Mommy Friends

I know, I know, I've missed Robby turning 16 months, but I haven't taken any pictures yet.  And, even these are stolen from other people, and I hope they don't mind.

Ever since moving to PA I've had a bit of a "friend" problem.  You can absolutely blame my husband.  I met him the first week I moved here, and, well, I just never put myself out there all that much.  Don't get me wrong.  We have some wonderful friends, but they aren't particularly nearby.  Getting together takes some serious planning, that, for the most part, just doesn't happen.  Also, as we've all started having children, it's just added a level of complication.

Bring on...the Mom Groups.  There are 3 varieties for me.  The first is my online-only "Month" group.  We all had babies in May 2011, and originally met through the "What to Expect" forums, though it migrated over to a Facebook group, literally, YEARS ago.  I can't believe that I've known these women since we were pregnant back in 2010.  They are from all walks of life, and from many countries, but are such an unbelievable support system.  There is no better source to go to then being able to simultaneously ask a couple hundred moms of kids the exact same age, "Is this normal?"  You can sign on at 2 am and say, "My 6 month old has a 102 fever, when should I worry?" and have 10 responses in 2 minutes.  It's incredible.  Over time, we definitely have come to talk about much more than just children, and developed closer relationships with certain people.  I wish these ladies were all next door, but, in reality, I've met...3 in person, I believe?  They still are amazing.  I had to cheat on pictures for this one.  It's actually from a meet-up with the second group of moms, but it's the only pictures I have of Griselle and her daughter.  I'm very sad that she moved back to Puerto Rico, but you can read her blog here.

Me, Stephanie, Griselle

The second group is a similar WTE off-shoot, but it's moms in the Philly area with kids of all ages.  They get together at least once a month, though, I don't always make it.  Above was at mother's day.  Below is last weekend.  This group's a bit smaller (for awhile it was under 50 of us, but it's grown), and I'm supposedly an admin.  Ok, I am, but I don't feel like I know anything.  I HAVE met most of those ladies in person.  We've done cookie parties, zoo trips, sold things to each other, and gotten together on our own.  Bizarrely, my little suburb is a hot-spot with 6 of us being located there, even though we're kind of in boonie land.

Katie, Stephanie, Kathy, Me

Finally, my neighbor, Laura, invited me to join MOPS with her last year.  It's been a good experience, and we meet once a month, though, I can't really claim to have much interaction with most of the ladies outside of the group.   Maybe that will change now that it's year 2.  They're certainly wonderful people, and it's nice to have those Wednesday nights to look forward to.

Our Table

I really have failed at trying to get together with people without structure.  I keep telling Laura (the red-head above) that I'm going to start having her and Karen (another mom neighbor) over for wine after the kiddos are asleep, I just have failed so far.  And, there's a great mom in this round of swimming (no, famous mom blogger is not in this class) that I thought was going to be a wonderful friend (her daughter's the same age!  they get along!), but then she acted really strange last week.  Maybe it was my crazy poison ivy rash...  Who knows.  

Anyway, I'm trying.  Any tips?  

***Side note, the middle picture makes me really paranoid that I'm huge, and I want to take it down.  But I swear that was 3 days after the picture below it, and is just really awful.  

  

In Case I Forget

Sometimes Robby wears me out.  The kid is smart, and opinionated, and energetic, and I have said all of these things since day one.  This is a two sided coin, but admittedly?  Some days can strike me as just too tough.

And then there are days like Sunday, where I am reminded that I have been blessed beyond all measure.  And you know why?  I KEPT HIM BUSY.  Yes, if I try and convince him he wants to sit still and watch football, he's going to throw a temper tantrum every 5 seconds, beat up the cat, and climb every object in a 10 foot radius the second my back is turned.  But if we DO something?  Angel wings, folks.

We started out the day at Ikea looking for a kid-sized table and chairs.  We succeeded with that...and about 10 other "must have" items.  You know how that works.  Robby thought that Ikea was MADE for him.  Especially the kid rooms that were set up with the little porthole doors in between each one that he could run through.  One even had a SLIDE.  He was a maniac.  In a semi-controlled way, though.  He ended up getting a "baby" even though my husband wasn't so sure about getting our boy a doll, but I was firm that encouraging him to perhaps be gentle and compassionate might be good.  While there have been some hugs and tea parties (with his new plates of course), there also has been much swinging of the baby by his foot, and beating of the dog.  Ah, well.  You win some, you lose some.

We went to Qdoba for lunch (skipping the returns we needed to make at Target and Babies R Us), and Robby had a big moment!  He can finally drink out of a straw!!!  He was so very proud of himself.  And, well, happy that he was getting to drink some of mom's lemonade.  Jumping back, he also started saying "tickle tickle tickle" and tickling people that morning, which I NEED to get on video.  Anyway, good lunch, headed home, nap time.

Chris needed to work since he was going to a conference this week, and I decided to tackle some purging tasks.  I got a pretty good sized donation bag of clothes, and cleaned out a couple closets.  They probably need a second run, though.  It's just never ending!  It was a brief nap, and then Mr. Crankypants was up and wailing.

Robby and I decided to hit the outlets for his winter wardrobe so Chris could wax his car.  We shopped and shopped for 2 1/2 hours!  In virtually every store, I had an employee or fellow mom (as we were only in kids' stores) comment how well behaved he was.  Though, one employee commented, "I get the impression he would just smile and walk away with me."  Yeah, yeah, I know...we need to work on that "stranger" thing.  He sat in his stroller calmly playing with a hat, or cup, or watching people for a large percentage of the time.  Then, when he got fed up, he played nicely with some kids in little play set ups in a couple stores.  I did create trouble for myself that I let him ride a little plane, and now we will never be able to walk by one of those coin-operated wonders again.  I really could not have asked for him to be more charming or well-behaved.  And this is what I don't want to forget.  That he can be angelic.  Not all the time, but there are some days that I've got myself one amazing kid.

Goodbye Hair

I have talked about cutting my hair off for a long time, and finally did it.  Not as drastically as I thought I would, but it was still 7 inches!  I have tried straightening it since I cut it, and it will NOT stay, so I guess my husband just gets to be happy.  (He prefers me with curly hair, anyway.)  I guess that's all I have to say about hair.  Oh, and I'm finding it really difficult to get the camera to focus correctly when using an auto-timer.  So...here's me.  A little blurry.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Today, my husband turns a very young age.  That I may be turning in a measely couple of months, so I'm not going to make any wise cracks.  He is my rock.  He is the one that drives us forward, is my motivating force, and the enabler of all my dreams.  Chris is a fantastic father who yesterday spent almost 1/2 an hour playing peek-a-boo to a hysterical crowd of 1. 

Love you!  Happy Birthday!

 

 

The Kitchen Renovation

My mother just pointed out that our kitchen renovation has been done for some time, and I never posted it.  My apologies!  And...I'm too lazy to go take good pictures, so here are some where it is dirty from awhile back.

Since we moved in, we have replaced appliances, redone the floor, counters, painted the cabinets, added one additional cabinet on the breakfast bar wall, changed the railing to the stairs, refinished the steps, removed spindles, built a new column, replaced skylights, put in under-cabinet lighting, changed the ceiling fan, new backsplash, replaced hardwear on the cabinets...um....I'm sure there's more.  A lot went into it, but we managed to do it fairly inexpensively between not replacing the cabinets, and doing 99% of the work ourselves (we did not install the skylights or counters).  I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  The only think I'd like to change (other than the style of the cabinets, which isn't happening), is getting rid of the horrible swirly pieces above the sink.  I haven't figured out what to do with them, though, so they remain the last vestiges of the "western saloon" that once was my kitchen.  Enjoy!

Just for reference?  Renovations take a lot longer with a toddler.  BIG thanks are owed to both of our parents who helped out by watching Robby on big renovation days, and to Chris who used a lot of vacation time.  Otherwise?  We were doing it at night after he went to sleep.  SOOOO tiring.  He goes down at 8, so we were often up until at least midnight in an effort to get through a stage.   

I appear to generally have avoided taking pictures of what my hideous kitchen used to look like?  Here's a couple were you can see a bit.   There were lots of spindles.  And medium brown cabinets.  And ugly laminate counters and floors. 

And...from the day we moved in.  (Apologies to those people who had hoped these would never see the light of day again.)

And now...all there is to ruin the view is toddler-created chaos.  Which is just fine by me.

Why Doctors Are Terrifying

Tuesday night we went to Robby's 15-month check-up.  Chris didn't even go because these have gotten to be old hat, and he wanted to do some cleaning.  (Yes, I'm a lucky wife.)  So, Robby and I pack up, and head over to the doctor.

Initially, everything's going as planned.  Although, apparently he's been sick way too much, because he immediately took off at a sprint for the "sick kids'" waiting room, to go snag his favorite toy.  After re-directing, and discovering the favorite toy in the "well kids'" room, anyway, we were set.

They called us back fairly quickly, and Robby continues to drop down the percentile charts.  He may end up small like his parents yet.  He weighed in at 24.4 (50%) and 31.5" (70%).  Only his head remained in the 75%.  Sorry buddy, that's my fault.

The predictable first question from the doctor was, "Do you have any concerns?"  I mentioned that the ENT had been concerned when we discussed that Robby had quit talking.  I saw a flicker of concern cross his face, and he started asking me follow up questions, finally admitting that a language drop-off is the most common signal for autism.  AND THE ENT DIDN'T SAY THIS?!?!  He had just told Chris, "You might need early intervention, call this number."  We assumed that was early intervention for SPEECH, not AUTISM.  So, momentary panic.

Our pediatrician then told me that usually they do the diagnostic test for autism at 18 months, but he could do a couple of quick things to put our mind at ease.  This involved talking to Robby, looking in his eyes and interacting, playing peek-a-boo, etc...  He concluded that we have nothing to worry about.  Of course, I was collapsed on the floor at this point.  Not really, but thanks for the heart attack.  I really hadn't anticipated this.

As my heart rate settles, the nurse came in to give him his 2 vaccine shots.  The first one went normally.  Robby flinched, but nothing  to speak of.  The second he SCREAMED, his leg immediately poofed out and turned brilliant red, and he started clawing at it, pulling band-aid after band-aid off of the site.  And, #1 not-so-reassuring thing for a nurse to say?  "I've never seen this happen before!"  Ultimately, the doctor came in again, looked at it, confirmed it was an allergic reaction to the MMR, and I should try and remember this for the next time he gets it at age 4 (but they'd write it in his file, too).  They gave him some benedryl, told me to watch him, and our ped was on call that night in case his breathing became labored.  OH great.

Of course, he was just fine, and I slept through the night perfectly, only to feel a lot of guilt the next morning that I hadn't been panicky all night.  But...long way of saying he's just fine.  After giving me some heart palpitations along the way.

The Lion at 15 Months

A year and 1/4.  Really?  He seems way too big.

 

I did actually try and get him to sit in the chair without anyone to help me.  AHHHH HAHAHAHA!!!!  Yeah, don't do that again.  At least now it's not so much an accidental fall off, it's a very intentional move on his part.  And he didn't fall.  It just looked like he was going to.  And then I chased him around snapping madly. 

 

Note the ever-present dog.

 

Robby continues to grow.  I know that shocks you.  I don't know exactly how tall, our appointment is on Tuesday.  But he went on Saturday because he had pink eye, and he weighs 23.8 pounds.  Which means...he continues to not gain a speck of weight.  That's just fine.  And really?  He's doing the equivalent of running marathons right now, so I'm not surprised he can't put weight on.  I am glad he was chunky to begin with, though!  His gut has just about disappeared.

 

Oddly enough, he doesn't speak much anymore.  He just stopped about a month ago.  He kept mama, dada, Bubba, Harper, and "nah" (snack), but dropped everything else.  He had to go for a hearing check last week with the ENT, Chris brought it up, and they actually got a little worried and suggested early intervention.  This seemed extreme, since he talked so much previously, so he asked Robby's daycare teacher to watch for words when he dropped him off.  Of course, that day, he pointed to his crib and told her "night, night" for the first time.  I think he's just preoccupied with other things right now.  Today, he definitely said truck and vacuum for me.  It just requires pushing him for it.

 

He definitely understands everything.  If he's in the mood (IF), he will perform just about any task you ask.  He amazed my friend that babysat for him last week, when I handed him a Kleenex, he wiped his nose, walked over to the cabinet, opened it, threw it in the garbage, and walked away.  She said, "He has some of my kindergarteners beat!"  Go lil man!  Admittedly, on the average day, he'd probably then either wipe the Kleenex against something "cleaning" or start emptying the garbage can.  Can't have it all, I suppose.

 

Above, he is pulling plugs out of the wall.  Sometimes, this even includes the entire outlet.  NOT THE COVER, THE OUTLET.  WTF!!!  Not a great new game.

 

He's getting pickier with food.  Usually he just grazes on snacks and ignores (meaning...throws on the floor for the dog) his dinner.  I need to start restricting the snacks, I suppose, but it's much easier to get dinner cooked that way!  His spoon skills are definitely improving, and he even has occasional success with a fork.  Have not tried knives, that'll probably be quite awhile.  ;)

 

The poor animals.  They are getting mauled on an hourly basis.  I continue to be amazed that Monster has scratched him ONCE in 15 months.  And I'm not even sure that one time was intentional.   And, hoo boy, does Robby deserve to get scratched.  That cat has been angelic.  The dog...a little less tolerant, but never intentionally hurts him.  Just her jumping up has gotten him thrown, or her paws pushing him away can scratch.

 

Everyday he seems less like a baby.  He now walks all the way out to the car from daycare on his own.  He runs to meet me at the gate, then leads me inside to get his bag, and then back out.  His poor teacher burst into tears today when I picked him up, because he moves up to the next class on Monday.  She had him from 3 months old, so a full year!  I felt really awful, she's been really great with him.  I meant to get a present, forgot, and now that's on the to-do list for this weekend.  At least she'll still get to see him in the mornings since he shows up early.

 

His favorite activities are destruction, being outside, climbing, and pressing buttons (on toys, not mom's...well...).  Hmm....think that's about it right now.  He loves to swim, sing, get spun by his hands, and do flips.  The most entertaining things when he gets home from daycare are going outside with the dog, drawing on the driveway with chalk, or going somewhere (pool, library, walk).  He's our "goose" and definitely keeps us laughing, on our toes, and on the go.  Love ya lil man!