He's a dancer, not a swimmer!

Took Sydney to swimming lessons tonight and it was HORRIBLE! He had been a little on the fussy side before we left... or should I say opinionated and independent? Then, once we got there, he just clung to us. There were almost NO smiles, very little splashing and minimal interaction. He still did enjoy watching all of the other kids.

I think he was scarred on Monday's session by one too many dunkings perhaps. At Monday's session,  he was upset by the 1, 2, 3, dunk... turns out, he is now afraid of us counting 1, 2, 3. (We used to always do 1, 2, 3, JUMP, so maybe we can revive counting for him without having a residual fear of water. Poor little guy!

Mike thought that Sydney was tired and should go straight to bed (like Mike did). I had wanted to take him to the local high school to see the Drum & Bugle competition, but Mike suggested that Sydney needed to nurse and go to bed. An hour later, Sydney had tapped out both sides and had played with most of his toys when I decided to put him in the car. We drove towards the high school, parked on the side of the road and got out to watch. Unfortunately, we arrived during an intermission.

A mother walked up with a stroller containing a 4 year old and a 13-month old. I thought she looked familiar. After a few minutes, I asked if I knew her from Mercy. She informed me that she delivered at Findlay. When I asked if she went to the breastfeeding support group she said "That's where I know you from!"  Then, she asked "That's Sydney, isn't it?" (She said "I remember him because he's a cutie!") 

When the band started playing, Sydney started dancing on the sidewalk. The mother laughed hysterically. Of course, that just made him want to dance all the more then! Sydney made friends with her 4 year old boy named Wolfgang who decided that he wanted to dance just like Sydney, too. The mother thought it was pretty funny to hear that he does the Chicken Dance, too. (The baby girl turned one year old on the day AFTER Sydney; she has 7 teeth and is not yet walking.)

What can I say?..... 

I guess Sydney is a dancer... not a swimmer!

Enjoyed a great day today! Anniversary date

Enjoyed a great day today! 

Mike got out of work at 10am and joined us at the Library Story Hour and Play Time. Then, Grandpa Lowell was waiting for us when we got home. We made some lunch for Grandpa & Sydney and then, mom and dad went out for a lunch date and stopped quickly at Kohl's before heading home to nurse Sydney and get him down for a nap. Then, while Grandpa was in charge of naps, we headed over to the Arboretum (a place where I have never been) and enjoyed a perfect afternoon - blue sky; fluffy, white clouds; birds singing; green grass and oodles upon oodles of flowers, trees and vegetation. We went home to discover that Sydney's nap ended MUCH TOO SOON and the little boy who didn't sleep well last night was running on an empty tank. Grandpa suggested that we all go out to enjoy dinner together so, we went to Olive Garden. Then, because I had clipped a coupon for Coldstone Creamery, we stopped there for dessert on the way home. We had a little more play left in us before Grandpa headed home, Mike headed off to shower and Sydney settled down to nurse. Now, all of the Guard boys are in bed and mommy will be soon, too...

Thank you to Grandpa Lowell for a full day of babysitting, giggles and fun - as well as taking us out for dinner to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary.

Thank you to Mike for providing me with two WONDERFUL YEARS of (married) life! I love you and feel blessed that I was in the right place at the right time... to have met you and to be lucky enough to have you in my life.

Anniversary: Two years of love and happiness

Happy Anniversary, honey! I love you!

Today, Mike and I celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. On that beautiful Sunday morning, two years ago, my Uncle casually married us aboard the Grand Belle of Geneva in front of our parents and my brother and (now-turned) sister-in-law. Our Uhaul was packed, except for the cats, and following the brunch cruise, we were ready to drive off on our newly married adventure as we moved out-of-state to MN. Mike wore cowboy boots to our wedding because they were the only shoes he could find that hadn't been packed away in the Uhaul.

Mike had already started his job promotion and I was excited (and a little nervous) to join him far away from home. We looked forward to our return trip to WI in October to have our fancy wedding (on the same boat) but knew that there would be NOTHING to be nervous about since we already married. My dad made the voyage to help us unload our Uhaul since Mike had to get back to his new job the very next day. (Thanks again for all of your help, Dad! We couldn't have done it without you!) 

We called a 2BR2BA apartment in MN "home" for 7 months, before relocating mid-way through our pregnancy to his newest promotion opportunity in IA. We now own a 3BR1.5BA home in IA that is 35 miles from Mike's dad and less than 3 hours from my parents. We have made our house a home with the addition of our son 13 months ago.

Life IS good.

Happy 13-month Birthday Little One

Sydney turned 13 months old on June 28th.

He is an ABSOLUTE RIOT to be around! He is SO FUNNY and almost ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!!!

Weight: 20 pounds .3 ounces

20# 6 oz was his maximum weight so far; although, his weight keeps dropping as he continues to demonstrate the skills of the Energizer Bunny.... keeps going and going... and going....

Height: (I'll have to measure him tomorrow.)

SKILLS:

55/44/1 - Walking 55% of the time now. Running 44% of the time. Crawling 1% of the time. (Looks very awkward and uncoordinated when attempting to crawl these days!)

Goes up stairs, but not down... can go down ONE step by himself, but not an entire flight. 

Backs himself off of our bed, off the couch or out of the recliner; often "sticks the landing". 

Waves bye-bye. 

SO BIG!

Claps to Pat-a-Cake song by himself.

Claps to BINGO-dog song by himself.

Claps to Happy and you know it song by himself.

Plays Peek-a-Boo with a cloth.

Discovered that he can play Peek-a-Boo with his hands.

Puts hats on/off people's heads.

Blows kisses - when he wants to.

Started CLIMBING on things to reach what he wants.

Climbs into/out of his sandbox by himself.

Climbs out of his highchair (if not strapped in).

Sometimes climbs out of shopping carts and restaurant high chairs (despite seat belts).

Brightens everyone's day with his bright eyes and smiley face.

Started holding the phone by his ear; often holds the antenna and misses the concept of talking/listening, but it's a start!

Can do the ring stacker all by himself now!

Is attempting to learn how to throw a ball... often drops it behind his head in his back-swing; doesn't understand that we throw only balls and that we don't throw toys.

If someone is sitting in the recliner and leans it forward, he can climb up onto it by himself.

Turns the TV on & off.

Drinks out of a regular cup all by himself! Also, knows how to drink from a straw.

Feeds himself with a fork and spoon... getting nourishment into his mouth more and more each day!

Does the wing-flapping (and sometimes the wiggle and clap) part of the Chicken Dance.

DANCES to music and singing!!!!

Uses his finger to "BEEP" a nose.

Can find his belly button.

Figured out how to take off his diaper during a nap. (Now, must be clothed, regardless of the temperature!)

FOLLOWS DIRECTIONS: (most of the time)

Sydney, go get your shoes. 

Sydney, go get the phone. 

Sydney, go get your book.

Sydney, go get the yellow ball.

*Does NOT follow directions well when the words NO is involved. (Grrrr!)

TEETH: 7.125 - four uppers, three lowers and a sliver of another lower.

WORDS:

Mama

Dada

Eh (refers to Eddy-the-cat, either cat or any dog; Basically 4 legs + tail = Eh)

Eddy (refers to Eddy-the-cat, either cat or any dog; 4 legs + tail = Eddy. 

Grandpa Guard's dog Bishop= Eddy. Grandma & Grandpa Olson's dog Beamer= Eddy

Aaah (refers to our cat Otto)

Cat

Daah (Sometimes says "dog" when he sees one in a book.)

HI or Hi-ya (most commonly said while riding in the cart at the grocery store to anyone within earshot)

Hat 

Hot

Light

Yeah (his version of YES)

Ack (usually says ACK and quickly puts it into his mouth. To him, must mean EAT IT QUICK; they're coming!)

Ahhh! (Often says after taking a drink - from a cup or from breast. Sometimes, he will point towards the cup on the table and say "AHHH!" to indicate that he wants a drink.)

Mmmm!

Yat (Points at things ALL THE TIME and says "THAT" to acknowledge item or express a WANT for it.)

Got it! (Most likely from us handing him something and asking him "You got it?")

EEEEEaw! (MEOW! - cat)

Ooof! or Iffff! (Wuff! - dog)

SIGNS:

Milk

More (modifed for unskilled hands: claps his hands and points at object)

Drink (modified for unskilled hands: shows rotation in wrist)

Eat (modified for unskilled hands: brings a hand to his mouth and points his finger into his mouth)

Done (waves his hand as if wiping something away)

Yes (shakes head YES to answer questions)

No (shakes head NO or pushes objects away)

Road rash - round 2

This morning, we opened our windows and turned off the a/c for some much needed fresh air. After breakfast, we dressed and went outside for a walk. Sydney decided mostly that he wanted to run. At one point, he tripped, catching himself on his hands. Without so much as a pause, he hopped up and started running again. Unfortunately, his run didn't last all that long... he tripped once more; this time, flipping forward onto his face and hands. He got up and immediately needed a snuggle as he rubbed his sore cheek. On his cute little face, he displayed some road rash and a fattened upper lip. He cried for nearly a block while being held, but soon forgot all about the pain - as there are so many things in this world to see.

Mommy told him: Sorry you hurt yourself, buddy... that's why daddy says that boys get bumps!

His first battle with road rash occurred on Easter Sunday when he got a goose egg on his forehead, after forgetting how to crawl.

As for swimming lessons... it was a rough night!

Sydney was NOT in the mood to be there tonight. He was very unsure of the water and just wanted to watch the other kids from the comfort of our arms... while floating nervously in the pool. He got dunked a few times more than usual tonight, mainly because I think he must have been a little slippery. 

At one point, we sing a song that interchanges names so that each child takes a turn...

Sydney's in the Ocean,

Sydney's in the Sea,

Sydney's in the swimming pool...

1, 2, 3... 

(dunk child now)

Well, he was the second one to go so, each time that the song repeated for each of the other children, he clung to us, pinching and grabbing our skin in an attempt to say "No, please... not again!" Eventually, Mike distracted him by singing 4, 5, 6.

He did seem to enjoy jumping off the edge of the pool... to one of us in the water. We got a few smiles out of him then. He also seemed to like that we counted: 1, 2, 3... JUMP! (He always holds out his one finger for ONE and tries to add more fingers for the others.... it was kind of cute!)

Maybe Wednesday will be better.... we'll keep trying!

Weekend of fun and play

We had a busy weekend - full of PLAYING and lots of "A HA"-moments. 

Sydney had discovered that there is a light inside of his toy kitchen's oven and found that fascinating. He started appreciating a bunch of his toys for more advanced reasons than earlier in his life, as if he "gets them" now.

He is starting to be able to re-stack his donut rings onto the stacker post now. It takes A LOT of patience, but he is trying SO HARD to move his hands "just right" to get them back onto the spindle by himself. And when he gets one on, the look of achievement on his face is PRICELESS! (The donuts are still much more fun to bang together though.) He has also discovered that he can set a ball into the hole of the donut and it looks like a whole new toy now. Ahhhh, the fascination of a 13-month old...

Sydney started to mimic monkey noises now, complete with "monkey lips",

He also has taken a fond liking to laying down on the floor, looking as if a runner sliding into home base. (Even cuter when wearing his baseball uniform jammies!) I'm not sure where that came from, but it is kind of cute. Sometimes, he will throw a pillow down and lay his head onto it. (NOTE: This is NOT when he is tired, ironically.)

He also thinks that Eddy, the cat, can be used as a pillow... or perhaps, he is attempting to give Eddy a hug.

Sydney has only been throwing a ball since Monday and shows signs of improvement. He now has been starting to throw his toys and books, too. Somehow, we need to stress that we ONLY throw BALLS. (He's supposed to learn how to ROLL a ball between 12-15 months, I think... so, we're working on that, too; However, THROWING seems to be so much fun right now!)

He attended swimming lessons TWICE this week. He keeps an expressionless face about him as he watches the reactions of all of the other kids, unsure about this whole "swimming"-thing. He gets excited as soon as we get there, but I think he REALLY LIKES the oceanic mural painted on the wall. Daddy's schedule allows him to attend lessons again this week (YAY DADDY!)

Sydney has been attempting to feed himself with silverware a lot this past week. A lot of times, he will try and try and try; eventually, feeding himself with his fingers instead... or shoving his hand AND utensil into his mouth at the same time to get (and keep) the food in. I've found that it works well to have him wear JUST A DIAPER for eating... then, we go straight into the tub to clean him off when we are done.

Think we've been eating TOO MUCH FRUIT! Diapers smell sweet and have been VERY MESSY! Hard to get him to lay off of it though as he enjoys it so much. Also, he can see the container of grapes on the counter and just keeps signing "MORE" and pointing to them. Best to get his bowels back to normal, I'm afraid. (Perhaps, it was from drinking water out of the kiddy pool?)

Tonight, he had fun showing grandpa how to blow bubbles. Sydney DOES understand the concept of dunking the wand; THAT is fun for him. And he LOVES to chase (and POP) the bubbles that grandpa blows.

What fun we have!

Project Completed: FIRST YEAR FRAME

My Aunt Sue & Uncle Willy gave us this photo frame when Sydney was born... or shortly thereafter. It has been hanging in the upstairs hallway with a note in the center: 

MY

€

IS A

GIANT

PUDDLE

I am pleased to report that the FIRST YEAR FRAME is now complete! It is AMAZING to see how much he has changed over the past 365 days! Sydney likes to look at "the babies" in the hallway when we walk past; somehow, I don't think he realizes that it is HIM! Mommy almost always says: WHAT A CUTE BABY! Sydney smiles.

Lunch date with Daddy and fountain fun

This afternoon, we went to meet Daddy for lunch at the picnic table outside of his work. We brought Culver's butter burgers/Snack Packs and ice cream. Sydney wore his swim trunks, as well as the matching shirt and hat. After lunch, Sydney went exploring... he was fascinated by all of the different carts - with wheels! (Typical boy is fascinated with wheels it seems.) He also liked looking at plants. His FAVORITE of all was all of the fountain displays!!! There were even a couple of them that he could reach into and play in the water. (And then, he didn't look nearly as silly wearing his swimsuit either.)

Sydney and Mommy smelled a bunch of flowers, too. We would get our noses right into the blossoms and would make sniff, sniff, sniff noises with our noses as the petals tickled our faces. Sydney giggled; He thought it was pretty funny. (At home, we have a low tree branch in our side yard and Mommy often tickles Sydney's face with tree leaves.)

Busy/Messy boy... with pics

Sydney is a busy, busy boy! 

Our house looks like a tornado went through it. 

His curiosity and inquisitiveness is great; the mess is not so great.

Sydney has a recently new fascination with banging on things. He likes to pretend that he is playing drums on buckets, tupperware and an old oatmeal canister. He also pretends to play the cymbals by banging together two of the metal cat food bowls. (Of course, he blinks with every loud noise, making it all the funnier to witness!)

He has been learning how to throw a ball this past week, experiencing it for the first time at swimming lessons. Now, he seems to think that we throw everything. We'll have to specify that we ONLY throw balls. We also shouldn't be throwing things in the house. Perhaps, working on ROLLING balls would be a better indoor activity. Often, the ball falls out of his hand as he retracts is above his head in his throwing position... hitting him on the head or landing on the ground behind him. I guess he throws like his mom... I forget to let go!

He had a great time playing with the toilet paper in the bathroom today. (I knew he was up to something because he was VERY QUIET when he went in there.)

I am convinced that he had more spaghetti on his face and on his belly than he did inside his belly. (He seems to have forgotten that he liked spaghetti last time we tried; this time, he gagged a lot and played with it.) Post-dinner, we went straight into the bathtub. (He had raspberries all over his feet and legs, too; he was one GIANT MESS!)

I announced "Beep!" and he accidently snorted milk out his nose because he started to laugh.

Today, we learned how to BEEP on the nose. He thought it was funny. In fact, while he was breastfeeding, he beeped me on the nose with his tiny finger. I announced "Beep!" and he accidently snorted milk out his nose because he started to laugh. Hopefully, we can keep it just a gentle BEEP (tap) instead of a HONK (squeeze).

Unsure of swimming

We had our SECOND swimming lesson session tonight. Sydney continues to be apprehensive, wearing a serious face and furrowed brow. He likes to watch the other people in the water, but does NOT seem to enjoy it... YET!

We have been working on throwing a ball for the past few days since it is a skill that he did not have at the first session on Monday. (Mommy is NOT the best teacher though, as I forget to let go of the ball... silly me!)

We got a couple of smiles out of him afterwards when we had taken off the flotation device (that keeps riding up to his chin, but is a waist-belt on the other kids) and we counted 1-2-3 and had him JUMP into the water to mommy. Thankfully, we saw those chipmunk teeth and his cute smile!

Each session, I think will get a little better. (He sure does get excited to stare at the hand-painted aquatic mural on the wall at the pool!) 

Birthday suit discovered in crib after nap

This afternoon, when Sydney woke from his nap, he cried and as always, I rescued him.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into his room to find him naked! Yep, diaper off. Sheet wet.

Nice.

I should have known better... he almost always takes off his socks when he is bored.

Mental note: always put him to bed wearing more than a diaper.

Low-key kid at Library Storytime

Again, Sydney woke just before we needed to leave for storytime at the library. Again, he was a rather mellow fellow. He wasn't overly interested in playing with toys and other kids after the story part was over; instead, he was on a mission to see how many unattended sippy cups he could find and attempt to drink out of. Sadly, when mommy filled his monkey cup with water from the drinking fountain, he wasn't all that interested.

Mellow Fellow; kind of an odd change of pace.

This afternoon, we had friends Claire, Lise and Lucy all over for a pool party with neighbor mom Kate and breastfeeding support group mom Kate. Once they were all in the pool, Sydney decided that he wanted to play in the sandbox instead. (Being that he was wet, we kept the sandbox covered and he was forced to play with rocks instead.)

Sydney is in bed. The garbage is to the curb and I am dizzy tonight. Going to go to bed; hope it is just from the heat. Sadly, the 80 degrees outside is cooler than the temperature in our upstairs. Thank goodness for a window air conditioner to help make it a little cooler upstairs since the central air doesn't seem to pull it's weight.

Sydney's first swimming lesson

This evening, we (Mommy AND Daddy) took Sydney to the YMCA where he enjoyed his first swimming lesson with other parents & babies. His flotation device didn't stay put very well around his skinny little frame; it kept riding up on him. He didn't really know how to blow bubbles in the water and didn't seem at all interested in kicking his feet either. He did like to watch the other babies though.

We're told that after a couple more times, he will get the hang of it all. We were pleasantly surprised that he did not cry when we dunked him under the water. He was, however, rather surprised. 

Another skill for us to work on is throwing a ball. He hasn't really done that on land yet so, doing it at sea was equally awkward. A few times, it fell behind his head. (His mommy forgets to let go so, she is not one to teach him how to throw a ball.) It appeared that he might be a left-handed pitcher someday... guess time will tell.

We look forward to another round of swimming lessons on Wednesday night.

Happy Father's Day

Baby points to BIG balloons

Late this afternoon, we went to Galena, IL to the hot air balloon races. (www.greatgalenaballoonrace.com)

Sydney had his first ride on a schoolbus there. The mother across the aisle from us was giving her two kids pieces of individually-wrapped cheese so, naturally, Sydney started signing MORE and pointing because he wanted some, too. Thankfully, she was nice and gave him one; she said she could tell that he was watching her intently as soon as she pulled them out of her bag and offered them to her kids.

Right as we got there, there were 3 balloons taking flight. Sydney kept pointing to them in the sky. (I couldn't take pictures at first because my camera batteries were acting up.) We parked the stroller on a hillside and had a seat while Mike went to get a snack to tide him over until dinner in Galena. (He had wanted to go to a restaurant and eat first, but I had wanted to see balloons first, not knowing how late Sydney would last into the night; they had scheduled to have the balloons GLOWING at 8:30pm.) While waiting for Mike to return with a snack, Sydney was dancing to the live music while sitting in his stroller and eating his cheese stick. (See sideways video clip at the bottom of this posting.)

We sat and watched a few more balloons take flight, but Sydney grew bored with the waiting. Instead, he took off down the hill to go meet some dog trainers and their puppy, as well as another little boy sitting nearby. (I think he will be a people-watcher some day like his daddy.)

We took the bus back to our car and ventured into Galena for dinner at a restaurant. Of course, it was past Sydney's bedtime, but LIKE USUAL, he was a really good boy! (He did, however, want to eat the plastic grapes that were hanging in a floral arrangement near our table and did not understand that THOSE ARE NOT REAL.)

Here's a photo re-cap of our Hot Air Balloon Adventure: 

Here, Sydney sits in his stroller eating his cheese that he scored from someone on our bus ride. He liked dancing to the live music and would say "AAHHHH!" whenever someone walked past him with a cup of beer or a bottle of water or soda (pop).

When we arrived, there were 3 balloons lifting off. Sydney kept pointing to them in the sky as if he was telling us "Look, there are balloons RIGHT THERE!"  (Sadly, my camera batteries were acting up because the camera had turned itself on inside the diaper bag... I missed a few shots, but was relieved to discover that I could still take photos if I used the view finder mode instead of the digital preview mode.)

He quickly lost interest in waiting for more balloons to inflate and decided to do some people watching instead. Nearby, he noticed someone with a puppy. (Or maybe he and Daddy were scoping out babysitters?!?)

Sydney walked right over to these people, as if he were saying "Hi, my name is Sydney! What's your name?"

Here, Sydney met a new friend for a brief moment while people-watching with Daddy.

Walking back UP the hill, back into the smoke from all of the grills.

Growing impatient waiting for balloons...

A little closer...

OK, there goes one... you've got my interest for a little while again!

And another...

Sydney, there is another one RIGHT BEHIND YOU!

Sydney pointing out a few balloons in the sky.

And a patriotic one was the last one we watched before heading back to the bus.

P.S. Sorry it is sideways... I didn't realize that it was on video mode... as I was originally trying to take a picture of Sydney dancing in his stroller.

Sticking to a schedule

I am declaring that WE ARE STICKING TO A SCHEDULE! It seems that each time we don't.... it turns out to bite us in the rear.

I can't believe that Sydney was SO TIRED when we left WI, but he would NOT fall asleep! I had to pull over 3 times on the way home... and had to breastfeed on the third attempt. Driving for 2.5 hours with a fussy baby is NOT classified as GOOD TIMES. We had tried Sesame Street ON and OFF, wondering if the stimulation was making him over-tired. Oddly enough, he fell asleep 15 minutes from home... which was great for allowing me to unload the car. Then, he had a short nap in the early afternoon.

Sydney slept perfectly through the night when we were at Grandma & Grandpa's house. At home, however, following the fussy and (practically) sleepless (yet VERY tired... and tiring) ride home from WI, Sydney STILL did not nap for a few MORE hours after we got home. 

Last night, was, in fact, BRUTAL! He would NOT stay asleep.

I did my best to protest breast-feeding him in the night because there is NO REASON why he shouldn't make it through the night without eating. After at least an hour-and-a-half, I caved in... desperately seeking some MUCH-NEEDED sleep.

This morning, we seem to have "someone" wearing Crabby Pants. (That "someone" MIGHT be mommy if the whining continues.) Currently, Mike and Sydney are sitting in the recliner watching Sesame Street and eating Cheerios. (Sydney's favorite... Elmo's World... is on right now! I heard his cheer when it started... SO CUTE!) Sydney had protested MOST of his breakfast choices this morning and has been rather demanding. I'm thinking that naps for everyone will be in order later today.

(We also hope to go see the hot air balloon races tonight since the 6am flights were OUT OF THE QUESTION after such a rough night. I think that is something that we will ALL enjoy seeing.)

Great visit with lots of great aunts and uncles

Grandpa Bill (William Sydney) Olson, Sydney Michael Guard and Great-Great Uncle David Olson (brother of Sydney M. Olson and son of Sidney H. Olson)

Yesterday, at Grandma & Grandpa's house, we had a get-together with family. Sydney's grandma & grandpa were there. Sydney's uncle Mike was there. Sydney's 2nd cousin Rachel was there. Sydney's great-aunt Sue and great-uncles Willy and Jim were there. AND if that wasn't enough greatness in one place... his great-great uncle Dave and great-great aunts MaryPat and Barbara were there, too. We had a super nice visit.

Dave, MaryPat and Barbara all commented on how Sydney's great-grandpa Sydney and great-great-grandpa Sidney would BOTH have been so proud of the namesake being carried on. And they couldn't get over what a good baby our little Sydney Michael is.

As for me, ten years ago, at the 40th Wedding Anniversary of Dave & MaryPat, I was BLOWN AWAY by the strong resemblance that my dad has to Uncle Dave. (My grandmother never had photos of my deceased grandfather Sydney around so, I hadn't seen them until I was an adult. Shivers ran down my spine when I saw his photograph - which looked like a morphed version of my dad and his brother Jim combined.) Seeing my dad by his Uncle Dave, also gave me shivers at that party because my dad looks like he could be Uncle Dave's son. I also see a VERY STRONG resemblance of Sydney's Great-Great Aunt Barbara to his Great-Aunt Sue. I guess those Olson genes are rather strong.

Don't know anything about the pee on the deck or in the bathtub

Sydney and I would like to proclaim: we don't know ANYTHING about any pee on the deck, in the yard or in the bathtub. While visiting Grandma & Grandpa's house, we don't know anything about a streaker in the neighborhood either! :)

(TEE HEE!)

Last night, we got many laughs as Sydney ran around outside diaperless. He would take 4-5 steps and then stop to examine "the plumbing". Following inspections, he would repeat the running and subsequent inspections. The exposed plumbing was QUITE a distraction for this little boy. Each time, he discovered that "YEP, it's still there!" It was TOO FUNNY!

We've had a busy morning, I guess.

First, we played in the dog's outside water bowl. When he squatted down, though, his diaper dragged into the water so, I removed it. It was pretty funny to watch him crouch down... as soon as his boy parts would dangle into the water, he would shoot back to a stand and shiver. He likes holding onto the fence and splashing in the water with his feet. Then, we got the dog's KIDDY POOL out and filled it with the hose. Sydney had fun playing with the hose. We discovered that the bottom of the kiddy pool is slippery (probably from doggy spit residue) because Syd fell down a few times, splashing and thrashing like a fish. (That's why kids require CONSTANT SUPERVISION in a pool... or water bowl.) Mommy saved him every time.

Funny how the ice cold water from the hose didn't seem to deter him from wanting to play in the pool. Despite goose bumps, he kept climbing back in to splash.

Afterwards, we turned on some warm water in the bathtub to warm his little tootsies. He scared himself when he pulled the lever that turns on the shower head. Once he was warmed up, we nursed and now he is napping so that he can rest up for more fun...

At 11am, we are meeting Great Grandma and some cousins for lunch. We might meet up with a couple of friends (with their kids) later, too. Will try to sneak in an afternoon nap so that we can rest up for this afternoon/evening, when we are getting together with a cousin, a great-aunt, two great-uncles, and at least one great-great aunt & great-great uncle. Sounds like there will be a lot of greatness at Grandma & Grandpa's house tonight!

We're having fun, but wish daddy were here to join us in the fun, but SOMEONE has got to pay the bills. :)

Library storytime and girl germs

This morning, Sydney was an early riser... BEFORE 6am! So, it was NO SURPRISE that he would crash for a morning nap. I didn't, however, expect that I would have to wake him up from his nap to take him to the 11am storytime at the library.

At the library, we arrived late and ventured through the construction of the library to find the storytime underway. We joined the circle, claiming real estate on the floor. I thought it was kind of funny how the leader of the group seems to have intimidated Sydney during the song "5 Little Monkeys jumping on the bed..." because when she shook her finger for the "Doctor says... NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!", it seems like he thought he was getting scolded. (She had been making eye contact around the entire circle, but Sydney seemed a little nervous during that one.)

Following story time, they bring out a big bucket of toys and encourage SOCIAL TIME. Sydney enjoyed some rubber balls, some giant legos and some puzzles. Most of all, he wanted to play with the giant golf umbrella that we brought. Little stinker would NOT forget about it... I kept distracting him with toys and playing with other kids, but he kept making a B-line back to the umbrella. (We were sure glad we had it though because it POURED for a good chunk of the afternoon; we needed it to visit daddy and go to the grocery store before venturing back home again.)

After the rain blew over, it turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL DAY with blue skies and fluffy, white clouds.... as well as some more humidity. Following the afternoon nap, we ventured outside to take out the garbage can/recycle bin and saw that the neighbor girls were outside. Lise, the one who is one month older than Sydney, is now walking.... just all of a sudden! Claire continues to LOVE having races with Sydney. Claire was also pretending to be the babysitter and kept calling Sydney and Lise by yelling "Kids..." Both of the girls had given Sydney hugs; someday, those will be GIRL GERMS for sure, but years later, they will be MUCH APPRECIATED, I'm sure! 

We signed up for the YMCA's Parent/Tot Swimming Lessons today, which start next week. I am looking forward to it, especially when they said that more than one parent can be in the water with the child. Mike's work schedule allows him to attend MANY of the sessions. I think it will be good for all of us and super fun to do it as a family! (I sure hope Sydney likes the pool as much as he loves splashing in the water on his high chair tray after dumping his entire cup of water. Silly goose.)

Going to a luncheon with some old colleagues tomorrow so, Sydney will be exposed to EVEN MORE GIRL GERMS! Those ladies will surely plant a few kisses on him and try to give him hugs... that is, if they can catch him! (He's a speedy little man these days!) Should be good times...

Doing the chicken dance

Today, I taught Sydney how to do the chicken dance. He thought that Mommy was pretty funny. It is AMAZING how quickly he caught on; however, now he thinks that we chicken dance to ALL music.

Hmmmm, maybe that WASN'T such a great idea!

:)

The doctor's office has an Elmo doll that is dressed up in a chicken costume; it plays the Chicken Dance song and Elmo moves to the music. (I guess that's where I thought of it from; It was on a cartoon portion of a Sesame Street episode lately, too.)

New food for today and briefly burned

Sydney does NOT like scrambled eggs! We tried it today for the first time. The reaction was VERY MUCH like that of mashed potatoes.... VERY BAD!

At dinner tonight, despite a very quick blow on the stuffing that had just come out of the oven, Grandpa Lowell gave Sydney a bite to try. As I watched the transfer of food from Grandpa's plate to Sydney's mouth, I questioned if it was still too hot, but Grandpa thought it was fine. 

The first second (or two) was OK; then, with his mouth hanging open, Sydney closed his eyes and shook his head from side-to-side, not knowing what to do with the mouthful of hot stuffing. I quickly reached for his monkey cup and flooded his open mouth with water in an attempt to cool things down in a hurry; although, much of it ran all over his face, shirt, lap and tray. 

Three seconds later, all was well and he had forgotten of the incident. 

I wondered if he would be apprehensive to take more food from either Grandpa Lowell or I, but it didn't seem to phase him one bit. He did, however, blow on his next bite of food - even though it was COLD. (Hey, he's learning... some days he blows on EVERY BITE of food!)

Sorry Sydney... we'll try to use more caution from now on! (Mommy didn't want you to burn your mouth like that.)

Imagine the mess... feeding himself Blueberry yogurt

Just imagine the mess... 

of Sydney (a.k.a. MR. INDEPENDENT) 

feeding himself blueberry yogurt.

Now, thank me for taking pictures (and video). 

I had praised Sydney for being such a BIG BOY and doing it himself... 

"YAY, YOU DID IT! WHAT A BIG BOY!"

He was VERY PROUD of his accomplishments! 

Despite a much-needed wipe-down at the end, it was HILARIOUS to watch as the yogurt often took a dive off of his spoon that was kiddywampus inside his mouth. A few times, I attempted to intervene by trying to catch the yogurt back into the container. Regardless of my efforts, he was ONE BIG MESS! 

I tricked him into sitting still while I took pictures... smart Mommy just turned the video camera on so that he could watch himself; he thought that was pretty darned cool. And after Mommy had been such a cheerleader, telling him "YAY, YOU DID IT! WHAT A BIG BOY!" he was more than willing to demonstrate how BIG he actually is... SO BIG! (Gosh, I just love him SO, SO MUCH!)

06.13.10: Sydney watches video of himself eating blueberry yogurt.

06.13.10: Sydney demonstrates that he is "SO BIG!"

(I hope to add video to this post tomorrow.)

P.S. This morning, we discovered that Sydney does NOT like Scrambled Eggs; he spit them out instantly. (Very similar reaction to mashed potatoes.) Maybe another time...

This and that observations (in the life of a newly turned one year old)

June 9, 2010 - Sydney keeps INSISTING upon putting his spoon into his (monkey) cup and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out WHY. And then, all of a sudden, as I was stirring my morning cup of steamy, hot chai tea, I realized that he watches me do this nearly every day. (Also, Mike seems to think that the spoon in the jar of babyfood would also look a lot like his spoon in his cup.) We have an observant child.

June 10, 2010 - Sydney and I went outside to play, bringing his yellow "slug-bug" baby car with us. Because our street is a hill, grading towards downtown, the car often rolls on it's own down the sidewalk and Sydney chases after it. He used to crawl around, pushing his car and making motoring car noises with his mouth. Today, however, he discovered that he can stand on one leg and push the car with his foot. When we were done with the car, we ventured back into our driveway; here, Sydney noticed his reflection in the hubcap of Mike's truck and he kept smiling and waving at himself. Again, we have an observant child.

June 11, 2010 - Lately, we realized that Sydney has been signing the word MILK for both breast-feeding  and hunger so, we have been trying to teach him that MILK is just for mommy's milk and that EAT is for eating food. When Sydney woke today, after already being nursed in the middle of the night AND an early morning feeding, he was signing that he wanted MILK. 

I specifically asked him (signing) "MILK? or EAT?" 

He immediately brought his hand to his mouth. 

"EAT." I announced.

"Yeah." he said, while simultaneously shaking his head in affirmation.

"YAY!" exclaimed Mommy. "You know EAT!"

June 11, 2010 - As Sydney and I were sitting in the recliner breast-feeding, I saw a light reflection on the wall and heard a car in the driveway. I announced "I think I hear Dadda."

Sydney immediately stops nursing and wiggles down off of my lap, running quickly to the babygate by the sunporch door. "Hi Dadda." he says as he gets to the gate.

Sadly, I look into the driveway and do NOT see Mike's truck; someone must have just turned around in our driveway. "Sorry, buddy." I explain. "It was a false alarm; Daddy isn't home yet, but he should be home ANY MINUTE!" (I feel HORRIBLE for getting his hopes up like that!)

Sydney waits, playing by the door, babbling about DADDA.

When I see Mike's truck pull in, I grab Sydney and lift him over the gate, announcing "Sydney, daddy is home!" He runs to the door, grinning from ear-to-ear, waiting to give Daddy a BIG "Welcome Home" hug. (Or a "hug, hug, hug" as we like to call them.)

June 11, 2010 - Sydney had just gotten done eating and HE WAS A GIANT MESS! He had food smeared all over his body, face and even in his hair. After wiping (most of) the "chunks" off of him, I set him down to play. There, I stood, observing the sticky mess on his temple and in his hair; so, like any good mom, I grabbed a butt wipe and started scrubbing at his head. His white, blonde hair stuck straight up, all over, on the top of his head. "You look like a duck." I announced, commenting on his fluffy hair.

Sydney immediately stands up and starts scanning the living room with his bright, blue eyes. (His newest book has a stuffed animal DUCK - labeled TOY in the book - that looks a lot like his baby chick that he rarely plays with.) I announce "I think you left your DUCK in the kitchen."

As I stand up, to go retrieve his chick/duck from the kitchen floor, he points to the Fridge Farm magnetic piece that sits on the floor next to the recliner. (It is the head piece for the YELLOW DUCK.) What a smart baby; he keeps proving his recognition of the English language.

"You're right!" I reply. "That IS a duck!" (Sydney proudly nods his head YES.)

After I get his stuffed animal chick/duck from across the baby-gated kitchen, he smiles and points to the "toy" duck that is pictured in his new book. We have an observant child.

June 12, 2010 - For days now, I have been watching Sydney eat one of his favorite foods: Cheerios! But, for some reason, our little boy - who used to eat foods daintily, delicately picking up one piece of food at a time with just his thumb and forefinger - has now turned to eating like a heathen*, grabbing entire fistfuls of food and trying to shove it all into his mouth at once. And once he gets it into his mouth, while dropping a lot into his lap along the way, he quickly crams another handful in so that he can barely chew it all - and quite possibly, can't get another bite inside.

This leaves me to ask: 

Where did my polite little eater go? 

And how long can I expect this "phase" to last?

* http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heathen

heathen (noun): strange, uncivilized

June 12, 2010 - After eating a breakfast of Yoplait Blueberry yogurt, fresh raspberries and Cheerios, Sydney was wiped down from head to toe. (Thankfully, he ate wearing JUST his diaper.) All signs of our early morning shower were LONG GONE!

Sydney had climbed through his pile of toys in the corner of the living room and carefully selected his Winnie-the-Pooh jack-in-the-box (a gift from Kerri shortly after he was born). He brought it onto the floor in front of the recliner and started playing with it. [He now knows that the red (music note) button plays music and the yellow, flashing (circle) button makes Pooh appear from the top.]

All of a sudden, I witnessed an AH-HA moment as Sydney ran across the living room and stopped in front of a box of diapers that was sitting on the end table by the couch. He meticulously points in the lower right corner of the diaper box where there is a 2" tall cartoon picture of Winnie the Pooh hugging Eyeore. We have an observant child!

Age 1: Blows, plays with juicebox, watches tv

Ever since Sydney's birthday, he has had a desire to blow on things. 

On Easter, we had tried blowing bubbles, but he hadn't quite understood the concept yet. (He mostly just wanted to lick the bubble wand, but he did start to make an attempt to mimic my blowing actions at that time.

Grandma Carol brought him helium balloons for his birthday, which he had never seen before. Grandpa Lowell taught Sydney how to blow into the air and the balloons would move (with help from Grandpa's windpower.) 

He also watched us blow out the candles on his cake and was fascinated with the smoke. 

Sydney notices that we blow on food when it is hot. Now, he does it too. Some days, he blows on every bite; regardless of the temperature. He just thinks it is fun to blow, I think.

He noticed Mommy blowing her bangs out of her face a few days ago. He tries to blow into my face now, too.

He stood in the kitchen yesterday, when it was windy, and noticed the leaves blowing out the kitchen window; he blew at them and smiled, thinking that HE made them move. He also noticed that the light fixture moved with the breeze, but again, he thought that HE had done it. (Funny kid.)

Sydney noticed the new kitchen floor yesterday and went into the living room in search of a shovel; he brought it back and crouched down onto the floor with his shovel. He must have thought the color looked like the sand in his sandbox.

Today, Sydney was enjoying a juicebox. (Mike is fascinated with a 12-month-old sucking from a straw, but I don't believe that it is quite THAT extraordinary because they now sell sippy cups with a straw inside. Granted, Sydney doesn't use one of those... since he almost always drinks from a regular cup and NEVER a baby bottle.... so, maybe we can go with him being pretty smart.

Sometimes he likes to chew on or pull out the straw. 

This afternoon, he made every effort to put the straw back in by himself. After tipping it upside down, he got juice all over his tray and had to play in it. (He LOVES to splash in water, too.) He thinks it is now fun to dump his monkey cup of water onto the tray, too. FUN, FUN...

Late in the afternoon/early evening, I had turned Sesame Street on TV because Mike was busy with the countertop guy - taking measurements for our custom countertops. After the man left, I sat down on the living room floor and Sydney ran over to sit on my lap. 

There, we sat watching Sesame Street together. I called Mike in to sneak a couple of pictures. Sydney didn't even notice Mike move around the room with the camera. 

Mike was able to capture some great smiles as soon as ELMO'S WORLD came on... Sydney smiled from ear-to-ear. Then, Mike asked him if he likes Elmo and he FINALLY noticed that Mike was there with the camera.

Looks like I need to stop watching Sesame Street and start folding today's clean laundry pile(s). Afterall, I've got a great little helper!

Learning a new sound while diapering.... P

We had a playdate with Lucy today, which was fun... except for the girl germs (from all of Lucy's hugs). They had a great time running around our baby-proofed house, laughing and squealing with delight. Sydney and Lucy were both sad when it was time for them to go home to eat lunch.

Sydney's tooth #7 must be bothering him... he was fussy unless he was 1) nursing, 2) held or 3) distracted with playing. (Hopefully, the Tylenol before bed will keep him sleeping through the night.)

While diapering before bed, in Sydney's jibberish baby language, he asked (what sounds a lot like) "What's that?" as he UM.... "assisted" in diapering.

Like usual, I informed him "That is your penis."

He smiled.

I finished diapering him, wrestling his hand(s) out from his diaper. I leaned in close(r) to his face and said "Puh, Puh, Puh, penis."

Instantly, he mocked me. "Puh," he paused to smile in recognition of his newest achievement. "Puh, puh, puh" he repeated.

Sydney was Puh, puh, PROUD! (We even went upstairs to tell Daddy his newest sound.)

Sydney is like a sponge; he soaks up SO MUCH each day!

Mr. Independent

At dinner last night, Sydney displayed his LOVE for his daddy.

This morning, Sydney INSISTED upon feeding himself oatmeal with a spoon. Mostly, he would dip the spoon into the oatmeal and shovel a near-empty spoon into his mouth sideways. Sometimes, at the last minute, the oatmeal would slide off of the spoon and onto his shirt, tray or lap. 

Mr. Independent is starting to want whatever we have, as well as wanting to attempt doing almost everything himself. He also discovered within the past few days that he likes to stab at his food with his plastic baby fork and feed himself. We often do this with pieces of avocado, but discovered that cantaloupe also worked well.

If I thought that feeding him took a long time before... allowing him to feed himself (and guarantee adequate nutrition) will take EVEN LONGER!

He also LOVES to feed himself fresh raspberries. (Those are one of his FAVORITE THINGS!)

NOTE: The battle wounds on his eye... that is from his dive into the sandbox on Sunday afternoon. Poor little guy.... OUCH!

We had a rather rough night with Sydney in the early morning hours this morning. He woke up fussy, which is NOT his true nature. Yesterday, we noticed that tooth #7 poked through his gumline. (Another one for his lower left jaw.) #7 may have something to do with the new batch of slightly-fussy; all in all, he is SUCH a good baby!!!

Sydney vs. Sandbox (Syd 0, Sandbox 1)

Sydney vs. Sandbox (Syd 0, Sandbox 1)

Blogger was down on June 6th... when I wanted to post this entry so, here it is:

This afternoon, following a trip to the store, Sydney fell asleep in the truck. Granted, it WAS naptime for the little fellow, but he DISLIKES going into his bed after we get home from an outing so, he cried until Daddy broke down and "saved him".

It was an incredibly beautiful day! Bright blue sky, lots of puffy, white clouds and a perfect temperature. So, we sat outside. Sydney glanced at his covered sandbox and decided that he wanted to play. However, he kind of DOVE headfirst into the sandbox. (Being overtired may have been a contributing factor.) He whacked his head on one of the plastic pre-molded pieces of the sandbox.

He has a bump on his forehead, a cut on his upper eyelid, a blood clot stuck to his eyelashes, a small puffy area on his lower lid and a scratch on his upper cheek. He, however, quickly forgot about it and started to play in the sand.

Poor little guy... 

(Mike claimed the name of the blog entry... SYD: 0, SANDBOX: 1)

He knows what he wants

Sydney has become MR. INDEPENDENT lately. He likes to direct us to his wishes when it comes to eating and drinking. He attempts to sign MORE, which looks more like clapping. He attempts to rotate his hand/wrist to imitate DRINK or else, he'll just point and say "AAHHHH!" He seems to be confused with the sign for MILK lately; he often signs it while looking directly at Daddy so, we think that he is now trying to tell us that he is hungry. He points to the table and says a word that sounds a lot like THAT. When we pick up the wrong object, he shakes his head NO or else will motion NOT THAT with his hand and will try again. We've also noticed that he is swatting things away when we offer him something that he didn't want (i.e. when we attempted to offer him water instead of Squirt at a restaurant.)

Although sometimes a little on the stubborn side, this kid KNOWS what he wants! (And it is FINALLY getting to be a little easier to read his mind.)

Dang it, Let the climbing begin

This afternoon, Mike called me downstairs. As I peeked my head down the stairway and into the living room, I saw Sydney standing up on the papasan stool (next to the recliner).

Mike takes him down and says "Show mommy your new trick."

Sydney throws a leg up and climbs up onto the papasan stool.

SHOOT. We NOW have to take babyproofing to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!

The papasan stool has been conveniently located next to the recliner in an attempt to keep Sydney out from under the end table and away from the cords that hide under that table. It also acted as a barrier to keep Sydney from reaching things from the back corner of the table - Kleenex box, fingernail clippers, a pen, books.

• The Kleenex were moved when he discovered how to empty a box of Kleenex in no time at all.
  
• The fingernail clippers were kept there, within OUR REACH, so that I could trim his tiny nails while he was in a relaxed state... during breastfeeding.
  
• A pen was there, sitting next to my journal, so that I could document things that I wanted to remember.
  

A small stack of books were there so that I had something to read while breastfeeding because sometimes, he just wanted to snuggle while he half-heartedly nursed:

• My writing journal sat there, within arms reach. 
• A copy of "Marley & Me" was there because I started it in February and read outloud to Sydney from time to time. 
• "What to Expect the First Year" was sitting there because I just recently dug it out and flipped through it. 
• "Good Night, Sleep Tight Sleep Lady's Guide" was within fingertip reach in case we ran into sleep problems again... which we have been the past few days. 
• AND my mother's day present "Writing Motherhood" sat next to my journal, as a source of inspiration and documentation.
  

And now, I'm afraid, they will all need to find a new home because if Sydney can climb onto the Papasan stool, he will be able to get onto the recliner, as well as the end table. Just as soon as he figures out how to MOVE the papasan stool, I'm afraid a lot of other items in our house will also fall onto the NOT SAFE list.

Little Smartie Pants.

This means that shortly, he will be able to scale the retaining wall in the driveway as well. He often stands by it, attempting to raise a leg to climb up. OH YAY, I can hardly wait...