Central Alaska is no Place to Raise a Toddler

Wow, didn't think about raising a child during winter, in NP. It has been a pretty consistent -20F every day this month, with lows in the -40s and highs in the -10s. Needless to say Gumba hasn't been outside for a very long time. My cutoff is -10F, and today it's finally gotten that warm. Plus, there isn't a lot to do with toddlers anyways. Gumba is bored and getting into mischief, I'm bored chasing him around saying no all the time and getting ignored. I've looked online for ideas, and short of read to your child, stack blocks with your child, there really isn't much else to do. And, these aren't even great ideas because they'll what, keep you child occupied for a total of five minutes? We're talking hours of free time here, not five minutes here and there. I think Husband and I are going to take him to the family swim at the pool next Saturday. Gumba has never been, and we've never been with a baby, so who knows how that will go. I'll keep in touch with you all about that. I also think we'll go to the library in town. The floors are probably decently clean and he'll have lots of new stuff to look at. Ugh, winter sucks big time.

The Value of a Shower

The value of a shower is maximized if your child is awake and someone else is watching him/her. I've always valued being clean, but haven't ever taken very long showers, now I'm a changed woman. It's great to be able to escape for just a little bit, knowing your child is in good hands, and you can relax. My mom used to go grocery shopping, but that isn't very relaxing for me, and we live forever away from town, so I'd be gone longer than I'd want to be.

Roller Coaster Ride - Gumba Update

Where's Gumba!

My precious first born has us on a roller coaster ride. It seems that he sleeps well for several weeks, then the next couple he doesn't. We are currently plummeting to our deaths. Gumba has been waking several times in the night to fuss loudly for no apparent reason, then starts my day at 5am. I say mine because let's be honest, Daddy's don't just jump out of bed that early in the morning, or at least Gumba's doesn't. This morning Husband got home from work at 9am and said good morning to Gumba and I, and I informed him it's actually our afternoon already. The last several days Gumba has fussed during his second nap as well, but it seems today he may have fallen asleep...keep your fingers crossed!

He are several cute things Gumba is doing now, all of which I think are indicators that he doesn't have autism. For those who know me well, I am a pessimist at heart, so this whole autism thing has been on my mind a lot:

- Comes to me, turns around, and then sits in my lap! It is one of the more precious things.

- Lets me read books to him! From beginning to end!

- Will go up to the dogs and gently lay his head on them to snuggle. Dogs don't appreciate this too much, but we're working with them.

- Laughs when we, or people on TV laugh (yeah, he's picking up social cues!)

- Smiles at me while I'm nursing him down for bedtime

- Started to bounce on the changing table when he's standing, and I'm holding him

- Likes to be tickled

- Understands "I'm going to get you" and crawls away, really fast

- Will rarely take two steps towards me when not holding onto furniture. This walking thing is taking way longer then I thought it would.

- Still gets very excited when I come home from work

Baby No Name Update

Heard Baby No Names' heartbeat today! Everything is going well as far as we can tell without ultrasounds, which we won't have another one. For all those who want to start guessing, it was in the high 140's, low 150's. Husband wasn't able to make this appointment either. The first one he was working and Gumba came with me, he was freakin' adorable. Gumba behaved very well, and when the heartbeat was detected he came up to the table with a big smile on his face and touched my hand! Who knows if this has any significant meaning, but it meant a lot to me regardless. But Husband and Gumba stayed home today because it was a chilly -46F outside. Yes, you read that correctly, the temperature outside of our house all day long has been -46F, and it isn't expected to warm up until the weekend or so. Everybody at work couldn't believe I came in, but once I reminded them I have a house with a garage they started to get it. In Fairbanks it sat around -35F. So, hopefully Husband will be able to make it to one of my many upcoming appointments, February is usually warmer than January. We're still hoping on having a birth center birth. The midwife today said that vitamin's C and E help strengthen the bag, so hopefully my water won't break three and a half weeks early this time. We won't be finding out the sex until the baby reveals itself on its birthday. We have plenty of unisex items since Gumba was a surprise as well, so no need to worry there. One of the midwives is due on June 4th, a women I work with is due June 7th, and our baby is due June 14th. A midwife told me today they already have 15 babies with due dates in June, so it'll be a busy month. Hopefully they'll have room in the "inn" for everyone!

Take care all and stay warm!

Happy New Year!

Husband brought in the New Year at a party while Gumba slept, and I tried to sleep. Today Gumba had spaghetti for the first time. Check out the video and picture of him. We are so lucky he likes solid food, and takes to most things we give him. I don't think he even got especially dirty this time around. It was eat, and then straight into the bath though!

Gumba threw his first real tantrum today. I see his head strongness will benefit him (in the long run) but will give his father and I many headaches. I ended up doing the dishes as Gumba cried in the living room. I figure I shouldn't stand around and "support" the behavior.

I'll tell you all I'm having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Gumba can have regular people food. It isn't because I'm being all sentimental, it just seems strange. All of a sudden his menu has expanded and I have no idea what to give him. I'd better think fast though, he's starting to pitch fits when we feed him because he wants to feed himself. Unfortunately for us all I have a freezer full of pureed food, and Gumba doesn't know how to use a spoon.

Have a Happy New Year everyone. I didn't make any resolutions. I figure if I have a hard time committing to 40 days and 40 nights for Lent, there's no way I'm making it a whole year!

Oh My Gosh

You will never ever believe what Gumba can do! Nope, sorry, walking is not the right answer. On his first birthday he started "pumping" in his swing! Can you believe that? At one years old he can swing by himself! I am imagining all of the jealous mommies at the park that watch as I get to swing while Gumba is swinging, and there they are pushing their three year olds!!! Hahahahaha.

Also, last night for the first time, Gumba started to go down the stairs backwards! This is sooo exciting for me. He's been crawling up great for the past month, and now tries to launch himself onto the stairs so he can practice. However, we've had an issue with him wanting to go down head first. The stubborn little butt only got frustrated when we showed him differently. Then last night it happened, as he was crawling up the stairs, he paused, put his foot back down, then repeated! Then I stood there for five minutes as he went up and down. So needless to say, I watch and wait patiently (yeah right!) and he "masters" this new skill.

Merry Christmas To All!

Our "first" Christmas as a family went well. Gumba liked the gifts he received from all, even though he can't say it! So, thank you everyone! We did Christmas dinner in Fairbanks with Husbands family. For those who have never met the Fairbanks part of the family, that included 14 of us. And surprisingly, dinner was mostly on time, and we were able to get Gumba home at a reasonable hour. It was great fun.

Below I've included a couple of recent, very cute pictures of our little man. He has his one year checkup this past week and weighed in at a hefty 22lbs, 5oz and is 31inches tall. He is in the 90th percentile for height! I wonder if this trend will continue, or if he'll start working on other things like talking and walking!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUMBA

One year old, can you believe it? I know he's gotten older, but a year older? No way. Husband and I had a bunch of people over yesterday to celebrate. I think Gumba had a great time. He didn't seem overwhelmed at all, must be that male selective hearing kicking in because I sure was overwhelmed. Take a look at the pics:


The cake was a homemade applesauce and banana cake with cream cheese frosting. Did you expect anything less from a wannabe hippie mom? He was a master at eating it, and everyone couldn't understand how it didn't get everywhere. What a champ!

Here he is eating his cake. Isn't he just precious!

The proud parents and birthday boy.

Our presents were a big hit with the two and under crowd, go me!

Gumba practicing rushing his cousin with a pig in his hand. That jersey spoke volumes to him! He more than once took her out. It's a good thing she has six other siblings, or else the tears would have flowed for sure. However, she was terrified of the dogs.

It's been a wonderful year, and I can't wait for all that year two will bring. We do have a great video of him eating his cake, however, it's too big to post here. Stay tuned for the YouTube link.

My Husband Has Been Busy

Husband has kept himself quite busy the past couple of months, but not always doing things I wish he would. Here's a list of what he's been up to:

- Splitting the basement zone into two additional zones. This was actually a worth while project. The thermostat is in the living space, so the two bedrooms got incredibly hot during the winter, and the temperature would fluctuate wildly. Not the best scenario for little baby. Two days ago Husband finally finished with the soddering. Now all that's left are several large holes in ceilings that will need to be repaired. And even then we'll be left with parts of ceiling that are unspackled. But, I think it'll be worth it.

- Building a server for our computer. Lately Husband has been obsessed with having enough backups of our files in case world war three starts, our house burns down, and we get robbed. There are other things he could have been doing. But, once he gets his mind set on something, there really is no stopping him.

- Finally finish the patch on Gumba's wall. In September a pipe started leaking in Gumba's bedroom wall. The pipe was quickly fixed, but tonight the last (hopefully) bit of mud was put on the wall. Hopefully on Friday Gumba will be put back in his room. For the last three and a half months he's been in the guest room. Again, the hole is patched, but there will be no spackle and no paint for months, or who knows, years to come. The joys of owning your house!

- Putting a fuse in my car. This wasn't a project, but I'm totally excited about it. My car, which is only four years old, has a wiring problem in the hatch (best thing about the car). A lot of time when I opened the hatch it wouldn't latch shut. And then it got worse. Sometimes when I would use my rear windshield wipers the hatch would open, and my dashboard button wouldn't work. So we took it in, paid a bunch of money to have the wires repaired, and then my rear wipers didn't work. Husband being handy as he is (thank God) diagnosed the problem, and happened to have fuses for my car and fixed it. But seriously, how many Husbands have extra vehicle fuses laying around. I married a jack of all trades, and my garage definitely speaks to that.

Any projects going on in your lives? Other then my mother's complete remodel of her upstairs?

Turns Out I Can't Do Everything

Back in October I had this great plan to make Gumba a Halloween costume. He was going to be a penguin. That didn't happen, and I have no cute pictures of my son for his first Halloween. As Halloween approached, and I realized the costume wasn't going to get made, that maybe I had gotten in a little over my head. Turns out that having a 10 month old, who is in cloth diapers (lots of laundry, folding, etc.), who eats homemade baby food, I work 25 hours week (commute 35 minutes one way), and being pregnant, really is a lot for one person to have on their plate!

Here's the sonogram from several weeks ago, eat your heart out:

The baby is due June 14th, barring any complications, like another baby coming early. First trimester on the brink of being over, thank goodness. Trying to wrap my brain around the whole thing, I suppose it's too late to have second thoughts! Gumba will be 18 months old, so they'll be a good little bit apart. And I'll have the summer off!