12mo Kallum

Haven't had our official appointment yet but went to the doc because we have a cold that won't go away. Little man is 19lbs and 27.5" tall. He's a tiny guy but he makes up for it with his voice. Haha

Kellis' 12mo stats by comparison:
Weight: 20lbs 3oz (11%)
Height: 30.5" (51%)

Only has 2 top and 2 bottom teeth. Says dada, gogo and some form of rara for Raider. Daddy is his favorite person on earth. He throws a fit if daddy walks by and doesn't pick him up. Walks all over the place, has for a month now. Just now in 12mo clothes, some are still big on him.

I'm back!

Gonna try to be better about posting!!! More pics on Instagram.
We played outside today, it's 80deg in November!!!

Two years

Kellis is 2. This is crazy! He's about 28lbs and 34" tall. He's talking up a storm but most people can't understand him. Typical for his age. He knows all of the letters and a few numbers. He won't sing the ABC song but reads signs to me everywhere. He knows green and pink and sometimes blue, we are working on colors and left and right. We got a zoo pass for his birthday so he loves to say zoo and knows a lot of the animals. He eats pretty well, depending on his mood. He won't eat meat at all but he loves fruit and most veggies. He's still in a crib because I'm not ready for that battle yet. He was interested in the potty for a while but isn't anymore. I try to get him to go at least once a day so he knows it's still important.

Six months

Kallum is 15lbs! He's crawling all over the place, wanting to pull up. He says dadada. He's not sure how to eat from a spoon but we are practicing. Still no teeth but he chews on everything in sight. He sleeps most nights 8pm-7am give or take. He's a very happy guy, watching big brother play.

Chairs

Nana sent chairs for the boys bc Kellis needed a place to sit in the living room. I was looking at those little pottery barn chairs but wasn't sure what to do cause they are kinda big. She found these and sent them. I put them in front of the coffee table so he could watch his shows and eat breakfast. Well he has been adventurous lately and stands on them. He did it one too many times and they got taken away. The chairs spent a few days in the closet. Today I decided he could have them back again. He grabbed them and went straight to the coffee table and put them where they were before. He is very much a fan of order and routine. He will always put a toy back where he found it. I don't know where he gets this. Haha

2 month stats

10lbs 15oz (50th%)
23.75" (90th%)
39cm head (50th%)

And as always the comparison:
Kellis' 2mo stats (8-25-10)
Weight: 12lbs-6oz (73rd percentile)
Height: 23.75" (81st percentile)
Head: 15.5" (36th percentile)

Different

These boys couldn't be more different!

The pregnancies were the same until about the last 2 months and everything since has been opposite. L&D was a totally different experience too. Kallum was easier from the start. I guess bc I already knew what to expect.

I have decided Kallum has about as much hair/baby fuzz as Kellis did but his is blonde. His eyelashes are even blonde. I think his eyes are going to stay blue but prob will be darker than Kellis'.

Kallum sleeps more, had jaundice, hasn't needed formula, has textbook breast milk poos, is smaller, sleeps in his own room already and has been on many outings.

They both had really strong necks from day 1, holding them up really well.

Kellis - 18mo stats

Weight: 24lbs 6oz (25%)
Height: 34" (90%)
Head: 47cm (25%)

Tall skinny guy! He got one shot and survived.

Kallum - 2 week stats

Weight: 8lbs 9oz (75%)
Length: 21.5" (97%)
Head: 36cm (50%)

Just like Kellis, long and lean!
Everything else is great, he sleeps pretty much all the time!

Kallum pics

I have read pics don't post so well from this app so here goes....
Some from the hospital and one from today.

Early arrival

Well Kallum Julian surprised us all and came 11 days early!

Stats:
12-18-11 4:16am
7lbs 15oz
20.5" long
13.5" head

It all went very very quick. I felt yucky starting at dinner time and that progressed to lower back pain by 7pm. Was feeling contractions by 9pm and they just got worse and faster. Woke Kellis up at 1am and headed to the hospital. They didn't mess around and broke my water right away and he came shortly after. I only pushed 4-5 times.
Completely opposite experience than with Kellis!!
But it was good and he's great. He sleeps all the time and is not bothered by any noises at all.

38 weeks - no pic

Hi. Just noticed it's been a while since I posted. It doesn't seem like that long ago. Most of my updates are on facebook, and most of you see them there so I'm just gonna be real quick with this one.

Kellis is super, growing and learning every day. He loves Elmo and Super Why. I'm working on getting him to say more sounds and words. I can understand a lot of what he says but nobody else can.

Baby 2 is good. 38 weeks grown as of tomorrow. He's super LOW in my belly, its really weird. I dont remember Kellis being so low. Because he's due at the end of the year, I have a scheduled induction on the 29th so I can be discharged before 2012 (and have to re-pay the deductible). Not ideal but hopefully will work out ok.

Christmas will be interesting, thats for sure. I think both sets of grandparents will be here at some point. Kellis will love opening presents. Having guests is hard on us but hopefully it wont be too bad. Scott and I got our presents already, he got a kindle fire and I got a new iphone. We both LOVE them. I didnt do Christmas cards b/c I would want to do a picture card and we dont have any recent family pictures. I'm entertaining the idea of doing a baby announcement/happy new year/new address card in January but we'll see. I wont be overly optimistic about having spare time for such things.

Raider is crazy. I think all the moving has gotten to him. Or he has realized Kellis is a person and doesnt know how to handle it. I dunno but it seems like hes more of a pain now than ever. Some say its b/c I'm pregnant but you can ask Scott. He's just so hyper and psycho and insane no matter what we do. People think he's a puppy, hes so crazy! I keep thinking one day he will get it and calm down and be normal and I'm continually disappointed. We have a daily routine, he knows whats going on. I dont know why he has to be so obnoxious. I think it was less of a pain to have to take him out on a leash in the apartment and house with a baby than it is now. It doesn't help that a bunny lives under the deck. I need to figure out how to evict that guy.

Next post probably wont be till after I have a baby! Insane its 2 weeks away! Belly pics on facebook.

Random thoughts (do I ever have any other kind?)

I have been re-reading the posts from May 2010 on my blog and cracking up at myself. Boy did I have a lot of time on my hands. And no CLUE how different my life would be 17 months later. Wow. So I have inspired myself to write another "random" list of thoughts regarding our current life.

Raider is still a psycho. There is no changing it. He will never grow up. I blame William. We finally have a yard with a fence again but half of it is dirt so I still have to watch him pretty close and keep a towel by the door. Better than a leash except when it rains. Score one for Oklahoma, in that it hardly ever rains. He is starting to let Kellis play with him, but I dont let them play if I'm in another room. I can usually get one or the other to come when I call.

Kellis is super. He's so cute. He is such a happy little guy no matter what we are doing. He is content to play by himself or with us, chase Raider, roam the yard, ride in the car, take a nap, go to target or the grocery store, you name it. He is just a happy kid. He doesnt have many "actual" words yet but I have taught him enough that we can communicate. And he understands everything I say. If I tell him his water is on the kitchen table he will go get it.

Baby 2 is doing good. I'm getting used to the insane movement and size of him. He's on my right side so its kinda hard to walk sometimes but I manage. Bending over is getting harder and harder. I got out all of Kellis' clothes from the first year of his life and that's as far as I made it. There are a lot! Luckily I stored them in space saver bags every so many months so I only had to open 2 bags to have all the newborn stuff. And I haven't seen Tamara in AGES so I still have Trey's baby clothes as well. She has more warm stuff than I do so I may be reusing hers as well. I do feel bad I have had them so long however. I will have to buy some warm clothes for the little guy. I literally own zero pants or long sleeves in anything smaller than 6mo. Only onesies and a few pairs of socks. I did get a lot of nice blankets for Kellis though (which I hardly used) so that is good. We'll get a few sleepers and call it good. Kellis was never in the Newborn size so I am not gonna buy much until #2 is actually born.

Will's job is going good. He likes the company and is in the office now with a company CAR not truck. He is busy with bidding and scheduling, which he says he loves and that is what he wanted to do when he took the job so he's all set I guess. He did his first solo bid (w/o his boss giving much help) and they won it a couple weeks ago, he was really stoked about that.

I am doing good. Cleaning a house this small (1500sf) is super easy so I feel like its the cleanest house we have had yet. Only 2 bathrooms too! Kellis likes to "help" clean so we do it together. Just waiting on this baby pretty much! After Nov 25th my doc appts are weekly so we'll see if I dilate as early as I did with Kellis. I didnt actually go into full on labor with him so I'm scared of what a contraction will feel like!! I didnt feel any with him, they gave me the epidural immediately.

What else? Our families are doing good. My brother FINALLY proposed to Jenna a week ago. No wedding details are being released for a while. Will's sister is having a great time with her foster baby Tori. She's a couple months older than Kellis but was premature so developmentally they are about even. The case is still in the courts as to if the state officially takes her from the parents and puts her up for adoption. Their social worker thinks they have a good chance of getting her. Only time will tell. We haven't found a church yet. We haven't really looked. Been to 3 different ones and they weren't spectacular. Now its to the point we aren't going to even try b/c we'll go for a couple weeks then have a baby and be out a few more weeks. Kellis really needs to be around other kids though so it is at the top of our to do list as soon as we are sane again next year. I did join a couple meetup groups to make friends for us but nothing substantial has come of them yet. As the weather gets crappier its going to get harder too.

That's all I can think of right now. I dont think this post will be as amusing as the ones from last May but oh well. You'll live. Here's a pic for putting up with my rambling. Kellis got a balloon from the bank inside walmart and it was the highlight of his week. Now its hard to go to walmart b/c he looks for the balloons and wants one. Luckily I dont go there that often. We have a fantastic grocery store really close to us that is cheaper and has a better selection. You can see half our house in this pic too. There are 2 doors on the left, the main bathroom and our room. Straight back is the purple room the baby will be in. (this is not ok with me but William doesnt want to buy paint) and there is 1 door to the right for Kellis' room. I barely need a baby monitor the rooms are so close. See the white carpet? Whoever picked the color is the worlds biggest idiot. Its everywhere except kitchen, bathrooms and small entry. The yard is RED dirt so you can imagine how irritating it is with Raider going in and out.

Painting

I've been wanting to do new things with Kellis for a while now. I look at the Play At Home Mom blog almost daily and write down ideas. I want to make playdough and bubbles soon, also a sandbox and I am collecting empty bottles for the water play activity. I cheated on the painting and just bought finger paints from walmart. We tried it tonight while dinner was cooking (daddy is out of town).

First attempt was not so good. I had covered the table and got it all set up, put him in the chair and he fell off. Didn't occur to me that he cant sit in a normal chair yet. And our chairs are kinda small I think. So he was screaming and upset. I thought maybe showing him the paint would distract him from crying so I put some on the table and put his fingers in it. He FREAKED out! He is a very clean little guy so then I was worried he wouldn't like it at all. I cleaned him up and gave him a sandwich.

Second attempt about an hour later was much better. I sat him on my lap and showed him how to dip his fingers in the color then put them on the paper. He was timid at first, only using one finger and looking at me like "um, I'm making a mess, is this ok?!" but then he got over it and was smearing it all over. He kept saying more more. He painted a few pages then I washed his hands again. (The paint is totally washable but that doesn't mean I want to wash everything in sight.) So he was saying more more more still so I sat him in the chair by himself (he would NOT stand or kneel) so I could get some pictures and let him do a couple more pages.

I think next time we'll do it outside so when he gets off the paper I dont have to worry as much. I hope its warm for a few more weeks. He had a lot of fun! Here are some pics.

So careful at first.

Round 1 pictures. The get progressively messier as he got more comfortable with it. I tried to take individual pics but the flash made them look weird. My favorite is the yellow/blue/red one in the center. I showed him to put his whole hand down and of course he loved to smack the table over and over.

He liked rubbing his hands together when they were all messy. Also rubbed his face. Just taught him to actually smile at the camera so he's hamming it up.

I also got food coloring (for the playdough and water bottle activity) and sidewalk chalk, hoping to try them soon as well.

Oh, and the blog I mentioned is playathomemom3.blogspot.com Its really cool.

Firsts

Kellis has had a lot of firsts lately.

Labor Day weekend we had to switch his carseat to daddy's car for the move, so he got to start riding facing forwards. Its earlier than I wanted but it happened. He's back in my car now, facing forward in the middle. Its hard to get him up in there but I cant figure out how to get the seatbelt through on the side seats so that's where he sits for now. What I wouldn't give for a car (well, my same car) with the latch system! If you have one you are so lucky and you dont even know it.

Monday he got his first skinned knee. Was just standing on the sidewalk and fell down. Didn't cry too long. He's tough.

Tuesday he fed some ducks in a park.

Tuesday he played on a playground and went down a slide for the first time.

Today (Wednesday) he got to walk in the grocery store. We just went in for 1 thing so I let him carry it and walk down the aisle. As usual, everyone loved seeing him and he was so proud. It probably wont happen too many more times b/c he will get used to it and brave and run away from me.

Today we went to the library and he walked there too. Got him an Elmo's World dvd, which he loved for the first 10 minutes or so. Then he was back to playing with his toys and I was watching by myself.

Today we went to a gas station carwash. His eyes got so big when it started coming around the car. He isnt afraid of anything though and I was acting like it was the coolest thing ever and by the end he was laughing and super excited about it.

Today also he ate a few bites of my cheeseburger from mcdonalds. I think thats 2 firsts - cheeseburger and mcdonalds. He didnt even want fries, just bites of my burger. He has never before wanted to eat hamburger.

Baby 2 is doing just fine. 15 weeks to go! Kicking all the time still. Suddenly I am huge! Just one day wow I swear I gained so much. Doctor Friday. I still feel smaller than with Kellis. No cravings (we all know how I feel about them) but I am always hungry. I swear I could eat everything in the house and then order a pizza. The only reason I dont eat constantly is b/c I have to keep up with Kellis. Oh and share my food with him.

It's A.......

Boy again!!!!!

So excited about this!!!! Here's a pic of him straight on, with his mouth open. I think he looks a lot like Kellis!

Teeth

All of a sudden, teeth are sprouting up everywhere. A week ago, Kellis had 2 on the bottom and 4 on top. Then I spotted a 12mo molar on the top right. A couple days later a bottom tooth on the left. The top left 12mo molar is right there, I can feel it. And the bottom gums have been swollen and looking ready to pop any time. Finally he will be able to eat normally!

He has been eating a lot more table foods. He has toast for breakfast and some of whatever we eat (poptart, bagel, cereal) with milk. For lunch he has some combination of macaroni/applesauce/yogurt/bread w jelly/crackers/steamed peas n carrots. Then he has a snack in the afternoon, varies depending on what he had for lunch. And he will eat again around dinner time. He loves baked beans, peas and pastas. He ate and ate lasagna the other night. I was worried I wouldnt get any! I think he's growing again because he has had a crazy appetite the last 3-4 days and today he took 2-2hour naps. UNheard of for him. (normally he takes 3-1hour naps).

Here's a pic from the baked bean episode tonight. I took this early, it got much messier. I put him in the tub with all his clothes on.

19 weeks and some odd days

According to the ticker, I'm 19 weeks 5 days. I hate that I dont know for sure but oh well. I just popped out a few days ago so I took a pic. Still feel normal, dont even know I'm pregnant most of the time. Except nothing fits. Regular clothes look tight and maternity clothes are huge. Whoever decides on clothing sizes is an idiot.

12mo stats

Weight: 20lbs 3oz (11%)

Height: 30.5" (51%)

Head: 45.5cm (25%)

By comparison, here are his stats one year ago:

Length: 22" above 95%

Weight: 9lbs 4oz above 90%

Head Circumference = 90%

The 4 top teeth are still coming in, only 2 on the bottom still. I was warned that 12mo molars are next and that is tons of fun. He hasn't been fussy or anything with the other teeth so it will hopefully not be awful.

We are gonna slowly introduce regular milk. He is pretty picky about drinks so the doc recommended mixing milk and formula at first.

Everything else seems to be right on track with him. It seems like he learns something new every day. Any time you say puppy he says "woof" its so cute.

Its Official Again!

Baby #2 is due Dec 28-29

We will be finding out gender when the time is right.

We will NOT be telling names again.

Kellis' b-day is June 29, making them 18 months apart!

(I hate due date predictions and don't believe doctors)

I say the 29th but my ultrasound said 28th.

If you go to the older posts to December 2009, you can see my first ultrasound and announcement of Kellis' pregnancy. No belly pic this time yet. I haven't determined if that is appropriate to share on the internet. LOL

11 months

Kellis is 11 months old today!

I have no idea what he weighs.... I dont believe our scale. I think hes right at 20lbs. We go to the doc July 7th.

Also impossible to tell how tall he is. (have you tried to measure a baby?)

He has a long torso, onesies dont really fit anymore. Pants that are long enough are too big in the waist. Its frustrating!

STILL only those 2 bottom teeth. I can see the top 2, but I have been able to for a couple weeks now. The kid is just slow at growing teeth.

He loves food. Any and all food, and especially whatever I am eating. I have been getting braver at giving him bites of my food. W/o teeth I am so hesitant to give him a ton of table food. It takes him so long to gum the bites down that I think he gets bored and tired of chewing before he's actually full. He really loves sweet potatoes, in any form; baby food, flavored puffs, fresh, you name it.

He still won't drink juice, water, or anything other than his formula and it has to be in a bottle. He gets the idea of a sippy cup and straws but cant figure out how to get it out of them. I dont try as much as I should to get him to use them, I admit.

His vocabulary is expanding every day. I think he understands most of what I say. He will usually do what I say or go get what I ask him to. Unless he's being stubborn, you know how that goes, especially being related to myself and his father.

He loves to walk and stand up. He pulls up on everything now, the other day he tried to pull up on a flat wall. So far that is the only thing he hasn't succeeded at. haha He will walk along the window, table, couch, etc. but is VERY afraid to let go. He has gotten really good at sitting down when he's at the end or wants to stop.

He can crawl super fast now. The left leg is usually up, so he looks really funny but is so fast. He loves to have an object in his left hand (magazine, anything flat, easter egg, ball, spoon, etc) and slide it along the floor for added speed. Possibly he would love roller skates. ha

He's not terribly interested in tv, unless he's tired. He will look up if the voice or person catches his attention but doesn't really watch it. He likes the news, where its a big face talking to him on the screen.

Still a great sleeper. Daytime naps are starting to be fewer and farther between, finally. He knows what 'get in your bed' means and doesnt usually fight me.

He has started having mini-fits when I tell him no or pull him away from something he wants. He gets red and yells and balls up his fists. Its really funny. Possibly he will fling himself onto the floor once he is coordinated enough. A couple times he has flung himself backwards when I was holding him and kicked his legs. This doesn't happen all that often but there are some things he really really wants that I dont let him have, for safety reasons.

Words he says: momma, dada (usually dededadadada like those twins on the internet), ba (ball), mia (milk), uh uh uh (uh-oh). I'm trying to figure out a sound for "Raider" but its normally not the same one. If I repeat a word that starts with M or B he will try and repeat it, but they all sound like ba or ma. He still makes screaches or other loud sounds resembling ahhh! for most things.

Favorites: being outside, trees, Raider, golf balls (any round object really), momma, pulling up and walking with his walker.

blogging

When I started this blog I only had Raider. And lots of my friends had kids they were blogging about and doing updates. I thought I would be one of those moms, keeping everyone up to date on milestones and such. Well obviously that hasn't happened! And what's worse is I'm not keeping a baby book for him either and I have a horrible memory so I'm going to try and be better about listing things he is into lately.

outside

This week it was finally really warm (even hot) outside and we were outside every day. Kellis has a little hat he wears every time we are out there to protect his little head. Its frequently windy but our house is kinda in a valley so we dont get the harsh wind so we can be on the deck. We spend a while outside every afternoon playing. He loves being outside. Hes so happy outside.

9mo 1 week stats

Well, little man did it! He gained an entire pound in 2 weeks! So we are on the mend from the randomness of February and growing like a weed. At his appointment today he weighed 18lb 1oz (10%, still small but making progress) and was 29" tall (75%). I forget his head measurement but it was in the 40-50% range.

I'm aware that his birthday is coming soon and I am completely lost as to what to do. I want to do a Houston party and an Illinois party but Scott obviously cant get off work for more than maybe a Friday. We are hopefully going to The Woodlands for a wedding in May, so maybe we can do an early party and see everyone then and go to Illinois in June or July. June is hard cause we have our anniversary as well. We'll see. It would be great if all of you were rich and could come to okc for his b-day party. :)

9 months

Kellis was 9 months old yesterday!

We go to the doc next week so I'll have stats then.

He's eating almost all baby foods (hates green beans, peas and mangoes and I cant give him bananas b/c of his digestion). He loves "puffs." I gave him some of the yogurt bites but they are harder and I thought they were nasty so I havent given them to him again.

He is thinking about crawling but mostly just turns in a circle.

Loves jumping in the exersaucer, something he discovered yesterday. He jumps and yells and thinks its hilarious.

Says dada but not consistently. Was saying mamamama but stopped.

Still only 2 teeth, no signs of more on the horizon.

Had to trim his "bangs" the other day. One stray piece in front was growing so long. The back is mostly bald still.

At last weight check he was still 17 lbs. Poor guy has been 17 lbs since the end of January. We finally have some reflux meds and he is eating more so hopefully he will be getting bigger soon. The good thing about that is I havent needed new clothes for 3 months. They are just now looking tighter, but that could be from the insane amounts of washing.

He loves being outside and going for stroller rides.

At least once a day someone says "look at his eyes" "his eyes are so big" and I say yup, doesnt miss a thing.

He is so funny at bath time. He sits there very still while I was him, just lounges back when I do his hair. Then I sit him up and he knows its play time and he splashes and shreeks like a madman.

He just discovered how to open and close doors. My mom took a video of it, its on facebook. He loves opening and closing everything and being surprised at whats behind the door. His legs usually get in the way or he swings it so hard he cant reach it, so its short lived.