WEEKEND WRAP UP | CABIN FEVER

Another weekend come and gone, and I have no idea how it's already Monday night.

 

This weekend was a kicked back kind of weekend. No agendas. No plans.

 

Friday evening was pretty relaxing with homemade pizza and hanging out as a family in the living room while Conner ran off the last of his energy.  Honestly folks, after two plus years with this little boy, I still haven't figured out how he has an endless supply of energy.

 

 

Saturday was my first time leaving the boys at home and getting some alone time.  And of course that 'alone time' was spent grocery shopping. Normally, I don't enjoy getting groceries, but after nearly 8 weeks with two boys, grocery shopping alone was a treat.

 

That is until Joe asked me how much longer I'd be because Linden decided that he was going on a bottle strike. I've never heard of a baby deciding out of the blue that he no longer accepted a bottle, but sure enough, he decided that when I was grocery shopping would be a good time to start.

 

You can imagine my stress level since I only have a few weeks left before going back to work and sending the boys to daycare. Linden-boy, you better start lovin' that bottle again soon!

 

 

Sunday felt like we were starting to get back into our old groove again.  We went to church and got to see friends that we haven't seen in so long.  Seriously, it feels like forever.  The rest of the day was spent getting snowed on non-stop.  Joe and Conner took advantage of it all and went sledding down our little hill.  And by sledding I mean that Conner just ran down the hill and Joe used the sled.  Me and Linden-boy stayed inside where it was cozy warm.  I like the look of snow falling from the inside of the house.

Can't help it, I have more southernly blood in me so I prefer staying warm.

 

By the time Conner got up from his nap, Joe had nearly finished his indoor jungle gym that he's been working on for Conner.  Guys, it is amazing!  It's perfect for this little boy who loves to climb especially during these winter months.

 

I love that man, and I hope these boys realize how much their daddy loves them to do things like this just for them.

 



TODDLER LIFE | 27 MONTHS

I feel like I was just sitting down yesterday talking about Conner at 26 months.  Now here we are at 27 months.  And before I know it, I'll be saying the same thing when he's turning 36 months.  I can't believe how fast these weeks fly by.

 

 

 

This has been by far the most challenging month so far.  I love being home with my boys on maternity leave, but wow, his energy level seems to grow everyday (and so does his temper!).  We've entered that stage that if he doesn't get what he wants, it turns into non-stop, high pitched screaming for 5 minutes straight. Multiple times a day.  It's been the biggest test to my patience, and I can only hope and pray that this behavior is brought on by teething.  It's about that time where little kids get their last set of baby molars, so I have to wonder if these hardships are being brought on by that.

 

But the moments that Conner smiles, it can take me from the verge of breaking down and crying to just having a happy heart.  Unless, he smiles after I tell him to stop jumping on me (for the 10th time) while I'm nursing Linden, and he just stops, smiles, and jumps away.  Then I'm not happy and stress levels spike. 

Toddler Talks

I haven't noticed any big differences in his speech over this past month.  I feel like we've actually slid backwards.  Rather than using words to communicate what he wants, he just grunts, points, and yells most of the time now.  I don't know if this is linked to his unusually aggressive behavior this month or what.

He says his typical words/sentences still, but I haven't heard him say any new words.  I'm hoping that by going back to daycare next month, it will help get his speech back on track by hearing other little kids his age talking.

Toddler Play

Conner has fallen in love with his train set that he got for Christmas.  He is constantly carrying around four trains in his arms and one additional one in his mouth at all times.  It's funny to watch him maneuver up and down stairs and countertops with blankets, trains, snack cup and milk in tow all at one time.  He's got it down!

I feel like every month I have to mention that he is still playing with his Tonka truck as his number one choice of toy.  It's loud when he runs it all over the wood floor and tile, but it's so important to him and us that he can do this so he burns off a good portion of all his energy.  I'm not kidding - his energy is never ending.
 

Toddler Eats

We are still making some improvement on the protein front with this little boy.  He is becoming more and more willing to eat the foods that we make for dinner, but there are still nights where he will not eat no matter how hard we try.  At times it is difficult to raise a child that thrives better as a habitual snacker when you want to be able to sit down as a family and eat.  But, it's important to me and Joe that we don't force him to eat in a way that doesn't jive with how his body works with food.  He's a bird - eats a little at a time all day long.

One thing that really makes me smile about this boy is that he just flat out loves veggies.  He will choose veggies over everything probably 75% of the time.  He's become like his daddy and loves cashews too!

 

Toddler Sleep

He's back to taking nice long afternoon naps! Yes!! And he's been doing really well with going to bed (and staying in bed) at nighttime when it's time to go to sleep.  Now, if only I can get him to sleep in a little bit.  He's always up and fully energized by 5:30 every morning.

26 MONTH PHOTO DUMP

 

10 ON 10 | JAN 2016

10 Pictures. 10th of January.

 

Some mornings you just have to eat breakfast on the floor I guess

Morning chats

Came across Joe's baby book while cleaning.  Cereal at 2 weeks...

Just had to take ALL the darts out of the package. All.the.darts.



Epic laundry day. Sorting and storing the newborn size clothes

My galvanized 'B' came in the mail this weekend.  I underestimated how big 20" is.

Playtime!

Signature arm pose. One are curled. One arm straight.

Winter woods out my bedroom window

Gift wrapping tubes = tunnels for tiny trains



CAKE AND ICE CREAM

We love birthdays around here! Okay, I love birthdays around here. Earlier this week we got to help celebrate a cousin's eighth birthday with cake, ice cream, and lots of wrestling. L o t s of wrestling.

 

Dylan, Alex and Conner.. when you get these three together it is straight up chaos and laughter for the entire duration.  I admit, Conner doesn't know how to play with kids his own age, but put him with a group of older boys, and watch out! It's non-stop play and go go go.

 

 

We always love hanging out with Aunt Shan and Uncle Ken and the boys, and Alex's birthday party was so much fun.

 

 

 Party animal.

 

You can tell what this little boy is really into these days based on the gifts alone.  Future hunter right here folks.

 

Plastic rabbit + toothpicks = jackalope.

 

 

 We ordered Alex a remote helicopter.  We didn't realize it was shipping directly from China. The entire package was in Chinese! Uncle Ken was studying so he could translate for Alex.

 

It's nice to get out of the house on a weeknight and just enjoy another birthday.  And of course eat cake and ice cream!

 

Introducing, Baby Crockett

 



ONE MONTH BABY CHECK UP

Linden has his one month baby wellness appointment with his doctor yesterday.  More like a 6 week check up, but eh, close enough to one month.

 

I have been waiting and waiting for this appointment since he was one week old.  I get a little excited/anxious about how much he's putting on.  I think with Conner being such a little boy in regards to weight, I really wanted to see how Linden was doing.

 

and...

 

He's doing great!

 

 

His doctor was overly impressed with this little boy's strength.  It caught me off guard when she asked me if he was rolling over yet since normally they don't ask until babies are around 4 months old.  I told her that this little bird can only from his belly to his side and back to his side, but not a full 180 turn quite yet.  And frankly that surprised her that he wasn't rolling all the way yet, but she warned that it's coming very soon. 

 

Lord help us, I'm not ready for another mobile child just yet.

 

We survived our first baby cold this past week, and leave it to me to completely forget to ask the doctor what she thought of his recovery! How do I always manage to forget my top questions every.singe.time.

 

But I do know that she listened to his heart, lungs and scoped out his ears with no concerns, so I am sure we are good.

 

And because it was past eating time, he showed off his lungs and morrow reflex out of anger since nobody was feeding him yet.  That boy's screams can go from 0 to 100 in a split second!

 

Weight:  10 pounds 7.5 ounces (51st percentile)

Birth: 8 pounds 0 ounces

Height: 22.3 in (57th percentile)

Birth: 20.5 in

Head: 37.6cm (23rd percentile)

Birth: 33cm

 

2016 | HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year everyone!

 

2015 was a great year, so I'm a little sad to see it go.  I did everything from touching the Pacific Ocean for the first time (and literally, it was a touch.  It was dark.  I had heels on.  I ran up, touched it and ran away before I could get pummeled by a wave. And now that tangent is finished.) to take a first family vacation, and of course welcome Linden to the family.  He's the cherry on top.

 

2016, you have a lot to live up to.

 

I really am excited to see what this year is going to bring us - what adventures we'll go on, what shenanigans the boys will get into, what friendships will develop and how each of us will grow in every aspect of life.

 

I'm not normally one to partake in new year's resolution.  I try not to set myself up for failure, but this year I decided to make goals for myself in different areas of life.  I decided that most of my goals will not be everyday resolutions because that's usually when I fail.  Instead, I decided to mix it up and do different approaches for my health, home, and happiness.

 

I sprinkled in some pics of Linden from today because of course that makes reading this a hundred times better.

 

 

Health

I know. I know. This seems to top everyone's NY resolution list.  I've got some pregnancy pounds that are hanging out, so that certainly will be taken into consideration. 

 

I'm not going to say that I will workout everyday.  I just know it's not going to happen.  For the most part I've been diligent about staying active and working out over the past 8 years so my focus is more on what activities I want to cross off my list this year.  Instead of having a set workout plan everyday of the year, my goal is to complete P90x again and Jamie Eason's 12 week weightlifting plan.

 

 

Home

Toys, tools, clothes and paper have taken over our house!

 

Organization and purging are on top of my list as far as the home goes.  My goal is to tackle one room each month and really go through it and remove all the things we don't need or use and organize the items we do.

 

 

Happiness

My goal here is to focus on friendships and family relationships.  I want to enrich the friendships that I've been blessed with and look forward to the friendship that will develop over this next year.  I feel like this is essential for digging my roots in deeper here and making it my home.

 

Family relationships are also important to me and Joe.  Joe puts up with me. a lot. And I put up with him too, but over the years we've learned what makes each other thrive and what hurts each other.  The focus needs to be on helping each other thrive every day.  That extends out to our boys and each of our family members.