Butterfly Kisses

Can you believe The Roo is 18 months already? It's like he just turned one... at least that's when my last blog post was! Oops!

Eric brought home work tonight, for the third time in as many nights, so I knew I had baby duty again. Not that I terribly mind.  I love my child dearly, but when he begins to rub those sleepy little eyes at dinner, I'm often the first to glance and Eric and say, "Do you want to put this little guy to bed tonight?" or just straight up tell the little guy, "Daddy's gonna bathe you now". I even try to sell it off as "Good Father/Son bonding time" and ensure Eric that he is "so much better at putting the baby down than I am" (which for the record he really is).  But alas, tonight work called for the husband and I knew it would be mommy's turn to put the baby to bed.

As I struggled to wrangle the little fellow into his 18 month jammies, I began to mentally calculate how quickly I could get this little guy to sleep. I had dishes to do, laundry to wash, and 2 casseroles to bake for work tomorrow, not to mention the fact that you can't walk 2 feet in any direction of our house without tripping over a toy. Maybe we could skip brushing his teeth, or I'll skip a few pages of the Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Perhaps we won't read a book at all and he'll be so tired I can just put him to bed after getting those darn PJs on.

As I continued to struggle with the jammies, I came to a realization. The jammies had shrunk. I'm the first to admit I'm terrible at laundry, after all I've spent nights picking gum out of work pants and thrown away countless tops due to pen stains, shrinkage and poor/accidental bleach incidents. So apparently I had found a way to shrink pajamas I had watched a bajillion times already. Right? There is no way this little dude had out-grown them already. Right?? I mean, Didn't I just go to Carter's the other day on my way home from work on stock up on 18 month cold weather pajamas because he was growing out of his 12 month summer pajamas? RIGHT???

Wrong.

Another pair of 18 month PJ's found themselves too tight a squeeze for my little guy's big 'ol legs, and so up the stairs we went, to dig and pray that there were some larger ones up there somewhere in the boxes of hand-me-down clothes I have been so graciously given. Fortunately, last year my co-worker handed down some clothes to me and as I dug through them I found some 2T pajamas. I almost skipped right over them assuming they would swallow my little guy, But when I pulled them out of the drawer, looked at them, and then looked at my little guy, I realized they may actually fit him.

Like. A. Glove.

How did my sweet little 5 lb 14 oz guy fit into 2T pajamas? HOW is that possible? It hit me like a freight truck. He is growing up too fast. Way too fast.

I forgot about the laundry. I didn't care about the dishes. The toys will already be out for him to play with tomorrow.

If I'm so quick to rush through bed time, I might forget all the precious moments that bed time entails at this age. Like the joy in his eyes and huge smile on his face when he splashes in the bathtub and plays the drums on the side of the tub. Or the fact that you sometimes have to use 3 toothbrushes before you can get those teeth clean, one for each hand and one for mommy to use.  Or that on the way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom he likes to switch the fan in the bathroom on and off 3-4 times before he will turn off the light and I take him to bed. The way he sticks his his little fingers through the holes in The Very Hungry Caterpillar book when we're reading, and how he wants to kiss the Beautiful Butterfly at the end, and then close his head in the book. Or the way he starts to babble after our night time prayers, and every now and then as you walk out the door and say "Goodnight, I love you" a somewhat comprehensible, toddler language "iyuvoo" slips out as you close the door and turn out the lights.

These are moments I never want to forget. I love that this blog exists so I can document these memories... Even if it's only every 8 months... Writing them down, so when The Roo decides he doesn't want to kiss the butterfly anymore, or doesn't need bedtime stories, I will have these moments as a fixed point in time that will help me remember to slow down.. and enjoy every moment, every quirk and every bedtime.








(FYI He really is the cutest, sweetest thing in the world when getting ready for bed. I really wanted to snap a picture of my little guy in his crib all ready for bed, but I knew by the time I went downstairs to get my phone and come back, the moment would be gone and he would likely be either asleep or crying. Plus anyone who knows The Roo knows that if you pull out a cell phone and don't give it to him within 3.4 seconds, a temper tantrum will absolutely ensue)

Roo's 100 Aker Birthay Party!

The year flew by so fast! I still find it hard to believe our little guy is already one year old! Of course my plan was to have a small little get together at our house to celebrate. I told everyone I was not going to go overboard, I was not going to spend a fortune, and I was not going to start planning months before his birthday for a day he won't even remember.

Then June rolled around, and I realized I ONLY HAD 3 MONTHS LEFT TO PLAN ANDY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY IN HIS LIFE THUS FAR AND IT BETTER BE AMAZING!!!

And then, I got on Pinterest.  What did mother's do before Pinterest? I'm not sure... and I don't ever want to know. Granted, I completely blame the site for the lost hours of sleep and the amount of stress and craziness the last few months have been...

We decided on a Classic Winnie the Pooh theme since we call our little guy "Roo". By the way, there are not a lot of Classic Pooh Decoations out there!!!

But after planning and pinning and stressing and spending, everything started coming together the week before the party.

Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT!!! The. Party. Was. Amazing. It was so worth the time and effort and craziness that was the last month.

Here's the proof:

 Daddy and the Birthday Boy!

 

 

The Food and Drinks:

Tigger Tea

 

 

 

 

The Food Spread

 

I saw these cute signs on Etsy, but wasn't about to pay $5/sign, so I decided to try and make my own.  I'm pretty impressed with the outcome.  I just bought styrofoam balls from Hobby Lobby and Moss from the floral section. Cut the styrofoam in half, glued the moss on top and, made the popsicle stick sings and stuck them in the foam! Easy as pie!

 

 

I printed out a ton of Winnie The Pooh quotes on card stock and had them over the tables and some of the walls.

 

 

The Decorations!!

This was a last minute decoation, and I thought it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself! We had the cardstock on hand, and I figured I would give it a shot one night.  E just looked at me like I was crazy for starting another project two nights before the party!

 

 

The "Sign in" table included a copy of "The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh" for all the guests to sign. Along with stickers for the kiddos.

 

The 'dessert' table.

 

A friend donated all the Classic Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals for the cause.  They were in her daughter's nursery. Her daughter went off to college this year, so these are real vintage! :)

The "Food" Table

 

 

E made a tent for the little kids to play in.

 

My pride and joy... the 100 Aker Woods tree. I have to brag that this was completely my idea. I didn't see it on Pinterest! I came up with it all by myself! Be impressed!!

 

The Goodie Bags!

 

 

The Peeps:

I wanted to make sure to get a picture of all the little kiddos that helped us celebrate the big day! Thanks for coming!!

The three best friends!

 

Roo didn't get his nap, so he wasn't the smiley-est... but overall it's a pretty cute pic!

 

 

This toy was the HIT of the party for kids of all ages. We got it from Fisher Price for hosting a Fisher Price house party. Stay tuned for that blog post!

 

 

The Cake:

 

My husband's cousin made the cake... and it was AWESOME!!

 

It was Carrot Cake.

 

  Amazing. It was so amazing. I have the best family in the world!

 

 

 

 

 

The Cake Smash: 

As I mentioned before, The Roo didn't get in his nap in the morning... so he was pretty sleepy...

 

 And wasn't really that interested in the cake at first...

 

 

 But he definitely got the job done!

 

We had an amzing time and Andy and all the kids had so much fun! I am so grateful for all the family and friends that were able to come celebrate!!!

Now, to start planning next year's party! I'm open for theme suggestions! :)

 

 

 

 



The Walker

Well, The Roo has officially taken his first steps... and second steps... and many many steps now. He is transitioning from being a very speedy little crawler to a very wobbly walker.  It's precious though. Of course, instinctively he knows when I am about to pick up my camera to film said walking, to provide some sort of evidence so that you people don't think I'm just trying to brag that my kiddo is walking before he is even a year old... so as soon as I pick up the camera he drops to his booty and crawls over to the stairs to climb up those. 

And now that we are wobbly walking, I realize we are probably only weeks, days, hours, minutes away from not-so-wobbly walking and before you know it he will be running circles around me. I suppose it's time to baby-proof. Like for-real baby proof.  We covered all the outlets, moved some breakables and picked up most of the knives and guns that were laying around... but that sly little guy has now realized that we have no cabinet locks and no baby gates on the stairs.

And he loves the stairs.  As soon as his little hands, knees, feet, bottom hit the floor he makes a B-line for the stairs.  The wooden stairs. With the sharp corners. The steep stairs. And he wants to go up. And keep going up.  All the way up. Until the 3rd stair from the top. Where he likes to just stand. And grab the rail. And bask in the glory of his accomplishment. And there is very little stopping him once he gets going because he can boogie up those things faster than a girl can untag herself from a picture that makes her look fat.  So baby gates are on their way...
 He also has found the cabinets. And of course his favorite cabinets are the cabinets with cleaning supplies and glass bowls. Why oh why doesn't he like the tupperware cabinet? (smart boy... tupperware is stupid... I can never find a lid and container to match...god forbid you try and organize it) We actually have cabinet locks, but haven't put them on the cabinets yet. I'm quite afraid that I will end up locking myself out of cabinets and having to get The Roo over ot figure out how to get the darn thing open!

Anyway I can't get the video I DO have to upload, so you'll just have to trust me that the little guys is taking steps...

Anyway... He is awesome.

6 Months

So I am about a month late... but since I've been out the little Roo turned 6 months old! Time flies when you are having fun!

You've probably already seen these on Facebook, but I have to share his 6 month sneak-peek pics from Aimee Fuller Photography. They. Are. Amazing.

I am quite convinced that I have the cutest child in the history of 6 month old babies. 

So a few things about my little 6 month old:

- Just when I am convinced that he is teething, and there is no way possible that he could possibly chew or drool anymore... he does. The water faucet that has replaced his mouth is constantly turned on, and at some point I am sure we will get teeth... or drown...

- Instead of crawling, Roo has taken to a kind of hop like that is reminiscent of a frog. He wriggles his legs up under him, then stretches his arms out with a bit of a leap to it. One day he will be an expert at leap frog. For now, we are just waiting for him to realize that crawling is actually easier than what he is doing.

- We are signing to him, but I don't know if it's enough that he realizes what we are trying to do. We sign, "I Love You", "Mommy", "Daddy", "Eat", "More", "All Done", and "Sleepy". I'm pretty sure he understands zero of them yet, but who knows. Maybe one day he will surprise us.

- We use the regular bathtub now. He loves to splash around for as long as I let him. We can't wait to take him swimming in a baby pool. We may also do swim lessons if they offer them a the rec center.

- The Roo is a little piggy. He eats like a champ. He loves oatmeal, apples, carrots, green beans, green peas, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash and zucchini. 

We had our first baby birthday parties last weekend. We actually had 2 one-year old birthday parties! Two of his little friends turn one in April and we celebrated with them on Saturday.  I will post pics from then soon!

Four Months Already?!?

Well The Roo had his 4 month check up today... my my how time flies! It is strange because on one hand, it's hard to believe he is already 4 months old... and on the other hand I feel like I have been a mom for much longer than a mere 4 months!!!

Roo is growing extremely well... he really loves his milk!! He now is well equipped with squeezable cheeks, chunky thighs and arm and leg rolls... which makes him the most adorable baby ever... if I do say so myself.

We now have a video camera, a new cable for my point and click camera, and a new laptop... so I promise as soon as I get my old laptop data migrated to my new laptop, pictures and video will be soon to follow!

The stats if you feel so inclined to know them are as follows:
Weight: 15lbs 5oz - 54th percentile
Length: 25 3/4" - 66th percentile

Hard to believe that 4 months ago he was in the 6th and 4th percentile respectively!!!

At the pediatrician today, Dr. G told us we can start solids if we want... so of course you know I ran straight to Kroger to stock up on some organic brown rice cereal for The Roo. We gave him his first serving tonight.. and well... it was messy, but I think he loved it! As mentioned previously.. video to come!!

He has also started 'talking' all the time, and has apparently learned how to 'fake cry', though it is quite obvious that it is just a cry for attention, and not a real cry. I will try to get it on video, because it just makes me laugh. Oh, and the screaming started today... you know the, "I'm just screaming to hear myself" screaming... yeah it could get really loud around the Stagner residence!!

Tomorrow night the hubs and I are having a date night... dinner and a movie. Heading to see Sherlock Holmes... I'm super excited!

I don't get her... but we got her...

I don't get it... What is it about this toy?!?

When I started going to a mommy group at Texas Women's I noticed that all these babies had a cute little rubber giraffe teething toy. I was told by one mom that her's son's giraffe was named Sophie.  Then another mom said something about "Sophie". And then I learned there is a Sophie Epedimic with new moms.

What is it about this toy?

Meet Sophie:

So here is why I was adamantly against purchasing Sophie for little Roo.

1. She is delightfully expensive. $25 for a 'Chew Toy' as Eric likes to call them. And let's be honest, with my dogs chances are she will end up in Lola or Patton's intestines before too long... I just could not justify spending that kind of money on a toy for infants!

2. She is French. I figure Andy was a little young to get too excited about 'designer' toys. Next thing you know he will be begging for some Marithe et Francois Girbaud baggy pants... 

3. The squeaking... oh the squeaking! And this isn't your 'squeeze it hard enough and it will make a little noise' squeak toy. I mean, if you look at this thing funny it will squeak enough to wake a sleeping baby! God forbid the baby falls asleep while Sophie is in the vicinity.

4. Confusion.... This goes quite nicely with the squeaking issue, but it is getting very difficult for Patton and Lola to distinguish between a puppy toy and a baby toy. And I knew that any time I heard a squeak, I would have to look around to make sure Roo wasn't putting a dog toy in his mouth, and the dogs weren't putting a baby toy in their mouth!

5. Sophie is a female named Sophie. I kind of like being the most important woman in Roo's life right now, and it seems a little early to give it up to this floozy!!!

But who am I to deny happiness to such a sweet boy? After seeing how IN LOVE all of Roo's friends are with Sophie I decided that she would go on his Christmas List and low and behold, Grammy got Sophie for the Roo! 

He. Loves. Her! The dogs are confused as hell... I've been replaced, He's squeaked himself awake on several occassions... but He. Loves. Sophie.

So... I don't know what it is about this little gal that the babes love so much... but trust me... all your preggo mamma's out there... your child's every happiness depends on it! :)

Dear Baby Jesus...

So Andy's first big Holiday Season has officially come to an end... as has my maternity leave. So now I'm just a regular working mother with nothing to look forward to until the birth of my next child I suppose... sigh

So for Thanksgiving we went to The Lake with my dad's side of the family. Of course Eric and I had tickets to the last A&M/ UT game... at least the last one for a while. So on Thursday my aunt, cousin and I got up early and went to White Bluff for their second annual Turkey Trot. My cousin finished first place and won a t-shirt! (There were probably only like 20 people that went, but she is still a badass runner, so she gets props still).

Then we had lunch, and little Roo got passed around to everyone. He also got to hang out with his cousin who is only about 3 months older than him. After lunch Eric and I packed up and headed to College Station for the big game. It was pretty depressing. Andy-Roo stayed and watched the game with Mimi and Poppy... Which was probably a good thing since Mommy had some very foul language! GRR! It sucked to see the Aggies lose, and the season was such a disappointment... but oh there's a whole nother blog for that...

Two weekends later we went back to Mansfield for "Christmas" with my side of the family. My mom has been dying to take family pictures so we finally got some! (Apparently I can't add photos from the computer I am on or something, so I will try to upload them later). We got to give all the kiddos their gifts which was a lot of fun.

Andy got  his picture with two different Santa's this year... and I even got Christmas cards out... sort of... actually there are some sitting on my dining room table that still need stamps... so I guess they'll be more like New Year's cards!

For Christmas we stayed in Houston and spent the holiday with Eric's family.  A few days before Christmas we got a phone call asking if Andy would be available on Christmas Eve to play Baby Jesus! They figured he behaved so well in the nursery he would be the perfect baby Christmas eve (ok, I may have made that part up myself, but it sounded good)!

Of course, Christmas eve morning he comes down with a cough and obviously wasn't feeling well.  Grammy brought over Chili and Tamales and we had dinner at our place. Also, our dog Patton had a siezure, which was pretty devistating. He has had a few in the past, but there is really nothing we can do about them. We still took Roo to the service and he was perfect the entire time! He was the perfect baby Jesus. Of course we didn't get any pictures, which is sad... but oh well... It felt kind of strange to pull out a camera and take a picture in the middle of a worship service.

Christmas day we went over to Grammy's and spent the day over there. The Roo still was sick... but he toughed it out and was super adorable for everyone. Fortunately I had the day off on Monday so I got to spend the day loving on my little sick guy and trying to make him feel better. Sick babies are no fun! He still got lots of loot from all of his family, so I can't wait until he is feeling better and can start playing with all his new toys.

So it wasn't exactly the Christmas I expected, and I didn't get to clean the house on my day off like I had planned, but at least my little guy is starting to feel better!

Andy's First Graduation!

Well, it's official, Andy has had his first graduation. Today we officially graduated from the Lactation Support Group at Texas Woman's Hospital.  Andy and I have been going every Monday since he was 4 days old. The group is for new mom's and babies up to 6 weeks past their due date. It's a great group to help breastfeeding mom's figure out what the heck they are doing!

Most moms only go for 6 weeks, but since little Roo was 4 weeks early, they let me hang around a few more weeks. The group really was a god send for me, and I highly recommend it for anyone that delivers at Women's and wants to breastfeed. I surely would have quit about 4 days in without it!

Another great thing to come out of the group is a bunch of great new mom's that I have met! There are about 7 or 8 of us that still try to get together on Monday's for lunch and a stroller date (Remember, most of them graduated at least 3 weeks ago!).  So Little Roo has a few friends right around his age, and even a birthday twin, Elijah that was born the same day as him! Today we ate at Black Walnut Cafe and walked the trail around Rice Stadium. Next week we plan on being ambitious and hitting up memorial park.


Speaking of Memorial Park, I'm back on my half marathon mission. I am set to do the My Fit Foods Woodlands Half Marathon in March, and I started training on Saturday. I went to Memorial Park at 7am (so early when Roo and I are used to hanging out in bed until 8 or 9ish) and ran 3 miles. OH. MY. GOODNESS. am I out of shape! I was limping around so bad all afternoon and all day yesterday! Hopefully it won't take too long to get back into decent shape to where I won't be so miserable after a long run!

It was brought to my attention that I am not posting enough blogs, so I apologize to my stalker... I will try to post more often! I will also try to get more pics of The Roo up... I have lost the cord to my camera, so as soon as I find it there is a whole boatload of pics to share!

Gig 'em!
MLS