Cold Spaghetti

Will and His Socks!
Originally uploaded by hollyscheib.

Will enjoying his toes!

Will’s vocabulary, from most used (and articulate) to least:

1. Ma-ma (sometimes said non-stop for several minutes)

2. Uh-oh (also used in sequence over long periods of time)

3. Hi!

4. Da-da

5. Gato (“Ga-doh”) — as in “cat” in spanish.

6. Ah-ah-ah! (like the Count on Sesame Street)

7. Agua (“Ah-ga”) — as in “water” in spanish

8. Thank you (“ank u”) — this one is a stretch, but it’s there

Other fun sounds:

– zerbers

– raspberries

– hah-heh-heh (like heavy breathing, with him mouth wide open — he does this when he gets really happy)

– La-la-la (copying us when we sing – particularly when we sing “William’s Song”, which has many “la” sounds)

Story as told by Granna (Mom handed off Will at 7:30am after 2 hours of wrestling with a squirmy Will and went back to bed.)

Sesame Street came on the television this morning at breakfast. During the opening song of the show (“Sunny days…”) the Count comes past the screen and says “ah-ah-ah!” As if on queue, Will pops out his binky and parrots back, “ah-ah-ah!”

So precious that I almost wish I had been awake for it.

We may have an entry for America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Paul and Will making silly faces to each other back and forth. Specifically, Paul placing his finger sideways in front of his lips and making his finger go up and down while making a humming sound… we’ve all done it, yet I have no idea what it is called. Paul does this to Will, Will tries to do it back. Paul reaches out his hand to Will’s lips, and Will provides the sound as Paul provides the finger movement. And they go back and forth like this for several minutes. So very hard to explain in writing, yet so very easy to explain by demonstrating!! Anyway, it’s hysterical. Thank goodness for the joy of being able to capture these moments on video!

Will celebrated his first birthday again with Granna and PapPap Scheib (and Paul and I) last night here in Mobile. Will was showered in gifts and is enjoying his “incredi-block” — a big cube that plays music and allows for a thousand ways to play with ‘peek-a-blocks’ — he fires up the music and uses the block as support to dance, dance, dance! Other gifts included large wooden puzzle shapes (Will likes to crawl around with the “circle”), a frog puppet that will “ribbet” out Old MacDonald and three other songs (WAY cool) and a little tool chest.

He is having a blast here and is still amazing us with his lasting power in the spa tub. This baby is swimming before he is walking!

This year, we gave thanks in Granna and PapPap’s home in Mobile in the traditional way: stuffing, potatoes, Randy’s famous mushroom gravy, and lots of veggies.

It may have looked like a Thanksgiving Day celebration, but for Will’s parents, this day will always be celebrated as:

Will’s First Poop Day!

Last year, on Thanksgiving Day, Will (a mere 6 days old) had the bowel movement we (and most of the pediatric staff in the UM Mott hospital) were waiting 2 days for! The bowel movement let us know that Will was safely working the excess bilirubin out of his bloodstream and was safe to go HOME*. It was a relief for us, being in the hospital seriously sucked. So, we decided that the day held extra special meaning in our lives as Will’s First Poop Day! The day we REALLY got to start being a family! So, this is our special holiday.

Happy Will’s First Poop Day!

*The basic technical details: Will was jaundice after birth, a very common problem shared by the majority of newborns. His was aggravated both by his having a poor latch (a breastfeeding issue) that meant he wasn’t getting a whole lot to eat just yet. Another issue was that the two of us had different RH blood factors. I am RH negative (my blood type is AB-, which means my blood does not have that particular protein). Paul’s blood is RH positive. Which means that Will and I had a blood incompatibility issue: I had injections during pregnancy to keep my body from developing antibodies and all was fine on that end. However, after birth, it was up to Will’s little liver to process all the blood in his tiny body — a big task! The build up of the excess bilirubin is what caused the jaundice. His output (poop) was our signal that his body was working to process everything normally.

This was too special and fun to not have archived here. An email from Raja and Chiya Sahota, dear friends of ours in New Delhi, India:

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Originally uploaded by hollyscheib.

Will pointing out all the fun things to see…

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Originally uploaded by hollyscheib.

Hanging out in the Zoo…

Somehow, Will slipped his hand under the high chair tray just as I was slipping it into place. It took a few seconds for his “ouch” to set in: I had already turned away to get his cheerios before the crying started. I turned and noticed then that his hand was somehow under the tray. I quickly moved the tray — to see his tiny little right hand ring finger-fingernail all white (smashed between the snap top tray and bottom base!!) I freaked. Paul took a look and in his most supportive manner said, “It’s okay… he’ll probably have a blood blister or at least lose his nail.” I freaked even more. How could I not have noticed his hand?!

I quickly picked up my crying child and felt his little body shake, with him holding out his hand all limp as if it was paralyzed by the hurt. I carried him around, calmed him down, and decided to try to give him a little food. One bite of sesame tofu — and suddenly, he was fine. Within seconds, he was fine. Within a minute, it was like it never happened! How could something that turns into such a non-event have been such a freak-out session for me?!

I need to learn to bounce back as quickly as my kid!