Moose Munch

Who hasn't had moose munch? It is tasty (and probably overpriced), but tasty.  This is a new nickname I like to call Nathaniel.  Seems silly.  He doesn't look like a moose.. we don't have any moose nearby... we don't actually have any moose munch to eat so it isn't his favorite snack or anything.. so why the nickname? 

Well, it seems that half his wardrobe has a moose on it.  I don't know how it happened.  Winter = moose (is meese the plural of moose because moose's sounds funny) ... anyway.  I can't resist a cute moose shirt or pajamas.  There was a pajama set that had moose's on it.  I started tickling him when he was wearing his green moose pj set and saying ' how is my little moose munch, moosey munch, moooose muuuunch' he was giggling.  Then every time he was wearing a moose I'd say 'aaahhh you are my little moose munch again today'.  Well, I was saying it more than I thought I would.  Seriously half his wardrobe has moose on it.  Can you imagine if I wore moose shirts half the time... haha.  I guess Kevin wears ASU shirts at least half the time (probably 90% of the time).  I'm not sure how it happened, but MOOSE was the theme of the winter.  So worth it though, meese/moose's are cute. 

Everyone thinks that shopping for boys clothes is so boring compared to girls, but it still can be fun.  The girls section is always about 3 times as large making it innately more fun.  It is possible that the lack of variety in the boys section has me buying so many moose shirts.  Every once in awhile I glance over at the girls section.  Lately I have noticed the cutest nautical summer dresses and I think to myself... maybe I'll try one on Nate because they are so darn cute, but luckily for him (and Kevin) there is a lot of cute nautical boys wear too ;) (he has been called a girl on several different occasions so he could probably pull off a dress... it is that blonde hair)  As spring peeked around the corner the other day I started to think about how Nate doesn't have any summer clothes.  With every season comes a new wardrobe for the little guy.  He has zero shorts or tshirts that fit him from last summer.  This is when I try and take advantage of coupons and sales and buy some shorts here and there preparing for summer.  When winter hit I didn't have a jacket or long sleeve shirts for him for weeks.  Poor kid froze in tshirts and no jacket. 

As I started to look around at summer stuff I haven't seen many moose shirts.  Could it be the end of 'Moose Munch'  Say it isn't so, so sad. 

Naptime Example

Case in point.... here is Nathaniel after a short car ride today.  Silly boy.  It was an hour before his afternoon nap was suppose to happen.  I carried him in and laid him on the couch thinking it would wake him up... not so much.  An hour later (after a transfer to his crib) he woke up. 

Naptime

Naptime, naptime, naptime, naptime. Naptime has always been a 'see what works' thing for me. I tend to let Nathaniel lead the way. I just watch for signs and patterns and work them into our daily routine. He was a no napper/sometimes cat napper when he was real small. Then I started to notice when he'd sleep after feedings and set that as his nap schedule. He fell into a 3 nap a day schedule for awhile. These were usually an hour or less. Than after a few months he started transitioning. He'd take less of a midday nap. So I just weeded it out. He then took two naps a day. The morning nap was always shorter. This has been quite consistent for awhile. Long enough for me to take that 'ME' time for granted :)

 

The morning nap has been my showering/eating breakfast time. Well..... now Nathaniel has officially dropped that morning nap. We are down to one afternoon nap. Over the last several weeks as I'd put him down for his morning nap, he would just move around and chit chat to himself upstairs. I'd watch through the monitor and laugh. I'd go up after 5 minutes and give him a little *shooshing* *it's naptime* and leave and see what would happen. 50/50 he would go to sleep, then it become 25/75 and now it is 0/100. Officially ending the morning nap. (If I could only convince him that when he is an adult he will LOVE and WISH he had time to nap freely)

 

It is throwing me for a loop (several confusing loops). 1) I now have to change my shower/breakfast routine. He wanders around my room as I get ready. It is working for now. He just explores, bugs the dogs, watches a little Mickey Mouse club and pretty much empties my cabinets. 2) He plays with my mind sometimes because he looks sleepy off and on. He will sometimes lay on the floor and look tired, but if I take him up to his crib he doesn't sleep. 3) If we go somewhere before noon he falls asleep in the car unless it is super close. I can't just stop going anywhere so I'm hoping this is just part of the transition. 4) His eating/milk schedule is all a little off. Everything is pushed up a bit so he can take his afternoon nap earlier than the old afternoon nap time. He used to wake up around 4 or 4:30 - have some milk - 5:30ish have dinner. Well now he wakes up around 3ish. So if he has dinner an hour or hour and a half after he wakes up he'd be eating at 4... so that doesn't work. I have to figure out some sort of consistent snack/smoothie thing I guess.

 

I figure it will take us a couple of weeks for the kinks to work out. One thing is for sure I feel like our afternoons are so much longer. I'm worried he's bored. I swear we do every activity twice and it will be a total of a 1/2 hour. I don't know why it feels so different, but it does. Losing that hour in the morning and then the moved up afternoon naptime just really switched things up. I'm sure I felt this way with every change, but now that he looks more to me for entertainment I feel the pressure :) I have to step up my game (no wonder so many people pin toddler activity ideas on pinterest). If I don't it is going to feel like a weird toddler version of Ground Hog Day EVERY DAY.  I wonder if I can talk him into a 1/2 hour of snuggle/hug time... doubt it... I think at this point I'm the only one that can't get enough of that activity.

First Easter Egg Hunt

I have had Nathaniel on an intense egg hunt training regimen for weeks.  I'd time his egg finding abilities and try to shave seconds off his time.  He'd look at me impressed with his time and I'd yell, 'NO, faster... Let's Go Again!'   I'd make him find only certain color eggs.  If he got the wrong color I'd throw it down on the ground in a fit of rage and say, 'This is light blue, I said regular blue' Even though he isn't even 3 ft tall there were eggs hidden at 4ft.  After 49 hunts he looked thirsty, but he knew he only got water after 10 hunts that beat the 1 min mark. 3 hrs a day, 7 days a week we've practiced.  It all boiled down to March 16 at 1400 hours.  This was where our hard work would pay off.

The neighborhood HOA's annual Easter Egg Hunt.     

 

We left early to make sure we got there in time for Nate to stretch.  He cruised up in his yellow/blue truck hoping to intimidate the others. (of course dad was pushing, but he steered like he was driving the truck on his own)

 

 

When the Easter bunny first showed up Nate was really thrown off his game.  I think the pressure of the hunt was finally becoming real.  He hid from the bunny behind Kevin's legs for awhile.  I want to say the bunny scared him, but I really think Nate just wanted to stay focused on the upcoming egg hunt.  He managed to avoid the Easter bunny the entire time.  Good strategy I think. 

The Easter bunny called his age group *Up to 3 years old*  Nathaniel and I sized up the competition.  There were a couple of kids older and a few younger.  Some had sandals - SANDALS! - we laughed and knew we had the edge against them.  Nate was armed with super duper aero dynamic tennis shoes.  There were flags outlining the boundary of the egg hunt.  Nate decided to play up his age (or lack there of) and innocently walk along the boundary... every once in awhile crossing the flag line.  Yes, he scouted the eggs before the race.  It did seem like he was more interested in the flags than the eggs, but I think it was all part of the *act*   

 

Uh, nothing going on here - but I'm pretty sure there is an egg there

 

The egg hunt was about to begin.  I reminded him of our training.  I reminded him that 2nd place is the first loser.  I then recited Herb Brooks 'Miracle on Ice' speech... you know the one .." Great moments are born from great opportunity.... yada yada...This is your time.  Now go out there and take it"  Then it happened.  The Easter Bunny yelled 'Ready, Set, Go'

I believe he was still playing up the innocent act so I joined in and pointed to an egg or two to get him started. 

 

 

 

He quickly picked up speed.  One, two, three eggs...

 

 

Then something crazy happened.  Stuff fell out of the egg.  We didn't practice for this scenario.  I could only hope our hours of preparation would help him handle the challenge alone.  He was distracted.  He fell to his knees and played with the jelly beans all spread across the grass.  Then the grass distracted him.  The dry grass was sticking to his hands.  (his hands were probably sweaty with anticipation for the hunt).  'Look alive out there' I yelled.  He got up and the hunt was back on. 

 

 

We came, we conquered! 

More eggs, gimme more eggs

 

That was SO FUN - time for a nap

 

 

Seuss Dilemma

"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere". That is no lie. When you read Dr. Seuss books funny things are everywhere. It is fun to say all those goofy phrases and rhymes. Fun until.... Nathaniel actually points to something and wants to know what it is. This happens a lot now. He points to letters and pictures and expects you to tell him. This is super easy most of the time - Dog, cat, tree, balloon, ball, Z, X, S, G.... etc. But, this is not so easy in Dr. Seuss books. He points to creatures (this is the best word I can think of) and I have no idea what to say. If they resemble something I'll say bear or dog... but most of the time the creatures don't resemble anything.

 

A Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz? A Fiffer Feffer Feff? A Gack? A Wump? A Who? The creatures usually look like crosses between birds and dogs, with big bellies and goofy hair. So what do you say? HHHHmmmm? I love how imaginations can go wild and Dr. Seuss is a master at this. That creative side of the brain is so fun to watch. But, do you think Nathaniel is wondering if a duck-dog will walk by outside? Or if there is a Thing that won't stop singing somewhere? Or if there are fish wearing hats in the ocean?

 

This is something I think about at the zoo too. All the books where animals are talking and cooking and saving the world... hahaha.. makes you wonder how kids deal with what is real and what is fantasy in those developing brains.

 

"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!"

 

Thank you Dr. Seuss for giving me this dilemma as I read to Nathaniel. As I try to tell him what it is he is pointing at, I myself have to relearn some creative answering! It's fun actually! And hard!

 

Here is a picture of Nathaniel enjoying one of his favorite things. Is there anywhere better than dad's lap? - well maybe mom's lap ;)

 

"Today was GREAT. Today was FUN. Tomorrow is another one" One thing is for sure, Dr. Seuss knew how to capture a feeling through simple (beginner reader) words.

 

 

 

The Wave

Such a simple gesture, but one which has eluded Nathaniel. We show him all the time. When Kevin goes to work we always exaggerate it just so he sees us doing it. I really just don't think he cares that someone is leaving. He is never alone without one of us. Ever. Seriously. With very few friends and no family around he hasn't really ever been babysat. 4 times I think in total (Once in phx by my sis when Kevin and I went to Wal-mart, Once by my friend Meredith when Kevin had a conflict with an appt I had scheduled, Once by my mom when Kevin and I met my dad out for some gambling in Laughlin and Once by Kevin's parents when we went to dinner - and the last two were after he went to bed). I really think he doesn't believe it is necessary to say goodbye because one of us is always with him. This goodbye/hello seems like a waste of time to him I guess. I can see him thinking to himself, 'yeah whatever you guys never leave' Through the months he has hinted at knowing what we are doing, but never a full wave.

 

Now, I know he gets it when someone shows up and leaves. He grasps the concept. For instance when he hears the garage open when Kevin is getting home from work he yells 'Dad, dad, dad' very excitedly. Another example is how he pauses when Kevin shuts the door in the morning to leave, but resumes playing once he hears the garage close.

 

Just recently there may have been a breakthrough.... he must be finally tired of us showing him how to wave and figured he better just do it so we'll get over it already :)

 

I took this video for another reason, but discovered the elusive wave has been captured. We went to the zoo on Saturday and this is him on the carousel (a detail I'm sure you would have figured out on your own). Side Note: Nathaniel was most interested in collecting rocks along the zoo pathways rather than actually looking at any animals. He LOVES rocks. We went to an animal show with birds flying around and he was in the back collecting rocks. Goofy kid.
 

Duds Instead of Suds

I give up. It seems a little early to give up, but I think I do. My intentions are good. I just want Nathaniel to have a bath time blast. In an effort to ensure a bath time blast I have bought several seemingly super cool bath toys. A whale that squirts water out of his spout while flashing lights. A fish that swims and pulls along a baby fish. A penguin on a boat that glides along the water. Doesn't that sound like a blast? All of these mechanical toys have turned out to be stupid. Do I just have bad luck with bath toys or do bath toys not live up to expectations? HHHmmmm please weigh in if you have similar examples.

 

The blue whale stopped blowing water out his spout so I figured it was in need of a battery change. When I opened the *sealed* battery compartment a gush of gooby water flowed out on to the counter. The batteries were corroded. I cleaned it out, changed the batteries... no luck. Even when it was working the toy was only mildly amusing. The one time it caught Nate's attention it squirted him in the face.

 

The fish that pulls along a baby fish works by winding up a knob. You set it in the water and watch his fins flap and swim. Only one fin worked so it just would swim in circles... if at all.

 

The last of the duds is the penguin on a boat that skims the water. You pull his string, set him in the water and watch him go. This one actually works but the string sends him about 2 inches. By the time you point out the penguin to Nathaniel it has already stopped going. After doing this 3 stooges routine roughly 10 times - "Wind, Nate look, Hold on, wind, Nate look, hold on, wind, Nate look, hold on' I gave up. Why make a bath toy that skims the water for 2 seconds.

 

All duds! All of them. I guess regular ol' splish splash sploshing will have to do.

 

Mom thinks she buys cool toys... hahahahahaha .. that is funny!

 

 

 

Today's Cartoons

I know I know .... you aren't suppose to let your kids watch more than 10 minutes of tv a week and that is only after they turn 11, but I have been breaking the rules. SSSHHHH. There are cartoons on the tv here a couple of times during the day. THE HORROR I know. The kid has about a 2 minute attention span so most of the cartoons end up being background noise. Well I should say background noise until a song comes on. Any song in any cartoon gets at least a head turn from Nathaniel. Those cartoon songs are catchy.
 

Over the span of 16 months I've been able to form an opinion about some of the cartoons being shown. The cartoons I've seen are a small % of what is actually out there so this is far from a thorough review. I tend to look for appropriate cartoons for his age on Disney Jr., Nickelodeon Jr., NPT and Sprout TV. I had never even heard of Sprout TV until I had Nathaniel and I couldn't have told you where the other channels were in the cable line up.

So here are my thoughts on a few cartoons. What is sad is when I notice that I am watching the cartoon and Nate isn't anywhere to be seen. He is either napping or playing with Kevin. I'll catch myself singing along and then realize it is me and the dogs. Admittedly, I'm usually looking at the computer or something, but still it is slightly embarrassing and in part the reason I have thoughts on cartoons.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - All I have to say is Mickey Mouse will be popular forever. I wondered how Mickey and Minnie stayed so popular. Now I know, they still have a cartoon. It is impossible to not like lovable Mickey. Those big friendly eyes and friendly voice. Nathaniel can point him out anywhere. The Mickey Mouse clubhouse song and The Hot Dog song are favorites around here. I even used the Hot Dog song on my iphone during a Dr's appt to distract him. I myself love Pluto. Shocking huh? Yep, I *heart* all dogs! The cartoon is cute and has educational components like counting, colors and problem solving.

Sid the Science Kid - Yep a cartoon after my own heart. Even if Nathaniel doesn't like this one we are watching it. haha. Nathaniel is a little young for this cartoon and it doesn't really keep his attention, but he loves the songs and unique looking characters (at least they seem to catch his eye when they dance around). I like how this cartoon combines some interesting learning concepts with both cartoon and real kid examples. You could easily follow up this cartoon with a fun project and comprehension questions. No comments from the peanut gallery here - I swear I won't make Nate a nerd!

Dinosaur Train - 'We all ride ride ride ride.... the dinosaur train... ROAR' This cartoon has an actual paleontologist that does some snippets of facts about dinosaurs. The characters are very brightly colored and fun to watch. The Dinosaur train travels to different time periods (Jurassic, Triassic, Cretaceous) and the story focuses on meeting different dinosaurs in different environments. This again is probably for a little bit of an older kid, but I think it is a neat idea for a cartoon.

Caliou - This cartoon really annoyed me at first. There was something kind of wimpy about the main character. He seemed too pathetic... I don't know. It is done in all primary colors and they make the mom look a little frumpy. There is always some sort of feel good lesson. Don't get me wrong, I like feel good lessons, but something about it just rubbed me wrong. That being said, all of a sudden it was like I just got it. Caliou has turned into a cute little boy to me that is just finding his way. I think he is younger in the cartoon than I originally thought so it gave me a new perspective. I must admit primary colors are probably exactly what Nathaniel loves so who am I to judge that??? There is less singing in this cartoon and more storytelling. I did notice at Christmastime all Caliou stuff was sold out.

Berenstein Bears - I have so many fond memories of reading Berenstein bear books growing up. I had no idea there was a cartoon. Like Caliou it focuses on feel good lessons. Remember to say THANK YOU, learn to share, try new things... etc. You know how there is comfort food? Well this is my comfort cartoon because I really loved those stories as a kid. This cartoon doesn't catch Nathaniel's interest at all at this point, but sometimes when we are sitting drinking milk it will happen to be on so we watch it for a few minutes (mostly for me, plus I'll take Nate lap cuddles anytime)

WordWorld - This cartoon gets my vote for most inventive. Most objects in this cartoon are formed using the letters that spell out the objects name. For instance the BARN is done by taking the letters B A R N and shaping them into a cute barn. There are some fun main characters. The animation is simple and catchy. It goes over spelling and letters several times during an episode. I just think it is a really nice way to teach spelling. Nathaniel laughs every time the intro comes on. There is a dog that jumps around and he smiles at it.

Super Why! - I had read a facebook post once from a dad that was complaining that Super Why was just about a bunch of whiney kids. After watching it - it is sort of true. That being said this might tie Mickey Mouse clubhouse as Nate's favorite. He points out the super letters and seems to be listening to the story. I find it entertaining and I like that the stories and characters are based on fairy tales. If Nate is going to listen to and enjoy the alphabet song - who am I to complain.

 

Little Einsteins - The intro song to this show could be his second favorite song behind the Hot Dog song. I even sing the intro (albeit wrong) during difficult diaper changes and it usually makes him smile and sit still. This cartoon always picks a piece of artwork and music and builds a little adventure around it. I love hearing the classical music and being reminded of the composers. Any time Nathaniel can be exposed to music (real music) it is a great thing - especially since his dad's favorite music is the top 40 hits. Someone needs to teach him to have taste in music ;o)

 

That is a snippet of what Nathaniel is allowed (and seems to enjoy at least for a few minutes) to watch at age 17 months (in moderation of course and not all at once). By the time he reads this I bet they will all be off the air except Mickey Mouse. I wish I could commit to 'NO TV', but I'd be lying to myself. Plus, so far I'm impressed with these cartoons. They don't really seem too bad, especially when he needs a little quiet time to relax from running around constantly or I need a few minutes to do something or I just want Nate lap cuddles. I know I know the horror the horror.... don't tell other moms I allow tv.

Look! Nate and Kona enjoy watching tv the same way!

 

Rookie Move Maybe

I figure I need to let Nathaniel explore his artistic side some more. I bought him a set of dry erase markers thinking, 'How Fun'. It started out with him just moving the markers around the house. It was fun to roll them on the floor. It was fun to hand them to Mocha (and fun to watch mom chase Mocha to get the marker back). Then it became fun to take the lids off and set them on the ground. Then it was fun to try and put the lids back on (50/50 chance of getting it in the right side of the cap). AND finally it was fun to actually draw on the dry erase board. When I say draw it is basically some lines and dots - but hey everyone needs to start somewhere.

 

This all sounds good. Sounds like fun. Well, putting the caps on the markers has been quite interesting. His hands, face, shirt, my hands, probably Mocha's face, all have marker on them. I may have given him markers a bit too early. One thing I noticed is that he is using them more than the crayons. I wonder if it is because they show up brighter and are easy to use. Sometimes it is hard to see results if you use light pressure with the crayons.

 

That being said, I might put the markers away for a bit :( I will bring them out sometimes since they do seem pretty washable actually. It came right off his white shirt. Not to let the dry erase board go to waste I did go grab some dry erase crayons and I hope he will like those. I should note that his favorite thing to do with crayons is to take them out and put them back in the box. Future engineer maybe ;) I bought some Melissa and Doug brand crayons that are triangular and supposedly stronger. Those do seem to be outlasting the large Crayola crayons. Actually, when we were at the toy store they have a table of paper and crayons. Instead of sitting there to draw he grabbed 2 handfuls of crayons and ran around the store... Future hoarder maybe!