Case 22 Months

Wouldn't 20 months have been a good round number to post about... well your mom is a big slacker and is just now getting around to this so here is a look at you at 22 months!

Talking:  Wow!  Everyday you say more and more.  I never thought it would be so amazing to watch someone learn to talk but I stand in awe of you and all that you learn each and every day!  I can no longer give a count of how many words you say.  There are WAY too many now.  The good news... you are FINALLY saying Mommy and you say it so clearly!  I LOVE it!!!  You will come up to me and pat my chest and say "Mommy" and you'll do the same thing with Daddy, oh and you also do the same thing with our cars.  So cute!  I love that when I go into your room to get you out of bed in the morning you say "Hi Mommy!" just as clear as can be.  You try to carry on whole conversations but usually we only understand one or two words in your rant.  You are even starting to put some sentences together, like "I see monkey."  I LOVE to listen to you talk!  You have the sweetest little voice, even when you are using it to say "toot" and "burp" (which totally cracks both of us up by the way)!!!

Clothes:  You are wearing size 7.5 wide shoes but you also haven't been measured in a while and I think some of your shoes are too small so we might be getting close to 8's now!  Your clothes are now mostly 2T or 24m.  I have stopped cloth diapering you.  I decided you poop too much and you do NOT sit still during diaper changes... it just became too much of a battle that wasn't worth fighting.  I bought you a bunch of disposable diapers in size 4 but after the playground debacle where the diaper didn't totally cover your butt therefore causing most of the poop to land in your jeans and us to go home not long after we got there I think I need to rethink this size and maybe move up to a 5 (wow... was that the world's longest run-on sentence?).  Speaking of poop (this is a segway everyone enjoys right?) now when you poop you'll point to your butt and say "Poop!"... might mean we are getting closer to potty training!  I don't know if I'm dreading this challenge or looking forward to it.  I guess we'll see.

Nursery/YMCA Child Watch:  I'm SO happy to report that you are now happy to go to the nursery at church!  We started going to the new YMCA at the end of June and I put you in intense drop off and pick up training for a couple of weeks while I worked out.  At first you would cry every time I dropped you off.  Then you got to where you would cry but through the tears you would still hold your arm out so they could put your wristband on and you would walk through the door without any sort of a struggle.  When I picked you up though I would watch you playing happily until the moment you saw me and then you'd totally lose it again.  It was as if you were totally doing this for my benefit... "Mommy I've missed you and cried the entire time!"  Well, eventually it got to where you couldn't fake it anymore... now you've figured out how to open their door and you can't even wait for your wristband but you still put on quite a show when I pick you up.  There are no tears but you totally light up and run to me yelling "Mommy!  Mommy!"  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!!  I hope you never stop doing it!!!  Yes I know it will be a little akward when you are in 7th grade running out yelling "Mommy!  Mommy!" but who needs friends anyways:-)

Eating:  You still eat a pancake and an egg every morning for breakfast.  You've also eaten oatmeal and you seem to like it too!  You are getting better and better with a fork but I am not the best at remembering to give you one every time you eat (this is probably a subconscious, cant' stand the mess move on my part).  You drink about one cup full of milk each day and the rest of the time it is water, with the occasional juice or watered down juice (especially when Daddy is in charge of meal time).  You don't seem picky about your drinks.  You have been eating really well this week; however it won't surprise me to see you go back down to one good meal a day next week.  You still love fruit and pizza but I think your first real love is fruit snacks... they are sort of like crack for you.  Once you have one you can't get enough!  You will also eat green beans, peas, turkey, chicken, avacado, spaghetti, broccoli, and mac and cheese off and on.  You seem to get to where you want something at every meal and then you need a break from it.  You would really just prefer to pilfer through the pantry at your own leisure.  You frequently stand at the pantry door yelling, "snackie!"

TV:  Well you have gone from not really caring too much about the tv to being totally obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba.  Today marks a big day in the Johnston house because Netflix has released more episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba so we no longer have to watch the same 20 episodes over and over and over and over and over again.  I was so excited when I saw this that I had to call Daddy at work.  I don't know what to say about this show other than it is probably the worst show ever and yet you totally love it.  I wish you had gotten attached to something a little more educational but here we are, watching wierd characters with names like Fufa and Moono under the strict supervision of a giant DJ Lance Rock.  You have decided that you like Super Why, which is way better for you, well as far as tv goes.  I do try to limit your tv time and usually you are pretty good with that but sometimes you want it on just as background noise even though you aren't watching it.

New things:  Somehow you gave up your paci.  This didn't result in an all out drag out fight leaving you hating me.  It just happened naturally.  I'm SO SO SO glad I didn't try to force this issue when that nutjob pediatric dentist tried to get me to.  Instead just a few short months later you showed me that you were ready to let the paci go by throwing them out of your crib on several occasions.  You've always liked to throw them out but you would usually keep one in bed with you... not anymore.  You have been so amazing to show me when you are ready to do things and I just need to trust that I'm reading your behavior right.  When I do everything seems to work out.  So you are now pacifier free pretty much on your own.

You now know several of your letters.  I'm so amazed when I work with you on something and it actually sticks (that never seemed to happen when I was actually getting paid to teach).  You also know some colors like green, blue, indigo (yep... indigo... I'm not even sure I know when I see indigo but you have a book that has an indigo page and you always say the color), and purple (although it is usually pink or red when you say purple).

You have pretty much mastered Grandma's iPhone.  You know how to unlock it and slide from screen to screen to find the games that you want to play.  I think it has really helped you learn your animals.  You've gone from accidentally getting the occasional question in your games right to intentionally getting them right.  You just keep learning and learning and I'm enjoying every minute of watching you!!!

Teeth:  You have 4 molars now!  The rest of your teeth are in or on their way in (at least I think they are however you aren't the most cooperative when I go digging in your mouth to count teeth).

Sleeping:  You are a great sleeper!!!  You take one nap each day now.  It usually starts after lunch sometime between 12:30 and 1.  You will usually sleep until about 3.  You go to bed about 8:30 each night.  It usually takes you about 30 minutes to actually fall asleep though.  You wake up about 7 or 7:30 each morning but you always wake up happy!!!

Big Brother:  You are a pretty good big brother!  You think it is SO funny when you make "Tybee" laugh.  "Tybee is your nickname for Ty, which was a huge relief because for a long time I was trying to figure out how I was going to explain to Ty that you called him "Debbie"... I'm glad I finally figured out that you were saying "Tybee".  You've gotten a little territorial with your toys now.  You want to tell Ty "NO!" a lot.  You're so cute when you try to help us burp Ty... you are even gentle.  It was funny when you were choking on something that had gone down the wrong pipe the other day I saw you patting your own back... SO CUTE!  I absolutely LOVE to see you with Ty (especially when you aren't telling him "No!").  I think he is going to learn so quickly watching you... this will have it's good and bad moments!

And now here is a look at you in pictures from 18 months to 22 months...

Your first trip through the spray park
at the zoo!  You were so cute!!!

You are now obsessed with lining your
cars up and pushing them in a train;
however when they don't push right
look out because there are probably going
to be cars flying!

Eating your "snackie" and watching Gabba

Trying to relive your early year

playing in your toybox

Going in to wake "Tybee" up

Who needs a paci when you have your favorite Christmas
ornament to sleep with?!?!

No, I'm not kidding... you love to have this in bed with you.

The first time you "held" Tybee... I think he
might actually be big enough to hold you!

You and me before Daddy and I went out for our 9th
anniversary

Your favorite garage toy... you love to
"work" in the garage when Daddy does!

Your first Happy Meal!  It's like a right of passage or something!

You're like a stunt driver already!  

You can now open all doors... knob or
lever... nothing is keep you out except a lock!

You have incredible fashion sense!!!

You make me smile more times than I can count each day. You are so special to me and I cherish all of our time together (even the not so easy times).  You amaze me in how much you learn each day and how quickly you've turned into a little boy.  I love you SO SO much Case!!!

Love,
Mommy

Shopping Cart

Ty went on his first shopping cart ride sitting in the seat.  What a perfect place too.... Lowe's.  He loved it and looked like such a big boy!  

This was pretty much his first big trip out since his virus started over a week ago.  So the update on that... I was in communication with the doctor twice last week and both times he was saying virus.  As of yesterday (not sure about today... he is patiently waiting for me to get him out of bed right now) he still had diarrhea, which seemed pretty crazy to me because this is a kid that usually only goes every 2 or 3 days.  He also has a rash on his face and is still not sleeping great at night, although he doesn't seem quite as restless.  I took him to the doctor yesterday and he's still saying virus.  He's the doc... I need to just trust that God is giving me all the details I need and keep praying that there is nothing more to this.  He has been much happier, not totally back to himself but getting there, so that is making life a lot easier again!  

Born to Eat Real Food

Ty got rice cereal for the first time on the day he turned 5 months old.  Unfortunately that video got deleted so here is a look at his second attempt with rice cereal.  Yep I've shared a 2 minute video of Ty eating rice cereal. It's 2 minutes you'll never get back but it was interesting to us!  He's SO good at it!  Wayne had a hard time getting the spoon out of his mouth at times.  I can remember Case not being nearly as good with the rice cereal as Ty is but perhaps that is because we had to start him on it so early since we were out of bottle space so early on.  

Out of Control

Life is feeling very out of MY control right now.  Ty has been puking off and on since Saturday night and he has some serious diarrhea.  Yesterday Case fell down the stairs... there was blood but he is fine (I'm not gonna lie... it was a little scary).  I am hosting a shower this weekend... luckily it isn't at my house but there is a lot to do for it.  Life is hard right now because I don't know what is going to happen in 10 minutes or 10 days with Ty.  His puking has been so sporadic (Sat. night, Monday night, Tuesday overnight) that I am walking around with a towel in hand (I just had my carpet cleaned on Monday afternoon).  I'm worried about him.  I don't know what causes this off and on puking and all this diarrhea.  There's been so much diarrhea that I've typed it so many times between now and when it started that I've actually learned how to spell it without the help of spell check.  That's a LOT of diarrhea!  I'm scared that we're missing something.  I called the doctor yesterday morning at 8 and didn't hear back until 5:30 yesterday evening.  Now I will let this slide because it was the actual doctor that called me back.  He wasn't worried yet.  Of course he assumed that since Ty hadn't puked again since Monday evening that he was done... he was wrong!  When I got him out of bed this morning both him and his bed were covered in vomit.  This seems like a long time for a stomach bug to be going on and so far no one else in my house has caught it.


I'm worried.  I'm worried that there might be something more to this.  This is what I do.  This is what I need to stop doing!  Every trial God leads me through has a reason.  I'm pretty sure the reason for this trial is to remind me that I am NOT in control, nor am I supposed to be in control.  Why is it such a struggle for me to put my faith in Him and just let it all go?  God already knows how all of this ends so why on earth do I think me being in control can somehow change that???  His word says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God -Philipians 4:6."  I've been doing some serious petitioning to God.  Every once in a while when things seem so hard I get this moment of clarity (obviously from God) that reminds me that there are people going through so much worse than this right now.  I know someone that is saying a final goodbye to a parent, another that is laying her grandfather to rest, I follow blogs of parents with babies that they are just trying to keep alive, those holding their breath hoping the heart their daughter received isn't rejected and here I sit fighting tears because my little boy has some sort of a virus. It's the unknown that scares me.  It's the out of control that I don't like.  I pray that God will continue to remind me of how blessed I am, and that He will heal my baby and protect my bigger baby and my husband. This has been a hard week but not nearly as hard as it could be, as it is for some friends.  I am so grateful that even though I'm completely out of control, He is in total control and hasn't faltered for even a moment.  


Thank you God for my babies and my amazing husband and help me to keep my perspective centered on You! 

Baby Jam Moms

I got to go out for a Mom's Night Out last Friday night.  One of the Baby Jam mom's is about to have her baby so we always celebrate with a "last night out for a while" for the moms that are about to be blessed with baby number 2.  I can tell you these ladies are a big piece of why I am still somewhat sane!  Congrats to Megan... can't wait to hear that baby is here... oh and thanks for the excuse for to have a night out!

So ladies... who's next... I'm going to need some more nights out to look forward to!

Comparing

I'm sure I'm breaking one of the first rules of motherhood with this but I love to compare the boys.  It is fun to look back at what Case was doing as Ty reaches each monthly milestone.  There's been a lot of controversy (I'm talking Fox News worthy) about whether Case and Ty look alike so here ya go... you be the judge...

Ty- Five Months Old

Dear My Sweet Baby Boy,
Here we are 5 months out from the day we met.  I can remember being so scared during the first couple weeks of your life.  I was devastated that I'd ruined Case's life and that I'd never love you as much as I did him.  I was wrong... on both counts.  You have brought so much joy not only to Daddy and me but also to your brother.  He loves you SO much... he can't say it yet but he sure does show it when you see his face light up because "Tybee" is awake!  And as for loving you as much as Case... I do!  I can't put into words how much I love both of you boys!  You, Case, and Daddy light up my life!

Here's a look at you... 5 months old...

Sleep:  You are doing pretty good with sleeping.  Most days I can get both of you boys napping at the same time at least for a little bit.  You go to bed around 9 and usually wake up between 5:00 and 5:30 each morning to eat.  The good news is you usually go back to sleep for another hour or so.  You can Case wake up at nearly the same time each morning.  I'm not gonna lie though... Mommy is tired and if you want to sleep for a full 12 hours each night that would be ok with me... oh and perhaps you could teach your brother this trick as well.  I really can't complain about sleep though... you've come a LONG way in 5 months!

Taking a snuggly snooze in Mommy and Daddy's bed... no,
we don't allow this very often!

You even look laid back in your sleep!

Eating:  Oh boy... eating?!?!  I still get a little frustrated in this department but I'm quickly learning to just let you guide it and I'm letting it go.  You eat close to 6 ounces at each feeding still.  Usually the full bottle at 5:30 in the morning and then your next feeding, around 9:30 you will only eat 2 or 3 ounces.  The remainder of your daytime feedings seem to be around the 4 ounce mark unless you are falling asleep and then  you are happy to finish a 6 ounce bottle.  You are truly a nighttime eater.  You might go through 14 ounces between the hours of 6 and 9.  Somehow you keep gaining weight and I sure don't look at you and question your nourishment so I am working on not worrying about how much you eat.  Some of the books say that if you watch us closely when we eat it might be a sign that you are ready for solids... well I don't think you could be more interested.  Your eyes follow every bite I take.  The doctor said you need to have started solids by 6 months but he gave us the go ahead when you were 4 months.  I'm honestly just not ready for that mess!!!  Again... I think it is time to let it go and give rice cereal a try and that way you should be pretty good at it by 6 months when we're going to expect you to try other things as well.  I wonder what kind of an eater you will be.

Clothes:  You are comfortably in 9 month clothes (I'm not sure about pants... they might be a little long yet but that hasn't been an issue since it's been about 100 degrees all summer).  You can still wear some 6 month stuff but I would say time is running out!

Play:  You have now mastered the jumperoo!  You love to sit in it and just go to town jumping up and down.

I promise you are usually much more excited in your jumperoo
than this but I didn't have good photographic evidence!

You also like your exersaucer and have become really good at walking it in circles when we leave it on the kitchen floor (it has a stationary post that you can walk around).  You just look so big in these toys!  I doesn't seem like you should be ready for all that yet but you are a pro!  You love pretty much any toy we give you at this point!  My hair continues to be one of your favorite toys as well... I would just chop it off but I'm not sure it would do much good because even when it is pulled back you manage to grab it at the root, which is WAY worse!  You also LOVE to play with Case and you just light up anytime he gets close to you!

This is your with your new buddy Michael, the next
generation of Baby Jammers!

New Things:  Rolling has become a piece of cake to you.  It is pretty much your mode of transportation at this point.  You can roll across a room no problem!  You are giggling more and more (this usually results in hiccups... I should look up the science behind this but you and I both know I'm not going to... we'll just ask Daddy).  You seem to be responding to your name or perhaps it's just our voices... either way you are all ears!  Your legs are getting stronger and stronger and you are getting close to sitting up but you aren't quite there yet.  You still never cry... this isn't really a new thing but it is definitely noteworthy.  Sometimes you fuss but it usually doesn't go much farther than that.  Your lack of tears is amazing to me!!!  I love that you are so laid back and such an easy baby!!!

Your mattress is so high that as soon as you wake up and lift
your head you start chewing on the rail... I guess I'm going to
have to invest in some rail guards when those teeth poke through.

Case sharing his toys with you... nothing like hard sharp
blocks in your bed!

You have a VERY busy tongue... it is frequently sticking out!

LOVE that big smile!!!

Waiting patiently for your brother to be done playing.

I wish I could slow time down some.  You seem to be growing up even faster than Case at your age.  I love you every second of every minute of every day Ty!  You are one of the three loves of my life!!!

Love always!
Mommy