13 months

Plus One is 13 months old, and it is still staggering how quickly time passes. We have spent the last two and a half weeks with my parents and they are always eager to point out his new developments. It seems like there are a load of them this much. His hair seems to be growing. When Mr. Thinkin' isn't around I like to put a dab of gel in the front to keep the curls throughout the day. The back is also getting frizzy, meaning the curls are on the way. PO's top two teeth popped through about a week after his birthday and then the bottom left broke through on July 4th. I can feel and see two more on the top, but I would guess they will not be in for another week or so.

Communication
He knows and uses about six words and then has an additional blanket work for all large animals. He says Ni-ni for his blankets, bye- bye while talking on the phone, yeah when he claps, uh-oh when something falls, kitty for kitty and ap (maybe he is saying stop?) to express his frustration, Pa-pa for my dad. Still no mommy or daddy or anything remotely close to those. However, he has a nasty string of yell/stream sounds if you do not cooperate with his agenda, or if you tell him no-no. He loves to point at horses or cows and say key-key???

Sleeping
I can't decide if it is time to cut out the morning nap or not. Some days are difficult and others are just fine. On a typical day he wakes around 7:00 is up until around 9:00 - 9:30, then he goes down and sleeps for a couple of hours. I try make sure he is up a least 2 hours between naps. Sometimes he is difficult and will not sleep in the afternoon. He doesn't cry he just lies in bed and plays and plays. I think my plan of attack with be to go to the gym during the morning nap time and then I can avoid dealing with his difficult mornings.

Playing
It is so amazing to watch a baby discover the world around them. PO can spend hours just exploring (i.e. and stack of books, the piano peddles, tupperware dishes, the dishwasher, a stack of CD cases). I try to spend time everyday working on toddler games, and a little counting and singing. We read several books a day. He loves to hide in curtains and he starts to giggle when we get near him.

Eating
We are down to one bottle a day. I always thought he would be completely weaned by 12 months, but I like knowing he is getting that 8oz of milk for sure. I am mindful of keeping water available all the time in his cup. I would say he averages about 18 ozs of water a day. I offer milk at breakfast and right after his bath. The list of what he will not eat is much shorter than the list of what he will. He favorites include; bananas, cereal bars, grapes, pb&j, scrambled eggs, and cheese. He would eat a hot dog for every meal, but I'm not a fan of food that heavily processed. I need to find an organic variety???

He is such a love. He is kissing and hugging more all the time.

Big ol' summer VACATION

So, Plus One, Mr. Thinkin', the wieners, and I left for Wyoming on June 30th to attend a family reunion over July 4th weekend a my parents' house. We had a nice time visiting with everyone and of course it is always fun to have the babe around. He was the hit of the party.

Mr. Thinkin' and the wieners headed back to Montana on the 5th. Plus One and I stayed as Mr. Thinkin' was planning to join us today for the weekend before we all headed back home together on Tuesday. Sunday, Mr. Thinkin' called to say work had come up and he won't be able to make it back to Wyoming. Being that these plans were made nearly six months ago, the news didn't go over well. I'm over it by now, but I am still fairly disappointed. BECAUSE, this weekend I was expecting to fully partake in all activities surrounding this event. I made him promise we could come back next year and bring a nanny so we can party.

Last weekend, Plus One and I traveled four hours south to visit my grandparents. It was a nice visit and so fun to take the babe to the ranch and watch him explore. ( He is walking and cutting two more teeth) Grandma Barb took us on adventures in the old blue pick-up. PO's favorite was crossing the river. I thought he was going to try to jump out the window. We also enjoyed playing in the sprinklers. We probably will not get back down there until Easter, so I was thankful we made the trip. PO is so good in the car (crossing fingers - we still have a 6 hour journey home.)

Sunday we went and watched my dad play polo. He played really well and even scored goal! I met my friend Pam for lunch on Tuesday and then yesterday, PO and I went to the city pool with my friend Christy and her kids. He loved it! I have heard several numbers, but I think it was as warm as 111 degrees.

Tonight my mom and I are going to take Plus One with us to the rodeo. I really hope he enjoys it and just watches. I think I will break my own rule and bring him blankets with us in case he gets tired. I really wish Mr. Thinkin' was here.

This has been a good trip, but I am starting to look forward to going home. I miss the wieners. There really is something to be said for the fact the as children we leave our parents' home and make a home for ourselves.

Written June 26th

My appointment didn't go well.
I guess I didn't have a lot of confidence in this pregnancy from the beginning. I wish I had...at this point there is a part of me that thinks maybe thing would have turned out differently.
My appointment was at 1:30 on Thursday afternoon. T couldn't be there due to a business trip to Reno. It was a typical appointment. Pee here. B/P looks great. And then everything went horribly wrong. The doctor said he would like to do a v. probe ultra-sound because of the age of the pregnancy. I thought, "Great another chance to see my babe." As soon as the picture of my uterus hit the screen, I could tell there was no heart-beat. Dr. B probably spent another 9-11 minutes looking. So, he took a measurement and found the fetus had not grown from the time of the last appointment.
I just wanted T. Dr. B was awesome. He said we could precede however I wanted to. I said I would like another ultrasound in a couple of days and he said that would be fine and we scheduled it for Monday.
T. rushed home from Reno, friends came to my side until he could get here. My mom offered to fly here to be with me and my in-laws traveled down to take care of our son until I could regroup.
Time heals. At this point I come and go. I spent some time confused as to where this baby will fit in our family. And now, Sunday evening, if things are really over, I just want my body to release the pregnancy.

I wrote this post for my pregnancy journal. Apparently it helped me process, because later that evening I miscarried naturally. It was hard, but time does heal, and I will not question that I am in the hands of God.