Foosa's First Playdate

Sure, he's played in the vicinity of other kids before, but he's never really played with another kid for any length of time. Today we went to the pumpkin farm with friends of ours and their son H. And then back to our house to watch football. H and Foosa didn't really seem interested in playing together at the farm, but once we got back to the house and the toys came out, yay!! First there was some toy stealing back and forth, but eventually they started playing together. H would push the bubble mower, Foosa would chase the bubbles. There was duplo (lego) play. And there were two mylar balloons that had blown into our yard that were tied together...they eventually figured out how to play with them together too. It was adorable! Foosa even hugged H when he was getting ready to go home. With my pending unemployment, hopefully there will be more fun times ahead for the two of them.

Foosa Does the Laundry

From a tender age, Foosa has been very good about putting his clothes in the laundry hamper. Much better than his father. Even better than me. Sometimes he gets so excited he puts clean clothes in too. Then there was what happened today. I had brought up a huge load of clean laundry. Sorted and folded it all. Started putting it away, and immediately noticed that the new pjs I had just bought from Kohl's (online) were the wrong size. Even though the tag I cut off before washing it had the size I ordered listed on it, the actual item is marked different and way too small. And of course I had thrown away the packing slip, which I never do, but I am trying really hard to eliminate clutter in my life, so this time, yup - went out with the recycling this morning.

So I turn around to call Kohl's to see if they can send me another packing slip (have to have it to return in store, they don't do free shipping I'll be darned if I'm paying shipping to get an incorrect item back to them). Got disconnected three times before giving up, figuring I'll just bring my order confirmation to the store and hope for the best.

Turn back around to witness Foosa gleefully throwing the last of the clean laundry in the hamper. He was beaming with pride. All of it. Every single item that had been meticulously sorted and folded was all balled up and back in the hamper. 'All done!' he exclaimed.

Sigh.

:)

 

Foosa's First Urgent Care Visit

Foosa's first trip to urgent care is in the books. (He's totally fine.) We were at the park and he was climbing up a (relatively short) slide. G2 was pushing him, and I reached down and pulled him up to the top so he didn't fall. At first he was thrilled to have made it up, but then about 10 seconds later he started crying. Not hysterically, but like something wasn't right. And he was holding his left arm. We left the park and came home, and he didn't want to push the button to make the garage door go down, usually one of his favorite things. When he showed very limited interest in a popsicle and was still holding his arm, we took him in. He fell asleep in the car about three seconds into the drive, but when we got to the facility and woke him up he continued to fuss and wouldn't use his arm for anything. During the x-ray, (where they insisted his dad hold him and not me because I 'had a lot more to lose' (I don't quite understand that, but whatever)) G2 said he heard a slight pop. And when he returned to me in the care room he was already using his arm again. And all smiles. He was diagnosed with 'nursemaid's elbow,' which is 'a partial dislocation of the elbow joint that happens when a ligament slips out of place near the elbow,' and apparently one of the most common injuries for kids his age. The manipulation of his arm for the x-ray was enough to pop it back in. They gave him a stuffed toy and some goldfish crackers, and he was thrilled. So a long night, but all's well that ends well. And no more climbing up the slide for Foosa. 

Foosa the Chef!

I've been meaning to write this down for some time now. I've been busy being stressed about a variety of other things, such as my likely unemployment and yet another failed attempt to stay pregnant with a friend for Foosa. (4 losses and counting - I think I'm broken!) Anyway, I wish I could remember when he started doing this, but one of his favorite foods is mac and cheese. He announces cheese and runs to the pantry. (He likes regular cheese too, but if he wants that he heads for the fridge...he's a smartie.) Some weeks back he announced it and scampered off to the pantry. I was folding a few last pieces of laundry and told him I would be there in a minute. Most of our kitchen is baby proofed except for the pantry and one lower cabinet. I have no idea why. We have extra locks. Hubby must have gotten bored or something while he was installing them. So Foosa returned to me with the macaroni box in hand. I told him to take it back to the kitchen, and I would be there soon to make it for him, I certainly couldn't prepare it in the bedroom. He left. When I followed him a minute or two later, I couldn't believe my eyes. The other cabinet that doesn't lock houses the pots and pans. I had heard noises but figured he was just playing in it like he does. Nope. I walked into the kitchen and he stood there beaming proudly and exclaiming, Cheese! Next to him on the floor was the pot I always use, with the colander and box of macaroni resting inside of it. He had assembled it all together for me to speed up the prep time apparently. Absolutely adorable. He does this routinely now, so of course I think my kid is a genius. :)

Foosa's 5th Cruise!

Ah, Alaska. #9 on the ‘We Must Travel To’ list. I always do better at this when I write my trip logs as we travel, but I was far too tired every night to even type a single thought. So here I am, the weekend after our return, trying to remember everything. As I said our last trip, cruising with a kid gets more difficult each time. G3 actually has opinions and gets bored now. I miss the days of hauling him around like an extra piece of luggage. Please add, ‘and G3 fussed’ to just about all my commentary. It’s just easier for me to have you do that than to have to mention all acts of fussing - because man, there was a lot. Facebook friends viewing the album that accompanies this entry will note that he was 100% unimpressed with all we saw and did. Okay, maybe 99%. I think we have a few pictures of him smiling.  And now begins the tale of our Alaska Extravaganza!

[[Hi!  This is G2.  I’ll also be chiming in from time to time in these lovely brackets. (G3 fussed and was unimpressed)]]

Thursday, May 29th - We work all day, then fly from Chicago to Seattle and stay overnight at the Holiday Inn right by the airport. [[I didn’t get puked on this time!]]

Friday, May 30th - Left hotel early (about 5:45AM). Took the Light Rail from airport to the Amtrak station. Four hour train ride to Vancouver. Took Skytrain to cruise pier. Boarded ship. Logistical dream. Everything worked out perfectly. (T1 pats self on back.) Pleased to discover a note in our stateroom from the Diamond Lounge Concierge (yay status!) stating that children were permitted in the lounge during cocktail hour. (Not standard policy.) Didn’t make it up there on night one due to extreme exhaustion, but did visit every night the rest of the week - the concierge, JJ, was super sweet and welcoming. A few nights there was another small child for G3 to stare at while T1 and G2 enjoyed their comped cocktails and delightful little hors d'oeuvres. [[T1 really planned everything impeccably.  The train ride was nice.  I’d love to travel more by rail.  We had a four seats for the three of us and enjoyed a nice breakfast while watching the scenery.]]

Saturday, May 31st - At Sea - Allegedly scenic Inside Passage cruising - we honestly didn’t see much more than a lot of water. Maybe we just weren’t looking at the right time. Lots of eating. Lots. G2 had a crushing first world problem that still makes T1 laugh to think. He went up to the buffet to visit one of his favorite spots, the soft serve ice cream machine, and returned to the room absolutely dejected looking. When asked what on earth was wrong, he replied in a downright pitiful tone, ‘I pressed the button for swirl, but only chocolate came out.’ T1 received the bad wife award for laughing at his plight. [[It was terrible.]]

Sunday, June 1st - Ketchikan - Up bright and early for the Great American Lumberjack Show! Lots of fun. Then a quick trip back to the ship to join our Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary & Crab Feast tour. There was a bit of delay between the Sanctuary and the Feast (apparently Alaskans aren’t as good with the logistics as T1) but all in all a nice time. Saw lots of eagles and the crab was yummy. [[I had a great time with all of the activities.  The crab was fantastic.  G3 loved it, too.]]  Next, G2 had wanted to see totems, so T1 put together a totem walking tour around town. We lucked out because Ketchikan is supposedly the rainiest city in Alaska. It usually rains every day. Not a cloud in the sky while we were there though.  [[We really couldn’t have asked for nicer weather.  We got to see a good number of totems and walked through the old red light district.  Lots of history there.]]

Monday, June 2nd - Icy Straight Point - This is a manufactured town with not a heck of a lot to do. It was literally built by the cruise line circa 2007. We had to tender in, but because we had a whale watching tour booked we got priority. We did see several whales, but the were far away, nothing like the ‘Extreme Whale Watching’ we did in Cabo some years back. Then we strolled to the nearest town (Hoonah) on a very nice seaside path. Saw some more whales and eagles. G3 slept. He woke for some lunch and then we headed out on the forest and nature tram. It didn’t have the best reviews, but was relatively low priced and we decided to give it a try for lack of anything else to do. (If G3 hadn’t been with us we probably would have done the world’s longest zip line, which looked both awesome and terrifying.) And it was a very nice time. Would recommend. The driver, Cookie, was very knowledgable.  [[Once again, we had nice weather.  The walk to town was nice and very picturesque.  G3 also found and pet a local cat.]]

Tuesday, June 3rd - Juneau - Was a little nervous because our first excursion of the day ‘Whales, Glaciers, and Rainforest Trails’ did not have an age restriction when we booked it, but upon receiving the tickets it listed a minimum age of 6. Turned out not to be a problem, G3 was welcome to attend as long as he was carried during the hiking as to not slow down the group. We hiked to Mendenhall Glacier and the cloudy skies were actually a benefit because it made the blue color of the glacier pop a lot more. After the hike we reboarded our tour bus and snacks were distributed. T1 was munching away and happened to look over and saw G3 start choking on whatever it was he was snacking on [[It was a cashew.]]. This has happened before, and both T1 and G2 knew what was next. When the little guy chokes, even once the obstruction is cleared, he is so scared he feels the need to empty his entire stomach. Fortunately, G2 had the situation under control and offered G3 his brown bag. Crisis averted. However, as far as G2 was concerned, a far larger problem had presented itself. With sad eyes, reminiscent of the ice cream incident, he stated with a sigh ‘My snack was still in there.’ Fortunately, T1 was able to request a new snack bag, and all was right with the world. Saw some more whales on the boat tour, but again, nothing like we had seen in Mexico.

It was a damp and chilly day, so a nice hot bowl of crab bisque was in order, so we stopped at Tracy’s Crab Shack right next the ship. Then quickly back on board for T1 to add another layer of clothes (only time the whole trip an extra layer was required) before meeting our next tour - Dogsled Mushers Camp! This was a schedule change made only a week or so before - originally the timing didn’t seem like it was going to work out but we arranged some things to make it possible. Good thing too, because it was definitely a highlight. No snow in June, so the team of dogs pulled us around in a wheeled cart. So much fun! At least for T1 and G2. G3 was, as usual, unimpressed.

After the dog sled camp, we returned to downtown Juneau and despite the rain went up the Mt Roberts Tramway. We had a 2 for 1 coupon, which was the only reason we bothered. There was an eagle in a cage on top of the mountain with a sign that said something along the lines of ‘please don’t make clicking noises towards the eagle.’ What did G3 start doing immediately? Making clicking noises towards the eagle. We quickly left. Kids! Once back at the foot of the mountain we decided to cancel our planned hike of the Perseverance Trail, since the weather was showing no signs of clearing up. Instead we went with our backup plan, which was to take a shuttle to the Alaskan Brewing Company for a tour and tasting. Good thing T1 doesn’t like beer, because G3 didn’t just fuss, he had a meltdown. So T1 removed him from the premises, kicking and screaming. Tried to go back in when he calmed down - nope, started right back up again when we went back inside. Lather, rinse, repeat. Sigh. Not a great end to an otherwise fun day in Juneau.   [[Aside from the puking incident and the fussiness at the end of the day, this day was awesome.  The hike was a lot of fun and T1 got to touch a piece of ice from the glacier.  The boat ride was fun, but chilly.  And the sled dog experience was not something to miss.  T1 was hesitant about it due to my allergies, but I knew I would be fine since everything was outdoors.  I even got to hold a puppy.  And then beer.  There was a delightful smoked porter.  Now I need to track down other smoked beers to try.]]

Wednesday, June 4th - Skagway - Drama Day! T1 strongly dislikes ship tours. Perhaps I’ve mentioned this before. Overpriced and often cancelled. Avoid whenever possible. However, perhaps due to Alaska’s short tour season, private options are either very limited or priced just as high or higher than the ship tours. So every tour we did this cruise was through the ship, except in Skagway. The ship tour did not go all the way to Emerald Lake, and T1 was determined to get there, no matter the cost. The first tour company contacted did not want our money. Or something. They claimed that our ship was not in port long enough and customs delays would cause us to miss our ship. Fortunately T1 was able to find company that promised to have us back in plenty of time. Dyea Dave Tours. In addition to getting to Emerald Lake (which is in the Yukon, woo!) a popular touristy thing to do is take the White Pass Railway. This was an optional add on for our tour, and G2 wanted to do. The company was very prompt in their replies to my questions, so we booked the tour through them and were instructed to buy our train tickets separately, which we did, in advance. We were told to meet someone with a Dyea Dave sign in the tour vendor area who would then take us to the train station, put us on the train, and then meet us in Fraser where the train would drop us off. We have met many a private vendor before and never had a problem. This time? Yup. Problem. First of all, the pier was forever long and our ship was at the very end of it. It took a long time to walk to private vendor area. Finally got there and couldn’t find anyone. Asked some other people, they all said he should be around somewhere, but no one had seen him recently. So we are running all over creation (G3 strapped to G2, a rare time of non-fussing) and couldn’t find anyone. G2 pulls out his so called smart phone. No service. (More on this when we get to Anchorage.) So then T1 spotted a pay phone(!) and had the 800 number for the train depot, and called them. They gave directions to get to the train station, but said we had better hurry. (At this point, since we were standing right next to a train, we assumed we would have to come all the way back to where we were with the tickets once the tickets had been collected, so T1 left her bag with the G’s and took off running. And ran. And ran. And still didn’t see the station. And gave up. Exhausted and dejected, T1 headed back, only to suddenly see a Dyea Dave van approaching. Almost got hit crossing the street to get to it, and jumped on to discover the G’s had already been collected. Excellent! The tour driver motored to the train station, which was just a few blocks past where T1 had given up. Ran in, claimed our tickets, and raced to the train. Whew! [[Even made it with a few minutes to spare.  But wow was that hectic.]]

The train ride was beautiful, but the motorcoach was even better. We had only been driving a for a few minutes when we spotted a black bear eating dandelions along the side of the road. Fabulous. The drive into the Yukon was incredible. Lakes as still as glass reflecting the mountains...no pictures could possibly do it justice. This tour was probably the highlight of our cruise. However, as usual, G3 was unimpressed. But the day tired him out so much that for the second night in a row he fell asleep in the dining room, which was adorable.  [[I’d travel everywhere by train if I could.  Lots of great views.]]

Thursday, June 5th - At Sea - Scenic Hubbard Glacier cruising - Finally, a day to relax! Lots of eating. (Though we did have to leave lunch early due to fussing!) Some crew members set out on a zodiac boat and brought back a chunk of the glacier to be carved on the pool deck. We watched the carving while enjoying cappuccinos in the diamond lounge, which was completely empty. [[T1 touched it!]]

Friday, June 6th - Seward - Our cruise was over, but many activities still lay ahead. After disembarking, we took a shuttle to the Kenai Fjords tour office. They took care of sending our luggage straight to our hotel.We were on the 8.5 hour tour that included lunch on the boat and dinner at Fox Island. G2 added the optional ½ lb of King Crab to complete his experience, which already included salmon and prime rib. The boat ride was rough. Very rough. And T1 forgot her seabands. It was touch and go for awhile, but she managed to hold it together. Saw a variety of wildlife and glaciers too. After the tour we stopped at the Alaska Sea Life Center, which was across the street from our hotel, before calling it a night.  [[At times, the boat trip was like a roller coaster ride.  I enjoyed it but can definitely understand how it could make T1 queasy.  This time the crab was cooked but then chilled with ice.  I was a bit apprehensive about cold seafood, but it was extremely tasty.  Glad I ate it.  G3 didn’t share my opinion.]]

Saturday, June 7th - Seward and beyond - T1 got up early and took a peaceful 2 mile walk to the Hertz rental lot, where she picked up a car for the day at 7am. Had requested a compact...received a Jeep. :) Returned to the hotel, collected the G’s and the luggage and drove to Exit Glacier. Well, as close as we could get, then hiked to the glacier itself. We had to leave by 9:10, but had plenty of time, as the hike was only about a mile each way. Didn’t get quite as close to the glacier as we would have liked, but it was a safety issue. The glacier is receding very quickly, and it was amazing to see the markers of where it used to be. [[As much as I would have liked to lick the glacier, I’d rather not fall to my death.]]  We then drove to Whittier. Timing was critical because the only way into or out Whittier is through a one lane tunnel that is also shared by the railroad, so it is only open for 15 minutes every hour. Miss the opening, miss our tour. As it turns out, since traffic in Alaska means you see more than three cars in an hour we made excellent time, and actually made it an hour earlier than we planned. That was quite a relief. It was nice to not be rushing. We had brought food from the hotel and decided to eat it before the tour. G3 choked on his english muffin, and we had another vomit situation to deal with. Fortunately, G2’s snack was not in the bag this time. We had booked the 26 Glacier Cruise with Phillips cruises. Due to fog, we did not see anywhere near 26, which seemed to be a bit of false advertising, which we put on the comment card. True, the weather could not be controlled, but the previous day when it was determined the water was going to be rough, Kenai Tours warned us ahead of time that the tour may need to be altered, and if so we would receive a partial refund. Phillips did not offer any compensation. However, they did come through on their no seasickness guarantee. Prince William Sound was very protected and calm. And we got really close to the glacier we did see.

Back through the tunnel and on to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. G3 fell asleep in the car, but that’s okay because it is a drive through center. Saw our only brown bear of the trip there. [[There was an owl on exhibit.  We made G3 point it out and say ‘Owl.’]]  Then drove to Girdwood to the Alyeska Resort to take the tram. (Another 2 for 1 deal.) Again foggy, and a bit rainy, but it was still nice. Next the plan was to return the car at the Anchorage airport and then catch a shuttle to the hotel. We decided it would be easier to go to the hotel first, drop off our luggage, and then return the car. Problem was we had directions the airport but not the hotel. And we hadn’t eaten real food since lunch on the glacier tour. Not a big problem though, as everywhere has a McDonald’s, and all McDonald’s have free wifi. (‘Smart Phone’ still not working, and T1’s dumb phone was not charged.) Got some food, got directions, and were on our way. At the hotel, T1 charged her phone, which was key because the shuttle back to the hotel had to be called for. After dropping off the car, G2 pulled out the smart phone yet again. Now in Anchorage, a legitimate city, he must have service, right? Nope. None. None at all. T1’s dumb phone? Six bars! Full strength. Better signal than she gets at home. Cue the ‘2007 flip phone for the win’ dance. :P Called the shuttle and went back to the hotel.

Sunday, June 8th - Anchorage to Denali - Up bright and early to catch the train to Denali! The train station was practically across the street from the hotel, but due to not wanting to haul our luggage we took the hotel shuttle. Ah, laziness. Initially we thought we had two options for the train. Regular train car or fancy glass domed train car. Obviously the latter was a lot more expensive. A lot. But not know if we would ever be back, we decided to do it right. :) But then, right before booking the tickets. A third option presented itself. The Wilderness Express!  Same train cars used by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for their cruise tours. Glass domed, but at a lower price tag. Yay! Had a wonderful ride. Enjoyed both breakfast and lunch aboard the train. And Moose Kisses (yummy coffee based alcoholic beverages). [[Once again, fantastic scenery.  Trains are awesome!]]  The staff was amazing. We arrived at Denali at about 4. We had tickets for the last ‘tour’ of the day into the park that left at 5, so we had just enough time to go to the hotel and check in and drop off our luggage. We asked the hotel shuttle driver how we would go about getting back the hotel when we returned to the park entrance at 11:30pm. He told us to call the hotel and security would come get us. On the tour, we were only about 9 miles into the park when we saw a momma moose and her baby cross right behind our bus, following a creek. There were more wildlife sightings as we made our way to Toklat, the turnaround point. Many people have said if you can’t go as far as Eielsen, you shouldn’t bother, but we very much enjoyed our trip. On the way back, T1 called the hotel as the shuttle driver had told her. The front desk said, ‘Sure, we’ll send someone, but we are going to wait about ten minutes - we are getting reports of moose near the entrance, and you’ll surely stop for them.’ And the second she hung up the phone, there they were, two huge moose, only 2 miles from the visitor center! The shuttle came for us shortly after we got back to the visitors center, and another long day was over. (G3 remained awake for almost the entire tour!) [[Another great time was had by all.]]

Monday, June 9th - Denali to Fairbanks - Up early for our last day. We took the hotel shuttle to the park, and it stopped at their sister property on the way. The drive up from the Bluffs to the Grande had some hilarious signs on the way. T1 regret not having the camera ready to take picture of them all, however, upon returning home she found this article on CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/08/travel/denali-road/, which was published the day we arrived in Denali! The weather was beautiful for our day in the park, though for the second day in a row Denali (Mt. McKinley) herself was obscured by clouds. G2 had enjoyed the sled dogs so much in Juneau we decided to go to the parks Sled Dog Demonstration before taking the free shuttle to Savage River. Not a lot of wildlife, but gorgeous scenery. We hiked a loop trail before returning to the park entrance to await our train to Fairbanks. There was hardly anyone on the train, which was good, because G3 was especially fussy. We arrived in Fairbanks at around 8pm, and our flight was not until almost 2am. T1 had tried to find something to fill the time, but given the time of day had come up empty. Earlier in the day we had a conversation about how if we lived in Fairbanks we would camp out at the train station and try to sell evening tours, because a lot of flights don’t leave until very late. When we arrived there was not a soul around - but there was rack of tourist brochures and a courtesy phone. While browsing the brochures, we found an ad for an airport shuttle, with an optional city tour. By this point it was 8:30, but G2 called them anyway - and they said they would pick us up in 10 minutes. Tour was only supposed to be about an hour and fifteen minutes, but because it was with a shared ride shuttle company the driver kept getting calls to pick up other people, and we hung out for the ride, since we didn’t have anything else to do. Ended up being a bit over two hours - well worth it. Worn out from the fussing, G3 slept most of the time. He woke up at the the airport and wasn’t a very happy camper, but things actually got better as the evening wore on.  [[We also got to see the Alaska oil pipeline.  Because ‘Murica.]]

Tuesday, June 10th - Fairbanks to Chicago - Flight departed at a little after 2am. 10 hours later, with a layover in Denver, we were home! G3 slept most of the way to Denver, which was very nice.

Check another trip off the list!  [[But we need to go back!  At this point I’d like to thank the lovely T1 for planning such a wonderful and fun trip.  As was mentioned, G3 was less than impressed.  However, he did come away from the trip with a new obsession.  In an effort to curb fussiness, he was permitted at times to use my old iPhone preloaded with some games and Sesame Street videos (with cell services disabled because I don’t want him calling China).  A bunch of the games were Angry Birds and its spinoffs.  Now, any time a phone comes out, it is ‘Birds!’ or he’ll try to rummage through my pockets and find my new phone.  Because ‘Birds!’  I have created a monster.]]

Foosa at 19.5ish Months

Still working on the Foosa's 5th Cruise entry, so in the meantime...

*He is getting quite good at using a spoon to eat his oatmeal.
*Favorite toys are his daddy's old iphone, Elmo story reader, and Fisher Price Bubble Blowing Lawn Mower.
*Eats just about everything in sight, but current favorite food seems to be grapes.
*Recent words include No! (shudder), BIRDS!!!!! (Angry Birds), Elmo, and Ice.
*Official 18 month stats were 24 pounds and 31 inches tall. I think they were being stingy with the weight and generous with the height.

Still so short!

If you happened to stumble upon this post by Googling "How long to keep baby in infant car seat" or something similar, turn right back around. You won't find the answer here. Foosa is definitely an anomaly. At over 17.5 months old, he is STILL in his infant seat. (You know the seat I wasn't going to buy because it would see so little use.) From my own Google searches, it seems this is unheard of. His seat, the Britax Chaperone, has a weight limit of 30 pounds and a height limit of 32 inches. And Foosa is a short stack. Official measurements will be taken at his 18 month appointment in a few weeks, but he is currently approximately 24.5 pounds and not quite 30 inches. Could he move to a convertible? Sure. But I'm in no rush. First of all because he is so happy and content in his existing seat. Second, because I have a feeling I may end up eating my own words about having a baby and a two door car. Popping him in and out of the base for the infant seat is so easy. Having to crawl in the car to get him all situated in a convertible seat seems like it will be a pain. Third, I also love the convenience of putting the infant seat straight on the stroller frame and being good to go. Pop out, snap on, stroll, snap out, pop in. So easy! As opposed to, unbuckle child from car seat. Remove child from car. Strap child in stroller. Stroll. Unstrap child from stroller. Remove child from stroller. Put child in car seat. Buckle child in to car seat. Perhaps I'm just really lazy, but that is not a process I'm looking forward to. And finally because I don't exactly have a convertible seat yet. We have a Britax Boulevard for the Focus, and we have the Cosco Scenera that we use for travel and will eventually live at my in laws for when Grandma picks Foosa up at my office and plays with him for a few hours on Monday's. So I will need a seat my car. Years ago (yes, years, when I was merely planning on a baby and didn't actually have one) I decided on the Britax Marathon in Cowmooflage. Because it's Cowmooflage. Not because it's 'better' or 'safer.' Just because of the print. But lately reality has set in. It's an expensive seat. Even on Amazon it's still going for $232. And I actually quite like the Scenera. Which is only $39. And still safe. I change my mind almost daily as to which one to get. I really want the cow print. It's stupid, I know. But it is not worth an extra $200. But I want it. Ugh. I annoy myself.

I should also mention that we still bathe him in his baby tub too. He loves it, and still fits, so why not? We don't waste as much water that way. And finally last week took down his crib mobile (because I saw him reaching for it on the monitor). And still use the changing table. And are in no rush to transition him to a real chair from his high chair. Etc. Etc. Etc. And did I mention he still wears 9-12 month clothing? A part of me is unwilling to admit that he is growing up.

Foosa at (Almost) 17 months

Things I keep meaning to write down but never quite get around to...

*Foosa loves to play in the dishwasher. Pulls it open if left ajar and climbs in.
*Favorite toy at my office is a feather duster. Used to act as a parade marshal (better than the plunger he used to use), and to dust his favorite sitting cabinet. Also likes tubes and greeting cards that feature cats. .
*Gets very frustrated due to his inability to communicate his desires. Got to start using actual words, kid.
*Current 'words' he does use: Up, Aht (Cat), Ot (Hot), Dada (used to mean 'person who loves me,' beginning to understand that when I say it I'm referring to his father - sidenote: I try and get him to talk to his dad when he calls, and he has no interest. The minute I hang up he says 'Dada!'), Baa-Baa (when seeing a picture of a sheep), At (That, said while emphatically pointing), Dupa-Dup (Humpty Dumpty), Ball, Owl, Car
*If asked, he can point to his ears, nose, chin, and knees with 100% accuracy. Working on cheeks and teeth.
*Knows where the bananas live and will head straight for them if asked if he wants one.
*Also knows that graham crackers can be found in my diaper bag whenever he wants a snack.
*All buttons exist to be pushed, and all switches to be flipped.
*Loves to be read to.
*If given Yogurt Burst Cheerios, will systematically pick out and eat all the yogurt ones before eating any of the plain ones. (I think he gets this from me.)
*Doesn't care for TV. At all. Likes the remote, doesn't care about the actual TV in the slightest. People with similarly aged kids start throwing around phrases like Daniel Tiger, and I feel like they are speaking another language.
*Is very good at sharing.
*Insists on taking all of his clothes (still 9-12 month sized, by the way) off the changing table and throwing them on the floor. Also yanks books off of the shelf, usually one by one.
*Skin is showing some improvement thanks to sea salt baths and coconut oil rubs. Would be better if he stopped picking his scabs.
*Goes to bed between 7 and 8, wakes for a snack around 10 or 11 about half the time, then usually goes back to sleep until at least 9:30 if not woken by us earlier than that.
*Hates being told no, or stop.
*Understands how time outs work. If he pitches a fit for no good reason when we are at work, I put him in his pack and play in my office. He figured out really quickly that if he settles down he can come right back out.
*Claps when seeing a picture of clapping or hearing the word. Same with seeing pictures of waving, though he will not do the latter on command all the time.
*Moving away from the everything in the mouth stage.
*Starting to grasp the concept of shape sorting.
*Is a very good eater. Likes almost all foods, even spicy ones.

US Healthcare/Insurance is TERRIBLE

I HATE the healthcare system/insurance companies. Last month we got a letter from our dr's office that they were merging with Advocate Medical Group. I know Advocate is not in our insurance network. So we assumed we would, irritatingly, have to find new primary care doctors for all of us. But before we could do anything about it, the very next day the office called needing to reschedule our appointment. And we told them to just cancel it because we knew they wouldn't take our insurance. However, they assured us nothing was going to change. Okay fine. But I figured I knew better, and called the insurance company anyway. They backed up the office's claim, said we were all good. Referred us to their website, because it is 'updated daily,' Yup, website said we were covered. Cool. I have been periodically checking the website, still says we are covered.

G3's 15 month appointment was today. Called the office to verify we were still all good. This was confirmed. Called insurance one more time, they said we were covered. Got to the appointment, filled out all new freaking forms, was getting ready to take the kid back to see the doctor, when the receptionist came over to us, apologized and TOLD US THEY DID NOT TAKE OUR INSURANCE ANYMORE. I am fighting the head cold of death right now, so I was in a bad mood already. This enraged me. Seriously, what happened in the five hours between when I hung up with them and that moment? I started to lose it, at which point G2 stood up, grabbed my hand and told them we would be finding a new doctor, and got us all out of there before I made a huge scene.

So now we have to find new doctors. And G3 needs an appointment fast so he can stay on schedule with his shots. This is going to be a major pain. As of right this very second, Blue Cross's website still says covered, so I'm sure their provider finder is going to do me no good. Grrr.   

Foosa's 4th Cruise!

We have successfully made it onboard the Jewel. Indications are good that this will forever be known as ‘the trip of the fussing.’ Let’s hope not. The G’s are napping, and there is a bit of time before the muster drill, so I’ll try and get all of my pre-cruise notes jotted down now.

It is Saturday, day one of our cruise, but departed for San Juan on Thursday. After a long night of packing, our cab arrived far too early at a little after 6am. By 6:30, we were packed up and on our way to O’Hare. (Shout out to the good folks at American Taxi, who always arrive right on time.) Traffic was no worse than usual (actually better than it has been lately) , and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare.  Check in was quick and painless. Security was ultra fast too. I don’t know if it was because of G3 or if the first security lady read our boarding pass wrong. JetBlue has a thing where you can pay an extra $10 per person and skip ahead of the line – we did not do that but were ushered into some type of express lane anyway, as opposed to the really long regular security lane. Had some breakfast from McDonalds and before we knew it we were boarding. As the loyal reader may remember, our flight to Tampa in November was a disaster, so we were really hoping for better luck this time around. Things were pretty good from takeoff to just after Indianapolis, when the fussing began. And at age 14.5 months, fussing really equals screaming. This continued over the rest of Indiana, through Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Sigh. Shortly before the Atlantic appeared beneath us, G3 finally calmed down. He fell asleep for a little over an hour before waking and resuming the fussing. Out of what turned out to be about a 4 hour flight, he screamed for well over half of it. [I didn’t get puked on, which was an improvement.]

Upon landing, we had a bit of a wait for our bags before shuffling out to the curb to grab a taxi. I had rented us an apartment in Old San Juan for the first two night of our journey. My instructions were to stop by Hospital Veterinario to claim the key before proceeding to the apartment. I told the cabbie this, and even gave him the address of the place. He seemed confused, even though my instructions stated that ‘Taxi drivers will know.’ I repeated the information several times, before he said, “Oh, hospital – I thought you said Veterinarian.’ I began to second guess myself and felt pretty stupid. The notes must have said Veterans, I figured, and I almost sent us to the vet. Great start. I kept my mouth shut. Shortly I realized the driver was not taking the exact route I had notes for, but since he was a taxi driver, I rationalized that he was taking a shortcut. We were relatively near where we were supposed to be, so I didn’t think much of it. He soon pulled up next to a building and announced we had arrived. I hopped out and went inside. It was labeled as ‘Medical Center.’ There was a reception desk, but no one was at it, and it honestly didn’t look like anyone ever was. I waited for a bit, but no one came back to the desk. There was a directory on the wall with all the different doctors names, and the guy we rented the place from was not listed. Granted, he could have just worked there, but I still had a bad feeling. I went back outside and asked the cabbie if he was sure we were in the right place, and he informed be this was the only hospital he knew of. G2 checked the street sign…we were definitely not on the right street. A call to the owner of the place we were staying sent us a few blocks away, to, yup, a Veterinarian. Taxi man was dumbfounded. After quickly grabbing the key, we headed to Old San Juan. Apparently it was this cabbies first day or something, because he didn’t know his way around there either. I ended up having to give him step by step instructions to get us there.  But we made it!

We dropped off our bags and set out for an early dinner, having lost two hours on the flight. We walked down to a restaurant right by the piers where ships in just for the day docked. As we flew over I saw both Carnival and NCL in port, but by the time we arrived at the restaurant Carnival had already moved on. The restaurant was Punto de Vista,  and the food was excellent. Coconut mojito and shrimp mofongo for me (hereafter referred to as T1, as I just realized I haven’t been typing in my usual  third person style for trip reports) and raspberry mojito and steak mofongo for G2. G3 sampled both dishes and seemed to enjoy them.

After dinner we strolled along the waterfront, reminiscent of our after dinner walks on our honeymoon in ’08. We saw a lot of the usual locals…feral cats. There were so many. G3 loved it! ‘At!’ is one of his favorite ‘words,’ and even though it basically refers to all animals, at least this time he was accurate.

Exhausted from our day of travel, we trooped back to the apartment. It was still really early, especially if you consider that our bodies were still on central time, but we didn’t care. Bedtime for all! G3 did not take kindly to the tent, even though we had practiced with him at home. He screamed for quite awhile before settling down for about an hour, then getting all upset again. Took another to get him back to sleep, which lasted only about an hour and a half. At this point we gave up, pulled him into the bed, and G2 stayed up most of the night making sure he didn’t wake up and fall out. (Prior to this T1 attempted sleeping in the tent with G3…nope, not happening. He screamed even louder when we tried that. He only wanted daddy. Thank you, child who I gave life, I love you too.)  [I don’t understand how the kid didn’t like the tent.  It is freaking sweet!]

The next day we were up early and headed out in search of Mallorca’s, another Puerto Rican favorite. The best place in town has been closed for several years for ‘remodeling’ (yeah, it will probably never reopen), so we went to the next best, Cafeteria Mallorca. Three cheese Mallorca and one butter Mallorca, two strong coffees. Delightful. G3 also enjoyed them, thank goodness. After breakfast we walked further down the water’s edge, as the path was extended much further than we remembered it being, but the new section was only open during daylight hours. It was a lovely and hot walk. Amazing that we were sweating in 90 degree heat, meanwhile it was about 5 degrees back home. We had a tasty passion fruit shaved ice to cool us down en route back to the apartment.

Thorough sunscreen application and then time for the beach! About a two mile walk, it was a lovely hike. It was a yellow flag day, which meant we couldn’t use G3’s floatie…understandable, but it would have been nice if we had been informed of that before G2 unpacked and filled the thing up. G3 was not as confident in the water without it, so he and T1 spent a lot of time on the beach waving to G2 in the water and at the ‘At’s!’ on the beach. (Not cats this time. Pigeons. We’re working on it.)

An ice cream treat and another lovely walk returned us to the apartment yet again, where G2, exhausted, took a nap. G3 played unpack all the suitcases. Strangely, his duck tub in a box fascinated him. G2 had also picked up a chocolate pastry type situation at breakfast that morning, so we ate that for a snack.

Dinner that night was at a place that has been on my list since our first trip to San Juan, and four trips later we finally got around to it. Sadly, we couldn’t enjoy ourselves because G3 pitched a major fit and we spent all of dinner taking turns removing him from the restaurant and letting him scream outside. And had to skip dessert. Depressing. And of course as soon as we left, he was fine.

We walked back down to the waterfront to take pictures of Grandeur of the Seas in port, and were surprised to see another ship approaching. It was Explorer, 18 hours ahead of schedule. Apparently there was a Noro outbreak, and she skipped Labadee and came straight to San Juan. So we took pictures of both ships and then walked down to Pier 6, and brand new area that has been built since we last visited. All the activities were already closed for the night, but among them are trapeze lessons…

A few blocks from our apartment was a kiosk we had seen earlier in the day that advertised Mallorca’s, so we thought we would take a chance and see if they were still open, since we had missed dessert earlier in the evening. They were! Mallorca and coffee for a night time snack – yummy!

Upon returning to we decided to use the laundry machine to rinse all the sand out of our clothes. This did not go well, as without thinking we tossed T1’s red shirt in with the white towel that we borrowed from the apartment to take to the beach. Yup. Pink towel. And the Walgreens in town did not sell Rit dye remover, so the next day we had to go out and procure a new towel to replace the damaged one. Now, aside from the Walgreens, Old San Juan is not an area that has chain stores. Little restaurants and souvenir shops, that’s what the town has. And yet somehow, sandwiched in the middle of all of them, lo and behold, was a Marshall’s. New towel was obtained, and the day was saved. Also, despite his dinnertime freak out, G3 calmed right down at bedtime and actually spent the whole night in his tent.

The next morning we attempted to have a nice breakfast at Café Manolin, but Mr. Meltdown freaked out again. I don’t understand the positive reviews on TripAdvisor. The food was terrible (no mallorcas!) and service worse. Plus, G3’s oatmeal never arrived, and they tried to charge us for it anyway. Yuck. Will never return there, that’s for sure.   [Eh, the food wasn’t terrible.  Nothing special.  I wouldn’t go there again either as long as Café Mallorca is still around.  Or heck, even the little kiosk.]

Back to the apartment to pack up and head to the ship. T1 knew from previous experience that cabs line up a block away from where the apartment was, so she walked over and asked one of them to collect us and our luggage. The ride to the pier was uneventful, unlike the initial ride two days before. 

(The rest of this was written after the conclusion of the cruise.)

Embarkation was ultra fast, which was surprising because last time we cruised out of San Juan it was an absolute nightmare. This time we were onboard in minutes. Our cabin was not ready yet, so we headed up to the Windjammer for some lunch. After lunch our room was ready, but our luggage had not yet arrived. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Wandered around the ship, checking back periodically. No luggage. Finally at around 7pm, T1 went to guest services to inquire about it. They said they would call a supervisor. She returned to the cabin to wait. And happened to look all the way down the hall and saw suitcases resembling ours. Sure enough, it was them. Started to haul the two regular bags to the room, and then said supervisor appeared and assisted with the stroller and car seat bag.

Later in the evening, we tried to enjoy some time at the Diamond Event, (if you’ve read previous trip reports you know this means free drinks) but some random j@ck@$$ decided to make a ridiculous scene about there being a (silent) child in the lounge. Seriously, you would not have known he was there if you hadn’t seen us walk in with him. But this individual just ranted and raved like we had ruined his entire life by having the audacity to bring G3 into the room. It was asinine. People came up to us and told us to not let him get to us, but he was truly disturbing the whole room with his antics, so we left. He was still screaming while we waited at the elevator. I don’t think he had even noticed we had left. One woman we spoke with had the best line of the night regarding his behavior, ‘Please, if I ever get that old and cantankerous, shoot me.’

The next day was our first port, Tortola. Armed with a ferry schedule just in case, we set off in search of Egbert, a local with a boat that provided a transfer to Virgin Gorda and ‘The Baths.’ Schedule was not needed as Egbert was right outside the security gate. There was bit of a wait while he filled the boat, but then we were on our way. A prearranged taxi was waiting for us in Virgin Gorda, and a short ride put us at the ‘Top of the Baths.’ The hike down was fun, and G2 can add ‘crawled over and through boulders’ to the list of things he has done with G3 strapped to him. The Baths are beautiful, truly a must see to anyone visiting the area. There were wild chickens that G3 took quite the interest in. Chased them all over the beach. Later, exhausted from chicken chasing and splashing in the water, he passed out on a rock to exclaims of his sheer adorableness from just about every single passerby. I’m biased, but I agree.

We didn’t know how long it was going to take to walk back up, so we ended up leaving a little bit earlier than it turns out we needed to. We got to the top about a half hour ahead of schedule. We saw our taxi driver and he directed us to another taxi. (Taxis are actually open air vehicles that seat about 20.) We asked him if he was sure, because we were with Egbert’s group and not due to leave for awhile. He said yes. So we hopped in. Next thing we knew, with only one other couple on board (not from our group) the taxi took off. Uh-oh.  It dropped us off at the ferry pier, which was a few minutes walk from where we had gotten off of Egbert’s boat. That in itself wasn’t a problem, but we were concerned about our group back at the Baths trying to locate us before leaving. Fortunately, when we arrived at the correct pier, Egbert was there – stunned to see us. He called his driver at the Baths to advise him of our location. Just about the same time, a friend of the driver came around the corner and told Egbert the driver messed up and accidentally sent some people early. So all was well. However, our early arrival meant extra time for Egbert’s super, super strong rum punch. (Made even stronger buy the fact that G2 had only a very small breakfast, and T1 hadn’t eaten anything since the night before.) Not good. Well, the punch itself was, but without going into too much detail, let’s just say that when we returned to the ship our night was over. Missed the captain’s reception, missed dinner, missed the whole night.  [Now, I know my tolerance has gone way downhill since G3 arrived.  But I didn’t think it had completely disappeared.  I knew it was a strong pour, but we come to find out later that he had been using 151.  So I basically had twice as many drinks as intended.  Whoops!]

We also got a late start the next morning. We were in St. Maarten, and the plan was to make three stops, Mullet Bay, Maho Beach, and Carousel. Our late start meant Mullet Bay was scrapped, and we headed straight to Maho. Instead of taking a taxi to the pier, we walked to town and caught the local bus. St. Maarten bus service is pretty fabulous. Busses are actually vans. We just looked for one that said Maho, waved them down and hopped in. There are preset stops with shelters, but the bus will stop anywhere, just like hailing a cab. And the ½ hour or so ride only cost us $2 a person.

Maho is a tourist attraction because it is located right next to St. Maarten’s airport, and the planes come in for landings right over the beach. We rented a couple chairs and an umbrella and spent a couple hours watching the landings. Even more entertaining was when a plane started at the very back of the runway and fired up its engine for takeoff. The jet blast is so strong you have to hang on to the fence if you are in its range, and the force will fly you like a flag. We did not do this, but laughed as people, without thinking, got themselves out of range, but left their stuff in the blast path. At least a half dozen people ended up having to swim out about 30 feet or more to collect their belongings that had ended up in the water. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and to my knowledge everyone got everything back, so all ended well yet again. [I think we captured some nice pictures from this.  We didn’t really go into the water here as the swells were a bit large for G3.  And I was recuperating from the day before.]

After the last of the large planes arrived, (more weren’t due for at least an hour) we walked back up to where we had gotten off the bus and waited. It wasn’t more than a few minutes when a bus arrived. Flagged it down, hopped in, and headed back towards town. We wanted to stop at Carousel on our way, and we knew there was a dedicated stop a couple minutes walk from the place, so when we saw it T1 told the driver, ‘next stop, please.’ But he didn’t stop at the next stop. He stopped right there. Directly in front of the place. It was great! Being a weekday and still early enough that school was still in session, Carousel was deserted. What is Carousel? It’s a gelato place with, well, a carousel behind it. We all shared two generous scoops of gelato, and then went back to the counter and told them we would like G3 to have a ride. Still no one else in the place, but they fired it up and he got a private ride. He wasn’t sure what to think about it, actually looked quite fearful, but it was quite cute. After the ride, it was back out to the street to flag down the next bus. One came along very shortly and soon enough we were back on the ship.

Our next port was St. Kitts.  We had been there previously and had done a really comprehensive island tour, so this time we decided to visit neighboring island Nevis. Research indicated that, much like visiting St. John from St. Thomas, it was easier and less expensive to actually book through the cruise line. (This rarely happens.) The transfer took about 45 minutes. G3 was very well behaved. We then boarded a bus for a tour of the island. There was a stop at Nevis’ hot springs, which lived up to their name. Definitely hotter than our hot tub, and actually painful to T1’s sunburned ankles. After the tour we were taken to Lime Beach Bar for lunch. (Lime means ‘relax’ on Nevis and some other Caribbean islands.) The barbecue chicken and rice that was served was quite good. We then had a couple hours at the beach. Chairs were included with our package, and we rented an umbrella that ended up serving a dual purpose, sun and rain protection. Both occurred, often at the same time, during our stay. G3 does not like the rain. When our time was up, the boat that had dropped us off on the other side of the island earlier in the day pulled right up on the beach to collect us and take us back to the ship.

An adorable moment occurred at dinner that evening. We placed our orders and handed the menus back to the waiter. G3 had a paper kids menu, and, having observed his parents behavior, attempted to hand his menu in too as soon as G2 had ordered for him. With a huge smile on his face. It was absolutely precious.

On to Dominica, the highlight port of the trip. We had booked the ‘Roseau Valley Treasures’ tour through Bumpiing Tours, and were lucky enough to have the owner, Levi, as our guide. There were three major stops on the tour, all water related, and G3 was an absolute champ, stunning everyone with his easygoing attitude and sense of adventure. The first stop was snorkeling at Champagne Reef. It really wasn’t as bubbly as advertised, but there were a lot of cool fish to see. Second was Titou Gorge. A scene from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was filmed there. It’s really neat swim in relatively cold water. (Levi said he had never had anyone even remotely close to as young as G3 do the swim, and he’s been doing this particular tour for nine years.)  Our final stop was at Trafalger Falls, a lovely double waterfall view, and then a hike down from the falls to Dominica’s hot springs. Not as hot as Nevis, and not as smelly either since Nevis’s is sulfur based and Dominica is iron based. A nice relaxing soak was had by all. All too soon we were headed back to the ship. Dominica is a truly beautiful island, ranking right up near the top of T1’s list of favorite Caribbean locales.   [G3 didn’t care so much for Titou Gorge.  The hot springs were another story.  He lounged like a pro.]

Our final port was Barbados. Like St. Kitts, we had been there before and done an island tour, so this time we decided to stay on the water and spend the day snorkeling. T1 researched many catamaran companies, but ultimately decided to go with the ship’s vendor, Tiami, since they were well reviewed and had a larger boat. On our own we probably would have gone with one of the smaller ‘luxury’ cats, but not knowing how well G3 would do, we figured a larger party type boat would be better…if he started screaming hopefully he would be less noticeable. Turns out it all would have been fine, (we really should have more faith in our child) as he was exceptional yet again. A short bus transfer brought us to the catamaran dock, where we boarded and immediately were offered beverages (T1 was very excited that pineapple juice was an option!) and banana bread. Yummy! Our first snorkeling stop was supposed to be with turtles. T1 was spoiled after our stingray snorkel some years ago when they were absolutely everywhere, so she always assumes snorkeling with turtles means they will be all around us. Well, this was attempt #4 to do a turtle snorkel…and it was just about as wildly unsuccessful as the previous attempts. We both saw two turtles (perhaps just the same one twice). And unfortunately there wasn’t really anything else to see at this stop. G3 doesn’t like his life vest as much as his floatie, so when wearing it he clings to whoever is holding him and seems a bit scared, so T1 took him back to the boat a little early while G2 continued his unsuccessful hunt for more turtles. Everyone on the boat was again very surprised how well the little guy did. Before the next stop, we had a delightful buffet lunch. Chicken and fish with a variety of salads and sides. And lemon cake, chocolate cake, and red velvet cake for dessert! En route to snorkeling stop #2 we supposedly passed a ton of ultra expensive houses, but we couldn’t see them from where we had chosen to sit. One of them ran $30,000 per week to rent.  (T1 can’t wrap her head around the idea of having that kind of money to throw around.) The snorkeling at the next spot had a lot more to see, and there was plenty of room to spread out, so G3 got to use his floatie. Given a choice, I don’t think he or G2 would have ever gotten out of the water. T1 had long returned to the boat to catch some sun, but the two of them stayed in until the last moment. Once the snorkeling was complete, the bar opened and the music was cranked up for our return to the dock. The number of people aged 60+ who knew all the words to Shaggy’s ‘It Wasn’t Me’ and danced to it was actually kind of frightening.

Our last day was a sea day. We had grand plans to have both breakfast and lunch in the main dining room, but for the first time ever in our storied cruising history, they decided to just offer buffet brunch instead. This did not thrill T1. Who wants ribs at 9am? And who wants to eat at a buffet when you are expecting a nice sit down meal? (Nothing against buffets, T1 loves them, but this was just not the experience she had hoped for.) Displeasure was expressed on the comment card. Hopefully this was just a trial idea and will not become commonplace.  [Brunch was a disappointment to me.  There were no breakfast staples like pancakes, waffles, or French toast.  I would have settled for one of the three, but alas, I had to make due with a couple of sausage links and get a more substantial breakfast at the Windjammer.]

The highlight of our day at sea was unplanned. After returning back to the ship from Barbados, we entered our stateroom to find something T1 had dreamed off since she first set foot on a cruise ship almost 11 years ago. AN INVITATION TO TAKE A TOUR OF THE GALLEY! Thought we would need a ton more loyalty points before earning one of them, but no, there it was. SO EXCITING!! So after brunch, we assembled with the other lucky invite recipients and were ushered into one of the many galleys. And we were immediately handed mimosas. The tour itself was only about fifteen minutes, but it was fabulous. They demoed the roll making machine and it was fascinating. Getting to see everything was so neat!

The cruise actually ended on a bit of a sour note, as we were departing the dining room after our dinner, some crazy B&*#h decided to get in our faces a bit and tell us that our child had no right to be in the dining room. Bear in mind this woman sat nowhere near us, so there is absolutely no way she even knew he was there until she saw us walking out. It took everything in T1’s power not to punch her. We hope she and the idiot from night #1 both have karma bite them in the ass big time someday. Jerks.

The next day we headed off the ship and while waiting in line to clear customs it just so happened that the people right behind us in line were the folks in the only cabin we shared a wall with. If anyone would have been justified in making negative comments about G3, it would have been these people. He did not sleep well, and if he disturbed them they would have had every right to give us a hard time about it. And we would have apologized profusely. In fact, T1 started apologizing as soon as she found out who they were. However, they claim they didn’t hear him at all. We are not sure how this is possible, because he got pretty loud some nights. Perhaps they were just being nice, or maybe the walls really are just that thick. Either way it was a relief.

We had an afternoon flight, so T1’s plan was to locate a company named San Juan Happy Tours, who take people back to Old San Juan and do a quick tour and then hold all luggage so you can have free time to walk around town without having to drag your suitcases with you. And then they take you to the airport, all for less than two cab rides would have cost. Locating them turned out to be ridiculously simple, one of the drivers was literally the first person T1 saw, before she could even tell G2 who to look for. It was well worth the price. We were able to get one last Mallorca and one last mofongo in Old San Juan before having to go to the airport.

The flight home was less than great. If not for a wonderful flight attendant named Jodi, we’re not sure we would have made it through without someone nearby killing us. We wanted to kill us. G3 does not like airplanes one bit. There was an eight month old a few rows ahead of us that was much more well behaved. At least there was no vomit. We really wish we could sedate him to keep him calmer. Sigh. He’ll get used to it eventually, right?

Overall the Europe trip was still the easiest, but mainly because of the flying and the sleeping at night. G3 still does remarkably well on tours. A snack usually calms almost all bouts of fussiness, which is a relief. Less than four months until the next one! J

He's Walking!!

The little guy walked for the first time tonight! Back and forth between both of us several times. Seemed quite pleased with himself. We're in trouble now.

Discipline...aka I have no idea what I'm doing

Now that he's very, very mobile, all Foosa wants to do is get into things he shouldn't. We've babyproofed to some extent, cabinet latches and socket covers and what not, but he still manages to access things he shouldn't. While I can deal with most of it, like when he dumps my purse all over the floor and goes through its contents, it concerns me that he has zero reaction when I tell him 'no!' Doesn't pause to look at me, doesn't freeze in place, doesn't act like I'm even speaking.(I know he has no hearing problems, because he reacts to other commands, like the aforementioned, 'Do the pig!') I learned a long time ago that 'the books' are nothing but nonsense, but that doesn't stop me from consulting them anyway, just to see what is supposedly normal. In this case the consensus across a variety of sources is that while he might not stop doing the prohibited task when told no, by this age he should at least acknowledge that it is being said. One of the things he does that worries me the most is when he pulls up on the coffee table, and starts banging as hard as he can on the glass panels that are set in the wood. I'm terrified he is going to hurt himself. I tell him no, and he just keeps doing it. No hesitation. I try to remove him from the situation, and distract him with another task, nope, goes right back to it and tries to bang even harder. I've tried various tones, I've tried explaining to him why its not safe to hit glass (for whatever that's worth), I've even tried giving him commands he does understand as alternatives. Nope. It's seriously his favorite thing to do. I'm about to stash the table in the basement until he learns to control himself, but that doesn't really teach him anything. I just wish he'd stop for even one second and make it seem like he's processing what I'm saying. Oh yeah, I'm really winning at this mom thing.

Foosa at 14 months

My mom keeps telling me I should write things down, and since I'm apparently terrible at the baby book thing (as in, even with the best intentions, I never started it...thank goodness a friend of mine gave me a sticker calendar that I could use to record his firsts...when I remembered), I figured I should force myself to start jotting a few notes down from time to time. (I'll use the baby book for the next child. It's too adorable to go unused.)

So, that said, the little guy is 14 months, 3 days old today. He is not walking yet, but yesterday he did shove himself away from the furniture he was clinging to and stood unassisted, so it's going to be soon. No 14 month drs appointment since he is no longer FTT. Short version of long story I intended to post, but will likely never get around to: at 4 months his weight dropped dramatically off of 'The Chart,' a terrible metric doctors use to determine if a baby is developing properly. This led to monthly weight checks and a diagnosis of 'Failure to Thrive.' Scared his poor parents half to death, especially when he was sent for blood work (on a Friday!) to check for indications of organ failure or something else terrible. Longest weekend ever. Everything came back perfect except for an elevated count of something I don't remember that was indicative of eczema - which it was quite apparent he had because he was already seeing a pediatric dermatologist about it. (I will write about that at some point.) As an eczema sufferer myself, my logic was that since his skin was so bad and his body was working so hard to repair it, the calories he was consuming were going straight to that duty instead of being stored as fat, especially since his plateau in weight gain coincided with when the eczema first presented. So I refused any further testing, and sure enough, the older he gets and thus the stronger meds we can give him for his skin, the quicker the weight gain. He climbed back into the chart, and currently I estimate he is between 22 and 23 pounds, which puts him right about in the middle.

He says 'at' for cat, and can say 'hot' perfectly but doesn't know what it means. Lots of things are 'hot,' even very cold things. We're working on it. Mother in law claims he says up, but it's really more like, 'aahp,' and he says it indiscriminately, so I'm not willing to give him that one yet. Also, both MIL and SIL think he knows 'Santa Claus', which I have never heard and maintain it is impossible, because that's not something we've said around him. Oh, and dadadadada means I want. Said at a higher excited pitch it sometimes refers to his father as well.

He loves looking at pictures, especially of himself. Vain child. :) He eats just about everything you put in front of him. He understands when you tell him to 'do the pig.' (He wrinkles his nose and attempts to snort.) And he knows 'So big!' and how to high five.

Favorite non-toy is the vacuum cleaner. Has loved is since he was a little baby. He babbles to it, and shrieks with delight if you turn it on. He also loves 'helping' with the dishwasher (grabbing spoons out of the silverware holder and throwing them on the ground).

Naps are getting more regular. Usually only one, starting at 1:30 or 2 and lasting an hour or two. Goes to bed anytime between 7:30 and 9. Will wake once, sometimes twice, usually because of gassiness or hunger, between bedtime and about 1am. If we are lucky (and don't have to wake him up to come to work with me) he then sleeps until 9am or later. Sometimes as late as 11. It's glorious.

He is outgrowing his current batch of clothes. Everything he has worn lately has been its last hurrah, when I did the laundry I packed away all of his stuff instead of putting it back in the rotation. He has about six outfits left. So after next weeks laundry I will unpack everything and repack it away. Currently the newborn stuff is at the bottom and the larger items on top, which makes no sense. Then last of the current wardrobe will max out the storage tub, so I will reorder it with the larger items on the bottom and newborn stuff on top. That way whenever baby #2 is born, I can just pull out the top section.

With the clothes go the sleepsacks, which is sad. In the morning we let him crawl around with his legs out but arms still in it. When he was little it looked like a cape. Now that he is bigger and creeping along furniture 95% of the time, it looks like a bathrobe. Too cute.

So there. I've finally written some stuff down. :) Now I have to see how much of the house I can get cleaned before his nap ends.  

Planning: Sleeping Arrangements

Now that the little guy is not so little, sleeping away from home is getting a bit more complicated. For our next cruise we are going to the embarkation port a few days early. The ship leaves from San Juan, which has a special place in our hearts since that is where we spent time before and after our honeymoon cruise. Any opportunity to return is relished, and we have enough vacation days to make it doable, so yay! And instead of staying in hotel we have rented a delightful looking apartment in the heart of Old San Juan. It's a one bedroom, and when I arranged it I planned to just use a page from my cruising tips and tricks playbook - if no access to a portable crib, turn the loveseat against the wall, and boom - sleeping accommodations the kid can't roll out of. (I've never had to actually employ this trick as we have always been able to secure a pack and play, but I've heard it works fabulously.) Up until about a month ago, this would have worked perfectly. But now G3 has decided he has no sense of self preservation and has taken to attempting to swan dive off of every elevated surface he can find. (I haven't let him succeed yet.) So while he couldn't inadvertently roll off the loveseat in his sleep, he could certainly flip over the arm sides on purpose, something I don't intend to let happen. So the couch plan is out. As is cosleeping, as the same concept applies...he could easily squirm away from us and flop off the bed. I found a place that rents baby gear, but they have a minimum order of $45, which we wouldn't meet. Or we could bring our pack and play (checked for free on Jet Blue since we tend to travel so light) but it's a bit if a hassle to worry about hauling it all that way (and back) for only two nights of use. Thus, I think I'm going to try and locate one of these on ebay: http://www.kidco.com/products-page/peapod-plus/ There are a few auctions going on now that would save me at least 50% off the retail price. Looks like it would serve our needs, and is nice and portable - I just hope the whole tent concept doesn't freak the little munchkin out. Updates to come.

Reflection: Working with Baby

The pilot episode of the Cosby Show, in addition to the hilarious econ lesson Cliff gives Theo, contains a scene where Dr. Huxtable tries to calm down a guy whose wife is in labor. I couldn't find a transcript of it, and I'm too lazy to play back my dvd and do it myself, but basically he says that childbirth isn't that big of a deal and tells a story about women in rice fields who have the their baby in the field and then the child immediately begins helping out. While I don't work in a rice field, I often think about that scene and laugh a little inside when I read online message boards when the topic of how long to take off work before and after childbirth. Barring a medical condition that requires bed rest or something, I don't understand the logic of taking time off before at all. I would have gone nuts tapping my feet wondering when he was going to make his appearance. (I kind of went nuts anyway, despite the fact I was still working and G3 was born on his due date - but at least I made money while quietly losing my mind, and the distraction of having a job to do was a relief.) And as far as after...yeah, I kind of think women that have normal deliveries and are whining about having to return to work after six weeks because they don't feel up to it are kinda crazy. (This is different entirely from not wanting to go back because they don't want to be separated from their child, that I completely understand.)
I worked until 5pm and checked into the hospital a few hours later, had my little guy the next day, and felt absolutely terrible for the next three days or so. Day four the weather was unusually nice for November, so I was outside pulling up tomato baskets and ripping up landscape fabric in the afternoon like it was nothing. I had no maternity leave aside from the two weeks vacation I had saved, which it turns out I didn't really need, but they were use it or lose it days, so I did stay home for two weeks. After a week and half, when my mom returned home and my husband went back to work, I was so bored and felt so ridiculous sitting at home doing nothing I almost decided to just return to work anyway. New babies don't do anything. They sleep, wake up crying, eat, need their diaper changed, and go back to sleep. Repeat this cycle around the clock. Boring! I remember sitting on the edge of my bed, watching him sleep and saying, 'Kid, you are adorable, but you sure don't do much do you?'
I was THRILLED when the two weeks were up. If I would have been at home for six I think I would have had to be checked into an institution because I would have gone insane. I am not cut out to not work. Two weeks from the moment my son was born, I was back at my office - with him in his bassinet beside me. Yes, I was insanely fortunate to be able to bring my son with me to work. It was awesome. He slept, I worked. He woke up, I fed him, changed him, he went back to sleep, I went back to work. Fabulous. Until he was two months old, I worked full time with him at my side. At that point, anticipating he would soon be getting more interesting, I switched to part time. Three days a week. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. (On Thursdays G2 worked from home, so G3's hours at the office were cut to two days week.)
For several months it was really still more of the same...if I could do it again I would have stayed full time longer, especially since it was winter and too darn cold to walk him around in the stroller. In the spring when we could get out and about things got a bit better, and his advancing age finally meant G3 was getting more interactive. It started to get a little harder to have him at the office, but usually there were enough people around that it wasn't too bad. He loved watching all the activity around him. And then he got interested in toys, which helped. (And to make things even better, my in-laws moved to a house walking distance from my office at the beginning of the summer, and my mother in law graciously offered to begin collecting G3 on her way home from work in the afternoon on Mondays. This arrangement still continues, and it's great.) There are days that are difficult, sure, especially when he is teething, and I think, well, this is the end, I'm going to have to quit. But so far we've gotten through it. Truly how much longer I'll be able to pull it off, I'm not sure, but I'm enjoying having the best of both worlds for now.

School and Moving

Yup, my child is not even 14 months old and I'm already worried about where to send him to school. More specifically that I don't want to send him to school in the area we currently live in. Which means we will have to move. And relatively soon. Yeah, the grade schools in this area aren't as bad as the high school, but I don't want to uproot the little guy and make him 'start over' somewhere new. I'm sure this has to do with my own personal social anxiety issues, and maybe he wouldn't actually care, but I just hate the idea. Many many moons ago when I was gearing up to start school, we were living in one part of town but were going to be moving to another part within the year. Which meant I would have had to start school in one place and then switch to another. I was five years old and can still clearly hear myself pitching a fit that I did not want to do that. I remember my older brother (already in high school, so he wasn't going to be effected) trying to convince me that School A would be fine, telling me about the fish tank the kindergarten classroom had, etc. Nope. I wasn't going to do it. Five years old and stomping my feet screaming that I wanted to start school with the same kids I would finish with. Never went to preschool, so it's not like I had friends going to School B or anything, so I'm really not sure why I got that idea into my head. I also don't know how I got my way. Again, I was five. At the end of the day, I really had no say in the matter. Much like when I also decided (I was a very decisive child, apparently) that my room in our new house HAD to be pink. It just HAD to. Yet somehow, I got my way. (On both counts - I grew to hate that pink room - the only non-beige walls in the entire house, but I got it.) Since we already owned the property in the district we were moving to (house was being built) I was allowed to enroll in School B. Until we actually moved, my parents would drive me across town to meet the bus. (Not sure why at that point they didn't just drive me all the way to school, but knowing me I probably also insisted on taking the bus.)
Anyway, since I am clueless as to how to raise a child, I'm operating on a 'good enough for me, good enough for my kid' philosophy. So if I didn't want myself uprooted, how can I do that to my little guy? I suppose I will be doing it regardless, because there is no chance of us moving before he starts preschool, but I tell myself that it's okay because the way our current location does preschool, you get mixed in with a different batch of kids every session and it's only a few hours a week, so I kind of see it as play groups and not actual school. (But yes, he will be going to preschool, even though I didn't. I'm fairly certain my lack of socialization as a very small child is what led to my social anxiety in the first place.)
Moving was always the plan. And it wasn't supposed to be a problem. Real estate is the safest investment you can make, right? Sure was the case when I sold my condo years ago. Turned a very nice profit, after only living there for 3.5 years. This house was just supposed be a starter home. The condo was too small, so we moved for more space, not to stay here forever. The price was right, the location is great, the taxes are relatively low. Bad schools, but not a problem for a couple not even married yet, much less thinking about children. We would sell the house at a another nice profit and move when that became a concern. And then the housing market tanked. Practically the entire town is in foreclosure, lowering the value of our house dramatically. I was initially not concerned, figuring that everything would rebound by the time we needed to think about relocation. And it's starting to. Everywhere but here. So while the values here are still declining, they are overall starting to increase. My only consolation at the notion of selling at a loss is that the next house would also cost less to buy. But that may not end up being the case. Argh!
Yes, it's a few years before we truly have to relocate. But time flies so fast, it will be here before we know it. I want what is best for the little guy, and that certainly isn't this town, so staying here is not an option. Sigh...