On Thursday, Mal said something for the first time that he's never addressed before. We don't ask the kids "What do you want to be when you grow up?" (or "Do you have a girl/boyfriend?" or "What's your favorite subject in school?" or a number of "grown-up" questions, just because) so I don't know that it's on Mal's radar at all that when he's an adult, he'll likely work at something.
However, we'd gone to the library and were looking at a book entitled "What Happens When Fire Burns?" The book actually doesn't answer that question on any level, but it is about fire, and that fires don't start spontaneously, and fire safety, and different ways fire teams tackle different fires differently.
Mal was looking at a picture of one guy with his mouth gaped open as he struggled to control a full-blast fire hose. Mal opened his mouth like the picture. Then on the next page, there was a crew dealing with a fuel fire, and they had on the metal-looking fireproof clothes and were shooting foam.
That's when Mal said, "When I'm big, I'm going to do that." I asked, "You are?" He said, "Yeah. I'm going to have to put on those clothes, and then *ppwpcccssshhhh* and after the fire's out, I'll take them back off."
That's the first time he's projected out to when he's bigger. He wants to drive construction vehicles NOW. But what a cliche thing for a three-year-old boy to want to be when he grows up.
This is a cool thing to want to be, but as we watched videos of fires yesterday (and fire training), I realized that, as a mom, I wouldn't want to know too much about what was going on with him at work! Yikes! I'm sure there will be plenty of iterations of vocations before Mal lands on one (heck, I never did), but it's neat to see him trying ideas out.
There is a lot about which I want to blog (like our experience with Wacom and the Better Business Bureau, and Lenny and Larry's products, and even Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cups, among other things), but, dang it, I just don't have the time.
So here's the stuff I really want to remember. Hopefully. I actually kept jotting down stuff so I'd remember, but it's on my phone and my phone is in the other room, and I'm really tired and it's getting late, hence we're going to try to wing this.
This time a week ago, we were in Dallas at the amazing NYLO South Dallas hotel. We decided to try the State Fair of Texas for the first time in 3 years. Two years ago, I was just having a baby as it opened, so it was out. Then last year... well, our kid has been slow to acclimate to travel. But this visit was perfect!
We left at about 9:30 in the morning in order to miss Austin traffic, and stopped at the beautiful Bell County Safety Stop, where Mal played on the playground for a good half hour or so.
Then we headed further north to the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, then we stopped in at the Collin Street Bakery for lunch. Mal slept the rest of the way to Dallas, and really enjoyed our cool loft-style room at NYLO.
The next morning, we hit the State Fair of Texas for three hours, enjoying an array of fried foods and somehow sitting in pudding after this picture was taken. Well, that was just me. But still.
From the fair, we drove further north to my parents' house where we stayed for two nights. We got to go to their HOA's fall festival, D got to take a day off from peopling, and it was nice and relaxing. Mal went to bed quite a bit earlier than usual, even having taken a mammoth nap on Saturday afternoon.
After church on Sunday, we drove back as far as Waco. Mal slept again, from the moment we got onto the highway until about 45 seconds before we exited to get to our hotel. It was great! Unfortunately, that gave him LOADS of energy, which he did not use up thusly. It threw a little wrench into our dinner, but we really liked staying at the Homewood Suites, and James didn't mind eating his to-go steak in the room (I got to finish mine in the restaurant for once; James took Mal out when he started going berserk).
Monday morning, we visited half of the Cameron Park Zoo before coming home. It was great! I'd go back again to see the rest of it (we had mobility and energy issues, plus it was getting HOT).
We spent the second half of Monday doing the post-vacation catch-up, but it wasn't too bad since we'd gotten to do laundry at my parents' house.
Definitely the best travel we've experienced since the birth of this sweet boy, and probably one of the better trips Team Dave's has had, period (since we've had a pre-teen/teen with anxiety even before the little 'un). We saw so many birds (evidenced above) on the trip that my bird-fond older child was quite pleased.
Now, back to reality: Last night was actually one of the better nights of sleep I've had in a good month. Mal has taken to waking more frequently again, and yesterday morning WORE. ME. OUT. with his very insistent (kicking, hard pulling) nursing for the two hours before we got out of bed. But last night, I actually slept hard enough to dream. Weird, stupid dreams, but still. I like sleeping.
The day before yesterday, Mal did something he's never done before: Asked me to give him a kiss. Actually, he said, "Tiss," and leaned in toward me. So cute!
He has another word in his vernacular, too, and it's one of the clearest words he says: "sugar." One of his nursery rhymes features a boy who eats out of the sugar bowl, so let's never say that the computer didn't teach him something. He says, "Sugar. Eat." A lot. Like 5 times a day. I do let him have a little bit of sugar, too. Because, whatever. It moves him on to other things. Thanks, nursery rhymes.
Today, Mal was at the gym playing when he stopped, pointed up, and said, "Tum-bet." What? "Tum-bet." He was listening to the music... and, yep, there was a trumpet. He also said, "Dum-bone," though I think it was still more trumpet. Still, that's pretty observant. Many times, he will announce that the opening of a song is "la-la," which is how he says "ukulele." Or, "dit-tah," which is "guitar," and is ALWAYS followed by, "Daddy." Yes, Daddy plays the guitar. He'll often insist that Daddy is playing that track, too, and I never correct him. I remember thinking that my dad's job at the news station was to climb the big antenna out front. I don't think anyone ever corrected me, either, and I turned out fine.
Guess what? Mal has a favorite Weird Al song! When D was about his age, maybe a little younger, she requested "Hardware Store." When it gets to the part where the choir echoes "hardware stoooooooore," she'd throw her head back and sing.
(That was some AWESOME fan work, by the by.)
Well, now Mal has his own Weird Al song, and it's this one:
As SOON as it's over, he says, "More!" and is happy for me to replay it. I've stopped after about 4 times, because I really like this song and don't want to get sick of it. (I am listening to it now, since I landed on it to share it with you, though.) I know, his first song will probably be "we're great and you suck" instead of something more wholesome, like "Jesus Loves Me." *sigh*
Mal knows when he's dirtied his diaper, and very often will tell me. Or go get a new diaper. Or just take off his old diaper, leave it in the floor, and walk around until I notice (which, hopefully, is quickly, because... yuck). He does all of the things that kids are "supposed" to do to indicate potty training readiness. But he's not ready.
However, in the past few days, he seems to have honed in on a "potty spot." It's not really convenient, though, because it's outside, at the base of our stairwell. There is a little patch of wildflowers, and he stands there, squats, and holds on to the railing. He's used it three times in the past two days, including once yesterday when he wasn't wearing a diaper (but he WAS wearing shorts... long story).
I guess I should put his training potty out there? Or something? I don't know how to potty train a boy.
Okay, so the long story is this: Yesterday, we walked up to the office to do a couple of things. I briefly thought about taking his diaper changer, but didn't. And, sure enough, once we were up there, I realized he'd soiled the diaper he was wearing. He can go a long time without peeing, though, so I just took him into the bathroom, cleaned him up, and put his shorts on sans diaper.
We stayed at the office until after it closed, playing pool in the 24-hour tenant lounge, hanging out by the pool, and eventually walking back to the apartment. He made it almost a whole hour. Then, you know, the spot. I knew he'd peed. There was a puddle, and when I asked him, "Did you pee?" he cheerfully said, "No." After a few moments, I told him to come inside and we'd get a bath. He walked up the stairs and I started taking his clothes off of him when I realized what had happened. This wasn't one of those nice rabbit turd situations, either. So I left his clothes on the front porch and brought him into the entry way. "DO NOT MOVE!" I instructed him.
As I was coming back from his room with the wipes, he ran across the carpet and jumped up onto the couch. I caught him before he made too much of a mess, but he was not happy with my pulling him off by one leg and one arm. He did love his bubble bath, though.
I keep telling him how much easier this would be if he'd just use the toilet, but I think he likes the drama.
In non-Mal news, my husband hasn't used shampoo since March of this year. I tried the "no poo" experiment and couldn't take it. He tried and it's worked great for him. He said that his hair feels and smells really gross to him on the day he water-cleans it, but I don't notice anything. He's always had a dry scalp and dandruff, and he actually has much, much less of it now.
For me, the whole thing helped me find Angel Wash and Angel Rinse, which I adore. For the first time in years, my hair is actually growing out again. So everything worked out for both of us.
On the weight loss front, I continue to notice small things, in details about my body and in the way clothes fit. I gave myself a free day or two on our trip, but even then didn't go too far over my limit, and with the walking still managed to have a calorie deficit most days.
I guess when I set up my SparkPeople account, I put a goal weight, and because I said I wanted to lose one pound a week, it put me at reaching that goal in late March. Maybe that's when I'll be done? I actually don't think I can maintain the goal weight I chose, but we'll see what happens. I also made up a weight when I started, and because I don't have a scale and don't update, it looks like I've been doing this for two months now with no results. But I see it.
It's tomorrow! I gots to go to bed. I'm going to regret all of this dumb blogging in the morning. Before the sun comes up. But I do it all for love, right? And it's FRIDAY! Happy weekend, friends!
After nearly 15 months, Mal is finally getting that signs can be used to communicate!
His first regularly-used sign was "more." I mean, he uses that appropriately for "more," but also for "help" or "get me some of that." Anyway, when you ask, "Do you want more?" he'll sign if he does.
About a week later, he started signing "all done" or "finished." This one he uses regularly but less frequently.
A third sign he uses multiple times daily is "diaper." It's the funniest thing: When he's pooped, he will sign "diaper." So I'll ask, "Do we need to change your diaper?" Then he never wants to. He HATES diaper changes. But it's almost like he has a compulsion to tell me, now that he can, when his "diaper" is dirty.
Sometimes he does like to role-play diaper changing. He'll pull out the pad and sit on it. Real changes he hates.
Yesterday we had an important first: While Mal was home AND awake, I took a full-length (read: I didn't rush) shower while James played with Mal. Not once did that child wander off to see where I was and what I was doing, much less did he stand at the tub and cry until I got out. It was so super freeing. Hoping that thing lasts!
Then today, well, it was a good morning. I've been making cookies for... it seems like ever. Mal has started "helping" me in the kitchen. He climbs up on the two-step ladder and watches. He tries to "help" by sticking measuring cups into the mixer (while it's running), and taste-testing dough throughout the process. There is a lot of my having to move things (all of the small appliances are unplugged because he plays with the knobs, and between the Griddler and James' grandma's ancient toaster oven, he'd burn this apartment down), and telling him, "Not now; it's too hot" or "That will hurt you" or "It's not good yet" or "It's not for us," but it's so much better than him running around at my legs crying. He's very interested and very keen to participate.
I was able to prepare and bake the genoise for my buche de Noel under his watchful eye, and also bake the cookies for our ReWork cookie exchange.
We have a pretty full (for us) schedule this weekend, but it's getting easier to tote Mal to multiple places and have him happily participate.
Oh, earlier this week, I read an article about how the "average" adult awakes between six and twenty times per night, whether they become fully conscious or not. So I decided to count how many times Mal woke up to nurse each night for a week. Sunday night, he woke up basically 8 times: twice before I went to sleep, 5 times between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM, and then the time he woke up for the morning. That actually felt like a good night's sleep. Monday night, I lost track at 10, because sometimes he'd seem to doze off, then want to change sides and I wasn't sure whether that counted as one or two wake-ups because he had fallen to sleep a bit, but I hadn't. Anyway, it was at least 15. The next night, I just couldn't think, and then I gave up because I decided we're "normal" and the only difference is that I'm fully aware of wakening.
Every time we wake up, I kiss Mal and tell him I love him. I really do, too, and maybe I'll miss this when/if he outgrows it. I can't imagine that, but I just might.
Finally, Mal eats like a freaking champ. He takes after his sister that way. This week, he's eaten veggie pizza, spinach and artichoke-stuffed mushrooms, my own Malt-o-Meal concoction, tomato basil crackers with cheese, steak, enough blackberries to warrant a bath, enough cantaloupe that the day after I regretted it, and a ton of food in addition to his fruit/veggie pouches and snacks. He has recently gotten one molar, and that's probably helping him process solid food better. Also, he's gotten taller. He's grown over an inch since his birthday in September!
Twice this week, Mal has initiated games of sort. He's participated in "peek a boo" (and enjoyed it) as well as rolling a ball or car back and forth, but he's never started the process. Until this week!
The first "game," if you will, just involved Mal forcing himself to laugh to get us to laugh. When we laughed back, he actually cracked up a lot. (And mostly without hiccups, thank God! FINALLY!) I got a video of his fake laughing... I had to keep feeding him, though. :)
When Mal was a newborn, after I'd change his diaper, I'd pick him up and lay on my back, then say, "Baby attack!" and have him come at me like he was tackling me. I'd lay on the floor and pretend to be knocked out, and say things like, "I never saw that coming! I can't believe it!" I've done it more recently as he's been fussing to get out of his "seat" toys like the piano and ExerSaucer... but not in the past month or two because he's way too heavy!
I don't know whether this was a throwback to those memories, or just something he made up, but today's game had more of an actual structure, simple as it was. Mal started off by standing beside me where I lay on the bed and then throwing his head into my torso. He would then giggle, stand back up, yell, and do it again. Of course, I acted very shocked and injured. He did this about a dozen times.
My husband saw it and went to pull out my camera, saying, "What do you bet he won't do it again?" (as per usual, when we get out the camera) However, he did catch it a couple of times as Mal was tiring out. Oh my goodness, it was the cutest thing!
He's feeling a bit better from the ear infection, but we're still fighting it! I think it spread to his other ear, too, so I'm even more determined to wrestle him twice a day to get as much of that medicine down as we can. If we can just get him well, he's being a lot of fun and happily busying himself on his own a bit nowadays. The good times are starting. Yea!
