Hiatus

The Baby Addict is going on a baby vacation.

Baby’s grandparents are flying in from Florida this afternoon.

Baby’s birthday party is on Saturday.

Baby’s birthday is next Wednesday, March 5.

Mommy and Daddy are taking time off of work to spend with family and friends as we celebrate the 365 days of blessings that we have enjoyed since Baby’s birth.

I’ll be back on March 6 to tell you all about it.

And there will be cake-smashing pictures, too!

Eureka!

I had a fabulous idea for a blog post this morning, but I got distracted by my work and that brilliant idea fell right out of my head.

So sorry to disappoint you.

There’s always tomorrow…

I Should Be Folding Laundry

Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry needs your love and support right now.

She was expecting twin baby boys, but they will be delivered stillborn this week.

Head on over there and tell her and her family how much you care.

Wordless Wednesday: SNOW

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.

Rest In Pieces

So, this is what death feels like.

I have given up coffee.

I wish I could say that I gave up coffee as self-denial for Lent, but I am not that strong. I wish I could brag that I gave up coffee willingly, but I am not that strong.

I gave up coffee for Baby.

Why?

Baby is not a sleeper. When all the babies were lined up in heaven, waiting for God to bestow upon them all the characteristics and virtues that they would need to be successful mortals, Baby skipped the table where little ones sign up to be sleepers. He grabbed a little extra charm and cuteness to get his parents through the long, sleepless days and nights and went on his merry way.

After almost a year of fighting this child to sleep, Daddy suggested recently that maybe Baby has trouble falling asleep because Mommy is addicted to caffeine.

Ridiculous accusations!!

Preposterous lunacy!!

Undeniably reasonable explanation!!

Darn it!!!

So this is Day #2 of the Caffeine Experiment.

Can you believe that the rotten Baby drifted off to sleep in less than 20 minutes last night???

I think he is on Daddy’s team.

Happy Birthday, Mother

Today is my mother’s birthday.

My mother and I don’t have a very good relationship. In fact, we don’t have a relationship at all and I’m still learning to cope with the damage caused by the relationship we shared when I was growing up. I do understand that her mental illness is to blame, but I still mourn the relationship that never was. I mourn the loss of the mother I could have had.

Despite this, I am thankful to God for sending my mother into my life. My experiences with her shape the type of mother I am today. I am painfully aware of the impact I will have on my son’s life, his self-worth, his confidence, and his mental health. That is a blessing because I do not take for granted the moments I share with him and I won’t realize too late the type of mother he needed me to be. I’m the mother he needs me to be right now.

Happy Birthday, Mom and thanks for everything you taught me about life and love.

Nothing To Say

This is one of those rare occasions when

Mommy has nothing to say.

I have asked Baby to speak on my behalf today:

The telemarketers especially enjoy chatting with him.

Wordless Wednesday: Home of a Hypocrite

The home of a woman that swore that

the kids would never take over her house...

More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom

Daddy To The Rescue

Baby has had his fair share of ouchies in his short life. At least a couple of times a day, he falls on his butt or hits his head on the floor, a chair, the kitchen table, a toy, or anything else that might be in his path. Just this morning, a preschooler stepped on his hand at daycare as he was crawling around where he shouldn’t have been.

But we’ve never seen blood before.

Until last night.

Baby was pulling himself up on the end table to get a better look at our pet rat, Mickey. Baby loves to watch Mickey. Mickey’s habitat is on the only table that we have left in the living room. All of the other end tables and the coffee table were removed as soon as Baby was born so the world would be safe for him. Naturally, Baby is drawn to that only remaining table.

As he stood up against the table, his socks slipped on the hardwood floors, and he fell down. His face hit the table leg on his way to the floor. Mommy was only two steps away, so she calmly picked him up to offer a big cuddle.

Then she saw the blood in his mouth.

Mommy ran frantically into the kitchen where Daddy was washing dishes (that’s right, ladies. He washes the dishes and he’s MINE). By this time, there was blood all over Baby’s face and hands. There was blood all over Mommy’s sweater. Mommy and Baby were frantic.

Very calmly, Daddy got a washcloth and started wiping the blood from Baby’s mouth. Being the genius that he is, Daddy got a small flashlight to examine Baby’s cut. Baby was so fascinated by the flashlight that he forgot all about the blood.

In the end, Baby was fine. He didn’t need stitches and he came away from the whole incident with only a swollen lip.

And if Mommy didn’t love Daddy the most in that moment when he calmly reassured her that Baby would be fine, she loved him even more when he later admitted that his hands were trembling and his heart was racing at the very thought that his Little Buddy could need stitches.

There is nothing in this world that is sexier than a man that loves your baby just as much as you do.

Lovey Addiction

Baby is at the age when most kids choose a transitional object, also known as a lovey. A lovey is a unique item that a child carries where ever they go. A lovey can help a toddler find comfort in a chaotic world. A lovey can soothe a sick baby, calm a nervous child, and provide a tangible substitution when Mommy and Daddy aren’t available for a cuddle.

The basic rules for parents to follow regarding loveys are:

1. Encourage your child to choose a lovey that you don’t mind taking with you everywhere you go for the next few years.

2. Once your child chooses a lovey, buy a few identical loveys and store them as potential replacements. There is nothing more devastating to a child than losing a cherished lovey. There is nothing more devastating to a parent than not being able to find a replacement lovey.

Mommy and Daddy agree that using a transitional object is a healthy coping mechanism for a toddler, so Mommy and Daddy have been encouraging Baby to find a lovey. They bought Baby his very own boy baby doll. It is soft and has a rattle inside. The baby doll is just the right size for a Baby hug. The baby doll is wearing a cloth bib and holding a cloth bottle, which are both interesting objects to chew on. If all else fails, the baby doll also has a manufacturer’s tag that can be chewed on.

Baby loves his baby doll, which he has affectionately named “Oops”, but Oops is not his lovey. His Build-A-Bear is not his lovey. His GloWorm is not his lovey. His Winnie the Pooh Lovey Blanket is not his lovey.

His lovey is a ladle. His lovey is a small, yellow, plastic ladle that was part of a toy food kit that his older sister received as a gift TEN YEARS AGO.

He found the ladle yesterday and he held it for 4 HOURS. He carried it throughout the house, ate dinner with it, got his diaper changed with it, and fell asleep holding it.

This morning, he got dressed with it, ate breakfast with it, held it in the car, and screamed at the top of his lungs when Mommy tore it from his iron grip at daycare this morning. We certainly can’t risk losing the lovey at daycare!

Now, Mommy and Daddy must find a replacement lovey. How hard could it be?

P.S. If you have this yellow plastic ladle in your toy box, I will offer you a bazillion dollars for it.

The Last First Holiday

Yesterday was Baby’s first Valentine’s Day. It was also Baby’s last first holiday. Every holiday for the rest of his life will be a day he has already celebrated. Mommy is such a sentimental fool!

In celebration of his Last First Holiday, Mommy absolutely couldn’t resist buying him the appropriate My First Valentine’s Day bib. Daddy was quick to point out that Baby doesn’t wear bibs for drooling anymore and that the bib would probably never be worn, just like the My First Christmas bib that Mommy bought that is still hanging in Baby’s closet with the original tags on it.

To prove him wrong, Mommy posed Baby for some photos in his bib. Now she can justify the expense and Mommy and Daddy have genuine Valentine photos to cherish.

Mommy also got the Thumb in the photo. This photo serves the dual purpose of validating the purchase of the Valentine bib and documenting the state of the Thumb. Despite several daily applications of Lansinoh and Vitamin E Oil and the protection of Baby’s puppy mitten at naptime and bedtime, the kid is still finding time to mutilate himself. .

At least now I can prove that I’m not making up this drama just to fill my blog. Evidently, Thumb Sucker’s Dermatitis is a very real condition. Bet you didn’t know that!

My Name is Dawn and I’m an Addict

It seems silly to me that after all this time I’m still hiding behind my anime avatar. Granted, she does have perfect hair and wide, bright eyes, which are two things that I don’t have most days. Evidently, sleep deprivation and personal hygiene just don’t mix well together.

I suddenly feel a need to be totally and completely honest with both of the people that are reading my blog regularly (that would be you and me). So, wouldn’t it be a good idea if there were a picture of Mommy on this blog?

I got this brilliant idea last night as I was browsing through our family photo collection. My Dad and his wife bought Baby a Baby’s First Photo Album for his birthday. Since they are flying from Florida, they had it shipped to our house and I’ll add photos of Baby’s family before I wrap it up for his party. I was browsing through our photos last night trying to pick a good picture of Mommy and Daddy together that we could add to Baby’s album and I actually found a good photo of me. This photo was taken the day after Baby was conceived. Mommy and Daddy were on vacation in Portland, Oregon. It was the best week of our married lives and it only seems appropriate that Baby is a souvenir of that trip.

So in an effort to be more honest and less anonymous, I am changing my profile picture to an actual photo of myself.

My skinny self.

The way I remember myself before Baby added 20 pounds and 200 stretch marks to my midsection.

The way I still look in my mind.

Why Jesus Loves Sheep

Having a Baby is like Christmas morning all year long. You will be showered with gifts before the birth, to celebrate the birth, to celebrate Baby’s first New Years, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day…you get the idea. And don’t forget the first birthday. Some of the gifts you receive will be things that you could never live without. Other gifts will be things that make you wonder what folks were thinking when they went shopping.

We received one of those “this is cute, but not so practical” gifts when Baby was born and dutifully put it away. Now that Baby is older and getting about, I realize that this gift wasn’t impractical after all!

A very kind, thoughtful, and insightful friend gave us a Feel Better Cold Pack Lamb by Gund.

It is a plush lamb with a plastic ice cube in her belly that is used as an icepack. Now that Baby is crawling, climbing, and falling, falling, falling, we need to use an icepack a couple of times a day. Baby is terrified by a traditional icepack and a bag of frozen peas is too interesting to use on a bruise. When Baby takes a tumble that results in a red-faced, open-mouth-scream-without-sound kind of ouchie, we just go to the freezer and get “Lambie.” As soon as Baby gives Lambie a hug, he forgets all about his ouchie.

That’s What Works for Me!

Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer is in Africa this week, so you can find more WFMW tips at Don’t Try This At Home.

Symptoms of Addiction

There is nothing sweeter than holding a sleeping baby in your arms and inhaling the sweet, warm breath of that child every time he exhales.

I wonder how Mommy got Baby’s cold?

Party Clothes

We went to the Party Store on Saturday because that is what sensible people do when the entire family is sick. I highly recommend venturing out into subzero temperatures when your nose is running like a faucet and your baby has an ear infection. That’s what antibiotics are for, right? The party must go on.

Before you label me irrational, you should know that my Dad and his wife decided that they need to visit for Baby’s first birthday. Since they are paying for airfare to be here, they also decided that Baby needs to have a party. The godparents agreed. Evidently, Mommy and Daddy are obligated to host a party despite our fantasy of a quiet day spent reminiscing about the most miraculous and cherished memory of our married life.

So, there is a birthday party to be planned, gifts to wrap, a cake to be ordered, decorations to hang, and food to prepare. We should also clean the house, but that can wait until the week before. It’s just going to get dirty again…

So we went to the Party Store on Saturday to get plates, cups, forks, streamers, and the Very Special Birthday Hat.

Baby tried on the Birthday Boy classic cone-shaped hat with garland trim.
He threw it on the floor.

Baby tried on the Top Hat covered in glitter.
He threw it on the floor.

Baby tried on the blue Baby’s First Birthday hat with elastic string.
He threw it on the floor.

Baby tried on the oh-so-cute powder blue Birthday Prince crown.
He threw it on the floor.

We compromised and Baby agreed to let us buy helium balloons instead. Evidently, he has conquered his fear of balloons, but he can’t compromise on his hat phobia.

Why Toddlers Are Better Than Babies

With Baby’s first birthday less than a month away, I need to convince myself that this is a good change and it is not a reason for Mommy to cry. How sad would it be if Mommy were bawling in all of Baby’s birthday party photos?

As I mourn the end of his babyhood, I remind myself of why toddlers are better than babies:

Toddlers can sleep through the night. Baby hasn’t done this yet, but he will someday and that day will be a beautiful day.

Toddlers eat table food and drink milk that doesn’t come from Mommy’s boobies. That means Mommy can take her boobies into another room and do something constructive, like laundry. (Although baby isn’t giving up the boobies yet. He just doesn’t need them every two hours anymore.)

Toddlers find ways to communicate without crying. Instead of screaming for food, Baby can shake his head “Yes” when Mommy asks him if he wants more carrots.

Toddlers can give hugs and kisses.

Best of all, even though toddlers are so big, they are never too big to cuddle with Mama at the end of the day.

I Almost Forgot...

…what it’s like to have a newborn baby.

The sleepless nights, the days without showers, the inability to remember the last time you fed yourself.

As Baby’s first birthday approaches with lightning speed, I’ve been filled with melancholy over his babyhood that will soon be nothing but a memory.

But now that Baby has another ear infection that has him waking up every hour, crying constantly, and clinging to Mommy and Daddy every moment of every day and night, I remember what those early days were really like.

I’m looking forward to the new adventure of toddlerhood.

One Step Ahead

For this week's edition of Works for Me Wednesday, sponsored by Rocks In My Dryer, we're sharing our favorite online stores.

You may recall that Baby learned how to climb the stairs recently. Keeping him off the stairs has been a bit of a challenge because the bottom of our stairs just wasn’t designed to accommodate a baby gate. One side of the stairway is a drywall wall and the other side is a beautiful, wrought iron railing. For now, we are using a pressure gate, but the railing isn’t strong enough to stand up to the constant force of the gate. It’s also challenging for Bonus Daughters to climb over the gate every time they decide to leave their bedrooms, as infrequent an event as that is, and they don’t have the coordination or the gumption to put the gate back into place.

Desperate, I phoned a friend that has an equally challenging home. Her family owns a split-level house that has a wrought iron railing all the way around the living room, which overlooks the foyer and the stairs to the family room in their finished basement. She not only had a need for a railing at the top of the foyer stairs, but the rails were also spaced far enough apart for a child’s head to fit through. I knew she would have some advice for me and I was right. She referred me to the One Step Ahead store, which sells specialty safety items and other unique baby items that are difficult to find in ordinary department stores.

That’s what worked for me!

Have You Met My Meme Addiction?

I was tagged by Heather at Not a DIY Life for a meme. Hurray! Just when I thought I ran out of things to ramble about, God sends manna from heaven. Except this isn’t manna, it’s a meme!

The rules for this meme are:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) List the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged.

This is absolutely perfect because I knew that you were dying to know six more useless factoids about lil’ ol’ me, weren’t ya? I won’t blush if you admit it.

1. I got married when I was 19 years old and my husband is 16 years older than me. GASP! I just love to shock folks. Can you believe that I was naïve enough to invite my Daddy to my wedding before he met my dear husband and I expected him to be excited? I’m blessed that my father is very supportive of all my decisions, my marriage included. I can only imagine the thoughts and fears he must have kept to himself, but it’s all good. Eight years later, I’m still married to the same gorgeous man with no end in sight. My Dad has also grown to adore dear hubby, so it’s a win-win situation for all of us!

2. My hair is not really red and it’s not really curly. Well, it is a little wavy, but the curl is a perm. This is why I laugh hysterically when folks tell me that Baby has Mommy’s hair. Actually, Mommy has Clairol and Baby has Daddy’s hair. Daddy has brown hair, but his goatee is red. Isn’t that cute?!

3. I suppose this wasn’t meant to be six confessions, but I’m on a roll.

4. I was born in Florida, but I do actually love the snow and I have no desire to move back to a tropical climate. I love to cuddle up in the house, light candles, wear slippers, drink hot coffee, go sled-riding, take a steaming hot shower and hop out onto ice-cold tiles, scrape ice off the windshield of my car, wear gloves, and on and on and on. I love the change of seasons and I love the way God washes the whole world in white after a snowstorm. No matter where you are, the great outdoors looks pure and clean. Besides that, I really hate to sweat. I absolutely abhor sweating. Why do you think I love going to the gym so much? (note: read the sarcasm in my voice)

5. I’m shy, despite my career in Human Resources. And yes, I did meet dear hubby while I was working as a waitress at Denny’s during college. Imagine his surprise when he discovered my shyness! I am most comfortable in situations where people expect me to be out-going. People expect their waitress to be friendly and initiate conversations with them. People expect their Human Resources department to be full of humane and sympathetic folks. Just please don’t expect me to chat up the cashier at the grocery store or start up a conversation with my seat-mate on the bus. Terrifying!

6. I’m a step-mom. The focus of my blog is my baby-addiction, but I also have two bonus daughters that I don’t mention often here, so it’s possible that you may have overlooked that fact. I could talk about my addiction to adolescent angst, but I would be lying to you. We are currently enjoying that stage of adolescence that makes parents wonder why they had kids in the first place. It makes us look at Baby and imagine him hating us in 12 short years. It’s enough to make me cry, but I assure myself that Baby will never hate me. All the parents of teenagers are falling off their butts laughing at me right now.

Gosh, that was fun!

Now I have to tag six random folks to jump in on this meme. And the victims are (drumroll, please) :

4 Little Men. She is addicted to her boys just as much as I am addicted to mine, but she has more skill with her camera than I do. Go check out her blog and see why I have photo envy.

SAHMmy Says. This girl is so wise and always offers legit advice. I can’t wait to hear six more things that are on her mind!

Plain Jane Mom. She tells it like it is. I’m always thinking the world could use a little more honesty, so I enjoy reading her musings. I’m sure you will, too!

I Should Be Folding Laundry. Her blog title says it all. You gotta love a fellow procrastinator.

Chased by Children. This gal has a wicked sense of humor. I’m laughing already just at the idea of reading six of her random thoughts.

Mr. and Mrs. Get Fit. I would love to read six things they know about weight loss. Heaven knows I need some inspiration!

Thanks again to Heather at Not a DIY Life for inspiring my post!

Excellent Blog Award

Heather at Not A DIY Life thinks I have an excellent blog and she has bestowed upon me this lovely award! I feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I want to spread the love.

By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, I have to award it to 10 more people that have blogs that are Excellent Award worthy. If chosen, you agree to pass this award along to 10 more bloggers. Keep sharing that bloggy love!

My Excellent Blog Award nominations go to:

Wonder Mom. I have to give credit to the woman that inspired me to blog. This is the first blog that I ever read. I started reading when I was pregnant with Baby, and this blogger inspired me to keep a bloggy journal of my pregnancy. She rocks!

On Pans and Kneadles. Not only is Heather an awesome bloggy friend, the girl can cook, too! I love to steal her recipes.

Rocks In My Dryer. This girl is going to Africa to blog about the babies there, so you know she has tremendous love in her heart. Stay tuned to read about her adventures and say a little prayer or two for her while you’re there.

Daddy Forever. I love to read about baby addiction from a Dad’s perspective.

Dorky Dad. Every dad needs a sense of humor and this dad is a professional.

Heavenly Homemakers. Now, here is a woman that inspires me to organize. I wonder if she is for hire?

Pennies In My Pocket. I am a sucker for a good deal. Evidently, I’m not the only one!

The Lactivist. I just love the reassurance that I’m not the only mama still offering the Milk Duds to my toddler. It gives me strength in the face of my critics.

Trish Berg. This generous lady gives away a book each week. Why are you still reading my blog? She is offering prizes, people!

Girls Gone Child. I love her fresh perspective on motherhood. This girl lives in reality and she wrote a book all about it.

Now you know what I read during my lunch break at work. As if you were dying to know just one more thing about the Baby Addict…

Video Link for Caregivers

I work in corporate America, which means that I am constantly bombarded with forwarded email messages. I can’t really complain because I do get a good laugh out of some of the jokes and videos that I receive. Some of them are just lame and end up in my Deleted Items, but I do enjoy an occasional gem.

Yesterday, a co-worker forwarded me a link that made me tremble to the depths of my soul. I’m grateful to her for sharing it with me. It’s something that every parent, grand-parent, and caregiver should see. For that reason, I am sharing it here.

Warning: If you are suffering from Post-Partum Depression, please note that this video could be a possible trigger.

Please, pass this along.