16 months and counting

Is it even possible? My baby, my last baby, is (almost) 16 months old? I haven’t posted since before his birthday (I may go back and try to catch up someday. I may not) and so much has changed since then. First, he’s grown up. A lot.

He’s got hair now. It’s not a lot, like his buddy Graham, but it’s enough. And it’s getting curly in the back just like his brothers.

He climbs on everything. Runs like the wind and is generally into everything in the house, especially the stuff that he isn’t supposed to be.

He still rarely cries. Though that seems to be changing some as he learns more about what he wants and just how to go about getting it. He wakes up (very early) every morning wanting a glass of milk (Mmm to him). He points at the refrigerator, demanding his cup. Then after just one drink he points to the counter because at daycare that’s where the cups go during the day. But, sometimes that isn’t what he wants and he throws a fit. An actual lay down on the ground and kick your legs fit. And while they aren’t exactly adorable, I still have a hard time getting mad at him, even when he’s being a stinker.

 

His vocabulary is growing. In the last month he has finally started talking. He says mama, dada, mmm, bye, boo, uh-oh and bapa (backpack). Not bad for a two week time frame. Some days I wish he said a little more, but most days I happy to interpret his grunts and pointing. I kind of like having one kid who can’t talk back to me yet.

And his smile is absolutely infectious. So is his laugh. And that squished up face he gets when he knows he down something right and he starts to clap for himself. I have a hard time not swooping him up and giving him big ol’ kisses every time. Not going to lie, sometimes I do. I just can’t help it.

He’s also totally infatuated with his belly button. And mine. And his dad’s. And my dad’s. It’s cute. And gross. And cute. Yeah, mostly cute. He is also pretty enamored with his toes. I still catch him trying to chew on them every once in awhile. At least he’s chewing on something, I guess, because his eating habits are definitely growing too. He still loves food, but the kind of food he loves is dwindling. The things he likes, he shoves them in his mouth by the handful. The things he doesn’t, he either throws them on the floor or sits in his highchair and whines until we take them off the plate.

The last month has brought so much change. I’m a little scared for what the next month holds. I don’t want my baby to grow up. This is my favorite age and I’m going to miss it when it’s gone.

 

Best. Day. Ever.

It was hot outside. Again. Like 95 with a heat index over 100 and heat advisories hot. But when we got home from work/daycare Nick’s friends were outside playing in the water so of course the boys wanted to join them. It was too hot to argue so I sent them in for their trunks. Twenty minutes later I was staring down the sloppy end of water/mud slide.

Yuck.

 

That’s what he said, too.

But, not these guys. They loved every second of it. They even rigged up the hose so it would continue to spray the slide without anyone manning the spout.

I wish I could see that kind of excitement from Nick more often. He’s such a serious child sometimes. Crazy, but serious. Is that even possible?

As if the mud slide wasn’t enough, this crazy cool mama let the boys take a bath … and paint with colored shaving cream. See Zander’s belly and that little bit of the tub? The whole tub and both of their bodies looked like that in less than 15 minutes.

Including their faces. Meet the Incredible Hulk.

And Crazy Smurf.

Is it bad that the best picture I have of the two of them together they are naked and covered in colored shaving cream. Would it be wrong of me to print this out and hang it on the wall? These are some of the best simultaneous smiles I’ve ever got from these two clowns.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, we topped off the night with ice cream sundaes. Yep, it was officially the best day ever, or at least for this week.

Too hot

I’m not an outside girl, at least not once the temperature gets over 85 or so. So, when the thermometer tops out in the mid to upper 90s you can bet that I am going to be staying inside, even if it means finding something to keep Nick and Zander from killing each other and driving me crazy. Today, that something happened to be painting. Unfortunately Zander’s killer cut didn’t allow for finger painting and I didn’t have any watercolor paper. So, it was on the bigger and better things: The boys wanted to paint the houses my mom got them for Christmas. That was all fine and good except it required me to put them back together again … in the stuffy, but not sweltering, porch. At Christmas, this was a two man job. Today, I tackled it solo (well, solo and a half – the boys helped but their help is kind of questionable).

I'm glad I did though. They played out there quietly for about an hour.

Nick was very intent on getting his just right.

Zander is more into abstract work.

And Ben, well, you can see what he did.

Looks like I better get out the Window-ex (That’s what Zander called it the other day).

‘We got a bleeder’

That’s what Nick yelled as he ran out of the garage this afternoon.

“We got a bleeder.”

I really wasn’t surprised he was yelling this. Nick tends to be a bit of a drama queen when it comes to blood. I figured Zander had fallen and skinned a knee. Maybe even enough to actually warrant a band-aid. I wasn’t prepared for this:

Yep, I had a bleeder alright. Zander was holding onto his hand, wiping his tears and dripping blood all over the garage floor. Apparently, in the rush to grab their overnight bag (they were staying at my parents’ house that night) Nick slammed Zander’s finger in the door. But, not just in the door. In the lock. So instead of being smashed, it was cut. And bleeding. A lot. And I just hoped he didn’t need stitches.

I was very glad my parents were over to help. I ran inside for a wet rag while they kept Zander calm and corralled Ben. After I wrapped the finger I brought him inside (no need to have him bleed on the carpet if I can help it) to better assess the damage. It wasn’t pretty, but it also didn’t appear to be stitch worthy. The biggest concern is that the cut gash was on his first knuckle. I’m hoping the constant movement won’t keep it from healing.

Once we bandaged him up he was good as gold. Well, except for the blood in his hair. Ashley found that a few minutes later. I panicked. Again. Back in the bathroom we were all relieved to discover that the blood in his hair was from the blood on his finger and not from a new cut. So, I sent the clan (minus Ben) on their merry way and I cleaned up the mess (which is why I have no photos of the victim Zander). There was blood on both my arms, on Zander’s clothes

and all over the step stool he sat down on right after it happened. You can see it here on the round piece on the right and just a hint of it on the front of the step (don’t mind my disgustingly dirty drywall. Our garage needs a complete overhaul.)

And on the other side of the step ladder.

And this just looks like something out of a bad horror movie.

Our day with Dalton

The boys love having friends over, but it’s rare that they get to have a play date, let alone an extended play date. Today, though, they got six fun-filled hours with their buddy Dalton. His parents had some stuff to take care of with their littlest guy and my boys entertained Dalton to help give them a break. I think I can say that a loud good time was had by all.

The Day with Dalton (it was almost like a holiday) started about 11:30 with some inside play.

Then it was lunchtime (four different lunches for four different boys) …

and off to play outside while Ben took a nap. I figured it was the best way to ensure he actually got a nap.

Then it was back inside to cool down and have a snack. I made each of the boys individual microwave cupcakes and, as an extra special treat, gave them some ice cream (I said it was like a holiday).

Then, I did the unthinkable. I took four boys, all 6 and under, to the library. We had movies that were due and the boys still needed to check in this week for the summer reading program. I figured it couldn’t be too bad, right?

RIGHT!

The boys were awesome! They did the craft (a clip-on bat) …

… pretended to be superhero housekeepers …

… and just chillaxed in the stroller.

 

I still had an hour or so left with the whole crew when we got home so we headed back outside for some fun in the water.

Then the thunder started rumbling and the boys got a little scared. So we cleaned up the yard and headed inside to dry off.

But, when my camera flash went off while taking the photo above the boys got a little crazy. They thought the flash looked like lightning and proceeded to run around yelling screaming (they still have such high pitched voices at this age) while I snapped more pictures.

 

And when I ran out of memory on my card, I used the test button on my flash to set off a strobe like light that really caused them to go crazy. That might be why Dalton pulled out his zombie face.

Just 30 minutes after Dalton left Nick asked if he could come over again sometime. But, next time, he said, “can he stay for longer? He was only here for a little bit.” Umm … we’ll have to see about that.

Neighbor swap

Almost every day at 4:30 our backyard turns into a neighborhood playground. The now open yards (we took down the old chain link fence during a time when I wasn’t feeling much like taking pictures) have turned into a haven for my boys, our neighbors’ little girl and our other neighbors’ three little kids. It’s great. Us moms stand in the shade of the neighbors’ trees (our backyard has none) watching to two little people while the big kids (three first graders and one third grader) run out the last little bit of energy for the day.

Unfortunately, the heat has kept us inside the last few days. Fortunately, my boys have been continuing the play dates inside. Our neighbor girl came to our house today. Tomorrow the boys will go to her house. It’s great. While she is here they stay occupied and out of my hair. While they are there they stay occupied and out of my hair. Win/win for me and them. Today they danced and played Legos. Who knows what they will do at her house. I don’t care, as long as they have fun and stay there ‘til dinnertime.

 

Everyone loves the Imagination Movers music! Shh … even me. Those songs get stuck in my head all the time.

And, as per usual, Ben just kind of did his own cute little thing.