Week 35

This week has been so much better than the last two and although my mouth wound is still not healed and won't be for weeks I feel night and day different. God I never want to go through that again - it was complete hell.

Liam is 8 months old today - can you believe it? I know I sound like a stuck record when I say that but WOW, time IS flying. His second tooth has made its appearance and I'm sure the top ones are itching to come out. He is a little eating machine and we are burning through baby food faster than you can say boo. He now has a full bowl of cereal with fruit for breakfast and cereal & veggies followed by a jar of fruit (or a big piece of fresh fruit) for lunch & dinner. We have also tried chicken, turkey & beef and fish will be next. The chicken & beef blends don't taste all that bad but the turkey tastes like dog food. He doesn't seem to care though and woofs (no pun intended) down everything,ocasionally spitting stuff at me or sneezing with his mouth full. He is very quick on the draw and will grab his bowl of food if you're not paying attention - a couple of days ago he got a hold of the corn & oatmeal and dumped half of it on his tray. He stuck both his hands in the mess and started finger painting. I gave up on the situation and let him doodle - he had corn right up to his nose, I was covered in corn, it was a corn fest. His favourite foods are still carrots, bananas & prunes. He is a poo maniac & can produce up to 6 log poos a day. Ian & I have become poo obsessed and compare diapers, especially the big ones - it's like their trophies or something ("hey - come check out the size of this one!"). Once we started the meat it was game over in the stinky department. They just reek. You have to be really careful when changing him at 3am in the dark that one doesn't get away and roll onto the change pad. Done that a few times and got something squishy between my fingers (of course I'm the type of person who instantly sniffs my fingers if I can't see what's between them - stupid me).

As soon as we got into the sleep-through-the night-routine it was all over and we were back to getting up multiple times throughout the night. Combine the teething with my whole tooth issue (his are coming in, mine are coming out) and it equates to weeks of crappy sleep. I'm starting to feel like I am never going to get a good night's sleep ever again. I know I've said it before but I hate not having good sleep - I'm perpetually cranky, edgy and on the verge of a meltdown at least once a week. Lately I also feel angry and am seriously considering blowing up the punching bag we have in our basement so as to relieve some pent up stress. Sometimes you just want to stuff your head in a pillow and scream. Ian's on board with the punching bag - whatever makes me happy. He's a good man. Every morning he takes Liam so I can sleep in and the two of them watch Liam's favourite show: Sesame Street. He loves Elmo and recognises him in stores - it usually turns into a tantrum if we try to take Elmo away. Actually that goes for everything now - he freaks if you try to take something away that he wants. Sigh - I had no idea it started this early. I need more sleep so I can cope.

Today Ian took Liam to a care home to give a senior we'd adopted for Xmas named George some gifts we'd bought. George had a stroke a few years ago and has limited mobility - unfortunately he has no family and never has visitors so it was a treat to get a visit. Apparently the nurse said he doesn't talk or react much to people but as soon as he saw Liam his face lit up and he reached out for him to come and sit closer. While Ian held him and he played with the ribbon on the gifts George rubbed his back. It made his day. One of the old ladies in a wheelchair in the room across the hall spotted Liam and called over all her other friends. Next thing the entire hall was baracaded with old ladies in wheelchairs wanting a glimpse of Liam. I was glad that he had such an impact and made a few old people happy for a day.

Tomorrow we are hosting a dinner for Randy & Lynne who are my parents Caribbean friends that sailed everywhere with them. I'm looking forward to finally meeting them and hearing all their stories. They are currently docked in Puerto Rico and down for Christmas to see their kids.

Sunday we pack up and we're on our way up island to ski for Christmas. We'll be staying at a resort and taking a shuttle up to the ski hill on Christmas day followed by a dinner buffet. Should be fun!

Merry Christmas everyone!