It's the Great Pumpkin, Kibi!

Halloween is finally here!

We are planning on a cozy night, just the three of us, having dinner and then taking K. out in his Cow costume to trick or treat in our neighborhood and drop in on some friends' houses. Then, tomorrow's a party at our friend Charlie's house, so K. will have one last chance to wear his costume.  (Probably more exciting for his parents than for him!)  

Not much more to report, and I'm trying to get some rest in hopes of staving off this cold I think I'm developing, so I'll go for now.  

Happy Halloween, everyone!  I'll try to post more pics next week.

Pumpkin Carving

We did our annual pumpkin carving with Mumma and Grandpa!  Here are some highlights.  

As expected, K. was most interested in the scooping out of the pumpkin guts ("Scoopin!  Scoopin!") while fortunately I got my dad to do the actual carving (something I've slowly lost interest in in recent years, despite the fact that I used to get really into it.  I guess I blame it on lack of energy that comes with having children - ha!)

We're still determining our actual trick-or-treating plans for tomorrow.  We have a couple of different invitations and we're determining how many events we (K., rather) will be able to tackle.

Happy halloween weekend!

Fall Photos

I finally got a new camera and am no longer relying on my iPhone for photos I post on this blog (because, as good as the iPhone is for virtually everything else, its photo-taking leaves a lot to be desired, as you may agree after viewing my posted photos up to yesterday).  

Hence, I have a new batch of Kibi photos from the last couple of days for your enjoyment: playing with the airplane car (still a favorite), coloring pictures with Mumma, and looking handsome in plaid. 

It's the Great Pumpkin, Kibi!

We picked up our family pumpkins over the weekend.  This was my favorite picture from the outing, taken of K. staring at the huge pumpkin hanging on the side of the wall of the church where we picked up our wares.

K.'s grandma and grandpa arrive in a couple of hours for a pre-Halloween visit!  We're all in the spirit.

Boo at the Zoo

Tonight we're joining my friend T. and her daughter S. for Boo at the Zoo which is an annual Halloween event for little ones at the National Zoo. This thing is a legend in these parts, and this is the first time we will be participating.  Looks like fun.  They decorate the whole zoo and have treats and "snack stations" around the park.

K.'s napping now, so in a few hours I'll get him a snack, get him dressed in his cow costume (hoping that goes over OK - not sure what he'll think of wearing a huge black and white cow body for 2 hours), and then we'll be off to the Zoo.  

Hopefully we a) won't be too cold, b) won't get stuck in traffic and c) K. will not whine about wearing his costume.

Geez, I sound like a geezer, don't I?  So many things to anticipate or worry about in terms of planning.  If it were my husband taking him (spouse is out of town this week), it would just be a matter of, "Okay, let's go."  With minimal packing and preparation.  But they would also be home in about 15 minutes after inevitably realizing that they'd forgotten something.  Ah, dads...

Anyway, hopefully I'll snap some good pictures tonight for posting!

This is What It's Come To...

It seems I will do anything to get my kid to eat. The latest involves having a tea party of sorts -- in fact, maybe it's the little boy's version of a tea party: lunch with his airplane car. 

This is how the scene usually goes.

I announce it's lunch time in a sing songy voice. "Whooooooo's ready to eat?"

K., nonplussed, usually keeps playing.  OR, he says, "Cookies!"... which I ignore.

I say, "I know an airplane who's hungry!  Let's put the airplane on the table and get him ready to eat!"

I tie a bib on the airplane (K. particularly LOVES this).

I place K.'s lunch on his high chair tray.

I place K. in his high chair.

I say, "Time to put on your bib just like the airplane!"

K. whines and squirms and does anything he can to avoid getting the bib treatment.

I say, "You don't want your shirt to get WET, do you?  This doggy bib will keep you nice and DRY." (wet and dry are two new words that he's intrigued by at the moment, for some reason)

He relents.  The bib goes on.

I say, "Yum!  It's time to eat our [insert name of featured food here]."

K. says "NO!" and turns his head.

I say, "OK, Airplane, I guess you get to eat ALL of K.'s food since he is not hungry!"

I "feed" the airplane, which is immediately followed by giggles from K.

If we are lucky, K. will halfheartedly eat a few bites of [whatever is on his plate at the moment].

[Repeat airplane feeding steps above, for an indeterminant period of time.] 

All of a sudden, K. announces that it is time to take the bib off the airplane. "OFF!  OFF!  OFF!"

I take the bib off the airplane.

K. refuses to eat another bite.

I offer yogurt.

K. gets excited: "Yogurt, yogurt, yogurt!"

I give him some yogurt (usually attempting to smuggle fruit pieces in it).

He takes spoonfuls of yogurt and pretty deftly manuvers the fruit pieces out of his mouth, while still managing to swallow the yogurt.

We do this until one of us gets tired.

K. announces, "OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT"

I manage to wipe his hands and face (for some reason, he does not protest when I do this).

I lift him out of his chair.

He runs off to torment the cat.

[At the next mealtime, the entire episode repeats.]

Life Stages, Already

Now that K. is approaching his 18 month birthday, I've been thinking a lot about how much he has changed in the last few months.  Talking about young children growing and changing is nothing new, of course, but it is interesting to me to see how the changes sneak up on you.  

To me, the changes in K. are not constant; rather, he seems to stay the same - same face shape, body structure, etc. - for a chunk of time and then, voila!, overnight it seems he has turned into a new person.  

The thought occurred to me the other morning when I was watching him eat his breakfast.  His eyes seem like the only feature of his face that are recognizable, while the rest of his face has transformed - it's thinning and lengthening.  

There's another physical aspect of K. that hasn't changed.  When I creep into his room at night, I stare at his profile as he sleeps ... and it still reminds me of those ultrasound pictures we studied so much before he was born.  I love that I can still see the resemblance to the pre-birth K.  I think that as long as his silhouette remains the same, I'll still consider K. a "baby". However, now that he's talking and walking and running and into everything, he really seems much more on the "big boy" level than ever before.  

I remember the first few days after we had brought him home, when I was still in a hormonal, sleep-deprived fuzz, and it seemed that all I was obsessing about was that he would grow up too fast. Sounds ridiculous that this was what I focused on in those early days, but it was true (must have been the mood swings).  Now that it's been a year and a half, time seems to have passed both quickly and slowly.  I try to make a point of relishing each day -- especially the lazy ones -- knowing that they are all temporary.  

The Tiniest Gymnast

Since the digestive problem appears to have subsided, at least for now, I will devote today's post to lighter fare: more pictures from our JW Tumbles classes!  

It's rare to get K. to slow down and look at me while he's playing there, but I managed to eek out a few of those pics.  

The cutest thing: now on Thursday mornings, he constantly says "Tumbles! Tumbles!" in anticipation of the hedonism that is in store.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

There's No Delicate Way to Say This...

What do you do about a kid who can't stop pooping?

K. has pooped 8 times in the last 48 hours.  Yup, it's true.  The first two times were respectable amounts ("normal" enough, I'd say) but every remaining diaper change has included little dollops (no larger than a small jellybean) or even just skid mark-looking things.  Lovely, I know, but hey, I am going to take advantage of having a blog to plead for advice!

At first I thought I needed to give him something to just flush the rest of it out of him, so I gave him watered down prune juice yesterday.  Then I thought maybe I needed to stop him up, so he ate a whole banana last night at dinner.  Needless to say, I'm no nutritionist.  Regardless of both these attempts, I've been trying to keep him as hydrated as possible.

This morning, same deal, not a huge amount, but a bit of it was there, just the same.

Also I should note that he seems to be straining and agitated by the constant ... um, going.  

Alas, what's a concerned mother to do?

Down at the Creek With My Dad

There's a little trail by our house, in the middle of the Washington, DC suburbs, that we like to take K. on because you feel like you've left urban life completely.  

It winds its way down to a little creek, where K.'s dad has recently discovered the joy of standing with his son in ankle-deep water and skipping stones (or, in K.'s case, lifting 1- and 2-pound rocks over his head and letting them drop with a huge splash nearby).  

Over the weekend, when I went to the ballet with my MIL and SIL, K. and his dad did their "creek thing".  

They came back sopping wet, and K.'s tennis shoes are still a little damp, but it was well worth it.  K. stood in the creek about 45 minutes, according to his dad, and when it was time to go shouted, "More, more!"  

Looks like we've found another great way to spend time with a 1-year-old.  

Now, if only we can count on the weather to stay warm for at least a few more weeks!

Off Topic Random Humor

OK, it's one of those days where I can't think up anything amusing or entertaining to say... so instead I am going to post this SNLvideo my friend just showed me.  Everyone's been focusing on Tina Fey these days, but this Mark Wahlberg skit deserves some play too!

For some reason this totally cracks me up.

Enjoy!

Terrible Twos, Here We Come...

I'm worried that I have a hitter on my hands.

Lately K. has expressed his crankiness/frustration/annoyance with me or whatever you want to call it by hitting things, namely... me.  Yesterday he slapped me in the face not once ... but two different times!  

The first time I was so shocked, the look on my face must have registered the emotion and that was enough to make him cry.  (Which I consider to be a good thing, actually.) 

The second time, however, he sorta threw a little tantrum, mimicked me saying, "No, no, no!" and let his legs go all spaghetti-like when I tried to calmly but firmly hold his arms in front of his face to express my displeasure.

What to do?  I know that toddlers don't really know enough at this stage to really understand what it is they are doing when they hit other things, whether they are parents, other kids, pets, or inanimate objects.  But that said, I don't want to ignore this behavior and risk creating a pattern.

My strategy thus far has been to immediately grab his hands (gently, but firmly), look him in the eye and say, "No, we DO NOT HIT Mommy."  And then sort of drop it (so as not to reward him with too much attention for that specific behavior).  

Also, after the second incident yesterday, I kissed him (after a few minutes had passed and the "mood" had lifted) and made a big show of saying, "See, kisses are nice.  Mommy LIKES kisses. She likes kisses SO MUCH MORE than hits!"  And he kissed me back several times .... so I am thinking that helped him understand.

He turns 18 months old on the 25th of this month.  Terrible Twos, here we come...!

In terms of disciplining hitting, do you think I am on the right track here?  It's such a tricky thing, because it always kills me to yell at him, or speak in an unpleasant tone, but on the other hand, I feel like I need to do something to get his attention rather than ignore the behavior. Hmmmm.  What to do?  Thoughts from the peanut gallery are welcomed.

Future DJ

Now that K. has discovered "No" and "Yeah" (his two favorite words for the past month or so), he is enjoying the power that comes with these words -- particularly the former.  To wit: he loves being able to make choices, whether it is breakfast options or bedtime reading. 

The kick he seems to be on as of late pertains to music.  Within a matter of seconds, he makes his case known about the songs we either sing to him or play him on the radio, or in the car. And I've also found that he is definitely not arbitrarily saying NO.  Rather, he has specific opinions about certain songs (that remain the same over a period of a couple of days).  

So, I thought it would be interesting to note his favorites, and non-favorites, right now.  Maybe in a few months these will change.  I am really amused by the random-ness of it all.

Non-Favorites ("NO NO NO!")

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Oh, Shenandoah

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

La La La (by The Bird and the Bee; unfortunately one of Mom's favorite songs at the moment)

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Favorites ("Yeah, yeah!")

Little Eyes (by Yo La Tengo)

Home on the Range (sung by Mom)

I'm a Little Teapot (first sung at our JW Tumbles class today - a huge hit!!)

A song Dad made up about chewing our food so we don't choke

Yes, It's a Pink Car. Deal With It!

I've always prided myself on being an enlightened human being.  I'm not one to balk at unconventional things - mohawks, two people (of any combination of genders) making out on the subway, Bjork.  But I've realized there's one thing that makes me feel the need to constantly explain myself: my son's pink car.

The spouse bought this "pushalong buggy" for K. about two weeks ago.  We had seen one at the park and marveled at how ergonomical it was (the push handle on the back of the car for tired parents who don't want to get backaches is a godsend!) as well as how much it satisfied K. to just SIT IN THE CAR AND RIDE.  FOR LIKE 20 MINUTES STRAIGHT.  Anything that captures his attention for that amount of time is worth looking into, so we promptly set about to purchase one for our household.

Well, the day my husband came home with the car, K. was so excited it looked as if he might explode.  We painstakingly pulled it out of the huge box and... to our chagrin... it was PINK. With PURPLE ACCENTS.  

Without thinking about it, we exchanged glances, knowing that this meant we'd have to pack 'er up and take her back.

But maybe we should've taken a cue from our son.  He didn't think twice (of course, because really, at 17 months of age, do you really expect him to say "Hold on, this is way to femmy for me!  Send it back!") and lunged for the car, jumping in and saying, "Go, go!"  

Well... it was then and there that we realized that despite the societal norms that we would be breaking by allowing our son to drive around in a pink car, what it really boiled down to was one thing: his happiness.  

He has all his life to be put into boxes (real or metaphorical) and told what colors to wear, what sports to play, what friends to hang out with, etc.  Sort of depressing, when you think about it.  So for now, we will revel in the freedom that comes with breaking out of gender stereotypes!  We'll embrace it, own it, live it!

Then again ... maybe not.  Now, every time we go for a walk with that thing, I scan the landscape for people who may be staring at or approaching us and prepare my uniform explanation, "His dad bought this for him, and the pink was a mistake."

I can't help myself, I guess.  But at least my son is oblivious... and happy.

Great NYT Article About Picky Eaters (and What Parents Can Do About It)

Are you like me?  Do you stress about what to feed your child?  Does your child turn up his or her nose at virtually any new food (until you've offered it about 60 bazillion times, that is)?  Do you wonder if your child will EVER eat a vegetable other than peas or corn in this lifetime?

Well, I can't promise to solve all your concerns, but I can offer you a GREAT New York Times article that a friend shared with me that should shed some light on this common headache for parents.

It's called 6 Food Mistakes Parents Make.  

I think there are some helpful strategies here.  I welcome your comments!