naps? what are those?

Waking up at 630 yesterday felt like such a treat after several mornings of waking up at 5. We got an early start on breakfast and Nora woke up just as he was finishing. I asked if she wanted to go to the gym...like right NOW, before he has to nap! So the 3 of us got dressed and ready as fast as humanly possible and raced to the gym. We didn't have much time to stay and workout, so every minute counted. After signing her up as a guest and a little too much chit chat with the friendly employees, we went to drop Graham off at the kids academy. The line was out the door, 2 kids on every computer, children of all ages running around and parents were stuffed into the entrance area waiting to pick up and drop off, all wondering what the heck was going on!! It was unreal. It finally cleared up and I got to the desk to get him in. It was only 930a and no room! They said naively, can you wait 30-40 minutes?? Um......NO! He has to go to sleep!! We left and Nora had the very important task of keeping him awake til we got home. I brought him up and did our normal routine. After 45 minutes or so of protesting, he was finally asleep....for a mere 30 minutes!!! We baked and ate our beloved apple oven-baked pancake, cleaned up, and I vacuumed and mopped as much as I could. So frustrated that he was awake, Nora told me to go shower and she would take care of him. Thank god, because I was going to lose my mind. They had a blast together and I felt better. With plenty of time to get G ready and get Nora to the 205p train, we somehow cut it so close but made it with a minute to spare. Graham finally fell asleep in the car on the way back home. I was prepared to sit in the driveway, but I dared myself to try and transfer him. That obviously failed. Danielle came by with Allison and I gave up on his nap. They didn't stay long and Allison loved Charlie. It was nice and upsetting to see that CB loved her too. He kept going over to her and kissing her and letting her pet him! Why does he run away from G?? Jerk. I spent all afternoon making my giant bowl of charoset which takes even longer now with G around. He loved watching and was such a good helper, until he knocked over the mini food processor full of chopped nuts and broke the container. Luckily, I only lost half of the nuts and it was an easy mess to clean. Running on very little sleep, he was so energized, racing around downstairs, playing with kitchen gadgets I give him. He loved the charoset and is officially not allergic to nuts. :) DM got home and gave him his bottle after he finished dinner. It was the first night I ever forgot to kiss my sweet boy goodnight, but he went to sleep so peacefully and that's all that mattered to me at the end of a long, but fun day!

Happy NINE months old, Graham Ellis! He woke up at 545a (grrr). An hour later, I went to change his diaper and found CB sleeping in the middle of his room. I thought it was strange that he didn't even lift his head when I walked in...and then just as I finished changing G, he started to throw up. I grabbed his collar as fast as I could to get him out, and made it just to the corner of the less than a year old, very white rug. He threw up a little more in our room, but at least it was on the wood and easy to clean. DM helped me clean it up as best as we could. Great start to the day and not even 7a! I've been meaning to make an appointment to have the living room rug and furniture cleaned since Graham was born, but was waiting for him to start crawling and was not planning to get his rug cleaned since it's so new! I got an appointment for the afternoon and went about the day. Charlie was outside, running around and feeling all better now that all of the brisket was on the floors!! I fed G breakfast and we went to the gym. This time I called first to reserve a spot for him. When I started to turn around to leave, he waved goodbye to me!!! :D I spied on him before going to shower to make sure all was ok and he looked very busy and perfectly content! He was exhausted when I went to get him and cried as soon as he saw me. The cow had arrived with the milk! I wanted to wait to feed him until he got home though, so he'd be sure to go to sleep well! After a 2 second fit while trying to get his jacket on, we left and he was smiling at every lady that walked his way. He did not want to go in his carseat. It's so hit or miss. But when he doesn't want to, he starts crying as soon as I turn him around to put him in. Trying everything in my power to keep him awake while driving, he fell asleep just before we pulled into the driveway. He woke up but fell asleep again while I fed him. Completely zonked, I set him down and POOF -- he was awake and standing. I left to gave it some time but inevitably gave up. I don't understand how he works! Not cranky at all, he somehow disregarded how exhausted he was and was just as jumpy, bouncy and happy as he is when he waked up first thing in the morning. He was zooming all over from his toys, to standing at the ottoman, chasing Charlie, coming to me and back and forth and back and forth, squeaking and babbling all the way. He didn't stop going for another hour while I brushed Charlie. He was occupied with his socks, mopping the floors with them, standing up on the walls and cleaning them too. He was even climbing all over Charlie, and literally crawled over him one time. I could see Charlie biting his tongue, trying to contain himself. He was at the borderline of his tolerance limit. CB got saved by the bell. Stanley Steamer got here and entertained us for 2 hours while they cleaned everything. I fed him lunch and am working on introducing cayenne slowly. I mixed it into some avocado and was enjoying it until one bite where there must have been more. But a little pear fixed that immediately and we kept going. Everything was done and they packed up all of their equipment. I was waiting to pay and went down to the office just to make sure the bathroom they used was clean, only to find that Charlie threw up on that rug too!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I ran outside to tell the guy and he said he'd take it to their shop to clean it better there for the same price, so that was even more money!!! Swallowing the amount this ended up costing and accepting it as what needed to be done, I was anxious to pay and get them out! Graham was worn out and ready to nurse and go to sleep! The cc machine was taking forever and Graham was passing out in my arms. Another half an hour later and they were gone.

I locked the door, ran up to nurse him and regardless of everything, I laid him down and he woke up -- again. I left his room, despairing this well justified nap. He stopped crying after literally 2 seconds and just sat/stood up in his crib, waving goodbye to the ceiling, playing with teddy and talking sweet sounding "ada dadadada-s" for a long time. 9 hours of being awake and playing his butt off, and now, somehow, ready for more!! I was going to pass out. My sister was close to getting here and supposed to come over with Kenna, but she went to Sharon's first. I was going to meet her there, but I just wanted G to sleep. I got into bed with him, put the TV on and hoped he'd fall asleep. After an hour of leaping all over the bed, the angels sang and we fell asleep for an hour and 15 minutes. We both woke up pretty groggy, but he was especially cranky and only wanted to nurse for the longest time. Finally he was happy and I had no motivation to get up until it was time to feed him dinner. He is obsessed with the remote control and I am not about to take away something so harmless that makes him so happy. Another favorite game is when he crawls a little too close to the edge of the bed with my hand around his ankles like handcuffs and drag him back towards me. He repeated that about 100x and thought it was the funniest thing ever. It was after 6p in no time, and he was his squeaky, happy self again. We went down for dinner, with the living room still all disassembled and drying. G was eating when DM got home and was so excited to see him, nonstop waving and smiling. We negotiated who would do what tonight and he took him up for his bath. Graham was laughing so much that I realized I got the crappy end of the deal, so I went up nonchalantly to switch places. This seemed to be the end of a short phase of unfortunate, torturous baths. He was splashing, playing with his toys and so smiley. It's even easier to wash him now when he stands up! I let him hang out a few minutes longer even though it was getting so late. He was just being too adorable. I got the bubbles out and his eyes widened. Just at the end of last week, he started reaching out to touch them as the float through the air, never lasting long enough. I think soon he'll be jumping to grab them! Got him all ready for bed and gave him his bottle in the guestroom by the blue light of dusk, with only what little sunlight was seeping through the windows. He was so relaxed and chugging his bottle. No games and no stalling tonight. I tip toed across his damp rug to set him down. One tiny cry and he was asleep! Matzoh pizza was the perfect comfort food to settle down to. Another long day is over and the short night was just beginning.