14 months

Incredibly belated, here's E at 14 months.

He's a master crawler.  Super fast, he'll really get going when he looks down at the floor.  And then bang into something.
He can stand, if he's not paying attention. If he is, he'll grab onto the nearest table or drop to the floor.  He can walk along if holding one hand.
He continues to be super easy to laugh, and boy does this kid have a great laugh.
Still has 6 teeth.
Like his brother and parents, he's already gotten a few moles.
He seems to be going to one nap a day, and it's been a struggle.  For example, today, he woke at 6, napped in the car while we ran some errands, refused his morning nap, napped again in the car, and then took a 3 hour nap at 1 and went to bed at 6:45.  Yesterday, he napped about 2 hours in the morning, and then wouldn't take his afternoon nap until almost 4.
E still loves his food.  If he sees a banana, he screams for it.  In addition, he loves apples and peaches, and eats them straight, meaning he eats them right out of the fridge without being cut.
He has words for A and Daddy, and usually uses the word for Daddy for Mommy.
But Mommy is still his favorite.  I was away from him for several hours and wasn't putting him to bed for three days.  When I did see him, he would whine whine whine until I picked him up, and this continued for about a day after we came home.
He loves to stand.  In the tub, in his stroller, in a shopping cart, he'll stand up, usually facing wherever I am.  If I say, "E!  SIT!" he will, for a minute or two.
The struggle to get him to tolerate the nursery at the gym has been worth it; he not only doesn't cry but he plays and has a great time.  Today, I walked in and he was playing fine and then gave me a huge smile when he saw me.

I love this kid!

Vintage Monday

From June 2010, my little Lollipop Guild Baby!

Vintage Monday

Hope you had a great Father's Day!!

June 2010

Words

If you asked me what E's first word was or what words he says, I'd have to say he hasn't said a first word.  He doesn't say Dada or Mama, or even his brother's name in a way that anyone other than M and I could recognize.

But yet, he definitely has E-speak words for all of us... or at least for his Brother and Daddy.  They're usually said at top volume.  Additionally, his grunt for drink is distinguishable to his Mama, and he even grunts something I consider to be thank you.

Today, I left the three of them home while I ran an errand.  A went to the screen door to wave bye and E must have followed.  M said E was yelling out the door a combination of "Ma. Ma. Ma.  Dadooo!" for a good 20 minutes after I left.  Dadooo seems to be interchangeable Mama and Dada.

But he understands.  Like if we're in the grocery store and he stands up in the cart (despite being strapped in,) he will sit down when I say SIT!  Of course, he then gives that devilish laugh and stands back up, but at least he knows what he's SUPPOSED to be doing.

Genes are weird

At least once a week, I hear that E looks JUST like me.  Or that A looks JUST like Daddy.  Sometimes, I'll hear that A looks JUST like me (if Daddy's not around).

Facts are, though, that they look like the OPPOSITE parent.  I submit for your consideration:

There are other ways in which genes are weird too.  E has my exact blood type while A has M's.  A has the S men's cleft chin while E does not.  A has the S men's tongue tie while E does not.  E and Daddy prune up like crazy after seconds in the water, while A and I get slightly pruney after a much longer time.

Vintage Monday

July 27, 2009

Ouch.

This morning started much like any other day.  I was awoken by the sound of crying, rolled over holding my breath that it might stop.  Got up and dressed and went in to get Mr. E, after making a stop at Mr. A's room to give him some water (kiddo has a cough that just won't quit.  It's only bad at night, though, when he's waking up, so I'm not worried).

It went downhill, however, when we were brushing A's teeth.  A stands on a stepstool to brush his teeth, and E was hanging around, looking into the drawer next to the sink. 

He fell, and then started to cry.  Now, with an older brother, such things usually end quickly.  I comforted him, rubbing to spot on the back of his head that I thought he'd hit, and tried getting him to calm down.

Then A said, "look, it's red!"

Yeah.  Big puddle of blood.  Well, it's been 14 months since I scrubbed that floor really well.

With blood all over his mouth, I had a really hard time figuring out how to make it better/make it stop.  The blood seemed to be coming from his top two teeth, so that's where I focused.  I gave the kid a bottle of water, which seemed to calm him down a bunch.

After the dust had settled, I looked in his mouth again.  It looks like he cut himself, probably on the drawer, where the gum meets the lip on top.

So, despite any and all measures one may take to babyproof, her kids will still get banged up, fall down, get burned, and fall out of bed.

Vintage Monday

From June 2010

Splish

With last week's unbelieveable heat, we've been getting some use out of our water table.  I decked E all out in his monkey bathing suit and matching rash guard (such an exciting purchase; my mom had given the shorts to E for Christmas, and I happened to find the matching rash guard months later this spring at the Gymbo outlet.  Woo!), lathered on the sunblock, and put him in his hat.  He was happy about all of it.  Except for the hat.

Nonetheless, he kept his hat on the entire half hour we were out there.

This isn't a great picture of Lovebug, as I called him once and  A has picked up on (also telling me that HE is Lovebug too), but I love the way the shutter captured that one drop of water.

This boy loves water so much, I really can't wait to get him to the splash area at Sesame Place, or even to take him to the Spraygrounds to play.

Hooray for summer!

Walgreens

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

I haven't used Walgreens much over the years, largely because they're usually not local for me, however, there have been lots of "Oh no!" moments where we're out and need diapers or I have a killer headache and need relief, and Walgreens has been there.  As a side note, M has an interest in their business model after reading some book that discussed them; Walgreens ALWAYS tries to be on a corner so you can easily get in and get out; definitely important around here with EVERYWHERE!

So, in one of those situations, I took a look at Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products, I tried a Walgreens brand pain reliever, because I almost always buy generic with that kind of stuff anyway.  It worked great, and the value over brand names is obvious.  Did you know that Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products are a great value, allowing families and individuals to save money without sacrificing quality or trust. With the rising cost of health care, saving money on over-the-counter medications can really benefit a family’s budget. In addition to being an exceptional value, Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

In addition, purchases of every Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products supports bringing preventive wellness services to local communities through the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™.  Walgreens will contribute up to $3 million annually to the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™.  The Walgreens Way to Well Fund™ will provide free preventive health tests as well as other health and wellness services and education to local communities. Some of those services will include preventive health tests through the National Urban League Health & Wellness Tour and vouchers redeemable in select stores. For details, visit walgreens.com/waytowell.

Since we're all looking to save a few bucks, let me also tell you about a contest involving Walgreens products.  A bunch of bloggers are running some giveaways and you can find out more info by following the giveaways link.

 

 

 

Words

Words are a big focus for us these days.  We say words over and over, and sounds too.  We point out letters to A, working on their sounds, and try to get E to make the sounds via repeating us or even better, naming things.

A has been working on reading.  He loves to ask us what signs say--today, he wanted to know what the Exit sign read.  Every morning, he asks what the chalkboard says, and now can sound at the name of his daycare.  But he shocked me the other day when he was looking at a coupon that said "1.00 off," and he said, "look, Mommy, One Hundred Off!"

Further, we were doing a floor puzzle last night,




and he recognized the word "fox," and sounded out "socks."  He can identify the following words:
1.  Yes
2.  Off
3.  His Name  (and he can write this one by himself)
4.  Fox
5.  His brother's name


E hasn't yet really talked, where we know he's using a word for a particular thing.  Like he says Da da da da all day long, but it doesn't necessarily mean Daddy.  But he's developing sounds for certain things. 
We THINK he has a Mama and a Dada.  He definitely has a sound for his brother, though it's more like an AH-AH, which doesn't duplicate at all in text.  We were working in a bathroom at our local Target on the first sound in his name, because the echo makes all things more fun.  I also think he has a sound for water/drink.  Food, however, is still a cry/scream, which is a shame since he wants food ALL THE TIME.

Umbilical cord banking

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CryoCell International. All opinions are 100% mine.

When our boys were born, we chose not to bank their cord blood.  It was partly because the technology was still too new and unknown, it was partly the cost, but it was mostly that it wasn't a priority in my mind and so got pushed to the wayside.

It's amazing, though, what can be done with cord blood.  The possibilities are endless; if one of my boys is seriously ill, perhaps saving the cord blood of just one of them would have made that trial just a tiny bit easier.

But Cryo-Cell is really interested in having folks learn more about their services, and so are giving away Baby Jogger City Mini strollers to those who enroll in their signature U-Cord service.

Since 1992, Cryo Cell has helped more than 230,000 clients worldwide preserve their newborn's umbilical cord blood for potential use against many diseases. Along with cord banking, Cryo-Cell Cord Bank is pioneering the way in research, to find more solutions to preserve stem cells in a noncontroversial way. Cord blood is just the first step in new medical advancements.

Cryo-Cell knows that as a new mom, it's hard to find time to exercise. We believe that Cryo-Cell moms really understand the importance of safeguarding the future health and well-being for both their newborns and for themselves. With the award-winning Baby Jogger City Mini stroller, new moms can work out as they enjoy time in the beautiful outdoors with their new baby.

What better way to celebrate the birth of your newborn and get back in shape all at once? If you enroll today in Cryo-Cell's signature U-Cord service and for a limited-time receive a free Baby Jogger City Mini.

If my 25 year old self could see me now.

At 25, I didn't live a particularly WILD life.  I was living with M, working, going out for some fun times on occasion.  I started my master's the fall I turned 25.

Today, however, was a wild day indeed.  We took the boys to Wild West City up in North Jersey.  While it was a good time, it was one of those kids' places that isn't exactly my idea of a good time... you know, it's fun because your kids are having a blast, but you wouldn't be having such a good time if your kid didn't have a grin?

But then it got REALLY exciting when we came home...  after putting the boys to sleep, I took advantage of the lingering late spring light and.... weeded the flowerbeds.