Big Brother Stats

After age 5, well check-ups are done every two years with our pediatrician.

At age 7, R.J. was 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 70 lbs.

 

He recently just had his 9 year old well check-up, and the doctor predicted he will probably be 6 feet 4 inches tall.

My sweet 6 lb. 11 oz. (20 inches long) "baby" - -
He is growing up way too quickly in his mommy's eyes!

I about fell off the chair when she said that! 

6’4” - - WHAT?!!!

Actually, I don’t know why that surprised me since from about 1 month old, and every check-up thereafter, he’s consistently been in the 95^th percentile (or completely off the charts) for height.

And especially moreover, given the fact that the nurse only minutes earlier told me that his current height is 5 feet tall.

Heck, that’s only 4 inches shorter than me and he’s only going into the 4^th grade this year!!!

Now, I really wish I could tell you that I was only 35 pounds heavier than him too, but that would be a total lie…LOL! 

Yep, he currently weighs in at 88.4 pounds with nary a lick of fat on him!

Healthy as a horse and growing like a weed…two very good clichés to be!

"P" Is For Potty

I briefly mentioned in this post that Colton had moved up to a new Toddler class at his daycare and they are beginning potty training.

Truth be told, there are some in his class that have the whole going-to-the-potty thing nailed, but they are a few months older than Colton too.

Honestly, I don’t know if I am ready for potty training yet…LOL!   

I mean, he only turned two on the 5^th of this month.

One milestone at a time please ;0)

No, seriously though, I am glad that he’s got a teacher that is so gung-ho about the whole potty training process.

From my experience with R.J., I know that if you’ve got a teacher who’s willing to instill the potty training basics and encourage your child every day, combined with a parent/parents following up and reinforcing it all at home, it usually winds up being the golden ticket to potty-dom!

With Colton though, so far potty success (as far as actual  pee in the bowl) has been an accomplishment he has chosen to share only with his beloved Mrs. Bailey at daycare.

At home, it usually goes something like this:

Colton (grinning as he’s saying it): “Momma, tee-tee.”

Me (with excitement): “C’mon, Colton, let’s go to the potty, okay?!”

Colton (with even more excitement):  “OH-kay!” (He loves to say that word back to you when you say it)

And onto the bathroom we proceed, take off his bottoms, grab the kid-sized toilet seat, put the step stool in front of the base of the toilet (on which he proudly climbs up), and then he plops down, gets himself into proper seating position (even takes his sweet little finger and places it on his you know what so it points down into the commode), and…

N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

Unless you count the microscopic strands he manages to pull off of a single sheet of toilet paper, creatively massage in his little hands, and then drop into the bowl as something.

Otherwise, it’s nothing.

Well, I guess that’s not really true because we do get some precious smiles and “so very proud of himself” expressions that are just priceless.

See…

And, yes, we still do encouraging and praising for him being a big boy by getting on the potty and trying to go "tee-tee", etc., but thus far to no avail.

Am I worried about it? No.

Am I stressed about it? No.

(I've got plenty of other things to be stressing about...like my cellulite for example...)

Am I still willing to play the potty game with him for every one of his “tee-tee” requests? Yes.

However, the next time I think I’m going to grab me a good book on the trek to the bathroom (I would grab some "reward" m&m’s, but I’d wind up eating them all instead).

At least this way, no matter how long it may take him to actually produce something in the toilet, I can just sit back, relax, let him do his toilet paper origami and all will be right with the world as far as I’m concerned.

When he’s ready, he’ll be really ready, and in the meantime I may be able to catch up on some of the reading I’ve been meaning to do…LOL!

Celebrating a "2nd" on Sesame Street

We had Colton's 2-year old birthday party this past Saturday.

Yes, yes, it was 11 days later than his actual birthday, but he won't remember.

Heck, he was so overwhelmed with the whole thing he'll probably forget this birthday milestone altogether...LOL!

I mentioned in my previous post that he is a HUGE Elmo fan.

Actually, he loves all of the Sesame Street characters so I thought...easy, peasy...do a Sesame Street themed birthday party.

Then my anal retentive, obsessive, compulsive, gotta' stick to the theme right down to the letter "T" kicked in!

And away I went with PayPal, credit card, Etsy, Amazon, and eBay in hand...thanks Hubby - wink!

I was the Sesame Street muse and they were my inspiration!!!

First came the invitation...

Next came the goodies and the goodie bags...

 Now for decorating "Sesame" style...

The Sesame Street spread...

Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum...COOK-IES!!

'Cause Bert and Ernie seem like some M&M eatin' guys!

Can You Tell Me How To Get...

How To Get to a Cupcake "Tree"?

Elmo loves goldfish!

Sesame Street friends...

Lovin' some fruit kabobs!

Well, what did you think Oscar would be serving?!

Everybody showed up to celebrate!

You can see Colton's look of "Oh, my gosh! What's going on here?!"

But, he tried to take it all in and have fun...

Especially with the Elmo balloon...

And things were seemingly going great until...

He grabbed the hat elastic and let go - OUCH!!!

BUT...

His Daddy's arms...

And his birthday presents made up for that boo-boo...BIG TIME!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY,

DEAR COLTON,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Baby Stats - 24 months

Colton's 24 month check-up

Appointment on: 6/12/2012

Guess the title of this post should really be Toddler Stats, but I'll continue to be anal and just keep with the "Baby" Stats routine.

Age: 24 months and 9 days old (on date of blog entry) - His birthday is June 5th

Weight: 27.6 lbs. (50th percentile) - - He’s not a big eater

Length: 34 inches (50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 50 cm {21 inches} (75th to 90^th percentile)

Diaper: Size 5 –Pampers brand – Cruisers (during the day) and Pampers Extra Protection Size 6 (at bedtime). Although, I just bought him some Pampers Easy Ups Trainers (size 3T-4T)

Clothing:   He’s wearing 24-months/2T depending on the brand/type of outfit

Shoes: Size 6.  He does NOT like to wear anything other than his Keds sneakers.  No slippers, no crocs, no anything with a Velcro closure…nothing!

Liquids: Skim milk and juice. He’s not a big fan of milk, but he will drink it in the morning.  I switched juice brands.  Now I buy Mott’s for Tots juice…it’s pre-diluted 100% juice and it has 40% less sugar and no artificial sweetener.

Amount: He loves “duice” (juice) and he will usually drink an 8 oz. or 10 oz. sippy cup size at a time (maybe 3 times a day)
 
Food: Wish I could tell you he’s broken out of the picky eater stage.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t.  He loves “bock-bock” (chicken).  In fact, one of his favorite dishes is chicken with rice, broccoli and cheese.  Friday nights are pizza night in our household and sometimes he eats more slices than my 9 year old!  Off the top of my head I can tell you that he enjoys peanut butter and jelly, goldfish crackers, waffles, corn, taco meat, sausage, bacon, mashed potatoes, grapes, mandarin oranges, and apples.

Sleeping Habits: He sleeps through the night and only once in awhile wakes up and asks for a sip of “duice” (juice).  He still uses a pacifier (or “pappy” as he calls it) when he takes a nap or goes to bed at night.  However, this momma slips it out of his mouth once he’s fallen asleep.
 
What He's Doing/How He's Progressing:  OMG! What isn’t he doing?!!  Good and bad…LOL!  Aside from him being my outdoors loving, book loving, puzzle loving, animal sound loving, building block loving child, he is also definitely my button pushing, climbing up and jumping, wiggly, jiggly, running through the house, won’t stay still to change/put clothes on/take clothes off, loves to say the word, “No!” child. To put it simply, he is absolutely the complete OPPOSITE of my 9 year old son.  But then I think, isn’t every mother of more than one child given a meritorious, you made it through this stage award with at least one of her children?!!  Well, my friends, Colton has officially qualified me as a finalist for that award…LOL!  However, for as many things that he does to try my patience, he does just as many that make me melt at the cuteness and sincerity of caring he puts behind the action.  So while I dread the mornings he does nothing but whine (just for the sake of whining) I love, love, love those mornings when he wakes up all smiley and runs up to me, plants a great big, wet smooch right on my lips, points to the T.V. and says, “ELMO, Momma, I sit!”  Yep, we’ve got a huge Sesame Street fan in the household.  He’s also in an über inquisitive stage now too.  You know the stage.  The one where, “Whas dis? or “Whas dat?”  is the question he inevitably poses for every item, every noise, every EV-ER-Y-THING he sees/hears/comes into contact with.  I know that’s all a part of learning and by golly, this kid is learning a lot…LOL!!!  Speaking of which, he’s moved into a new class at daycare and they are starting to potty train…fun, fun, fun.  In the meantime, he remains my very active 2 year old who promises to keep this soon-to-be 46 year old Mom very, very young (at heart)…my body stamina and agility, not so much!

Vaccines He's Received To Date: Hepatatis B, DTaP (Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis), Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type b), IPV (Polio), Prevnar/PCV 13 (Pneumococcal Conjugate), RotaTeq (Rotavirus), Flu, Varivax (chiken pox), Hepatitus A, and MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella).  No more immunizations until he’s 5 years old…YIPPEEE!!!

If you want to read about, compare/contrast Colton’s 18 month stats, click here.

Back To The BLOG-o-sphere!

Just a dash of red...

Hello, everyone! 

I’m back. 

With a little bit different hair color too. 

See... 

Not sure if you all missed me, but hoping maybe some of you did? 

And if so, you are probably wondering, “Where the heck did she go?” 

Let me explain… 

In addition to my duties as a mom of two boys, and wife to my husband of almost 12 years, I also have a full-time, drive-to-the-office, go to work every day job too. 

For approximately 5 months out of the year, my office job requires me to, well, be out of the office. 

I do governmental relations work at our state’s capitol and when the legislature is in session I am there several days a week, many times for 10 to 14 hours a day. 

Needless to say, during session time I barely have enough minutes to balance my checkbook (which in fact was neglected for two months straight), let alone get on a computer to blog although I really missed doing so. 

Even my friends on Facebook wondered if I had fallen off the face of the earth…LOL! 

Nope, it was just the political arena that once again drew me into the black hole of disappearing-dom. 

But… 

Now that the regular session and first special session are over, I once again find myself with some time to breath, and 

BLOG!

It's Official...

We've definitely raised a Southern boy...

R.J.'s first time hunting and shooting a rifle (.223) was this past weekend. 

He grazed (whatever that means) a doe.  

My husband said that was not bad at all for his first time.  

All I envisioned was Bambi's mom limping away back into the woods, and I must say it it made me sad.

As a momma, I am still not sure how I feel about all of this, but my son and my husband had a wonderful, fun time together and that's all that matters.

Funny thing is...my husband is not a "hunter".  

Yes, he's been a few times in his life, and he can definitely shoot a gun, but as far as being a die hard, hunting gear, go every weekend kind of guy - - that he certainly is NOT.

So, I was a bit surprised when this past Friday night rolled around and he told me that a coworker friend of his had invited R.J. and him to go hunting for the weekend.

Hunting????

Me:  "Um, okay honey, but your son doesn't even own a pair of boots, let alone any hunting clothes."

Hubby:  "That's no big deal, just pack him some long johns, a heavy jacket, warm socks and clothes, and he'll be fine.  By the way, we'll be spending the night at my co-worker's hunting lodge trailer(s)."

Truth be told, I was a nervous wreck until they both got back home safe and sound (and very dirty and very tired). 

Come to find out there was no running water in the hunting trailers either.  Ewww!

On a different note, this weekend solidified that fact that Colton is FOR SURE a total momma’s boy!  

While Michael and R.J. were gone he was a complete dream child (because he had me all to himself).  

BUT...

The minute Michael and R.J. came home he reverted back to whiny, needy mode…LOL!!!  

Seriously, that little stinker is jealous of me diverting my attention to anyone, but him!  

Hoping this is just a clingy toddler stage sort of thing because trust me, it really wears me down sometimes.  

Don't get me wrong, I love my boys (all three of them) and wouldn’t trade them for the world!

But, you know what???

I'm looking forward to the day when my hubby says, "Hon, I'm taking both the boys to do so-and so with me, and we're spending the night." 

Mommy me time, here I come...SAH-WHEET!!!!

December Highlights and Christmas Delights

It’s hard to believe that the month of December is almost through, Christmas Day has come and gone, and we’ll be ringing in a New Year this Saturday night.

It always seems that after Thanksgiving, the December days seem to fly by even quicker since they are filled with so many activities and the flurry of Holiday preparations and fun.

This year we especially enjoyed talking about the reason for the season with our youngest, Colton.

As we read to him (many times this month) the story book (see below) we have about the birth of our Saviour, it was so cute to watch Colton “perform” as he looked at the pictures on the different pages when we read to him. When he saw the bright star in the sky, he would flick his fingers for twinkle, twinkle, he’d “baa” for the lamb and “hee-haw” for the donkey, he’d wave to the wise men, and put his fingers to his lips and say, “Sshhhh” when he saw the baby Jesus sleeping in the manger.

It was just a joy to watch such precious interpretations from a toddler’s understanding.

The beginning of the month found us taking Colton to get his first haircut.

I must say, the distraction of the dum-dum lollipop worked like a charm and he never even flinched.

That same day we trekked on over to the mall for the official Santa photo. 

Mommy had to get in the picture because Colton was having NONE of this Santa guy stuff! 

As far as R.J. was concerned, there was nothing to it which is clearly evidenced by his, "After all, I've been doing this for 10 years now!" look on his face.

We then wandered over to the Build-a-Bear workshop, and let Colton use his birthday gift card to pick out a special “friend”. 

He chose a cute German shepherd puppy that R.J. helped him name…"CAM" (given that we’re such huge Auburn fans, that name should not surprise any of you!)

The finished a.k.a. "love-stuffed" doggie

R.J’s school days prior to Christmas vacation were filled with some fun activities.

One of the days they got to make their very own gingerbread houses. 

His came out amazingly well, dontcha’ think?

The proud architect!

Our house also is visited by an elf every year.

For those of you familiar with the Elf on the Shelf, you already know what I’m talking about.

His name is “Straighty” - - dubbed such by R.J. when he was 4 years old (R.J. that is, not the elf)!

Actually, I spoke about this special friend of R.J.’s in this blog post last year.

Straighty pulled off some very unique things this year.

After all, he’s a very clever elf!

Just take a look…

There was also a DVD that came out this year that really helped to bring the Elf on a Shelf story to life. 

It’s only about 24 minutes long and it was just the perfect length for Colton to be able to sit and watch without being distracted and wanting to get up and do something else.

Before we knew it Christmas was here!

R.J. left his letter to Santa along with cookies and milk. 

Amazingly, this year Santa’s cookies also happened to be Mommy’s favorite ones.

Imagine that?!!!

Christmas morning arrived…

Santa came, and Santa delivered!!!

R.J. got most everything he asked for and among his favorites were the 2012 Madden NFL game for his Wii, and a miniature Auburn Football helmet.

He also got a remote control airplane complete with a miniature camera attached (Air Hogs Hawkeye Blue Sky) that he had been wanting since the summer…more on this gift in just a bit.

Colton got a miniature arm chair with his name on it that he loves!!!

Combine that with his CD player and mini trampoline and trust me, this kid is one happy little camper!!

Okay, back to the airplane…

R.J. was dying to fly this thing, but on Christmas Day it rained…all day.

So the day after, we charged the airplane, put batteries in the remote control and off he went to take his plane to greater heights all the while videoing what R.J. said would be, “All sorts of neat stuff!”

Not even 5 minutes later, R.J. came back into the house crying hysterically with remote in hand and no plane.

When he calmed down we learned that yes, R.J. had taken his plane where no plane had gone before…and it promptly got stuck smack dab in the tallest (and I mean tall) and most limb ridden tree in our front yard!!!

No ladder, no branch trimmer, no nothing could reach this plane.

Well, maybe if we had a power company bucket truck…but, we didn’t!

I give my husband credit. For several hours he tried (and eventually my neighbor, and my neighbor’s father-in-law also joined in) to get that darn plane out of the tree by throwing baseballs and footballs Hercules style at it and at the limbs it was stuck in…to no avail.

Thus, this is what we have left of the video capturing airplane…

Remote control full of brand new batteries and a broken airplane wing!

The rest, well, it’s still stuck in the tree and I’m sure some species of bird is going to think he/she has found the mate of all mates…LOL!

Okay, remember up above when I said Santa came and Santa delivered?

Well, R.J. reminded me that Santa forgot to leave him a letter this year.

Every other year Santa had left a letter, but not this year.

Hrumpf?!

How do I explain that one???

I calmly and ever-so-motherly explained to him that Santa must have just accidentally forgot or misplaced it.

After all, Santa did have a whole lotta’ children to visit and deliver to on Christmas Eve.

My explanation seemed to suffice, but I couldn’t help but notice a wee bit of disappointment in R.J.’s face.

What to do????

Mommy put her thinking cap on and viola’ one Santa letter/memo to R.J. in an authentic looking envelope coming up!

This is what it says…

North Pole, Alaska

From The Desk of Santa Claus

MEM-HO-HO-HO-RANDUM

December 27th 2011

Subject: Forgotten Letter

Dear R.J.

After I got back to the North Pole, I looked in my mail pouch and realized that I had forgotten to leave you your letter from me. Yes, there it was in the bottom of my bag.

Oh, by the way, I apologize for the "Hot Chocolate" stains you see on this letter. One of the deer bumped my arm while typing this... Hmmm, I bet you know which deer it was too?!?

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I had been keeping a very close eye on you and of course Straighty was filling me in too.

I must say, you have been a very good boy this year. Oh, yes, there have been times when you have given your parents a hard time about this and that (you know, like brushing your teeth), but I must say, for the most part I have been very proud of you. Although, I do want to remind you to watch your manners about how you talk to Mommy and Daddy (and Mimi and Boppa) every now and then.

I really want to thank you for being such a good big brother to Colton. I know it isn’t easy to be patient with such a little one, but rest assured that your baby brother is learning from you, and the kind and caring way you are with him is the way I wish all girls and boys would be with their siblings.

I also want to let you know that it warms this big guy’s heart to hear the way you say your prayers every night. Never ever forget that the birth of Jesus is what is most important about CHRISTMAS. Oh, yes, presents are wonderful to get, but the most wonderful present to ALL of us is HIM.

In closing, please forgive me for forgetting to leave your letter (with all the houses and all the boys and girls I visit in one night, it was bound to happen).

And don’t forget, just because this Christmas is over you’d still…

Better watch out, You better not cry, Better not pout, I'm telling you why: I'm coming to town…again (in just 364 more days). And don’t you doubt that I’ll be…

Making a list, and checking it twice; Gonna find out who's naughty and nice.

As always,

Santa Claus

R.J. spent the night off with a friend last night which is perfect because I can slip this in the mailbox and when he comes home, I can ask him to check the mail and there the letter will be.

Mommy, er um, I mean…Santa redemption!!!

I hope!

I’ll let you all know how it goes.

In the meantime, please accept my heartfelt wishes to you and yours for a most blessed and Happy New Year!