"WOW!"

Thursday morning I was waiting for G-Man to wake up so we could go to daycare. I had turned on some lights, uncovered him and was talking quietly to him. (he was sleeping in our bed)

He stretched sooooo long! I was shocked at how big his was, arms outstretched over his head...legs straight and toes pointed. It was a great stretch!

Then, his beautiful blue eyes popped open, his face exploded into a HUGE grin and he said as clear as day, "WOW!"

Then, G-Man rolled over to his tummy and slid out of bed and crawled to Monster Dog to say good morning, smiling all the way! It was awesome!

He loves to say "wow" and "see". He's never said "no"...yet! Here is some video of him with a few wows...this is about 2 weeks old.

So much to catch up on!!!

I love this one! He had been jumping in bed. Hubby blames me for all G-Mans new bad habits cuz I was laughing at his antics! Oh well... ;-)

G-Man had pneumonia, he was awful rattley & sick...but he's all better now!

(G-Man at daycare, Tam - our daycare provider - texted this to me!)

I had bronchitis at the tail end of his pneumonia. I am getting back to better now!

Hubby got a wicked BAD BAD cold with sinus infection at the middle of my bronchitis...just yesterday is he starting to feel alive again!

G-Man took his FIRST STEPS at age 13 months, 2 days!!! He walked between me and Daddy! It was soo cool! I teared up, we all cheered and he repeated it! Since then we have been offering our hands and encouraging more walking. He has taken 5 steps all by himself with out any support from us or furniture. Running by Easter????

My G-man is also a chatter box! I love listening to him talk! I will try to get video this weekend. I need to get fresh batteries in the video camera. He will reach for something and say quite clearly, "see, see"! It's awesome! He also says, "whas at" for what's that.

G-Man loves to try to assemble things too. He is always trying to fit things together, put lids on bowls, match screw tops with our water bottles, put caps on bottles and then build towers with them.

And, he is brushing his teeth! I started sitting on the floor and brushing my teeth and helping him brush his. He took over and now will crawl to the bathroom, open the drawer where his toothbrush is and brush his teeth all on his own at least 2x a day! I love it! (At least once a day we do a re-brush for him and get all of his gums and teeth, just so nothing is missed.)

Our internet has been down at home almost every nite when I have tried to blog. We are looking at different providers now, so hopefully there will be more pics and video soon! Thanks all for your patience! Have a spectacular weekend!

G-Man's not just sick, he has pneuomonia!

Ya, how icky is that? I hate it. I hate seeing him so sick. I hate the 3 prescriptions he is on, 2 of which cause sleeplessness. One of which gives him coughing fits so bad he coughs so hard he can't breathe and he clutches me in fear. I hate this! He's at home with Daddy while I am at work, I hate that too. I want to be with my baby. Don't get me wrong, hubby is an amazing Dad and he is wonderful for G, but let's all admit it-Mommy is the best medicine.

Sigh...this just stinks!

I need to get my homeopathic medicine cabinet all stocked up for things like this...if you have any suggestions for me please fire away!

I.Am.Frustrated.

My poor 13 month old G-Man is sick, AGAIN! Runny nose, wicked wet cough (not croupy or whoopy) and a fever that was up to 104 when he woke up last nite. Needless to say he is a friend of infant Motrin the last 24 hours. This really frustrates the crap outta me. I am doing everything as right as I can to build up his immune system and make him a healthy, strong boy and he has been sick so much this winter. I mean really. I am still nursing him. He eats only organic whole, unprocessed foods. He doesn't get juice or anything with sugar. He is gluten and dairy free. He gets adjusted by the chiropractor 2x a month...WHAT GIVES? Ya, I can already hear several of you who think I am ridiculious for doing these things and making these choices..."See, all that weird stuff doesn't work. Does it?" or "Ya, you are doing those things just to be different and it's not helping your child at all."

But, how much more would he be sick or how much longer would these bouts of illness last if I was filling him with processed, sugar-laden crap? Or if he wasn't getting adjusted by Dr. Pam? I guess there is some comfort in those realizations, but it's hard so see him so sick. Hard to hold his little body with a raging fever and feel him shiver. My poor punkin.

I cannot believe this!

I am livid, enraged, fearful, and out of my freaking mind! First, let me tell you that I started listening to talk radio this month. I figured that since I was now old enough to listen to talk radio, I probably should just bite the bullet and do it. Anyway, I have been listening to KTLK 100.3 FM in the Twin Cities, MN. I like it, it's conservative. Mostly my kind of thing, mostly. I am amazed at how much I have been learning too. Now, remember I don't just hear something and believe it, but it gives me the opportunity to learn about a few new things and do a little research of my own to check facts. It's really been enlightning, and at times, it gets me all ramped up. This morning was one of the latter...

"A new report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation is advocating that children as young as 10 be given extensive sex education, including an awareness of sex's pleasures.
The report, "Stand and Deliver," charges that religious groups, specifically Catholics and Muslims, deny their young access to comprehensive sexual programs and education.
"Young people's sexuality is still contentious for many religious institutions. Fundamentalist and other religious groups — the Catholic Church and madrasas (Islamic Schools) for example — have imposed tremendous barriers that prevent young people, particularly, from obtaining information and services related to sex and reproduction. Currently, many religious teachings deny the pleasurable and positive aspects of sex." the report states..."

HELLOOOO???!!!! NO way in hell are you gonna tell my child at age freaking-10 that sex is pleasurable!!!! Are you kidding me!??? Agghhh! I am so not ok with this sexualizing of our children. THEY ARE KIDS! Here's more:

"The report demands that children 10 and older be given a "comprehensive sexuality education" by governments, aid organizations and other groups, and that young people should be seen as "sexual beings.""

Ok, really I am going to freaking lose it here. NO! My child is a CHILD, not a sexual being, not an object. I am not ok with this kind of education. Not ok with it on a religious front and on a moral front. Parents of school-age kids, be aware of what's being taught to your child in public schools. Get the curriculum and protect your child from views that can damage your child. To read the entire report (if you can get thru it in one sitting without screaming) go here.

Our busy weekend: a recap

Lotsa random things here...G-Man was helping Daddy cut holes in the wall to put in a new cold air return.
We stayed in our jammies until noon this weekend and we worked on "IN" and "OUT" for the blocks and our containers.

We visited the Minnesota Zoo on Sunday. Since we have a membership we try to go at least 2 times a month. It's best to get there as soon as they open because the animals are more active first thing in the morning and there are way less people. We spent the first 1/2 hour visiting the outside animals since we were still bundled up. It was a balmy 18 degrees so it was great to be outside in the sunshine. I was wearing Griffin in one of our slings so he was toasty warm! We visited the tigers and it was so cool to see them up close!

G-Man also ate at a restaurant for the first time! I think we've been in a restaurant with him once or twice before, but this time G-Man got to eat the food! Of course I had to ask if the chicken breasts were hormone and antibiotic free. They weren't. So, I ordered a buffalo meat (not sauce) burger which is hormone and antibiotic free and steamed broccoli. He did a great job of feeding himself some bites. By the way, we were there to celebrate my 37th birthday. Ya...that's a whole 'nother blog post.

Sooooo close to walking!

I think my little G-Man is getting ready to walk...in fact I think that tonite he *may* have taken a first step! He is standing for a minute or longer without leaning on anything or holding on to anything. Tonite when I refused to open a drawer for him to rummage thru he pitched a little fit and stepped towards me! I cheered and laughed and he stopped crying. It was pretty neat. Of course, when hubby walked in there was no repeating it...hopefully tomorrow.

Also tonite, I realized that we have a second-generation climber on our hands! He saw the baby monitor on the top of his bookshelf in his room tonite. Of course, he wanted to play with said baby monitor. I wouldn't give it to him so here's what happened. He reached up and held the top shelf with both hands, then he put both feet on the bottom shelf, then he stepped up on top of the books on the bottom shelf and let go of the top shelf with one hand and he used that hand to grab the monitor. Then, he stepped down gracefully and played with the monitor. I was in shock and was holding the shelf so it wouldn't tip. Needless to say, the shelf is getting screwed to the wall tomorrow! Uh, yeah. So, here's a pic of my strong-standing-all-by-himself little boy!

Ya, we're still here

We are just very, very tired! And there is no particular reason why. Except that I got older this week. No more "mid-thirties" for me. According to Ms. Payne, my 7th grade math teacher, I *have* to round up. Ya, I'm now in the "upper thirties," knocking on the door of 40. I was bemoaning that fact earlier this week when a girlfriend asked me what my reaction would be to reading an obituary of a mom who was 37. I was aghast, (appropriately) and shuddered as I envisioned a baby of about 1 year old and a hubby without their Momma and Wife. My first thought was, "Oh that is sooo young!" Ahhh, yes, THAT IS SO YOUNG! Thank you Gina for helping me shift my thinking and perspective. 37 is young! I am proud to be 37! I will enjoy 37! I will *rock* 37!

Today is also my little sister's birthday, so Happy Birthday to you B! I love you so much and am blessed to have you for my little sister. When we were in our teens she loved to try to get people to believe that she was the older sister and I was younger. It bugged me to no end. However, I think it's time I let her win that little charade. So, B? It's all yours you can start telling people you are the older one now, I won't even flinch!

G-Man is working up 2, yes that's right, 2 molars! Poor punkin is dealing great with the pain though! He is also trying to climb EVERYTHING! We have some pics that I will get posted this weekend. It's awesome watching him try to put things together on his own and figure out how to get up on top of things. Each day with him is a gift....truly I am blessed beyond comprehension to have him and Hubby at my side!

It won't be long now...

Gramma and Papa J gave this push cart to G-man for his birthday. He didn't need us to show him how to work it! He is getting pretty good at chasing the cat with it now too!

It's Party Time!

Monster dog dressed to party, and Gramma getting G-Man dressed and ready! He took a great almost 2-hour nap just before the festivities.

G-Man had his First Birthday Party today. It was a great day! He was feeling cuddly, yet social and played quite happily with his uncles, auntie and friends and of course, Grammas and Grandpas. I have a thing with hosting parties and am always afraid that I won't have enough food...then I end up with TONS of leftovers. Again, same thing today! At least it all freezes! So, here are some first birthday shots. Let's not forget the gratutious baby with cake shot. I made gluten free, dairy free, egg free cupcakes with gluten free, dairy free, egg free frosting. The Grammas had requested a messy dessert for him. I don't think I disappointed! Naturally, G-Man's best friend was pretty happy today too...you'll see what I mean as you scroll down.

Above, playing with friends and cousins. The push cart that G is leaning on was a birthday present from Gramma and Papa J. Without anyone helping him, G grabbed the handle, and took off walking across the living room ALL. BY. HIMSELF. He has done that a few times today. Sooo, cool!

G and Mommy and a messy cupcake all for him!

G and Daddy and what's left of the cupcake, with chocolate frosting all over his face!

"Mmmmm," that was after G let the dog lick his hand! Hehehehe!

Cleanup!