The past month and a half

So, it’s been a little while since I updated everyone on what’s been going on with David!

Here's what's been up with this 21 month old!

David transitioned to a new daycare at the end of June. He went from a center to an in-home. While we really liked the center and his main teacher a ton we just felt like he might do a little better in a smaller environment. Turns out we were correct. He is absolutely loving it. Of course, it took about a week for him to adjust but now he just goes right in and seems as happy as can be. He even has a BFF! There’s one little girl there who is his same age (just one day older actually!) and apparently they are inseparable. He’s frequently talking about his pal, even pointing at girl shoes at Target and saying her name. It’s love! It could be his age but we are also noticing he is talking a whole lot more and sleeping a whole lot better. It is nice!

Speaking of talking! Whoo boy, he’s a talking fool.  I couldn’t even begin to count the number of words he knows and he learns them so fast! We pretty much only have to say a word a couple times before he has it down. He’s also saying things a lot more clearly and properly. Sadly, Zach and I are now “Mommy and Daddy” . “Mama and Dada” are officially things of the past and I won’t lie and tell you it doesn’t hurt a little bit.  Missy is no longer “me me” but is “Missy! Moo!” just like I call her. Outside is no longer “side” but “Outside”, “Deck”, “Yard”, “Park” or wherever else he feels like telling me he wants to go.  Oh opinions, boy does he have them!  He also tries to sing which might be the cutest thing yet. His favorite songs are “Happy Birthday”, “Row Row Row Your Boat” and “The Hotdog Dance”.  He does, however, no longer want me to sing to him and says “NO!” every time I start.  So…..

He is my most favorite little errand runner. I am soaking up his love of shopping while I can, because I know it won’t last forever. He has a shopping cart that he loads up with all his toys and pushes around the house saying “shop!”.  Sometimes when he gets bored he will look at me and say “Car, bye bye, shop?” Who am I to turn that down?!

We’ve been to the zoo a couple times and while I don’t think he’s super into the animals quite yet, he does like to walk around and explore. Going on stroller-free walks is one of his favorite things but he also really likes to sit in his stroller and go on walks around the neighborhood with Missy too. I’ve been toying around with the idea of investing in a Bob stroller with some gift card money I’ll be getting from work, but I just don’t know…. I’m afraid he’s almost to the end of his stroller-loving time and then if we have another we’ll need a double. So, I’m still thinking.  Decisions, decisions.

The lake has also been a destination this year. I went over the 4^th of July weekend without Zach or David. I hung out with my brothers and sister in law and we just went on boat rides, floated in the lake, ate a crap ton of junk food and took it easy! While I sure missed the boys it was nice to just have a little bit of downtime. We went back a couple weeks ago and took David with us. Boy, does he like it! He plays with Vince and Sheena’s dog Max and swims and goes on boat rides. Last weekend when we were driving to the store he goes “Lake? Boat? Papa?” Little lake baby.

It’s crazy to think that summer is almost over. Zach’s already been busy getting ready for his job with the Chiefs and Nebraska games are just around the corner. It’s going to be just me and D for a while pretty soon, but I think we’ll manage. I’ve got lots of fall plans, but hopefully we can still get in a lot more fun summer stuff. I’ve yet to take him to the real pool, so I definitely want to get that in and maybe, just maybe another lake trip!

I’ll end with some of his currents:

Favorite Food: Toast (French or Jelly), mac n cheese, pb&j, cake (he calls it “happy” which might be my most favorite thing in the world

), cold green beans, corn, applesauce, cheese, crackers, and of course, cookies (which are still “coo-coo’s” ), cereal, blueberries and popsicles (“cop-i-co’s”)

Most Loved Toys: Shopping cart, vacuum, broom, ride-on turtle, cars, puzzles, sidewalk chalk, kitchen utensils (he loves to “cook”), Zach’s video game controllers and any random item he finds laying around. He really doesn’t play with his “toys” all that often actually….

Preferred Activities: Shopping, PLAYING OUTSIDE, going to the park, baths, playing with the hose, chasing the dogs, reading books, throwing things, collecting rocks, throwing tantrums

Sleep Stats: Goes to bed at 7:45 and now sleeps with a pillow along with his beloved be-be. Has been “sleeping in” until 6:30-7 most days which is ridiculously luxurious and I’m not even kidding.  Naps are usually from 12:30 to 2.  When he wakes up he will tell us he is “wake” or “up” and when I try to tell him it’s time to go to bed he says “no! wake!” however once we lay him down he falls right asleep without protest.

I'd really like to try and updated this thing a little more often. I'm toying around with a few ideas, but we'll see. I need just a few more hours in the day....

Summer Vacation

Last weekend we took our first family "vacation" to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Zach's sister was getting married that Saturday but we drove up on Thursday so we'd have a whole day to do stuff, just the three of us before all the family festivities started. 

We left really early in the morning and David was an absolute DREAM in the car. He mostly slept. We only had to stop two times during the 8 hour drive. We let him play at a McDonalds Playplace the first time (Ew. Yuck. But, he had fun...) and then we had some lunch I had packed at a rest stop in Iowa (I must say, Iowa rest stops are pretty darn nice actually). Otherwise he was perfectly content in the car! It was great!!  

We got in around 3:00 and checked into our hotel which was located in downtown St. Paul, right across from the Excel center. We got settled into the room and then wandered around a bit outside before stopping for some snacks at a coffee house. We also entertained ourselves by throwing baby washcloths at David. He seemed to enjoy it.

 

For dinner that night we met up with Zach's Dad, Step-Mom, Uncle, Cousin and the Bride & Groom for dinner at a local place called Bonfire. I had a really good pasta dish with blackened chicken and extra yummy sangria.

The next morning David woke up in his pack & play around 6am so I reached over and grabbed him and put him in bed with us, thinking that we'd be up for good any minute. Turns out that little muffin just settled himself right in and slept until EIGHT THIRTY! An all-time David record. It was fantastic, I can't even tell you. So after a great night of rest we headed out first thing to get some breakfast and hit up the Minnesota Children's Museum.

 

 

Zach's uncle suggested we try Mickey's Diner, which he said was a "Minnesota institution". It was right down the block from our hotel and even closer to the Museum so we gave it a go. Oh my. It was old. Olddddddd.  We luckily got a "booth" and placed our orders. I tried to ignore the fact that everything looked kind of, um, dirty? I got the pancakes to split with David and Zach got a ham and cheese omelet. The omelet was good but the pancakes were AMAZING. Oh my goodness, they were so good. Possibly the best I've had. Worth the health risk ;)

 

The Children's Museum was also amazing. It came highly recommended and lived up to the hype. It was huge! Four floors and countless galleries for kids of all ages to just go crazy in. I wondered how David would do and he jumped right in. His favorites were the grocery store where he got his own cart to load up, the water room, the city bus and the restaurant where he was absolutely thrilled to find both a broom AND a mop. After several hours of hard core playing we headed back to the hotel for lunch and nap. We ALL crashed out for nearly three hours!!! Vacation is the best!

 

 That evening, Zach's family got into town and we all met up at the hotel restaurant for some drinks and appetizers. Grandma and Grandpa wanted a little David time so they sent Zach and I off in their new convertible to explore the Cities for a bit!  We headed over to Minneapolis and drove through the college to an area called St. Anthony Main (another Uncle Jay suggestion! 2 for 2!) where we did some people watching and had some really good burgers, fries and spiked lemonade. My kind of place! We didn't stay out late as we were trying not to keep David up TOO far past his bed time since the only time he really got cranky during the whole trip was right before bed.  

We got to sleep in AGAIN Saturday morning and met his mom downstairs for some breakfast before trying to decide what to do for the day. The weather was a little threatening and VERY humid so we thought about hitting up "the mall" but realized it didn't open until just an hour before lunch/nap time so we passed and just walked along the river for a bit. We took another LONG nap (have I mentioned how awesome vacation was?!) before getting ready for the wedding!

The wedding was about a half hour away in a town called Forest Lake. It was supposed to be in the back yard of the groom's parents house but it was pouring rain. Just a total monsoon! After a lot of back and forth they finally made the call to have the ceremony at the reception site, a golf course clubhouse down the road. By the time everyone got there the sky was blue and the birds were chirping. Isn't that how it always goes?! The wedding was nice, very simple and we all had a lot of fun. David and his cousin Jude (just 4 months younger than D) ran around outside like crazy goons and at one point I had to literally sprint across the fairway to catch a runaway David. We couldn't stay long because the little guy had officially reached the end of his very patient rope and was demanding a reasonable bedtime. So, we headed back and hit the hay.

We packed up and left first thing Sunday morning so we could get home to the dogs in time for dinner.  David, once again, did great in the car! This time we stopped 3 times and I had to sit in back for a little bit to keep him occupied before lunch but all in all he was a total dream. We had a GREAT time and it was just what we needed. 

Congrats Alicia and Michael!!

(also, I found a new free photo editing site. I kind of went a little crazy.Newbie alert! #sorrynotsorry ;))

Ninteen Months

Hey! Here's what's been up!

Memorial Day weekend we took our first trip to the lake as a family. We didn't go last year because I was terrified of throwing off Davids very fragile sleep schedule (nervous new mom alert!). And also because I didn't want to haul All The Stuff.  Little did I know that toddlers require nearly the same amount of Stuff. We only spent one night and the entire Escape was packed to the gills. Zach nearly lost it when he saw all the bags.  Heh.  ANYWAY. We had a good time and David really liked the lake. He got a little car sick on the way down, but there are a lot of hills and his seat is still rear-faced so I'm not too surprised. I'm just happy that he didn't actually "get sick"...

The most exciting part was checking out my dads new boat! He had to sell his original boat when I was born because it was during a horrible heat wave and they needed to put AC in our house. (I was such a jerk!) But anyway, 32 years later he has his boat and boy howdy, him and my brothers are on cloud nine about it. We thought David would be afraid of it for sure, but instead he curled up on my lap and fell asleep. Every time. Alright then! He also loved hanging out on the deck and taking trips down to the dock. He did not however, like sleeping in his pack n play and ended up in our bed for the first time in his life that night. It was certainly adorable but we are definitely not making a habit of that. I hardly slept a wink! We aren't sure when our next trip down will be, but I hope it's soon!

This past Sunday we took our first trip to the zoo for the year. I have very mixed feelings about the zoo, but we knew he'd like seeing the animals, so we got the Friends of the Zoo pass and plan to go several times this summer. He was pretty excited about the monkey's and thought the polar bear was alright (I think it's the saddest thing I've ever seen....) but really, he got most excited about the playground. Figures!!  He did seem to like the train ride though. Definitely did NOT like the carrousel. He kept saying "out. out. out" haha! We'll try again a little later I think.

He continues to talk up a storm, adding new words every day. He plays with his cars, trucks and "tractors" a lot more now and likes to line them all up on the coffee table. He adores Missy and the cat (almost a little too much). He always has to know where our toes and shoes are. At all times. He likes hanging out with Zach in the garage and finally worked up enough nerve to go on his first tractor ride this week. Now he's hooked. His hair also seems to get more blonde by the second. It is the craziest thing to me. He's just darn adorable right now. While the tantrums are starting to kick into gear, he's mostly the sweetest thing and I love the little person he's becoming more and more each day.

The next couple weeks are going to be big ones. Tomorrow we are going to Lee's Summit Downtown Days for my birthday (corn dog and funnel cake for dinner? Yes, I think so!) then we head out on our first road trip that isn't to grandma's house. Hotel stays and all. Then the biggest change of all comes after that when we switch his daycare. He's going from a center to an in-home. I am very anxious about the transition for him, but I know it's for the best so let's all cross our fingers he does well.

OH! And David is mostly excited that we can finally share that he's going to be a big cousin x2 this fall! My brother Vince and his wife Sheena are expecting their first and Zach's brother Josh and his wife Amanda are expecting their second! Hooray!

Till next time!!

one and a half

David at a year and a half in snippits:

-Has the most ticklish feet.

-Is getting really good at eating with a spoon.

-Fell at daycare and chipped the corner off his front tooth.

-Doesn't like having crumbs on his tray.

-Needs to be rocked completely to sleep again.

-Favorite foods are mac & cheese, crackers, bananas, French toast, pasta, grilled cheese and "coo coo's" (cookies).

 -Least favorite food is any kind of meat

 -Will sometimes eat peas and green beans. Almost always eats his fruit.

 -Has started trying to climb things.

 -Loves to color, especially when I let him sit on the stool at the counter like a big guy.

 -Loves saying "hi" and "bye". To everyone.

 -Would spend every waking second outside if we’d let him. 

-The broom and vacuum have been replaced by mowers and tractors (riding lawn mowers) as his most favorite things ever.

-Makes the BEST “surprised” face when I tell him something exciting

-Can tell the difference between my stuff and Zach's stuff and will point it out constantly.

-In 2T shirts (some 3T!), 18 month pants, has outgrown all his sleepers (again) and wears a size 7 shoe.

-Likes to eat Cherrios or Kix while snuggling in the recliner with me every morning.

 

-Loves going to the park.

-Has an apparent fear of crowds.

-Might have the sweetest sounding "no" there ever was.

-Goes to bed at 7:45pm. Wakes up at 6:15am. 

-Has his fake laugh down pat. The fake cry too. 

-Is crazy fun to be around.

Stats:

Weight: 27lbs 3oz (67%)

Height: 35" (98%)

And the most exciting news this month?!  Zach GRADUATED!! We are so proud! (and very excited to have more Dada time in the evenings!)

You can read Zach's blog here

David - 17 Months Old

I wasn't really planning on doing monthly updates after he turned one, but he's just changing and growing so fast I want to keep all the memories I can....

He’s ridiculously tall.  He’s grown like a weed the past few weeks. Pants I just bought about a month ago are already too short and every single one of his long sleeve shirts now barely cover his belly.  Literally overnight, all of his pajamas were suddenly too small and I had to rush out to get new ones.  At his ear check last week he was 28 pounds 2 ounces.  

He takes some time to warm up to new places and people. He likes to sit on my lap until he’s got the lay of the land down and then he wants to go, go, go. The daycare girls are always commenting on how sweet he is.  He’s very happy and mellow until something makes him mad. He has absolutely inherited his father’s stubbornness. The second you tell him “no” he wants do to it a thousand times more and will try and try and try again until either a huge temper tantrum erupts, or he gets his way.  So persistent, which is not something I’m used to because I am more of the goodie-two-shoed type.

His most favorite things in the world are brooms, shovels and the vacuum. Still. I went out and got him a toy vacuum, but he’s not really thrilled with it. He likes his toy broom a lot better and demands it every time we go downstairs to let the dogs out. However, he still very much would prefer to use the grown-up ones.  He loves to color and play with play doh. I keep both in the dining room closet and at least a couple times a day he goes to the door, signs “please” and asks to “duh-lor” or “doh doh”.  We sit him at the kitchen table and he goes to town. He loses interest pretty quick, but I love that he wants to be creative.  Since the weather has been nicer we’ve been going outside a lot more and he just can’t get enough. We need some more outside toys, stat! The little boy across the street is a year older and has all the cool toys (don’t they all…). He even took David for a ride in his Power Wheels Jeep! He loved it.  He’s discovering climbing and can get on top of his toy chest with no problem. He still can’t get up on the couch, but tries hard. He also has started trying to climb the baby gates (!!!) I’m not quite sure what to do about that one… I just keep hoping and praying he doesn’t learn to climb out of his crib for a good, long time! He's all boy and loves to be all kinds of rough and tumble. I am his own personal jungle gym right now and he finds it wildly hilarious when I pretend to hit my head on something.

In the past couple weeks his talking has really taken off. I can’t even list all the “words” he knows. He can or will try to repeat back anything that we say to him. He’s fascinated with body parts and frequently likes to go around the room pointing out everyone’s eyes, then everyone’s noses, then their toes, etc. He is careful to include the dogs and cat too.  The daycare girls say he chats all day long and right now he really likes saying “hi” to everyone and waving.  He’s also started giving kisses. He’s very selective with his kiss giving though. Most of the good ones go to Dada right now. I get the cold shoulder lots of times. No fair!

 

We went through a bit of a rough patch with sleep a couple weeks ago.  Before the time change happened we went through a week or so of him waking up a half hour earlier each day. We maxed out at 4:15am. The time change saved us a little bit but it was still a good week before he would sleep past 6 again. He still is waking up a little earlier than what was previously normal but I will take 6:15 over 4:30 any day. I’m wondering if he’s starting to have night terrors because he’ll sometimes wake up and immediately start screaming and I will see him “running” back and forth in his crib on the video monitor. As soon as I go in and pick him up, he immediately falls back asleep. I just really hope we don’t have a sleep walker on our hands. He still takes one nap a day from about 12-2 and sometimes he’ll zonk out for a little bit in the mid-morning too, if he’s really tired. We don’t mind the extra cuddles though. 

Food continues to be an adventure. I know I'm lucky because he loves to eat, however he mostly loves to eat things like crackers, cheese, macaroni, more cheese and more crackers. Basically, if it's yellow-orange, he will down it in no time flat. He also loves oranges, yogurt, bananas and of course, cookies. Not so fond of peaches, meat, rice, oatmeal, eggs, vegetables of any sort except sometimes he'll eat green beans.  We are trying peanut butter for the first time this week, so I'm hoping he likes that and we can start sneaking in some protein that way.  And when he won't eat any vegetables? I give him one of those organic pouch baby foods with the fruit and veggies mixed. He LOVES them. I figure it's something, right?!

Basically, I love this age. I cannot get enough of it. He's growing so fast and testing his independence a little more each day. It's both making my heart soar and break, all at the same time. I love this little muffin more than I ever could have imagined and I cannot wait to see what is next. 

The adventure continues....

Four

Today, Ted turns 4.  I love that Teddery Dude.