17 Months- 5/30/13

Weight/Length- No well check this month, I'm guessing around 29 pounds and 31-32 inches tall.

Eating- You still love any and all fruit, that's always the first thing you eat off of your plate. You are still not really loving veggies but you seem to like veggie burgers and veggie meatballs so I'm trying to sneak them in here and there. You will also drink the smoothie pouches that have veggies. Getting pickier and not eating as much as before. You love snacks and you know where the snack drawer is and will go stand by it and cry until we give you something.

Sleep- Pretty good. Still sleeping from around 7:45pm until 6:30-7am. We did have two bad nights, one where you fought going to bed for a good hour. You never have trouble going to sleep but that one night you kept crying and I would come check on you every five minutes and you would calm down only to cry again after I left. Not sure what that was about. Then another night you woke up screaming and couldn't be consoled for about 10 minutes. At first I thought it was teething related but now I think it may have been a night terror. Other than that you usually sleep through the night fine with maybe one brief wakeup, usually around 9-10pm.

 

Clothes- 18 months and 24 months. Shoe size 5 and 6 depending on the brand. You have really wide feet so finding shoes that fit is a challenge. 

Diapers- Size 4 daytime and Size 5 overnight.

Appearance- People keep commenting on how much lighter your hair is getting. I think by the end of the summer it's going to be almost white blond. Your eyes still change from blue to green depending on what you are wearing.
Personality- You are still very active and constantly on the go. The only time you want to sit is if you can sit in our lap on the floor to read a book or do flashcards. Otherwise it's go go go. You have no interest in watching t.v. for more than a few minutes. You are still wanting to constantly climb on everything. You are a funny kid. You really like to make everyone laugh and are becoming quite the little ham. You are still a little lovebug and give out many hugs and kisses. You are becoming more attached and having a harder time when I drop you off at daycare in the mornings. You just want to be held and hugged. You are starting to have more tantrums, especially if we try to bring you inside before you are finished playing or if you don't get your way immediately. I'm scared for the terrible 2's.

Likes-

-Playing with the water in our sink and chewing on our toothbrushes while I get dressed in the morning.
-Pushing your mower and shopping cart around the house.
-Playing in the woods and picking up rocks and bugs (100% boy).
-Looking out the kitchen window.
-Pushing stuff around the kitchen to stand on to try to reach the countertops.
-Drinking with a straw.

Milestones-

The biggest milestone this month as been learning to say and repeat more words. And also being able to identify whatever the word is you're saying. I swear in one weekend you just decided to start talking.

New words include:

-Car (sounds like Ca) and will say it while pointing to cars

-Ball (sounds like Ba) and will say it while pointing to a ball

-Bye Bye (new favorite word and so so cute) and will say this while waving or when someone leaves.

-Night Night (sounds like Ni Ni)

-Eye and will say when pointing to your eye.

-Mine and will say this when grabbing something

-Bryan (sounds like Brine) **this is my husbands best friend that comes over at least once a week.

-Uh Uh and will say this while shaking your head no.  

-Hi and will say this when holding up a toy cell phone to your ear.

-Butt (short for Button)

**Also if I ask you what sound a duck makes you go "quack quack" or a fire truck you go "woo woo"

 

-You can now point to all of the following body parts on yourself and someone else when asked:

ear, eye, nose, mouth, hair (while making the brushing motion), fingers, toes and belly button (which you point to after lifting your shirt up).

Sitting still for 2.2 seconds

Gone fishin

Hunter loves his grandma

Hunter also loves IHOP chocolate pancakes.

My little climbing monkey.

Touching his first fish and officially brain washed.

Touching his first cicada. Cue mommy freak out.

Our professional lawn service.

Sippy cup time at daycare.

This is what I deal with in the mornings.

Sitting still for 3.2 seconds.

I could die from the cute.

SWW

Happy Hump Day!

 

Linking up again this week with Shannon for So What Wednesday!

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I didn't post a SWW last week, it was our anniversary and I felt that needed a shout out instead.

 

-My husband and I got pedicures for our anniversary. Now I will actually let him touch me with his feet.

 

-I'm ridiculously excited to take Hunter to the pool this weekend. Last weekend it was still too chilly but this weekend should be around 90 degrees and with as much as this kid loves water, he's going to flip.

 

-I'm 33 years old and cicadas still scare me. They are ALL over our sidewalks right now and I hate those ugly little bugs.

 

-If I haven't posted about our Memorial Day weekend. It was pretty low key and nothing too exciting.

 

-I still can't get over all the pregnancy announcements I've read in the past couple weeks, at least 10+. Lots of horny people back in Feb-Apr.

 

-I still dress like it's winter. Even though it's 90 degrees outside my office is freezing! It's all about layers I guess. 

We should do this more often

Like most couples with a child/ren Kristian and I don't get many opportunities to hang out just the two of us...outside of the house. So for our anniversary that's what I wanted to do, just spend time together, alone, preferably outside of the house.

We don't give each other gifts for our anniversary. Between Christmas, birthdays and now Mother's and Father's Day we have plenty of gift giving holidays. For me our anniversary is about being together and reflecting on our marriage. So instead of gifts we take our money and either go somewhere or do something fun together.

Since our anniversary fell on a Wednesday this year we decided to both take the day off of work, send Hunter to daycare and just spend the day together. So we slept in, as late as Hunter would let us, and then Kristian took him to daycare so I could stay in bed. He returned with McDonalds breakfast which we leisurely ate in bed and then continued to just lounge and cuddle in bed for a while since we NEVER get to do that with Mr. WakesUpAtTheCrackOfDawn down the hall.

The original plan was for us to go get a couples massage but after getting out of bed and getting dressed I got a call (and hour before the appointment!) saying they had to cancel because one of the masseuses had poison ivy! We were both pretty disappointed but Kristian came up with the brilliant idea to go get pedicures! I know this may seem like a strange idea coming from HIM. But I've been giving him a hard time lately (our entire marriage) about his feet and how he doesn't take care of them and how they gross me out (he has no problem walking around barefoot in the woods). His heels are really cracked from the dry skin and even he has said he should get it  taken care of so we decided to go get pedicures!

My manly husband getting his very first pedicure.

We both laughed that his lady was the only one wearing a mask!

 

The verdict? He LOVED it. Mainly because he got an "epic" foot and calf massage. Not sure he'll be making a habit of this but he definitely wouldn't be opposed to doing it again in the future. Mine was quite enjoyable as well. Oh and I'm no longer scared of his feet touching me.

 

Afterwards we went to lunch at The Olive Garden. We thought of going somewhere a bit fancier but I had a gift card which would cover our meal so we figured why not. I love me some salad and breadsticks.

Still looking good after 3 years.

 

When we got home I thought it would be fun to try on my wedding dress again, for the first time in 3 years. And I'm happy to say after 3 years and one child it still fits! Granted it was quite a bit tighter and took some effort to zip up but damn it I did it.

 

I came downstairs to show Kristian and he got the biggest smile on his face and was so excited to see me in that dress again. It really brought back fun memories. I still love it just as much as I did when I bought it.

 

After I was done playing dress up we went down to the water to fish a bit before picking Hunter up from daycare. And I'm happy to say that the fish I caught was bigger than all the ones Kristian caught. Also, I learned cicadas make excellent bait.

 

We had such a wonderful day together just being husband and wife rather than mommy and daddy. I love spending time as a family with Hunter but hanging out with just my husband is such a wonderful treat. And I think I enjoy day dates even more than nighttime dates. Now if only we could do this once a week or even once a month!

 

Oh and can I also point out that it rained on our wedding day, during what was supposed to be our outdor ceremony. It hasn't rained on May 22nd since then and we've had beautiful weather. They say rain on your wedding day is good luck and so far that seems to be the case!

 

*I was 8 weeks pregnant in this picture*

*Just realized Kristian wore the same shirt the past two years, maybe I should buy him some more clothes!*

 

3 Years Later...

...and marrying you is still the best decision I've ever made.

 

 

You're my best friend, my rock, my love and the person I want to grow old with.

 

 

 

It hasn't always been easy. But it's always been worth it.

 

 

You're my favorite. Always.

 

Happy Anniversary My Love.

 

Three Years Down....Forever to Go.

Us

In honor of our 3rd wedding anniversary coming up this week I thought I would write a little bit about Kristian and I as a couple. Sort of a "getting to know us" post.

-We met on match.com.

-Kristian claims he sent me an email about 9 months before we met but I never responded (I think I was dating someone at the time) and when he saw me back online later in the year he tried again and I responded! He also claims he knew on our first date that he wanted to marry me.

-Kristian's nickname for me is Mama Nay or Ma-Nay.

-We picked our wedding date (5/22) by combining our birthdays- mine is 5/12 and his is 10/22.

-My two biggest pet peeves about him are that he snores and that he always leave the cabinet doors and drawers open. I'm always having to close them after he leaves the kitchen (apparently he's done this since childhood).

-His two biggest pet peeves about me are that I won't go camping with him and that I watch bad reality shows including the Real Housewives, Teen Mom and Wedding shows.

-He's over a foot taller than me. I'm 5'0 and he's 6'1.

-The first time he came to my apartment, after a couple weeks of dating, instead of bringing me flowers, he brought a cat toy for my new kitten. Halpert has loved him ever since.

-He's the outgoing one in our relationship, he will talk to anyone and make friends wherever we go. I'm 33 and still get stranger danger. If it weren't for him I probably wouldn't even know our neighbors names.

-If it were up to him we would spoon all night while we slept but I can't sleep if anyone is touching me (one of the many reasons we never co-slept with Hunter), so instead he cuddles with Moxie.

-Kristian has a very similar personality to his dad and I have a very similar personality to his mom...they've been married for 45 years. Hopefully that bodes well for us.

-Since being with him I've learned to enjoy the outdoors a lot more....though I still don't want to go camping.

-Since being with him I've also learned to enjoy eating deer meat.

-One our favorite things to do is buy a lottery ticket and then spend the evening talking about what we would do with the money if we won. We did that Saturday night but unfortunately did not win Power Ball.

-We get along amazingly well with each other's families.

-We made a really cute kid together.

T.V. Talk

Happy Friday!

 

This week seemed to take forever to end and I know I will blink and it will be Monday morning AGAIN.

 

Now onto one of my favorite topics- T.V.

 

-Did anyone else watch the series finale of The Office last night? I've written about my love of the show before, hell I named my cat Halpert after my fictional t.v. boyfriend Jim Halpert. And while the show hasn't been the same since Steve Carrell left I've continued watching. I have to say I LOVED LOVED LOVED the finale. I thought it was perfect and the writers tied up all the storylines in the best possible way. It was bittersweet for sure and I definitely teared up in spots. I'll miss Dunder Mifflin and I'll especially miss Jim Halpert.

 

 

-I haven't had a chance to watch the Grey's Anatomy or Scandal finales so I'm treading lightly on social media today so as not to be spoiled. And WHY must people post spoilers on their Facebook 30 seconds after a show ends???!!!! Don't they realize how many people watch later on DVR?! You can write about it without giving specifics.

 

-In addition to the above statement, Scandal is my favorite show right now. If you aren't watching it get Netflix and start! You'll be hooked. Promise.

 

-Other favorite shows in addition to Scandal include: Modern Family, Nashville, Once Upon A Time, All the Real Housewives, Mad Men, Bachelor/ette, Revenge (this season kinda sucked but the finale made me excited for next season) and Glee (kinda hit or miss lately).

 

-I think I watched a total of 10 minutes of American Idol all season. I couldn't stand the judges and I'm happy they are leaving. Ryan Seacrest is like a cartoon character to me and 90% of the winners never become really famous anyway.

 

-I'm not really into most of the talent competition shows with the exception of So You Think You Can Dance. I LOVE that show and I know it's officially summer when that starts airing.

 

-Everyday at lunch my coworkers and I sit in the conference room and watch HGTV's House Hunters and snark on either the home buyer or the houses. Oh and if the couple is buying a vacation home for $1 million plus we definitely talk crap about them. And yes it's done completely out of jealousy.

 

-Speaking of HGTV, if there is nothing else good on, that's my go-to channel for background noise.

 

What t.v. shows do you love or hate? 

SWW

Happy Wednesday! Only a few more days until the weekend and then only one more week until a LONG weekend!

 

Linking up with Shannon again for So What Wednesday!

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I almost cried last night during Hunters middle of the night meltdown. I'm pretty sure he's teething (at least I hope that's all it is) and for about 20 minutes he screamed and cried and was inconsolable. Finally the Tylenol we gave him kicked in and he calmed down but all I could do in the meantime was rub his back and tell him it would be okay. Awful. Absolutely Awful.

 

-During all the Hunter drama I accidentally locked Moxie in his room, so she slept in his room last night rather than with us. I slept better without her in the bed trying to steal my spot.

 

-I love my Polar watch even though it's a bit disappointing to realize I'm not burning as many calories as I thought I was during my walks.

 

- After finding out that Kristian got an unexpected 10% raise yesterday AND received a letter about some leftover IRA funds from an old job I made him go buy a lottery ticket. He seemed to be having a lucky day so why not?

 

-I wondered if the giftcards my mom gave me to Old Navy could be used to pay off my Old Navy credit card. Can they?

 

-My mom had to tell me specifically NOT to buy Hunter anything with my Old Navy giftcards and use them on myself. I may buy him one thing. Or two things.  

 

-The 5 pregnancy announcements I've read about over the past couple days have given me baby fever. Don't tell my husband. 

BD/MD

I had a very nice birthday/Mother's Day weekend despite Hunter not feeling so great. Kristian woke up Saturday morning to find that Hunter had puked in his crib and he had really bad diapers all day. But he cheered up when Grandma arrived.

Reading his new book with Grandma.

 

My mom came down early to spend the day but to also be there to watch Hunter while Kristian and I went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. The main thing I wanted was a date night with my honey. We had a fantastic meal and came home to sleeping toddler. We then hung out in the basement, like two high school kids, while my mom stayed in the living room.

 

 

On Sunday we woke up and got ready for brunch, where we would be meeting my brother and his girlfriend.

This handsome little man made me a mama, and I'm forever grateful.

It was so nice getting to celebrate both Mother's Day and my birthday with my mom. I usually don't get to see her on my actual birthday anymore so this was a treat.

After brunch we took a couple quick group shots by the water since it was freezing outside (umm 50 degrees in May?!). Then went back to our house for cake and presents.

 

I got some giftcards and jewelry and a really cute outfit that my brother's girlfriend picked out. Kristian bought me the Polar watch that I had been wanting, after seeing everyone on IG had one. Now I can track my calories when I'm on my walks with Hunter. During Hunter's nap Kristian and I went out front and hit tennis balls back and forth. We're warming up before we actually start going to the tennis courts together.

 

He also gave me a picture frame that had 3 photo slots and included a photo of Halpert, one of Moxie and then one of he and Hunter. I loved it.

 

He also made me an excellent birthday dinner. A "barnyard burger" or a bacon, egg and cheese burger. Yes there's a fried egg on top and yes it was delicious.

 

Even though Hunter seemed to be feeling better on Sunday, he was sent home early from daycare on Monday for more diarrhea. Fortunately I was already working from home and Kristian was able to come home early as well.

Getting some daddy cuddles after his nap.

 

Despite the stomach issues he seemed to be in better spirits last night and I was able to actually get a shot of him sitting still AND smiling. A birthday miracle!

Thank You

Today is a very special day and on this day I want to say thank you to two of the most important people in my life.

Thank you mom-

 33 years ago today you brought me into this world (with no pain medication).

You've been a wonderful mother and one of my closest friends and I love you more than words can say. Thank you for my life.

 

Happy Mother's Day Mom.

May 22, 2010

 

And I also want to say Thank You to this little man who 16 months ago made me a mama and is the reason I'm able to celebrate this day as a mother. He is my heart and my soul and I love not just being A mother but being HIS mother.

Mother's Day 2012-- our first together.

 

Today I am lucky enough to celebrate both my birthday and Mother's Day with the most important people in my life and there is no greater gift than that.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there.

Why this is my favorite age

No, not my age (though I will say my 30's have been so much better than my 20's) I'm talking about Hunters age. I'll be honest I've enjoyed pretty much every age and stage so far, there are great things about each but so far, right now, this 16 month old stage is probably my favorite. Here are just a few reasons why:

-He's sleeping SO much better. Yes he will still have one quick wake-up most nights but it's usually early before we go to bed and all he needs is to be tucked back in. Unless he's sick or teething he sleeps through the night without any issues. So much nicer than those first few months of waking up every few hours.

-I don't have to carry him around as much. He still loves to be held and carried around (especially by daddy since he's tall) but he's able to go up and down the stairs (with supervision) and can walk places while holding our hand. Since he's pushing 30 pounds this is a big relief for me, carrying him around has always been a workout.

-He's FUNNY. Seriously, this kid makes me laugh on a daily basis and the best part is that he does it on purpose. Usually while in his highchair eating dinner, he makes funny faces or sounds specifically to make us laugh and when we do he will just keep performing. He's such a little ham.

-He's a little lovebug. Even though he's becoming more and more independent he loves to gives hugs and will usually come running to give one when asked. He also will immediately sit in our laps if we're on the floor to read a book or play with a toy.

-He can follow directions. It amazes me that this little creature who only a year ago couldn't really do anything on his own can now do so much. He can follow almost any direction I give him which is incredibly helpful especially when asking him to bring me something or to put something away.

-He's so curious. He's fascinated by the smallest things and it's so cute watching his little eyes focus on something new and exciting. It's also an amazing feeling when you know that you've taught him something new.

All of this isn't to say that there aren't frustrating moments. Obviously he still has tantrums and can act like a pain in the butt but I know it's nothing compared to what we're probably in store for when he's 2 and 3 years old so I don't let it bother me too much. To me this is the "fun" toddler stage, not the ohmygodiwanttopullmyhairout toddler stage. So I'm going to enjoy it as long as it lasts.

SWW

Happy Wednesday! It's almost the weekend Hurrah!

 

Linking up again with Shannon for So What Wednesday!

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I don't really like that my birthday falls on Mother's Day this year. I feel like I'm getting jipped out of a special day by having to combine two together. Selfish much? Yep.

 

-I haven't bought anything yet for Teacher's Appreciation week. Considering our daycare just sent us an email about it on Saturday, I haven't had a chance to go get anything yet. I will before Friday.

 

-When I heard about a drunken night out in the city that two of my coworkers had last week I was so happy I was not a part of it. My days of partying all night and coming to work hungover are over and I couldn't be more thrilled.

 

-I would rather stay home and hang out with my little family than go out and get wasted in a bar with strangers.

 

-I feel bad when people make fun of Kim K's pregnancy weight, I don't think people should snark on a pregnant woman's weight. HOWEVER, I have no problem snarking on her fugly "maternity" outfits. You have millions of dollars, why do you dress so horribly??

 

-Scandal is my favorite show on t.v. right now and if I don't root for the main "couple" to get together. I can't root for a cheater and his mistress, no matter how horrible his wife may be.

 

-I already know that Hunter will be getting more presents from my mom this weekend when she comes to visit than I will be even though it's my birthday. Apparently she has a trunk full of stuff for H. He's just a little spoiled.

 



10 Tickets to Paradise

Kristian and I haven't been a "real" vacation since our honeymoon three years ago. We've been to OBX once and his parents beach house many times but not a really nice vacation out of the country in three years.

Well the rooms have been booked and the plane tickets have been purchased and this August we will be spending 4 nights and 5 days in the Cayman Islands!

(source)

 

My sister-in-law (Kristian's older sister) is getting married down there to her long-time boyfriend. Since it's a second marriage for both of them they decided to do a very small destination wedding in a place they both love.

We will be flying down with the happy couple and their SIX children (they each have 3 from previous marriages). Since all the kids are teenagers or older it should be a fun trip down with a large group of 10 people. My in-laws will also be meeting us down there.

There are only two things that I'm dreading- 1. The flight down and back (I HATE flying) and 2. having to leave Hunter for 5 days! Since I haven't left him overnight since we brought him home from the hospital this is going to be tough and I'll be honest I'm not looking forward to that aspect of the trip.

Hunter was invited, of course, but we agreed it would be better not to take him. Even though my mother-in-law would be there to help I would still be the one mainly taking care of him and having to chase after him the whole time. Not to mention having to be stuck in the room for two hours in the middle of the day for naptime then back to the room early everynight for bedtime. As I mentioned my husband and I haven't been on a really nice vacation in three years, this is our chance to spend some alone time together and be a "couple" again for a few days. Not just mommy and daddy.  Not to mention actually relax and sleep in for a change. Hunter will be 19 months old, he wouldn't even remember this trip. So my mom will be staying with him and she's thrilled for all the bonding time she gets to have with her favorite grandson.

We are very excited and very grateful to my sister-in-law who is helping us with the cost of the trip.