6 months

One half year!

Vitals:

With his 'gator

Official stats coming Friday at his well care visit, but I'm estimating he's about 20 lb & at least a MEEEELLION inches long. He's wearing 6-9m clothes, some 12m pants. Who knows about sleepers because the tiny furnace is too hot to sleep in one.

EDIT: He weighed in at 20lb 0.5oz. 27.5 inches long. Roughly 85% all the way

Highlights:
First plane ride, no, wait, SECOND plane ride!
First trip to California. He got to meet his great-grandparents (on my side) and some great aunts, lots of cousins.
He's tried some real food, but the results have been... sketchy. He wants to cram all the things into his face. When he tastes stuff, he shudders and looks at me like I've betrayed him in the worst possible way. Then he shoves more into his face.
First ear infection, and first antibiotic.

Skills:
Sitting up un-assisted. He loves to sit. He's not so enamored of his Bumbo or Jumperoo anymore, but put him on the floor with toys in reach and he's happy.
We've recently introduced him to the high chair and a Joovy Spoon walker thingy with a tray and he thinks those are the very best things ever. A place to put toys where he can still reach them.
Grabbing things & getting them into his mouth
Singing the song of his people, all 81 verses. I don't remember Eleanor being this vocal, but he chatters almost as much as she does.
Rolling. Not consecutively, but both directions
OOOOOOOOching. I put him down one place and then poof, he's 6 inches closer to the coffee table that I moved him away from.

Works in progress:
Getting into sitting from lying down. Laying down. Lying down? Someone smarter than me figure that one out.
A tooth, maybe?

He likes:
Sitting and standing
Chewing on everything
Drooling
Baths
Being walked around & when we sing to him
Walks with his sister

He dislikes:
Sleeping alone

I like:
When he reaches for my face and smiles. It's a tiny Hallmark moment and I love it.
He is generally a happy, smiling, easy-going baby.
He has a little sprout of hair right at the crown of his head that makes it super easy for him to sport a full-time faux-hawk and it makes me really happy.

He is so well loved. I have many happy helping hands and that keeps me sane and happy too.
He's a pretty great snuggler, and one morning, I woke up with a little footprint on my chest. Pale skin for the win.
Tiny plaid shorts. J calls them his "old man shorts" though they remind me more of a friend from college than little old men. Still. Plaid shorts for the win.

I dislike:

Ear infections
How fast he's growing out of cute outfits

More veggies, more meatballs, and making stuff I've never made before

So, week 1 of Fresh20 was sort of a wash. Not terrible, but not really anything spectacular either. I made stuff (lots of substitutions) and liked most of it, though J didn't really. He ate it, because he's great like that.

Week 2 however, was such a hit! I cooked all sorts of things I've never made before, like kale, quinoa, polenta, meatballs, cannelli beans. Every single recipe I made J liked. Loved. Would eat again. Wanted me to make again. Even the stuff with KALE and QUINOA. Crazy. Super crazy. Good stuff. Full disclosure, I didn't make the vegetarian meal. It was a cold quinoa & kale salad and we wound up going out to dinner with friends and despite having all the ingredients at the ready, I never wound up making it.

Week 3 was a short week because of Memorial Day and some more dinner with friends. So I only made 2 of the recipes, but liked them both a lot.

This week is another meatball week and looks pretty promising. I made salsa for the first time. Hold the phone, I'm becoming a cook or something!

Fresh20, 50 by '15

So I bought a year's subscription to Fresh20. On sale. Which is good, because it is so far out of my comfort zone. I cook boring meals. Meat. Starch. Vegetable. Pasta with sauce. Lather, rinse, repeat. Which is part of the reason I was interested in Fresh20. That, and it comes with a shopping list AND nutritional information.

This is not my review, because I have yet to make any of the recipes exactly as listed. Some of my substitutions are based on availability--there wasn't any chicken chorizo at my grocery store. Some are based on my taste buds--I'm not putting mint in my peas. Some are based on what I've already got in my kitchen to use up--dried basil instead of fresh, pre-minced garlic, etc. Some are because I'm lazy--no whole chicken for me. Boneless, skinless breasts all the way. (My friend Shannon is shaking her head at me right now. She cooks whole chickens on the regular. In aprons. While drinking martinis. She's a dream. I'm... not that cool.) It has revealed to me that I do not own a juicer, and that's mildly problematic. So far, we've only done 3 recipes. Last week was the first week since I signed up that I've been home to cook. 5 meals a week is a good number for us because that gives us room for some comfort food (ie: things from boxes & jars & cans) or to go out or leftovers, etc. It has helped keep our grocery budget on track (for the 2 weeks that I've been buying, we've stayed under $100, even buying things for lunches, sodas, etc.) despite the increase in fresh produce. I set my account to cook for 4 adults so we've had leftovers.

But... so far J's highest praise of any of the dishes has been that they are "edible." I quite liked the chicken gyros and the lemon mustard chicken, but J didn't like tzatziki sauce with chicken instead of lamb or beef, and isn't fond of mustard in general, so I wasn't expecting that one to be a hit. The chorizo was too oily and too spicy, but that's because I used the pork kind I'm sure. So. 2 out of 3 that *I* liked, and the one that I didn't is the one that J did, mostly. Not the best record. Not the fault of Fresh20 really. I do like that it makes sure that I'm using better ingredients and I like trying new recipes. I'll make those gyros again in a heartbeat. Just on a night that J isn't home.

This week's recipes all sounded good. Meatballs. Some spicy tomato-based soup with a name I can't pronounce that looks like abalone. Salmon lemon pasta. Asparagus salad (that mu husband will insist on eating meat with). Yet, at the grocery store, I hardly recognized my cart. Kale? Proscuitto? Cannenell..cannonelli...cannannonnennellelleri beans? KEEN-WA?! (I'm sorry, my brain refuses to see quinoa and not try to say quin-noah) Needless to say, these recipes are in uncharted waters for us.

So, now that Garrison is getting on towards 6 months old, I'm trying to get the crazy nursing hunger sugar cravings under control so I can hopefully get back to a healthier weight & level of activity. I set a little goal for myself. 50 pounds by 2015. I started at the beginning of May (then went to my Grandma's house--land of daily bacon & fried eggs), which gives me a nice 1.5lb per week goal. Sustained over 7 months. We'll see. It's ambitious but maybe doable. Maybe. I'm notoriously bad at stick-to-it-iveness. Mostly I just want to fit in my clothes. Time and gravity and babies have changed the shape of me into something different, and as soon as I'm done nursing, I'm treating myself to a whole new set of things for my top half. In the meantime, time to get moving. I'm trying out the Daily Burn. So far, I've laughed my way through some dance workouts. Not too shabby.

That's all for now. Coming soon, Garrison's 6 month update. Half a year. Dude.

5 months

May. Already?

Vitals:
19.6 lb
27ish inches (hard to tell with Mr. Squirmy Squid)
He's big. And delightfully chunky. And adorable.

Highlights:
Family pictures.
First trip to Faire (no costume though, that comes later).
Easter!
His first birthday party. Not his 1st birthday party, that comes later, but he attended his first party. For his sister's birthday. Slept through practically the whole thing.

Skills:
Sitting up ALL BY HIMSELF
Getting things in his mouth (Specifically his pacifier, right way 'round)
Grabbing stuff (mostly my glasses & hair)
Drooling
Toots heard all the way across the house (not an exaggeration)

Works in Progress:
Still working on rolling all the way over (back to belly). He gets about 95% of the way there, then gets distracted by something & SPROING, back to his back

He likes:
His Jumperoo. LOVES it actually. We've had to move it all the way up to the 2nd to last setting. Almost 20lb plus leeeeegs means he won't be in it much longer.
Watching Eleanor. He thinks she's the coolest thing
Being naked. He giggles like a loon when you take his shirt off. Or wipe his butt. Babies, man.
Chewing on everything, which is making it more difficult to tell when he's actually hungry.
Sleeping on his tummy. I'm... not a fan.
Sleeping with his face burrowed into my armpit. Or belly. Or neck. Or whatever he an burrow into.
Bath time. Just like his sister.

He dislikes:
Not having all the eyeballs on him.
Sleeping alone.
This nasty chest cough he's been battling all month. (Nothing scary. We keep getting it checked to make sure his lungs & ears are clear. Just a string of colds/allergies/snot-causing whatevers)

I like:
The laughing!
He reaches for me & smiles when he gets me
Watching him watch Eleanor
His fuzzy baby hair (which is starting to look suspiciously blonde, like Eleanor's)
Adorable outfits. So many dinosaurs and sharks and an octopus or two, some yellow submarines, oh, and a bunny hat.
His beautiful grey eyes, that are still grey. Sometimes I think I see some tan creeping in, but mostly still grey.

I dislike:
Sleep deprivation
Milk barf
Blowouts

Time Lapse Giraffe

I'm just going to leave this right here.

3 days

3 months

6 months

1 year

18 months

2 years

Two years old

Oh boy is she ever two.

The Vitals:
30 lb (with all her clothes & a full belly)
35.5 inches

She's leggy and yet still has some of the baby softness, especially in her hands and feet.

Highlights:
The Talking! Some of my favorite words right now: co-wees (covers), tay-maile (tomato), may-pup (makeup) She has ALL THE WORDS and is repeating everything, also constructing her own sentences. She picked something up off of J's nightstand, looked at it and said, "This is Daddy's." What?!? Yes, it is, but...whoa.
Singing! She sings to us. Real songs. Identifiable songs. BEST.
Running, "jumping," spinning. She's pretty clumsy when she's walking, but she loves to dance.

Skills:
Um... see above. She likes to "drive" my car, and check the mail. She can and does feed the dog. She fetches stuff.
With her step stool (that she almost doesn't need), she will turn the lights on & off

Works in Progress:
Actual jumping. With two feet
Counting. Mostly it's 1, 2, 9. Except if she's throwing something. Then it's "One, Tree, TROW!"
Listening? She'll figure that our eventually, right?

She likes:
Winnie the Pooh, books, disassembling things, cooking, her blanket, putting on makeup, purses, vacuuming, dumping things from one container to another, snuggling, bath time, showers, singing, spinning, dip, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, nuggets, pasta in pretty much any form, her big girl bed (which is actually a toddler day bed, but it was her big present today and DUDE! she was so happy!)

She dislikes:
Not being able to do whatever she wants whenever she wants it... just like every other human.







I like:
All the communication, and when she spontaneously runs up to hug me, her laugh, when she takes my hand to lead me around, how fast she's learning, her curls-which are still just at the back of her head, but slowly taking over as the front gets long enough to reach the back, pigtails!

I dislike:
Tantrums, just like every other human

She is such a little mimic, and it's sometimes startling to hear the strange habits I have coming from her mouth. Like the fact that I tend to give her simple directions in threes. When I tell her to pull her blanket out of her crib, I say "pull, pull, pull." And thus, so does she. She tells me she'll be right back when she leaves the room. When she bumps into something or falls down, "I sorry." When Garrison cries, "I coming! Is Ok Garrison. I coming!" Yeah. Yeah, it's... yeah.

Her party was great, but I only have pictures from before everyone arrived of the cake & food, because both my phone & camera were non-functional. So, once everyone else's phones send me the goods, I'll share.

You guys. She's great. I don't know how I got so lucky. I mean, we have days. Days where I just flop into bed and wonder how I'm ever going to make her into a functional member of society. I get exasperated and have no idea how to handle the ultra-mega-meltdowns. I get mad when she's willful. Then she does something sweet or helpful or cute and it gets me through that moment. She's as smart and sweet and adorable as a two year old.

Irish lass

Matchy matchy

Unimpressed toddler

This actually happened. Famous silhouette

totally ladylike

Fashion-forward!

 ``

Sweet little ham

PJs at TJs 2014

A weekend in Phoenix with 20 some odd lady friends was exactly the get away I needed. When I found out I was pregnant with Garrison, I didn't think I would be able to go this year. Then I thought maybe I could handle it--after traveling with a toddler I thought an infant would be much easier (spoiler alert: I was right!). But then J got laid off & finances were dodgy, but he got a job, so I decided to register. Registration opened at the exact same time as my pre-registration appointment at the hospital, so as soon as it was over, I was frantically PayPal-ing Kelly. Thankfully Medical City was quick and I snagged a spot.

Kelly explains it much better than I will, but I love that this party is completely nonexclusive. EVERYONE is invited. You don't have to have a blog, or Twitter much, or know anyone in particular, or like certain things... well, I suppose you really should like hanging out in comfy clothes with snacks. But beyond that, it's an open invitation. But it's small. Which makes it so much less scary. You can wander around talking to everyone easily.

I'm sure I've said all this before.

So on Friday, Garrison & I headed to the airport. Other than a gate change that required taking a shuttle to a whole new terminal 10 min before we were supposed to board and then a 30 minute delay, we had an uneventful flight. I got my rental car without hassle & went to get a bite to eat & buy a car charger for my dying phone. And also some diaper cream. Switching G over to disposables for the weekend led to a horrible rashy booty. 

But G was fussy so I stopped for a diaper change. Oh. Oh boy. Now, back seat diaper changes aren't new to me, but this baby had a blow out, and apparently I was changing things mid-blow. Yeah. It was messy. Thank goodness for leather seats, ok?

Then I shopped, picked up Kammah, we drove through rush hour traffic to the party house and... well, hung out & chatted. Low key. Good food. In bed by 11. Oh yeah, it was rad.

Saturday was more of the same. Donuts for breakfast, shopping, Red Robin for lunch, trip to Ulta, then prepping for the party.

Muumuu & make-up.

Kelly had a makeup artist come & teach us tricks. She helped make sense of highlighting & contouring. First, the bronzer she choose was way darker than I would have imagined would work on my pasty face. Then she said to imagine an E & a 3 on each side of my face, starting at my hairline, then under my cheeks, then under my jaw. Ok, it was so simple. I tried once I got home & boom! I have cheekbones! 

So it was just a nice, quiet weekend with friends. Some people that I only get to see at this party. Some friends I see all the time. And people that it feels like I see all the time because we tweet all the time. I met some new people, and re-met folks that I haven't seen since the one time I met them in Austin at the only Blathering I've attended. And I wasn't pregnant! Everyone was so wonderful & welcoming to Garrison, which is one of the things that I've never really appreciated about PJs before, because I haven't needed to take advantage of the "bring a baby" (well, not on the OUTSIDE) clause. But everyone was willing to hold him so I could go stuff my face, or pee alone, or play with make up, or gaze longingly at the cake. 

This weekend is still one of the highlights of my year. I hope Kelly continues to do it for a long, long, long time. 

Four?! months

This one snuck up on me. I've been so focused on ignoring the fact that Eleanor turns 2 in 4 days that I nearly missed 4 months.

The Vitals:
16.2 lb in a freshly clean diaper & empty belly
Long. Very long. I haven't been able to hold his squirmy self down to measure, but I'll get official numbers from the doctor next week.

Highlights:
North Texas Irish Festival. A couple of birthday parties. A cold or two.

Skills:
Laughing! The best thing in the world. His first laugh was on St. Patrick's day, which is exactly one year after I found out he was joining our family, so that was neat.
Puking! On everything! Still!
Sitting up in the Bumbo
"Standing" on laps
Grabbing things (with about a 50% success rate)
Shoving any & everything into his mouth
Being naked

Works in Progress:
Rolling over--oh how he wants to do it, but is still a quarter turn short.

He likes:
Snuggling
Singing
Grabbing fistfuls of hair
Drooling
Watching Eleanor

He dislikes:
The itchy forehead rash that causes him to try to maim himself on a daily basis

I like:
Giggles & smiles
He recognizes me & smiles when he sees me. He likes me. Dude.
That he's still a mostly immobile lump that I can just lay down & expect him to stay put
That he's learning to do stuff every second and become less lump-like by the minute
His birthmark

I dislike:
The mysterious thing in the middle of the night that causes him to lose his wee little mind for 3-5 minutes

He's so big and bright-eyed and beautiful. I'm so lucky to have him.

3 months

The vitals:
16.4 lb fully dressed & freshly fed, according to my bathroom scale. We'll see next month what the doctor's scatter says.
25 inches long, as far as I can tell from Mr. Squirmy pants. I try to sneak measurements when he's sleeping.

Highlights:
PJs at TJ's! Which included his first plane rides, first trip to a new state, first pajama party, first blow-out in the back of a rental car, first epic diaper rash & first hotel stay
First crafts! We made some ornaments for Valentine's Day

NTIF! 78 degrees & sunny

First snow the very next day 

Skills:
Smiling
Singing
Scratching his face no matter how short his nails are
Spitting up on everything except the burp cloth

He likes:
Baths
Being naked
All eyes on him
Snuggling
His swing
The Bumbo
Sleeping on Daddy
Long walks through the neighborhood

He dislikes:
Being itchy

I like:
My happy boy
Getting more than 2hrs of sleep. Doesn't happen as often as I would like, but it's very nice
The very beginnings of a routine are starting to emerge
When both babies nap at the same time

I dislike:
The rash of doom. Garrison's got some epic eczema. Apparently so did I as a baby. We're doing all the things. Oatmeal baths, washing with Cetaphil,  hydrocortisone cream, Aveeno eczema lotion. Still rashy. Nothing makes me feel like a bad mom faster than his rashy skin. It's irrational but true.

Overall things are going really well. He's out of 0-3m clothes (with just a few exceptions for things I can't bear to put away just yet) & wearing 3-6m. Of course the weather is being very typically Texan & vacillating 60 degrees in 24 hr, so I can't put long sleeves away yet. He's never met a stranger he didn't like. Just like his sister.

22.5 months

I can't wait until her 2 year update because she's really great RIGHT NOW and in another 6 weeks, she'll be different. There's already so much that's changed just since Garrison was born. She's leggy & her hair would touch her shoulders except the back curls up while the front remains resolutely straight.

OK, so my 21st century baby, iPad & Fitbit were some of her first words. She navigates touch screens with ease, which I'm sure is some sort of commentary on my parenting, but whatever. The Endless Alphabet & Endless Reader apps are HUGE hits. Bonus, she's learning to identify letters & has started repeating the words she's spelling. This week's show on repeat is Finding Nemo, and that's rad. "Nemo? Watch?"

She's never said "yes" because she says "yeah" instead, with great enthusiasm. In her more stubborn moments, when I'm asking her a list of questions and gets stuck on one answer, usually "no", she catches herself and when you get to something she wants to say yes to, it comes out as a compound word, "noyeah." Just this week "yeah" changed to "yep." Cup is "tup" now and when we dog-sit for my brother she's very excited to shout "Tukko!"

The little mimic will tell you she'll be right back when she leaves the room (be back!) because apparently that's what we say. All the time.

Because Jeremy rarely leaves the house without a hat, she asks for a hat and purse when it's time to leave the house.

Oh, she used to say thank you (Dane Q) and sign it at the same time. She still signs "please" half the time she's saying it. BUT! Now when you ask her to say thank you, she responds with "yo welcome" and that's the cutest. She'll even say it to you unprompted if you thank her. She says "bess you" when you sneeze, and "cuse me" when she burps. She announces her toots like a true Boswell.

She's getting the concept of ownership and runs around proclaiming things that are hers, or identifying ours. Elnoy's bahdee (which is blankie), Elnoy's woom, Mama's purse, Daddy's coat. She's starting to put words together on her own making little sentences. "Ama bye-bye? Papa bye-bye? Home?" after my folks left was both adorable & heartbreaking.

She loves showering with me, brushing her teeth,chasing the dog, her little shopping cart that folds out into a play kitchen, her first tea set, being naked and telling everyone about it (NAKE!), yogurt, cheese, most of the vegetables (though avocado has fallen out of favor), playing in my makeup (yips!, cheek), having her toes painted, books, and drawing, preferably with the pen in using to pay bills instead of her 100 or so crayons.

Oh! Singing! So, a few weeks ago she started asking for songs. We sing to her all the time but when you're curled up in the glider, and she asks to snuggle (nuggle?) and wants you to sing to her? Who can resist that? Not me. When she was littler, she'd point to your mouth, sometimes quite... vigorously when she wanted a song, but now she says the words. And at night, it's totally a stalling tactic as she's started saying "more song? One?" Yep. Manipulation time.

Oh yeah, she counts to three. And says nine. And she's started singing to us now. Itsy Bitsy spider & the ABCs. Of course, she only says 8 or so letters, but when she gets to the end, it's adorable. "A,B...E..H,I..N,O...Q...S,P...now know...sing." Now if only I could catch it on video.

She's just wonderful. Frustrating, defiant, boundary-pushing, patience-testing, inventive, sweet, affectionate, creative, messy, adorable & runs me ragged more days than not, which is wonderful.

Short cuts

There's this thing J does when he's dpepperawing up a bath for me that I was going to call a "life hack" because that's the catch phrase, right? Then I heard TJ in my head saying, "not everything is a hack!" She's right. And most of the "hacks" are short cuts, but I don't know if this even qualifies as that because it actually takes longer. Whatever. It's a useful way of doing a thing I do a lot that gets better results than the way I usually do them. Anyway, he lets the tub fill from the shower head. This is neither novel nor revolutionary. However, it does keep our tiny bathroom warm & steamy much longer, creating a sort of sauna-like atmosphere. Only wetter. A hot tub in a sauna. It's fantastic.

Then! I was making dinner. A Philly cheese steak casserole. All apologies to residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the greater New England area as well as to lovers of the cheese steak everywhere. I've never had a cheese steak. I promise not to form am opinion on them based on this dish. Whatever. I'm making dinner, in a casserole dish, that has ground beef, onions, bell peppers and provolone topped with biscuit. Only vaguely in the neighborhood of a cheese steak. All of this is mostly irrelevant because what I'm trying to get around to is the part where the recipe have me a handy new way to cut bell peppers. Forgive me if you've been doing this for years. I'm new here. So, you cut a little of the bottom of the pepper so it stands up on its own. Then you cut from the stem down, leaving these long strips attached to the stem. HANDY!

I haven't used a dust pan to fill a bucket with water from the faucet, but I did buy a what'sit to organize my hair dodads, of which I have way too many considering the length of my hair is such that I don't do much with it. I'm sure you could DIY something like this in a jiffy. I have small children and a grand desire to sleep rather than craft.

There should be a clever unifying conclusion here, but I have to go check on my casserole.

Edit: 

1) If you fill the tub from the bottom using the shower, the water chills quicker, so either only use the hottest water, or fill tub halfway with the faucet and finish with the showerhead.

2) After slicing all around the bell pepper, you can cut around the stem or just snap off the strips. Its handy to be able to use the whole weight of the pepper while cutting it into strips so they aren't falling everywhere. 

3) The cassarole was delicious.

Made up make up

So, I've been thinking about what to do with my ever growing yet increasingly neglected cosmetics collection. Then Ginger posted her beauty goals, and so I'm doing the same. Making a list of house stuff has led to us getting new towels & soon an actual bed skirt. Maybe doing that with beauty stuff will help too.

1. Wear make up. OK. It sounds simple, but I rarely leave myself the time to put on  makeup. Between toddler wrangling, baby whispering, housekeeping, and the swiftly expanding list of kdramas I NEEEEEED to watch, eye-shadow & blush are falling off the radar.

2. Blush. I have some that I like but my naturally pink face means I rarely wear it. It seems silly to cover the pink with foundation just to re-pink it with blush. I don't have highlight/contouring skills, so blush is just something to add a "healthy glow." Anyway, I put some of my pretty MAC blush from the Disney Villains collection. It's Maleficent & the cookie is canned Briar Rose. I don't have pictures, but all day I was quite pleased with my reflection. So now I want to figure out how to wear all my blush.

3. Highlighting & Contouring. It's all the rage on Pintertest. When I got a MAC makeover a few years ago, I remember being stunned at how they changed the shape of my jaw & gave me cheekbones with just make up. It's nothing new, but I want to learn how to do it on my own face.

4. Good skin care. I have a Clarisonic Mia (it's purple) & my skin really seems to like being cleaned with oil. I've been pregnant/nursing for almost 3 years, so I'm not really sure what my skin is really like, but I'm (hopefully) going to be nursing most of this year too, so best to take care of this version of my skin.

5. Neutrals. I want to learn to use the pretty nude palettes I bought, like Naked3 & some Benefit stuff. Natural eye-shadow isn't what I'm used to or good at. But with blush, I think natural might be a good direction.

I think that's a good start.

Twooo Months

The Vitals:
15 lb (I didn't believe it but I weighed him on two different scales)

23.5" ish. Hard to tell because he still doesn't stretch out much 

Highlights:

The weather was nice enough for us to take a couple of walks around the neighborhood which he slept right through

I left him at home! (With J) He took a bottle of pumped milk without any issues. Hooray.

He went to his first coffee house & his first concert... which was just Queen Anne's Lace singing at the coffee house, but I'm counting it. 

Skills:
Holding his head up
Smiling!
Falling asleep just as his sister wakes up from her nap
Rolling from belly to back

Works in progress:
Laughing. He's so close to a real giggle.

He likes:
Being naked. He grins when you unsnap/unzip his sleepers
The swing & car rides. Motion of most any kind

He dislikes:
Um... not much, to be honest. He's a mellow little guy

I dislike:
Baby puke & cradle cap

I like:
The smiles! Totally the best part of my day.
Sleeping. He's slept for 6hr at a stretch a few times & getting more than 2 uninterrupted hours of sleep makes me feel like a whole new human.
Surprise cute outfits. Like this gown. The dinos on the hands were a total surprise and just made this my favorite gown yet.

He continues to grow & charm the socks off everyone. He hasn't peed on me in a while. We've fallen into a rhythm if not really a routine yet. Next week we go for his 2m well care exam, so I'm looking forward to hearing that he's practically perfect in every way.

It's impossible for me not to compare things though. There are many things about a squishy, immobile infant that are much easier than toddler wrangling. I set him down and he stays put. I don't have to discipline him or worry he's getting into trouble when I'm not looking. I don't have to plan his lunches or chase him down to get dressed or change his diaper or go to bed. 

On the other hand, there's a lot of freedom with Eleanor. I put her in her chair with her lunch & can go about my business without worrying about her choking. When it's time to get dressed, she can help--no forcing limp noodle arms & legs into her clothes. She can bring me things & tell me what she needs (mostly).

2 months

Impressionist

I've always wanted to do one of those wine & painting things. THere's one in my town, about 2 miles from my house. We've lived here for 3 years & I've never gotten around to it. Thankfully, my sister B is awesome and kickstarts things. She invited me to do one where we would attempt to recreate a Monet-ish waterlilly thing. This is what I started with. Blank canvas with some circles. Intimidating.

This is what it was supposed to look like at the end:

We were given aprons, two brushes & 4 colors of paint: red, blue, yellow & white. We mixed our own colors, so there's built-in instant individuallity even if all of our brushstrokes were the same. It was neat to learn a little more about color theory as we mixed up stuff.
Here's my finished product. Not too shabby.

 And seriously, it was a blast! There was Pandora-style radio station playing, and it was a bit like karaoke Russian roulette. Only with no bullets, because I knew all the songs. So that was fun. I didn't bring a bottle of wine (only because I didn't have one handy that I felt like opening) so I was super classy and had Jack & coke. Woot. It was nice to chat & catch up with B, and then, because of the SUPERB location of Let's Art Party, we walked next door and had delicious Austrian food at Jorg's, where I got this teeny tiny beer. Adorable & delicious.