Is it Summer Yet?!

Maybe its because he has a fall birthday and can't get fun outdoorsy toys. Maybe its because we have just as much fun playing with them as C does. Maybe its because he is the first kid and will therefore be spoiled rotten. Regardless, C got a snazzy new toy - a water table!

We recently did a toy audit around here and sent outgrown toys to consignment, so I felt a little better about bringing a large plastic item home. Coupled with the fact that J will be home with C all summer and they'll need some entertainment, I couldn't resist the sale price of $30. Turns out, it was a wise $30 to spend!

We picked up the Little Tikes Spiraling Seas Waterpark and so far its a hit! It was too cold to set up outside today, but a towel on the kitchen floor and 1/3 of the water you're supposed to use made for one entertained toddler. He only intentionally spilled one cup of water on the floor, but mostly out of curiosity. I can't wait to put this on the back patio and fill it up all the way!

It came with five sea animals shaped like balls, a handled cup, and four activities: a spiral slide and a spinning ride for the balls, a wave maker, and a funnel/gear contraption. I was surprised, but even at his short-ish stature (32" give or take a bit) he could easily reach to put the balls in the center slide.

I'm not sure how long its going to be on sale, but if you have a Toys R Us near you, its worth checking out. Another awesome sale that I hope continues is their BOGO Little Tikes toys. I picked up a lantern for when we go to camp this summer and a watering can for the garden for whopping $12! Baby toys out, big boy toys in.

On a related note, if you're wondering how the rice box turned out, it was an equally big hit!

He enjoys scooping and moving the rice from cup to cup. In the picture, he's trying to fill the truck with rice. And yes, some does get on the carpet, but its easy to pick up the piles and vacuum up the rest. I'm *knock on wood* happily surprised how neat he is with it.

I'm so happy we're finding interesting and interactive, but not battery operated activities for him. There is nothing wrong with battery operated toys, but he's getting to an age where I want him to explore and be curious, not necessarily just entertained. He still has plenty of noise makers, but its nice to have a balance.

P.S. Happy 17 months to my little big boy. I'm quickly realizing that the differences from month to month are getting fewer so monthly updates are getting more repetitive. There will definitely been an update next month for....gulp...a year and a half. Whoa.

Sorry About the Lockdown

Don't get me wrong - I love Pinterest. I've got 1,000 ish pins of awesomeness collected on my account and I thank the zillions of websites that lend those pictures so I can link back to their sites.

Thanks to their new terms of service, which are more clear and try to respect intellectual property rights, I'm going to remove the script that prevents pinning from this site. I do ask, however, that if you pin something to please retain the linking back to this blog for ownership purposes. Kthx. :)

If you would like to add "no pin script" to your blog, here is how you can do it. In Blogger's dashboard, click on template. From there, you'll see a picture of your blog's main page and a picture of the mobile site (if you have one activated). Under the picture of your main page, it says edit HTML - click on it. A warning will pop up asking "are you super sure you want to mess with this because if you fuck it up you will fuck up your entire website beyond fixability." Click proceed.

You're going to see a bunch of mumbo jumbo crazy talk with a lot of these < and these > going on. Towards the top, you'll see the word "head" surrounded by carrots. Directly under that, copy and paste the following into that spot and hit save.

This will prevent pinning to your blog. To remove it, just delete it from the template. Nice and easy. While in your template, be VERY careful not to mess with anything. It really will screw up your entire blog and you'll need to start from scratch. If you're nervous about messing it up, copy and paste a copy of your template in a Word document until you're sure everything is working.

The other safe guard I recently put up, but will be keeping is the no right click script. If you think about it, with Pinterest enabled, there really isn't a reason for anyone to be right clicking and saving pictures on this blog.

Here's how to enable that function. Back on Blogger's dashboard, click on layout. You'll see the bare bones layout of your blog with all of the widgets and text areas. Choose to create a new widget on your side bar - the Java/HTML generic one. Leave the title blank and in the text box, copy and paste the following into the box.

The words "function disabled" within the script is the message that pops up when someone tries to save a picture. You can change this message by deleting the words "function disabled" and adding your own message between the quotes. Be polite. ;-)

There you have it folks. Two ways to protect the content on your blog. I understand that as a blogger, I'm putting myself out there including pictures and stories about my family, but not everyone on the big bad world wide web respects privacy. So, feel free to pin again, stick to pinning ettiquette, and sorry about the no right clicking.

If you have any questions about these two features, please let me know!

Spring is in the Air: Updated

Since we never really had a fall or winter, is it technically still considered spring? I feel like we cheated or something. Anyway, with the nice weather we have been having, J and I have started looking at our barren back patio and started having visions of a vegetable garden and flower beds. ::sigh:: The unfortunate part is that our patio is 100% concrete, which I hear isn't ideal for growing anything.

Currently, we have these darling (sarcasm) wooden barrel type potters, but between the horrible dirt in them and their state of disrepair, we are just going to toss them. Instead, we hope to build a few 2'x4' planter boxes that we can put around the edge of the patio where the sunlight spends most of its time. One for peppers and tomatoes, one for peas, one for flowers...sounds wonderful! Now to borrow some power tools and make a trip to Lowe's. Oh, and figure out how the hell to make stuff out of wood. Fabric? I got that. Wood? I haven't made something out of wood since 8th grade shop class and even then, I had a wealth of tools available to me.

This is basically what we're looking to make. Nothing too fancy. Just wood and nails and maybe a plastic liner to hold all of the dirt so we're not just pouring it on concrete.

It just doesn't look that hard, but then again those are famous last words if I ever heard them. We're going to Lowe's today to price out the wood, dirt, and other supplies. Hopefully, it doesn't end up being too expensive. This weekend we may hit up the reStore to look into extra or reclaimed wood since re-purposing is always better than buying new.

This is the first summer we have an outside space that is exclusively ours, so we're super excited to make it fabulous.

Definitely more to come on this project when we figure out what the heck is going on!

Update: We got a gardening plot in the community garden! We still plan to make the boxes for the patio, but will use them for flowers. We can instead plant our vegetables in our sunny 3.5' x 20' plot within close walking distance of our apartment. We are PUMPED!

Two Years Ago Today...

I got this...

And then this...

And then this...

Who became this...

 Where does the time go?

When Momma is Away, the Boys Will Play!

And now, a guest post from Daddy J!

The Short Man and I have succeeded in not going all Talking Heads on the apartment in MommaM’s absence.  And I’ll swear to it that the place was clean when Grandma K came to visit yesterday. I can no longer make such a claim. C has taken to climbing into his ball pit and throwing the balls across the living room floor. He’s also developed an early summer skill: He will pull the straw out of his Take & Toss cup and shake it like a popped bottle of champagne. This will surely be useful in June when it is 90 degrees outside, but in March, inside? At least it’s only water. He has an absolute ball doing this, by the way.

Other things C just loves doing when MommaM is not around:

Breaking out the O-face on unprepared family members. The family came to visit last night and C surprised them with an after-dinner treat: He shot them the face for a solid 20 minutes. The only thing better than the face itself was their reactions to it.

Reorganizing the DVDs. C made several attempts today to alphabetize all 60 DVDs on the shelves under the TV. That would be fine, except that his alphabet includes letters that I’ve never heard of. I mean, how do you spell a wet raspberry?

Climbing the steps to the front door. Yesterday was a little scary because C crawled up two steps, sat on his knees, and leaned back. I was standing right behind him, but he landed on his back staring up at me. He’s never fallen off the steps before, but I will now be even more diligent about watching him when he climbs. I’m not going to restrict him from going up the steps because he needs to learn how to handle them, but I am going to watch him a little closer.

Falling asleep on me. This is perhaps C’s best habit. While Skypeing with MommaM tonight, she noticed that C’s eyelids seemed to be weighed down. Then she noticed that his head was listing to the side. He fought it, but I have a comfy lap and am generally great for falling asleep on. It is my favorite thing that he does.

We miss MommaM and we promise to have the apartment clean when she comes home. Now if she’d only get a move on!

Y3W: Away We Go!

Today I'm leaving for a work trip to Louisville, Kentucky and won't be back until Tuesday. I have a few posts lined up over the next few days, but in my absence, I will have a guest poster.

::drum roll::

My fabulous hubby, J! I asked him if he would guest post while I was gone and after looking at me funny for a second, said yes. I'm not sure what he'll be writing about, but he's home alone with C for the next few days so I'm sure it will be entertaining.

I'm sad to be leaving my boys for five whole days. And to be driving nine hours each way - that sucks too. I know they'll be alright and we can Skype, but I'm going to miss them a ton!

Anyone from Louisville? What's fun to do there?

Rainbow Rice

You know how you pin things on Pinterest and you're all, "Oh man, I'm totally going to do that!" but you don't? Yeah, that's me too most of the time. There are so many amazing ideas for toddler activities, however, that I really wanted to start doing some of them.

Lately, C has taken a bigger interest in carrying, dumping, and filling things. Coupled with his sloooowly expanding attention span, I set out to find new activities for him. I had seen the rainbow rice sensory box on Pinterest several times, but it was one of those "Ooh, I'll do this....one day" projects. A friend of mine posted pictures of her son playing in his new rice box and he looked so happy and content playing, it gave me the motivation to finally put one together.




To make the rice box, I bought...

2' x 1' flat storage box with a snap on lid (the kind that the handles flip up to lock the lid)
20 lb. bag of white rice
Bottle of rubbing alcohol
Neon gel food coloring

Yay mixing!

I followed a combination of tutorials from various websites, but the main idea on what to do and how to make it look came from my friend's pictures and from Play at Home Mom LLC. Got to give credit where credit is due! :-)

For each color, I put 4-5 cups of rice in a big bowl, 2 tbs. of rubbing alcohol, and eye balled the food coloring until I liked the color. I used a rubber spatula to fold the rice over and over until it was thoroughly coated and I didn't see anymore gobs of color gel.

The drying operation

Then, I dumped the bowl onto three paper towels and flatted it out so it dried faster. And no worries, the alcohol dries super fast and the smell dissipates completely. I even tasted the rice after it dried because, well lets be honest, C will be eating some of it, and it didn't taste like anything but dry rice.

I ended up with six colors in pretty rows (which will last about 10 seconds once C gets to it. Add a few scoops, cups, and toys and its set! From what I've read about sensory play, the important part is to let the child explore the set up themselves without a parent showing them the "correct" way to play. If they just want to run their hands through the rice instead of using the scoops - that's okay!

Unfortunately, C went to bed before all the rice dried and he could play with it. I'm sure he'll get into it tomorrow.

If you're interested in fun projects and sensory play ideas like this, I highly recommend Play at Home Mom LLC. I spent at least an hour and a half going through her site yesterday and for once, actually felt like I could do fun and different activities with C despite being a working Mom. You know what I'm talking about - I doubt I'm the only one with stay at home Mom blog envy. I only get a few hours a day with him and its easy to feel like those hours are wasted with the same rushing around. The more activities we can do together, the better!

Wordy Wednesday: Jibber Jabber

All day, non stop. He's definitely my kid.

Yeah, I know talking baby talk can be bad for his language development and yadda yadda, but it is so darn funny when he agrees with you after you repeat what he said. Watch for the little nod and, "yeah."

Toddle Along Tuesday: My Little Foodie

Happy Toddle Along Tuesday! This week's topic comes from Nykki at Another Day in Paradise. The topic is.....favorite activity! What is your little one's favorite thing to do?

As a busy 17 month old, C has a lot of activities that he enjoys. His favorites at the moment are swimming, being outside, playing with his kitchen, and singing songs (The Wheels on the Bus makes him shake his little hips!)

Now that its nice out, going outside is so much easier. Once he starts walking, going to the park will be much more fun for him, but in the meantime he loves the swings! I wish we were able to get one for our back porch - I'm pretty sure he would be in it every single day.

Above all, his kitchen has been a favorite since he got it for Christmas. He loves watching us cook and mimics us while we make dinner. Lately, we've been sitting him up on the counter (safely away from the stove, obviously) and he just sits quietly watching. Oh, my little foodie.

C also thoroughly enjoys other toddler type, but not Mommy approved activities. These include, but are not limited to climbing the stairs to bang on the front window, pulling the DVDs off the TV stand, banding his hammer on the metal heating vent, and trying to stick his hands in the litter box, but that's okay. We're working on those activities. :-)

Head over to Growing Up Geeky to check out the blog hop!

Kid Clothes: Unsolicited Advice

One of the most exciting parts about being pregnant (for me anyway, but I may be weird) was buying itty bitty baby clothes. You hear a lot about what you should and shouldn't buy and being team green made that even harder. Most of the stuff we got ahead of time were green and yellow sleepers and onesies adorned with ducks and other animals deemed gender neutral. Eventually, we added in blues and reds, along with robots, dinosaurs, and rocket ships.

::sigh:: It seemed so easy back then.

Yesterday, I went through the last of my consignment sale/hand me down stash that I had put away in the closet. I have several bins labeled newborn, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, etc., the majority of his clothes being in the 6-9 month range for some odd reason.

After weeding out what we could hand down to friends, swapping out too small or winter weight clothing, and surveying what we had for summer, I realized how much I sucked at anticipating what he would need. In reflection of my wardrobe overhaul yesterday, here's what I wish I knew a year ago...

Things you can never have enough of:

• Pajamas - If you can get your toddler to wear pajamas more than once without getting them wet or dirty, you should win an award. Between his before bed drink, brushing his teeth, and constant drooling, sometimes we go through two shirts in one evening.
• Socks - Bonus points if they are all the same style/color so matching them is as easy as grabbing any two. Somehow we go through socks like water.
• T-shirts and pants that mix and match (as opposed to set outfits) - Matching tops and bottoms are super cute and tempting, but if you have a pair of plaid shorts that match NOTHING else, you won't reach for them as often. Solid color pants/shorts were the most used items in his wardrobe.
• Sweats and track pants (as opposed to jeans) - Tiny kid jeans are ridiculously cute, but still have buttons and zippers on them! Depending on how wiggly your kid is, these can be annoying. We also found that C was much more comfortable in softer pants since jeans have less give in them as he's sitting or crawling around. 

Things you shouldn't waste too much money on:

• Onesies in sizes past 12 month - We were so used to having onesies as a clothing staple, that we bought them in 12 months and 18 months sizes. Well, he hasn't worn them once. Its just easier to change diapers with t-shirts. 
• Dress clothes - Unless you know you have a lot of weddings or fancy parties to go to, its not necessary to have nice dress clothes on hand in each size.
• Sweaters - C had tons of really nice sweaters and wore them maybe once. Babies overheat easily and even in the winter, they are usually either wearing a coat outside or they are inside where it is heated. It was sad to see so much argyle go to waste. 
• Expensive holiday specific outfits - Getting a St. Patrick's Day or Valentine's Day onesie is super cute, but remember - the chances of you having another kid that will fit in that outfit at that exact time of the year is slim. Spend wisely. 
• Clothes for too far ahead - Last fall, I scoured the clearance racks for summer clothes in what I anticipated to be C's summer size (18 months). Well, after a few growth spurts, my teeny tiny baby is in 18 months currently and will be in 24 months when summer comes. Some of the stuff I bought will be okay, but a lot of it is going right back to the consignment shop.

As you can see, what I didn't realize about kid clothes was that the baby clothes were the easy part. Sleepers, onesies, and the occasional onesie and sweat pants. We got the overwhelming majority of C's newborn to 9 months clothes at consignment sales and via hand me downs. I was consistently impressed at the amazing condition we found things in; some even still had tags on them. Then something happened. We started shopping for 12-18 months clothes and to our disappointment, they weren't in as good of shape or as bountiful as the bitty clothes.

Exhibit A

Makes sense if you think about it; 12 - 18 month olds (and beyond) aren't exactly gentle on their clothes. I know C isn't (see exhibit A). He gives my washing machine a work out several times a week.

Recently, we've been on the hunt for sales to fill out his summer wardrobe with things that are good quality, but affordable. I totally ruined myself by shopping consignment first; I have a really hard time bringing myself to spent $8-$10 on a toddler t-shirt when I used to get shirts for like a buck. Oh well, at least I know he's going to wear it much longer than he did the smaller sizes. I've heard a lovely rumor that once kids reach 24 months/2T size, they tend to stay in that size for up to a year.

Thus far, we've had luck finding good sales and quality at the Carter's Outlet, Kohl's, and Target. A lot of their things are mix and match so a few shirts and a few pairs of shorts go a long way. Plus, they hold up to lots and lots of washing, which is important.

While these tips aren't for everyone, they will definitely help us out whenever kid 2.0 makes an appearance....and even then, I know there are things we will screw up and learn from them.

Its Saturday! That means I'm linking up with The Mommyhood Chronicles for Saturday's Top Five Laughs Blog Hop -- a culmination of the week's funny/cute kid moments!

Be sure to swing by the blog hop and check out other top five laughs!

5) On Tuesday, C was home sick from daycare with an ear infection. This also ended up being the only day the plumbers could come and look at the tub clean out. Despite being sick, C would not leave the poor guys alone! He just wanted to sit in the bathroom doorway and watch them. They thought it was hysterical and kept referring to him as their assistant.

4) One of C's new obsessions is trying to stick his fingers up your nose - which is ironic since he HATES having his nose touched. At home I just brush it off and move away, but when we're in public and I'm holding him or pushing him in a cart it makes for very awkward moments.

3)  C started standing up on his own, without the coffee table, this week and he could not be more proud of himself. He stands up, arms out like a surfer, and claps for himself until he falls down.

2) C seems to understand when we're asking him a question, but only ever answers with, "yeah" and a tiny nod. I discovered this first and have thoroughly used it to my advantage. "Hey C, do you want Daddy to change your diaper?" "Yeah."

1) I spent the last few days away visiting a friend and when I got home I was greeted with an excited hug and slobbery, open mouth toddler kisses. To complete the adorable slobberiness, he turned my face back and forth, planting a big wet kiss on each cheek. Where does he learn this stuff?!

Baby Tackle Box

If you haven't noticed, C gets sick quite a bit. A cold here, an ear infection there, the occasional no name virus...nothing ever too serious, but enough to warrant medicine and lots of rest. When he'd come down with something, we always found ourselves fumbling through his changing table looking for the thermometer and probe covers (only to realize we were out) or trying to figure out where the right dropper was for which medication. It was ridiculous.

Enter the tackle box.

That's right, a plain old tackle box (or Caboodle, if you will) to sort and store all of C's medicine and other baby things that tend to go rouge in drawers and cabinets.

On top, we put Advil and Tylenol (next to their corresponding droppers), nose related things (sucker, saline, Vicks), and teething stuff since those get used most. Then, the thermometer with the probe covers, extra droppers, and tummy related things (gripe water, Pedialyte packets, and pro-biotics) underneath. In the bottom is all of the other random things - Boogie Wipes, extra snot suckers, sunblock, extra unopened medicine, and the pouch we use when we travel.

It may seem like organization over kill, but this has been a life saver. Everything we would ever need in the middle of the night to soothe a screaming baby all in one place, clearly labeled.

We had this tackle box sitting around, but I can only imagine that they would be easy to find at one of the big box stores. Give it a try - its super helpful!

Wordless Wednesday: Spring in March

I am sad to have missed Toddle Along Tuesday yesterday! The topic was favorite toddler recipes. Bummer. C was down and out with a wicked double ear infection and we spent the whole day cuddled on the couch. It was great to have my cuddly baby back, but the amount of sweat, drool, and snot that ended up on my shirt was disturbing. ::shudders::

Anyway, he's feeling much better today thanks to lots of rest and Amoxicillin.

For Wordless Wednesday, here are some shots from our trip to the park on Monday afternoon. Its been in the 70's here, so it was time to go to the park!

What the??

Can someone please explain this to me?

We went out of town Saturday afternoon to visit friends and just got back a little while ago. We packed for literally 24 hours. This was the result.

On the left, you will find the ONE bag for J and I. Two adults and everything we'd need to spend the night somewhere - including a hair dryer and an extra pair of shoes thrown in there.

On the right, you will find the pile of stuff to travel with C. He may be small, but MAN, does he require a lot of crap to travel. Thank goodness our friends lent us their pack and play so we didn't need to bring that too.

That is all for now. Tomorrow, lots of adorable pictures from our trip of C and his new little friend!

Saturday's Top 5 Laughs

Its Saturday! That means I'm linking up with The Mommyhood Chronicles for Saturday's Top Five Laughs Blog Hop -- a culmination of the week's funny/cute kid moments!

Be sure to swing by the blog hop and check out other top five laughs!

5. When asked where it is, C has gone from pointing to his belly to full on trying to take his shirt off to show you. Not sure where that one came from!

4. A group of my co-workers came over for dinner and as they were leaving we were standing around talking and laughing. C was sitting on the floor between us, having no idea what we were talking about, but laughing along with us anyway.

3. I know I've already talked about this, but its one of the funniest things he's ever done - ever. C's new "surprised" face continues to make an appearance. Now, he does it when he's doing something naughty and wants to make us laugh. And it works.

2. C has taken a few steps, but wasn't really balanced at all. He'd kind of step/lunge to get a few feet to the couch. This week, however, he's begun letting go of the coffee table and balancing a bit more. The hysterical part is that he holds his arms out like he's surfing and looks at us like, "Looklooklook OMG I'm gonna fall LOOK!"

1. My #1 laugh this week comes in the form of a video. Since getting Jodie back, C has developed quite a hysterical relationship with her. It consists of her coming out hiding for food, water, or a poop, C seeing her from across the room and him chasing her while screeching "cat cat cat cat." Poor kitty, she deals with him so well.

Y3W: Spring Break Time!

Its that wonderful time of the year when I get a week off. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, its spring break. Wooo hooo! It may not be the same crazy, partying, drinking, laying on the beach spring break that it will be for some of my students, but I'm okay with that. I get five days of quiet and plenty of time to sleep in, do some crafts and spring cleaning, and visit friends.

Unfortunately, J still has work this week and while I will probably keep him home a day or two to hang out, keeping C home for a full week would be fiscally irresponsible since we'd need to pay anyway. ;-D

Hopefully, I can work on the iSpy swap I'm in this month, do a little spring cleaning/organizing, get my hair cut, and do a bit of sewing. Lets see how much actually gets done when I'm presented with the opportunity to sleep until 11am everyday. Hmm......

Hooray for March Sponsors!

This month, I'm lucky (Get it? Since its almost St. Patrick's Day?) to have a wonderful swap sponsor! Check out Kristin's awesome blog "Running Through Parenthood....in Heels." Fun stories, reviews, two super ridiculously adorable kids, and tons more!

I'm just a regular working mom who, after infertility, has two tow-headed blessings, that I am still figuring out how to raise.  I have an unhealthy obsession with shoes, crafts, endorphins, blogging, sports and coffee.  I have a severe case of road-rage, a potty mouth, a mildly annoying case of type-A OCD, I proudly voted for Obama, and I like to think I mold the minds of today's youth with my plethora of science knowledge.  I'm just trying to figure it all out, running through parenthood...in heels.  Intrigued by my randomness?  Come check out my journey.

If you're interested in swapping sponsorships for this month or any other month, email me at misscraftiepants (at) gmail (dot) com!

Welcome Home, Jodie!

When I was in graduate school, I really wanted a dog. I grew up with dogs and was generally a dog person. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to have a dog where I lived, but I was allowed to have a cat. Cat? Um, okay - guess that's better than no pet, right?

While home one weekend, a family friend said his cat recently had kittens and that I could have one if I wanted. Sure, why not. There were three grey boy cats and this little lady...

Awwwwwwww!

Hear that? That's the sound of me becoming a cat person. What can I say? Her bat ears stole my dog-lovin' heart. She curled up on the back seat of my car and slept in the sun the entire five hour trip back to school. J and I decided to name her Jodie. Not quite sure why, but why not.

That was the summer of 2007. Since then, Jodie has been a furry, weird little part of our family. Why weird, you say? She plays fetch like a dog, hates wet food and treats, her favorite place to sit is a 10 quart plastic bowl, and she LOVES being in the car.

She quickly outgrew the bowl, but still made a valiant effort to sit in it regularly.

She moved with us from graduate school to our first apartment in Virginia, around campus, came to summer camp with us, to visit family, and everywhere in between.

Unfortunately, she couldn't live with us when we moved back north. Talk about a sad day. There was the slight possibility of having a pet in our new apartment sometime in the future, but at the time we moved in, there was no pet policy. Off to Grandma's house she went until we figured everything out. I was beginning to think we were never going to be allowed to have her back when the pet policy was reinstated and we could have her back! 

This past weekend, when my mother-in-law came to watch C, she brought Jodie back home. It was weird and wonderful to have her back. Its only been about seven months, but it feels like its been years. 

When Jodie left, C was about 9 months old and not crawling/mobile. He probably doesn't remember her, but I could be wrong. Well, they are well acquainted now and he is OBSESSED. While we were gone this weekend and Jodie was adjusting to the apartment, MIL taught C how to say "cat" and its his new favorite word. Whenever he sees her, he takes off crawling and starts squealing, "Cat! Cat! Cat!" Poor Jodie! She does so well with his attempts to "pet nice."

Our little kitten (who isn't really a kitten anymore and will be five on March 30th) is home and we are so excited to have her back!

How I Rock My Marriage Mondays

This Monday, I'm guest posting over at ELF: A Family Blog for How I Rock My Marriage Mondays. Head on over and check it out! While you're there, poke around and learn more about Libby and the adventures of her adorable family!

Sweet Sixteen!

The C man is sixteen months old and incredibly busy. It seems like he's learning new words and skills everyday! Sometimes I don't know where he gets some of this stuff, but its so much fun to see his little personality blossom more and more as time goes on.

Stats:

Clothing size: He's completely outgrown his 12 month pajamas and most of his 12 months jeans. He's well on his way to all 18 months clothes!

Shoe size: Size 5

New Words: Monkey ("gunky"), ball, cup, nose, hi, and bye bye.

New tricks: I'd say this is a good one. Still not mastered, but its a great start. Another new trick is eating with a fork and spoon pretty efficiently and stacking blocks/cups.

Teeth: Nothing new, but he loves getting them brushed!

Sleep: He has been sleeping well and usually puts himself to sleep by babbling to his toys.

Favorite toy:  While the kitchen is still a favorite, he's taken a huge interest in blocks and other stacking toys as well as anything with wheels. He zooms cars and trucks across the floor and coffee table making car noises.

Favorite food: Pineapple, which unfortunately, doesn't love him back.

Things that make me all sad because he's getting so big: He has started the transition from the toddler 1 room to the toddler 2 room at daycare. Today, he spent most of the day with the bigger kids and played with Play Doh and had music and art time.

Now and Then:

February 28th, 2012

 February 28th, 2011