Resolutions

Bitty Man's New Years Resolutions for 2005:
1) Use 'indoor voice' when indoors.
2) Eat fewer 'mmmnnnmmm's'.
3) Stay with Mama when in a store -- life is not a big game of 'chase'.
4) Learn to use potty.
5) Stop throwing things away that aren't trash... like Mama's set of keys.
and finally,
6) Continue to be the angelic boy that I am!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas, Everyone! 

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! 

I can't wait for Christmas!!! 

Parenting for Dummies

Tip #1: When you child walks into the room with his finger stuck up his nose, don't laugh.

Two cheese in a pod at the Magical Forest. 

Da-Dee and Bitty at the Magical Forest. 

Baby Cheese, aka Bitty, at the Magical Forest. 

18 Months 

Merry Christmas, Bitty Man Fans! 

A Message to the Woman at Panda Express

To: The woman who cut in front of me at the Galleria Mall Panda Express this afternoon
From: One Mother Bear

It was obviously apparent when you approached the line that you enjoy your food. And I'm sure it had been at least two hours since any trans-fats had slid down your gullet, so you were probably dizzy from a low blood sugar. Which might have explained why you tried to cut in front of me and the other holiday shoppers who had been patiently waiting for over 10 minutes for some orange chicken.

Except that you were trying to be so sneaky -- pretending not to hear me when I politely pointed out where the end of the line was. And you succeeded, since the kid behind the counter took your order over the protests of those in line behind you.

I'm sure you gained some sort of satisfaction as you cut in front of a woman who was 20 years younger and 20 IQ points higher than yourself. But how could you ignore the angelic baby in the stroller calling out, "Noodle, Mama? Noodle?"

My son just sighed as you then hemmed and hawed over the choices for your three-item plate. (Because I'm sure this must have been your first time dining at the upstart, Mom and Pop restaurant of Panda Express, with such a confusing array of entree choices.) When my son began to whine and squirm out of hunger, I calmly said, "Christopher, we must be patient and wait until it's our turn."

My 19-month old son nodded and summed up the self-control to wait. Too bad you couldn't have done the same.

Gotta Dance!

Christopher has always shown an interest in music and dancing, which is understandable given his gene pool.

This morning, like most mornings, I turned on 'Blues Clues' so I could get showered and dressed. As I was rushing around, doing the things women do to get ready, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Bitty Man was moving to the music. No surprise there, as he's forever dancing when he hears a tune he enjoys.

What was surprising was that he wasn't just dancing but doing the choreography -- he was doing the exact movements that the singer Steve was doing, as he was doing them. I stood there, slack jawed, as Bitty Man did jazz hands, then squatted on the 'thinking chair', then pointed to his head, then jumped up, turned to the side and did jazz hands again. All in time to the music.

Bitty is 18 months old. Is it too early to start him in tap lessons?!?

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Dan and I decided to forgo Christmas presents to each other and instead buy a new Sony Digital Handycam Camcorder, which arrived today! (FYI, Amazon.com had the best price, even beating Costco by $40, not to mention saving the 7.5% NV sales tax.)

Let the CHEESING begin!

Yes, Bitty Man, there is a Santa Claus -- it's Saint Nicholas! And look at what he left in your stocking to celebrate his Feast Day! 

Christopher visiting Santa last Christmas... where did my little baby go?!? 

Bitty man sitting on the palm tree planter at the mall -- and his reaction to the idea of sitting on Santa's lap! 

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

This time last year, Bitty Man was barely sitting up on his own. Our biggest challenge with the Christmas Tree was keeping him from rolling underneath it.

My, what a difference a year makes.

We put up our Christmas tree last night. With each ornament I unpacked I asked myself, "would I be upset if this ornament got broken?" Ornaments from every cruise ship port I visited -- yep. Ornaments from every city and country where Dan performed at jazz festivals -- yep. Series of annual White House ornaments, beginning with 1984 -- yep. 'First Christmas Together 1996' -- yep. 'Baby's First Christmas 2003' -- yep.

Our tree is now decorated with white lights and a plastic Elmo ornament that Christopher picked out and proudly hung. Today we're off to Target to find more Bitty-proof ornaments.

The West Coast Boys: L (3), S (13 months), A (4) and Bitty Man (18 months)

Happy Turkey Day!

Bitty man and his family would like to wish everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING! The Ellis' will be dining at a wonderful restaurant with a view of the Las Vegas Strip that allows everyone (including Grandma and Grandpa I. who are are in town) to stuff themselves silly without having to cook or clean up afterwards!

We hope you are with those you love, and we're sending you our thoughts and prayers across the miles!

Blog or not to Blog... that is the question

I apologize to the Adventures of Bitty Man fans for the lack of posts. Blame it on Blogger -- I have not been able to get to the posting screen in 3 days. All I get are 'Server Busy' messages.

I'm checking out LiveJournal blogger software as a replacement. As soon as I get it set up I'll post a link... if Blogger will let me!

Scary smart.

So, Dan and I are lounging on the couch last night, enjoying Must-See-TV. Christopher is happily playing on the floor with his Peek-a-blocks train. Dan turns to me and says, 'Don't forget to do your picks' and I reply, 'Right.'

('Your picks' is the Pick-the-Pros Football contest at Coast Resorts. Each week we have to pick the winners of every football game. Best scores each week and at the end of the season win big bucks.)

We go back to staring at the TV and notice Bitty Man has left the room... and we don't hear anything (never a good sign with a toddler). So I call out, "Hey, Christopher -- What'cha doing?!?'

Christopher walks back into the livingroom, holding the cards that we fill out for the Pick the Pros contest and hands them to us.

So, from the statement, 'Don't forget to do your picks' he:
1) Understood that we were discussing the Pick the Pros contest.
2) Knew that we had to fill out cards to play the Pick the Pros contest.
3) Remembered that the cards were sitting on the dining room table.
4) Was thoughtful enough to bring the cards to us, without being asked.

(Did I mention Bitty Man is only 17 months old?) After Dan and I picked our jaws up off the floor, we sighed at the realization that having a kid smarter than we are is going to be quite a challenge!

How well do you know Bitty Man?

Take this quiz and find out!
http://www.quizyourfriends.com/yourquiz.php?quizname=041111140651-994498

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

A sure-fire way to get Bitty Man to nap is to put him in his car seat and take a drive. He's usually zonked out before we get out of our gated community. Mommy then heads to the Starbucks drive-thru for a grande decaf, non-fat, vanilla latte.

But what to my wondering eyes did appear as I approached the box that says 'order here'? A banner for the HOLIDAY DRINKS! So I whistled and shouted and called them by name: Eggnog Latte, Gingerbread Latte and Peppermint Mocha Latte!

Doesn't take much to make this Diva Mom happy ~ Merry Christmas, Bitty Man Fans!

What's in the water?

I went to a baby shower - my first, actually - on Saturday. It was so nice to sit around with my Gym Posse Mom friends without the toddler tornados in tow. We could actually finish a whole conversation and eat an entire meal.

But I soon discovered that as a non-pregnant woman, I was definitely in the minority. Of the 10 married women of child-bearing age who were in attendance, 7 of them were pregnant! Ranging from 6 weeks to a gal who was due in 2 days with twins. (How the hell she was able to drive was beyond me and the laws of physics.)

I have to admit, I was a bit jealous. My baby is no longer a baby and I miss that. The little helpless newborn who would let me hold him for hours on end. The only time I get to hold Bitty Man is when he wants the 'lunchie munchies' or when he's gotten a boo-boo.

But before you get excited, Grandma, our current health insurance does not have maternity coverage -- and I haven't seen any copies of Cesarean Sections for Dummies at Barnes & Nobel -- so I'll just have to enjoy all of my friends newborns for a while. And from the looks of things on Saturday, there will be plenty to enjoy!

Four More Years!

As a Republican, I realize that gloating about the election only harms our cause, further dividing what is obviously a very divided nation. I'm sure my Democrat friends are as disappointed as I would have been if W had not won re-election, so I will refrain from making any political comments that may be construed as being divisive or inflammatory.

Bitty Man, on the other hand, is only 17 months and does not know how to be 'politically correct'.
Bitty Man: "YIPPEE!!! PRESIDENT BUSH WON!!!"

Bitty Man/Elmo in 2040!

I'm no longer a single parent.

Dan made it safely home from Helsinki, Finland last night. He traveled for 22 hours (through London and LA) and was beyond exhausted. Bitty Man, jacked up on Halloween 'MMMnnnMMMSSS', was over the almost-full-moon to see 'DaDee' and show off his other new words, 'hi char', 'kitty', and 'teddy' (not for a bear, but for his teddy puff treats -- the kid is all about food). Bitty was also excited about all the stuff Daddy brought him from overseas -- the miniature FinAir airplane, the stickers from Ireland and Scotland, and the squishy ball from England. Of course after all the presents were handed out, Bitty proceeded over to Dan's suitcase to rummage for more 'loot'. Guess he was hoping for a piece of the Blarney Stone.

Mommy is looking forward to a Bitty Man-free trip to Costco today. With at stop at Starbucks for a Venti, nonfat, pumpkin spice latte. Welcome, November!

Hail to the Redskins!

Today, at 1:15 PST, the Washington Redskins (Mommy's team) will play the Green Bay Packers (Daddy's team) at FedEx Field (which is in Washington -- actually Maryland -- since you can no longer tell where a stadium is by the name).

I've just discovered the ONLY good thing about Daddy being gone. Guess which colors Bitty Man will be sporting for the game today! (Hint, it won't be Green and Gold!)

This game is of monumental consequence. http://www.snopes.com/sports/football/election.asp The outcome of the election is on the line. Republican Cheeseheads, like Daddy, are torn. Bitty Man and I hope to hear "Hail to the Redskins" quite often today so Bush gets to hear "Hail to the Chief" for four more years!

I know it's not quite Halloween yet, but HOW CUTE IS THIS?!? 

You deserve a break today...

Bitty man is on a dairy-free diet to help reduce his risk of developing type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. He gets no refined sugars and the majority of his food is organic.

Unless Daddy is 7500 miles away for 12 days.

Yesterday was a cold, rainy day and we were cooped up indoors. We read books, we made Peek-a-Block towers and smashed them with the Mega Dump Truck and we watched a few too many shows on Noggin.

But by 7pm we were both a little stir-crazy and hungry. And neither of us could stomach one more dairy-free frozen entree.

So what does any good Mommy do? Throw her child into the car (in his pj's no less) and head to the Golden Arches.

One #8 (Filet-o-Fish) meal and one chicken McNugget Happy Meal with a boy-toy later and we were both in a happier place.

And here's BITTY MAN!  

The Sound of Silence

Gymboree class began at 11:00am. It's now 11:05am and Bitty Man is still fast asleep. I was up at 9 with the intention of getting us both out the door by 10:45, but I found myself enjoying a second cup of coffee... and putting away all the laundry that has been sitting on the dryer for 2 days... and anwering my e-mail in a timely fashion... and Windows shopping on eBay... and honestly just enjoying some much needed quiet after being a single Mom for the past week.

Uh oh. Guess who I hear whimpering from the bedroom. I think he's probably mad he's missing Gymbo the Clown!

Who is Bitty Man?

Bitty Man (Bitty for even shorter) is Christopher's nickname. He was thus named due to his little, itty, bitty, size at birth (7 pounds, 1 ounce). Bitty is 17 months old.

Why a blog? Because I have discovered that in spite of my best intentions, I can not keep up with a baby book, baby calendar, or baby journal. I'm hoping that I can post the occasional milestone between late night eBay selling and games of Tri-Peaks solitaire on Pogo.

This week Bitty has his first phobia -- the smoke detector. Daddy made the mistake of checking the detectors the night before he left for the KDJB Tour of not-Europe. The sound of the alarm absolutely terrified Bitty. He now refuses to be left alone in a room with an alarm... which would be any room in our house. He points at the menacing device, cries, 'Dada! BEEP! BEEP!' then bursts into tears.

Did I mention Dan is gone for 12 days?