17 Months

Little man is 17 months and I must say that I have loved this month! It has probably been one of my favorites with Christmas and all the new things he is learning to do and his new words. 

Learning to do: 

He is at the stage where he tries to copy what we do. It's cute, but it's also scary. I better be careful with what I do. :) He has also started being able to do easy tasks - like the other day he found a piece of paper on the floor and threw it away. When he does things like that, it just reminds me that he isn't a baby anymore.  He can point out his eyes, nose, mouth and teeth are and can say them. 

Loves: 

Playing drums - he got a little drum set for Christmas and loves to annoy play for us

Cookies - He now knows that Target has cookies so when we go there he reminds me to get him one

Cars - He has started to love playing with cars. 

Books - He likes to sit and look at books in the chair in his room, and there is one book that he really likes and proclaims "oh, wow" every time he looks at it 

Watching videos of himself - He will sit and watch videos of himself for a long time. Which for him sitting for any period of time is amazing. 

Elmo - what kid doesn't love that fuzzy, red character? 

New words: 

MOMMY!! Finally! Although it sounds more like "Bobby" I still love to hear him say that! 

Cheese - Probably my favorite word he says because he says it in a funny way

Baby, Cars, Cookie....there are alot more that he says, but can't remember them all. He is constantly trying to mimic words of things I point out to him. 

Anything to get a picture of him...

A big change in 2012

Our biggest change of 2012 was something we weren't really planning to do but... 

we bought a new house!

I won't go into all the details on here, but let's just say that after alot of thought and prayer we thought this was the best decision for our family. It was so amazing to see God work each and every detail out with both this house and our old house. We moved in mid-September, but I feel so behind... we have no pictures up on our walls yet and that is why I have been terrible at blogging! Well, get ready to see lots of home-related posts for 2013...because that is my plan!

Hello New Year

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great start to the new year today.  I always love the start of a new year, partly because of the clean slate the new calendar brings and the hopes and dreams of what  the next year could bring. I also love reflecting on what the past year has brought, both the blessings, changes, and what I can work on for the next year. 2012 was a great year, with our biggest blessing this year being Brecken and watching him grow from a five-month-old baby in January to the crazy, fun-loving seventeen-month-old toddler at Christmas.

Another part of the new year that I love is setting new goals. I am such a list maker, so it wouldn't be a surprise that I've been working on writing my goals for the new year. I don't call them resolutions because those don't stick. I do goals - ones that I can work towards for the year that are realistic - and nothing crazy like giving up chocolate - because, let's face it, that would NEVER happen. For the last two years, I've been doing my goals starting on my birthday - "25 goals til I turn 25," ect. but I've burned out shortly after writing the list. I got a few things done on the list, but because there was 25- 26 items on the list, I got overwhelmed and gave up. So onto the new year lists like everyone else does. I have to finish my 2013 list and then you can bet I will be posting it so that it's published somewhere and I have to stick to it! I can tell you though, blogging more regularly is on the list! :)

16 months

Ahh!! I have been SO SO SO bad with blogging lately. This month has been crazy. I feel like the whole fall has been busy, but especially December. I think this is probably the most busy December I've ever had, but I'm hoping for a quiet January! So I am really behind and Breck is already 17 months and has been for a couple week... but here is what happened when Brecken was 16 months. I hope I can remember everything... 

Likes: He started to like stuffed animals and will hug them and carry them around the house. He still loves his Cozy Coupe play car and will push it around the house and sit in in. He loves being chased and being tickled. 

Dislikes: He doesn't like his vegetables and he is a pretty picky eater right now. He does not like to get things on his hands. Any sticky food that gets on his hands, he starts having a bit of a fit.

Learning to do: He loves to say hi to strangers in restaurants or at Target.. and won't just say hi once. No, he will continue to say hi several times even if you ignore him. He learned where his eyes are and points to them and says "eyes." He likes to point (or poke) the eyes of whoever is hold him. I'm always amazed at the things he figures out to do just by watching us. He is constantly coming up with new words every couple days. I just love it.

Words: Buh-Bye, Coco (Aunt Dakota), Skye (Uncle Skyller), Paci, Coat, Go, No, Eyes and he was saying "Love you" for a day and now won't do it anymore. And still no mommy. 

And here is what really happens for our monthly photo shoots.....

15 months

15 months! All-in-all a pretty good month except for his 15-month check up and the fact that he got the stomach flu yesterday! The poor baby! It's the first time he's had the stomach flu and it is so hard to watch him be sick. I just feel so bad for him! He handled it like a little man. Wait what am I talking about... men don't handle being sick well... I guess handled it like a champ. :)

Loves: Drumming. He has a little drum I bought on a garage sale that has a rope around it so you can put it around your neck. He straps it on his neck and walks proudly around the house wearing and playing his drum.  He is also very chatty and loves to talk. I love listening in on him when he wakes up in the morning or from a nap and he just sits in his crib talking to himself in his adorable little toddler voice. 

Hates: He is starting to throw more small tantrums... so I guess he hates not getting his way.

Eats: Well, this month has been a struggle to get him to eat it seems. Maybe it's because I am so aware of every little thing he puts into his mouth. All it seems like he will eat lately is hot dogs, chicken nuggets, baby food, yogurt, applesauce and apples. Healthy, I know. My goal for 16 months... MAKE him like more foods. Easier said than done though, right?

Learning to do: This month he has added more words to his vocabulary. Still no mommy yet...maybe 16 months. I am hopeful. He learned to say grandpa/gumpa which sounds like "baapa", Elmo which is "Belmo" and "Boom."  He says "Buh-Bye" instead of just Bye and I love it when he says it loudly to people in the parking lot as we are leaving a store. Apple and Daddy are still his favorite words which he says all.of.the.time. He has learned a few  baby signs and has mastered "please" and does the sign when he wants something.  

Mommy Guilt

A little bit of the time I think I have this momma thing figured out, and then most of the time I don't think I have it figured out at all. I wonder if I am doing everything right, and worry and fret constantly. This week was no exception, only it was worse.

The week started off great and I thought it was going to be an easy, stress-free week full of lots of to-do's crossed off my list, but instead it was a week of blood tests, shots, stomach flu and lots of mommy guilt.

I took Breck to his 15 month check up at Mayo thinking it would be a breeze, forgetting about the shots. I planned to do some errands after because this appointment would take 30 minutes top, right? And I was even EARLY to the appointment - which for me is saying alot. Usually, I am right on the dot or late. So I sat longer than I wanted in the waiting room with a toddler; at least there was an aquarium full of fish and rows of chairs to run up and down between.

We then had a wonderful nurse that took us to the room and weighed him. He had only gained a pound, if even that, since his last check up at 12 months. "Is this normal?" I asked. "He's just a little guy" is the response I got and usually got so I thought nothing of it. Then the doctor came in, or who I thought was our doctor. We got assigned a new doctor because our other family doctor had moved to a different clinic so I had not met the new doctor. After this guy asked me a few questions, did his exam and then preceded to come in and out of the room a couple times with more questions, I realized he was a med student. So after waiting as the med student came in and out asking questions he forgot to previously ask and trying to entertain my toddler, clad only socks and a diaper, in a small exam room, I became very impatient.

Then the doctor came in and said that he was concerned with his weight. He was growing because he was in the 79 percentile for his height, but his head circumfrence and 3 percentile weight concerned him, along with the fact that he was no longer following his growth chart like he used to be. Immediately, I was taken off guard. Concerned? That is always a scary word when it comes out of a doctor's mouth. "I think we should run some tests." More scary words. Then a few reasons why he may not weigh as much as the doctor wanted him to: Lead poisoning, Iron Deficiency, Vitamin D Deficiency. Lead poisoning? My head was spinning. Now all the questions the med student asked made sense - what kind of house did we live it, did we smoke, how much does he eat, how much milk does he drink, ect. ect. ect. Immediately I felt like a bad mom. What was I doing wrong?

Then came the routine shots, tears, and a big lip. And since we had to go get blood work done, numbing ointment was rubbed onto each arm so he wouldn't feel the needle and blood draw. We had to wait longer so that the ointment had time to work but he didn't like the numbing feeling, and softly whimpered in the waiting room as we waited for the blood work. I thought shots were bad, but that is nothing compared to getting blood drawn. Laying over your child for what seems like hours while they scream is pure torture for a mom (and I'm sure him as well). Brecken wasn't doing so well after that- shots, blood work, and a two-hour clinic visit - the night was kinda shot. And well, I wasn't doing the best either.

Then came the waiting, worrying and wondering what the problem could be. Did he just not get enough to eat? He did eat like a bird at times. What if it was lead poisoning? What if the blood work showed nothing, then what? Luckily, I only had to wonder for a day and a half.

The results came back: Iron Deficiency Anemia and a little bit of Vitamin D Deficiency. Ok. At least it wasn't lead poisoning but still, how did this happen? What didn't I do right? It made me feel that I wasn't doing all I should do as a mom.

Hopefully it will all be corrected with supplemental drops/a prescription which we are faithfully doing every day now. I am praying that when I go back in six weeks, he is on his way to adding some weight. I've been trying to be really intentional about filling him with food, but he has not wanted to eat much this week. I am not sure if its the shots, teething or maybe the fact I am aware of every little thing he eats now, but he seemed to not eat much this week. More mommy guilt. Am I not giving him the right foods? Does he really never eat much?

So that was my week. Oh, and then I had the stomach flu. Yuck. Luckily it wasn't that terrible and only lasted about 24 hours. Oh, and then Todd got it. Yup, fun week here at our house. Blood tests, shots, stomach flu and lots of guilt.

Photo by Tessa Leen Photography

So I am trying not to dwell on the mommy guilt, even though it is still there. I know it will happen alot, along with the mommy worry. Don't get me started on that! I am always going to wonder if I am doing things right, if he getting the nutrition he needs, and if I am providing the best for him. I need to stop worrying about it and start praying. So easy to say, so hard to do. I need to remember that he is a gift from the Lord, and that He entrusted Brecken to Todd and I to love, cherish and care for. Brecken is in the hands of a Savior who knows the absolute best thing for him when Todd and I have not a clue. Instead of dwelling on the what-ifs, the unknowns, and the mommy guilt, I need to remember that God has it covered and has a plan for his sweet little life.

14 Months

So little man is, or I should say, was 14 months and time got away and I didn't get this posted sooner, and he is now 15 months. Actually, I haven't posted in over a month... oops. There will be more on why later... but let's get down to the 14 month facts.

 Learning to do: Talk!! In addition to hi, bye, ball and uh-oh, he says daddy constantly (sadly no mommy), paci, doggie and bapple (which is apple - but he uses it for every fruit and I think food in general). I have been trying to teach him some baby sign language since he was 6 months old and he has had the "all done" and "more" signs down for a while now, now he learned "food" and does the sign all. the. time.

Eats: Like I mentioned before- he learned how to do the sign for food and does it all the time. This kid must be on a growth spirt because it seems like he is hungry all the time. He used to be really picky and I fed him baby food quite a bit since he would just pick at his food like a bird. Now he is getting better at each on his own and not just baby food. He is obsessed with "bapples" (or apples) and loves crackers and ketchup.

Hates: He still hates being contained and sitting in his highchair for a long time. In the past month, he has cried when I have left him, particularly the church nursery. I guess he hates being away from his momma :)

Loves: This kid LOVES to dance. He prefers Mumford and Sons songs in particular. Anytime there is a song that comes on TV, ect, this kid breaks into a funny little dance. It cracks me up. He also loves to give high fives. Goodness, he seems so grown up!