Andrew’s language so far- 1year, 4 months old

I thought I would catalog my son Andrew’s language so that I can look back and remember what he did and didn’t know when he was 16 months old. So here are all the words he knows:

Mommy: self explanatory

Daddy: self explanatory

mum mum: nursing

ba ba: his sippy cup

doggy: dog

buhdy: birdy

boo berwee: blue berry

bye: as in, goodbye ( with waving)

pwee: please

no: no, sometimes he means yes, though.

uh oh: when he drops something

wahdy: ready?

pee pee

pahdy: potty

Oh wow: when he learns something new.

quick update on life

This is just a quick life update. I am now a stay at home dad for two days a week. The others are spent doing projects around the house that we haven’t had time to do in the last few years. Like: ripping down the wall between the kitchen and dining room, replacing broken window panes, stripping paint, fixing the leaky basement, etc.

I have received 3 rejections from agents about their interest in my novel so far. I’m waiting on 2 more. I may start sending it out to publishers too, but I’d rather have an agent first.

I’m starting on my last semester of classes for my A.S. in Business from OCC. I like my guitar class the best so far. I know how to play, and have for years, but it’s fun remembering all the old Metallica songs I used to know and jamming with the other advanced students.

The toddler is adapting well to his first major life transition: Mom at work, he’s in daycare or with me, I’m gone at night at class. That’s it for now

Ahhhhhhh.

Time for a cute baby update. A few mornings ago, I was drinking my coffee as usual. Andrew had his sippy cup. I took a long swig and when I put the mug down, went “Ahhhhhh” in satisfaction. Andrew promptly picked up his sippy cup, drank some milk, put it down, and went “Ahhhhh.”

Now every time he takes a drink from his cup, he says, “Ahhhh.” I rate it a 9 on the cuteness scale.

baby crib to toddler day-bed

A few nights ago, I heard the sound that new parents fear in the middle of the night. A big bump, and then crying. Andrew climbed out of his crib in the middle of the night. I threw the covers off and ran in to find him lying on the floor, crying and shaken, but no worse for wear, at least as far as I could tell. Just about a month ago, I lowered the mattress to it’s lowest setting so climbing out would be harder for him. Obviously, it didn’t take him long to find a way to power up and over the railing. I mean, the top of the rail is still at chest height on him. I thought that would be enough. It wasn’t.

So we made the decision that we would rather deal with a new crib set-up and an altered bedtime routine (again) than have him fall out of the crib for a second time. I measured where the new rail would be, and Lydia got the old bumper rail that went on her bunk beds from her parents. I think it turned out rather well. I just need to stain it to match the color. Andrew can climb in and out and there are cushions there if he falls out. The bad part is that now he can climb out of bed and walk into our room.

We just got him used to falling asleep on his own by using the progressive waiting method. (one of the best thing we have done, by the way) Now, his routine is changed, but he won’t be falling four feet down onto hardwood floors anymore either.

Baby at the Scottish games

This was Andrew’s first time at the Scottish Games. He had a blast  listening to the bagpipes. We even got to be in the parade of Clans, representing Donald of course. My wife made his kilt out of the material I used for my own homemade kilt for prom 10 years ago. It’s the MacDonald dress tartan.

Dr. Karen Beckman M.D. is a frustrating cog of a broken medical system

(bear with me…this is a venting post)

We went to go get my 1 year old son’s shots updated yesterday.

one year old climber

My son just turned one and he is a prodigious climber. He is a beast of a baby too. He doesn’t even use his legs to climb up onto chairs. He just grabs both edges and pulls himself up using only his arms. It’s beginning to be a problem because he is so quick that if we don’t see him for 20 seconds, he will be up the stairs, climbing the toilet, and IN the sink banging on the mirror. I’m so glad that I keep my straight razors in a separate rack high up off the floor. It is becoming very tiring keeping up with him all day. He’s also starting to walk too so maybe that will tire him out just enough that we can catch our breath.

my little man is standing

Two days ago, I set Andrew down on his feet and he stood for 3 seconds before he fell. I tried it again yesterday and he did it for a full fifteen seconds. Now he can do it longer. He is rock solid too. No wobbles. He even tried a few steps towards me but he fell. He can do tiny steps to correct for balance though. Pretty exciting. We have to do a whole new round of baby proofing now.

No Choice

This is a song I wrote in ‘96. Since abortion seems to be a hot issue right now, I thought I’d publish it here. The song focuses on Vegans and Vegetarians in the hardcore scene who say that they support abortion. This gives a little more backstory on my beliefs regarding murdering babies. As with any inflammatory issue, I expect people to have vastly different opinions on this subject. Please leave your comments, but keep it civil.

No Choice

You say that you are vegan

And protect the animals’ rights

But when asked your views on abortion

You say that you are pro-choice

No choice

You say that you’re vegan and stand up

For animal rights, yet you give the O.K.

To slaughter innocent  human life

Conscious beings immersed in their mother’s

Womb, they have as much right to live

As the animals that you protect

Thousands of cattle

Cannot make up

For one slaughtered

Human life

There is no

Justification

For what

You believe

baby says “Da Da” for the first time- I feel terrible.

My son was up at 3:30 AM this morning. I groggily get up and change his diaper. Then I swaddle him up again and rock him to sleep for 20 minutes with a repeated “Twinkle twinkle little star.” I carefully get up and place him down in his crib on his back. Finally, he is asleep. I take two step back and a floorboard squeaks drawing instant cries from him. DANG IT! Well, our doctor says we need to “Ferberize” him so I think, why not now. He was asleep 2 seconds ago. maybe he’s tired enough to get back down with minimal interference from me. I stay in the room and sing while he cries. When he stands up and grabs the crib rail, I pick him up and put him back down. Crying continues for minutes as I keep putting him back down. I try to let him go for a few minutes by himself because the method says that one needs to increase the intervals of intervention if it’s to be successful. From 3 minutes to 5 to 7  to 10 and so on.

Brief history: Andrew has been saying the sylable Da/ or Dah (depending on your phonetic preference) for the last two weeks. However, they are always strung together like: da da da da da da. There have been a few times when he has said da da when I have been around, but never with intent or recognition, if you know what I mean. OK, back to the story.

So he’s been crying for 5 minutes and makes his way around to he end of the crib where I’m sitting in a rocking chair. I am still singing to him and he grabs my hair, trying to gum on it. This is where I think he realizes that it’s his Dad with him because he suddenly starts wailing “Daaaaa daaaaa!” “Daaa Daaaa!”where before it was only crying, no attempt at words or other noises.

My heart breaks.

I pick him up and he quiets down immediatley. I decide that I’ve had enough Ferberizing for one night. I bring him back into our room where I notice it is now 4:45 AM. Awesome. My wife nurses him to sleep while I try to drift off. After another hour of laying awake, I think I slept. Maybe.

Andrew The Cruiser

Andrew has been cruising around for the last month or so. I think he will walk before 10 months. It is a challenge making sure he doesn’t get into things he shouldn’t. We are still in the middle of baby-proofing, All the outlets are plugged and the cleaning stuff is up out of reach, but we still need more cabinets locks. Anyway, I just thought I’d put up a new pic.

Two front teeth

my little man

I just thought I should have a more recent picture of Andrew up on here. Lydia made the hat. He’s five months now and 21.5 pounds. Quite a chunk. He has two teeth now and is becoming very coordinated with picking up banana or apple slices and putting them in his mouth, more for the teething relief than for food. He can spin around and roll over but hasn’t mastered crawling yet. He can also stand by himself for quite a while if he holds on to the couch. I love making him laugh and shriek with joy when I tickle his ample tummy. Oh Andrew, if only you could be happy all of the time.

24th week commuting by bicycle

Well this week is my 24th week commuting by bike this year. Last year I rode 29 weeks so this year I should be able to ride right up until December to make 34 weeks. I love it. It gets me energized for the days work, and sweaty and sexy for the ride home uphill so when I walk in the door, I have my business shirt all unbuttoned like Superman. Plus I estimate I’m saving 384 miles on my car, or $76.80 on gas so far this year. That may not seem like a lot because work is only two miles away from home. I planned it that way when I bought my house. But every little bit helps when you have a baby. Plus I get exercise everyday. It’s a good deal all around. I suggest you try it. I have another post that explains it a little more. Cheers for now.

Busy

I have been a little lax about writing lately because I have been writing other places. Like I mentioned before, I am working on a novella for a creative writing class. My story is coming along well. I am also going to school three nights a week and working full time. We also have a three and a half month old who wakes up VERY early. I was up at 3:11 am, 4:44 am, 5:30 am, and 6:00 am this morning. So I am a little TIRED.  It is hard to leave my wife with the baby in the evenings especially since she has been with him all day too. There are days I only see her 1-2 hours in a whole day. It is tough but we will get through it. It makes me wonder if I should just stop and be satisfied with an Associates Degree instead of a BA or Masters. Is it worth the time away? I don’t know.