Happy Holidays!

The holiday season is upon us, and we've been enjoying it immensely!  Well, kinda.  My company Christmas party was on the 11th, the same evening we got about 9 inches of snow and lightning.  Natalie was watching Felix that night, and was unable to leave because of the heavy snowfall.  We were snowbound until Sunday afternoon when the plows came and dug us out (again, kinda). 

To keep Felix from going stir crazy like the rest of us, I put together his Christmas present - vaguely called a "fold away climber".  The large plastic contraption has a platform, a slide, a basketball hoop, and a goal to kick balls into.  Felix so far LOVES it.  He will spend minutes (really big deal) shooting baskets, then going down the slide, then shooting more baskets.  He'll stop to cheer for himself now and then, before taking another shot.  He points at the basket and says "mit".  I'm not sure, but he may be saying "made it" or "missed it".


We are very excited about the holidays this year, because Felix is getting older and is starting to have an idea what's going on (he enjoys the tree, looking up and saying "dars!" [stars], touching all the "emmets" [ornaments] he can reach, and getting excited when he sees Christmas lights).  We are also going to the Rose Bowl!  Steve and Vicky are equally excited about having several straight days with Felix.

My decorated cube (I didn't do it!)

To all, whether we get to see you this holiday season or not, we wish you the very best for you and your family.  Enjoy the company of those you're with, and travel safely.  Have a wonderful rest of 2010 and all of 2011!

Felix: 17 mos

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I am most thankful for my wonderful family! Nick and Felix are my world, my comfort, my joy. I am so thankful them, as well as my parents and sister, in-laws, and extended family. Without them, where would I be?

Felix's new tricks include saying "mutz" for "button", saying please ("pees!") or doing the sign (yay!), attempting to repeat everything we say (careful!), naming all the things he does know (this rainy evening, everything outside was "wet"), throwing things crazy hard (well, not so new), and claiming everything as "meine" (he's got a little German in him :o).

Felix: 16 mos

Say What?!

Felix's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, and he understands much more than he says.  (I've started cautioning Nick on his language during sporting events because of it.)

If you happen to find yourself around Felix anytime soon, please use this handy Fel-ish-English translation guide:

• "Ah Dah" = All Done
• "Ah-puh" = Apple
• "Ai" = Hi!
• "Bah" = Ball
• "Bock" = Box
• "Book" = Same
• "Bubbuh" = Bubble
• "Buppy" = Bucky (He said only once. Now he just calls him "Buh")
• "Bye" = Same
• "Go" = Same
• "Kah-kah" = Cracker
• "Kok" = Sock or Clock
• "Luka" = His friend, Lucas
• "Muh" = More
• "Muk" = Milk
• "My" = Mine
• "Nah-Nah" = Either banana or his friend Alana
• "Nek" = Neck
• "Nuk" = Pacifier, one I was hoping he wouldn't pick up on so quickly
• "No" = Same
• "Row" = Roll
• "Uh-Oh" = Same
• "Up" = Up, On or Off (haven't quite determined which, or else it might mean Light)
• "Wawa" = Water
• "Wock" = Watch (as in wrist)

He also attempts a quacking noise like a duck, but it sounds like he's clearing his throat.  Kid's got some German in him. :o)  He says "Rawr" when you put a puppet on his hand and he shoves it back in your face.  He raises one arm to mimic an elephant's trunk.  He will spin around and make himself dizzy if you say "spin".  I'm amazed that at this young age he understands a request like "put it back".  He likes playing with his little doctor kit, and actually attempts to use each item correctly.  His favorite book right now is the Go Badgers, My First Wisconsin Words book (probably because it has two pictures of Bucky in it).  He will give kisses when he's in the mood.  When I put him down for bed, he immediately turns over and points at the humidifier, my cue to plug it in.  My little, wonderful, amazing man.

Felix: 15 mos

Brains!

Halloween has come and gone.  Felix was definitely more aware of what was going on this year, but still very perplexed by the whole get-dressed-up, get-candy-from-people aspect.  I dressed him up in several Halloween costumes over the course of last week.

Felix's new daycare had a parents' night on the 28th.  Parents and children were invited to dress up, meet the teachers, collect artwork, and let their kids play around.  For this event, he was the cutest little lion.

On Friday, Felix's class was going trick-or-treating in the neighborhood around the daycare. Even though they made their own costumes (they were puppies), I sent him to Pooh Bear Daycare as a little Pooh Bear.  Aww!  Hopefully I'll get a picture of him in his puppy costume as well.

Finally, we all got dressed up on Halloween and scared the neighborhood as a family of zombies (Mama Zombie, Papa Zombie and Zombaby) on the loose.  Felix has got the undead stagger down, so it seemed fitting.  Nick and I enjoyed getting into costume as well.  Felix picked us out some nice candies, and we let him have a few baby-appropriate pieces. He did approve of the 3 Musketeers bar and Reese's peanut butter cup.

Felix: 15 mos

Just a Few Updates

A few things from recently:

Yesterday, Felix said "bye" to me for the first time when I dropped him off at daycare.  Aw.  He's starting to get the hang of when to use it, but isn't quite there.  Usually he says a big "buh-by-ee" after we've already shut the door on Nick and are walking to the car.

The kid is a natural mimic.  If you do something he hasn't seen you do before, there's a pretty good chance he will immediately want to do it.  We noticed it big time when I swept the floor a few weeks ago.  He HAD to have the broom and sweep (i.e., knock the handle into everything fragile in the area).  We've since put the broom in the garage where he can't get it.  His little Swiffer works just fine.

We've found the best way to tire him out at night.  He loves being chased, so Nick or I will pretend to be chasing him around our first floor.  It's a nice loop between the living room, hallway, kitchen and dining area.  We stomp behind him and almost catch him.  It's a nice workout for all of us.

Felix has five teeth and another that is just about to cut.

I'll be posting Halloween stuff soon.  Yay!

Felix: 15 mos

Playing in the Leaves

Last year, we got a great picture of Felix in the leaves.  I wanted to get something similar this year, so we bundled Felix up and took him over to the huge leaf pile next door.  He was... unimpressed.  The sound, the texture, everything seemed to put him off.  Or else he really just wanted to play with Nick's basketball.  Finally, some of the neighborhood kids came over to play in the leaves, too.  We finally got a few smiles when the kids started throwing leaves in the air.  Hooray!

Felix: 15 mos

Visitors

On Sunday, we had a visit from my uncle Steve, my aunt Lori, and their son, Eric. We'd never met Eric before, since Steve and Lori's last visit was before he was born. Luckily, we got to meet him on his first birthday!

Felix was napping when they arrived, so he was a little slow to warm up to our guests. Eric was right at home, eating Felix's crayons. To celebrate Eric's birthday, everybody got cake. Felix dove right into his, while Eric enjoyed smashing his. The boys got so dirty that we let them play in their diapers. By that time, they were feeling pretty comfortable with each other and started crawl-chasing each other around our dining table and "wrestling" on the floor.

Other than the Packers loss, it was a great visit - thanks again, guys! Hope to see you soon!

 Felix: 14 mos

 

Scrambling, in Pseudo-Panic Mode

We were tipped off last night and officially (though off-the-record) told this morning that Felix's day care will be closing permanently.  Today's his last day there.  Cue a sleepless night (sleep finally induced by a dose of NyQuil) and a tension-filled early morning. 

Thinking back to the places we toured before Felix was born, a couple stood out.  I called one this morning and they had openings!  Hooray!  We liked it the first time around, but as they couldn't guarantee an infant opening, we passed on it.  Now they have enough availability that Felix and his friend (whose dad tipped us off last night), and hopefully our neighbor's daughter can all be there together.  Our neighbors are on vacation and have no idea, so we've left messages with them today.  I also had to tell a coworker, whose baby was signed up to go to the closing day care in January.  I feel like quite the bearer of bad news today, so I've included a happy picture (of Felix and me with my new laser-eyes from Monday).

Update 10/11/10 - we found a place for Felix and his classmate Alana at the same center. Several other kids from our old center are there as well. They started on Monday, and so far Felix is doing well. One downside has been that the smaller room sizes make him more aware of other parents picking up their kids, so he's getting unhappy in the afternoon that I haven't come yet. And he's getting very clingy in the morning. I'm not sure if it's just a transition thing (that he doesn't quite recognize the people, friends, etc.) or if he's just developing separation anxiety (which we haven't gone through yet). But on the whole they tell me he does very well during the day and that he's adjusted well to their schedule and staff.

Our neighbors are still looking at different options - our new center isn't convenient for them.  But we have found out a whole mess of information about the center owner from them.  Holy crap.  Let's just say that cocaine, adultery, and divorce settlement were mentioned.

Felix: 14 mos

Jekyll or Hyde?

We have entered the frustrated-toddler time. We knew it was coming, but were still unprepared for what has been unleashed upon us. Sure, you may think I’m being hyperbolic, especially because Felix is such a good boy when others are around. But … argh.

Felix is getting frustrated by not being able to get what he wants, do what he wants, or communicate with us. Coming in from outside before he wants to results in a puddle of boneless, grunting Felix on the floor. Frustration at not being able to use a fork results in the fork and as much food as he can get a hold of being flung on the floor, and whatever’s left on his tray being smeared around by flailing arms. Knowing the animal crackers are there, but me insisting that he make even the most half-hearted “more” sign before I give him another results in even more grunting and bonelessness.

There is a bright side. His desire to communicate means he’s picking up on words and signs pretty quick. The other day, he overheard a neighbor say “eat” and he signed “eat” (I wisely, IMHO, took him inside for dinner then). I’m trying to work on “please”, “thank you”, and “hurt” now.

And then there’s the sitting on other kids. This week, Felix has decided that he wants to sit on his classmates at day care. Where he’s getting these bullying tendencies from, I don’t know. Is he trying to get his pent-up frustrations out? Is he truly not able to differentiate between “gentle” and “hard”? In any case, his daily sheet from Tuesday had the note that he sat on at least one child's head during naptime. We don’t let him sit on us at home or hit us. I know this is probably just a phase, but is I’m hoping we can break him of this sooner. Unfortunately, I only hear about it after the fact, so my saying "friends are not chairs, cushions or pillows" doesn't have a great effect. I'm considering buying a doll for him to play with to help model gentle behavior.

He can be such a sweetie, but there are definitely Mr. Hyde tendencies in him.

He's also getting bumps and bruises like it's his job now.  Yesterday, I signed two accident reports at his day care.  On Tuesday, he banged the bridge of his nose on a table (second time for that in a week), causing it to bleed and get a little bruised.  Yesterday, he was bit on the hand by another child.  I left him at day care this morning saying that I did not want to sign an accident report today.  Days since last accident: 0.

Felix: 14 mos

Tempers and Tantrums

Felix threw his first tantrum this weekend, when we wouldn't let him have more cinnamon roll.  And again yesterday, when I wouldn't let him go outside at that minute.  Cue the grunting, flailing, stiffened back, and screaming.  I suppose I'm glad it took a nice long time for the temper tantrums to begin, but I still could have waited longer.

It probably hasn't helped that he's teething again.  Here's the best picture I've gotten so far with his bottom two teeth.  He cut his top right front tooth on Saturday.  After reading a bulletin board post about the effectiveness of dark versus light Baltic amber for teething pain (apparently light is better), I took his necklace off after his bath last night.  We proceeded to have the worst night of teething we've had since I got the necklace for him (presumably for the upper left front tooth).  I put it back on at 4 am, and he was better after that.  I think there's something to it.  I ordered two more for him, light yellow amber this time, so we'll be set with the next teeth.

Felix: 14 mos

Where did my baby go?

Sometime in the last few weeks, someone snuck in and replaced my baby with an adorable little man!  Maybe it was his grandparents on their recent visits.  Or maybe the start of football season is the cause.  Either way, Felix is a baby no longer.  He's getting better at walking, and currently has two speeds (stop and RUN!).  He loves rolling on pillows or cushions on the floor.  He's starting to sign when he wants something (yesterday morning he signed "food"), and has a few other simple words in his vocabulary.  He is a total boy, preferring to play with balls and cars.  He's also showing other preferences, like not wanting to sit in his car seat or wanting something we've just taken away.  Trying our patience, in other words.  I'm getting very good at distracting and toddler-wrangling.

Felix is also 14 months old as of Sunday, and still only has two teeth.  He's been working on the top ones for over a month now, and they're so close to cutting through.  I'm not used to seeing him with any teeth in his mouth, and I think having top ones will continue to throw me for a while.

I'm glad that fall is coming with its cooler weather, because we can dress Felix in his many, many pairs of overalls, and he looks so gosh darn cute!

Felix: 14 mos

Badger Family Fun Day!

On Sunday, Felix wasn't feeling like napping, so we decided to check out the Family Fun Day at Camp Randall.  It was pretty warm, but we parked close and had water and the stroller handy.  It's always a thrill to go down on the field (only my second or third time) and look around.  There were lots of players signing autographs and displays of equipment, plus free team posters and trading cards.  We had just entered and saw... Paul Bunyan's Axe!  Right there!  With no line!  Naturally, we had to get a picture.  The significance of the moment obviously hasn't struck Felix yet.

The next (and last because it was too darn hot out) thing we did was stand in line for Coach Bielema's autograph.  We finally got there, had him autograph the team poster, and took a picture of Felix with him (again, unimpressed).  It'll be fun to whip out if Bielema (or his successors) come a' recruitin'.  :o)

Felix: 13 mos

Bad to Worse to Better

Oh, the end of last week was bad. Bad, bad, bad. Felix developed a 102°F fever on Wednesday morning, so I had to go get him from daycare. The fever persisted into Thursday, so I stayed home with him again and took him to the doctor. His pediatrician looked him over top to bottom, checked out his ears, eyes, nose and throat, and pronounced him fine… except for the fever. So we went home to cool him down and wait it out. Because it was so warm at night in our bedrooms, we slept in the basement on Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday night, Felix woke at 2:15 am fussing. We found his temperature had risen to 105.4°. That immediately put us into high gear. Instead of taking him straight to the ER, I called the nurse-on-call line through our health insurance. The nice nurse we talked to said that because he had just been to the doctor that day, the doctors in the ER were unlikely to find anything else wrong with him. She suggested we do everything we could to cool him down (difficult, since we were already in the coolest part of our house and Felix was only wearing a diaper) and keep him comfortable. Our sleep for the rest of the night was shot, since Felix fussed unless he was on/near me on the couch, and that wasn’t comfortable for either of us. He managed to fall back asleep a while later. The next morning, he had cooled down considerably, to the point we felt comfortable taking him to daycare. I had a field visit planned for that day, so I wasn’t around in case he really wasn’t ready to go back to daycare. Sure enough, just an hour after Nick dropped him off, we got a call saying we needed to come pick Felix up, since his temperature was back up to 102.7°. Argh! Nick picked him back up and stayed home with him. I was lucky enough to get back early to help out.

By Saturday morning, Felix’s fever had broken and he was doing much better. Then… teething struck. He started cutting what we assume are his top front teeth. Irritable, cranky, just plain unhappy. That was our Saturday and Sunday. Felix was back to his old pre-fever self on Monday (thankfully!), but he still hasn’t cut those teeth. I caved and went a bit granola yesterday, ordering a Baltic amber teething necklace from an Etsy seller in Latvia. Soon, Felix will be rocking his first piece of jewelry! I’ve heard a lot of anecdotal evidence that they work, and with a whole mouthful of teeth yet to cut, we’re willing to try it. Heck, it might even work!

Another new development yesterday - we have an official first word! Ball or “ba!” hasn’t been spoken again, leading us to wonder if it was just a babbling coincidence (he does know what a ball is, just not how to say it every time). Yesterday evening, Felix and I were crawling up the stairs. I pointed to the top and said “up!”. Felix took over the task, pronouncing “uh-puh” over and over (funny little “p” sound at the end). He still got it and said it today. Woo-hoo! First word! We can see the wheels turning as he figures out more about the world. It’s such a joy to watch him figure out something new - his face just lights up with a smile.

Felix: 13 mos

First word?

Forget Mama or Dada.  He's been saying those a lot, since he was 8 or 9 months old, but not specifically to either of us.  Mama is said mostly when he wants food or is eating.  Twice he has come to me saying mama, but he could have just been hungry, as usual.

What we've been waiting for is his first real word, and I think we got it this morning!  I held a little baseball up to Felix and he said "ba!"  Granted, I haven't heard an L-sound out of him yet, so it may have actually been ball that he tried to say.  What to you think - first word?

Felix is officially in the 1-year-old room, as of yesterday!  He seems to enjoy it.  This morning when I dropped off his bag in there, he went over to the toys, started playing, and gave me a huge smile.  I'm happy he's happy.

Felix: 12 mos

Moving Up a Room

Felix has started transitioning to the one-year-old room, and he's loving it. He spent a few days there last week, and apparently didn't like having to go back into the baby room. That's a good sign.

Felix's walking is improving, and he's also cutting his second tooth. The teeth are coming a little slower than I expected, but it's making it a little more manageable.

Nick had his left knee scoped on the 30th. He tore cartilage two years ago playing basketball and finally got around to fixing it. He's recovering well, though he's still pretty immobile.

We had visits recently from Nate and Laura with their son Jack (getting so big!), my family, and Nick's family. It's always nice to have company for a short period.

Felix: 12 mos

Family Photo Shoot

We got our photos back already, and I wanted to post the ones I liked best (all courtesy of Sharp Exposure Photography (aka, our friend Skip)). [Edited to add: Felix cut his first tooth yesterday! The lower right front is the first to make its appearance in what will someday be a toothy grin.]

Felix: 12 mos

Felix is a-walkin'!

Well, two weeks after he took the first sequence of steps, I finally consider him a toddler. This afternoon, he was taking more steps than he was crawling. That made the photo shoot we had today much more interesting. I hope we got a few keepers out of all of them! I'll post the best as soon as we get them back.

Edited on 7/26/10 @ 8pm to add... video! 

Felix: 12 mos

Not the Happiest Birthday

Felix's first birthday wasn't the happiest for him.  He woke with a cold, which made him a little tired and crabby.  On top of that, he got a diaper rash during the day.  Poor little man.  He did enjoy the cupcakes I sent to daycare for him, his friends and his teachers.

Yesterday, he wasn't feeling much better.  It was a good thing we had his 12-month check-up scheduled.  Lo and behold, he has another ear infection.  At least we could get it treated and he seemed much happier this morning.  His appetite is decreasing, but I'm not sure if that's the cold, the ear infection, or finally teething.  I guess we'll wait and see.

Felix: 12 mos

Felix's 1st Birthday Party!

We spent a lovely 4th of July with family at Grandma Maxine's house, which also doubled as the setting for Felix's 1st birthday party. Steve, Vicky, Ralph and Ann joined Grandma, Dennis, Mark, Karen, Cassie, Nick and I to wish Felix a Happy 1st Birthday! Vicky brought a wonderful cake, complete with a mini cake for Felix that he demolished. Several of us went on a tube float down the Waupaca River, which was a little lower than usual. Ralph and Nick found nice sticks to help get them through the tricky patches. I had an embarrassing scene, where I overreached for an empty can Cassie dropped and flipped my tube, smacking my back on the rocks in the process. Ouch. Anyway, we floated back to Grandma's, dried off and had cake. Once we hosed off Felix, he got to open his presents. Thanks to everyone for his gifts! He's already gotten his hands on most of them, and they'll grow with him for a while.

Our little man will actually turn 1 year old in six days! Boy, this first year has flown!

Felix: 11 mos

First Steps!

I knew it was going to be a race to see which came first: step or tooth.  And the winner is... first step!  Felix and I tagged along with Nick to watch his softball game last night.  Felix and I were hanging out in the grass near the field and playing with a cattail.  Felix had been showing more interest in standing, especially the past few days.  So, he was holding the cattail, practicing his balance, when all of a sudden... step!  Then the inevitable fall on the bum.  He did it again a few minutes later, and I managed to get a picture just after he took his second step (hooray for camera phones!).  I give him a few weeks and he'll be running.

Felix: 11 mos

Fun on the Farm!

We had a nice time at Eugster's Farm at my company picnic. We went on a wagon ride, fed a baby goat with a bottle, and had a nice dinner. Here's some pictures from today:

Felix: 11 mos

Sick of Being Sick

I'm not sure where it came from, but I've had a hideous cold for two solid weeks now. Ugh, ugh, ugh. And Felix has it now, too, so we're back to doing sneak attacks to wipe his nose. He had a fever on Monday and Tuesday, so he stayed home with Nick on Tuesday. That wasn't great for either of them - Felix didn't feel well and Nick couldn't get any work done. But I think we'll all be on the mend soon, and my fingers are crossed Felix doesn't develop an ear infection on top of it.

On the bright side, the weather's cleared up and we took two bike rides this week. My parents bought us a used Burley bike trailer, so once we borrowed a bike for Nick, we were able to ride. Felix was a little unsure at first (maybe it was having to wear the helmet), but he seems to enjoy it as well. It's nice to be able to get out and exercise again.

Tomorrow is my company picnic, so we'll be able to take Felix to his first petting zoo! We actually went last year, but since he was only 6 or 7 weeks old at the time, I'm not really counting it. I'll post pictures soon.

Felix: 11 mos

Happy Father's Day!

As we approach Nick's first Father's Day, we've been celebrating all the good and bad that comes along with having a baby. Felix is our joy, as he continues to learn new things and amaze us with his abilities and skills. Like how much he can poop and how very bad it smells. Or, like how much he enjoys bananas. Or how fast he's moved into 18 -month clothing (today).

We also get the not-so-great, as we believe Felix is finally about to cut that first tooth. We now have physical evidence along with the grumpy, crying man (as I'm writing this, he's playing in the living room shirtless and rivulets of drool are cascading down his chest and tummy. We can also see a tiny speck of white where his front left incisor will be). We had such a good stretch of sleeping through the night until last night. It might take a week (hopefully not!), but by the end of this, he should have his first tooth! I've gotten so used to his gummy smile that it will be weird to see him with any teeth, but I'm sure I'll get use to it and love it just as much. :o)

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! We love you!

Felix: 11 mos

Uh-Oh!

Felix is now 11 months old! Only one month shy from a year and such a great big boy! He's really active now, so much so that it was impossible to get his normal "month" picture this month. He immediately tries to roll on his stomach when you put him on his back, which makes diaper changes especially challenging. :o) Felix still loves to use his push-walker, and he's getting better about balancing himself when standing up. His record is about a minute without falling. He's also learned that dropping things is fun! He's learned to say "uh-oh" when he does. For a while, it was just "uh-uh", but he's figured out the "oh" now.

We spent a nice time up in Green Bay this past weekend. Nick's friend from high school got married, and while he was at the reception, Felix and I got to visit with lots of family. 

Felix: 11 mos