Thaddeus Lee Crossland, 18 months

Where, oh where, does the time go? Summer has flown by, all of a sudden it is gray and raining outside, and my baby is a walking and talking little boy. Probably about time to post an update on life.

So as of September 30, Thad is a year and a half old. We don’t go in for his checkup until next Wednesday, so I’m not sure on his stats yet. I’m going to throw out a guess that he is about 29lbs and 2 ft, 9in tall. We’ll see how close I am.

He walks (obviously), forward AND backward, he runs, he attempts to jump (and gets zero air). He can make a plethora of animal noises: Moo, oink (which is really a snort), baa, who who, hee haw, hisss, cock-a-doodle-doo, an elephant noise of some sort, etc. I asked Justin the other day how many words he though Thad knew, his guess was 20. Really, Justin? That’s way off. I would say more like 50-60. Maybe only 20 if you are talking about words other people would understand. (Assuming you wouldn’t recognize things like “coff-coff” as wash cloth, but come on people, that’s not that hard to figure out). He most definitely has mastered the word “no”, but will only nod his head for yes, he refuses to say the actual word.

He loves books, trains, cars, animals, chasing the cats, especially Penny who is always elusive, climbing, and anything to do with the computer. He throws some serious fits, yes, occasionally in public. Sometimes the fit includes hitting me in the face…not embarrassing at all. We are working on that. For the most part, he is a really good boy, who is very sweet and happy. He gives great kisses and hugs, his favorite is to hug mommy and daddy at the some time, an arm around each neck.

He is a great sleeper, bedtime starts at 7:30 with a bath, then PJs while daddy sings Old McDonald (“eee eye eee eye”) or Wheels on the Bus (“roun roun”). Then he and I sit in his chair and drink a cup of milk cuddled up with his blanket that he calls “B”. I always sing him You are My Sunshine, which I have sung him even from back in our nursing days. He sleeps until around 7:00 or so, usually through the night. Occasionally he wakes up and cries, but usually because he has wiggled out of his blanket, and just needs to be covered back up. He is officially down to one nap per day, usually around 11:00, and always between 2 and 3 hours.

He is eating big people food with the exception of pureed veggies still. Kid doesn’t have a ton of teeth yet, and has a hard time chewing some things, which doesn’t stop him from trying to swallow them whole, so I am hesitant to give him too many veggie chunks quite yet. He loves all types of fruit, cheese and bread. We have the hardest time with meat and his veggies, but in general, he is a good eater, no too many battles.

I still battle with the confidence of feeling like how I am handling him is the best way. Mostly noted during fits or times of ignoring what I am asking him to do. But, overall, I feel like we aren’t messing him up too bad. He gets a lot of love and attention and seems happy. I guess we’re doing ok.

 

Shoes

A couple of months ago, during a visit to the Crossland’s, I walked through their back room on my way outside, and saw this:

It struck me as a little bit funny. I found it even funnIER when we visited my family last weekend, and I saw this in the entry way:

Those shoes basically describe our families. Crosslands are Romeos, and Sheltons are Nikes.  I’ll let you read the meaning in that.

Note: I have shoes in both piles….what do you think that means? :)

Grandma Eunice

My grandma passed away this weekend. About a week and a half ago, she had a series of small strokes and was not able to eat or drink. She passed away in her bed at home, in my mom and dad’s house. She had been living with my parents for the last several years, suffering from Alzheimer's.

Grandma was born August 23, 1924, she was 86 when she died.

My parents were babysitting Thad for us while we were in Wisconsin for a friends wedding when Grandma had her first stroke. Grandma and Mom were sitting outside watching Thad play on a slide. Mom asked Grandma if she knew who he was and Grandma responded “Thaddeus”. A short time later, she had a stroke and was not able to speak again.

While we all felt that it was time for her to go, it is still hard, especially for my mom since Grandma had been such a huge part of her life. I don’t think you are ever ready for you mom to pass away.

Grandma, we love you, but we know you are with your Savior and we will see you again someday.

Hello Dirt!

Thad has long been obsessed with the little tags that come in the pot when you buy a new plant. He goes around the backyard, retrieving each tag, and carries them around, using them to scrape the dirt in my veggie bed. As of yesterday, he has moved on to using a shovel in my veggie bed. We had been banished from our home by Justin, who was working on installing the hardwood flooring (I’m not sure why he wanted us out of the house, Thad is REAL good at helping). So we were hanging out in the backyard, making trouble. I watched Thad figure out how to use a shovel, and even though he was destroying my bed, I figured I shouldn’t stop little neurons connecting in his brain as he learned a new skill. (Please note that prior to discovering the fun of dirt, he had given himself a shower by walking back and forth under my just-watered-and-now-dripping hanging fuchsia). 

……And we’ll be getting our cucumbers from the grocery store now.

Taking a break from his destruction to make sure I had noticed the dob barking. Yes Thad, I hear him, thank you.

Checking the integrity of his work.

“What, Mom? Are you not happy about this?”

The filthy ear that I will have to wash. I’m sure he’ll cooperate. Ha!

The sweet dimple adjacent to the filthy ear. I forgive you!

Some of my remaining plants, pictures taken in case he comes after them next. :)

The Wall

At my parent’s old house, the house I grew up in, there is a wall in the kitchen that is covered with markings of all the kids’ heights. Over the years, 5 kids plus friends, cousins, etc, added up to a of of markings. It’s always made me sad that the wall is in that old house and not kept with my family. So, our idea for OUR family was to make a transportable wall. Justin screwed a board up on the wall in our garage, and we made our first lines.

Thaddeus, at a whopping 2 and a half feet tall

Going Green(ish)

Lately I have been thinking a lot about living simply, saving money, using homemade products, and eating more naturally. More on all of that later. One easy change was making my own laundry detergent. For a long time I have had an issue with the cost of laundry detergent and have felt disgruntled about having to spend 12 bucks to wash 64 loads of laundry. (Someone should pay ME to do laundry!) I have heard a couple of other moms lately talking about making their own detergent, and thought I would google it. Turns out most recipes are all the same as are the instructions. I used the recipe found HERE and the next time I made a trip to Walmart, I picked up all the supplies.

I was a little worried about finding the specific ingredients, but they had everything I was looking for (borax and washing soda in the laundry detergent aisle and soap in the soap/shampoo aisle). I spent a grand total of under 6 dollars, and made 2 gallons of detergent. Each load uses a 1/2 cup. I won’t do the math, but it is going to last me a LONG time, I usually do about 5 loads of laundry a week. Not only did I get 2 gallons of detergent, I have enough of my supplies left to make another 5 batches. To be fair, I should also add in the cost of the big bucket I store it in, since I bought it specifically for this purpose…so there is another 5 dollars, bringing it up to $11.00 total. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now, and it is working great, no different than standard detergent. For ease of use, Justin was kind enough to fill up an empty detergent bottle that is a more manageable size. So, score one for me and minimizing unhealthy ingredients while keeping a few of my dollars in my pocket instead of Mr. Walmart’s! 

Sweetface