Life in the Boonies

After several weeks of preparation and anticipation, we finally loaded up the station wagon and headed out to the camp site. Frank has been resisting naps so we secretly hoped he would today so we can all just hit the road early and miss the traffic. Of course Frank always has his own plans and went to sleep. Aiming to leave at 3pm, mom went into his room and made quiet noises at 2:50. A quick bath and into the car, which was packed to the top. More stuff was in the front seat. We managed to avoid the traffic over the bridge with an alternate route but then was hit near Novato. Then again at Santa Rosa. Plans of arriving before 6pm went out the window as we paced 10mph. Frank kept doing his finished sign and trying to get out of his chair. We didn’t pack any music! So the singing started. He really likes wheel on the bus and indicated so with the more sign. Mom soon ran out of things and just made up everything she can think of from Lions on the bus to trucks on the bus. Silly! We were on constant lookout for balloons and that really made Frank happy.

We arrived at 6:30pm and soon found everyone else (mom’s friend from the mommy club and her many family members). They were already cooking up some spare ribs and tortillas. We got our tent up and ate and mingled. Several kids so Frank was not lonely. He even peeked into Elena’s tent to find her. The camp fire was going, the music played from the car stereo, and everyone just hung out. The kids started making smores and Frank kept eating the graham crackers. It all balanced out as one girl only wanted roasted marshmellows.

Frank went to bed around 10pm while we stayed up some more to eat smores and play poker. The first night was rough. Frank didn’t sleep well. He woke up several times crawling around the tent mumbling mamamama til mom snuggled him next to her. One time he even bounced hard on daddy. Dad pretended to still be asleep. Probably from 4am-5am he was mostly awake and just wiggling around lots. Finally mom got him back to sleep with him lying onto to her but by 6-ish we all woke up.

It was colder then expected. We put on our fleece and came out to find the other group is already up and had started a fire. Breakfast time! Bacon, chorisos, pancakes, sausages, cereal, coffee, milk, oj, etc. We ate and ate and ate and it was only 9 still. We packed up snacks, drinks and blankets and headed toward the beach. The guys already launched the boat and jet ski in the lake. It was a rather rocky beach and the drop was almost immediate so Frank mostly splashed at the edge and threw rocks. Dad got a turn on the jet ski and boat while mom got to ride on a floaty pulled by the boat. The dude driving the boat really wanted to flip us out and made outrageous turns. Mom managed to stay in the float til the end. It was wild and fun. Everyone took a turn and one guy got flipped out twice. Heehee.

The little ones were getting tired and hungry and we all made our way back to camp. Frank did not want to nap. He yelled and screamed and indicated the need for food. Oh well, fine. It won’t be the first time he missed a nap. Chicken was on the grill so we helped ourselves. Guacamole and chips, yum. The showers worked by pressing a button and the water runs for 20 sec. Mom bathed Frank by holding him under there and pressing the button. He screamed bloody murder. But then he was clean and happy.

While trying to comfort Frank after bumping his head, he fell asleep on mom’s shoulder (6:30pm?). He slept peacefully in the tent for an hour and suddenly the scream of terror. Nothing worked to calm him. Perhaps he got hurt somewhere? He kept sucking his thumb but didn’t want to be put down to sleep. Mom just snuggled him by the fire while everyone chatted and ate hamburgers. Then dad snuggled him while mom ate. He just wanted to be part of the scene. By 9pm he was perked up and social again. He didn’t resist much though for bedtime. We read our story and got tucked in. More smores and poker games next to the fire til 11ish.

When we got into the tent, Frank was right where we left him. He must be so exhausted. We all were. Mom woke up one time alarmed that Frank was not next to her. Soon she found him sleeping curled up by the door on the sleeping bag. We all woke up at 6:30 somewhat rested. We stayed in the tent and snuggled til 7 ignoring Frank’s signs for food. Again the others have got a fire going and breakfast was in process. Wonderful Mexican sweet breads, eggs, bacon, the works. Then we all started packing and taking some last chance photos together.

The drive back was perfectly fine as Frank was happy looking out the winder the first hour and then napped the other 1.5 hour. He opened his eyes as we pulled into the driveway. Then he tore into the house and ran around playing with each toy and bouncing on his train and flipping though all the books. Maybe he missed his things? Mom and dad sat in a pile ready to pass out but Frank zoomed and zipped all over the house the rest of the day. Early bedtime for all of us.

Fun times! We are ready to do it again in October.

I’m in my 19th week of pregnancy and we got to look at the baby with the ultrasound machine. It is a cutie, the technician kept saying, and she was not talking about Frank. Wonderful pictures of the head, arms, legs, spins, kidneys, tummy, and toes. We even looked at all 4 chambers of the heart. And the rib cage enclosing the heart was also clearly visible. The baby moved around a few times so get all the angles covered. Right now he/she is breeched but still lots of time to turn over. Frank sat nicely (after being assured he was not the one to be examined) on daddy’s lap and watched the monitor of the blob. Several nice printouts to take home. One is a profile picture where the baby is sucking on the thumb. Lots of other ones of the baby’s legs and arms too.

Harry Potter #7

It’s all over. The good guys win and the bad guys get beat up. As for the details, you can find out for yourself. I enjoyed it as much as the previous 6. Some good twists and stuff I suspected was confirmed. Keep your eye on the sword. I had to reread that part to really figure out what happened. It would have been too obvious of a loophole for the author not to notice. =)

We visited church again this Sunday, this time the 9am service so Frank wouldn’t get cranky so close to lunch time.  Well it didn’t work!  Since our friends were not there, we didn’t get to mill around.  Frank got dropped off at the nursery right away and he didn’t like that at all.  As soon as we were done singing, #103 lit up.  Mom went off and it seems he just didn’t want to play there.  So we went and sat in the “cry room” upstairs.  It has a window and speakers so mom can hear the service while no one else can hear Frank.  He sat nicely in mom’s lap and discovered the Noah’s Arc pictures on the wallpaper.  Lions, giraffs, ducks, and all sorts of animals he recognize.  They must recycled his number cuz soon #103 lit up again and mom can just see dad thinking… I thought mom was already there?  Maybe next time we’ll give Frank more time to get used to the place.

My baby has turned 1 and a half years old. He has grown so much. When I look at him running around the house, exploring, babbling to himself, drawing with his crayons, throwing a ball, flipping through his books, signing various things to communicate with me, and responding to my requests, I can’t even imagine just 6 months ago when he wasn’t even walking yet.

Today we visited our pediatrician for the regular checkup. Frank is at 20% in weight, 14% in height (dropped from 30%, maybe that’s why he is always on his tippy toes these days), and 99% head circumference. When I discussed my concern of Frank only saying mama and no other words, the doctor assured me that he is storing all of it up in his head. Someday it will all explode and we won’t be able to shut him up. He certainly understands lots of things even if he isn’t verbally communicated yet. Just the past two days, he also picked up signs for daddy and peanut butter/jam & toast. His version of daddy looks like hat except it is with a fist rather than his palm. Daddy kept misunderstanding. His p&j toast looks like banana except for some fine details of where the finger and hand is. I understand him perfectly!

Along with the checkup is more vaccinations. Two this time and Frank didn’t like it one bit. He actually struggled out of my hold and knocked the nurse’s hand away while the needle was still in his thigh. Maybe that was why he was so sore after those shots. For the first time Frank didn’t want to move around. He cried when his legs hit the ground. He would be tilted to one side so all his weight is on the other leg. After getting home Frank would just sit in one place or be on the ground all spread out. He didn’t roll over to get up, he didn’t kick his legs, he didn’t crawl. He just laid there. Mom liked laying next to him and just snuggling. He did still have enough muster to prevent any nails from being clipped. It must not hurt that much to move. Frank took a short nap. Mom suspects when he tried to roll over after 1 hour, the soreness woke him up. He didn’t get out of his bed. He just yelled and cried until mom came to rescue him.

After sneaking some Tylenol into his milk, he seemed ready to play again. Took him some time to test out the leg and realize it doesn’t hurt as much. Then he was himself again except for the occasional pained look on his face and pointing to where the shot was. When daddy came home, the medicine wore off and Frank got really cranky. He also saw us put the medicine in the milk and refused to drink it this time. After switching cups and going from milk to water, he started drinking again. But not after we mix the medicine in. What now? It is grape flavored so maybe if we dip some on a grape it will be disguised. Frank who never shares his grapes shared that one with dad. Dad agreed with Frank that it doesn’t taste anything like grapes. Finally daddy did the brute force way. I held Frank and daddy squirted the dropper in his mouth. He yelled and screamed but in the process also swallowed most of it. By bed time he was happy again. We were prepared to wake up in 4 hours for another dose but he slept til morning. Still sore but made it out of his bed to our room. No fever or any other reactions. He went on the rest of the day without any drugs. We went to our usual playgroup at a house we never been before and Frank chased the cat around running back and forth in the hallway. In the afternoon we made it out to the swimming lagoon just like last Thursday. Back to normal.

Frank is still sleeping in his toddler bed. On one occasion he was forced to nap in the crib after much protest. In the morning when he wakes up too early, we put him back to bed and tells him it is still sleeping time. He will remain there for 15-20 min before coming back to wake us up again. Several times Frank woke up from his nap to find mom taking her nap on the couch downstairs. Now when we say nap time, he climbs on the couch and snuggles the pillow there.

Frank is not eating his vegetables but he is eating more than enough fruits. This week we’re told to try V8 juice. Daddy is also making some wheat germ, oatmeal, soy flour, wheat flour, anything healthy you can think of combination bread.

Frank is newly fascinated with the fly swatter. He saw daddy kill a fly next to the kitchen table and now he goes to that spot and swat the floor with his hand. Sometimes daddy lets him hold the fly swatter and he goes around swatting chairs and tables. Our new favorite book is “There was a old lady who swallowed a fly”. As you can imagine, he swats the floor with his hand and that is the sign for fly. He also follows along in the book for the spider, bird, cat, dog, cow, and horse with either signs or noises to indicate the animal.

Auntie Lisa and Kelsey would be happy to know that Frank is now fascinated with Franklin the Turtle. Yesterday he opted for Franklin Says Sorry as his bedtime story instead of Goodnight Moon. He also loves squeezing the hand of the Franklin doll to make it say all those things. When it says “Hi, I’m Franklin”, sometimes Frank would look at me and point to himself, as if saying that’s my name. When it says “I can count by twos and tie my shoes”, Frank would point to his feet where shoes would go. When it says “I can button buttons and zip zippers”, Frank would run his hand up and down his front where buttons would be.

We ventured out to a church service today with Frank.  A mommy club friend attends this one and her husband is looking to start his own closer to our house in December so we are trying it out.  They have lots of Sunday-school rooms, and a sophisticated nursery - you check in your child and they get a number pinned to them and a matching number for you.  So you can exchange back at the end?  Rather, if they need a mommy back they’ll summon by number.  Diane got #104, and pointed Frank towards the toys and slunk off.  Then they rang a bell, inviting us into the ceremony.  No pews - movie theater seats!  On a gentle slope, complete with cupholders.  There are nothing in the seats - you are invited to bring-your-own-bible.  They service moves along at a fast clip.  There is a band, with guitars and drums.  They project the hymns on a giant screen in the front so you can sing along.  They band had a MC-lady, and I wondered if she was the pastor.  Not - the band stepped off, and her with it, and two people came up for a short, funny play.  Then the pastor came, and ran through announcements, and then started his sermon.  With power point

About an hour into the service, a led-board off to the side lit up with “104.”  Aha.  So Diane went off to rescue little #104.  It was not yet naptime, but he was hungry.  And I was surprised he lasted an hour, given that he is almost never without mom or dad.  Diane reports that he just needed some graham crackers and then was fine, but she stayed the rest in the nursery. They have a “cry room” where you can take your screaming infant upstairs and watch the rest of the service.   A few more prayers and the band came back, and then it was finished.  So we took #104 home for his nap.  We both had a nice time, and so are going back next week - but for the 9am service rather than the 10:45.
Maybe #104 will be happier this week, as maybe it’s now a familiar place.