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Slacker Mom!

Latest "school picture" Oct 2012

I've been terribly busy trying to sort out details for my wedding to Izaak's "da-dah" and haven't been keeping up with his blog. It's been over two months since the proposal and I think we've only got the photographer figured out. The issue isn't lack of research and determination, it's an issue with me committing to one venue and being able to figure out what our best option is balancing it financially with consideration for "cool factor". We'd really like to have a unique, charming location to share our big day with our family and friends. I'd be fine with skipping all the hoopla and going to the courthouse to get our marriage certificate and a quick service from the justice of the peace but a big party sounds fun as well. Plus, it gives us an excuse to get some out-of-towners out here to see where we live these days. It will be the first time that Izaak gets to meet most everyone!

Izaak is doing great, we had to switch daycares but his teacher at the old place moved to the same daycare he's at now too so it was great to have her there to help him transition. He seems to really like the new place and we like how involved he is in art projects and activities! His daily reports usually tell that he's had a great day and he's not constantly in time-out anymore. They put him in a class appropriate for his size/skills/activity level instead of how old he is. And speaking of age, he's 17 months old already, nearly a year and a half! He's still in the 75+ percentile for his measurements, according to his last dr visit. I was thinking of it the other day while folding his laundry and determined that we've gone through 5 whole wardrobes since he was born. That's insane! If I was a little less neurotic, he would've had less clothing and wouldn't have known the difference. Luckily, I'm a thrifty shopper but can't honestly say that I haven't spent more than I should on baby clothes. OOPS! I guess there are worse things I could be guilty of at least.

Besides being a brute, Izaak has been expanding his vocabulary and is becoming more interested in books. He doesn't have a lot of words that he's consistent with using other than: "no", "nose", "shoe", "muh-muh", "da-dah", and did I mention "NO"? He imitates other words here and there and does plenty of Izee-babble, which is equal parts adorable and hilarious. He still has a talent for hitting his head off things and is in the process of giving me a head-full of gray hair from his climbing on things and jumping/falling off things that he's climbed on. I blame his daddy for the dare-devil tendencies! It's getting more difficult to get non-blurry pics of him anymore also, he's constantly on the go. We're starting to see a little bit of picky eating though he still puts down food like a professional, given the right options (dinosaur chicken nuggets, yogurt, and mandarin oranges, yes! yes!! yes!!!).

For Halloween this year, we went trick-or-treating with him for the first time and walked around the neighborhood with his friend Lilly, who was dressed as the cutest little owl ever! We brought with his Radio Flyer wagon and Lilly enjoyed it way more than he did! We didn't get too fancy with his costume, he doesn't like wearing anything like hoods or hats on his head and we wanted him to be comfortable so we went with a one-piece skeleton outfit. We only hit up a couple houses but I think he had a good time and we have a couple pictures to show from it so, totally worth it! I had a homemade Dorothy outfit and store-bought, terribly uncomfortable ruby slippers while Joe and Lilly's mom, Stephanie, were smarter and wore normal clothes. We also carved pumpkins with the kiddo this year, Joe wielding the sharp tools and Izaak examining the pumpkin guts with a stick. I thought he'd be interested in touching the slimy innards but the look on his face would've told anyone otherwise. Joe carved a small, traditional faced-pumpkin for Izaak and we got a little more creative with the other bigger pumpkin I had picked up. Spray painted it gold, then I drew in an outline of an owl silhouette in a full-moon while sitting on a branch which Joe used wood-carving tools to shave off the surface so there'd be more of a glow rather than bright light shining through. Both were fun and turned out great! We went to Boone Hall's pumpkin patch and enjoyed their hay ride and corn maze this year too!!

I'll try to add some more pictures when I can get to it, I've been adding them to Shutterfly, Facebook, etc but nothing is organized. Story of my life!!

<3

Put A Ring On It!

Joe and I celebrated our 7-year anniversary of dating with a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant downtown (Magnolias) while Izaak was spending some quality time hanging out with our friends, the McClams, at their house (thanks again, Lori and Drew!!). After a delicious meal, sans toddler, we wandered down to the end of the pier to see if there were any dolphins jumping in the water (there weren't) and wandered some more and stopped to linger at the kid-filled pineapple fountain then wandered some more down to the bottle shop we like. We made it back to the car with only minor blisters (mine) and then back to the McClams to pick up our little prince. I've been hoping for the past couple years that Joe would propose marriage but it hadn't happened so I wasn't terribly surprised that he hadn't asked me again, even though our anniversary seemed like a good time and there were ample opportunities this evening. So, imagine my shock when I was just climbing into bed and he got down on one knee and presented me with a jewelry box containing a beautiful ring!! I, of course, happily said yes!!!

I was really beginning to think that I'd have to ask him!

Izaak's 1st Year of Measurements

I'm terrified that I will lose the sheets of paper that the pediatrician gives us at each well-baby visit that lists Izaak's growth. Why does it frighten me so much? Good question... perhaps because I have a tendency to misplace everything! To help quell my fears, I'm recording the info here:

• Birth: HT: 20in  WT: 8lb 7.4oz  Head Circ: 15in
• 2 weeks: 20.5in (50%)  10lb 4oz (90%)  15in (75%)
• 2 months: 23.5in (75%)  14lb 2oz (95%)  16in (75%)
• 4 months: 27in (100%)  17lb 10oz (89%) 17in (75%)
• 6 months: 27in (90%)  20lb 8oz (90%) 18in (90%)
• 9 months: 28.75in (70%)  22lb 10oz (80%)  18.25in (75%)
• 12 months: 31in (85%)  25lb 14oz (85%)  19in (94%)

The nurse takes these measurements and the height measurement in particular seemed to be fairly subjective. To be fair, it isn't an easy task, trying to record the length of a wriggling baby. The two-week and 4-month visits especially seemed a little off but these numbers don't really mean anything, they just show a pattern of growth and can be used to help indicate if there's a potential issue. So far, he's been healthy and progressing very well. In fact, he's kind of a brute! Izaak has been pretty good at his visits to the doctor and even does pretty well with his immunizations. We did choose to have him immunized. I read about the pro's and con's and after weighing the good with the bad, we felt that giving him booster shots was the way to go, especially since he's at daycare and will eventually be in public schools.

There are a lot of personal decisions that go into a family and being a parent, things that I never really put much thought into previously. I sometimes wonder what kind of Mom I will be when Izaak reaches elementary school. Will I join the PTA and become competitive with the other mothers at bake sales and car washes? I anticipate that it will be difficult to balance being supportive but not pushy, involved but not annoying or embarrassing, loving but not smothering. Joe and I have discussed that we just hope that Izaak is "normal" and fits in ok with the other kids. We'd like for him to be well-adjusted and happy, not too much to ask for, right?! I recall some difficult growing up years and hope that Izaak doesn't have to deal with too much cruelty from his peers.

Anyhow, Izaak has had a wonderful first year and grew 11in taller, about 17.5lbs chunkier and gained 4in of head circumference. He has 5 teeth now, three on the bottom, two on top. His hair is very fine and light. It's still not much more than peach fuzz on top and he has a couple of small. wispy blonde curls around the back of his head. He's most good natured, loves to laugh and make you smile. His favorite word is still "NO" and knows when he's not supposed to be doing something because he typically says "no" and then flashes you an impish grin. He has short bouts of frustration and we've dubbed him "baby Hulk" because of it. Joe commented the other day that he's becoming more interactive, he will pick out and bring you a pair of your shoes, for example or respond to you talking to him. Izaak's tiny, infant stage was pretty stressful for us, we were short on sleep and felt awkward due to lack of baby experience. I think we're feeling more confident and Izaak is becoming a bit more independent. That said, you can't leave him for more than 5 seconds at a time because he'll try to climb something and end up falling on his head. You would think his head has a magnet in it that is attracted to things with sharp corners, edges,  or hardwood floors. Sheesh!

Joe and I feel so fortunate to have Izaak in our lives and look forward to seeing him progress through his toddler years and beyond!!

Izaak's 1st Sign Language Word!

Text msg from Izaak's daycare teacher: "Izaak can officially sign the word more in sign language! He did it today all by himself :)"

MORE!

We’ve Got a 1-Year-Old!



Birthday boy, playing with a party hat
"I AM 1"



Izaak’s 1st birthday went off without a hitch. We had a Paul Frank-themed party for him on Saturday, June 16th, he had a great turnout of party guests and we had lots of fun! Joe’s parents and Joe’s sister and family came down from Myrtle Beach and Charlotte; our friend, Smith joined us; my friend Lori and her family we able to make it; our neighbors, Michael and Jenn showed up; and Joe’s homebrew buddy, Justin and his family also made an appearance! Besides TONS of food, I also baked the cupcakes. They were made from a box of strawberry and a box of lemon cakemix. I divided each cakemix in half and added some neon food coloring then layered the batter in the cupcake papers in order to have multicolored cupcakes and made a delicious lemon-cream cheese frosting to top them with. I added some Nerds candy on top for sprinkles and used some Paul Frank plastic ring cupcake toppers that I purchased from ebay to finish the effect. I think they turned out ok, they were cute at very least! Izaak got tons of presents, he was thoroughly spoiled and had so much fun hanging out with his cousins and friends!

SUPER IZAAK!
(Adorable outfit from Erika Lechner)

 

Playing with and opening presents!




The cupcakes!

We had a little too much fun in Party City...

More Stuff about Baby Stuff - Installment #2

To continue about the stuff we've encountered on this fabulous baby ride, as promised, in this installment, I will discuss bottles, breast pumps, car seats, shopping cart covers, bouncy chairs, and bumbo seats. Here we go!

Bottles

We opted to use Playtex Drop-Ins Nurser bottles, partially because Joe's sister gave us a ton of them and partially because they are soooo easy to use, clean, and (supposedly) help to prevent colic. We discovered that the medium flow nipples worked best for our kiddo, he was always frustrated by the slow nipples and the fast nipples were super messy, they leak like crazy. The bottles have "drop in" liners which are disposable (sorry, environment, they're going to have to hang out in the landfill with the disposable diapers that we also happily use). We use the up & up brand liners from Target to cut down on costs. We hand wash the parts and dry them on the following super product:

Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack

I have to say this one of my most favorite and most useful baby items. We use this puppy every day and luckily it's cute enough to leave out on the counter! And at $14.99, it's a steal. If you've got a baby on the way, go to Target. Now.

Medela Pump-In-Style

It was my grand plan to breastfeed my kiddo. Reasons? Good for the baby in terms of nutrition, great bonding experience, and supposed to help mommy drop a couple pounds after putting on enough to have triplets. Reality? Izaak didn't latch on well (not to me anyhow) and he was HUNGRY. Right after birth, the nurse in the hospital insisted that we give him bottles until my milk came in and it really never did. I used the pump to get some milk but the attempts were pathetic. I used the breast pump for a couple months to supplement the formula that Izaak was happily slurping down but it came to a point in which things were just NOT working and the process was becoming increasingly more painful for me and less fruitful. I have more than enough breast tissue but for whatever reason, things didn't work out in this realm. You probably have no idea what it's like to want to feed your infant and he's screaming at your boob because it doesn't work as well as a bottle. I won't beat myself up over it anymore, my kiddo is thriving and seems to be no worse for the wear! As far as the pump goes, it's pretty easy to use and I liked that it was self-contained in an inconspicuous bag. It comes with most everything you'd need including bottles and a convenient to-go case. If I were to have a brother or sister for Izaak and try breastfeeding again, I'd rent one of the Medela pumps from the hospital though until I was sure that things were all systems go since the price is pretty steep on these brand new (even with a 20% off Babies 'R Us coupon!) and I didn't feel ok with buying a used one. I did, however, feel ok selling it on Craigslist and sold it to a very nice girl who had a first baby on the way.

Graco Travel System

This is the pattern we chose for the travel system (and the Pack 'N Play). While I enjoyed the cute little owls, I neither loved nor hated the carseat or stroller. They both did their jobs well enough but I felt like the handle on the carrier was kind of awkward and the stroller always tended to have squeaky wheels, regardless of WD-40 application. The stroller folded with one hand, which was nice, but I often ended up scraping the tray on the pavement and needed two hands to get it in the trunk of the car anyhow! We bought an extra base for the babysitters when they were picking him up in the mornings so it was convenient. We used this set for about 9 months and bought it brand new - saved up all of our gift cards to Target from Christmas plus a little more. While I feel we got a lot of use out of it, if we go for Baby 2.0, we'll just get a carseat that goes with the jogging stroller that I finally decided on (more on that later).

"Big Boy" Carseats

As with most things, there are the more expensive models that would be lovely but then we get real and look in our price range. Izaak's "big boy" carseat is the Graco My Ride 65. This was one of the first things we picked out after finding out we were expecting and I very patiently waited until it was on sale to buy it. Target had it on sale for $100 one week, woohoo! It had good safety ratings and seemed to be the most comfortable in our price range. I like the colors too, always helpful. It seems to work well, it is monstrously huge compared to the carrier carseat and it's frustrating that he's rear-facing when he's throwing a fit while you're driving because you can't see what is wrong. I can sort of halfway dislocate my shoulder (not really, but it is an awkward stretch) in order to try to comfort him but if he's tossed his binky, we're in trouble. The air conditioning doesn't reach him as well either so the poor kid just sweats like a monkey, especially if he's sleeping. This doesn't sound like a positive review, but I actually really do like this carseat, just don't like having to have him rear-facing. We'll keep him that way for safety's sake as long as we have to though, of course.

Carseat - Alternate

Joe rarely drives his car, it's a 1999 Nissan Maxima that doesn't have working A/C and makes all sorts of interesting squealing noises. We carpool to work so he doesn't need to drive his car much or trade in something that's currently paid off. That said, sometimes he does have to drive his car and he needs to be able to take Izaak with him. So, we bought a separate carseat for his car. Being that it doesn't get used as much, we opted for a less expensive (and less cushy) yet still has good safety ratings model, the Cosco Apt 40RF (around $55). As mentioned, this one was more about function and less about fashion. It is pretty similar to the My Ride and we're happy enough with it. It's rated up to 40lbs for rear-facing and considering Izaak is already around 25lbs, this is a good thing for longevity! My parents bought a similar model, they picked up the Cosco Scenera for our visits to Phoenix.

Shopping Cart Cover #1

We tried this one first, it's made by Eddie Bauer, wasn't terribly expensive and I thought it was pretty cute. Reality? It was a hassle! It didn't fold up neatly or have a carrying bag or anything so was just a bunch of tangled up fabric in the diaper bag - when I remembered to throw it in. It also was intended to be used for high chairs at restaurants but didn't really fit very well. Sold it on Craiglist after a couple uses.

Shopping Cart Cover #2

The next attempt is the Floppy Seat, which I like better. It's downfall? It is huge! It does have it's own bag, but you have to remember to bring said bag with you in to the store. I'm the type of person that has to go back in the house multiple times in the mornings to fetch things I've forgotten so this isn't completely ideal. It is nice and cushy, it's fashionable (as if that matters!) and I bought it for $10 at Once Upon a Child so I feel like we've gotten our money's worth at least. If I'd spent $40 at Babies R Us, I might feel a little differently about it. Note: this picture is one I found on Google (i.e. not me or my kid!) to show the pattern we have. We still have this and may use it a couple more times but Izaak is getting less "floppy" himself so the need has diminished.

Shopping Cart Cover #3

Izaak does like to put his mouth on anything that he can. He has no regard for germs. Shopping carts are gross so I like this final option, the Infantino Top and Play Cart Cover, it just covers the shopping cart handle and has some toys attached that he can chew/slobber on. I spent maybe $7 on this and even though I often forget it and it doesn't fit all carts, I'm pretty happy with it. While the Floppy Seat is good for younger babies, this option is great for nearly-one-year-olds!

Bouncy Chair

We found a used Rainforest bouncer on Craigslist and it worked great. The waterfall is adorable and we liked the "rainforest" sounds. It also matches the mobile and soother mentioned in the first installment about baby stuff. This thing saved our sanity on many occasions and was totally worth the $15 or whatever I spent on it and I've since sold it for $15 at garage sale so it was as if we were just borrowing it for a little while! My only complaint was that it didn't fold flat so I caught my toes on it more than once in our small living room... ouch!

Bumbo Seat

This is a must-have according to many, but our kid has beefy legs and has magical escape skills so we didn't use it for very long. I found it at a garage sale in the neighborhood across the street for $10 and it even had the tray so I don't feel terribly distraught about not using it too much. Since I sold it on Craigslist for $20, I even feel less sad about our lack of use :) I like the idea of it and appreciate that it helps to build the baby's core muscles and such but Izaak never seemed very happy in it and I wished that it had a strap or something so we could've used it more like a high chair when he actually did fit in it instead of only being about to use it on the floor.

I feel this post is probably long-winded enough so I'll save high chairs, toys, and more for the next installment!