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.