Monster’s Songs

Monster loves music. He loves listening to it, dancing to it, humming it, and ‘making’ music. We love playing new songs for Monster and watching his reaction to them.

Over the last year, we’ve compiled a list of Monster’s favorite songs. Some songs were selected by P or I because of the lyrics, while others are songs Monster consistently dances to or hums along with. I’d like to share some of these songs with you now, for your listening pleasure:

1. Still Fighting It – Ben Folds. Why we love it: This song was actually written by Ben Folds about his son. I’m not really sure this is one of Monster’s favorite songs, but I’m a huge Ben Fold’s fan and one of my first thoughts after Monster was born was that this was going to be HIS song too (whether he likes or not, ha!). Monster was born in the wee hours of the morn, which is why this song works for him. Had he been born in the evening I would have had to have a chosen a different song for him. In case you’re wondering if I have a case of the crazies the first line of this song is “good morning, son” – so I obviously couldn’t have chosen this for Monster’s song if he’d been born in the afternoon or evening. 😉
2. Don’t Stop – Foster the People. Why we love it: This song always reminds P of Monster. He thinks the chorus fits him to a T (don’t stop, don’t stop talking to me; don’t stop, don’t stop, giving me things). A couple of weeks after P first heard this song, we watched an interview with Foster the People in which they described this song as “what would happen if 4 year olds ran the world.” (I  can’t remember their exact wording), but their description of it has only made P love this song even more.
3. Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People. Why we love it: This was the first song Monster started dancing to by himself. It’s got a good beat – Monster just couldn’t resist it!
4. Anything classical. Why we love it: We’ve been playing classical music for Monster since he was in the womb. When Monster was a tiny baby, we played him classical music as we rocked him to sleep. He still loves it and often times hums along to it. Oddly enough, he also loves the radio broadcaster’s voices on our local classical station and frequently “talks” to them while they’re talking. He typically doesn’t talk to the broadcasters on any of the other radio stations we listen to. Weird, huh?
5. Do You Realize – Flaming Lips. Why we love it: I absolutely love the lyrics. Monster likes the beat. Listening to it is a win-win for both of us. This song is starting to become a staple in Monster’s nap time/bedtime routine.
6. Carry On My Wayward Son – Kansas. Why we love it: This is one of my all-time favorite songs. And I get a kick out of singing it to Monster since he’s, you know, my son and all. P thinks this is possibly once of the worst songs of all-time. I’m pretty sure he puts earplugs in when I’m not looking when I’m playing/singing this song for Monster. I may or may not put this song on repeat when I listen to it…

Music makes the Monster happy

What are some of your favorite songs? We’d love to share them with Monster, too! 🙂

Better Late Than Never

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now, but I just haven’t gotten to it (a theme that’s become very common the last couple months). There’s been a lot going on in the Monster household, which has left little time for posts. I’m really hoping that by June things will be less hectic and I’ll be posting more frequently (I know, I know…I keep saying this too and just changing the month).

Monster celebrated his first birthday on March 17th! We just had a small celebration with our immediate family. Monster had a great time – he got lots of noisy toys, cute  summer outfits, and most importantly – tons of attention from everyone. Monster ate it up.

Without further ado – here are some pictures from Monster’s big day:

Sleep Deprivation

A couple weeks ago P and I were talking and he mentioned he had a big anniversary coming up. P never remembers anniversaries of any kind, so I was interested to find out what was so momentous that even he remembered it.

Turns out, yesterday marked a year since the last time P had a good night’s sleep. And by that, I mean a good 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He asked me when the last time I had slept 8 hours straight was, and to be honest, I haven’t a clue. Long before Monster arrived, he was waking me up in the middle of the night. Although despite numerous late night bathroom runs, I still slept much better when Monster was in-utero compared to now.

We’re not complaining, of course. We’ve come to learn that “this too shall pass” – although in Monster’s case I’m pretty sure it will take years (and no, I’m not joking) before he sleeps through the night.

Some things do get better of course. A year ago today, I was in the beginning stages of labor. No matter how many times Monster wakes up tonight, I’ll definitely be getting more sleep tonight than I did a year ago, when I was much too excited to rest much (if only I’d known then what was in store for us in the ensuing days, perhaps I would have found it easier to sleep that night….). And as I’ve learned, it could ALWAYS be worse. Luckily we haven’t joined the “two under two” club – I tip my hat to those parents as I can only imagine the amount of sleep deprivation they endure. 🙂

We’re looking forward to celebrating Monster birthday in a couple days. We’ll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with all of you.

Fast asleep on the floor!

All tuckered out

O-U-T

Monster has two favorite words right now. They are “up” and “out”. On the occasion he throws a temper tantrum, it’s usually due to these words. Or rather, it’s due to my failure to follow his commands, haha.

Monster loves being outside, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that “out” ended up being one of his first words.  What I wasn’t expecting was just how much Monster apparently loves being outside. Any time Monster hears either the word out or outside, he immediately goes to the front door and tries to open it. He’s still too short to open the door, so then he bangs on the door with the palm of his hands while simultaneously exclaiming “out! out!

Depending on how close it is to nap time, one of three scenarios usually plays out:

1. We go outside.
2. I’m able to successfully distract Monster and he temporarily forgets about going outside.
3. Monster has a melt down because he wants to go outside and I’m not taking him outside. This is usually a very good indication that Monster is overly tired and in desperate need of a nap.

It’s gotten so bad that P and I have already resorted to spelling “out” and “outside”. I really wasn’t expecting to have to spell words out for a couple more years at least!

I’m hoping he outgrows this stage before he’s tall enough to open the door himself. 😉

I Need Your Honest Opinion

Monster’s first birthday is fast approaching! In preparation for his big day, I gave a big haircut this past weekend. And to be honest, he was in desperate need of one – his hair was getting out of control.

Before I cut his hair, I had some fun “styling” it. I tried to do a samurai photo shoot, but Monster wasn’t interested in the toy sword I gave him.

Shh - don't tell P I did this to Monster

Don’t worry – I promise never to make Monster look like a girl again. He has so much hair though that I just couldn’t resist! 🙂

Anyway – I cut his hair…and it looks a little bit *ahem* crooked. Anyone have any suggestions for cutting a one year old’s hair straight? Or should I just bite the bullet and pay to get his hair cut from here on out?

Monster seems to like his new hairdo

Temper Temper

I’m probably going to jinx myself by writing this post, but here I go anyway…

To date, I have to say that as Monster has gotten older he’s also gotten easier to “manage” per say. Most days, I manage to have dinner on the table by the time P gets home, a couple loads of laundry washed (but likely not folded yet), the dishwasher unloaded, and maybe an extra chore completed – like cleaning the bathrooms or vacuuming. Compared to the first few months of Monster’s life, when it felt like a miracle to get a load of laundry done and dinner on the table by the time P got home from work.

It seems the more “independent” (for lack of a better word) Monster becomes, the happier he is. These days, he’s doing very well with walking and is now practicing running. He’s also getting very good at communicating – week by week his vocabulary is growing bigger.

The best part is that Monster realizes that more often than not we understand him these days. Monster is more than happy to chatter away to us and loves letting us know his demands. Failure to indulge him in his demands however, has lead to the occasional temper tantrum. So far, they’ve been few and far between (i.e. not every day, haha). They’re also indicative of Monster being overly tired and they quickly subside with some cuddling, milk, and a nap.

I mentioned to P the other day how pleasantly surprised I was at how easy it’s been so far to calm Monster’s tantrums, especially given what a demanding baby he was those first few months. P’s ever-practical response – Monster hasn’t changed, we’ve just gotten better at dealing with him. He always knows how to rain on my parade…just kidding! His comment definitely has given me some food for thought. I’m still thinking about it, in fact!

Regardless of whether Monster is growing into a happier toddler or we’re just getting better at parenting him – I do find Monster’s occasional temper tantrums hysterical. When they do happen, it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to laugh at him. Does that make me a terrible mother?

 

Monster’s Newest Trick

Lately, Monster has been showing us how much he understands by executing simple commands, such as “Bring Mommy the ball” or “Give Daddy the block.” It’s really fun to watch him walk over to the object requested, pick it up, and bring it back to you.

P’s on spring break this week, so to celebrate he picked up a case of beer. Monster loves to put the beers bottles in and out of the case (don’t worry, I’m supervising him while he does it ;)). The other day after a few minutes of playing this game, Monster decided to show us what else he is capable of doing.

He took a beer bottle out of the case, stood up, then gave it to P. It was too funny!

Hmm - what else can I do with this bottle?

I've got an idea...just got to stand up

Off I go - Beer Here!

Unfortunately, we’ve been plagued with a nasty stomach bug since P brought this case of beer home. So he had to decline Monster’s generous offer, since he wasn’t able to keep anything down at that particular moment.

Just goes to show that little eyes notice a lot of things!

Monster Mess

After yesterday’s debacle with my lipstick, you think I would have learned to keep my purse far, far away from Monster. Alas, I have not. This morning he was happily playing with my purse. Since he had already destroyed my lipstick, I didn’t think I had anything left in my purse that Monster could hurt and/or be hurt by. While Monster was preoccupied with my purse, I decided to use that time to fix myself some breakfast. As I was getting a bowl of cereal, I could hear Monster sneezing repeatedly. It seemed a little odd, so I decided to check on him.

As I approached Monster, I noticed dark spots all over the carpet around him.

I don't even want to tell you what I initially thought this was.

Then I noticed dark stuff all around his mouth.

Mom - clean my face off, please!

Caffeine makes Monster happy. Or maybe making messes makes Monster happy...

I forgot there was a k-cup of coffee in my purse. Apparently coffee makes Monster sneeze. Especially when it is all over his face, including under his nose.

These pictures don’t really do the mess justice, but I was starting to feel bad about taking pictures of him while he continued to sneeze. I guess I’m not the only one who needs to start the day off with some coffee.

Pretty In Pink?

I’ve already mentioned that Monster is always being mistaken for a girl. Yesterday morning, Monster did nothing to help with this misconception. Somehow, he managed to get a hold of my lipstick while he was in his carseat.

This is what I found when I went to get him out of the car.

Hehehe

Is there something on my face?

Notice how pink my hands are. I also gave Sofie the Giraffe some pink spots to match the orange ones she already had.

 

Needless to say, there was no lipstick left in the tube. And Monster was in dire need of a bath before 8:00 am. *Sigh*