Cracklin' Oat etc.

Why change such an inspired address and blog name? I recently googled Nils' name (don't laugh, you've all done it) and sure enough this blog was the first thing that popped up. Paranoia won the day (it usually does) and I've decided to go with something a little subtler.

Before Nils was Nils, he was about the size of a Cracklin' Oat. A Cracklin' Oat is not only a scrumptious cereal and yogurt topping but the progeny of two Oats (short for Honey Bunches of Oats).

Cracklin' Oat wasn't his only nickname in utero (or out of utero for that matter.) Although new ones seem to pop up every week, here is a sampling of a few that have stuck:


Fasolaki (fah-sow-lie-kee)
When Yia yia/Lisa (Paul's mom) was pregnant with her first born, Alexandra, her mother's best friend, Poppy, gave her a necklace in the shape of a bean. Before she was born, Alexandra became known as "Fasolaki" which means "little bean" in Greek. When Alexandra was pregnant with her first son, Robert, Lisa gave her a similar bean-shaped necklace. Lisa continued the tradition when we announced our pregnancy and Nils became the latest "Fasolaki".

Deloin
This is what Paul calls Nils. We're not exactly sure what "deloin" means (if anything at all) but it can be roughly translated as "oops" and was a common exclamation made by the original Yia yia (Lisa's mom) whenever something fell over or tipped. The name shouldn't be taken literally though. Nils was highly orchestrated.

Loukoumaki (lou-koo-my-kee)
Loukoumaki is another Greek word and Yia-yia's nickname for Nils. It means "Little Turkish Delight" and is appropriate because he is good enough to eat (although not a Turk). Here is Nils eating some Sweet Potato Delight.


Boy Three
As in the boy after Boys One and Two (Jonathan and Aaron Holst.) Here is Boppa Jim (Courtney's dad) with Boys Two and Three.

Poulaki mou (pooh-lie-kee moo)
This is actually a pet-name for our canine family member. Poulaki mou is a common Greek nickname which tranlsates to "my little bird". Poulaki mou is a play on another nickname--"Tazo the Pooh"--as in the honey-loving bear who lives in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Rockin' around the clock

Nils isn't moving forward yet (or backward for that matter). But he is moving!

10:12am

10:15am

10:17am

10:18am

10:21am

10:22am

10:22:30am

Sleep Anthology

Nils is taking an unbelievable nap at the moment (3 hours and counting) and since the house is spotless (lqtm) and I have just checked to make sure he is still breathing, I finally have time to blog. Coincidentally, I have been meaning to blog about the three magical nights when Nils slept through the night.

Technically, Nils had been "sleeping through the night" for a while, but only when you accept the ridiculous definition that "through the night" is five consecutive hours. That is superbly unhelpful when your baby goes to bed at 7pm and you go to bed at 10pm. No, these were three enchanted nights when Nils slept until 5am.

Sadly, just as I was beginning to feel like I did six months ago, Nils remembered how much fun it was to see me several times a night. Now when I wake up at 2am to nurse a baby who probably isn't actually hungry, I like to think about the adorable creature in the pictures below. Listed in order of cuteness are some of Nils' most serene moments. Just kidding, they are all equally and unbearably cute.

Now I am off to remember everything Nils and I did before he went to sleep so I can recreate this wonderful nap tomorrow.

People are excellent pillows . . . .




Especially dads . . . .




Car seats are good for napping . . . .





Then . . . .


And now . . . .

With special guest star Nils appearing as . . . . .

Nils made two special appearances this holiday season. The first was at Grandma and Grandpa Holst's house on Santa Lucia Day. The Swedes commemorate Santa Lucia Day by having their oldest daughter serve them breakfast in bed. Very clever mom and dad. Very clever indeed! To keep little brothers out of trouble, little boys dress up as star boys and very little boys dress up as tomtar. Here is Lucia (sans crown of candles) with Nils as Tomten.

Tomtens are endearing little creatures who live in your house but are rarely seen. (You didn't know this, did you?) They are generally helpful but occassionally mischevious. A visit to the Ebner Household at Christmastime will reveal a small but growing collection of tomtar. So I was quite pleased to learn that nisse, another name for tomten, is a nickname for Nils and that there is a beloved children's book called Nils Holgersson's Wonderful Journey Through Sweden about a boy who turns into a tomten and travels around the country on the back of a swan.

Alas, Nils fell asleep shortly after this photo was taken and slept through much of the party.

Nils' second appearance of the season was on Christmas Eve in a very special role. Yes, that is Nils' wrapped in swaddling clothes with Mom as Mary. I think this picture is particularly funny because Nils appears to be blessing someone off camera. Very papal of him. Again, Nils fell asleep shortly after the shot was taken and like a good baby Jesus, no crying he made. Although we are pretty sure the original baby Jesus cried occasionally. He was fully human after all.

Paul was cast in the role of Joseph, but sadly Tazo was turned down for the role of sheep.

First Annual Holiday Toy Safety Award

If you are at all like me you should NOT go to the website www.healthytoys.org. You will discover all sorts of horrible things about your toys and other baby items. Like the nipples on your favorite bottle are apparently laced with arsenic. Really, Dr. Brown? You had to put arsenic in the nipples? Really?

After a quick visit to the site (ha!) we discovered what's lurking in some of Nils' new Christmas toys. And thus the Holiday Toy Safety Award is born.

And the award goes to. . . .it's a tie!

Laugh and Learn Love to Play Puppy from Yia Yia (Paul's mom) has been entertaining us from beneath the Christmas tree for several weeks now. If you get within a few feet of Puppy, he sings "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP-I-love-you-yellow-foot" and then he hums "La Cucaracha." We're not sure why he stops at "P." Puppy has a really great rating on healthytoys.org which tests for a variety of chemicals. Unfortunately he does have a little bromine in his ears. Bromine, according to the site, is "used as a surrogate for brominated flame retardants" and has "been associated with thyroid problems, learning and memory impairment, and decreased fertility." Super. But the amount is negligible and besides, what's the likelihood that baby will suck on Puppy's ear?


Sophie la girafe from Grandma (my mom) is handmade with food paint and "100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea tree". Sophie is great for teething and, as you can see in the picture to the right, comes just in time. We especially love Sophie's story which reveals that before 1961 "the only animal toys available were farm animals or pet figures" and that when Sophie was created on "Thursday 25th May (Saint Sophie's Day) whence her name. . .young mothers starightaway saw that she was a must for their children."

There is one more award to dispense. The "gift intended for Nils' but which was promptly appropriated by the dog" goes to Alexandra (Paul's sister).



Yes, Tazo is wearing pajamas in this photo. Christmas comes but once a year.

"I'm not going to talk to you about that."

I love our pediatrician. When I asked about the spot on Nils' cheek at his four month well visit today (if you calibrate your screen just so, you may be able to see it), Dr Bacchus' reply was "I'm not going to talk to you about that."

This and "you're not allowed to worry about that" are favorites of Dr. Bacchus. He is very patient with my long list of questions and thoughtfully answers most of them, but occasionally he uses one of these favorite phrases. He generally follows up with the reason he's not going to answer my question and truly doesn't answer it. I can appreciate that since I can only imagine what kind of benign tumor is laying beneath my son's cheek. As far as I'm concerned, ignorance is bliss as long it's pediatrician approved.

Other things I'm not allowed to worry about: how many ounces he should be gaining a day, how much aluminum is in the DTaP vaccine and the color of his belly button (pictures to follow).

Other highlights of today's visit include his growth percentiles:

13 lb 13.5 oz (25%). . . . down from 54% last visit. . . . not allowed to worry about it
25 inches long (50%). . . .up from 27%. . . . .yeah!
41.9 cm head circumference (37%) . . . .small brain? . . . .not allowed to worry about it

And his vaccines:

Rotavirus (prevents an intestinal virus that causes vomitting and diarrhea) and DTaP (contains enough aluminum to make a six pack of cola.)