Halloween 2012

November 5, 2012

Halloween is always fun, but seeing Bean excited about trick-or-treating made it even more so! Last year we carried him to a couple of houses in his penguin costume. This year he was Mickey Mouse (which he affectionately calls Pipi Mouse).

About a month before Halloween, one of the neighborhood kids saw us out for a walk. She ran up and gave me a little pack of Skittles for Bean. He had never had candy before, but I let him have some Skittles. He loved them, especially the yellow ones. I asked him if he wanted to be Mickey for Halloween. He said he did. I explained on Halloween he could wear a Mickey costume, knock on people's doors and say "trick-or-treat" and they would give him candy. For the next four weeks he would tell me "haween, pipi mouse, eat yellow canny, knock doors."

I was a little worried when his costume arrived and he refused to try it on. The day before Halloween we went trick-or-treating at Tata's work. I thought it was really cool that Intel did this for the kids. Bean saw some other kids in costume. We told him he had to wear his in order to get candy. He put it on, rubbed it and said "very nice." He went around collecting candy. He didn't say anything for about an hour. He was so interested in checking out everyone's cubes and picking out candy. He kept picking sweet tarts, which he had never had before, but are now a favorite.

On Halloween, we went to our good friend's Dave and Mitzie's home, along with several other couples. We had a potluck dinner, followed by trick-or-treating. Bean was super cute in his costume as were all the other littles. He was very interested in checking out the decorations and pumpkins around the neighborhood. He lagged behind the group a little so he could check everything out. He is a very curious little fellow. We had a great evening with good friends, good food and lots of candy.

the three of us make a complete costume

Bean and his girlfriends, Chloe and Noemi

2nd Birthday Letter to My Son

October 28, 2012

Dear Bean,

Two weeks ago, you turned two years old. What an exciting year it has been! You learned to walk, you can feed yourself (when you want to), your are speaking in simple sentences, and your vocabulary is growing at an amazing rate. Everyday you learn many new words. You repeat just about everything we say.

You are also counting in English and Bosnian. If you want a lot of something you say you want 13, for example, 13 cashews. We are in awe of how much you know, how much you are learning and how well you retain information.

I have loved watching you grow and learn this past year. You are now 34 1/2 inches tall and weigh 26 pounds, still in the 25th percentile. We have not given you a haircut yet, other than a few pieces that were falling in your eyes and bothering you. You get all kinds of compliments on your blond curls.

The past year brought a couple challenges. The biggest being my lack of sleep, followed by trying to get you to eat solid foods. Recently you have had many nights where you sleep from 8:30 or 9:00 pm through the night until 5:00 or 6:00 am. There are still nights where you are up between one and four times a night, but those are becoming less and less.

As far as eating goes, you like pizza, bread with Tata's homemade pesto sauce thinly spread on it, crackers, and anything sweet. You still mainly eat baby food - pureed chicken and vegetable, pureed salmon and veggies, and a lot of mango packets.

Despite these challenges, this has been a wonderful and incredible year! You are such a sweet boy. You love to give hugs and kisses. I am always impressed how you wait your turn to go down the slide when we are at the park or the mall play area. You often say please and thank you.

You are extremely observant. You often see things that we don't until you point them out to us. You like to try new things, although you are cautious and survey the scene before jumping in.

You seem to like things in their place. Getting wet or dirty distresses you. You tell me "big mess, get towel, clean counter." You also love to help clean. Dusting is one of your favorite things.

We have a lot of construction happening in our neighborhood. You love to watch the big trucks working. We spend a great deal of time driving around looking for these trucks and checking them out when the workers are done for the day. Your favorite birthday gifts were a toy backhoe and skid loader. Everyday you tell me "go hio, ride pawpaw kiyoyo (go to Ohio ride grandpa's skid loader). It is so cute to hear you talk.

You also like to say "None airplane." You know that None lives across the ocean and we have to take a plane to visit her. You are an extremely smart boy.

We had your birthday party at Desert Breeze park, where you were excited to ride the train, have balloons, and eat cake. It was a Sesame Street theme, which is one of your favorite things.  I think you and your friends had a great time.

There are so many things I could say about what you are doing at this age. Most importantly, I want you to know how much I love you. You have changed our lives forever in the most wonderful way. Everyday you make us laugh and fill our hearts with joy. One of my most favorite moments of the past year was on your birthday. Tata, you and I went for a walk in the evening after your party. After looking at a skid loader parked in the neighborhood and walking quite a ways, you said "uppy Mama." I picked you up, you put your head on my chest, gave me a hug, and said "Bean happy." There is no better feeling than knowing you are happy and healthy. I pray that you are always happy and always find joy in life. Happy 2nd birthday, my beautiful, amazing son. I love you with all my heart.

Mama

Beanisms

Guide to Understanding Bean Speak

Dee dut = big truck

tar te = Target

mammos = mangos

wa ho = backhoe

bear = bridge

nump = jump

pipi = Mickey (as in Mouse. He clearly says Minnie, but for some reason it is Pipi and Minnie)

nown = down

wain - crane

wear = square

meo = magnesium

way ho = raisin

Bean's best friends in alphabetical order (yes, they are all girls lol):

Doey = Chloe

Shushi = Lucy

Neeya = Naiya

Memi = Noemi

The Bean at One Year

Bean started crawling at 11 1/2 months. Now he is super fast. He pulls up to his knees and sometimes puts one foot out, like he'd like to stand.

He says Mama, Tata, hi, ducky, light, and a bunch of other stuff we don't quite understand, but it is really important!

Bean waits for Tata to come home everyday. Around 5:30 he starts looking at the garage door while saying Tata? Tata?

Potty Training our Boy

August 19, 2012

We are slowly starting to think about potty training the Bean. Everything I have read says not to force the issue, but to wait until he is ready. That is the approach we have decided to take.

The Bean knows nothing of privacy. I don't think I have used the bathroom alone in the past 22 and 1/2 months. When I go I tell him I have to pee and say psssss. About two months ago Bean started grabbing the front of his diaper and saying pssss after he poo'd. Not exactly on target, but hey, he's starting to get it. We thought maybe it was time to get him a potty (he was about 20 months at the time). We wanted something simple, comfortable, and without all the bells and whistles.

Bean was excited to try sitting on the potty. He even peed in it a few times along with a poo before a bath once. The problem was trying to get a diaper back on him after sitting on the potty. This was causing major melt downs to occur. We didn't really encourage the potty for a couple weeks. We can't just put him in underwear because he doesn't tell us ahead of time when he has to go and I'd really prefer not to have to clean the carpet constantly.

Now we are having him sit on the potty before bath time. Yesterday evening Bean said "pee pee," so we asked if he'd like to sit on the potty. We took his diaper off and found it dry. He then went on the potty! I still don't think he is 100% ready, but we are getting there.

New Year Holiday 2011/12

January 2012

We have a tradition that started several years ago. We spend the New Year holiday with two other couples. One couple includes Amel's high school friend, Nela and her husband, Brian. The other couple is Nela's sister, Merima and her husband, John.

Before any of us were married, Amel and I went to LA for a New Years party at Nela's place, I believe this was 2005/06. This was the first time I met Nela, Merima, and John. None of us knew Brian existed yet. Merima and John got married in 2006. Amel and I were married a few months later. That year, the five of us got together for Thanksgiving. We had an incredible time hanging out, playing games, and going out. I think we decided we needed to have at least an annual gathering.

I believe the next year, Brian joined the group and we spent New Years in LA and determined we should start a tradition of spending the New Year holiday together. 2008/09, we met up at John and Merima's in San Francisco. This year we went to the Sea of Dreams party in downtown San Francisco and created some life long memories! This year requires a post of its own hehe..

2009/10 was our turn to host in Phoenix. By this time, Nela and Brian were married and expecting an edition to their family. A few months later, Amel and I were expecting our own addition! Our 2010/11 celebration looked a lot different with Liam and Maika, but a great time none the less.

This year, it was time to go to San Fransisco again where we had the pleasure of meeting John and Merima's baby Keegan. New Year's Eve day we went to The Little Farm, then had a little dance party with babies while making dinner and celebrated at home. Our celebrations have gone from wine tastings to petting zoos, but nothing beats sharing special times with good friends. Happy 2012!

dinner in Berkeley before heading to the Sea of Dreams party

2008/09

2008/09

Hiking around ASU 2009/10

Ringing in 2010

Santa Monica 2010/11 Babies' first New Year's

at The Little Farm near San Francisco 2011/12

2011/12

2011/12

2011/12

Dealing With Insomnia

Nightly nursing sessions have caused me to develop insomnia. Several weeks ago, we moved the Bean from our room into his room. The first couple weeks went surprisingly well. The last three weeks have been hit or miss. Some nights he sleeps until 5 am without waking. Other nights, he is up between one and four times a night.  I think the waking has a lot to do with teething.

On the one hand, we have made progress. Amel and I have our bedroom back and can keep all our toiletries in the master bath, not having to worry about waking the Bean. In some ways I feel like we took a step backwards. I had been able to get him back to sleep in his crib by putting my hand on his back or on his neck. Now that he is sleeping on a mattress, he knows I am close by and only wants to nurse to get back to sleep.

Unfortunately, my hip and legs aren't in agreement with all night nursing. Some days I wake up feeling like I got beat up during the night. The last three weeks I have also been dealing with insomnia due to not knowing if it will be a night Bean will sleep or if I will be awakened throughout the night. I have been contemplating weaning him, but then I hear his little voice say "just one milk,"and decide we might not be ready.

I have found a few ways to help deal with the insomnia. Doing yoga before bed, especially the "legs up the wall" pose helps some. I also take Calm before bed. If I am having a really hard time falling asleep or dealing with restless legs I take a homeopathic sleep remedy called Neurexan. That usually does the trick. Since it is homeopathic, it is safe while nursing, non habit forming, and no side effects. I also try to eat a little protein before bed and sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night to stabilize my blood sugar. After this routine, I lay in bed say prayers for my loved ones and hopefully fall asleep.

I have come to the conclusion I may not get sleep until he is able to have reasonable conversations. Coffee and I are good friends. The next few weeks will determine what we do about weaning/not weaning. More to come on that topic later.

Our Son At 22 Months

Ah, the Bean is sleeping and I have a few minutes to relax and catch up on our blog. Tonight's dinner is in the crock pot and the veggies for tomorrow's dinner are prepped. Amel got up with Bean this morning, so I slept in. I also got some cleaning done today. So, I am still in my pj's, but it feels good to get some things accomplished.

Last weekend, we transitioned Bean from sleeping in his crib in our room to sleeping on a queen mattress in his own room. It has gone fairly smoothly. I have had to go in and nurse him and lay down with him a couple nights, but he has slept through the night (8 or 9 pm - 5 or 6 am) several nights. We tried to turn his crib into a toddler bed, but it was not low enough and we worried he would fall out. We went to IKEA to check out toddler beds and decided they were too small. He moves around quite a bit and would sometimes smack his hands or head on the slats in the crib. The queen mattress is proving to be a good solution. He still loves Sesame Street, so I put some decals of his favorite friends around his bed. We say good night and hug and kiss them before bed and naps.

The Bean's other current obsession is dee duts (big trucks). His favorite big truck is the "wa hoe" (back hoe). There is quite a bit of construction going on in our neighborhood right now. When Amel is preparing to head out the door for work, Bean turns to me and says "uppy, big trucks!" I pick him up and we go out the door with Tata to see if there are any backhoes digging nearby. We also go on walks through the neighborhood to check out the equipment, as well as drive around the neighborhood, stopping to watch the construction each time we leave or come home.

I love looking at the world through my toddler's eyes. Simple things we take for granted are amazing to him. I try to be very patient allowing Bean to do things like open and close the garage door each time we go somewhere. He also loves to "beep" the car. Of course, it is often a challenge to get the keys back from him, but it's fun and I love seeing the joy on his face from these simple activities.

Toddler Early Brain Development

Everything I read about early brain development in toddlers at age two can be observed in our son these days. Two weeks ago (21 months), Bean said his first sentence, "Go, Dog Go!" which just happens to be his favorite book right now. We read it several times a day. When we are not reading it, we are quoting it. It is very entertaining to hear Amel read it to him.

Bean's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. In the past three weeks he has started trying to repeat everything we say. I may be the only one who can decipher most of what he says, but he learns several new words each day.

Learning about how the brain develops is quite interesting to me. Since Bean was born, I have done a lot of reading about brain development and all those neurons that are making connections in his amazing brain. For anyone interested in this topic, I recommend reading Brain Rules For Babies. I read in various sources that watching television before the age of two is detrimental for children. It leads to problems with attention. We have been strict about not having the TV on while Bean is awake. However, the three of us were really sick with the flu for quite awhile last month and we turned on Sesame Street to entertain Bean a little. He fell in love with Elmo! We (Amel) has been letting him watch an episode of Sesame Street when he is up with him in the morning and I sleep in a little.

While at Costco, we ran across a Sesame Street Neighborhood set that includes several Sesame Street characters. Bean is really enjoying his new toy. He knows all the characters and says all their names. It is super cute to hear him calling for them.

Our Baby Sleeping Through The Night

When it comes to sleeping through the nigh, our baby has finally turned the corner. I am happy to report we have made a lot of progress! Moving the Bean's bedtime up has helped me get him to sleep more easily. We start his bedtime routine around 6:45 - 7 pm. He has a bath, we brush teeth, say our prayers and read two books in the rocking chair. He still nurses before going to sleep, but he is usually still awake when I put him down in the crib. He often cries for a couple minutes and I have to coax him into laying down. He then lays down and insists that I put my hand in the crook of his neck until he falls asleep. He is usually asleep by 8pm.

Once we got through a couple rough weeks of night weaning and moving him from our bed to his crib (which is next to our bed), he went from sleeping for 1 1/2 - 2 hour periods to sleeping from 8 pm - 12 am, then waking up at 3 am and up at 5 am. Gradually he started sleeping for longer periods. He started sleeping from about 8 pm - 3 am then up at 5 am. The last week we have had a couple nights where he has slept from 8 pm until 4 or 5 am. At 5 am the Bean is standing in his crib saying "up, up, up." He is ready to nurse and snuggle with mama. Occasionally he will fall back to sleep, but usually at 5:30 or  6 we are out of bed and starting the day. Yes, 5 am is early, but compared to where we started, I am not complaining too loudly about a 5 am wake up call. Now, if only I could start sleeping! I have been sleep deprived for so long, I don't think my body knows how to sleep anymore. Thankfully Amel usually gets up with the Bean at 5:30 or 6 and lets me sleep another hour or so. Bean and I are heading to Ohio in a couple days. I think we might move him into his own room when we come back. Another adventure!

Partial Night Weaning Part II

January 19, 2012 Night One

Got the Bean to sleep around 8:30 pm. He woke up three times before midnight. Each time I nursed him back to sleep like usual. He woke at midnight I nursed him for about a minute and told him milk is all done and milk go night night. Tried to comfort him back to sleep by singing our lullaby song and patting his back. No good. I picked him up and walked/bounced/sang to him, told him I loved him and it was time to sleep, and cried with him. He pushed against me and cried a lot, gagged, and did those little sobs that completely break my heart. He finally fell asleep. Tired from carrying him, I sat in the rocker and he woke up. More walking/bouncing/singing/crying. He fell asleep again. Back to the rocker. Again, he woke up, but I was able to get him back to sleep by rocking him. We moved back to bed and I was able to get him to sleep with minimal crying. This took about an hour. He woke up two hours later, at 3 am. I nursed him for a minute, told him milk all done and milk go night night, sang to him, held him and he fell back to sleep and slept until 6 am!! That is the most sleep we've had in a row since he was 5 months old! I nursed him at six for about 15 minutes. He woke and nursed again at 8 am, then slept until 10 am. Poor guy, I guess the rough night took a toll on him. He woke up in a really good mood and wasn't any anymore needy or whiny than he has been the last few weeks. Last night really made me feel hopeful that we can do this! I asked my best friends and my mom to pray for us all last week and I think it really made a difference.

Night Two

Nursed the Bean to sleep. He was asleep by about 9, woke up at 11. I nursed him as usual. He woke up at midnight. I nursed him for a minute and he went back to sleep easily, with very little fussing. Woke up again at 2 am, lots of tears, walking, bouncing, rocking until 4 am. He slept from 4-6. Nursed at six, like usual. Honestly, I don't remember if he woke up at 8 am or not. It's kind of fuzzy. He woke around 10 and nursed like a crazy man, we cuddled a lot and around 11 he was ready to start the day.

March 2012

This tired mama is way behind on blogging!

A few things I don't want to forget:
*Week of March 25
- Bean's vocabulary is rapidly expanding! He started saying boo!, and says "off" and "up" very proficiently. He tries to repeat everything we say. It doesn't always sound like the word, but he says the same number of syllables and has the intonation down pat.
-Bean likes to play "pendulum" with Tata. Amel picks him up by his ankles and swings him side to side. He lays down and sticks his legs up to be picked up upside down.
*March 28 - Today Bean was singing "bumbumbum" to music, bouncing his knees to the music and turning in circles. He loves music and has good rhythm.

Bean 16.5 Months

*walking for a over a month, prefers crawling sometime
*says ouph (ouch) when we get hurt!
*very particular about nursing - lets me know which side he prefers and does not care for modesty.
*feeding therapy - trying to get the Bean to eat regular food - still only eats purees
*says elbow
*loves to sing "hands a washing" from music class
*likes to be in learning tower
*checks out situation before playing i.e. we went to Tumbleweed park. Bean sat on the ground for a few minutes looking at the playground equipment, decided which section he wanted to go to and played there the entire time we were at the park.
*Likes to hold my hand while riding in his smart trike - super sweet, although hard to do if I am the one pushing him
*Climbing wherever he can
*likes park benches

Lent 2012

Right now, I am feeling the need to clean my smelly kitchen, but have decided it is important to take a few moments and reflect upon the beginning of Lent tomorrow.

For Lent, I like to add something positive, as well as make a sacrifice. As a busy mom of a child who has difficulty sleeping day and night, I find it challenging to find time for prayer and meditation. I certainly don't have time to sit and meditate alone. I don't even get to pee alone. During this Lenten season, I plan to focus more on prayer and meditation. I know I will not be able to find quiet moments for myself, but my goal is to remember to pray and meditate on good intentions for my loved ones throughout the day. My husband and I both have/had grandmothers who were prayer warriors for their family. I want to be that kind of mama for my family.

I also want to add in focusing on the positive. In general, this is something I do a lot of, but have found this to be a bit of a struggle the past few months, I think because I am over tired. When I have feelings of jealousy or insecurity creep up, I want to remind myself to think about where others are coming from, empathize, and rise above negative feelings, especially in dealings with my husband. I really want to be his greatest supporter.

As far as giving up something for Lent, I am going to give up ... chocolate and animal protein - 46 days, I can do it, right? When I am craving chocolate or dairy that will be a reminder to meditate on how great my life really is and say a prayer for the health, safety, and well being of my loved ones.

I wish you all a blessed Easter season!

Partial Night Weaning

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of weaning babies from breast feeding. I think child led weaning is best. However, I haven't  had more than a few hours sleep since I was 28 weeks pregnant, and not more than 2 hours of sleep in a row since the Bean was about 5 months old. Mama is tired!

I am actually not weaning Bean or even completely night weaning, but I think I am going to go mental if I don't start getting more sleep. The plan is to partially night wean, in the hope that Bean will start sleeping longer, allowing the whole family to get a good nights rest. There was a period between four and five months where he went to sleep at 11 pm, slept until 3, nursed until 4, then slept until about 7 am. For whatever reason, around 5 months, he started waking every two hours. The last couple of months it has been every hour or hour and a half, which has led us to this point.

I am following a modified version of Dr. Jay Gordon's gentle night weaning. I have been seriously planning on making the change for about a month and have felt sick to my stomach every time I think about it. I have worked really hard to establish a bond of trust with my sweet baby that I want to last a lifetime. I have been worried about breaking that trust or causing him to feel abandoned by his mama. I want him to know that I am here for him anytime as long as I live. I can't imagine leaving him to cry alone in his crib, especially since he is used to sleeping with me. My hope is that he will realize mama is there to comfort him, just in a different way than he is used to. I have a feeling he is not going to be happy about it in the beginning!

I don't expect this to be a quick or easy process. I am going to document what happens for the next 10 - 14 days. Hopefully that post will find Family Karamesic well rested!

Our Son At 15 Months

Other than not sleeping more than two hours at a time, and often only one hour, this is such a fun age! On January 8, Bean took two steps. He stood up from his soccer ball chair and took two steps towards Tata. He likes to play "no hands," which is where he stands up, balances for several seconds then falls forwards or backwards purposely in between our hands. He has been bouncing from his bottom into an almost standing position. Walking up and down stairs while holding our hands is another favorite right now.

For quite a long time, I thought Bean made little noises when tired. Over the last few weeks I realized he is actually singing. I sing and hum a lullaby to him while getting him to sleep. He often "sings" along with me while he is nursing. His voice follows my rhythm and pitch. I hope I can get a recording.

Bean doesn't like to be worn in the carrier as often as he used to, which makes cooking a little more difficult than in the past. What used to take twice as long with a baby on my back has quadrupled with a baby hanging on my pants legs while we shuffle around the kitchen.

A large part of my day is spent with Bean in my arms, walking around while he points to everything in sight and says "this?" with the cutest little lisp. He wants to know what every object is. I think he is storing the information in that amazing brain and will start spitting out all those words soon.

Walking and talking seem to be just around the corner. We are looking forward to seeing what comes next. Oh, I almost forgot - he has six teeth, not including the evil molars that are making their way down. It feels like two molars on each side are coming through.

Goals for 2012

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do try to take stock of what is happening in my life and create goals that I want to accomplish for the year. Writing down a goal is the first step in making that goal a reality. Here is what I want to accomplish in 2012:

* Yoga 2x per week - at least once in a studio

*Saturday family fun day (occasionally Sunday fun day if Zjelo plays on Saturday) This means we go out as a family for a few hours, maybe for coffee or a hike, but no sitting on the couch and someone is going to spend less time playing video games!

*Sweet treat night 1x per week, Cut back on processed sugar. We will have one night a week (Friday) in which we can indulge. The night of the week is subject to change.

*Walk 3x per week minimum

*Attend Mass on a more regular basis (1x per month minimum)

*Read 1 book a month

*Go on at least 6 dates with my husband

*Find a way to have a clean house

*Continue to eat vegetarian, moving closer to a vegan diet

What are your goals for the coming year?