19 Month Catch Up!

Quite a bit has happened in the last month, and I'm behind on my blogging again! Oy vey!

Let's see, where shall we begin? I think I left off my last post from Disney World with the promise to update after Michael's 18 month doctor appointment, so lets start there! Michael weighed 22 pounds and was 32 inches tall. He's still on the smaller end of the scale, but he has continued to get bigger, so no cause for concern. Our doctor has started asking some pretty unusual sounding questions to gauge his mental development. For example, "Has Michael picked up a cheerio and placed it inside his cup? Did he then try to get the cheerio out? Was he successful?" Uh, what? Strangely enough, Michael HAD done that before, so A+. She also asked what words he is able to say, which is a fairly long list, and if he is saying phrases. I said that he can say, "More please." Apparently that does not count because, "Michael likely thinks that's just one word." So, F for phrases. Oh well, he'll get there when he gets there! Overall our doc was pleased with his progress and said he is doing really well. We don't have to go back until he is two! It feels so far away, but really its less than five months! AHHH!

April after Disney flew by! We are still going to gymnastics, Michael is crazy brave. I regularly get heart attacks while there. He wants to climb and jump off everything. He loves flipping on the bar, hanging from the rings, jumping on the trampoline, doing forward (and now backwards) rolls, and of course flinging himself into the foam pit. The last two weeks he has been jumping of the "high dive" into the foam. It's a platform under one of the practice bars for the big kids. He's a fearless and, heart attacks aside, pretty adorable little gymnast.

Daddy and Michael at gymnastics

Today was our last craft day of the season. Treehouse Kid and Craft, where the sensory baby classes are held, will be hosting summer camps all summer long. Our classes won't start back up til the second week in August. We are even more bummed that our instructor, Miss Lindsay, is moving and won't be back in the fall. Super Sad. Today we had water play. All the babies got to splash and play in a baby pool together with fun toys. Michael LOVES water and was the first one to get in the pool. We ended up going to Toys R Us today to get our own baby pool (for $3! Yay coupons!), which we played in this afternoon! My favorite part of afternoon pool time? We got to play with my (did I say "my?" I meant Michael's) sweet new archaeological beach toys! We have the Great Pyramid of Giza, Parthenon, Colosseum, Mayan Step Pyramid, and the Sydney Opera House! Yes, I am a nerd, but my kid will have the most bada** sand castles at the beach! :p If you want your own cool beach ruins, you can get them by clicking here. Apparently you can also get the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal... hmm...

Last Treehouse Sensory Baby class!

Enjoying pool play!

Mommy, we need a pool. Now.

Ok, here's your very own pool.

In May we started a nature class called Babies and Beasties at Sandy Creek Nature Center. We go every Thursday in May. So far we have had two classes. The first week J'mama (what Michael calls my mother in law Julie) came with us. It was a frog themed class. We started by playing musical lily pads- the kids had to run around on lily pads collecting bugs while music played. Then we headed down to the creek to look for tadpoles. Unfortunately a big storm had come thru earlier in the week, and there was NO action in the creek at all. Bummer. We went and fed the turtles and fish in their interactive gallery, met a green tree frog native to Georgia (tried feeding him too, but he was too shy to eat), then we had gold fish for snack! Last week was BUGS! We went on a bug hunt in their Great Plains field. Michael was more interested in finding cool sticks, but he did try the bug net for a bit. Our group found a teeny tiny moth, a giant mean looking ant, and a lizard called an anole. We hiked back to the nature center to visit the bee hive in the gallery. It was REALLY full. We learned the the hive is currently "swarming" and they believe most of the bees are preparing to leave and begin a new hive. Only a small number of bees will stay to repopulate. I asked if we could have the honey. The answer was no. Jerks. Instead we got ants on a log for snack. Michael ate the raisins and licked off the peanut butter. He was not a fan of the celery AT ALL. He tried it a few times. First he spat out his bite and made an ugly face. Then he tried again. He chewed and chewed and chewed. He finally grabbed my hand and dribbled out a really gross piece of mashed up, but super fibrous, celery. He wanted me to eat his used celery. How thoughtful of him to share. Being a mom is just so rewarding.

Catching bugs!

Where are all the bugs mom?

We had lots of family events since my last post. We celebrated Easter at my Uncle Dave and Aunt Diane's new house. Michael got THREE Easter baskets; spoiled much? My cousin Nicole even set up an egg hunt for him! He was 50% into the hunt. He found the first egg himself, and after that I had to point them out. Once I did he ran up to them and ripped them open for surprises. We had a delicious dinner, well, the grown ups did. I forgot Michael's chair, so he ran around the house while we ate. He even excavated the fireplace and had to run around naked for a bit. It's tough being so adventurous.

Man, I cleaned up! Thanks Easter Bunny!

Busy board made by Papou (my dad). The light switch and doorbell work!

I'm Batman!

Rob's cousin Ryan graduated from college, so his grandparents flew in from Arizona a couple weeks ago. We were able to spend a lot of time with them. We had a big family cookout at the farm, and Michael was running around like he owned the place. He went for a ride in the boat with daddy, grandpa, and (great) grandma. He was swinging in the hammock (he loves hammocks. He limes like St Kitts is his ancestral homeland or something). AND when everyone (not mommy) went swimming in the lake, Michael was besides himself. He was screaming at everyone in the water and pacing the side of the dock like a starving lion. Finally Rob took him swimming. Michael was so excited. Well, he was excited as long as Rob was backstroking so he could ride on daddy's belly.

A few days later M was sick. For real stomach virus sick. He threw up for the first time. On Rob. Not Me. Rob had been home less than 30 minutes and I had been home with M all day. Honestly, all I could think was Thank God it was him and not me! Luckily, it seemed to only be a 24 hour bug and baby boy was back to himself the next night!

Sick baby. Snuggling with daddy and hating his cold compress.

On Saturday we celebrated Mother's Day with Rob's mom and stepdad's family then headed to the farm for a birthday party for one of Michael's friend,  John. And this past Sunday we celebrated my second Mother's Day! Last year we were in St. Kitts with our island BFFs Kate and Trevor, and we spent the day at Reggae Beach. That is hard to top, but I had a really great day! We went out and had bagels for breakfast, hiked and walked through the Botanical Gardens, Rob cleaned the house, and then we met my family for dinner! We started a new tradition- Michael and Rob (and any future progeny) will fill a page in my Mom Journal. Instead of buying a card that will probably get tossed, they can write me a note, draw me a picture, etc. I get to keep the book forever, and I can see how they change and grow over the years! I am pretty excited about this new family tradition! 

Playing at J'Mama's house

Driving his farm truck and rocking his life vest.

Mommy kisses on Mother's Day

Oh, and I got a job! Yay!! I am the new Social Media Director for The International Sugar Art Collection! I have worked for the company before, and am so thankful to be back on their team! Nicholas Lodge, the foremost cake artist in the world, teaches the most amazing cake decorating classes. There is also a retail section that sells EVERYTHING needed to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and cookies, as well as chocolate and candy making supplies. Previously I worked in the retail store and I ran a Cupcake Camp for kids one year with my coworker Molly! I love everyone who works there, but this time my boss, Scott, is very kindly letting me work from home! In June I will start going in once a week while my mom watches M. I'm so excited to start this new job, and if you want to learn how to be a rock star cake decorator I'm your girl! And since I am their "online" girl I am going to shamelessly ask you to check out our website: www.nicholaslodge.com  You can sign up for classes, and if you are far away, you can sign up for our new online courses here: www.Craftsy.com. Oh, and go ahead and like us on Facebook while you're at it! :) Thanks!

Til next time my loves!