons  sitting on the exercise ball (again), waiting for my husband to get home. Nights where I felt as though I never slept.  All those trips in the car with the screaming accompaniment.  There are were times that simply flew by; such as when he first smiled at us, cuddling with me after nursing in the early mornings, and the day that I fell hopelessly in love with him. Yet, I cant remember what it is like for him NOT to be mobile.  Those first four months were tough, enormous with self-doubt, blurry from the lack of sleep, and swollen with pride in the small accomplishments.  Once there was a rhythm created, my son and I's days began to just revolve around one another, both of us growing and learning from one another.  I feel a bit wistful thinking of how much he and I have both changed in the past year as well as how much change the future holds.  Becoming a parent is truly a learning experience that I am so very happy have survived the first year of.

October 29, 2010

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet baby boy!

Creativity May Run in the Family

My mom is crafty.  Not conniving and witchery, no she can turn a gunny sack into a cute table cloth AND curtains in a matter of days.  I have that gene somewhere in my being, usually it is punked out by my impatience.  Yet here comes Halloween, one of my most stressful holidays in that I can never figure what to be, nor have the patience to sort through my curiosity to come up with something creative.  I think I've worn the same old pair of devil horns for the past 8 years.  Now I am responsible for my child's costume on this most sanctified of events for children.  Geez, and I thought picking out a name was difficult! I know I have years of costumes ahead of me, so I need to enjoy this while it is ultimately still my decision.  My son has always had a soft spot for the turtle decor in his room, so this was naturally a no-brainer for me. Yet, you cannot go and pick up a turtle costume at your local all in one store and I am sure that there are some super pricey ones online. I bypassed all this mess and went straight to the homemade route.  After some researching on the internet, I found a cute idea on someone else's blog and went with it.  
Here is part one and I will post the finished 'product' on the big day.  Have to say that being crafty was easy, quite inexpensive, and {whisper} fun....

Ladies Man

Watch out girls.... He certainly is starting early! 
I just love how gentle and sweet he is. Momma's boy.

Sign of the Times

After almost 6 months, my son finally communicated with me by means of his hands rather than the ever present uhh uhh.  A friend of ours gave us a book or sign language long before he was born and I stuck it on the shelf with the other mindless pieces of spine that are designed to assist in parenting.  I eventually pulled it out once he began to eat solids, solely because I thought it was the "right" thing to do.  Plus it seemed that it would be helpful to get a grip on if he wanted more to eat or drink. We hit the sign language with a gusto, feeling like a monotonous ASL teacher, over pronouncing the word more. All the while clapping the tips of our fingers together over and over.  The poor child probably thinks that anything that is placed on his highchair is a 'more'. I can certainly see where he gets his lack of full attention from, as the luster of sign language waxed and waned as the weeks went on as there were no results.  I realize now that my son lacked the hand coordination not the intellect in grasping the concept. He may not have the hand signal perfect, but he is definitely letting us know what he wants. And lord knows this child always wants MORE food!  

Germaphobia

Here is the case; apparently my son has had a case of diarrhea for a couple days now.  Gross right? I am sure you are stopping your reading now as this already seems to be heading down a path that cannot be good. Believe me, coming from the germaphobe that I am, I do not wish to further this imagery, so I will be gentle. 
 I may digress first to give some background on myself; my name is Anne and I am terrified of illness.  My husband comes home with a cold, and I alienate him for at least four days.  If I catch wind that anyone has thrown up in my vicinity, I will promptly hand sanitize every 10-20 minutes and go to bed each and every night knowing that I will wake with the symptoms. One of my biggest fears (yes really) of becoming a parent is dealing with a sick child.  I just know that I will be the one to get puked on, and then all I will be able to focus on will be how many surfaces do I need to sanitize as my poor child lies in a miserable heap.  I shudder to even think of this.  How on earth I survived as a teacher in elementary school is beyond me.  Must have been the 4 plus bottles of sanitizer I had around.

Look what I can do!

Mobility came with its fair share of fears on my part as well as a lion's share of fun!  I do miss those days where I could plop him down on something and he would STAY there; needless to say, diaper changes have taken on a whole new element.  You have to keep him from rolling away, from trying to reach and grab his poopy self, and as soon as you get one leg in the pants, the other damn leg pops out. I find that when I get frustrated with it I must make a growling noise as he looks at me and makes the same frustrated growl back.  How can you stay  upset then?
Lord knows that chasing him all day does really wear me out. BUT.....it sure is fun to be active with this little guy!

Cruisin Around the Coffee table

Stairmaster

Monkeyin' Around with momma

Whats Bakin?

As a part of my new position in life, I am working on my baking skills since I have more time on my hands. I have never had the patience for baking.  Making cookies would go something like this: I would either eat most of the dough beforehand, open the oven about 15 times to get a good whiff causing the cookies to fall, and then try to scrape the cookies off the tray before they are ready and they end up in a sad heap.  My ever so sweet husband would gobble them up no matter how awful they were. I swore off baking and used the store packaged kind for a long time.  Pregnancy hit and I had a new found love for baked goods. So much so I thought I was pregnant with a girl due to the influx of my sweet tooth.  
Today I tried this recipe out since it was a fall-like day and I was having a craving for chocolate.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-duran/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/index.html?soc=share
Next time, I'd add a bit more seasoning, like pumpkin pie spice to bring out the pumpkin flavor. 
YUM!