Two-years (Plus) Three Months

March 5, 2014 - This is a post I started writing, but never finished. I guess I started it with the intention of finishing it, but with the holidays and work, I forgot about it and never posted it. Well, here it is, without anything new added to it. I'll be writing a new post soon to update with everything :)

I finally stopped tracking Cael's age with months. I now say "I have a 2 year old". Mostly because it's easier, but also because I'm sure I'd get some funny looks by saying "I have an almost 27 month old". :::Btw, I had to count on my fingers just now to figure out he was almost 27 months, because I don't really keep track anymore::: The time is really flying by, and Cael has changed so much over these past 2 years. I just looked back at pictures of Cael when he was a baby-baby, and he looks so different. He's really grown into a handsome little boy, and I really don't think my heart can take much more of that. It's just going so fast.

The poor Little Guy has spent the last 4 weeks sick. It started with a doctor visit on the 6th, and a diagnosis of a right ear infection and viral cold. This was preceded by 5 days of high fevers and lethargy (we figured it was viral and just had to run it's course. Matt and I aren't usually ones to rush right to the doctor), and was followed by 10 days on Amoxicillin (some of which were while we were visiting Long Island). Cael was fine for a couple days following the end of his antibiotic. Fast forward to Wednesday of last week, and Cael's 103.5 fever returned, as well as his crankiness, clinginess and lack of sleeping at night in his own crib. Matt brought Cael back to the doctor this past Friday, even though his fever was pretty much gone. I just couldn't shake my gut feeling that his ear infection didn't go away fully. Plus, I noticed his left ear seemed very sensitive, as he screamed bloody murder when I cleaned it. Turns out he now has a double ear infection, and a new prescription for Augmentin. Today was day 5, and he seems to be improving markedly. He's fell asleep in his crib for the past 2 nights (plus tonight), which is HUGE! His bedtime routine has been so messed up lately, and Matt and I haven't had our bed to ourselves in about a month. Cael usually wakes up in the middle of the night sometime, and ends up in our bed. Baby steps though. I'm happy that he's been going to sleep on his own, in his own bed, and didn't rely on me laying down with him for the past 3 nights. I'm truly hoping this continues.

Since Cael has been to the doctor twice in the past 3 weeks, we got a weight on him. Our scale at home is far from accurate, and I'm trying to weigh Cael every 2 months, just for fun, to see how he's growing. His first visit in the beginning of the month, when he really wasn't feeling well, he weighed in at 29 pounds. I'm sure at some point before that, he had broken 30 pounds, but since he didn't have much of an appetite, I think he lost some weight. Then this last doctor visit, he weighed in at 30 pounds 8 ounces! Little porker gained about 1.5 pounds in 2 weeks, thanks to his appetite being back. That made me feel better. We then measured how tall he was. This is probably not the most accurate, but we got roughly 36 inches. All in all, that's about the 70th percentile. Makes me happy!

Cael talks up a storm now!

Apple Picking, Pumpkin Picking and Halloween - Oh My!

I feel like it's been a lifetime and half since I last posted. Ok, it's been at least a couple months. Cael is currently going on day 5 of being sick, and fell asleep watching Sprout, so I'm taking advantage of this time to catch up.

We went apple picking at the end of September, and had so much fun. Both Matt and I haven't been apple picking since we were both kids, and when I heard about an orchard near us (actually, about 2 hours away "near" us), I instantly wanted to go. Yea, it was a long drive, but I knew Cael would love it and have a blast. Not to mention I would have a blast, too! So we picked a weekend, and the three of us plus Matt's brother, sil and our niece went as well.

We thought we were picking both Jonagold and Golden Delicious, but after picking 20 pounds of apples, it turns out we picked only Jonagold. I guess we missed a turn somewhere in the orchard. It was very hilly, and since it was a large orchard, we brought the stroller. I had to have Matt push the stroller around because I was struggling with all the uneven and hilly terrain. Cael loved it! He also loved eating the apple slices we cut for him as we were going along. The apples we picked were the best apples I've ever had. They were so big, juicy, crisp and sweet. Since then, no other apples from the stores compare, unfortunately. We had so many apples, that I baked quite a bit. I made apple crisp within individual apples, an apple pie, and 2 apple crisps. Everything came out so delicious! I can't wait to go again.

With the month of October comes fall. I am very into fall this year, which is odd for me. I was obsessed with apple picking, and couldn't wait to go pumpkin picking. I'm in love with anything pumpkin scented or flavored (especially pumpkin creamer and sbx psl). Since apple picking was crazy crowded on a Saturday, Matt and I decided I would take a day off from work during the week to go pumpkin picking. That was the best decision ever! We went to a local historic farm on a Wednesday, and we were the only ones in the pumpkin patch. There were also animals, tractors, play barns, and ride-on trikes there for Cael, which he loved. Unfortunately, he was a little cranky that day, so it made our outing a little stressful, but that's to be expected with a 2 year old. Cael still had fun, which is what's important.

Since we went pumpkin picking kind of close to Halloween, we had to carve the pumpkin the weekend before Halloween. I had Matt gut and carve the pumpkin, and Cael loved to help. He especially loved playing with the pumpkin seeds I sorted out. As far as trick-or-treating, I decided to just get Cael a costume from Target. I was originally going to make him a SourPatch Kid, but I honestly didn't have the time or energy to make it. So it was just easier to buy him a costume. He was a super-cute Lion, and even let me paint a nose and whiskers on him!.Instead of saying "Trick-or-treat" because he can't, he actually roared at almost every house. I had a blast watching him have fun. He did so much better than I thought he would, even though I had high-expectations for the night. I was so proud of him - and the candy he collected.

Apple Picking!!

Pumpkin Picking!!