Samuel Snapshot: (almost) 1.5

Our sweet boy is about to turn 18 months old next week! Crazy. Eric says we shouldn't say how many months he is anymore. He thinks it's confusing. I think most mom's are cool with months til age 2, but whatever. Here's a little about what he's doing now:

Talking: We figured Samuel has about 20 words that he says on his own right now. Granted, a few of those are animal noises, but I think that counts. ;-) He's currently obsessed with body parts, particularly noses and eyes and toes (I guess because those are the ones he can say most clearly). He's getting pretty into "mouth" and "knee" this week too. He loves to touch different parts of our faces and tell us what he's touching. It's sweet, but he has no concept of gentleness, so we have to seriously watch out or else we may end up eyeless before his toddlerhood has ended. 

Eating: Should I even bother with this section? He loves food. Period. In fact, we just came from a playgroup where he seriously begged every mom for their kids' food once his was gone. He loves going to Trader Joes and Harris Teeter with me because he knows I will give him samples when we're there. We still eat around 6 times a day. And I have to cut him off from drinking milk because he would probably have a whole gallon every day if I let him. 

He did discover watermelon the other day, and, unsurprisingly, that was a huge hit. Yay, summer!

Reading: Oh, everything! And tearing our books up too.. but only the ones with flaps/spinners etc. I bought the Nose Book (similar to the Foot Book) this month, and, as you can imagine with his current nose obsession, it was a HIT. He loves to bring it to me and say "nose! nose!" And when I'm reading it, I'll let him say "nose" when I get to it. It's precious. 

Playing: He's been loving his tunnel lately! He can open it by himself now and often drags it into us saying "Duh-bel!" (his word for tunnel). He's also learned how to climb ladders - eek! Not fun for mommy! We went to a "big" park the other day (like 12-15 foot slides big) and he totally climbed up 2 ladders to the highest part and I had to hold him while we went down the slide. I was legitimately scared. Seriously, this kid has no fear (though after burning himself on a hot slide a few weeks ago, he's much more leery of those.)

Another funny anecdote - Yesterday I went to pick him up from the Y and I caught him putting toy dinosaurs down his shirt (onesie). I guess he thought he was going to sneakily take them home with us?? 

We got a children's museum membership and he's also really been enjoying that. Sometimes he just wants to run around the whole place, but we went last week and he actually spent a pretty significant amount of time playing in their little kitchen area and "napping" with the three bears and exploring their letter section. He's still pretty ADD, but it was nice to see him concentrate more!

Sleeping: He seems to have gotten over trying to climb out of the crib/getting his legs stuck, thank goodness! Now he thinks it's fun to take the crib sheet off or hide himself/his toys underneath it. Because we obviously can't see them under there... ;-)

Baby boy has been extremely cuddly with me the last few weeks. I LOVE it. It may not last, but lately when I carry him places, he's just been hugging me and cuddling. We spent a few mornings cuddling on the couch watching tv and reading. He likes to come over and give me hugs out of the blue. It's SO endearing, and almost makes up for the terrific tantrums he throws when he's frustrated. (I could still live without those though). 

Parenting is still so hard, but I feel like it's been a little easier lately. Maybe it's because Eric's home more or just because Samuel's understanding more. I still have days where I think I'm going to lose my marbles, but all in all, 17 months has been a super fun age! I love this crazy kids more than words can say. :-) 

Stitch Fix

The last few months (years??) have been kind of tough clothes-shopping for me. Ever since Eric started residency my two options have been 1) Go shopping for clothes with a baby/crawler/crazy toddler or 2) Don't go clothes shopping. The latter has won out for the most part. 

I have had some luck with ordering a bunch of stuff online, trying it on at home, then returning what I don't want (usually most of it). Going in to return things with Samuel is way easier than shopping and trying things on.

So when my friend Tiffany told me about Stitch Fix back in May, I got really excited. It sounded right up my alley - a designer looks at my pinterest page/style, my measurements and what types of pieces I am looking for and then sends a box of clothes I should like directly to my house for me to try on. Then I keep what I want and send back what I don't. It's $20 to try, and that money goes toward any purchases you make. It seemed worth a shot.

I got my first box in this week. While not everything was exactly my taste, there were a couple of things I really did love and wish would have fit a little better. I ended up keeping a necklace since it was only $8 over what I'd already paid, and decided to go ahead and try another box next month. When returning the items, you get to say specifically what you didn't like about them and make notes for the person picking your stuff out.

Here's a basic run-down of what I got:

This necklace, which I kept. $28 (but I'd already paid $20). Probably not something I would have picked for myself, but it was sparkly and cute and has a different shape than most of the necklaces I own. (Plus Samuel recently destroyed about 5 of my favorite necklaces, so I'm in need of some new ones).

These Kut from the Kloth jeans. They were about like every other pair of jeans I try on (I have horrible luck with jeans):

1) Too stretchy

2) Stuck out about an inch at the waist but hugged my big ba-donka-donk a little too much

3) Hung down about an inch in the crotch

So at $98, these were a big fat no. 

This Market and Spruce crochet-back shirt was really really cute. I love the color. I really liked the style. But the sleeves drove. me. crazy. I tried pulling them up further. I tried stretching them down. But I couldn't bend my elbows right for the life of me. So sad. But maybe not that sad, because it was $68, and I would have had a much harder time deciding if it would have actually fit right.  

Ah, this dress. So pretty, right? And in this picture, it almost looks like something I should have kept. Except... the material. It was soft and comfy. But it hugged every one of my curves. Every. single. one. I don't have a ton of fat on me, but it showed every little bit of what I do have. So, while it made me a little sad, I knew there was no chance of me keeping this $88 piece. 

This Market and Spruce shirt didn't stand a chance. The print is tolerable, but it was way too big, and made me feel like a blimp. At $48 (or $28 after the styling fee I'd paid), it was the closest to my actual price range. That was pretty much its only redeeming quality. 

So there you go, Stitch Fix #1. I'm totally pinning this... maybe my super stylist will take a peek?? We'll see what next month has to offer! 

17 Month Snapshot

I'm not sure why, but this month felt really really LONG. Probably because it was Eric's last month of intern year (woo-hoo!!) and I've SO been looking forward to him finally having some extra free time to spend with our family and us actually getting to feel like (sort of) a normal couple again. He spent 5 of the last 7 weeks on nights and slept in our guest room when he was home, so we haven't even gotten to sleep in the same bed for practically months.

But enough of that. After weeks that seemed to drag on forever, intern year in D-O-N-E.

Samuel has been a trooper through it all. I feel like he's been improving the last few weeks as far as obedience/staying away from dangerous things goes. Or maybe my attitude has just gotten a little better about it, I don't know. In any case, I'm not feeling as much like "what in the world am I doing?" lately. I'm sure that will change again soon, though. Who really knows what they're doing parenting, anyway?

Anyway, here's a little about Samuel right now:

Talking: He loves to talk and can only say about 10 words really clearly. So he says them over. And over. and over. and over. "Bubble" is his far and away favorite. "Go" has been extremely popular lately too. Of course, "banana" is always a winner. "Shoe" is starting to come out more. "That" and "this", "teddy," "da da," "cat" "ma ma" etc. He's also started going "sssss" for "please." He actually says "eeeese" for "cheese." (That can be a little confusing). "car" comes out a lot now. And there's the classic "all done" and "down." He also makes a few animal noises (moo, baa, and quack), and randomly said the word "turtle" the other day?? Sometimes he really catches me by surprise! Oh yes, and he's super into saying "eyes" "nose" and a not-so-clear version of "ears." And "diaper." Can't forget that one! (he likes to point to his crotch when he says it. Lovely).

Samuel repeats (or attempts to repeat) so much of what we say! Unfortunately, his enunciation is terrible. It makes me laugh. He usually gets the syllables and inflection, but that's about it. He likes to come tell me things -- I usually have no clue what he's saying. He gets pretty upset about it when he's super bent on sharing information with me and I don't understand. It's a little sad, but I know he'll be talking well soon enough. Surely his word explosion is coming soon???

Eating: Pretty much all the time. He seems to be getting pickier, and is pretty into throwing his food on the floor when he doesn't want it or is done. We have been making progress in that he's started putting his food into the little cupholder on his high chair tray instead of throwing it... once it gets full, it's back on the floor though.

Pretty much any fruit is a winner with this guy. He also likes chicken nuggets, anything cheesy, yogurt, milk, and most types of bread. Crunchy peanuts and carrots are also hits. We do beans occasionally as well. Getting veggies in is always a chore with him. I do what I can though. If anyone has any veggie suggestions, let me know!

Reading: We've had a pretty good variety of books circulating around this month. Previously he's really latched on to one or two books at a time, but I feel like we're doing a better job of making the rounds now. It's way less annoying than reading the same thing 20 times in a row!

Playing: Taking all the shoes out of the closet is a current favorite. Blocks, puzzles, and, of course, blowing bubbles (all by himself).

We did swim lessons this month, and little man LOVES being dunked under the water! he can also hold on to the side of the pool by himself, blow bubbles in the water, and splash pretty darn well. ;-)

I don't know if this counts as playing, but Samuel now has a couple of "chores" now... well, as much as a 17 month old can have. He helps me put away toys and pick up food he's thrown on the floor. He also takes Eric a soda every night (in a can) and sometimes the silverware. And he "helps" me sweep. Sweeping is his favorite.

He also loves anything and everything he can climb on. There isn't a playground big enough for this guy!

Sleeping: Naps have been a little iffier lately, but we still get a solid 11 hours at night, so I'll take it. Samuel gets a nap every day, it's just not always as long as I'd like it to be. Sometimes he tries to fall asleep at 11 instead of 1 and then he doesn't want to take a nap when it's actually time. So that's fun. He also has been getting his legs stuck in the side of the crib (over the mesh bumper) occasionally, which leads to a lot of crying. We're working on that though. Overall, I can't complain!

I'm sure there's more I'm leaving out, but it's taken me three days to get this much down, so it'll have to do. ;-) Month 18, here we come!