Breastfeeding Thoughts & Weaning Struggles

I don't talk about it a lot on here, but yes, I've always breastfed Manny. I say that because I've gotten some emails asking if I do breastfeed, and why I don't talk more about it. There are lots of reasons I don't, one of which is because believe it or not, I'm a somewhat private person in that regard.

However, the main thing I've learned about breastfeeding is that it's actually a very taboo subject. Before I had Manny, I had no clue actually how sensitive a subject it could be. I attribute that largely to the fact that many women who can & do breastfeed, act superior to those who can't or choose not to. Now hear me out - not all women do...I personally hope that I don't come across that way, because I certainly don't believe it makes me any better. But I've read many blogs, tweets, or had conversations in person that blew me away regarding the attacks on people who don't breastfeed. I don't understand it at all.

Breastfeeding didn't come easy to us. I don't know if it was because I had a c-section or what, but my milk didn't come in for at least 48 hours. And that was after drinking a ridiculous amount of Mother's Milk Tea - which I highly recommend if you need help with milk production. Even then, Manny had a hard time latching, so we had to use a ni.pple shield to begin with. Patrick had to help me at every feeding. Manny wouldn't wake up, didn't want to eat, etc. It was definitely a team effort and something I certainly would've given up had I not had the support of Patrick, my mom, and sisters. After about a week, we started to get in a groove and within 2 weeks, we had things down pretty good.

I think the thing that surprised me most about breastfeeding is nobody had really told me how hard it was. It is painful at first...not only the baby actually eating, but your uterus contracts the first week or so. Wow. Had no clue about that one.

The reason I decided to go ahead and share all of this is because I wanted to encourage those of you who might be first-time moms soon that if breastfeeding doesn't come easy, that doesn't mean you can't do it. Will it take work? Absolutely. But still yet? It might not work for you, and you need to know that's okay, and not to beat yourself up about it.

I have friends who tried everything, and breastfeeding just wasn't in the cards for them. The fact that people would ever make them feel inferior makes me so sad, and actually downright mad. I see the guilt some of these moms live with, and to me? It's for no reason at all. It is fine to be a breastfeeding advocate, but I challenge you to be thoughtful in how you approach others in regards to breastfeeding. At the end of the day, I believe most moms are doing what is in the best interest of the their child's health and well-being, and that's all that matters.

With all that said, the time has come to wean Manny. Yes, I'm aware he's 14 months and some people are totally disgusted by the fact that he still nurses. But then others? Don't understand why I'm quitting so soon. :) It's such a matter of personal opinion.

Case in point: I called a health food store to see if they sold a tea called No More Milk, and the lady was practically horrified that I would want to stop nursing and gave me a mini-lecture, even though I told her my son is 14 months old. Now why did she feel the need to say those things to me? I don't know, but I do know that I allowed it to cause me to question myself. Really? After 14 months of nursing I would still question if what I did was good enough all because of her judgmental comments? Pure ridiculousness.

But yeah, the weaning process is no fun when your kid doesn't take a paci or have any kind of lovey. It was time though, and we know our little guy will be just fine, even if he is just a tad irritable this week now that his world's been turned upside down. :)

I know this post is long, but this is something I am passionate about. And by that, I don't mean I'm passionate that everyone must breastfeed, but that I'm passionate about the fact that mom's should have the freedom to make choices without being guilted from other moms. We need to build each other up, not tear each other down. And that, my friends, is my 2 cents...and a little more. You're welcome. :)

Erin Condren Sale & Project 365: Week 29

Thank you guys so much for all of the sweet comments on yesterday's post! Y'all are so kind and encouraging and it really, really means a lot to me. Now let's hold hands and sing kumbaya. Or not. (Yes, I'm delirious, but you already know that.)

via

So I'm sure most of you have heard of this by now, but I just discovered Erin Condren designs last week and am obsessed. I love paper products and fun designs, and she just hit the nail on the head with everything I love. I was thrilled to find out there's a Plum District offer (same thing as Groupon basically) that is on sale through today where you can buy a $50 gift certificate for only $25! It has to be used by October 31st, but that's definitely doable, seeing whereas I already redeemed mine...ha!

I ordered this awesome life planner that I cannot wait to get in! Now that I'm taking on more and more projects, I really want a central place to keep my never-ending lists, and this has so many fun features that it will be perfect. Anyway, go grab a gift certificate if you haven't yet...sale ends tonight so don't delay! :) On to Project 365...

July 16 - As I mentioned last week, we went to Austin for this weekend. Patrick's brother & his wife were awesome enough to offer us a date night, so we took advantage of it! We went to The Melting Pot and had SO much fun. Thanks Joe & Tracy for making this possible! :)
July 17 - Joe & Tracy had Rock Band, and we had way too much fun jamming out to it. Patrick was nailing it on the drums!
July 18 - Before we headed home, we took some pictures of Manny with his cousins. They are so cute and we're going to miss them when they go back to Ecuador!
July 19 - I took Manny's 14 month pictures today. Still need to finish writing that post!
July 20 - My oldest sister Jenny and her son Hayden came down to visit us for a few days. We have an awesome drive-in movie theater here, so decided to go see Cars 2 one night. I knew it'd be a risk with Manny, but thought he'd do okay and maybe just sit on my lap and fall asleep since it'd be past his bedtime. Oh how naive I was. He was obsessed with trying to touch the screen, and kept trying to run up to touch the screen...which of course, wasn't possible. The drive-in is surrounded by the woods, and all he wanted to do was run off into the forest. It was pitch black and he'd just keep on trucking, not even deterred by the fact that he couldn't see 3 inches in front of his face due to the darkness. Needless to say, my sister & I ended up leaving early to take Manny home and Patrick and Hayden stayed to finish out the movie. I think we'll wait awhile before trying something like that again. :)
July 21 - Manny and I went to Oklahoma City to check out rent houses, and from there went up to my parent's for the final weekend of the amphitheater. When we got there, my mom, niece and nephew were feeding the animals. Of course Gabi grabbed Manny right away to love on him. He just adores her!
July 22 - Since it was the final weekend of the amphitheater, Manny and I made a quick appearance in part of the show. He was in awe of all the lights and special effects. So fun!

Have a great week! :)

A Change Will Do You Good

How YOU doin?

In case my lack of posting hasn't made it clear, life is crazy busy right now. I am excited to share that we are going to be moving to the Oklahoma City area in September! This is a decision that has been a long time coming, and something we've been praying about for awhile. Without boring you with all the details, basically we needed a change. Patrick is working way too much, and for only being 3 years out of residency he is burning out quickly due to the round-the-clock demands. Many days he doesn't even get to see Manny. While not ideal, this was bearable BM (before Manny). Now? It just doesn't work for our family and priorities of how we want to live our life.

So what does all of this mean? Well, for starters, we are selling the beautiful custom home that my dad built for us...major sad face. Honestly, this has probably been the hardest part of it all. We love this house, and it has so many special memories already. However, I feel the Lord keeps reminding me not to cling to things of this world, and at the end of the day, no matter how much I love it...this house is just another thing. And though we love it, it is not worth the time Patrick spends working. So it's time to move on to somewhere that is a better fit for our family as a whole. We're excited to get back to the city where there will more opportunities for Manny and I, and hopefully a better work schedule for Patrick.

Running just as fast as he can from mama!

Even though this is a change we desire to make, it is still hard at times. We feel confident that this is where the Lord is directing us though so we have faith that it will all work out. The biggest thing right now is selling our house.  It has been on the market for about 6 weeks, and we know it's going to be a long road to selling it. We are just going to rent a house when we move to OKC, and fortunately we found the perfect place last week! That was a huge relief. I would love your prayers for our house to sell though!

So yeah, I've been staying busy looking for a rent house (check, check!) and trying to clean things out in preparation of the big move. And by clean things out, I mean list everything we own on Craigslist! I've bought from CL before, but selling?...what a rush. Ha! Yes, I have issues. But the app makes it way too easy to do.  
And in the midst of all of this, I keep taking on orders to make things for people...invitations, party supplies, wreaths, etc. What can I say? I love chaos. :) And creating things for people is my dream, so you have to start somewhere! Hopefully the blog won't suffer too much more though, because I also love the blog, and each and every one of you. :) Here's to a fun month ahead! Oh, and yes...I did sprinkle random pics of my kid throughout this post. He's just too cute not to include. :)

{Adventures in Baby-Wearing} Baby Carrier Reviews

As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of "baby wearing". I had no clue I'd like it so much, but it was something I enjoyed, and I really miss it now that my wittle bitty baby isn't so wittle bitty anymore. As you can see from the collage of pictures, I wore Manny a lot. Because let's face it, he's the perfect accessory. Well that, and the fact that it makes it so much easier to get stuff done. And by stuff, I mean shopping or eating. But I digress. Bottom line is, I think baby wearing is a great thing...as long as you have the right carrier, that is.

This was one of those posts that got lost in the shuffle. I started it when Manny was a couple of months old, planning to share the different carriers I'd tried. I never finished it up, but decided to go ahead and do so in case anyone else is in the process of looking for the perfect carrier. As with my monthly must-haves, this is not a paid review...just sharing my 2 cents in hopes that it might help another first-time mom. :) So here's a run-down on the carriers I've tried. 

Moby Wrap

I was given the Moby Wrap as a shower gift. The huge ol' hunk of fabric overwhelmed me at first, but after a few hundred YouTube videos, I got the hang of it. I love that you can wear it so many different ways, and change the hold to fit with your baby's size/age. My main issue with the Moby was putting it on in public. There was no possible way (for me anyway) that I could keep it from touching the ground while I was tying it on, and that just bothered me. It's still a great carrier though and gives good back support.

Infantino Front to Back Rider

This was also a baby shower gift, and I liked it okay. It hurt my back much worse than the Moby. I also had to wait until Manny was a little bigger before he looked comfortable in it. If you want a "shaped" carrier, I think there are much better ones than on the market...I just never tried any others because I preferred the cloth carriers.

Baby K'Tan

And then I met the K'Tan. Sweet victory at last. I heard about it thanks to my Twitter friends, and I am so thankful to the several of you who mentioned it to me! Hands down my favorite carrier by far. Think of it as the Moby, but without the fuss. It's basically two loops so no tying is involved, other than an optional support band, which I always used for added security. (Just a simple knot does it though.) You can also wear it several different ways, and it's so easy to re-position the holds. 

Eddie Bauer Infant Sling

We purchased this one because we thought it'd be easier for Patrick to wear, and it also showed a hip hold. But let me just tell you...we both hated this one...maybe used it twice. It felt like having a sack of bricks dangling from your shoulders. And after wearing it for even 15 minutes? Holy back pain, Batman! Definitely not a winner in my book.

Seven Slings

I got a coupon code for a free Seven Sling, so I decided to give it a try. But wow, that was a waste of $6 bucks to even have it shipped. The sizing guide was way off, and even if it had been right, I'm not sure it ever would have felt secure. I know the one time I did wear it, it was a major strain on my back.

Well there you have it. My adventures in baby wearing. So tell me, are you a baby wearer? What have you tried and liked, or disliked? There are SO many carriers on the market that I always love to hear other's feedback!

Featured at The TomKat Studio!

I am so excited to share that Manny's 1st birthday party is featured over at The TomKat Studio today! I have long been a huge fan of Kim's, and I was thrilled when she emailed me asking if she could feature Manny's party. Not only did she feature his party, but she shared a little about our story to parenthood, and it was just so sweet. It doesn't matter how many times I think back on our journey to our little miracle...it still gives me goosebumps. :)  Thanks SO much Kim for the kind words and feature...I feel so fortunate to have *met* you via blogging. You are such an inspiration to me and a sweet friend! :)

If you're here from The TomKat Studio, thanks so much for stopping by! You can read all about Manny'2011/05/mannys-1st-birthday-party-part-1.html">Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. And I shared some free printables here.

Happy Tuesday, friends! :)

Project 365: Week 28

July 9 - I've mentioned before that my parents have an outdoor amphitheater. I tried to take some pictures the other night, but it was h-a-r-d. Nighttime photography is no joke. This is my mom singing a song before the show started though...she's so talented!
July 10 - And this is my parents with almost all of their grandkids! (My nephew Jax wasn't there.) We thought it'd be fun to have a picture of them all dressed up together. My mom actually isn't in it; she directs it but we made her put on a costume too. :)
July 11 - I posted about Manny'2011/07/climbing-video-project-365-week-27.html">here. I snapped this picture real quick before I took the video of him.
July 12 - His climbing adventure this day consisted of raising the seat on his car, and stepping into it. You notice how his little hand is reaching down to the steering wheel? He kept pressing the horn, then dancing to the music...which is the theme song to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. That song haunts me in my sleep. I hear it no less than 30 times a day. No less. And no, there's no off switch. I've checked, trust me. :)
July 13 - We met Patrick for a quick lunch date. We have finally found a sippy cup that Manny will drink out of consistently...but only water. He will not drink milk out of it. We decided to try that day at lunch, but no luck. He took a big slurp, then immediately spit it out. This kid is something else.
July 14 - I talked about our swim lessons here, but had to share this picture again because it makes me laugh. Manny hated being on his back. Sometimes he would float around, but the majority of the time he'd be in the crunch position like this, or arching his back in a nearly perfect back-bend, trying to break free from this torture. Oh the drama.
July 15 - We headed to Austin for a long weekend to visit Patrick's brother & his family before they head back to Ecuador. We had a lot of fun, and I love this picture of Pat & Manny at Chuy's. They are so precious together.

Have a great week! :)

Swim Lessons {Manny Swims!}

Well I am one.proud.mama. As I mentioned last week, Manny has been taking swimming lessons. Yesterday was our last day, and I have to say I'm very impressed with what he accomplished in 7 classes (we had to miss one). Fortunately Patrick got to come to his last class and see what Manny's been learning, as well as take some pictures.

I'll admit, I was skeptical at first. It didn't seem we were really "doing" much of anything. In hindsight, I'm not sure if I expected him to be doing the backstroke across the pool the first day or what? Because now that we're done with lessons, it all makes sense. We did a few very basic things every lesson. Then did them again. And again. And the next day? did.them.again. What's that? Ah, yes...repetition...a child's best friend in learning.

I could see him picking up things and getting the hang of what we were practicing. Still yet, I had no clue what he was actually capable of doing. I worked with him the majority of the time, but his teacher, Miss Jayne, would take him once or twice during the lesson and make him swim to me. Yesterday she set him up on the side of the pool, and pulled him in so he could swim across the width of the pool. But then I noticed she wasn't actually holding his hands - he was swimming by himself! I looked up at Patrick, who was smiling from ear to ear, and he said, "You didn't tell me he could do that!" To which I responded, "Um, I didn't know he could do that!" Turns out Miss Jayne had been doing that all week when she took him from me to practice; I just never noticed she wasn't holding on to his hands when she did it (like I was).

So we decided to give it a try and see if he'd do it for mama. I didn't have the guts to let him do it the whole width of the pool, but this makes me pretty stinking proud.

I am so thankful we were able to take these swim lessons. I didn't know how beneficial it'd really be to my one year old, but I knew for a variety of reasons, safety being a huge one, I wanted him exposed to swimming at the very least. I never imagined I'd walk away with a little fish on my hands. :)

{Month 10, 11 & 12} Must-Haves

I just realized I never posted my favorites for months 10, 11, and 12, so I thought I'd go ahead and do that so I could finish out the first year. I've had some people ask if this is something I'll keep doing, and the answer is no, I don't plan to. If I like a product, I'll probably just mention it. But the older Manny gets, the less "stuff" he needs (thankfully) so I don't think these types of posts would really be all that useful.

Tiny Diner Portable Placemat

This is such a great thing to have when we go out to eat because while I'm not a super germa-phobe, I also like to keep germs at a distance when possible. This also has a little catcher thing that hangs off the table, so it catches (some) of the food he knocks off. I prefer it over the plastic disposable placemats because Manny could always rip those up and throw them off the table.

Snack Trap Anti-Spill Snack Cup

These snack traps are really great for actually keeping snacks from falling out. I also like that they're shallow. There are some other brands that are anti-spill, but the cup is so deep that Manny has to practically stick his whole arm in the cup to reach the snacks if it's not full. These and the placemat I mentioned were both gifts from my friend Jessica (thanks - we love them!) but I think you can get them at Toys R Us.

Kidkusion Gummi Crib Rail Teether Protector & Prince Lionheart Crib Rail Teether 

Being a first time mom, I'd never thought about the need to protect the crib from my gnawing little beaver. When I asked about it here, you guys gave me lots of great recommendations, and these are the two brands I ended up with. I used two different kinds because the front rail is rounded, so the square pieces wouldn't fit. I like the gummi protector because it just forms to whatever shape your crib is. I bought it on Amazon, and the square pieces at Toys R Us. I like both of these styles because they don't change the overall appearance of the crib.

Safety 1st Press n' Pull Plug Protectors

 We've actually been using these for awhile but I forgot to mention them. I've always hated plug protectors at other people's houses. They are impossible to get out of the socket! I like these because they have the little button you can press and it makes it a little easier to release it. Also, it has notches on the sides, so you can actually snap it to a cord. So if you take it out to plug something in, you just snap the piece on to the cord, and when you unplug it the protector is right there for you to put back in. Very convenient.

Remote Control (real)

Manny loves our TV remotes, so we picked up a cheap one at the dollar store that he could bang around and chew on. He still plays with it often. 

In case you missed them, here are months 1&2, month 3, month 4, 

month 5, months 6 & 7 and months 8 & 9 of our must-haves. 

I was not asked or compensated to say I like these things...I just wanted to share what we loved with other (first-time) moms who are trying to sort through all the baby gear. Hope this has been helpful to some of you! :)

30.

Well I don't know how I managed to let this happen, but it has been over 8 months since I turned 30, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. I will say that my 30th birthday was one of the best of my life! Not only did I have the most precious blessing ever to celebrate with, but my amazing husband also planned a surprise weekend getaway for me!

My birthday actually fell on a Thursday, which is typically my husband's day off from clinic, so once he finished his hospital work we decided to go shopping and just spend some time together as a family. We went out to eat at Cheddar's (my fave!) for my birthday dinner and he got me the camera I had so desperately been wanting, and I absolutely love it (still). I thought the day was perfect.

On Friday morning, he said he wanted to go out to dinner again that night to celebrate my birthday. I told him it wasn't necessary since we'd already done so the night before, but he said we had to live it up since I only turn 30 once. :) So I don't hear from him the rest of the day, and tried to call him around 6 to see what time he thought he'd be done...but I never got to talk to him. He finally called around 8 and said he was on his way home, and that we wouldn't be able to do dinner since it was so late. I was fine with that, and said we'd just watch a movie at home. Well he walks in, and told me to pack my bag because one of his patient's had offered to let us stay in his cabin down at Beaver's Bend, which is a popular outdoorsy type place a few hours from us. He later told me he waited until the last minute to tell me because he knew I'd ask a million questions and he didn't want to have to try to have to come up with a story longer than he had to already.

We finally get to the cabin, and it was pretty late by this point. We walked in, and there was a banner that said "Happy Birthday Sarah!" and some balloons. I was trying to process how he had that set up, when out came my mom, dad, sister Rachael, and her family! They all yelled surprise and I just stood there speechless. Patrick is N-E-V-E-R able to surprise me, and I had no clue about this. Turns out he had rented the cabin and asked my family to come so we could celebrate my 30th. And he had actually taken the afternoon off work to get things ready for the weekend, and met my parents to give them stuff to take to the cabin so I wouldn't be suspicious and things could be set up before we got there. Sneaky, sneaky!

It was a nice cabin in the woods with lots of fun stuff to do....ping pong, pool table, horseshoes, and a hot tub! There was also a fire pit outside so of course we made smores. The weather was yucky that weekend so we were glad to have lots of things to do inside, and just enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend. 

On Saturday, I ran to the store to get some stuff and when I came back even more of my family was there - my 2 older sisters and their kids! I was so surprised that they came too. I was thrilled to get to spend my birthday celebrating with some of the most special people in my life! :)

That afternoon, us girls stopped in at a little place called Girls Gone Wine. It was a cute place and lots of fun!

Since I had just gotten my new camera, I spent a lot of the weekend taking pictures - though I had NO clue what I was doing, it was fun! I made this collage of Manny several months ago when I first intended to blog about this, and looking at it now makes me realize how much he's grown! He was still such a baby on my birthday. :)

We celebrated that night with a cake with LOTS of candles - all 30 in fact! My sweet family gave me an adorable Jo Totes camera bag, a *Shey*[B] camera strap cover (except mine was lined with red velvet) and some clothes. 

I wasn't too excited about turning 30, but I have to say it hasn't been all that bad. Spending it with my family meant SO much to me and reminded me what a blessed life I've had. Thanks to all my family for making it such a memorable birthday! Love you guys!:)

Climbing Video & Project 365: Week 27

Manny is SO into climbing right now. He loves to climb into chairs or on top of anything he can. However, he's not so great at getting down. He'll sit there for a little bit, but then when he wants down he starts complaining. This morning he kept getting into his little chairs that he normally can get out of by himself, but would whine wanting me to help him out. I told him he needed to figure it out, and tried to teach him how to get out again. A little while later, I was in the laundry room when I heard him start complaining. I didn't rush out to the living room because I figured he probably was just in one of his chairs again. Much to my surprise, when I walked into the living room he was STANDING on his table. I about fainted! He crouched down, and of course I had to grab my phone to document this to send to daddy. Needless to say, the table has been moved outside now, where it's supposed to be anyway. I'm so glad he didn't decide to leap off there! And yes, I know the time is probably coming when he will. :)

July 2 - Manny had his parade debut with my sister Jenny!
July 3 - I know Manny's getting taller, but I didn't realize his little hands could reach the vanity where I had my make-up at my parents house! I turned around from brushing my teeth and his feet were covered in lipstick. AND he managed to take a BITE of it too...swallowed whole. Yep, it came out whole too. You're welcome for that info.
July 4 - This is Mr. Grumpy Pants favorite look before he throws a fit. A little pre-game pouting, if you will.
July 5 -And THIS is his new favorite look...some puppy-dog eyes begging action. It melts my heart every time! And I'm pretty sure he knows it. :)
July 6 - We have a chiminea on our front veranda, and anytime we go outside he makes his way to the front of the house, straight to that thing. He's obsessed!
July 7 - We went up to my parents for the weekend, and I took this picture of my niece Gabi playing with Manny. He loves her SO much! :)
July 8 - I mentioned how he likes to get in chairs but won't get down. Well this is a chair at my parent's house that he sat in forever until someone got him out. He thought he was pretty cool most of the time though! It's in the kitchen so he just sat there and watched my dad cooking breakfast and was pretty pleased with himself. :)

Gosh this kid is fun. :) Have a great week!

Friday Fragments

1. Manny started swim lessons this week. The lessons are 4 days a week for 2 weeks, so we have the first week under our belt. I took this picture of us before the 1st day of lessons, but other than that I don't have any pictures of him swimming. Hope to get some this week though. It has gone pretty well. Yesterday he finally closed his mouth when he went under, so that's good! The first two days he drank so much water that he burped the whole way home. :)

2. I've been participating in the blog commenting challenge at Jenna's this week. I love reading blogs but often read them from my phone, so I'm not always the best commenter. This challenge has been great for me to take the time and comment. I've come across some really fun blogs that I look forward to reading! (like I needed more, right? ha!) So welcome to my new readers and thanks so much for stopping by! :)

3. I told you about Manny'2011/07/4th-of-july-mannys-parade-debut.html">here, so now let me share with you his newspaper debut too! Let me know if you'd like him to autograph a copy for you.

4. My sister sent me this and I thought it was too funny. Patrick loved it too...not that he can identify or anything.

Have a great weekend friends! :)

13 months

Dear Emanuel,

You're 13 months old Buddy! It seems like since you turned one time is going by even faster (if possible) - you're actually almost 14 months as I write this! I decided to keep writing you letters each month since I haven't kept a baby book at all for you. So I'll probably just write a little letter each month and include the new and fun things you're doing or certain milestones I want to remember. Yes, I'm going to keep making you wear monthly stickers, but don't worry...I'll let you wear pants now. And you're no longer confined to your crib with Maxx for photo shoots. I decided I want this to be as easy as possible, so who knows what our pictures will look like each month? This month you were a little sick when I took these with some kind of fever virus, so I didn't make you take that many. But I still love capturing your sweet face each month - you change so fast!

-You love to sing all of the time. Whether riding in the car, sitting and playing, or eating dinner...you often times are just humming. It's SO cute. 

-You have started to give mommy kisses! If I make a kissy face and say mmmm, sometimes you'll run over and give me a kiss. But sometimes you just ignore me. :) Either way, I love the kisses I do get!

-You are obsessed with toothbrushes. Like in a crazy crazy way obsessed. When you see daddy or I brush our teeth, you start grunting because you want a toothbrush, too.

-You have favorite places or "go to" spots in each room in our house. For example, if we go to the office/craft room, you immediately run to the closet and get in a basket where I have some suckers left over from your birthday party. You love to pick one up and carry it around with you. It's the first thing you go for every.single.time we step foot in there.

-You have a few new nicknames this month, thanks to your cousin Ellie. She always says, "Hey little Manny guy!" or "Hey little Bubbers guy!" when she sees you. Love it. :) And your Aunt Jenny and I have somehow started referencing you as a wittle bitty, teeny tiny, baby boy. Funny, I know, since you're not exactly a baby anymore...but we like to pretend! :)

It's been another fun month Manners! You love being outside all of the time, and we are having such a great summer together. I love you baby boy. XOXO.

Love, Mommy