Little Baron Mentzer

His 3rd birthday and then on to Xmas.....

2011-12-15T07:05:00.000-08:00

His birthday was great. Just family, at Papa's Pizza again, and he got spoiled rotten. Again. But the best part is, Mommy and Daddy got to do some of the spoiling this year! The theme was Spider-Man and Mommy helped Nana put up a bunch of Spider-Man decorations and Nana made awesome little cupcakes with web designs in the frosting and all his presents from Nana and Papa and Mommy and Daddy were exquisitely wrapped in Spidey paper. Auntie Angel chased him through the giant hamster tube play equipment in Papa's play room. Better her than me! (I was impressed!) I'm not even going to try to list his shwag but it was a good haul. I was really pleased by the things that the wife and I were able to get for him. Awesome birthday for an awesome little Monster.

And then, after his birthday party we went downtown to Pioneer Courthouse Square and saw the big tree and then we went up to the Zoo to see the Zoo Lights and ride the train! That was a crazy experience but ultimately worth it. Zoo Lights, on a Saturday night two weeks before Christmas is a very, very busy place. The type of crowd that I avoid like the plague. But I stayed optimistic because it was something that I wanted Baron to see and despite the just-one-degree-above-freezing temperature (and the fact that I was wearing shorts, like I always do.) and the long wait in a couple of different lines it was a lot of fun. For this stodgy ol' codger it's alotta fluff and brou-ha-ha but with Baron with us we look at the whole spectacle from a different perspective and it's suddenly new and amazing and fun again. It's a novelty but it's also a local holiday tradition and that is part of what the spirit of the season is all about; celebrating the novelty of old traditions. I'll have to put up some pictures.

Our first haunted corn maze. Yikes.

2011-11-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

The wife and I have really been looking forward to this holiday season. Baron is, of course, older now and we really think that he'll "get" the holidays and get into the spirit of things. Our hope is to decorate what little space we have with whatever little decoration(s) we can buy and really embrace the crazyness and really point out all of the decorations and symbols of each holiday and explain everything. And sing silly holiday songs. ESPECIALLY CHRISTMAS SONGS!!!!! Love, love, luv, LOVE me some Christmas songs. Year 'round if I could get away with it, but I can't. It makes "people", (my wife) highly irritable to hear Christmas songs in March or July or September. I don't get it but I gotta accept it.

Anyway, the first holiday on the docket is every bodies favorite candy fest, HALLOWEEN!!! The wife and I talked about getting pumpkins and what the boy would wear and what we might wear and going to the pumpkin patch and the corn maze and all that stuff that makes October worth putting on a calendar. Nana and Papa took us to the corn maze and it was really fun. By all rights the whole experience should have been a disaster but every time things looked like they were stacked against us karma would come up and turn things around for us. From the get-go I don't think anybody knew it was a haunted corn maze. Haunted corn maze's are for adults and teenagers who think that a spooky corn maze is a good place to make out with their special some one. Not for little kids. It didn't really dawn on me until we were in line to get in and the scary music was loud and the fog machine was firing up that Baron wasn't going to be into it. But we were there, we might as well try. What's a little terror? For all the noise and excitement Baron did really well waiting in line. We also did not realize that the maze wouldn't be opening until after dark so we waited in line for about forty five minutes before we started moving forward. Then, a group of young, evilish teeny boppers that were loitering on the other side of the ropes broke through and piled into the line right in front of us. I became almost irrationally mad at these pukey punks but wasn't gonna make a deal about it, especially in Baron's presence. We moved up about thirty feet and I heard them as they realized that they needed tickets to get into the corn maze, which they did not have. Ah.. innocence. Where everything is free and their are no repercussions until they slap you in the face. So, they stepped aside while we went in. The scary clown gave us the rundown, no touching, no leaving through the entrance, no tearing through the corn in a flight of gut wrenching terror. Baron made it twenty feet in on his own before he jumped into mommies arms. After a few different people in scary costume jumped out at us from the corn we decided this might be a bad idea and that we should find the exit. But see, here's the thing; WE WERE IN A CORN MAZE!! The whole point is to TRY and FIND the exit and it's not supposed to be easy. I've been in a few corn mazes' and I've never been through one in a short amount of time. I'd never tried it in the dark. I began to fear more and more that we were going to be stuck in that maze for at least an hour, at best. Nana led the charge by flashing her nice camera in the eyes of people who jumped out at her, as she giggled in a frantic fashion. That part was pretty brilliant. She actually used her camera's flash as an effective defensive weapon.

We had come around a familiar section of corn that looked a lot like the other sections of corn we had passed in the dark when somebody tripped on something and stopped to inspect said item. Turns out it was one of Baron's rain boots that must have fallen off when we were in that section of maze before. We didn't even know he was missing a boot! Score!!

But here's the crazy part; we were out of there within thirty to forty minutes. I couldn't believe it. We should've been chasing our tails much longer than that. Not that I'm complaining, far from it. We just really beat the odds on that one. And when we emerged triumphantly from the corn maze EXIT the line to enter the corn maze had grown into a giant serpent that coiled around the entire farm area and their was a line of cars trying to get into the parking lot. Now, that's crazy, but can you imagine what that maze must've been like later that evening? Hundreds of hairless apes shoulder to shoulder in a dusty dark corn maze. Imagine the percentage of those apes that were drunk or in the corn to get drunker! That, in every way possible, sounds more frightening and disturbing and grotesque than whatever some stoners in hockey masks could whip up to fit the limpest definition of 'scary'. Ewwwww..... No, no, we had an excellent time in the maze, all things considered. Baron was scared, of course, but it could have been a really bad scene. I liked it and when I'm older and grayer I'll look back on the whole occasion fondly.

Mommy had to work on Halloween evening and Baron is going through a phase where he's really scared or pretends to be scared so I didn't have any expectations for trick or treating. We don't live in a neighborhood for it, bunch of stuck up old pirates. I dressed Baron in his Batman pants and shirt with velcroed cape, grabbed a Spider-Man bucket and hit the streets. We walked all around the hood, enjoying the lovely, sunny fall weather. A couple of places were decorated but admiring their creativity from a short distance was as close as we were going to get to their front door. When all was said and done and we returned home he poured out his bucket on the floor and enjoyed the spoils of his holiday; Two rocks and four leaves.
I love that kid.
So friggin much.

Luv dem berries

2011-08-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

We just went for a little walk behind the house here and the blackberries are gettin nice and ripe. I can't tell you how many years it's been since I've grabbed a berry off of a vine but he pointed to them and said "Boo! Boo!", which is his way of saying 'blue berries'. He loves blue berries!! So, I chose a nice, big, ripe blackberry and handed it to him. He looked at it for a second and then trepidatiously brought it to his lips and gave it the tinest of nibbles. He considered the flavor for a moment before he voraciously shoved the remainder into his ravenous maw. They passed the taste test, to be sure! So, I figured if they're okay for him they should be okay for me, right? I chose for myself another nice, big, ripe berry and popped into my mouth and immediately spit it right back out as my eyes watered and crossed at the sourness of what I had just sampled. I do not like sour. Blech!! I really hope his tasted better than mine! He wanted many, many more but we were on our way back home to change his diaper. Something about the majesty of the great outdoors makes him load his pants every time we go outside. It's irritating sometimes. I doesn't matter if I change his diaper right before we head out the door, as soon as he hits that fresh air he drops a lethal stink bomb. It's time for me, as his parent, to look forward to the day when he has a child and gets to experience the joy of diaper changing. Vengance is a dirty, stinky thing. As it should be!!

All about poop. !

2011-08-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

We bought him a little trainer toilet seat, some pull up training pants and some Pixar character underwear for reward/incentive. Here we go! We (as in all three of us) are ready for this. The time is now. I know he has the ability to figure it out, but I've been wondering if the short gut is gonna make it hard for him to know when it's time to go potty. Or something. I don't want to go into specifics but I just like to cover all the possible outcomes. When dealing with poo it's good to have people with their lights on all the exits.

Let's talk about this

2011-07-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

He's said please and thank you! Said them! With his mouth! Earlier this morning we were in the car and I had just put in Metallica's Master Of Puppets and he instantly raised his hand in the air and pumped his index finger like he was shooting the metal up to the sky! He's never been able to rock the horns, he's always used his pointer finger. But today he watched my hand pound the air and he studied it for a second and then he tried really hard to get his pinky up and keep his other fingers down. But....he....just......couldn't....quite..do...it... He could get his middle finger tucked but that darned ol' ring finger just kept popping out and snugglin up to that kinky pinky. He started to get frustrated. I told him we'd work on it later and everything was going to be okay, he'd rock the horns like a metal monster in no time 'tall. I could tell he knew what he wanted his fingers to do, he just doesn't have control of them completely. Yet. It's moments like that, when I can see his gears grinding and turning and see him figure something out (or not), I find so fascinating and unbelievable rewarding. And most times humbling, but a smiling kind of humbling! He's just so fun. Each day is a new word or problem solved or area explored. He watched Mickey's Clubhouse for the first time and he liked it so we watched a couple of episodes and this morning it was on when we all got up REAL early and he knew which mouseketool to use at the right time and all that stuff. Really interactind with the program in a positive way and actually getting something out of it for his betterment. We both saw it and looked at each other like, 'I'll be damned, did he really just do that?'. His lion roar with hands clawing at the air is priceless. Him thinking that everything is MINE, MINE, MINE? nnnnot so much. Boxes of food at Safeway, toys at Target, Ollies Elmo, my food, EVERYTHING is 'MINE'!! His least attractive characteristic at the moment. Oh, and throwing things. Not really in a protest, tantrum type of way but more in a mischeivious, playful way and the kid has an amazing arm. He can really throw! He's gonna make his parents rich someday.

The wonders of speech therapy

2011-06-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Sarah, a speech therapist through Early Intervention, has visited us four times now and the benefits of her expertise are already becoming evident. She stays for about a half hour and just shows us a few things in sign language and plays/works with Baron. He LOVES her. He wants to show her everything as soon as she walks in the door and really wants to take her into his room so Daddy and Mommy aren't interfering with their time. He now knows the signs for 'please','more','go','hungry' and can understand quite a few others. Sarah said that he's taking to signing faster than any toddler she's worked with. Not only that, but signing is helping him understand words and their meanings and that understanding is helping him speak more. He says quite a few words now and he says a new one every couple of days. It's so exciting. He and I almost had a short conversation on Thursday. Our first!
Boy loves to dance. He has a couple of favorite kids shows and all of them are music based. Wow Wow Wubbzy, Fresh Beat Band, Yo Gabba Gabba, and live concert footage make him MOVE! The other day he busted out The Disco Roll dance that Jack Black performed on Yo Gabba Gabba. Killed me!!!! The other day he let me watch John Legend and The Roots on Austin City Limits and he actually liked it. I couldn't believe it. He sat through a few Pantera videos on Youtube. But, as much as he loves to listen to Pantera I think the visual of the band was a bit much for his impressionable little brain to handle.
And a slightly funny development; he's afraid of monkeys. It's because of the monkeys in Toy Story 3. The only things in this world he's afraid of (other than not getting his way). Whenever he sees a monkey on TV he runs to us and buries his face so the evil monkeys can't see him. Precious.

He's just self concsious of his personal odor.

2011-04-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

He demonstrated his gift for mimicry today by opening 'my' drawer in the bathroom, grabbing my deodorant, unzipping his sleeper and applying my deodorant to his underarms. He is just so cute. And now he smells pretty good too.
He babbles all of the time now. He has an actual vocabulary that is growing, finally. He says 'shake' when we make his bottle because we always make it a game, building the anticipation of each part of the process until we screw the cap on aaaaannnnnnddd shake-shake-shake-shake-shake-shake-shake-shake-shake-shake etc..... and he just loves it. He says 'kitty', or at least an understandable variation.

He just walked up to me and pulled up my shirt and stuck hid finger in my belly button, which he KNOWS I cannot stand. Then he unzipped his sleeper and pushed his own belly button and said 'OWWW!' in perfect mockery and mimicry of his over exaggerated father. Cute kid. Can't wait for him to get a job.

An appetite like a shark!!

2011-03-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

He has been eating so much the last few days! It's so unlike him. Today Papa took us out to breakfast at Elmers and he all but devoured Mommy's steak. Then for lunch he consumed a good portion of MY cold pizza. Cold!! And he's had pizza several times in the last four or so days. But cold pizza? I still can't believe it. I mean, I don't know why I like cold pizza. Weird. He feels heavier. I'm not going to be able to hold him much longer. I'm expecting a big 'ol growth spurt in the next few days.
Great.

Where did Spider Man's head go?

2011-01-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Baron woke me up at six this morning, fully armed and ready for action. We started watching some cartoons while I tried to get my eyes to open and after my lids finally parted I looked down and saw Baron playing with a headless Spider Man. The first thought to penetrate the morning fog in my mind was that he had swallowed Spider man's head, which gave me a little panic at first but then I remembered that he swallows most of his food without chewing so worst case scenario would be me finding a very unhappy Spider man head in his next diaper. Uhm.... ick. But then he was whining a bit and limping a little. Hhmmm... So, I picked him up and felt his foot through his sleeper, checking for anything that could be the culprit and sure enough, lodged between his big toe and the next toe was a very Spider Man-head-like ball. I unzipped his sleeper and dug out the head and sent him on his destructive way, none the worse for wear. He does this quite often now, taking Mommy's keys, name tag or various plastic cards from her purse and stuffing them into his sleeper. Sometimes it's the snack that I THOUGHT he had eaten (no wonder it's hard to get him to gain weight!), or maybe a small toy of some kind. He's like a box of Cracker Jacks; always a prize inside!! I can't wait for the day when he tries to stuff the cat into his sleeper. THAT'LL be a hoot.

Spider Man saves the day!

2011-01-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

I am such a proud Daddy. Last week Baron fell in love with Spider Man. Elmo? Elmo who? I thought I'd never be rid of that little red monster. But wait, it gets better. He loves Wolverine, too! Seriously! Is he or is he not my son? Papa joined us at Toys R Us and we played there for an hour or so and Papa wanted to treat the little man to a new toy (or two) and Baron chose the three pack of Spider Man and His Amazing Friends! Shame on you if you don't know that Spider Man's Amazing Friends are Firestar and Iceman, from the early eightied cartoon show. I was blown away to see these three figures in one package. I loved this cartoon as a kid. LOVED IT!! So, that night I went through the DVR menu and found, you guessed it, episodes of Spider Man and His Amazing Friends! I can't believe they still play this cartoon, it is sooooo dated! But Baron loves it and we've watched the same two episodes a dozen times already. And I recorded a few different X-Men and Wolverine cartoons and he's cycling his way through those now. I do realize that these cartoons may not have the educational value of Sesame Street, but Baron plans on being a super hero when he gets older so this really is best for him at this point. Besides, Daddy's right there beside him when he watches these shows and I make my own sound effects and tell him what's going on and who's who and try to impress upon his little mind the values inherent in what the heroes are trying to do. Seriously, anything can be educational if you explain it to your child from the proper point of view. And we play with his action figures when we watch the programs, mimicking their exploits and adventures. And, if that isn't enough, I put a few Spider Man and Wolverine stickers on our table that the tv sits on and he'll point to them and I'll exuberantly call out their names or I'll call out their names and he'll point to the right one every time. So proud.
And he's getting smarter and smarter every day. He stills doesn't talk much but if we're looking through one of his many, many books and I call out a shape, color or character, he'll point to the proper one every time. He knows his stuff and it's just further proof that when he does finally start to talk it's not going to be a word here or there but whole sentences and paragraphs. So proud.

What an awesome little guy!

2011-01-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

. I was worried a month or so ago that he was going to be a real bratty kid. The signs were there and I was preparing myself for dealing with him in a state of near constant tantrum (his tantrums, not mine!). But he's really come around this month and has started doing things and helping out in ways that make me so much more than proud. Mommy has taught him to throw away his dirty diapers in the trash can after each changing and he's so happy to do it. Whenever he drops his bottle and we ask him to pick it up he'll promptly pick it up and set it on the table, right side up. When we say it's time for bed he'll grab his blanket and head for the room, usually before we are actually ready for him to do so. However, getting him to STAY in bed can be a different story but I'm trying to sing his praises here so we won't go into that at the moment. He pets the kitty very nicely. He's never really been very rough with her, hasn't grabbed hand fulls of hair or things like that. But I believe that he's aware of her ferocity and recognizes her as something not to be trifled with. He does like to test his boundaries and do things that he darn well KNOWS he's not supposed to do, but he will stop when told to and that makes me very happy. It's little things like these that he continues to do on a daily basis that give me so much hope that our son is going to be a good kid.
But, I'm no fool. Time will reveal the truth.
And we'll love him either way.
We had an early morning play session at Clackamas Mall yesterday morning. He usually needs a major diaper change after the long drive from dropping Mommy off at work in Hillsboro to the Mall in Clackamas and I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoy throwing that first nasty diaper of the day into the Mall's trash can instead of ours here at home. Yesterday I let him play with my phone while I did the deed and it took less than thirty seconds for him to activate the camera on my phone and he started taking pictures of me while I was changing his diaper. Gah, I love this kid!! He already exhibits far more technical proficiency than his old man has ever possessed.
Yesterday was our first daytime Daddy Play Group! It was great! It's almost like a completely different play group because both of us have way more energy at 10 a.m. than we do at 6 p.m. so I can keep up with him better and he's more involved with the group instead of going off to be the Little Lone Ranger like he usually does. The plan is to have the first three Fridays of the month at the community center and the fourth Friday of the month will be a field trip somewhere like OMSI or something similar. How cool is that? We can't wait to go back to OMSI!!
Ooops, he says it's time for Daddy to stop blogging and start engaging!! Later!

Juggling the lung butter

2011-01-03T13:13:00.000-08:00

He's had a nasty cough for the last couple of days. Deep down, gurgling, raspy coughs that make me want to put a rag on a stick and swab it down his throat to get at the junk that's plaguing him. Sounds like a jet trying to take off in a giant vat of gooey molasses. Poor lil' monster. It doesn't matter though, that nasty cough can't slow him down any more than anything else that life has thrown at him so far. Just one more pitiful obstacle to be pushed aside on his way to world conquest. Sometimes he'll cough and stop to put value to the taste then continue forward with a look of contempt for a sickness that could do no better than that.
We visited Ollie and Andy last week for a little while. it's so good for all four of us when we hang out. The little ones love the interaction, even if they seem to spend most of their time trying to take toys from each other. On this last visit Baron found something that may be more powerful than he; hugs. Yes, hugs. Adorable little Ollie approached Baron several times with his arms spread out and tried to give Bam Bam Baron a bear hug. I could tell by the look on Baron's face that he now has a definition for cooties. He wanted no part of that action. Priceless.
A time honored law among men is that you do not talk with other men in public restrooms. That's just the way it is. No "hello"'s. No "hey, that shirt looks good on you". No "do you have an extra hair tie I can have?". If a man has a heart attack or falls and hurts himself in a public men's room he had better hope he's got enough charge left in the battery to make it out the door or he will be on his own until he is face to face with his maker. Unless a man is in the men's room with his child. Then we become a gaggle of chatty Kathie's. It's very weird. Baron and I were in the restroom at Target a few days ago and we had to wait for our turn at the changing table, which NEVER happens, and then another father came in with his own dirty monster to change and we just started shootin the stuff like it's not a forbidden activity. We laughed! Kids, they change all the rules.

Baron takes on 2011!

2011-01-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

Crazy, crazy kid. He has a mountain of toys now. A monument of blinking, chirping, whistling, whirring plastic things. After a wonderful holiday season I find myself glad that I packed some of his toys away a month ago in anticipation of just such a situation. The funny thing is, he likes 'em all. He's still getting around to the shwag he received at his birthday and now he has even MORE and he really does get around to most of them. Papa gave him a set of lazer combat remote control vehicles and he's geekin out over those. He doesn't quite get how to make them go forward or backward, but he sure knows where the lazer trigger is. He will keep firing the that thing off over and over and over again until that 'beew-beew-beew' is the only thing I can hear. Over. And. Over.
Thanx again, Papa.
But yeah, who do you think Papa really bought that for? Yeah, that's what I'm thinkin' too.
I can't express how happy I am that he will sit still through his favorite book without going off to do something else. Really. I just wondered there for a while if he would ever slow down for a book. But. Buuuut, and I hate to complain, but if I have to read 'It's not easy being big' with Big Bird and Elmo more than four times in a row again, I might hide it somewhere for a little while. It's the only book he wants to sit through. And he will sit still for every page, pointing at the different characters while I say their names as I read the story and he really loves it. But as soon as that last page is flipped over he demands a re-read or else. Ugh. Soon.
He's full on testing his boundaries now. He understands what we say very well. He knows of the few things that will get him in trouble. Like using his drum sticks on the wall. So, sometimes he will grab his drum sticks and run over to the wall, look at Mommy or myself, and raise his arms in preparation for the strike that he knows should not be struck. And sure enough, if we make eye contact, he more than likely will hit it, just once, and as soon as we raise our voice or start to get up he'll throw the sticks one direction and run off in the opposite direction. He doesn't do this all the time, but it's a few things like this and as a group it seems like he's testing us in one way or another most of the time. Admittedly, it probably doesn't help to dissuade him when I see that look of inquisitive defiance in his eyes and I can't help but grin. He's a tiger in a small cage, wanting to go out and find something new to pounce on. We were expecting to raise a small, fragile child that we would have to protect from the world and instead we have a monkey minded wrecking ball information sponge that we have to protect the world from. Can't wait to take him hiking. Let him take down a deer or maybe a mountain goat.
Gets me thinking about what sports he will be interested in and what he'll be good at when he gets older. I expect that he's going to be very competitive and strong. Like, gorilla stong. He's already sprinting at cheetah speed and he can climb anything, even well cleaned glass. So what will he want to play? I was never into sports. I did it because it was expected, not because I wanted to. I think Baron is going to be the opposite. I hope so! How else am I going to live vicariously through him?
Heh.

More and more terrible by the minute...

2010-12-12T19:51:00.000-08:00

Only his second day as a two year old and he's already acting like a big kid! Today for the first time he slept on his big boy bed, we both heard him say 'red ball', and he found his belly button! Can you imagine? One day you're just looking at your stomach and the next thing you know you find this knot of skin that, apparently if you untie it, your guts will fall out of!!
I was a little freaked out by my belly button as a kid. Didn't want NOBODY touching that thing!
He's played with a bunch of his new toys today. He really likes his Mr. Potato Head, thanks again Sis! He really likes sticking pegs in holes and things like that. He's really good with his Mega Bloks, and also his eight little square blocks that fit inside of each other. He's got really good hand coordination. And he's so determined when he plays with his hands like it's a challenge for him and he'll keep trying until he gets it. I love that about him. His favorite thing to do with his books and toys in the living room is to throw them all, ALL, in a big pile. and then walk away. !
Christina just put him down to bed in his big bed for the first time at night. We have our fingers crossed that he'll stay in there through out the night. He hasn't slept with us in our bed since he first went into his crib, but I have a feeling that we can expect a little visitor from time to time from now on. Or we'll be woken by the sounds of him playing with his toys in the living room or by him turning on the light in the living room. which he can easily reach. He gets a real kick out of turning lights on and off. A new phase, a new era, is dawning in Baron's life. Hang on.........

Has it really been that long?.....

2010-12-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Yep. Little man turns two years old tomorrow. I can't believe it's already been two years. But if I stop to think about all of the events that have transpired since his dramatic entrance into our lives it makes my head spin! A couple of days ago he started saying "uh-oh" and it just cracks me and his mother up! It's so cute. I hate saying that, but it really is cute.
We're hoping for a good turn out for his celebration. I know his grandparents will all be there, which is always cool. I know grandparents can be just a tad, tiny bit competitive when it comes to the love of a grandchild, not that I've ever seen that in any of his grandparents, but I think there's a really good chance he's gonna be spoiled silly. We should probably borrow a truck to lug all the loot home in. His mom and I are really excited.

Our first hike.

2010-11-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

We rode with Mommy to work and then took the car over to Andy's house where he loaded the car seat into his awesome mini van and we drove out to Tryon Creek for a beautiful morning stroll. That was the idea anyway. The little boys had other ideas about what the definition of 'fun' is when in the out-of-doors. But really, we've come to expect the unexpected from our spawn. See, I was talking to a new guy at daddy's group this last Tuesday about where there are good places to introduce toddlers to the wonders of just walking for the sake of walking. I'd read that Tryon has a 'toddler' trail and he said that he loves to take his little boy, Aidden(?), there. So, I told Andy and we decided to head out the next morning.
It was great having Baron in a vehicle with another kid. Ollie's car seat is rear facing and BAron's is forward facing so they were really able to see each other and interact better. They actually high-fived each other!!! It was so cool! They're awesome.
But hiking didn't really worked out the way we had hoped. Baron and Ollie were much more interested in sticks and leaves on the trail and things that were off the trail than actually getting anywhere. If they had their way we'd probably still be there, playing with sticks and leaves. Oh well, it's a start.
But THEN.... Andy took us to the Elephant playground up by the zoo at the Rose Garden. It was the most awesome non-wood structure playground I've ever seen! It was HUGE!! Baron loved it. He started on the swings and then went right up the steps to the top and ran and ran and went down the slides and then climbed up the slides and ran and ran and laughed and wore my butt down to nuthin'. I definitely need Mommy to come with us next time. Andy was busy with Ollie and Baron wanted down the slides and I couldn't really go down the slides with him (believe me, I tried and it wasn't pretty.) so I'd set Baron on the slide and try to jump down to the bottom before he could slide off of the slide. I'm not as graceful as I used to be. And I wasn't that graceful then, either. So, yeah, Mommy's going next time.
The Daddy Play Group is going on a field trip to OMSI next Saturday, but that's also the weekend when my dad is coming down to visit. We'll see if we can work something out. Maybe Papo and Nana Mentzer would like to watch Lil' Bear tear OMSI down! I've wanted to take him there for a while now. And it's the place where I'd really like to get a membership so we can go play inside anytime. But, we've never been to the Children's Museum and I hear that it rocks. We'll just have to save our pennys and go to the Children's Museum before we make a decision. Soon......

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

He Loved the Pumpkin Patch! Auntie Shelley treated us to a trip through the corn maze at Kruger Farm on Sauvie Island. It was so great! We were a good little group; Auntie Shelley and her friend Jade, the Mentzer Family Unit and Nana and Papa. Oh, and Jade's cute little dog, Jack. Eight of us. In a corn maze. It was crazy. At one point, Baron was leading us through! Everybody took turns carrying him or holding his hand but when he got the chance to hit the ground without anybody holding him back he put his head down and charged forward like a pint sized rhino, knocking anything in his way into the corn stalks on either side of the trail.After we made it through the corn maze we hit the pumpkin patch where Lil' Bear picked out his very first pumpkin. He really seemed like a little bear as he jumped into a pile of smaller pumpkins off to the side of the patch. He tossed pumpkins in all directions, not so much looking for a pumpkin but more just enjoying the satisfaction of decimating a pile of pumpkins. Watching him destroy things sparks a small feeling of what that was like. Little kids can't really build many things, but they can create something new by destroying something that has already been made. It's not malicious (well, not all the time.), it's just fun. Until you get in trouble. And one of the great Unfair Truths' of the universe is that, if you're a little boy and you're having fun there's a good chance that you're going to get in trouble for doing whatever it is that you're having fun doing. Dat's jus' duh troof!

That boy's got him some soul...

2010-10-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

One of his most favorite things right now is watching Sesame Street music videos on Youtube. As you can imagine, there are tons of Sesame Street music videos out there. The show's been around for forty years. But of all the videos, he likes the soul singers the most. His top three favorites are; Destiny's Child singing 'I got a new way to walk' (With Elmo, or course), India Irie and Elmo singing the ABC's and the one that really gets him movin and groovin is Patty LaBelle singing a gospel version of the ABC's. She really wails it out and a bunch of the characters come out to help her sing. Seriuosly, it's friggin awesome. He, like most little kids, love to watch the same thing over and over again (if you let them!) and we've watched quite a few vidoes over and over and over, but I think I could listen to Patti LaBelle singing the ABC's at least seventy six more times without getting tired of it.

But he still rocks out to Pantera. He knows his stuff.

He loves Sage, our spastic new kitten. They play great together. They'll both be mindin their own business and out of nowhere Baron'll call out his berserker battle cry and Sage'll jump to her feet with her back reaching for the ceiling and he'll make a bee line for her as she tears down the hall into his room. Then, once there, the tide is turned and Baron will come running back down the hall with Sage bouncing sideways with her back arched, right at his heals. It's great. But I still have to keep such a close eye on him because he's grabbed her tail and pulled a few times and he likes to lay next to her, where ever she may be, and try to roll over on top of her. She's way more careful with him. Despite their rough housing she's only given him a couple of scratches. Far fewer than he deserves is you ask me.
He loves sloppy joes.
And oatmeal raisin cookies. (what?)
And macaroni and cheese.
He likes a lot of things, just not at meal time.
Kids.

Help!! I can't keep up!!

2010-09-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Seriously, he's a grinnin lil' typhoon of rambunctious curiousity and joyous havoc. And everyday brings some new discovery or milestone and I'm really lagging begind on my chronicling of these events.
He figured out how to high-fives after only being shown twice.
He LOVES to give high-fives now.
He figured out how to knock on Nana and Papa's front door all by himself.
He .. oh geez, he's causing trouble........

Is is too late to cuddle?

2010-07-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

Yeah, it's the strangest thing. He's never enjoyed being held, ever. In anybodies arms he's good for a few seconds before he wants to go do something else. But, at eighteen months he's starting to get into it. Sitting in my lap while I read to him has only happened a few times, but those are the best, and after a couple of his naps he's just wanted to be picked up and held as soon as he wakes up. The very best though was a couple of weeks ago when the three of us went to have dinner at the Sweet Tomatoes up in the 'Couv. He had played pretty good that day and fell asleep in the car just as we pulled into the parking lot. (Don't kids have AMAZING timing for things like that?) I pulled him out and he was completely limp, put him up on my shoulder and we went in. We went through the line and got our salads and he never moved. We payed, chit-chatted with the cashier for a sec, and found a table and sat down and he was still like a rag doll. Even while I ate brocoli and other crunchy veggies with his head right against my neck, he didn't move. It wasn't until we'd finished our salads and got some soup and bread that he finally woke up. (Also just like a kid to wake up after the salad and vegetable course!) He was so dazed and it was obvious that he was looking around wondering just where in the heck he'd woken up this time. Too, too tooo toot too cute a tot. He enjoyed some good yummy food and his insides didn't have any problem with any of it. So far it seems that the only thing that really messes up his system is large amounts of milk or too much apple juice in one day. Both for different reasons, but you don't really want to hear about all of that, do you?
He loves to dance to the music!! He's got Saturday Night Fever!! You can tell by the way he walks he's a woman's man, no time to talk! I hooked our stereo up he loves listening to all kinds of stuff. He really likes high energy, percussive stuff (Big surprise.); Santana, Sublime, Big Business. And he makes Daddy very proud by liking my band, Ghostmob. I've had him try on some Tony Bennet, Dean Martin, Fohnny Cash, but he's not into it yet. Sadly, he had no time for Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger, which is one of my all time favs. Oh well, could be worse. I wonder what popular kids music is going to sound like in ten years or so. I'll find out, wheather I'm ready or not.

I knew I forgot something!!

2010-07-13T12:39:00.001-07:00

I completely forgot to mention Baron's first trip to Oaks Park!! Silly Daddy!! It was for Nana Debbie's company picnic last Saturday and it was a gorgeous day all around. We ate hot dogs, played with some soccer balls, he went on the carousel, we all rode the train and went on my favorite ride several times; the water misters!! I love those things!! Baron does too. After standing in line waiting to get on the train under the relentless oppression of the mid day sun I was dying to walk through those sweet, sweet water misters. I think that they should be installed in a lot more public places!
He is getting soooooo big!!! Everyday he gets bigger. It's very unsettling. He eats all day long and it's a struggle to find high calorie, high fat snacks that aren't complete junk. Cheese is about the best 'cause he loves it and it keeps everything.... um... together. I put peanut butter in his breakfast but he doesn't like it if he can see it on his food. OH!! Oh!, Oh!, did I tell you? It's the most heartbreaking thing!!; He doesn't seem to care for chocolate!! I know that he shouldn't have chocolate at this point and I should be thankful that he doesn't beg for it like I do but REALLY!! How could a child O' mine not love chocolate? It just makes me question some fundamental ideas that I've always just assumed were plain truth. I just don't know what to believe anymore......
When we went to The Dalles on Sunday we stopped to drive through the 'fruit loop' in the Hood River Valley. The Judge and I decided that, after we win the lottery, we will move into a nice little farm nestled back in the Hood River Valley and spend our days working on our land and enjoying the 'fruits' (HA!) of our labors. Sounds delicious. If you're gonna dream, DREAM BIG! So, we thought it would be great to have a farm and on that farm have a restaurant with a bed and breakfast on top. We would serve fresh produce our farm, as well as others in the area, and encourage guests to go out and pick their own produce, maybe throw in some cooking classes and offer suggestions on the multitude of activities available in any direction and put more focus on families and kids specifically. We can tell you that not very many bed and breakfasts cater to kids. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty rad to me.

Bigger Every Day.

2010-07-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

Our little Bear has been doing so good lately. As soon as the sun came out he started advancing with leaps and bounds as far as his development goes. Yesterday and today he has grabbed books and brought them to me so I could put him in my lap and read them to him. He stayed in my lap for over a half an hour!! It's so awesome. He keeps coming back to a counting book and studying a picture of a kitten. He even pets the picture.
So much has happened I'm not sure if I can remember it all. We went to Roseburg to visit my dad and step mom and that was a blast. Three generations of Mentzer boys together and set loose. We HAD to go out for pizza because it's the official Mentzer food. Baron loooovvvveesss pizza. And so do I. We fed the ducks and geese at the duck pond, played at the park where Baron experienced uneven ground for the first time and enjoyed the company of my folks' chihuahua. It was really good for me to hang out with my son and my dad. Every summer when I was a kid we'd make the long drive to Roseburg so me and my parents could hang out with the grandparents and now I get to do the exact same thing with my son. Life is a circle.
We've played at quite a few of the parks in the Portland area in the last couple of weeks. Some are just amazing and have some great equipment to play on but he invariably ends up playing with a pine cone or tries to climb in a garbage can. He gets that from me. I took him to Clackamas Mall a few day ago so we could play in the kids area like we have before but this time he wanted nothing to do with the play area. He wanted to see what the rest of the mall was all about!! Everything was closed but their was still a strong mall-walker presence and he went from closed gate to closed gate, covered kiosk to covered kiosk talking googley talk at full volume so he could be heard throughout the entire mall and lovin' every minute of it. He had a good nap that day. I set him loose in the middle of Delta Park and he loved that too. Nothing but acres and acres of open field that he would walk giant circles in at full speed, grinnin the whole time.
But you would never in a million years guess where the coolest, funnest, most amazing park play structure is. Would you believe that it's at Sorosis Park in The Dalles? We visited my mom yesterday for her belated birthday wishes and took him up to the park to wear him out before we headed back to P-town. It is so mind blowingly fantastic! Baron's still a bit too little to really enjoy it but next year we are going to be all over that thing!!!!
I built him his first furniture fort yesterday and he loves it! I put a blanket over our table and he goes in and out, up and over and all around it. This last weekend I saw at Barnes and Nobles (One of our favorite places to visit!) that they sell these things that look like giant tinkertoys that you can make a frame with and then cover with a sheet and make into a variety of different forts. Pretty cool, but nothing beats creating new environments out of the mundane furniture that we take for granted everyday. A chair is never just a chair when a child is around
I've been researching and writing down a bunch of the fun, free activities that go on all over the Portland area. Different story times, movies in the parks, Sunday Parkways, music in the parks, guided nature walks for kids, all kinds of amazing things.
This is the best summer. Ever.

More beach trip pics.

2010-06-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

As soon as we got to Newport we hit the Old Bay Front and checked out the sea lions lazin about below the pier. Then we bought taffy. Why else would anybody go to the coast? Taffy.
After we left the Old Bay Front we hit the Aquarium and Baron had a good time. He really just wanted to be put on the floor so he could hit it at his pace but we couldn't let him do that. Sorry buddy.
He wasn't really too thrilled about most of the exhibits but he did enjoy the jelly fish. I think he could've stared at them softly float through their tank all day long. I think I could too.
He also really liked the walk through shark exhibit but then he found the totally awesome floor lights and that was the best part of the aquarium for him. The little floor lamps. Yep. Floor lamps. But hey, he also really loves ceiling fans!! Who doesn't? I mean, really?! I love the aquarium and all that but I think I could've saved myself thirty bonez and just walked him through a hardware store for free. He would've loved that as much, if not more, than the aquarium. eh.
It was a great trip though. We ended up having chowder at this little mom and pops cafe at six o'clock in Garibaldi(?) and it was great chowder. And the people who owned and opperated the joint really were Mom and Pop. Some old couple, and when I walked in I felt like I had just been welcomed into their home dining room and kitchen, not some little tourist stop on the way to somewhere more popular. I'm not a big fan of Moe's chowder. I've tasted some to-die-for chowders along the Oregon Coast that would send Moe's crying home to her mommie. (Moe was a woman.) The best? the Sea Buouy in Seaside, but if you have your heart set on their chowder you better call ahead 'cause that's the place where all the locals and fishermen get their chowder fix on. It's got a little extra paprika that really makes it come alive in your mouth. (!)

Is it really summer? Finally?

2010-06-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I remember when I was younger I would hear the older folk talk about this big ball of fire that would light up the sky all day long and it could even get real hot sometimes. But I thought they were just stories. Until a couple of weeks ago. I saw the Sun.! Whoah, so unreal! It was all bright and warm and stuff and even made the back of my neck all red and hurty but I didn't care 'cause the Sun made me want to have fun. And I did. I like the Sun and I hope it stays, at least for a while until people start wondering where the rain ran off to.

Baron has been having nothin but fun since the weather took a turn for the better. Papa and Nana took us on a beach trip and Baron went to the Aquarium and saw jelly fish and sharks and then he played on the beach. And I took him on the MAX up to the Zoo and he met interesting people at every stop. And a couple of days ago I took him to down town St. John's and he got to play on the play ground equipment at the elementary school AND the play ground equipment at the adjoining preschool. AND THEN I walked him over to the St. John's Park and he played there for a while. I was tired.

Greatest. Picture. Ever.

2010-06-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

This mindblowingly awesome picture of Baron going down a slide was taken by Nana Debbie today when we were playing at the St. John's Park. It was such a gorgeous day, too. I think it might've reached seventy! It was way too beautiful to stay inside, that's fo sho! He enjoyed the park, but the playground equipment wasn't really designed for toddlers but more for older kids. But anybody can slide.
This is just such a fantastic picture!!!
Today he also fell down Nana's and Papa's back steps. Scared the jeepers out of me. He didn't really cry. And THEN, after we got home he bailed off of the chest that's below the window in his room and landed right on the top of his head. Didn't really cry though.
When we were at Nana and Papa's I was watching him play by himself over in the corner of the living room. I watched as he picked up one of his Elmo books, opened the front cover (right side up!), looked at the pictures, flipped to the next page, looked at the pictures and he continued to do this until he got to the end of the book!!! AND THEN HE DID IT AGAIN!!! He's never, ever ever-ever-ever EVER sat still long enough with a book to do that. I was so excited.
And nobody else was watching.
I've been trying for so long to get him interested in books. I read to him all the time. We're over half way through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and when that's in the bag we're going to start on The Call of the Wild. But he gets lots of Shel Silverstein and Dr. Suess and Counting and ABC and color books too. We'll be into Douglas Adams before too long and then Advanced Philosophy.

More vids!!

2010-05-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

HA! Check these out!

A video! (maybe)

2010-05-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to ....upload? download? unload? wideload?.... a video of Baron gnawing on his first carrot stick a few months ago. We'll see what happens.

He's Walking!!

2010-05-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month, almost two, since I last wrote. He has three teeth now, and a forth on the way. He's walking really, really good now. The moment I've been anticipating and fearing is now upon us. I've got to turn my Baron Danger Radar up to fifteen now. It's awesome though.
This is my first ever weekend without my wife and son. They went to Milton-Freewater to visit Calvin n' Clan for Jordan's birthday party. I would've gone but Ghostmob had a show last night so I couldn't go. Ghostmob can't play without their guitar player. It's just not allowed.
So, they went, I stayed. Friday night I slept for ten hours for the first time in a couple of years. It was magical. And then lonely. I thought I'd relax and take it easy, soak up my free time. But I missed my little Barbarian Bear. He's my everyday everything and without him I'm kinda stuck shufflin my feet. Oh yeah, I miss my wife too. LOVE YOU HONEY!!
But, I've talked to the wife on the phone a couple of times and she said that Baron keeps lookin for me, wondering where I am. He probably thinks I've been in the bathroom the whole time. (Maybe I have been....)
With his new found mobility he has also acquired some delightfully colorful bumps, bruises, scrapes and scabs. His beautiful little face looks like a battle ground. He's in the Ultimate Fighter Preemie Division. You should see what the other toddler looks like! And again I have to mention his amazing resilience and capacity and tolerance for pain. It's frightening. He's fallin and really given himself some hum-dingers, all on his face, and he still never cries for more than a minute. About two weeks ago I was packing his diaper bag so we could go to his doctor appointment and I walked away for THIRTY SECONDS and I heard a 'thump' and a 'WAAAAAHHHHH...' and apparently he had fallen off of our chair and scraped his nose and face down the side of our wooden book case. He cried for less than a minute and we left. The next day his little nose was more scab than not and it was completely healed in six days. He does have a healing factor! My little mutant.
And!, at that doctors appointment he got two shots and blood drawn and he took it all like a battle hardened barbarian, impressing not only his parents but also the seasoned medical professionals who don't often have the opportunity to work with young ones like the Burly Bare Barbarian Bear. However, we are getting to finally see the flip side of his strong will and determination. He's thrown a couple of tantrums lately and now we are stepping into dangerous waters. Dealing with children's' negative behaviour is a true test, if not the greatest test, of a parents skill. It is so easy to give in to the dark side and let go of your anger and fight the toddlers' fire with equal and greater adult fire, but that never helps in the long run. It's not only the younglings who learn in these circumstances. Thank goodness for going to daddy play group with Andy and Ollie! It is so helpful for me to be around other fathers and see how they do their stuff. We've been going to several weeks now. It's in the Community Center near Andy's house, which is a long way from me but it's really nice to go to something like that with a friend. Especially if that friend is Andy. He who has a magical way of getting along with anybody and everybody and making almost any social situation a little more laid back. Love him.
I need to get Christina to take Baron to a mommies play group because it is such a wonderful thing on so many levels. I want to look into other Community Centers closer to home that Baron and I can go to, maybe we can find one that isn't parent gender specific! Good stuff.
I sat down with some free local parenting activity guides and wrote down the dates and times for all the free activities that go on all the time in the Portland Metro area. Every awesome attraction like the Zoo, OMSI, the Children's Museum, the Art Museum and others offer a free admission once a month, you just gotta know when they happen. And now I do! And knowing is half the battle.

He keeps going and going and going....

2010-03-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

He's awesome! This morning he used one of his soft furniture pieces to stand on and reached up and grabbed a hold of, and tried to turn, the bathroom door knob. What's the use in putting locks on the doors? He's just gonna figure out how to open those next week!!

Everyday brings something new.....

2010-03-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday he carefully backed down the steps until he reached the bottom!! Can you believe that? I think that's a pretty major step for a kid who tackles every thing with wild, manic energy. I expected him to just throw himself down stairs until he gets much older, like in his teens. But, nope, he tried the first two steps several times over and over until he got the hang of it and then he just went all the way down, one step at a time. He is so smart!!! I really didn't expect that kind of problem solving at such a young age. I'm beaming, can you tell?
And, I'd like to take this opportunity to heap huge amounts of thanx on my sweet sis. Several people expressed concern when they heard we were moving in with her 'cause Sis and I tried cohabitating waaaayyyyy back in the day and it didn't turn out well at all. But we're both older, wiser and better people now and I have so much love and respect for her. If you don't know my Sis, you're missing out. THANK YOU SIS!!! You're a great person and I love you immensely!! We are very happy living in your home with you and I'm very glad that Baron gets the chance to grow in your presence. Thank you.

The only constant is changing diapers

2010-03-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

Stuff, stuff and more stuff. It never stops. And neither does Baron!
We've moved into my sis' condo off of Marine drive and we're lovin it. L. O. V. I. N. it!! Baron has so much more space to get his crazy on and we can tell he really likes it here. He finally has his own room!! WE finally have our own room!!!!! Dear God, I don't have the words to help me convey just how much of a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. 'Course, we are in such a deep pit of financial misery it's frightening. Everyday we check the account to see if our salvation has arrived in the form of our long awaited tax refund and everyday it isn't there is more late fees, more phone calls, more spiraling down, down, down.....

But hey, we've got each other. And that's a lot for love.
We'll give it a shot!
Whoah, half way there, Whoah, livin on a prayer!!
Oh Jon Bon, could I borrow a few bones?
It's hard to feel the pain of scraping bottom when it's coming from a millionaire.

Aaaaaanyway... We'll make it. We always do.
Baron had his follow-up appointment with his surgeon yesterday and every thing's lookin good. We have some at-home maintenance to do on his unmentionables and I was going to give a brief description but then I thought 'Ya know, this blog could still be around when he's older and it would really suck for other kids to find this blog and use the information within to tease and taunt him'. I shudder to think what my childhood would've been like if my folks had kept a public account of my upbringing.
But, yeah, he's doing great. I love his surgeon, Dr. Newman. He's a good, good man. The kinda guy I'd like to shoot the shit with over a cold six pack. I should invite him over to a barbecue.

Baron is in a forward facing car seat now.
He loves to clap with his parents when something fun happens.
Yesterday he shoved puffs into my mouth after I shoved puffs into his mouth. (And anybody who truly knows me knows that me letting a baby stick his nasty, sticky, grubby cherubish hand INSIDE of my mouth is a big, big step for me. Ucky!!)
He can pop the lid off of his container of puffs. (uh oh!)
He LOVES LOVES LOVES watching the Sesame Street spin-off for toddlers, Play With Me Sesame!!!!
I've been reading Treasure Island to him. We're half way through it.
He freaks out whenever we're in a store and he sees a balloon. Freaks out!! And it's amazing how many places have balloons! I'd never paid attention before. They're everywhere!!!
Last week I took him to the kid play area at Clackamas Towne Center early in the morning. We had the whole area all to ourselves and it was friggin awesome!!! He had a blast, he was playing so hard he was gasping for air and still trying to go, go, GO! The first time it was just the two of us and then we made Mommy come with us last Saturday. I can't believe that of all of the thousands of babies in this city that we are the only ones to take ours to the Clackams mall at seven in the morning. It's FREE people!!!
He gets nibbles of whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating now. More Mommy than Daddy though 'cause she eats better than me.
He's just doing fantastic, as always. His tolerance for pain just seems to get stronger and stronger. Yesterday he crawled into the bathroom, stood up, grabbed one of the drawers by the sink and pulled it out so it smashed into his face and then slammed his fingers into it. It looked painful (if not a bit comical) but he only cried for a couple of seconds. He just doesn't have time for the pain!!
HA!
I put him in his stroller last week and it took us fifteen minutes to walk to Jantzen Beach. How rad is that? We are going to have an awesome, radtastical spring and summer.
Look out, here we come!!

Baron's surgery!!!!!

2010-02-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

What a day. Again, I have to say it just one more time; He is such a friggin trooper. Dr. Newman, one of my most favoritist peoples in the world, sat us down (again) and told what was gonna happen and what to expect and all that what-not. Said the procedure should only take about an hour. Well, when we were waiting, in the waiting room, we watched an hour go by. And then fifteen minutes more and then five minutes more and then minute after minute clicked by, each one infinitly longer than the one before. And then we heard the pager go off on the receptionists desk and we held our breath as she looked at the message on the pager, put it down and started to get up as she looked our way and saw all five of us (myself,wifey,sis,momanddad-in-law) staring at her from across the room with expectation in our eyes. She told us we could go back and see him in about ten minutes and when I heard that, it felt like I'd won the lottery there for a second. Christina went to Baron and I talked with Dr. Newman and he told me a bunch of stuff that was way over my head and I can't remember crap anyway but the gist is that Baron had an odd hernia. He said he'd never seen one quite like it.
That's my boy.
I could go into some specifics, but I don't think I need to. He's put back together. He's going to be more sore than the average baby after this type of surgery because, well, Baron just can't do anything like a 'normal' child (I recognize that there is no such thing as a 'normal child'), but he's on some good drugs and even though I'm no advocate of the fix-everything-with-a-pill mentality I won't mind him being doped up for a few days if it will keep him from hurting.
Damn, I hate to see my son hurt. It almost puts me in a panic. It gives me a near unstoppable urge to rip the world apart to find a way to make the pain go away. Is that bad?
So, yeah, the next few days will be like the old days, when he first came home and I was up every night, all night long just watching him. Hours at a time just watching him breathe in and out, making sure that he never stopped. Yeah, maybe a little extreme but I'm not an out of control parent yet. Yet. But please, keep an eye on me and let me know when to ease up a bit. Thanx.

And now; The Moment You've All Been Waiting For....

2010-02-19T07:12:00.001-08:00

Little bear goes in for surgery today at eleven oclock. We've waited quite a while for this moment and now that it's here I can feel the cold fingers of nervousness and anxiety tickling the back of my brain. Nothing too bad though. I have such complete confidence in Dr. Newman and that really is sooooo much piece of mind, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is in the best hands possible. Still, I know he's gonna be scared and he's already really hungry because he's had to fast since last night so he's going to be in a bad mood no matter what. He's just like Daddy when he's hungry; A big baby.

So much has happened lately. His first fang appeared last week and is getting larger and sharper by the minute. He can stand for almost a minute without anything to hang onto. And now that cold and flu season is winding down we've taken him to a few public play areas, much to his absolute delight. His first time was at Jantzen Beach, on their little car rides. You'da thought he was in Disney Land from the smile on his face. Then Mom and I took him to the play area at Clackamas Towne Center. THAT was quite the experience for all three of us. He crawled on the outdoor playground equipment at the Community Center yesterday. His climbing abiltiy is astounding.
Well, I guess I need to start getting ready for this. Wish us luck!!

Slowly but Shirley. And don't call me Shirley.

2010-01-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

He's doin better. So far, so good. I'm not sure what day it was, Tuesday maybe, but he threw up a lot and we were gettin worried about him again but we've remained incredibly diligent and have givin him formula or pedialyte whenever he wants, as much as he wants. Yesterday was really good. He ate every hour or hour and a half and only took two to three ounces, but he kept it all down and his diarrhea is lightening up a bit. That was becoming a major concern too. But, I just fed him some applesauce mixed with formula and oatmeal flakes and he took a couple ounces of that. His first solid food in several days. The first solid food he kept down in almost a week. Yeesh. Fear not, though! The little warrior Bear has maintained his jubilatious attitude through it all, as he always does. GAH!!! I can't say enough how much I love that nasty little monster!! I just wanna gobble him up!!! He just blows my friggin mind. He goes through so much, and he keeps on truckin. Both figuratively and literally. From the obvious big stuff like his initial surgeries to how he tackles a stack of toys that might block his path. He takes it all head on, and he keeps doin it 'till it's done. He doesn't get that from me, I can tell ya that fer sure. I may have helped with his sunny disposition but I do not posses his tenacity and will, and that part of his character puts me in awe. He's not even twenty pounds and I admire him. I'm gonna be such a terrible father when he gets older, I'll let him get away with everything. Fortunately I know Mommy is aware of this and is already pretty good at sniffin out my brand of trouble. She's got that natural mommy instinct but I think that the year or so we lived together before Baron was born really helped prime her for the things that are to come.
Like a storm boiling on the horizon.
Joyous trouble.
Mayhem and mischief.
Dark glee.
Hide the breakables.

The truth revealed..

2010-01-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Well, we haven't heard back from his doctor yet but we're pretty positive Baron just had a little flu bug. We came by this decision after Christina got it on Sunday and I got it on Monday. It's totally weird, we had the same symptoms he had and it only lasted one day. Thank goodness too, 'cause I shouldn't downplay it's possibly deadly potential by calling it 'a little flu but'. Mom and I took it okay, but he really was pretty dehydrated and not doin so good. It's a good thing we took him to the ER when we did. But, we're all feelin good now, so let's watch out for the next one. Yup, there's always a 'next one'.

Our first trip to the ER!!

2010-01-17T09:01:00.001-08:00

YAY!! We got to go to the emergency room on Friday night because Baron was really cranky and didn't look good at all. Mommy was worried so we loaded up the car and headed up to the hospital with stress and expectation in our hearts. His mood seemed to improve after we got there, and we waited. And we waited. And we waited. We arrived at the ER about nine and they took some x-rays and took some blood but we wouldn't know anything until his surgeon, Dr. Newman showed up later Saturday morning. Until that time Baron was miserable. He cried and cried, probably for four or more hours straight. We just didn't know it he was crying because he hurt or because he was hungry or something else altogether. It was very frustrating. That's an understatement. Mommy and I were getting pissed. I'm not going to go into detail about it now, but we just weren't happy with way things were set up and how things were being handled. I always give the benefit of the doubt, especially to hospital ER rooms, because I have no way of knowing what kind of emergency could be happening right down the hall, what horrible calamity might have befallen some poor stranger on the floor below. All the same, my boy was in pain and in need and I needed to do something about it.
. He devoured a constant stream of grape flavored pedialyte and has continued into today. He's only getting clear liquid for the next day or so and then he can start having formula again. Solid food is a couple of days away. His doctor looked at him, looked at his x-rays and still doesn't know what the problem is. He still needs to look at the labs and stool samples (RAD!), but even then he may not know. He thinks that it's more than likely that he just got a little flu bug that is moving through him. It's the not knowing that bugs me the most. But really, we're just happy he's home now and looking and acting like himself again. He's resilient, he can take it.
. I was talking with Papa and Nana about the collapse of the Arctic Shelf and the freezing temperatures assaulting China and told them that someday Baron will be Chieftain of the Northwest Tribes after the Earth wins its battle with our overpopulating tendencies. He will stand on the cliffs of the Gorge and feel the wind as he surveys his domain. He will be a mighty chief indeed, who lead his people to safety and prosperity. He will wear the skins of the beasts he has bested in fair battle. The wolf, the mountain lion, the bear. And I will be proud of him. Nana and Papa thinks the flash is out in my camera, if you know what I mean.

First words...

2010-01-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

The wife and I are in agreement; Baron said his first words today!!!!!! He's been workin on da-da for a couple of days but today he did it over and over until it sounded right, like he was sayin Dada. So friggin cool!!! And I don't care that he said something in reference to me, I'm just thrilled that he said something. And he's not just saying it, he's repeating it back to us. He is amazing. Spoiled, but amazing.

New Year with the Lil' Bear!!

2010-01-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

Well, well, a new year. The Mentzer unit spent the last week watching over Casa Del Fix while Andy, Kim and Ollie the ogre slayer visited their fans back in Michy. It was a nice little vacation for us, we wallowed in the wondrous sensation of living on our own again. But, their house can get COLD on the main floor, so we spent almost all of our time upstairs where the heat is. We watched a little tv, played on the floor quite a bit (as we always do) and enjoyed the company of their cat, Havarti. He is awesome, and the spitting image of my beautiful little Smoke, the cat I had way back in '99 and '00 and he's amazingly cool with babies!!! He totally got up in Baron's face, which Lil' Bear was completely unprepared for. He's used to the mangy ol' curmudgeon of a feline that sulks around Nana's house; Mo. Mo don't like no kids. Havarti, on the other hand (paw?) let Baron get right up to him and pat him up a bit and even tolerate a bit of hair pulling and the whole time Havarti did nothing more than bat back at him, claws sheathed. Great cat.

. So, Baron was counting sheep upstairs in his crib and I was scrounging through Andy's kitchen, taking bites of things and putting the rest back when I heard Da Bear start to cry upstairs. I new he was going to wake up hungry so I got a bottle together, heated it up, slammed the nipple back on and headed up the stairs. He was crying pretty good, but he does that sometimes. I reached the top of the stairs, walked up to his crib and peeked my head over the side to see his sad little face look back at me as he let out a fresh wail. I set the bottle down and reached in to gather him and I brushed a little string that was on his left bicep. But it didn't move so I pinched it with my fingers and pulled and it was stuck. Baron screamed. I looked closer and realized to my horror that a thread hanging from the edge of the blanket that I put over the edge of his crib to block out the light had wrapped around his arm and it was TIGHT. I gave another little tug while I tried to determine which way it was twisted and there was no give. His scream intensified. I didn't panic (much to my surprise upon reflecting back on it now) but I was struck with a deep urgency to do something to stop my sons' pain. I immediately remembered the finger nail clippers I had just used that morning and I ran over, grabbed it and tried to calm Baron as his struggling was just cinching the little string tighter, like a tiny python. I dove in, got the string, clipped it and it mercifully released. I scooped my Lil' Bear up and held him as close and a terrified parent can hold their child when they're hurting. He stopped crying after a couple of seconds and was smiling again in a minute or two but my heart was galloping for a bit longer than that. I felt so bad, so, so, sooooooooo bad. What if I'd taken the time to make a fresh batch of formula? What if I hadn't heard him right away? I know he could have suffered damage to his arm if it had taken me a few more minutes to get to him than I did. I checked his arm after five minutes or so and he had a thin, deep red ring all the way around him arm. He'd already moved past it by that time, it wasn't sore to the touch or anything. But I learned another major lesson while dodging a bullet.

I also learned another important lesson about always bringing food for him whenever we leave the house, no matter how short a trip I think we might be on. We went to pick up mommy from work a couple of days ago. Left for Beaverton about two in the afternoon to make the twenty minute drive. Everything was fine until we reached the top of the Sylvan hill on highway 26 and small flakes began to fill the air. Ten minutes later mommy was in the car and white stuff was everywhere. We headed back on 26 and then saw it was backing up so we got off to go on Burnside. We sailed past St. Vincent's, headed up the hill and then BAM! We were stopped at the cemetery, an uneven line of cars blocking both sides of the road ahead. An armoured car in front of us was sliding inevitably towards the ditch every time his tires began to turn and an old man coming towards us in the other lane at a snails pace, his old foot pushing all the way down on the accelerator as his screaming tires slowly, oh so slowly fishtailed within inches of my drivers door were just the tip of the iceberg in what was to be a very long evening. Everybody was sliding all over the damn place. Nobody knows how to drive in snow around here. Everybody has these lead right feet that either slam down on the gas and make them lose traction and go all over the place or slam down on the brake and make them lose traction and go all over the place. Come on, people! You gotta squeeeeeze that brake, squeeeeeze that gas. Maybe it was the season I spent driving a beat up Ford Taurus with bald tires up Mt. Hood everyday to work at Meadows, maybe it was growing up in the sticks, I don't know. But, I do know how to drive in the snow. For the first time in our relationship Christina was singing praised about my driving. It took us FOUR AND A HALF HOURS TO GET BACK HOME TO ANDY'S!!! THAT'S NOT AN EXAGGERATION! FOUR AND A HALF HOURS!!!! I couldn't believe it. But the worst part of the whole cluster f%$# was our starving little boy in the back seat. Again, I felt so, so, soooooo very bad. He was miserable and with every cry I wanted to get him home that much more. Never, ever leave home without baby food. You never know when everything is going to go all 'The Day After Tomorrow' on ya. AGH!!! Maybe I could offer classes for driving in the snow?

. Anyway, I learned two big lessons at the close of the old year so that I could enter the new year armed with knowledge and experience with which to help me raise my son. In one piece. Cross your fingers.......

Word from the Front Lines;

2009-12-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

Lil' Bear has had a busy, busy week. He's had an appointment with one specialist or another everyday this week but Tuesday. His pediatrician at St. Vincent's, his nutritionists at Dornbechers, his gastroenterologist at OHSU, his surgeon at Emanuel and tonight is his physical therapist appointment back at Dornbechers. He doesn't mind it at all though. It's just more attention for him. And everywhere he goes, doctors, nurses, patients, visitors, receptionists, custodians and every one else has a comment and a smile to share. I really don't mind all the appointments either, it gets us both out of the house. This ugly weather is killing us with boredom. Good thing he got tons of shwag on his b-day. And, I had joked a bit before about how he likes the ladies and all that, but it's really true. If someone were to say it too me I would just dismiss the comment as blind parental love or something, but he really does, he loves hot blondes. He smiles for everybody and usually gets excited when he knows he's around somebody who has a fun, child-like nature, but when he sees a hot blonde he gets LOUD. It's hillarious and a little embarrassing, especially when I'm trying to talk business with the receptionist who can tell that he's freaking out about the hot blonde. I just flash a sheepish grin and propose that he gets that behavior from his mom.

So, after so many medical visits we have new updates on Baron's stats; He's about eighteen and one quarter pounds, he's healthy as a horse, his development is right on track with the exception of language he's all up on his shots (and he only cries for a couple of seconds now when he gets poked with a needle), his surgery should be soon and after last weeks ultrasound they can't find his left testicle. I've looked everywhere, I have no idea where he could have possibly put it.

Nana usually wakes up a few minutes before we do and she's been turning on the Christmas lights downstairs for us. When Baron and I leave our bedroom we can see the soft glow coming from the stairs and when we go down the stairs he strains to burst from my arms more and more with every step until we hit the landing and his eyes get huge and he slowly looks around the incredibly festive room that is so much different now from the one he has gotten to know so well. Sometimes Nana or Mommy will try to get his attention with calls and coos and high pitched exclamations, but always in vain. He has to soak it in. Soak it in.

I think I'm getting a cold. Lame-O, baby. What am I supposed to do? I knew this day would eventually come and now it's here and I can't call in sick. I have to smear a clorox wipe over anything I touch, I can't breathe around Baron for fear of getting him sick and all I really want to do is lay down and take a nap but there is no chance of that happening. It was so hard to feed him at midnight, I almost could have laid there and slept through his cries. Almost.

Damn, he's a good lookin little brat, ain't he?

Spoiled like last months milk.

2009-12-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

. Lil' Bear's birthday was a smashing success and Nana and Papa's living room is now flooded with a menagerie of loud, blinking, rolling, singing, ringing, plastic things and at least four new Elmos' to add to his growing army of red, squeaky voiced giggle monsters. I am so tickled that so many people showed up to celebrate his first year. From the wonderful banquet room and the great pizza (a shout out to one of the best taco pizzas in the Portland area!!!), to the love and generosity of so many friends and family, it was a fantastic birthday. And one that will be well documented too; I took a half hour of video, a couple dozen pictures, a bunch of signatures and well-wishings in his baby book that we had put out on one of the tables, and this blog. I think all the bases are covered!

. And he loooooves his toys. He really loves the guitar Nana got for him, but he gets so excited about it when he sees it that he gets a wee bit violent and I'm afraid he's just gonna smash the hell out of it if left unsupervised with it for even a fraction of a second!! He loves all of his Elmos, ALL of his Elmos, and I can now hear that evil falsetto giggle like a hatchet attack every night in my dreams.
. Mommy and Daddy scored a touch down with the inflatable ball crawl playland we got for him. I don't know where we are going to put it though.....
. And a huge, HUGE thank you too the person who wrote down what gifts he received from whom in his baby book. I can never, ever, ever remember that stuff and it always makes me feel like such a jerk! But now we know who to thank and who take take hits out on with a written document of his plunder. Those who gave loud Elmos (I'm lookin at you, Sis), will be remembered when we can afford retribution.

. Again, thanx so very, very much to everybody for their love and support. It makes me so happy and proud that our boy has so many incredible people in his life. I can't wait to see what the future holds and how he's going to grow and what kind of character he'll be and all that jazz.... ugh, I love that spoiled little monster!!!!

These are the good times.

December 11th 2008

2009-12-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

Today marks one year. It is barons one year birthday today and boy does it bring back so many memories and thoughts. This time last year we were in the hospital wondering if our little boy was going to make it and watching him fight for his life. Being on life support, being told that they don't for see him surviving and that we should take him off life support. Watching him go Thur his second, third and fourth surgeries. Waiting for everything to end.

Then finally one day we got to take him home and never let him out of our site. To watch him grow and figure things out is totally amazing. Just the other day, I watched him pull him self up the foot of the recliner into my lap. To be able to wake up and see his smiling face and happy laughs make me be more at ease.

My son is my hero. He is strong, he is a fighter. He has been Thur more things in his one year of life, that most people have been Thur there entire life. He can do anything he set his mind to. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARON LOGAN MENTZER! Keep on fighting. We love you very much

DECEMBER 11th 2009

Baron's first giant Christmas bazaar

2009-12-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Nana Debbie was awesome enough to take the Mentzer Unit to the Nations Largest Christmas Bazaar at the expo center yesterday. I believe it's been a bit of a tradition with Christina and her mom and aunt Sue that they go to this every year and it was after my first time at the bazaar with Christina that I kissed her for the first time (story for another time), so it's our tradition now too, and we wanted His Baronishness to dive into the sensory overload experience with us!
The four of us met up with Aunt Sue, Angel, Tyler and mighty Josie Jo Jo-Jo and we stormed the front with the enthusiasm of blood thirsty Walmart shoppers on Black Friday! Ohh, too soon? Anyway, as soon as we passed the threshold and I saw the blinding light of mindless , decadent, holiday consumerism reflect off of his innocent, angelic face I new there was no going back. Do I really need to say that he enjoyed the hell out of it? Well, he did. In spades. And his enjoyment radiated out to us and a majority of the general public around us. He was nicely contained for a while in mommies fantastic front baby carrier as we slowly made our way through the maddeningly disorientating labyrinth of vendor cubicles. Trying to navigate through the crowds was like stop and go morning traffic, but when we found a break it was more like a downhill ski race through heavy forest with the motivation of an avalanche bearing down from behind. I would like take this moment to say thank you to my wife and to tell her she was right in not bringing the stroller. There, happy?
We did get to see some really beautiful artwork and craft dispersed throughout the rows. I was particularly drawn to the amazing wood work I saw at a few different vendors. Baron loved it all. From the various glasswork artists that looked familiar to me to the Super Soaking Chamois that we later dubbed the 'Scam-wow', he didn't see anything that he didn't want to put in his mouth. And he got pretty close a couple of times, too. But the best part of the whole experience was the public interacting with him and he with the public. He is a magnet for good people with stories to tell and love to share. It's absolutely amazing. I really love it when a gruff biker type sees him and does the baby talk thing. It's happened more than twice, I kid you not. And he smiles and smiles and smiles at all of them. The little girls who're just learning to walk and talk at the same time exclaim "Mama! Baby, Mama! Baby!", and the octogenarians who have seen it all more than a few times and yet still seem surprised when they share a look with him. That's really amazing to me, to see the spark that appears in old eyes when the fall on a fresh life. There's a deep remembrance and a hope in that glow, and I find it very reaffirming and humbling. And I used to be scared of old people!!! And then the recognition in the faces of other Mothers and especially fathers when they see me with my boy in my arms, like we're all part of the same club now, some sub order of the Freemasons or something.
I had no interest in time while we were there, I was having that much fun. And before I knew it FOUR hours had passed!! He did spend a bit of the third hour asleep on mommies chest while in the front carrier, and that is the most heart meltingly beautiful thing ever!!! GAH!! But, he stayed in a good mood the whole time. Which shouldn't be surprising to me because his most favorite thing in the world is to be picked up and carried around and shown new things. I dare say it was his Disney Land. For now.
The bait worked, we fell victim to the trap and bought some stuff. We did get some stuff for Baron!! Nana got him a little guitar! He's going to love it!! Whenever he get's a glimpse of one of my many guitars he makes a bee line to it and attacks it with manic fervor, which was okay until he puked in the sound hole of my $500 Ibanez acoustic/electric. Now I'd like for him to have his own to puke into, maybe I can heave something in there for him sometime as a payback. Just sayin'.
We also got a jar of pickled, smoked garlic cloves (today I stink!), a small container of peppermint schnapps fudge and a few little freebies, some the result of it being the last day of the bazaar, others because Baron looks like a kid who could use some more stuff, apparently.
I did get to hold some amazing Tibetan singing bowls that were just gorgeous. The vendor showed me one tha was huge, over $700 bucks and it's tone was breathtaking. It was a deep, soul rubbing pitch and I could feel the intense vibrations from over a half a foot away. I was in love. Some would ask 'what would you do with a $700 dollar Tibetan singing bowl?'. I ask 'what wouldn't you do with a $700 dollar Tibetan singing bowl?'.
Most vendors were in high spirits, if not completely spent from the six day event, but we did pass one little old lady whose disappointed visage was framed by a full stock of chocolate roses. Ya really gotta have a feel for the market based on variables such as, oh, I don't know, a tanked economy. Poor thing.
All in all, we had a great time and look forward to attending from here on. Maybe someday I'll have a job and have the means to purchase something. Who knows. Always in motion is the future.
And that first kiss? Well, after courting her for three months, I went to this thing with her and her family and when I dropped her off at home, I walked her to the front steps, said thank you, and walked away. Then I turned around, walked up to her with determination, purpose and conviction and planted a kiss on her that made the goddess Aphrodite weep with jealousy. That's how I remember it, anyway.

It's something in the milk.

2009-11-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ya know how you don't notice something growing or changing if you see it everyday? One day you just look at that thing and go 'whoah, when did that get so different?'. Well, I swear, and my dear wife will back me up on this, that Baron has grown noticeably the last three days. Everyday for the last few I've looked at him and thought that he looks bigger than he did the day before. It's crazy. He's growing out of clothes, but he prefers to be in just his diaper anyway so I guess that's a win-win. He pukes a lot less now, too. Which is really, totally friggin cool. Puke is gross.

Gross.

Want some more?

2009-11-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Oh! You should hear him laugh!! It's unlike anything Ican explain. It's so perfect. And he knows when to use it, too. He doesn't just throw it around, he waits for just the right moment. He uses it sparingly, despite our best efforts. He'll smile for nuthin'. He'll giggle if you give him reason. But a good ol' laugh, he'll gettcha when you're unprepared.

I love taking pictures of him in sunlight. His eyes are so blue, even pictures can't do them justice but sometimes he'll catch a beam in the corner of his eye and it bounces out and fills the room with joy. (That was so good! I get gooshy points!!)

And then, a picture from almost a year ago, when his future was so uncertain, when every three days we thought we were going to lose him, when no doctors could ease our minds with optimism because he wasn't expected to make it. Seems so long ago now, but it's still real hard to think about. I remember his time in the NICU and I try to focus on the incredible work that so many people put into his survival, on a daily basis, for four months. I focus on the first cry he made when the surgeon pulled him out and how, at that moment, I knew that our son wasn't ever going to stop. And he hasn't. Today, I'm very, very thankful for our son and all of the love and support that so many people have given us over the last year. Very, very thankful.

The Cuteness

2009-11-26T01:52:00.001-08:00

This is our little streaker striking his sexy pose for his upcoming swimsuitless calender. We are so going to blackmail him with photos like this when he's a teen. I can't wait!!!

Doesn't he look really sad? I just wish I knew what to do to make him smile once in a while.

I'm sure that he was woken up by my snoring shortly after this picure was taken. But I do make a good pillow, if I do say so myself. Like a big, furry marshmallow. (ewww)

This is what the horror of a feeding frenzy looks like. Once in the alpha predator's death lock, the helpless prey is rendered to mush and smeared from here to eternity. Oh, the humanity.

More! More! More!

2009-11-26T01:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a good one of Papa holding Baron and Baron obviously not liking it very much. He loves to be tossed into the air, but what baby doesn't? He loves to fly around the room, sound effects at full volume, just skimming the tips of the house plants with his smiling maw open wide in hopes of catching something should daddy's focus wane while piloting the Baron Bomber.

Terror in the skies!! .

Too cute?

2009-11-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

Well, let's try a few pictures now... This first one is The Little Barbarian Bear in the box that we use as a barricade between the living room and the kitchen. He has learned to crawl through. In his mouth is the Nerf dart that he loves so much. It remains one of his most favorite toys. It soaks up all his spit and drool. So nice. And I bet the flavor he experiences is unfathomable.
I love the lighting in this picture. Not to mention him, his expression, that tongue, everything about him. He is so damn amazing. Gah, that tongue!

And here he is in completely different natural light. The light helps bring out the mischief in his eyes. I think this picture is cute, but cute in a dark way. Evil baby picture!!

The Worst Ever!!

2009-11-25T15:08:00.000-08:00

. Oh! My! God! It had exploded out the side and went down his legs and was all over his feet and everything and ACK!! I clipped him to the back fence and hosed him down before taking the steel wool to him. Geh. Yuck.

I'm a stay at home zombie...

2009-11-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

He's finally asleep. We stayed up late at Doug and Amanda's last night (well, eight thirty is late for us) and Baron would not fall asleep there, no matter what. But he still woke up with a big ol' smile on his face just after four a.m.. I heard him making his 'it's time for everybody to wake up now' cooing and yelps and I rolled my dead weight mass over and saw his beautiful blue eyes peeking over the edge of his crib, piercing through the soft light in our room, right into my barely open, red and tired eyes. His mouth was just below the edge but I could still tell he was grinnin from nibble-able ear to nibble-able ear. (Say that five times fast!)
OOOH!! speaking of tongue twister's, one came to me a couple of days ago while my mind was wallowing in sleep deprivation; The lost astronaut lost his last lasso. Try it! Well, what'd ya think?
Baron likes to try and tackle the staircase once a day now. He can climb up about eight steps without any help. He's a freak. And a couple of days ago, with mommy sitting at the top of the stairs as bait and me right behind him providing support and damage control, he made it all the way to the top. I think that's about twenty, maybe twenty one stairs. He is so friggin buff. I saw him lift an old pickup truck off a man in a corn field once.
So, you were probably wondering about his poop and I just happen to have the scoop (?) on that. It's really, really gross, and it smells really, really bad and there's always really, really a bunch of the stuff.
Oh, he's awake and cryin'. Prolly fulla poop. Here we go again..........

sleeping like a baby

2009-11-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

Last week I was getting worried that he wasn't getting enough sleep. He wasn't taking enough naps, he wasn't sleeping well at night and I was becoming concerned even though I have read in a few different books that most babies go through that faze, and it seems to be one of the bigger questions and concerns out there. As a universal rule, parents like to get sleep. I can admit to being president of THAT club. I gotta say that I'm still doing a lot better than I thought I would be, trudging forward with the little sleep I do get.
So, this week he did a fantastic 180 and now he's sleeping more at night and taking three one hour naps during the day. SWEET!!! Now I can do laundry, eat something, check out this blog and pick up a little in preperation for Calvin and his fam who're coming down this weekend for an early Thanksgiving. It's going to be fun, Baron is much more mobile now and I think he'll be much more interested is his cousins than he has been.
We're going to try to get the invitations for his upcoming birthday going tonight. I'm excited, more than I ever have been before for a birthday!!! It's going to be a BLAST!!!

The maiden voyage.

2009-11-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, a blog all about our little Barbarian Baron Bear. Can one blog handle the awesomeness of Baron's daily exploits and adventures? We'll just have to wait and see.....
He got his first H1N1 swine flu injection yesterday and handled it just fine. That's right, he's even starting to shrug off needle pokes. He's a tank, I'm telling ya, a friggin tank. Now that he's all up on his shots we are a little more open to the idea of letting him play on public play equipment. We were soooooo scared of the possibility of him getting the flu that we were sizing up plastic bubbles for him online. An infant sized hamster ball that we could cram him in and roll down hills and things of that sort. Only the best!!!
His one year birthday is just over a month away. We reserved the banquet room at Stark Street Pizza for the occasion. really isn't much in the way of party places for infants around here, they're all geared towards older kids. Unless you're willing to pay a couple of hundred bucks. Granted, a pizza party at the Portland Children's Museum would be rad, but it ain't cheap. Maybe when he gets older, we can save up a few tax returns or cash in his college fund or something.
He's pulling him self up to a stand everywhere he goes.
He still hasn't given up on catching the cat.
The cat is still aware of this.
He loves to put his mouth on anything metal.
He couldn't care less about the television (thank God!). Unless Elmo's on.
He loves Elmo.
He doesn't like to be made comfortable, he wants to go, go, go.
The only thing he really hates is falling asleep.
He loves to have his picture taken.
He doesn't care for avocados.
That's cause he hasn't tried guacamole yet!