Toddlerhood has set in...officially.

It's been forever since I posted...A is officially a toddler. It's nuts. He has learned to say no--often as in, "nonononono!" accompanied by a finger wagging at you. It's kind of hilarious. Recently he's even been wagging his finger as he falls asleep/wakes up--even if he's alone in his crib. NO idea. Lol.

He doesn't have many other words..."dada" is still the go-to for just about everything. He's finally started saying "mama" correctly, at least, but no "NaNa" yet. I can say, "where's NaNa/Shaina?" and he'll point to me, but if I say, "who's this?" pointing to myself he says "dada". Oy. He makes a lot of other sounds, even "talking" or "singing" sometimes, but never anything intelligible. I could swear he said "elmo" the other day and his mom thinks he said "tractor", but nothing concrete. I hope he starts figuring it out soon! At least he has two signs down--all done/gone, and more. So cute to see him use them. He can also do the itsy bitsy spider hand motion and is starting to do some of the Wheels on the Bus movements and clap when songs tell him to. There is one song in particular that I like, where the refrain is "Put the rhythm in your hands and go clap clap clap, put the rhythm in your feet and go tap tap tap!" and one day with no prompting he clapped and tapped! I was so proud.

He's been sick a LOT lately, and so have I, so we haven't been to any of our groups in a while. He keeps getting colds that don't go away and turn into ear infections and then THOSE don't go away...he's been to the doctor like once a week for the past few weeks. Hopefully this last round of super-powerful antibiotics will do the trick and next week we can return to our normal schedule. The week before this past week he was MISERABLE and clingy and whiny and obnoxious...it drove me nuts. His mom was away, which didn't help things either. The majority of that week was spent with him on my lap on the couch...ugh. I was feeling bad too because I've got some nasty viral cough that has taken over a month to abate...Luckily this past week was a lot better and he was his usual independent self again. Phew.

Sleep has been something I've been struggling with still, but a corner may have been turned! Just the past few days his mom has said that's he's gone down at night COMPLETELY by himself--she's even left the room when he's awake! This is something we haven't been able to do without him getting hysterical crying for the past few months. I've still been rocking him to sleep for naps, but it's getting harder--he's big, he's strong, he's demanding...but today she just texted me that he went down for nap completely alone as well! I'm worried that he won't do it for *me*, though--that he's got it in his head that Shaina rocks him to sleep, mom and dad don't--but I'll give it a shot on Monday and we'll see. It would be so nice to be able to do that again instead of spending 10-15 minutes rocking and singing my throat raw.

Despite some of these struggles, though, he's still my angel baby. His hair is a mass of big blonde curls, his face is the cutest thing ever, peekaboo and tickling make him crack up laughing, and he gives me a big smile when I walk in the door in the morning. Also a more recent development is a marked preference for me at times--as in, he will be in one of his parents' arms and reach for ME. Warms my heart.

It's official now that I'll be leaving him for good at the end of June...thinking about it breaks my heart. His mom has made it very clear that I'll be welcome any time and still involved in his life...but it just won't be the same. And while I'm excited for the challenge of a new family, and for hopefully getting to start again with a squishy infant, I'ma miss my bubbaloo something fierce!

I can't believe...

...that it's been a year. I'm pretty sure that it was a year ago this week that I got officially hired as A's nanny. He was so teeny! He was a little under 4 months old when I met him, and since he was a teeny preemie anyways...yeah. SO SMALL. It is so hard to reconcile this walking, talking, super-smart toddler with that itty bitty baby with no hair who couldn't even sit up or roll over. I remember being *SO* excited when i could get him to sit up by himself for ten seconds. I remember thinking he'd never learn to roll from back to front. i remember when i could hold him forever without getting tired. I remember being able to put him in one spot and leave the room knowing he would be there when i got back! It's crazy. I've had long-term relationships with kiddos before--I have a family in my hometown that I started babysitting for about eight years ago, when the oldest (now 9) was 15 months old and the others weren't around. But it's different with A, because I see him five days a week, 8.5 hours a day. It's mindblowingly awesome to know that I've been an integral part in his development from that infant to this toddler.

No big changes in the last few days, just A getting better and better at the "where's x?" game. As in, where's the snowman? (He turns and points with his hand or, even cuter, he'll squat and point with his entire upper body. it's adorable). Where's the Christmas tree? Where's the telephone? He can do all of these things and maybe 5 or 6 more, no sweat. I'm working on getting him to recognize things that he knows on his body, on something inanimate. Like, where's the *snowman's* hat, nose, feet, etc. He's not so good with the pronouns yet, but he's catching on!

Also, we've been doing the toddler level of the gym class the last few weeks, and this week was the first time I actually got A to do what he was supposed to. In this class they have an obstacle course set up and the kids are supposed to go along in order, one after the other. I kind of had to drag A along, but he did it without a fuss, and even surprised me by knowing how to go down the (foam) stairs! Going to start working on the home stairs with him soon, I think; it would be nice to know he can do it without killing himself!

This is my first year without a proper winter break--I only get the two Mondays off. But I'm pretty much okay with it, because I'd miss my bubba too much if i had a week or two off! Next summer I'm going to have July and August off for sure, and it makes me sad just thinking about it...And I can't even think about when I have to leave him. I know it's gonna happen but...I have at least 6 more months so I am just going to enjoy them as much as possible!

RIP :-(

Just got the sad news from L that their other dog, Desi, died last night. She has been kind of sick lately, she had a pancreatic tumor that was making her diabetic, but she was on medicine and doing fine...then last night they came home, let her out of her crate, and she just collapsed and died. Sounds like probably a heart attack. She was old, but still. It was a total shock, not like Cooper where they knew he had cancer and had a few days to prepare for his death.

A loved that dog. His first intelligible word was her name. He calls all big stuffed animals "De-di!" We used to play "Desi's gonna get you!" where we'd be holding him and lean down and put his head close to hers so she could lick him, and he'd laugh histerically. It's going to be hard to remember now that I can't distract him by saying, "Where's Desi?"

I feel especially bad about these dogs' passing because I complained about them all the time. They were Boxers--big, smelly, prone to shedding and drooling. Cooper was loud and gross and obnoxious. Desi would always just stand and stare at me and whine for no reason I could tell, and it annoyed me. Or she wouldn't listen to me when I told her to do something and I'd get mad. But that house is going to be so quiet and weird without either of them...Cooper's loss left a huge hole, and Desi's is going to leave a crater. It's making *me* cry--so I can't imagine how my bosses are feeling right now, having had Des for about 10 years and Cooper for 6. They were their babies before A was even a possibility in their minds.

RIP Cooper, aka "Ugly Bastahd" and Desiree, aka "Hooker Bitch". You were loved and you'll be missed...even by me.

Oh what a difference a month/week/day makes...

A is smack in the middle of the age range that I prefer to work with right now...because every single day is a new discovery. From one day to the next, a new sound or "word" could be added to his vocabulary. Every week he seems to be able to point to a new body part (he can now do "belly" and we're working on "bum-bum" lol). Every month he's like a totally different child! 

Newest super-cute things:

-he likes to back up and sit on things. This can be anything from your lap, to his mini-couch, to your legs that are sticking out when you're sitting on the couch (warning! this is likely to result in a bang and tears!), to his father's head. Don't lie/sit down on the floor around this kid unless you are prepared to be sat upon! It's super cute, though, especially when we're out at playgroup or story time and he's running around and then all of a sudden here comes his little butt plopping in my lap. 

-he's been repeating two-syllable "words" recently. One day it was boyga--boygaboygaboyGAboygaBOyga over and over, to himself, no meaning, just for the heck of it. Another day it was maminaminaminamamamina. Hopefully one of these days he'll get NaNa (me) and Mama! He still says Dada for most things...typical. 

-I swear I've heard him singing! One time this past week he was playing independently as always, and he made a whole bunch of different sounds (not repeating ones like i said above) and in different tones. Nothing recognizable but who knows! Also one day last week I swear he was beat boxing. He was going "puhpsssspuh" etc, rhythmically. He could be the next CeeLo, like in that 7Up commercial! He LOVES when we do one of the Music Together songs that is basically just Bah said in different rhythm patterns. For two non-musical people, A's parents are sure doing a good job of raising a kid who loves music :-)

NOT cute in this past month--A's first ear infection. Poor thing. His first real fever, too. He's had a runny nose for over a month, it seems like, and then two weeks ago started running a fever. L took him to the doctor, and yup, ear infection. He seemed to get a little better, but still had the rivers/bubbles of snot (sorry!) and general crankiness, so this past Wednesday L took him to the doctor AGAIN, and the infection still wasn't cleared up. They got him a stronger antibiotic, so hopefully he'll be back to normal soon. Sick Bubba = sad bubba :-( It also doesn't help that he's been getting some of his incisor teeth, and L doesn't like giving Tylenol for anything that's not a fever, so there's that pain too. On Weds I picked up some Hyland's teething tablets for him, which hopefully will help--I've known lots of moms who swear by them. 

It's been a long, long weekend without my Bubba, and I can't wait to see what's different tomorrow!

14 months!

Bubbaloo is 14 months old today! And oh, the changes...just this last week or two, two more teeth and another about to pop, he's walking more confidently every day...and!

A's receptive language--understanding what we say--has just been growing by leaps and bounds this week. Like, I said, "Go find NaNa's bag!" at the end of baby gym to get him away from the balls, and whaddaya know? He zoomed right across the entire gym to get to my purse. He can also identify nose, hair, and toes--i even witnessed him respond to the TV saying "hair" by touching his own! And he also is awesome at putting things *in* a receptacle rather than only taking them out...which is a big skill! He helps clean up the balls at baby gym and put them in the bucket, and he will happily drop his paci into the crib when i get him up from naps if i tell him to. He's even starting to understand that NO means NO...although we're still working on that one!

Basically, every day he is getting more and more towards being a little PERSON interacting with the world, not a baby just observing and being cared for, but a BOY.

I love it :-D

Oops. Long time no write!

So yeah, A is 13.5 months old and walking now. Increasingly steadily too! He's even starting to walk with his hands down by his sides. WHEN DID MY BABY GET REPLACED BY A BOY????

Let's see. He's got three teeth, with the fourth well on it's way to breaking through. So cute...just don't put your hands anywhere near his mouth. Just in case you were thinking about it. OW.

Still no concrete words except his dog's name, which is recognizable but not 100% correct. Very cute though! He even calls big stuffed teddy bears by the same name. Aw. However, he CAN correctly point to Mama's Nose, Shaina's Nose, and A's Hair. It's adorable. And today his mom showed me that, if you hand him his comb, he will "comb" his hair.

We're down to one nap...it seems for good. Which is NOT good. because he's not really taking a LONG nap, just one 1-2 hour one. Tried pushing the nap to 11am today, but he only slept for an hour! And then would NOT go down later even though his eyes were drooping and i spent 20 minutes hanging over the edge of his crib patting his back. GRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Food situation is still a bit in flux. Trying to figure out what works best, what he needs, is he getting his vitamins...and almost every day his mom tells me, oh he loved X for dinner! And then i make it for lunch and he acts like i'm poisioning him. UGH. Although, he did eat pretty well for lunch today--he's eating peanut butter now! No allergies yet for this preemie :-D And he will eat almost anything from a spoon, although sometimes I have to distract him with a toy to get him to eat. This week he's had a cold, too, which makes eating even more of a pain for him and thus for me. No fun.

Hmmmmm what else is new. Oh yeah. Clingy McClingypants. This totally varies, but lately A has been reeeeally clingy. To his mom when she's at home, to me when strangers are around, to me when he's tired/hungry, etc. It is kind of adorable when he hides his face in my legs, but it makes it awfully hard to walk!

Ok i think that's all for now.

OMGOMGOMGOMG

Super-quick post! Today while I was there, A learned to stand by himself from a "bear crawl" position. It was amazing. Luckily L was there to witness.

And then.

And then.

A few hours after I get home, I get a text: "A Just walked across the kitchen floor!"

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG MY BABY IS WALKING!!!!!!

I can't wait for tomorrow to see this for myself :-D I am *so* glad that he did it with his parents first, though, because that solves my potential dilemma of whether to tell if i saw it first :-P

WHEEE!