Milo and I had a much better day today…. I guess only a few of you would know that the days leading up to yesterday were not so great, but to make a long, whiny story short, no one in our house was sleeping, not even the dog. Milo’s wakeful crying nights had gotten just completely out of control. So we finally let him cry it out last night, and surprisingly, he didn’t have as much trouble as he did the last time we tried this method. He always goes to bed without any trouble now, but wakes up about an hour later screaming. So instead of going in there, we decided to let him get himself back to sleep. The last time we tried this, it took nearly 2 hours for him to fall asleep, and I think I ended up going in because I felt so guilty. But this time, he cried for 45 minutes, then went back to sleep. He woke up a few more times last night, but I didn’t go in. Surprisingly (to me, not Andrew), Milo only cried for 15 minutes, then just a few more minutes each time he woke up. Then… get ready for this…. he slept until 7:30!!!! This is sleeping-in big time for us, so I was thrilled. And I actually felt like a normal-functioning human being instead of a zombie. We are going to stick with it, and I feel good about it this time. I know that Milo understands me when I tell him to go to sleep. He listens when I say “Lie down,” and I think he is old enough to understand that when he wakes up and it is dark in his room, that means he needs to lie back down and go to sleep. So since the verbal comprehension is there, and he is a secure little guy anyway, this is a good option for us.
Today, Milo woke up in a great mood (no screaming, just babbling away in his crib and a little call to Dada). We hung around the house playing and eating breakfast before heading to the grocery store to pick up some milk (was anyone else out there surprised by how much milk their toddler consumes in a week- drinking the 3 cups of whole milk per day that is recommended for a one-year-old?!!!). Then we headed to a little park down the street from our house to meet up with friends Natasha and Marina (from Siberia, I can’t imagine the winters in the northern part of this region).
Marina and Milo soaking up some sunshine
Don’t worry, I’ll fix it
We ended up spending a lot of time outside today. Don’t ask me what I’m going to do with my little outdoorsman during the winter. I’m afraid to think about him being cooped up for any amount of time. Today we were inside for all of 30 minutes before Milo was pounding on the door to go outside, and looking at me like, “come on, lady!”So we headed to the playground, our destination of choice lately, where I made several interesting discoveries.
1. We shared a pear with a three-legged squirrel (whom I had to chase away after a bit of overzealous squirrel begging scared me into wondering what kind of trouble we might find ourselves in if he actually sat in my lap like he was preparing to do). Discovery: A stump is just as good as (maybe even better than) a squirrely paw-hand or whatever they have. I figure he was so fat because people who don’t usually feed wild animals (myself included) make an exception for him. Until he freaked me out with those beady black eyes staring into my soul, that is.
2. We observed a nanny talking on her cell phone for the entire 2 hours we were at the park while the two ignored kids she was supposed to be watching sent ride-on toys careening to their deaths off the top of the slide. Discovery: I hate laziness.
3. Oh, and Milo stuck his finger down a mom’s pants as she was crouched down helping her little girl build a sand castle. And I was too slow to stop it. She was wearing low-rise pants, and Milo, who loves to touch skin (and often tries to lift up shirts to try to put his little cheek on a bare stomach, sweet at home with Dad and Mom, not so sweet when it involves a stranger’s tooshie) saw an opportunity and went for it! I was mortified, the mom shrieked (I guess Milo’s hands were cold), and I apologized profusely, wishing I spoke Spanish to explain to her that my son was not a pervert. Discovery: Milo needs mittens.
For our first Halloween in DC, we decided to stay home and pass out candy on the front porch to enjoy our new neighborhood and the seasonably warm weather. After Milo retired to bed, we had some friends over for dinner and some pretty intense taboo conversations… spooky but fun, as usual. Milo enjoyed playing “collect and smash” with the candy stash, which involved sifting through the candy bowl to find the squishiest candies, then squeezing them in his little hands until they were misshapen fists of chocolate. Luckily his daddy doesn’t discriminate and could take those squishy treats off his hands. I mean hooves.
And before everyone assumes that Milo dressed up as a naked baby, here he is in full goat get-up, for the second time (hey, may as well get some use out of this costume- who knows if the next kid will fit into it around Halloween time):
If you are wondering what Milo is staring at, since the pumpkin’s top is clearly on, please note the shreds of pumpkin bits to the left of our freshly carved, not-so-creative jack-o-lantern… we have a squirrel who ate an enormous hole in the back of the pumpkin. This gave Milo the perfect view of the candle burning inside, which of course is mesmerizing to any toddler. Fire.
… And I will dress up, too.
Happy Halloween! As Andrew would say, have a “spooktacular” day!
