17 MONTHS

A few days ago, Zeke turned 17 months old. This kid is a complete mix of sweet and stubborn, and has been such a joy in our life. It's interesting how some of the changes he has gone through have been so gradual, as they have taken place over time, while others seem to just happen over night. So far his language skills are coming along slow and steady. He has the words Mama and Papa (grandpa taught him that one), and Dada (his first word) down, but he's still working on Grandma. We've also tried his sister's name over and over again, and it's just not happening.

Saying that Zeke is more active and mischievous than Bea was would be an understatement. Just this morning he threw my iPhone in the toilet (still works!) and then subsequently threw two TV remotes in the toilet as well. We're constantly checking to see if what he has in his mouth is food or not, and covering the outlets with those plastic childproof thingies was a must. On the other hand, he has this incredible calm side, in which he just crawls right into your arms and cuddles against your warmth. He still wakes several times a night, and I think this closeness he desires is the reason behind that. We started putting him in a toddler bed around 11 months old, which is CRAZY, I know. The thing is, I could rock him, sing to him, and nurse him to sleep for hours, and the second I lay him down he would wake up. This solution makes it easy for us to lay down next to him and then sneak away once he drifts off to sleep. And then, in the middle of the night, I hear his little feet pitter-patter their way into our bedroom to be with us once again. There is this moment during the night when Mr. C cuddles me while I cuddle Zeke, and it is just bliss.

Something Zeke loves to do is blow kisses. I love seeing how excited he gets when he sees someone he recognizes and blows them a big, giant kiss. He's pretty good at taking direction as well, which helps us know that he understands language even if he can't say all of the things he wants to say quite yet. The other day, Bea and I taught him what a hug was. He had already been giving them all the time, but now when we say "hug" he runs to the nearest person and wraps his arms around them. His favorite things at 17 months are Elmo and pretend cooking. He's also a little engineer and loves to focus on how things work. He is obsessed with turning the dishwasher on and off.

He is really good at mimicking people and constantly has us cracking up at his impressions. If you cross your arms, he will cross his arms, too. We feel so blessed to have Zeke in our life and can't wait to see him grow with our family.

HAPPY MAMA

Today I got to sew, and it was so wonderful. While Zeke was taking a nap, I pulled out an important project that I have been putting off and went to town. It was one of those short naps, so I really only wet my toes a little, but Mr. C also watched the kids so I could continue a little longer. Something I've come to accept is that, as a toddler, Bea could play with her dad for hours if I needed to get something done, but Zeke is just my little clinger. I realize now how much I took for granted my time before he was born. I don't even mean that negatively, it's more of a personal time-management thing with me. You know that feeling where there is so much to do, and so much you want to do, that you just end up doing nothing? I feel like this so much sometimes, and it gets really frustrating. I have to take responsibility for the part of me that doesn't always use the opportunities I have to do what I want to do.

I have about 50 unfinished sewing projects in my closet that stare at me every time I open the door. I don't even know why and what I bought the fabric for anymore. To be real, I'm already 2 days behind on my laundry folding (no harm in just taking what you need right out of the basket), so taking time away from stuff like that just seems overwhelming. But I feel sad that I haven't made Zeke near the amount of clothes I've bought fabric for, and Bea is starting to outgrow the cute, "little girl" dress age for sewing.

My designated "boy" fabrics

So here I propose my goal (ugh, I hate that word, along with new years resolution- I feel like a cornball even writing about it) for this year. I want to take time for myself when it's available, and even ask for the time when I need it. My family is so important to me, and earning a living is too, but I can't feel sorry for myself if I don't take opportunities and initiative for my personal interests outside of those things.

And we all know that happy mommies make the world so much better!

2014

I had every intention to start this blog off right, with frequent updates and such, but alas, actual life just got crazy. This has been one of the most challenging weeks I've had in a long time. Bea had Scarlet Fever (so scary!) and Zeke decided to get playful from around 3-6 am every morning, so sleep was just not happening in this casa.

But I'm back! And ready to blog my heart out, but not without looking back at my favorite moments from 2014 first. So much has happened and our family has gone through so many changes over the past year. Zeke was only 4 months old when 2014 began, and seeing him grow and change has been really fun for the whole family. I remember shortly after he was born obsessively comparing everything between him and Bea, mostly just because I was worried something was wrong with him, and my midwife kept telling me "he's just a different person!" She is so right. He is so very different from Bea. They are both incredibly wonderful in their own ways, and learning about this new little person is what makes parenting so rewarding.

At the end of the Summer, Zeke had his first birthday and Bea turned six. Bea started Kindergarten, began reading, and has completely amazed us with how fast her skills are coming along. She also lost her first (and second) tooth!

During 2014, Bea became obsessed with Ghostbusters. I can't say I'm surprised, as her daddy is a pretty big fan himself. He began introducing her to the movies and cartoon series, and it was only natural that she would decide to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween, a pink Ghostbuster to be exact. But it didn't stop there. No, no it did not. In fact, the entire family decided to join in on the Ghostbusters theme.

And so comes the last milestone of the year, a daunting day for any twenty-something. I turned 30 in November. It turned out to be just like any other ordinary day. Well, besides the fact that my amazing family threw me a party with a bundt cake (yeah that's a thing now, apparently). But my point being, there's this huge stigma against turning 30, or 40 or 50 or whatever, but really, when you already have 2 kids, it's like no big thang.....(until I stop getting carded, then it might be a thing).

We wrapped up the year by hosting Christmas Eve at our house. This was the first time we've ever done something like this, besides the occasional family BBQ, and I'm happy to say it went really well! It was nice to not have to rush home to get everything ready for Christmas morning. After everyone left, Mr. C and I finished up some gift wrapping, sent our elf, Rosie Peppermint, on his way, and snuggled up to some Hulu before the big day arrived. I ended up making a ton of gifts this year (with the usual rush to get them all finished in time), which were all a big hit with the kids, and I'll blog about them later.