More Vacation Pics

Maybe because it's starting to feel like fall...here are some more pictures of Andy in tropical weather:




Did I mention that the little man is now sleeping through the night?

He's delighting us with his sense of humor. One of his favorite games is to duck behind the coffee table, or under a blanket, and wait for us to say "where's Andy?" He'll giggle uproariously, but stay tucked away for a moment or two, then pop up: "Here I am!! Gosh, you guys are gullable!" And he'll laugh and laugh some more.

Changes

I love this picture of Andy and his cousin Nicholas at Felton's New Leaf pumpkin patch:

Nicholas is really sweet with Andy, wanting to push his stroller and play Brio trains with him. In turn, Andy adores Nicholas.

It seems as soon as Andy turned one, he began to develop a will of his own. It's no longer so simple to distract him from things he wants that are dangerous or disgusting (scissors, my hot coffee, the garbage can). He immediately throws himself into a back bend, screaching at the top of his lungs, throwing away the toy or juice that we offer as a consolation prize.

Last week, Andy came into my classroom for a brief visit. He went right for our reward jar full of marbles, so I moved it just out of his reach. He launched right into one of his tantrums. The first graders were wide-eyed in disbelief. How could Mrs. Matessa's child be so naughty? Why didn't she give him a time-out or have him turn his card?

I feel rather helpless in the face of these tantrums. Reading a few books on toddler discipline has given me some strategies. But mostly it reassures me that this is totally normal behavior.

Still, does it have to happen so soon? Where'd my baby go?

Feeling Better

Memories of my vacation to Hawaii are fading into the mist, replaced by memories of being violently, miserably sick. I had two revelations during my bout with food poisoning: so this is what it's like to die, and most of the time, I'm a pretty good mom.

Last Thursday, I thought that Andy might as well have a mother addicted to crack. I was completely unable to take care of him. Luckily, it was just for a morning, until my mom came to the rescue.

I woke up so delirious that I did the unthinkable: took a slice of bread and crackers back into bed, and let Andy have at 'em. He crawled all over the bed, happily munching. I kept waking from my fever induced haze to find some corner of the bed free from crumbs, so that I could curl into a fetal position and shiver. When every inch of the bed was covered in crumbs, it was time to move to the couch.

I plopped Andy down in the middle of the living room, and collapsed onto the sofa. Wouldn't you think this was his golden opportunity to crawl to the toilet, the fireplace, or some other forbidden zone? No, he stood right by me on the couch and screamed at me in his diaper. Get up, mom! What's wrong with you? I have a massive load in here! Can't you see I haven't had a proper breakfast? Play with me!

And I'm thinking, come on kid, here's your chance to finally break the DVD player.

It finally occurred to me that the day was not going to get better. I called my mom at work, and she instantly agreed to come over. Thank God we live so close and she was able to save the day.

When my illness progressed to running to the bathroom with the garbage can, Mike took me to the doctor. I started antibiotics and was better by Sunday. I was really, really bummed to miss my good friend Bernadette's wedding reception on Saturday.

I realize that most of the time, I take my good health for granted.

Back from Paradise

It's been an adjustment.

Siobhan wrote she hoped I didn't cry when l left Hawaii, like she did. Well, I didn't cry, but I haven't ever been as sad to leave a place.

Here are some of my favorite pics:






And one more, lest anyone think it's all smiles in Hawaii:

Hawaii

Back when I was a pimply-faced preteen, and much too old to be playing imaginary games, I liked to pretend that I was going to Hawaii. Cassandra liked to pretend this, too, so we invented a game called "Hawaii". The game consisted of us taking turns talking to our "boyfriends" on a disconnected phone about our plans for the trip. After about fifteen minutes, we'd look at each other sheepishly, and end the game. But we'd inevitably play "Hawaii" the next time we got together.

About five years ago, Cassandra traveled to Hawaii for the first time. Now, it's finally my turn to go! Mike, Andy, my parents and I leave Friday for a week on the Big Island. (Will a real life family be more fun than an imaginary boyfriend? Hmmmm...I'll see!)

We'll stay in Kona for five days, right across from Kahalu'u beach. Our guidebook calls this beach a "real gem", and "one of the nicer snorkeling spots on the island". Andy, get your mask and fins on!! Kona, here we come!

After Kona, we'll drive to the other side of the island, and stay near Volcanoes National Park. We're hoping we'll see some lava flows while we're there. The pictures of the glowing lava in the guidebook are spectacular. Andy can't get enough of the photographs, either. My mom was impressed to see him turning the pages of the guidebook, as if he were helping to plan our trip. I'd like to visit this black sand beach, mother .

To survive the five hour plane trip there and back, I've combed the collective wisdom of the Mountain View Las Madres play group. The most helpful advice has been to stock up on Baby Einstein and Elmo DVDs. The only thing I'm left to wonder is, did their babies actually wear earphones? Or did they just turn on the speakers on the laptop, figuring other passengers would rather hear Elmo babble than their baby scream the entire time?

Birthday Boy

Here is the newborn Andy, one year ago:

And yesterday, happy at last, with his toys:

The tired birthday prince, ready for a nap:


Blogger takes too long to load multiple photos, so I'm giving Flickr a try. Come and see more pictures of Andy's first birthday party, by clicking here. Thanks, Keidi, for taking the pics yesterday!