Parenting Toddlers

Oh no, not human baby - that phase is done. On Saturday the hubby and I will be going to Maine (about a six hour round trip) in order to pick up the newest babies to our home. Want to see? Meet our babies!

They don’t have names yet…we’re not quite sure WHAT to name them. They are husky/malamute mix and we are so looking forward to adding them to our family. But it brought a few things to mind: the last time I added a puppy to our home was five years ago, and Babygirl grew up with him, knowing how to treat him and to respect him simply because he was bigger than her for most of her life (he’s 65 lbs, so I guess, technically, he’s STILL bigger than her). So I’ve been thinking and doing some research on how to bring a puppy safely into a home with toddlers.

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It’s time for the Sunday Sixteen! And what a busy week it has been! Keep your tray tables in their upright and locked positions, this is going to be quite a ride!!

1. We found out Wednesday that Alex is going to a big brother sometime next January. Surprise!

2. Alex took his very first steps last night. He’s already flying through the house pushing his toys, and we knew his delay in walking was most likely related to the fluid in his ears. Last night he took two wobbly steps to the coffee table. Hubby and I made a HUGE deal about it, and I have a suspicion that it will increase by leaps and bounds from here on.

3. Alex’s favorite foods this week: Old El Paso Mexican Skillet meal (made this for the family and Alex absolutely wolfed it down), greek gyro (from the Greek Festival downtown yesterday), and diced peaches.

4. My little man is chatting away these days. He makes all sorts of sounds, and even more words, especially “HI”, “Dad-dy”, “One”, “Two”, and “Three”.

5. I found that counting the snaps on his outfits when I’m changing him helps cut down on the flailing around to get down. Plus Alex has started mimicking me when I count, so he’s actually learning his numbers too. If you have a wiggling little one during changing time, give it a shot.

6. With this pregnancy so far I haven’t had any real symptoms (knock on wood) so far. We’ll see how long that lasts. With Alex I had horrid morning sickness for almost six months. Hopefully I’ll skate through this time with little to no morning sickness. Wouldn’t that be great!!

7. Pandora, our cat, has been all about loving me like crazy this past week. I swear she can detect the change in hormones or something, because the usally rather stand offish cat also mothered me like crazy the whole time I was pregnant with Alex.

8. Diesel has found a new home. It was time, and especially with our upcoming summer situation, I think he be much happier. His new family is very nice, and Diesel really seemed to take to them well. They also live here in town so we can check in every so often and see how he’s doing.

Alex’s Get Away with Anything Face

9. Best Mom movies this week: Deja Vu. Still haven’t seen it, but I want to, and I’m a big Denzel fan, so I know it’ll be good.

10. Best Mom beauty helper this week: Palmer’s Cocoa Butter. If you can deal with the smell that long, using Palmer’s on my tummy every night kept me from getting any ugly stretch marks when I was pregnant with Alex. I’ll be using the same stuff again with this pregnancy. My husband is not a fan of the “beachy” scent, but he’d be even less of a fan of big stretch marks, so he lives with it. Plus who really wants to contradict a pregnant woman anyway?

11. Greek Festival. We visited the Greek Festival downtown yesterday here in Greenville. Except for the scorching sun, it was a total blast! They had dancers, cultural exhibits, authentic food (which was awesome) and even play areas for the kids.

12. My toddler is becoming more independent every day. He knows when he wants to get down, when he wants to get dirty, when he wants to eat, etc. And he’s certainly not shy about letting us know it, even if it’s at the top of his lungs.

13. Alex has developed a new habit of raising his arms to anyone who stops to talk to him. Strangers, family, it doesn’t matter. You’d be amazed at how many people are more than willing (and deleriously excited) about picking up Alex when he does this. So far, as long as the person doesn’t look too sketchy, we’re just rolling with it. We’ll definitely have to teach him about strangers in a few years, but for now, it’s better for me (especially right now!) that he doesnt mind spending time with friends.

14. Last night was Alex’s first full bath since his surgery (he’s been getting wiped down with the “ready bath” wipes that work without water) and we had to use the ear plugs the doctor gave us. Luckily, they seemed to work really well, we relatively easy and Alex didn’t seem to mind them in the least.

15. Alex’s favorite book this week, Winnie the Pooh’s Sleepytime Hum from the Winnie the Pooh’s Sweet Dreams collection. It’s a board book that talks about sleeping and dreaming and getting ready for bed. Alex loves to turn the pages, and though it has a good amount of words, it’s still short enough to keep Alex’s attention. Perfect for his before bed story.

16. I know I usually do the must read blogs of the week, but as you can tell, this has been one crazy week. I simply haven’t had the time to check everyone’s blogs out. But I should be back in the saddle and ready to go for next week, so be prepared!!

This week’s Sunday Sixteen:

1) This weeks big news, Alex is allergic to Amoxicillin. We know this because he broke out in horrendous hives all over his body and required a visit to the pediatrician AND the allergist, all in one day.

2) I desperately need to buy more Aquaphor. Preferably in a dog proof tube.

3) Alex started waving “hi” this week. He also usually says something sounding like “hey” or “hi”. It’s so cute!

4) I won a Guest Blogger contest over at Pinks & Blues Blog AND I won a gift certificate. Pinks and Blues are looking for other guest bloggers, so visit their site and give them some literary love.

5) Alex’s favorite foods this week: strawberries, sliced american cheese, yogurt, and feta chicken.

6) Mommy and Daddy have been much better about establishing a “read to Alex before bedtime” routine. Great for Alex’s vocabulary, and it’s a nice chance for some quiet family time too.

7) At his doctor’s appointment for the hives, Alex weighed 21.3 pounds. He is bound and determined to eat like a pig and not gain an ounce. I don’t think, though, that’s he’s losing weight, so I’ll take what I can get.

Alex has TWO new cousins in Michigan!!! Cousin Aiden Werner was born on March 11, and cousin Rowan Elise was born on March 28th. Congrats to both sets of parents! We can’t wait to meet the new additions!

9) We learned this week that to treat an allergic reaction, we can give Alex Zyrtec AND Benadryl at the same time. We just have to call to get dosage based on his weight.

10) We have new neighbors! Someone finally bought the house next door, and though they won’t be moving in for two months or so, Nick had a chance to meet them yesterday and said they are very nice. They are also from Charlottesville, where I used to live years ago. Small world!

11) We’re going back through another hitting phase. Alex has suddenly started hitting whenever he’s frustrated, ie, whenever he gets told no.

12) The house is a wreck again. Which means another week of me cleaning up and picking up, only to have it totally messed up again by the time I’m done. I hate cleaning.

13) Jason Ray, who was the UNC mascot for the basketball team died this past week after being hit from behind by a car as he walked back to his hotel in New Jersey just before UNC’s game against Southern California. My prayers go out to his family.

14) I desperately need to get off my lazy rear and start walking again. Didn’t get much exercise this past week between the weather and the allergic reaction.

15) I’m thinking about starting a new habit of deciding what I’ll be making for dinners during the week the weekend before. That way everyone knows what we’re going to have, and I have less “hmm, what do I have in the frig?” time. Anyone already do this?

16) Alex is the photo of the month over at My Mommy’s Place! The picture is from his birthday, as he was riding in his new wagon for the first time. One of my articles was also selected to head up this month’s offerings, so head on over to My Mommy’s Place and check it all out!

Jason Ray, UNC mascot, My Mommy’s Place, Amoxicillin

I’m going to have to put the dog in rehab. I’m afraid he really does have an addiction problem, and I simply don’t know how to help him at this point. Every time he sees it he just can’t resist. It’s like kryptonite. What is it? Diaper Cream. More specifically, Aquaphor. To date he has chewed up/eaten one big tub, and two medium size tubes of the stuff. It’s a wonder he hasn’t somehow greased his intestines to the point that the end result would shoot out of his rear like some sort of pitching machine. But so far, knock on wood, no projectile … well, you know.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the animal dynamic in our house, let me explain how things work. First, there’s Miss Abby the lab. I call her Miss Abby because at her age, she’s entitled to a little respect. She’s sweet, laid back, gentle, and all around the best dog ever. Abby is very accepting of Alex, and very good about simpy leaving the room if he’s getting too pushy or excited for her. In fact, her only bad habit is a desperate desire to nap right on top of Nick’s pillow during the day.

Then there’s Pandora, the regal, stubborn, and occasionally obnoxious cat. Pandora is a one of a kind in that she has actually become something of a “guard cat” since we got her as a kitten. She adores my husband, mothers me (she tries to clean my hair on a regular basis), and is very lenient with Alex. That’s where her good nature ends though. She actually growls at strange people who come too close, ie, within a five foot circumference of wherever she might be laying at the time.

And last, and certainly pulling up the hind end in the brains category, is Diesel the Great Dane. He’s the addict. He sheds like crazy, lays around everywhere, and begs for food like he’s starving in some third world country. For all his faults though, he absolutely adores Alex. He lets Alex climb all over him, poke him in the eye (I’ve actually seen this, though we obviously try to prevent it), and swat him affectionately with random toys. He is also supremely protective of my son. He shoulders up on any stranger who might be holding or playing with Alex, just to keep an eye on things. He puts his big frame in between us if we’re playing with Alex and he thinks Alex might need a break (ie, whenever Alex screeches, Diesel leaps to attention). In fact, when Alex was tiny and had to be in the hospital, Diesel took up patrolling the entire perimeter of the house from the inside, always ending by Alex’s crib where he would stick his big head over the rails and try to find his little buddy.

So you can see my quandry. Though I have absolutely no idea what could be so irresistable about a tub of Aquaphor (which to me looks and smells just like Vaseline), this is a problem which we are going to have to handle regardless. Looks like it’s time for an intervention. Anyone know a good 28 day program for Danes?