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.

Hi All:  Sorry it has been awhile since our last post.  Odin is keeping us VERY busy!  The little man is so curious and has to check out everything.  We have been having a fun fall.  A couple of weeks ago we went to a picnic to celebrate our friends' marriage!  It was a beautiful day and Odin had a great time playing in the leaves.  We are psyched for Halloween.  As some of you may know, I LOVE Halloween!  So we have all the decorations out and are preparing for a fun, spooky night. Odin really likes the decorations.  We made up a sign for one of my decorations, a haunted house that lights up.  We call it the 'spoooky house'.  So, whenever we see Halloween decorations we can get him to do the sign for 'spooky'.  

He has transitioned into the big  boy sippy cup.  He likes to drink out of our glasses, but he still can't get the whole swallowing thing down when he does.  I use a big plastic cup to rinse his hair at bath time.  His new thing is getting the cup full of water and drinking it.  A couple of times it has gone down the wrong pipe, but that doesn't stop him.  He thinks it is fun and laughs.  We got him a little play kitchen.  I had taught him how to stir the pot with one of our big bowls and wooden spoon.  So now he 'stirs the pot' with his little play skillet and spatula.  Who knows, maybe we have a true culinary artist in the making.  

Happy Birthday to Odin!

Happy Birthday it was!  Odin had a wonderful day.  He went to Salem with Daddy and Uncle Joe, who was visiting for the weekend.  They went to a couple of museum and witch shops and had a "spooky" time.  (That's a little joke for Daddy).  Odin had a little bit of pumpkin cake and played the night away with his new awesome toys, with his best girl friends Jessica and Nicole!  He was exhausted by bed time, but I'm sure he had sweet dreams.  

He has been a riot this week.  Everything he does seems to make me laugh.  He is starting to mimic things I do.  I had food on my fingers, so I licked it off and must of made a funny sound so he put his fingers in his mouth and was trying to make the sound.  He can now do the sign for dog.  Jim and I have been doing this sign since we started doing signs, but this week he figured it out and does it all the time when he sees a dog.  

He cracks himself up.  I hear him laughing at himself when he is playing or riding in the car.  It is to funny!  Tonight he was playing with the pots and pan and putting them over his head and yelling in them.  Then he would crack up laughing.  He is such a ham!

We went to the doctor yesterday, he weighs 24 lbs 6 oz and is 31 3/4 inches long.  He had to get some vaccinations which he did not care for.  They did a toe prick to check his hemoglobin and it was good.  However, we still need to go into Boston next week to see the "blood doctor" for his annual checkup.  We'll keep you posted.

Picture perfect

Sorry it has taken us so long to write an update, we have been busy! Odin is changing everyday.  He now is walking a bit more, a few feet.  He gets to excited and starts to go to fast and falls over.  He still loves the camera.  In the picture to the left he is playing peek a boo under neath Gretta.  He is catching on to baby signs very rapidly.  He can do the sign for: more, all done, telephone, dragon, light, fan.  He loves the telephone.  Here is a picture of him doing the sign for telephone. Every phone he sees or hears he does the sign, it is very cute.  We have a dragon made out of rope that our friends Mark and Carolyn got for us awhile ago.  Odin loves the dragon so much we had to make up a sign for it.  I'm trying to find a cool dragon toy for him.   Here are some more photos of our play time today, enjoy! 

Party Animal

Odin has quite the social life lately!  Two weekends ago, Nana had a birthday party for all the September babies (Auntie Michele, Auntie Tammy, Daddy and cousin Jessica).  Odin had a lot of fun giving everyone their gifts and helping to open them too.  He tried a little bit of birthday cake. The following day, Aunt Tammy and Uncle Ron had another party for Jessica (what a lucky girl, two parties!!).  Grancy gave Odin some pizza, feta cheese and anything else that was on her plate.  Odin LOVES to eat.  He now gets mad if we are eating and we don't give him anything.  This Saturday we went to Russell Orchards and saw some goats, horses, ducks, swans and BIG pumpkins and ate (of course) some apple donuts.   Odin met baby Landon for the first time, one of Mom's friends from work.  What a cutie!! Later we met a second baby, baby Clayton.  Two new babies in one day, Odin felt like such a big boy!!! Odin gives a shout out to baby Landon and baby Clayton, says you all can chat later and he will you give you both the real scoop!!  Yesterday, the Special Care Nursery at the Beverly Hospital had a reunion.  So, we went and saw the doctors and nurses that treated Odin.  It was pretty cool, there were over 200 families that were attending.  There were babies EVERYWHERE.  But it was so awesome to see how many lives are touched by the good work the doctors and nurses do.  They truly are wonderful people and were great with Odin.  With his

 birthday coming up, it reminds me how grateful I am for their help (and patience during the hysterical times)!  On Sunday evening, Odin spent some time with Auntie Michele and Uncle Garry and had a blast.  First of all, Uncle Garry got Odin some new awesome digs that he couldn't wait to wear.  He thinks 

he is hot stuff.  Odin has walked with pretty much everyone but Mommy and Daddy!!  He has been taking a few steps at Nana's house, but last night, Unc and Auntie got him to walk 4-5 steps!  Now he is off..... tonight he thought he was super man and walking all around (it must be the shirt!!)  He has five teeth now, with more coming in.  He is eating some #3 baby foods and other solid foods.  He is starting to want more solid foods and growing less and less interested in the baby food.  He is still sleeping well.  He has been waking up in the morning after about 11 hours.  He was going to bed between six and six-thirty, getting up around 5am.  So, we have been trying to keep him up a little later so he will sleep in a little bit.  He gets up and after about an hour and a half he wants to go back to sleep and will sleep for another two hours!  He has thinned out 

a bit from being on the move.  

Weighing my options

Well...at least someone in the Garron household likes the scale!  Odin can entertain himself for a pretty long time with that thing.  Not sure what is so fun about it, but Odin gets a kick out of it!  Really, who needs to buy expensive toys?  I put some coins in a small tupperware container and he loves to shake it.  That is the first toy of choice in the morning time when Mommy still isn't quite awake yet!  Odin is just so much fun.  I know I keep saying that, but honestly, life with him just keeps getting better and better.  It fills my heart to see him discovering new things everyday and the new expressions on his face.  It will not be long before he is walking.  He took a step at Nana's house the other day and is becoming more confident around the house.  He is very steady on his feet.  He transitions from sitting to standing very well. 

He is still teething.  It looks like some other upper teeth are getting ready to come out.  He has been sleeping a little bit more than usual, but I think it is a combination of getting his teeth and becoming more mobile.  He takes two naps a day and is usually in bed by 6 or 6:30 pm for eleven or twelve hours.  (He takes after his Mama!!!!)   He is quite the babbler these days.  You can tell he tries to say certain words, sometimes he gets pretty close!  I can only imagine the stories he is going to make up when he can talk!

The Mad Potter

No, no, no....that is what Odin hears a lot these days.  Odin is in to absolutely everything!  Yesterday, he found the cabinet with all the pots and pans in it for the first time, got everything out and had a ball!  I can't believe how strong he is, it amazes everyday.  He pulled out a big stack of steel bowls and pans, which are pretty heavy.  He just swung them out of the cabinet like no big deal.  He has figured out that he can look out the windows in the living room and at Nana's house.  He was watching Daddy doing yard work the other day and thought it was fun.  He has this funny squeal when he gets excited.  I call him my little teradactyl.   When he sees his bottle, he squeals.  When he is playing with a toy he likes, he squeals.  It is very funny.  We are all done breastfeeding.  It was a little emotional for Mom to stop, but Odin seems to be doing just fine. His top two teeth are coming in.  The last two nights he has woken up screaming, but once I put some orajel on his gums he calms down.  His gums are HUGE!  It has been a long time coming for those top teeth to break the skin.  He is also an eating machine!  The other day we were at a cookout and he ate half of my pasta salad!  We have given him a little bit of fish to make sure he doesn't have a reaction and he LOVES it!  When he wants more food he just opens his mouth like saying 'feed me some more you dummy!'  I gave him a bowl of fruit baby food tonight for him to feed himself and this is what I got in return.... 

Hi All!  Sorry it has been a few weeks since our last entry, we have been busy!  Odin attended his second birthday party two weekends ago.  His friend Jack turned one.  Odin had a great time at Jack's party.  There were two other boys there that had just turned one as well.  All the boys were so cute playing together!  Odin had some 'cake' (it was zucchini cake with cream cheese for frosting), which he REALLY liked.  I've only found one thing Odin doesn't like so far, watermelon!  He makes a horrible face and spits it out, very funny.  

Odin wants to walk so bad!  When he crawls, he stops and pushes up on his feet (like a downward facing dog, maybe he is practicing his yoga!).  He has done the transition from the couch to the coffee table and back while standing up.  He was in the bathroom with me this morning and I don't think he realized that he was standing without holding on to anything; he was engrossed in a toy he was holding.  

This past weekend Odin had a very special friend visit, Elishah, from Tobago.  Odin loved playing with Elishah and followed him around everywhere he went.  

On the move.

Odin is on the move.  He is EVERYWHERE!  It didn't take him long to figure the crawling thing out.  He has been taking lessons from cousin Jessica!  Yesterday, he found the stairs, the dog food, learned how to pull himself to stand up in his crib.  He has another tooth coming in.

Last weekend we went to cousin Jessica's house and played.  Both of them were bombing around like mad.  They are so cute together.  Odin was asleep when we left Jessica's house by the time we got to the corner of the road, he was exhausted.  Uncle Ron took this adorable picture!  I updated his pictures on the Picasa site.  Check out the link to the right.

Teeth, we have teeth!

Odin had an other big week.  On Sunday morning I noticed both of his bottom two teeth erupted through his gums!  They are sharp as razor blades Mom found out!!!  He crawled for the first time this week too.  He started out by doing one crawl motion and then he would straighten his body out and get mad, but he is catching on and will crawl for a couple of steps.  But he is pulling himself up very well.  He woke up in the middle of the night last night and when I went to check on him he was sitting up in his crib.  That is the first time he has done that also, so he is learning how to do things rather quickly. He waves hello and bye-bye now.  One of his favorite things is the ceiling fan.  He has done the sign for fan a few times!  It is so exciting and exhilarating to see him concentrate so hard on something and you can see in his face when he puts items and motions together.  He loves balls, so I got him a little Winnie the Pooh bowling pin set.  He hasn't figured out how to knock the pins down yet but he loves it when Mommy does it!  We are having so much fun with him.  

We went for his 9 month check up last week.  He weighs 23lbs and is 29 inches long.  They did draw his blood again, so we are waiting to get the results back.  But the doc thinks he looks great!  We hope everyone had a happy 4th of July!  (We were thinking about you Grandpa Sito!)

The week of 1st....

Odin has had a BIG week.  Last Wednesday, he took his first cruise on the big boat.  We had a river cruise for a guy I work with for his retirement party.  Jim drove the boat and Odin had a ball!  He was so exhausted by the time we got home.  My friend Holly took this beautiful photo of him on the boat.  The picture below is with my friend Sara.  He was fascinated with her necklace and then broke it!! Then we moved right on it to his first FIESTA.  He saw his first parade and went for another ride on the boat.  He is a little party animal!!!!  He is a mover and a shaker that's for sure and he likes to flirt with the ladies!  

He is moving all over the place now, still getting into everything.  He learns how to open cabinets and drawers very quickly.  Changing his diaper has become a big task.  He likes to wiggle and flip and anything else while you are trying to change him.  Once he starts walking I think the rest of us are in BIG trouble with this one.  

We go for his 9 month check up tomorrow!  I have to say it: I can't believe he is 9 months already!  I think they will check his blood count again tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed that he is still doing well!  

Love you all!

Peek A Boo

Peek A Boo...Odin is getting more and more adventurous.  He is starting to pull him self up on things like the coffee table and opening cabinets.  He is also getting more vocal, putting sounds together.  I think he tries to say dog and Gretta.  He had a great week, has been very happy and giggly.  He went to his first birthday party on Sunday.  Our neighbor Nicole turned 3 on Sunday.  She absolutely LOVEs 'Baby Odin'.  She loves to play with him and wants to read to him, it is very cute.  Her party was Princess theme.  I will have to Odin when he gets older that he went to a princess party!!!  He even got to ride in a pink car around the yard, which he loved.  

Still no teeth.  We have been trying different foods; noodles, cheese and toasts.  He doesn't want to feed himself if I put small pieces on his high chair tray.  He waits until I put it in his mouth.  (Stubborn Garron!!!)

I got a picture of my Dad blown up to put in Odin's room.  I just got it today and I put it in a frame and showed Odin.  He smiled so big at Papa Mick's picture.  I carried him and the picture up to his room and he stared at Dad's picture the whole time until we placed it on his dresser that overlooks his bed.  I had a heavy heart, but a proud one too.  Odin knows who his Papa is.

Hot, hot, hot...

Man, what a rough week we have had!  First of all, it has been ungodly hot here this week which did not help our situation.  Odin has been running a fever since Monday night.  He woke up in the middle of the night scorching hot.  I took his temp and he was almost to 103 degrees.  I had to take him into the doctor on Tuesday.  They checked him out and everything seemed okay, no ear problems or congestion.  The doc told me we would have to wait it out and make him as comfortable as possible.  I stayed home with on Wednesday.  The poor thing was MISERABLE!  He whimpered all day long and did not want me out of his sight.  But once Daddy got home from work Odin was all giggles and as happy as could be!  He obviously was feeling better by this point. He did not want to go to sleep.  He was wide awake until about 10pm!  I finally got him down and he seemed to be much better this morning.  Hopefully we can get back to his 'normal' schedule.  He has been drooling like crazy since yesterday, so hopefully one of his teeth will pop out. 

8 Months

Our little man turns 8 months old this week!  His teeth still haven't popped through yet.  He doesn't seem to be as fussy lately, so hopefully he isn't in much pain.  He isn't crawling yet, BUT he gets around pretty quickly.  He scoots, rolls, and anything else he can think of to get where he wants to go.  He is still in swim class and enjoying it so much.  The instructor says he is a natural. Auntie Michele got Odin a Red Sox hat that he wears everywhere.  He gets a lot of compliments on it. We went to our first family cookout, the Sonus Networks family cookout at Kimball's farm in Westford.  He got to do a lot of networking and elbow rubbing,  I think that he has lined up a summer internship (in 2025).  He is a little scared at first when he is in a crowded room, but once he figures out Mom and Dad are not leaving he is okay.  He is putting EVERYTHING in his mouth.  He likes the feel of grass and tries to put a handful in his mouth.  

He continues to do the 'fake cough'.  He does it more and more now.  I think he likes how it sounds.  It sounds so funny.  We are gearing up for summer here.  Odin loves to be outside!  If he is fussy, I can take him outside and he calms down.  I guess he definitely takes after both his Mom and Dad!