Settle down!

Blog! I've missed you! How have you been?

Okay, so we're mostly settled in here at our new casa. Internet, at least. Most of our boxes are unpacked and it feels like home. Still need to get pictures up on the walls. And then decorating for real. It's the busy season at work, though, so it's going to be a slow process. One room at a time, I think. Probably will be easier on our budget that way, too. But anyway, I am loving loving LOVING our house and our neighborhood. It all feels very comfortable and happy and RIGHT. Tycho and Kyle and the kitties are all adjusting awesome, too. We definitely know that we made the right choice.

Still, things are a little crazy, so pictures lately have been pretty much instagram-only, so I don't have a lot to share right now. But, cute baby to tide you over:

More content soon, I swear!

Sick & Tired

Oh hi blog. We're still not quite settled in our new space. Actually, that's not true. Not quite makes it sound like we're almost in, but really we're not even close. Neither of us have been able to take extra time off of work and I got ill and the baby is needy and nothing is getting done and we're still living in a box jungle.

This past week has been really rough on the mama front for me, too. You know, on top of that whole moving thing. Tycho of course ends up cutting one of his canines right as we are moving in. Some girlfriends warned me that canines are the worst, and they weren't kidding. I swear, it was like 36 hours of near-constant screeching. And nursing and nursing and nursing and nursing. No food, just milk. Which was okay, if annoying, until I got sick, and now I am barely dealing.

A bug was going around at work, and when I started dry-heaving in the shower yesterday morning I knew I hadn't managed to avoid it. And why I was so damn tired the night before. I am lethargic and head-achey and dehydrated and weak and pathetic and I DO NOT WANT TO NURSE YOU AGAIN, CHILD.

Tycho FINALLY caught on to the "milk" sign, and he's been asking to nurse constantly and I want to give him positive reinforcement, but sometimes I have just nothing left to give and I tell him no and he screams and flails and bangs his head on the floor and I give in and let him nurse while I sob because I am sick and exhausted and he is draining me of all of my energy.

I want to be done. I don't really want to be done. I don't know what I want. This is hard.



Anyway. We still don't have real internet at the new house. I am on some freaky free wifi that is probably stealing my soul and/or sensitive information. So expect sporadic posting for a while longer.

Moving Day!

The title says is all. We're moving into our new home today, so I will likely be absent for a bit. Not that that's anything out of the ordinary!

Busy

I swear I don't mean to be an asshole and never post, but like, life, man. We truly are very busy right now. It's September, which in the alternate universe that is fashion retail means the holiday season has begun! Are you ready for woolen mittens and down jackets? As such, I've been working crazy overnight hours this week. And next week.

Tomorrow, or later today I guess, we are signing on our new house! I barely want think about it because I have too many emotions about it and while I am stupid excited I also am terrified and I feel so unprepared. Movers are coming Wednesday and I haven't packed a single thing. No idea how we're going to get everything done, but we will figure it out. I am a ball of anxiety about this, but I know this is going to be so good for our family.

The next month is going to be crazy, but hopefully I'll have some updates of substance soon. At the very least, new house pictures!

Battle Wounds

Well, it seems we are solidly in the toddler stage now. Walking is Tycho's preferred method of locomotion. He's still not terribly good at it, though, especially when he's not looking where he's going or he's trying to go to face, or he's walking around somewhere other than a perfectly level indoor space. Or all of the above.

So, my baby currently has two black eyes. One, courtesy of the driveway, and the other from a bathroom cabinet.  I'm sure this is only the beginning.

siiiiiiigh.

Tycho is napping right now so I am just staring at this picture I took of him earlier and thinking about how perfect and amazing he is. That is all.

Shoes

My baby seems to be not so much a baby these days. All of the sudden I see this big kid. Bam! What changed? His shoes.

We he was getting in to the pre-walking thing I bought a pair of outrageously priced See Kai Run adorable squooshy baby sandals. I love them. The kind that are good for early walkers because they are not too structured blah blah blah yuppie mama. But I didn't go crazy and I just bought the one pair and he wore them everywhere and they served us very well, his baby shoes.

But the other day when Ashley took him an Arlo shopping at Target he tossed one somewhere (don't worry, it was later recovered), and so she strapped him into some of Arlo's too big, not yet sneakers. And wow. What a difference a pair of shoes makes.

Hey, little man.

Goodnight, Tycho

Tonight we gave Tycho a bath and put him in his jammies and we brushed his teeth and read a book and sang and nursed and he was still awake and so I told him it was time to go to sleep and I gave him a kiss and turned on the white noise and laid him down and tucked him in and turned out the light and closed the door.

AND THAT WAS ALL.

No tears, no nothing. WHAT THE HECK! I'm so excited! We have such a long way to go still with sleep, but this is a wonderful first step.

TYCHOSTEPS! AGAIN!

Perhaps I am a broken record at this point, but I LOOOOOOVVVVEEEEE Tychosteps. (Also, I love turning everything into a Tychoword: Tychosteps, Tychoman, Tychosmash, whatever.) But I just get all beam-y and ridiculous. And he's getting so good! Every single day he is a little more steady and a little more confident. He likes to carry his big red ball around the living room.  I just love it. I can't even write about it nicely because I'm such a big goober about it. WALKING! AMAZING! Love you, Tychobaby.

Monthlies!

Check it out, blog:

Tycho every month with his "birthday bear" showing us how much he grew in his first year. I'm not one for cutesy projects, but I did this anyway, and I'm so glad because lookit! How is this even the same baby! How was he so impossibly tiny? Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

And month thirteen:

I wonder how long I can keep this up!

Not such a baby anymore.

I know I just posted about this, but I'll say it again: I love toddlerhood. I do miss Tycho being a tiny squishy helpless newborn, and surely there was a lot that was easier about that stage. Food was simply breasts. No prepping snacks and toys for any trip outside the home. I didn't have to worry about discipline or child proofing or anything really. I will always look back on his babyhood fondly, and perhaps I will forget how hard I found it at the time. But it was hard for me. For both me and Kyle actually. The days felt very long and monotonous and even though he was beyond cute, there wasn't much in the way of positive reinforcement for anything we were doing.

Now can be hard, too. Tycho is boisterous and strong and is always getting in to trouble and on the verge of breaking something or eating something he shouldn't or diving headfirst off the couch. Tantrums happen now, and I still haven't mastered how to deal with them yet. Tycho requires snacks and he has opinions on them and his poop smells really bad now. BUT. But he is so awesome. He gives really great hugs. He gets better at walking everyday. He knows that balls are for throwing and he rolls toy cars along the floor. He is beginning to grasp the concept of gentle with the cats, and boy, does he LOVE the cats! He FINALLY is using baby signs after six months of seeing us do them. This time is so great.

TWUE WUV

So, like, yes, I totally love my baby all the time, always and forever, even when he is being a huge butt head. That goes without saying. Since he sprung from my loins and all that. But lately I feel like I am extra super in love with him. I think toddlerhood suits us all very well. I'm squee-city, here. Look at this kid, he is beautiful.

Amazing thing, amazing thing, amazing thing, amazing thing!

SOOOOOO.

Things are finally starting to turn around for my little family, and I'm at the point where things are not so secret. A few brief updates:

1) I GOT A PROMOTION! I am now a big fancy pants assistant manager. Haha. I'm really excited about it, though. I've been working my butt off for the past several months to prove myself and I'm so happy it's paid off. I really love what I do, so I'm super happy to climb another rung on the career ladder.

2) We're buying a house! Like, for real. We found a beautiful townhouse in an adorable neighborhood. We had the inspection yesterday, so now we need to do some negotiating, and , fingers crossed, it will be ours in about a month. More to come on that front.

3) TYCHOSTEPS!

Stuff

Blog! Why am I so terrible at updating? Ugh.

Life has been busy busy busy. Lots of BIG THINGS happening with us, most of which I don't really want to share until we're not in the thick of things. But the biggest thing of all: FIRST STEPS! Tycho actually took his first steps while I was at work for Ashley, and I am so proud of myself because I wasn't upset in the least about missing it. I am just SO excited about him learning to walk. We've seen quite a few more tentative steps since, and every time I feel like my heart is going to completely burst with joy. So awesome.

Anyway, more content soon. In the mean time, here's some pictures from Tycho's birthday party to tide you over.

Happy Birthday, Tycho!

Dear Tycho,

Yesterday you turned one year old. One year! That is amazing. YOU are amazing.

We had a fun day yesterday for your birthday. I am a mean mama, though, and started things off with your one year doctor appointment. It was a necessary evil, I guess. You were very unhappy about your shots, but only for a minute, and then we were on our way. You are still growing like crazy. You weigh 31 and a half pounds (99.99 percentile!) and are 32 inches tall (99.02 percentile), which means you are kind of thinning out. A teeny tiny little bit. Maybe. :)

After you had a nap we took a trip to the aquarium. The last time we visited, you were in my belly. You liked looking at the fish, and at the otters, but you were a little bummed when you reached out to touch them and the glass was in your way. Sorry, buddy. We'll take you snorkeling someday.

We ate some fish and chips for lunch, and then Daddy took off work early and met us at the new Great Wheel. It was a first ride for all of us. We were very high up, but you were no scared at all.

And after all that we watched Daddy's baseball game together. It was a long day, and by the end of it all you were pooped! So was I! But I think we had a lot of fun, and I'm glad I got to take off work and spend the whole day doing new things with you.

You are without a doubt the most significant thing that has ever happened to me. You made me a mother. You have changed my life. I am such a different person now than I was just over a year ago. I love you.

FOUR

I have a lot of posts to catch up on, I know, but I have been married for four years today and I think that is important, and I don't want it to get lost in the shuffle of all the baby birthday shenanigans. :)

Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day to me!

Party on!

Two more days 'til my baby is no longer a baby.

We had his birthday party today. A lot of stress and prep for a couple hours of overstimulated cranky boy, but oh well. First birthday! You have to throw a party. He probably won't have another real birthday party, though, until he is old enough to actually understand the concept of birthday parties. I'm not even sure when that is, yet. I will have pictures, eventually, I am sure, but I wasn't the one who took them, so not yet.

However, this:

I cannot believe how big he is getting, how old he seems.

For real, what happened to my baby?

Full circle, almost.

Tycho's birthday is in a week and a half and I am being completely consumed by nostalgia. I have no idea where the time went. I stayed up late last night looking through my weekly belly photos from when I was pregnant, and it was like looking at a stranger. I barely even recognize the person that I was just a year ago. Motherhood is awesome, in the true sense of the word. I don't think I am one of those women whose entire personality gets taken over by the mom identity. I have a job and interests outside of my offspring, and I can still have adult conversations with people about things other than my kid. But at the same time, I have become a completely different person. Motherhood can't help but change your priorities. Life has more gravity. I shake my head looking at the girl in those pictures. She has no idea what she is getting  herself into.

You can expect a lot more navel-gazing and introspection in the coming weeks, I think. How in the world did we get here?

Needy

I don't think it would really be fair to call Tycho a high needs baby. He has such a happy disposition. And anyway, with other people he's not. Kyle claims that he will happily entertain himself throwing balls around the living room and chasing the cats for an hour or two when I'm out at work. But, if I am home, I am a magnet. He has to be on me. Physically touching my person at all times. But not in a sweet cuddly type of way, either. Grabbing, hitting, biting, generally flailing. It's exhausting. If I am home and he is awake, I'm not doing ANYTHING else. Cleaning? Laundry? Relaxing? Ha!

I guess what I have is a mama's boy.