Weekend Reunion and other fun, surgery tomorrow

Sydney and I went to WI over the weekend for a family reunion. Due to excessive rains and major flooding in SE WI, the park was flooded and we got to move the reunion to an indoor venue at the Salem Fire House, which was AIR CONDITIONED!!! (YAY!)

Sunday, Sydney and I went with Kerri down to IKEA for Sydney & Kerri's first trip. The British lady on the TomTom guided us there. We bought 3 new dressers for home.... which is my attempt to keep things clean and organized in our house that has almost NO closet space.

This morning, we ventured home to IA... in hopes of returning to a normal napping and sleeping schedule. (Sydney, unfortunately, did neither well while we were away from home.) I was a little disappointed to hear that I forgot my pillow in WI. BUMMER! Good thing we have one in reserve!

This afternoon, we went to visit Grandpa at his house and to check out the flood damage in town. Thankfully, Grandpa's house is in a "good neighborhood" that is free of flooding damage. We enjoyed a quick visit with neighbor Donna, some piano background music provided by Sydney and dinner with Grandpa at his house. Grandpa is having surgery TOMORROW and hopes to ditch the catheter bag that has journeyed with him since his quadruple bypass surgery in April. Hopefully, surgery will get things "BACK TO NORMAL".

Grandpa, we're hoping that EVERYTHING comes out OK for you again VERY SOON! We'll be thinking of you and will be anxiously awaiting your call. We love you! Best of Luck!

Splash pad and spike

We went to take BOTH of our cars in for service work. We met up with Mike's HS/college BFF and she took us to a SPLASH PAD. Neither of us knew what that was, but when she said that it is a park with fancy water features - sprinklers, etc , it sounded right up Sydney's alley.  Surprisingly, Sydney seemed a little uncomfortable with it; the water was cold and there were (big) kids running all over the place and splashing/throwing cups of water at each other. He also didn't understand the concept of sometimes water comes out of the ground RIGHT HERE and then, it disappears and comes out somewhere else instead. Both Mike and I tried to get him to play in the water... or at least splash in a puddle on the ground... but he kept displaying the "broken leg syndrome" where he only wanted to be held and was unable to stand on his own two feet. Sydney was more interested in his lunchbag full of snacks, as well as the juice boxes and treats that nearby people were enjoying than he was with the water.

Afterwards, we went for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. There, Daddy and Terri decided that Sydney should have a mo-hawk so, they got his hair wet and started styling it. 

They both thought it was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S, but mommy didn't care for it as much.

Mike: "He looks cute with a mo-hawk!"

Me: Um, yeah... not so much!

(Terri took pictures... if she emails them to me, I will post them on the blog for others to enjoy.)

YUM-O Drinking from the kiddy pool

This afternoon, Sydney and I were outside blowing bubbles while the cats were eating some grass and watching birds. Then, Sydney decided that he was going to throw some rocks into his kiddy pool. Naturally, after he threw a handful of them into the pool, he had to try to get them OUT of the pool. So, before you know it, Sydney has climbed himself into the kiddy pool and WHOOPS, slipped so, now - he is fully clothed and soaking wet. (Secretly, as I sat in the chair next to the kiddy poll, I wished that I could have joined him because I had regretted not turning on the central air for most of the day and thought that the pool looked refreshing, despite the dirt and bugs in it.)

He had a great time in there... throwing rocks, splashing his hands and feet and climbing IN/OUT over and over again. He also liked watching a few ants as they scrambled, trying to get themselves out of the water again. (Grandpa Lowell taught him to look for bugs now.)

Soon, he ran to his sandbox and got his big shovel. He brought it to the pool's edge and started scooping it into the water and attempting to drink off of it, as if it were a giant spoon. When he decided that the "spoon" wasn't working to his liking, he grabbed his matching bucket and started using it as a cup to drink the (gross) kiddy pool water.

They say you should eat a pound of dirt before you die so, I'm guessing that you should also consume water from a kiddy pool as well. YUM-O!

I'll try to post a video clip of it later, adding it to this post.

Fingers in the fan

Today, Sydney had a lot of naps. I can only assume that it is because he is growing - since he slept 10 hours last night. He had a 3+ hour morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap, as well as a normal bedtime with minimal fuss.

Following the afternoon nap, I was making dinner and all of a sudden, I heard a funny noise, Sydney squeal and his footsteps racing in my direction.

I'm not sure if he stuck his fingers or a toy into the box fan in the kitchen, but whatever it was, it scared the Ba-jeezers out of him and he wanted to be held. I carefully inspected his fingers and saw no evidence of markings (or dirt) of any kind.

He remained in my arms while I finished making our dinner and at one point, I wondered if he would become light-headed from blowing at the hot steam in the pans on the stove.

Mental note: do NOT trust a one year old with ANYTHING, including a box fan. (I am thankful that he was NOT hurt.) I'm guessing that he wont try that again anytime soon.

NAUGHTY BOY STARTS HITTING

ALSO, last night, Sydney's nursing session was halted when he started hitting mommy. I firmly said NO and tried to stop him, but he thought it was funny and did it again. I pulled him off and set him down, leaving him sobbing (and signing) for more milk. I was bewildered by this sudden naughty behavior, since he has NOT done anything like that before.... hitting was NOT his style. (He has also started grabbing glasses right off of my face. Grrrr!)

The email update, regarding his specific age and developmental progress, that landed in my email box today warned that he would start hitting, pushing and trying to press his boundaries. YAY.... he was just one day ahead of schedule; at least, I have been warned now.

I didn't know you brought a rock inside. WAIT, that's NOT a rock!

While Mike worked outside this afternoon, we connected the hose and filled the kiddy pool. Sydney wasn't IN the pool much as he was more interested in playing with and attempting to drink out of the hose instead. We thought that it would give him a good opportunity to air out his sore bottom from the bright red rash on his scrotum. (Still appears to be QUITE PAINFUL for the little man.)

Sydney came inside with me so that I could thaw our frozen cod fillets in the sink. While I was doing that, Sydney was busy trying to get a few loose pieces of lathe out of the crack between the new drywall and the old wooden doorframe. He managed to get one of the pieces out and was crouched on the kitchen floor while attempting to get a smaller piece out of the crack. I reached to take the pieces of old plaster away from him and noticed a rock on the kitchen floor.

"I didn't know you brought a rock inside with you." I announced.

Just as the last word rolled off of my tongue, Sydney took his foot and attempted to step on the rock, which slid across the kitchen floor, taking him down in the process. Completely disgusted that Sydney had just stepped on and smeared a turd across the kitchen floor, I yelled for Mike to come to my rescue. With fish thawing in one half of the sink and a few dirty dishes resting in the other half, my options were rather limited and my hands full... attempting to contain a NAKED baby who was trying to flee with poop all over his foot and leg, as well as the kitchen floor. 

"Um, Sydney... that was NOT a rock! You tricked me! You made dookey on the floor."

Thankfully, it was a solidly formed turd (since the past few days had been VERY LOOSE!) 

Who knew that parenthood could be so darned exciting?!?

• • • 

On a separate note, despite being rather broke these days, Mike suggested that we go furniture shopping to look for a new couch. He desperately missed having a reclining sofa and has found my couch to be "not as comfortable" ever since we met. We shopped at 3 stores in town and 1 store in WI, looking for the perfect couch that we could pick out and agree upon TOGETHER. Our new furniture will be delivered to our house within a few days. (I'm not sure if his recent bonus check or my divorce "rainy day" money are paying for our splurge spending. I did just offer to purchase a new light fixture for the dining room, entry way and upstairs hall/stairway with my divorce money; we got them on sale PLUS used Mike's employee discount so, I owe him some money.) With the ongoing kitchen remodel, new light fixtures and our new & improved furniture - we're making LOTS of improvements around here! We LOVE our home, but it seems there is ALWAYS SOMETHING to spend money on when you own a house!

Mike, I can't wait to snuggle with you (and Sydney) on our new reclining couch!

That's funny, I thought you went to bed with pants on

Yesterday, I went in to RESCUE Sydney from his bed after hearing him announce that he was awake. When I peered inside his door, he stood in the same corner (as usual) and started to jump up and down. (We normally do 1-2-3-JUMP! to get up out of bed.)

Funny thing was... his monkey pajama pants were laying in his crib.

Hmmm, that's funny.... 

I thought you went to bed with pants on!

(Turns out, Sydney must have been awake for longer than I had thought...)

• • • • •

Surprise to us... BABY'S FIRST MOLAR is already in!

Yesterday, we discovered that Sydney has a diaper rash. Immediately, I thought it was from eating too much fruit again - since we had just resumed eating grapes. His butt and scrotum are BRIGHT LOBSTER RED! He SCREAMS and wiggles, in desperate attempts to get away from the changing pad and butt wipes. I've been applying LOTS of Butt Paste, in hopes that it will help. So far, it went from fire engine red to salmon pink and still remains QUITE PAINFUL for the little man! I feel HORRIBLE every time I try to wipe him off; he doesn't understand WHY I am hurting him like that. 

I think I have some Tuck's medicated pads left over from last year when Sydney was born; I wonder if those would bring relief to his sore, sore bottom? 

Both yesterday and today, he is VERY CAUTIOUS when sitting or when we pick him up. He wiggles to make sure that his butt is NOT touching our arm when we carry him, as well as positioning himself strategically when nursing. And when he bumps it, he winces and says "OOOOH!" as if it was VERY PAINFUL!

Aunt Sue said that my cousins both would get "bright red monkey butt" whenever they were cutting teeth. We DO know that his lower molars are starting to move because we can see big white bumps under his taught gumline.

If teething IS to blame, I wonder if the last incident a few weeks ago (when we also eliminated fruit from his diet) was also from teething.... you know, since we JUST DISCOVERED within the past couple of days that Sydney has his first molar already poked through and coming into position nicely. (It was an upper... and he is QUITE guarded when it comes to looking into his mouth; he'll let us look at the bottom ones sometimes, thankfully.)

Saying FAREWELL to YMCA swimming lessons

Tonight, Sydney and I attended the last session of our Parent/Tot swimming lessons. It was $64 well-spent for 8 sessions of water exposure; AND it was EVEN BETTER that Mike's schedule permitted him to attend 7 out of 8 sessions.

It was a little disappointing that they kept switching instructors on us, but the original one (who was BY FAR THE BEST) had been "on vacation"/*off the record: terminated. 

Like the library, Sydney got to the point that he could care less about singing songs... he just keeps signing MORE and pointing to the toys. At the end of each session, they let the kids play with the toys... THAT is Sydney's favorite part. 

He also likes when we have him jump off of the wall into the water. 

As for blowing bubbles and kicking his feet, he isn't really into that... maybe another time. (And don't even THINK about trying to get him to float on his back!!! WOWZA!)

We'll give him a break for now and can maybe try again in the fall... before it gets cold outside again.

Sydney keeps an eye on the toy bin at the YMCA... just like he does at the library.

Yeah, the toys are MY FAVORITE PART of swimming lessons! I like all the different colors of rubber ducks and all of the different balls.

Getting the hang of it: 1... 2... 3... JUMP!

P.S. Grandma & Grandpa Olson, he sure looked cute in the swim trunks and matching shirt  that you guys bought him. *THANK YOU* He's looking forward to wearing it when we go up north to the cabin. Now, if only we could get him to leave the matching hat and sunglasses on, too. :)  He's one SUPER CUTE little dude!

Loads of fun at the library (w photos)

Today, Mike had the day off of work and he joined us for the Mother Goose Story Time at the library. Sydney seemed rather restless during the songs and the stories; he kept a watchful eye on the big bin full of toys. There was another little boy, sitting closer to the toys, that kept getting closer to it - which made Sydney rather anxious.

As soon as the librarian announced "OK, now it is time for toys and socialization..." Sydney had hopped up out of my lap and ran to the center of the room so that he could dive into that bin of toys first.

Mike had asked if Sydney ever goes inside the tunnel. Often, he just watches other kids do it. (He looks rather awkward and unskilled when he attempts to crawl anymore as he walks and runs for 98% of his day.) Today, Sydney enjoyed playing with balls, giant Legos and the animal puzzle.

He REALLY likes to watch all of the other kids, too.

Sitting during story time, but ready to HOP UP at any second to go grab some toys.

Checking out the bin of toys with two other little boys.

Sydney stays close to the toy bin - to make sure that nothing really, really good comes out of it.

On guard duty... watching for good toys and new uses for ordinary toys. (Neighbors Claire and Lise are also at story time today.... and also like checking out the new toys.)

Into the tunnel.

Enjoyed playing with giant baby Lego pieces, as well as showing them to Daddy. Sydney seems to like when Daddy comes with us to the library. (Mommy does, too!)

Naughty Elmo in bathroom

Sydney LOVES his Elmo book from Kerri & Greg. 

(Sesame Street - First Look & Find - I CAN DO IT!)

It is like a toddler's version of a Where's Waldo or an Eye Spy book where they look for specific objects. (They call them LOOK & FIND books.) Sydney likes to just look at all kinds of things on the pages of the book... finding some of his favorite things... like a toothbrush, hair brush, balls, wagon, cat and dog, etc. We often find him sitting on the floor staring intently at all of the different things on each page. (There is also a page where the Sesame Street muppets are at the pool learning to swim; we use those pages to help talk about our own swimming lessons.)

One of the pages shows Elmo in the bathroom. On these pages, you see a sink, toilet, and bathtub full of water and bubbles, as well as a hairbrush and rubber duckie. Unfortunately, Elmo has pulled off A LOT of toilet paper from the roll.

Sydney must have taken special notice...

Elmo must have inspired Sydney because he finished off the roll of toilet paper while we were running bath water tonight. 

YEP, looks JUST LIKE like Elmo's bathroom.... toilet, sink, bathtub, bathmat, rubber duckie and runaway toilet paper.

Naughty Elmo! 

Funny thing... 

Elmo didn't rip his toilet paper into a million pieces and throw them into the bath water. 

(If I hadn't just read an email update on Sydney's age-appropriate developmental status and how GOOD it is to let him rip paper into a million pieces to help build fine motor skills, I may have stopped him from creating such a mess; however, it IS only toilet paper and he seems to have been having a REALLY GREAT TIME!)

Shoe Shopping for Sydney

Grandma Olson and Mommy have a LOVE of shoes so, naturally, they were perfect candidates to take Sydney shoe shopping today. We had his foot measured and he is currently almost a perfect SIZE 4 so, they recommended us to buy him a SIZE 5 shoe (12-18 months).

This time around, we were looking for shoes with a hard sole... like a tennis shoe... since Sydney wears mostly his soft leather soled Robeez. I was unsure how he would react to hard, stiff soles, but when we let him walk around in the store with the little running shoes on, he didn't seem to notice a difference. (Unlike the little workboots we put on him at 4 month old, which caused him to look like he had club feet and was unable to walk anymore.)

Mommy also looked for a pair of flats to wear to best friend Kerri's November wedding - since Mommy towers over the bride and the rest of the bridesmaids in nothing, but bare feet. We found a pair that MIGHT work... have to check with the bride for approval.

We had that store hold the shoes for us and we went to another shoe store a few doors down. I had a $10 gift certificate mailed to me after writing a letter of complaint about the one store attempting to sell USED shoes as new. Turns out, they had a new pair of Robeez shoes marked down to just $14.99 so, with my credit, I paid approximately $6 for some brown leather shoes with a sole slightly firmer than his current Robeez. (He seemed to like them.)

Then, after our great deal, we ventured back to the other store and made our purchase.

As for today's new shoes: 

Mommy - 1

Sydney - 2

P.S. Thank you Grandma Olson for coming to visit us today.

P.P.S. Auntie Karin, your 20 boxes of Crayola crayons for summer school are en route to southeast WI. :)