baby progress

momma at 24 weeks

petey helping daddy with the crib

 

 

learning how to use a screw driver - he was putting it into all the little holes in the pieces of the crib

 

 

finished crib and new wall color - the rocker is going in the corner and the dresser will go at the foot of the bed. can't wait to get the fabric in there to brighten it up!

 

 

he's getting big(ger)!

i remember when (just yesterday? cliche but true....) we were tickled to watch petey kick his legs in his crib. and inchworm on his tummy. and now he runs around the yard like a big kid. its thrilling to watch. and now he can color. and now he can feed himself. i am constantly in awe of his "latest"...

he's also recently learned to blow his nose if you hand him a tissue. its not the most productive thing but he does blow air through his nose into the tissue. we're on the right track.

he's learned the sign language for "more" which he also uses for "food".  he already knew the sign for "all done" and kind of says "all done" when he signs it.  i am trying to teach him the sign for milk now. he is not taking to a lot of new words but makes the sign for more when i say it. so we are going to some signing and hoping that the words will come. next is "help" because when he wants help he makes a really angry sounding grunting noise so we gotta take care of that.

he gives kisses correctly - no more eating your face.

he nods his head in agreement when adults are having conversations. also does it when he likes the food he is eating.

things he is getting in trouble for repeatedly: still stirring the dog's water dish whenever he has access to it. and now has discovered the toilet water. and learned how to turn on the hot water in the bathtub. climbing on the couch and gently batting at the lamp shade. unfortunately he thinks its a game and the appropriate 1-year-old punishment is still causing him to giggle instead of understand its not ok.  same goes for opening the broiler drawer - which is actually potentially dangerous (to petey AND his toys). hoping "no" becomes a concept he understands soon instead of a game that makes him giggle and repeat the action.  mom is working on practicing patience and keeping my cool.  sadly for baxter, he's given up on petey mastering the concept of "gentle" and stays out of sight as much as possible. someday they'll be friends again.

he's newly excited over raisins and craisins and yogurt covered raisins. unfortunately that means they go in his mouth quickly and disappear without a lot of chewing....use your imagination to figure out what that means for me the next day. ick.  when can we start potty training?  here's a video of him enjoying his raisins...(this was before he mastered the sign for "more please")

and here's a video of him running all over the backyard. he is fascinated with picking up the tiniest bits of things and handing them to me - crumbs from the kitchen floor, bits of dirt or leaves from the yard... its more 'cute' than 'exciting' so aunts and grandparents will probably be the most interested in viewing it....you'll see him climb up into his playhouse all by himself at the end. such fun!

new color scheme

i regrouped and started my fabric search over. going to visit them today to see if i love them in person - and perhaps discover some new mates for them that i didn't find on the internet.  would love to hear your comments!  they likely won't all be used in the room decor but perhaps will make an appearance in the quilt for the guest bed.....



can't you just SEE a sweet quilt forming itself here, right in the midst of this post?


and i got a little giddy today at walmart buying newborn diapers. we're at 24 weeks on saturday - that means 16ISH weeks until our little lady bug arrives. i can't wait.....my whole self is jumping for joy to kiss her little nose!

more diy on the way

i can't help it. inspiration is pouring out of me. and i think i've decided to make my own crib bumper for the little lady's room. i am so bored by the prepackaged options in the stores. pink/purple hearts and butterflies just aren't cutting it.  i found a tutorial at vanilla joy that is quite detailed and helpful - making me believe i may actually be able to pull it off for a fraction of the cost i'd pay to have someone make me a custom crib bedding set. 

i'm totally terrified and electrified with excitement at the same time. if i can find the fabric i've dreamed up in my mind and am praying exists somewhere (as usual with me, 'i'll know it when i see it'), maybe i can start and/or complete the project while visiting my grandma in february. this kind of a project just seems like it might be more fun with a pro watching from the wings in case a crisis arises. ;)

welcome new baby!

my darling friend lindsay - a friend i've cherished since i met her in fifth grade - is a new mommy! sooner than expected (10 weeks sooner), her little boy kyler dillon arrived today via c-section after finding out she had developed HELLP in recent days (similar to pre-eclampsia). luckily her levels stayed controlled enough that they allowed baby kyler to stay put for another 24 hours. mother and baby are doing well and everyone is exhausted but thankful for his safe arrival. i can't wait to meet the little bug - hoping i can make a trip to see them all while i'm home in february. yippee for new babies and for my friends getting to experience the magic of motherhood. congratulations, friend-he is so beautiful! i just want to kiss that sweet little nose!

real simple - real truth.

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it." -- Sydney J. Harris

today's daily thought i get from real simple magazine's website.  and my goodness, how very true it is!  its a good reminder to me as i get increasingly worn out from the simplest activities (getting out of bed seems particularly tiresome lately, hehe) that its ok to stop and just sit. the problem lies in the fact that i am quite positive i've already started nesting so the need to get the baby's room ready and the house ready (for what? i've no idea....i just know its been really really important for me to clean a lot lately, i am pretty sure if i had a therapist she'd tell me it was my way of dealing with stress)....and i'm having a BLAST crafting and creating for my sister's bridal shower in february. all things to keep my hand busy, my heart full and my head happy - just wishing i had the stamina to keep up with myself. :)  spent last evening blissfully cutting fabric and the sewing machine is out and at the ready once the hemming is done. that's the hardest part, isn't it? the cutting and ironing and pinning....the sewing part is EASY-PEASY.  wish i had my grandmother here by my side to direct my paths, it should definitely be a law for grandmothers to live right down the street from their granddaughters. i'm going to start petitioning for this immediately.

new teeth!

there are two new molars on pete's top gum, one on each side.....he has the front four teeth, then it skips a tooth on each side and then the next molar. :) glad they finally cut through. he is so much happier today, even though I know there are 10 more to get through. soon enough!  i wish i could show you pictures but i could barely get his mouth open enough to see for myself!

ladies' night out

last night many of the ladies from the squadron went out on the town together to celebrate our out-going co's wife, jill. we had a fabulous time! thank you to my honey for rushing home from working all day on saturday to give me a night off to play.

 

coloring

he's starting to be interested in crayons - there is still the occasional attempt to sneak a nibble on that waxy goodness but he's slowly figuring it out!

 

 

progress on a project {finally}

the baby's room is painted!!  i'm so excited to start decorating finally! i'm seriously filled to the brim with inspiration.  and now we have our color palette - which i just found laid out cutely on a wedding blog who is using a similar look as us.  the only difference is we will have some black accents in there as well. so excited to share as the room turns into something beautiful! found this at 100 layer cake, a new totally adorable wedding blog i can't help looking at and sending just about every post to my darling friend charlotte who is planning a wedding for january 2011! yippee!!!

orange marmelade

i had such a lovely time today with emily and her boys and the oranges from her citrus tree out back. spending the day in the kitchen can be fun but when you have company and conversation to share while you're at work, its just the best.  i was probably born a generation or three too late, i am quite convinced quilting bees of days gone by would have just tickled me to be a part of. simpler times. more chatting and growing relationships - today was wonderful, getting to know emily while we worked.  we picked the oranges during a lull in the storm and set to work while all the boys were elsewhere (oldest at school, youngest napping and petey at home with daddy)....two momma's dabbling in the kitchen, we were having a ball peeling and slicing and prepping for adventures in creating and canning the orange marmelade-goodness. oh, and we definitely wore aprons as i deemed it inappropriate to embark upon a culinary experiment like this without them. (thanks mom!)

 emily chopping and chatting, sporting a dianne-simpson-made-with-love apron.

the citrus at its finest hour, right before meeting and greeting the pectin and sugar.....and how much sugar goes into this? we took a stab at it, hoping to get it right.....using two different directions made things a bit more complicated so we used our common sense theory and hoped it didn't screw up the chemistry of the marmelade. more sugar is always better, right? (fingers crossed)

then we filled up the lovely little jars (which were oh-so-cute...there's something so glamorous about canning. maybe i'm a nut but i think its the bees knees).

 

and out they come to cool and set up....we're thinking we'll have to plan a homemade bread date when we have the marmelade unveiling in a couple of weeks when its official set up and ready for eating. YUM!  i've gotta say, it was much less technical, scary and/or challenging than i anticipated....i may be hooked and am certainly excited to try more adventures in canning.  thanks for a lovely day and loads of inspiration for future domestic dabbling, emily!

making her debut

here she is, our little lady, in all her glory....all curled up with one arm up by her face. so precious - and so exciting to see her 20 weeks before we actually get to meet her. although, i must admit, i already feel like i'm starting to get to know her. her signature tap dance moves and little tooshie wiggles.

 

 

on the horizon

i have to admit i am absolutely filled with giddiness these days.  petey continues to grow and learn (for better or worse) and it is amazing to see him discover life around him. today he managed to climb up and sit in our tall bar stools, thank heavens they are sturdy. he shimmied his way up there in the time it took me to open an envelope that came in the mail. this is a picture of our little friend ryan - you can see petey in the background attempting to climb up into the chair, his practice attempt-

he watched ryan intently as he maneuvered the puzzle pieces into place, petey doesn't get it at all but he is definitely interested in the concept.  he watched water drip out of a washcloth in awe over and over, dipping it into the water and lifting it to eye-level and watching the water dribble out of it and drop back into the tub. he swam like a little fish at class today - click here for the video. he runs in his wobbly little way, giggling and swinging his arms as he goes, climbing up and down off of our bed with a glimmer in his eye. taking mom's shoes out of the closet and putting them in dad's side of the closet. exploring any drawer he is tall enough to reach to open and stick his little fingers into. he knows what a hairbrush is for - tonight at bedtime i was putting his diaper on and he still had his hooded towel on his head. to distract him i handed him his hairbrush to play with. he looked at it, put his hand up to his head, felt that the towel was there, pulled it off and held the brush to his head. he may not be styling his hair just yet, but he IS definitely learning. his eyes light up when i hand him his toothbrush and he chews away on the bristles with glee.  he curiously watches the rain water run off the porch roof. he ate raisins AND craisins for the first time today, and let me tell you there is very little food he is allowing into his mouth these days, those molars cutting through are definitely tormenting him.

i'm plotting and planning and scouring and searching for baby room decor. its so fun playing with different design ideas, rearranging the furniture....the crib is ordered, now to search for a dresser to restore......which fabric do you like best? (note: these are not the final finalists, just some that i really liked - my search has only just begun!)

hoping to have it just the right amount of baby girlie and juuuust the right amount of totally awesome and classy so perhaps she can grow into the room. whatever fabric i decide upon, i've decided i'm going to (over the course of the next year or so, no deadline here!) make a coordinating quilt so when she graduates into a big-girl bed she'll have a mama made quilt all ready to go. until then, the quilt will live on the guest bed that will occupy a (large) space in her room. that way mama can sleep in there while daddy is deployed and all our wonderful guests who are coming to help me cope with the transition of two babies can sleep soundly (and far away from baby cries) in our room!

am planning a bridal shower/bachelorette combo party for my little sister at the end of february and i am having a blast doing it! there is so much i want to share, so many great discoveries and ideas and plans....but the reporting will have to wait til after the party so it can remain a surprise. fortunately for me, my sister is one of the only people who reads my blog on a regular basis so i don't want to spoil the surprise. i will show you the invitations once she's received hers in the mail - they are DARLING (designed and printed my my favorite blog-gal)! more fun to come on this topic. i have to stop her for fear that all my little projects in the works will be revealed! but i can't wait to divulge all i've been up to on this topic!

and while i'm not giddy about the fact that i am having minor outpatient surgery on my left wrist tendon on february 2nd, i am joyful, joyful, thankful, joyful that reid's parents are coming out to tag team the childcare situation for me over the course the the week following the surgery. i just don't see lifting and diapering and caring for properly my 25 lb son with one hand. can you imagine a poopy diaper change with only one functioning hand? eesh.

and lastly, the giddiness is overwhelming with my plans for tomorrow. my darling friend emily has invited me to spend the day with her tomorrow making and canning orange marmelade from oranges growing in her backyard! this is pretty much a dream come true - and how lucky am i to have been invited to participate in someone else's projecting! mom, i'm bringing my aprons to wear, one to share because i feel it is absolutely inappropriate to attempt a canning project sans aprons! can't wait to tell all tomorrow when its all said and done! and that's that.

petey's 1 year old pics

follow this link to see petey's one year old photo shoot at poway park. i am happy we got some happy shots mixed in there since it was his first dropped nap day and he was toooootally messed up with sleepiness.  enjoy!  to the aunts, honorary aunts and grandparents, let me know your favorite picture and i'll send a print along with your happy 2010 card - part of your christmas present i still owe you. :)

sunny encinitas

the day did not look promising, we had to practically paddle through the fog and mist on our morning walk with baxter. but we loaded into the car anyway - and on our way north to meet our friends the sun peaked through and by the time we arrived in encinitas at a park just a block from the beach it was clear skies, bright sun and a perfect 67 degrees kind of day for a stop at the park.  i met some of my gals and their little ones for a romp and a chat.  we enjoyed the visit with all of our little buddies, my how my little lady is going to be outnumbered with all these sweet boys in the squadron!

sarah and petey 

emily, james and david

tracy, tyson and ethan

jen and ryan

petey and sweet tyson with his little curlies in the back

tracy and tyson

emily and james