Happy Halloween!!

Our Garden Gnome woke up with quite the cold, but I put him in his costume for some quick pictures. Poor guy was not pleased, but I did capture a smile or 2. Happy Halloween, everyone!

13 months!

The little monkey turned a year old, and I went totally slack on monthly pictures. Bad mommy! So, a few days late, but here is my 13 month old munchkin and what he's up to:

• He's into everything. I can't put anything down on the floor or anywhere near the edge of the counter or table b/c he will have it down (and emptied out if that is the case) in seconds.
• Walking has become just too easy. Running is the way to go these days. (Help.Me.!!)
• He loves to be chased around, tickled, and flipped all around.
• He decided over the weekend a few weeks ago that sippy cups aren't so bad after all. In one day, we dropped all bottles except bedtime. And he'll drink from any sippy cup I give him. So weird how quickly things change.
• No real new words other than "uh oh." He learned this from Grant, his friend across the street. Grant's mom, Katie, watches Hampton 2 days a week, and these boys have a great time playing together!
• He loves being around other kids. At church on Sunday, he walked into the nursery and never looked back.
• Eating is becoming much less of a battle. He seems to be less and less picky each day!
• Bath-time is our favorite. Splashing, playing with toys, dunking our face in and blowing bubbles, yeah, awesome. He even closes the drain when I start to let the water out.
• Getting out of the bath, on the other hand, is horrible. He hates the towel on his head!!
• Of all toys, his favorite right now is legos & building blocks. He is really good at putting things together

Another month has flown by, and we are just having so much fun! I can't believe he's getting so big!!

it was bound to happen

Well, we made it 1 year & 1 month, but last night, it happened--Hampton pooped in the tub!! It was so gross but oh so funny. I can't say that I was surprised (except for the fact that it looked like something a grown man would do. YUCK.) b/c he grunted a couple of times when he was eating, but his diaper was clean when I went to put him in the tub. He played for a bit, I lathered him up, and he went back to playing. Then he stood up, looked at me, and I saw it all over his red face. And there was nothing I could do! So, he took a huge dump in the water, and I immediately grabbed him, got him out of the tub and yelled for Jordan to come help. Best part-while we were waiting on the tub to drain so Jordan could get the poop into the toilet, we were both laughing and telling Hampton how gross and stinky it was. And I looked down, to see that he had pooped again, on the bath mat, and stepped in it!! Awesome. All I could do was laugh, put him back in the tub and let Jordan spray him down, and then we started right over with bath time. Oh my, what a time!

playing catch up

My poor little blog has been so neglected lately. Life has been crazy, and I've really been spending less time on the computer. Lots going on around these parts, though!

The little monkey is a mess. He is just so happy and loves life! I love watching him walk (and RUN-holy moly!) around checking out everything he can find. He is becoming a better eater each day, and his favorite thing is by far is macaroni and cheese, bananas and yogurt of any kind. He doesn't say a lot, but when he wants to be heard-yikes-he can SCREAM!! He gets excited and shrieks loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. He stays with my friend across the street, and her little guy, two days a week, and loves it over there. Seriously, I drop by during lunch, and he barely notices I'm there, which I think is fantastic.

We gave our two dogs away last weekend to a nice girl and her boyfriend. I hated to do it, but I know it was for the best. Logan was not a fan of Hampton, and I hated that the dogs were stuck in the kitchen or their crate almost all the time. We put in the ad that they had to go together b/c I don't think they would have survived being separated after over 6 years. I have random moment where I forget they're gone, and then it just hits me. The positive is that I'm not having to sweep up dog hair every single night & nap time isn't being shortened by a dog barking at a car driving by!

We're going back to the RE!!!! We have an appointment on November 1. Eek! I'm excited, but pretty nervous. Jordan is clearly excited b/c he made the call and the appointment before I even had a chance! We're just going to talk and see what we need to do to get ready. I'm sure we'll have to repeat tests and what not. They also have a few new payment options (a finance plan & 2 IVFs offered at lower cost type deal) that they didn't have when trying the 1st time. I'm excited to talk about a plan. We won't do anything until at least January, though. Yay!

This post is all over the place, but I just wanted to catch up a bit. Thanks for sticking around!

P.S. Coming soon-another giveaway from pretty pretty baby!! She has expanded past bows and has really grown her store. Check it out & come back in the next week or so to win!!

will work for food

Now that the monkey is 1, we make him work to earn his keep around here. He doesn't seem to mind...

We do let him play some, too, though!

Ummm....yeah.

spend the night party

Friday night, Hampton stayed over at my parents' house for the first time since our vacation in June. (I don't know why we haven't taken advantage of this earlier!) It was nice to come home, hang out a bit, and go to bed dreaming of sleeping in. Of course, I was up by 8 b/c my internal alarm clock clearly didn't get the memo! I ran out, got Jordan and myself breakfast, and we were able to eat it without 1. protecting it from a curious little toddler and 2. trying to entertain said toddler. It was nice! I wouldn't trade it for our usual Saturday mornings, though! :)

I headed over to mom and dad's around lunch time, right as the little monkey was getting up from his first nap. The first words out of dad's mouth were "don't be mad" followed by a very happy guy coming around the corner with his first real boo boo--a bruise right at his eye where he had flung himself into the "smokestack" on his train! :( Poor baby!! It didn't seem to be bothering him, and it fortunately never turned into a real black eye, so it wasn't so bad after all. I'm pretty certain more of these incidents will occur with this wild child!

So, other than a few bumps and bruises, the spend the night party was a success! I know all 3 of them enjoyed the time together as much as Jordan and I did!

bad mommy

This past weekend, two things happened that quickly took me out of any running for "mommy of the year." Hard to believe, I know! ;)

First-We were putting some things up in the attic (and by "we" I mean Jordan-obviously), and the monkey was very interested in the stairs. Of course I told him they were a no-no and tried to distract him and keep him busy. I decided to pick him up and put him on my shoulders b/c he always loves that. Score 1 for mom! Oh, except that I was standing in the doorway and threw him right into it when I put him above my head. He cried the most pitiful cry and wanted his daddy. Awesome mom-FAIL.

Later-We were playing at mom and dad's house while we grilled out burgers. Hampton had already eaten and gotten down to play, so I put him in his high chair while we ate (we were outside and I need to keep him contained!) and gave him a cracker to eat to entertain him. He was pretty restless and started to fuss, so I finished up my meal quickly and pulled out his tray a little bit and unhooked him to take him inside. I turned around to ask Jordan to please bring my dishes inside and CRACK!!! I turned as fast as I could to see Hampton falling face first to the cement and couldn't get him fast enough. My dad could, though. Thank God he was so quick! Dad grabbed his right arm and prevented everything but his left hand from hitting the ground. Holy.Crap.Scariest.Thing.Ever. I scooped him up so quickly and just held his trembling body for a minute before moving. I spent the rest of the night and the next day poking him and checking and rechecking that he didn't have any serious injury or bruises that I missed. It could have turned out so much worse. I'm so thankful that he was okay, and it was my one and only reminder that I needed that turning my back for a split second can result in danger. Awesome mom-Big Fat FAIL!

Thank goodness he's still young and resilient. He seems to still love me despite my flaws. :)

12 month stats & well visit

Height: 31 in.; 90th %
Weight: 24 lb 7 oz; 75th %
Head Circ: 19 in; 75th %

All in all, looking good! ;)

I was worried about going to our well visit on Tuesday. Not that I thought anything was wrong with the monkey, but because I had to do it on my own. Jordan has been able to go to all of his appointments where he gets shots/blood draws, and I just wasn't sure I could handle it. Thankfully, my child was a little angel and the finger prick and shots barely even phased him. I think he could sense I was nervous, so he went easy on me!

I felt like a crazy mom with all the questions I had for the doctor, but she is so sweet and patient while I navigate these "clueless mommy" waters! This is all pretty boring stuff just that I wanted to write down for my own benefit. Read on if you must... ;)

She told me not to worry about the fact that he still prefers baby food over table food. The fact that he does pick some things up and eat them (mainly anything bread, bananas and blueberries), shows that he isn't having a problem with it; he just doesn't seem to like the texture/consistency of the other stuff. Give it time.

It's also time to use our remaining formula and then start on milk (whole or 2%-We're opting for 2% right now, and we'll change in the future if she deems it necessary). He had his first whole bottle of just milk tonight and seems to be transitioning well.He also has been drinking more and more out of sippy cups, so maybe, just maybe he'll be off of bottles before his second birthday. Ha!

Hampton has some bumps on the back of his upper arms. I have had the same issue for a while, and I thought it might be dry skin. The doctor said it is keratosis pilaris--clogged pores--and it's hereditary. Welp, there's the answer for both of us! She told me a lotion to use and it should clear right up for both of us!

He still has a hard bump on his chin from the mysterious bruise incident, so I went ahead and asked about that. She said that it actually might be a hematoma and not to touch it or irritate it, and it should go away on its own. The bruise hasn't returned in while, so I think it's already getting better. Only time will tell.

And last but not least, the question I meant to ask but forgot about after all the others! Hampton does this tugging thing thing on his face all the time. We used to think it was a sign that he was tired, then it became a little more frequent, and at different times. It seems that he does it even more when he has a cold (which makes sense that he can't breathe), so I'm concerned that he might have some sort of allergy that is causing him to be clogged up. I'm going to give the doc a call to see what she has to say this week. I hope it's nothing but a weird habit!