landscaping before & after

We had our massive hill of ivy and weeds professionally landscaped over the last two weeks. I'm so happy with the results. Take a look:

Before

After

Autism

I'm torn about what to think about the increasing number of kids diagnosed with autism. As an avid Oprah watcher (I know she makes some of you sick) I've seen two shows dedicated to the topic in the last two years. Most recently she had a show with Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Pete both of whom have boys with autism. I feel for them. It's sad when something goes wrong, especially to kids. I had an irrational fear that baby Doodle would be autistic because he didn't point when he was 12 months old (he points now, and does a lot of other stuff that signifies that he doesn't have it).

I'm sorry that Jenny McCarthy was too naive to get her son tested when her mother-in-law and nanny both suggested that something might be wrong with him. She didn't find out her son had autism until he was having seizures and foaming at the mouth (I think he was two and a half at that point). During the show it was pointed out that the rate of autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s. I believe the numbers were 1 in 10,000 used to be diagnosed and now it's 1 in 150 and 1 in 93 boys. I'm not positive on the numbers so don't hold me to them. Those statistics are alarming and do make me think that something is going on.

Parents of kids with autism believe that it is the vaccines that made their children sick. When I worked in the Senate I learned that that wasn't true. That those parents don't have any scientific reason for speculating it. I still believe that, but I do wonder what is causing the outbreak if it's not vaccines. Maybe food preservatives? They're so much more prevelant in our foods now than they used to be. Maybe the chemicals in most cleaning products? In any event I believe the kids that have autism are somehow predisposed to develop it. And then maybe there's an environmental factor that aggravates it and they end up developing it.

Baby Doodle has been vaccinated for everything he is supposed to and last year he got the flu shot. His 18-month appointment is next week. I'm going to ask more questions about the vaccinations than I have in the past, but I'm sure I'll get him vaccinated for whatever is on the schedule for this appointment.

The New York Times article, "Vaccine Compound Is Harmless, Study Says, as Autism Debate Rages" is the most recent thing published about it.

not as cute in writing as in person

Today, baby Doodle threw most of his peas on the floor and then said "oh no" in a nasaly voice. Then he laughed at how funny he is to throw peas on the floor. I came into the room and said, "What happened to the floor?" and he said "peas." I said, "who threw all these peas on the floor?" He said, "oh no!"

I love how baby Doodle talks now. He understands quite a bit. To make this post worth posting I'll add a picture, or two.

Two good things

One upside to having a sick baby is that you get to cuddle with your baby who hasn't been into prolonged cuddling for quite a few months. He slept on top of me most of Monday and Tuesday morning, then again on Thursday. He's asleep in his crib now because I don't want him to get in the habit of sleeping on me to fall asleep, but I will miss his closeness.

The other good thing is that you get to watch lots and lots of television. I pretty much drained our TiVo stockpile while baby Doodle was sleeping on me.

Did I say recover?

I jinxed myself. Baby Doodle was fine most of yesterday and almost all of today (eating normal foods, playing, running around etc. . .). Then right before I put him in the car to come home aruond 5:15 this evening BD threw up all over the sidewalk in front of some people's house. Sorry who ever lives there.

He's gotten sick three times since we got home. Mr. D is sitting with him now. It might be a rough night. I know better than to jinx myself.

We've recovered . . . from what? you ask

On Sunday baby Doodle didn't feel well. Some time during that night he threw up in his crib. I woke up to find it dried to his sheets. I won't get into the rest of the gory details, but baby Doodle gave what he had to Mr. Doodlebug and then to me. I spent one and a half full days between the couch and bed. Luckily, because of the order the virus was passed around I took care of BD Monday and Tuesday morning, Mr. D got sick Monday night, but it didn't last long so he was able to take care of baby Doodle for the remainder of Tuesday which is when I was the most sick.

I spent my morning disinfecting everything -- all of our toothbrushes (BD has three just for him), pacifiers, sheets, towels, refrigerator magnets, balls, remote controls, phones, the keyboard I am typing on right now. . . Because I couldn't bring myself to clean or soak BD's sheets Monday morning they now have a stain on them to remind me of our awful three days.

Then BD and I went to the zoo, and now he's peacefully asleep in his room. I'm so glad it's over.

17 months

Baby Doodle turned 17 months old on the first of the month. In keeping with my lackadaisical manner in which I've been posting I am writing this eight days late.

Rather than make a bulleted list of all of the many many new things baby Doodle does I'll write a few recent anecdotes.

The other day I was getting us ready to go to the playground -- packing a lunch, refilling our waters, collecting my phone and keys. Baby Doodle was anxious to leave as I had already told him we were going to the playground. Focused on my task at hand I distractedly said, "We can't leave until I put on your sunscreen." And kept going about my business. Baby Doodle left my view and returned with the sunscreen in his hand. He gave it to me and then mimed rubbing it on his arms. He had gone into the diaper bag, retrieved it and very clearly communicated that he wanted it applied immediately so we could get out and start having fun. He has done that same thing with my keys. When he's ready to go outside he takes the keys out of my bag and holds them up to the doorknob and says, "pen" for open.

Earlier today I was frustrated because the top half of the compost bin had become detached from the bottom and I had to get it back on in my pretty summer dress and shoes. Baby Doodle was outside with me walking around the yard. I said "shit" in my aggravated state and baby Doodle immediately repeated it over and over and over while pointing at the compost bin. He's very smart.

Baby Doodle has been putting two words together to form very short sentences. He says, "throw duck, dad car, two shoe, and potty chair." He says "throw duck" because for a while we were regularly feeding ducks (at the Wissahickon Creek, at a pond in Spring Lake, NJ and at the children's zoo at the Philly Zoo) and to feed ducks you have to throw the food into the water or at least toward them. He says "dad car" because we were following Mr. Doodlebug in his car and I pointed out that dad was driving that car in front of us and he repeated "dad car" many many times. He says "two shoe" whenever I have just gotten the second shoe on his foot. He says "potty chair" because yesterday I bought him one and he has enjoyed carrying it around and saying what it is. I tell him what its for and he repeats, poop, pee pee.

He dances by stomping his feet about randomly but has recently taken to spinning around in circles until he's so dizzy he falls over. We were in Haddonfield, NJ today and there was a band playing old rock and roll songs. Baby Doodle dazzled the crowd with his spinning, falling and then clapping.

Baby Doodle has also taken to spilling milk or water on the floor or table and then telling me it needs to be cleaned: "clean clean."

He has started to say things in public that aren't socially acceptable for adults to say, like pointing to a stranger on the train and saying "eye eye" when he saw a Muslim woman in a burqa that covered everything except her eyes.

There is so much more to say about the incredible cognitive developments that are ongoing in my little guy, but I can't possibly type them all, or even remember half of the cute things he does and says. He's adored wherever we go and that makes me so happy. It's hard to believe next month he'll be a year and a half! I could hug him all day long -- that's another one of his talents: giving hugs, and kisses.

Labor Day

What is it about the end of the summer that is so depressing? I'm not in school any more and we even have a trip planned for October but I'm depressed none the less.