Random Thoughts

Time for the random things I want to say today:
1. Yes, the pacifier is back. He rarely ever gets it in his mouth the proper way, but it seems to make a great toy. He plays with it instead of using it for comfort, but hey, at least we're getting our money's worth out of it now. It also seems to make a decent teething toy, as he seems to chew on it more when those reluctant teeth seem to be bothering him.
2. You may notice something unusual about this picture. Did you find it? Yes, indeed, those are long sleeves he's wearing. This tractor outfit is size 3-6 months, but about the time he started growing into it, the hot weather hit. It seemed a bit too cruel to make him wear a heavier long-sleeved outfit in August. We had a cold front come through the other night, though, and I decided it was just cool enough for him to get one wear out of it before it has to be retired. Maybe today he can wear his dinosaur onesie, the other rarely worn long-sleeved outfit of the same size. I guess it's time to start collecting long-sleeved clothes of the next size. Even most of them still have short sleeves. Between the unpredictable Houston weather and his unpredictable growth, it's hard to guess what kinds of clothes and what sizes he'll need when.
3. As you can see, we found a new-old toy for Patrick yesterday. He desperately wanted Daddy's water bottle, and since he hadn't played with one in ages, we handed it on over. He played with it with Daddy for a long time, giggling the whole time. By the time he finally started to lose interest, we decided to make the toy even more interesting. We spent all of five cents on it by dropping five pennies in it. Now it wasn't just a water bottle; it was a water bottle that made noise! What could be better than that? It's the cheapest and most entertaining toy ever. We won't let him play with it unless we're right with him, though. We're both a little concerned he will suddenly figure out the mysterious concept of the twisty lid and choke on a penny. While that is not likely, we'd rather be safe than sorry.

4. Finally, I want to apologize for the mini-drama that took place in yesterday's comments. While it's not in my nature to say anything, I am glad Matt stood up for me and said what I wouldn't say. I'm aware I'm a first-time mom, far from perfect, and liable to make all sorts of mistakes. But it still hurts to have someone clearly imply I'm not doing my job well and then not have the guts to put their own name to their accusation. Most of you probably don't even realize this has been going on for quite some time. I ignore the comments, and I've even deleted several, but it's time to address the issue head-on.

If you are truly concerned with something I am doing with Patrick, then please don't hesitate to say something. Don't do it in public, however. There is nothing to be gained from calling me out in front of all my readers. I have my e-mail listed in my profile, and it does not bother me if you use it for that purpose. If I am doing something to endanger my child, I would like to know before some disaster occurs. My other request is that you do a little research before accusing me of such mistakes. For example, it doesn't take much research to discover that not only are sippy cups widely used, but most doctors even recommend them as a transition into using a normal cup. They do not affect the incoming teeth, no matter what is put in the cups, as long as the liquids are not exposed to the teeth for an extended period of time, such as overnight. For that reason, it is recommended not to put a child to bed with a sippy cup, the same as is recommended for a bottle. In fact, sippy cups so closely resemble bottles that many of the same bottle rules apply. And since obviously it's ok to feed a child milk from a bottle, why wouldn't it be ok to use a sippy cup?

Every similar comment "anonymous" has left so far has not only been wrong, but had this person taken the time to think about their accusation before typing it, they would have discovered that. In a way, the comments don't entirely bother me because they're so obviously wrong, but I like being right so much that I feel as though I at least need the chance to defend myself. By leaving a hit-and-run anonymous comment like that, I can't directly address the commenter to ease their worries about my parenting abilities, and I hate having to bring attention to both the comment and the commenter. It seems as though I was left with little choice this time, though, and I apologize for exposing all the rest of you to the drama.