Category: Family news/Updates

So, like my previous post- I just had to hit up Kmart for the blue light special.  Ajax and I ran up there to see what deals we could score.  Of course the section of the store we had to go to was also right next to the tower of toy balls.  As soon as we came down the aisle and Ajax saw them, he started saying “ball ball!”  I gave him one to hold (the same as the Wolverine ball we bought him before) and he was in heaven.  He just held the darn thing saying “ball ball ball.”

Well that ball was $3.99 and he had one at home, so when we were checking out I distracted him with a toy I had brought and snatched the ball from him with the other hand.  I then practically threw it at the cashier saying- hide it! hide it!  She was a pro and shoved it under the counter without missing a beat.   Since it was at the end of the transaction Ajax was distracted by the toy and then zip, we were out of the store and on our way to the car.

I’m not a huge fan of Kmart.  The one near our house is a little grungy and I’ve only been in it twice (in an act of desperation).  In a one week blue light special, however, Kmart will double 5 coupons per day, up to $2.00.  This means that if you have a $2.00 coupon, it will double and you will end up getting $4.00 off the item you are purchasing.   Match this with a sale item and you have some awesome deals.  My coupon friend has been telling me for a while that I should give Kmart a try, but again the grunginess has kept me away.  Well today the sales were just to good, so I rounded up Dave and Ajax and we headed to Kmart.

I got – 2 containers of ALL, 2 Rite Guard deodorants, and 1 Gillette body wash = FREE.  We did end up paying just over $4 out of pocket though because Ajax saw a Wolverine ball that he just had to have.  Dave said he saw it and immediately started saying “ball ball.”   How could we say no?   Ajax then carried the ball through the parking lot and held it in his car seat on the way home.

Well a First birthday takes quite a bit of prep work, so Rod came over Thursday night, Theresa flew in late Thursday night, and Dara drove down from Mikado early Friday morning.  On Friday, I prepared some food for the party and did some running in the morning while Dara and Theresa made Ajax a John Deere tractor cake (there was some issue on this as my dad is a Ford man, lol).  Dave and Rod had the truck and rented a rototiller and prepped the ground behind the garage for our garden.  I never got around to making Ajax his healthy birthday cake as we all ran out of time and energy.

In three cars we then formed a caravan and headed out to my parent’s house in Brooklyn, the site of the fiesta.  My mom, dad, and sister had been hard at work and the house and barn were all tidied up.  Since it was all clean we ordered pizza and played with the horses.  Ajax and Theresa got to ride a horse for the first time and both did wonderful!

On top of that the weather on Friday was lovely, actually a little too hot.  It was 80 and sunny.  When Rod and Dave were working on the garden I brought Ajax out to sit in the grass and watch the progress.  Ajax, however, was not too fond of the feel of grass on his feet and he refused to stand.  He just sat there curling his toes.  He wouldn’t even touch the grass with his hands and kept holding them up.  It was pretty funny.

As Ajax approaches the big ONE, he is becoming quite the independent and stubborn kiddo.  When he wants to do something he is driven and determined.  It’s usually pretty funny, unless you’re in the grocery store and what he wants is all the glass jars on the shelves, etc. and then it’s not so humorous.   With Ajax’s big birthday coming up we’re going to be be pretty busy and I won’t have time to post anything until Sunday or Saturday night!  I honestly am so excited for his birthday, I feel like it’s Christmas!

After 10 years of being eligible for jury duty I was finally called into service and reported to the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice at 7:45 am this morning in downtown Detroit.  I was assigned to a courtroom (along with 41 other potential jurors) and as we hovered outside the courtroom waiting for our moment to pass judgment the bailiff came out and dismissed us.  Apparently the lawyers made a deal and settled the case.  Nuts.

So, that was half my day.  After I left court I met Dave for lunch and then picked up Ajax early from my Aunts.   My sister came visiting, which allowed me to finish up laundry that just didn’t get finished on Sunday.   After dinner it was still light out, with the glory of daylight savings, so we took Ajax for a walk.  He loved it, but Dave said I over bundled him.

I put Ajax to bed at 7:30 pm and it was still light outside.  Even with the blinds closed it was still light out.  Ajax looked at me like, what the heck ma?   On a side note, Ajax will now pick up a hairbrush and hand it to you; he loves getting his hair brushed!  It’s the cutest thing.

Till day Ajax has been wholly ignorant of the stairs in our home.  I’m not quite sure why, but he has never shown the slightest interest in them… until today of course.   Dave had run upstairs and Ajax, determined as ever, decided today was the day he was going to check out the second floor of our house, so up he went (with me right behind him the whole time).  Dave sat at the top step and Ajax just went right up to him, no problem!  We were so surprised as he’s never been up a flight of stairs before (to the best of our knowledge).  Due to this new found skill, we have put up the baby gate and Ajax seems pretty annoyed by this.

Also, when we were out to lunch today, Ajax ate an entire pickle!  He loved it. He also ate broccoli and cauliflower and tried some zucchini, but that didn’t go over terribly well.

Ajax’s new word tonight was “duck.”  I wasn’t there, but Dave said that it was very clear.  The new word was during bathtime, so maybe he was referring to his rubber duck.   Little man’s vocabulary is ever expanding as he is also saying Dad (not just da or dada).   Ajax is also giving high fives, but only seems to do so with Dave and a few other people.  He doesn’t seem to do it for me, so go figure.

ABC delivered our freezer today.  The delivery men were in and out in five minutes flat.  I can’t wait to go shopping for frozen stuff just to fill it up!  As a kid, I never would have imagined that I’d get excited over an appliance (Dave too).  I guess that’s just one more notch on the adult belt.

Ajax is 11 months old today!  What a big boy.

Ajax is really getting the hang of repeating words and sounds.  My favorite is – ta da!  It’s just so cute.   He’s also saying dog, ball, na, ma and da!  Dave and I really need to start watching what we say as we have a little parrot on our hands.  I think his next word will be ba (for bottle).  He also loves to sing.  Yes, sing.  When we are in the car, we’ll sing along with the radio and Ajax will hum along with you.

For some reason Ajax has not been terribly interested in food lately.  He doesn’t really want finger foods and he could care less about purees.   The only time he’s excited about food is when either Dave or I are eating our breakfast; then he’s trying to climb onto our plates for a bite.  At dinner or lunch, however, not so much.

For example, today I made Ajax and I egg sandwiches for lunch, I know he likes eggs, but he kept spitting it out!  And for dinner tonight I actually did something I never thought I’d do- I pureed meat.  I made steak fajitas for Dave and I, but since Ajax can’t be expected to have fajitas, I pureed some of the steak for him and made a rice/vegetable dish, which I found in one of my baby cook books.  Ajax ate a few peas and bits of rice, but that was about it.  I also made him homemade applesauce, but he was more interested in throwing that on the floor.

I’m trying not to get obsessed about Ajax’s eating habits.   The last thing I want to do is give the child a food complex!  I’m hoping it’s the teething.