I know, I know, long time no blog. Now even the hubby is getting on my case! Sheesh! A girl just can't catch a break!! Anyway...I'm a month late in posting this (ergo the title of The Squishy @ 13 Months as opposed to The Squishy @ 1 Year like I had originally planned) but you get the idea. So, here's a little bit about our little manly, at a little over a year old.

Age: One Year! (13 Months)

Weight: 22 lbs (50th Percentile) This was his weight from his one year checkup.

Height: 30 Inches (50th Percentile) This was his height from his one year checkup.

Size: Jackson "The Squishy" Odom is in all 18 month clothes now. Some of which are big, some of which fit perfectly depending on the brand. We tend to think that he is HUGE but I think its pretty much because his big sister is so small for her age (plus he is right in the middle of the curve at the 50th percentile for both height and weight, and being an engineer, I like data and curves so I tend to believe that first). Although he is starting to lose some of his baby fat, he sure still has hit baby chunk and I love it! His thighs are huge and he has the most manly, swollen little hands and feet. (They aren't really swollen, they just look like it they are so darn chunky!)

Dislikes: The last time I did this update, I think it was when Jackson was 8 months old and I said that overall, he didn't have too many dislikes. Well, boy has that changed! This little stinker has plenty of dislikes and certainly makes it known! One thing is pretty consistent though which is when he is tired, he just wants to go to sleep. He wants his bed and that's it. He is becoming more and more of a picky eater lately though and will eat some veggies, but not many. Lately, he hasn't been a big fan whatever kind of meat we are having for dinner, like chicken or pork or steak. Oh, and this kid HATES eggs. Won't touch scrambled eggs if his life depended on it. Yet will chow down on a crab cake given the chance. At this age, Emma loved to eat just plain ham or turkey (think lunch meat) but not The Squishy. Now if you put it on bread with some mayo, mustard and cheese, he will eat almost an entire sandwich.

Words: So this one is hard because Squishy started talking just around his first Birthday and had a couple of words. Mama, Dada and Hi. But then it was like he just decided to stop! So he has been pretty quiet lately but just recently started talking a lot more. We have heard several "Daddy"s, also "eye", lately, and randomly you might hear something that you think might have been a word, but then you won't hear it for a few weeks. It's pretty interesting to compare him to his big sister at this age though. At 13 months, Emma could say Mama, Dada, Duck, Fan, Cracker, Cupcake, Crab, Car, Cup, Pop, Papa, Dog, Ball and Emma. She also knew several animal sounds too when you asked  her. Squishy will repeat the sound of a dinosaur or a monkey, but won't make the sound on his own. He has really started trying though and its more than just the normal babble because he will say the same sounds (he thinks they are words) when pointing to something. So he is trying!

Personality: The Squishy continues to have the same personality as he grows, it just seems to magnify! He is still very much like his sister in the fact that he is one happy baby. We get lots of comments from strangers at how happy he is. Mostly because they don't live in our house from the hours of 5:30 to 7:30PM. :) That is one part where The Squishy is NOT like his sister. Every night, he gets VERY demanding for those two hours. I really don't know where it came from. I'm not the kind of mom that carries him around all night but you wouldn't think that from the way he follows me around and cries every night. Maybe it stems from his colic as an infant, who knows, but that is one thing that makes the evenings a bit tough. He continues to play hard, and then crash hard at night. He is still a lover. He is still a snuggler (on his own terms though) and he still loves flirting with the ladies. His level of determination has only increased and man is this little guy stubborn!! If you take something away from him and he disagrees with that decision, he continues to let you know that and now, does it by yelling and screaming and folding himself in half and laying on the floor. Yup. We are SO going to be THOSE parents with the kid flapping around like a fish out of water screaming on the floor in Target. Despite his manly little temper tantrums, The Squishy is still a mama's boy (at least so far) and I can't help but just soak up every last minute of it. 

Eating: Overall, Jackson continues to be a pretty good eater, despite having his picky days. He was extremely easy to transition to "people" food as we call it from his baby food which he gladly gave up. He has also been on whole milk since his birthday weekend. He is learning to use a fork and spoon now as well! He still can't be trusted with a plate or bowl full or anything because it will end up on his head, but, so far so good with the fork and spoon. At this point, Emma was still getting a couple bottles (partly because I really didn't know when to transition her and we also switched pediatricians and our new pediatrician was pro-sippy cups and regular cups a little earlier).

Milestones: I'm sure that I am going to forget something here because there seems to be a new milestone everyday! So off the top of my head, Jackson started walking at 10 months, and is now learning to walk backwards, sideways and is even starting to run (mostly when he gets wind of Mommy or Daddy wanting to take something away from him). :) The Squishy is big into pointing now as well, and talking (like I mentioned above). Oh! And this kid can bust a move! Bring on the dancing shoes!

Favorite Things: Hmmm, let's see. Well, first and foremost, The Squishy's favorite stuffed animal is his abominable snowman! Abominable snowman is to Jackson, as Pink Bear is to Emma. He does take after his sister in this category as well as he loves stuffed animals! He loves to play outside and isn't afraid of the dirt by any means. The Squishy also loves his big sister. Just recently, he is started to pay more attention to television (and yes, we are THOSE horrible parents that let their one year old watch a TV show every now and then). He seems to be a big fan of The Fresh Beat Band.

Movement: Yes. All the time. :)

Teeth: He hasn't cut any teeth in a few months though and still has his top four and bottom two.

Sleeping: Just around his first birthday we started to transition the Squishy down to one nap. It was touch and go for a few weeks, and we even backed off a little because the little man sometimes still needed that cat nap to get him through the morning. He is fully on one nap though now, and usually sleeps from 1:00 to 3:30 or so. Granted, he seems to do much better during the week than on the weekends when he is famous for sleeping for an hour total. Stinker. He is pretty consistent with his bedtime and is usually down at 7:30. Sometimes we might stretch it to 8:00 if he had a great nap, and there are a lot of nights where its a stretch to get him to 7:00PM on short naps. The Squishy usually "sleeps in" until about 6:30 in the morning. Oh, and just like his big sissy, he still sleeps in the same position every night. On his belly, snuggled up tight with "Bom Bom".

So there you have it! I am sure there is a lot that I am forgetting, but this little man keeps us on our toes for sure. I can't wait to see what he is like as he grows older. As long as he keeps that love of snuggling his Mama, we will be okay. :)

Weekend = Success & "Punchweed" The Worm

Easter may have been a bit of a FAIL this year (more to come on that later), but we sure made up for it with an absolutely amazing weekend. It's so easy to get wrapped up in everything that needs to get done on the weekends when most of the week is spent at work and lose sight of what the weekends are really about. I started to feel like we were in a weekend-rut lately because of all the laundry and cleaning and errands that need to happen every weekend to get us through the week. Normally there is some kind of activity with the kids, but I think the focus can easily get misplaced on everything that needs to get done, instead of truly spending time with the babies. They always come with us, but it's just different.

So this weekend, I decided to push back my incredible need to clean or do laundry (at least at first) and along with Wes, we made it a true weekend with the babies. I think a lot of our weekend-rut stems from the anxiety that I still struggle with, but that's no excuse. The majority of every Monday through Friday is spent at the office and focusing on work, so each week, the two days that I have left to focus on my babies, needs to be just that.

It was an especially long week at work last week, with several nights back on the laptop after the babies were in bed, so I was eager to head out a bit early on Friday and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous weather with the babies. I made a quick dash on my way home to Michael's to pick up some new picture frames for our hallway (they were having a 50% off sale and I had an additional 20% off coupon). The weather was too nice to not head outside so while Daddy cut the grass, the babies and I played in the backyard. I put the final coat of paint on our Board and Batten in our hallway after the babies were asleep (I just wasn't happy without one more) and it looks even better now.

Emma Kathryn and I headed out bright and early Saturday morning for some special Mommy-Daughter time. The plan was to go to IKEA to pick out our new "bench" for our hallway but since the babies get up so early, we were ready to head out before the story was even open, so off to Target we went. Finally, it was time to head over to IKEA and boy did Emma LOVE it there. She was literally bouncing off the couches and chairs and loving all the "pretend" rooms. Since it was such a special Mommy-Daughter day, and because she was such a good baby, we stopped on the way out for a little frozen yogurt.

After lunch at home and some afternoon naps, we headed out as a family to the babies first ever carnival!! There is a small carnival that comes every year and it usually brings cold weather and rain. Emma wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first, and all the people made her a little nervous but we had a blast! I think she takes after her Daddy though and has a bit of a fear of heights so one turn on the Ferris Wheel was enough for the both of them. :)

Sunday was a bit cloudy in the morning, but was going to clear up and get warmer throughout the day, so we headed out as a foursome again to get some flowers to plant later that day. Daddy and Emma hung out outside for a bit when we got home since it was still a bit chilly and planted some flowers. This is when we got introduced to "Punch-weed" the worm.

Emma Kathryn is pretty much as girly as you can get. She is getting more and more into clothes, loves everything princess related and is very into dressing fancy, finger nail polish, tutus, you name it. She normally FREAKS OUT whenever there is a bug anywhere near her (I don't blame her - definitely got that from her Mama). If there is an ant on her play set, she won't go near it. Yet, she found a new best friend, punchweed the worm.

She carried punchweed (and we have NO IDEA where that name came from) around for an hour. I'm not really even sure how he lived that long and I'm pretty sure he met his maker at the end when Emma came running to Daddy saying "Oh no! I broke punchweed!!" Turns out, punchweed's twin was just around the corner and now lives in our flowers out front. :)

After some lunch and another quick nap (I think Emma napped for about 45 minutes ACK) we were back outside. It was gorgeous and the perfect time to clean out the babies pirate ship/water table and get wet. The Squishy had just woken up too and it was warm so he was just hanging out in a onesie. So we threw on a comfy pair of shorts (I think they were PJ shorts) a bucket hat and loads of sunscreen and off we were.

You have probably noticed at this point that the majority of pictures that I took were of The Squishy while we were outside. I really tried to get some of Emma Kathryn but she is becoming very camera shy and the minute she gets a whiff of Mommy taking her picture, she does something like this...

Yeah. So that's why most of the pictures are of The Squishy.

I did manage to snap one or two when she wasn't looking and watering the grass. :)

Daddy had a great idea to grill out for dinner since it was so nice out, so we continued to play in our sobby wet clothes and bathing suit until dinner was ready. Since we just had to shell out a bunch of money for car repairs (sigh) we put the purchase of a patio set on hold. Ergo, dinner at the Little Tike's kids table and Squishy in a kitchen chair with booster seat.

The kids SCARFED down dinner and must have been starving from all that playing. It was such an amazing day, that Daddy brought the babies a little surprise ice cream with chocolate syrup. Needless to say it was a hit across the board.

Even though we still had some errands to run, and we still had to do some cleaning and laundry, it wasn't the focus for once and was an absolutely amazing weekend. I'm already looking forward to next weekend. Granted, I had one BIG pile of laundry to fold afterwards that the Squishy "helped me" sprinkle around the downstairs, but it was a thousand times worth it. :)

Some Things Never Change...

It's been yet another crazy couple of weeks with one sick Squishy, crazy hours at work, and then followed up by one sick Emma. But hopefully, the babies seem to be on the mend just in time for Easter weekend.

Every night, I sneak in the babies rooms after they are fast asleep to give them one extra kiss and one extra check before I head to bed. I was thinking the other day after walking in on Emma, how it seems like our life changes daily now. Every day something is different. Emma learning to dress herself or being potty trained. Jackson learning a new word or learning how to point to Mama's eyes. For once though, I thought about how even with all the things that are changing on a daily basis, some things, some very little things, remain the same. And how I wish they could remain the same for forever.

It's also amazing to watch how the babies keep some of the same habits as they get older. A perfect example....

Here is my baby Emma Kathryn, fast asleep, just before she turned one.

And here is my not-so-baby Emma Kathryn, at two and half, fast asleep, with Pink Bear still in the same spot every.single.night.

Note to self: Pinky needs a trip to the washing machine. :)

The Squishy Turns One!

Even though The Squishy actually turned one a week ago, I am finally getting around to posting about it! Unfortunately, nothing too exciting happened on his actual birthday since it was back to work for Mama and Dada but we did have some morning fun. Daddy made the Squishy some jungle animal pancakes and we stuck a candle in the monkey and sang Happy Birthday! Then Jackson got to open a couple of his presents from Mommy and Daddy, but before we knew it, we were off to work.

We waited until the following weekend for the party with some family and friends and despite the day before his party being sunny and eighty degrees, Saturday was in the low sixties and rainy. But that wasn't going to put a damper on our day!

I decided to actually do something a little different this time and we got cupcakes from a local bakery (that won the show Cupcake Wars) and man were they good! We had eight different kinds. Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Red Velvet, Smores, Black Bottoms, Cookies n' Cream and Strawberry Shortcake. Although I had grand plans in my head for lots more homemade stuff, like usual, I ended up running out of time. I did manage to make some cupcake toppers. They weren't perfect, but I thought they were fun!

Of course one little cupcake just wasn't going to do for The Squishy. So he got his own little cake. Nom. Nom. Nom.

The other thing I did make (and our new hallway Board and Batten was the perfect place to hang it) was Squishy's little jungle banner. Emma got a big kick out of this and was loving practicing her letters on something new!

The poor babies were stuck inside because of the rain all morning, and Mommy was running around like a crazy person mom getting ready for a birthday party so after naps, the babies were ready to get their party on! I had taken nap time to make the final preparations, including strategically placing all the balloons in the perfect spots. Yeah, should have known about that one. They lasted about 15 seconds....

Can you tell Emma was a little excited for the party to start?

We did have about 30 seconds to snap a quick family picture. Emma looks like she saw a ghost, Jackson is wondering what Mommy is looking at, Mommy is having a silent panic attack because the balloons are everywhere and Daddy needs a beer.  But, this is one of our very few pictures as a complete family, so I love it.

(PS. Remind me to never wear that shirt again. Color is cute, but NOT flattering. Ugh.)

I actually tried not to have the camera attached to my hip for most of the day and actually enjoy the party. I did have to break it out during cake time though and boy am I glad that I did because I wouldn't have wanted to miss this...

The minute that The Squishy's cake touched down, it was like wasps to a flame. All the little ones came running. So naturally, The Squishy tried to protect his cake. Mostly, from his big sister who had already stuck her fingers in it.

Now, I'm no mind reader, but I am pretty sure that this is Squishy's "Sup. Watch this." face. :)

Yup. Then he dove right in. Smart kid. Streamlining the process already.

This is where Squishy proceeds to look around the room, and wonder why he isn't getting yelled at because I'm pretty sure that this is his dream come true.

"Ummm. Really? I can't put a rock in my mouth but I can put a four inch cake in?"

The Squishy's "Whoa" face. "Shew...I need a break."

"Whop! Breaks over!"

This is when I realized that this could go on for hours since the icing was probably an inch thick all around! So I gave the cake a small cut, and that little man just kept going.

After that it was off to open presents which was pretty much a whirlwind. Squishy couldn't have cared less and was off playing while the rest of the kids (including Emma) opened his presents. He was pretty beat that night, so I think we may have made it to 7:30 before he crashed. We really did have a fantastic day.