Fun Things!

I keep my two blogs separate because not all those who want to read about babies want to read about crafts and cooking, but sometimes, there is something so fun that I just have to share with you both.  And, since it is the weekend, maybe you can use them! Here are a couple of my latest and favorite posts, if you are at all interested:

• French Macarons – I made these today and ohhhhh my goooooddddddddd they are little pieces of heaven. and they are pretty:
• Giant Picture – I like big wall art. I hate expensive wall art. I love photos of my baby. This gigantic little gem cost me a whopping $11.00 to make 🙂
• Chicken Enchiladas – My most famous recipe.  Eat them.

The Crawlk

The past few days has brought gorgeous weather our way. Unseasonably warm for February, the temperature outdoors has been settling at a wonderful 75 degrees.  I pulled out some of J’s summer rompers and he has been looking tres chic and chubby wearing them around town.  The funniest phenomenon has happened, though. I have learned that he does not like the feeling of crawling on his bare knees.  Typically, since he began crawling he has been in long pants of some sort for 90% of the time, so there was never any issue, but with his little legs bare all day, I have quickly realized that he will do the crawlk (crawl + walk =  crawlk) on his hands and feet instead of his normal variations of crawling on his knees. He always uses one leg to walk while crawling as it is (see: stinky leg), so I really just think that he is not a fan of all of the texture and pressure on his knees.

While having pants on, it must be just bearable to have one knee on the ground, but in shorts, little mister just can’t handle the pressure (pun intended).

The Park.

Our neighborhood has almost no amenities.  I mean, they cut our grass and plow the snow, which is pretty cool, but other than that there is really not much.  We do have a park for all of the little children to play in, but it isn’t conveniently located and, well, it’s ugly.  It has been very poorly maintained over time, and there is grass peeking through the years old mulch, and the black plastic they place under the mulch is showing in quite a few place.  Moreover, I worry about the safety of the ride-on spring toy things, as the big springs supporting the little duck or horse are pretty rusted.  Never in my few years living here have I seen any kids playing in the poor ignored park.  Today it is in the mid-upper 60s, and we decided to take advantage.  One thing I have learned is that regardless of the condition of the “park,” if there are swings, or a big yellow slide – the little ones couldn’t be more over the moon.  Through their little eyes, the dilapidated little square on the hill comes to life, transforming into a wonderland that only tiny eyes and faces can appreciate. It is one of the few places where us grown humans let them be loud and rambunctious, where they can run free and feel the breeze flowing through their perfect little hairs.

I think I will be writing a letter to the HOA, asking them to take care of this long-ignored little park. I fear that people are hesitant to take their children to the park, and knowing that the town features some much larger and more magical parks to run in, but really, this tiny place can be magical to these little ones, and I suspect, that if cared for properly, it could be a lovely little place in our community, instead of a long-forgotten eyesore atop a hill.

All of my nieces and nephew got to come over at the same time today.  I tried (unsuccessfully) to get a photo of the 5 of them (oh, the outtakes). These are the best four.  The other, you know, 300 or so had blurry faces, closed eyes, crawling babies, face grabbing babies, looking away from the camera, looking half asleep, the list goes on.  I must say, however, that sweet sweet Bailey was the perfect subject in every single photo. Look at that smile. Sheer happiness. There is nothing in this world that sweet girl loves more than her family (especially her baby cousins).  She has the biggest, squishiest heart, and I just adore her.

I have teeths. and chins. 🙂

Tiny Maddie!

Oh boy. 

How did we even get here? We are in the double digits now, and only a mere two months away from your first birthday! I literally cannot believe that you are TEN months old, it seems so big, yet it seems like you just arrived yesterday.

You have been very adventurous this month, little monster. You are definitely the type that likes to go, do, and see, and you are very independent. You are into everything, and sometimes I fear that I can’t keep up with you. You can climb all of the stairs, stand, walk around the coffee table while holding on, and can even stand without holding onto anything. I swear you might just take some steps very soon. You still are weighing in around 25 pounds (chunk!), and you love all types of food. I don’t think there is a single food that you don’t love.

You love bath time, your doggie, your walker, your tractors, and anything that makes noise. You have also become quite accomplished at waving hello & goodbye, clapping your hands, and saying mama and dada (though, I don’t think you quite get what they mean). Just yesterday, you started copying me when I say ‘yeah’ (yours is much cuter than mine, more of a yaaaahhhhhh!). You also respond to me when I say ‘give me a kiss’ by planting the sloppiest open-mouth kiss on my face, I melt every single time.

My favorite thing about you right now has got to be your dance moves. You feel the music and you love it and start bouncing your hands and body to the beat…precious! You especially love things that you aren’t supposed to have, such as cell phones, remote controls, and any sort of power cord.  The one thing in the world that you despise lately is bedtime. Since your upper teeth have been coming in, you have had a very rough time sleeping, and it has thrown your schedule off a bit.  Your daddy and I are trying our best not to start any habits that are hard to break, but we just hate to have you upset! Speaking of teeth, here is a photo of what your crazy (cute!) mouth looks like these days:

Needless to say, with FOUR top teeth breaking through at once, there is a great deal of drool and crankiness.

You continue to be the biggest joy of my life and every night I can’t wait until the morning so I can see what adventures will be in store for us tomorrow.

xoxo,

Mama

Ali found more photos from J’s 6 month session and has been sending me these gorgeous surprises lately. I die of all the cuteness every time. 🙂

A Boy & His Pup

Be still my heart. This photo just has me swooning and melting and exploding with love and adoration.  These two. They really are the best of friends.  First thing in the morning, they greet each other with smiles. They play all day long, Marley being so tolerant of all of the drool, climbing, hair pulling, and overall torture that Jackson subjects her to.

He loves to share his lunch with her (and breakfast, and dinner), an occurrence which she welcomes very much.

No other person or thing in this world can elicit the big-giant-long-laugh-so-hard-you-can’t-breathe-belly-laughs out of this little boy the way Marley can with no more than a simple glance in his direction, or a tiny whine that she makes when asking to be let outside. The laughs are so serious, that they pull giant laughter out of every person who is around to witness them.

But, quite possibly the sweetest and most special piece of their relationship (yes, they have a relationship. Not friendship – its more than that. Siblings, man.) is that Marley genuinely loves him too. Every night when we head upstairs to go to bed, Marley peeks her nose in his cracked door and clip clops her doggy nails across his wood floor, hops up onto the front crib rail, and peeks over to make sure that her darling boy is resting peacefully, and that all is well. This, my friends, is what makes a dog a part of a family. The human-like compassion and concern she exhibits for my boy is just special. With these two, all is right in the world.

Marley, Jackson, & Peyton gathering around the watering hole, having a dandy old conversation about life.

Jackson, Lately.

I am at a loss for how a baby that stays up all night long can be this wide awake and happy all day long.  I think I should just consider myself lucky :). I wrote before about the battle that Jackson is having with teething these days, and while the battle has officially turned into a war, I refuse to dwell on that. I refuse to wallow in self-pity and exhaustion from the lack of sleep I am getting, and instead embrace it.  My boy is gettin’ teeth. Big old shiny white teeth, ya’ll.

I am trying to memorize all of the ridiculously adorable stuff he does these days. Just the other night, we went to Outback for dinner (yummmmmm) and there was an 11 month old little boy in a high chair at the booth next to ours.  The two little babes were beside themselves, and were having a very merry conversation with each other throughout the entire evening.  The best part was when they began fake laughing back and forth “hah.huh.” was met with “huuuuuh.haaaaaaah.” It turned into real laughter by all of us parents, and left me believing that these little beings know how to communicate with each other in their own little languages.  I also might add on a related note that my 9 month old was about twice the size of the 11 month old. Good thing I swoon for big babies ;).

He also does what we like to refer to as the ‘stinky leg’ still. This is his main mode of transportation, which I have taken video of and stored away for later when I want to remember his smallness.  Here is a photo:

Jackson enjoys wiggling out of his clothes as well. He is very much in between sizes right now, with 12 month items being far too tight, and 18 month clothing being just a tad too big, setting the perfect scene for escaping clothes. Just last night he was using his walk-behind toy, and walked right out of his pajama pants.  This happened today:

Other than that, he has become much more brave when standing and will let go and wave or play with his hands. He also dances (mostly in his high chair), kisses when I say “give me a kiss!”, and is great at playing independently.  Just the other day I cam into the kitchen after maybe one minute away to find all of my pots and pans strewn across the floor and him crouching on his hands and knees in the cabinet. Long story short, my baby does all of the cutest things and is the greatest joy to be around.

Here are the things from my phone this week: