Weekend, Overdue

Ok, so we went out of town this weekend, but I didn't get very many pictures of Rece with other kids, because chasing him making sure he does not beat up other kids becomes more important! But this is his cousin Claire's birthday party. It was a costume party so all the kids dressed up!
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This is me and my nephew Gabriel at the birthday party.
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and this little guy is the other reason we went up there. For Baylor's baptism.
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This has nothing to do with the weekend, but just to show that he has become quite the davedevil and climber! Yay more heart attacks for mommy!

2 in 2!

Rece will be 2 in 2 months!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!! I can't even believe it! Time is flying. But I am on top of things, I just got his invitations and a lot of the decorations and stuff like that. His presents are bought and wrapped (except the swingset he is getting in the summer as a "birthday" present). Getting ready for chirstmas, a 2nd birthday and a new baby all within a month of each other is kind of crazy. But I am pretty organized and I think I am ready for it all. We shall see.

And some exciting new!!!! My mom got an offer on her house!!!! It is still quite a bit under what she will except so there will be some counteroffering going on, but this is the best news since it went on the market in the spring! I know, some of you know what this means for us, but for those of you that don't, it benefits everyone involved more than you can even imagine! The only sad thing, is that these people want to fill in my mom's pool if they do buy it :( So many memories in this house make it sad, but there are too many benefits to be sad for too long. My parents built this house when I was only a year old and I had lived there until I went away to college. It will be a very bittersweet day the day we sign the contract!!!




This was at Chuck E. Cheese. All he wanted to do was watch the stage and dance to the music. And this is his friend Natasha. He really likes her, so much so that he usually is not very nice. He pulls her hair and smacks at her face. Good way to treat a friend huh? That is a boy's flirting for you. But at this age???? What is he going to do to them in 1st grade?

So, the newest thing that he is doing is NOT eating! I am really hoping this has to do with his cold. Cause it is driving us crazy. He used to get snacks in between meals, like crackers or fruit. Well the last week or so, he was pretty much just eating snacks and requesting them. So I decided until he was eating good again, we were going to cut out snacks, because maybe those were making him full. Well today he had 1/2 a pancake for breakfast. Then for lunch he wouldn't even take a bite of the macaroni and cheese but did eat a little bit of applesauce. But he will sit there with a full plate of mac n cheese in front of him and do the eat sign and say snack! I feel bad if this is just part of his cold and nothing tastes good but crackers, but for some reason I have a feeling that isn't it. Should I give in and let him eat crackers all day until the cold is gone? Or should I stick with just meals. After all, crackers are not bad for him. Anyone who has gone through a food boycot have any ideas??

He has finally learned that playing on the equipment at the park is fun! He still doesn't really understand space awareness, so I have to stick pretty close by. But, it is better than just chasing him around in the grass. I can do that at home. He also loves slides now. He still can't figure out how to sit and scoot to the edge. So, I have to be holding his hand or he will just step off of it. And I usually catch him at the bottom. But he wanted to go down one of those small tube slides and I couldn't help him at top and catch him at the same time, so I went and helped him up top and got him situated. He just flew down the slide and flew all the way off, right on the ground flat on his back. No crying, just whining. It was pretty funny.
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I just love this hat. It is too bad he doesn't leave them on very long, so we aren't going to be able to use this one very much since it doesn't have a tie.
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This is him doing something that he is not supposed to be doing! Shocker huh?
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This is what I found when I got home today. Two sleeping boys!
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Ok, now referencing that third picture up there. Does anyone else out there have a child that just does not respond to any discipline? Now remember I am not spanking. But, it is getting so frustrating lately. If he is getting into something he knows he is not supposed to, half of the time he will look at us as if to say 'what are you gonna do?' And the second we say 'No touch' he touches it. So we have tried ignoring, but if we ignore long enough he will touch it until we actually physically remove him from the object. Yelling? That is funny and he thinks so too. I can be a pretty loud person and even yelling as loudly as possible gets a smile or giggle. Most kids at least get a little bit upset when someone yells at them. I hate yelling at him, but being patient for 10 hours in a row while saying no touch please gets really tiring. Time-outs? Well, when we do them on his time-out stool he thinks it is a great game and every time I put him on the stool and walk away he thinks he should get up laugh and chase me. And this continues for the entire minute. So we do time-outs in his pack-n-play. Half the time he gets upset and doesn't like it but the other half he just sits and talks to himself. Other than that I have nothing for a 21 month old. And the things he is getting into it isn't like I can just move them. The vents, the computer and the phone. Those are the primary offenses. I can't move any of those or block them. And then there is the TV. We tried the TV guard and he has learned how to pull it out from under the TV. So any advice that doesn't include spanking and that doesn't consist of "he will grow out of it". I know he will eventually, but in the meantime I don't like spending half of my day yelling at my little boy. It makes me feel like such a lousy parent.

UPDATE

Sorry it has been so long since an update. We have just been busy. But I am glad to say that the biggest accomplishment in the last week or so is that Rece has stopped throwing his sippy cup!!!!!!!! Of course now he has decided that it is fun to bang it on the table over and over again. But, now that he no longer throws it we have started working on a regular cup. We just started yesterday. But he is doing better than I expected! It will be a while before he is on one all the time, but we have started and that is all that matters. Right now he just gets water in it. His vocabulary is starting to grow a little bit. But he usually has to be prompted to say something other then tickle. But if I say sock he will repeat it, but he doesn't just point to or pick up a sock and say it. I guess that will come. We have been so busy getting stuff done for the nursery and buying the baby stuff that we need. That is what our weekends have become especially after Rece goes to bed. Oh and he has said his first bad word. Thank you grandma! We had people over for the football game on Saturday and my mom blurted out "SHIT" and sure enough immediately after that Rece said something to that effect, it sounded like "SHI" We couldn't help but laugh. He hasn't said it since so hopefully he didn't realize what we were laughing at.

HAPPY 9TH ANNIVERSARY AUNT TERI AND UNCLE CRAIG!!

He has now moved to a booster seat. Partially because I have been babysitting Joey a couple days a week and partially because there will be a new baby in January. He does great and we decided for space we weren't going to use the tray and he loves being at the table.
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This was on vacation as are the rest of the photos. He has learned how to take his diaper off. Just great. He doesn't do it often but he has done it a couple of times.
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He loves putting sunglasses on and can actually get them on without poking his eye most of the times. These were annie's and I wish I would have gotten a picture from the front cause they have rhinestones on them and he looked like a little diva!
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Annie and Rece being silly!
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We went to Chuck E. Cheese with Averie and her mommy and daddy and Annie and Aunt Teri and Becca, Phillip, and Claire. It was so much fun. he didn't really care much about the little kids area with the slide but he liked the rides and he loved climbing in the tubes. Becca took him up there and said once he figured he had to crawl he had a blast!!!

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We went to Averie's house for dinner on Thursday night and then for ice cream. Averie was not so sure of him being in her wagon, especially when his feet were on hers.
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How cute!! I wish I was at a better angle, but you get the point. In 15 years these pictures could be really embarrasing for the two of them :)
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This looks like it is about to be a tackle but it isn't. Rece was kind of chasing Averie. She doesn't really like it. He just wanted to play though. Rece loves "playing" with other babies and kids. Probably more than most 19 month olds.

18 Months

Today Rece had his 18 month appointment today. It went pretty well. He is between 50th and 75th percentile for weight and between 25th and 50th percentile for height. He got two shots and did not do great but they are the last two shots until he goes to school!!!
Milestone Questions:
Can he walk up the stairs holding someone's hand? Yes, but he prefers to crawl.
Can he throw a ball? And anything else that comes into contact with his hand.
Does he give kisses when he feels like it? Oh, yes
Does he say 4-10 words on a consistent basis? Uh, no. But he signs that many.
The doctor says that the word thing is fine. They would only start to worry about language if at 2 1/2 he wasn't able to string two words together. But he was glad that he could verbalize and appears to hear fine and he is glad about the sign language, because he said at least it is some way to communicate.
So over all it went well.
I am beginning to notice a pattern. He is going to push every milestone to the point of it being very close to the deadline. The doctor said he has a granddaughter that walked late like Rece and he said she is 6 and very healthy but she just had that attitude like, I don't need to do any of this and she didn't potty train until she was almost 4. I kind of figure this will be the case with Rece. He is in a hurry for nothing. Oh well, I should enjoy a laid back child right?

He loves it when I blow bubbles(for about 10 seconds) but he likes the wand even better. He brings me the bubbles and signs please. But after about 2 blows he wants the wand and then puts it in his mouth. GROSS. He doesnt' even seem to mind the soap taste.
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Last week for the first time since starting cloth diapers, we got so behind that we ran out of clean ones. So, we used an "old-fashioned" cloth diaper. With regular safety pins. It covered everything but when we peed, we had a wet pillow to clean up. Those diapers to not hold anything. No wonder the need for "rubber pants"!

UPDATE ON WALKING: He now stands up, walks a few steps, either rebalances or falls, gets back up and repeat. He is getting really good at standing up without using anything for help or support. He has even realized that he can squat down to pick things up. It is funny now to turn around and just see him walking toward us. We are still getting used to it.
And he loves chasing the cat and she usually lets him pull on her fur and she doesn't do anything. Well, today he cornered the cat and she didn't like that too much. She bit him, nothing to break skin, just kind of a warning. HE LAUGHED!!

Drum Roll......

So, the blog has been kind of slow lately and this is partly why.....




















Yes, mommy is PREGNANT!!!! And everyone is so excited!
But some days are good and some are bad, plus I have an ear infection to add to the occasional morning sickness. I am due Jan. 25, 2007. The baby's website will be coming soon. So stay tuned.

And Rece is doing great with the walking. He just yesterday started to walk to nothing specific. Still only about 6 steps on average then sits but he is getting there. Oh, and he started signing please!!!!!!!!! This one has been the most distinct sign since milk and he hasn't don't that since he stopped nursing. He knows he has to sign please for pretty much everything now. I started at the doctor's office for my ear infection. I was trying to keep him entertained and he was eating crackers, but he had already had enough, so I said nope, no more, unless you sign please, and I just kept doing the sign. And sure enough about 10 minutes later he did it! He sure wanted that cracker. And then he did it again, so I knew it wasn't a fluke. It is great and amazing. We have worked on this sign for a couple of months with no luck and all of a sudden he is a signing machine. Then we were at the park on Friday and I asked if he was ready to go home for a nap and he then signed please then bed! We had his 18 month pictures taken on Friday and we got a picture of him signing please! We will have those up soon.

Yummy Fries!!! with vinegar!!!!!!! Mommy's boy.
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Kisses for Grandma T!
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This is how he watched the fireworks. He did great, not once jumping or becoming alarmed. And these are some LOUD fireworks! He got distracted occasionally, but watched the whole show. He is such a people person, he loved being downtown!
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Also over the weekend he turned 18 months!!! He still isn't walking but he definitely is working on it. He takes 5 steps or so and then dives to whoever he is walking to.

We also celebrated our 1 year blogging anniversary. We started blogging a year ago on July 4!!

Today we hung out with Joey and while Joey's mommy ran out to do an errand, I watched the boys. I put Joey in his swing and Rece decided to help push. It was very cute and he knew just what to do. Joey gets a kick out of Rece, however does not like it when Rece grabs his face!
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He has finally decided that he likes sunglasses. It is a great game, he hands them to me, I put them on, he takes them off and repeat!
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UPDATE ON WALKING: He takes steps, but they are still very unstable. But, he is getting very brave. He loves walking/diving between me and Tony and sometimes he will just start walking off in some other direction! It is a great time had by all. It is so fun to watch him advance like this. And, now if you say "Walk to mommy" while he is standing at something, he will turn and do it (of course, only when HE is in the mood!)
But on the other hand he has learned that he can crawl and carry things in his mouth. My concerns about walking, however, are now gone. Progress is all I needed to see.

Now to his speaking. It is pretty clear that Rece is in no hurry to do anything, but his speech has seemed to regress. He barely says anything now. He jibber-jabbers all the time, but very few actual words. Now, I have heard that when focus is on one activity, he may lose focus on another, and clearly a lot of focus is being put on walking, but still! Any thoughts from any of the moms or early childhood majors!! ;)

He has been a lot of fun lately, just laughing at everything. Also, lots of frustration goes along with that. LOTS of temper tantrums!

Oh, and he got his first molar! This child I am sure will never do anything "by the books". He now has his 4 top front teeth, his 3 bottom front teeth and a molar. And it is a top molar, which supposedly "most" kids get their bottom first! He was a champ though. He had one fussy day and was a little more tired for a couple of days, but then bam it was through!

FINALLY

Check it out!!!! HE STANDS!!!!!!!!!! It only took 17 1/2 months to do it. But yeah, today I would stand him up and he would actually stand there. And he was laughing most of the time. He actually was very controlled when he sat down, very rarely falling. AND HE TOOK 1 STEP!!  

Yesterday we met Averie and Beth halfway between where each of of lives. This was at Bob Evans. We went to the mall and shopped a little and then had lunch. Then we headed off home. Hopefully now that we found this halfway with a playground we can do this more often!!












I told you he loves milk!!!











This is he fuzzibuns diaper. We finally tried it last night. It was great, he didn't poo, but the pee stayed in great! We did put in an extra insert just to be on the safe side.













"Peek-a-boo"
He just recently has very actively been playing peek-a-boo. He covers his hands with his eyes usually. It is really cute.













Who eats cardboard and paper??? My son of course. He has been actually biting the cardboard off the books. Twice just this morning I have had to go fishing in his mouth for the pieces!!

15 Month Appt.

Rece had his 15 month appointment today. He weighs 23 lbs. 11 oz. and is 31 in. long! He had to get two shots and he cried but it was a short cry. Next time at 18 months he will get one shot and that will be his last for 3 years!!YAY!
Milestone questions:
Is he walking? No
Can he point to his body parts when named? No
Can he say some words? YES
Can he climb up stairs? YES
Hey, 2 out of 4 isn't too bad!
He is growning great and doing well. We talked to the doctor about his eating habbits(or lack of) and grinding of teeth and all other things Rece. The doctor says he is doing fine, not to worry about anything...me worry??? And he should be walking in the next couple of months??

Averie's Birthday!

This past weekend we went up to Averie's for her first birthday party! We got up there at about 9:00 on Friday night. On Saturday the mommies went to set up the party at about 2:30. Before that Averie's cousins, Maddie and Max, came to play! The the party was Saturday night. I was a little crabby because my afternoon nap was ony about 1/2 hour. But it was still fun watching Averie dig into her cake! Then on Sunday me and mommy and daddy went to eat breakfast with Annie and Brandon while Averie and her mommy and daddy went to church. We usually go with them, but we hadn't seen Annie and Brandon in a couple months since my birthday! Then we finally got a few pictures with me and Averie but again Averie was teething so she wasn't in the best of moods. We had about a minute of non-crying on Averie's part then she wanted nothing to do with Rece or pictures! Plus, mommy says I am a little rough for her, after all she is a girl!!! We then went to Aunt Teri's for a little visit, cause her birthday was on Saturday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT TERI!! Then we headed home and got home at about 8:00 last night!!














Notice Rece drinking from a non-handled cup all by himself!!

It's the little things...

We got our first good baby carrier. It is called a mei tai. We can wear him on our front, back and hip. The back is a little tricky by myself, so we will stick to the other two unless daddy is with us. (First picture)
Lately Rece has been showing signs of stacking things. (Picture 2) He tries to put anything and everything on top of things. We find things on our couches, our desk and anywhere else he can reach, especially peek-a-blocks!
He is also officially off of baby foods. He is fighting us on vegetables right now but for the most part he is doing great! We make him try everything and if he doesn't like it right now I am not forcing it. He still has his temper tantrum meals but they are fewer and farther between! He is however great at drinking milk, juice or water, as mentioned before. He now has 6 teeth!! 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. He no longer is our little vampire. Lately, especially today, he has been a little chatterbox. All kind or sounds and syllables and pitches are coming out of him. Especially the laughs. He has so many different laughs! (3rd picture-look how ornrey!) He is definitely saying "more" a lot. Pretty much when he wants something he will say it, unless he is in a bad mood, then the whining never ends. I am also sure he is saying "bye". Every time we went out into the garage he would say "ba ba ba ba ba" over and over. Then one time I said "Say Bye" and he made the same sound, so I believe the little smarty pants knows when we go into the garage that we are going bye bye! "Milk" is also a new one that I think he might be saying, but not sure yet. And now he is all over the place. We can't keep him still. He doesn't want or need mommy and daddy for entertainment anymore. Crawl, Crawl, Crawl. As I type he just crawled head first into a wall! Daddy is a little sad that he doesn't want us to play with him! Soon enough he will be wanting to play board games and xbox, I know. He is also growing like a weed. He got measured and weighed on Wednesday and is 30 in. and 23 lbs.! And he is in 18 month clothing!!!















Sorry Grandma T I think that his eyes are green/hazel officially.




















Do you see the long line of drool?

New Friends!

Today I had a playdate with Cade and Keegan and Samuel. I have met Cade and Keegan before but we never really got to play. They are twins about a month older than me. We had a lot of fun so as soon as my basement is done they will come and play over here. I didn't get any pictures of Samuel today but mommy said she will next time.

This is Cade...














And this is Keegan...



















And I started clapping today!!!

My Little Vampire

I don't know how well you can see it but his 3rd and 4th teeth are not the front top but the ones right next to them...He looks like a little vampire!