Funny Text of the Day

Hubs: "Just saw a kid with a head twice the size of Adam's. Melon on a toothpick, literally"
Me: "Ha! Poor kid!"
Hubs: "Poor Mother! Even MY vagina cringed"

Gotta love the giggles

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15 months

Yesterday, we had AJ's 15 month check-up. It's kinda blowing my mind that we've reached this point already. Sometimes he looks like such a little man to me, so grown up and toddler-like. But most of the time, I see this tiny little boy walking around and I think "he's waaaaay too small to be walking". It just doesn't look natural somehow. He's a big boy, but still a baby to me.

He's so much fun nowadays, with the walking and chattering in his own little language. Sometimes when he "talks" to me he even gestures with his hands all dramatic like he's telling this great story. Absolutely hilarious.

Here are his stats:

23.4 pounds (30th percentile)

30 1/2 inches tall (25th percentile)

Head is still off the charts big...(95th percentile)

He can say:

momma (although he only says it when he's pissed off)

daddy (also says dada sometimes)

doh-da (his version of georgia the pooch who by the way is his best friend ever...especially since she recently discovered that he knows how to throw a tennis ball)

ball

baby

abby (his cousin who apparantly has the easiest name for him to say)

yeah (as in "AJ wanna snack?" - "yeah, yeah, yeah!")

He can also point us out in pictures - like if we show him a picture of us and say "where's daddy?" he'll put his chubby little finger right on hub's face.

He eats pretty much anything we give him, and I'm trying to enjoy it before he changes his mind and gets particular.

He loves:

String cheese

Goldfish

ANY kind of fruit...but mostly bananas, blueberries and strawberries

chicken

scrambled eggs

Quiche (I buy the trader joes ones)

macaroni and cheese

pasta

couscous

rice

He loves drinking out of a straw and from a regular cup...but hasn't figured out how to keep the liquid IN the cup...so we stick mostly with sippy cups at this point.

He's got a mouthful of teeth, his incisors finally broke through and are almost completely in - all he needs are his 2 year molars. Oddly he doesn't seem to mind us brushing his teeth, he laughs and giggles while I do it - and the he likes to do it himself...independent little man.

I love that he's learning things...he's even starting to recognize colors, which is very cool.

He LOVES his books - he'll sit and flip through books for quite a while and sometimes he'll read his little story to himself, muttering and mumbling.

We are definately entering the land of tantrums. When we take something away or don't let him go where he wants, he pitches a fit. But luckily, he's easily distracted and it doesn't last long...for now. He's extremely stubborn and strong willed and now that he can run on his little ham legs, we have a hard time keeping him contained. It's definately getting harder to take him places in public. The season of our lives right?

This picture cracks me up because he'd just had a fit about about something and hubs DARED to smile for the camera
All in all - a great checkup!

No More Bedtime Woes...

There was a time when I DREADED putting Adam to bed each night. We made alot of mistakes early on when it came to a bedtime routine, and we got him used to being rocked or bounced to sleep and THEN put into his crib. We never followed through with encouraging him to learn how to soothe himself to sleep. And then we'd go through phases where we'd rock him to sleep and he'd wake up the instant we put him down, and it would end up being a 2 or 3 hour cycle of rocking and trying to get him to fall asleep and STAY asleep so that finally we could put him in his crib without waking up. I do believe in the (so-called-evil) cry it out method, I was just HORRIBLE about following through with it. It always just seemed easier to pick him up and not have to be stressed out by the crying...but seriously, I wasn't do us ANY favors because he'd be overtired and I'd be exhausted and still have to get work done at night (and it seemed like most nights it'd would be 10 or 11 before he'd finally be asleep)...it was ridiculous. But at the time... while going through it - I was listening more to my heart, then my head.

Luckily, we never had a problem with him sleeping through the night (unless he's teething or sick) - it was soley about GETTING him to sleep...dun-dun-duuuuun - BEDTIME.

At about 10 months old, we finally did follow through and let him cry it out - hubs practically had to sit on me to keep me from going in there...and there were times where I had to talk HIM out of going in there...but after a few days, he did great and would fall asleep on his own.

Aaaaand that lasted for about 3 weeks. That's when the puking started.

One night he cried and cried, and then started coughing, and then he threw up. By then he was REALLY screaming and and we bolted in there it was just be a MESS. We had to change his crib sheets, scrub the floor, clean him up and change his pj's...and he was so upset about the whole thing he was quivering and gasping for air. I just felt so horrible. I absolutely HATE throwing up, so I felt so bad for him...it was obviously traumatic. And I cuddled with him and calmed him down and rocked him to sleep.
And the next night, he threw up again...and once again we were in there changing his sheets and cleaning up the mess - and let me tell you it's an ORDEAL - and of course I'd feel guilty for letting him cry and I'd rock him to sleep.

Thus began his "Let's Manipulate Mama" plan. He started throwing up after shorter and shorter periods of time...and quite quickly he began to throw up literally within ONE MINUTE of me leaving the room. Or we'd hear him start to cough and run in there to catch him - which usually meant me or hubs would end up covered in the vile stuff. It was a good couple of months that we were dealing with this issue on a NIGHTLY basis...and he was always so panicky afterwards, we just felt horrible for him and had to calm him down, which usually ended up in rocking him to sleep because we didn't want to clean up anymore puke...or we were out of clean crib sheets - ha! I talked to our pediatrician...we tried feeding him dinner earlier - we tried holding off on a nighttime bottle - we tried everything stomach related...and it just seemed to be a behavior issue, not a stomach issue.

I got so desperate I stupidly went onto a mother's forum and posted my problem hoping someone had dealt with the same issue and had some advice. Only I got bombarded by a bunch of cry-it-out naysayers who made me feel like I was a horrible mother for even attempting to let him cry and people who said I needed to cosleep with him and cuddle him and he obviously NEEDED me or why would he be crying? Well, I felt guilty for about 3 minutes and then my gut kicked in and said "K! don't listen to these crazies...he is totally PLAYING YOU...he never used to throw up and now he does it on a nightly basis because you go in there and rock him and coddle him afterwards...there is a REASON that he's throwing up!"

So after discussing our problem with a couple of fellow mom friends...we finally decided it was time to get mean. Both hubs and I really felt in our hearts that he was forcing himself to puke - and we didn't want to end up with a 5 year old who forces himself to throw up because he doesn't get the toy he wants or something like that, you know what I mean? We felt very strongly that we needed to do whatever we had to, to stop this behavior NOW while he's still young.

So - we armed ourselves with clean crib sheets and pajamas and a bucket of warm water with a washcloth....we read him a story, we kissed him goodnight and said "okay buddy, we're gonna put you in your crib now and it's time to go to sleep" - we put him down...he immediately stood up and started screaming. We closed the door and waited. Within about 30 seconds he was crying/coughing/gagging...and then throwing up. So we went in with all our battle gear...I cleaned him up - while hubs did floor and crib damage control - I calmed him down while hubs was cleaning....and then we again kissed him on the head, put him in his crib - said good night and closed the door.

He screamed and coughed and we were watching intently in the video monitor while he stood at the side of his crib and we could see him trying to force himself to throw up....but of course he already did so it wasn't working. After just a few minutes, I think he realized it wasn't gonna happen and he laid down and moaned a bit and then dozed off. Hubs and I looked at each other in awe...did he really just stop? Is he really asleep? course we had to sneak in there and make sure he was still breathing because it was so odd...and he was fast asleep. We had ourselves prepared for at least an hour long battle, and it only took a few minutes!

The next night we did the same exact thing...

and the next night - same thing...

By day four, we had done alot of laundry - but we finally reached that magical night of no tears - no puking - and a child who rolled over and went to sleep on his own. And it's been like that since. We did have one small setback when we came back from being out of town - I think he was just out of his routine...but after one day, he was back on track.

I can't even tell you how amazing it is to be able to kiss a wide awake child good night and put him in his crib only to have him roll over and go to sleep on his own. To close his bedroom door and not hear anything, no fussing or crying is such a PEACEFUL feeling.

There is a huge part of me that wonders why we didn't do it alot earlier...or why I'm such a pushover for that pitiful cry. But I have to remind myself that this is my first kid - and no matter what, it IS so hard to hear him cry and know that he'd stop if I just went in there and cuddled with him. And I should just be glad that we've nipped it in the bud by now...because I know alot of people with older kids who still have issues going to sleep or sleeping through the night.

Let's just say that we are all much happier in the evenings over here then we used to be. Hubs and I have time to spend together, and I am able to get paperwork done without staying up until 1 or 2am...and our little man is much more well rested and wakes up jabbering and happy.

For a long time, hubs and I didn't want to admit that we felt like we've turned a corner on this issue because we were waiting for the other shoe to drop - but I think it's safe to say that we've definately turned that corner. Getting him to sleep is no longer an issue - for naps or bedtime. High five to hubs, my damage control partner - we made it!

It's a good thing he's cute...

Our little man is just EVERYWHERE these days...running, falling, bumping into stuff...it's crazyness. It's much harder to go out in public now because he doesn't want to be held or kept in a stroller, he wants to be running! At the beach, the kid makes a beeline for the water and then screams his head off when we have to leave. He also does the same thing when we leave the park or the pool or anywhere else that's fun. Yes, we're at THAT phase. You know, the phase where when you try to put them in their carseat, and they suddenly go stiff as a board while you're trying to shove them in knowing that they must bend at some point and yet they seem to have superhuman strength. OR - they go all dead weight floppy and fling their head back and kick their legs so it's like trying to hold onto a 500 pound octopus. All while trying to hold onto your purse and your keys and your temper? Yup, that phase.

Anyway, Adam has earned the nickname Captain Destructo at our house. Meaning, I can pick up all the toys, vacuum, and tidy the living room...and in the time that it takes me to pee - I can come into a room of toys scattered wall to wall, cheerios ground into the rug, a sippy cup leaking on the floor, and a tv remote, cordless phone, and mouse for my computer all missing in action.

And since I have to answer my work phones from 8am - 5pm...he has many opportunities to cause chaos - most of them happening when I'm talking to a client and just happy that he is being quiet. But all mothers know that Quiet = Trouble.

He quite often takes out his stuffed animal basket, dumps it out and climbs in. He holds onto the sides and scoots around while making growling noises. Cute huh? Except that one day, I was busy on the phone with a client for a while...and he figured out that if he flipped the basket over and stood on it, he could reach mommy's basket of paperwork and so when I got off the phone - this is what I saw...

oh...ummmm...hi...

I was just..uhhh...reorganizing...I did good RIGHT?

Yeah.

So on another day...I had some boxes stacked up here in the office and once again, my boy decided to show me his SKILLZ. I turned around after hanging up the phone and saw...

Yes, that would be my child standing NEXT to our TV, on TOP of our entertainment center while biting on a CD.
And so of course, what did I do after shouting "Adam! DUDE, What are you DOING??"


I ran for the camera...

Now I ask you...

How am I supposed to resist these big brown puppy dog eyes???

Couldn't you just...like...swallow him WHOLE?

Wordless Wednesday

Since my good friend Ashlee mentioned the swing hanging in our office doorway, I figured I should tell the story behind it. See, the boy loves swings. At a playground, it's all he wants to do...he's not so interested in the slide, or playing in the sand...it's allll about the swing. Problem is, he doesn't want to get out. He screams bloody murder every time I take him out. Usually this means I'm walking down the street headed toward home pushing a stroller with a wailing child in it. Even at his birthday party, his grandma kept trying to take him out of the swing and he would cry every time, so she left him in there and he FELL ASLEEP. So one day we were wandering through a toy store, and we came upon these plastic swings for $20 and decided to get one, thinking we could hang it on our back porch and he could swing while I did yardwork, etc. - only when we got home, we looked at the porch roof and realized it wasn't secure enough to trust hanging our kid there. We looked all around and realized we were out of options outside...so we went inside. We hesitated to hang anything from our ceiling or doorways mainly because our house was built in the 40's and has plaster walls...not to mention it's a rental and technically not our house. So then we came up with the idea of a chin-up bar. We headed to Big 5 and found a chin-up bar that brackets into a doorway with screws...is removable and even comes with extra brackets (for my back door!)...holds up to 400 pounds...and was only $17. PERFECT. So we came home and hubs set to work installing the brackets. We slipped that bar into place and both of us hung on it to make sure it was safe.

And The Boy Was Happy... After a while, we got tired of standing there and pushing him - so hubs found a string...tied that sucker to the safety strap, and sat in his chair while the boy was happily swinging away. Tweak even joined in on the string actionAll in all, a successful idea!
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What's been going on at our house lately...

Birthday Recap

FINALLY. I'm such a lagger...

So the boy is a year old. We had a small party. I don't usually do the theme thing, but my kid is so entranced with Veggie Tales, that's what we ended up with. ALL of hub's family came, so with just our two immediate families and ourselves - we had 17 people, plus a couple of friends and their little one. We kept it simple, did build-your-own sandwiches, some pasta salad, chips, and a bucket of drinks on ice. All the kids got to play on the playground and wear themselves out:

Some swinging
Dad and Carie dozing in the sun
And going down the slide!
First off - the cupcakes. OY.

I thought about getting red "bob the tomato" type cupcakes, but I was worried about all the kids getting dyed from all that red frosting and with Easter being the next day, I decided to play it safe and just order regular ones from Costco. Hubs and I went and got the order form, but they had Eastery looking cupcakes on the shelf with pink and yellow decorations and I wanted to make sure there would be no pink on his cupcakes, so I talked to a lady and told her I wouldn't mind some blue decor, but I didn't want them to be all blue. She assured me they wouldn't be, said she'd handle it herself. Fast forward to the day before his party, my lovely sister in law Carie offered to pick them up for me. She called me on her cell...

"K - ummm, did you know they are blue?"

"huh?"
"your cupcakes are blue...I just wanted to make sure you knew that"
"what do you mean they're blue...like ALL BLUE?"

"yup - all blue, like Cookie Monster blue"

"WHAT? CRAP!"
But I didn't know what else to do and knew I wouldn't have time to pick another batch up in the morning - so I shrugged and said what the hell...at least we have cupcakes right? They'll be Madame Blueberry cupcakes! hehehe

Except that...dude...cookie monster blue was right on the money...they were B-L-U-E. Observe:

(you know, I just realized - he had on this really cute shirt that said 1st birthday on it - and since I covered it up with this gray thing, I don't have ANY pictures of the birthday shirt...oops!)

Afterwards, hubs and I headed to the bathroom to do some damage control - but his teeth (along with everyone else's) and his face and his hair were all dyed blue...He kinda looked like he was going to a rave later...my little punk.

We opened presents and he got some way cool stuff...a basketball hoop, a train set, a bunch of BOY stuff like balls and tractors, some nice new clothes (including a bomber jacket that I need to take a picture of), and my mom painted him his very own rocking chair with his name on it.



My mom also showed up with these FABULOUS cardboard cutouts that she painted her very own self of Larry the Cucumber, Bob the Tomato, and the French Peas (my faves). My neices wanted to do a "puppet show" of sorts, and so she made them not only for decoration, but to be used for the show as well. It was so stinking cute - I saved them so I can put them up somewhere in his room...

-

He's like "BOB! You're so flat! what happened!" hahahaa

All in all - a good day full of family and friends and blue frosting!

Tagged. dammit.

Thanks ALISON

Here are the rules: If you are tagged - take a photo of yourself AS SOON as you see this. No primping, prepping, dramatics allowed

So here it is - no makeup, shiny face, hair in a ponytail, office a disaster, boy peeking out to see if anything interesting is on TV...

Stuff like this freaks me out....

Now I need to test this with a few friends on our OWN cell phones:

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/portable/video/x5odhh_pop-corn-telephone-portable-microon_news

12 months and one to grow on

Well today is the day. I'm officially the mother of a one year old. He's quickly leaving babyhood behind and gearing up for toddlerhood! Hubs and I sang Happy Birthday to him at exactly 6:11pm this evening - in honor of the time he was yanked out of my womb and brought forth into this bright world :)

I got the idea from Samantha (thanks girl!) to make a collage of pictures for a centerpeice at Adam's party last Saturday. It was super windy, so the centerpeice didn't last long, but I thought I'd post the pictures here - just to recap how much he's grown month by month.

April 2008May 2008

June 2008
July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009!

Happy 1st Birthday my little man...I thank God for you every single day!