Day In The Life

I got the idea to record "a day in the life" from several other blogs. Since I use this blog as a digital scrapbook of our family I thought I'd try it so I can remember all the exciting stuff I do (har har!) on a regular old Monday. So here is yesterday...

6am - Walter leaves for work early. I get up to say goodbye and quickly crawl back in bed.

6:30am - X is up and very happy. A quick diaper change and he's off to play. Change a load of laundry and decide what to eat for breakfast.

7am - Realize X already needs another diaper change. (I don't think I got my 23 cents worth out of that diaper!) Make breakfast - cereal and cantaloupe for X, yogurt and granola for me.

7:30am - Shower and get dressed. Take 14 week baby shot in the mirror. Take down curtains that need to go to my mom to be fixed.

8:30am - Head out the door to Walmart to find Walter some cheap sunglasses since he lost his...AGAIN! While I'm there I find 2 possible options for curtains for X's room and decide to buy both and see which one works best.

9:15 am - Arrive at my mom's to work on the curtains. Get sidetracked by playing on the back patio with the neighbor kids. Go in to help mom with the curtains only to find out they need more work than I realized. Leave curtains with mom to fix (thanks mom!)

11:30am - Come back home for lunch. X has broccoli, an almond butter and jelly sandwich, and a banana. Get excited that he eats his entire lunch today since his appetite has been down the past few days. Change laundry and grab a sandwich for myself.

12:15pm - X goes down for a nap. I go check email, blogs, pay bills, then watch Army Wives on DVR.


2:30pm - X wakes up SCREAMING (which he never does) and I go in his room to find him face down in the crib not moving, just crying. I guess he was having a bad dream. I rock him for a bit to settle him and then he's up. We decide that wearing his horsey slippers will make the situation better. Then we go outside to swing and play.



3:30pm - Go back inside for a snack and then we head to Target to see if they still have hammocks on clearance. Luckily they do -- and the one I like is $10 cheaper than when I saw it last week!!!


5:00pm - Walter is home from work and we determine we need longer chains to make the hammock fit the stand. X swings...again.


5:30pm - Head out to meet my mom, gma, and uncle (who is in town) for dinner at Steak N Shake (my uncle's FAVORITE place). My gma sneaks X way too many fries. They come back to our place so my uncle can see the house. X tries to crawl on top of my 92 year old 92lb gma - I'm terrified he's going to crush her!


7:30pm - X gets his Winnie the Pooh ride on toy taken away after ramming into the wall and putting 3 dents in the freshly painted drywall.



7:45pm - Give X a quick snack, Walter puts him in the tub while I hang up the curtains my mom fixed and then we put X to bed. I change laundry, again.


8:30pm - Watch some TV; funny show about cake making people and how this lady wanted an erotic bachelorette party cake made. DVR'd the ending because I was too tired to stay awake.


9:30pm - Sound asleep



I told you this would be exciting, didn't I! (I wasn't exactly diligent with the picture taking either). It may seem boring to some, but I'll gladly take it in place of the hardships that many many people are facing right now. I don't go a day without realizing how fortunate I am.

Patience with Impatients

I have always wanted window box planters. They just look so pretty. I was thrilled when I found out that the previous owners of our house were leaving these beautiful wrought iron planters. It may be 99 degrees here right now with about 99% humidity, but I'm determined to keep my impatients nice and hydrated so their fullness and color survive the heat. It would be such a waste to see a bunch of dried up stems in these lovely planters don't ya think??

18 Month Stats

I took X to the doctor for his 18 month checkup on Tuesday. He's wise to the place and pretty much started crying as soon as we hit the door. Thankfully this was his last 2 shots until he's 5 years old! He cries the hardest when I set him on the scale. Why? He just has to sit there for 2 seconds and no one touches him. Doesn't sound like torture does it? Anyway, our boy is doing well. He is 28lbs 1 oz, 34 1/4 inches tall, and has a head circumference of 19 1/8 inches. I had to fill out a questionnaire on his development that is part of their autism lookout, and he's doing fine. Dr. R says that language will be the biggest developmental change in the next 6 months. He sent us off with the good report and we don't have to come back for 6 months.

There are a few things I want to work with X on in the next few months. The biggest is his crowd issue. He's really NOT good in group settings away from home and has lots of stranger anxiety. I know that part of this is normal and he'll outgrow it, but I want to be continue to have him in group settings so that he has the opportunity to become more comfortable. I've signed him up for a mommy and me tumbling class next month and I'm hoping that will be good for him. Self feeding with utensils is another thing I'm trying to work on. He's come a long way, but still is far from being able to eat with a fork or spoon unassisted.

One thing that X has pretty much perfected now is going up and down the stairs on his own. He crawls most of the time, but is starting to use the spindles to do a bit of walking. It's pretty neat. He's even managed to make it all the way up the steps with a tractor and wagon in his hand! We still have the baby gate at the top of the stairs to keep him on the same floor as us, but if it's left open we are not worried he's going to tumble down.

I've been meaning to make a list of some of the words that X has. Some of them sound really similar (or exactly similar) but depending on the situation you can tell what he's trying to say.

Here's what I can think of off the top of my head.....
ball "ba-ba"
bible "ba-ba"
bottle "ba-ba"
light "ite"
help "elp"
ma-ma
da-da
yes
car
shoes "shss"
socks "ocs"
teeth "tshh"
milk "ilk"
soup "uop"
nap "ap"
cheers "achs"
yum yum "um um"
lamp "amp"
cupboard "cau-cau" (it's from a book -- we don't walk around saying cupboard in daily conversation much)
rock "ock"
two "tew"
four "or"
six "sis"
ten "en"
uh-oh "a-oh"
up

It's amazing to see all the things he's learned in just 18 short months! Can't wait to see what the next 18 years brings (well, maybe not those teenage years so much!)

Big Brother

That's right -- Xavier is going to be a big brother! We are very excited to be expecting a new baby to join our family at the end of December. God has quite the sense of humor by blessing us with another December baby....and with a due date of Dec 25th! Walter says he's never been so happy to have his birthday in April!

We told our families on Father's Day since everyone was together. New house and new baby -- 2009 is a big year for us!

"Baby D" is doing well so far with a heartbeat in the 160's last week. As with Xavier, we have decided NOT to find out the gender of this baby. We just think it's more exciting that way. Please pray for our new little one as he/she continues to grow these next few months.

Bye Bye Bottle

We finally bid farewell to the bottle as of yesterday (6/17). Some people will think it's crazy that Xavier was still taking a bottle at that point (only at night) but he's my kid, so I don't care what those people think!! haha

We kept the nighttime bottle because it was a good routine and since he FINALLY started going to sleep on his own at 14 months there was no way I was going to mess with him at that point. A month or 2 went by and I thought about trying to ditch the nighttime bottle, but then our house sold and decided that he'd need that familiarity during the move. We've been in the house about 7 weeks, X is sleeping very well and is in a great routine, so I decided on a whim yesterday (seeing that it was his 18 month birthday and all) to see what would happen. My decision came in part due to the fact that he wakes up soaking wet every morning (even with a "nighttime" diaper on) and I'm tired of stripping sheets. I cut back the ounces a week ago and that didn't seem to make much difference.

It just so happened that X didn't eat much for dinner yesterday. So, I offered him a bowl of cereal just before his bath and he scarfed it down, then ate another entire bowl of cereal, and drank the milk. With his tummy full he didn't even seem to notice that there was no "ba-ba" offered to him after he all nice and snugly in his jammies. He still takes his Binker (his pride and joy) to go to sleep so he was perfectly fine with just that and his Skipit (blanket dog). We said our prayers, sang a song, rocked a few minutes, and I popped him in the crib where he assumed his normal head in the corner position. And that was it.....almost too easy! Tonight was a repeat of the same, so I guess that's it - no more bottle.

Now, if it would only be that easy to break him of the binker.....umm....I think not. Maybe I'll tackle that one next year!

Animals and a Carousel

Maybe a week ago, 2 weeks ago, hey, I don't even remember now. Anyway, X and I went to a zoo-like attraction south of the city with a friend and some of her friends. I think we had a group of 12 kids and 8 adults by the time everyone arrived. I hadn't been since I was a kid and this was X's first trip. I decided to buck my system of "nap time is sacred" and just see what happened since I knew we'd be gone most of the day. (In case you were in suspense about the nap, he just slept on the way home -- I'm thinking everyone is not as concerned with nap time as I am...hum?)

X had a wonderful time and he was a really good sport about making it through the day. I was worried that he'd want to run free from the stroller more, but he was happy to sit and ride with his sippy and some snacks.

First we stopped by the Clydesdale's. They are beautiful, but a little smelly!

X was sportin his froggy shirt in order to get in touch with nature. And, thanks to Auntie D for the cool shorts! We rode on a tram to see animals roaming free. X loved the tram. I think he was more interested in the fact that he got to ride in a moving vehicle without a 5 point harness on than actually looking at the animals.

Not sure if you can see it, but next to the black horse on the far left is a baby mustang that was only an hour old. It was neat to see him walking around all wobbly as he was trying to get his sea legs.

And this cow was just chillin.

I fed the baby goats. X wanted nothing to do with it. We decided to stay on the outside of the fence because those things were going crazy. They would have definitely knocked X to the ground in about 3 seconds.

This was also X's first carousel ride ever. He was a little unsure of the whole thing and didn't crack a smile the entire time. But, when it was over and we got off he cried, so I knew he did like being on there. My pictures aren't very clear because I was trying to hold onto X and get a few shots at the same time.

I think by far the favorite part of the day was the misting bridge. Kids were going crazy running back and forth under the misters and X joined right in. I guess it's fitting since he does like to play in the rain. (Hard to tell from the pic, but he's standing under a mister and getting all wet)

We rounded out our afternoon with a late lunch where I paid a ridiculous price for a kid's meal that X and I shared (luckily I'd snuck in a bunch of other food for X to snack on). I guess they gotta make up for the free beer tent that they offer (too bad I don't like beer!)

Next week we're headed to the botanical gardens with some other friends. Summer's in full swing!

S'mores In The Toaster Oven -- Totally Works!!

It's ridiculous......but it's been on my mind constantly.

Our good friends Brian and Andrea came over for dinner a few weeks ago and we were talking about s'mores (they have perfected a technique). Andrea casually mentioned "I wonder if you could make them in the toaster oven". For some reason that comment stuck to me like glue and I've been thinking about s'mores in the toaster oven ever since. Today in the grocery store I headed down the baking isle for brown sugar....but came across the marshmallows first. I caved...I bought a pack....and a big ol Hershey bar. (riding the high of my impending s'mores making project I completely forgot to get brown sugar, but oh well).

So, I'm home, X is napping, and I try it out. Success! I put in the bottom graham, chocolate, and 2 marshmallows. I left out the top graham cracker since things were getting pretty tall in my fairly small toaster oven, and added that on at the end. Once cycle through and the chocolate was melted, the marshmallows were toasted, and I was one happy camper eating this gooey mess while standing over the sink. It was pure heaven!

Now, I wouldn't go as far as to say that it beats campfire s'mores, because there is nothing better than the original. But, for a quick fix on a weekday afternoon I'd say the toaster oven came through for me. This could be dangerous!

(Sorry, no pictures -- my fingers were pretty sticky!)

Going in Circles

Today is one of those days. It's only half way over and I'm ready to throw in the towel. X is being a total "cranky-mcfussle-pants" today....uggghhh! He woke up at 6am (this is the 3rd day in a row) when lately he's been sleeping until at least 7am. I played dead so Walter got him up (thanks babe!) but Walter had to leave early so I was forced to get up. X was cranky and crying before I could even get breakfast made, which then he would barely eat so that was a waste of my efforts. Apparently he decided all he needed was milk and grapes this morning. Then it was time for mr. tornado to blow through the living room and get out every book we own...then cry again. After that we went to the basement to see if some brackets I bought will fit on my new curtain rod (which they DON'T!!!) and X found a box of tile grout that he tried to open....seriously kid, can you just stand still for 2 seconds??!!

On to me getting a shower..... X decides to unload the shoe rack in my closet to keep himself occupied, then sucks on the hairspray nozzle and looks at me with disgust when I tell him to take it out of his mouth. I try to find a shirt that's not stained, get dressed, and pick up all my shoes.

I decide we need an outing (because frankly I can't take the constant crabbing much longer at this point) so I gather our things and we head to Target. This goes pretty well except for all the goldfish crackers that I ended up picking off the floor (because you know, when you don't eat breakfast, you need a snack while in the cart at Target!) since X wouldn't sit in the seat correctly and kept hitting the cup of crackers with his leg. We make a stop at a new ALDI on the way home and I'm disheartened to find that they don't sell pecan spinwheels there anymore. That is my favorite item from ALDI as a child and I really could have used that pick me up this morning. I got over it though and indulged by purchasing a cheese stolen instead (ya know, cause my thighs really need that!)

Back at home the crankin and cryin resumes. I decide to hang a shelf in the guest bathroom that I painted yesterday. Three trips to the garage later (because I kept forgetting something I needed) I hang the shelf realizing I've got the wrong size drill bit. Not wanting to go to the garage AGAIN, I make it work anyway. While I'm doing this of course X has found that this bathroom actually has the toilet paper on the roll (because I forgot to take it off) and proceeds to stand right in my way and tear off a million little pieces. Then he tries to get at the level (the nice, I'd like to not have this broken level) so I abandon my project to refocus his attention. I'm able to distract him with a farm book in the next room. When I'm almost complete with the hanging of the shelf I hear major crying start and he comes screaming into the room and clinging to my leg while I'm trying to get this thing leveled. I give it a "good enough" and convince X to stop crying by telling him that we'll go listen to the angels (his little bible music CD that he loves).

Back in the kitchen, CD on, I make lunch for X. He notices that I've forgotten to shut the door to the laundry room/pantry and proceeds to unload an entire shelf of food into the hamper before I realize what he's up to in there. Lunch is ready but X is so exhausted by this point he can barely eat it. Once I felt that he'd gotten enough in to not starve (and I've finished reloading the shelf of food) I cleaned him up and he fell sound asleep before I could even get him to the crib. Please Lord, let him sleep for a LONG time and wake up in a better mood!

I know that there are many worse things in life than a morning with a crabby child and having to constantly pick up and re-pick up stuff in your house. But today it's just getting to me.

Two Videos

X was going crazy with the cart the other night. Thought I'd capture a few seconds of it before I got ran over.

And, while probably not his most flattering video, I want to remember what X's crying sounds like at almost a year and a half old. I'm sure he'll be happy I have this when he's older :)

Proud To Be An American

It just so happened that X was wearing a red, white and blue outfit when I caught him sitting in this flag chair. So it worked out perfectly for a little shoot. Throw in a guitar and you've got yourself an all American boy.

My New Favorite Photo

Apparently my camera has a black and white setting. You'd think that after owning this camera for about 4 years that I would know that. But...I didn't. Guess it really does help to read the manual!! For all of my complaining that my camera is a stupid "point and shoot", maybe there is hope for it (or me) yet! While my pics will never be as good as the fancy cameras, at least maybe I can take advantage of some of the settings that I DO have.

Here's my new favorite photo of X that I took the other day. I love his tongue to the teeth grin.

I like this one as well, but for totally different reasons. I like the seriousness of it.I also like how I can look at it and see in one shot both "baby" features and "big boy" features in X's face. Maybe it's just me....

As The Dust Settles

As if we haven't painted enough in the new house, we decided to take on the garage last weekend before we got the last of our things that were stored at my grandma's place. It was partially drywalled, and we (translation, mostly my hubby!) decided to smooth out the seams and paint. After 3 coats of mud it was ready to sand. Man, is that messy! There was so much dust in the air that it was ridiculous. Thank goodness it was outside!! As always, X was there to lend a hand. Since his new favorite thing to do is play with a broom, we put him on clean up duty.

Hard at work -- what seemed like a fairly small area quickly felt quite large when you start to sand all those spots!

I think X was upset realizing that he'd just walked under the ladder -- you know, cause of the bad luck and all!

My little multitasker! Cart and broom at the same time.

Warning -- do not attempt this project if you don't want to be covered in a cloud of white dust.

As things got a little thick in the back of the garage we had to move X's toys to the safety of the driveway. Here's his little parking lot. When did he get so much stuff?

By the end of the weekend the garage looked beautiful with it's fresh coat of paint. There is still a bunch of junk in there that needs to go on shelves, so I'll reserve my "finished product" pictures for ya know, when it's actually FINISHED!