All My Earthly Possessions

Within the last two weeks Ale has discovered that the toys that he has been playing with belong to him. He has possessions. The favorite items are of course, a fire truck, airplane, a blue truck, and three cars. All of these items must go everywhere with him. To bed, to the supermarket, to daycare and the park. To transport them they must all be in his arms and papa and I are the only ones who can carry them when a car rolls out of his hands.

Ale is learning his place in the world around him and is seeking security. I think this discovery of the notion that things belong to him falls in line with his super clingy state with me. In the end I am ultimately another one of his positions that comfort him, has fun with and makes him feel safe.

I think I’m going to get him a backpack so he can carry his beloved vehicles with ease. It’s a shame I can’t fold myself up and and go along everywhere with him.

Go, Go! Go Away!

Ale has entered a huge stranger danger phase. He suddenly has become very clingy and we can not leave his sight for one moment. This unfortunately makes Ale a horrible party host.

On Monday I gathered many of my friends from work to come to my home for a BBQ. We are nurses and all women. This means we have our periods together, ovulate at about the same time and get pregnant within one month of each other. There were about eight of us who were pregnant at the same time so our children are the same age. We all wanted to get together and have the babies splash together in the kiddy pool.

When 4pm came and the doorbell began to ring ushering in 15 moms with their babies and kids from 4 weeks to 9 years old Ale was not happy with the invasion. He also told them so when they greeted him at the door. It would go like this:

Me holding Ale.

Friend : “Hi Ale! How are you?”

Ale : “No!” And turn his head into my chest.

Friend: “Ale, Do you want to play with my son?”

Ale: “No! Go, go! Go away! Go away!”

Fantastic! The poor guy said this throughout the evening. This made my job as grill master very difficult. As I tried to flip burgers and roast carrots Ale insisted that I hold him and three of his favorite trucks at the same time. When my husband came home I was more than happy to see him! The little guy then stayed with Papa and mingled with him.

I don’t blame Ale. I remember wanting to hide under my mothers’s dress when we had many people at home or in unfamiliar situations. I too was attached to the hip with her and in many ways I still am. This is yet another phase that I have to be strong and guide my little guy with love and support. It just breaks my heart to see him desperately cry.

The Little Blog That Could—- 1,000 Views!

Last night when I checked my stats I saw that I had reached exactly 1,000 views! What really impressed me was that they were not all from my mom who also likes to keep up with Ale.

With this little blog of my adventures with Ale, my words have traveled across the US and entered over 20 countries spanning Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Just AMAZING!

I’m just blown away at how much I like to blog here on WordPress and connect with other bloggers. There are so many wonderful mommy and daddy bloggers that I’ve connected with and shared stories and experiences with. I’m also following other fantastic bloggers who share things I would never otherwise come across in other medias.

This is great motivation to keep writing, and sharing.

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by! 😘

Papa!

Happy Father’s Day to my husband who is now known as Papa! He is my best friend and life companion. Ale is one lucky little boy to have him for a papa. He will teach him what he has taught and given me: laughter, kindness, knowledge on all kinds of sports, and how to enjoy life to the fullest. It’s beautiful to see how much he loves Ale unconditionally.

Thank you papa for all that you do for us each day!

ABCs Blog Challenge

Squircle Aphabet 2 (Photo credit: Leo Reynolds)

This week Erica at Nannypology tagged me to participate in the ABCs blog challenge. To show her that I’m not too cool for school, I’m going to change it up a bit. Her post had a list of questions. I’m just going to free form it and use each letter of the alphabet to write something about my adventures with Ale.

 

In stead of tagging another person, I want to invite anybody who would like to take part in this challenge. Just link your blog post in the comment section below. Maybe I’ll discover a new blog or two. Better yet, I’ll learn more about the wonderful ones I currently follow.

 

Here we go!

 

A- Ale!!

 

B- BOY!!

 

C- Cat – meow! The ground floor apartment had two cats that would hang out in the window. Ale and all of the kids that passed by would go crazy when they saw the cats. The cats sadly have moved to California! I really hope the new neighbors will have a cat.

 

D- Dance Party! I try to have a dance party each day with Ale. Shake it up!

 

E- ENERGY! Ale is not a big eater but he so much energy. The boy is in constant motion.

 

F- Food– It’s a struggle. This week he is eating so I’m a happy mama.

 

G- GREEN! I am still buying many green things for Ale and myself. I don’t do it on purpose. Next thing I know we are outside and we look like frogs.

 

H- HELLO! Ale does not say this yet. I tell people that Bye! Bye! is his universal greeting.

 

I- ICE CREAM– Mama its too cold! Wait, give me some more of that!

 

J- JUMP!– Before he could walk Ale could jump. Jumping on the bed and sofa is the best thing now. So many giggles. Then I have to remember I’m a mom and tell to him to stop 😦

 

K- Kuddles- (I know this word starts with a c- but I can’t think of anything with a K!) Ale is constantly moving but he does stop for a second to run up to me and give me a quick (k)cuddle. So sweet!

 

L- LOVE- I love, love, love this little boy.

 

M- MONKEY! All of a sudden if you tell Ale that he is a little monkey he will start imitating a chimp. It’s so funny. He must have learned this in daycare.

 

N- NAP! This gives me two hours to get stuff done.

 

O- Orange Juice is the only juice the little man will drink.

 

P- PAPA! Ale loves to whisper in my ear “Papa” and point to him when he is near.

 

Q- QUIET! Not at my home. Yesterday, while I was making dinner, I gave Ale a pot and a wooden spoon. My husband had the pot lids and they were making some serious music. I added the hand claps and Ale started “singing”. Sorry neighbors!

 

R- RUN! Running after a little toddler can’t get any better than this.

 

S- Summer! We are having so much fun so far. The playground with water features is fantastic. Looking forward to BBQs, vacations, and the beach!

 

T- TALK!- Ale now has close to 20 words but is still not talking yet. The words come out in bursts and then seem to disappear. His new word is “here”. This is when he wants to watch TV. He hands me the remote and says “Here”.

 

U- Unique! I like to think that Ale is unique in all that he does. However, he is doing what all healthy 19 month olds are doing. I will challenge you that he does them the cutest! 😉

 

V- VELCRO! Shoes come off way too easily.

 

W- Walk! Ale sometimes now wants to be out of the stroller when we are out and about. He loves to walk all by himself down the street. But does not yet understand that he has to stop at the corner to cross. This is a struggle, literally as he squirms to let go of my hand at each corner.

 

X- XYLOPHONE! Of course Ale loves to use this!

 

Its musical and colorful. Most of all it has two sticks to bang with.

 

Y- YES! Not a word yet in Ale’s vocab. If he wants to respond yes, he smiles and jumps.

 

Z- ZZZZZZZ! Have you fallen asleep? You’ve made it to the end of the alphabet. Give it a try! Add your post to the comments section. Have fun!

 

TRUCK! PLANE! BUS!

What is with little boys obsession with tucks? I remember as a little girl myself watching boys play with cars and trucks and thinking– what are they doing? They look so silly. Now that I have a little boy I kind of, sort of understand it in a round about way. Vehicles are big and loud and fast and can come in vibrant colors. That’s where my understanding ends.

Before having Ale I thought that the car/ truck thing came from society and the parents in particular pushing on to boys “gender appropriate” toys. By the way- I studied gender in college- I know these things. So at home for Ale I had many gender neural toys and two wooden cars that were up on a shelf in his room. Then one day we were outside and Ale saw a small plastic toy car. He walked right up to it and began pushing the car and making “mmmvrroom” sound. I was floored. That day the wooden cars came off the shelf.

Now when we are out and about Ale gives me a traffic report from the comfort of his stroller. A loud rumble to the left- Ale leans out confirms his suspicion, points and shouts excitedly- TRUCK! At the corner we wait for the light to change to cross the street and a bus rolls by – BUS! At the park swinging on the swings as he swings up he looks towards the sky – PLANE! To all of these situations I say to him “Yes! That’s right sweet baby. That’s a TRUCK! BUS! or PLANE!”

In the end its great because my little man alerts everyone around us to the big vehicle that is racing in our direction.

Preparing For Flight

English: Wedding rings Português: Anéis de Noivado / Casamento (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday I went to the wedding of one of my close friends. It was a beautiful intimate wedding of only 50 people. My friend- the bride- was absolutely stunning and her new husband sweet and gracious.

 

During the event I could not help but to think of their mothers. This was a crowning day. Both the bride and groom found true love after many years of searching. The mothers were glowing and proud women. In my new mother state I tried to imagine what they did later that night while the wedding party was still out drinking and dancing. What they felt when they went home to their apartments and closed the door definitively without their child.

 

Motherhood is a constant state of preparing your child for flight. To make sure they are supported and have the right tools to successfully leave you. In the case of marriage you hope that your child is capable of taking on and caring for a spouse and later children. Ultimately, you hope that their spouse will reciprocate these things as well.

 

After several champaign toasts and emotional speeches from friends and family I missed my little boy dreadfully. My job as a new mom took on greater importance. I must prepare Ale to be the love of the life of another person. To teach him kindness, respect, patience, and how to make a killer meal (they key to anyone’s heart is through the stomach). He will learn this by my example and by my guidance through the events that effect his life.

 

I have many years to do this starting now of course. When the time comes I will happily give him away- with a knot in my throat to his beloved.

 

Forget the Pill- Give Me Air and Kisses

A little late but here is June 4th’s Daily Prompt:

If you could get all the nutrition you needed in a day with a pill — no worrying about what to eat, no food preparation — would you do it?

 

I love to eat! I love to try new foods. I grew up in New York City and some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around food. Cooking at home with my dad, going to eat lunch at my friend’s home who was Japanese, Puerto Rican, Greek, or Jamaican.

When I was pregnant one of the top things on my baby registry list was the Beaba baby food maker. I could not wait to to whip up yummy nutritious purees, then move on to fun finger foods and I envisioned fun days of cooking and baking with my son. I even looked up local cooking classes for toddlers.

Oh, what a naive mom-to-be I was.

Next to sleeping habits- feeding my sweet little Ale has been a nightmare.

My first night at home from the hospital– Ale screaming, no wet diaper, no poop, lips were dry. At midnight I franticly sent my husband out to get formula. Thank goodness we live close to a 24hr pharmacy. Then came the struggle that I overcame with breastfeeding. When I could introduce solid foods I was super excited. Then I realized Ale had his own opinions about food. He essentially is either too busy to eat or he must exercise his own will. At nine months he was eating my homemade purees, and yoghurt with gusto. Then one day he discovered that he could pick up food with his fingers and it all went downhill from there. For almost two months he refused to eat anything that required a spoon.

Now he is a toddler. He says no! Mine! and is quick to push away the dinner that I lovingly made. I even have to chase after him to eat ice cream and banana bread! Right now the only food he will voluntarily eat are Cheddar Bunnies. So if my my long skinny baby who is 19 months and only weighs about 23lbs could choose, would most likely skip the daily pill concept. The pill would either be too red, too blue, or would not pass the finger poke test. Ale would much prefer to live off of air and mama’s kisses.

That idealized Michelin roll baby who eats everything with a smile is not my son.

Michelin Man (Photo credit: SouthEastern Star ★)

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/daily-prompt-pills/