18 & 16

Ian is officially 18 months old. He did great in nursery, zero tears. He did even better at his appointment today, holding VERY still so the doctor could examine him and not making a peep the whole visit except to tell the doctor "bye-bye" as he walked out. He is a chatterbox...much like his namesakes (his great-grandpa and great-uncle McDonald). He is a fantastic eater. He eats everything I make and always wants seconds. He is ALWAYS happy and never cries unless he gets hurt. When injured, he cries out "BONK, MOMMY, BONK! Kiss it (as he extends the injured body part)." And then the tears subside. He loves to dialogue everything he sees, and usually throws in a random color as well. "White truck...pink flower...black car...etc." The funny part is that he never actually uses the correct color. When we color, he holds up the orange crayon and says "white", then holds the green one and says "blue". I'm not sure if he is colorblind or if he just hasn't figured out the concept of color yet. Here are his stats:

height: 34 1/2 inches (95th percentile)
weight: 23 lbs 8 oz (20th percentile)
head: 18 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

I'm not sure that he is quite that tall, I am a little skeptical of their measuring techniques after seeing Max measured the correct way at the endocrinologist. Max is growing well, by-the-way (75th percentile for height and weight), and we are no longer taking him to any specialists. Huge relief.
I am 16 weeks now. I wish I could say that I'm feeling great, but the morning sickness seems to be lingering and I have zero appetite, not to mention an extremely sensitive gag reflex. J-P is tired of dealing with pregnancy drama and constantly remarks "I sure hope this is a girl, because we are DONE!" I figured I would be sentimental and start documenting my pregnancy with photos in case he is serious. I'm not showing a ton, but at 102 pounds my stomach would be half that thick if it didn't have a baby in it. My doctor doesn't seem worried about my weight loss at all (I have been worried sick), he just says "you will have to gain a lot of weight later on to make up for it." I don't think that will be a problem. Assuming that my appetite returns, that is.

update

It's been awhile. Sorry. I've been sick. Here is an overdue update on our fam:

J-P: Has been traveling. A lot. He went to India in March with his Duke class, and got really sick. He is on a plane home from CA right now, and leaves for Belgium in a few weeks. He is more than thrilled to be able to go back to France while he is there, and has been facebooking his old acquaintances there. He has also joined a cycling group which rides every morning at the crack of dawn.

M-A: Has been SICK. So sick. I finally got to the point where I had to wean Ian cold-turkey in one day so I could take zofran, only to find out that it doesn't work. At least not that well. Between zofran, unisom, acupressure bands, and sips of gatorade, I was able to stay alive. I have thrown up at every eatery within reasonable driving distance, and I will probably never be able to eat mexican food again. I am feeling a little bit better, and my dehydration headache is starting to ease. I can finally drink water again, which is a huge blessing considering how hot it is right now in AZ.

Max: Has taken his vehicle obsession to a whole new level. He is no longer satisfied to announce the color and type of each vehicle that passes us, he is intent on knowing the make as well. He is a little shaky when it comes to identifying shapes, but he can accurately identify a Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Acura, etc...just by looking at the symbol. "That blue pick-up truck has horns on it mommy, that means it's a dodge ram...Oh look!, that white car has a blue circle on it...that means it's a ford." The other day we were in the parking lot at Lowe's when a teenager in a beat-up nissan drove past us. Max yelled and pointed "LOOK! that car is a NISSAN mommy!" The teenager (who heard everything thanks to an open window) parked his car and angrily strutted over to us with his gangsta limp. He looked at me like he wanted to start a fight. "Excuse me, did he just try to tell me what kind of car I have?", he said with a major attitude. "I'm so sorry, he is a little bit obsessed with cars brands right now..." He cut me off and said "Dude! that is SO cool," and chuckled as he walked into the store.

Ian: Has been talking. A lot. He is a little parrot, and repeats just about everything he hears. He is putting 3 words together--"no, my drink!...outside dig shovel...drink cold water..." and is very good with possessives, "momma's shoe"..." max's crib"..."my blanket"...etc. He loves to read and brings me books all day long. Some of the first words he learned were "book" and "lap" because he loves to sit on my lap and read. He is super sweet and snugly. I am definitely not ready for him to grow up. I am, however, more than ready for him to go to nursery next week! These last 18 months have flown by.

mud and boys

When I found out Max was going to be a boy, I cried for three days. Boys have never liked me. My brothers HATED me. My bossy, know-it-all personality fostered nothing but sibling rivalry and dissension. Luckily I have a very bold mother who told me many years ago that "boys don't like bossy girls" and that if I ever wanted to get married I would have to change. I worked hard and was finally able to convince a boy to marry me at the ripe age of 26.


Now boys are old hat for me. Little boys, that is. They like trucks, mud, playing outside, breaking things, and adventure. Seeing a mud covered head doesn't phase me anymore. I can totally handle mud. No big deal. Mud is easy. Boys are easy. Plus, little boys LOVE their mothers.


On my mind: Will baby number three be a boy? I'm assuming it will be. Which is fine. I have all the clothes, skills, and toys (the ones that survive) necessary to parent another boy. But what if it's not? I don't have any idea what to do with a girl. For now, we are assuming it's a boy. We can find out for sure in 7 more weeks, or go the surprise route and find out on Oct. 31. What would you do? Oh, and do you know of any cute 3 letter boy names? We've run out of ideas. Not that we're stuck on that trend.

more pics on flickr

for the record

Today when I called J-P to tell him something funny Max said, he responded with "how come you never write these things down on the blog?" I informed him that my current hiatus from habitual blogging is the direct result of a full hard drive. I can't download any pics to my computer. Blogging is not fun without pictures. The end.

I did agree that I need to be better about documenting our humorous moments. Here is the aforementioned funny episode:

Preface: Ian learned how to open child locks before he could walk. He's smart like that. After a month of careful observation, Max caught on. Now they are always opening cupboards and making huge messes. If I let them. And sometimes I do. It's easier than fighting them and lifting all 30-something pounds of Max into his crib for timeout.

Today they got into the cupboard under the sink. The one with the garbage and all the dangerous chemicals. Ian was pulling out different industrial cleaners and Max was searching through the garbage. "GET OUT OF HERE! You know you aren't supposed to play in here!", I yelled. Max gave me a half-eye roll, pushed me away and said "mom, just go look at your computer".

be careful what you say

Max picks up on everything. Everything. The other day when we were watching the bachelor (so embarrassing to admit), Max woke up crying. He was sick, so I brought him into the kitchen to give him some tylenol. I didn't think he would notice the t.v. so I didn't pause it. On his way back to bed he stopped, gave his daddy a very passionate kiss on the cheek, and gazed into his eyes with a big smile before continuing on to his room. Both of our jaws dropped. We couldn't believe what he picked up from watching 30 seconds of a not-for-children show.

Today Ian was playing behind the couch. The boys KNOW they are not supposed to play behind the couch. When Max saw Ian back there, he hollered "Get out of there baby! You hear me baby?, I said get out of there! Oh my goodness baby. I so mad at you. I going to count. One, two, three, four, five...OK, go a time out baby!!!" I almost busted a gut laughing. I'm starting to learn how careful I have to be. Max is so observant and he remembers everything. Sometimes I don't realize my faults until he mirrors them.

blueberry rolls

Sorry, life is crazy busy and I haven't had a chance to post the recipe. The other problem: I don't have a recipe. These came about when I was making whole wheat bread the other day and was craving something sweet so I decided to turn half the batch into blueberry and cinnamon rolls. I'm sure they would come out much better if you used your favorite sweet roll dough recipe. Anyway, for the blueberry sauce I just put some frozen blueberries (sorry I don't measure) into a sauce pan with a tiny bit of lemon/orange juice and some sugar. I cooked it until it started to thicken and then added a little cornstarch (you have to dissolve it in cold water first...but not a lot of water) to make it thicker. You could probably use blueberry fruit spread (TJ's has a great one) instead. I put a little (vegan) butter on the rolled out dough and then spread on the blueberry stuff. Frost them with glaze or your fav sweet roll frosting. Here is someone else's take on it.

food

Food is on my mind. I had to teach a class on healthy, low-budget cooking last week. I spent a whole day in the kitchen preparing samples. Max spent a whole day in the kitchen "cooking" and making messes.

"I just making hot chocolate mommy. I put onions and sugar and cheerios in my hot chocolate mommy. I working so hard mommy. I such a good worker mommy. I cooking just like you mommy..."
I planted round four of our garden this morning (with plenty of marigolds to scare the bugs away). I also planted stevia for the first time. I've never used it before, mostly because it's so expensive. Fingers are crossed that we will have better luck this time than we did last fall. While outside I was also very surprised to discover our first orange ever hiding under some branches. Hopefully the limes and lemons aren't far behind.
In trying to get as much use as possible out of my wheat grinder, I have been baking a lot. Bread, muffins, and a new personal fav: blueberry rolls.

dance party

This video is a 'get well soon' shout out to Ian's fav singer Rihanna. Whenever he hears her music he stops what he's doing and starts dancing. His dancing skills aren't bad for a 15-month-old. Max can dance too, but gets camera shy.

click HERE for video

Outside

We have been outside lately. And for a good reason. When we stay inside disaster happens. I end up cleaning red paint off of my curtains, walls, and children. I end up cleaning bodily excretions (both types) out of the carpet. I end up sweeping entire bags of crushed tortilla chips off the floor. I end up losing my temper when Max finds my laptop and pulls four of the keys off. In short, I end up losing my mind.

Outside the fresh air clears my head. I can read uninterrupted while the boys bury themselves in dirt. Sarah came over on Saturday and documented our typical day HERE.

And yes, a typical day includes Jane Austen and leggings. I am ADDICTED to leggings. When I asked J-P if it was appropriate for me to wear them in public (public as in to the gym) he replied "Uh, well, you do know that...uh...they show parts of your body that are...uh...well...not quite as uh...toned...as other parts of your body?" Cracks me up.

embarrassment

I rarely get embarrassed. I can remember two specific times in my 30 years that I have been truly embarrassed. That's all.

This past month, feelings reminiscent of embarrassment have been abounding.

I am embarrassed that I have read the twilight series three times (the 2nd and 3rd time were during long road trips). I am more embarrassed that I have seen the movie four times. Yes, four.

I'm embarrassed to admit I had never read a Jane Austen book before 2009. After watching Pride and Prejudice three times over the holidays, I sent J-P to the store to buy me the 5 hour mini-series. Still unsatisfied, I thought long and hard about how I could get more details about the story when the thought FINALLY hit me--"oh yeah, there's totally a book". I took it off the shelf (yes I even own it) and read it in two days. I also read Sense and Sensibility and Emma in January, and started Mansfield Park yesterday. I am thoroughly addicted.

This is perhaps the worst account: My sister-in-law Sarah came over a couple weeks ago and told me (with marked enthusiasm) that the Cardinals were going to the Superbowl. My immediate thoughts were "Aren't the Cardinals a baseball team? Why is Sarah so excited? Who cares?" Trying to be polite, I replied "Oh. Was that like unexpected or something?" To which she replied that it was very unexpected. I didn't think about it again until I was walking through Walmart and there were pictures of the Cardinals everywhere. The whole store was bleeding red with Cardinals memorabilia. "Why are the Cardinals so popular here? I don't get it...oh, wait...that sign says 'Arizona Cardinals'. Oh. Whoops. I probably should have known that. That's embarrassing."

Even more embarrassing was that I shoplifted for the 127th time on my way out of the store. A gigantic rubbermaid storage bin. After loudly repeating "NO, THIS ISN'T A RETURN, I JUST FORGOT TO PAY FOR IT" to the hard-of-hearing walmart greeter, I finally made it past her to go pay. She started laughing hysterically as I lugged the giant thing back inside with two cranky toddlers in tow. "This is so not funny", I said under my breath as I passed her.