Monday 24 May 2010

Bubbles: A story in photos

We introduced the V-man to bubbles last week.
Needless to say, they were a hit, and now he asks for them by name.

This is the park just behind our house, where we go after dinner every night to "run" the little guy for a bit.

Returning home: the pathway to the right takes you right to the giant open green space - fantastic location!





Did you two have fun at the park?



It only follows that bubbles would be a hit in the bath, too!




Let Me Eat Cake!

A very tardy update on the Lemon Cake-off and cake decorating course:



I like cake.






My test pigs (#1 and #2) gave completely opposing reviews of the Lemoniest Cake Ever, and I have to say I agree with them both. TP#1 found it too sweet, too tart, and WAAAAY too lemony (it was a lemon sponge cake, with a lemon curd filling, and a lemon icing), while TP#2 just thought it was great. We all agreed that the cake itself was fantastic, moist and delicious, but perhaps I went a bit gung-ho on the lemoniness. The next time, I plan on de-lemonating it a bit by using a cream-cheese icing. Next Easter.




My associate, above, also likes cake, but doesn't get it very often... but when he says, "Pleeeeeeease".... well, what am I, made of stone?



As for the competition, well, we have no reliable results, as one of my esteemed competitors fired both of her test pigs (her 3-year-old daughter and her own mother - now that's harsh), and the other one made a second cake because the first didn't work out. Which obviously means that I won. Go me!


The next cake, the first one done in my course (fantastic course offered at Michael's - I highly recommend it for those who enjoy eating a cake a week) (and who enjoy drinking the Wilton (tm) Kool-Aid), turned out beautifully, but I brought it in to work for Paul's birthday before I took a picture, so you'll have to take my word for it - it was beautiful.


The NEXT cake, done the next week, could have been lovely, except that I overdid it at circuit training at lunch, and I was unable to walk from my car to the store (pubis symphysis issues - SO lovely), so I sat down at the kitchen table with my manual and my icing and practiced on my little test cards. And then decided that my hearts needed work, so came up with this:




Stunning, non? It was tasty, anyway - I used butterscotch pudding as filling. Nom.



The final cake of the class was gorgeous, and lots of fun to make. We finished the "Wilton Rose" (tm), made sweetpeas, learned about ribbons, and...um, well, that took a lot of time, but voila!




Oooooooo.....aaaaahhhhhhh.....



And lastly, the cake that is still sitting on my counter right now: I was forbidden (by TP#1) to post a photo of it, for career-limiting reasons, but here's the detail that I can share - my twist-drop flowers, beautiful leaves, and whimsical stems...

Too bad, really, since it's a really, really funny story.

And delicious, too.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Full Term...inally Insane

Ok, so having passed the 37-week milestone (the baby is considered full term and ok to be born at any time) a week and a half ago, and not being mentally prepared at all for the baby to have not come by now, due to a recurrent family history of early second children with delightfully precipitous labours, I'm losing it.





A photo taken last Monday (37 weeks, 3 days, not that I'm counting) shows the sheer size of my problem...note the (lack of) footwear, small child on hip, and proximity to the stove. I do enjoy being a cliché. (And don't listen to Fis, to claims that I pushed him out of the way for the photo op - does that really sound like something I'd do?)



(oh.)




Another photo, taken at 38 weeks, below. Well there's really no need/way to explain this one, is there?



I'm going crazy (see above)* - not sleeping well/at all, depending on the day, being kept far too busy at work (especially with declining mental capabilities), and to top it all off, I have a 16-month-old who doesn't seem to understand that Mommy doesn't have the energy for him right now...so I have no choice but to fake having energy. Lately, that energy has been used to corral the little guy back from the coolest thing he's ever seen, a giant orange "digger" in the park behind our house. He'll suddenly start trotting in that direction, saying "tractor" completely clearly... like a homing beacon and/or a robot. You can't even dissuade him with treats, which is serious. And then I have to chase him, instead of napping or lying still and eating, which is the next best thing.

The baby's room is almost ready - the crib is assembled, the walls are painted, the decals are up, and all I need to do is make the curtains and the chair cushions. No worries! Unfortunately the sense of urgency (or "nesting"), that accompanied the NEED to make the curtains and cushions has been somewhat squelched when Mom said that if I didn't get to it, she could do it when she visits.

Well then.

So yep, at 1 week and 4 days before my Actual Due Date, I'm feeling as nuts as if this baby were already late. And I don't see this state of mind/body improving. How bad is it, I ask, if I'd rather be in labour right now?

Yikes, you say. That's bad.

Reeeal bad.

Not as bad at that blue spandex, but close.

*To answer a pertinent question about the unitard pose, I am kneeling on the bed because the angles of the other photos we took were unflattering. Trust me.

Wednesday 5 May 2010

Belly Dancer

Mumble grumble yawn.

This is a spliced-together video (quite boring, really), displaying the nightly show.

That thing on my stomach is a bookmark - good thing I had a book that I couldn't put down - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.


Saturday 1 May 2010

V is for Vaughn-pire

At (almost) 16 months, our little Vampire is growing up! He now has 3 of his 4 vampire teeth, and the 4th can't be any more than another week away, judging by his swollen gums, cranky disposition, and tendency to hang upside down when he sleeps. After this, we only have the 2-year molars left, and hopefully they'll sneak in as quietly and pleasantly as his 1st-year ones did.

Don't let this happy smile fool you into coming too close

Eeeeek!

New and delightful tricks:

He'll bring you books to read to him, and he'll also sit down and "read" them himself now! One of his books has bright pictures of objects that are different colours, and he'll point to the picture and tell you what it is, by name. (Obviously, he's a genius.)

He says "please" (and makes the sign as well), and "pretty please" when prompted. He'll also rub his hands together when they're dirty, his sign for hand-washing. His vocabulary now includes:

  • truck
  • tractor
  • kitty
  • juice
  • breakfast
  • Jayce (his friend at daycare)
  • hello (when he's holding a phone) (or a bananaphone!)
  • hi! (if you enter a room or come back into view, or sometimes even just look at him)
  • doggie
  • walk
  • baby
  • book
  • all done
  • bye bye
  • yeah (despite my best efforts, he won't change that to "yes", but at least he makes up for it with a very clear and decisive "no" every chance he gets!)

I know what you're thinking - other people have told us what their kids can say, and we hear the kids babble, and say (to ourselves, of course), "He's not actually saying words, he's just making sounds. The parents are obviously delusional." It's true. But, although there's little perfect pronunciation (except for the aforementioned "no"), the idea of each word is there and the sounds are becoming more distinct. And yes, we're delusional.

He says "cheeeeese" if he sees a camera (a ham? my son?) and knows that a ducky says "quack", and if you ask him what sound a lion makes, well... watch this!

He can take off his own socks and shoes, find his tummy and bellybutton, and point at all of Mommy and Daddy's facial features (and is enthralled by Mommy's Giant Belly, which he gave kisses to yesterday (awwww), and as of last night, I started training him to do chin-ups (it's never too early to start!) on the kitchen counter. He's also able to open and close almost anything (he can reach doorknobs now, but isn't quite tall enough to get the necessary grip to turn them, thank goodness), and we're starting to find toys that he's put away in kitchen cupboards and laundry hampers. He still eats like a champ, and when he's all done, he'll say it (the above video isn't a good clear "all done"), and make the sign, and then help me clean up his tray by putting all the extra pieces he didn't eat back onto his plate. Awesome.

And finally, we find dry diapers quite often now! The potty-socializing is going really well. On the days that I work, we get a morning and evening session in, which excellent results (two less poopy diapers for me to change counts as success to me!), and on weekends, he can go for 4-5 hours in the same (clean) diaper. Not that I have hope that he'll be fully trained anytime soon, but he doesn't seem to mind the process at all (probably because he loves to pee on us, which really should be "socialized" out of him before he goes to school) (kaff), and loves our goofy overreactions, so that's positive.

BUT

New and not-so-delightful tricks:

How long can we blame these on teething, I wonder, before we resign ourselves to these behaviours as simply his personality? For someone that says "no" as much as he does, saying "no" to him produces a meltdown, every time. He'll lie down and cry, or walk away, bellowing and looking balefully over his shoulder, as if to say, "Look what you made me do!" Taking something (usually dangerous or edible) away from him gets the same result - he sobs like you've broken his heart, the poor schmoo.

He has also discovered the joys of the Candy Basket, and can entertain himself quietly in the little corner behind the couch for quite a while, just taking things out and putting them back...or so I thought he was doing. Last night, I discovered a bag of jujubes that were all mangled. I'm not sure if he got any of the taste through the plastic bag, or if the jubes just feel good to chew on, but I had them removed. They're in a safer place now.* Either way, I must start taking the "if your child is too quiet, they're probably up to no good" warning seriously.

He's also very alert, as always, but can now distinguish between, say, the cut-up strawberries, cantelope and grapes that he gets to eat for dessert and the candy that Daddy is eating, even though they're similar colours and sizes. Much to our dismay, the dietary double standard is going to have to stop.

Boo.

*Ok, I ate them.

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