twenty four months

photo via

twenty four months.  woah.  thats two, people.  

two years seems like a long time right?  well... not to me.  it seems like just yesterday i was handed this tiny squirmy baby.

b had his two year check up last week.  we went to see a new pediatrician, dr. joyce.  i used to work with her at the hospital,  she just opened a practice right near our home. she pretty much rocks. b is weighing in at 24 pounds, 7 ounces (this is the 11 percentile folks.  woo hoo!! back on the growth chart!) and he is 34 1/2 inches (54 percentile) tall. still skinny, but making some progress!

we have moved on to wearing mostly size 24 months and 2T clothing.  Mostly so his clothes will still fit through the winter, as they are a little big right now.  i finally moved him into size 4 disposable diapers (for the occasional times we aren't in cloth), but they are a tiny bit big still.  he still remains to be a pretty picky eater, but does well when he finds something he likes.  daily requests are for (turkey) hot dogs, cheese and 'orang-eees'.  i am fighting the transition from a sippy cup, but he prefers to drink from an open cup.  we are still giving him organic, whole milk, and probably will until he goes to college based on his s.l.o.w. weight gain.  dr. joyce suggested giving him a pediasure every night before bed to supplement his intake, and we will go back for a weight check in six months. 

we started b at a new school this past week.  his old school was closing, so we took that opportunity to enroll him in the program i loved when we first started looking at schools.  now that he is two, it was a little more affordable.  he is attending school three days a week, and has done really well with the transition.  his teachers say he listens really well (ha!) and has been making new friends easily.   

i am really enjoying his vocabulary.  he can express himself most of the time and his vocabulary is amazing.  he jabbers all the time.  he sings twinkle twinkle and makes up all kinds of songs while laying in his crib.  he points out every truck, tractor (bulldozer), or motorcycle he see while we are out driving.  he can identify many sounds airplane, trucks, fire truck, dogs, cows, etc. 

(jenna... we have cows in the field across from our subdivision.  

b tells me 'mommy cow, daddy cow, and baby cow'  or 'cows sleeping' when we don't see them! 

i thought you would be proud.)

he still gets frustrated and a little whiny but after a gentle reminder to use his words and tell us what is wrong, he does pretty well.  we have implemented the use of time out on occasion, and b knows if he does something wrong if he is sad or upset, he will go stand in his little corner in his room until he calms down.  

we are still making progress on the potty training front.  again, we have never pushed him to go, but offer him the chance to sit on the potty about every 2 hours, and we have been 90% successful.  there are many days where he is dry most of the day, and we have even had a few days in big boy underpants.  a few accidents, but nothing that we wouldn't expect.  

i am enjoying each day with this crazy, silly little boy.  we continue to have adventures and make more memories every day.  i hope someday when he is older, he will appreciate looking back and reading about what he was like as a baby.  on my most nostalgic my baby isn't a baby anymore days, i love going back through and reading about what he was doing at certain times in his life!

i just can't believe it, but i'm looking forward to another crazy, fun-filled year with my little man!

23 months

here is a  VERY delayed 23 month post... needed it posted so we can move on to our 2 year next week!

no official photo shoot this month.  he pretty much hates my big camera.  my iphone camera is tolerable, as long as i use the rear facing camera and he can see himself.  

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at 23 months brody is:

Wearing clothes sizes 18-24 months, shoe size 6, and size 3 diapers (when we use disposables). 

loving vehicles.  trucks, tractors, motorcycles, diggers, bicycles, dump trucks.  if it has wheels, he loves it.  he has a tractor or a truck in his hand 95% of the time.  

loving reading.  he likes all types of books, but there are a few favorites that come out to be read, and read again, and read again... especially at bedtime

becoming a kinda picky toddler.  meals include food favorites of hotdogs, chicken, 'roni & cheese', chocolate milk and apple juice.  pretty much all he is living on right now.  i need to work on giving him more options and trying to make him eat what we do, but you gotta pick your battles, ya know?!

he is getting tall, tall, tall but still a skinny minny.  from what i can tell on our bathroom scale he weighs about 24 pounds.  i am looking forward to our 2 year check up to get official heights/weights. 

b still goes to school 4 days a week and is loving it.  he is learning so much and his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds.  he is using 3-4 word sentences, and can pretty much get his point across  when he has something to say.   

our big accomplishment for the month is potty training.  another little boy at B's school has been working on potty training, and of course brody wants to be just like him.  he had been telling us when his diaper was wet or dirty, so when he started asking about the potty, we went for it.  he goes almost every time you put him on it, and has even had a few days where he was dry all day at school.  now we just have to work on him telling us he has to go, instead of us just putting him on there every hour and a  half!  we are taking it slow and letting him go at his own pace, since i know he is really young for this still.  

thats about all we have been up to recently.  There has been lots of party planning for a special 'Digger' Birthday Party.  hopefully you will have a blog update of the party sometime soon.  

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in unrelated news... my computer is dying a slow death.  it is weighed down with about a zillion photos and its memory and speed are almost impossible to tolerate.  I am working on deleting any pics we don't need (since I am notorious for taking 10 pics just to get one good shot) and I am going to learn how to back my photos up onto my external hard drive and delete them from my computer.  hopefully i can do that successfully and can get this computer back to working effectively again.  I miss being able to blog post as often, all because our internet sucks and my computer is super slow and takes FOREVER to download pics from my camera and to upload into blogspot.  

if your still with me, amen to you!  thanks for reading!

ummm, 22 months

well, now that brody is 23 months old, i'm guessing maybe i should get around to posting some of the pics from his 22 month photo shoot.  i know someday way down the line, i will be so glad i documented these every month, and i won't remember that they were so far behind anyways! 

so, at 22 months, here's whats going on...

brody is getting so tall.  all of his pants are getting too short.  good thing its still so warm out and we are dressing him in shorts every day.  i can't wait until his 2 year check up to see how tall he is and how much he weighs these days.  

he is wearing 24 month pjs, 12-18 month shorts and 18-24 month shirts.  we bought 24 month onesies for his photo shoot, but they were still too big.  by the time fall comes around, i feel that we will need mostly 24 month to 2t sizes.  

his vocabulary is blooming, and we are able to understand much of what he says.  he is stringing multiple words together and can pretty much get across whatever he wants us to know.  

at school, brody has graduated from a sippy cup and is now drinking out of a big boy cup all the time.  we are still working on moving to that full time at home (mostly because momma doesn't want to clean up the messes).  eating habits have been interesting over the past month.  when he likes something, he eats really well, but he isn't a big fan of veggies at all.  favorites right now include hot dogs (turkey dogs), cheese, yogurt and pretzels.  he is still a good milk drinker, and also loves water (and ice).

naps are still in the picture.  hooray! 1 1/2 to 2 hours typically.  he is still in his crib at home, but sleeps on a cot during his 4 days at school.  typical bedtime is between 7:45 and 8:00 pm, and he sleeps until about 7am.  we are very thankful he has always been such a good sleeper.  

we will be back soon with another update for 23 months.

twenty one

woah.  in three months, we will have a two year old.  

how is that possible?

no one told me that toddlerhood was going to be so challenging.  he can go from happy and giggling to throwing a full on fit in 0.2 seconds.  it is exhausting!  

the best part about this age is that brody can tell us what he wants.  he is terribly independent, and is also a little ok, ALOT particular in what he wants.  i don't have any idea who he could have gotten that from :)

he is very verbal, and his speech is starting to take off.  he is going to school 4 days a week still, and is really doing well there.  his teachers have great things to say about him, and i can really see him making progress.  

the last time we were at the doctor (a sick visit, to check his ears) he weighed in at 23 pounds.  he is still growing like a weed, most of his pants are officially high waters.  He is wearing mostly size 18-24 clothes, 24 month pj's and a few pairs of 12 month shorts.  he is wearing size 5 shoes still, but we are getting pretty close to moving into the next size.  

favorite toys are still any and all vehicles.  he carries around either a truck, tractor or choo-choo at all times.  he sleeps with his elle (the elephant), a new puppy dog from pa-pa and his "B" (blanket).  he loves to watch Thomas and Chuck the Truck on Netflix (over and over and over again). 

 most days, b is a pretty good eater (when he isn't fighting teething).  favorites are yogurt, fruit, cheese, pretzels and most breakfast foods.  veggies are still difficult to get in, but there are a few that have become staples.  as far as we know, he is still allergic to eggs, and we can tell almost immediately by his skin if he has eaten something with egg in it.  he isn't a big fan of sweets, but i wont complain about that.  he sure doesn't take after me!

i sure do love this kid!

twenty months

twenty months.  this is a trying time for both toddlers and their mommas.  b is learning something new every day, saying new words, doing new things and is a big ball of laughter and energy... but with that comes frustration, a need for independence, refusing to eat {almost everything} and tantrums.  

oh, the tantrums.

some of b's favorite things right now are all things trucks {as evidenced by the monster truck he has a death grip on in every photo}.  construction trucks, semi-trucks, pickup trucks, trash trucks, tractors, and choo-choos.  he points out every.single.truck we see if we are out driving.  he is becoming very attached to his blanket, which he calls "B", and still has to have his stuffed elephant, "elle" that he chews on, at bedtime {yuck!}.  he likes to play with bubbles, draw with chalk and play on the playground at the park and to play with the ipad.  He still loves elmo, and also loves watching 'thomas the train' and 'chuck the truck' on netflix.   

diaper changes are still a fight, but b is starting to tell us when he needs his diaper changed.  we bought him a little elmo potty that he sits on a few times a day, but we haven't had any successes yet.  

b is wearing size 5 shoes, and his clothes are ranging from 12-18 month shorts, 18-24 month shirts and 24 month pajamas.  we are still squeezing the life out of a few 18 month size pj's that we just aren't ready to part with yet!

b is really enjoying school, and is going 4 days a week.  typical school hours for b are 7:30am-6pm with a few early 6am days thrown in to keep everyone on their toes.  our little man is still a good sleeper, and puts himself right to sleep after being put into his crib.  bedtime is about 8pm and he sleeps until 7 on school days and sometimes up until 8:30-9am on weekends!  i am so thankful b has always been a good sleeper.  

bye!

that's all for now.  be back again soon!

nineteen months

i find it really sad that i haven't managed to put up a single post between our eighteen and nineteen month updates... if anyone knows how to add an extra couple hours into the day, let me know!

And without further delay, here's Brody at 19 months!

this last month has been rough on our little man.  it all started off a week after his well-baby checkup with the doctor.  cranky baby. fever. rash. another doctor visit. we left with a diagnosis of hand, foot and mouth disease (which i think we picked up there at our well check).  this led to four days home from school, lots of snuggles, ibuprofen and mommy patience.

one week later, a call from B's school that he has a fever.  two more days home from school.  the next monday, back to the pediatrician.  double ear infections. eczema flare up.  and an allergy response to who knows what...

ugghh! 

but, i think we are finally on the mend.

weighing in at 22 pounds by our bathroom scale.  and growing like a weed.

he is wearing size 5 shoes, 24 month jammies, 18 month onesies and 18-24 month clothes. we had to adjust his cloth diapers to the biggest setting because he is so tall.  

meal time and diaper changes have become (or remained) a struggle.  favorite foods are chicken nuggets, string cheese, hot dogs, greek yogurt & applesauce.  i am thankful he is a good milk drinker still.   if he doesn't like something, he doesn't want it on his plate.  he offers up his whole plate to the nearest taker when he is through with it.  

'no' has become the newest word to use, but frequently are hearing the favorites: shoes, choo choo, jeep, truck, milk, dog dog, mama & dada.  newer words are Cas (for his teacher miss cassie), airplane, kay up (caleb, brody's BFF).  he is still using his sign language, and they are incorporating it into school lessons too.  we frequently see: all done, please, thank you, more, drink, eat and occasional diaper signing.

B has been a lot of fun recently (when he is feeling well), which makes me look forward to our summer adventures!

"no more pictures momma"

eighteen months

Brody turned 18 months three weeks ago, and here I'm just getting this monthly post up and its almost time for another one already.  I know it is cliche, but where is the time going?  Can I make time stop before I blink and my baby is heading off to college?!

This little boy is hysterical.  He knows it too.  His vocabulary is really starting to improve.  He says about 15-20 words in the correct context, and he understands almost everything you ask him.  He is still signing as well, and his teachers at school think he is doing so well because he can pretty well communicate what he wants.  Some frequently heard words are: shoes, jeeps, truck, tractor (which sounds like trash truck), elmo, dog dog, fishie, etc.  He loves this 100 words book, and he can point to the pictures of almost every word in here when you say it to him.

B goes to school three days a week, and is learning so much.  Around Easter they hatched chickens (that have gone to live at Mrs Cassie's farm).  They have caterpillars right now, and are waiting for them to turn into butterflies.  They have planted a vegetable garden, go on weekly nature walks and just have a good time.  We are so lucky to have found a school that works so well for us.  

Brody is still obsessed with shoes, and can frequently be found wearing either daddy's flip flops or my red ballet flats (he must think he is Dorothy!)  His favorite toys right now are any vehicles.  He yells and points everytime he sees a truck, a tractor (construction equipment) or a jeep.  'Choo-Choo's' are also a frequent favorite.  We have been watching Thomas the Tank Engine on Netflix (over and over and over again!).  

Eighteen months brought with it another check up with Dr. Agolia.  

Brody weighed in at 22 pounds, 6th percentile on the growth chart.  That is the highest we have been since he was born.  He is 33 inches long, which is the 70th percentile.  We got a good report and Brody was very brave and didn't even cry when he got his shot.  He did make sure that his 'Elle' got a bandaid for her boo-boos.  

I'm pretty sure one of these times is when he picked up some of the germs we shared in our house this week.  More to come on that experience later.    

Happy 18 months baby boy!

17 months

I'm not quite sure how we got to 17 months.  I have taken pictures for both 15 and 16 months but for whatever reason never posted an update.  Who am I kidding... I know the reason.  It's called trying to go to grad school with a toddler!!! 

At seventeen months, Brody has lost almost all of his babyhood, and we have moved on to full fledged toddler.  He is wearing 12-18 month shirts, 18 month pants and pj's, size 5 shoes and for the occasional paper diapers we are still in size 3. I am not sure how much he weighs, since we haven't been to the doctor since his 15 month checkup.  Then he weighed 20 lbs even.  He likes to play on the scale in the bathroom, and I think it says about 21 pounds.  He is growing so fast these days, tall and skinny.  A few weeks ago I noticed all his pants were starting to look like high waters.  We broke out some 18 month pants for him that are all too big in the waist, but at least they are long enough!

Diaper changes are an epic battle these days, and he does everything in his power to get out my grip.   I can't understand why it is so terrible to have a diaper changed.  I sure wouldn't want to be in a dirty one.  

He is still going to school 3 days a week, and has lots of little friends there.  Our favorite teacher Ms. Erin found another job, and we were sad to see her go.  Since then, he has a new teacher Ms. Cassie, who we are getting to know and learn her routines.  

Brody goes to bed every night about 7:30-8 pm and sleeps until 8 am, or 5:30 on his school days.  We are thankful he sleeps so well for us.  He is still waking up crying around 10:30 pm every night, but he soothes himself back to sleep.  He is still using his sign language and has about 5 or 6 that he uses regularly.  He is getting better with his words too.  Some we hear regularly include: uh oh, bye bye, up, momma, dada, shoe, ball, yes, thank you and sometimes a please.  He makes lots of animal sounds in addition to his words.  

His is obsessed with shoes.  His, ours, it doesn't matter.  As soon as he wakes up in the morning he starts asking for shssss (which we assume means shoes).  He can take his shoes off and tries really hard to put them on himself.  He also loves his Mr. Potato Head, any cars or trucks, and books.  He brings them to us to read to him, and he will sit and flip through the pages by himself.  His favorite books are a set grandma got him.  It is a set of 4 books of trucks, cars, construction equipment and tractors; they have handles on them and they get carried around everywhere.  

And we are still doing the photo a day challenge, I just haven't been good about posting them all.  Over the course of the last three months, we may have only missed 1 or 2 photos.  It will be so neat to look back at them.  

Ok, that is all for now.  I hope to be back later this week with some more posts.  We have alot of catching up to do!

fifteen months

we have had a check up with the pediatrician, 2 vaccinations and a parents as teachers screening.  i think it is safe to say brody is officially fifteen months old.  been that way for a whole week.  

And now for the important part…

weight: 20 lbs, 5^th percentile.  Finally on the growth chart for the first time since 4 months old!

height: 31 ¾ inches long, 70% percentile

teeth: 4 on top, 3 on bottom (still wondering where that last one is) and working on breaking through two molars on the top. 

ear infection count: 3 (or is it 4?)  we are going to see an ear, nose and throat specialist next week to discuss tubes since these infections have been so resistant to the antibiotics.

clothes: 12 month pants and shirts, 18 month pajamas, size 4 shoes

[at the pediatrician's office]

he signs 'please', 'thank you' and 'more'.  waves bye-bye and hello.  says momma, dada, woof, roar (like a lion), vroom (like a truck), uh-oh and yes.  he is imitating everything.  if he wants something he can't say, he points and grunts to get your attention.  he has become very stable while walking and even runs every now and then.  he can walk backward and spins in circles until he is dizzy.  and he still makes that funny humming sound when he is tired to soothe himself to sleep.  

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he loves to eat and will eat almost everything we give him.  favorites are bananas, strawberries and string cheese.  he wavers on whether or not he likes meats and most veggies.  he is drinking milk like a champ, using his straw cup, and begs to drink out of a plastic water bottle if he sees anyone with them.  feeds himself with a fork and spoon, and shakes his head no if you try to feed anything to him.   

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he is definitely all boy.  climbing.  jumping. getting into everything.  wearing his momma out.  but i sure do love that little boy.  

fourteen months

You are well overdue for a monthly post {i sorta missed thirteen months... mommy fail} 

This month has brought lots of changes for little man's schedule.  He is now going to school daycare three days a week.  We found a great in home daycare that operates with an actual lesson plan/school day {for way cheaper than the private preschool I had fallen in love with}.  We drop him off around at either 6 am or 7:15 depending on the day, and daddy picks him up after work about 6 pm.  Brody has a great time with Ms. Michelle and Ms. Erin and is learning how to share and play with other kiddos.  

It is official that any sign of baby-ness is long gone.  We have ourselves a full-fledged toddler on our hands.  He is quickly becoming a little boy and his independent personality has emerged.  He is walking everywhere, running a little, and is even able to walk backwards some.  He is climbing onto everything and is becoming a little daredevil.  It is getting pretty hard to get pictures of him, as he doesn't stay still long enough! 

I think he is weighing in around 20 pounds and is getting really tall.  I'm looking forward to his 15 month checkup to see how much he has grown.  He is wearing size 12 month clothes, 18 month pajamas and size 4 shoes.  He is obsessed with brushing his teeth.  He is a really good eater, eating all table food.  He uses his fork pretty well and is working on the spoon.  He signs for "more" food and when he is "all done".  We are working on "please" and "drink".  Daddy is trying to teach him an incorrect sign for dirty diaper.   

'talking' on momma's phone

We have established a pretty decent schedule around here as well.  He sleeps from 7:30pm until around 8 am (except on school days).  He is still sleeping with his Ellie (the elephant) and has his tiger at school for naptime.  He is napping for about 3 hours around noon.    

Overall, I'm loving this age right now.  He stops playing and comes over for kisses.  Lays his head on my shoulder when I am holding him.  Snuggles with us before bed and when we wake him up.  We are having a little issue with separation anxiety and is becoming a little bit of a 'momma's boy', but i know that will pass and I don't mind the extra bit of snuggling that comes with it!

I sure do love this kid.

Eleven months

In 11 month old Brody news:

He has 4 top teeth and is (finally) starting to cut his two bottom teeth. He has been a fussy little man for a few days, but they are almost through, so I hope he’s back to his happy go lucky self soon!

It is getting almost impossible to take a good picture anymore, as he doesn't stay in one place long enough!  

He is walking holding on to everything, and really only uses our hands fingers for support.

He is nursing 4 times a day, eating three meals and snacks.  We are still working with the sippy cup, and have started offering whole milk (Horizon Organics) at meal times.  He really isn’t drinking much of it, but I wanted him to start to get used to the taste before we start weaning him from breast milk.  

We are really starting to see Brody try to "figure things out".  He will bring you his toys if you ask him to and put them into your hand.  He "shares" his food with you, points to what he wants, brings books to you to read to him.  He is saying mama, dada, and baba (which so far has been used to describe books, ball, doggie, cup, baby).  He knows what sound a doggie makes (woof) , and will growl when you ask him what an alligator says (what does an alligator say, by the way?) 

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I am just enjoying him so much, and am getting pretty excited about his first birthday party planning that is underway!

ten months

He is ten months old… hardly a baby anymore. 

Crawling everywhere, pulling up, sitting down, cruising holding on to furniture, walking with his push toy, walking holding onto our fingers, getting into EvErYtHiNg!

He has two top teeth that are absolutely adorable.  He is eating lots of table food, some stage 2 and 3 baby food, and is nursing 5 times a day.  He has a great appetite and will eat almost everything that we let him try. 

He is wearing clothes in all kinds of sizes, and is still long and skinny.  We’re in 12 month onesies and pj’s, shirts ranging from 3 months to 9 months, and 9-12 month pants.  He has been rocking his Puma’s in size 3.  We continue to cloth diaper, but are in size 2’s when we do use the occasional disposable. 

Diaper changes are becoming quite a challenge, as he hates to lie on his back.  As soon as you put him down on the changing table he fusses, and tries to flip over and wriggle away.  I have had to chase down a speedy naked baby crawling away from me numerous times after trying to change him on the floor! 

 He will sit on the floor and play with his toys, until he is distracted by something else he can get into.  He loves music, and will pull up and “shake his booty” when there is music on the tv or radio.  He “sings” along with the radio in the car, and babbles all the time.  I think he forgot how to say mama and dada now that he is mobile, but he is very vocal and makes all kinds of squeals and shrieks and laughter. 

He is sleeping through the night on most nights, going to bed about 9pm and we wake him about 8:30.  He takes two or three naps a day, the first two being about 2 hours and the third around 45 minutes to an hour.

Don't you just love this face!