18 months

Happy 18 month birthday little man! Whippy officially turned a year and a half last week, but didn't have his check-up until today. The examination component of the appointment was quick, as Micah was in no way willing to cooperate with the nursing nor the PA-C from the minute we got called back. Overall, we have a healthy little man, except we do have to go back in 3 months versus 6 months, because it was discovered that Micah's anterior fontanel has not closed, which should have happened by 18 months. From my brief google search, it really seems like a non-issue.

Here's what Micah's been up to over the past month:

1) Growth is slowing down. At today's visit, Micah weighed 28# 2 ounces (80%), 34.6 inches long (95%) and head circumference is 50 cm (90%). Again, these values are probably skewed due to our uncooperative patient : )

2) Current shirt size - 24 months - 2T, shorts - 24 months, shoes - size 7, and diapers - size 5-6, depending on the brand.

3) Motor man - walking backwards, running, will walk on his tip toes (but not idiopathic!), jump, go up/down stairs while standing and holding onto the railing.

4) Language is struggling a bit. Our pediatric PA-C said that children are generally motor oriented or verbal. At this point in his life, Micah should have at least 20 words. It's difficult to say if he has that number. He's recently stopped saying a lot of words that he once was saying and everything seems to be "da". Concerned - not really at this point. We'll keep working with Micah. I'm fortunate to work with a great SLP, who has a lot of years of working with pediatrics.

5) Sweet tooth - maybe starting. On a recent trip up North, Micah was given a few M&M's. He loved them. I'm trying hard not to have that stuff in the house, but it's certainly hard given my chocolate cravings.

6) Appetite is slowing down. Instead of eating "everything" at lunch at daycare, Micah now only eats "some" most days of the week. We try to get at least 1-2 good, solid meals in him a day, and breakfast is usually a sure bet. He still loves eggs and recently has shown an interest in my oatmeal. Other likes include pasta, cereal bars, goldfish, grilled cheese, and less and less fruits and vegetables. We try to still incorporate them into every meal, even it means hiding them : )

7) Using a fork and spoon more consistently. It seems like Whippy will be right handed. Likes to dump whatever's on his plate or in his bowl on his tray.

8) Great at imitating - he loves putting on deodorant on, except instead of putting the actual deodorant on with the stick, he put it on with the cap. He also will pretend to put hair gel in his hair. It's great watching him learn so much.

9) We may have a baseball player in the making. This kiddo has a great overhand throw. It's fun to watch him throw baseballs with Kyle, but he's also been throwing a bunch of toys too lately : /

10) Tantrums are still present - what else can I say? I've gotten good at ignoring him during them ,and he eventually becomes distracted by something else.

11) Still loves to be in the kitchen when I'm in there. It's become so challenging to cook supper some nights, as he wants to be held to monitor what's been cooked on the stove or he wants to help stir. He throws tantrums when put down. He doesn't quite yet understand the concept of "hot". I am certain that this kiddo is bound to be a chef someday.

12) Can climb up on chairs and the couch by himself. Climbs up into our bay window. Still has yet to climb out of his crib...

13) Still sleeping approximately 10 hours/night. Takes 1 afternoon nap a day. Seems to be on a good sleeping schedule : )

14) Likes trucks and will scoot them across the floor. It's so much fun to watch him

15) Loves his shoes and has a fit when they're taken off at home or at daycare.

16) Still sleeps with a pacifier. At daycare, he naps without one. Over the next few months, we are going to start the fun process of tapering it out.

17) Potty training - not quite yet. Over the next 2 months (ie - we hopefully move into our new house) we will start the potty training fun.

18) Still has no idea that he's going to be a big brother in 5 short months.

Here are a few pictures of Micah man from last Thursday night - his actual 18 month birthday. Kyle was working that night, but Micah and I celebrated with a trip to the park. It started raining just as we arrived, but we were able to capture a beautiful rainbow. The night ended with an ice cream treat from Culvers.

Much messier than his cake smash 6 months ago

A memorable week

As stated in the last post, it has been a crazy summer. It's hard for me to believe that the 4th of July is already here. It seems like several large life events happened in June, and not just over the whole month, but within a 1 week time frame!

Kyle and I had found out that I was pregnant in middle April, but wanted to wait until I went to the MD before disclosing a lot of details about the pregnancy. You see, last fall we were surprised to find out that we were pregnant, only to lose the baby at approximately 6 weeks gestation. Unplanned or not it was difficult to go through a miscarriage. This time around, I waited awhile before calling my MD to set up an appointment, and was unable to get in for my initial nurse visit until June 11th. During my pregnancy with Micah, I saw a RN for the initial visit, but this time around I was placed with a CNP. After finishing a bunch of paperwork at our June 11th appointment, she offered to perform a doppler and I was able to hear a beautiful, strong 175 bpm heartbeat during my first visit. On June 14th, we got the first glimpses of our new baby during an ultrasound. I found our that I was well over 11 weeks pregnant and our babe's guess date is January 1st.

During the same week, we made an offer on a house. The house came on the market the weekend prior, and it truly is the floor plan, yard, and neighborhood that we've been looking for throughout this entire house search process. Even better, it was well below our price range. The only downfall - it's on the top of Garvin Heights which involves going up/down a big hill on a daily basis. The house was also built in 1998, so is need of some cosmetic updates. We first looked at the house on June 13th, and by June 15th we made an offer. Our offer was accepted, but we unfortunately were not able to have a contingency on the sale of the home. The current owners are anxious to move up the the cities. The house itself was too good of a deal to pass up, so we kept our current offer, knowing that we may be responsible for 2 mortgages for a hopefully only a short period of time. We close at the end of August.

328 went on the market on June 18th. It's only been 2 weeks, and we've already had about 7 showings. We are trying to be optimistic that it will sell quickly, but it will take the right buyer too. It's an old house, so it doesn't have huge closets, our main bathroom is on the main floor, and our laundry is in the basement. But, it has a lot of charm, it's in a great location, and we hope that someone will love it as much as we've loved it. Brutus has unfortunately been re-homed to my parent's house until our house sells. We miss him so much, but know that he is being well cared for and loved in our absence! Keeping the house clean and "show ready" has been easier than I anticipated.

17 months - a few days late!

Our Micah Man is already 17 months old and the summer chaos has certainly kept me from posting too much on our blog lately! Life is good though! This amazing little man continues to bring us so much happiness on a daily basis.

1) Growing like a weed. The last time he was at the doctor was his 16 month check-up, so I don't have specifics regarding his weight and height. He currently wears 24 month shorts/pants, 24 month/2T shirts and pajamas, size 5 diapers and size 7 shoes.

2) Despite his growth, he's certainly become pickier about eating. I have to believe that it's due to a desire to play versus sit to eat. He continues to like pasta, cereal (Cinnamon Chex - especially), eggs, cereal bars, cheese, crackers, and some chicken/pork. He's starting to avoid a lot of fruits and vegetables. We offer him what we are eating for supper - sometimes it's well received while other times it's chucked on the floor.

3) Drinks water and milk from a sippy cup. I've offered juice, but it gets instantaneously pushed away.

4) Needs a bath every night. He is all boy and plays hard at daycare and home. He is a muddy/sandy/sunscreen/food remnant covered kiddo by the end of the day.

5) Hates having his teeth brushed! He has to be tired to let you clip his fingernails or toenails.

6) No interest in potty training. We'll start this fall when life slows down a little. Diaper changes are hit or miss.

7) Becoming more independent at the park. Goes up playground equipment stairs independently and down little slides without our help.

8) Can climb up on the couch by himself. Jump - although his vertical is still only a few cm off the ground, and is getting better about climbing up and down stairs with the railing or 1 hand hold assist.

9) Loves his books - especially a specific transportation book that has pictures of cars, firetrucks, and farm machinery. He could spend hours looking at the pictures.

10) It's fun to see him take interest in new toys throughout the house. Lately he loves his Scout dog.

11) Music is a big part of Micah's life. He loves the "Wheels on the Bus" and the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and is starting to do the actions.

12) Slowly is beginning to say a few more words - car, truck, bupf (bus) are said multiple times throughout the day. Cookie was new this week. Mil (milk) Wa (water), poo-poo (about 50% of the time when he has a poopy diaper), Naa-Naa for banana, and more new words that I'm probably missing. He still points and says "da" a lot. We are trying to get him better at using his words. He will sign "more" and "please".

13) Sleeping 8-9 hours/night. We are finding that he's getting up earlier and earlier, generally between 6:30 and 7:00 with the sun coming up earlier. He's usually tired enough at night that he'll fall asleep cuddling with his Gosig dog shortly after putting him in his crib. Naps about 2 hours during the day.

14) Uses a pacifier at night and during long car rides

15) Doesn't slow down for much. This kid goes and goes, and it is so much fun to watch him explore.

16) Has a few chores including feeding Brutus, although that has been on hold lately, as Brutus has been living at my parents - more on that later.

17) Is going to be a big brother in January! He is yet to fully understand this role, but I know that he'll be excited when the time comes - don't let his expression in the photo below fool you! Micah has added so much joy to our lives, and we are looking forward to the new addition to the family.