Excuses for a Staycation

It's not that often we get out-of-town guests that come to visit and stay with us. Our house is small -- though cozy, it just can't accommodate an overflow of visitors. It works great, though, when one of Michael's bachelor buddies comes to town. They are the easiest guests! Low key, relaxed, no fuss, and no one to impress (they either don't care or wouldn't notice anyway).

"Uncle Rich" was one of our groomsmen, and we've known him since our college days when Michael and Rich were bartenders at TGI Friday's.  Rich has become an avid runner, and like the rest of us, enjoys a destination race now and again. He came for the Fort Lauderdale A1A marathon and extended his trip for a vacation. In doing so, it gave Michael and I a chance to really enjoy our Florida, which we don't do nearly enough. And February in Florida is beeeautiful!

Rich and Michael's Saturday bike ride gave Adam and me an excuse to drive to South Beach, Miami. It's been years since I've been there, and except for the traffic, I thoroughly enjoyed my drive to pick them up. I am not a beach/ocean person, but I can appreciate it's beauty. Coming across the causeway I had huge cruise ships lined up on my right, luxurious mansions and yachts on my left, and plenty of blue sky and sunshine above me. I would NOT want to live down there, but.. what a view! Ocean Drive on South Beach is nut-so with people, congestion, and traffic everywhere, but there's something wonderful about seeing people out and about enjoying the Florida winter. Oh yeah, there's a beach there, too... somewhere. I missed it this trip. Adam can now say he's been to South Beach from his carseat.

Rich's marathon on Sunday gave me an excuse to wake up early and be on Fort Lauderdale beach by 9am. Congratulations to all marathon and half marathon finishers! We had about a mile walk to the finish area to see our racers, then we walked from there to church to watch our friend preach. The event gave us an excuse to spend all day with friends and sunshine.

Free tickets to the Boat Show gave Michael an excuse to spend the day with Rich, my Dad, and his friends in Miami. It was also Dad's (Grampa's) birthday, so we had an excuse to all go out do dinner (and eat cupcakes!). Happy Birthday, Dad!

One of the private yachts for sale for $2.8 million. Yes, Mindys are out of most people's leagues!

Sister Kim's connection at the Doral Golf Resort gave the boys an excuse to play a round on Tuesday, and with the boys away, Adam and I had an excuse to spend the afternoon with my girlfriend and her son (Adam's little 15-month old buddy) at her "snowbird" parents' camper. It felt like we were camping out, too.

And, finally, Rich's last day in town gave us an excuse to go to the beach in the middle of the day on a Wednesday. It was really Adam's first visit where we allowed him to get as messy in the sand as he wanted to. He loved to pick up the sand and let it pour out of his hands. We also brought the hammocks, and as much as Adam loves the swing, it was no surprise he was content swaying with us by the ocean.

Top off the day with some yummy sushi (Adam loved the sesame noodles), and Rich's vacation made a great "staycation" for us as well. Thanks, Rich!

Carnival

For one weekend each year the lot outside our front door turns into a carnival. Literally. Our condo faces the lawn of the Catholic church next door, and once a year they host a festival, complete with a Ferris wheel, rides, carnival food, noise and lights. Even with the doors and windows closed we can hear the whirrr of the machinery, the boom of the announcer's voice, and the screams of kids as they are spun and flung for fun. While at first it seems like an exciting diversion, it all gets old after the first nights.

View from our front door.

The carnival is always President's Weekend, which is usually also Michael's birthday weekend. I must admit, we've never been to the carnival except for a couple walk-thrus in years past. It is neat to see families out together enjoying the fun. I don't feel like we see that very often in South Florida. The first year we lived here we walked over to see everything. It reminded me of the Beauregard parish fair my sisters and I were so excited to attend each year growing up in Louisiana -- but on a smaller scale. Fair days were so thrilling to me, and I couldn't wait to ride the double Ferris wheel, The Radar, and the Rock 'N Roll. (I never worked up the nerve to to on The Zipper.) Oh, those were the days. I can assume that those rides, though larger, seemed just as much like death-traps when seen through adult eyes as the rides we have next door.

I was shocked surprised to find among the booths, rides and silent auction there was gambling! At church! Michael, who grew up Catholic and is familiar with these annual festivals, found nothing out of the ordinary with it. I had never heard of Catholic carnivals, and now I notice them at other Catholic churches in the area. (There's usually one my birthday weekend, too, at the church just north of here.)

The other night Michael took Adam for a walk, and on the way back home they walked through the "midway." Adam was enraptured! He pulled himself up on his little tray so he could lean forward and see more. The lights, the music, the sounds -- he loved it.  Who knows, maybe next year he'll be begging us to go visit the carnival again. Or maybe next year we'll just be introducing him to Funnel Cake instead. I'm not sure this Momma is ready to trust her baby on giant machines that fold up small enough to fit on a flatbed truck. I mean, how safe could that be??!

Happy Birthday!

YIIPPPPEEEEE!!  It's Your Birthday!!!

Today we celebrate, you, Michael! And do you know how LOVED you are? My heart is warmed by all the family and friends who have already called to wish you a happy day -- your sisters Megan and Amy, my Pop-Pop, good ol' pals Bud and Chris -- and that was all before lunch! Plus there are countless other well-wishers who have texted and posted. People respect and admire you more than you possibly know.

There's one little man in particular who thinks you're the coolest guy on the planet. It may make me catch my breath every time you swing him upside-down or throw him in the air, but, God love him, he can't get enough of that! Hmmm, who does that remind me of?

Thank you for being you. Thank you for loving and respecting and honoring me, your family, and all your many friends. You are remarkable in every way, and I am continually impressed with your strength, determination, and patience. You are an incredible father, and if our little guy grows up to be just like you, I'd be one proud Mamma.

My birthday wish for you today is to feel appreciated and adored, to know that you are loved today and every day, and that you (we) live this next year with JOY (but how can't we?).

We love you!

M&A

New Fascinations

Just thought I would give you some insight into Adam's recent infatuations. Here they are in no particular order.

1. The Toilet.
I mentioned this earlier this week. He loves to open and close it and put his hands in the water. We are, understandably, discouraging this. We're trying to keep the bathroom doors closed so we don't have to resort to toilet locks. He also loves to unroll the toilet paper, and while I think there is something adorable about seeing him sit in a pile of white paper, we are discouraging this too. (Though it does makes me smile if I walk in and find a pile in shreds on the floor later.)

2. Gramma and Grampa's Shower Stall
When Adam discovered this wonderful playland, I swear we could have gone out for dinner and found him happy there when we got back. He'll be playing in the living room, and when he disappears to the dining room we know where he's headed. He just crawls in and out of the shower. We joke that it's a baby in a box!

In the box. Older photo -- 10 months old. He looks so little!

3. The Refrigerator
This is his most recent object of obsession. Any time we open the fridge or freezer door he makes a beeline to it. He doesn't pull anything out of it (yet) but loves to touch the items in the door, open the drawer, and close the door (or sometimes leaving it wide open). The other day he was standing in it on the bottom ledge, and I just didn't get my camera in time to snap a picture!

Don't you love these pajamas?

4. Television
He has always loved the remote control but hasn't figured out exactly which button to push to consistently make things happen. However, he has quickly learned which button to push on the cable box to turn it off and on. We've since had to move the boxes behind the glass doors. He is also infatuated with two programs in particular. We can put on the DVD "Signing Time" and he will sit in Daddy's lap for the entire show, mesmorized by the music and children. While he's eating or while we're cooking we can put on "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". As soon as he sees Mickey coming over the hill in the intro, he smiles. And I smile. Note: I'm not thrilled that we're starting TV so soon with him, but perhaps it's paying off a little -- yesterday at lunch he signed "More"!

5. The Computer
We have found the new e-trade baby! It is very difficult for me to spend any time on the computer while Adam is awake because he just wants to reach up, bang on the keyboard, and move the mouse. He particularly likes to watch the pointer icon fly back and forth as he moves the mouse, and he loves the pretty red light on the mouse itself. If you are sitting on the couch with a laptop (Grampa), watch out -- Adam will be at your side in a jiff. I have had to resort to creating a "hot spot" on my desktop so I can activate the screen saver instantly when he comes near. Too many times I discovered file names renamed "0021558513.--++". I've also added password protection on the screen saver, and no matter how many passwords he's attempted, he still hasn't figured this one out (yet).

12 Months

We had Adam's 12 month check-up yesterday, and the doctor was happy to proclaim him a long, lean, active little boy. Here are his stats:

weight: 19 lbs., 4 oz (10th percentile -- always small but steady growth)
height: 29 1/2" (49th percentile)
head: 18" (45th percentile)

He also received 3 shots and a TB test. The doctor informed us that we should start giving him whole milk and work towards weaning him from the bottle once he adjusts to the milk. Funny enough, we had just enough formula for his morning bottle so we thought we'd try switching him cold-turkey. He, however, wasn't keen on the idea. We are now mixing the formula with milk and will gradually reduce the formula to milk ratio. Giving up the bottle may be harder than I expected, too, as he won't drink but a couple of sips of milk from a cup. He's on to us! One battle at a time. Milk first, then bottle, then pacifier.

Here are some of his most recent milestones and tricks. By 12 months Adam can:

Where's your head?

Where's your belly? He does
the same sign for bath.

Where's your tongue?

• Identify his head, his tongue and his belly
• Walk, stand up on his own and Bend and pick up objects while standing. Excellent balance.
• Can use sign language to sign Fan, Eat, and Bath, Doggy. 
• Knows the meaning of and can identify Mommy, Daddy, Ball, Bus (toy), Fan, Light, Bath, Eat, Milk, Doggy, Swing, Water, Gramma, No, Sit Down, and more
• Can wave hi/bye-bye (when he's in the mood)
• Can blow a kiss (at least he did once!)
• Puts his arms in the air when you say Arms Up! 
• Can put nesting objects into one another, cars on his track, and shapes into the sorter
• Can turn on the TV manually (and leaves it on!) and can control the ceiling fan and light by remote
• Recognizes the playground and wants to swing. If you take him in Mom and Dad's back yard, he makes a beeline for the swing there.
• Can give High-Fives
• Loves to figure out how things operate: doors open/close, wheels spin. We are thrilled that he can now open and close the toilet and flush it too. Last night he realized he could open the drawers of the coffee table, stand in it, and climb up on top of it. Thrilled about that one, too.
• Turns around to go feet-first off the couch, chair, stairs, etc.

We are just fascinated by how much our little man figures out every day!

Table for One

After a lot of indecision and procrastination, Adam finally has a new high chair! I had debated about ordering a chair with a tray or skipping right to a booster seat. He had first been in a traditional high chair that was poorly designed (remember the Lazy Boy story?) before we switched him to a hook-on chair at the counter.  Though it was an improvement, it still had him sitting too low and it was difficult to keep clean. So, for Adam's birthday we ordered him a new chair. It was ordered before his birthday, but we didn't receive it until last night. We had to try it out right away!

Much better! I decided on this Feeding Seat because it converts from an infant seat (reclined) to a high chair with tray to a booster seat for the table. He sits up well in it and the tray is snug to his belly, making for far less food on his clothes and the floor than our last setup. The removable tray insert, tray and overall plastic cleans up wonderfully well. For someone who frequently suffers from buyer's remorse, so far I am loving this purchase!

Since we're on the topic of food, Adam's favorite foods of late are spaghetti (or anything with tomato sauce including pizza and minestrone (strained)), chicken, grapes, eggs, baked beans, watermelon and broccoli. Long ago, he gave up on being spoon-fed, and we really need to start reintroducing that again so we can return to yogurts and applesauce. Here are a couple of my favorite food pics over the months:

Some meals are best eaten stripped down.

Barbecued rib and bake beans. Ditto to above.

I'm hoping that he will eat better now that he's sitting higher over his tray. Since he's 1 now we have started introducing whole milk in a sippy cup for him at meals. He's still trying to decide if he likes it. Tomorrow we go to the doctor for his 12 month appointment so we will get more direction on weaning from the bottle and formula. It also means another round of shots. :( I'll send along all his new stats afterward.

Celebrating Adam - Part II

 

Whew! We may have a little jet-lag but we survived Adam's First Birthday party!

Do you have your Boarding Pass? Let's go!

Invitation

1. Welcome to MIA (Moreland International)

2. Come inside and check in to your flight!

3. Feel free to drop your luggage and relax in our passenger lounge.

4. Care for a refreshment?

5. Out to the tarmac and the jetway!  

Click to enlarge

6. In-flight refreshments: Cake and ice cream!

Click to enlarge

7. In-flight entertainment: Toys!

8. Be sure to collect your luggage!

9. Thank you for flying with us!!

I'll post another blog with all the details on the decorations. It was a fun theme to put together!

Bye now, bu-bye, Bye now, bye, bye-bye, bye now, Goodbye...