Rapid Heartbeat

With all the talk of Lisa and PC planning their last year of Asian travel, my Dad emailing me their travel plans for the year (including what looks to be an amazing trip to China and the fact that they are currently kicked back on a Mexican beach somewhere), and then me going through and trying to reorganize our photos from the last three years, I realized the prospect of a vacation somewhere foreign and/or exotic makes my heart thump faster. I think this might be how a caged animal feels. We have a summer trip in our heads, but I'm not sure how it's going to pan out and if it doesn't work out for some reason, look out world! This girl needs some excitement.

Jeff, however, is full-up in the excitement category since he had his first F-22 flight this morning. I actually loaded up Wyatt so we could take pictures (kind of like the first day of kindegarten for Jeffy, right?) and we made it over to the other side of base in time and everything. I could see the jets running in the flow-throughs but I couldn't figure out where to go to have any chance of a picture (Kadena was SO much easier for these endeavors!). So I drove and drove, finally finding a parking lot that actually bordered the flightline. Just as I was feeling victorious - FOOOOM! - Raptor #1 shoots by. I frantically put the car in park, grabbed the camera and only had time to angle the lens up before hearing FOOOOM! - Raptor #2, i.e. my sweetheart - darting into the morning sky. Needless to say, I didn't get the shot. I was seriously disappointed but decided I need to get over it since this is (hopefully) just the first day of the rest of his flying life. That makes my heart beat a little faster, too.

Proof

In case I wasn't descriptive enough about the clientele at our local Wal*Mart (p.s. when did they change the dash to a star? or has it always been a star?)...

Me: blah, blah, blah (chattering away about nothing)
Laurie: ha ha ha! (because I'm funny)
Random Older Woman (to Laurie): excuse me, could you please show me a hairbrush that's good for long hair? (sidenote: we're not actually in the hairbrush aisle)
Laurie: oh, sure! (because she's nothing if not overly nice) Are you just looking for a basic brush or something more for drying...
R.O.W.: well, yes, just a basic brush.
Laurie: okay, well this is just like the one I use (picking out a nice, basic paddle brush)
R.O.W.: oh, mm hmm, do you think there's one that's a little smaller? (pause) It's for someone in prison.

Need I say more?

Keeping it Interesting

Just when things were getting stale, I manage to get yet another horrible highlight. How is this happening? I took pictures, I was descriptive, I felt he repeated back to me everything I said...but then went ahead and did his own thing. Thanks, James, for the overly blonded chunk right at the front. That's pretty natural looking. And how did, "I don't need it to be any lighter" translate to "oh holy hell, that's some freaking blond hair?!" ARRRGH!

And then, just because maybe God thought I needed a little brevity for my trip home, we passed a guy wearing a backpack and riding a unicycle on Highway 98. In the rain.

I'd hate for things to get too dull!

Noteworthy at Nineteen Months

I've waited a mere 18.75 months but it has finally happened: Wyatt now calls me mama. Most of the time, anyway. He will pick me out of pictures "mama!", and point to me "mama!", and come up to me, pat my shoulder or touch my face and say, "mama". It's not as exciting as I thought it would be, but it is quite rewarding.

He also must be allowed to buckle any buckle around. Preferably over and over. Highchair strap, carseat strap, backpack strap, stroller strap - you name it and if it has a plastic buckle, he's all over it.

We might be attempting potty-training sooner than later. It would seem all the signs point to him being close to ready. I will appreciate any positive suggestions you have. I don't need to hear the negative ones, thankyouverymuch.

Being a true Rock, my son loves the Red Bar. Three times we've gone, three times he's been waaayyy better than we expected, including this weekend when we lingered at our table until 8:30 and he was still in good spirits.

He attempts to repeat all kinds of big words these days, which is hilarious to me. Recent entries include applesauce and ottoman, both of which were remarkably clear.

He will sit on his plasma car and wiggle the handlebars to start going. It throws him off balance a touch, so he doesn't go too far, but it's still fairly amazing to me that he gets it.

He loves to tell us no-no as he's doing naughty things. I know that's a rite of passage and that all your kids did that too, but please humor me because now it's my kid doing it (and also? this is pretty much his baby book).

He still refuses to eat meat of any form unless we completely mask it with something else. Even then he's very adept at extricating it.

He will announce every puddle, stream, bay, ocean or lake with the same enthusiastic "wa wa!" and expects you to be equally excited. Please play along.

Airplanes still hold his rapt attention, trucks and diggers are definitely on his radar more than they used to be.

He now motions for me to sit next to him on the floor, or for him to sit next to me in a chair. He's quite insistent and usually gets the request fulfilled!

He has been heard to utter "dankoo" (thank you) unprompted and at appropriate times. Perhaps we are doing something right after all!

Best Friends

Elmo must give everyone warm fuzzies. I put Wyatt down for his nap and returned to find this:

Bravo, Bravo

Thanks for another great season of Project Runway, Bravo. Anyone else think Christian's going to win the whole thing? And is anyone else annoyed by Victorya? I keep waiting for her to do something stupid but I'm afraid she might be around for a while.

Some Things Change

And some things don't. Wyatt had his 18-month well-baby today and (drumroll please) he's still small.

We arrived right on time, only to find out that we needed to go back out to the front and get a card of non-eligibility. Huh? Basically I had to fill out a form saying we don't have any other insurance. I need a special card for that? I kind of thought my honest face and words would be enough. Guess not. Whose bright idea was it to generate extra paperwork, staff an extra position and spend money on little plastic cards? Need I mention that the gyms don't have towels due to budget constraints? Good planning Mr. Air Force Smarty Pants!

So anyway, we got back to peds and had to fill out some forms with basic yes/no questions, basic milestone questions (one of which was "can your child stack four blocks?" I didn't answer because I don't know. I mean, I think he's physically able, it just rarely happens before he decides to swing his arm through the tower in hopes of seeing said blocks fly across the room) and some standard release of information statements. Then the tech called us back to get Wyatt's height and weight. This is the first time they have had him stand on a scale and apparently that, plus the fact that Wyatt decreed today to be Bad Mood Wednesday, caused great trauma for my son. Screaming commenced. Then we were lead back to an exam room and you know what? The table was a lion! Just goes to show they don't get all the fancy stuff in Japan because there the table was just a table. Screaming continued. Then the tech left and I was working to get Wyatt calmed down when the tech popped back into the room.

Tech: Would it be okay if I grabbed a weight on him again? (motioning to the scale) I started plotting it and it looks like he's really...
Me: Small? It's because he is but we can weigh him again.
Wyatt: SCREAM!
Tech: oh, yeah, same weight. Okay, thanks. The doctor will be in soon.
Wyatt: SCREAM!
Me: Want some o's?
Wyatt: SCREAM (reaching for bag)
Wyatt: chomp chomp chomp (smiling for the first time in hours. Okay, minutes, but they felt like hours)
Doctor arrives.
Dr.: You must be Wyatt! Hello. (friendly smile)
Wyatt: SCREAM!
Dr: Okay, well, has he always been...
Me: Small? Yes. He likes to support the 2nd and 3rd percentile. I have a copy of his records if you'd like to look at them since ours haven't arrived yet. (sidenote: we left Japan two months ago. Our eight thousand pounds of furniture have arrived in Virginia. How can it be that a manila folder of records still hasn't made it?)
Dr.: (flipping through chart) Where is his growth chart...oh, here it is. Great! He's right on track!

And then you know what happened? She moved on. She didn't dwell, she didn't interrogate me about how much or what he eats, she didn't suggest there was anything wrong with my child at all. When she asked if I had concerns, I said that of course we'd love for him to shoot up the charts and she laughed and said, "well, that's not going to happen". But she didn't say it in mean or pessimistic way. Rather it was as if she said, "that's not who he is. He's fine just being Wyatt." And of course she's right.

Being Bad Mood Wednesday and all, Wyatt screamed through the entire exam. It was the kind of crying that sounds as though he's truly hurt, the kind of crying that turns into whole-body sobs and gives a kid hiccups. So you can imagine how well it went at immunizations (two shots from Miss Dorothy who obviously sees no need for speed in these situations) and at the lab where they pricked his finger to get a vial of blood. We had a splendid afternoon at the clinic. I'm sure the clinic had a splendid afternoon with us, too!

But you know what? Wyatt's moods change on a dime, so with help from a dinosaur bandage, some almost-skipping while holding my hand and the sight of a whole bunch of wa-wa outside (rainy days do make some people happy, apparently), he was laughing by the time we got in the car. I love my sweet little boy!

Got That?

Wyatt and I were at the vets office for almost two hours the other day (fun! two hours! of waiting with Wyatt and Millie! and we got to leave with five new medicines for Millie! and with $150 missing from our bank account! You should come with next time - it's such a great time!) and we spent part of that time chatting with another client/person waiting in purgatory. After about an hour, the topic of Japan arose and she asked if Wyatt spoke any Japanese. I kind of laughed and said no, that I wished I'd learned more, blah, blah, blah. About that time, Wyatt said something and she looked at me, straightfaced, to say, "are you sure that isn't Japanese?" Good point, nice lady. Good point. Why would she think that? His language is clear as day. See?


Wyattspeak from Stephanie Rock on Vimeo.

I Found My People!

We have just returned from our first MOPS meeting and there is some bad news to report: it's every other week, not every week. Looks like I'll have to be a seven morning mom after all (but only every other week). There were lots of nice people; it seems to be largely military but from all branches (one of my tablemates is a Coast Guard wife. I believe that is my first official Coast Guard encounter and I, of course, had to mention that we recently watched The Guardian and she said her former neighbor has a small speaking role in it. I almost know famous people!) Wyatt did his standard monkey impersoniation when I dropped him off - you know, the one where he clings and climbs me so that I don't even have to keep my hands on him yet he's still, somehow, in my arms - and cried, but then they told me he was fine the whole time. I don't know, I thought he looked as though he'd been crying fairly recently but it was hard to judge since he started bawling at the sight of me. That, by the way, is a lovely greeting. Waaaahhhhh! No mama, no smile, nothing pleasant. Just wailing and more clinging. But he was all smiles and chatter on the way home, so I'm confident he's not traumatized.

This session is about the home and it's been broken down room by room, I guess with creative and helpful ways to make your home more pleasant. And since MOPS is a Christian organization, there is an attempt to bring it back to God. It's a nice attempt, but I'm not really sure it's working for them. Although today's lesson talked about using the creativity given by God to make our homes a welcoming place for others, just like God wants us to always feel welcome and it immediately made me think of my friend, Kari. Her house was always so serene and comfortable. Maybe she's figured out the whole God/house connection (knowing her, this is no surprise) and if that's the deal, she should be in one of these MOPS dvd's. The lady today was making the effort, but we were all so distracted by her use of BOLD FLORAL WALLPAPER in the kitchen and her BOLD FLORAL CURTAINS in the living room and her UGLY, BIG SHELVES in the master bedroom and her the-basement-drywall-was-damaged-so-we-mixed-straw-from-a-bale-of-hay-with-some-drywall-compound-and-spackled-it-on-there-so-now-it's-ALL-bumpy-and-strawy technique that I think the message got a little sidetracked. And she had two big Jayhawks in her house - one on the refrigerator and one in her son's room - so then I was distracted looking for some indication of where they live. (sidenote: I saw a woman in the parking lot with a K-State license plate and had to wonder if she noticed the Jayhawks, too.) I was so relieved that no one else thought the dvd was particularly helpful, either. We were all equally appalled at the suggestion of wallpaper, so I think these might be my new best friends.

The food was good and the conversation was fun and we played Pictionary, too. Plus (yes, it gets even better!) there's a MOPS special day thingy coming up at a local spa and I snagged a spot from someone who can no longer go. Sorry, Summer, that you have another more altruistic commitment, but thanks for the massage and mani appointment! In short, I had a very academic morning and am starting to feel like the next few months will be better than anticipated.

To Be Fair

It's not all doom and gloom (and when I re-read that P.S. from the last post, it's a little grumpy sounding, no?). I've been feeling a little out of sorts because I'm used to having best friends next door, a close-knit group of friends who live less than 10 minutes away, a great yard for playing*, Dunkin Donuts within walking distance, a clean-feeling house* and a fairly busy calendar. It's not quite that way here...yet. But things are looking up! I have a lunch date tomorrow and Wyatt and I are starting MOPS on Thursday. I can only imagine MOPS will be perfect since it's two and a half hours of Wyatt playing with other kids while I hang with other moms. Plus Millie & Wyatt both go to the doctor next week (appointments! For my calendar!) and I have my first squadron coffee to attend. Woo hoo! Simple pleasures.

*these two frustrations don't look to change anytime soon. Grass doesn't grow on sand and dark green rental carpet will never feel clean. But won't my new house feel shiny as a new penny come March?!

Dear Stranger,

I met you today at WalMart; I was the one searching for baby sunscreen and you were the one circling the display. I noticed you kind of laughing as my son reached for the endcap and attempted to knock down all the Coppertone. You see, I was distracted while reading the ingredients statements. I mean, is Baby Coppertone the same as Baby Banana Boat? And what about Baby Aveeno? You can see how it would be difficult and all-consuming to compare oxycilisalitenzone* to octobenzinoniton*, right? And doesn't anyone make sunscreen without chemicals I can't pronounce?

Anyway, it kind of startled me when you asked me if that was all the sunscreen or had I maybe seen some somewhere else in the store. For one thing, can't you look at me and tell I'm not a local? Please tell me I didn't quite blend in with that crowd. And also, I was startled because when I looked at you, I wouldn't have pegged you for a sunscreen aficionado given your leathery face and dark tone. So I was momentarily perplexed. At the same time, I was trying to calculate your age - I'd guess late 20s? Which is sad, because your skin looks more like my Grandma's and she's 86 (though she's very careful about the sun, which is more than I can say for you). Indeed, I was confused about your query. But then you cleared it right up when you quickly added, "I need something for the tanning bed!"

Thanks for ending my confusion.

-Stephanie

*or something like that

P.S. Dear Readers, Let it be known that I don't fit in down here (and by down here, I mean this close to the base). I don't tan, I don't smoke, I don't chew, I'm not carrying at least 40 extra pounds on my frame and I don't regularly use "ain't" or any other double negatives in a sentence. I think might be having some relocation adjustment issues. If you notice me starting to fall into any of the above patterns, please stage an intervention. Immediately.

DUDE.

The Jayhawks just won the Orange Bowl!

Far above the golden valley, glorious to view

Stands our noble alma mater towering toward the blue.

Lift the chorus, ever onward Crimson and the Blue

Hail to thee our alma mater, Hail to old KU!

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, KU!

Backblog

So, let's see. Christmas was good. Really fun, actually, with just a touch of crazy. Some examples: (L to R: Millie, Maggie, Dottie, Molly)

It only took us about 15 minutes to get all the dogs to stay in the same spot at the same time. However, if you take the one bone they all want, you too can be the dog whisperer.

While it wasn't snowy, Christmas at the beach is always white. Of course there has to be a little sledding, beach-style (older cousins are a very exciting influence) and general quality family time.

There was a lot of spoiling of young Wyatt on Christmas morning. He took to the role quite nicely and got a wee bit demanding. Please see the photographic evidence of his need to have his new toys now.

But it wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to Santa. This, we decided, was Santa's brother - he was good! Sadly, Wyatt didn't seem as impressed as the rest of us.

And lastly, it's important to note that even though the days were hectic, loud and somewhat disorganized, no children were harmed (despite potential evidence to the contrary) during the 2007 holiday season.

Breaking the Seal

I'm alive, we're all alive. I've gotten a couple emails (ahem, Lisa, Kristen) suggesting perhaps I'm neglecting the blog. I don't disagree. There's a blog clog of sorts. It actually resides in my time management (mis-management?) issues. Sorry about that. And actually, I also blame it on what I'm convinced is bad feng shui in our current housing situation.

Anyhoo, I have lots to tell you about nothing and also about my awesome kid, but right now I'm kind of neglecting his morning playtime so it'll have to wait. But to those of you that blog - keep at it! I'm reading and enjoying. To those of you that don't...how about if you start one? That'd be great.

And lastly, to those of you who received an email titled "Vote Me" which contained a link and some horrible grammar, obviously that wasn't written by me (thank you to A. Sharon, Roger and Steph who all figured that out and wrote to let me know they didn't think my writing had slipped that much, even with all the non-blogging). It's apparently a virus, which Norton has now killed (so he tells me) and I feel like the mom who brought a kid with chicken pox to a birthday party. Sorry for the potential infection. We'll try to run a cleaner shop around here in the new year.

Better posts very soon (especially since I just found a Sharpie in Wyatt's hands).