Liam has 4 chupies that [are supposed to] stay in his crib after we get him out. We just throw them down after he's been picked up & there they stay until another sleep. Pretty simple, right?
He's got a blankie that he sleeps with & a thick blanket that I line the crib with to stave off the coldness from the cotton sheets - so usually his chupies are on the blanket.
When we play in his room & upstairs, he goes into his crib through the rails & grabs for his chupies - the new Too Smart for His Own Good twist on this is that now when the chupies are out of reach & on his blanket he just pulls the blanket through the rails until the blanket brings the chupies within reach!
In my mind this shows a lot of thought & action/reaction thinking on his part ~ first he knows he cannot reach it & without asking us for help he deduced how to get it on his own. He knew that by pulling the blanket, it would bring his chupie closer & that he would reach his goal. Gone are the days were he has to ask for big help with these things & can now sit & figure out for himself how to obtain his goal.
Of course, like every Mother, I just think he's brilliant but it is really exciting to watch it happen right before your eyes & I'm always thinking that he's doing these things way ahead of schedule but I fear it's just way ahead of my schedule!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Now with More Whine!
The whining today is really, seriously about to push me over the edge. Just about 11 hours of straight whining every single time he opens his mouth. And there's nothing wrong, well minus the whole issue that he cannot go outside any single time he pleases not ONLY because it's snowing but also BELOW freezing & you just got over a infection that included a 103 temp.
Driving me nuts. My jaw is killing me from clenching my teeth & now I have a headache because of it. He finally calmed down but would only 'allow' me to sit on the couch or else the whine would return for me to do something else that we were not going to do.
Like watch another video. Or throw puzzle pieces at Mystic. Or play in the pantry. Or the fridge.
New Rule: No videos on the TV or computer before 9am and after 6pm.
He's got plenty of awesome toys & he needs to play with them.
(can you hear me saying that to him fifty million times with my jaw clenched shut?)
Driving me nuts. My jaw is killing me from clenching my teeth & now I have a headache because of it. He finally calmed down but would only 'allow' me to sit on the couch or else the whine would return for me to do something else that we were not going to do.
Like watch another video. Or throw puzzle pieces at Mystic. Or play in the pantry. Or the fridge.
New Rule: No videos on the TV or computer before 9am and after 6pm.
He's got plenty of awesome toys & he needs to play with them.
(can you hear me saying that to him fifty million times with my jaw clenched shut?)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Now with More Snot
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Mystic snuggled right up with him (yes, that's considered snuggling for Mystic) and insisted on a blankie for herself (I'm so not even kidding here) and sat with the Fellow for a morning cat nap! His hair is a mess because it is encrusted with snot. But he's happy & charming, as usual so I'll take it!
And plus, don't we all need a snuggle with a kitty cat when feeling particularly snotty?
And plus, don't we all need a snuggle with a kitty cat when feeling particularly snotty?
Stuck in the Moment with You
While in Argentina we discovered a line of popular music converted into "baby music" & had to have the U2 for Babies - I've had it in the CD player since we got home but we rarely make it through the 3 Liam CDs that currently reside in there so I haven't played it in a while...
It came on this morning & Liam is ENTHRALLED. Even to the point of going to his music set & pulling everything out to play along! And I could just get all weepy over it, you know?
It came on this morning & Liam is ENTHRALLED. Even to the point of going to his music set & pulling everything out to play along! And I could just get all weepy over it, you know?
What Day is it?
Thankfully, Liam slept through the night last night in his own room!! I think this is our road back to normal. I honestly don't know what day it is & the whole house has been running off of very little sleep since Friday but I think we are on the mend!
He's got some funky hair - we are guessing it's loaded & stiff with snot. Lovely. His PJ top had a ton of snot on it this morning as reported by Dada. He's doing a little mouth-breathing but I cleaned his passage ways out pretty good with a nice warm facecloth so I hope he's all clear to breathe a little better today.
I feel much better myself - getting an uninterrupted nights' sleep really does do wonders for your own mental health & your ability to deal with a toddler who also isn't napping well. He really wanted to go full force yesterday but I knew he wasn't ready so he would go 100% for about 5 minutes going bat-shit crazy then crash out for the next 1/2 hour or so. I am hoping he gets his appetite back today too!
P.S. The quarter sized rash on his belly is winter eczema not Roseloa! That's pretty much cleared up also, thankfully.
He's got some funky hair - we are guessing it's loaded & stiff with snot. Lovely. His PJ top had a ton of snot on it this morning as reported by Dada. He's doing a little mouth-breathing but I cleaned his passage ways out pretty good with a nice warm facecloth so I hope he's all clear to breathe a little better today.
I feel much better myself - getting an uninterrupted nights' sleep really does do wonders for your own mental health & your ability to deal with a toddler who also isn't napping well. He really wanted to go full force yesterday but I knew he wasn't ready so he would go 100% for about 5 minutes going bat-shit crazy then crash out for the next 1/2 hour or so. I am hoping he gets his appetite back today too!
P.S. The quarter sized rash on his belly is winter eczema not Roseloa! That's pretty much cleared up also, thankfully.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Extended Hours
Thankfully our doctor does extended hours tonight for Liam's fever, which had abated all the way down to 98.8 has risen this evening to 103.1!
He was doing fine today - took his regular sized nap - but then got lethargic around 5pm. Lethargic to the point of falling asleep in my arms. When he woke up he was warm but we couldn't tell if it was body heat from sleeping tuckled up against me. Matias took his temp while changing him 20 minutes later to discover his temp had risen the highest yet over the last 3 days.
We are going to the doctor in about 30 minutes - I will keep y'all posted.
I wish they had something earlier but am SO SO SO thankful that they have anything at all tonight & we aren't faced with the emergency room.
EDITED: He doesn't have strept but it is a viral infection. Nothing they can do for him except let it run its course & Motrin. His cough is horrible though makes me cringe every time I hear it.
He was doing fine today - took his regular sized nap - but then got lethargic around 5pm. Lethargic to the point of falling asleep in my arms. When he woke up he was warm but we couldn't tell if it was body heat from sleeping tuckled up against me. Matias took his temp while changing him 20 minutes later to discover his temp had risen the highest yet over the last 3 days.
We are going to the doctor in about 30 minutes - I will keep y'all posted.
I wish they had something earlier but am SO SO SO thankful that they have anything at all tonight & we aren't faced with the emergency room.
EDITED: He doesn't have strept but it is a viral infection. Nothing they can do for him except let it run its course & Motrin. His cough is horrible though makes me cringe every time I hear it.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
This Weekend We Bring You - No Sleep! All the Time!!
So. Tired.
Liam's fever abated on Friday afternoon but was back up to 102.2 on Friday night so he went to bed with some Tylenol in his system.
Then he woke up in the middle of the night & wanted to cuddle with me, so I let him come back to bed with me (Matias was working on our server upgrade so was pulling an all-nighter). He slept peacefully until morning and woke up with a 98.8 temp so we thought we had cleared the storm.
Did I mention that on Friday he only napped for 20 minutes? And it took nearly 1 1/2 hours to get those 20 minutes out of the way?
I should mention that Saturday he slept for even less - he was awake before I was done with my shower & I take 10 minute showers. I could hear him crying in the shower. Then he didn't sleep anymore until bedtime.
Then night time was a joke. I had gone to Kym's to crop & came home before midnight to find Matias up with Liam. He came down about 15 minutes later with Liam upstairs crying for me - I go up & he's asleep before I can sit down with him. I rock him for 30-40 minutes for good measure since Matias had told me that he would nod off, stir & wake - lather, rinse, repeat - for the entire time that I was gone. I think he stayed asleep for a couple of hours until he didn't (yeah the brain ain't working) & Matias brought him into bed. Where he promptly stayed awake, crying (a really sad cry) with a slam-dunk-break-your-heart-ending of "Mama" after every crying jag.
Finally at 7:30ish I got him his bottle & brewed some sweet, sweet, Tim's and now, I am hoping that he has fallen asleep because I just had to go back up there & rock him before he threw himself back into his crib begging for sleep.
And to top it all off, we now have snot. Snotty sneezes have descended. Seriously, I think I would give my right arm (I'm left handed!) to be able to come home from CT without a cold. It's hard enough sometimes to come home from traveling & readjust to 'home-life' with a toddler but it's even worse when that toddler is sick & down for the count for the next week or so THEN add in, a possible, sick Mama & Dada & you begin to wish that the NJ Turnpike would someone collapse into the sound.
Liam's fever abated on Friday afternoon but was back up to 102.2 on Friday night so he went to bed with some Tylenol in his system.
Then he woke up in the middle of the night & wanted to cuddle with me, so I let him come back to bed with me (Matias was working on our server upgrade so was pulling an all-nighter). He slept peacefully until morning and woke up with a 98.8 temp so we thought we had cleared the storm.
Did I mention that on Friday he only napped for 20 minutes? And it took nearly 1 1/2 hours to get those 20 minutes out of the way?
I should mention that Saturday he slept for even less - he was awake before I was done with my shower & I take 10 minute showers. I could hear him crying in the shower. Then he didn't sleep anymore until bedtime.
Then night time was a joke. I had gone to Kym's to crop & came home before midnight to find Matias up with Liam. He came down about 15 minutes later with Liam upstairs crying for me - I go up & he's asleep before I can sit down with him. I rock him for 30-40 minutes for good measure since Matias had told me that he would nod off, stir & wake - lather, rinse, repeat - for the entire time that I was gone. I think he stayed asleep for a couple of hours until he didn't (yeah the brain ain't working) & Matias brought him into bed. Where he promptly stayed awake, crying (a really sad cry) with a slam-dunk-break-your-heart-ending of "Mama" after every crying jag.
Finally at 7:30ish I got him his bottle & brewed some sweet, sweet, Tim's and now, I am hoping that he has fallen asleep because I just had to go back up there & rock him before he threw himself back into his crib begging for sleep.
And to top it all off, we now have snot. Snotty sneezes have descended. Seriously, I think I would give my right arm (I'm left handed!) to be able to come home from CT without a cold. It's hard enough sometimes to come home from traveling & readjust to 'home-life' with a toddler but it's even worse when that toddler is sick & down for the count for the next week or so THEN add in, a possible, sick Mama & Dada & you begin to wish that the NJ Turnpike would someone collapse into the sound.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Today is a Sick Day
Liam has a little round rash between his belly button & top of his diaper which is not going away with any treatment of any lotion we have on hand & this morning he woke up with a fever of 100.7 OR 101.3 (done in the bum but the darn thermometer is never, ever consistent) plus he's extra cuddly & zero appetite minus drinking (HI! Run-on Sentence!) double bottles of milk.
I went to babycenter & looked at the fever symptoms & discovered that he might have Roseola - and there's nothing to be done about it. I'm going to call the doctor if his fever get worse & lukewarm baths don't help him. Basically all you can do is let it run its course as it is a viral infection that usually incubates for 7-10 days after contact. Once again, I think Liam got sick from being in CT. This would be the 3rd instance in a row of him or all of us getting sick after visiting Matias' family. I asked Matias to contact his sister to check on Luccia's status to see if she has it or alert her that she might be getting it.
Liam's only had one previous fever & you can just tell he's not himself even before taking his temp - right now he's wrapped up in his Toy Story blanket with Dada downstairs & I am not hearing a boo from him. He was in my lap constantly this morning (something I don't complain about) but coupled with him feeling hot, I knew something wasn't right.
I hate, hate, hate when he's sick like this - I just want to make it go away.
I went to babycenter & looked at the fever symptoms & discovered that he might have Roseola - and there's nothing to be done about it. I'm going to call the doctor if his fever get worse & lukewarm baths don't help him. Basically all you can do is let it run its course as it is a viral infection that usually incubates for 7-10 days after contact. Once again, I think Liam got sick from being in CT. This would be the 3rd instance in a row of him or all of us getting sick after visiting Matias' family. I asked Matias to contact his sister to check on Luccia's status to see if she has it or alert her that she might be getting it.
Liam's only had one previous fever & you can just tell he's not himself even before taking his temp - right now he's wrapped up in his Toy Story blanket with Dada downstairs & I am not hearing a boo from him. He was in my lap constantly this morning (something I don't complain about) but coupled with him feeling hot, I knew something wasn't right.
I hate, hate, hate when he's sick like this - I just want to make it go away.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Remember it like yesterday
This was taken a year ago. And I do remember this day like it was yesterday. It was a great afternoon - weather not unlike we've had the past couple days - warm, sunny & just right to go watch Matias play soccer. We spent a fantastic afternoon on the blanket, bundled up together, playing with a soccer ball of our own, smiling at each other & playing with my hair as I let it dangle into his face ~ still a favored thing of his to do. He still gives you that smile with that little glimmer of mischief in his eyes, a little crooked, making you work for it always knowing that he's enjoying the special time spent with you. I often wonder where did my baby go but the answer is in my little boy's eyes all along - I'm right here, Mama, looking to you for more smiles & more hair dangling time, please and my heart stops aching for the past when he was just a Bebe and stops to refresh in the moment of now.
Yesterday was a Smart Day
Liam had a really, really, good Smart Day yesterday & not to say that I don't think every day is Smart Day around Casa Nino but there was something about him that was just on fire!
Here's a quick list of the Smart Day Things he did yesterday alone:
I think he's sprouted up in height too, simply because some pants are fitting better in the length these days. We weighed him at Camp Carolina & he's just over 25 lbs. as of Christmas! I let his hair stay long for Christmas cause I know Nana! prefers it to be Little Boy Long but it's time to get the Big Boy Short Cut again cause his swirl is getting out of control & its hanging over his brow & ears.
I have no pictures to show from our Epiphany Celebration in CT because the camera never left the car. He did receive the sorting bags I wanted for him though from Cecilia & Butch and we are slowly working up our interest in them - it was a big plus that the circle bag included a clock!
I've switched from making his pureed foods while still keeping a few options in the freezer, I have officially switched him over to mostly store bought jarred toddler foods. We are continuing to have Major Dinner Struggles with him - not real sure what sets them beyond introducing new foods & new forms of previously enjoyed foods - but a struggle it is. I feel like I've copped out on this one to an extent though because my argument for the change was basically "I'm too tired & do not feel like making his food simply to endure this nightly struggle with him and remain happy about it". Although, I do not feel as if I will ever get over throwing perfectly good food out simply because of some issues with it - so that totally sucks. [another] Although, once you finally get him to eat the food, he DOES eat it all. Weirdo. It also helps to have an Elmo sippy of seltzer water for him - we play the "take two bites & you get some water" game with him & I think that's a fair trade-off for eating your dinner! Funny thing is breakfast & lunch as non-struggle meals AND he self-feeds himself breakfast! Dinner is my Newman. And after a long day of Toddler Wrangling, I cannot summon the energy that I sometimes feel it takes to be the Homemade Baby Food Queen of yesteryear. And I am OK with that!
Also, I think I've figured out that he doesn't like crunchy foods - nothing to heavily breaded or dry - like Cheerios or nuggets. But basically, like every Feeder before me, I know that we all figure it out in the end & make amends with the quirks each toddler has. Some days, I wish he ate every thing I put in front of him & other days I'm thankful that he's getting the proper nutrition & food choices that come along with planning things out & knowing what I'm putting in him. Sure it's neat & fantastic that some toddlers eat Chinese food & pizza but at what cost?
Here's a quick list of the Smart Day Things he did yesterday alone:
- put his puzzle together multiple times + using sounds for the animals
- stacked blocks (3-5 blocks) consistently multiple times a day by himself
- goes to the fridge to ask for milk, goes to his drawer to ask for a bowl for food & goes to snacks to ask for snacks
- signed an entire sentence to me - it consisted of 'water, no milk then car' in my statement to him of "finish your milk then we can go in the car"
- signed 'fish' while checking out the bottle of white wine with a fish on the label in the fridge while getting his milk
- colored successfully without eating much of any crayons - only one bite
- tells me when he has a 'dodo' (dirty diaper)
- signed Mommy for the first time (!)
- helped me pick up his toys
- signed 'dog' for the first time
- starting to 'count' - especially before jumping/throwing himself backwards - usually he 'counts' to five before doing anything
I think he's sprouted up in height too, simply because some pants are fitting better in the length these days. We weighed him at Camp Carolina & he's just over 25 lbs. as of Christmas! I let his hair stay long for Christmas cause I know Nana! prefers it to be Little Boy Long but it's time to get the Big Boy Short Cut again cause his swirl is getting out of control & its hanging over his brow & ears.
I have no pictures to show from our Epiphany Celebration in CT because the camera never left the car. He did receive the sorting bags I wanted for him though from Cecilia & Butch and we are slowly working up our interest in them - it was a big plus that the circle bag included a clock!
I've switched from making his pureed foods while still keeping a few options in the freezer, I have officially switched him over to mostly store bought jarred toddler foods. We are continuing to have Major Dinner Struggles with him - not real sure what sets them beyond introducing new foods & new forms of previously enjoyed foods - but a struggle it is. I feel like I've copped out on this one to an extent though because my argument for the change was basically "I'm too tired & do not feel like making his food simply to endure this nightly struggle with him and remain happy about it". Although, I do not feel as if I will ever get over throwing perfectly good food out simply because of some issues with it - so that totally sucks. [another] Although, once you finally get him to eat the food, he DOES eat it all. Weirdo. It also helps to have an Elmo sippy of seltzer water for him - we play the "take two bites & you get some water" game with him & I think that's a fair trade-off for eating your dinner! Funny thing is breakfast & lunch as non-struggle meals AND he self-feeds himself breakfast! Dinner is my Newman. And after a long day of Toddler Wrangling, I cannot summon the energy that I sometimes feel it takes to be the Homemade Baby Food Queen of yesteryear. And I am OK with that!
Also, I think I've figured out that he doesn't like crunchy foods - nothing to heavily breaded or dry - like Cheerios or nuggets. But basically, like every Feeder before me, I know that we all figure it out in the end & make amends with the quirks each toddler has. Some days, I wish he ate every thing I put in front of him & other days I'm thankful that he's getting the proper nutrition & food choices that come along with planning things out & knowing what I'm putting in him. Sure it's neat & fantastic that some toddlers eat Chinese food & pizza but at what cost?
Friday, January 04, 2008
Brrrr, it's cold!
Liam got his new winter jacket today & we just had too much fun laughing at with him over how cute he was waddling around! Here he is pointing out an airplane to us...
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Dialing Back the Einstein
Ok, not really. But I do find it peculiar that Liam is picking up a LOT of words from his videos, mainly Noah's Ark but not saying words he has heard every single day of his 17 month life!
Two days ago, while eating lunch he was watching a video (not a normal thing but lunch coincided with the video already being on...) and when we got to the The Outback portion he spouted the following words, clear as day:
Wombat
Lizard
Koala Bear
Kangaroo
And he has continued to repeat them even without the video on. Aren't those words a little difficult to say? A little more difficult than "up" or "chupie" or "noni"? And yet he doesn't say any of those words! He's baffling me!
I also found in his Animal Alphabet Elmo (and still says LA LA and not Elmo!) a two page spread with a Koala, Kangaroo AND Lizard on it - I'm sure we are fresh out of luck with the whole Wombat options and he repeated them again while looking at different images of the animals. Which only leads me to correctly assume that he DOES know what those animals are & is not simply associating with the video. Why those 4 though? Wouldn't cow, pig or lion be easier? He's pushing the multisyllabic (wonder who he gets his vocab from!?!? HA!) words before his one, easy as pie, syllable words & it's baffling me, people!!
Also this morning he has started to pick up "turtle", "octopus" & "dolphin" from his bath toys Santa gave him - don't judge, they haven't made it up stairs yet.
And...is it wrong that I'm teaching him to say "ding! Turkey's done!" when his kitchen stove timer goes off?
More later, of course! I have lots to share - just settling back in AGAIN! Photos might be on the plentiful side as they are easier to tell my story quickly - so my apologies in advance for those who cannot stand the sight of Liam any longer ;)
Two days ago, while eating lunch he was watching a video (not a normal thing but lunch coincided with the video already being on...) and when we got to the The Outback portion he spouted the following words, clear as day:
Wombat
Lizard
Koala Bear
Kangaroo
And he has continued to repeat them even without the video on. Aren't those words a little difficult to say? A little more difficult than "up" or "chupie" or "noni"? And yet he doesn't say any of those words! He's baffling me!
I also found in his Animal Alphabet Elmo (and still says LA LA and not Elmo!) a two page spread with a Koala, Kangaroo AND Lizard on it - I'm sure we are fresh out of luck with the whole Wombat options and he repeated them again while looking at different images of the animals. Which only leads me to correctly assume that he DOES know what those animals are & is not simply associating with the video. Why those 4 though? Wouldn't cow, pig or lion be easier? He's pushing the multisyllabic (wonder who he gets his vocab from!?!? HA!) words before his one, easy as pie, syllable words & it's baffling me, people!!
Also this morning he has started to pick up "turtle", "octopus" & "dolphin" from his bath toys Santa gave him - don't judge, they haven't made it up stairs yet.
And...is it wrong that I'm teaching him to say "ding! Turkey's done!" when his kitchen stove timer goes off?
More later, of course! I have lots to share - just settling back in AGAIN! Photos might be on the plentiful side as they are easier to tell my story quickly - so my apologies in advance for those who cannot stand the sight of Liam any longer ;)
Top Chef
Number of Hours Spent Putting it Together: 5
Number of Tools Used: 2
Number of People Who Put it Together: 1
Number of Times that One Person Swore While Putting it Together: 4
Number of Time that One Person Made Themselves Bleed with a Screwdriver: 3
Seeing the Joy in the Fellow's Face when Playing with His New Kitchen: PricelessFriday, December 28, 2007
This is Christmas
The Wonder of Christmas through the Eyes of a Fellow
upon discovering Santa had visited
upon discovering Santa had visited
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Riddle me this
Why would Liam not eat any of the delicious table foods (minus the yucky-to-me blood sausage) while we were in Argentina, even the fresh ravioli (but would eat the boxed mac & cheese), even the bananas BUT when we were eating our Thai take-out last night did he practically beg me for some spring roll & panang chicken and rice last night?
He ate it up. LOVED those spring rolls. Didn't bat an eye at the spiciness of the chicken or anything. I think he even might have disliked the whiteness of the rice, preferring the chicken & rolls over the rice.
Then he refused to eat his turkey & carrots that I had made for him. His tummy was full so we didn't push it. But I was anxious to get him back on his meats after being eye-rollingly annoyed that he dissed all the fantastic meats available to him in Buenos Aires.
He ate it up. LOVED those spring rolls. Didn't bat an eye at the spiciness of the chicken or anything. I think he even might have disliked the whiteness of the rice, preferring the chicken & rolls over the rice.
Then he refused to eat his turkey & carrots that I had made for him. His tummy was full so we didn't push it. But I was anxious to get him back on his meats after being eye-rollingly annoyed that he dissed all the fantastic meats available to him in Buenos Aires.
And we're back!
Although still not in fully functioning mode as it took me three times to type that title up there correctly...
Eventually, I will get around to finishing up our daily recaps but for now I want to give y'all a shortened version of How Our 20 Hour Delay Occurred Upon Leaving Argentine or Big Middle Finger to You, American Airlines!
The airport in BA has no less than 7 check-in points before getting to your gate, be it security or simply practicing their English by reading our passports & tickets multiple times before sending us no our way SO this literally takes the allocated 3 hours you leave to check-in for an international flight. The FIRST time we checked in Luisita strolled the Fellow around while we waited in the first check-in line (over an hour) so he was "taken care of" and very happy. And also? Very loud! Never knew my boy was that loud until you could hear him calling out "Mama!" and "Dada!" over the enormous hum of the airport. The board said our flight was "on time" so we were feeling pretty dang good about our departure. We had no problems going through all the lines, paying the airport tax (separate line!) and going through security & customs (we got fast-tracked through customs because of The Fellow though) and finally getting to our gate.
Upon arrival at our gate, the board was stating our flight was delayed 15 minutes. No big deal, right? And thank you AA for telling us about the measly 15 minute delay, right? The 15 minute delay turned into 45 while we waited to hear if they could fix our mechanical problem. The Fellow turned into The Boy Who Cannot Sit Still & we let him run around (after putting his shoes on, thankyouverymuch) and he wreaked havoc on the Duty Free store. At this point, we decided to tempt fate & try to get into the Admiral's Club with my dad's card - SUCCESS! There was so much chaos in there they would have let Osama in there without checking his card first. We set him up with a bottle & a Signing Times video (or two) while we had some delicious snackies ourselves & waited out the "delay". I went out to the smoking lounge and watched the board and noticed that our flight was no longer there, as it was just a mere second ago. No notice of cancellation, no nothing, just gone! I ran back to Matias in the Admiral's Club who was watching the board himself & we gathered up our stuff in the midst of all the Business Class & Platinum people getting their flights changed inside the Club and ran back to the gate. Enter Mass Chaos. There was a flight leaving right then for Miami connecting through to JFK but all the Admiral's Club people had already gotten those free seats and such so us lowly Tourist Cabin folk had to wait it out, all the while they had STILL not "officially" cancelled the flight. It's about 11pm at this point & our Little Boy is not asleep or happy in his stroller anymore, thankyouverymuch. No one could have expected him to be, that's just crazy talk right there.
At this point they tell us we are being put up in a hotel in El Centro cause there are no hotels out by the airport (not that there was no rooms, there are no hotels!) & that we would be taking remises (not licensed taxis) to the hotel. We have to back out through immigration, as if we were arriving, and gather around the remis stations. Turns out those are all closed for the night since no other flights are arriving. Lovely. About an hour later, they finally arrange car service for everyone & we are 2nd in line (behind an elderly couple) to get a car, thankyouverymuch nice remis man who noticed our child when AA could have cared less & basically told Matias as much.
We take the 40 minute cab ride to the hotel (the PanAmerican for those keeping track), checked in & were told that they had dinner waiting for us but that meant keeping Liam up with us (which he turned out to be fine with another bottle, of course) and by the time we actually made it back up to the room it was 2am. 2am, people! Liam fell asleep really quickly all snuggled up next to me like a Little Fellow & we didn't wake up until 9:30!
Left the hotel, after a very nice breakfast and stealing 2 bananas, milk & another yogurt, at 12:30 and got to the airport 1 hour before AA even opened. Bummer. The Fellow had fallen asleep in the car & was still asleep in his stroller until 2:30 rolled around when the check-in lines opened. Our flight was never cancelled, just "delayed" for 20 hours...and the new departure time was not a scheduled flight so all the AA people had to come into work early to check us all in. We finally got through security and all that rigamorow and couldn't find our flight on the board, we had no idea which of the three AA gates we were departing from & the fact that our flight wasn't listed on the board somewhat frightened us, but knowing that it was not a regularly scheduled flight kept our spirits up somewhat, you know? Our flight was delayed another hour or so due to heavy tarmac traffic & they couldn't get it out of the garage and over to our gate in a timely manner - it is quite typical of Argentine's to not leave on time OR leave enough time to arrive at the intended destination - y'all know this is you know my husband ;)
Finally boarded our 5pm flight closer to 6pm. Fellow was no longer a Fellow. He was a cranky bebe who didn't know what to do with himself but did know that he no longer wanted to be restrained or sitting. Welcome to our hour or more of crying on a plane. Signing Times saved the day though, as did dinner (more yogurt & milk along with a roll from my dinner - he turned his nose up at the pasta they were serving) and finally after changing him into his footed jammie he was sound asleep - and all the passengers rejoiced! I kid - they were really good about him being so cranky because who wouldn't understand his situation after all, we had all been through it ourselves & who wouldn't want to cry & kick and scream over it all, right?
10 hour flight & 2 hour time change difference, a fast-tracked trip through customs (thank JFK!) and we were collecting our luggage at 3:30AM. Matias' parents made the 45 minute drive to collect us & thankfully Liam slept on the drive home & went back to sleep relatively easily at 5:20AM on Monday morning only to awake at 9:30AM to start his day! Matias got up with him (as if our "agreement" - when at your parent's house, you are the Parent in Charge...) & allowed me to sleep until 11AM. Liam went back down for a nap at 12:30 and slept for two more hours but really hit a wall around 7PM (9PM Argentina time) and we had to shovel food into him & get ourselves all gathered up & packed into the car so that we could leave before a meltdown occurred OR before he fell asleep in the house. He slept the entire time in the car, came home & was a little overwhelmed about finally being Home (also it was 1:30AM) and we thought we might almost have to have him in bed with us to comfort him but he did end up falling asleep after 2AM in his own crib & waking up at 6:30AM (8:30 Argentina time)! Yuck. I brought him back to bed with a bottle hoping he would chill and go back to sleep since it was still dark outside but he wouldn't - so I put him back in his crib & crossed my fingers that he would soothe himself back to sleep and with only 5 minutes of crying he resigned himself (maybe?) and just fell back asleep until 10:30! YAY! Then he actually took a 3 hour nap later which was a blessing for us cause we were/are exhausted, as you can imagine!
In all a normal 10 hour flight (with 2 hour time difference makes it a 12 hour flight) took over 36 hours to complete. With an 16 month little boy. Our new nickname for him is Little Trooper - and he earned it, he's such a great little guy & I couldn't have asked for anything more from him (well maybe to eat more table foods...) on this trip - especially considering our "delay".
I obviously have more to say about our time in Argentina but I am still trying to catch up with "normal life" & getting ready for Christmas (!!) so I'll try and be current with everything & detail more about our trip as time allows :)
It's great to be home, I missed everyone immensely & cannot wait to Celebrate Christmas at Camp Carolina!!!
Eventually, I will get around to finishing up our daily recaps but for now I want to give y'all a shortened version of How Our 20 Hour Delay Occurred Upon Leaving Argentine or Big Middle Finger to You, American Airlines!
The airport in BA has no less than 7 check-in points before getting to your gate, be it security or simply practicing their English by reading our passports & tickets multiple times before sending us no our way SO this literally takes the allocated 3 hours you leave to check-in for an international flight. The FIRST time we checked in Luisita strolled the Fellow around while we waited in the first check-in line (over an hour) so he was "taken care of" and very happy. And also? Very loud! Never knew my boy was that loud until you could hear him calling out "Mama!" and "Dada!" over the enormous hum of the airport. The board said our flight was "on time" so we were feeling pretty dang good about our departure. We had no problems going through all the lines, paying the airport tax (separate line!) and going through security & customs (we got fast-tracked through customs because of The Fellow though) and finally getting to our gate.
Upon arrival at our gate, the board was stating our flight was delayed 15 minutes. No big deal, right? And thank you AA for telling us about the measly 15 minute delay, right? The 15 minute delay turned into 45 while we waited to hear if they could fix our mechanical problem. The Fellow turned into The Boy Who Cannot Sit Still & we let him run around (after putting his shoes on, thankyouverymuch) and he wreaked havoc on the Duty Free store. At this point, we decided to tempt fate & try to get into the Admiral's Club with my dad's card - SUCCESS! There was so much chaos in there they would have let Osama in there without checking his card first. We set him up with a bottle & a Signing Times video (or two) while we had some delicious snackies ourselves & waited out the "delay". I went out to the smoking lounge and watched the board and noticed that our flight was no longer there, as it was just a mere second ago. No notice of cancellation, no nothing, just gone! I ran back to Matias in the Admiral's Club who was watching the board himself & we gathered up our stuff in the midst of all the Business Class & Platinum people getting their flights changed inside the Club and ran back to the gate. Enter Mass Chaos. There was a flight leaving right then for Miami connecting through to JFK but all the Admiral's Club people had already gotten those free seats and such so us lowly Tourist Cabin folk had to wait it out, all the while they had STILL not "officially" cancelled the flight. It's about 11pm at this point & our Little Boy is not asleep or happy in his stroller anymore, thankyouverymuch. No one could have expected him to be, that's just crazy talk right there.
At this point they tell us we are being put up in a hotel in El Centro cause there are no hotels out by the airport (not that there was no rooms, there are no hotels!) & that we would be taking remises (not licensed taxis) to the hotel. We have to back out through immigration, as if we were arriving, and gather around the remis stations. Turns out those are all closed for the night since no other flights are arriving. Lovely. About an hour later, they finally arrange car service for everyone & we are 2nd in line (behind an elderly couple) to get a car, thankyouverymuch nice remis man who noticed our child when AA could have cared less & basically told Matias as much.
We take the 40 minute cab ride to the hotel (the PanAmerican for those keeping track), checked in & were told that they had dinner waiting for us but that meant keeping Liam up with us (which he turned out to be fine with another bottle, of course) and by the time we actually made it back up to the room it was 2am. 2am, people! Liam fell asleep really quickly all snuggled up next to me like a Little Fellow & we didn't wake up until 9:30!
Left the hotel, after a very nice breakfast and stealing 2 bananas, milk & another yogurt, at 12:30 and got to the airport 1 hour before AA even opened. Bummer. The Fellow had fallen asleep in the car & was still asleep in his stroller until 2:30 rolled around when the check-in lines opened. Our flight was never cancelled, just "delayed" for 20 hours...and the new departure time was not a scheduled flight so all the AA people had to come into work early to check us all in. We finally got through security and all that rigamorow and couldn't find our flight on the board, we had no idea which of the three AA gates we were departing from & the fact that our flight wasn't listed on the board somewhat frightened us, but knowing that it was not a regularly scheduled flight kept our spirits up somewhat, you know? Our flight was delayed another hour or so due to heavy tarmac traffic & they couldn't get it out of the garage and over to our gate in a timely manner - it is quite typical of Argentine's to not leave on time OR leave enough time to arrive at the intended destination - y'all know this is you know my husband ;)
Finally boarded our 5pm flight closer to 6pm. Fellow was no longer a Fellow. He was a cranky bebe who didn't know what to do with himself but did know that he no longer wanted to be restrained or sitting. Welcome to our hour or more of crying on a plane. Signing Times saved the day though, as did dinner (more yogurt & milk along with a roll from my dinner - he turned his nose up at the pasta they were serving) and finally after changing him into his footed jammie he was sound asleep - and all the passengers rejoiced! I kid - they were really good about him being so cranky because who wouldn't understand his situation after all, we had all been through it ourselves & who wouldn't want to cry & kick and scream over it all, right?
10 hour flight & 2 hour time change difference, a fast-tracked trip through customs (thank JFK!) and we were collecting our luggage at 3:30AM. Matias' parents made the 45 minute drive to collect us & thankfully Liam slept on the drive home & went back to sleep relatively easily at 5:20AM on Monday morning only to awake at 9:30AM to start his day! Matias got up with him (as if our "agreement" - when at your parent's house, you are the Parent in Charge...) & allowed me to sleep until 11AM. Liam went back down for a nap at 12:30 and slept for two more hours but really hit a wall around 7PM (9PM Argentina time) and we had to shovel food into him & get ourselves all gathered up & packed into the car so that we could leave before a meltdown occurred OR before he fell asleep in the house. He slept the entire time in the car, came home & was a little overwhelmed about finally being Home (also it was 1:30AM) and we thought we might almost have to have him in bed with us to comfort him but he did end up falling asleep after 2AM in his own crib & waking up at 6:30AM (8:30 Argentina time)! Yuck. I brought him back to bed with a bottle hoping he would chill and go back to sleep since it was still dark outside but he wouldn't - so I put him back in his crib & crossed my fingers that he would soothe himself back to sleep and with only 5 minutes of crying he resigned himself (maybe?) and just fell back asleep until 10:30! YAY! Then he actually took a 3 hour nap later which was a blessing for us cause we were/are exhausted, as you can imagine!
In all a normal 10 hour flight (with 2 hour time difference makes it a 12 hour flight) took over 36 hours to complete. With an 16 month little boy. Our new nickname for him is Little Trooper - and he earned it, he's such a great little guy & I couldn't have asked for anything more from him (well maybe to eat more table foods...) on this trip - especially considering our "delay".
I obviously have more to say about our time in Argentina but I am still trying to catch up with "normal life" & getting ready for Christmas (!!) so I'll try and be current with everything & detail more about our trip as time allows :)
It's great to be home, I missed everyone immensely & cannot wait to Celebrate Christmas at Camp Carolina!!!
Monday, December 03, 2007
Listo!
I'm still here! Just lacking in computer time & energy but I'm uploading another batch of 70 odd pictures to dropshots so I thought I would update here too so that I could give you come more background behind the pictures :)
The past couple days have been a little quieter during the days but our nights have been late (for Bebe) and busy but very nice. Pepe y Lusitia take "siestas" for real so we've been finding ourselves sleeping along with them & Liam. Thankfully, Liam has been taking nice long naps (about 3 hours) so we've been out & about in the mornings & again in the evenings, then we come home, have dinner, a sink bath & go to bed - notice a routine here? It's good though - I'm very happy he's napping so well but the naps I've been taking have been screwing with my night time routine & I have found myself unable to go to sleep before 2am at times...and then up when Liam's up in the AM!
So let's see if I can remember all that we've done in the past few days!
Today we:
(I just checked to see the last time I updated & realized to my dismay that I haven't updated since Wednesday!! I might not make it all the way back till then tonight!)
Tomorrow we are:
Liam is definitely saying "chau" though & it's very, very cute. He misses his Nana! & his kitties though for sure & loses his mind when he sees pictures of Nana! and smiles until he face breaks when he sees any gatitos (kitties) [I should start charging a fee for these spanish lessons, people]. I am finding myself missing talking to people or more simply said speaking english so I do look forward to coming home to that!
P.S. the title of this post means Let's Go or Alright & it's my New Favorite Thing to Say.
The past couple days have been a little quieter during the days but our nights have been late (for Bebe) and busy but very nice. Pepe y Lusitia take "siestas" for real so we've been finding ourselves sleeping along with them & Liam. Thankfully, Liam has been taking nice long naps (about 3 hours) so we've been out & about in the mornings & again in the evenings, then we come home, have dinner, a sink bath & go to bed - notice a routine here? It's good though - I'm very happy he's napping so well but the naps I've been taking have been screwing with my night time routine & I have found myself unable to go to sleep before 2am at times...and then up when Liam's up in the AM!
So let's see if I can remember all that we've done in the past few days!
Today we:
- went to UniCenter (again) - Matias bought his birthday present from his parents (a fountain pen) & we got Liam's picture taken with Papa Noel (Santa!)! He was a little freaked out so we are in the picture with him. We pick them up tomorrow & if you can believe it or not it only cost $8pesos (divide by 3 to get $USD)!!
- had lunch & took a siesta
- went to Recolta & shopped around these way too high priced (think Rodeo Drive) stores which I cannot stand
- went to San Telmo (one of my favorite areas in town) and walked around for a short time because all the stores were already closed for the day. I really want to spend more time there & just soak in the "vibes", it's kind of the artsy part of town. We went around to a few places & got a couple presents (!). I really wanted to stop & get some coffee and sit around for a little while but we ended up in flea market sort of place & got some peaches & squash for Liam
- went/came home, gave Liam dinner, a sink bath & put him to bed
- had dinner ourselves, sweated to death (it's over 90 today & no AC, mind you) & watched Capote
- walked a 10k - this is such a longer story but here's the gist of it - Mike was running in it in Tigre & we wanted to go cheer him on. Pepe couldn't find the train station where the ended so he just sort of randomly dropped us somewhere. Matias decided to follow some runners since they were obviously going in the right direction, right? Turns out we followed them around about 80% of the course. The train station was behind where we got dropped off. It was really hot, I had non-Croc flip flops on & jean capris (yes, mom my hot ass pants) & I was not in a happy mood at all. Needless to say, we never found Mike.
- we took the train home
- we went over to Mike's to celebrate Tomas & Maria's birthdays that are coming up. Mike made about 5 different kinds of specialty pizzas - they were fantastic! Olives & blue cheese & onions - oh my! Then we had two kinds of cake AND about 4 kinds of ice creams (these Argentine's love their ice cream)
- we watched the Tigre vs. Argentina's Jr. soccer game
- we all got tired out from watching Liam run around & play with the dog - I cannot tell you how many times they asked me if he was always as active as he was being. The answer is yes, always yes. Then the next comment is usually "does he ever get tired?" or "does he sleep well?" - yes, yes he does. Thankfully!
- went to Txiki (she corrected my spelling! Matias actually spelled it wrong...) y Toto's to hang out & watch the Polo match from earlier that day.
- put Liam down for sleep & woke him back up to go home at 1am - he did really well with being woken up & taken somewhere else but didn't really go back to sleep very well when we got home
- ended up with Liam sleeping with us cause once he finally fell back asleep in the pack and play something fell over outside or the shutter slammed against his window & he woke up frightened but thankfully slept the rest of the night peacefully snuggled against his Mama
(I just checked to see the last time I updated & realized to my dismay that I haven't updated since Wednesday!! I might not make it all the way back till then tonight!)
- finally got some pictures of Liam drinking mate - he hasn't quite grasped the straw concept 100% yet but sometimes he does get some pulled through! He's also pretty much perfected drinking solo from a Big Boy Cup so we give him Soda (seltzer water) as often as he asks for it & that's quite often
- went to the grocery store for more Asado fixings - actually only Matias went & I stayed behind to put captions to the pictures & talk to my mommy
- went to the Polo game!! It was very exciting & we actually had FRONT ROW SEATS!! It's not like I know what's happening but, man, the sound of those horses running full out right past you - very cool! I'll go through the videos to pick out the best ones to illustrate that para vos! (spanish is just expanding daily.) Liam was in fact the Best Dressed Fellow there - sporting his blue & chocolate brown polo shirt & madras shorts with his bucket hat - there was no finer Fellow to be found!
- went/came home, went out to dinner, Liam had mashed potatoes (called pure here) & we came home and went to bed
Tomorrow we are:
- going shopping in Tigre
- going on a boat ride along the river & (I think) it stops at some of the islands as well - one aunt & cousin are coming along with Pepe y Lusitia & us three
- going to dinner at Toto's cousin (they are DuPontes) who is the keeper of the Family Archive & wants to meet us as Matias is the First Nino Grandson & Liam is the First Nino Great Grandson
Liam is definitely saying "chau" though & it's very, very cute. He misses his Nana! & his kitties though for sure & loses his mind when he sees pictures of Nana! and smiles until he face breaks when he sees any gatitos (kitties) [I should start charging a fee for these spanish lessons, people]. I am finding myself missing talking to people or more simply said speaking english so I do look forward to coming home to that!
P.S. the title of this post means Let's Go or Alright & it's my New Favorite Thing to Say.
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