Boo-boos, scared me and soccer

So I have three stories to tell, as the title may implied. Either that or soccer didn't go good.

Boo-boo:
Mikey got his hand stuck in the front of a broken filing cabinet. I kept telling Mike to tape up the hole. Well now he did. After Mikey got his hand stuck. And scraped his knuckle and cut the side of his hand getting it out.

He got a cool bandaid covering the whole side of his hand, and spent all yesterday showing it off saying "boo-boo". He also spent the whole day cradling it in his other hand like it was broken.

I took the bandaid off before bed, and I can't believe how healed it already looks. No bandaid was needed today.

Scared me:
Last night when I was getting ready for bed, I walked out of the bathroom and headed to my bedroom, which is just past Mikey's bedroom. I already took my glasses off, so things were a bit fuzzy. I glanced at Mikey's door and jumped. Mikey was standing in the open crack and was basically just a white figure. Scared me pretty badly.

Soccer:
Not so good today. Mikey got sick as soon as I took him out of the car. Better than in the car, but it meant he didn't really want to play. He did kick the ball around for about 5 minutes, but that's about it. He was done, so we left. Next week is picture week, so hopefully it goes good.

Sunday full of fun

I think I mentioned before that Mikey got a sandbox for his birthday. I have to admit that we don't play in it much. When we do, it usually takes quite a bit of convincing to get Mikey in it to start.

Tonight was one of those times. He pointed at it and seemed to want to play in it, so I took the cover off and put him in it. Not good. He freaked out at the dirt touching his feet. So I sat on the edge and held him in my lap to play for the first 5 minutes or so. Then I was able to move him to his own corner.

We played in it for a good half hour. Then we got out. He was done playing. I put the cover back on, and we went and changed into pjs because it was 8 pm. Then he threw a fit because I wouldn't let him back in it to play.

Not fun. This weekend has been full of fits. He hasn't thrown this many in a while. He also seems to be very tired, even though he has been sleeping through the night most nights lately (YEA!). Oh the joys of parenting a two year old.

But we did have a very fun walk around the block. It's not a big block, but it still takes 20 minutes at Mikey speed. He chased birds trying to catch them. Zoomed his choo-choo train car over the grass and tried to squish ants with it. That didn't work so he tried to stomp the ants. He stopped to talk to a lady getting out of her car. He played shy and waved at a guy waiting very patiently for us to cross in front of his driveway. He decided he was exhausted and couldn't walk the final half a block, so he got a piggyback ride. We do those a lot around the house. This time he laid his head on my back, and I thought he was going to fall asleep, but he seemed to perk up a bit when we got home.

All in all, a very good day. Minus the tantrums of course.

Haircut

I have been trying to convince Mike to cut Mikey's hair for a while. Now that it is getting warm, he always has a sweaty hot head. Mike agreed to cut it after the weekend, so Monday I started asking him about it. Well we cut it yesterday. Mike used the clippers while I held him.

I wanted to have it about an inch long. Short, but still cute, red, and probably curly. That is not quite what happened. Here are the before and after pictures:

Aah! He's bald!
I think he looks like a little monk. Very cute and much cooler. He keeps touching his head since it feels neat.

Soccer and Dance

Today was Mikey's first soccer game. It did not go well. As in we didn't last even 5 minutes. Mikey started freaking out while we were in line to get his shirt. Once we got it and put it on him, total meltdown commenced. There was no distraction going to happen, so I ended up carrying him outside to see if I could calm him down.

Yes, we were that family. The one you look at and think "thank goodness that isn't me today". And then look at your child and praise them for being so good.

Mikey took about 10 minutes of walking around outside to calm down. But there is no way he was going back inside. Oh well, at least we got the soccer shirt. Hopefully next week we can at least last until our session starts. Otherwise, it will be a long 10 weeks.

After we were home and daddy was in charge of Mikey, I left to watch my niece's dance recital. The whole dance school worked together to put on Alice in Wonderland, with each class giving a performance. It was awesome to watch. The little girls are adorable, and some of the more advanced classes are amazing. I loved to see the girls that put everything they had into their dance, they were the best to watch. Laughed so hard at the faces some of the girls had while hip hopping. Attitude shone right through.

Apparently my niece has decided that we doesn't want to take ballet next year, she wants something a little faster. Hip hop is currently her top choice. Which will be adorable to watch. Can't wait.

Playing outside

We have turned into outside people. Or Mikey has anyway. That boy loves being outside.

We let him play on the deck outside the patio in his bubble clouds without having to put shoes on, provided it is nice out. Since he wants to come in and out and open and close the door a million times. It's fun for him. And I can just relax on the couch beside the door with a book knowing he is safe.

He stills loves throwing rocks into puddles in the yard. Our yard has not yet been cleaned up by the property management, so I don't care if he throws the rocks everywhere. It's not like we have grass that isn't in ankle deep puddles anyway.

We discovered that you can walk all the way around the outside of the property from our backyard. All around the outside of three townhouse rows. In very wet grass that has fabulous splashing puddles. It's fun for Mikey in his boots. Not so fun in flip flops because I don't have boots. It is cold water.

Mikey has finally learned the joy of swinging. Before he would always scream bloody murder if you put him in a swing, and don't even think about pushing the swing. Now? We spent 20 min just swinging today. When I took him out of the little kid swing, he went up to the adult swings. So I held him in my lap and we did more swinging. I love that our complex has a little swing set. I see us spending a lot of time there this summer.

We have started going for walks around the block. It takes about 15-20 min for Mikey to walk it. He loves it. I'm surprised his head doesn't fall off from swiveling so far and so fast. It is much faster and less dangerous when he is in his wagon during walks.

I have never really been an ourdoor person, but I can see that I will be outdoors a lot more from now on.

Birthday review

Gee, you get busy for one day, and suddenly it's several days later. Having no regular schedule has really caused my blogging to get off course.

Mikey's birthday was lots of fun. We went to a local zoo. It wasn't very large, but it was perfect for taking little kids for a couple hours. We were able to see everything without getting exhausted. They actually had quite a variety of animals: lions, tigers, bears, camels, lemurs, and a few more.

Mikey's favourite animals were the turtles. I think it was mainly because he could get really close to them. His other favourite part was the pony ride. We weren't sure if he would like it, but he loved it so much we bought a second ride for him.

My mom, my sister and her kids joined us at the zoo. It was a super fun time.

After the zoo, everyone came back to our place for a bbq and cake. The kids played in Mikey's new sandbox, and danced around popping bubbles from his new bubble machine.

Mikey didn't try even a bite of his cake. But it was yummy for the rest of us. Definitely a successful birthday.

Happy birthday baby!

Happy birthday to my son Michael who turns 2 today! I can't believe it's already been two years. They have flown by so quickly.

 

Mikey is a stubborn little ball of energy. He is usually a very happy little boy. Always has a smile. He has perfected the cutest "peas" and "tank oo" that can not be denied. He loves giving kisses and cuddles.

He loves cheesies, Doritoes and milk. He won't chew or eat any solid food. He throws up at least every other day: any time he gets over-upset, over-excited, or over-hot. He nevers sleeps through the night, although some nights he only wakes up once. He loves watching tv and movies, is a pro at using an iPad, and is trying to figure out how to use the mouse on the computer, and gets frustrated the monitor is not a touch screen. All his toys wrestle, whether they are "dudes" or stuffed animals. His stuffed animals are his babies, and are required for snuggling at night.

He loves helping out, whether it is throwing things in the garbage or washing dishes. He will drag a chair across the kitchen to get to the sink. He loves his new step stool in the bathroom so he can reach to brush his teeth.

He loves being outdoors. His wagon is his favourite mode of transportation, unless he can convince Mom to carry him. His new favourite game is throwing rocks into water, whether it is the river or the puddle in the backyard.

He is my little angel. My little devil.

Love you, baby! Although you are definitely not a baby anymore.

Picture day

I thought I'd post a few pictures for a change.

Quiet moments where everyone is relaxing. It seems that whenever I am sitting on the couch, Mikey is leaning on me.

Close-up because Mikey makes the funniest faces sometimes.

Sparklers. Daddy bought a pack or two for Mikey. I am not a fan. Something about my intense fear of fire prevents me from enjoying them. But obviously Mikey likes them.

Cute Tot

It's official. Mikey is a cute tot. And it's not just me saying it, it's another blog. So it must be true.

Check out all the cute tots. Can you figure out which one is Mikey?

If you're visiting from the cute tot post, please let me know.

Building a fort

As promised, I have pictures of the fort Mikey and I built on the weekend. Or more correctly, the fort I built that Mikey destroyed. It took me a while to build, and seconds to destroy. But it was still fun.

I originally saw the idea on Royal Baloo, and thought it looked cute. And like something I could actually do.

Our foam blocks did not fit together very well as a cube. They don't quite line up on the top. And as you can see on the left side, are not very rigid. They need a corner to stand upright.

I think if I were to make it again (which I probably will) I'd make it one row wider, and not put a top on, with the door in the middle. I think it would be stronger that way. Not that it would last any longer though.

February review

I can believe February is over already. I know it's a short month, but this felt like only a week or two, not a full 4 weeks. Here are some highlights from the past month:

Weight loss/Workout:
Abysmal fail. I only worked out 5 times for the whole month.
I think I put weight on, I don't want to weigh myself and find out. I noticed that a few pants seemed tighter this month. Not good.

Date night:
Last Friday was our date night. Mikey had a blast staying at his cousin's. He slept all night (figures!), even through falling out of bed. He didn't wake anyone up. My sister said she woke up at 7, and could hear something. That something was Mikey sitting on the floor in the room he slept in, playing with his bear. He was so good at waiting for someone to get up and get him. If only he did that at home!

Mike and I chose a movie, but it didn't start until 9:30, so we went bowling first. It was lots of fun, and I even beat him one game! Then we went to the theatre at 9, decided to see a different movie that didn't start until 10, so went to get appetizers first. By the time we were done eating, I was exhausted. So we went home and I went to bed. I guess we will try a movie another night.

Apartment hunt:
We have a place! And I got it through contacts! Which is something I've never done before. I found it through an ad, saw it, and filled out an application. When I handed it in, the lady told me she thought the property manager (gave her name) already offered it to someone but she'd take my application anyway. I used contacts through work to get in touch with her, who said she would check everything on Monday, and let me know.

It was offered to someone, and they gave her until lunch time yesterday to come sign the lease. No word, no show. So it's ours! I will be rushing it to sign the lease and hand over a check for sure. So March promises to be busy with moving.
That's pretty much a summary of my month. Let's hope March brings good weather, and good times.

Date night this weekend

I love having my sister live nearby. She has graciously agreed to take Mikey overnight on Friday. So I have a date with my husband. We are planning to go to the movies. I haven't been to the movies in forever. I'm so excited. Also to be able to sleep all night without getting up. Sweet!

Mind you, Mikey has been sleeping better. He's only been getting up twice a night, and he is sleeping in until 7 am. That is so much better than 4 wakeups, and getting up at 6 am. He is also starting to come in and snuggle in my bed with me for a few minutes, which is much nicer than dragging myself out because he is screaming.

Yesterday was Family Day here in Canada, which is a new holiday. We celebrated by taking Mikey, and my sister and her kids, to a play day at a local sports complex. They transformed their sports field into bouncy castle heaven. There were 10-12 different bouncy castles there. Everything imaginable. It was awesome!

Mikey really enjoyed the bouncy slide. He wanted to enjoy the castles, but they were too bouncy. He couldn't stay standing, and started to freak out. I tried to get him to go in the little kid castle, which was sturdier and less bouncy, but by the time we made it to the front of the line, Mikey was done, and ready to go home.

Family was quite fun, and I definitely enjoyed having a day off from work.

Hugs and Kisses

Mikey is a huge cuddler. He loves to get and give hugs and kisses. Just this morning, he decided that we needed to have a cuddle session. Unfortunately, it was while I was eating my breakfast, so I only got to eat half my breakfast because the rest got too cold for me to stomach.

Mikey loves wrapping his little arms around your neck and slobbering all over your face. He is getting really good at giving kisses with his mouth closed, but he still drools quite a bit, so he is often gooey anyways. He also tends to smush his face against yours. Often in an awkward position, at an awkward angle. But it's cute.

Our little cuddle session this morning really made me realize how much I love having a cuddly kid, and how much I will miss it once he is too old to think such activities are cool. So I will be sure to get my fill now.

Angry mom

While reading some of my regular blogs this morning, I saw a post on the Making of MOM about angry moms, and how this is a taboo topic. It really struck a nerve with me today, because I totally lost of cool and became that angry mom last night.

Mikey has been sleeping horribly lately. Waking up lots, refusing to go back to sleep. Throwing tantrums because I won't let him go to the living room to play and watch tv. Last night was another night like this, same as every night this week.

He went to bed a little after 8, just like normal. He woke up screaming at 10. I went, calmed him down and put him back to bed. He woke up again just before 11, as I was going to bed. I should have gone to bed after the first wake up, but I still had laundry to fold, and I wanted a few minutes to relax. So an 11 o'clock wake-up was not appreciated. He was much harder to put down, and threw a tantrum first.

When he does this at night, I put him in his bed, sit on the edge, and wait. While not looking at him. He will calm himself down, and will either go to sleep, or nicely ask for snuggles, which he will get. He was asleep finally just before midnight. So off to bed I stumbled. Only to get up 15 min later, when he was screaming again. The tantrum this time was still going on at 1 am. At which point I lost it, and became the "angry mom".

So I finally got back to bed at about 1:15, and promptly past out from exhaustion. Only to be awoken at 5 am by a little boy standing at my bedside calling Mom, Mom, Mom. A drink, snuggles, and half an hour later, he was back asleep, and so was I. Only to be awoken at 6 for good.

I try not to lose my cool very often. But there is something about middle of the night tantrums that get to me every time. I'm not sure how to manage them better. Any tips?

Growing vocab

Mikey's vocabulary has been growing by leaps and bounds lately. For the longest time, he would only say mama and dada and uh-oh. Then doggie was added. And then nothing for a long time. Lately he has begun to say other words.

Elephant - his favourite animal. Very garbled, but once or twice it was crystal clear. Much to everyone's amazement
Grandma and Nana - to the delight of said ladies
No - what every parent wants to hear
Yes - much better
Day-go - It is really Diego, as in Go Diego Go. His favourite show for a few weeks. He's progressed to Blue's Clues (loves to dance along, and does the hand motions too) and Curious George.
Ba-bee - His cousin Abby. Who he loves. And completely smoothered with hugs and kisses the last time we visited. To the point that she was pushing him away.

There are lots of garbled animal names. He loves 2 iPad apps (Sound Touch and Baby Words) that are filled with animal names and sounds.Although I think his all time favourite picture and sound right now is the ketchup bottle squirting. When he picks it, he says "eeewwwww" with a huge grin. And then picks it repeatedly.

I know he says more, but of course I can't think of any words right now.

My son is growing up

I don't often talk about my son in my blog. It's not due to privacy concerns; between my husband and myself, there are probably hundreds of pictures of him on Facebook. It's not that he isn't a great source of material, because he definitely is, and I love to read other people's blogs about their kids. I think it's because my blog is one of the few things I do for ME, so I try to keep my job and home out of it. But some things deserve to be shared...

My son's name is Michael, like his dad and grandfather. We call him Mikey. He is a mischievous little boy who will be two in May. He is super smart, stubborn, and knows how to get his own way. He refuses to chew foods, which is a constant source of frustration and doctor check-ups.

Mikey's favourite food is milk. He was a milk baby, and would still be that way if he had a choice. He has recently showed us that we can no longer trick him into thinking there is no more milk. When he wants a drink, he will pretend to untwist the lid to his sippy cup, hand it to either daddy or myself, and make grunting noises. We are then expected to fill it. Which we often do. This past weekend, when my husband took the milk jug out of the fridge, it was empty except for a few drops (wonder who put it away like that) and he told Mikey that, while pouring the few drops in the cup. "All gone, guess there's no milk for a drink. Want a snack instead?"

And my super bright kid reached in the fridge, grabbed a bag of milk off the shelf and handed it to his daddy. He was not to be fooled. It was hilarious, and so priceless. So obviously he got his milk.

As it becomes more and more obvious that Mikey is all boy, and no more baby, I'm sure I will have more tales to share. It's also a great way for me to record them to remember later. I have a horrible memory, and don't want to lose all the small steps that he is mastering all the time.

Goals and Resolutions for 2011

Since it's getting near the end of the year, it's time to start thinking about New Year's resolutions. If you make them. I sometimes make them, sometimes don't. I think most people only keep them for a month or two, and then lose interest, or forget.

This year, I think I will make a list of goals, instead of resolutions. Here is the list I have come up with so far:

Personal:

• lose 20 lb
• start exercising regularly
• read 50 books
• do an hour of cross-stitch a month

Professional:

• keep on top of all required reading for my courses and not fall behind
• pass each course with a minimum 75% - I need 65% to pass at all

Blogging:

• post at least 4 times a week
• include a book review at least once every two weeks
• complete the In Death Challenge

Family:

• enroll my son in a fun program - I think we are leaning towards soccer. Have you every seen 2 and 3 year olds play? They are adorable. When they aren't daydreaming and picking flowers.

Financial:

• pay off my credit card, and keep it paid off - meaning no balance at the end of each month

I think that's a pretty big list, but everything is doable, although some items will require a little more work than others. We'll see how it goes during the year.

First sleepover away

Last night was my son's first sleepover away. He is 19 months, and spent the night at my sister's with his two cousins. My company Christmas party was last night, and we figured it would be a treat for all of us if he slept over.

He had a blast! Never cried once. Went to bed super easy. Slept until 6:30 am, with only one wake-up that only required a hug, then back to sleep. He had so much fun playing, that when I got there at 11 this morning to pick him up, he called out "hi" and just kept playing. No hug or kisses or nothing. And then got very upset when we had to leave. Glad to know he is okay with staying elsewhere. And that he is super well behaved. Why is it that kids are always better at other people's houses?

It was a treat for me too. I got to have a few drinks at the party. And then slept in until 9:30! With no wake ups over night. Haven't had that in forever it seems. I didn't stress at all about my son being away. I think my husband had a few moments, but it was all good.

Now to try to convince my sister to make it happen more often... lol

Xmas tree

We put our Christmas tree up yesterday. It was an adventure. We have a fake tree, and my son decided to help me. While I took each branch, fluffed it up, and attached it, he had a branch that he was swiping on everything. Thought it was hilarious.

When I put the lights on, he trailed behind holding the end of the lights for me. He was a real good helper!

I used to always have a simple blue and white tree, but my husband wanted colour, so he picked up multi-colour lights and red and blue garland. It definitely looks different. Like a family tree.

Is the week over yet?

This week has felt so long. Or maybe I have just been super tired. I feel like I am dragging myself around all week. And it's only Thursday. Ugh. But it's been busy so far:

Monday:
- Nothing special happened. Just a regular day.
- Magoo did not sleep well that night, so neither did I.

Tuesday:
- Took my car in for repairs. I had taken it in last Friday because the front corner was making bad clunking noises whenever I hit a bump. Which is often. Gotta love potholes. I had to take it back in Tuesday because the parts needed to be ordered in. Which parts? Control arm for the clunking corner and ALL 4 sway bars. Ugh. There goes $1200. Which uber-sucks because I only had $140 in my car repair fund. So much for having my credit card paid off.
- Magoo slept even worse that night. Two tantrums during the night.

Wednesday:
- Had our hearing at the tenant board about the length of time it took to repair our bathroom. It was 3 months from the day it started leaking to the day they patched and painted. Way too long in my opinion. The result was favourable for us, and confidential. But we'll still be moving at the end of our lease. I'm counting the days, and it's still over 100.
- Magoo slept better last night. Although he woke up at one point and was freaking out. Rolling around in his bed, yelling and crying, and didn't want to be picked up. Lasted about 5 minutes. Then I picked him up, gave him a drink, and he went right back to sleep.

Today is a regular day. Except that I'm exhausted. But I don't work tomorrow since Magoo has a doctor's appointment, and it always takes forever. And I have Monday off too for his pediatrician appointment, which I don't think will go great since there is still no food chewing going on. At 18 months, he should be eating normal food. Or at least chewing some finger foods. But no, super smooth is still the only way he'll eat. So frustrating.

Here's hoping I can get some sleep this weekend though.