Tony's 2yr old personality!

My 2 year old is still small enough to bathe in the kitchen sink! I only do it because he asks so nicely "bath in sink!" well he isn't really asking, but more or less telling me that is what he wants. How can I say no to this cute face? I also used this picture to enter him in the Regis and Kelly Beautiful baby contest. The voting starts March 1, so don't forget to go vote for him.When we were in Cabo he loved the beach. He'd say "beach" relentlessly until I agreed to take him. He wasn't fond of the ocean so we played in the sand a good ways from the water, and he would tell me to go get water in his bucket and bring it back to him, only to have him dump it immediately and say "more water!"
The pool was fun, of course who wouldn't love a pool that was 92 degrees? I'm thinking swimming lessons at the Y might be a good idea.
I rarely get a good shot of him, he tends to turn away from the camera now days, but this time I think it worked to my advantage. I love this picture.
Reading is one of his favorite things to do. He tends to pick the same ones and read them to death though. We have a book case with about 75 books and we read the same 10 over and over again. In this picture he is reading with his cousin Taylor.

This picture cracks me up, because he is wearing his dad's shoes, on the wrong feet, eating ice cream in his pj's. That ice cream I swear was spiked with something, cause he did not sleep well that night, up laughing and playing in bed with Grandma until the wee hours of the morning. Finally Mom and Dad had to step in and MAKE him go to sleep, he put up the biggest fight I've ever seen, demanding various things to distract us. Finally around 2 am he fell asleep. That was our last night in Cabo.
He became fast friends with his cousin Taylor, who conveniently lives just down the road from us. I see many play dates in our future. Although he did start to hit and push her a bit, so he will have to outgrow that or she wont want to come around him.
He loves his little sister Bella. He likes to try to pick her up and lay on top of her. Most the time she is a good sport about it, so long as she doesn't get hurt.
Here is Tony "going to the side". His Aunties taught him this, all you have to do is say, "Tony, go to the side" and he starts walking sideways. It always makes us laugh.
Again, refusing to look at the camera. He does it on purpose too, he's a very smart boy and he likes to play games.
Eating breakfast in the window in his favorite pj's.
Other things about Tony that I don't want to forget.

He talks in almost complete sentences now, minus the occasional pronoun, or adverb.

He refers to himself in the third person, which is so funny. Today he told me "Tony drive" when we were getting in the car. While we were in Mexico we didn't have a car seat for him, so now that we are back, he puts up a fight every time we go somewhere.

I do believe he now understands everything, well 90% of what I tell him. Yesterday we were at the store and I said we were going home to eat lunch and then take a nap. So I asked him what he wanted for lunch. I mentioned about 10 different things, pizza, grilled cheese, nutella, yogurt, peanuts etc. everything was answered with an affirmative "NO!" so then I started offering him things I knew he couldn't say no to; chocolate cake, ice cream and still "NO!" So then I said, "okay then, I guess we wont eat lunch and just go to bed for a nap" he replied with "cereal." Now that's what I call a smart boy. I think he honestly thought if he skipped the lunch we'd never get to the nap, since I said, lunch and then nap.

He finally eats better, to say good would be a stretch, but there are a few more things he will eat now, like peanut butter, scrambled eggs, and grilled cheese. The sweet tooth is still strong as ever, and chocolate cake is at the top of his list. He was just shy of 24 pounds at his 2 yr check up, putting him in the 8th %.

He likes to tell us what to do. Mama sit. Dada wake up. Mama come here. Mama don't do that. Bella No. Brewster No.

He also likes to tell us what he wants to do: See KK (aka his cousin Kristen), ride penny horse, go grandma. And he is persistent too. I think he got his stubbornness from his dad. Mama watch Barny on Farm.

Speaking of Barny, here is Tony watching it in the El Paso airport which we were stuck in for several hours.

And yes that would be Todd and Tony playing on the airport floor! Yes, we were that sleep deprived and frustrated to even care that it was an airport floor.



And last but not least, his famous words are "Too tight" and that is his response to ANYTHING he doesn't want to do, eat, or wear.

Patio, Kids, and Brewster News

Earlier this summer I had it so good with coordinating kid naps, I could almost always get a couple hours of quiet time to myself each day. Now it seems they alternate so that one is always sleeping, or both are awake, but very rarely both sleeping. This makes it hard to get anything done at home or out of the house. Oh well, it is what it is... I'm sure in a few weeks the routine will change again, and if not, at least I know that farm season is coming to an end and Todd will be home more to help out with the kids. I am so looking forward to that, it's been a long summer.

The patio is almost complete, the only think lacking is one set of stairs and half of the floor. My dad flies back home to Oklahoma in 13 days, so lets hope the weather cooperates so he can get it all done. This has been what seems like a never ending project, and it is so good (especially for our pocket book) to finally see it coming to an end. I'm looking forward to being able to use it next summer. I think we will be spending a lot of time out there if Tony's love for being outside is still as strong as it is now. Bella will be running around too, so the two of them will have a grand time playing in the yard, while I sit on the patio relaxing.

Bella hit a milestone today, she finally rolled over. We were playing in the basement she was on her back on her play mat, I ran upstairs to get my phone, and when I came back she was on her tummy! I am so mad I missed it. But then shortly after that she rolled onto her back again, so she has officially rolled both ways. All in the same day. (See Rach, I told you she would do it when she's good and ready.)

Tony's vocabulary has exploded, he says so many words, I can't even begin to list all of them, and he repeats everything you say, it is so cute (most of the time). He is also starting to put words together like, Where'd it go?, up high, down low, let's go and Fruit Snacks! I just love listening to him talk, he has the cutest little voice. He is learning the meaning to words too. He knows book, milk, money, NO, hot, poop, Barney, Elmo, sister, car, truck, tractor, and the list goes on and on. He also loves to read books, he has his favorites, and we read them over and over and over and he never seems to tire of the same book (unlike me).

Buying fall clothes for the kids has become a challenge, Tony is 22 pounds, so weight wise he should be wearing 12-18 month clothes, but height wise he needs 18-24, Bella has the opposite problem, if they fit her in the waist/thighs they are too long. Poor kids, they are going to look like a bunch of ragamuffins this Fall.

Our dog Brewster went to the groomer the other day, and we were informed that he has fleas, and not just a few, but the second worse case the groomer has seen all summer! Now that is embarrassing, I didn't even know he had them, I never see him scratching. I used to be so good at putting the flee drops on him, but I guess I got a little lax about it this summer. So basically the groomer advised I flea bomb my house! Oh joy. I don't think my house was infested, but then again I didn't think the dog was either, so I figured better safe than sorry. You have to leave the house for 2 hours, and then vacuum, mop and clean all counter surfaces! I don't think I'll ever forget to medicate my dog again for fleas, that was a huge inconvenience, not to mention expensive. Thank goodness I kicked him out of my bed a few months ago!

Okay, now for some pictures....

These are the steps still needing to be built...
Just this half of the floor left to do.


The half of the floor that is done.
Brewster all cleaned up. I felt so guilty about neglecting him this summer, I bought him a new bed.



He discovered the Ice/Water feature on the fridge.
That would be a block of white chocolate in his mouth! He didn't eat it, he just carried it around the house in his mouth all day.
Trying to get into bed to play with Bella. I let him do it once and he fell out on his head, so no more of that, but he still always wants in.
Working with "Boppy" on the patio scratching out joints.

Giving Bella a "kiss"

That's all for now.

Tony says...

18 months is coming up and there are so many things Anthony can say and do now. So this week I am going to be blogging about all these things that I will want to remember about him when he was 18 months. I will keep adding to this list all week, so hopefully by the time he is actually 18 months (June 7), I will have it all down for later when my memory fails me years from now.

Words he can say

• Rabbit

• Cookie - Imagine that, the first food my son can ask for. I am certainly not surprised, although I thought it would be chocolate.

• Car - first word other than mama and dada
  

• mama
  

• dada
  

• baby

• bucket

• I love you - which sounds like "iovou" but I know what he means.

• uh-oh

• ga-ga (we have no idea what this means, but he says it a lot)

Sounds he can make

• sheep - baa

• pig - hga hga
  

• monkey - ee ee

• tractor - brm brm

• cow - moooooo

Chores - yes I am starting him early with these

• phone fetcher - Whenever my phone starts ringing he starts looking for it, and brings it to me.

• diaper thrower-awayer - he used to do this when I would ask him too, now he does it without being asked, if he sees one laying around he will throw it in the trash. He is turning into a great little helper.

35, 36, 37 and 15

My lack of blogging is not because I've had the baby, it's because I'm still very pregnant. Every day I get more and more tired, I find myself waking up and counting the hours til nap time. Sometimes I think I need the nap more out of habit than anything else, I don't always feel tired, but I fear if I don't take it when I have the chance, I will regret it later. This is why I have been slacking with the blog lately. But today I am sacrificing my precious nap to give everyone an update on what's going on.

At 35 Weeks I had the fibroid that decided to degenerate and start causing all kinds of pain.
At 36 weeks I had a day of contractions that lasted all day long, making me think I was in labor. I had seen my doctor that day and she said I was 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced so with the frequent contractions I was having, she strongly advised us to cancel our weekend getaway plans. I wouldn't have minded canceling the plans had we ended up having a baby that weekend, but the contractions only lasted another 10 hours and then stopped sometime during the night. Luckily I never went in to the hospital, I kept waiting till it was really really bad before I went in, not wanting to be sent home later if it turned out to be false labor.
The 37th week has so far been uneventful for the most part, no contractions, and no more fibroid pain. I still think this pregnancy is harder, or else I just forget how bad it is in the end. My stomach must be smashed by the baby because I can't eat much without really bad heartburn. I guess the good in that is that I lost 4 pounds instead of gaining 4 pounds the past 2 weeks. Which I look at as 4 less pounds to have to lose after the baby is born! So now I am 8 pounds lighter and my stomach is 1 inch smaller than the day I had Anthony. Of course I still have 2 1/2 more weeks to go, so a lot can happen.
I cut a few of my 12 hour shifts at the busier ER down to 8 hour shifts which helps a lot, but I still have to do 12 hour night shifts at the other easier ER. I have 6 more shifts scheduled before the baby is due.
My mom plans to come up right away this time when I have the baby to help out, and it isn't convenient for her until my due date, and my sister Rachael and her family are going to FL for spring break next week and the doctor who is supposed to deliver Isabella will also be out for spring break, so everyone would like this baby to wait until she is due to be born. I must say it was really nice having my sister with me in the hospital room when I had Anthony. Anytime I needed something I got it, I didn't have to wait for the nurse to call the doctor, my sister pretty much gave all the orders. Plus I'm pretty sure it got me a little extra attention from my nurse and the best l&d room and post partum room too. But, if Isabella wants to be born when everyone is gone, I wont complain, cause I am so tired of being pregnant!!

And now for something about my other baby...
Tony had his 15 month check up today, weighing in at 20 pounds 8 ounces (he only gained 10 ounces in the past 3 months) he has fallen to the 5th percentile, but still 50th percentile for height. The doctor isn't worried, says he looks and acts healthy, so I guess I'm not worried either. He got another round of shots today, and I think Tony has finally figured out that going to the doctor is not a fun thing despite the really fun toys in the waiting room.
He is walking a lot more these days, later today I will try to capture it on video and post it. He is still a bit wobbly and it's pretty cute to see. As far as talking, he says 3 words that we can understand, and maybe a few more than we don't. I suppose if we took the pacifier away from him he'd talk more, but really I'm not ready for that.

Okay, I must cut this short cause I'm starting to panic about missing out on my nap. Later today I will put some pictures up of Anthony and a video of him walking.

A few pictures to share

I got my computer back and it is as good as new. It definitely had a virus, the hard drive had to be erased and rebuilt. While I had it being fixed I had them back up all my files on an external hard drive, so I don't have to worry about losing my pictures. I think the virus had been brewing for a while because I had noticed how slow it was, but thought it was my internet provider, not my computer. Now that it is virus free, it is so fast.

So now that I have my computer back, I thought I'd share a few pictures... Here is Tony in his wagon he got for his birthday. He loves it, I think we may just keep it in the basement forever. He likes to put toys in it, and then climb inside and play with them. He has a little trouble getting in because it's a bit taller than him, he sort of just bends over it at the waist and the top half of him falls in and then he pulls his legs over the sides. Very entertaining to watch.
My friend Lynette came over for a visit the other day. She had Tony cracking up.He has mastered the stairs now, he can go up and down them quite well now. He likes to go to the basement and play with his toys.
He loves to help me do the dishes. Actually I think he just likes to just climb into the dishwasher. I'm not sure what the weight limit is on the door, but it seems to hold 20 pounds.

Last week he got another haircut. Such a cutie. We couldn't resist taking pictures again. The poor girl who cut his hair is probably wondering if we are going to do that every time. He was pretty well behaved until she brought out the clippers to trim the sides and then he got mad and started screaming. She won him over in the end with a ring pop which he put in his mouth and refused to take out until it was completely gone. I think next time we will give him the ring pop during the haircut, instead of after.


On Sunday my sister Francie and Todd and I took Tony to the beach to get some pictures. Todd was not impressed with our idea, but he came along to make sure we didn't do anything stupid. I think he thought we might walk out on the frozen lake or something. This picture Francie took through and ice ring. Looks pretty cool huh?




And for the grand finale..... take a look at who's testing out his walking legs. He has been taking a few steps here and there for about 5 days now. I've tried really hard to capture it on video but that has proven to be very difficult. This is not the greatest video, but it gives you the idea.

Making progress (13 month update)

Anthony at 13 months This post may be boring to some, but I'm writing this mostly for my own benefit. I'm afraid I might forget these things if I don't write them down somewhere, so the blog it is. If you don't want to read it at least scroll to the end for some cute pictures.

EATING

Anthony is getting better and better every day at the whole eating thing. His really likes nutrigrain bars which are surprisingly healthy, they even have fiber and real fruit filling (so they say). Sadly he gets about 2-3 bars a day, cause it's a sure bet he'll eat it and sometimes (most-times) I take the easy route. Fruit and yogurt are pretty safe bets too.
PB&J's, Noodles, and mac and cheese are iffy still, but occasionally he'll eat them, just depends on his mood. Gold fish and crackers are immediately thrown on the floor for Brewster who is always hanging out by the high chair at meal time eagerly waiting to catch any dropped/thrown food.
He is also starting to let me mix his bottles half and half with milk and formula. Every once in a while he will drink straight milk, but most times I still have to mix it, and it still has to be in a bottle. He refuses to drink milk out of a sippy cup. However he will drink juice just fine out of a sippy cup.
His all time favorite food is ice cream. He will never refuse it and if he sees you eating it he will ask for it by smacking his lips at you. Tonight we went to a Notre Dame basketball game with Anthony and he was on my lap looking at the people behind me. Pretty soon he started trying to climb over my shoulder to get to them. I turned around to see what was causing him to want to go to a stranger. Turns out these guys were eating ice cream. Anthony was trying so hard to get to them, then he started smacking his lips and spit the pacifier out. He was making such a scene, everyone was laughing. The guy started to feel bad, he even said he wished he had another spoon so he could share. Finally Anthony started crying he wanted it so bad, so we had to send Grandpa to the concession stand to buy him his own, and then he was happy again.

PLAYING

Anthony plays so well these days. He is getting smarter with the toys and knows what to do with them. It's fun to watch him figure stuff out. He is also a lot better at playing by himself, which is really nice for us. Not that we don't like playing with him, but it's nice to see him entertaining himself once in a while.

SLEEPING

Still not sleeping through the night every night. Usually about 50% of the time he wakes up around 4am for a bottle. The rest of the time he sleeps right through till morning. Bedtime is usually around 8pm and his wake up time is anywhere from 7:30-9am depending on my luck.

NAPPING

He still takes 2 naps a day most days, but I think he is getting closer to just needing/wanting 1 nap a day. Mommy and Daddy still desperately want him taking 2 naps a day, but usually it just ends up making bedtime more difficult if he gets that second nap. So now days we usually only give him the second nap if the first one was really short or if we plan on keeping him up later that night.

WALKING

Not happening yet, but we're not worried. He walks holding on to stuff, and can climb on the furniture without much difficulty. He is just starting to let go while standing to see if he will fall or not. He usually quickly sits down shortly after letting go, but this testing out his balance is new, and a sign of progress I'm sure.

TALKING

He has been saying ma-ma-ma-ma-ma and da-da-da-da-da for a while now, but I think he is finally starting to use them in the correct context. This morning when he woke up I went in his room and he said "ma-ma". It made my day, he is just so sweet. We think he is also saying ball, but it sounds more like "ba". He says it when he's playing with balls so we just asume that's what he is trying to say.

And now for a few pictures...

Here he is walking around with the cleaning ladys bucket on wheels.

He loves Brewster, unfortunately the feeling isn't mutual and usually Brewster runs away from him. Which is probably just as well. Little dogs don't have the best track record with little kids.

Here he is playing with his new play tent we got him for his birthday. He really loves it, and even though I thought it was a little pricey when we got it, it's turning out to be worth every dollar, cause he plays with it every day.

Oh and one more thing, he has 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom.

Into Everything

Okay, so I think I said before that my house is baby proof for the most part. Well turns out that for the most part it's NOT that baby proof at all. How naive of me to think that putting a few picture frames and nick-knacks out of his reach and putting up a few baby gates would suffice. Guess where he wanted to play and explore yesterday? And there was no redirecting him to more appropriate things to play with. He was insistent that this is where he wanted to be.


I guess it's time for some more baby proofing. I really don't want to have to screw those plastic latches on all my cupboards and drawers, so if any moms out there that have any better ideas please let me know. In the mean time, I have found a new higher place to keep my cleaning supplies.