Typical Night at the Garron's

It is 12:30am and I'm getting ready to head to bed. The dogs are stirring and their full attention is out the window, so I think there is something outside so I decide not to let them out. Jim should be getting home in a little bit from his night cruise, so I leave a note for him to let the dogs out when he gets home. I go up to bed and Jim gets home literally a minute later. The smell hits me first...the very pungent smell of skunk, then I hear craziness down stairs. I rush down stairs to see two dogs sprayed by a skunk in the face! Claudi got it right in the eye....you think she would learn by now. Jim is getting them into the tub while I rush to the refrigerator to gather all the cans of V8 juice I have (the only tomato based product in the house). We continue with a V8 bath of both dogs that can barely fit in the tub, Gretta freaks out, run between my legs turning my white pajamas orange, shaking, covering the bathroom in V8 juice/water mixture. The scene looks like a cartoon, I'm sure! We finish with bath, get the dogs corralled in the kitchen for the night and go to bed. About an hour later, I hear little foot steps rush into our room and a little body climbing over me into our bed. However, I notice a strong skunk smell from Odin! I realize that the scene of the crime occurred right under Odin rooms and the smell has overtaken Odin's room and the stench is outrageous. Odin stirs for about 2 hours, finally falling asleep around 4am. Just as Odin falls asleep we hear this insistent beeping, the battery of the fire alarm is going out (which always occurs in the middle of the night at our house!). Jim gets out of bed to fix that problem and I think we all are finally asleep by 4:30am! We wake up at 9:30 to a still skunk stinky house. Bathtime #2 coming up.

Where have we been?

Okay, so I have NO excuse on why it has been a year since I have posted to Odin's blog! And my last entry last summer said I would update the blog more frequently, urghhh! Life just seems to get in the way of things you plan to do, doesn't it? Well, at least our lives are getting back to 'normal', or as normal as possible, now that I am finished with school and don't have to spend every free minute with my nose in a book! As most of you know, Odin's daycare, Rockport Early Childhood Center, closed on June 11th. So, I have taken some time off over the last three weeks to be with Odin. Nana has been taking care of Odin on Mon, Tues and Wed while I had him on Thursdays and Fridays. We have been spending a lot of time at the beach and on the boat the last couple of weeks, relaxing!!! Odin first day at his new preschool, Happy Day School, was on Tuesday. He has had a really good week so far. I will taking off Fridays for the rest of the summer for more quality time:) I can't believe how much Odin has changed. He is talking non-stop and the stuff that comes out of his mouth cracks me up. For instance, last night he was up stairs with me and he was on our bed. He took the alarm clock from the side table and threw it off the bed. I asked him why he did that and he said, 'I was throwing the anchor overboard Mom!". Well, I couldn't argue with that now could I? He is just like his father:) Also, the other day I made him pancakes for lunch (because he insisted on pancakes!) and he told me I was a 'pancake genius'. I have NO clue where he has heard that before! His other new thing is using his "binoculars" to look for stuff (see picture). Every day just keeps getting better!

Okay, Okay I know I'm a slacker! Odin has been keeping me on my toes so I don't have much free time between work, school, dogs, Odin and Jim, cleaning, etc... From here on out, I do promise to update Odin's blog a little more frequently:) I can't even explain how much Odin has changed over the last few months. He is talking up a storm. Especially over the last few weeks, Odin's speech has really taken off. He is starting to repeat things and say everything. It is so much fun to watch him grow. We have had a fun packed month. We have visited the Aquarium, participated in Fiesta and had a great 4th of July with many parades and bonfires! Odin really likes squeeky fire-crackers, didn't scare him one bit. He is really into trains, trucks and Elmo now. I'm trying to figure out what to get him for his birthday (it is around the corner, which I can't believe!). He really likes to watch Seaseme Street in the mornings before we go to Day Care. He seems to really enjoy Day Care. He has made so many friends and they get to go to the beach every week (if the weather cooperates that is!). I have attached a few recent pictures.
Happy Summer!

Climb'n to the Top

Wow, I can't believe it is almost March! Where to begin...Odin is really starting to like day care. Jim changed his schedule so now he is home with Odin on Mondays and Odin goes to day care Tuesday through Friday. He is learning all kinds of new things:) (some good and some bad!). Just the other day he was hitting his friends, but the following day he did not hit his friends. I think it was a one day thing, not sure! He is a climber. He climbed onto the dinner table a few weeks ago. At day care they have soft climbing blocks so he gets to climb to his heart's content. Today he fell off the climbing blocks and has a rug burn on his forehead. We got our first 'injury report' today. Not bad, it has been over a month!! But he is definitely testing Jim and I. He is constantly standing on his little toy chairs or his ride on toy trucks. He also likes to ride Gretta like a horse. We are VERY persistent in telling him to sit down, but then he points his finger at us and tells us something. It is very hard not to crack a smile and laugh!! His mouth is going none stop now. He says some words that we can make out, the rest is jibber-jabber. We are convinced that once he starts talking it will be in full sentences! He is using his signs in conjunction with saying the words. It is amazing how much he knows and how easily he can catch on to things. We purchased a series of videos, "Your Baby Can Read". It is a cool program. It teaches children to associate written words with objects. Odin is doing well. It came with a series of flash cards and he can pick out certain words when asked. He is very smart, he takes after his father!! Jim still takes him swimming once a week. He is really starting to move around the pool now with his bubble. We are looking forward to summer when we can go swimming at Grampy and Grancy's house!

We hope everyone had merry holidays and a happy New Year! Odin and I traveled home from Ohio on New Year's Eve, so needless to say, we were not awake to ring in the new year! Odin had a fun and wonderful holiday. He spent a lot of time with friends and family that we don't get to see very often. He learned many new bad habits from his cousins (!) and tried many new foods (thanks to Uncle Joe!). We are experiencing many changes to ring in the new year. Odin is starting day care, so we currently are in the transition phase and trying to change to his new schedule. We found a day care in Rockport that we like. Odin knows a set of twins that are in his class, which is great. I went with him the first two days to get him used to being there. On the second day I left for about 3 hours and picked him up after lunch. The teacher said he did really well. I really like the women in his room. Most of the ladies that work there have their own children enrolled in other rooms, so it is comforting to know that there is a family atmosphere there. He already has a little girlfriend, just after two days!!!! (Boy are we in for some trouble!!!) I'm going to update his picasa picture page with some recent photos from over the holidays so check them out!

O' Christmas Tree

Happy Holidays everyone! We hope everyone is having a joyful holiday season. We are getting into the spirit, especially now with so much snow on the ground! We are snowed in today and the snow keeps coming down! I don't think Odin is quite sure what to make of the snow or the Christmas tree. He does like to take ornaments off the tree though, and then he tries to put them back on! He hasn't really paid much attention to the gifts under the tree yet. Let's see, what has happened since I wrote last.... Odin has moved on to the 'bubble' in his swim class! I didn't grow up with the 'bubble' so I wasn't exactly sure how it works, but it allows him a little bit more freedom in the pool. He is starting to kick and doggie paddle more on his own, so he is doing pretty well. He now can give the dogs their treats. He really likes this and wants to keep giving them more. He enjoys playing with the dogs more now to. He throws their toys to them and gets excited when they go after them. He is constantly hugging, patting and kissing Gretta. Claudi still is getting used to Odin moving around so much.
Odin and I will be heading back to Ohio after Christmas. I'm a little nervous about flying with him alone. He is at that stage where he doesn't want to sit down, but hopefully we will manage.
If we don't talk to you all before next week, have a safe and happy holiday!

Lasagna, Lasagna, Lasagna, I want more Lasagna!!!!!!

Where does the time go? I just realized it has been three weeks since we have written an update! You don't know the true meaning of the phrase "Time flies" until you have a child! Odin started a new swim class with a new teacher last week. She asked me how old he was and I replied he just turned a year. After a few minutes I realized it was November 4th and he was 13 months old! I have no idea where last month went, I feel like we just had his birthday party!
Odin is changing daily at this point it seems. Every time I look at him he seems to be bigger. Since we switched to completely drinking whole milk, he seems to have a bigger appetite. The child eats so much food! The other night I made an eggplant lasagna and he ate a whole big piece of lasagna! As you can see from the photo, he thoroughly enjoyed it! He has become very proficient in using his signs. He is so cute when he uses them. Sometimes when he gets a little frustrated he over emphasizes his signs, like saying "listen to me, this is what I want!!!" He can now (finally) say 'Mama'. Odin has always really liked books. Everyday he pulls off all his books from the book shelf and flips through them all, but he has been picking out The Tale of Two Tiggers to read everyday. He points out Tigger throughout the book. I think he might like a Tigger stuffed toy or something. Trying to figure out what Santa can bring him for Christmas is a little difficult!!!! Last weekend Odin spent the night at Nana's house with cousin Jessica. I think they had a fun time together. The next day Jessica came over for a quick visit while Uncle Ron helped Jim carrying a very large TV upstairs. Here they are flipping through some channels with the remote.