Changing Baby

Once upon a time I loved to do absolutely everything for my Little P. I loved to be the one to feed him, bathe him, clothe him, play with him, teach him, and even diaper him. I still dearly love all of those things except...
This is how diapering goes now-days:
Mommy: Daddy, Paul stinks.
Daddy: My turn? It was just my turn!
Mommy: Uncle James!
Uncle James: No way, man.
Daddy: Fine, I'll do it.
Mommy: Good, we'll help.
I give Little P to Daddy, and then all four of us go into the bedroom for the diapering. James fetches the diaper and wipes, Mommy fetches some exotic item Paul has never seen before in an attempt to distract the kid for five minutes, and Daddy starts the process.
After five to seven minutes of screaming, wiggling, laughing, wiggling, crying, wiggling and an extra bit of squirming thrown in at the end, the three of us have successfully changed a 16month old baby. Phew, what a workout!!!
Do all kids do this? Why do they hate having clean diapers put on after they are screaming for icky diapers to come off? He does not understand that he will feel better very soon, and all the faster if he would just be still!
What method do you use to diaper your babies? Is it an all out war? Or does your Little One want to get it over with as much as you do?

My Other Babies

In addition to Little P, Sydney, Tia and my garden, I have more babies I have not yet introduced. My fish and tadpoles have yet to acquire a space on PBandJ, but today is their day! They do not have names, aside from Little Fishes and Little Frogs, but they are my pets just the same, and today I cleaned out their tank for the first time in several months (they have been quite neglected since we moved to our new house). We have four fish and two frogs, and now that we can actually see through the algae encrusted on the plastic walls of their water-filled world, we can acknowledge and enjoy their presence.
Daddy feels that fish are a waste of space and have no place in a busy household, but I feel just the opposite. I think fish and their quiet, graceful world can relieve stress and provide hours, or at least several minutes, of enjoyment and perhaps lull me (or preferably Little P) into a trance-like state. I love to watch them eat their flakes and chase each other, but I especially love to watch them hang out. It must be a great life to be a fish. Sure, the world is limited to five gallons, but the temperature is fine, there is food every day and one does not have to worry about going to work, paying bills or being eaten by predators (in this particular situation). Ah, to be a fish. Actually I think I would rather be a frog, as they have arms and legs, which have got to be really handy, even in Water World.
Anyway, just thought this was a good day to recognize Little Fishes and Little Frogs.

Big Boy

Oh yes, I almost forgot, here is Little P trying to be a big boy. He demanded to eat at the table like a big kid today... sniff, sniff, they grow up so fast!

Our Play Group

As you know, a few months ago I started Auburn Mommies and Babies so that Paul and I could make some friends in our town. At first it was not so great, and not many of our members showed up to events. I get very frustrated by flakey people, and was not happy when moms RSVP'd yes, then did not show up. I was going to just give up on the whole thing, but Daddy told me to stick with it for a little bit, so I did and it has been great lately.
The thing about these play groups is that you need to have lots of members. If you want two or three moms and babies to show up, you need to have about 15 members total. That is not too bad, since you really do not have to manage anything, but you also do not really get to know people unless they come to lots of meetings. If you want them to come to lots of meeting, you have to have lots of meetings. It takes a lot of time and energy to put these meetings together, host them, and clean up after them, but it is all worth it in my book if Paul has a great time and takes a nap after!
Auburn Mommies and Babies is a great group. We have some really nice moms and the kids are all right around Paul's age, so they are all learning and sharing together. I want Paul to be around other kids so he can learn to share and also learn that the world does not revolve around him (his mommy's world does, of course, just not the rest of the world). Since it does not look like we are having any more babies right now, Little P needs some sort of social interaction.
So when the "babies" come over P knows to go get his toys out and he knows that the other kids get to pick first. He is handling this bit of stress much better than he used to, and no longer gives dirty looks when other kids touch his favorite toys. He even goes so far as to hand someone a toy if they ask for it. I am very happy with this behavior, but have been told it will not last. What's up with that? Do kids learn how to share, just to suddenly forget a year later? I hope not. I think if we are consistent he will not forget.
The best part of this group? Paul usually takes a nap after!!! This child NEVER sleeps when we have our days together. He always takes a nap at gram and gramp's house, but when he is home with mommy he thinks he is going to miss something awesome, so he fights with all his might to stay awake. However, if we have a playday he will usually fall asleep shortly after everyone leaves. Sharing takes a lot out of a kid!

Mystery Monday #2

It is time again for Mystery Monday, brought to you by Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
A glass jar holds a single germ. After one minute, the germ splits into two germs. One minute after that the two germs each split again, forming a total of four germs. Continuing at this rate, a single germ can multiply to fill a whole jar in exactly one hour. Knowing this, how long in minutes would it take to fill the jar if you had started with two germs?

The Wrong Side of the Bed

The weather has been absolutely horrendous!!! I love summer, but it is a little early for 100 degree heat. Last summer was relatively mild; although we had our share of record-breaking heat, it was at least a happy spring. Paul was only six months old, and for the most part stayed inside out of the heat. This year he desires nothing more than to spend his entire life outdoors, but is not used to and does not care for the heat. So he begs to play in the water, and mommy obliges. Today mommy played in the water, too, as it was about forty million degrees outside, and we had a rough day.
I guess Paul and I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed...
First, we were supposed to get up and go to a great yard sale, as it was supposed to have some really great house stuff, which we need. Instead we dealt with a slightly grumpy baby until 11am when we went to church for Mass and dealt with a complete meltdown in the cry room. This was a First Communion Mass that we were invited to by some dear friends of ours, so Daddy participated in Mass and mommy and baby hung out outside in the parking lot.
After that I decided we were going to go to Elk Grove to pick up this super cute race car bed for Paul, but Daddy objected so mommy threw a fit and we just went home. Daddy and I never argue, and we did not really argue this time, but I guess Daddy won, because we do not have a really cute race car bed.
Daddy wanted to go to the Auburn Home Show (so we could look at lots of things and he could complain about how we could not afford any of it) so we went into the forty million degree heat with a grumpy baby and a grumpy mommy and looked at all the things we could not afford for our house, and then we went home.
The best part of the day was when Paul and I decided to go for a swim. We filled up the little pool and splashed for about 1/2 an hour before coming in and going to sleep. Well, Little grumpy P went to sleep, and I am on my way there!

Paul's First Pool Party

It has been HOT today. It is currently 88 degrees outside, but it is overcast and it feels much hotter than that. We went to the park this afternoon, but it was too hot to play on the slides and equipment, so uncle James and I got Little P a swimming pool on the way home from the park. It is just a little plastic wading pool, but it is just right for a Peanut. Paul loves water and will play in any standing water... toilet, dog water, mud puddle, bath tub, etc. With that in mind, I knew he would love this pool. He did. Here is Paul's first day of summer fun!

In Daddy's Shoes

I wonder if babies remember their dreams. The reason I wonder is because if they do, Little P must have been dreaming about shoes last night. One of the first things P did this morning when he woke up was run in the kitchen and put on Daddy's shoes and walk around in them. P has always been obsessed with shoes and has played with and chewed on various shoes since he was able to scoot, roll or walk his baby body over to some. In the last month he has pretty much been ignoring shoes and finding other, cleaner obsessions. This morning it was like a light bulb went off in his head: "Oh YEAH!!! I forgot! Shoes are AWESOME!"
So he decided for about 15 minutes this morning that shoes were a fun addition to various baby actions: walking around in, throwing in the trash, washing in the dog water, and pushing in the baby shopping cart. All before dropping everything, running to his high chair, pushing it into the kitchen and yelling "EAT!!!" What a lovely day it is going to be.

A Riddle for Cyndi

My loyal readers (all 1 of you) have asked for another riddle for this evening, since last night's was too easy. So, brought to you by Curious Village:
A boy and his sister are sitting around the kitchen table chatting. "You know Sis, if I took two years away from my age and gave them to you, you'd be twice my age!" "Well, why don't you just give me one more on top of that? Then I'll be three times your age."
So, just how old is each sibling?
Enjoy!!!

Mystery Monday

OK, I know this blog is supposed to be mostly about my Little P, but I have to tell you that the game I got for Mother's Day is super fun and I just wanted to share some of the great puzzles with you. From now until I get tired of doing it, Monday will be henceforth known as "Mystery Monday". I am going to post different puzzles from my game and you can figure them out and post your answers in the comments section, or just keep it to yourself, but feel free to share!
All riddles will be brought to you by "Professor Layton and the Curious Village".
Here is Mystery Monday number one:
Mice are famous for their ability to multiply at breakneck speeds. The type of mouse we have here gives birth one a month, birthing 12 babies each time. Baby mice mature and can give birth two months after they are born. You picked up one of these darling baby mice at the pet shop and brought it home the day after it was born. In 10 months from now, how many mice will you have?
Have fun!