Things That Make Me Smile

Videos like this from daycare:


Dancing from Kelly Walker on Vimeo.

Seeing Andrew cuddling his duck on the monitor when I wake up:

His insane bedhead:

Watching my pineapple get bigger:

My little munchkin cracking himself up:


So apparently screaming is funny from Kelly Walker on Vimeo.


And the fact that it's Friday!  Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Wiggle Love

We haven't been ones to sit our kid down in front of the tv to keep him occupied. Not that I think a kid watching tv is the end of the world - we just didn't have anything that seemed to interest him.  He really doesn't pay any attention to it when it's on with the news or whatever sport we are watching at the moment.

That all changed once The Wiggles came on.

Andrea had mentioned that he likes the music if they put a Wiggles video on at daycare. (No - they don't use tv to babysit the kids at daycare - they sometimes put on a video with music in the playroom during playtime).  Anyway, this past weekend I set our DVR to record some of them to see what would happen.

This is what happened:

For a good 10 minutes he sat transfixed by the singing and dancing Australians.  It was pretty comical to see him watching it. And when a song started up he "danced" around to the music.

So yeah - I don't plan on using the television to keep my kid entertained for hours on end, but if it gives me 15 minutes to get some dinner started or the dishwasher unloaded (without the munchkin "helping") I'll take it.  If only those songs weren't so annoying...

Wordless Wednesday ~ 15 Months of Awesome

15 Months!

Seriously cannot believe that the little munchkin is 15 months old.  Where has the time gone???

(He seems to be getting over his intense hatred of shoes)

Age:  15 Months

Stats:  I'll find out his real stats tomorrow at his 15 month appt, but I'm guessing he's pushing 25 lbs and 31.5"
UPDATE: Here are his stats for 15 months:
Weight: 23 lbs 10 oz (37th percentile)  He dropped down from 46th at 12 months and has only gained 18 oz in 3 months.
Height: 31 inches (48th percentile)  Down from 66th at 12 months. I don't think this was very accurate and want to measure him myself here.
Head:  19 inches. Not sure on the percentile because the nurse had him marked at 18 inches and the doctor remeasured since his head would have had to have shrunk for that to be right.

Size (diapers, clothes, etc.):  I believe we are nearing the end of the size 3 diapers.  They still fit fine and he doesn't leak (much), but I've started doing a 4 for overnights because holy hell can this kid pee a lot in his sleep!  12 month onesies still fit and some 12 month rompers, but for the most part I have him in 18 month ones. All 18 month pajamas because he's too long for the others.  The 18 month shorts are ridiculously huge on him, though.  Oh, and a few weeks ago I put him in a swim trunks from last summer (6 month size) and they fit over his diaper but were pretty short - I thought it was pretty hysterical.  :)

Sleeping:  On weeknights he sleeps ~ 10.5 hours at night (we wake him up at 7:00) with one long nap in the afternoon. Some days he has still been asleep when I pick him up at 5:00 after going down for a nap at 1:00.  On weekend nights we let him sleep in the morning til he wakes up and he normally goes for 12 hours or so. Still only one nap, but normally not as long as at daycare.  Two hours is about his max on the weekends.

Eating:  He's getting better about eating, but is still nowhere near what some of the other babies I see out there.  He's a big fan of oatmeal, pancakes (with peanut butter on them), french toast sticks, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fruit loops, yogurt bites, strawberry newtons, and cheesy puffs.  He is starting to do better drinking milk out of a sippy cup so we're at least making some progress.  I'm interested to see what the pedi has to say tomorrow about his eating.

Milestones:  Two of his 1 year molars made an appearance this past weekend (with lots of crabbiness to go with them!).  Still NOT walking or standing independently, though.  He cruises, he climbs, he crawls like a madman, but he doesn't have any interest in walking.  He's babbling even more than before and he's started trying to repeat words after us sometimes.  

New adventures:  He had his first time really playing in the sand at the beach this month (he's not sure if he's a fan yet) and we've broken out his baby pool which he seems to love.

Favorite toys and activities:  He's finally started putting things into things so now he loves the little plastic dumptruck I got for him since he can put the blocks in the back and dump them out.  He also loves the stacking rings since he's figured out to put them on.  I think his very favorite things are cars that he can push around (he will push them all over the house) and he likes the foam letters during bathtime (he's even started putting them into the little bath toy bin).

What I'm looking forward to:  We're taking a little vacation to the mountains of NC next month around my mom's birthday. That will be our first vacation with the  munchkin in tow - should be interesting.

"Dut"

What the hell is "dut" you ask?  Well, that is Andrew's attempt at saying "duck".  See for yourself:

I've been a little bit worried because I read about all these other babies that already seem to have a full vocabulary (Dude - I so need to stay off The Bump) and our little munchkin doesn't say much more than 'mama' and 'dada'.

I have felt like a bad mommy for not working with my kid more and getting him to talk.  His 15 month appt is this Wednesday (Jesus! How is this kid already 15 months old?!?) and I worry that Dr. Graham is going to wonder what's wrong with  my non-walking and non-talking kid.  To be fair, it's not like he is silent. He babbles constantly, but I can't understand a damn thing he's saying.  He seems quite content with his conversations, however.

On Saturday I was playing with him and his big stuffed duck.  When I said duck he repeated "dut" after me.  I can't even tell you how happy I was that he was trying to repeat after me.  I'm not 100% sure that he associates it with his yellow fluffy friend, but I'll take it.

At the very least he is repeating after us.  Now I just need to get J to clean up his potty mouth before the munchkin repeats another "-uck" word.

Good News (I Guess)

This morning on my way in to work I went to Nason Medical Center to have my foot looked at. I considered just going to Doctor's Care (AKA Doc in a Box) but decided that Nason is a little more high tech and a lot less skeezy.

Got there right at 8:00 when they open and by 8:45 my foot was being x-rayed.

Right around that joint above my middle toe is where it hurts.  As in hurts-to-touch-my-foot hurts.  The doctor gave it a little squeeze and I almost kicked him in the face.

Anyway, there is no break (at least not one visible on the x-ray) so they diagnose me with a nice case of tendinitis.  A prescription for some Anaprox and orders to "take it easy" and I was out the door.  I'm supposed to only do low impact things for a while until it heals.  And he said when it starts to feel a little better don't take that as a sign that I can get back to running. I guess I'm supposed to be pain free before I do that.

Damn.

There goes all the progress I'd made with my mileage the last month or so.  I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get through the next however many weeks without being able to run or do some good hard cardio. I already feel like a slug and it's only been a week.  Maybe it's time to look in to using the pool at one of the other locations for my gym.  Maybe I can squeeze in some laps between all their geriatric water aerobics classes.

Stupid tendons...

I Overdid It

I think it's official - I've pushed too hard with my running.

At the beginning of the year I set the goal to run at least 50 miles per month.  I've done great so far (except January when for some reason I was a slack-ass and only ran 30) and started out June with a bang.  The first week I ran 21 miles and then last week I got in 16.  Of course in all my enthusiasm for making up some mileage and creating a buffer I decided to ignore the somewhat dull ache in my right foot.

As of last Friday I could no longer ignore it and it was no longer just a dull ache.

I finished up my 5 mile run with a noticeable limp.  By the time I got home there was no denying that something was wrong.  I spent the rest of Friday night limping around trying not to put much pressure on it.  I had some trouble sleeping that night because it hurt, but I'm a glutton for punishment and still got up and did a 21 mile bike ride with some friends on Saturday morning (the only reason I did was because I could pedal without pressing down with the sore part of my foot).  I spent the rest of the weekend (and this week) trying not to hurt it any further all the while taking ibuprofen and crossing my fingers that it would heal itself.

Now here we are almost a week later and it hasn't gotten any better.  I've been wearing flip flops at work when I'm upstairs in the office.  If I have to go downstairs where people will see me I put on real shoes, but when I'm walking around upstairs I don't want to be walking around in heels.

I haven't been to the doctor yet because I'm not sure what they can do for me besides tell me to rest and stay off of it as much as possible.  Of course I've been seeking the advice of Dr. Google and I'm about 85% certain that I have a stress fracture in my foot.  Awesome.

According to this I should rest for 6-8 weeks to let it heal.  I am, in a word, bummed.  I had been doing so well with my mileage and was ahead of where I needed to be and now I can't do anything.  I can't even go to the gym and do the elliptical because it hurts too damn much.  I feel like an absolute slug from not getting to do any cardio and it's killing me.  I am going to try to ride a stationary bike today and see if that feels ok.

I know I need to let it heal and then ease myself back in, but I know that once it does feel better I am going to be so tempted to go right back to running (and running hard).

So yeah - I pushed too hard and now I'm paying for it.  This sucks.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Giant Berry? Or Tiny Pepper??

Toddle Along Tuesday ~ Dear Andrew

This week's topic for Toddle Along Tuesday is a letter to your kid in the future.  Even though I sometimes still have trouble picturing my little munchkin as a grown up I know that he is growing and changing every day, so in the future I would like him to read this:

Dear Andrew,

First and foremost I want you to know that I love you as much today as I did the day you came into our lives.  Watching you grow has been the greatest pleasure of my life.  As you embark on your future adventures in life there is some advice that I would like to give to you.

Be kind.  Be kind to others and be kind to yourself.  You have such a big heart and I love to see you use it.

Relax.  As an almost 15 month old you were constantly on the go.  I love that you are active, but I also want you to take the time to enjoy life around you.  There is so much that you can miss if you don't sit back and take it all in every once in a while.

Love.  And when you do, do it with your whole heart. I know it can be scary sometimes and it's hard to let people in, but when you find the person that is right I hope you will give your all.  You have so much love to give and I know it is going to be one very lucky lady that gets to be on the receiving end of it.

Last of all - smile.  I know sometimes you might feel like you have nothing to smile about, but I can promise you that you do.  Know that your smile has the power to not only change your mood but also that of those around you.  There's nothing so bad in life that a smile can't make it at least a little bit better. I know that even on my worst days seeing your smile has made everything a little brighter.

You are an amazing person, Andrew, and I love you more than you will ever know.  I am excited to see what your future holds because I just know it's going to be something great.

I love you forever and always,
Mommy

(Just a little reminder of your infectious smile)  :)

So - do you have something that you would like your little one to read 10, 15 or even 20 years in the future? Head on over to Growing Up Geeky and link up!

Weekend Recap

I suck about getting on the computer over the weekend so I never have any posts while we're doing all our fun stuff.  Instead you will have to settle for a giant photo dump this Monday morning...

Friday the in-laws got into town and we went out to dinner, which I thought would be a total trainwreck since we didn't go until almost 7:00 (munchkin's bathtime), but he did amazingly well.

Saturday morning J did his 70 mile bike ride and I was able to join some friends for a (comparatively) easy 21 mile ride.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to go due to my foot, but that's a story for another day.  I was back at 9:45 and the munchkin was still asleep - the bonus of not getting him to bed until 9:45 the night before.

After J got home and showered we woke the munchkin up to head to the beach. The in-laws opted to stay at the house since his dad forgot shorts (who comes to Charleston in June and doesn't bring shorts???) and his mom hates to sweat.

Anyway, when we first got there Andrew was not having anything to do with the sand and I thought the beach trip might be short lived.  Thankfully he started to acclimate after a little while:

He spent a little time digging in the sand with his daddy.  And he even let me put a hat on him without instantly taking it off:

After a while he started crawling around and took off towards the water:

I love the trail he is leaving behind him

Those are all of our tents that you see in the background.  Clearly we were there with a bunch of fellow parents - we don't travel light!

He watched daddy play with the water for a bit.

We stayed at the beach for almost 4 hours which is way longer than I thought we would last.  After a nap at home for him we got ready and went to dinner with his parents.  Then I dropped them off at home and his mom gave Andrew his bath and put him down for the night while I went back and joined J and some friends for an evening out (it's his friend Mike's 40th birthday tomorrow so a bunch of people came in to town).

For Father's Day we just hung out around the house mostly.  We were going to go join our friend's at the pool, but Andrew went down for a nap and by the time he got up they were all out there and drunk and J had too much work to get done so we had a relaxing day at home.  Andrew "helped" his daddy open his gift:

We got him an NC State cornhole game.  If the munchkin ever decides to get up and walk maybe he can play with his daddy.

Then we set his pool up in the yard and let him have some playtime:

I did some laundry while Andrew hung out with his daddy (my mother-in-law somehow managed to put his diaper on backwards Saturday night so his entire crib was soaked. How he didn't wake up from that is beyond me.)  All in all it was another great and way too fast weekend.  Now it's back to the grind and counting the days until we can do it all again.