Not sure if I've mentioned this on here but mj is boycotting the potty!! Can I please vent for a second? I know that he's only 17 months and that most kids don't potty train until way later. But he has had a potty since he was 4 months old! And he's consistently pooped on it since he was 6 months. I've never had to wash these nasty poopy diapers. And I don't like it! He seems to be flushing the virus from a couple of weeks ago and thats causing especially nasty ones. Ugh!
Hoping that this phase doesn't last long because I am not enjoying it.

The past few days

I think this was the last time he willingly went on the potty: tuesday!

A fb friend of mine just had a little boy. Today he went in for his circumcision. There were many comments on the subject. I wanted to share my own thoughts but since this little guy has already gone through it I felt like it would just make someone upset.
According to the comments my son isn't a "big boy", he will have an unhappy and not handsome penis, and won't thank me later because he will have "a funny looking peepee". All because I chose to not have a doctor cut off the most sensitive part of a fairly important (as opposed to the unimportant) area on his body.
I was a little offended and wanted to go on a bit of a rant but I realized that they are probably uneducated on the subject. Heck, I even had the circ scheduled and ready to go until the night before the appointment. I just couldn't do that to him.
And one of the commenters talked about having to leave the building because she couldn't listen to her son scream during the procedure. But then her doctor told her that it really didn't hurt him, boys only cry because they're legs are being tied down and they don't like it.
Ugh!
Sure he won't remember it when he's older but he wouldn't remember if you cut off his thumb but he might miss it.
And to top it off, she had to take him to the er today because he was bleeding too much. How is that ok!?
Moral of the story? Do your research.
I'll step off my soap box now. I have some pictures to upload :)

I'm pretty sure I have the coolest kid ever! He's 16 months old now. He waves and says "bye" but his "bye" is missing the b sound. It's very cute!! And he blows kisses when I leave for work and tell him I love him.
This morning he figured out how to open the bathroom door. He's so smart! And so tall!
One of his favorite things is taking a bath. He's really enjoying the water and splashing around. I'm debating starting swim lessons again this winter.
Mj loves people. Especially babies! It's absolutely wonderful to watch him walk up to a baby and give him/her a hug. It's precious.
He weighed 22lb 1oz today. He's hovered around 22 for a couple of months now.
Mj has been fighting drinking milk lately. We introduced some sugar free chocolate milk and have no problems anymore! I do think dad adds too much chocolate but he's a skinny boy so some extra chocolate isn't worth an argument.
He's still sleeping in bed with me. I'll be honest, I love it! I'd like to think that he'll be in his own room by his 2nd birthday but right now I just don't mind a bit.
Speaking of sleeping, he's been out for 2 hours now and I'd better head that way.
Happy parenting :)

le now and tomorrow's Monday so I'd better get to bed!
Tumbling pics to come :)

It wasn't exactly how I thought it would be but he seemed to enjoy it. Tomorrow is another day and I hope he learns some more.
He's been asleep for awhi

"shoes", "out", and "ice" are his newest. The words aren't perfect but they are pretty good!
He's also doing really well about going in his potty. At hom

Have I mentioned how amazing watching a baby grow is? Mjs newest thing is language. The boy is learning new words every day it seems! "fish", "chicken",

Southside Parade

Last Saturday was the southside parade. It was mjs first parade and he loved it. He thought it was great fun to wave at people and have them throw things at him. Then he wanted to throw the candy back :)
Before becoming a mom I didn't know what I thought of the back pack leashes for kids. I jokingly told emily that she would need one for maddie but it has become a great tool for mj! The boy likes his freedom. I love that he can walk and check things out without hanging onto me or the worry that he might get lost. I'm putting that on my list of first birthday gifts. 
Here are some pictures from the parade:

They love each other

I'm so blessed to have such a sweet little boy. And a wonderful niece. The best thing is how much they love each other. I never quite imagined that they would enjoy spending time together as much as they do. I'm hoping it continues for the rest of their lives.

Praise God!

This video makes my heart happy. He's so big and amazing.

? l done, milk
Words he can say: dog, mama, dada, no, all done
I'm a little tired so I might be forgetting some.
Not too bad for a 12 month old if I do sa

? y so myself :)
I love him!

? He signs "drink"! My little smartie pants has figured out how to sign drink now too :)
Signs he knows (meaning he can sign them): more, please, drink, al

Busy day!

We started our day with some 1 year pics and it got crazier from there. When we got home mj slept for over 2 hours. Mike and I took naps too, it was nice!
The fire museum had their annual family day so we went down thee. We saw some neat old fire stuff, a couple of dogs from the k-9 units, rode a pony, and are some fudge. We will be making that something we put on our calendar every year.
When we got there we knew mj would need some time to run off some energy so we headed to the play place at the mall. He climbed on everything and wore himself out nicely :)
We are currently at the mustangs game in the bottom of the 9th down by 1, bases loaded. It's a nail biter.
Scratch that, tied game!
I love minor league baseball :)
Toy Story 3 tomorrow and hopefully getting the swing set put together.

My favorite nappy shoppe owner is having a give away for an ai3 diaper. I trust her reviews and just might have to buy this diaper!
Check it out:
http://www.nappyshoppe.com/blog/?p=750

Yesterday was an awesome day for diapers! I changed mj when he got up and he wore the same diaper until it was time for swimming at 5:30. The only issue we had was when I put his cute fleece trainers on and he pooped! It was gross too! I don't think he felt it coming enough to tell us. Still a really good day.

Happy Independence Day!

It took awhile for me to realize that this wasn't michaels first independence day. It was a little more exciting this year since we weren't in the hospital.
He loves fireworks! I bought those hens and turtles just knowing that he would love them. Apparently he is a lot like his dad. He wanted the loud ones! He did enjoy helping me light a couple smoke bombs though.
It was really wet and rainy so we waited until we got home to do the big "boomers".

Mustangs game

We went to our 3rd mustangs game as a family tonight. Mj loved the game, the horses, and the fireworks. He fell asleep around the 6th inning. That's important bc that kid doesn't like to sleep in public. He was tired! He woke up for the "boomers" though and enjoyed those.
I was way excited when we came home. I went to change his diaper, sure that it was soaked from the entire mustangs game that he wore it. But it was dry! He went potty on his potty and then got pjs on. That means that from 6:15-11:00 he didn't go potty! And he drank a fair amount of powerade, nursed twice, and took a nap. I am pretty darn impressed with my one year old right now :)
He's currently sleeping in his own bed and moms wishing she hadn't eaten so much crap at the game. Bleh.
But yay for ec!

A few months ago Michael got mad and bit me. It only happened a couple of times so I tried not to make a big deal.
Yesterday the habit came back! Today he has bitten me a few times and he's tried more than that.
I'm not really sure what to do about it. We talked to a parent educator and she said to put him down and walk away. Much easier said than done when you're in a store or a restaurant. It is sure not my favorite developmental milestone he has reached. I'm hoping that soon he will realize that biting isn't the way to get what you want and he'll stop.
I sure don't want him to be "that kid".

I don't normally link things but I value sharni's opinion and she does awesome giveaways. If you're using cd or you're thinking about it check out her latest blog!
http://www.nappyshoppe.com/blog/?p=664

Bday

I love being able to communicate with mj. Between signing, words, and gesturing it's a lot less stressful to figure out what he wants. The biggest obstical I'm encountering is that he will sign "please" for anything he wants. So it gets confusing trying to figure out what he's saying "please" for. He's so amazing!
He is walking around like he's been doing it for years.

Sun!

The rain is finally gone, for now, so I had mike put the clothesline
up. And we even waited to go to my mom's until the load of diapers was
done so I could hang them. I'm so excited!
I'm going to make a clothespin bag, a mama cloth wet bag, and a big
wet bag/ pail liner.
Tonight was also the annual get-together at my moms celebrating the
end of the school year! So much fun :). MJ loved the slide my mom had.
It was the slide i've had since I was 3 and I have wonderful memories
of playing with it. Of course mr smarty already knows how to climb up
the stairs, sit on his bottom, and go down. He's still working on
going up. It's a lot harder on this slide than the one at the mall.
Swimming tomorrow and it's mike's birthday so mj and I are going to
let daddy pick what we do the rest of the day :)

Please

Have I mentioned how smart my son is? After a very cranky swim lesson
and hyvee trip he brought me a cereal bar in the wrapper. He handed it
to me and then signed please. Now he's trying to put his shoe on. Yep.
It's kind of scary how smart he is.

Little Monkey

My monkey decided to climb onto the couch today. Just when we thought
we were safe. And... today marks day 3 of pooping only on the potty.
This morning was especially big bc he was at church and pooped in the
nursery potty. It was so nice to start diaper laundry with no poop! If
only he would start signing for when he has to pee.

Poop celebration:
Day 3 of morning poop in the potty! And today we aren't even at home using the little potty. We are at church. I'm not convinced he was finished but he said he was so we will see. I'm so proud!

I've been trying to get video but you'll have to do with just an update for now. Mj is signing "please"! He's so smart, it's awesome! I love watching him learn. He has a doll that he loves to take everywhere. It's the cabbage patch doll I bought when I was preg. He gives the doll hugs and kisses. He makes my heart smile.
We are going to a bridal shower tomorrow and we will have fun shopping for it after church.
Maybe he'll learn the sign for water next week :)

New stroller!

I've looked for a rear facing stroller since mj was about 2 months
old. The biggest thing keeping us from one has been the price. Well we
finally found a sale at BRU! I love our new Maxi-Cosi Foray

Handsome boy!

I just love this shirt. I'm always amazed at how much bigger babies
look in button up tees.

We went to kc with auntie em and maddie today. On the way back the
kids held hands for a bit. It was darn cute. Made me kind of want
another one. Until they started that loud screeching they do while
fighting sleep.
I love babies.

Last night at auntie em's mj decided that he wanted to walk some more. The little turkey took several steps from her coffee table to couch. He really wanted to play with her dog, daisy. I raced to the diaper bag to grab the flip. Of course it wasn't in there! I was pretty upset but Emily got video on her phone!

So that's what a full night's sleep feels like nowadays. We had a campout on the livingroom floor last night so mike and I could watch a movie. Mj didn't wake me up once to eat! Holy cow! The only negative side effect is my boobs hurt! I'll take that for now though.

MJ took 3 steps toward me today! It was awesome!! More tomorrow :)

Easter walk

When all the craziness of mjs first Easter was over we decided to take
a nice walk. The sun was starting to set so we didn't plan on going
too long. As we left the house I looked at the ergo and almost grabbed
it. But I left it thinking that he had done so well on the walk with
auntie em and maddie that we wouldn't need it.
I learned to always take the ergo! It's super light and he's a lot
heavier if I have to carry him without it!
But the walk was awesome and we got back just before the sun set. If
the sun would poke through the clouds today we could go on another
walk. Seven more weeks of school!!

Easter at the turleys and durees today! Too fun. And mj pooped on the potty! Too much excitement to potty consistantly but we can work on that.
On a different note, i've got to remember to bring my hand pump when we go places! It's getting a little odd hand expressing in people's bathrooms. :)
Pics and Easter egg hunt stories to come.

Note to self:

Note to self, when leaving the park always give a 5 min warning so
he's not surprised when we leave.

Shades

Ignore my hair. Doesn't he look too cute in those sunglasses! The
first time I put them on him he took them off and played with them.
This time I think he figured out that he could look around without
hurting his eyes. And I can't forget to mention how much I love the
ergo! Our new one should be shipping soon!

Nursed and then fell asleep on mommys shoulder! Normally he has to be nursing when he falls asleep. Big stuff

Food time!

He has learned to use a spoon, big guy! Of course shoving his face
into the bowl of mashed potatoes works too.

Church!

Maddie and Auntie Em came to church today! Playing in the nursery :)

Took a 2 hour nap and stayed dry!

I have to say that I love the stage mj has reached. He is super sweet and gives the best hugs. He also pats you on the back when he hugs you and that is an awesome feeling.
Last night I was driving to auntie ems house and mj was in the back just talking away and playing with his little stuffed monkey. A few minutes later he was asleep.
I adore watching him learn an grow every day. He's waving hi and bye, standing up and letting go of things, talking like crazy (I'm in trouble when those become words!), and his fourth tooth is coming in!
I always knew I wanted to be a mother but there is no way I could have imagined the love I would have for him.

Cruising along and playing drums at the mall. Isn't maddy's hair
flower adorable? Auntie em made it!

I have such clever children. This was very much an "I love my job"
moment. I hope mj can make his teachers smile like the boy who did
this does. :)

We met auntie em, cousin maddy, ad grandpa at olive garden. MJ was a
little intense for maddy :)

Mike brought mj to school for a lunch visit! My kids had recess after
lunch so we went for a swing. He had a jacket and socks on but pulled
the socks off and fussed about the jacket. He had a blast with the
swing!

Grandpa is back from china and we went to chillis. Grandpas are the
best :)

We made chicken kabobs last Sunday. They were amazing! We are trying
to find more recipes that involve little or no meat. It's tough
without tofu and meat subs. I just want healthy meatless food.

Shopping at hyvee!

We love going to the mall to play!

We went to auntie ems after target. Can you believe there is a 3 month
gap in their ages. And maddy is older!

We went to target with auntie em and miss maddy. Here's my dare devil
little boy. He climbed up there and crawled around. I can only imagine
what people thought. He was learning!