Can I vent? Thanks.

This morning, I dropped Colin off at daycare and found out that for about 6 weeks, they've been giving him whole milk in a sippy cup at breakfast and lunch time.

It was about that long ago that I asked them to give him his milk in a sippy cup. To me, for a then-10 month old, milk=breastmilk. You know, the stuff I bring every day for him to drink. NOT whole milk.

I am pissed off. If they thought I meant whole milk, they should have asked to clarify. AND...they just all of a sudden switched him. They didn't mix it with breastmilk or anything. Or if they did, they didn't ask what ratio I wanted (which would've sent up a huge red flag for me).

And the girl was so snotty about it. I said, "You've been giving him whole milk?" And she said, "We talked about this!" Uh...no, we did not. Because if we had, I wouldn't be questioning it. No apology whatsoever from her.

Needless to say, I was mad, but in so much shock I didn't know what to say. I told them that I have over 600 ounces frozen in the freezer, and I don't forsee starting whole milk any time soon. I said my usual, "It's okay...good thing he didn't have a reaction, at least I know he likely won't react to it in the future," but as soon as I got to my car, I bawled. My goal of having only breastmilk (and solids) in my baby's belly for his first year is crushed.

I called the director and told her. There's nothing she can do to fix it, because you can't take that time back. LUCKILY Colin didn't have a reaction to it. Imagine what that would be like...I take him to the pediatrician, she asks what he's drinking, and I proudly say he's only drinking breastmilk, not even KNOWING that he has been drinking whole milk this whole time.

I also called Colin's pediatrician. I don't even know why. I told her what happened, and said, "I guess my question is...uh...I guess I don't really have one." She reassured me that she understood, but he's fine, and what's done is done and we can go back to breastmilk and transition when we're really ready for it.

I am so excited to drop him off tomorrow. not. I've decided I'm not going to say a lot to them anymore. And the important stuff I'll write down so it doesn't get misinterpreted.

I really, really, really hope the in-home daycare we really, really, really want has that opening in August. We have the paperwork. It's just not a sign-sealed-delivered guarantee yet.

He walks!

First 2-3 steps, then 2-3 feet, and now 10 feet. He'll be proficient just in time to look for Easter Eggs next Sunday.

I gots semi-pro shots and videos!

Last weekend, we went to my parents' house to hang out and meet their new Springer pup Tanner. My mom's co-worker came over to take some pictures of Colin and Tanner together. Here are just a few of the awesome shots she took:
(This was my old wagon. My brother and I found many uses for it, and Colin seems to really like it too. He stood up in it almost immediately and shook the handle back and forth.)
Puppy butt :)
When we got home on Sunday, the weather was nice enough to hang outside for a little bit. Colin sat on the sidewalk and watched Daddy use his leaf blower.
On Monday, we had scrumptious lasagna for supper. I kid you not, Colin ate for an hour. He ate all of the lasagna I gave him, an entire graham cracker, and almost a half cup of blueberries.
His appetite is really growing. Tonight after our chiropractor appointments, we went to Culvers for supper and I ordered him his very own scoopie meal and he pretty much ate both chicken tenders and half of the applesauce. Of course, I got his drink and custard, although I did let him have a few little bites of dessert.

Anyway, the lasagna night was quite the learning experience. Colin perfected how to sign "more" in his own little way.


The next night, he perfected how to pretend to use a sippy cup phone.


It is SO nice that he is understanding language and learning how to communicate more efficiently. We actually know what he wants now, and that makes us feel so much more confident as parents.

Milk

Does a mommy and baby good!

The most horrible of monthdays

Dear Collycakes,

Today you are 11 months old. Shh...maybe if I whisper it, it won't actually be true.
This is the best monthday picture I could get.
You just wanted to get out of that chair and move around! (Anyone have I-11? BINGO!)And the best picture without your pacifier. Tape is yummy.This month, you learned:

• How to stand by yourself for a few seconds.
• How to take just a few unassisted steps. You usually only go about 2 feet. Now that you're 11 months, I am okay with you walking. I didn't want you walking before today because I wanted you crawling as long as possible. It's better for your back and it's better for your eyes. But now I give you free reign to walk when you're ready. But really, no rush. And I'm still not going to encourage it.
• How to clap. But not really because you're having fun. You're still learning the context.
• How to sign "milk." You don't really sign "more" anymore though.
• How to throw your body backwards and hit your head so hard into the back of your high chair that the dining room chair legs lift off the ground. You think it's hilarious. I think it's dangerous, so you can stop now.
• How to turn the light switches on and off.
• How to open and shut doors. You can sit for a loooong time and swing them open and shut, open and shut.
• How to flush the toilet, and how to unroll the toilet paper.
• How to share. We were outside yesterday and today exploring the front yard in the nice weather. You picked up rocks, tried a few times to eat them, and then you put them in my hand. I was holding a big pile of about 8 rocks before you were done playing and crawled away.
• How to slide off the couch belly-first and land on your feet with a big, two-toothed grin.
  
• How to crawl really fast. When you're done taking a bath, you like to zoom around your room without a diaper on and air dry. Without any clothes on, you are one speedy little dude!
  

• How to throw a temper tantrum. Especially when you're getting your diaper changed.

• How to get on and off your riding trucks without any help.
  How to impress the ladies:

How not to impress the ladies:The foods you love to eat are:

• Hot dishes--Really, anything with hamburger, including sloppy joes. And I really do mean SLOPPY joes.

• Macaroni and cheese. You scarf it down like it's going to disappear.
• Fruit (mangoes, bananas, peaches, pears, cherries, kiwi, grapes...)
• Bread

And the foods you hate right now are:

• Veggies. Any kind. I will have to start hiding them in other food. Muhahaha!

Things you love:

• You're back to loving your pacifier. With the sudden change, we're hoping it means you've got teeth moving up there. I stuck my finger in your mouth yesterday to feel, and you bit me so hard with your bottom teeth! From now on, I'll do checks visually.

• You still love the vacuum cleaner. And now, added to the obsession list is your stroller. When we take you out of the car, the first thing you see is your stroller. You make a short, inhaled "Ah!" sound, and get your "gimme" hands going every time you see it. I'm glad you like to go for walks. I hope we'll do a lot of that this summer!
• You also liked helping daddy get the winter muck out of the garage because you got to push a shovel around. You also tried out the snow blower and lawn mower. Daddy is very excited for the day when you can take over those jobs!
  

You saw your first parade yesterday! You wrapped your legs around me oh so tight when the marching band and firetrucks passed us, trumpets blaring, drums drumming , sirens blaring. Tears were coming from your eyes, but you weren't making noise. Maybe your eyes were just watery? But every time you saw something 4-legged; a puppy, a horse, a donkey, an otter (yes, you read that right), you got your gimme hands and your "ah!" noise and your jibber jabber working. Otherwise, you pretty much unimpressed with the St. Patty's Day festivities. That's okay, I'm not sure there's any Irish in you anyway.
You do this thing that I love. When I'm sitting on the floor, you crawl into my lap just to get a hug. Sometimes I even get a sloppy kiss.

As we approach your 1st birthday, we're going to be very busy! Maybe it will help Mommy keep her mind off how big you are getting. You can be such a stinker, and you know it. But you are also a little sweetie pie. And there's no doubt that you are "All Boy."

Love,
Mommy

Okay, now I'm obsessed with PowerPoint.

It's more than slideshows!

After my success at making my new blog banner, I decided to give Colin's first birthday invite a go.

I looked to etsy for inspiration from seller yogayum:

And copied it:

Still not sure about a) the colors...I heart brown and blue, of course. I might be ready for a change from it though. It's too "expected" of me, and I like to surprise. b) the design itself. But it's a pretty good copy, no? c) if it will even be possible to print at a printing kiosk. it should, it is a jpeg. d) the size of it is a little weird (it's the size of a PowerPoint slide).

And yeah, I realize we need a picture of the future birthday boy. I'm waiting to put a good one in!

I can DO this! And I LIKE to do it!

Today is my first day of spring break. There is much to be done this week. Colin's at daycare for the afternoon, hopefully napping. He is a horrible napper at home, but naps at daycare like a champ. Color me jealous. I'll just tell myself it's because he thinks I'm really, really exciting and finds daycare boring. I've spent my time thus far touching up the paint that got on the ceiling, cleaning a little, and designing this gem (which was far more fun than cleaning, but still on my to-do list)

Okay...now it's off to do another load of laundry and clean my floors before my piano kids come.

::Points above::

EDITED:

I really don't like that [old, ugly] banner. The one with the blog title and Colin's picture. If I had one of those nifty programs like photoshop or scrapblog, I'd make it cuter. But I'm skeered. Perhaps I'll spend Colin's nap time fixing it.

I was able to use PowerPoint to do it :) I feel so savvy.

He loves to clean.

Remember this picture from the beginning of September?
Well, now Colin is completely obsessed with the vacuum cleaner. He knows where it's kept, and he kicks his legs and waves at the closet door, begging for us to get it out. We oblige about half of the time. Our carpets haven't gotten vacuumed this frequently EVER. Vacuuming is a very easy way to entertain him. Tonight, Colin opened the closet door and drug the vacuum out all by himself. I bet you didn't know that...

...vacuums are fun to walk around.
...vacuums are fun to push...opening the front cover leads to...
...Daddy taping it shut.
...it is fun to hit the vacuum with a wooden spoon!
...attachments, attachments, attachments! The more, the better.
I love this vacuum!
Now...how do we get him to keep loving the vacuum so that in 10 years he'll vacuum the house?

A future post may involve the Swiffer sweeper, because he's taken a fancy to that as well!

New living room

Living Room Before. Note the analogous boringness that is the previous homeowner's work:
Living Room After. Kevin was dying to rearrange the furniture, so we seized the opportunity:
Entryway and Hallway (my favorite is the hallway):
Paint colors are Rainwashed and Jasper by Sherwin Williams.

I'm slowly accepting the dark color. I LOVE how the light color contrasts with the woodwork and doesn't make it look nearly as "yellow" as it did with the yellow walls. In fact, I might actually be tempted to say that I LIKE the woodwork now instead of despise it's beechtasticness. And look how the tile in the entryway matches the light wall. I didn't even plan for this, but love.

I'm a firefighter

These last few weeks at school have been draining! The kids have spent so much time together that they're becoming sibling-like and it's driving me batty! They whine, they tattle, they pick on each other. And here I am, fighting a bunch of little fires between friends.

First, there was K and A, a pair of seemingly sweet little girls. Well, K for the most part is. A is bossy sometimes (she's an only child), and that is not cool with K (who is sandwiched in between 2 brothers). So we had to resolve this issue, because K was scared to even come to school b/c of A's bossiness and sassiness and controlling ways. Luckily, K's mom works with me and could intervene as a mom and talk to A's mom about it. Yesterday, after K had moped around all day and stayed the bleep away from A, A took note of her mood. A approached me during silent reading time and said she needed some time to talk to K. She wanted to apologize. So I seized the opportunity, knowing THIS was the time. A was ready to admit her faults and listen to what K had to say. So they talked. And A listened for a change. And they were buddies for the afternoon. Then something happened at the end of the day again today, and K was mopey again. Ugh.

Then there's C, another seemingly innocent lass. Until you find out she's breaking pencils into tiny pieces. And before you find that out, she gives you a handful of broken pencil pieces and blames it on someone else. And that someone else says that SHE was doing it all along. This is the same C who has clawed or scratched 6 kids on the bus in the last 2 days. One of these kids got clawed AFTER I talked to C at length about the whole situation that very. same. day. She says that they're being mean to her--calling her names, bothering her--but ALL of them deny it. Who do I believe? Even her mom doesn't know who to believe any more.

Then there's J. My shortest little guy. He approached me this afternoon and matter-of-factly, without blinking an eye, said, "T called me a frickin' bitch. And a fib." WHAT? We're 6 and 7 years old, here, people! Where does a wee child find the know how or the courage to even SAY that! T's dad is a teacher at my school, so I told him about it. I also talked to T, who said J was telling kids not to sit by him or play with him. And, of course, J denies it. Meanwhile, T's telling his dad, "I swear he said that." Who to believe? (And regardless, 1st graders don't call each other frickin' bitches anyway).

And then there's the constant Class Clown Competition between H, X, B, C2and J2. Only it's not funny.

5 more days until spring break. We NEED it. We need it like a needle needs a vein, like my uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain ($5 to the first person who can name that tune. And by $5, I mean $0).

It is in the times like these, I know 2 things for sure:
1. Colin will NOT be an only child. No offense to you only children out there.

2. THIS is why I'm so glad Colin is a boy. I can handle having 2 boys. If they're beating each other up, I can send them outside while I do the dishes or knit. 2 girls...no. The drama would KILL me.

Confession:
When I was pregnant with Colin, of course I told everyone I didn't care if I had a boy or a girl. But in reality, yeah...see #2 above.

::Sigh::

Painting therapy commences this weekend. My parents are coming up tomorrow morning to help supervise Colin/help us paint our living and dining room this color:
With accent walls this color:Yikes. Before and after pictures to come.