Well Hello There

So yeah.  Ben turns one and I suddenly disappear and forget all about trying to keep track of what's going on in our little family.  Silly me.  My memory sucks.  I really do have to chronicle stuff somewhere.

So, in the past 4 or 5 months a lot has happened.  Ben kinda started walking.  Kinda meaning he took his first real steps when 16 months old, but even though he totally can walk, chooses not to.  He is a fast crawler and sees no reason to walk.  But he can walk.  In fact he can run if there is something he really wants.  Lazy baby.

Uncooperative 13 month old

14 months old

15 months old

Shy 16 month old Batman

17 months old and wearing the overalls Morgan wore when he was a 1 yr old.

Sam turned 3!  Stinkin snow storm almost cancelled his Curious George themed party.  Only two of his little friends managed to make it to the party.  Most of the family didn't make it either.  But he had a blast and ate way too many cupcakes, so it's all good.  Right now he is OBSESSED with the movie Cars and won't let his little Lightning McQueen car out of his sight.  He even sleeps with it.  Every time going up for nap or bedtime he has to grab his binky, 2 bunnies, and McQueen.  If he forgets one of these items he ends up sitting on his bed crying till you fetch them for him. 

Evil Mommy kept telling him to catch the balloons as I inflated them.

Babies, babies, babies!  It feels like half the people I know are having babies this year and it's a wonderful thing.  It helps to control the baby want.

And, skin cancer.  I had a bothersome mole removed and it turned out to be a basal cell carcinoma.  Surgery followed, stitches came out a few days ago, and now I just have to wait for the healing process to make the scar less angry looking.  Oh yeah, stupid cancer was on my FACE.  So I now have a scar on my upper lip that goes around the side of my left nostril.  But, even though I will have this scar for the rest of my life, I really can't complain about it.  I had cancer and it was the easiest kind of cancer to get rid of.  I mean, if you have to get cancer, this is the kind you want.  Stupid fucking cancer.

Oh, and somewhere in there Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Morgan & my birthday, and Valentine's Day all happened!  Yikes.  But we are all good, healthy, growing, happy, and enjoying the nice weather that Spring has brought after a long, long winter!

And I'm going to Vegas with my bestie in May!!!

12 Months, One Year, Stinkpot Skunkadoo

As I sit here just beginning to type this out I have two little kids upstairs napping and one of my favorite childhood movies (Secret of NIHM) is in the dvd player and just ending, so be forewarned I am feeling a little misty in the ether.  Ben turned one on Saturday, Sunday was his birthday party, and now the baby years for this family are over.  Toddler years will be here for quite a while before the little boy years take over, and for that I am thankful!  But for sure I will forever miss the baby years.

First, lets talk about the party.  We had a crazy busy weekend (Freemason family dinner, pumpkin patch, open house at the local fire station) that was capped off with the skunk party.  Okay, yeah, on second thought lets start with that other stuff.

The Pumpkin Throne.

Jumbo's is celebrating their 20th season.  Hence the "Happy Birthday" which made me love this photo of my boys on Ben's birthday weekend even more!

Of course the one he wanted was this odd little gourd type thing.

The only way I could convince Sam to sit on the firetruck was to give him my phone.

Stinkin phone.

It's amazing how different my two boys are.  Sam had NO interest in participating in ANYTHING.  Not even a bounce house.  Ben is too small to participate and the jealousy watching other kids have fun was angering him!

Now on to the party!  It was a skunk theme party with the colors being black, white, and blue. Super cute, right?  It was kinda a disaster, but we made it work.  The balloons didn't float, the food was late coming out of the oven, and the kids (yes. mine. both of them) kept ripping down decorations and trying to pull everything off the table.  Oh, and Sam is sick!  Kinda fitting that a year of baby jealousy was topped off by Sam getting sick with a fever and us almost having to cancel Ben's first birthday party.  But it all worked out in the end and everyone had a great time!  Especially Ben, who has decided cake is the best thing ever!  And Sam perked up and helped Ben unwrap and play with all his new toys!

Chocolate cake with a whipped cream core and blue whipped cream frosting!  He couldn't get enough of it!

"What are you doing to me?  Why am I topless?"

C.A.K.E.

Oh, lovely cake!

MINE.  My Cake!

WEEEE!  There's SUGAR in CAKE!

OMG, so much cake.

Must. Nap. Now.

And gifts!

And that brings us to the monthly list of what my squidlet does:

~ Cruises, turns himself around and takes a step between objects, holds on to things with one hand and cruises.  Will be walking soon...

~ Loves to eat table food.  Breads, muffins, bananas, cheese, carrots, cereal, crackers, etc.  Pretty much anything as long as it's not too big or too pasty/thick.

~ Has 4 words.  Mommy, Daddy, No, and Baby.  He says baby referring to himself.  As in he yells "baby" when he needs your attention or help.  It's hilarious.

~ Can get up the stairs in a heartbeat with no help.  Loves to sneak over to the stairs to practice.  We now have a baby gate for the stairs.  He stands at the gate shaking it and fussing.

~ Usually takes one nap a day.  Pretty much the only time he takes two is if we are out and he falls asleep in the car or we have a playdate.  He ALWAYS falls asleep at playdate.  Evidence -

~ Sleeps through the night almost every night and has become much better at the self soothing since we started the short periods of cry it out.  So far he hasn't woken up his brother with his crying!  Yay!

~ Adores anything with wheels on it.  Adores anything that Sam plays with and will imitate whatever Sam is doing.  Loves music and Thomas the Train.  Also seems to be a big fan of Sesame Street.

~ Loves to be outside, but I think he's like me in that the sun is not his friend and he's a little sensitive to allergens. Poor ginger.

Dr Stats:

we go tomorrow and I will update

SKUNK PICTURES! We will do the 12 month shots and then I will hog up sooooo much space and make this post waaaaaay too long by posting the first 12 months so you can see how he's grown!  Love him!

And now....In The Beginning -

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

Welcome to the Toddler Years!

Goodbye to the Curls

As I said, it was time for Sam to get his big boy haircut.  I mean, he is almost 21 months old.  And those lovely curls kept getting knotted up and smeared with food.  Yesterday we took him to Cartoon Cuts to get his first REAL haircut.  I managed to not cry.  Can't say the same for Sam.

Now I'm gonna pause and say we took him to this place because they are completely kid themed and even have tv's in front of each chair so the kid can watch their favorite cartoons while getting their haircut.  Did this work for Sam?  NO.  Please note in the following photo that I put our ipad in front of the tv and played him Ok Go music videos instead of him watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  It's the only thing that would calm him down.  This means a few things.  One, I rock because I had the forethought to bring the ipad.  Two, Sam rocks because he has good taste in entertainment.

It's done!  I'm not gonna lie, I miss the curls like crazy.  Last night when holding Sam on my lap before bed (a nightly routine) I got really sad because I would always play with his hair while had some relax time before bed.  But Sam doesn't seem to care and that's all that really matters.  My little surprisingly blonde boy.