RJ is wrapping presents for me, so I have been sent out of the room! Yea! Computer time with ZERO guilt. LJ is fast asleep and MawMaw is watching The Amazing Race rerun on Game Show Network. MawMaw arrived around 12:30 today and we’ve been going ever since. Out to lunch, LJ’s nap (which is one of the few times this week he’s taken an afternoon nap), getting ready for church, preparing dinner (which was breakfast – Denver Frittata, Bacon, Biscuits and Cinnamon Rolls for dessert – YUM!), eating dinner, making cookies, wrapping presents, and now, updating the blog. Until tonight we had no presents under the tree…we were afraid LJ would unwrap them, but now they are there – waiting for a family to wake up tomorrow! After our immediate family Christmas, we’ll head to LJ’s Aunt M & Uncle B’s house and spend the day with RJ’s family.
LJ went to bed without a fuss and boy, will he be surprised when he wakes up tomorrow…
Merry Christmas from the Js!
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Glitch in the Matrix
As LJ sits guzzling his milk – and I do mean guzzling…he sucks down his morning 6 ounces in less than 2 minutes…and rarely stops to breath, I’m pondering what has happened to our “easy to put to bed” baby. On Sunday night, LJ screamed as RJ put him to bed…and that resulted in an hour and a half of work for RJ before LJ succumbed. Monday’s naps went fine and Monday night was normal. Last night (Tuesday) there was more screaming, but RJ got him to sleep within 30 minutes. BUT, last night was punctuated with a 2:00 am and a 4:00 am scream fest. RJ got him quieted down within 5 minutes, but – what the heck?! (See, I told you, RJ is the night time guy, so when he was sick last month…I missed that contribution!)
I’ll admit that we had gotten out of the habit of a bath every night – remember, baths were making him scream. Tuesday night, we did give him a bath and he went to sleep fine. It was probably a fluke, but hey, if I had to wear the same PJs every night to get him to sleep easily – I’d do it. So, we’ll start there…reestablishing a routine that includes a bath. We still had a routine, it just didn’t include a full-on bath every night…some nights it was a sponge bath.
Could he be teething – those 1 year molars?
Question – do all the other teeth have to be in before the molars come in?
Could it just be a phase?
Question – did your children (or children you know) go through entire phases where they didn’t go to bed? I have the feeling I’m not going to like the answers I get to this one.
Could he need fewer hours of sleep? I’m sure he won’t need a total of 15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period forever (including naps, this is about how many hours he gets).
Question – wouldn’t he cut out a nap instead of shorten his night sleep?
I’ll admit that we had gotten out of the habit of a bath every night – remember, baths were making him scream. Tuesday night, we did give him a bath and he went to sleep fine. It was probably a fluke, but hey, if I had to wear the same PJs every night to get him to sleep easily – I’d do it. So, we’ll start there…reestablishing a routine that includes a bath. We still had a routine, it just didn’t include a full-on bath every night…some nights it was a sponge bath.
Could he be teething – those 1 year molars?
Question – do all the other teeth have to be in before the molars come in?
Could it just be a phase?
Question – did your children (or children you know) go through entire phases where they didn’t go to bed? I have the feeling I’m not going to like the answers I get to this one.
Could he need fewer hours of sleep? I’m sure he won’t need a total of 15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period forever (including naps, this is about how many hours he gets).
Question – wouldn’t he cut out a nap instead of shorten his night sleep?
Sunday, December 18, 2005
More Christmas Preparations
As you know, last weekend was devoted to decorating for Christmas. I’m pleased to report that LJ has not gotten into any mishaps with the additions to the décor, nor has he insisted on too many situations in which he is told, “no, no” and sometimes forcibly moved to a more appropriate location.
With the decorations up and the Christmas music cycling through the CD player, I was able to turn my attention to holiday eats. This starts with making the spiced apple cider that will then be available for warming in the microwave throughout the Christmas season – check! Then I moved to making sure I had all the ingredients to make peanut brittle – check! Finally, I stocked up on the sugar cookie dough and decorations – check!
This weekend I have been making peanut brittle as I have several batches I must prepare for distribution to the neighbors (and for us to have plenty to eat too – good thing I have a dentist appointment in January!). RJ and I have a system that involves his coming in at the last 5 of the 295 degrees and stirring vigorously as I put in the final 2 ingredients…oh, and then he pours the sugary treat onto the prepared surface for cooling. (It is possible that I watch too much Food Network as I think you might actually care about the cooking of peanut brittle.) I have also baked the first batch of sugar cookies and they are ready for us to decorate tonight (after LJ is fast asleep). I’ll save the second batch for closer to Christmas.
So, where is LJ during all this baking…well, I try to squeeze it in while he’s napping. Yesterday, it didn’t work out so well as he woke up at about 220 of the 295 degrees. He played in the kitchen a little, but he could hear RJ rummaging around in the garage for tools to work on a car in the driveway. This made LJ want to go into the garage, but I could not oblige him as I was trying to get to 295 degrees. Eventually, I had to pick him up or chance suffering the permanent scarring that some say comes with not doing so after a certain amount of whining at the legs of mommy. LJ was all too interested in the peanut brittle I was stirring, but I managed to balance him on one hip, stir the peanut brittle, and keep him away from what was probably now 270 degrees of boiling sugar. It is a good thing I am tall!
Saturday night, we had a babysitter over while RJ and I went Christmas shopping and out to dinner. It was a leisurely shopping experience and we purchased a modest trio of age-appropriate toys for LJ’s Christmas.
I am finished with work for 2005 and shouldn’t need to return until mid-January, so look for more frequent updates on this, your favorite blog about LJ.
With the decorations up and the Christmas music cycling through the CD player, I was able to turn my attention to holiday eats. This starts with making the spiced apple cider that will then be available for warming in the microwave throughout the Christmas season – check! Then I moved to making sure I had all the ingredients to make peanut brittle – check! Finally, I stocked up on the sugar cookie dough and decorations – check!
This weekend I have been making peanut brittle as I have several batches I must prepare for distribution to the neighbors (and for us to have plenty to eat too – good thing I have a dentist appointment in January!). RJ and I have a system that involves his coming in at the last 5 of the 295 degrees and stirring vigorously as I put in the final 2 ingredients…oh, and then he pours the sugary treat onto the prepared surface for cooling. (It is possible that I watch too much Food Network as I think you might actually care about the cooking of peanut brittle.) I have also baked the first batch of sugar cookies and they are ready for us to decorate tonight (after LJ is fast asleep). I’ll save the second batch for closer to Christmas.
So, where is LJ during all this baking…well, I try to squeeze it in while he’s napping. Yesterday, it didn’t work out so well as he woke up at about 220 of the 295 degrees. He played in the kitchen a little, but he could hear RJ rummaging around in the garage for tools to work on a car in the driveway. This made LJ want to go into the garage, but I could not oblige him as I was trying to get to 295 degrees. Eventually, I had to pick him up or chance suffering the permanent scarring that some say comes with not doing so after a certain amount of whining at the legs of mommy. LJ was all too interested in the peanut brittle I was stirring, but I managed to balance him on one hip, stir the peanut brittle, and keep him away from what was probably now 270 degrees of boiling sugar. It is a good thing I am tall!
Saturday night, we had a babysitter over while RJ and I went Christmas shopping and out to dinner. It was a leisurely shopping experience and we purchased a modest trio of age-appropriate toys for LJ’s Christmas.
I am finished with work for 2005 and shouldn’t need to return until mid-January, so look for more frequent updates on this, your favorite blog about LJ.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Goodbye Balls - Hello Bows
We've decorated the house for Christmas - and we've had to make a decision. Do we decorate as always and incorporate LJ into our lives or do we decorate for a toddler and skip the "no, no" all the time. We decided on the later. So, goodbye silver, gold, red, and blue balls - hello red bows. Goodbye train around the tree - hello tree skirt. Goodbye inappropriate decorations that contain small parts and choking hazards - hello everything placed outside of LJ's reach.
It hasn't been so bad - I think LJ is slightly afraid of the tree. He went to bed one night and woke up with a big tree in his living room. He points at it a lot and says, "ohhh..." and when he touches it, he does so quickly and pulls his hand back right away.
And....
This week, he has started walking more than crawling...heck, sometimes he is practically running. So, he is officially a toddler!
It hasn't been so bad - I think LJ is slightly afraid of the tree. He went to bed one night and woke up with a big tree in his living room. He points at it a lot and says, "ohhh..." and when he touches it, he does so quickly and pulls his hand back right away.
And....
This week, he has started walking more than crawling...heck, sometimes he is practically running. So, he is officially a toddler!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Hungry & Sleepy
Last week LJ was not only starving ALL THE TIME, but he was sleepy ALL THE TIME too. Of course, I was paranoid that he was getting sick, but that never seemed to happen. Then I decided this could be a growth spurt (and here we are full circle...growth spurts were a hot topic in our lives this time last year). This poor child could not get enough to eat, but at some point I have to say, "Look, your tummy just isn't that big. You can eat more later, but this is enough for right now." Then he'd cry and crawl over to the table and try to reach his Cheerios. If he couldn't reach them, he'd lie on the floor and wail. So, I'd decide he was tired and put him down for a nap...and sure enough, he's sleep for an hour or more. LJ's clothes still fit, so he hasn't grown at an alarming rate, but I'm expecting to notice a difference.
This week has returned to a more normal eating and sleeping pattern. I don't know how long of a delay there is between eating/sleeping and perceptible growth, but if I figure it out, I'll let you know.
This week has returned to a more normal eating and sleeping pattern. I don't know how long of a delay there is between eating/sleeping and perceptible growth, but if I figure it out, I'll let you know.
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