Uh, table ahead!

Before church this morning John was trying to help Daddy get ready. He got Daddy his belt and his shoes, evening putting Daddy's shoe trees back into the closet for him. John was in a good mood this morning. And although he cried as we left him in the nursery, he seemed like he was ready to go when I mentioned last night and again this morning.

It was my turn to bathe John tonight. He was brushing his teeth and I went to get the camera to take a picture of the bump he got at dinner tonight. After I'd snapped the first pic, he somehow slipped and fell off the stool backwards and hit the back of his head on the tile floor. I put the camera down to console him and Daddy came to see what was up. For once, Daddy was the comforter that John wanted. So I went ahead and snapped pictures since I wasn't needed. I even got out of brushing John's teeth because he wanted Daddy to brush his teeth tonight.

As for the new bump on the forehead, the picture doesn't do it justice. It is raised and will likely change into the some really cool colors in the next few days. As we were walking into the restaurant to meet SNBNA for dinner tonight, John started to run and actually ran right into the corner of one of the tables in the restaurant. The table was just the right height to hit him smack dab in the middle of the forehead. Oh, he cried, quite loudly for the rather quiet restaurant. But it was soon forgotten with the basket of chips sitting in front of him. And it didn't hurt his appetite any either. He ate chips, a serving of pureed peas, his side order of refried beans, and most of mine, too. In fact, he was still working on the plate when the rest of the table was done eating. He was quite hungry tonight. I still don't understand how his food needs ebb and flow, making it interesting to figure out what he'll eat in a given day.

Lately, when I rock John before bed, he's been asking me to sing to him. Sometimes, he'll sing a song for me, too. We usually sing "Rock-a-Bye Baby", "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider", "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes", and "Jesus Loves Me", which tonight earned the honor of being sung three times. He likes to snuggle into my arm and make requests. It's a sweet time together. Well, usually, until he gets silly and I have to calm him down. It is bedtime, you know.

-EBP-

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Sneak peek

While the boys were at home today, I went to see a new baby! B and I traveled over to Lake Charles to see our friends Amy & Jaime who had a new baby boy almost two weeks ago. Of course, I had to take some pictures (383 to be exact!).

Little E did not seem to excited at first. In fact, he looked down right scared! I don't blame him, really. It was too cold outside, so we ended up using much more flash than I would have liked to shoot some of the pictures. But he soon settled and we put him through the paces. He was definitely a trooper! So sweet and reminded my so much of JHP at this age. Little things that I'd forgotten, like the wrinkle of all the skin that needs some fat under it. E and JHP were about the same weight, although E had about 1.5 inches in length on John. And how they have to get ready to let out the cry. And how they go through so many faces while they sleep. Such an angel!

These are only the ones that jumped out at me, with just quick edits made. It'll take me a few days to make my way carefully through them and edit them to my liking. In case you can't tell, I like the sleeping baby pics the best!

I did learn a few things today. First, it's pretty hard to get what I have in my mind's eye to show up in the camera every time. I guess if it were really that easy, photographers would be way more numerous than they are. Second, my new soft little backdrop beads up urine pretty well. E christened it for me today. Only once, though, which I was kind of surprised at. I expected numerous times. Third, my friends have got to be the most laid back parents I've ever met. What ever we wanted to do they were game for. And E was one of the most easy going babies. I don't think my own child would have been this compliant with over 2 hours of pics. Fourth, I need lots more practice at this! I'm not near as pleased with my SOOC shots as I'd hoped to be. There are definitely some keepers, but out of 383 shots, I expected more at first glance to meet my expectations. Lastly, posing newborns ain't as easy as it looks in the pictures!

I hope you like what you see, Amy & Jaime!
-EBP-

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Clowning around

"Uh, you say it's been raining, Momma?"

"I'm so silly I could laugh all day at myself."

For the record, those were clean, never before worn underwear that I was trying to fold, with little help from John Harrison, whose idea of folding is wading up into a ball and throwing on the floor. And I did NOT put them on his head or encourage him in any way to do so.

On the other hand, everything that wasn't happy or to his liking was rebuked with a whine today. Everything. And it got old fast. And he was very demanding, too. I finally told him that I wasn't going to do anything he wanted if I had to remind him to say please. He says "Thank you" all the time, but rarely remembers to say "Please" without being prompted. Instead he just whines. Then whines please when prompted. Ugh!

Tonight was the second night this week that John did not want any rocking before bed. He wanted to go straight to his bed. And he was quiet, too. Strange, but welcoming.

-EBP-

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Little Piggies

I was inspired today by a picture I saw on a photography forum I belong to. Here are John's little feet peeking out from his way too long jeans.

John's been especially whiny this week and it's wearing me down. And he doesn't want to eat much some days, which only contributes to the whine. And if, he doesn't get his way, he turns on the tears. It seemed like it got better for a few weeks. Then he got sick and even though he's better, the whine didn't go away with the illness. I hope tomorrow the whine stays in bed when I get him up. Otherwise he'll be spending lots of time in there figuring out how to handle his emotions. Like he had to do again tonight during dinner.

-EBP-

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Time Out

This sweet little boy pushed a little girl at school today and got put in time out. When the teacher asked him if he knew what he did, all he would say is YEP! I picked him up early because I was already there today (my Wednesday Bible Study started and I'd already paid for him to go to MDO on Wednesdays in January). When the teacher told me what happened, I made John go apologize to the little girl for pushing her. I'm not sure he got it. We'll have to keep working on that.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Daddy worked late again today which made for a long afternoon. But, at least John slept most of the afternoon. While he was a bit whiny before dinner, likely because we ate late, he was pretty pleasant after dinner and bath. He was so ready for bed, I didn't even rick him tonight. He just wanted to be in bed and covered up. I can't really remember that happening in the recent memory.

-EBP-

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Tuesday

Nothing much of note today. John went to MDO and I spent some quality time with some girlfriends. After MDO, we went to the playground and then the library. I hadn't planned on going inside, but John wanted to. So we did, checking out some books for John before we left. My brain is somewhat fried for some reason tonight. So, even if John made some cute quip today, I doubt I'd remember. I guess I'll go to bed early to regroup.

-EBP-

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iheartfaces Photo Challenge Week 4 - Textures

So every week I look at the iheartfaces photo challenge. And every week I think maybe I'll enter. This week I actually did. Here's my entry:

The texture is pretty subtle and picture was pretty soft to begin with. But I so love the hint of a smile and his eyes making such great contact with the camera. I think this is my new favorite picture (with or without texture). I hope you like it, too.

-EBP-

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Larger than life

So look what came by FedEx today. When I asked John who that was, he said, "Baby John!" Of course, he always says that about any picture of him, even recent ones.

I ordered this 16x20 canvas in August and used a placeholder until I could decide which photo I wanted to have printed. I finally decided and worked it up. And when I told my husband, whom I'd asked numerous times for an opinion, he said, "You picked that one?" Stinker! While I was working on my original choice, I'd also worked this one taken last January up and since John liked it better, I decided to make him happy and get it printed. And since they were having another sale this weekend, I bought another one, slightly larger at 16x24 (same crop ratio as a 4x6), to put my favorite picture on. Although after playing around with some pics this weekend, I might just have to pick a recent one that I took as my new canvas and ditch my previous choice. At the rate I'm going, each month I seem to have a new favorite. I guess that means my photography is living up to my expectations, finally. Regardless, I am so very pleased with (and proud of) this canvas that we will have on our wall for many years to come. Pixel2Canvas did a great job! Now I just need to decide where we'll hang it. I want it somewhere I'll see it often. It makes me smile!

This was one of the few smiles from John this evening. We had a rough afternoon. They'd called me from MDO about 100p because John was crying and not napping. So I went to get him. And his response to me telling him that we'd nap when we got home was not normal. He told me he didn't want a nap. But I told him, that at a minimum he needed quiet time and I left him in his crib where I think he did fall asleep. But he only slept for about an hour and a half, which is short for him. And he was still pretty whiny when he got up. He overreacted to the littlest thing that didn't go his way. He asked for snack but didn't eat much of it. Instead of our usual routine of going to the grocery today, I opted to stay home and go tonight. I just didn't want him to whine through the whole store and cause me to forget half the things we needed. So we played on the computer and watch some Movers and Mickey. Daddy came home and then we ate. Well, Daddy and I ate. John went to his room for a little while. I did finally get him to eat most of his dinner. And then we played and read books. We were kind of expecting a meltdown around bath time, but it never came. So John went to bed quietly. And we were both thankful for that.

During the bath, John was acting silly and not listening to Daddy. This continued as we were trying to dry him and dress him. At one point, Daddy asked John if we were going to have to spank him every time he didn't listen to us (to get out message across). John's response, "Yep!" Obviously, he was so wound up, he wasn't listening.

-EBP-

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Touch the Moon

As I was getting dressed this morning for church, John decided to help himself to a few things from my closet.  He kept walking into the bathroom with them to show Daddy.  First, it was a red pair of Keds.  Then it was this hat.  Then it was another pair of shoes, after which I suggested we go find his shoes and get ready for church.

I think John N. and I were both leery about church this morning given the behavior we had last week.    And John did  seem fine until he found something to pitch a fit about: his snack.  I’m not sure which little devil is working him on Sunday mornings, but I’d wish they’d leave him alone.  We did make it to church.  And of course, he cried quite dramatically when we dropped him off.  He was just his normal happy self when we picked him up, though.

After nap, John had a snack and then we went outside for a bit to enjoy the cool weather and the setting sun.  John loves to look at the moon.  Today he was trying to reach out and touch it.  He couldn’t so Daddy gave him a lift up to see if that would help.  Of course, it didn’t but John thought it was pretty cool nonetheless.

While JHP was napping, JNP went to get his hair cut, which was totally overdue.  He came back with a nice new coif.  We’d talked about it earlier in the day and JHP said Daddy would look nice and pretty when he got his hair cut.  And he does!  Although it’s ahrd to tell by the look in John’s face here.  He’ll kill me when (or if) he discovers that I put this one on the blog!

My favorite of John today.  I just love it when he’s looking straight into the camera and he connects with me so seriously.

I forgot to mention a couple of things yesterday.  We discovered that John knows how to blow his nose.  I’m not sure where he learned that he needs to close his mouth and blow out through his nose to clear it, but he does it very well.  I’m guessing someone at MDO must have told him.  I hadn’t thought to explain it because I figured he wouldn’t get it.  I guess I was wrong!

The other little story is from last night while John was brushing John’s teeth. Little Bit was acting silly and would not sit his bottom on the stool like his Daddy asked.  So Daddy stopped and through clenched teeth, loudly said “Would you please sit down?!?”  John grinned at him and wrinkled up his nose and loudly said back, “OK!”  Of course, my husband had a terrible time trying to keep himself from rolling on the floor laughing.  And JHP knew he’d broken Daddy’s anger.

-EBP-

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Mirror, Mirror

As we ate breakfast together, John admired himself in the reflection in his spoon. I couldn't help but go get the camera. He was so serious at first and then he became quiet silly. He even tried to show the camera it's reflection in the spoon.

After lunch out we came home and spent some time in the backyard where John picked dead weed flowers. He didn't want sit still long enough for me to get some pictures. So I just caught him in action today.

As usual, John asked to water the plants. Lately the plants haven't really needed it, so I've pretended and so has he. But Daddy deemed the plants thirsty after John's request and so they watered the plants together. Daddy doesn't normally carry a ratty old kitchen towel around, but it had served as our freeze protection a couple of weeks ago and so he took it off today.

And look what I discovered on our Bradford Pear trees. Tiny pears! Since this is an ornamental, we don't have more than a half dozen that I noticed on both trees. It was interesting to see. I seem to remember that maybe we had some last year, too. This crazy weather... It was kinda humid today. Humid enough that JHP worked up a sweat running (quite literally) around in the back yard. I was hoping that expense of energy would help him nap well, but it didn't. So the rest of the afternoon and evening we filled with plenty of distraction to make it until bedtime. We even walked to the park. JHP walked the whole way there and back!

-EBP-

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Just a swinging!

It was beautiful here today and so we spent part of the morning at the park. We enjoyed ourselves and the weather. John has a jacket on here in these pics, but he probably didn't need it. It was just right with a light breeze. The rest of the day was pretty normal and routine.

When Daddy got home, John was excited to see him. And vice versa. They hadn't seen each other since yesterday morning with Daddy's work schedule being all crazy yesterday. As they were greeting one another, JHP gave out a series of toots. We always remind him to say "excuse me" when he does this. And so when we asked him what he should say, his response was "Big Toot!" with a little laugh. Now is that isn't a Pitcher for you! Laughing at bodily noises!

The other thing I forgot to mention this week was that JHP has found a new word this week: MINE. Yes, that word has enter his vocabulary with a vengeance. He's even an Indian giver and will give you something and then two seconds later try to take it back, saying "mine!" So we are working on the companion word: SHARE. The funny thing is that he'll take the simplest things and hug them to his chest, saying "Mine!" in this sing-songy little voice. The whole thing reminds me of the Sesame Street skit from last season about "mine-itis". Hopefully this phase is short because I've already seen some tears over not getting his way concerning things that are "mine."

-EBP-

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Just us

John didn't eat much for lunch. So when I picked him up from MDO today, he finished his apples on the playground. He must have been hungry because he ate them all before he really played or even allowed himself to be distracted by what was there to play with. It was a beautiful day here and really enjoyed the time outside.

If you look closely, you'll see crusties on his nose. His nose is running and sometimes is not clear. I'm hoping the antibiotic for his ear addresses any infection he's got in his nose. He slept well last night and was only a little whiny today at school, which they said was unusual for him.

Daddy worked late tonight (and still isn't home yet) and so it was just me and John all afternoon and evening. We did OK. After the playground, we came home for more snack and a ton of water. I'd forgotten to pack a water cup and John really missed it. Then we played a little, watch some TV, went to get the mail, and then played in the backyard. It only got rough when it was time for dinner. He didn't want to eat what was there and kept whining about Chocolate Teddy Grahams. He spent some time in his room and then finally got him to eat. We colored a little, but it was soon time for the bath and bed. He was ready although he did act some silly when we were rocking. It's been quiet since I left him. I don't expect to hear anything tonight as I medicated as prescribed with a dose of Motrin for good measure.

-EBP-

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Infection

 

Well – Picasa ate my first post tonight.  I’m sure this won’t be as informative (or witty) as the original, but oh, well…  I’m also trying out a different posting mechanism so it might look a little different.

I took this picture this morning as we were leaving Target.  Yes, I said this morning.  He should have been at MDO, but he woke up last night about 1100p moaning and complaining that his mouth hurt.  And he woke up this morning with a fever.  I had given him Motrin last night for the pain and again this morning for the fever.  When I got around to taking his temperature, he was not real happy about me sticking something in his ear.  Hmmm.  I added this all together and decided we’d better skip school and find the doctor.

Dr. T fit us in this morning.  He diagnosed a doozy of a middle ear infection in his right ear.  He said he expected the fever to get worse before it got better.  He wrote John a prescription for an antibiotic and a local pain reliever.  And he said he wasn’t contagious and could go back to school.  YEAH!

Since I had a Target list already, we headed over there to get the scripts filled.  Over all John was just a little impatient and sensitive today.  I kept him pain relieved but I guess the infection was still bothering him quite a bit.  We headed home for lunch and some more meds.  Took a little break for some Movers and then headed down for a nap.  He slept well and long, even through the doorbell, which sounded super loud today for some reason.

Hopefully, he’ll sleep well tonight.  If he wakes, I’ve got the Motrin and Tylenol at the ready.

-EBP-

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Long afternoon

After MDO we went to the playground. It was unseasonably mild here today with a high around 75 or so and a light breeze. The bad news was that it was a little more humid than I wished it to be. But we managed. It was definitely nice to be in short sleeves again. So I won't complain too much. John was examining this mechanism pretty carefully today. He's seen it dozens of times, but something about it caught his attention today.

While John was polishing off his snack, he took some time to flirt for the camera. And luckily I caught at least one cute look.

The afternoon went downhill slowly. He just wasn't content. By the time Daddy got home (late, of course) we'd played on the computer, watched Movers, went outside to get the mail, went in the backyard so that I could start dinner, came inside to watch Veggie Tales, and John melted down a number of times because he didn't get his way. He'd asked to go to his room and I left him there for 10-12 minutes while I worked on dinner, but that didn't make him happy either. I asked him if something hurt and he told his mouth did. So figuring a dose of Tylenol couldn't hurt, I gave it to him and then we watched the end of Veggie Tales together while we waited for Daddy to get home so that we could eat dinner.

The evening did get better. We all ate. John actually finished off two+ servings of whole peas that I had cooked for dinner. He just kept eating them and we kept getting him more. We colored some after dinner. When I say we, I do mean all of us. John's quite insistent on having company to color most of the time. Then Daddy read him some books. They were reading Not the Hippopotamus when I took this picture. He found the tag line ("But not the Hippopotamus") quite funny tonight. Then it was on to the nighttime routine which went fairly smoothly. And all is quiet now.

In case you are wondering, he did sleep later this morning, but John had to go in before he left for work to retrieve a lost paapaa. I was thankful that JHP settled in for another hour before he decided it was time to get up for good.

-EBP-

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