RJ's First Trip to Grandma D's...

Having seen the Vanderbilt's summer home the Breakers in Newport, RI a few years back we decided to include a stop in Asheville,NC while visiting the South so that we could see the Biltmore with both grandmas and Aunt Amy in tow. Pictures weren't allowed so there are no cute pictures of RJ sitting in the dumbwaiter and crawling down the bowling alley.

After spending the day on the estate eating, wine tasting, and touring we had one more stop to visit Great Aunt "Kissie Kissie" Alice before heading down to Georgia to Grandma's.

Grandma took us all to the local playgrounds and quite a few grocery stores -- including a great natural foods warehouse that had all the organic essentials.



The water was too cold for us, but RJ had no quams about playing in the Chattahoochee River and rediscovered his love for climbing stairs. Whenever we were in the house he was all about going up and down the stairs. Kind of makes us happy we live in a single floor place.

While near Atlanta we decided to check out the Georgia Aquarium, the second best aquarium for kids. RJ was a big fan of splashing the water in the "hands on" exhibits and admired the pretty sea life:

tropical fish


sea lions


and whale sharks


Of course, there were stairs at the aquarium too which might have interested him just as much.

It was a shame we had to head back to California so soon because RJ seemed to be enjoying southern living.

Oh What A Year It's Been: RJ's First Birthday

It has been quite a year. Now, at 1 year old, RJ is 20 lbs. (10th percentile, which is up from 7th at his last checkup) and 30 inches long (50th percentile). He is toddling around independently and can push to a standing position without props now too. His verbal skills are awesome and his doctor said that he'll be talking very soon since he's trying to communicate verbally. He can say Momma, Dadda, this (usually pointing at something and wanting you to either name it or get it for him), cat (still sounds more like at), ball, eyes (while poking my eyes), nose (while pointing at my nose), lunch (sounded more like lunz), water (sounds like wa), the exclamation, "whoa" when enjoying a good swing, among some other words/wordlets, such as mooing like a cow. He has some very clear preferences now too, like swings, slides, climbing, balls, throwing things, running away from us, chasing and petting terrorizing the cats, dancing to music, playing with a stockpot and big spoon, and hugging stuffed animals, just to name a few.

All that developmental stuff is great, but you're probably wondering how we spent RJ's birthday. As you already know from previous posts, we spent RJ's Birthday in South Carolina , and started his birthday celebration with his first haircut.

Then after lunch out at Panera, where he gnawed on a piece of baguette (he LOVES bread), we headed back to the Bryson homestead for his birthday party preparations. I baked RJ his very own organic white birthday cake, complete with organic frosting (okay, the writing icing isn't, but it's not going to kill him). The rest of the gang got an organic (box) chocolate cake, with the same icing.


The party started with pizza - each guest got to make their own personal pizza atop pizza dough that we half-baked first.

After eating the pizzas, RJ opened some presents. We had a bit of a surprise in this area. RJ tore through his Christmas presents with great excitement and aplomb. He even got in on opening other people's presents since he loved tearing paper so much. He still loves paper now, but apparently not when there is a room of people to socialize with. He showed no real interest in the opening process and instead kept walking or crawling away to hang out with his audience. It also didn't help that he was fast friends with the stuffed frog that we opened first. Apparently frog was enough for him! (Thank you Audrey, August, and Gracie!) However, I think that all his new outfits are adorable and he has been enjoying all his other new toys that he received at his party or in the mail! A BIG THANK YOU to all!

Next up was a tradition in my family where the birthday boy gets to choose one of three objects on his highchair tray. His choice is a prediction of sorts regarding his future personality. The objects are a rosary, a dollar bill or coin, and a shot glass. We also added a heart pendant this year as a symbol of love. RJ chose love, and his second choice was the money. I'll leave it up to you to decide what it all means.

Then it was finally cake time. RJ seemed to really enjoy his cake (although he might prefer chocolate since his eyes lit up when we let him try a little piece of the big cake!) and definitely needed a bath following it!


Here is RJ's First Birthday, abridged into approximately 8 minutes of video:

RJ's First Haircut and Momma's Paraben and Phlalate Soapbox

Since he was born a year ago, RJ's hair has been growing and, like me, he has not had a haircut in the last year. For the last month or so, he has been sporting what looked more and more like a mullet, which just isn't cool. Why does hair on the back of one's head grows faster than hair on the top? It's rather annoying.

Anyway, I remembered a little girl that I babysat in Arlington, MA went to a cute hair salon called Snip-It's (which caters exclusively to children) for her haircuts. After some googling on the internets, I discovered that Snip-Its was a chain that had a location in Greenville (but not anywhere in CA). So with 6 adults (Momma, Daddy, Grammie Carola, Grandma D, Aunt Amy, and Grandma D's friend Sabra) in tow, RJ headed to the local Snip-It's for his first of many hair cuts. Interestingly, we learned via the baby blog world that one day later, RJ's buddy Jace also went to a Snip-It's (albeit one in the Boston area) for his first haircut!

First, RJ played with some scissors:



Then he made friends with the other customers. And finally, after waiting a while, he got his haircut. This went very well when the bubble machine was on


and when he had brushes to hold:


I'm satisfied with the result:


BUT, there are a couple of points that I'd like to make about Snip-It's. First, the woman cutting his hair was fantastic - she was patient and made the cut fun for him, and carefully selected a tuft of hair for us to save for posterity. Second, as great as she was, as Heather pointed out in their blog, it is not a cheap little haircut. Plus, it makes NO sense that an establishment for children wouldn't make appointments. We had to wait a while (at least 45 minutes - although I wasn't really paying attention that closely) since they only take walk-ins, and with an active one-year-old, waiting, even with an ample supply of toys provided, is something that I personally like to avoid.

Third, do not call a product "all natural" if it has parabens (synthetic chemical preservatives) in it. While I'd prefer us not using these chemicals at all, I'm not arguing that companies can't use them - but don't call something natural that's not. Some say that the jury is still out whether parabens are dangerous to our reproductive health or not, but I'd rather not take a chance when there are perfectly good natural alternatives out there. Also, while I'm sure a good mousing would've made RJ really cute at Snip-It's, it's also not necessary and he will have many years ahead of him where he can argue to use the not-so-natural products himself. So I declined the use of the Snip-It's spray mouse after looking at the ingredient list. But as a bonus point for our stylist, she did give us the option of product usage and allowed me to look at the ingredient list before just spraying the mouse on RJ.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, some video clips of the event!

Daddy's First Father's Day

Last year Lance ALMOST had a Father's Day with RJ, but on June 17, 2007 RJ was still "Nugget" and we spent the day walking around San Francisco with my mom in anticipation of his arrival (Yeah, I was hoping all the walking would stimulate labor!), which would come two days later on the 19th.

This year, Lance flew in to meet us in South Carolina in time to celebrate Father's Day with RJ.

I wanted to share my appreciation (and RJ's appreciation) for a year's worth of fantastic fathering.

We love you Lance!

And yes, I realize that we've been behind on the blog...stay tuned, there will be more posts soon. In the meantime, please enjoy this video clip of RJ and Lance on Father's Day:

RJ's Trip to Aunt Amy and Uncle Luke's

RJ and I left Sunny California on Wed June 11 for sunny South Carolina to visit with Aunt Amy, Uncle Luke, and Grammie Carola, who had also flown down. Lance joined us on Father's Day. We had a great time leading up to his birthday, and during this time introduced RJ to:

Water Sports - We went boating with Luke's Aunt & Uncle where I tried water skiing for the first time. I got up on the skis, but then promptly landed on my ass quite a few times and got a lovely bruise across my thighs somehow. I can't wait to try it again! RJ got to swim in the lake with me. Amy also bought a 3 ft pool for the yard, which RJ got to play in. He also got to "swim" in two different lakes in SC! He is a big fan of his floating lady bug for swimming and tolerated his life vest for boating.

Backyard Swinging on Swings and Hammocks. This was the much needed relaxation we were needing!











The Art of Bee Keeping. Luke and his father, John currently maintain two honey bee hives (that Luke built!). While taking me down to the apiary in a full tyvex suit, Amy unfortunately got stung between the eyes and on the side of her head and spent the day high on Benedryl. RJ did not get up close and personal with the bees as I really didn't want to find out that he was allergic to stings at such a young age nor when we were traveling if I could prevent it. The honey is real yummy and the bees are really cool when they're not stinging Amy.

Yurt Living. - Luke's parents have a Yurt erected on their property and use it as their personal fort in the forest. They eventually want to use it at part of a series of unconventional, alternative housing when their house sells. It's pretty cool. I want one!


Some famous animals at Hollywild, which is a zoo that takes care of retired animal "stars". - Pictured here is the lion who was the model for the animators Disney's The Lion King. This is notable because the CEO of DreamWorks Animation (Jeffrey Katzenberg), where Lance works, was the chair of film production for Disney back then.

Hiking. - We did a very very short little like in Table Rock State Park before taking a dip in the lake. RJ "hiked" in his backpack, and enjoyed bouncing around as I got some much needed exercise and communing with nature. Pictured here are RJ and I rehydrating from our matching Klean Kanteens!



Outdoor Live Music. There was an outdoor concert at an Ampitheater on the Reedy River in Greenville. We went and it was fun.

AND of course, RJ celebrated his first birthday in South Carolina, but that will be in its own separate post!

All in all, we had a terrific time and can't wait to come back! A great big thank you to Luke, Amy, Joanne, and John for their hospitality! We couldn't have asked for a better trip or a better first birthday for RJ!

As always, the pictures all link to the complete set of pictures - take a look, there are a bunch in this set compiled from three cameras (ours, Grammie Carola's, and Aunt Amy & Uncle Luke's). Coming soon will be some videos as well, but we have almost three hours of video to sift through, so it might take a while!

Traveling with a One-Year-Old

RJ's been to New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the West. So for his first birthday we took him to the South. We even splurged and bought RJ his very own seat on the plane. We didn't do it for the frequent flyer miles but so that he wasn't cramped and squirmy -- and so that we weren't cramped and annoyed. The added expense sucks since he's still eligible for free rides as a lap infant, but it is a hell of a lot safer now that he is so mobile and squirmy. I'm now convinced it is worth ever penny since he can nap in his seat and it's easier to do things such as feed him when he's strapped down.

Up until this trip we had been hoping our flights weren't full so that he could luck into a seat. The problem is that we're usually on jam-packed flights or the airlines wouldn't tell us there were empty seats until we had boarded and the car seat was already gate-checked. This has been true of Jet Blue, United, US Air, and Frontier. The exception was Southwest.

RJ is now a seasoned traveler and in his first year has traveled from CA to NY, PA, MA, RI, IN, and SC. And that's not even counting any of the layover states (AZ, NV, CO). In the first few days of his second year, he's already been to NC and GA as well. Here's a summary of his trips:

1 mo. - Buffalo, NY, Pittsburgh, PA
3 mos. - Hollywood, CA
6 mos. - Buffalo, NY, Pittsburgh,PA
9 mos. - Boston, MA, Providence, RI, Indianapolis,IN
12 mos. - Greenville,SC, Asheville, NC, Atlanta,GA

As we've traveled a lot with RJ, we have learned a few things. First, we are still loving his diaper backpack (Kelty K.I.D.S. TC 2.5), since it is also a child carrier, which leaves our hands free for gate checking the stroller and holding boarding passes. Our umbrella stroller is a Chicco C6 in Tangerine, which I like a lot better than his travel system stroller. Also, on this trip, we made our first trip without a pack-n-play because we found a product that is in the running for best-baby-travel-product-ever. We are the very happy owners of a Kidco PeaPod Plus Travel Bed, which collapses small enough to fit in our checked suitcase. This thing is awesome because not only does it mean that we don't have to pay for an extra piece of luggage now that airlines are starting to restrict checked bags to one free suitcase per person (if that). Ah, I miss the days when we didn't even check luggage and went halfway around the world with our carry-on sized backpacks. Having the tiny tent also means that RJ can sleep or nap anywhere because it's his own little place that's just for sleeping and can shut out the lights. I had him nap in it a few days before we left just to make sure, but even the first day he had no problems with it! Also, it's safe for children from birth through approximately 6 years or until they get too tall for it.

Let me do my 1,2 Step...

On Thursday, May 15, RJ took his first independent steps. I was in the process of dropping him off at school and trying to show his teachers that he could stand independently for a few seconds (at the time the record was about 15-20 seconds), when he not only stood, but took two steps toward his teacher Ashley and then promptly sat down.

I'm just happy that I got to witness it, although I am a little jealous that he walked toward Ashley first! I suppose that is just one of the many things that sucks about being a working mom.

Since those first tentative steps, he has been building more confidence becoming bipedal. Now at one year, RJ is capable of crossing a room from one object to another. He still chooses to crawl as his primary mode of locomotion but my prediction is that when he discovers he can get to a standing position without use of a prop (couch, table, cat, fun zone, parental unit's arm) then he'll be running full speed.

Here is a video from June 7 of him practicing walking to Daddy:

Swing and Slide and Climb...

Over the past few months, RJ has really begun to play more like a kid and less like a baby. Not only is he walking on occasion, and crawling at what seems to be the speed of light, but he also adores a good playground. Luckily he has a good playground at school and we have a number of good playgrounds within walking distance of our house. No grocery store in our town yet, but at least 3 good sized playgrounds!

At the park he has been partial to the bucket swing for a while now. He got officially hooked when a babysitter at school put him into the bucket swing on the preschool side of the playground (which his class does not normally play on). During the last week of school whenever he would catch a glimpse of the play structure (which hides the swings from view), he would point and say "enh enh enh", which, in baby, means "take me to the swing now or there will be consequences in the form of an all out tantrum with arched back and all". Obviously none of us have been silly enough to give into the tantrum, but if someone took him out there, he got the biggest smile on his face AS SOON AS heading in the direction of the swing.

Needless to say, it's an issue getting him OFF the bucket swing, but on a recent trip to the park, we discovered that the slide is a useful diversion. AND he is no longer fearful of the slide (he only liked it on Momma's lap before - now we just hold his hand).


And as you can see here, he has learned to climb, so boy are we in trouble now! He climbs EVERYTHING!

Silly little monkey

RJ made friends with this particular monkey when we went down to Patterson for their Annual Apricot Fiesta.

Fortunately, friendship is cheap:



At the asparagus festival last year we had deep fried asparagus so when we saw the chocolate covered apricot ice cream bars we got excited -- but they were pre-packaged.

Other than the monkey all we did was walk around to the vendors. Once RJ is older, I'm sure he will enjoy all the bounce houses and other festival rides that are part of the festival circuit in California (Asparagus, Wine, Garlic, Tomato, etc.)

Skadoosh

I don't know why there wasn't a post about this already, but the latest movie from DreamWorks Animation opened a few weeks ago and (has been doing well).

We of course got to see the movie in the theater a week before opening day at the friends and family screening. It's quite the perk to go to see a free movie with free popcorn and drinks. We had good luck with taking RJ to the Bee Movie screening, as he nursed and slept and then actually watched and enjoyed the movie. However, 4 months is MUCH different than 11 months, so this time, we brought an entourage, which was a really good idea. Krishawn was the lucky babysitter who got to come, with the understanding that if RJ was good, then she just got paid to see a movie, but that if he was making a ruckus, then she would take him and amuse him elsewhere in the theater. An additional perk was that she brought her boyfriend, Mike too.

This worked out well because both Lance and I actually got to see the whole movie, and RJ, who was a little freaked out by the loud noises, got to play with Krishawn. The bummer was that she didn't get to see the whole movie.

I think if RJ was a year or two older, he would've enjoyed the movie much more, but right now I'm relishing in the fact that the fight scenes seemed to scare the crap out of him. Yay for disliking violence! I know that it probably won't stick, but one could hope. In reality, it was the really big, really loud, sharp , ominous sounds and actions on the screen that seemed to scare him. So it was a big difference from Bee Movie, which, being brighter in color and more melodious in sound, mesmerized him.

We left the movie and went out to lunch at a cute little Mexican restaurant, where RJ stole rice and beans off my plate. He apparently has his Momma's tastes, as he LOVED both!

All in all, it was an excellent day for all! Now, go see Kung Fu Panda and help Lance get his 2008 bonus (only domestic box-office returns directly impact bonus calculations, so renting or buying the dvd doesn't help)!

Thank You Teachers!

Today was RJ's last day of school until September. The pictures of him with Krishawn really show just how much he's changed during his time at the CDC - his teachers have really gotten to experience his development first hand.

While I'm really happy that I will get to spend a lot of time with him this summer, we will both really miss his teachers. These women have done a fantastic job this year and deserve a great big pat on the back.

To show his appreciation, RJ wrote his teachers a poem to accompany their end-of-the-year gift (a Bath & Body Works gift certificate). He wanted to share it with all of you too:

I've spit up on your shirt,
I've wiped it in your hair.
I've spit up on the table,
And spread it everywhere.

I've put boogies on your pants,
Because you said to share.
I know that it's disgusting,
But you didn't seem to care!

I've made you lose in poo roulette,
And clean my stinky mess.
You even wrapped my butt in cloth,
With no visible distress.

And because you kept on smiling,
Through all my messy little quirks,
I figured you could use something,
From Bath & Body Works!

So to Krishawn, Kasie, & Melody and Amanda, Ashley, & Marie: THANK YOU!!!

End of the Semester Countdown Update

One more week until I convert from our grueling school schedule to "RJ Time". A bulk of my grading is complete, but here's what I have left this week.

CDEV 3140 (Human Development I):
Post Final Grades TODAY!

CDEV 3180 (Early Social & Emotional Development):
Post Final Grades TODAY!

CDC Internships:
Grade Final Portfolios
Grade stray assignments
Compute Final Grades and Post
Clean Center with inordinate amounts of diluted bleach (with plenty of ventilation) TODAY!

The load is getting lighter!

End of the Semester Countdown

I cannot even begin to express how much I am looking forward to the end of the semester and my summer off with RJ. I took on the directorship at RJ's school and I'm loving it, but it does take time away from my teaching and grading. I'll recap on that experience when I'm officially done, but for now, I just wanted to share that the end of the semester, along with the end of my second year as a professor, is finally in sight. Here's what I have left:

CDEV 3180: Early Social and Emotional Development
- Last Lecture TODAY (Monday May 19)!
- Exam 3 (Wednesday May 21)
- Grade 33 4-6page papers
- Grade exam
- Assign Grades

CDEV 3140: Human Development I: Childhood
- Exam 2 (Tuesday May 20)
- Grade exam
- Assign Grades

CDC Internships
- Grade late lesson plans and weekly evaluations
- Look over Portfolios Due on May 28
- Assign Grades
- Final Exam: Cleaning the whole center with inordinate amounts of bleach Wednesday May 28

Directorship:
Start hiring process for next year

Then I attend Graduation on May 30 and hopefully I will be done by then! Wish me luck.

Baby Artwork

RJ has recently been interested in the crayons at school. Usually he just likes to hold them or wave them around and his teachers spend the next 15 minutes repeating, "out of mouth, RJ", but last week, he started using crayons for their intended purpose; making marks on paper. Here is his first crayon drawing:



It was a big art week for RJ. He also made his first finger painting, which became a gift to me for Mother's Day (in addition to the massage that I will redeem when my spring semester grading is over):



He has also made a ball painting (which is his first official painting), which is a pretty neat way of doing artwork with toddlers. The teachers put a piece of paper and a superball covered in paint in a closed cylinder for the children to shake around. However, his masterpiece is currently on the bulletin board at school with the others so I don't have a picture of it to share!

RJ's First School Pictures

A photographer who takes on an entire preschool and infant/toddler program in a two-day span is a brave soul. I'm sure we could've eventually gotten RJ to sit still, but it seemed best for all involved since I was around as director to just take a mommy-and-me picture so the poor guy could move on to the next challenge.



As acting director I was in his class photos as well. Here is RJ's Monday, Wednesday, Friday class:



and his Tuesday Thursday class:

Breakfast Bar Bandit

RJ has been participating more and more in his classroom in the last month or so. He's able to stand at the activity table and the other children are usually more than happy to share the activity materials with him. In fact, the very same children who grab toys away from other children or get upset when other children take toys from them will readily give their toys away to RJ or simply let him take toys away from them. After all, he's "the baby" still. It is really cute to watch. However, I don't think that little Camila was expecting what RJ did on Friday.

On Friday, Teacher Krishawn came into my office (which is maybe 5 yards from the Infant/Toddler classroom) asking if I had any teething biscuits for RJ. It was close to, but not yet lunch time. Unfortunately, I didn't have any with me that day and she then asked if RJ could have a breakfast bar. I suggested that he could eat his lunch a little early if he was hungry, but asked her what prompted the question. Well, it turns out that RJ stood up at the table when his friend Camila was eating a breakfast bar (which they keep on hand for impromptu snacking in the Infant/Toddler room), snatched the bar from her and proceeded to eat it! What a little thief! Camila, who frequently helps Krishawn feed RJ (and actually does a REALLY good job for a 2 year old), luckily didn't seem to mind. So, I said he could have a small bit if he was curious about it. He of course LOVED it, mostly because the first ingredient, as we found out when he was eating it (doh!), is high fructose corn syrup, which is really bad for you and banned in our house. Why? This article starts to explain why these bars are so bad. So, it's RJ's last taste of those particular breakfast bars until he can sneak unhealthy snacks in on his own. However, what's really nice is that it actually prompted a discussion of changing the snack bar to Clif Z-bars or a healthier, natural or organic breakfast bar instead of Nutrigrain bars because the children (or adults for that matter) shouldn't have high fructose corn syrup.

The Stand...

Here is a video demonstrating some of RJ's recent developments. Particularly notable is the unassisted stand. While we obviously enjoy most of his new skills, there are a few tricks our little handful has that we're not too fond of.

1.) Turning on the bathroom water faucet while we're trying to brush his teeth
2.) Turning over and attempting to crawl off the changing table before the clean diaper gets on
3.) Reaching behind the couch, grabbing the moose lamp and swinging it back and forth while gleefully saying, "No. Noooooooo"
4.) Grabbing my cell phone, turning it over to try and "find" the person behind the voice, and hitting the red phone, thus hanging up on Grammie Carola.
5.) Laying down in the crib when we say, "Lay down, RJ", only to stand up 5 seconds later. Repeat ad nauseum until the end of the story or an "I don't want to sleep" tantrum ensues.

Oh....No...nononono.

As the title would suggest, RJ has learned the word "no". He understands what the word means (he will stop what he's doing if you say it firmly enough), but uses the word in a couple of ways.

First, he will push things away and say "no nononono". This is pretty clear and appropriate usage. Unfortunately, pushing away the bulb syringe when he has a bad cold is not something that we can give in to.

Second, we have been trying to set some boundaries since he understands what we're saying. So for example - after nursing, he loves to stand on my lap and grab the moose lamp behind the couch and rock it on its base. I've said "no" and redirected him fairly consistently. However, he now says "no nooooooo" and then shows a devilish smile and does it anyway. So he's showing that he gets it, but can't actually inhibit the behavior yet. I'm actually working on saying "no" less and using positively worded guidance instead. So instead of "no" in the moose lamp situation, I'm now trying to say, "keep the lamp on the floor". Children have an easier time complying with positive statements rather than statement requiring them to inhibit or stop. If you give them an idea of what they should be doing, rather than what they shouldn't be doing, you'll be much more likely to get compliance. But in reality, it is hard to break the, "no" or "stop" habit. We use this technique at RJ's school and it is extremely effective, even for some extremely negative behaviors like biting and pinching.

And just this week, when another child at school took a toy that he was playing with - RJ told the other child, "no". Teacher Krishawn was very proud of RJ for using his words at such a young age!

In addition to the word, "no", RJ has quite the verbal repetoire. He regularly talks to me during our long commutes to school/work and back. He can say momma, dada, no, dat (cat), bo or do (boca), boob, and an assortment of other sounds that are sounding more and more like organized language. He also is linking his speech to the referents more and more. Although, I am convinced that he calls me dada more than momma just because he loves my reaction and increased attention when he does it. In fact, I think he's playing a game because he kind of laughs when saying dada, particularly after I say, "I'm momma, (pointing to me) momma momma momma" and he says dada again.

My favorite has been the few times he's said, "momma boob" (which honestly sounds more like, "mamamama bbbib" when he was sick and wanted to get out of the high chair and stop being fed solids, or when he was thirsty in the fun zone. It was pretty obvious that he was linking the referent since he was also going for my shirt and smiled when the boob came out!

Not only does he have good verbal skills, but he has also been pointing and reaching out for the things he wants. This is both a benefit and a pain in the ass. Its a benefit because it gives us a clue to what he wants, but it is also a pain in the ass because now he grabs at everything in sight!

All in all, he's a really good communicator, and I just can't wait until he has more words and phrases in his repertoire - I'm sure it won't be long. I've been asked by some of our friends about Baby Signs, which are all the rage now. There is actually some substantial research supporting the use of baby signs, but at this point in the game, I simply don't have the time to read the book. Plus, from my understanding, we're actually following some of the principles behind baby sign as it is. Koos noted on Xander's blog that I was categorically against the use of Baby Sign, but that's not entirely true. The point that I was trying to make is that the designers of baby sign provide a method and baby-friendly signs (based on ASL) which enable a child to communicate a few months earlier than they normally would using verbal means. While that sounds great for lowering frustration for everyone involved, in our particular situation, because RJ has been doing a fairly good job of communicating with us, I thought I was better off spending what little free time I have with RJ and showing him to point at things he wants (something I do naturally) and giving him the words for things he wants (which a lot of parents do naturally) rather than spending that free time reading the baby signs book in order to implement their method specifically. So I don't believe that Baby Signs are a waste (anything that gets you interacting with your child is worthwhile). I think that Koos misunderstood my choice not to teach RJ Baby Sign and my reason why as a belief that the method isn't worthwhile rather than a reflection of my belief that the specific method isn't what necessarily leads to all the good results and of my complete and utter lack of even a free hour to read the book.

Do I wish I had time to read the book? Yes - in fact at some point I really should, because Susan Goodwyn (one of the authors who did much of the baby sign research) is a former faculty member at CSU Stanislaus, where I teach. I hope to read it over the summer just to become acquainted with the theory and method better.

In sum, I think that if you have time for reading and implementation, great, but if you have a verbally expressive kid already and you're pressed for time, then I don't think it's a necessary part of baby rearing and I don't think that you'd be putting your kid at a disadvantage for not doing it.

Captain Tripps...

The sick day. I've noticed since moving to California that people seem to take sick days much more frequently. Presumably they are sick but I think more often than not they are just fine. I don't think I took a sick day over the five years I spent working in Boston, but now we've found the sick day is an essential perk for parenting. Every time RJ gets sick things become chaotic.

I've already taken four sick days this year, one for myself when I got the flu and three days to cover for days when RJ was sick and quarantined from school. Cheryl has had to miss two days as well. Luckily for one day she could have someone else proctor an exam, but for the other she had to cancel class and appointments. All of our babysitters are students at CSU Stanislaus, so we couldn't even get a babysitter to help Cheryl get any work done from home.

In the last month, poor RJ has really given us a lot to handle. He had a diarrhea bug for 2 weeks (luckily he was still allowed to go to school even before it officially cleared up) and then got a monster cold, which started like pink eye and later developed into bronchitis and a double ear infection. The annoying part is we took him to the doctor not once, not twice, but three times over 9 days before the diagnosis. Anyway, we're in day 8 of the 10 day course of Amoxicillin and he's back to 100%. It is the most frustrating thing when he's sick because he refuses to eat solid food. Those lips stay sealed shut.

We hope he can keep it together for a few more weeks when the semester ends -- then the day care cooties will not be a factor for a few months.

On Safari...

Recently RJ had an opportunity to meet some 4 legged furry creatures. He made good friends with a baby goat as the baby goat made very good friends with Cheryl's dress.



The Oakland Zoo is pretty close to us in the east bay but we haven't made it there yet. We haven't been to the San Francisco Zoo either and after last Christmas we know to stay away from their tigers. No, for this petting zoo all RJ and Mommy had to do was go to work with Daddy.



To celebrate a milestone on Madagascar 2 the company had a little party complete with safari themed mixed drinks, food, and lots of animals and games.

There are more pictures of the goats, chickens, sheep, ponies, zebras, lemurs, coworkers and monkeys that RJ got to meet.

This was RJ's first visit to the office so he took some time to explore and see the big Po and Oscar statues too.

Hard work = Trips to see Friends!

One of the perks of academia is that if you are lucky enough to find time to do research, you can sometimes find conferences near your friends across the country. Sometimes if you look really hard and decide that you're a workaholic, then you can find two.

In my job however, we can only get significant funding toward travel if we are presenting something - so this year I submitted abstracts for two separate conferences and I had a student submit an abstract as well. I basically wanted to ensure that I got to go somewhere to see my friends this year. I really only expected one of the three abstracts to get accepted, but apparently, I'm awesome and all three did. This is why I've been so busy this March! So we had quite the travel itinerary to fit in visiting with friends, 3 conference presentations (one of which was my student's presentation, and involved my guidance of course), and of course keeping RJ on a reasonable schedule.

The first conference was the International Association of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools (NALS) in Providence, RI.

And the second conference (immediately following the first) was the Conference on Human Development in Indianapolis, IN.

The timing of these conferences were also good in that they were the week following spring break and Caesar Chavez day (March 31). This meant that since I'd have to miss the whole week of classes anyway because of the conferences, we could leave early to make sure that we had a weekend to visit with our friends, who we really really really miss!

Here was our Itinerary:
Friday March 28 - Fly to Boston (get delayed at JFK and get to Jeremy & Sharona's around 11 or so - instead of 9 or so, vow never to fly through JFK again since we haven't NOT been significantly delayed there)

Saturday March 29 - Heather & Steve hosted the "Midget Party" so that RJ could meet all his little friends and we could catch up with our friends and note how our conversations have changed since becoming parents. RJ was very excited to see all the other babies and even got to borrow his buddy Jace's crib for a nap and high chair for dinner. As you can see, the two were fast friends!

Sunday March 30: We spent some time teaching RJ about big kid toys at Uncle Sully's place. He was particularly fond of the stressball-esque brain and Sully's streamer.


He was not as fond of Shaun's dancing turtles - only the one that looked like a fraggle didn't scare him.
We also went for a walk with Lilia and Jeremy to visit with Jordi & Jen (who as of last night was in labor!). RJ got to give a cloth diaper demonstration for Jordi & Jen and meet their cats!

Monday March 31: We went to Brandeis to show off RJ. He was a big hit! We then met up with Michele in Allston and met up with more friends (Craig, Alyssa, Brian, Otte, Eva, Michele, and Galen) in Harvard Square.

Tuesday April 1: Grammie Carola Day! My mom flew in from Buffalo for a day (it's a lot easier to come to Boston than San Francisco for a day)! We went to brunch, then for tea at the Boston Public Library, where we also spent some time playing in the children's library. After driving Grammie to the airport, we drove down to Providence and checked into our hotel, then joined Koos, Stef, & Xander for dinner, and then I worked with my student on her presentation when we got back.
Wednesday April 2: NALS Conference Day 1. Myra presented her project and received lots of good feedback about her project. RJ got to meet my undergraduate honors thesis advisor, Sharon Carver. We drove around the state of RI looking for Rhode Island College (where the conference was being held) and then Lance and RJ drove around the state again looking for Koos & Stef's again. After the conference, Josh, Rachel, and Zach had dinner with us and Koos, Stef, & Xander.

Thursday April 3: NALS Conference Day 2. I presented my research, and actually had a great time doing so! I got some great feedback about it as well. Then RJ had lunch with Stef and Xander, while Lance met with Koos and his colleagues about a possible project. We spent the evening with Koos, Stef, & Xander. RJ has his first diarrhea poo (yuck), which we originally thought was teething related because shortly after his poo, we noticed that his second tooth had cut through! He now has his two bottom middle teeth!

Friday April 4: NALS Conference Day 3. Myra and I went to the conference and then Lance and I spent the afternoon with Stef and Xander before heading to the Providence airport. We were delayed for a bit there, and then got ridiculously delayed at Dulles on our way to Indianapolis. We didn't reach the hotel until almost 3 am. At least we didn't have to pay for a rental car because they were closed by the time we landed and we took a cab instead (which ended up being cheaper anyway). As it turns out, cabs have the latch system, so the car seat was no big deal.

Saturday April 5: CHD Day 2 (Day 1 was Friday, but I did not attend because I was still at the NALS conference). Lance, RJ, & I had lunch with Joe, my graduate school advisor. Then I presented my poster, and we were picked up by Heather and Iris. Iris made us a wonderful pot roast for dinner that night!
We spent the rest of the weekend visiting with them and their dog Gabby. RJ loved Gabby and of course, Gabby's toys, including her rawhide stick! Don't worry, we didn't let him chew on it!

Sunday April 6: We spent the day with Heather, Iris, & Gabby and then headed to the airport to start our return trip home.

*Note* Due to our crazy schedule, we repeatedly forgot the camera or remembered it, but forgot to take pictures. So, if you have any photos from our trip and haven't already posted them somewhere, please send them our way!!! With that said, you'll notice that we used one of Heather & Steve's photos here. Just wanted to give credit where credit was due.

Be True to Your School

RJ & Momma in their matching Child Development Center at CSU Stanislaus T-shirts. RJ is finally big enough to fit in the smallest t-shirt they made (size 12 mos.)!!

In search of the perfect sippy

We have just started giving RJ a sippy cup with water. He doesn't really need water and shouldn't have more than 4 oz. a day (the bulk of his liquid intake should come from breast milk still), but we wanted to get him used to a sippy cup and he likes to take sips of water during his meals. More than anything else, he loves to chew on the spout. We currently have just one (Born Free's Trainer Cup) which RJ seems to enjoy, as pictured here.
I want to try out other sippy cups as well, since the Born Free does leak a little and it is plastic. I never thought that I would put so much time and energy into searching for a sippy cup (or toys or plates/bowls).

Why is this such a production? Well, recent studies show that many plastics leach toxic chemicals into our food, more so when the plastic is heated. These chemicals are estrogenergic, meaning that they mimic the effects of estrogen. Right now the biggest worry are the chemicals Bisphenol-A (BPA) and phlalates - but with plastic, I'm sure that time will only show that all the Bisphenol-A free, phlalate free plastics have some other sort of toxic chemical leaching into our food and drink. The sad part is even baby product companies are not responsible enough to do this - bottles made by Avent & Dr. Brown among others are not BPA-free. Gerber even puts their organic food line into BPA leaching plastic. I bought Gerber Organic once, but I won't anymore since I learned that their packaging can leach BPA - I'm sticking to buying Earth's Best and O Organics (which comes in the traditional glass jars) for the baby food that I don't make myself. I made sure that the bottles we use for breast milk(All Medela products are BPA-free) and the Born Free Trainer Cup are on the current safe list , but the more I think about it, the more I want to avoid plastic as much as possible. So that leaves Stainless Steel for drink ware since giving a toddler glass is just silly.

I agonize over this because I want to give RJ the very best start in life. After all, I know that in no time he'll be trading his organic cookies for a twinkie or some equally horrible substance for his body, and there won't be much that I can do to prevent it unless I want him to become known as the bubble boy at school. So, while I can control things, I want to make sure that we give him the safest, most pure, and most environmentally conscious environment that we can. Hopefully some of it will stick!

I'm trying to decide between a few sippy cups at the moment. I could get a second Born Free, but I'd like a non-plastic option because I think they're safer.

Here are my options so far based on multiple reviews from http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/ and http://zrecs.blogspot.com/. I don't know these people or anything, but they gave detailed reviews of safe sippy cups.

The Safe Sippy $14.95

Thermos Foogo $14.99

Kleen Kanteen $16.99


I'm leaning toward the Kleen Kanteen because it converts from a sippy to a sports bottle top, so it doesn't have to be retired in a few years! I'm even thinking of getting the adult version for Lance and I. What do you think? We welcome your knowledge about safe products for children.

RJ's Gated Community...

Ever since RJ went mobile, life has been a little more challenging. His need for interactive play is only matched by his curiosity for all things dangerous. We decided we needed a solution for containing the little one so that we could do things like clean the house. The additional challenge was that we have an open floor plan, with our kitchen and family room being one in the same. Also, our laptops with their assorted cords are pretty much always around in the family room. So clearly a regular old baby gate was just not going to cut it.




We purchased a North States Superyard XT Gate Play Yard from Amazon for $60. Perhaps the best investment ever, as we can just put RJ in his baby prison "fun zone" to play while not be too worried about him hurting himself. In fact, he's enjoying having the "wall" to cruise around on.




And, as you can see, Boca likes the "cat vs baby" cage matches too.