The Dentist, Thanksgiving, and Old School Jammin

Cannon and I went to the dentist the day before Thanksgiving. My cousin Eric is a dentist, so it's not a big deal. Although, it's kind of a big deal since I haven't been to the dentist in 11 years! I know! I have no excuses except for the fact that I am the biggest procrastinator ever! I wanted to take Cannon with me so that he gets used to going to the dentist. He happily accompanied me and hung out with the assistants while I had my x-rays. They gave him a toothbrush and a toy monkey which kept him occupied for quite a while. He sat on my stomach and watched as they cleaned my teeth. After 11 years, I have only to report a small cavity (my first, by the way) which hopefully can be brushed and flossed away. They will check it a year from now to see if it needs to be filled.

For Thanksgiving we went to my dad's house. He makes the BEST turkey and this year was no exception! He did a regular and a smoked turkey, which were both fantastic. We ended up getting a cold front in that afternoon and it got really chilly outside. I think the hallmark of the evening was roasting marshmallows in my dad's outside fireplace. I love smores and Cannon was able to enjoy that gooey goodness for the first time. He ate a few bites of one, but then he went and helped himself to the plain graham crackers and marshmallows. I don't think he cared for the chocolate.

Random Updates

I usually don't go this long without posting, but ever since I started working we've been really busy. So here's what we've been up to.

I love my job! All of the jobs I've ever had have prepared me for this one. You all know how much I love Cannon and being at home with him, but I love that my job fulfills other needs I have. I love that I get to use my skills and knowledge when I otherwise wouldn't be able to. I love that I am treated as a respected professional, as well as expert, and I am given a lot of autonomy with this job. There are a lot of changes going on at my work and they are looking to me for answers. In my previous work experiences I've always had to report to a supervisor and I was given much feedback on how to do my job better. With this job it's a little different. I do have a supervisor, but her background and education is different than mine and so she is not there to micromanage me. In fact, this is the first time they have ever had my position. Since it's a work in progress, I get to do things the way I want to (within some guidelines). There is so much work to be done. I didn't think they realized just how much help they needed and they definitely could have made this a full time position. And I would honestly love to be doing this full time, but I would desperately miss Cannon.

I'm still not fond of leaving Cannon. Sometimes our week gets so crazy and busy that I feel like I haven't given him the quality attention that he needs. He is such a sweetie and has been so flexible with everything. I've definitely had to prioritize my responsibilities so that I am not wasting time. I pretty much don't watch TV anymore, except a few shows that we TIVO and maybe an occasional movie. The house has also seen better days. I just want to make sure that I get some good playtime in with Cannon before we have to leave each day.

We've also all been sick. Ryan has a cold. I have a cold/sinus infection. Cannon got his second and third cold (of his whole life) within a month of each other. He had a cough that wouldn't go away and his asthma wasn't under control. Luckily we were able to get in to see his asthma doctor. She thought that he did have a cold, but it was a virus first that turned to bacterial. She gave him a prescription for an antibiotic and we'll follow up with her next month. Things seem to be improving with him, but he makes me nervous because that's how we ended up in the emergency room last spring.

Cannon has been just as crazy as ever with his personality. About a month ago he figured out how to open the front door! This was a daily occurrence, but it seems to have slipped his mind for the moment. However, he has also come to the realization that he's tall enough to reach things off the kitchen counter and other "high" places. So far, he's managed to get a butcher knife, a box of batteries, and open the little drawers to my jewelry box and pull out things. He's really good at opening almost any kind of lid, so we have to really keep an eye on him.

Cannon has also started talking more. He went through this language explosion thing for a few months where he was saying a new word almost everyday. I was keeping a list of the things he could say, but I stopped counting after 50. That has slowed down a little, but I've noticed that he's using his words more to communicate and not just saying random words. Some of my favorites are "help" and "up." My least favorite is, "NO, NO, NO, NO!" And yes, he always says it four times. I've been working with him on putting two words together, but he's not quite there yet. He's so close though! I did hear him say, "Mom. No." But I think it was two separate ideas. I love that his receptive communication is well established. He understands most things we tell him and I can explain things to him. This has helped to diffuse tantrums before they start.

It's a good thing Christmas is right around the corner because Cannon is in need of some new toys. He is starting to get into pretend play, which I love! He will roll his train and say, "Choo, choo!" He likes to play with guys and animals and will make flying sounds as he moves them through the air. And he likes to play with the fake food and play kitchen. Since he has been going to nursery he likes to color more than he used to. Unfortunately he likes to draw on himself, so we might have to invest in those color wonder markers. He also likes to play with legos, blocks, balls, and cars. Just your typical boy!

Superman and the Hot Dog

We had a pretty low key Halloween this year. Friday was trunk-or-treat at church. Saturday we went to a fall festival. Sunday we passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

Cannon got plenty of candy at the trunk-or-treat. And since he doesn't know what candy is, Ryan and I are currently enjoying the stash. He loves his costume and was so excited to wear it on Friday. He saw it on Saturday morning and insisted on wearing it. I'm glad he is getting good use out of it.


The hot dog, Superman, and the moldy pumpkin (apparently they don't last much longer than a few days in humid weather).

Scarred For Life?

This may be one of those times when you mess up your kid for the rest of his life.

A couple of weeks ago we went to our neighborhood Halloween festival, complete with a haunted trail. We figured that Cannon was too young to "get" all of the spookiness and we took him along. At first he was fine, just chillin' in his stroller. I could tell that he thought it was weird, but not scary. I took him out of his stroller to hold him so I could see his face and talk to him. That's when this guy jumps out and scares Cannon half to death! The rest of the time he was definitely freaked out! Afterward, we talked about the haunted trail and tried to add some humor. During family prayer at bedtime, we asked that he would have good dreams and good feelings. He slept peacefully and we thought nothing of it anymore. That is until now.

On Saturday he was creeped out by his jack-o-lantern! He wouldn't help me carve it, he didn't want to touch it, he even begged to go inside (if you know Cannon, then you know that all he wants to do is be outside). When it was all lit, he backed away from it.

I got an even worse reaction when I put on disguise glasses (you know, those glasses with the nose and mustache). When he turned around I was wearing them and I said, "Hello." He gave me a creeped out look and started to back away. I proceeded to explain that it was just mommy and then he FREAKED! He screamed and cried like I have never heard him! I took them off and he came to give me a hug. I wanted to show him that they are fake and when I reached out for them he freaked again. Ryan had to hold him and I put them back on and took them off several times so he knew it was just me. Then I got a mirror and let him look at himself when he put them on.

Then we went to play group on Wednesday and all the kids were in their Halloween costumes (Cannon included). The girls he didn't mind since most of them were princesses or fairies or something like that, but he was so afraid of the boys wearing masks!

I feel so bad that I traumatized him! Now I have so much work to undo what I did. Sorry Can Man.

Here he is trying to get away from the pumpkin.

18 Months and Counting

Last Thursday Cannon turned 18 months and I feel like we've turned a corner. We're in to new territory now and I am starting to see him slowly go from baby to boy. Sniff sniff. I miss my fat baby, but I love watching his personality emerge. He is a little person with his own ideas and agenda. I love it! He's a perfect fit for our family.

He had his well check today, which went well. He's basically a big guy. 34.25" tall (95th percentile) and 28lbs (75th percentile). This time he got to stand on the big adult scale, which he did willingly. I think it would have been a bigger fight to get him to sit on the infant scale.

Here are some other facts about Cannon:

-instinctively knows to laugh at gas
-thinks words like "pamphlet" and "product registration" are funny
-favorite hummus flavor: roasted red pepper
-turns his music on when he reads his books
-favorite shape: circle
-favorite color: purple
-favorite vegetable: zucchini
-gets his groove on to almost any music, but prefers classical or swing style
-when given the look, he will retrieve the object out of his mouth and bring it to you
-says more than 50 words

On Sunday he went to the nursery at church for the first time. The week before I took him to meet his teachers and see his classroom. His teacher's name is Gigi and he was saying "Gigi" all week. All week we talked about going to nursery on Sunday. And when the time came he went right to his teacher without a fuss! They said he played well, sat for the lesson, folded his arms for prayer, sang the songs, and ate his snack. I was so proud of him! I was expecting some sort of crying or hesitation from him, but I guess not! He did get a big bonk on his head when he collided with friend, but they said he only cried for a few minutes and then he went on his way. I hope the following weeks will go as smoothly!

I've Been Hired

Today was my first day at my new job. I'm happy about it. I'm not wild about leaving Cannon (even if it is just for a few hours each day), but this is the best thing for our family right now.

I've been looking for a job for awhile. I applied to so many different jobs (full and part time) and had a few interviews, but nothing felt right. I thought that I would probably look for something at a really nice child care center so I could take Cannon with me. I was offered a full time position at a nice center, but I turned it down. I just had a bad feeling. They even called me back to try to negotiate! I finally came across something that I knew would be a perfect fit. I applied, but didn't hear back from them for awhile. I prayed that I would at least get an interview. Well, I got the interview and I got the job! So what is it? I am a parent educator for a substance abuse facility for women. This means that I will be working 20 hours a week (generally Mon-Fri 4-8). This facility allows clients to bring up to two children (under the age of 6) to stay with them while they are receiving inpatient treatment. The kids attend a nearby child care center while the moms attend their classes and therapies. My job will be to help them learn how to be a parent including discipline, attachment, play, nutrition, sleep, and anything else they need help with. I will also train the evening and weekend staff on child development and such since they are lacking education in that department. I will also teach a parenting class once a week and do lots of other things too. There are a lot of changes going on at this facility and they said my position is a first of its kind and still a work in progress. It all sounds fun and challenging!

I spent a full day there today just training and going to meetings. I was amazed at how my mind was flooded with ideas to help the program! I am really excited to get to work! Kylene was so nice to watch Cannon for me today and I have to admit that I was so busy that I didn't think about him until after several hours had passed. Of course on the way home I couldn't wait to see him! I feel really lucky that I still get to spend most of the day with him, even though I will be giving up some family dinners and bedtime. I am excited about sharpening my professional skills and being able to help other families and children. I thought about my salary from this job compared to the one at the child care center. When you factor in that I would have had to pay a portion of Cannon's child care (50% discount for employees), I am still making more money working part time than if I would have taken the full time child care job. And I get to spend more time with Cannon. During work today I had a feeling that this is where I am supposed to be working. It's a peaceful feeling to know that you are doing the right thing.

Even though it's a little bit thrilling to leave this tantrumming toddler into the hands of another caring adult, I'm sure the novelty will wear off eventually. I am a little bit nervous about leaving him on a regular basis since I have never done that before, but I'm sure we'll get used to it. I am starting to get that sinking feeling inside, oh man I have to work tomorrow, but it's all psychological. That's just the lazy side of me coming out! I'll have to be more diligent in keeping up with my daily chores to make sure everything gets done. But mostly, Cannon and I will have lots of fun times together each morning.

Sweet Berry Farm

Last Saturday we took an hour trip out to Marble Falls to go to Sweet Berry Farm. It's a fabulous place and we had a great time, but the lesson we learned is do not go on the weekend! Everyone and their dog was there! Ryan and I aren't really crowd people, so the next time we go will be on a weekday for sure. The highlights of our little trip included pumpkin pie ice cream, petting the goats, picking flowers, and touring the endless exotic pumpkins and gourds. Cannon had fun doing his thing, just running around.

I was a little bummed because there were thousands of great photo opportunities and I only had my non-good camera with a low battery. The good news is that I finally ordered a battery for my good camera which should arrive today or tomorrow! So get ready for some awesome pictures soon!






So much fun picking flowers!


Our final selection included an apple gourd and a pumpkin.


Here's my bouquet arrangement.