The Dictionary According to Pike

Duck face is still cool, right? Right?!

This will be an ongoing project. I want to chronicle some of Pike's more interesting terminology, when he used it, and what it meant. So forgive me if this post is incomplete. It always will be since I hope to add to it pretty much forever. Sorry - but I'm not sorry.

• "All gone the _" - His key phrase for something running out. In other words, "All gone the milk," if he runs out of milk in his cup. This can also refer to a train, car, truck, etc. that has passed by. Added 12/16/2013
• Bear Movie - The Jungle Book. Obviously. Added 12/16/2013
• Bom Game - A game called My Singing Monsters for Android. Pike enjoys watching Wes play it and even poking the screen from time to time himself. Added 12/16/2013
• Corn - Though this can refer to the veggie, it most often refers to The Last Unicorn, one of his current favorite movies. Added 12/16/2013
• Fight Bad Guys - This can either mean that he wants to play the Star Wars game with lightsabers for the Wii or that he wants to duel you with bowling pins. No, really. You'd better clarify which it is and step up. Note from Daddy: This can also mean other non-puzzle video games. If he sees you playing them he will ask if you are fighting bad guys. Added 12/16/2013
• Fight Dragons - Wes goes to Dungeons & Dragons every Tuesday night. We explained that to Pike, and now when we tell him, he turns and asks Wes very seriously, "Goin' to fight dragons, daddy?" 
• Happy vs. Sad - For him, if you're tired (ie he sees someone in a movie lying down), you are sad. If you're awake, you should be happy. If you are awake and sad, the solution is to go to sleep.
• "How your day?" - This isn't just a conversation starter. This is VERY SERIOUS and is always asked that way. You'd better be ready with a story. Added 12/16/2013
• "I peed the _" - If Pike happens to have a diaper leak, he gets very distressed, and tells us seriously that he "peed the pants" or shirt or bed or whatever else might have gotten pee on it. And sometimes even things that didn't get pee on them. Added 12/16/2013
• Juice - Any drink that isn't milk, water, coffee or wine. Lemonade can also be a catch-all term, as can tea. Added 12/16/2013
• Lotion - I bet you didn't know it, but lotion is actually a cure all. Well, it is. If you have an owie? You'd best get some lotion on that. Added 12/16/2013
• Make Bites - Cut whatever he is eating into bite-sized pieces. Added 12/16/2013
• Milk Sauce - Otherwise known as whipped cream. Added 12/16/2013
• Neena (also baneena) - Pike knew how to say banana from a young age. His best friend in the early days of day care, Ian, however, said neena instead. So Pike married the two and still (though Ian has since moved on to a new day care) says baneena instead. Added 12/16/2013
• Pleasantries - Saying good bye is important. Saying, "I miss you!" and "See you later!" are also important parts of saying good bye, so don't overlook them. Added 12/16/2013
• Paper Nose - Pike's term du jour for toilet paper or tissues. ("Get some paper nose, please, mommy. Booger!") Added 12/16/2013
• Pupcake - Otherwise known as a cupcake. But, let's face it, this is cuter. Added 1/21/2014
• Sandwich - Contrary to popular belief, a sandwich is not JUST a sandwich. It can also refer to chowing down on a random piece of bread. Who knew? Note: "French Toast" can also be just a slice of bread as long as it is accompanied by milk sauce. Added 12/16/2013
• Soldier Dudes - The characters in an Android game called Jungle Heat that Wes plays. "Playin' with soldier dudes, daddy?" Added 12/16/2013
• "Turn the light off" - Trick request, you see, since it really means to make the light whatever it isn't. If the light is on, he wants it off. If it's already off, he wants it on. Added 12/16/2013

A Day in the Life

Before Pike was born, I was scared. The usual stuff: whether I would be a good mommy, how we were going to afford child care, whether I could maintain my sanity being a full time working mom and Wes a full time working dad.

I can now confidently say that we've got this. Do I mean that we're always perfect and that nothing ever goes wrong? Duh, of course not. I can say that 14 months in, we've found a rhythm that works for all three of us (four if you count Pike's Aunt Kathy, who is with us while she goes to college).

We all get up at 6 (Wes usually before), and Wes gets Pike ready for the day while I get me ready for the day. Since Wes works from home most days, he and Pike and I do breakfast together. Sometimes we just sit, a lot of times we watch The Daily Show. Then at 7 Pike and I head off to drop him off at daycare and Wes heads to work. By 7:30, Pike is settled in and I'm driving to my day job.

Thankfully I really do love my job even though leaving Pike is the hardest thing I do all day, bar none. By 4:30, I'm back on the road to get the baby man. He usually gives me a big ol' grin and reaches for me now, which makes it even better. We head home, and more often than not, Wes already has dinner going for us. It's honestly lucky for us that he's the first home and usually does that - he's definitely the best cook in the house. Most nights we do dinner around the kitchen table, though Friday is movie night and we try to make something that can be eaten on the couches while we catch a flick.

Then it's veg out time - which actually means time to put Pike on the potty for awhile, build towers out of blocks so he can knock them down, crawl after the baby while he crawls after the puppies... you get the idea. It's still one of the most fun times of the day. Right around 7 Pike gets his bath, a story, and then says goodnight to all the fish on his walls before laying down to cuddle his glow seahorse.

Life has gotten fuller and busier since Pike's arrival, not to mention more expensive, but there's nothing I would change. Being Pike's parents is the most important, most interesting thing we've ever done. He gets more interesting and more fun to be with all the time. Believe me, I know parenting isn't for everyone - but I'm glad that it's been good for us.

The Best of Baby Vomit

I was reading a list of embarrassing baby stories, and I figured that I'd share mine right here. It's not my only one, of course, but it's my favorite so far.

My best friend is in the navy, so when she was home visiting her family, I brought Pike up to see her and her parents. We went out to lunch, which I wasn't at all worried about since Pike (who was around seven months at the time, I believe) was always so well behaved. Naturally that day he was fussy. Instead of just letting him scream, I decided to distract him with his lunch.

He ate like it was going out of style and devoured everything I'd brought alone. I figured he'd drift off for a nap, but he was still a little fussy, so I picked him up to cuddle him into submission. The waiter came over and was saying how cute he was and, just as our (thankfully very nice) waiter finished the sentence, Pike puked. He didn't just spit up a little. He vomitted everything he'd eaten - right onto me. Naturally I had a change of clothes all ready for him, but I had to pass the baby off to my friend so I could go to the bathroom and clean off as much puke as I could.

It's worth noting that he's only puked like that one time since... and it was right down my back. Yep, mommy's a puke magnet. Lucky me!

So What Now?

Vintage Portrait of two Babies, originally uploaded by Beverly & Pack.

Much like marriage inevitably leads to questions about when you're going to have babies, having a baby leads to questions about when you're going to have more babies.

The thing is? I'm not lying when I say I don't know. We're still debating the when and the if. There are so many things that are amazing about it just being the three of us, and right now we're lucky because my sister is living with us while going to college, so we have a built in baby sitter for date night. Awesome! But by the time baby #2 comes along (if they do), she probably won't be there, which means finding a REAL sitter. Less fun. Then there's family vacations becoming paying for four people instead of three, wrangling two kids instead of one - which means we would no longer outnumber the child portion of the house population.

On the other hand, we both love being parents. After spending most of our lives thinking we'd never do it... it's amazing. Pike is amazing. Watching him grow and change is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen (no offense to my sister since it was also super fun watching and experiencing that with her). He's smart and gorgeous and, I'm sure, will continue to be super fabulous. So if one baby is fabulous, why wouldn't a second be?

But what if they weren't? What if we had a second kid and they were terrible and cranky and mean and ugly? Not likely since we're so amazing, but it could happen.

So what thoughts make you want - and not want - to do it all over again?

Things about Pike: Week 18

• He is getting closer to mobility all the time. He can push up onto his wrists and look around. I think seeing the kids at daycare crawl is actually motivating him to some degree.
• Pike's grabbing things. Not a lot, but when something is put in front of him, he latches onto it. 
• He giggles. He smiles. He laughs. He's slightly ticklish. It is AWESOME.
• Fussing as a means of communication has become more common. He's understanding that when he fusses, he can tell us something is wrong. We're working to show him that other indicators and vocal cues have the same effect, but in the meantime it's interesting seeing what his "I'm fussing because I want __" sounds like.
• He got his second round of shots last week. He weighed in at 11 lbs 13 oz, and is now around the fifth percentile for length and width and the 25th percentile for head size - on the NORMAL growth curve. No more premie stuff for our little man! The doctor said he can start trying rice cereal come January to see how he likes it, and he doesn't need his breast milk or formula fortified with the 22 calorie stuff anymore. She also said he's on the path to teething with his bottom two front teeth. Yay?
• One of the biggest changes is that he's now in home care while Wes and I work during the week. I'm happy to say that it's going really well. He's been happy and clean and in good shape every day, and like I said above, I think seeing the other babies and toddlers doing things is making him wonder if he can do them too, which is very cool. 
• Mostly, he's just absolutely adorable. We're still just feeling plain old lucky that we have a really awesome kid who is doing all kinds of cool things and who is healthy and happy despite having had a bit of a rough start.

Wait... me?

Crazy mama, originally uploaded by Fran Añón.

Understanding that I'm pregnant and will before long be popping out a baby comes and goes. I'm at a point where physically it's hard to ignore. I'm leaning toward the huge side of big, I've got a little swelling here and there, and Nooblet's a wiggly little bastard.

But that's an academic understanding in a way. That's me getting that Symptom A will lead to Cause B. It's the moments where I actually comprehend that I'm going to HAVE A BABY that are the "whoah" moments. Hubby and I are not only going to have a baby, we're going to be parents. In another thirteen or fourteen years, we'll have ourselves a moody teenager who will feel painfully misunderstood and want to borrow the car or whatever.

WHOAH.

I suppose it's even stranger because I'm me. I know me. Once upon a time, I never thought I'd ever want to have children, so the idea of how our whole lives are going to change now is both exciting and terrifying. We're both ready for the changes and looking forward to them, but that doesn't make it any less weird.

Anybody else periodically forget and remember that they are not only facing the birthing process but, even bigger, the parenting process?