May and June Catch Up

So May was a pretty important month, Nixon FINALLY started walking! He took probably 10 steps two different times while we were in Utah in April, but never tried again. Then after lots of moral support he started getting more confident and just took off!

We also lived at the park! When the weather wasn’t too hot us moms would plant our butts in the shade and the babies (and dogs) would run (or crawl) like wild men! Nixon ALWAYS took the best naps after that. Sigh… soon enough fall. Soon enough. We also were lucky enough to drag those husbands to the park too! They made for some of my favorite “date nights”.

If we weren’t at the park, you were sure to find us enjoying the splash pad. I’ll be honest though, Nixon really hates it. He just sits and eats snacks for like 2 hours and I occasionally drag him in the water when I’ve over heated. But its gated in so I know he isn’t going anywhere and for that reason alone we continue going back.

Nixon didn’t really understand that you don’t eat the stick, and apparently really didn’t want Calvin to share with him

Preston also turned 4 in May! And LUCKY FOR US Tay was able to stop by for a half a second, and that was one of the best moments of my life. I just really miss her! Sisterwives reunite!

This was also about the time I took away Nixon’s Morning nap. Truly bittersweet. He went from 2 2hr naps, to one 3-4 hour nap. It really opens up my mornings! buuuuuuut that means I NEVER shower before 2. like ever.

 

June! What a month. I can’t tell you just how many times a day Nixon hits his head. Literally like 10, at least. And he cries every. single. time. There is usually at least one time that I would say is cry worthy, but every other time its just him being clumsy letting that big ol’ noggin get in the way. But this time really took the cake. Face plant into the dresser knob. It didn’t bleed, but it was a HUGE pump that almost had a hole in the middle? Even now 2 months later when he scrunches his nose you can see the dent. It was dramatic and traumatic for sure. So funny that I took this selfie (Clearly he loves a good selfie) right before it happened, and then right after. It gives you a nice idea of how huge it really was. I’m shocked no one called CPS!

Probably my favorite part of June however was the transformation our backyard took! When we moved in I can not exaggerate how descusting it was out there. I wouldn’t go out there. Ever. Not to take out the trash, not to even envision where I wanted it to go. Never. One afternoon shortly after we moved in Jim spent all day out there just clearing out crap (literally. Stale old dog crap) and creating piles of garbage, and trimming the few bushes we had. He found an old Christmas tree (or two??) some weights, a wheel barrel a fire pit and even a pipe and lighter inside the outlet cover! We knew we had to do something with the nasty broken hot tub still, but what a difference! It gave me hope! And then busy season came and kicked our butts and all projects took a back seat until after the Holidays, and then busy season was here again, and before we knew it it was 110 degrees outside and we still had a useless backyard. In January we had the hot tub removed, a few months later removed the pavers, and scooted all the rocks to the side of the yard. I have to give my husband major props! He did 99.9% of the work by himself! I did however move some pavers and rake gravel around all night, but that’s about it. Once he started digging the trenches and I saw things really moving I think I put the pressure on him… SORRY! But it was so exciting! I could actually SEE things changing! After the trenches were in it was about a week until we had a completed backyard. Every night after work he would come home, go to home depot, eat dinner, put Nixon down and head outside. We (mostly HE) would work until about 11 and then go to bed. But every morning I would go outside and just be thrilled with the progress. $500 later I’d say we made a huge improvement and it was well worth his effort, even if it was 10,000 degrees outside! Unfortunately I don’t have very good before pictures, these were from January when it was looking pretty dang good.

June was a good month! I just wish it wasn’t so dang hot so we could enjoy our backyard! July was extra fun too, a trip to Utah and some exciting news! But we will leave that for another day.

Spring Update!

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged and there’s been so much that’s happened since Nixon turned one! This is going to be the longest, most obnoxious photo dump post ever, and I don’t even care! Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to!

In March my BFF Melissa was able to come to AZ and have a baby shower! Diana out did herself, of course, and through the cutest shower ever! Most of all it was just great to have my best friends in the same place for 24 hours and enjoy time together! I’m STILL carrying around the 5lbs I gained when they came to town… thanks guys. I guess it’s love.

In April I took a work trip to Utah for 10 days. Thinking about it now, it was great. Living it? Not as great. Nixon goes through a really funny phase when we are anywhere but home. If I leave a room he has a COMPLETE melt down. It was hard. It’s still hard, but I suppose he’s getting better? He ended up also getting an eye infection, so that was really crappy. The moment we landed in AZ he was healed, I’m not even exaggerating. Something about that dry desert air is good for the soul.

Do you see a common theme with this trip? I love those baby cuddles but… yikes.

We also Celebrated Birthdays, Easter, and our my love affair with the splash pad. Seriously, they are great. Now someone queue Nixon into the greatness

 

At the end of the month we took a trip to our favorite place ever, Mexico! Traveling with a baby isn’t exactly ideal, but we still made the best of it! We went with our friends the Smiths, of course. The reason for the trip? My amazing husband turned 30! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, he is the big 3-0! and we love him all the same!

If it looks like we spent all day at the beach, we did. And eating. What is there more to love than that? We’ve had a fun busy few months and now I’m exhausted from this so you will have to wait for a few more months to get another update.

10, 11, and 12 Months!

You could definitely say I’ve been a terrible mom in the blog category lately and I would not fight you on it. I’ve updated Nixon’s baby book for month 10 and 11, so I’m just going to skip to 12 months. My BABY is 12 months. He is so much fun, but as we watch videos of the little tiny baby he use to be I find myself aching to hold and love on that little guy. Let me make it clear, I want to hold THAT tiny baby, not have another baby. So here is what my baby is doing at 12 months!

-We are off everything baby and onto real food. He loves toast, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, and quesadillas. Pretty much anything with cheese, except actual slices of cheese. He’s picky and it’s ridic.

-Nixon has a very specific nap schedule. Wakes up at 7:45-8:00, nap from 10:00-12:00, and again from 3:00-5:00. There’s been a few times that I’ve tried to skip the first nap and go down early for the second and he does totally fine all morning. But the second nap is rough, he wakes up a bunch and only sleep for about an hour and a half. If he has the first nap he will sleep for a total of 4 hours during the day. Take a guess at what I prefer?

-He’s started to really crawl. I thought he’d be an army crawler forever!

-We survived a road trip to Utah over Christmas. And I truly mean survived. On the way up we drove through the night, and it was really hard. A Strom hit as we were pulling into Salt Lake making the last 30 minutes take much longer. The way home we drove through the day and it didn’t take as long but we were sure happy to finally be home!

-Pulls himself up on everything and walks along the furniture, but will not stand on his own! He can, but he just buckles his knees and squats down. He’s just goofy like that.

-We now have a forward facing baby in the car. Holy moly it is so nice. I love being able to see him, and hand him snacks and water when he gets cranky!

-He has figured out how to open my makeup drawer, and loves to feel around for something to grab and drop on the ground. It’s one of my least favorite games.

-We had our first real babysitter on Valentines day, the day before his birthday and he did great! Say hello to date nights again! (I was really sad that I wasn’t going to be the one putting my baby down for the last time though)

-Jim has started to read Nixon the “Where’s Spot?” after the bath and he looooooves it! As soon as we go in the guest bedroom for lotion and jammies he looks around for the book and says “da”! Can’t be sure if it’s for “Dad” “dog” “book” or just the only sound he can really make. Either way, I’m impressed.

-I still give him a bottle of milk twice a day. Mostly I’m just holding onto the fact that he’s still my baby. I can’t let it go! STOP GROWING!!!!

-We’ve been going to the park a lot with this nice weather and we’ve discovered that Nixon isn’t the biggest fan on the grass. He just doesn’t love it on his legs, but it doesn’t stop him from exploring.

-First hair cut! Nixon’s friend Porter’s mom offered to give Nixon a little trim because lets be honest, he was looking a little homeless. He did SOOOO good! He just sat there and watched videos of himself and before I knew it my baby was not so much a baby anymore! We did put some of those baby hairs in a bag and I’ll keep them forever and ever.

-He learned how much fun it is to throw the blankets over the edge of the crib. He thinks it’s so entertaining but then when he is ready to go to sleep he get’s mad because they are on the floor. He loves those dang blanky’s so much.

-Speaking of blanky’s, Nixon REALLY love them. I was upstairs cleaning the bathroom and Nixon was playing in his room and his blanky was in the crib. Then I heard his sweet voice of “ohhhhhhhhhhh, awwwwwwwww, ohhhhh” and he had pulled the blanket through the rails and I was hugging it and rolling around with it on the floor. That’s what he does when he really loves something. I had the dryer open a little one day and he loves to open and close the door but when he saw that his blanky’s were inside he got so excited and pulled them out and cuddle them and roll around on the floor with them saying “ohhhhhh”. Where does he get this stuff??

-We had a small party at the park to celebrate Nixon’s birthday! Who would have thought that February 15 it would be 85 degrees outside? We weren’t exactly ready for that kind of heat! It was good to see all our friends, and the babies had fun playing with the ice in the cooler. When it came time for cake Nixon wasn’t so sure about it. The frosting was sticky and he’s not a real fan of that. Once he got a taste of it things got better.

-I love just sitting and watching Nixon play and discover things, but one of my favorite things is when Nixon finds something, like a tube of toothpaste that he’s pulled off the counter, and he puts it in his mouth and just crawls away. I don’t know what about it is so amazing, but he just has to take it with him across the room, take it out of his mouth and examine it, and then repeat!

-In January We can down with a case of croup. It was so sad to give Nixon breathing treatments every 3-4 hours, but luckily he LOVES watching videos of himself on our phones. So he snuggled right in for a 20 minute movie shesh and just like that we were over it!

-The other thing he loves to do is crawl with something in his hand! Its usually a car or a remote and he will hold it in his hand,  and just take off. The cars are the best because its just like he is rolling them across the house!

-We went through a phase where all he wanted to do was climb the stairs and play upstairs. I am so glad that phase is over! He can climb like a champ, but he doesn’t understand that he will fall and kill himself on the tile.

 

All in all, we just love our big guy!! We can’t image what life would be like without him, but I’m sure it would be boring!