13 & 14 Months

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

This afternoon, blankie #3 arrived in the mail! Blankie #1 is on the shelf enjoying retirement now.

I missed the 13 month update when we in Vermont last month so this will have to cover 2 months so I apologize for my lack of brevity. So, Ike is a TODDLER- yes, I know it is nuts! We went for his check-up and the dr referred to him as a toddler twice and when Harcourt and I left we said to each other... "did you hear him call him a toddler!". How can our little baby boy go from 8lbs 6ozs of squishy baby to a TODDLER in just 14 months!!!

Ike is 100% walking/running now and he is pretty steady but takes his fair share of spills. His forehead has been a variety of shades of green/yellow for the last 2 weeks. In one week, I got 2 incident reports from school.... "Ike fell into the table"..."Ike fell into the door"...I think he pays more attention chasing his friends than watching where he is going. This afternoon we had another first- he walked while holding onto my hand all the way from the driveway to the back of the house along the stone path. For some reason, that just seemed like a big deal to me.

Ike's ability to communicate or mainly understand what we are saying has been the biggest milestone in the last 2 months. Even though the conversations are mainly 1 sided, Ike seems to be able to tell you exactly what he wants with his facial expressions, grunts and finger pointing. I find myself talking to him all the time now and it is so cool that he will do what I say or give me a reaction that is totally spot on. During storytime at night, he will point to things in the books like the sun, kitty cat, dog, fish etc. He is not spouting out real words yet but I don't think it will be long.

Ike is eating more variety- he loves turkey, sunbutter sandwiches, mixed veggies and wheat chex cereal to name a few while he still loves cheese or any dairy product really, grilled cheese, pancakes, french toast and any fruit. Lately, he must be going through a growth spurt as he is eating like a machine.

Thankfully, in the past few weeks he is finally returning to his "old self" after many weeks of traveling, horrible teething and being sick. Even Harcourt noted the change in his personality when he got back from Florida- he was back to the fun and happy little guy we knew way back in early December. Speaking of teething, in the last month+ he has been cutting 12 new teeth including his molars and canines!! OUCH YOWSA! Thank goodness for Motrin!

Oh and we are working on Ike's long running pattern of early rising- it started to get ridiculous at 4:45am! I hit the wall when 2 weekends ago we were dressed and downstairs eating pancakes by 5:40 ON A SUNDAY- AHH! We decided to regain our position as alpha parents and we have been "morning Ferberizing" for the last week and we are seeing great results (fingers and toes crosesd). He is down at 7:30 and the past 3 mornings he has woken up at 6:10-6:40. It isn't a fun process but we needed to regain some sleep sanity and he seems to be happy for it too.

Until next month :-)

Winter Play

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Ike, Harcourt and I went to a new playspace in Old Saybrook right next to Bing's shop- we had a great time and we are glad to have a nice, fun place to go get out some energy in the winter. He is simply fascinated by watching all the older kids run and play. Ike's favorite thing was the real school bus that they have inside with a wheel complete with blinkers and switches- what could be better!
Key West Update: The Savasna ended up a respectable 4th in the regatta. The final day didn't prove to be as victorious as they had hoped... a broken part and slow boat speed seemed to be the reasons. Nonetheless, Harcourt has a nice tan and had a very fun time!

The Race to the Finish

Friday, January 25, 2008

The breeze filled in yesterday at noon time and they got 2 races off- the Savasna came in with a 5, 2 finishes and they are still holding in 2nd place with 15pts total. The boat in first place is there nemesis, Masquerade, with 8 pts total. They headed out early this morning to get 3 races off before the 2:30pm start cut-off. Harcourt has high hopes that they can claim victory today.

Back home on Podunk Ike and I are excited for Daddy to come home tonight!! We are in the groove of the Mama and Ike show after 8 days and we have enjoyed good times with all of our friends to pass the time outside of work/school. It is amazing how we all come together to fight the dark and cold duldrums of winter.

I found this cool pic online of the "stacked" dockside activities at Race Week- I have never been down there but from what I hear the sailors and boats take over the island!

Dog Waiter

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The dogs have started to like Ike more and more. Ike has figured out that we get dog food from the black bin and then take it to their bowls and then the dogs are all happy. Night before last I hear this "tink, tink" noise and I look over and Ike is carefully depositing 2 kibbles into Nilla's bowl! He is now able to open the bin himself so when I wasn't looking he thought he would give Nilla treat. Now, the dogs are on to him so they just stand next to the bin. These are a few pics from tonight's dinner time. Good thing it is weight maintenance dog food!!!

Weekend with Dean

Dean and his friend Chadwick came to town this past weekend to visit and keep us company. It was bitter cold but we needed some fresh air on Saturday so we took a quick trip to Jacobs Beach playground. Other than that, we enjoyed some cooking, movies and anything we could do to entertain Ike. Ike was a little grumpy because he is working on getting in 8 teeth at once- 4 molars and 4 next to the molars (not up on my dental terms). Thanks Dean for coming!!!!

Thinking of a Happy Place

Friday, January 18, 2008

Well this year confirms it- January is my LEAST favorite month of the year! Today is the 18th and I think there has maybe been 1-2 days where all 3 of us have been well. Ike and I are on round 2 of antibiotics and we successfully made it through the stomach bug which got all 3 of us within 3 days (Harcourt and I had it at the same time)! I have decided that next year we are renting a hut in the Caribbean for the month of January to avoid all of these New England germs! I wish!

Can't you just feel that warm sand in your toes!!!

As Harcourt left this house 4am this morning to catch a flight to Key West for the next week I decided that I am going to just imagine myself (& Ike) being in a happier and warmer place. My favorite spot on earth is Sandy Cay, BVI's. We have been to this island on our honeymoon and then again on the Sawyer Family BVI cruise summer before last. It is this amazing little beach spot with the softest sand and clearest water... ahhh! 14 days and counting until February!

A BIG day!

Monday, January 07, 2008

Ike is officially becoming a BIG boy. He went back to school today after being out 3+ weeks from vacation and then sickness. Things looked a little different in the room as 1/2 the cribs are gone since they are working on transitioning the older kids (>1) onto little cots so they will be ready for the Waddler room this summer. Today was Ike's first day on the cot and he did super- a record 2hr 45 min nap this morning!!
Then he got to eat lunch at the new red lunch/activity table instead of the high chair (his buddy, Hunter, grins in the background). We are so impressed with his teacher, Ms. Terry, and her amazing ability to work with these little ones. Terry also told me that he refused his ham & cheese and would only eat his veggies- who would have thought... this is the same kid that would spit out any veggie for last 6+ months and now all of a sudden he loves them!

Slow Start

Sunday, January 06, 2008

We had a not so healthy start to 2008. Ike and I were overcome with conjunctivitis, double ear infections, bronchitis and scary high fevers but thanks to a wonderful pediatrician and internist we are back on the page! I must say that being sick and taking care of a very sick child was one of the more challenging experiences in the past 13 months. Tomorrow we will get back to the routine of school and work- I think Ike has really missed his teachers and friends at school!

First Tracks

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

On the rope tow

(Footnote from Kerry: This is not as dangerous as it looks...Harcourt hiked up the bottom part of the bunny hill by the lodge in an area that was not crowded and skied down. It was actually a blast to wathc them both so excited!)