Almost Home

I haven't spoken about it recently, because I did'nt want to jinx things (and I'm a lot more superstitious than I'll ever admit to), but our house will be done... tomorrow.  Which means we are moving in... tomorrow.

Packers and movers are coming to our apartment tomorrow morning and then they will deliver our 5000 lbs of miscellaneous stuff from storage on Saturday (I anticipate this will be a lot like Christmas since I have no idea what could be in there).

I'll take pictures and video to commemorate this occassion and post again as soon as possible.  But I wanted to explain my absence... at least for a little while.

So, to hold you over... here is the little man helping Daddy stock Maga and Grandpa's little fridge with soda over Christmas:

Television

I am not one of those people who ever said that my children won't watch TV.  How could I be?  Brian and I are all about the TV all the time.  It is our companion.  For me, it has been this way for as long as I can remember (which with each day of my pregnancy is fewer and fewer days).  I don't think TV in and of itself is evil.  I do however think that once TV replaces other activities for children that it then needs to be controlled.  If Evan ever told me he would rather watch TV than go outside and play then TV would be something that would slowly disappear.

But for right now the TV allows me to get my chores down (the channel Sprout to be exact... genius who thought up this channel).  It allows me to distract a tantrum (which get more and more common each day... lucky me) and it allows me to sit down for almost 5 minutes at a time.

I do have to admit though, that sometimes I get a little worried about Evan's interest in the television.  When we come in from being out he immediately goes over and points to the TV.  If it's on a "grown-up" show he completely ignores the TV but if it's on Sprout (and specifically "The Wiggles")... this is what I see:

So, for right now I'm going to let TV have a prominent place in our home.  But I expect that each year it will become less and less important. 

Something New

Yesterday, my friend and real estate agent Shane, took Evan and I out for some crepes before reviewing the final inspection on our home (yes, I said F-I-N-A-L... more on that as the final becomes permanent).  Of course Evan and I ordered the nutella crepes and shared them.

I don't know if you can see the nutella all over his face and all over his hand... but I can guarantee you he is now a definite fan of nutella.

Have a fabulous and hopefully warm weekend!

Be Jealous... Be Very Very Jealous

So, let's play a game.  I'm going to show you a picture of Evan and you get to guess what is different about this picture than most of the recent pictures I've posted.

I'll give you a second or two.  Just keep looking.

Acceptable answers:

• Different background - yes, this photo was not taken in the main room of our apartment.  Instead it was taken in Evan's room.  He is standing in front of his closet.  You might notice the many boxes that are ready to find a new home... but alas... still not done.
• His hair - true, it almost looks combed.  However, it isn't.  I subscribe to the natural school of hair.  If you don't believe me... take a look at a few pictures of me throughout this blog.

But the one answer I was really looking for was: Monkey is wearing short sleeves.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, the weather has turned in Georgia.  Looks like we are going to hit the high 60s low 70s for at least the next few days.  All the windows are open and short sleeves are everywhere.  Are you jealous yet?

And, to make you even more jealous, I thought I'd share 2 more pictures of the cutest toddler that ever lived:

Again, Evan's bedroom.  The toy corner which is in amazingly good shape at the moment.

Evan trying to play with Socks.  He was having none of it and took off a scant second later (still in his bedroom).

Get outside and enjoy the weather!

Happy Valentine's Day

Look who is coming to give you a hug:

(and look whose camera has something funky happening... ignore the lines on the photo).

He's getting closer:

And that is all you get.  Since you aren't here I can't really take a picture of Monkey giving you a hug now can I?  And since I'm playing single mom this week there isn't anyone around to take a picture of Monkey hugging me.  So, use your imagination.

And while you're at it, I thought I would help you imagine all the reasons I'm such a sexy mama for my man (and please read all the sarcasm dripping off of that statement).

10 Reasons Why a Mom (or me as a mom) Is a Sexy Valentine:

1. The cuffs of my sweaters/sweatshirts are usually caked with snot which I wiped from Monkey's nose.
2. I may not know how the stains got on my clothes but I know from whom.
3. My hands either smell like baby wipes, dishwashing detergent, butt paste, or something unrecognizable.
4. Since my showers are now under 10 minutes, shaving my legs is not a necessity.
5. Some days I'm not sure if I remembered to brush my teeth.
6. All the love songs I sing now have to do with a purple dinosaur or counting down animals.
7. I wear two different pairs of shoes... Ugg boots or slippers.  Seriously.
8. Dressing up for me now consists of putting on earrings since my ears won't be near little hands.
9. I often spend the afternoons/nights sporting bed head from the nap I took with Monkey.
10. I talk about poop at least once a day (see, I just did it for today).

That's all I got.  Enjoy the day with someone you love!

A Rare Sighting

I've been told that people will spend their entire lifetimes searching for that one rare sighting.  Maybe it's of a bird that only comes out at midnight with the full moon (or something like that, clearly I'm not a bird watched).  Or maybe it's of a unicorn or Big Foot (incidentally Brian and I just watched an interesting show on one of those interesting channels that always suck me in - National Geographic, History Channel, etc - about some professor in Minnesota whose entire scholarly pursuits are aimed at finding Big Foot... I'm just saying).  Who knows, whatever floats your boat.

And tonight I saw one of my own rare sightings.  Turns out, if you remain quiet and focused on washing dishes, when you turn around from the sink you might find:

North American Monkey in a Drawer

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Monkey in a drawer is a rare sight (at least for the moment since this is the first time he has climbed in to the drawer... might not be so rare for long). 

An even rarer viewing is the Monkey in a Drawer in a relaxed and stationary position:

And finally, we have the rarest of them all.  The Monkey in a Drawer holding up his finger to indicate the #1... but since I do not speak the wild language of Monkey in a Drawer I have no idea to what the #1 is referring.

Enjoy your wild sightings!

Because It's Time - 27 Weeks

It's time folks.  It's time for me to share with you all what 27 weeks pregnant looks like with my 2nd pregnancy.

Now, before we go any further, let me get some things out of the way.  Yes, I am only 27 weeks.  No, I am for sure not having twins nor an abnormally large baby (she is only measuring 9 days big).  No, I have not eaten my husband.  And yes, I am aware that I have a whole trimester left (although I'm trying to keep it a secret from my back so any help you could give me would be appreciated).

And here's Chloe... and my belly... and my really not so pretty toes... and my messy kitchen... let's focus people.

While this pregnancy has been way more symptomatic than Evan's (as in Chloe has officially bounced off of every organ I have and Evan never did, as in weird nausea and food aversions have occurred, as in aches and pains and other numerous ailments have arisen) it has also been way less worrisome since nothing has gone even slightly awry.  Evan was the guinea pig for most things so I knew to get on estrogen right when I found out I was pregnant, my thyroid has been consistent and so has Chloe's growth, and apparently I passed the gestational diabetes test (I say "apparently" because it's one of those things where if they don't call you then you passed but I never trust that completely). 

Now all that happens is I continue to get bigger (there's still a lot of growing to do), pack up the apartment, move to our house (at a point when Mother Nature decides it's okay), and then give birth either vaginally or c-section depending on how cooperative Chloe wants to be.

So, yes, I'm still pregnant.

And since Evan couldn't handle having the camera out and it not being turned on him, we shot one picture of the Monkey as well (and his uncombed hair... and the mess on my couch... and my sleeve which is too long for my arm... focus people):



Just Because

Today, the first noise Monkey made when he woke up from his nap was laughter.  I swear, I heard it over the monitor.

Monkey's Cute Things

To catch you up I thought I'd share with you some cute things that Monkey now does at 17 months old:

1. He shares his snacks with you.  Really, whether you are interested or not, if you are just sitting around, chances are a goldfish will be shoved in your mouth.  You just pray it isn't one he has already tasted.
2. He shares his juice/milk with you.  Thankfully for this one he hands you the cup so you can pretend to drink from his straw.
3. He takes off his Daddy's socks and puts them in the laundry basket.  It's true.  The boy has some sort of obsession with taking off socks, his and everyone else's.  So if you visit and you aren't wearing shoes... I've warned you.
4. When it's time for us to leave he brings me my shoes to put on.
5. If we are on a playground he finds a boy a little older than him and mimics almost everything the boy does.  Early hero worship.
6. He asks for and rubs in lotion on his hands (although sometimes he eats it so you need to keep an eye on him).
7. He will choose to eat strawberries over brownie.  I swear this is true and was tested the other night.
8. When you say "one" he holds up his index finger.
9. And lastly... he breathes.  I mean, seriously, everything this boy does.  Well, everything but the new and daily improved temper tantrums as we get closer to 2.  Seriously, he threw himself on the pavement at the zoo last week.  I was so surprised I just laughed.

Mr. Poopy-Pants

I want to start this post out with a quote from Brian.  After I told him the story I'm about to tell you he said, "Our little baby is growing in to a toddler."  Just think about this as you read.

It's also important for you to be aware of a few things before I tell you this story.  First off, there are no pictures or videos and you can thank me for that in the comments.  Secondly, if you have a weak stomach then just stop here.  You can know that the story is really funny.  And I think that's it.

So, this morning around 7:30, I decided it was time to wake up Monkey.  Normally he wakes up around 7:00 but some mornings he sleeps in (no rhyme or reason so I can't replicate it when I want to), and it's usually around 7:30 that I start to get nervous. You know, that maybe he threw up in the middle of the night and asphyxiated or that he tried to climb out of his crib, fell, and broke his neck.  All completely plausible.

I walked in to his room, turned on the light, and this is what I saw.  Monkey was standing at the edge of his crib, like he always does, but that was where normal ended.  I put Monkey to sleep in feetsie pajamas that zipper up the front and then snap at the top to cover the zipper.  His pajamas were unzipped all the way down to his feet with the snap still in place.  One foot was out of the pajamas and, as I got closer, I also noticed that half of his diaper was undone and hanging down.  And now for the fun part.  There was a smell in the room that didn't make sense until I was on top of monkey.  You see, that half opened diaper had a poopy in it.  And Monkey had decided to investigate.

His hands were caked with poop.  His mouth had poop smeared on it (which I have decided to believe was simply because he touched his mouth not because he ate anything), one leg was streaked in a rather Jackson Pollock way, his belly was covered, the sheets were smeared, and the inside of the crib had poop all over the rails. 

At first I was rather surprised and impressed since he had never opened his pajamas before (or his diaper).  Then I asked him if he could wait a few days in between new things... like did we really need to learn how to take off our pants, tops, pajamas, and diaper all in a few days?  And then I realized I had to deal with it.

So Monkey went in the bath tub and got scrubbed.  His bed got stripped and is being washed as we speak.  I momentarily convinced Monkey to keep his diaper on while I put him in new pajamas (I say momentarily because I'm sure that the diaper will come off many more times) and I wiped down the wooden rails of his crib with Clorox wipes.

And then I made the decision that today we are going to Gymboree and buying some one piece outfits since he can't take those off... yet.

To return to Brian's comment... I think we have left the baby months (short, went-by-way-too-fast, wonderful months) behind us and have aggressively moved into the toddler years (as unknown and as scary as that sounds).

Good morning y'all.

Update to Mr. Pants-Less

So, last night Monkey decided it was time to try another article of clothing.  He easily put his shirt over his head, struggled a little bit with the arms and voila - topless baby.  I convinced him to put his shirt back on for bed but when I went in to get him this morning he had started the process all over again

And now my baby is running around the house looking like this:

I'm assuming at some point he will get cold and want to put it back on since I've done it twice already and he has undone it. 

Mr. Monkey Pants-less

No, this is not a baby that escaped from a diaper/clothing change.  Nor is it a baby that started out his day without pants. 

This, my friends, is a baby who just figured out how to take his pants off (you can still see his pants sitting on the floor right behind him).  Yup, armageddon is next.

(America's next underwear model... move over Mark Wahlberg)

And I'm thinking he has no intention of putting them back on any time soon.