Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Faeries Switched My Baby!

For days now I have been wracking my brain, trying to figure out why my little guy is so ornery lately. He's always been a willful little thing, but usually so very happy and easy to please. Yesterday was difficult. Today was worse. Along with beating me up, thrashing during diaper changes, and a few short tantrums, he had a complete meltdown. It totally broke my heart.

Finally, it dawned on me. I have made one major change in his little life.
He is no longer nursing. The first couple of days he asked for it often, and I would distract him and feed him, and he would be fine. Now he'll ask once or twice, and then go off to do something else.
Today though...today I seriously considered just giving in. I knew it would make him feel better...but then we would be starting all over from beginning, and those first couple of days were very hard, for both of us.

He finally calmed down though, for the most part, and we went on about our day - filled with baby chasing and quite a few giggles...and only a few more difficult moments.

I love giggles.
I love giggles so much more than meltdowns.
I know that babies/children just have meltdowns sometimes, but it makes me feel as if I am doing things wrong.

Also, I think I am permanently injured on the left side of my face. My mom says she is going to get me a helmet to protect me from the baby. She's pretty funny that mom of mine.

I can only hope that things will settle more back to normal over the next few days...and that this is not some new phase, like the "Terrible Twos"...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

15 Month Update

Patrick had his 15 month checkup yesterday.
He is a little over 25lbs and 32.5 inches. They said he is in the 75% for weight and 90% for height. He got to show off his words and his walking, which made him super happy. The Dr. was very impressed with his language skills.

Patrick is walking even more today and hardly falling! He has been combining words consistently too. And, he's learned a few new words. The cutest is "cracker" which he calls "coocoo"

He's one awesome little guy!

Now, if I could just figure out how to make diaper changes less of a mess...that would be fabulous! Is it too soon to potty train? =P

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Patrick = Awesome!


Today was just a normal day. Nothing special about it...except for Patrick, of course!
He loves grocery shopping. Everything about it excites him. It is just the cutest thing!
When we were at Costco he enjoyed sampling the tasty treats. At one point I was tickling him and saying "I love Patrick". He giggled and said "Love a mama!" Now, I realize he may not quite get what this means...but I don't care, whether he understands it or not, having him tell me he loves me was just amazing! And maybe he does understand what it means, because whenever we snuggle I say, "Love love love" and he hugs me tight and sometimes gives me kisses. I know...it totally melts my heart too. =)

Our second stop was Publix. They have these great big airplane/race car shopping carts. The second he saw it he went nuts ooohing at it. We put him in, and he started steering. It was so cute! It looked like he was driving. (It wasn't very easy to get a picture, because every time he saw the phone he wanted it.)


Later at home, while eating his dinner, he was very obviously pooping. (Totally comical by the way.) When he was finished, he smiled proudly and said, "Diaper!"
Seriously! This kid is brilliant!

He has also started telling me what he wants. He'll say "mama" then the word for whatever it is he's wanting at the time, which is usually a snack. Haha.

This all started today.
It was a normal every day kind of day...except...it wasn't...Because Patrick is totally awesome! =)

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Plumpkin Speak

A little bit ago I made a list of all of Patrick's words. I was asked to continue the list...so here goes (Including keys to understanding "Patrick Speak")

He now says "Mimi" (The name he has for my mom)
Owls now make a sound! "HooHoo"
Some dogs have names. Patrick can say "Dash" and "Thor"
All dog toys are "Bone"
One of our cats in named Inca, so now Patrick says "Ahng" to all cats
Try as I might, I can't seem to convince Patrick that airplanes are not "Autos"...Airplanes are "Autos"
(Remember, "Auto" is the German word for "car". Pronounced "Ow-toe")
"Bock" is Box
"Locka" is clock (though sometimes socks and shoes ("Yuck") are also "Locka", just depends on what he is pointing to at the time)
While almost all fruit, and food for that matter, is called "Apple", lemons are "Leba", and sometimes bananas are "Angnana"
He has snacks called Fiddlesticks. These, and all other snacks, are called "Deetdee" He is very demanding about these. Ok, he is very demanding about almost everything =P
He says diaper pretty clearly (as he tries to remove it)
Lions are "Low" (ow sound) and so are flowers actually.
Snowman is "Nohma!" (He is always very excited about snowmen)
"Bim" is any dinging sound. In Germany we say "Bim bahm" when something rings. Patrick discovered the doorbell. Now it, and all lit up buttons, are "Bim"
Button ("tuhn") has actually morphed to "Bim" also...just in case it makes a sound after all.
Bird ("eeee") has changed to "Beeee"
Baby is now very clearly "Baby"
Train is "tga tga" (Because I call it a "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo Train") So far, it is the only thing with wheels that is different from an "Auto"
Phone (and all phone like objects) is "Dome"
Cows say "boooo" or "baaaa" (He gets them confused with sheep)
"Down" is one of his favorite words right now, aside from "Auto"
Dinosaur is "DohDoh"
Door is sometimes "Doh" and sometimes "Dohr"
"Auf" (which is German for "open")
Oh! And he says "ByeBye!" =)

Sometimes Patrick says a bunch of stuff that seems very important, but I have no idea what he is saying. He gets mad though if I don't understand, especially if he is saying the same thing over and over. So I'll just nod and repeat the word and that usually makes him happy. If he is pointing to something he wants, but doesn't know the word (and says "Dat! Dat!" over and over) I'll just say the word as I touch each object in the direction he is pointing. I usually know I have the right one when he cackles at me and gets even more excited.

Sometimes he says a bunch of words he knows, for no reason other than to say them. He just really loves words. He practices them and plays with them all the time. It is so cool!