Sick Animal

This past week, I have been sick. Unfortunately this time, I managed to spread the germs to both my husband and baby. Sorry Keith. Sorry Joshua. I feel bad that Joshua isn't feeling well, because he can't really tell me what is hurting him, and the only thing I can really give him is tylenol/motrin. Keith and I braced ourselves for a bad night last night, but fortunately, Joshua slept through the night. Based on the symptoms I am observing, I assume that Joshua is congested, coughing, and probably has a sore throat.

Today, I spent the day with Joshua and gave him extra cuddles and did whatever Mommys are supposed to do to help their children get through their illness. At one point I said to Joshua, "You poor thing, you sound a little horse". His response, "Neh". Leave it up to a 17 month old to give a good one liner.

When I Get Mad, I Spit

Joshua, like any toddler, doesn't like to hear the word "No". Sometimes, when I tell him "No" or take away something that he should not have, he puts up a pre-terrible twos tantrum. This entails fussing and/or spitting. Gross, I know. Yet, it is actually kind of funny and when you are used to baby drool, it is not as gross as it sounds. It is just a phase Josh is going through and will not last forever. I can't imagine Joshua a 20 year old, and someone telling him that he is not going to get what he wants, and he spits. Can you imagine that?

Not The Jealous Type?

I always saw Joshua as the happy-go-lucky kid. He always seemed so mellow and adapted to any situation without a fuss. Lucky, I know. However, recently as he starts coming into his own, things seem to be changing. I noticed that when I bring Joshua to a new environment, he likes to cling onto me and feel things out before walking around the room to say hello to the other people or play with the toys in the room. (If we are at our house and people come over to us, Joshua is fine). I think part of the reason behind this may be because Joshua is more mobile and also aware of his surroundings.

Another interesting thing that just happened the other day was during a visit to Aunt Jeni's house. Jeni has 2 daughters, Maya 3 1/2 and Ruby 3 months. While at Jeni's house, I held Ruby and Josh did not like that at all. Josh was being held by Keith, and he got very jealous. He started to kvetch and squirm out of Keith's arms and wanted to be held by me. This is brand new, because he never had any problems in the past with me holding anyone else's baby. So, we will have to see whether it was an isolated incident or if Joshua is starting to pick up a jealousy side. Hopefully, when/if it is time for #2, Joshua will have grown out of this phase and be a huge proponent of sharing.

Letting Go...Again

As Joshua started to get on his feet, he would hold onto both of my hands (very tightly) and walk with me. Then, holding both hands turned into holding one hand (still very tightly). The one hand turned into 1 finger. (Again, very tightly). I would try to let go to see if he could walk on his own or even take a few steps, but there was no prying his little hand from mine.

Now, I grab onto his hand, and he lets go. "Mommy, I can do it by myself. I don't need you to help me". Awwww. My baby is growing up, and this is one letting go episode with many more to come.

No More Monkeys

"5 Little monkeys jumping on the bed. 1 fell off and bumped his head. The Mama called the doctor. The doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed.'"

Joshua's favorite little rhyme right now. He loves to listen to the song on his cd. He also loves to read the book and follow along. When we are reading the book, he points and shakes his finger and says "no more monkeys". I guess you can say that is Joshua's first sentence.

All It Takes Is A Little Ketchup

Trying to get Joshua to eat vegetables has been a real struggle. He would eat vegetables pureed but not eat pieces. I am not 100% sure if that is due to consistency or taste. Joshua is almost 17 months old. He really should not be eating puree baby food anymore, but if that is how he will take his vegetables, I am not going to fight too much. I remember about 2 weeks ago, we gave Joshua a hamburger (small ground beef pieces). We dipped it in ketchup and gave him the bites. I think that was the first time we had given him ketchup. He loved it! At lunch the following week, I was talking to some girlfriends about my veggie dilemma. They suggested that I dip his vegetables in ketchup.

I guess all it takes is a little ketchup. He opened his mouth real wide. Problem solved!

High 5

Joshua is at the age where he picks things up very quickly. It used to take several/weeks or months to teach him something like a baby sign, waving "hi" and "bye", pointing to body parts, saying animal sounds, etc... Now, it may just take a few times for Joshua to learn something and remember it. Last week, Grandpop Harold taught Joshua to give "high 5". We put our hand out and say "Joshua, give us a high 5"an and he does it. Soon enough, he will be the one to put his hand out and say, "Mommy, give me high 5".

Rites of Passage

When you are planning a wedding, you look to your friends who are also engaged or recently married for advice. When you are pregnant, you look to your pregnant friends or ones who just gave birth for advice. When you have a new baby, you also go to other new moms or moms with babies a little older for advice. Eventualy, you become the one that friends go to for advice. It is your rite of passage. One of my friends does come to me for baby advice and reads my blog to see what Joshua was doing when he was her daughter's age and how I handled certain situations.

I don't see myself as an expert in the field of child-rearing, and I have also been blessed with an "easy" baby. (Boy, I am screwed with #2). However, I am starting to feel more comfortable with the decisions that I make as a mom and it just seems to come naturally. I guess I now know what they mean by mother's instinct. I know that when/if I have #2, I will once again be the one to look at my Mommy friends with 2 children for advice and leave the advice giver stage. I am glad to have such wonderful friends to turn to during these rites of passage and I am happy to be here for my friends as well.

Balancing Act

Joshua is starting to get a little better balancing on his feet. He can stand on his own for longer than he has even just a week ago. Standing and learning to walk are not Joshua's only balancing acts. At dinner the other night, he found it amuzing to balance things on his head. First orange pieces and then cheerios. Certainly, Joshua found it amusing as he clapped at what a great job he did by balancing the food on his head. Mommy, not amuzed. At least, I tried not to be amuzed. But, how could I not laugh?