Weekend Recap

Holy. Moly. I have a lot to recap.

For starters, I wrote a post on Friday and forgot to publish it.  There was nothing very significant about said post, but if it seems strange that I posted “Friday Thoughts” on Sunday, well, now you know.

So Friday was a big day.  I met some former colleagues for lunch.  I hadn’t seen a couple of them in about 8 years so it was fun to catch up.  Then, it was off to get my new car!!  Very exciting!!  We’ve always worked with a family friend to purchase our cars.  As a side business, he helps people find cars for the best price and charges a small fee for his services.  Totally worth it to have someone else do the searching and negotiating!!  A had talked to the owner of the dealership prior so we had already agreed on the car model and had a tentative price.  After we got there and it seemed like everything had been worked out, the price they offered the new car at was $1000 more than the price given to us over the phone.  The dealer told us the car had upgrades.  Maybe so, but mama didn’t raise no fool!  After some negotiation, they lowered the price by $500 and offered me $1000 more than I had been quoted for my trade in.  I also argued the financing rate since A and I have excellent credit and got them to lower it by half a percentage point.  Hey, every little bit counts!  So at the end of the day (after 3 hours at the dealer), I felt like I got a great deal and I love my new Toyota Highlander.  The best thing about it is the third row and captains chairs in the second row (which allows easy access to the third row).  Also, the car reads me text messages and tells me the weather, which I didn’t even know was a possibility?!?!  W has been calling it my Toyota Calendar or Canada… hahaha.

Saturday morning, A installed the car seats in the new car and took the boys on a Starbucks run. J  That afternoon, W went to swim lessons.  He’s doing awesome!  So much better than soccer.  I guess soccer just wasn’t his thing. J  While W was there, S and I headed to my family reunion.  It was sooo hot and humid.  Uggh.  But we had fun and A and W eventually met up with us there.  My second? cousin’s (I have tons of cousins) son happened to be about 3 months older than S and kept coming up to him and bear hugging S.  It was so cute.  The boys got to play at a nearby park and we had some yummy food.  I loved catching up with family I hadn’t seen in a while.  Oh!  My dad was a huge Minnesota Vikings fan.  I have no idea why he chose that team to love, but he did.  Anyway, when my brother was little, my dad got him a Vikings football uniform and helmet.  When my brother grew out of it, he passed it on to another cousin.  Well, Saturday, my cousin gave me the Vikings helmet back for my boys.  It’s a bit beat up, but I love having that reminder of my dad. J  We finished the day with an ice cream outing.  Once again the boys had about 2 bites and were finished.  A and I decided that future ice cream trips will not include the boys. :P

Saturday night/Sunday morning, S was up for nearly 3 hours and ended up spitting up all over A, his blankets, and his rug.  It doesn’t get much better than cleaning up puke at 2am.  I have no idea what’s going on.  He had been sleeping well and seemed to be feeling fine.  Despite being so tired, we still kept our usual church, Starbucks, and grocery shopping routine.  The boys spent the afternoon playing in their kiddie pool.  I finally got around to trying on my Stitch Fix items – more on that in an upcoming post.  Basically, the boys were in full on meltdown mode while I was trying on clothes so that was fun.  I gave A a few new recipe options.  He chose spinach artichoke pasta so I made that for dinner and it turned out pretty good – except I haven’t mastered cooking for two adults so I ended up making enough pasta for a small army.  Oh well.  Definitely a great weekend!

Annnd for some reason, S was up last night for 2ish hours.  We even tried a bit of Motrin before bed, thinking his teeth could be bothering him.  Not sure what’s going on, but lots of caffeine in store for today!

Friday Thoughts

W has now completed 3 weeks of “summer camp” and he continues to do amazingly well.  Sadly, that means we’re already 3 weeks into summer vacation.  Where is the time going?!?!

I’m getting a new car today!!  I finally made a decision on what type of car I wanted and we’re off to pick it up this afternoon.  I’ll share more when I actually have it.  W is very disappointed that I went with black instead of purple (not an option) or red (he doesn’t understand why I wouldn’t choose my favorite color).

Speaking of cars, have I mentioned that W’s new thing is identifying car makes?  He’ll walk through a parking lot naming them off… Honda, Ford, Mercedes, Toyota… it’s pretty funny.

In other exciting news, another Stitch Fix arrives today.  I requested summer tops and dresses.  We’ll see what shows up.  I’ll share the items as soon as I have a moment to try things on.

I have been bitten by the travel bug – lately I can’t stop thinking of vacation destinations.  Unfortunately, it’s a bazillion times harder to travel with kiddos (and a bazillion times more expensive).  We have our annual Maryland trip coming up in a couple weeks and I’m thinking an end of summer Michigan road trip may be in order.  I’ve actually never been to Michigan despite it being 2-3 hours away.  It would be fun to add another state to my list.

Finally, I have a family reunion this weekend!  I adore most of my extended family.  Guess I’ll just ignore the others… ha.

Sleep...ZZzzz

Ah, sleep.  Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, has advice on how to get your kids to sleep.  Here’s the thing: what works for one, does NOT work for all.  I’ve mentioned many times that W was not a good sleeper.  He started off sleeping well and slept through the night relatively early, but around the time he started teething, it all went downhill.  I received LOTS of advice.  Shorter naps, longer naps, earlier bed time, later bed time, feed him more, Motrin, music, white noise, etc., etc.  All that advice did was make me crazy.  And the funny thing is, I don’t recall asking for any of it.  At the end of the day, I think some kiddos are just great sleepers and some are not.  If your kid happens to be a great sleeper, you probably think you had something to do with it.  I think you’re just lucky. J

I’m sharing what worked for us on the off chance that it might help someone.  But I stand by my earlier statement.  All kids are different.

W:  As I mentioned, W was never a great sleeper.  When he was tiny, he would not take naps in his crib.  I tried.  Lord knows I tried.  But every time I’d put him in his crib, he’d wake up.  And he took these little cat naps, 30 minutes at a time.  As he grew, some nights, he’d sleep all night and other nights he wouldn’t.  It was inconsistent.  A and I were accustomed to him waking in the night every so often.  But it got much, much worse when S arrived.  W would wake every.single.night.  Even when S started sleeping through the night, W would still wake up.  We couldn’t just put him back in bed, either.  He became inconsolable if we tried to leave his room, crying for hours.  So what finally worked?  Well, a few things… We got him a big boy bed that he loved.  Actually, his race car bed is a loan from A’s brother and sister in law.  We talked about how cool W’s bed was and really built it up so that he’d want to sleep in it.  And it worked!  We started laying with him until he fell asleep and still do.  W knows that I will stay until he’s asleep, but then I go sleep in my bed and surprisingly, he’s fine with that.  I typically lay with him for 15 minutes at most.  And finally, we invested in a special clock.  Sam, the sleep sheep changes colors to let W know when he can get out of bed.  Dark blue for stay in bed, green for 30 minutes left, and light blue for when he can get out of bed.  W does get up before his clock tells him to every now and then, but he stays in bed all night (unless he’s sick or there’s a storm).  This is a complete turnaround from a year ago and such a relief for A and I.  At some point, I assume W will be fine falling asleep on his own, but for now this works for us.

S:  S has always been a relatively good sleeper.  He usually takes great naps and always has.  Sometime around the one year mark, S started waking every night.  A or myself would give him a bottle and he’d often fall right back to sleep after his bottle.  During his one year well child checkup, the pediatrician asked how S was sleeping and I was honest.  She recommended not giving a bottle, telling us it was bad for his teeth and that S would continue waking because it was routine.  Well, A and I tried not giving a bottle a couple consecutive nights and S was just not having it.  I feared he was going to wake W and I didn’t have the energy to stay up for hours.  It was also clear to us that the bottle wasn’t just for comfort, S was legitimately hungry.  On a whim one night, I decided to give S a mixture of oatmeal, puree, and yogurt in an attempt to fill his belly before bed.  And what do you know, he slept through the night.  I did it again the following night and magically, he slept all night again.  He hadn’t slept 2 nights in a row in months.  Not sure why it took me so long to figure this out because it seems so obvious now.  But we still follow this practice and S sleeps through the night 5-6 times per week.  Quite the difference from the 1-2 nights per week we had grown accustomed to.

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was awesome.  We were incredibly busy, but had so much fun.

Friday started out with a haircut for W.  Nothing noteworthy here – he was really good and enjoyed his lollipop and cookie while getting his hair cut.  After that, I had an eye doctor appointment.  I kept telling W that it would take a really long time, I thought he’d be bored, he’d have more fun at home, etc.  He insisted on coming with me because he wanted to help me pick out new glasses (maybe he was feeling guilty about breaking my current pair).  So sweet.  So off we went and it took foreverrrr…. Like 2 hours.  I guess they somehow skipped me.  But W did great.  He told the optometrist that he was “free years old” and told him the temperature outside was 29. J  He even helped me pick out purple glasses – his favorite color!  Afterwards, I treated him to Starbucks – we both needed a little pick me up.

Then, it was off to the carnival in A’s hometown.  The boys had a BLAST.  W was really into the kids rides.  S got to partake in the slide and a ride that lifted him into the air (only because A rode with him).  I’m sure he would have liked all of the rides, but I didn’t trust him not to stand up mid ride and try to climb out.  We saw Nani, Papa, Uncle Matt, and Katie who were all working in the beer tent. J  We had so much fun that we actually lost track of time and didn’t leave until 8:30 – way past bed time.  Luckily, the boys fell asleep in the car and we transferred them into bed while still in their clothes.

Saturday, W had his first swim lesson with A.  He loves to play in the water and I hear it went well for the most part.  S and I ran errands while W swam.  After S’s nap, we all headed to a local water park.  W was totally in his element – splashing in the water, running through fountains, climbing bridges, and going down the little slides.  He had so much fun.  S loved it at first… and then he got water in his face.  I’m not sure if the chlorine bothers him or if he got sunscreen in his eyes (maybe both), but the same thing happened in Florida.  He was miserable towards the end – rubbing his eyes nonstop and crying.  Poor guy.  We picked up Mexican food for dinner – yum!

Sunday was church and Starbucks per usual.  At church, I happened to look over and saw S crawling on the bench near an elderly man.  The man was standing and S was in his seat.  A moved S over a bit and when I glanced over again, I saw S and the old man sitting next to each other holding hands.  OMG.  I want to remember that moment forever.  It was one of the sweetest sights I’ve ever seen.  After a week filled with tragic news, my heart needed that moment.  Later, the man told A, “When he gets older, you tell him that he made my day.”  I’m tearing up thinking about it.

The rest of the day was spent playing at our house.  W enjoyed the kiddie pool and sprinkler.  We gave A a new Cubs lunch box, t shirt, and gift card for Father’s Day.  He also got a onesie from S that says “Daddy’s Favorite” on it. J  A wanted steaks and grilled those for dinner along with corn on the cob.  It was a perfect weekend and A said it was his favorite Father’s Day to date.  Mission accomplished.

Friday Thoughts

Happy happy Friday!!

It’s been a tough week for the U.S.  So much tragic news.  As if the news itself wasn’t heartbreaking enough, some terrible people feel the need to judge and degrade others.  So unnecessary and insensitive.  My heart hurt reading the comments posted on some of those new stories (not sure why I felt compelled to do that – lesson learned).  So let’s focus on some good…

While A is home with the boys, he often sends me a picture or two (or five) during the day and I LOVE it.  I love seeing what all my guys are up to.  Here are my favorites from the week:

I got a text from a good friend last night asking if I had a minute.  I’ve known her since Middle School and a few months ago she confided in me that she and her husband had been trying to have a baby, but were unsuccessful.  I told her if she ever wanted to talk or needed someone to just listen, I was available.  So when I got her text, I thought she might want to discuss IVF.  Our conversation went something like this:

E:  I’ve been taking a music class, blah blah blah (she’s a music teacher)

Me: Sounds fun!  How long is it?

E: It’s only a week, but 8 hours each day.  It’s really great because we’ve discussed teaching little kids music – kindergarten and preschool.  We’ve even gotten into lullabies and chants and how music is important at a really young age, which has been really beneficial because I’m pregnant.

Me: That sounds great.  WAIT!!  WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?!?

E: I’M PREGNANT!!

Me: OMG OMG OMG

I was over the moon so happy for her, I teared up.  She’s going to be an awesome mom.  She explained that she had started the process to begin IVF – initial appointments, tests, paperwork.  She had found out that her insurance covered nothing (which is such crap) and was preparing to sign up for some grant offered at the fertility clinic.  She had to sign up by April and got pregnant at the end of February.  So awesome.  After a rough week, this amazing news totally lifted my spirits.

W has completed his second installment of summer camp and he’s doing so well that we went ahead and signed him up for the next two sessions.  I guess he was hanging from the monkey bars yesterday and told his teacher that he was proud of himself.  Haha.

On tap for this weekend: Carnival, W starts swimming, and celebrating A.  Hoping it’s a good one.

W Says...

Sunday, W spent the majority of the day sleeping or lying on the couch.  He was a coughing/snotty mess.  I thought there was no way he’d make it to school on Monday and even suggested that A call and find out if the week’s tuition could be applied to another week.  And then W woke up Monday, a ball of energy, a few sniffles, but nearly back to normal.  If only I could recover from a cold that quickly!  So off to school he went.  He’s had a few funny lines lately so I wanted to document them…

“Grandma doesn’t have a computer!  Grandma doesn’t have a iPad!  Grandma only has a little phone that doesn’t even have a play button!”

W had a bin of foam blocks and was tossing some in the air.  He yelled out “I’m tossing my nuts!!”.  I HAVE NO IDEA…

A couple Sundays ago W and I had the following conversation:

W: “Mommy, are people sleeping right now?”

Me:  Confused.  “No, it’s afternoon.  Everyone is awake now.”

W: “But you said Sunday was a day for rest.”

W was looking at a picture of the family at Disney World in 2012.  I was newly pregnant with W at the time. J  Anyway, I happened to be wearing a cute strapless sundress in the photo and W started naming everyone pictured… “Aunt Lori, Grandma, Daddy… Mommy’s dress is falling off!”

Weekend Recap

It was a very productive weekend for us!  I feel so accomplished when I can check things off of the old to do list.

We started with dishwasher shopping on Friday.  Exciting stuff.  Before we left the house, W was not happy about having to go.  He even told us he’d stay home alone.  Yeah, right.  Once we got into the store, he was in appliance heaven.  So so funny.  Hopefully the new dishwasher will work well and we won’t have to schedule any more repairs or wash dishes by hand (actually I don’t mind hand washing, BUT it does take quite a bit of time).  After that, we paid a visit to Nani and Papa since their house was virtually across the street from the appliance store.  The boys had fun checking out their basement and looking at the garbage cans?!?  From there it was off to pick up a pizza and have dinner at Grandma’s house.  All in all, a good day!

Saturday, my mom came over and watched the boys while A and I went car shopping.  I’m at a point where I’m quickly nearing the 100k miles mark on my little SUV.  It seems to be the right time for a new vehicle since I can still get something for my current car ($9000!!) and nothing has gone wrong with it YET.  We test drove two larger SUVs, both with a 3^rd row.  Both were excellent.  The one I liked best is really pretty, BUT you have to remove a car seat to access the third row and that is not happening.  No point in having a third row if you can’t get to it!  The other SUV has captains seats in the second row, which I love, and easy access to the third row.  Just not as pretty as the other more luxurious SUV.  So after discussing, the choice was obvious.  Maybe I’ll get my pretty car in a few years when the boys are out of car seats.  Goodbye for now, pretty car.  J  After that, it was off to a haircut.  We finished the day by going out for ice cream.  The boys don’t quite understand the amazingness of ice cream yet.  A few bites and they’re done.  Very sad.  And since they both had the sniffles, I couldn’t even finish what they didn’t.  Boo.

Sunday, W woke up with a nasty cold.  AGAIN.  Seriously, the amount of colds we’ve experienced is ridiculous.  A and S went to church while I stayed home with W.  W spent much of the day napping or laying on the couch (so unlike him!!).  I took S for a walk and made a delicious pasta with broccoli and lemon cream sauce, while A grilled chicken to go with it.  So yummy.  Until next weekend…

The Boys Lately

The boys have changed so much recently and it seemingly happened overnight.

Towards the end of the school year, we discovered that W’s school was offering a “summer camp”.  The schedule was a bit different than what W was used to – 4 straight days centered around a specific subject and each class was 3 hours long.  W had been attending school just twice a week, 2 hours each day.  So essentially, he’d be going from 4 hours of class per week to 12 hours of class each week if we enrolled him.  Quite a difference.  I explained the class to him (as best I could) and told W that there would be different friends in the class.  W was hesitant and I didn’t push it.  Later, I found out that a teacher W was familiar with would be teaching most of the classes and at least 2 children in his class would be attending.  I mentioned it to W again and this time he said he wanted to go to the class.  A and I discussed and debated signing him up.  Eventually, we decided to sign W up for just one week and see how it went.  There would be lots of differences in addition to the schedule: A would drop him off and pick him up, most of the class would take place outside, many of the kids would be older.  So far, W has completed 3 of 4 days and he LOVES it.  I come home from work and he excitedly tells me all about his day, what he did, what he had for snack, etc.  He talks about his friend, JP, and even asks to have friends visit the house.  I’m not sure why exactly he seems to like this class so much better than his previous one, but I’m THRILLED.  He’s thriving in a way I’ve never seen before.

In addition to class going extremely well, W has an amazing concept of cause and effect.  He always has, but it seems to have escalated lately.  He’ll tell me a complete story… “sometimes people fall down and get hurt.  They may break a bone and then they have to go to the hospital so their bones can get fixed…”  He also has an incredible memory.  I think this is normal, but continues to amaze me.  Recently, he told me that when he was a baby, he fell down the stairs and at the time, he was wearing green pajamas.  He did fall down the stairs about a year and a half ago, but I figured he was just imagining the pajamas.  I asked him to describe the pjs and he told me they were green Christmas pajamas.  I responded that I didn’t think he had such a thing to which he replied, “yes, they were green Christmas pajamas with trees on them.”  Holy crap.  He was right.  I was shocked.  Another thing that amazes me is his understanding of spacial arrangement and direction.  He knows the way to school, Grandma’s house, the grocery store, A’s work, Nani’s house, etc. and will notice if we take a different route.  I am beyond terrible with directions so he definitely doesn’t get this from me.

And then there’s S.  He’s been nothing but trouble lately.  Ha.  He’s been mischievous in a way I’ve never experienced.  He’s always been a daredevil, but now he’s combining his daring ways with mischief.  I’ll turn around and see that he’s climbed up a step stool and is standing on top of the toilet removing tissues from the box, one by one.  He’ll throw various items down the stairs.  He’ll open the trash and take out pieces of garbage.  He’ll also open drawers and remove clothing or whatever he finds.  He took a bottle of lotion off A’s side table and threw it in the toilet.  If W is taking a bath, he’ll grab anything within reach and try to throw it in the tub.  Trouble.  He’s totally making up for all those sweet, smiley, easy going baby moments. J

Weekend Recap

This past weekend certainly had its challenges, BUT everyone is healthy and we managed to have some fun so I’m calling it a win.  I’m not even sure it’s worth discussing, but since I recap nearly every weekend, I feel obligated.

Friday – S got a much needed haircut.  He did really well and looked so handsome.  We decided to hit up one of our favorite pizza restaurants for dinner.  This place happens to be A’s favorite and we have a tradition of going at the end of the school year.  I was also starving so I was looking forward to it.  W complained that he didn’t want to go, he wanted to stay home and play.  I basically told him to suck it up, buttercup, because mommy was hungry.  I reminded him that he could throw peanuts on the floor and there were lots of animals (heads) to see.  Sidenote: I HATE hunting so not at all a fan of the décor, but the boys don’t understand what they’re seeing yet and it’s the only thing bad about this place.  Anyway, we walked in and were seated right away.  Immediately W laid down in the booth (which he often does) and puked all over me.  As in jeans, shirt were covered.  It came out of nowhere and I have no idea what happened.  I told A to take him outside and A stood up grabbing napkins.  I think I yelled, “take him out NOW!”.  And A was a little offended.  Oopsie.  But I didn’t want the poor customers to have to see any more puke and I certainly didn’t want to be puked on again.  So here I am thinking OMG, does he have the flu, heat exhaustion, pancreatitis??  What the heck is wrong with him?  Obviously we left the restaurant and W complained that his tummy hurt on the way home.  He fell asleep for a bit in his car seat.  When we got home, I offered him a popsicle.  He ate it and then told me his tummy needed another one to feel better.  Ok, fine (they were sugar free mini popsicles anyway).  Ate that then told me his tummy needed goldfish crackers to feel better.  Ok.  Ate those.  Meanwhile, A ordered pizza from a different place.  Once we had our pizza (2 hours after arriving at the restaurant – did I mention I was starving?), W ate several pieces and then asked for dessert.  He was totally fine.  Still not sure what happened.  My best guess is he drank too much water before getting in the car (liquids + travel are not a good combo for him) or he was getting back at me for making him go to dinner.  On a sad note, we can’t go back to our favorite pizza restaurant any time soon because I’m mortified.

Saturday – soccer in the morning.  W’s last soccer class and he barely participated.  I told him I was disappointed in him for not trying and at the very least, I expected him to listen to his coach.  He was very excited about the medal he received, though.  Sigh.  After that frustrating experience, we headed to Red Head Fest only to have it start pouring immediately upon our arrival.  We never even got out of the car.  Plan B was to head to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch.  W loves their soup and S was happy until he decided he had enough – and then he was mad that he couldn’t get out of his high chair.  After that, we decided to stop by Grandma’s G so that W could show off his medal and visit Meiko cat.  While there, S emptied the dirt from one of Grandma’s pots and then W and S started going through her cabinets, removing pots and pans and spices.  Geesh.  That was our cue to leave.

Sunday – church and Starbucks.  After that, we headed to the Cubs game.  We actually arrived too early and by the first inning, W was complaining that he wanted to go home.  I’m happy we made it to Wrigley Field as a family, but A and I decided no more baseball games with the kids.  They get bored and restless and we can’t really watch the game because we’re trying to entertain them.  Way too expensive for 5 innings of baseball.  All things considered, the boys were good and we had fun – until about the 5^th inning.  Then it was definitely time to go.  Also the Cubs lost so we’re pretty sure the boys are a jinx, or at least one of them is. J

Also, we had our dishwasher repaired last week.  $260 and two days later it stopped working again.  So there’s that.  Nothing major, but not really the best weekend either.

Style

I recently cleaned out my closet because I wanted to donate a few items to the upcoming church rummage sale.  While cleaning, it occurred to me that I’ve been in a bit of a style rut.  I have a tendency to wear the same items even though I have a closet full of clothes. So I came up with a challenge for myself.  Wear a different outfit every day for 2 weeks.  My hope was that I’d put a little more effort into what I was wearing, but also rediscover clothes I hadn’t worn in a long time.  It turned out to be lots of fun and now I have outfit ideas for the future.

I got this dress for $16 - one of my favorite finds!

I've been on the hunt for espadrilles, but I have a very specific style in mind - wedge heel, covered toe.  After sending one pair back and trying on another that I was sure I'd love, but didn't, I found a pair I really liked.  But they were over $100 and I could not justify spending that much.  So I settled on these for $30 - not the style I had in mind, but still cute. :)

S at 16 Months

I totally dropped the ball and never posted a 15 month update for S.  Mom fail.  How about a 16 month update instead?

At 16 months, S is sleeping better (except for the past week for some reason).  Hallelujah… please say this will continue!!  He still wakes up once or twice a week, but goes right back down after a bottle.

He’s still a good eater for the most part, but seems to be a little more picky or have his own preferences lately.  He’ll almost always eat meat and strawberries and also seems to enjoy Mexican food.  He still loves his bottle/milk.  He seems to know how to drink from a sippy cup, but doesn’t want to.  Hopefully this changes soon.  So far, he isn’t a fan of water or even juice.  Funny enough, he ALWAYS wants his brother’s sippy cups though they are basically the same as his.

He’s developed a bad habit of watching TV.  We were good about keeping W away from the TV until he was nearly 2.  But I’m not sure how to let W have tv time without S also watching.  Hoping to work on this and make sure it’s off during the day during the summer, or only on when S naps.

On the bright side, S still loves to be outside and could easily spend the entire day outdoors.  This guy is my rough and tumble boy.  He’s always finding mud or mulch, always has food in his hair, and he’s always a sweaty mess.  W used to have a bath every other day and that was fine (and also good for his sensitive/dry skin).  Not so with S – there have been several days in which he gets 2 baths per day.

He still loves books.  Current favorites are Freight Train and the Hungry Caterpillar.  He also loves books with flaps and pop ups.

He seems to love sports and often points out footballs, basketball hoops, soccer balls, etc.  He also enjoys his toy basketball hoop and will continuously dunk his basketball.

S is starting to understand words and commands.  If you tell him to go get his shoes, he’ll head to the mud room and knows which shoes are his.  If you ask if he wants a bottle, he’ll run to the refrigerator and attempt to open the door.  We were reading a zoo book recently and got to the page with a monkey.  I told him what it was and he pointed to the monkey on his pajamas.

He suddenly has a mouth full of teeth.  They seemed to come in out of order – he has all molars, but still doesn’t have his bottom lateral incisors (I had to look that up – basically the teeth next to the bottom middle teeth).

He’s still a daredevil and climbs on everything.  He’ll also attempt to walk down the stairs by himself or get out of his high chair and stroller without assistance.

S is wearing mostly size 18-24 months and some 2T items.

He continues to be an easy going/happy little guy and if there was a guarantee that future babies would have his temperament and sweet nature, I’d have 10 more (not really, but he makes this parenting gig a lot easier).

School's Out for Summer

Yesterday was W’s last day of preschool this year and it was definitely bitter sweet.  Back in September, I couldn’t even fathom the end of the school year.  I was so close to pulling him out of school because I thought the tears would never end.  I thought it was quite possible that we were doing more damage than good in keeping him enrolled.  But W persevered.  Each day was a little better than the one before.  And here we are.  The end of his first school year.  We made it.  A and I are so incredibly proud of him.