heatherhartman's Xanga

Our blog has MOVED...

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:43:55 GMT

Dear friends and family...please update your bookmarks and blog settings to note that our blog has moved from here to http://heatherlynnhartman.blogspot.com/. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but blogger had some options we were looking for. In any case, we're giving you lots of incentive to check out our first post...pictures of our NEW BABY...so you'll definitely want to check it out...

Random rantings about little boys...

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:40:28 GMT

In a conversation with a friend the other day, we enjoyed reminiscing about the behaviors of little boys. I don't know if it's their young stage of life, their gender differences, or what, but, as a mother, it's sometimes so difficult to relate to their logic and thought processes. Anyway, here are a few stories we shared (some, but not all, are applicable to Elliot...for the sake of his future dignity, I will not disclose which ones are true to him).

...If an object/person can be hit, thrown, or bitten, a little boy will likely hit, throw, or bite it.
...Nose buggers are "gross" (in toddler language, "eew, eew, eew"), but playing in toilet water is fun.
...One of your son's first words might be "penis" (in toddler language, "pee-is").
...You may have to tell your son not to do the same act 20+ (no exaggeration) times a day.
...You may have to discipline your son for committing the same offense 20+ (no exaggeration) times a day.
(Note: A little boy may not even be phased by such discipline as he knows the offenses were indeed offenses worthy of discipline.)
...Dirt and sand are multipurpose...good for both playing AND eating.
...If a little boy can remove his own diaper, poop may be used as finger paint.
..."Please" (in toddler language, "peas") is code for "I'm cute; give me whatever I ask for."
...The words "no, no, no" followed by a K-5 tantrum may be replaced with hugs and kisses in 5 minutes.

An Avid Little Dr. Seuss Fan...

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 14:14:42 GMT

Elliot LOVES Dr. Seuss books. I must admit that I enjoy the silly urgency of the rhythms of Dr. Seuss, too. So much so that I read a lot of Dr. Seuss when Elliot was a baby. I guess it rubbed off because by the time that Jeff and I got tired of reading our Dr. Seuss collection, hid them, and tried to add the variety of other authors, Elliot was already hooked, searched until he found them, and protested until we brought them out again. Now, 90% of the time we give Elliot the choice of a book, it's from the Dr. Seuss collection and since we have them memorized from reading them so much, we don't even have to look at the book to read it. :)

All that to say that another of Dr. Seuss's loves has rubbed off on Elliot...the love of hats. If you visit the Seussville website, you can read Dr. Seuss's (aka Theodore/"Ted" Seuss Geisel and Theo. LeSieg) biography and you'll learn, among other things, that...

"The Geisel's were excellent hosts, holding weekly dinner parties that included extensive and varied guest lists. These parties often took on lives of their own; Ted's penchant for funny hats, for example, would weave its way into a dinner party theme or two, and guests were expected to wear their funniest headgear - or risk Ted's assigning one from his personal collection."

So, here's Elliot with his stuffed animals (aka "the boys") wearing almost every hat he owns:

Elliot showing off Elmo's hat...

Elliot posing (reluctantly) with the boys...

The boys posing much more cooperatively...

Elliot indoctrinating Daddy into "The Boys Hat Club"...

Five things I love about Elliot at nearly 2 years...

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:48:09 GMT

...he can communicate, but not eloquently (sometimes less is more).
...he LOVES to help with just about anything (i.e. let's pick up your toys, can you pick up the clothes mommy dropped, can you bring mommy her water bottle...read slow personal servant). :)
...just about everything is cute (the way he runs, the way he crunches his food, even the way he pouts with his bottom lip out...for visual see previous entry).
...he has a longer attention span than he used to and doesn't tire of playing the same game/puzzle or reading the same book over and over and over again (point in fact...Jeff and I have most of the toddler Dr. Seuss books memorized because he LOVES them so much).
...we're starting to see his personality develop (he loves quality time, gives solicited kisses most of the time and unsolicited kisses occasionally, worries when someone is sad or hurting, and throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way...which may sound like a bad thing, but I think it means he's going to be a leader and with proper shaping/direction/prayer that can certainly be worked out for good).

Working Hard...

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:41:34 GMT

Uncle Super Heath came to visit last week. Jeff, Elliot, and I had a great time visiting with him. Here are a few pictures illustrating his time here.

Heath is very construction savvy, so we worked on a few home improvement projects while he was here (and got as much done with him in 2 days as we would have in 6 months or more without him).

Elliot's making his first attempt at climbing a ladder while helping daddy install a new light fixture (not too bad).

Elliot spent most of his time "helping" with the projects by coveting and stealing tools. In this picture, he's coveting a chisel (and perhaps wondering if our floor would ever be one piece again...in case you're wondering, it is).

We didn't work too hard, though...we had plenty of time for tickling and play, too!

One of the things Heath wanted to do during his visit was check out the local dairy farming scene, so here are a few pictures from our trip to Dalhart, TX.

One of my artistic shots of an irrigation rig (an essential piece of equipment on the dry West Texas farming scene).

Next, the landscape of a local dairy farm.

The farm inhabitants (cows)...though I think these are beef cows not dairy cows (sorry for the lack of continuity in the story, Heath!).

And, lastly, Elliot's impression of the 5 hour car ride.

One of Uncle Super Heath's parting gifts was some "deer jerkey." Elliot sampled some and realized that he liked it...a lot.

What he did not like was the actual parting, as Uncle Super Heath loaded up his truck and drove away, Elliot was very sad.

But, I bribed him with getting to lick the beater of some chocolate muffins and, while it didn't fix everything, he perked up.

Help, please?

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:20:01 GMT

If you've been faithfully reading my blog, you know that life since Christmas has been pretty crazy for us. Soon after we returned home from Christmas, Elliot got an ear infection. The antibiotics used to treat the ear infection gave him diarrhea, which gave him his first diaper rash. Then, Jeff caught a virus/"cold" (which I would like to note...he took medicine to treat) and passed it on to Elliot and I (and neither of us can take medicine right now...grrrr). Now that we're recovering from that, Elliot is cutting his eye teeth. The worst of all teeth if you ask me...diarrheal diapers, more diaper rashes, crazy temper tantrum-ed fussiness, less sleep because of pain, and lots of biting mommy/daddy/furniture/toys. Can a girl get a break? At least, it's all happening BEFORE the baby comes, maybe we'll get a reprieve then?!?

P.S. There's a Valentine's Day baby sling give away at Mommy Knows, so be sure to check it out here!

Can I get some words please?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:15:27 GMT

Jeff was sick last week and felt so bad he resorted to communicating in grunts and moans. This week my fears came true and Elliot and I picked up his virus. Now, Elliot's lost his tongue (mostly, he still whines "mama" as an all inclusive phrase meaning "someone fix something" and says "uh oh" when he drops...or throws...something). Anyway, since he's been sick, he's primarily been communicating with screams, grunts, and smiles. Let me give you an example:

Heather (H): "Elliot, would you like a snack?"
Elliot (E): (grunt, grunt)
H: "Elliot, would you like a snack? You need to talk to mama and tell her what you need."
E: (grunt, grunt, grunt) (smile)
H: "Does that mean yes?"
E: (smile)
H: (gives Elliot a snack)
E: (smile)

As if life weren't hard enough with the 10 word vocabulary we had prior to the illness, now we've regressed!

A Solicitation to Mommies of Babies...

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:50:52 GMT

Okay, so I don't usually endorse products, but I felt compelled to do so today because it's a group of products I love and one high quality item in that product group could be free to you, so read on...

Many of you know that I love baby carriers. I have, oh, too many to mention. I loved the sling/pouch style when Elliot was young...then I loved the Mei Tai/strappy wrap style when he got older...and now that he's almost 2 (!) and heavier we love the soft style backpack (called the Ergo). When Elliot was a baby and loved to be held all the time (and when he was light enough that I loved holding him all the time), I liked to think of baby carriers as both practical for our daily needs as well as a much needed fashion accessory for my postpartum figure. Anyway, the benefits of baby wearing are numerous; if you're interested in a discourse on the subject, check out this article by Dr. Sears.

Anyway, I'm mentioning all this because the lovely lady who owns the online store (The Baby Marketplace) we bought some of our cloth diapers from is having a contest on her personal website (Mommy Knows) and giving away some pouch style baby carriers. If your interested, you will need to post a comment on her personal website before January 31st; if you're not, disregard this entry and my feelings won't be hurt because my chances of winning are better. Consequently, take my word for it that it's not a hoax, I've won things from her website before (I'm feeling very generous in telling you that because I love baby carriers and would really like to win this time, too)!

Here's a photo taken last summer of Jeff, Elliot in the Ergo baby carrier, and an R2D2 mailbox in Santa Fe, NM just down the street from the Georgia O'Keeffe museum...

Elliot Diagnosed

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:20:03 GMT

The problem...

...an ear infection (occurrence: >75% of all children before age 4, diagnostic value: ~$240, conclusion: a stable source of income for pediatricians).

The cure...

...antibiotics, pain drops, and fever reducer (pharmaceutical value: ~$60, conclusion: a stable source of income for pharmaceutical companies).

The recovery, part 1...

...sleep and lots of it.

The recovery, part 2...

...ditto for mommy and daddy (especially daddy now that he has to work overtime).

You might have a sick child if...

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:38:55 GMT

...you're willing to nap on Mr. Potato Head disassembled body parts just so your child gets some extra sleep.
...the house rules go out the door and you let your child watch as much TV as he/she wants.
...you're willing to take a tepid (!) bath with your child to get a fever down (because of course he/she is too cranky to bathe without you right there).
...you look like you haven't slept or showered in days (because you haven't...or at least slept or showered well).
...you can't remember the last time your child wasn't in your arms or cuddled up next to you.

So, yes, Elliot's sick (but seems to be on the upswing) and Jeff and I are sleep deprived (and not on an upswing yet)...