dig daddy-O

[ I know, I know - it's been waaaaaay too long since the last Daddy-O post.
Punky is a toddler now, and being a toddler parent takes much more energy!
Excuses, excuses ... ]

Daddy-O and HeyMama are filled with pride today, as our little Punky has taken another small step for mankind and a great step for toddlerhood.

Yesterday evening, we went out for ice cream and to enjoy the evening air at a local community open space. After savoring a bit of chocolate ice cream (and a few tastes of coffee toffee) as though she had been eating ice cream for years now, Punky spotted a gaggle of local youngsters lined up in front of makeshift goalposts. They were engaged in some informal soccer practice, and Punky decided she wanted to play, too.
This is a little unusual, because it involved getting close to (a) other kids and (b) strangers. Punky is very suspicious, and generally refuses to make contact until she runs through her own version of psychopath profiling for each of the people she doesn't know. This usually takes a good 30 minutes. But this time soccer won out.
I offered to walk her over to join the kicking line, and she accepted. Waiting for 4 people to kick (including do-overs) takes a long time by toddler standards, and she registered a few complaints, but stuck with it. I was grinning from ear to ear.
Sadly, the practice broke off right before her turn. She took it pretty well.

I'm still very proud that she got up to go play with some other kids.

One of the younger kids was very sweet, and brought the ball over to her much later.
Of course he was a STRANGER and she gave him the evil eye and waved him off ... but it was still progress.

Tuesday night, I met up with maisimai, our offspring Punky, and a mutual friend for dinner at my friendly local Indian restaurant, Bombay Grille.

I go to Bombay Grille at LEAST once a week (or did before offspring), and they know me by name.
I've gotten to be pretty good friends with the manager, Mr. Khan.

Imagine my dismay when Punky starting getting fussy and I picked her up for a walkabout ... only to have her projectile vomit all over my arm and my good friend's restaurant.

Mortified.

Let me be clear: NONE of Bombay Grille's fine cuisine was in the child when said incident occurred. No, sir, it was all milk and cantaloupe from home.

At least half of it ended up on the tile.

He was most gracious, but I don't know if anyone has ever inverted on the premises.
I kept thinking about the "vomit kit" that every school janitor seems to have. The one with bucket of magic vomit neutralizer powder carefully formulated to bind to the upchuck and suck it out the industrial carpeting.

Perhaps I should get Mr. Khan one and deliver it to the back door with a big ribbon.
How else does one apologize for your child blowing chunks?

*Somebody* has been a little extra cranky this week, and yesterday we found out why...

A Tooth!

That's right, Punky's first tooth has broken through - her lower left incisor.

We immediately awarded her with a chilled teething ring and a
toast was made (with Infant Advil). We all grinned and clapped together.

More on clapping, concerts, and dancing in the upcoming Monthly Update.

HeyMama & Daddy-O are proud ... and quaking in their Fluevog shoes.

Punky has not only mastered sitting up on her own and standing with less and less help ... she can now pull herself up and stand holding on to something.
(Where something is often Daddy-O's shirt.)

Walking will surely come soon.

The babbling is more pronounced than ever, with proto-words beginning to be used reliably. "aYaYa" is mostly "HeyHey", especially when accompanied by a wave.
"dadadada" is sometimes "Dada". "aMAMAMA!!!!" is always "I'm MAD at MAMA".

On top of that, this week just brought in the Free Sound Effects Bonus Pack.
"Pbbbbt!" is back, and used in adult fashion.
"Drrrt! Drrrrt! Drrrt!" is a funny little robot sound that comes out when she's doing things.

And then there's a super-annoying falsetto scream that I call "R2D2 having a short-circuit". Luckily, I found that looking terrified with both hands up whenever she makes this noise cracks her up into a giggle fit (with hiccups!). Or, if it's really working your last nerve, you can mimic it and move towards her in monster fashion and she'll also stop and giggle herself silly.

She's got a fine sense of humor already.
There are just no words to express the joy of playing with your kid.

I just re-read last month's update.
It could have been a year and a month ago.

I've finished the two projects at work and already received an award for managing the 2nd of the two.
I'll be taking HeyMama out for a fancy Anniversary dinner on the company dime (Thanks for the babysitting, Grand-O's!)

1) Punky started eating (pureed) solid foods not long after last post.

She's a Picky Eater.
Rice cereal? Good.
Bananas? The Best!
Sweet potatoes? A dirty rotten trick. Ptui!
Green beans? Neutral with a maximum of 5 spoonfuls.
Apples? Another dirty rotten trick.
Pears? Not bananas. Ptui!
Carrots? Yum!
Oatmeal? Yum!

All this new food had a downside, though. It backed up The Works.
Which brings me to a rare and cherished moment - Daddy-O was Right (over HeyMama's grumpy denial):

Prunes? Yummy! And effective...

2) From co-sleeping to solo-sleeping

Punky has now settled in to A Good Night's Sleep, starting at 8:00 every night.
It doesn't quite last as long as our Good Night's Sleep, but it's close enough.
We started putting her in her basket-bed (with spoiled-rotten-memory-foam-pillow), then moved to putting the basket in her bedside Co-Sleeper (heretofore used as an expensive bedside table or a sweet cat-bed).
A little more growth, and the basket will just go away.

This little routine left us delirious with Free Adult Time every night as we sat beside the Baby Monitor.

3) BFfffUUU Bu BA! PFFffffooOOO! AAAuuuuuBuAAA!

The babbling has stepped up to a whole new level.
It starts shortly after wake-up time and only stops for learning and sleep.
It comes in long conversations, stuffed animal arguments, and giggly word-games.
I'm pretty sure there are some stable word-analogs in there, such as "PPPFFffffuuoOOOO!" for "poo", which is funny in the way that only toilet humor can be.

4) You're not my Mom! (Or Dad!)

Don't be insulted - you're not alone.
There's an entire world of people that are NOT Punky's Mom or Dad.
And until she's been around you for more than 3 or 4 hours, you are NOT authorized to hold her.
Her rules, not ours. Nothing personal. You just have to pass the screening.
See "Stranger Anxiety" for more details...

5) "I love Dad!"

It's soooo sweet.
I'm that fun guy who spices up her day.
She'll stop what she's doing to watch me and smile when I walk in the room.
(HeyMama calls this "flirting".)
She'll look to see if I approve of how she's playing or what she's eating.
She'll fuss to get my attention and reach her arms out so I'll pick her up.
We play all those games together that wear HeyMama out. We do the Punky Workout.
I'm her special guy.
I couldn't have a bad day if I tried, waking up to see that little smile. I can almost hear her yell "DaaaddeeeeEEEE!"
I know that I'll look fondly back on these days when she's a teenager and just wants me out of her business.

Despite LJ being easier, I have been one busy Daddy-O.
I'm working around the clock, through vacations (half-time) on two projects at work as well as trying to be a better, more predictable husband & father. The journal has been losing out.

But not today! I can at least spare the time to thrill you with news of our favorite Small Person:

1) We have a consonant! "Guh" is now part of Punky's vowel-heavy vocabulary, as well as (ffffft) - a purposeful, but spit-laden, fricative that is not part of the languages I am familiar with. Must be Punkinese.

2) Punky wants to go places. And get things that are just out of reach. Too bad she's still a little short on ability.

3) She wants to do it herself. I am convinced this is proof that her parents brand of stubborn independence is genetic.
Punky decided last night that she could indeed learn to put the pacifier back in her mouth herself. While it is within her physical dexterity to do so, she was getting impatient with choosing the proper grip to get the rubbery part en-bouche. Mom tried to help, but was sternly rebuffed. She can do it HERSELF, thank you.

4) "I could roll over, but I don't want to." That's right. She'll roll on her side to look at things, but she doesn't like to be on her stomach for more than about 10 seconds. So the entire reward for rolling over is moot. I think she'll master the sit-up-and-stand instead. If Dad takes her hands, she does it without any tugging. I won't be shocked if she waits a bit longer and then goes straight to 'WALK'.

5) "I like to read". And she knows how to operate a board book, but can't get her fingers between the pages to do it. Cloth-page books are among her favorite toys, though. Which is good, because...

6) "I watch T.V.". No, not just playing next to it, or looking absently in it's direction. IT'S HORRIFYING - she WATCHES it, riveted. I have walked her in full fuss by the T.V. only to have her stop silent, magnetized by the tube. The T.V. discipline has begun already. Happily, watching the Olympics as a family is fair game.

7) Did I mention the laughing? She does it now. At appropriate times, of course. And sometimes at our expense. As long as she mocks us equally, it's approved behavior.

'Til next month (ha!)

--Daddy-O

Damn the javascript!

"So you moved to LJ because it's easier - where are all the updates you didn't make on the old blog?
Get bloggin' already!"

So what has happened since ... (gasp) Thanksgiving?

Lots!

December was The Month of Indigestion (and Gas).
No, not HeyMama's indigestion - Miss T's.
[ By the way, Miss T has now firmly settled on a nickname of Punky. ]

Oh, a more fearful spectacle has never been seen than a child with Acid Reflux.
She projectile vomited, she was inconsolable for whole-day stretches - She Fought The Boob.
It breaks a Father's heart - she actually beat her Mother.

Then we figured it out.

Mind you, the pediatrician's first recommendation was liquid Xantac, whose burning Goldschlager peppermint taste was clearly never tested on infants. The cure was almost as bad as the illness.
But Punky was Very Good, and (mostly) drank it anyway.
Chased with a shot of Mylicon anti-gas drops and gently stirred en-enfant, it all went down smooth.
And came out smelling worse.
Stinky diapers were a definite side effect, but worth the price.

Alas, after 2 weeks the Xantac stopped being welcome or effective.
We switched to Prevacid tabs (with microbeads!), which I believe counts as Punky's First Solid Food.
That's right, she'll eat half-tabs of fast-dissolving Prevacid!
I was so proud.

Everything was great for another two weeks.
Then she decided it was time for a rematch with The Boob, and began screaming and pounding on her Mom during feedings again. What the (bleep)?

At this point, HeyMama's profound and insightful intelligence manifested from the murk of Mom-brain.
All the extra brain development that happens to women when they become mothers clearly paid off, because out of the blue she says "I know what the problem is. The milk is coming too fast."
(BWONG!)
She eased up during feedings, and everything was perfect.

Not only that, Punky started settling into a schedule again.
With regular naps.
In the basket that she was formerly unwilling to sleep in.
And she slept longer at night.
She might have even dropped a feeding!

It was miraculous.

Stay tuned for more...

The old system was just too cumbersome to update, and I got sick of hand-editing the RSS feed.

After a short test-drive, LiveJournal is waaaaay more convenient.
I'll do what I can to improve the look, but this is a start.

I'm looking forward to posting more frequently now.