I'm movin' on up to my own domain (kind of like the Jeffersons). I'll go into details later, but for now, head over to the new digs and wish G-tot a Happy Birthday!
Showing posts with label g-tot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label g-tot. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
growing up—22 & 23 months
Dear Gideon,
You have been in our lives nearly two years, yet I find it hard to remember life without you. That part of my life just isn't as important anymore. You are what's important and my life has been forever altered because of you.
When I walk into the kitchen and see the door leading to the basement steps open, a little part of me panics. Even if you aren't home. It needs to be closed because of you. That's just the way we do it now. So much of the way our lives function on a day-to-day basis plays out in a lovely pattern because of you. Some days it is really tiring, but I can't imagine it any other way.
22 months—January 25, 2009
In less than a week you will be two and I feel a little guilty that I'm just now finishing your 22 & 23 month letter. I've had it started for many weeks, but time just seems to get away from me. As I've said before, I'm a terrible procrastinator and prefer to spend my time WITH you rather than writing a letter TO you. And when you are napping or in bed for the evening? Well, that's when your Dad and I do the chores around the house and spend a little time together. It's those sort of moments that have kept me from writing this letter for so long. That and the fact that I may just be a wee bit lazy.
I keep a small running list of cute things you do each month that I don't want to forget. Of course, many of the things you do never make it to the list since you are the epitome of cuteness every day. I can't write it all down. In the past couple of months you have done some things that make me want to squeeze the cute right out of you.
Your Dad started making a little puppet of sorts out of his hand during dinner to encourage you to eat your food. The hand would talk to you while picking up little bits of food and pretending to eat them. You thought that was great and even went as far as naming your new little friend out of the blue one day. You like to call him "Coch-coch"—like the word "coke" with a thick "ch" sound at the end.
You talk all the time but still have trouble with your "F" sounds. I hear it is one of the hardest sounds to master and you can take your sweet time if you want. I think it is really adorable to hear you say Goosy instead of Goofy, letting us know you eat with a Sork or that you just Sarted. Especially that last one. Farts are funny no matter how you say it.
You also say "Love you" now and that makes me melt a little each time I hear it. One of my other favorite phrases you say these days is "Ummm…how about…". You say it when we are picking out your clothes for the day or deciding on which snack to have or which book to read. The way you draw out the "ummm" and sound so inquisitive yet serious about your decision slays me. I couldn't figure out how you came up with that until I realized your Dad and I say that to you quite often. That makes it even cuter.
We are constantly telling you to take little bites of your food—which is in direct opposition to what your Dad and I do with our food. Some how you transformed those little bites into "cute bites" when you talk about them. You pinch your thumb and forefinger together and say "cute" when that bite on your fork is too big for your liking. That's our cue to help you get a more manageable bite for you. That's good. Somedays I wish I had that same self control.
This one will probably embarrass you because I'm going to talk about taking showers with me, but come on, you're just a little guy. It's not creepy yet. Plus, you love taking a shower and it's a great way to make sure you don't get into trouble if I need to shower when your Dad isn't around. Anyway, one of the new things you do when we take a shower is wash your bath toys and my feet with a washcloth. It is what we do when you take a bath, so it's only natural that you would return the favor. You're really sweet like that.
23 months—February 24, 2009
You have also developed this odd little dislike for shadows. It started one day when you ran out of your room yelling, "Bear. Bear." When I went to inspect the cause of this little frenzy I was surprised at what I found. There in your room, next to your bookshelf, was a shadow that did in fact look like a bear. It was being cast onto the wall from the rocking chair, but it was enough to freak you right out. After that you did not care for shadows one bit. It took a lot of reassuring and explaining what a shadow was before you would even look at one without panicking. You're better now, but that old bear still freaks you out a little. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe.
the bear
I hope when you are an adult you read these letters and get the same warm fuzzy feeling that I do when I write them. I hope you can appreciate how awesome you are and see how much we adore you.
Love,
Mommy
You have been in our lives nearly two years, yet I find it hard to remember life without you. That part of my life just isn't as important anymore. You are what's important and my life has been forever altered because of you.
When I walk into the kitchen and see the door leading to the basement steps open, a little part of me panics. Even if you aren't home. It needs to be closed because of you. That's just the way we do it now. So much of the way our lives function on a day-to-day basis plays out in a lovely pattern because of you. Some days it is really tiring, but I can't imagine it any other way.
22 months—January 25, 2009 In less than a week you will be two and I feel a little guilty that I'm just now finishing your 22 & 23 month letter. I've had it started for many weeks, but time just seems to get away from me. As I've said before, I'm a terrible procrastinator and prefer to spend my time WITH you rather than writing a letter TO you. And when you are napping or in bed for the evening? Well, that's when your Dad and I do the chores around the house and spend a little time together. It's those sort of moments that have kept me from writing this letter for so long. That and the fact that I may just be a wee bit lazy.
I keep a small running list of cute things you do each month that I don't want to forget. Of course, many of the things you do never make it to the list since you are the epitome of cuteness every day. I can't write it all down. In the past couple of months you have done some things that make me want to squeeze the cute right out of you.
Your Dad started making a little puppet of sorts out of his hand during dinner to encourage you to eat your food. The hand would talk to you while picking up little bits of food and pretending to eat them. You thought that was great and even went as far as naming your new little friend out of the blue one day. You like to call him "Coch-coch"—like the word "coke" with a thick "ch" sound at the end.
You talk all the time but still have trouble with your "F" sounds. I hear it is one of the hardest sounds to master and you can take your sweet time if you want. I think it is really adorable to hear you say Goosy instead of Goofy, letting us know you eat with a Sork or that you just Sarted. Especially that last one. Farts are funny no matter how you say it.
You also say "Love you" now and that makes me melt a little each time I hear it. One of my other favorite phrases you say these days is "Ummm…how about…". You say it when we are picking out your clothes for the day or deciding on which snack to have or which book to read. The way you draw out the "ummm" and sound so inquisitive yet serious about your decision slays me. I couldn't figure out how you came up with that until I realized your Dad and I say that to you quite often. That makes it even cuter.
We are constantly telling you to take little bites of your food—which is in direct opposition to what your Dad and I do with our food. Some how you transformed those little bites into "cute bites" when you talk about them. You pinch your thumb and forefinger together and say "cute" when that bite on your fork is too big for your liking. That's our cue to help you get a more manageable bite for you. That's good. Somedays I wish I had that same self control.
This one will probably embarrass you because I'm going to talk about taking showers with me, but come on, you're just a little guy. It's not creepy yet. Plus, you love taking a shower and it's a great way to make sure you don't get into trouble if I need to shower when your Dad isn't around. Anyway, one of the new things you do when we take a shower is wash your bath toys and my feet with a washcloth. It is what we do when you take a bath, so it's only natural that you would return the favor. You're really sweet like that.
23 months—February 24, 2009
the bearLove,
Mommy
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
So I decided to plan a party less than two weeks away
G-tot is going to be 2 next week and I decided at the last minute to throw a party. Nothing huge, but I do have a theme—dinosaurs. The color palette will be green, yellow, and the variations between. Here are the invites I made this morning after a killer headache kept me from making them last night.
ignore that black line—that's me taking a crappy screen shot
blocked out the address and phone—you know, to thwart the stalkers
ignore that black line—that's me taking a crappy screen shot
blocked out the address and phone—you know, to thwart the stalkersIt's an early party and I'm thinking finger foods and cake. I have a few ideas for little favors for the kids which I'm excited to put together. I would love to hear your suggestions for food, decor, or anything else. Keep in mind our budget is very small.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Quite possibly the most cavity inducing 39 seconds on the internet
Tell me this isn't one of the sweetest things ever. You can't, can you?
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from pixiestemple on Vimeo.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from pixiestemple on Vimeo.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
it only took me 3 years to meet the neighbors
Trick or treating last night with JQ and G-tot was so much fun! It was beautiful in Toledo—with a high of 70° after many days of 40° weather—and it didn't get dark until well after 7:00. Our original plan was to just go to a few houses around ours and then come back and pass out candy. G-tot was so into it we went much further than I had expected his little legs to handle.
checking out his loot
I had alterior motives to just raking in the treats. I know a grand total of 4 neighbors around here and a few months ago a new couple—one being quite pregnant—moved in down the street. This was my chance to meet them without knocking on the door like a weirdo stranger. Yay! When we approached the house, the neighbor was sitting out front and I noticed she had a little bundle on her lap. Her four week old daughter—awwww—who, I learned, shares a name with our friends dog. I'm guessing I won't forget that one. :)
As we were finishing up our trek we hit the half a dozen houses that sit across the street from ours. As I walked up to the first of these houses I greeted the owners with an, "Hola. ¿Comó esta?" To which the man responded with a semi-surprized, "Bien." That answered confirmed what I thought I saw when I approached the house. It was my high school Spanish teacher. I couldn't believe it. We chatted for a minute and as we left JQ said, "Hasta luego." We're such nerds.
I met the neighbors that live directly across from us by just asking the group which one lived here and then introducing myself. They were very nice—complementing what we've done with our landscape and informally inviting us over for fires in the summer. But the best neighbor meet-up of the night was the very next house. JQ and I had met the guy that lives across the street a couple of years ago very briefly. I was hoping to meet the wife and son last night (it's on my list!) They must have been out trick-or-treating, but the conversation that we had with the husband was crazy.
JQ and I reintroduced ourselves and made small talk for a moment. He asked how old G-tot was and his name. When we told him, he cocked his head to the side and said, "G-tot? That's interesting, my son has a kid that goes to his school with the name G-tot." When he said his son's name I about keeled over in shock. You see, the daycare G-tot goes to doesn't offer part-time for toddlers—but we only needed Mondays and Wednesdays. Lucky for us, there was another family that was paying for full-time care, but only going part-time—Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. So, we could both benefit from it—both families get the care they need and only pay for the days they're using. Win. Win. The only thing is, we would have to share a cubby with the other kid. No big deal. Fast forward to last night when we discovered that the other family is neighbors across the street! What are the chances? I'm still shaking my head in disbelief.
What a small world. Now I just have to meet his wife and son.
post t-or-t, eating his first lollipop ever
checking out his lootAs we were finishing up our trek we hit the half a dozen houses that sit across the street from ours. As I walked up to the first of these houses I greeted the owners with an, "Hola. ¿Comó esta?" To which the man responded with a semi-surprized, "Bien." That answered confirmed what I thought I saw when I approached the house. It was my high school Spanish teacher. I couldn't believe it. We chatted for a minute and as we left JQ said, "Hasta luego." We're such nerds.
I met the neighbors that live directly across from us by just asking the group which one lived here and then introducing myself. They were very nice—complementing what we've done with our landscape and informally inviting us over for fires in the summer. But the best neighbor meet-up of the night was the very next house. JQ and I had met the guy that lives across the street a couple of years ago very briefly. I was hoping to meet the wife and son last night (it's on my list!) They must have been out trick-or-treating, but the conversation that we had with the husband was crazy.
JQ and I reintroduced ourselves and made small talk for a moment. He asked how old G-tot was and his name. When we told him, he cocked his head to the side and said, "G-tot? That's interesting, my son has a kid that goes to his school with the name G-tot." When he said his son's name I about keeled over in shock. You see, the daycare G-tot goes to doesn't offer part-time for toddlers—but we only needed Mondays and Wednesdays. Lucky for us, there was another family that was paying for full-time care, but only going part-time—Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. So, we could both benefit from it—both families get the care they need and only pay for the days they're using. Win. Win. The only thing is, we would have to share a cubby with the other kid. No big deal. Fast forward to last night when we discovered that the other family is neighbors across the street! What are the chances? I'm still shaking my head in disbelief.
What a small world. Now I just have to meet his wife and son.
post t-or-t, eating his first lollipop everTuesday, October 28, 2008
"nuts" & "I a bat" live
I've had a few requests to get G-tot on video saying "nuts" and "I a bat". Since I hate to disappoint, here's a quick video of a chatty little G-tot. Enjoy!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
going batty
Tuesday of this past week I had no idea what I was going to dress G-tot as for Halloween. I wasn't particularly pressed about it either. I should have been, but I wasn't. I knew it was getting close to the deadline—especially since we had a party to go to that Friday. Which left me three days and no option but to find a costume stat.
I hate to spend lots of money on things that aren't going to get much use. I also figured what I dressed G-tot in really didn't matter. So I decided to get a pair of solid color footed pajamas at the second hand kids shop and some little pom-poms at the craft store to sew on the front. Voila! Instant clown—and I hate clowns. G-tot and I drove to the store and it was closed! Crap. I wasn't waiting around for another forty minutes to hope they had the pjs I was looking for. Two minutes down the street was an Old Navy and a Babies 'R' Us. They had to have something.
They did. And for half off! Awesome.
G-tot will not be a clown after all. Instead he's going to be a warm and fuzzy bat.
Which is perfect since he has been learning about bats at school.
And when you ask him what he is going to be for Halloween he says, "I a bat."
weekly winners (october 19–25)
I hate to spend lots of money on things that aren't going to get much use. I also figured what I dressed G-tot in really didn't matter. So I decided to get a pair of solid color footed pajamas at the second hand kids shop and some little pom-poms at the craft store to sew on the front. Voila! Instant clown—and I hate clowns. G-tot and I drove to the store and it was closed! Crap. I wasn't waiting around for another forty minutes to hope they had the pjs I was looking for. Two minutes down the street was an Old Navy and a Babies 'R' Us. They had to have something.
They did. And for half off! Awesome.
G-tot will not be a clown after all. Instead he's going to be a warm and fuzzy bat.
Which is perfect since he has been learning about bats at school.
And when you ask him what he is going to be for Halloween he says, "I a bat."
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
growing up—18 months
Dear Gideon,
Last Wednesday you turned 18 months old. A full year and a half. It's crazy to think that you've now been outside of my body twice as long as you were inside. Wow. So now you're 18 months old and I'm trying to get away from telling people your age in such a small measurement of time. I'm not sure what the official cut of date is (2 years? 3 years?)—but you're getting to be a big boy now. If I don't change my ways soon, I'll be celebrating your 396th month birthday with you—and that's just an asinine number of candles to try to fit on a cake.
18 months—September 24, 2008
your molars are coming in so you like to chew your binkie on one side
Your 18 month milestone (hey, I'll change when I'm ready) came smack-dab in the middle of a HUGE week for you. That Monday your started your first day at daycare. For an entire year and a half we were able to avoid having to utilize formal daycare, instead depending on the kindness and availability of our family. But G-Gi moved away, Daddy's family all work full-time jobs, and you have way too much energy for the long days needed with Gam. Much to the dismay of our wallets that only left one option—formal daycare. I wanted you to go to a center with other kids as opposed to daycare in a private home. Not only for the freak pedophile fears, but also for the opportunity for you to interact with children and get a new perspective on life. We don't have many friends with kids your age right now so you don't get much interaction with the wee folk. Now, I know Daddy and I are awesome, but it's nice for you to get a chance to play with some people your own size.
first day of school
this is what you wore—not the jammies
Anyway…Monday was your first day of school (what we've decided to call daycare since all 3 of us go to school now) and Daddy ended up taking you alone. I have to leave for work (my school) an hour before he has to leave for class and we decided to keep you home that much longer rather than drop you off together. It also made it easier on my heart. I don't know that I wouldn't have cried dropping you off that day—hell, I cried just TOURING a daycare when we first started looking. Daddy may or may not have cried after the drop off—but that's up to him to tell you. It was reported, however, that YOU WERE A CHAMP! You ran right in with the group with barely a glance back and only teared up twice during the day (once around 10 and again at the end of the day when the other kids were being picked up). As a matter of fact, the teacher told Daddy that you had one of the best first days of any toddler. Way to go buddy!
you love picking up rocks
making a pb&j with Daddy
You are going to school just two days a week but they are long days. It's a big adjustment to days alone with Mommy, but I know you'll be okay. Daddy had to leave you crying and pointing down the hall after him this morning and it took all he had not to scoop you up and run back home with you. It's going to be a big adjustment for all of us.
I've also started taking you to story time at the library. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time but the sessions always seemed to fall on the days I worked or during your nap time. Not this time around! The story time at the branch near our house didn't work with our schedule, but the Maumee branch had a Thursday morning that was perfect for us—not too early and not too close to nap time. It runs for ten weeks and we will go to our third one tomorrow. After a half an hour of singing songs, saying rhymes, and—of course—listening to stories we'll pick out 5 to 10 books to take home with us and read until the next week. We read before nap time and again before bed time (and anytime in between when you grab a book). Laying in our bed with you to read has become one of my favorites nightly rituals.
The other big event this past week was your very first HAIRCUT! The haircut that your Daddy thought I'd never get done. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever cut your hair. I wasn't in a hurry. I liked your hair just the way it was. Your beautiful red hair that curled up at the ends. The little mop top that had gotten a tad out of control. Eighteen months without single snip. But it was time. So last Thursday the three of us went to my stylist Dawn, and after I had my hair cut, you had yours cut.
Of course I took pictures and saved snippets of those sweet baby curls. I can't help it. That's who I am. I'm your Mom-mom and I love you more than you'll ever know.
You might as well get used to it.
Love,
Mom-mom
Last Wednesday you turned 18 months old. A full year and a half. It's crazy to think that you've now been outside of my body twice as long as you were inside. Wow. So now you're 18 months old and I'm trying to get away from telling people your age in such a small measurement of time. I'm not sure what the official cut of date is (2 years? 3 years?)—but you're getting to be a big boy now. If I don't change my ways soon, I'll be celebrating your 396th month birthday with you—and that's just an asinine number of candles to try to fit on a cake.
18 months—September 24, 2008
your molars are coming in so you like to chew your binkie on one side
first day of school
this is what you wore—not the jammies
you love picking up rocks
making a pb&j with Daddy
I've also started taking you to story time at the library. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time but the sessions always seemed to fall on the days I worked or during your nap time. Not this time around! The story time at the branch near our house didn't work with our schedule, but the Maumee branch had a Thursday morning that was perfect for us—not too early and not too close to nap time. It runs for ten weeks and we will go to our third one tomorrow. After a half an hour of singing songs, saying rhymes, and—of course—listening to stories we'll pick out 5 to 10 books to take home with us and read until the next week. We read before nap time and again before bed time (and anytime in between when you grab a book). Laying in our bed with you to read has become one of my favorites nightly rituals.
The other big event this past week was your very first HAIRCUT! The haircut that your Daddy thought I'd never get done. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever cut your hair. I wasn't in a hurry. I liked your hair just the way it was. Your beautiful red hair that curled up at the ends. The little mop top that had gotten a tad out of control. Eighteen months without single snip. But it was time. So last Thursday the three of us went to my stylist Dawn, and after I had my hair cut, you had yours cut.
Of course I took pictures and saved snippets of those sweet baby curls. I can't help it. That's who I am. I'm your Mom-mom and I love you more than you'll ever know.
You might as well get used to it.
Love,Mom-mom
Thursday, September 4, 2008
growing up—17 months
Dear Gideon,
Early into August, while eating lunch one afternoon, Daddy asked if you wanted some rice. Without skipping a beat you looked at him and said, "Rii-ce". Perfectly. We both looked at each other wide-eyed and connected with the same thought, our child is a genius! I cannot believe how smart you are and although your development may be right on track, we think you are extra smart. You are mimicking words we say non-stop these days—which means any day now you'll utter the word "shit". As long as it's not in front of Gam, I'll let it slide. But let's not worry about that right now, instead let's focus on a couple of my favorite additions to your vocabulary.
17 months—August 24, 2008
First we had "Mom-mom". Every time you said it my heart would swell because I knew it was being said to me. I'm your "Mom-mom" and you coined that term of endearment for me. And you said it often. You've since shifted that to just "Mom" these past couple of weeks but it is no less sweet. Besides "Mom" and "Dad" you seem to have a few other favorite words. "Dog", "No", "Uh-oh", and "Juice". Each one has it's own cuteness factor but the way you say dog is hilarious. It's sort of like "dough-ga" and sounds oddly like it's coming from the voice box of an old smoker.
riding the carousel at the Toledo Zoo for the first time
We've been working on teaching you to wink this month. Much to my happiness you wink well—and with either eye just like Mom. I learned to wink at a really young age and G-Gi says I would wink at people everywhere we went. I hope you take after me that way—especially since your Dad can't really wink at all.
watching Dad put on a puppet show at 577 Foundation
You decided that two naps no longer fit into your daily schedule and we've completely abandoned the morning nap. This was a little tricky because you wanted the one nap a day to be in the morning and I wanted it to be in the afternoon. We went through a few days of droopy eyes at 11:30 but now you know that naptime is after lunchtime. It's a nice break in the day for all of us and since you only nap once we get 2.5 to 3 glorious consecutive hours of down time.
this look is going to kill the ladies some day
When you first started watching cartoons (bad Mom that I am) I refused to let one of those shows be Barney. Curious George, Clifford, Super Why, or Arthur? Sure, even I enjoy those—but Barney? No way. Something about that purple dinosaur rubs me the wrong way. I didn't hide my dislike for Barney either but G-Gi didn't care, she would let you watch it. And of course you loved it. You'd do a little dance when it came on. So I gave in and let you watch it in our house once or twice. One afternoon as the show wrapped up Barney and his pals were singing the "I Love You" song like they do at the end of every show. When they got to the part that goes, "with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you", you ran over to me, gave me a huge squeeze, leaned your head back to look at me and then gave me a big kiss.
checking out your reflection at the Butterfly House
Needless to say, we have watched Barney (or at least the last 5 minutes of) several times since that incident. I'm not ashamed of my ulterior motives at all. As a matter of fact, this afternoon we were eating lunch and I turned on PBS because it was time for Barney. Much to my dismay (a phrase I never thought I would write) Barney was not on. I checked the listings online and it looks like Barney and Friends is no longer part of the daily lineup. It made me a little sad. Good thing you have me to sing it to you.
whee!
Love,
Mom-mom
Early into August, while eating lunch one afternoon, Daddy asked if you wanted some rice. Without skipping a beat you looked at him and said, "Rii-ce". Perfectly. We both looked at each other wide-eyed and connected with the same thought, our child is a genius! I cannot believe how smart you are and although your development may be right on track, we think you are extra smart. You are mimicking words we say non-stop these days—which means any day now you'll utter the word "shit". As long as it's not in front of Gam, I'll let it slide. But let's not worry about that right now, instead let's focus on a couple of my favorite additions to your vocabulary.
17 months—August 24, 2008
riding the carousel at the Toledo Zoo for the first time
watching Dad put on a puppet show at 577 Foundation
this look is going to kill the ladies some day
checking out your reflection at the Butterfly House
whee!Mom-mom
Saturday, August 16, 2008
growing up—16 months
Dear Gideon,
It's hard to believe that in less than two months you will be a year and a half old. Time is going by so quickly and in the blink of an eye you'll be all grown up. It really is difficult to imagine life without you in it, as if life before Gideon is a distant memory. Those days have made me who I am today but every one of these last 512 days has been more because of your place in it.
16 months—July 24, 2008
As always, you've done lots of new things this past month. Your vocabulary has really increased and each week you master new words. I adore the way you say "Hi" and "Bye" with and give a little hand wave with them.
You have learned to climb up the slide and go down by yourself. First by running down the slide without a care that you would land flat on your face if Daddy and I weren't there to catch you. And then learning to sit on your butt. You still get caught up if you're bare foot but we're working on that. Just remember to lift your feet.
One of the cutest things you've done this month was relayed to me by your Dad. One evening Daddy grabbed the camera and said, "Come here Gideon. Take your picture with Daddy." You proceeded to run over to him, put your arm around his shoulder, and when he pointed the camera at the two of you and said, "Say cheese", you went, "Cheese". Several times. This shouldn't surprise me for two reasons. One: we take a lot of pictures of you. Two: we eat a lot of cheese.
We like to do the itsy bitsy spider together. You really only do the spider part but that's enough for me. Any more and the cuteness might just blind me. You love to color and freak out with excitement if you see the container of crayons. Once you spy them there is no changing your mind as to what you want to do. MUST COLOR NOW.
You learned to drink out of a straw this month and think that is just too cool. This is the type of thing that just wows me. How do you teach somebody to drink out of a straw. You can't really and yet here you are doing it on your own. You've transitioned so effortlessly from a bottle to a sippy cup that I shouldn't be surprised. But that's one of the wonders of who you are. You never cease to amaze me.
Each day that I get to be with you teaches me something. How to be patient—especially after telling you to stop unrolling the toilet paper for the hundredth time. How much love there is in the world—my heart has expanded in ways I never knew possible. What the world looks like when you are just three feet tall—which can be pretty scary when there are dogs bigger than you eagerly trying to lick your face. The world is a pretty amazing place when you look at it with fresh eyes. How lucky I am that you've given me this gift.
Love and kisses,
Momma
It's hard to believe that in less than two months you will be a year and a half old. Time is going by so quickly and in the blink of an eye you'll be all grown up. It really is difficult to imagine life without you in it, as if life before Gideon is a distant memory. Those days have made me who I am today but every one of these last 512 days has been more because of your place in it.
16 months—July 24, 2008
You have learned to climb up the slide and go down by yourself. First by running down the slide without a care that you would land flat on your face if Daddy and I weren't there to catch you. And then learning to sit on your butt. You still get caught up if you're bare foot but we're working on that. Just remember to lift your feet.
One of the cutest things you've done this month was relayed to me by your Dad. One evening Daddy grabbed the camera and said, "Come here Gideon. Take your picture with Daddy." You proceeded to run over to him, put your arm around his shoulder, and when he pointed the camera at the two of you and said, "Say cheese", you went, "Cheese". Several times. This shouldn't surprise me for two reasons. One: we take a lot of pictures of you. Two: we eat a lot of cheese.
We like to do the itsy bitsy spider together. You really only do the spider part but that's enough for me. Any more and the cuteness might just blind me. You love to color and freak out with excitement if you see the container of crayons. Once you spy them there is no changing your mind as to what you want to do. MUST COLOR NOW.
You learned to drink out of a straw this month and think that is just too cool. This is the type of thing that just wows me. How do you teach somebody to drink out of a straw. You can't really and yet here you are doing it on your own. You've transitioned so effortlessly from a bottle to a sippy cup that I shouldn't be surprised. But that's one of the wonders of who you are. You never cease to amaze me.
Each day that I get to be with you teaches me something. How to be patient—especially after telling you to stop unrolling the toilet paper for the hundredth time. How much love there is in the world—my heart has expanded in ways I never knew possible. What the world looks like when you are just three feet tall—which can be pretty scary when there are dogs bigger than you eagerly trying to lick your face. The world is a pretty amazing place when you look at it with fresh eyes. How lucky I am that you've given me this gift.
Love and kisses,
Momma
Monday, August 11, 2008
bad monkey: minutes of fun for the entire family
On Saturday a small package showed up in my mailbox. It was from the Artificial Duck Co. My Blogography gear had arrived! It is really nice stuff. The cards are very cool. The shirt is so soft and I love the quality of the screen printing. I imagine this shirt will be in regular rotation on my days off of work.
On Sunday it was unseasonably cool here in Toledo, so I threw on a pair of jeans and my new Bad Monkey Button Shirt. I was showing it off to G-tot and pointed out Bad Monkey. Then I showed him the sign and the red button. We pondered what would happen if the button was pressed. G-tot pressed it and I hopped up and made a big noise like I was exploding.
Which was a HUGE success. For the rest of the day, anytime G-tot was within arms reach of me he was seeking out that button to push. If I didn't make the noise quick enough he was there to supplement my delay with a "bam".
Since I'm a lazy ass, at the end of the day I took off my jeans and bra and crawled into bed with the shirt still on. The first thing G-tot did when he saw me this morning was press the red button.
On Sunday it was unseasonably cool here in Toledo, so I threw on a pair of jeans and my new Bad Monkey Button Shirt. I was showing it off to G-tot and pointed out Bad Monkey. Then I showed him the sign and the red button. We pondered what would happen if the button was pressed. G-tot pressed it and I hopped up and made a big noise like I was exploding.
Which was a HUGE success. For the rest of the day, anytime G-tot was within arms reach of me he was seeking out that button to push. If I didn't make the noise quick enough he was there to supplement my delay with a "bam".
Since I'm a lazy ass, at the end of the day I took off my jeans and bra and crawled into bed with the shirt still on. The first thing G-tot did when he saw me this morning was press the red button.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
drum beat
These homemade coffee can drums may look sweet and innocent enough but let me warn you…don't run with them. Especially if you're just a few feet tall.
don't be fooled by the jovial looking primates
Because if you fall, you might just land on the lip of the lid with your face. The resulting injury will not be pretty…but it's a sure fire way to get extra kisses from the ladies.
two small cut lines and a goose egg bump
Even if that lady is your Mom.
a few hours later the bump is gone but the mark stays
don't be fooled by the jovial looking primates
two small cut lines and a goose egg bumpEven if that lady is your Mom.
a few hours later the bump is gone but the mark staysMonday, July 21, 2008
shooting blind
I've been playing around with some different shooting techniques lately. One of my newest favorite ways to shoot is blindly. Turn the camera on, point it in the general direction of what you want to shoot and click away. No looking through the viewfinder or LCD screen, no composing my shots, rarely even lifting the camera up past my waist.
How long will it be before his foot dwarfs that piece of chalk?
And you know what I've found? That some of these are my favorite shots. The unexpected beauty. Catching a moment with a subject unaware. Truth and purity. You should really try it sometime. Then come back here and let me know what you discovered while shooting blind.
How long will it be before his foot dwarfs that piece of chalk?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I look like a traffic cone
When you do things like this to entertain your kid…
…sooner or later they will return the favor.
That's my laptop bag. G-tot found it when he was rummaging through the larger bag I take to work. This is what he decided to do with it.
…sooner or later they will return the favor.
That's my laptop bag. G-tot found it when he was rummaging through the larger bag I take to work. This is what he decided to do with it.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
super why & princess presto
Look! G-tot and I made the local PBS website! We are picture numbers 145 & 146. And yes, I clicked through the first 144 previous pictures to find us. They are from the Claire's Day event we went to at the end of May. The woman who took the pictures told us they would be online but no other info than that. This past Sunday JQ, G-tot and I went to another PBS event, this time a WGTE funded Share-a-Story day. It was at the station which was cool because JQ and I got to peek in the windows and see some of the studios. Anyway, G-tot had his picture taken again and this time the photographer gave us a slip of paper with the website on it for looking at the pictures. The pictures aren't up from that event yet but with a bit of navigation I found the ones from Claire's Day. How cool!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
growing up—15 months
Dear Gideon,
Today you had your 15 month well baby check-up. Just as she always does, Dr. K said you are "growing beautifully". That's no surprise to me, I'm lucky enough to be your Mom and get to watch you grow beautifully every single day. You currently weigh 22 lb. 5 oz. and are 32 inches tall. You've had quite the growth spurt as that is a lot taller than you were just 3 months ago.
15 months—June 24, 2008
At the beginning of last month you started grabbing hold of our fingers and guiding us to some destination to perform for you. Whether it's to the piano on your round-about, to one of Daddy's guitars to play a tune, to the cupboard for snacks, or over to books that you want read, how can I refuse? I can't. If you aren't getting a satisfactory response by pulling on our fingers (hehehe...insert fart joke here)—or if our hands aren't conveniently located you'll grab anything you can to get us up (toes, shirts, heads).
You are super expressive and make some of the cutest faces. The "no" face with the pursed lips. The way you sign "all done" and "more". Even that deeply focused look of curiosity. All so adorable. You've started saying "awwww"and at all the right moments. You'll point to something that you like—like a dog—and say "awwww" in a tone that says, "Look Mom. Isn't this just so precious?" I wish we had it on video because it is just that cute. You're saying a lot of words now and some of your favorites are "Mama", "Dada", "boon" (for balloon), "book", and "owsigh" (for outside).
Faces like these are the reason we take so many pictures.
I'm still nursing you once a day—when you first wake up for the morning. It's the last bit of what has been a really special time for us and I'm having a hard time letting it go. Even typing this brings tears to my eyes. I know there are many people who would shake their heads in disapproval at the fact that I'm still nursing you after a year but I really don't care what they think. This may be the only time in my life that I get to experience such an intimate natural thing and I'm not going to let societal norms take that away from me. I can feel that the end is near though. This month you offered your stuffed monkey some milk one morning while nursing. Very generous, but the only monkey I'm nursing is you.
Some sort of sleeping mechanism finally clicked inside of you over the last month or so. I now have the pleasure of raising a child who takes a 2 hour nap in the morning and another 1 hour nap in the afternoon. Without the aid of being rocked to sleep. I'm also finally getting to experience sleeping through the night again. You go to bed around 7:30 each night and sleep for a glorious 11 or 12 hours. Thank you.
I still have not conceded to a haircut for you. Once we make that initial cut your baby hair will be gone and it will never be the same. I'm sure you're a little hot with that mop right now but it's just so cute. The way it curls up on the sides and in the back. I love it. I had said that I would cut your hair when people started saying, "She's so cute." Well…I'm a liar. I've been told that 3 times in the last month and I'm not budging on the haircut. I just say, "He's a boy, but thank you". Polite but to the point. You don't look like a girl, you're just so beautiful with that red hair and those blue eyes. As the old lady at the hot dog stand said to us last week, "He's just too pretty to be a boy." She meant it as a compliment. I swear.
See. It's not too long.
You love to be outside and are fascinated with picking peas in the garden. Just the other day you followed me into the garden, sidled past the tomatoes, shimmied up to the trellis and yanked a pea off the vine. You must have only gotten half of it because the next thing I see is you taking a bite of the pea part that was still hanging on the vine. When I showed your Dad later we could see your little teeth marks in the bit of pea still dangling there.
Another, umm… milestone this month was the first ever pooping in the tub. Fifteen months and we never had a turd bath. Hopefully this can be a one time thing. I was lucky enough to be at work when it happened but your Dad called me as soon as you and the tub were properly sanitized. I laughed, glad it didn't happen to me. I appreciate it.
I imagine you'll make this face again in 20 years when you're drunk telling your buddy how glad you are to be such good friends.
You aren't the only one who is growing. People are genuinely affected by you. At your Uncle Alex's graduation party a few weeks ago you were eating some of your Crunchie snacks. Phil was holding you at the time and you were insistent that he try one. Now, Phil is notorious for being extremely picky with his food and he did not want to eat that snack treat. But you would not give up—shoving it right into his mouth as soon as you had a chance. Phil was a trooper and ate it. It was a big day for him and I was oddly proud that he was a trooper and ate it even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He did it because of you. You are just that special to him.
You're the best.
Love,
Momma
Today you had your 15 month well baby check-up. Just as she always does, Dr. K said you are "growing beautifully". That's no surprise to me, I'm lucky enough to be your Mom and get to watch you grow beautifully every single day. You currently weigh 22 lb. 5 oz. and are 32 inches tall. You've had quite the growth spurt as that is a lot taller than you were just 3 months ago.
15 months—June 24, 2008
You are super expressive and make some of the cutest faces. The "no" face with the pursed lips. The way you sign "all done" and "more". Even that deeply focused look of curiosity. All so adorable. You've started saying "awwww"and at all the right moments. You'll point to something that you like—like a dog—and say "awwww" in a tone that says, "Look Mom. Isn't this just so precious?" I wish we had it on video because it is just that cute. You're saying a lot of words now and some of your favorites are "Mama", "Dada", "boon" (for balloon), "book", and "owsigh" (for outside).
Faces like these are the reason we take so many pictures.
Some sort of sleeping mechanism finally clicked inside of you over the last month or so. I now have the pleasure of raising a child who takes a 2 hour nap in the morning and another 1 hour nap in the afternoon. Without the aid of being rocked to sleep. I'm also finally getting to experience sleeping through the night again. You go to bed around 7:30 each night and sleep for a glorious 11 or 12 hours. Thank you.
I still have not conceded to a haircut for you. Once we make that initial cut your baby hair will be gone and it will never be the same. I'm sure you're a little hot with that mop right now but it's just so cute. The way it curls up on the sides and in the back. I love it. I had said that I would cut your hair when people started saying, "She's so cute." Well…I'm a liar. I've been told that 3 times in the last month and I'm not budging on the haircut. I just say, "He's a boy, but thank you". Polite but to the point. You don't look like a girl, you're just so beautiful with that red hair and those blue eyes. As the old lady at the hot dog stand said to us last week, "He's just too pretty to be a boy." She meant it as a compliment. I swear.
See. It's not too long.You love to be outside and are fascinated with picking peas in the garden. Just the other day you followed me into the garden, sidled past the tomatoes, shimmied up to the trellis and yanked a pea off the vine. You must have only gotten half of it because the next thing I see is you taking a bite of the pea part that was still hanging on the vine. When I showed your Dad later we could see your little teeth marks in the bit of pea still dangling there.
Another, umm… milestone this month was the first ever pooping in the tub. Fifteen months and we never had a turd bath. Hopefully this can be a one time thing. I was lucky enough to be at work when it happened but your Dad called me as soon as you and the tub were properly sanitized. I laughed, glad it didn't happen to me. I appreciate it.
I imagine you'll make this face again in 20 years when you're drunk telling your buddy how glad you are to be such good friends.You aren't the only one who is growing. People are genuinely affected by you. At your Uncle Alex's graduation party a few weeks ago you were eating some of your Crunchie snacks. Phil was holding you at the time and you were insistent that he try one. Now, Phil is notorious for being extremely picky with his food and he did not want to eat that snack treat. But you would not give up—shoving it right into his mouth as soon as you had a chance. Phil was a trooper and ate it. It was a big day for him and I was oddly proud that he was a trooper and ate it even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He did it because of you. You are just that special to him.
You're the best.
Love,Momma
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