Did I give birth to a Hobbit?

This morning Oliver had 2 breakfasts...is that weird? We got over the whole tantrum thing when I asked if he wanted to have some cereal, but first we needed to change his diaper. He let us change his diaper...then onto honey nut cheerios. Then he moved onto his next breakfast of cinnamon raisin toast that he dips into diabetic friendly syrup and a sausage patty. We then all got dressed without much drama, and everyone walked down the stairs to take Oliver to school. By everyone, I mean Kylee, Crazy, Oliver and myself. We all walked to school all the while Oliver kept telling Kylee, "Good girl Kylee!"

We walked into the building, Crazy picked up Kylee cause we didn't want her to get scared by the kids and piddle on the floor. The kids were all outside playing in the playground. Oliver walked out there, I signed him in and Crazy let Oliver say "goodbye" to Kylee. What was strange was that he actually said "Good girl Kylee, good bye!" He then gave her a kiss in the nose, while the other kids pet Kylee's ample orange butt. We walked away, and no tears were shed, and no tantrums. It was eerie, almost like twilight zone-ish. We walked out there and didn't dare turn back, almost like if we turned back, we'd jinx ourselves. If it isn't rainy tomorrow we'll do the same.

What a strange thing to happen. Especially since the last two months dropping him off at daycare has been so frustrating. The last two days has been a disaster. But today, was like a burst of sunshine.

Baby Legs

Patience is a virtue

I think that Oliver knows that something is up. He's still too young to comprehend that he will soon not be an only child, but I feel like he knows something is up.

This morning I was trying to get him dressed for school, he absolutely refused to let me dress him and change his diaper. He sat in time out and cried for 45 minutes, all the while refusing to allow me anywhere near him with a diaper or clothes. For 45 minutes he sobbed and refused to be dressed, Crazy had to finally pin him on the floor and dress him all the while fighting him. I don't think he wanted to leave me at home. The second they got on the elevator, Oliver stopped crying and started happily chattering with Crazy.

Crazy and I have been discussing the impending arrival of Lucas and we both came to the conclusion that Crazy will be staying home at night with Oliver while I stay in the hospital with Lucas. The problem is that since Crazy is CRAZY, he is reluctant to agree to it without making me hire a postpartum doula to help me in the hospital. So after 2 weeks, we've hired someone who will come to the hospital for the "night shift" and help ease Crazy's mind.

Let's discuss some things we've learned from Oliver in the last week.

1. He knows how to jiggle the baby gate that we put up against his bedroom door. Two weeks ago, Crazy got up and noticed that the baby gate was up against the wall in the morning and thought that Oliver and I were up. Anyhow, I got up later in the morning and Crazy asked me where I was...hmm, I was asleep...and then he realized that Oliver had opened the gate. The next night we put Oliver down for the night, and at some point Crazy went to peek in Oliver's room and noticed that Oliver was easing the gate with his chin.

2. Oliver is seriously trying to assert his independence. We went to have brunch on Sunday. We've been to this place before...Oliver LOVES the pancakes, bacon, fruit and eggs there. We ordered his breakfast and for some weird reason he BLEW up. Atomic blow up. Crazy got up and walked Oliver out and 5 minutes later Oliver was still crying, sobbing outside the restaurant because he knew that I was in the restaurant. Anyhow, Crazy brought Oliver back in and Oliver reached for my hot link sausage, and proceeded to eat it all. Weird? Well then stupid me, I buttered his whole wheat toast and he flipped out. He grabbed at the little container of butter and made me open it, then proceeded to butter his own toast until he was ready to eat it. So strange. It wouldn't be so bad if his coordination was better.

3. We finally introduced the potty chair. Oliver is too interested in the chair as a toy, rather than its original purpose. He's still not bothered by poo in his diaper...so I don't think he's quite ready yet.

4. We opened and set up the pack and play as well as the infant car seat. Oliver climbed in the infant chair and sat in it and refused to get out. He then picked up the entire seat set and threw it a couple feet away from him. We put the carseat in the car to get him used to seeing it. When Crazy set up the pack and play, Oliver tried to climb in it the entire time. We had to pack it up so that Oliver wouldn't get any strange ideas.

5. Bath time is the BEST time EVER. We are trying to get him in the bath tub by 8 pm so that he can have a bath, brush his teeth and get put in bed by 8:30 pm every night. The second he hears the water being turned on, he starts tearing off his clothes. After he takes his pants off, he begs whoever is closest to him to help him remove his shirt. It goes a little something like "mammie, help me! Bath! Come on!" Tonight is laundry night, so I was folding clothes, while Crazy was outside with Oliver. Oliver grabbed the mat we use to change his diapers and accidentally dropped a jacket on the floor. He then grabbed the jacket and tried to hang it on the door knob, all the while telling Crazy "Papa, help me! Bath! Change diaper!" So funny. Then he ran to the bath tub and Crazy gave him a bath. Getting Oliver out of the tub is pretty difficult, so difficult that Crazy devised a plan to get him out. He turns on the shower head to the cold setting and since then getting Oliver out of the tub isn't hard. After his bath time, we let him brush his teep and then he goes to sleep. It takes about 1-2 hours to get him down. Grrrr. All we hear all night long is Oliver's head banging on the wall as he jumps on his bed and then gets yelled at by both Crazy and I to go to "night night".

6. I finally was able to catch a decent sale at baby gap near the ghetto. I was able to find a lot of new onesies and under 12 month clothes. Luckily I also had a 25% off coupon so on top of the decent sale I went to, I got an additional 25% off. Everything is washed and folded and put away. I had also ordered some stuff on amazon.com, I've never really ordered baby clothes from amazon.com, but free shipping and no tax is a pretty cool. I decided that on top of some of Oliver's old baby clothes, I wanted new clothes for Lucas. Luckily, Oliver was really rough on his clothes, so I couldn't really salvage much for Lucas.

Random photos

We actually got some weather here. For a full minute we got some hail. I looked out of Oliver's window and saw all this hail. It was pretty intense for a minute...then the rain washed it all away.
Here's what the back of Crazy's car looks like now. No one can sit back there any more.

Here's a video of Oliver's room. The blanket in the crib is a new blanket we just from Oliver's grandma in KS. She spent a lot of time making it (and it shows!), and we think that it will get a lot of use. She must really love Lucas...especially since its so beautifully stitched...and made BEFORE he was born.

Oliver - Do you want TIME OUT?!

Oliver: YES!!!!

He yelled in the car today after I repeatedly told him NOT to touch the car door handle. He kept pulling it almost like he was trying to intentionally break it. We found out a couple of months ago that he could open the side door...grrrr....so we enabled the child lock on it. Since we put the new car seat in behind Crazy, Oliver is behind me.
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Oliver's mama: Oliver, you're a big boy!
Oliver: No!!!!
Oliver's mama: Oliver, you're a little boy!
Oliver: NO!!!
Oliver's mama: Oliver, you're a baby?
Oliver: OK!!!

Oliver - TIME OUT!

I said loudly to the kid who threw a toy that his grandparents just sent him. He looked at me with a shocked look on his face. I then went up to him and pulled him onto his time out mat and sat him down. Then went back to the google video chat that I was having with Auntie A and saw Oliver with his mouth semi open, almost like he was mocking me. I then turned around to face him and said, "Oliver close your mouth!"

Guess what he did? He not only openly defied me, but he further opened his gaping mouth for a few minutes while staring at me. Almost like he was daring me to do something about it. I tried to choke back laughter and Auntie A got to see it all on video chat. Little punk.

"But he's soooo cute!"

That's what we hear from daycare.

Its nice to know that they love him, however, I draw the line at them making special exceptions for him. Let me give you a few scenarios...

1. In the mornings, Oliver has a rough time being dropped off at daycare. What normally happens is that Ms. Naomi will grab him and pick him up and cuddle him while we walk away. What annoys me a bit here is that it rewards him for his bad behavior. She will go out of her way to ignore the other kids and only focus on Oliver. Her kids also love Oliver and actually exclusively pay attention to him while ignoring the other kids. When she cuddles him, it only makes him more upset and cements his bad behavior. The director brought it to my attention and of course we've had numerous discussions about this. We would prefer that they just ignore him and let him warm up to the idea of being in daycare for the day. I would also prefer that they divert his attention rather than coddle him, because I feel like he's the type of kid that isn't drawn to that type of affection.

2. When the kids are in circle time or group time, and Oliver doesn't want to do what the other kids are doing he starts his diversionary tactics of disrupting the group. He will then be allowed to leave the group and take one of the teachers (normally his favorite Ms. Chen) to supervise him in another activity of his choosing. Now, I have mixed feelings about this. What makes Oliver so special that he can get away with this when all the other kids have to stay in group? I realize sometimes the teachers do this cause its the easiest way to deal with him, but, if you were to ask me, I'd send his butt to time out and in a few minutes ask him if he wants to join. If not, he can go back to time out.

3. He throws world class tantrums. Diaper changes, meal times, and group times. He loves to fight the teachers when its time to change his diaper almost to the point where they have to physically restrain him just so they can change his diaper. What they've done is given him something to focus his attention on kind of a bribe, and then he will go let them change his diaper. At home when he refuses to let me change his diaper, he goes into time out. After he gets out of time out, he shockingly allows me to change his diaper without any fussing. But it seems to me that they give into his demands whereas with the other kids they stand firm. Meal times are starting to be a nightmare as well. I realize its a power struggle and they don't want to see him miss a meal and are upset when he refuses to eat, so they sit and coax him to eat. The way I see it, he will not willingly starve himself. He's a smart kid, he knows how to manipulate the situation to get what he wants. So he sits there and plays the premadonna and moves his plate away while the other kids are eating. One day the director sat next to him and told him that if he doesn't want to eat it, then she will give it to another kid...and at that time two other kids started to pay attention to Oliver's food...and shockingly enough Oliver ate it.

During meal times at home, we turn off the TV and sit down to a family meal. Oliver's plate is on the table waiting for him to eat. I don't coax him to eat, and I don't make a big fuss out of it. He will eat if he is hungry, if not, he can go play. I will not make him a second meal (unless he's been sick and missed a few meals). Also, meal times he needs to sit with us and stare at his food. He can then make the decision to eat it or not, if he refuses to sit in front of his meal, then its time out. Surprisingly enough the time outs help give him an attitude adjustment. When we are done with dinner, Oliver's uneaten plate will be kept out for him to eat when he is hungry. Of course he will try to insist on other items, "Mammie, ice cream right dere...Mammie, cheese and crackers....Mammie, apple/nana right dere...Mammie, mac and cheese." but I feel like if I don't hold firm, he will walk all over us. We will sometimes make him a different meal than what we are eating, if what we are eating is unsuitable to him, i.e. spices, salad or the like.

So yes, Oliver is a little manipulative little brat. I don't know why they hold firm to the other kids, but give in when it comes to Oliver. But the director told me that the staff do have their favorites. I like that they like him, however, if they don't hold strong to him, they are only creating a monster...that comes home to us. The staff is always telling me how cute he is. Seriously with a kid that throws down tantrums the way he does, I'd think the "cuteness" factor goes out pretty quickly.

A couple of days ago, Oliver threw a toy at the director's nephew's face and hit him. Oliver's teacher told me when we went to pick him up. He's started to slap Crazy in the face when Crazy holds him. I'm not thrilled about it, but Oliver and I will have a long discussion about his new behavior this weekend, especially since it is a 3 day weekend.

Random photos

Here's a photo of a portion of the cake that Crazy made me. It was a yellow whole wheat cake with cream cheese frosting. The candle there is a trick candle that took Oliver 3 tries to blow it out.

It was a tasty piece of cake...so you understand when a man has to shove as much of it down his maw as possible and as quick as possible...




Here's some photos from our trip to the dog park. Oliver was resting up since we brought the trike along for the ride. Kylee is making sure the little white puppy that came up to Oliver didn't hurt him.


I love his little pearly teeps.

What's better than surprise bacon?

Bacon Creme Brulee
Crazy took the day off today to run errands with me. We dropped off some stuff at Salvation Army, cleaned out the closet, took our shred to a shredding place, got a car wash, moved Oliver's car seat to prepare for the new car seat....and took a leisurely lunch at my favorite restaurant in the ghetto Luka's. I ordered the arugula salad with orange and red beets, grapefruit, goat cheese, avocado, chicken and a lovely citrus vinaigrette. Crazy ordered a burger on Rye bread with those yummy golden frites. We had an appetizer of mussels and the crowning moment was when I decided to get desert. There on the menu was it...Bacon Creme Brulee! I know it wasn't good for my GD, but damnit I don't care! I tried to eat healthily but had to splurge on my desert.

Oliver is at daycare...Crazy is making me a GD friendly chocolate cake tonight. I'll take a photo of Oliver gorging on chocolate cake.

Good Job Papa!

Was what Oliver uttered this morning to Crazy as Crazy turned on the lights in the bathroom. Nothing like a little positive reinforcement to make one's day right? Its pretty hilarious, especially since he has never said anything like that to me.

Oliver is going through what Crazy terms a "brain boost" today. During one of these brain boosts, we need to make sure we are fully stocked and that Oliver eats all day long. This morning Oliver had cereal, sausage and a banana. A couple hours later we were ready and headed out to have brunch. Oliver ate almost his entire plate of food. He had a pancake, 2 slices of bacon, fruit and water. He insisted that I not help him and that he be allowed to eat in peace. Every time that I tried to help feed him, he would get really vocal and upset. He wanted to do it HIMSELF! He got frustrated when he couldn't pick up the cut up pieces of pancake, but quickly learned how to handle it. He ate from the beginning of the meal to almost the end. When he was done, he quickly got up and said, "Ready, Okay!" which is Oliver code for get me out of here or I will go nuclear. When we walked back to the car, we saw a guy making balloon figurines for kids and we stood in line, however by the time we got up front, he took a break. We took it as a sign to get out, unfortunately Oliver was expecting his balloon, so I bribed him with a fig newton. He knows I carry treats in the car. Every time he gets in the car he tells me "Mammie, cookie over dere!" I normally just ignore him and only bring out the big guns when I need him to stop screaming over a failed promise. After he ate the fig newton he asked for another one. Mind you, we just left the restaurant where Oliver ate almost the entire plate of the kid's meal.

After his nap, Oliver had some hummus and tortilla triangles, and for dinner he had sweet potato fries with chicken breast tenders. He now is enjoying half an apple and soon will ask for his "ice cream", which is yogurt in tubes that we froze. There are days when this kid refuses to eat anything, and then there are days we relish where he eats everything. It cracks me up how much he can eat when he goes through one of these phases.

Here are some photos of him tonight enjoying his dinner. The devastation behind him...well, all I can say is its all in a good day's work.




He's been sleeping in the big boy bed for the past week. Some things that we have learned.
1. Put a baby gate in front of his room so the prisoner does not escape!
2. 2:30 am is not an appropriate time to wake the adults up.
3. 5:30 am is also not an appropriate time to wake the adults up.
4. If I'm sleeping in my bed, he will come to me first. "Mammie! Mammie!" and the weird part is that I have this radar that alerts me when hands stick up in the air next to my head to reach out and grab him. He will not sleep in our bed, unless he starts his night there.
5. Crazy normally throws him back in his room and puts the gate up...we were putting the baby gate up to keep him out of the bathroom...big mistake!

Other than those nice details, he's been pretty good about it.