Monkey in the middle

My little monkey is one amazing boy. Or at least I think so. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been very selective about my blog topics concerning him because I’m not quite sure how to talk about his development. But, a few recent blog posts out there have brought me into the light, so to speak.

Both Julie and Brooklyn Girl have written posts on how they feel that they must make apologies for their sons’ behavior. Julie apologizes because her 20-month-old does not walk yet, and BG apologizes because her 10.5-month-old toddles around the playground. I feel like I am caught in the middle of those two moms. Gabriel is not yet walking at a little more than 14 months old. The “average” is 12-14 months, depending on who you consult, and so my mommy instincts scream “developmentally delayed...get thee to a specialist pronto!” I think about how I can really understand where Julie is coming from with her concerns. Then it dawns on me that if I were to express my empathies and co-worries to her, she would probably consider me a numbskull assvice dispenser, because my kid is a whole six months younger than Charlie, which in baby time is an eternity. Then I think about BG’s concerns that her son is walking around but not really talking. Gabriel has been talking and communicating very well since he turned nine months. Does that make up for the lack of mobility?

The whole developmental milestone discussion can be quite a sore topic with us moms. We all want our children to be “normal” or even “advanced.” Some of us (like me) don’t discuss it much for fear of either revealing a weakness in our child or fear that we will offend someone whose child is less or more advanced than our own. It makes mommyhood a lonely place when we don’t have each other for support. Childhood development is not a competition. I find it frustrating that I have even said things like “No, Gabe isn’t walking, but he says more than 20 words and uses phrases,” because it’s another apology. Another form of competition. And another way that we distance ourselves from each other. Who else is going to willingly listen to you discuss your child’s excrement? We moms have to stick together. Ok? Good? Great.

P.S. The above is simply a thought from my own head. It is not directed at, or written about, anyone in particular. I write this disclaimer only because it seems that sometimes the most innocent of venting posts gets blown out of proportion and a blog war begins. Not that I have a slurry of readers, but you never know...

Observations at Origins

Our trip to Columbus for the Origins gaming convention was a real treat. It has been a long time since we devoted an entire weekend to the sole purpose of having fun. Over the course of the weekend, I found that there are a few truths in the gaming world that do not necessarily apply to the outside world. (Please pardon the formatting...I tried.)

1) Dice make a lovely accessory.


2) Gamers think it is cool when you threaten that you will plow them over with your stroller by saying “I have a battering ram, and I’m not afraid to use it.” They also move the hell out of the way.


3) I guess Gabe really is beyond breastfeeding because he thinks the ears are the most interesting part of this costume.


4) Jumping in and out of time periods and bodies is an awesome way to spend an afternoon. (Many thanks to the GMs running Cthulu Juxtaposition!)


5) Gabriel said “Hi!” to just about everyone.

6) Then he got so excited he puked.





7) You can never have too many gaming tables.


8) Nor can you ever have enough dice.












9) The Smithee Awards were, as anticipated, spectacular.

10) Alan Smithee was in full regalia.




11) Worst (and thereby best) picture? The Guns of El Chupacabra.



12) I want Gabriel to attend this school.






13) The guys of KenzerCo. didn’t threaten to sue me for the t-shirt!

14) Running into gamers you just met at other locations? Awesome.

15) Scaring your fellow gamers by pulling out a lunch of kippers and saltines? Classic.

16) Blending in with a crowd of gamer geeks? Priceless.

Whirlwind

Sorry for the blog silence- life has been taking a big ol’ bite out of my ass lately. Essentially, someone in our house has been sick since the beginning of June, and when illness finally struck Gabriel, it hit him so hard that he ended up in the hospital for four days. It boiled down to a respiratory infection that may, or may not, have triggered asthma (the jury is still out on that one). So, he was too wheezy to go home, especially because his oxygen levels kept dropping. So, they piled him on with meds, hooked him up to some oxygen (let me tell you how much a 13-month old LOVES to have little tubes stuck up his nose...yeah, that much), and four days later he could go home again.

He’s doing much better now and is actually eating again (he didn’t eat more than a bite in two weeks...). And I hope I never have to deal with that again.

And because I’m such a good mom, I am going to drag my little guy off to a conference this weekend with a lot of smelly gamers. Anyone heading off to Origins in Columbus, OH, this year? If so, give me a holler. I made some awesome gaming tees for the babe. Here’s the picture from one of them.

The other is a complete spoof on a publication, so I’m not going to post it for fear of legal ramifications. I do plan to show it to the creators because I think they’ll get a kick out of it. I just don’t think they’d be too pleased if I posted it all over the internet.

Hopefully I’ll get some awesome blog fodder from the conference. When you are in a convention center with a mix of costumed characters, vampires, girls in chain mail bikinis (I’m not kidding), and dorky gamers, you’re bound to have at least a few good stories. Plus, we will be attending the annual Smithee Awards, which is always great. Where else can you watch movie clips that include a sock puppet snake (Rana, Queen of the Amazon), roller skating Ninjas (Ninja Thunderbolt), and zombies whose face paint rubs off on their victims (Zombie Lake)? And, yeah, I have actually watched the entirety of that last one at a “Bad Movie Night” with friends. I tell you, though, the Smithees are a classic.

Catch you all on the July side- I’m off to Ohio!

What a S-Tori

Blogger has been down (bastards!) so I am only now able to write a post to congratulate Cecily and Charlie on the birth of Tori Anne! If you have never read their blogs, go do it now. Their ride on the infertility roller coaster has been a real doozy.

I remember that I was pregnant with Gabriel during Cecily's first pregnancy (I was about 5-6 weeks behind her), and when I read about her losing the twins, I did not spend another moment of my pregnancy relaxing. It was too real, too close to home. She shares so much on her blog that I feel like I know her, even though we've never met. Her loss shook me and her current joy elates me.

Best wishes to the three of them!

Graduation

Today my little guy graduates from taking naps in the crib while at daycare to taking them on a little cot. The cots are very, very low to the ground and if a child were to roll off of one, it might not even wake him or her (it would most likely not wake Gabriel as he sleeps like his mommy). But I still keep thinking that he needs to have rails and bars and other protective things around him while he sleeps.

And next week he will move from the low-chair (high chair with short legs) to a real, honest to goodness little kid chair! What's next? Condoms? Sheesh!

I thought that yesterday was a milestone when I turned 35. Nope, it's today when my baby becomes a little boy.