Summertime!

Since we moved to VA 18 months ago, I've become more excited for the summer months. There's so much more to do around here in the nice weather than there was in NEPA. There's parks, pools, splash pads (our favorite!), museums (which could be a winter month activity), and just anything outside. My point being: there's plenty to do around here, whereas we were limited back north. A few weekends ago, Cael and I made our first season visit to the community pool and splash pad. I looked back at pictures from last June when we first went, and he's changed so much! He's running so much better, and he's so much more vocal. He can now express his enjoyment, disappointment, fear and excitement (he repeats everything now, so he's picked up so much recently). I love everything about it. It was a cooler day at the lower 70's and overcast, but we still had fun. After a couple hours, Cael was shivering, so it was time to go. I can't wait until we go again!

2013 and 2014

2013 and 2014

 

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!

And He's A Talker!

I just wanted to create a short post to update on how Cael is doing with talking. He is doing phenomenal!! I'll come home from work, and Cael will just say something new that I've never heard, and I'll pick my jaw off the floor. I don't even know if I can count how many words, but I'm going to try!

Apple

Bubble

Ball

Bath

Bus(es)

Brush (as in his teeth)

Cars

Cheese

Cookies

Cow

Cupcake

Dada

Down

Ear

Hot

"Inky" for binky 

Mama (finally!!!)

No

Outside

Pancake

Shower

Tractor (hard to understand, though)

Up

Uh-oh

Yea

He also says some phrases like: where is it, what is it, there/here it is!, where'd go (sounds like a go).

He can also say some animal sounds. He knows what a cow, cat and owl says. At this point, I think his favorite animal is a cat. Anytime he sees one, whether on tv or in person, he gets so excited, points and says "mow". He also says cow and "moo", and "whoo whoo" when he sees an owl. He is making so much progress and we're so proud of him. It's incredible to hear him say new words almost every week. 

23 Months Old!

Dear Cael,

As you near your 2nd birthday, I can't help the denial I'm in. I feel like it was just last week that you were the tiny, squishy newborn we brought home. And just yesterday that we were celebrating your 1st birthday. I can't believe that it's almost been another year. 

I have been in such awe of all the new things you've learned over the last month. For starters, you've finally started to talk! Yes, you've finally started I string words together and are talking phrases. Just out of no where. Daddy and I are so proud of you, and impressed. It seems like every few days, you come out and say something new. I absolutely love it!

You've also learned how to jump. You love to jump on, over and off of everything. Including Mommy, Daddy, the couch and our dogs. You bend your knees and jump up off the ground like you've been doing it forever. If I'm laying on the ground, you climb and stand on my belly or back, and then jump off. It seems like jumping is your new favorite pastime. 

You are also teething like a mad man! You're finally working on your two-year molars. I was wondering when that was going to start, but at the same time, enjoying the break from teething that ended after your last teething "session". While I was brushing your teeth the other night, I noticed your bottom left molar starting to poke through. No wonder why you've been such a miserable, hot mess that past couple of weeks. But it's ok; we'll get through it like we did your other 17 teeth!

So as I end this, just know that I love you. You are what my world revolves around. Your Daddy and I will continue to do our best at raising you. The last 2 years have been amazing. Thank you, Little Man, for making me a better person.

Love,
Mommy


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cael's vocabulary is growing by the day. I don't think other's can understand him yet, but we (for the most part) know what he's saying. His words/phrases include:

uh is it? (where/what is it?)
uh is tis? (where/what is this?)
a go? (where'd it go?)
is stup (it's stuck)
stoop it (stop it)
bye

I'm sure there are a few more I'm forgetting, but that's most of them. I'm still worried that he's not going to be where his pediatrician wants him to be, and he'll have to go for a speech eval and need therapy. But I guess I should be more optimistic since it seems like his language has exploded over the past few weeks.

Currently, Cael has 17 total teeth. He just cut his bottom left 2nd year molar. No signs of the other 3, but I'm sure they're not far behind. Because of how bad he's teething, he's back to having his binky. All.The.Time. It seems like every time we get it away from him, he gets sick, or hardcore teethes, and is miserable without it. The bink instantly calms him down. He'll be hysterically whining and crying, hanging himself off you or throwing himself on the ground. Then when you give him the bink, he calms right down, and becomes a mush. We'll have to ask the pediatrician what her opinion is on the bink, and see if she has any suggestions for getting rid of it. Besides letting him cry it out.

Finally, Cael is a legit dare devil. We have to be careful with this one. Like, he hovers crouched on the edge of the couch, looking like he's going to jump, and then he'll look over at Matt and start giggling an evil laugh. He knows he's not supposed to jump off the couch, but he sort of "threatens" us that he's going to jump. And sometimes he does. His most recent stunt was scaling the front of his changing table, and plopping himself on the top. Then he would stand up, and go to jump off (a good 3 feet), and I'd have to catch him. The boy is nuts.

Those eyes!

22 Months Old! T-Minus 2 Months!

Little Man is getting ever so closer to the age of 2. And I'm in complete denial. I haven't done anything or planned anything for his 2nd birthday. Except that it's going to be a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. Cael loves MMC. Someone today asked me how old my son was. I stuttered as I replied "He's 22 months old." 22 MONTHS OLD!? That's only 2 months until he turns 2! Oi vey. The next 2 months will fly by too. I can't believe it's already July, and with July comes busy weekends. With August comes even busier weekends. I have 5 friends that are all pregnant and due anywhere from August to October. Plus, Cael and I will be going camping with my mom in the middle of August. I've taken off 2.5 days of work to go, and I'm super excited. (Minus the 7+ hour drive to get there).

Here's a breakdown of July. This weekend, we're helping Matt's brother and his wife move into their new apartment. In Virginia. Two floors below us!! Yup, that's right! We'll have family here, and Cael will have his cousin to play with! We're both super excited. Then next weekend, Matt, Cael and I are going to Long Island for the weekend. It's my bff's son's 2nd birthday party. Plus, she's pregnant and due in September, so I have to see her and her cute bump. Then Matt and I want to go to King's Dominion this month with Cael, which leaves the 3rd or 4th weekend in July for that. KD is a theme park within an hour of us, and it has a kiddie area for Cael. He loves things like that, so I'm excited.

Now onto Cael!

We have finally reduced Cael's binky usage. Granted, he still gets it for naps and bedtime, but I'm more than happy being back to that. After having it away from him, then Cael getting sick and needing it back, to the obsession that was having 3 binkies at one time, I'm happy we're back to where we started. It sounds like a waste, but how Cael was with the binks was bordering obnoxious. He'd have one in his mouth, and then have one in each hand. And when he didn't have them, he was miserable. Which made us miserable. So now, we take it from him when he wakes up in the morning, and when he wakes up from his nap.

I was home this past Wednesday so Matt could spend the day fishing, so I conducted Operation Binky. I let him cry and scream and whine and pull on me while he didn't have a binky. All day. It was obnoxious, but by Thursday, he was better. Distractions and playing with toys definitely helped him too. And over the past week since he hasn't been walking around with a bink in his mouth, he's become a TON more verbal. Just babbling and his babbling is changing. He's pronouncing different sounds that he hasn't pronounced before.  He even started saying a new word!! He now says "Bye!". And he knows when to say it, too. Granted, he says it with a British accent, but he says it nonetheless. He also started saying "Stop it!" He's heard us say it a million times to the dogs, so why wouldn't he pick that phrase up!? When he says it though, it sounds like he's saying "Stupid". It's kind of funny, actually.

Cael finished his first season of soccer 2 weekends ago. This past weekend was soccer Open House, so we went to that as well. Since he seemed to love it so much, and did so well with the program, we signed him up for the summer season. We're going to continue doing Saturday mornings, and his first "practice" is July 13th (which we will be missing, since we'll be on LI). I love watching him kick the ball and participate in all most of the activities. He has so much fun, plus he gets to socialize with kids his age. Fabulous program.

Over the past month, Cael has developed some new obsessions. He LOVES to play video games like his Daddy. Meaning, he'll hand us the XBox controller, whine for the game to be turned on, and sit and stare at the TV while he spins his character around. I guess seeing Matt play a couple times, it's something he likes. It keeps him quiet and occupied, and Matt doesn't let him do it all the time. But Cael will let you know if he wants to play.

He also loves water.  We knew that from his baths, but we've introduced Cael to a few new water areas this past month. We've gone to the pool here in our complex a couple times, and I took Cael to the local splash pad last weekend. He absolutely LOVED it. He'd run through the water sprays like it was nothing, and laugh out loud. And when he's in the pool, he thinks he can swim on his own. We got him a one piece swim suit that has the floaties built in around his body. He does really well with floating, and he loves to jump off the end into the water. He even goes under without a problem. I love that he's a water baby.

This past month, we introduced Cael to peanut butter. No, we didn't get the permission from his doctor (GASP!), but I've seen other moms with toddlers Cael's age giving peanut butter. Plus, we don't have any nut allergies in my family, and only Matt's sister can't have tree nuts. We were on full alert the couple of times we gave it to him, but he did fine with it. He enjoyed it, so I bought him the Ritz snack crackers with pb.

This past Christmas, my older brother and sister-in-law got Cael this really cute, real-metal car. It's the type that he sits on and moves by pushing forward with his legs. He finally figured out how to push himself on it. Granted, he moves slowly because his feet hit the front tires if he goes fast, but he seems to really enjoy the car now. I'm so happy that he figured it out, because now he gets a kick out of pushing himself around the kitchen and living room. It's another toy that he can play with.

I think that's about it for updates regarding Cael. Stay tuned for growth stats and pictures!!

Stats Update:

Length: 36 inches! (95th percentile)
Weight: 27 pounds! (46th percentile)
Head circ: 50.8 cm! (96th percentile!)

So in summary, I have a big-headed beanpole!

20 Months Old!

April 5 - May 4

Not a day goes by that I don't look at Cael in awe. It seems he's doing new things, or things better and better each day. He's using utensils better, getting better balance, understanding things we say more and more, and the list goes on. We also had our first major "separation" last month. I went to Cleveland, OH for a work conference to learn more about how to use the ultrasound machines. I left on a Thursday, and got home late on Sunday. Saying goodbye was harder for me than it was for Cael. He didn't know that he wasn't going to see his Mommy for several days. But Matt did really well with him, and they got a lot of bonding time. Matt sent me pictures daily, of both Cael and him. It definitely made the separation much easier. I learned a lot from the conference, but I couldn't wait to get home to my boys. I had the Monday after I got back off from work, which was nice because I got to spend time with Matt and Cael.

Getting braver and braver! Jumping into Daddy's arms

So, onto some exciting news. Cael is slowly starting to talk! He can say several words now: mama (my favorite), dada, thanks, down, nice, that, this, juice (he JUST said this yesterday, twice), and a few others that I can't remember right now. And he continuously babbles. I'm so happy he's starting to show some progress with talking. I wasn't overly worried, but it was still a concern. I hope he continues to learn and say more words. Honestly, the problem is that Cael is just stubborn. I hate to say it, but he is. He'll say a word without knowing we're paying attention, and then when we ask him to say it again, he get's shy and starts to whine. We know he knows how to say it, but he chooses not to. The little stinker!

In other news, we're officially weaning off the binky. Tonight is the 3rd night he's gone without it, and he didn't even put up a fuss. I'm so proud of him. The first night was rough. I had to soothe him several times after laying him down, and then he was up around midnight. We brought him to bed with us, and ended up giving him a bink. Last night, I only had to soothe him once after laying him down for bed, and he slept through the whole night without waking up! Matt had set a goal to have him completely weaned off the binky by the end of May, and although I was doubtful, I think we may actually succeed. My baby is getting so big.

The boy loves to eat! He's far from being a teenager, yet he certainly eats like one! - Mickey Mouse is a must in this house. He's obsessed! - Utensil-use has been mastered. He will even tap his spoon on the edge of his bowl to get off any excess. Mealtime has also been significantly cleaner! - Cuddles are few and far between anymore, so every.single.one. is cherished. - He will give kisses now if you ask him. It's a 50/50 shot that he'll give you one when you ask, but I'll take those odds over never getting a kiss! - He is a ball of energy, and loves to RUN laps around the apartment, most often pushing his Cars bubble mower around (sans bubbles, of course). - Still no signs of the 2-year molars. - Holy crow, 4 months until our Little Man turns 2!

More to come, if I can remember to update.

My favorite picture!

Constantly on the move!

Saying goodbye for a few days.

Fun with Daddy while Mommy is away

Time for another haircut!

Second haircut was a success! All it took was a lollipop!

This kid kills me!

19 Months Old!

March 5 - April 4

I'm not really sure where to start with this post. The problem is, that I've been so busy, and never have time to update this blog when I want, that I lose track of time. Because of that, it'll be one, two, or three weeks past when I wanted to post it! I hate that.

So where to start. Cael is doing good with soccer every Saturday. He does really well kicking the ball around, and gets along good with the other kids. He gets cranky when we try to do what the Coach has planned, because he wants to just keep running and playing. But other than that, it's going well. I'm so happy we signed him up.

Cael is actually stomping on the bubbles!

We had to miss the 3rd week of soccer (April 6), because both Cael and I were getting over the stomach flu. He actually started throwing up Saturday night of the 2nd week of soccer. He was already in bed, and about 9:30 that Saturday night, we heard him throwing up in the crib. It was everywhere! It was the most disgusting thing we've had to deal with pertaining to Cael. It was all over him, all over the bedding and all over the floor. While Matt cleaned up the puke, I put Cael right in the bath. Needless to say, we spent Easter Sunday comforting Cael and snuggling him. He threw up about 6 times Saturday night, and spent the night in our bed with a pot next to him. Over the course of the next 5 days, Cael developed diarrhea and had a fluctuating fever. By Tuesday, Cael was so lethargic, that he'd stand up, walk a few feet, then lay right down on the floor. I had Matt take him to the doctor that Tuesday, just to make sure he was ok and it wasn't something else going on. They did a finger stick to test his blood, and it wasn't bacterial, so that was good. Over the course of a month (since his last well visit), Cael didn't gain weight. He actually lost weight. But he was sick and not eating, so that's fine. He weighed in at 24 pounds 14 ounces. My poor little munchkin.

Sipping on his new water bottle after soccer

By Friday, I had developed it. I was hoping I had escaped it, but not so much. I had so much nausea and the pit of my stomach was hurting so bad. But I still got up Friday and lugged myself to work. However, I was sent home. Turns out they don't want you there if you're possibly contagious. Lol. I made it back home in perfect time, because as soon as I walked through the door, I had to run and throw up. Fortunately for me, I was better by Monday. I definitely had a fever Friday and Saturday, but I was thankful I didn't have it as long or as bad as Cael.

So now back to Cael. I don't really have any updates on him, because he's not really doing anything new. He's still not talking. But he'll babble your ear off. He continues to understand what we say to him, he just doesn't communicate back. He can now show us where his eyes, mouth, feet, nose and ears are. That in addition to belly, leg, teeth and hair. He's also started giving this new "look". I call it the "furrowed brow" look. Out if nowhere - or if you tell him NOT to do something - he'll lower his head, drop his brows, and purse his lips. It's hilarious, and we can't help but laugh when he does it. We have no idea where he learned this from, because we don't make this face (that I know of, anyway). Toddlers can be so funny.

Finally, we picked up the pictures that we had done for Easter/spring/18 months. I'm so happy with how they came out. We got a whole bunch of prints, and I can't wait to put them in frames and hang them on the walls. I'll do a separate post for them, though. He looks like such a big boy in them, that I can hardly take it.

My sweet angel

Fun at the park!