5 days of Indoor Time

i may sound like a broken record, but i honestly have to beef...whenever it's my day's off, it's always raining! This week was a lot of indoor time because my husband was away and took the car, Strong Start had a professional day, and it was cold. lets just say; we bonded, im tired, im looking forward to work today. Of course on this fine weekend, the weather is nice and my husband and Max are off doing their thing basking in the glory of what is now June (i know, i can't believe it either). What do you do on rainy days?

Max is obssessed at a stage where he loves trucks, motorcycles, just large vehicles. We are close to a busy street so there are always big rigs, cement trucks, and whatever type of construction related vehicles passing by. It's pretty cute when he's always pointing and doing his "ahhh ahhh ahh!!" whenever a big vehicle passes by. naturally, it's not that cute when the rumble of the engines (and stupid air brakes) just perk him right up when I'm trying to woo him to sleep. is it me or whenever sleep is near the noisiest rig just happens to pass by?!? i picked up a touch and feel book that had trucks in it...he gets a daily fix, multiple times a day, over and over again (phew). this is his fav book right now: for the big rig lover.

 ^^ hey look, i can throw the ball at you! ^^

^^ first juice experience! ^^

we had a few milestone moments this week. or rather i just had plenty of hey he can do this? type of moments. now he's tossing things over his head and on the ground for fun, the many balls that have accumulated in our apartment all these months are getting their fair share of bounce time and he's got a pretty good arm! sometimes when he's really trying to go for a long shot, he ends up dropping it behind his head and it land behind him instead of going forwards! so Cute! Secondly, i gave Max his first juice experience this week as mamma needed to cook food and baby needed to be distracted! he honestly sat in the corner and drank his apple juice without too much of a spill. I just love the way his little hands are gripping the box and his expression oozing, hmmm..this is different but this is yummy!

^^ sweeping the balcony, yes! ^^

^^ oh and i also taught him how to clean up after himself. trust me, he loves doing this! ^^

^^ by the end of the week, he was missing daddy. 

i think this was his way of asking me where he was at! ^^

it was a long week. even though i love hearing Max's babbles (see video) and ways of expressing himself, i do enjoy adult conversations more so than not! 

hope you had a great week! 

Right and Wrong. Wakeup Parent!

photo credit

We've been taking Max to Strong Start oh for about 2 months now and yes, for the majority of the time he is there things are well, he is thriving, and having a lot of f-u-n! When Gene tells me how their school days go, there are always stories that include unruly kids who are CRAZY  need a time out and it makes me laugh. However, more often than not Gene tells me about kids who have picked on Max and this just makes me want to blow a gasket!

Ok, so kids will be kids and kids of the 0-5 age don't always know any better. I never hold it against the child per say, but i honestly feel a surge of heat and visualize an act of verbal assaults (directed at the parent) when i see/hear the parents are either absent (too busy gossiping with other parents), just let things go without telling the kid what they're doing is right or wrong and thus not correct them, or just present physically but too busy on their mobiles to even know WTF is happening. 

• mom is too busy chatting with her people and thus too busy to notice that her crazy son is terrorizing other kids (kicking toys, tackling other kids, running around like a mad person and creating hazards for the already over populated room)
• the one f'n toy that Max is playing with, a kid rips it out of his hand and takes off (mom does nothing) - this happens one too many times 
• Max (13 months) is in the way of a kid (over 2 y/o) who wants to pass him, so the kid slaps Max on the chest or pushes him out of the way
• Max is playing and having fun walking around, so a kid gets a pillow and shoves him "gently" to the ground

My blood is boiling. Max is one of the smaller and younger kids in the group, he is definitely vulnerable. What does Gene do when he sees these things? Fortunately, he's more in a state of calmness and will talk gently to the kid (or at least this is the story I get). When I see these things, I also say something in the realms of "be careful, he's a baby" or "Dont ________," sometimes the parent/guardian is present and right then and there we 2 adults 2 kids talk and settle. Again, other times....ARGH, i just end up giving the mom the evil eye as they're doing NOTHING. I cant believe the makings of a bully (and even the presence of bullies) start at these tender ages! 

What should I do with these parents when they're not to be found? Im really inclined to say something snarky and condescending when i see trends in behavior and lack of parenting follow up. There really isnt a relationship with these women that i would be sorry to lose, but the peace keeper that i am i just dont want to start stuff up! I just want to protect my child, prevent my son from learning/adopting such behavior, and prevent these kids from becoming news headlines in the future!

When I See Parents Not Paying Attention To Their Misbehaving Kid(s)

Little Man is 5 months!

My little man is 5 months old now! Woot!

So many changes in him that it's hard to name each one...hmmm..

• the eczema has i think migrated to his scalp...so he's been drawing blood every now and then when he's scratching his head. he loves doing this when he's very frustrated, really wants to sleep and i haven't clued in, and even in his sleep. it's particularly localized on the left side of his head so he sleeps with a sock on that hand
• eyes are grey brown
• awesome double chin which sadly is pooling a lot of the spit up so he's got a rash under there despite my vigilance in keeping the site dry. i've been putting a lot of cornstarch lately to keep the moisture down
• i don't know how to describe it but he just seems bigger, solid, firmer this month. clothes he wore last week, don't really fit this week...one of those type of changes before my very eyes. i thought it was laundry shrinkage but they've been washed so many times and the collar on some of the clothes are like mid sternum area and the snaps at the bottom of his onesies are kind of hard to connect! still in 3-6 month clothing though, but realistically on the top end of that spectrum
• he loves chewing on his hands, and definitely are now a source of comfort though it doesn't always pull through. when he's crying, i see those fingers go in his mouth instantly. at night, i hear sucking sounds at times
• i think he's in the preliminary stage of becoming a full fledged thumb sucker. i saw that the thumb in his mouth last night. it was cute, i didn't stop him
• he had a stage of doing high pitched squeals which i loved, but that only lasted a couple of weeks
• he finally has taken to the rainforest Jumperoo. he spins around in it discovering all the toys, and jumps like crazy. he no longer needs my nursing textbook under him to reach the ground, but still needs a little height as his toes to mid foot are solidly on the floor. i think it's bad though to jump on tip toes right? can't be good for feet development
• still loving the jolly jumper, still on link 8, and less puking when on it
• not spitting up as much
• hasn't rolled from back to belly but very close. still temperamental when rolling from belly to back
• i think he likes tummy time, he can stay in that position for over 10 minutes playing with his toys
• definitely grasping at stuff (like my hair) and can hold on to his toys 
• so easily distracted while breastfeeding, i have to go into a quiet semi-darkened room when feeding. doesn't feed as well when I'm in the mall using a nursing cover, but enough to last an hour or so
• sleep ....separate post
• giggles are here and it's easier to get them out of him but again, whats funny last hour isn't always funny the next hour
• doesn't stay asleep long in his carseat anymore...once motion stops, he's awake (boo)
• when in crib or bed, he lifts his legs up in the air and slams them on the mattress multiple multiple times
• even though he still turns his head side to side often, his bald spot is improving, flat spot not getting worse
• #3 diapers in the next two weeks!

next month food!

Full plate

Ok so our crazy DIY renos finished yesterday! With the exception of insults thrown back and forth, Gene and I survived yet another project. If you really want a true test of your relationship, honestly, do a renovation! We have done plenty before but now with time not on our side and 1/2 a helper (me) cuz of baby...boy oh boy! I don't know how couples can say they "love it"- they're either just always on the same mind path (that's just swell), or one is always the boss or yes man, or they actually are just choosing what needs to be done vs. having to actually do the work and be stuck together for long periods of time in cramped messy quarters! Ok, enough rambling hehe


Poor little Max is experiencing a large outbreak of eczema. I think I saw patches here and there about a week and a half ago but I think I woke up and was like "WTF is that rash on his face?" It is reddened, some parts pimply looking some are more clustered, down both sides of his cheeks like sideburns, around eyebrows and some on eyelids, all over forehead and temple area extending to scalp. I'm not sure if he is itchy but it looks itchy. He isn't scratching per say but rubbing his eyes and usual face rubs like before. Hmmmm....not sure what caused it as with most eczema cases:

Did I use too much heat and dried out his skin?
Was it because of his immature immune system?
Were we wearing something that caused this?
Did he rub his face on our clothing that had crud on it from renos?


Did I eat something wrong? Am I eating something wrong?

So many questions not enough answers! Currently prescribed some steroid cream but I didn't fill the rx. Seeing how aveeno eczema will affect this...

Why hello!

Well for those wondering where we are at, we have been DIY renovating. Let's just say baby and renovations do not mix well hahah! It seriously doubles the proposed time frame...I personally can't do anything until Max naps. I feel bad for Gene's back!
More blogging at a later time, we are almost done!