It's that time of year again! Time to shell out twenty-five bucks for a picture of your kids sitting on a stranger's lap.
It's Mall Santa Time!!!
Ok, so there is Tessa. But where is Hunter you ask? Well, that's fun story, so settle in with a snack and I shall share with you.
One Friday afternoon, JEGs took a half day off work so we could take the chitlins to see Santa. Hunter was super psyched. When we told him what we were doing, he started jumping up and down with excitement.
So we wait in line and talk about what he is going to ask Santa (the Stellosphere, in case you are wondering), but when it is our turn to sit on his lap, Hunter won't go up to him and walks away. He isn't scared, he isn't crying, he just refuses. We try to coax him, but he is not interested. Thinking he is being is normal stubborn, 4-year-old self, we get Tessa's picture taken and call it a day.
Later that evening, JEGs is putting the monster to bed, and he asks him why he didn't want to sit on Santa's lap and the kid bursts out crying. He starts saying Santa looked angry because the Elf on the Shelf told Santa that Hunter hasn't been a good listener and Hunter was scared Santa would be mad at him.
You guys.... we don't even have an Elf on the Shelf.
Right after Thanksgiving we talked about getting one because Hunter has been mouthy lately. (Oh 4. What a fun fun age. #sarcasmfont). But being the super cheap skate that I am, I didn't want to shell out $30 for one. So we mentioned a couple times that the Elf might show up, but that was it.
Of course we are completely heart broken that he was this upset over something we didn't even have, so I took him back to a different Santa- with the explanation that Santa goes to different malls every day- so he could tell him he was going to work on being a good boy... and he would like the Stellosphere.
I asked him if he wanted to have his picture taken with Tessa, and he said no because she already had her own picture. I figured that was fair enough.
So for 2015 Hunter is getting is final singular picture with Santa, because I sure as hell am not spending $50 on pictures with Santa again.
In September, Hunter moved into a new classroom and the teachers made a simple request: bring in a family photo.
You guys, it took me damn near a month to find a recent photo of the three of us. The last one I had was from July 2012. I had to fix this.
So I called upon my favorite local photographer, Kelly Miller, to get some good family photos for us. She did Hunter's newborn shoot (and by 'newborn, I mean two months old, because that's how long it took me to get around to scheduling it), and I trust her to make us look good. As always, she did not disappoint.
Kelly's really great at capturing the special every day moments, and just followed us around as Hunter ran around we explored this great spot she picked out.
This is typical play in our house these days
Also, I hope you'll notice his beautiful hair blowing in the wind as he runs. I am NEVER CUTTING IT again. Yeah, I am *that* mom, and I don't even care.
..and 30 minutes later, he was all played out.
Again, so many thanks to Kelly Miller Photography. She is so great to work with-- I cannot say enough good things about her. If you are local to the Philadelphia area, I highly recommend checking her out. I wish wish wish I had hired her for my wedding.
I know, I know, I haven't been great at blogging the monster's monthly photos (or even taking them for that matter), but you guys... my baby boy is two. He's not my baby boy anymore.. he's-- a little boy.
I had this big realization last week: I am finally enjoying being a mom. Now don't think that I didn't love Hunter with ever fiber of my being, but I for the past 23.5 months, I have been in survival mode. Every single day felt like I was just trying to make it through the day, and if I could without either Hunter or I melting down, it was a victory. I think I am a relatively "good" mom, but I wasn't enjoying it. At all.
However, the past couple of weeks I've realized that I really like it. I like spending time with Hunter. I like talking with him. I like laughing with him. I like thinking of activities to do with him. I *gasp* want to have another baby (no, this is not a pregnancy announcement). Step aside Stella-- Lizzie got her groove back! Hey girl!
In the past month, we took an overnight trip to Margate, NJ with our dear friends Max and Whitney. It was the best weekend! Hunter was so well behaved, and we had so much fun playing in the sand and splashing in the waves with Daddy.
So much fun that he PASSED. OUT. on the walk back from the beach.
We took a chance and went out to dinner (something we never, ever do with Hunter), and he was great. When he had finished eating, I took him to the front of the restaurant because he was fascinated with the live musicians and their "tars" (guitars).
He even took a spin on the dance floor with his Momma
On Labor Day we spent some time at the Elmwood Park Zoo to feed the giraffes with my brother, his wife Bryn, their three kids Owen, Skylar and Hayes, and their friends. Hunter got to spend some quality time with his Uncle Tim
Skylar, Aubry, Owen H. Owen M. Hunter
In other news worthy events of the past month, the Bubs spiked a 104+ fever for the first time. Although he wasn't showing any other sick symptoms, we took him to the ER as a precaution. They stripped him down to his skivvies and kept an eye on him until the fever came down. And watched monster truck videos on Daddy's phone
Hunter continues to be obsessed with all things cars. The only toys he will play with have four wheels. He also really loves "playing cars" with Daddy-- aka JEGs plays Forza on XBOX and Hunter holds his own remote. Although most of the time is spent as Hunter changing the type of car they are driving.
We really try to spend time outside while the weather is still nice. Our neighbors gave us their old bike seat for JEGs' bike. Hunter loves to go around the block a couple times, and you can hear him giggling as we go over bumps.
After many years of saying the only thing that would make me run was if someone was chasing me, I started the Couch to 5K program. It's a great way for me to get some exercise and keep Hunter occupied at the same time. We snagged a jogging stroller from a consignment sale, and we pound the pavement 3-4 days a week together.
In semi-related news, I hate this jogging stroller with every fiber of my being. Can anyone recommend a good stroller for a newbie runner? I'm not going for speed right now, still running in timed increments. I am thinking I want a swivel wheel because this fixed wheel I have gives me the fits.
Bubs-
I can't believe it little dude... you are two years old. You have grown up so much in the past year! You have moved from the Young Toddler Room to the Older Toddler room at day care. We miss Miss Tara and Miss Jen a lot, but so far you really like Miss "Inder" (Ginger) and Miss "Affy Daffy" (Stephanie). Your crew at school seems to be Jordan, Jack and Zach-- they always get excited when you walk in.
Everyone we meet comments on how well you speak. Your verbalization is pretty good-- you will repeat pretty much anything that is asked of you (and a few things that aren't, like Mommy's cussing. Oops), you can put together complete sentences, spell your name, know all your colors, count to 10 and according to your teachers, say your ABC's (I have yet to hear this). You love to listen to music and dance by flapping your arms and running in circles. Your most prized possession is your Mater push toy, he is the first thing you play with when you get home, and you always ask to take him outside.
You are definitely as stubborn as your mother- if I try to help you with something you'll say "No Mommy. I do myself!". There are days when you are in full-on toddler mode of screaming when things don't go your way, throwing, kicking, hitting and touching things that YOU KNOW you aren't supposed to touch. When we go to scold you, you run and hug our legs and say "hug Mommy/Daddy, hug" which instantly disarms us.
No matter how good or bad the day has been, we miss you when we are at work, or even when you are in bed. You are the best thing that has ever happened to us, and we wouldn't trade you for the world.
Hey guys! It's been quiet around the halls of Lizzie In Progress because, honestly, I've just been kickin' back and enjoying the summer. We went to a beautiful wedding in May (hopefully I'll get it on the blog soon) and we've got another one coming up this weekend! Also you guys, tomorrow is our third anniversary! Holy hell! No big plans to celebrate- no traditional gifts of leather, crystal or pearls here--just dinner at a local Italian place, and we are staying an extra night away for the wedding then we normally would.
But what I really wanted to tell you about is something that happened this past weekend. On Sunday JEGs and I took the monster to Target to fill a couple prescriptions and to buy Hunter a potty. In order to get him excited about the potty, we told him we were buying him a new toy. So we head over to Target, and surprise surprise, the shittastic Target in the Metroplex doesn't have the toilet we were looking for. Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised. This Target has burned me before.
Anyway, now we have promised Hunter a toy, and if nothing else, this kid remembers stuff like this. So we meander over to the toy aisle and find a little $6 helicopter for him. As we are leaving the aisle he starts yelling "BYE BYE TRUCK! BYE BYE TRUCK!" and by the time we are in the clothing department, he is in hysterics. JEGs shows him the helicopter we picked out and he says he doesn't want it. He wants truck. So JEGs goes back to the aisle and swaps it out for the little police car that came in the set. He doesn't want that. So we take him back into the aisle and ask him to point out what he wants. This is what we came home with:
A fifteen dollar fire rescue truck with lights and sirens. Very LOUD lights and sirens.
...and we still didn't get a potty.
As we were driving home, JEGs looked and me and said, "You realize we made a rookie parenting move by letting him cry his way into getting a bigger toy, right?"
I make no bones that I am a sucker for that little boy.
But to be fair, we don't buy him toys that often. The last toy we bought him was to replace a broken toy he got at Christmas-- which is probably when he got most of the stuff he has now.
So if a gargantuan truck keeps my little dude happy (and keeps me from having to watch Cars 2 1500 times today), then I will just take it. And stock up on some Advil.
Note: Since I never did a post for Hunter's 18 month-- and I never got around to taking a 19 month picture-- I am just going to skip right to 20 months and recap the last three months. Also, you'll notice the chair and monkey combo have gone by the way side. I couldn't keep him in the chair any longer and I kept dodging a thrown monkey. From now on his monthly picture will be taken next to our "growth chart" in the kitchen.
33 1/4 inches tall (98%)
26 pounds (50%)
When I last left you at 17 months, parenting the monster was not easy. I didn't say this, but when I was on night shifts I would dread waking up in the morning because I knew the next six hours was going to be nothing but yelling and tears from both Hunter and I.
I am happy to say, it seemed to be a passing phase and that child is no more. In his place is my sweet little boy who listens.
Well, as much as a toddler will listen. Just trust me when I say it's gotten better.
I think a big part of it has to do with two things: first off, we have found a disciplinary system that works for us (you can e-mail me if you want more information) and also, we have started giving him more freedom and treating him like a big boy, and not a baby. One of the major changes is instead of having the baby gate stretched across the entire living room, we now only have the fireplace and television blocked off. This gives Hunter full access to the kitchen as well as the landing on the steps. Our thinking was in giving him more freedom, he has to listen. If he doesn't listen, the freedom is taken away. So far it has worked really well!
In other major news, soon after his 18 month appointment, we decided to flip his car seat around.
JEGs had been talking about doing this soon after his first birthday, and I wasn't convinced. Every time the subject came up I quoted the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommendation that he should stay rear-facing until he was 2 like it was one of the Ten Commandments. JEGs insisted that he didn't have enough room. We finally agreed to let our pediatrician make the choice.
The doctor nonchalantly said 'oh yeah. If he can't stretch his legs out, you can turn him around. He's practically the size of a two-year-old anyway'.
Well hell, Doc.
So later that day JEGs flipped his seat around, and that weekend we flipped mine. I have to say, it's much more enjoyable to be able to see him now. I think he enjoys it more too.
His bedtime has become almost a well-oiled machine. For a while there, we were a little willy-nilly about everything, and wouldn't take him up until he started to act tired. This meant we might not take him upstairs until nearly 8:30 and by then he was so overly tired, it was harder to get him down. Now at 7:15, we take him upstairs, brush his teeth, take a bath if needed, and into his jammie jams. Some times we will read to him, but mostly it's lights out by 7:40 at the latest and in his crib after a couple lullabies.
In an effort to let him do big boy things, I try to let him brush his own teeth as much as possible. It usually ends up with me taking over after he has sucked all the toothpaste off his brush, but he does actually do the brushing motion here and there.
He gets a utensil at all meals, and his breakfast, lunch and snacks can be eaten at his little table in the kitchen-- dinner is served in his high chair so we can eat as a family.
Hunter is a total ham. He is always doing silly things and preforming for the audience
I can tell he is going to be a bit of a smart ass (much like his mother). He was walking around with his bowl of oatmeal one morning and I told him to sit down. This is what he did:
The look on his face clearly says "well, you didn't tell me where to sit, Mom".
He is very much a little boy; he loves to play outside and is usually covered in mud. He still walks like a drunk person so he has cuts and bruises all over his body. A week or so ago he got two black eyes within 24 hours- the first was when he tripped and fell into the coffee table and the second happened the next day when he tripped again at daycare and fell into a book case.
he'll kick yer arse, laddy.
Anything with wheels continues to be his main obsession.
My friends on Facebook know that we made the mistake of introducing him to Pixar's Cars. I cannot even find the words to describe how many times we watch this movie. It's the first thing he asks for in the morning. I can usually hold him off till after breakfast, and then he runs right over to the couch, pointing at the TV and saying "Caaaaars? Caaaaars?" To break the monotony, we brought Cars 2 into the mix, but I find it to be a little violent and it seems to scare him. So back to rewinding and replaying. Not only do JEGs and I know it word for word, but Hunter can even quote it-- loves the line 'I think we got ourselves a nodder!' Hunter love love loves Mater, and has a Tow Mater push toy that he plays with more then any other toy he has.
For the record, my favorite character is Guido. PIT STOP!
On Good Friday, JEGs and Hunter came to visit me at work. Hunter loved seeing real helicopters and planes up close.
I am going to leave you with this final gem: Hunter's first class picture. Please note his playa- pose and the fact he is literally surround by girls.
But it's all good. His number one lady, Jenna, is right above him. #truelove
Sometimes you just gotta let them play with a hair bush and a skin cream box...
You guys, parenting a toddler is DAMN HARD. He is belligerent if he doesn't get his way. He's LOUD. He is argumentative. He cries for no apparent reason and trying to get him dressed (or change his diaper) is like wrestling a crocodile.
Basically, he's like the drunk version of myself.
Between temper tantrums involving thrown sippy cups, we did actually have some sweet moments this month.
First off, Hunter shared his second Valentine's Day with his very special lady friend, Jenna.
I made them matching shirts that said "My Heart Belongs to Jenna/Hunter". They were the hit of daycare.
Jenna's mom, Cara, sent me this picture later in the day-- their first picture together (Jenna was maybe a week old and Hunter is about 9 weeks) and the current picture from Valentine's Day
Sing with me now.. we're still havin' fun and you're still the one...
Speaking of Jenna, apparently at nap time, the two love birds have to be separated because their talking and giggling is disturbing the other children.
Ahh. Young Love.
This month, Hunter has also really taken an interest to JEGs' guitars. He has them hanging in the man cave/playroom/ guest room/ room I throw random crap into. Hunter will point to them and say "taaar?? taaar??" and JEGs will let him strum some chords or Huntface dances along while JEGs plays.
His obsession with all things motor-vehicle continues. This is the most opened page of his favorite book My First Words
His vocabulary continues to grow; we've added 'door', 'book' and 'walk' to the list. He also kind of says 'waffles' but it comes out 'wahwah'. Close enough for me. He also has this amazing ability to say words once, and then never utter them again, such as 'stroller', cinnamon and 'Uncle Mike'.
Last month I posted on my Facebook page, asking for remedies for eczema. Hunter has it really bad on both of his ankles, knees and calves-- to the point it keeps him up at night. I tried switching his bath soap from Johnson & Johnson to Aveeno, and we've used every kind of overnight creme we can think of. It's gotten bad enough that we had to take him to a dermatologist. He's on a regiment of antibiotics and a super strong medicated creme for two weeks and then a slight less strong medicated creme for two weeks until we go back to check up on his progress. Here is hoping it works, because listening to that little boy itch his legs over the monitor at night kills me a little bit inside.
Little Dude,
I'm not gonna lie, this is a tough age-- you are really giving Mommy and Daddy a run for their money. But between the frustration and tears (from both parties) we know deep down that we have the sweetest little punk on the block. And we love you for it.
Hummus cracker in the hair: all the rage on the Paris runways
I am not even going to try to pretend like I am not three months behind on Hunter's monthly posts. So here you have it- Hunter in a nutshell:
November was a bit of a rough month for us. At the beginning of the month we got a call from daycare that he was running a fever and was very listless. I called out of work and took him straight to the doctor. Diagnosis: pneumonia.
We caught it early enough that he didn't need to be hospitalized. Just some antibiotics and a couple days home from school.
..and he was sick from then on out. It's now February and I feel like we are still combating the runny nose.
Mid month my brother Tim and his wife Bryn welcomed their third child, Hayes, into the world. We got a chance to visit with Hunter's new cousin.
Thanksgiving came, and the bubs was awesome. He sat at the table like a big boy with an actual plate and fork. He ate pretty much everything that was put in front of him, including turkey, stuffing, corn, peas, cole slaw and sweet potatoes. He even had his first taste of pumpkin pie.
JEGs, Hunter and I with my parents
The weekend after Thanksgiving we had our first trip to the emergency room. We were playing in the living room and I was sitting on the floor with my legs straight out. Hunter wasn't looking where he was going (as toddlers often do) and trip over my legs and took a header into the leg of the coffee table. At first I didn't think much of it- he fell and it scared him. But as JEGs was hugging him, Hunter lifted his head and we both saw the huge knot on his forehead. He wasn't showing any signs of concussion, but being scared out of our minds first time parents, we decided to take him to the ER just in case.
It was just a mild contusion, and it cleared up in about a week or so. I am hoping it didn't mess up his brain too much. I guess we'll just bank on his MLB contract or a modeling career instead of becoming a doctor or lawyer.
December was fun. We went to see Santa again. Last year he couldn't give a crap about Santa. This year, he cried.
I wish I had gotten all three pictures of him with Santa. While we were waiting in line, we took him out of the stroller to stand in line with us.
Stupid mistake.
Of course he wanted to run around and rip all the ornaments off the kiosk next to us. When I picked him back up he started crying. And that's how we handed him off to Santa.
The first picture is him crying because he is pissed off. The second picture he is looking at Santa with this face of "who the hell are you?" and the third picture is him crying bloody murder and trying to escape.
It was quite a progression.
Hunter loved the Christmas decorations. When we got home from daycare in the afternoon, he would walk over to the garland on the banister and point to it till I plugged it in. Then he would look at it and say "Whoa". He loved shoving his toys in the Christmas tree, and he particularly liked dragging the beaded garland around
...and in the middle of the month, Hunter was sick again, this time with bronchitis.
It's all good dude. Mommy and Daddy didn't want to use any of their vacation days to actually go on a vacation this year.
We had a big family dinner at my parents house on the 23rd. My brother Andy flew in from LA and we took our ceremonial picture of Andy with all the nieces and nephews.
L-R Abigail. Owen, Hunter, Andy with Hayes, Bridget, Skylar
all hopped up on sugar: or how he spend most of December
Christmas morning was fun since Hunter was learning how to open gifts. Although, he was more interested in tearing the paper off in little pieces and throwing it in the trash can, than the actual gift itself
We spent Christmas morning with Momma and Poppa G, where Hunter (along with JEGs and I) were spoiled tremendously.
In the afternoon we hussled over to my parents house for dinner, and we had our second fall in as many months. Hunter was walking around with his sippy cup in his mouth, slipped, fell on his face and the straw of the cup was shoved up into his gums. There was so much blood. I was freaking out and ready to drive him to the hospital again. JEGs calmed me down, got the bleeding to stop and in the end all we had was a busted lip.
There goes his modeling career. Still holding out for that MLB contract.
New Years Eve brought snow fall to our neck of the woods, so we took Hunter out for his first real frolic in the snow, complete with a snowball fight with the neighbors.
January was a month of coming down off the Christmas high. Hunter got sick AGAIN, this time with pink eye and a double ear infection. I swear, I am seriously thinking about putting a cloche on him.
At his 15-month check up he weighed 25 lbs and was 33 inches tall. He continues to be in the 97% for height and 50% for weight.
He spent his second Ukrainian Christmas with my in laws and housed down not one, but two servings of ham, corn and peirogies.
He has really become quite the chatter box. He's even getting really good at audible words: he calls me Mama and JEGs is Dad. He also says hi, bye bye, shoes, broom, car, hot, cup, fire truck ( according to the teachers at daycare, this comes out as "fruck". I have yet to hear this little gem.), sit, d'oh, more, milk, whoa, and his favorite, no
Some of his favorite activities are pulling out every pot and pan we own and "cooking" with a wooden spoon. This involves "mixing" something in the pot or pan and then requiring everyone to taste it while saying "hot". He also loves pushing around a broom and putting things in the trash can.
..I guess I can forget that MLB contract. Sound like this kid is more cut out for the set of Downton Abbey.
Hunter has also recently discovered music. He loves to dance, and strum on his Daddy's guitar.
Currently Hunter has 8 teeth and three molars. We are having some biting issues at daycare (he has bitten other kids) and we aren't quite sure if it is coming from frustration, or teething. We don't know how to discipline him because he doesn't bite at home. So if any super moms out there have some advice for disciplining after the fact, that would be awesome. He is also starting to test his limits; touching things he isn't supposed to touch, going places he isn't supposed to go, the usual. I am hoping this is the start of the Terrible Twos and there will be an early ending.
He really seems to enjoy going to "school". His favorite teacher is Ms. Tara and on the days I pick him up, he goes around and says bye to each of the kids in his class individually.
Enough messing around. We're going to be late.
Otherwise, Bubbers, we love you so much. I cannot believe how quickly you are growing up. You aren't my baby anymore, you are a little boy. You are this walking, talking little person with opinions. But you are so much fun. Watching you play and figure things out fascinates me-- I could do it all day long. Every day I look forward to coming home and seeing what new thing you have learned today. You bring so much joy and fulfillment to my life.
.JPG)
