Mom is Essential Vernacular

I recently shared with you that Gideon believes that Mom does “all the things.” I have further evidence to support this idea.

Wash is an adorable 18 month old chap. He does everything his brother does (no matter how naughty), eats like a man determined to gain weight (he IS growing), and still only has 5 teeth (though he is working on two more). What he does not do yet is talk. Much.

He says some words: Ma. Da. Daw (dog). Mo (milk). Sna (snack).

Every once in awhile, he will say a word, like “down’ or “papa”, but then not repeat it again for a week or two. What is the most amusing, is his use of the word “ma.”

“Ma” means a lot of things. It means Mom, obviously, but it also frequently used to indicate the following:

• Hey, look at me.
• Look over there.
• Put on my shoe.
• Put this sock on my foot.
• Gideon won’t stop laying on me.
• Gideon won’t stop tackling me.
• I want some milk.
• I’m hungry.
• I want a bath.
• I’m ready for bed (this is accompanied by him man-handling my chest since bedtime is the only time he is nursed).
• I’m excited! And yelling!
• I peed in my diaper, please change me. Also, there may be poop.
• My hands are dirty because I got tired of using my spoon for the yogurt.
• My water is gone, please fix that.
• The TV is not on. That needs to change.
• Look at the ridiculous thing this Elmo kid is doing! Mr. Noodles is an idiot.

Ma can mean many things. Why? Because Mom does all the things.

This would be sad and tragic if I had a husband who was uninvolved in the house and our boys. That could not be farther from the truth. I am blessed with a man who does many, many things around our house and who adores spending time with his boys.

It has become the family joke, that I do all the things.

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Big Heads, Big Brains

Over the Smith family dinner tble we have a lot of interesting discussions, ranging from what we did that day to national and international news. Gideon participates, asking questions and adding quips. He usually interrupts the more boring conversations to him, the news, with requests to help him spell (sound out) words, his new favorite thing to do.

Last night, I was recounting Wash’s doctor’s appointment to Ries over dinner. Washington’s stats at 4 months are:

Weight: 16.03 lbs (60% percentile)
Length: 25.25 in. (50% percentile)
Head Circ.: 17.25 in (95.88% percentile).

We were laughing that the short, fat, large meloned babies the Miesmers are famous for definitely did not skip our boys as infants. I told Ries that the doctor said that his head was big because it has to “hold all those brains.” I added that Wash will be smart, just like his brother.

Gideon looked at me from across the table and said, “Now that’s a problem for you.”

I laughed and told him that indeed, it was going to be a problem for me. In fact, it already is most days.

Washington is progressing just like he should, babbling, laughing, grabbing things (and putting those things in his mouth), and doing push-ups during tummy time. He eats great and sleeps like a champ, going to bed around 9pm and waking up between 3:30 and 6am. That is a whole lotta sleep for this momma!

My boys keep me on my toes, with those big brain-filled melons, and I would not have it any other way.

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Wash and the Momdar

Things here continue to be well. We are all adjusting to our new life as a family of four.

Washington, which means purifying, really has been a renewing experience for me. Having an actual newborn at home has been challenging but fun, so far. Like many babies, Wash thinks being held really is the only way to live. I am trying to find a sling he likes, I have 4 or 5 different kinds, so that I can have my hands free. He also has a very sophisticated Momdar* tuned in perfectly to the range and distance of his favorite parent aka the one with the boobs.

Wash is a good nurser. His latch is great and we have not had any issues except his mistaken belief that he should be attached 24/7, literally. He protests loudly and starts rooting minutes after being disengaged. I have been discuraging this behavior with a clean pinkie finger and soothing words. It seems to be helping. Wash still eats every hour or so, but I know as he grows so will his spacing.

Amazingly, Wash sleeps for 3 hours at a time at night. His big brother, Gideon, sometimes wakes up more than he does. I have been getting some good sleep. Ries has been on Gideon duty and he has been more tired the last couple nights than I have been. Poor Daddy.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and wished us well.

*patent pending

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Two weeks and counting

Here is a promised update, with pictures.

It is funny. I took a lot more pictures of my pregnant belly the first time, but I realized last week that we did not have many pictures of my pregnant self.

This picture was taken at about 36 weeks. With two weeks left to go now, I am ready for this baby to be here. Everything is washed and packed and I have wrapped up most of my professional obligations (or at least organized them). I have started to get pregnant lady fat face and my legs are swollen all the time. Everything aches and no position is comfortable for long. I would be perfectly happy, sitting on the couch all day, drinking tea and reading. That was what I did when I was pregnant with Gideon. Now, I spend most of the day chasing Gideon around and trying to keep the domestic duties from overtaking me. Being pregnant was so much more relaxing the first time!

My sister and cousin are also both pregnant (and I just found out I have a close friend expecting on my birthday!) so there are preggos everywhere. My cousin, Kara, is in the middle and my sister, Jennifer, is pictured on the right. They are both due May 12th. Funny but true.

Ries has been very sick with a nasty cold and sinus infection, so my usual partner and sympathy giver has been unavailable. He got some drugs yesterday from the doctor and I am praying he is on his feet soon enough.

Other news includes:
We got a concrete porch poured and though we have had too much sickness to enjoy it much, we have sat outside a few times and enjoyed the nice weather. In Houston, the weather will only be nice like this for a couple more weeks before we settle into the blistering heat of spring, summer, and fall. Wicket got fixed and so has been sporting a very fashionable cone for a few days. She is better behaved with it on and we briefly considered leaving her in it. Sadly, I think that may be frowned upon.

When Brother, whose name we have mostly decided on, arrives, we will be posting pictures here, sending texts, emails, Twitter updates (me), and facebook updates (Ries).

Now I think I will use the rest of quiet time to watch Veronica Mars and eat a piece of chocolate cake that my mother-in-law brought me. Hooray for cake.

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A long overdue peek at us

The Christmas season has been fun this year with Gideon. We have had some laughs explaining Christmas stuff to him. For the longest time he called the Nativity Scene the Activity Scene. In his defense, it was probably a pretty active place despite the lyrics of Silent Night. It has been special for us to be able to talk about Jesus with him. It is also hilarious to follow his logic. We went from a discussion yesterday about Jesus in the manger, to Jesus being hungry, to what babies eat, to how momma animals and people feed their babies. He asks a lot of complex questions. Regarding the reindeer and Santa he asked, “Why does Santa use reindeer?”

I have had a hard time explaining why we do not tell people what their presents contain. Gideon is so excited about it he does not understand why he can not tell right away! He leaned over to Ries the other night and said with his finger in a shushing motion, “We got you some surprise legos!” Not such a surprise any longer. I have resorted to not letting him help wrap or see presents to protect the contents from their recipients.

We have taken to calling the soon to be new arrival, Brother, at Gideon’s request. We are again keeping the name a secret, though we have yet to decide on any one name in particular. We do have a short list. Feel free to send us suggestions. Gideon was disappointed that Brother did not have presents under the tree because, “Everyone needs a present!” he said with dismay. I told him we could buy Brother something and wrap it, if he wanted.

I am already 25 weeks pregnant and I can hardly believe it, except when I look down at the huge belly I have grown. We are in no way prepared for Brother yet, but we will start in earnest in January with house prep, supply prep, and let’s not forget birth prep! It is different, being pregnant the second time, already knowing what to expect and knowing most things are a huge unknown. Chasing a 2.5 year old with a huge belly and decreasing lung capacity has also been exciting in its own way.

Life continues and we are exceedingly blessed.

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Meet Wicket

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Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre

Meet the newest addition to the Smith Zoo, Wicket, an 8 week old Great Dane. We got her from a local dane rescue group.

So far she is fitting in very nicely. She has some manners to learn and we are working on house training but she is a sweet girl. Gideon is very timid with her, as he is with most smaller dogs, and trying to figure out how to tell her no.

Pullo likes her, though he pretends to be aloof. He needed a big dog friend and she is already very feisty with him.

I am looking forward to being past the puppy stage, which is cute, but a lot of extra work.

Updated: I should add that the name Wicket comes from me listening to too much Slice of SciFi which discussed this character recently in a trivia bit.

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Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Programme

I think we should be back to our normal routine in this space soon. Recipes should go up like normal on Mondays and I will write more updates about our family life.

The last few months have been hard. I finished writing a book, though I am now in the editing phase and have yet. more. writing. to. do. After 4 months of concentrated effort, I was tired of writing and short on time. That pretty much accounts for the silence from me around here. The book should be well and truly wrapped up in a few short weeks and that will be that, thank God.

I just got back from a librarian conference, which are always fun. I will be writing regularly now at an old gig I used to have and I am excited about getting back up to speed professionally. I was also able to see a lot of friends, many of which I only see once or twice a year and who are very dear to me. I thought a lot while I was gone about the people in our lives that we care about. Besides my librarian friends, I also saw a group of friends from high school. That’s right. MCC Bands nerds in the house. It was amazing, hilarious, and ended with a bar I did not even remember being in the next day. Ah, memories I wish I remembered.

Seriously though. It was fun and I came home with a head full of great ideas and a heart full of friends. I am a blessed lady.

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Alphabets and Numbers at 2

I’m turning into my mother.  I used to hate how she would brag on me.  I never felt like anything I did was particularly special but there my mom was, bragging to other people about something I did.  Was embarrasing.  So now, here I am bragging on my child.  I don’t really have a good feel for the development rate of 2 year olds so I don’t know how to compare Gideon’s progress relative to others.  I always felt my mother had the same lack of knowledge.  She didn’t get to see my peers like I did.

That all being said, I think my son is a genius.  Okay, I know he is not really genius, because I know what that word means and I don’t like to really throw it around.  But he is very smart.  At 2 years old (+1 month) he can say the entire alphabet now.  And it is not just singing the song (there is that) but he also tells us that Q is for quail (which he tells us lives in North America) and N is for Nightingale and many others.  Sometimes he forgets a couple when pressed, but he knows all of them.  He is less proficient with numbers, which makes me worry he got more of his mom than his dad.  He will count to 10 but he almost always skips 4 and 8.  And sometimes when we ask how many there is of something he doesn’t get it right past 3 and he usually will have to count up to the number.  “Gideon how many sock’s are there?”  “1, 2 socks!”  Oh and his Gammy (my mom) taught him the difference between his right and his left hand while we were on vacation.  Now I am hoping he can teach that to his mom. 😉

The fight continues whether he will be a jock or a musician.  Michelle is determined that he be a musician.  Why can’t he do both?  I know he’s capable.  He’ll be an all-around type kid.  He is really good with his harmonica.  He plays it really loud, blowing out and sucking in.  He even slides it back and forth on his mouth while playing different notes.  But he is really good with balls.  He has gotten good with kicking balls.  He will drop kick balls.  He will put balls down on the ground and actually kick them up into the air.  He kicks with both feet (with somewhat of a lean towards his left foot) and he kicks them straight.  He is getting better at hitting balls with bats or rackets but the timing is hard to get.  He’ll get there.

Anyways, I’m proud, I’m bragging, and I am enjoying my son as he grows into the person that I am excited to see.

-Ries, raising a Renaissance kid.

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EEG Results

I just got off the phone with the nurse and she said Gideon’s EEG was all normal. She did not tell me that Gideon was an above average bear but I do not need a test to tell me that.

This morning I told him he needed to go find something to do. He told me, “I want to keg beer with Daddy.” I informed him that we did not have any beer to keg but that Daddy would be happy to know that he wanted to help.

Gideon has almost fully recovered from his bout with bronchitis. He is eating his normal amount of food and then some. It is beautiful, blue, and sunny outside. Today is blessed indeed.

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Electroencephalogram

Because of his two febrile seizures, Gideon pediatrician wanted him to go in for an EEG. Though it is uncommon that febrile seizures cause or indicate something more serious, she wanted to be sure.

You have to be restful, i.e. still, for the procedure so they asked they we only let Gideon sleep about 6 hours last night. We were actually going to a neurologist who specializes in pediatrics so they have experience with kids. Still, my child is not a great sleeper and only letting him get 6 hours is no guarantee of a sleepy child.

As I predicted, 6 hours made him a bit delicate, but not sleepy.

Gideon was hooked up to a bunch of electrodes and then asked to lay still for 25 minutes. Amazingly, he did. We read a book about leprechauns that his Oma brought him from Ireland. They flashed a bright strobe light in his face a few times and they declared him done. The doctor came in and said Gideon was exceptionally behaved.

We will get the results back on Friday from our regular pediatrician. Thanks for everyone that has been concerned for him. We do appreciate all the prayers.

Gideon is still getting over bronchitis. He feels better, but you can still hear the mucus rumbling around. Ries said he sounds like a purring kitty. With the lack of sleep, even after a nap, Gideon is grumpy. He is still mad that sick time rules and behaviors do not fly anymore as well.

Mean, mean parents.

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New Cable Modem

I know I have gone on and on about my <sarcasm> love </sarcasm> for cable companies and some of my issues with Comcast.  My most recent interaction with them gave us an “upgrade” on our internet speeds for just a little more money.  However, our speeds were not any faster.  Maybe the upload was a little better, topping at just under 2 Mb/s but the download still wouldn’t reach the 9 Mb/s mark.  I asked if I needed a new cable modem but they said I did not.  All of the limited information I could find about these modems seemed to support that.  But since I am leasing it (and still paying) then I thought it should be fair to get a new model and they said I could come in and exchange it.

I finally got around to exchanging it.  It didn’t take too long and the customer service was only slightly grumpy but I got a new box.  Had some slight issues where it wouldn’t work properly and it wanted me to install some software on my computer (not likely!) but a call to Comcast and a reset of the signal got that all fixed.

Low and behold, I am suddenly getting over 21 Mb/s download speed!  So if you have had Comcast (or Time Warner before the switch) cable internet for a while now and have the same cable modem, then you may want to go exchange it for a new one.  Despite what they tell you.

–Ries, this has been a public service announcement.

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Honesty and a Good Job

Yesterday, after praying a blessing over our breakfast (wheat waffles and strawberries), Gideon clapped and said, “Good job, Mommy. Good praying.”

It made me laugh.

He is so busy these days and he narrates everything to us. I can hear him talking about his actions when he is in other rooms of the house. Our house is not that big so I can hear him no matter where he has hidden himself. Often, his honest narration get him in trouble. For instance, here are some things I overhear which result in scoldings:
“Stepping on books.”
“Jumping on bed.”
“Sprinkling.” (which involves turning over his cup and sprinkling water on something)
“Poking puppy dog.”
“Coloring table.”
“Trying to get up on table.”
“Climbing on chairs.”

He also will honestly answer me when I ask him, “Gideon, what are you doing?” He will tell me even if the thing he is doing is something he should not be doing at all. I know this will not last, but it is funny. Soon enough he will be hiding his infractions.

Gideon has begun to understand time in the sense that things are in the past or in the future. Everything that has already happened was “last week” no matter when the event occurred. Everything that is going to happen is “tomorrow.” It is wonderful to see him make these time connections. We sure were busy last week, according to Gideon.

The boy in question just told me he was hungry so I better feed him.

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Why you should back up

I created the previous post several weeks ago but was waiting to put the CPU-Z screenshot in there.  In the meantime my hard drive failed.  This was a new hard drive but of course passed the 30 day return limit.  Two things kept this from being a catastrophe in my new toy.  First thing, is that I set up my computer with 2 hard drives in a RAID 1 configuration so that all data is saved to both hard drives so no data was lost and there was no down time using my computer.  The other thing is that Samsung has a 3 year warranty on their hard drives and I was able to send it back in and get a replacement in about a week and a half.  So, I installed the new one and it Nightcrawler is once again complete.  But this did remind me why it is important to back up your data.

–Ries, when was your last back up?

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Almost 22 months

Gideon talks a lot. All the time. About everything. I have no idea where he got that from. He likes to be bossy too. Some of his current favorite phrases are:

“Mommy, whatcha doing? Whatcha doing, Mommy?”
“Where are you, Daddy?”
After I tell him to be careful: “Fall down. Hurt yourself.”
“Go away, Mommy.” (or puppy dog or Daddy)
“Read (fill in the blank).”
“Come on. This way.”

Over the weekend, I gave Ries a kiss and Gideon asked to be picked up too. I picked him up and then leaned us all in for a “family kiss.” Gideon now demands a family kiss all the time and will push Ries’ head and mine together while he leans in making a kissing noise. He then leans back and laughs and repeats the process a few times, each time saying, “family kiss.” Hilarious and very sweet.

Gideon just crawled up to me and said, “Mommy, love you.”

Gideon loves music and animals. He loves to read and be read to. He adores his Daddy and needs Mommy. He plays with Pullo all day, using him as a horse and a step ladder. Gideon’s favorite playmate is Caleb, which Gideon always pronounces as “Cable,” who is his size, but about three months younger. It is fun to watch them interact.

I know one day very soon, Gideon will be a stinky teenager, so I am trying to imprint this sweet smelling baby on my brain.

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Just an Update

Gideon seems to be doing better during the day, normal temperature, but at night he keeps a steady 100-101 temperature. I woke up every three hours to check his temp and give him Tylenol or Motrin. Everyone here is exhausted. I am hoping that tonight is better.

Gideon is so tired. He went to sleep already and, despite eating two pancakes for breakfast, he only picked at lunch. Perhaps a good nap will revive him.

Thanks to my friend, we have some Veggie Tales movies to watch and that has saved me from literally watching the same six 30 minute animal shows all day. I have already watched the Wild About Animals episode with the dolphins 3 times today. I am considering buying the Wild America (classic!) for him to watch because I think they are better than what is currently on tv.

It is hard when little ones are sick. Gideon either wants to be carried, held, or snuggled, leaving me to do nothing but take care of him. It is tiring, though sweet. I think I will use this unexpected quiet time to eat lunch and watch some child inappropriate tv aka Vampire Diaries or Dollhouse.

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Gideon at 20 months

It is staggering to realize that this person living in my house has been here for almost two years. He comes up with new strategies everyday for taking over the family, but lucky for the adults, we can usually see right through his machinations. Here are some tidbits about Gideon.

Gideon had his last, until Kindergarten, developmental checkup at Texas Children’s in mid December. He performed 6 months to a year ahead in all skills. He does talk a lot and is very good at figuring things out. It was nice to have a doctor confirm our belief that we have an amazing kiddo.

They did ask us how many words he knows and I was like, “We are supposed to count all of them?” He knows hundreds of words, he can identify a lot of animals (including the noise they make and what they eat), he knows colors reasonably well, he can count to three (sometimes), he can identify his name and some letters, he remembers things that happened weeks ago, and he can make pizza dough like a pro (admittedly, I help a bit). It is sometimes hard to figure out what he is saying because he mostly knows nouns, only a handful of verbs, though he seems to be gaining verbs daily, and no articles or conjunctions.

He does like commands the best. Sit down. Come on. Mommyyy! Dad Daddyyy! Read Book. Eat! Hungry! Play! He does think he is the boss. I have noticed that he is easily frustrated and can’t imagine where he picked up that!

Gideon adores watching football and bball (basketball) with his Daddy. He does his own commentary as well, which is often more entertaining than the actual game. “Run!” “Tackle!” “Fall down!” or in the case of basketball, “Bounce!”

His favorite toys, and boy did he get a lot of them for Christmas, are: matchbox cars, wooden puzzles, books, a little people airplane and airport, and plastic animals.

He still only really likes animal shows on TV and that is ok with me.

Gideon only has four teeth, but he uses them well. He eats almost everything and in large quantities. Gideon loves to cook and make dough.

During bedtime, Gideon gets to pick three books and three songs. He requests songs and has recently started “singing” Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with me. By singing, I mean he sings every fifth word. The first time he did it, I almost died from the cuteness.

We got serious about potty training this week and so Gideon, who had previously been telling us when he had to go potty, went on strike and refused to cooperate or else he threw fits when we suggested sitting on the potty. Willful is definitely in his vocabulary. The last couple days, we have had some successes and he likes that he gets an M (M&M) when he poops on the potty. I think this will be a process of time.

Gideon keeps us laughing. He loves to give hugs and kisses. He loves his grandparents and great-grandparents. He likes to play with his friend Caleb (who he calls Cable) and his cousin Isaac. Gideon finds new things to learn, say, and do everyday. He is a blessing.

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Update on New Computer: Validated Windows 7

First off, I want to say, that I am an idiot, but I will get to that later.

I described in an earlier post about how I was having trouble putting Windows 7 on my computer.  I bought Windows 7 Ultimate for $20 through UH, since I am a student there.  However, the disk was only an upgrade version and this was a brand spanking new computer with no operating system ever installed.  Therfore, I went ahead and ordered an OEM (Original Equipment Manufactur, basically it is for computer system builders like Dell, HP, smaller boutiques and others but you can buy it from some e-tailers) version of Windows 7 Home Premium for $110.  That was significantly more than I wanted to spend.

But I did some research.  I found this site, which gave great advice on how to use upgrade disks to do a clean install.  But here was the problem.  You always had to use a product key to validate the software and the disk said on the front “Requires Product Key”.  So, I didn’t have one.  I assumed that meant that if you were updating a version of Windows then you had to use the key from the Windows that you were upgrading.  Makes sense to me.  Since we were wiping Michelle’s computer and putting Ubuntu Linux on it (I’ll let Michelle write a future post on her Linux experience)  I figured it was legal to use that Windows XP key.  It would be like I removed it from there and installed on mine and then upgraded it to Windows 7.  I just skipped the part where I installed the XP on my machine since it would be a pointless step.  All sounds good and legal.  However, the key did not work.  I thought I might have to waste my OEM home edition version to get that key and I hope it didn’t downgrade my version.

So, I called Microsoft.  I hate calling people but I wasn’t giving up so easy.  They said that every Windows 7 has to have its own key and that the XP one would not work.  If I got it through my school then I need to contact them about getting a key.  If I still had problems call them back.  They were actually a pretty good support.  I was afraid they were going to try and accuse me of piracy.

If you have read this far, this is the point where Michelle wanted me to blog because she likes to laugh at me.  Remember how I said I was an idiot?  So I called up the UH software store, Cougar Byte, and told them I bought Windows 7 from them but I didn’t get a product key.  I had the disk with me and my receipt and I was prepared for a possible battle but expected it to be pretty easy.  They would just say, “Oh, here it is…”  But here’s how it really played out.  He asks me, “do you still have the sleeve the disk came in?”  I said, “Yes.”  I already know where this is going, he is going to ask me to look on the sleeve for the product key, but I am thinking okay I’ll humor you with this step because of course I looked on the sleeve.  That is where I would expect it to be, right on the back.  After all, I had just installed Office 2007 with software from them and that is exactly where the key was and exactly where I looked.  So he says to me, “Turn it over.”  I’m like, okay, whatever.   “Holy crap!”  I exclaimed on the phone.  There it was!  Plain as day, a bright yellow sticker on a black background with the product key.  He laughed.  I apologized for being an idiot.  He tried to comfort me by telling me it happens a lot.  I felt like the guy who was told to take his computer back to the store by a support tech because he was too dumb to own a computer when he called asking why his desktop wouldn’t turn on during a power outtage (I think the tech was right).

So, in the end, I had a valid key, I used method #2 described in the link above to get my Windows 7 Ultimate working, and I spent $110 on a copy of Windows that I didn’t need (by the way, since I bought the cheaper OEM version instead of the retail version I can not return it either).

–Ries, all that’s left is to overclock this bad boy!  (Idiot, idiot!)

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Sleeping Arrangements

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Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre

Ries and I bought Gideon a bunk bed yesterday. At the moment, it is in pieces in the back of my car, but one of the mattresses is on the floor of Gideon’s room. Pictured here, Gideon is enjoying an afternoon nap on part of his big boy bed.

I expect in a few days will will set up the actual bed and he can sleep on the bottom bunk. We will do this for a little while during naps, then for part of the night, and then eventually for the entire night.

Currently, Gideon sleeps with us. Here’s hoping for smooth transition!

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