Adventures

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. Here are some pictures from this morning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93921927@N00/sets/72157614997988686/

promised pictures

Playing on the hippo at the Westwood Mall, Jackson.

Snuggled up for winter.

Cousins at play.  
 
 

Holiday season fun!

There seems to be a festive note to the air, moreso than previous years because, of course, this is Will's first Christmas!

His first Christmas party was my department holiday party right before Thanksgiving. My co-worker Karen did a wonderful job creating a festive party for parents and kids. Will got his first stocking (candy, which mom and dad enjoyed), and his first Christmas present, a stuffed frog. He also got to visit with Spidey Claus, a special visitor that all the kids gravitated to like, well, flies to a web. This special visitor was completely unexpected, which made it even more fun.

Thanksgiving was a nice brunch at our home with Aunt Gia, and grandma and grandpa Planeta. Aunt Gia worked her magic on pumpkin bread, Dave made a birthday cheesecake as well as the special Alton Brown brined turkey, using my homemade vegetable stock. The food was fantastic, and we nibbled all morning long on cakes and cheesecake and wow, can't even remember what else.

Thanksgiving part 2 was on Black Friday in Jackson, where Candi and I took the boys to get their photo taken together for a holiday portrait. They were so adorable, both in preppy little vests and cuter than I thought possible from two little boys. Waiting for the proofs, we wandered the mall, a place where me and my sisters grew up since my mom had been the manager of the Homemaker Shop from the time the mall opened in the early 70s until her store closed in the late 80s. I even worked at the mall from 1986 to 1991 when I was a waitress then a pharmacy tech at Walgreens - does anyone remember the soda fountains adjacent to the pharmacies?

It was sad to see so many of the shops gone. Homemaker Shops disappeared into Linens and More (I think...?) and those disappeared with the popularity of Bed, Bath and Beyond. Walgreens began the process of eliminating their restaurants in 1987, then began phasing their mall stores soon after in favor of the corner pharmacy, a better deal for them I'm sure. Crazy to be sentimental about working at the mall, but I had a lot of fun there, and remember everyone I used to work with fondly. My autographed Walgreen menu is among my treasures.

But our two shops are not the only ones gone. As a matter of fact, perusing the mall, it is safe to say the ONLY store that has been at the mall since it opened is the Crown and Carriage at the far corner. The Montgomery Wards is now a Walmart. Elder-Beerman was new construction in the 90s. Even JCPenney, which seems like it has been there forever, was not the original department store in that spot, the logo was some glamorous 50s script, I want to say it was Seiferts? Oh, it's a hazy memory, all I recall is that is where I got a fat Orange Crush lip gloss after Christmas one year. I loved that lip gloss, I have had a stick of it in my skate bag for the last few years until it melted into an ugly glob.

Gia and I had fun pointing at store fronts and saying "remember the rainbow entrance at the Gap?" and "do you remember Jean Nicole was here?" and debating where Al's Restaurant was, with the jukeboxes at the table (we think it was the optical place in the main hallway). I mourned the disappearance of the fountain at the center of the mall (no idea when that disappeared), but relieved to see the hippo, which as been polished by generations of Jackson County butts, has remained.

For a big-small town, it was the ONLY choice for a social spot to meet people, since it used to have sit-down retaurants, movie theaters and that's where the boys knew to find the girls in the winter. Alladin's Castle! Hello Kitty! Hot Sam's Pretzels! Spencer's Gifts! Claire's Boutique! Splurging at Fannie Farmer to get a mint chocolate bar for 75 cents (1980s babysitting money, going by prices from similar confectioners, $3.50 today). 

I just reminisced about a MALL.

All has not been food and shopping. One of Santa's elves has been busy reworking something special for Will for Christmas! Someone offered the elf, via freecycle, a toybox that would be a perfect present from Santa, if only treated with a little tender lovin' care. Elf picked up the box, and scrubbed it clean with some anti-bacterial Soft Scrub. The front was taped off and repainted with chalkboard paint so the box has two uses. The elf applied 2 and 3 coats to create an even surface then brought it inside to cure. White paint was used to touch up the trim, an xacto cleaned up the paint dribbles, felt tabs were added to protect little fingers and the wood trim was polished to a gloss. Santa's elf has two more things to do, put feet on the box to savethe carpet and get a suction cup basket for chalk and an eraser. This elf is very pleased.

Medically, Will is recovering nicely from minor surgery on Monday to repair some physical birth defects. The boy is a trooper, and outside of some whimpering Tuesday morning, seems to have come out of the surgery with little pain. He's already back to being his normal, happy self if just a little tender.

Promise pictures soon. He's grown into a big, beautiful 9 month old baby and we are starting to put away his 3-6 month clothes (remember, he supposed to be 6 months old) and put him in his 6-9s.

William and his first halloween

Pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93921927@N00/collections/

Something wicked this way comes

Seven Months!

My, but I am turning into one of "those" moms, gushing about how amazing my boy is.

Well- he is!

He turned 7 months old on October 6, sharing the day with Aunt Candi. He weighed in over 14 pounds and is over 24 inches long. His hair is a lovely golden brown with some wave and curl, his eyes are a bright blue with a delightful crinkle when he laughs. Pardon my gushing, he's gorgeous.

Oh, his laugh! He finds joy in most everything, especially other people's friendly faces and, in true boy fashion, especially the faces of pretty girls. His smile is wide and uses is whole face, with lots of gum!

HIs army of babysitters share equal custody in adoring him. Nicole, our summer "super nanny," watches him from time to time when her school schedule allows and Dave and I take in a date night; Miss Katie arrives with a giggle and loves to rock him in his swing; and Regan is his skater-sitter, who takes a break at the rink to watch him while I get my session in.

What he has also developed is a full belly giggle, which we got to hear for the first time yesterday. I blew a few raspberries at him, and his laugh was big with a "hee hee, hee hee." so of course I exhausted him by making him laugh over and over again.

What is making all of us a little more cheerful is the introduction of solid food! First came the cereal mixed with formula, with some mixed results since SOMEONE hates high chair dining. But then came carrots, which was consumed with enthusiasm; sweet potatoes were just sort of "eh"; green beans make the boy downright hostile; but peas have been the palette pleaser as his little dish emptied quickly as his greedy little mouth opened over and over with a big yummy smile. We have also introduced wheat cereal and cereal with bananas. The result? Fewer feedings and someone sleeping through the night which means mom and dad can sleep through the night!

And he's got more wardrobe changes than Madonna on a world tour. That's what happens when you are a handsome young man that burst out of your 0-3s, filling out your 3-6s, and is not the neatest of eaters. And you drool - alot. And your toesies need to stay warm since autumn arrived with a bitter freeze this morning, necessitating footed sleepers.

And finally, some really good news. For the month of September, we tapered Will's dependency on oxygen a little bit at a time. First, 2 hours at a time, then 4 hours at a time. Now, he is oxygen dependent 12 hours on/12 hours off. That means when running errands, I only need the baby, the stroller, the diaper bag, a car seat, a blanket and maybe the car seat cover.

We will post some pictures soon, as we took yet another money shot just to show is incredible growth. There's video of his first dinner too, I'll have Dave put it up.

Nooooooooooooo!

As a new mom on the edge of four-oh, every fiber of my being (esp. the scalp) is rejecting the Kate Gosselin hairdo.

Just say NO ladies!

Bad mom?

I am now getting 3-5 child-rearing magazines a month. I have not paid for a single subscription, but I'm guessing as a new consumer of miniature goods, these periodicals have come courtesy of the fine maker of said products.

Along with the glossy, tantalizing ads depicting model babies in dream houses comes the stern advice of MDs, RNs, MSWs and moms-in-the-know. Some of the advice has been informative, some comforting, lots that has been alarming, and most of it is scolding us into creating a hospital-like environment devoid of any and all germs and sharp corners.

I've tried to follow most of the advice to the letter to earn my stripes as a good mom. That didn't last past the first Nuk hitting the sidewalk. So, I think I may qualify as a bad mom because...

...instead of sanitizing Nuks that hit the ground, I use "mom"itizer, and give it a quick swish in my mouth.

...I haven't washed a load of clothes in Dreft since May.

...we let him sleep on his stomach now without sweating SIDS, too much anyway.

...he's already had his first tastes of beer (yucko), wine (yummy), ice cream (jury is still out) and whipped cream (delicious).

...his first word may very well be %#!*&as mommy slams her big toe into his crib at 3am on a regular basis and utters these fine words.

...I sometimes try to cram his flailing arms and legs into outfits that are too small simply because he was so cute in them and I want to see him in them "one more time." (Nature usually wins that battle and I'm left sweaty and teary but also relieved that the boy is growing up.)

...instead of nursery rhymes which I find dull, I croon for him rock songs in a made-up melody. You should hear my lullabye version of "Pretty Vacant" by the Sex Pistols.

...instead of running out to buy the latest, greatest crap on the market, I've been bargain hunting at garage sales. I recently scored a jogging stroller for $10! I've also utilized the freecycle community and got a baby swing for free - who cares if the battery door is gone, that's what duct tape is for. To check out the freecycle community in your area, check out freecycle.org.

...when he's crying and I don't know what's wrong, I squeal right back at him and that usually makes him laugh and stop crying. (Before you turn me into CPS, I never shout, yell or shake the baby.)

...playing superbaby also helps calm him down, but not sure if that violates any "support the head" rules. All I know is he loves it, I work my triceps, and occasionally get drooled on.

Hungry!

We have some good news in the guise of the boy attempting to sleep somewhat through the night, as long as he is fed 'round midnight and again 'round 6am. He does a quick catch-up during the morning, chowing down every two hours until re-pacing himself for the afternoon.

Wow, that is as boring as I imagined. I guess that is the good news, he is just growing and eating and playing and laughing and there's nothing more dramatic to report.

Five Months Later

Just typing that seems surreal - it's been five months already? Although he has still spent more of his young life in the hospital instead of home, the NICU seems as if it were a distant memory.

Nonstop doctor visits are still a common occurance. Thankfully, the news is consistent and good. Will is progressing along as a very normal, happy baby on par with where he is supposed to be gestationally. That is, he may be a 5 month old baby, but he is acting and developing like a 2 month old.

And that's ok!

He's had three appointments in the last week, and the reports are wonderful. His eyey doctor is happy to report that his retinopathy (immature/premature eyes) has disappeared and he has passed all vision tests as normal.

His checkup with the health department was equally positive, as the nurses there said his appetite is strong and physcially he is catching up with his peers, although he is still on the small side. The Neurodevelopmental specialist was completely enthralled with him as he laughed and flirted with her while passing all of his social and reflexive tests.

On top of all of this, he's busting out of the 0-3s. Newborn clothes went by the wayside a long time ago.

For official stats, he is over 21 inches long, bouncing between 10 pounds 11 ounces and 15 ounces with a nice noggin measurement of 15 inches. Cousin Madeleine is most impressed with his eyes, and agrees that they look like "two big marbles."