The Handyman Can

Yesterday, I set a goal for myself. Since we were snowed in*, I wanted to keep the house as clean as it was Sunday night. For the most part, I succeeded! There were a few toys of Jillian's that were scattered in the living room, but that was partially due to the fact that girlfriend had an early bedtime yesterday. {Yay for toddlers refusing to nap!}

*I say snowed in because we did get a little over an inch of snow on Sunday. School was closed because the roads were iffy at best, so the kiddos and I just stayed inside.

I am doing my best to have a new attitude this week. I felt like I was just constantly negative to the three people I love most. Hopefully this will continue :)

Today, I got to play handyman! I needed to clear the drain in the kids' bathroom before turning to Drano. We have a turn and lift drain, but it is the kind that apparently has a screw on the side of the top. {Shout out to YouTube for helping me figure that one out!} Well, our water is so hard that the screw was not only rusty, it was also completely stripped. I ended up just WD-40ing the crap out of it, then took a wrench to it. The drain, and screw, is officially dead, but now we'll have to fix it a little more to make it work for our Christmas guests. Luckily, I didn't ruin it per say. Silver lining?

I cannot believe this is the last full week before Thanksgiving! Do you have any fun plans for the day? Our Thanksgiving changes every year since we trade time with my folks and Phil's. Whatever it is we are doing, I know it'll be fun :)

The One Where I Begin Again

I've started to write a post a handful of times. Whatever the excuse could be, I always let it stop me.

So instead of trying to catch up, I'm going to begin again. Starting next week, I'll be back.

Have a good weekend friends :)

David: {Eleven Months}

David –

You are eleven months old today! There are only 30 more days before you're officially a one-year-old! It is so hard to even comprehend that fact, but we are all so grateful to have you with us :)

According to our measurements at home, you are 20 lbs, 7 oz and 27-3/4 inches long.  

You are wearing mostly 12 Month clothes, and we think you're almost a size 2 in shoes. The problem with shoes is, you really don't like them. Shoes will stay on for maybe a minute or so before you kick them off! You wear size 4 diapers.

Eating is not an issue with you, my little Garfield! You drink 4 bottles/sippy cups of formula every day. You are eating table foods, and really enjoy them! The other night at church, you apparently ate 3 slices of pizza by yourself! The few times your appetite did not hold up, you had a cold at the time.

You sleep from 8:30 pm to 7 am pretty consistently. You were waking up around 5 am because you took your pacifier out of your mouth. However, you figured out how to put it back in, so we rarely had to go rescue you. Naps are a little more sporadic. On an average day, you will take a 30ish minute nap between 9:30 and 10:30 am with mama holding you. Some mornings, that nap will last closer to an hour. You will fight it a little, but you take a nap in your crib for at least 90 minutes, sometimes 2-1/2 hours, after you have had lunch. If we're out and about most of the day, you will only nap when we are in the car. It can make the days long, but you're a pretty good trooper :) You rarely want a third nap, but it has been known to happen right around dinner time.

You really enjoy splashing in the bathtub, and you seem to get visibly excited when we turn on the faucet of the tub. You still don't really play with any bath toys.

We can see the outline of your four top teeth, but they have not come through your gums yet. For now, you just have your two bottom teeth. Luckily, it's a cute look on you, and it doesn't seem to slow down your eating ;)

Speech wise, you are saying "mama" the clearest. When you say "dada," it comes out "gaga" 9/10 times. You are babbling a lot more, even when you're sister is talking too. You used to only talk when she was quiet, which is rare for her! Now, you two almost have whole conversations. Sometimes it's with each other, while other times it's just a wall of sound. I'm hoping to get some pointers from sister's speech-therapist to help foster your speech a little more. I feel like I've really dropped the ball with you, and I want to make that right!

Non-verbally, you are learning other language skills! You started pointing last week, and you've been clapping for a few months. I've noticed you can tell when someone is mad or happy, and respond appropriately. You love to shake your head "no," which can be a problem at times. If we tell you "no" and shake our head, you think we're playing a game instead of listening. I know you'll figure it out though :)

You are a mover and a shaker! First of all, you are a really fast crawler. You may even be faster than your sister was, which is really saying something! You are also pulling up to standing on just about everything! You just started to cruise a little bit as of a week ago. We can tell you want to run around with sister, but you're just not quite ready yet. You will walk if we hold both of your hands. If we ever try having you walk with just one hand, you usually make yourself sit on the floor. All in good time son!

You are not really showing separation anxiety signs, but you do seem to have a preference to mama 85% of the time. However, when dada is around, that's who you want! I'm sure that is mostly because he has been working a lot, so you just miss him. You are very sociable, even if it takes you a minute. You usually just stare and check the person out. As long as they are friendly, (and tell you how adorable you are), you usually warm up pretty quickly :)

This month was really hectic for our family. Between last minute trips to Kansas City, Halloween activities, and more, we were hardly home. Despite a few moments, (which I totally counted on having), you and your sister were very good sports! It makes me so thankful to have children that can go with the flow. We also celebrated your first Halloween! For our church trunk or treat last weekend, you were supposed to be a dragon, but it was 90 degrees outside. Instead, mama gave you lots of kisses with her lipstick on, so you had kiss marks all over your face. We told everyone that you were a mama's boy ;) For Halloween night, you were dressed as a dinosaur, and you were not super crazy about the hood on your head. However, you were just precious, and I'm sure you'll love Halloween more as you get older!

The things you love are: playing with your sister, splashing in water, Elmo, remote controls, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," being tickled, cellphones, eating, peekaboo, daddy tossing you in the air, snuggles, wires and plugs, and your pacifier.

The things you do not love are: being left alone, being in the stroller too long, wearing socks or having anything on your head, having toys taken from you by sister, being too tired, and having your nose or face wiped.

LT, your mama really doesn't know how to deal with the fact that you are almost a year old. Time has really flown by. It's hard to imagine you growing up, but it's even harder to remember what life was like before you joined our family. Your presence has just been a joy, and we really love being around you! Thank you for being such a sweet, and precious baby. We love you dearly :)

Now some outtakes:

 {Wait, I'm how old?!?}

 {Small coughing fit :(}
{Unfortunately, 3 out of 4 people in the house are battling colds. Poor us!}

 {Good thing Daddy is hilarious!}

 {And we're done. Time to cry and chew on our fingers}

Then Jillian wanted to take a few pictures too!

 {Hard to believe she used to barely fit in the seat of this chair!}

{I just love this picture because it looks like she's giving a thumbs up ;)}

And some comparisons!

 {Months 1, 2, and 3}

 {Months 4, 5, and 6}

{Months 7, 8, and 9}

{Months 10 and 11}

{Left: Jillian 11/2012 Right: David 11/2014}

{Read Jillian's 11 Month Update Here}