Month: November 2007

Davis is one now and sometimes taking a one year old to the grocery store can be a challenge. So, I do whatever I can to make my shopping experience a little more pleasant. Often this involves distracting Davis. In the past, I have allowed Davis to hold a cantaloupe (he thought it was a really heavy ball), a lime, a bottle of salad dressing, even a bucket (which he got stuck on his head).

Recently a new Lowe’s Foods opened in our area. At this particular store, they have those carts that look like a car so that your child can sit up front and pretend he is driving. I thought, “Wow, what a spectacular distraction device.” So, Davis and I opted to drive the car on our last grocery buying adventure. Davis is a great driver by the way. I, on the other hand, obviously need a license to be able to operate this sophisticated piece of machinery.

We made it through the produce area without a hitch. We then had to navigate through the Deli/Bakery section. I made it halfway through when this mass of a buggy we were driving collided with a pastry display. CRASH – down came about six plastic boxes of some sort of sticky bread. Plastic boxes make a commotion when they fall. Okay, so I started picking them up with everyone watching. I got them placed back on the display, tried to navigate around once more, and wouldn’t you know it, CRASH – they all fell again. This time, the bakery display guy and a total stranger came rushing to my aid. They were steadily picking up these pastries as I once again tried to navigate safely around this display. And yes, people, for a THIRD time, I knocked the pastries over. I didn’t even look up to see how many people in that bakery were gawking at me and my one year old, now very distracted, child. Finally, after many attempts, I made it through the bakery section and through the store.

At the register, the very friendly cashier asked if I wanted to place my groceries back in the car so that Davis could continue driving. “No way,” I responded. “I want to get rid of this thing as fast as I can.” I explained that I had wrecked a pastry display. Her mouth dropped open; she didn’t even know how to respond, but gladly placed my groceries in a normal buggy.

We made it to the car safely. Next time, I’ll know to steer clear of any buggy that looks like it belongs at an amusement park.

Last Sunday in nursery, Davis experienced his “First Kiss.”

Davis was standing by the nursery door, minding his own business when Hailey (only four months older than Davis) walks up to him, faces him, studies him for a few minutes, then reaches over and kisses him on the cheek. Davis just stood there looking at her like he didn’t know what in the world to do. She eventually walked off leaving Davis lovestruck.

Later, Hailey and Davis migrated back to each other and stood staring once again. Again, Hailey leaned over and kissed Davis. This time, Davis kissed her back. The funny thing is that Davis gives open mouthed kisses, so he basically licked her face. That was the last kiss of the day for Hailey. She did later offer him her sippy cup though.

Just a couple of little Davis tidbits that I don’t want to forget. He does the following on a regular basis:

1. Pats his tummy when you tell him too
2. Dances while carrying around his toy boom box, cd player, and fridge DJ
3. Dances in the carseat while listening to the radio – kind of a bounce and head nod – loves rap music
4. Puts his hands on his ears when you ask, “Where are your ears?” or “Where are your eyes?”
5. Licks his lips when he is ready to eat
6. Says “Yum, yum, yum” when he is eating or pretending to drink out of a cup
7. Dances when I wake him up with my Good Morning song
8. Closes his eyes and dives off the furniture – he actually dove off our bed yesterday before I could catch him. No more playing on the bed.

My child is a thief.

This is how I know. Yesterday, Davis and I were in Aeropostale with Obea and Ayden. I bought a gift for my niece, JoLanna. Paid for it and everything. We all four walked out of the store and headed to GAP to visit our friend Paola. After a few minutes of visiting with Paola, I looked down at my child who was seated in the stroller to find a pair of very soft fleece pajamas laying in his lap. We didn’t pay for fleece pajamas. We paid for a shirt. I immediately left GAP (with my friends laughing hysterically) and returned to Aeropostale. I explained that my child must have plucked the pajama pants from a table unbeknownst to me. The attendant seemed shocked that I returned them. I hope this is not the beginning of a life of crime.

On last Thursday, Davis went to the doctor for his 1 year Well Baby visit. The nurse came in and did all the usual stuff – weighed him (26.3 lbs. – 75th percentile), measured his height (31 in. – 90th percentile), and measured his head circumference (above the 95th percentile). After his measurements, Dr. Drosieko came in and asked all the routine questions about his diet, development, and overall well-being. We explained that he eats everything, can say mommy, daddy, eyes, baby, bubble, peepee, ball, and papa.

She then went into an explanation of his measurements. All was well until she got to his head circumference. She explained that his head was very large and sometimes parents got alarmed and asked for an MRI and CT scan to rule out water on the brain. She then said she wasn’t concerned about Davis because he was developing normally.

Then, she continued on with her assessment of Davis as if nothing had just happened. I don’t know what all she said after uttering MRI and CT scan because at that point, I went into super high alert! Finally, I stopped her and said, “I’m sorry, I’m a hypochondriac and you just mentioned that Davis’s head was too big and now I am highly freaking out!” She reiterated that he was developing normally and she wasn’t worried. I reiterated that I was freaking out.

To put my mind at ease, she suggested taking measurements of my head and Tracy’s head because most times, a large head is a familial characteristic. Again, she said that Davis was developing normally, speaking at least 4 words, walking, interacting, waving and clapping, so she wasn’t worried.

“Did you say clapping?” I asked. I then explained that Davis couldn’t clap. I started getting that hot, sick feeling because in an instant, I knew that something was terribly wrong with our child who minutes before was just perfect. She again said not to worry, that was one item on a list of many developmental milestones. Not being able to clap did not mean that something was terribly wrong with our child.

Needless to say, I don’t know what she said for the rest of the appointment, because by this time, all I can think about is that our son’s head is huge, he needs an MRI, and he can’t clap.

Finally, at the end of the session, Dr. Drosieko pulls out her tape measure, measures Tracy’s head and plots it on the growth chart. Apparently he has a big head – above the 90th percentile. She then wraps the tape measure around my head, plots the measurement on the growth chart and wouldn’t you know it, my head is huge too – above the 90th percentile. I felt a little more reassured, but that clapping thing still had me out of sorts. So, the minute we got home, I started working on clapping lessons with Davis. I did a demonstration lesson, then assisted him with clapping his own hands until finally, he could do it own his own. He was actually a pretty quick study. Now, he walks around and claps for no apparent reason.

I know that once again I have proven to our pediatrician that I am crazy. Surely, she has at least one other patient who is crazier than me…

Well, Davis reached his biggest milestone yet. He turned one last Wednesday. He’s officially a toddler. No more baby business. All grown up.

On Wednesday night, we didn’t do anything extraordinary. We opened his birthday letter which was from Norma, a teacher I worked with for several years. We pressed his one year old pudgy hand into some plaster of paris. And, because everyone made me feel awful for not planning to have cake on his birthday, I made Tracy go to Wal-mart. He came back with a Frankenstein cupcake cake slathered in green icing. We sat Davis down, lit his candle, blew it out for him and allowed him to dig into the green mass. He swiped his finger across the icing, retrieved some green sticky goo and sucked it off his fingers. He then tried to pick the cake up at which point it came very close to toppling off his high chair and onto our very light colored carpet. We decided that Davis was finished eating cake.

On Saturday, the official birthday celebration was underway. We had a good ole southern farm party complete with live horses, farm dogs, and all Davis’s friends dressed as farm animals. A gargantuan farm raccoon and kangaroo and joey even made an appearance. The kids all had a ball. They looked at the horses, chased the dogs, climbed on tractors, and ate dirt. What else could you ask for in a farm party? The adults chased the kids and ate candied apples, pumpkin and pecan pie, chicken nuggets, cheesy ham biscuits, blue cheese dip and carrot cake cupcakes.

After a little scarecrow building and picture taking, Davis got to experience cake for a second time. Tracy retrieved the two tiered cupcake and lit a candle while everyone sang Happy Birthday. Davis looked at the candle and grabbed it just before Tracy could blow it out. Needless to say, he let out a cry. We gave him ice, which he ate and all was well again. After cupcakes, Davis opened his 1 billion presents. He got everything from toy cd players and boom boxes to books and a whole new wardrobe. He was overwhelmed and delighted at the same time.

We all had a spectacular time. The trick is going to be making turning two as much fun as turning one.

Below are all the people in attendance at Davis’s party:

Papa, Mema, Warren, Grandpa, Grandma, Granny M, Papa Brant, Great Granny, Aunt Sarah, JoLanna, Callie, Auntie Kim and Uncle Brett, Zia and Gut, Felicia, Aunt Pat, Micah, Aunt Obea and Uncle Paul, Ayden, Rhea, Adam, Paola, Bella, Marian, Richard, Trinity, Shamara, Omega, Kathleen, Kira, Emma, Kelly, Kyle, and Cole