Long time... Will Update

Hey Everyone!

It's been awhile since I've blogged & even longer since I've blogged about something relevant!

So first I'll update ya on Will...

16.5 month old

Things have been pretty full lately. We are on a pretty good schedule during the week, sometimes it's too much the same for ME, but it works.

Eating- Will has finally slowed down on the eating front. I've been reading since he was 1 that his appetite will decrease. I have to admit, even though I knew it was normal & what to do, I still freaked out a little. I almost started letting him snack a lot. I snapped out of it before the day was over. hehe. He still gets all of his nutrients because there is always something in each food group he'll eat. I offer a wide variety still & sometime he surprises me. The other day he ate carrots (something he hasn't ate in months) because Corey used chopsticks to feed them. He really ate 8 carrot coins!!
He is really good at using his fork now (we have these mini-metal ones), so we are moving on to regular cups. We were starting off with little bits of water at one meal a day (lunch), but I gave him some of my soda (i know, evil mom) & he was more successful. Was it because it was brown so he could see it, or because he really wanted it! haha. We aren't switching over to soda though. He doesn't like the cold water spilling on him, so I think he will get it.
Another big change on the eating front... he's in a booster now! Bye Bye highchair!

Playing- We are moving to room time! He's been having alone time in a pack-n-play since he was 8 months old, but recently he was really protesting it. So move on we must! So far I've stayed in there with him for 20 minutes at a time, to make sure he can't hurt himself & to ease him into it. Soon I'll be leaving him for longer periods of time & then start extending the amount of time he is in there. I'm aiming for about 45mins.
We have been out of the house a lot more, mostly because we try to go to the pool every afternoon. Sometimes it's stormy or I have errands I have to run during that time, but I much prefer the pool. It's so hot & muggy here it's almost his only outdoor time. blah.

Sleeping- Things are great here. He is still taking two naps (totalling 2-3 hours) & sleeping for 11-12 hours at night. I really thought with how he napped the first year of his life that he would drop the morning nap a LONG time ago, but he doesn't seem anywhere near ready still. C'est la vie! I'm not in a rush, although I see the benefits of a free morning. Maybe it's because I know with Sophia coming soon that I'll be limited again. Why get used to a freedom? haha.

Communication- Will still isn't saying very many clear words often, but he does say them sporadically. I feel like he's just a guy! Let's see the words he does say clearly enough for me to understand... hi, dadda, maa (mom), okay, no, yea, dg, talk, peese (please), aa dun (all done), & that's all I can think of. Actually, that's not bad & way better than a month ago. He does jabber a lot & uses signs (all done, outside, more, please, sorry, up, diaper, & bye).
He understands a lot & is very helpful around the house! He throws away his own diapers (that will be changing because we are switching to cloth diapers), he puts his bowl & cups in the sink, he is obsessed with swiffering (I've taken two of the metal poles out so it's his size), he cleans his spot on the table, his hands, & his seat with a rag, he brushes Molly (if she wants him to or not)... he just does a lot & I'm pretty amazed by him!

Fits- He's there! He has been building up from mini-fits that were so cute I had to hide my face so he wouldn't see me laugh/smile. Now he gets frustrated & it's totally understandable to me why he gets frustrated, but that doesn't mean I give in.

Discipline- Will has been throwing things like crazy. It's frustrating for me, because I'm already so tired from being pregnant! I will admit I need to be more consistent & I think I have chosen my guidance/discipline technique I will be sticking with. So yaye for that! I think a lot of the throwing could be solved if we could go out in the morning & get some energy out, BUT like I said it's really too hot/muggy for that. So he's in the house until 3pm way too long for a toddler boy! I'll have to figure something out.

Schedule-
7:30 (give or take 15 minutes)- wake, cuddle with mom, & a little bit of tv time
8:00- breakfast
8:30- maybe more tv time, free play/helping mom clean
9:00- independent playtime
9:30- brush teeth, read with mom
9:45-10:00 Nap #1
11:00-11:30 wake, lunch, free play
12:00 Daddy's break so play with dad,
12:30 learning time (I'll blog about this some other time), climber time
1:00-1:30- Nap #2
2:30-3:00- wake, snack, pool time/errands
5:00- play with daddy while mommy makes dinner
6:00- dinner
6:30- walk/park/errands
7:30- bath time
8:00-bedtime

Okay I'm too tired to update more... I'll update about me, Corey & Sophia tomorrow! haha

Begining Photography

I love photography and when I first got my digital camera I tried to become a photographer, but that dream faded with all the demands of life & the fear that I would never have enough money to be good enough (you know all the equipment). BUT recently I've had a few friends that are showcasing their photography & I wanna do it too! haha.

My sister-in-law, Kelly, is really good & after picking her brain a little this morning, I decided to just pick up my skirt & just start clicking! She recommended finding weekly assignments online to get me going.

I have a plain old point & shoot camera & the only photo programs I have on my computer are the ones that come with it! (Although Kelly has a way of getting me Photoshop, shhh).

My first assignment is to take 30 pictures of my favorite subject... can you guess who that is? Well, if you can't you're weird! I'll give myself until Wednesday to post them (so I can somewhat edit them!) I'll probably only post a few of the best.

I invite you to join me on any & all of the assignments I set. If you do, please comment me a link to your photos!

Purse Dump

So... I have a normal size purse. It's not too big, definitely not to small (although... it's getting cramped). Corey teases me a lot that I have "everything" in my purse & some friends also tease. The other day after finding some crazy things in my purse I decided to dump my purse & see all what was in there!

I haven't dumped my purse since... well let's just say Will wasn't mobile. I've cleaned it here & there, but not a dump.

So as I dump, I'm going to let you all laugh at what was all in there.

*notebook
*2 pens
*toy fire truck
*grocery list
*keys
*2 bracelets
*Will's shot record card
*loose puffs (toddler snack)
*ear plug (just one)
*mirror compact
*little Swiss army knife
*Lysol sanitizing spray
*digital camera (case & adapter too)
*sunglasses
*Neosporin
*band-aids
*Metoclopram (anti nausea medicine)
*prenatal record (a little card that tracks important things in case)
*Ultrasound pics
*2 appt cards
*Purell hand sanitizer
*nail polish
*epipen
*2 things of dental floss (I thought I ran out of one!)
*granola bar
*candy wrappers
*hand lotion
*peppermint candies (for nausea)
*Tootsie Pop (gift from tax man for Will, c'mon 1year old cant have lolli's!)
*extra memory card for camera
*lip gloss
*chapstick
*military ID
*wallet (credit cards, reward cards, business cards, cash, change, receipts, stamps, ID, insur. cards)
*Will's spending money
*7 receipts
*coupons
*fritos (I get low blood sugar & pressure, I need food!)
*check book
*WIC stuff
*pamphlets
*EMS Key Spouse button
*pantyliner
*58 cents in loose change
*some crumbs & dirt

Not too bad... right? Hey if I ever have to go to a shower & they do that What's in Your Purse game, I'll soooo win!

Thanks for letting me share with you, now share with me! What's in Your Purse?
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Busy Boy

WOW! I really have a toddler! He is busy busy busy! By the end of the day I thought to myself, I should have recorded everything he does in one day!!! So, I will try tomorrow. Emphasis on the TRY!

Cute things/ busy toddler things he did today:

*climbed in the cabinet

*used mommy's eyeshadow (I was tweezing my eyebrows, thinking he was playing with his bath toys...)

*tried to eat the camera

*perfected climbing up the climber

*washed his hands with a wipe at the restaurant! (I swear I'm not that much of a clean freak!!)

*washed the bathtub knobs

*gave Molly broccoli & chicken (naughty naughty)

*put away his legos by himself!

*brought mommy his shoes as we were getting ready to leave (okay, shoe, the other one only made it a few feet)

*fed mommy cheerios, egg, & broccoli

*climbed on the couch with lego box

*said "dog" clearly as he chased Molly all over the house!
*threw the big ball & went to get it several times

*closed all the open doors in the house

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, but it was such a full day. I love it! I officially have a toddler!!! haha. Now time for me to pass out on the couch from exhaustion because he just fell asleep!

Will's First Birthday!

I'm going to keep this post simple. We had such a great time with a few friends and family. Of course we wished all of our family could've been there, but obviously that is hard with our life! Will loved his carrot cake. He got a lot of presents (thanks everybody)! He loved having other kids over & of course seeing Grampy & Uncle Brandon!

Grampy & his lil man

a ball from the Borgs, Blocks from Grampy & Brandon, an outfit & stunnaz from Jessica & Sawyer!

His carrot cake, the song, big bite, & ready for some milk!

After a long day he & daddy cuddled on the couch... that was my favorite part of the day!

Pregnant!

Am I going completely crazy?! I think so!!! I cannot believe it has taken me THIS long to blog about our new to-be-baby! As a second child I promised I would try my best to record the memories of my second child. I remember growing up sad that my brother had a somewhat filled out baby book & I had NONE! The gaul of my parents! Then of course with the coming of the twins 8 years later, they we're special so they got a baby book too.

Now look at me 12 weeks pregnant with #2 & no blogging! Uh I'm horrible! lol. Okay so on to blogging about #2!

Yaye! I'm pregnant again! We were able to see little bean for the first time today! It is very, very active! Flipping around so much that the ultrasound technician had a hard time measuring lil Shipe-y.

I keep wanting to call #2 "him" & seeing babe made me all the more sure it is a boy. BUT if it is a girl, I would be SOOO excited!

I wont lie (I mean I've told most of you already), I was scared at first at the idea of having a girl, but it's spring and I am SO over it! Have you seen all those cute dresses?! Also, I had the idea that I was a really trying, whinny girl growing up & how could I possibly deal with that?! I have a few older friends that have somewhat tense relationships with their daughters that are their spitting images. Oh so worried I couldn't be a good enough mom to a girl! BUT then this awesome guy known as my dad told me I was "crazy" that I was "the best little girl" and I was "sweet and caring". Granted he's a guy & I'm a woman. Granted he is getting older & it's been a long time since I was little (20 years), so maybe his memory is getting fuzzy. LOL. Whatever it was, probably the praying to God to prepare my heart, I would be thrilled to have a girl.

...that said, I just think it's a boy. I would also be very happy to have 2 boys! FUN! ADVENTURE! BUGS! MUD! yes, I can do that!

Corey is really pulling for a girl. As it seems are most people.

So, now for the negatives... unfortunately, I've been really sick this time around. Although I am now starting to get more energy (I woke up at 6:45am, didn't nap, & I'm still up at 10:30pm!!), I'm still sick. With Wills I was sick in the am, either threw up (sorry if that's gross) or at a Jimmy Dean Sausage biscut, and was fine the rest of the day. Well, fine as far as nauseousness goes. THIS time, sick all day, nothing regularly helps & most things make it way worse! Because of this aversion to almost everything (paticularly large amounts of liquids) I have been struggling with major dehydration & weakness from not eating enough. I think the last few weeks I've been struggling with low blood pressure, I for sure did today. It is getting better in all honesty... so hopefully any day now I'll be totally cured!

Now the part you've been waiting for, PICTURES!

I have a 1 year old!!!

It's crazy, my lil man is 1! He's a toddler! I love it.

He is officially OFF the bottle! wahoo! He's still adjusting in the morning. He is doing way better than I feared. He ended up tolerating milk perfectly fine & loves it. He does like to keep his milk throughout the day & I was letting him because I wanted him to get enough milk, but we replaced it with water & he likes that too.

He walked down the street today. Such a big boy! He is now bending his knees when he walks so he's not toddling as much, but still lots of falls, bumping into things, & toddling. I expect that for a long time, no rush. He also walked all around the dog park, chasing Reese, our friend's dog (a little jack russel-pug mix). He sure loves dogs!

I decided to wait on potty training. I am just so tired from a regular day & there is a lot of change going on for him. I plan on starting up once the energy returns (soon, please God!!!). Also, I need to get Corey more comfortable with taking him to the potty. Another reason we are putting it off... since we've changed his eating & drinking habits his normal times for peeing and pooping has changed & I would like to wait until it is more predictable again. He did pee twice before we stopped & he was getting more used to sitting... is it bad that I am putting it off for mostly selfish reasons?

Pregnancy is going well, well... well enough. haha. I had been nauseated a lot, but this past weekend I picked up a yucky cold that is still with me. At first, it somehow kept me from feeling nauseated which was a welcome relief, even though my head was SO stuffy. NOW however, it is making it worse!!! I guess the congestion moved more to a postnasal drip & is making me cough a lot more. If I cough too heavy = throwing up. YUCK! I'm definitely getting an IUD as soon as this baby comes out!! lol. I go to see the OB & get the 1st ultrasound next wednesday! I cannot wait!!! I can't wait to see the little bugger & to make sure it isn't twins! I keep having nightmares! Okay okay, technically they aren't nightmares except for the fact that I have twins in them! lol.

Great news on the Corey job front (!!!) he is going to day shift!!! Normal work hours!!! Bummer I wont be able to sleep in during the week, but I guess that is just me being spoiled. It'll be so nice to have him home in the evening!

okay that's all the blabbering I have for for today. Cor is home & I am so in need of a cuddle! lol
goodnight!