Mommy's Helper

Making the Best of It

Six days after Matt came home from France, his boss told him they needed him to go to China... three days later. I knew they felt bad for him when they even tossed around the idea of buying a ticket for me and Nathan to go with him. In the end though, it worked out best for him to go by himself, and they limited his trip to two weeks. It took us all some time to process the news and deal with the reality that he was leaving again.

By the time Monday came around, I had accepted the situation and was determined to make the most of the time while Matt was away. Shortly after he left, I sat down and came up with several ideas for me and Nathan to do for the two weeks he was away. I made two columns in my planner- a "to do column" that included all the daily chores and errands that needed done as well as some organization and deep cleaning projects I've been trying to get done this summer. I also made a "fun" column and came up with at least one "fun" thing each day that we could look forward to doing while Matt was away.

Here's a little recap of the fun things we've been doing to stay busy. (There's really no need to remember the time spent washing blinds and cleaning base boards).

We had to drop Matt off really early Monday morning, and driving home from the airport alone before the sun even rises is no fun at all, so I decided to stop for a treat to cheer us up on the way home. Nathan had his first donut breakfast. I think it's safe to say, it's one of his favorite breakfasts :).

A lot of our "fun" activities were things that we usually do anyway. It was just nice to see them written down and be able to look forward to them each day.

- Our Sunday school class started a book study on Monday evenings, and that's been a nice time of fellowship and discussion. I'm looking forward to Matt being able to join though.

- We've gone to Storytime at the library

- We've been swimming on Tuesday mornings which usually leads to long afternoon naps (sometimes for both of us).

- My mom has come over a couple of times in the mornings so I can go running. I debated writing running on my fun list, because I don't think I would always call it fun, but it is nice to have some time strictly to myself doing something for me.

- I had a couple of lunch dates with friends during the week.

- We've made some fun trips to some of our favorite stores- Target, Hobby Lobby, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I always splurge a little more on things when Matt is working out of town.


- We went to the zoo one morning with Andrea and Chloe. We only stayed a couple of hours because of the heat, but we saw most of the animals. First thing in the morning is definitely the ideal time to go to the zoo.

All four of us had such a fun time. Our zoo membership has certainly paid off!

- We shared a snow cone one day.


- My mom and I went to dinner one night.

- I've been watching a lot of the Olympic trials on TV this week. I'm an Olympics junkie. They had six hours of Gymnastics Olympic trials last weekend.  Any guesses what I did after Nathan went to bed?

- I've also read a couple of books and watched a few TV shows that aren't Matt's favorites in the evenings after Nathan is in bed.

- On Sunday afternoon, Nathan and I went with a few girls from church to Porter, OK to a peach orchard.

Nathan and Chloe were super cute in the little red wagon.

They took over pushing the wagon for awhile to give the adults a break. Thanks kids :)

 

We came back to my house afterwards and baked a peach crisp with the fresh peaches. Yum.

 

Nathan and I have been eating peaches with every meal since Sunday, and Daddy will get some special peach sorbet when he comes home!

-I went to a birthday dinner for a friend earlier this week. I wish Matt could have gone, but I still had a good time. My mom kept Nathan for me, which was a nice break for me. Single parenting is hard work!

- We had a pretty low key 4th of July. We usually don't have big plans and with it being on a Wednesday this year, there wasn't much to do. I spent the day with my parents, because I knew it would be a rough day with Matt gone and I didn't want to be alone. We ate, fell asleep to a movie, played a game of Settlers, and did a little shopping. It was a nice day, but didn't really feel like the 4th of July.

We just have a couple of days left before Matt gets home and we are ready! Looking back though, we have fared pretty well with him being gone. Outside of a couple of rough days, the time has gone pretty quickly. Taking care of Nathan by myself does wear me out especially in the evenings when I'm used to having help. There have been a few days when I've napped with Nathan. I always justify it by saying, "My husband is in China. I'm allowed to take a nap." I might use that justification for a few other things too :).

We're thankful that Matt has a good job, and his company has been really good to him this past year assigning him projects that wouldn't require much traveling as we've adjusted to parenthood. Until this summer, it had been over a year since he has had to do any significant traveling. And when he comes home on Sunday, he should be sticking around for several months.

Lake Fun

I'm way behind on posting these pictures, but a couple of weekends ago, our Sunday school class had a lake day. Our sweet friends Jon and Courtney graciously allowed us to borrow her parents' lake house, and boat and tubes, and skis, and Sea-Doos for a great day of fun!

We had gotten the news the day before that Matt had to head to China two days later, so the day at the lake was a nice distraction for us. It was probably one of our very favorite Sunday school activities. We had a great turnout. We visited and ate lunch (including homemade ice cream) and then headed out on the water.

The lake we went to is one of the lesser populated ones in our area, which was really nice. We went tubing and rode the Sea-Doos. Matt just can't get enough of those.

Near the end of the day, Matt attempted skiing. He never quite got it down. I think a few more tries and he would have gotten it, but by that point everyone was tired and needing to head back.

We had so much fun and hope we can do it again soon!

14 Months Old

Nathan,

You are 14 months old! Your daddy and I are enjoying and cherishing each month of your little life. Our hearts are certainly full having you in our family. We've been having a fun summer. I can't get over how different life is this summer than it was last summer. It makes me wonder what next summer will be like with you.


Unfortunately, your daddy has been traveling for work for most of the month. He spent a week in France and is finishing up a 2 week trip to China right now. We both miss him a lot. Thankfully, we get to Skype with him almost every day. You get so excited when you hear his voice and run straight to the computer if you are in the other room when you hear it. You'll smile and laugh and point at him on the screen. I also catch you pointing at the computer and saying "daddy" all the time now throughout the day. You sure miss him. You are more clingy when he is gone, and I think it's because you feel a little less secure when he is away. You make sure to stick close to me. He will be home soon and is staying put for awhile which we are both excited about.

You are still not super verbal, just saying a few words and mainly communicating through pointing (and grunting sometimes). Your receptive vocabulary continues to amaze me though. You understand (and obey) simple commands that I tell you all the time- like "bring that to mommy," "go find your milk," , "give mommy a kiss" etc. Again, I know that you are understanding even more than we think you are.

Your favorite toys right now are your dump truck and your popcorn popper. You ride on your dump truck and push the buttons all day long. You are figuring out your popcorn popper more and more too. It's rarely quiet in our house anymore. You continue to enjoy looking at books but will only sit still and let me read an entire book to you when you are sleepy. Playing outside is one of your all time favorite things. Grammy and Papa Joe got you a water table and between that and your swing set, and Rhapsody's toys, you are entertained for a long time when we are outside. I just wish it wasn't so hot, so we could be out there more. You definitely love water but prefer just playing in it as opposed to swimming. I think you get insecure when you can't touch and walk around in the swimming pool. You love sprinklers, water hoses, pitchers, and the bath tub, of course.

 

 Sesame Street is your favorite show (probably because it's the only one I let you watch). You start dancing and laughing when I take the remote and tell you I'll turn it on for you. You hand me the remote several times during the day to turn it on, but I usually just let you watch it once per day. I'm noticing improvement in your attention span. You used to lose interest about 10 seconds after the intro song ended, but now it will hold your attention for several minutes at a time. 

I'm guessing you weigh close to 24lbs. You wear 12-18 month and 18 month clothing and a size 4 diaper. You are growing up so fast!

I think you are getting close to being ready to drop your morning nap. We have had such a consistent nap schedule for so long that it feels weird changing it up, but I've noticed in the last few weeks that if you take a good morning nap, you will not go down in the afternoons. There are still days when you take two naps, but lately I've been trying to keep you up in the morning and put you down after lunch (between 12:30 and 1:00), depending on our schedule for the day. You're doing pretty good on one nap a day, but you are definitely more tired in the evenings now while you are adjusting.

You are sleeping pretty consistently from 8:00pm to 7:00am. You wake up happy every morning and play in your crib until we come and get you. I've noticed you like being in your crib a lot more now that you have to leave your pacifiers there. Even if you won't take an afternoon nap, you are content to sit and play in your crib (and suck on your paci). You'll sit and play for close to an hour sometimes before you want to get out. When I got in to get you, you'll grab two to three pacifiers before you reach up for me to get you, and then you'll drop them one by one back into your crib. I wonder if you're trying to sneak one out :). You don't like me to rock you as much anymore. You'll either want to sit up and play in my lap or you'll squirm and want down, so I'll just put you in your crib and you usually play for a few minutes before you fall asleep. I miss those sweet, cuddly, quiet times with you, and on the off chance you're really tired and will let me rock you, I soak it up!

Your favorite foods right now are bananas, yogurt, applesauce, grilled cheese sandwiches, blueberries, pasta, blackberries, cheese, goldfish, cheerios, and fruit snacks. You're not a big fan of vegetables, but your favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas, and sometimes you'll eat green beans willingly. You also don't really like meat. I think it's because it's hard to chew for you until you get some more teeth. I say sometimes that you hoard food. When you're eating a snack you'll take a fistful of food in each hand and hold onto it until you're ready to eat. Sometimes after a meal, I'll try and wash your hands and find you are still holding food in your fist, while I'm trying to wash it. It's like you just want to save a few bites for later.

You are completely off the bottle. I almost forgot to mention that because we dropped it shortly after you turned 13 months old, so it seems like old news now. I've noticed as the month has gone on, you drink milk out of your sippy cups much better now than you used to. You drink 3-4 cups of milk a day. You eat breakfast shortly after you wake up in the morning between 7:00-7:30, lunch around 11:00-11:30, and dinner between 5:30 and 6:00. You have a snack (usually fruit snacks) and a cup of milk after your nap and usually have some milk shortly before bedtime.

We love you Little Man!

Southern France and Western Oklahoma

Matt spent all last week in Toulouse, France for a training conference. The trip came totally out of the blue. It's funny that we had been preparing ourselves for Matt to have to spend an extended amount of time in China, which thankfully never panned out, and then with just a few days notice, he was on a plane to France. He was gone for eight days attending an Airbus conference and unlike most of his work travel, actually had some spare time to do a little sight seeing.

He visited Carcassone, a walled city built in the 15th century complete with a castle and a cathedral. He showed me about 300 pictures of his time at Carcassone. He really enjoyed getting to see and learn about it.

He also explored the city of Toulouse in the evenings, ate some good food, and put his feet in the Mediterranean sea.

He told me it was the best trip he's gone on for work, partly because of the cool places he visited and partly because he had a mostly normal work week instead of the 80 plus hour weeks he usually puts in while he is traveling for work. 

While Daddy was away, Nathan and I decided we needed to play! 

I had been planning to attend a women's conference at our church for months, and when I found out Matt would be gone that weekend, I was worried I'd have to miss it since my babysitter would be in France. Thankfully, my mom came to the rescue and watched Nathan for me on Friday night and all day Saturday so I could attend. I'm so thankful I could go. It was a wonderful conference. Our speaker was extraordinary. Here is a news clip about the conference:

On Monday, Nathan and I headed West. We stopped in OKC and spent a few hours with Mindy and Carter. We played at the park and enjoyed lunch together. Erica joined us too. It was great to catch up with Mindy. We miss them since they moved last summer. We're hoping to all get together again soon.

After lunch, Nathan and I continued West and spent the next few days in Weatherford visiting family. It was a fun few days playing and being spoiled. We got to spend quality time with Matt's parents, Granny and Grandaddy and Momoo. Nathan had lots of fun playing with Uncle Jeremy's popcorn popper. He mostly just carried it around with him. He does the same thing with his popper at home. He'll push it sometimes, but usually just walks around carrying it.

We went to the splash pad in Weatherford a couple of times

And visited Grandaddy while he was harvesting wheat. Nathan got to see Grandaddy driving the combine. He was a little unsure of the big machine. We'll have to come back next summer during harvest so Nathan can take a ride in the combine.

Once he figured out there were rocks in the front yard, we couldn't keep him out of them. Granny even let him carry them into her house.

He took lots of wagon rides in the backyard and picked apples with Grandaddy.

We had a really great time visiting everyone in Weatherford and were sad to leave. The days went by fast which kept us from missing Daddy too much.

 Nathan made sure to let his daddy know though that the next time he packs for a trip, he is coming along :).

13 Months Old

Nathan,
You are 13 months old! I'm sure I say this every single month, but I am LOVING this stage. You are transforming from a baby to a toddler right before our eyes, and it is fascinating to see. You are learning new things every single day. I feel like a light switch turned on in your brain on your first birthday, and suddenly everything makes sense to you and you are understanding way more than I thought you were. Life is just so, so fun right now.

About the time we left for our cruise, you turned into a full time walker. I hardly ever see you crawling anymore. You walk everywhere and run sometimes too. Life is easier now that you can walk. I can get you out of your car seat and put you down and you'll hold my finger and we walk together instead of me carrying you. It's a little slower, but you're toddling is too adorable to pass up. You can walk much faster if you are holding onto someone's finger, so you look around to grab on when there is somewhere you want to go. Unfortunately, you only like to hold my hand if we are going in the direction you want to go. If I try to get you to go somewhere else, you'll reach up with your other hand to push mine away, then you just sit down and throw a little fit. You forget that I'm still bigger, and I can scoop you up to get where we need to go. This month you also figured out how to go from a sitting position to standing by yourself.

 
Your receptive vocabulary went through the roof this month, or at least you are communicating with us enough that we know you are understanding what we say. You know the meaning of diaper, paci, high chair, walk, outside, sit down, no, no touch, dog, kitty, daddy, mama, Grammy, Papa Joe, high five, bottle, drink, bye bye, nose, mouth, eyes, up, elephant (your little blue stuffed one), and I know there are more that I can't think of. I'm also sure there is more you understand that we don't realize you understand too. You still don't say too many words. You can say, Dada, mama, kitty, dog, hi, and I caught you saying drink once, but that's not consistent. Every single day we catch you showing more understanding and communicating more effectively with us.

Your favorite toys right now are your elephant ball toy, your scooter, dump truck, and tractor. You sit on your dump truck and scoot backwards while you say vroom. Super cute. You still adore being outside, and your favorite outside activity is finding all of Rhapsody's toys and taking them to her. We also blow bubbles and play on your slide pretty often. You love to watch Sesame Street and start dancing when you hear the theme song. Actually, you dance to any music you hear now a days. We have even caught you swaying to the melody of our chiming clock. It is too cute.


Summer time is a fun time with you. We've gone to the splash pad a few times, and we've been swimming once too.

You are still a great sleeper. You sleep from 7:30-8:00 to about 6:00-7:00 and are still taking two naps a day. Every once in awhile you'll refuse to sleep during your afternoon nap, and you'll just play in your crib. You are mostly off the bottle. Occasionally you'll still have one at breakfast or bedtime, but mostly you drink your milk out of a sippy cup. You rarely eat baby food anymore and are almost totally eating table food. I'm still figuring out nutritious, easy meals for you especially for lunch. Thankfully, you are not too picky.
For breakfast your favorites are yogurt, fresh fruit, cereal bars, waffles, and eggs
For lunch we've tried grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, meat sticks, macaroni and cheese, ravioli etc. You also usually have some veggies, fresh fruit, and cheese with your lunch.
You are eating whatever I cook for supper, so there's a lot of variety. Your daddy is a pasta lover so you eat a lot of that. You went nuts over the manicotti I made the other night. I know you ate more than I did!
You have milk with every meal and another 6 oz at bedtime. Honestly you are not a huge milk fan (unless it's in a bottle). You prefer water or juice most of the time.

You weigh about 23 lbs and wear 12 month, 12-18 and 18 month clothes and a size 4 diaper. We recently got you a new car seat too. You are growing up!

We started doing blanket time this month, and you are doing great at it. We set the timer together and then you sit on your blanket and play with your special blanket time toys until the timer goes off. Then we clap and celebrate and you help me clear the timer. I'm so impressed with your obedience and understanding. Sometimes you get tired and will fuss and whine, but you rarely try and get off the blanket. There are several times throughout the day that I see you pointing to your blanket time toys. I think you enjoy it, as much as I do. It's amazing to see my busy, active boy, sitting still and playing quietly for a prolonged period of time!

We are limiting your pacifier use to your crib and in the car. We still let you have it when we aren't at home if you are tired or in a stressful situation (doctor's office, hair cut, church nursery, etc). You know that you have to leave it in your crib and will take it out of your mouth and throw it down when I pick you up. I think sometimes you like to get in your crib and play just so you can have it. I still love to rock you before you go to sleep. We'll grab your blue stuffed elephant and a paci out of your crib and cuddle for a few minutes before I lay you down. It's one of my favorite times with you. 

It's crazy to think about what we were doing last summer and how different you are now! We're just so thankful you are a part of our family.

Matt's Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Matt's birthday over Memorial Day weekend, and it was a fantastic weekend. It's hard for a three day weekend not to be fantastic, but I think this one was extra special. We did so many fun things.

On Saturday afternoon we ran to the zoo for a couple of hours. It was a pretty day and we didn't have any plans for the afternoon, so we decided to go. We are enjoying our zoo membership, because it's no big deal to just run out there for a couple of hours because it's free.

The picture on the turtle is becoming a tradition, and can I just say I love my baby boy's outfit especially the rare moments we had with him actually wearing his baseball cap.

We visited the giraffes, sea lions, monkeys, flamingos, elephants, and the petting zoo while we were there. We also caught a little of the elephant demonstration and watched an elephant getting a bath.

We rode the train around the zoo too before Nathan got totally worn out.

Saturday evening we invited some friends over to help celebrate Matt's birthday. Matt grilled burgers and we visited and played Rock Band. It was a fun night!

We love all of our friends and had fun rocking out with them Saturday night.

Before everyone left for the evening, we ate cheesecake. It wouldn't be Matt's birthday without cheesecake :).

On Sunday night we were thinking of things to do and decided to try a Driller's baseball game. Oh my goodness, we all had such a good time.

We sat on the lawn right by the children's area. Nathan walked all around.

We let him play at the splash pad. He had a blast playing in the all the water.

It started to get a little chilly and we saw him shivering once, but he didn't want to leave. We dried him off and changed him, but all night he kept wandering back over there hoping we'd let him play in the water. There are several splash pads around our city and we've already tried a few of them out since Sunday. I'm sure we'll be frequenting them a lot over the summer!

He played at the playground for awhile too.

And of course he ate some snacks and a couple bites of our hot dogs.

Oh yeah, there was a baseball game going on in the background too. Nathan liked to walk around, and the only time he sat still was while he was eating. Good thing Matt and I aren't huge baseball fans, because we only caught bits and pieces of the game.

We all had such a good time and can't wait to go to another game soon!

Monday was Matt's actual birthday and he didn't have to go to work! For his birthday dinner he wanted to grill steaks. My parents joined us for dinner. All he requested for dinner was steak and bread. Oh my husband, that's all he ate too.

We ate and played a game of Settlers. It was a great way to end our long weekend.