19 Months

In the blink of an eye it feels like we have approached the 19 month mark!  What a bundle of love and energy we have on our hands!

Thomas is changing so quickly everyday has something new in store for us.  Thomas is still a fire ball of energy and must move constantly.  He is running, climbing, jumping and hanging off things.  To help our little mover out we enrolled him in gymnastics.  Walking up and down stairs by himself is his new preferred method.

Thomas is a social butterfly.  He thinks he is a comedian and we do too.  He loves to entertain anyone who will look at him.   When I asked his daddy to describe him he said he is “charismatic and inquisitive.”   With all the “guys” we have had in and out of the house with the kitchen and basement Thomas has been Mr. fix it and helps them out and then shakes their hand when they are finished.  

He also has a distinct idea about how he either wants or does not want things and will let you know one way or the other.  This is where his dramatic side comes  in.  If he doesn’t like what happens or he has a different idea about something he will often stand against a wall and pout, go sit down and take a break, or will run to one of the pets and tell them all about it.

 

Thomas is such a big helper lately.  He loves to help do everything, laundry, cleaning, cooking, building or anything that we normally do in the house.   He is a master at running the vacuum and sweeping.  It is so nice being able to tell him to go get something or go put something away or in the garbage.   I hope that he keeps his helping ways up!

You will notice in many of our pictures that Thomas lacks clothes.  He prefers to be naked or running around in a diaper.   After he gets dressed he is good to go but most days he will run away when he sees clothes coming.   At night he wears only a top shirt as he won’t keep covers on and he still will wet through diapers without a 2 a.m. change.   Onto sleep, Thomas is still a sleep where ever guy and needs to get his daily nap in usually 2-3 hours.   He goes to bed between 8-9 depending on how much fun he and his Daddy are having once he is home from work.  The boy sleeps in most mornings until 8-8:30 and sometimes even 9!   He just was able to drop his 2:30 feeding and will wake if his diaper is too wet but then will go back to sleep until 5 or 5:30 a.m. before he wakes up to eat.   He has also started to be a somewhat of a blanket boy and prefers his blue blanket to cover him and sometimes steals his Mommy’s blanket too!

Right after 18 months Thomas started to take a new love to eating food.  He started “pounding” food 3 times a day and having snacks in between.  It was a welcome change and although he is starting to nurse less Mike and I have attributed it more to him changing and wanting to eat and possibly growing.  He still is nursing morning, before nap and bedtime.  He then typically wakes up 1 time around 5 to nurse again.   Some new favorites this month with foods include a new interest in raisins, pineapple, oranges (he runs faster than ever when he sees an orange), candy , oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly, and ketchup (dunk). 

He also has started to help cook our nightly meals and snacks the whole time we are cooking.  He likes to stir and then “let it sit.”  

Thomas loves all toys but again if I had to pick favorites it would be his bat and ball, any truck/car, his tools (or daddy’s), animals and the pets.   He also has really enjoyed snippets of watching you tube videos of Lion King on Broadway or anything else cartoon/animal. 

Last but not least is his communication.  Thomas has started to add words left and right.  They are still a little tricky to understand but they are there and he is getting his point across.  He now has the following words: hello, more (mo), help (hep), open, light (li t), up, no, daddy, mama, grandpa (ga pa), grandma (ga ma) stella (sey-ya), Tucker (Tuck), Itzy (Itz), my, my do it, outside (ou), downstairs (dow), please (p), car, big truck (b uck), ball, drink (din), cheese (che), milk (mik), bubbles (bu bo), go, lion (li), ok and a handful animal sounds for a dog, cat, sheep, cow, dolphin, lion/tiger, seal, monkey.  I think we got most if not all of the words he knows, hard to make a list (speech friends remember that).  He will attempt most words and knows that to get what he wants he has to “use a word first.”  I can’t take the speech therapist in me out!!!

His understanding of language catches us off guard.  He is pointing to pictures and things he sees and also following multiple step directions.  What a fun way to watch everything I learned about for so many years develop, it gives a whole new meaning to my training and education. 

If you have made it this far in my rambling, thank you, if not no worries.  I know some of this gets boring to read but I want to keep it as I know that Thomas a few months ago is already foggy!   

Halloween Cupcakes

Thomas has been such a great helper in the kitchen lately.  He will grab a chair from the dining room, push it towards the threshold of the kitchen, where it gets stuck, and then will yell “help” until he get help and gets to help! 

So with that and Halloween on Monday we decided to make cupcakes.  He was a great helper.  When it was time for him to stick the monster eyes on the cupcakes he started off neat and then got his fingers in further and further so he could taste the frosting.

Too funny when he held up the eyes to his eye and didn’t want to move it to take a picture.  What a fun little monster we have!

HELP = Ambulance

Today there were 2 fire trucks and an ambulance up our street.  Thomas was very interested in the happenings and I was explaining to him that someone needed “help” and the ambulance would take them to get the help they needed at the hospital.

15 minutes later I am downstairs doing laundry and I hear Thomas crying and Mike fixing his hurt toe by kissing it better.  This has been good enough to heal pretty much anything thus far and Thomas will run to us with his owie presented.   The crying stopped, the play continued, until I came upstairs and then the owie drama resurfaced.  After more kisses play resumed and life was back to normal.

About a half hour later Thomas and I were Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa McConachie and I made the mistake of bringing up the lights and the ambulance.   Almost immediately, the drama ensued with Thomas repeating over and over “help, help, help” pointing to his previously hurt toe, and then out the window. 

I wish we had this on video as this drama continued for about 10 minutes.  Thomas was looking at me like I was the worst Mommy ever for not calling the ambulance to help him and Mike and I desperately trying to communicate to our little boy that his owie was ok without an ambulance. 

A whole new world of literal thinking is upon us!  The old self in me loves how he was communicating to us and putting his thoughts and ideas together.  The mommy in me is in for a whole new treat in learning how to teach the “simple” things.  

Image taken from littleblackblog.net

Nursing beyond Perceptions

I have wanted to publically write this for some time yet have struggled to “out” myself. It is because I feel like I need to be semi secretive about this that I feel more compelled to write and let others know our family’s journey.

I am proudly and happily still nursing my almost 19 month old toddler. A little boy, who’s eyes light up when asked if he is ready for what his daddy named milky. Many months ago as I anxiously awaited the 12 month marker of breastfeeding I wondered if I could and how long I would continue.  It was at that point that I realized that neither Thomas nor myself was ready to discontinue breastfeeding. In pregnancy, and early in his life I had pigeon holed myself saying at 12 months I would stop nursing. Well that came and went and here we are. Now I know that at some point Thomas and my nursing relationship will end. What a bittersweet feeling this is, not because I need my child to continue to nurse, but it will be another stepping stone as he grows older.

I once heard another mother who was breastfeeding her toddler say something like many women have told me that they can’t imagine nursing past 6 months, what I can’t imagine is stopping at 6 months and not seeing their child nurse longer. The relationship changes from infancy to toddlerhood many times. It glides seamlessly from providing comfort and nourishment to an infant who must eat to a older child who chooses to continue to receive nursing as a form of nourishment and comfort too.

Admittedly there have been challenges, painful days and nipples, refusing a bottle, a clogged milk duct and mastitis, biting and exhaustion. More remarkably there have been precious still moments, conversations between only he and I, fun games we play, silly songs we sing, moments that in a million years I will not forget how my son looks at me when he nurses. The “we” I use here is not a twosome, it includes Mike as the father who is able to support both Thomas and I while nursing. I think this is another preconceived notion that if a child nurses the father cannot partake in breast feeding. Mike has still been able to enjoy the games, songs, and enjoy the nurturing relationship. It is a sacred dance that only close friends and family have seen. I wonder if many, many years ago men were able to nurse as women were, I mean really “why do men have nipples?”

For me the hardest has been getting over other people’s perception that I am weak, disgraceful, or a bad mother (i.e. not providing adequate nutrition) because I am still nursing. There have been too many painful comments, remarks and questions along the way that only one day I hope these people will get it and understand. What I really wish is that with this email and my continued explanations I will be able to open a few eyes to the beauty of nursing. These perceptions are hurtful and unwarranted. Personally, the relationship that I have with Thomas due to nursing is a bond that I will always be grateful for and hopefully he (even if silently) will be too. Interestingly enough although women who nurse beyond a year receive criticism it is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) which officially recommends mothers breastfeed until three years of age and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends mothers should breastfeed "at least until one year of age and then as long as baby and mother mutually want to."

For now milky’s are a source of reassurance, comfort, and nourishment for us both in different ways. So it is with those three words that I take this journey with my family and son one day at a time until the day when it is over. Please let me be the voice of it is possible, it doesn’t have to be disgraceful, distasteful or disgusting. Try it, do it as long as you can, and please know that this happily breastfeeding mother does not judge anyone breastfeeding, partly bottle feeding, or bottle feeding. I just want everyone to be able to do what they choose and works for them in comfort and a nurturing environment. I mean how would you feel if you were questioned every time you went to feed your child???

Yummy Enchilada Soup

I found this recipe for soup and thought I would try it on a gloomy cold Seattle day.  The original blog can be found by clicking here.

Chicken Enchilada Soup
3 cups chicken stock
2 skinless, chicken breasts (I doubled this)
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ancho chili powder (I didn’t have or use this)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
4-6 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup tomato paste
8 oz. cotija cheese, crumbled ( I didn’t have this)
8 oz. pepper jack cheese, divided
1 cup cilantro, chopped (I left this out)
Tortilla chips

Sour Cream-I added sour cream to mine and it made it creamy and yummy.  Mike skipped it-he doesn’t like sour cream.

In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add chicken stock and heat over medium heat. Add chicken breasts, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Simmer about 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside. Add tomatoes, jalapenos, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pot. Simmer about 30 minutes, covered until tomatoes have begun to break down. Add black beans, corn, and tomato paste and stir to incorporate. Add cotija cheese and half of the pepper jack cheese and stir to melt. Return chicken to soup and cook about 20 more minutes until desired consistency.
If soup isn't as thick as desired, you can add strips of flour tortillas. They will dissolve into the soup to thicken the broth. Add cilantro, reserving some to top individual bowls if desired. Ladle into serving bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, reserved pepper jack cheese and cilantro if desired.

It was so yummy I thought we would have leftovers and enough to freeze and I was wrong.   Next time I will for sure make more.  Besides the chopping it was a pretty quick and easy to make.

Kitchen Remodel Part One

This is the original picture from our house’s listing when we bought it.  Since moving in we have replaced the stove and refrigerator.  We then started to process of getting quotes on the kitchen remodel.  Our original plan was cut short by not wanting to invest too much money into this kitchen when this isn’t our forever home.We quickly turned from doing everything thing we wanted to the “budget” plan, which will still be nice but doesn’t involve knocking out walls and forking over loads of cash.  We know that our kitchens transformation thus far is increasing its function and we are also finding it nicer to look at and be in!  We can only keep our fingers crossed that it will also increase the resale and value of our home.

 

The process began by having the the cabinets and drawers emptied.  We had the existing cabinets refinished with new doors, drawers, and 3 custom cabinets to fill the space above the fridge and on the sides of the stove.  These little spaces fit a spice rack and cutting board/cookie sheet cubby which opens up a lot of room and might be my favorite “new” part so far.

We then had a cabinet cut out and the four drawer cabinet moved over to fit a new dishwasher.  What a fun luxury that we have missed and can’t believe all the time and counter space it has freed up in our kitchen.

Thomas loved helping and watching the electrician and plumber who needed to do their thing so that we could have a dishwasher in our old house.  He was also a big helper when the guys were making the templates for the new counter tops.  
The next steps are having the counter tops and sink installed on the 11th.  We are then going to have a disposal added and will work on glass backsplash and paint.  We are hoping to have this all complete by the time our guests arrive for Thanksgiving!   Then in the future we will replace the lighting and the floors, but that will have to wait until next year. 

While Mike was a bachelor he was also able to finish framing out the last wall in the basement.  He had cut the insulation and most of the drywall too.  We had the electrician over to run the pre wire this week and this weekend Mike is hoping to rehang the drywall and maybe start taping!  We are making more progress on our old house! 

October In Minnesota

Thomas and I took a trip to Minnesota to visit family over MEA weekend.  It also worked out nicely that while we were out of the house we were able to begin our kitchen remodel-more on that to come.

We were up early, too early, on Tuesday and we were off to catch our 7:15 a.m. flight.  Once we landed Grandma Kathy picked us up and we were on our way to see Great Grandma Robertson.  Thomas was a hit in his Great Grandma’s building and loved showing of and smiling for everyone.  After a nice visit it was off to do a little shopping.  Thomas ran up a storm in the Baby Gap store with a few buddies he found.  Then Auntie Mo met up with us and played a little chase before we headed over to Auntie Katie and Uncle Don’s new house. 

Once dinner was ended and Thomas started to wear his welcome we headed back to the Laschen’s where Thomas immediately got to mowing the lawn and playing with his two favorite yellow labs.  He also tried on the Packers jersey and hat that Grandpa Jeff got for him.  Thomas and I were both bummed that we missed Jeff as he was on a work trip when we were there.  Once back at the Laschen’s Thomas decided he was ready to rock and roll after his quick nap before dinner.  I on the other hand decided to head to bed, Grandma Kathy and Thomas held down the fort until the “shadows” got the best of him!  The night before Mike and I were showing Thomas shadows on the wall as Tucker was chasing them.  He then was showing Grandma the shadows, but decided that he didn’t like them so much anymore.  This would remain at Grandma and Grandpa McConachie’s, once the shadows came out, particularly in a basement, he would freeze.  Poor guy!  Since then we have talked a lot about shadows and he now like to find shadows in different areas of the house.

Back to Minnesota, Wednesday morning we got up and enjoyed some more playing with Grandma, the puppies, and his toys.  We had breakfast and then went for a walk to play in the leaves and get some fresh air.   Thomas had a great time running in the leaves and chasing his Nana.  After lunch Grandpa McConachie picked us up for the trip “up North.” 

Thomas slept the whole way and we arrive in Cloquet and were ready for play time with Grandma and Grandpa McConachie.  Thursday we were off to Duluth for a haircut, lunch and more shopping.  Then it was time to head home for a nap.  After naptime, our friends Katie, Charlie and Lauren came over to play.   That night Thomas hung out with Grandpa and watched the World Series after waving bye bye to me. 

After a couple errands on Friday morning we stayed pretty close to home.  Thomas had a blast playing outside with Grandma and Grandpa in the leaves and on the four wheeler.   At first he wasn’t too sure of getting in the leaves but after a few minutes he was crashing and running through them like a pro.

Saturday morning we were suppose to leave early for Uncle Troy and Auntie Molly’s house, but Grandpa McConachie finally got his deer with his bow.  So Thomas, my mom and I headed out for a walk and some park play.  Then it was time for lunch and the trip to the cities.  We stopped and saw Troy and Molly’s apartment and then went to the hotel for some swimming.   The water was a little colder than Thomas liked so he had a good time going in the hot tub for a few seconds and then playing a game of chase with Grandpa. 

My friend Tiffany and her husband and two kiddos came to meet us at the pool.  It was a lot of fun to spend time with them and watch Ben and Hallie show off their new skills they were learning in swimming lessons.   After swimming we headed to The Tavern on France for dinner.   Wish I could say my little bundle handled dinner like he typically does, but he was pretty much a disaster.   Thankfully we avoided a full on screaming and crying fit, but it was a lot of work that my parents, Tiff and I put forth to keep the little tyrant under control.  We even resorted to the iPad to occupy him so we could quickly shove down our meals.   After dinner it was time for packing and getting ready for another early morning flight.  I was kicking myself for flying so early, until Thomas slept most of the flight, we had the entire row to ourselves and we got to spend the day at home with Mike.

Another great trip to Minnesota that is too short to fit everyone in but we got to see most of our family and a few friends too.  Thanks both Mike and my parents for everything they do while we are home!

The Boys are Coming to Town

Mike had a few buddies fly in to attend the CU vs. WA football game.  The weekend was filled with dudes occupying our house, dive bars and laughs.

Stella was very excited to see her Uncle Miller.   He was always our first choice for a babysitter when we were living in Denver and Stella couldn’t get enough of him when he got here.After the boys dropped off their stuff Friday they headed out to find some local bars.  According to their stories they found a pretty great tiny little bar that they were able to take over, read they were the only ones, and even sang a little karaoke.  They got back to the house about 3 a.m. and were all up and ready to get the day rolling on Saturday!

Thomas, Mike, and Uncle Miller headed to Larson’s Bakery to get caramel rolls for the group.  Then it was time for them to head out to tailgate and Thomas and I held down the fort getting in naps and making an apple crisp for dinners dessert.   The picture below was after Thomas went to the freezer to pick out his very own “snack” of ice cream.  Mike also likes to do this and eats ice cream right out of the carton, Thomas is so much like his Daddy!

Saturday after the game Thomas and I went to get the boys and then we headed home.  We stopped at the seafood market and picked up stuff for the seafood boil.  Our first crab boil was a huge success.

Sunday came quickly and the boys scattered back on their ways home.  It was a slow day at the Laschen house and we enjoyed lots of football and laying around. 

Las Vegas

Mike was awarded a trip to Las Vegas and off we went.   We stayed at the Hard Rock and had a great time.  Once we got in on Thursday my friend Renee came over to our hotel to hang out for a bit.  It was her brother in law’s wedding weekend so we had really bad timing for “hanging out.”  After chilling for a bit, Mike and I were able to go to the welcome party for 30 minutes before it was bedtime for Thomas and he wanted his Mommy or Daddy!   

Friday we were up and headed off to breakfast at the Hard Rock Casino’s diner.  Then Mike headed off to his work golf trip and Thomas and I headed down to Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage.  He loved the dolphins.  We must have sat and watched them and talked to them for 45 minutes to an hour.   Then we were off to see the Tigers, Lions, and Spotted Leopards/Cheetas.  The big cats were sleepy but a few of them were up and moving around.  After a quick stop at Starbucks for a make shift lunch we were off to the hotel where Thomas surprised me and didn’t fall asleep right away.  So I was able to show him my favorite thing about staying in hotels, room service.  Thomas thought it was pretty cool to sit like a big boy and eat his my lunch.  Once lunch was over we both took a nap-the day had already been equally as exhausting as fun!

After our lunch and nap we tried the pool out and quickly realized why we were the only ones in the water…it was COLD!   We finally gave up and headed up to the bathtub for some warm semi-swimming.

Once Mike got home we took off to “the strip” to grab dinner and see the lights.  We walked through the Venetian and watched the boats and let Thomas run before grabbing dinner at Canaletto.  Once dinner was over we went and listened to some music in the square and enjoyed gelato for dessert. 
Then we went and caught the lava explosion at the Mirage and the Bellagio light show before heading back to the hotel as we were all ready for bed!  Mike even made the comment that after all his trips to Vegas, our night where we were in bed by 10 was his favorite thus far.  Guess life with a toddler in your world changes the way we look at things.

Saturday morning we got up early again and headed back to “the strip.”  We wanted to catch some of the other hotels out and walked (ran) around Caesar’s Palace.  Thomas threw coins into the fountain, we hope he was making lots of great wishes!  We then went and watched the fish swim in the Atlantis Aquarium. Barrett and Anette also happened to be in town for Renee’s brother in law’s wedding.   How small is the world when Anette and Renee’s BIL’s wife, Helen are both friends from Norway.  Such a BIG yet small world.  We met Barrett and Anette for lunch at Mesa Grill.   Both lunch and our company were great.  Then it was back to the hotel for the boys to nap and I went down to the spa for a manicure and pedicure.  After nap time we were headed back to “the strip.”

Where we took Thomas to The Lion King matinee show.  Mike and I were a little unsure how it would go, but we thought we would try it anyhow.   Successful is an understatement.  Thomas was wide eyed and staring at all the animals and singing the entire show.  There was one intermission and he got a little squirmy for the last 5 minutes during the slow part without animals.  He kept pointing and asking us where the animals were.  After the show Mike and I continued to ask ourselves what we actually thought Thomas took away from it.  Well over the last few days, he has become more interested in his animal toys, wants to watch the Lion King’s circle of life I found on YouTube and will ask for “mo (more),” and at the grocery store ran over to the Lion King yelling “yes!”  I think it is safe to say that he liked it and took something away from it even if he can’t tell us exactly what. 

Following the show we walked down to see the Sharks and other fish and amphibians at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef.   It was a pretty quick in and out trip.  The sharks were big with big teeth too!  Then it was home again to the hotel for Thomas to teach his Daddy about room service.  We were up early for an uneventful flight home.  Our first family trip to Las Vegas was a success!  It was a great time just doing whatever we wanted (more or less) and spending time as a family without having to worry about all regular day things.  I really do love vacation and our family ON vacation. 

*the photo collage above with Thomas picking his nose seems to be his go to “picture pose.”  We hope that this ends sooner than later and until then you may see more of these nose in finger pictures.

Yard/Garden Clean Up and Recap

Summer came and it seems like before we knew it we were into fall.  I say it every year and this year is no exception, Mike and I love fall!  To get our yard ready for fall/winter/rain we did a little clean up!   Away went all the summer toys, we trimmed back the bushes, and all the garden plants found themselves a new home in the compost bin.  I also realized that I forgot to post a few pictures of Thomas and the garden this summer.  He loved the garden and I can’t wait to see what he likes in it next year.  This year I will attribute the garden to increasing his veggies.  He went from tolerating them to going to the garden and asking for more!  His favorite was sugar peas, with carrots, cucumbers, and beans all competing for second, third, and fourth.       We also were able to get several zucchini  and 3 pumpkins!   It really was the little garden box that could!   Our pots did well this year too and we had tomatoes to make pizza sauce and eat.   This fall we planted garlic and onions for next summer, this is the first time planting a fall crop, I can’t wait to see next year holds!

I wish that I could say that these beautiful hydrangeas were in our yard.  Unfortunately, our 2 plants that we tried to bring from Colorado didn’t make it.  I did get a couple new ones at the fall garden sale so I am hoping next summer we have blooms like this in our yard.