The 5 am Cuddle

J is usually a terrific sleeper, but lately, something has been amiss. I don't know if it's the fact that he's getting new teeth, or that his overnight diapers are becoming a little too small, but he's been waking up around 5-5:30 crying his eyes out. It doesn't help that the smoke detector lets off this faint green light, which I believe drives him absolutely insane. He just stares at it and can't focus on falling asleep. Since this is way too early (and now that mama and dada have been used to sleeping their six to seven hours a night) I am not willing to sit in a rocking chair and hold him. Putting him back down in his crib just returns him to the sobbing state he was in before. So, we have been retreating to the guest room for an extra hour or so of dozing time. I don't want this to become a habit, though. J cuddles up on my shoulder and when he is settled, I sink down into the bed and try to catch a few zs myself. The only problem is that the curtains in that room are not very dark, so the first bit of light catches his attention and then he is up and ready. Yesterday he woke up in a state of confusion-- his expression said, "Where the hell am I? And how did I get here?" I thought it was pretty funny, but I didn't laugh because I was still too tired.

We'll see how the next few days go. Daddy is leaving us to go to Philadelphia for a dental conference, so we'll be on our own until Sunday morning. I have a feeling it's going to be a long couple of days. I need to think of some fun things to do. And I need to find some good wine for when J goes to sleep!

Crouching Mama, Shaman Toddler

Okay, every time I read all of the other blogs that are floating around by my friends, I think, "I have to be better about mine." So, here I am again. Nothing really interesting to say, though. Let's see...

The past few weeks have been absolutely miserable weatherwise. It was 30 freakin degrees over the weekend, complete with freezing rain and sleet. Easter Sunday wasn't much better, and since our brunch company cancelled, we decided just to get things done around the house and reserve the next nice day for celebrating and lazing around. We went to Home Depot and bought a lawn mower and weed trimmer, fertilizer, a hose, and some water softener salt. It was a big day. J loved checking out all of the power tools and the boxes on the floor!

Yesterday was the first day we were able to go to the park in a long time. We did the usual playing climbing up to the steering wheels, looking at the stop signs, saying hello to the older kids, and picking up rocks. We added a few new things to our repertoire. They included, chasing another toddler down the path and imitating him on the picnic benches, hugging said toddler and knocking him down (with affection), and finding an enormous stick. This stick occupied J for at least 20 minutes. He dragged it all through the leaves and walked back and forth with it. He really looked like a shaman, or some other wise toddler, ready to proclaim, "Ahhh... Simba alive!!" at any second. I didn't have my camera, but this stick was double his size and he kept knocking himself in the head. He didn't seem to mind that because it was a challenge to hold it upright and move with it. He was not a happy camper when I had to remove it from his hands and put him in the stroller to go home.Waahhhh! Thankfully, we pass four or five stop signs on our walk back home, which made him forget all about the stick. Stop signs are his absolute favorite object. He can recognize them from front, back, side, and always exclaims, "Sop!" or "saaaahhhh" whenever he sees one. We have to touch them, spell out the word. All of this makes him extremely excited. Other traffic signs make him yelp as well, but they do not carry the same interest as the octagonal red and white commander. I joke that we have an urban naturalist on our hands because he loves stop signs, but also loves to pet trees.

Today will probably be more of the same-- park time, a long walk, maybe a trip to the outlet mall. Mama needs some new clothes!