This girl can tumble.

One of Lucy's Easter presents from Grammy and Grampy was a Toddler Tumble class at the community center in town. 

I was really excited to get out of the house with the kids during the day, but nervous that Lu would be Miss Anti-Social.  She can be clingy in unfamiliar situations.  (Not ideal when holding a chunky man baby.)

I was silly for worrying, though.  The teacher was great; she started a new activity every 5-10 minutes to keep the kids interested.  It was a small class - about 10 kids, ages 18 - 36 months.  Lu warmed up almost immediately, and became more comfortable with each class.      

The room was covered with big foam mats and shapes, and there were a ton of toys, musical instruments, puppets, etc.  (Only a very small amount of time was actually spent tumbling.)

Crappy cell phone pic, FTW!

It was so good for us.  We will definitely be back in May.  Thanks for the wonderful gift, mom and dad! 

Parker even made a friend! 

(Warning:  Turn down the volume on your computer before watching this video-- wee ones screaming the whole time.)

An Easter Recap

What's that you say?  Easter was almost two weeks ago?  Oops!

Get it, get it!

 

Parker was all about the grass.

 

Easter socks.

(Probably the only blogger that didn't snap a picture of the kids' baskets...)

Both kiddos got bubbles, bath toys, socks, books, and two little (age-appropriate) toys.  The baskets were pretty light this year, since Lu's birthday was the week before and Parker is still too young to care.  We had a quiet morning at home, just the four of us - which I loved - and then the running around began; we had lunch with Casey's family and dinner with mine.  We had great weather and yummy food-- overall, it was a great day!     

We also colored eggs the day before...

And went to Eggstravaganza the weekend before...

3 out of 4 Sheltons looking...I'll take it!

There was a pancake breakfast, bounce houses, cookie decorating, pictures with the Easter Bunny and some random chicken, and, of course, an egg hunt.  We arrived early enough that we thought we had time to partake in the pancake breakfast, but it was mobbed.
 

Hahaha, fools!

We ended up having to run the length of the park, with pancakes in hand, to the field where the hunt was being held.  My mom was way too optimistic about our timing, and (very awkwardly) brought a handful of empty eggs for Lu to "practice" with before the hunt.

Haha.

Needless to say, Lucy did not get a chance to practice her egg gathering skills.  She still did awesome, though!  Hopefully we'll make it there a little earlier next year...

If you squint, you can kind of see the eggs scattered on the field behind us.

 

Lu didn't quite grasp the urgency of egg collecting, like the older kids did.  (Hence my and my mom's fingers in this picture.)

Soooo proud of herself after the hunt!

13 - 24 Months

When Lucy turned 1, I lined up all of her monthly pictures from birth to 12 months.  It was breathtaking to see her grow from scrunchy, helpless newborn to bright, giggling baby girl.  Somehow, I'm even more blown away this year. 

In Lucy's second year of life, she grew from barely walking baby girl to running, hopping, never stops talking little girl. 

She can sing a handful of different nursery rhymes, she can count to 10, (I think) she recognizes the color green.  (Jenn - what is it about that color??) 

She has a sense of humor; she always wants to make others laugh - by tickling, blowing raspberries, or playing peek-a-boo. 

She's a wrestler-- girl can hand out an ass whooping. 

She's polite too: please, thank you, sorry, good morning/night, I love you's.  And I don't have to prompt her to say any of it (most of the time). 

She picks out her clothes and shoes, and puts them on (backwards). 

She has a lot of fun and more belly laughs than anyone I know; she has scraped knees and dirt under her fingernails; she is obsessed with bubbles and anything water-related. 

She is an excellent mommy to her baby doll. 

She loves to help: emptying the dishwasher, pushing Brother in the umbrella stroller, picking up toys before nap and bedtime, soothing Brother. 

And speaking of Brother, Lucy is one concerned big sister; she tackles him every morning and after every nap, she brings him toys (and occasionally steals them), rocks the car seat while I'm packing the diaper bag, and shares her popcorn with him (oops).

She is just so sassy.  And smart.  And gorgeous.  And she has a huge heart.  When I really stop and think about it, it's sort of crazy how much I love her.  I am blessed to be her momma.

13 Months

14 Months

15 Months

16 Months

17 Months

18 Months

19 Months

20 Months

21 Months

22 Months

23 Months

24 Months (photo by LaTricia Soucy)

Stupid Eczema

(Warning:  There is a picture of Parker's Eczema at the end of this post.)

Soooo, probably almost a month ago, we noticed some red splotches along Parker's lower back.  We tried a few things to troubleshoot, but nothing helped.  (Added salt to the water softener, various diaper rash creams, naked time.)  The rash kept spreading, and suddenly it was all the way up his back, wrapping around his belly, on his shoulders and thighs.  The splotches were raised and dark red.  It was frightening-- especially after a warm bath.  Luckily, Parker didn't seem bothered by it at all.

Happy as can be, be, be!

A week went by, and we decided it was time to show the doctor.  Unfortunately, our pediatrician was unavailable, and we saw the Physician's Assistant.  She was clueless.  She said, "Let's watch it for a week and see what happens."  In the meantime, she said to apply cortisone.  I was pissed.  (Every single time we've had a "problem visit" with the PA, she has never given a firm diagnosis or prescribed anything.  Total waste of a co-pay.)

The next week we had well-child visits, and within seconds of showing Dr. P, she said, "Oh, that's Eczema."  (She also said not to use large amounts of cortisone for extended periods of time, because it can have harmful long-term effects.)  Hmmph.  Dr. P went over recommended treatments and causes for outbreaks.  She suggested we re-introduce solids to Parker with an extended wait time between foods, as food allergies can cause outbreaks.

Here's what we've been doing:

• Bathing every 3 days (we were bathing every night previously) with Aveeno Baby Unscented Soothing Wash.
• Buttering him up nightly with Aveeno Baby Unscented Moisturizer.
• Keeping him cool-- which is pretty much impossible when he's in the car seat.
• Re-introducing solid foods one week at a time and keeping a log of his reactions to each food.   

I think we're currently on Day 4 of clear skin.  It's always very upsetting when I find those big, scary splotches on his chunky thighs.

Turns out Eczema is pretty common; I have several friends with children that also have it.  Everyone that I tell has been amazed to hear that the PA didn't know it was Eczema.

Also, turns out that Eczema runs in Casey's family. This whole time I thought Parker was my little Italian, but between the Eczema and green eyes, he's proving to be more Shelton than Russo.

7 Months

You're turning out to be pretty feisty, boy.  I like it.  You had me convinced that you were Mr. Mellow, but then this month happened.  Suddenly you're grabbing everything, voicing your opinion, and twisting out of my arms... 

At 7 months you are:

Happy!  You always have a HUGE smile on your face.

Grabby.  I can't eat or drink anything while holding you, and I can't set your purees down on your tray.  Feeding you is even a challenge, because you rip the spoon out of my hand.  (You are freakishly strong for an infant.)  And don't get me started on the hair pulling. 

Learning to whine when you don't get your way.  If you grab something you shouldn't, or if I walk away from you, you let out an intentional little whine. 

A professional puff and cheerio eater. You're an excellent eater in general; you haven't met a food you didn't like. 

Sitting up for long periods of time.  Recently started flopping to your belly and pushing up-- you were terrified the first time you did it.

Anxious to move.  You always want to stand, and you've even taken a few steps with us holding your hands.  And as a result, you are impossible to carry.  You want to jump ship as soon as I pick you up - twisting and kicking - it's frustrating for both of us.

Baby's first sleeveless!

Biting.  Constantly.  STOP IT.  You bite my nipples while nursing; you bite my cheek while I burp you; you bite my fingers, shoulders, legs, and anything else that comes close to your mouth.

Distracted.  Nursing you is such a challenge sometimes.  I have to nurse you in a separate room with the door closed and the white noise machine on, otherwise you whip your head around (usually while latched on) to see all the commotion.  There are days that I actually consider exclusively pumping, but, thankfully, it hasn't come to that yet.

Stinky.  Seriously, you have the stinkiest farts.  It didn't help that you were mildly constipated this month.  (Yay, solid food!)

Officially diagnosed with Eczema.  Will save that story for a separate post.

Oatmeal bath, anyone?

Napping and sleeping more consistently.  You generally sleep from 6:30 pm - 7:00 am (give or take a 30 minutes), and wake once to eat between 1-4 am.  Then you take two two-hour naps during the day.  Overall, I am thrilled with your routine.  It is such a tremendous help to be able to rely on a schedule.

Sharing a room with Lu, and doing wonderfully.

A stomach sleeper!  You move ALL OVER the crib.  It is fascinating to watch.  (Wish we had a video monitor, but for now I'm limited to standing in the doorway.)  You army crawl and scoot and roll.  You don't move nearly as much when you're awake, so it really took me by surprise the first time.

22 pounds (90th percentile) and 28 inches (75th percentile).  Your head circumference is over the 100th percentile...  (Can't remember the exact measurement.) 

Drooling and spitting up less.  Thank God.

Best friends with your big seester.

We love you a lot, buddy!  You are becoming more and more fun with each passing day.  We are so excited for all the milestones ahead.