20 months old

20 Months Old

Eating-  Baby boy has become a little pickier about eating lately.  He eats the best when we are at home and sticking to our normal routine.  William loves green beans.  He'll even eat them cold!  He used to eat yogurt every day until the past 2 weeks.  Guess he got burned out!  I can get him to eat any meat if I put it in a wheat tortilla with cheese!  His new daycare cooks their own food for lunch so I'm hoping he starts to try (and like) new things.  I'm still sending food from home but hoping that he starts to venture out soon.  

Sleeping- William is still doing great in the sleep department.  Things aren't very fun when he's sick but that's to be expected.  His nap time at school is an hour earlier than at his old school.  Nap time is usually 12-2 now.   

Development-  William continues to change and learn something new everyday.  He is constantly "talking".  When you say ONE...he follows up with TWO, THREE.  He knows where his ears, head, belly, nose, eyes, teeth, feet and hands are.  He loves stacking blocks (actually he loves to stack anything).  We've even had people stop by our table at restaurants and say it looks like we have a little engineer on our hands.  Taking after his Uncle D.  His bottom 2 teeth are nearly all the way in and it looks like some top ones are making their way through. 

Personality-  William definitely knows what he likes and dislikes.  He's even learned the word NO.  It's pretty cute when he says it.....I'm sure it won't be for long.  William makes us laugh non stop.  I couldn't be more in love with this age.  He's just so sweet and innocent.  He is already taking after the men in his life....he's obsessed with deer.  He can spot a deer from a mile away and it's all he wants to talk about and look at. 

Clothing size- Nothing has changed in this category.  Still size 4 diapers and clothes 12-18 months.   

Things mommy loves-
If you ask him what a cow says he says "mooooo".  If you ask his what a dog says he says "moooo".  Pretty hilarious.  He's just so sure that everything says moooo.  Even Santa.  Once you tell him Santa says HO HO HO he says, "OH OH OH".  Adorable.
William calls both me and Gordon MAMA.  He can say Dada but is certain we are both Mamas.   
William squeezes onto me really tight when we walk out into the cold weather.  So sweet. 

Things WJG loves- He loved our Christmas tree and loves looking at the pictures of him with Santa. William's favorite day is when the Wilson's come over to play!  He just laughs and laughs at them.  Older kids are his favorite.  Singing the ABCs makes him happy and he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES music.  He loves dancing and reading books.  Just like his mama!   

Things WJG doesn't like- He's always sad to get into the car seat but calms down pretty quickly.  He will not eat those squeezy fruit pouches anymore.  No idea why.  Thankfully, he loves green beans and blueberries.  He wants to be independent so meal times can be messy.  He's great with a spoon now!

Funny Dad Moments- I heard Gordon tell William the other night, "Thank you for using your words."  I felt like an official parent. 

First time- Right after William's 20 month birthday he made his first trip to Birmingham, Alabama to visit his aunt and uncle. 

From the Doctor- Since William's 18 month check up we've been back to the doctor twice.  Once for hand, foot mouth and then for pneumonia.  Dr. Freedman is always so impressed by how calm and patient William is.  Even when he's sick he's sweet.  Every time we see Dr. Freedman he tells me how happy he is with his progress.  I'm so grateful that he's only had to be on antibiotics twice in his lifetime.

• He loves sticking his tongue out like this.  He can feel those new teeth!
• Not so into this picture taking thing.
• Nope.  Not doing the blanket picture.
• Being silly (he loves his nativity scene on the night stand). 
• Playing in his crib.
• He loves his "big boy" chair.
• Giving the giraffe a kiss.
• Handsome baby boy!

I've had a few people tell me that 18-24 months is the best time with your toddler.  They are just so fun and sweet that you can't wait to start trying for baby #2.....and then the terrible 2s come and you get nervous.  HAHA.  I'm preparing myself for the crazy terrible 2s but loving every minute of our sweet baby boy until then.  :) 

Santa!!!

Well, it's safe to say that our visit with Santa went much better last year versus this year.  Poor little William was terrified.  He loves talking about Santa, looking at Santa, reading books about Santa, wearing clothes with Santa on it and saying HO, HO, HO.  He'll even give fake Santas a kiss.  Put him within a few feet of a real life Santa and you have a different story.  He becomes a clingy, emotional wreck.  Regardless, he sure does look cute.  Maybe next year we'll have better luck.  If he's anything like his momma he'll be crying for another couple of years.  :)

Merry Christmas everyone!!! 

Ornament Decorating Party

A couple of weekends ago Teddy's mom invited the gang over to do some Christmas ornament decorating!!  Nicole did such a great job getting everything together.  The kids had a lot of fun making a mess and the moms got to visit and catch up with each other.  William loved seeing all his "old" school friends and he made some super cute ornaments for our tree. 

• Gingerbread making :)
• The whole gang
• Teddy spoils our little William...always letting him ride around while he pushes him. 
• Busy at work!
• Britton giving Christmas kisses
• Playing with his buddies

We are so lucky to have such fun friends.  I sure do love this time of the year!  :)

Thanksgiving

I'm BACK!!!  We got our computer this past week.  I can't tell you how happy I was to see the box on our door step.  :)  Here's what we were up to over Thanksgiving.

With the move, unpacking, working and keeping up with a toddler I've been a bit scatter brained.  I did manage to remember our camera but the battery was nearly dead so we only have pictures from the first half of the weekend.  Better some than none! 

We didn't leave the house at all on Thanksgiving (besides for a walk).  I loved just laying around with everyone.  We watched the Parade, played, ate lots of good food and watched lots of football.  On Friday Gordon went hunting with the guys.  I had a nice long massage and girls night with my mom and Skye (+ William).  We made it over to Big Spring on Saturday for some yummy Mexican food and, of course, to visit my grandparents.  We drove Skye by the home my dad grew up in.  It was the first time I'd been back since my grandma died.  So many happy memories came flooding back.  She was such a sweet lady.  It's hard to put into words.....but I knew that she loved us (me, Dustin and my cousin Lauren) so much.  It was in her hugs, her sweet smell, the food she cooked us, the walks she took us on....it was simple things.  Never anything fancy.  She just loved us.  That's it.  I miss her and what she did for our family.  I look forward to the day I see her again in Heaven. 

• Eating Skye's yummy spice cake.
• Our family of three
• Visiting his GG and granpa.  He had so much fun playing over at their house and going to visit the donkey!
• Football watch party (those blocks were Dustin's nearly 30 years ago)!
• My little hunters.
• Uncle D can't wait to take William one day.
• Three of the most important men in my life.
• Gobble Til You Wobble!
• Outside my dad's childhood home. 

It's always so nice to get away and just relax.  No laundry or house cleaning to do.  Just relaxing.  We even got away one night for a movie with Skye and Dustin. 

Big Boys Don't Cry

I'm happy to say that when I dropped William off at daycare today he DIDN'T CRY!  Yipppeeee!  I knew this day would eventually come....and I'm so glad that it did.  I hate leaving him when he's sad.  They say he calms down right away and he's always happy when I pick him up.  :) I think we are all starting to settle into our new routine.  Now if we could all stay healthy!  Poor Gordon just got over an upper respiratory infection and Strep.  This mama has been chugging OJ and taking lots of vitamins!  

We are trying to stay warm!

AND, we are ready for Christmas (well kinda!).  

Christmas Wish Answered

I mentioned in my last post that we'd lost our laptop on our flight home to Houston.  It was by no means a fancy computer but it was special and irreplaceable....it has all of our home videos on it from my pregnancy and William's first year of life.  Why hadn't I back these precious memories onto something else?!?!  Good question.  Time.  There just isn't enough of it!

On Thursday I got one of the best phone calls ever....our computer had been found!!!  I cried tears of joy.  Best. Christmas gift. EVER.  I've learned a few lessons from this little experience.  I'm on my way to get an external hard drive now!  We are so thankful that a honest person found it and did the right thing by turning it in.

We celebrated the good news with some chocolate!  :) 

A Preview of Our Thanksgiving

Look at that precious little turkey hand!  We sure are grateful for little guy who made this.  

We headed to west Texas for Thanksgiving last Wednesday for some family time.  As usual, we had a great time in Midland.  Lots of R&R and good food.  Unfortunately, on our flight home we left our laptop behind.  :(  I'm praying that they find it...if not I guess we are in the market for another computer.  So, until I have a computer I can't upload our photos from the weekend.  I'll do another post soon (I hope)....but for now, here's a few highlights!

William loved Skye's pumpkin spice cake!

We did a little Christmas shopping at Miss. Cayce's.  William was obsessed with the singing dear!

William LOVED the puppies!  He played with them ALL. DAY. LONG.  He can now say "doggie" and "Otis".

We went to church and then headed to the country club for a yummy lunch.

And now we are back in Houston with a sick baby.  The poor little guy has pneumonia now.  Although things have been crazy busy and William has been under the weather most of the month....I'm just glad that we are as healthy as we are and that we have each other.  Work's been tough for me lately so I just try to remember to always count my blessings!  

Halloween

Halloween week for us was a bit crazy!  We closed on our new home on Monday, spent all day Tuesday moving, went back to work on Wednesday and then Halloween was on Thursday.  Regardless, we had a great time with friends and my parents. 
One of William's friends from day care (who's mom was a Kappa at Tech with me) invited us over to trick or treat.  The weather was nice and her neighborhood was perfect for the kids and all our wagons.  I feel so blessed to have this group of girls and their kiddos in our life.  Although William isn't in daycare with them any more we still have music class, Sunday dinner, birthday parties and a million other reasons to get together.

• Nana and Papa came along to trick or treat too!
• Playing with Willie Nelson's guitar.
• Cutest pumpkin in the patch!
• Look at that pitiful face....begging me to save him from the madness. :)
• Laughing at his favorite little strawberry.
• The gang!
• William tried his first sucker.  YUM. 

Pumpkin Patch

I guess since November is about to be gone I should post some pumpkin pictures! 

Checking out the pumpkins after music class

I feel like a broken record....I'm behind on blogging (and everything else in life)!  By the time we made it to the pumpkin patch it was the weekend before we moved (super busy) and nearly all the pumpkins were gone (and I'd already packed my nice camera lens).  I swear I'm going to have my stuff together next year! 
Regardless, we got a few cute ones.  Gordon was busy doing something house related so no daddy/son pictures this year.

William loved the pumpkins and wanted to pick them all up!  Such a difference from last year.  It's crazy how much they change in such a short amount of time. 

 

Happy Fall Y'all!!!!

Wreck 'Em Tech

Well, this picture pretty much sums up William's experience at his first football game!  EXCITED!  Tech may have lost but we made so many great memories.  William is a lucky little boy.  His first football game was at the Cowboys Stadium, in a suite, watching our favorite Red Raiders.  Priceless. 

I have to brag on my fabulous parents for a minute....they really are the best!  When William got super sick last week my sweet mom didn't even think twice about coming to help us out.  She is such a life saver, she's so good with William and we all love her so much.  Then there's my daddy.  I hinted that this would be a fun game to go to (and a good meeting point for all of us) and the next day he had the suite arranged.  They spoil all of us.  BIG hug to both of them for always being so thoughtful, helpful and loving us so much.  The three of us are blessed to be able to call them ours.

Thankfully, William was feeling much better by Saturday!  We got to see Uncle D, Aunt Skye and a few of my high school friends. William had so much fun running around, playing with his Uncle D and of course watching all the action on the field.  He thought it was hilarious when we were cheering during the touchdowns.  By halftime baby boy was getting sleepy so we laid his trusty nap mat in the closet....yes, the closet (it's big and quiet)....put some toddler Pandora on and baby boy passed out!  He slept the entire second half! 

• Ready to eat some yummy mac 'n cheese
• Fascinated!
• Our little family
• Checking things out....Aunt Skye taking some pics
• Hanging with Uncle D
• Dustin and Skye
• With my momma and her sweet friend, Rhonda.
• My honey

We may have lost the football game but we had a wonderful night and we still love our RED RAIDERS.  We will always be fans and cheer on Texas Tech.  Win or Lose.  It's our Alma Mater.  It's where I met my husband and who's now child's father.  :)   Wreck 'Em Tech!!

Saying Goodbye Is Hard

The hardest part of moving hasn't been the physical and mental exhaustion......it's been the emotional aspect of it all.  Leaving our first home was sad but what's been the hardest is changing William's daycare.  On November 1st Gordon and I picked William up at Big Little School for the last time.  When we got out of the car I broke down.  This was the place William had been going to since he was just 4 months old.  Every single person that worked at BLS loved our baby.

I had gotten to know many of the parents, William had made so many great friends and I trusted them 110% to take care of our baby boy.  After pulling myself together we walked to the playground to find William.  As always, Ms. Dayana was loving on him, giving him hugs and kisses.  When she saw us walking up tears starting running down her face.  I started crying again.  As we walked away other teachers were running up to us with tears in their eyes to give William a goodbye hug.  To say we will miss them is an understatement.  Each of them will hold a special placed in our hearts forever. 

From his sweet class! 

Everyone at BLS loved our baby boy so much!  It will be hard to find teachers with so much love and kindness.  His "old teachers" text us weekly to check on our little buddy.  I pray every night that we've made the right decision moving William closer to our new home and Texas Children's Hospital.  We picked a new school that my best friend went to as a child (25 years ago) and both of her children attended for the past 5 years.  I feel confident that they will take good care of him!  I'm the kind of mom that just wants others to love my child.  We have many years ahead of us for homework and science projects!  For now, at 18 months old, I'm just looking for a loving, happy environment that helps W with his social skills.

Room C was such a fun and happy place that is full of wonderful memories!

Week 1 at the new school went pretty well!  But unfortunately, baby boy is already sick with the "new" germs he's being exposed to.  (more on that later)  So, right now Gordon and I are just trying to keep our heads above the water.  The unpacking is a very slow process but it'll all get done eventually.  :)   We will try again next week to get into "the swing of things".  Since William is pretty sick he won't be going back to daycare the rest of the week.  My FABULOUS mother is flying down (as I type) to help us out.  She's going to watch baby boy Thursday and Friday so this momma can go back to work. 

Things are a little stressful right now but we are beyond blessed!  Blessed to have such supportive families and blessed to be as healthy as we are.  When I'm feeling defeated I remember how good God has been to us. 



Enjoying our new neighborhood!  It's so peaceful and quiet.  :)

18 months

18 months old

Weight- 20 lbs 3 ounces (up 2 lbs 3 ounces in 3 months) ~10% on preemie chart and 6% on regular
Height- 30.5 inches (up 1.25 inch in 3 months) ~48% on preemie and 2% on regular
Head Circumference- 19.9 inches (same) ~15% on preemie and 86% on regular

Eating- William is a really good eater.  He's not a giant fan of vegetables and what he likes changes from week to week.  Since he was moved up to the toddler room we've started feeding him breakfast at home (since I don't nurse him in the mornings anymore).  Breakfast usually consists of whole wheat waffles (which he LOVES) and fruit.  We even tried egg a couple times and he's done great.  No reaction!  He has two snacks at school and lunch around noon.  He isn't a fan of ground turkey meat but does like ground beef.  Carrots are his favorite vege and grapes, blueberries and bananas are his favorite fruit.  If it was up to William he'd eat pasta (or some type of carb) for every meal! 

Sleeping- William is doing great in the sleep department.  He rarely wakes up at night and if he does he puts himself right back to sleep.  After bath time we put William in his PJs and I rock him while he drinks a bottle and I read him a book.  YES, he still gets a goodnight bottle.  We are going to stop this after the big move!  Once he finishes his bottle I just lay him down in his crib and he falls asleep soon after.  It's hard to believe that things are going so smoothly. 
He still takes one nap a day from 1-3. 

Development- William started walking during labor day weekend!  He hasn't slowed down since.  He knows eat, more and done in sign language.  He definitely understands more than he says.  If you ask him to hold your hand he reaches up and does it.  You can tell him to go get you the ball or book and he knows exactly what you're talking about.  He babbles a ton but when he uses words (besides hi, bye, mama, dada) is completely random.  He can say deer, fish, banana and sometimes says what sounds like thank you.  He is a pro at climbing up the stairs and even knows how to scootch down like his daddy taught him.  Dr. Freedman says his delayed speech is to be expected with his prematurity.  We'll just continue reading and talking to him a lot.  Otherwise, we were able to answer yes to all the "developmental questions".  William knows at least 2 body parts (belly, nose, eyes), he can run, and climb stairs.

Personality-  William is still super serious and shy when he's around a lot of people or anyone new.  Once you get to know him he is the most loving, silly little boy you'll ever meet.  He loves giving kisses and makes the cutest "kissy face" I've ever seen.  My heart melts every single time.  I couldn't be more in love with our little man and this stage! 

Clothing size- We ran out of size 3 diapers so we've moved up to size 4.  We've finally retired the 9 month PJs and skipped up to 18 months.  They are pretty big on him but they work for sleeping.  Most everything else is 12 month.

Looking at his feet and wondering why his PJs are so long!

Things mommy loves-
His little right arm swings back and forth when he walks.  Cutest. Thing. Ever. 
His "kissy face" is priceless. 
William loves having his hair dried in the mornings when I'm getting myself ready.  I'll sit on the floor and he backs himself up and plops down into my lap.  It's the little things!
When I'm not home Gordon says William walks around the house looking for me and saying, "mama?"  Hearing him say mama makes me smile. 

Mommy stuff- I still haven't spend a night away from William.  We've just been so busy with selling, buying and moving homes.  Now that the holidays are here things will get even busier.  So, G and I are thinking we'll do an adult trip in January!! 

Things WJG loves- He is really loving mac n cheese and is starting to fizzle out on bananas. He used to say, "ohhhhhhhhh" when he'd see me getting one for him. William cracks up laughing when I sneeze and loves pointing at everything he sees when we go on walks (which he now stays awake for).  He loves looking/pointing at the moon and airplanes in the sky.  His favorite book is "Goodnight Moon" and he is no longer scared of the dance 'n play puppy. 

Things WJG doesn't like- He doesn't like when you turn the bath water off and usually cries when it's time to get out.  He's not a fan of hot dogs and seems to be going on a meat eating strike.  I hear that this is pretty normally....and not fun for parents.  Luckily he loves beans, cheese and yogurt so we still get some protein in him. 

Funny Dad Moments- Gordon was giving William a bath the other night and I heard him say, "Let's get your face washed up.  Ladies like a clean face!"  haha.  Teaching William how to pick up the ladies a little early in my opinion.  :)

First time- William visited Kentucky for the first time in September and Canyon Lake for Labor Day weekend.  Most importantly, he is getting his FIRST tooth.  That's right folks, finally!  It started popping through on October 28th.
This past weekend we tried peanut butter for the first time.  The child is in love!  Not only did he not have a reaction but he danced everytime Gordon gave him a bite.  He's definitely our child.

From the Doctor- William got his last Hep A shot and got an A+ on everything from Dr. Freedman. 

Love you lots William!!!

Our First Home

Soon after getting engaged G and I decided to make our first big purchase together......a home!  I was paying nearly $1,200/month to live in a 900 sqft apartment in Midtown.  So, we figured we might as well put our combined rents towards a mortgage. 

5718 Kansas was still in the process of being built when we first stepped foot into it.  We both knew right away it's where we wanted to live.  Gordon continued to look on a weekend I was working but nothing compared.  Our future first home had the lay out we were looking for with beautiful finishes.  It was in a developing area that was getting nicer every year.  In the back of our minds we hoped to one day make some money when we sold it....and we did!  The neighborhood is by no means perfect but we would be in a gated area, downtown and the galleria were both super close and the med center was easy to get to.  There would be no commuting for work, we could still enjoy all of our favorite restaurants and we even had a little side yard for Gus.  We were sold! 

On May 5, 2010 we signed on the dotted line.  It is one of the best decisions we ever made.  Over the last 42 months we have made countless memories.  I made our first dinner as a married couple here, I've spend many hours during bed rest staring at the walls thinking about our unborn baby, the kitchen is where I told Gordon we were expecting, we've had a ton of get togethers with some of our dearest friends, we went on a million walks with Gus and most importantly it's William's first home. 

We always knew we'd move when our first baby was one or two.  Honestly, we would have stayed longer if the housing market wasn't so great right now!  Our old realtor kept emailing G asking him if we were interested in moving.  After casually looking around in Katy we stumbled upon the perfect home.....big lot, cul-de-sac, game room, lots of room to grow (hint hint Gordon...haha), an open lay out, great school district and a park and pool 3 blocks away.  SOLD.  We even got in early enough to pick all our finishes.  I'm sure I'll be doing a post soon about the new casa! 

We put our home on the market on Saturday, June 29th.  I was a bit anxious starting this process with a baby.  But things went great!  It was shown 10 times on the first day!  Gordon and I were so excited that we called Ms. Melissa so we could have a date night.  While we were at the movies we had 4 offers come in!  The next day the house was shown another 6 times and another handful of offers came in.  The first offer we excepted came in at $5,000 over asking price.  Long story short the deal didn't work out.  While we were in Rosemary Beach the first contract was terminated.  So, we moved onto a buyer that had been interested at the beginning.  After another round of inspections and appraisals, on September 6, 2013, we sold our home.  We are so blessed to have gotten so much positive feedback (and so quickly).  I will say that I am super grateful that we did all this when a) we only have one child b) I'm not pregnant c) we don't have a newborn.  There have been some trying days but we are nearly done. :)

Here are some pictures taken by our realtor!

So today I will cry.  I hate change.  I really hate unknowns.  I hate leaving so many precious memories.  But I have pictures....lots of pictures!  I'll remember this house forever.  So many firsts.  So much happiness.  Thanks 5718 for a fabulous 3.5 years!  Our new home in Katy has a lot to live up to.  :)