11 Months (11/18/2015)

GENERAL:  Dear Joshy,  1 month until you are ONE!  This year has gone too fast!  Your sweet little personality is developing more and more everyday!  You are still really, really, really attached to your momma.  I only wish I could stay home with you more.  Seeing you cry when I drop you off at school is heartbreaking! :(  You are very loved at school though, the "favorite" of many, so I know you are in excellent hands.  (You were even the only baby there last week so you got lots of attention!)  I'm a little lot worried about your growth lately.  I had weighed you a few days ago and you were 15# 1oz, but then I weighed you again this morning and you were back under 15#.  Soooo frustrating.  I think you're about 27 inches, which is about where you were last month for both height and weight.  It's so hard seeing you fall further and further below the growth curve and it's really annoying when people comment, even if I know they aren't trying to be rude.  I want to respond back with comments like, "I don't care if your X month old is bigger, my 11 month old is smarter, sweeter, and way cuter than your baby..." but I don't. :)  We are still seeing endocrine next month and in the mean time I will try my hardest not to stress out.

SLEEP: There is (definitely) still room for improvement in the sleep department, but I will say that this past month was better than the month before.  You're still up no less than twice per night, but for the most part, thankfully, you've been going right back to sleep after you nurse.  For 3 consecutive nights this past week, you woke up the INSTANT I put my head on the pillow to go to sleep which was around 11:00.  Your usual wake up times are 2:00ish and then 4:30ish.  As always, I want you to get every last calorie, so I don't mind feeding you during the night since you aren't eating much during the day, but sleeping through the night would be nice one of these nights!  On most days, you're still taking about an hour nap in the morning and the afternoon.  You seem to have a hard time calming yourself to sleep sometimes and you definitely do better when it's very dark in the room.

EATING: Your eating has been up and down.  I'm almost certain you are getting no where near the minimum 16oz of milk you are supposed to get in a day.  I still nurse you when I can, but when I'm at work, I'm only pumping a few ounces and I've only been able to pump once a day.  I'm literally counting down the days until you can have cow's milk.  And I'm really hoping you like that stuff!  You still like fruit, cheese, chicken, and yogurt, though sometimes you're not interested in any of these things.  It's really hard that I can't be the one feeding you everyday so that I know what you're eating (or not eating.)

FINE/GROSS MOTOR:  You are such a good little walker!  You can get yourself up from the ground if you fall without holding on to anything and you can take a good 20 steps or so.  You seem to get better every day and are becoming more interested in walking and less interested in crawling.  You do still love to climb!  Ben has been really in to fort building lately, and when he pulls all of the cushions and pillows off the couch, you have an easier time climbing on up.  You're actually pretty good at getting down too, and you know you should lead with your feet.

COMMUNICATION/COGNITION: It is so fun "talking" with you!  You do a lot of repeating with noises that sound like the words we are saying.  My favorite thing that you do these days is say "yum" every time you put something in to your mouth.  I'll have to find a video to post because it is so funny.  You also recently started putting the phone to your ear when we ask who's calling you.  It's the cutest!  You're thankfully saying "mama" more these days, but you still love to say "dada" too.  You are pretty consistent with your "all done" sign and sometimes you will sign "more."  You are good at praying and washing your hands on command too.  You love to play with daddy and Ben when they play their silly "chase" game.  You giggle and giggle and giggle when daddy chases you.  I just sit back and think about how this must be what life is like with 3 boys in the house, and that it will probably only get crazier from here on out.  :)

We are going to be celebrating your birthday in a few weeks and then shortly after that, you will officially become a ONE year old!  I get sad when I think about how you will soon be as big as Ben and Ben will be even bigger yet!  I love you and your big brother SO MUCH!  I also love this video, because it shows your curious, smart little self so perfectly.

Boston!!

We went to Boston last week!  I have continuing education money that I have to use every year by July 1.  I was either pregnant or on maternity leave for most of the year, so I didn't go to any conferences this past year.  I had a few days to decide if I should go somewhere, so I made a last minute decision to attend a conference in Boston.  I asked my mom if she wanted to come, and she graciously obliged.  Fast forward 5 months, and taking 2 little ones on a plane didn't seem like that great of an idea after all.  I think my mom was this close to changing her mind about this little trip when she realized how much stuff we were bringing.  Her eyes are closed in the picture below; probably hoping that this was all just a dream!  No, no, no!  That carseat backpack and a million pieces of luggage were very real!

Andy dropped us off at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so we let them play for a bit.  I had to put my germaphobia aside for this one.  (For the whole trip for that matter.  I woke up one morning to see Josh SUCKING on the side of the pack 'n play. YUCK!!)

The floor Joshy, really?!?

After much (mostly internal) debate, we opted to check Ben's car seat and let him sit in the seat without it.  He was not understanding why he had to have a seat belt on the whole time.  But, for the most part both boys were perfect little angel flyers!

Neither of them slept a wink, but they were happy the whole time!

When we got to Boston, we thankfully had some family to pick us up!  I'm not exactly sure of the relation, but I do know that they are amazing and the most gracious hosts ever.  (Third cousins twice removed or something like that.  I'll have to reference the family tree that Anna made.)  I give them full credit for actually convincing my mom that we would survive the trip!  They dropped us off at our hotel to check in before taking us to their house for homemade pizza!  It was AMAZING!!  (21 day fix went on hold for that meal, for sure!)

And since Ben doesn't eat pizza, they kindly made Ben a huge batch of fries.  

They also got us a "welcome to Boston" cake which was so sweet!  Ben ate that too, of course, a long with orange soda.  He thought it was in heaven.  Oh, and he requested candles for the cake--3 to be exact.  I wonder why? ;)  

It was pretty late by the time we got back to the hotel, so I put Josh to sleep right away, and thankfully he fell right to sleep.  We did Ben's bedtime routine in the bathroom, so as not to wake up Joshers. 

The next morning, I started my conference and my mom started her duty with the boys.   Unfortunately, we were not really in a happening area, so there wasn't a lot for them to do that was within walking distance.  We were right near MIT's campus, but that was about it.  

The good thing is that the conference was in the hotel where we were staying, so I was able to go back and forth to see them between lectures.  

We took many a trips to the hotel gift shop.  Ben picked chips every time.  The first time we went, he asked if he could sit in the cart.  Sorry buddy, no carts here!

After I was done for the day, we decided to check out the Harvard Square area.  There were a bunch of cute shops including the world's only Curious George store.  Apparently the author grew up in Harvard Square.  Curious George is literally the only show/movie Ben watches, so he was pretty excited!  Though he was equally excited for the random bin of balls at the Curious George store too.

We walked around for awhile looking for a restaurant, and while a nice relaxing dinner would have been divine, the reality is that thing 1 and especially thing 2 are NOT in to leisurely meals.  We found a sandwich shop where we could eat outside because it was so nice out!  

While we were waiting for the hotel shuttle, Josh was getting a little antsy, until this pack of girls showed up and starting fawning all over him.  They were all in love with him and he was definitely flirting back.  It was so funny and definitely helped make the time go faster.  :)

We love Boston! :)

Luckily for everyone, my 2nd day was only a half day.  You can only play with a lunch box on your head for so long.

After I was finished, our fabulous family picked us up and took us to the Rainforest Cafe.  As anticipated, the boys LOVED it. 

Santa was already at this mall!  Ben introduced himself and told him he wanted balls for Christmas.  It reminded me of the "A Christmas Story" movie because he keeps saying he wants a scooter for Christmas, but then when we saw Santa, he fell back on his safety choice of a ball.  :)  Luckily, we have since seen Santa again, so he was able to set things straight.

The next day, our last day, we said goodbye to our hotel before we were picked up. 

As if we hadn't been spoiled enough, Toni and Tony made us another fabulous meal.  This was only lunch, too!

It was another beautiful day, so the boys were able to play outside.  Ben found a soccer ball and a goal, so he was a happy camper.  All in all, it was a great trip to Boston!  Both boys slept really well.  (Josh was up 2 times/night, every night, but went back to sleep nicely after he nursed.)  It was exhausting, especially for my mom, but I think she still had fun too!  A HUGE thank you to my mom for coming along so that I didn't have to leave the boys at home.  And another giant thank you to Tony, Toni, Rosa, Joey, Sal, and Marissa!   Goodbye for now, Boston!

For my own personal record, neither of them slept on the way home, despite the fact that Josh was REALLY tired.  We were thinking of taking the boys to Europe this spring or summer, but after that short flight I really can't imagine a long one.  I do love traveling with the boys though.  We will have to bring daddy-o next time!

Halloween!

Happy Veteran's Day!  I am so thankful for all of the men and women who have fought for and continue to defend and protect this beautiful country.  But since I'm pretty sure there are no vets reading my blog, I'm going to go back to Halloween.  ;)  The boys had so much fun celebrating Halloween, and I felt like we celebrated it a LOT.  We did trunk-or-treat at the boys' school again this year.  Ben was a little skeptical at first, but once he realized how easy it was to get candy, he was all about it!

I cannot get enough of Josh in that hunny pot costume!  Tigger was pretty darn cute as well, but he wasn't really in to the picture taking that day.   And to think I paid a mere $5 per costume for all of that cuteness!  Love these boys!

Thankfully, Andy was able to join in the fun after class.  In addition to the trunk or treating, there were also games outside and a dinner and crafts inside.  Ben loves a good art project!

The next day (evening), we decided to carve pumpkins.  Ben had been asking to carve them on a daily basis, yet when it came time to actually do the dirty work, he wanted nothing to do with it.  I essentially forced him to touch the seeds in an attempt to help him realize that it's not so bad.  (He's weird with textures at times!)  He decided his role was to dictate what all of the pumpkins' faces should look like. 

He was pretty proud of the final products though!

Josh didn't last very long on the night we were actually carving them, but he did enjoy climbing all over them the next day.   Such a curious little monkey, just like his big brother!

Andy had class on the actual day of Halloween as well, so we had to start our celebrations without him.  We kicked off our Halloween festivities with pumpkin, ghost, and cat pancakes.  Andy typically makes the pancakes at our house, and for good reason.  My pancakes weren't the prettiest things you've ever seen, but Ben ate them so that's all that really matters.  

We made candy corn cookies later that day, and somehow Ben didn't mind touching the sticky dough!  I don't have any pictures of the final product, probably because again, my skills in the kitchen are less than impressive. ;)

Andy got home from school just in time to go trick-or-treating!  The weather wasn't the best, but thankfully the rain had stopped by the time we started.  We had a tigger and a tiger this time around.  (Not sure why we skipped the hunny pot this time around, I guess we had to diversify the cuteness.)

Ben was initially a little shy, but once he got the hang of it, he didn't want to stop!  Of course he wanted to ring each and every doorbell all by himself.  

Meanwhile, Joshy's little hands were getting cold and his nose was starting to run, so I took him back to warm up.  Naturally, he wasn't complaining/fussing one bit, but I didn't want him to get sick!

After we got home, Josh helped me hand out candy and smiled at all the kids in their costumes.  He is the sweetest little thing.  

Ben seemed equally happy handing out candy too.  He would get so excited whenever anyone would come to the door.  We had a ton of kids this year, which was fun.  Three houses on our street alone were recently purchased by families with kids.  Exciting stuff coming from a street with a lot of older people. ;)  

Overall, it was a happy, happy Halloween!  I think both boys would rather play with the candy than eat it.  Andy and I started the "21 Day Fix" on November 1st, so essentially all of the candy is still here, minus the sack that Ben made for the kids who don't have any candy.  I truly can't believe we are approaching mid-November!  Time needs to slow down!  Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and we've already starting planning Josh's FIRST BIRTHDAY!  Trying to cherish all of these precious moments with my sweet family!