Doodlebug's haircut

As we were putting together our family profile for the adoption we decided that we needed to get Doodlebug's hair cut. It was so cute with all the baby curls, but we really needed some pictures of him looking like a little boy instead of a baby.

Here is a before picture.

We took him to a place that caters especially to little kids getting their hair cut. I usually do it myself, but I was too afraid of making a mistake and our family pictures were going to be taken soon.

The lady that cut his hair was very quick and Doodlebug was very distracted by all the other kids, the little airplane they let him sit in, the cape he got to wear and looking at himself in the mirror. He sat there so well!

I just had to put this picture in, doesn't he look like the mayor of Munchkin Town?

And look at my big boy with his new hair cut! What a cutie!

I was in the kitchen one morning and noticed it was awfully quiet, so I went to check on the Doodlebug. I found him sitting in our great room on the floor studying something intently. I didn't see anything there so I just stood back and watched him for a minute. Can you guess what he was doing?

He's trying to pick up the sunlight off the floor.

He stares at the patches of sunlight on the floors, puts out a hand to grab them and comes up empty handed. So he leans over to see them up close and they promptly disappear (since he's now between the window and the sun on the floor). He sits back quickly in surprise and presto! They're back. He's pretty perplexed about the whole series of events.

I love watching him explore the world and see things for the first time.

My Yesh Man

We're already seeing signs of the terrible two's.



Screaming fits on the floor that last twenty minutes at a time. Daily. Multiple times a day.

The cause of said tantrum? I asked Doodlebug to crawl or walk over to his highchair because he said he was hungry. It was ten feet away.



I guess that makes me the meanest mommy on the planet. I know that leads to some really rough days.

But a week ago Doodlebug also learned a new word. Yes. Or as he says it, "Yesh".

It is his stock answer for everything.

Do you want to eat?

Yesh.

Do you want to play ball?

Yesh.

How are you this morning?

Yesh.

Will you financially support Mommy in her old age?

Yesh.

Can I quote you on that?

Yesh.

In a few more weeks the stock answer will change to "No". But until then I'm just going to enjoy my little yesh man.



Isn't he the cutest little boy in the world? Yesh.

Update on Doodlebug and Financial Challenge

Last week we went to visit the neurologist again. She no longer thinks that Doodlebug is a late bloomer. He's just too far behind and not catching up like he should be. He's 17 months old and still not able to feed himself. He does not call me "Mama" or his daddy "Dada" yet. He still is barely able to chew food. He is walking, but hasn't gotten really good at it yet. These are milestones he should have passed long ago. It breaks my heart to see him falling behind.

Anyway, since he's not catching up like we had hoped the neuro wants to start doing more testing to see if we can find a cause for his delays. Previously she ordered some bloodwork to test for metabolic and genetic disorders. We chose not to have them done at this time. We are still holding onto him being a late bloomer, and if there is a diagnosis it won't change what we are doing to get him therapy and try to catch up. He doesn't have unusual health problems that would lead us to think there is more going on and we just don't see the point of spending thousands of dollars to rule out disorders no one really thinks he has.

So now we are setting up and MRI. We go to get some basic bloodwork done tomorrow and hopefully the MRI will be done in the next month. I really don't want to have this done either. He will have to be put under and I hate for him to go through all of this. And anything the MRI could tell us is stuff I don't want to know. She is looking for brain damage, brain malformation and evidence of a stroke, just to name a few horrifying scenarios. And if all is well there, we are going to be sent off to the geneticist. Who knows what all that will entail.

This is taking it's toll on the potential adoption as well. The neuro wants us to find out what is going on with Doodlebug before proceeding with the adoption. What exactly is she expecting to diagnose him with? And really, what does it matter? We want to have another child. That won't change even if Doodlebug has lasting issues.

I am sure the MRI will cost a significant amount, even with insurance. Insurance only covers a portion and when Doodlebug had ear tubes put in and his endoscopy done we paid quite a bit of money out of pocket. That money will end up coming out of the adoption fund. And if the MRI is normal I'm sure we will have to pursue the bloodwork for the genetic and metabolic disorders. I know the tests are very expensive and we will again have to pay a portion.

Please don't misunderstand. I am grateful that we have the funds to pay for this. I am grateful we have insurance. I do not begrudge my son this money if he needs it to have medical tests done. It's just frustrating to know how far away we are from our goal of raising money for the adoption and realizing that this will only push us further away from that goal. It seems so unattainable right now.

So far in June I have raised a whopping $35. We have a looooonnnng way to go to reach our goal, and it will be even further if we need to dip into the funds we do have to pay medical bills.

I really don't want to leave this post on such a low note, so let me tell you a little bit more about my wonderful boy. He is my favorite baby in the whole world. If I could clone him I would do it in a New York minute.



He is so laid back and good natured it is unbelievable. When we were in Downtown Disney we decided to go into some of the gift shops. I could hand him a toy to look at and play with for a minute and then take it back from him and he never made a fuss. Not once. What kid does that?

He's started giving kissed on request. Of course I request them at least twenty time a day. He's almost always happy to oblige.

He has the best laugh. And he uses it often.

When we pick him up in the nursery at church and all the other kids are screaming he is the only one with a smile on his face. And his smile gets even bigger when he sees us.

He makes really funny faces.

He loves to read books. Dr. Suess and Sandra Boynton are his favorites. He will sit and look at books for almost an hour by himself.

And last, but not least, he is the personification of cuteness.

Vacation Pictures

This was one of the highlights of the trip. Doodlebug sat on the edge of the pool and would jabber to his cousin, Z. Then Z would get out and yell, "Hey Doodlebug, watch this!" And then he would dive in the pool. Sometimes Doodlebug would laugh, but usually he would put on his surprised face and yell "Oooooooooh!" And then jabber some more loudly. It really looked like he was trying to coach Z in the fine art of diving. We started referring to him as the German judge.

Spending a little time with Aunt K.



This is how Doodlebug spent most of the trip, clinging to Daddy. At least it gave Mommy a break.



Oh wait, is that a smile I see??? Quick, snap the picture!

We took Doodlebug to Downtown Disney. He was not impressed.



And when we stuck a hat on him, he became even less impressed.



But we did get one pretty good family shot.



Big boy walking!

My Sweet Boys

Big Week for Doodlebug

Doodlebug had a big week this week. If you will allow me to brag on my little boy for a moment....

First he learned how to drink out of a straw. Yay! He's been a bit behind in hitting his developmental milestones and one area we've really been struggling in is to get him to drink out of a sippy cup. He either could not or would not do it. I finally asked his speech and feeding therapist to tell me how to teach him to drink out of a straw. She gave me a couple of pointers and in less than a week he was doing it on his own.



We have been working to teach him sign language since September. That's eight months people. We want to teach him a few signs like "more", "finished", "eat" and "potty". Since he has no spoken words yet this would really help us out a lot if he could tell us some of these things. This week he finally got it! He only has one sign "book" but he uses it consistently and without prompting from us. He loves to read and we've been reading to him even more than usual this week.



And he took his first step. He's been pretty good about waiting to hit new milestones until both Chris and I are with him and he that for us again. One minute he was cruising along the ottoman and the next he let go and took a step towards me. What a sweet baby boy.



Dear Doodlebug,

I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished in one short week. It's so much fun to see you conquer new things. Remember, you are my favorite baby in the whole wide world.

Love you,
Mommy

Sneaky Brownies-Gluten Free, Of Course

Over the past couple of weeks I have been cooking out of the Sneaky Chef cookbooks. Have you heard about these? It's a cookbook featuring recipes that hide healthy foods in dishes you would normally eat. She teaches you how to incorporate carrots and sweet potatoes into tomato sauces for pizza or spaghetti, blueberries and spinach into brownies and winter squash into macaroni and cheese. I've tried all three of these and the only thing I could taste was the blueberries in the brownies. It wasn't bad but I think I will try it with cherries next time. Doodlebug didn't seem to mind the blueberries or spinach one bit!



Not all of the recipies in the cookbook are gluten free, but several can be easily converted. I also found a version called The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue. This cookbook has many of the recipes in her other cookbooks that have been converted to be allergen free. There's even a whole section on gluten free! This is where I found the gluten free brownie recipe and there's a cookie recipe I hope to try next.

I love the idea of sneaking veggies into foods that I eat and love. Who couldn't use a few more fruits and veggies in their day? And even though it doesn't magically transform brownies into health food, it makes it easier for me to rationalize eating it. If it has spinach in it, I think I can count it as a salad, right?

Things I Never Understood Until I Was a Mom....

1. Nursing is really hard work. I never understood this until I realized the reality of a nursing cycle for us. Nurse for an hour. Change baby and play for a few minutes and put baby to bed. Pump while baby sleeps. Put milk in fridge, wash out pump. Get baby up from nap. Repeat all day every day for months. While recovering from 9 months of being sick and major surgery.



2. Why moms allow their children to go out in public with food all over their faces. I clean my child up after every meal. Without fail, when we get to the grocery store or the YMCA I see a smear of stray fruit or rice that we missed. It's really hard to check a moving target for cleanliness.





3. What is the big deal about teething? Until you watch the helpless child you love scream for 4 days straight, not eat and just be generally miserable as teeth come in. Now it makes sense.



4. How much I would love him. Everyone is so eager to tell you about how you will never be able to nap again. True. How much money they will cost. Also true. But they never mention that baby laughter is one of the happiest sounds in the world. Baby kisses are wonderful beyond almost anything else. That this little person will change your life in all sorts of ways, but most of them are for the better.

Doodlebug's First Birthday

As we neared Doodlebug's birthday we suddenly got bunches of catalogues showing all the latest 'accessories' we would need to have a memorable day. Everything from high chairs covers (for that perfect photo) to themed invitations, to little royal thrones. Are you kidding me???

We took a slightly simpler approach. I sent out evites (and mailed a hard copy to the one person on our list without email), Daddy made a cake, Mommy made cookies, we bought balloons at the Dollar store as favors and called it a day. We also limited our guest list to family, godparents and one family that we have regular playdates with. Even without all that stuff from the catalogue we managed to have a pretty good time and some really cute photos.



The highlight for the boys was chasing my dad through the kitchen, down the hall and back into the kitchen. I have no idea why that was such a hit but they were laughing hysterically almost the entire time.






Doodlebug needed a little help opening his presents so both kids gladly jumped in.





Doodlebug was pretty preoccupied with the ribbon off of one of the packages.



Here's his little friend helping with the wrapping paper. Yet another activity that I had no idea would bring such a thrill.



This sweet little girl is known for her one liners. When I asked her who the gift was from she replied, with great enthusiasm, "Target!!!!!" And when her mom told her to thank us for having them over she came in the family room, gave me a great big hug and yelled "I love this party!" She just cracks me up.



We wrapped the party up with a little bit of cake before the guest of honor crashed and had to leave for a nap.



Exhausting, but oh so much fun!

Snow in the South

We live in an area where it's pretty rare to get snow. When the weatherman first mentions the word "snow" on the air people flock to the grocery store and buy up all the milk and bread. I've never quite understood what people plan to do with milk and bread in a snowstorm. Maybe they make french toast? I don't know.

When we do finally get snow, the entire city shuts down. Honestly, two snowflakes and school is closed. Even once the snow melts the schools stay closed for another day. Yet another thing I don't understand about the South.

My husband and I grew up in areas where it snowed all winter long. When it did snow here last week we were both a little sad that Doodlebug won't get to grow up sledding, making snowmen and playing in the snow. When the snow does visit us, we try to make the most of it.

This was the night the snow started. We took Doodlebug out for a walk so he could see it. Our neighbors commented that we are like the post office, out walking in snow, sleet, rain, nothing stops us. They think we're nuts. They're probably right.



Unfortunately his hat kept slipping down over his eyes so I don't know how much he actually saw. He would just quietly sit in his stroller with his eyes covered and not make a peep. Only when we checked on him did we notice the problem.



When we did have some snow on the ground we decided to go out sledding. If only we had a sled. But my good friend had an idea, laundry baskets. So we pulled out an old one, lined it with a blanket, bundled up the Doodlebug and headed out the door.



I think he enjoyed the snow a lot more this time. I just love the look of pure joy on his face.



He was very amused watching Mommy and Daddy try to chip off the driveway with various garden tools.

Personality Change

My sweet little baby is no longer my sweet little baby.



When Doodlebug was born we noticed he was a very laid back baby. He rarely cries unless he needed something, always goes to other people easily and is generally pretty happy.

For the first couple of weeks we waited cautiously and held our breath. Is this really his personality? Could we really have gotten this lucky? Yep. We really did hit the jackpot. People who watch him in the church nursery or at the YMCA comment on how good he is. He watches the other kids, plays contentedly and is so pleasant to be around.



December was a really rough month. Almost as soon as we got home from Thanksgiving he got a supervirus. He ran a fever for a week and was sick for at least ten days straight. Poor little guy. Then he caught a cold. Then we went away for Christmas and he got really sleep deprived. Then his top tooth came in. This was a 5-6 day ordeal that involved very little eating, lots of fussing and Motrin every six hours. I was so ready for December to end.



When it did I noticed that Doodlebug was yelling a lot. Not screaming, not crying, but yelling. Or maybe bellowing. Hmm.

And he started throwing stuff on the floor. Not dropping, throwing. Hmm.

And then he started kicking at me. Not waving his feet in the air and trying to get his shoelaces. Hmm.

I thought that maybe another tooth was coming in. Or he was getting another virus. Maybe he's still not caught up on his sleep. Because this just isn't my sweet baby.

I finally asked my friend who has two kids older than Doodlebug, "Do kids have some kind of major personality change when they turn one?" Of course, I had to yell it pretty loud to be heard over the bellowing. Her eyes got bigger and she slowly nodded. And then I heard words I was dreading. "And it only gets worse."

Fabulous.

And just like that, we entered the toddler years. I'm not ready. I miss my sweet baby boy.