St. Paddy's Day and owies

Well, I have again gone way too long between posts. Oops :-S

We've had another busy few weeks. Jesse is working extra, I've had a series of doctor's appointments (still have 5 left in April and May), and little man and I are in the middle of colds.

I am finally getting around to getting everything up-to-date. Had my annual women's doctor appointment, dentist appointment which turned into 8 more appointments.... my teeth have suffered since having Andrew lol..., had a Primary Care appointment with blood tests- all came back perfect so now just waiting for women's doctor lab results and then I have a dermatology appointment next month as well. And then I shall be done!

BIG news-- Jesse got into Grad School here at USF!!!! SO proud of him, I knew he'd get in but I think he was not so sure (he was crazy surprised/ excited when he found out).

In just under a week now we fly to Minnesota for two weeks!! I'm getting so excited to have a mini vacation, see some cool peoples and we're all especially excited for the wedding!!! :-D Also really looking forward to Andrew seeing his grandparents more-- it's crazy how much he's changed since they were here in January!

Well, we had a very low-key St. Patrick's Day. Just went to a festival downtown which was so-so. We are looking forward to making a day of it next year when Andrew is more interactive. Here's a few pictures:

This past Friday night (of course while hubby was working a shift) we were hanging out in the living room, me sitting in the middle of the room, Andrew walking around, Spongebob in TV. And while watching the TV the poor little guy misjudged the distance between him and the TV stand, fell forward and hit his lip and head on the way down. He had an instant bruise on his head, and his tooth had gone through his lip-- it was hanging on by one small piece of flesh and the blood was flowing. I of course got to him as he was falling so I couldn't stop it but after a quick call to Jesse we headed to the ER nearby (thank goodness my mother was around at the time).

We stopped the bleeding before we left, and he got in pretty quickly but he needed two stitches which meant debriding/ screaming and crying, irrigation/ screaming and crying, a numbing shot/ screaming and crying and then being strapped to a board and held down by three of us while the doctor started stitching which meant SERIOUS screaming and crying. I somehow made it through without losing it. Andrew fell asleep during the second stitch, and once he was done he curled up in my lap, got his dose of codeine and passed out for about 45 minutes through his vital checks and until his daddy arrived. 

We picked up his pain meds and antibiotics afterwards and headed home around midnight (5 hours after arriving) and munchkin passed out immediately. This next two days were rough because I was super paranoid but he did great with everything (though he did get pretty upset when he saw syringes filled with oral liquids coming near him for the first day).

All in all, he was a total trooper, it's healing great, I'm hovering less and have now experienced my first truly traumatizing parental situation which will hopefully make any other emergencies a bit calmer.

Pre-stitches, waiting with daddy while I had a consult with my PCP

Anyhoo, that's all for now. TTFN! <3

14 months...

"Wave bye-bye to mommy! That’s just one of the many tricks your toddler can do now, along with following a one-step verbal command (i.e., “give Daddy the ball”) and maybe even stacking a couple of cubes. He might have about a half-dozen words in his vocabulary by now and “no” is likely one of them. Negativity is a pretty effective way for him to demonstrate his newfound identity and flex his ever-strengthening independence muscle. And speaking of independence, this is a good time to think about setting (a few) limits for your child and laying the groundwork for a united front when it comes to discipline. You and Daddy need to be on the same page about what’s allowed and what the consequences should be when your toddler acts out. Remember, he’s still very young, so it’s too soon for time-outs (he won’t understand…and he won’t stay put) and spanking is never an effective discipline tactic. Other typical behavior these days: the urge to make messes and empty things from, well, just about anywhere: cupboards, wastebaskets, drawers, toy bins — any receptacle is fair game. Dropping things is another favorite pastime as your toddler delights in experimentation (and watching you pick up the pieces). In other news, keep an eye out for these normal and temporary conditions: bowlegs, flat feet, and toeing out (he walks like a duck). All three should disappear as his legs and feet develop and his balance improves. Lastly, playtime is crucial for building both motor and social skills as well as self-esteem, so provide plenty of opportunity and space for fun. Oh, and you have fun, too!"

--whattoexpect.com

Andrew is:

• Not saying any words other than mama and dada yet.... at least not consistently. I do speak some German to him/around him though so I may have confused him a bit haha ;)
• Taking bites of things rather than immediately shoving it all in his mouth.
• Not really trying to shove as many foreign objects in his mouth as he used to.... *knock on wood*
• Getting more teeth! Up to 7 so far.
• Picking up bits of food, moving his hand off the side of his chair and dropping the food to the floor/ tossing anything he doesn't like off the side/ tosses food after he is full
• Starting to sip his milk between bites rather than gulp it down all at once
• Pulling his blanket around himself when we put him to bed
• Walking across the room by himself, stopping multiple times to stand and balance
• Stacking 3 blocks before knocking them down
• "Dancing" AKA bouncing when he turns music on with the buttons on his truck
• Bobbing his head to music
• LOVING organizing things, like putting a toy in each cup holder on his carseat in granny's car.... he looks back and forth and gets a huge smile on his face
• Crawling onto your lap with a book when you ask if he wants to read
• Absolutely adoring this oversize teddy we have, he bites it's nose and wrestles it while squealing and giggling....
• Only drinking out of straw cups, no more sippy cups!
• Liking the slide
• Knocking on doors to be let in
• Blowing kisses
• Only once, but he got himself into a bear-crawl position, pushed back into a squat and stood up without using anything to help him!

TTFN! <3

Weekend adventures!

Hokay, so long story short, the reasons why I have been MIA lately are: we've had lots of out-of-state visitors, busy schedules, appointments galore and yes even some pretty substantial personal issues going on so far in 2014. BUT we're not going to talk about that, we're going to talk about the weekend  :)

Friday we spent home, went for a long walk and made some yummy peach smoothies -- Andrew's first smoothie! And he LOVED it, Even "asked" for more, haha

Saturday was quite full. We went to a member's only event at the zoo....

They had a special Sea Lion show/ free pictures with Stella and Kitty, and we purchased our own little stuffed Stella ;)

They had VERY fishy breath ;)

Later, we went to Walmart, Whole Foods, Target, Payless and Lenscrafters. We were able to get all the groceries, new sneakers for me and some good boots for Andrew and I got 2 scratch-free pairs of glasses, yay!

My husband went to pick up my car from it's oil change and then we became couch potatoes for the rest of the day.

Sunday we slept in so we missed going to church BUT we did go to Bok Tower gardens! It's their 85th year and it is peak season, so we walked around admiring flowers and lounged in the shade by the tower blowing bubbles and walking the little man all over.

Had to end the evening with Shamrock Shakes, of course ;-P

In other news, I *think* we have our travel plans completed. We're flying to Minnesota for 2 weeks for my brother-in-law's wedding next month and we're so excited! They are Andrew's godparents and it'll also be the first time Andrew is at a big family event so it'll be lots of fun!

Alright, off to clean! I am definitely going through one of my OCD phases again haha

TTFN! <3

13 months

Well, this is an appropriate time to post the 13 month blog, right? Not like Andrew is 3 days from 14 months or anything ;)

Feb. 8th with his new toy organizer

Feb. 9th in the Church playroom

"By now, some little ones can cruise or even walk (and some can’t and that’s fine, too) and imitate you like a pro (you touch your nose, she’ll touch hers). Most will be able to drink from a cup (say hello to cow’s milk); say one or two recognizable words; and point to what she wants. Intellectually, it’s all about cause and effect now (if I drop my spoon, Mommy will pick it up…again and again). On the emotional front, expect some first attempts at friendship as well as a wide range of moods and behavior, from affection to frustration to full-blown stubbornness. Don’t worry too much about klutziness (i.e., frequent falls and lots of bumping into things), as your child’s depth perception (and plain old coordination) is still a work in progress. Bare feet or slip-proof socks may still be best for beginning walkers, but now’s a good time to buy a pair of proper shoes (just-right fit is key). In other news, diaper changes may become a battle of wills as your little critter loathes staying still for something so boring (and probably prefers to be bare-bottomed anyway). You may be concerned about an appetite slump, which is totally normal as Ms. Independence now wants to decide when (and what) she will eat. And speaking of eating, get ready for toddler food throwing, food blowing, and massively messy attempts at self-feeding. Clinginess and separation anxiety (yours and hers) might be big issues these days, so use tactics that’ll help minimize partings: Get your toddler busy before you go, and leave a little bit of Mommy behind (such as your photo, your pillow, or a lipstick-print kiss on the back of her hand)."
--whattoexpect.com

Andrew's developments:

• Making small passes between the couch and coffee table or recliner, etc walking on his own
• Has come to love clementines! He eats halves probably once a day.
• Loves playing with his stacking bowls and putting the rings back on the stacking pole thing
• Will sort through his books until he finds one that he likes, crawl over to you with it, and then crawl up on your lap to be read to.
• Can be found at least once a day sitting on the floor with a book open in front of him, paging through it studying the pages.
• Put his arms through his sleeves when you pull up the side of his shirt.
• Blows kisses
• If we let him in our bedroom he goes STRAIGHT to the bathtub for a bath.
• If you leave a door open anywhere he will book it towards there, and boy can that kid move fast!
• He has a new obsession with pulling open and pushing shut doors.
• Stacks his diapers and "helps" mama fold laundry
• Will color for about .5 seconds with his crayons and oversized sketch pad
• Has started to become shy or something, puts his head down/ buries it when you praise him or laugh around him, etc

That's about all for now... blog to come about being MIA, etc :)

P.s. we rearranged his room! It's so much cozier in there now, more functional, he sleeps longer since we can have the curtains closed and shades down AND he can't pull the curtain rod off the wall......again.....