Yesterday, the royal (pain in the butt) highness Patrick would not take a nap. He was up at 6:30 in the morning and took two very very short power naps (about 10 minutes each). By 6 last night, I was so exhausted I seriously didn't know what to do.
Eventually, he drifted off to sleep around 6:30 - 7. I didn't want to wake him so I put a sleep sack on him and whisked him right into his crib (no bath, no diaper change, nothing). And I checked on him a few times before I finally fell asleep - of course, he was passed out like a drunken sailor, arms spread out, legs spread wide open.
I shot this video over the course of the day. You'll see how he spent the majority of his day yesterday. While it's a boring video, I promised Mike I would post it so he could see the antics his son is up to while he's away for work.
I know the video shows him falling asleep, but it's a fake. As soon as I turned the camera off, he opened his eyes, smiled at me, and continued to bounce.
Oh - did I mention he was up at 4 am because he was hungry? Yeah, since he was busy bouncing all day long, he didn't want to take a bottle at his usual time around 5 and went to bed with a semi-empty stomach that he took note of at 4 in the morning.
This morning, he's in a great mood. And bouncing in his seat. Naturally.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
You've Heard Me Rant for 400 Posts... This One Is No Different
To celebrate my 400th post (yeah me!! 400 posts!), I thought I would write about something that has been in my life for as long as I can remember.
I guess I should start off by saying that I have been watching a new show on VH1, Viva Hollywood. Now, seriously, who wouldn't watch a reality show where the winner gets to star in a telenovela. A TELENOVELA! Just like the ones I grew up watching, full of rage, passion, vengence, and lust.
Now, just to save myself a little bit, I'll admit that I don't watch it when it's on. That is, I'm not rushing to the couch to tune in when it plays. But I do DVR it and watch it after the little boy is fast asleep.
At first, I wasn't sure how I would feel about the show and figured I would watch one episode and forget about it. But I have watched two episodes now, and I think I'm hooked.
Why am I hooked? Is it because Maria Conchita Alonso is on it? Is it because they call the house they live in "La Casa de Locos"? Is it because the deliciously attractive Carlos Ponce hosts it?
All good reasons, yes. But the truth is, it's because every week, Walter Mercado introduces one of the sins of the telenovela. Yes, THAT Walter Mercado. And I grew up watching him not even knowing what he was talking about (for those of you who don't know, he is a Latino astrologer, followed faithfully by many Latinos).
I remember being about seven years old, sick with some kind of cold or flu. I must have been carrying on about not wanting to take my medicine. And my mom said to me, "Walter is on the television." Immediately, I replied with, "What does he say about Pisces?" To which she replied, "He says all Pisces should take their medicine so they can get better."
And, of course, I did. Because Walter said to.
For those of you who need a refresher, enjoy!
And please, don't forget to take with you... Mucho, mucho, mucho... amor.
I guess I should start off by saying that I have been watching a new show on VH1, Viva Hollywood. Now, seriously, who wouldn't watch a reality show where the winner gets to star in a telenovela. A TELENOVELA! Just like the ones I grew up watching, full of rage, passion, vengence, and lust.
Now, just to save myself a little bit, I'll admit that I don't watch it when it's on. That is, I'm not rushing to the couch to tune in when it plays. But I do DVR it and watch it after the little boy is fast asleep.
At first, I wasn't sure how I would feel about the show and figured I would watch one episode and forget about it. But I have watched two episodes now, and I think I'm hooked.
Why am I hooked? Is it because Maria Conchita Alonso is on it? Is it because they call the house they live in "La Casa de Locos"? Is it because the deliciously attractive Carlos Ponce hosts it?
All good reasons, yes. But the truth is, it's because every week, Walter Mercado introduces one of the sins of the telenovela. Yes, THAT Walter Mercado. And I grew up watching him not even knowing what he was talking about (for those of you who don't know, he is a Latino astrologer, followed faithfully by many Latinos).
I remember being about seven years old, sick with some kind of cold or flu. I must have been carrying on about not wanting to take my medicine. And my mom said to me, "Walter is on the television." Immediately, I replied with, "What does he say about Pisces?" To which she replied, "He says all Pisces should take their medicine so they can get better."
And, of course, I did. Because Walter said to.
For those of you who need a refresher, enjoy!
And please, don't forget to take with you... Mucho, mucho, mucho... amor.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Tree
There's a tree that sits in my backyard. It's not huge, but it gives us privacy from our neighbors (read: they can't see into our kitchen when the blinds are open). Anyway... each Spring, the tree blooms these gorgeous white flowers. When we bought this house, one of the first pictures we saw was of this tree. Eventually, the white flowers fall and everything becomes green. In the Fall, the leaves turn reddish, also a really nice view, and then fall, leaving the tree bare for the winter.
A few days ago, the tree bloomed. As always, it's gorgeous. I finally took a picture of it this morning:
A few days ago, the tree bloomed. As always, it's gorgeous. I finally took a picture of it this morning:
I also took a picture of what the tree does to me every Spring. No, I'm not high. I just have hayfever. I'm miserable, people!
But my sense of humor is intact. Here's our political endorsement for 2008:
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Month Six
Dear Patrick,
Another month has come and gone. This sixth month of your life was full of wonder and awe – for both you and I. You started by celebrating your first Easter at Grandma’s house. On this day, we introduced you to your “office” – your exersaucer. We weren’t sure you would take to it, but as soon as we put you in it, you started playing with all the toys attached to it, making noises, bouncing, smiling, loving every minute of it. It has become one of the favorite toys at home – for all of us. You also love your toys, most of which make some kind of noise.
You continue to put everything in your mouth, including your feet! Actually, you are attempt
ing this, but it’s not easy at all.
This month, you rolled over for the first time and now, we cannot keep you on your stomach for any amount of time. As soon as you are put down, you go right into your roll position. The first time you rolled over, we got so excited. We clapped and cheered and you got really scared. You cried, but soon realized it was a game. And now, when you roll over, you wait for us to cheer you on.
You are babbling and drooling, communicating with people and your toys. Your sleeping habits are wonderful – we couldn’t ask for more. Well, except maybe that you would nap during the day. Right now, you will nap for very short periods of time and by late afternoon, you are exhausted, cranky, and ornery. Add to that the pain of teething, and it’s sometimes a tough afternoon. But honestly, it is so minute compared to the rest of the day. You smile and coo and shriek. Then you smile some more.
You love your bathtime and it has become a nighttime (or every other night!) ritual for you and your dad. I love to hear your hear your dad talk to you during this time. He tells you all about baseball and football. He sings to you – “I feel good!” Then he gets you ready for bed, you give me a big gummy smile and off you drift until the next morning.
Another thing – everyone loves you. EVERYONE. You are extremely friendly and rarely put up a fight when you are held, even by people you don’t see very often. I hope you carry this trait with you always.
You are also eating foods now. Cereal mixed with your formula. Applesauce. Peaches. You are skeptical at first, you aren’t too sure what to do, but when you taste the sweetness of the fruit, you are in heaven. You open your mouth WIDE and BIG and then slowly, but surely, you figure out that you have to swallow it, then ask for more.
Little boy, keep making up smile. Luckily, it doesn’t take much for you to do that.
Love,
Momma
Another month has come and gone. This sixth month of your life was full of wonder and awe – for both you and I. You started by celebrating your first Easter at Grandma’s house. On this day, we introduced you to your “office” – your exersaucer. We weren’t sure you would take to it, but as soon as we put you in it, you started playing with all the toys attached to it, making noises, bouncing, smiling, loving every minute of it. It has become one of the favorite toys at home – for all of us. You also love your toys, most of which make some kind of noise.
You continue to put everything in your mouth, including your feet! Actually, you are attempt
ing this, but it’s not easy at all.
This month, you rolled over for the first time and now, we cannot keep you on your stomach for any amount of time. As soon as you are put down, you go right into your roll position. The first time you rolled over, we got so excited. We clapped and cheered and you got really scared. You cried, but soon realized it was a game. And now, when you roll over, you wait for us to cheer you on.
You are babbling and drooling, communicating with people and your toys. Your sleeping habits are wonderful – we couldn’t ask for more. Well, except maybe that you would nap during the day. Right now, you will nap for very short periods of time and by late afternoon, you are exhausted, cranky, and ornery. Add to that the pain of teething, and it’s sometimes a tough afternoon. But honestly, it is so minute compared to the rest of the day. You smile and coo and shriek. Then you smile some more.
You love your bathtime and it has become a nighttime (or every other night!) ritual for you and your dad. I love to hear your hear your dad talk to you during this time. He tells you all about baseball and football. He sings to you – “I feel good!” Then he gets you ready for bed, you give me a big gummy smile and off you drift until the next morning.
Another thing – everyone loves you. EVERYONE. You are extremely friendly and rarely put up a fight when you are held, even by people you don’t see very often. I hope you carry this trait with you always.
You are also eating foods now. Cereal mixed with your formula. Applesauce. Peaches. You are skeptical at first, you aren’t too sure what to do, but when you taste the sweetness of the fruit, you are in heaven. You open your mouth WIDE and BIG and then slowly, but surely, you figure out that you have to swallow it, then ask for more.
Little boy, keep making up smile. Luckily, it doesn’t take much for you to do that.
Love,
Momma
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Some Days Are Tougher Than Others - UPDATED*
Today is one of those days.
It feels like I can't get anything done. I want to pull my hair out. I want to cry.
Patrick is ornery. He doesn't want to eat. He wants to eat. He doesn't want to play. He wants to play. He wants to sit. He doesn't want to sit. He wants to swing. He doesn't want to swing. He wants to play in his exersaucer. Oh, no, he doesn't.
He finally fell asleep. I think that's what's been bugging him the whole time. Why doesn't he just fall asleep? Instead, he fights and fights and screams and screams. No tears, just screams. Loud screams.
But it's quiet again.
I think I'll fold laundry.
*I never folded the laundry. It's still in a basket in the kitchen. Instead, I read my favorite magazine, Real Simple, which came in the mail today. Then I relished in the quietness of my home. Patrick woke up after an hour-long nap. As I was changing his diaper, he peed on his face not once but twice and is currently sitting in a onesie, drinking his milk. It's great to see him, drinking down the bottle, his chubdelicious thighs exposed. The day got better afterall.
It feels like I can't get anything done. I want to pull my hair out. I want to cry.
Patrick is ornery. He doesn't want to eat. He wants to eat. He doesn't want to play. He wants to play. He wants to sit. He doesn't want to sit. He wants to swing. He doesn't want to swing. He wants to play in his exersaucer. Oh, no, he doesn't.
He finally fell asleep. I think that's what's been bugging him the whole time. Why doesn't he just fall asleep? Instead, he fights and fights and screams and screams. No tears, just screams. Loud screams.
But it's quiet again.
I think I'll fold laundry.
*I never folded the laundry. It's still in a basket in the kitchen. Instead, I read my favorite magazine, Real Simple, which came in the mail today. Then I relished in the quietness of my home. Patrick woke up after an hour-long nap. As I was changing his diaper, he peed on his face not once but twice and is currently sitting in a onesie, drinking his milk. It's great to see him, drinking down the bottle, his chubdelicious thighs exposed. The day got better afterall.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Follow Up - Patrick Rolls Over, now with video!
Hi there, folks. As if I don't write enough about Patrick and our experiences with us, I've gone and made a video of various clips of him mastering his latest skill.
In the video, you will hear that I sound like a complete dork and at times, Mike sounds like a southerner when he calls Patrick "boy". I assure you, though, that we are pretty cool people. Seriously. I promise.
Anyhoo... enjoy!
In the video, you will hear that I sound like a complete dork and at times, Mike sounds like a southerner when he calls Patrick "boy". I assure you, though, that we are pretty cool people. Seriously. I promise.
Anyhoo... enjoy!
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Many Milestones
So, yeah, Patrick learned that he can scream. The last few days, he has been yelling and screaming and then squeals with delight and smiles at me, as if to say, "Hey Mama, I'm cool, I can yell. Don't you like it?"
While I am proud of this, it's always nice when he tires himself so much, he needs to take a nap. Twenty minutes later, he's awake again, yelling again.
On to the point of this post, though. Tonight, Mike and I were getting him ready for bed. I warmed up his bath water, while Mike stripped him of his drool-coated oufit. We decided to let him have a few minutes of tummy time and suddenly, Patrick turned over. Mike and I were so excited, we started clapping and cheering. Poor Patrick got so scared, he started crying. Milestone accomplished. I never knew I could experience such joy, watching my son roll over from his belly to his back.
Fast forward a few minutes. We've calmed him down from our cheering. He's happy again and since he's wearing only a diaper (because he is supposed to get a bath before bed), I started to kiss and tickle him. He's thrilled and smiling his gummy smile at me. And suddenly, we hear it: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Patrick is laughing. Holy crap! This time, we're wise: no cheering, no clapping. And he smiles his gummy smile at us and kicks his legs in delight. Milestone accomplished.
We finally got him into the bathtub. I had to reheat his water but it was well-worth it. A few minutes later, he was laying in his crib, ready to sleep, exhausted from all the work of rolling and laughing.
My son. The genius!
While I am proud of this, it's always nice when he tires himself so much, he needs to take a nap. Twenty minutes later, he's awake again, yelling again.
On to the point of this post, though. Tonight, Mike and I were getting him ready for bed. I warmed up his bath water, while Mike stripped him of his drool-coated oufit. We decided to let him have a few minutes of tummy time and suddenly, Patrick turned over. Mike and I were so excited, we started clapping and cheering. Poor Patrick got so scared, he started crying. Milestone accomplished. I never knew I could experience such joy, watching my son roll over from his belly to his back.
Fast forward a few minutes. We've calmed him down from our cheering. He's happy again and since he's wearing only a diaper (because he is supposed to get a bath before bed), I started to kiss and tickle him. He's thrilled and smiling his gummy smile at me. And suddenly, we hear it: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Patrick is laughing. Holy crap! This time, we're wise: no cheering, no clapping. And he smiles his gummy smile at us and kicks his legs in delight. Milestone accomplished.
We finally got him into the bathtub. I had to reheat his water but it was well-worth it. A few minutes later, he was laying in his crib, ready to sleep, exhausted from all the work of rolling and laughing.
My son. The genius!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Sunday, April 06, 2008
My Innocent Youth (soon to be revisited!)
As I was approaching my teen years, I fell in love with New Kids on the Block and absolutley loved Jordan Knight. I loved him so much that I bought a Stylistics record - yes, record - so I could listen to it (as an aside, I should thank Jordan Knight for an interview he did saying he was inspired by them, it completely opened my ears to fantastic music that I still listen to today) because if Jordan loved it, so did I.
Over the last few weeks, rumors have been flying around about a possible New Kids reunion. Thankfully, the rumors are true. They will be performing next month in my neck of the woods.
I never got to see them in the late 80's, when I was a big fan. Instead, I played their records, watched their videos and paid attention to the issues of Teen Beat (or whatever teen magazine would feature them). Unfortunately, I don't have any mementos of them from those years, but I still remember all their songs and moves.
I am certain there are a million other girls who are frantic that the boys will be on tour. I am sure they are ready to jump them, scream, cry, dance, and sing.
I think this dorky geeky girl may very well be joining them. :)
Over the last few weeks, rumors have been flying around about a possible New Kids reunion. Thankfully, the rumors are true. They will be performing next month in my neck of the woods.
I never got to see them in the late 80's, when I was a big fan. Instead, I played their records, watched their videos and paid attention to the issues of Teen Beat (or whatever teen magazine would feature them). Unfortunately, I don't have any mementos of them from those years, but I still remember all their songs and moves.
I am certain there are a million other girls who are frantic that the boys will be on tour. I am sure they are ready to jump them, scream, cry, dance, and sing.
I think this dorky geeky girl may very well be joining them. :)
Friday, April 04, 2008
How You Doin'?
What Patrick probably thought of these moments, taken a few days ago, in celebration of Opening Day:
"I have to pretend to love these people - the Yankees - my Daddy calls them. He's named all my stuffed monkeys: Mariano, Jorge, A-Rod, Derek, Hideki, and Bobby. And he's always talking about bases, strikes, and something else called RBI. I'm not sure of it, but I think I need to like them. Otherwise, Daddy won't pay for college."
"Yo, what happened to my Yankees jacket? It was warm. Now, this Mommy lady has me playing on the floor. And I'm surrounded by more monkeys! Except this time, they're on Mommy's feet!! I need more Yankees!"
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
I'm an April Fool
I was checking my email earlier today and saw that gmail had a new feature. Whoa, I thought, that's amazing.
Then I saw the date on the calendar.
I was duped again. :)
Then I saw the date on the calendar.
I was duped again. :)