Imaginary Friends

This weekend, Oliver and I visited some friends I met almost two years ago online. Of course I was apprehensive, more about the solo flight with a toddler than I was about meeting some strange people (and staying with them) who live 2000 miles away! However, the weekend was a great success and I felt so welcomed by my host family! Oliver is a fantastic traveler and he charmed all he met. He nursed on take off and touch down which made his ears pop painlessly - ah nipples, the ultimate pacifier! The only issue we had was me falling asleep during a nursing session and when I awoke, he had unlatched and my breast was hanging out, winking at all who passed. I am sure the newly married couple that were my row mate really appreciated it. Well, I KNOW the husband who sat next to me did, as it was his burning stare that woke me from my slumber.

I got a taste of what a large Mormon family would be like, we had four children (3 and under) running around along with a newborn and a largely pregnant woman on the couch at one point. I loved it, looking into that whole plural marriage thing for myself, ESPECIALLY if we can have a husband like Ashleigh's husband Matt. This man adores his wife and kids, such devotion, even if it was on a delayed time table. I love that Oliver believes every woman is somehow related to him, and every man he meets too. I feel like because of the amazing friends I have, he will believe he was raised in a commune of some sort, surrounded by many hands supporting him and many hearts guiding him.

While I was there, Oliver showed off as to what a great big brother he was going to be. He fell in love with the newest baby there, Alex, son of Amy and Tim. He spent most of his time either holding Alex's hand, kissing his head or shooing other toddlers away from him.
We went to the zoo, which Oliver LOVED until he conked out! It was a lovely zoo with a variety of animals this girl was not used to getting from zoos. Those of you who do not know, the zoo in Austin sucks. More of a wildlife rescue center, so all of the panthers and things are toothless or blind. Sorta depressing! But this place was AWESOME!!

Looking at the sea lions

Taking turns (of course) riding horseys! From left to right: Riley, Wyatt, Oliver, Emma, and Tim.
SSSSS SSSS Snake!
Things I have taken away from this trip:
Amy talks so fast I can't understand most of the words in between the word "Fuck" but I bet they are hilarious!
Ashleigh is the cutest preggo ever and Oliver was convinced that she had a ball hidden on her somewhere.
Emma is sweet and so gentle with babies smaller than her...well except for Wyatt but he deserved it.
Matt will talk the paint off a building about anything and loves food. This was very good for me as I was hungry constantly during this trip, so he made me feel normal!
Riley loves Spiderman pajamas, until he is 23 I will always picture him in those PJs.
Tim is a very patient, sweet daddy and the perfect match for Amy.
Wyatt is the strong silent type, but at least he learned some sign language while we were there!

Thanks again Wilson Family for welcoming me, come down to Austin ANY TIME!!!

I wish I was an Oliver Goss Weaner...

Yea, I know. Kids wean themselves when they are ready. Don't tell me, this too will pass and they grow up so quickly! In my head I know all this is true, and he will probably wean sooner rather than later because I am pregnant and drying up but tell that to my ta-tas. I am so tired of the begging. The tapping on the breasts and whining until I finally either give up or start yelling. I feel the need to film what I go through on a daily basis with this kid so that people can see what I am talking about when I say distraction doesn't work. Soy milk doesn't equal breast milk no matter what you think.

He STILL wakes up in the middle of the night asking for it and screams like this is the first time I have told him no, EVERY. TIME. We even tried (semi) cold turkey this past weekend, by giving him to my mom for the weekend. He came back just as interested as he left! At this rate the kid will be potty trained before he is weaned. At this point I have narrowed down his feedings to three times a day. Morning, nap, and bedtime. He seems sorta okay with that, and as long as I am reading a book I can handle it without too many teeth being gnashed.

Here is where I wish he could talk, because most of the time he wants to "nurse" he really is bored, or tired, or hungry or thirsty or whatever. It would be nice if he could/would say what he really wanted instead of a catch all solution. I know that most likely, the reason he is still nursing is because he doesn't have the skills to communicate what he really wants, and it would be cruel to take away his one outlet so onward we go!

I can only hope that once my milk completely goes in the second trimester, he will lose interest and start talking!

Second Trimester

Well, maybe not EXACTLY the second trimester, I am 11 weeks now and technically I won't be in the second trimester for another two weeks or so. However, obviously, as you can tell from the number of posts, I have felt less like ordering a coffin lately and my humor has started to return. I wondered why I started pregnancy blogging with Oliver at 17 weeks, this is why. It sucks being pregnant in the beginning.

So now, I can actually eat things without feeling like surviving is a horrible mistake! I can get off the couch for long enough to shower! I no longer feel I have to decide which is more important, peeing or sleeping! And the best part, I feel like blogging again.

The thing I am struggling with now is a horrible sciatica (trying to find chiropractor and already go to a masseuse) which cripples me into sorta dragging my right leg behind me. Luckily, I can still just make it to my job in the bell tower. In a related story, I also have been suffering from headaches that are making me pretty miserable. I am hoping a chiropractor can help with both.

Other than that, getting excited about this next part, the fun part of pregnancy. Where the baby starts moving and I start looking pregnant and not just fat, etc. All that good stuff before it all goes down hill in the third trimester.

Pampered Chef

I am hosting a Pampered Chef party for a friend of mine who has started selling it to try to be able to continue staying at home with her daughter and I thought that even though you might not be able to attend the party, maybe you would like to buy a few things either for yourself or for Christmas presents to support a good cause.

If you shop through this link the total goes towards my party and you get to take advantage of the 20% off stoneware and metal bakeware special.

I really appreciate it!!

Adventures in Potty Training

All I have to say is thank goodness he is doing this on his own because I didn't have a clue where to start. About 6 months ago, we got a little potty off Freecycle (gosh I love freecycle!) and for a few months, Oliver just played with it. When he flushed it, it sings, when he touched the "toilet paper" it talked to him about the appropriate amount of paper to use, and when he put blocks in it, well the thing nearly blew up with excitement.

So for several months, that was it, just another toy in the corner. Sometimes we would ask if he needed to go potty, but he would just look at us crazy like and tinkle on the floor when we weren't looking. I made sure to show him each time I went to the bathroom and showed him the signs. Then, one night, during our ritual "naked time" (for him, not us) Oliver decided to sit on the potty. He strained and strained. And finally his product. A toot. It was the proudest toot of our lives! His too! He clapped and clapped and we laughed and clapped!

A few weeks later after having repeated the gas expulsions each night, some pee came out. From the celebration that insued, you would have thought this pee cured cancer. There was dancing, there was clapping and Oliver got to wave bye-bye to his pee as we flushed it down the big toilet. It was cute, but we figured a one time deal, sorta an accident. Afterall, he was only 17 months old and this was supposed to be so difficult! Psychological traumas happen because of incorrect potty training!

One day, at a friend's house, Oliver tapped me on the shoulder before he pooped. He did the sign for it as he was going. This was sorta the wake up call I needed to just make that final step and just DO IT already, he was obviously ready to potty train. So, we got a second potty for downstairs, got some tiny tiny undies (again from freecycle!) and started watching the kid for signs of potty time like a hawk.

We have found that poop is easy, but fast. By the time he has made the sign, he has already started pushing so you better be a fast runner. If we leave him naked, he finds the potty on his own, no prob, but since he is so little, he hasn't learned to take off his shorts himself yet so sometimes we are lucky and sometimes we are not. One day, we were not. We tried to get him to the pot as fast as possible but we ended up with a log on the floor. Or as we would come to know it...a dog treat.

We have accidents, it is still hard for him to remember to go when he is having fun, but that is why we have wood floors I guess! We only use about three diapers a day and the rest of the time he is going in the potty, even the big potty when we aren't at home or when he is being babysat. Not bad for a 19 month old boy. At this rate, it would look like I will only have one in diapers at a time. Please cross your fingers (and legs) for us!

Guest Writer Entry

I feel like crap, and though I have several blog posts coming, I haven't had the time or energy to write. So I have contracted others. This blog post was written by Jessalyn.

We finally made the leap…I babysat Oliver at my house. I’ve sat on him plenty, just never outside his walls. I’m short on toys so the first order of business was to acquire some. The last time I tried to buy something for him it went horribly awry. This time I figured I should let him pick it out himself. I took him to Kohls and let him loose in the toy corner. Thankfully we were alone so he was able to go from toy to toy creating as much racket as he wanted. We also perused the book selection in case there were any gems to be had. I went in with the intention of letting Oliver pick whatever toy he wanted but found myself judging every selection. This toy is stupid, this toy only has 3 buttons, this toy is boring, this toy only spins, this toy is for girls… I was ashamed of myself! I tried to nudge him toward the toys of my choice…the toys that were “good” enough. He was undeterred. He is his mother’s son. We ended up with a wood toolbox with wooden tools, a pack of Nerf balls and a Sponge Bob chair. I will admit the Nerf balls were my idea. I figured my big baby could make use of them after Oliver lost interest. I gave Ols the soccer ball for the ride home and he seemed quite content with the entertainment. It wasn’t until we got home that I realized the little turd took bites out of it. BITES! Not teeth marks, huge missing chunks! Thankfully, the divots did not impair his joy at kicking it around the house. He also mastered the wooden screwdriver which was labeled 3+. (I cannot be limited by age suggestions, so I let him get it) He made the best grunt face while trying to screw the wooden pegs, but I was unable to catch it on film. I did however take a fantastic video of him jamming out on the Rock Band drums. In the end, a good time was had by all and now we have toys for next time!

Born Musician

]Not sure if you know this, but my baby is a way famous musician. Which instrument does he play? Which instrument does he NOT play?? I just wanted to post some video spam of his many instruments.

Guitar
Drum
Piano

Recorder