Leaving Trinidad

The munchkin is napping and it's two days before we leave for Vegas. It's been a memorable time for me. Coming down to Trinidad for 4 months while Norris was gone has not always been an easy or fun thing, but on balance I would say that I made the right decision.
Miles has gotten to spend more time with his Grandparents than he will probably ever spend again. He has gotten that "raised by a village" experience that Hillary Clinton spoke so eloquently about. This has made him into a very friendly, happy little infant. When we came down here he could just sit up a little. In our time here he has gone from rolling around to crawling to standing and even riding a little fire truck.
This visit has also injected new life into my parents. I know they will be at a loss for a little while after we leave and Miles will also miss seeing his Ga!'s every day. He loves them and when he sees them he throws his arms up to try to grab them and have them hug him.
I have gotten a lot of help in raising him. I don't think I would have done as good a job if I had toughed it out in Vegas by myself. This experience really showed me how insanely hard the life of a single parent is and I honestly have no idea how they do it day after day if they know there's no end in sight. Knowing this was temporary made it easier.
The hardest part may be coming up. When we came down here he was a wee, malleable 6 month old. He actually slept for most of our trip down and people commented about how well behaved he was on the flight. Now I have an almost 11 month old who is a veritable ball of energy stacked on chubby legs. The idea of having him be still for two four hour flights is so laughable that I am just keeping it out of my mind as much as possible. That coupled with the fact that I have NO assigned seat and as it stands now will be assigned to middle seats the whole way also makes me think that this journey will be epic.
Our trip down here would not have been the same if not for the help of my friend Sandra and her sweet son Nicky. They babysat Miles and loved him and treated him as part of their family. He is going to miss them so much and I wonder if he will understand when we leave everyone behind. The culture and the life we are returning to is so different. We are going from an extended family system to a pretty isolated nuclear family dynamic and apart from playgroups or other activities like that Miles will spend all his time with just Norris and I. Rarely if ever will he experience other families, other ages of people and the sheer amount of people in everyday life as he does here. But as everyone says, children are resilient. And when we get back he will have three great constant companions who will worship and adore him (Norris,Bella and I) and one who will have a passing interest and show occassional love (Pace).

I love Anderson Cooper

....so why doesn't Bill O'Reilly begin with the letter G?

Stock trader

With the market down Miles has been doing some heavy trading, picking up those blue chips at a bargain and our phone bills are sky high.

Miles and Amelia

Today we see Miles with his frenemy Amelia. He loves Amelia but is also afraid of her because she is kind of like a cat. One minute she's playing nice, the next she's biting, hitting or kicking him.

Pictures!! Finally!!

Ok, over the next few days I will post pics. It takes forever to get them posted so bear with me.
Todays's pictures show Miles doing two of his favorite things, bathing and eating. He is an eating machine. I never have to worry about him eating. I never understood how scary it can be when your child does not eat until he got sick a couple weeks ago. I HATED that he was a picky eater. I got so worried for him. His legs got a little thinner so I guess he used some baby fat around that time.

10 months

Miles, today you are 10 months old. You are sleeping right now. Yesterday Barack Obama had a historic nomination acceptance event and it makes me hopeful that the world will be an ok place for you to grow up in.

So how have you grown? You got 2 more teeth this month, your front top teeth and when you smile oh, well, I just melt inside. You're about 2 1/2 feet tall, your 18 month clothes are too small for you and keep popping off at the snap crotches.

So what can you do? You can give an Obama style Fist Bump, give High 5's, wave bye bye and give kisses. You call your Grandma "Ga". You call me "Ma", FINALLY! You enjoy chatting on the phone with Amelia - you both can't really talk but somehow have intense phone conversations with each other. You totally have everyone around here fascinated by your every move - even the office staff, who pitched in and bought you a piano with animal sounds which has become one of your favourite toys. Your Grandma seems to get high whenever she sees you - she acts so silly to entertain you. Another thing you have gotten good at is crying to be held. You act like we left you in the forest and you're afraid we will do it again. You CONSTANTLY want to be held and while my parents find it cute I find it annoying.

What happened this month? Well you got gastro and was the sickest I've ever seen you and it was scary. Projectile vomit, violent diarrhea and no appetite at all. Thankfully that has passed and you are back to eating like a termite.

Ok huggy bear, you woke up and are demanding attention, holding on to my chair and shaking it with your tiny might. When are you going to let go of that pacifier? Ok, you're trying to turn off the TV again, gotta go!

Vitamin D Deficiency May Lurk in Babies

From NY Times today, scary and something I have never heard of:

Exclusive breast-feeding may be associated with vitamin D deficiency and rickets, recent research suggests.
Click on title of post to see article.