The Italian Grandma

How funny. We all know that children get scared by various things: spiders, loud noises, and scary faces to name a few. Well, for Colin, it's the latter apparently that sets him off. Specifically, the scary face (to Colin) of one particularly sweet Italian Grandma that lives in the neighborhood. Colin has seen her on occasion while out on one of his walks (he generally goes on daily walks since he likes to observe his surroundings, enjoys the sounds of birds, cars passing by, etc). One day a few weeks ago, this sweet Italian Grandma noticed the baby stroller and became interested in seeing the baby inside. The meeting was uneventful, and this sweet little old lady was without her dentures. As a result, she had that "shortened face" look. Colin studied her, but again, the meeting was uneventful. This happened a couple more times, and each time Colin was fine. Then, one day, all of a sudden, the sweet Italian Grandma became the scary Italian Grandma: she had her full mouth dentures in, which seemed to be sized a little too large for her face and it changed her appearance dramatically! The first smile from the Italian Grandma elicited the type of horrific cry only seen and heard in the silver screen classic Hollywood horror flicks! Oh my goodness! Colin was so upset, bawling at the site of these big chompers! Who do you feel more sorry for in this instance - poor Grandma, or poor Colin? Needless to say, the meeting was brief, Colin having to be consoled from his terrifying experience!
The story doesn't end there. The next day on Colin's walk, the Italian Grandma once again had her dentures in. So as to stave off another meltdown, a light blanket was gently placed over the stroller so Colin wouldn't get site of the child-chompers (Colin's interpretation) that this Grandma housed in her sweet mug. Colin seemed content - that is until he recognized the voice on the other side of that blanket! It was scary Italian Grandma! "Run, run away" the scream was interpreted! So, again, the meeting was very brief and it took several moments to calm Colin down and convince him that he was, yet again, saved from certain death from the child-chompers.
There's certainly a lesson to be learned here somewhere, but unfortunately, Colin isn't old enough to understand that you don't judge people on their appearance. So for now, we get to be entertained by a child's unfiltered responses to real life. In the end, I say poor Grandma AND poor Colin!
Now, regarding Colin's progress in other areas of development! We're crossing our fingers and praying that we've found a solution to his vomiting issues! Earlier this week, we switched Colin from Alimentum (which he's been on for a while now since it is supposedly easier to digest than regular formula) to a soy-based formula. The initial results - for a few days anyway - are remarkable. Vomit episodes are fewer and less explosive. Even Colin's poopies are more formed. And his energy level seems even a bit higher. Could this be an abberation? It could be, but we hope this is the "turning of the corner" we've been waiting on. Keep your fingers crossed for us!