Week 22 and Words

Dear Conor and Apple,

Conor you are growing and growing and growing!  Daddy and I talked and its time to get another set of pictures done because you have changed so much.  You now have seven teeth and there are three more popping through and one more showing its ugly little white mountain head!  Your vocabulary continues to grow and grow!  You now say PLEASE, Muffin, more, book, read, rice, truck, knee, bubble, Sarah and boat.

You have also developed a HUGE attachment to mom's old cabbage patch kid Clinton.  He has sat on your shelf since the day you came home from the hospital.  In the last two weeks you have taken notice of him and made requests to hold him and kiss him and that progressed to sleeping with him.  Now you are inseparable and he comes downstairs with you in the morning and goes back upstairs with you at night.  He sits with us when we nurse for bed and you seek him out several times a day.

Sleep has been coming much easier.  You now have a set bedtime that Daddy and I work hard to have you stick to.  At 5:45 we start getting ready for bed with jammies, tooth brushing, and stories.  I take you upstairs no later than 6:15, we nurse for less than 10 minutes and then I put you in your crib and you play with Clinton for a few minutes until you go to sleep.  Often times I have peeked in on you and you are sleeping with your head on Clinton or the two of you are in the same position. 

The last few days you have also started napping in your crib which is a HUGE first!  We started by having you nap on the bed in my office and then transitioned you to the crib.  Its now been 4 days of crib naps and you have slept at least an hour each time. 

Now - you have been growing so much its like you are getting ready to be a BIG brother!  And.....two weeks ago we found out that you are going to have a little BROTHER!!!!  Yup, that's right!  Mommy gets to be Mommy to TWO little boys!  Mommy and Daddy are very excited and we can't wait to see how the two of you are different and how you are alike.

So, now its time to pick a name for your little brother...and its going to be a lot harder this time around because it wasn't even easy to come up with your name :)!

Mommy is feeling pretty good but your little brother is very active and doesn't let Mommy get a lot of rest during the day or at night.  But, we are half way there and summer is going to be gone before we know it and then it will be almost time to meet your brother :)

Stink Face

Mommy and Little Brother at 22 weeks

Mommy and her boys

You have also started identifying body parts and you love to do so on Mommy and Daddy.  So far you know eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, chin, knees, feet, toes, hands, fingers, bum, penis, belly, belly button, chest, head and hair!  Here you are pointing out Daddy's chin!

Daddy and Conor

We love you little man!

xoxo
Mommy

Eighteen Months

Dear Conor,

Today you are 18 months old.  When I was much younger (and not a mom) I used to wonder why mother's always told you their child's age in months.  Well, now I know.  Eighteen months is easier to swallow than saying you are 1 and 1/2.  When someone is 1.5 they seem so grow up and so old but 18 months still seems so young.

Your vocabulary is growing by the day and you are developing clear likes and dislikes.  You are also developing your own way to communicate your needs.  For example - when we are nursing and there is no more milk you unlatch and say "no no no no" and sign "more milk."  This mom smiles when you do this but it also makes her sad because there will come a time when there is no more milk for you but also because you are so grown up that you can tell me these things.  But, it also makes me excited because as you grow and learn I get to see your little personality develop.

You are such a funny kid.  You love to laugh and make others laugh.  You are testing the waters the only way you know how: by trying and trying again until you are certain it is a permitted action or an impermissible one.  Because of this you have been spending a bit of each day in "time-out."  Your time-outs are very brief - lasting less than a minute and you are now aware that when you are sat down you must stay until Mommy tells you its ok to get up.  You are such a good listener and you always give a hug after your time out.  What do you go to time out for?  (1) not leaving Hunter alone (2) throwing toys that are not balls (3) hitting (usually because we are playing and you get too excited and can't control it) (4) not listening when told to do something or not do something.

You LOVE LOVE LOVE Sesame Street and will ask for "E" and "La la" at various points in the day.  You have also started to take a liking to "RoVer".  These are your names for Ernie, Elmo, and Grover.  You get so excited when each of their segments come on the show.  You also seem to really like the show Mickey Mouse Club but that one is not watched very often (you do most of your TV watching on Netflicks).

This past month we took you to the drive-in.  This is your second time at a drive-in but the first time you were very little.  This time was quite different and I don't think we will be going back until you are able to sleep without nursing as there is not a lot of room in the backseat for the two of us because of your carseat.

Driving with Daddy before the show.

Getting sleepy!

We also went to the doctor's a few times this month and got to hear the new baby's heartbeat and learn whether you are going to have a little brother or a little sister (but that is a post for another time as this one is all about you!).  You were so well behaved at the doctors office and you loved being able to touch the button on the heart monitor.

You still love books and your current favorites are SPOT, Green Hat Blue Hat, Organic Baby's First Words, and the Crayola books you got for your birthday from Braden.  You ask to be read these books several times a day.

Every day is a new adventure with you Conor and we can't wait to journey with you and see what life brings in the next 18 months!

xoxo
Mommy

House for Sale

For those that aren't aware - we are selling our house!  When we moved in way back in 2005 the plan was never for us to be here this long.  We were perhaps a little naive but our current home was a perfect commuting home for me to Portland while I was attending law school and wasn't too far from Josh's office and so despite knowing this is not the area we wanted our "forever" home to end up in we jumped in both feet and bought it.

Well, we all know what happened next......the housing market CRASHED and since we had bought at the prime market peak we were stuck and in a hole when I graduated in 2008 so we wiped away the tears and worked on making our "temporary house" a home.  WE paved the driveway, upgraded all lighting fixtures, put on an AWESOME deck, and painted just about every wall in the house.  Then we got pregnant with Conor and more work went into the house to shuffle things around in order to give him a place to call his own (bead board in his room, painting trim, repainting the walls, shelves in the bathroom installed and the loss of our guest room).

Well, the housing market is rebounding and as Apple is on it's way its time to try to say goodbye to our lovely home.  If it weren't for my strong desire to be closer to my family and the highway (which makes impromptu visits easier) and the water I think Josh and I could be happy here (though the kids and our guests might be a little cramped).  We are 40 minutes to the "city" the mountains, almost all the beaches in 2 counties.  There are recreation trails and ponds and this is a up and coming community in which housing values are likely to double in the next 10 years as it becomes a mecca for families like ours (parents work in the Portland area but want to raise kids in a more rural setting).  But alas, I  want to move and so on the market she is. 

Here's the link if you want to check it out or want to forward it to any friends looking for a GREAT home at a GREAT price in a GREAT location!

http://mreis.fusionmls.com/DotNet/Pub/EmailView.aspx?r=1890866361&s=MRE&t=MRE

HELP us sell our home!

xoxo
Erin

Week 18, a graduation, and words

Dear Apple,

You are so different from your big brother.  You don't love sweets (whereas he craved them); you move on a regular and consistent basis (he never did); and you need to be fed too much (Conor didn't care when I ate).  If your in womb behavior is any indication of your behavior on the outside you are going to be nothing like Conor!

This week Auntie D graduated high school.  We had intended to drive down there Friday night after I got out of work but your brother got sick and we ended up having to stay home.  We missed seeing her walk across the stage but thankfully Auntie C took a video so we got to watch that.  The good news is that I was able to arrange our schedule so that we will head down for her party this coming weekend instead.

Mommy and Daddy are slowly starting to think about your arrival.  We aren't quite 1/2 way there yet but we have started thinking about what life will be like with you in tow and we are both excited!

xoxo
Mommy
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Dear Conor,

You are growing up.  Your vocabulary is improving by the day and this week you have amazed me with some new words.  "fresh" "yes" "please" "grass" "tree" these are added to your already big list of words: mamma, dadda, hunter, no, beep, read, beans, more, ball, bee, baby, auntie, elmo, hi, weeeee, bird, up, duck, dog, bubble, ernie, nemo and sarah.  You also tend to call grandmas and grandpas all "bampas".

It is so much fun to watch you communicate!  You make a few animal sounds and you also communicate with sign language for "more" and "milk". 

You also love touching my belly, giving it kisses, and blowing raspberries on it.  I am sure your little sibling appreciates the noises you make for them!  I know that is make Daddy and I laugh every time and also think you are super sweet.  You are a caring little man and I can't wait to see how you do when the baby is really here!

xoxo
Mommy

Week 17

Dear Apple,

Week 17 came and went without anything remarkable occuring.  You did your thing and I did mine.  However, your big brother started paying more attention to you this week.  A favorite activity of his is to blow raspberries on my tummy and point to it and say baby.  I think he's trying to give you love!

I'm starting to show more now and your arrival is becoming more real as I try to guess how early or late you might be.  I already received notice of a Court date in December and realized that by the time I attend that hearing you wil have been here for at least a month.....CRAZY!!!!!

Love you,

xoxo
Mom

Emotions Running on Overload

Oh Boy!

They say when you are pregnant you can become emotional at the drop of a hat or that you are more emotional than when you are not.  Well, pregnant or not - this week I have been very emotional.  This is a very busy summer for our family with so many BIG events that its hard not to want to simply freeze time.

Last night I listened to Conor breath as I rocked him to sleep - one chubby arm behnd me and the other ending with his little chubby hand resting on my chest.  As I watched his face relax into rest I saw how much he has truly become my little man and it made me so sad to realize that our nights of rocking until either he or I were ready to be done are slowly coming to and end.  Pretty soon there will be another little being craving my attention and so I am savoring these precious moments.  Josh is an amazing father and we truly share Conor-care but nighttime has always been a Conor/Mommy thing (this might have to do with the fact that I breastfeed and Conor still nurses before bed).  I find myself looking forward to those quiet minutes together as he drifts off to sleep in the dark room.  Last night I held you a little longer Con-man because I just couldn't let you go......

This weekend we will be driving to celebrate Danielle's graduation.  I was fifteen when she was born and 1/2 way through my freshman year of high school.  I can't fathom that the time has come for her to walk across the stage and in a few short months take those first steps into her dorm - her first "first" apartment if you will.  I feel a sense of pride over the amazing young woman she has become but I also feel as though time has flown by and am sad that she will spend the next few years growing apart from us before entering adulthood and coming back full circle to return to her family as she builds her own.  Thank goodness I am not the one bringing her to college as I'm not sure I could keep back the tears!

And then there is Cathlin - my first baby sister.  The one that I was so excited to have, the one that I probably tried to protect too much when she was little but who I also pushed away at times when I just wanted my own space and wanted her to stop copying me!  In forty-four days she will be a wife.

 Phew - just thinking about all these moments that have yet to come but will soon be memories brings tears to my eyes!  I don't know how my parents are holding it together this summer but life is built on memories and I am thankful that this summer there will be so many beautiful ones!

xoxo
Erin

Oh Conor

Dear Conor,

You have spent the last few months growing both psychologically and physically.  You have 5 new teeth (3 of which have come through in just the last 2 weeks) and you are almost out of the last of your 12 months clothes.  You have begun sleeping through the night more often than not and you are slowly weening from nursing as you build up your appetite for solid foods (though you are still picky).

While you aren't growing inches you are learning so many new skills.  You can almost run and your vocabulary is amazing.  You are able to climb almost anything (much to my dismay) and you have gotten very strong and can hold onto something with a death grip at times!

The other night we played in the yard and took some pictures.....you are growing too fast little boy!

Looking like a teenager

and complaining like one too

But never too old to snuggle with Mommy - my favorite thing to do with you!

Smiles for Daddy!!!  We love you!

You have become such your own little person and you seem to understand concepts far beyond your years.  When you wanted to sit on my stomach I said that you had to be careful of the baby.  Since that day you love to hug my belly and kiss the baby and blow raspberries on my stomach.  You talk about babies all the time and you love being able to hug our friends' new babies.  You are such a special little boy and you are going to make an amazing big brother!  But just remember - you will ALWAYS be my baby boy!

xoxo
Mommy