Mom4Life: January 2008

cookies and a hair cut

Today I made chocolate chip cookies. Yummy! They were quite good. I used the recipe on the Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chip package. I'm glad I was able to make them when Eric was taking a nap.

I decided to cut Eric's hair since I haven't cut it since his birthday in October. It's hard to do a good job when the little boy is moving and wants to see what his mommy is doing. I think it's better than it was though.
It didn't snow today but it sure was windy. It has warmed up to about 40 and now all the snow is melting and the ice that is underneath. It is really slushy and soggy outside. The weather forecast says more snow at the end of this week and this weekend.

More snow pictures

Eric was just hanging out and decided to put his sunglasses (with our help). He looked so cute.

Yes, this is our 4-runner. There is a layer of ice under the snow.

Lots of snow

David made a snow baby. I thought it was really good. We got about 8 inches yesterday.

This is the swimming pool which was completely frozen over with snow on top.
Man it's been crazy weather.

getting out

Today I took Eric to a place called Beaver Bark. It's been so cold lately that we've been stuck inside. Today I decided to brave the freezing temperatures and get out. It was nice. It really helped me to clear my thoughts. That and the cold temps helped to "freeze" my frustrations for a while.
Beaver Bark is a nursery and a gift shop. Plus it has a koy fish pond. Another nice thing is that it's right across from our apartment. How cool is that?

Eric liked looking at the big fish.

Adjustments from a frustrated Mom

-------------------Beware of a frustrated Mom who needs to get her frustrations out-----------------

I didn't know that when I became a mom, I automatically entered my baby into a competition.
Don't people realize that babies and toddlers grow and develop at their own rate?
We can't rush them. They will walk when they are good and ready.

Here I am typing and backspacing on this blog trying to be careful about what I say. Why do I have to be so cautious and afraid all the time?

Is it ok that my toddler is not walking yet and not eating finger/table foods very well?(except for the times that he gags and throws it up 90% of the time) I don't know but I am getting tired of hearing about the moms who brag about how their kids just started taking their first steps, and they're not even 1 year yet.

I don't know what to do with the gagging problem. I think I've tried everything from Graduates for toddlers, finger foods (veggie and fruit puffs-which are suppose to melt in the mouth). The size 3 textured foods are out.
Maybe Eric is just a picky eater? I don't know. He seems to love it if it's pureed, but if it has the wrong texture or is too sticky, he rejects it by either throwing in down on the floor, or putting it in his mouth and quickly spitting it out.
Over the past few weeks, I have found that he likes a few things that are finger food: French toast, broccoli (sometimes he keeps putting a bunch in his mouth and it gets stuck at the roof of his mouth), butternut squash. That seems to be about it for now. I'm not sure what else to try. I have to remember to check the labels for milk since he is allergic to milk. That's another challenge. I got frustrated today when I opened up a can of "little chicken sticks" by Graduates I noticed that it said whey powder (from milk) in the ingredients list. Don't you love that? Arrrggghhhh... who puts milk in chicken pieces?

Did I mention that it's been down right freezing the past few weeks? Actually way below that. Yesterday morning it was 8 degrees. This afternoon, it was 21. Nice huh?
It's been quite an adjustment for us who came from California where it rarely hits 45 degrees (for a low) at night in the winter.

much better

Eric is back to his old self. The doctor concluded that he had a stomach virus and he gave him some medicine to help with the vomiting. Also, he prescribed some vitamins since he's not drinking cows milk and the doctor wanted to make sure that Eric is getting enough vitamin D (he's allergic to it. Instead, he's on Next Step soy formula) Today for the first time he stood in one place for several seconds!
He seems to be getting stronger and more steady on his feet. Yay for Eric!
David and I can both tell that it's only a matter of time before he starts walking. I know what that mean. I'd better keep the camera handy.

Also, Eric is cutting some more teeth. He's getting 3 molars at the same time. He's definitely had his fussy/cranky times lately.
I am looking forward to getting out and taking Eric to the indoor playground. I've been stuck inside for the past few weeks since we've been sick.

still sick

Last week was absolutely exhausting. First Eric was sick and then Tuesday it snowed all day long, then I got sick and then Eric seemed to get sick again and on Friday, David was threatening to be sick but it was a blessing that he didn't. When Eric took a 4 hour nap on Tuesday I got to go outside and take pictures of the snow. I know he's sick when he goes back to sleep after waking up in the morning.
This weekend, he threw up two more times. I don't know what's wrong but I plan to take him back to the doctor tomorrow. The good news is that he acts mostly cheerful and he still wants to play.

I sure hope that this week is better.

In other news: I got a new computer for Christmas! :-D It was a group gift from David's side of the family. It's such a nice improvement from the old one that I had.
It even has a CD/DVD drive that works. :-)

more snow

I'd like to get out and enjoy this. When we woke up this morning it was snowing. I have a feeling I'll being staying indoors today. Eric is still really sick. We're watching him really closely. He hasn't been drinking his fluids very well and has a fever of 100.
He's sleeping right now.

Sick

Eric seems to have this bug that has been going around. This morning he vomited 3 times.
I called the doctor because he appears to be getting dehydrated and I'm worried.
The doctor said to come in this afternoon. In the meantime, we'll be praying for Eric. From what I've heard this bug is mean and nasty.

In other news: Our apartment has smelled like cigarette smoke for the past month or so. It seemed to be coming in from the laundry closet right next to the kitchen. It's getting worse. The maintenance man said it's coming from the neighbors who smoke. He is going to see what he can do to fix that by sealing up the hole in the attic. He thought it's coming into the clothes dryer vent or something like that. So since we've had this problem, we've been doing laundry at the laundromat. We've also been airing our the apartment as much as we can by opening the windows.

I hope this gets fixed soon. I'm getting concerned about Eric.

Happy New Year!

For New Years, we drove down south to Southern Oregon to meet with a friend of David's. His friend had his 3 year old daughter with him. She really liked Eric.

We went to the mall and let the kids play on the playground.

David and his friend worked together in the Navy.

Eric liked to play in the tunnel the best.

More Christmas pictures

This was taken some time before Christmas. One of his favorite things to do is to throw all of his toys out of his crib. It usually takes him about 10 minutes to do that.