15 Months

Today Hollis is 15 months.  I just read the parenting handout on 15-16 months and this little guy is right on target.  These days goes by so fast.  Hollis wakes up, looks for Dad while I make a cup of coffee.  I drink my coffee while Hollis eats breakfast.  He usually eat blueberries, yogurt and some of my oatmeal.  Then he sits on the potty for a little while before he gets dressed.  Then we are both ready for the day's adventure. 

Yesterday he put on his brothers bike helmet and tried to go out the front door.  For a kid who hates hats and hoods, he is fine with helmet as long as he gets a bike ride out of it. 
Yesterday we went to the farm and Hollis spent the morning entertained by Joelene while I tried to get some work done.  They spent hours running around the barn throwing potatoes and stomping in puddles.  He was having some much fun he didn't want to leave. 

Hollis loves looking at books and sharing books with his family and friends.  We point at the pictures and talk about them, but rarely does he give me a chance to read before he turns the page.

Balls, of course.  I can't give an update with out mentioning these little round treasures.  Hollis lives to play ball.  Throwing and kicking and laughing he spends a good part of his days devoted to ball training and practice.

On the table

These days it is not unlikely to take my eyes off of Hollis for a couple of seconds, and then find him squealing in delight standing on top of the dining room table.  We play outside, I look away for a second to dig up some dead plants and he is running fast towards the street.  This morning I stepped out of the living room to change my clothes and he was screaming within seconds because he managed to pull a fire place broom from its holder onto his face.  Danger lurks at every second in my toddler raising life.  I relax when he sleeps or is tied down in his high chair eating. 

Happy Halloween!

Year one 2011: A banana baby
Year two 2012: A cheetah.

Seattle!

Last weekend George, Hollis and I took a short, but lovely road trip to Seattle.  What a change it was hitting the road with a driving buddy, caregiver and friend.  Time passed as we took turns entertaining Hollis, switchin' up the tunes, and taking naps.  We arrived in the evening, and we were hungry for city food!  Hollis took his maiden voyage as a long distance walking toddler that night, his eyes were bright with wonder.  It seemed more as though he was in a constant state of falling forward, but it was walking, block after block, and we were proud parents. 

We stayed in the Red Lion, downtown, just blocks from Pike Place Market.  Early the next morning we ate breakfast at the Soundview Cafe, and just beat the rush.  We had a great view of the Puget Sound, the carousel and the nearby highway.  The food was great.  I had the salmon eggs benedict and I sort of shared it with Hollis.

We explore the Pike's Place Market, reading about the history and looking for a dear friend that works in a couple of shops in the cavernous, creeky, but incredibly clean market place.  We had an unusual perspective exploring it at 8am, most of the shops were closed and there was very little traffic. 

Later we went to nearby coffee house to try some slow-brew coffee.  We couldn't chose between the "chemex" or "hario" and both barista preferred the other. 

Road Trip 2012

So last Wednesday, despite all my friends telling me I was crazy alone for thinking of it, I took off in our new car with Hollis and Georgie for true road adventure.  We left Corvallis at 2:45 pm with the destination of the Woodsman in Mt. Shasta.  This 7 hour drive was a true test of my patience and perseverance, and although I threatened to turn the car around twice, we made it safely to our lodging. The boys had been sleeping when we arrived at 10:45pm but they awoke with excitement and we played in the room until they passed out around midnight.  Our visit in Shasta was short, we left early in the morning after a quick bath, headed for Stockton, CA to meet our newest family member Evan Joaquin only 5 days old.
                                                                                   

The trip to Stockton was only 5 hours and much easier for the family to settle into, with hours already logged from the day before both Georgie and Hollis were getting into their road trip groove.   We made only one extended stop to eat, and otherwise we were dropping miles. We arrived to Nena's in the early afternoon to meet little EJ.  He was sleepy at first but spent most of his time fully alert with us, he was always hungry for his momma, but I got some snuggle time in. 



The boys were a little too much for the sacred space of new being.  I had hoped to be helpful, but wasn't surprised when it turned out I needed help keeping my two boys needs met.   Just as I would grab EJ for little auntie love time, Hollis would fall and bang his head, Georgie would run into a wall...  I got to hear Nena's incredible story of EJ's birth into this big world, and watch to two new parents melt into their new life.  I feel so lucky to have joined them even just for a moment.  EJ is alert, bright and strong, holding his head up at only a few days old.  I could brag and brag and brag about just how PERFECT my nephew is.  I am a proud aunt.

I took the boys out of the house early in the morning to buy Juan and Nena some peace and quiet.  I remember how special those first mornings are and how necessary rest is.  Nena directed me to a nice breakfast place.  We returned after a wild goose chase for a park, and spent a little time with the family while they got ready for a doctor's appointment.  We left for Tahoe around 1pm.

The trip on 1-80 is so familiar and welcoming to me.  I remember countless travels from the Lake to the Bay while serving my AmeriCorps year.  Climbing into the Sierras feels so much like home to me.  We arrived to the lake around 4:30pm and we rested on a beach near the North Shore.   The boys threw pebbles into the cobalt blue lake for thirty minutes before I wrestled them into the car. 

After a little exploration we discussed whether we should go to a park or climb Eagle Rock, having never "mountain climbed" before, Georgie was eager to summit his first peak.  The Eagle Rock climb is the perfect first for a six year old, it only takes 20 minutes to get to the summit and if affords some spectacular views of the lake. Georgie insisted that we "backpack it" and carried all of our water, snacks, camera and a cell phone.  I carried Hollis.  When we made it to the top, Georgie requested that I take a picture of his sweat.
That evening we met up Cody and Nate for dinner at the Fat Cat, and slept in Jonas new house.  Cody stayed the night to protect us from the bears.  We were grateful.  I stayed up until 1am reading Cindy Ross PCT book.

In the morning, Cody took us to the Tahoe House for breakfast.  Later we met up Nate for a second breakfast at Syd's Bagels, and we walked to the coolest kid park on the lake.  The boys played without much intervention while Nate and I tried to catch up. 

We picked up some lunch and hiked with the dogs on a trail from Jonas house.  There is nothing like direct access to nature.  When in Tahoe you are always in nature at all times.  Like Nate's fridge sticker brags "My life is better than your vacation - Tahoe Local."  It was another sad good bye as we parted from family.  This was the first time my Hoffman cuzs to meet the Holla-chubba and he was immediately in love with them as I would have predicted.  

The journey continued on from Lake Tahoe to Old Station in Northern California nestled between Mt. Burney, Mt. Shasta and my personal favorite Mt. Lassen.  The full moon started to appear as we entered the mountain trinity.  Memories of my first drive to Burney Falls flooded my mind and heart.  I remember climbing up a tree lined highway to a world never imagined.  The sweet smell of ponderosa pine, the deep blue sky and basaltic fields all speak to my most deepest self.  We arrived just in time for dinner and my dear friend from my park experience in 2000, Joanne had prepared a feast.  She set us up in her cabin the Fish Inn, and I put the kids to sleep by 7pm and spent the night high on silence.   Each night when I finally got them to sleep the sound of nothing was the best medicine I could ask for.  Although tired I absorbed every minute of pure silence and independence until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.  

In the morning we met up with Jo and Ray for breakfast.  They kindly put out an offering of fresh eats, blueberries, raspberries, yogurt, granola, cereal and milk.  After days of eating out and car snacking I found the meal most nourishing.  We spent our last hour together hiking along Hat Creek from the trail that opens up from their backyard.  The last time I was here in 2008, it was winter and the creek was raging.  Snow covered the forest, but now the creek still raged but forest was so dry from a dry winter.  Each step was crunchier than the last.  
 Our great hosts! Jo and Ray were so welcoming, generous and accommodating, we look forward to planning another visit for a longer time with the whole family.    

We left early to head to Burney Falls, the park where I spent my 20th summer as a State Park Naturalist with the Student Conservation Association.  It was my year of many epiphanies, and this park is where I had my first.  I landed in the park from world now so far away, a world with constant TV, nature deprivation, cars, and ignorance.  After many mentors and nights falling asleep to rushing falls, I returned to Pennsylvania a much different person touched by many and much.   Every so often I make a pilgrimage back to this place of rebirth, and this was the first as a mother and with my child.    When I arrived to the park, I was greeted by the park attended.  I scrambled for $8 to pay the cash fee, but I didn't have any money.  I looked the attendant Renee in the eye and gave her my sob story.  "I was a volunteer here in 2000 with SCA, and I don't have any money.   I just want to see the falls with my kid." "What is your name" she asked.  "Rebecka Weinsteiger?" I said as if I wasn't sure.  "Oh I remember that name." and she posted a paid receipt to my window.  I looked at her with disbelief, but excited I could see the falls again. 

I probably have 7 different pictures or so of me at different stages of my life over the last 12 years in front of the falls, this time taken from the perspective of a six year old.  Thank you Georgie.  We stayed and played at the park for a little bit before we geared up for our final leg of our long journey.

We made it full circle to Mt. Shasta in time for lunch.  We stopped at the natural food store deli, and slowly ate while we charged up the DVD player.  This final day will be our longest road day at 7.5 estimated driving hours which easily equates to 9 hours with kids.  Having already completed 1.5 hours, we feasted and replenished our snack attack box.  I got a chocolate milk to keep Georgie always looking forward to something.  The boys were pretty amazing on this last leg, crying and fighting very little.  The last 40 minutes, Hollis cried off and on and than passed out right before we made it home.  We were greeted by a very excited daddy.  Exhausted beyond expectation, I look back incredibly impressed that we made it through all our destinations, many memories made, and we still love each other.                                                                     

Hollis's first tooth!

Goodbye gummy smile!  Well soon anyway.  Hollis got his first tooth, the lower bottom straight in the middle.  I can't tell if it will be the lefty or right.  I suspect lefty, any bets?

I am relieved that my baby has teeth.  I was a little worried when I heard that almost all baby have teeth by 1 year, and when Hollis's birthday came and went... I wondered how long those choppers would stay subterranean.   All is well, 1 tooth and counting. 

Last night was a rough night with the teething, but much better than I had imagined.  I shouldn't say too much as I don't truly know what awaits us. 

Good luck baby boy, we have enjoyed your toothless grin!  Happy chomping.

1st Year! We did it!

Happy Birthday Holla-chub!  We celebrated this great marking of your birth with a great party at the Willamette Shelter in South Town.  50 of our best friends and family joined in to celebrate your life.  Everyone brought a dish to share, Uncle Dave brought some fine Oregon Trail Ales, and Momma baked cupcakes for everyone.  Uncle Sam manned the grill and all the kids played in the park.  Hollis spent his time charming the guests, playing around on the Corn Hole, and loving all of the attention.  Leo-baby!

Momma made him his own birthday smash cake covered in a cream cheese frosting and fresh blueberries they picked from the garden that morning together.  Hollis ate the blueberries, smashed some icing into Auntie Jo's face and threw the cake to Cousin-dog Kentia. 

Happy Birthday beautiful baby boy.  We love you so much.  You are incredibly inspiring and always looking for a good time.  This year has flown by for your momma and I am so amazed by your gentle spirit and fearless sense of adventure.  Thank you for making this year the best year of my life. 

1st Camping Trips! 2012

We made it out of town!  Daddy G, Momma and Holla-chub headed out for two night camping trip to Yellow Bottom on the Quartzville Creek.  The campground is beautiful, nestled under a canopy of old trees.  We spent the morning eating some great camp food and the afternoon in the river, back to camp for dinner, and we enjoyed after-dinner hikes.  Laura, Dan and Theo met up with us on our first night and we had a big party for Momma's 32nd birthday!  The following weekend we experimented with some coast camping and learned quickly to always make reservations first!  We spent our days hiking around Cape Lookout, and our evening camping at a private campground nearby right on the river.  Hollis loved rolling rocks in his mouth and trying to play in the fire pit.  He loved all the hiking on Momma and Daddy's back.  We are looking forward to more adventures with the whole family.  Brother Georgie was in Illinois and was greatly missed.

All About You

I haven't been too good at keeping the blog of your life up to date.  So here is a comprehensive update about your life and who you are.

Tomorrow you turn 11 months!

Feeding
You are eating less and less "momma milk" and more and more table food.  Some days I am scared that you are self weaning, and other days you make up for your minor breastfeeding strike.  There were days that I looked forward to you feeding yourself all on your own, however, each time you refuse the boob I am terrified that our breastfeed days are numbered.  I love holding you close and cherish our sweet moments together.  But you call the shots and I prepared to support your independence.

Table food:  You eat it all big guy.  You love blueberries, egg yolks, hamburger, steamed greens, and mushy veggies.  You are never satisfied from eating blueberries.  I think you could eat them all day.  Each morning I wake up with you and put you in the high chair while make coffee and check email.  When we can keep them on hand I feed you blueberries.  And you sit in the chair until I can't justify giving you another berry.  With all other foods you will sit and eat for about 15 minutes.

Friends
You love playing with other babies!  I love watching you play too.  You favorite friend is big brother Georgie.  You pretty much idolize him.  All he needs to do is walk by and you crack up laughing.  You and Isiah like to crawl chase each other around.  You love spending time with Ezra, who you are going hiking with today, Theodore, Eleanor, Lucy and Ayla. All of us mommies have been bringing you guys together since you were in the wombsies. And of course there are you adopted big brother Eli and Corbin.  You spend one day every week them and you love it!  They are also your Tiny Gym buddies while Susi and I go to Group Power (I gotta keep this momma strong to keep up with you!). 

 Moving
You are moving, climbing, crawling, standing.  You are an active baby and I wouldn't be surprised if you were up and walking any day now.  But take your time kid, I don't know if I am ready to chase you around any more than I do now.

Pooping
You are pretty good at pooping on the potty.  I am not sure if you know how good you are or not.  If I don't catch it on the potty first thing in the morning, I let you run around the house bottomless and I chase you around picking up your deer like droppings.  This is not an ideal arrangement but it is still 100 times better than scraping your poo from a cloth diaper.

Outside
You are so happy outside.  If you fall inside I take you outside to stop you from crying.  You stop as soon as you cross the threshold.  You like to sit in the garden while I weed, and I let you sit as long as you wish as long as you don't eat rocks.  Some days you manage to do well, but mostly in only takes a couple of minutes.  And then you are on my back, which over play you protest.  I try to get on weekly walks and hikes and you get so cozy on my back you fall asleep immediately.  I am taking pictures of our moments so you will know you did spend time in nature.

Care
Most days you are with me all day long.  I couldn't be happier about this arrangement.  When Susi takes you for a four hour stint, I miss you.    I need this time to get work done, and with you here it is impossible.   Susi puts you in the backpack and takes you on all sorts of errands with Eli and Corbin.  A couple of times you have been in the care of Annie, a shared nanny with Lucy's mom, Angela.  You like this arrangement because you get to play with your good buddy Lucy.  This summer you have spent Wednesdays all day long with Poppa and Brother.  You are thrilled to have the time with your boys.  And on Friday we celebrate family day.  Georgie is here and we all make and then eat family breakfast together.  The rest of day is spent gardening and cleaning/fixing the house.  Every other week or so our neighbor Jeanine likes to take you to her house for a couple of hours.  She has been looking over you since you were a really little guy.  She was the first person to watch you!

Water
You are water baby.  You were almost born in the water but you were a little stuck on the home stretch of being born.  Now you love baths!  I could give you a bath every couple of hours and you couldn't get enough.  You especially enjoy bath time with brother and couple of toys.  Your favorite bath toys are shampoo bottles.   Susi, the boys and you and I went the public pool on the 4th of July.  You were pretty amazed at all the people and all the water below and shooting out of sprinklers from above.  You held on tight to momma and spent some time getting comfortable before feeling safe.  It wasn't too long before you thought you could handle it on your own, and then I had to pull you tight.

Mr. Independent
You are incredibly independent.  I often am chasing you around, and less often are you looking for me.  You are not afraid to climb, craw under anything.  At the Wacky Bounce House, I couldn't take my eye off of you for a second.

Teeth
We are still waiting to see you pearly whites.  I guess you are on the late side of budding out.  You got a great gummy smile and no one seems to be bothered by that.  You handle most foods too just fine.

Daddy
You love your daddy.  This morning when he left for work you were calling out for him.  You went to the window to watch him ride his bike off to work.   You fall asleep in Dads arms almost every day,  he has the magic touch to soothe you into dreamland and I am little jealous. 

Sleep
You have always been a good sleeper.  Since you were born you slept and fed through the night with rare wakings when you were sick and there were  a couple of mysterious wakings where you sat up.   You were always incredibly easy to put back to sleep.  You are a crappy napper, no offense.  Sometimes you nap three times a day, sometimes they are long, but you are incredibly unpredictable.   I have no idea what your plan is for a nap schedule and I am terrible at scheduling so sorry about that.

Diapers
I just watch you pull off your cloth diaper.  If it were up to you, you be naked all the time. 

Hollis meets his Pennsyvania family

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What an incredible journey!  Hollis and I flew across the country and spent three weeks with our family.  Uncle Frankie and Aunt Amanda picked us up from the airport.  We went straight to Gpa Franks and spent the afternoon planning our surprise attack and eating Philly Cheesesteaks and drinking only the finest birch beer.   
 

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When Frank got home from work, he wasn't surprised and rather he surprised us!

Hollis warmed up to his family immediately, he was tossed from Gpa to Uncle, from Uncle to Aunt.  From Aunt to Grammie, and back around. Next stop Mimi and Pappy Carl's

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At Mimi's it was a whole lot of watermelon, bathtime and singing stuff animals. 

Every morning Mimi would wake up put you in the high chair and stuff you full of your favorite foods.  It was on this trip and at this time that your diet became much more than the usual whole fruits and veggies with rice cereal.   On this trip you ate everything, from hamburger to chicken wings.  Tasty cakes to birthday cakes.

Next stop Aunt Brenda and Uncle Garys.  They live just a couple miles from where they grew up, where Mimi grew up and where I too grew up.  They are trying to sell there house and move to the same street that I spent most of my childhood.  The town is called Seizholtsville, and it is small rural town, relatively unchanged since I had last visited.  Stone houses, red barns and decidious trees mark the hilly skyline, and the roads are smooth and windy.  

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We had a couple of visits with my dear friend from school, Becky.  We have been close friends since the 8th grade when my family moved from Kutztown to Emmaus.  I spent a good amount of time going over to Becky's house when I was young, sitting on beds talking and of course., getting recipes from her mother.  She has two kids.  Maya (3) and Jaden (6).
 

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It wasn't long before we made our way over to Huffs Church and Landis Store, near Seizholtzville. This is the area where my Dad grew up and his mom and dad still live there, so do many of his uncles and aunts and his Grandmother, your Great Great Grandmother Helen.  She is 90 years old and an incredible woman.  She made a big feast to celebrate your visit.

We had PA Dutch chicken, mash potatoes, quinoa salad and oh my the yummies cheese cake.  You Gr Gr Grammie is great cook!  

This was an  especially great visit because we were lucky enough to catch Aunt Lorene, from Tahoe!  She was visiting too.

We had a great visit talking over great food.  Everyone loved holding you!

We were busy on this trip Hollis.  Let me tell you everyday we were traveling around.  It was so much fun.  You got to meet people for the first time ever and it had been almost 7 years since I had last seen most of my family.

One day while traveling through Seizholtzville we got to visit Uncle Danny.  That is the son of your namesake Leon, after my Pappy Arthur Leon Litschke, who died while you were in utero. Fun Fact:  He has his Pappy's namesake for his middle name: Foster.

Kelli and Hollis

CLAP CLAP CLAP

Hollis just reached a milestone last night.  He had just discovered clapping, and last night while sharing a big feast with Joelene, he clapped on command without further instruction, and the dinner table was impressed.  Hollis was surely impressed with himself.  He went on to eat a hefty plate of food: chicken, turnip green, avocado and applesauce! 

This morning after he made the biggest baby poop I had ever seen, we cleaned up and played on the floor together.  I said "clap, clap, clap" and he grabbed my hands with each of his and made my hands clap.  My little teacher. 

My two babies...

Aunt Kelli has moved to town!  It has been almost 3 weeks and I already am wondering how I did it with out her.  Raising Hollis reminds me of the times I spent as an 8 and 9 year old with baby Kelli.  I remember her falling asleep on my chest while I watched cartoons on Mom's leather couch.  I remember feeding her airplane scoops of breakfast cereal.  I feel so lucky to share this time in Hollis life with her. 

She is great with Hollis, he truly loves her.  She does all the "cool aunt" things to balance out this uptight, some what over protective mom.  When I am not looking she throws the binky in his mouth, turns on the tv and lets him play with her cell phone.

Mommy I am moving!

The last month has been incredibly busy!  Hollis is a very independent explorer.  As soon as I put him down he is another room looking for the most dangerous furniture to climb or perhaps, disgusting thing to put in his mouth.  From cords to dusty hair cutting chairs this kids is climbing and gumming everything!

I have really cut back on any non-mom responsibilities yet I feel like I feel busier.  I am always spotting Hollis on a heroic climb or chasing him down before he touches a heater. I
d like to trust that he'd make the right decision, but he is only 8 months old.

just checking

Hollis is growing up so fast... tomorrow he will be 7 months. Totally incredible.  He just fell asleep in my arms, an insisted that he be held and rocked.  This is new for him, he usually falls asleep "to the boob" by 7 pm every night, unless the little man is teething.   Tonight when I was trying to put him down, he just kept laughing and talking.  Every time I lied him down, he would roll over and try to suck on my face or head.  He was being so silly.  Then I picked him up and rocked him, he fell right asleep.  I put him down on the bed after a few minutes and he woke right up immediately!.  So I tried again, this time I swear I could see him peeking from under the eyelid, making sure that we were up and swaying, and not fake swaying from the bed.  When I finally got him to sleep this time I kept him in my arms as we got to the bed, and now he is sleeping on my lap.

It has been a rough 2+ weeks friends.  Brother has had walking pneumonia, Dad has had the flu and is now recovering from pneumonia and Hollis has been teething and sick, me just sick and tired.  Really tired.  Uncle Sean arrived from PA last week and it has been great having family in town.  Aunt Kelli should be here in one week.  Holy smokes, dreams are coming true for us.

The food fight

There was no real fight, really.  We discussed when to start feeding Hollis and although I wasn't sure if he was mimicking or trying to show signs of hunger, I decide to feed him just before 6 months anyhow.  Now 2 weeks past he 6 month birthday he is just showing some signs of digesting the food and still very little interest in eating grown up food, aside from bananas, avocados and winter squash.  Its funny those are probably my favorites too out of all that we tried, which confirms the whole breast milk dietary preference conditioning theory for me.

I started out at five months with some tastes of rice cereal (not interested) green beans (not interested) and banana (wow, loved it). Later at 6 months we  tried again, but with a full serving of green beans because we had them in the freezer.  We had two quart bags frozen from the harvest season.  We had barely used any of our stored green beans but those few times we did, we like them.  We liked them sauteed with soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds.  For Hollis I blended them up with some water and froze them into cubes. His first meal went well.  He ate about 2 full tablespoons all up.  And then... and then... and then our every five day pooper began pooping every hour.  Seriously all day and all night.  I stopped giving him green beans and went to winter squash.  I saved the last 5 or so squashes from our CSA and cooked and froze them with Hollis in mind.  He loved it!  And it is was much better on the other side too.  For him and for me.  I have tried carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, home made rice cereal, golden beets, pears and avocados.  Tonight I tried some of the applesauce I made with a good friend during the fall.  Hollis never made such a distastful face.  It was if I made him lick a lemon!  Applesauce.

Adventures with food, I never thought I would love feeding anyone more than feeding myself until I met Hollis.

Moving

A little over a week ago today Hollis started scooting.  He was really motivated to reach a clear plastic container full of bingo chips, and he made it and the family rejoiced.  I am proud of our little mover.

And now a must admit a little scared.  It seems as though no matter how clean the floor is, how baby-proof the room seems... Hollis finds something terrible to put in his mouth.  Just 5 minutes ago I pulled a long pine needle from his hand? Yesterday it was a twist tie.  The day before...a piece of a post card.   

He loves the washing machine, which like every family with new child, is always going, always agitating always rinsing and extra rinsing all the pee, poop, baby food, and returns from all of our belongings.  Today I sat in a poop on my chair that I somehow didn't notice he had made while I held him on my chair with his diaper on? 


Everyday he grows and moves a little more, it is exciting and frightful this world of parenting.

Distracted

As Hollis (distracted for a couple minutes perusing blogger blogs Orangette and Saipua) munches on my leg and rolls about diaper free on our de-sheeted bed I am making myself focus on a blog post about my now 6 month old boy.  I keep telling myself don't make it about you make it about him but somehow I know we are one of the same right now.
He is my constant companion, my teacher, my inspiration.  Every morning starts with a gaze in his eyes and is usually followed by a shared smile.  Hollis is not smiling right (distracted took Hollis to go pee but he did not have to go) now, he is a fussbutt because I wont let him type too.  My favorite two things to do with (distracted start one-handed typing while breast feeding) Hollis right now are 1: take him to infant story time on Wednesdays and 2: get out into nature, real nature, open and dense nature.

Pottytime

I started potty-ing Hollis without the expectation that communication would take place.  I simply put him on a tiny pink potty a couple of times a day and if he peed... great, if he pooped... awesome.  I started potty time in early December when Hollis was just 4 months.  Today Hollis is almost 6 months and our journey with "elimination communication" has been amazing.  Like I said I never thought that I would be here, just two months later whispering a "Psssssssssss" sound in Hollis's ear and watching him go potty on the toilet almost 20 times a day!  Today when we both woke up we went to the bathroom and Hollis even pooped on the grown up toilet?  What? Amazing. That being said I just spent the last 15 minutes cleaning poop out of his Bumbo seat.   Who poops three times before 3:30?

Adventure had.

On Thursday Jan 19th, Hollis and I decided we weren't going to let a little flood warning keep us from our midwife's monthly potluck.  We hadn't seen our midwife since Hollis graduated from here care at his 6 week check-up.  We missed her and wanted to be in her presence together.  I left the house cautiously in the car I promised not to drive ever again. 
We drove all through South Corvallis gauging our risk of crossing the bridge.  I got a gut feeling that I should go home but I ignored it, this is adventure time. 
We bypassed the Millrace taking the Bridgeway detour and had no problems making it the potluck.  We had a great time with the midwife, and left the potluck full of good eats. 
On the way home we got stopped in very slow moving traffic crossing the bridge.  There was no standing water so I was surprised to be moving irregularly at 1mph.  I started to worry that it would take me hours to get home from this point (1 1/4 mile from home).  After slowly creeping across the bridge I could see that traffic was stopped. They were operating a Crystal Lake to Alexander detour to bypass the Millrace flooding and they had just closed that.  They only way to drive home would be to turn around and go out 34 to Peoria to Junction City and take 99N home.  We decided to park the car and walk home. 

I parked the car at Fireworks, put Hollis in the front carrier and started walking home South on 99.  It was a lovely night, the rain had stopped and it was pleasantly warm for a January evening.  The water was so deep at the Crystal Lake intersection that pedestrians were not able to safely cross.  We walked back to the co-op and crossed through a field near Evanite and proceeded to walk up Crystal Lake.  I sang songs to Hollis and we enjoyed this late evening adventure together.  Exhausted we arrived home around 9:30pm, two and half hours after we left the potluck.  Momma bliss. 

Infant Pottytime

Ever since the day Hollis's Aunt Nena left on December 27th, Hollis has been pooping on his little pink potty.  Sure we caught pees every now and then, but catching his first poo was one of the most rewarding mommy experiences.   I thought when I started this whole infant pottying it would be such a pain.  I wondered if I would be a slave to the pink potty.  I learned pretty quickly his elimination schedule.  He peed first thing upon waking and then usually 10-20 minutes after a feeding and then randomly after that.  But the pooping, at this time Hollis only delivers a number 2 every 5 days with occasional unpredictable poos in between.  Well like I said shortly after Nena left Hollis pooped on the potty.  I was very surprised and continued to be surprised with each poop we caught.  I only used the potty once or twice a day and it was becoming very rewarding.  I am not very committal so I don't plan to hold Hollis diaper free all day, but I listen to his cues and it is all intuitive. 

Happy New Year 2o12 - Rebecka and Hollis