Santa visit

18 mos, 3 weeks

We made our (now annual tradition) visit to Crown Center to see Santa over the weekend. We went early thinking we'd miss the rush, but that wasn't exactly the case. Luckily we had Grandma, Grandpa and Grammie all there to help us chase Brock around while the others waited in line. All that running wore him out a bit and we could tell he was starting to get tired as we neared the actual entrance.

Once we got inside the Santa 'area', they have a little play area/obstacle course. Brock totally got a 2nd wind  and was in Heaven with all the play stuff. He was climbing up, sliding down, and crawling through just about everything there. He was having a total blast and we hated having to pull him away from it to actually do what we came to do. So the big moment...Santa time!

I was totally convinced he'd freak out. He loved the dressed up Snowman and Penguin from a couple of weeks ago, but they weren't holding him. We tried the whole 'ohhhh, let the Jayhawk hold you and take a picture' thing and that did not go so well. We had been talking about Santa all week and talking about giving him a hug trying to prepare him. So there was all this build up for him to either love him or hate him. What we didn't really think about....was what if he was just kind of  'eh' about him?

And that was the case. He didn't love him by any means. But he didn't really cry. He was just kind of weirded out and wanted down. So, we didn't really get any good crying Santa pics or even any good smiling pics. Here is one I took on my phone that probably best shows the experience:

After his big fall a couple of weeks ago, and this little goopy eye drama we were fighting, we hadn't had a good time to work on our Christmas card picture. Last year's picture was sort of an unexpected success (see below), so I felt like we had to do it justice this year.

No just plain 'old look at the camera and smile pictures. That's just not our style. The cards just went out yesterday so I can't give away the whole thing, but here is a sneak peak of at least his outfit.

We are in full holiday mode at Casa de Barbosa. We have almost all of the Christmas presents bought and wrapped and really, other than a few minor temptations, Brock has been really good about not messing with them. I think since he doesn't realize the whole 'you unwrap that stuff and get a present concept' just yet, they aren't appealing to him. We put on Christmas music (uh hum, Justin Bieber Christmas) and Brock just jams out! Since it's a little more 'upbeat' he loves to dance to it.

He's adding new words daily. Some that we teach him and some he's picking up on his own. He can now name: Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Minnie from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and he's added 'Hook' to his list of Jake characters. He can finally say 'man' for Snowman (still the occasional Halloween), and Santa when he sees Santa.

Right now his favorite movie is Shrek the Halls. He loves Shrek and Donkey! He barely even notices his beloved Puss in Boots! Luckily it's only 30 mins (with commercials) so I don't mind letting him watch it before bed. He likes to lay in front of my on the couch and have me scratch his belly. He'll lay down and once he thinks about it, he'll point to his stomach and say 'belly'. Sometimes he'll even move my hands to his belly and try and get me to scratch. It's so cute!

Thanksgiving

18 months, 1 week

It has been an absolutely insane week at work and home after the short holiday week so I apologize for the late blog!

First let's start with Brock's 18 month check up last week:
Height: 32" - 50%
Weight: 28 lbs - 94%
Head - still a solid 90%
No shots and the doctor was floored by his vocabulary!

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful! We had lunch at Judy and Gary's with Judy's family, then dinner at my mom's. We were STUFFED! We thought Brock would be so excited about the food, but all he really ate was bread! LOL! His nap schedule was all thrown off so each meal was right after waking up and he was just not in the mood for anything that was on a spoon or wasn't in the form of a roll.

Nick and I ventured to Toys R Us after dinner to check out some deals on a few gifts we had in mind for Brock for Christmas. The line was around the building, but it was very organized and calm and we were in and out in 30 minutes! I was a little unsure about my feelings on stores being open ON Thanksgiving, but I would definitely do it again. It was late enough that everyone had plenty of time to spend with family.

Friday we put up our Christmas tree and all our indoor decorations. It just makes the house so cozy and warm. Brock LOVES the tree. He looks at it and says 'lights' and points to his favorite ornament. It's a Baby's First Christmas ornament with a picture of him in it from last year! LOL! He points to it and says 'Brockie' or 'Bear' because there is a bear on top of it. So cute! He's been pretty good about not touching the tree. I made him his own felt tree with felt ornaments to play with - yeah, he just tries to rip it off the wall. We are working on getting him ready for Christmas. He still calls everything 'Halloween' - snowmen, anything Christmas related, he calls it 'Halloween'.

My dad and Pat came up Saturday morning and we went to the aquarium in Crown Center to see what the fuss was all about. I have to say, it was incredibly overpriced in my opinion for what you see. However, they did have Santa 'diving' in their big tank and that was very cool and festive! Brock LOVED the 'pishies' so it was definitely fun to see him take it all in. He'd say 'Bye pishies' when we left each room or fish area.

After the 'pishies', we went across to the Crown Center shops for lunch at Fritz's. It was a zoo! However, they had a big snowman, penguin and Crayola crayon dressed up at the front. Brock totally loved the snowman and penguin. As we were leaving, the penguin knelt down and we told Brock to go give it a hug. And boy did he ever. He gave him the longest, most awkward, never-ending hug! It was hilarious and so cute that he wasn't scared of him!

 The poor penguin didn't know what hit him!

The snowman or 'Halloween' as Brock calls it

I got a terrible cold all weekend so Sunday we just went to breakfast and my parents headed back home while we all crashed hard at our house. This week has been busy with a visit to Grammie's on Tuesday, dinner with Suni, Brian, Jax and Blue Belle on Wednesday and the Prairie Village Christmas tree lighting with Kristin and Madison last night. We are ready for a nice quiet weekend at home!

Brock is finally giving real 'hugs' now and most of the time says 'awwwww' when he does it. Melts my heart! He has moved to the 'big boy' cots at daycare after climbing out of the pack and play last week so the adjustment has left him a little more tired than normal. He'll be fine all night, then just hit a wall and if you tell him no on one thing, it sets off this absolute hysterical melt down. Monday night was the first night it happened and we got him to calm down by Mommy rocking him to sleep. I sat there long after he fell asleep just taking in his sweet face. He doesn't let us hold him that long anymore so I savor every second of it!

We had our first big boo-boo today at daycare. He fell on the outdoor basketball court and scratched his lip,  nose and cheek, along with having a huge fat lip. When I saw the picture I just lost it and started bawling at my desk! His perfect little face looked so damaged! Luckily, he's been acting fine and in 18 months with that wild animal, we are lucky this is the first big mishap. Cynthia is wonderful and loves him so much so I  know she took wonderful care of him after it happened. It was just hard on Mommy not being there to kiss it all better.

Man in charge

17 months, 3 weeks

Brock may have gotten many of his daddy's physical traits, but we've suspected for awhile he got a lot of mommy's personality. The sass, the bossy pants and sadly, the temper. He's a strong willed little dude and he knows what he wants. It's been so fun to watch his personality just get bigger and bigger as he grows.

Now it seems he's taking his 'bossy pants' role to the next level. As he's become more verbal, he is getting more demanding. A few weeks ago, we started a small 'dance party' in the living room. He still has his favorite song (Some Nights' by the group FUN) and we turned it on and him and I danced to it. Now he asks for either the 'song' in the car or he asks for it at home, then sticks out his arms and gets upset if I don't get up to dance with him. So we have our little dance party and laugh and wiggle around and he thinks it's just the best.

He also likes to push mommy around the house now. He just started this little gem this week. I was standing between the living room and dining room when he said 'coming' and came up behind me, put his little arms on the back of my legs and started pushing me toward the living room. Last night he was just wanting to push me all over the house. I have no clue where it came from, but it's pretty hilarious.

He has reached the stage where he just becomes fixated on things. Case in point - Puss in Boots 'Meows' that we get asked to watch repeatedly. Now he has learned how to say 'again' and he'll ask 'again' whenever you are doing something he likes. Last night, it was riding on Nick's leg up and down over and over. Night before last it was going up in the air with his stomach on my feet and flying like Superman.

I have an awesome video of him reading off some of the animals in his animal picture book, but being as completely technology clueless as I am, I can't figure out how to get it from my phone and onto the computer. It's just a little too long for email and Facebook so it may just stay on my phone forever!

He has 2 top molars that have come through in the last week explaining his waking up in the middle of the night fussing and crying lately. It got so bad last Friday night, he woke up in the middle of the night and was standing up in his crib just screaming bloody murder. We put him in bed with us and he fell back asleep. After a couple hours of kicks in the face, Daddy was done so we put him back in his own room.

As mentioned last week, Brock had his first haircut on Saturday
and it went really well. Ok, it went good. We were so happy with the results! It looks so much better  He didn't mind the haircut too much until she got out the electric razor around his ears and on his neck. He started crying and trying to duck away at that point. It made for some pretty funny pictures! Here are some before and after pics:

Before: check the wings and wildness (which I loved)

After: still have those beautiful curls, but cleaned up (Daddy loves)

Halloween and then some

17 months, 3 weeks

I know, Halloween was over a week ago. Clearly I'm way behind on this one!! So, we'll do a little update (with lots of pics)!!

Halloween was a great success! Brock's homemade Bamm Bamm costume came out perfectly! He looked so adorable and we got so many compliments on it! We started the afternoon trick or treating at my office. He really got the hang of picking candy out of the bowl and putting it into his bag. What he didn't quite understand, was just 1 piece! LOL! We left my office and went to see Great Grandma Elsie for a bit. He learned where her secret stash of cookies are - watch out!

We had a big night planned with trick or treating and then all of the girls and their kiddos coming over for some Halloween activities! Brock was a little out of sorts and being very 'clingy' to Mommy, but we decided to give it a go with trick or treating anyway. Brett, Kristin and Madison came to trick or treat with us, along with Aunt Mia, Grammie and Uncle Drew and Aunt Erin. When we first started out, both the kids were fussy and so not into it. But after a slight mishap (Brock fell and while trying to get up, fell back and hit his head on the sidewalk), we were finally in action. We hit about 4 houses around us and decided to call it good.

Once all the kids came, it was just the best kind of chaos ever! Toys all over the house, all the kids just having so much fun. Snacking, doing crafts, playing with each other so well and finally, watching 'Meows' which was probably the highlight of the night for Brock and Carter (who was dressed as Puss in Boots). It was a great night overall! Here are some pictures:

Trying on his costume. The only way we could get him to stand still was giving him Daddy's phone.

Trick or Treating shots!

Pebbles and Bamm Bamm

 The whole gang! Madison James, Carter Bucl, Marlee Hugunin, Tripp and Charlie Herman, Jackson Bucl, Brock and Carter Hugunin

 Below are 2 pictures from last year to this year. Hilarious to compare the 2 with the same kiddos!

Halloween 2011: Madison (duck), Marlee (dinosaur), Carter (dinosaur), Brock (bat)

Halloween 2012: Madison (ghost), Marlee (Pebbles), Brock (Bamm Bamm), Carter (Puss in Boots)

In other Brock news, it seems we've got another 'Mommy phase' starting. He's been very clingy and wanting Mommy a lot more lately. Again, I'm trying to soak it up, while also not encouraging it too much. I know I'll miss these moments, but I also want him to feel comfortable with other people. 

One of our new nighttime routines might be my favorite so far. I usually sing 'You Are My Sunshine' and 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' to Brock before I lay him down. I never thought he really paid much attention until this week when he started singing it before I did almost to remind me. So I sat down with him and we just sang to each other before I put him to bed. It was one of the sweetest moments.

He's such a rough and tumble boy that doesn't like to just snuggle very often. He just doesn't sit still long enough! But his little sleepy voice was so sweet and we just sang back and forth while he snuggled up to me. So we've started doing it every night. Usually it's just me and Brock, but now he wants to make sure Daddy stays in the room too. I know we will cherish these moments forever!

He has started really picking up on identifying things. He knows Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates), Mickey and Goofy - and he knows that each one of them is different and which is which. He also says 'Cookie' in a gruff 'Cooookie' Cookie Monster voice.

We have an animal picture book and he can now either name the animal or the sound it makes for the following animals: bunnies, pishes (fish), meow meow (cat), quack quack (duck), bawk bawk (chicken), moo (cow), whooo whoo (owl), rawr (tiger, lion or bear), and monkey. The one that puzzles us is dog. He knows dogs, that was one of his first words. He knows dogs when he hears them or sees them. But for some reason, he doesn't seem to recognize the dog in the book as a dog. It's pretty funny. 

Speaking of dogs, for some reason, Nick and I have called Oscar 'Little' for who knows how long. It was a random nickname that just kind of stuck with him. Well, now Brock calls him that too and has to say 'Bye Little' and pet him before we leave every morning. It's so cute!

We took him to the zoo last weekend and he just LOVED it! It seems every time he likes it more and more as he's really starting to understand the concept. I think his favorite part was probably the lions. He also learned how to say 'elephant'. 

In addition to adding more and more words, he's starting to speak in more multiple word sentences. We're also pretty sure he's added 'I want' into his vocabulary. Not clearly and not all the time, but there have definitely been some 'I want X' moments. He has really started learning to respond to questions also. 'Yeah and ok' are constant responses and it's so cute! I don't think he totally understands it yet but when you ask him a question, he knows that requires a response.

He's getting his first haircut this weekend and this mommy is a little sad. His wild and crazy curls fit his personality so much! I'm going to be sure and tell them not to cut them ALL off. But, Daddy's been pushing for a haircut for awhile now. And when his hair is wet, it is getting pretty long (we're talking hanging over the ears and down his back long). It's just so cute when it's all wild and curly!

Fabulous Fall weekend

17 months, 1 week

We had a wonderful weekend filled with fall activities! On Saturday we went drove up to Weston, MO with Gary and Judy to visit the Weston Red Barn Farm. It was the cutest little farm with animals you could feed, tons of pumpkins and activities. Like last weekend, Brock mostly just wanted to run around like a crazy man in with all the free space to roam. We ate lunch in Weston at a cute little small-town restaurant with greasy, delicious food and then headed home.

Judy was a life saver and helped me get Brock's Halloween costume started. The main part is complete and I learned not only how to sew using my sewing machine, but also how to hand sew! I would have never even gotten started if it weren't for her and now I feel comfortable using my machine!!

It's not fall in Prairie Village unless you've spent at least one full day raking and bagging up leaves in your yard. We have a huge tree in our backyard that has huge leaves and acorns that fall all over the place. Our front yard usually gets covered in everyone else's leaves before the leaves even fall off ours up there. So usually there are at least 3-4 days out of the fall that we are working on leaves, 1-2 of them being full day affairs.

Before Brock, Nick and I used to tackle it together. We have always had the 'we're a team' mentality (I had Team Colbosa engraved on the watch I gave him for our wedding) and this was no different. Neither of us really LOVED doing it, but it was better if we did it together. Well, for all of you out there with kids (especially toddlers) you know the days of having time to just tackle these household duties for however long it takes are long gone. We assumed our days of working on the yard together were a thing of the past. One of us (Nick) would have to be banished to the leaves while the other (me) would be entertaining Brock some other way.

We got the most pleasant surprise however this weekend. Trying to soak up some of the few nice days left this year, we decided to try and take Brock out with us. We would tackle the deck area and getting the yard prepped before lunch/naptime and then Nick could just mow up the rest in the afternoon. Phase 1 went better than expected! Not only did we get everything done, but Brock loved it! He was rolling around in the leaves, jumping in them, laying in them, just loving it. He was a filthy mess and didn't care at all.

Phase 2 didn't go as planned when the mower wouldn't start, so Brock and I came back out to lend a hand again. We spent the better part of the afternoon out there as a family working on the leaves. Brock would use his toy mower to mow the yard, or the small rake to help rake the leaves or sometimes just wander around the yard exploring.

It was definitely one of those 'take a mental picture' moments. I was so overcome with pride at how well we were able to both get work done while Brock entertained himself. We had become so used to one of us having to watch his every move that it was more of a relief than I realized when we could all be out there together, doing our part. At one point, I just stopped and looked around the yard and just smiled. It was so bittersweet because we most likely won't live in this house next year. As excited as we are to move into our next 'family' house, we will all be sad to leave our first home. But it was the perfect way to celebrate another season in that house, all working in the leaves together as a family.

Here is Brock walking through the leaf pile. As you can see, it's pretty tall and there were probably 7 piles this high!

In other news, Brock has become OBSESSED with the movie 'Cars'. The funny thing is, he's never seen it. A few weeks ago we were at Costco and they had 'Cars 2' on the TVs there and we stopped to watch maybe 5 minutes of it. Yet somehow, he can find any 'Cars' type memorabilia, point it out and say 'Cars'. He found a picture of the 'Cars' characters on a CAN OF SOUP at the grocery store. I'm talking one tiny can of soup in the middle of maybe a hundred other cans of soup. At first I didn't believe him, until I finally saw it! 

It looks like this movie may be in our near future to watch on repeat like we've been having to watch 'Puss in Boots' or the 'meows' for the last 2 weeks. I try not to let him watch much tv, but he walks in the living room, points to the TV and says 'meows'. We've tried putting in on something else but he just won't have it. He knows when it's the 'meows' and when it's not. I think we've created a monster with this one! Luckily he only watches maybe 10 minutes at a time before he gets distracted. 

17 month update

17 months

Since I've been terrible about really doing an update specific to each month, I thought I would use this one to try and capture all the things Brock has been up to. Some of it may be repeats from previous posts, but hopefully not too much!

- Clothes: wearing pretty much exclusively a 2T (pj's, shirts for sure, can fit 18 month pants). Just like us he's got short legs so his pants tend to run a little smaller
- Teeth: He still only has 8 (top and bottom 4) but I saw another one start to pop through this week on top
- Shoes: He's wearing a size 6 and  about to move up to a 7
- Foods: Still hates bananas, not a huge fan of meat in general but LOVES his carbs - breads, pastas, he'll pick those out first to eat
- He still only drinks milk or water - no juice or soda
- Words: Easily over 100 by now and starting to say more multiple word sentences. This week we added: 'let's go', 'stop it', and the biggest sentence yet 'now I know my' (from the ABC song)
- He likes to pick out his own shoes now. If I pick them out, he'll get excited at first (b/c it is shoes of course) but then gets upset as if he wants another pair. I let him pick his own this morning and he was so proud of himself. However, he then became indecisive and after those were on, wanted a different pair. God help us!
- He loves to sing and dance whenever he can
- He asks for TV shows by name - I swear, we don't let him watch much, but he asks for 'Mickey' in the morning and then 'Meows' (Puss in Boots) at night. Last night we let him watch the Meows and we turned it off when it was over, he was not happy. He really only watches for maybe 10 minutes at a time, but he wants it on for when he decides he's ready to focus again!
- He has become familiar with places now. Last week we drove to Nick's parents house and as we got down their street, Brock said 'Grandma'. As we turn down our street, he now says 'Candy' thanks to Daddy giving him candy every night when they get home. He says 'CC' when we pull up to Cynthia's house in the morning
- He's clearly a tech-baby: he knows how to scroll through the pictures on our phones and on our tablet
- He says all the grandparents names now: Grammie, Meme, Poppy, Grandma and Grandpa
- Every night he likes to press his light up turtle. It's become his goodnight ritual - he turns it on and off a few times, changes the colors, then we pry it out of his hands so he can go to sleep
- His bedtime is usually between 8-8:30 and he wakes up anywhere from 6:30-7:30 in the mornings. We don't hear even a peep out of him at night (we are so lucky). We had a pretty loud thunderstorm last weekend that even woke us up, he didn't even move.

As usual, he's just the coolest baby. He's so smart and so funny. He keeps us on our toes, but he's also so sweet. Love that little man more and more every day!

Here is a funny and appropriate shirt according to Mommy. A fun picture from this morning!

Baby genius

16 months, 3 weeks

WARNING: Major Mommy-bragging ahead. Read with caution

I know every parent thinks their kid is just the cutest, smartest and best kid out there. But they are all wrong, because clearly our son is the best. Only kidding! But for real, maybe it's being first time parents or just being normal parents in love with their kid, but we are totally convinced Brock is the smartest 16 month old on the planet!

Here are just a few examples of his clear genius status:
- As mentioned last week, the kid can count to 5 (now again, not from 1-5, but he knows what sequence they go in and says '2', sometimes '3' and '5' if you start counting)
- He has a favorite song - no joke. The song 'Some Nights' by the group Fun. That song comes on the radio and his face lights up and he starts dancing away. Call me crazy, but a 16 month old being able to tell the difference in songs is INSANE
- He can name most of the Sesame Street characters - he knows Ernie, Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster and I don't mean he can just say their names - he legit knows which one is which. I've been told that's pretty major (by his totally unbiased Grammy). He also knows Mickey (and asks for him to be turned on while he eats breakfast) as well as Jake (who comes on after Mickey)
- He knows Nick and I's first names...well, he can say 'Aubree' but I don't know if he realizes it's the same as Mommy. But he for sure knows Nick is Daddy. Over the weekend while trying to get his attention, he said 'Niiiiiiick' in pretty much the same way I lovingly call to my husband when I need help with something.
- A few weeks ago, Aunt Mia was watching him and she had left one of his hangers on the couch. All of the sudden she couldn't see him so she went to look for him. She found him in his room trying to hang the hanger back in the closet - now this one amazes me because we can't figure out where he learned that one. I put his clothes away in his room, usually when he's not there (it's somewhat counterproductive to fold clothes while he's trying to throw them on the floor)
- He not only has an enormous vocabulary for a 16 month old (easily over 50 words), he know is saying 2 and sometimes 3 word sentences. 'Oh wow', 'Where go', 'Oh gosh', 'Hi Poppy' - ok so a couple of these are just repeating us, but 'Where go' - he says this when he asking where someone or something went
- He knows the obvious body parts - head, eyes, ears, teeth, nose and toes
- Nick has a backpack he uses for his work laptop and he has it sitting by the table in our living room. Brock always tries to mess with the buckles on it and when Nick went to pick it up this morning, Brock had buckled the 2 straps together!
- Last but definitely not least - the kid is a Jayhawk fan already! Being KU alums and fanatics, we have KU/Jayhawk stuff kind of everywhere in our house. Just little things randomly sprinkled around. Brock says Jayhawk - sounds kinda like k-hawk - whenever he sees one. And he can find them anywhere - on a jacket or a shirt, in his toy box, on a sign, on a rock in our front yard. If there is even the smallest K-hawk, that boy will find it and point it out!

Ok, I know there are lots of other things he does and in all seriousness, we are just so damn proud of that little man! He amazes us every day with just how smart he is. I know we are probably very biased and being first time parents, we don't really know the timeline babies are supposed to go on, but we feel he's pretty freakin' smart!

Vacation's over...

16 months, 2 weeks

Soooooooo sorry about the gap in blogs!! As you can probably assume from the title, we took a little bit of a vacation and have just been off-schedule in general at our house.

2 weeks ago Brock was the ring bearer is Drew and Erin's wedding. He was adorable and did such a great job! He had the most serious look on his face like he knew he had a job to do. He danced a little at the reception and looked soooo cute in his little tux!

The next week, Cynthia was going on vacation so we decided to take advantage of her time off and do a little 'staycation' for our little fam. We went on a tour of Arrowhead stadium, then went to Wichita to see my dad, Pat and the rest of the clan down there. We had a big family dinner and then went to Tanganyika Wildlife Park right outside of Wichita. It was by far the coolest animal place we've been too so far. You can feed/pet giraffes, feed lemurs and let them crawl all over you, pet kangaroos (some WITH babies in their pouch), and even get in a little pen with a bunch of bunnies and feed them and pet them. Brock loved it! We all did! It was so much fun!

We visited Deanna Rose for the first time also. Gotta say, it was a bit of a let down going so soon after Tanganyika and Brock is just a little young for most of the activities, but it's a great place that we definitely plan on visiting many many times in the future!

We spent a lot of time at home just relaxing and enjoying our little family time. It was never so hard to go back to work! Almost as bad as after maternity leave, only no tears this time! Brock has just become such a little man and so much fun to be around. He makes us laugh pretty much daily and we loved every minute of being home with him.

We got all our Halloween decorations out while we were home also and Brock is totally loving them. He looks at the 'scary' stuff and says 'oooooooo' in an attempt to sound spooky. It's so cute! He's now become pretty obsessed with candy corn. So much so that we had to move it out of his reach and eye sight!

We also learned while home with him that he can count to 5! Seriously, a 16 month old that can count, he's a baby genius! Now, a little disclaimer, he can't just start counting 1 thru 5. But if you say 1, he'll say 2 (and sometimes 3) and then you say 3,4 and he'll say 5. It's amazing!

He's becoming very responsive too. This weekend he started saying 'ok' when we asked him if he wanted to do something. The first was 'do you want to watch the meows (Puss in Boots) and he looked at me, nodded his little head and said 'ok'. It was so sweet and also a really big moment for me. I just looked at him in amazement that now not only can he talk to me and I can talk to him, but we're on the road to having conversations together!

He's a dancing machine right now and anytime he hears music, his head bobs, or he claps or he starts bouncing up and down. He's also his biggest cheerleader. His new favorite phrase is 'yeah Brockie'! He likes to help me unload the dishwasher. He hands me the plates and I put them in the cupboard. He's my favorite little helper!

I'm sorry I don't have any pics up yet of our stay-cation, but if you are friends with me on Facebook, they should all be on there soon!

One last update - the binkie is totally gone. I think he honestly forgot about it! We gave it to him in the car to Wichita because he was fighting sleep so hard, but other than that, he hasn't even missed it! Such a champ!

Now it's back to our regular old routine, which means back to work and our regular schedules, back to being mindful of what I'm eating and back to working out. Boo....vacation was way more fun!

Bye-bye binkie?!

15 months, 4 weeks

There are some changes goin' on at Casa de Barbosa! We are attempting to get Brock off the binkie!! First, let me start by saying he ONLY gets one at night and they never leave his crib unless he's sick or we're on a long road trip in the car. However, I have been thinking about getting rid of it for quite some time. I struggled because he has always been SOOOOOOO easy to put to bed. We just give him his hugs, kisses, goodnights, lay him in the crib, hand him the binkie and we don't hear another peep until morning.

About 2 months ago I stopped giving him the binkie directly. We started putting stuffed animals, a pillow pet and a blanket in the crib as 'comfort items'. I left the binkie in the crib and if he found it, than so be it. Well, he almost ALWAYS found it and would fuss a bit until he did. Lately, I've really been wanting to try and take it away before it becomes a total habit that we just can't break. I made a mental goal of wanting it gone by 18 months. I just didn't want it to be completely devastating when we took it away, but at the same time, I didn't want to take away something that brought him comfort.

I've been doing research about the best ways to break it. Cold turkey, cutting a hole in it, putting weird tasting stuff on it (which I think is so mean!), giving it away, giving the 'you're a big boy now speech', etc. It was overwhelming and I thought the least painful seemed like the hole-cutting idea. I mentioned to CC (our daycare provider) that I was thinking about getting rid of it and she said the best way to do it is just cold turkey. It'll be hell for a few days, but it works.

We were going to wait a few weeks before we attempted to even try, but almost as if he knew, that same night that I talked to CC, he couldn't find his binkie. It had gotten wrapped up in his blanket and while he fussed a bit right when we put him down, he fell asleep and not a peep until morning. He usually loses the binkie almost immediately after falling asleep and doesn't wake up. He'll pick it up again when he wakes up in the morning, but other than that, once it's out, it's out.

So, I decided to go with it. Maybe this was the opportunity to just give it a shot. So we tried the next night, same thing, a little fussing (not crying) and then back to sleep. CC also took them out of his crib at nap time and said he had no issues. Friday was a bit of a set-back because for some reason, he was just crying for no reason before we even put him to bed. So we caved and gave the binkie because he was just crying SO HARD, but that didn't even help. It was one of maybe 2 nights in his short 15 months that he just wouldn't go down.

Saturday was back to it and while this time he did cry for awhile without it, he finally went to sleep after maybe 5 minutes. Same thing with nap time on Sunday and by Sunday night, not even a peep. He just laid in his crib until he fell asleep. Now, I know we're not even a full week in so we'll see how well this week goes. We will be away from home at least one night the next 2 weekends and we may have to bring old faithful back to get us through those nights.

So far, the only downfall is that sometimes on weekends he'd wake up and find his binkie and fall back asleep. Now, once he's up, he's up and ready to face the day! Maybe we weren't ready to take it away just yet afterall? I do still struggle a little feeling like is it really necessary to take it away right now? Does it really matter? It helps him sleep and it's not hurting anything. But, I know in the long run, the sooner we take it away the better and I just hope he's not laying there wondering why he doesn't get one anymore.

In other fun Brock news - I taught him to say 'Hola' this weekend! It's so cute. I really want him to be able to speak Spanish and thankfully a lot of the toys out now have a spanish version. We turn ours to Spanish a lot just to let him become familiar with another language.

He also is learning to take after his Mommy with his food tastes. My absolute favorite type of food no question is Mexican. I completely black out while eating chips and salsa and could eat it all day, every day. We went out for Mexican on Friday night and Brock saw us all dipping our chips in the salsa and wanted to try it too. At first he wasn't so sure, but he kept dipping his chips in and before long, he was dipping every bite into the salsa first. It was so hilarious!

We have a big weekend coming up! Uncle Drew and Aunt Erin's wedding is finally here! We are all in the wedding and can't wait to celebrate with them (and see Brock in his little tux as the ring bearer!)

Personality update

15 months, 3 weeks

Now that some of the big developmental milestones are behind us, there isn't much changing from week to week with Brock. So, I thought I would take some time to jot down a few of his little personality 'quirks' so we always remember what this time was like. He has such a big personality and makes us laugh every day! Just when you think it can't get anymore fun with him, he ups the ante!

He can point to his head, ears, eyes, nose, teeth and toes. 

Still LOVES to brush his teeth! He patiently lets me brush his 8 little teeth, then he takes over and does the rest. The other night, I brushed my teeth while he brushed his and he was just in awe!

He loves to Face Time with Poppy and Meme. As soon as he sees 'Poppy', he asks about Meme. He likes to lean over and give them (or ZZ) kisses on the phone or blow kisses to Meme. 

He makes the funniest faces at dinner. Silly faces, mad faces, annoyed faces, excited faces, he runs through the whole spectrum of emotions and usually smiles after each face. It's our nightly entertainment.

He now knows what a Jayhawk is and can (kind of) say it. We took him to the first KU game of the season last weekend and he would zero in on the Jayhawk anytime he was in our sight and just watch him walk up and down the stadium. One of these games, we're going to take him down to actually see him in person. He was such a champ at the game. It was hot and he was tired and getting over a cold, but he didn't get fussy until near the end of the game. 

Last night he was finishing up dinner in his high chair while I cleaned up the dishes and did some cleaning in the kitchen. I turned my radio on and would look over at him and dance. He started nodding his head to the music and had me just rolling on the floor laughing! He loves music and will either nod his head, bounce up and down or sway back and forth to the tunes!

Last week, we took him to get some ice cream at Sheridan's by our house. While we were there, a firetruck came roaring down the street. At first, he was intrigued, but as it got closer (and LOUDER) he freaked out and just started running. He just took off as fast as he could the other way and when I caught him you could just see the fear on his poor little face. He may be scarred for life on firetrucks! 

He is still just the best little man ever! He sleeps so well, eats so well and just is the happiest baby. He truly is the joy of our lives and we just love watching him grow and change and discover new things!

15 month update!

15 months, 1 week

We 'celebrated' Brock's 15 month birthday visiting my family (aunts, cousins, dad and Pat) in Grove, Oklahoma. We didn't do anything to celebrate it really, but we were there! We had QUITE the adventure getting down there. About halfway there we stopped to stretch our legs, use the restroom, etc. We got back into the car and Nick's check engine light came on. We just so happened to be in the same parking lot as an O'Reilly auto shop and we stopped to have it checked out. It came back as being something wrong with the transmission. We were in tiny Ft. Scott, KS with only one shop that could even try to help us. Lucky for us, the guy was there. Unlucky, he was about to leave for the day and leave town. Thankfully, he drove the car so he could at least tell us what was wrong. He confirmed the issue was with the transmission, but that it wasn't major and we could make it to Grove and get it fixed there, without causing any further damage.

Nick was so upset but we got back on the road (now about an hour behind schedule and right on time for Brock to get hungry for lunch). We had about an hour to go before we were meeting my parents for lunch so we had to just start feeding him cookies, crackers and goldfish until we got there. Meanwhile, Mia and I both started frantically calling shops in Grove only to learn NO ONE was open on Saturday and no one could get us in that afternoon. We found one shop about 30 minutes away that could get us in Saturday, but Nick just didn't want to chance it. We called every place in the next closest town we would pass through, Pittsburg, KS with no luck either.

We were stopping in Baxter Springs, KS for lunch (population like 4000 - not kidding). We made it there and ended up arriving around the same time as Dad and Pat. While we were waiting for them to get there, I took Brock out to walk around and get some exercise after sitting in the car all day. Nick was still upset about his car and just happened to google transmission shops in Baxter Springs. There just so happened to be a shop literally around the corner (which really in that town, everything is) from where we were eating and he could fit us in! We were all just floored...we had called every shop in the towns along the way (that were much bigger) and no one had any openings.

Sure enough, we dropped the car off, ate our lunch and he was almost done with the car. He had a little bit left to do on the car, so he suggested we visit their little museum a couple of blocks away. I'm a sucker for a museum so I was so excited! It turned out to be this cute little museum with all these little rooms set up to look like different things you would have seen in the early 1900's (a farmhouse, a dentist office, an operator, newspaper press, etc). It was so cute! And it gave us some good quality 'stop and smell the roses' family time.

We got back on the road (for only $140 to fix the car no less - amazing!) and finally arrived in Grove around 4. We left our house around 9:30 and probably should have been there closer to 1, but hey, we made some memories! We only had a short amount of time before Nick and I had to hit the road and drive over to see my best friend Rea and meet her beautiful baby girl Monroe. We spent a few hours with them catching up and Brock loved the little baby!

It was love at first sight!

Saturday was just an all day family day. We hung out at my aunts house with my cousins and Brock loved feeding the fish in the pond, wandering around the land and we even walked him down to the lake where I used to swim as a kid. It was really awesome to be able to show him a place that makes up so many of my childhood memories. He had some great time with my dad too. We Facetime with my Dad and Pat at least once a week so he's used to see them over the phone and saying their names. We were curious to how he'd react in person, but he just loved it! He went to bed Saturday night just saying their names, and mine and Mia's over and over. It was so cute!

While we were there, my aunt got out some old photo albums. My aunts just kept saying how much Brock looks like me when I was younger. That's totally different for us to hear because everyone always says how much he looks like Nick. However, we couldn't believe it when we saw the pictures! He definitely looks a lot more like me than I think we realized!

Me as a toddler (not sure what age)                                        

                                         

Brock at 15 months, same crazy hair!

                                          

Monday was Brock's 15 month check up at the doctor. He got a few shots, but luckily didn't cry nearly as long as the last time on these. Here are his stats and some other fun facts about Mr. Brock at 15 months:
- Height 31" (50th% - big drop from last check up!)
- Weight 26 lbs (90th%)
- Head 88th% - still huge
- 8 teeth (all front 4 on top and bottom)
- says easily over 30 words, probably more
- Knows the difference between Ernie and Elmo (his 2 faves and the only ones he can say, but he knows the difference!)
- Says 'Thank You' when asked and even sometimes on his own if you give him something he wants, we're still working on 'Please'
- Knows the names of a few people at daycare - CC, Dainan and Riley (ri-wee)
- We're still taking the binkie, but only at night - it never leaves the crib
- He's not only fully walking, but running, walking backwards and climbing stairs like a champ
- Still a great eater and loves using a fork and spoon as long as there is already food on it
- Still the best sleeper out there, we are so hoping that never changes!
- Loves most veggies, but still not a huge fan of fruits - textures throw him off - still HATES bananas, is a huge fan of carbs just like his mama
- Bug bites are a huge problem for us - he gets TERRIBLE reactions to them, like huge swollen, red welt looking things whenever he gets bitten
- Wearing a size 5-6 in shoes
- Wearing 18-24 month clothes
- Loves to hold up the phone (or remote or even a graham cracker) and say 'Hello' like he's talking on the phone but totally clams up when he actually is on the phone with someone
- Has a bit of a temper and will try and hit or grunt when he's upset - we're trying to work on this!

Our 'first' baby

15 months

It's no secret that our dog Oscar isn't the friendliest dog in the world. He's a little black chihuahua who we completely spoiled rotten his whole life. He was my dog when I lived on my own and Nick fell head over heels for him the day I brought him home. He was our baby. Slept in our bed, ate off Nick's cheeseburgers (yes, seriously), went everywhere with us. He's now 8 years old and a little grumpier than he used to be, but still our little snuggle dog.

He's very territorial and protective.Of us, of his food, his toys, his bed, his spot on the couch, anything he thinks is his, which is pretty much everything in our house. He tries to make up for his small size by being the 'alpha' in every situation. He's not overly aggressive and his bark (or snarl) is worse than his bite (most of the time). However, he has bitten a few people in situations that he felt threatened or felt like I was in danger. He's not a huge fan of new people, dogs he doesn't know and small children.

Enter my state of total panic while pregnant. How is he going to deal with the baby? Is he going to eat his face off if we aren't looking? Are we going to have to get rid of him? All these questions ran through my head on a quiet, yet constant cycle. I was even a little nervous to leave the hospital and go home with Brock. Not just because of the dog, but the overall fear of how we were going to mingle this perfect new angel that had taken over our world in a matter of days, into the life we already had and loved. A big part of that life being Oscar.

We read all the tips on how to introduce your old dog to a new baby. We had family take blankets from the hospital that smelled like the baby to the dog so he would recognize the scent. We left all the baby items out for the dog to get used too, etc.

Our first day home, Nick set Brock on the floor in his car seat and Oscar went over and licked his baby hand. I literally cried - tears of joy, relief and probably hormones. The next few weeks are still kind of a blur, but I do remember Oscar being just completely out of sorts. You could tell he was frustrated that his sleep schedule was being constantly interrupted and that he was no longer the center of attention. Usually, when people come over, he demands to be paid attention to immediately. Now, people didn't even know he was there - they just wanted to see the baby.

Oscar was definitely nervous and cautious around the baby. What was this thing? Why did it move and make such awful noises? He kept his distance as much as possible. And then I started to notice that if I would walk out of the room and Brock was sleeping on the floor or couch, Oscar would go up and lay next to him. Almost like he was protecting him while I was gone. Of course he'd get up and run as soon as I got back - God forbid I catch him warming up to that thing!

As Brock has grown, he has only gotten more and more interested in Oscar. In fact, one of his first 'real' words was 'dog'! Oscar likes to be near him, but not touching him. If Brock gets too close, Oscar will usually head for the hills. I was nervous with each new milestone - crawling, walking, exploring - that Oscar would feel territorial toward something Brock was getting too close to and then growl at him or even nip at him. We've had a few incidents where Oscar showed his teeth, but he knows to just remove himself from the situation (and we obviously keep a close eye at all times).

Now, Brock will throw the ball for Oscar and Oscar will bring it back to him. And Brock's new favorite activity is to walk the dog. He likes to hold the leash when we go on walks. Given that Oscar is only 12 pounds and pretty chill, he can't pull Brock over. Last night we went to the park and just let Brock hold the leash and wander around with Oscar. It was so amazing to see how far we've come and made me so proud of Oscar. I know it wasn't easy to adjust to all the newness of a baby and while he's not this super kid-friendly, ready to play dog, he's done better than I thought he would.

Everyone warned me before I had Brock that the dog would lose his place a little bit. He wouldn't be our 'baby' anymore. I swore up and down that would never happen. But, of course they were right. He's still our first 'baby', but the amount of attention he gets is far less than it used to be. Nick has been so much better than I have about giving him love, treats and affection. And as we've settled into our parent roles, I feel like I'm getting better about making sure he still feels loved from his mama. I know I probably didn't do right by him during the first few months, but hopefully he knows he'll always be my first baby!

I do want to get another dog when we have a bigger house. One that is a little more 'kid friendly' and will let Brock pull on his ears and lay on him with no issues. There is no doubt that Oscar is our dog so I feel like Brock should have one that is all his. But until then, it's fun watching their relationship grow and learn from each other.

July wrap up

14 months, 3 weeks

Ok, so I know it's not July anymore. And I know I haven't updated this in a couple of weeks - sorry! There has been a lot and a lot of nothing going on at Casa de Barbosa! We've been crazy busy but not much has changed with Brock.

Probably the most exciting (for me) is that he finally gives kisses!! All my friends that have daughters were getting kisses long before us. They were so gentle and sweet. Brock would punch me in the face before he'd give a kiss. He is so sweet, he just doesn't realize his own strength sometimes! But finally, last week, I randomly asked for a kiss, and he walked over to me and gave me a kiss! It melted my heart and I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up a little.

He's starting to learn to use utensils more and more. He thinks forks are the greatest things ever! He hasn't quite figured out how to get food ON them, but he loves to get it off!

We're still obsessed with shoes and saying more words by the day. Some of the newest additions are cool ('coo'), outside ('side'), book ('boo') and please ('pees'). He tries to say I love you, but it's kind of a cute little jumbled mess. He also has what we're calling his 'alien' language. He says so many words, but then he has this other little language he speaks when he wants to talk in more than just single word fragments. It's pretty hilarious. He'll pick up a book and just go to town like he's reading it. It's so cute!

He has finally figured out how to ride his little dinosaur toy he got for his birthday. Granted, right now, he only knows how to ride it backwards. He is getting more social too. Now, he's ALWAYS been a super happy, social baby. But now, when my mom, Nick's mom or Mia come over, he reaches out for them to hold him. That's huge since he didn't used to want to leave Mommy. I love how much he loves them.

It's finally cooler here so we're going to try and take advantage and hit up the pool, zoo, whatever we can before summer is over!

Houston, we have a...biter?

14 months

No mom wants to have the 'biter' at school or daycare. I used to think the 'biters' must be bad kids. The moms must either spoil them or does not pay enough attention to them. Something had to be wrong with the parenting skills in that situation. Ah, yet another foot in mouth moment of a new mom. You think so many things about parenting BEFORE you have kids. And then you have them and BAM, all your little 'ideas' of what's right and wrong kind of go out the window!

Such is the lesson we learned yesterday when I got a text from our daycare provider saying Brock had taken up the habit of biting the other kids. Just walking up to them and biting! No provoking. I, of course, panic and call Nick. I didn't know if we should just go pick him up so he didn't hurt any of the kids or what we should do. My logical next step is to start Googling like crazy! But everything I was finding was saying how many toddlers and kids bite out of frustration, and that just didn't seem like the case. He wasn't upset or angry, he was just biting!

After talking it over with Cynthia, we think the main problem was he was super tired and has some more teeth coming through. He was fussier than normal over the weekend, but since we are blessed with a baby who doesn't drool when he's teething, we can never really tell when his teeth are hurting. Other than being fussy (which is very rare for him), he doesn't pull at his ears, stick his fingers in his mouth or drool like they say babies do while teething so it's hard to tell what's bothering the poor guy! Keep your fingers crossed for us that it was an isolated incident!!

Along the line of teeth, Brock's new favorite thing at home is brushing his teeth. We don't do it every night, usually every other night or so. But he LOVES it. If he's in the bathroom he'll start saying teeth (sounds like tee) and wants to brush them! I'll usually tackle his 5 little teeth and gums, and then let him play around and do it himself. He just loves it! Like his love of the bath, I'm sure this won't last when he's older, but we enjoy watching him light up now!

We took him to the Prairie Village pool for the first time this weekend and could totally kick ourselves for not going sooner. He had a blast. They have the perfect 'baby' pool. It's not like the shallow, pee-filled baby pools of my day. It was this big 'beach style entry' pool that at it's deepest only comes up to Brock's waist. There are low chairs for parents to sit and watch the kids, fountains of water coming out of the pool and little areas of shade. He walked around the pool for probably an hour and a half. At first he was a little hesitant and just sat with his toys but before long, he was off! If it wasn't going to be as hot as the surface of the sun here this weekend, we'd totally be going back!

I'll leave you with one final nugget from the weekend. We are having a garage sale this week and in preparation, we're cleaning out the house. Well, Brock found one of my old t-shirts and Daddy put it on him. Total blackmail material but also so cute and hilarious!

Shoe fetish

13 months, 4 weeks

If you know Nick and I, you know it's no secret that we both LOVE shoes. Nick used to wait in line for HOURS for the newest pair of Jordans that came out. For a curvy girl like me, shoes are the only wardrobe necessity that always fit and look cute no matter what!

Knowing all of that, it shouldn't be surprising (yet somehow it still is) that Brock is OBSESSED with shoes. It started a couple of weeks ago when he first noticed the shoes in his closet. He quickly learned how to say 'shoes' and would start bringing them to us to put on his feet. And then it upgraded to wanting you to change the shoes already on his feet, to yet another pair he would bring to you. One night, I think we went through 3 pairs of shoes!

At first, we were hesitant to put them on very often since he was just really starting to walk at the time. He was still wobbly barefoot and we wanted him to really get comfortable walking before we threw shoes into the mix. Well, he mastered walking within a week or so and it just felt 'right' for him to have shoes. We were more comfortable letting him walk outside as he became more stable, so it was time to find him some shoes that fit! I bought a cheap little pair with soft soles from Target to get him used to walking with shoes on.

About a month ago, we had him measured and he was a 4. Most of the shoes we already had were either too big or too small. Now that he's a walking machine and wants his shoes on all the time, we decided he needed a pair to wear to daycare each day so we hit the mall last night to find him a new pair of kicks.

Little did we know the shoe fetish would be in full force! We stopped at a couple of shoe stores and he was in HEAVEN!! He would see walls of shoes and just say 'shoes? shoes? shoes?'. We'd pick up a pair and inspect them and if they weren't put on his feet, he was NOT a happy camper!!

We had his feet measured again and he was at a solid size 5. Yes, you're reading that right, in less than a month, his feet grew at least an entire shoe size (so we thought). We found a pair we liked and handed them to the store clerk to get his size. Cue the meltdown about taking the shoes away from him! When the clerk came back with the shoes, the size 5 was almost too small so we had to go with a size 6! Brock was so excited about his 'new' shoes, he was pointing to his old shoes to be taken off and holding his new ones up to be put on. He even puts his foot in the air so you can put his shoes on.

I know he may not always love to have shoes on, and quite frankly we're pretty shocked he has this great love of them as he was a sock removing ninja last winter, but it's the cutest little phase. He was so proud of his new shoes last night, we let him wear them out of the store. It was a little later in the evening and the mall was pretty quiet so we let him walk by himself down the mall. You could tell he felt so proud of his new shoes and so independent to be walking on his own! We even took him to Build A Bear and got a little bear made for him. I swear, he was more excited about the shoes than the bear!! 


In other news - we had our first little 'bout of pink eye this weekend. As usual, he was a total champ about it. Never got fussy or upset. However, he HATES the eye drops we have to give him. Seriously - who knew kids eye muscles were so strong? Once he clamps them shut, it takes all my strength to pry them open! We took him to the Children's Mercy Urgent care on Saturday night and in true Barbosa form, they recognized us from the last time we were there! In our defense, we've only been there twice and both times were AFTER his first birthday. 


I feel like I say this in every blog, but this kid's vocabulary is crazy! He repeats so much and easily says more than most kids at this age. I would say we are easily over 30 words at this point.


We also now have 4.5 teeth! Both front top and bottom teeth and as of yesterday, one of the top side teeth is poking through. 

Aspiring nudist?

13 months, 3 weeks

Ladies and gents, we have a future streaker on our hands! Since it's been sooooo ridiculously hot here lately, we've been letting Brock sleep in just his diaper. Full on white-trash baby style! Our house is old and has terrible insulation so his room gets so hot! We keep a fan on him at night, but to make sure he can sleep comfortably, we've let the pj's take a little summer vacay. So far, it hasn't been a problem at all. Until Saturday night. We put him down as normal, all seemed fine. I went in to peek at the monitor and just check on him and saw a nice full moon!! His sweet little naked booty, straight up in the air! Nick and I went in and couldn't help but laugh at his little naked body laying ON TOP of his diaper. We finally composed ourselves and got his diaper back on. We thought it was a one time occurrence until this morning when we woke up to those sweet little cheeks again! Lesson learned - we'll be putting shorts on over the diapers from now on. But I gotta say - that little booty is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

He has been walking more and more and every day he gets a little better. We had 2 birthday parties this weekend and the first was at an indoor place that had lots of those blow up bouncy houses. Ok, in our day they were just blue/yellow/red squares of death with mesh walls. Now, they have these amazing, HUGE contraptions for kids (and adults) of all ages! I'm talking pirate ships and princess castles, huge obstacle courses, etc. They had one small one for Brock's age group, along with a little plastic house. Nick took him in to a couple of the bigger ones and he had fun. But I think what he loved most was the rubber floor. He took full advantage to practice the walking skills! The floor was hard enough for him to get good balance, but soft enough for any crash landings. He had a blast walking around, watching the other kiddos and eating almost an entire cupcake and getting icing all over his face! (See below)

He learned some fun new words this past week:
'party' - he's had lots of parties to go to lately and now he can say it!
'water' - when he sees a water bottle
'cheese' sounds more like 'eeeee' - he understands that it goes with the camera, but doesn't quite realize you say it when the camera is pointing AT you. Sometimes he waits until the camera is already gone to say it.
'pee pee' - yup, he's a boy, bet you can guess what that one is for
'more' - when he wants more (this weekend specifically it was spaghetti)


I've started 'menu planning' our meals every week. I read it was helpful for saving $$ on groceries (totally true) but it's also helped me organize my brain for meals. Being a full time working mama, if I don't have dinner planned out at least the day before, I'm scrambling. And then I'm usually missing half the stuff I need for the meal. This way, I have everything planned out (weekend lunches and dinners included) and so when I hit the store, I get ONLY what I need for that week. It's saved money not only from not just hap-hazardly buying random things at the store and hoping they make a full meal, but also on keeping us from going out to eat so much on weekends.

An added bonus I didn't plan on with it, was eating healthier. I'm still on Weight Watchers to lose the last 20 or so pounds of baby weight (and hopefully more)  so I have to find meals that are relatively healthy. Well, it's rubbed off not only on us, but even on Brock! I've been trying to feed him as healthily as possible anyway, but now eating at home more and having more fresh produce around from making weekly trips to the store, helps him get full balanced meals. I love the feeling of seeing him eat as many fresh, non-processed and healthy foods as possible! One day, I won't have much of a say in what he likes so while I still get to pick what he eats, I plan on keeping it as healthy as I can!

Ready or not, here we go!

13 months, 1 week

Well, we are officially 'off to the races!'. Brock took his first 'real' steps this weekend!! At first it was just a few wobbly steps here and there, but by Sunday night, it was a full 5-6 steps, followed by the same thing last night!!

It's amazing to see how he went from being totally not ready last week, to now ready to give it a shot and even balance and catch himself if he started to fall. He likes to walk now with you holding just one of his hands and I think will be really walking on his own in no time!!

We also learned he is his fathers son. As if the fact that they look identical wasn't enough, the kid already has an affinity for hats and shoes just like his Daddy! Anytime he sees a baseball hat, he points to it and says 'dada'. He used to pull them off whenever you would put them on his head. Now, not only does he not take them off, he wants them ON! Nick put a hat on him the other night while I was making dinner and he just left it on. So, we let him eat that way.

He also has become OBSESSED with shoes! I caught him last week holding up his foot in one hand, while trying to put a sandal on with the other. We don't put shoes on him very often so it was so crazy how he knew what to do!!

If he sees any shoes, he wants them ON his feet. And if you take them off, prepare to hear about it! He has lots of cool sneakers to wear, but we need to invest in some every day shoes for him. Now that he's walking more, especially outside, we need to get some sandals or something a little more 'summer appropriate'.

He's adding more and more words by the week! Many of them he just repeats a few times, but once he says it, he starts learning more about what it means. We're taking him this weekend to Deanna Rose Farms for a birthday party and I'm so excited for him to go! There will be lots of little farm animals for him to see/feed/pet and I think he'll love it!

Father's Day

13 months!

I know I'm a couple of days late, but our 2nd Father's Day has come and gone! We had a wonderful weekend in Wichita. Brock was awake pretty much the entire way down there, but for the most part, was pretty chill in the car.

He learned how to say 'cookie' and was saying it over and over and over to get more 'coo coos'. It's so cute when he says it, we have a hard time not giving in. We got all the old toys out from my sister and I, and my niece and nephew and he just went to town! He even gave my dad an early Father's Day gift. He learned how to say 'Poppy' and said it for him all weekend!

Saturday we went to Brigdon's 14th birthday party. They had a 'Wipe-out' style obstacle course set up for all the boys at the party along with lots and lots of water balloons. Brock thought those were pretty sweet. He liked to pick them up and really thought it was funny when they would pop! He also fell in love with Teea's big dogs (both boxers). He loved that he could stand up and be right at their level. We even gave him a new hair-do for the party! His hair is still pretty thin, but we were able to maneuver it up into a mohawk!

Sunday was going to be a super long day for us. We had the big family Father's day lunch with my family, then were hitting the road to go straight to Nick's parents for dinner with his ENTIRE family. We were hoping with all the sun and excitement from Saturday, that Brock would sleep in. HAHAHAHA! Seriously, why do parents ever think that works?!

Our little maniac decided to not only NOT sleep in, but to wake up much earlier than normal at 6:30. And not just the stirring, maybe he'll go back to sleep wake up. Like full blown standing up in the pack 'n play talking and bouncing around.

Since it was Father's Day (well and since I usually am the one to get up with him), I drug my half-asleep self out of bed to start the day with him. We got his 'coo coos' and milk for his little morning snack and since everyone else was still in bed, I took him to eat them outside so we didn't wake anyone up. My parents live on the outside edges of Wichita and there is a big field behind their house. I've been out there a million times, but it was just a whole new experience. As tired as I was, it was the most perfect morning. It was so peaceful out there and Brock and I just sat and talked while he ate his snack. We watched the trees and the birds. He'd push his head back against my chest and tilt it to look up at me and just smile.

It was one of those times you just wished you could push pause for a second. I am so terrible about thinking about the future that often I have a hard time really just soaking up the moment I'm in. But then there are moments like that that just demand to be enjoyed. Make you really focus on what's important and be so thankful for everything.

We enjoyed about 30 minutes of peace and quiet and then people started to wake up and the day begun. My dad took Brock for a 'walk' around their backyard, we had lunch with the family and then hit the road. Brock waking up so early came in handy for the ride home. He was tired and ready for his afternoon nap and slept about half of the way. We got to Nick's parents and had a wonderful dinner with his family and then headed home to get back to our little routine.

We were all beyond exhausted but it was a wonderful weekend!! Brock is repeating more and more words by the day and starting to put 2 words together. 'Bye bye mama'. He's a 'busy bee' and constantly moving. He's starting to not want to eat his veggies as much lately so we've got to work on that!

Band of Mamas

Usually my blogs are just updates on what Brock is up to, what new things he's done or tried, his newest words and milestones or just fun things we've done as a family. I'm terrible at putting up pictures and making my blogs very exciting. But, being a full time working mama, it's the best way for me to document his little milestones - not only so I can remember, but for my other mama friends to see if things their little ones are going through are common.

With all that said, I follow some wonderful blogs from other friends. And the funniest part is, most of the other 'mama' blogs I follow, are from acquaintances. Girls I knew in high school, but wasn't close with. Or an old co-workers wife, a friends friend, etc. They are all fabulous in their own way and tell their own journeys.

They all inspire me in one way or the other with their creativity and totally different ways of documenting their journey as parents. There are funny ones, deep ones, ones full of pictures, etc. Many of them always make me feel like my blog is just plain 'ole boring! LOL! But, regardless of how they tell their story, they inspire me. They inspire me to be a better blogger, and even more, a better mom. Some of them have kids older than Brock and I learn so much from their stories and adventures.

Even those mamas I may never speak to in person, I feel an immediate connection. Almost proud of them. I am so impressed by how wonderful they all are as moms and so grateful to follow their stories and hopefully use them as tools for my own parenting. It's amazing how bonded you feel to other moms, because you share such a special thing in common - being a mama. And I think it's important to feel that way. We should be encouraging and supporting each other. Everyone takes their own journey and has their own way to parent. We can all learn from each other and sharing all these experiences is such a valuable tool!

Blogs are such a great format for moms to share things with each other, while at the same time, keeping little journals for themselves and their kids as they grow. We are some of the first generation to have this so readily available and I think it will only help us be better. Better moms, better wives, better friends.

So thank you ladies, for being so wonderful with your words and sharing your experiences.

Our little Parrot

1 year, 3.5 weeks

Well, luckily, the Hulk has left the building! As painful as that little phase was, I'm so grateful it wasn't very long!! I think it was the teething more than anything. No more teeth have popped thru, but the diaper rash is fading!

He is repeating EVERYTHING we say now!! It's so cute! He's added some more words to his little vocabulary:
- Cookie (sometimes sounds like cookie and sometimes sounds like coo coo)
- Mickey (more like Mimi)
- Poppy
- Stop
- Milk (which sounds like 'mo' and it applies to anything liquid in a cup)
- Car ('ca' and he says it when he sees his little blue car)
- He's got one more word that sounds like 'go' and we aren't really sure what he's trying to say yet...he says it at all different times so we haven't really been able to narrow down what he's saying

The biggest (and probably scariest) thing for us right now is watching him test his physical abilities. He uses his little rocker to climb on the couch, he likes to stand up in any chair he's in (including his stroller if he's not strapped in yet), he seems to have very little fear. While I want him to try new things, it makes this mama soooo nervous! But it's also amazing to watch his little brain work. Over the weekend I had him out on our front deck and he crawled over to the edge, to the small step and as soon as he got to the edge, he stopped, sat on his butt, and slowly worked his way down the stairs that way. It was amazing to see the gears turning in his little head and see how quickly he figured it out!

This weekend is Father's Day and we are headed to Wichita to see my dad. My nephew is having a birthday party so Brock will get to watch all the big kids run around in the water. Something tells me he'll be fully entertained!!

Baby Hulk??

1 year, 2 weeks

Sorry for the missed post last week. My mom had surgery and I was out most of the week taking care of her! In the meantime, however, I think Brock drank some sort of radioactive rage juice and is now Hulking out almost daily!!

I know they have 'terrible twos' but no one really talks about this stage. The tantrums are insane!! All of my research (aka google) says that this is normal. They are finally realizing they can be independent, but aren't quite there yet in terms of talking, walking, etc and communicating their needs clearly. Which all makes perfect sense, it just doesn't make it any easier when he's screaming as loud as he can because I just told him he couldn't have or do something. He totally rages out - fists clenched, shaking and just forcing the loudest scream he can manage. It's totally different than his normal cry, it's full of anger. Sadly, he got his mama's temper!

We think he's also going through a growth spurt right now because he's been more tired than normal. Which only makes the problem worse because tired baby + not getting what he wants = immediate meltdown. He is much more easily agitated when he's tired (hmmmm...sounds like me).

On top of all this fun stuff, he's got more teeth coming in. And the poor little guy has the worst diaper rash I've ever seen. He's not super fussy about it, but you can tell it's painful for him. We've had lots of naked baby time to try and air it out. But, the first of the top front teeth has broken through and the 2nd should be any minute now!

In happier news - he's standing on his own! He can't go from sitting to standing, but if you stand him up, he can stand by himself for a couple of minutes. You can tell he wants to take a step, but he just doesn't trust himself yet. If he's walking between furniture, sometimes he'll test himself and get himself to standing without holding on. I know walking is just around the corner and right now, we aren't pushing him at all. It will come, when he's ready. He can do it, he just needs to trust himself and have confidence.

He's also added more words and tricks:
- he picks up the phone (cell or house) and says 'hello'
- now not only every Sesame Street character, but also pretty much any book he sees is Elmo...LOL! Most of his little books at home are Elmo so now every book is Elmo
- he may not say bye bye when he leaves or when you leave, but he'll say it over and over and over after leaving and a lot of times in the car
- he's starting to repeat 'thank you' more and more

He also went to his first Royals game this week! He loved it! We were in my company's suite and he loved crawling around inside, but also loved being outside and watching all the people, the game and the big screen. Walking into the stadium, his eyes were just huge and he was just taking it all in, totally silent.

1st birthday!

1 YEAR OLD!!!!

The day has come and gone and I didn't even cry 1 time!! I got a little choked up from time to time leading up to it, but no tears were shed by this mommy! My little angel boy is a year old! I'm no longer the mom of a newborn or an infant. Now I have a toddler!

I took the day of his birthday off to spend as much time with him as possible. It's a tradition I plan to continue for as long as he'll let me! We got up and opened his presents from Mommy and Daddy. Had a little 'pre-breakfast' and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Then sent Daddy off to work and Brock and I headed to Chick Fil A. I try and go every year on my birthday for breakfast - love those chicken minis!! While we were there, the ladies at Chick Fil A found out it was his birthday and brought him out a balloon tied to a stuffed little cow. He was so excited! He ate a little bit of his food, and then we went to play in their play area - by the way - it's PERFECT for little ones! It's only for kids 3 and under so lots of ground level fun!

We then went to Old Navy in search of outfits for our one year pics that night. He had fun checking himself out in the mirror in the dressing room! We came home to have lunch, meet up with Daddy and take a nap! We ran a few errands in the afternoon and then it was off to take his one year pictures! He was having so much fun crawling around in the grass and got his first taste of cake! Those pictures should be coming soon!

Saturday was his big birthday party! The weather was absolutely perfect and the party went wonderfully! The food was great, the park was perfect for the kiddos! They all loved the pinata! Brock got so many fun toys and gifts! We are still trying to get them all unpacked and put together! Lots of fun summer outdoor activities for him to do!

Before I go on with pictures from the party, we had his 1 year check up yesterday. He was not a fan of the shots and was pretty tired and grumpy all night after that. Everything else checked out great and here's the rundown on this big bad 1 year old!
Height: 30 1/4" (75th percentile)
Weight: 24 lbs (85th percentile)
Head circumference: 93rd percentile!
He loves to walk with assistance - a toy, along the couch or having someone hold his hands
The doctor was mostly impressed with how many words he can say. So we don't forget, here are all the words he can say (he knows what almost every one means): Mama, Dada, Dog, Oscar, Apple, No, Hi, Bye bye, Thank you, Uh Oh, Elmo, Moo, Woah, Mia, Night Night
He has some other rambles we can't understand and he also can make noises - roars, makes 'car' sounds when driving his cars on the floor, says 'ohhhhhh' at balloons and other things that float
Some of his favorite things: cars, Sesame Street (everyone on there is Elmo), bath time, making faces, walking holding someones hands, going for a walk in his new car
Feeding - he totally feeds himself finger foods and is a great eater! He'll eat pretty much anything - he doesn't like bananas but loves green beans, sweet potatoes, chicken and ice cream!

He's been an absolutely perfect little man this past year! As sad as we are that it's going by so fast, he's made it so much fun that we are excited to see what he'll do next!! Walking is definitely in our near future!

Now for the fun stuff...here are just a few pictures from this weekend...there were so many great memories it was hard to pick just a few!

This is the morning of his birthday (note the sleepy eyes)

 Before the party, checkin' out all his presents!

 Digging into his cake!

 Proud Mommy and Daddy with our 'big' gift for the birthday boy!

 All the kiddos! No chance of getting them all to look at the same time, but they are cute regardless!