18 months!

Hand hand fingers thumb.

One thumb one thumb drumming on a drum.

One hand two hands drumming on a drum.

Dum ditty Dum ditty Dum Dum Dum!

- Al Perkins



Dear Mr. Gobbles,

My little boy. You have become such a big boy so quickly I could cry. You've developed quite a little personality and can express to anyone exactly what you want. I can't think of a word you can't say, because you repeat everything that comes out of my mouth, good and bad. You are a shy little boy when you meet new adults, giving them a sheepish smile until they look back at you, then you bury your head on my shoulder and peek out with the same smile. By the time they leave the room you are telling them byebye and blowing them kisses.

With other kids, it's another story. You're still pretty shy, but you are immediately taken by them and will stand there and watch them play. If the child is bigger than you and invites you in, it still takes you a little time to warm up before letting loose and playing. If the child is smaller, you seem to be the one to initiate playtime. Either way, you are a little cautious and like to read the situation first before deciding what move to make. I feel like you may be more like me in this department, uncomfortable with strangers, but then ready and yearning to socialize when you know the people.

Because when you're comfortable, boy oh boy are you a fun guy! You've turned our couch into a jungle gym. We line up the pillows on the floor because you like to climb up and slide off, over and over again. You chase the puppies around, shove their toys in their faces, and hug and kiss them. You've started to "jump" and crack up when mommy and daddy jump too. At daycare, after returning from a weeklong vacation, one of your little girlfriends ran up to you so excited, Gobbbbas! she screamed. You started laughing and dancing and pointing to her Yaayaaaaaaaaa! (Laila). And you two began some sort of greeting ritual which looked kinda like a dance-off.

During our trip to Hilton Head, there was a stage with a children's singer on the boardwalk. He invited all the kids up on stage to listen to him. You were more interested in the handicap ramp at the back of the stage and spent the entire show running UP and DOWN the ramp with another little girl, cracking up as the two of you kept almost crashing into each other.

On the beach, you fearlessly took on the ocean and laughed every time a wave came crashing on you. You were suddenly shy when a little girl approached you and started splashing around. She spend a good 15 minutes trying to get you to play, and then when her mom said it was time to go you finally decided you wanted in. Sometimes you gotta come outta your shell a little sooner buds.

It's ok though, because you still had the time of your life. You liked the pool even more than the beach. Forget the kiddie pool - you were bored 5 minutes in. You kept looking over my shoulder and pointing to the big pool. So in we went. You loved jumping off the side into my arms. You'd love even more to go under water, but I wouldn't let you. I'm so mean. But Gobbles, I kept trying to show you, if you want your face in the water you have to blow bubbles. Instead you tried to drink it. We'll have to get swim lessons sometime soon!

The thing you loved most about Hilton Head was spending time with your Mommy and Daddy. We were pals all week, and we were proud to walk around the resort with the cutest little guy there. Even though you got sick for a few days, spending time with you was all that mattered. Unfortunately, we may have rubbed you the wrong way because by the end of the week you started to have a little attitude, which you've carried back home.

You have begun to verbalize No. You narrow your eyes and look right at me No, mommy, no. When I ask you if you're like to play with this or that no, no! Oh my goodness. And then, the other night, Daddy told me you guys were hanging out and Spoons jumped up on the couch to snuggle. He said you pushed her off the couch and said Go Away! Buddy, as cute as it may be in my head that you have sibling rivalry with the dogs, we won't stand for it. Because I know it's just going to get more challanging. Terrible twos here we are!

My little Gobbles, despite the fact that you are growing so quickly (34 1/2 inches tall - 99th percentile!), you'll always be my little boy and Mommy loves you with every fiber of her being.  Instead of saying No! all the time, just look at me and give me kisses like you love to to and tell me Aye yay yaaa Mommy (I love you Mommy) because you know that gets you the biggest hugs in the world!

Happy 18 months little boy.

Love,

Mommy

ps.  now for a random assortment of Mommy's phone pics.  Since the rest of the vacation pics are up on facebook, no need to copy them all twice!

i know exactly where to dump that sand!



give me a sqirt bottle and some water and I'm entertained for hours minutes!



no mommy no!  i do NOT want to walk by myself!

All eyes on ME in the backseat!

will ya put that camera away?

haha i agree it's very fun that i stole daddy's chair!



how humiliating!  just because my suit was soaked doesn't mean you had to put me in the carseat nekked!  This swim diaper makes my thighs look chunky!



this dog is so much easier to walk than my pups!

chillaxin on daddy's shoulders. lovin life!

who's idea was it to take me on a 12 hour car ride?  i'll give you a smile for a few minutes, but the other 11 hours.  i'll make sure you never to this to me again!

sitting in a carseat ALL.DAY.LONG.  makes me so hungry i can polish off more pizza than mommy!

MOMguyver

thank god we bought the warranty...

I have a feeling with a boy I'm going to be saying that a LOT over the next 18 years or so.   Gobbles glasses lasted less than two months of wear and tear before they snapped.  literally.  at the right temple.  This happened on Monday night, so Tuesday we promptly called the eye doctor for replacements and sent our boy off to school with electrical tape holding this "Eyes" together. 

This tape is such a pain I can't even keep my head still!

After he came home with more tape and the earpiece hanging off and I realized it was just 3 days until we left for vacation, the engineer in me came out.  I can't take all the credit because I did a quick google too, but the finishing touches were all me.  I grabbed some toothpicks, super glue, and bronze nail polish I had leftover from a wedding a few years back (to match my bridesmaid dress at Cawola's perhaps??).

A few minutes later, viola!

25 cent fix for for a mom in a rush

Just like new!  But don't try to fold them...

They didn't bother him at all!

Stop taking pictures and lemme eat my pancakes momma!

Nom nom nom.  Better get my eggs and fruit ready!

That's right!  More breakfast please!

At least I thought they were awesome.  But of course daycare is a rough and tumble place, and by the end of the day he came back again with tape on his glasses.  Good news is, on Thursday I got the call that his replacement frames were in... a lot quicker than I thought they'd be!

We picked them up this morning on the way to our cardiology appointment - the next step in the followup to the Geneticist.  After being poked and prodded for another 90 minutes, including an EKG and an echocardiogram, Gobbles' heart was pronounced perfect.  Great news to start a beautiful day. 

Only thing left on our to do list today?  Pack for vacation!  The first time our little family is going away together, just the three of us.  I can't wait!

I got to climb up and down the step stool and look out the window between doctors!

And my new glasses fit look specTACular!

a man of many words...

Over the weekend, Gobbles sort of exploded into speaking.  Now he's been saying words here and there forever now, and been babbling gibberish for quite some time too.  But all of the sudden, something just clicked and his vocabulary expanded exponentially.

I'll start with the best word ever, EVER, Mommy.  Granted, he's been saying this for awhile, but it's always come out in sort of a whiny momamomamoma.  But recently, it's quite clear.  MOMMY!  With a smile.  I think daycare helped out a bit because they felt bad when Gobbles came home saying "Terri", one of his teachers, all day and all night. 

On the way to school I quiz him, I ask which kids will he see today.  "Gobbles, are you going to see Layla" Yaya "Tori?" Tooowi "Aiden?" Ayen "Carter?" Ca-ta "Abby?" Ab-BE! "Ellie" Ayee.  Oh I could go on forever.  We say the names of his aunts & uncles and he can repeat them all back.  And Nana, and Pop.  Unfortunately there are three names he still has trouble with - his own, a little boy Patrick in his class, and, god forbid, Grandmom.  Don't worry Mom, he's saving it for someday special.  At least that's what I can say now that he's finally saying Mommy!

Besides the names, I don't know what words he can't say!  There are the old favorites - giggle, wiggle, shoes, cheese, teeth, daddy, bus, truck, car, ouch, dog, woof, moo (mmmm), roar, this, that, go, stop.  And all of the sudden, out of his mouth I've heard egg, puppy, milk (gook), cup, cookie, cracker, up, open, tree, house, book, bike, i love you (i yai yai), water (ok he doesn't say water - he says aqua.  my bilingual boy, haha).  Finally, last night, I felt like one of the items on my mommy checklist can be ticked off - Gobbles finally said Please.  Sure, it followed a thirty second tantrum and I had a cookie in my hand, but he said it.  What a well mannered child!

There is one problem that has been revealed with this onslaught of words.  Oh boy.  I thought I had cut back on my swearing when he was born, but I guess not enough!  The other day during rush hour I let a "Jesus Christ" slip and didn't even realize it until I heard a Chrise! enthusiastically pipe up from the backseat.  Yup, he is forever listening.  Listening and repeating.  As I pulled my rammy son out of his high chair this morning to go brush his teeth, I tried to get him to calm down with a stern "hey buddy!" Well it stopped the tantrum, my son looked back at me, square in the eye and repeated hey buddy!!

And so it begins :)

Hey Buddy! Just because i'm decked out in camo with my gut hanging out...



And I'm a bit of a motorhead...

...doesn't mean i'm not smaaaat!  CHEEEEEESE!!!!



why not, throw it in the mix.

I think there's something wrong with me.  Seriously, just when our normal routines start to run like a well-oiled machine, I decide to try something new.  Let's see if we can withstand this!  Then we'll relax.  Well, I guess that's not entirely true since this time we'll be doing our relaxing first - in the form of a weeklong trip to Hilton Head starting THIS Saturday!  Considering this is the first weekend in a month that will not require one of us to be at work (being on a rooftop in the rain with whiney contractors at 6:30 am two Saturdays in a row with no paid overtime is NOT what I signed up for over here a-holes), we don't even mind that we'll be spending twelve hours in the car...

But, back to the thing that has hubs and I looking at each other like giddy teenagers what are we DOING?... We decided to try our luck in this risky and unstable housing market and try to upgrade.  I've spent the last nine months watching listings come and go and the prices seemed to steadily fall.  As a seller, that's bad, especially having bought near the height of the market.  As a buyer, heck yes.  Give me that 4 bedroom 2 bath house for just a couple hundred dollars more a month.  We have a few favorites from open houses but of course putting in an offer can't happen until we do the following:
1) Get preapproved!  (Almost check.  We have the bank and the forms, just trying to scrounge up a few more documents requested).
2) Get a POD to get the clutter out of the house (Almost check.  POD's on order and arriving after we get back from vacation).
3) Hire a cleaner, scrub out that dog smell (love ya spoonsie bear).
4) Get a realtor and get the house listed!  Droves and droves of people will come from miles away to see it!
5) Find out the market feedback / get an offer on our house to see how much $ we'll get!
6) Pick our a new house, get our lowball offer accepted (wishful thinking), and schedule settlements.

Um, have I mentioned we are literally away every other weekend from now thru August?  Vacation, camping, wedding, cousins trip, family trip... etc.  But no need to worry, all of this craziness I completely brought upon myself and I accept these terms.  Heck, for more of a challenge (um, before we decided to actually put up the house) we even dropped Gobbles down at daycare to two days for the summer, two with my mom and Fridays with me, so no more sticking him there on Fridays just so I can get stuff done.  I think 18 months is old enough to learn how to pull weeds :)

Whew.  Next post will return to your normally scheduled Gobblestime.

making our way to normal

I started this post over a week ago. When Gobbles was napping. But he got up early and we had a booming social life to get to (more on that later)... so I'll finish this now!

Yesterday was a normal Friday. Normal in the sense that it's exactly what I expected my Fridays to be like wayyyy back in August when I rearranged my work schedule to have off on Fridays. They were to be mommy and Gobbles day. Then life happened, and I started using those Fridays off for doctors appointments, vet visits, house cleanings, recovering from colds, etc.... rinse, repeat. repeat. repeat.

In fact, we had another appointment yesterday, but that has also become quite normal for us. Since the year began, our little family has had over 28 doctor visits, be it a checkup, an emergency, dentist, veterinarian, eye doctor, etc... I know because I just had to do a tally for a healthcare spending account... But, I digress.

Yesterday's visit was with an Audiology specialist, which I am proud to say Gobbles passed with flying colors. It was a relief since the appointment a week prior with the Geneticist left us with no answers. The geneticist basically did a physical examination and bloodwork, which could be 4-6 weeks or 12-18 weeks for full results depending on which chromosome, if any, holds the Sticklers mutation. As far as the Sticklers goes, we had a lengthy discussion with the doctor as to what happens if he does have it, how family planning will work for us and my sisters (they are currently assuming the genetic issue stems from my side), and what his future would be like. They basically told us that this will give us the awareness and preparedness to expect it could happen again, and that prenatal counseling is advised should we get pregnant. I'm still leaning on the thought that Gobbles' bad eyesight is just that. Bad eyesight. But we'll see. And pray.

In the meantime they had us set up precautionary visits with Audiology and Cardiology, to check on other areas affected by sticklers, the ears and the heart. As I mentioned above, Gobbles' hearing is just fine. His cardiology appointment has been set for a few weeks from now. We also got a call to schedule his clogged tear duct surgery, since the optometrist got the geneticists go-ahead. Funny thing is, we'd completely forgotten about that since the whole myopia thing started. We haven't even noticed any clogs of late. So, we're going to play it out for a little longer than hopefully cancel the surgery. After the past few months I don't want my little boy poked and prodded (um or put under anesthesia!) if it's not absolutely necessary.

So, that brings us up to speed medically. Emotionally, yesterday was a whole different ball game. Since the day was too beautiful to pass up, hubs was working late, and Gobbles did so well at his appointment, we decided to finally have one of our true Mommy / Gobbles day.

First, it was time for me to run a quick errand with Gobbles in tow. I had glasses waiting to be picked up at the nearby Pearl, so we went straight from his doctor's appointment to the mall. As we drove I chatted with Gobbles about how nice it was to spend the day with him, and he babbled and pointed out all of the buses, trucks, and cars. We were surprised upon arriving at the mall that only the anchor stores were open, the rest not until 10:30. What? That's like lunchtime for us working folk! Gobbles passed the time by running around the mall with the old lady walkers. He charmed them by showing how he can climb in and out of the stroller and push it by himself.

wow this place is BIG when no one's here!

Back in, don't feel like walkin!

And just like that, we're off again!!

Finally we got what we needed (not after Gobbles finagled a lollipop from the optician. Ummmm, I don't think he'd even know how to eat one of those if I left him!) and headed home. After lunch, a nap, and a romp in the backyard with the puppies, we decided to go to the playground just a short drive away. There is a playground up the street, but it doesn't have nearly as much cool stuff as the Freedom Playground!

Gobbles ran. He walked. Climbed. Slid. Bounced. Spun. Tunneled. And smiled every step of the way. It was the greatest hour both of us have had in months, I was so happy to experience it with him. He insisted on climbing all of the steps to the equipment without me, just by stepping and using the handrail. He grinned and ran away when I pointed him to something he didn't want to do. He danced to the kids playing the giant chimes, and sashayed back and forth on the swinging bridge.

what's up here? let's see let's see!

Sweet!  a slide! 

And down we go!  Ohhh - that's where I left that Cheerio.  Right on the bottom of my shoe!

It's a little dark in there... hmmm

Ahh that wasn't so bad.  What next what next?

Down the ramp

No! up the ramp!

Woowww!  Pretty!  I love turning wheels!

Teee heee hee look at the colors spin!!

We were so worn out I didn't even get all judgy with the mom talking on the phone completely ignoring her son, climbing atop the bench roofs yelling Mom, look at me! Ok I lied. I totally judged. And snapped a picture.

they'd be the first to sue the playground if the kid broke an arm...

The mom said her phone goodbyes and began walking away from her kid, and pretty soon was deep in conversation with someone else while her child, crestfallen, looked on. I noticed this type of behavior from a lot of the people there. Maybe they take for granted the times they get to spend with their children because they're privileged enough to be with them all the time. Or maybe they're just extremely lazy. Whatever the case I swore to myself that Gobbles would never have to beg for my attention. I cherish the few hours every day I actually get to spend with him. I'm the only mother he'll ever have, and he'll always be my baby. I'll let him hang out with me for as long as he wants because lord knows, there will be a time when he's over it. I wish every day was Mommy and Gobbles day! Life is grand when... well, life... doesn't get in the way!

Cutest mallrat ever

I could spend all day spinning this wheel that matches my shirt!  Out and about in the sunshine with my Mommy!