Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 0 No. 61

2005-01-04 22:50 (Kristen) Jamie was very restless last night, and was up earlier than usual this morning. His teeth would likely be the cause, but it made for a long night for everyone. I was very bleary when he got me up at 9:00 (after fighting consciousness since before 8:00), and was happy to deposit him in front of the Tubbies while I made breakfast and coffee. I managed to get some food into him while he roamed the house, and was happy to take him over to Michelle's for lunch.

He played happily, if somewhat imperiously, with everyone while I ate, and ate a small amount of tofu himself. He was happy to go for a walk with his dad while I worked, and fell asleep almost instantly. However, he woke up after less than an hour while John was getting a tea at the Second Cup, and that was that. Tami and Michelle very kindly babysat Jamie while I worked and John went to see Dr. Ling. Apparently, Jamie made Michelle play every online Elmo game at the sesame Street website. We owe her.

I picked up Jamie at Tom and Michelle's around 5:00, and stayed on to make dinner with John for the usual Tuesday night feasting. Jamie was very tired, but we managed to get more food into him. Tom actually was the most successful of us all, and says that Jamie ate an entire half salmon steak by himself. This was in addition to some spinach and okra. Wow. He dragged Tom, me, and John downstairs where all the good toys are, and made Tom his personal slave for a good part of the night. His teeth were definitely a problem this evening, and he was grateful to Tom for supplying an unending stream of ice cream spoonfuls to keep his gums nice and cool.

We dragged it out until 9:00, when we came home for his bath. He was having great difficulty staying awake, but did so long enough to enjoy his bath and then go to sleep more quietly than he has in week (almost no crazed weasel behaviour when diaper was being applied). The one fly in the ointment was that his sleeper didn't fit, and neither did the one that I went to grab quickly to replace it while Jamie cried his disappointment that his nurse hadn't arrived yet. The boy has grown lengthwise again, and I have to start sorting through his clothes to find the ones that will fit, and pack away the ones that don't. Sigh.

2005-01-05 23:55 (Kristen) Jamie slept in today...really slept in. He finally cracked his eyes open around 10:00, but insisted on staying in bed, nursing, until close to 10:30. Now that he knows the sign for "nurse," he really uses it. I need to look up some more signs, because it's just so great to know what he wants and what he's thinking. He's been nursing a great deal lately, and not eating as much solid food, which I am attributing to his teeth hurting him.

I managed to get a little toast and yoghurt into him for breakfast, and then we went out to the library. No Tubbies this morning! He enjoyed the walk for the most part, but started asking for 'ummamma' (food) so we went home. I tried to feed him some rice with cauliflower and cheese, which he liked initially and then spat out. When he decides that he has had enough of a food item, or that his mouth is too full, he opens up his mouth and pushes the unwanted food out with his tongue, so that it falls on the floor, onto his clothes, etc. Somtimes, he'll assist it with a finger, but at least he doesn't fling it (yet). I'm really trying to get him to stop it. (John: I'm probably working at cross-purposes to Kristen, because having had to deal with too many choking children, I always praise Jamie when he spits something out of his mouth.) Because he woke up so late, and had already had a walk, I decided that I would try to get him to sleep in bed for his afternoon nap. He slept for an hour before waking up, and although I nursed him, he was definitely up after about an hour and twenty minutes. Sigh. He snacked on rice crackers and grapes, watched Tubbies, and was otherwise copacetic until we left for the Scrabble club.

He didn't sleep in the car up, and ate a good deal. We picked up sushi from Ichiriki (no one wanted to cook tonight: John had another dental appointment, is almost finished his antibiotics, and is regaining use of his right shoulder, and I was just plain bagged), and Jamie inhaled a whole avocado roll, along with some cucumber roll and miso soup. He seems to disdain food except on the go through most of the day, and then has large dinners. Your guess is as good as mine for the reason. He enjoyed running around the community centre, playing with the foozball* table, watching people play pool, and making me send little pucks up and down a narrow wooden board (like a cross between shuffleboard and crokinole). We stayed longer than usual at the club, which donated all its proceeds tonight to tsunami relief (yay Club #3!), and headed home close to 11:00. Jamie was out like a light, and we managed to get him from the car, out of his snowsuit and overalls, and into bed without waking him up. I feel like I should buy a lottery ticket now.

2005-01-06 24:45 (John) Jamie is slowly learning to negotiate. He's recognized over the past few weeks that other people can have other plans and ideas, which are wrong when they disagree with his own. He's developing tactics for dealing with conflicts: so far, he has "ask nicely" and "yell insistently" down pat.

We had a good breakfast this morning, when I had a craving for curry and defrosted a container of chickpea masala. Yum, and not all that messy except or when Jamie wanted to feed himself. Kristen took Jamie over to Browning for lunch, then out for a walk to start his nap, which lasted a good long time, long enough for us to deal with a few centimetres of snow (my shoulder is okay sweeping, but K had to do all the shovelling) and then get a fair amount of work done.

I took Jamie over to Browning for dinner a little early, so that Kristen could keep working. I should say I tried to, but in fact we met Gary coming home on our way out, and since Jamie hadn't seen him for a few days (Gary hadn't been feeling well), Jamie stuck to him like glue for pretty much the rest of the evening. Kristen and I have settled comfortably into our parental role as "people who are more or less always there, and good for entertainment as long as there's no one else around".

Jamie will be in Kristen's hands for much of tomorrow, as I have a big dentist's appointment in the morning, and the rest of my day (and weekend) depend on how that appointment goes and how high a dosage of painkillers I take afterward.

2005-01-07 22:22 (Kristen) John was out of the house for most of the morning, getting a tooth extracted. It was a slow morning for Jamie and me, as I had gone to sleep quite late the night before, working. He ate a little of this and a little of that, but really only wanted to eat toast, like the Teletubbies (who eat a great deal of Tubbie toast: they also eat Tubby custard, which looks like raspberry yoghurt. Maybe I could use that as a selling point?). But I digress. We played with his trains, which had been packed up yesterday when Trifina was cleaning. He is really fond of his trains, and was much happier when he was able to destroy track and run trains around. We went to eat lunch at Browning, and it took both me and Tami to feed Jamie, who was just not interested in concentrating on eating. Teeth? Maybe. However, by alternating different foods (toast with hummus, chicken rice, apples, sembei*, and lots of apple juice), we got a decent lunch into him.

We took Daniel and Ross to school, and walked with Ken down to the Danforth. Jamie and I went in search of curry for John, and Ken went off to run errands. It took Jamie until we reached Sun Valley to fall asleep, and stayed asleep while I ran into the Second Cup for a much-needed coffee. I met Ken, and sat with him for a bit, then walked with him back to Browning, when Tami had kindly offered to babysit while I got some editing work done.

Tami was glad to keep him until I went to collect him at 4:30, and I am sure that the fact that Jamie ran up to her and hugged her legs didn't hurt. He is a very affectionate boy. John was home from the dentist by this time, and needed time to nap and recover, so I took my editing materials over to Browning and worked there for a bit while Jamie played with Daniel and Ross (and their toys). An hour stretched into hours, and I chatted with Michelle long enough, and played with Jamie there long enough, that it was time for dinner. The funny thing that Jamie did was try to use a Fisher-Price garage with a ramp as a slide. We have a Toys'R'Us gift certificate, and I think that we'll be investing in a Little Tikes plastic slide very soon...before the garage collapses!

Michelle and I kept Jamie full of chicken and tofu until dinner arrived, and John came over to keep us company. Jamie had only slept for an hour this afternoon, and so he was a very tired little boy by this time. He gamely managed to hold on until around 9:00, alternately dragging John and Tom downstairs to play and making Michelle and me play endless rounds of games on the Sesame Street website, until we went home. I gave him his bath tonight (open bar!), and he fell asleep very quickly, with little fuss.

(John) I was impressed with Jamie's speed and focus climbing the stairs on when we got home tonight. Just a few weeks ago, it was a nerve-wracking precipitous totter up interrupted by many a distraction, tonight it was a quick scamper.

2005-01-08 23:56 (Kristen) We went out as a family to the St. Lawrence Market today, as John wasn't up to going by himself. We forgot the stroller, however, so shopping was a bit of a workout. Jamie amused himself by walking along the street holding my hand or John's, and a number of people thought that he looked pretty cute. John said "He still has it!" A few of the vendors that we see regularly were commenting on how steady he is walking, and how big he's getting. "He isn't a baby anymore!" exclaimed one person, and part of me sobbed, "Yes! and part of me pumped the air with my fist and cried "Yes!" The inner life of mothers.

Jamie exhausted himself running about the Market, and rode on John's shoulders back to the car. John's pretty careful, and hangs onto Jamie's legs and not his boots/shoes. Lucky thing that, as Jamie (for the first time) fell backwards, and John had to bend over forward in order for him to get upright again. He was yelling in outrage, not in pain or fear, but we think that he'll be more careful about staring up at the sky when on Dad's shoulders from now on.

He slept in the car for about two hours while John did some grocery shopping at Loblaws and Sanko, and while I bought some wool to start learning how to knit again. I have this fantasy of learning how to knit sweaters for Jamie, but I'm trying my hand at scarves first. He woke up on the way home, and was happy to get in, devour a samosa, and watch some Tubbies. He was very clingy today, and I think that his teeth were a problem again. It wasn't enough to have me in the same room, as usual, but he had to be in my lap and I waasn't allowed to do anything else. Very unusual.

We got back into the car to go to a birthday dinner party for Lisa Kessler at Bombay Palace (fabulous Indian food, and they are very kind to children). He liked the chicken tikka and the navratan* korma#, and spent most of the night running around the restaurant, going up and down a little ramp between sections, and smiling at the wait staff and the rest of Lisa's party guests. He was very tired by the end, and fell asleep in the car on the way home. I managed to get him into bed and undressed, and only woke him up as I was leaving and putting the blanket on his legs. A little nurse put things to rights.

2005-01-09 22:30 (Kristen) I stayed up late working last night, and so wasn't really feeling perky when Jamie woke up this morning before 9:00. It was a very slow morning of Teletubbies and snacking (toast, yoghurt, and banana), as I tried to do some more work and keep my eyes open. This day brought to you by the miracle that is coffee! Jamie wanted some of the 'miracle,' but I managed to convince him that juice was just as interesting. Gary came upstairs and played with Jamie for close to an hour while I got him ready to go out and do some shopping with me and John this afternoon. Gary was my hero today, and I'll deny it if anyone repeats that to him (smile). At one point, Jamie demanded to go outside, and Gary took him outside without putting a coat on first. So, in -1°C weather, they walked over to Michelle's house and back while I looked around for them. Gary is a very indulgent uncle.

Jamie has outgrown the shoes that Nobuko and Tomoko bought for hiim in October, and we went shopping for new shoes and sandals. We also went looking for a Little Tikes plastic indoor/outdoor slide at Toys'R'Us with Jamie's Christmas money. The Toys'R'Us that we went to is on the small side, and they didn't have any slides. It is possible that they are considered a seasonal item, but we'll continue to hunt around. That garage in Daniel's basement isn't going to last much longer! Jamie wasn't with me as I hunted, as he had fallen asleep for his afternoon nap in the car. So, I went looking for new shoes and sandals for him without him: I guessed that he was a size 5, and found a nice pair of sandals and little runners at The Shoe Company (on sale: woo hoo!). I tried them on him when we got home, and they fit. I also took him into the Second Cup, where he enjoyed some juice and a bit of oatmeal cookie, and for a run around the Carrot Common while John did errands in the neighbourhood after Jamie woke up.

After dinner, Jamie insisted on going outside, and I let him lead me where he wanted to go. He went down the alley, looking for Daniel's garage, but we ended up almost at the end of the alley. We walked back and as I didn't have my keys, we went to the back door at Daniel's house. Daniel was doing homework and couldn't play, however, and Jamie was very upset that we weren't going in to play. I called Gary and Ayami, and asked if Jamie could visit them instead, and they graciously said yes. They ended up playing with Jamie for a good part of hte evening while I sat on the couch and worked, which I appreciated yet again. When it was time to have a bath, I took Jamie up and he brushed his teeth quite cheerfully...he's getting the hang of it! He had a good time flinging laundry, and we had a rousing game of 'inai* inai* ba" (Japanese peek-a-boo) with John's t-shirt. He's such a beautiful, wonderful baby, and fun to be with.

(John) When I popped in at the Paul's Milk convenience store to get a phone card to call my mom, the Korean woman there (who's probably known me since I was a teenager) succumbed to what is apparently a universal rule among (at least) Asian shopkeepers and gave Jamie a small package of Cadbury Easter eggs. Jamie delightedly said "Umma, umma!", at which point we learned that that means food in Korean baby talk just as it does in Japanese. Cadbury Easter eggs are btw revolting: we tried a few one year in our big egg hunt, but now stick to Leonidas and Laura Secord. (But the shopkeeper meant well.)

2005-01-10 21:15 (John) I had just enough energy today to look after Jamie, and Kristen still has two projects hanging over her head, so a happy little Jamie got to spend a lot more time with his dad than usual today. We all had a chaotic breakfast in the morning, then Jamie alternately played trains and watched Teletubbies until the repairman came to take a look at our washing machine. (It needs a new belt and new bearings, and will probably get the former to see it through until we can afford to buy a new machine.)

Kristen then took Jamie over to Browning for lunch, where I caught up with them to took Jamie out for his postprandial constitutional. Despite being plied with the Banana Loaf of Somnolence, Jamie correctly deduced that he was being taken to Interesting Places by Dad, and managed to force his eyes to stay open until the home stretch, that last block of Fulton Avenue when our house was in sight.

He slept for almost two hours, visited briefly with Kristen, then went shopping in the car ("Baboo!") with me for groceries for dinner. He chortled all the way to the Loblaws and back, and enthusiastically pointed out all the varieties of food ("Ummamma") at the store. Dinner was string beans with mushrooms and onions sauteed in olive oil, white wine and basil, homemade cranberry sauce, chicken stroganoff on fusilli, and wild rice.

(Kristen) I'm sticking my head up long enough to say "hello," and to say that Jamie inhaled a great deal of fusilli, turkey, and cranberry sauce. The surprise hit was the bowl of green beans, which he cheerfully ate two fisted. Jamie was very tired when we were putting him into the bath, and thought that it was very funny when I dressed him in John's t-shirt to make him laugh. It wasn't even a long robe on him: it was a long robe and a train. He almost put his head through the sleeve instead of the neckhole, and it kept threatening to fall off his shoulders. It was very cute.

After dinner, I thought Jamie would want to veg out in the living room with his Tubbies tapes, but instead he grabbed me by the finger and said "bye-bye!", meaning "let's go out." I guessed correctly that he wanted to go to Daniel's house, where he nibbled on what they were having for dinner. I saw him eat tomatoes, steak and a cinnamon bun, but I'm pretty sure there was more on the table, and that he was just going for whatever appealed most on a full stomach. Pretty sure.

I had arranged with Gary and Ayami that they would take the tricky 45-minute shift before bathtime, when Jamie is blitheringly tired, clumsy and quick to ire if his whim is not correctly and instantly interpreted. They did their usual excellent job running down the rest of his energy, and he was happy to go through his bedtime rituals and go to bed.

He gets bored easily these days, and sometimes it's a challenge coming up with new and age-appropriate things for him to do. Today he was pushing a big Rubbermaid bin full of winter clothes around the ground floor, so I joined in and we played Rubbermaid bumper cars for fifteen minutes, chasing each other around the house with each chase ending in a spectacular crash. We both thought it was a lot of fun.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

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