Snow and Basketball

We woke up to more snow today, 6 inches of it (give or take an inch). EC brought me his boots to let me know he wanted to go outside. I couldn't resist his little rosy cheeks as he kept shoving his boots in my face, so we bundled up and went out for a bit. The snow was the wet kind that sticks really good so we rolled (ok, I rolled) the balls for our very first snowman, then we hit the slopes in our yard and did some sledding. I'd given him a plastic spoon to scoop snow and he wouldn't let go of it the entire time, I think it was in every single picture I took.

Nick wanted to get EC a basketball hoop for awhile now, so we all loaded up and went to Toys R Us to find one. Those two have played quite a bit of one-on-one lately and it has yet to get old for either of them. I'm really looking forward to the warmer days when we can take all of these big toys outside, I'd love to have my living room back!

Here he is asking me where his basketball went. Then he realized I was taking pictures of him and I got the "cheeeeeeeeeeeese" pose. I tried telling him that it was cute and funny the first couple of times but it isn't so cute and funny in every single picture.

"Say Cheeeese!"

I used to be a photo-takin' fool, but recently I've had to slow down a little because EC now wants to hold the camera every time he sees it (and gets upset when I don't give it to him). Here are what the photos end up looking like:

Not so cute.

I asked him to say "cheese" before I snapped these pictures, and like a good boy, he listened to his mama. I've included a video too, it cracks me up every single time I see it. Such a ham!

I should think of a different word for him to say, one that doesn't make such a silly face!

EC has been keeping busy in the past few weeks, despite the chilly weather. We've been going to the Y several a week and he has an awesome time there which is a relief for me. I get to work on my growing body knowing he's having a hayday with new toys and little friends in the kid zone. We also get to meet up with our Mom and Tot group a couple times each week, which is a great outing for both of us! We go to story time at a library, a play date at a friend's house, a visit to My Gym for kids, or just out to lunch. His grandparents all live close so we get to visit them often too.

Nick, EC and I got bundled up this morning to enjoy the 4+ inches of newly fallen snow. We had lots of fun, though EC wasn't sure about the whole sledding idea. I say give him a few more tries and he'll fall in love with it. I wished I would have grabbed the camera but I didn't. Next time.

Everything seems to be going smoothly for the newest little boy in our lives. My doctor appointments are very routine, which is just fine with me. I haven't started working on his nursery yet as that room is still occupied by EC, but within a few months we'll start switching out the rooms and move EC to his new one. I'm pretty excited to decorate it though, Nick is handling EC's room so we'll see how they both turn out.

Good times!

Number 1 and Number 2

If pee and poo isn't your thing then you shouldn't read this. But I promise to keep it short and keep any gory details to myself, ok?

Nick and I bought EC a potty chair a few months ago just to get him used to the idea of eventually going to the bathroom in his own potty. Every now and then we'd let him sit down on it but nothing ever happened. That all changed 2 days ago! He has peed 5 times in his potty now and did the number 2 for the first time tonight! Is it weird that I wanted to blog about this?

Anyway, we're super excited about this new development but know that it'll be quite some time before he's fully potty trained but I believe we're off to a good start. Wouldn't it be awesome for me to get EC out of diapers before the new baby arrived?

Pink or Blue?

We had our sonogram this afternoon and the baby looks perfectly healthy!! Yeaaaaah!

After about 5 months of thinking I was carrying a girl, I was told it was a BOY! We couldn't be more excited, and we know EC will have a life long buddy and that puts a huge smile across our faces. I'm also thrilled that I won't have to give away all of EC's clothes and boy toys, this new little guy will have all sorts of gently used things waiting for him.

We told EC he was going to be a big brother to a little brother, and now he's walking around saying "baa baaer" (big brother?). I know he doesn't really understand but it'll be a shock to his system come June!

18 Months (January 4th)

A year and a half have gone by in the blink of an eye. Everyone warned me that the time would fly by and they were correct, it would be so easy to close my eyes and open them fully expecting to see a tiny little boy swaddled up in his blanket fast asleep. Instead, when I open my eyes I see a young toddler who walks and talks and jumps and climbs.

In the past several months, EC has figured out how to assert himself. He knows what he wants and usually knows how to get it. He loves all sorts of toys but has become especially fond of his "choo-choo's". He has 11 teeth, weighs around 20 pounds, is a picky eater, and sometimes has his daddy's temper (oh, lucky me). He can say around 20 words but Nick and I are the only ones who can understand all of them, most of the time. Bath time is a favorite, he is a great sleeper although he wakes around 6am, and so far he's stayed pretty healthy aside from a few colds. He likes Elmo, enjoys helping in the kitchen, cuddles with Molly, winks (with both eyes), whistles (while saying "oooooo"), dances and still loves to be tickled. See?

EC is on the go....constantly. He rarely sits for longer than a few seconds and is happiest when we're out and about. He has recently become aware of other kids playing and really wants to join them no matter their age. He has no idea he'll be a big brother next summer but I think over the months he'll get a clue. Nick and I recently left him for the very first time while we visited New York City, and according to the grandma's he did great!

Happy 18 month birthday, EC! We love you!

Chatter Box

Here are a couple videos of EC talking on the phone. First to his Nana, then to his Grandma.

She must be telling him something really exciting, judging from all the "oooohh's"!!

Ours was a Very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day has already been here and gone, where did the time go?? We had a great holiday this year, it was fun to watch EC open his gifts and afterwards we had family come over to enjoy an early Christmas dinner.

This is the first real taste of snow EC has had, he's intrigued by the white stuff and isn't quite sure what to make of it. He calls it "no". Nick showed him the proper way to roll a snowball and encouraged him to throw it at me.

This was our second attempt to get a photo with Santa. He's just fine with Santa if he doesn't have to sit on his lap, maybe next year will be different.

His very first train track! His big cousin loves trains and has a full size set that EC got to play with but he's happy with the starter track for now. He calls them "choo choos".

Playing with his "choo choos" on his new kid table/chair set he got from Nana, and a cement truck (under table) that came from Great Grandparents "D".

Grandma and Grandpa gave him this horse that hooks up to the TV for fun games. He LOVES hopping on and off it and bouncing up and down to make it sing.

For being an old cat (10 or 11 yrs old), Molly is quite lenient with the cruel treatment she gets from EC. He means well but hasn't mastered the word "gentle" yet. Here he was giving her kisses. He calls her "meow".

EC and Nick hanging out playing with all his new Christmas toys!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and will enjoy a Happy New Year! Nick and I are taking off to NYC soon for a mini vacation. EC will be staying here with his Nana and Grandma taking turns watching him. This is the very first time I'll be away from him for longer than a stretch of a few hours. I'm sure the separation will be harder on me than him but I know I'll miss him like mad. He'll have so much fun while we're gone I doubt he even misses us.

We are scheduled to have a sonogram on January 14 to make sure our newest addition is happy and healthy, we're all looking forward to the good news. We're also the impatient type so we'll be finding out the sex of the baby too. This pregnancy is going by too fast (although I couldn't wait for the nausea to end!) and before I know it, we'll have another little baby!

Holiday Pictures

Packing for our Thanksgiving trip to Missouri. It only took me 6.7 hours to pack with the help of EC.



Nana had her hands full of all her grandbabies on Thanksgiving! They all enjoyed putting together the gingerbread train.




Do you remember this little guy? This photo is from last year, during our Thanksgiving trip to Cincinnati.

Nick and EC taking a break from the rest of the family.

Nana and EC in Zona Rosa shopping center in KC.

The 3 cousins (Nick's sister's kids) sitting nicely for a picture. They had such a good time playing.

I had to click fast, they didn't sit still for longer than a few seconds!

EC loves our Christmas tree, and he's sneaky about pulling off the ornaments!

A baby no more!

Another look down memory lane....Christmas 2008.

Nick and EC putting up outside Christmas lights.

Nick and I LOVE getting kisses from EC, even if he misses!

Thanksgiving

Ok, I admit it. Yes, I should be fired from this blogging job. I have lost my mojo and I really need a good talking to. This post isn't going to include pictures even though I promised them in my last post. Indeed, another good reason I should be fired.

I have good reason though! To upload pictures to my blog I have to borrow Nick's PC because my camera doesn't play nice with my Mac. And believe it or not, Nick only allows me limited access to his computer because he thinks I download things like "Coupon Printer" and "Save Money, Click Here" programs which fog up his aging PC. Come on, who doesn't like to save some dough? So during the hours of 4:36pm and 4:37pm Monday through Tuesday I am given all access to his PC to load pictures. Is this good enough of an excuse??

I do have some cute pictures to share though, and will work on them sometime THIS year. Promise.

For Thanksgiving, we traveled to Missouri to stay with Nick's sister and her great family. She has two little ones aged 3 and 5 so EC had a blast playing with them both. There was not one dull moment for him, especially since he had so many "new" toys to keep him busy and not to mention, two big kids he could copy. His big cousin is really into trains and EC seems to like them too, so they had fun playing with those.

We had a delicious Thanksgiving meal, Kate really outdid herself. I'm not the least bit embarrassed to say that I had to unbutton my pants after dinner! Truth be told, they were unbuttoned before dinner. Pregnant, remember?

Friday morning we all (Nick, EC, my MIL Beth, and myself) piled into the car and headed for Kansas City for some shopping and to stay the night. An uneventful weekend, but a good time was had by all.

Our Christmas tree, lights and decorations are all up and lookin' good this year. EC was napping when Nick and I put the 7' tall tree in our entryway, so you can imagine his amazement when he came downstairs and saw it. It was a "what in the heck" look, followed by the "can I touch it" look, followed again by the "what in the heck" look. Apparently it's weird to have a tree inside our house.

We went to the mall today in attempt to snag a photo with Santa. I should mention that we've been prepping EC for this day, as I have seen other little kids kicking and screaming while being tossed on the jolly man's lap and I wanted to avoid that with my own little guy. We've been reading Christmas books, saying "ho, ho, ho", and talking about Santa for a couple weeks now.

Looks like we'll have to continue prepping him, it didn't go well. No picture for us this time. Bah-humbug.

Yes, we're still here!

Yes, I know I've been slacking in the blogging department. I have no good excuse to share so please don't forget about us and keep checking back for a new post with pictures soon!

In the meantime, I can share a few things about EC. He's all over the place these days, he walks all over the house inspecting everything he can get his little paws on. Lately, he's become fond of putting things in the toilet, his bouncy balls seem to be a favorite. Talented little guy, isn't he? He is "talking" up a storm and has his own way of saying certain words which can be a bit confusing at times. I'm sure he's frustrated that we don't know what "issssshhhhh" means by now. He's also a super duper sleeper. I would have NEVER thought I'd be saying that but am so grateful that I can.

As for the new little baby in our lives, well, this one has been making its presence known even though we can't see him/her. I didn't have one ounce of nausea with EC but things have been quite different this time around. I'm nearing the end of my first trimester so my fingers are crossed that the sickness will end as well. I'm already convinced it's a girl because things are so different, we'll find out in a couple months!

Halloween

Does anybody remember this little monster??

Or this one?

EC's very first Halloween was a lot of fun, he was about 3 1/2 months old and made the best little monster ever. I couldn't show him off enough!

EC was a fireman this year, and although we didn't actually go trick or treating in our neighborhood, he did get to dress up in his costume a couple times for an event or two.

We went to the Boo Bash held by the Mom and Tot group, and had a great time. We enjoyed a potluck style dinner, lots of games and crafts and a long line of trick or treating. I admit, we skipped the trick or treating part simply because it would be Nick and I who would eat all the candy!

EC wore his costume the entire day of Halloween, I'm pretty sure he had no clue that he was wearing something other than normal clothes. We went to the park and even to my old workplace for a photo shoot opportunity. He was in bed by 7pm when all the other little goblins and witches were out for the candy. Next year we'll definitely go door to door.

No ladies, this isn't a picture of Mr. October!

Running around at the Boo Bash. This fireman does NOT sit still.

There were so many cute costumes at this party. EC was on the go the entire time.

A Special Photo

Some of you may already know about this photo below. If you don't, it should be pretty easy to figure out! That's right...EC is going to be a big brother next year!

Monkey See Monkey Do

I promise, I rarely talk on the phone. However, Nick is constantly taking business calls throughout the day and EC has obviously paid close attention to how it's done. The funniest part is when he's talking on the phone and playing with toys at the same time.

Wait, scratch that.

The funniest part is when he actually calls someone without me knowing! He did just that a while back, he hit the redial button and called his Nana. I guess they had a long "conversation" until he pushed the off button. Beth (Nana) called us later to say thanks for the phone call and I had no idea what she was talking about!

Fall

Ahhhh, another lovely fall day! We have so many leaves in our yard thanks to the many gigantic trees surrounding our house, so EC and I raked up a nice pile for him to play in. He enjoys his time outdoors, he especially likes wandering around the yard picking up sticks.

Eventually he likes to make his way to the garage where the lawn mower and wagon are waiting for him and since I can't say no, we usually take a ride on one or the other. On this day, he got a ride on both!

And then he'd had enough....

Quickest trip to the Pumpkin Patch ever!

It'd be fun to write about how much fun we had at Walter's Pumpkin Patch this past weekend, but it was absolutely freezing so it was a bust. We knew it'd be cold, but we weren't prepared for the wind chill factor so we snapped a few pictures, pulled EC down a few trails, got some hot chocolate then ran back to our car for some warmth before EC turned into a popsicle. We didn't even buy pumpkins!

Nick and I decided that we'll make a family tradition of driving to Walter's every year, obviously, we'll check the weather first next time. They have a ton of family friendly activities to do and little shops with holiday knickknacks. I'm sure it'd be easy to spend several hours there.

As miserable as EC looks in the pictures, he was actually quite content all cozied up in the wagon (which is normally used for hauling pumpkins, not cold little children). He wasn't in the least bit interested in getting out, and I don't blame him.

Happy Halloween!

I saw this video application on a friend's blog and thought it was hilarious!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

We're going to a pumpkin patch tomorrow so get ready for lots

of pictures.

Happy Halloween!

Fashion, Potatoes and Forks

Never have I claimed to have much fashion sense, and by the looks of it, neither does EC.

Let me explain this disaster of an outfit. Shortly after waking up, EC wanted to keep his doggie pj's on but it was chilly in the house. A jacket was handy so we threw it on. Afterwards, EC raided his shoe basket and shoved his spiffy little Nike's in my face, so I strapped those on too. Lastly, he found one of my headbands and stretched it over his head to complete the look. What do you think?

Don't be at all surprised if you see this latest fashion trend on the next cover of Kid's Vogue.

I really try to limit the toys I buy (mainly because I have nowhere to put them) but I've always liked Mr. Potato Head, so I splurged and bought one. EC is getting the hang of it, see?

And then he wanted to wear Mr. Potato Head's glasses!

And for your viewing pleasure, EC LOVES to use a fork or spoon himself. He's only about 5% successful in actually getting food into his mouth, and he has an interesting way of getting food onto the fork. Watch and learn people.

Yoga Baby

About a month ago, EC and I were playing in our front yard. He looked up at me and said, "Ma, where's your camera? I'm gonna do some yoga and need to check my form." Sure thing, kid.


Doing what I was told, I located my camera and snapped away.



Cobra pose anyone?



When he was finished showing off he told me to ditch the camera and insisted I come over and join him for a warrior bridge half moon facing downward something or other, pose.


Uhhh, no thanks, your mommy can't even touch her toes, mmmmkay?

First Days of Walking Video

Since his first step 3 days ago, EC is gaining confidence each day and trying out his few found skill around the house. Several times now he's stopped walking and put his head on the ground like he wants to do a somersault, I'm not sure what that's all about!?

I was able to catch a couple unsteady, shaky steps on video today.

Guess who...

...took his first (unassisted) steps this afternoon? We're all pretty excited about it, too!

It started with 2 little steps, then plop to the floor. Then back up for 3 steps, plop, and back up for 5 steps, plop. I was at my parent's house and Nick wasn't with us so he didn't get to see it, but once we got home EC didn't want to disappoint him so he took another couple steps just to show off.

I've had 14 months to prepare myself for a toddler getting into everything, so let the fun begin!!