Growing Baby 2- 25 Weeks

We were 25 weeks on July 13. Baby M, I'm really on the ball with these blog posts.

You are moving more and more these days. Or at least I'm noticing it more, which must mean you're getting bigger! You keep me awake all night long, which I hope isn't an indication of how you will be once you're here! Although I'm not sure that anyone could be worse than your brother when it comes to sleeping.

Growing Baby 2- 18 Weeks!

We are 18 weeks this week! That means only 2 more weeks and we will be halfway through this pregnancy. That seems so crazy. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was sick all day, every day?

There's not much to report. Aside from being so sick earlier on, this pregnancy has been pretty uneventful. Half the time I forget I'm even pregnant. I'm looking forward to figuring out what I want to do with his nursery (and finishing Sawyer's big boy room!), finalizing his name, and hopefully feeling him move some more. I felt a few tiny little kicks this week, but that's been it.

Growing Baby 2- 17 Weeks!

Last week was insane, so I'm writing this post a whole week late. In case you missed it, this little baby is a BOY!

We are super excited to add another little man to our family. It's been fun to think about whether or not he will look and act like Sawyer. I know that Sawyer will have so much fun having a little brother to play with! If you ask him if he's having a brother he says, "No, just a baby!"

We had our gender reveal party the day before mother's day and let's just say that just because something looks cute on Pinterest, doesn't mean it will work! I saw an idea to fill balloons with white paint and tell everyone that one balloon has pink or blue in it. Everyone takes turns popping them and then when they're all finished (and confused, because none actually had a color), you bring out the balloon with the color and pop it. Super cute in theory, right? Except my balloons kept falling off the board and popping in the grass. And I also bought safety darts by mistake, so they didn't work and everyone ended up covered in paint. Good thing I had a backup balloon filled with confetti for Sawyer to pop! I made this video to recap, but left out the Pinterest fail part!

https://www.vimeo.com/217339220

We're so thankful for everyone who came out to celebrate with us and we are so excited about this little boy! Now to finalize his name! We're pretty sure we have one, but it's not set in stone.

Growing Baby 2- Fifteen Weeks!

I managed to take this picture on Thursday, when I hit 15 weeks, but am just now getting the chance to sit down and write. It's a rare moment in this house when everyone else is still asleep and I get to sit down for just a minute by myself. I know those moments will be even fewer once this baby is here, but I'm ok with that.

I think these early weeks are pretty uneventful. Now that I'm feeling better, there isn't much to report. My OB warned me that the aches and pains would start sooner this time around and he was right. I started seeing the chiropractor toward the end of my second trimester with Sawyer, but I think I'm going to have to go a lot sooner this time around. The tailbone pain is insane.

In much more exciting news, we only have a few more days to wait until we know if this baby is a boy or girl! I love the idea of having a daughter and all the tutus and hairbows that come with it, but I also love the idea of Sawyer having a brother (and getting to reuse all of his super cute baby clothes!). We obviously don't care either way, but it will just be so nice to finally know! I'm a planner and I hate waiting and I'm definitely ready to pick a name and plan a nursery! I'm also excited to celebrate with our loved ones at our gender reveal. I know that some people knock them, but it's just a fun way to get to learn a little something extra about this little one!

I've been feeling a little guilty lately because half the time I forget I'm pregnant and I don't think I'm spending as much time focusing on this baby as I did with Sawyer, but with an energetic toddler running around there's not much I can do about it. But I can assure you sweet little one, that we are so incredibly excited for you and cannot wait until you are here!

Sawyer Penn- 2 Years Old!

Little Man- How are you 2 years old already? It feels like it was just yesterday that you were born but at the same time, it feels like you have always been here. It is such an immense joy to watch you learn and grow, but oh how I wish time would slow down just a little bit.

This time 2 years ago, your daddy and I were headed to the hospital but at the time we didn't know that I was in labor. Once we got to the hospital we quickly realized that we wouldn't be going home alone! We were so nervous, excited, and terrified all at once. Meeting you has been the single-most life changing event of my entire life. You are just everything, Sawyer.

You are so smart and opinionated, and you are by far the funniest person I have ever met. Every day with you brings us something new. You have a pretty big temper, but you are also so incredibly sweet. Even in the moments that you are wearing me out and making me crazy, I couldn't love you more if I tried.

We had our family pictures/2 year birthday pictures last week and of course you didn't cooperate. Pretty fitting, considering that you screamed through your whole newborn photoshoot and refused to smile during your first birthday photos, as well.

Your imagination has really taken off the past few weeks. You love to cook me food in your kitchen, you love playing with your little Daniel Tiger dolls, and your train table is still one of your favorite things. You LOVE standing at the window watching for school buses and trash trucks. You're also crazy about fire trucks, bull dozers, police cars, and any other big truck. When you get excited, your eyes get really big and your voice goes deep and you'll say "FIRE TRUCK!" You love reading books, playing with stamps & ink, wrestling, Lighting McQueen and Tow-Mater, driving your daddy's car, and going to dance class. You love standing on a chair at the counter and helping me cook.

Your favorite foods are Indian food (korma and samosas are your favorite), strawberries, guacamole, cooked carrots, and yogurt with bananas and peanut butter. You love listening to Blake Shelton and Run Baby Run by Caspar Babypants. You've gotten better at sleeping, but you're still pretty bad at it. You're still nursing, and it makes my heart full and makes me a little crazy all at the same time. You love for me to sing "Making Something is One Way to Say I Love You" (from Daniel Tiger) each night when I nurse you to sleep.

Writing these updates is a little hard because I want to remember and write down every little detail about you. I want to remember how you say "Saw Penn Cross" when I ask you what your "big name" is. How you say "Fwee!" (3) when I ask you how old you'll be. I want to remember that you say, "Tanks, mama!" for any and every little thing, that you refuse to let me take your shoes off unless you do an arabesque at the same time, and that after every kiss you give, you also have to rub noses and say "Ugga Mugga" (again, from Daniel Tiger). I want to remember that when I ask you how much I love you, you hold your arms out and say, "Dis much!"

Little Man, I hope you know how much we love you. We are so lucky that we were chosen to be yours! My wishes for you are simple. I want you to be happy. I want you to know that we love you exactly as you are, no matter what. I want you to stand up for those who can't do it themselves, sit with those who are alone, and give to those who need it. And I know you will, because you are the good in this world. Happy Birthday, sweet baby. I love you so so very much.

A Long Needed Update.

I've been meaning to write an update for ages, but we have been nothing but busy lately. Sawyer will be 2 in a little less than a month and he has grown by leaps and bounds since my last update.

We have had such a fun summer! It's crazy to think that last summer he wasn't even standing on his own. Now he's all over the place! We spent a ton of time at the splash pad, swimming in our pool, the Children's Garden, and doing walks with Hike It Baby. He LOVES watching the trains at the Children's Garden, feeding the ducks at Joseph Beth, and loves playing in any kind of water; those are definitely his favorite things.

His vocabulary has exploded this summer. It's so much fun to watch him learn new words and put them together. Some of the cutest ones are "Saw do," (He can say Sawyer, but if it's in a sentence he calls himself Saw), "What do?" (What are you doing?), "I deeeeeeed," (I did). He has the cutest habit of grabbing my hand and saying, "Come me, Mama!" when he wants me to go somewhere with him. He also says "bitches and doowah," which means biscuits and jelly. It's especially hilarious when he starts yelling it out at Cracker Barrel. His absolute favorite word to say is "butthole," unfortunately. We told him not to touch the cat's and ever since then he says it all the time. It's completely my fault, because I die laughing every time which only encourages him.

He is so smart and is picking things up so quickly. He knows all his colors, he knows quite a few shapes (circle, square, diamond, rectangle, oval, heart, triangle, and star), and knows a lot of his letters (still working on ABCs and numbers). He loves coming with me to dance class and has learned plie, arabesque, passe, and tendu, which makes this dance teacher super proud! We are working on potty training and it's going pretty well. We still have a ways to go, but we'll get there!

His imagination has started taking off recently. He loves to cook food for me in his play kitchen. He'll bring me something he made and say, "It's hot, mama," and then he'll blow it off for me. He also has a baby doll that he rocks and puts to bed. He'll make a crying sound and bring the baby to me so that I can make it better. He also pretends that random things are wands and says, "Stupefy" and "Lumos." <--- Parenting win, right there folks.

He loves loves LOVES trash trucks, school buses, fire trucks, and dump trucks. Pretty much if it is big and has wheels, he loves it. He spends all morning staring out the big window behind the couch waving at the school buses and trash trucks. It just doesn't get old for him. I love seeing how excited he gets, but there have been a few meltdowns when he hears them coming and can't get to the window in time. Cue me, running like a crazy person through the house to get him there.

This summer also brought some wonderful new friends into both our lives. It is so nice to have found a group of mamas that I really connect with and love. And their sweet kiddos are just as great. Sawyer loves his friends. He'll say, "My fwens, mama!" He really loves two little boys named Jonah and Desmond. He calls them "Jowah and My Des." He also has a crush on a sweet little girl named Marylynn. Love Love Love it.

Being a SAHM can be isolating and exhausting, but these mamas have definitely changed that for me. I love our little group of friends!

It's so strange that in a few short weeks I'll be writing an update for my TWO year old. Where oh where does the time go??

17 months!

I have a 17 month old. That's one month away from being 1.5 years old!

My little man is not so little anymore and he is continually surprising me. He is so smart! He picks up new words every day and has started to put a few together. He'll say "All done," "All gone," and "bubbles, please." And as of a few hours ago, "Love you!" He has also started saying his name, which is adorable. He only says the first syllable, though.

When we're at home, he's a total wild man. Talking, running, jumping, and playing. When we're out, he's still incredibly shy and likes to stay close to me. We're working on it! He loves going to dance class with me. He's picking up more and more with each class, which makes this dance mama very proud!

We went to New York City a few weeks ago with my mom. He did so well on the airplane! I highly recommend making a snack tray out of a tackle box and hitting up the dollar tree or Target dollar spot for some goodies. He did pretty well throughout the whole trip, although he was even more attached to me than usual. I'm sure it's because he was in an unfamiliar place.

While we were there we visited Central Park (and the zoo), the American Museum of Natural History, the Children's Museum of Manhattan, the 9/11 memorial, and ate tons of good food! Sawyer's favorite by far was the dinosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum. We didn't get to really see any other exhibits because he was so in awe of the dinos! We probably stayed in there for an hour. He ran from dinosaur to dinosaur, yelling out "Roar!" and "Big!" It's so much fun to watch him discover things and to see him so happy. We did get to go to the jungle room to see the tigers and we saw the big blue whale for all of two seconds before he started crying for more dinosaurs.

I took him to Strawberry Fields to the Imagine memorial. There was a man there playing guitar and Sawyer entertained everyone by dancing and shaking his booty. He LOVES music and listening to anyone play the guitar. He really loves the Beatles and Blake Shelton, which cracks me up.

The food was incredible- Little man was in heaven! He had shrimp pad thai, dumplings, empanadas, street pretzels, and so much more. I'm so happy that he loves food so much!

Now that it's starting to warm up some we've been spending a lot of time outside. It's so much fun now that he's mobile. He loves going to the park and going down the slide. He's not a big fan of the swings, though. He loves his push car and cozy coupe, but he would rather push them around than sit in them and ride.

His favorite toys right now are balls and trucks. He loves Daniel Tiger and the Elmo tooth brushing song. He will kiss our cheeks and say, "happy." He still loves to bring us books, climb in our laps, and listen to us read. His favorite books right now are (still) Little Blue Truck, It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse, and The Pout Pout Fish. He loves dinosaurs, bubbles, dogs, and crayons. He doesn't color much with the crayons. He mostly likes to just carry them around.

He can say "purple" and "blue" and can tell you which one is which most of the time. He has this habit of sticking his belly out and walking around, which is hilarious. If you ask him what he does when he's sad, he will poke his bottom lip out and pout. He likes to poke his belly and say "beep!" If you tell him to go to sleep he will lie down and make pretend snoring sounds.

We bought him a potty a few weeks ago because he started telling us when he needed to go. We aren't pushing it- but so far he has peed on the potty 3 times!

He is changing and growing so fast and I already find myself forgetting all the things that he does.

Sawyer, you are without a doubt the funniest and sweetest person I know. Even when you're driving me crazy, I just want to eat to you up. I love you so much, little man!

15-16 Months!

Sawyer is almost 16 months old and the past few months have been so much fun.

He is all over the place- running, walking, dancing. He doesn't really climb much, but I'm sure that's not far off. This has probably been one of my favorite ages so far. He's learning new things so much faster than he used to. I feel like he's picking up new words every day. Feel free to skip, but I want to list these out so I don't forget them.

Current Words:

mama, dada, cat, dog, fish, meow, woof, quack, no, yes, cup, poop, truck, switch (which he says when he wants to switch sides while nursing), bubble, cookie, please, shoes, that, hat, apple, nana (banana), roar, vroom, beep, tap, trash, and cheese.

He knows where his hair, eyes, nose, toes, belly, ears, and mouth are. He can make the signs for milk, drink, and more. He knows what sounds the dog, cat, monkey, duck, chicken, and dinosaur make. He will flap his "wings" like a chicken, which is hilarious.

I bought him his first pair of ballet shoes. They are so stinking cute. If I ask him to dance, he will either tap his toes, twirl around, or shake his booty. I love bringing him to the studio with me because he's started imitating all of the other dancers. I hope he ends up loving dance as much as I do!

Some of his favorite things at the moment are his Chuck trucks, watercolor paints and crayons, bubbles, music (he's still obsessed with David's guitar), and those tiny disposable paper cups that you use for brushing your teeth. Kiddo is obsessed with those cups! It's the weirdest thing. He also loves helping- He likes to turn the lights off for me, shut doors, throw things in the trash, feed the cats, and put things away.

He is still an awful sleeper. Will there ever be a time when he isn't?? He is now letting me actually put him in his crib for naps (most of the time). After 14 months of holding him for every single nap, it feels pretty amazing! His schedule is crazy right now. I thought he was trying to drop one of his naps, but now it's like he's changed his mind. He still wakes up anywhere from 3-8 times a night. He'll get it eventually. I hope.

He is still nursing and I am so proud of the fact that we have made it this long! I look back on those days before his tongue and lip tie revision and I have no idea how we stuck it out like we did. I'm so so grateful we found someone to finally diagnose and treat him!

He is still a great eater. Some of his favorites at the moment are: fish, curry, bananas, guacamole, broccoli, and parmesan cheese. I made the mistake of giving him a Girl Scout cookie the other day and now he points to the pantry all the time and says, "Cookie, pwease." So hard to say no to that!

He has a temper, for sure. He has started hitting, which I know is a phase they all go through. I still don't like it though. He will also throw himself back on the floor if he gets mad. It's so hard to keep a straight face when I tell him no because he looks ridiculous.

I have no idea how I got lucky enough to be the mama to this sweet, funny, smart, beautiful, wild little man! You are everything, Sawyer Penn, and mama loves you so!

A Little Update

I stopped doing monthly updates and chalkboard pictures once Sawyer turned one, but I thought I would write a little update.

Little man is 14 months old and is finally walking. He definitely took his time. He'd take a few steps here or there if we made him, but he didn't really start walking on his own until he was almost 13.5 months. He's into everything now!

He can wink (with both eyes, which is the cutest thing ever), wave, clap, blow kisses, put his finger to his lips and say "shh." He knows where his hair, toes, and mouth are, and will give you a hug and pat you on the back. He blows raspberries on David's belly. He knows which of our cats is which. He will say "la la la" if you ask him to sing. He says dog, woof, cat, meow, hot, truck, yes, that, vroom, go, Elmo, mama, dada. One of his favorite things to do is to point at everything and ask, "That?"

He has 10 teeth that are completely in and, because the universe hates us, is cutting all the rest of his teeth AT ONCE. His last 2 molars and all 4 canines are starting to poke through. His mouth is a swollen mess and I want to curl up and cry. lol At least once these are through then that will be it until his 2 year molars come in. Which, given our teething track record, will be tomorrow.

He is still the worst sleeper on the planet. On a good (ha!) night he will wake up every 1-2 hours, but recently he's been up every 30-45 minutes because his mouth hurts. I know people mean well, but every time someone asks me how he's sleeping, I want to punch a kitten. Hopefully he'll figure it out one day. If not, I guess he'll be the only college student whose mom rocks him to sleep at night. ;)

Kiddo is a champion eater and I think I'm more proud of this than anything. His favorites right now are broccoli, avocado, frozen blueberries, mandarin oranges, veggie sticks, "pancakes" (banana, egg, & peanut butter), and bananas. He loves smoothies and water (We don't give him juice. There's really no need for it at his age.). I have been given many eye rolls and snide remarks in regard to what I feed Sawyer (which I just brush off), but he will eat anything (besides pickles! Whose kid is this??). I don't judge other mamas for what they feed their kids, so please don't judge me for what I feed or don't feed mine. I do on occasion give him treats (pizza, graham crackers, Oreos, and some of my Christmas cookies), but for the most part he eats what we eat. It's been so much fun to cook for him and watch him discover new foods and tastes. I really hope he keeps it up and doesn't turn into a picky toddler!

He got his first hair cut a couple weeks ago but he is still rocking some serious bangs. Kiddo needs a headband, stat.

We're still going strong with nursing and considering all our trouble we had in the beginning, I'm super proud and thankful! No plans to stop anytime soon!

Some of his favorite things right now are: Elmo, Christmas trees & lights, his train table, chasing me around and trying to catch me, helping me put the clothes in the dryer, going for walks in his push car, his trucks, bath time, dogs (we don't have one, but kiddo is obsessed), and reading Little Blue Truck over and over again.

I have no idea how he is 14 months old. It's been an exhausting whirlwind of no sleep and too little coffee, but man oh man is he worth it. I wish I could bottle up his smell, his belly laugh, and his sense of wonder, so that I can take them out years from now and just remember. I look back on his baby pictures and I feel as thought I've already forgotten so much. It's such a catch 22. I LOVE watching him learn and discover new things and I have a list a mile long of things I can't wait to do with him. But at the same time, I just want him to stop. He doesn't look like a baby anymore (when did that happen?? The day he turned 1??). His chubby cheeks are gone and now he looks like a little boy. I can't even shop in the baby section anymore. I have to go to the toddler section. What is this madness? Excuse me while I sit and cry.

Sawyer Penn-- Mama loves you. Every sticky, non-sleeping inch of you. I wouldn't trade you for the world, Little Man!