It only took 2.5 weeks

But I'm finally getting around to posting that Aidan is ONE!

Yes.  One.

You'll have to forgive me.  It's been a crazy time!  Between the holidays, new job, multiple birthdays and trips north to see family, it seems like I have not had ONE moment to myself.  Not entirely true but I swear it seems that way.

So.  This guy.

Is a stinker.  He's a gorgeous stinker, but he's still a stinker.  And he is ALL mama's.

He weighed 25 lbs and was 31.75 inches tall.  Forgive me,  I don't remember the percentiles (and I don't feel like walking into his room where he is sleeping to grab the sheet) but he was somewhere in the 90% for height and 75% for weight.  It was the first time in his life I left an appointment disappointed by his weight, but that's only because he didn't weigh more than his sister.  Sad, I know, but I truly thought he would pass her up by his first birthday.  He is, however, within 1.5 lbs of her.

He has two words in his vocabulary.  "Mama" and "No."  I guess I'll take it.  Unusual that a baby would pick mama before dada, but this just goes back to the whole mama's boy thing.  Seriously this kid follows me around the house crawling and yelling "mama!"

And after months and months and months of army crawling, he finally decided to start crawling up on all 4's.  And not long after, decided that walking was ok.  He is still preferring crawling over everything but he will take the occasional hesitant steps out to you.

That's another thing I've noticed about him.  He is in someways a lot more cautious than his sister.  He doesn't just "dive" in as much as she does but hesitates first before deciding to go.  He also gives up very easily.  If he doesn't get it his first try, he simply yells in frustration and then moves on and it's awhile before he tries again.

He is also attempting to eat with forks and spoons.  It is quite a mess and quite fun to watch him try to figure it out.  He's quite stubborn with it too and refuses to let you "help" him in any way.  That fiery temper he's had since the day he was born comes out in droves if you do.

That's another thing I'm at a loss with.  His temper and his fits.  Because he will literally just crawl around screaming and you have NO idea what he's mad about.  Sometimes it's because you've denied him something he wants (i.e. to crawl down the stairs when you aren't around to help him.  Or the knife in the drawer.) or because his sister took something from him.  Or the normal he's hungry, tired, bored, etc.  He could do this all day and no matter how much you try to figure out what the problem you just can't.  And I know he doesn't get enough sleep but absolutely refuses to sleep past 6:45.  Earlier bedtime, later bedtime, more naps, less naps, big meal before bed, no meal before bed, letting him yell, giving him a toy, NOTHING will get this kid past 6:45.

And I didn't realize until after I edited these photos that he has drool hanging from his mouth in this last one.  Dratted molar #4 is working it's way in.  Yes.  Molar #4.  He now has 12 teeth filling out that mouth of his.  Hoping for a break from this teething for a bit because it's been a doozy.

Oh well.  We are so glad to have him in our lives.  We love you baby boy.  Happy belated first birthday.  (And photo shoot.  But now that I have a lot of fun photography items, including editing software, I sure hope to be able to take a lot more pictures!)

And by the way...Merry Christmas from us to you!

Nostalgia

It seems I've been hit with it in quite frequent episodes here lately.

Maybe it's the approach of Aidan's first birthday.  Or Elisa's homecoming day.   The end of another year and the start of a new one.

This year has been amazing, full of intense highs and lows, but I can't say I regret a moment of it. 

My baby (can I really call her that anymore?) does not look, walk, talk, anything like a baby anymore.

That's not to say she doesn't sometimes ACT like one.  But I look at this gorgeous girl and it can actually be hard to remember that she was once this small.

My hand is literally larger than her head.  That is frightening to me.

Or this guy?

Last year at this time he was here.

And even though he hasn't passed that 1 year mark and is not walking, he is EVERY ounce the toddler in personality.  He doesn't even LOOK like a baby anymore.

I am so glad I have taken pictures of my life over these last few years.  I can look back on them and smile at how far we have come.  I never imagined this would be my life 5 years ago.  I never knew I would be so lucky.

11 months

I've been trying to come up with something each day this month that I'm thankful for. And yesterday, on Aidan's 11 "month-day," I said:

Today I'm thankful that 11 months ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. And that he fulfilled my two wishes for that pregnancy.
1. Term.
2. That he choose his birthday.

And I am still thankful for that. And so much more.

Even when he throws a tantrum because he doesn't have the ONE thing he wants the most. When he has many other items right in front of him that would fulfill his need.

Even when he kicks his legs and screams in frustration because his sister gets to do something he can't yet.

Even when chomps down on my leg because he's teething. Again.

I am thankful for him. And all that he is. I have been blessed with two very strong personalities. It will not be a boring time in this household for the next 18 years.

Budding artist?

Yesterday while working on dinner, we set Elisa up with her whiteboard and marker. She loves to color, draw, any of that. Andrew sat down in his chair and I turned around to open up some more of the items needed. When I looked back over at her, I saw this.

My first thought was that Andrew got up and helped her. But then I realized I would have heard that. I mean she was just feet away from where I was. I could hear her muttering to herself about how she was drawing "daddy" and then watched as she made the second face and narrated that she was drawing "brother."

And all I could think was WOW. I mean, she's barely three. Should she even be able to do this?

And this happened after we were asked TWICE in two days if she was in speech therapy. Since, according to these people, she needs it.

Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't. Regardless, I was floored by this. I don't think I could draw this well and I'm 32.

Purple

Going purple for prematurity! November is prematurity awareness month and I'm so thankful for the health of my preemie. Three years ago we were just beginning our journey. And while the journey doesn't truly end, I love where we are now.

And I'm participating in another photo challenge with a friend. Today's word is color...and I chose purple for obvious reasons. :)

Happy Halloween!

3 year check up

I'll be honest. This will be a quick and dirty post. I have been dealing with one sick kid and another kid who doesn't like that the other is getting the majority of the attention and I'm just flat worn out. Thankfully grandma and grandpa came and saved the day while daddy is away so I only have the sick kiddo to deal with overnight.

Check up went great. Doctor has no concerns. Developmentally she looks great. And she's even reached the "double digits" on percentages for weight.

Weight: 26.5 lbs (10%)
Height: 3 ft 1 inch (63%)

Yeah, she's long and lean.

In case you were curious, here were her previous stats:

Birth: 2 lb 13 oz, 15 inches
1 year: 16 lb 15 oz (1%), 28.5 inches (28%)
2 year: 22.6 lbs (4%), 33 3/4 inches (49%)


Grow baby grow.

Three years old.

From birth to three...you continue to amaze me. Love you baby girl. Happy birthday!

Don't give up

~If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again~

I found this picture on Facebook today, on my last day with a two year old.

And I found myself reminiscing about this day three years ago. I had no idea that the next day I would no longer be pregnant. I was still in the midst of my FIGHT. Because fighting I was. Call it faith. Call it denial. Call it what you will, but even then, at 29 weeks pregnant and entering my third week of hospital bedrest at 4 cm dilated, moved back to Labor and Delivery and back on magnesium that was failing, I was NOT having a baby then. You could have talked yourself blue in the face with every amount of medical knowledge and information and I still would have told you to stuff it, I had 8 more weeks until my fight was over and I was going those 8 more weeks. It wasn't until that moment the doctor came and explained to me that at 7 cm dilated and active laboring for over an hour that I was having a baby then that I gave up the fight.

And I guess, the phrase "gave up the fight" isn't even the right phrase. Because I didn't give up the fight. I just changed the fight. Instead of fighting to keep my baby in my belly, I fought for her life in an incubator, with tubes and wires. I picked up a piece and I began again. And I sit here today with a dream come true.

Wordless Wednesday

(For the record, he is 10.5 months and she is 3 years. And yes. He's almost bigger than she is.)

Simply amazing

Just how different children are. I mean, it shouldn't be any surprise really. Just because they came from the same DNA doesn't mean they would follow the same path, right? Like this one.

He has NEVER been a bottle baby. I know I've said that here before and I know you are going WHY do you keep worrying about that? I honestly don't know. I am proud of myself that I no longer keep track of what he is drinking...I just know it is not 24 oz. :) But that being said, he has moved on to table food already. And he loves it. He eats anything I put in front of him. Even mashed potatoes. Which this one refused.

He is a whopping 24.5 oz. Yes. Almost 25 lbs. And not even 11 months old. Seriously. This kid eats more than his sister!

Elisa is 27 lbs...yes. Only 2.5 lbs larger than her brother. It seriously cracks me up anymore. To watch the two of them together, especially in their diapers, the lack of size difference is obvious. Where Elisa is long and lean, Aidan is short and stocky. Seriously. His head is the same size as hers. Pretty soon, he will be giving HER horsey rides. But where Aidan has a temper, Elisa is even keeled. Both, however, are attention seekers.

I'm pretty sure we will have amazing fireworks in the future. Already we are getting the tantrums over "He pinched me!" or the screams because she took his toy. The pushing him away because all he wants to do is play with his crazy big sister. But when it all comes down to it, they love each other. They show it in the times they do play nicely together. Or when Elisa randomly goes up to Aidan, gives him a hug and says "I love you brother!" The look on Aidan's face when his sister comes back into the room. How happy to see each other they are when they have spent the day apart.

Wordless Wednesday

Seriously?!

How am I supposed to feed this kid if he keeps doing this!?

Wordless Wednesday

But not silent.

Maybe I should just focus on his personality

Since getting a "beauty" picture of him is near impossible.

I mean, I guess it's a good thing that he is just full of personality.

Since that means he keeps us laughing, even when he is grumpy.

Today, he is 10 months old and wow has time passed.  It's crazy that he's wearing a lot of 18 months clothes. I mean, how am I supposed to know how to plan for his clothing needs if the boy does not follow the age scale?  He prefers to stand now, and has figured out what he can pull up on and does it ALL the time.  I will say, though, that if he gets frustrated he is not like his sister.  In that he gives up and screams and whines until you help him do whatever he was trying to do.  He doesn't seem to have the tenacity to push through until he gets what he wants.

Anyway, he loves to pull up to the kitchen chairs and then push them around the kitchen and is even taking a step between the chest and the couch.  It's not pretty...but he gets to where he wants to go.

He's still not a bottle baby.  He never will be.  Getting that "minimum" 24 oz into him rarely happens.  He prefers his solids, so weaning him will be a breeze.  Hopefully.  He's gaining weight fine, though and is a solid 23 lbs.  Yeah, at just 10 months old.

He loves his sister and really just wants to be anywhere she is.  He will be fussing and whining but lights up the instant she walks into the room.  He follows her everywhere, and gets really angry when he can't.  He misses her immensely when she's napping or spending the day at grandma's.

My goofy boy.  Love him to pieces.  He's definitely a momma's boy...but I guess God figured I needed to have one kid that preferred me over daddy.  ;)

A weekend of firsts!

To start.  This guy:

Has his first ear infection.  I'm lucky that my kids really are very healthy.  Elisa didn't even get her first real illness until after she was a year old, and Aidan has only had one cold last March.  So, truly, getting to almost 10 months before dealing with cranky, non-sleeping, non-eating child while having an older sibling in the house is pretty good.  Here's hoping to a quick recovery and the return of our normal schedule.

This one:

Is getting a crash course in potty training.  After trying to encourage her for months to sit on the potty and getting resistance, we put her in big girl underwear today and wrapped her in a cloth diaper to try to catch any accidents.  She hates the feel of the wet underwear and will sit forEVER on the potty but waits until she's up and her underwear is back on before she pees.  Literally like 2 minutes after she's back up!

But other than that...it's the first weekend of fall.  And it feels like it.  I had this idea for a picture to take with her when it got much colder and saw her in her knit hat and all but we were playing in the leaves and just decided to snap it.

We had a lot of fun playing out in the leaves while Aidan napped this morning.

Maybe this evening, if he's up to it, I will try to get some of Aidan.  I was just glad she cooperated for once.

Wordless Wednesday

Or not so wordless.

This has a very personal meaning for me lately.  Since becoming a mother I've spent a lot of time being accepted...as well as rejected and judged for not doing things the same way another mother would have done it.

If there is one thing I've learned...it's that every mother, every child and every family is different.  There are not too many "right" or "wrong" ways of parenting.  There are some, but the majority are not black and white definitely good and definitely bad ways.

You, as the parent, need to decide what works best for YOU and YOUR family.

Whether you breast feed or formula feed.  CIO or no CIO.  Co-sleep or no co-sleep.  Organic or non-organic.  Forward face or extend rear face.  Whatever it is...do your research and decide what works best for YOU.

And screw what the rest of the world thinks.

Balloons, balloons and more balloons

Recently, we've discovered a love of hot air balloons.  Ever since our trip up to Michigan for the annual balloon festival up there, it's all Elisa has been able to talk about.

So when Andrew remembered the festival he went to as a kid near his home, it was a go!  (It had the added side trip of being Grandpa King's birthday so that made it even more special!)

It was a great day, chasing balloons, even after a rather uncertain launch.  Thinking they weren't going to launch, we headed to the store and almost home when suddenly, the sky was filled with balloons and the chase was on.

A dinner of pizza and a trip to see a train and we were exhausted.

In other news....this not so little guy has just gained tooth # 8.

Yes.  8.  He has been a fussy, whiny, clingy, non-eating cranky baby since Sunday.  It has NOT done well for my "task" to work on letting go of intake with him.  The fact that he has basically DROPPED an ENTIRE feed thanks to this tooth has rocketed my stress and anxiety levels...He's halfway to those molars if I'm doing my math right.  UGH.  Let's just get this over with, please?  Teeth, you suck.

Oh.  And how could I forget.  Ice cream.

Can't wait for next year and the start of the balloon festival circuit again.  Will be looking for a lot of the local festivals to visit and hopefully take another trip to Michigan for that one.  Aidan should be able to get on the fun a bit more by then!

Wordless Wednesday