Monkey Man

Monkey Man got to wear his costume to school today, which was a real treat! When he got to school, they had decorated everywhere (even the banisters outside had webs & spiders, which got him very excited!) - they had a Halloween parade, followed by a trip to the "pumpkin patch" that had been created in the playground area. Happy Halloween!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Okay, so it's a crisp Fall day, not quite "frightful" but I'll tell you what is - Waking up in the morning at 7:00 AM with a 15 month old & thinking about being contained to our house all day because it is so cold out!

My challenge to myself this Fall & Winter is going to be to find more fun things to do with Wyatt, that don't cost a lot of money & involve being somewhat indoors. Over the course of the Spring, Summer & even so far the Fall, we have really been doing a lot outdoors. I love this time of year, but in a way I hate it because it starts to get dark a lot earlier, knocking out our after dinner trips to the park, and then colder, making it hard to eat a picnic lunch in Duke Gardens on any given day.

Yes, we will still go to the playground & for walks & will just bundle up (we just bought a new winter coat & hat!), but if anyone has great cold weather ideas, I would love to hear them!

Take Time for a Great Time

After a two year hiatus, our little family decided to make a trip to the North Carolina State Fair this evening. We beat most of the traffic by arriving at a little before 5:00 PM, armed with our B.O.B. jogger & plenty of snacks for the little guy. We had a great time just watching Wyatt take it all in, and were able to leave at a decent hour before all the crazies arrived :) Here are some of my favorite snapshots of the evening:

I knew Wyatt would help me eat one of my favorite fair foods!

When we got into the building with the cows, Wyatt literally took off running towards them yelling "Hi! Hi! MOOO! MOOO!"

Wyatt meets Roo from PBS Kids - he said "eyeball" to him & was wanting to poke his eye - don't think Roo was interested in letting him follow through...

Wyatt (and Mom) mesmerized by all the lights & rides once it started to get dark

The Perpetual Bruise

I am convinced that Wyatt will have a bruise on his forehead from now until the day he turns 3. For some reason, although he seems to have mastered walking, he has gotten increasingly unsteady on his feet. He has been working on turning & because of this is like a little drunk man - constantly falling, knocking into things & bumping his head on everything. During most falls, he can get his hands out in time to catch himself. If not, he will land face first - because of this, he has a bruise on the middle of his forehead that has been there for almost two weeks.

This morning we went to REI to (ugh) try on "winter" coats. Not a fun task for any child, but especially not for a 15 month old, who would rather have me chase him through the racks & racks of coats! Finally we get into a dressing room (the only way I can get him to sit still). After wrestling him into a coat, while I am trying to zip it up, he falls forward - you guessed it - right onto his forehead. Now, not only is there a bruise, but there is rugburn too... Needless to say, we bought the first coat that fit, gave a kiss on the forehead & left the store before people thought I was torturing my child.

Keeping Us Sane

Thanks to Abby for all the great ideas for posts & links! Here are our Top 5 things we couldn't have/can't live(d) without:

1) Miracle Blanket - Hands down the best baby item we ever received. Certainly may not be for everyone, but Wyatt started sleeping through the night (6 hours) at 4 weeks old, and we kept him swaddled in this thing until he was 14 weeks. At that point, he would break out of it, but I would have done it longer if I could have! He has always been an amazing sleeper & we credit the Miracle Blanket!

2) Bouncy Seat - This was how we were able to eat all of our meals, watch TV or simply have a free hand during Wyatt's first few months. Another item that we practically wore out - we used this all the time & Wyatt loved it!!

3) B.O.B. Jogging Stroller - One of our first outings with Wyatt was to Greensboro so we could pick up this stroller. Seth did all the research & selected this one, especially for trail running which we both love to do! At the first possible chance, we stuck his car seat into the infant adapter & took him on the Duke Trail - we have been doing it ever since & he loves the stroller still to this day!

4) Little Giraffe Blankie - This was given to us as a gift, but we had already purchased a similar one. My sister used these blankies for her girls & they LOVE them. I bought one for Wyatt before he was born, but he really became fond of the faux fur one when I gave it to him at 6 months. These are small blankies, so they won't get tangled with baby in the crib, and they are easy to travel with or have in the car seat in a long road trip. As a person who (shamefully) still sleeps with her blankie, I was excited for Wyatt to have one.

5) Summer Video Monitor - I cannot say enough good things about this monitor - we LOVE it, and I can't imagine life without it (except when we are on vacation & we use the regular kind). From day one, Wyatt slept in his crib in his room, and I think it is all thanks to this monitor, which also has night vision. When we were letting him "cry it out" or even when he fussed during the night, it was great to be able to just look at the monitor & see that he was fine. I have also been able to see if he has thrown his blankie out of the crib, if he is in fact sleeping when it's quiet in there or if he's tearing off all his clothes!

In addition to these items, here are a few of the books that we could not have lived without:
The Happiest Baby on the Block - Dr. Harvey Karp, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems - Dr. Richard Ferber & Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - Dr. Marc Weissbluth

The Name Game

In response to my friend Abby's post, I had to put out my own post about Wyatt's name & how it came about. Abby had a great story, and mine isn't as exciting, but here goes...

Seth & I had always said that we liked the name Wyatt. I am one of those people that had lists & lists (some of you know I am famous for my "list making") of names, some of which were pretty out there - Axl, Grover, Felix...still all great in their own way, but if you know my husband you know they would never fly. At any rate, from the moment we found out I was pregnant, I just had this really strong feeling it was going to be a boy, and we sort of settled on Wyatt early in the game. Of course we were thrilled when we found out my instincts were correct & Wyatt stuck. We did have a few moments of hesitation though. We wanted to use Jesse as the middle name, after Seth's late maternal grandfather. "Wyatt Jesse Jernigan - is our child destinted to be an outlaw?" I uttered one evening. We kept his name a secret until he was born, and everyone seemed pleased with it when they were introduced for the first time. I can't imagine him going by any other name...

My New Landscaper

He does a great job, and charges a very reasonable rate - I highly recommend him!

Joe Cool

Current Stats

Wyatt had his 15 month doctor's visit today & everything was great! The first thing the doctor noticed was how much talking he does. She said at this point they like to see kid's his age saying at least 5 words, so he is ahead of the curve with his potentially 50 word vocabulary. He is still working on his walking, and can be wobbly at times, but has finally gotten the hang of getting up to standing on his own. I am convinced that he was slower to walk because he is so busy talking!!

15 months
24 lbs, 11 oz
31 1/2 inches long (or do I say tall, now that he is upright all the time)
taking after Papa in the head dept - 90% percentile but don't remember the size :)

One of Those Weeks

It has been "one of those weeks." It started with me uttering these words to my husband: "I need some new clothes for Fall. I am sick of my clothes & would love some nicer things to wear around - I feel like ever since I started staying at home my wardrobe has got to pot." This is how my week then progressed:

Monday - Lunch with Mom & Wyatt at Panera Bread - spill tomato soup down the front of shirt
Tuesday - Wyatt spills grande Starbucks down my white t-shirt before storytime
Wednesday - attempted to make Butternut Squash soup, only to have the blender explode soup all over me & the kitchen
Thursday - try to show Wyatt how to "jump" off the swings at the park & get stuck briefly (yes - complete blow to self-esteem, but thankfully the park was empty at the time) & get rust stains all over khaki shirt
Friday - attempt to shop for the new clothes I "needed" & resign that I will end up staining or ruining them somehow, so buy clothes for Wyatt instead...

One day, I will get back to a somewhat decent sense of style. Until then, I will live vicariously through Wyatt when it comes to "fashion."