2-1/2!

Someone around here turned two-and-a-half years old last Wednesday... I can't believe that he's over halfway to three. That seems way too big! He's acting so much older these days, too. Speaking more clearly and more maturely, remembering so many things, understanding things we never would have guessed that he'd be able to comprehend... And the list goes on.

Some things that are making us smile these days:

- Questions like "Where go?" and "Who is?," the latter of which also means "What is it?" Also, "Daddy help you?" meaning, "Daddy, will you help me?"

- Singing songs from memory - and what a memory he has! Right now his favorite is Anthem Lights' "I Wanna Know You Like That." 

- Upon waking from his nap, immediately remembering exactly what it was we were talking about doing when he woke up and running to go do whatever it is. (i.e. Eyes open, AJ says "No rain? No rain on the sandbox? Play in the sandbox!" while running to the back door.)

- Talking about the baby, what baby will be doing once he or she is born, and about the birth. AJ is very excited to cut baby's cord, but always reminds us "No kid scissors."

- Asking for something (usually something to eat - he always wants something to eat), then nodding and grinning at us while saying "Yeeesss," as if that guarantees a favorable response. Unfortunately it doesn't always work, but it does always make us smile. Hopefully we'll get that on video sometime soon!

- Getting excited about recognizing letters. We don't do any kind of remotely formal learning around here; the most in-depth we get about the alphabet is reading "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" (boy does he love that book!). But he's still recognizing "K about to cry!" and W, and "L knotted like a tie!," among a few other letters. He also asks us to write specific letters down on paper ("Big F, little f!"), and is even noticing the letters on highway signs.

- Remembering the author and illustrator of the books we read. It's not something we stress a lot while we read, beyond saying their names right after we read the title, but he's picked up on it anyway. He knows that all of the Bear books are written by "Karma Wilson" and illustrated by "Jane Chapman," that Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is written by Bill Martin "Jr! and John Archambault" and illustrated by "Lois Elhert," and that Hello Baby is written by "Jenni Overend."

- Asking questions about Jesus and heaven; for example: "Surfing in heaven?" I can only imagine how fun it's going to be to talk about what heaven really is or isn't like someday... I imagine remembering his questions are going to give us quite a few laughs up there!

- While watching football with Daddy, AJ started running around the living room in circles before falling down and fumbling the ball. Why? Because that's what he'd just seen the Cowboys do - no lie! We, of course, cracked up, and now when we ask him how the Cowboy's play he does the same thing - and we didn't even have to teach him! ;)

- Our boy has become a pretty good napper and sleeper; he naps around 10am for an hour or so, depending on when Daddy comes home from work. The second that front door starts to open, though, AJ is wide awake and ready to see his daddy! At nighttime, he falls asleep in his room and stays there until about 6:30am or so, most days. While I've been on bed rest, he falls asleep with me on the days that James has school or volunteering (three nights a week, total) and then gets carried to bed once James gets home. He usually nurses just once in the morning; pregnancy has made nursing drive me a little crazy, so I'm looking forward to things going back to normal - albeit a new normal - once baby is here. Every once in awhile AJ will talk about baby nursing too, and it's nice to hear him sound so at ease with the idea.*

We tried to take a few photos on Wednesday while we were downtown, before going upstairs to our midwife's office, but someone was a little too quick for us. Here's the best we could do:

Hiding his grin behind Daddy's shoulder.

Blurry boy: The best picture we could get!

This would be why...

There were too many birds to chase!

Happy Two-and-a-Half Years, AJ! We so love watching the little boy you are becoming, and we are so thankful God chose us to be your parents!

*I know that the subject of toddler nursing makes some people uncomfortable, but as a mama, I know how encouraging it can be to find that you're not alone in this often-not-talked-about part of mothering. So, it is in that spirit of encouragement and camaraderie that I write about it in this space. It is my hope that in not hiding this part of our lives, nursing can once again become normal (and far from newsworthy) for those who come after us, especially for our children and their families in the future.

23 Months

While I pretend that nothing big is happing next month, let's just focus on what's already going on, shall we?

As of February 12th, AJ has been putting two words together. First, it was "Ni-night, Daddy." The following day it was "Bye, Mimi." He's even saying "love you" now!

More new, frequently used words: Awesome, milk ("momp"), balloon, gone, me, I, moon, outside ("side"), phone ("shome"), cracker, granola ("gongonc"), sorry, sit, Missy. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, as he's repeating pretty much everything these days.

He knows many animal sounds now. This should sum it up:

As of February 13th, he can (occasionally) jump and actually get both feet off of the ground. Who knew we'd be considering that an accomplishment? Apparently it takes more coordination than it appears!

He's now asking for "momp" (milk) daily, and as long as he's eaten his food, he gets it. He is still nursing multiple times a day, sometimes asking to nurse right after he finishes a cup of "momp," so clearly this doesn't seem to be a replacement for him.

He sings! The first song he sang, on February 23rd, was "Rise" by Shawn McDonald. He sings the last word of the line: "...rise..." "...me..." So cute! On March 5th, he started singing Newsboys' "God's Not Dead" while we were eating lunch.

His sweet face right after serenading me for the first time.

He's been incessantly slipping little bits and pieces of things inside the cabinet, and apparently (as I learned today), the fridge.

Time to put those muscles to use!

His other new favorite pastime? Putting all of the couch cushions on the floor and then jumping off of the couch onto them. So funny. He'll ask "mo?" and "momp?" to see if we want him to jump again. (Yes, milk and jump are apparently very similar words. You didn't know?)

Last, but certainly not least: HE SLEEPS! That's right. Finally, at 23 months old, for almost a week now he's been falling asleep and staying that way until morning (some days 6am, some 5:30, one not-so-great 4:20am wake up, and a glorious 6:40am this morning). He's even been falling asleep without us being in the room - I just lay him down, we pray together, then I kiss him and leave him with "Goodnight, I love you" - though we do play a 10+/- minute game of "AJ, stop talking or we'll have to shut your door." All in all, I'd call this a wonderful success!

Big boy on Ford Island. The trees on this island (all of Oahu) are awesome!

Up in the branches.

Trying so hard to pull the root up.

Silly boy trying to get us with his twig.

Seeing what he can make that twig to do.

I almost can't believe how much fun this boy is to spend our days with. We love you so much, Andrew James!  More than we ever could have imagined!

 Happy 23 Months!

The Little Milk Drinker

On Wednesday morning, AJ begged for a cup of milk while his daddy was cooking breakfast. He couldn't have asked any more earnestly if he tried. Normally, he only has a small sip out of our cups every once in awhile, since he's still nursing. But he was so sweetly asking us if he could "peez" have some milk, that we didn't want to say no. I think he was pretty pleased...

Trying to clean off his milk mustache.

Uh oh...

It's all gone!

Cheers!

EIGHTEEN MONTHS OLD!

So now that the seventeen month post is up, here is the eighteen month update. Our boy is getting too big, too fast. It seems like every day he is more little boy and less baby. Where has the time gone? Here's what he's up to now:

- Talking much more, saying "go, dog, go;" "stop;" "bye-bye;" and "cheese." He also knows what a cow, sheep, and dog say, and he "says" bird, truck, and bike (which can mean motorcycle, bicycle, or moped), though those words are really only distinguishable to James and me.

- He knows when a picture is upside down instead of right side up. Boy was I surprised when I realized that he knew this! They learn so quickly, these little people.

- He tells us as soon as he's gone to the bathroom, nearly without fail. We've purchased a little potty that we keep in our downstairs bathroom for him to use (he seems very nervous on the big toilet). We're not "training" him; instead, we're just following his cues and letting him use the potty as he seems interested.

- He can climb onto the desk chair, and therefore onto the desk now. Definitely not ideal, but we're not going to relocate the chair, so he just requires even closer supervision when he's in the living room.

- We night-weaned a couple of weeks ago, so he's no longer nursing from about 7pm until 4am. It was a pretty easy process and only took him a couple of nights to be completely content with a sip of water instead. I think that explaining to him - and reminding him often - that once he goes to sleep, there won't be any more milk until the morning really helped. Now he says "ni-night" to the milk after he says goodnight to us; so sweet! He still asks at night (more out of habit, I think) and night-weaning hasn't seemed to improve our night waking situation at all. But, that'll improve in due time.

- He "gets" bugs (imaginary ones) all the time now. It's hilarious, except when he licks his hand afterward, which has become his new thing. Yuck. (Of course, he thinks he's hilarious when he does it.) But the "bug getting" cracks us up, because he'll do it in such a spontaneous, unprovoked manner. We'll have to try to videotape it soon...

- He understands so much of what we're saying, it's crazy. We're starting to be even more careful about what we say and do in front of - and within earshot of - our little sponge. He's already becoming quite a good listener for a one-and-a-half-year-old, which is pretty impressive to us.

- He's teething like there's no tomorrow. Oh my goodness. He can't seem to stop himself from biting everything, and it's driving me a bit crazy. Come on, teeth! Let's get a move on already!

His eighteen month well-visit isn't until the 31st, so we'll find out how big he's gotten then. I think there's been a pretty significant change since last time; his appetite has increased dramatically, and he's reaching further onto the countertops and table all the time. We'll see! (But I do hope he slows down soon! Let's not rush into this big boy-ness, okay, AJ?)

We took some pictures while we enjoyed a picnic lunch (a new weekend tradition we've started and are loving) at Neal Blaisdell Park, which isn't too far from where we live. Here are some of the better shots:

This is how he walks around all the time now, with his hands folded behind his back:

 My little chip thief; he's quick! Good thing Daddy's quicker!

 "Bird!"

Such a lovely little eater... Look at those cheeks!

Running around the backyard at home:

 "Here, Mama. A rock!"

 Yep, that's sand. Delicious!

I can't believe it's been a whole year-and-a-half that we've had this sweet boy in our lives. Boy, are we blessed! Happy 18 months, sweet boy! We love you!

Traveling with a 15 Month Old

We've travelled with AJ many, many times in his short little life so far, and fortunately we've been getting smarter and smarter about it. Here's what we learned this time (along with a few cellphone shots of the boy on our travels):

Meals: Figuring out meals as you go is not a great plan. We did this on the way to Albany, and it was a pain. And messy. So for the way back, I stopped at Target and bought three different Ella's Kitchen baby food pouches. AJ eats table food exclusively now, but for mess-free airplane meals these veggie-and-fruit-only pouches are amazing. These will be a go-to for future trips! Also, nursing-friendly tops are very helpful for discreet nursing while seated 2.5 inches from a complete (often male) stranger. I just layered a cotton t-shirt over a stretchy camisole; camisole covers the belly, bottom of the t-shirt covers baby's mouth. Pair those with quick mama reflexes (for when distractible toddler suddenly decides he is all done for the eleventh time in two minutes), and our flights were wardrobe-malfunction free.

 Crazy boy sitting so well for a picture on the way to NY.

Luggage: On the way to Albany, we mailed two large flat-rate USPS boxes full of clothes to my parents' house and carried two bags (a diaper bag and a shoulder bag) on the plane. It was nice to not carry everything, but the shipping cost $30 and the two bags I did carry were still kind of heavy and really uncomfortable. On the way back to Honolulu, I packed all of our things into a carry-on suitcase that my mom wanted to donate and carried the necessities in the backpack my wonderful husband ordered me for the Ergo baby carrier. It's a great size, and can be worn as a regular backpack or attached to the front of the Ergo depending on your needs. This made our return trip much more comfortable and enjoyable! (It was somewhat less enjoyable to learn that the airline had left our luggage in Phoenix, but thankfully we got it back the next day. Next time, I'll just carryon one suitcase to avoid the headache.)

Sleepy boy did so very well on the flights back to Honolulu!

Diaper changes: We used cloth diapers throughout our trip, even during 12+ hours of flying through three different airports. And you know what? I'd do it again next time. Honestly, the only downside I can think of is that they take up a bit more space, but I'm okay with that. (Okay, and when he pooped on the long flight back to Honolulu and I had to change him in the tiny airplane lavatory that was not equipped with a changing table, that may have counted toward the downside. Picture a distraught mother looking in every nook and cranny of said 2'x2' lavatory for a changing table, feeling like a moron for not being able to find it - we later learned this older plane had none, which helped my ego a bit - and then changing the 2-1/2' tall boy while he stood on the floor next to me and knocked my glasses off my face. Better yet, don't picture it. It was kind of awful.) So, what did all of this teach me? 1. Cloth diapers are fine, even for transoceanic trips. 2. When changing a toddler on your lap, they are much happier with the situation if their head is near your head, not hanging off your lap near your feet. 3. When changing a stinky toddler in an airplane bathroom, take his shorts off first (as in while you're at your seat), don't waste time looking for the darn changing table if it's not glaringly obvious where it is, and make it quick. It's not like he's enjoying it either.

Watching us takeoff from O'Hare.

Layovers: In trying to keep the boy happiest on the planes where he was much more confined, I tried to tire him out as much as possible at the airports during our layovers. On the way back to Hawai'i, this meant letting him run around the terminal while I followed closely behind. I got a ton of side-eyes for being that mom, but I figured that if he were to scream on the plane next to any of the side-eyers, they would have wished that he had rid himself of some of his restlessness prior to boarding. So, run around the airport, as politely and quietly as possible, it was. "We go behind people, not in front of them," and "We already ate, we don't need to go into that restaurant" were a couple of phrases that I had to use once or twice (or maybe a thousand) times. Unfortunately, so was "AJ, please be GENTLE!" when he found three little boys to play with near our gate. Sometimes he's such a great playmate. This time, he squeezed the littlest boy's arm like crazy; I'm not even sure why, and I felt so horrible, even though the little guy didn't seem to care all that much. Let's hope there's no repeat of that, little boy!

Checking out the baseball exhibit in Phoenix's Sky Harbor Int'l.

All in all, traveling with the boy was wonderful. He was so good on the plane; he was the biggest flirt I've ever seen with every lady we encountered. We sat next to parents of many (six, then nine) on our last two flights back home, which made those legs of the journey much more enjoyable. (Much more so than when we sat next to the twenty-something young man who attempted to play solitaire a few inches from AJ on one of our flights. 52 card pick-up, anyone? Yikes.) As long as I kept our luggage to a minimum, stayed positive, and tried to go with the flow as much as possible, things went well. When I let myself get frustrated and overwhelmed, or got caught up in how very tired I was after traveling alone with a toddler for 12+ hours, things got a little crazy. Sometimes - most of the time - it's all in the attitude. While I'm not planning on making such a huge trip without James again, I'm not at all anxious about our next trip like I was about this one. With a little prep work and a lot of smiles, traveling with baby in tow can be a good time!

Our beautiful view of O'ahu: Almost home!