toddler life | thirty one

THIRTY ONE MONTHS

 

Another month down, another inch taller.  This past month we took Conner to his 2 1/2 year doctor appointment and this time went a lot smoother than some of the previous ones.  There was no wrestling to look at his ears, or measure his height or weight. Just an semi-easy going little boy.

His doctor was pretty impressed by his ability to think through tasks, and commented that he is extremely smart.  She also mentioned that kids who are smart also challenge you on a daily basis which is exactly what Conner does! But it was still nice hearing someone else recognizing how smart my little love is.

  

Toddler Talks

Major speech explosion this month. For real.  His sentences are legit now.  I'm mean, most of the time he's just telling me about how the dog is eating chicken poop (that happens), that he pooped, that mommy pooped (when I'm clearly standing in the kitchen), and that the baby is awake.  But most of our conversations are about poop.  I guess that's life with a boy.

He is really fine tuning his details in regards to colors, numbers, objects, etc.  It's just amazing how much he has to say these days.

 

 

Toddler Play

Chickens. Chickens. Chickens. Trucks. Trains. Minions.

Those are what we are into these days.  This child has way too many toys (said every parent about their own child).  But really, he has too many, and all he wants to do is go outside and play with his chickens.  Joe and I love that about him.  We have a few chickens that are extremely family friendly, and Conner will pet them and protect them like they are his own pets.

This little boy is also playing with his little brother more and more.  Those two are becoming a riot these days.  Conner loves to get right up in Linden's face, and the two will start laughing.  Love these two!
 

Toddler Eats

I'm finding at this age, it's getting difficult to always push healthy choices his way.  He gets more and more exposed to snack foods that we don't keep around the house, so he constantly asks for those and has a bit of a tantrum when I offer other items like fruit.

On the flip side, there are days that he willingly eats what I cook for supper.  At his age it's hit and miss if he eats dinner with us or eats later in the night.  He typically is a late night eater.

 

Toddler Sleep
Our new nighttime routine nowadays is to read every book on the face of planet, cover him up with 3 blankets, and kiss and hug him before he falls asleep.  And don't even think about missing any step in the process.  But after that, he falls asleep right away and will rarely wake up on his own before 6:30am.

PHOTO DUMP:

 

 

 

10 ON 10 | MAY 2016

10 Photos | 10th of May

 

Yummy breakfast of champs

Ugh...we'll come back to this one

3 mile run followed up with a very long, nice walk before the workday starts

Work + Lunch at 2:30pm. This is my lunch scene too often.

Little boy has a serious love for his saucer.

Right in the mix.

 

I leave this child for two minutes..

 

And back to this. Taking another 10 steps back to move forward with residing the house.

Oh the never ending cycle of laundry.

If there weren't enough pictures of food this month, we rounded out the looong day with a huge bowl ice cream complete with mini choco chips. :)



mother's day | 2016

To all the women out there of children that are little, grown, or those no longer here

Happy Mother's Day!!

 

This day is always special for us to celebrate our mamas, but when we have the privilege of having babies of our own, this day just becomes 200% even more special.

 

This household of boys this mama feel extra special all day long. From flowers and sleeping in to being woken up by a two year climbing into my bed to give me the sweetest little hug, it was a perfect start.

 

 

We loaded up the boys and met up with Joe's family for breakfast which proved to be a little stressful and then on to a quick stop at Menards where that stress level just peaked.  Why haven't we figured out that we should never let Conner have a donut at breakfast and then try to run errands.  It never ever works out.

 

Since we were pretty stressed and starting to reflect that in our attitudes, we decided to hit the reset button and get our day back on track.  Totally worked too.

 

We loaded the boys back up and headed down to the river to spend some special time with Joe's mom and leave some bright yellow mums for her.  We've been practicing with Conner to say "Happy Mommy's Day" so he made sure to say it to his Nana.  Possibly the sweetest thing I've ever seen.  But then he got down low to kiss her headstone and that, dear friends, became the sweetest thing I ever did see.

 

 

Back home for naps (sort-a) and then right back in the car for one last round of out-and-about. (The weather was too pretty to spend it around the house!)  We hit up Culvers and took a drive up Old Mission Peninsula.  We were already past Linden's bedtime, and Conner was tired of being in a car for so much of the day, but those two little boys were troopers to let their mama enjoy a ride through the vineyards and the view of the bays.

 

 

I'm outnumbered in this household, but these boys of mine, they sure do know how to make this mama feel so loved and belonged.

 



linden | five months

F I V E

 

By far, this past month with Linden has been the most fun!  Every month has been fun, but now we're getting at that age where is becoming more and more interactive and we're really starting to see more of his personality.  And let me tell you, he may seem all cute and sweet, but he will hold his own if you do something he doesn't like.  So think twice before taking that toy away from him! But it really is fun to watch him develop his preferences for different things and different people.

 

LAST MONTH: 

 

THIS MONTH:

 

EAT

I am getting so excited to be starting him on solids in the next month or so. (Even more excited to see if this will help him sleep longer!)  Until then, we are just enjoying our time nursing.  He's still eating about 7 times a day and it's showing in his little baby legs.  Who doesn't love chunky little baby legs?  This little boy is like clockwork, and when it's time to eat, all patience goes out the window, and he wants to eat Now.

 

 SLEEP

Ugh... I can't wait to sleep a solid seven hours at night again.  It's a constant state of sleep deprivation and fatigue around here.  We've practiced sleep training with him so he no longer uses his paci which has helped us tremendously with getting him to stay asleep.  Before if his paci fell out, he would wake up crying multiple times.  Now he just puts himself back to sleep.

Linden boy is so much like Conner.  He absolutely has to have his face covered to fall asleep so he sleeps with a small lovey or his small blanket (which is actually very breathable to keep him safe).  Conner was the exact same way.



PLAY

This little boy is a blast!  He's got the busiest little hands and if anything's within reach, he's grabbing for it.  My hair and glasses get pulled a lot.  A whole lot.  Same goes for his toys too.  You can set the little boy in his saucer or on the floor with some toys and he will keep himself entertained for a long time just grabbing it all and putting it directly into his mouth.  And if you even attempt to take a toy away from him... watch out!

What else is new?? He can now rollover from back to front and he's quite a professional at it now. (Makes diaper changes a little longer now that he insists on rolling while I'm changing his dipe.)  And we get to hear more and more laughter now too!  It's the best!!

 

  

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