Utensils

Scrumpy's fascination with eating utensils has taken off! He enjoys using spoons and forks, even if his precision isn't quite there. I think he just wants to be a "big boy". Here he is, enjoying with gusto a satisfying bowl of noodles.

Some things never change

I think he and Santa just aren't best of buddies. Never have been, probably never will. Is it just us or does he look like he's doing Kung Fu?

Habitot of Fun!

There is this wonderful children's museum in Berkeley geared towards toddlers, Habitot. There is a water area, a crawling area, grocery store, rocket ship, face painting station and art room. They encourage exploration of all the senses. It is a shame Scrumpy's parents are so old because if it were up to him, he could have spent the entire day there! Alas, his parents could only do a couple of hours. His favorite areas? The water area (they had cars you could wash) and the art room. Note Gramma: all the teachers complimented us on allowing him to really explore with the NON-TOXIC, WATER SOLUBLE paint, because not all parents are that progressive. Thank goodness we had extra clothes!
Washing the car

Playing with the water tower

Examining the Crawling Area

Getting Ready for Liftoff!

What are face paint crayons?

Sunday night football is here baby!

By far, his favorite place, the art station

We aren't really sure how he got paint on the back of his head.......

Or on his tummy when he was wearing a shirt the whole time......

I bet this is making Auntie Monks and Auntie Yaya NUTS!

Channeling Great-Grandpa Val

I don't know if I am proud or a little frightened of Scrumpy's first introduction to Mah jong. Upon first site of the table, it was like meeting a long lost friend. He very quickly learned how to shuffle tiles, and when he wasn't bulldozing, he was doing a pretty decent job of making walls. I guess you can dilute the gene pool all you want but some genes are just too strong!

ROCK THE VOTE!

This is a historical election. Make your voice heard! Take the time to vote!

Trick or Treat!

Scrumpy had several Halloween festivities this year! Livermore Downtown hosts a special evening where they close the street and all the merchants provide candy to the little ones. We had no idea how large this event was! There must have been 3,000-5,000 people walking the streets! Thank goodness we had him in a stroller otherwise, we would have surely lost him. Next year, we'll try to go early. If you plan it correctly, you can collect enough candy that you won't have to purchase additional candy to hand out!

Scrumpy (aka Blue from Blue's Clues) spent the first part of evening with his cousins, Jonathan and Alex at Nana and Papa's. After a few houses in the dark and rain, he decided he was done. Besides, Daddy took all his Reese's anyway.

He then capped off the evening at a sleepover at Gramma's house. This kid parties hard!

Pumpkin Patch and More

We started a tradition last year of taking Scrumpy to look at pumpkins. This year, we went to Moore's Pumkin Patch which not only had a selection of pumpkins, but also had trains and merry-go-rounds.Scrumpy enjoyed sitting in the wagon, probably because it reminds him of his red wagon Auntie Michelle gave him for his birthday. He was okay about the merry-go-round. He didn't care for the horses and the up-and-down motion, but he was very content to sit with Daddy on the bench. However, his favorite thing ever was the train ride! I guess there is something programmed with boys that make trains the best things ever!

We just got a letter!

Here's the mail,

It never fails,

Makes me want to wag my tail.

When it comes,

I wanna wail...

MAAAAIL!

Haircut

Eight weeks after his first haircut, we noticed that he was starting to look a little shabby. As Mama already uses Daddy's "haircut allowance" to maintain her locks, we seriously had a debate on whether it was cost effective to get his hair trimmed so frequently. We decided to try cutting his hair at home like Daddy does. Well, let's just say, it isn't as easy to cut a wiggly one!! We had to keep cutting it shorter and shorter to "even it out". Even when we were done, Becca, his teacher, had to fix it on Monday. He looks like a little army boy, no longer a baby. The jury is still out on his new look. His head is soft and fuzzy, but he just looks so old. Oh well, in three to four weeks, he should be back to the Scrumpy we know and love!

My girlfriend

Josie and Scrumpy

Meet my girlfriend Josie. She isn't officially my girlfriend, but we really do have a lot of things in common. I went over to her house to play this weekend, ( under the guise of meeting her new baby brother) and found that she has many of the same interests I do! She has a Ramon, a xylophone, a v-tech laptop, a leap frog play table, a spinning top, and a "lawn mower"...it was like being at home, only everything was pink. Not only that, she LOVES wheat thins almost as much as I do!

Hugs not drugs

She only has two downfalls. Number One, she lives too far away. Number Two, if she follows the footsteps of her mom, she'll be going to Stanford and well...we all know I'm going to CAL. But I guess you can't win them all.

Playground

We discovered that the playground is a WONDERFUL thing! Here, Scrumpy can run around for a good hour or so and really work out his energy. One of his favorite things to do is climb UP the slide. We don't have the heart to tell him he is going against the grain. He loves the sand pit and of course, the swings. He can run in circles until he falls down from dizziness. No wonder he can eat so many carbs and truly not look like he's gained any weight. Our only challenge with him is that he wants to do everything by himself and unfortunately his is still too small, and quite frankly not that coordinated. It will happen soon though, sooner than we know it. Until then, we will continue to use the playground to help us survive the evening hours.Playing with Daddy in the Sand Pit

Trying to climb the jungle gym

So proud of himself!

Scrumpy vs. the Pacific Ocean

Well...I go in waves apparently. Some weeks I am really good and others, not so much. I have a few entries to catch up on, so here we go!

It has been a very hot September! One Saturday, we woke up at 6am to 75 degree weather. It was clear that we needed to move towards cooler climate, less some of us got too cranky from the heat.

We spent the day at the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco. On Saturdays, there is a great farmer's market with fruits, veggies, nuts, and lots of food vendors. Scumpy loved all the people watching, especially when we let him loose to run up and down the Plaza! After walking around the Ferry Plaza, we went across the street to the lawn so he could run up and down the hills. This was our feeble attempt at making him tired. Not so sure it worked.

We grabbed lunch and by 2pm, it was about 85 degrees in San Francisco. I was cringing at the thought of what it was like in Livermore if it was 85 in the city. What do you do when faced with that dilemma? Keep going WEST!

We took highway 1 to Half Moon Bay. After strolling around a bit, we headed toward the beach for Scrumpy's first foray into the Pacific Ocean. This was an unexpected trip to the beach, so we were not prepared. No sand toys, no towels, nothing. It didn't seem to phase Scrumpy as he thoroughly enjoyed using his sandal for a toy!

The ocean was another story. Patrick tried to get him into the water, he loves taking baths, but he was not amused, intrigued, thrilled at the concept of all the cold rushing water at his feet. He must have abs of steel because he lifted his lower body up and kept it raised for quite some time, trying to avoid the water!

Overall, it was a great day. He saw many things, ran around, played in the sand and was traumatized by the water. Our goal was accomplished. We avoided blistering heat and got him to sleep long and deep when we got home.

Genetics

We are always told Scrumpy looks like Mama. Well maybe that's just because my features are darker. But if anyone had a doubt who his Daddy was...well there must be something in that Irish DNA. The pose is almost freaky!

Babe Magnet!

....or should I say Cougar Magnet???

Last month, Scrumpy attended a birthday party that had the coolest backyard. There was a functional train complete with western saloon scenery that passed by as you circled the tracks. Well, wouldn't you know it, there was a 2-year old little girl who was just plain smitten with Scrumpy?! Her mother kept telling us, "she loves babies." It is hard to believe the little girl thought Scrumpy was a baby when he was taller than she! Well the Cougar just HAD to sit next to him during the train ride as well as at the kiddie table when cake was being distributed. MY BOY'S GOT GAME!

Not the slightest bit afraid riding the train

Is that cake? Move over!

Beyond the little cougars, he did enjoy all the other cool parts of the party and the backyard oasis, filled with balls and toy cars. It's a shame Gilligan has taken hold of our backyard as we could maximize playtime and have him just run around in circles until he tires out.

Teething is a tough thing

My normally happy little boy goes to a dark place when teething occurs. We were hit with it all at once with his first eight teeth so we thought we would be given a short respite. It was not meant to be. For the last two weeks, he has been waking up with the most annoying "smoker's cough". Needless to say, I assumed he was asthmatic. To top it off, he started to hit his head, repeatedly. He even took one of his play bats and started hitting the side of his noggin! Now, not only does he have asthma but he's sadistic!

He went to the doctors and the doctor confirmed, yes, all symptoms due to teething. He has fluid building up, drool, etc...and most teeth migration happens at night, hence the crazy nighttime behavior. Clear lungs, clear throat, etc... The doctor did say he has several teeth budding all at once which is why the symptoms are so pronounce.

Poor guy...I guess if beating his head with a bat helps, so be it. I know I often feel like hitting my head against a wall.....

Daily Food Log

First Breakfast
Peaches
Oatmeal

Snack
6 Animal Crackers

Second Breakfast
Raspberries
Blueberries
Yogurt

Snack
Gerber Graduate Sweet Potato Puffs

Lunch
Honey berry bread
Chicken Salad
Chicken Picatta and Noodles

Snack
6 Animal Crackers
String Cheese
Cliff Organic Fruit Twist

Dinner
1/4 cup broccoli
1 /2 cup cubed tofu
miso soup
1/2 cup fried rice
2 oz chicken
several licks of ice cream

SHOTS!

It is so hard to be a little man. Part of turning "One" meant more shots. It is amazing what they will subject children to in the name of public health. He was scheduled to receive some 9 different immunizations/shots on his one year well baby visit. There was no way in good conscience that I was going to allow that to happen. After negotiating with my pediatrician, we agreed to give him 3 of the vaccines plus do a blood draw. Thankfully, the nurse who did the vaccines was very quick with the needles. She did 3 shots and band-aids all within 10 seconds! He was such a tough little dude! He cried a bit but quickly soothed himself. Little did he know about the blood draw.


Band-Aids on both arms and a thigh

Prior to the blood draw, we were waiting outside the lab and Scrumpy chose to entertain the technicians with some "dancing boy", shaking his hips from here to there. I think if he knew what was to come, he would not have been so jovial with these guys.

Okay, as a mother, this was probably the hardest thing I have had to endure. While he sat on my lap, the held his arm down. They fashioned a tourniquet, while one technician held his bicep and wrist. He then began to cry from the "restraint". Another technician did the blood draw and Scrumpy started to cry a cry I had never heard before. He was just in pain! It was heart wrenching. While he cried and cried, the technicians said it was the easiest blood draw they have ever done on a one year old. We offerred him a sugar-free lollipop, but he was so upset it took him a few seconds to realize there was a tasty treat in his mouth. Once he got a lick of that cherry goodness, it was if he forgot about the pain. They bandaged him up and we were off.

Arm bandage from blood draw

I'd like to say all the trauma was over, but alas, due to the new vaccines, Scrumpy spent the next 10 days or so having fever after fever, waking up in the middle of the night, upset and cranky. While I do not regret the immunizations, I am eternally grateful I fought to split up the vaccines. I cannot imagine how miserable he would have been if he had had to have ALL the shots they had suggested. This multiple shot mentally of the health field might be a little bit extreme. Their little bodies cannot handle assaults like that. While one mind of thought is to get it over with all at once, there is something to be said about inflicting pain little by little.

Examining the lens cap

Photo trying to put lens cap back on lens
Never fear, Scrumpy is back to being Scrumpy. It's as if the shots are a distant memory...until next time that is.

Freshly Shorn

Scrumpy Before

We have been waiting for his first birthday to come and go so that we can finally cut his hair! While he is super cute and quite honestly, I was afraid to cut hair less it did not grow back, his mop was getting quite shaggy.

On Saturday, we took Scrumpy to get his first trim. All About Me specializes in children's cuts. We had a choice of having him sit on my lap or sit in one of the nifty vehicles they had to offer. Guess which one he chose? While we were curious as to how he would handle it, we should not have been surprised how WELL he handled it. He sat in his fighter plane and let Lauren do her thing. He didn't cry once. He didn't look for him Mama once. He was even pretty cool when she took out the clippers.

His new haircut is very cute, but its a little bittersweet. He doesn't look like a baby anymore...just a little man.

Scrumpy After

One Year Later

August 1, 2008

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by already! I cannot believe that a year ago today I was in San Francisco, waiting for the biggest moment of my life to date. There were days when I didn't think I'd get through it and yet here we are. Patrick and I decided to take the day off and spend it with Scrumpy. In true Scrumpy form, he did not want to miss a moment of his special day and so at 6am we woke.

Much like 2007, we started off with a morning visit to Peets and some tasty treats. We had danishes, Scrumpy had waffles. We played and played and played the morning away and then off to do Scrumpy errands. I think that being one is more tiring than he anticipated as before we got to Babies R Us, he was fast asleep in his car seat. Alas, I had to brave the store alone while Daddy played sentry to the sleeping child.

We had a nice lunch of oyster crackers, mixed vegetables, chicken fingers, fries, and fruit at Claim Jumpers. We even tried cow's milk for the first time...it didn't go over very well.

After our lunch, we went to one of Scrumpy's favorite amusement areas...Costco. There he people watched, had samples and kicked back in the shopping cart.

We capped off the day at Grandpa and Gramma's house. We walked all over the place inside and out. His Aunties totally spoiled him with lots of presents and the biggest balloon ever! Some of the highlights included: a special birthday shirt, kawasaki, and red wagon. However, I think the thing he enjoyed the most was all the Ritz Crackers and Goldfish crackers he got to eat. Oh well...he is the birthday boy.

We topped the evening off with a cake made by our own Ace of Cakes Auntie Michelle, assisted with her special friend, Chelle. It was delicious! He walked hard, played hard, and ate hard. All in all. It was a pretty good birthday. Here is looking towards year 2!