My Oompaloompa

He insists on feeding himself...of course, he ends up wearing more of the food than eating it :).

Wednesday Adventures

Yesterday we went to another Moms Group...this time at my doula's house. I like visiting with Amy...I like talking to her, she was the only other person present for my child's birth besides Todd and it makes me laugh to see her little terror (Henry) relating with my little terror. I don't know if she knows how important her friendship is to our family...we enjoy her bluntness, her hippy-dippy ways, her opinions on birth and life in general. Todd likes reading her blog as much as I do. So, thanks, Amy for being such a rocking chick. Anyway, Norrin had a great time playing with Keith until he had to go to kindergarten. Norrin always latches on to the older child. Then, he was left with Henry :). And I don't think they know what to make of each other. They're too young to know how to play with each other...its more about stealing toys and who has the better sippy cup. Throw in a little pre-nap exhaustion and you know there were tears :). Norrin snacked on whatever he could get his hands on...such a good eater...tried to sort through Amy's cabinets, emptied someone else's diaper bag and made numerous attempts to climb the stairs. Needless to say, he slept soundly the whole drive back. After Amy's, we went to Grandmom and Grandpop Milligan's. Its our Wednesday tradition. Norrin continued to eat like a little piggy when he got there. He nursed, had mac n cheese, pasta, peas, bread n butter, basically whatever Grandmom put in front of him :). He also tried cow's milk for the first time. He loved it, but there isn't much he doesn't love. I would have preferred that the milk was organic, but Grandmom really wanted him to try it and she didn't have organic. I always laugh at the contradictions of stories when I get back from a weekend of work. Rita tells me that Norrin had a meatball and he loved it. Todd tells me he tried some sausage on Monday and actually went over to the trashcan and threw it out. Conveniently, this was after Grandmom left :). I'm more inclined to believe Rita's version because my child is such a good eater, but you never know...sausage has a pretty strong flavor and Norrin might not have liked it. So, after seeing the grandparents, we went home and Todd gave Norrin a bath. That's my "me time". Todd loves reconnecting with Norrin after a long day at work and Norrin loves playing with Daddy...no one makes him laugh harder than Todd. It was a good end to a very busy day. Today we're meeting my friend, Megan for an early dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Will Norrin behave? We'll see :).

An Oldie, But A Goodie

Found this while going through my archives...its only about a month old, but its the kind of craziness that is my son :). Poor Shrek gets thrown off that chair on a daily basis.

Blue Monday

Just one more twelve and then I get three days off...I can do it...I think I can, I think I can. Today Grandmom Milligan is coming over to watch Norrin. She recently offered to start watching him on the weekday that I work. None of us were very happy with how Norrin wasn't adjusting to his new classroom and I was not liking his care as much. The last time he was there he was only fed lunch. Norrin is in daycare for a minimum of ten hours and he's been on solids for 6 months now...there is no reason why he shouldn't have been given at least a snack. So, after a little bit of discussion, we decided it would be better for everyone if Grandmom Milligan came to watch him. Norrin will be much happier with family, I feel calmer knowing that he's with someone who will love him and only him and Todd's credit card can take a break from the ridiculous amount of money they charged for the three days a month Norrin was there. There was some compromise...no cloth diapers for Grandmom...as she said, "you can save the planet on your own time" :) and I told her that if this becomes work, she needs to let us know. I don't believe grandchildren should be work...the grandparents raised their children, their work is done and they should just get to have fun with their grandchildren. Other than that, I'm completely overjoyed that I am not ripping my infant from his warm bed and throwing him into the cold carseat this morning. I am totally thrilled that he will not be neglected at daycare today. And I'm so freakin' relieved that my happy baby will be back to himself because he gets to play with Grandmom all day. Now if we could just get pass this teething business, we'd be all set :).

Never Again

Why am I such a glutton for punishment? This is probably the tenth time I've gone to the grocery store with Norrin and left feeling like I forgot half the stuff I went in for because Norrin acted up and I rushed through the aisles. Every mom knows grocery shopping with a little one is impossible...I've been told a thousand times by other mommies that I should leave my lil guy with his daddy while I shop...but I still think I can get it done quickly and efficiently enough to avoid a scene (such a fool). I didn't need much during this trip...a loaf of bread, some eggs...but I still rushed out of there before I could grab some turkey for my hubby (who wants a vegetarian picking out their lunchmeat anyway?). Truthfully, I'd like to avoid the car altogether...Norrin has no interest in being in his carseat. There's an entire world out there that he needs to explore and strapping him down in a carseat or a grocery cart is something he has absolutely no interest in whatsoever. And then I'm the moron who acts surprised when he pitches a fit. Yesterday, we took a ten minute trip to Target. Halfway through the ride, I stopped in a huge parking lot because he was crying so hard he started gagging. As soon as I got him out of the car, he ran all over the parking lot picking up tree branches twice his size and chasing leaves blowing in the wind. I let him play for a good half an hour (what else do I have to do with my day off ?), but as soon as I put him back in that carseat he started the gagging cry (I won't be fooled twice, dammit). I already know that my mother is reading this and laughing because I got a stubborn, headstrong, tricky little troublemaker...just like me. On the other hand, I love his curiosity because he forces me to stop and appreciate even the littlest details of this planet- he loves the sound a stick makes when its scraped against a tree :). Of course, I will never again take my child to the grocery store.

Norrin And Elmo

For those of you who don't believe in love at first sight, just watch a child in a toy store!

How Many Teeth Does An 11 Month Old Need?

We are currently going through another bout of teething...God help us. The first two signs were the runny nose and the bib of drool. Then I saw a huge purple blister on Norrin's gums. Two nights ago Norrin woke up at 3 am and tossed and turned until 4:30 am. And finally, yesterday he refused to nap and cried and whined all day long. I hate using medication to comfort my child...I would rather nurse him all day or feed him vanilla ice cream than give him Tylenol. However, we reached a new level of pain yesterday and I did end up giving him one dose of Tylenol before bed. He slept soundly through the night and woke up happy this morning. I've heard that the molars are horrible for babies so I'm trying not to be too stingy with the Tylenol :). Yesterday, Rita and I went to Babies R Us with two goals in mind- to find a Halloween costume and an outfit for Norrin's first birthday photo. We left the store with a lot more though. Norrin is going to be a giraffe this year. I put the costume on him last night and he looks absolutely adorable. We also found a cute argyle sweater vest and socks to go with a collared shirt and tweed pants for his birthday photo outfit. Then, the chaos of shopping with an 11 month old ensued. We went to the chair section and tried to convince Norrin that the tasteful brown rocking chair was the way to go, but he was fixated on the most outrageous Elmo chair. It was so bad that we actually had to clear out the back of the cart, put the chair in and put Norrin in the chair...it was the only way we could convince him that the chair was coming with us, so please stay calm while we continue to shop. Then we went to the shoe section...my son has huge feet! He is a size 6! I thought it was a fluke, so I put his foot in one of the measuring things and his big toe was hanging over the edge of the 5 1/2...so he's a stinkin' 6! Grandmom Milligan bought him his first pair of Nikes. We put them on and he was a little freaked out by his first pair of hard soled shoes...he walked around like Frankenstein...but he'll need them for the colder weather. We also got three more Baby Einstein videos, a winter coat and a xylophone. It was amazing that we showed such restraint, but Norrin has a short attention span for shopping these days. Other than that, he's added ba-bye to his vocabulary. That's in addition to dada, mom (yes, he says mom, not mama...my mother will appreciate that), dog and ball. And that's about it. Its a nonstop adventure here :).