take a look

Well dude is sleeping off his 102 degree fever and I'm cleaning up my photos.  take a look at these sweet photos from Thanksgiving.  They were lost (by my cousin) and then found (probably by some photo/computer retrieval genius).  Thankfully.  Because they are most precious.

Sweet cousins and  great fun!

If you ask Ben who his favourite people in the whole world are?

And his favourite place to be (other than 'ome)?

This mama is really really looking forward to cottage season.

And a whole lot of this...

A sure sign...

that we don't need em...
County speech services that is.
Ben's name has been on the waiting list since Ben's name wasn't Ben.
a long time.
We are on month 13 of an "early intervention" assessment list
because dude was deemed to be "moderately delayed"
in expressive language
with significant oral motor delays 
and aspiration by his developmental paediatrician.


Not a peep from the county.


But this is what I just heard from the bedroom.
Phonetically speaking of course.


mama, hear-d dat?
a key-ture go bang on da window
a coe-d key-ture twyin to get in
twyin to get me and monkey.


mama?  stay coe-s pees
I seep, you get da key-ture dor me, o-kay?
gib key-ture twouble, okay?


mama?  you da-er?


So county speech?  
Give Ben's spot to some mama who can't afford to get timely help for their little guy please.
and give it in a timely fashion please...
so you don't have to change your name
to "not so very early intervention"

Heading 'ome...

2 years ago
we were packing up the bags and heading home.

Lucky, oh so lucky to have found flights on the eve of Tet.

Now home is where he most likes to be.

Me- Want to go somewhere special today Ben?

Him- My ome mama ome Boomer ome special.

          No go out mama.  Stay and play trains with mama.

So we did.

2 years ago right about now 

we began our journey around the globe to get home.

We finished it 30 or so hours later

at an airport here surrounded by dear friends.

Today we stayed at 'ome  

and played trains.

With a couple of frigid walks mixed in to burn energy.

And it was lovely.

Tomorrow we will meet up with Auntie Kristen

and visit a local Tet celebration hosted by the Vietnamese Association.

Watch for photos!

picture post...cause I can upload again

A year ago...

And 2 years ago...

 

coulda...but didn't

Coulda washed the laundry
swept the floors
shook out the cover for the couch 


Coulda put away the weekend's laundry
the clean dishes (and the dirty ones)
put out the garbage
tidied up the last of the holiday decorations


Coulda started my reports
finished an IEP
cooked some dinner


Coulda...but didn't


Played trains for 2 hours
dressed as a wizard
sharing and taking turns
with a fuzzy tiger
while eating take out pizza slices
and sharing with the dog


Discussed the ABC's
intently for all of bath time
a very long add more water twice bath time
more intently that I'd anticipate at his age
apparently at "my ome boomer ome A dor apple mama"
but at "Sumi Auntie's ome A dor Amy, no apple mama"
and so it went.
Opinions about A,B,S, O and M 
very well established.
When did this happen?


Shared stories,
favourites,
like
How many trucks can a tow truck tow
Bob helps out
a wide selection of Winnie
and of course Waddle!
We must talk about that exclamation mark
EVERY single time.


Snuggled for baba time.
Argued about bed time.
Wrestled during the brushing of the teeth.
Snuggled some more.
Sang a bit
Baa Baa Black sheep was his request...
"but didderent colours mama"
I sang off tune on purpose
more than once
so I could be tutored, 
so he would demonstrate and sing sweetly to me
followed by 
"sing pop-ap-ly mama...try gain pees"


Into bed he went at 8.
Sleeping, I thought, at 8:30
when the piercing scream 
I'm being attacked scream
followed by hysterical wailing
began


Off I went, 
to fight off the monsters
lurking, 
apparently, 
in the pile of unwashed laundry in the hall.


Coulda done the laundry...but didn't
just put it behind my bedroom door.

January 8th, Vietnam time

Two years?
Where did you go?


So quickly...
feels like 2 minutes
or two seconds

but now he speaks
calls me mama
asks for cuddles
and candy
and books and stories 
and more books and more stories
(and more candy)


He makes me laugh every day
with jokes like
"Knock, knock
Who's dare?
broccoli
broccoli who?
broccoli geee-mo"
(his version or our last name)

He startles me with the speed of his learning
the depth of his love for all things music
the "boy-ness" of him 
the hockey and pirates, cowboys and boogers
trucks and trains, swords and dinosaurs
faster and higher, bigger and fiercer

The sharing and caring, snuggles and cuddles
nose kisses "just like hefalump and mama!"


"hug please mama"
brings me to my knees
every single day
over and over again
and never ever gets old

He makes me more
more than I was 2 years ago
more than I was 2 months ago
weeks, minutes, seconds
each and every one is more
because of him.

Happy "Ben Day" weekend baby
(I mean beeeg boy)

six syllables

Did you know "sleep" could be 6 syllables?


Like  "I   can't   sleeee-eeee-eeee-eeee-eeee-p?"


Neither did I.


(ps...16 minutes from bed to sleep, I think we are past the worst of it)

Asleep, 9:26ish

So, last night I sort of caved.  Dude started screaming, gasping and sobbing for the potty.  How can a toilet training mama ignore that one I ask.  So I scooped him up, sat him down and he went.  Praised my sobbing mess and gave him a bit of potty snuggle time until he was breathing normally again (perhaps 5 minutes).

Then he asked for a drink: mama, little water in baby baba, not big boy baba please?

So I gave it to him.

did the trick.  about  10:12 pm

So tonight I shook things up and added those routines into the mix.
A busy and tiring mix I was hoping all along.

(picture a whole lot of outdoor play in the snow dressed in a circa 1982 doggy fleece haloween costume...at least until i can figure out why pictures are not uploading)
This was the plan...
We did this...

and this...

and then played with the neighbour for a bit...
then spent some time becoming one of the pack...

did some doggy shovelling,
had a bedtime snack of protein,
potty time + 2 potty books (favourites saved only for potty trips),
teeth,
one snuggle time book from a basket of longer stories with paper pages,
a 2 minute cuddle and rock (standing, not laying on the bed),
and then the water in the baby baba (perhaps 2 ounces)

I aimed for 9pm asleep.
I got 9:26.
With NO hysterics.
Only a few mommy comes
I can hear the snoring from here.
I'm thrilled.  Really really thrilled.

What to do...

It is 9:46.
Dude is tired.
Way past tired.
Last night it was late late late when he finally crashed and burned.
Getting up this morning was a trial.
Crawling away from me screaming.  "more nappy please mama.
Please mama
Plllleeeeeaaaaassssseeeee...."
Today the caregiver gave him only an hour to nap.
He has been mostly cheerful.
Until bedtime.

I can hear him jumping on the bed.
Chanting,"me can't sleep, me can't sleep"
I am simply not going in.
At all.
Gotta get past this.

He wants to cuddle
but recent history indicates that cuddles make the bedtime longer...
not shorter.

What to do.  What to do.  What to do.

Guilty probably...

Seriously, they deferred my jury duty until Nov. 2011 because by then my childcare arrangements may have changed...and won't necessarily be 115 km from the courthouse and boy does that make me happy...cause dude is for sure creepy and guilty probably.

Ummmm, no, the baby sitter isn't changing but now that I know how the system works I'll take a day off, get paid 40 bucks for distance driven, sit in a courtroom where no reading material is allowed, no electronic devices, no gum, no head coverings, no gum chewing, no standing without permission, no drinking from water bottles-you can drink bottled water but pour it into a cup first.  Their cup.  No tims no travel mugs no nothing...

It felt like Mrs Sajay's class all over again.

But rules are made to be broken apparently.  By them, not us.  Be there at 8:30.  Oops!  Someone important is missing so no entering the courtroom until 9:15.  10:45 have a 10 minute break.  Do not be late returning-10:55 at the latest.   Oops!  Everyone important is missing...can't enter the courtroom until 11:35.

Then watch the important people enter.  Comment about the guys in suits to neighbours, especially the one in the fancy grey suit...he looks neat and tidy and arrogant and shifty.  Turns out we were right.  Good thing I was deferred because after my first impression was so bad and then hearing the 11 charges against him (all related to the different ways he allegedly (mis)treated his immediate family for 11 or so years) I was ready to lock him up and throw away the key.  I was so not feeling impartial.  At all.  Did not like the guy...

So I'm in a courtroom with about 90 other people who don't want to be there with no connection to my wee one cause cell phones are banned thinking how long is it going to take to get this show on the bloody road?  Then we hear the trial will take an estimated 6 WEEKS or more!  And I'm thinking get me the He77 out of Dodge.  Now.

Anyway, sometime later I get the deferral and I leave and I breathe and my heartbeat returns to normal and my stomach stops quivering and I head home with my unread Oprah magazine and my unopened diet coke.  The whole time I'm thanking my lucky stars that I won't be spending the next 6+ weeks hearing about horrific crimes and viewing horrific pictures and hearing horrific statements from alleged victims.

I know it is a civic duty.  I know it is an important building block for our democratic society.  I will serve on a jury some day but man oh man I'm happy it isn't going to be this one.

So I stopped at the outlet mall and bought the manh 2 big boy sippy cups an 2 sweaters and rushed home to do a couple of hours of kid free cleaning...

In other news it is 10:09 and dude is still mommy-ing from the next room. (and now it is 10:30 and he is snoring in his own bed, not mama's bed).

Yikes.  The morning should be interesting.

dry tears

dude was dry ALL day!
you go little Manh.

Unfortunately bedtime still looks like this...

And last 2 hours...

and sucks the very life out of mama
cause the only thing that makes him happy
is NOT going to bed.
Not an option, obviously.

and mama doesn't like it when her manh isn't happy.
This is my little buddy at a better time.
He calls this rocker-hockey-boy