2 years, 8 months
Ok, so it's been almost half a year since my last blog! Sorry folks!! As you can probably guess...life has just been crazy!!
So a quick re-cap...we've had a LOT going on. From our last blog, we had a family vacation to the beach (Brock LOVED the ocean and the beach), a bunch of firsts in our new home (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas), a new big boy bed and pirate-themed room, and a wonderful holiday season, and now here we are after 2 full-on snow days at home...back into the swing of things.
I think anyone who reads this is able to have re-caps on Facebook of what we've been up to, so I'll spare the details and photos for today. Really I just want to take a minute to reflect on what I'm now calling my 'favorite' phase. Recently, a co-worker of mine asked what my favorite phase had been, since she has 3 month old at home. My answer was now. I remember when Brock was a baby, just thinking every phase was my favorite. As he got older (and fussier at times), that definitely changed. But right now, he's just the most fun.
He has all kinds of things he loves. He has 'best friends' - mostly stuffed animals, or me, or Oscar or Daddy. He says I love you, sometimes without us saying it first. He's hilarious...he makes us laugh daily...yesterday it was saying 'of course'. He plays and pretends and watching his little mind make up these little stories and scenarios is fascinating. He'll sit in his car seat in the car talking to his toys, and making them talk to each other.
We sing and sing and SING. The soundtrack to Frozen is our current favorite. He knew words to most of the songs within a week of having the CD. The released a sing-along version to the movie and though we'd already seen the movie when it first came out, I took him again. It was perfect. He loved it and we sang right along. He's always been a singer...from a super young age he's been into music and songs - singing and dancing. And yet it still makes me smile when he sings. It's our thing...he talks about 'our' songs. He has 'his' songs and I have 'my songs' according to him..but my favorite are the ones he says are 'our songs'. He sings higher when the song goes higher, or whispers in some cases. He shakes his head and makes all kinds of facial expressions - a little Justin Timberlake in the making.
He is the sweetest thing ever. He is doing amazing at school. He loves his teacher and his class. He's a fantastic helper. Right now he is in a big Toy Story phase...he always wants to watch them on TV. He got a train set for Christmas and loves to play with his trains. He still loves trains and planes - the sight or sound of either one makes him stop dead in his tracks.
He says 'thank you' for everything (even for kisses). He is such a little sponge. He'll tell us 'good job' in the way he's heard us tell him. He loves to snuggle and will ask to do so. He likes to play on his own, but he always wants us close by. He's also very bossy when he plays but in the cutest way. He likes you to play with him, but he will tell you where to put the toys.
We can have full on conversations. We're full blown into the 'why' phase. He asks why for everything. My goal is never to say 'because I said so' but I'm only human so we'll see how long that lasts. He's a fantastic eater. He'll eat just about anything we put in front of him without much of a fight. Now, it takes him awhile to finish eating because he likes to talk and play during dinner...but I feel very grateful that I don't have to make seperate meals (which in all honesty I don't think I would do anyway).
I just love this phase so much...I could go on and on. And yet, I have this huge feeling of sadness. Because if the last almost 3 years have taught me anything, it's that time flies. I see article after article or blog post on Facebook about 'these are the best days of your life', 'love them when they're little' and it's like a sucker punch to the gut. Because I do all those things...as a working mom, I try and enjoy every second of my time with him. I try and really relish that this is the time we will long for as he grows up. So, since I'm aware of that now, that means time can just stop right? Things can go really really slowly and he won't grow up and leave us right?
I can already see why people miss this phase and it makes me want to cry almost daily. Yes, there are days when I just want to lock myself in my bedroom with trashy tv, snacks I don't have to share and a quiet house. But those are fleeting moments and the idea of those times can't compare to the chaos that is our house on those days. At his worst, he's still hands down the best thing that has ever happened to us. And while each phase has gotten better and better, it also means we're just that much closer to the days he doesn't need us to tuck him in, or make his dinner or wash his clothes and it's almost too much to handle.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Friday, August 9, 2013
Neighborhood Ambassador
2 years, 3 months
Since this summer has been unseasonably nice here, we've been outside almost every night. Walking, coloring on the driveway with sidewalk chalk, riding bikes, or even just sitting on the front porch. It has become one of my favorite hobbies and makes me just fall in love with our neighborhood every time we are out there. Our house looks so pretty, the views are beautiful with the lush green trees and still green grass thanks to lots of rain and not as much heat. Our house sits just up from not only a bend that curves around to part of the neighborhood, but also from the corner of one of our thru streets. So we have lots of activity with people walking, riding bikes, driving by etc.
Ever since Brock was born, people will say 'Brock looks JUST like Nick' (or your husband or his daddy or whatever form they choose to describe Nick in). While yes, they do look quite a bit alike, I've found that Brock's personality is more and more like me. Sadly that means he has my temper and impatience, but on the flip side, he also has my easily excitable nature and outgoing spirit.
With all the activity going on in the neighborhood after dinner, Brock LOVES going outside too. He has to say hi or wave to EVERY SINGLE PERSON who walks by. If they have kids he'll yell 'friends!' and start running towards them. If they have a dog he'll get excited and run their direction too. Everyone in our neighborhood waves when they drive by, so if he sees us waving at someone, he puts his little arm up and waves as hard as he can. He just loves saying hi to people. He likes to show off his bike or his car or his new shoes. He wants to see the dogs and mayyyybe pet them (sometimes he just wants to get close and look and laugh at them). It is one of my favorite 'mommy joys' so far. To see him being so friendly and outgoing, just melts my heart!
He's in general a pretty funny kid, but last night, he was just on a roll. The highlight was after bath time, after pj's were on, he came in our bedroom where I was washing my face. He told Nick 'daddy, I wanna watch the tv'. Daddy, not wanting to say 'no' (probably because he wanted to go watch football and baseball on tv) said, 'You gotta ask mommy'. Sometimes that response bugs me, because then I have to be the bad guy that says 'no'. And at first, I did. I had a million reasons why he should go to bed: it was after bed time, he wouldn't want to wake up this morning, he'd think that every night he needs to watch tv in our bed.
And then finally I just thought 'screw it. Let him'. I am constantly struggling with myself to stop being so rigid and just stop and smell the roses. Brock NEVER asks to watch tv in our room. Why not let him this one night? So, he got the Mommy Stamp of Approval to watch tv. Nick put him up in our bed and he was soooo excited. He said 'Dad, I'm happy!'. I've never really heard him say 'happy' and use it correctly and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little choked up about it. Hearing how just that little act of letting him sneak in some extra time with us made him so happy was worth any negative consequence it could possibly have.
Now, in all honesty, it didn't last long. He didn't want to watch Mommy's beloved Project Runway and I didn't want to put on any cartoons because I knew he'd never fall asleep if one of those was on. It was my compromise. So after about 5 minutes he said 'I don't want to watch the tv Mom' and off we went to bed. We said our prayers, sang our song and re-capped our day. I laid him in bed and tucked him and all his stuffed animals in and never heard another peep out of him. All that worrying about starting some unbreakable habit all for nothing!
The summer is flying by and it'll be fall before we know it! We are all really looking forward to it at our house. Nick is ready for football games in the mancave, I'm looking forward to decorating for the holidays and Brock is just happy to have so much room to play inside AND outside the house. We are all feeling very blessed these days!
Since this summer has been unseasonably nice here, we've been outside almost every night. Walking, coloring on the driveway with sidewalk chalk, riding bikes, or even just sitting on the front porch. It has become one of my favorite hobbies and makes me just fall in love with our neighborhood every time we are out there. Our house looks so pretty, the views are beautiful with the lush green trees and still green grass thanks to lots of rain and not as much heat. Our house sits just up from not only a bend that curves around to part of the neighborhood, but also from the corner of one of our thru streets. So we have lots of activity with people walking, riding bikes, driving by etc.
Ever since Brock was born, people will say 'Brock looks JUST like Nick' (or your husband or his daddy or whatever form they choose to describe Nick in). While yes, they do look quite a bit alike, I've found that Brock's personality is more and more like me. Sadly that means he has my temper and impatience, but on the flip side, he also has my easily excitable nature and outgoing spirit.
With all the activity going on in the neighborhood after dinner, Brock LOVES going outside too. He has to say hi or wave to EVERY SINGLE PERSON who walks by. If they have kids he'll yell 'friends!' and start running towards them. If they have a dog he'll get excited and run their direction too. Everyone in our neighborhood waves when they drive by, so if he sees us waving at someone, he puts his little arm up and waves as hard as he can. He just loves saying hi to people. He likes to show off his bike or his car or his new shoes. He wants to see the dogs and mayyyybe pet them (sometimes he just wants to get close and look and laugh at them). It is one of my favorite 'mommy joys' so far. To see him being so friendly and outgoing, just melts my heart!
He's in general a pretty funny kid, but last night, he was just on a roll. The highlight was after bath time, after pj's were on, he came in our bedroom where I was washing my face. He told Nick 'daddy, I wanna watch the tv'. Daddy, not wanting to say 'no' (probably because he wanted to go watch football and baseball on tv) said, 'You gotta ask mommy'. Sometimes that response bugs me, because then I have to be the bad guy that says 'no'. And at first, I did. I had a million reasons why he should go to bed: it was after bed time, he wouldn't want to wake up this morning, he'd think that every night he needs to watch tv in our bed.
And then finally I just thought 'screw it. Let him'. I am constantly struggling with myself to stop being so rigid and just stop and smell the roses. Brock NEVER asks to watch tv in our room. Why not let him this one night? So, he got the Mommy Stamp of Approval to watch tv. Nick put him up in our bed and he was soooo excited. He said 'Dad, I'm happy!'. I've never really heard him say 'happy' and use it correctly and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little choked up about it. Hearing how just that little act of letting him sneak in some extra time with us made him so happy was worth any negative consequence it could possibly have.
Now, in all honesty, it didn't last long. He didn't want to watch Mommy's beloved Project Runway and I didn't want to put on any cartoons because I knew he'd never fall asleep if one of those was on. It was my compromise. So after about 5 minutes he said 'I don't want to watch the tv Mom' and off we went to bed. We said our prayers, sang our song and re-capped our day. I laid him in bed and tucked him and all his stuffed animals in and never heard another peep out of him. All that worrying about starting some unbreakable habit all for nothing!
The summer is flying by and it'll be fall before we know it! We are all really looking forward to it at our house. Nick is ready for football games in the mancave, I'm looking forward to decorating for the holidays and Brock is just happy to have so much room to play inside AND outside the house. We are all feeling very blessed these days!
Monday, July 8, 2013
Working Mama Wows
2 years, 1 month, 3 weeks
Honestly, I'm not a fan of the term 'working mom'. To me, it sort of implies that moms who stay home don't work. And let me tell you, that couldn't be farther from the truth. What they do is more meaningful and much more difficult than what I do all day at the office. There are days I am green with envy at all the time they get to spend with their precious babes and then Brock has a tantrum and I am so so grateful for my job. I love where I work, I love the people I work with and it challenges me in different ways. I also know I'm wired to work. The structure, the organization, the day to day duties - it keeps me sane. I wish I were more of a free-spirit, but I'm just not. Having a child has definitely softened parts of me in that way. But I also find myself getting into my control freak-OCD mode at times. I have to pull on the reigns to get myself to enjoy the moment. Sometimes, you just have to let him wander up someone's driveway when we're out on a walk, stop to look at the bug and sit on the front porch for an extra 5 minutes, just because he wants to (and I get to see this face).
While I don't have the luxury of being totally 'schedule' free, there are some things that just make it all worth it. And hands down, one of those things for me, is seeing his sweet face light up with pure excitement when I pick him up from school.
At his old daycare, Nick did the picking up most days. But we have switched and now I get that job! At first, it was hard because it puts us home so much later than before which means dinner doesn't get started and therefore, served until much later. However, that all quickly fades away from my mind when I see his face. He sees me and his eyes get big, he drops (literally) whatever he is doing and just runs over yelling 'Mommmy! Mommmy!!!'. I bend down to hug him and he gives me the biggest hug and says 'Hold you' asking me to pick him up. He loves school, but it's nice to know there is still nothing he loves more than Mommy. He says his goodbyes and thank yous to all his friends and teachers and off we go. On the way home, we talk about what he did that day and sing songs and, for awhile, it's like time stands still. It's one of my favorite working mom wows (WMWs).
Speaking of singing, we may have a little Justin Bieber (or hopefully Timberlake) in the making. He has always liked music, he had a favorite song at a really early age and he has always been a little mover and shaker. However, now he's gone from simply repeating words he hears in the songs to knowing the words already and singing along. It's pretty amazing. It leads me to another one of my WMWs. Every night since he was very very young, I would sing 'You Are My Sunshine' to him before bed. We sit in the rocker and I sing this song to him because it truly describes how I feel about him in a few short lines. He usually lays his head on my shoulder and listens quietly. Until last week, when out of nowhere, he sang the ENTIRE SONG right along with me. Literally almost every word. This isn't something that was taught, it's something he learned simply from listening to his mommy every night trying to put into words how much he means to me. To say I got choked up would be an understatement!
Now on to some fun photos and events we've been up to lately. Last week was 4th of July and we kicked it off with our neighborhood bike parade (organized by Yours Truly).
Here is a picture of his car all ready to go!
We ended the 4 day weekend with Brock's first movie at the theater!! We saw Despicable Me 2. We had been talking about the minions every time we saw a commercial so he was very excited to see them on the 'big tv'. We got to our seats and got settled with the popcorn (his new favorite treat) and he was in Heaven. Especially once the preview for the new movie Planes came on! He already has a book and toy from the movie so he was beside himself when he saw that!
He did pretty well for most of the movie. A little over halfway in, you could tell his attention span was starting to fade and he said 'I wanna go bye-bye'. This is his new 'go to' line whenever he's done with whatever we are doing. In some cases, we oblige (like at the pool) and realize it's simply him telling us he's done. In others, however, (like the movie) we wanted to stay to the end to help him understand that you have to stick with something until it's finished. I know, he's 2 and probably doesn't get it and won't for awhile. But such is the constant struggle of every mother in the world - the balance of teaching them while also allowing them to have their own freedom and make their own choices.
We have noticed he's started just discarding things, people, toys, etc when he's done. Most of the time, it's not an issue. However, when it comes to people - that's where we draw the line. We are trying to help him understand that when someone is speaking to you, you look at them and listen to what they are saying. Also, when someone else is talking, you don't interrupt. This is going to be an uphill battle but hopefully it will help him be a better listener, friend, and husband one day.
Being home with him for 4 straight days was such a gift. It's not often we get that much time together all at once so I soaked up every minute, which of course flew by way too fast. It also showed me how much he truly loves school. By the end of the weekend, he was starting to get a little bored with us and lashing out. He also started talking about all his friends at school. We knew as much as he loved being home with us, he was ready to get back to seeing his friends!
Honestly, I'm not a fan of the term 'working mom'. To me, it sort of implies that moms who stay home don't work. And let me tell you, that couldn't be farther from the truth. What they do is more meaningful and much more difficult than what I do all day at the office. There are days I am green with envy at all the time they get to spend with their precious babes and then Brock has a tantrum and I am so so grateful for my job. I love where I work, I love the people I work with and it challenges me in different ways. I also know I'm wired to work. The structure, the organization, the day to day duties - it keeps me sane. I wish I were more of a free-spirit, but I'm just not. Having a child has definitely softened parts of me in that way. But I also find myself getting into my control freak-OCD mode at times. I have to pull on the reigns to get myself to enjoy the moment. Sometimes, you just have to let him wander up someone's driveway when we're out on a walk, stop to look at the bug and sit on the front porch for an extra 5 minutes, just because he wants to (and I get to see this face).
At his old daycare, Nick did the picking up most days. But we have switched and now I get that job! At first, it was hard because it puts us home so much later than before which means dinner doesn't get started and therefore, served until much later. However, that all quickly fades away from my mind when I see his face. He sees me and his eyes get big, he drops (literally) whatever he is doing and just runs over yelling 'Mommmy! Mommmy!!!'. I bend down to hug him and he gives me the biggest hug and says 'Hold you' asking me to pick him up. He loves school, but it's nice to know there is still nothing he loves more than Mommy. He says his goodbyes and thank yous to all his friends and teachers and off we go. On the way home, we talk about what he did that day and sing songs and, for awhile, it's like time stands still. It's one of my favorite working mom wows (WMWs).
Speaking of singing, we may have a little Justin Bieber (or hopefully Timberlake) in the making. He has always liked music, he had a favorite song at a really early age and he has always been a little mover and shaker. However, now he's gone from simply repeating words he hears in the songs to knowing the words already and singing along. It's pretty amazing. It leads me to another one of my WMWs. Every night since he was very very young, I would sing 'You Are My Sunshine' to him before bed. We sit in the rocker and I sing this song to him because it truly describes how I feel about him in a few short lines. He usually lays his head on my shoulder and listens quietly. Until last week, when out of nowhere, he sang the ENTIRE SONG right along with me. Literally almost every word. This isn't something that was taught, it's something he learned simply from listening to his mommy every night trying to put into words how much he means to me. To say I got choked up would be an understatement!
Now on to some fun photos and events we've been up to lately. Last week was 4th of July and we kicked it off with our neighborhood bike parade (organized by Yours Truly).
Here is a picture of his car all ready to go!
After the parade, we relaxed at home. Then we had dinner at Uncle Mark and Aunt Jan's followed by Fireworks at the Great Mall. This was Brock's first time seeing the fireworks. He was a little unsure at first, but definitely was intrigued. We had headphones for him to numb the noise a bit, but anytime someone would ask him about them the next day, the first thing out of his mouth was 'fireworks are loud!'.
Friday morning started out with a visit to the pool with Grandma and Grammie. Out of nowhere, Brock has started calling Grandma, Judy. We have no idea where he learned it other than hearing other people call her that. It's kind of random and funny! After swimming, lunch and nap time, we headed out for a Royals game! We went with some family and friends and while it wasn't his 'first' game, it was definitely the first where he could really understand what was going on. Here he is with Grandpa and sporting his new hat, which he picked out himself!
And here he is being the little tailgate pro!
We got into the stadium and I could tell he was a little overwhelmed at first. Now that he can speak and understand so much, we like to talk to him about things we're doing before we do them, especially 'new' things. So for 2 days leading up to the game, we talked about going to a baseball game. He could tell you he was going to a 'baseball game' and was very excited about it. However, he clearly didn't really know what that all meant. When we walked into the stadium, there were sooo many people and sooo many things to see. At one point, he looked up and me and said 'Mommy. I'm scared'. I think he was mostly overwhelmed but I assured him it was ok and that the baseball game was fun!
He ended up being such a good boy! He had fun watching everything and even got to see more fireworks that night. He definitely liked them much more the 2nd time!!
The 'being scared' is a new concept that he's picked up on. He can definitely tell when things are 'scary'. Like the roar of a dinosaur. He is becoming increasingly aware of what can be scary so we try and monitor what we watch on tv or expose him to that much more so he's not seeing anything too 'scary'.
In addition to the 4th of July festivities, we had a Princess birthday party to attend. Our favorite little Diva, Marlee Hugunin, turned 2! Between me and 4 of my best girlfriends, we have 7 kiddos and ALL of their birthdays fall between the months of March and July - with most of them from the end of April to the end of July. So that makes for a busy but super fun summer!!
Last week we were at Tripp's dinosaur party so when Brock heard he was going to a birthday party, he kept talking about dinosaurs. I had to explain that this party was different and it was a princess party. His gears quickly shifted to princess (with the help of a little Sofia the First during breakfast) and he was ready to rock. I took him with me to pick up Marlee's gift and he was in strictly Princess-mode. He picked out the first Princess card he could see, and even helped pick her gift (a princess dress of course!). While we were at Target shopping, he was in the best mood and we had the best time. He was waving at everyone we passed by, saying hi and just being his happy little self. He tends to get a little shy with strangers so to see him be so friendly was so fun!
Here is a picture of some of the kiddos from the party (minus Tripp and Charlie - we missed you boys!)
He did pretty well for most of the movie. A little over halfway in, you could tell his attention span was starting to fade and he said 'I wanna go bye-bye'. This is his new 'go to' line whenever he's done with whatever we are doing. In some cases, we oblige (like at the pool) and realize it's simply him telling us he's done. In others, however, (like the movie) we wanted to stay to the end to help him understand that you have to stick with something until it's finished. I know, he's 2 and probably doesn't get it and won't for awhile. But such is the constant struggle of every mother in the world - the balance of teaching them while also allowing them to have their own freedom and make their own choices.
We have noticed he's started just discarding things, people, toys, etc when he's done. Most of the time, it's not an issue. However, when it comes to people - that's where we draw the line. We are trying to help him understand that when someone is speaking to you, you look at them and listen to what they are saying. Also, when someone else is talking, you don't interrupt. This is going to be an uphill battle but hopefully it will help him be a better listener, friend, and husband one day.
Being home with him for 4 straight days was such a gift. It's not often we get that much time together all at once so I soaked up every minute, which of course flew by way too fast. It also showed me how much he truly loves school. By the end of the weekend, he was starting to get a little bored with us and lashing out. He also started talking about all his friends at school. We knew as much as he loved being home with us, he was ready to get back to seeing his friends!
Monday, June 17, 2013
School's IN for summer!
2 years, 1 month
Ok, as soon as I think I'm on track to keep updating this thing, another month goes by and I realize I'm way behind!!
Now that we are finally getting settled into the house, the stress level is starting to go down while the business is starting to go up!
Brock started his new 'school' officially on June 3rd. It's a daycare center but they focus more on lessons and teaching and letting them try all kinds of things. They have guests come in (a firefighter) and they do arts and crafts and play outside and run in the sprinklers. It's a great place! We think he's finally starting to like it!
Yep, the first week was AW-FUL! Mostly just the first 2 days. He cried so hard the first day, that I left there a complete sobbing mess unsure if we made the right choice to move him. I was a ball of tears on and off all day. To all you moms out there that have to leave their babies with strangers right outta the gate - my hats off to you! I don't know how you do it!! The first week was full of tears, but each day got better and better. We changed up the routine so Daddy does drop offs now. They were a little too much for this mama to take!
They have cameras all over the center where we can watch him during the day. The first day this was a miracle. We had never left him alone with people we didn't know and he didn't know. So I mostly just wanted to make sure he was ok. Was he adjusting? Was he sad? Was he lonely? Was he scared? I was GLUED to the computer screen for the first 2 days. Luckily, by the end of day 1, he was already making friends. Each day, he got more and more involved. We were so proud watching him on the screen fully engaged in all the activities they asked of him!
Last week was still a little rough at drop off time - no tears, but a big fat pouty lip. When Nick dropped him off today - no tears, no fat lip!! He has started talking about his friends at school by name. Every night we say our prayers and we make sure to talk about his new teachers and new friends. I think it helps him associate them and remember they are a part of his life right now.
We tried out our neighborhood pool for the first time this weekend. I was a little nervous since we didn't do swim lessons this year. I wasn't sure how Brock would react. He LOVED the pool last summer. But that was the PV pool which had an amazing baby pool area he could walk around in on his own. And he's a totally different kid this year. Luckily...after just a few minutes, he was a little fish again! He was jumping off the side into our arms, kicking his legs and going after his toys. We are so excited for a fun, free summer activity we can all enjoy!
I would like to also officially call out our Pediatrician. Don't worry - we still love Dr. White. But boy was she wrong! When she told us the 2 stage might not be as bad since he's so highly verbal, she really got our hopes up. But WOW...the terrible 2's are in full swing at our house. We thought they were bad before...but man...the tantrums, the fussing, the yelling oh my! He whines now which he's never really done before. It's almost like because he's been so verbal for so long, now he wants to be a baby and not use his words. He just wants to cry and whine. We have taken the approach of trying not to give any attention for these little fits, as that seems to be what he's wanting. We'll see how it works out!
We also have started something we always swore we would never do...letting him sleep in our bed! I always said I wouldn't be that mom. That kids need to have and love their own space and mommies and daddies need their time and space too. Note to all you non-parents out there: whatever you say you won't do when you have kids, prepare to do ten times over. Anyway...with the move and the new school, he's started having what we think are night terrors. He'll wake up just crying but not really being fully awake. Sometimes we can rock him and get him back to sleep in his own bed. But probably 4-5 nights out of the week, he'll wake back up and end up in our bed.
Here's the thing: we both work full time. Sleep is precious. If putting him in our bed gets him back to sleep in 5 minutes as opposed to 50 - then I'll take it. Also, it doesn't really bother us. I fought it for a little while just because I 'didn't want to start a habit' and 'they say you shouldn't do this....'. Well, screw that! LOL! We really don't mind having him in our bed - with a couple of exceptions: We both have to be able to get sleep and he can't be taking advantage and crying JUST to come in our bed. Our bed is so big it usually doesn't affect our sleep to have him there. Also we don't feel right now like he's crying just to cry and come in our bed. If and when that starts to happen, we will work on getting him to stay in his own bed. We really feel like all the changes have thrown off his sleep for a bit and if sleeping with Mommy and Daddy makes him feel a little more secure while we transition, we're more than happy to allow it. It's just not a battle we feel is necessary to fight right now.
Also, we still feel like we have our own time together in the hours after we put him to bed. He still goes down to bed in his own bed every night. Therefore Nick and I can maintain our routine of having a couple hours just the two of us to catch up on trashy tv and get in bed in time for the news. Yes, we're an old married couple, but watching the news in bed together is our happy place. It's something we've done for years and it's almost our own little 'tradition'. It's such a steady part of our routine we both feel a little slighted if we miss it too often.
The summer is in full swing with 4 birthday parties coming up in the next 2 weeks so it's fun and sun ahead for the Barbosas!
Ok, as soon as I think I'm on track to keep updating this thing, another month goes by and I realize I'm way behind!!
Now that we are finally getting settled into the house, the stress level is starting to go down while the business is starting to go up!
Brock started his new 'school' officially on June 3rd. It's a daycare center but they focus more on lessons and teaching and letting them try all kinds of things. They have guests come in (a firefighter) and they do arts and crafts and play outside and run in the sprinklers. It's a great place! We think he's finally starting to like it!
Yep, the first week was AW-FUL! Mostly just the first 2 days. He cried so hard the first day, that I left there a complete sobbing mess unsure if we made the right choice to move him. I was a ball of tears on and off all day. To all you moms out there that have to leave their babies with strangers right outta the gate - my hats off to you! I don't know how you do it!! The first week was full of tears, but each day got better and better. We changed up the routine so Daddy does drop offs now. They were a little too much for this mama to take!
They have cameras all over the center where we can watch him during the day. The first day this was a miracle. We had never left him alone with people we didn't know and he didn't know. So I mostly just wanted to make sure he was ok. Was he adjusting? Was he sad? Was he lonely? Was he scared? I was GLUED to the computer screen for the first 2 days. Luckily, by the end of day 1, he was already making friends. Each day, he got more and more involved. We were so proud watching him on the screen fully engaged in all the activities they asked of him!
Last week was still a little rough at drop off time - no tears, but a big fat pouty lip. When Nick dropped him off today - no tears, no fat lip!! He has started talking about his friends at school by name. Every night we say our prayers and we make sure to talk about his new teachers and new friends. I think it helps him associate them and remember they are a part of his life right now.
We tried out our neighborhood pool for the first time this weekend. I was a little nervous since we didn't do swim lessons this year. I wasn't sure how Brock would react. He LOVED the pool last summer. But that was the PV pool which had an amazing baby pool area he could walk around in on his own. And he's a totally different kid this year. Luckily...after just a few minutes, he was a little fish again! He was jumping off the side into our arms, kicking his legs and going after his toys. We are so excited for a fun, free summer activity we can all enjoy!
I would like to also officially call out our Pediatrician. Don't worry - we still love Dr. White. But boy was she wrong! When she told us the 2 stage might not be as bad since he's so highly verbal, she really got our hopes up. But WOW...the terrible 2's are in full swing at our house. We thought they were bad before...but man...the tantrums, the fussing, the yelling oh my! He whines now which he's never really done before. It's almost like because he's been so verbal for so long, now he wants to be a baby and not use his words. He just wants to cry and whine. We have taken the approach of trying not to give any attention for these little fits, as that seems to be what he's wanting. We'll see how it works out!
We also have started something we always swore we would never do...letting him sleep in our bed! I always said I wouldn't be that mom. That kids need to have and love their own space and mommies and daddies need their time and space too. Note to all you non-parents out there: whatever you say you won't do when you have kids, prepare to do ten times over. Anyway...with the move and the new school, he's started having what we think are night terrors. He'll wake up just crying but not really being fully awake. Sometimes we can rock him and get him back to sleep in his own bed. But probably 4-5 nights out of the week, he'll wake back up and end up in our bed.
Here's the thing: we both work full time. Sleep is precious. If putting him in our bed gets him back to sleep in 5 minutes as opposed to 50 - then I'll take it. Also, it doesn't really bother us. I fought it for a little while just because I 'didn't want to start a habit' and 'they say you shouldn't do this....'. Well, screw that! LOL! We really don't mind having him in our bed - with a couple of exceptions: We both have to be able to get sleep and he can't be taking advantage and crying JUST to come in our bed. Our bed is so big it usually doesn't affect our sleep to have him there. Also we don't feel right now like he's crying just to cry and come in our bed. If and when that starts to happen, we will work on getting him to stay in his own bed. We really feel like all the changes have thrown off his sleep for a bit and if sleeping with Mommy and Daddy makes him feel a little more secure while we transition, we're more than happy to allow it. It's just not a battle we feel is necessary to fight right now.
Also, we still feel like we have our own time together in the hours after we put him to bed. He still goes down to bed in his own bed every night. Therefore Nick and I can maintain our routine of having a couple hours just the two of us to catch up on trashy tv and get in bed in time for the news. Yes, we're an old married couple, but watching the news in bed together is our happy place. It's something we've done for years and it's almost our own little 'tradition'. It's such a steady part of our routine we both feel a little slighted if we miss it too often.
The summer is in full swing with 4 birthday parties coming up in the next 2 weeks so it's fun and sun ahead for the Barbosas!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
We have a 2 year old!
2 years, 3 days
Wow, how is that title even possible?? Our sweet baby boy is 2. TWO YEARS OLD PEOPLE!! It seems like he was just born yesterday and at the same time, like I've said before, like he's been here forever! It's obviously been the best 2 years of our life. He's the most fun little man ever. He makes us laugh every single day!!
We just had the 2 year check up today and here's where we are:
Height: 34 3/4" - 45%
Weight: 30.15 lbs - 90%
Head: 92% (yep, still huge)
The doctor was so impressed with both is gross motor skills (aka ability to climb literally anything in sight) as well as his highly advanced verbal skills (we are now speaking in 3-5 word sentences pretty much all the time). He dropped his Thomas toy and said 'Oh no, I dropped my train mama'. The doctor stopped dead in her tracks and said 'well, I guess we don't need to go over his verbal skills!'. She said with highly verbal children the 'terrible 2' phase usually hits at 18 months, which is probably why in some of my last posts you've heard me talk about the terrible 2's hitting early at our house. She said 2 should be a breeze, but just be ready for 3. Grrrrrrreaattt!!
In other news, WE HAVE MOVED! We officially moved into our new home just over a week ago (May 10th was our first official night in the house). And while it's been so nice to get settled into the new house, the move was not without it's drama. We were as organized as you possibly can be with a move like that. All our ducks in a row for deliveries, boxes were marked with what was inside as well as what room to take them to. Brock was going to daycare for the majority of the day. We were good to go. Or so we thought.
I picked up Brock from daycare and he was on FIRE. He was crying and fussy and just miserable. So, I took him home only to turn right around and take him to Children's Mercy Urgent Care (seriously - they should probably give us a kick back for how many times I mention them in this blog due to his many visits there). Sure enough, the ear infection he had from 2 weeks before was not gone. So, we tried a new anti-biotic hoping to really kick it this time. We started it Friday night (our first night in the house) and he was still miserable all night and slept in our bed. We were immediately grateful for going for the king sized bed as having him in there with us was not nearly as painful as in the old house.
However, the meds just didn't kick in right away. His fever was spiking almost every 4 hours (whenever the Tylenol wore off) to anywhere from 101-104. Poor baby was just absolutely miserable. On top of that, he started to get an AWFUL cough that would get so bad, he would get to the point of almost throwing up. He felt terrible and was barely eating and refused to sleep. He learned how to crawl out of his crib and when we would lay him down for a nap, he would either lay there and just cry his eyes out, or crawl out of the crib. He ended up in our bed every night for the entire weekend. We were all completely and totally exhausted in every sense of the word. And on top of that, I was starting to worry we were setting a bad precedent: new house = sleep in mommy/daddy's bed.
By Monday we were back at the doctor's office since it just didn't seem like the meds were helping kick this thing. The doctor checked him out and decided to keep him on the same stuff, but added an inhaler to try and take care of the cough. THANK GOD! Monday night was his first night in his new room and he slept the entire night!! I am happy to report he now loves his new room and with one small exception, has not tried to climb out of his crib anymore.
And who has time for a sick kid, when you've got 2 big birthdays coming up?? Yes, I am a complete maniac and yes I planned and sent out invitations to have Brock's 2nd birthday at our new house the week after we moved. On top of that, I planned a small family bbq at the house the night before his party to celebrate Nick turning 30.
Thankfully we have the best family anyone could ask for. We had help getting our house organized and unpacked and my rockstar husband worked his butt off to get everything at least out of the garage and into the house by the end of moving weekend. By the time the party rolled around, our house was completely unpacked and organized except for the storage room and 3rd stall in the garage.
So on to the fun stuff - birthday weekend. The family bbq was the perfect 'chill' way to celebrate such a milestone birthday for Nick. We had ribs, burgers, brats, beer and just a nice night with the fam. We woke up Saturday and I was just in total shock that my baby was turning 2. The craziness of moving had made me sort of out of touch with time and reality and it hit me like a ton of bricks! I tried to let him have his day, his way. With the exception of nap time where we had our only other 'crib escape' incident. But it was well worth it for him to get good rest in before party time!
The theme for his party this year was Jake and the Neverland Pirates. The activities included: 'Walk the Plank', dig for treasure, dress up like your favorite character and of course, the tradition we started last year - the pinata, which was in the form of a treasure chest. The kids all had a complete blast playing in the yard and we were so grateful that our house was easily able to hold the 50+ people who came. The kids played outside but also had an absolute blast in Brock's new playroom in the basement.
Present time was so fun! Brock gets so excited by things now and would give a little 'gasp' or even an 'Oh my God' at some of the awesome things he got!! The kids were nice and worn out (and let's be honest, so were we). There are so many great pictures and you can see them on my facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151370622321886.1073741827.500091885&type=3
Coming up on the calendar is Brock's 'trial' day at his new school this Friday and then on June 3rd, he starts full time! I am anticipating some sadness both for him and for me as we are leaving our beloved CC and all her wonderful family and the kiddos there. But luckily, they are pretty much like family to us and we will still see them as much as possible!
Wow, how is that title even possible?? Our sweet baby boy is 2. TWO YEARS OLD PEOPLE!! It seems like he was just born yesterday and at the same time, like I've said before, like he's been here forever! It's obviously been the best 2 years of our life. He's the most fun little man ever. He makes us laugh every single day!!
We just had the 2 year check up today and here's where we are:
Height: 34 3/4" - 45%
Weight: 30.15 lbs - 90%
Head: 92% (yep, still huge)
The doctor was so impressed with both is gross motor skills (aka ability to climb literally anything in sight) as well as his highly advanced verbal skills (we are now speaking in 3-5 word sentences pretty much all the time). He dropped his Thomas toy and said 'Oh no, I dropped my train mama'. The doctor stopped dead in her tracks and said 'well, I guess we don't need to go over his verbal skills!'. She said with highly verbal children the 'terrible 2' phase usually hits at 18 months, which is probably why in some of my last posts you've heard me talk about the terrible 2's hitting early at our house. She said 2 should be a breeze, but just be ready for 3. Grrrrrrreaattt!!
In other news, WE HAVE MOVED! We officially moved into our new home just over a week ago (May 10th was our first official night in the house). And while it's been so nice to get settled into the new house, the move was not without it's drama. We were as organized as you possibly can be with a move like that. All our ducks in a row for deliveries, boxes were marked with what was inside as well as what room to take them to. Brock was going to daycare for the majority of the day. We were good to go. Or so we thought.
I picked up Brock from daycare and he was on FIRE. He was crying and fussy and just miserable. So, I took him home only to turn right around and take him to Children's Mercy Urgent Care (seriously - they should probably give us a kick back for how many times I mention them in this blog due to his many visits there). Sure enough, the ear infection he had from 2 weeks before was not gone. So, we tried a new anti-biotic hoping to really kick it this time. We started it Friday night (our first night in the house) and he was still miserable all night and slept in our bed. We were immediately grateful for going for the king sized bed as having him in there with us was not nearly as painful as in the old house.
However, the meds just didn't kick in right away. His fever was spiking almost every 4 hours (whenever the Tylenol wore off) to anywhere from 101-104. Poor baby was just absolutely miserable. On top of that, he started to get an AWFUL cough that would get so bad, he would get to the point of almost throwing up. He felt terrible and was barely eating and refused to sleep. He learned how to crawl out of his crib and when we would lay him down for a nap, he would either lay there and just cry his eyes out, or crawl out of the crib. He ended up in our bed every night for the entire weekend. We were all completely and totally exhausted in every sense of the word. And on top of that, I was starting to worry we were setting a bad precedent: new house = sleep in mommy/daddy's bed.
By Monday we were back at the doctor's office since it just didn't seem like the meds were helping kick this thing. The doctor checked him out and decided to keep him on the same stuff, but added an inhaler to try and take care of the cough. THANK GOD! Monday night was his first night in his new room and he slept the entire night!! I am happy to report he now loves his new room and with one small exception, has not tried to climb out of his crib anymore.
And who has time for a sick kid, when you've got 2 big birthdays coming up?? Yes, I am a complete maniac and yes I planned and sent out invitations to have Brock's 2nd birthday at our new house the week after we moved. On top of that, I planned a small family bbq at the house the night before his party to celebrate Nick turning 30.
Thankfully we have the best family anyone could ask for. We had help getting our house organized and unpacked and my rockstar husband worked his butt off to get everything at least out of the garage and into the house by the end of moving weekend. By the time the party rolled around, our house was completely unpacked and organized except for the storage room and 3rd stall in the garage.
So on to the fun stuff - birthday weekend. The family bbq was the perfect 'chill' way to celebrate such a milestone birthday for Nick. We had ribs, burgers, brats, beer and just a nice night with the fam. We woke up Saturday and I was just in total shock that my baby was turning 2. The craziness of moving had made me sort of out of touch with time and reality and it hit me like a ton of bricks! I tried to let him have his day, his way. With the exception of nap time where we had our only other 'crib escape' incident. But it was well worth it for him to get good rest in before party time!
The theme for his party this year was Jake and the Neverland Pirates. The activities included: 'Walk the Plank', dig for treasure, dress up like your favorite character and of course, the tradition we started last year - the pinata, which was in the form of a treasure chest. The kids all had a complete blast playing in the yard and we were so grateful that our house was easily able to hold the 50+ people who came. The kids played outside but also had an absolute blast in Brock's new playroom in the basement.
Present time was so fun! Brock gets so excited by things now and would give a little 'gasp' or even an 'Oh my God' at some of the awesome things he got!! The kids were nice and worn out (and let's be honest, so were we). There are so many great pictures and you can see them on my facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151370622321886.1073741827.500091885&type=3
Coming up on the calendar is Brock's 'trial' day at his new school this Friday and then on June 3rd, he starts full time! I am anticipating some sadness both for him and for me as we are leaving our beloved CC and all her wonderful family and the kiddos there. But luckily, they are pretty much like family to us and we will still see them as much as possible!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Catching up....
23 months, 2 weeks
WOW! I just logged on and realized it's been over a month since my last blog update! Sorry folks! It's been a little wacky for us lately.
We officially moved out of our beloved 1st house on April 20th. I knew it would be sad and hard, but I never imagined it would be as hard as it was. I found myself breaking down seeing each room empty. I immediately had flashbacks in movie-montage style running through my head of all the ways each room looked from the day we moved in to now. I was looking back on all the fun memories we had there. All the parties, girls nights, low-key date nights and family nights we had here. This is the home we got married in, and most importantly, the home we brought Brock home to. The hardest part was the last time walking through, getting all the last minute items, when Brock walked in to the living room and pointed by the wall where we used to keep his toys, and said 'where toys go Mama?'. I lost it!
Luckily, he has been the biggest trooper through this entire process. He has been totally relaxed and happy to just go with the flow. Grandma and Grandpa have been kind enough to let usstay in completely invade their home. There are toys everywhere, boxes, clothes, Brock's entire birthday party set up has taken over their dining room. But they have been wonderful in letting us stay there. We have one more week and then it's off to our new house!
Brock has had a blast staying with Tazzy! They have to say good morning to each other each day and Taz just loves him! There is a park right across the street from their house so we've spent a lot of time there and just running around in the backyard. That is, until yesterday, when it was SNOWING ON MAY 2nd. Yes, you read that right. SNOW. IN MAY. RIDICULOUS! It went from 80* on Wednesday to snow on the ground last night. Only in Kansas!
We are getting very excited to move into our new home and to have Brock's big 2nd birthday bash the week after!! I can't believe my sweet baby is almost 2!! It has gone so fast and at the same time, feels like he's been here forever. Some of the 'terrible 2's' have subsided a bit. We aren't hearing as much 'no' and 'I don't likes'. We decided to stop even giving him any attention if he says 'I don't like' for no reason. I think it's helped tone it down to only when applicable.
He is now speaking almost exclusively in full-on sentences and we can easily have conversations with him. We were at the doctor a couple of weeks ago and they had a sign on the wall asking 'does your child does this by this age?'. We were looking under the 2 year old column - he'd already long since mastered all of it and was over half-way done with the 3 year old list!
Now that things are hopefully slowing down, I promise to try and stay more on top of the updates to the good 'ole blog!
WOW! I just logged on and realized it's been over a month since my last blog update! Sorry folks! It's been a little wacky for us lately.
We officially moved out of our beloved 1st house on April 20th. I knew it would be sad and hard, but I never imagined it would be as hard as it was. I found myself breaking down seeing each room empty. I immediately had flashbacks in movie-montage style running through my head of all the ways each room looked from the day we moved in to now. I was looking back on all the fun memories we had there. All the parties, girls nights, low-key date nights and family nights we had here. This is the home we got married in, and most importantly, the home we brought Brock home to. The hardest part was the last time walking through, getting all the last minute items, when Brock walked in to the living room and pointed by the wall where we used to keep his toys, and said 'where toys go Mama?'. I lost it!
Luckily, he has been the biggest trooper through this entire process. He has been totally relaxed and happy to just go with the flow. Grandma and Grandpa have been kind enough to let us
Brock has had a blast staying with Tazzy! They have to say good morning to each other each day and Taz just loves him! There is a park right across the street from their house so we've spent a lot of time there and just running around in the backyard. That is, until yesterday, when it was SNOWING ON MAY 2nd. Yes, you read that right. SNOW. IN MAY. RIDICULOUS! It went from 80* on Wednesday to snow on the ground last night. Only in Kansas!
We are getting very excited to move into our new home and to have Brock's big 2nd birthday bash the week after!! I can't believe my sweet baby is almost 2!! It has gone so fast and at the same time, feels like he's been here forever. Some of the 'terrible 2's' have subsided a bit. We aren't hearing as much 'no' and 'I don't likes'. We decided to stop even giving him any attention if he says 'I don't like' for no reason. I think it's helped tone it down to only when applicable.
He is now speaking almost exclusively in full-on sentences and we can easily have conversations with him. We were at the doctor a couple of weeks ago and they had a sign on the wall asking 'does your child does this by this age?'. We were looking under the 2 year old column - he'd already long since mastered all of it and was over half-way done with the 3 year old list!
Now that things are hopefully slowing down, I promise to try and stay more on top of the updates to the good 'ole blog!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Ya gotta take the good with the bad....
22 months exactly!
So, as you can probably tell from the title, the 'terrible twos' I referenced in my last blog entry are not only still present, they are getting more and more prevalent in our household. Now everything is 'mine', 'no' is said at least 100 times a day (by him AND us), sharing is a key item we need to work on and the most recent and horrific episode: 'shut up dada' which was uttered out of my once sweet angel's lips yesterday. We're still trying to track down where he heard that one...
BUT, I have decided 2 things - 1. We are totally getting paid back for how wonderful of a baby he was, 2. He's still the best thing that's ever happened to us and we're taking the few bad things with the infinite good things that come from having him in our lives. So, rather than harp on the negative, this post is dedicated to all the wonderful, funny, and sweet things he does that make our lives complete.
- He LOVES music, just like Nick and I. If there is no music on (or if God forbid a commercial comes on in the car), he starts saying 'song mama, more song'. And as soon as a song comes on, he'll bob his head, pump his fist, kick his feet, whatever dance move he feels at the time. He also LOVES to sing, he sing almost all of 'Twinkle Twinkle' by himself (ok, he doesn't hit EVERY word, but you can totally tell what he's saying) and he'll sing in the car. Some of the current faves are: 'Girl on Fire' by Alicia Keys, he sings 'FIIIYAAAAAAA' and it's adorable; Bruno Mars; fun - he still loves anything they sing.
- He says thank you all the time. 'Thank You Mama', 'Thank you Dada', etc. He also says 'Welcome' if you tell him thank you. We're still working on please - not sure what the hold up is on that one. If you say 'can you say please?' he just nods his head. 'Uh yeah mom, I can say it, just don't want to'. Pretty funny.
- He is speaking in 3-4 word sentences and we have full conversations with him. He tells us 'I don't like it' if he doesn't like something. As always, his communication skills never stop amazing us.
- He likes us to scratch his back and belly. If he's getting tired and laying down by us, he'll pull up his shirt and say 'scratch mama'. It's so cute I can't help but do it.
- He has started pretending with his toys. The other day I heard him tell his cars to 'be nice'. And we got him a couple toy dinosaurs and he was making them roar at each other.
- He still absolutely LOVES anything and everything Cars. McQueen (pronounced MaaaQueen or just 'queen', Mater - pronounced 'Namer', Finn (from Cars 2) and Mack (from Cars 1) are his favorite characters. He picks up his McQueen cars and says 'ka-chow' just like the movie.
- He is still an amazing sleeper. Goes to bed most nights with no trouble and sleeps all the way through. No matter what else is going on, we are so thankful for that!
- He loves going to see his 'new house' and knows where we are when we turn down the street. He starts saying 'new house! new house!'. He knows (most of the time) which room is his and points it out.
- Nick's favorite new hobby with Brock is throwing around the baseball. He got Brock a small glove last year and Brock puts it on and likes to put his baseball in it. He throws the ball (not very far) and thinks it's so fun. Not long before they are playing full on catch in the backyard!
He makes us smile and laugh every day, and even when we have our moments of frustration, we wouldn't trade one second of it for anything in the world. He is the true joy in our lives and we feel beyond blessed to call him ours.
So, as you can probably tell from the title, the 'terrible twos' I referenced in my last blog entry are not only still present, they are getting more and more prevalent in our household. Now everything is 'mine', 'no' is said at least 100 times a day (by him AND us), sharing is a key item we need to work on and the most recent and horrific episode: 'shut up dada' which was uttered out of my once sweet angel's lips yesterday. We're still trying to track down where he heard that one...
BUT, I have decided 2 things - 1. We are totally getting paid back for how wonderful of a baby he was, 2. He's still the best thing that's ever happened to us and we're taking the few bad things with the infinite good things that come from having him in our lives. So, rather than harp on the negative, this post is dedicated to all the wonderful, funny, and sweet things he does that make our lives complete.
- He LOVES music, just like Nick and I. If there is no music on (or if God forbid a commercial comes on in the car), he starts saying 'song mama, more song'. And as soon as a song comes on, he'll bob his head, pump his fist, kick his feet, whatever dance move he feels at the time. He also LOVES to sing, he sing almost all of 'Twinkle Twinkle' by himself (ok, he doesn't hit EVERY word, but you can totally tell what he's saying) and he'll sing in the car. Some of the current faves are: 'Girl on Fire' by Alicia Keys, he sings 'FIIIYAAAAAAA' and it's adorable; Bruno Mars; fun - he still loves anything they sing.
- He says thank you all the time. 'Thank You Mama', 'Thank you Dada', etc. He also says 'Welcome' if you tell him thank you. We're still working on please - not sure what the hold up is on that one. If you say 'can you say please?' he just nods his head. 'Uh yeah mom, I can say it, just don't want to'. Pretty funny.
- He is speaking in 3-4 word sentences and we have full conversations with him. He tells us 'I don't like it' if he doesn't like something. As always, his communication skills never stop amazing us.
- He likes us to scratch his back and belly. If he's getting tired and laying down by us, he'll pull up his shirt and say 'scratch mama'. It's so cute I can't help but do it.
- He has started pretending with his toys. The other day I heard him tell his cars to 'be nice'. And we got him a couple toy dinosaurs and he was making them roar at each other.
- He still absolutely LOVES anything and everything Cars. McQueen (pronounced MaaaQueen or just 'queen', Mater - pronounced 'Namer', Finn (from Cars 2) and Mack (from Cars 1) are his favorite characters. He picks up his McQueen cars and says 'ka-chow' just like the movie.
- He is still an amazing sleeper. Goes to bed most nights with no trouble and sleeps all the way through. No matter what else is going on, we are so thankful for that!
- He loves going to see his 'new house' and knows where we are when we turn down the street. He starts saying 'new house! new house!'. He knows (most of the time) which room is his and points it out.
- Nick's favorite new hobby with Brock is throwing around the baseball. He got Brock a small glove last year and Brock puts it on and likes to put his baseball in it. He throws the ball (not very far) and thinks it's so fun. Not long before they are playing full on catch in the backyard!
He makes us smile and laugh every day, and even when we have our moments of frustration, we wouldn't trade one second of it for anything in the world. He is the true joy in our lives and we feel beyond blessed to call him ours.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Cabin Fever
21 months, 1 week
We have had 2 EPIC snow storms come through our little area, less than a week apart! The first one dropped about a foot of snow on a Thursday, and by the following Tuesday morning, we had about 6-8 more inches. They broke records and made the roads just a mess. Businesses completely shut down, stores were running out of food, they were urging people not to drive unless it was an emergency.
All that said, it meant 3 days of working from home for Nick and I, along with Brock having snow days from daycare. I didn't want him in a car on the roads as they were really bad a couple of the days, so the 3 of us, and Oscar, were all cooped up. By the end of yesterday, we were all getting terrible cabin fever.
Brock is just at an age where he's too wild and full of energy to be cooped up all day. Nick and I tried to take turns watching him and playing, but we both still had to be sure we were getting our work done. We took some time yesterday to play in the snow. Brock helped Nick shovel, we started to build a snowman, etc. He loved being outside in the snow, unlike his Mommy!
We also think the terrible 2's are starting to set in a little early. We are hearing a LOT of 'no mommy/daddy', and 'my (fill in the blank here - anything from potato to a certain toy to love you - yes, you say I love you and he says 'no MY love you' but not in the sweet 'I love you more kind of way.)
Meals have become almost dreaded. He has little interest in sitting down to eat a meal. He wants to play with his food, play with his cup, feed the dog, occasionally try and throw his food, etc. It tests our patience big time!
He had his first real 'fit' at the grocery store over the weekend. He saw a Lightning McQueen bubble bath car and wanted it. He kept saying 'Queen! Queen!'. But, we don't want him to get in the habit of getting something every time we go to the store, so we told him we were not getting it. He just LOST IT. Screaming, crying we were totally 'those parents'. Nick took him out to the car while I finished paying for the groceries and avoiding all eye contract with anyone who saw the meltdown.
He's also become a little harder to take places. Now that he's so mobile and independent, he does NOT want to be in a cart and he does not want to be held. He wants to run around like a mad man all over whatever store we happen to be in. It's made the house decisions a little tougher as we decide whether to have someone watch him (and thus scheduling is needed) or try and be brave and roll the dice that he'll cooperate.It's a fine line between risking it to try and get him used to behaving like a human and not a monkey or just going the easy route to get decisions made quickly and get on with our day.
With all that said, he's also getting a lot more loving. He gives full on hugs now where he wraps both his little arms around your neck. And he loves to give kisses. He'll say 'love you or I love you' and if I say 'love you to the moon' he says 'love you moon!' And he likes to check on everyone. If I say 'ouch' or seem sad, he'll say 'you ok mama'? and pat my arm or leg. It just melts my heart everytime. He's so sweet and so wild all wrapped into one little perfect boy.
Every day I look at him and he just looks so much bigger and more grown up. Yesterday, as the cabin fever was taking over and my patience was almost gone, I started to talk myself out of getting frustrated. They are only young like this once. I know as hard as these days can be, I will miss them like crazy in the not too distant future!
And for those of you keeping up with the house, the weather has put a little damper on the progress but we are hoping to really see some changes by the end of this week! They were supposed to be painting and staining this week so we should have some updated pictures soon!
We have had 2 EPIC snow storms come through our little area, less than a week apart! The first one dropped about a foot of snow on a Thursday, and by the following Tuesday morning, we had about 6-8 more inches. They broke records and made the roads just a mess. Businesses completely shut down, stores were running out of food, they were urging people not to drive unless it was an emergency.
All that said, it meant 3 days of working from home for Nick and I, along with Brock having snow days from daycare. I didn't want him in a car on the roads as they were really bad a couple of the days, so the 3 of us, and Oscar, were all cooped up. By the end of yesterday, we were all getting terrible cabin fever.
Brock is just at an age where he's too wild and full of energy to be cooped up all day. Nick and I tried to take turns watching him and playing, but we both still had to be sure we were getting our work done. We took some time yesterday to play in the snow. Brock helped Nick shovel, we started to build a snowman, etc. He loved being outside in the snow, unlike his Mommy!
We also think the terrible 2's are starting to set in a little early. We are hearing a LOT of 'no mommy/daddy', and 'my (fill in the blank here - anything from potato to a certain toy to love you - yes, you say I love you and he says 'no MY love you' but not in the sweet 'I love you more kind of way.)
Meals have become almost dreaded. He has little interest in sitting down to eat a meal. He wants to play with his food, play with his cup, feed the dog, occasionally try and throw his food, etc. It tests our patience big time!
He had his first real 'fit' at the grocery store over the weekend. He saw a Lightning McQueen bubble bath car and wanted it. He kept saying 'Queen! Queen!'. But, we don't want him to get in the habit of getting something every time we go to the store, so we told him we were not getting it. He just LOST IT. Screaming, crying we were totally 'those parents'. Nick took him out to the car while I finished paying for the groceries and avoiding all eye contract with anyone who saw the meltdown.
He's also become a little harder to take places. Now that he's so mobile and independent, he does NOT want to be in a cart and he does not want to be held. He wants to run around like a mad man all over whatever store we happen to be in. It's made the house decisions a little tougher as we decide whether to have someone watch him (and thus scheduling is needed) or try and be brave and roll the dice that he'll cooperate.It's a fine line between risking it to try and get him used to behaving like a human and not a monkey or just going the easy route to get decisions made quickly and get on with our day.
With all that said, he's also getting a lot more loving. He gives full on hugs now where he wraps both his little arms around your neck. And he loves to give kisses. He'll say 'love you or I love you' and if I say 'love you to the moon' he says 'love you moon!' And he likes to check on everyone. If I say 'ouch' or seem sad, he'll say 'you ok mama'? and pat my arm or leg. It just melts my heart everytime. He's so sweet and so wild all wrapped into one little perfect boy.
Every day I look at him and he just looks so much bigger and more grown up. Yesterday, as the cabin fever was taking over and my patience was almost gone, I started to talk myself out of getting frustrated. They are only young like this once. I know as hard as these days can be, I will miss them like crazy in the not too distant future!
And for those of you keeping up with the house, the weather has put a little damper on the progress but we are hoping to really see some changes by the end of this week! They were supposed to be painting and staining this week so we should have some updated pictures soon!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
We have a house!!
20 months, 3 weeks
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Barbosa's are heading west! We have a house!! We are so so so happy and excited to be able to share our new home with everyone!
We bought a home out in Olathe (where we always said we would never live), and out west (where we said we'd never go). We broke all of our 'rules' and we are so glad we did! It's a brand new home, which is already built but we get to pick the finishes (paint, carpet, granite, lighting, etc). We are having the basement finished before we move in and Nick designed the perfect layout for our family! We can't wait to see it all finished! It will be in the Kansas City Parade of Homes the last weekend in April and first weekend in May so we won't be able to actually move in until May 10th, but we get to go out there as much as we want between now and then - and trust me, we will be out there a LOT! And we will be in just in time to have Brock's 2nd birthday at the house - perfect timing!
It was quite a stressful week going back and forth on negotiations, but it was well worth it! It made us realize how much we really wanted the house and Nick and I were both on the same page about it the entire time which was awesome! It would have been so tough if one of us was trying to convince the other to keep fighting if they just didn't feel it was right. But we really never waiver'd on the fact that it was 'our' house.
It has everything we EVER said we wanted in a house and then some. There were a few 'dream' items we wanted and didn't think we could find. And this one has it all. On top of that, we are in a neighborhood that is mostly young families like us. They have organized activities for the holidays (Easter egg hunts, Santa sleigh rides, 4th of July parades and more). We feel it is just the perfect fit for our family and are so excited to move in and get settled!
We have been out a few times already and Brock got to see his 'new house' for the first time over the past weekend. We've been talking about it to him a lot and he would hold up the flyer for it and say 'new house'. We showed him the house, his room and even met our backyard neighbors!
So, now for the goods, here is the first picture of the house since it officially become 'ours':
It hasn't been painted yet so that's just the color of the wet stucco. We are meeting this week to pick out paint colors and will keep updates here or on Facebook with the progress!
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Barbosa's are heading west! We have a house!! We are so so so happy and excited to be able to share our new home with everyone!
We bought a home out in Olathe (where we always said we would never live), and out west (where we said we'd never go). We broke all of our 'rules' and we are so glad we did! It's a brand new home, which is already built but we get to pick the finishes (paint, carpet, granite, lighting, etc). We are having the basement finished before we move in and Nick designed the perfect layout for our family! We can't wait to see it all finished! It will be in the Kansas City Parade of Homes the last weekend in April and first weekend in May so we won't be able to actually move in until May 10th, but we get to go out there as much as we want between now and then - and trust me, we will be out there a LOT! And we will be in just in time to have Brock's 2nd birthday at the house - perfect timing!
It was quite a stressful week going back and forth on negotiations, but it was well worth it! It made us realize how much we really wanted the house and Nick and I were both on the same page about it the entire time which was awesome! It would have been so tough if one of us was trying to convince the other to keep fighting if they just didn't feel it was right. But we really never waiver'd on the fact that it was 'our' house.
It has everything we EVER said we wanted in a house and then some. There were a few 'dream' items we wanted and didn't think we could find. And this one has it all. On top of that, we are in a neighborhood that is mostly young families like us. They have organized activities for the holidays (Easter egg hunts, Santa sleigh rides, 4th of July parades and more). We feel it is just the perfect fit for our family and are so excited to move in and get settled!
We have been out a few times already and Brock got to see his 'new house' for the first time over the past weekend. We've been talking about it to him a lot and he would hold up the flyer for it and say 'new house'. We showed him the house, his room and even met our backyard neighbors!
So, now for the goods, here is the first picture of the house since it officially become 'ours':
Monday, February 4, 2013
My favorite words...
20 months, 1 week
Brock started uttering my favorite words I've ever heard him say this weekend 'Love you'. He used to say 'I love you' but it was always only copying someone else and I don't think he knew what it meant. We were leaving Gary and Judy's on Friday and as we always do we said 'Say bye-bye. Say Love You.' Usually he never does...he'll wave and maybe actually say bye-bye when we're already in the car. But sure enough he said 'bye bye. Love you'. It was the cutest, sweetest, most heart-melting moment.
So over the weekend, it just progressed from 'love you' to 'love you mama', 'love you dada' and then 'love you (fill in family member here)'. I got him on video saying 'Love you Poppy. Love you Meme' and sent it to my Dad, I got him saying 'Love you Mia' and sent it to my sister. I got him saying 'Love you Grammie' but since my mom has a phone from 1905, I couldn't send her the video. Luckily, he said it to her OVER the phone so she actually got to hear it.
We were crazy busy with house-related things over the weekend and poor Brock was stuck getting dropped off at one Grandma's after the other while we handled some house business. We think we should have some good news to share soon...but you'll just have to wait and see!
Yesterday we went to the annual Superbowl party at Nick's aunt and uncle's house. Brock was so tired and a little overwhelmed but had a blast playing with his cousin Ryan and all his fun toys! We headed home at halftime right at the start of a full on melt down. We thought he was just tired until we got in the car and realized he was pushing and straining really hard. Like he was stopped up. He cried the ENTIRE 20 minutes back home, which is incredibly rare for him.
It made me realize how lucky we are that we got such an easy baby. I know there are parents who deal with those fits all the time or just have hard to please kiddos that cry a lot. You could definitely feel the tension and nerves in the car while he was wailing away, but we tried to stay calm until we got home. We gave him gas drops, Tylenol and his allergy medicine to try and fix whatever the problem was. I rocked him to sleep but he kept waking up every 30 mins or so crying or fussing. Finally I brought him in bed with us for awhile and I rubbed and pushed on his little tummy to try and work out the gas or whatever it was. It must have helped because he let out a long toot and was a completely different kid almost right away. Poor little guy. There is absolutely nothing worse than seeing your child in pain and not being able to help them! Luckily, he went right to sleep in his bed after that and not a peep for the rest of the night.
He has started singing along to songs in the car and it is the cutest ever! He usually only pick up words he knows 'yeah' 'oh', etc. It's pretty funny!
He has almost started to grow out of his 2T clothes! Looks like it might be about time for a wardrobe upgrade!
Brock started uttering my favorite words I've ever heard him say this weekend 'Love you'. He used to say 'I love you' but it was always only copying someone else and I don't think he knew what it meant. We were leaving Gary and Judy's on Friday and as we always do we said 'Say bye-bye. Say Love You.' Usually he never does...he'll wave and maybe actually say bye-bye when we're already in the car. But sure enough he said 'bye bye. Love you'. It was the cutest, sweetest, most heart-melting moment.
So over the weekend, it just progressed from 'love you' to 'love you mama', 'love you dada' and then 'love you (fill in family member here)'. I got him on video saying 'Love you Poppy. Love you Meme' and sent it to my Dad, I got him saying 'Love you Mia' and sent it to my sister. I got him saying 'Love you Grammie' but since my mom has a phone from 1905, I couldn't send her the video. Luckily, he said it to her OVER the phone so she actually got to hear it.
We were crazy busy with house-related things over the weekend and poor Brock was stuck getting dropped off at one Grandma's after the other while we handled some house business. We think we should have some good news to share soon...but you'll just have to wait and see!
Yesterday we went to the annual Superbowl party at Nick's aunt and uncle's house. Brock was so tired and a little overwhelmed but had a blast playing with his cousin Ryan and all his fun toys! We headed home at halftime right at the start of a full on melt down. We thought he was just tired until we got in the car and realized he was pushing and straining really hard. Like he was stopped up. He cried the ENTIRE 20 minutes back home, which is incredibly rare for him.
It made me realize how lucky we are that we got such an easy baby. I know there are parents who deal with those fits all the time or just have hard to please kiddos that cry a lot. You could definitely feel the tension and nerves in the car while he was wailing away, but we tried to stay calm until we got home. We gave him gas drops, Tylenol and his allergy medicine to try and fix whatever the problem was. I rocked him to sleep but he kept waking up every 30 mins or so crying or fussing. Finally I brought him in bed with us for awhile and I rubbed and pushed on his little tummy to try and work out the gas or whatever it was. It must have helped because he let out a long toot and was a completely different kid almost right away. Poor little guy. There is absolutely nothing worse than seeing your child in pain and not being able to help them! Luckily, he went right to sleep in his bed after that and not a peep for the rest of the night.
He has started singing along to songs in the car and it is the cutest ever! He usually only pick up words he knows 'yeah' 'oh', etc. It's pretty funny!
He has almost started to grow out of his 2T clothes! Looks like it might be about time for a wardrobe upgrade!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Movin' on up?!
20 months, 1 week
Wow, a couple more weeks have somehow flown past us yet again and I didn't have a chance to blog! Luckily, that is because we've had a lot of exciting things going on at home!!
We officially put our house on the market this week and are happy to say, we are already under contract! We put our FSBO sign in the front yard last Friday and had 2 showings just off of that. Then we listed it on MLS on Tuesday afternoon and had another 10 showings by Wednesday night. We had a few more showings on Thursday and then a bidding war began between 2 interested buyers and we accepted an offer for more than our asking price!! We still have the inspection period to get through and we don't close until the end of April, but if all goes according to plan, we should be in a new house by May 1st! (Now we just need to FIND one).
We've spent the last month getting our house ready to sell/stage so we were really glad we had already bought tickets to Sesame Street Live for Brock last Saturday. He has been the biggest trooper through all the prepping the house and has probably felt a little confused by all the changes so we were happy to just get to spend an afternoon doing something we thought he would love.
Unfortunately, when we bought the tickets a few months ago, he was taking his nap around 11 am. So we bought tickets for the 2 pm show thinking he'd be done with his nap. Well, nowadays he doesn't even go down until after lunch so we were playing with fire. We went to lunch and could tell he was getting a little crabby/tired but we hoped seeing Elmo and Ernie would perk him up.
We had talked all week and all morning about seeing Elmo and giving him a hug. So when we got inside, he just took off running yelling 'Elmo....see Elmo'. We found a cardboard cut out Elmo and he looked over and said 'hug?' and so he gave Elmo a hug. Then we found an area where they had some of the characters come out before the show to sing and dance. Bert, Ernie and Zoe came out and Brock was just in awe. They high-fived him and he thought it was so cool!
We bought him his token toy and found our awesome seats right on the floor by the stage! The show started and Brock's eyes were just bugging out! He hung in there as long as he could until he finally just passed out on my shoulder about halfway through the first part. We debated leaving at intermission to let him get a full nap in, but we waited it out and are so glad we did. He got about a 30 min power nap (a good chunk of it during intermission) and woke up just in time for the 2nd half. This time he was much more focused and even got to high five The Count when he walked by. He seemed to love it and we will definitely go again!
It's so crazy how much he is turning into such a little man. He has started becoming more aware of when he's going to the bathroom and sometimes goes to have some 'privacy' in the corner. Last weekend I noticed he wasn't in the room with me anymore and I found him in his room. I asked him what he was doing and he looked up at me and very sweetly and almost a little confusedly said 'get out'. He almost said it like a question like he wasn't sure what he was saying. And I just stopped and couldn't believe it! But I could tell he was working on something so I let him have his space. I came back a few minutes later and sure enough, he had filled his diaper and just wanted a few minutes to himself. It was so cute I couldn't be mad, but it also was scary that he's getting old enough to tell us these things!
He is definitely getting more wild and loves to run and dance and even sometimes screech when he gets excited. We're working on that last one because he can get pretty loud! With our house being staged, we took some furniture out to make things more open and he's had a blast running wild in the basement.
Some of our favorite words he says right now:
feffast (breakfast)
fuffin (muffin)
namer (Mater from cars)
ah-kee (Osci)
Dilla (quesadilla)
dip (he loves to dip his food in everything, ketchup, salsa, cheese, whatever is close)
Things will probably stay pretty busy for the next few months for us so I will try and keep on these blogs to keep everyone updated!
Wow, a couple more weeks have somehow flown past us yet again and I didn't have a chance to blog! Luckily, that is because we've had a lot of exciting things going on at home!!
We officially put our house on the market this week and are happy to say, we are already under contract! We put our FSBO sign in the front yard last Friday and had 2 showings just off of that. Then we listed it on MLS on Tuesday afternoon and had another 10 showings by Wednesday night. We had a few more showings on Thursday and then a bidding war began between 2 interested buyers and we accepted an offer for more than our asking price!! We still have the inspection period to get through and we don't close until the end of April, but if all goes according to plan, we should be in a new house by May 1st! (Now we just need to FIND one).
We've spent the last month getting our house ready to sell/stage so we were really glad we had already bought tickets to Sesame Street Live for Brock last Saturday. He has been the biggest trooper through all the prepping the house and has probably felt a little confused by all the changes so we were happy to just get to spend an afternoon doing something we thought he would love.
Unfortunately, when we bought the tickets a few months ago, he was taking his nap around 11 am. So we bought tickets for the 2 pm show thinking he'd be done with his nap. Well, nowadays he doesn't even go down until after lunch so we were playing with fire. We went to lunch and could tell he was getting a little crabby/tired but we hoped seeing Elmo and Ernie would perk him up.
We had talked all week and all morning about seeing Elmo and giving him a hug. So when we got inside, he just took off running yelling 'Elmo....see Elmo'. We found a cardboard cut out Elmo and he looked over and said 'hug?' and so he gave Elmo a hug. Then we found an area where they had some of the characters come out before the show to sing and dance. Bert, Ernie and Zoe came out and Brock was just in awe. They high-fived him and he thought it was so cool!
We bought him his token toy and found our awesome seats right on the floor by the stage! The show started and Brock's eyes were just bugging out! He hung in there as long as he could until he finally just passed out on my shoulder about halfway through the first part. We debated leaving at intermission to let him get a full nap in, but we waited it out and are so glad we did. He got about a 30 min power nap (a good chunk of it during intermission) and woke up just in time for the 2nd half. This time he was much more focused and even got to high five The Count when he walked by. He seemed to love it and we will definitely go again!
It's so crazy how much he is turning into such a little man. He has started becoming more aware of when he's going to the bathroom and sometimes goes to have some 'privacy' in the corner. Last weekend I noticed he wasn't in the room with me anymore and I found him in his room. I asked him what he was doing and he looked up at me and very sweetly and almost a little confusedly said 'get out'. He almost said it like a question like he wasn't sure what he was saying. And I just stopped and couldn't believe it! But I could tell he was working on something so I let him have his space. I came back a few minutes later and sure enough, he had filled his diaper and just wanted a few minutes to himself. It was so cute I couldn't be mad, but it also was scary that he's getting old enough to tell us these things!
He is definitely getting more wild and loves to run and dance and even sometimes screech when he gets excited. We're working on that last one because he can get pretty loud! With our house being staged, we took some furniture out to make things more open and he's had a blast running wild in the basement.
Some of our favorite words he says right now:
feffast (breakfast)
fuffin (muffin)
namer (Mater from cars)
ah-kee (Osci)
Dilla (quesadilla)
dip (he loves to dip his food in everything, ketchup, salsa, cheese, whatever is close)
Things will probably stay pretty busy for the next few months for us so I will try and keep on these blogs to keep everyone updated!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Holiday 2012 wrap-up
19 months, 2 weeks
As you can probably tell from the lack of posts, this last few weeks have been just crazy for us! Good crazy, but crazy nonetheless.
Christmas started with a little drama for us. We woke up Friday morning (before Christmas) with plans of heading to Wichita that afternoon for round 1 of Christmas celebrations. However, Brock had a low grade fever and had thrown up in his crib over night. I immediately had flashbacks to this EXACT time and trip last year where Brock had the stomach flu, which we thought was teething, and ended up spreading it to my ENTIRE family.
We made a trip into the doctor who tested him for influenza and strep throat - negative on both counts. She said to watch him throughout the day and then make the call from there about going out of town. Well, after much debate, we decided to go ahead with our trip. He hadn't thrown up and seemed to be his normal, wild, happy self. He still had a mild fever but he had 2 molars coming in so we thought we were fine. BIG MISTAKE - about halfway on the drive, he just started getting fussy and his little cheeks were flushed. We got there and he was burning up! We stripped him down and tried to cool him off, thinking the car was just hot because it was crowded. He started to perk up (or so we thought), then started shivering. I was running errands with my dad and got the call that Nick was taking him to Urgent Care. We headed straight there and once we got back to be seen, his temperature had spiked to 104*! Needless to say, Nick and I were a little freaked since he's never had a fever like this.
They concluded it was some sort of virus, nothing they could do to cure it, so they gave him some Tylenol and within an hour, he was bouncing around the room. He started eating and drinking and his fever was gone in no time. We were on high alert all night and the next day but his fever never came back and he was his crazy self for Christmas with the Cole Family! It was an awesome day and trip and he was spoiled! At first, he didn't really 'get' the wrapping paper idea, but he was super pumped about every toy he got and wanted them all out of the box immediately!
We came home Sunday and had a million errands to run to get ready for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve we spent at Gary/Judy's with all the brothers (and their ladies) and the Hoyle clan. Brock and Joey were finally old enough to really play with each other. They had a BLAST! They were just running, screaming (well BROCK was screaming) and chasing each other around the house! It was adorable and Brock was asleep before we got off their street to head home.
Christmas morning was just our little family and it was perfect. We had unwrapped and put together all his toys so he could play with them right away. He was a little confused at first but quickly got over it and dove into all his toys. Then my mom and sister came over for lunch and we had round 4 of Christmas. Once again, this kid was spoiled beyond belief! He is one blessed little man! We ended the night at Great Grandma Elsie's with the entire Barbosa clan! By this one (Christmas #5), he had the whole wrapping paper gig alllll figured out!
I had to head back to work Wednesday, but since daycare was closed, Brock and Daddy got to spend lots of quality time together! He even bonded with Osci. They spent some of their time snuggled up on the couch together.
We started the process of getting our house ready to put on the market so we were really busy with that over the weekend and on New Years' Eve/New Years' Day. We're getting very close and hope to have it listed next month!
Brock has just started communicating with us so much more. As you know if you follow this, he's always been incredibly verbal. But now, he really speaks with a lot more meaning, not just repeating things. He is even on to 3 word sentences (sometimes 2 sentences in a row). Last week I hurt myself and he said 'uh oh Mommy. You ok?'
Some of the main sentences:
'I love you'
'I'll get it'
'Where Mommy go'
'What is it'
Those are just a few of the faves. We've also entered the phase of 'no'. You ask him a question, the answer is 'no'. Not a mean 'NO', it's actually kind of a cute 'no'. Just this week it seems like he knows the difference between yes and no, so he's started putting 'yes' in when it involves food or milk. :)
He also says 'bless you' when you sneeze and is super giving with kisses for Mommy. He'll even ask for them sometimes and it's so cute. He got a little spoiled when he was sick at the ER with sleeping on Mommy's chest so he's started wanting to do that more and more. I know it's a bad habit to start so I try and do it sparingly, but when your baby wants you to hold him, how do you say no? He's also started waking up (sometimes crying) yelling for Mommy or asking 'where mommy go?'. It's heartbreaking and no matter how early it is, it totally works. I go in there and scoop him up and if it's too early, just bring him back in bed with us.
He has become my little buddy and helper. I was cleaning the fridge out and he was in there with me, handing me things to put back (or sometimes taking them back out) and helping me wipe down the fridge. He just loves to help!
He's really into 'colors' (his word for coloring) so he got lots of crayons and paper for Christmas, along with a picnic table to color on at home. I think we're slowly moving past the 'Puss in Boots' phase and he wants to watch Cars now. He always has a car of some sort in his hand. He finally learned out to say 'Queen' for Lightning McQueen and he still knows his Mater or 'namer' as he sometimes calls him.
Lots to catch up on so I apologize for the crazy long post!
As you can probably tell from the lack of posts, this last few weeks have been just crazy for us! Good crazy, but crazy nonetheless.
Christmas started with a little drama for us. We woke up Friday morning (before Christmas) with plans of heading to Wichita that afternoon for round 1 of Christmas celebrations. However, Brock had a low grade fever and had thrown up in his crib over night. I immediately had flashbacks to this EXACT time and trip last year where Brock had the stomach flu, which we thought was teething, and ended up spreading it to my ENTIRE family.
We made a trip into the doctor who tested him for influenza and strep throat - negative on both counts. She said to watch him throughout the day and then make the call from there about going out of town. Well, after much debate, we decided to go ahead with our trip. He hadn't thrown up and seemed to be his normal, wild, happy self. He still had a mild fever but he had 2 molars coming in so we thought we were fine. BIG MISTAKE - about halfway on the drive, he just started getting fussy and his little cheeks were flushed. We got there and he was burning up! We stripped him down and tried to cool him off, thinking the car was just hot because it was crowded. He started to perk up (or so we thought), then started shivering. I was running errands with my dad and got the call that Nick was taking him to Urgent Care. We headed straight there and once we got back to be seen, his temperature had spiked to 104*! Needless to say, Nick and I were a little freaked since he's never had a fever like this.
They concluded it was some sort of virus, nothing they could do to cure it, so they gave him some Tylenol and within an hour, he was bouncing around the room. He started eating and drinking and his fever was gone in no time. We were on high alert all night and the next day but his fever never came back and he was his crazy self for Christmas with the Cole Family! It was an awesome day and trip and he was spoiled! At first, he didn't really 'get' the wrapping paper idea, but he was super pumped about every toy he got and wanted them all out of the box immediately!
We came home Sunday and had a million errands to run to get ready for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve we spent at Gary/Judy's with all the brothers (and their ladies) and the Hoyle clan. Brock and Joey were finally old enough to really play with each other. They had a BLAST! They were just running, screaming (well BROCK was screaming) and chasing each other around the house! It was adorable and Brock was asleep before we got off their street to head home.
Christmas morning was just our little family and it was perfect. We had unwrapped and put together all his toys so he could play with them right away. He was a little confused at first but quickly got over it and dove into all his toys. Then my mom and sister came over for lunch and we had round 4 of Christmas. Once again, this kid was spoiled beyond belief! He is one blessed little man! We ended the night at Great Grandma Elsie's with the entire Barbosa clan! By this one (Christmas #5), he had the whole wrapping paper gig alllll figured out!
I had to head back to work Wednesday, but since daycare was closed, Brock and Daddy got to spend lots of quality time together! He even bonded with Osci. They spent some of their time snuggled up on the couch together.
We started the process of getting our house ready to put on the market so we were really busy with that over the weekend and on New Years' Eve/New Years' Day. We're getting very close and hope to have it listed next month!
Brock has just started communicating with us so much more. As you know if you follow this, he's always been incredibly verbal. But now, he really speaks with a lot more meaning, not just repeating things. He is even on to 3 word sentences (sometimes 2 sentences in a row). Last week I hurt myself and he said 'uh oh Mommy. You ok?'
Some of the main sentences:
'I love you'
'I'll get it'
'Where Mommy go'
'What is it'
Those are just a few of the faves. We've also entered the phase of 'no'. You ask him a question, the answer is 'no'. Not a mean 'NO', it's actually kind of a cute 'no'. Just this week it seems like he knows the difference between yes and no, so he's started putting 'yes' in when it involves food or milk. :)
He also says 'bless you' when you sneeze and is super giving with kisses for Mommy. He'll even ask for them sometimes and it's so cute. He got a little spoiled when he was sick at the ER with sleeping on Mommy's chest so he's started wanting to do that more and more. I know it's a bad habit to start so I try and do it sparingly, but when your baby wants you to hold him, how do you say no? He's also started waking up (sometimes crying) yelling for Mommy or asking 'where mommy go?'. It's heartbreaking and no matter how early it is, it totally works. I go in there and scoop him up and if it's too early, just bring him back in bed with us.
He has become my little buddy and helper. I was cleaning the fridge out and he was in there with me, handing me things to put back (or sometimes taking them back out) and helping me wipe down the fridge. He just loves to help!
He's really into 'colors' (his word for coloring) so he got lots of crayons and paper for Christmas, along with a picnic table to color on at home. I think we're slowly moving past the 'Puss in Boots' phase and he wants to watch Cars now. He always has a car of some sort in his hand. He finally learned out to say 'Queen' for Lightning McQueen and he still knows his Mater or 'namer' as he sometimes calls him.
Lots to catch up on so I apologize for the crazy long post!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
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!
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:
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!
Friday, November 30, 2012
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!
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.
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
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.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
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)
Thursday, November 8, 2012
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:
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)
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!
Monday, October 22, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, October 19, 2012
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!
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!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
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!
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!
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