Eleven Months...

Dear Leland,

Today, you are eleven months old. It is absolutely insane how fast the last few months have gone. And the fact that you will be a year old in one month blows my mind. This month has been a busy one for you.

You are pulling yourself up on everything, and you do the whole “furniture surfing” thing pretty well. And, of course, you get into all kinds of mischief. Like, playing in the curtains {that are covered in cat hair, because that is also where Diesel likes to play}. Or like trying to stand up in the tub {big no-no}. Or like knocking the small table over that used to sit next to the couch {key words: used to…we put it away for now}. Or like trying to play with the toilet {gross}. Or like trying to chew on computer cords. You get the point. You’re all over the place. But it is so much fun.

In the last few days, you’ve started trying to stand by yourself. You can do it for maybe 5-10 seconds, and you smile so big when you do. You like to do this when I’m sitting right next to you and then fall into my lap. It’s one of our favorite activities these days.

When you don’t get your way, you throw a pretty decent tantrum. For example, you love bath time and pretty much anything that involves being naked. You get so excited when you realize all of your clothes are off. But, eventually, we have to get you dressed again, and you’re not so happy then. You get so mad when you have to get dressed. You also get mad when I have to tell you “No” about one of the aforementioned unsafe/unsanitary things you try to do. But your tantrums are pretty short and you find something to make you happy again.

Most of the time, the only reason you cry is when you’re tired. Sometimes when you’re tired, you fight sleep a little bit, but the second I cover you with your blankie, you’re calm and fall asleep pretty quickly. You love to sleep with your blankie and you like to rub your hand on it as you fall asleep. You actually have several blankets; one for daycare, one for home, and one for the car. They’re all soft and fuzzy and you love them. One day, we were out and about and I forgot to bring a blanket. It was getting close to nap time and you started to fuss, so I put my fleece jacket over you in your car seat and you were asleep in seconds.

You cut three more teeth this month – your two front ones and your other top “fang.” So now you have four teeth on the top and two on the bottom. And with these new teeth comes a new habit of yours: grinding them. Not my favorite sound, but I’m sure once this whole having-teeth thing isn’t so new, you won’t do it anymore.

Look at all those teeth!

You clap your hands now. Mindy plays patty-cake with you at daycare and so now you love to clap. You clap pretty much anytime I start singing or when you’re excited about something. It’s super adorable; trust me.

You’ve been doing the “ba ba ba ba” thing for a while now. But just last week, you started saying “ma ma ma ma.” Now, I know you’re not actually calling me mama, but I still love to hear it.

You experienced a few “firsts” over the last month. You had your first Halloween. You dressed as Donkey from Shrek, while Daddy and I dressed as Shrek and Fiona. It was really cold and rainy, so we only went to a few houses in the neighborhood to show off your cuteness. But you had fun, because you love being outside and you LOVE rain!

You went with me to vote in the presidential election. We saw Grandma Jill there, so she held you while I voted. Our pick of president didn’t win, but we’ll try again next time. ;)

You also had your first Thanksgiving just last week. We went to Aunt Colleen’s house and enjoyed a yummy meal. You ate turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, bread, stuffing, some sweet potato casserole, and a little bit of banana pudding. You loved it all. Then we went to Grandma Patti’s house to visit for a little bit.

Another first {which wasn’t such a fun one} was your first, and hopefully last, ear infection. One morning, you just didn’t seem like yourself, and you cried when I took you to Mindy’s which is not like you. So I took you to the doctor and found out that you had the beginning of an ear infection. I was so sad for you, because I know how bad those hurt. We got some antibiotics, but they didn’t do their job. Yesterday, you still weren’t feeling well, so we went back to the doctor and got some new medicine. Hopefully, you’ll be back to your happy, healthy self soon. I hate seeing you sick.

I have no idea how tall you are, but you weigh just over 21 pounds. You’re still wearing size 4 diapers, and you now mostly wear 12-18 month clothes. Some 12 month clothes still fit you, like pants, but they’re starting to get a little small.

Next month will be your last monthly letter. I can’t even believe it! But I’m sure I will have a lot to tell you about, because it will be a big month with Christmas and your birthday. Before I know it, you will be a toddler, and that is just crazy to me. I am loving watching you grow up, but I am savoring all of your baby-ness at the same time.

Sweet boy, you are my heart. I have never known such love in all my life and I am so thankful and proud to be your mom.

Happy 11 months, sweet baby!

Love,

Mom

Here we go!

We now have snow in northern Michigan. We don't have much yet, but I know winter is on its way! For those of you who don't live in Michigan, here are three reasons for you to never move here.

Homemade Cupcake Tower...

I have seen variations of cupcake towers all over the place lately, especially on Pinterest, and I love them! I don't have any kind of dessert tray or anything like that, so I decided to try making one of my own. My initial thought was that I could use it for Leland's birthday party.

Most of the tutorials I saw said to use glass plates and candlesticks or plates from the dollar store. The problems I saw with these were that glass doesn't glue well to anything and plates from the dollar store might be too flimsy. I wanted to make it out of wood, and I quickly realized I would need help from my dear husband.

When I brought up the topic to Dave, he thought the idea was silly and that it wouldn't work at all {We didn't originally have all of the materials, and we weren't sure where to get them. And he wasn't sure how he was going to adhere the pieces together and make it functional, sturdy, and still look nice}. But here's the thing about my husband. He always tells me my ideas won't work, but always finds a way to make them work. He's magical like that. And guess what? He did it again.

He made me three circle plates with some wood he already had. Then I needed to find some pillars. This was the tricky part. I checked all the local stores: Michael's, Joann Fabrics, Walmart, etc. Finally, I decided to check Goodwill. And wouldn't you know, I found TWO decorative wooden pillars! Only two...there were no others in the store. Crazy.

Once I had my circles and pillars, I needed to paint them. I first primed everything and then painted them with acrylic paints. I decided on blue and green to go with the scrapbook paper I had picked out from my stash. In the picture, the pillars look yellow, but they are just a very pale green.

I had to leave a small center circle free of paint so that the pieces would adhere to each other better.

I wanted to use scrapbook paper to decorate the plates. I am no artist, so I didn't want to attempt to paint a design myself. I chose three different cardstock designs from my stash at home. I was just going to glue a whole piece of paper to each plate, but the paper wasn't big enough to cover the biggest circle, so I had to come up with a different idea. I decided to cut them up into 3 1/2 inch squares and leave little spaces between them.

I laid the paper out how I wanted them.

Once everything was painted and my design was ready, I used mod podge to adhere the paper squares to the circles. I also used mod podge to go over them as a finisher.

I had to kind of take turns with Dave working on each piece. I was able to stick the pieces on the bottom tier first, but the other two, Dave wanted to attach the pillars first {because he was using screws and finish nails, and the paper pieces would be covering those holes}. However, I didn't want the whole thing put together before I mod podged everything on.

So I did the bottom. Then Dave attached the pillar and middle tier and I could put the pieces on that one.

I put the pieces on like this and then used a razor blade to cut off the edges. Much easier than cutting each piece first.

Then Dave attached the other pillar to the top tier and I could put the pieces on there.

Then we had two sections: the bottom and middle tier together and the top tier by itself. Dave used a dowel screw and wood glue to attach those.

To finish it off, I hot-glued ribbon that I already had around each tier. I wanted to use the green for all of the tiers, but only had enough for two, so I used a different one for the middle. Gluing the ribbon was kind of a pain because hot glue dries fast and I couldn't get the ribbons as straight as I'd like.

The finished product...

 

In general, I'm the kind of person who gets an idea and immediately gets started because I can't wait to see the finished product. In that process, I usually mess something up because I'm rushing and being careless. Dave, however, is much more patient and quite a perfectionist. He takes much longer to complete a project and it pretty much always ends up perfect. I am so glad that he helped me with this project because it forced me to slow down and do it well. There are some imperfections, such as the ribbons not being straight and the lines of the scrapbook papers not lining up perfectly {because they weren't cut perfectly to begin with} but overall, it is great. While, in my head, I imagined it looking perfect, I appreciate the imperfections because it means it was a hand-crafted project; it's not going to look like it rolled off an assembly line.

I love my completed project and am so, so, SO appreciative of my wonderful husband helping me with it. He is amazing. Like I said, he always says it can't be done, but he always finds a way. So, like it or not, Dave, I'm going to keep coming up with projects for you.

P.S. What I especially love about this project was that the only cost to me was the paint and the pillars. The pillars were $1.50 total from Goodwill and the paints were 50 cents each at Walmart.

Christmas Card 2012...

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't share our Christmas card before sending it out, but I want the $10 coupon toward future purchases. We have some Christmas gifts to order through Shutterfly and I love saving money. So...check it out!

Conversation with my Husband...

Me: I can't believe it's the weekend already and our vacation is almost over. It went too fast.

Dave: Well, in about a month, you get another two weeks off. Must be nice.

Me: Yeah, but you know that's going to go fast. And then I have to wait three months for spring break.

Dave: Wow. That's pretty rough. Three whole months.

Me {totally ignoring his sarcasm}: I know. And then I have another three months after that until summer vacation. And that's going to go too fast, too. They all do.

Dave: Yeah. I don't feel sorry for you. You get all kinds of time off, and I get a week or two a year.

Me {totally interrupting him}: SNOW DAYS! I GET SNOW DAYS! I forgot about those! I didn't get any last year, because they all happened on my maternity leave. But I'm sure I'll have some this year! Yay! I get snuggle with Leland on snow days!!!

Dave: Stop. You need to just stop.

I'm here to tell you, friends, that teaching makes you greedy. All this time off is wonderful, but it makes me greedy for more. And my poor husband has to sit there and listen to me complain about how all of my time off goes too fast. I love, love, love my job, but I love my time with my baby more.

And so begins the countdown for Christmas break...

27 days!

Fall Photos...

My sister-in-law, Melinda, offered to take some fall pictures for us. We went to the Grand Traverse Commons, which is the same place we went for maternity pictures last year. It's just an area of old buildings that are being renovated, but it's so pretty there.

Here are some favorites...

You may recall a picture similar to this one from our maternity shoot. We took one with our feet and a pair of baby booties in between. Now, those shoes are filled by my sweet boy.

Thankful...

Yes, this is one of those posts where the blogger gets all mushy about what they have to be thankful for. I can't help it. This year, more than any other year, I am thankful. So, so thankful.

I am thankful for early mornings, because they mean my sweet baby boy is awake and smiling and happy to see his mama.

I am thankful for boring Friday nights at home, because they mean we have a roof over our heads and we are enjoying our time together as a family.

I am thankful for a messy living room, because it means Leland is having fun playing with his toys.

I am thankful for a wet bathroom floor, because it means bath time was extra fun that night.

I am thankful for a noisy house, because it means hearing shrieks of laughter, giggles, and silly "gremlin" noises from the most precious boy in all the land.

I am even thankful for stinky diapers, because they mean my boy is eating well.

This year, this Thanksgiving, I am beyond thankful for the amazing gift I have received. Nothing gives me greater joy than being his mama.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Sassy Gay Friend...

I was recently introduced to the Sassy Gay Friend videos on YouTube. If you haven't heard of this before, please make yourself familiar. Hilarious.

Day Date...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have this whole week off from school. Well, Dave decided to take this week off too, so we can spend the week together.

Today, Dave and I decided to take Leland to daycare so that we could have a little day date. We ran a few errands, had a quick lunch, and then went to see a movie. We saw Taken 2, which was pretty good. It wasn't as good as the first, but what movie ever is?

After the movie, we did what any American couple does on a date; we went grocery shopping.

By the time we were done grocery shopping, it was 4:00, and we were both missing our boy. We scooped him up from daycare and enjoyed a nice dinner at home, followed by playing and lots of giggles.

It was so nice to have a date with my husband. Our last one was in August, so we were much overdue. And our last movie theater experience was last December, before Leland was born. But the nicest thing was not feeling like we were missing out on time with him. Part of the reason we never have a date night is because we have such limited time with him with our work schedules and we're not willing to give up that time. It was awesome to take him to daycare, where he would usually be anyway, but for a shorter time than usual. So we got our date and our special time with him.

I am so excited to have the rest of the week with both of my boys. It's already going faster than I'd like, but I am savoring every second.

Reinhold Fall...

A few weeks ago, Dave's sister asked me to come over and take some pictures of her family. It was a busy week for me, but I was able to go over one night after work and get a few shots.

The boys, Caleb and Isaac, were in great moods, but were very active and it was hard to get pictures of them together. And Isaac was a little nervous about me and my camera. After just a few minutes, we realized we might be better off trying to get individual pictures of the boys and we could try for "together" pictures some other time.

Here are some of the ones I got...

Laura and Isaac

Caleb

Caleb

Isaac

Isaac

I managed one good family one.

Mom and Dad {Laura and Jabin}

The Next Nine Days...

The next nine days will be spent...

Snuggling my baby.

Relaxing with my husband.

Starting some projects for Leland's birthday.

Enjoying time as a family.

Because I have the next nine days off. Because my school is amazing and is closed the entire week of Thanksgiving. And Dave took the week off too.

I will savor every glorious moment.

{And actually, my vacation started a little early. Leland wasn't feeling well this morning, so we stayed home and later found out he had an ear infection. Poor bub. Good thing we have the next nine days to snuggle and recoup.}

Wordless Wednesday...

Leland's 1st Thanksgiving craft - made at daycare

First Hair Cut...

Today, Leland got his first hair cut. Yes, at 10 months old.

I have many friends and family members who said I should wait to cut his hair. They said I need to let it grow out longer. {Someone even said I have to wait until it curls. Ummm...Leland takes after me...his hair isn't going to curl.} But I couldn't wait. His hair was growing in really unevenly; he had some normal length strands and some really long strands, and the back was getting really long too. I wanted it more even. Plus, I'm all about the preppy boy look, and how is he supposed to look preppy with some crazy Doc Brown {from Back to the Future} hair style?

So anyway, like it or not, my baby had his first hair cut. We went to Sharkey's because it's a kids' place, and I wanted someone who knew how to deal with a baby. He did so well! He sat in the chair the whole time and was happy as a clam. The stylist kept saying how she couldn't believe how great he was doing.

Getting his hair wet

Ha ha...this picture cracks me up!

Bye bye, crazy hair!

He started chewing on the apron, so I gave him his paci.

After...my handsome boy.

The hair cut took about 10 minutes. I was glad it was quick, but $15 seemed like a lot to spend on a 10-minute hair cut. Next time, I think we'll try JC Penney. They do free kids' hair cuts on Sundays!