Month 16

Crazy to think Anthon has been alive sixteen months. This month was full of some more fun, stick in a bottle, enjoy and remember kind of days. Anthon's gotten to the point where he can help me with laundry and help clean windows---SO stinking fun. Well, okay, help is a relative term. But, he loves doing things with me and I'm eating it UP. What did I even do before I had my own personal buddy to do everything with? ...

Okay, maybe I worked a little bit faster. 

But I definitely didn't smile as much ;) 

Here is a fire hydrant flow of photos for you from Anthon's 16th month of life.
(March 17-April17)

 

As I mentioned before, household chores are a whole new ball of fun. Anthon sits on the dryer and throws things into the washer for me, and then pushes things from the dryer door, into the dryer to be dried. SO stinking fun.  

 Helping me change his sheets... hahaha

 

Helping me vacuum....

Did I mention? HATS. This child had one serious love of hats this month. Granted, it was still chilly enough that we wore until April. He also mastered the art of putting hats on himself. And, as pictured, anything we help him see as a potential hat. hahaha. My nail polish bag makes just the perfect size hat. I put in on my head once to be funny and he has seen no other valid use for it since. 

 This is how Anthon lets me know he's ready to go outside. Shoes off the shoe rack and hat on his head. 

 I am also convinced that Anthon's hats never look cuter than when he puts them on himself. Be it caty-whompus or hippie style, homeboy knows JUST how to wear a hat, you know, when he's putting it on himself. 

Also, one of the cuter things you'll ever hear....

One of Anthon's bears has a hat that Anthon gets out everytime we read 'Go Dog, Go'. Whenever we get to the 'do you like my hat' page, Anthon puts on the bear's hat. He then takes it off when we turn the page. 

I think it's safe to say walking around Target is one of our favorite family activities this month. Many of our cutest pictures have been taken in this red-walled wonderland. 

Easter this year was a blast. Bubbles, coloring, and playing with plastic eggs were by FAR the favorites. We actually never did an Easter egg hunt, as Anthon was so enthralled by merely dumping the eggs out of their respective bags/buckets multiple times a day that Easter egg hunting simply escaped us. The dumping of the eggs would be the first thing he did when he walked into our front room. We would help him put them (back) away after playing with them about seven times a day. He LOVED them. 

Coloring also became part of that ritual. If, by coloring, I mean, dumping out the eggs, and then dumping his box of crayons on top of his coloring book after getting it out. haha. He colors a little too, but mostly dumps. I think when either Matthew or I sit to color with him, we end up doing most of the coloring while he moves on to another activity. 

And a very color coordinated Easter Sunday picture to boot...

 
When Matthew feeds Anthon, he does all the feeding, to avoid making a massive mess. It partly (well, mostly) drives Matthew nuts that I let Anthon feed himself because it gets food allllll over. All over himself, all over the floor, all over, well, everywhere else, too. haha, but I'm telling you, Anthon is SO stinking happy when he feeds himself! I just love watching him! From figuring out how to turn that dang spoon so the laddle portion will get to his mouth, to smearing yogurt all over his tray, to, yes, smearing whatever peanut-buttery thing is in his hand into his hair--the kid LOVES it. And so do I.

 

This was the first month Anthon really used spoons. Mostly, he just wouldn't eat until he had a utensil in his hand, though he wouldn't necessarily use said utensil. I think life became a lot easier when we finally bought baby spoons. After realizing him using an adult spoon was the equivalent of me using a wooden cooking spoon (both the size of our respective forearms...), I decided it was the motherly thing to do.

 

 

 

We got our first pet this month--Bart, or, Bartholomew. He's a black dolly and we love him. Anthon, at naptimes and bedtime, after waving goodbye to his toys and the front room, then comes and waves goodbye to his fish in the tank in our room before heading (blanket in hand, bink in mouth) to his bedroom. It's beyond adorable. We also got two guppies--Homer and Illiad. They're orange and Anthon loves them. 

Which leads me to my next point...

The color orange. 

Take a moment to look through the next two pictures. Notice anything....orange?

 

haha, Anthon LOVES orange. He will dump out his whole box of crayons and then only use or carry around the orange ones. In a room full of balls, he only picks up the orange ones and carries them with him. His orange ballapalooza ball is the almost always in hand, while any other colored balls come and go. 

General Conference was this month. Anthon was asleep for one of the sessions, which means the majority of our conference looked like some derivative of this:

 haha, Easter eggs, drawing pictures for Anthon instead of taking notes, being entertained by/entertaining little man. Please note the dumped crayons and plastic eggs, per my description above :P

Surprisingly, it wasn't too hard to still get a few somethings out of conference. A tender mercy from the Lord to those raising his kiddos here on Earth :) 

Anthon for some reason woke up at 5 or 5:30 quite often this month. Brutal for me, fun for Matthew, as he got to share some breakfasts and farewells with Matthew in the mornings!

They redid the brick outside our apartment; this provided Anthon (and many of the workers) days of entertainment. I don't think I'll ever again take for granted people who wave at babies and interact with them--he LOVES it.


This month was a lot of being outside, as the weather heated up. (And didn't heat up, as you see in the below picture)
 
My little Christmas Story Baby.

As most of you know, I LOVE being outside. Anthon, as you may have gathered, what with his hat-putting-on and shoe-putting-on-attempts, does as well.

Parks are a hit. Though, MUCH more terrifying with his increasing mobility and ability to walk around the play structures.Seriously, if I could count the number of mini-heart attacks I have....

Death grip, people, death grip.

 
This is one of my favorites of he and Matthew.

Puddle jumping (or...stepping), as well as just being out in the rain are included in Anthon's list of favorites this month. Gosh. His little face just kills me.

 
This picture combines rock throwing AND rain. Win, win, win.

Rocks, people, are his LIFE. He gathers them, throws them, gathers them again; carries them around with him; has a whole pile in his stroller for when we go on walks.... He's also taken to throwing rocks in sewers and loves to hear them splash; he looks up at us with the cutest little expression of excitement after each throw/drop.

You name it, as far as rock loving is concerned, and he does it (and loves it).
He first discovered the phenomena of rock throwing by our downstairs neighbors back patio, where his initial awe was as a result of the noise they make when they hit the other rocks. For the first while, we would just sit in piles of rocks (like the pictures above), throwing rocks. His rock throws were often accompanied by an epic sound effect (something like a gunshot noise...haha) and followed by an excited face (something like the picture on the right above) to share the excitement with mom or dad. Eventually, dad (naturally) introduced Anthon to throwing rocks into the pond. His world was blown. And will, surely, never be the same.

Blanket rides made an official appearance this month. These are a childhood staple in Matthew's household, and there are dozens (if not more) family videos to prove it. We're happy to continue the tradition :)

To transition to our next love this month, you'll notice, along with the rocks in the cupholders and hands below, that Mickey Mouse accompanied Anthon on one of our walks. This month, Anthon LOVED Mickey. A present from our adorable elderly neighbors, this little guy has secured himself a place in Anthon's heart, along with a few other stuffed animals.

Yes...just putting his stuffed animals in his highchair and feeding them.
OKAY, is he not going to be the world's BEST big brother one day??

Okay, to sum things up. Anthon's favorites include:
-rocks
-yogurt
-cheese
-the color orange
-being outside
-hats
-puddle jumping

Words he's saying, (though not super often)
-mah (mom)
-dah (dad)
-hi
-bye

Moments I want to never forget
-Anthon sitting in my lap helping me type letters on the keyboard to enter in our Pampers Rewards :)
-Anthon sitting in my lap with me, using newspaper to wipe off the windows and holding the bottle while I spray it
-Anthon's 'super excited' stance, where he marches off, stops suddenly, tilts his upper half forward, puts his arms straight back, and makes a 'wooooo' restrained, TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT for this little body kind of noise
-Anthon pulling me in by my neck as I'm holding him at bedtime for loves <3

Month 16 was so fun.

The rest of summer has been just as fun.
Stay tuned....for another two months of updates; they'll be here....eventually ;)

The Fastest 18 Months

And, so it happened. Just like that. (*snaps fingers*) My little boy is in nursery. For those of you who aren't familiar with the LDS church, nursery is Sunday School and play time for toddlers during two hours of church; kiddos start going when they're a year and a half old.

What? This view through the peephole occupied my sights for the majority of the only thirty minutes I wasn't in there with him during those two hours? Why yes. Yes it did.

Don't get me wrong, he did great. Not surprisingly, as I've been going to nursery with him on and off for the last month or two just to get him warmed up to it and keep him busy. Granted, I tried leaving once today and couldn't manage, with the few tears that came. I successfully left him on his own during snacktime. AKA--'Mom? Who's that? Time...'

Baha.. I really think he would have done fine if I'd left him on his own from the start today. But dangit--it's so hard to do! Honestly, that's a whole TWO hours of his life I don't get to watch him, interact with him, and just laugh at how stinking cute he is. (Yes, I know...babysitters are also hard for us. Judge away.)

So, I took what I could get through the peephole and watched him sit with all the other kiddos at that table eating snacks quietly. I returned about ten minutes later to find the leaders blowing bubbles. Anthon kept his distance during that--not for lack of loving bubbles, you'll understand--but for lack of knowing how to interact with a bunch of toddlers swinging their arms in circles and squealing in excitement. haha. One of the leaders took mercy on him and lifted him up and over to the bubbles where he happily popped them from above the other childrens' heads.

People say that missions fly by. My mission was a year and a half--the same amount of time we've had with Anthon in the family and I can very honestly say that the length of these two life events could not feel more different on an emotional scale.

It might be because, at the end of a mission, you've come in contact with so many people, learned so much, changed just about every facet of who you are, and grown so much closer to God. Whereas, with motherhood, and a child--you actually have a little legged, lovable creature running around, reminding you every time you look at him how much bigger he is than the first time you held him (and every time after that). Missions also give you a lot of time to slow down and ponder, what with all the time for study you have. In contrast, motherhood, as Anthon would say it, is 'GO, GO, go!'

All that being said, long or short emotional time frames, I'm grateful for both of those major blessings in my life, particularly, today, for that legged, lovable one that looked just as cute through that peephole as he does up close. Additionally, for my mission, which taught me about my divine role, revelation, trials, and joy--all things that help me truly enjoy Anthon each and every day.

Here's to you, babykins. Happy first day of nursery :)

Fifteen Months

Month 15 consisted of many days that left me saying, 'if I could relive this day over and over again, I totally would.' Literally--those words are in my journal multiple times. This stage has been SO fun with Anthon--be it cushion diving, playing with toys, or having him hang out with me while I work on random things around the apartment or cook. 

The picture below was one of those days. We had intended to have a mommy-son date day that was meant to consist of a Wendy's lunch and the Saratoga Children's Museum....

But..... it was seniors day at Wendy's.

 This meant they were playing oldies music for Anthon to rock out to, and that there were WAY too many cute old people around adoring and interacting with Anthon for us to stay a halfway reasonable amount of time.... 

haha, I think we were there for two hours. These two hours were full of waves, dancing, eating, watching, and just enjoying. When we were finally finished eating, I followed him around for awhile as he walked around Wendy's. He stood behind one of the windows by the entrance for about ten minutes waving goodbye and hello to those coming and leaving. 

I think it's safe to say he made many a person's day that day (including mine :)

Needless to say, by the time we left, it was already time for his next nap, so we passed on the Children's Museum.

By the way....got my hair done this month. Bangs and blond--it's like the sixth grade all over again....

haha, but really. That was my hair in sixth grade. lol. It's a fun change...and my hair didn't really get so dark until having Anthon, so, really--it almost feels more natural to have lighter hair, as ironic as that statement is

One thing I've really learned the meaning of this month, as Anthon has become more independent, is the phrase, 'seeing the world through a child's eyes'. This picture below was taken the first time I let Anthon down to walk around outside on his own. Every little noise, movement, and sight filled his little face and being with wonderment. Seeing the world outside from his height was seeing the world for the first time, and it was one of the most magical things to witness; it's a moment I'll cherish forever--one I took a mental video of. 

Don't get confused by this, Anthon could have walked outside much sooner; it had just been so cold that we hadn't been outside been outside much. Additionally, he's been sick, so we'd been out even less, consequently.  

 LOVE this next picture

 A rock in each hand, a random stick we found and picked up, and pointing at an airplane. 

Anthon developed the habit of, right when we get to the bottom of our apartment stairs (assuming I can even keep him in my arms that long, with him being so excited to walk...haha), bending over the little garden and selecting two rocks or wood chips to carry around with him--one for each hand. 

 

Inspecting my cleaning job of the fridge...

Month fifteen, Anthon would often BEG us to take the cushions of the couch. It used to be more so he could dive on the couch cushions. He still does that sometimes, but he would actually get more excited just to sit on the un-cushioned couch...funnily enough. I think he liked the fact that, with a cushion removed, he could climb up from the floor unassisted. 

Trips to the library are no longer a, 'sit on the mat and pull out board books or play with the wire toy thing....' Granted, he still loves the wire toy, but, this particular trip, it was all I could do to keep up with Anthon walking through the aisles and up to the windows. 

So, SO fun :) 

 

Wondering where his next chocolate chip is...

Anddd....his Grandpa Lyn says these next two pictures are before and after pictures for a diet program. I don't think there's a better caption for them!

 

Anthon's 15th month appointment: 

21 lbs (12th percentile)

31'' (50th percentile)

49 cm head circumference (93rd percentile)

We had to go back later for his 15 month shots, since he was sick at the time of his initial appointment. Homeboy has shots figured out, as he started balling the SECOND we entered the exam room :( Granted, he was all smiles by the time doc came in, but that soon changed :( 

Afterwards, I took him into the waiting room to get him dressed again so he could watch TV while I dressed him. He was so distressed :( 

 This row of curls though!! KILLS me! 

This was actually the only time I've seen two distinct rows like this. But he's still got plenty of curl back there, especially after bath and before he's taken a nap or gone to bed :) 

 Since Anthon still has his milk allergy, yogurt is a no-go for him. One of Matthew's co-workers knows this and bought him some coconut yogurt at the store. Sweetest thing ever! 

He was loving it, in case that is unclear...haha. He quickly took to dipping his banana in it. 

 With the warmer weather and the return of outdoor adventures, I've decided that Spring, for my soul, is like breathing again. 

I've been debating whether or not I like having all four seasons. Not because we're debating moving right now, just because I have been thinking about it. I think I'd be okay with just three. Who knows, maybe I'd surprise myself and miss winter. 

One thing I have been pleasantly surprised by in New York is the amount of sunshine here; I was mentally prepared for clouds--but all four seasons really do have their fair share of sun here. From what I hear, that may not be typical....but, it has been for the last year and a half or so, and for that, I am grateful! If Heavenly Father is trying to keep us here, he's starting the right way :)

 Andd....a throwback picture from ages ago when my mom was here that she had on her phone. I LOVE it and this little snow-suited kiddo of ours.

Favorite Things this month included: 

-CHEESE (still. If I'm trying to get him to put his bink away so we can leave his bedroom, I say the word cheese and that thing is in his crib faster than I can open the door)

- The return of wildlife (YAY spring. Anthon about died of excitement when the squirrel returned to our patio a few times)

-Eating by the window (again, for the wildlife--we'll watch the trees sway, birds fly by, and sometimes mister squirrel). 

-Shooting hoops with dad (Matthew now does extreme hoops with Anthon, lifting him to have him bounce of walls, furniture, the floor, and anything else before bringing it in for the dunk. Anthon quickly learned that this spree lasts longer if he refuses to dunk the ball, which leads to additional bounces off things. Needless to say, Matthew's been getting a good workout ;) 

-Shows (This mama has a massive paranoia about my kids getting addicted to electronics, so its not very often we watch. However, he'll point at the TV while grabbing our white blanket (which we always snuggle up to watch with) to see if he can persuade me. 

-DANCING. (Homeboy LOVES to dance. And, if you follow me on facebook or instagram, you've seen some of his moves yourself. He can dance better now than I think I ever will.)

-WAVING GOODBYE (Oh my gosh. Whenever Matthew or I (or anyone) leaves. First we lift him up to this window 

 

then there is some jumping involved, some waving, if you're lucky, some kiss blowing, and then he'll dive back for us to take him to the door to wave some more and watch the leaver go. It's back and forth a few times until the person drives away. This process, though I'm not sure how it began, makes goodbyes an exciting thing, rather than a traumatic one; we're very grateful for it! 

-Pianos (Sitting in sacrament meeting is a thing of the past. These days, I often go into a room that has the chapel speakers in it. Anthon walks around, plays the piano, picks up random things. I follow. Sometimes, I even manage to listen to the talks playing in the background. :P Here's a picture from one Sunday Anthon loved in particular, when two little girls in our ward joined him in the hall. He was in HEAVEN. 

We love this little squish of ours.

Month Fourteen, Personality Style....

This hand motion, often accompanied by his other hand, has been a big part of month fourteen for Anthon. This is mostly due to the fact that they have been renovating the apartment below us. Every time Anthon hears banging or an unusual noise (which was daily, often hourly), he'll do this which his arms, and stick his lips out just a bit with his mouth slightly open, eyes wide, as if to say, 'ah! mom, did you hear that?? What was that??' Truly adorable. NOT so truly adorable when I'd be snuggling him before putting him down, only have him hear a noise, pop his head and arms up excitedly, and have my bedtime efforts thwarted.... haha, okay. It was still adorable. It just made me feel fewer happy thoughts towards the hard working construction workers downstairs after a few missed naps.

This post will be one many probably don't read....I haven't updated my journal in ages because I've had too many cute stories to write. I keep adding to the list, dreading a sore hand and not enough time to write them all, rather than just bearing down and doing it. Today, I 'bore' down. ... and, typed it all up :) I don't think many things will give you a better idea of this boy's personality than a few of these stories. They're all from month 14 as well, so I figure they'll be a better synopsis than anything else. 'Postmarked' February 18th...but actually written today :) Just ignore any typos...

Feb 18

Okay… my journal updates are getting to be too much. Here are some adorable things Anthon has done the last week or so that have warmed my heart to the millionth power.

Teddy Bears: Anthon has two teddy bears on his staircase bookshelf in his room. The other night, when I was reading to him in his chair, he got up, walked over to his bookcase, leaned over (in a 90 degree angle kind of way), put his face right up to his bears, and kept it there for about 8 seconds. What a KISSSSS. Gah—cutesttttt thing. He then picked up his bear (which is about half his size), brought it over to me, held it up for me to kiss, and pushed it to me to put on the chair to join us for reading.  He has been LOVING those two bears on his bookcase lately.

He was coloring in his highchair the other day.  I drew a bear on his sheet of paper. He looked at it, then pointed to his bedroom. I knew he wanted his bears. So, I brought one out for him. He grabbed the bear excitedly and pointed to his room again. Apparently, he wanted to the other one, too. So, I brought it out and handed it to him. At this point, Anthon realized the flaw in his plan. He definitely didn’t have enough room for both bears on his high chair table. Haha. He then threw them on the ground. What was perhaps most remarkable about this encounter was that I  drew an animal well enough for him to draw a word association. Mom win! Hahaha.

Fish to Read: So, Anthon has been bringing his teddy bears over to read. Yesterday, got both his bears, and then pointed to his bookcase. I wasn’t sure what he was pointing to, but I told him he could go ahead and get it. So, he walked over and tried to pull out one of his fabric cube drawers. He got it just open enough to pull out his big yellow fish (which, honestly, I didn’t even know he knew was there! I guess he got it out once this week… haha—the memory on that boy!) He then brought it over to read with us.

Bedtimes with dad: If Matthew is home, Anthon won’t let me put him down without dad. We’ll get to Anthon’s bedroom and before even entering, he’ll look at me, put both his hands palms up in the air in a ‘where’s dad??’ way, and then walk back out of the room. If Matthew is on the couch, he’ll walk over and stand next to him. He’ll the motion with his arm for Matthew to come with him. Matthew will stand up, and Anthon will stop a few times along the way, continuing to motion to make sure Matthew isn’t going to walk off somewhere else. If Matthew’s in the kitchen, he’ll do the same thing. He also won’t walk through the bedroom door until Matthew walks in, not wanting him to sneak off at the last second. It’s happened to me a few times too, where Matthew will get Anthon ready for bed, and I’ll be in the kitchen. Anthon just walks around the kitchen corner and looks at me—‘helloooooo. Mom, it’s bedtime. You think this is a two-person thing??’

Bathtime excitement: When Anthon is particularly tired, he’s not as thrilled about taking baths. However, if he’s well napped and we time things right, he gets ALL sorts of excited for a bath. A few months ago, it used to be that I would just turn on that bathroom light and he would come booking it (crawling) to the bathroom for a bath. The other day, I was starting the water and getting things set up, when Matthew walked in with Anthon. Anthon stopped in the doorway, leaned forward with his arms stretched backward, and said ‘woooooooo’ excitedly. He did this repeatedly until I turned around to acknowledge/join in the excitement.

Saying ‘putt-putt’: Darla gave us a book called Putt-Putt Little Red. Anthon’s picked up a new word accordingly and now says, ‘puh-puh-puh’ when I get it out and ask him if he wants to read it.

Whisper ‘dad’: The other night, Matthew had his eyes closed as he sat by the bathroom door for Anthons bath. Anthon was (of course) pointing at him and trying to get his attention. I encouraged him waking Matthew up and said, can you say ‘daaaaaad’ (the daaaaad part being a whisper). He then leaned forward (standing), his arms on the bathtub, and whispered ‘daaaaaaaad’. SO cute. First time I’ve ever seen him whisper.

Anthon is a champ at taking commands. He totally knows when I encourage him to do something (i.e. grab a teddy bear, get a toy, play with his cars)

Bedtime Bink: Anthon’s been really sick for about two weeks and it’s been killing me. Anywho, the other night, I went in to comfort him when he couldn’t really breath because of his stuffy nose. I was holding him, swinging back and forth in the chair. I thought it would help him breath through his mouth if I took his bink out, so I pulled it out (with hopes of him continuing sleeping). He then proceeded to SCREAM. Like, oh my goodness, the type of screams I don’t hear very often. So, I tried to console him and give him his bink back. After about a minute of utter distress, he calmed down and laid his head back on my shoulder.  About thirty seconds later, he popped his head up, alert as anything. His eyes were bright and he looked as if he’d just had an epiphany. He then pulled the bink out of his mouth and put it into my mouth with a huge smile on his face. –as if to say, ‘well, sheesh—why didn’t you say so! Of course I’ll share! I just didn’t realize!’ He then, being very satisfied with himself and his realization, laid his head back down on my shoulder. SO cute. About three minutes later, Anthon put his hand up to my mouth (while still having his head on my shoulder), in search of his bink. I moved my hand to my mouth to put my bink where he’d find it. He pulled it out and contentedly put it back into his own mouth before nuzzling into my shoulder again.

Projects: Anthon has started doing little projects on his own. This is definitely a new thing, as he typically likes to do things with mom and dad. About two weeks ago, I had my nail polishes out. He wanted to put them in his high chair. So, I lowered his chair down. He would put all the nail polish on the table, and then individually push each polish back into the chair. Then, he would duck his head down underneath and pull them back out one by one until he had a stack next to him. He would then start the process over again. SO cute to see his little brain at work; it would be so fun to know what he’s thinking all the time. 

Favorite things this month...

-shadow puppets on the wall (I use my phone flashlight--sometimes at bedtime, sometimes during the day :)

-teddy bears

-fried rice

-bananas

-cheese

-praying (he folds his little hands under his chin and it is THE cutest thing you'll ever see).

-drawing. Crayons would be fun, if mom used them. But, she doesn't. So, pens are far more intriguing.

-having mom and dad push him around on his rocket and lightning mcqeen car

I think these are the words that best describe Anthon, as of this month, in no particular order: 

-social

-tender

-busy

-loving

-enthralled (by most things he sees. I still LOVE how his first inclination is to look to us to share in his wonder of the things he sees/holds and noises he hears).

We're now actually halfway through month 15. 

But, let it be known, month 14 was so fun.