Hey guys! Sooooooo far behind.
Thanks for your support re: my sister. She doesn't think before she speaks and what comes out is typically mean. Apparently her OH is actually telling her when she's being mean because she doesn't recognize it. She even told me the day I announced my engagement that she would never get married because it's an affront to the "Feminist Project."

Hopefully the baby will mellow her.
Ach, I'm getting J down for a nap, and while he knows I put him down, not Dad, and that means staying in bed, he keeps doing this:
"Waaaaah!!!!!"...............
long silence, I feel relief................
"Ahhhhhhhhh"...........................
oh no, what if it's one of THOSE days..............................
"Bwa-bwa-bwa"....................................
that's really not good--that's his "I'm having fun sound..................
silent?.............
asleep?............
is it possible?................
"Waaaaaaahhhhh!" This can go on for 20 minutes and then my husband will get him up because he simply has stimulated himself out of a nap.
I, on the other hand, eventually just go in and tell him to go to sleep, which stops the whole "my crib is a playpen attitude," reminds him that he wants out, makes him cry properly, and then he falls asleep. Cruel, I know, but he gets it in his head sometimes that since the ocean wave machine is going, this would be an awesome time to practice making sounds because no one can hear (yes, we can), and he manages to keep himself awake.
Oh good. He really is asleep now. Another trick: space heater. Who can resist sleep when in a fleece sleeper and a nice warm and infinitely cozy space heater is going? We've gotten HOURS of sleep out of him this way. The room is cold anyway, so it is warranted. I've got mine going right now, in the room next door.
Angel--in the pic, Eric is holding the top of a (new, therefore clean) garbage can without the spinny thing in front of his face to make him look like a Spaceman. And why yes, as I look closer, J
is biting it. Good thing it's clean...
As for my sister choosing my aunt's name, I was furious when I saw that. Not so much at my sister, but at my aunt! She has been really cruel to me for a long, long time and I've never ever known why; we have episode after episode since I was 12 of her being a b*tch to me, and my sister knows all that. But she still chose to name her daughter after her, and for a while, every time I saw my niece's full name, I got really mad. But now, I only think of her as Sweet Georgia Brown, so I can ignore the middle name.
Ralph Lauren is not cheap here at all. But at least it's classy. The shirts actually make me feel attractive. I have a very "square" style, as in, my body is more the shape of a man's--broad shoulders, narrow hips (no hips, in fact)--but I also have large breasts (which has been the problem when I've been trying on XL stuff--nothing fits over my breasts). So, when slender, I doesn't look half bad, but now, everyone expects Plus Sized people to wear flowing shirts and dresses to hide everything, and my body shape doesn't work with that. Shirts and simple sweaters do, however, and I am so glad that I found RL's Plus Sized division. Expensive, maybe, but now I have enough stuff to get through the semester. Now, I just have to do my hair. It's been over a year...
Eric has gotten very smart with buying what I need for J, regardless of what I need. He either takes a pic with his phone of an almost empty package, or he takes a pic of what he finds in the store and sends it to me. He also knows to look for sodium and finds all the low sodium options.
Rowan--re: LO's weight issues--exactly! It's the belly that's gone! I hadn't thought of that! I bought him a whole bunch of 12-18 mo clothes, and none of the pants fit because they just slide down. But his other pants are too small. He's in an in between stage of rolled up cuffs.
As for the climbing, I think he got it out of his system. Ever since I made my couch available to him, the "forbidden attractiveness" of climbing has gone out of him, and I think it's the same with the counter and table. Plus I think he scared himself; even with Gymboree, he had never been that high.
Re: milk--nope, J won't take it either in a sippy cup; we keep sneaking it into his formula. He's supposed to have 8 oz a day I think? We do get him that in the bottle, but he wouldn't touch a sippy cup with a ten foot pole. Not quite sure how to deal with this. I tried juice with J once because he was constipated, and after one sip, he threw down the cup and he didn't touch that particular sippy cup again, no matter what was in it. I eventually gave it to Oma so the context changed, but still, that boy sure holds a grudge against juice.
You must feel so uncomfortable right now! And I'm sorry you felt so down. Soon though, soon! I can't wait to have a
baby baby on the board. How does M react to your bump? And to M2 kicking? Did you have to buy her any "How to be an awesome big sister" books?
Re: books--what are M's favourites right now? Now that J likes books, I should find more than just Sandra Boynton ones to read to him. It's just that
I love them...
Leeze--you too, what is K into these days? J responded best to yours and Rowan's suggestions, so I'm coming back to dip into the same well. Not that I don't appreciate other suggestions.
Claire and
Storm and
Kosh--what are your one-year-olds into?
Re: Bones--
Re: poop--same here. I'm on the verge of throwing up each time. Since J's not noticeably teething right now, it must be the milk and the real people food. He's pooping 3 times a day these days; has M also increased the amount?
Borboleta--bananas are the bane of my existence. J LOVES them, and if he sees one, that's it, he HAS to have one. Then he goes in his high chair and sticks piece after piece of it into his mouth until it's all in, and then sits there patiently for around 10 minutes waiting to swallow it all. His cheeks are puffed out, there is banana oozing from his mouth and his fingers are covered in banana goop which then goes straight into his hair. But eventually it all goes down.
We have something similar to what your describing with the cheap but good store. It's called "Winners" and I'd go there if
they hadn't got rid of the Plus Size section. It's seriously crazy--turns out,
no one likes an overweight person.
I agree with this stupid, arbitrary (I believe) stopping of bottles at one year. I read this on a gov't website somewhere, and felt really guilty, and then felt that whoever came up with idea is simply spun. Our formula goes to 18 months, and I'll be taking advantage of that for as long as I can (which is, obviously, as long as 18 months).
Well, so much for a long nap; J is up again. I'll have to finish later...