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!

Michael's a year old!

On Michael's actual birthday I tried to keep my phone and ipad off so I could focus all my attention on my birthday boy. It was totally worth it. Phones and internet can be so distracting sometimes.  As promised here is a more in depth birthday post!

We had a low key day cause Rob had a huge final exam on Friday morning and a surgery quiz Friday afternoon. Instead of a family dinner we had a family lunch cause Rob had a big break in the middle of the day. Michael's grandfather Don joined our bday party. Michael had his favorite foods- watermelon, mango, mozzarella cheese, and some squash. Oh and cake of course. I was going to make a healthy baby appropriate cake, but then I thought, what the hell. I'm making a regular cake that I know will taste yummy! He didn't get any icing, but he did like the cake! 

After lunch Michael and I took a walk around the neighborhood, and then played the rest of the day.  Nothing exciting or fancy, but loads of hugs and cuddles with my birthday boy. Michael had an extra long bath cause he loves playing in the water, and then we read a few of his favorite books. I have to admit, I cried a little when I was putting him to bed. I have really loved watching him grow and learn over the past year, but times goes so fast that it's heartbreaking.

He was very busy and would not sit still for his birthday photo. This is the best I got.

This was his last monthly sticker picture. He was done with it and ripped the sticker right off his chest. He's too grown up for that baby stuff.

Yesterday we had his one year check up. Michael is still little: 19lbs 2oz (25%) and 29.5in (50%). The doctor says his weight and height are fine, because he has consistently grown with each appointment. His development is pretty much on track, he's still not walking or standing up on his own, but we aren't worried.  Poor baby had four shots and his toe stuck! Michael was NOT pleased. Luckily we had given some Tylenol before hand, and he calmed down pretty quickly. We go back again in January when he is 15 months old.

Even though being a mom is hard work, it's definitely the best thing ever. Through all the ups and downs over the past year, it's all worth it because of Michael. He is such a happy, laid back and easy going baby. I can't imagine my life without him. I'm so thankful that I get to be his mommy!

One Whole Year!

I was going to write a nice blog post about Michael being a year old. But I did not. I decided the blog about Michael's birthday and his first year could wait til tomorrow. Ya know why? I had more important things to do. I spent the whole day playing, cuddling, kissing, hugging, and snuggling with my big one year old boy! 

I offer instead Michael's first pictures and some pictures from today!

Holding my baby for the very first time!

Love at first sight!

You know I love him cause I posted these terrible pictures of me, just to remind everyone of how teeny tiny and adorable his little squishy face was!

First family photo!

Birthday boy with Daddy!

Me and my one year old squishy face!

So much has changed over the last year, but from the moment he arrived my heart has been so full it feels like it's going to explode all the time! In a good way. :)

Happy birthday Michael! You have filled my life with love, happiness, and joy! I can't wait to see what the future holds for our family!

More tomorrow!

Family Picnic!

The weather in GA has been beautiful lately! I'm talking windows open all day and night, take a walk in the gorgeous sun, weather. Yesterday Michael and I went for a walk, and today we picked Rob up from soon at noon and drove to a little town called Winterville and had lunch in Pittard Park (suggested by some Athens moms).

Winterville Square is teeny, but adorable. We had the whole park and square to ourselves cause it was the middle of the day in the middle of the week. We picked a shady spot near the playground and swings and just relaxed. It was a perfect afternoon!

Toilet Humor

At 5:45 this morning I heard whining turn to crying. I dragged my mommy bum out of bed and went to Michael's room. After a diaper change my sleepy baby nursed for a while while dozing. Unfortunately for me he did not want to go back to sleep. So at 7, I handed him off to Rob who had been studying since before I got up with Michael. I headed back to our room in the hopes of catching a few more Zzzzs. It was not meant to be.

I heard Rob reading his notes out loud and he told Michael he had halitosis. Then a pause, then Rob yells, "Did you change his diaper?" I said that I had, but it'd been an hour and a half since then. Next thing I hear is Rob apologize to the baby for the bad breath comment, cause Michael had one FULL diaper. Then I heard, "OHH, oh, Michael!!!!" Not going to lie, it made me smile. And maybe laugh. And I didn't feel bad about it. 

Rob, and a very smiley Michael, came  into our bedroom to show me the poop smear on Rob's new crisp white shirt. I laughed again. As Rob pulled off his zip up hoodie, I heard, "Aww MAN!" Yep, poop on the hoodie. As he was changing his shirts, I jokingly said that he better check to make sure his shorts were poop free. Rob stomps back out of the closet and thrusts his leg toward me. Total outfit annihilation. Michael somehow managed to get poop on every piece of clothing Rob had on. I laughed again.

While I managed to escape being covered in poop, Michael had something up his sleeve for me. After breakfast, Michael and I played in the living room and at 8:30 we put on PBS to watch Dinosaur Train. We were snuggled up together on the couch when I heard a crash. Freddy had knocked over his 435th water glass (he's been in trouble A LOT lately). Of course the glass was full so water was all over the table, soaked the placemats, ran off onto the chairs and the floor. After several dish towels and chasing Fred around the house, I realized Michael had been really quiet the whole time.

I peek over at the couch, and he is still there, kind of rolling around and laughing. I went back to cleaning up water, put the glass in the sink and towels in the wash. I go back to plop down on the couch next to baby. Michael was still rolling around on his tummy and laughing, but as I was sitting down I noticed his diaper was undone. Thank God it was only a pee diaper cause next thing I know he's pulled it completely off. Boy oh boy did he think it was HILARIOUS!

For the next hour he tromped around the house with only his pj shirt on. He must have felt quite liberated because he was talking and laughing and screaming. Toys were being tossed everywhere, Fred had his tail pulled a few times, and everything within reached was pulled down and/or off shelves. Now he's completely passed out. I guess naked adventure time will do that to people.

Oh, and another tooth popped out! That makes four! Yay!

Since I don't have any pictures of Rob covered in poop, and I am certainly not posting naked baby pictures online, here are pictures of Freddy after he got in trouble. You can see he felt terrible.

Teeth and Fevers in the Home Stretch!

We are finally back to normal after a week and a half of teething and a weekend of a 101 degree fever! The week before this one, Michael was SOOOOOOOO crabby and needy. He was cranky all the time,  needed to touch me at all times, didn't want to nap, wouldn't eat any solids, and wanted to nurse for 2 hours at a time. It was a pretty intense week. We could see that one of his top teeth was about to make an appearance, so we figured baby boy was a hot mess because of that. Unfortunately, last Thursday-Friday night when he woke up to eat, he was burning up. Turned out he had his first fever! He had felt a bit warm throughout the week, so I felt like a jerk mom who wasn't being attentive enough. :(

Couch Potato

We gave him some Tylenol and took him to the doctor. Michael's ears and throat looked fine, and his lungs and tummy sounded ok. Our doctor figured it was a virus of some sort, and wanted us to watch him over the weekend and bring him back if he wasn't feeling better by Monday. After a really difficult Friday night (woke up at 2, up crying til 4, more Tylenol, up with daddy til 7, woke mommy back up), he slept through the night on Saturday without a peep! Since last Saturday he has had ok sleeps, waking up just once or twice and sleeping til around 7:30 or 8. The past few nights have only had one wake up! Not going to complain about that. I can't believe that in 18 days it will have been a whole year from my last full night of sleep. Oh, and I'll have a one year old baby in 18 days too!

First time having pizza last night. He loves it just like his mommy.

As mentioned earlier, M was teething and three days ago tooth #3 graced us with its presence! Thank God, cause I freaking hate teething. It looks like the other front top tooth will come in soon, so maybe we will be a four teeth baby by his birthday. He'll need those teeth to help eat his birthday cake!

Caught trying to harass Freddy

Speaking of birthdays, I cannot wait for his party! I finished making his favors yesterday. I think they are freakin' adorable. This week my goal is to work on the decorations and hopefully finalize the menu.  I'm most excited that my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are going to come down from NY/NJ and help celebrate! Yay!

Ok, Rob is home for the time being so I want to wash my hair while he watches baby! Nothing like scheduling hair washes cause you're a mom!

Snuggled in his chair with his UGA blankie

Laying waste to the living room during sesame street