Geek is Sexy!

I think Daniel might end up potty training earlier than Joey did. Part of that is having the example of two other males in the house, which Joey didn't have. Another part is that he seems aware of his bodily functions and the potty. He already automatically goes to sit on the potty before bathtime, without being told. Sometimes he pees, sometimes he doesn't. He has also started bringing me a diaper and laying down on the floor after he poops. Also, if you ask him if he's pooping he'll tell you...although he's usually hiding when he does it. So he obviously knows what he's doing and that he needs to be changed afterward. He's definitely consistent about it. He pooped three times this morning (I think he had a bit of an upset tummy) and brought me a diaper every time, without me even mentioning it. I think awareness is a step in the right direction. Now if I could just catch him before he does it...

It is amazing to me how quickly Daniel is growing. Every day is something new. Some new word or new development. I just can't keep up and every little milestone makes me both happy and sad that my baby is growing up. Last night Patrick and I were getting him ready for bed and (as always when I change his diaper upstairs) I asked him if he wanted to go sit on the potty. He said "Pah! Pah!" which is his way of saying potty. So Patrick sat him on it and he promptly peed...not all of which made it into the potty, but still...gah! I'm glad he knows what it is for, but sad that we're headed down that path already.

This morning I was trying to get him to finger paint, which is pretty much a losing battle with him. He's just not into it. He'll swish the paint around for a minute and then he's done. So we went outside to color with sidewalk chalk. He LOVED that. He take them in and out of the bucket and scribble on the ground and hand them to me to color with. Then he'd get up and do laps around the neighbor's tree and come color more. So while he was occupied I decided to water my plants. Well he decided that looked like fun so he came over and splashed in the puddles on the porch steps. Then he went back to coloring. So by now he was covered in chalk, dirt, water, mud, etc. I looked at him and said "You are going to need a bath." He looked up, dropped the chalk in his hands, took off running for the steps, while hollering "Baah! Baah!" I was scrambling to clean up while he was already up the steps, banging on the front door. I let him in the house, and sure enough, he took off for his bathroom and tried to pull off his clothes. I really don't understand why that child loves baths so much. So he was quite thrilled to splash around in there for a while.

After his bath, I was drying him off and he starts covering his eyes. So I said "Are you playing peek-a-boo?" He took his hands off his eyes and said "Pee-boo!" and then continued to do it over and over. Then when he was dressed he pointed to his comb. So I gave it to him and he started trying to comb his hair. Then he pointed at his crib. I put him in there gave him a kiss and his binky, covered him up and he waved bye-bye to me. Like "Go away, Mom, it's naptime."

The end result of all this is just astonishment on my part. When did he get so smart and so big? He's not my baby anymore. He's a full-on toddler.

Daniel had his 15 month check up yesterday and it went as well as could be expected when you have shots. He was 23 pounds (50%) and 32.5 inches tall (90%). So he's tall and skinny. Apparently he's the height of an average 19 month old. Too funny. Anyway, the doctor said he was developing well physically and VERY well developmentally. He is using signs and language to communicate and is pointing to what he wants, which she said is huge. Also, looking people in the eyes and engaging with them...he was actually flirting with the doctor...is a really good developmental indicator.

He could have gotten any of the four shots he was due for, but as I only ever do two we had to discuss the pros and cons of what to do now and what to do at 18 months. I knew I absolutely wanted him to have the flu shot now and I knew the HiB could wait since he's already had a few doses of that so it was really down to Chicken Pox and the MMR. I worried about exposure to both with Joey starting school soon and bringing home germs. I was nervous about the MMR but Dr. Chamberlain took the time to talk with me about my worries and the various implications of each shot. She talked about preservatives and antigens and the various theories about shots and complications and how developmental stages coincide with various shots, etc. She also talked about Daniel's health and how it related to getting each of the diseases we were considering vaccinating.

Such as, Daniel is a healthy kid and he would probably handle chicken pox fine if he did end up exposed to it. Flu is questionable at his age and could potentially be made worse if compounded by an outbreak of swine flu. No, this shot won't protect against swine flu but it could help prevent against compromising his system with the regular flu and then picking up the other. Plus, 36,000 people die every year from the regular flu, which the media seems to ignore. Measles is much more dangerous, and as she put it "Loudoun County is an outbreak waiting to happen." I knew that, but it was interesting to hear her confirm it. It's a combo of a high immigrant population, foreign adoptions, and lots of people who choose not to vaccinate. Apparently the "herd immunity" in this area is dipping pretty low, which makes us ripe for a measles outbreak. So I decided to get him the MMR and flu and put the HiB and Chicken Pox off until 18 months. I felt pretty good about it, although I worried about Daniel getting sick and cranky over the weekend. Oh, and he also had a finger prick to test for anemia, which is apparently a big problem for toddlers. He passed just fine. So he was pretty pissed with all the pricking when we left. I had given him some tylenol before we left and he did okay. He was kind of cranky in the afternoon but slept fine last night and has been his happy self all day today.

We also talked about weaning Daniel off the Pepcid we've had him on for reflux. If we can't get him off it by 18 months she wants him to see a GI doctor to make sure he doesn't have damage to his esophagus or something more serious causing symptoms. She told us to pick a calm week when he isn't teething and doesn't have a lot going on, take him off the pepcid, and make sure he eats mostly bland foods. No citrus, dairy, chocolate or spicy foods. If he handles it okay, we can stop giving him the pepcid and see how each food group sets him off.

So all in all my big boy is doing really well. Well, duh. :-D

My brilliant 14 month old peed on the potty today. I've been sitting him on it right before he gets in the tub, just more for habit than anything else. Tonight he watched Joey pee in the toilet and then he sat on it and peed. He looked about as surprised as I was, but Joey and I went nuts yelling "Yay for Danny!" and clapping. I told him we'd get him his own potty but he shook his head no at me. So I have no illusions that he's going to be potty trained early, but it was still exciting.

Which...how sad is that? We got so excited over pee?

I've noticed that Daniel is starting to hide when he poops. He'll go under the end table or walk around behind the dining room table where I can't see him to poop. What is that about?

Joey left for Boston this morning with Jenny and it's weird knowing he won't be here for an entire week. He's spent a fair amount of time with Mike this summer, but never more than 2 nights. In fact, the only time in his entire life we've been apart that long is when Patrick and I went on the first cruise. And then I was rather distracted by everything we had going on. Being at home without him is just weird. So it's just Daniel and me during the days this week. It's like having just one kid again, which definitely takes some getting used to. I've made a "To Do" list of stuff I want to work on while he's gone and Daniel naps, but I'm not sure how much I'll actually get to.

Today we went up to the library to see Mr. Brian and the Boppets, a musical puppet show. It was more music than puppet show, but that's perfect for Daniel anyway. For the first half hour he just sat there like a statue. He was totally glued to the show. He'd dance and wiggle from time to time, but that's about it. After that he started to get fidgety and tired. He was still listening but wanted me to hold him and feed him snacks. It was a cute show and managed to keep both of us entertained for an hour. The Loudoun County library system does some great, free stuff for kids.

After the show we went to the grocery store because I had to get him some more soy milk. Since we weren't getting much, I let him use the little car with the car attached to it. Oh my goodness. He LOVED it. He sat in there and honked the horn and spun the wheel around and had a blast. I think we may be in trouble next time we go to shop and don't use it. Oh well.

Daniel randomly decided today was the day he was going to start eating with a fork. He asked for one and then proceeded to eat most of his dinner with it. *gasp*

Daniel was playing with the phone. I asked him to give it to Momma. He looked at me and said "No." And then giggled and walked away. Now it begins...

Daniel is really becoming his own little person lately. He's getting better at expressing what he wants. He'll point to things and sign "please" and "more" when he wants something and turns us around by our legs when he wants our attention. It's weird to see it happening. He's really more toddler than baby now, and it makes me kind of sad. My baby is growing up! We've been working on body parts and animal sounds, which has had mixed results. He knows kitty cat says "meow" but that's about it so far. He also can point to his nose and mouth, but eyes, ears and hair he just grins at me. Lately he's been entertained by the weirdest stuff. Yesterday it was three little plastic bowls that he would sit and put things in or stack or throw...and today it's a plastic chinese food fork. He's been wandering around with it for an hour, happy as a lark. I don't really get it, but whatever makes him happy, right?

It is, however, incredibly obnoxious what a daddy's boy he is. He's fine when he's alone with me, but if Daddy is around...forget it. He wants NOTHING to do with me. He's even pushed me away and started hollering and clinging to his Daddy when I try to pick him up or Patrick tries to leave. I suppose it's just a new experience for me, since Joey has always been SO attached to me. I guess my ego just figured that there's no way one of my children could prefer Daddy. I'm honestly glad Patrick is so good with the kids and that they love him, but it still hurts when I spend all my time with them and take care of them and Daddy is like Santa and Jesus all rolled into one.

For weeks I have been working with Daniel, trying to get him to color with markers or crayons, or at least to realize he can manipulate them to make marks. Alas, it has been to no avail. He's had absolutely no interest in doing anything with them other than eating them. Well...today I was on the computer doing some freecycle stuff and Daniel was sitting in the corner playing quietly. I couldn't see what he was doing but I could tell he wasn't putting anything in his mouth so I figured he would be okay for a few minutes. When I finished and went over to get him, he was sitting there with one of Joey's markers, coloring all over pictures Mom had printed me yesterday from his birthday. He had found the pictures and one of Joey's (washable, thank goodness) markers on the end table and somehow gotten the cap off and colored the pictures without getting any on anything but the pictures and his hands. I couldn't get too mad at him because he was doing what I have been trying to get him to do...just not the right way. *sigh* I'll have to reprint the pictures.

Photos from Daniel's first birthday, Elizabeth's visit and birthday party.

Daniel's 1st Birthday

Daniel had his 12 month doctor appt today and it went really well. Here are his stats:

22 lbs - 40%
31 inches - 75%

So he's a skinny minnie. The doctor watched him run around the office though and said he's much more active than most kids his age so even though he eats well, he's burning a lot of it. She said not to worry about it as long as he keeps a healthy appetite. She said also not to worry too much about his sleeping patterns, because he'll outgrow it. Children like him with what she called the "stubborn engineer" personality type need to feel in control of their situations and sometimes have more anxiety when they feel insecure. It's funny how different my boys are. Joey is the loving nurturer and Daniel is like the Type A CEO. She said she wouldn't be surprised if in a few years Daniel tries to dominate his big brother. But anyway, she said not to let him cry it out because that method in his personality wouldn't work (his stubbornness won't let him give in) and would make him more anxious and less trusting of us. She said to just let him fall asleep with us or however works for him and then put him back in his own bed when he does. He'll start being okay with his crib the more he wakes up in it. As she said, he'll grow out of it eventually, he won't be sleeping with you when he's a teenager. LOL.

As for vaccines, he got the last of the DTaP and Prevnar today. We are waiting for either his 15 or 18 mo visit to do the MMR and Chicken Pox as they are live vaccines and harder on the system. Since he's at home with me, he could potentially wait until age 2 to have them but it's not likely right now because of the resurgence of MMR. It's safer to give it than to wait and have him be exposed. Whether he gets it at 15 or 18 months will depend on the outbreak conditions in VA around that time.

My baby is having his first birthday today! *sniff* I love you baby!

Went back to NY & Co today to use up my gift cards, including a new one I got from my Mom for my birthday. I got a pair of capris, a pair of shorts, 6 tops and two pairs of undies for about $140. Not bad! So now I actually have some decent tops to wear instead of just the same few over and over. Yay for sexy clothes!

After shopping, I let Daniel run around in the play area in the middle of the Dulles mall. He LOVED it. Now that he can walk, he was all over the place. He was climbing and sliding and following around other kids. He didn't want to leave! Fortunately mid-day, mid-week wasn't too crowded. Sometimes that place can be downright scary with how many kids are climbing around. I think we'll definitely have to repeat that trip.

It's really stunning me how much he is growing and changing just in the past few weeks. He's walking everywhere now, and climbing on EVERYTHING. He has also learned how to come back down the stairs as well as going up. Some of his new favorite tricks: climbing on the coffee table, pulling all the wipes out of the container, fetching things and bringing them to Mommy, saying "More" whenever he's hungry, drinking soy milk out of a sippy cup, and saying "Joey." (well it's more like Jah-eeeee) Just this morning while I was getting ready he toddled down the hall, opened Joey's door and turned on the DVD player to watch Scooby Doo. I found him sitting in front of Joey's TV with the remote, bopping up and down to the music, watching Scooby Doo. I have NO idea how he managed to turn it on. It's just all happening too quickly. He's gone from baby to toddler in one fell swoop and I feel like I'm struggling trying to adjust. I'm not ready for my baby to grow up!

Well, we have a walker. He's walking more than crawling today. He walks like Frankenstein, but still...it makes me want to cry every time he does it. My baby is too big!

On the other hand, he's also teething so he's pretty much an unholy nightmare. One of his top teeth is finally trying to cut through and he's gnawing on everything and hollering like a mental patient. I'm going to try some of those teething tablets.

Daniel helped clean up for the first time today. I was putting his blocks back into the bucket and he picked up one and dropped it in. I gave him applause and so he kept doing it. I don't think he necessarily understood that I was cleaning up, but he knew I was putting them in the bucket and wanted to copy Mommy. I was very proud of him. Although not so happy that he knows how to say "no" by shaking his head....he's been doing it a lot today. Mike came to pick up Joey for the evening and when I said "Joey's going bye bye" he looked at me and shook his head "no." Not a big fan of his brother leaving. We're in trouble now!

Daniel is really getting to be a big boy when it comes to food. He really wants to eat more than he is actually able to. The problem is that he still only has three teeth, all on the bottom, so he has trouble with chewing. It's getting him frustrated because he is limited in what I'll give him. Today I picked up some mandarin orange fruit cups at the store and he tore them up! He's always eating Daddy's oranges, so I figured bite sized ones would be good for him. I think he ate the entire contents of the cup in less than two minutes.

I also tried him out on some soy milk to see what he'd do with it. He seemed to like it, but we probably won't give him more than one cup or so a day until he turns 1 and then we'll gradually phase out the formula. That will be a huge savings. $5 or so a week for soy milk is a lot less than $30 a week for formula.

Photo of the Day

I put Daniel down in his crib for a nap and he played with his orioles monkey for a while and then got quiet. I went in to check on him and the above picture is how I found him. He was sitting up, draped over the monkey, totally out cold. I took a picture and then laid him down. Got a good giggle out of that one.

He's also learned a new trick, shaking his head. Now when I tell him no, he looks at me and shakes his head. I realized I have been shaking my head when I say no, so I guess he connected the motion with the word. That spells trouble.

I'm totally slacking in Daniel updates. Over the weekend we had a few steps! He would take a step or two between Patrick and I and then lunge or just sit down. He is also standing on his own...when he doesn't realize someone has let go of him. He'll stand there for a while and then it's like "oh hey, I'm standing" and then he'll sit down. Wuss. He would be fully capable of walking if he'd just be brave and let go of things. Yesterday he started clapping. I don't know why that was so exciting, but I was thrilled. I kept making him do it over and over. He's also waving bye bye better now, but he kind of waves toward himself.

I volunteer to help out in Joey's classroom once a month and today was the day. I tried once before using a sitter from the co-op but Daniel cried the entire time I was gone, so I stuck with my Mom. But, today I decided to try again and I had my friend Sharon come over here with her daughter Maisie (who is the same age as Daniel) to watch him. I thought being here at home might lessen the anxiety a bit. Success! She said he had one little episode when Maisie stole his binky out of his mouth, but other than that he was fine. He was certainly fine when I got home, although so tired he passed out almost immediately. Phew! I was beginning to think he'd never cooperate for a non-family sitter.

I had fun in Joey's class today. His teacher had me helping them paint. I was given groups of four or five and they had to paint four paper-plate sized circles green, one red, and one paper bag green. It was messy but fun. Definitely a cake walk after trying to get 20 four year olds to paint at once when I was a preschool teacher. Joey really enjoys having me there and I like getting to see him in his class. He was writing today when he wasn't with me and was doing very well. Plus, his teacher is the best!

Tomorrow we are heading out to the eastern shore to visit Patrick's step-grandmother. I haven't met her yet, but I've heard she's a very nice woman. I'm not sure yet if we are staying the night. That reminds me, I need to print some pictures for her.