23 Month Update

Things are crazy at our house right now.  We are doing a whole house clean and reorganization to make the best use of the space we have.  I wrote this post a few weeks ago and totally forgot to post it.  As I read through it, Xavier has changed so much in the past 3 weeks, I can't believe it!  His vocabulary has increased immensely, he is saying four word sentences, and knows nursery rhymes better than me (haha!).  But, here's what our guy was like at 23 months!

Age:  23 months, the last time we will refer to our guy in months!

Favorite Foods:  pasta, chicken, meatballs, broccoli, yogurt, applesauce, string cheese, green beans, Nilla wafers, waffles, Nutri-Grain bars

Favorite Words: 

Animals and animal sounds, love you, uh-oh, bye-bye c-ya, hello (to every single person/stranger we pass!), hello doggy, “we gih eh go?” (are we getting ready to go?), “na?” (snack), okay, “nee mah uh-oh” (I need my uh-oh, which is his pacifier), “eh poo” (I poo).  And his new favorite word is truck.  He just learned how to make the “k” sound!  He’s putting sentences together now, making it so much easier to understand what he needs.  He can say a ton of words, but understands even more.

Favorite Books: 

All Of Baby’s Nose to Toes – We read this every night before bed.  He loves to follow along and point out his body parts!  After reading it the fifth time in a row to him, I have to take it away :(

Bubbles, Bubbles – I caught him reading this one the other day, saying “Bubble, bubble eh ma noe” (on my nose).

Dear Zoo, My Big Truck Book, and King Bidgoods in the Bathtub

Favorite Songs: 

Wheels on the Bus, The Finger Family, Beethoven’s 3rd, Mvmt 4 (Eroica), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Johnny Whoops, Five Little Ducks

His favorite shows on YouTube are Sesame Street, Mother Goose Club, Baby Einstein, and Little Baby Bum.  He doesn’t like to sit and just watch TV, which makes these shows a great choice at this age.  He sings along, names the objects, and does the moves!

The One That Got Away by Katy Perry

Want to Want Me by Jason Derulo

Favorite Activities: 

Where to begin!  This little guy is enthusiastic about everything!  He loves to play fetch with the dog, stroller rides, jump off objects up to 2 feet high (while mama cringes everytime!), play on the playground, eat lunch outside, point out all modes of transportation, swing on the tree swing, throw mulch and big rocks, read books, run through the splash pad, swim in his puddle jumper, and cuddle to name a few!

He likes helping in the kitchen by placing all the pots and pans, as well as all contents in drawers, neatly on the floor.  When I tell him to go put his shoes on, he stops whatever he’s doing and runs to his shoes and socks and puts them on top of his feet. 

Washing and drying his hands, he especially likes stepping up on the stool!

Signature Moves: 

This guy is quite the little organizer.  The other day, we were getting ready to hop in the car but he wouldn’t get in the car until we put the trash can back in its spot.  Another time, Steve was putting him in his crib and he reached out and pointed to the changing pad and wouldn’t go in the crib until Steve picked it up.

When I tell Xavier it’s time to change his diaper, lately, he walks right over to me, lays on the floor, and kicks up his feet.  I hope this lasts!!

He also teases us with his food.  We crack up at this!

Giving us hugs.

Throwing balls, coloring, sidewalk chalk scribbles with his LEFT hand. :)

Xavier's Play Table Makeover

We bought the Ikea Latt table and chairs from Amazon since Ikea is a 2 hour drive from us.  We painted it and added a roll of paper underneath to make it extra functional.  This was such an easy and cheap DIY project and we are so happy with the results!

Here's a quick how-to:
The table comes unfinished so we added some white spray paint we had in the basement for touch up trim work.  We used the glossy finish for easy wiping.  The paint was applied after putting the pieces together, but if you aren't using spray paint, I highly recommend painting/staining before assembling.  We used two coats of spray paint.

Steve added a dow rod to the bottom of the table, width-wise, using a couple dow rod hooks we found at Home Depot.  The roll of white drawing paper is from Michael's.  

At some point, we plan to put a piece of chalkboard paper (which I saw at Michael's) on top of the table so Xavier has the option to draw with chalk. I think we will wait until Xavier understands that we don't eat the chalk!

We cut some pieces of trim and placed them on the tops of the table so Xavier could easily pull the paper through and it would stay in place.  Shim were placed between the trim piece and the table to create a small space of the paper.  I recommend using thick shims because it's kind of a pain feeding paper through the small thickness we allowed for the paper to feed through.

There are tons of options for adding flair to this project!  I've seen scrapbook paper cut and affixed to the tops of the chair seats with double sided tape.  You can also get fancy with the painting.  Just google it!

I hope this inspires you to get creative with your kids' play table!  This one is so cheap, durable, and easy to put together, I highly recommend it!

2nd Birthday Wishlist

Our little man’s SECOND birthday is coming up next month.  I can’t believe how time is flying!  We are planning a special birthday party at the babysitter’s house, complete with a delivered pizza lunch, juice boxes, cupcakes, balloons, and goodie bags.  He’s got real friends now!!  So rather than having a party for our adult friends, we decided to focus more on him this year.  We will, of course, celebrate with him on the day of by throwing him a special family party of our own!

We have a few gift ideas in mind.  Since he loves helping us in the kitchen, he's getting this KidKraft vintage play kitchen.  We will lend him some of our pots/pans/spatulas, but also like this toaster and this toy Keurig.  He loves planes and cars, so he's getting this Cars sticker book and this book about planes.  We also got him several new pairs of jammies, including Steve's favorite, these with the monkeys.  He'll also get some new bath paints for the tub.

The things Xavier picks up on at this age always amaze us.  On our walks around the neighborhood, he routinely waves and shouts out "Hello!" to everyone we pass.  Then he will say "Bye, love you!" just like how Steve and I talk!  He is very sociable and active on the playground.  He especially enjoys sliding down twisty slides and stopping at the bottom so he can jump off.  He likes swinging from the bar that's above the slides.  He just hangs, tucks his knees to his chest, and swings.  We never knew at this age he could hold his own weight.  And if there's a group of kids playing, it isn't long before Xavier is right in the middle of the group, playing along too, even if they are middle-school-aged!

See more favorites here!

Our Day in Pictures

And let me start by saying, staying at home all day is tough with a toddler!

I took the day off to spend time with my little man while Steve went to work.  We had a jam packed day filled with trips to the local donut shop, zoo, and a stop for ice cream.  Here's some highlights!

7:30 am - Xavier slept in a little, we raced around to get dressed and out the door for a quick breakfast and play date.

8:45 am - Local donut shop for goodies, which began and ended in Xavier's meltdown. He wanted to touch the donuts and is upset he can't.  I call Steve, on the verge of tears, to calm myself down.  It's not even mid-morning yet!

9:00 am - While Xavier is losing his mind in the backseat, I drive around checking the clock every 5 minutes to see how much time til Dad comes home hunting for the play cafe we are supposed to be meeting other moms for a play date.  Can't find it, throw other half of my donut and a sippy in the back seat, take loops around the highway, and magically, thank the Lord, get a calm, happy baby!

10:00 am - We end up, unexpectedly, at the zoo!

He fits right in with the big kids!

11:30 am - Head home for lunch and Xavier's nap.
On our way home, I noted a funny exchange between Nicki Minaj and Xavier:

While Xavier sleeps, I read some of my latest find at the library, "Primates of Park Avenue".  Think Upper East Side moms meets anthropology analysis.  Though somewhat fabricated, I'm sure, it's quite entertaining!

3:00 pm - Quick trip to get ice cream and play in the shop's play area.  Xavier eats from his first big boy cone.  We made it this far till Meltdown #2.  He didn't want to leave and let me know with his mean left hook!

4:00 pm - Head home for quiet time.  We watch some videos and sing songs together.

6:00 pm - Meet the "6:00 superhero" (Dad) at our favorite Mexican restaurant!  As we left the restaurant, we had Meltdown #3 resulting in Steve stepping on my ankle and me almost dropping Xavier, and somehow, all three of us ended up in a bear hug in the middle of the patio (don't ask).

6:30 pm - Finished our evening playing outside with Xavier, listening to him pointing out planes, cars, birds, and bicycles, throw mulch, and swing on his tree swing.

7:30 pm - Bath time, stories, and bed for our little man.

8:15 pm - OITNB with a delightful piece of Godiva chocolate :)

And an early bedtime for this tired Mama!

Summer Bucket List

Summer officially begins on Sunday, Father's Day.  Keeping with tradition of last year's Summer Bucket List, I'm rolling into the new season with a new List.  Some buckets on my list are repeats we enjoyed from last year.  I'm excited to hang out with the family and cross some off our list!

1.  Go to a Clippers Game.

2.  Enjoy lunch, poolside.

3.  Make pizza on the grill.

4.  Eat dinner on the back porch during a thunderstorm.  (Check - although it was quite a hectic adventure with "ass-hole burgers" as Steve called them, mulch throwing into the pool and on me, and crying/whining when rain hit Xavier on the head!  We need a redo!)

5.  Chase down the ice cream truck a few times.

6.  Make lots of homemade Popsicles

7.  Go on a bug hunt.

8.  Patron a few lemonade stands in our neighborhood.  These are just adorable!!

9.  Play in the rain and stomp on puddles!

10.  Complete Xavier's first Summer Reading Program at the library.

11.  Water balloon fight - Mom and Xavier take on Dad!

12.  Get lots of grass between our toes and dirt under our nails.  Making memories outside is what childhood summers are all about!

13.  Although it gets chaotic, soak up every single moment of summertime.  Before we know it, it will be gone!

It's been a great month of June so far!  Weekends are filling up quickly with activities and Xavier is definitely enjoying all the things summer has to offer!

A quick update on Xavier - today, he turned 22 months old (almost time to stop counting months!).  He's fierce on the playground, swatting people out of his way so he can climb up the bridge to get to the slide!  He's full of adventure and loves to point out a "pay" (plane), "sickle" (bicycle), "car", "burr" (bird), and "corr" (squirrel).  His favorite thing in the world right now is soaking up the outdoors.  He still calls me "uh-nee" (Honey) and is calling Steve "Mommy", "Daddy", and "eeee" (Steve).

Sending sunshine and summertime fun!  XOXO

5 Truths & 1 Lie

Ever played the game "Two Truths & A Lie" as an ice breaker?  I love hearing random things about people!  So I'm sharing some random things/confessions about me.  Hope I didn't just put my foot in my mouth on this one, LOL.  Here goes!

1.  Lately, I have been struggling with my patience level and mom guilt (mom guilt especially after Xavier goes to bed).  Whether it be for something I yelled at Xavier for (or Steve) or for not taking the time to do something I should have.  I need to remember Xavier is only a toddler, and that means tantrums and relentless whining.  But geesh, it's been every single day lately.  He's our little wild child, testing his limits, watching us with a tiny smile as he climbs on his train table to see if we will stop him.  I know it's a phase, but this one is the longest and most challenging.  Maybe when he turns five I will regain my sanity!
2.  Unsolicited advice on how to tame a toddler is, well, unsolicited.  Sometimes I vent just to vent, not because I'm searching for an answer.  Oddly enough, I do find myself giving it to other moms.

3.  I obsess about Xavier's photo sessions.  Whether it be that I haven't had enough pics taken of him to capture that chubby baby face, or that it's Mother's Day and I have to do a "Mommy & Me" session, or that I want the perfect holiday photo of us as a family!  After each session's photos come back, I count out the months until the next session.  It's June, and I'm already thinking about the next Christmas card.  But, I better get that 2nd birthday session scheduled first.  Good grief!!

4.  I want a double vodka with a splash of cranberry and a twist.
5.  Since I'm still in my prime time of having babies, and I only have one, and it's a boy, yep...I constantly get asked about number 2.  The thought of a number 2 crossed my mind about a month ago, but then I came home to Xavier's crayon art all over the woodwork we just had painted in our breezeway.  My response: Not anytime soon!!

6.  I did not eat 12 homemade chocolate chip cookies in one sitting this weekend.  Nope.

Can you spot the lie?

Spoiler Alert:  It's number 6!!  Who does that??

And because no blog post is complete without a photo, here's one.  It perfectly describes our relationship at this point in time.

Vacation Recap

Today, I am sulking because vacation is over, but of course very thankful we made it home in once piece.  Travelling with a toddler is a bit of a challenge, but overall totally worth it!  I can't imagine being away from our little man for an entire week and was so glad we could take him with us and have the relaxing time that we did.

It was Xavier's first experience on the beach.  He really liked the sand. His instincts kicked in as he bent down to pick up sand and throw it!

Jamaica has the warmest ocean water I've ever stepped in, felt just like bath water, in April of all months!  The water was clear, there were no shells, and zero seaweed.  My kind of beach :)

Xavier even wrote his name in the sand :)

Aside from the sandy beach, we also had a blast in the pool!

Xavier made lots of friends in the kiddie pool and LOVED sliding down the water slide, like a hundred times!  Mom and Dad also had a blast sliding down the adult twisty-tubey slides, like a hundred times:)  We had some help watching Xavier, so Steve and I had a ton of QT to hang out, teach each other how to play Backgammon (I'm now a HUGE fan!), and enjoy dinners without having to take care of the baby.

I was blown away by the perfect weather we had, 90 degrees and just enough breeze to keep us cool every day, and not a single drop of rain.  Jamaica also has some of the best sunsets!

The sweetest thing happened right before we left.  We made arrangements with my family to take the dog while we were gone.  That night, Xavier brought Steve the dog's toy and said "doggy."  Then he hugged Steve.  Awww, he missed his dog after only one hour!  So adorable :)

Disclaimer:  No filters used on any of our vacation pics.  There was no need to :)