He's 22 Months Old, So Don't Even Tell Me He's Almost Two. As If.

Milo is 22 months old. For the first time, I missed taking his picture and posting his stats on the 21st of the month. And here I thought I might actually make it to the two-year mark before missing it by a day or two. Oh well, what can you do?

Milo is so fun. And funny. He makes silly faces and silly noises and sings and dances and beats on his chest like Tarzan. He makes me laugh every single day.

He is learning his letters, numbers, and colors. I'm surprised sometimes how many letters he can identify, especially hard ones like Q and W. He can count some, but he likes to start with 4 and count up to 9. Colors are still tricky, but he knows Daddy's car is black and Mommy's car is blue.

The kid loves fruit. Blueberries, grapes, oranges, bananas, apples, raisins (does that count as a fruit?), pears, kiwi. He also loves eggs, cheese, peas, corn, french fries, pizza, juice, milk, peanut butter, and occasionally cookies or ice cream. Sometimes he refuses dessert, which is fine by me.

Opinions. He has them.

He's speaking in longer sentences. A common one right now is "Oo dat soun, Mommy?" which translates to "What's that sound, Mommy?" He hears things I don't, and is constantly asking what made the sound. Often it's a train or airplane, sometimes it's something like Daddy shutting a door, where I have to rewind my subconscious to see if I even know what the sound was. Milo's vocabulary is huge, or it seems huge to me. I really have no idea how he stacks up to the average 22-month-old, but he sure impresses me.

We've been putting him in time out this month. He is always pushing the limits and seeing how we'll react when he does the opposite of what we ask him to do. So we're trying to set boundaries and be consistent. Time-outs may or may not be working. Sometimes he seems very upset to be going to time out, other times he casually walks over to the time-out spot and just chills until we tell him he can get up, like it's no big thing. Hoping to cut back on bad behavior, like...throwing food. Smacking Mommy and Daddy. Refusing to pick up toys. Dropping his cup or fork on the floor. Banging on the table. Refusing to do X, Y, or Z -- anything we ask him to do, really. None of his behaviors are that bad, the bad part is that he directly doesn't obey when we ask him to do/not do something. And I think we're supposed to be in control, somehow. I think.

He loves books and loves storytime before bed. Lately we've been reading a couple books about a new baby in the house. I still have no idea how much of it is sinking in, the whole new baby thing. We'll find out soon enough, I guess.

Milo's daycare situation is wonderful. He's been at Kristin's for about five months now, and he hasn't really been sick at all. Maybe one cold and a potential ear infection or two that we've fought off with drops before it got started. He knows all the kids there, he enjoys the crafts, and it's just been a good place for him. His teacher says he's pretty quiet there, which kind of surprises me. He's constantly babbling at home. Maybe he's just more of an observer and keeps his thoughts to himself. He seems happy there, though, and that's what matters most.

Hello again

How about a few little updates and ramblings?

• I'm 37 weeks and a few days pregnant. At my doctor's appointment this morning, I was 3 cm dilated and 50 percent effaced. If I were to check my archives, I'm pretty sure I'd find that this was how much I had progressed a couple days before going into labor the first time. Therefore, I'm convinced the baby is on her way. My doctor was quick to say I could stay this way for another few weeks, but I just don't think that will be the case. We'll see. I could just be doing some wishful thinking. Which brings me to my next point...
• I'm. So. Completely. Over. Being. Pregnant. I'm having trouble sleeping. It's either heartburn, plain ol' insomnia, or too much kicking from the baby. On a really good night, it's a combo of all three. I waddle when I walk, my feet are swollen, and the simplest tasks are becoming impossible. Drying off after a shower, for instance, or removing my own boots at the end of the day. Forget it.
• While I desperately want the baby out of my body, I'm having a ton of probably misplaced guilt over wrecking Milo's life. Why am I doing this to him, shaking his world and asking him to suddenly grow up and be a big boy? He should get to stay a baby as long as he needs to.
• The nursery is still not quite finished, though we're getting close. I hemmed the curtains this weekend, and they actually look really good. Nice straight seams and everything. I'm getting better at this sewing thing. Frames still need to be hung, closet still needs to be organized, and cloth diapers need to be re-washed and organized. And the crib still needs to be put together, but I'm delaying that as long as possible so Milo won't remember it as being his.
• Milo loves playing in Sissy's room. That may have something to do with the step ladder that's been in there the last couple weeks. He climbs up, he climbs down, he climbs up, he climbs down. Repeat.
• I wonder how much Milo is understanding about his impending status as big brother. We've been reading books on it and talking about it all the time, but you know. He's not even two yet.
• We've been working on our bedroom remodel, and it's sort of on hold. My father-in-law can't hang trim for another few weeks at the earliest, so the room is in this semi-done state that is driving me crazy. If anyone knows how to hang trim and wants to dedicate a weekend to our cause, let me know.

Wrapping Up: My 2011 Resolutions

I wrote a post about a couple of New Year's resolutions I was (reluctantly) making almost exactly one year ago. And now that 2011 is over, I thought I'd follow up on those resolutions and let you know how it all turned out.

I hate New Year's resolutions. But this year, I actually have a couple of them. And in order to help keep me accountable, I will share them here with you.

1. In typical New-Year's-resolution fashion, I want to lose weight. (More weight, that is, on top of the 40 pounds I've already lost since Milo was born.) Twelve pounds, to be exact. This will get me back to my college/living-in-New-York/wedding weight. And I will be satisfied with this weight.
2. I want to decorate our bedroom. I absolutely hate it right now, and I have lots of ideas to decorate it. Unfortunately, these decorating plans of mine all cost money. But this is the year I no longer want to just live with the room I hate. I want to make it a place I love to be, rather than just a place I sleep in. I'm thinking navy, light gray, butter yellow, and crisp white...

Well. Let's start with #1, shall we? If memory serves me correctly, I lost maybe five more pounds after that, then sort of plateaued for three or four months. Then I went and got myself pregnant. And in typical pregnant fashion, I then proceeded to gain 40 pounds (and counting). Maybe this weight loss goal will have to go back on the 2012 resolution list.


As for #2, I began to make some headway on this goal throughout the year by buying things like a new duvet, new side tables, accessories, switching out our dresser for Milo's old one, and generally filling up the room with things that would be used someday. Then the room finally, finally got painted about two weeks before Christmas. And that's where we're at. An almost completely painted room (still a couple of places that got patched that need to be painted) that needs the new trim hung, puttied, caulked, and touched up with paint. Then we'll be in business. I'm hoping by summer this room will be complete. But as for a 2011 resolution? FAIL. I blame it on that whole pregnancy sick-for-two-trimesters thing. Definitely not just laziness.

Unprompted

Tonight at dinner, Milo was hardly touching his food, as he is likely to do these days. Because I wanted him to eat something, I gave him a few dried cherries. Then, without any kind of urging, he said, "Thank you, Mommy." Isn't he just the nicest boy who ever lived?

The Big-Kid Bed

That whole big-kid bed thing? Exhausting. Let me tell you how our first night went.

It started out okay. I read to Milo like usual, then snuggled him like usual, then laid him down in his big enormous bed. He actually was pretty good about it. He laid down without a fuss and went to sleep like normal. I was a little emotional, and before I went to bed I peeked in on him, just to watch him sleep in such a huge bed for the first time. And all was well until about 4:00am, when I awoke to the sound of my frantic child screaming his damn head off.

He had fallen off the bed and wedged himself, head down, between the mattress and the dresser. He was stuck and couldn't right himself. It was all pretty much over after that. Even after being rescued, pacified, and diaper-freshened, he couldn't calm down. I went in and sat with him and tried to convince him to lay back down and go to sleep. He either wanted to jump on the bed or flip out and cry. After ten minutes of this, I did get him to lay down, so I quickly made my exit. But half an hour later, he was awake (again or still, I'm not sure). Upset again, it looked like he needed a little extra comfort. And since it was his first night without the crib, I indulged him and sat down next to him.

For awhile, he refused to lay down and calm down. He just kept sitting up, staring off into the ceiling and saying "ghost! ghost!" in a worried voice. I gotta say, he was kind of freaking me out with the ghost thing. And he was not seeming tired at all. After awhile, I was ready to give up. I figured maybe if I wasn't there, he would have no one to entertain or be entertained by and might lay down and go to sleep. I told him that it wasn't time to wake up yet, so Mommy was going to go back to bed and he could lay down when he was ready.

He freaked out, saying "No, Mommy!" and flung himself on top of me. So I hugged him and rubbed his back, and literally 30 seconds later he was out, snoring in my ear. I held him like that for about five minutes, but he was sort of on my throat and I had to move him. I shifted him over so he was laying on the bed, which of course woke him up and we were back to freaked-out Milo. I pulled him back toward me and snuggled him close, and again he fell asleep immediately. So this is it, I thought. I'm here for the rest of the night. I had his teeny blanket over my feet and an even teenier blanket sort of over my shoulder, but I was freezing. Milo got about another hour, maybe hour and a half, of sleep, but I pretty much barely dozed. 

I have to say, though, I enjoyed cuddling with Milo like that. He hasn't actually fallen asleep on me since he was much, much younger. It felt good to be the only thing that would comfort him.

And of course in the morning we praised him for being such a big boy and told him how proud we were that he slept in his big-kid bed. We're hoping the positive reinforcement will go a long way. Night 2 was tougher, he didn't want to lay down at all, then woke up way too early and couldn't go back to sleep. And naptimes have been...short. Tonight is night 3, and he laid down without a fuss. Crossing my fingers that he sleeps straight through the night without incident. We're all way too tired for the 4am wake-up call.

I don't want him to grow up.

I just laid Milo down in his crib for the very last time. Then I cried big fat tears. Tomorrow night Milo is moving to his big-kid bed, a twin mattress on the floor. And I am not liking seeing my baby grow up. Right this second, picturing him laying there in his crib tonight, I'm tearing up again. He's getting so big, but he's still so small. He's still my baby, even though I keep telling him what a big boy he is. I wonder if seeing him tomorrow night in his enormous bed will make me believe it.

Belly Update

Here's me at 33 weeks, 2 days, wearing one of the few shirts that easily covers my entire belly. Can someone please explain to me why MATERNITY CLOTHES quit fitting at around 30 weeks?

Milo's 21-Month Update

Wow, this monthly update caught me by surprise. How can it be the 21st already? Didn't I just write one of these updates?

What is Milo up to these days? He's huge, for one. Likely still hovering around 30-32 pounds, and getting taller all the time. He is maybe half an inch from bonking his head on the underside of our kitchen counter. I dread the day he first stands up under the counter and hits his head. Hard. There will be much howling and shedding of tears.

Physically, Milo is active. He runs, he jumps, he climbs. Sometimes he seems to push himself to see just what he can do. The other day he was leaning on the coffee table, then decided to put his feet up on the couch. So his feet on the couch, his hands on the coffee table, he pushed himself up into a pyramid. Made me nervous. Did not want to see him slip and bang his entire face on the table.

Speaking of that, Milo almost always has a bruise somewhere. He is currently sporting a large bruise just under his eyebrow, another on his cheek, some scratches along his jawline, and a large bruise on his forearm. I only know of the origins of one of these battle scars. 

Milo is getting pretty good at testing the limits. He knows he should not get near the fireplace when it is hot, but he'll just barely perch on the edge of the hearth, then look at me slyly, wondering if I'm going to tell him no. It's really time for me and Andrew to figure out our plan for disciplining, as reminding him over and over again what is against the rules is not really getting us anywhere. Milo is a good kid, and he generally doesn't keep trying to do the misbehavior when we tell him to stop, but it's that five or ten minutes later he's doing it again that is problematic. I'm afraid he's just going to be running over us before long if we don't learn how to reinforce the rules (of which there are not many, really).

Milo loves music. He is always asking for a song. Whining for a song, really. He is especially entranced by the musical tabletop Christmas tree decoration we have, and will demand "more song" over and over. And every time we say "Ask nicely, Milo. What do you say?" and he frantically slaps at his chest, giving the sign for please. Man, he loves that tree. He also loves dancing, and does this awesome dance where he madly swings his arms, kind of twisting around and bouncing. The other day he was exuberantly clapping when a song came on, and he accidentally whacked me in the face. 

He seems to have really picked up on the concept of Santa Claus in the last couple of weeks. "An Cwaus," he says, "oh, oh, oh." He recognizes reindeer. He thoroughly enjoys listening to the book Grandma and Grandpa recorded for him last year, Hallmark's "The Night Before Christmas" Recordable Storybook. At the end he waves to Santa and says "Byebye An Cwaus."

Language continues to get better and better. Pronunciation is better, he is always using new words or new phrases. He has started saying "uh-oh, spaghetti o's," though it sounds more like "uh-oh, etti o's." He uses adjectives all the time and is figuring out how to describe objects. He crosses his arms and says "Brrrr, cold," and shivers. He has trouble getting all the sounds or syllables in when he's trying to say something with a lot of them. Snowman becomes no-man. Dinosaur is dine-saur. Bathtub is Ath-tub His r's often sound like w's. Twuck. Twee. He makes animal sounds out of nowhere and has started panting like a puppy. He's utterly charming.

He still likes to give my belly kisses. Not sure how much he knows about the upcoming baby. He has repeated her name, but can't tell you what it is if you ask (so don't even try!). We're moving Milo to his big boy bed, a twin mattress on the floor, in just a couple days. I have no idea how he's going to do with this. We've been reading a lot about how Elmo went from a crib to a big kids' bed, so I hope that's helping prepare him.

He has peed on the potty about three times. We always give him an opportunity to sit on the potty before he gets in the bathtub, and so far those three times have been purely accidental. But we make a big freaking deal about how great it was that he did that and how big he's getting and all that, and this last time he actually clapped along with Daddy and seemed to soak up the praise. And he occasionally comments out of the blue, "peepee," and sort of touches his pants, and we're pretty sure that he knows he just peed. All good steps toward potty training, I think, though it's still a ways off realistically. 

Milo is definitely getting to be a little toddler with his own opinions. He equally charms and frustrates me on a daily basis. Sometimes I have absolutely no idea what to do with him, and I think, really? We're really about to have another and I haven't even figured out the first one yet? But I suppose I'll never figure it out. He's always going to be throwing another curve ball at me. And that's just fine by me.

I should get out more, if this is all I have to talk about.

This morning Milo took a shower with Daddy, then, just like every time he showers with Daddy, he ran around naked until Andrew got dressed. Except this morning was not like every other time. This time Milo came into the bedroom (where I was still in bed), played with the buttons on my alarm clock, then squatted, grunted, and pooped on the floor. Then he stepped on the poop.

Andrew scooped up Milo and took him into the other room to get cleaned up and diapered. I cleaned the poop from the carpet. And after it was all over with, my only thought was, "Huh, I really should've taken a picture of the poop before picking it up." Ah, parenthood.

Crazy!

Oh my, are these hormones making me crazy today! I have cried at no fewer than four blog posts, and I'm just a big pile of sap.

Plus, I desperately want to organize our pantry, but every evening I lack the energy to do much more than try to find a position on the couch where my back doesn't hurt. I guess my nesting instinct isn't quite strong enough yet for me to get motivated to actually do any pantry organizing. How many weeks along do you suppose I need to be for that? It better kick in soon, because my balance is already shot to hell, and organizing the pantry involves a lot of stooping and standing and reaching way into the back to grab (and discard) the years-old lentils that are still hanging around for some unknown reason. But the pantry must get organized soon. I have cookies to bake, and I need to know just how much brown sugar we have.