Pillow & a bay-beee.

I have slacked on the last couple months so this will be a combined 20 & 21 month catch up. Lil man is growing too quickly for me lately. I look at him each morning and see less baby and more lil boy.

R's current obsession is keys in addition still to his love of cars, jeep's, trucks and buses. When we are driving in the car he will point and say the name of each of these varieties. When he started to throw mini tantrums when he couldn't have our keys I found kids keys that had metal ends so they looked more real but that only distracted him for a couple days. This kid is no dummy; he wants the real thing. So we washed an old set of keys and he frequently has them gripped in his hand as he walks around the house.

I'm thankful that for the most part R is still enjoying all types of food. I feel it is a good sign that the first thing on his plate he wants to eat is his fruits and veggies. He even has developed a huge liking for salad. I tried giving him lettuce for the longest time assuming for some reason he wouldn't like it; well I was wrong. He is also a big lover of Teriyaki chicken and rice. We sometimes go to a local place that is quick and easy. He will devour a bowl of egg flower soup, and multiple helpings of rice, beef, chicken, and salad. One thing I think is strange is he is hit and miss with carbs. The only way he likes potatoes is if they are in a french fry form and sometimes he wants pasta while other times he wants nothing to do with it. He still LOVES milk. Last week he had already gone through a half gallon of "milt" (as he pronounces it) in two days and during the day he is at school.

His vocabulary is still growing rapidly but he really isn't stringing multiple words together. This week he did it once for the first time. Brian had just came home and walked out of our bathroom. R points at him and says, " Dada poo poo", so I guess that is a step forward.

We have always kept R's crib empty. I have always had this huge fear of him suffocating on something. Lately he developed a liking for a "babee" and his pillow pet. It is so endearing to see his "babee" tightly in his grip and his head (or whole body) on his pillow.

His current favorite books are "Elmo Loves You" and "Dr. Seuss ABC". I need to video tape him going through his abc's with us because some of this pronunciations are wonderful while others are quite interesting.

Cheers to another 2 months!

The Loaded Brush...

A couple of weeks ago B & I had a date night at a great place in Portland called The Loaded Brush. It was a Living Social deal a month ago and I heard these classes are fun. B wasn't really interested until I told him one of the upcoming painting classes was of Mt. Hood. We had a wonderful time and I would recommend this place to anyone who is interested. The owner Aaron was funny, helpful & entertaining.

We had planned on having a competition and having people vote on whose was better but I gave up that idea when I was called the "special" student. Well at least I had fun=).

Ballet slippers and a flash light.

Lil man had a poop for the records today at school. I feel bad for the teacher that had to clean that mess up but is it bad to say I'm glad it wasn't me=). This one was so messy it traveled all the way to his shoes. These are the only shoes they could find for R since we don't take spare shoes to school only extra clothes. He loves what he now calls his "slips". It was just a funny sight to see him running around the playground when I went to pick him up in ballet "slips".
Playing with the battery-less flash light kept this one entertained for a long while.

Shamrock Run! I finally did it!!!

I do not love running. I am not a runner and probably never will be. I am happy to say though that along with Brian we finished our first 5k run together. It is not a marathon and 3 miles is not a lot but for this girl it is enough. I had a lot of fun though. The atmosphere was energetic, happy and their is so many crazy dressed people to look at.

Sadly I didn't ask a friend to take a picture of Bri & I together on our first race but he was there too and a great motivator to me as always. It was very fun to run over the finish line hand in hand with my man!

So until next year, Happy St. Paddy's Day and see you next year at the race!

19 months

Time is flying. Every week I get a email from babycenter.com about the weekly milestones of R & what you can expect at that age. Every week I am continuously surprised that I am getting the new email already. Did another week really fly by?

Well as I have said before; this little guy keeps us on our toes. His vocabulary and ability to communicate grows daily. I can tell by his pants that he is growing upwards but he is still coming in at a mere 24 lbs.

His current obsessions are cars & lights. When we are driving in our car or walking through a parking lot he has to point at EVERY automobile and says "car"?! Over & over. When we go to Costco he also loves to run into the tire shop. Please don't tell me he is going to get his dad's weird tire obsession too. I'm going to go crazy in the future if I have to listen to the both of them talk about the tread pattern on tires=).

He also loves lights & light switches. He will have you hold him all day and turn lights on & off if you will let him. When he figures out what light switch goes with what light he says "wow" & when he turns it off he says "uh oh"! He has suckered a couple of people to do it & he will have you do it for hours! Unfortunate for us it is hard not to abide to him when that cute little "peas" for please come out of his mouth.

He did a couple funny things the last couple weeks I would like to share. One morning I was getting his breakfast ready and he was sitting in his high chair. I had the Today show on the tv and all of a sudden I saw him pointing at the tv and saying "GG"; which is what he calls Brian's Grandma Rita. I peaked around the corner at the tv and it was the Smucker's segment on people's birthday it was that day who were turning over 100. Every picture that came on the screen he said "GG".

Him & I were sitting on the couch yesterday; out of the blue he says "Hadley". Hadley is my good friend's daughter, whom he has only met once. I said, "what did you say"? He said, "Hadley". I said, "Can you show me Hadley"? So he climbed down from the couch, ran to the kitchen and pointed to her picture on the fridge! Can we say someone has a crush already?!

Spring is showing signs that it is almost here despite the snow showers today. I'm ready and looking forward to my after school walks with this kid. He loves being outside and I can't wait for us to be able to.

We are getting hardwood floors and the boxes have become an indoor climbing activity. Also a place to eat your breakfast.
He loves his Cheerios & can eat a couple bowls full in the morning.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with blue berry sauce! He approved.
Playing blocks with Grandma!

Cheerios

So R loves Cheerios. He would eat them all day if he could. He will go to the his cupboard and get his snack cup & hold it up to you say "Mo". Almost sounds like that old commercial where the little British boy asks for "mo" soup. It is very cute and gives us a laugh every time.

Well today he was having one of his few and far between tantrums over wanting to play outside more. He was chasing me around the house with his jacket. Wanting me to put it on and go back out. I was just ignoring him and told him I'd be in the other room ready to play. I was getting myself a snack so mid-cry I offered him some Cheerios. All of a sudden the crying stops abruptly and he shakes his head. I gave him some Cheerios and the episode was over. So as I thought about it in that moment is that why the stem word is cheer? I wonder if the creator of Cheerios had the same experiences with his toddler? Well cheers to him/her & Cheerios!

18 already?!

For me the first 12 months R was here did not fly by, honestly some tireless days seemed endless. The last 6 months have been the opposite. It seems I blink and a new month is here and each day brings something new.

Each night I still creep into his room to watch him sleep & think how lucky I am to have this beautiful little boy as MY little boy.

He is an active little boy; as most little boys are. I have come to the conclusion when you become a mom you are instantly inducted into a club of mothers that stretches back millions of years. A club that will give you support, encouragement and is willing guide you when you have no clue what you are doing. I have also come to the conclusion their is a separate off-shoot of this club for the mama's of boys because we have our own separate guidelines & rules we need to learn.

Back to R. He loves to run, climb, jump & dance. Morning until night he keeps going and going and going. He still naps for everyone except me. Still loves his food because he needs a lot of fuel to be able to wear me out. When it is not raining he enjoys playing outdoors. His vocabulary continues to grow everyday as well as his frustration when he can't communicate what he is trying to tell us. He loves his baths and runs to the stairs when I tell him it is bath time. He is a worker bee & loves to have a job.

Favorite foods: Oatmeal, eggs, blueberries, strawberries, cheerios, cheese, pretzels, peas.

Favorite show: Elmo & Wiggles

Favorite bedtime book: Goodnight Moon & Night-night Pookie

-Still falls asleep quickly in the car when he is tired.

-Loves animals.

-Loves dancing to Adele.

-Signs he uses; more, milk, all done, eat, please, & thank you.

New statistics:

• Height: 32 1/4 inches (49%)
• Weight: 23 lbs (15 %)