The nurse line lady told me that this evening’s boo-boo will be the first of many, but I, Mom, must admit I still didn’t take it very well.

Tonight Mr. P-nut Porkchop bumped and cut the bridge of his nose. Dad stayed calm and P didn’t cry for long. But due to the possible deepness of the cut (the edges were possibly seperated), we decided to follow the nurse line advice and bring P in to Urgent Care.

I found it hard to know our little guy had such a big owie. P seemed oblivious as he cruised around the urgent care waiting room telling us about the fish in the big tank.

The doctor said he doubts P’s nose is broken and expects any scarring will be minimal. If P has a scar, it will match the one that I have on the bridge of my own nose. How I received my own scar is a story for another time.

Tomorrow we will join some friends for dinner and I am sure P will look like he was in a boxing match. Lovely. On Monday, I will take P with me to drop off a job application. Sure, that will make a good impression.

One more word that P now says - “Mama”. He first said it the day after Christmas and has said it once a day since then. But he still says “Moo” when he nurses. Go figure.

Christmas was a huge blast.

The boy was totally thrilled all during Christmas-Eve night. He wasn’t interested in opening any gifts or toys or anything. He was just keying off all the other commotion of everyone else having so much fun.

He was running around gammie and granpie’s place while we all opened presents and laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. The P-nut was focused mainly on removing all the bows from each package. We put him to bed and let him enjoy his gifts on Christmas morning.

I will be posting the Christmas pics later.

I would like to add that his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. He has now entered that parrot stage where he repeats or attempts to repeat words he hears. Thus, we’ll no longer be able to post every new word he learns. Here’s a summation of the latest:
Whale
Bathroom
Pee
Hi Toto (Toto is gammie’s dog)
Tissue
Shoes
Baby
And there’s more. He’s a little jabberbox and we absolutely adore everything he does.

P-Nut is 15 months old and I think the pictures posted below tell a good story. P is becoming more animated and silly. He still likes hats and looking at his reflection in the oven door. The red hair band that you see is Mom’s and P decided for a while that he wanted it. He looks like a 1970’s tennis pro sometimes when he wears it.

The photos show P in various chairs that he has learned to climb onto. He hasn’t quite managed to climb out safely, but has learned how to go downstairs backwards. He has been getting practice during his evening outside play time. It is a little pathetic when Mom bundles up P and brings him outside after his afternoon nap. It is dark and there isn’t much to play with. But P, being the trooper that he is, has been making the most of it and climbs up and down the back steps.

P also had a lot of fun practicing climbing up and down stairs at Bru’s and AG’s during a holiday dinner they hosted. It was a lot of fun even though their giganto dog scared the little guy. We also had a Christmas present preview as many gifts were bestowed upon P. He was a little baffled as to how he was supposed to open the pretty packages. But showed a lot of interest in the new toys that were contained inside.

P also continues to tell us his new words. I think I have heard - ball, something resembling bird, da do (Dad/Mom do it), mi (milk), moo (for a cow), and so on. Still doesn’t say Mom. He communicates mostly with body language. Goes to high chair when hungry, takes Wubanub from his crib when tired, pulls aside blanket when done reading books and ready for sleep, and so on.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Click here to see a whole bunch of pics of the Pu at 14-15 months old.

The good news is the earache cleared up. The so-so news is that our string bean is getting on the stringy side. No surprise considering his recent sickness. Doctor said we will check P-nut’s weight again at the 18 Month appointment. If he is still low in weight, they will do further testing. We are not too worried, though, because now that P feels better he has been eating a lot more. Even had a pig out at the good ol’ Old Coutry Bucket. P also has been drinking more of his milk. Hip, hip, horay!

In addition to the his first time fever and earache, poor little P-Nut had his first major puke fest. What makes it particularly noteworthy is the timing. I, Mom, thought P was well enough for a photo session. Today I dressed up P in a brand new outfit from Auntie A. and drove him to get his Christmas card photo. Right when I pulled in to the parking lot space, I heard a strange noise from the backseat and turned around in time to witness a volcano erupting. After failed attempts to clean up the situation with baby wipes (which are worthless against vomit, by the way), I realized that we were just going to have to drive back home pretty much as-is. He up-chucked a little bit more on the way, but still didn’t cry about it. He’s a trooper.

Poor Dad, who is still trying to recover from his on intestinal trauma, had to help me upon our return home. We think P is okay now. Whew!

With all of the sickness, we missed a 14 month post. His reach is getting longer and longer as we move objects further and further away from the edges of tables and countertops. He is walking around pretty fast and takes his multiple spills and bumps in stride.

The little guy now plays peek-a-boo by peaking from around a corner and saying, “Boo.” In case we haven’t mentioned it yet, he is also using the phrase, “ruff, ruff” to refer to various animals. I have been teaching P that a dog says, “ruff, ruff”, but I think he is using it to refer to all types of animals including pictures of cats and is the name for his new favorite stuffed animal which happens to be a cow. He also likes to sit in rocking chairs. Grandpa and Grandma M have a child sized rocking chair at their home which fits perfect. In addition to putting on all types of hats, he is into glasses. Any he can get his hands on are worthy of a thorough inspection and multiple attempts to wear.

Best of all though, Mr. P-Nut Porkchop has figured out how to ham it up for Mom and Dad. He now knows that he can make us laugh. Our favorite is when we try to get him to say, “Mommy.” As we encourage him, his smile gets bigger and bigger until he makes a funny snorting noise. I swear he is teasing us.

The boy’s fever turned out to be a full-blown ear infection, his first ever. Mom had called the doctor’s office to ask about some medicine dosage. This was last Tuesday, btw. After explaining to the doc what was going on with him, he suggested that we bring the Pu in or else we might be facing an Emergency Room visit on Thanksgiving day.

So we did just that. We got some antibiotics for him and noticed an immediate improvement in his condition. Today, 5 days after his first dose, he’s like a new little boy. Good thing we brought him to the doctor when we did.

In other news, Dad is sick as a dog, likely food-born or some other bacteria (maybe I didn’t wash up good enough after a diaper change or something), if you catch my drift. I talked with a nurse this AM and she said my symptoms weren’t too alarming. Just a dietary change should help (lotsa starch) and if things don’t clear up in 7 days (or if my symptoms change, as if you can call my race with the devil, darting to the toilet every 45 minutes a “symptom”), then I should call the doctor.

So I’m home, drinking lots, having lots of sugar-free popsicles, and clear broth. Yum.

We checked the guy’s temp the “proper” way this AM. He’s running 101, a new record for him. He slept through the night though, from 8:30 until 7:00 AM with hardly a sound. And he doesn’t really have any other symptoms except for some slight congestion. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable either.

The material we got from his pediatrician says not to call until he hits 104 or the fever lasts longer than 3 days. It says we don’t even need to use a fever reducer until 102. So it’s plenty of liquids and rest for now.