All good (and a Halloween preview)

We're just back from the doctor, and everything is great. They were able to tell from initial tests that the heart murmur is harmless, so they didn't need to do the test requiring sedation. Not that Sidamo doesn't seem sedated anyway—the adventure of it all (plus being off food and liquid since last night) wiped him out completely and he's now down for an early nap.

This weekend we went to Boo at the Zoo with Lisa, Chris, Scarlett, Grandpa and Dianne. It was such fun! We thought Sidamo was a goldfish, but someone else called him a koi, so we're going with that. Nothing wrong with a little upclassing! Scarlett was a cute and fluffy chicken. I had to wonder what the animals at the zoo thought about all these little bits of prey tapping at their windows. A special sort of torture, I'm sure.

He actually was less put out by the ensemble than he looks here.

Poor Scarlett was a little embarrassed by the whole thing at first, but she got more comfortable in her chicken skin as the day went on.

Sidamo and Uncle Chris checking out a vintage fire truck.

Dianne, Grandpa and Sidamo learning about the big-horn sheep.

The Bell boys.

Good thoughts for Sid

We're heading to Children's Hospital in about half an hour so Sidamo can have his heart murmur checked out. We're not terribly concerned, but our doctors wanted us to do this test as a precaution. My only worry is about the sedation—I just hate the idea of such strong drugs in his tiny little body—so if you could send some good vibes his way today, we'd all appreciate it.

I'll update later when we know the results.

The Mommy Blogaries

The Denver Post just published this article about the popularity—and profitability—of mommy blogs. If I had known revenue was a possibility, maybe I wouldn't have been such a slacker about posting for the past few weeks.

Truth is I've been procrastinating blogging only as much as I've been procrastinating everything else lately—work, laundry, vacuuming. One thing I hadn't anticipated about mommying was just how hard it would be to shift gears during Sidamo-free times (nap times and when he's at his friend Max's house) and devote myself fully to other things. I sometimes find myself staring at a blank page, and the only words I can piece together are "moo," "baa," and "la la la." Not quite on target for the magazines I work for. Plus, if I'm going to go down Jayson Blair–style, it's going to be for plagiarizing someone a little loftier than Sandra Boynton.

Now, for updates: Sidamo is doing wonderfully. For the past few weeks, he's been reliably calling me Mama—or, should I say, "MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Other new words and phrases include down, towel, toy, cow, hold hands (more like "ha hay," and he wants to do it constantly—two hands, not just one), tofu (bofu), and the list goes on. His favorite word remains no, and he uses it frequently—sometimes in song, sometimes in prose, but always with a lot of feeling.

And what post would be complete without some completely adorable photos?

Sidamo out to breakfast with Daddy, Grandpa, Great Grandma, Aunt Lisa and cousin Scarlett. If it weren't for those pesky eggs, he would have made it into the Clean-Plate Club.

First ride on the Amish rocking horse given to him by Pop Pop and Carol Lee.

Cousins

Crazy week, so I'll keep this short and full of photos.

Sidamo met his cousins George and Catherine (as well as their parents, my sister Meaghan and her husband Andrew) last weekend. All the cousins seem quite fond of each other.

All the cousins at the pumpkin patch

The kid with a kid. I'm glad to have another person in my corner in the fight to convince Greg (and the city of Denver) to allow me to have a goat.

Catherine and Sidamo molesting/feeding the stingrays at the Denver Aquarium

Also at the aquarium, Catherine and Sidamo checking out an overhead display.

All three cousins at the zoo. Poor Sidamo spent the whole time there requesting kangaroos ("Roo? Roo? Roo?"—nope, it never gets old), and when we finally saw them they were all asleep in the distance.

We had a wonderful weekend, and it made us wish we all lived closer together, but we'll all see each other again in December when Greg, Sidamo and I head to New York for Aunt Margie's annual fish dinner.

Anniversary in Aspen

Greg, Sidamo, and I went to Aspen this weekend to celebrate our (minus Sid) fourth anniversary. It was our first time away with Sidamo, and he did great. We did learn that vacations are a lot different with a toddler in tow—instead of sleeping in, lingering over meals at quiet restaurants, and enjoying the after-dinner scene, we spent much of our time discovering the town's many playgrounds and searching out eateries with high-chairs and easy exits in case of meltdowns. But aside from that adjustment—and the stomach bug that kept me company for the duration of the trip—the mini-vacation was a success. Here's some proof.

Sidamo's first time in a pool. He did pretty well considering it was around 60 degrees outside and the pool wasn't nearly as heated as we would have liked. A few hours after this photo was taken, the pool was drained and remained empty for the rest of our stay. Should we take a hint?

Sidamo at the Maroon Bells.

The whole fam dam.

My funny-face boys.

Two posts in one day??

I know no one is coming here for my witty prose, so here's some eye (and ear) candy for you: Sidamo and One-Eyed Elmo talking about feelings.

So much to say

Sidamo's language is exploding lately. He understands so, so much, and he has started producing a lot of words, too. He had is first meeting with a speech therapist on Wednesday, and she's amazed by how well he's doing. She asked us to start a list of his words or word approximations, and off the top of my head I came up with more than 40. Of course, "juh" counts for "giraffe," so it's not as though these are perfectly formed words.

This morning we had a very exciting development, though: He strung two (sort of) words together. He goes to my friend Jessica's house two mornings a week, and her 5-month-old son Max comes to our house two mornings a week.

As we were getting ready this morning, I said, "Do you want to go see baby Max?"

He responded, "Yah!"

"Do you want to go to Jessica's?"

And he said, "Jeh how?" Translation: "Jessica's house?"

It was crazy! All of a sudden I had a flash-ahead to the not-so-distant future when he and I will have actual conversations as he's getting dressed, he'll be telling me things he thinks and feels and wants instead of just answering yes and no to my desperate guesses. It was like I had a quick glimpse at the fun and verbal little personality hiding inside our fun and babbling little boy.

Side note: I haven't downloaded any photos from the camera in a while, but I promise I will soon.

Are YOU my daddy?

Let me start by saying that Sidamo is very clear on who mommy and daddy are—in person, at least. Photographs are another matter. A couple weeks ago, Sidamo started to really miss his daddy when Greg was at work, so we'd go looking around the house for photos of him. He'd hold them and point and say, "Dada? Uh?" Which basically means, "Where did daddy go?"

In his daddy-finding zeal, Sid recently started pointing to pretty much any photo of a slender white guy and screaming, "Dada!" The plumber on the magnet on the fridge, the cover model on the Men's Health at the supermarket, etc. The people usually don't look a whole lot like Greg, but they're usually young, tallish white guys with dark hair, so, you know, close enough.

Sometimes he branches out, though, and dada can be an old white-haired farmer …

an incredibly happy, middle-aged Asian guy…


or even (and I'm surprised Greg is still talking to him after this one), a not-so-popular president …


So far he's only found one substitute mommy in a photograph, and it was Brooke Siler, a super-hot Pilates teacher whose book, The Pilates Body, is on my bookshelf.


So my kid sees me through rose-colored glasses. I'll take that over G-Dub any day.

A Boy and His Dog

Sidamo was absolutely terrified by dogs when we first came home, which of course broke my heart—as everyone knows I love my dogs a little too much (just look at the name of this blog). I was so sad to think that I might have to keep Daisy and Saffron separated from the new baby—and therefore me, since he was constantly attached to me. But after a few days Sidamo began to warm up to the pups and now they're getting to be pretty good buddies. He likes to tickle them, and they like to stare at me with a look that says, "Remember when it used to be quiet around here?"

On another note, you might notice that our travel slideshows have been deleted. We had a technical issue and hope to get it resolved soon so we can repost the photos.

Driving Hats

Grandma's hat—the first one he's ever allowed on his head.

Impaired vision did not improve his driving, unfortunately.

A hat his own size.

This is giving me hope that he'll actually allow us to put him in his Halloween costume, which has a head-covering component. I can't reveal what it is yet, but I can tell you that it's beyond ridiculously cute. Stay tuned.