18.Months.Old

(taken 3/19/11, Houston Zoo)

My little booger is now 18-months old! Who can believe it? Not me. I know I say that at every milestone, but it's truly how I feel.

He is changing so fast! He climbs on absolutely everything...the back of the couch, the coffee tables, all the kitchen chairs, on to his bed, the treadmill, and anything else he can find that makes my heart drop when I find him. He also has random jibberish conversations with us now like we understand what he is saying.

Words he's saying at 18-months: Noooo, Nu-uh, Ball, Mama, Dada, Owl, Truck, Car, Duck, Ba-Ba, Star, Nana, Ready-Set-Go, Stick, Rock, Stuck, There it is, Yuck, Dora, Diego, Ouchhh, Go away, and he can point out the letter "O" and "N" in any word, and we are working on the letters "S" and "L".

Favorite Movies/Characters at 18-months: LOVES "Toy Story" & "Cars", Elmo, Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny and Blue Clues!

Favorite Toys/Activities at 18-months: all Trucks/Cars, Books, loves to color and is attempting to make circles, loves being outside digging in the dirt with sticks (yet hates his hands being dirty!)

Favorite Foods at 18-months: all fruits, pasta, cheese, peanut butter, raisins, crackers, ocra, cherry tomatoes, pizza, tuna fish, mashed potatoes (will eat anything hidden in mashed potatoes too!), oatmeal, yogurt, sometimes steamed carrots, loves guacamole, will eat beef fajita meat, and loves beans!

He has become a very picky eater and will only eat his veggies and meats in baby food, which obviously I would like to band all together, and so does Dr. Nelms. Dr. Nelms says to take away the milk if he refuses to eat his dinner that we are eating and give him strictly water, and if he doesn't eat his big boy food, to not feed him anything else. He said he can go two days without anything. I would feel like a horrible mother if I did that, so I haven't been that extreme, but have toughened up more and am trying to figure out creative ways to hide the things I know he turns his head too. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears! Dr. Nelms suggested casseroles loaded with veggies, cheese and meat, so if y'all have any casserole recipes send them my way!!

Anyway, here are his latest stats from his check-up earlier in the month...

Weight: 27 lbs 4 oz -- 55% (up 2 lbs since December!!)

Height: 32 1/2" tall -- 68% (up 1/2")

Head Circum: 18 1/2 cm -- 27% (same)

I'm sure I am forgetting lots of other news/updates with him, but my days/weeks have been very stressful with work making it very difficult to remember anything these days.

Spring is here! Enjoy these last few weeks of cool mornings, low humidity, and breezy afternoons!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 29th Birthday to Me!!!

It was a great day! It's weird though how your birthday seems less like a party and more like just a regular 'ole day as you get older. I hate that because I think your birthday should be a HUGE deal!

I had a good day though, work went well, my mom treated James and I to dinner last Friday (our birthdays are 2 days apart), and she also bought us some groceries because we are dirt broke! I mean what is up with this economy? And, when will we catch a break? Gas, price of living, EVERYTHING just keeps going up, and available jobs are just diminishing left and right!! KATY, KLEIN, and FORTBEND ISD's are all making dramatic cuts to their staff after the school year and I'm currently going to school to be a TEACHER! Ugh.

Anywho, James also made me dinner lastnight, and my coworkers all chipped in and got me a few little things, which was very sweet!! I had soooo many wonderful birthday wishes from many of my friends via Facebook also! It was great!

Tomorrow is James' birthday and I will run to the store after work and get him a little card and slip $5 bucks in there because he mentioned he wanted breakfast tacos that morning. I also got him a game that he has been wanting since November for his Xbox, but thats all I can do.

Braden had his 18-month check up yesterday, but I will save that for another post.

Finger Painting....oh joy!!

I receive a monthly article on the different stages of development that your baby/toddler should be experiencing each month, and they list some neat activities to help get their minds exploring and learning while having fun! One of these activities mentioned was..... finger painting! So, I said, "What the heck, lets do it!!"

The result...

Also a quick video for your viewing pleasure...

Blogs...

I have spent the afternoon catching up on everyones holidays, new happenings and ever-changing lives. WOW! Does God work in mysterious ways, or what?!? Congratulations are in order for so many of you for so many different reasons as we start this new year! So, from me to you....Congratulations!!!!

As for me...I swear there has not been a moment for me to just stop and reflect on these last few months.

Braden is changing and growing at a daily rate! He is so awesome and such a joy to have as MY son! He makes me want another soon....I'd like for him to have a sibling closer in age than some of my own siblings. I feel its important for them to have that bond and friendship that not all siblings cherish.

I flunked my Biology course I was taking online last semester. It was at the time where Braden finally started teething (14 months old) and there are just too many distractions at home to really hunker down and get serious, plus I'm a total procrastinator, which does not help for a fast-paced internet class. So, I have decided to head back to the classroom. I'm taking Early Childhood Development this semester (Elementary Education is my major) and I begin class tonight. One day a week, for 3 hours. I hope I can handle being away from Braden, especially when bedtime is our snuggle time :-/ but, I have to do this for my own sanity, which leads me to my next update....

Work. What a stressful, horrible environment right now. This economy sucks. I can't pay my own bills, now I have to worry about not being able to pay my companies bills and the 100's of daily phone calls that I have to put up with. It's ridiculous. I feel like financially I can't get a break. I wish it would rain money, that would be wonderful!

Anyway, I must run....off to pick up my sick little baby (with RSV, my first experience with this virus) and rush home to eat a bite and head to class. Wish me luck! Have a great evening everyone!

Party at Perry's

Our company Christmas party this year was held at Perry's Steakhouse. It was soooo GOOD! James and I both had the steak which just melted in our mouths. The seafood appetizers were delicious, and the creme brulee and other desserts were just fabulous! It was a real treat for us, seeing we've only been there one other time before Braden was born! Afterwards, we tagged along to a wedding reception of James' cousins high school friend, where we danced the night away! It was so much fun!

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas holiday season, and I can't wait to hear about all of your Christmas and New Year festivities!!

Oh! We also took Braden to see the Festival of Lights, and Santa here at Bass Pro, he was a really great Santa this year and we made a Christmas ornament there too! But, that will all be in the next post!

Checkups, and more...

Well, I promised a ONE year checkup post and seeing that he just had his 15-month checkup I'd better get caught up!

It seems like yesterday we were just celebrating his one year birthday! The week of his birthday he visited the doctor and here is what we discovered...

Weight: 23 lbs 2 oz -- 54%

Height: 30" long -- 56%

Head Circum: 18 1/4cm -- 30%

And, this week at his 15-month appointment we found out that he is now...

Weight: 25 lbs 6 oz --62% (2 lbs heavier!)

Height: 32" long -- 75% (2 in. taller!)

Head Circum: 18 1/2cm -- 44%

Little B is definitely growing like a weed. I was dreading the shots this time because at his 12-month checkup he was hysterical for like 10 minutes after his shots were through, but this time he cried while getting them, then I could totally tell after they were done it was a "fake" cry, like "please feel sorry for me, pleeease!"

Also, since his 12-month checkup he has finally gotten 4 teeth as posted previously. He's becoming a much picker eater as his teeth come in, along with stronger temper tantrums. His favorite words are "WOW" "Nack" (aka Snack) "Mama" "Dada" "Yuck" and "Tada". He has learned to dance, "jump", climb on the couches and onto chairs, and to laugh on command when he's accomplished something, its pretty funny! Here is a couple of videos:

Christmas is nearing and I have absolutely no shopping done, and don't know if any will get done, but I do know we will shower each other with lots of love this holiday season and enjoy Candelight Service on Christmas Eve. I bought Braden the following book to teach him about the meaning of Christmas, and we've been reading it a lot!

Anywho, I am hoping to get Braden's Christmas pictures taken if he would just stop getting boo-boos. He currently has whats left of a small black eye from standing on an empty milk jug that we made into a noise maker and falling against the coffee table, a scratched nose from throwing a fit in his highchair, and now a scraped forehead from throwing a fit and hitting his head against the dog kennel. Do we see a pattern here?

This weekend....a visit to see Santa Clause...stay tuned.

'Til next time!