Barrett - 17 months

Barrett is growing by leaps and bounds. He seems taller to me lately so I'm eager to check his height at his next appointment to see if he really is taller or I'm just imagining. He's firmly in 18 month sizes now (finally!) and some of the 12-18 month stuff is already looking small. We had assumed he'd be on the larger size, so had bought a pretty fair amount of 18 month winter stuff that he never got a chance to wear. Fortunately we can now start wearing the summer stuff and I'm very happy about that!

He continues to be such a friendly little boy and waves hi and bye at everyone, including Payton, even when we're just walking into another room. He is pretty popular at daycare and the little girls are very eager to give him hugs and hold his hand. One in particular is so infatuated with him - she runs to the door squeeling every morning when we come in, gives him huge hugs and is so aggressive with him that sometimes she pulls him down. He can take her or leave her. Ah, girls.

His favorite things continue to be his blanket and stuffed animals (both Baby - which he named himself - and Barney), fans, bubbles, bath books, brushing his teeth, mama's hairbrush, the words Daddy and uh-oh, climbing stairs, Payton, blackberries and raspberries.

His dislikes are: long car trips, vegetables, and getting his hair rinsed

His hair is getting longer and curls a ton now in the humidity (much like his parents). Some people have hinted to me that it's time for another cut, which I am choosing to ignore. I love his little blond curls!

It is so funny to see his personality start to really emerge more and more. I think he mostly has Tim's looks, with my eyes and a few of my expressions mixed in. But I have to admit that he is showing signs of having more of my personality. Uh oh! He makes me laugh because he is so short tempered. I know I won't be laughing about that later, but it's pretty funny now to watch him try a time or two to fit a puzzle piece in and then get frustrated and throw it when he can't do it right away. Gotta confess that that is me. We aim for immediate perfection! He is mildly obsessive, like both his parents. Even when he was just starting to crawl, we noticed that if he wanted something, he wouldn't be distracted from trying to get it and he's still that way. He gets an idea in his head and won't be dissuaded. He is very orderly and an amazing cleaner. If we say it's time to clean up, he picks up those toys or books and puts them away. It's amazing! He also likes to put things in certain spots and stack things a certain way. Do I see a future accountant? Well we know with his genes, it's not like he'll be a star athlete, so might as well stick with the number counting.

He's becoming a bit of a daredevil when it comes to trying to go down slides, running across parking lots and couches, so my anxiety levels are starting to rise!

I say this at every age, but I really do think that this age is one of the best. His big personality is coming out, he is starting to be able to communicate with us and he can play and interact and make us laugh. He is still cuddly and needy of his mama and daddy but isn't so dependent on us as he once was. It's a lot of work to entertain and watch this little tornado, but so much fun to play with him. He's such a character!

14 weeks

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 4 or 5 lbs but I feel like I've gained 15!
Maternity clothes? I finally got out a maternity shirt this week. Last time I was so excited to be in maternity clothes and wore it before I even needed to. Now, knowing how much longer I'll be in it, I'm suffering through tight pants and belly bands to put off the switch!
Stretch marks? None, and hopefully they stay away!
Sleep: okay. I am way more tired at this point than I was last time, so I just don't get enough sleep to make me feel rested. The fatigue is supposed to lessen starting the 2nd trimester but it definitely hasn't for me yet.
Best moment this week: hitting 14 weeks and being in the 2nd trimester. Also, we saw the little one at our Wednesday's appointment and it was thrilling! It looks like a little baby and was a great reminder that no, I'm not just getting fat, there actually is a person growing inside me.
Movement: no, not even close I'm sure. I was nearly 20 weeks with Barrett so I'm thinking it'll be later again.
Food cravings: hmmm... I don't think so
Gender: not known yet. I did have a girl dream last week but I also dreamt that I delivered in just a few hours and went hom the same day, so this was clearly far from realistic. At this week's ultrasound appt, I started getting a premonitiion that it was a boy in there.
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss: Diet Coke, not wearing tight pants, not being out of breath so easily. I can't believe at this stage, I'm already getting out of breath
What I'm looking forward to: feeling the baby move
Weekly wisdom: Don't be a single mom! Tim worked a lot this week and it was really hard doing it all on my own
Milestones: Being in the 2nd trimester

Tidbits

1. Thanks for your recent comments everyone. I managed to get 3 comments on my Atlanta post and I have to say, I love getting comments! A main reason I do this blog is just because it's a good way to journal what is going on in our lives, but also to keep our close friends and family updated on our goings-on so it's always nice to know that people are actually looking at this little thing I do! I love reading other people's blogs but I need to be better about commenting because it is always so nice to hear people's responses.

2. Barrett is officially weaned. That is sad to say, but he's ready. He was down to just one feeding a day anyway for the last few months and in the past 2 weeks he was showing less and less interest until it just finished. It is sad for me to know that this era is over, but I'm happy he was the one to make the decision and I feel incredibly proud that we were able to nurse for as long as we did. It is one of the things I am most proud of in my life, that I stuck with it, during the beginning when I cried in pain nearly every time and it was truly awful and during the 9 months that I worked full-time and had to pump and it sucked. I grew to really enjoy our quiet time together and while I'm sad it's come to an end, I am so proud of us for having done it for 16+ months. That little boy didn't have one single ounce of formula and I love that I can say that!

3. Speaking of his eating, Barrett is the pickiest eater in the world. I am seriously running out of ideas for what to do about it. He wants the same things all the time: yogurt, applesauce, cheerios or muffins, bread with hummus on it and cheese. That's it. He'll sometimes cave and agree to mix it up with some blueberries or strawberries, grilled cheese or rice and beans, but then if I try again a few days later, it all ends up on the floor. I know he's doing okay because he does have a chubby little belly, but I am out of ideas!

I tricked him into eating some sweet potatoes through this recipe: http://weelicious.com/2011/03/16/mini-sweet-potato-muffins/
and I also made these recently: http://weelicious.com/2010/06/17/apple-banana-muffins/. These are nice for breakfast because I can make a bunch of mini muffins and freeze them to thaw for breakfasts.

It drives me crazy to resort to applesauce and cheese every night for dinner as a backup. What do I do? Do I only give him what we're having even though I know he won't eat it, in the hopes that eventually he will once he's starving or should I be satisfied with the fact that at least he's eating something, even if it's the same 5 things all the time?

4. It was such a cold and rainy weekend. After a few days in the 90s last week (loved it!), it was back in the 40s this weekend. I commented to Tim that that added one point to the Atlanta column this weekend!

Barrett's big announcement

Barrett has a secret

That he's been keeping for a while

He is about to tell you now

with a great big happy smile



He won't be the only one for long

Soon there will be another

Because as of mid-November

Barrett will be a big brother!

Mother's Day 2011/Starved Rock

Okay, this post will be mostly pictures, to give you fair warning! We had a terrific Mother's Day last weekend. The weather was finally heating up and we decided to drive down to Starved Rock State Park, about 1.5 hours south of here. I had never been there before but had wanted to go for a long time. There were a bunch of different hiking trails, to different canyons and waterfalls, through the woods and along the Illinois River. We walked for MILES, so were exhausted by the time we were done, but it was a lot of fun.

I wore Barrett on my back in the Ergo for the entire time. Tim tried to wear him but B was NOT a fan of this. I don't know if it's because he wanted to be with me or if it was because Tim is wider and it was harder on his hips or something. You'll see in a few of the below pictures! But I didn't mind wearing him, the ergo is really comfortable so my back was okay the next day.

Atlanta or bust?

Rumors have been swirling at work for a couple years now that eventually our office might move to Atlanta. I haven't been really alarmed about it because our current leases weren't up until summer 2013 and a lot can happen in those few years! Just look at the changes in my life the last few years!

However (cue the ominous music), the official announcement was made this week that our office would be relocating into a gorgeous and very impressive new building in Atlanta July 2013 to merge with our other North America location.

Now cue the stress.

There's a lot to consider. On one hand, Tim and I have often talked about moving south. Each winter seems worse than the previous one and I would love to live somewhere with much more mild winters. There are so many reasons to leave:
1. Milder winters
2. SO much more affordable home prices! I was seriously drooling over some of the homes in our price range. They are my dream homes and are cheaper than our current fixer-uper was! We're talking huge decks, wrap around porches, dozens of full-sized trees on enormous lots, hard wood throughout, upgrade after upgrade - drool, drool, drool. What a change to actually have outdoor living space and to be able to use it!
3. We don't have close family or other major commitments keeping us here.

But on the other hand, my goal was to move closer to my family and Atlanta is much further - 9 hours vs 5 hours. And my other goal is to work less - if I move, I'll be further committed to my job.

There's really a lot to think about. I've been offered a very generous relocation package and there's definitely some appeal in moving. I grew up used to the sight of a moving van in our driveway so I do get a little antsy if I stay in one place for too long. In our current house, I'm closing in on tying the record for the longest I've lived anywhere. Oh and the houses! Have I mentioned they're amazing?

Tim and I have a lot to discuss. He'd obviously have to find another job down there and we'd have to consider our long-term goals and if this would be a step in the direction of where we want our lives to go. Fortunately, we still have a year to think about it before we make a decision.

But in the meantime, here's a sneak preview of some of the houses that are making it very attractive to move on down south. One of these houses was such a beautiful home at such an amazing price that I'm tempted to buy it right now anyway. :)

Parenting 101

Up until now, our parenting choices have been pretty successful, I'd say. Parenting an infant may be mentally exhausting, but relatively easy. Is baby hungry/wet/dirty/tired? Then I guess you have to feed/change/put baby down. Ta-da! That's pretty much all you have to worry about in most cases. If they survive to a year, I think you can give yourself a big pat on the back and call yourself an amazing parent.

But from here on out, things get to be more challenging. I first realized this a few weeks ago when we enrolled Barrett in a class at My Gym. For those of you who don't know, My Gym is a location where they have all kinds of activities for the kids - slides, swings, a ball pit, trampoline, etc and the kids spend the hour doing a mixture of group activities with the instructors and playing on their own. Surprisingly our little social butterfly was a bit shy and timid at the class. The time came each class for a group activity, sitting in a circle and singing or playing a game together. All the other kids seemed to do so well in participating along with the teacher. But Barrett wasn't so interested in sitting and listening and squirmed away to trot off to explore a different area.

I looked at Tim - "what are we supposed to do?" And my great co-parent, my parenting partner, my backup, just looked at me and shrugged. I want Barrett to have fun, which is the entire point of us doing this class and if he sees something else that catches his interest, I don't want to force him to sit there, have him cry, and basically take all the fun out of the class. But at the same time, he needs to learn to follow instructions and sit quietly and participate with the other kids. What to do?

In the end, we let him go off and go explore on his own. I figure that the most important thing at this particular event was for him to have a good time. Was this the right thing to do? I don't know. I am scared that from here on out, our parenting decisions are only going to get harder and harder!