2010 in Review

January: I nursed my way into 2010 with a 1 month old getting ready to take on the year by a storm

February: brought along the beginnings of mobility with rolling and Jeffrey's 1st Valentine's Day

March: A year after our BFP, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day, a standing (assisted) baby and begin to see that he was not as great of a sleeper as we would have hoped for

April: Amidst the TX bluebonnets, Jeffrey learned to sit and celebrated his first Easter by going to our family farm for the first time

May: It was a busy month for us: my 24th birthday, starting solids, ending my "career" at Curves and starting a new one at the church nursery, a new car and going on a big family vacation to Chicago and Michigan!

June: Just a mere month later, our little traveling (and crawling!) baby went with us on a Cruise to the Caribbean while also starting to cruise himself

July: To help cool off in the hot summer, Jeffrey took his first swimming lessons. We celebrated the 4th of July, a first tooth, a first word, first signs, a first illness and standing unassisted

August: In honor of our 2nd wedding anniversary, we got a walker!

September: The focus was on improving walking skills and starting up at The Little Gym while also celebrating  Jony's 25th birthday (which brought us all a big new TV!)

October: Our little 50s boy had a great first Halloween (and his last first holiday) after getting his first real shoes and a small trip to Austin.

November: After Thanksgiving, the birthday boy turned ONE with a birthday bash and a trip down memory lane for mommy- ending up in the hospital with mastitis 

December: Officially a toddler, we celebrated the holidays and enjoyed Jeffrey's 2nd Christmas.

2011, what will you bring?

Wordless Wednesday

A Very Merry Christmas

We had an amazing Christmas this year- far different than the barely surviving, clogged duct exhaustedness from last year! Although, we're still exhausted. Poor little lad decided that the holidays are a perfect time to work on two more of those top teeth. Yuck. Besides our (lack of) sleep, it was so much fun seeing Christmas through the eyes of a one year old! He was in awe of everything and was so excited to be around all of the family. He just soaked it all in. It was a hectic two days with lots of people and craziness around him, but he took it all in stride and just went along with it all. He was so much fun to be around!

Highlights from Christmas 2010:
1. nursing him in the morning with everything all quiet and peaceful; he just looked up at me and was so perfect looking the whole time
2. seeing his face/reaction when he saw his Santa gifts
3. watching him play with all of his new gifts
4. seeing him chow down on my FIL's famous french toast. He LOVED it.
5. watching him and my niece run around and be ridiculous in all of the wrapping paper, cracking up the whole time

We got some amazing gifts that will keep on giving throughout the year (another semester of The Little Gym for Jeffrey, Children's Museum membership, gift certificate for massages, Costco membership, Home Depot gift cards, etc). We are very blessed and thankful after such a wonderful Christmas.

To prove how blessed and thankful Jeffrey is (along with spoiled and loved), here's a photo of Jeffrey with all of his loot. He made out like a bandit, and we're going to be spending Jony's week off reorganizing our house to make room for all of it!

Transitions

They really are the worst part about parenting. I swear, you get comfortable and adjusted to a routine and then- BAM- they change things all up again. That's currently what we're going through. I'm not sure if it's a wakeful period, teething, he hates me or if he's just having a hard time transitioning to a later nap time, but it has been a rough week. He's been taking super late naps (although they've gotten an hour earlier each day, so he finally went down at 2pm today: success!) and having a lot of nighttime issues. That one night of sttn made it worse, I think, because it gave us false security.

Last night was particularly rough after only about 5 hours of sleep the night before, staying at home and inside all day and then refusal to go to sleep again. He finally passed out about midnight, and I got a good 8 hours since Jony got up with him. I'm hoping that by napping at a decent time today, it should be all worked out. Cross your fingers!

In a way, it's a good thing. I was feeling a mad case of baby fever and now that's been put on the back-burner again, at least for a few days!

Wordless Wednesday

Ah, rest

After a little over a week of no good, very bad sleeping, Jeffrey slept through the night last night. It felt so amazing to hear the monitor and turn to see 8:30am on the clock! 9pm-8:30am. It's been a month or so since we got a full night like that, and I'm excited. A Christmas miracle.

Perhaps that Christmas onesie that I got him that says, "All Mommy Wants for Christmas is a Silent Night" made  a statement to him. Merry Christmas to me!

13 months!

We are entering into the era of communication. He's really picking up signs very quickly and is slowly increasing his actual vocabulary.It is so easy to figure out what he wants about 90% of the time, which is really helpful as the independence really starts showing up. He wants to do everything himself and gets pretty frustrated when he can't or if we won't let him. He's gotten really good at the whine, the pout and the starting of tantrums. Overall, though, he has been ridiculously fun to play with and be around. He's so silly and is almost always laughing and smiling. His "cheese" smile for the camera about kills me each time. I love the continually growing personality of this little dude.

13 month stats:

• 21 lbs and 30.5 inches
• wearing primarily 12 month clothes with some 18 month (like pants) and a sprinkling of 9 month
• With the exception of last week, sleep has been pretty consistent. Asleep about 9pm, a waking about 4/5am and then up for the day about 8am. Not bad. Naps have been all over the place, but they've been super long when he finally goes down. I think that can be contributed to all of the holiday bustle, though.
• He's loving his food and has been eating a TON lately. We've been introducing the fork and now he always has to put the food on the fork before he eats it. 
• still just the 4 teeth, but I see two more on the top appearing underneath the gums
• dances and stomps all around all of the time
• will point to his nose when you ask where it is
• loves reading; it's his favorite activity
• can climb up onto almost everything if it's the right height (such as the couch, yikes!)
• runs around the house kicking and throwing his balls
• can dribble his big ball twice

Ball go Bye-Bye

I went to the park this morning to meet with some fellow moms, which is something that I look forward to every month. The moms do things that are a lot like me, and it's nice to just be able to relax and talk about your life/parenting without having to explain that it's not strange. Today was no different. Jeffrey was having a fabulous time eating rocks and throwing dirt with some of the other little boys, and I was enjoying some adult conversation. When I went to get my camera to capture my little boy covered in dirt with smudges all over his face and his mouth area completely covered, I noticed that it had happened. Jeffrey's beloved ball, a Gertie knobbed ball, was gone. It had been sitting right by my diaper bag by the table that we all had our stuff on. I was so upset.

See, when we first got to the park, Jeffrey was kicking and playing with the ball when these three older children came and TOOK HIS BALL! Like it was no issue, they ran off and started playing with it. Their nanny was right behind him, and I was expecting her to say something, and my 12 month old could have his ball back. Nope. So, I went and took it back. I have no doubts that these little hooligans stole my baby's ball. They were gone by the time I noticed. Ugh.

1. How do you take a ball from a toddler?!?
2. How do you, as a nanny, let that happen? Do you just assume that they created the ball in mid-air when they got into the car with it? Way to teach them a lesson and be a good caretaker...

It bothers me way more than it should, but I just can't wrap my head around how the nanny would let this happen. Thankfully, we have another one at home since it's his favorite toy ever. That doesn't change the confused face on my little boy when he started asking to play with his ball before we left, and it wasn't there.

Wordless Wednesday

Decorating for Christmas in TX...

Deja Vu?

Do I have a wee little newborn again? These last few days it's almost as though Jeffrey has day and night all mixed up again. Actually, it's worse than he was a newborn because that wasn't ever too much of an issue for us. Thankfully, last night went better than the night before (where he slept from 9-12pm and then was awake until SEVEN AM!). Last night, he was only up for an hour in between his sleeping blocks (12pm-11am) Thank goodness Jony is off this week. He's the one that stayed up with him. Why? It's his fault. We went to a Christmas party Saturday night. We already knew we'd be staying late and that it would mess him up a bit, but he can sometimes stay up until 11pm on his own accord, so we figured he'd be fine. He was ready to go home about midnight, but someone had been drinking and kept us there until a little after 1am. There was too much activity for Jeffrey to get some snooze there, so he played and snuggled until we left. He's been taking epic naps (it's currently been 2.5 hours), but today's is a few hours earlier than yesterdays. By the end of the week, we should hopefully be back to normal. He has to get up for gym tomorrow morning, so that will definitely help. Especially since he is exhausted afterwards and usually takes a nap immediately. These past few nights have for sure proven how far we have actually come with Jeffrey's sleep!

Something is Off

I just don't feel right. I've been overly tired the last few weeks sine I had mastitis. At the time, I figured it was the antibiotics, but I've been off those for quite a bit now. Yesterday afternoon, my stomach started hurting. It's a strange hurt- kind of like a constant cramp or tightening. Almost like a contraction, I guess. Just never ending. I've also had a pretty constant headache. I keep thinking that AF is knocking on the door, but I wish that, if that's it, she'd just come on in. I'm over the questions. When I first got AF way back when, I was extremely exhausted. My mom actually took me to get tested for mono and anemia because I would just fall asleep sitting there. I ended up starting my period immediately after giving up half of my blood.

Jony just had a virus, so I'm hoping that it's not that. No fever at this point.

Also, I'm about 99% sure that I'm not pregnant. We don't exactly have a bustling sex life, and I last tested on Thanksgiving (negative, obviously).

I just want to feel better.

Wordless Wednesday

To even things out after yesterday's super boyish post...

Our Future Star

Jony was a baseball player. It's always been his preferred sport, and it was always one of my favorites, as well. We've had plans since pre-conception about our son being in Little League with Jony as one of his coaches. However, as Jeffrey gets older and is starting to show preferences, it's becoming more obvious that another sport might spark his interest a bit more. Soccer. He LOVES balls. Even more so, he loves to kick balls. He'll kick a ball all over the house and just follow it and kick it again. It's the best time for him. We've gotten numerous comments about it, so I guess it's not super common at his age? My dad is super excited as soccer is HIS favorite sport. Being that they share a birthday, maybe there's something to that. haha! My sister was a start soccer player and played at Baylor her first year (and then quit because it took too much time). So, I guess it's in the family. We used to go to the Houston Hotshots games when I was younger, and I always had a good time. I can definitely see our future changing to be more soccer than baseball. And, I'm getting excited about it.

1. It's a timed sport. You know when the game will end. Nice.
2. It's a bit more interesting to watch than other sports
3. Soccer players are usually pretty nice to look at (Every mom wants her son to be attractive!)
4. If he goes pro, he could bring in some major bucks, especially in Europe.

The biggest con, though? The season is during the cold months. Thankfully, we live in Houston.

Of course, we'll let him take whatever direction he wants to go (I'd be even MORE thrilled if he went a theatre route), but it's pretty fun to think about being an actual soccer mom for now.

Hilarity

We reached the most hilarious milestone tonight:

Jeffrey farted, looked at Jony and said 'dada'

His first time to blame a fart on his dad. I almost died laughing.

Verbal Explosion

It's gotten loud in our house. Apparently, he's worked out the kinds in his mobility (stomping, dancing, walking backwards, balancing on one leg and running) and is now moving towards his verbal skills. He is picking them up SO fast. It has been amazing to see this little boy learn so quickly, especially remembering how he used to never even make any sounds for the most part! Signing? Whoa. We cannot keep up with him on his signs. He's also doing so well with animal noises. It is SO MUCH fun! My favorite times are sitting with his big pile of books (because book shelves? Those are for loser kids. Books look much more awesome scattered about the floor) and pointing (both of us) and labeling, making noises, signing, etc. You really cannot beat those moments.

Some of his new words:
-dog
-ball
-book
-llama (from the llama llama series- he always says it twice like the book, haha)
-balloon
-cat
-go

Animal sounds he can imitate:
-cat
-dog
-owl
-lion (his favorite!) and any other roaring animal (bear, tiger, etc.)
-monkey
-cow
-fish- because apparently fish roar, as well. This was new to me.

Wordless Wednesday

Jeffrey's Big Day

I figured it was time to talk about Jeffrey's actual first birthday. Jony took the day off of work so that we could have loads of family time. Of course, being the Friday before Thanksgiving, his work was having their annual potluck Thanksgiving lunch. So, we went to that. Jeffrey enjoyed some good food and lots of fun playing ball with Jony's coworkers and their children. I didn't make it last year (obviously), so it was fun to go. It was surreal for Jony to remember going with his hospital bracelets on last year just twelve hours after becoming a father (note: I told him to go and get himself some good food. Remember the ridiculousness that was the swine flu? Well, we could only have two people in the room anyways, so he might as well have gone there instead of the hallway). After such an exciting lunch that occurred exactly during normal napping hours, an exhausted birthday boy took an almost three hour nap. We took the well rested Tiny to the Downtown Aquarium. He LOVED it. He loves fish and the white tiger they have there was a plus. It was the perfect place to take him. I loved seeing him staring into the tanks signing "fish" over and over again. We picked up some Chic-Fil-A on the way home, being his favorite meal and all, and went back home to eat and have a cupcake. The chunker ate his entire nugget meal, fruit cup, AND a good portion of his cupcake. We got him all dressed for bed and let him play himself out instead of doing the normal bedtime routine so that we could get a picture of him on his birth minute awake instead of asleep. Amazingly, he decided to come give me a hug at that moment. So perfect. A stroll in the wagon closed out the day.

It was a great birthday.

Gobble Gobble!

We had a great Thanksgiving today! Jeffrey woke up super early and thus napped super early, but it worked out perfectly with leaving to get to our destination on time. He loved hanging out and hamming it up with all of Jony's family and REALLY loved eating. The turkey had zero chance. It was demolished. It was so fun playing with him and seeing him have so much fun. Such a difference from last year when I had to sit down super slow to avoid discomfort and a newborn just sleeping away the entire time! We got home and continued our amazing day by putting up the Christmas Tree! Since we're going out of town tomorrow, we decided to just do it tonight. Today has shown that Jeffrey is definitely like his mama in loving the holidays!

And for fun, Thanksgiving 2009:

Wordless Wednesday

Three More Days!!

In three days, we will empty the attic, clear out some of our living room furniture, clean up a bit, and then DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS! I get so excited. Christmas is, by far, my favorite time of year. Everyone is so happy and carefree during the holiday season, and I love it. People smile at you when you walk by them- even at the MALL! The Christmas Spirit is an amazing thing. I wish it carried through the whole year. But, since it doesn't, I enjoy it to the fullest while it's here. I respect the turkey, so the Friday after Thanksgiving is when we bust out the Christmas decorations, holiday songs, and hot cocoa (yes, even if we have the AC on). Another reason we decorate "early" is so that we can take our family picture in front of our decorated, beautiful tree. For the past two years of our married lives, that has been our tradition to use for our Christmas cards. We've always used Shutterfly for this since they have so many cute styles, it's easy to use, and they're reliable. (Actually, we use Shutterfly for everything- photo books, calendars, prints, etc.) We even included Jeffrey's birth announcement in our photo card last year! The same will be done this year. Usually, our family pic is the front, but I think we're going to change it up a bit this year and make Jeffrey the focus. Since it doesn't cost anymore to have another photo on this inside cover, that's where we'll put the family one.

Check out the cute new styles they have this year: Shutterfly Holiday Cards
We're leaning towards this one...

12 Month Appointment

If asked today how Jeffrey feels about being one, he would say "It sucks." Today was not a great day for my little guy.

Overall, his well-baby exam went very well. He's developing ahead of track (well into the 18 month milestones, besides verbal) and is healthy and happy (and ear infection free!). Everything is perfect. He's developing, size-wise, into the little boy that we expected him to be. Long and lean. He's in the 10th percentile for weight, the 59th for height, and the 26th for head circumference. He's all over the place.

After the exam, though, came the shots. We got three of them today. Total suck. He wasn't a fan while they were occurring (obviously), but he calmed down pretty quickly afterwards. He could have moved on from that ordeal if he didn't have to go and get tested for anemia. Yup, poor tot had to go have his blood taken. Since he's a big boy now, they first tried going through his arm since that would be faster to get the blood out. After trying for what seemed like forever, they decided to give up on that route and just do the finger prick. Poor baby cried so hard during that ordeal. I know that sucks since I just went through that two nights ago. He reacted better to the finger prick, although he was upset, but it just takes so darn long. I'm fairly positive that the gauze bandage was more annoying to him afterwards, though. It was supposed to stay on for about 15 minutes, so I let him walk through the hospital towards our car to distract him. I managed to keep it on him 10 minutes before it was yanked off. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped. I should mention that his band-aids from his shots stayed on no more than five minutes. The first one was off before we left the exam room. Not a fan, it seems.

So, we're now home waiting to see if we have any reactions from the shots (said it would be about 24-48 hours AND 7-10 days. Lame). Not such a great thing when I'm feeling under the weather, too. Daddy may have to deal with a mommy AND baby with fevers.

How I Spent Last Night...

9pm: arrive home from birthday dinner for Jeffrey and my dad, and Tiny goes to sleep. Easy peasy. No fuss.
11pm: In bed, passed out
2:30am: wake up to extreme chills and notice that my left boob hurts.
3am: Chill are getting worse. I'm a bit freaked out. I wake up Jony, who is also a bit freaked out by the fact that I'm practically convulsing constantly do the extreme chills. He takes my temperature: 99', so not super high.
3:10am: Chills are getting even worse. Jony wakes up Jeffrey to come and see if him clearing the clog will help. Thankfully, I can nurse lying down because Jony still had to help since I was shaking so bad.
3:20am: Jeffrey is passed out and put back in bed. We bust out the pump to see if that will help some more.
3:25am: With a pump on my left boob and a trashcan in my right hand, I proceed to throw up numerous times. With that, Jony makes the call to call the OB. We're off to the ER. My MIL comes over to the house in case Jeffrey wakes up (he doesn't. Of course, he sleeps through the night when we can't)
4am: arrive at Triage and officially confuse all the nurses when I let them know my 'baby' is 1. Not very common for a breast infection. Get settled into my room, get temperature taken (still 99), pee in a cup, get all blood removed from my body, and an IV of fluids set up. I start to feel better pretty quickly after I get the IV.
4:30am: They come to collect MORE blood for bacterial cultures or something like that.
6:30am: The doctor returns to tell me that the urine results haven't been returned, but that she's confident that I have mastitis (duh). I get a prescription and get to go home. Finally. I've gotten a bit of rest at the hospital since the chills have stopped, but I wasn't very comfortable there. My fever officially hit: 101'
7am: Arrive home at the same time as my mom, who has come to relieve my MIL and watch Jeffrey (who just woke up) so that we can sleep. I nurse him and hit the bed after popping an Advil.

The rest of today I've been just being lazy. I'm still feeling pretty weak, and my boob is still pretty tender. Jeffrey's doing a great job of nursing it out, though. I have to say that I did NOT expect to have to deal with anything like this after breastfeeding for a year already.

12 Months Old! (aka One Year!)

It has come. I have a one year old little boy. From a squishy little newborn just one year ago, I now have an independent, determined, headstrong and confident toddler. He's learning new things every single day and is constantly amazing me at all of the things he can do. If he decides he's going to figure something out, get ready. Because he will. Sometimes he'll ask for some assistance, but most of the time he's on his own. He seems to have inherited some of his personality traits from his mama (or mom, according to Jeffrey. He's very proper, it seems). He's super fun, hilarious, and a joy to be around. He is always making everyone around him smile, and he knows how to play a crowd. All in all, he's the best little one year old I could hope for.

12 Month Stats:

• about 21lbs and 30 inches (approximately- appointment is on Monday)
• wearing clothes ranging from 9 month to 18 month.
• Sleep is overall pretty good right now, although he's been waking up once the last few nights. Darn the growth spurts. He's even slept ALL the way through the night a few times (9-8am!!!). He's for sure down to just one good nap.
• He's still a great eater, and it's obvious that nursing is now the supplement instead of vice versa. He ranges from only eating a few bites to downing an adult size meal at times. Meat is still the favorite, then fruit, then veggies (however, peas are ranked above most fruits)
• beginning to show an interest in silverware and bowls
• can drink from a cup (sometimes)
• 4 teeth
• running around, walking in circles, and walking backwards (only a bit, though)
• can now sign: please, ball (and does so ALL the time), monkey, fish, elephant and much more. 
• actual speaking seems to be starting up, although there are no more real words besides "uh-oh"
• can do all the shapes on his sorting toy, but we have to show him which hole it is sometimes
• can climb on and off his riding toys
• is beginning to be able to show you where his nose is; he loves to flirt with himself in the mirror
• is now pointing! This skill has really improved his interest in reading and being able to identify items as well as what has sparked his signs

Goals Met

I met a lot of personal goals yesterday, so I'm taking a moment to be pretty proud of myself.

1. I didn't cry yesterday. I got close, but I held strong.
2. I officially breastfed my baby for his entire first year.
3. Jeffrey never had any formula.
4. Aunt Flo is still MIA.
5. I was able to stay at home with him his entire first year.
6. I survived a year with a baby who thinks sleep is lame.
7. More importantly, my marriage survived the first year with a baby who thinks sleep is lame.

I'll be posting the official "12 month" post in the next day or so. Forgive me while I postpone it ;)

One Years Old

I cannot believe it. My little baby is officially a toddler. A one year old. A little boy. So crazy. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I was in the hospital getting ready to pop the little guy out, but it's also as though he's been in my life forever. How did I know what love was before him? How did I even live without him? He is my everything and has taught me so much about love, life, and myself in this past year. Way more than I have taught him.

I can still remember that amazing feeling as he came out and was placed on my chest- the raw emotions that just take over and consume you in a moment that you will never come close to experiencing again (at least with that child). Every day, that consuming love just grows deeper. There is no question that there will ever be as amazing a birthday as his actual birth day, but I am committed to making sure he realizes just how important it is to his father and me. Just how special he is to us. Jony has today off work, and we're making it a family day to do all of the things that Jeffrey loves. It is incredible to just watch this perfect little boy walk all around, interact, learn, explore, communicate, and play in front of me. What a difference a year makes! A year that I would do nothing different and will forever remember as the most challenging and rewarding year of my life.

Thank you, Jeffrey, for being such an amazing teacher and son. I am so blessed to have you in my life. Happy Birthday, Tiny! I am SO looking forward to all the fun and challenges this next year holds.

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Edition

The Party

Jeffrey's birthday was a success! Everything was dry from the morning rain, and the weather was beautiful (could have been a little warmer, but it is November). We had a great turnout; it's so amazing to see our friends and family come together to celebrate this little peanut. It really means a lot to me. Jeffrey had a blast with all of his friends- playing with the balls, running around, riding/pushing the wagon, etc. I don't think he could have had a better time. I managed to go through the entire day without getting too stressed out and was able to really enjoy myself as well. Everything went off without a hitch, and I even walked away excited to prepare for the next birthday party (but hopefully time doesn't go THAT fast!). He got some awesome gifts and has been having a field day since we got home and all of today with his new loot.

Without further ado, here are the pictures from Jeffrey's big day...