Eating out 101

Last night Ryan and I decided to go to dinner at Chili's after work. We sat down next to an older couple and something told me they weren't 'kid' people, but I didn't request to be moved to a different table. Cael has started screaming at a very high pitch when he doesn't get what he wants and last night was no exception. He is 13 months and Ryan and I are working on disciplining him, but there is only so much you can do at this age. At one point, Cael screamed and the guy next to us jumped. He got a really nasty look on his face, threw down his napkin and said 'that's it, I can't take this any more.' I understand that it isn't fun to be around a child throwing a temper tantrum, but Ryan and I weren't smiling and cooing at Cael like it was the cutest thing we had seen nor were we ignoring it and simply enjoying our dinner. Both of us were on edge, but again, there is only so much a person can do. Not to mention, they were getting ready to leave and they were at Chili's for crying out loud, what exactly did they expect? Last time I checked, Chili's was not a five star restaurant. I kept telling Ryan that I wished it didn't bother me as much as it did, but plain and simple, it does. I am not proud of the fact that my son is screaming in the middle of a restaurant, but I am also doing the best I can as a parent. I didn't need some guy making me feel worse than I already did. After the second comment, I turned to Ryan and started talking just loudly enough for them to hear me discussing the audacity of some people and how I couldn't believe the reaction and that he was just a little boy. You get the picture. Hopefully, I got my point across and if not, oh well, it made me feel better. As Ryan and I left the restaurant we decided it might be awhile before we attempt to go out to eat again. I am not condoning Cael's behavior, but at the same time, I am not going to defend the actions of someone who can't just get his check and leave without making comments that were simply rude and uncalled for. I suppose this is just life with a young child and I should prepare myself for the opinions of people who cannot (and will not) empathize with the situation.

Faster

Cael loves to be pushed around on his dump truck. Ryan was pushing him all over the house and he would move his little feet (even though he couldn't keep up) and grin. Any time Ryan stopped, Cael would grunt his disapproval and squeal for more. A couple of times Ryan tried to make Cael push himself and he wanted nothing to do with it. Ryan added to the fun with his great sound effects and by taking the occasional corner on two wheels. The dogs and I had a blast chasing them all over the house trying to snap pictures. Of course, Cael REFUSED to look at the camera long enough for me to get a shot, but I did manage to get some pretty cute ones.

Too cute!

Ryan, Cael and I went for a walk a couple of weekends ago. It was pretty cold so we made sure to bundle Cael up. Before we left, I took this picture and I love it!! I love it when I take a random picture and it ends up really capturing something. I love his expression, I love the angle of the camera. I love how he looks as snug as a bug in a rug! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do and I hope it doesn't lose anything in 'translation'.

Little monkey

As Cael gets older, he gets more curious about things around him. This has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that he is easier to entertain, but a curse in that he is everywhere and getting into EVERYTHING. The other day Ryan pulled the cushions off of our couch to give Cael his very own little play area. He thought it was great, but what was even more funny is that he didn't seem to have any qualms getting down off the couch.... face first. He also loved sitting there as Ryan bounced him up and down like he was on a trampoline. Probably not good for the couch, but worth it to see Cael's reaction!!We also have a treadmill down stairs that he loves to crawl all over. I have been wanting to purchase an indoor jungle gym of sorts for Cael, but now I am thinking we are fine just using things we already have. Not to mention, Ryan thinks it is great that we are at least getting some use out of the treadmill (which he didn't want to buy in the first place). LOL!

So close

Cael is getting so close to walking. With every passing day he takes more steps all by himself and loves it! He is getting so much better at balancing and catching himself before he falls. It is great watching him prepare to walk from one place to the next. He loves having everyone's attention before attempting to walk a long distance, but will fall quickly. However, if you pretend to ignore him, he usually does much better and ends up walking further. It is like he doesn't lose concentration so he can do better when no one is paying attention (or at least pretending not to). I love listening to him giggle once he reaches his final destination and how he turns his little face to ours waiting for us to clap and cheer. 

Bottle weaning

We have been patiently trying to wean Cael from the bottle for the last couple of months. A few days ago it occurred to me that part of the reason he might not be drinking very much from his sippy cup was because he preferred the taste of the formula to the taste of whole milk. We made the decision to start giving him whole milk in his bottles instead of formula and surprisingly enough, it went really well. He didn't seem to have a problem switching and Ryan and I are thrilled that we don't have to pay for formula anymore. Yesterday, in an attempt to wean him from another bottle, I told the daycare not to give Cael his 8:00 bottle just to see how it went. Imagine my surprise when I went to pick him up and they told me he hadn't had a bottle all day!!!!!!!!!! We are going to take it slow, which means we will continue to supply the daycare with bottles in case he needs one, but it appears that we are on our way to becoming a bottle free household (for now)!

Dishwasher discovery

The other day, I pulled down the dishwasher door to entertain Cael while I did some tidying up around the house. I was in the living room when I realized that it had become rather quiet all of a sudden. I immediately ran into the kitchen to see what was going on and found him on the door of the dishwasher exploring the dishes and trying to take things out and throw them on the floor. Such a little monkey!! I honestly wish I knew what he was thinking and why he is so fascinated by the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the stairs and pop cans! Either way, it doesn't really matter because even at it's most annoying (when he wanted to play on the stairs and ONLY on the stairs), I love it. I love that he is so curious and intrigued by everything. It reminds me to stop and smell the roses every now and then!

So true

I remember before we had Cael, Ryan and I swore that we wouldn't end up buying a lot of toys because we had both heard the stories from our parents as well as other parents that babies are entertained by everything BUT their toys. Well, with a room of his very own dedicated to toys and a preference to play with anything and everything having to do with our kitchen, we realize how very true it is. I try to put Cael in his playroom so I can cook dinner, tend to the dogs or just rest my arms, but he won't have anything to do with it and cries for Mommy. However, if I plop him down in front of the freezer and let him pull out the box of Boca burgers to play with, he is immediately pacified and will spend a good ten to twenty minutes pulling them out of the box, examining them, putting them in his mouth and then throwing them on the ground.

A couple of nights ago, he got bored and started throwing a fit. I needed to finish up a few things so I gave him the jar that holds our cooking utensils hoping to entertain him for a few more minutes and he loved it. Honestly, I love watching him examine things with his childish fascination, however lately it doesn't seem like he is exploring so much as he is just being a boy and throwing everything all over the place and generally just making a lot of noise. Either way, when I need him to be occupied, it works for me.

Validation

At Cael's twelve month check up when we told our pediatrician that we still go in and give Cael a pacifier if he wakes up in the middle of the night, she warned us that at this age he is more aware of what it takes to get Mommy and Daddy to give him what he wants. We discussed letting him cry it out and I told her that while I supported the method, the few times I had tried it, he had ended up having an ear infection. Kind of makes you question your ability to judge the cries and whether or not you are making the right decision to just let him cry. Cael woke up at 4:00 this morning and was WIDE awake. I knew that although he was fine at the moment, if he stayed up until his nap at 11:30, it would completely throw him off of his schedule and he would be cranky and extremely tired. We decided to try letting him cry it out to see if he would fall back asleep. He cried on and off for about 45 minutes, but the best part was that he fell back asleep around 5:15 and slept until 7:45 (he normally wakes up around 6:45-7:00). Much better than if he had actually gotten up at 4:00. The comforting thing about listening to him cry for that long was that he sounded like a little boy who wasn't getting what he wanted as opposed to a baby that was scared or in pain. It was (and is) extremely validating to know that we made the right decision (and not an easy one) for our son and that it paid off!!! Hopefully we won't have to let him cry it out too much in the future, but if we do, I am sticking by my guns because it appears to work!