Danke!

New words continue to creep into the DP Fussler's vocabulary, including a German one, danke. When he wants you to hold something for him, he thrusts it at you and says "Danke!" How kewt is that?!
I have tried to add German words here and there and we say two prayers in German everyday since he was born. I don't know how much will rub off, but it is a start.

Newer words in English recently include chair, cheese, moon, tree and something unclear that means "turn the Christmas tree lights on." Chair is especially troubling as chair means "I am going to climb onto a kitchen CHAIR and maybe even the kitchen table" and today it meant falling off said chair and getting bumped and scraped and having a crying fit.
Cheese is ok, except it means, "I won't eat a dang thing on my plate unless it is covered in shredded cheese and then maybe I will only eat the cheese off of it..." And he used to be such a good eater...

Latest vocab

DP Fussler's vocabulary is coming along nicely. Recently words like more, home, house, and other more recognizable words are creeping into his babbling. The babbling is still very kewt though and we love to listen to it. Sometime his babbling sounds like the announcer on the tv show "Ninja Warrior." Hysterical.

After a month of relatively good health, the daycare germs hit Fussler hard again last night with some serious spew and poo. We had our first big snowstorm of the season last night and we were looking forward to a snuggle night at home together. Well, we sure were home together, but we were mostly comforting the DP Fussler, each other, doing laundry and cleaning the carpet and shoes (there was so much spew in was going into my shoes...) Fussler seems much better today, so with any luck, we might all get some sleep tonight.

Hives and Halloween

Despite the fact that the DP Fussler was sick off and on with a virus of some sort for almost two weeks, we still had a fun Halloween. Fussler went trick or treating as a lion and was most ferociously adorable. He doesn't eat candy or really any sweets for that matter, so we just went to a few houses for the experience of it. A neighbor a few doors down from us had her nephew out front of her house in a fab Batman outfit.

The aforementioned hives are a symptom Fussler has had off and on for the past week. The doctor felt that it was from the virus he had and some childrens' Benedryl seems to clear it up. Of course, I am concerned because tomorrow Fussler goes for his next round of vaccinations, so I hope he will do ok.

Langweilig (Boring)!

It took me a long time to start a blog and I think one of the many reasons I avoided it for so long is that I thought I might get bored with it and that it isn't that interesting. Well, I am bored with it already. Maybe I will leave it up for now in case anything of note does happen.

The Dread Pirate Fussler has had a bit of a fever the last two days and hasn't eaten much, but I am glad to say he did eat some supper tonight and was digging the pork chop. He is a little carnivore, but to his credit, he also does eat the Boca (veggie) items I have given him, especially the faux chicken patties (as our Cabin Boy calls them) and the breakfast links.

We had an especially lovely weekend actually, as we did something quite out of the ordinary for us. We stayed overnight at the Cabin Boy's sister's cabin up north der hey, on a small lake. The weather was cool but sunny and the fall foliage was picture perfect. Cabin Boy did get some great shots of the Fussler standing in the lake with the trees in the background.

That is right, Fussler was standing in the lake and it was rather cold. No wonder he has a bit of a fever this week. The lake at the beach was very shallow and as we walked up to it, I said to our Cabin Boy, "You don't think he will walk right into the lake, do you?" I no sooner got the words out of my mouth as Fussler walked into the lake up to his ankles; pants, shoes and all. When the cold wetness hit his skin, he did cry a little, but after I pulled him out, he went back in and played with the water a little. His uncle D. the fisherman will be quite proud of him.

After we stopped at a great park with tall, unsafe playground equipment that we grew up on, we were able to stop and see Grandma T. and Aunt B. for a few minutes on our way back. Grandma T. is doing much better, but she has a long road to recovery ahead of her.

So as I mentioned in the start of this post, I don't know how much more I will post here or maybe it will be very random.

Pirate Mom is tired.

Ya know what? I am almost done working second shift after parenting Fussler during the day and I am tired. Having this head cold for the last week doesn't help much, but still. Coma. I can't even think of anything particular that happened today, but I know for the most part it was a good day. Good night.

Doooooooood!

I am guessing we say "dude" all too much and even call each other that because since yesterday, we have noticed the DP Fussler saying "duuuuuuude" and laughing hysterically. It is very funny. In case I hadn't mentioned them in other posts, Fussler is also quite good at saying "shuuuues" and "howse" and "todo." (Just in case some translating is needed: shoes, house, turtle.) He has some words for motorcycle and tractor and/or truck though that we can't quite place yet. The cats are still "dao" for now (meow), but so are my swords and sabers hanging on the wall, which is actually very accurate as "dao" is Chinese for saber. "No" is definitely well established and has been for awhile now.

Speaking of the martial arts, a new special class started last night after tai chi and this one is ba gua. There must be at least 20 people in the class, if not more, and it is amazing, allbeit chaotic, trying to keep steps in a circle with that many people. I am afterall, as laoshi says after winning my gold medal in ba gua at the competition a few years ago, intergalactic ba gua champion (as well as double sword and guan dao). I still plan to review every special class that comes along, even if I have taken it or even if I am/was intergalactic champion, cuz I need the review and the practice. Besides, I get one evening a week for myself away from the good ship and I better do something to take care of myself.

Grandma T. is home from the hospital only after about 10 days. Especially pain-wise, it is way too soon to be on her own, so she has had to enlist all sorts of help in her town since none of us can really get away from work right now. Yes, we visit every weekend, but she needs help now.

The weather is finally turning to fall and has been quite cold the past week and somewhat rainy and cloudy. It was in the 60s today and that felt great; much better than 90s.

Is it safe to say--all surgery sucks?

I know many of us wouldn't be alive today, perhaps myself included, if it weren't for "modern" surgery, but it doesn't make it any less traumatic. Grandma T. is having a heckuva time with big pain from her recent knee replacement and currently remains in the hospital, allbeit in the rehab section. We continue our prayers for her. We spend last Sunday visiting her and will be doing the same this Sunday.

Weather note: For almost the past week, it has been hot (in the 90s) and humid, until last night, when a cold front (thank heavens, literally) rolled in. Only bummer with that is, my sinuses and throat are in turmoil from the big change.

Toddler Vocabulary

I may have mentioned the DP Fussler is now rolling his eyes at us. Biting continues, but it definitely has slowed down. Hopefully it will stop soon, so that we don't have to get reports of biting from the daycare crews.

Weather note-It is beastly hot and humid today, even thought it is early October. Sheesh.

I would have to say that besides "mumum" and "dad", Fussler's first words were car and cat. Fussler is freakishly obsessed with cars (car-cars) already and can spend a long time spinning wheels on various toy vehicles as well as having to touch the tires on real cars. Very scary when he tries darting from car to car in parking lots. Oh the heart attacks. It has already been suggested he might end up on a racing pit crew.

Many of the words he has attempted of late are sounding pretty close to the real thing, house and shoes being two good examples. His word for beverages for the last few months has been "ka" and we aren't really sure about where this derives from. Is it the ending sound for "drink" or milk" or the beginning sound from "cup?" In any case, we know what it means. I believe it was Thursday night as we were watching Survivor: China that Fussler started walking into the kitchen, turned around to look at us and commanded "KA!!!" You can bet I bounced up and got some milk! It was very authoritative and I would guess he is basically Captain at this point.

Overboard!

I was reviewing my last post and realized there was a barfing incident that week. We had another this past week, but this time during Tuesday's breakfast. The DP Fussler bounced right back after it and seemed just fine the rest of the week, so I don't know what that was all about. Maybe he and Grandma K. had a bit too much rum the evening before?

In any case, the last few days we have all spent worrying and praying for Grandma T., who had knee replacement surgery yesterday. She has some pain and is a bit groggy, but the doctor reports she will be fine. I guess a peg-leg joke here mightn't be appreciated, so we will let it go at that. Aaaarrr.

I attended special class club today, at least for an hour. I am still slowly building my stamina back up and before long, I will probably need some knee surgery. We reviewed some chin na moves (jazz hands Andy was my partner and we had a great time, but his wife might wonder why he smells like Moonlight Path..no worries anyone!), ba gua (it is the next special class and Guan knows I need a review, even if I am international ba gua champion), iron fan or tek shen (it didn't feel as foreign as I thought it might), and spear. I guess that was all I had time for as I had to return to work. Alan brought in one of his bonsai trees, so that was great and all the guys were geeking up on Jeff's expensive chinese tea as usual. It is good to know that some things are constant in this universe, wa?

Chicken pizza anyone?

I am glad to report (knock on wood) that the DP Fussler is moving closer to one nap a day, although I think it will take some time to get the timing right. I am also glad to report (more wood, more knocks) that the biting has calmed down a bit this past week (as in his biting me and other kids at daycare...).

We had a very fine day sailing the high seas before I had to disembark for work this afternoon and he got a nap in before we had to leave. However, when I boarded the ship for a brief supper break for some Kashi chicken pizza, we ended dinner in a maelstrom of barf. Apparently, chicken pizza didn't sit well with the DP Fussler or we are all in for a new stomach virus. Batten the hatches, matey. It could be a rough night on the high seas. Aaaarrrrr or is that baaaarrrrf?

Over the weekend we did have a jolly good time at the party we held on board. Not as many people were able to make it as in the past, but then we got to spend more quality time with those that came, especially Lori (thanks for the fab dinosaur!) and Joe and his wife (thanks for the wine!). The weather was perfect for a sail with friends.

Happy Talk like a Pirate Day---aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I couldn't let an auspiscious holiday such as today go by without wishing you all a hearty "Aaaarrrrrrr, matey!"

Perhaps the winds were just right today, but I had an answer, at least today, for the nap question that has been plaguing our good ship of late. Since we had to leave the ship mid-afternoon again, Fussler and I at our lunch and shortly thereafter (there, after a few minutes of digesting), I set Fussler for his first nap of the day and, ahoy matey, it worked. He got to sleep at least for an hour and a half before I had to wake him for us to head to shore for work and daycare.

When I picked him for supper, he was a wee bit crabby, but nothing like yesterday where he got no naps. We shall see what our shredded cabin boy has to say once I am on board again this evening.

One nap, two naps, or none?

After a week of very stinky diapers, the DP Fussler seems to be on the mend. However, now that he has been at daycare a few times again, who knows what plague will beset any of us.

This past week and current week, a napping transition begins. For at least the past year, Mr. Fussler has been on a relatively predictable schedule of a morning nap from about 10am to noon and then another nap at approximately 3-5pm. The morning nap seems to be falling away, which should lead to an earlier, perhaps longer afternoon nap. Only problem here is that he leaves the good ship to go to daycare three afternoons a week and he doens't nap well when he is not aboard his own ship.

Today, he slept about a half-hour at daycare and that is it. Perhaps I am glad to be at work this evening and our Shredded Cabin Boy might have his hands full with a very fussy Fussler.

Mr. Fussler loves to to play outside (on shore of course) now as much as he can and stones, sticks, dirt and whatever else are grand playthings. He doesn't quite get the concept of danger on streets yet, so his companion must constantly be on the watch for his wanderings. His downright obsessive obsession with cars (car-car!!) leads him often to the street. How many beats can a parent's heart skip each day!?

What does the DP Iron Bluebird do besides work and look after the DP Fussler and their ship? I have been back to tai chi and special classes for almost two months now. I got a good review of spear over the summer and ba gua is on the slate for the next special class. In tai chi, my group is beginning six harmony sword (the sword part of a spear vs. sword form). Since I am only there once a week, learning something new is coming along very slowly. There are still some great people at the kung fu school, but it isn't quite the same without the DP Black Puddin'!

The DP Fussler is on the mend but he was rather crabby today. In addition to his biting others, he will eat his food for awhile and then start chucking it, mostly on the ground. How to discipline a 16-month-old? Your guess is as good as mine....He knew I was unhappy with the behavior though; I could tell by the look on his face once I removed him from the highchair to clean up the mess.

He did get to skip daycare two days in a row now as his Grandma K. came over for a few hours when I abandoned ship to go to work. I sure wish he didn't have to go to any daycare, especially now that we get reports that they counted 15 instances in one day that he tried to or bit other kids. Ugh.

On the positive side, he is kewt and he knows it. He even likes to look at himself in the shiny drain cover in the bathtub to see how different he looks with wet hair. He watched his favorite tv show today (Between the Lions) and he laughed at some things. This week he also started to mimic the silly laugh a particular toy makes and he also was mimicking me talking on the phone. Even though he is mostly still in the babbling stage, he walked around with a toy phone handset, copying my cadence and mannerisms. I hope the good habits I have rub off on him, like flossing my teeth and eating spinach and I hope I can curb the bad habits (where do I begin with those?) in front of him.

Twas a messy day on the good ship. The DP Fussler cried quite a bit last night before he finally went to sleep and then he woke up crying again during the night. This morning we figured out why; he was plagued by a tummy ache and a messy case of the GIs. PU! So the DP Fussler and I spent the day changing diapers and witnessing a horrific case of painful diaper rash unfold.
So, daycare was out and I had to stay home until our noble Boatswain arrived back onboard.

When I did get to work, I found out many others were having quite a day of it too. My work-captain's wife's car broke down and he had to go rescue her. I felt badly that work-captain had to work longer until I arrived, as the usual evening navigator's brother had passed on and was not at work. Also today, another crew member's daughter fell, literally on her face and smashed it up quite well. It is 9/11, but I guess we would rather be dealing with all these annoyances than what those victims and their families faced six years ago on this date.