July?

Happy 4th of July and the whole darn month of July!

More coming later…..mama is tired (and still pregnant)!

Oh, and thanks to brownpaperpackages for the flag idea – super easy and cute.

Status Report June 2012

With my work, I send status reports on the files I handle. Yes, I have a job, by the way. The non-paying job, however, is full of status reports. I find it easier to rely on others to help me out with what the boys are up to lately. In an effort to keep track of the little munchkins, I've signed up for weekly updates through various online websites. While I believe their ulterior motive is to lead me to click on a link and purchase some sort of new-fangled product, I’ve found that the updates are somewhat helpful. These started when I was pregnant with each child. Today I found it interestingly amusing to see my current status. Here goes:

I am 30 weeks pregnant - If you think I'M big, you should really check out my 30-week womb-piggy: they're now nearly 4 lbs and 16 inches long! My little porker is getting cuter and cuter as they pile on the pudge to their wee arms & legs, thanks to ever-growing layers of subcutaneous fat. Grow baby grow!

-uh, okay

Justin - When your toddler throws a full-blown screaming fit in the middle of the grocery store, you may want to hide behind the toilet paper display – but rest assured that other parents feel your pain. The most useful response is to take your child out of the store (even if it means leaving a cart full of food behind) and sit with him until he finishes crying. Staying calm and offering lots of hugs and kisses can help. Remember that your child is still learning how to communicate and will eventually outgrow this behavior.

Troy - Numbers Game
If your child can count to ten or higher already, is he a budding genius? Well, he certainly has a good working memory. Two-year-olds are just beginning to gain an understanding of numbers; they often learn to count by reciting the names of numbers from memory long before they understand the relative quantity of three or nine. Basically they start knowing the difference between "one" and "anything more than one." But hey, it's an important start!

So basically, I’m FAT, my unborn baby is fat, my 15 month old is starting to throw tantrums and my 2 year old wants to count but can’t yet.

Let’s see, that’s fairly accurate. I feel large (and in charge), my 15 month old is beginning to get frustrated or, more frequently, irritated and easily gets his feelings hurt. My 2 year old can count to 25, sometimes higher but can only count objects up to 5 at a time. He also says four is “fourve”.

It is just me or are these updates extremely helpful. Especially lately!

Justin at 15 Months

Is still such a baby to me. Perhaps this happens with the second (and subsequent) child(ren)?

He surprises me each day. Learning new things, playing and interacting more. The child seems to have his own little language. His words are few: mama, dada, ight, da (dog), titi (kitty), A-ugh (amen), ah duh (all done).

Justin wakes up happy…..until his diaper is changed. He’d much rather be roaming around on the floor. He seems very content crawling and cruising around on things. We work with him everyday on pushing things around and he’ll do it – just to pacify us. He couldn’t care less about walking.

As a parent of a child born with clubfeet, I can honestly say that I didn’t know if he would be doing what he’s doing now. Speaking of pulling up to stand and cruising around, I can’t be more proud of the progress he’s made. This kiddo was in casts for the first 3 months of his life, then in braces full time for the next 3. Of course he still wears his braces at night. It’s become a way of life for us. No, it isn’t my favorite thing to do and I’m sure he’d be happier without them but he knows no different and is happy nonetheless.

Okay, so he’s still sleeping through the night. In his mouth are 4 teeth on the top with two chompers on the bottom. And, I felt 4 molars in the back. Considering his first tooth came in at 11 months, he’s also tolerated teething quite well! A few random nights he did fuss but nothing to cause us any concern. He eats like a champ and is generally a loving child.

The most recent development is an attachment to his Mother! Where did this come from? He loves to lay his head down on ones’ shoulder and tuck his arms underneath his little body while being held. But, he loves his mother so much! Gotta admit it’s not something I push away from, instead I welcome it with open arms.

He admires his brother. His brother – the one who runs everywhere and is high strung. Yep, that one. If Justin hears Troy running down the hall, Justin takes off in the opposite direction and is so excited when Troy “catches” him. I can see the sweet bonding taking off right before my eyes.

Although not the most flattering picture, you can see J’s long face here. He still has the dimple in the middle of his nose. It makes him, well, Justin! He has large feet for a clubfoot child with big hands and long fingers. He also has puffy lips which are just precious.

On his right foot, one toe overlaps the other. It’s ever so slightly now. Used to be more pronounced. When he stands, all toes are flat. I suspect this is a temporary overlap.

Stats:

24 pounds (might be closer to 25) – 75th percentile

32.2 inches – 85th percentile

Head – 18 inches – 20-25th percentile

Precious in every way!

The Zoo! The Zoo! June 2012

A very last minute decision and we were off to the zoo. On the way there, Troy told me that I would see the tiger, his daddy would see the rhino and he would see the farmer. Um…how many farmers are there at the zoo? Anyway, I figured we would work that out when we got there. We walked through the ENTIRE zoo – a first time thing for us (post children). Troy had a blast, Justin was as happy as could be and KK came to see us!

KK has been helping me get the boys’ rooms ready (more on that another day) and while her plan was to finish the painting on the beds, our plans to go to the zoo got her off the hook and over to the zoo (it’s less than 10 minutes from her house). Troy and Justin love their KK! So glad she came…and she brought some fun clothes to boot!

Troy was obsessed with seeing a Rhino. What the hey? Then, once he saw one, he was less than thrilled. The train passed about the same time and he had a new obsession. Our goal was to see the tiger and then get on the train. He could hardly wait to see the tiger and get on the way to the train! He’s a VERY active and on-the-go boy! Always several steps ahead of us so we have to constantly call him back to get closer to us. I realize that we need to be better about making him stay close. On a side note, my mother said I was the same way….no wonder I got lost in Disney World! What are we going to do?!?!

With the flamingos and my (almost) 28 week belly – looks more like 40 weeks! Ha!!! Surely I’m having a huge baby, right?!

KK with Justin……and Troy.

Checking out the elephants. Relaxin’ in the stroller.

Before and after lunch, Troy got on the stage and “performed”. Literally, he got on the stage, started stomping one foot, pretended he had a microphone and was singing. Then he began announcing, “wadies and gentewmen, here comes the big kitty cat”! Where did he come up with this?

And Justin watched and danced ~~

Memorial Weekend 2012

Headed to the beach…Justin decided he liked to eat sand (the same as Troy had done the last two years).

Oh yeah, I sure Di-uhd! I mean, this is my last pregnancy, I’m baring a big belly – why the heck not, right? Come on, we were at the beach. Ha!

 

The next morning we hung out and headed to Niceville’s splash park. Justin played in the water a tad (thanks Uncle Jeff)…

but preferred to do this:

Cousins; and Troy acting like he loves his brother

Crawfish and crabs were had later that day (after a short outing without the kids)

Even Justin! Troy didn’t try them but sure did like playing with them. At first he wanted to call them spiders.

Then we went back to the beach for lunch while the boys got back in the ocean!

Justin (initially) held on for dear life!

We be swangin’!

Our neighborhood has a pretty nice park for kids about a mile and a half from our home. Gave Brian a little while to get some yard work done and I took the kids to the park!

So I took these few photos….and left my camera! Didn’t realize it until I received an email from our neighborhood saying they found my camera. Luckily I had not erased my memory card and there was something with my name on it. In any event, I checked the card tonight and there were a few funny photos taken by and of some teenage boys. Since I don’t know them, I won’t post them. But, let’s just say they were funny.

And I’m grateful that my camera has been recovered! While it would be nice to get a new one, it isn’t a reason to file an insurance claim right now, right?!

I made these dino t-shirt transfer shirts with the silhouette. Aren’t they cute!

Justin LOVES the swing!

Precious J

Justin is a special little boy….especially when he doesn’t want to take a nap. These days, he’s trying to drop one nap. If he misses one in the morning, he does great in the afternoon. On the other hand, if he naps in the morning, he won’t nap in the afternoon. One afternoon last weekend, I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with this sweet child.

He stood, bobbled his head (like he was dancing), laughed…and just plain enjoyed being outside with me.

Not much hair but it’s growing a little bit.

He had a blast playing with pine straw….moving it from the flower bed onto the concrete, then back, then back again.

His toes…the right one still crosses over a bit. But flattens out somewhat when he stands. Wonder if it will flatten out entirely?

Watermelon!

Summers as a child for me consisted of swimming, sun and watermelon. My wish is for my kids to experience the same thing. Justin tried watermelon for the first time….and loved it!

….and baby Blaine may have loved it, too

Deliciousness….