Just because

I've been wanting to share this shirt with you but couldn't tie it into a post. So here you go...
My friend R sent it from England, so we think it's pretty special. In case you can't read what it says, it's informing the world that little c's Mummy is a yummy mummy. Cool.

T is for teething

Well, the kid is teething again. This is the biggest one he's had to cut thus far. Still no signs that he's teething, just like with the other 8 teeth he cut. No drooling, no moodiness, no diaper rash. But he's been running a slight fever and tonight he gnawed on my finger pretty good. Came very close to drawing blood.

At drop-off this morning I noticed that many of the kids in his class have drug permission slips (I can't remember what the official title of the form is), most of them listing Tylenol for teething. Mother's guilt quickly set in as I realized I wasn't giving little c anything for the potential pain and discomfort. Oops.

Fortunately I talked to his doctor yesterday at his 15 month check-up (p.s. his head is growing exponentially more than his body) about teething tablets and she told me to throw any of them out due to a recall notice by the FDA a few months ago. I had bought some for him but never gave them to him. Now we'll never know if they would have worked or not. So if you're reading this and you've got some in your closet, chuck 'em.

In the meantime, I think I'm going to invest in some leather gloves to wear while little c uses my fingers as a teething ring. Either that or chainmail.

Taking a well deserved break in between cutting teeth.

Foodaholic

Sometimes you just can't fight genetics. Okay, most times you can't fight genetics. Or is it all the time?

Little c can't fight the genetics he inherited from me that makes him love food. I can't wait until he can speak in complete sentences and we can have long discourses on all things related to food. I wonder if he'll inherit my keen sense of smell and will be able to discern what that je ne sai quoi is that's taking that particular food over the top. If not, that's okay, because I know that he enjoys food as it is.

I always hoped I'd have a good eater, especially after seeing my nephew eat octopus salad with a side of blue cheese at the ripe old age of 2. And so far I have a great eater. He'll eat that octopus salad with a side of blue cheese and raise you one. How about pickled beets with a side of saurkraut? So far I can't think of anything he won't eat. We continue to put foods that he's a little iffy about in front of him repeatedly and I think it's working as he'll eat it, if only a few bites.

And while I don't know if he'll pour over cookbooks at night while reading in bed like his Mama, I do know that I can count on him to try anything and everything and clean up most of his plate and push his fingers together while saying "mo". And I'm recording it here on this blog so if he does become a picky eater (perish the thought), I can show him what he used to eat and cling to the memories.
One of his faves: pickled beets, cheese, avocado and cherry tomatoes. This night he also had bread, applesauce, yogurt and graham crackers.
Blueberry pancake (he had 2 that night), veggie sausage patties (again, he had 2) and strawberries. He then had a big bowl of yogurt (with 17grams of fat/serving!).
 
 
 
Yogurt definitely tastes better when you get to feed yourself!

Happy Monday

Not much to report. We had a lovely weekend full of sleeping in until 7:30 (what?), a walk to breakfast where little c was a superstar eater, a quick trip up to Park City, a new sleeper with bikes all over it (and the kid says "bike" now! YAY!!!), long naps, fun games, good food, good message at church, family run, and a lot of chasing little c around the house with a video recorder while Daddy jumped out from behind things to scare the little one. There was also much laughter and a lot of cuddling.

I'd give this weekend a 10 out of 10.

More soon. Until then, have a lovely day.

Off the wagon/Happy baby/Visitors

Well, so much for my slim down. I did manage to exercise 4 days in a row last week but then ran out of steam. Then got a head cold, now I have a sore back and the list of excuses goes on and on and my pants continue to get tighter and tighter. Oh well. I don't really care that much. I'm sure I'll care more this summer when I'm forced to wear gunny sacks every day since none of my clothes will fit.

The little Bear has recovered nicely from his ear infection (second one in a month) yet is still on the antibiotic which is increasing his dirty diaper quotient every day. Poor kid has had a ridiculous case of diaper rash meets yeast infection. But you'd never know it from the smile on his face and the laugh he likes to let out at completely random times.

I've told a few people that I wish I could freeze the little nerd at this stage. I mean, he's just SO much fun. He's got about 20 words now and babbles to himself constantly. He is a voracious reader and will read non-stop unless we get tired of reading about Little Fish and try to divert his attention to something other than a book. I know that there are even better times ahead so I'll allow the freezing process to be put aside for now.

A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed a visit by Big C's parents. This was the first time they've been to our house so we were glad to welcome them to Bryan Avenue. Little C was happy to see them too but was playing shy for the first hour of their 2 hour visit. He eventually warmed up to Grandpa Lewie and enjoyed watching him do blowfish on the front door! It was great to see them and we hope to have many more visits with them this summer.

Apart from the illnesses, it's same old same old at Hancock Manor and we're quite glad for the normalcy and are looking forward to getting outside and enjoying spring!

 
Spring in Utah means a t-shirt and light-weight fleece one day and...
winter coat and hat the next!
That bottom lip was out the entire time he read his book tonight.
I think Big C was more excited to be holding Busy Bee then Little C was.
Having a chat with Grandma Jan.
Learning how to do blowfishes on the front door with Grandpa Lewie.
 
Trying to get Daddy to read to him after Mommy shooed him away. And yes, that's a big bruise on his cheek. We've taken to calling him Bruiser since his face and head are covered in purple spots now that he's a toddler.

Fat Tuesday meets Slim Down Wednesday

Like many Canadians, I will be making pancakes tonight for the Hancock Three in celebration of Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras. Growing up in Central/Eastern Canada, one of the traditions I looked forward to every year was going to a church basement and gorging on crappy pancakes, cold sausages and undercooked bacon, and then washing it down with watery Tang. Sounds appetizing and it was. Since I now live in the US and they don't celebrate Pancake Day down here, I've decided to start our very own PD on Bryan Avenue. I'm excited about starting our own little tradition with little c. Blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup are on tonight's menu. It would be better with bacon but we're going to have to settle for vegetarian sausage patties since I went a little bonkers at Costco on Sunday and bought a box of 1 million of them. Good times.

Tomorrow is the start of Lent. For the last several years I have given something up for the 40 days of Lent. Sometimes for religious reasons, other times to test myself. I've given up caffeine, alcohol, swearing and chocolate to name the few I can remember. This year is similar as I will be giving up going to Starbucks and also pop. Ever since I started working in my current job I've turned to a pop or a Starbucks run every afternoon. The added calories and decreased change in my pocket are adding up and it's time to make a change. I thought Lent would be the perfect time for that change.

Tomorrow also marks the official start of my de-chubbing program. I don't have any plans in place but I know that cutting out my daily search for chocolate around the office will end and will be replaced with cottage cheese and an apple or carrot sticks. And sitting around watching The Biggest Loser while eating a Wunderbar or Coffee Crisp will also come to an end. My pants are tight and that means it's time to de-chub. I don't have any goals, like to lose X number of pounds or decrease my body fat by Y percentage, I know I just need to make better choices and include exercise on a daily basis rather than my weekend warrior approach. It's clearly not working for me as evidenced by the tight pants.

So I'm going to enjoy those pancakes tonight. You'd better believe I will. And I'm going to enjoy that Wunderbar AND Coffee Crisp while I watch my fatties because tomorrow is a brand new day.

 

Mister Chatterbox

Little c is a talker. I suspected he would be, especially since I had the endearing nickname of Motor Mouth as a youngster. He babbles constantly from the time he wakes up until I rock him to drowsiness. He even likes to sing while I'm singing to him, drowning out my poor singing voice with his.

I thought I would take a moment and record the words I can remember that he says so I can share them with him down the road.

1. Na-noo - his soother (or binky, or pacifier as many of you would call it).

2. Na-na - banana, which he still goes crazy for. He really does resemble a monkey when he sees one.

3. Nana, Papa - Grandma and Grandpa Sydorko. We say hi and goodbye to them several times a day (as we do with other photos of family) and last night he mastered Papa, just in time for Papa's birthday today!

4. Ball - ball, which he loves to play with.

5. Bubble - bubble, which he likes to blow with his spit (he just opens his mouth and a bubble forms which he blows out...I honestly don't know where he learned how to do that).

6. Baa-loon - balloon. Loves these things for 5 minutes and then doesn't give a rats a** about them.

7. Puh-pull - purple. He said this last night when I pointed to the colour and had him repeat after me. He got it on the first try.

8. Mama and Dadda

9. Ufff - dog.

10. Chh - Cheers! We like to cheers our glasses against his sippy cup at every meal.

11. Baa-baa - bottle, which we're trying to wean him off. He's down to one bottle a day but it's so hard to get him off of it.

12. Choo-choo - train. The kids loves trains. Can't blame him, it's in his blood.

13. Busy Bee - that's the name of his Pillow Pet, which is a bee. He says it very clearly, right before he pounces on it and buries his head in between Busy Bee's wings.

In addition to these spoken words, he's really mastered a few signs. He does "all done", "more" and "drink" very clearly. We didn't know he knew "more" until the other day when he started doing it, so we went and got more of whatever it was he was eating and he was very pleased with the result.

I wonder what new word he'll learn today.

 

First 1st Birthday Party

I'm continuing with my trend this week to get caught up on all things Cohen. I've been thinking lately about how I never shared photos of his first birthday party in Canada on his actual birthday and I've been feeling a little guilty. Better late than never, just like the thank you cards I still need to get in the mail for both of his birthday parties!

I'll start with the ABSOLUTELY AMAZING cake my sister Heidi made for little c. One of his top ten books is "In my nest" which Heidi and her family gave little c upon his birth. I thought it would make a great backdrop for my attempt at an owl themed party. Since creating this masterpiece, my sister has made a dozen or more creations and has started a cake business in her free time, working full-time, raising 3 boys, including 3 year old twins. Free time. Ha! Anyway, enjoy. And please check out her new blog where she's featuring her blissful creations.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sitting amidst the present carnage wearing one of the 3 hats he received (this one was made my by wonderfully talented cousin Ashley; the other one was made by my very gifted friend Lynne, whom I don't think sleeps since she has 3 girls and managed to knit Big C a pair of iMitts in a day).

 
 
Enjoying cuddle time with his 101 year old Great Grandma.

 
Giving Aunt DeeDee a proper thank you for the one-of-a-kind birthday cake!