17 months!

We have had one busy month! Since them the weather has more or less warmed up (today it will be in the 70s, but next Thursday they are calling for flurries again, sheeh!) we have been getting out and doing lots of fun stuff! I think Michael's 17th month has been the busiest of all so far! Below are my best attempt at getting a 17 month picture. Michael wanted Freddy or the camera, he did not want to sit nicely in his chair.

Two weeks ago my mom and I took Michael to see Dinosaur Train Live! Michael loves watching dinosaur train, so when we found out the show was coming to Atlanta we knew we had to go! I was a little worried that Michael wouldn't be interested in the show or would freak out and cry the entire time. Turns out I worried for no reason! Michael paid attention to about 80% of the show. He was dancing and talking and yelling at the characters. It was adorable. There was a technical malfunction. One of the big giant dinosaur puppets (King Chryolophosaurus for those of you familiar with Dinosaur Train) deflated or something so they had to break the show to fix the problem. That's when Michael started to get antsy. Luckily it happened very close to the end of the show and was quickly fixed. The show was great, Michael enjoyed it so much more than I anticipated. I will definitely take him again next year! I can't wait to take him to Sesame Street Live either!  Wow, being a parent sure does change your idea of fun! Ha!

The pink one is the one that broke.

Dancing to the music in the aisle!

The week after Dinosaur Train was Rob's 30th birthday!  He had the day off and wanted to celebrate by going to the wildlife preserve we worked and met at in Dahlonega! The three of us spent the day hanging out with our old boss, CW. Michael LOVED visiting and playing with all the animals! So did his daddy. I was on camera duty a lot. It was a bit chilly, but it was super sunny and beautiful. Much like Rob, Michael seems to be completely at ease around wild animals. I am in so much trouble with those two! After playing at the preserve all day, we met our family for dinner in down town Dahlonega to celebrate some more. I think it was a pretty good birthday for Rob!

What are these daddy?

I'll chase him, no big deal.

Too cool for school. And zebras.

Assimilating into the herd.

Hi Tiger, what's up?

The only animal he seemed cautious around was the hedgehog. Go figure.

We had more animal fun the following weekend! We went out for breakfast and then headed over to the botanical gardens for an exotic wildlife show. It was PACKED! We had to sit way in the back, but I was still impressed with the animals. I had seen/heard of most of them- red tail boa, iguana, box turtle, cockatoo, green wing macaw, etc. But there were quite a few I hadn't seen or heard of before. There were some interesting snakes, turtles, frogs, and a really cool owl. Apparently the biggest owl species... That eats other owls! Michael wasn't super interested, but I think it was because we were so far from the front; when the host walked around with the animals Michael snapped to attention and had his eyes glued to the animals as the passed by.  After the show we wandered around the garden for a bit. It was nice because Michael got a chance to run around and play. He is always on the go nowadays!

Last Friday we had a very fun play date down at the Georgia Aquarium with our friends Allie and Parker and Mauri and Ezra. It was awesome! First of all it was awesome to see some of my good grown up friends, and it was nice for Michael to see his friends! Also, I think he liked messing around with Parker (he is a pro walker!), although I'm sure Allie would say Parker is too fast! ;) Michael once again did not shy away from animal experiences. We tried all the touch tanks- star fish, urchins, crab/snail (not sure what the thing in the shell was), anemone, and sting ray. Yes, sting ray. He was too small to reach the rays and shark in the big touch tank we did first, so when we tried the smaller touch tank with rays he went for it. Seriously, I thought they were too deep again, but he pitched himself forward and made friends. Of course his sleeves were soaked, but he was quite pleased with himself. Michael was all about checking out the tanks and pointing fish out and barking at them (barking like a dog is his go to sound right now). Much like dinosaur train, I was surprised how involved he was with all the exhibits. In the big ocean voyager exhibit he walked right into the giant glass viewing window. It was actually kind of funny. The big manta ray went by, and he decided to walk on over to pet it. Bang! Right into the glass! He was ok, good thing too, cause I laughed at him. Before we went I had found a good deal on a season pass and splurged. I'm so glad I did cause I definitely want to take him back since he enjoyed it so much! So if anyone wants to go... I get discounted tickets! Hint hint!

Aquarium play date!

On Saturday we had planned on going to story time at Sandy Creek Nature preserve. We unfortunately missed the story cause we ran late, but we decided to do a little mini hike on one of their trails. It was a lot of fun, we walked down to the ruins of an old brick factory and a little log house. After our hike we went inside the nature center and played in their gallery. I love that place!

Yesterday we celebrated my father in law Don's, birthday. We headed out to the farm for a family fun day! The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining. As soon as we pulled up, Rob and Michael jumped on the off road golf cart with Don and drove off to feed turkey's. They are so wildery.  We had a really nice lunch on the dock with Rob's aunt and uncle, and some family friends too. After lunch Don and Rob took Michael out on the boat. He was so cute in his tiny life jacket sitting in his grandpa's lap. He loved being on the boat and didn't want to get out. Lucky for Michael his grandpa and daddy took him out a second time!  He also got to swing in the hammock and play badminton with his friend John. There are loads of pictures: baby photo shoot in the daffodils, on the boat, and chilling on the dock.

I think that's everything we have done this past month! Next month we have lots planned too! Including our trip to Disney World! In fact, Michael will be celebrating his 18 month birthday IN the Magic kingdom! I'm so excited! Today Michael received a box in the mail from Mickey Mouse. Inside were our Magic Bands to use while we are at Disney! Yay!

Snow Days!

Unless you have been living on Mars you know that Georgia has had two very uncharacteristic snow storms in the last several weeks.  The first one wasn't as bad weather wise, but it totally shut down the state. The one this week was worse (loads of sleet, ice, and snow) but, lesson learned, the entire population just stayed home all week. It was really nice to have Rob home all week with M and me, especially since we were able to take Michael out to play in the snow!

In January we only took M out for about 5 minutes. He was fine until he got snow on his hands. I didn't have gloves or mittens for him and he did not like having cold hands! We tried blowing bubbles to see if they would freeze, but it took forever to get one to land without popping then we had to wait for it to freeze. Not as cool or instantaneous as all the online mom blogs would have you believe!

Disclaimer: Loads of pictures below

I can't bend my arms.

Excited to go out in the white stuff!

Hm. It's kind of cold out here daddy.

Let me explore this strange substance.

OH MAN MY HANDS ARE FREEZING! I HATE SNOW!

Blow some bubbles daddy!

Stop! You're embarrassing me mom!

This week we waited for the sun to come out to take baby boy out in the snow. I was prepared with mittens this time to protect tiny hands from the cold. The best part was our friends, Josh and Kristen, came over with their sled! M got to sled down the hill in our neighborhood, but I still don't think he is sold on snow. It must be because his ancestral homeland is in the Caribbean. 

Top of the hill with daddy!

Bottom of the hill. Covered in ice cause daddy stopped with his shoes and sprayed snow everywhere!

Sledding with mommy.

Still doesn't look like he's having any fun.

Stop taking my picture and take me inside where its warm!
Better yet, take me back to St. Kitts and lets go to the beach. 

Snow days are fun, but I've had enough of them for this year. I'm ready for spring and some warm weather!

Surviving Winter at 16 months

Boy or boy the last month has been a bit crazy here in Georgia! Michael and I have been tying to stay active but the weather has been very unpredictable. Yesterday it was sunny and warm, about 65 degrees. Tonight? It's supposed to rain/snow/freeze over. And of course the entire world knows how's poorly Georgia handled two inches of snow a couple weeks ago. Despite the wintery weather, Michael and I have been going out and exploring all the fun activities we can do in Athens.

Michael's favorite is tumble babies- a mommy & me gymnastics class. I have to be honest, it's my favorite too. All the babies are so cute! We start out in the baby gym where they can crawl/climb over all the soft ramps, do forward rolls and log rolls, flip on the bars, jump on the little trampoline while holding onto the bar, plus we do some singing too. Then we get to go into the big gym! Michael looooves this part. Why? Two words: foam pit. He makes a bee line to the pit and basically throws himself in. He could be exploring the gym, jumping on the big trampoline, trying the balance beam, but no. He only has eyes for the foam pit. A couple weeks ago he even got to try the trapeze over the foam pit. The coach held him up and he grabbed onto the bar but as soon as he realized the foam pit was below him he just let go! He is dangerously brave! I'm hoping the weather holds out so we can go tomorrow morning!

Sorry it's blurry, he moves to fast!!

Coach Cherish helping Michael climb and slide

Mommmmm, help me flip!

Swinging on the bar

Playing in the big gym

Working hard

Look what I found- foam!

In his element!

Our other favorite thing to do is sensory baby craft classes. We have been to an edible finger painting class, sticky windows/stained glass class, and deep blue sea class. Michael has loved all of the crafts so far. He got really into the finger painting. He was smearing and smooshing paint ALL over the table. I think he liked the slippery slimey texture. The sticky window/stained glass class was fun too. Michael got to put all kinds of fun stuff (tissue paper pieces, feathers, and puff balls) onto contact paper and we were able to take his artwork home to put on our window. Freddy took special interest in this piece of art. It became his sole purpose in life to liberate all the feathers. Needless to say, it will not be going into a keepsake box for me to show Michael when he grows up. The last class we went to was a lot of fun! It was on a Saturday so Rob got to come along and play. The theme was deep blue sea and the babies got to play in blue jello with little whales, sea turtles, dolphins, and sharks. There was also a tray of sand so they could explore the wet squishy texture of the jello and the dry gritty sand. Michael was way more enthusiastic about this messy play than the other babies. We striped him down to his onesie before he unleashed him, and I'm so glad we did. He was elbow deep in the jello, knee deep in the jello, and then played in the sand. He looked like a breaded cutlet. Rob had to give him a rinse bath in the craft sink!  We haven't been in a few weeks because M had a fever one day, then it was closed cause of weather, and last week Rob needed the car. I'm hoping we can go back this week. Fingers crossed crazy weather doesn't stop us!

Michael's stained glass. You can see early damage on the right side from Fred.

Saturday we went back to Sandy Creek for story time. The weather was so nice that it was held in their outside pavilion. Michael was antsy and not super interested in the story- dragons love tacos. However, there was a surprise after the story- a real live dragon! Ok, it was a bearded dragon not a fire breathing dragon,but all the kids were allowed to pet it. Michael and his daddy waited their turn and went in for a touch. It was cute, M pulled his hand back so fast! I don't think he expected the rough texture.  I also signed him up for a summer "camp" they have called babies and beasties. He gets to go every Thursday in May to learn about and meet the animals of Sandy Creek, go on a hike, play in the creek, and do a craft. I'm pretty excited. I mean Michael is pretty excited ;)

Petting the Bearded Dragon

Besides all of our fun toddler activities, what's new with my little 16 month old? Well, he finally decided to start walking! Its almost like he just decided it was time. Not only is he walking, but he has an insatiable desire to climb on everything. He will now push the kitchen table chairs out and not only climb onto the seat, but climb up the ladder like back. He took a spill this way last week. Luckily he didn't get hurt, but he really scared himself. For maybe one second. He is still trying to sneak by me to climb on the chairs, or the book case, or the couches, or the wall unit, or the tv stand, or his dresser. I wish tumble babies was everyday so he could climb all over soft safe foamy stuff.  

M is also an awesome eater. So far the only thing he doesn't seem to like is peas. And he doesn't eat baby food/purée. Oh no. He is all about eating what mommy and daddy eat. Tonight he shared our mustard crusted pork lion and Brussels sprouts. He really liked the sprouts. He had corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots with us earlier this week. He shared my tuna sandwich last week, complete with raw onions. At the Super Bowl last week he was very excited to try all the fun foods- pulled pork, baked beans, baked ziti, sausage, strawberries, watermelon and he even got a cookie for dessert. I REALLY hope he stays like this! Fingers crossed, knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder... Oh, and just like his mommy- Michael loves pizza.

There is one last exciting tidbit! Michael is going to Disney world! My Aunt Patty has been dying to take M to Disney since she found out I was preg. So, when M started walking I relented. Ok, I was excited and convinced my mom and aunt it was time! My mom and aunt took me and my brother a bunch of times when we were very young; I think I've been about 7 times all together. My brother had been to Disney twice by the time he was Michael's age! We are going in April and will be there for his 18 month birthday!  I have really really great memories of Disney from when I was a kid, and while he likely won't remember anything about his first trip, I'm excited to share the experience with him. 

Holidays at 15 months!

So, I know I'm a few days late in posting my monthly update, but M had his 15 month appt today, so I figured I'd just wait til today to share how big he is getting. But first, let's recap our holidays!

December flew by. We started by visiting with Santa for the first time. It went pretty much as expected. I planned on staying off to the side so M wouldn't freak out and cry for me. But nooooooo; Santa's stupid elf said come up here mommy so he can see you and not freak out. The minute I was in sight M lost it was was ready to jump off the fat red man's lap. We did manage to get a semi decent picture. M isn't smiling, he's staring at Santa with a very very suspicious face. Maybe next year it'll be less traumatic. We did make a day out of it though. The place we went to had a whole event set up: a festival of trees, indoor ice skating, arts and crafts for kids, train rides, and local small business and artisans selling their wares. My mom came with us and after scary Santa pictures, perusing the decorated trees, and M enjoying a delightful train ride, we grabbed some lunch and hung out at our house a bit.

Who the hell are you?!

Things quieted down after that until the week of Xmas. My family and Rob's family all came to town, so we were driving back and forth to Atlanta and Athens quite a bit, but it was really nice to spend time with everyone. We had Christmas with the Seerley's (Rob's Dad's side), then we threw a baby shower for my sister in law Shelly, then Christmas with my family, and one last Christmas at Rob's mom's house, and then a big good bye lunch for Rob's grandparents, Shelly and Nathan (my brother in law) the day they flew back to Arizona, finally we drove to Atlanta after the goodbye lunch cause it was my mom's birthday. It was a bit intense, but well worth it to spend all that time with everyone we love.

Christmas morning!

We had a mostly quiet New Year's Eve. We went out to dinner with family friends, and then my parents had everyone back to their house for drinks and desserts. M was in bed by 8 and I was in bed my 12:30. Honestly, if we didn't have guests there is no way I would have made it to midnight at all. Mom life.

It was around this time that M got pretty sick. Then I got sick. Sick baby+sick mommy=worst week ever. M and I were stuffed up, had headaches, coughing, congested. He was barely eating, was very grumpy, was sleeping a lot during the day but not at all at night. The one good thing? He was all about the snuggling and cuddling.  Finally after a week I took him to the doctor. He was prescribed an inhaler that I had to use with this giant scary contraption I had to hold on his face to ensure he breathed in all the medicine. Yeah, talk about getting worse before getting better. If M could talk I am sure he would have fired me for a new mommy; he HATED his inhaler. It was a fight every time. He seems to be all better now, no more coughing or sneezing. Best of all, he is his happy go lucky self again. Yay!

M's inhaler set up. So glad we don't need to use it anymore!

It's a good thing he is feeling better, cause my resolution was to be more active with Michael this year. The freezing weather thwarted our first attempt- baby gymnastics! Every Tuesday free baby gymnastics is offered at a nearby gym. Of course this past Tuesday was the coldest day in Georgia in about a million years, so the class was cancelled.  I was really bummed out, but figured it was better not to take M out in 0 degree weather. The next day was sunny and a tiny bit warmer, so we went out to have some fun! We went to a place in town called Treehouse kids and took a sensory baby class. There was story time, singing, finger painting with edible paint (oh man did M love that), and then playtime with a big parachute! M even played a little with the other kids. It was really cute and fun. M really seemed to enjoy it! 

Saturday we braved the rain for story time at Sandy Creek Nature Preserve. We went a little early to check out their nature collection, and I was really impressed! Their exhibit hall is really interactive, they have sections on recycling/green living, coastal Georgia (complete with a saltwater reef fish and loggerhead sea turtle), wetlands (with a beaver dam, toads, frogs, terrapins, and River fish), woodlands, farm agriculture, and a planetarium! The planetarium is where story time is held. We heard a story about frogs and toads and all the kids had different tools to make frog sounds. It was adorable. M wanted to crawl around and play the whole time, he wasn't interested in sitting still and listening.  We will definitely go back, and when it warms up I'm hoping we can do some family hiking on their trails. Tomorrow I plan to try gymnastics and, if he is up for it, another sensory class on Wednesday.

Daddy helping M press the Spring Peeper (type of frog) button at Sandy Creek Nature Center.

Surprised that pressing the button made frog sounds!

Now onto baby boy's wellness appointment! He is 20 pounds and 29.5 inches tall. At his 12 month appointment he was 19lbs 2oz and 29.5 inches.  So, not too much bigger than last time. Our doctor was pleased with his development, even though he still isn't walking in his own yet! He was talking up a storm so I had to laugh when she asked if he was talking. He had to get two shots, which I hate, but he got a cool Spider-man sticker. He could have had a lollipop, but his mean mommy said no way.  We go back in April for his 18 month appointment. Geez, I can't believe he'll be a year and a half by then! 

Ok, I still need to do some catch up posts from October. I'm really going to try and get those done soon. I have loads of free time, I need to stop being lazy. ;)

Lazy or Busy? 14 months

Boy oh boy! I am two months behind on posting! Honestly, it's partly cause being a mom keeps you busy, and partly cause when I'm not busy I just want to sit my bum on the couch for a few minutes and do nothing! 

My last post was for M's first birthday back in early-mid October. I got distracted by his birthday party and our out of town guests, then I turned 30, then we both got sick, then I realized that he turned 13 months and I never posted! Now it's freaking December and I'm even more behind!! Oy vey! I plan on writing a few posts to catch everything up hopefully before Christmas! But we will start here in the present at 14 months!

He did not want to pose for his 14 month picture. Crying face right here.

And then total cheesy smiley face!

This last month was fun and exciting! M still isn't standing up all by himself or walking, but he did stand on his own... I know that doesn't make sense. He was playing with some toys, and stood up while holding onto his car, then he let go and stood for about 15 seconds. He may have gone longer, but I was so excited that I scared him and he sat back down. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but you get kind of crazy when you are a parent and weird or simple things that your kids do make you insanely excited, and he's never stood on his own before! 

Baby Boy is quite the Chatty Cathy! Since roughly the beginning of November he had been saying: uh oh, oops, up, moo/baa (when asked what does the cow/sheep say. Sometimes he makes a meow like sound if I ask what the cat says), and in the last couple of weeks he has regularly been calling Rob "Da." It's really cute. He calls for Rob, points at Rob if you ask where daddy is, and if he hears Rob will start calling "Da," and crawling towards daddy's voice. He will call me mama, but usually only if he wants me to pick him up or if someone else is holding him. M babbles so much that I know he will be a motor mouth like his mommy.

Playing with M is a lot of fun now because he is starting to get how things work. He drives his cars along the ground or smashes them together, he tries to properly use his wrench and screw on his mechanic truck, he knows how to press all the buttons on all of his toys, and he had started realizing that his sorting blocks are different shapes and only go in certain holes. Watching your baby learn and work through problems is pretty amazing. I love his face when he accomplishes something new! He just gets this proud, "I did it!" look. Adorable.

He eats pretty much everything now, although we try and steer clear of sugary and salty stuff. Little Man can "use" his fork now. We are still working on stabbing the food with the fork, but once food has been forked he puts right in the mouth. He likes having two or three forks in his hand at all times though, backups I guess. He displayed his superb eating skills in Florida over thanksgiving. We went down with my parents to visit my Aunt Patty and Uncle Bobby. M had a little bit of everything at our thanksgiving feast! He was so excited that he didn't even bother with a fork! The little heathen just dove in with his hands and face. He also got very special Aunt Patty pancakes- M shaped, bunny shaped, Mickey Mouse shape. All covered with syrup. That's what happens when mommy tries to sleep in, not that M was complaining!

Hmm, what is this?

Oh man! These cakes of pan are DELICIOUS!

Taking a milk break after smooshing thanksgiving dinner all over his face and in his hair. The rest was tossed onto the floor for the dogs. Thanksgiving indeed said the dogs.

Rob going for a ride with my dad and uncle over thanksgiving.

It's been pretty quiet since thanksgiving so far. We had Hanukkah dinner one night with Mauri, Kevin, and Ezra. It would have been perfect, except Cash (their Rhodesian Ridgeback who weighs more than I do) ate ALL the latkes when we weren't looking. He got in big trouble. But hey, when you are bigger than a horse and you can see all the deliciousness on the kitchen counter... It's hard to resist temptation! (Cash stayed with us last near years and he turn on our stove trying to get a cake off the counter!) It was a lot of fun and it was the first time Rob and Michael ever celebrated Hanukkah. They got to learn all about it from Ezra's baby Hanukkah book! Ha!

We also went to the Founder's Day parade in my parents town this past Saturday with my mom. It was FREEZING! I had Michael in his sling zipped up in side my jacket! There were bands from the local high schools, floats, ballet dancers, cheer leaders, Christmas carolers, knights on horseback (from the cheesy medieval times restaurant), a living nativity, clowns, shriners, motorcycle police, Santa and his elves, etc. Michael looks confused at some points, and the police motorcycles didn't have to set off their sirens RIGHT in front of us (M was NOT amused), but overall he seemed pretty into it! It was fun, we even got free hot cocoa and popcorn! They had a Santa jam afterwards in the park, but it was wayyyy to cold to stay for that.

Trying to keep warm during the parade.

Braves are number one? Um, no.  Unfortunately the Yankees sucked so bad this year, I'm in no position to talk...

That about catches us up on the past month. Rob had a final today and another tomorrow, so wish him luck if you can! We are taking M to see Santa on Saturday, and hopefully I'll get some more of my back log of posts online soon!