Friday, April 27, 2012

"C" is for Child (cont.)

12 months

Tully turned one on April 5!  Happy birthday, big guy!  I've recently learned to translate because T's vocabulary mostly consists of the word, mama.

Mama (sweetly) = mom
Ma ma ma ma ma (quietly) = nurse
Ma ma ma ma ma (loudly while banging fist on tray) = more food
Ma ma (loudly while looking at TV remote) = I want the remote
Ma ma (arms raised in air) = pick me up

All kidding aside, he is starting to talk more.  Here's the list we have so far:
Mama
Up
Ball (baa)
Puppy (signing only)
Duck (signing and saying "ack")
Hot (sounds like "ot" usually while reaching for the oven)
Bird (signing only by pointing up in air)
Airplane (same as bird, they are similar, right?...smart little kiddo)

Tully telling us there is an airplane outside
We are teaching him some basic American Sign Language and using the Baby Signing Time DVDs.  So far he LOVES the first DVD.  It covers things like eating and drinking, family members, and animals.  In addition to starting to communicate better with us, Tully started walking when he was about 11.5 months.  He loves to toddle around the house and our yard to explore things.

Tully helps PawPaw change the tire on the bike trailer.

He always gets excited when Grammy comes to visit!

Tully also shares sticks with Zach
On his actual birthday, we visited the Tulsa Zoo with Grammy.  The Tulsa Zoo leaves a lot to be desired as far as animal exhibits go.  I also think 12 months is a little too young to really enjoy the whole place.  If the animal didn't make big movements or loud noises, Tully pretty much ignored it.

Tully and Grammy monkeying around
Tully goes for a ride with Mommy
We celebrated Tully's birthday a couple times with family.  First Nanna made a special birthday dinner: chicken, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and mashed potatoes.  It was delish!  Grammy supplied the cupcakes, and we all enjoyed watching Tully dig in.



Tully got a lawn mower, gas pump, dump truck with sand toys, garden tools, fill and dump wagon, dinosaur riding toy, roller coaster riding toy, and a wooden activity cube.  Our living room is overflowing with plastic, but Tully loves his new stuff.


We celebrated Tully's birthday the second time over the weekend at Grammy & Pawpaw's house (my parents) with Great Papa Jim (my grandpa) & Marge, Gigi & Pops (John's parents), and Aunt Sassy (John's sister).  Tully got to try out Grammy's homemade cooking, and he let us know that he does not care for green beans.  He gobbled up the ham, potatoes, and other fruits and veggies though.  Tully also got another taste of cupcakes.  I don't know if it's the dairy, visitors, or combination of the the two, but his sleep schedule is crazy, and he's been rather fussy.  Poor kiddo.  We're getting back on track though and sticking to his regular diet of meat, veggies, fruit, and oatmeal from now on.

Standard breakfast: eggs and strawberries
Tully reading with Pops
Tully is still nursing regularly (4-5 times/day), and we don't have plans to stop any time soon.  It's working well for us.  Yeah, scratch that last part.  Go back to the last paragraph where I said Tully was fussy.  Enter MOLARS.  Tully's gums swelled up like marshmallows, and the poor kid refused to nurse for about a week.  He would bite me each time I offered, and I tried everything--getting him up in the middle of the night ("dream nursing"), taking a bath together, offering to nurse when he was hurt, etc.  Nothing worked.  Then I had to go to DC for work.  Flights were too expensive for me to pay for my mom to go, so I shortened my trip from six days to three and went solo.  FREEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!!  I finished two books on the flight there and my REAL SIMPLE magazine on they way home.  Talk about some "me" time.  It was glorious, and it flew by pretty quickly because my work schedule was insane.  I was very happy to return home late Tuesday night though, and when I heard Tully moving around I took the opportunity to go upstairs.  He nursed, and my mommy heart nearly exploded with joy.  I offered again the next morning and was greeted by Count Dracula.  Sad face.  I offered again before his afternoon nap and succeeded.  What a roller coaster!! I wasn't totally sure if was on a strike/his teeth hurt or he was really trying to wean, so I continued to offer during normal nursing times, but I didn't pump at all.

After a couple weeks of ups and downs, we've settle on a morning nursing and a bedtime nursing.  It's nice because it frees me up during the day to focus on my work, but we still have quiet time together.  We went straight to sippy cups, since he wasn't really using a bottle before, and he's happy to drink regular milk that way throughout the day.

What a year of growth, changes, and learning this has been for all of us.  We love you, Tully, especially with your sweet little mullet curls.

A huge, huge, HUGE thank you to our fabulously talented and super sweet photographer, Meagan, who captured once-in-a-lifetime moments to celebrate Tully's first year.  If you need a photographer for your little one in the Tulsa area, be sure to give her a call.  You can see more of Meagan's work at MeaganReady.com

Thursday, April 26, 2012

"C" is for Chips (update)

Apparently I'm not the only person in the wold obsessed with kettle cooked chips.  I posted about a few different brands for my favorite salt and vinegar flavor a couple weeks ago (See "C" is for Chips), but what I didn't realize is that Kettle Brand has a reduced fat version, 40% less fat to be exact.  GET OUT!  I saw them on the shelf at the grocery store on Monday.  I would have taken a picture of the bag I bought, but it was empty and in the trash before dinner on Tuesday.  Bad, bad, bad.  Here's what it looks like though:


Usually the low fat version of anything tastes weird or different, but Kettle Brand really nailed it on this one.  These chips are delish.  I'm not sure why they are "krinkle cut" but it doesn't seem to affect the flavor.  They are still crunchy and salty and vinegary.  And although I know I don't need to be eating potato chips, period, I can at least feel a little bit better about myself, since these have less fat. 

Be sure to let me know if you try out the other reduced fat flavors!

(P.S. You're welcome, Katie!)
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