Dance, Dance, Dancin-Machine!

My son has moves.

It started last month, when he stamped his feet in time to a '60s cover band, during our family vacation. Then he added a head bop. And now, he's discovered the magic of spinning.


Unfortunately, he hasn't quite learned how to stop. Or how to go in the other direction. So he just spins, and spins and spins until he gets dizzy and falls down.

Case in point. Scott gets his groove on at Jim's company holiday Christmas party.
 

(And while it doesn't transfer well via still photo, here are some shots of Scott mid-groove a few minutes later.)

Perfecting the 'head-bop'

Working on my shuffle step.

I am a total ham!

I have to admit, I love that my kid is into music. And that he doesn't discriminate. Country, rock, jazz, holiday classics...you name it. All we have to do is say "Dance, Dance Dance!" and he obliges, with glee.

He likes to play too. He's got a xylophone at home and a drum set that he bangs with gusto. For Christmas, he's getting a toy piano.

I will probably regret fostering this love of music when he's in high school and playing the drums in the garage of our home at all hours of the day and night.

But for now, dance on, young man. Dance on.

Being "Mommy" is Job #1

Sometimes, you have to take a step back. Re-evaluate.

I've spent the past year juggling. Trying to create a delicate balancing act between a demanding career that I love and an equally demanding little boy that I adore.

After 13 months, a non-stop array of respiratory illnesses, ear infections, trips to Walgreens, a flood of tears, and countless stressful nights that have left me with a perpetually painful, deep shoulder knot, I made a very difficult decision: little boy wins.

In October, I went to my editor and asked to be reassigned off the Governor's Office beat. I told my employer that I wanted to cut back my hours and spend more time with my family.

I am beyond lucky.

My husband has been nothing but supportive as I've wrestled (and not usually gracefully) with this decision. And my bosses at the Republic have been beyond accommodating. My request was met with zero resistance, and a genuine desire to find a role that will allow me to keep working and satisfied professionally, while still giving me the flexibility I need at home.

Starting Monday, I cut back my hours. I am still temporarily on the Capitol team, still covering the Governor's Office. But those days are limited. I don't yet know what my new role will be at the paper.

But whatever it is, I am eternally grateful that I still get to keep working.

And even more grateful that I get to spend some more time with this guy. Could you resist this face?

Me neither.

Halloween roundup

Yes. I am aware that is Dec. 1.
I am just getting around to posting about Halloween.

But between the never-ending merry-go-round of colds, earaches, croup, one freakishly bad eye infection, a sick cat, buying a house, a week-long vacation to the Caribbean, and pneumonia, my blogging took a hit.

Month-long hiatus, over.

I need to memorialize Scott's second Halloween. He was here for it last year, but at a mere six weeks old, was asleep in my arms by 7 p.m., and pretty much unaware of anything going on around him. (He did look awfully adorable in his Superman costume though.)


This year,  I "gave" Jim Halloween. He indulged my book-themed first birthday party, so I let him pick the costume. He chose football. Shocker. But, somehow appropriate for our bruiser Tank.

I hit the big time when I found a replica Arizona State University costume online. Never mind it was for kids ages 4-6. I safety-pinned the jersey, and just let the pants be a little baggy. The only thing we couldn't use at all was the helmet. Still, a little of mommy's mascara smeared under each of Scott's eyes, and the "look" was complete.

That's one handsome footballer, no? (And yes, that is one adorable Minnie....Scott's slightly older cousin, Peyton.)

First up was a family trip to Boo at the Zoo, where Scott tried out his new walking skills. It is also the only family photo we have of the entire "holiday."

Next was the Halloween parade at Scott's daycare. He got to join the big kids in the room next door, and after an initial freak out, laughed it up like he belonged there.

Our plan was to go trick or treating in one of my colleague's neighborhoods. But as has been the case too many times in Scott's young life, he came down with croup the night of Halloween. (If anyone is counting, this is time #5.)

So we decided to stick closer to home. Cool night air is actually good for croup, so we loaded Tank on to his big-boy trike/scooter (which he loves) and cruised the streets in our neighborhood for about an hour or so.

Scott discovered the sheer goodness that is a lollipop, and, in the throes of a sugar high, was kind enough to share his second one with Daddy.

Oh my GOD! This lollipop is good, don't you think Daddy?

His cuteness generally netted him extra goodies at each stop, so by the time he got home, his football (of course) themed Halloween basket was overflowing with sweet stuff.

Scott charms yet another neighborhood candy-hander-outer.

Halloween #2 = big success.

Not bad for a first time stash.

So that's how it starts...

Scott isn't much for holding still.

He's particularly squirmy and hard to manage during diaper changes. He turns to the side, flips over on his back, tries to crawl away.

We've given him toys, stuffed animals, towels...and nothing worked. He threw them on the ground.

And then we gave him a book. And we got this.

Hmmmm.
Grown men + newspaper = quality bathroom time. Small child + board book = quality diaper changing time.

Suddenly it all makes sense.

He'll be running by November

So I've been way behind on my blog posting lately.

That's probably because I am now keeping up with a bonafide, up-on-two-feet-can-get-into-anything-WALKING-toddler.

Yep. Scott gave up on the baby crawling thing this month, and is now getting around in the upright position like a big boy.

By my count, he took the first all-important tentative steps on October 16. Official baby age: 13 months, plus six days.

First day or so, he wouldn't go more than one or two steps and didn't relish the idea of letting go of either Mommy or Daddy's hands. But within the week, he had progressed to the drunken sailor/drunken baby walk.

We finally captured two videos of his fabulous balancing act while at Boo at the Zoo last weekend.
(I am particularly fond of the first video, where he checks his feet before taking off; Jim likes Mommy's random, nervous flitting hand that keeps appearing in the second one as Scott struggles to maintain his balance.)

It's been six days since those videos were taken, and Scott is already over the drunk "sailor" baby walking phase. He's getting very steady on his feet, and quicker than I'd like.

I fear he'll be jogging ahead of us to get to the next batch of candy on Halloween.

Meet Mr. Fussy Pants

Scott used to be a good eater. A really good eater. The kind of kid who pretty much ate whatever we put in front of him.
Oh sure, there were some initial rejects: lamb? Yucko. Pureed pees? Gross. Ranch dressing? Nasty.

But for the most part, he tried it, he ate it - or at least a few bites.

No more.

Scott's new favorite game is called, "let me turn my head away from that in disgust and when you still don't get the picture, I will spit it back out at you."

The number of rejected foods is growing daily, changes frequently, and currently includes pretty much all manner of protein, vegetables and fruits.

Current list of acceptable food items include:

1) Waffles, preferably with syrup
2) Pancakes. And ditto.
3) French fries
4) Cheese quesadillas, and occasionally he'll tolerate chicken in them
5) Yogurt
6) Pureed applesauce, and occasionally pears
6) Soup in pretty much any form - except tomato.
7) Oreos
8) Goldfish
9) Pringles Baked Stix - pizza or cheddar flavor, please
10) Paper products of any kind

I have no idea what's going on with that last one. But every time I turn around, Scott is eating a magazine or an envelope.

The rest of the food items pretty much all have two things in common: a) they are carbohydrates b) they are predominately snack foods.

The one saving grace is the soup. I've taken to hiding whatever Scott rejects in my first attempt at dinner -- usually little bits of chicken, turkey, corn, green beans and carrots -- in the broth, just so I can be sure that my son is getting some kind of vegetables every day.

Tomorrow, I think his chicken noodle soup is going to be pulsed and pureed with a little leftover steak and spinach. Sounds gross, but I can't really think of a better idea.

Please tell me this is just a phase and he'll get over it. And soon!

No mommy. No veggies. I want Oreos!

Addendum: On Oct. 27, Scott added dog food to his list of approved menu items. Just thought I'd mention it.

You can baby proof....but you can't Tank-proof

Jim and I are fairly smart people. So when Scott first started showing signs of crawling a few months back, we figured it might be a good idea to protect our little munchkin from himself.

At first we were going to go all out on the baby-proof front, but ultimately, we opted for just a few basics, deciding instead that we would monitor Tank closely and try to teach him what he could and could not touch.

Our biggest priority was cabinet locks. We wanted to keep Scott out of the kitchen cleansers, away from the glass pots and pans and free from the tempting allure of any and all sharp objects.

Friends and online reviews led us to choose magnetic locks - which are a total pain for us, but nice and strong. The plastic part adheres under the cabinet with adhesive, and the locks don't open unless you wave the special magnet "key" in front of them.

They worked like a charm. Until a few weeks went by, and I noticed that the cabinet lock under the kitchen sink was no longer functioning. (I discovered this, I might add, when I watched Tank toddle over, yank open the door and pull out the Comet.)

Umm. Not good.

A few days later, and the cabinet door next to it also malfunctioned. I gave a gentle tug on the door and the little adhesive thingy fell on the ground.

I was stumped -- until a couple of weeks later, when Scott was in the master bathroom with me, playing with a toy while I dried my hair. He got bored, and crawled over to the bathroom cabinets (which were also locked), stood up and yanked on the cabinets' handle. It didn't budge. So it became a game. He yanked again. And again, and again. Bit by bit, the lock started loosening.

I realize I should have stopped him, but I was really quite fascinated and entertained. After about five minutes of playing, Scott gave one more big pull, and fell backwards on his butt as the cabinet door swung wide open and the adhesive lock popped off the wood.

He clapped his hands and laughed. At me, I think.

You think these locks are going to stop me? Child's play, I tell you!

Final score: Tank - 1, Babyproof locks - 0 

Mommy and Daddy? Not even on the playing field.

Ring bearer of the year

Scott has done a lot in his short life - not the least of which is help two lovely people say their vows and pledge the rest of their lives to each other.

Okay, so Tank didn't actually have a big role in the wedding ceremony between my youngest cousin, Katie, and her new husband, Ethan. (Who is a lovely person despite his lousy taste in football teams, by the way.)

But Scott did totally up the "cute" factor at their September nuptials.

He was one of three kids in the wedding (and had serious competition for the "cute" award from his cousin, Peyton, aka, most adorable flower girl ever, and his second cousin, Logan, aka, super cute, suave, and -- not to mention -- much more mobile ring bearer.)

Scott, with mommy and daddy, before the ceremony.

Peyton, getting some bear hug love from Logan.

Together, the three little people prompted many oohs and aahs from the crowd, and also provided quite a bit of levity with their antics. You can read all about Peyton's flower girl escapades at my sister's blog, but suffice it to say between the tripping, the mid-ceremony snacking, the random shouts of "cheese!" whenever a photographer got close, Scott and his father playing "rawrrr" and Logan wandering the center aisle with a pillow in his face, it was quite the event.

Yes, Logan, I think now is the perfect time for a munchie break.

Whee!!

Fortunately for all parties, the bride and groom took it all in stride, and looked gorgeous to boot.

Scott allowed his mommy to carry him up and then back down the aisle after the ceremony, with minimal fuss, and put on his best serious face.

After the vows, it was time to party. And for Scott, that meant rockin' a pair of blue and red fire engine jammies. He played with mommy, sat next to daddy at dinner, stayed up way past his bedtime, ate his weight in chicken fingers and french fries and had an altogether great time.

A "Goodnight Moon" style birthday bash

Scott turned ONE just over two weeks ago.

My husband and I have been miserably sick since then.

I am going to pretend there's not some sort of correlation - you know, the kind that goes like, "If you hadn't run around so much, and gone so overboard for a party that your kid won't even remember, then you wouldn't have gotten so run down and gotten so inexplicably, unbelievably ill."

The truth is, Scott's party was waay over the top. And I am not sure I'd ever do it again. But I am very, very happy I turned into one of those moms, went a little nuts and lived the experience. I am very happy with the way it turned out.

I decided early on that I wanted a "Goodnight Moon" themed-birthday party -- not only because its one of Scott's favorite books -- but also because it was a play on this super-cute "Bedtime Stories" theme birthday party/bridal shower I saw on this ridiculously fantastic/cute blog for moms and party planners who have way more time and talent than me.

Deciding on a theme and a color scheme (blue, yellow, green) was easy. Executing it was far more difficult, as I am SOOO not a crafty person.

But I found a lovely woman (Thanks Shana!) who took my idea, and created all the "paper products" for the party - invitations, menu cards, yard signs, milk bottle labels, you name it. She even made the pieces of a birthday banner using the theme and colors to tie everything together. (Special thanks to my sister, who did a fabulous job stringing it into one cohesive, beautiful-looking wall hanging.)

Yard signs...

Food labels

Note the beautifully strung banner in the background...

The invitation

To keep with the theme, we decorated all the tables in the house to look like beds. My mom (aka Party Planner Extraordinaire) had the brilliant idea to buy the fabric in bulk from JoAnn's, and then she and my mother- in-law helped me portion it out, and wrap little pillows at the "head" of each table. We also decorated each with one of Scott's favorite books and a little stuffed animal.

The "Curious George"/Monkey-themed table

Main food table with Goodnight Moon book and stuffed bunny

The "monster" themed table

Food was simple - sandwich trays and chips, and milk and cookies, and, of course, the cake.

I love, love, LOVE my son's first birthday cake. It was made by Let Them Eat Cake in Phoenix -- the same bakery that did my wedding cake, and they did an incredible job. I walked in with the Goodnight Moon book, and a picture, and they built the most stunning, 3-D Replica of all the key elements from the story - the rabbit, the three little bears, the two kittens, the red balloon and the mouse. Plus, they carved it like a book!

And they made the most adorable little smash cake for Scott!

We told all the kids to come in their favorite PJs, and set up bubbles and games outside for them.

And with Daddy egging him on, Scott worked very hard at turning himself into a smurf.

After a quick bath and a costume change, it was time for presents! Tank's friends and family were very, very generous - he got lots and lots AND LOTS of gifts.

Like I said, it was a blast.
But I don't know that I'll have the energy to throw a party like that again -- at least, you know, until he turns 2!

More pics from the big day:

This is the only family photo we have from the day. Apparently we were too busy to take pictures.

Scott with Grandma Richardson

Scott with his Grandma Kathy, who flew in from California.

Grandpa Richardson starts the present brigade!

I LOVE this bib!

Scott's Great Grandma Richardson (Nahnee) and his Great Grandma Anderson (Gee-gee) partied too.

Scott's newest playmate, his adorable cousin Peyton. Check out those piggies!

Sometimes you gotta take a break from all the chaos to do what you normally do...like, you know, play with the outlets you aren't supposed to touch.

One little boy, in the midst of so many presents.

New toys are awesome!

Touchdown! I love being the birthday boy!

A special, special thanks to Beth at Lizzie Bee Photography for taking 99 percent of the amazing photos you see here!