"Back"

Ever since Christian started daycare, we have a little saying to help make him feel secure. Actually someone on the Russian Yahoo message boards said she did the same thing for her boy and it worked great, so I tried it too.  When I drop him at daycare and get him out of the car, I say to him, "Mommy will always, always, always come back."  Then inside, I give him a hug, tell him I love him and repeat our saying again.  He now repeats the "always" which is fantastic because he remembers. I wasn't sure if it was sinking in really but yesterday and today when I picked him up, he ran to me, jumped in my arms and said, "back!"  I say, "yes, Mommy always, always, always comes back."  YAY!  Another heart warming moment.

He has been having a difficult time transitioning and I am glad that at least he understands that I will always come back....at least I think he understands. I am changing my work schedule a little so I can have more time with him in the evenings. I think that will help him with the separation anxiety he is having.  Otherwise he is talking more and more and singing, or trying to sing, nursery rhymes, which is adorable.
Off to do dishes. Ugh.
~Amy

Bumps

Well we have had multiple bumps of various kinds that last several days.
I missed my little guy when I didn't get to spend Friday afternoon with me, like I usually do, so I gave us both an ice cream treat. Hey ice cream has calcium, so it wasn't all bad.

While running errands on Saturday, Christian was a wiggling thing and he managed to twist my back while I was holding him, making it sore. So when I lifted him up into his car seat, I was off balance and bonked his head on the top edge of the car.  I felt so bad, as least he didn't cry.

Then Sunday he was messing around in the church pew and yes, slipped on the kneeler, down he goes and up his voice rose.  So out into the hall we go, which is our usual routine lately at church.  Someday we'll make it through a whole mass :) On the way out, I blessed myself with the holy water and blessed Christian (he doesn't do it himself yet).  A man nearby, said "good job mom" to me. That little comment gave me the pick me up I needed. Yes I AM doing some things right! Then he laughed and said, "in another year you won't be able to keep him out of it." So true.

Tonight however topped the cake in the way of bumps.  Yep, I left a mark. ~sigh~  We were tickling and he got away from me and off the couch. He was standing in front of me, with his back to me. I reached around and tickled his tummy and he doubled over, like he usually does. Now normally this would be fine, except he whacked his forehead on the coffee table in front of him. I felt so incredibly bad, I should have thought first but we were wound up. Of course he cried, I held him and now he has a blue-ish bump on his forehead that I'm sure will be more visible tomorrow morning.  Guess I have to wait on getting his "professional" photo taken...again.

Well they weren't the first bumps he's had and they won't be the last. Mommy needs to be more careful!
~Amy

Marching - Talking

Inchworms class last night was the best one ever!  He played on the equipment, did his barrel roll, balanced excellent on the balance beam and jumped alot on the trampoline.  But the big highlight was he marched around in the circle, like we do every week, but he usually doesn't want to do. He really lifted up his knees and marched and the part where you bend over like you're shrinking, he even tried that too!  Now people, this is HUGE because on a Thursday night after being inside at daycare all day, all he usually wants to do is run all around the gym and not play on the equipment.  Plus he got called on first to receive his stamp on his foot and he's always been the last one called.  The "teacher" doesn't really pay attention to who she calls when and he just sits patiently and waits. Of course he's not happy with me when we get home and I have to wash off the stamp during bathtime :) Then tonight we played follow the leader and marched around the table and again, he did great.  YAY!

Christian is talking so much more lately. Today he was in a great mood, chatting and being funny, we laughed and laughed tonight.  I'm a little bummed that I couldn't pick him up from daycare at my normal time around noon, but I had to work and didn't get him until 5:30. I think it's really good for us and the bonding to have long lengths of time together and the Friday afternoon til Sunday works great. Hopefully his good mood sticks around the whole weekend :)
~Amy

Twinkle Twinkle

Oh, the mysterious power of music!  Whenever Christian is upset or doesn't want to go down for bedtime, while holding him I sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in his ear softly.  It always does the trick and calms him down (now watch, I probably just jinxed myself and it won't work now) :)  The other day, when he was manuervering his truck through the maze I made on the table, he was just chillin' and started singing.  You guessed it, Twinkle Twinkle.  He sang the first phrase, the whole thing!  That's the most words he has put together yet!  I sat there staring at him, not sure I really heard what I just heard.  The second phrase he just mumbled the words but did have the tune correct.  I got up and raced for the video camera.

As is typical with him, he stops what he was doing, that I wanted to video, and won't do it again, just looks at me.  So I causally sat down, hiding the video camera, and we started playing again.  He started singing and I whipped out the camera and caught the moment!!!!!!  WooooHooooo!!!!!!!!!  It just goes to show you that stuff does sink into those little brain sponges.  This is proof, because he had the words and was singing off key....just like he hears me do :)  Ok so I'm not that bad but I'm no Carrie Underwood either.

He is learning more and more words at daycare, "no" being his best pronounced word and most used at the moment...sigh.  I could have sworn he said "damn" today, but then again he says other words that sound bad but he's really trying to say the correct word.  And no, for those of you who know me, he did NOT hear "damn" from me....I go into the other room and spout off where he can't hear me. Hey, everyone has a weakness or two. The other day we were making our rounds through the store aisles and he says "f*ck", or at least it sounded exactly like that.  I look around to see what he is pointing at and it's plastic FORKS!  So for now, we just skip the fork and move right on to saying "knife" and "spoon".  Yikes!
Never a dull moment :)
~Amy

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow, have we been busy this week!  Sadly, Christian has another ear infection, poor little guy.  We went to the doctor Thursday before noon, got antibiotics and gave them to him immediately.  After bathtime that night, I wanted to make sure no water got into his ear, so I took a Qtip and barely put it inside his ear and it came out bloody.  Yikes!  So after talking to my sister Cindy, to see what that meant and what I should do, I called the doctor's exchange. A nurse called me back 30 minutes later, asked a ton of questions and told me they probably scratched his ear canal when they put the probe in to see.  She said not too worry but keep an eye on it and if it continues to bleed or bleeds more, to call back immediately. It wasn't alot of blood, wasn't dripping out or anything, but there was obviously some oozing somewhere.  But after a few days nothing else happened so it turned out ok.  He started feeling better Saturday afternoon and we take the meds for 10 days.

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit this weekend!  There was a huge family garage sale at a civic center nearby that we all went to. I was looking for some outdoor playground types of things and they had some....being carried out the door by other people who got there before us. Arg!  It started at 8:00 and we got there at 7:45, only to find out there were some "early bird" tickets from 7-8:00 that I didn't know about.  I did manage to buy a Little Tikes swing that you hang from a tree, two shirts, an alphabet electronic toy and two puzzles, all for $20.  I thought it was a pretty good deal, but I'm still on the lookout for yard toys. I got some great advice from my parents on some things I had to address with Christian. Of course they would have good advice, they raised six of us :) They left after church on Sunday, around 11:30, and Christian waved goodbye and blew them kisses from the door.  Then when he woke up after his nap, he ran straight into the living room, calling "Poppa, Ga'ma", stopped short and gave me a look that said, "were'd they go?"  It was so cute and sad at the same time.  He didn't cry or anything, just started playing.

Christian got his second haircut today and I ended up having to have him sit on my lap because he was so upset.  It looks good and make him look a little older. Every morning I tell him we have to brush his teeth and comb his hair and after his hair combing I tell him he looks handsome.  After bathtime tonight and drying his hair, I said, "all done," he looks up at me and says, 'handsome?"  Simply adorable!

We had a nice walk this afternoon in the stroller, got out and after some coaxing, ran around in the grass, and then stopped to play on a playground unit. Some kids are just plain brats, I'm sorry to be blunt, but really.  I was helping Christian climb up a ladder and a 8-9 yr old boy came up and said, "he can't climb on this, it's for big kids only," and I said, "that's for his mommy to decide." He gave me this snotty look, pushed between the ladder and Christian almost knocking him off and told me that he needed to get down, he was going first.  I gave him my firm adult look and told him that we were here first and he WILL wait his turn.  He ran off, the little shit and of course his Dad sat there, hearing the whole thing and didn't say a word.
We crossed a bridge and I let Christian out of the stroller to walk across. He would stop every now and then, press his little face between the bars and look out at the river for several minutes.  At times like those I wish I could read his mind and know what he was thinking.

Hopefully I can get into the doctor tomorrow for me, I have a sinus infection and need to get it knocked out.
Then we can both be healthy and enjoy the beautiful weather that is coming up so we can get outside and play :)
~Amy

No crying, no tears, no whining.

That was a mantra from a couple of funny kids at a baby shower we attended on Sunday. Christian was a bit whiney and at one point laid on the floor. He laid quietly (he was tired) but he wasn't happy. I told him to get up and one of the other kids said, "get up, there's no crying, no tears, no whining." It was so cute!  They said it like they were repeating what they've heard over and over.  The adults decided we should type that mantra and hang it on our desks at work :) 

There were tiny cupcakes for the kids. I don't feed Christian hardly any sweets.  I don't want him to develop my sweet tooth (which is out of control) plus I gave him mini M&Ms once and after that all he did was scream for them and didn't want to eat anything else....this went on for three days.  My nerves can't take that, so the sweets are being kept to a minimum for now until I get his nutrition up to the doctor's liking.  So....I had to let him have a mini cupcake when all the other kids were eating one.  He was standing between my legs, facing me, as I fed him the cupcake.  He took the first HUGE big, closed his eyes and had a look of pure bliss on his face and then his eyes opened wide as he quickly chewed, swallowed and lunged at me for another bite.  It was the funniest and sweetest (no pun intended) moment! Of course he was zipping around from the sugar rush after that.

Today he cried when I left him at daycare, I felt so bad. He's had a terrible cold the last week but he is feeling better.  He's been struggling with daycare and is whining and difficult in the mornings and evenings when I have him. So leaving him today when he was crying just made me feel so sad even though I knew he would be alright.  He was more like his normal happy self tonight which is wonderful and such a relief!!!  I hope he is getting used to the new routine and will settle in so we can have our happy times again.  I'm sure when we can get outside after the weather turns, will help a get deal.

He is talking more and more which I am so excited about.  Although tonight I noticed he says "no" an awful lot...ugh, here are the 2 yr old things. Every place has one and this daycare has a bossy little girl. She is the granddaughter of the daycare owner (which I wasn't thrilled about when I found out) and as you can guess, she has a different set of rules than everyone else.  I made a photo card and attached it to Christian's coat. Another parent told me she made a photo album of them that her child kept in their backpack so they could look at it whenever they got anxious at daycare. I thought it was a great idea, but he doesn't have a backpack, so I made a tag and attached it to his coat. It has several photos I shrunk down and copied onto paper, front and back, and then laminated it.  His coat hangs low enough that the photo tag hangs low enough too for him to reach. They tell me he looks at it once in awhile. Today when I picked him up, he went to get his coat and the granddaughter was yanking on his photo tag, trying to get it off his coat.  He went over and pushed her and took his coat. I told him it wasn't nice to push her but inside I was happy he did.  I know, I know, that makes me a terrible person, but it took a long time to make that tag and it's his for security so she needs to keep her grubby paws off of it. No I don't want him to learn to push kids around, so I will make sure he doesn't do that but I did say, so the owner could hear, to the little girl that it was his and she shouldn't bother it.  We'll see how it goes. I can hear him in the backseat as we drive home, pointing to the photos and saying, "Momma, Christian, kitty..."  Again, another heart warming moment :)
~Amy

Shots, Parade and Sorry

The last several days have been eventful to say the least.
Christian did much better at the inchworms class on Thursday!  I've figured out if I get there a little early and let him just run around the gym, then he's ready to slow down a bit and do the activities. This time they had them "throw" a ball into a short basketball hoop.  Now he wants to throw the balls around in the house. Oops!  Need to hide the balls until we can get outside.  We ran into a friend, Michelle, who gave me some great advice and insight. Thanks Michelle!!!

Friday afternoon he had another round of immunization shots and you can imagine how well that went.  I don't blame him, I'm not fond of getting shots either.  They said they may make him grumpy and raise his temperature.....yep, they did.  So Friday afternoon and evening was a drama.  I ended up calling my parents to talk for support, and of course, they were wonderful.

Saturday was a big adventure!  We went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown St. Louis. We met up with some friends, one couple has a 2 yr old boy also, and had a good time.  Thank goodness both mommies brought plenty of snacks as we shared them between the kids.  Success! It was tough because we were there about 1 1/2 hours before the parade started to get a good place to see. Both kids did great, but they did get tired close to the end of the parade so we left a little early.  It worked out for me because I missed alot of traffic and still had time for him to get in a nap when we got home.

In the inchworms class, the kids pretty much run around all over the place.  So you can imagine the falls, trips, bumping into each other and cutting in front of each other in lines.  This class is for 18-36 month olds, so they are all learning social skills still.  I must say, Christian and I have not been in a situation where he has had to say, "I'm sorry" yet. But he tripped and fell into a kid, causing the other kids to fall. I told Christian to tell the boy "sorry" and the boy and mom just waited, looking at him in anticipation.  Well Christian just looked at me with the look that says, "I don't understand that word".  So before I could grab him, he takes off running to the next toy.  I told the Mom and boy that we were sorry and the Mom just glared at me.  I was a little taken aback and later realized that a child of Christian's age should know how to say he's sorry and he appeared to just be a spoiled child to her.

So today when he was in crazy mode, he accidently knocked his head into mine. I told explained to him that it hurt and when you hurt someone, you say you're sorry.  Again, the blank look.  So today we practiced as situations would arise (only 2) but tonight when he bonked me in the cheek, I said "that hurt, what do you tell me?" and he said "sorry" and kissed my boo-boo. YAY!  Now let's hope he remembers it :)
~Amy

Tough Morning and Then Church

This morning was the first time Christian did not want to go to daycare.  He cried when it was time to put on his coat, kept pushing it away and hugging me.  I felt SO sad!  He calmed down, was his usual quiet self in the car looking at everything out the window.  I point out things as I drive and tell him what they are.  He usually just looks at me and then the thing, but lately he has been repeating me.  This morning he didn't make a peep.  When I closed the door once we were inside the daycare, he pushed at it, said "open" and started crying.  I wanted to cry too :(   The daycare lady and I distracted him and then I slipped out.  I felt so bad, like I was abandoning him, which I know isn't true, but it was so hard leaving him when he was upset.

He was fine when I left and the daycare lady told me he didn't cry and started playing with the kids and toys.  He was happy to see me when I picked him up tonight.  That's the best feeling in the world, having your child run to you with that huge smile and jump into your arms.  I have to cherish those moments because I know they will pass too soon.

We attending mass tonight for Ash Wednesday which was challenging. Christian was whiny and uncooperative after daycare so I knew church wasn't going to be easy. The first 15 minutes were exhausting; he wanted up, he wanted down, he wanted out of the pew, he wanted under the pew, he chattered, he whined, on and on and on.  Finally he became interested in the two junior high aged kids behind us, was quiet and just watched them while I held him. Now those two kids were not acting appropriately during mass for their age, but they were keeping him "entertained" so it worked for me (I hope lightening doesn't stike me). While messing around he slipped on the kneeler and bumped his back on the edge. A small cry came out, followed by the deep breath. Yes you know what comes next.  I quickly tried to get out of the pew, out the door into the vestibule before the loud cry erupted.  I made it, well halfway.  I made it out the door but the door was still closing, so the cry was still heard. Thankfully he calmed down immediately so back in we went.  After that he was fairly quiet.  Now I must say there were two other kids who were louder for longer than Christian was. :)

Up to the front we go to receive the ashes, which I was convinced would be the catalyst for a major meltdown, due to him being tired and not yet too fond of strangers, especially ones that put black stuff on your head.  While I held Christian, the lady put ashes on my head first, while he watched intently. Then she slowly put some on his head, he held still and didn't cry!!!  He wrinkled up his face some, I'm sure due to the excess ash falling down his nose (I do the same thing).  As I walked back to our pew (in the very back) his eyes darted from one person to another, then back to my forehead, trying to figure it all out.  I was surprised that he didn't touch his forehead or mine and try to wipe it off. He is so finicky about his hands being dirty that I thought that would be the first thing he would do, but he didn't.  All in all, due to the fact that mass was after daycare and he was tired, my little bug did good at church this time :)

Tomorrow is day 3 of the Inchworms class, hopefully it will continue to be progressively better.  Stay tuned...
~Amy

Sounds, Painting and Dogs

Well we had a pretty loud thunderstorm earlier in the week and it scared the crud out of Christian!  (me too for that matter).  So we were awake about every 2 hours ~ugh~.  We met my sister, nephew and Dad for lunch on Friday.  They were in town (they live 2 hrs away) and had time for lunch.  It was nice, I want Christian to see them as much as possible and it was nice that I didn't have to drive the 2 hours this time :)
While we waited to meet them, we went to the park and watched the ducks in the pond.  He was fine and chattering about them but would freak out if I went to put him down. I don't know if he thought they were going to get him or what. Next time we'll take some bread to feed them, I think he'll like that.

We were doing some things in the basement and when the furnace kicked on, it really scared him. I mean, he screamed, started crying and ran for me.  Thinking back, I guess it does kind of make a scary sound when the gas burners fire up.

So Christian's fear of dogs is slowly getting better.  He can now get within about 15 feet of them before he freaks out.  We went for a stroller walk along a path where alot of people were walking their dogs.  The path is about 6 feet wide and he was ok when they would walk by.  I was SO glad that the dog owners did not let them come up to us, I'm sure that would have scarred him for life :)

I had high hopes to fingerpaint with Christian today, but it turned into a different type of painting that produced four beautiful paintings.  I showed him with my hand how to put paint on your fingers and run it across the paper.  He was timid, so in my eagerness (and stupidity) I decided to paint his palm so he could make a handprint.  Talk about scarring him, way to go Mom.  It was a huge crying failure....oops.  So we switched to a paint brush and he loved it!  I choose the color combinations but he did all the painting and they look great.  Of course I would say that.  They are sitting on the counter drying and will be hung tomorrow night.  He kept wanting to see them when they were drying. How cute is that.

Tomorrow starts the second full week of daycare.  It's hard not being with him, but it's nice to talk to adults at work and I know he loves being with other kids. Can't wait until the weather gets nice so we can get outside!!!  Have a nice week everyone.
~Amy

Daycare Lip

So Christian has a fat bloody lip now.  You can imagine how pleased I am about that!  Not so much.
I pick him up tonight, he runs to me, I see the lip and turn to the worker and say, "ok what is this all about?"  She told me that he fell off his nap cot and hit his mouth on the rubbermaid container beside him that some toys are stored in.  I know it was an accident, but now along with cutting teeth, now he's having a tough time drinking and eating with his hurt lip.  Geez!

I asked the lady who said "I did their hair for them," if she cut his hair.  She quickly said, "oh no, I would never do a think like that without a parent's ok."  I want to believe her, and it seems so outrageous that someone would actually do that, but I also know what my son's hair looks like and how long it is as I struggle to tame it every morning. It IS shorter, but I said something so I'm going to drop it for now.

He has gotten a pretty sore bottom since he started daycare.  I am anal about changing his diaper as soon as he is dirty because I don't want him to have irritation because I know that hurts.  I'm sure I go through more diapers than I should, but he's not had a sore hiney....until now.  I mean it's so sore that he wouldn't sit down in the bathtub last night and just cried and cried. So this morning at drop off I told them to change him more often because he shouldn't have this bad of diaper rash.  Today it was better but I told them again that they need to change him more often.  He knows after he goes because he tells me, "I'm ka-ka," which is poopy in Russian.  I told them that is what he'll say and they confirmed he tells them that.  So in my mind, they should change the diaper.  I know they have schedules, but if their schedule is giving my child bad diaper rash to the point that he literally screams when I wipe his bottom changing him, then I feel that they should respect my request and change him more often. I mean it's not like they have alot of kids and not all of them are in diapers.

So our first week at daycare has been eventful, some good, some bad.  I hope we both adjust better, and quickly, and that things go more smooth with the daycare workers.
~Amy

Haircut

Let me start off by saying that it really is a good haircut and I have been needing to get Christian's hair trimmed anyway, and it was "free".  However I was a little surprised to pick him up at daycare to find that one of the ladies cut his hair.  Yes, she cut his hair, without asking me, which I thought was a bit rude.  I mean what if I wanted his hair cut a certain way or just, whatever, you don't cut a child's hair without asking first, I say.  But like I said, it does look good and saved me a trip (possibly dramatic) to the salon.

Exhausted tonight!  I've always been a relatively sound sleeper and remember telling one of my sisters that I was worried I wouldn't hear Christian in the night. She said I will become a light sleeper, for some reason you just do. She was right!  I keep his door closed for safety and so he doesn't hear me get up in the mornings.  I can't get ready and be to work on time with him under my feet, so I get ready before I wake him up, we have breakfast together and some "us" time.  But even with his door closed, I can hear him pretty well and am not sleeping soundly, thus I am tired already and it's only just after 8:00 pm!  I was trying to cut back on my soda intake (it's the only caffeine I get) but I have to have a Diet Coke at lunch to jump start me again.
I'm sure after this week or next, my body will adjust, and I won't be so tired.....I better :)
~Amy

Scratcher at Daycare

There's a 3 1/2 yr old girl at daycare that scratches the other kids.  I guess it's better than biting!
One Mom who's kid got scratched, told the kid who was doing the scratcher that is hurts her child and she doesn't like it.  The scratcher's parents have been told several times and have cut the kid's fingernails down to the nubs.  At least they are trying to do something, but the girl keeps doing it.  I'm not sure what provokes her.  When I picked up Christian yesterday, a Dad was holding his boy who was crying and the scratcher was sitting at a table looking like she got in trouble.  Personally I think the parents and/or daycare owner should have the girl wear cloth gloves or something until they get her bad habit under control! I just hope that Christian doesn't get scratched because I am not sure what he'll do.

In the orphanage he was in, they just let the kids duke it out, as long as no blood was flowing. Seriously!  I witnessed it myself if you recall from earlier blog entries.  He might just take her down to the floor, I don't know :)

Bragging moment......
They told me that he is the best at following the rules, helping pick up the toys and that they don't have to tell him twice. They also said they don't have to chase him around to get his diaper changed, they just tell him it's time and he goes straight to the changing area. Most of that behavior was taught to him in the orphanage but I'd like to think that I've taught him a few things :)

He is getting used to the new schedule, getting up early, but he is still exhausted when he gets home.  I want to put him to bed early so he can catch up on his sleep but I have such a short time from then and when I pick him up at daycare, and I miss him during the day, that I want to keep him up later to spend time with him. But for this week and maybe next week, I'll put him to bed early until he gets used to the new schedule and then I'll keep him up a little bit later so we can have some time together.  I am still concerned about our attachment forming, if it's forming correctly, what else I need to be doing, and having even less time now that I am back to work is hard for me.  But I am making the most of the time we have and we do have the weekends, so one day at a time.
~Amy