What a face!

Yesterday was the big day.....

I go back to work Wednesday so I started Adam in daycare Monday. Its a lovely place -- the focus is on fostering self-esteem through learning. His day includes art time, reading time and dance and music time. I think he's going to have a ball! He did cry when I left him yesterday, but I made goodbye quick and simple. When I picked him up, it was snack time and he was sitting in a high chair quite contentedly playing. (Sitting quietly in a high chair has yet to happen in our house!) He started to cry when he saw me. The teacher said he did cry a lot, but that he did nap and had a bottle and ate a whole yogurt! I'm very impressed! He stopped crying by the time we got to the elevator and walked happily home and was fine all night.

I anticipate this morning would be harder, as he now would realize I was going to leave him there. There were no tears at all when we got to the building and when we got off the elevator he walked straight to his classroom and waved hello to the teacher! He did start to cry at the "hand off", but all in all, it could not have gone better. Whew!

By popular demand -- we have pictures!

Other than the not eating and not sleeping thing...

....first off, I want to thank everyone who chimed in on the sleeping issues Adam is experiencing. I should have clarified that he was waking as much before I tried the crib and is waking as much now that he is back in my bed. Last night, he fell asleep at 7, woke at 8:20, 10, 12, 2:30, 4 and then we got up at 6. Sigh. I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that it will be this way for a while -- in fact, since he'll be starting daycare next week, I can only assume it will get worse, before it gets better.

So, other than the not eating and sleeping thing, I've been remiss in talking about Adam. He is such a firecracker. He is definitely a challenging child, but an absolutely hilarious one who is very clearly his own person. Since the first day he consented to be put in the stroller, he has gotten the biggest kick out of the wind. Since he loves to be fanned and loves to fan himself, I guess it follows logically. No matter how cold the wind is, it makes him laugh. On Saturday, we had wind gusts in excess of 40 mph. He could barely stay standing and thought it was absolutely hilarious.

He loves dogs, birds and buses. He "talks" to everyone we pass on the street, cashiers, people in the grocery store. If they don't respond, he yells until they do. He has a fabulous sense of humor and is quite a jokester. His latest joke is he will pull one hand inside his sleeve and present the empty sleeve to me for my reaction to his missing hand!

But what the child loves more than anything is to walk. The longest distance I've clocked him at is a little over a mile -- and he only stopped because we arrived at our destination.

Just wait until he starts eating and sleeping!

I spoke too soon....

...ah, the crib. It was a beautiful dream. Adam sleeping peacefully and mama finally getting a full night's sleep without Adam kicking and flopping around. Alas, the dream has yet to come to fruition. This poor child cannot stay asleep. He goes to bed willingly and cheerfully and falls asleep fairly easily. But he cannot STAY asleep. He awakens about every hour to hour and a half all night LLLLOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG. He wants to sleep -- he tries hard to get back to sleep but gets so frustrated when he can't get back to sleep quickly.

I spent a few days sleeping on the floor in his room next to the crib, thinking perhaps it was the fact that he'd never slept in a room alone that was giving him trouble, but it didn't make any difference.

So, he's back in my bed. I'm getting a little more sleep as I'm not actually having to get out of bed to comfort him, but not much.

Has anyone else had this problem?

His energy level is very high and his mood is mostly good, so I'm not too worried, but I'm really really tired.

The milestones are coming fast and furious....

....its been a big few days -- not only did Adam say his first word -- "Nea" (the dog) -- but as we speak, he is sleeping.....IN HIS CRIB. Shhhh......

A bit better...

....so Oxford finally added Adam to my insurance policy and we had our first pediatrician visit yesterday. He did great -- mostly, I think, because he was so interested in all the new things to see. That is, of course, until the four shots.....but he got over that very quickly. He did gain a pound and grew almost an inch. Doctor says he's small, but healthy. She had no real concerns about his diet and prescribed some vitamins. She suggested we just attempt to reintroduce foods he's previously rejected after a period of time. He has added string cheese to the list of foods he's willing to eat, so that's a little protein at least. I was eating sloppy joes for lunch today and was shocked that he ate a few pieces of chopped meat. Progress!

I got a good laugh when Adam's certificate of citizenship arrived yesterday -- with both his name AND birthdate wrong. All they needed to do was copy the information off his paperwork and they blew it. They're doing a hell of a job in USCIS, aren't they? Good luck with that illegal alien thing.

We're going to the daycare center on Monday to talk about easing him into daycare. He's supposed to start fulltime Nov 26. I'm hoping he'll start a full week earlier and spend some time there with me, getting to know the place and the people, then have me leave for a brief time, so he knows I'll come back. Keep your fingers crossed! I think he'll ultimately do very well as he's extremely social.

And, he said his first word today! Was it Mama? No! It was "Nea", the dog's name! LOL!