Pizza time!

Cash is a pizza fanatic like his mama. I got pizza for him for dinner last night since his usual pizza Friday at day care is cancelled for a Thanksgiving feast. He has an interesting way of eating it but it definitely makes him a happy boy!

17 Months

Cash turned 17 months old this past Saturday. I've missed a couple of months of updates but this month has seen Cash do so many new things that I had to write about it. He's a special little guy and here's what he's been up to:
-Saying so many new words - bye, "dadoo" which is a variation of "thank you", mama, daddy, ball, Papa, dog, cow, and the newest addition to the list, cracker. He says cracker at most meals now but I can't blame him since the crackers he is talking about, Wheat Thins, are delicious.
-Running - we have a full on runner now. He still trips up sometimes but that is mostly because he is between a size 3 and 4 shoe and size 4 make him drag his feet a bit.
-Using his fork and spook very well. He uses his spoon for yogurt and applesauce and while there is still spillage, a significant amount actually gets into his mouth as well.
-Very into books right now. He's pretty much ignored all indoor toys for the past few weeks and constantly wants us to read to him...
-Except when he wants to watch tv. Which is most of the time we are in the living room. We only allow it for about one hour total a day, mostly after school, and he usually only wants to watch Yo Gabba Gabba.
-Still loves music and dancing.
-Very interested in older kids, especially our neighbor Jonah who is 5. Cash is pretty much obsessed with him.
-Still eating really well but his favorites are pizza, mac and cheese, yogurt and yogurt melts, cheerios, applesauce, green beans, peas, and crackers!
-Currently cutting his last set of teeth before the two year molars. He hasn't been too fussy about it but he's been chewing and more drooly in the evenings so I tend to give him a dose of Tylenol and some gum number before bed.
-Still sleeping in the crib but I think those days are numbered since it is a mini-crib. He's keeps banging his little head into the side in the middle of the night.
-Sleeping solidly through the night from 7-5:30 or 6. Even better is that we are putting him down awake more often so that he gets himself to sleep. Sometimes there's a bit of crying for 2-3 minutes but that's about it. He still has his sippy of milk before bed and first thing when waking up though. That's not going to be a fun transition when we have to get rid of it :(
-Overall a happy, thriving and fun-loving little boy!

Dancing machine

Ross and his friends have a love of the R. Kelly song "Ignition: Remix". Basically if we are at a wedding or at a bar with a Jukebox, it has to be played. So Ross decided it was time to introduce Cash to it.

Traveling again...

I got an email from my boss this past Friday asking me to come up to our office in NJ this upcoming week for a couple of days. At the bottom of the note was also a mention that he wants me to go to our UK office soon as well as the German office within the next 6 months. On top of my usual travel for conferences (four trips already planned for the spring with a chance for a couple more) and a June NJ office visit, my travel schedule has taken a huge uptick. I didn't really think Cash recognized too much that I was gone or going away. Sure, there was the time that I came back from a three day trip and he promptly ignored me when I went to pick him up from day care (to which the teacher informed me that maybe "he was mad at me"...yeah, thanks for that), but overall he didn't seem to get it yet. However, after I booked my flight for Wednesday, I called a friend up in NYC to let her know I'd be in town and Cash came over to me and gave me a hug...and wouldn't let go the entire time I was on the phone. I think he's starting to get it.

Travel is an essential and important part of my career and if I continue to progress I will have to do it more, but it definitely doesn't help with the guilt parade that can be motherhood sometimes. However, giving up my career isn't an option for a number of reasons, including that I enjoy it and feel that (personally) I'm much more valuable to Cash as a working mother than I ever could be staying at home full time. I just do my best to make sure that when we have our time together during the day I'm fully invested in him and not distracted by other things. But the more he understands that mommy is leaving for a few nights and won't be there when he wakes up in the morning the harder it gets.