24 months old

It's still so hard to believe that two years have gone by since this little angel graced us with his presence!  We love him more than ever. 


Weight- 23 lbs 2 ounces (up 3 lbs in 6 months) ~ 4% on growth chart (down from 6%)
Height- 32.5 inches (up 2 inch in 6 months) ~ 13% (up from 2%)
Head Circumference- 20 inches (same) ~ 93% (up from 86%)

Eating- The last time I did a "monthly" post William was 20 months old.  I was still packing William's lunch everyday for school.  Since then W has really ventured out!  He wants to eat what everyone else is eating at school.  I'm so happy that he gets a variety of foods everyday.  His latest favorites are oatmeal and peas with guacamole mixed in.  He will eat the whole can of peas!  Cheese is still his #1.  He does a "happy dance" when you give him mac n cheese and he loves dipping things in ketchup.  :)  I'm so thankful to not have a picky eater!  William's tried chocolate out recently and he's a BIG fan.

Sleeping-  Unless William's sick, he does really well in this department.  He no longer gets a "goodnight bottle".  It didn't even phase him when we stopped giving it to him.  We just do the sippy cup and only give him water after dinner (next step is cup with straw).  W is usually in bed by 8:00 and wakes up around 6:00.  Nap time is the same, 12-2.  We still give William his paci in the car and during bedtime.  He has a cloth book that he sleeps with as well.  You know William's tired when he starts rubbing soft fabric between is his fingers.  It's his way of calming down and soothing himself. 
Development- We were able to answer all but 2 questions with "yes" at his yearly checkup.  Little buddy can't jump yet and he's not saying 50 words.  We've had him evaluated on speech delay and he didn't qualify.  He is behind for his age but not enough to need speech therapy.  He is able to understand and follow any directions but doesn't express everything in words (might be quiet like his daddy!).  He can kick a ball, say 2-3 words together, and follow directions such as bring me the shoes.  William calls all colors yellow and his favorite shape to point out and say is oval.  He knows most animal noises (elephant, lion, dog, cat, sheep, duck, cow...) and can recognize and say most of his family members names when he either sees them in person or in a picture (nana, mimi, papa, D, Skye).   
Personality- William is still really sweet but he is definitely in the independent toddler stage.  His favorite things to say right now are "It's Mine!" and "Stop".  Time out happens pretty frequently these days.  It really helps him to calm down and act a little nicer.  We're starting to see a stubborn side to our little man.  He still cracks us up!  He makes the funniest faces and is super silly when he's around people he knows.  The kids eyes and facial expressions speak volumes.      
Clothing size- He is still in a size 4 diaper and size 4 shoes.  This time last year he was wearing a size 1 or 2 shoe so we are making progress.  Most of his clothes are 18 months with a few 2Ts. 
Things mommy loves-
His little right arm still swings back and forth when he walks sometimes and he still loves giving us kisses!   I really love how much William loves music!  He and I are going to have some fun times together.  If Dancing With The Stars is on he'll stop everything to do a little dance himself.   
When he sees something that he thinks is cool he does the cutest "ooooooo" sound (see pic below).  It can be a book he's seen a million times, but if it has a truck in it he's in love. 
I love how he holds my hand while he's walking and he tells me about all his "boo boos" from falling down while we are driving in the car.
He still lets me cuddle with him and rock him for a few minutes before bed.  I could cuddle with that baby forever! 
Mommy stuff- When William was 22 months old I had my first night away from him! 
Thankfully, things around our house are a bit calmer since the moving and unpacking are DONE!  Eventhough we recently joined the YMCA I still only get to the gym twice a month.  Oh well, it's better than nothing and I get lots of exercise chasing after the little guy! 
Things WJG loves- William loves being outside!!!!  He will follow his daddy around "helping" him do yard work all day long.  He loves swinging at the playground and playing with his golf clubs.  He still doesn't pay much attention to the TV but if he hears DJ shuffle come on the Disney channel he breaks out in the cutest dance.  He also loves coloring on his new art easels!  Little man is still obsessed with vacuuming and actually requests that we get it out of the closet every day!  His other favorite outside toy is his lawn mower.  You can never be too much like your daddy.  :)
Things WJG doesn't like- Being the typical toddler, if it's not his idea it's probably not what he wants.  Getting him into the carseat can be challenging sometimes.  Same goes for getting him to leave the park.  The kid could play outside for an endless amount of hours.  I gave him a orange push pop the other day and he made the grossest face ever.  I guess we can put that on his NO list along with eggs. 
Favorite Things To Say- William is always saying "I'm stuck!".  If he's in the car seat for a long period of time or is wrapped up on the couch in a blanket he tells us he's stuck.  Pretty hilarious.  If something gets dirty or falls he says "ooooooohhhh NOOOO".  He does not like his hands to get dirty with food but doesn't mind dirt all over them.  "One More" is his other favorite saying.  If he really likes doing something he asks us "one more?".  The past three weekends he's gone on train rides (this is his current favorite thing to do).  As soon as we get on the train he looks at you and says "one more?"
Funny Dad Moments- Until the last week or so William has called both me and Gordon "mama".  He has been 100% certain that Gordon was also Mama.  It has been the cutest thing ever but poor Gordon just kept repeating himself, "No William. I'm Dada."  He's finally asking, "Where's Daddy?" when we get home in the evening! 
First time- William went to Austin for his first time in February and had his first hair cut right before that.  We visited the Children's Museum for the first time on St. Patrick's Day.
From the Doctor- Luckily, William didn't need any shots at this check up.  Dr. Freedman did say that his right ear still looked "congested".  It doesn't seem to be bothering William and we've been fever free for 3 weeks now.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that things clear up and we all stay healthy this summer! 
 

• He still love Goodnight Moon.
• I'm busy mom!
• This is the ohhhhh my gossssshhhhhhh face!
• He's so much bigger than the bear now.
• Being silly
• Such a big boy.  I'm hoping he stays in the crib until Christmas time.  Fingers crossed he doesn't start climbing out. 

A Day In The Life.....

.....of a working mommy!!  It's a busy one.  :)  I'm always SO thankful I have this blog.  As much as I've told myself I'll remember everything....it's just not possible.  Time flies by and everything starts running together.  I'm still not quite sure how our baby is TWO years old!  So, I thought I'd do a little post about our daily/weekly routine.  I'm pretty sure nobody cares.  But, I know I'll look back on this one day and smile. 
You can't truly understand the depth of being a parent until you are one.  I always knew it'd be a busy life and now we're happily living that chaos!  Every minute you think of your child and their well being.  A full night sleep will probably never occur again.  And I'm SO thankful for that (the bags under my eyes aren't though)! 


5:20 am:  Gordon and I are usually out of bed around now.  William wakes up around 5:45 or 6:00 (weekdays and weekends....he doesn't know the difference).  That means, I have 30 minutes to shower and get me ready and fed before the little man takes over my attention.
6:00:  breakfast for William
6:15: get W dressed for the day
6:30:  out the door we go!
7:15:  if traffic was good we are at daycare by now.  Some days are better than others during drop off.  There are usually a few tears from little man. 
7:40:  Clock into work and get moving!  Start IVs, make kids cry (they don't like needles), run around like a crazy lady, pee maybe twice a day, talk to lots of pharmacies on the phone, give chemotherapy, hug crying babies, etc, etc, etc.....
11:00-11:30:  Lunch in the cafeteria
6:00 pm:  I usually clock out around this time.  Give or take 15 minutes.
6:15:  Pick little man up from daycare.  There's usually a million things on my "to do list" but getting William in and out of the car is a NO go these days.  He's just ready to be home.  So am I! 
6:45:  We are home!  Lately, there's a bit of screaming during this time.  W wants to stay outside and play but it's time for dinner so in the highchair he goes (still screaming usually).  I make William dinner and then get started on the grown ups dinner.  While I cook William eats and we "talk". 
7:30:  Daddy gets home!  By now William is done eating so Gordon and I usually have to wait to eat until after William's in bed. 
7:45:  If there's time we play outside for a little while but usually we go straight to the bath.
8:15:  PJs on, William brushes his teeth and hair and we read a few books.
8:30:  Into bed we go!
You would think our night would be winding down now.  Nope.  The fun is just beginning.  We eat. Do dishes.  Put leftovers away.  Take out trash.  Laundry.  Vacuuming (have you ever looked under a toddlers highchair?!?!  gross).  Gordon waters outside.  I guess I'm glad to have the bottle cleaning/sterilizing days behind us for a little while.  It's not my favorite chore!  I definitely have more "free" time in my day since I stopped pumping 8 months ago.  Bedtime for me is usually 10pm.  :)

I'm currently studying for a work related exam so I try to squeeze that in as well.  I'm secretary of Houston's local chapter of APHON which means I'm at a meeting, in the med center, once a month after work.  I try to blog at least once a week.  I've given up on ever watching TV.  I guess I just don't like it enough.  I'd rather read or watch a movie with G.  Every day is a little different.  Getting out the door may seem easy enough but when you have kids you have to remember 20X more.  Did I get the diapers/wipes for daycare, is his nap mat in the car,  did I wash it over the weekend, did I unfreeze milk the night before to make bottles for the morning, party day at school = cupcake making the night before....I can't even begin to think about when he's in school and all the projects and homework we'll be doing every night!  YIKES. 
 
This daily routine didn't include the fun things like your child vomiting all over himself and his carseat on the way to school (let me tell you how hard it is to clean vomit out of a carseat.  yuck.  LOTS of q-tips and Clorox!).....It's an even bigger problem when you have no change of clothes in the car besides a onesie that's too small.  Yep.  I sure did take our kid into school half naked.  I even had to make up a lie about why he was naked (and smelled) because I HAD to be at work that day.  Yep, that's right folks.  Mom of the year.  A small down fall (or maybe big one) of being a working mom is you are only aloud to call in sick to work 4 times in a rolling 12 month period.  Stressful.  That's all I can say about that situation.

We love the weekends!  We have so much fun together.  We are still up at the crack of dawn ready to hit up Little Gym at 8:15 on Saturday mornings.  :)  We keep ourselves busy with grocery shopping, church, yard work, birthday parties and cleaning!  I'll be sad when William no longer has nap time.  Those 2 hours are fabulous.  It's amazing how much I can get done!!! 

Life is busy.  But, it's just what I expected.  If I didn't love my life so much I'd never survive!  I'm pretty sure 90% of moms are even busier than me.

It's hard to believe that 3 years ago I would come home from work and sit.  Just sit on the couch and do whatever.  I got my hair done every 3 months and my nails done every other week.  I worked out 3-5 times a week and we went to the movie theatre every Sunday.  I even worked Overtime at the hospital on a regularly basis.  I had a girls night out every week or two.  We slept in!  I haven't had my hair cut since October.....if that gives you an idea of how things are going in this area!  Haha

We traded that in for a little piece of heaven.  Having a family.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Tired?  Yes!  Happy?  Very!     

So, the next time a fellow mom tells you she's "busy" but good give her a hug.  She probably hasn't slept past 5 am in a while!  ;)        

I LOVE this picture.  We need him as much as he needs us!

Birthday Boy

The past two weekends have been jammed full of FUN!  Both sides of our immediate families came into Houston to celebrate William's 2nd birthday two weekends ago.  Every thing turned out so cute!  We had the best time with our friends, family and the choo choo we rented. 

William's actual birthday was this past Saturday.  It just happened to fall on the weekend of Easter so we were again surrounded by family and friends!  Gordon and I try to split up holidays between my family and his.  Since mine are in West Texas and his are in East Texas we have to pick one or the other....so we generally switch every other holiday.  Gordon will probably appreciate being in West Texas next Easter since the Spring pollen drives his allergies crazy!  (fyi Midland is like a desert so there's little pollen around.  haha)

I have about a million pictures to post from the last 14 days.  Here are just a few from this past Saturday. 

• Coloring with Chalk
• Taking it all in!
• This is the face he gives you when he thinks you're being crazy.  haha
• This kid LOVES bubbles
• Happy boy
• Finally able to blow his own bubbles without eating them all :)
• Aunt Emily is funny!

We have the little guys two year check up this week.  I'm excited to get all his "stats" for an official 2 year old post!

Laying Low at Home

The past three weekends have been super laid back.  It's been nice to just relax at home and get some spring cleaning done.  Our "to do" list is getting shorter and shorter!  Gordon has worked SO hard on our yard!  We have three flower beds in our front yard that he has completely redone.  They look fabulous!  But, we've learned that a fabulous looking yard takes a lot of time.  So, while daddy has been digging, planting, mulching, mowing, edging and weed eating, William and I have been playing, going for yogurt runs and doing lots of cuddling. 
Poor little William has been sick a lot over the last month.  At the beginning of March he had fever for 8 days in a row.  He finally got diagnosed with an ear infection after visiting the doctor twice.  This was his second ear infection and 3rd time to be on antibiotics in his two years of life.  A couple of weeks later he got another high fever that lasted 4 days.  Several of the kids in his classroom at school had hand/foot/mouth during that time.  Luckily, William never showed any signs of that....just the yucky fever.  This past Monday we went back to the doctor for gross, green eye drainage.  I knew it wasn't pink eye but took him in anyways just to be certain.  Poor baby boy has another ear infection.  So, we're back on antibiotics.  :(  Luckily, William hasn't acted too sick this go around.  No fever, no pulling at his ears.  Just yucky eyes and nose and less energy.  MAN. OH. MAN.  Life with a toddler is an adventure.  In my 10 years of nursing I have seen so many crazy pediatric illnesses/diseases.....it has made me a thankful mommy!  It can always be worse.  So, I try to always be thankful for the simple ear infection.  We are blessed.

The closets are organized.  All boxes are gone.  We own every piece of lawn equipment we could need (...yeah right, I'm sure there's more to come).  We've tried out another church in our area.  Saturday mornings have been spent at Little Gym.  We've had friends over for dinner. And we've cooked lots of surf and turf on the Green Egg.  We are finally settled in and feeling right at home in the burbs!!!

NOW, we are ready to celebrate William's second birthday with all the people we love this coming weekend!!!

Trip to Midland

We spent Week 11 in West Texas.  We hadn't been to Midland since Thanksgiving so we were due for a trip.  This was our last flight to take where William flew for free.  :(  Over the past two year William has flown probably 20 times.  Each time is different but I will say in many ways it gets easier.  Mainly because we have less stuff and I'm not nursing!  Anyways, William slept on the flight into Midland and played with coffee creamers on the flight back. 
We had a nice relaxing weekend.  I guess we are pretty predictable people.....the guys went shooting and the girls went shopping.  We had a grown up night out with Dustin and Skye and got to see my grandparents on Sunday evening.  We are starting to learn that dinner out after little to no nap is a bad idea.  William definitely knows what he wants and doesn't want.....when he's tired and not getting his way things can get ugly.  Part of being a parent is making sacrifices....we are all learning to make changes as needed!     
One more reason for the super tired little boy was FAMILY photos!  I can't wait to post them.  Kristi McKnight did his ONE year photo shoot last year so it seemed perfect to do his TWO year shoot with her too.  We needed a family picture so it worked out perfectly.  They are adorable.  :)  All that smiling will make a boy tired.  

• Lunch at GTCC after church with his Uncle D and Skye.
• Hanging with Papa
• Playing in the caterpillar tunnel.
• Sandbox!
• Bye Bye, Nana
• Flying home :)

We didn't fly home until Monday morning so William and I took advantage of being in town and visited the Children's Museum.  Hopefully, I'll post pictures soon (eventhough they are all of William by the trucks....such a boy).