Eighteen Months. Or So.

(Okay, technically nineteen months.)

Boo Boo is growing right up.  He's getting bigger all the time and smarter all the time too.  It's so fun to watch him get ideas, try things out and figure out the daily puzzles of life.  He is still pleasant, sweet and a great sleeper--thankfully those have never changed.  Mostly he has been changing in small ways, in what toys he likes and how he interacts things.  

This hat never gets old.

Yes, I cut his hair okay?!!?

It would be nice if he really only cost this much, hm?

He is really into every kind of vehicle lately.  Animals are still a big thing too and he loves stuffed animals, as he is my child.  Books have always been popular, but he says more of the words now and sometimes I hear him reciting parts to himself ("Mama? Dada? Wowwwww!").  In general I guess you would just say he's more interested in the world.

It's almost like Autopia, yes?

Some days you just don't want to get out of your jammies.

Some quick stats, for the record, for his last appointment: weight was 25.6 lbs (44%), height was 33.5 inches (80%) and head size was 19.5 inches (89%). 

Also he finally got a molar in on the bottom!  Sometimes I think it is a wad of gum.  The very tips of his top molars popped through WEEKS ago and haven't moved since.  Now for the big developments:

First, he graduated from the high chair and did so quite loudly and emotionally I must say.  Now he sits at the table in his cow booster and it's fun to see his little face at the table with us.  He's also much more interested in feeding himself and is really getting the hang of using a spoon.  As for forks, well, fingers are still easier.

He carefully gathered up all the rings and put them on the milk jug.

His favorite foods haven't changed too much--bananas, rolls, avocados, cheese of any kind, eggs.  And if he doesn't want it, well, he will tell you.

Speaking of telling and speaking of speaking, the second big thing is his recent explosion of language.  Just a week or two before Thanksgiving he started talking a little bit more and I got him saying "uh oh" and "tada!", which is cute.  But then it just exploded over the Thanksgiving holidays!  Puppy, kitty, hi, grandma, apple, orange, auntie, TRACTOR (all the time), truck, car, train, choo choo...everything.  And now he says all kinds of other words, mail man ("me-moh"), dog, airplane, baby, drink, water, bath, avocado ("haku"), bear, binky...it goes on and on.  I love his babbling sounds, but it is also fun to hear him say actual words in his cute little voice.  Especially when he says "nigh nigh mama."
 

No, I could not resist the Yoda hat.  Come on, it's so funny!

Oh, I must also add that now he's eighteen months, he goes to nursery at church!  I was nervous, I can't deny it.  But honestly...why do I ever worry about him adapting to things??  We took him in, he saw trucks and has been happily going to nursery ever since.  Seriously, why do I worry?  Going from the bassinet to the crib?  No problem.  Eating solids?  Cool.  Weaning?  Easy peasy.  Moving?  Didn't even notice.  Airplane flights?  Perfect!  

So I should probably stop worrying about how he'll deal with the Poppy.

Oh Yeah: The House

Once upon a time we moved into our townhouse apartment.  It was a great place, with plenty of space and conveniences.  Then we added a baby and it got a little less spacious but was still a great place...for a while.  As Boo Boo got older it was harder for him and Drew to share a room, and the other rooms were slowly shrinking.  Plus the landlords didn't allow more than one baby and since we planned to have more it seemed like we'd best move on when our contract was up.  But where to go?

We thought about renting, but after thinking about it for a while and weighing our options, we decided to jump into house hunting, like a couple of grown up type people.  And really, it went pretty smoothly from there out.  We got approved for a loan, searched listings, found our agent and looked at a bunch of houses. 

Aside from space requirements, what I really wanted was a house that didn't feel like it was in Utah.  That is to say, I wanted trees and I wanted a yard.  A REAL yard, not a sliver of sod.  And I didn't want neighbors two feet away on all sides.  We saw two houses that really fit the bill and had everything else as well.  We agonized and debated and waffled and flip flopped and finally decided on the one.

I will not bore the internets of the world with the back and forth we did with the seller.  I will just say she is lucky!  But I guess so are we because we got the house.  In addition to a mortgage we have a plum tree, a master bath, no back neighbors (ever!), a pretty sweet view of basically everything (including Utah Lake) and plenty of room to store all our current and future progeny.  Drewbles is back in his old stomping grounds, and now I suppose I have to finally face up to what my drivers license already says--I live in Utah.

But enough with the blah blah blah and let's have some pictures!  That's what really counts in a post like this.  I'm sorry to say there are no pictures of the CAG's cute bedroom in here, since he was sleeping when I took these.  But it's the only room we've painted so I'll post some fun before and afters later.

Boo Boo's last look out his old window.

This was our first move that we rented a truck for.  It was a good idea.

First real dinner at the new place, courtesy of Drew's mom.  I'm not sure how long it'd been since we'd taken showers at this point...

One of our first projects--painting the front door.  More on this later, but I love it.

Hey, how did this picture get in here?

The living room: a library at last!

The view from the kitchen window.

Dining room.  One day we hope to add a Rome map.

Oops, another picture of Boo Boo.

Master bedroom, with two closets and plenty of room in each.

The TV room downstairs, including the handy built-in shelves.

Drew has an office all to himself again!  This has been a great thing for everyone.

Our laundry room features a half bathroom as well.  Very convenient indeed.

The view from the front door.

Boo Boo sometimes prefers a dead plant to the great play set built into the yard.

It's hard to fit the whole backyard into a single shot...it's big!  And right next to those mountains.  BUT there are also trees.  And space.  And no back neighbors.

Space space space space!

This is the empty fourth bedroom.  We're planning to rent it out for a little extra moolah, and we already have a renter lined up! 

She's squirmy, healthy and ready to move in on March 10th.

Four Leaf Baby

My scrumptious little Babycakes turned an illustrious four months old on Saturday.  He is getting more fun all the time (though I will confess to missing his tiny, fresh baby stage sometimes).  *sigh*

He also had his doctor's visit today, which confirmed the fact that he is growing like a weed and is very healthy.  It also confirmed the fact that he does not like shots.  But we learned from last time and gave him some medicine before the appointment and hopefully by keeping him dosed up the rest of the day we can avoid the evening meltdown this time.  Anyway, back to weed growing, he is currently 27 inches long (97%!), 16.27 lbs (76%) and his head percentile is 56%.  So he's about doubled his birth weight, and I think the only reason he doesn't look like a big ball of baby fat is because he is so long.

Here are some things he has been up to over the last month:

More Seven Peaks time!  Now that he's big enough for swim diapers, I think pool time is going to be even more fun.

Sleeping on his binky.  Ah, so comfy.

He loves to survey the land from atop my legs.

 Still loving his caterpillar friend.

 He's GENERALLY happy.

He does his best to squish his Pops.

 He wears out-of-season jammies...

...and does not approve.

He sits on his throne with his Sovereign's Orb.

He always sleeps at night in his crib and takes most of his naps there too, but I can't resist a snuggle nap sometimes...

...especially because it means I get to see expressions like this.  Hello, little old turtle face.

Step 1: Get something in hands.  Step 2: Put in mouth.  Step 3: Repeat.

Sometimes he and his wee-er cousin have the same outfits.  They also share an interest in the Sovereign's Orb.  

Sometimes no one smiles for the camera.

Sometimes he folds himself in half AND eats my finger at the same time.

Here are just some cute pictures, no additional explanation necessary:

Other tidbits from this month: He puts everything in his mouth.  He had his first sniffles but was happy throughout.  He gets a bit overstimulated sometimes and doesn't always like to be held by anyone but me or Drew (it's flattering to me, but a bummer for other wannabe holders).  He giggles a lot, sometimes for no apparent reason.  He still really loves bath time (see also: giggling).  He grew out of size 1 diapers.  We started going to the baby storytime at the library and he enjoys it?  I dunno, he's there and that's about the extent of his reaction.  Over the last few weeks he has really settled into a routine of: three or four naps a day, asleep in bed by 8:00, dream feed around 11:00 and then waking up once around 4-5:00 to eat, then back asleep until 7:30 or so.  I can dig it, baby.  

Anyway, the gist of this is that he is more fun all the time and is getting more aware of the world every day.  He recognizes things, chats and sings and is generally very happy most of the time.  Our battle with cradle cap continues and after a long hiatus, he started rolling again on Saturday.  Hey baby, you grow so good, baby.

  
Whew.  Well, that was a long update.  Maybe I should blog about him more than once a month??  Oh all right, if I insist.  

(Yes!  I do.) 

(Okay, one more.)

 

(Fine, two.)

(The end.)