Better.....

Max is feeling better now - yay! He want back to daycare last Thursday and has been fine eversince. Antiobitics are an amazing thing. If I wasn't concerned about over-use and reducing their effectiveness, I would think that it be a requirement that all children in daycare be on an antibiotic at all times during their first year. I mean, given the number of times he has been sick, he's probably averaged a quarter of a year - why not go all the way?

Anyway, bet you are wondering what he is up to. Max loves music. He always seemed to like it, but now he is actively showing his enjoyment by swaying back and forth, "head banging", clapping, laughing etc whenever we have music playing. When he sees Chris's ipod on the docking station, he starts bobbing up and down. He has a couple musical toys that he really enjoys playing with. One evening two of them were on top of the coffee table and he was standing in front of them & hitting them to keep the music going & "dancing". I think we have a little mini DJ on our hands! Some of his favorite music is the tunes they play on "Classical Baby" (LOVES it). He also seems to like The Breeders and some hip hop tunes Chris has on his ipod.

Tonight, we started working on self feeding with utensils. Why parents always choose spaghetti as the meal to do this with, I have no idea, but we managed to fall into that trap as well. He actually did really well with some help scooping the food out of the bowl & raising his arm to get the goods in his mouth. He has also begun using a sippy cup exclusively at school - though we still give him a bottle at night before bed.

He is saying words that are sound more "real" every day. He can indicate that we are going up the stairs. You can also audibly distinguish his sounds for bite and bath. He loves to call out for Da-Da. He waves hello when he sees us- he even waves hello to the dogs, and I think he is starting to mimic Zooey's wine.

He is not walking on his own yet, but I exepect it will be very soon - especially when he figures out it is a much more efficient way to get around than crawling! He also has tried out the stairs a couple times and is thankfully taking them pretty slow - he will go up a couple, then down a couple and that's as far as he goes. *knock on wood*

Well, that's a little bit of an update. I'm sure Chris will post some pictures soon.

Life in the balance

This has been one of those weeks where the work/life balance has been tested. Actually, this has been one of those weeks where the balance of EVERYTHING has been tested. Last weekend was really busy with a couple of social events that I was involved in. The one on Friday took way more time that I anticipated and Chris ended up doing all of the evening chores; dinner, bathtime, bed time. I volunteered at the employee golf tournament Saturday morning and Max came with me. A friend said I could probaby call in and say that Max was sick & I would have a "pass" not to come. That little voice in my head said I should save that one for when I really needed it.

Lo and behold, we needed it. Max started running a fever Sunday and had a cough that wasn't getting any better. We took him to the dr's on Monday and she said he had an ear infection (what is it with ear infections around here????). So, we started him on antibiotics and tylenol and ibuprofin. Monday both Chris and I worked from home and were a tag team. Tuesday, I went in late and Chris had him the rest of the day. Today he was STILL running a fever this morning, so I took him into the office with me for a while, then had him at home the rest of the day.

And, Max is teething - cuting the top front two teeth at the same time. Dang he looks cute when he smiles, but boy-o-boy do I wish those freaking teeth would come in.

We are tired. We are not having a good time. The pendulum was nice and steady for about a month and a half, and now it it swinging wide into non-fun land.

Two new inventions:
Rent a Grandma - for those days when the kid is sick and you have to get into work - OR for just when you need a break from holding a whining child.
A pacifier that gives out small, controled doses of orajel - not enough to overdose, but enough so that if the kid is in a lot of pain, they can just nip it a little and get relief - like a little teething morphine drip.