Keeping up with the Seinfelds

All of a suddenly I have a toddler on my hands.

Last week she took her first solo steps to reach and pet Zoe. Amazing! However, she quickly realized the safety and ease provided by holding onto our hands and walking instead. She’s not shy about latching on and taking you for three laps around the house.

I don’t know how to explain it, but she’s suddenly more independent and ready to test the limits. All of them. (Aside from walking, her new favorite skill is pointing … as in, “I want that over there on that table.”) She knows what she wants, where she wants to go and what she does and DOES NOT want to eat. It could be the fourth molar she’s cutting, but my eager eater is now a lot more discerning. And, while I have only had to struggle with the question of “What will this kid eat that isn’t bread-based?” for a week now, it’s stressful for someone with obsessive tendencies. I could just wait and see if she returns to normal after the tooth arrives, but that’s not me. Why wait it out when you dive in guns a-blazing’ with how-to books, hours of internet research and gadget purchases from the internet.

My new approach is the Disceptively Delicious one. I’ve got a rice cooker/vegetable steamer on the way, and I am stocking my freezer with little bags of vegetable and fruit puree that soon will be hidden in our food. I don’t want to jinx myself, but she ate her first deceptive meal at lunch today which was mac-n-cheese laced with sweet potato and broccoli. On top of that, she willingly ate raisins. Maybe she was on a veggie high, and she couldn’t stop the inertia. Whatever it was, I’m taking it.

My babe

She’s going to be turning a full 365 days old soon, and I’ve been reflecting on the pint-sized being I have with the super-sized personality.

She is my lovie and she makes me stop and laugh every day.

If I were to give her an introduction ala Chuck Woolery on The Love Connection, I would say:
“Lolo is a vibrant 11.5 month-old with a passion for music and food who likes to wear a devilish smile. She loves eating at restaurants, peeking and hiding and discovering little spots where only she can fit, being the center of attention, stuffing eight goldfish crackers in her mouth at once, dancing to the beat and climbing anything higher than the ground. She thinks she looks best in her adorable pajamas.

Oh c’mon.

I braved the additional 1-inch of snow that fell yesterday to go to Target. They have bikinis for sale. It’s 14 degrees.

A new way in which I have to adjust to the “North”

Snow. At anytime. Whenever it feels like it. It’s not a foot or anything. But, it’s enough to rattle someone who grew up at the beach.

Sure, I’m a nervous nelly, and yes, I have lived in the “North” for several years now so I have actually been getting used to the harsher winters.  I get that winter means snow. But, it’s different when you have a car. Getting out in Brooklyn with the white stuff on the ground was no more than a matter of will and the correct footwear.

Now that I have to battle other crazy New Jersey drivers with a metal box on wheels, it’s a whole different story. Growing up in Virginia, any dusting meant that schools were closed for at least a day, if not two. Newscasters would urge anyone who didn’t need to drive someone to the emergency room to stay home and keep the roads clear for the authorities. Thus, I have this definite fear of being out and about and can’t seem to ignore the snow and ice.

Granted, we’re lucky that our township is on the ball with snow removal and road preparation. I just can’t seem to shake the feeling that if 4-inches fall overnight that I will be stuck at home for three days helplessly clutching the last drops of milk left in the carton. Yes, I have a market within walking distance, but what would a good story be without a little dramatic exaggeration?

The hit of Christmas

Do you think Santa would bring me a case of Pedialyte?

We have been back from Christmas break for a week now, but I am just now getting back to normal. Although Lolo didn’t ask for it, Santa brought her the Rotavirus in full force.

Sunday the 21st, severe diarrhea started, and it didn’t wane until half way through the 30th. Count it up people, that’s 9.5 days of insane, unforgiving gastrointestinal distress. She kept up her mood as best she could through it all, but in all reality, she was miserable. I will save you the gore, but it was awful. Bruuutal. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy’s child.

A “stomach bug” had been going around in our area prior to the holidays, so I wasn’t all that surprised that it finally caught up with her. However, the longest it lasted with anyone we knew was five days with the average being more like three days. Needless to say, once the sixth day arrived, I was a certifiable mess.

Along the way, we visited two doctors in VA, practically bought Wal-Mart out of unflavored Pedialyte, fed Lolo Ritz crackers to her heart’s content, and plastered her baby butt with as much zinc oxide as she would tolerate. F-u-n. We also discovered that week that the poor girl was simultaneously cutting three honking molars. Yes, three monster teeth were plowing through at the most inconvenient time.

I rarely made it out of my pajamas, and Lolo changed outfits so frequently that my parents were doing laundry round the clock, bless their souls. She never seemed to have on a matching top and bottom, but really, did it matter? If the outfit wasn’t covered in poo, we were doing alright.

I hit rock bottom with worry several times, I have to admit. I was shooting Pedialyte down my daughter’s throat with a medicine dropper to avoid dehydration and our Christmas vacation seemed to revolve exclusively around poop, forced fluids and bread products.

Upon return to our home base, I had her checked out by our own pediatrician. He looked at me and then at her and then back at me.

“She’s going to be fine. It’s a virus. But, are you okay?” he asked. He even paused as if to give me to opportunity to ask for a prescription myself. Maybe a valium?

The virus ended a day or so after that final doctor’s visit and she quickly took the opportunity to catch up on all the food she missed like yogurt and cheese and then some more cheese.

It was quite a week, and I could not have survived without all the helping hands of my family. So, thank you Mom, Dad and Charlie. You bought the Pedialyte, fetched the diaper creme, and tossed the rancid diapers! In the end, we did manage to have more than a few laughs and pieces of pie so it wasn’t so terrible when you look back.

Mornings with Grandma meant fun treats like cuddling with crackers while watching Blue's Clues.

That lobster must weigh as much as Lolo.

"Hey Grandpa, those baby stingrays kinda freak me out."

A quick trip to Williamsburg for a much needed mind break. Lolo had french fries for the first time.

"I travel nowhere without some sort of carbohydrate snack in my hand. I can't bear to put down this biscuit to crawl through the tunnel. Maybe later."