Oops

Updating a blog once a month really doesn't sound that challenging, until it's been 3, and you realize you really do suck at it. Aaah well, I tried. Life around here has been busy, as usual. Thanksgiving and Christmas flew by in a blur ... we spent both holidays with my side of the family at my Grandma and Grandpa's new place in Wheaton, and spent New Years weekend in Devils Lake with T's side. We had a lot of fun, but were happy to be back at home when all was said and done. :)

We had Moose-man's first birthday a little early this year, in anticipation of our new niece or nephew making their debut right around his real birthday. Of course, because we did that, our new niece or nephew has not yet been born, a week after his or her due date. :) A was induced today, though, so we're hoping to hear the good news soon! Can't wait to meet the new little one.

Moose-man decided that he didn't want to walk until after his first birthday, and took his first steps on the 28th. He's still toddling around - just taking a step or two for now, but we're sure he'll be running any minute. :) We have his 1 year check up next week, so I'm not sure exactly how much he weighs or how tall he is today, but he's still wearing mostly 24 month clothes, with a few 2T scattered in here and there. He's also starting to say a few more words - T and I are both still "Dada," but we also hear a lot of "baba" (bottle), "bye-bye," "uh-oh," (usually after he throws something on the ground on purpose), and monkey and duck sounds. Goofy kid.

Big brother is still doing great - he's very into the LeapFrog cartoons right now, which makes Mama very happy. He still doesn't pay a TON of attention to the TV when it's on, but it's nice knowing he's hearing the counting and the alphabet while he plays. :) He's still BFF's with B at daycare and R from next door, and has playdates many times a week. (Have I mentioned we have the best neighbors ever?)

In other news, this summer, we decided to sign up for a foster care program through our local PATH office called "Family Support." We were matched with a family immediately, and have a 4 year old girl with some special needs spend 6 nights a month with us. We've enjoyed being a part of this program and I have to admit, having some fingernails around to paint once in a while has been fun for me. :) There have been some frustrating moments, but we feel like we're really starting to see some progress, and hope that her family does as well.

And now, for the photos you've all been waiting for ...

Our family Christmas card pic:

The Moose's bday card invite:

And my futile attempts at getting a pic of both boys :)

Noviembre

Instead of continually lamenting the fact that I never update this thing, I've decided to give myself a break and just shoot for once a month. Do-able, right? We'll see, I guess!

It's hard to believe it's already November. Halloween was great this year - we had foster care training the week before, so Grandma and Grandpa L came down Friday and took care of the boys for us while we attended. Thankfully, we were done early on Saturday, which allowed us time to attend the Halloween event at the Zoo.

Sunday after G&G went home, we went to another Halloween event with the boys at the West Fargo High School, sponsored by our local Parks department. They do so much fun stuff for the kids - I love this town. :)

Goo's favorite part of that event was frosting and decorating his own pumpkin cookie. The Moose's favorite part was when his ding-bat mom forgot to snap the straps in the stroller and he slid almost to the ground. Or maybe not. Good thing he's got a fast Daddy! Oops.

Monday I took a few hours off from work and brought the boys trick-or-treating around my office. It's always fun to have an excuse to show off, and Goo walked away with a TON of candy. Although, bless his heart, he was a little OD'd on trick or treating by this time and made a point to tell us frequently that he was done and that his bag was too heavy. Only kid I've ever seen that thought he had too much candy. Silly boy.

Finally, Monday night, Goo and I went trick or treating with our neighbors. Goo and R are best buddies, and they're SO CUTE together.

Did you notice that the Batman obsession has spread? :) One of our poor neighbors made the mistake of calling these guys Batman and Robin and was quickly corrected.

Overall trick-or-treating was MUCH more successful this year than it was last year - Goo wasn't afraid at all and did a great job of thanking people and telling them "Happy Halloween" - although that was was usually when he was running down the sidewalk to the next house, pretty sure most of them didn't hear him. Oh well, at 3 he can still get away with that, right?

We had LOTS of trick-or-treaters at the house as well, this is such a fun neighborhood to live in with all of the little kids. I could live without the teenagers that smashed some pumpkins before Halloween, but I suppose if that's the most violent criminal activity going on around here, I should probably not complain.

In other news, the Moose is crawling at the speed of light and is into EVERYTHING. I love him dearly, and am so proud of his accomplishments, but it's going to be an exhausting couple of months pulling him down from places he shouldn't be pulling himself up on and policing every little piece of anything that he happens to find on the floor, and directs immediately to his mouth. Fun times. :)

He's also babbling like mad, and has (sadly for me) decided that his first word will be "Dada." Yesterday I spent the day saying "Moose, say Mama" and getting "Dada" as a response. Stinker. :)

Moose weighs about 28 lbs and recently went through a growth spurt so is very tall. ("very tall" is a perfectly valid measurement, right?) Goo is still around 42 lbs and is also very tall. :) He was 3' 3" at his 3 year check-up, and I assume has grown an inch or so since then. Moose is wearing 18 and 24 month clothes, and Goo is a solid 4T. I still feel like I'm pulling clothes out of their closet on a weekly basis, but hopefully Moose will slow down a bit as he gets more active and will lose a little of that (adorable) baby chunk.

Goo appears to be through his "terrible three" stage, and is back to being his sweet self. I realized today the joy of having a child who understands what Christmas is. Goo - you don't want me to have to call Santa and tell him you're being naughty produces immediate desired results. Ha!

Goo spends a lot of time at R's these days, and vice versa. They play SO well together and really miss each other when they're not together. Today Goo went to R's before nap time, and after he came home said "MOM, R's mom shuts the door and says "I love you," so you need to shut the door and say "I love you," too." I'm a little concerned that he's already critiquing my parenting! But I shut the door and said "I love you," anyway. :)

Goo is SUCH a good big brother. Whenever Moose is in his highchair and is tired of it (which is generally about 30 seconds after he decides he's full) - Goo will bring him toys, and make goofy faces at him, and dance around until one of us can get him out. We never have to ask, it just bothers him to see his little bro uncomfortable. How lucky are we?

On that note, I'll now be dragging my lucky self to bed. Talk to you in December! :)

The Post You've All Been Waiting For ...

Wow. Can’t even begin to provide an excuse for what an awful blogger I am. So I won’t. :)
Moving on ….

We’re very excited to report that Goo and The Moose are expecting a brand new baby cousin in January! Uncle R and his girlfriend are expecting a new bundle of joy in January, right around The Moose’s 1st birthday. We’re excited for them, and are excited for the kids to have another cousin to grow up with. My mother in law is hoping that baby fever will kick in when I meet this new one and that the Moose will be a middle child. Silly mother in law.

As for Goo and the Moose – Here’s a little snippet of what they’ve been up to lately:

Goo-man is celebrating turning 3 by pushing every limit that has ever been imposed on him. He has recently decided that he will not hear Daddy-O or I unless we’ve repeated ourselves at LEAST 6 times, and no longer believes the threat of time out until Mama is physically heading in his direction. It’s been a challenging few weeks! It comforts me to know, though, that three of my close friends with boys very close in age to Goo are having the same struggles. Must be the age? Or the social group, maybe? Ha! Stinkers.

Goo has also turned into quite the little conversationalist. His favorite phrases are currently “That doesn’t make sense” and “What does X mean?” Try explaining to a 3 year old what “broke” means. Ha!

The Moose is already 8 months old and is doing really well. His acid reflux is 99% under control, which is marvelous. Unfortunately, now we’re teething, and, like his mama, the Moose doesn’t handle pain well. We’ve got the bottom two teeth broken through, and hopefully will see the rest soon. The Moose is also *almost* crawling. He sits now and scoots to get what he wants from a sitting position, but is spending a lot of time up on his hands and knees trying to figure out how to really go. His belly is so chubby, it’s a lot to support! :)

He’s got cheeks just like Goo did at this age, but is starting to look a little more like Mama in the eyes and nose. Exhibit A:

Ha! Poor Moose.

Both boys were recently at the pediatrician for checkups and are in the 94th percentile for height and the 99th percentile for height. We don't make 'em small around here, do we!?

3 and 1/2

Goo just turned 3 and the Moose is now 6 months old. Here are there updated stats: 


Goo: 

• Weighs 42 lbs and is a little over 3 feet tall.
  
  
• Is all of a sudden totally in 4t. He'd been in 4t shirts for a while, but 3t pants. He wore shorts for 6 weeks, and suddenly all of his pants are too short. Stinker.
   
• He's still super goofy and fun, but we've started with an attitude lately. "I don't wanna." "Donnnnne (don't) say that to me!" and a good old fashioned "No!" are his new favorite phrases. Fingers crossed that this phase passes quickly. ha!
  
• He's still very into Batman, Power Rangers, and any other super-hero dudes. He now carries on pretty elaborate conversations between his "guys" - very cute to listen to. :)
   
• Cars is still one of his favorite flicks, although we haven't attempted an actual movie theater trip yet. Soon, I'm sure!
  
• We celebrated the big 0-3 twice - once the day of, with a Mommy-Daddy-Goo day, and again that weekend, with a big old party at the park. For your viewing pleasure:
  
  
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Moose 

• Weighs 23 lbs. Catching up fast.
  
• Is nearly 28 inches tall, meaning he's grown 2 inches since June.
   
• Is wearing 12 and 18 month clothes. Mostly 18 month. Moose.
   
• He sits! For a while, anyway.
  
• He grabs anything and everything he can get his hands on and directs it immediately to his mouth. No toothers yet, but any day now, I'm sure!
  
• He doesn't roll ... unless I'm at the Dr. with him, talking about how he doesn't roll. In which case, he immediately rolls, the second I lay him on the table. Show off.
  
• He eats baby food, and has a serious preference for all things orange. Squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, and carrots are his current faves.
  
• He's been on Prilosec for about a month, and is doing really well. Unfortunately, the formula wasn't the issue, the tummy was. We did a few days on Zyrtec with no luck, but the Prilosec has really done the trick. This is our happy Prilosec picture, taken on day 2. :) 

... as compared to the pre-Prilosec pics I'd been getting ... 

Poor guy. But still cute. :) 

4 Months & the Ice Cream Truck

The "little" guy turned 4 months old not quite two weeks ago. I took him for his checkup and as I suspected, he grew 3 inches (now 26 inches tall) and gained a few more pounds for a whopping 19.5 lbs. I suppose this means my "sack of potato" references weren't all that far off. ;) 


The Moose is doing well - he's a little fussier than Goo was, so his Doc recommended a formula switch - today was Day 1 on the new one and we got a good report from daycare, so keep your fingers crossed for him that this resolves his issues. 

When his tummy isn't bothering him, he's otherwise a really sweet baby. Very lovey - loves to be hugged and cuddled. Lights up when that big brother comes around, and puts everything he can get his paws on in his mouth. 


Speaking of Big Bro - Goo is doing great as well. We stayed home Memorial Day weekend and dedicated ourselves to potty training. Totally paid off! Just a few accidents last week, and the last 4 days we've had none. If I would have known he'd do so well, I'd have celebrated a bit more the last time I bought him diapers. ;) 

Our conversation this morning: 


Goo: See ya later al-gator! 
Me: After while, crocodile! 
Goo: I NOT crocodile, I BATMAN! 


Silly boy. 

Silly boy had his first visit to the ice cream truck tonight. We had to chase it down the street, but totally worth it. Run, Mama! RUN!! Guess I wasn't fast enough for him ... :) 


PS: Have you noticed how much I love my new Instagram app for my iPhone? :) Makes me do silly things like sit around at night and take goofy pictures of myself, just to play with the filters. 

Ha! 

Lest I Forget ...

Goo-ism's today:

Goo: "It's a bug!"
Me: "Yep, that's an ant."
Goo: "No, it's a bug."
Me: "Yes - an ant is a kind of bug, you know, like a beagle is a kind of dog."
Goo: "Oh, a beagle bug."
Me: "Yeah, buddy, that's exactly what I was getting at."

Goo - while I'm on the phone with my Mom - at the TOP of his lungs "I HAVE TO POOP AND PEE!!!!!"

Potty training is going great, by the way. :)

And finally, later this evening, out on the deck:

Goo: "You're a butt-face"
Me: "What did you just call me?!"
Goo (totally serious): "A butt face."

Awesome. :)

Bad Guys and Cutie Pies

The morning after Osama Bin Laden was killed, I had the news coverage on. 

Goo: What that, Mama? 

Me: (trying to come up with a nice way to say this) Well, we got the bad guy, buddy. 

Goo: (ponders for a bit) We got the Joker? 

Me: Yep, buddy, he was kind of a Joker. 

Goo: Good. (Or "Dood" - in his words) 

Love that kid. 

And of course this 18.5 lb Cutie Pie, too. :)

(Yes, you read that right. My not quite 4 month old weighs 18.5 lbs. I think the "Moose" nickname is going to stick. :) )