Dancing Leaves

Today Reshen was fascinated by leaves blowing in the wind. A huge gust would roll into the culdesac and kick the leaves up into the air, sending them dancing in twists and twirls along the ground. He would stand transfixed for a moment and then burst out in laughter. The gust would leave as suddenly as it came and everything would be still again. Reshen would stare at the leaves, expecting them to keep moving. When nothing happened after a few seconds he would smile and stomp over to a leaf and then do his "funny feet dance" around it, as if he was showing it how to dance again. Every leaf got this show until the wind visited again and sent the leaves upwards once more. We stayed outside until our hands were icicles and our cheeks red.

What a magical afternoon...

Update on the ears and some new words

What a week it has been...

I took Reshen back to the doctor on Tuesday and found out that his ears are still infected. His left ear was really bad still, and the right was borderline. Poor guy. He's now on a new round of antibiotics. Hopefully they will do the trick this time.

On top of that, he is also teething. I can see tooth #8 just below the surface. The combination has made for some very *interesting* days and long nights. Between the ear drops, antibiotics, baby tylenol, and teething gel, this kid is getting way too familiar with medicines. Now when he sees any of his medications he points to his ear or to his mouth and says "dat?" Problem is, then he wants them and this usually leads to a small tantrum.

He is learning so many new words. Since I last wrote, he now says "off," "done," "neh" (no), "meh" (more) and roars for a lion. "Off" means a lot of things (out, down, off, on) and is usually an exclamation. Now every morning the first thing he says to me is "off!" as he's lifting his leg up and trying to climb out of his crib. He also likes to take his shoes, socks, and bibs off while shouting "off!"

His favorite book right now is "10 Minutes Till Bedtime." He gets excited about each page and waves, kisses the pictures, and does other actions along with the story. So cute!

Reshen loves to be outside and doesn't need anything to entertain him other than nature itself. He loves to carry around rocks, sticks, leaves, etc., and marvels at birds in the sky, squirrels on the fence, and the neighbor dog. Sometimes I'll bring out sidewalk chalk and let him scribble on our driveway. He also has a ride-in car, and likes to climb in and out of it. I brought out some other toys the other day, but he only wanted *me* to carry them. Funny kid.

Fun, Chatty Valentine's Day

How wonderful it is to have two special "men" in my life now. Sure, one of them is just barely 2 feet tall and has a pot belly (yes, I mean Bubby), but he is mommy's little man just the same.

My "big" man gave me the sweetest card. It's really all he has to do, as long as he puts effort into it (and he does). We don't go all out for these "holidays"- we're so romantic, aren't we? :-)

He's such a great guy and wonderful husband and father- gentle, caring, helpful, intelligent. I really lucked out with him.

My "little" man was such a sweetheart today. I just wanted to shower him with endless hug and kisses, and he obliged for the most part. He reciprocated with many of his own sloppy kisses and would roll around in my lap loving on me. I was in Bubby Bliss today :-)

This afternoon I picked up a couple bags brimming with free toys and toddler clothes from our local Freecycle group. It's such a great thing- people post items they want to give away and others reply if they want them. I've gotten Bubs a bag of toy trucks, a large ride-in car, and now these bags of toys and clothes. The little guy had a great time inspecting his new toys after he woke from his nap. I think I had more fun than he did, just watching him.

Bubby is really chatty these days. Yesterday he began saying "kchh"- like the K sound at the end of "duck," - only exaggerated. He was quite pleased with himself. Today he actually said "clock" and "duck" using that sound. No one else would have understood him, of course, but I totally knew what he was saying. He has also started saying "um" for "yum" when we are eating or even looking at pictures of food. Today he said "um" at a picture of vegetables and then planted his mouth on the book pretending he was eating it. Funny- he won't eat real veggies but swoons over pictures of them :-)

I love hearing his language develop. These are "words" he says currently:

aht- hot (with waving of the hands)

up

uht- open, close, in, out, down, on, off

dat, dhat, uh-zat - that, what's that, look at that

uff- woof (dog)

mmm- moo (cow)

duht, duh-kcht - duck

gat- quack

zzz- buzz (bee)

vmmm- vroom (car)

ump- chomp (with hand motions) alligator

ba- bye

mama - mommy and as a whine

dada- daddy

ca-kch - clock

shhh- shoe

ahd- head

tsh- teeth

uh-oh

I'm sure there are others that he says- perhaps those that I don't understand or ones that come and go. It's so fun to be able to interact with him more each day.

I just love my little man :-)

Ups and Downs

Bubs was such a cutie today. Things he did today to make me smile:

1. Danced his crazy "funny feet" jig to banjo music
2. Squealed with delight when "I'm a Little Teapot" began and did the tipping motion at the appropriate time
3. Kissed me full on the mouth (many times today)
4. Hugged me throughout WalMart
5. Vacuumed alongside me with his new little vacuum
6. Pointed at every fish he could see at Tacos Del Mar and said "daht? ish! ish!"
7. Flashed me his huge cheesy grin



Bubs was such a terror today. Things he did today to make me frown:

1. Ran to the front door when we were leaving and then screamed and threw a tantrum when we had to leave through the garage door instead
2. Got into every cabinet he's not allowed into and screamed and stomped his feet every time we had to tell him "no" (baby proofing, honey? please!!)
3. Screamed and arched his back when I tried to put him in his car seat
4. Wouldn't play with any of his toys- only wanted to run around the house as a "bubby tornado"
5. Did not want to sit in the carts at any of the stores we went to (although I did get a nice, long hug out of it.... but still, he's heavy!!)
6. Screamed and put up a struggle when I had to put his shoes and coat on him

Talk about Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. That was our bubby today. I do think his ears are better, so I'm blaming teething today.

At least I recalled more things that made me smile, than things that made me frown. Perhaps that's the key to staying sane while parenting a toddler :-)

Not So Blissful Today

My blog title may be Bubby Bliss, but ironically my first post finds us far from that. We are in the midst of ear infections- in BOTH ears, mind you- combined with a nasty upper respiratory cold and teething. Who wouldn't be crabby?

He really is quite the trooper- trying so hard to be his happy, funny little self. He plays, giggles, dances, and spins himself silly, but then bursts out in tears with his next breath and reaches for me pathetically. "Edgy" describes his demeanor today. Constantly on the verge of a meltdown. He is not sleeping well- hit or miss during the day and wakes often at night. I'm sure his ears bother him when he's lying down. My poor guy. He hasn't been sick much in his first 14 months- I'm simply not used to it.

He's sleeping right now- has beens since 7pm and it's 9:30pm right now. Here's hoping we all get a good rest tonight.