Saturday, March 30, 2013

15 Months- 3/30/13

 
 
Weight/Length- I will find out officially at your next well check on the 11th but I'm guessing around 28 pounds and 31 1/2 inches. Since you're so active now you don't seem to be putting on weight as quickly as before.

Eating- Still a great eater though you are getting pickier with foods, especially veggies. You really won't eat many for me but your teachers tell me you eat them all at daycare so hopefully you're getting plenty during the week. Your favorite right now seems to be blueberries, you would eat an entire carton if I would let you. Also, if anyone is eating anything in front of you, you will pitch a fit until you get some as well. We've also discovered like you like sucking on limes. Silly boy.

Sleep- This hasn't been so great lately. You are back to waking up multiple times a night. Fortunately, I usually just have to give your your paci and tuck you back in and you fall asleep immediately but some nights you wake up every few hours doing this. This past week you've also been waking up at 6am or earlier which is no fun. With all the activity you get during the day I would think you would sleep great but not so much. You're pretty much down to one nap a day, except sometimes on the weekend when I can still get a second nap out of you.

Clothes- Mainly 18 months. I've bought some 24 months summer outfits and hopefully those will last you through September at least.
 
Diapers- Size 4 during the day and Size 5 Pampers overnights for bedtime. You had started soaking through all your nighttime diapers but the Size 5's are really helping with that.

Appearance- Your hair seems to be getting even lighter. I can't wait to see how blond it gets this summer. Still not sure how I got a little blond baby. Eyes seem to be turning more greenish daily. Daddy said last night our eye colors almost match now. This makes me SO happy since my eye color was the one trait I really wanted to pass on to you. Overall you still look the most like your grandpa.

 
Personality- You are ALL boy, you love to crash your truck and bang things and make noise and run and climb and get into dirt. You want to play ALL THE TIME and never seem to slow down. You definitely have some stranger danger and get upset around people you don't know well. You also now get very upset whenever someone (especially daddy) leaves the room and have gotten upset a few times when I drop you off at daycare. You get a kick out of making me and daddy laugh. You are also very smart, once you do something once you will do it all the time. Despite a few tantrums you really are such a fun little kid to be around.  
 

Likes-
-Being outside, especially walking in the woods with daddy
-Pushing your firetruck up and down the sidewalk. You throw a fit when we bring you inside.
-The smoke detector. You are obsessed with pointing to it and having daddy hold you up to touch it.
-Your Brown Bear and Goodnight Moon books, we read them every night. I try to read other books but you always want these two.
-Having mommy "chase" you. You will run and keep looking back to make sure I'm still chasing you then you fall down and laugh.
-Giving hugs. You will randomly stop what you are doing and run over to give me a hug.
-Chasing after the dog and cat and trying to "pet" them. Though it's more of a smack.
-The toy broom grandma got you, you LOVE it.

Milestones-
-You have all four of your one year molars.

-You are following directions better, if I tell you to do something or pick up something you almost always do.
-If I say "let's go to your room" you know which room to go into.
-You know how to take your brush and brush your own hair and even mommy's hair with it.
-You can put your hat on by yourself.
-You've started blowing kisses and making the "mah" sound when you do it.
-You will wave goodbye on a more regular basis.
-You've started napping on the toddler cots at daycare instead of the crib.
-You can now say a combination of Kitty and Cat. Sometimes it's "It-E" and sometimes it's "Ca-E". But you say it whenever you see Halpert or the Purple cat in the Brown Bear book.
-You've also said "Ma-E" a few times for Moxie.
-You actually sit still and relax while I read you your bedtime books. You used to be very squirmy.
-You put your hand to your mouth and make the "Indian call" noise (I know that's not PC but can't think of how else to describe it)
-You love to spin around in circles until you get dizzy and fall down, and then laugh about it.
-You met your cousins Katilin and Alexis at your Uncle Michael's 40th birthday party for the first time.

 Pictures from this past month
 
15 Months Old!
*Trying to get a picture of you sitting still is increasingly difficult*

Sheer excitment when you got your toy broom from grandma.

You LOVE going to the park.

Unimpressed by St. Patrick's Day. But you had your broom which made it better.

We discovered that you love sucking on limes. Strange little boy you are.

After getting home from daycare one night.

You LOVE riding your firetruck outside on the sidewalk and cry whenever we bring you inside.

Such a Big Boy!

I love to just sit and watch you "read" your books. You look so intent.

This picture gives me a glimpse into what my future 16 year old son will look like. I just envision you saying "I'm taking the car, be back later".

Your first real hike in the woods with daddy. You found a big walking stick and were in heaven.

100% Boy. Loves sticks and dirt.

"No more pictures mom!"


The two loves of my life. Nothing is better than this.


 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SWW

Linking up with Shannon for another round of So What Wednesday!
 
This week I'm saying So What if:
 
-This post is going up later than normal. Our Internet and email were down all morning at work. Umm how did people work before the Internet? Seriously, I was basically twiddling my thumbs this morning.
 
-One of the worst parts of no Internet at work is not being able to play Pandora. My office is WAY too quiet without music playing in the background.
 
-This is my first post this week. I've been in a bit of a writing rut this week and I'm feeling conflicted right now about how much I really want to put out there in regards to my little family.
 
-I was annoyed that Hunter decided to wake up, ready for the day at 5:40AM this morning. I was in a sour mood until I remembered that there are SO many women in the world that would kill to have a sweet baby boy wake them up early in the morning.
 
-After reading all the posts on Blissdom and the "mean girls" group I really want to know who those girls are and if they are any of the blogs I follow. Also, seems to me that the whole thing wasn't worth the money and just re-affirms why I will most likely never attend one of these things.
 
-I'm jealous that Hunter will snuggle and nap with Kristian on the couch or recliner but never does with me. I guess daddy is a better cuddler than mommy (I actually already knew this).
 
-My older brother joined Kristian and I are on our "date night" Saturday night. I owed him a belated birthday dinner and the three of us had a great time together. I'm so glad my brother and husband get along so well.
 
-I don't like having Easter in March. I want to wear a cute, springy, sundress to brunch not boots and a sweater because it's only 50 degrees outside. 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

I get to keep my organs

As I mentioned yesterday in my SWW post I had to go to the hospital to get a HIDA scan to check my gall bladder. With all the stomach issues I've been having lately my doctor wanted to see if that was the cause. I had an ultrasound a few months back to check for gall stones and that came back normal but just because you don't have stones doesn't mean that you don't have gall bladder issues.

The whole test took about 1 1/2 hours. I had to get an IV in my arm (I HATE IV's) and they first injected an isotope that would help my gall bladder be visible on screen while the x-ray type machine scanned my abdomen (it was similar to an MRI machine but without being stuck in a little, claustrophobic tube), that took about 45 minutes. Then they hooked a bag up to my IV with a medication that would travel to my gall bladder and basically mimic what happens when I eat food (which is often a trigger for gall bladder attacks). The technician watched on the screen to see how my gall bladder processed the medication, this process took another 30 minutes. Also, if there was an issue with my gall bladder I would most likely have stomach pain and discomfort. Fortunately Kristian was able to be in the room with me (after the IV was started) so he kept me company during the 1 1/2 hour wait.

Well I did NOT have a reaction to the medication and the technician said my gall bladder looked good. So the good news is that I get to keep my gall bladder....at least for now. The bad news is I still don't know what's causing all the issues. My doctor told me if it turned out not to be my gall bladder then he suspects possibly IBS and wants me to add fiber to my diet and also cut back on fatty foods (easier said than done). So I guess I'll give that a try and see if it helps. Otherwise I may end up needing further tests to figure out the problem.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

SWW

Happy Hump Day!
 
Linking up again with Shannon for this week's So What Wednesday!
 
 
This week I'm saying So What if:
 
-I'm really nervous for the scan I have to get this afternoon to check my gall bladder. I'm worried I'm going to have a painful reaction to the injection (which will indicate that my gall bladder isn't functioning properly) and I'm worried I will need to have it removed.
 
-We waste money each week playing the lottery. You can't win if you don't play.
 
-I still plan to use Google Reader until it's gone in July. I've moved everything to BlogLovin but don't plan to use it til I have to.
 
-I have to check my personal email and Facebook before I can start actually working in the morning. This is part of why I try to get to work at least 10 minutes early.
 
-I still haven't bought anything for Hunters Easter basket yet. I guess I will this weekend.
 
-I always have to have my nails painted, if I don't, I pick and chew on them.
 
-I get so irritated watching the girls on Teen Mom 2 (seriously, they are all idiots) but yet I continue to watch. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Hanging Up

Over the past few weeks I've been making some small changes/updates to the decor in various rooms. Most of these changes involve the hanging of a new picture or new curtains. Small, relatively inexpensive changes that, in my opinion really add to the room.



One of the changes I had been wanting for a while was new bedding. I was sick to death of our old duvet cover and our sheets were literally getting holes in them. So I finally went ahead and ordered new sheets (color = stone) and a new duvet cover/pillow shams from Overstock. The duvet and shams have very light grey lines which I thought worked well with our grey walls. **Our walls are grey but the color is not showing well at all in these photos.** 
*We are still deciding on what to put above the bed*
 
I also decided to finally update our curtains since I really didn't like our old ones, especially after we painted the room. The grey from the curtains blended in with the grey color on the walls. So I decided to get lighter curtains (from IKEA) which would show up better against the grey walls. I'll be honest, they don't keep the sun out for shit but since we're usually up before the sun rises (thanks to our work schedules and our son) it doesn't really matter.

 
I think the white bedding and curtains helps lighten up the room against the grey walls and black furniture.
 

Here's a close up of the curtains. It has silver, grey, tan and black lines through it.
 
Most of our walls are still pretty bare, even after two years. We've had a hard time deciding what photos/artwork to hang. But we finally did hang one thing, on our wall next to the window. I bought this wood frame and letters, to create our monogram, from Michaels and had Kristian spray paint everything black. I like that the wall color is the background. I think having our monogram helps personalize "our" space a bit more.

*Yes I realize the S is upside down. I'm waiting for Kristian to fix it*
*Also, the frame isn't hung crooked, I took a crooked photo. Basically I suck at taking pictures*
 
In addition to our room we also hung a canvas photo in Hunters room. Believe it or not this is the first canvas print I've ever bought and hung in my house. I waited for a sale and got a great deal on this and I think it's the perfect addition to his room.

*This is one of my favorite photos from our family shoot this past fall. And also the photo used in my header.*
 
Here is the updated corner of his bedroom. I love that the background of the photo has trees in it which I think works well on Hunters "tree wall".  We also added this white storage cabinet, which use to be in our pre-renovated kitchen. It now holds his toys.

 
And last but not least, we FINALLY framed and hung a map of St. Lucia that we bought on our honeymoon almost THREE years ago! In fairness we couldn't find the print after we moved and Kristian stumbled upon it when going through the basement a few months back. We had to get a custom frame done since it's an odd size (and that ain't cheap FYI). We decided to hang it in our now renovated half bathroom downstairs since it has a bit of a beachy theme to it.


 
It's amazing to me how a few little changes and additions can really enhance a room. I just love our little updates. Now I just a need a money fairy so that I can keep making changes around the house.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Bloglovin

With the departure of google reader, I know a lot of people are moving to Bloglovin to follow blogs. Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

SWW

It's that time again.
 
Time to link up with Shannon for another So What Wednesday!
 
This week I'm saying So What if:
 
-I was more than willing to lose an hour of sleep over the weekend for extra daylight in the evenings. I can now actually play with my kid outside when I get home from work.
 
-When I called my inlaws on Saturday to wish them a Happy Anniversary (45 years!!) I told my MIL I hoped she would get lucky that night. She laughed hysterically. Kristian was grossed out.
 
-Instead of buying something fun with our tax refund I'm using the money to pay off our credit card.
 
-It was all I could do not to yell at the customer service person from FIOS this morning when I called to question the charges on my bill. If she doesn't understand the charges how the hell am I supposed to?
 
-We have no plans for St. Patrick's Day. It's really not a holiday that I make a big deal out of but I did buy Hunter a new shirt for it.
 
-I will probably eat all the candy/food I buy for Hunters Easter Basket. Candy isn't good for him anyways.
 
-95% of Hunters clothes come from Target, Old Navy and Walmart (yes WALMART!) I don't believe in spending a lot of money on baby clothes that he will outgrow in a couple months or stain.
 
-I'm very proud of the fact that I haven't been to Starbucks in a week. That hasn't happened since I was pregnant. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Weekend Photo Dump

My kid has a new found obsession with brooms. He loves ours and at our last playdate with my friend Kelli he wouldn't put down her sons toy broom. After hearing this my mom decided to buy Hunter his own toy broom/dust pan set. I gave it to him on Sunday morning and he literally squealed with excitement.
Please pardon the mis matched jammies, we had a poop incident right before this photo.



I hope he continues to be this excited to see a broom in a few years when this is one of his chores.
 
I felt pretty crappy all weekend but on Sunday pulled myself together long enough go with Kristian and Hunter to the park and enjoy the beautiful weather we were having. Spring was definitely in the air. This kid LOVES being outside and LOVES the park. He only wanted to stay in the swing for a short time because he had places to go and things to explore.

Umm why do you look like a 5 year old?!

Think he's excited to be outside?! Nope, not at all.

Ooooh dirt!

Look Ma, I can throw the dirt! Typical Boy.

Shadow family.
 
When we got back to the house we decided to drop Moxie off and grab Halpert who always desperately wants to go outside. So we took the cat on a little nature walk in the woods behind our house. He actually will follow us up and down the path without a leash and without any issues. He's actually better behaved than the dog.



 
Once again yesterday morning as soon as I brought Hunter downstairs he immediately went for his toy broom. Obsessed is an understatement. And of course he threw a fit when I refused to let him bring it to daycare. I know. I'm a horrible mother.

 
Check out the video below. He's a natural.

 


Monday, March 11, 2013

Recipe- Asparagus Carbonara

Yesterday I found a recipe I had torn out of the Rachel Ray magazine years ago and decided to make it for dinner last night. It's a bit more labor intensive than I remembered but it turned out great and Kristian was happy so that's a win in my domestic goddess book. 

Asparagus Carbonara


Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 pound spaghetti
1 bunch asparagus cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons EVOO
5 slices of bacon (I used 6, the more the better)
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper

In a large bowl beat together the eggs and cheese.



Cook the pasta until al dente, adding the asparagus during the last minute of cooking. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. 


Add the hot pasta and asparagus to the egg mixture and toss to coat. 


Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Stir in the garlic. Add the wine and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.


Stir the bacon mixture into the pasta, adding enough of the reserved pasta water to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. 


And voila!




Thursday, March 7, 2013

Snow Day 2013

We haven't gotten a decent snow storm in about 2 years. We've had a few very minor snow "storms" but nothing that produced anything significant. Hunter has two snowsuits that he's already outgrown that never even had the tags removed. So when I heard we would be getting anywhere from 3-10 inches yesterday I was psyched.

Well the "snowquester", like most snowstorms in the DC area, turned out to be a big letdown. Yes we did get a few inches where I lived but many people just saw rain. The few inches we got were the wet, heavy, notveryfuntoplayin type of snow but I was determined to get Hunter in his new, big boy snowsuit and go out to get a few pictures play.

Fortunately I was able to telework so I got to spend the day with my little dude in between answering work emails. We started the day with some snuggles in bed.
 
Followed by Hunter checking out all the white stuff outside.


We had a couple inches early on in the day.
 
Hunter is finally starting to enjoy cartoons and will actually sit and watch them for probably 10 minutes tops but I'll take those 10 minutes of snuggling when I can.

 
Finally, after Kristian got home from work and Hunter woke up from his nap, I bundled him up in the snowsuit my inlaws bought him for Christmas. Fortunately it's 24 month size so hopefully it will still fit next winter. I think it took longer to get him dressed than we actually stayed outside for.

 
I don't know if it was the bulkiness of the snowsuit or the wet snow itself but Hunter did NOT want to stand or walk or even sit in the snow.

 
But I managed a few cute photos. Pardon the pacifier, he screamed bloody murder when I tried to take it away. I guess he needed a safety blanket so to speak.

 
Yep that's what happened when I took the paci away.

 
Daddy snuck in for a quite photo as well.

 
We gave Hunter a little snow to eat and after the initial confusion over the cold he wanted more.

 
Unlike Hunter, Moxie loved running around in the snow. She had a blast but I wasn't fond of the wet dog smell that lingered on her the rest of the day.

 
When we came back inside I had to get some more work done so my boys took a nap in the basement next to the fire for an HOUR! I was actually pretty jealous. Hunter never naps like this with me, only daddy.

 
Despite not getting as much snow as they predicted we made the best of the snow day at home together which I had been wishing for all winter.