14 months

Clay is now 14 months, and every month that goes by, I'm astonished that it went by faster than the previous one.
When I look at Clay and realize that he's still such a baby, I remember how at 14 months, Carter seemed so old.
Granted Carter was walking and signing up a storm (carrying on conversations basically) by 14 months. The best way I can think of to describe Clay is that he's wiser than all of us, he's soaking in these baby months as long as he can. He knows that they're all too fleeting and his days of being carried around are short.




I'm sure that all moms with kids who are a little delayed say the same kinds of things. And while I'm not so naive, it really seems like he's just 'taking time to smell the roses'. He's not frustrated, or angry, or grasping for that next milestone. He's just....content.

And before I get a phone call from my husband and both sets of gparents about calling Clay delayed, let me follow that with that I don't think he will always be delayed, or that he is "DELAYED". But, he's just a little slower than normal meeting these first toddler milestones, and that's okay.


Some of you that I talk to on a regular basis know that Clay has been struggling a little with some tummy issues.
He's been having horrible diarrhea for about 2 months now and after many, many, many tests have come to no conclusion. Although during an ultrasound of his abdomen they found he had several large gallstones. This is kind of a strange thing for a 14 month old to have, and that along with the runs, we're currently waiting for a pediatric gastroenterology appointment. (Which of course isn't for a whole month!)
We're hoping that his symptoms are somehow connected and can point the dr. to a simple diagnosis and we can forget this whole mess. However, there are several serious diseases that his symptoms could possibly point to, but we will have to wait for specialized testing from the pediatric GI doctor. As for now, as long as Clay is not losing weight, we will just wait and deal with the symptoms. Keep baby Clay in your prayers, and let's just hope all these crazy things are some yucky, but easy fix!!



Most of the time I can't imagine Clay as older than he currently is. I could always picture Carter as older, but maybe my mind is wanting to hold on a little tighter to Clay's 'babyhood'. I wonder what his first "real" word will be, or when the heck he is going to start walking. Will he be as driven, bright and stubborn as his brother? It's so hard for me still to grasp that I can have two children so different from each other (this thought about having a completely different third child is blowing my mind - is this one going to have 3 legs and be bright blue or something? How much different could another one be?)
but I love them each so much, and couldn't imagine my life without either one.

Preschool

While battling extreme fatigue this trimester, I had completely forgotten to mention that Carter has made a pretty big step this year: he started school! He was a bit apprehensive the weeks leading up to the first day but has really enjoyed it. He has a great teacher and several friends he already knows are in his class. He's going on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and gets do do things like GLUE! and PAINT! and PLAY WITH SCISSORS! He's thrilled.




It's pretty comical to hear him talk about school and the things he does. On his first day I asked him what they had done and he talked about having a snack and that they didn't paint and that they had circle time. When I asked what 'circle time' was he replied very sarcastically and complete with an eye roll, "Mom, how do you NOT know what circle time is?"

Well, I guess I'll wikipedia it next time before asking...






He talks about how they have to wait in line to wash hands, that you always have to share toys and that one day during snack time his buddy Ollie told him he had a milk mustache.
He always has a lot (of interesting things) to say when I pick him up.

Right now we have him enrolled in the Part Day Enrichment at the CDC here on base, which is more like a glorified daycare setting, but since Carter will be in preschool for 2 years because of how his birthday falls, we are okay with that for now. They focus on things like sharing and behaving and making friends and sitting still and those are things Carter needs to be strong at before we can put him in an academic setting. We're thinking that next year ('11-'12) we will enroll him somewhere a little more academically challenging. There is a big church right off base (well, even though 'right off base' means 20 miles away) with a preschool program that I have heard good things about. But right now, we have plenty of time.

ATTENTION, OH MY GOSH YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!

You are NEVER going to guess what I saw at Disneyland.

a 'cool' 4 kid stroller! Look, and drool along with me ladies....

Disneyland 2010

Over the long weekend we ventured out to Disneyland and had a GREAT time! However, I don't think we've gone into as much as a gas station without having a GREAT time here in America. I'm sure the excitement will fade eventually, but I'll take it as long as it lasts.

It took us 2.5 hours to get down there and we stayed about a 15 minute walk from the park (which saved us over $100/night) and had two sugar filled, no naptime days of ecstacy.

I do have to say however, that if you've ever been to DisneyWORLD, that the 'land' is a teeny bit disappointing. They don't have as many cool rides and 'exhibits' and the cast members are just people looking for a job to pay the bills. They're not all...'magical' like at Disneyworld.
Also - they only have 'main' characters at the 'land'. They don't have like King Louie or the army guys from toy story to get your picture with....bummer.

However, Carter was able to ride all but about 3 rides (Clay too) since most were 'ride-in-a-car-or-boat-and-watch-as-[insert disney character here]-story-unfolds.

They both had a fantastic time and it was nice to get out of the desert for a bit.
I can't wait for our next adventure!

New Home

We've got a 4 bedroom with a backyard people!! We've got the boys sharing a room and they're doing great. Yes, Carter's still in a crib, but I swear I have a good reason. We want to use the 'dark' furniture for the "new" baby and will move Clay into Carter's crib. We don't want to transition it to a toddler bed, then back to a crib. We're looking for a twin bunk beds (for later use.) I am going to set up just the bottom twin bunk for Carter now, but have the top bunk for in a few years when C&C can handle that. There's not pictures of the nursery because, it's obviously not done. It'll be painted and we have to find out what baby will be first. Our office is quite the mess right now. Things are stacked and organized...but there are stacks EVERYWHERE. I'm not really sure where the hell all that stuff was at Osan? I think the boys' room needs a little something on the walls, and so does our bedroom. But I haven't found those things yet. Anyway, here's our sweet new pad.

Painting

Here's a preview of our new house. At this point we have it all painted and all of our pictures hung. We have a new couch, new tv and I cannot explained how THRILLED I am with how it looks. It makes such a difference in quality of life if you're happy with the way your house looks. Cory's parents are in town visiting right now and we can't wait to have more visitors!

More Church Musings

Me: "Carter, don't touch that. It's for Catholics." (Talking about the moveable kneeling bench)
Carter: "What's a Catholic?"