Heartbreaker

And once again life got in the way and I have missed Samuel's 15 month post. Samuel is in that stage where he does something new every day. I both love and hate this stage. I love that each new day is filled with excitement and wonderment. I hate that I am forced into the reality that my baby is no longer a baby.

Samuel's personality is one of assertiveness and abounding happiness. He is a ham. When I pull out the camera he says "eeeee" (cheese) and poses. His smile lights up his whole face and his laughter is contagious. 

He giggles all the time. Well, most of the time. For when he is not happy, he lets you know. Loudly. I love it how he whines when he isn't happy and then opens one eye to make sure you are watching.

His favorite toy BY FAR is a ball. Any ball. He loves balls. 

And maracas.

And Daddy Fish.

At Samuel's 15 month check up, he weighed 23 lbs, 6 oz (59%) and was 30 in long (11%).  Short. Well, I guess he had to get SOME of my traits. I suppose I could have guessed that...as he is exclusively in 18 month tops, but I resort to 12 month pants at times for length purposes. 

One morning, Jackson was having a snack of peanut butter crackers. This was one of the days Jackson decided to share with Samuel. And not 3 minutes later, Samuel's poor little face had big red welts on it and he was scratching insanely. I tried to get a picture, but he was too upset to hold still. About 30 minutes later it had disappeared, but I don't think he'll be getting peanut butter again in the near future.

Samuel's favorite food is peas, mashed potatoes and Graduate crunchies. He likes fruit, too. He doesn't like cheese or pasta. He drinks water out of a straw cup and still nurses 3 times a day.

He loves snuggling with his blue bear (which I find completely irresistible).

And he loves his brother.

He is a boy of few words. He mostly grunts, but strangely enough, I can understand what he is saying. 

His actual words are: Jackson, Mama, Dada, Nana, Night Night

And his grunts are: Thank You, Juice, More, Where Is, I Want

And he is great at following simple commands like "come here", "get your shoes", "hold out your arms"...

He loves getting his teeth brushed, brushing his own hair (he'll go into the bathroom and look through the drawer until he finds his comb), and helping put on his clothes.

He is honestly so good and so sweet with a touch of assertiveness. I love this sweet face and this beautiful boy so much! He will be a heartbreaker someday. Happy 16 months, Samuel Wrye!

I'm Walkin'

Sam's walking!

To be fair, he has been walking since March 31, but because I am slack lately, I just haven't caught it on video. So here it is. Plus a bonus of cute on the side.

My Way

It has literally been 2 action packed months since I've posted anything on this blog. I think when we left off my sister had just gotten engaged, I was 17 weeks pregnant, David was still in Australia, and Jackson had recently started walking and had about 13 words in his vocabulary.

Some things are still the same.

Holly is still engaged. She has ordered her wedding dress (which is beautiful) and I blindly picked a bridesmaids dress. I say blindly because it is hard to try on a dress with a pregnant belly and know what is going to look like in a year's time. Keep your fingers crossed!

David is still in Australia. Not really "still", but has had to return to Australia. He was here with us for 5 weeks and then we had to make the tough decision for him to go back. It appears there is a backlog at the Immigration Department and processing the visa in Sydney is a tad quicker. At least, we're hoping. So back he went and Jackson and I are, again, sans daddy/husband. But we had a good time while he was here and some good father-son bonding time was able to take place. Jackson sure loves his daddy!








I am still pregnant. Now I am 26 weeks pregnant (last week of the 2nd trimester).

I feel bigger than I was with Jackson at 26 weeks. I keep asking my doctor if he is sure that I am ONLY 26 weeks along...and he keeps reassuring me that I am right on track! I am not as short of breath as I was with Jackson. I seem to be carrying the baby higher and a bit more evenly spread. With Jackson he was all up there and over to the right. I have maaaaaassive heartburn and am already struggling with Restless Leg Syndrome and the constant urinating of a pregnant woman. Other than that I feel great! I hope I continue to feel great as I am working up until the 12th of December (what am I thinking?!). We are scheduled for a Cesarean on December 15. David was able to be here for our 20 week ultrasound where we got to see some great pictures of the little one being all precious and little. We even got to see a bit of 4D footage. I thought it was amazing...David thought the baby looked like a tree knot.




We found out the baby was healthy, head down, and A BOY!
I won't lie... At first I was a tad disappointed that the girl gene has yet to spring itself in the new generation of our family (my grandparents have 5 great grandsons and 0 great granddaughters). But I quickly started thinking about how cool it is going to be for Jackson and baby brother to be 20 months apart and the potential relationship that will bloom. Plus, little boys are great (and they don't grow into teenage girls)! We have zeroed in on a name we like, but I don't think I will announce it quite yet. As you may or may not recall, Jackson's name was "Hunter" up until 2 days before he was born.

And some things change...or grow..

Thanks to my good friend Vanessa from Upstairs who recently showed me the ins and outs, we have decided to use cloth diapers with this new one (yes, mom...unless he is at Nana's house)... I'm looking forward to the new experience! We are looking at double strollers and with that comes the need for a minivan...which I recently purchased. Bye bye tiny Ford Festiva; hello people moving Toyota Sienna!

Jackson is, as before, mobile as ever. He can climb up the stairs and go down the stairs. He spins in circles. He even can walk backwards. He can climb onto chairs. He can slide off the bed. He is amazing. Every day is something new. I really feel he isn't a baby anymore. He is a little toddler!

He LOVES being outside. He loves throwing a ball. He loves jumping in a pile of warm freshly laundered towels.

He loves singing and dancing. He loves riding on the lawn mower with Bapa. His best friend is his Cousin Myles. He LOOOOOOVES his cousin Myles!




And he is such a good helper. He loves to help Nana vacuum.


And he throws away his dirty diapers in the trash (useful big brother job).

Things we have done in the past two months:
Vanderburgh County Fair


(Going down the slide with Uncle Noel - I couldn't go. There was a sign that said "No Pregnant Women". Seriously.)









Indiana State Fair





I turned the big 3-0 (not as scary as I thought)



(Yes, there are 30 holes in that cake!)


Visited our friends Elias, Colin and Baby Owen in Indianapolis





Saw the Horsies at the Race Track



Visited our new American Pediatrician (22lbs/10kg, 30.5in/77.5cm) and got our finger pricked so our blood could be tested for lead and iron (no tears - what a brave boy!)



And have generally been the Happiest Almost 17 Month Old Alive!






He is talking up a storm. His new list of understandable words is quite extensive:
Mama
Dada
Nana
Ho-ee (Holly)
Dut (Duck)
Shoe
Achoo
Ocean
Hello
What's this/that
Who is it
Juice
Clock
Dog
Outside
Up
Wa-wa (water)
Snack
Horsey
Car-car
Golf-golf
Truck
Elmo
Ernie
Ball
A-shon (Jackson - he calls all babies in photos Jackson)
More
Cheese
Tree
Ouch
Ought Oh
Ice Cream

He can pair animals with their sounds:
Neigh
Oosh (that's what a dog says...)
Moo
Oink (he snorts)
Meow
Baa
Choo Choo (train)
Ah-ah (Monkey)
Roar (Lion or Dinosaur)
Quack Quack

He can point to body parts:
Eyes
Ears
Nose
Mouth
Hair
Belly/Belly Button
Diaper
Feet
Hands

We have recently started enjoying coloring (I have been waiting for this stage!!).


He LOVES books. We got a library card yesterday and when we went in I thought I was going to have to read every book in the kid's area. I let him bring home three books in the end and they have already been read to death! His favorite book is Elmo's Counting Book. He loves anything that has to do with Elmo. We bought a book called Elmo's Piano and it has a keyboard on it with 6 or 7 different songs you can play. The keys light up red to show you which one to play for the songs. He knows to follow the red keys and when I heard "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" coming from my 16 month old, I about died!

Jackson is officially exclusively on table food. Of course, with the arrival of teeth 11 and 12 (he now has all 4 1-year molars) eating is a lot easier! Up until about a week ago, he would eat pretty much anything you gave to him. Recently though he has been asserting his independence and won't eat unless he can do it himself. And then sometimes he still won't eat. Mr Independence must have the last say (definitely a son of David's and mine)!
I officially stopped nursing Jackson on August 20, his 16 month birthday. He was only nursing before bed and sometimes wasn't even interested in that. It was more traumatic for me than him. I cried. He didn't. But I am proud of myself that we were able to continue that special relationship for so long. I have hidden his yellow feeding pillow (will have to buy a new one for the new baby), and am enjoying having my breasts back to myself if only for another 3 months. We decided not to start Jackson on milk or formula. Instead he drinks mainly water (with ice...he'll only drink it if it is ice cold) with the occasional glass of American lemonade or diluted juice (he loves apple cider). And then we give him a multivitamin daily. He makes a horrible face when he takes it (via dropper), but is a champ and sucks it down anyway.



Because David is back in Australia and my work hours fall during daytime hours, we have had to find Jackson a day care 3 days a week. After interviewing 3 in-home carers we finally decided on one not too far from us with a lady who happened to go to middle school with me! His first day was Wednesday, and he did pretty well. Brandy said he didn't eat great (to be expected - see statement above...independence), but he slept for 2 hours (which I was nervous about as he isn't used to taking a nap with other little kids). He didn't have any problems making friends. In fact, he already has a little girlfriend who gives him a hug and a kiss when he comes in. I am glad he is able to spend some time around other children. It also gives me a chance to get some "me time" in. On Wednesdays and Fridays, I have 3 hours in the morning to myself when I drop him off. I plan on using the time to make headway into my Masters before the new baby comes along. I honestly can't remember the last time I had that much "me time" in one block of time. I have opened the windows, turned on my Scentsy and Pandora, and am catching up with some much needed (and much missed) blogging this morning. Thank you, Brandy, for taking such good care of my baby boy 3 days a week!

Overall, we are very happy. I love each one of my jobs (all 4 of them) and feel so lucky to be surrounded by a supportive and loving family. Hopefully this newly founded "me time" will mean more regular blog posts and updates! Thanks for sharing my "me time" with me...I'm off to work now!