Diary of a Pregnant Anarchist

preschool!

2008-09-25T00:01:00.003-04:00

Punkin is starting preschool for the first time next week! I got a new job that pays really well and has a less flexible schedule than my current gig, so little one will be spending the day with a bunch of other kiddies in a small child care center nearby. It's licensed for something like 35 kids but there are only about 15-20 enrolled right now. I think it might be a rough transition but I think he'll really like it once he gets used to it. I'm spending a couple hours with him there every day this week and next week I'll do the first few days and then grammy is coming down to help. I'm excited to have a more regular job in a place where other people also work and not trying to simultaneously work from home and raise active toddler.

punkin grows up

2008-07-22T17:07:00.007-04:00

The little one is saying all kinds of words these days, but no one has any idea what he's saying, including me. He has learned a few new songs as well! I realized the other day that in less than 4 months this kid is going to be 2 and how totally crazy that is. I probably will be saying the same thing when he's 30.

There's not much to report, but there are a few new pictures on flickr, which if you're Mike or Mary or Grammy Robin you already saw when I put them up there a couple days ago. We are all pretty busy but doing OK.

bugs, phones, keys, beach adventures

2008-06-09T11:35:00.006-04:00

Punkin handed me a bug this morning. He found it in the living room, and he may have been playing with it for a few minutes. I was sitting at the table and thought he just had some toys. Then he came over to me and said "aaaahh gaahhh?" and lifted up his finger, and there was a lovely black insect sitting on top of it. One of the little ones with the split tail that make them look demonic. He was very proud of himself.

We went to the beach for the day on Saturday and I think he had a good time. He wasn't a huge fan of the water, but he got used to the sand eventually and dug big holes with a little plastic shovel and bucket. He liked walking on the beach too, close to the water, but not too close. The current was pretty strong so I put him in a lifejacket before we went out. Lucky for him, mama doesn't much like the water either, at least not after it goes past her waist. We bought a canopy tent which turned out to be a piece of crap and will be returned, but it definitely made being outside in 90 degree heat more tolerable.

We started having early morning battles after the last time he spent the weekend with grammy and poppy and they LET HIM GET UP AT 5AM!!! He is very much opposed to mama sleeping when he wants to be awake. One morning he pulled my eyelids open, hit me in the head with a book, tried to push me off the bed, scratched my face, bounced on top of me, and screamed for like 30 minutes until I got out the bed.

More Things Punkin Likes!:
1) Opening and closing doors, and going in and out
2) Keys, taking the biggest key on the ring and running around holding on to it
3) Laughing at people
4) Building block towers and knocking them down
5) Having a ball kicked directly at him, especially when it hits him, and then rolling them off the couch
6) Bubbles
7) Mandarin oranges, pears, yogurt, and GOLDFISH
8) His red wagon
9) Crawling through his tube
10) Smacking other little kids and stealing their toys
11) The recycling bin
12) Hiding in the closet
13) Hiding in the side of the tv stand
14) Tickle tickle!!!!!
15) Feeding peas to mama. One time when I didn't want them he knocked me down, climbed on top of me and tried to prize my mouth open and shove them in.
16) Throwing peas on the floor
17) Trying to take bites out of my face and my toes
18) Pulling and pushing people around to get them where he wants them to be
19) Shoes, and putting on big shoes
20) Climbing everything

A few days ago the phone rang and Punkin answered it. He said "hello???. . . . . yeah . . . . . good!!!!" and then hung up.

toddler aggression and punkin's first tick!

2008-05-20T00:53:00.002-04:00

Punkin has been being aggressive with other little kids lately. So far it's the only thing he's been giving a time-out for, and then sparingly. It's pretty critical to break him of this behavior however, before he actually hurts someone. So far he has succeeded mostly in scratching and scaring them.

I also found a tick on him today after we were out playing in the backyard. I have plans to look up the symptoms of all the local tick-borne diseases - Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever being the only two I can think of at the moment. If he gets a cold in the next couple months I will probably be convinced it's a serious tick disease instead.

Things are going well in general. I think he's learning some new words. We no longer have boobs at night and sleep much better as a result. The no boobs during the day project is taking longer. Punkin is generous with the hugs and the kisses. He hates it when anyone leaves the room. He definitely does naughty things to get attention, and then smiles at you crookedly to see if you figured it out. He also runs from any threat of tickles, of which there are many.

the terrible two's are a misnomer

2008-04-25T14:22:00.002-04:00

Because they definitely start around 16 months.

Toddler frustration is here hard-core. Punkin wants what he wants dammit and he will not be deterred! Of course when what he wants is something which a sharp blade, to be allowed to eat the orange peel, boobs for the millionth time, or to hit people, he is denied and becomes very unhappy. Screaming has become a regular part of our day. You'd think he'd get over it after he figured out it doesn't actually make me do what he wants. But no such luck.

Other than that, he climbed out of his crib last week and landed on his head, so it has been converted to a toddler bed. The trouble with this being that he now has absolutely no reason to stay in it whatsoever.

punkin plays soccer with mama & ben

2008-04-15T13:16:00.002-04:00

punkin's email to mama

2008-04-15T01:51:00.003-04:00

Punkin is visiting his grammy and poppy for a few days. Here is his email to mama!

Dear Mommy,

I really miss you and want to see you and please let me stay at my Grammy's for another day. I am playing and writing and drawing and have marker all over my face, hands and clothes. Grammy said you wouldn't mind if my green pants got all blue and red.

bv;x;bzdbb
She let's me eat as many cheerio's as I want and even gave me some ice cream yesterday.
She takes me outside and let's me run in the grass.....we even got to watch the birds this morning.!!

When she dropped the sifter on my head.....she even put ice on the bump...SHE IS THE GREATEST GRAMMY IN THE WORLD.

I have to go now, I gotta get ready for my disco lesson
I love you mommy and will see your real soon.
.vl;Si9f-12r asdfvv

LOVE, ELIAS cgven j

IUHU787880-HCX [;;\
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vcsvg p[j234pg[

HI[MV V

adventures!

2008-04-05T12:42:00.003-04:00

Punkin locked himself in a closet yesterday during a film showing at a community center. He walked in and shut the door, and the thing was locked from the inside. We had to go run and find the woman with the key. Luckily there was a grate in the door so we could see each other, so neither of us really flipped out. And it was a food pantry, so there wasn't anything real dangerous in there that he could get to. Still, it freaked out his mama. We're going to have to work on this doors business.

We also started sleep training last week. I'm really tired of nursing him all night long. He wakes me up at least 3 times a night, and it's just getting exhausting. My goal is that he will sleep through the night on his own by 18 months (about 5 weeks from now). He's doing pretty well. He responds OK to being in his crib as long as i'm right there next to him. I think I can keep nursing for longer as long as I don't have to do it at night. I'm starting to get this really restless antsy feeling whenever I'm woken up or stuck in the bed because I'm giving the baby a boob. It's stressful though, because he cries when I put him in the crib and I have to stay there and calm him down. I also miss him in the bed. I haven't been able to sleep very well until he's with me.

the talking continues

2008-03-21T18:21:00.002-04:00

New things punkin has said that have been more or less intelligible to some people.

1. Yummy yummy!
2. Thank you
3. Hello
4. See you later!
5. I love you!

By more or less intelligible I mean, thank you comes out as "taaannnkoooooo" and see you later is "seeeeuuuuulaaaaaaarrrrr" but you get the general idea.

punkin is sick

2008-03-08T20:48:00.002-05:00

Punkin got sick today. :-(

He threw up 3 times. The last time was a lot too. He threw up all the milk he had drank an hour before. I think it's just a tummy bug but mama is nervous. He's never been sick like this before. I want someone to fix him, dammit.

Sick baby = no good.

tales from punkinland

2008-03-05T12:09:00.004-05:00

So, just the usual here in Punkinland.
One molar has arrived and three more are on the way. This had led to a distinct decrease in sleep and increase in biting. In fact the little one has been placed in his crib at this very moment as he has been biting his mama. We are spending more time outside since it's warming up out there (yay!). I am now allowed to brush his teeth with a toothbrush as long as he is allowed to play with it before and after the brushing. We flipped his car seat to face front, which has greatly reduced the number of car-ride breakdowns. Punkin has said some new words including "good" "doggie" and "baby". When asked "how are you doing?" he will sometimes respond "goooooood!". Monday we went on a trip to Barnes & Noble and Punkin was a big fan of the escalator. We bought a couple new books and an extra copy of his favorite book, "I Love You Through and Through," because he has almost destroyed it. I'm not sure why this is his favorite book, but it has been since we got it. We have decided to move at the end of May and will be figuring out how to do it, hopefully by employing lots of volunteer labor.

QUACK!

2008-02-15T12:30:00.003-05:00

The worst thing happened today in Punkin's Kindermusik class. There is a little girl in the class who is about a year old, and she looks like a duck. She has a long, wide, curved mouth that is inescapably ducklike. Today another little girl in the class who is about 15 months old pointed at her and said "QUACK!" Her mother was confused and was like, quack? Do you see a duck? I don't see a duck. Then she saw who her daughter was pointing at, and she got real quiet. The rest of us pretended not to notice, but everyone did. It's the kind of funny-awful that you feel bad laughing about but still can't keep yourself from laughing. Her poor mother!

a future musician at work

2008-02-13T19:58:00.003-05:00

HK on J part deux, Gay Christmas

2008-02-10T12:46:00.000-05:00

Punkin attended his second HK on J march over the weekend in Raleigh and it was much more interesting than the last one for him. He got to ride in the stroller instead of the Snugli, so he got to see lots more of what was going on. He also got to run around in a park for a while on an amazingly beautiful day (65 degrees!), unlike last year when he was wearing about 4 layers and 2 hats. He also made some new friends, a 2 year old girl that he chased in circles for quite a while, and met some of mama's old friends. I think there were more people this year than last year too. At one point during the speeches, Punkin picked a piece of trash up off the ground and walked it over to a trash can! I think he just likes to put things inside other things, and he tried to feed Emma dirt 15 minutes later, but still, I'm impressed!

Punkin also went to his first queer bash, a friend's party called Gay Christmas. Here is him wearing his fabulous unicorn sweatshirt for the occasion!

punkin's new skills

2008-02-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

turns the tv on and off
plays drum with the right ends of the sticks
claps madly
gives hugs to strangers (under 3 feet tall)
draws on paper (and himself, and his mama, and his grammy)

VOTE FOR ELIAS!

2008-01-30T00:29:00.000-05:00

please take a minute and vote for elias in this online photo contest! if we get the most votes we win $2,500 and launch his modeling career! (just kidding!) mama could use the cash, and it's worth a shot! please forward to others and get them to vote for him too!

VOTE FOR ELIAS!

he is a musician

2008-01-08T01:37:00.000-05:00

So, punkin was dancing before he was walking. As in, he would crawl over to a piece of furniture, pull to a stand, and bounce up and down in time to music. Now, he is singing before he is talking. My grandma sings him a song to put him to sleep, and now he hums it along with us. Today he actually hummed the third line back at me after I hummed the first two. Combine this with a love of percussion, piano, and baby music CD's, and I think we may have a future musician on our hands.

really cute pictures!

2008-01-04T12:19:00.000-05:00

my punkin should be a baby model!

hangin with grammy & poppy

2007-12-29T01:41:00.000-05:00

We've been out of town for almost 3 weeks now on VACATION hanging out with punkin's grammy and poppy and uncle J. It's been very laid back and relaxing, which is nice. The only place I can really get a vacation is home with the parents because they can help with the baby and I can get some rest. Mostly we've been chilling. I went to a movie one night. My mama and I like to make experimental martinis, or when we know we want a good one just have J make them for us. We also made three new appetizers from a cooking magazine we found for Christmas dinner, which was exciting. I actually enjoy cooking when it's new and exciting things. We found punkin some great Christmas presents. He has a new "house," actually a doorway, with a real doorbell, a mini race track, a remote controlled car, a singing nursery rhymes toy, a Winnie the Pooh, and some new clothes including an Addidas track suit and miniature Air Force Ones courtesy of uncle J. This was technically his second Christmas, but the first one he could really participate in. I tried to get him to unwrap presents but he wasn't feeling it. Next year he'll probably like it. He really liked the little gift bows we put on some of our presents though. He's been taking them out of the bag and scattering them all over the house.

We've also been doing some traveling. We went up to DC for a couple days last week and stayed with Anne and had good Ethiopian food at a place in D.C. with some friends. Today we went up to visit the punkin's great aunt and uncle and great grandma and grandpa and our cousins. They have a 15 year old dog who is very slow and just about the speed of dog punkin can handle. He gave her lots of love.

trial separation

2007-12-18T00:45:00.000-05:00

I left the punkin with his grammy and poppy for the weekend and went to new york to visit friends. He did great and drank his bottles and ate his food and mama was not nearly as stressed out and nervous as she thought she would be leaving her baby for the first time. I had fun and spent lots of uninterrupted time in bars, coffee shops, and books. I almost didn't know what to do with myself! I drank a little bit too much margaritas. We were definitely happy to see each other when I got back. Punkin was like, "WHERE ARE THE BOOBS?!!!!" and proceeded to surgically attach himself for about 24 hours. I was darting off into bathrooms to pump every 4 hours the whole time I was there, but he appreciated my efforts. We're now back in our old groove. :-)

videos!

2007-11-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

by popular demand

Punkin's first popsicle!

Riding Uncle Allan

Fussy punkin in his Halloween costume

Musical Education

punkin's birthday party

2007-11-19T22:50:00.000-05:00

babies playing!

climbing mama

crawly tent

yummy cake!

sleepy baby

What kind of crazy person invites almost 100 people to their child's first birthday party (which is taking place outside in potentially questionable weather and has the backup location of her two-bedroom apartment)?

Despite the inherent insanity of this plan, everything went well! Mike and Mary were stellar decorators (and drove from DC! they are crazy themselves) and Grammy Robin drove a bunch of food down from Richmond, better late than never! Liz was there, and she's supposed to be in Argentina! My aunt, uncle, and cousins from D.C. brought Punkin's baby cousin Brian, who is amazing and can talk now like an adult, which as he's 2 years old was pretty exciting. People were pretty self-entertaining which was good, since I suck at entertaining. About 40 people showed up. The weather cooperated and we played outside. Four of our baby friends came and played and had fun. They all started to need a nap around the same time. It was really cute. I was ridiculously stressed and didn't take many pictures, but luckily, many other people did. And we got some really cute presents! Thank god we only got a few big things. I was afraid we'd get huge toys that would fit in our house. We got lots of books and clothes and some fun musical toys and blocks and stuff. When punkin started to get sleepy we sang happy birthday and he fell asleep about 10 minutes later.

We will do this again when he is about 5.

(Thanks to Mary for all the great pictures!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUNKIN!

2007-11-13T23:21:00.000-05:00

it starts

2007-11-10T09:46:00.000-05:00

In the last week I have found:
1) The cordless phone underneath my laundry bin
2) Punkin's left shoe in a paper bag in the food closet
3) The remote control and the cordless phone in Punkin's toy box

I think this is likely the beginning of his long and happy career in losing everything.

I was scared when we lost that shoe. I paid $50 for those shoes! I pay almost nothing for his clothes and buy diapers and wipes in bulk, and I decided, after some gentle prodding by Grammy Robin, that he should learn to walk in brand new fancy shoes that will mold to his feet instead of having his feet mold to someone else's shoes. I don't know whether this actually happens or makes any difference, but what the hell. So we paid almost $50 for shoes that surely cost about a dollar to make in a sweatshop in China.

In other news, Punkin is now taller than my dining table. I was about 2 years old my mama says, before I was as tall as this table. He is learning to run and appropriately falling down every two or three steps. He and his friend Matthew are having a love affair. The last time Matthew came over they spend 30 minutes grinning at each other and then chased each other around for an hour, knocking each other over. Tonight we went over there to hang out and they kept trying to beat each other up. There were some tumbles. They are rough. I think they should play on carpet and away from furniture.

And his BIRTHDAY!!!! is on Tuesday! I am very excited about his party, especially since it's turning into a reunion of cool people who used to live here who have moved to DC.

halloween pictures

2007-10-31T13:25:00.000-04:00