16 months... and a Surprise!

That's right-- BIG BROTHER!

Little Wilder baby is not so little anymore. He's going to be a BIG BROTHER! We're expecting Baby Boatwright #2 in early October! Wilder is 16 months old today and I am 12 weeks pregnant!

We're entering an age of exploration with Wilder. He loves to get around and work on his little stacking or sorting projects. He can sit and "read" his books for quite a while. He also loves to interact with us and play. Lots of laughs around here. He's sweet-tempered and snuggly, and we are so happy to get to watch him grow.

First, Wilder's monthly recap:

• Don't know height and weight this month! He's mostly in 18 month old tops and 12 month old bottoms. Size 4W shoe.
• He eats like a champ. It's amazing how much he can consume! Last night he had a serving of rice, a serving of beans, 4 shrimp, 4 slices of pear(he had the rest of the pear at lunch), a piece of a tortilla, 5 strawberries and a couple of bites of yogurt! His favorite meals are anything with rice and bits of meat. Such as: stir fry, chicken and rice, etc. He also really loves pears, strawberries and blueberries.
• Still not officially walking, but Wilder has taken a step or two here and there. He will lightly hold our fingers and walk all over the place and he's really adept at getting where he wants to go by cruising along walls/tables/chairs.
• Wilder has been sleeping from bedtime to morning many times this last month, which is a big change. He's been sleeping more than usual, but he's had an ear infection and is healing from that. He still takes one nap a day, but several times the last two weeks he's taken 2 or 2.5 hour long naps. That's a lot longer than his normal naps. It could be antibiotics though!
• Wilder says mama, dada, mimi, ow and uh-oh all the time. Sometimes he'll say "fix" when he wants you to put a toy together and "ettie" for ellie. He'll say "buh" for blueberry. He communicates a lot with pointing and babbling sentences, and can sign "more" and "eat." He also started holding his hands up and making a "???" type noise when he has a question. He can point out just about anything you ask for in a book.
• He doesn't watch much TV, but we recently discovered The Very Hungry Caterpillar on Netflix. Wilder LOVESSSS this show. He will grab the remote and turn not he tv just to watch it and he is so engaged during the short story. I think maybe he's getting inspired.... hence his eating frenzy. :-)
• Favorite books are any with trucks in them: Little Blue Truck, Zoom, and obviously, Trucks. He points out trucks on our walks, especially blue ones.
• Wilder loves to be outside. He smacks dandelion puffers, digs in his sandbox and especially moves mulch from the flower bed to the grass. He will be out there for at least an hour at a time and is completely content.
• Wilder is a snuggler. He loves to give hugs, to rest in our arms and to just be close with us. He's a real sweetheart.
• Still nursing, but less and less as my supply is going down due to pregnancy. It makes me sad, but the times we do nurse are sweet and we make up for it with the aforementioned cuddles.

Here's some photos of Wilder!

His daily goal: move ALL the mulch from flower bed to grass.

He looks so much like my little brother David here!

man on a mission: crawling can't stop him!

This is today!

So my turn now! I'm 12 weeks today. This time feels different in several ways. I'm tired, but I was tired before! If I had to pick a defining moment of my first trimester, it would be sneaking naps together with Wilder while he's nursing. I still have to work, so when Wilder is asleep, that's when I work. I have been able to take a grand total of 3 naps this whole pregnancy! Big change from the first time around.

I have been battling illness more this pregnancy though. I've spent a lot of time in dr. offices! allergic reaction on my eyes to some makeup, broke my finger, had two colds and now I have a sinus infection... lots of stuff. It's taking me longer to bounce back from colds right now.

I feel like i've had less nausea than the first time, but i still have aversions and cravings. I love mexican food, especially tacos and unfortunately carbs are where it's at. I still have a single cup of coffee--no aversion to that this time around, but in the afternoon, coffee does smell gross to me. Leftovers don't smell or look good, and fish is pretty much not working for me right now. My favorite meals I used to make are now gag-inducing. I still make them sometimes because they're favorites of Zach and Wilder, but I can't eat them. I'm super sensitive to the smell of foods. Looking forward to this part being done, but I'm very grateful for minimal nausea.

I haven't gained any weight yet this pregnancy yet. I started out weighing 12 lbs less than I did at the beginning of Wilder's pregnancy. Part of that could be that I'm still breastfeeding though. I felt like I'm not in as good a shape as last time, but I'm regularly power walking with Wilder in the stroller for 30+ minutes several times a week. If i could get back into weights, that would be ideal! Last year i was doing body rock HIIT workouts at this point still, but that doesn't work for my post-baby body so I do other types of strength training. I'm counting down to when I can do prenatal yoga... which is now! I can't wait to pick that up again.

People ask us if we want a girl, and honestly, I'm glad God is in control. We would be happy either way. I'd love Wilder to have a brother close in age, but I would also love a girl because we are not sure if we'll have 3 or not yet. We are very excited to expand our family and grateful God gave us another precious baby to love.

Overall, I feel much less anxious with my second pregnancy so far. I spent so much time worrying and things worked out! I'm relishing my time with Wilder, and all of the worries I had with that pregnancy are just not here. Our life changed, but it was for the better. Another baby is more changes, but I know there will be more blessings too. I know I can be a mom and can handle newborns and sleep deprivation and marathon nursing sessions and blowout diapers... and I am excited to do it all again, armed with a little more experience and a little less fear about screwing up (Hopefully). My labor with Wilder was the most difficult thing I've done in my entire life.... but it was rewarding. And I have faith that God will bring me through a second labor. I am praying that it's shorter, and the odds are in my favor! Knowing that I've been through that pain and my body did what it was created to do makes me less nervous for this next labor. I was so very anxious about labor last time, and now I'm just anticipating that not-too-distant day because I am looking forward to cuddling a precious newborn Boatwright.

This has been a very long post--thanks for sticking with me!

15 months

15 months old!

I keep meaning to write other posts besides the monthly milestones, but life gets in the way! Wilder is  active and fun these days. He's currently trying out all kinds of sound effects, from "vrooming" and rasperries, to soaring vocals, sounding like he got punched in the stomach and roaring like a lion. He's really meticulous, and gets frustrated with himself when he can't stack his blocks perfectly or precisely pop his toy frogs. But most of the time he laughs and smiles. Life is fun when you're Wilder Dean, and we enjoy watching him explore his world. We love his snuggly, sweet hugs and his laugh lights up our days.

This month, Wilder:

• Weighs 18 lbs 15 oz (5th %). Last month he had clothes on and a full diaper, so he didn't lost weight or anything. Height: 30 inches (12th %) and head 45 cm (8th percentile). His pediatrician says he's doing great!
• Still wearing 12M clothes, but shirts are getting a bit short.
• Still sporting 8 teeth
• Stands up, squats and rotates from the hip while freestanding. He pushes his lion walker fast around the house for long stretches of time. He's moved to the tile where he can really fly! He's also learning to turn it on his own.
• Says "mama" "mimi" "dada" all the time. He'll respond to questions like "where is papa" by pointing at the right person in photos or in the room. He connects illustrations in abstract form like whales in a book and on his wall. You can ask him to show you things in books like "where is the lion? Show me the blue truck? Where is the goldfish?" and he'll point them out.
• Loves to play outside as long as you'll let him. He'll stuff mulch in tree stumps, pluck bark off the tree, dig around in his sand box and his favorite is hunting down fluffy dandelion flowers to squish.
• He uses silicone-handled metal forks and spoons really well. He eats a ton! Yogurt is still his favorite, but he loves homemade stir-fry and rice.
• Still nursing, but no more bottles
• Likes to pop anything like a tiddly wink, from garbanzo beans to blueberries to his toy frogs. He's really good at it.
• He wakes up between 7-7:30 am, naps around 12 for 90 min-2 hours, and goes to sleep around 7-7:30 pm. He usually wakes up once in the early morning, but sometimes sleeps through the night.

Here are more photos! This was Tuesday, with our "snow." We went out with Mimi to check it out! He thought it was cold and very slippery. :-)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today would have been my mom's 60th birthday. She's been gone nearly 4 years, but somehow it seems much longer. So much has happened since then. I still miss her every day, and especially now as I'm also a mom.

Today, I sat in my mom's rocking chair and sang to my baby the same songs she used to sing. I thought about the early memories I have of my mom. Her denim dresses, her comforting arms, her ready smile. Her mischievous pranks. The way I always knew she was in my corner.

I wonder what memories Wilder will have of me. Will he know how much Zach and I love him? Will he know I will always support his dreams? Will he know that my arms are always ready to hold him?

So many questions I would ask my mom about parenting. I imagine the way my mom would love Wilder to bits. How she would hold him in her arms and let him show her everything he discovers. How I'd probably have to wrestle him away for nap time because she would just want to hold him one more minute.

Days like today, I miss Mom most of all. But I'm so thankful to see her in my baby's squinty early morning smile, and his easy laugh. Even his stubby baby feet remind me of her. And tonight, I'm going to make one of my favorite dinners she used to makeL She used to call it "Garbage" (Garbahj all fancy) and it's just ground beef, veggies and pasta cooked in a skillet, but I loved it. Thanks Mom.

14 Months

14 months

We are so enjoying spending time with our little BOY! Wilder is animated and happy most of the time. He laughs often and likes to tells us things in baby language. He hums as he eats his food, whether it's a few puffs or a delicious meatball. Doesn't matter--he'll let you know he's enjoying it. It is amazing to watch how he observes things in his surroundings. He's still cautious, but definitely an explorer. He'd love to be outside all day long. He has a sweet disposition, he is constantly trying to share, but he does show his will at times when we don't let him do something like go down the stairs on his own. He's got his own ideas about things! We're so happy God put Wilder in our lives, and we love watching him grow in mind and body.

This month, Wilder:

• Weighs 19 pounds (with clothes on and a slightly wet diaper, so that could be off!)
• Still wears 12 month old clothes, but he just got a pair of big boy shoes from Stride Rite size 4W.
• Still has 8 teeth but he has been teething off and on.
• Got a real, honest-to-goodness, little boy haircut from our friend Les.
• He can stand up ALL BY HIMSELF! This happened during our anniversary dinner. Sharon sent us a video at the restaurant! He's so proud of himself! Most of the time he cruises quickly grabbing onto things or the wall, but he's also taken a few steps toward a ball. And he's pushed a walking toy all over the place. But not really walking yet.
• This week he learned how to climb up the stairs and he can go up the entire flight. We follow right behind him but he's a man on a mission. The gate is a necessity now... we had it down the other day and he made it up three stairs in the time it took me to take away one of Wilder's toys from Ellie!
• He can make connections. He can go around the room from one spot and point at each photo of Zach and I together on the wall. If we read about a horse, he'll go point at his rocking horse. If he looks at a photo book with a picture of Pierre the cat, he'll go point at Pierre in real life. He'll pull out a stuffed elephant from a fabric box, point at the fabric stitched image of an elephant on the outside of the box and make an elephant noise. He recognizes people in photos and will then point to them in real life. He knows what the moon is in books and points it out in every book he has, just like he'll point at the moon in real life.
• He's obsessed with airplanes. He hears one and has to go look for it in the sky.
• He uses a spoon just about all of the time with his meals. He eats a lot now! Right now his favorite foods are stir fry rice, yogurt, pomegranate seeds and pears. And puffs. He also likes toast or bread.
• He pretty much only uses a straw cup now, no more bottle when I'm not around! He's not nursing as much as he was, but we still enjoy that time together.
• The biggest change this month is sleeping. We've dropped to one nap, but it averages starting at 10:30 or 1. We shoot for 1 and sometimes he doesn't make it that far. Either way, he's napping about 1.5 hours. We've moved his bedtime up to 7-7:30 p.m. and he happily sleeps till 7 am. Sometimes he'll wake once in the night.
• He is such a snuggler! He hugs often, cuddles when he's tired, hugs the kitty, hugs his stuffed animals--he is a lover.

We took these photos today after Wilder got to visit the zoo for the first time. These are in the front yard. :-)