15 Months

When I pulled out Camryn’s baby book after her 15 month appointment, I realized that I totally dropped the ball on keeping up with her stats and development between 6 and 12 months.  I thought to myself “good thing I have my blog where I’m sure I wrote these things down!”  Nope, not so much.  Sometimes I think that blogging my baby girl’s height and weight and achievements  is a little boring, but I realized two important things.  One, I better blog this stuff if I ever want to remember it.  And two, I really like reading about my friend’s babies so surely I won’t bore everyone single one of my readers.  Right?

So Miss Cami J is 15 months old.  She is such a delight! DSC_8687_web

She weighed in just under 26 pounds and is 31.5 inches.  Her favorite foods are pears, peaches, strawberries, green beans, ham, chicken nuggets, turkey hot dogs, cheese,  goldfish, graham crackers, and cinnamon toast.  She doesn’t really care for carrots or eggs, although I really need to keep trying those.  I should probably try to feed her peas, too, but I have such an aversion to them that I have a hard time inflicting them on her.  Her hair is slowly and surely growing in and she sports a pretty wicked white-blond mullet that looks super duper cute in little piggies.

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She loves people, and still prefers guys over girls most of the time.  We were at Chick-Fil-A earlier this week, and she totally walked up to a grandpa in the kids area and insisted that he pick her up.  (He was there with his grandkids, by the way. He wasn’t a skeezy old man hanging out in a kids play area!)  She loves her daddy and her brothers, and she and Logan seem to have an extra special thing going on lately.  But despite how much she loves the boys in the family, the word she says the most is mama.  She also says uh-oh  and dada, and she does lots of communicating by squealing (every time she sees the cat), grunting, pointing, and using her baby signs for eat, drink, and all done.  Back when she had her tubes put in last summer, they found that she was having some hearing loss due to all the fluid and ear infections.  I expect her language to really take off over the next 6 months.

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She no longer uses her paci, and is doing great without it.  She takes one nap a day, usually for about 2 hours and sleeps from about 7:oo to 7:00 at night.  She has really been the best sleeper ever and that thankfully hasn’t changed!  She is loving her days at Mother’s Day Out.  It took her awhile to adjust, but now she absolutely loves it, and her teachers love her.

She is just a delight and I feel so incredibly blessed and thankful that God gave us such a precious gift.

I’m barely breathing

Okay, that might be a little dramatic, but it’s a little bit true. That’s what you get when you combine fall break on Monday and Tuesday, some pretty major home projects, and a traveling husband on top of our already busy life. I’ve made some good progress on the room reorganizations, but that means other things have been pushed aside. Things like vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms and going to the grocery store. You know, just little things like that.

Sunday, we cleared out our office and shuffled furniture. The desk is now in the dining room and the office closet has been reorganized. We moved the bunkbeds into the office, which is Logan’s new room. We moved the twin trundle bed that used to be in Camryn’s room into Connor’s room.  I made a trip to Ikea and bought (and put together myself, I might add) a new desk for Connor’s room and a new toy shelf for Logan’s room. The toys have been rearranged and put away. I stopped by Home Depot today to pick up some paint samples. I’m still trying to find just the right orange for Logan’s room.  All attempts of getting him to change his mind have failed.  What can I say…the kid knows what he wants and he’s just lucky that I’ll totally go for a bold color.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week, that’s for sure!

All I know is life is busy, life is good, and we are all glad the D is back in town with us. Especially this girl. She is such a daddy’s girl and it positively melts my heart.

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The Mom Pants, Part 3

My friend Danielle sent me this video.  She said it made her think of me.  Aw, how sweet!  It made me laugh out loud.  I mean, for real out loud.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! (And, just for the record, you will find nary a pleat on my mom pants. Although I totally think I could rock the look.)

The Mom Pants, Part 2

So my friend Denise totally called it.  The pants are Dockers, and I have to say that I really am pleased with them.  You know, the hips just ain’t what they used to be before the birth of 3 kiddos!

I bought the Addison Flare Trouser Pants with the Sure Fit waist.  Sure Fit is just a fancy way of saying elastic.  But they don’t look elastic, I promise.

There have been a few other things that have happened lately that totally make me feel like I’m getting old growing up .  I have officially reached the point where I no longer even try stuff on from the juniors department.  Except when I went bathing suit shopping with Derek over the summer and we needed a good laugh.  I love that I can laugh at myself and my, um, shortcomings in a bikini made for a 17 year old.  There is the big 3-0 coming up in a few months.   I never get carded anymore.  One of my sister’s volleyball players asked if I was older than my sister…she’s older, and not just by a year or two.  (For the record, she does look amazing!)  And now, the mom pants have officially sealed the deal.  I am a grown up.  I choose to embrace it!

The mom pants

I went shopping a few weeks ago. My very simple, jeans and t-shirt wardrobe was in need of a few new things, so I headed to one of my favorite stores. It was a Monday morning, which means I was completely kid free for this shopping experience (a rare treat, indeed.) I browsed and tried on and browsed and tried on some more. It was delightful.

I found a couple of things: a few casual t-shirts, a pair of black capris, a couple of nicer shirts for church or dates, and a new pair of jeans. When I slipped these jeans on, I might have let out a little gasp at how well they fit. I have the hardest time finding jeans that fit all over. They are either too tight in the legs but fit in the waist, or fit in the legs and gap at the waist. These fit all over, plus I liked that they were a nice dark denim and almost looked like slacks. I figured I could dress them up or down. The only problem was they were just a bit too short, but a quick inspection of the hem resolved that problem. They could easily be lengthened.

So I happily purchased the jeans and left Kohl’s with a smile on my face.

The next week, the kids and I drove up to Arlington to go to the fair. I hadn’t had a chance to fix the pants, so I decided to take them to my mom. She is a way better seamstress than me, and seeing as these were like the greatest pants in the world, I didn’t want to risk messing them up.

We went to the fair and had a great time. At some point during the day, I took notice of the pants my mom was wearing. “Hmmm..” I said to myself. “Those look vaguely like my new pants.” I quickly dismissed that crazy thought. After all, while I am a mom, I don’t wear mom pants. But all day long, it plagued me. Finally, I asked my mom where she got them.

You know how this is going to end, right?

The pants I was so excited about are the exact same pants my mom has. And she had them first. And she also loves them and they are some of her favorite pants.

I suppose there are two possible conclusions I can draw from this experience. Is my mom just an exceptionally cool 60-ish year old grandma? Or am I turning into my mom and I’ve officially crossed over into wearing matronly clothes? Something tells me it’s the latter. After all, the pants do have a bit of elastic in the waist. That really should have been my first clue. I tell you what, though. They are some dang comfortable pants. And they fit me all over, waist and thighs. So I think I will just embrace my mom pants and wear them with pride.

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Button pushers

There has been a lot of button-pushing going on in the Thurman fam lately.  I would rate both Connor and Logan at the professional level in regards to their abilities to push each others’ buttons.

The first time I ever used the phrase, a very indignant Connor said “but mom!  we don’t even have buttons!”  Totally cracked me up.  After an explanation, both boys have really latched onto the phrase, and it’s said pretty much on a daily basis by one boy or the other.

Yesterday, Logan was going for an all-time record for the number of Connor’s buttons pushed in one day.  I could see Connor getting more and more frustrated with Logan’s antics.  Finally, Connor just couldn’t handle it any more.

“Mom!  Logan is pushing my buttons and turning my knobs and pulling my levers!  And pulling my levers is the worst!”

Oh, I tried so hard not to laugh.  I really did.  I love that kid, and I love that finally, at almost 7, he has learned (for the most part) to use his words and not his hands.  I quickly decided that Connor could use some alone time so that’s exactly what we did.

And, it confirmed yet again that the boys totally need their own space.  I can’t wait to get this room redo underway!  I ordered Logan’s  bedding for his new room, and I’ve narrowed Connor’s down to 2 choices.  Logan’s favorite color is orange, and if you know me or have been reading my blog long at all, you probably know that I am not afraid of color on the walls.  So when Logan informed me he wanted to paint his room orange, it didn’t phase me at all.  This is the bedding we’ve picked out to work with the orange walls he wants:

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It’s got a bit of a safari theme, but the bedding itself isn’t overly theme-ish.  The sheets have animals on them, but he’ll love that.

Connor wants to go with camo in his room.  It’s been a bit of a challenge finding queen sized camouflage bedding that I like, but I’ve narrowed it down to these two choices:

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I’m really leaning towards choice 1, but it’s a bit more expensive…I think he would love those airplane sheets and the fact that the comforter all camo unlike the first one.  We’ll see.   Besides picking bedding and paint, I’ve got to get a new toy/book shelf, and a smaller desk (to replace the kitchen table that’s in there right now.  Yes, we moved our old table into Connor and Logan’s room.)  I’m going to be scouring Craig’s List or heading to Ikea if I get impatient.  And, of course, Derek and I have to pick out our new bed.  I love house makeovers!  So much fun.

And finally, just to show that the boys aren’t always pushing each others’ buttons…or turning knobs or pulling levers (although it feels like it’s constant lately…), I found this on my Flip video camera this morning.  It made me smile.

A list about my life

1. Connor has strep throat.  I’m praying that no one else gets it, but not holding my breath since Camryn and Logan both managed to drink after him before his doctor’s appointment today.

2. I have some major home reorganization plans that involve new furniture, a major toy purge, painting, and, when it’s all said and done, the boys no longer sharing a room.  These plans take up a lot of my thinking time, and also my computer time as I research exactly what I want to do. I can’t wait to get started!

3.  My Macbook got a facelift.  A back-everything-up, wipe it clean, and start from scratch facelift.  Getting everything back on it has been a bit of a task.  Well worth it though…it’s running like new and I have plenty of space.  Big thanks to my mom for taking care of it all!

4. D is finally back from a two week trip.  And it’s not the last trip this month.  My sister said it perfectly…”do you even have a husband this month?”  I guess all this travel makes up for the fact that he was home the entire month of September, which never happens.

5.  We always like it better when D is home with us (of course), but the kids and I have found a pretty good rhythm for when he is gone.  The secret?  Stay busy, take Megan time while all 3 are in school/mother’s day out, get a baby-sitter if needed, take it one day at a time, cook the worlds easiest meals, stay on top of the laundry and cleaning, and pray for lots of patience and happy attitudes all around.

6.  The kids and I went to visit the grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins this weekend.  We went to the state fair and had a great time, minus Connor starting to get sick that day and the 50ish degree weather which is like arctic cold for us south Texans.  (Pictures of the fair to come.)

7. I had a conference with C’s 1st grade teacher this morning, and she had only great things to say about him.  What parent doesn’t love to hear good things about her child?  He loves 1st grade so much, and is so excited about everything they are learning.  I love it.

8.  I’m exhausted and need to go to bed.  Night!

Schoolwork

I love looking at the kids’ schoolwork and seeing their little minds at work.  Tonight, Connor’s spelling assignment was to use all of his spelling words in a story.  Have you ever tried to construct a story using the words black, pants, grand, stamp, chat, class, plant, pack, mask, last, and graph?  Here is what Connor came up with (and I’ve written it exactly as he did): “A black bird floo over a graph with plants and masks.  The masks got the grand.  The plants war last.  The peple who made it stamped it.  And they started to chat.  They poot the graph in a pack.  They went inside to get there pants on.  And they heded to class.”  Why exactly were these diligent graphers pantsless?  We may never know.

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Last night was open house at Logan’s preschool.  It’s always fun to talk with the teachers (who are the same amazing teachers he had last year), see the video of the kids doing their activities during the day, and bring home lots of the artwork he’s done so far this year.  One of the things I got to bring home was this picture he drew of our family.  I couldn’t wait to get home and ask him about who was who.

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Camryn is on top of Derek’s head like that because “daddy is throwing her up in the air.”  And D is that color because he is “red hot daddy” which means he “can’t get hurt.  Or killed.”  I have the longest legs, because according to Logan “you have the biggest legs.”  And Noah?  Well, that’s his best friend.  He drew Noah instead of Connor because “Connor is at school.”   This picture definitely speaks volumes about C and L’s relationship over the past few weeks!  There are times when they get along great and are the best of friends.  And there are times, like right now, when they drive each other crazy.  But Noah?  He’s a true and solid bff.  In Logan’s mind, he might as well be family.

I’m a very rational person

We have been having the most disgusting humidity lately.  It’s sweltering outside, and it’s rained a lot, but the rain just makes it more and more humid.  I’m so over it, along with every other person who lives in the Houston area.

It’s midnight right now, and still 81 degrees outside.  It was in the mid-nineties today.

The mosquitoes are terrible.  They are they worst I ever remember them being since we moved here 4 years ago.  I hear the mosquito killing trucks driving around, but they are not even making a dent in the mosquito population.

All that leads me into why I am up blogging at 12:06 a.m.

Sometime around 10:15, I doze off on the couch.

At 10:30, I wake up, do my final check of the kids and the doors, brush my teeth and climb in bed.  I turn on HGTV and watch the last 20 minutes of First Time Homebuyers.  I think see and hear a few mosquitoes buzzing around, but I try to ignore them.  I am sort of a freak about bugs at bedtime, and 9 times out of 10, it’s nothing.

At 11:00, I switch the channel to watch an old episode of Laguna Beach, which is just as stupid as it was the first time around.  And just like first time it aired, I find myself unexplainably hooked and staying up late almost every night just to see what happens next in the Kristin/Stephen/LC drama.

The mosquitoes are still buzzing around.  I feel like there might be one in the sheets, eating my legs.  I try my best to convince myself it’s all in my head.

At 11:30, I call it a night and turn off the t.v. to go to sleep.  I spend the next 30 minutes pretending to be asleep so hopefully at some point I will actually be asleep.  My forehead starts to itch.  And my eyebrow starts to itch.  It’s all in you head, Meg, I tell myself repeatedly.

Finally, at 12:07, I hear the unmistakable buzz of a bug in my ear and jump out of bed, strike my best fighting pose, and stand ready to kill the stupid mosquito that’s apparently not only in my head, but actually exists in real life.

And the phantom itching on my forehead?  Oh, not so phantom.  I have 3 huge mosquito bites on my face.  Awesome.   As if it isn’t cool enough that I’m almost 30 and still have zits, now I have giant mosquito bites adding that special touch.

Just to add insult to injury, now there is no sign of the mosquito that’s been tormenting me all night.  He’s probably off in the corner hanging out with the cockroach and the gecko that are scheming about how to climb into my bed. Or my shoes.  Or my ears.  All very rational fears of mine.

Sweet and Frilly

I wasn’t going to buy Camryn an all out Halloween costume.  I promise.  I really wasn’t.  She has these cute little butterfly wings and a sweet little tutu.  I was just going to use those and call it a day.

But then yesterday I was in Gymboree, doing a bit of shopping.  I stumbled upon this sweet little costume.  I checked the price tag…calculated the cost using my gymbuck….and put it into my maybe pile.  It wasn’t long before it went into my for sure pile.  I mean, seriously…how could I resist this?

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And when I went to check out and it rang up on sale even more…it totally made my day!

Having a girl is just plain fun.  I think we will have to play dress up every day, just so I can squeal about the cuteness all over again.

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