T minus 8 days...

...until Miles turns a year old!

An update from the gum trenches: no actual sightings.  The white bump is still there, and now he's got  a friend.  Looks like two teeth are racing to see who gets to eat birthday cake first.  Unbeknownst to them, I've got a baby tooth brush already waiting in the wings!

An update using Haiku:

Furious baby-

like volcanic eruptions,

You drool way too much.

Oh, thank you! thank you!

dear pain reliever hero-

buy stock in Motrin.

Gnawing, ever gnawing.

Is my son a wood chipper?

plays one on TV.

And a quick random question, who or what is "T" in "T minus?"  Does it refer to time or tower or some unknown in the science community?  Just wondering.

By the way...

Jesse is the most amazing dad.  His love for Miles has no bounds.  Even at 2 am, and again at 3 am, and at 4:30 am for good measure- part of the perks of being the stay-at-home parent.  It has to be love (or my elbow) that gets him up so quickly to check on Miles.  And last night, he got his ticket punched quite a few times.  Hope both of my guys get good naps in today.    

Teething Sucks!

Pardon my French, but last night was a nightmare for everyone in my house- especially the little guy trying to push a tooth through.  Even the dogs hid in our room toward the end of the (very early) evening.  He went to bed at 7- which is  a personal best.  Miles has a scary cry that he reserves for real pain; we affectionately call it his "Total Recall" cry.  The moniker stems from the ending scene of that (Governor- what were they thinking!!!) Schwarzenegger gem, where his character steps out onto the Martian (as in Mars) surface without a space suit on.  As a blood chilling scream erupts, his face melts, and his eyes pop out.  Jesse gets all of the credit for making the parallel between the two freak-outs.

Mommy & Baby Love

Jennifer's love of self-portraits inspired me to hop onto the other side of the lens... and drag Miles with me.  I'd say it was a success.  Thanks, Jen!

My hardware- a comment reply

My camera is an oldie but a goodie by today's standards.  I think got it in '04.  It's an Olympus Evolt 8.0 mega pixel, SLR.  And I either shoot with a 45 mm or a 150 mm lens; they were a package deal.  But the real art is in the editing, which is iPhoto on Apple.  The Evolt is the watered down version of the Cannon that came out the same year.  Fewer bells and whistles- but I've got plenty to tinker with.  This is a camera designed for the average joe, or joe-ette.  I love it so very, very much.  If you live in the area, go to Massey's Camera and check out their goods.  Those guys helped Jesse pick this camera out for me.

Better than a crystal ball- read the shirt!

Auntie Erin has taken all of the mystery out of any career planning for Miles.  (Thanks E-Dawg!) Clearly, this kid was built for sprinkles, and I am totally fine riding on his glazed coattails all the way to the fat farm.  Did I mention I really like donuts?  Blueberry donuts.  Yum.  Get crackin' baby Miles!

Guided by the light...

What's more fun than putting a head lamp on a baby?  Not much when Project Runway isn't on the air.  

OMG

The haikus seem to have worked!!!!  There is a tiny, white bump that surfaced today.  Looks like the front left tooth is making an appearance for birthday cake. 

Me, a poet? Bet you didn't know it.

I heart the haiku.

Don't you heart the haiku, too?

So few words to chew.

I got some grinspiration from little man tonight.  Teething appears to have kicked back in- or he's developed a rabid taste for fingers, pillows, high chair trays, remote controls, puppy ears... though I intercepted the last mentioned snack fairly quickly.  Drooling is now at an all time high.  Solid foods are being turned away.  And as I type, angry raspberries pepper the baby monitor.  Please, oh, please let there be a tooth soon.  I wrote a haiku while giving Miles his final bottle for the night, a haiku series about teething.  I am not smart enough to write an ode nor a couplet.  There is safety in small numbers; never would I even dare to think beyond the 5-7-5 syllabication rule of haiku. 

Nine Thoughts on Teething:

(1)

Infant cry wakes me-

he's feverishly chewing,

gnawing on dog's tail.

(2)

Winter fog, brisk morn.

Drool, like a frozen coy pond,

cakes my son's red chin.

(3)

Groundhog- try again.

No shadow equals no teeth.

Groundhog fur is in.

(4)

Do gums accept bribes?

Twenties- unmarked in Swiss bank.

Wire tap the lips.

(5)

Homeopathic?

Heck no!  Break out the Motrin.

Soothe the baby's mouth.

(6)

Chomp, chomp, chew, chew, chew

Have you seen my new dress shoe?

He put it where? Gross!

(7)

Twinkle little star.

Shine good luck into his mouth.

Let there be chompers.

(8)

Lone, white pillar sprout!

Push up.  Spring forth.  Do your job.

Our waiting must end.

(9)

Hark, what have I done?

Will these verses leave curses?

If so, my bad yo.

How my brain works... AS to 80's movies

So, I've been researching materials for a potential presentation on AS for the faculty.  Primarily (filmed) documentaries focusing on teens- since we work in a middle school.  After 30 minutes of electronic surfing, I stumbled across a very promising title, "Billy the Kid."  After I am done with this thread, I'm leap frogging back to Amazon to pick up that title and to look for some of the movies I am about to mention.

Another title that popped up was "The Boy Who Could Fly."  If you are an 80's baby like, I am certain you've watched this movie.  Watching a clip on You Tube led to a flashback of all the obscure 80's films that have shaped my life.  Sure, all of the Brat Pack flicks made an impact.  And yes, "Weird Science" will always make me shoot Strawberry Quik out of my nose.  But there were other movies- movies that ran on cable, boxed VHS tapes that collected dust at our local Video Junction store that had a deeper impact on my psyche.  

My Obscure 80's top 10:

1. Canada's own "The Peanut Butter Solution"- boy loses hair when he gets spooked by ghosts of recently dead winos, uses peanut butter to grow it back, is kidnapped by evil painter and has hair harvested- the theme song still rattles around in my brain to this day- think it aired on HBO or (original version) of Nickelodeon.

2. "Anna to the Infinite"- Anna, a girl who discovers she is a clone, really freaked me out- just as scary as film #1

3. "D.A.R.Y.L."- what's up with all the robot/ cloned kids of the 80's? Love it when Daryl hacks into the ATM to get money for his baseball team (I think)

4. "The Flight of the Navigator"- don't know who liked this movie more- me or my dad

5. "The Explorers"- River Phoenix plays an excellent Teutonic nerd in this pic/ cartoonish alien steals the show at the end

6. "The Last Star Fighter"- an arcade game in a trailer park serves an intergalactic recruitment training tool

7. "The Adventures in Babysitting"- always wished this would happen whenever my parents went out

8. "Clue"- Tim Curry in a tux, not a teddy- but still fabulous 

9. "The Burbs"- Tom Hanks at his best- especially when he is eating the sardine- also my favorite Corey co-starts (Feldman) 

10. "Space Camp"- when I found a DVD version at Target last year, I screamed out loud- seriously- different Phoenix child (Leaf/ now the whacked out Joaquin) shows flashes of acting brilliance

Tell me your favorite 80's movies.  Mainstream or off-beat- from Ferris to "Frankweenie"- name it.  (Bonus points for listing "Labyrinth" and David Bowie's wardrobe in your top 5).  Alright, back to work...

Check this out the new link (on the side) if you need your memory needs jogging.

 

What Miles did at play-group this week*-

1. Sat in a chair and ate Cheerios with the big kids.

2. Drank 3 tiny sips of water from a real cup.

3. Tried to steal the new girl's binkie.

4. "Entranced in story time" according to his dad

5. Played for two hours straight 

*(I am so sad on Fridays- when Miles is at play-group, and I am at school.  How I wish I could see these amazing things happens.  Getting the report from daddy just isn't the same... but good news is always a joy to hear.) 

Play Date, part deux

Emerson, just two weeks older than Miles, has her first birthday coming up very soon.

Wesley says, "Look Ma, no hands."

Wes hangs ten with his dad.

Henry, with heart-breaking blue eyes, is Wesley's twin brother.

Sadie lady, the big girl of the night, had a lot of little ones to look after.  

She is also Emerson's big sister.

All of the beautiful critters are the children of 3 longtime friends- Jesse (my husband), Kevin, and Andy.  And based on the photographic evidence, it looks like the fun has transferred to the next generation.  Seeing all the kids together gave me the baby bug- which I quickly lost as Miles cried on the way home- but that spark is still there.  However, Miles was on his absolute best behavior while there- I think he was in awe of the bigger kids, zooming around.  

On a completely random note: My son smells like cinnamon raisin toast, and I have no idea why.  

The "M" in Run DMC stands for Miles

Biggest Play Date Ever... at least for us.

Mutiny on the munchies

Apparently, I wasn't feeding Miles quickly enough, so the munchkin literally took lunch into his own hands.  After the bowl was cleaned (and the toast, as shown below)- he was given a mighty scrub down.  Apple sauce found its way into his nostrils- really gives new meaning to inhaling your food.  

Toasted

Miles, as much as he loves his toast, will share with his daddy.  That's true love.

You say goodbye, and I say hello.

Look who has learned how to wave!  This just developed over the last couple of days.  Totally an early Valentine's Day present for this mommy.  Just when I think I can't love this kid anymore, he does something really cute that makes my heart thump even louder.  

Sleepy

Alright- so the Super Bowl got waaaaaaay more exciting after I finished my previous post.   It's now the morning after; the coffee is brewing, and I stayed well past my bedtime to catch the end.  (Yawn.)

To be or not to be toned down, that shouldn't have to be the question

Miles is asleep- couldn't even make it to half time show.  He missed the Boss rockin' out, though the fireworks were a bit over the top.  Instead of sitting in awe with each brilliant burst, all I could think of were fire hazards and emergency exits.  Had we been in Tampa, I might have had a panic attack.  Football jerseys look highly flammable.     

Friday are going to add another doctor to the deck.  This will be our first trip to the developmental pediatrician.  Seriously- don't all pediatricians deal with development?!?  Regardless, this guy is supposed to be the state's top Down Syndrome doctor.  We were lucky to have gotten an appointment so quickly- we've only been waiting two months.  He'll work closely with Miles' geneticist.  I wonder if she's already warned his office about me, that I am a high-strung parent.  I actually made the summary report from his last visit:

We encourage mom should she find information that is worrisome to her as she does further research about isochromosome 21 to please get that information to us so we can clarify the information for her.

OUCH.  I think they were trying to be helpful, but damn, it comes off a bit tough.  (Never mind all of the grammatical mistakes.  Run-on sentences, hello!)  The visit was a good six months after our initial appointment, so naturally, I had many questions.  And by many, I mean there were at least ten topics I needed covered.  It's been difficult finding information, like longitudinal studies or research groups, that focus on translocation.  Actually, I have found no groups that research specifically translocation.  There's a strong DS group out of Emory who couldn't include us.  

The only research I can find is related to leukemia, which is also structurally an isochromosome.  With this in mind, yeah... sure... I was anxious at the appointment; I was tired of not having the answers to questions I hadn't even had the chance to ask.  Furthermore, it was annoying how watered down the information given was- the genetic counselor was trying to explain what a karyotype is while I was asking, that since my husband and I tested negative as balanced carriers, is the translocation still identified as "Robertsonian."  We weren't listened to, and that still has troubled me since.  Thought I resolved my feelings about this appointment a long time ago- guess not.

As Friday's visit with the developmental pediatrician looms closer, I've been wondering if I need to do anything differently.  Thinking that maybe I came across as pushy, or a know-it-all, or whatever- thinking that my awkward experience at the geneticist was my fault.  And UGH, I am mad that my brain keeps trying to take on that burden.

What's my saving grace in all of this negative thinking?  My son, my beautiful, strong, and glowing son.  Mentioned well before my appearance in the report is a handful of hopeful information on Miles' progress.  That's the truly important part of that letter, and I need to remember that!

Alright- sorry to vent on Super Bowl Sunday.  Guess the game hasn't been exciting enough to distract me.  Not even the ads- and that's saying a lot.  At least Coach Tomlin and I share an alma mater.  Tribe Pride, woo-hoo!