Saturday, July 25, 2015

20 months

20 months

Wilder is 20 months old today! He's growing up so much. Every day he says new words, and his communication skills just blow me away. He's starting to string words together like "Doc, Light, Keen, Race, Fast, ZOOM" (obsessed with Doc Hudson, Lightning McQueen and the Cars gang). You can have actual question-and-answer conversations with him. He can say "Hope-pee" (Help please) versus "do it" when he wants to do something himself. He can follow along in books and point to objects and say what they are. He knows his colors, though everything is "Geen" first. He can wake up and say "Daddy, toast, oatMEEL" in the morning. He can look at the family photos on our fridge and say most of the people without us even asking who they are. He definitely has strings of words and his vocabulary keeps expanding. It's so cool to see how his brain works.

More than that, he's showing himself to be tenderhearted and a little observer. This last week we went to the chiropractor, and Wilder was really concerned for me. He cried his eyes out when I got adjusted, even though we reassured him I was ok. Crocodile tears running down his face, he said "mama OKAY? OK?" He was more worried about me than his own adjustment (which he still doesn't like). When the The King gets smashed in Cars (Spoiler alert) he says "Oh no! OKAY? OKAY?" every time. And if he falls and hurts himself, he'll look at us and say OK! to reassure himself and us that he's ok. It's a new development. He watches faces a lot to make sure everything is all right.

We talk about his new sibling a lot. He will randomly look at my tummy and say "baby? sister?" and he understands what a baby is, connecting it to pictures and other people's babies. Yesterday he was really interested in Felicity's room. It used to be a workout room, but we've been changing it up and painting. It looks quite a bit different. We explained that it was baby sister Felicity's room and he just looked around, took it all in and pointed at my tummy and said "baby." It will be interesting to see how he adjusts.

This month we've had more playdates with friends close in age. He doesn't really interact that much, but he watches them. We'll go to the park and he'll sit at the top of a slide with his truck while kids stream around him and he just watches. He plays with mulch alongside other kids. He's not one to snatch toys away, but he does get attached to things. We work on taking turns. Mostly, he'll just be hanging out on something another kid wants and he's not really playing, just say, sitting in a toy car or slide that the other kid wants to use. He's not shy, just more of a watcher at this point I guess. But he recognizes kids by name sometimes--he called a little girl at a birthday party today "Haddie? Haddie?" and I realized it's because she has really blonde hair like his little playmate he sees all the time named Haddie.

Wilder still loves to snuggle. He loves his sleep sack and his Podster. He laughs a lot. He likes to read books, to watch Cars, draw "happy" (happy faces) on paper and magna doodle, and he really likes to play outside. He pushes his mower around and this ball within a ball on a stick he calls MoMo. He likes to spin in circles and walk backward. He is obsessed with cars and trucks and wheels, and we bring a truck (or three) everywhere we go. He is completely content putting cars or trucks down playground (and his at home) slide for as long as you are willing to pick them up and bring them back to him. He loves his water table and kiddie pool and sprinkler, and many happy afternoons are spent transferring water from one of these objects to the others. Bath time is awesome.

Favorite foods: corn, peaches, pouches, cheese, yogurt, blackberries, watermelon, noodles. He will eat a lot of things if he can dip them in "dip dip" of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Also loves his toast and oatmeal in the mornings. And Annie's Cheeze its and Cheerios.

He'll read a book by himself in his book nook for a while, but then he often brings one to you and says "read? read?" Some of his old favorites are new favorites again, now that he can repeat some of the words. He likes to "shush" like the little old lady in Goodnight Moon. He likes Oh My Oh My Dinosaur! and flip books like Where is the Polar Bear? and Barnyard Animals and Horsey Up and Down. The list goes on. It's neat to see him enjoying his books.

Zach and I thank God every day for this little boy we get to call our own. We love watching him learn and grow, and look forward to how he grows more in the future.

Here are some photos from this morning with his lawn mower and MoMo! He looks really tall to me, but he's still a petite boy!












The thinker

fun fact: This was 2 seconds before he fell over into a big dog's poop. We had to go inside for a clean up!

This is his "Can you please stop holding my MoMo?" face. Also the look he gives other kids when they take the toy he's playing with.









Practicing that Blue Steel face







Favorite game right now is opening and shutting doors.


Thursday, July 16, 2015

28 weeks and the name reveal


Helloo! Yesterday I reached the 28 week mark. I'm 7 months pregnant with 12 weeks to go. I've officially started the third and final trimester! This pregnancy has flown by. I try to compare it to how I felt pregnant with Wilder, and I think I feel better? More fit? More active? Less anxious? I don't know. Physically, I feel good most of the time. I have random pain near my sacrum and earlier this week she dropped down low in my pelvis for a bit, which didn't feel good. Luckily it was only for about a day. 

Mentally, I'm really excited about having our little girl join the family. However, I have a TON of work to turn in between now and then! I'm in countdown mode already and kind of stressed about it, but I just keep chipping away at my deadlines every day.

I'm so thankful the weather is just now getting really hot. Wilder and I go walking for an hour and then go to the playground just about every day right after breakfast. I can handle the heat then, but anytime after that it's rough. We try to stay inside, or play with the water table/kiddie pool in the shade at that point. I feel like it hasn't been as hard on me heat wise this pregnancy, but I think it's really because we've had a milder summer and I try to stay indoors when it's really hot.

Cravings--nothing really, beside Nutella and Dr. Pepper. I've been trying all kinds of new recipes, so healthy and fresh flavors are fun. Still can't stand eating fish (other than cooked sushi) and shrimp is touch and go. Chicken is also touch and go, but mostly a go. I'm better about leftovers this time around, thank goodness!

So now the big news: We picked a name for our baby girl!
Felicity Rose Boatwright
Felicity Rose is our baby girl's name! We'd been deliberating between two names for a couple of months, with Rose as the middle name, but neither were just a lock. Zach suggested Felicity, and very quickly we felt that was the right name. I love the meaning: happy. I love how lacy and antiquey it is. I love that it's not quite as long as one of the other names we were considering, and easier to say. No nicknames are just a given. It's uncommonly used, but familiar to everyone. And I think Wilder and Felicity just go together well as a sibling set.

It's such a good feeling to have a name picked out, and it makes everything even more real!

Nothing much else going on here. We've been traveling a lot for work and to see family. We have one more trip to San Antonio planned, and we'll otherwise be home the rest of the pregnancy. This is a good thing, to finish our home projects and tackle the workload. And also so I can do fun stuff like go to the zoo and play with Wilder!

Thanks for reading!