April 17, 2009

All week, the news channels have been forecasting the biggest storm of the season in the middle of April no less. The storm was scheduled to hit on Friday morning and continue for 24 hours straight with anywhere from 10 to 24 inches of snow expected. However, they were unable to say for sure what the outcome was going to be given the unusually warm temperatures, which could mean a lot of rain or a lot of snow. I came into work on Friday morning and although it had snowed over night, it was just a light dusting and I figured we had escaped the worst of it. Everyone in the office was keeping a close eye on the weather, but it appeared as though were going to escape unscathed. However, at approximately 2:45, the weather turned nasty and started dumping snow like crazy with accumulation occuring on the streets in as little as 2 minutes. I immediately left the office and headed to the daycare to pick up Cael. By Saturday at 2:00 (24 hours later), it was still snowing hard and we got about 6-10 inches in our backyard!!! It was officially the biggest storm Denver saw this season. Seriously? In April???

Things he does, things he loves!

Cael was 17 months on April 15th and he is growing by leaps and bounds both mentally and physically. I thought it would be fun to post about the things he is doing (developmentally) and the things that he loves (or enjoys) at this particular time in his life.

BOOKS: We read to Cael every night before bed and he has gotten pretty particular about the books he wants read to him. He loves Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss and The Three Bears Rhyme Book by Jane Yolen. In fact, if you try to read him anything else (and we have tried) he leans over the chair and points at the bin of books until you pick out the correct one. This can make bed time a rather long endeavor, but worth it (for the most part) to see him showing an interest in reading and books!!

WORDS: He is trying really hard to talk and although most of it is still baby babble at this point, he is saying 'bye bye', 'hi', 'mommy' (we think), 'daddy' and 'more'. The other day Ryan and I were discussing what we thought his first word was and I consider it to be 'bye bye' (don't remember if Ryan agreed or disagreed), which he has been saying (rather clearly) for about a month! In no time, he will be talking up a storm!!

It is amazing how much he has grown and the changes that occur every day. He is no longer our little baby boy, but a toddler and I am loving this stage!

TIME OUT: We have been utilizing 'time out' for a little over a month, which consists of putting him in his crib for approximately 5 minutes when he doesn't listen and it seems to be working. He listens really well (for the most part) and is turning into such a well behaved little boy that I have moments where I can't believe he is mine! I know we are headed into the 'terrible two's', but I am hoping that we will weather them well!

Curious George!

I have mentioned in a previous post how much Cael is enjoying the DVD in my car and right now, he LOVES watching Curious George. I put him in the car in the morning and he indicates he wants to watch his video. I pick him up at night and he does the same thing. Anytime we put him in the car, he wants to watch his Curious George DVD's and we happily comply! Once the movie has started, he is oblivious to anything else going on around him and looks a bit like a zombie (eyes not blinking, mouth hanging open) as he takes it all in. Ryan and I think it is hilarious to observe him, not to mention CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!

Baby Bedding!!

I found crib bedding on Ebay.com from Pottery Barn Kids and fell in love! It arrived on Saturday and I couldn't wait to see what it looked like on the crib (the baby will use the crib that Cael is currently using). I thought I was going to go with a different set from Pottery Barn Kids, but I found this discontinued set and had to have it. I seriously LOVE it (shockingly enough so does Ryan) and even asked Ryan if he thought Cael would end up in therapy if I left it on the crib for him to sleep on (I ended up taking everything off and replacing it with Cael's 'boy' bedding). LOL!!!

Tubes

After numerous ear infections, our pediatrician finally decided it was time for Cael to see an ENT (ear nose and throat) specialist about having tubes put in his ears. They did an audio test and determined that Cael wasn't hearing very well out of his right ear and said it was equivalent to someone talking while under water. That pretty much sealed the deal for Ryan and we opted to move forward with the surgery. I know many people who have had kids that have had tubes put in and they all assured me it was the best thing we could do for Cael. The doctors and staff were great and Cael was a champ. The anesthegiologist almost decided against the procedure because Cael had a cough and he was worried how that would affect the anesthesia, but he finally opted to move forward. Normally they ask the mom to carry the child back to the operating room, but told me I wouldn't be able to given I was pregnant. Ryan offered to go back (I guess it has been the experience of the anesthegiologist that dad's faint more often that mom's) and was given a white suit with a hat and booties. He said Cael really fought the anesthesia and the doctor commented that he would not want to go drinking with Cael! LOL!! The surgery itself literally took 10 minutes at which time we were ushered back to the recovery room to calm our confused and extremely upset baby boy. It breaks your heart to see them so scared, but the doctor told us she pulled a bunch of stuff out of Cael's ears and that having the tubes put in was the best thing for him.

It's a GIRL!!

I went into the doctor on April 2nd and the ultrasound tech confirmed we are having a GIRL!!! I am thrilled at the prospect of having one of each and although Ryan is excited, I think he is very nervous at the idea of raising a little girl (they make him nervous)! Naturally I am off and running in terms of names and decorating the nursery, baby clothes...... the list goes on and on. I have already picked out the bedding and how we are going to decorate so now it is just a matter of turning my ideas into reality. I have promised my husband that I won't get too carried away, but already I see how difficult that is going to be. We have a couple of names picked out, but we haven't decided if we are going to share them with everyone or make it a surprise. Stay tuned!!

This is the bedding we have picked out!

In terms of decorating, we are going to do white wainscoting (as pictured) with lavender paint

Update - 15 months

Cael had his 15 month appointment today and I wanted to update everyone on his overall progress:

Height: 33.5 inches (31 and 1/4 inches at 12 months)

Weight: 27 lbs 6 oz (26 lbs 5 oz at 12 months)

Head Circumference: 48.5 cm (47.8 cm at 12 months)

He is in the 95th percentile for height, 80th percentile for weight and head circumference.

Little things

Again, I have really not been in the mood to blog lately, but Cael is doing so many cute things that I feel compelled to post about them even if I don't have any pictures.

'Uh oh': About a month ago, I was taking a shower and Cael was playing at my feet when he accidentally knocked one of the bottles onto the floor. He seemed to say something and at first I didn't think anything of it, but after he said it a couple of times I finally figured out he was saying 'uh oh'. Now it is one of his favorite things to say and he says it ALL the time even if there really isn't an 'uh oh' to speak of. I absolutely love it when I knock something over or drop something and he will say 'uh oh' as if to acknowledge that Mommy makes mistakes too. HILARIOUS!! It really is too cute for words.

DVD player: We have a DVD player in the Veracruz and on our recent trip to Winter Park Cael watched a Baby Einstein video the entire way up the mountain. I wasn't sure if it really helped him on the 2 hour ride, but all I know is he was quiet and seemed entertained. Imagine my surprise when we were driving home from work/daycare and Cael pointed at the DVD player and signaled that he wanted me to play a video (not using sign language, but in such a way that I knew what he wanted). I don't know why, but I thought it was great. I guess it makes me feel like he is finally turning into a little boy as opposed to a baby (and I suppose there is a part of me that hopes the DVD player or TV will provide Ryan and I with a bit of much needed relief). Either way, too cute and now we can use the DVD player and TV as another tool to teach Cael about many different things (colors, words, animals, etc).

Pregnancy: I know I originally mentioned that this pregnancy seemed relatively easy. However, having posted that several weeks ago, I now feel like this pregnancy is harder than Cael's both mentally and emotionally, but I am not sure if having a 15 month old to contend with makes a difference. I feel more crazy (like my emotions have a mind of their own) and I feel like I am more nauseous this time around. Regardless, I am feeling confident as I round out my first trimester that things will start looking up (at least in the nauseous department) and I CANNOT wait (neither can Ryan for that matter)!!!!! Everything looks great so far in terms of measurements, activity, heartbeat, etc. I actually feel more calm with this pregnancy than I did when I was pregnant with Cael in terms of worrying about what I am eating, the genetic testing, etc. I am more at peace and trust me when I say that is a very good thing!

No more bottles!!

Friday night: This past weekend, I decided to attempt weaning Cael from his bed time bottle. After much analyzing and fretting, I decided to just give him a warm sippy cup of milk and see how things went. Ryan was actually out of town skiing in Winter Park for a Wells Fargo charity event, but I had made up my mind that this was going to be the weekend that we eliminated ALL bottles (it probably had something to do with the fact that Cael's 15 month appointment is on 3/9 and the doctor was adamant that we have him weaned by 15 months). I gave him dinner and he hardly ate anything, which worried me given that he drinks approximately 7-9 oz. of milk before going to bed and he wouldn't be getting that extra 'food' this time. With a heavy heart I started up the stairs, sippy cup in hand, changed him and sat down to read him a story. After I was done, I gave him the sippy cup and waited anxiously to see what he would do. He promptly took a drink and stopped, took another drink and stopped again as if he was confused as to why warm milk was coming out of his sippy cup and why he wasn't getting a bottle as was custom. He didn't really want anything more to do with the sippy so I said good night, put him in his crib and walked out of the room. He cried/fussed for about 5 minutes and fell asleep. He slept all night and woke up at 5:00, which I assume was because he was hungry. He fussed again for a few minutes and fell back asleep until 6. WOOHOO!!!!

Saturday night: With his participation in the Wells Fargo charity event, Ryan had been given three free nights in Winter Park, CO and Saturday afternoon after Cael's nap, we headed up the mountain to meet up with Daddy! I was nervous about how the weaning would go given we would be in a new environment and in a hotel. If Cael cried, I worried that other people in the hotel would hear him through the thin walls. Basically, I just worried. Ryan took him into the bedroom, changed him and read him a story and then put him down in the pack n' play. Cael cried for a bit longer, but fell asleep and slept until 7:30 the next morning.

Sunday night: Once again, no bottle and this time he hardly drank anything from the sippy cup so I am thinking that we won't even need to give him that before bedtime. Just read to him (or sing) and put him down in his crib.

His bedtime is 7:30, but I am wondering if now we won't push bedtime back a little to maybe 8:00 just to see if that helps things. Either way, bottle weaning is complete and was not only fairly easy, but a total success!!!!