11 Months!

Buttercup, you are only one short month away from turning 1! I can't believe how fast it has gone by!

At 11 months you:

*are sprouting tooth #2...next to tooth #1. I just saw it yesterday peeking through your gums.

*are starting to pull up on things other than someone's hands! You can't quite get a grip on the couch to pull up on that, but you can just almost get up by using the fireplace. I let you try it, but I am very careful to make sure you don't wonk your face into the rock!

*love it when X-man talks to you. And when you see him first thing in the morning, you always have a squeal for him!

33 months

Yes, X-man. 2 years, 9 months equals 33 months. I'll be that many in years next month!

You are hilarious. And very well-mannered.

You are always impressing someone when you answer questions with, "Yes, ma'am" and "Yes, sir." It is just so adorable! Politeness will get you far, Mr. Man!

You have your own vocabulary for some things.

For example, you like to dance to and play "musicks" and when you put on your jacket, you want us to "button and zippen" it.

You are getting much better at your pronouns and have even started using "I" and "me" recently! In fact, last weekend at our regular Saturday Sushi lunch, I got some tuna and had a side of ponzu sauce. You wanted to dip your little piece of tuna in the sauce. And before you had even had a taste, you said, "Mommy, I luv dis!" Ha! If you would be as daring with other vegetables as you are with sushi!

Speaking of vegetables, you are getting some better. You'll eat broccoli ("trees") like nobody's business. And you've even warmed up to the silly white trees (cauliflower). You especially like both dipped in Tabasco Chipolte sauce. You are going to like spicy foods just like your daddy (and Aunt Doc, and G-Joy and Paw-Paw).

You also like raw sugar snap peas. In my effort to lose my baby fat (that's got to be what it is because it wasn't there before Buttercup!), I've exchanged our chips that we'd have at lunch with sugar snap peas. You didn't want one at first, but when I gave Buttercup one just to have something in her mouth, you immediately wanted to eat one!

Maybe when I open the can of green beans tonight and let Buttercup have some (I'm pretty sure one can eat those without teeth) you'll want some, too! With the exception of the baby food in the jars and tubs, you want to eat whatever Buttercup is eating...mainly her saltine crackers and her puffs. I bet if I could find some zwieback (is that how you spell that?) toast, you'd want to eat that, too!

You have quite the memory. You're always talking about past episodes of Word World or pretending to do something you saw on Curious George. On Sunday you were pretending to roast marshmallows over a fire because Curious George did that on his camping trip. And today on our way to the pediatrician's office, you told me exactly which building the doctor was in. On Saturday morning, daddy had the news on and our president-elect came on the screen. You pointed to the TV and said, "Dat's Barack Obama!" You hadn't been coached to say that. I do think I told you who he was at one point last week after he won the election. But I don't think I told you more than once. However, his name has been all over the news for a day or two...

When you get upset or are in trouble, the first thing you want to do is "get snuggles." You'll crawl up in our lap and just lie on our shoulder. It's really sweet. But not so cute when you're throwing a giant hissy!

You like anything orange, you like stickers and you like jelly beans.

You have not figured out how to do all your business in the potty but you're getting better at peeing.

You are not interested in undressing or dressing yourself. Which is odd because you want to do everything else yourself!

You love your sister and you particularly like to "touch her" on her arm. For some reason, that's your favorite place to give her hugs and kisses.

And you do give sweet kisses.

9 months

Miss Buttercup, you are so much fun and I can't believe that I have enough space in my heart to love you and X-man as much as I do!

At 9 months you can:

• Army Crawl with the occasional moment that you'll pop up on your knees...then pop back down again.
  
  
• Make a smacky noise with your mouth.
  
  
• Give the sweetest, wettest licky-kisses!
  
  
• And give the sweetest head-hugs!
  
  
• Pretty accurately get those puffs in your mouth.
  
  
• Wave! And it's really funny to watch you because you'll get a big grin on your face and then your fingers will start waving...and then you'll slowly bring your hand up and then your arm and then you'll wave and just look so proud of yourself!!
  
  
• Try to get to the sitting position from being on the floor. You have not been successful at all, but I can tell that you're trying.
  
  
• Say "ma ma ma," "da da da" and "blah blah blah." It's really cute when X-man tries to imitate what you say.
  
  
• Light up a room with your no-toothed, full-face grin!
  

I love you, baby girl!

Two and a half!!

X-man is two and a half today!!

He is such a hoot (and often will also remind us that he's just a kid who's still trying to figure out his place in this whole thing we call life).

His favorite phrase is, "Oh, look!" and he says it with great enthusiasm and the most precious look on his face. I have to remember how much fun it is to discover something new (and I have to remember that to him, lots of things are new all the time!!).

The other day we were leaving the living room and he walked by our change jar. I've got some candy canes hanging on it (from Christmas...just can't stand to throw them away). He pointed to them and said, "Oh, look! Reindeer!" Now I know that you can use some crafty items and make a candy cane look like a reindeer. But these ones are just out-of-the-package candy canes. Where did he see one looking like a reindeer...that he remembers? So I said, "Well, they don't look like reindeer right now. They're just candy canes." And he said, "They fo Chismas!" Again with remembering things!

He will repeat anything he hears, and often will repeat something at an inappropriate time and several days later when you think that he's forgotten.

For example...

My parents were here a few weeks ago and my dad changed X's diaper. Dad was going to put some powder on his bottom and said, "Let's powder your donut." Ok, not really bad, but at dinner a week later with TC's family, X looked at me, pointed to his diaper and said, "Time ta powdeh da donut!" Thankfully no one heard him and wouldn't really know what he meant anyway.

Since then I've told him what you actually call it and that we only talk about it when we're changing a diaper or going to the bathroom. This morning he called it a peanut. Close enough.

Another favorite phrase is "It's tooooo heaaaavy" and he says it in this really cute grunty voice. He does know when something's heavy, but sometimes he'll say it because he doesn't want to carry something anymore. Too funny!

Like I said, he's been testing out just how far he can go with things. This usually results in a trip to his room where he must sit on his step stool (the one he uses to climb into bed) until we tell him he can leave. He just loves to bother Buttercup while she's nursing (I try not to let him see me get frustrated). And I'll ask him to please not bother Buttercup. He keeps doing it. So, I ask him if he wants to sit in his room. He looks at me and smiles and says, "Yes." I tell him to go ahead (since I'm half undressed in the rocking chair and all). And the little stinker will head to his room all by himself and just sit there. Oh, he's going to be a handful soon enough!!

He loves Finding Nemo. We got a portable DVD player for the car for long trips (not for trips to the grocery store!) and we picked Nemo up for the first trip. We've been on three trips (which is 6 times in the car) and I'm pretty sure we've watched Nemo back and forth each time! Anyway, at the very beginning when Nemo's mom "mysteriously disappears" and then you see Marlin lying down in the anemone, the first time I watched it with X-man, I thought, "Yikes! This is scary!" X-man had a little concerned look on his face and I said, "It's ok!" So now when he watches the movie and it comes to that part, X-man looks at me and says, "It ok!" I had to laugh when X-man was talking at dinner last night and said, "Ooh wah ha ha, ooh wah ha ha" which is the chat that the fishes in the fish tank do for "Shark Bait's" initiation ceremony (I have seen this movie so many times and I really don't like to watch movies over and over and over again...I guess I'll get over that!). Daddy couldn't figure out what he was saying. So I explained to daddy that it was the chant the fish do around Mount Wannahockaloogie. He said, "Did they really call it that?" Yep. I didn't really remember that from the first time I was watching the movie either...but I wasn't watching it with an impressionable two year old, either.

Potty training has been wildly unsuccessful. Last week I told X that he could wear big boy underwear (which were Pull Ups) and that we'd try to potty on his big boy potty. I set the timer and said, "When the chicken dings, it's time to sit on the potty." He never did go in the potty that day and the next day he said, "Wear diaper, mommy." Hmmm... So, back into diapers and I didn't push it. A few days later he said to me, out of the blue, "When da chicken goes ding, time ta sit ona potty!" Again, a stinker!!

All in all, he's a great kid. He's polite and sweet and loves his sister (let's hope that continues!).

6 months

Buttercup -

I can't believe you are 6 months old already! Where has the time gone and can it please go a little slower?

You looks so big stretched out on your tummy in your crib. You've been sleeping that way for two and a half weeks now (since we unswaddled you). You still have trouble getting back to sleep when you wake up at night but thankfully, it just takes a reapplication of the pacifier and you're ok. Last night, I only got up three times (and that includes your 5am snack!).

You are Miss Grabby Hands lately. You want to hold onto anything and everything. And you get really mad when I don't let you have it. I'm sorry, kid, but I just don't think you'll be able to fully enjoy my delicious, cream top, not-low-fat yogurt (yes, it is quite the indulgence) with granola on top. Especially with no teeth (and the big question is: Are you going to take as long as your brother did to get your teeth?)

And speaking of your brother, you just love X-man. He loves you, too. He likes to kiss you all over and he likes it when you touch his face and his hair. In fact, sometimes he'll come over to you and nuzzle you so that you'll touch his cheek or even pull his hair. While I don't want to encourage hair-pulling, I do think it's cute that he just giggles when you pull his hair.

And you giggle at him, too. When he comes over to play with you, you will just screech with delight. Your screeching is quite funny...and it's even funnier when X-man tries to imitate you and he screeches, too. Some days, it's really noisy at our house!!

You seem to be gaining weight pretty well. We've only purchased 3 packages of the size 2 diapers (of course, this third box had 130 diapers or some huge number like that) and it seems like you are quickly growing out of them! The next box of diapers I buy you will definitely be size 3's.

You are my little chunky monkey. You have a cute, slender top, but from the waist down, you have the cutest little chunks of legs. I think I remember that X-man had some chunky, but I don't think it was as much as you have!

You are eating pretty well. I nurse you 5 times a day starting at 5am and you eat right before bed at 8pm. For the last two weeks, though, you've been doing something crazy while you're nursing and it caused me to be on the bring of tears (of pain) at each nursing session. You did this same thing around the end of May and after about two weeks, you stopped doing it and all was good. Well, this time around, it seems like it hurts even more and I've considered several times just weaning you straight to a bottle...but I can't bring myself to actually decide to do it. It's really laziness on my part. If I can feed you by just sitting down and lifting up my shirt, that's so much easier than going to the kitchen, thawing out a bag of expressed milk...yada, yada, yada. And when you nursed right before your nap this afternoon, it still was a little sore, but nothing near the pain of the last few days. Maybe you're headed back to normal and we can do this without either one of us crying!

I love everything about you...even your gassiness! It's obvious that you love your mamma, your daddy and your brother. I laugh every time someone says that you look just like me. I don't see it. Of course, I still don't see how X-man looks like daddy and everyone still says it. I think you look just like you and you are beautiful!

Happy half birthday!!

Mamma

5 Months

Buttercup,

You are five months old today and you are so cute!! Yesterday you showed off your rolling over skills and you didn't even mind being on your tummy after you got there. You're pretty good at back-to-tummy and you have had some success with tummy-to-back but not as much.

You are Miss Grabby Hands these days. You reach out for everything...including my ice cream (and why wouldn't you be grabby for some ice cream?!? Smart girl!).

Since X-man has been gone since last Thursday you are really trying out your loud voice. You've always been pretty vocal, but it seems like you're even more vocal now. Could be that I notice it more since there's not a little boy noising around the house.

You're wearing 6/9 month clothes these days. And a friend of ours from church brought over a whole summer's worth of clothes (from her daughter's stash) so you're outfitted for a good long while (at least until the fall).

I'm about ready to put you to sleep without using the Miracle Blanket. For the last week or so, you've woken up with one or both arms out of the blanket. New challenges...

You're eating habits are a bit annoying at times. There are days when you'd rather look all around you instead of nurse. I just try to stay relaxed and sometimes it takes an hour for you to eat. I thought that you'd do better eating without someone always poking at your face or using your hand to hit himself in the face (kooky boy!) but you're still distracto sometimes. I'm sure you're getting plenty of food so I try not to overstress about all of it.

Buttercup, you are the prettiest baby girl I know! And yes, I realize I'm biased. Your eyes are still blue (like your daddy and brother) and you're losing your dark hair and lighter hair (that sometimes looks red) is coming in its place. You are mostly happy (except when the nursery workers at church try to give you a bottle...you fight that for a bit before you finally give in) and we love listening to you giggle.

Too soon, you'll be chasing your brother around the house and talking non-stop. You're still my baby girl and I love you bunches!

4 months (and 3 days)

Buttercup -

You had your 4 month check up today and it was wonderful to be able to leave the doctor's office and not have to go to the pharmacy. The tubes are working great!

You weigh 12 lbs, 10 oz (50%tile) and you are 24.5 in long (50%tile). So, sounds like you are growing just like you're supposed to! Everything else at the appointment was just fine and you even giggled at Dr. L several times. He thought it was adorable.

You've started doing "sit ups" and they are really cute. You'll use your little abs to lift your head and your feet...almost like you're trying to get up. Nothing has come if it yet (not that I think it would), but it's fun to watch. You're rolling over to your sides really well and sometimes X-man even helps you roll all the way over. He just laughs when you're on your tummy.

I can't get over how big you're getting. You don't fit into much if it's 3-6 month. We did buy some 6-9 month outfits and they fit you nicely, though the pants in the pant-sets are much too big. They'll fall right off you even with a diaper on!

You are a happy, giggly, squeally girl and we all love you bunches

27 Months

X-man,

You are 27 months old today. And I want to just record (almost) everything you do so I can always remember it!

You are quite the little tape recorder. You'll repeat anything (which is why I've got to stop saying "crap" and "shoot" because they just don't sound like nice words coming out of your mouth!). And when you repeat conversations, they're always in the same order.

For example:

X-man: Dr. Caf wook ear?
Me: Yes, Dr. Metcaf is going to look in your ears.
X: (shaking your head) no hurt?
Me: No, it's not going to hurt.

And after your ear appointment:

X: Dr. Caf wook ear?
Me: Yes, Dr. Metcaf looked in your ears.
X: Toud oo not hurt
Me: Yes, I told you it wouldn't hurt.
X: widdle scawed?
Me: Were you a little scared?

It is so cute! We have the same conversation about the car cart at the grocery store every time we drive by the grocery store. Yes, you like to ride in the yellow car. Yes, they had to take it back when we were done shopping. Yes, so it will still be there next time.

I love your little language and while I don't want you to talk like that forever, I love listening to it develop right now. You've recently started saying I Love You...but it comes out "yuv yoo" and it is adorable.

You sing all the time and while other people have their favorites (Aunt Chickie loves it when you sing the X-man song to the tune of Shortnin' Bread) but my favorite is when you sing "You are my Sunshine." And you're usually singing it to Buttercup. One day I put the boppy (I'm loving it now; much better at using it this time for some reason) on my bed and then put Buttercup on the boppy with it under her chest. She lifted up her little head and you came to the edge of the bed, looked up at her and sang "You are my Sunshine" to her. It was the sweetest thing ever! As with most songs you sing, you don't get all the words but you usually get the ends of phrases. So the song goes something like: "Suh-shine, ah ah ah suh-shine. Ooo a a happyyyy a a a gway. Oo oo no dear a a yuv yoo. Take suh-shine awayyyy."

You're still sleeping on the floor in your room instead of in your bed. We're pretty sure it's because you've fallen out of your bed. I can understand not wanting to do that again! I'll get you a little railing this week and we'll see if that will help you want to sleep in your bed.

You have figured out how to get daddy or me to pick you up pretty quickly. You just look up at us and say, "Hug!" and there we are...suckers for a pretty face! If you don't want to pull out the big guns, you'll just come and grab us around the legs and say, "Pick oo up!" Those darn pronouns are so confusing.

I hope you don't grow up too fast...but it looks like you might.

Three Months

My dear Buttercup,

You are getting so big and you're still so tiny! (I know, I'm pretty sure I said the same thing about your brother at this age) I know you're growing because you don't fit into your newborn outfits anymore.

And you have discovered your hands! I forgot how adorable this little discovery stage is. You really like to play on the floor (which I do a little more often while still keeping an eye on the stomp-monster) and I'll just watch you put your little hands together in front of your face. You'll get a little cross-eyed and just look at your hands. So cute!

Speaking of the stomp-monster, he accidentially stepped on your face the other day. Well, it was more of a light brush of his shoe across the side of your face. It didn't even discolor your skin, though you did scream pretty loudly when he did it. He looked at me with really concerned eyes and I said, very calmly, "We need to be careful. You just stepped on Buttercup. I know it was an accident and you didn't mean it."

We spent the next several hours having this conversation over and over again:

X-man: Step Buttercup
Me: Yes, you stepped on Buttercup
X-man: Assident
Me: Yes, it was an accident
X-man: shaking his head Mean it.
Me: That's right. You didn't mean it.

Buttercup, you have the most adorable giggle. It's squealy and squeaky and I love it! This giggle goes with your giant grin that just takes up your entire face. Your whole face lights up and you are just irresistable. Your smile is so big that you often lose your pacifier. X-man likes it when you smile and will point it out when you do.

Your favorite time to grin is when we're changing your diaper. I think that if you could potty train right now, you'd prefer it. If your diaper is even the tiniest bit dirty, you want it O-F-F!! And as soon as we put you down for a change, you gring and the grin gets even bigger when you see the clean diaper! You also really like to grin when I'm wrapping you up for the night. We're still using the Miracle Blanket and I'll put you on the blanket to get you all swaddled and you'll flash those shiny gums at me. I can't help but laugh!

We're just about to the end of this third antibiotic for your never-ending ear infection (and I'm ready because it's making for some terribly nasty diapers!). I really hope that we've beat it this time. But we'll be taking you to the otologist on Thursday just the same.

You're one a pretty good schedule and you sleep so well through the night. We put you to bed (and since Saturday night you've slept in your own crib in your room) at 10:30 pm and you don't make a peep until 5:30 am or so. In fact, the first two nights you slept in your crib, you didn't wake up to eat until 6:30!

You are definitely a mamma's girl (but everyone said that your brother is a mamma's boy) and I can get you calmed down when no one else can. Of course it could be that in those situations, by the time I get you, you are just so worn out from everyone else not doing it right that you just give up!

I can't wait to see you grow up, but at the same time, I'd love for you to stay little for a while.

Love you bunches!
Mamma

Two Months!

Buttercup,

You are two months old today. And I can't believe how you are so big and so small all at the same time!

You're definitely getting taller. Your feet come all the way to the bottom of the miracle blanket now. I remember when X-man did that...it wasn't much longer before we had to swaddle him without his feet in the little pocket. I'm sure that time is coming for you soon, too!

And you are definitely getting giggly. Last night while Daddy was putting X-man to bed, you and I played on the floor. Mostly, I made silly noises at you and you repaid me quite generously with the most adorable smiles and little "puffs" of a giggle.

Your eyes and head are following us around very well these days. I do have to laugh sometimes when X-man comes up to you to kiss you. He'll get right in your face and sometimes you just turn you head the other way. But sometimes, you look right at him and you'll smile. He says, Buttercup "smimin atcho" which just means that you're smiling. I say, "She's smiling at you" and at his age, those pronouns don't really mean too much now. But I think he loves it as much as Daddy and I do when you smile.

You are on a great schedule and allow us to get some good sleep at night. We'll be moving you to your own room and your own crib pretty soon.

Hopefully your ear infections have cleared up. You did great taking all of your medicine. You don't slurp it up quite as readily as your brother did, but you still take it with a minimum of fussing.

You prefer to be held upright rather than cradled. And you are doing such a great job of holding up your sweet little head. I've had several people tell me that your little facial expressions look just like your brother's...and they're right. Let's just take this example:




(obviously, the one in pink is you, Miss Buttercup)

Do you kids look related or what? I know it's not surprising that you look related, since you are. But still, I can't believe how much you and your brother look alike.

You are practically perfect in every way and I just love snuggling with you. I can't believe how fast you are growing and I'm still marveling at how tiny your little toes are. You are our last baby (according to our plans...I know that the big man upstairs might have different ideas) and I want you to stay a baby. But I also can't wait to see what kind of beautiful woman you will become.

So, I'm just going to ask you now...when you are 30 and I'm 62, please forgive me when I say something that might make you feel like a child. You are my baby and will always be.

What she's doin' now

I realized that I didn't do a One-Month update for Buttercup! And no, sis, it's not because the second child is "loved less," it's because the first child requires so much more attention in addition to the second child's needs!! Eventually, I'll let y'all know about the group my sis is the self-proclaimed president of: Advocacy for Second Siblings (I'll let y'all come up with the acronym yourself...*evil grin*)

Buttercup is getting really good at holding her head up and right now, she prefers to be held upright instead of cradled in your arms. Part of that could have to do with the fact that it feels better on her ears to be up. I remember just being in awe of how tiny X-man's neck was and how impressive it was that that tiny neck could hold up a head. I'm still in awe and Buttercup's neck is just beautiful!

She is really a grinner! We get grins and sometimes, little coos that sound like giggles at times. When she smiles, X-man says, "smy-men ah you" which means "smiling at you." He actually picked that up from me from when I tell him that his sister is "smiling at you." Those durn pronouns are difficult to understand!

Her schedule is fabulous. For the last week, her first nursing of the day is at 5 am. She eats again at 8, then I feed her at 10 and we're on an every-three-hours schedule after that until night time. She eats at 10 pm and we put her to bed and she generally sleeps all the way through to 5. That's really nice now! I looked back at X-man's schedule and he got to this point around 3 months but I remember still feeling really sleepy at 5 am. But at that point, TC and I were used to waking up at 6:30 in the morning (the alarm is set for 5:30 now) and on weekends we'd sleep until 10 and get up and ready and head to lunch! So, I guess after having one kid and going through that sleeplessness, waking up at 5 is really not a biggie! If this night-time schedule continues this way, we'll be moving Buttercup to her own crib before May. It will be nice to have our room back.

X-man still loves Buttercup, but lately I have to shield her from the "push head?" and "poke eye?" attempts! She really is going to clock him one of these days!

We are so happy to have our new family member around. She's lots of fun and she's the perfect way to round out our family.

23 Months

I missed the 22 month update last month! Oh, well. Wasn't the end of the world. Just gives me more stuff to put here!

X-man continues to be the sweetest little boy (with the occasional tantrum).

He is so enamored with the moon these days! He'll point to the sky and say, "moo?" Yep, that's where the moon is. And we're working on his understanding of star. He'll see one in a book or on his bib and he'll say "stoh" (which is just adorable, by the way). But outside, he points to the starts, the airplanes (we live close to a little airport...not a commercial one), the street lights and calls all of them the moon. He didn't see the moon last night because it was a very thin fingernail moon...I don't think he believed us when we told him that was the moon!

His words are coming fast and furious now! He says "dark", which sounds a little like door. He also says sock and shoe. These two words crack me up because he's trying really hard to make the "sh" sound...don't know why he does that on sock, but I guess it's artistic license!

He's also started saying "kii kii" which is Aunt Chickie (my sister) and grandma and grandaddy. He says "wa wa" which is water, but can also be applied to juice or milk.

Speaking of juice, he drank his first glass of juice this week. No, I'm not trying to deny him the joy of white grape juice, it's just that every other time I've tried to give him juice, he either choked on it or just didn't want it. But this time? Oh, you'd have thought I'd given him a milk shake! He loved it!! Still, he only gets one glass of juice a day...and with a meal. Otherwise, he's completely content with milk at the other meals and water in between times.

He's started to say his name, which doesn't exactly sound like his name, but he's got the ZZZ sound going. And when you ask him what's in mommy's tummy, he says, "bee bee." And the bee bee's name? He say's, "A-vee." Now, when you ask him what my name is or daddy's name or his own name, he still answers with "A-vee" so he's a little confused with that, but he's young yet. He'll know everyone's name before he moves out to college.

And he's really practicing to be 2. We've experienced many a fit with no really obvious trigger. Last night after daddy got home he had a Code Red Meltdown. He was screaming and crying and all sorts of hysterics and we could not figure out what was wrong with him! He just wanted to sit in daddy's lap and holler. At several points, daddy put him on the floor and said, "When you are calm, you can sit in my lap." This led to more screaming and more crying and the a few moments of calm.

And then more screaming.

Finally he calmed down and he just sniffled and did the little breath-catch thing you do when you've been crying sooooooo much. We never did figure out what his problem was. Daddy just keeps telling him that yes, it's hard to deal with all these emotions that are running around, but we have to learn! Too cute!

He knows to get his "jah-kee" when it's time to go outside and he wants to make sure that everyone else is wearing their jacket. He's got a little knit hat that we put on him when it's really cold and daddy has a knit hat, too. X-man likes to pat each of their heads when they're wearing their hats. Then he'll point to my head and say "hat?" and shake his head no. Yep. Mommy doesn't wear hats. It messes up her hair.

He's still a great helper, though he does know how to get right under your feet when you're doing something. Usually when I'm fixing dinner, daddy can keep him occupied in the living room while I'm in the kitchen. Sometimes, though, that doesn't work out. X-man is right in the kitchen and he wiggles his little self right between me and the cabinet I'm standing in front of. Where to little kids learn this trick? I know that he's not the first one to do this!

There are the times when he'll stand right where I want him; like when I open the oven door. He knows that when I'm in the oven, it's hot and he needs to stand in front of this one particular cabinet with his bottom right against the door. When he stands there, he looks at me like a little puppy waiting to be praised for doing a good job. And of course, I tell him what a good boy he is! He also has a special standing place when I'm loading/unloading the dishwasher. He puts his little bottom on the fridge and stands there while I deal with the dishes. This particular standing place doesn't have the same "sticking power" as the oven standing place because he'll usually leave his fridge post to try to pick up a dish I've just put in the machine or to help me push in the drawers or close the dishwasher door.

One of his new tricks is to pretend to go "nigh-nigh." He likes me to pretend night-night because I make snoring noises. But he likes to pretend to close his eyes. He clamps them shut so tight that his whole face twitches. And then he puts his little hands up to his face and feels his eyelids. I guess he's checking to see if his eyes are shut? Goober!

There are so many other things he says and does (like saying "tah dah" when he pulls his hands out of his long-sleeved shirts) that I'm having a hard time keeping up with it all. Yesterday as we pulled into the OB's office, he said "doc-toh." TC and I looked at each other and were both really impressed! We hadn't mentioned the doctor in the last few minutes, so obviously X-man is paying attention...and retaining that information! He even does a pretty good job of repeating words that we say to him. The other day, TC and I were talking about a word we heard on NPR - apoplectic. I had to go look it up and TC and I were using it in our conversation about what was happening with our city's public school superintendent (there's a big hooplah with some of his inappropriate expenses). Anyway, the news showed the school board special session on TV and there were people hollering over other people and yelling and basically making fools of themselves defending this superintendent (I can't say if he's guilty or not, but being reimbursed for alcohol and first-class plane tickets is not what I pay taxes for...if he really did get reimbursed for that). So, TC and I talked about the crowd being apoplectic and we asked X-man to say, "apoplectic." He let out some 4-syllable gibberish which was pretty cute...and he looked so proud of himself!

And I'm excited about having a tiny baby around again, but Mr. X-man is going to be the best big brother and a great helper. I can't wait to see how this turns out!

21 Months (and two days)

So this update is a little behind, but I have an excuse...a stomach bug got me this weekend.

And on to what my punkin pie is doing lately:

X-man had an ear appointment last week (it was the 3-month check up for his tubes) and his ears are doing great. The tube in his left ear has come out and it is in his ear canal, but too far in for the doc to remove it without scaring X-man. So, it's still in there...I'll probably find it on his bed some morning. Aside from me being happy that the ears are doing well, X-man actually sat still for them to do a hearing test! I'm not sure if it was the fact that I'd been sticking my fingers in his ears all morning or if he was just being a big boy (or a combination of that and probably other factors) but he sat there quiet and (mostly) still while I held the little monitor in his ear and he took the test (twice in his left ear). He passed in his right ear and passed most of the test in his left...but that's due to the tube being in the ear canal and making the sound waves bounce around funny.

Not that I was overly worried that X-man couldn't hear, but it was nice to hear the doctor say that his hearing was good. And I was so proud of him for being such a big boy!

His vocabulary is getting pretty good. I love to hear him say Car. It comes out "cah," heavy on the c and it sounds like he's from New England or something...leaving off the r! X-man and TC were in the living room while I was fixing dinner last night and TC said, "Mommy! X-man saw a bee on TV and said, 'bee'!" Of course, I asked if it was the Nasonex commercial...I don't even take that stuff and I knew! Good marketing, guys!

I even think I've gotten him to say his baby sister's name! He says, "Ay-ee"...that's X-man for Avery.

Even though he is doing a pretty good job at communicating, he does tend to get very frustrated when he can't tell us what he wants. Sometimes he'll just pull on our shirt or try to push us and he'll get really mad and upset when we don't do what we want. We ask him to calm down and show us what he wants, but usually by that point, he's so mad I think even he's forgotten what he wants!

He has started a cute little "sign" for when he's hungry or he wants to eat something we're eating. He'll open his mouth and put his little finger on his tongue. Too cute!

A few weeks ago, X-man and I were having breakfast and he started moving his arms up and down, opposite each other...like he was immitating climbing something. I wondered if maybe he was doing the motions to some song he learned at church. Hmmm...what song has climbing motions? The first song that came to my mind was "Zacchaeus." So, I started singing and doing the hand motions that I knew. X-man was pretty fast on picking up on it and soon he would put his arm down, palm flat and parallel to the floor with the "wee little man" motion and want me to sing! It is just adorable when he does it!

His teeth are coming in fast and furious. He's got two molars on the bottom that have all points sticking out. Man, do they look huge! He's got two molars on top that have poked through, but I haven's seen those in a while to know how far out those are. And he's got a lateral incisor (that's the one just next to the two front teeth) on one side that's coming through. That one actually came without fever.

X-man is a great help around the house. He loves to push the laundry baskets where ever they need to be and he LOVES pulling clothes out of the dryer (of course, after he pulls them out, he puts them on the floor!). He still does a great job of picking up his toys before bath every night and he loves his bath! We've quit using the bath seat so I got a no-skid bath mat for inside the tub and that keeps him from sliding all over the place. He probably doesn't need it, but it makes me feel better...and we all know what they say if mamma ain't happy!

X-man is getting so big and amazes me all the time with what he can do and what he understands. I can't wait to see what next month brings!

20 Months

X-man is 20 months old today. I can't believe how big he's getting (I say that every time, don't I?).

He is such a creature of habit but I'm sure that just the nature of a toddler, not some underlying OCD trying to come out! He likes things in exactly the same place. For a while now he insists I put his crib blankets and his little teddy and lion that he sleeps with in the appropriate places in the crib when he gets up. Sometimes I just put them in the right spot and sometimes I ask him where they go. More often than not, he points to the "correct" place for everything. Occassionally he'll go wild and want his Ms. Bunny blanket (made by TC's former boss...yes, her name is Bunny) hung over a different crib railing.

He is obsessed with shoes and if he sees them, he wants them on the appropriate feet. He's mostly figured out whose shoes belong to whom (did I get all that gramatically correct?) and if my shoes are lying around, he'll bring them to me and want me to put them on. Sometimes he puts them on himself...and seeing X-man in my heels just cracks me up!

He has figured out how to get people to come with him. If he wants you to go where he is, his first method is to walk the direction he wants to go, turn and look at you, and make a "come here" motion with his whole hand. If that doesn't work, he'll come right up to you and grab your arm, shirt, whatever (yes, daddy found out the hard way about how sitting like a guy on the couch can get you in trouble!).

X-man likes to sneak up on us, except he giggles the whole time, and we know he's coming. When he sneaks, he leans forward a little and does this real exagerated goose step thing...I think that's what I did when I was holding him and we were sneaking up on daddy. When he gets in front of you, he'll run up to you and just laugh! And he prefers it if you say "boo!" It makes me laugh every time!

He's increased his song repertoire. He has added the ABC's (which I understand is the same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle, but he really does sound like he's trying to say letters...ASH even heard it!), he sings Frere Jacques (and with his crazy language who knows if he's singing it in French or English! I sing it to him in French and daddy sings it in English) and he sings This Old Man (Knick Knack Paddy Whack). Again, the words aren't quite there but the tune and rhythm are!

He also is a man of habit. He knows exactly where he wants things to go and he wants them there everytime. For the most part, he wants the TV remote on a side table next to our recliner. But when daddy comes home, he'll take the remote to daddy. See? I've always said that X-man knows the boys need to stick together! He's still very good at picking up his toys before bath. Just the other day we were going to the kitchen for lunch and he walked by his tennis shoes. He picked them up and trotted to his room (we took down the gate that blocked the way into the hallway where all the bedrooms are). I followed him just to see what he was doing and he took his shoes and put them right in front of the dresser where I usually leave them. I obviously gave him my dormant neat gene...

X-man is just so fun to be around (except for when he starts to scream...he's just figured out how to really use his throat for screaming!) and surprises me every day with the things he can do!

19 Months

X-man is 19 months old today!

He is such a polite little boy. He loves to say, "Hi" on the phone...and usually says it just as soon as the phone on the other end starts ringing. I have to remind him that we should wait until someone answers the phone.

He likes to say hi and wave to people when we're out...especially the guys. I think he knows that guys have to stick together!

It's amazing how much he really understands. When we come back from the grocery store, I usually put him in his high chair and then carry the groceries in and put them away. The last few times, I've let him run around the kitchen while I bring everything in. Of course, that means lots of, "Please close that cabinet door. Don't play in the cabinet. That's not for X-man."

As I was bringing in a sack of groceries, I asked X-man where the groceries went. He ran right to the counter where I put them and put his little hands as high up as he could to indicate that the stuff went right there.

And talking about putting things where they belong, he has a place for everything. His teddy bear sits in a specific spot on the couch while we eat. His blankets hang on specific rails over his crib when he wakes up. He likes to close the lid on the trash can. When he goes into my bedroom (where I usually take the trash can and put it on the counter) he now takes the trash can and tries to put it up on the counter for me!

And we still haven't seen any more indication of teeth. He has started to show quite an interest in ice out of our glass. And he was very happy to see his teething ring when I pulled it out of the freezer this afternoon.

He's going to need another haircut again. And anyone that was worried that his first haircut cut off all his curls, need not worry. The curls are back and they're just as cute as ever!

18 Months

*Yes, X-man turned 18 months old on Saturday. Here it is Tuesday already!

This kid never fails to make me laugh! He's recently started something I call his confused/sad/concerned monkey face. He'll drop his jaw, form his mouth into a little "O" and then his eyes convey the rest of the situation. Usually it's a concerned monkey face and last night it was in prime time usage.

He didn't eat much breakfast or lunch, but no worries. At dinner, though, he ate like it was going out of style! Three chicken nuggets, a few french fries and then I had to break out a jar of apples because he was still hungry. He really enjoys using a fork (or playing with it) and we've started giving him a toddler fork that's metal, but a better size for him because those plastic ones just don't stab the food very well. So, apples on his tray and fork in hand, he gets after it...except he can't always get the food on the fork. That's ok, mamma will help. I hold his hand and stab the food for him. Only problem with that is that he will try to stab the food once and then with the concerned monkey face, he'll hold the fork out to me. Crazy kid! And daddy won't help at all. It's a hard concept, that stab and scoop action so the food stays on the fork. I tell you what, we sat in the kitchen for 45 minutes until X-man finally finished. No big deal, really, but we usually don't spend much more than 30 minutes at dinner and that includes clean up!

X-man still likes to have his blankets and crib toys put in their proper place when he wakes up. It's so cute that he likes it all in order. His favorite book has suddenly become Goodnight Moon. He even will pick it up for me to read during the day. I guess it doesn't really matter when you read it, but it loses something when you're reading it in the middle of the day!

He's started to grab the front of his diaper when it's wet or dirty in order to tell me it's time to change it. I'm not sure how much of a sign that is for potty training since it always occurs after the pottying has happened. At least he acts like he's ready for his diaper to be changed. Before, I've had to ask him if it needs changing and he'll head for his room, but now he "tells" me it needs to be changed. At least a step in the right direction. He notices it now.

X-man has one lone freckle on his right wrist. He loves to point out his freckle and then point out all of mine. And when he gets bored with the freckles on my arm, he moves right on to the mole on my right eyelid. He'll put his finger over it and say something that sounds like "mole." Too funny! And he loves to show other people his freckle! It's a good ice breaker because most people are appropriately impressed with the freckle.

He is always checking to see if we have guests in the guest room. He'll walk by the door (it's between his room and the living room so we walk that way all the time) and knock on the door. I have to tell him that there's nobody in there! He keeps knocking anyway. He loves it when we do have company and he can walk right on in! And Thursday morning, he'll get to walk right on in to Grandma and Grandaddy since they're coming to stay a few days before heading to a square dance convention.

What a primper he is! He would stand on his little step stool in his bathroom and comb his hair forever if I let him. He loves getting up on that step stool!

Yesterday was his 18 month check up. Everything went well. The doctor wasn't concerned about his small vocabulary (only about 6 words). He did say that if it was still very small at one year he would suggest visiting a speech/hearing specialist (using the free, state service here) because that service is free for kids up to three years old. But since X-man follows directions well (when he wants to) and does respond to us with verbal responses (no matter that it's babble) the doctor isn't worried. Good...me neither.

His height is 32.5 inches which bumps him up to the 50% from the 25%. And his weight (25 lbs 10 oz) has increased to go along with his height. That's good! Sometimes I worry that I'm not feeding him enough food. But I put food in front of him and when he's done, I don't make him eat what's left!

As usual, X-man began the screaming fit when the doctor pulled out the stethoscope. It continuted through the belly rubs and the checking of the boy bits and then through the ear and mouth check. Then I picked him up and he was fine. He even waved bye-bye to the doctor and gave him a high five.

He did get one shot and while he screams through the shot, he's fine as soon as I pick him up. And he waved to the nurse, gave her a high five and then blew her kisses. What a sweetie!

X-man, you are more and more handsome every day. And funny, too! You are going to make a great big brother!

17 Months

Wow! X-man just gets funnier every day and I can't keep up with it all!

He loves to dance. We were watching TV and a commercial (or something, I can't remember) came on and Bon Jovi was singing. X-man stopped right there and started to dance. The knees bounced, the heiny was pushed back and the hands were held out in front of him like the perfect little conductor. It was so funny I nearly fell off the couch!

He loves to sing and every time we get out the book "Down by the Station" and sing the little song, X-man just squeaks along like he's singing, too. I'm sure in time he'll get a little better with the pitch! =)

He also likes songs that have hand movements.

Itsy Bitsy Spider: Making the spider with your fingers is a little complicated, so X-man just plays with his fingers during the spider part and when the sun comes out, his hands don't reach over his head to make a circle, so he just rests his hands on his head!

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes: His favorite part about this song is the toes. And when we sing it, he usually just heads for his toes.

If You're Happy and You Know it: Stomp your feet! The foot stomping is too cute and is his favorite...even above clapping! And sometimes he stomps with just one foot so he looks like a horse that's counting!

He loves to spin around in a circle and that really gives him the giggles.

TC has taught him some pretty funny "tricks." We have a book called "Mr. Brown can Moo." It's Dr. Seuss. There is one part of the book that says, "Mr. Brown can sound like a hand on a door. KNOCK KNOCK" and daddy taught X-man how to knock...by knocking on X-man's head! So now when we read that part, X-man makes a little fist and knocks the top of his head.

We also have a book (which happens to be the second book to go to the BER...book emergency room...with a torn spine. yeesh) about Benjamin's tool box. At the bottom of the tool box is a drill. I have read this book to X-man hundreds of times and never thought to make a drill sound. TC did and now X-man likes to make a drill...he'll make a little fist with his first finger sticking out and then with his arm stretched out in front of him, he'll wave it around and grunt. The first time he did it I thought he was making a dirty diaper! Nope, just his drill sound. He couldn't quite get the buzzing noise that daddy made so the grunting was the next best thing.

And this is something that he just picked up this week. Any of you that know TC and his family know that they all sneeze in multiples. They all usually sneeze about three times in a row each time they sneeze. So, on Monday, Cuz (that's TC's niece) sneezed and I said bless you. She immediately sneezed again and I said bless you again. I asked X-man to say bless you to Cuz and he threw his head down to his chest and made a sneeze noise. So, apparently that's how he says bless you now. It just cracks me up!

We seriously need to get some of this on the video camera!

X-man is very particular about his blankets after he wakes up. He likes his Pooh blanket draped over the long side of the crib and his crochet blanket draped over the short side. Usually he then wants to sit and play peek-a-boo with me through the blankets and slats in the crib. Sometimes we can play for 5 or 10 minutes before he's ready to get out of bed! Goofy!

Last night, daddy did something silly and then raised his arms up in the air and said, "Go daddy!" X-man caught on to this and started walking around with his arms up in the air (not quite over his head, but at a 45 degree angle) shouting "da da da da da da." I think TC was pretty proud!

We don't have any new words...at least that we can understand. He sure does babble quite a bit, though, so I'm sure that once he gets those words out, it'll be non-stop.

Today is X-man's day at church for Children's Day Out so Cuz and I are going to see Harry Potter at the early show this morning. That should be fun! And then tonight we're all off to see the musical Evita. I hope X-man behaves for the babysitter tonight!

In Stitches at 16 months!

I tell you what...that X-man keeps me laughing! (Which is good because there are times he makes me want to just pull out my hair. Like when he throws one of his colossal fits.)

He loves popcorn! And we have it frequently as a snack after his nap. I made some for him a week or so ago and I handed him the package of microwave popcorn to carry for me to the kitchen. He was definitely not pleased when I took his new "toy" and put it in that little black box. But when I hit start and it lit up inside, and his "toy" started going around in circles, and then it started making noises...he was in my arms with his eyes wide and slack-jawed! He loved it! Now, he understands that the package has to go in the microwave and he's not so mad when I take it from him anymore...in fact he hands it to me!

For a week or so after he came back from being with the grandparents while we were on the cruise, he'd gasp when something was exciting or fun. I think he got that from Cuz. He hasn't done that in a few days...probably because TC nor I gasp. But it was cute while it lasted!

This kid's got some mean nose kisses. When he wants to give you an eskimo kiss, he will just fling his head from side to side. I think you could probably get a broken nose from one of his nose kisses if you weren't careful.

He's also getting really good at doing "blubble" lips. I don't know what else to call it. He takes his finger and just flips his bottom lip and makes a little "blubble" sound. He especially likes to do that when he's trying to stay awake in his crib or when he just wakes up. It's hilarious to hear that over the monitor!

His newest game is something we call "Cheerleading." Actually, my mom came up with that name. He'll walk up to you, flap his arms up and down and just holler. Then he'll run away giggling! But he doesn't have to be walking around. He'll do this in his car seat or in his high chair. And it really gets him giggling when I do it back to him! Man, he can wear me out with all the giggling we do!

He still says mama, dada and ba (ball) but now we have:

ba ba (elbow)
moo (which is more like he's vibrating his bottom lip)
ba (for a sheep sound)
kay koo (thank you)

Occasionally there are others, but nothing with any frequency.

And he's figured out about a cool new hole on his face. Yes, I can't keep his finger out of his nose! It's not like he's picking it...I really think it's just a fun place for a finger. I do have to watch him while we're having cheerios, though, or one of those puppies is likely to go right up the nose, too!

15 months

X-man spent his 15 month-day with Gramma and Grandaddy (it was on Friday). I swear that he learned 10 months of stuff just in the 10 days he was with them!

We knew he could say "mama" and "dada" but now he says:
ball
more
mmmmm (he does that after almost every bite of food! Does that count as a word?)

And he will try to imitate words if you say them to him. I've heard:
rice
gramma
something that sounds like his own name!

I'm guessing that he really does say alot more words. He sure does babble alot. And the general public probably wouldn't recognize "ball" but I know that's what he's saying.

His bottom right tooth is moving on up. It's still just bearly broken the surface, but you can see it. And now he's got a tooth happening on his upper right gum. That's gonna be a cute grin when they're both in! One on top and one on bottom!

He went from walking pretty well when we left to running now. Man, can he move! It's still a little like Frankenstein's Monster, but he's really steady on those chubby legs.

Yesterday we decided that we would ditch the pacifier. He didn't use it on Monday night, but on Tuesday for his nap, my resolve just wasn't there. Five minutes of crying and wriggling and he wouldn't get still for a nap, I plopped that pacifier in and he was asleep in 30 seconds. So, my resolve is heightened (although I haven't gone so far as to throw the pacifiers away...I'll probably do that tonight). I just put X-man in his crib...awake...for his nap. He's talking to his teddy right now and it doesn't sound like he's going to sleep any time soon. Oh, well. This is just going to be a change and we'll all have to get through it. I'm sure that he'll eventually figure out the nap-without-pacifier thing soon, right? I just don't want him to be 3 years old walking around with a pacifier only to pull it out of his mouth when he talks!

His 15 month appointment is next week and I'll have quite a few updated for the pediatrician since his appointment at 12 months: no more bottle, two teeth, walking, a few words that I can recognize and, hopefully, no pacifier!

So, onward and upward to the 16 month day!

14 Months {and 3 days}

So this is a few days late. It's busy being a mamma!

There are so many cute things he's doing that I'm bound to leave one or two out. He still doesn't have any teeth, but that's good because sometimes he likes to try to eat my ankles. What's up with that? He loves to get his "teeth" brushed...I think he really just likes the taste of the toothpaste.

He's got a little plastic "o'ball" that squishes. When daddy squishes it, he makes a nice manly grunt sound. Consequently when X-man squishes the ball, he makes this really cute "aaarrggghh" noise. Or some times he'll just holler "AAAAAAAHHHHH". I couldn't figure out what he was doing at first, but when daddy was playing with him, I figured it out.

X-man is starting to figure out throwing and bouncing things. He's got a big orange Scooby Do ball that he likes to roll back and forth. He recently figured out how to pick up the ball and throw/bounce it to us. It doesn't have alot of distance on it, but he loves it and just grins when I catch the ball!

He's very helpful in turning on the lights. He loves the light switches and will excitedly point at one if we walk past it. I know that he enjoys the light going on and off in the room we're in. And sometimes he'll flip the switch and then clap at his great feat!

He's been blowing kisses, but not to everyone and it's not something he does all the time. In fact, the only place he's blown kisses is in the house. It's really adorable and just melts my heart!

My parents gave him a Peeps bunny for Easter (yes, that's a picture of his actual bunny...I'm enjoying my Photoshop!). He rarely lets it out of his sight! And when I ask him where his bunny is, he will look for it and go get it! (He also knows what "milk" is and will look for his sippy cup when I ask him where his milk is.) I've never seen him so attached to a toy. And a few days after he got the bunny, he noticed the teddy bear I've been putting in his crib. That is another buddy that goes with us all around the house. In the mornings when I get him out of his crib, he gets Teddy and holds on to him (or hands him to me) so I can get them both out! Too cute!

On his actual 14-month-day, he took several steps! He now loves to walk back and forth between daddy and me. He'll get so excited that he'll just giggle and giggle...and then he'll throw his head back in excitement...and that gets him off balance. Sometimes he can correct and stay up, but other times result in a plop on the heiny. He even has walked a few times while clapping! That is funny! Turning around is getting better and yesterday he walked from me, to our recliner (maybe 3 feet) and back to me. And since he's so young, he doesn't know that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line...so he often weaves around looking quite drunk.

X-man is quite the jabberer. Not much of anything sounds like anything we can understand...except for mama and dada. There are times when I'll be talking on the phone and he will just talk and talk and talk! Blabbers and jabbers and all kinds of noises. And speaking of the phone, he really doesn't like it when the phone's ringing and I don't answer it. We'll be changing a diaper and the phone will ring. He'll point to his bedroom door and "unh, unh, uhn?" He knows what that noise is and wants me to see who's on the other end!

His giant hugs are quite the heartwarmer. Sometimes he'll just walk up to me or daddy and throw his arms around our neck and hang on! It's the sweetest thing and I want to hug him forever. He's perfectly ok with a two-second hug! But he likes lots of hugs so I'm ok with that!

I can't believe he's so big and every day I am just amazed at how much he can do now! He's completely off the bottle which is quite the milestone. One night we decided to put him to bed without having a bottle first. He cuddled in my lap for a bit and I put him to bed...awake. He slept fine and has done so pretty much every night ever since. I still have a monitor on in my bedroom, but there are some nights when he gets to talking in his sleep and I'll just turn the monitor off. Of course, I usually wake up an hour or so later and immediately turn on the monitor to make sure he's asleep. Mamma...always checking in!

X-man, mamma loves you!