Well...

Happy January and almost February. ;)

Life has been an interesting mix of busy and slow. Complicated and simple. And thusly, no time has been made for this little blog o' mine.

So...

Pbtsssssssssssssss.

(That's the sound of me blowing the dust off my blog. I think that is how it would look if it was a word.)

And ironically, I haven't been doing much on facebook as well, beyond popping in to play those mind-numbingly addictive games...but everyone's got their vice, and I've decided that will be mine. :) Especially since I've kicked the Pepsi habit...going on 6 days! Woo Hoo! I know I've tried multiple times to get rid of that caffeine addiction, but I can proudly say I haven't gone this long without caffeine since I was pregnant with LBB!

LBB has been doing some crazy developing recently. He's now walking like an old pro, adding some running into the mix, and having a good old time chasing the cats around the house. Cat #1 and Cat #2 are not too thrilled with this latest development, that is certain, but Cat #2 does adore him more than anything, and even Cat #1 has been showing a bit more of her prissy self around the house and even has let him pet her on the belly, which is a tremendous stride for her. (If that isn't a run on sentence, I really don't know what is. HaHa.)

And we've now got two molars popping in on top and what feels to be an eye tooth that is beginning to bulge a bit. Poor little man has had to have a nice little coating of Orajel everynight just to help him sleep all the way through. We skipped giving it to him tonight to see if he will be able to make it through the night, but it is ready to go just in case. :)

I've decided that I could easily start a blog, post several times a day, and call said blog "Toddlers do the Darndest Things." In an instant, LBB has transformed from baby to spitfire. He's not "talking" per se, but has his own little way of speaking that everyone around him learned to pick up fast. And it's odd, because while he is only saying a few select words, sometimes he'll repeat a phrase at the right moment...it really is the strangest thing. Today he dropped a toy that he was playing with, and I swear (pinky swear, even) that my LBB said "I got it." as he picked it up. I'm not making that up. I promise. :)

Isn't that the strangest thing? He has done it before with other things. The other day he would not leave the cat's litter box alone (he feels it is his chore to try to clean it...Mommy feels differently), and I look back over at the litter box while doing dishes, and he is hugging the litter box. Literally hugging it. Ew. So, as any good Mommy would say, I told him to get away from the litter box. To which he responded "I AM!" No, little man. You are not. I know it's not my imagination that he is saying these phrases, because other sane adults have heard it as well :), so it amazes me that while he can't say many words, he is picking up phrases and when to use them correctly. Cutie-patootie.

And what else is new...hmmmmmmm. He's into anything and everything. Loves playing playdoh. Started a new session of storytime, which is his first session that he has been able to walk during. (Which, that opens up a whole new can of worms!) He made a new friend during storytime...but, as typical troublemaking toddler boys go, his new friend and him quickly went on a rampage and took over storytime. Oy.

And around home, we've been doing a whole lot of relaxing. And simplifying. And instilling a sense of order in the house. I will expand on that in an upcoming post. A whole post about home stuff and not so much about toddler stuff...would that be ok? The Mommy in me is screaming "NOOOOOOOOOO! Talk about your LBB!" while the Homemakere in me is arguing "It's ok to talk about other things!"

And now, you, my dear reader, are probably saying "Alrighty, then. She's arguing with herself now." :) Well, yeah...but who hasn't before. ;)

So, off I go to peruse etsy a bit before my hubby gets home. I always like to have a long list of vintage finds and crafty goodness to show him when he walks in the door. Hahahaha. (But, really, that is the case.)

Shake It

LBB spent the evening over at his PaPa, GiGi, and Auntie's house...and before we left, he got to spend a little time "playing" Auntie's WII game Just Dance.

And it was stinkin' adorable. :)

First, his little head would start bobbing. Then, he'd start bobbing his whole body up and down...

...and then, while Outkast's song Hey-a played, he shook his little baby bottom to the "Shake it, sh-shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture" part. It was so cute! My mom tried to get some video of it, but as soon as LBB saw the camera he decided he was done. :)

He loves music so much, and I love watching him dance. :) Even when he was still itty-bitty, he'd sit in his car seat and bob his head up and down in rythm to whatver song was on the radio. He was born to dance.

No TV!

Two weeks ago, when our LBB was feeling very under the weather, all he wanted to do was sit on my lap and watch tv. He didn't want to read. He didn't want to look at a toy. Just tv.

And, at the time, I figured that he was resting, and it's always nice to be able to watch tv when you don't feel well, especially for a little guy who is only allowed a half hour of PBS Kids each day. :) (His favorites? Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid, and Curious George. He liked Cat in the Hat for a while, but the episodes began to repeat themselves, and he picked up on it.)

But now.

Oh goodness.

Now I can't get him to sit and read with me for the life of me! There was a time when he would sit, be read to, and then read it to himself. But now, between a newfound discovery of television and all the walking he has been doing, LBB wants little to do with a book. So, this week, we are undergoing a little family experiment...no tv with LBB until Saturday.

And not that I have a problem with watching tv...I think if done in moderation, and if the content is educational, television can be useful for little ones. :) That is why when he does watch it, it is on PBS and only for a short amount of time. Before he got sick, he'd actually only watch 15 minutes and then be off. Now he could sit there for hours if you'd let him. :(

I'm hoping that this week off will help in get back in the swing of reading. :) We have a bag full of library books that we haven't even read...and we've had them for two weeks. That is completely unheard of! Normally, LBB and I finish a whole bag of books within a week. I miss reading with my little boy!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I've always loved Christmas, and once my Dear Sweet Hubby and I got married, I spent most Christmases wishing we had a little one in the house. :) And for good reason, as I can see now! Little ones add so much to Christmas...and I know this will become even more true over the next few years as LBB really gets into Christmas and knows what it is about!

Today we spent the morning coloring pictures of the Christmas story and reading his Children's Bible. :) I showed him one of his Shleich sheep and explained how shepherds take care of sheep. As we read the Christmas story from his Bible, everytime I said "Baby Jesus" LBB did the sign language sign for baby. (Such a smartie...now if I can just get him to say it!)

After he wakes up from his nap (which is really a second part of his morning nap...he woke up for a few minutes, quickly showed he was still very sleepy, and was promptly cuddled and tucked into his bed), we are going to make some cookies for Santa and listen to some Christmas music. Then soon after Dear Sweet Hubby should be home, and we can enjoy the beginning of a 2 1/2 day vacation with Daddy!

I love the holidays...but I love them even more now that I am a mommy. I love being in the kitchen and hearing a present being unwrapped by a sweet little boy who doesn't know any better yet. :) I love putting my LBB to bed and having the light of his Christmas tree filling his room. I love cuddling up on the couch and watching Christmas movies and reading Christmas stories. So many new memories...so many treasured moments.

And it's not even Christmas yet! Have a very merry Christmas just in case I don't post tomorrow!!!!

One Going on Terrible Twos

My goodness.

If the terrible two's are worse than this...I'm going to be eligible for sainthood or something. :)

Is it normal for a one-year old to throw a fit that can rival that of a three year old? I'm not sure if it is or not, but it's like someone flipped a switch on LBB. Two weeks ago, he was a sweet, semi-calm (he still had his moments), fairly well behaved little guy. (OK...he did have some issues causing trouble, but in comparison to now, that was nothing. LOL.)

Then BAM! He went from that to throwing himself on the floor, arching his back, screaming, and kicking when he doesn't get his way...which is apparently a lot in his opinion. Up until this evening, all the tantrums were at home.

And then, we went to Target.

And apparently, LBB did not want to do any more Christmas shopping for Daddy. So, he started fussing the moment I put him in the cart. By the time we got to the back of the store, it was full fledged crying. And me, being the softie I am, decided to pick him up out of the cart and push the cart all while holding 25 pounds of toddler.

However, that only pleased him for another 5 minutes or so...by which point he was now squirming, trying to flip out of my arms, and clearly getting frustrated. I let him walk a bit, since apparently that was what he wanted and he felt it necessary to show all the other Target patrons his newfound independence. And his newfound ability to bonk his head on displays.

At which point...

...I did what any good mother would do, but what any independent, stubborn, strong-willed toddler boy would find inapprehensible. I tried putting him back in the cart.

And that unleashed it...the first full-fledged temper tantrum that LBB has thrown in public. I'm talking red faced, screaming, kicking tantrum. Pushing his feet against the cart in an effort to evade my efforts. And, once I got him buckled in, screaming so loud that we made the people in a ten-foot vicinity practially put rocket boosters on their feet and leave the area.

Serious. :)

I was that mom with the screaming kid in the store that couldn't do a whole lot more than try to gently tell him that everything was ok and that he had to sit in the cart.

Thankfully, however, LBB decided within 1 minute or so that his screaming was not getting him anywhere, and had gone back to peaceful, pleasant LBB. Whew.

Needless to say, while I should be cleaning and finishing up a few last minute Christmas gifts, I am sitting in front of this computer, drinking a nice cold Pepsi, and letting my brain "defrag" from a day's worth of temper tantrums. :)

One Very Special Daddy

Two nights a week, Dear Sweet Hubby works the closing shift and doesn't get home until hours after LBB's bedtime.

But, on the nights that Dear Sweet Hubby is home for bedtime, he always reads LBB's cross to him. "Dear Jesus, Please watch over me. The world is so big and I am still so very small. Amen." Sometimes it is changed to "So very sleepy." Or "So very medium." But, every night, it is Dear Sweet Hubby's job to read the cross.

So, needless to say, on those nights that LBB goes to bed before Daddy gets home, one of the guys in our home felt terrible that that little bedtime routine would be missed (yep, you guessed it, it was Dear Sweet Hubby. But I must add that LBB seemed to miss it too, and Mommy is definitely not as good at this part of the bedtime routine. :) ) So Dear Sweet Hubby got an idea...

...on the nights that he works late, LBB and I call Dear Sweet Hubby at work, put the phone on speakerphone, and my wonderful, sweet, loving hubby says the verse for LBB.

Sweet, isn't it? Everytime he closes, I am reminded of how very very very much my Dear Sweet Hubby loves LBB (as if I needed a reminder!) There was one night that I knew Dear Sweet Hubby was swamped at work, so we made do without calling, and my hubby was upset about it when he came home! Now that's dedication!!!!

LBB at One Year

OK. So, since I normally did a monthly post about what LBB was up to, I had to remind myself to do it for this month despite the general busyness that has been going on around here! But, it's not so busy anymore (yay!) and life is returning to it's semi-slower pace. :)

From 11 months to 12 months LBB learned lots, and subsequently, became more of a toddler than a baby. :)

• The day after his birthday, he started walking. He had been taking a few steps here and there, but they were mostly "accidental" steps. The day after his birthday, soon after we got home from the doctor, LBB decided that he was ready to walk. And walk he did. Now he walks almost everywhere, and is finally learning how to stand up from sitting position without having to pull up on something.
• Can use a fork or spoon...when he feels like it. He can "stab" his food and feed himself, but more often than not, he'd prefer us to do the "stabbing" and then hand the fork to him.
• He is a chatty little man. He can say actual words when he feels like it, but, same as with walking and nearly every other developmental milestone, only does it when he really feels like it. :)
• Loves reading aloud to us. He'll take the book out of our hands and begin telling us the story. It's absolutely adorable and yet another affirmation that I am doing a good job of instilling a love of reading.
• Loves to play music. On anything and everything...pots and pans. The wall. The table. You name it...if it's a hard, flat surface, it becomes musical.
• Is a BIG fan of sorting things into containers. It's quite comical, because everything needs to be put in a spot. In the bathtub, instead of playing with his Thomas the Train bath toy, he has to put Thomas in the little blue house. He loves his Schleich animals...especially putting them in empty wipe containers. Books go in bins. Blocks go in baskets. And Little People get put under his bed in the trundle. He is very obsessive about sorting!
• He loves fingerpainting. We got him a little smock at IKEA and it is perfect for fingerpainting...now he doesn't require a bath everytime he paints. Just half the time. LOL!
• Is a very fickle eater...I'm not exaggerating here. I am almost always worrying if he is getting enough to eat. His pediatrician says he will eat when he is hungry. But sometimes I think he is just being stubborn even if he is just hungry. But, when he does eat, he is a big fan of jelly sandwiches and mini beef raviolis. Definitely not the healthiest, but I always keep some of each on hand so if worst comes to worst, he is actually eating something. :( We have also had some issues with milk...when he was born, we had to put him on partial-whey formula because his eczema was so bad and that was the only thing that helped. When we switched over to whole milk, that darn eczema popped back up. We are currently trying out soy milk to see if that helps. Fingers crossed that it does!
• LBB is very good at letting us know what he wants. That's nice!!! A far cry from when he was itty-bitty and had to cry for everything. Now he'll point for his water. Reach for a pacifier (which we are adamently working on making disappear.) And even point to which color he wants next when painting.
• Loves the Christmas tree. And since GiGi showed him how to figure out what is in presents, loves to investigate the gifts under the tree. :)
• And he loves throwing things. Sigh. It was cute at first because he laughed like crazy when he did it. But now, it's everything he sees that gets thrown. We went to the library and my ban-shee little boy was throwing books off the shelf. Same at Barnes and Noble. He gets a kick out of winging his Schleich animals across the room. And laughs hysterically when he throws food on Cat #2. Trouble. With a capital T. :)

That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I will remember more...if I do, I'll post later. I definitely need to round up the weight and height measurements from his last appointment, but I'm not in the mood to right now. :)