Again, this time the ears...

We're kind of in a strange place right now for a number of reasons. Apparently Callum isn't feeling well, or so the ladies at daycare say, so he's off to the doctor's again tomorrow. Although, he was happy as a clam at home tonight, he had a rough day at daycare- generally out of sorts and cranky. Based upon their explanation, he has the symptoms of an ear infection. He's refused his bottle all day which is weird enough for me to think that the sky is falling. Normally his "ba ba" = happiness. According to BabyCenter.com, my source of all medical information when I can't get a nurse on the line quick enough, refusal of a bottle is a good sign of an ear infection. His ear is also all red and scabby from where he pulled at it all day. Dear Lord- how many more times is this child going to get sick this winter? I swear he's had at least five colds, the plague- I mean stomach flu- and now an ear infection. Good thing I killed myself to breastfeed him- since breastfeeding wards off illness I'd hate to see what state he'd been in if I hadn't (leprosy?). But seriously, I didn't think he'd get sick this often. Okay, okay, some positives in Callum's life... he is a fast moving crawler and mover around of the furniture. See the pictures above as a demonstration of his speed. From the time in which he saw the camera (pic 1) to the time I took picture 2, it took him about 5 seconds to get to me. He also LOVES the cats, especially pulling their fur which is not so fun for them. Nor Callum once he gets swiped at for the first time-yet to happen. Callum's also started to add two new words to his two word vocabulary- "fish" which comes out as a whisper of a "ish" "ish" "ish". He also points at the light/ceiling fan and says "t..t..t". So despite the pronunciation in progress, he knows the sounds the words make. He and I will be off to the doctor's again tomorrow morning. Truly I am thankful for those 8:00 a.m. appointments because they don't completely mess up our entire routine. Although I am sure that he will sleep in the car on the way there and even through the entire time spent in the waiting room. I'll be able to wake him up just as he falls into REM sleep in order to take off all of his clothes to place him on a freezing cold scale. He can then illuminate the exam room and realistically the entire doctor's office with his screams of fury. Can you see we've done this a few times before?

Happy V Week

The blog color has been changed in honor for Valentine's Day Week and also the VM Performance on campus. I'm not going into the details of this. If you want info, please go to http://webspace.ship.edu/wmscentr/ OR http://newsite.vday.org/. Be warned that these links might not be for the faint of heart. I will also point out that the event, cause and proceeds go to improving the lives of women in the local area and around the world. February is proving to be a warm month. The past three Februarys have been cold, icy and miserable. The temperature has been in the 40's and 50's during the day so no complaints here. Our backyard was a SWAMP on Sunday morning once the snow had all melted. I'm afraid that March will bring a blizzard and another 6 inches of snow. This will round out our total to 12 inches for the year. :-) Exciting upcoming events in February include Valentine's Day, AJ and Eli Sloan's respective 1st birthdays and my 29th (Whoa) birthday. Callum recently discovered the Tupperware (plastic container) drawer and happily played for 25 minutes there yesterday while Iain and I cleaned up after dinner. He's also come to appreciate and want my cell phone and our digital camera whenever he sees them. I took some great pictures of him advancing toward me last night. I'll try and post some soon. Hang in there, stay warm and wear RED--my favorite color.

9 Months- Whoo Hoo!

Callum reached the 9 month mark on Monday. We celebrated with a doctor's appointment and check up. I asked Dr. Colli a lot of questions- teething, first shoes, lack of sleep and wet beds. He expertly answered all of my questions and we're making some changes to the daily routine to better Callum's night rest. Things are improving and he is definitely getting 8-9 hours in before waking up. Unfortunately he goes to bed at 7 p.m. so 3-4 a.m. is his wake up. Iain and I are working to slowly push bedtime back. Funny enough, after my most recent post, Callum's first tooth began to pop through the bottom left gum. This one came with no fussy or fanfare but a lot of drool. According to Dr. Colli, the one positive aspect to getting teeth later is that they tend to have fewer cavities. On the other hand, he can't munch any good foods. Oh well. We're plugging along through the worst winter Shippensburg has had in years (according to my neighbor). We've had about 6 inches of snow total. I think my brother, Jeremy, in Erie said that they have had something around 100 so we aren't doing too badly. But I am ready for some warm from spring sunshine. On another note, we were all pleased with the Super Bowl result. Edna and Andrew in Scotland brought us luck by wearing their new Steelers scarves- a Christmas gift. We saw them on Skype right before the big game. Go Steelers!

Go Steelers!

In honor of the Steelers, the blog has been changed temporarily to Black & Gold (errr Blogger yellow) to support their Super Bowl efforts. Go luck today in Tampa! The Burnetts (Callum until 6:30) will cheer on their efforts later today with some of my co-workers. An update on Callum, as he bellows in the next room in protest for the nap his Mom is making him take, is that tomorrow begins month 9. We have our check up with Dr. Colli which will consist of my questions... when will he get some teeth... when will he stop waking up at night to eat... how much formula should he be drinking since he is wetting the bed regularly (umm maybe related to the drinking at night?)... basically when will this get any easier? Perhaps the answer is never? On a more positive side, Callum's understanding and comprehension of words grows and grows. He knows Ma Ma and Da Da. He definitely knows what a Ba Ba (Bottle) is. He also knows the word Fish. Yes, in a house with three cats, we do have a single goldfish and Callum loves watching her swim. He's still trying very hard to walk alone and pull himself along the coffee table. Things are more and more fun each day but the nights are still very long. Thank goodness for coffee. I don't think I could do this without it; I'm up to 3 cups a day- 1 around 3 p.m. And also a husband who is actively involved in Callum's life and child rearing. I truly don't understand how men can brag that they've never changed a diaper. Get over yourself. Iain is absolutely amazing with caring for Callum and helping me not hit a breaking point with the daily grind-- get up at 5 a.m., shower and get ready for work, get Callum ready after he wakes up, drive to daycare, go to work, do work, come home, get everything ready for daycare the next day, cook/eat dinner, play with Callum, bath/bottle/bed, clean a little, and go to bed. And then do it again another 4 times before Saturday. I'm not trying to complain because I adore Callum and being a Mom, but I never knew just how hard this would be. Maybe some rest will come in month 9... I am quickly doubting it as Callum's wails continue into the 20 minute mark. The kid's got stamina- I hope it helps him in 10 years from now on the soccer field.