Momma's Boy?

So, we joined the YMCA this past week. I really been wanting to work out and they have childcare included in the monthly fee. Perfect, right? I wish.

I know that Hunter isn't fond of strangers. He's perfectly fine being left with family that he knows as well as a couple of my friends. He hates the nursery at church and they pretty much call us every time we go to church to come get Hunter because he won't stop crying. I really don't want him to be crying for me on his first day of Kindergarten. So, I thought the Y would be a consistent routine to get him used to it and I can start with just 20 minutes. The first day was okay. He wanted to go in and check out the toys, but made sure I came with him. We played for a while and then I snuck out. The lady said he was okay until some parents came to get other kids and he melted down. When I got back he was sitting in the lady's lap just sniffling. The fact that he settled down was a good sign to me. The next he was onto my game. He clung to me the minute we walked in the door. I handed him over screaming and went and did my 20 minutes. I came back and he was standing up against the counter crying off and on. She said he cried everytime the gate opened and a parent picked up their child.



Today will be Day 3. Wish us luck! They say they've had some kids like him and after a week or two they don't want to leave when it's time. For some reason I think my kid's a bit more stubborn. But I hope she's right.

Update: Day 3 and 4 were a little better. He now knows where we are when we pull into the parking lot and starts whimpering. He cried when I left him each day, but was able to calm down and quit crying the rest of the time. But he made the lady hold him the whole time. He just sat there in her lap until I came back. I'll take that as progress.

Happy Easter!

Hunter doesn't slow down long enough to take a family photo so I unfortunately don't have one of those. I managed to get him with daddy though.

Hunter had a blast hunting for Easter eggs. He knew exactly what to do and carried his basket around collecting them. Then once it got too full and heavy he gave it to Daddy to carry.

Show Me Your Muscles

Heath and Hunter have a nightly ritual of warming up Hunter's cup of milk. Heath begins by saying, "Hunter, do you want your milk?" and Hunter stops whatever he's doing and runs toward the kitchen. They get the milk out of the fridge, get a cup, pour it, put it in the microwave, put the milk back in the fridge, open the microwave, get the milk, and put the top on it. When Hunter shuts the fridge door or microwave door Heath will ask him to show his muscles and this is what you get....

Green Meadows Farm

We went to Green Meadows Farm today. It's a petting farm with lots of different animals. They take you on a guided walking tour where you gets to pet many animals and even hold some (baby ducks & chicks and big ducks & chickens), go on a hay ride, and ride a pony. Hunter had a good time seeing all the animals. He really enjoyed just being able to run wild and free!

A Day at Magic Kingdom!

Jennifer treated us and another mom & son to a day at Magic Kingdom today. We hit the park right at 9am. We rode several rides with nearly no wait at all, took the train around the park, played at the playground, met Mickey, ate french fries for lunch (don't tell!), and then headed for the car at 2 o'clock. Hunter had a blast and was so well behaved all day. Not having to wait in lines helped a lot I'm sure. At this age he's just mesmorized by the rides and shows. Occasionally, he'll point at something, but otherwise he just has an 'in awe' look on his face. We're so lucky to have been able to experience Disney a few times already courtesy of great friends. I know Hunter won't remember, but it's so fun to watch him experience it all right now.

P.S. I keep forgetting to mention that I put an age counter at the bottom of my blog so you can see how old Hunter is at any given time. I know it's hard to keep up.

I made Mickey and Minnie shirts for the kids. They looked so cute!
Here's a closer picture of the shirt.
Not sure, but no crying!

Hunter vs Blanket

MGM.... again!

Hunter and I were invited to MGM on Saturday with our neighbor and her son. We saw a few shows, played on the plaground, had lunch and came home. It's nice to be able to go for half a day and not feel like you aren't getting your money's worth.

Hunter wasn't sure about the characters. This was the first time he's been this close to any of them. It went over much better than Santa did!
weeeeeeeeeee!

Written In Thread's Latest Product

Many of you have seen this in an email I sent, but for anyone that hasn't I'm going to post it here. I need all the advertising I can get!

For those of you that may not know, I run a web business, Written In Thread, where I sell embroidered products for different occasions. My latest product is Custom Appliqued Shirts for babies and kids. They can be personalized with the child's name or age. There is a selection of adorable material to choose from for boys or girls. It's a perfect gift for the child who has everything. You can also put the applique design on a burp cloth or bib!

Thanks for looking! Feel free to share my website with your friends and family!

Baby Steps

The one thing Hunter is not is a good eater. He makes me a little crazy though I've learned to just deal with it. He can't be perfect at everything, right?! He doesn't eat a whole lot and what he does eat isn't all that great for him. He never loved baby food. He ate some of it, but never anything green. His variety of table foods isn't much better. Generally, he eats some fruits (banana, orange, apple), one vegetable (corn, which doesn't really count as a veggie to me), chicken if it's fried, yogurt, and pretty much any carb or snack food you offer him.

Last night we sat down to dinner. Hunter always thinks he wants what we have on our plates (even if it's what is already on his plate). This time it was caesar salad. Heath gave him a piece of lettuce...... and he ate it! And he ate some more! Now lettuce isn't exactly nutritious, but it's a start. He even ate the insides out of some cherry tomatoes. Here's proof!

Hunter is anything, but predictable with his eating so I really don't expect him to chow down on a bowl of lettuce the next time I offer it. But at least he's broadening his horizons in the food department!

17 Months

Hunter turned 17 months a couple of days ago. I can't believe it! Here is some of what he's doing now.

• He points to these body parts when asked: tongue, nose, belly button, ear, eye and hands.
• Does animal sounds and/or signs for: monkey, cow, crocodile (you know I can't say alligator!), lizard, duck, elephant, lion, tiger, rabbit, and fish
• Words he says: dog, duck, go, shoes, mama, dada, all done, teeth, tickle, hi, trash, hot, no no, bubbles. He's trying to say a lot of things, but these are the ones you can understand.
• He has 8 teeth - 4 on top and 4 on the bottom.
• He does some of the hand motions to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
• He loves to put things in the trash. If we hand home something and tell him to put it in the trash he runs off saying "trash, trash" and goes straight to the trash can.
• He understands A LOT! He may not say a whole lot, but he knows what you're talking about most of the time.

And of course, some pictures!

Hunter and Zach rocking together. They did this for like 10 minutes while saying 'weeeeeeee!'

He likes to stand on top of things.
Where's Hunter?Peekaboo!