A Crappy Day

Henry has REALLY bad diaper rash. Actually, it is a yeast infection. Boys can get them. Who knew? So in addition to Nystatin cream for it, the doctor has suggested letting him be naked for as much as possible so his heiny can air out. So I put a shower curtain on the floor and then covered it with a blanket. Within about ten minutes of playing, he peed. So I went to work to quickly change out the blanket. While I was concentrating on this, Henry was concentrating on something else. He pooped on the shower curtain and then proceeded to roll around in it. What fun for mommy! So while I am trying to clean up the poo from the shower curtain and stop him from further poopification, I was also trying not to get any on myself as I'd just showered. (Of course--Henry's timing is impeccable!) I was careful and did not get any poo on myself. However, later in the day, I couldn't figure out why Henry's room still stank of poopy. I'd cleaned everything up...or did I? When carrying Henry into his room to clean him up and change him (and reapply a diaper!) I'd accidentally gotten poop on the wall. All over it.

So I had to clean up a lot of crap today.

Leave it to the Swedes...

Henry in his beautiful new Svan High Chair

Leave it to the Swedes to make a beautiful high chair that is so complicated to put together that it comes with an instructional DVD. Actually, because of the DVD, it was relatively simple to put together. Henry is happy that he received his Christmas present from his Gigi and Papa early as he bucks out of his Bumbo seat when I feed him in it. Also, he now enjoys peaches, sweet potatoes, and green beans. But his favorite is still fresh bananas mashed up.

"Hey Mom, I thought you said there was going to be treats in this thing?"

Do they make baby cages?

I am wanting some sort of cage to put my son in. Not a small cage, mind you, but definitely something that will contain him. Despite my trying to thwart his mobility, he seems determined to move around. He crawls like he is a soldier in the jungle. He doesn't yet lift his tummy off of the floor and so continues to give himself rug burn on his face. He also rolls around a lot. I seem to remember some oldies song "Roll With Me Henry"--and I sing it to him, but really, I just wish he would stay where I put him at least until I finish using the potty. So we have made a trip to the store and bought all of those tacky plastic thingys you put in sockets and annoying latches for our kitchen cabinets. I have tried to trap him in the dining room that has evolved into his playroom (seeing as we no longer have the dining room table set up) by lining up pillows as he has yet to figure out how to go over them. He has, however, managed to squeeze through them. They also tick him off. I'll put him on the floor with his toys and then go to sew. He'll see me and start grunting when he gets to the body pillow and can't move. So he'll start kicking and grunting just to say, "Mom, you're really crampin' my style with this containment thing." I guess I'll have to break down and buy some sort of baby gate system.

Henry is also a bit grabby hands. We went to a Christmas Party last Friday night and I can definitely say that he was the most popular guy there with all of the ladies. He likes them a lot older than him. At one point, Sloan approached me asking, "Umm, where is our son?" I looked around, having not seen him in about ten minutes, and said, "Oh--he's over there. Being held by that woman I've never seen before in my life." He was passed around like a beach ball at a Jimmy Buffet concert. By the end of the night, he had broken two necklaces, untied two ladies' wrap dresses, and successfully felt up almost every woman at the party. He loves anything V-neck--it provides him with a little pocket to stick his chubby hand in and giggle. As we left, I told his Auntie Robin (whose party is was), "Yeah, I figure once your son has gone to second on every girl in the room it is time to go." What can I say? He is a man after his dad's own heart...

Skateboarding with Santa

Sloan thinks Henry looks like a stoner in his Christmas card picture because his eyes have that "I just had a bottle and I'm happy" glaze and his vans. I like to call them his Tony Hawk shoes. I feel bad that his jeans rode up and his little chubbers of legs showed, but he keeps growing out of things too fast for me to keep up. These overalls are 12 months and they look like capri pants.

I have also discovered that Henry loves to play with blocks and only feigns laziness with Mom and Dad at home. Usually, after a couple of minutes of sitting up, he'll roll to one side or flop on his back. I thought it was just that he wasn't strong enough yet to keep sitting up. Yesterday I babysat for a family I used to work for and their children were building him towers with blocks for him and their one year old, Quinn, to knock over. Henry sat up for about thirty minutes. That little bugger! So he is strong enough to sit up when it suits him!!! What was I expecting--he is a man.

Reasons I'll Never Be Mom of the Year

1. I made a toy for my son after taking an Ambien. (However, it does seem to be his favorite toy. Loads of ribbons on a key chain.)

2. On Tuesday, my son almost choked on the aforementioned Ambien Toy. There is a piece of green rick rack on it that was lodged in his throat. I was working and I heard this hacking coming from his pack and play. Sure enough, I had to pull the rick rack out of his mouth. Remember when you used to swallow spaghetti and then pull the noodle back out? This is what it was like. Note to self, the Ambien toy, despite its catchy name, is not a sleepy time toy.

3. On Wednesday, I let my son roll off the couch and onto the floor. I was getting ready to feed him and had left his burp pad in the kitchen. As soon as grabbed the burp pad I heard a thud, then a pause, and then blood curdling screams. After many cuddles, he calmed down and took his bottle. There were no bumps or bruises.

4. When taking him to see Santa yesterday, I accidentally dropped his coat in the mall and then later could not find it. I'm guessing it was stolen as there is only about 5 minutes time in which the coat's where abouts cannot be accounted.

5. I'm forcing my son to take an extra nap today so that he can stay up late tonight and go with us to a friend's Christmas party.

Obsession, Sadness, and Manliness

For starters, it has come to my attention that I may have a sickness. Well, let's call it an obsession. To my son. Is it unhealthy? I'm beginning to wonder. I have changed the lyrics to the Sound of Music's "My Favorite Things" to include items like "Henry's cuddles," "Henry's brown eyes with really long lashes," and "kisses from Henry." I've started a fan club network on Facebook. And then there is this blog. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too Henry-obsessed and if I'm putting an undue burden on my son to be cute or adorable. But then I remember that all Henry has to do is breathe to get my love and then I'm okay. I'm just a first time Mommy. And it is hard to be humble when your son is so friggin' cute. Look at him ready to go run errands in the snow.

I'm also a bit sad lately. I'm really tired of the writers strike. There are no more new "How I Met Your Mothers" and I'm having of bit of Barney withdrawal. Sloan saying "What Up?" or us having "Slapsgiving" doesn't help. It only makes me miss Neil Patrick Harris all the more. And they ended the season of Heroes prematurely. And Scrubs' last season may be cut prematurely too. The only thing keeping me happy on TV is that Guiding Light is still going strong and Project Runway has started up its new season--and there are, once again, a great bunch of crazies and marys to enjoy. What am I supposed to TiVo now?

And I'm sad because I no longer sleep with Baby P. I have passed on the teddy bear to Henry and he seems to enjoy that it smells like Mommy. (I'm laughing right now as I type because Henry is in his exersaucer grunting and red faced--must be making a present in his pants for Mommy. What joy!) I now sleep with my teddy bear Magee from high school. Yes, I'm 30 and sleep with a teddy bear. What of it?! I also delight at Kabuto's when they sing me the Japaneses happy song for my birthday. Yippee Me! But I am very proud to say that my son is manly. He had his follow up flu-booster shot this morning and he didn't even flinch. So we went to get a Gingerbread Latte at Starbucks to celebrate! It is also Henry's first snow--which he seems to be perplexed by. But isn't he cute all bundled up?